Rise of the Sea Witch by Stacey Rourke ~ Cover Reveal

Rise of the Sea Witch
Stacey Rourke
Publication date: June 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Details of the sea witch’s banishment have been exaggerated. The body count that preempted it was not. Once an illustrious princess, her hands and tentacles were stained with the blood of thousands. No one could comprehend how the hooks of madness dragged her down from her life of privilege. 

Born Princess Vanessa of Atlantica, the ambitious young royal was one of two children born to the great King Poseidon. She and her brother, Triton, were groomed from birth to rule. Yet only one would ascend that coveted throne. While carefree Triton flits through his training with a cavalier demeanor and beguiling charm, Vanessa’s hunger for her father’s acceptance drives her to push herself to the limits of magic, and combat to become a leader worthy of her people. 

When war against the humans ravages their once regal kingdom, political sides are chosen. Factions from the seven seas challenge the existing leadership, pitting Vanessa against her brother in a vicious battle for the crown. Traitors are exposed, dark family secrets revealed, and a once strong sibling bond is strained to its breaking point. 

Only when the ink black waters from the ultimate betrayal rescind, will the truth be known of how the villainous sea witch rose with one name on her vengeful lips–Triton.

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Author Bio:
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel

Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012 

Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013 

Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015 

Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly suspenseful Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Reel Romance Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head. 

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Run Runner by Tricia Leedom ~ Cover Reveal

Rum Runner
Tricia Leedom
(The Key West Escape, #1)
Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication date: July 18th 2017
Genres: Adult, Adventure, Romance

Perfect for fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Janet Evanovich, this action-packed debut from a fresh voice in contemporary romance offers a sexy and comedic take on love, adventure, and what it means to trust your heart. 

English socialite Sophie Davies-Stone has been longing to meet her father since she was a little girl. When he sends her a mysterious medallion and asks her to forward it to him in Miami, she can’t help herself from doing something totally un-Sophie-like. Rather than mailing it as instructed, Sophie hops on a flight to Florida. 

But the family reunion never happens. Instead, Sophie is attacked and almost kidnapped by her father’s enemies. Her savior is Jimmy Panama, a cocky and annoyingly handsome former Navy SEAL. Sophie isn’t the only one who’s annoyed. After years of trying to find a way to pay back his CO, Jimmy never thought his debt would get him mixed up with his commander’s uptight, British daughter. He just wants to put her on the next flight home and get back to his low-stress life in Key West, but fate has other plans. 

As Sophie and Jimmy embark on a heart-pounding adventure through Key West and the Caribbean, Sophie finds herself falling for the snarky American. Still, her head says Jimmy is all wrong for her, and the more she finds out about him – and her father – the more uncertain she is about who she can trust. 

One thing is clear. Sophie is in way over her head, and her greatest adventure might be her last. 

The Key West Escape Series
1. Rum Runner – Releases July 18, 2017!
2. Bahama Mama – Coming January 2018!

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Author Bio:
TRICIA LEEDOM enjoys traveling to exotic destinations and having torrid love affairs with hot, dangerous men... even if it's only in her own mind. When she's not writing romantic adventure novels, she reads voraciously, tweets compulsively, and fangirls over a TV show based on her favorite book series. Tricia earned her BA in Creative Writing from The University of Tampa and her MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Her favorite authors include Diana Gabaldon, J.R. Ward, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Karen Robards, and Johanna Lindsey. She lives in Southwest Florida with two very spoiled dogs. Follow Tricia on Twitter and Instagram @tricialeedom

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Lux and Lies by Meg Collett ~ Cover Reveal

Lux and Lies
Meg Collett
(Whitebird, #1)
Publication date: May 2017
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult

Mr. Robot meets UnReal in a story of celebrities and anarchists, reality shows and evil corporations, romance and self-discovery. 

Nineteen-year-old Wren Iver is nothing more than a dying girl with cancer, but when megastar Sloan Lux dies right before filming starts on the year’s most anticipated reality show, producers scramble to secretly replace her—with Wren. She’s swept into Hollywood and promised a cure by VidaCorp, the nation’s richest bioengineering corporation, for simply replacing Lux. It’s a deal Wren can’t refuse.
The decision could get her killed, because she isn’t the only cast member with ulterior motives 

The Whitebirds, a social anarchist group, has infiltrated the show, and they’ll stop at nothing to use Sloane Lux’s fame to derail VidaCorp’s efforts to legalize their controversial, life-changing drug—a drug that might kill more people than it saves. Caught in the middle of a game between a powerful corporation and ruthless anarchist group, Wren will do anything to survive. 

Will Wren secure the drug she needs to survive, or will she become another casualty in the anarchists’ fight against VidaCorp?

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Author Bio:
Meg Collett is from the hills of Tennessee where the cell phone service is a blessing and functioning internet is a myth of epic proportions. She and her husband live in a tiny house with three dogs and not enough couches. She’s the author of the bestselling Fear University series, the End of Days trilogy, and the Canaan Island novels. Find out more at her website www.megcollett.com.

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These Simple Scars by Emma Wicker ~ Cover Reveal

These Simple Scars
Emma Wicker
Publication date: May 8th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Sometimes, the worst scars are the ones that can’t be seen… 

After fleeing her abusive father, Faith’s goal is to find a job and earn enough to finally be able to live in safety. When she ends up stranded in the sleepy town of Silver, Georgia, it’s not long before she meets sexy mechanic Garrett. His willingness to help her one minute then dismiss her the next, leave Faith confused by this guarded and irresistible man. 

Although Garrett has left the military, the war returned home with him. An attraction to the new girl in town takes him by surprise, but if he’s to keep his scars hidden, Faith is no-go. His heart tells him to trust, but his mind is determined to get the better of him. 

As the pair deal with their wounds, tragedy threatens to rip them apart. Supported by new friends, Garrett and Faith wrestle with their pasts and an unexpected love they fear won’t last.

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Gallowglass by Jennifer Allis Provost ~ Cover Reveal

Gallowglass
Jennifer Allis Provost
Publication date: June 6th 2017
Genres: New Adult, Urban Fantasy

Karina didn’t set out to free the Seelie Queen’s gallowglass. Now she’ll do anything to keep him. 

After Karina and her brother, Chris’s, lives fall apart in separate yet equally spectacular ways, they leave New York behind and head to the UK. Karina buries herself in research for her doctoral thesis, all the while studiously not thinking about the man who broke her heart, while Chris—who’d been a best-selling author before his ex-fiancée sued him for plagiarism—drinks his way across the British Isles. 

In Scotland, they visit the grave of Robert Kirk, a seventeenth- century minister who was kidnapped by fairies. No one is more shocked than Karina when a handsome man with a Scottish brogue appears, claiming to be the Robert Kirk of legend. What’s more, he says he spent the last few hundred years as the Gallowglass, the Seelie Queen’s personal assassin. When they’re attacked by demons, Karina understands how dearly the queen wants him back. 

As Karina and Robert grow closer, Chris’s attempts to drown his sorrows lead him to a pub, and a woman called Sorcha. Chris is instantly smitten with her, so much so he spends days with Sorcha and lies to his sister about his whereabouts. When Chris comes home covered in fey kisses, Karina realizes that the Seelie Queen isn’t just after Robert.
Can Karina outsmart the Seelie Queen, or is Robert doomed to forever be the Gallowglass?

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Author Bio:
Jennifer Allis Provost writes books about faeries, orcs and elves. Zombies too. She grew up in the wilds of Western Massachusetts and had read every book in the local library by age twelve. (It was a small library). An early love of mythology and folklore led to her epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Parthalan, and her day job as a cubicle monkey helped shape her urban fantasy, Copper Girl. When she’s not writing about things that go bump in the night (and sometimes during the day) she’s working on her MFA in Creative Nonfiction.

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The Girl Who Fought Napoleon by Linda Lafferty ~ Review

Title: The Girl Who Fought Napoleon
Author: Linda Lafferty
Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction
Length: 444 pages
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Source: First Reads
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

In a sweeping story straight out of Russian history, Tsar Alexander I and a courageous girl named Nadezhda Durova join forces against Napoleon.

It’s 1803, and an adolescent Nadya is determined not to follow in her overbearing Ukrainian mother’s footsteps. She’s a horsewoman, not a housewife. When Tsar Paul is assassinated in St. Petersburg and a reluctant and naive Alexander is crowned emperor, Nadya runs away from home and joins the Russian cavalry in the war against Napoleon. Disguised as a boy and riding her spirited stallion, Alcides, Nadya rises in the ranks, even as her father begs the tsar to find his daughter and send her home.

Both Nadya and Alexander defy expectations—she as a heroic fighter and he as a spiritual seeker—while the battles of Austerlitz, Friedland, Borodino, and Smolensk rage on.

In a captivating tale that brings Durova’s memoirs to life, from bloody battlefields to glittering palaces, two rebels dare to break free of their expected roles and discover themselves in the process.

**********

A fascinating tale, but a bit of a misleading title. Why Nadezhda does fight Napoleon eventually, I felt like the story was about a whole lot more than just that. It follows an unusual life of a little girl that never really felt like she fit in. A tale that people can relate to emotionally even today.

Nadya wasn't a strong character in the way I thought she would be. She wasn't a war hero, she didn't kill hundreds of enemies or save hundreds of lives. But she did manage to rally people around her name, meet the czar, and become a special part of Russian history. She survived a war that many did not, and she managed to do it gracefully and with humility. 

While told primarily from Nadya's point of view, we also get to see into the mind and life of Tsar Alexander. He was another interesting character and quite a revolutionary at heart. It's too bad he wasn't able to follow through with all his ideas and passions. There's a bit of a mystery surrounding the Tsar and his wife that I hadn't heard before, and the story wrapped up with quite a content reader.

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The Scarlett Legacy by K.N. Lee ~ Review

Title: The Scarlett Legacy (Woodland Creek)

Author: K.N. Lee

Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy

Length: 344 pages

Publisher: Indie

Release Date: November 22, 2015

Source: Purchased

Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Wizards. Shifters. Sexy mobsters. 
Welcome to Woodland Creek, where one family of wizards gives new meaning to organized crime. 

Evie Scarlett wanted two things: marry Parker Drake and her family of wizards behind. 
But when Hugh Prince, a dangerous crime boss, is mysteriously murdered while awaiting trial for her father's murder, all eyes turn to the Scarlett family. 

The arrival of Hugh's youngest son, Avalon returns from Scotland to bring a century-old feud to a dangerous climax. This vengeful wizard gives Evie's older brother a choice: die or give Evie to him. 

When Evie's plans for escape are broken by familial duty, she must find a way to protect those she loves and win back her freedom. What she finds is an ancient power that she never knew she had. 

Evie knew that evil was coming to Woodland Creek. She just never expected to be so attracted to him.

**********

This was a hard book to rate. We start out with the story of Olivia and Wes, and their mission to take out a rival wizard mafia lord. And it was really exciting and I thought we were really going to get to know this unusual couple. I wanted to see how they met, how they fell in love, and how the rivalry began. But we don't. We skip right over their story and right into the story of Evie.

This transition was a little confusing. We don't see how the first scene ties into her story right away and it seemed like it was all out of place. I was also unsure as to why Evie was so protected by her mother. While this was explained eventually, knowing this ahead of time, even if it was just 'reader knowledge,' would have added a nice element to how the story built. The big reveal also seemed a little forced and out of place in the rest of the plot.

It meandered along, introducing us to a few of Evie's friends, and her too good to be true boyfriend. While I enjoyed the story a lot, I think it would have been better served as two books. One with the history of Wes and Olivia leading up to the mission that starts this book, and one that was dedicated to Evie's story. I loved the dark feel to this. K.N. Lee did a great job building atmosphere and characters, I'm curious what else will be coming out of Woodland Creek.

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