I am so excited to be a part of the #WOW2016 Valentine’s Day Blog Hop! There are so many amazing authors and bloggers participating, so make sure you check them all out!
Today, I am thrilled to have some swoony excerpts (and a few graphics, too!) from some books that I am quite excited to read. And then, these amazing authors have come together to give you a chance to win a big old prize back, which is pretty fabulous (basically, I am jealous of the winner, mmmkay?). So, let’s do this!
Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember
Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember Published by Harmony Ink Press on April 21st 2016
Pages: 180
After a savage attack drives her from her home, sixteen-year-old Mnemba finds a place in her cousin Tumelo’s successful safari business, where she quickly excels as a guide. Surrounding herself with nature and the mystical animals inhabiting the savannah not only allows Mnemba’s tracking skills to shine, it helps her to hide from the terrible memories that haunt her.
Mnemba is employed to guide Mr. Harving and his daughter, Kara, through the wilderness as they study unicorns. The young women are drawn to each other, despite that fact that Kara is betrothed. During their research, they discover a conspiracy by a group of poachers to capture the Unicorns and exploit their supernatural strength to build a railway. Together, they must find a way to protect the creatures Kara adores while resisting the love they know they can never indulge.
The Romantic Excerpt and Graphic!
The graphic (which is amazing, yes?) is a never-before seen image by Linnea Gear, so leave her some love- she did a fabulous job!
When I pressed my mouth to hers, relief flooded through my body. I felt no trace of fear. Our kiss was messy. My tongue lapped against hers like a dying man catching rain. The desperate pressure of her lips against mine hurt. My lips were too dry. Hers too wet. Still, in the passionate wrongness of it, I found perfection.
Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn
Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn Published by Entangled: Teen on November 3rd 2015
Pages: 400
Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided…by your future self.
It’s Callie’s seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she’s eagerly awaiting her vision―a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they’re meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.
Or in Callie’s case, a criminal.
In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in Limbo―a prison for those destined to break the law. With the help of her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn’t spoken to in five years, she escapes the hellish prison.
But on the run from her future, as well as the government, Callie sets in motion a chain of events that she hopes will change her fate. If not, she must figure out how to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all.
Callie herself.
The Romantic Excerpt
Excerpt from Chapter Four of Pintip Dunn’s Forget Tomorrow
“I can’t fight Fate. But I know who can. FuMA. I’m going to let them arrest me. Lock me up, so that I can’t fulfill my memory. Even if I want to.”
He stills. “But then you would be in detainment. For the rest of your life.”
You’ll never see the sun again, a voice inside me whispers. Never get married and have your own family. The inside of a cell will be your home for the rest of your days.
I don’t care. Tears drip onto my cheeks, and I swipe them away. This is my sister we’re talking about. My sister.
“I can’t imagine ever doing what my future self did.” I swallow hard. “But it happened. So I can’t guarantee I won’t change my mind.” I straighten my shoulders. “The safest thing for me to do is take the decision out of my hands. And FuMA’s offering to do just that.”
He closes the distance between us. “You can’t turn yourself in, Callie. Think about what you’re saying.”
“Both you and the Chairwoman said it—the hand of Fate is strong. I have to take extreme measures in order to defeat it. What can be more extreme than going to detainment?”
He opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, I twist away and look down the hill. “They’re coming.”
A fast-moving pack of bloodhounds drag along a blur of guards in navy and white uniforms. They’ve just begun their ascent, but the dogs are galloping up the slope, as if they can’t wait to rip me apart. I’ve got a minute, tops.
My hand closes around the black chip, and I pull it from my pocket. Without another thought, I throw it as hard as I can over the precipice. There. It’s gone. Just because I’m turning myself in doesn’t mean I have to tell them about Jessa. They don’t need any more reason to investigate her.
I turn back to Logan. His eyes pierce me with an expression of deep, unspeakable regret. Does he actually care? Underneath the years of silence and betrayal, does a kernel of friendship still remain?
“I’m sorry, Callie.”
There’s so much I want to say. I’m going away, for a very long time. This is my last chance to reconcile our old hurts. The last time to feel a real, human connection.
My last chance for a kiss. Oh, how I want to lean forward and press my lips against his. I don’t want to die having never kissed a boy.
But there’s no time. The dogs’ barks shatter the air like the rat-tat-tat of a machine gun. We hear the scuffle of feet against dirt. The officers will be on top of us at any moment.
“Go!” I shout at Logan. “Get out of here, before they
arrest you, too.”
He opens his mouth to say something, but I shake my head. “Don’t. Don’t make this any harder than it is.”
With his eyebrows pulled together, Logan nods, gives my arm one last squeeze, and disappears over the other side of the hill.
This is it. My last few moments of freedom.
Turning, I raise my hands in surrender. I take a deep breath, savoring the openness of the mountain air. And then I walk straight toward the officers.
Gyre by Jessica Gunn
Gyre by Jessica Gunn Published by Curiosity Quills Press on February 1st 2016
Pages: 324
Chelsea didn’t try to teleport. All she wanted was to play the Battle of the Bands show. But after accidentally teleporting onto classified Navy vessel SeaSatellite5, all she’s rocking is the boat. Once it’s sorted out that Chelsea’s not a threat, SeaSat5’s top scientist offers Chelsea a position on the crew as an archaeology intern. Dr. Saint studies people with powers, believing them to be descendants of Atlantean refugees, except Chelsea’s powers are beyond anything on previous record.
While great for everyone else onboard, the miracle of Chelsea is Trevor’s worst nightmare. The same girl who’d given him a brief lifeline to sanity three months ago literally fell from the sky, under a mile of ocean, and onto the very station where he’s employed. Making matters worse, Trevor’s family are Lemurians, Atlantis’s enemy, and Chelsea’s presence is unpredicted—a wrench in an already unstable situation. But Trevor wants no part of his family’s war. The only thing he wants is Chelsea, Atlantean or not.Days into Chelsea’s sudden appearance, SeaSatellite5 uncovers Atlantean ruins and a massive artifact cache, placing its entire, hundred-man crew in the crosshairs of an ancient war. There are those who want the Atlantean relics inside the ruins destroyed, and only Trevor knows the treasures for what they really are: Link Pieces, tools used by the ancient civilizations for their time-travel war.
With lies and shifting alliances abound, Chelsea and Trevor will have to think fast in order to save the station. If they don’t, the Lemurians will seize the artifacts and Atlantis will be destroyed forever.
The Romantic Excerpt & Graphic
He kissed me again, strong hands cupping my face, chasing away all doubts. His mouth found my neck, leaving kisses on every available centimeter of skin. He whispered in my ear, “You’re beautiful, more than I thought possible.
And fuck, no one had ever said that to me before. No one had made me feel like this before. I drew his lips to mine, enjoying that every part of me snapped to attention where he touched. Alive. Electrified. Trevor simply brought me to life, had from the beginning, in every single way. He’d become everything, a lifeline, my first love, in a matter of weeks. And here in this moment, I entrusted him with that power forever.
Forget tomorrow sounds so good. Yay for books on valentines day 🙂
Aw, thank you, Megan! Happy Valentine’s Day!
An amazing line up thank you.
Thanks for stopping by and reading, Mary! I hope you have a great day!
Happy Valentine’s Day! (Accept sincere wishes from a single bookworm who prefers books to people.) Thank you very much for this Giveaway – I’m glad you’re helping some of he authors to come to light. It’s really generous of you and I don’t have to win to appreciate it. Although I wouldn’t mind, haha. (My sarcasm is not funny, but I guess you got that by now. Sorry and have a nice day ;))
All those books sounds awesome! I’m looking forward to read Forget Tomorrow because that excerpt is so swoony <33
Happy Valentine’s Day, Marky! Ha ha – I think your sarcasm is amusing. Lol. Thanks for stopping by!
Aw, thank you, Tiffany! I really appreciate that! Hope you have a great day!
Shannon, Thank you so much for hosting us today! It is a true honor to be on your blog. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thanks for the giveaway.
Unicorn Tracks looks SO SO good!! I absolutely love the cover and the concept. Ooh the romance sounds so swoony and yay for diversity! Great post.
Thanks for hosting us, Shannon!! <3 and Rachel, thank you so much! I really hope you love the book when it comes out!
All of the authors are new to me…very cool!
I wish my daughter was awake right now – she would absolutely swoon over these book covers. I can’t wait to show her tomorrow. Thanks for the chance to win!
Wow.. A bunch of new author to explore. I love it. Thank you so much for hosting this awesome giveaway 🙂
Thanks for all of the great giveaways! I really appreciate the opportunity!
Unicorns, a girl thinking she’s destined to kill her sister, another girl at sea – I just love how unique all of these sound, like not the same old, I definitely want to give them a try. And, thanks for the amazing giveaway!
This is great – haven’t read anything by the authors mentioned – thank you!
Awesome giveaway! Thanks!
Happy valentine’s day and thanks for the lovely giveaway
Forget Tomorrow sounds really interesting. And that cover. But all I could think was: oooh, look at that pretty cover… birds… oh no, what if there are bird people… must warn Shannon! LOL
You can rest assured, there are no bird people! ? thanks for your comment!