Excerpt

Review: Owlet by Emma Michaels Blog Tour + Excerpt + Giveaway

December 27, 2012 by Sana 7 Comments

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Title: Owlet (Society of Feathers, #1)

Author: Emma Michaels

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Tribute Books

Release Date: 13 October 2012

Pages: 178 (eARC)

Synopsis
Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.

Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.

My Rating

* * * *

The Review

Owlet begins and ends with a dream and in between, the words have a singsong and dreamlike quality to them as if they are floating inside the mind of the reader.

I didn’t know what to expect from Iris and her story. It is so unique to read a fantasy book where the main character is asthmatic, dreams of flying and has more than a subtle conscience speaking to her about the life she no longer remembers.

While the reason behind Iris’s memory loss is not made clear, it is clear that Iris is being protected from humans that want her dead. Humans that are have birds as half-souls just like her. Iris was supposed to have dies as a baby because of what she was thought to be. But unconditional love made her parents want to protect her at any cost and that cost was not telling Iris who she really is.

Yet she dreams of an island she calls her Never-Never and flies to that island in her dreams and knows it like the back of her hand. When she finally gathers the courage to tell her father about the strange dreams, he is overjoyed and relieved. He decides to send her to the island with Diana, her caretaker telling her he’d join her soon and finally tell her the truth.

On the island, which is exactly like the her Never-Never, her mind tells her that she will also find him. He who has been waiting for her to find him and in her core she really knows him. Falcon was sent to harm her but he couldn’t do it and instead they fell in love as children. But then the dangerous circumstances and her memory loss made her forget him. Now he is adamant to never go through the pain of her not recognizing him.

Owlet is a very refreshing book in the fantasy genre. It isn’t long and when it ended I wanted to go on reading about the true self of Iris and what it means for Falcon. Though we only get to read about the secondary characters for a short amount of time, they really stick with you especially Diana and Nathanial. Emma Michaels is a talented author for having written Owlet with such an open mind and embracing the concept of the Stryx. I am looking forward to read more of her work.

Best Quotes:

“Chocolate chip pancakes are more important than grudges.”

“Closing her eyes for a moment, just wanting to clear away the tears from her lashes so that she could see Falcon clearly, Iris suddenly felt as though she was being pulled away from sweet oblivion as her moment of dreamless sleep slipped away from her and she felt snow against her skin.”

The Excerpt for the read along
The song is part of the legend. There is the original legend on the Vermilion but then there is also the Stryx legend of Tessa and Orinthian. Tessa was a Vermilion who fell in love with Orinthian. When word of their sad story spread songs were written about it, and this was one of them, a more recent version, in fact. My favorite…

Even as the stars shine, I only see the night.
Until I found a way to illuminate my sky;
A simple touch palm to palm with the man I came to love;
Sent the vivid colors of the world pouring into my gaze.
A simple touch that changed my life, as;
My heart started to dream in color.
I may be blind but he showed me the beauty the world had to offer;
By giving me one breath of his life at a time.
Slowly as he showed me sights I watched his face wither;
As my seeing the world’s beauty slowly stole him away from me.
I ran from him on swift wings to a place of safety;
And asked the Eyrie to lay me to rest.
I would not risk one of their own for my greed;
But as I asked them to let me pass,
I remembered that I had never seen the sun rise through the sky.
I asked them for only one favor,
I wanted to die flying;
On the Isle of White, from the highest cliff at sunrise;
I stood on the edge of death and felt the warmth on my face.
But before I could fall forward I felt gentle palms against my own,
And saw the sky was more than I ever imagined.
The colors set my heart afire.
As it did I watched my Orinthian’s sacrifice;
I faced a choice worse than the only one I had graced myself;
And learned to fly;
Flying to his side again;
Somewhere we would always see the world’s most exquisite beauty…
Together.

About the Author

Emma Michaels is the author of the ‘A Sense of Truth’ and ‘Society of Feathers’ series. Her goal with her latest YA novel ‘Owlet’ is to give others what she did not have growing up; a strong female protagonist with asthma. While her previous aspiration was to be a lady knight she realized that not being able to run more than a few feet might become a hindrance so turned to writing instead. Her day jobs include being a cover artist, marketing consultant and silk screen designer.

As the founder of The Writers Voice blog she loves to connect authors and readers. As a book blogger turned author, she was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, until she moved at eighteen to Washington State. Suddenly, the world was a new place filled with tall green trees that reached further for the sky with every moment, making her want to do the same. Ever since, she has tried to make her life something new and different from what it was before, pursuing her future career, setting high goals and reaching for them. With the support of her fiancé, Chihuahua, and her amazing blog followers and fellow bloggers, she wants to prove to the world that anything is possible and help inspire fellow literary lovers to reach for their dreams.

Emma Michaels can be found at

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The Giveaway

The giveaway is open internationally and there are lots of prizes up for grabs! Enter away.
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Thanks to Tribute Books for providing me a copy of Owlet for review.

Giveaway: The Keatyn Chronicles by Jillian Dodd + Excerpt

December 9, 2012 by Sana 2 Comments

Title: Kiss Me (The Keatyn Chronicles, #2)
Author: Jillian Dodd
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Bandit Publishing
Release Date: 28 November 2012
Pages: 312 (Paperback)

Synopsis

I’ve always written scripts for my perfect life.
But no way could I have ever scripted this.
My life is so far from perfect, it’s not even funny.
All because of a stalker.

I’m at a boarding school where I have to lie about who I am.
I can’t see my family.
I’m tutoring a Hottie God that tortures me with his smile.
The most popular girl already hates me.
But there’s this boy.
This hot, sweet, sexy boy.
So I’m going to stop trying to script my life and just live it.
Because who knows how long I have left.

The Excerpt

He leads me out of the party and across the hall, opens the door to an empty dorm room, turns on a lamp, then gently pushes me up against the door and kisses me.

Again, it’s a slow, soft, amazing kiss. The kind of kiss that makes me feel like he’s kissing my soul.

Oh my gosh. What the heck does that even mean? Kissing my soul? I’m seriously losing it here.

It’s official. Almost getting kidnapped has affected me. I definitely have some sort of post-traumatic stress thing, and the symptoms must include having irrational thoughts about Hottie Gods.

Aiden’s hands are very appropriately placed around my waist and are not moving.

Damn it, man.

Move your hands.

Kiss me with your tongue.

Take my shirt off.

Attack me already. Please! I can’t take it anymore.

But I don’t say any of that. I just savor each and every slow, amazing, and tongue-free kiss.

Maybe he was born without a tongue, I think for a brief second, but then I realize that I am dumb because he wouldn’t be able to talk if he had been, now would he?

He stops kissing me and looks deep into my eyes. I seriously should have guzzled a few shots the second I got here.

But I had no idea he would be here!

The way he’s looking at me is sorta unnerving but, at the same time, like the kiss, it electrifies me. His face is close to mine, but not so much that he is, like, blurry to look at. I figure if he can stare at me, then I can stare back.

And I take in every curve and angle of his face.

The way his jawline is flexing slightly. How his eyelashes are a dark, dark brown and curl upward. How he has a sexy teeny freckle just to the side of his left cheek. How his textbook lips are the exact color of the pale pink roses Tommy gave Mom for their anniversary, and how the sides of his mouth are turning up, starting to smile at me. He blinks slowly. When his eyes open, I study the emerald green of his irises, how they have little flecks of blue in them and maybe even a little gold around the edges. I feel like time is standing still again.

He slides his hands up into my hair and leans in to kiss me again. My body is trying to be good, but I can’t stop it from leaning into him. Melding to his body. I could stay this way forever.

He stops kissing me, looks deeply into my eyes again, and tells me he loves me.

Oh, wait.

He didn’t say that.

I just thought that.

Well, I thought his eyes told me that.

Shut up! It’s what it felt like.

And what the hell is with the going so slow? Does he not want to make out with me? Is he gay?

Finally he says, “You should probably go back and check on your friend. Those guys will get her drunk and take advantage of her.”

“We didn’t drink before we came. She can’t be drunk yet, and you promised me a drink.”

“Also, I don’t want people to notice we’ve been gone very long. They’ll think we’re having sex. We don’t want to ruin your reputation on your second day.”

“I think maybe you just don’t want to be alone with me. I don’t understand. You act like you’re all into me, but then we barely kiss.”

I get irritated and frustrated by this, but no way am I going to be the one to move things along.

And I thought he was a player.

So why isn’t he trying to play me? To use me? To take advantage of me?

I shoulda pretended to be drunk, maybe?

About the Author

Jillian Dodd grew up on a farm in Nebraska, where she developed a love for Midwestern boys and Nebraska football. She has drank from a keg in a cornfield, attended the University of Nebraska, got to pass her candle, and did have a boy ask her to marry him in a bar. She met her own prince in college, and they have two amazing children, a Maltese named Sugar Bear, and two Labrador puppies named Camber Lacy and Cali Lucy.

She is the author of the That Boy Trilogy and The Keatyn Chronicles Series.

Jillian Dodd can be found at

Buy Kiss Me (The Keatyn Chronicles, #1)

The Giveaway

Jillian Dodd has offered a Kindle or Nook copy of Stalk Me in the international giveaway below. Enter away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to ATOMR for the promo event.

Excerpt: ReAwakened by Ada Adams

August 23, 2012 by Sana 2 Comments

I am a sucker for anything paranormal and so when it comes to vampires, I am all for them! I loved ReVamped and I am so, so excited for ReAwakened! First the cover was revealed and now we get a look at an excerpt from ReAwakened. I know this excerpt and I love what Ada has done with the outcome, yay! So here we go!

Title: ReAwakened (Angel Creek, #2)

Author: Ada Adams

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release Date: Fall 2012

Pages: N/A (eBook)

Synopsis
No official synopsis as yet.

The Excerpt

“Meeting Razor” – “ReAwakened”

Ada Adams

My two-story fall was cushioned by the intruder’s body. He—a vampire, I realized—groaned as I landed on top of him, forcing his body into the muddy ground. I reached for my dagger, but he was quicker. Before I had a chance to pull it out, he slipped out from underneath me, flipping me over so that he was on top. His firm, muscular body pressed tightly against mine as his hands pinned my wrists to either side of my head. His face was covered by shadows, but I could make out a mischievous smirk dancing across perfectly-shaped full lips.

“You’re quite feisty, aren’t you?” he chuckled, bending forward to examine me. Deep, charcoal eyes overflowed with amusement.

He was actually enjoying this.

“I don’t wanna hurt you,” he whispered in a deep, throaty voice. “I’m gonna release you now. Don’t do anything stupid.”

He lifted his arm, removing his right hand from my left wrist. The moment I felt some freedom, I leaped forward, attempting a left hook at his jaw. He blocked my hand, once again pushing it toward the ground.

“I said I wasn’t going to hurt you!” he growled, pinning me even further into the soft, wet earth.

“Yes, but I never said I wouldn’t hurt you,” I snapped.

He brought his face toward mine. “I’d like to see you try,” he whispered.

Challenge accepted.

I raised my head—the only part of my body that wasn’t restrained by the stranger’s body—inching my lips closer to his. He tensed for a moment, his eyes searching mine, as if surprised by my sudden change in behavior. Drops of rainwater slid down his chiseled jaw, pausing briefly on his lips before they plummeted onto mine. Then, a slow, smug smile spread across his face. I felt his body relax and he leaned even closer. His breath caressed my skin as his lips drew near.

It was exactly what I needed. Summoning all my strength, I twisted my hips to the side, shooting them up and out, then launching my legs from the ground. Thrown off-balance, my captor groaned and released one of my arms to brace for the fall, giving me the perfect opportunity to reach for my dagger. In one smooth move I darted behind him, placing him in a secure headlock—the blade of my weapon aimed directly at his heart.

“Who are you?” I demanded when I was certain he couldn’t escape my grip.

“I’m a twenty-four-year-old Taurus who enjoys long walks on the beach.” Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could feel his arrogant grin.

“You have ten seconds to explain yourself,” I ordered. “And then I’m really going to hurt you.”

“Oh, come on! Can’t we get back to kissing? You can’t tease a guy like that.”

“Ten, nine…” I pressed the dagger deeper into him, nicking the leather of his jacket.

“Hey! Watch it!”

“Eight…”

“Oh, alright. You’re no fun,” he sighed. “My name is Razor.”

“What kind of a name is that?”

“It’s a nickname.”

“What kind of a nickname is that?”

“Spike, Blade, Fang—all the good, pointy objects were already taken by fictional characters. It was the best I could do.”

About the Author

“Many people sing in the shower. I, on the other hand, write scenes in my head and act them out.” At age five, Ada read her first chapter book – Pippi Longstocking. Ever since that moment, she developed an intense passion for the stories and characters found within the pages of literature. In her career as an actress and a writer, Ada currently spends most of her days immersed in imaginary worlds. Much like the characters she enjoys playing and writing about, Ada is a martial artist with a Black Belt in Shotokan Karate. She is also a big proponent of lifelong learning, and has attained Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (it aids in creating characters with unique quirks!) as well as a Master’s of Science in Education. Ada strives to bring a fresh voice and perspective to fiction. She has been writing creatively for many years. “ReVamped” is her debut novel. She lives in Toronto, Canada, and enjoys adventurous nature hikes with her adorable puppies Cara and Oreo.

Ada Adams can be found at

Buy ReVamped (Angel Creek, #1)

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