Showing posts with label novella. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novella. Show all posts

December 12, 2019

Book Blitz + Giveaway: Starlight by P.S. Malcolm


 

Starlight (Starlight Chronicles)
Author: P.S. Malcolm
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: December 10, 2019

Publisher: Parliament House


Description:


A treaty upholds the peaceful lands of Ersarence— who have suffered from the spilt blood of their humble goddess, Titania, which stains the hands of the ruthless Urenphians.

Julian Rancewood— a small town delivery boy— wishes he could afford to save his dying mother. He never imagined a larger life for himself until he meets Adrina Hesfetter, the village seamstress’s daughter.

After striking a deal with the elusive King’s advisor and joining the royal army, he finds himself helping to search for a missing, unknown heir. Against all odds, Adrina and Julian soon meet again within the palace walls.

When Julian discovers Adrina’s fire magic— an impossibility among non-royals— they uncover a scandalous secret that will cause whispers of a Urenphian rebellion to travel through the kingdom. A thirst for revenge and a passionate romance causes the two villagers to set the events in motion which will bring down the entire Starlight Kingdom.

A Starlight Chronicles Novella.


He stepped forward, and my heart skipped a beat. His eyes studied mine for a moment, before he gently lifted a hand to trace my cheek. I could barely breathe. “I will never leave you,” he said simply. The look in his eyes was so certain.

He leaned closer, and I reached up to wrap my hand around his, where he held my cheek. I let my eyes fall closed as his lips brushed mine.

I melted against him.

The first kiss was soft— the next firm, and in two short steps I was backed against the wooden door to his room. I leaned into him as our mouths moved in unison— his hand lifted from my cheek to intertwine with mine, and his other hand moved to cup my waist. Without thinking, I gripped the neck of his tunic and the cord began to unravel.

When we finally stopped, I was breathing heavily, feeling dazed and light. I could see his chest partially, with the cord half undone, and felt myself flushing red.

He traced the outline of my face again with his hand. “I will do whatever it takes to get you what is rightfully yours, Adrina,” he promised. “You will never lose me— not to anyone.”

It took me a moment to break the spell that had come over us.

“About that...” I breathed, still staring at him. “I don’t know if this is the right thing to be doing.”

He slowly stepped back from me.

“What do you mean?” he asked, as began to retie the cord of his tunic.

“I mean...it is the king and queen who did wrong by me. Not Annaliese. She doesn’t deserve to die because of their actions.”

“Annaliese will become Queen,” Julian replied firmly, “Unless we take her out.”
P.S.Malcolm (Pagan) grew up in Proserpine, Queensland-- a small, Australian country town on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. She was a storyteller from a young age and spent years perfecting her craft.

For two years, she juggled waitressing in tourist filled coffee shops while undertaking two degrees in Creative Writing online. She has always had an interest in writing, but never saw herself working in the industry until she made the choice to self-publish her debut novel, STUCK ON VACATION WITH RYAN RUPERT. Realizing that she loved the process of publishing her book, she pursued an internship at a publishing house and snagged a spot as Pen Name Publishing's Marketing Assistant.

In between interning and writing, Pagan opened her first business working as a freelance Marketing Strategist for Paperback Kingdom-- which helps indie authors with all aspects of their author careers.

Pagan also enjoys reading-- particularly fantasy and paranormal-- and is a passionate blogger. She reviews books that she has read on her personal website, and indie books on her business blog. Some of her favourite and most influential authors include Amanda Gernentz Hanson, A.G. Howard, Marissa Meyer and Michele Jaffe. She is a cat enthusiast, tea lover, and floral fanatic.

Her newest book, LANTERNS IN THE SKY, is set to be released by The Parliament House Publishing in Spring 2019.



 
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November 8, 2019

The Devil and Dayna Dalton Blog Tour: Review + Giveway




THE DEVIL AND DAYNA DALTON (A Bulwark Anthology #9)
Author: Brit Lunden 
Release Date:September 30, 2019 
Publisher: Chelshire 
Formats:Paperback, eBook 
Pages: 128 

Find it:Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, TBD 
Read for free on KU!

Description:

Reporter Dayna Dalton's reputation has been ruined since birth. The daughter of wild child, Becky Dalton, is expected to follow her mother's footsteps; never given a chance to prove she's different. Dana's been in love with Clay Finnes since she was a teenager. Her unrequited love for Sheriff Finnes leaves her empty. He's happily married and unavailable. Instead, Dayna finds herself stuck in the revolving door of bad relationships. But this is Bulwark, Georgia, a town where strange things are always happening. Dayna is doomed to this loveless life until she can find someone who will appreciate the depth of her character. Can she overcome her fears and look beyond her own perceptions to accept a greater love? 

*Contains Sexual Content* 

Praise for The Bulwark Series and Brit Lunden:

“If the Brothers Grimm and Stephen King had co-authored a novella, Bulwark would be the result. Lunden’s story is a modern, paranormal take on the classic Hansel and Gretel.  
If you like to sleep with the light on after having the wits scared out of you, Bulwark is the perfect read.” ~ BlueInk Review (Bulwark) 

Bulwark is all about the plot. Lunden keeps the narrative moving at a brisk pace, introducing one catastrophe after another, only to delicately bring them all together. Every character has a purpose; every line advances the story, con-founds the reader, but offers necessary clues.”  ~ BookTrib (Bulwark) 

“…jam-packed with elements that will give readers the heebie-jeebies.”  ~ Kirkus (Bulwark) 

“The novel is very effective at creating atmosphere, conjuring a Gothic world populated by monsters and the stuff of fairy tales.”  ~ Joseph S. Pete, Foreword Reviews (Bulwark) 

Readers who grew up with the likes of Barker, King and Lovecraft will have a field day reading this classy, dark fan-tasy novella. And, yes, it’s that good. Lunden’s plot is first-rate and her writing is smooth, assured and polished to a high sheen. Bulwark is most highly recommended.”  ~ Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite,  5-Star Review, (Bulwark) 

“The engaging tale’s centerpiece is the teens’ romance, with a Southern setting the author masterfully captures...  The unadorned prose and concise descriptions make for a quick read all the way to the bittersweet ending...A short but undeniably charming love story.”  ~ Kirkus Reviews (The Knowing) 
The Devil and Dayna Dalton is a paranormal romance novella from the Bulwark series. I've never read any of the other books in this series, but I don't think it mattered that much. It would've been cool to already know some of the characters and the town's history, but it wasn't crucial to my enjoyment of the story. It was well written with great attention to detail and vivid imagery that brought Dayna's world to life right in front of me. I thought that the characters were okay at best. Dayna, our main character, didn't get much depth to her personality at all and we don't learn a whole lot about her either. Just the bare minimum to have the novella make sense. Again - this is just my opinion. If I had read other books in the series before this, then I would probably have a deeper understanding of the town and a more realistic view of the characters. I did like that Dayna was determined to be herself and not care what other people thought about her (even though she actually did). We see her go through a long list of guys and relationships that are meaningless. Her only focus and infatuation is a guy she went to school with, Clay Finnes. She's been in love with him since they were in high school and continues to love him throughout the majority of the story. Clay never sees her in that way though, so she's mostly pining away for him while trying to find something to fill her empty heart and life. Enter a mystery man who claims to have known and loved Dayna for ages. I can't say much other than that without giving anything away.

I don't normally read short stories or novellas because I don't think they give the reader enough time with the characters or the plot to really get lost inside of the world. That definitely happened for me with this story. It all seemed so shallow and stereotypical and then when something finally does happen, the story ends. If this had been a full length novel, I know I would've enjoyed it a lot more than I did. There was a lot of potential with the plot and characters, but they seemed to fall short due to short nature of the story. I personally am not a big fan of short stories or novellas due to all of these reasons - but that's my own personal opinion and other readers are sure to have better experiences than I did. I do recommend it for fans of the other books in the series, mythology, and paranormal romance.
Brit Lunden is a prolific author who’s written over 50 books in assorted genres under different pen names. Bulwark was her first effort in adult fiction and was chosen by several of her fellow authors as the basis for a new series, A Bulwark Anthology. Using her characters, they are creating new denizens in spin-off stories to this bizarre town. Brit Lunden lives on Long Island in a house full of helpful ghosts. 
(3) winners will receive a finished copy of THE DEVIL AND DAYNA DALTON - US Only. 
(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon GC -International. 




Tour Schedule: 
Week One: 
11/4/2019 
Excerpt 
11/4/2019 
Excerpt 
11/5/2019 
Excerpt 
11/5/2019 
Review 
11/6/2019 
Review 
11/6/2019 
Review 
11/7/2019 
Review 
11/7/2019 
Review 
11/8/2019 
Review 
11/8/2019 
Excerpt 

Week Two:
11/11/2019 
The Phantom Paragrapher 
Review 
11/11/2019 
Delilah Bluette 
Review 
11/12/2019 
Don't Judge, Read 
Review 
11/12/2019 
Good Choice Reading 
Excerpt 
11/13/2019 
Books a Plenty Book Reviews 
Review 
11/13/2019 
Burgandy Ice 
Excerpt 
11/14/2019 
Reese's Reviews 
Review 
11/14/2019 
Owl Always Be Reading 
Excerpt 
11/15/2019 
Lisa Loves Literature 
Review 
11/15/2019 
Parajunkee 
Excerpt