Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Ten Books I’d Love to Read With My Book Club/If I Had A Book Club.
1. The Hunger Games
2. The Fault in Our Stars
3. Boy Meets Boy
4. The Anna and the French Kiss trilogy
5. Divergent
6. Pride and Prejudice
7. Harry Potter
8. The Hobbit
9. The Giver
10. The Morganville Vampires Series
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is My Top Ten Favorite Reads of 2014.
1. Sacrifice by Brigid Kemmerer
2 Wicked Little Secrets by Kara Taylor
3 Faking Normal by Courtney C Stevens
4 Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
5 The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
6 Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
7 Magic Breaks by Ilona Andrews
8 The Lovely and the Lost by Page Morgan
9 The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman
10 Take by Ella Frank
Infernal Ice by Joceline FarrahBeneath the sun kissed skies and the glamour of South Beach, Stygians and mortals co-exist under an uneasy alliance.Governed by strict rules known as Stygian protocol, they live by one most sacred and cardinal rule: Never comingle with mortals.
Grief stricken, caseworker Jessa Belle Jones loses herself in her job, after the love of her life, Scott Dempsey disappears without a trace. When her father announces her betrothal to Abbandon, the General of the Stygian Armies, Jessa-Belle turns to Havah, the Tinseller to thwart her father’s plan by finding her own Stygian noble to marry.
Wrought with vengeance, Stygian Raum Corvus, searches Miami Beach for retribution against the dark mage who took everything he’d cherished.
But when destiny links Raum path to Jessa’s plight, will fate keep them together or will Stygian conventions rip them apart?
Can you tell us about your book, Infernal Ice, in 25 words or less?
-Infernal Ice is a story of a forbidden love set in Miami Beach, Florida between a half mortal girl Jessa-Belle Jones and a Stygian Lord Raum Corvus.
What genre is Infernal Ice?
-Paranormal romance.
What was your favorite scene to write?
-My favorite scene was Raum and Jessa’s first date.
What was the hardest scene to edit out?
-I didn’t have to.
Will there be a sequel?
-The Stygian Chronicles is four book series but each novel can be read as a standalone. The next novel in the series is Infernal Shriver.
If you could cast any of your characters who would you choose?
-I think from the time I finished the first draft I knew exactly who I wanted to cast. At least the main characters, Raum Corvus by Idris Alba and Jessa-Belle, Zoe Zaldana
Did any music inspire you while writing Infernal Ice?
Music plays a major part of my writing ritual so to speak. It helps me channel certain emotions depending on the scene I’m writing. The song I played over and over again when I was writing scenes between Raum and Jessa was “Make it to me” by Sam Smith.
Are you currently working on anything else?
I’m revising the second book in this series Infernal Shriver.
What is currently in your TBR pile?
Revival by Stephen
Dr Sleep by Stephen King
The Scribe by Elizabeth Hunter
Blood Shadows by Lindsay j Pryor
Raven by Pauline Creeden
(Chronicles of Steele #1)
Publication date: October 2014 28th
Genres: Fantasy, Steampunk,Young Adult Synopsis:This is the complete Steampunk Fantasy novel – all four parts of the serial in one volume! Also includes bonus features not found in the episodes ~
Human life has value.
The poor living in the gutter are as valuable as the rich living in a manor.
The scoundrel is no less valuable than the saint.
Because of this, every life a reaper takes must be redeemed.Raven has lived by this first tenet since she was trained by her father to become a reaper. But since his death, she’s been spending years redeeming the lives she’s taken. By her count, she’s even and it’s time for that life to end. If she settles down and becomes a wife, she might just feel human again. But on the way to the life she thinks she wants, the baron of New Haven asks her to complete a task which she cannot ignore… Just when Raven decides to give up on her life as an assassin, she’s pulled right back in.
Purchase:AUTHOR BIO:In simple language, Pauline Creeden creates worlds that are both familiar and strange, often pulling the veil between dimensions. She becomes the main character in each of her stories, and because she has ADD, she will get bored if she pretends to be one person for too long. Pauline is a horse trainer from Virginia, but writing is her therapy.
Armored Hearts, her joint effort with author Melissa Turner Lee, has been awarded the Crowned Heart for Excellence by InDtale Magazine. It is also the 2013 Book Junkie’s Choice Winner in Historical Fiction. Her debut novel, Sanctuary, won 1st Place Christian YA Title 2013 Dante Rosetti Award and 2014 Reader’s Choice Gold Award for Best YA Horror Novel.
Author links:
Synopsis:The future world is at peace.
Ella Shepherd has dedicated her life to using her unique gift—the ability to enter people’s dreams and memories using technology developed by her mother—to help others relive their happy memories.
But not all is at it seems.
Ella starts seeing impossible things—images of her dead father, warnings of who she cannot trust. Her government recruits her to spy on a rebel group, using her ability to experience—and influence—the memories of traitors. But the leader of the rebels claims they used to be in love—even though Ella’s never met him before in her life. Which can only mean one thing…
Someone’s altered her memory.
Ella’s gift is enough to overthrow a corrupt government or crush a growing rebel group. She is the key to stopping a war she didn’t even know was happening. But if someone else has been inside Ella’s head, she cannot trust her own memories, thoughts, or feelings.
Synopsis:
For Indigo Stevens, ballet classes at Miss Roberta’s ballet studio offer the stability and structure that are missing from her crazy home life. At almost 16, she hopes this is the year she will be accepted into the New York School of Ballet. First she must prove she’s ready, and that means ignoring Jesse Sanders – the cute boy with dimples who is definitely at the top of Miss Roberta’s List of Forbidden Things for Dancers.
But Jesse is the least of Indigo’s concerns. When she discovers her mom is an alcoholic, it simultaneously explains everything and heaps more worry on Indigo’s shoulders. As her mom’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic, Indigo fights to maintain balance, protect her younger brothers from abuse, and keep her mother from going over the edge. When the violence at home escalates, Indigo realizes she can no longer dance around the issue. At the risk of losing everything, she must take matters into her own hands before it’s too late.
Grier began ballet lessons at age five and left home at fourteen to study at the School of American Ballet in New York. She has performed on three out of seven continents with companies such as San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, totaling more than thirty years of experience as a dancer, teacher and performer.
Her work has been praised as “poignant and honest” with “emotional hooks that penetrate deeply.” She writes and blogs about dance in the San Francisco Bay Area and has interviewed and photographed a diverse collection dancers and performers including Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, Glen Allen Sims and Jessica Sutta. She is the author of Build a Ballerina Body and The Daily Book of Photography.
Top 10 Swoon-Worthy Ballet Boys
One of the first questions people ask in a discussion about ballet is: what’s up with the men? There are those who assume that if a man puts on tights he must be gay. But if that were true, why are droves of football players signing up for ballet? Regardless of the choices they make for their private lives, ballet men are some of the strongest, most athletic and graceful beings on the planet. As headliner Steve McLendon of the Pittsburgh Steelers says, “ballet is harder than anything else I do”. To quote a recent tweet (a Jane Austen spoof) from the Ballet Boyz: “It’s a truth universally acknowledged that real men wear tights.” Check out this list of Top 10 Swoon-Worthy Ballet Boys and see for yourself.
Chihon Wespi-Tschopp. Chihon began ballet at age 13 and at 14 he was offered a spot to train at The Royal Ballet School in London. An alum of the Los Angeles Ballet, Chehon won the ninth season of So You Think You Can Dance and was the first winner who was classified on the show as primarily a ballet dancer.
Desmond Richardson. Desmond is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Richardson’s talent was first recognized as a student at New York High School for the Performing Arts during which time he received a merit scholarship from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. He was formerly a principal at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and ABT.
Cory Stearns. Cory has been at ABT since 2004 in the studio company and worked his way up to become a principal in 2011. In 2009 he won the Erik Bruhn Prize for best male dancer. He also models for the runways occasionally, casual.
Alex Wong. Alex danced briefly with American Ballet Theatre before joining Miami City Ballet, where he was a principal dancer. He left Miami City Ballet to compete on So You Think You Can Dance but then had to drop out after an injury while remaining a crowd favorite. During recovery he focused on singing and acting and has since released his first dance single “Crave” on iTunes and Amazon.
Robert Fairchild. Robert and his sister Megan Fairchild are both principal dancers with New York City Ballet. The real-life romance between Robert and fellow NYCB principal dancer Tiler Peck rivals most popular big-screen love stories.
Chase Finlay. Chase is a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. In 2011, while part of the corps de ballet, he danced the title role in George Balanchine’s Apollo, one of the most sought-after male roles…and it shows the male form in a particularly enticing way.
Chris Rodgers-Wilson. Chris is originally from Australia, but studied at the Royal Ballet School before joining the Australian Ballet. Rumor has it he’s dating Andrew Killian — both of them dance at the Australia Ballet and both of them are painfully gorgeous.
Ivan Vasiliev. Ivan trained in Russia and was a prinicpal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet until he left in 2012 to join ABT as a principal dancer.
Billy Bell. After competing on So You Think You Can Dance, Billy joined Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in 2012. Most recently he founded the Lunge Dance Collective, a project based dance company for young artists.
Roberto Bolle. Roberto is a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre and has been featured in Armani and Salvatore Ferragamo ad campaigns.
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten 2014 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn’t Get To.
1 The One by Kiera Cass
2 City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
3 Heir of Fire by Sara J Maas
4 Panic by Lauren Oliver
5 Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout
6 The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
7 Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
8 The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith
9 Renegade by Debra Driza
10 Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch
Killshot by Aria Michaels
Genre: YA Apocalypse Fiction and Dystopia
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23249911-killshot
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Killshot-Icarus-Series-Volume-1/dp/1502753790
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/killshot-aria-michaels-aria-michaels/1120805384?ean=2940150636347
Trailer: http://youtu.be/TV_7K7ZYqiM
When seventeen year old Liv Larson and her brother are sent to separate foster homes, she gives up on her old life, her old friends, and her faith in God. The only bright spot in Liv’s new life is her energetic and obnoxious foster-sister, Riley. When Riley convinces her to come to the rooftop party to view Icarus, the up-coming solar flare, Liv meets Zander. For the first time in months her troubles take a back seat…that is until what should have been a small flare, erupts into a full blown solar storm.
Now, Liv and her rag-tag group of not-quite friends must find a way to survive the sweltering heat, lingering radiation, and the mysterious virus that appears to have found an ideal host among their ranks. Alliances will be formed, and battle lines will be drawn as Liv and her new friends set out on a perilous journey to save their loved ones, find answers, and reach salvation.
But, something sinister awaits them in the dark—and it’s undeniably connected to Liv.
Will Liv be able to keep her promise and reunite with her brother? Will her brave determination be enough to save them all from a rogue government, a terrifying virus, and the things that go bump in the night?
…Or was Icarus, indeed, the KILLSHOT.
About the Author:
Aria Michaels lives in a small town in Illinois with her loving, patient husband and her six (yes, SIX) energetic boys. Always the creative type, Aria fed off the encouragement of her mother, and started writing and illustrating her own stories at a very young age. Aria’s passion for creation and love of the human spirit followed her to the university level where she graduated with an Associates Degree in Fine Arts, and a Bachelors Degree in Communications, with a minor in psychology.
After years of juggling parenthood with her a career in higher education, the universe finally called Aria back to her original passion…writing. When she isn’t glued to her computer, or painting her next masterpiece, Aria can be found playing in the dirt with her kids, snuggling up to a good zombie flick with her husband, or sipping a glass of wine by the fire with friends.
Website: http://www.ariamichaels.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ariamichaelsYA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AriaMichaels.Fiction
The Giveaway:
(2) $5 Amazon Gift Cards
(2) swag packs
(1) mystery gift
Read below for a teaser from the authors prequel Novella, to be released at the end of January!
I rushed across the tile floor, keeping my head as low as possible. Stepping over a burning stool, I ducked beneath the singed remains of the swinging doors, and out into the main entryway of the house. Fire trickled up the walls, like an orange waterfall flowing backwards, sending bits of flaming paint and wall paper, fluttering to the floor around me. Like me, the flames were seeking higher ground, and I needed to hurry if I was going to beat them.
I tightened the towel around my face again, and took a deep breath. My lungs screamed in protest, but I fought the urge reject the toxic air as I dove forward into the unknown. Flashbacks of grade school fire-prevention assemblies flashed through my mind as I staggered towards the stairs. The fire fighters always said the same thing— stay low to the ground, cover your mouth and nose, and never, ever go into a burning building.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
Mrs. Tate’s prized oak railing was still miraculously intact, and I ran one hand along its smooth surface as I army crawled to the top of the staircase. When I crested
the top step, I slithered along the floor, keeping my hand against floor molding that ran the length of the hallway. I followed it past the bathroom, toward where Riley and I slept.
Unable to see through the wall of darkness, I found my way to Riley’s room by touch alone. The heat was all-consuming. My eyes watered uncontrollably, though I had no idea where my body had found the moisture, and it did little to soothe the burning beneath my lids. My throat felt raw and tight, each breath like swallowing sand. I hacked and gagged as the smoke tried to force its way into my lungs.
It tasted of burnt plastic and chemicals, and my tongue began to swell in protest. The paint above the trim was peeling away at my touch, curling in itself as if it, too, was trying to escape the flames. I held the towel closer to my mouth, and crawled on knees and elbows down the hallway.
I pulled myself up onto the balls of my feet, lunging head first through Riley’s open door. I caught myself on the foot board of her bed, my left eye narrowly missing the sharp prong on a studded belt that hung there. I coughed and sputtered against the poisonous black cloud, as I followed the edge of the mattress to the old base drum Riley used as a night stand. I sifted frantically through the tumbling stack of books, hair ties, and make-up until I found what I was looking for. I shoved it deep into my pocket, and ducked back out into the smoke-filled hallway.
The cloud of poison had grown thicker now, forcing me back down to onto the floor. My backpack flopped from side to side, banging into my ribs as I skittered across the rough wood floors. From my vantage point I could easily see beneath the door to my room, to the orange glow that awaited me on the other side. I shifted around so I was laying against my pack on the hard floor, the soles of my boots resting against my door. I held my breath, cranked my feet back, and thrust them as hard as I could into the door. On the third kick, it swung open, and I rolled to the side as the knob slammed hard against the wall inside my room.
“Gah!”
A wave of heat and flames burst through the door and into the hallway. As soon as the back-draft subsided, I scrambled across the floor into my room, which was almost completely engulfed in flames. It was so hot, I could barely think as the smoke strangled and pressed me into the floor. The walls and ceiling bubbled under the bright orange tendrils. Pieces of plaster crashed down around me, as the texture disintegrated above me. The end of my bed was walled fire, and the flames crept their way across my room.
I inched forward on my hands and knees, to my bedside table, and swiped blindly at the items on its surface. The lamp clattered across the table, one of the table’s legs gave out, and the entire thing crashed to the floor. The lamp shattered, sending shards of pink porcelain and broken glass hurtling towards my face. The rest of my bedside items scattered across the floor in all directions.
I slapped aimlessly at the floor around me, unable to see through the blackness closing in. I barely flinched when the rosy lamp shrapnel embedded itself in my hand, but nearly I lost it when my hand finally landed on that stupid stuffed lion. I grabbed my courage by the tail, stuffed him into the front of my shirt, and made my way out of the scorched remains of the princess bedroom, gagging as my lungs burned in my chest. I crawled along the old wood floor, board by board and by the time I reached the top of the stairs, they were fully consumed by flames. I nearly lost my balance and fell over.
“Shit,” I choked out, grabbing onto the railing for support.
The flames licked at my heels, and without thinking, I threw my leg over the solid oak railing and pushed off. I held on for dear life as I sailed down the thick banister and landed with a thud at the bottom of the stair case. Nothing was recognizable anymore through the trenches of smoke, but I instinctively headed back the way I had come. The swinging door crashed to the ground behind me, sending shards of flaming wood my direction. I rolled to the side to avoid them and slammed my already sore shoulder into the corner of the breakfast bar.
“Ahh,” I groaned as I inched my way along the tile floor.
I orienting myself towards the only light I could see; a shred of night sky that peeked through glass doors ahead. The moonlight seemed pale in comparison to the smothering darkness of the black smoke around me. My head was buzzing, and my vision was blurry. My hands and feet felt numb, but somehow I dragged myself over to the sliding door. I tried to get up, but found I could not reach the handle. I shoved at the frame, but the door would not open. Desperate and disoriented, I rolled onto my back, and kicked at the glass. It laughed at me, and held firm.
I felt myself sinking into the floor, my limbs no longer responding to commands. My eyes would not open but I could feel the heat closing in on me. I always heard your life flashed before your eyes when you died, but in my case, it was more of a random, fleeting thought…I died trying to save a stuffed animal.
Tiny diamonds rained down on me and a breeze tickled across my face.
“Liv, hold on!”
My body floated weightlessly through the flames.
“Oh my god, is she—” Small hands touched my face.
“Damn it, Sarge,” croaked another voice. “Open your eyes.”
The ceaseless spasm in my throat, refused to let me speak. My head tilted back, but I didn’t issue the command. My lungs ached as though someone were standing on my chest.
“I don’t think she’s breathing,” a voice cracked. “Do something!”
“Liv, please.” Stubble brushed lightly against my ear.
“Do something!”
I was floating, and it felt nice.
“Come back to me, Liv.” Lips on lips
My chest felt warm, and light. Though it rebelled at the intrusion, relief flooded my body, pulling me back towards the ground. I felt my chest rise and fall, defying my paralysis. Those warm lips left mine for just a moment, and my entire body ached at their loss. Soon enough, coolness spread through my chest again, bringing with it tiny crackles that tingled through my fingers and toes. The fuse lit and inched closer and closer to my heart, bringing with it the weight of earthly pain.
Every cell in my body was electrified, welling with energy. Then, like a dam, everything seemed to burst at once, sending a wave of agony rippling through my body.
My body shot upright of its own volition and tears flooded my eyes.
I gulped greedily at the midnight air, starved for what I had been denied. Despite the burning in my chest, my heart sang at the sensation as it filled. My stomach, however, had had enough of the abuse and retaliated. With my last ounce of energy, I rolled onto my side and threw up.
Right in Zander’s face.
Birth of a Destiny by T.R. Milne
YA Fantasy/Adventure
Evil stalks her. True love finds her. Destiny claims her.
Rose wakes from a coma to find her life has changed forever.
Her parents were killed in the accident that nearly claimed her life. Now orphaned, her mother’s sister brings her to live in the country with her cousins, who quickly make their resentment known.
Once courageous and full of life, she only wants to be left alone to wallow in the murky shades of grief. Yet, evil stalks her dreams, and fate moves her towards her destiny.
Ghostly meetings, attacks under the cloak of storms, and a threatening dark presence brings danger and adventure to Rose, her cousin and new friend. Her special abilities, known to no one, must remain a secret – somehow.
The trio uncover a portal that takes them to a magical kingdom threatened by an evil creature thirsting for eternal darkness. Only one can stop him . . .
Already heart-broken after the loss of her parents, Rose struggles to deal with the hostility from her cousins, the constant danger, and the guilt that keeps her from Diamond, her horse. But, she is totally unprepared for a turn of events that has staggering consequences. Her special abilities are strengthened as she is tested, time and again.
Birth of a Destiny is the first book in the Light Bearer series. It is the beginning of a tale of a lost champion, found by fate and guided by love – growing through adversity and turmoil – on a journey that becomes a crusade. Readers will join Rose, a young girl crossing to a young woman who must travel dangerous and unexpected paths to recapture her warrior spirit, heal her heart and claim her destiny.
About the Author:
T.R. Milne was shaped as a writer by early childhood where she grew up in a haunted house on a farm where her imagination grew wild.
Her love affair with writing began nine years ago, when her first child was still a baby. Since then, between working part-time and parenting a brood of scrumptious children, she has been writing during little stitches of “free” time in coffee shops, kitchen tables, libraries, and her study.
She now lives with her husband and three children in Melbourne, Australia where she is a Change Manager and Author.
T.R. Milne finds inspiration for writing in all the things that bring light into her life T.R. Milne loves writing for Young Adults, stirring their fertile imaginations and eager sense of adventure. Birth of a Destiny, the first in the Light Bearer series, is her debut novel.
Chapter One
The Creature
There is a time just before a storm hits when everyone is lulled into a false sense of security, so that when the storm arrives, the splendour of its power weakens knees. Rose was in that moment – the summer air was saturated with heat, the sky bruised, the light bursting its final golden shower; everything felt suspended – like a time that wasn’t supposed to exist. It was beautiful, yet deep down and against every bit of logic, Rose wanted no part in it – she wanted it to be over, she wanted the storm to unleash itself upon her.
And, then it did.
The light faded across the open field as a grey wall of clouds prepared for battle. Rose raised her eyes as lightning punctured then tore across the sky. Thunder replied by rumbling and stomping through the trembling valley. Then the rain came, falling softly at first, but soon pounding the steaming earth. Her body stung from the rain’s assault and woke her from a daze.
‘Claudia!’ she yelled, but the wind arrived and blew away her words. Running forward into the downpour, shielding her eyes from the rain, she searched the bushes around her. She couldn’t see more than a foot in front of her. How could she possibly find her cousin?
‘Damn it!’ she cried out.
She knew, in the place that told the truth, something was terribly wrong. Claudia hated storms with a passion and if there was any way she could have made it back to the farmhouse she would have.
As she ran toward another group of bushes, a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating a dark shape that seemed to be looming over something – or someone. She stopped running; causing James to run into her and push her flat to the ground, landing so hard that the wind was knocked out of her. She swiftly rolled over, gasping for air.
‘Are you okay?’ James leaned down and touched her cheek, asking, ‘Are you hurt?’
Rose pushed his hand away, annoyed at how her face tingled where he had touched her. She tried to sit up, but couldn’t quite make it, so made do with leaning back on her elbows.
‘What do you think you were doing?’ she gasped, still struggling for breath.
‘I was running behind you, and then you just – stopped, and I ran into you. I’m very sorry.’
The memory of the dark figure in the bushes rushed into Rose’s mind. She lurched forward, trying to stand up, but it was too soon and she started to fall back down.
James stopped her fall and yelled through the rain. ‘Hey, what are you doing? What’s the matter?’
‘I saw something,’ she pointed to the bushes where she had seen the figure, ‘when the lightning flashed – I saw a dark shape over there.’
She felt James’ warm hand find hers. For a split second it felt so natural, but then she remembered, and immediately pulled away.
‘Let’s go check it out,’ she said, walking slowly toward the bushes.
With each step forward, she felt as though the darkness she kept locked inside was being released and spreading through her. Somehow, James’ hand had found its way back into hers and now she clung to its warmth.
A scream ripped through the rain, Claudia’s scream, and the story it told reached in and squeezed Rose’s heart. Letting go of James’ hand, Rose lunged forward. Two steps further into the bushes brought her to Claudia huddled into a ball against a tree and staring, transfixed, at the rain-shrouded figure in front of her.
‘Oi!’ Rose shouted. ‘Leave her alone!’
‘Get away from her!’ James roared in a voice Rose didn’t know he possessed.
Lightning filled the sky, exposing the creature, for that is what it was. Covered in a black cloak from head to foot, the only thing she could make out was a face that appeared shrivelled upon itself, with skin so thin it was transparent; revealing no blood in the veins beneath it. The mouth was an ebony pit filled with a red tongue that licked at crumbling teeth. The nose, long and narrow, hooked downwards.
But, it was the creature’s eyes that told his story – black holes that spoke of a thousand years spent in the darkness with only hatred, evil, and death for company. Every part of Rose’s being was sickened and repulsed, yet she knew that the thing possessed a dark power beyond any she had ever known. She knew they were lambs before a wolf.
The dark creature turned and moved toward Claudia.
‘Get away from her!’ Rose screamed. It didn’t hesitate. ‘Claudia, RUN!’
‘Rose!’ Claudia called out her.
‘Run!’ screamed Rose.
‘Rose, wake up!’ yelled Claudia. ‘You’re having another nightmare.’
With a jolt that left her breathless, Rose awoke.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Claudia. ‘What was it about?’
Rose sat up, drenched in sweat.
‘You were lost in a storm and I found you, but then I saw the creature.’
‘The creature,’ said Claudia. ‘What kind of creature?’
Rose knew they were safe, but she couldn’t stop her heart from racing as she remembered the creature’s face as it stared at Claudia like she was his prey.
‘It was from another world,’ said Rose, and as she said the words out loud she knew them to be true.
‘From some far-away magical land, was it? Where your ghosts live?’
The hot room they shared suddenly felt suffocating. ‘What do you mean, where my ghosts live?’
‘You think this is the first time you’ve talked in your sleep?’ said Claudia, hopping back into her bed.
‘What did I say?’
‘It’s more a question of what haven’t you said. All I can say is you have one hell of an imagination. Magical worlds. Creatures. Ghosts. As if.’
Claudia turned away in a huff and pulled her sheets up to her neck. In seconds, she was fast asleep.
No doubt dreaming of sunsets, ice creams, and beaches with palm trees. If only she knew!
Rose threw off her sweaty sheets and stormed toward the French doors that led to the veranda. Sleep, which came so easily to Claudia, was no longer a friend of hers.
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Top Ten Tuesday! This meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s topic is Top Ten Most Anticipated Debut Novels For 2015.
1 Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard February 10th, 2015
The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.
To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.
Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.
But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?
2 The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker June 2nd, 2015
The magic and suspense of Graceling meet the political intrigue and unrest of Game of Thrones in this riveting fantasy debut.
Elizabeth Grey is one of the king’s best witch hunters, devoted to rooting out witchcraft and doling out justice. When she’s accused of being a witch herself, Elizabeth is arrested and sentenced to die at the stake. Salvation comes from a man she thought was her enemy. Nicholas Perevil, the most powerful wizard in the kingdom, offers her a deal: he will save her from execution if she can track down the person who laid a deadly curse on him.
As she’s thrust into the world of witches, ghosts, pirates, and all-too-handsome healers, Elizabeth is forced to redefine her ideas of right and wrong, of friends and enemies, and of love and hate.
3 Made You Up by Francesca Zappia May 19th, 2015
Reality, it turns out, is often not what you perceive it to be—sometimes, there really is someone out to get you. Made You Up tells the story of Alex, a high school senior unable to tell the difference between real life and delusion. This is a compelling and provoking literary debut that will appeal to fans of Wes Anderson, Silver Linings Playbook, and Liar.
Alex fights a daily battle to figure out the difference between reality and delusion. Armed with a take-no-prisoners attitude, her camera, a Magic 8-Ball, and her only ally (her little sister), Alex wages a war against her schizophrenia, determined to stay sane long enough to get into college. She’s pretty optimistic about her chances until classes begin, and she runs into Miles. Didn’t she imagine him? Before she knows it, Alex is making friends, going to parties, falling in love, and experiencing all the usual rites of passage for teenagers. But Alex is used to being crazy. She’s not prepared for normal.
Funny, provoking, and ultimately moving, this debut novel featuring the quintessential unreliable narrator will have readers turning the pages and trying to figure out what is real and what is made up.
4 Vendetta by Catherine Doyle January 1st, 2015
When it comes to revenge, love is a dangerous complication.With a fierce rivalry raging between two warring families, falling in love is the deadliest thing Sophie could do. An epic debut set outside modern-day Chicago.
When five brothers move into the abandoned mansion in her neighbourhood, Sophie Gracewell’s life changes forever. Irresistibly drawn to bad boy Nicoli, Sophie finds herself falling into a criminal underworld governed by powerful families. As the boys’ dark secrets begin to come to light, Sophie is confronted with stinging truths about her own family, too. She must choose between two warring dynasties – the one she was born into, and the one she is falling in love with. When she does, blood will spill and hearts will break.
5 Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley April 28th, 2015
Neil Gaiman’s Stardust meets John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars in this fantasy about a girl caught between two worlds…two races…and two destinies.
Aza Ray is drowning in thin air.
Since she was a baby, Aza has suffered from a mysterious lung disease that makes it ever harder for her to breathe, to speak—to live.
So when Aza catches a glimpse of a ship in the sky, her family chalks it up to a cruel side effect of her medication. But Aza doesn’t think this is a hallucination. She can hear someone on the ship calling her name.
Only her best friend, Jason, listens. Jason, who’s always been there. Jason, for whom she might have more-than-friendly feelings. But before Aza can consider that thrilling idea, something goes terribly wrong. Aza is lost to our world—and found, by another. Magonia.
Above the clouds, in a land of trading ships, Aza is not the weak and dying thing she was. In Magonia, she can breathe for the first time. Better, she has immense power—and as she navigates her new life, she discovers that war is coming. Magonia and Earth are on the cusp of a reckoning. And in Aza’s hands lies the fate of the whole of humanity—including the boy who loves her. Where do her loyalties lie?
6 The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey April 28th, 2015
For readers of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones and Leigh Bardugo’sShadow and Bone, The Girl at Midnight is the story of a modern girl caught in an ancient war.
Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she’s ever known.
Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she’s fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it’s time to act.
Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it’s how to hunt down what she wants . . . and how to take it.
But some jobs aren’t as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.
7 An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir April 28th, 2015
Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.
LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.
ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.
When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.
8 A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas February 24th, 2015
Rhiannon Thomas’s dazzling debut novel is a spellbinding reimagining ofSleeping Beauty and what happens after happily ever after.
One hundred years after falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well, the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.
Her family is long dead. Her “true love” is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.
As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.
Rhiannon Thomas weaves together vivid scenes of action, romance, and gorgeous gowns to reveal a richly imagined world … and Sleeping Beauty as she’s never been seen before.
9 The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall January 13th, 2014
To fight her destiny as the missing heir to a powerful and dangerous secret society, sixteen-year-old Avery West must solve an ancient puzzle in a deadly race across Europe. Forbidden love and code-breaking, masked balls and explosions, destiny and dark secrets collide in this romantic thriller, in the vein of a YA DaVinci Code.
Avery West’s newfound family can shut down Prada at the Champs-Elysees when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war.
They are part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle of Twelve, and Avery is their missing heir. If they discover who she is, some of them will want to use her as a pawn. Some will want her dead.
To thwart their plans, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the landmarks of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul and through a web of ancient legends and lies. And unless she can stay one step ahead of beautiful, volatile Stellan, who knows she’s more than she seems, and can decide whether to trust mysterious, magnetic Jack, she may be doomed after all.
10 Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout June 9th, 2015
A teen escapes to a boarding school abroad and falls for a Korean pop star in this fun and fresh romantic novel in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss.
Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.
She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can’t stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can’t deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.
Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she’ll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.
