Book Blitz+Giveaway: Happily Ever Alpha (Paranormal Romance Anthology)

I'm really excited to be a part of this particular book blitz, because there's nothing I love more than a well written, steamy, swoon-worthy alpha-romance with a tinge of the supernatural and gorgeous couples with electric chemistry burning up the pages. Today, I'm lucky enough to share with you a little glimpse into the bones of Taken by the Beast by Kressley & Hamilton and a super steamy tantalizing excerpt from it.

But first, let me tell you a little bit more about the book...

Happily Ever Alpha Paranormal Romance Boxed Set: Sexy Shifters, Wickedly Cool Witches, Werewolves, Vampires, Gargoyles, Demons, Psychics, & More!

Publication date: January 26th 2016

Genres: Paranormal Romance

When Once Upon A Time Isn’t Enough

Happily Ever Alpha – From Twenty-Two NY Times, USA Today, and Amazon Bestselling Authors

What’s Inside:

*TWENTY-ONE FULL-LENGTH NOVELS AND NOVELLAS! NO CLIFFHANGERS!*

Professionally Edited and Formatted.

Limited Edition. Sale Ends Soon!

HAPPILY EVER ALPHA

Fourteen HOT paranormal alpha-male romances and six additional kick-ass paranormal romance tales bundled together in one of the steamiest collections to date!

With twenty-one novels and novellas and over one million seductive words of fiction, this paranormal romance boxed set will leave you Happily Ever Alpha.

These hot heroes and tough as nails heroines will steal your heart and make your beg for more.

How about a little Heat to keep you warm this Winter?

Our first tagline was so hot, Amazon wouldn’t let us publish it here, but you can find that same heat burning inside the pages of this set. Treat yourself to a varied collection of hot, steamy, and passionate paranormal tales. This satisfying collection has something to excite all readers.

With sexy shifters, hot vampires, wickedly cool witches, and so much more, this boxed set will has titles that will either warm you up or set you on fire—Take your pick!

For a limited time, you can enjoy books from today’s NY Times, USA Today, and Amazon Bestselling authors!

When purchased separately, these books cost over $50! But they are yours today for less than $1.

Every selection in this rare, limited edition paranormal romance boxed set are full-length novels and novellas!

Save over $50! This set is only available at this price for a limited time, so order your copy before it’s gone!

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Taken by the Beast is a steamy, suspenseful spin on the age old tale of Beauty and the Beast. 

It follows former plus sized supermodel Charisse as she travels back to her hometown and finds that it isn’t quite the place she remembers. 

What was once an idyllic safe space has now turned into something darker and much more dangerous.

But with darkness, comes desire…

When she meets mysterious alpha male Abram, he unleashes a passion inside of Charisse that she never knew she had. But she isn’t the only one with something to unleash. Abram has a secret as well. There’s a beast living inside of him that will take Charisse as his own or tear her apart trying. 

Don’t miss this sexy, scintillating take on a tale as old as time. 

TAKEN BY THE BEAST.

With curves and sass to spare, Ashley Graham makes the perfect Charisse.

[Insert Picture Here]

And with a sex appeal that could only be described as monstrous, Joe Manganiello simply sizzles as the beastly Abram.

[Insert Picture Here]

Now try to keep cool as you sink your teeth into this mouthwatering morsel of TAKEN BY THE BEAST!

Book Excerpt for Taken By The Beast

by Kressley & Hamilton

I reared back to slap him with my other hand, but he grabbed my wrist. Now both my hands were captive, and in that instant, we were nearly nose-to-nose, breathing in the same air—a musky air that had been permeated by his scent. 

“Let go,” I said, hating the way both my breathing and voice had shifted. 

His gaze bore into mine, as though he could see something deep inside of me, something I couldn’t even see myself. Or, rather, something I didn’t want to admit. Something that went against everything I believed and all of who I thought I was.

“Is that what you want, Ms. Bellamy?” His lips parted. “For me to let go?”

The breath caught in my throat. He inched a fraction closer, closing that last bit of space between us so that his chest pressed against mine. Suddenly, and against my volition, my nipples hardened. My heart jackhammered against my ribcage, and a flush crept up my body, warming every part of me. 

Abram tipped his forehead down so that it rested against my own. “Is that what you want?”

The temperature of the room shifted. The sensation of his hands pinning mine sent sparks through my body. He pushed against me, and the evidence of his arousal stiffened against my thigh. 

I opened my mouth, ready to push him away, to tell him that yes, I wanted him to let me go. But the words did not come. Instead, only a whimper escaped my lips. 

“Not good enough,” he said. 

He dipped his head, his lips brushing warm and rough against my neck, and my knees wobbled so abruptly that I wasn’t sure I could keep myself upright if not for his grip on me. Another damned whimper trickled from my mouth.

“Not near good enough.” His breath was hot against the side of my neck. “See, Miss Bellamy, I’m not sure you want me to let go. I think you want me to take care of you. But if you want that—if you want me to really take care of you—then you have to say it.”

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Blog Tour & Book Review: Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley

Worlds of Ink and Shadow

Lena Coakley

Published: January 5, 2016

Publisher: Amulet Books

Pages: 352

Age Demographic: Young Adult

Amazon | B&N

Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been inseparable. After all, nothing can bond four siblings quite like life in an isolated parsonage out on the moors. Their vivid imaginations lend them escape from their strict upbringing, actually transporting them into their created worlds: the glittering Verdopolis and the romantic and melancholy Gondal. But at what price? As Branwell begins to slip into madness and the sisters feel their real lives slipping away, they must weigh the cost of their powerful imaginations, even as their characters—the brooding Rogue and dashing Duke of Zamorna—refuse to let them go.

Gorgeously written and based on the Brontës’ juvenilia, Worlds of Ink & Shadow brings to life one of history’s most celebrated literary families. 

Book Review

Worlds of Ink and Shadow, is one of the most originally gripping and compelling historical fantasy novels that I've read in a while. I was absolutely floored at how beautifully crafted the fantasy world was created, it was so incredibly stunning that it left me almost breathless. Lena Coakely never ceases to amaze me with her brilliant imaginative storytelling narrations and the sheer beauty of life that she breathes into her characters. My love for the Bronte sister's knows no bounds and to see how well she wove this story together, was such a wonderful note to end the year on. There's such a genuinely magical feel to this book, that I found the moments passing during the time I was reading it will likely not be forgotten any time soon. It will always have a special place in not only my heart, but on my bookshelf as well. 

I feel very lucky and fortunate to have been able to read an advanced copy of this book, as it's just one of those books that becomes so meaningful and somehow starts to shape the way you feel about literature in general and the way you view the world and the people in it around you. I can't recall where I've read this before, but I almost feel certain that I've heard stories told about the Bronte siblings writing to escape the darkness of their own harsh realities they each had to face either together or on their own. Whispers of escaping into their own rich, dark, and intriguing fantasy worlds like Verdopolis (the very one that Lena Coakely explores in Worlds of Ink and Shadow) and other's such as, Gondal, Angria, etc. The depth of inspiration drawn from such dark realties and experiences from the lives of the Bronte siblings, is wonderfully compelling and such a magical part of why I love this book so much. Even though, it's still considered fiction, the way Coakley wove this gorgeous and breathtaking  tale together, pulled at my heartstrings in such a way that it will probably be one of my most memorable reads for a long time to come. 

It was so amazing to see how Charlotte, Emily, Branwell, and Anne so easily crossed over between the worlds of reality and fantasy and immersed themselves into their own creations becoming different and sometimes better versions of themselves. It was just a richly beautiful and vastly different and unique world that was so creatively brought to life by Coakely in such a memorable and enjoyable way. She masterfully weaves the realities of their real world and creative fantasy lands together in such a way that it comes to life so big and so gorgeously on the pages. Dark and beguiling, Worlds of Ink and Shadow, encompasses a dark and deep outlook on their lives and illustrates their adventures and passion for writing in such a way that it ignites and comes to life so beautifully. 

If you are looking for a book that possesses magic and creativity and you are fascinated by the Bronte siblings juvenilia then this is the book that will have you transfixed until the last page. I was absolutely transfixed from start to finish, captivated by this gorgeous book of fantasy tales and reality bent to desire.

And now for the giveaway...

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About the Author

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Lena Coakley was born in Milford, Connecticut and grew up on Long Island. 

In High School, Creative Writing was the only course she ever failed (nothing was ever good enough to hand in!), but, undeterred, she went on to study writing at Sarah Lawrence College. 

She lives in Toronto, Canada. Witchlanders is her debut novel.

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Without A Doubt by Lindsay Paige

I'm excited and thrilled to be sharing yet another New Adult contemporary romance novel with you, by the loved and talented Lindsay Paige. Without A Doubt, is a heart-stopping, gorgeously aching novel of romance, fractured spirits, and two people who fall together and splinter apart in so many questioning ways it's unreal. It's such an emotional journey that will take YOUR FEELS on the ride of a lifetime. 

Without a Doubt
Lindsay Paige
Published: December 18, 2015
Self-Published 
Age Demographic: NA Contemporary
Pages: 336

Emerson Montgomery loves his high school sweetheart, Kelly Price. He’d do anything for her, including agreeing to a break where they’ll see other people as he heads off to college. Struggling with the break and guilt over dating other people, Emerson meets Eva, a beautiful, funny, easygoing, and nosey junior.

Eva Harvey chose this particular college with the hopes of fulfilling her own fairytale and falling in love at the same college where her parents met. She does her best to go with the flow and simply see what happens, but Emerson simultaneously causes her to fall in love while making her second guess everything along the way.

There’s some things you know without a doubt. However, Eva causes Emerson to doubt everything he believes about his future while he causes her to doubt what’s right in front of her. Can they find a way to erase all doubts or will it tear them apart in the process?

Goodreads * Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo * iTunes

Are you a reviewer?
You can request a review copy of Without a Doubt here!

—

EXCERPT FROM WITHOUT A DOUBT

WRITTEN BY LINDSAY PAIGE

“You fixed breakfast?”

Eva glances over her shoulder before doing a double take. “Uh, yeah. Shouldn’t you be getting dressed?”

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I ask teasingly.

“As uncomfortable as you would be if I walked into the room wearing only a towel.” She picks up her sandwich, takes a bite, and then faces me. “You can’t have yours until you put on clothes.”

I laugh. “Okay, okay.”

By the time I change and make it back to the kitchen, Eva is walking past me to take her own shower. I eat my sandwich and then start getting my books together. I’m grabbing a pen from the end table in the living room when I hear, “Emerson.” I lift my head to see Eva leaning against the threshold of the hallway. A white towel is wrapped around her body and her hair. I swallow hard at the sight of her. Ample cleavage looks strained from underneath the towel, one of her legs is showing from the hip down thanks to her not having the towel completely wrapped around her, and her damp skin shines.

“Just wanted to prove a point,” she says before turning and walking to my bedroom.

“Feel free to prove points more often,” I call after her, causing her to laugh.

About the Author

Lindsay Paige is the author of multiple Young Adult, New Adult, and Sports romances. She also coauthors sports romances with Mary Smith. Along with writing, she loves reading, watching hockey, especially the Pittsburgh Penguins, and finding funny terrible puns and recipes on Pinterest. All the while, she is also focused on completing college.

Lindsay resides in North Carolina and is inspired by the world around her and the people in it. She is currently working on numerous solo works and a couple of projects with coauthor Mary Smith as well.

Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter

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Book Blitz+Giveaway: Insanity Series (Books 1-3) by Cameron Jace

Insanity
Cameron Jace
(The Complete Books 1-3)
Published: October 28, 2015 
Publisher: Storykiller Books
Age Demographic: New Adult Fantasy
Pages: 882

Hannibal Meets Alice in Wonderland in this fantasy page-turning thriller.

After accidentally killing everyone in her class, Alice Wonder becomes a patient in the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum. No one doubts her insanity. All but a hookah-smoking professor named Carter Pillar who believes he can prove her sanity by decoding Lewis Carroll’s paintings, photographs, and finding Wonderland’s real whereabouts.

Professor Caterpillar persuades the asylum that Alice can save lives and catch the Wonderland Monsters now reincarnated in modern day criminals. In order to do so, Alice leads a double life: an Oxford university student by day, a mad girl in an asylum by night. The line between sanity and insanity thins when she meets Jack Diamond, an arrogant college student who believes that nonsense is an actual science.

Larger than life characters, intricate mysteries, engrossing fun, and intriguing historical locations. Insanity will thrill you, makes turns pages, and stay with you forever.

Warning: intended for insane audience only.

Goodreads * Amazon

You can also purchase book 5 – Wonder – today!

BOOK EXCERPT FOR

INSANITY SERIES 

WRITTEN BY CAMERON JACE

Underground Ward, the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum, Oxford

The writing on the wall says it’s January 14. I am not sure what year. I haven’t been sure of many things lately, but I’m wondering if it’s my handwriting I’m looking at.

There is an exquisite-looking key drawn underneath the date. It’s carved with a sharp instrument, probably a broken mirror. I couldn’t have written this. I’m terrified of mirrors. They love to call it Catoptrophobia around here.

Unlike those of the regular patients in the asylum, my room is windowless, stripped down to a single mattress in the middle, a sink, and bucket for peeing—or puking—when necessary. 

The tiles on the floor are black and white squares, like a chessboard. I never step on black. Always white. Again, I’m not sure why.

The walls are smeared with a greasy, pale green everywhere. I wonder if it’s the previous patient’s brains spattered all over from shock therapy.

In the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum, politely known as the Warneford Hospital, the doctors have a fondness for shock therapy. They love watching patients with bulging eyes and shivering limbs begging for relief from the electricity. It makes me question who is really mad here.

It’s been a while since I was sent to shock therapy myself. Dr. Tom Truckle, my supervising physician, said I don’t need it anymore, particularly after I stopped mentioning Wonderland. 

He told me that I used to talk about it all the time; a dangerous place I claim I had been whisked away to, when my elder sister lost me when I was seven.

Truth is, I don’t remember this Wonderland they are talking about. I don’t even know why I am here. My oldest vivid memory is from a week ago. Before that, it’s all a purple haze.

I have only one friend in this asylum. It’s not a doctor or a nurse. And it’s not a human. It doesn’t hate, envy, or point a finger at you. My friend is an orange flower I keep in a pot—a Tiger Lily I can’t live without. I keep it safe next to a small crack in the wall, where a single ray of sun sneaks through for only ten minutes a day. It might not be enough light to grow a flower, but my Tiger Lily is a tough girl.

Each day I save half of the water they give me for my flower. As for me, better thirsty than mad. My orange flower is also my personal rain check for my sanity. If I talk to her and she doesn’t reply, I know I am not hallucinating. If she talks back to me, all kinds of nonsense starts to happen. Insanity prevails. There must be a reason why I am here. It doesn’t mean I will easily give in to such a fate.

“Alice Pleasance Wonder. Are you ready?” The nurse knocks with her electric prod on my steel door. Her name is Waltraud Wagner. She is German. Everything she says sounds like a threat, and she smells like smoke. My fellow mad people say she is a Nazi—that she used to kill her own patients back in Germany. “Get avay vrom za dor. I’m coming in,” she demands.

As I listen to the rattling of her large keychain, my heart pounds in my chest. The turn of the key makes me want to swallow. When the door opens, all I can think of is choking her before she begins to hurt me. Sadly, her neck is too thick for my nimble hands. I stare at her almost-square figure for a moment. Everything about her is four sizes too big. All except her feet, which are as small as mine. My sympathies, little feet.

“Time for your daily ten-minute break upstairs.” She approaches me with a straitjacket, a devilish grin on her face. I never get out. My ward is underground, and I’m only allowed to take my break in another empty ward upstairs where patients love to play soccer.

A big, muscled warden stands behind Waltraud. Thomas Ogier. He is bald, and has an angry-red face and a silver tooth he likes to flash whenever he sees me. His biceps are the size of my head. I have a hard time believing he was ever a four-pound baby.

“Slide your arms into the jacket,” Waltraud demands in her German accent, a cigarette puckered between her lips. “Slow and easy, Alice.” She nods at Warden Ogier, in case I misbehave.

I comply obediently and stretch out my arms for her to do whatever she wants. Waltraud twists my right arm slightly and checks the tattoo on my arm. It’s the only tattoo I have. It’s a handwritten sentence that looks like a thick armband from afar. Waltraud feels the need to read it aloud: “‘I can’t go back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.'” I was told I had written it while still believing in Wonderland. “That Alice in Wonderland has really messed with your head,” she says as she puffs smoke into my face.

The tattoo and Waltraud’s mocking is the least of my concerns right now. I let her tie me up, and while she does, I close my eyes. I imagine I am a sixteenth-century princess, some kind of lucky Cinderella, being squeezed into a corset by my chain-smoking servant in a fairy tale castle above ground, just about to go meet my prince charming. Such imagery always helps me breathe. I once thought that it was hope that saved the day, not sanity. I need to cool down before I begin my grand escape.

About the Author

Cameron Jace is the bestselling author of the Grimm Diaries and Insanity series. A graduate of the college of Architecture, collector of out-of-print books, he is obsessed with the origins of folk tales and the mysterious storytellers who spread them. Three of his books made Amazon's Top 100 Customer Favorites in Kindle 2013 & Amazon's Top 100 kindle list. Cameron lives in California with his girlfriend. When he isn't writing or collecting books, he is playing music.

Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter

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Blog Tour & Author Interview: Truest by Jackie Lee Sommers

"Rescue wears masks, you know. It's why people say it's darkest before the dawn."

*Truest ;; Jackie Lee Sommers*

I'm excited to be a part of this blog tour, for such a compelling, raw, and realistic young adult contemporary romance novel. Jackie Lee Sommers completely puts me away, with the bare bones of this story, the twist thrown towards the end, and the breaking of stereotypes all too commonly associated with young adult literature. I'm lucky to have her with me on the blog today, sharing some insight into what she would love to see more of in YA novels, more on the characters and the concept behind Truest and why she wrote it, and just general things to share. 

But first, I'd love to share a little bit more about the book with you guys. 

Truest
Jackie Lea Sommers
Published: September 1. 2015
Age Demographic: YA Contemporary
Pages: 384

Silas Hart has seriously shaken up Westlin Beck's small-town life. 

Brand new to town, Silas is different than the guys in Green Lake. He's curious, poetic, philosophical, maddening-- and really, really cute. 

But Silas has a sister-- and she has a secret. 

And West has a boyfriend. 

And life in Green Lake is about to change forever.

Truest is a stunning, addictive debut. Romantic, fun, tender, and satisfying, it asks as many questions as it answers.

To purchase Truest by Jackie Lea Sommers please visit:

Amazon * Barnes&Noble

An Interview with the Author

Jackie Lea Sommers

Hi Jackie, thank you for joining me today on the blog, it's nice to have you here. I'm really excited about reading your debut YA novel, Truest. From the synopsis alone, there's an air of mystery to this tender romance novel that has definitely gripped me, can you talk a little bit about that without giving too much of it away?

Thank you for having me here! Yes, while this book has a lot of sweet romance between Westlin, the pastor’s daughter, and Silas, the new guy in town, the mystery in the book surrounds Laurel, Silas’s twin sister, who is battling against a little-known mental disorder. All three teens try to help one another with their individual struggles, but the summer still surprises them.

I know with some authors, they draw inspiration and feeling from personal events and various moments of their lives, was there anything in particular that motivated you when you were writing Truest?

Yes, actually! The mental disorder that Laurel is facing is one that I’ve dealt with at various times in my own life, though at those times, I never knew it had a name. When I learned its name, I knew I would write about it eventually.

It seems that with YA fiction all of those tropes and cliches seem to come along, if there were anything that you could change about the genre or explore more of within the genre what would it be and where would you like to see YA within the next three to five years?

Wow, this is an amazing, deep question! I hope my answer is duly thoughtful. What would I like to see YA look like five years from now? I’d love to see YA fiction continue to embrace the realistic contemporary path. I once read this quote from a fantasy author who said that fantasy literature was exciting and magical and full of color and victory cries, and then he compared real life to paying taxes and white walls and the buzz of the lawnmower. And I just found that quote so faulty. I think that real life has so much magic in it-- and that’s why I love to write realistic contemporary YA, to show that. There are already so many tremendous authors writing contemp in ways that are literary and magical; in five years, I hope there’s even more.

Getting back to the book, Truest, I have just a fun little question for you. If the rights to Truest were ever optioned to become a feature adaptation film and you had the chance to cast the the two main roles in it, who would you choose and why would you chose them?

West would be Emma Watson BECAUSE EMMA WATSON.
Silas would be Grant Gustin from The Flash. He’s tall and cute and a runner. ;-)
Laurel would be played by Elizabeth Olsen; I look at that actress and see Laurel.

Since Truest is your debut novel into the YA market, what have you learned or experience that you think might be helpful to another author that might just be starting out?

I’ve learned just how much work it is, even post-book deal. I guess I had once assumed that all the hard work came before getting the contact, and then after that would be mostly gravy. I couldn’t have been more wrong! The book deal was the starting line to another year of tremendously hard work on Truest. I’m so grateful to my incredible editor at HarperCollins; she pushes me past my own boundaries in such beautiful, thoughtful, brilliant ways. I am so proud of her and so delighted I get to work with her again on my next novel.

Thank you, so much for being on the blog with me today Jackie, I really do appreciate you dropping by and sharing your thoughts and insights into the world of YA and what it's like writing a book for the first time and putting it out there. Is there anything else that you would like to say?


Truest is a labor of love, and the characters you’ll encounter are so real and dear to me. I hope you’ll fall in love with them too.

Spotted: A Super Awesome Giveaway

One signed and annotated hardcover of Truest

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About the Author

Website * Twitter * Facebook

Jackie Lea Sommers lives and loves and writes in Minnesota, where the people are nice and the Os are long. She is the 2013 winner of the Katherine Paterson Prize. 

She dislikes OCD, horcruxes, and Minnesota winters. She likes book boyfriends, cranky teenagers, and Minnesota springs. 

Truest is her first novel.

Don't forget to visit Jackie on Goodreads.

#Friday Reveal: Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1) by Jennifer Anne Davis

Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!

This week, we are revealing the cover for

Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)
by Jennifer Anne Davis 

an upcoming Month9Books Title!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

The people of Nelebek live in fear of persecution from the evil Morlet, who reigns with a dark and destructive magic. The kingdom’s only hope lies with the Order of the Krigers—twelve warriors with mysterious powers linked to magical weapons.

For over a century, Morlet has been annihilating the Order, picking them off one by one. Eleven Krigers have been hunted down, tortured, and imprisoned in his dungeon. Now, only one remains.

Sixteen-year-old Kaia survives by keeping her head down and minding her own business. But when she finds herself in the middle of a public execution where the mysterious Morlet is in attendance, an odd compulsion she can’t resist comes over her.

Kaia looks into Morlet’s eyes.

Soon, an ancient power awakens and Kaia can no more blend into the scenery. Will she heed the call of the Krigers or will Morlet’s dark magic destroy the last of the Order?

Fans of GRACELING and THE GIRL OF FIRE AND THORNS will enjoy RISE, book one in the RISE OF THE KRIGERS series from international bestselling author Jennifer Anne Davis.

Rise (The Order of the Krigers #1)
by Jennifer Anne Davis
Publication Date: May 17, 2016
Publisher: Month9Books

Available for Pre-Order:
AMAZON

  

About the Author

Jennifer Anne Davis graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. Afterwards, she married her best friend and high school sweetheart. Jennifer is currently a full-time writer and mother of three young children. Her days are spent living in imaginary worlds and fueling her own kids' creativity.

Connect with the Author: 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Tumblr * Pinterest * Instagram * YouTube

Complete the Rafflecopter for a chance to win!

Title will be sent upon it's release.

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Book Blitz+Giveaway: The Secrets We Keep by Lily Velez

I'm excited to be sharing The Secrets We Kept by the lovely Lily Velez on the blog today. It's an incredibly sweet and endearing Young Adult contemporary romance that will pull at your heartstrings and leave you with ALL THE FEELINGS. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book in the coming year and sink into it. I have a feeling that I'm absolutely going to fall in love with the beautifully broken yet strong Cadence and Sully. I am such a sucker for those childhood sweetheart romance stories and I think this book has ALL OF THAT and SO MUCH MORE!

Just the excerpt alone, has me vying for this book and this couple! Also, don't forget to stick around and enter the giveaway. It's filled with some pretty amazing prizes. 

The Secrets We Kept

Lily Velez

Published: November 8th 2015

Genres: YA Contemporary

One year. That’s how long it’s been since childhood sweethearts Sully Graham and Cadence Gilbertson broke up, since one adoption and one out-of-state move turned their worlds upside down.

Suddenly, Cadence is back in New York City, but something’s different about her. The light in her eyes, the music in her laughter, the warmth in her smile—all of those things have entirely vanished. In their place stand the makings of a girl Sully can’t even begin to recognize, much less understand.

Still, despite the collective history of heartbreak between them, he’s convinced he can win her trust again, and he’s committed to proving the invincibility of their love no matter what it takes.

But Cadence is quietly harboring secrets of her own. Dark secrets. Ugly secrets. Secrets that could break a person. And though broken herself and unbearably lonely, she’s determined to protect Sully from her terrible, biting truths. Even if it means locking him out of her life forever.

The only problem is it seems her heart hasn’t quite received the memo. One glimpse of him is all it takes for her to trip into familiar (and, she’ll admit, addictive) feelings that threaten to all but consume her. Now her biggest fear is that her secrets will begin to slowly unravel one by one…long before Sully’s resolve ever does.

The Secrets We Kept is a moving story about first love, friendship, and forgiveness, and the enduring bonds that forever connect us and give us our strength.

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Excerpt from The Secrets We Keep
by Lily Velez

Sully still remembered the first time that he saw Cadence. It was a sweltering summer that year. Push-cart ice cream vendors roamed the neighborhood blocks like soldiers on patrol, circling playgrounds and community swimming pools. It was common to see people pop open fire hydrants like champagne bottles, children dancing in the shoots of water as miniature rainbows reflected off the asphalt.

Sully and his brother, twelve and ten years old at the time, were living with the Petersons back then along with a tribe of foster siblings. Ol’ Man Peterson was a Vietnam vet with PTSD and a short-fuse temper that exploded so quickly, it was like his personality had a gas leak. Usually, maintaining a thirty-foot distance from the man at all times was insurance against his drunken rampages. His military pedigree had bred in him a no-nonsense adherence to hard work and, where appropriate, hard discipline—both of which were far less easy to escape.

The hard work in particular manifested in the Peterson prison as an endless checklist of chores (otherwise known as “slave labor” in the Spencer Graham lexicon), the completion or lack thereof of which determined whether or not you ate dinner that night. Additionally, each child had to fulfill their assigned task in accordance with certain standards, and as Ol’ Man Peterson was an uncompromising perfectionist, one chore could go through three to five rounds before the man extended a grunt of approval.

The afternoon Cadence arrived, Sully and Spencer were attached to yard work. While the Peterson walk-up sat only a few yards from the curb, which meant there barely existed a lawn between the chain-link fence and the front door, Ol’ Man Peterson preferred his grass cut to an exact height. It was taking painstaking precision to perfect his science.

Spencer lay on his stomach with a see-through ruler to measure the blades of grass. “I think you cut this side of the walkway too short.”

Sully rested a broom atop his shoulders, arms draping over it like a scarecrow. “It’s way too hot to even care, dude.”

“I care because I want to see the new Adam Sandler, movie and I’m not about to get grounded for another weekend.”

“How many times have I been grounded because of you?”

Spencer stood. “Whatever. I’m taking over sweeping duty.” He stretched out a hand to receive the broom, but Sully’s gaze had already shifted to a royal blue SUV parking alongside the curb. A woman emerged from the driver’s side. She came around to open the backseat door closest to the Peterson home. Two ballet flats appeared from under the door, reaching for the street. When the woman closed the door, a girl who looked to be Sully’s age or slightly younger stood with her, hands bracketed to the straps of her backpack and her bottom lip caught softly under her front teeth.

Spencer snapped in Sully’s face. “Hellooo? Earth to Sully.” Sully nodded toward the two, and when Spencer turned and saw them, he said, “Uh oh. Another casualty.”

The woman, clearly the girl’s caseworker, greeted the boys with a cheery “working hard?” before continuing up the walkway with her charge. Sully waited for the girl to look his way, and when she finally did, he offered her a soft, barely-there smile by way of hello. Part greeting, part commiseration. She instantly looked away.

They discovered her name only because she was sharing a bunk-bed with their friend Novah. “Cadence Livingston,” she told them. “She’s been in the system for a few years. She doesn’t talk much. Or at all. Those are the only things I was able to get from her. She’s probably halfway to being a mute.”

“I wish Spencer was a mute,” Sully muttered.

“Ha ha,” Spencer said. “You’re so funny. Absolutely hilarious. How did I get so lucky to have a brother like you?” Then he excused himself to see about fixing the eyesore Sully had made of the front lawn and left Sully fixated on the enigma of the quiet and elusive Cadence Livingston.

About the Author

Lily Velez has been writing stories since she was six years old. Not much has changed since then. She still prefers the written word and her overactive imagination over the ‘real world’ (though to be fair, her stories no longer feature talking dinosaurs). 

A graduate of Rollins College and a Florida native, when she’s not reading or writing, she spends most of her days wrangling up her pit bulls Noah and Luna, planning exciting travel adventures, and nursing her addiction to cheese. All this when she isn’t participating in the extreme sport known as napping. 

You can learn more about Lily and her books at www.lilyvelezbooks.com. Lily’s debut novel, The Secrets We Kept, comes out November 8, 2015.

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