A Shade of Vampire: Spotlight

A Shade of Vampire
by Bella Forrest

Synopsis:
On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake.
A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood.

She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.
An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.

Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince.

Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.

Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

Excerpt:

I’d been meandering along the shore for about an hour when I suddenly sensed that I wasn’t alone. Someone was approaching me from behind. My heart leapt. I was so sure it was Ben, that when a stranger showed up beside me, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

He must have noticed, because a smirk formed on his lips. “Were you expecting someone else, love?”

I eyed him suspiciously, remembering how many times my father had told me not to talk to strangers. I looked him over, taking in his appearance. My eyes widened. I couldn’t find words to describe how fine a man he was. He was almost beautiful. The first thing I took notice of was how his blue eyes were about three shades brighter than any I’d ever seen before. It was such a stark contrast to his pale – almost white – skin and dark hair. Standing beside me, he was easily more than half a foot taller. His height, broad shoulders and lean build reminded me of Ben, but he had a presence that was far more imposing than my best friend’s.

My gaze settled on his face.

I realized that he was inspecting me just as closely as I was him. His eyes on me suddenly made me feel uncomfortably vulnerable. I gave my father’s advice a second thought, but quickly canceled out all notions of heeding to his counsel when I reminded myself that he stopped caring a long time ago.

I straightened to my full height and mustered all the courage I had to keep myself from running away from this stranger.

Big mistake.

The confident smirk didn’t leave his face for even a moment.

“Like what you see?”

“A bit full of yourself, aren’t you?” I scoffed, annoyed by his audacity.

He stepped forward, closer to me, and leaned his head toward mine.

“Don’t I have the right to be?”

He knew he looked good and wasn’t about to act like he didn’t.

“Whatever,” was my oh-so-brilliant comeback.

My shoulders sagged with defeat as I took a step back, unsettled by how close he was now. I rolled my eyes and did a one-eighty, not quite in the mood to play whatever game this stranger was proposing.

I would soon realize that I was about to play his game whether I liked it or not.

He grabbed my arm and turned my body to face him. This motion alone made every single internal alarm I had within me go off in a frenzy.

This man was danger and I knew it. I tried to wriggle away from his touch, but I was no match for his strength.

“Tell me your name,” he commanded.

I was about to refuse, but was horrified to find myself blurting out my name in response.

“Sofia Claremont.”

As soon as I revealed my name, his eyes lit up with a kind of sinister approval. Then he reached for my face and traced his thumb over my jaw line.

“Hello, Sofia Claremont. You’re one stupid girl for taking a walk alone at this time of night. You never know what kind of evil a pretty little thing like you could happen to come by.”

I found myself wondering exactly what kind of evil he was. But I was suddenly overcome by the sensations that were surrounding me. My senses took in everything at once. I heard the waves, felt the sand, smelled the ocean salt, tasted the flavor of cherry and saw the stranger’s manic appearance as he stuck a needle to my neck. The effect was instant. I was barely able to gasp, much less scream. I went from sensing everything to sensing absolutely nothing.

My last conscious thought was that I may never see Ben again.

Add A Shade of Vampire on Goodreads

You can also get an exclusive FREE “sneak preview” of the first 6 chapters by clicking HERE.

Author Bio:

I've been telling stories pretty much since I could talk. Instead of having my parents read me bed-time stories, I would prefer to share with them my own made up tales. As I grew older, I developed a passion for the fantasy genre. I’m an avid reader and a hopeless Potterhead.

If you sign up for personal email updates from me here: www.forrestbooks.com, you'll be the first to hear about my new releases.

Like on Facebook & Follow on Twitter

Buy from Amazon.com:

Paperback / Kindle

Buy from Amazon.co.uk:

Paperback / Kindle

Thanks so much for sharing the excerpt, Bella! All the best in getting 'A Shade of Vampire' into the hands of readers.

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

I don't often post reviews of books that I got from the library or that I bought on my own, but this one just HAD to be posted because of how much I loved it. Now, months after I read 'Unspoken', I FINALLY had room in my blog schedule to post the review:

Release Date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Pages: 373
Series: The Lynburn Legacy #1
Review Source: eBook from library

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed the Demon’s Lexicon books by Sarah Rees Brennan, so this one was always on my TBR list. Then I kept hearing such great things about ‘Unspoken’, and I was itching to get my hands on it. My library finally got the ebook, and I waited (im)patiently for my digital hold to come in. I dropped everything to read ‘Unspoken’, and I’m so glad I did. It rocketed to the top of my favourites of 2012 list, and also to the top of the “holy crap, nooo, why do we have to wait for the next book?!” list.

I think what is so fabulous about this book is that Sarah has taken so many elements that I usually loathe, and has made me love them. How does she do this?! First we have the ultra special magical connection between our heroine and hero. Then we have the makings of a love triangle. Then we have a hero who is incredibly codependent. It all sounds disastrous, and yet I adored it. The connection between Jared and Kami feels incredibly precious, and reading about the two of them and seeing how they’ve been connected all their lives explains a lot about why these two are the way they are. Jared is completely that tortured wannabe bad boy, and yet as we delve into his thoughts we see all the different angles of him. The “love triangle” isn’t wholly developed, but what exists of it really fits the book, and especially makes sense as you delve closer to the end of the book.

Beyond these elements that have been turned on their heads into something fabulous, ‘Unspoken’ has a lot of other things going for it as well. It’s a gothic mystery, with an amazing setting of Sorry-in-the-Vale in the Cotswolds, England. The setting is so incredibly atmospheric, it just works perfectly for the story. The book also has an amazing protagonist in Kami, a spunky journalist who is more than a little bit Veronica Mars-like (you can tell that Sarah is a fan of the show, which is awesome!). If you’ve read Sarah Rees Brennan before then you know that she’s an expert at angst that will make you flail around and cry, but she’s also fabulous at quirky humour. I loved the humourous tone that ‘Unspoken’ had, and the unique characters that filled the pages. There’s also an intensely romantic tone to the story, despite it not featuring any actual romantic relationships. What it does feature amazingly well is friendship and family. I love romance, but too often I think friends and family get the shaft when it comes to YA.

It’s hard to describe exactly what it so compelling about this book, but hopefully I’ve been able to explain just a little bit of why I loved it so much. All of these great aspects I’ve pointed out come together seamlessly in a book that will fill you with all kinds of emotion. I read a lot of books, but this is one of the best examples of a paranormal mystery I’ve read in a long time, and it also features one of the best relationships that I’ve read in a long time. I am anxiously awaiting the second book, 'Untold', which is set to release around September 2013.

The Cover:
I LOVE it, so I'm super disappointed that the covers will be changing.

Rating:
[5/5]

Find Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

Dear Cassie Blog Tour: Promotion & Giveaway

DEAR CASSIE by Lisa Burstein
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 352

Summary:
What if the last place you should fall in love is the first place that you do?

You’d think getting sent to Turning Pines Wilderness Camp for a month-long rehabilitation “retreat” and being forced to re-live it in this journal would be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.

You’d be wrong.

There’s the reason I was sent to Turning Pines in the first place: I got arrested. On prom night. With my two best friends, who I haven’t talked to since and probably never will again. And then there’s the real reason I was sent here. The thing I can’t talk about with the guy I can’t even think about.

What if the moment you’ve closed yourself off is the moment you start to break open?

But there’s this guy here. Ben. And the more I swear he won’t—he can’t—the deeper under my skin he’s getting. After the thing that happened, I promised I’d never fall for another boy’s lies.

Find 'Dear Cassie' on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, & Goodreads

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University and is glad to finally have it be worth more than the paper it was printed on. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats.

She wrote her first story when she was in second grade. It was a Thanksgiving tale from the point of view of the turkey from freezer to oven to plate. It was scandalous.

Where you can find her:
Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

GIVEAWAY

Giveaway is for 1 paperback (open US only) and 1 eBook (open internationally). See the Rafflecopter for details, and fill it in to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find the full tour schedule HERE.

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Release Date: February 5, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Pages: 328
Series: Heist Society #3
Review Source: For review from Hachette Book Group Canada (@HBGCanada)

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it's that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting--or stealing--whatever they want. No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale's family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother's billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there's no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won't let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother's will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company's fortune. So instead of being the heir--this time, Hale might be the mark. Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she's willing to save her boyfriend's company if it means losing the boy.

My Thoughts:
The ‘Heist Society’ books are so much fun, and ‘Perfect Scoundrels’ is no exception. The book features a great combination of action, humour, and family. I absolutely love the family centredness of these books, especially because the message is that you can make your own family, a different kind that isn’t always related by blood. These books are also a lot of fun because the third person narration allows for some misdirection and leaving the audience in the dark at certain points. They remind me of heist films where you see the pieces falling into place but you don’t fully understand the con until that “aha!” moment.

I liked that ‘Perfect Scoundrels’ explores more of Hale’s backstory and that we got to see the world he comes from. There was also a couple of fun moments set in Canada (the Maritimes and Niagara Falls, respectively), which is always a nice surprise. I won’t say much about the plot, because I think it’s fun to delve in and discover it for yourself, but needless to say this was another great adventure. I liked that it was a bit different from the two previous books in the type of job they had to pull off.

One thing I should mention is that these books are great whether you’re a pre-teen or whether you’re an adult. The content is ‘family friendly’, making them accessible for younger people, but they don’t talk down to teens either. They’re fresh and interesting, and layered enough for people of all ages to enjoy them. I feel like Ally Carter’s books are great because of these facts, and I also see them as a nice break from books that are darker in nature.

Overall this was an enjoyable read featuring characters I’ve grown to love.

The Cover:
It's cute, I like how they've kept with the theme.

Rating:
[4/5]

Find Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.

Jenny Miller on The Decision to Self-Publish + Giveaway

I'm so pleased so welcome author Jenny Miller to Book Labyrinth today. Her debut novel, Asylum, is being released today (congrats, Jenny!!). Read on to hear about Jenny's decision to go the self-publishing route, and for a chance to win an ecopy of Asylum.

Jenny Miller grew up in Seattle, writing sappy (illustrated!) novels for her obliging parents. She studied creative writing at the University of Washington and holds a Masters in Teaching from Seattle University. She still lives in the Emerald City with her husband, two kids, and a dog who thinks he’s a cat. ASYLUM is her first novel.
You can find her at Jennyemiller.com and her food and humor blog RainyDayGal.com.

Follow Jenny on Twitter & Facebook

The Decision to Self-Publish

by Jenny E. Miller

Like every author, I've had my fair share of rejections. It doesn't matter who rejects you or how the letter is written; it still feels like a punch to the gut. You've put in so much time and effort, not only toward your book, but also into each and every query letter you've written. You make it personal. You make it intriguing. You make your book sound so enthralling that no one would ever put it down. You send out each carefully written letter. Then you wait and wait to hear back. And then it's sorry, this just isn't for us. Try someone else.

I received (what would come to be) my final rejection email at the gym. I was going round and round on the elliptical machine, half-watching the Today show, when an email popped up. It read like all the rest. Sorry, Ms. Miller. Your book sounds great, but not for us. Not at this time. I burst into tears and nearly fell off the machine. I was in a fragile emotional state already (my grandmother had just passed), and this letter was the final blow. I was devastated.

It took me about a month to pick myself up. It was a month spent wallowing, immersing myself in motherhood (those damn cupcakes were perfect), not touching my book and doing anything to distract myself from the 237 pages that might never find a publisher. I was beat down, and tired of putting my fate into someone else's hands. That's when my husband brought up self-publishing again, for the zillionth time. But this time, I didn't brush it off immediately. I thought about it. And that afternoon, instead of folding laundry (over-perfectly), I started shopping for editors.

In the course of two months my book has been edited, polished and formatted. A cover has been designed, and all the channels have been aligned for it to be put up for sale. Compare that with the average of two years a book spends with a publisher before its put on the market. Two years! And in a month on the shelf if it doesn’t sell well, it could be yanked right off.

The downside of self-publishing? I had to pay the editor and cover designer out of pocket. I have to do all the marketing and advertising myself. But with a good launch, the power of social networking, and a 70% kickback from Amazon, I’ll make that money back and (hopefully!) more.

No one gets into writing to be a millionaire. We’re lucky if we can even cover our bills on writing alone. To have your work out there—being able to be read by anyone and everyone—is the ultimate goal. My fate is finally in my hands, and as a writer, that’s the best thing I can ask for.

June Foster’s summer is limping along. Her life on a 1950′s farm in eastern Washington is boring–full of milking cows, picking apricots and tending to the chicken coops. Her only friends are her record player and her books. But when gorgeous, turquoise-eyed Frank falls into her world, her life becomes anything but ordinary.

June falls for Frank hard and fast–he’s beautiful, impossibly strong, and capable of things ordinary humans are not. But she’s wary about his father Jonas, a creepy man with an agenda. She should be. Suddenly June is deathly ill, falling in and out of consciousness. When she recovers, June and Frank discover Jonas’s deadly plans for her–and June takes revenge.

Convicted of murder, declared insane and sentenced to life at Washington Pines Sanitarium, June is stuck. Jonas’s plans are reaching her beyond the grave, and she suspects that there’s a lot more going on in the sanitarium than group therapy and electric shocks. Something evil has followed her here, or maybe it was waiting for her all along. If Frank doesn’t break her out soon, she’ll lose her mind–and her life.

Add Asylum to Goodreads

Buy the book on Amazon in paperback or for Kindle.

GIVEAWAY

Jenny is generously providing 1 ebook copy of 'Asylum' for giveaway.

Open internationally. Runs until April 2 at 12:00 am EST.

To enter please fill out THIS FORM.

The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake: Excerpt & Giveaway

I'm a normal teenager. I have a normal teenage life with normal teenage problems. The summer is my heaven. I live with my mom during the summer months. We stay in her tiny condo in Jacksonville, Florida. My parents split up when I was little. I'm not sure why. My mom never talks about it. Whatever it was, it was bad enough to make my mom pack me up in the middle of the night when I was four years old and run to my Gran's condo. My mom got the condo after Gran died. From that time on all I had known my entire life was beach life. Until four years ago. Until my uncle found me.

Add 'The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake' by Mary Parker on Goodreads.

EXCERPT

Because of the excerpt length I've loaded the document into Scribd. You can read it in the frame below, or click here.

The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake Excerpt

Mary Parker is an award winning writer and speaker. Born into a theatrical family, she is comfortable on the stage. While still in elementary school she appeared in a regional stage production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in the pivotal role of Imogene Herdman. While still in high school she was cast in the iconic role of Mary Warren in The Crucible, and she created the role of the American socialite, Hetty Merton in the world premier stage production of Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray.

Mary tried college, but after experimenting with degree programs in art, English, broadcast media and marketing – and ending up bored out of her skull – she determined college was not her calling. At least not for the foreseeable future.

Waiting tables for the rest of her life didn’t appeal to her either.

A story-teller at heart, Mary turned her attention to her first love – books. The result is her critically-acclaimed debut novel, The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake.

Connect with Mary online at:
www.facebook.com/AuthorMaryParker
www.MaryParker.info
www.WordCrafts.net

Buy The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake in Trade Paperback:
Amazon / Books-A-Million

Buy The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake in eBook:
Amazon Kindle / BN Nook / Sony eReader / Kobo

GIVEAWAY

Going to keep this one simple: fill out THIS FORM and I'll pick the winners through random.org

2 winners will receive an eBook copy of 'The Awakening of Leeowyn Blake' from the publisher. Open internationally. Runs until 3/30 at 12 am EST.

Angel Arias new cover reveal + song

You may remember that I posted about how the Night Creatures series is being released internationally.

You may also remember that licencing the original covers from the publisher was costing a ton of money. Since then, Marianne and the cover artist, Jarek Kubicki, have come to an agreement, and the international releases will now feature covers much closer to the original versions:

In other exciting news, Yunyu has recorded a song about 'Angel Arias', and she has a message for bloggers:

Dear Baby Bats, 

Hi, I am Yunyu. Like you, I've enjoyed traversing the dark landscapes of Marianne's world of Night Creatures and Angel Arias was written as a Siren call for the world of Ixion (In our world you may call it a tourist ad :) ) 

The best bit about creating the song Angel Arias was the amount of creative freedom that was allowed (Marianne is very cool like that!). So I made a tune that was sort of Middle Eastern meets Euro Rave (Grave sounded like that sort of place in my head!) Here’s a sneak peek http://youtu.be/Y07iogdHqvQ 

So there it be! 

I've also created an ongoing series of songs made of twisted fairy tales called TWISTED TALES. The songs can be heard here: yunyu.com.au/video 

Feel free to subscribe to the mailing list for future updates as well. Signups include a FREE MP3 as well.
yunyu.com.au/mailing-list 

Enjoy! Till we meet again Baby Bats! 

Your Royal Madness
Yunyu

Waiting on Wednesday (15)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where bloggers feature upcoming book releases that they're looking forward to.

This week I'm eagerly anticipating...

Golden

by Jessi Kirby

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: May 14, 2013

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Love, tragedy, and mystery converge in this compelling novel from “an author to watch” (Booklist).

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.

Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.

Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

Add it on Goodreads.

I enjoyed both of Jessi Kirby's other books, so this one was automatically added to my TBR list. I love the sound of the mystery and unrequited crush aspects.

When the Silence Ends by Jade Kerrion (Excerpt)

When you choose your friends, you also choose your enemies.

Seventeen-year old Dee wants nothing more than to help her twin brother, Dum, break free from the trauma in their childhood and speak again, but the only person who can help Dum is the alpha empath, Danyael Sabre, whom the U.S. government considers a terrorist and traitor.

The search for Danyael will lead Dee and Dum from the sheltered protection of the Mutant Affairs Council and into the violent, gang-controlled heart of Anacostia. Ensnared by Danyael’s complicated network of friends and enemies, Dee makes her stand in a political and social war that she is ill equipped to fight. What can one human, armed only with her wits and pepper spray, do against the super-powered mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution?

America, nevertheless, is ripe for transformation. Exhausted by decades of belligerence between humans and their genetic derivatives–the clones, in vitros, and mutants–society is on the verge of falling apart or growing up. Dee, with her sassy attitude and smart mouth, is the unwitting pebble that starts the avalanche of change. In her quest to help her brother become normal, Dee will finally learn what it means to be extraordinary.

Add 'When the Silence Ends' to Goodreads

Author’s note: Dee is an ordinary human surrounded by extraordinary people, including her brother Dum who is an empath, and their friend Jessica, a telepath and telekinetic. In a world where the lines are clearly drawn between what’s normal and what’s not, Dee will find that there is still lots of room for ordinary to grow into extraordinary. I hope you enjoy this excerpt that showcases the relationship between Dee, Dum, and Jessica…

EXCERPT:

Dee stalked over to her brother. For a long, silent moment, she stared into his familiar face as he bopped along to whatever music was blasting from his iPod. He did not even look at her. When had he become a stranger? She smacked him on the side of his head and remained unmoved when he raised his aggrieved gaze to her. “Are you saying that this place is okay for you?” she asked, raising her voice so that he could hear her through his ear pods.

He nodded.

“Are you sure about that? We’re moving here so that you can train with Danyael. I’d hate for you to feel inconvenienced about leaving the comfort and protection of the council for this dump.”

He frowned, his eyebrows drawing together, and turned away.

All right, so he understood sarcasm. How was she supposed to argue with a person who would not argue back, but who could hurt her just by walking away? Dee was still scowling and blinking back the tears from her eyes when Jessica returned with an armful of cleaning supplies. Dee ignored Jessica’s compassionate glance. “I thought Danyael said he worked all day. I didn’t think he would be around.”

“He isn’t.”

“You broke into his apartment?”

Jessica put the cleaning supplies on the grimy countertop in the kitchen. She tapped the side of her head. “I flipped the lock on his door. I did tell him, though.”

“Before or after you broke in?”

Jessica cocked her head to the side. “Why are you so uptight about stuff like that?”

“Because when I do it, I run the risk of being caught and labeled a criminal. You do it, and nobody cares.”

“Sure, they care. They just don’t notice.”

“And you don’t care?”

“Look, I got his permission. Who cares if I got it a microsecond before or after I flipped the lock? You need to chill out.” Jessica snatched up a spray bottle and a rag, and stomped off toward the bathroom.

With a sponge in hand and her teeth clenched, Dee scrubbed out the dirty brown spots on the kitchen counter. Jeez, I’m becoming my mother. Except that Mom had never been a nag. When she wasn’t sunk in depression, Mom had been cool, even though she had been a mutant. Dee cast a narrow-eyed glare at her brother, who was washing down the windows. Mom had not been an alpha mutant; she had not possessed the prerequisite weirdness that accompanied most alpha mutants.

I am not weird. Jessica’s irate voice snapped through her head.

Dee hurled the sponge into the sink and stalked into the bathroom. For a long and silent moment, she stared at the rag, apparently under the control of an invisible hand, as it scrubbed down the shower tiles. She looked back at Jessica who sat on the closed lid of the toilet bowl. “And that’s not weird?”

“No, it’s who I am, and I don’t like being called ‘weird.’”

“Fine, but that—” She pointed at the hardworking rag. “—is not normal.”

“What’s not normal is how gross the shower is. I’m not stepping in there to scrub it out.”

Dee’s passing glance at the shower became a hard look, and she chuckled. “Is that green thing in the corner alive?”

“Yes, and it’s really close to sentient thought. In a year, it might be able to talk.”

Unlike Dum.

Jessica’s gaze darted to Dum and then flashed back to Dee. She switched to a telepathic conversation. He can talk, you know. I asked Danyael. He said there wasn’t anything wrong with Dum physically.

I know. The problem is just in Dum’s head. What else did Danyael tell you about my brother?

Jessica shrugged. If you want to know, you can ask Danyael directly. It’s not like it’s a secret.

Who knew what other telepathic and empathic conversations were taking place around her? It sucked to be human in a world dominated by super-powered alpha mutants, and worse, she could do nothing about it.

You can purchase 'When the Silence Ends' at the following links:
Ebooks: Amazon / Amazon UK
Paperbacks: Amazon / Amazon UK

Jade Kerrion unites cutting-edge science and bioethics with fast-paced action in her award-winning Double Helix series. Perfection Unleashed and its sequels, Perfect Betrayal and Perfect Weapon, have been described as “a breakout piece of science fiction” and drawn rave reviews for their originality and vision. Her latest novel, When the Silence Ends, is a Young Adult spinoff the Double Helix series. She is also the author of Earth-Sim, a whimsical and compelling view of Earth’s history through the eyes of the two students assigned to manage our planet.

Connect with Jade Kerrion: Blog / Facebook / Twitter

You can check out the full blog tour HERE, where you'll find guest posts, interviews, reviews, and giveaways. The tour for 'When the Silence Ends' is running from March 4 - 29.

Game. Set. Match. #OBXers Promo

Nestled along the coastline of North Carolina, the Outer Banks Tennis Academy is the best elite tennis training facility in the world. Head Coach, Dominic Kingston has assembled some of the finest talent in the sport. From the game's biggest stars to athletes scraping and clawing to achieve their dreams, OBX is full of ego, drama and romance. Only the strong survive in this pressure cooker of competition, on and off the court.

Penny Harrison, the biggest rising star in tennis, is determined to win the French Open and beat her rival, the world’s number one player, Zina Lutrova. There’s just one problem, the only person who’s ever been able to shake her laser-like focus is her new training partner. Alex Russell, tennis’s resident bad boy, is at OBX recovering from a knee injury suffered after he crashed his motorcycle (with an Aussie supermodel on the back). He's hoping to regain his former place at the top of men’s tennis and Penny’s heart, while he’s at it.

Tennis is all Jasmine Randazzo has ever known. Her parents have seven Grand Slam championships between them and she’s desperate to live up to their legacy. Her best friend is Teddy Harrison, Penny’s twin brother, and that’s all they’ve ever been, friends. Then one stupid, alcohol-laced kiss makes everything super awkward just as she as she starts prepping for the biggest junior tournament of the year, the Outer Banks Classic.

The Classic is what draws Indiana Gaffney out of the hole she crawled into after her mom’s death. Even though she’s new to OBX, a win at the Classic is definitely possible. She has a big serve and killer forehand, but the rest of her game isn’t quite up to scratch and it doesn’t help that Jasmine Randazzo and her little minions are stuck-up bitches or that Jack Harrison, Penny’s agent and oldest brother, is too hot for words, not to mention way too old for her.

Who will rise? Who will fall?

Told from rotating points of view, GAME. SET. MATCH. is a 'new adult' novel about three girls with one goal: to be the best tennis player in the world.

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Despite the fact that I, personally, am inept at sports, I love sports books and sports movies. You probably also know that I love New Adult books. Put the two together?! I'm sold! I'm so excited to check out 'Game. Set. Match' by Jennifer Iacopelli once it releases on May 1, so in the meantime I've joined like-minded individuals to become part of the #OBXers.

In 'Game. Set. Match.' the #OBXers are the students who attend the Outer Banks Tennis Academy. Here in the real world the #OBXers are bloggers and book lovers who want to promote Jennifer's book. Even better? The more you promote the book, the more opportunity you have to receive some awesome 'Game. Set. Match' swag.

After the book's release Jennifer will be accepting even more members into the #OBXer ranks. You can find out all about the #OBXers HERE on Jennifer's site.