Book Review & Giveaway: The Affiliate by K.A. Linde

Title: The Affiliate

Author: K.A. Linde

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Release Date: September 15, 2015

The Affiliate Synopsis:

On the day of her Presenting, in front of the entire Byern Court, seventeen-year-old Cyrene Strohm's lifelong plans come to fruition when she's chosen as an Affiliate to the Queen.

Or so she thinks. When Cyrene receives a mysterious letter and an unreadable book, she finds nothing is as it seems. Thrust into a world of dangerous political intrigue and deadly magic, Cyrene's position only grows more treacherous when she finds herself drawn to the one man she can never have...

King Edric himself.

Cyrene must decide if love is truly worth the price of freedom. Find out in this first book in USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde’s new Ascension series.

**ARC provided for an honest review

Globug's Review

I've always been a fan of YA Fantasy but for the last couple of years I've been consumed with Contemporary. The gorgeous cover is what first caught my attention. I was a little apprehensive even before the Prologue when I found a Pronunciation Guide was provided. Then Linde opens up a whole new world that captured me completely.

The mystery setup in the Prologue made it hard for me to put the book down. The King has two sons and on his death bed he names the eldest son Edric as his successor but then entrusts the family greatest secrets to only one of the boys but the author doesn't tell us which boy it is. I couldn't help but feel like the author was setting me up to think the younger son  Kael was the keeper of the secrets of a dark magic that had been banished when it was really Edric. My mind would consider this throughout the entire book never fully satisfied with a definitive answer to which brother it was.

Next you have the leading lady Cyrene. At the age of seventeen all of the youth in the kingdom are Presented. The King decides the Class that each will spend the rest of their lives serving in: Frist, Second, or Third Class. I instantly loved Cyrene for her sassy confidence. She is also a true and loyal friend and very loving of her family. She's trained her entire life in hopes to be given a place in First Class. I loved her courage to make fierce choices.

There were a couple of things that made me twinge a little. King Edric and Kael are both drawn to Cyrene which equals a love triangle. The biggest problem with that is the King is married. The Queen happens to be a major winch and honestly that's what helped me not totally hate the King's attraction to Cyrene. Kael is a huge player but he has a charm that appealed to me at times. I was also a little confused with the King's relationship with his Consort. I wasn't sure if they had a sexual relationship.

There were a lot of supporting characters that I enjoyed. I loved the paranormal/fantasy/magical feel of the story. The story is so much bigger than just this one book that I wasn't mad about the cliffhanger. It means that there is so much more to come. I have continued to think back to this story everyday since finishing it which is a huge tell for how much I enjoyed it.

K.A. Linde Bio:

USA Today bestselling author K.A. Linde is the author of The Affiliate, the first book in the Ascension Series.  As a military brat, she traveled the world with her family, imaginary friends, and ever-increasing supply of books.  She has spent much of her life dreaming up new worlds and characters and forcing them into uncomfortable, usually life-threatening scenarios.  After graduating from the University of Georgia with a masters degree in political science, she began spending every waking hour putting those characters onto paper.

When not writing, she spends her time dancing, collecting paperbacks in the hopes of filling a Beauty and the Beast style library one day, traveling to visit her friends who live all over the country, and still reading anything she can get her hands on.  She currently resides in North Carolina with her husband and two puppies, Lucy and Riker, where she is hard at work on her next novel.

 The Affilate Trailer

The Affiliate Pin Board

 

Buy Links:

 Goodreads | Amazon | Itunes

Links:

 Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

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Beautifully Broken by Sherry Soule {Promo Post + Free Book Download + Giveaway}

To promote the new edition of BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN (with more romantic escapades and additional bonus material!) and to give fans of the Spellbound series a chance to read the revised version without having to buy a new copy, I have decided to offer it as a free download at Story Cartel for a limited time.

Blind Study by Jacquelyn Sylvan {Cover Reveal + Book Trailer + Giveaway}

We are excited to bring you the cover reveal for new author Jaquelyn Sylvan. Be sure to check out the trailer made by April Haug of Sim~Sational~Books and don't forget to enter the Giveaway to win one of three ebooks!

Title - Blind Study

Author - Jacquelyn Sylvan

Release Date - August 20th, 2013

Age Group - YA

Genre - Paranormal Thriller

Format - Ebook - Amazon / B&N/ Kobo

Eighteen-year-old Alice has spent the last year of her life in a hospital bed, held hostage by pain from a freak accident. Doctors can neither explain nor cure her condition, and her medical insurance is about to run out. Then, she’s offered one last chance—inclusion in a study for a revolutionary new pain medication. Miraculously, the medication works. There’s only one side effect—vivid, terrifying nightmares, of imprisonment in a pitch-black cell, with no memory of her identity or how she got there. At least, she thinks that’s all they are, until someone from her dreams shows up in real life. When other sinister happenings cross the boundary between dreaming and waking, Alice must choose: return to a half-life of isolation and agony, or confront the malevolent force behind the dreams, before she and those she cares about are trapped in their nightmares forever. But by the time she makes her choice—it may already be too late.

Snake In The Grass (Good Gods #2) by Staci Hart {Cover Reveal + Excerpt}

Title: Snake in the Grass

Series & number: Good Gods Book 2

Expected Publication Date: July 30, 2013

Published By: Promise Socks Publishing

Genre: 18+ Contemporary Romance, Paranormal Romance

It’s Round Two of high stakes Love Connection on Olympus, and this time, everything has changed. For Aphrodite, at least. 

Ares is on deck, and Aphrodite is nervous. As much as she loves to hook up with him, she doesn’t trust him as far as she could throw him, which isn’t very far. He’s a big dude. They haven’t been together in a very long time, but she can’t resist him. She never could. Even when every part of her screamed that he was a liar.

He has a plan to keep Aphrodite, for good this time. He wants to win the game, but he’ll hold back to get what he wants. He’s sitting on a chance that he’s been waiting thousands of years for, and he’ll do what he has to do to convince her to stay forever.

The only thing that could stop him is the secret that he’s been keeping from her for eons. If she finds out, it will destroy everything.

Aphrodite is getting crap for her choice in player, because from the outside, it looks like a match that would never work.

Kat and Dillon have been through a lot, and everything has been to protect their younger siblings. They sacrificed everything to make sure their brother and sister would be safe. The players are tough and loyal.

Fierce and determined. But they become each other’s weakness, even though they fight it, and even though it means danger for Kat and her sister.

If Aphrodite can get the players over their egos long enough to see that they’re meant for each other, this competition will be a piece of cake. One that she’ll eat a la mode, right in front of Ares, if she beats him.

Cover Reveal: Veiled Shadows (the Age Of Alandria #2) by Morgan Wylie

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Author: Morgan Wylie

Expected Publication Date: Fall 2013

Shadows linger where light is obstructed, and truth is veiled. Evil is an untreated disease in the once beautiful realm of Alandria. Kaeleigh is faced with a revelation that she must reconcile. She will decide if discovering the truth is worth the unknown consequences to both herself and her friends. Daegan, the Ferrishyn warrior, is conflicted by more than his loyalties, and is confronted with emotions he doesn’t know how to deal with. A choice must be made. A choice… that may cost him more than he ever wanted to give. The Droch-Shúil—enforcers and servants of the ancient darkness—continue to cast their shadow over Alandria seeking those who can be turned to their side. The magic of The Orchids is growing, but not everyone will survive what is to come. Veiled Shadows is the second installment in The Age of Alandria series: the story of the Sol-lumieth’s quest for freedom of self and the power to battle the evil of the Droch-Shúil.

Shudder (Stitch Trilogy #2) by Samantha Durante {Cover Reveal + Giveaway}

It's only been three days, and already everything is different. Paragon is behind her, but somehow Alessa's life may actually have gotten worse. In a wrenching twist of fate, she traded the safety and companionship of her sister for that of her true love, losing a vital partner she'd counted on for the ordeal ahead. Her comfortable university life is but a distant memory, as she faces the prospect of surviving a bleak winter on the meager remains of a ravaged world. And if she'd thought she'd tasted fear upon seeing a ghost, she was wrong; now she's discovering new depths of terror while being hunted by a deadly virus and a terrifying pack of superhuman creatures thirsting for blood. And then there are the visions. The memory-altering "stitch" unlocked something in Alessa's mind, and now she can't shake the constant flood of alien feelings ransacking her emotions. Haunting memories of an old flame are driving a deep and painful rift into her once-secure relationship. And a series of staggering revelations about the treacherous Engineers - and the bone-chilling deceit shrouding her world's sorry history - will soon leave Alessa reeling... The second installment in the electrifying Stitch Trilogy, Shudder follows Samantha Durante's shocking and innovative debut with a heart-pounding, paranormal-dusted dystopian adventure sure to keep the pages turning.

GIVEAWAY:

Up for grabs is 1 Print Copy of Shudder!

Enter the Giveaway HERE!!!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Samantha Durante lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. The Stitch Trilogy is her debut series. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

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Cover Reveal + {$10 Giftcard Giveaway} The Guardians (More #2) by T.M. Franklin

Series: More #2

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance Fantasy

Publication Date: Fall 2013

Synopsis:

It’s not every day a girl discovers she’s not entirely human and unlocks hidden powers strong enough to make even the First Race take notice. Then again, Ava Michaels is no ordinary girl.

Now, the Race’s Ruling Council wants her under their control, and that’s just the beginning of her problems. Her boyfriend, Caleb Foster, has disappeared—accused of betraying the Race—and Ava herself is implicated in a crime she didn’t commit. 

Clearing their names will mean uncovering a web of deceit and intrigue with Ava woven right in the center. To unravel the strands, she joins forces with some unlikely allies; a Protector who once haunted her nightmares, a young girl with secrets as unexpected as Ava’s, and a group of rebel Guardians who have their own fight against the Council.

Together they stand in a battle to find the truth, bring Caleb home, and secure Ava’s freedom—not to mention save her life.

This is the Followup to:

More By T.M. Franklin 

Published October 24th, 2012

Book #1 Synopsis:

Ava Michaels used to think she was special.

As a child, she fantasized about having magical powers . . . making things happen. But Ava grew up and eventually accepted the fact that her childish dreams were just that, and maybe a normal life wasn't so bad after all.

Now a young college student, Ava meets Caleb Foster, a brilliant and mysterious man who’s supposed to help her pass Physics, but in reality has another mission in mind. What he shows Ava challenges her view of the world, shaking it to its very core.

Because Caleb isn't quite what he seems. In fact, he's not entirely human, and he's not the only one.

Together, the duo faces a threat from an ancient race bound to protect humans, but only after protecting their own secrets—secrets they fear Ava may expose. Fighting to survive, Ava soon learns she's not actually normal . . . she's not even just special.

She's a little bit more.

Up for grabs:

(3) $10 Amazon Gift Cards

(20) Signed bookmarks packages, with bookmarks signed by me (including the brand, spanking new one for The Guardians) as well as Lissa Bryan, Sandi Layne, Angel Lawson, L.V. Lewis, Sherri Hayes, Sophie Davis, K.B. Hoyle, Sydney Logan, & Lindsey Gray

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Plus this short story is free all day Today to celebrate the cover reveal!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

T.M. Franklin started out her career writing non-fiction in a television newsroom. Graduating with a B.A. in Communications specializing in broadcast journalism and production, she worked for nine years as a major market television news producer, and garnered two regional Emmy Awards, before she resigned to be a full-time mom and part-time freelance writer. After writing and unsuccessfully querying a novel that she now admits, “is not that great,” she decided to follow the advice of one of the agents who turned her down—write some more and get better at it. Her first published novel, MORE, was born during National Novel Writing month, a challenge to write a novel in thirty days.

She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Mike, is mom to two boys, Justin and Ryan, and has an enormous black dog named Rocky who’s always lying nearby while she’s writing. Whether he’s soothed by the clicking of the computer keys or just waiting for someone to rub his belly is up for debate.

Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway Fate and Fury (Grey Wolves #6) by Quinn Loftis

Series: Grey Wolves #6

Genere: YA Paranormal

Publication Date: March 15th 2013

Synopsis:

The last few days have been the darkest of Sally’s life.  After experiencing the joy of finding her mate, she now suffers the pain of losing everything she holds dear. Both the Romanian and Serbian packs have been captured, ripping Sally’s soul mate away from her almost as soon as she had found him. Her best friend and the emotional glue that usually holds Sally together, Jacque Pierce, lies writhing in a restless coma, having been put down by Desdemona’s dark magic. Jennifer Adams, the unshakable one, has revealed to her friends and her mate that she is pregnant, but the Fates have marked her unborn baby for death.  Though she rails against the darkness, deep inside Jen knows that Decebel’s baby must die as payment for her own life, and the knowledge is tearing her soul to pieces. Cypher, King of the Warlocks, has claimed Jacque’s mother as his mate and agreed to help Desdemona open a door that would release a horde of demons from beyond the Veil. 

Though her world is crashing down around her, Sally holds out hope.  The Great Luna is not sitting idly by.  She has commanded the Fey council to call upon the packs—all of them.  And though Cypher looks for a way to open the Veil for Desdemona, he struggles to protect Lilly and the wolves at the same time.  Peri, the ever-courageous High Fae, and a contingent of the remaining females of the Romanian and Serbian packs, push on through the rough Carpathian Mountains. Though they are bound to the human realm, they continue to search for a way to cross over to the land of the Fey. Meanwhile, in reluctant obedience to the Great Luna, the Fey council sends representatives to the far corners of the globe, meeting with the pack Alphas.  The Fey must convince the Alphas of every pack to lay aside their petty territorial squabbles and battles of dominance. If they refuse, both the humans and the supernatural races will fall at Mona’s feet. 

Sally holds to a shred of hope. Though Vasile, Decebel, and their pack mates endure the torture of the In-Between, living their worst nightmares over and over, Sally holds. Though she knows that it is only a matter of time before their wolves take over, she holds. Sally knows that if the males die, then so too will their mates who have performed the Blood Rites, including her best friends Jen and Jacque.  Yet she holds. If the males lose themselves to their wolves and turn feral, so too do their mates.  Still she holds. Though Vasile, the strongest Alpha in their history to unite the wolves, is lost beyond the Veil, Sally holds.  Though Decebel, the only other wolf besides Vaile strong enough to unite the packs, suffers beyond the Veil, Sally will hold.  No one is left to unite their race, and defeat Desdemona. Yet Sally still holds.  She holds out hope that the Great Luna will not abandon them, cannot abandon them.  Throughout the centuries, the Great Luna has always provided a gypsy healer to the packs, especially in times of great need. Now Sally is that healer. Sally fears what role she has to play in the defeat of Desdemona, but she will play it.  Though heaven and hell unite against her, she WILL play it.

For too long the supernatural races have lived in separation, warring amongst themselves, allowing trivial power plays and selfish disputes to keep them from uniting. That separation has made them weak. Now, being summoned as a collective force to the same land, will they come?  Will they come in numbers greater than have been seen in centuries? Will they destroy each other and save Mona the trouble, or will they finally unite and fight as one? 

Excerpt:

Jen looked down at the dirt where she had been tracing with her finger and her eyes filled with tears as she saw she had drawn the markings that covered Decebel’s skin.

She turned away from the drawing to face Jacque and took her hand. She held it between her own, rubbing it, probably more for her comfort than Jacque’s. She looked at her red headed friend and her heart ached to see her in such a helpless state. She stared pushing her will at Jacque as if that would be enough to make her open her eyes. If Fane were here he would be going crazy; but he wasn’t. 

None of their mates were, and for the first time she felt alone. She needed Decebel, no matter how much it bothered her to need him, she did. She needed his strength and his comfort. She needed his brooding presence so that she would have someone to be sarcastic with and know he would be able to take it. She needed to hear him tell her she would be okay, their baby would be okay. She needed him to tell her when she needed to shut the hell up, because as her fear rose so did her sarcasm and irritability and she knew none of the others needed that nor deserved it.

“Damn you Desdemona for taking him from me,” she muttered into the cold, dark night. Her eyes narrowed and she looked out into the forest, wishing that the witch would come walking out in all her evil glory. Jen never though she was capable of being cruel, but she decided then and there that she would peel the flesh from Desdemona’s writhing body while she still lived. Was she a little blood thirsty? Maybe, but then the witch had taken her mate, putting him in danger and causing him immeasurable suffering; for that alone she had signed her death warrant, not to mention all the other atrocities she had already committed in her long, meaningless life.

“Jacque where are you?” She asked her friend. “I want you to know that I will take care of you, always Jac. And I’m going to give you hell for lying there on your back while we do all the work.” Jen snorted out laughter to herself as she thought of the remark Jacque would give her to that comment.

Her heart sunk as she continued to watch the steady breathing of Jacque, but no other life was apparent in her. She wanted to run. She wanted to shed the human skin and let her wolf run free, howling at the pain that she felt for the loss of everything. Jen missed her parents and she smiled to herself thinking it was a feeling she had never thought to feel. But when she stood to lose something that she never imagined loosing, she admitted that she didn’t want to lose them, no matter how tense their relationship had always been.

She continued to sit staring into the night, a lone sentry guarding her friends. Part of her was eager to go to sleep hoping to hear from her mate again, but another part of her dreaded hearing the desperation in his usually calm, secure voice. He needed her just as badly as she needed him and here she sat unable to do a damn thing for him. She growled in frustration and gradually all the ugliness of her reality set in and took root in her heart. She bowed her head and closed her eyes giving into the monster of defeat, if only for a little while, she would let herself be weak, let herself fall apart while there was no one to watch.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Quinn lives in beautiful NW Arkansas with her husband, son, Doberman and cat (who thinks she is a ninja in disguise). She is beyond thankful that she has been blessed to be able to write full time and hopes the readers know how much all of their support means to her. Some of her hobbies include reading, exercising, crochet, and spending time with family and friends. She gives all credit of her success to God because he gave her the creative spirit and vivid imagination it takes to write. 

Teaser Tuesday 3/12: Shades Of Darkness (Redemption Series #2) by Melynda Price

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading Anyone can play along! 

Here are the Rules:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

~ As he repositioned himself, she quickly realized that his mouth was the only place his energy didn't travel, and that revelation would have brought her to tears, if his mouth wasn't bringing her somewhere else entirely different. Loc 2988

Wicked Winter Saturdays 3/9: One Wild Night by Amelia James

Baby, it's cold outside! Time to snuggle up with a mug of hot chocolate (or a glass of wine!) and fall into a steamy, sexy book.

Wicked Winter Saturdays is a weekly post we created to share our love of "Adult" books with our fellow readers. If you don't care for steamy books or you are under 18, you may not want to continue reading the review below.

Participating blogs:

The Autumn Review

The Bookish Babe

Insightful Minds Reviews

My Secret Romance Book Reviews

Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Reviews

Sim-Sational-Books. 

Feel free to join in. (let us know so we can add a link to your post that week)

Series: Wild Novella #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Evolved Publishing

Author: Amelia James

Format: ARC Submitted for review by Author

Rating: 5 Stars

Synopsis:

“Let me get this straight.” Jake looked Lucien in the eye. “If you lose this hand, I take your girlfriend home.”

Never anger a gypsy with the powers of hell at his fingertips. But that’s exactly what Jake Marshall does when he wins Lucien’s girlfriend in a drunken poker game. 

The Great War is over and Jake wanders through Eastern Europe looking for adventure, romance or maybe just a good stiff drink. When he meets beautiful, exotic Miranda, he knows she can give him everything he wants... for tonight at least. Jake can’t decide if her magic touch scares him or turns him on. Can he trust her?

Miranda is looking for a way out. She's suffered Lucien’s abuses far too long, and Jake offers the escape she craves. The cocky American is bold, brash and carries too many guns, but she likes that in a man.

They're enjoying the magic between them when Lucien unleashes an ancient curse, forcing Jake and Miranda to flee into the dark black forest while the minions of hell pursue them through endless hours of midnight. And the constant erotic distractions between the two only make matters worse. Jake can only fight for so long, and Miranda’s powers are pushed to the limit. She can break the curse... if they survive One Wild Night.

If anyone can pack heat, adventure and romance into a short story it's Amelie James. This one kicks off with Jake Marshall at a card game in a gypsy camp and he's winning. Playing against a scary dude named Lucien he really pisses him off when he beats him at another hand. The whole time Jake has been eye fucking Miranda, a beautiful gypsy woman who can't keep her eyes off him either. With nothing left to bet Lucien uses Miranda and when Jake wins the hand, and Miranda's company Lucien gets pissed and curses them. Jake and Miranda are enjoying their exploration of each other when strange creatures start to attack them from every angle! Every time they get rid of one they barely have any time to recover before another threat arises. Miranda tries to help Jake using the magic she has learned from watching Lucien but she isn't as good which causes some funny moments between them. I'm not normally a fan of Historical Romance but you can hardly tell with this book because there is so much going on in this little novella that your focus is always moving with the plot. Jake was a really witty, funny and charming character. He was so damn sexy and rugged. James knows how to write a male character that melts your panties and makes you swoon. Jake fought tooth and nail to protect Miranda throughout the fight with the creatures Lucien unleashed on them. Seeing Miranda and Jake try to work together almost had a Lucy and Desi feel to it in the way they handled the situations. When the smoke clears and the book comes to a close we are left salivating for more adventures from these two characters. This was a fun short read that made me laugh in spots and swoon in others. 

"I'm stuck in the woods in the middle of God knows where, with a gypsy witch who doesn't know what the hell she's doing." ARC Loc. 347

"Oh Jake, do you want me as much as I want you? Yeah I do baby, but that's the knife handle." ARC Loc.433

"He moaned and closed his eyes, grabbing her hips in an effort to control her movements. You're gonna hurt us both if you don't let me hold the reigns" ARC Loc. 561

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Amelia James started reading steamy romance novels in junior high, but her mom took them away from her, so she started daydreaming instead. After she got married, she wrote some of her naughtier daydreams down and sent them to Playgirl magazine. Two of them got published.  She kept daydreaming and writing stories until her dirty stories turned into trashy books. 

She lives in Colorado, but she’ll always be a loyal Wisconsin Cheesehead. When she’s not lusting after her next bad boy hero, she looks for inspiration in sci-fi and action movies, football players, bloodsucking lawyers, muscle cars, and kick-butt chicks.