Blog Hop

 

Welcome to Evernight Teen’s Summer Kick-off Blog Hop!

  You can check out the excerpt of Shrapnel below and enter to win a Kindle Paperwhite! 

Shrapnel by Stephanie Lawton

What It's About!

It’s been six years since Dylanie and her family visited a Civil War site and the place came alive with cannon fire. Problem was, no one could hear it but her.

Now she’s sixteen, her dad’s moved out, her mom’s come out of the closet and Dylan’s got a spot on Paranormal Teen, a reality TV show filming at historic Oakleigh Mansion. She’ll spend a weekend with two other psychic teens—Jake and Ashley—learning how to control her abilities.

None of them realized how much their emotional baggage would put them at the mercy of Oakleigh’s resident spirits, or that they’d find themselves pawns in the 150-year-old battle for the South’s legendary Confederate gold. Each must conquer their personal ghosts to face down Jackson, a seductive spirit who will do anything to protect the gold’s current location and avenge a heinous attack that destroyed his family.

Excerpt

Dylanie

On the balcony, heavy night air carries the sounds of crickets and frogs. The ancient railing is solid beneath my fingers but slick from humidity. The wet dog/rotting fish stench of a nearby swamp blows past and rustles the live oaks in the front yard. The leaves are so loud that I almost don’t hear it.

My name—soft, slow and deep.

“Dylanie.”

I jump back from the railing and look around. The hairs on my neck and arms stand on end, but I can’t see the threat. I haven’t sensed a thing in my room since Ashley commandeered ghost boy. Slowly, so I don’t make a sound, I inch forward toward the railing again. Whatever it is, it’s down there in the dark. From the balcony, I’m able to see the front yard, the side of the main part of the house, and a massive live oak. Underneath it stands a man.

It must be Riley or Ward taking a smoke break, but I don’t see the tiny orange glow of a cigarette. It’s too dark to make out details. I swat a mosquito on my bare arm, and that’s when the man turns, looking up at me. Into me. His eyes seem to travel over every inch, memorizing details. Despite the shadows, I know a slow smile of approval spreads across his face and it makes my breathing ragged. I see him with my eyes, but also in my head. I can’t look away. I can’t shut him out. I can’t even move or speak.

“Dylanie,” he drawls, “let me in.”

Invisible fingers caress my cheek and smooth my hair away from my face. My mind races, but my body’s reaction doesn’t match. It’s like they separate from each other. I close my eyes and a feeling of well-being invades.

“Dylanie, please.” His voice comes from far away, soft and warm, like Jake’s would feel if …

“No! Ouch!” For the second time today, I smack my head on part of a window. “Who the hell are you and what do you want? God, you almost had me there.”

He chuckles. “Oh, I intend to.”

In a blink, he’s moved from the base of the gnarled tree to the stone patio beneath me. Despite the landscape lights, he looks solid, not like a spirit at all. No haze, no shapeless black shadow figure. Slowly, so slowly, he raises his head. My legs go weak, and I grip the railing for support. Below me is the hot dark-haired man I saw on the steps when I arrived.

“Dylanie, I ask you again. May I come in?”

My brain screams no, no, no!

“Yes.” It comes out like an exhale, one that’s been trapped inside the air-tight cage that is my pathetic life. It feels good to say yes to something unapproved and maybe even dangerous.

Another blink and he’s on the balcony with me. Shit. This close, it’s obvious he’s not much older than me, maybe a few years. He’s the most human, solid-looking spirit I’ve ever encountered—if that’s what he is.

Shrapnel is available here!

*************

What’s up for grabs?

•              One lucky hopper will win a KINDLE PAPERWHITE eREADER sponsored by Evernight Teen.

•              Every book blogger/reviewer site is giving away one free eBook from Evernight Teen (winner’s choice of any eBook from Evernight Teen’s website).

•              Plus, each author offers their own unique prize! So visit each blog hop stop for a host of fabulous prizes to win.

How to enter? Answer this:

What did Dylanie hit her head on?

Be sure to leave your answer and your email address in the comments below to be eligible to win a prize.

Continue hopping to the next stop!

The Sound of Letting Go

The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Publisher: Penguin Group
Release Date: February 1st/2014
Pages: N/A
Goodreads
Purchase

What It's About!

For sixteen years, Daisy has been good. A good daughter, helping out with her autistic younger brother uncomplainingly. A good friend, even when her best friend makes her feel like a third wheel. When her parents announce they’re sending her brother to an institution—without consulting her—Daisy’s furious, and decides the best way to be a good sister is to start being bad. She quits jazz band and orchestra, slacks in school, and falls for bad-boy Dave.

But one person won’t let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How can she know when to hold on and when—and how—to let go?

 

The Elite

The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass

Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: April 23rd/2013
Pages: 323
Goodreads
Order Now: Book Depository|Amazon

What It's About!

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Iléa.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Review

I liked The Elite almost as much as The Selection, only in this second book America for the life of her just could NOT make up her mind about what she wanted. Which boy she wanted, which girl she could and couldn't trust, whether she wanted to even stay in the Selection. Like come ON girl!

I loved America in the first book, she was a great character. She was very un-decisive in this book which pretty much drove me insane by the end. I wasn't even sure if I was Team Maxon or Team Aspen until the last half of the book. Aspen just started getting on my nerves with his unsupportive attitude about America being the Princess and whatnot.

There was a lot of excitement and shocking moments throughout The Elite, ones I really wasn't expecting. I wish there had been more details and more happening with the rebel stuff, they were so short that they almost might as well have never happened at all. I can understand why we didn't see more into them though, for we got to see how America and everyone else reacted to everything.

Overall it was a great book, even though America was a bit annoying with not being able to decide anything. It really made me feel a lot of different emotions whether I was upset, sad or shocked, I really enjoyed it a lot and can't wait for the next book.

Rating 

 

Guest Post: How Book Covers Are Created

How Book Covers Are Created

By Levi Stack

While skimming over book covers on shelves or scrolling through them online, have you ever wondered how these works of art are created? How illustrators collaborate authors? How artists reinvent the heart and life of a story – only in a different medium? I’m writing to give you an inside look at that unique process. I was lucky enough to work side-by-side with my illustrator, Owen William Weber, so you’ll get to see firsthand what went into the artwork of my award-winning novel, The Silent Deal.

Here’s a summary to give you a feel for the story:

When Viktor and Romulus, two peasant boys in the Russian Empire, dig too deep into their town’s strange past, they awaken the wrath of a mysterious overlord. On a quest for answers (and survival), the blood brothers navigate gambling parlors, Gyspy camps, and dark forests full of wild animals and men alike. But can they escape the deathly experiments their foe is creating in Staryi Castle?

So you get the idea – this is an Old World story, stuffed with thieves and beggars all the way to the fortune-tellers and fire-jugglers of the Romani Gypsies. This is important to recognize because it’s essential to match the time period of the story to the appearance of the cover. If I had written a flashy modern story, I might have a pop art style cover, but because I wrote historical fiction, I wanted an older medium, and an oil painting seemed like the perfect choice. 

This is where Owen William Weber came in. He’s an excellent painter, and after viewing his gallery, I immediately wanted him to do the cover art. Because the book deals so much with gambling, I requested the book’s cover resemble a king of spades playing card, with Viktor and Romulus, the two main characters, displayed as the king figures. Owen read my descriptions of the characters, and came back with several potential designs.

We agreed the fourth design was the most balanced, so Owen did a more detailed sketch, including attributes of both the characters. Romulus keeps a wolf as a pet, and carries blades throughout the story. Viktor is the son of a miner, and has to dig for buried items in certain scenes, hence the shovel. Both boys experiment with explosive weapons, as their enemy has banned firearms in their town.

I loved the sketch, but we both agreed that because Viktor and Romulus are serfs, their clothing needed to be rougher and less detailed. They also needed to look a bit younger. Owen carried out one more sketch, and this time it was perfect, save for the fact that we favored Romulus’ face from the first sketch.

The last step was for Owen to actually complete the oil painting. We agreed that rich reds and greens would give the book an older feel, so he handled the color scheme, and finished the work. After the typography was carried out, the cover art was finalized. 

 

I hope you enjoyed this inside look at how a book cover is created! If you want to read The Silent Deal, it’s available on Amazon. Or if you want to learn more about me, check out my website, www.levistack.com. Happy reading!

 

A Shade of Vampire

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

Release Date: December 12th/2013
Pages: 149
Goodreads
Purchase
A copy was provided by Bella Forrest for review

What It's About!

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?

Review

 
I ended up really liking this book in the end, but at first I wasn't too sure about it. The story started off pretty quickly, the author wasted no time getting right to the point. At first I didn't like it because I like when the books I read have some sort of background or explaining of the characters lives and whatnot, at least within the first chapter, but once I got further into the book, there were things told throughout the book that made me feel like I wasn't so lost like I was in the beginning.

The book as a whole felt like one huge whirlwind when I was finished it. Everything happened so quickly but was also well-paced at the same time, I really enjoyed it. Sofia was kind of a hard character to relate to and figure out in the beginning. I started to like her more as the story progressed though. Derek is the other main character, whom I really liked right off the bat. He was gentle but commanding, and willing to do just about anything to protect Sofia. Even though I finished the book a couple days ago, I can't stop swooning over Derek, he's just so hot in that fictional boyfriend way.

I loved the way the story had developed from beginning to end. I don't really feel like any of the characters grew or changed much, but there also wasn't a whole lot of time that seemed to go by, so we may see some character growing in the second book, which I would kind of like to see. 

Rating