Friday 30 June 2017

Solitute by Dean M. Cole Audiobook Tour and Giveaway!

Author: Dean M. Cole
Narrators: R.C. Bray, Julia Whelan
Length: 8h 50m
Publisher: CANDTOR Press
Genre: Sci-Fi

Earth's last man discovers that the last woman is stranded alone aboard the International Space Station. If you like action-packed novels, you'll love the electrifying action in this apocalyptic thriller. Can humanity's last two unite? Separated by the gulf of space, the last man and woman of the human race struggle against astronomical odds to survive and unite. Army Aviator Vaughn Singleton is a highly intelligent, lazy man. After a last-ditch effort to reignite his failing military career ends horribly, Vaughn becomes the only human left on Earth. Stranded alone on the International Space Station, Commander Angela Brown watches an odd wave of light sweep across the planet. Over the next weeks and then months, Angela struggles to contact someone on the surface, but as she fights to survive aboard a deteriorating space station, the commander glimpses the dark underpinnings of humanity's demise. After months alone, Vaughn discovers there is another. Racing against time, he must cross a land ravaged by the consequences of humankind's sudden departure. Can Vaughn find a path to space and back? Can Angela - the only person with clues to the mystery behind humanity's disappearance - survive until he does?

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About the Author: 
Author, world traveler, and combat pilot turned commercial helicopter pilot Dean M. Cole writes from locales as remote as Equatorial Guinea and as romantic as Paris's Champs-Elysées with his trusty sidekick and beautiful wife, Donna. A combat veteran, he flew Apache Attack Helicopters in the US Army's First Cavalry Division. License to kill revoked by the government, he traded in his attack helicopter for one of the transport ilk. When not weaving tales of alien apocalypse and redemption, he spends his days flying terrestrial aliens in IFOs (Identified Flying Objects) known as helicopters. No longer authorized to dispatch aliens he settles for dropping them off at oil rigs around the globe. On the six months of time off his paying job affords, author, biker, and fellow Sci-Fi geek Dean M. Cole travels with his wife, builds airplanes and custom choppers, and writes his next tale of the apocalypse.
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About the Narrators:
From an early age Audie, Earphones, and SOVAS Voice Arts Award-winning audiobook narrator R.C. Bray despised reading. Truly hated it with a passion. And audiobooks? Even worse. Those were for people too lazy to read (not to be confused with those like himself who didn’t want to read to begin with). R.C. eventually got older and wiser (he was always good-looking) and eschewing his capricious convictions fell head-over-heels with reading. Not just to learn words like “eschew” and “capricious” so he could use them in a bio line, but because someone was actually going to give him money to do it. Note: R.C.’s gorgeous wife and three beautiful children begged him not to make this his official bio. Clearly he misunderstood

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Julia Whelan is an actor, writer, and audiobook narrator. She is perhaps most well known for her acting work on ABC’s Once and Again and her award-winning narration of over 200 audiobooks (including Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl). Her debut novel is forthcoming. After a healthy career as a child actor, Whelan attended Middlebury College and Oxford University, graduating with a degree in English and Creative Writing.

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Review:
This sees two separate stories being told, one by a woman who is stuck on a space station and one by the last man on earth, when the apocalypse happened! 

Army Aviator Vaughn Singleton is testing a new invention and is disconnected from the planet with his friend, when they lose all communications with everyone. They have no clue what is happening and are stuck in the machine till they can manually open it, but air is running out quickly!! They eventually get out but Vaughn's friend is killed and he goes into a spiral of loneliness. During the lonely months, something niggles at Vaughn and he keeps thinking of the slogan "what can Brown do for you". He keeps thinking it's something important when suddenly he remembers something that the last person he talked to said. It clicks with him then and he remembers reading something about Commander Brown who is on the Space Station. He immediately tries to contact her to see if she is still alive. 

Then we have Commander Angela Brown who is on the International Space Station when she sees some sort of light moving across the globe. She is contacted by someone who tells her that anyone inside the ring of light seems to have disappeared. They can't contact anyone, and the ring of light is expanding. She is told to abandon the Space station with her co-workers and come back to earth in case it's an electronic failure, but things don't go her way and she is stranded up there by herself. Stuck in a space station that is slowly degrading and with dwindling supplies, Angela sends out a recording twice a day, every day. After months of nothing, she is resigned to her faith when she is contacted by someone named Vaughn. How will the last two people on earth reunite?

So this book was brilliant!! I absolutely flew through this and didn't want it to end. My heart was in my mouth the whole way through because I couldn't see how things could work out!! This author has such an amazing imagination!! You are brought into the apocalypse pretty much straight away and your attention is solely focused on the two characters and their journeys. I loved this because you easily become invested in both their stories and find yourself echoing each of their sentiments. My heart broke for both!! 

Plot wise, it's intriguing and scary too. Scary because of the epicenter of the light, that place freaks me out because of what it can do!!! The authors descriptive writing just made the whole story pop. The science behind it was easy to understand and believe and just made the story real. His characters development was amazing, considering both of them are alone for most of the time. I was blown away by his writing and this story. I'm thinking there will be more in this series because of the ending, and I seriously can't wait!!! This is definitely one of the best I've read so far this year. Brilliant. 

R.C Bray and Julia Whelan are two of the best in the business. R.C Bray is just amazing and really knows how to perform any book he reads. He never fails to deliver and always makes a book so much more enjoyable. As for Julia Whelan, she is equally amazing. She is easy to listen to and has an impressive array of tones and cadences. Both of them brought this book alive and I couldn't think of a better pair to narrate it. 

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.

Story:  
Narration:   


Audio Excerpt:

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Giveaway:

Solitude Giveaway

Schedule:

Jun. 14th: Spunky-n-Sassy
Jun. 15th: Avid Book Collector
Jun. 16th: Brian's Book Blog
Jun. 17th: CGB Blog Tours
Jun. 18th: The Pursuit of Bookishness
Jun. 19th: The Bookworm Lodge
Jun. 20th: Read Day and Night
Jun. 21st: Shh I Am Reading
Jun. 22nd: The Book Addict's Reviews
Jun. 23rd: Book Reviews By Jasmine
Jun. 24th: Lisa Loves Literature
Jun. 25th: Buried Under Books
Jun. 26th: Lomeraniel
Jun. 27th: Lilly's Book World
Jun. 29th: Joshua Gayou
Jun. 30th: Book Lover's Life
Jul. 3rd: Ronelle Antoinette
Jul. 4th: Dab of Darkness

 
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Asylum by Ambrose Ibsen Review!

Asylum by Ambrose IbsenTitle: Asylum
Series: The Afterlife Investigations Book 1
Author: Ambrose Ibsen
Pages: 232
Published: June 4th 2017
Source: From Author
What lurks within Chaythe Asylum? College professor Stephen Barlow needs cash. Badly. When a student asks him to head a new campus organization that centers around paranormal research, he puts his skepticism aside and signs on in the hopes of scoring a fat bonus. 
Enter Chaythe Asylum—a long-shuttered and controversial institution where patients were allegedly subjected to unethical experiments. Closed in 1989 after a series of grisly murders, Stephen deems the old building as good a place as any to explore the possibility of the supernatural and arranges to take a tour with his students. 
But it turns out that the asylum is not as abandoned as it seems. There is something sinister in the building. It has watched and waited for nearly three decades, and when Stephen and his students enter, they find themselves at the center of a nightmare 28 years in the making. 
ASYLUM is the first novel in the Afterlife Investigations trilogy. 

My Thoughts: 

I've read a lot by this author and he never fails to deliver a creepy and thrilling story, and this one is no different. 

Stephen Barlow is a professor and is hoping to become full time, but at the moment he needs money! When a student of his comes to him after class and asks him to head a new organisation that she is creating, he is hesitant because it's to do with the paranormal. But once she tells him that just by being head of it, he is entitled to 1000$, he jumps at the chance.  He finds out about a place called Chaythe Asylum and arranges a tour of it with his students. Little does he know that the Asylum isn't as abandoned as he thinks!

I really liked Stephen.  He is a no nonsense professor who puts aside his skepticism to help his students (well the money helps too ;)). He is used to facts but even he can tell that the Asylum isn't a friendly place. He doesn't want to go in but can't let his students go without him. He was well written and developed and I look forward to more from him.

The plot was fast paced and creepy. An Asylum is an incredibly creepy place anyway, but add in a supernatural element and you have a home run. I know I wouldn't willingly walk into an abandoned Asylum, but I do love reading about them! The ending left me wanting more!! I can't wait to find out what happens next.

In all, an incredibly creepy read. I am so looking forward to book 2!!! 



Saturday 24 June 2017

The Prophecy by Petra Landon Review!

34036785Title: The Prophecy
Series: Saga of the Chosen #1
Author: Petra Landon
Pages: 426
Published: January 27th 2017
Source: From Author
A powerful wizard threatens the Chosen from beyond the grave. Can they unravel The Prophecy in time to save their world!
Chosen have walked the earth for time immemorial. Tasia is a very special Chosen. Warned to keep her distance from her brethren, she makes a fateful decision one night to assist an injured Shape-shifter. Suddenly, Tasia finds herself in the cross-hairs of Shifter mercenaries encroaching on San Francisco. Forced out of the shadows, Tasia has little choice but to ally herself with the local Shifter Pack led by a formidable and dangerous Alpha Protector. In the cut-throat world of a Shifter Pack, Tasia must fight to protect her secrets while struggling to negotiate with the enigmatic Alpha who holds his violent Pack together with a ruthless hand on its reins.
Grave danger threatens their world as a powerful wizard exploits an old prophecy to divide the Chosen. When the Pack is asked to investigate the twenty-five year old mystery, Tasia is drawn deeper into a past that risks raising the suspicions of the very Chosen she hides from. As danger closes in on her, Tasia must decide who to trust with the deadly secrets she guards.

My Thoughts:

One thing Tasia lives is what her father taught her.. never let them know how powerful you are. She has spent her life living below the radar, pretending to be a low level wizard, but all it takes is one night to change everything. What was supposed to be a routine magic swipe turns into a game changer for her. She can sense magic and the place she is sent to has strong magic and she knows something bad happened here. She senses someone in trouble and since she can't turn a blind eye, she sets out to see if she can help, albeit secretly. What she finds is a shifter in trouble. When she frees him, her life becomes out of her control and her identity is in jeopardy.  

You guys... this book was amazing!!! It's been too long since I read a good Shifter book and I'm so glad it was this one that reminded me how much I enjoy these kind of stories.  It was incredibly well written and developed and is filled with awesome characters that you can't help but love. 

Usually I hate the whole "special" girl vibe in books, but Tasia is such an easy character to love and I instantly connected with her. She knows she is special, she knows she is strong but she also knows she has to hide it or else the other chosen will take advantage of her.  I loved her sense of self and her humility. She isn't afraid to accept help, nor is she afraid to admit when she is wrong. 

I loved the other characters too, Raoul, Hawk and the rest . The little spin on shifters the author did was awesome, I loved the idea of the different Alpha protectors and one main Alpha. I loved the different Chosen and finding out the lore on them all. I loved that this book set the scene for what seems to be an epic journey for Tasia and the Shifters!! I pretty much loved everything about this!! 

In all, this was an addicting and entertaining story. It's full of magic, mystery, suspense and a hint of romance, it's a must read! This is a book that has so much character and soul that it will make you want to read it all over again. I truly can't wait to see what the author has in store for the next one!! Go buy it and read it, you won't be disappointed!!



Tuesday 20 June 2017

Gears of Fate by Wilbert Stanton Book Blitz and Giveaway!


Gears of Fate
Wilbert Stanton
(Forgotten Gods #1)
Published by: Curiosity Quills Press
Publication date: June 20th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult

Centuries have passed since the Fey conquered Earth, forcing mankind and gods alike to flee to the sky city Olympus. Forgotten gods walk amongst man, lost and powerless. Little do they suspect a second Fey war looms, and an unlikely duo will set in motion the gears of fate.
Zak Walker is a fringe rat living in the slums who would do anything to protect his sister, Alice. His neglectful father threatens to consign him to a life away from home on an airship, but he yearns for his life to mean something more than drudgery.
Princess Seneca Rose is the last surviving member of the Seelie royals. They tried to establish peace with mankind, but fell to the forces of Queen Mob and the Unseelie Court. Fleeing for her life, Seneca arrives on Olympus in hopes of uniting the forgotten gods against the oncoming Fey.
Zak couldn’t care less about the fate of Olympus, until faeries kidnap Alice. He doesn’t believe Seneca’s stories of faeries or gods, but soon has no choice but to accept their lives are intertwined. All his life, he’s dreamed of something more. If he cannot face the dangers that await down on Earth, the gods, mankind, and his sister Alice are all doomed.
EXCERPT:

I watched helplessly as we flew further away. Alana and Gharis, fighting furiously side by side, hadn’t noticed me getting snatched. Seneca still struggled with Francis’s pack. I had to take matters into my own hands. I struggled under my attacker’s iron grip. He had me in a tight bear hug rendering my arms useless. I thrashed about until I broke free. The rust bucket flew away, and for a moment, it felt like I could fly. Gravity had a different plan in mind.
I’m going to die.
Clouds swallowed the world; the white darkness devoured me, the gushing air made my ears pop. I’d never get to kiss Abby; I’d never become a man; Most importantly, I failed to keep Alice safe. Alice, I’m sorry.
I closed my eyes and prepared to die. Until I heard laughing. I’m cogged. The wild laughter of a maniac got closer, closer, and closer still. Seneca burst through the clouds head first, her body straightened with arms pressed tight at her sides. Goggles covered her eyes, and her smile seemed to go for miles. She caught up and wrapped her arms around me, locking her body against mine.



Author Bio:
Wilbert Stanton was born and raised in New York City. From an early age, Wilbert decided he would either write books or take over the world; everything else was just a precursor to his end game.
Along the way, he has studied Psychology, English, and Computer Science. He's held jobs in a wide range of fields and met people from all walks of life. Wilbert is constantly learning and growing as a person, in order to solidify his dreams.
In the end, world domination was a bit tedious, so he decided to focus on writing books.

GIVEAWAY!
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
  • 3x signed copies of Gears of Fate

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Monday 19 June 2017

Shades of the Gods by Erin Hayes Book Blitz and Giveaway!


Shades of the Gods
Erin Hayes
(Elysium Legacies #1)
Publication date: September 27th 2013
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mythology

Caught between life and death, all Callie wants is to live again.
Homicide detective Callie Saunders knows that death isn’t all pearly gates and angels. After being hit by a bus, she finds that it’s the ancient gods and goddesses of Greek mythology who are in charge of everything.
So when Hades offers her a deal, she accepts. If she wants to be brought back to life, she’ll have to figure out who is trying to kill his son. But if she fails, both her soul and the world will be destroyed.
With the odds mounting against her, it’ll take everything she has within her to wake up from death. But the rules are constantly changing. And someone wants her to stay dead.
(This book was formerly titled Death is but a Dream. The covers and titles have changed for The Elysium Legacies, but the content is still the same.)
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EXCERPT:

“You’re blackmailing me,” I sneered at him, fury raging within me at the realization. “You want me to do something in return before you allow me to wake up.”
He raised his hand in a gesture of supplication. “Not blackmail,” he assured. “I’m looking to employ you for a time.”
I recoiled. “Employ me? As what? Muscle? Is this the Underworld’s version of the Mafia?” Now that I thought about it, Hades did remind me of a mob boss. He even looked like some I knew. “I don’t play that, sorry.”
Hades grinned. “I want to make a deal with you, Callista. You find out who is trying to kill my son. Give me a name and a motive. And I’ll restore you to life.”



Author Bio:
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books.
She works as an advertising copywriter by day, and she's an award-winning New York Times Bestselling Author by night. She has lived in New Zealand, Hawaii, Texas, Alabama, and now San Francisco with her husband, cat, and a growing collection of geek paraphernalia.
You can reach her at erinhayesbooks@gmail.com and she’ll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.

GIVEAWAY!
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
  • $50 Amazon gift card

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Saturday 17 June 2017

War of the Words by John J. Rust and Mark Gardner Audiobook Tour and Giveaway!

Authors: John J. Rust, Mark Gardner
Narrator: Samuel E. Hoke III
Length: 7h 38m
Publisher: Article94
Genre: Sci-Fi

1898: Martian tripods lay waste to Earth’s cities. The world’s armies are unable to stem the tide of destruction. When all hope appears lost, common bacteria kills the alien invaders. From the ashes, the human race uses the technology left behind by the Martians to build new, advanced weapons. 1924: Armed with their own spaceships, tripods, and jet fighters, the nations of the world are ready to take the fight to Mars. George Patton, Erwin Rommel, Charles de Gaulle, and Georgy Zhukov lead their troops in battle across the red planet to end the alien menace once and for all. But the Martians have one last, desperate plan to try, and if successful, it could mean the end for all humanity.
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About the Authors:
John J. Rust was born in New Jersey. He studied broadcasting and journalism at Mercer County Community College in New Jersey and the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York. He moved to Arizona in 1996, where he works as the Sports Director for an Arizona radio group.

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  Mark Gardner is a US NAVY veteran. He lives in northern Arizona with his wife, three children and a pair of spoiled dogs. Mark holds a degree in Computer Systems and Applications, and is the Chief Operator for an Arizona radio group.
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About the Narrator:
Samuel E. Hoke III is a 6'0" Scorpio who summers in Virginia with his wife two amazingly wonderful black cats named Inca and Maya. In the winter they all head to central Florida. Samuel is a veteran of the corporate world including IBM and Bank of America he now pursues his lifelong passion of acting. Samuel has a Bachelors degree in Liberal Studies from Norwich University and an MBA in Global Technology Management from American University. He also conducted a Pre-Doctoral studies in Strategic Leadership at Cornell University. Samuel enjoys Rock and Roll music, photography, fast cars, and international travel.

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Audio Excerpt:

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Giveaway:

 War of the Worlds Giveaway


Schedule:

Jun. 11th: The Cheshire Cat's Looking Glass
Jun. 12th: CGB Blog Tours 
Jun. 13th: To Read or Not to Read   Dab of Darkness
Jun. 14th: Spunky-n-Sassy   The Book Addict's Reviews
Jun. 15th: Buried Under Books   The Bookworm Lodge
Jun. 16th: Lomeraniel   Book Reviews By Jasmine 
Jun. 17th: Book Lover's Life


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Monday 12 June 2017

Amnesia by Cambria Hebert Book Blitz and Giveaway!


Amnesia
Cambria Hebert
Publication date: June 12th 2017
Genres: Adult, Romance, Suspense

I washed ashore in a little lake town.
A place where everyone knows everyone, yet…
No one knows me.
I don’t know me.
If a woman doesn’t know her own name, does she really exist?
I don’t know my natural hair color, my birthdate, or where I live.
I am invisible.
To everyone, to everything, even to myself.
Except to him.
I see the recognition deep in his stare, the way it lingers on my face as if I’m a puzzle he’s desperate to put together.
I just want answers, the truth… knowledge.
His lips are sealed. Still, his eyes beguile me.
I can’t trust anyone, not even myself. Someone wants me dead, the same someone who tried to bury me in a watery grave.
They’ll come for me again… I won’t know their face.
I don’t even know mine.
I am amnesia.

EXCERPT:

Slivers of light pricked my eyelids, which up until this moment seemed far too heavy to lift. As I lay against something soft at my back, thought and awareness barely registered.
The gritty feeling as I struggled to raise my eyelids scraped and burned over my eyeballs as if warning me it wasn’t a good idea. Swallowing past the sandpaper in my throat, I stopped working and lay still. Cognizance slowly came forward in the form of something weighing me down and the echo of footsteps nearby.
Adrenaline jackknifed through me, and my body arched upward with the force of my gasp. The weight of whatever held me caused severe panic to fill me, and I began to fight against it.
“No!” I screamed, flailing about, trying to escape the binds. “Let me go!”
High-pitched beeping filled my ears, and the footsteps I’d heard grew more insistent and much closer.
He was coming!
“No!” I screamed.
Strong hands grabbed my arms and pinned me down. I tried to fight back, but they were much stronger than me. Kicking my legs, I tried to free them, but even more weight came down, holding them still until I was gasping for breath and ready to beg.
“Please!” I pleaded as wetness coated my cheeks. It made me realize the grittiness under my lids was rinsed away, and my eyes sprang open.
A man was leaning over me. He had graying hair and wore some kind of white shirt. The scream that ripped right out of me scared us both.
More hands and voices came out of nowhere, and I thrashed around again.
“Miss!” the man yelled. “Miss, calm down.”
“Get away from me!” I screamed again.
“Miss!” another voice yelled, a woman this time. Turning in her direction, I saw a pair of kind brown eyes staring at me. “We aren’t trying to hurt you.”
I calmed some, but the thundering of my heart made me feel as if I might spiral out of control. “You aren’t?”
“No.” The woman, who was also dressed in white, spoke. “You’re at a hospital. You were in an accident.”
“W-what?” I stammered, collapsing back against the bed, no longer straining against the binds.
“You’re at a hospital.”
“You’re trying to hold me down!” I accused.
“We don’t want you to hurt yourself.” the woman explained. The hands, even the man’s, remained.
“I don’t like it,” I admitted, recoiling.
The man straightened, stepping back. The nurse was slower to withdraw, but she did so after a few seconds.
“My legs,” I rasped. Suddenly, my throat hurt.
“It’s just the blankets.”
A quick glance down proved I was covered with blankets. Between suspicious glances at the people crowding my room (there were four), I gazed around, concluding I was in fact in a hospital.
“I don’t understand,” I admitted, all my weight pressing into the bed.
“It’s okay,” the man replied. He was a doctor, with a name badge and a stethoscope. “It’s completely normal and expected to be confused after the ordeal you’ve been through.”
“What ordeal?” I asked instantly, anxiety pressing in on my ribcage.
“We were hoping you could tell us,” the doctor said.
“What?” My brows furrowed.
The nurse leaned close, over the side of the bed. I noticed the railings were pulled up on each side. It made me feel as if I were in jail. Instantly, I hated it and began shoving at the bars, trying to push them down.
“Okay, hang on,” the nurse said and put the rails down. Once it was done, she pinned me with an insistent stare. “You have to stay still. You can’t thrash around. You’ll rip out your IV and reinjure yourself.”
“What happened to me?” I asked for what felt like the fifteenth time. I looked around at the four people in the room, hoping one of them would just spit it out.
The doctor motioned to two of the nurses and then quietly left the room.
I glanced back at the nurse. “Can you tell us your name?” she asked.
“My name?” I nodded once, then opened my mouth… only nothing came out.
Anxiety spiked in me again; I started to become agitated. “I… don’t know.”
“Calm down.” The nurse reminded me.
How dare she tell me to calm down? I couldn’t even remember my name.
Oh my God, I didn’t know my own name!
“I don’t remember!” I gasped, jerking up into a sitting position. “Why can’t I remember?”
Before I could fling the covers off and jump out of bed, the doctor was there, pinning me back down. “If you don’t calm down, we’ll have to sedate you. I don’t want to do that. You’ve been out long enough.”
I stilled. “How long?”
“A while.” The nurse hedged.
I ignored her. She was terrible with questions. “How long?” I demanded.
“A little over two months,” the doctor replied.
I gasped. “What’s my name?” I yelled.
I’d been here for two months and they were asking for my name? Shouldn’t they know it?
The doctor wasn’t looking at me; he was looking at the nurse, giving her a curt nod. She rushed out of the room.
“No!” I shouted. “No drugs! Please! Tell me my name. I just want to know my name.”
“You need to calm down. You’ve had a great deal of trauma, miss.”
I dropped back against the pillow, boneless. He called me miss. “You don’t know my name, do you?” I asked, meek.
Sensing all my energy was drained away, he moved back. A frown pulled at his lips. “You were brought in with no identification.” He began.
Fear unlike anything I’d ever felt wrapped around my heart and squeezed. I searched every corner of my mind for something. Anything.
There was nothing.
“I don’t remember…” I whispered.
The doctor seemed to soften. “I know this must be very scary, to wake up and be so disoriented.”
I laughed, but it wasn’t a humorous sound. I wished I were disoriented right then.
“You’ve been through a lot. Give it a few days. Now that you’re awake, your mind will catch up and you will remember.”
“I will?” I asked.
“There’s a good chance.”
Disappointment speared me. “If I don’t?”
“Let’s take it one day at a time.” He placated me.
“Easy for you to say. You know your name.”
A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. “Time.” He reminded me.
The nurse came through the door, holding a syringe, and I cringed away.
“I don’t think we’re going to need that,” the doctor told her.
I let out an audible sigh.
He glanced around again. “Now that you’re awake, I’ll get you down for testing.”
“What kind of testing?” I asked.
“Routine stuff for someone who’s been in a coma.”
Nothing about this was routine. I was in coma… for two months. And I didn’t even know my name.
When both the nurse and doctor were gone and I was alone, my eyes overflowed with tears and a formidable feeling of dread crowded inside me. The doctor said there was “a good chance” I would remember my name very soon.
The problem was it wasn’t just my name I needed to remember…
It was everything.



Author Bio:
Cambria Hebert is an award winning, bestselling novelist of more than twenty books. She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major, and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair.
Besides writing, Cambria loves a caramel latte, staying up late, sleeping in, and watching movies. She considers math human torture and has an irrational fear of chickens (yes, chickens). You can often find her running on the treadmill (she’d rather be eating a donut), painting her toenails (because she bites her fingernails), or walking her chorkie (the real boss of the house).
Cambria has written within the young adult and new adult genres, penning many paranormal and contemporary titles. Her favorite genre to read and write is romantic suspense. A few of her most recognized titles are: The Hashtag Series, Text, Torch, and Tattoo.
Cambria Hebert owns and operates Cambria Hebert Books, LLC.

GIVEAWAY!
Blitz-wide giveaway (INTL)
  • Signed copy of Amnesia  + $20 Amazon gift card

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Friday 9 June 2017

State of Hope by Summer Lane Book Blitz and Giveaway!


State of Hope
Summer Lane
(Collapse #10)
Publication date: June 9th 2017
Genres: Dystopian, New Adult

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THE SMASH-HIT PHENOMENON FROM #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR SUMMER LANE.
This is it.
Cassidy Hart and her comrades have returned to their home: California, the final battlefield in the fight against the global terror, Omega. Commander Chris Young is in critical condition, the United States Navy has acquired new weapons, and the militias have just made a discovery that could change everything.
Faced with tragedy, heartbreak, and destruction, Cassidy is tempted to give up.
But she is a fighter. Defeat is not in her blood.
When confronted with the possibility of resurrecting the leadership of the United States of America, she will do anything to make the dream of stability a reality. She and Lieutenant Uriah True, along with the legendary strike team, the Angels of Death, undertake a dangerous and outrageous mission, unlike anything they have ever attempted. They will find themselves in the very epicenter of Omega’s stronghold.
Yet doubt remains. No one can be trusted in this dark new world, and their hope may not be as black and white as it seems. Disappointment and rejection cloud Cassidy’s judgment.
Friends will be lost. Tears will be shed. Sacrifices beyond the imagination will be made. The grim reality and bitter destruction of war will inflict one final sucker punch. The militias desperately attempt to hold their ground, and the Freedom Fighters will do everything they can to destroy the greatest evil this world has ever known. The apocalypse has taken everything from Cassidy, but she will not stop until her heart ceases to beat, and until there is no breath left in her body.
She holds onto hope – hope of a future, hope of victory, and hope of love.
There is no going back. It all ends here.
Are you prepared?

The End of Collapse
By
Summer Lane
What they say about ending a series is true. They say it’s hard, it’s emotional, and it’s a little bit painful.
All true. All correct.
It is hard to end a series, especially one that I’ve been working on for five years, non-stop; a series that has, so far, given birth to 17 books in its complete universe. Ending Collapse feels a bit like letting go of a child that has been clinging to my neck for a long time. Finally, I’m stepping away from a familiar storyline.
The journey of the entire Collapse Series itself has been so quick, so hectic and so intense, that I can’t remember every detail of it. That’s okay, though. I can look through the books in the series and see exactly where I was and what I was doing when I wrote it. Reading the books reminds me of what the journey of creation was like: it reminds me of how I felt while growing the characters of this universe.
At this point, there are around 40 characters in the main series, give or take a few. Some have died, some have lived. Some have grown, some have not. When I first wrote the initial installment that started everything, I honestly just wrote the book for fun. I had so many story ideas about Cassidy Hart and Chris Young – ideas that would make a great series, I thought. But I wasn’t planning on sharing them with anyone unless readers wanted it. When demands for a sequel came flooding in, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and shock. It’s the best feeling in the world to know that you have made a connection with readers; it means you have done your job. You have provided an escape from reality, you have taken them on an emotional journey, and you have given people the best gift of all…you have given them the gift of feeling.
For me, writing is my lifeblood. I may have other interests, other tasks, other duties to perform, but it always comes back to this: to the story, to the journey, to the characters. When I was growing up, I survived tough situations by withdrawing from reality and closing my eyes, picturing a story. I could always see it clearly, like a movie in my head. I could hear it, smell it, feel it and practically touch it. I lived in imaginary places more than I did in the real world. I would be minding my own business and suddenly, bam! I would be there, in the story, in the plot. A flash-bang of an idea, an influx of creativity. I was, as they say in Beauty in the Beast, “Never part of any crowd, cuz’ her head’s up on some cloud.” I was always writing, and I started working on crafting my voice as early as 13. I was serious. I submitted to magazines, but unfortunately, I came into the publishing business in an age when paper publications were dying, and online submissions and articles were beginning to boom.
So I hit the digital world. I worked as a freelance writer, doing the “dirty work” of the publishing business. I wrote so many articles, I was dreaming about lines of script in my sleep. I never stopped writing – I mean that in the literal sense. I rarely – if ever – took a break from writing. If I wasn’t writing, I was reading. I still read. Constantly. If you want to improve your writing, keep reading. There is always something new to learn, no matter how skilled you are.
The story of Collapse is really a story of its readers. The support I’ve had from the reading community around the world has had a profound effect on me. I’m grateful for every reader – from the first to the last. From the oldest to the newest. I’m always touched when I receive fan mail thanking me for writing, for sharing the stories in my head. It’s an honor to know that my books are on readers’ shelves across America, and in digital cues on tablets or smartphones. I absolutely adore my readers, and I can’t thank them enough for reading my books even when I was a teenager, with a very loose grasp on what I was doing in the publishing business.
I would be lying if I said writing is glamorous. Perhaps it is in the movies – and perhaps it is sometimes. But nine days out of ten, it is not glamorous. It’s unpredictable, it’s ruthless, it’s unforgiving, and it’s grueling. It’s emotionally draining, it’s mentally draining and it’s sometimes discouraging. It’s isolating, akin to a self-imposed exile. I find it very difficult to leave the hectic yet secure solace of my office – the world is often too much, too loud. Sometimes you have good days. Sometimes you have terrible days. Sometimes you feel worthless and talentless, like a failure. For me, I would have to say I feel like that more times than not. Much of my writing experience could only be described as suffering. I talk about the difficulty of what it’s been like quite a lot, but it’s hard to convey the enormity of the struggle if you’ve never been through it. I can only describe it as being on a rollercoaster of emotion, every day unpredictable, every month void of a guarantee of survival. People try to steal your work. People accuse you of not having a “real” job. People say horrible things to you in letters or on forums. Being a writer is a bit like being a bulls-eye: you will be targeted for your mere existence.
Can you handle it? Can you take the emotional rollercoaster ride? Can you take the criticism? Can you take the pressure? Can you take the competition? Can you take the failures as well as the successes?
Yet writing is like a pendulum. You have to swing with it – you can’t control everything about it, because you’re not meant to. At some point, you have to do your best and let go. You have to let the pendulum move on its own. You have to trust in the strength of your story and the loyalty of your readers. You have to trust in your characters. You have to trust in yourself. It’s hard to do. For me, I feel the impossibility of that truth every single time I release a book. I’ve gone through it 17 times. The struggle, the exhaustion, the shaky self-confidence, the fear, the disappointment. You name a stage, and I’ve been through it. Over and over again.
Writing, however, is what I love. So I embrace it, warts and all, and make it my own. I take chances because without them, my life would have no meaning. I have to experiment, push boundaries and create constantly. Even if I had nothing – if I was back at the beginning of everything again, I would still create. That is what we do as writers. We create something from nothing, and we make you care about the journey.

So ending Collapse is hard, yes. But it is a necessary part of life. All beginnings must have their endings. It is merely an open door for more opportunity and more adventure, and I am ready for it.

Author Bio:
Summer Lane is the #1 bestselling author of the national smash-hit books of the Collapse Series, Zero Trilogy, Bravo Saga, Collapse: The Illustrated Guide, and Unbreakable SEAL. She owns Writing Belle Publishing, and is also an extensively experienced journalist and creative writing teacher. Summer operates Writing Belle, an online magazine where she has worked with hundreds of authors from around the world and helps bring exposure to their work. Summer takes great pride in being an entrepreneur, creative spirit and business owner.
Summer lives in the Central Valley of California with her husband, Scott (who can fix anything!), and their German Shepherd, a sweet girl named Kona. Summer loves to travel, read and cook. She uses the experiences of her traveling adventures as inspiration for her books. Some of her favorite places in the world include the forest (any forest, anywhere!), Hawaii (the tropical setting is beautiful!) and Southern California (so many story possibilities!).

GIVEAWAY!
Blitz-wide giveaway (US only)
  • Kindle Fire, Cassidy Hart Poster (Signed), Cassidy Hart Tee-Shirt, Collapse Series Tote-Bag and Apocalyptic Survival Goody Bag! 
  • Entire Set of the Collapse Series, Autographed by the Author
  • Cassidy Hart Poster and Survival Goody Bag

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