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Showing posts with label YA Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA Romance. Show all posts

8 July 2013

Reconnaissance (Paradise Reclaimed #2) by Aubrie Dionne - CBLS Promotions Book Blast and G*i*v*e*a*w*a*y


Please note:  If you cannot comment on this post, please go to
www.hywelalyn.co.uk
and you should be able to comment there.

I'm thrilled to once again welcome wonderful SF romance author, AUBRIE DIONNE and her latest novel:
Reconnaissance (Paradise Reclaimed #2) 

YA Sci-Fi/Futuristic Romance
Categories: Post-Apocalyptic/Dystopian
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
Release Date: May 1, 2013
Heat Level: Sweet
Word Count: 50,000

Available at:
Description:
Nova Williams has lost her one shot at Lieutenanthood and at love. Lieutenant Crophaven has promoted her rival, Andromeda, all because her lifemate, Sirius, sacrificed their mission to win back Andromeda’s love.

While sneaking out to prove Andromeda is a fake, Nova finds an alien ship hovering over their colony. Lieutenant Crophaven assigns her to a reconnaissance mission, giving her a second chance to redeem herself. Sirius must fly her and a research team to the vessel to decide if they are a threat. Thrown together with the lifemate that betrayed her, she battles with her own jealousy while her team battles for their lives.

Can she forgive Sirius in order to save her team and warn her colony?

Aubrie grew up watching the original Star Wars movies over and over until she could recite and reenact every single scene in her backyard. She also loved The Goonies, Star Trek the Next Generation--favorite character was Data by far--and Indiana Jones. But, her all time favorite movie was The Last Unicorn. She still wonders why the unicorn decided to change back to a unicorn in the end.

Excerpt:
A drone, as deep and low as the growl of a primordial beast, resonated in my gut and I yanked my hand away. My heart sped like someone had fired a starter gun to a race, and my chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe.

That blaring blasphemy wasn’t from my ship.

The sound tapered off, leaving me in silence. I stared at the bones, wondering if I’d imagined it, or if I should hide here in the ruins in case the sound came back.

What am I doing? I’m a team expedition leader, for crying out loud!

I pulled myself back together. Everyone else was attending the ceremony on the ship. The thick hull, designed to protect us from deep space, blocked all sounds from the outside world. I was the only one who would have heard it. The only one who could investigate. I thought about going back for help, but every second I delayed, the source of the sound could disappear. Besides, I didn’t want the credit taken away from me. Not this time.

I scrambled to the window and climbed over the ledge, throwing myself down so fast my ankles exploded in pain. Cursing, I hobbled up the embankment of the excavation site. The sound boomed around me, vibrating the crystals underneath my feet. I fell to my knees and covered my ears. It reminded me of warping metal, growling monsters, and screeching alarms all at the same time.

The sound came from the jungle. I pulled myself up the incline and peered over the edge. A dry, fiery breeze blew my hair back, and I looked above the rustling canopy.

My heart stammered then beat into a frenzy. A massive ring of a ship, twice as large as the New Dawn, hovered over the jungle. Spires jutted from the top and the bottom, like a two-sided pin cushion. Blinking reddish lights adorned the ends. The hull was a dull gray shield of impenetrable metal with no sight panels or markings of any kind.

The buzzing sound made my eardrums throb. I pressed my nose up against the crystal ledge and peered over as my whole body shook. The lowest spire, thick as a nuclear reactor, lengthened from the belly of the ship until the tip hovered a meter from the jungle canopy. A trap door opened, and a beam of white light seared a hole in the foliage. The smell of burnt vines choked my throat, and I cowered against the side of the ledge.

I have to warn the ship.

About the Author:
Aubrie wrote in her junior high yearbook that she wanted to be “a concert flutist” when she grew up. She majored in flute performance at the University of New Hampshire on a full scholarship, then secured two teaching jobs at a University and a local community music school. While playing in orchestras and teaching, stories popped into her head, and she used them to make the music come alive for her flute students. Her students said they were so good, she had to write them down! Maybe they were right, who knows? Two careers seems to keep her busy. For now.

She is represented by Dawn Dowdle and writes sweet and adventurous fantasy, science fiction, and contemporary romance.

You can find the schedule with the other hosts in this promotion here:


To win this beatiful pendent, see the Rafflecopter details below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Connect with Aubrie Dionne:

Website
Blog
Twitter
Goodreads

This sounds like a wonderful addition to the 'Paradise' series Aubrie - and I too was captivated by Peter S Beagle's 'The Last Unicorn', the book first and then the movie.

Wishing you much success with 'Reconaissance'.







'STARQUEST'    'CHILDREN OF THE MIST'  (The sequel to Starquest)  Dancing With Fate      'Freeread':'A BARGAIN WITH DEATH
Also available on Kindle

1 February 2012

The Firelight of Maalda - Book II of The Raie Chaelia trilogy


 
THE FIRELIGHT OF MAALDA by Melissa Douthit
 is the second book in the Raie Chaelia trilogy. (There are also two short 'prequels' and they and Book 1 are available free on Smashwords and Amazon.

The Firelight of Maalda: A story that unites the real with the fantastical and turns science into magic …

Chalice and her group leave Barenthren to travel to Portalis. There she and her friends discover the beautiful city, its people, its history, and its secret that has been kept hidden for thousands of years. During their stay, they learn that Dar’Maalda has the Firestone and that he plans to use it.

What is the Firestone and what does Dar’Maalda plan to do with it? What are the Naezzi? What does the title, The Firelight of Maalda, really mean? And … what is the secret of Portalis, the secret that has been guarded so jealously for so long – so jealously, that many have given their lives to protect it?

In The Firelight of Maalda, the second novel of the trilogy, The Legend of the Raie’Chaelia, you find out. It is a tale of intrigue and wonder where two opposite worlds collide in an explosive journey that leads Chalice and her friends to the dark islands lurking just beyond the horizon of Ielieria, where the Firelight of Maalda sits … and waits.


 This is a YA series for age 13 upwards.  Having said that, I'm sure many 'older' readers will enjoy it as much as I did.  The story continues the story begun in The RaieChaelia and reveals more of the characters and the wondeful world Melissa Douthit has created.  I really enjoyed reading the first book, The Raie Chaelia, as well as the short sequels, but I did think there were a few anomalies which didn't seem to quite fit in with her magical world and seemed to reflect a little too much on her own.  In The Firelight of Maalda, these anomalies are touched upon and as I read I realised that these were purely intentional.  In fact they serve, I think, to project a subtle, ecological message.

This story continues Chalice's journey to fulfil her destiny, and the growing romance between her and Jeremiah.  She and Jeremiah knew each other as children, and meet up again at the beginning of  The Raie Chaelia. Their friendship has grown into something deeper and in The Firelight of Maalda both characters, but especially Chalice, have grown and matured emotionally and I found it particularly satisfying that their love is not only acknowledged but their sweet romance seems completely natural and uncontrived.  There is a touching tenderness between them, they are both strong characters but neither feels complete without the other and their love and respect for each other shines through even when they are not entirely in agreement.

There is a lot more to this story than romance though, there is plenty of action and suspense.  A deadly enemy must be defeated and the fate of a world hangs in the balance. Chalice also has to contend with prejudice and an annoying tendency for people to patronise her and try to control her. There is a large cast of characters, and some of those from the first book make a welcome re-appearance. In addition to the human protagonists, there is a cute little creature called Bunejab who actually has a very important role to play, several horses, including Chalice's beautiful palomino, 'Sunny ', and Jeremiah's 'Banner',  as well as the  Naezzies who have every reason to hate humankind.

The  story moves at a fast pace to the nail biting climax and a cliffhanger of an ending - I'm really glad Melissa gave us a taste of the next book to answer at least one of my questions, and I can't wait for the third in the series.




 THE FIRELIGHT OF MAALDA - AVAILABLE FROM:

Amazon

Barnes &Noble


PS: I think this book stands very well by itself, but your understanding and enjoyment would probably be even greater from reading the first book in the series, and the prequels.  You can do so for FREE

 Book One and the Prequels are FREE on Smashwords and Amazon:

Book One:
http://www.amazon.com/The-RaieChaelia-ebook/dp/B00534QD18/ref=as_li_tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=cookingcalifo-20

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/62611

Prequels:
http://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-Legend-RaieChaelia-Prequel-ebook/dp/B005DRX5Q6/ref=pd_sim_kstore_22

http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Begins-RaieChaelia-Prequel-ebook/dp/B005D3FZXQ/ref=pd_sim_kstore_17

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/75235
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/73993


Here are Melissa's  contact links:
Website:

Amazon:

Tumblr:

Goodreads:

Twitter:

Facebook:

Please join me here again tomorrow, when Melissa herself will be answering some questions I posed for her
as well as posing her own question where you could win a free e-reader of your choice or a $100 gift certificate to your favorite store



'STARQUEST'    'CHILDREN OF THE MIST'  (The sequel to Starquest)  Dancing With Fate     
'Freeread':'A BARGAIN WITH DEATH '

                  Also available on Kindle