Cover Reveal and Excerpt from The Spiral Ascended (The Spiral Defenders, Book 4)

Today I get to share with you the cover release for THE SPIRAL ASCENDED by Erin Danzer. This is book four in her Spiral Defenders series (click here for information on the other three books) and you only need to wait one more month until THE SPIRAL ASCENDED is released! And, Erin has also shared an exciting excerpt with you that will leave the Spiral Defenders fans excited for September.

 

Title: The Spiral Ascended (Spiral Defenders Series: Book Four)

Author: Erin Danzer

Genre: Young Adult Scifi/Romance

Publication Date: September 12, 2014

Blurb:

Everything seems perfect now that Ronnie is married. She can be crowned and finally defeat the evil that infests the Spiral.

Until Rick and the Irradians seize the castle.

Now, Ronnie and Gavin are in hiding. They must amass an army from those still loyal to them and protect their friends and family—all without leaving their refuge. When Ronnie ventures out, Gavin is captured. Their bond is severed.
 

All Ronnie knows is that Gavin is still in her heart.

Until that breaks, too. 

Ronnie must find the strength to ascend to her destiny and defeat Rick or risk losing everything forever.

Excerpt:

“We need to leave, Princess. Now,” Gavin growled at her, turning to kill a gremlin that thought it would sneak up on them.

“But my mom and dad! Andi and Shawn! I need to help them!” she screamed. She turned to jump into the fray to find them… only to have Gavin grab her again and pull her back against him. Three gremlins scurried towards them. Ronnie slashed out with her sword automatically, her eyes on the vile creatures but her mind racing with thoughts of what could happen to her parents and friends. Where were they?

Her heart pounded in her chest like a caged animal eager to be released. Her hands began to shake and she grasped her sword with both of them to steady her aim as another group of gremlins came towards her and Gavin. She met them head on, taking them out easily. She felt Gavin’s pride at her swiftness and gave a small smile. Her eyes turned back to the melee on the floor. Where were her parents? She thought she saw a glimpse of blonde curls and screamed for Andi. Again, Gavin grabbed her and stopped her when she tried to run after her friends. She turned on him with malice in her eyes.

“We need to get out of here. They’re protected,” Gavin declared, his grip tight on her left arm. “If you don’t come with me right now, I will throw you over my shoulder and drag you out of here. My number one priority is your safety.”

“My number one priority is theirs!” she screamed.

Her eyes scanned the crowd again and widened when she saw Rick enter the room. Before anyone else could get to him, Cenric was suddenly there swinging a sword at his brother. Rick parried with his own, the blade swathed in wraiths. She watched their deadly battle, everything around her falling away. In her mind, all she saw was Dirac falling at Rick’s hand. She couldn’t let that happen to Cenric, too. She shook off Gavin and took three steps before he grabbed her again, just getting her before she jumped off the dais. She glared at him as she spun towards him.

“I can’t lose him!” she pleaded, tears suddenly in her eyes.

“He can take care of himself,” Gavin pointed out. Still holding onto her, he opened a portal and pushed her through it, closing it as he followed.

Book Review: Going Down in Flames

Today I get to review the book, Going Down in Flames by Chris Cannon.

Bryn McKenna is about to turn sixteen when she discovers a secret that has been kept hidden from her since birth. She is a shape-shifting dragon and her parents are outcasts from the dragon community because they went against the Clan rules. Bryn's mother (Sara) is a Blue dragon and her father (Ian) is a Red dragon. All dragon marriages must be approved by the Directorate and many can be denied. Dragon marriages are arranged; only like colors are allowed to marry and breed. This is to keep the powers and outward appearances the same within each specific Clan. When Bryn's mother turned down Ferrin (the man she is arranged to marry) so that she could marry for love, Sara and Ian had to run away from the Clan so they could be together. They got married and eventually produced Bryn: a crossbreed or a hybrid. Dragons had been told that breeding could not exist between the Clans and both Sara and Ian were shocked when they had Bryn.

Crossbreeds are considered mongrels and they are looked down upon by the Directorate. Many think that these dragons shouldn't even exist and they treat Bryn harshly. 

What makes Bryn unique is that that she has the fire power of the Red dragons and the ice/snow power of the Blue dragons. She also has the ability to change her dragon appearance and her human-like appearance by using something special called Quintessence (she can change the color of her scales and her hair, and add makeup to her face just by thinking about it).

Bryn is forced to leave her family and attend the Institute for Excellence, a school for dragons to teach them to control their breath weapons. She has no choice in the matter and her parents cannot stop the Institute from taking their daughter.

Zavien (a 19 year-old, Black dragon hottie) takes Bryn under his wing. He tries to help Bryn maneuver her way around the dragon school and the dragon way of life. Bryn has a mind and a mouth of her own and often doesn't listen to Zavien's helpful (and at times, demanding) advice. This causes Bryn to get into trouble, both physically and verbally.

Even though she is perceived to be an outcast and shunned by many dragons (especially the Blues), she gains some good friends right away. She also finds out about knights and starts to fall hard for Zavien.

Jaxon is considered enemy #1 because he insults Bryn constantly and he is the son of Ferrin (the man Bryn’s mother was arranged to marry). There is a lot of hate built up in that family and Jaxon has been brought up to hate hybrid dragons and Bryn.

Bryn is a strong female character and sticks up for herself. She is witty, funny and has comebacks for all of the negative retorts thrown at her. Magic comes very easy to her and has no trouble controlling her breath weapons (fire and ice/snow) right away.

Many of the secondary characters were fun and I enjoyed how the teacher, Mr. Stanton, was willing to help Bryn with her powers and with problems at the school.

There were some minor things that I did not like in the book:

1.   I did not like that the book ended so abruptly, as if it were just cut off. There was no epilogue to cushion the brick wall. I was up to 97% on my Kindle and when I turned the page, I was faced with the author’s acknowledgements. I know that there will be a sequel but the ending was just too abrupt for me. I felt like there needed to be more.

2.   The beginning of the novel moved way too fast for me. We barely have time to meet Bryn when suddenly she finds out that she’s a dragon.

3.   I felt that Bryn was too accepting of the fact that she was a dragon. She was able to shift into her dragon form, fly, shift back to her human form and use her breath weapons with no struggles. She was also able to use Quintessence right off the bat (something that is apparently difficult to do) with no problem. It just came too easy for her; I would have liked to have seen Bryn struggle with these things since everything is so new to her.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The plot immediately sucked me in and it was tough to put down. Going Down in Flames was a quick and easy read and I really sped through the book. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who likes paranormal, young adult, and fantasy books. I had no problem with the teen dialogue and didn’t feel it was a “young” book. I can’t wait for the second book to come out. I will definitely read it!

I give this book 4.5 paws. It was Purrtastic!

You can click the book cover to find the book on Amazon.You can visit the author's webpage here.  

Dark Temptations Cover Reveal

     Today I have the honor of hosting a Cover Reveal for  Alivia Anders, AKA Penelope Harlow. Her new book, DARK TEMPTATIONS will be published in October 2014 and she is so excited to reveal the cover today!
                                       
                                        Are you ready for it? Here it is!

Title: Dark Temptations (Dark Seductions, #0.1)

Author: Penelope Harlow

Genre: NA Paranormal (18+)

Publication Date: October 2014 - Exclusive to the Howl Anthology

Blurb: 

Meet the bombshell with a body count, a smoldering ex-lover, and a wardrobe most celebrities would die for… 

Being half-vampire, half-succubus, you'd think I have the best of both worlds.

I do.

The immortality, the riches, not to mention the sex that's good enough to kill for.

Literally. 

But even my perfect life isn't perfect, as I'm about to discover.

It seems the past doesn't want to leave me be.

Well, if the part wants a war, I say bring it.

No one f***s with Caroline Gray. 

About the Author:

Penelope Harlow is the sassy pen name for the bestselling YA author, Alivia Anders. What started as an honest giggle to write some kickass females for the mature reader turned into a full-blown persona hellbent on showing readers that the girl doesn't always need a man to get things done. 

Author Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorpenelopeharlow

New Book Release ~ Embrace the Spiral by Erin Danzer

Today I am very happy to share with you the next installment of the Spiral Defenders Series by Erin Danzer, EMBRACE THE SPIRAL.

 Eight weeks can change everything.

Ronnie has eight weeks until she becomes a legal adult on Earth and a Spiral Defender on Cira. Eight weeks until her marriage to a man she doesn’t love.

Rick has proven to be a monster. He has eight weeks to complete his father’s last request before gaining the Irradian throne, becoming more and more powerful.

When Will is attacked by an old flame during a training exercise on his home planet, it looks like things are looking up for Ronnie. But the rekindling of that love is thwarted at every turn. Ronnie has a plan that might work—if she can keep Will’s true love out of the dungeon.

Alliances shift as the Spiral falls further into the Irradians’ hands. Ronnie must embrace her destiny to help save the Spiral – even if that means leaving behind the man she loves.

Excerpt:
When the energy faded, Ronnie looked in awe at the destruction she’d just caused. Besides the two dozen bodies strewn all around the yard and beach, a black scorch mark ran like a racing stripe down the middle of the yard, still smoking. Her gaze fell on the shattered sliding door and she cringed. How would she explain that? And then, to her absolute horror, her mom, dad, and brother suddenly appeared where the door had been.

“Veronica, what’s going on? What happened to my door?” Her mom’s voice rose in hysteria. Ronnie sighed and started towards the house, replacing the hilt of her sword in her cargo pocket as she walked. Will fell into step next to her.

“Mom, Dad, I can explain.”

Where to Buy Embrace the Spiral:

        On Amazon


 Amazon, Amazon UK, B&N, Smashwords (iTunes, Sony, Kobo all coming or are available as of this post). 

**SALE!**

If you haven't started this series yet, now is a great time to begin! For July 11, 12, 13 ONLY, both INTO THE SPIRAL (Book 1) and THE SPIRAL REVEALED (Book 2) are ON SALE for #99cents!

You can find the books here:  

Into the Spiral:

Amazon, Amazon UK, B&N, Smashwords, iTunes (also on Kobo and Sony) 
  

 

The Spiral Revealed 

Amazon, Amazon UK, B&N, Smashwords, iTunes (also on Kobo and Sony)

  

About the Author:

Ever since she was small, Erin’s imagination has led her to tell stories and create worlds, including the world of Kalearnia (found in the Spiral Defenders series). Her school notebooks were doodled with pictures and writing notes in the margins beside class notes. No scrap of paper was safe from all of Erin’s notes and creations. But writing wouldn’t pay the bills for a very long time.

Erin spent three summers giving away smiles as she handed out clothes to the working populace of an amusement park. It was the best three summers of her life (also where she met her husband). Since then, Erin has become a mediocre cookie decorator, learned to make a mean pizza in less than two minutes and has sold dresses as well as window dressings. When she isn’t exploring worlds of her own creation, you can find Erin with her nose stuck in the worlds of others, supporting Indie Authors everywhere, hanging out on Facebook or spending time with her kids, husband, and their cat.

Erin loves to hear from her fans! Find her on these social media sites:

Erin’s website: http://www.authorerindanzer.com

Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorErinDanzer

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/erindanzer

Email Erin at: erindanzer@gmail.com 

Erin also is having a giveaway! Check out the Rafflecopter contest below for some great Spiral Defenders prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway