Taken By Storm by Angela Morrison Epic PROMO Blitz

 

Taken By Storm by Angela Morrison
YA Contemporary
Date Published: New Paperback/e-book release 06/2012

A harrowing story of love and survival. In a future of scarce resources, where the possession of gas and diesel is punishable by death, a teenage boy and a pregnant girl must find a way to save their impoverished family. They risk their lives on a terrifying journey to sell stolen fuel on the black market. 


 "[Morrison] handles the topics of religion and premarital sex gracefully without passing judgment. The message has less to do with religion than learning to respect and cherish others while staying true to one’s own beliefs.” – Publisher’s Weekly, starred review 
 Brand new paperback and reformatted ebook with fully scalable fonts. Includes bonus, never-before-published scene, "Airport Good-bye!"

Buy a copy: 
Amazon Author Page

Taken By Storm

Unbroken Connection (Book 2) 

Cayman Summer (Book 3)

10 Year Anniversary

Ten years ago this week, Taken by Storm's scuba-diving hero, Michael, swam out of Angela's brain and onto her page. Join the anniversary celebration! Win your own copy of the brand new paperback! Snag Taken by Storm's Kindleebook for only $ .99! Unbroken Connection (Book 2) and Cayman Summer (Book 3) are free on Kindle! Hurry. The promotion ends Friday, July 20th. Don't own a Kindle? Download free Kindle apps for your laptop, tablet, iTouch, or phone.  

Short, Short Excerpt

I’m lost to his firm chest, 
his slender fingertips, 
his long wavy hair, 
his mouth sucking my bottom lip— 
The world spins, the stars shift, 
and I can’t see anything except his smoky gray eyes gazing into mine. 


 You scare me, 
whispers from my mouth across his. 


 Good, he breathes into me. 
 I need you to save me.

 

Author Bio

Angela Morrison is the award-winning YA author of Taken by Storm (Books 1-3) and Sing me to Sleep. She graduated from Brigham Young University and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She grew up in Eastern Washington on the wheat farm where Taken by Storm is set. She's an advanced NAUI, Nitrox certified scuba diver. The hurricane that kills Michael's parents was inspired by a real-life diving accident. 
 After over a decade in Canada, Switzerland, and Singapore, Angela and her family are happily settled in Mesa, Arizona. She enjoys speaking to writers and readers of all ages about her craft. She has four children--mostly grown up--and the most remarkable grandson in the universe.

Website

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Contest Link

Blog

Opposite poems for younger readers 

Thomas Christopher - Never Too Far Promo Blitz

 

Never Too Far by Thomas Christopher
YA Suspense
Date Published: 05/10/2012

A harrowing story of love and survival. In a future of scarce resources, where the possession of gas and diesel is punishable by death, a teenage boy and a pregnant girl must find a way to save their impoverished family. They risk their lives on a terrifying journey to sell stolen fuel on the black market.

Buy a copy: Amazon

Excerpt

Short:

Joe turned and ran back into the gully, but he didn’t get very far. A sudden blast of wind shoved him to the ground. Flat on his face, he heard the wind whistling and screeching past his ears. When he lifted his head, he couldn’t see the pregnant girl anymore. All the dust whirled and whipped into a blinding black blizzard. He thought for sure she’d gotten snatched up in the dust storm. The wind lashed at his face. He went to call out to her, but he didn’t know what to say because he didn’t know her name. And even if he did, his voice would’ve gotten lost in the snarling wind. Nevertheless, he had to find her.

Long:

Mary surprised Joe by knocking his arms away. She was stronger than she looked. Then she swept her legs off the bed and sprang to her feet. She took two steps and turned to face him as if to prove there was nothing wrong with her. But there was definitely something wrong. She wavered a moment. Her already white face turned ghostly. Her eyelids trembled. She seemed to realize she was becoming faint, and what that meant.

“I’m fine,” she said. “You don’t have to go.”

Joe got ready to catch her in case she fell, but somehow she held herself steady.

“It’s okay,” Joe said. “Just sit down. I will go find some food.”

Joe inched toward her. He was afraid to grab her again because she might try to wrench free once more and really fall. When she coughed, her little shoulders jerked and her round stomach jumped. Her head was drooped low and her hair hung down so he couldn’t see her face at all.

“Come on, lay down,” Joe said.

She didn’t move. Joe stepped toward her, but before he could put his arms around her, she tilted forward and rested the crown of her head against his chest. He slid his arms along the sides of her hard belly and around her waist. Then he shifted her toward the bed again. She moved like a bundle of empty sacks in his arms. He set her gently on the bed before he bent down to lift her feet onto the sheets.

After he sat in the chair, Mary asked him, “What if you don’t come back?”

“That’s not going to happen,” Joe said.

“How do you know?”

“I just know. You have to trust me.”

 

Author Bio

Thomas Christopher grew up in Iowa. He received his MFA from Western Michigan University. His short stories have appeared in The Louisville Review and The MacGuffin. He was awarded an Irving S. Gilmore Emerging Artist Grant and was a finalist for the Matthew Clark Prize in Fiction. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife and son.

Visi his website: http://www.thomaschristopher.com/ 

Stacking the Shelves (7/15/12)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! Visit Tynga's Reviews to know more about this weekly meme.

This is our first time since December to join a book haul feature! Well It's time we break the no-post-on-Sundays curse. :) So here are the titles I got in the past 2 weeks.

From NetGalley

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Lucky in Love (Lucky Harbor #4) by Jill Shalvis

At Last (Lucky Harbor #5) by Jill Shalvis

Forever and a Day (Lucky Harbor #6) by Jill Shalvis

Bought

Torrent (River of Time #3) by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga #1) by Colleen Houck

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo

Won

Fated (The Soul Seekers #1) by Alyson Noel (ARC) 

The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats (Signed)

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

Gifted

Of Poseidon (Of Poseidon #1) by Anna Banks (ARC)

Thank you so much to ate Precious of Fragments of Life, Lisa of Badass Bookie, J. Anderson Coats, Lauren of Epilogue Review, NetGalley (Grand Central Publishing & Harlequin Teen) and my Mom! 


What books did you get this week? Please feel free to leave a link of your post in the comments.

Review: Second Kiss by Natalie Palmer

Second Kiss by Natalie Palmer

Paperback: 168 pages

Release date: April 5th, 2011

Publisher: Tate Publishing

Goodreads Rating: 3.81

Goodreads Summary: Gemma Mitchell is a normal girl who somehow gets herself into abnormally embarrassing circumstances. And while she thinks she's the biggest loser in school because of them, there are a few people in her life who would disagree. One of those people is her best friend, Jess Tyler, who is opposite to her in every way. He's popular, good looking, athletic, and intelligent, and he can't get enough of Gemma. But while Gemma is dealing with problems like wrong locker combinations and Valentine's Day dances, Jess is living in a world of serious issues that are foreign to Gemma, until she realizes that he's holding on to her for dear life. 
Humorous and true to life, Second Kiss is an entertaining saga about a boy and girl who find that their lives have a lot more meaning once they have shared them with each other.

Gemma Mitchell is a normal girl who is somehow always caught up in some embarrassing situations. And while she thinks less of her, there is one person who’s always beside her. Her best friend, Jess Tyler--he's popular, good looking, athletic, and intelligent, and he can't get enough of Gemma. How this two people can realize that they’re for each other, if they both think things will be awkward? And will they say their feelings for each other before it’s too late?

I like the book; I’ll say it was passable. I thought the notion was good but when we get to the whole story I sometimes feel there was something missing. There are parts wherein I find it was too fast paced, that I felt those part where should the story continues. Though with all these grievances I have, I found myself liking Jess and somehow Gemma too throughout the story. Jess was the supporting and compassionate friend who has hidden feelings for Gemma. While Gemma’s the innocent and humble friend who’s also always next to Jess as his friend. I like her character because the author didn’t make her like the other cliché girls we could read in other books. Why? Because even though she really can’t help loving Jess and wanting to be with him always, she tried to stand on her own. She found new friends and tried to keep her feelings with Jess and leave some pride for herself. 

Friendships broke and new were found, standing on your own feet and doing the right thing before it was too late and taking up your chances on something, was this story is all about. I still recommend this to those readers who want to read easy and simple story on their shelves, but I’ll still stand on my view of the book. Mediocre.

Cover Reveal: Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Publication date: March 19th 2013

Goodreads summary: In Clockwork Princess, Tessa and her companions travel all over the world as they race to stop the clockwork army before it’s too late. As Jem’s health worsens alarmingly and his friends search desperately for a cure, can Tessa choose between the two boys she loves—even if it means never seeing the other one again?

IT HAS A COVER!! And OMG it's GORGEOUS. The colors, the dress, the model-everything's beautiful. I must also say this is my favorite cover in the Infernal Devices series... scratch that, this is the best Cassie Clare book cover yet in my opinion. This is one of my all-time favorite series so I'm more than excited to get my hands on this. So what do you guys think? :)