First Three Chapters Release + Giveaway: Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler

Ann Stampler is one of the sweetest authors around. So I'm more than happy to do this for three-chapter reveal for Afterparty! Of course, thanks to Simon & Schuster, Elana and Ann, there will be a giveaway for you guys. It's gonna be an ARC and it's gonna be signed, just the way you like it.

About AFTERPARTY:

A toxic friendship takes a dangerous turn in this riveting novel from the author of Where It Began.

Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother—whose name her dad won’t even say out loud. That’s why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her…and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she’s everything Emma isn’t.

And it may be more than Emma can handle.

Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It’s more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, a bash where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop...

Buy Links: Amazon | Book Depository | Indiebound

About the Author:

Ann Stampler was the mild mannered author of literary picture books when she broke out, tore off her tasteful string of pearls, and started writing edgy, contemporary young adult novels set in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and writer’s-helper rescue dog – without whose compelling distraction she would have no doubt penned dozens of novels by now.

Follow Ann: Twitter | Facebook | Website : Blog | Goodreads

Read the FIRST THREE CHAPTERS > > > http://www.scribd.com/doc/183272047/Afterparty-by-Ann-Redisch-Stampler-Excerpt!

On to the giveaway, you can win a signed ARC of Afterparty by Ann Stampler!


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Release Day Blitz + Giveaway: Dangerous Depths by Karen Amanda Hooper

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Title: Dangerous Depths

Series: The Sea Monster Memoirs #2

Author: Karen Amanda Hooper

Release Date: November 20, 2013 

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 ✳ SYNOPSIS ✳

Hell hath no fury like a selkie separated from his true love.

The gate to the sea creature realm is finally open. Yara wants to bask in the glow of her budding relationship with Treygan and explore Medusa’s world, but as the new leader of Rathe her powers are needed to save a sea creature she’s never met. 

Rownan assumes the worst is behind him when he returns home to be reunited with his wife, Vienna, only to discover she’s gone. She traveled to the evil realm of Harte to find another gateway to Earth and was never heard from again. Rownan claimed he would go through hell to be with her, and now he must prove it. 

Rownan, Yara, and Treygan will put their lives and souls at risk by traveling to the most dangerous realm of all. Love is supposed to conquer all, but no one has ever conquered Harte.

✳ TEASER ✳

✳ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ✳

Karen was born and bred in Baltimore, frolicked and froze in Colorado for a couple of years, and is currently sunning and splashing around Florida with her two beloved dogs. She's addicted to coffee, chocolate, and complicated happily-ever-afters.

Karen has been making up stories for as long as she can remember. Due to her strong Disney upbringing, she still believes in fairy tales and will forever sprinkle magic throughout all of her novels.

✳ CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR ✳

FACEBOOK / TWITTER / BLOG / WEBSITE / GOODREADS

You can win this:

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Giveaway: Time Between Us + Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone

Hi lovelies! So I'm just popping in to give you a treat. I've been in an alternate (work/no free time) world and I'm sorry. But I've been reading up so expect reviews this month.

For the 10th month of the 2013 Time Travel Reading Challenge, Dianne and I are offering you a chance to win Time Between Us and Time After Time by Tamara Ireland Stone.

Book Description:

Hardcover, 368 pages
Published October 9th 2012 by Hyperion

Anna and Bennett were never supposed to meet: she lives in 1995 Chicago and he lives in 2012 San Francisco. But Bennett has the unique ability to travel through time and space, which brings him into Anna’s life, and with him a new world of adventure and possibility.

As their relationship deepens, the two face the reality that time may knock Bennett back to where he belongs, even as a devastating crisis throws everything they believe into question. Against a ticking clock, Anna and Bennett are forced to ask themselves how far they can push the bounds of fate, what consequences they can bear in order to stay together, and whether their love can stand the test of time.

Fresh, exciting, and deeply romantic, Time Between Us is a stunning, spellbinding debut from an extraordinary new voice in YA fiction.

Book Description:

Hardcover, 368 pages
Published October 8th 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

Calling Anna and Bennett’s romance long distance is an understatement: she’s from 1995 Chicago and he’s a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds.

It’s not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they’ll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen (and certainly never expected to). Will the decisions he makes from that point on cement a future he doesn't want?

Told from Bennett’s point of view, Time After Time will satisfy readers looking for a fresh, exciting, and beautifully-written love story, both those who are eager to find out what’s next for Time Between Us's Anna and Bennett and those discovering their story for the first time.

Rules:
Two winners
US/CA only
*if you have an address in US/CA, you can join

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Happy Birthday Dianne + Giveaway Event!

As the title says, November 3rd is the birthday of a dear friend of mine, Dianne from @ Oops I Read a Book Again! She is one of the most awesome bloggers on the face the planet. Graduating from the same university at the same time, we more or less had the same background and with our love for books, I just found her to be the sister I never had. A dependable multi-tasker, blogger, blog tour coordinator and professional mad scientist (she studied Molecular Microbiology), she now sends out waves of love with her event (and lotsa giveaways). So drop by on her blog and greet her:

My message:

Happy Birthday, girlie! I know it gets hard to talk these days what with us living in different "time zones" but I just wanted to thank you for everything. You're the best listener and commenter and adviser and second-thought-checker. I love how you send out emails and tweets with !!!!! You're an enthusiastic and charming person. You deserve all the awesome in the world. Can't wait to email you 30 seconds after this. Happy birthday and lots of love!

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

Here are some of the birthday greetings from our fellow bloggers:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIANNE!!! Thank you so, so much for everything (for the help, the endless questions, for being so cute and nice) I hope you'll have more lovely, lovely days ahead!
– Michelle @ The Twins Read

Happy Birthday! Thanks for being so sweet and nice. This is your day! So enjoy and keep on smiling. I wish you all the best in life and more books to come -wink-

See you on our Christmas Party!
– Dannielle @ Book Whales

Hi Dianne!
Happy happy 20th birthday! Man, times flies, doesn't it? Anyway, make sure to enjoy your day - celebrate with all the people you love! I consider myself really lucky to have someone like you in my life - you're such an amazing person, and I can't wait to bond with you more. See you soon, love!
– Lyra @ Defiantly Defiant

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIANNE!! ♥ Thank you for being such a sweet and supportive friend! You're definitely one of the people who has made blogging so fun and enjoyable. I love our little talks and fangirl-y moments because let's face it, we all need someone to fangirl with. LOL I wish you more success in life AND blogging and may you be showered with many more blessings. Stay you!
- Louisse @ The Soul Sisters

Dianne:
Well first and foremost happy birthday and congratulations for having a super successful book blog. I am so happy to become part of your blog tours.

I'd like to thank you for being the most cheerful friend that I had and most specially, I'll never forget that I am your "plus one" on Tahereh Mafi's signing event. I'll cherish it for the rest of my bookish life.

I wish you all the best in your career and good health. May God continue to bless with such wonderful things. I am just so happy that I met you.
– Leslie @ Bibliophile Kid

Hi Dianne!

Happy, happy birthday! I hope that this year will be a year filled with blessings, joy, and books(!) for you. Thanks for being someone to talk to on twitter and for hosting all these wonderful blog tours that introduced me to so many amazing new books. Also, don't forget to relax once in a while and de-stress, especially today. =))

Continue blogging and stay awesome! ;)
– Tiffany @ Read, Breathe, Read

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANNE! May you have a hundred (?! XD) more birthdays to come. Thanks for being such a great friend - so great, that you gave me a new obsession. You have dibs on the show, but I claim dibs on Mike ;) Love yah, girlie!
– Kazhy from My Library in the Making

Happy happy birthday Dianne!! Here's to many more years filled with everything that makes up every bit of your happiness. I hope you're having a terrific day!

P.S. It's so cool that you've graduated before you turned 20! Idol :))
– Dea @ Teen Reader’s Diary

Dianne,
Happy happy birthday! I know this sounds cliche but I wish you best in your life. Thank you for being really nice and patient. I'm happy to meet you in my life. Thank you for being the best blog event partner ever!
-Michelle @ The Escapist

***Late addition!***

Happy Birthday, Dianne! Wishing you a year full of great reads and hot fictional boys to swoon over. I know this has been a year full of changes for you (graduating and getting a job), welcome to the world of adulthood! Have a good one! :)
-Kai @ Amaterasu Reads

Hi Dianne!

I wish you a happy birthday! MWUAH! I had loads of fun being part of the tours you host, I hope we get to see each again again soon before the year ends. Hehe
-Chyna @ Lite-rate-ture

[Blog Tour] Philippine Folklore and The Aswang Wars: Guest Post by Enita Meadows

Hi guys! I don't normally find YA novels about Philippine folklore but guess what? I did encounter not just a novel but a series that falls under the YA Paranormal field. Yes, it's not just Philippine mythology but "Aswangs" to be specific. That is one of a kind. To make things more interesting, an American author wrote this. So enough with my babbling and let's move on to the Halloween feature!

The Aswang Tour10.31.13.docx

Book Description:

When amnesiac Jei Rivera wakes up on the streets of Manila in 1982 with nothing but a necklace and a name, he makes a life for himself spending his days in sleep and his nights crippling weaklings in an underground fight club. With a sixth sense and physical abilities surpassing every opponent he's ever met in the decades past, Jei knows he's not normal, but has no way of knowing what he really is. When he meets Malaya, a girl claiming to be an aswang from northern Mindanao and the clan of the Manduruko, Jei is thrust back into their world and their war. Now Jei must travel south with Malaya and the last Mantahungal to rediscover his shapeshifting abilities and play his role in the war. But the Segbin, having discovered Jei's existence, are waiting around every corner as they make their way south, and Jei's sixth sense - with a mind of its own - slowly takes control from the inside out.

Get it on Amazon.

Enita Meadows was born and raised in California before moving to Washington State at the age of 10. She lived there for eight years, absorbing the mis-mash of cultures and people all around her. This diversity and exposure to different ways of life prompted her to write several of her books, which take place in many different and exotic places, with characters as varying in background as the world around her.

In the summer of 2010, Enita was lucky enough to be invited by her best friend, a Filipino, to visit his family in Manila. During the two weeks she spent in the country, she experienced a piece of the lifestyle and culture of the islands both strange and beautiful, and was inspired to write The Aswang Wars. She returned to the states, wrote out the story, and after dozens of edits, she submitted the manuscript and received a contract for the first book, Manduruko.

Follow Amalie: Blog | Twitter | Website

[Blog Tour] Review: Waterfell by Amalie Howard

Book Description:

Paperback, 350 pages
October 29th 2013, Harlequin Teen

THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE QUEEN

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright—the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon—until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday—the day she comes of age.

Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

Reviewer's Copy: eARC from JKS Communications and Print ARC from Harlequin Teen

Source: Samantha + JKS Communications + Harlequin Teen (Thank you!!)

My Thoughts:

Let me start by saying that Waterfell was not what I expected it to be. Instead of the normal mermaid mythology that I was expecting, I got something much more sophisticated and out of this world. Amalie's twist on the deep sea creature mythology was refreshing and original. Both mythology and science fiction readers alike will enjoy this.

Nerissa, was an interesting heroine. There were so many things that made her seem so human to me, like how she thought and acted. She would always fall under the teenager category for me with all the angst, rebellious moves and impulsive decisions. Her inhumanity also came into play with how she carried herself. She might seem like an all-too-selfish brat but as a reader, I considered that she was royalty. She grew up as royalty and was used to getting things her way. She was definitely not a perfect character with her temper and bursts of talk/act-now-think-later-scheme from time to time. But that made her realistic in my eyes.

Let's move on to Lo, the confident and charming surfer boy. He was magnetic with his boyish allure but at the same time, there was a sarcastic, overconfident part of him that just pushes me away. He was quiet though, always in the shadow of mystery. I liked getting to know Lo. He was what I would imagine to be the kind of boy labelled as "delicious," "rebel," and "carefree." I loved it when his enjoy-life-now-do-everything-else-later attitude came up. But what I really loved the most were (1) digging into his life and unearthing bits and pieces of him, to be examined closer under a microscope, and (2) reading about Lo surf. I just wish that Lo and Riss got to know each other in a longer time frame; more relationship development. But don't let that discourage you, there are fireworks when these two are in the same room together.

The secondary characters like Jenna, who I loved to bits, and Speio, who made me think twice, were significantly present. There were novels wherein the story was 95% focused on the main characters. But in Waterfell, we also got to know the secondary cast. They added life to the story and breathed reality onto the pages.

The world of Waterfell was all about vibes. It was 100% atmospheric. Amalie mastered storytelling with vivid descriptions of the water. She made me feel relaxed, thrilled, excited and she even made me sit at the edge of my seat.

Waterfell gave me both sides of the ocean, still and stormy, through the wondrous simplicity of human life and the violent and challenging ups and downs of friendship, love and otherworldly affairs. Beautifully written, atmospheric and out of this world, Waterfell will capture the hearts of readers of mythology and paranormal.

Rating:

4.5 Cupids = Obsessive book love.
Almost made it as one of my favorites! I strongly recommend this!

AMALIE HOWARD grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure.

An aspiring writer from a young age, Amalie’s poem “The Candle,” written at age thirteen, was published in a University of Warwick journal. She was also a recipient of a Royal Commonwealth Society essay award (a global youth writing competition). A Colby College graduate, she completed simultaneous Honors Theses in both French and International Studies, and graduated Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa. At Colby, she was cited for research and criticism in Raffael Scheck’s article, “German Conservatism and Female Political Activism in the Early Weimar Republic,” and his subsequent book, Mothers of the Nation. She also received a distinction in English Literature from the University of Cambridge (A-levels) as well as a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France.

Her debut novel, BLOODSPELL, was selected as a Seventeen Magazine Summer Read. She is also the author of the Aquarathi series from Harlequin TEEN (WATERFELL, October 29, 2013 and OCEANBORN, August, 2014), as well as THE ALMOST GIRL from Strange Chemistry in January 7, 2014, and ALPHA GODDESS from Sky Pony Press coming March 2014. Click on the BOOKS page for more information.

Follow Amalie: Website | Twitter | Facebook

YA Unscene + Giveaway: Celia on the Run by Sarah Mandell

YA Unscene is a meme on Fragments of Life that features unseen or deleted scenes of novels that is followed by a short interview and a giveaway. For the second post, I will be featuring Celia on the Run by Sarah Mandell. This is a YA coming-of-age contemporary.

Book Description:

ebook, 173 pages
February 29th 2012, Untreed Reads

Nick Novaczek is a cautious soul, a 17-year old with a boring life, a predictable future, and a quiet thirst for danger. On the eve of his beloved grandmother's funeral, danger finds him by the motel swimming pool. Her name is Celia and she's everything he's not. This foul-mouthed beauty is hitchhiking across the country to make amends with her estranged father and doesn't carry an ounce of fear or hesitation in her tattered suitcase. She's bad news all around, but for a rule-follower like Nick, she's intoxicating.

Twenty-four hours after speaking to Celia for the very first time, following one extremely lucky night, Nick is hopelessly hooked and "borrows" his parents' car to join her cross-country mission, even though her story is full of holes. It's the mistake he's been waiting his whole life to make. Together, they dodge a train, jump off a bridge, and scam everyone in their path. Nick is blossoming into a teenage fugitive, just like Celia, and he's never been happier. She may not be who she says she is, but she's got his vulnerable heart.

After weeks of detours, with hundreds of miles left to go, their wild adventure starts to unravel. The money dries up, Celia's dark secrets begin to surface, and it's clear they both want vastly different things out of this partnership. Celia is all about no strings attached and severing whatever they may have between them once they reach their destination, while Nick is head over heels in love and wanting a future with the girl in his passenger seat. They seem to reach a new low on a daily basis, but she won't turn back, no matter how desperate things get. After all, this is her trip and Nick is just the driver. Celia's got a charming smile to pay her way, a willing accomplice, a hidden agenda, and an endless supply of lies. Not to mention a gun.

Celia on the Run - Deleted Scene Ch6.docx

Could you tell us about Celia?
Celia is wild and unstoppable, she lives each day as though it could be her last. Her past is dark, and her future uncertain, so she does what she wants, when she wants, and isn't sorry about anything. A girl with a tough exterior like this is hard to love at first, but Celia has the natural ability to charm her way through any situation.

How did she wind up with Nick?
Celia is hitchhiking her way east, and crosses paths with Nick, a shy rule-follower who's never been anywhere and never done anything crazy in his life. It's not just her beauty hooks him, it's her wild ways and the cross-country adventure she's on. The temptation to join Celia's mission is just too much for him to resist.

Describe Celia on the Run?
Celia on the Run is a dark coming of age story that follows Nick Novaczek, a shy teenager with a quiet thirst for danger, on a wild road trip across the US with a foul-mouthed hitchhiker by his side. Celia’s everything Nick is not. She's out of control and reckless, but following after this beautiful girl on a mission that doesn't really add up, is the mistake Nick’s been waiting his whole life to make. Following weeks of detours, their adventure begins to unravel, but there's no turning back, no matter how desperate they get. Their cross country journey is an emotional minefield, and with each chapter, new danger awaits, different outcomes are possible, but the reader may never guess what will become of these two characters by the time they reach their destination.

Celia on the Run would be recommendable for what kind of readers?
Celia on the Run is suited for YA readers, but it's on the mature side of that genre. There's some language and violence, and it's not a rosy story of a picture perfect couple or a fun vacation on the road. This is a novel about the not so well off youth of America, and a few scenes may be disturbing for some readers.

What is it about this deleted scene that made you delete it?
This scene was from chapter 6, when Nick and Celia are in the wild and carefree part of their road trip across the US. They have to lie, cheat, and steal to get by because they have no money and are technically runaways, but they're having a great time at this point in the story. I removed this particular scene because there are an awful lot of scenes with Nick and Celia scheming and stealing, they get into a fair amount of trouble during the course of their trip, and I didn't want the reader to get distracted by all the mischief they get into in order to survive on the road and miss out of the character development. This story is all about the characters, who they are, who they say they are, and who the become during the trip, not about all the laws they break and the people they swindle. In this scene, you really don't learn much about Nick and Celia, so I felt it wouldn't be missed in the end.

As we all saw, Celia was quite talented with subtleness and a quick hand. How did you mold her character in such a way that she would eventually get these characteristics?
Bits and pieces of Celia's background are revealed over the course of the story, so the reader does eventually get the sense that Celia is a survivor and does what she has to do in order to get by. When I was creating Celia's character, I molded her in such a way that anything she did, whether it was mean, wrong, or illegal, wouldn't bring her any guilt because it was all out of necessity.

Sarah Mandell is a professionally trained artist with a background in commercial interior design. She's also the brains and busy hands behind a thriving indie craft business called Once Again Sam. Even with an ever-expanding collection of creative outlets, she's truly the happiest when she's writing. Sarah is represented by Nine Speakers. Her publisher is Untreed Reads.

Follow Sarah: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

One of you will win Celia on the Run. This is a digital copy so it's open internationally.

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