There Is So Much To Celebrate

Seriously, this past year has been unbelievable. AYAP just celebrated one million visits last June, and in the past year, we’ve also been named a Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers blog.

We’ve also added some incredible new team members.

First and foremost, Alyssa Hamilton has joined us to herd authors (yes, that’s a little like herding cats)–and she has done a fabulous job. She’s quickly become the backbone of the site. Jan, of course, continues to keep us organized with her spreadsheets extraordinaire, and Lisa Gail Green has joined us full-time to wrangle agents. Clara Kensie is helping us track down authors and keeps us thinking about various writerly tasks with her bi-monthly Question of the Week posts.

There have been many personal changes, too. Jan has started her own business as an author’s assistant  at AuthorSidekick.com. Alyssa recently made it into her long-dreamed-of college to study publishing. Watch out New York–she’s headed your way shortly! Lisa published her beautiful THE BINDING STONE with Kezbaum Publishing. Clara’s serialized RUN TO YOU came out in three parts from Harlequin Teen, and my COMPULSION is due out in October with Simon Pulse.

My Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) just went out, and we are getting trickles of reviews and book blurbs, and I am so, so grateful and overwhelmed. I had promised to share one or two of those each Tuesday as part of my Pick and Mix. Since one of the reviews mentioned a couple of series I love, I had decided to do a lovely giveaway of both series.

But.

When I went to write up that up, I realized the blog had gone over TWO MILLION visits. So, I decided to add to it by giving away some favorite books and asking some of my favorite authors and people for their favorite books so that I could give those away, too.

By the time all was said and done, the giveaway had grown to epic proportions. And that’s fine. You GUYS! You’re all so wonderful, I want to throw books at you. But only the best, best books.

So here we go. Are you ready? You’ll catch on to how this works. And if you like the idea, I hope you’ll pay-it-forward too by asking your friends for some book recommendations and spreading the love!

Here’s the review that started it all yesterday:

“Martina Boone’s Compulsion is a southern gothic romance, a captivating thriller with the perfect dash of charm. Barrie’s story is one of transitions: west to east, present to past, realism to supernatural. Readers of Sarah Reese Brennan’s The Lynburn Legacy and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle, will appreciate the ambiguity — real? or not real? — until suddenly the not real feels very very real.” ~ Sara Hines, Bookseller EightCousins.com

 
In honor of that review, here are the first couple giveaways, and the pay-it forward momentum flows from there as I honor my blog partners and some of my favorite authors and people.

Enjoy!

Martina

PRIZE PACK ONE – THE RAVEN CYCLE:

You know how much I love this series, right? And for Compulsion to be mentioned in the same sentence? There simply are no words! (Except THANK YOU!!!)


Winner: Niarah Gayle

The Raven Boys
by Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover Giveaway
Scholastic Press

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of the Shiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Purchase The Raven Boys at Amazon
Purchase The Raven Boys at IndieBound
View The Raven Boys on Goodreads

The Dream Thieves
by Maggie Stiefvater
Hardcover Giveaway
Scholastic Press

Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. 


Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. 


Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…

Purchase The Dream Thieves at Amazon
Purchase The Dream Thieves at IndieBound
View The Dream Thieves on Goodreads

I love the way the almost magical realism feeling of Unspoken turns to supernatural, and so many, many things about this delicious gothic series.  It’s beyond lovely to hear it mentioned with Compulsion, too!


Winner: C. Condomaros

Unspoken
by Sarah Rees Brennan
Paperback Giveaway
Ember; Reprint edition

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She didn’t spend her childhood silent about her imaginary friend, and is thus a bit of an outsider in the sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, she has a best friend, runs the popular school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return. . . .

Purchase Unspoken at Amazon
Purchase Unspoken at IndieBound
View Unspoken on Goodreads

Untold
by Sarah Rees Brennan
Hardcover Giveaway
Random House Books for Young Readers; The Lynburn Legacy Book 2 edition

It’s time to choose sides….

On the surface, Sorry-in-the-Vale is a sleepy English town. But Kami Glass knows the truth. Sorry-in-the-Vale is full of magic. In the old days, the Lynburn family ruled with fear, terrifying the people into submission in order to kill for blood and power. Now the Lynburns are back, and Rob Lynburn is gathering sorcerers so that the town can return to the old ways.

But Rob and his followers aren’t the only sorcerers in town. A decision must be made: pay the blood sacrifice, or fight. For Kami, this means more than just choosing between good and evil. With her link to Jared Lynburn severed, she’s now free to love anyone she chooses. But who should that be?

A darkly humorous take on Gothic romance, Sarah Rees Brennan’s Lynburn Legacy weaves together the tale of a heroine desperate to protect those she loves, two boys hoping to be saved, and the magical forces that will shape their destiny.

Purchase Untold at Amazon
Purchase Untold at IndieBound
View Untold on Goodreads

Winner: Alicia Guerrero

Changeover

by Margaret Mahy

Paperback Giveaway
Puffin

When her little brother seems to become possessed by an evil spirit, fourteen-year-old Laura seeks the help of the strangely compelling older boy at school who she is convinced has supernatural powers.

Purchase Changeover at Amazon
Purchase Changeover at IndieBound
View Changeover on Goodreads

PRIZE PACK FOUR – ALYSSA HAMILTON’S PICK:

Alyssa has great taste. I love this series. So much. I once practically drooled on Rae Carson while I was sitting next to her on an airplane–I was so busy being a fangirl that I was practically incoherent talking to her. And then I realized I was sitting next to RAE CARSON on a plane and editing Compulsion. Which made me geek out even more. I think that not drooling over authors may become the hardest part of this author gig!

The Girl of Fire and Thorns

by Rae Carson

Hardcover Giveaway

Greenwillow Books

Winner: Michelle Lee

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa has always felt powerless, useless. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king who needs her to be the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies, seething with dark magic, are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could save his people. And he looks at her in a way no man has ever looked at her before. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do.

Purchase The Girl of Fire and Thorns at Amazon

Purchase The Girl of Fire and Thorns at IndieBound

View The Girl of Fire and Thorns on Goodreads

* * * *

The Crown of Embers

by Rae Carson

Hardcover Giveaway

Greenwillow Books

She does not know what awaits her at the enemy’s gate.

Elisa is a hero.

She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country’s ruler should be secure. But it isn’t.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from foreign realms and even from within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears, once and for all, Elisa must follow a trial of long-forgotten—and forbidden—clues, from the deep, hidden catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her go a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man whom—despite everything—she is falling in love with.

If she’s lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

Purchase The Crown of Embers at Amazon

Purchase The Crown of Embers at IndieBound

View The Crown of Embers on Goodreads

* * * *

The Bitter Kingdom

by Rae Carson

Hardcover Giveaway

Greenwillow Books; First Edition edition

The champion must not waver.
The champion must not fear.
The gate of darkness closes.

Elisa is a fugitive.

Her enemies have stolen the man she loves, and they await her at the gate of darkness. Her country is on the brink of civil war, with her own soldiers ordered to kill her on sight.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Lucero-Elisa né Riqueza de Vega, bearer of the Godstone, will lead her three loyal companions deep into the enemy’s kingdom, a land of ice and snow and brutal magic, to rescue Hector and win back her throne. Her power grows with every step, and the shocking secrets she will uncover on this, her final journey, could change the course of history.

But that is not all. She has a larger destiny. She must become the champion the world has been waiting for.

Even of those who hate her most.

Purchase The Bitter Kingdom at Amazon

Purchase The Bitter Kingdom at IndieBound

View The Bitter Kingdom on Goodreads

PRIZE PACK FIVE – JAN LEWIS’ PICKS:

As you may or may not know, Jan is the author’s assistant for YASeriesInsiders.com — and we couldn’t resist throwing in some of the absolutely fabulous YASI books coming out soon. I really, really can’t recommend these books enough!


Winner: Christine Tremmel

Killer Instinct

by S.E Green

Hardcover Giveaway

Simon Pulse

Released 5/6/2014

MB: This is so, so, good! Think Dexter as a teenage girl! 

She’s not evil, but she has certain… urges.

Lane is a typical teenager. Loving family. Good grades. Afterschool job at the local animal hospital. Martial arts enthusiast. But her secret obsession is studying serial killers. She understands them, knows what makes them tick.

Why?

Because she might be one herself.

Lane channels her dark impulses by hunting criminals—delivering justice when the law fails. The vigilantism stops shy of murder. But with each visceral rush the line of self-control blurs.

And then a young preschool teacher goes missing. Only to return… in parts.

When Lane excitedly gets involved in the hunt for “the Decapitator,” the vicious serial murderer that has come to her hometown, she gets dangerously caught up in a web of lies about her birth dad and her own dark past. And once the Decapitator contacts Lane directly, Lane knows she is no longer invisible or safe. Now she needs to use her unique talents to find the true killer’s identity before she—or someone she loves—becomes the next victim…

Purchase Killer Instinct at Amazon

Purchase Killer Instinct at IndieBound

View Killer Instinct on Goodreads

* * * *

Prisoner of Night and Fog
by Anne Blankman
Hardcover
Balzer + Bray
Released 4/22/2014

MB: This is the picture for the UK cover, because I had to share it. But this is my giveaway, so I want to buy and give away a finished copy. Anne is generously offering this collectors item ARC with the UK cover here next Tuesday though! : )

In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her “uncle” Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf’s, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler.

And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can’t stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can’t help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she’s been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she’s always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?

From debut author Anne Blankman comes this harrowing and evocative story about an ordinary girl faced with the extraordinary decision to give up everything she’s ever believed . . . and to trust her own heart instead.

Purchase Prisoner of Night and Fog at Amazon
Purchase Prisoner of Night and Fog at IndieBound
View Prisoner of Night and Fog on Goodreads

* * * *

Forbidden

by Kimberley Griffiths Little

ARC Giveaway

HarperCollins

Released 11/4/2014

MB: Unfortunately, I can’t give away a finished copy of this yet, so do me a favor and go pre-order it, okay? : ) Trust me. You’ll want it!

In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden’s tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden’s turn to be honored. But while this union with Horeb, the son of her tribe’s leader, will bring a life of riches and restore her family’s position within the tribe, it will come at the price of Jayden’s heart.

Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden’s heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb’s increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden’s every move, she knows she must find a way to escape—or die trying.

With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family’s survival on the line, Jayden must embark on a deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself.

Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.

Purchase Forbidden at Amazon

Purchase Forbidden at IndieBound

View Forbidden on Goodreads

Winner: Nora Geer

The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series Book 1)

by Lisa Gail Green

Paperback Giveaway

Fuzzbom Publishing

Tricked into slavery by the man she loved, the Djinni Leela has an eternity to regret her choices.

Awakened in the prison of her adolescent body, she finds a new master in possession of the opal that binds her. But seventeen-year-old Jered is unlike any she’s seen. His kindness makes Leela yearn to trust again, to allow herself a glimmer of hope.

Could Jered be strong enough to free her from the curse of the Binding Stone?

Purchase The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series Book 1) at Amazon

Purchase The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series Book 1) at IndieBound

View The Binding Stone (The Djinn Series Book 1) on Goodreads

PRIZE PACK SEVEN – LISA GAIL GREEN’S PICK:

I can’t say enough about the brilliance of this book. Only the inimitable Libba Bray could make Mad Cow Disease something I WANT to read about. Multiple times. She’s fabulous!

Going Bovine
by Libba Bray

Paperback Giveaway
Ember; Reissue edition

Can Cameron find what he’s looking for?
All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

From the Hardcover edition.

Purchase Going Bovine at Amazon
Purchase Going Bovine at IndieBound
View Going Bovine on Goodreads

Run to You: First Sight
by Clara Kensie
Digital Giveaway
Harlequin Teen

Part One in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Sarah Spencer has a secret: her real name is Tessa Carson, and to stay alive, she can tell no one the truth about her psychically gifted family and the danger they are running from. As the new girl in the latest of countless schools, she also runs from her attraction to Tristan Walker—after all, she can’t even tell him her real name. But Tristan won’t be put off by a few secrets. Not even dangerous ones that might rip Tessa from his arms before they even kiss…

Author Question: What is your favorite thing about Run to You: First Sight?

Besides the romance, my favorite thing about RUN TO YOU is seeing people’s reactions to the huge plot twists.

Purchase First Sight at Amazon
Purchase First Sight at IndieBound
View First Sight on Goodreads

Run to You: Second Glance
by Clara Kensie
Digital Giveaway
Harlequin Teen

Part Two in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Tessa Carson has unlocked her heart and her secrets to Tristan Walker—but Tristan has secrets of his own, and his might just mean the end of Tessa’s family. Unaware, Tessa embraces falling in love and being herself for the first time since she was attacked when she was only eight years old. But secrets can’t be run from forever, and sometimes love is too good to be true…

Purchase Second Glance at Amazon
Purchase Second Glance at IndieBound
View Second Glance on Goodreads

Run to You: Third Charm
by Clara Kensie
Digital Giveaway
Harlequin Teen

Part Three in the riveting romantic thriller about a family on the run from a deadly past and a first love that will transcend secrets, lies and danger…

Betrayed, heartbroken, and determined to save her family, Tessa Carson refuses to give in to Tristan Walker’s pleas for forgiveness. But her own awakening psychic gift won’t let her rest until she uncovers the truth about her family and her past. And Tristan is the only one who can help her sift through the secrets to find the truth hidden in all the lies…

Purchase Third Charm at Amazon
Purchase Third Charm at IndieBound
View Third Charm on Goodreads

PRIZE PACK NINE – CLARA KENSIE’S PICKS:

I’m so happy that Clara picked this series. I can’t say enough good things about these books. It’s a good comp for Run to You, but The Body Finder is also the 9th book I ever added to GoodReads — the 9th modern YA book I ever read and loved. I was thrilled when my publisher put Compulsion up on Amazon as Beautiful Creatures meets The Body Finer. How fabulous is that?




WINNER: Shelby Davis

The Body Finder

by Kimberly Derting

Paperback Giveaway

HarperCollins; Reprint edition

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her “power” to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world… and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he’s claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay’s intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she’s falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer… and becoming his prey herself.

Purchase The Body Finder at Amazon

Purchase The Body Finder at IndieBound

View The Body Finder on Goodreads

* * * *

Desires of the Dead

by Kimberly Derting

Paperback Giveaway

HarperCollins; Reprint edition

The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.

Violet can sense the echoes of those who’ve been murdered–and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Her best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay, is the only one outside of her family who knows of her morbid ability. But when Violet discovers the body of a missing boy, she draws the attention of the FBI.

As Violet dodges their questions, she is pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret. For without even meaning to, Violet has stumbled upon a dark truth–and a desperate killer.

Purchase Desires of the Dead at Amazon

Purchase Desires of the Dead at IndieBound

View Desires of the Dead on Goodreads

* * * *

Dead Silence

by Kimberly Derting

Paperback Giveaway

HarperCollins

Violet thought she’d made peace with her unique ability to sense the echoes of the dead and the imprints that cling to their killers…that is until she acquired an imprint of her own. Forced to carry a reminder of the horrible events of her kidnapping, Violet is more determined than ever to lead a normal life. However, the people who run the special investigative team Violet works for have no intention of letting her go.

When someone close to Violet becomes a suspect in a horrific murder, she finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a madman with an army of devoted followers. Violet has survived dangerous situations before, but she quickly discovers that protecting those closest to her is far more difficult than protecting herself.

Purchase Dead Silence at Amazon

Purchase Dead Silence at IndieBound

View Dead Silence on Goodreads

* * * *

The Last Echo

by Kimberly Derting

Paperback Giveaway

HarperCollins; Reprint edition

In the end, all that’s left is an echo.

Violet kept her morbid ability to sense dead bodies a secret from everyone except her family and her childhood-best-friend-turned-boyfriend, Jay Heaton. That is until forensic psychologist Sara Priest discovered Violet’s talent and invited her to use her gift to track down murderers. Now, as she works with an eclectic group of individuals—including mysterious and dangerously attractive Rafe—it’s Violet’s job to help those who have been murdered by bringing their killers to justice.

When Violet discovers the body of a college girl killed by “the girlfriend collector” she is determined to solve the case. But now the serial killer is on the lookout for a new “relationship” and Violet may have caught his eye….

Purchase The Last Echo at Amazon

Purchase The Last Echo at IndieBound

View The Last Echo on Goodreads

PRIZE PACK TEN – MORE YUMMINESS FROM KIMBERLY DERTING:

This is coming out April 29th, and I couldn’t resist giving it away too. You NEED this book. (Are you seeing a theme here? My evil plan with PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG, KILLER INSTINCT, and this wonderful book? Bwahaha. 

Winner: Erin Sawyer

The Taking
by Kimberly Derting
Hardcover Giveaway
HarperTeen
Released 4/29/2014

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day.

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men.

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

Purchase The Taking at Amazon
Purchase The Taking at IndieBound
View The Taking on Goodreads

PRIZE PACK ELEVEN – KIMBERLEY DERTING’S PICK

Oh, I love, love, love this series! Kimberly was torn between this and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. If this giveaway wasn’t already out of control, I would give the whole series away and The Coldest Girl in Coldtown too.


Winner: Alexandra Torres

White Cat
by Holly Black
Paperback Giveaway
Margaret K. McElderry Books; 1 edition
Released 4/15/2014

Cassel comes from a family of Curse Workers – people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists. But not Cassel. He hasn’t got magic, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail – he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.

Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s part of a huge con game, he must unravel his past and his memories. To find out the truth, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.

Purchase White Cat at Amazon
Purchase White Cat at IndieBound
View White Cat on Goodreads

PRIZE PACK TWELVE – SWEET, UNPUTDOWNABLE EVIL FROM WENDY HIGGINS:

The third and final book in Wendy’s wildly popular Sweet Trilogy is also coming out April 29th from HarperTeen. And Wendy is wonderful, and secret reasons . . . and did I mention you need to read these books? Because they are swoon-inducing and heartaching  So I’m throwing them at you too. Like confetti.

Sweet Evil
by Wendy Higgins
Paperback Giveaway
Harper Teen

Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.
Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but it isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?

Purchase Sweet Evil at Amazon
Purchase Sweet Evil at IndieBound
View Sweet Evil on Goodreads

Sweet Peril
by Wendy Higgins
Paperback Giveaway
HarperTeen

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

Purchase Sweet Peril at Amazon
Purchase Sweet Peril at IndieBound
View Sweet Peril on Goodreads

Sweet Reckoning
by Wendy Higgins
Paperback Giveaway
HarperTeen
Released 4/29/2014

It’s time.

Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous—especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna’s great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she’s prepared to risk.

In the most sensual and fast-paced installment yet, Sweet Reckoning brings all the beloved Neph together one last time to fight for their freedom.

Purchase Sweet Reckoning at Amazon
Purchase Sweet Reckoning at IndieBound
View Sweet Reckoning on Goodreads

Poison Princess
by Kresley Cole
Paperback Giveaway
Simon and Schuster

She could save the world—or destroy it.

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.

But she can’t do either alone.

With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?

Who can Evie trust?

As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side.

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You KNEW I was going to do this, right? I mean, really. How could I not? And if you haven’t read this series? Don’t wait for this giveaway to end. Go. Now. Run. If you win, you’ll just have an extra Precious to fondle on a daily basis. The third book just came out last week, and it’s better than sex and chocolate and champagne and an episode of Game of Thrones.


Winner: Harlee Snyder

Daughter of Smoke and Bone
by Laini Taylor
Hardcover Giveaway
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

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Days of Blood and Starlight
by Laini Taylor
Hardcover Giveaway
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war. 
This is not that world. 
Art student and monster’s apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is–and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.
In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she’ll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.
While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.
But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

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* * * *

Dreams of Gods and Monsters

by Laini Taylor

Hardcover Giveaway

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Released 4/8/2014

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael’s brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz … something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

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PRIZE PACK FIFTEEN – DIVERGENT WITH SOUL:

These are just so beautifully written and thought-provoking, and if you loved DIVERGENT, seriously, THIS. So, so, this! Such a gorgeously-imagined world and well-spun, fast-paced, heart-pounding story!

Winner: Elisabeth Castro

What’s Left of Me

by Kat Zhang

Hardcover Giveaway

HarperCollins

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

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* * * *

Once We Were

by Kat Zhang

Hardcover Giveaway

HarperCollins

“I’m lucky just to be alive.”

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

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PRIZE PACK SIXTEEN – KAT ZHANG’S PICK:

Winner: Anica Lewis

Just read this, and I was blown away!

The Winner’s Curse

by Marie Rutkoski

Hardcover Giveaway

Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love.

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction.

Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined.

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

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PRIZE PACK SEVENTEEN – TWO FANTASTIC FANTASIES

Mistwood was among the very first modern YA fantasies I read, and it blew me away with the beauty and sophistication of the language and the gorgeous pacing, mystery, characterization and world building.  I got chills when I saw Leah’s blurb for Compulsion, which I’m unveiling here on the bottom of this post. I still can’t get over how surreal it is to know that authors I’ve fangirled over for YEARS, whose books I treasure and recommend all the time, have actually held a book I’ve written. And not only that, have read it. Read. My book. Swoon.

Winner: Kierra Dele

Mistwood

by Leah Cypress

Hardcover Giveaway

Greenwillow Books

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.

But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can’t help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

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* * * *

This is Leah’s new book. And man, oh, man, this woman can WRITE. Mad skills. Like Kristin Cashore and Laini Taylor mad skills. Her books are beautifully intricate and haunting. 

Death Sworn

by Leah Cypress

Hardcover Giveaway

Greenwillow Books

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

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PRIZE PACK EIGHTEEN – LEAH CYPESS’ PICK:

I love that Leah picked this. It was another recent read that kept me up late reading.  It’s truly excellent and it’s also edited by my lovely editor Sara Sargent! 

Winner: Bianca Perryman

Cruel Beauty
by Rosamund Hodge

Hardcover Giveaway

Balzer + Bray

Graceling meets Beauty and the Beast in this sweeping fantasy about one girl’s journey to fulfill her destiny and the monster who gets in her way-by stealing her heart.

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex’s secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

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PRIZE PACK NINETEEN – JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT’S BOOKS:

No one does heat and romantic tension like Jen. No one. And her sizzling White Hot Kiss came out earlier this year and raced straight to the New York Times Bestseller list. Which of course, is a list that she graces with increasing frequency.


Winner: Katie Bucklein

White Hot Kiss

by Jennifer L Armentrout

Paperback Giveaway

Harlequin Teen

Released 4/15/2014

One kiss could be the last

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she’s anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she’s crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she’s not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn’t an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she’s the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne…it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

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* * * *

So here’s Jen’s newest book–which comes out today. Today.  Carson. Wow. Did I mention romantic tension? And a every other kind of tension an author can pack into a book. This is another book you really, really want!

DON’T LOOK BACK
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Hardcover Giveaway
Disney-Hyperion
Released 4/15/2014

Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it’s one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took “mean girl” to a whole new level, and it’s clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She’s getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she’s falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn’t just buried deep inside of Sam’s memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

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PRIZE PACK TWENTY – COMPULSION

Winner:  Justine Goodwin

Compulsion
by Martina Boone
ARC Giveaway
Simon Pulse
Released 10/28/2014

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

When loss is all you know, how do you find true love?

Beautiful Creatures meets The Body Finder in this spellbinding new trilogy.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lived with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead–a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family’s twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

“Darkly romantic and steeped in Southern Gothic charm, you’ll be compelled to get lost in the Heirs of Watson Island series.” — #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout

“A shivery, delicious Southern Gothic with feuding families, dark spirits, ancient curses… and caught up in the middle, a young girl learning to live and love for the first time. Atmospheric and suspenseful, Compulsion will draw you in and hold you until the very last page.”
— Leah Cypess, Author of DEATH SWORN

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