Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully Release Day Party and a Giveaway!

It’s the release day for Megan Tayte’s Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully, the fifth book in her Ceruleans series! And now it’s time to celebrate!

Below you will find info about the book, info about how to get free books, info about how to enter a GIVEAWAY, and more! 

Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully

Megan Tayte

(Ceruleans #5)

Publication Date: February 16, 2016

Ebook, 313 pages, Heaven Afire

Genres: YA, Paranormal

Amazon UK | Amazon US | Goodreads

DARKNESS HAS FALLEN, AND SHE ALONE WILL SEE THE LIGHT.

With her mother’s life hanging in the balance, Scarlett is devastated – and done with being in the dark. She wants answers, all of them.

But when was her pursuit of the truth ever straightforward?

Pulling a single thread impels a great unravelling. And each revelation will force Scarlett to rethink what she thought she knew about the Ceruleans, the Fallen, her family – herself.

All that came before was a mere prelude to this, the last journey. From London to Twycombe to Hollythwaite to Cerulea, Scarlett will be stalked by the ghosts of what has been, what may have been and what may come to pass. Until she reaches the place where it all began, and it all must end.

But in the final reckoning, none will survive unscathed. And some will not survive at all.

In this explosive conclusion to The Ceruleans series, all must be defined by their actions: sinner, saint… or something more beautiful entirely?
  

My Thoughts

I really need to get with it for this series. These books sound amazing! If only there was more time in the day. *shakes first to sky* Curse you, college!

You should totally take a look at the excerpt for Darkly, Deeply, Beautifully. It’s very hot, very sweet, and very intriguing.

Make sure you check out the rest of the series, if you haven't already! Book one, Death Wish, is currently free on Amazon!

An Excerpt

I kissed Luke then. I kissed him. Like I hadn’t kissed him in more than a week – since before London, since before Hollythwaite, since Barcelona: when we’d been just a regular couple on a city break, wrapped up in each other. Through the kiss I heard his sigh, the release of emotion. And then he pulled me to him, onto his lap, and I kissed his lips, his jaw, his collarbone, his shoulder, and he kissed my lips, my earlobe, my neck, my –

‘No!’

My robe had slipped, exposing my back, and I struggled off him and wrestled with the fabric entangled at my waist.

He stood up. Put his hands on my shoulders. Said my name with so much tenderness that I had to stop. Had to look at him. The room was steamy, the glass doors occluded. No one could see. Only him.

‘Trust me,’ he said.

I did.

Slowly, he turned me. I steeled myself as he took it in, the brand I now wore. Non Serviam. I will not serve. Emblazoned on my back in the form of angry, jagged scar tissue.

When I felt his lips on the nape of my neck, I jerked in shock. But his hands on my hips held me still as he traced the path of the scar, one kiss at a time, from its very top to its termination just above my bikini bottoms.

‘Beautiful,’ he said.

I turned to him. He smiled up at me.

Sinking down so that we were both kneeling, I said, ‘How could you…?’

‘How could I not?’ was his answer. ‘I was there, Scarlett. I saw what you did for your mother. That scar: it’s beautiful.’

‘But it’s a punishment, Luke. Because I sinned. That’s not beautiful. It’s dark. Wrong.’

‘No! Don’t you say that. Trying to save your mother – that could never be wrong. If I’d had the chance, I’d have done it. My mum, my dad, Cara… I’d have saved them all. And you. I would always save you.’

His eyes were glistening, and I lunged for him and hugged him hard.

‘So stop hiding it from me,’ he finished, his voice muffled in my hair. ‘Please. Because I love that scar on you so goddam much.’

I nodded into his shoulder and he squeezed me.

It was calm in our little haven. Still. Warm. Nothing existed but Luke and me. We held each other for a long time, drifting in the haze.

And then Luke sat back and said, ‘So, you and me. We’re good?’

‘We’re good,’ I told him. Then I frowned and added: ‘For now. You know, Gabe, the Fallen: I have no idea what we’re getting into.’

‘Me either.’ He reached out a finger and drew, in the condensation on the glass door, a little lightbulb. ‘But whatever lies ahead,’ he said, ‘it has to be better than living in the dark.’

The Giveaway

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The Author

Once upon a time a little girl told her grandmother that when she grew up she wanted to be a writer. Or a lollipop lady. Or a fairy princess fireman. ‘Write, Megan,’ her grandmother advised. So that’s what she did.

Thirty-odd years later, Megan is a professional writer and published author by day, and an indie novelist by night. Her fiction – young adult romance with soul – recently earned her the SPR’s Independent Woman Author of the Year award.

Megan grew up in the Royal County, a hop, skip and a (very long) jump from Windsor Castle, but these days she makes her home in Robin Hood's county, Nottinghamshire. She lives with her husband, a proud Scot who occasionally kicks back in a kilt; her son, a budding artist with the soul of a palaeontologist; and her baby daughter, a keen pan-and-spoon drummer who sings in her sleep. When she's not writing, you'll find her walking someplace green, reading by the fire, or creating carnage in the kitchen as she pursues her impossible dream: of baking something edible.

Find Megan on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, or Instagram, or visit her at her website.

Event Recap: Victoria Aveyard and Sophie Jordan's St. Louis Signing

As I have mentioned a hundred times since I heard about it some number of weeks ago, I went to the Victoria Aveyard and Sophie Jordan book signing event in St. Louis last week. I met Sophie Jordan and Victoria Aveyard! EEEEKKKK!!!

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s discuss how things went down.

First of all, I drove myself to this event. I know. You’re probably thinking to yourself, “Big deal. She’s twenty-some-odd-years-young. She can drive herself.” And yes, you would be right. However, I drove 3.5 hours to St. Louis and 3.5 hours home when I was done getting my books signed at 8:20 p.m. In case you’re like me and math isn’t your strong suit, that’s SEVEN HOURS of driving. As I’m looking back at my lack of pictures, I think I can tell I was tired and slightly less ecstatic than I should have been. Oh well…

Anywho, I got to the signing early because this was my first time driving in St. Louis and I wanted to avoid the rush-hour traffic. I failed to check the weather for St. Louis beforehand though, so when it started snowing, I was very unprepared. Thankfully it was only flurries and nothing was really sticking. Oh, and Sophie Jordan, who is from Texas, was very excited about the snow. Victoria lives on the east coast and wasn’t too terribly worried about the minor flurries.

Now that my whole spiel about driving and the snow is over with, Imma actually talk about what went down at the signing. The owner (I believe) of the independent bookstore that was hosting the event with the library held a Q&A with the authors. I’ve separated the questions and answers (as much as I remember of them anyway) below. Also note that these answers and questions have been summarized because I was taking notes on my phone. It’s not all word-for-word.

Q: How do you keep yourself on track when writing?

A (Sophie): It’s like being married to my husband. I can’t pick up and leave because a new hot guy comes around. It’s just like a new book idea. I have to dedicate myself to just one.

A (Victoria): I put my back against the wall after taking out college loans and needing to pay them off, so I decided to write a book.

Q: How/when did you start writing?

A (Aveyard): I played Legend of Zelda with my brother when I was younger and I was fascinated by the maps in the how-to manuals, so I’d make my own fantasy maps with terrible stories to go along with them. They were written in crayon. I was probably six or seven.

A (Sophie): I wrote fanfiction before it was really called fanfiction, like 90210 or Sweet Valley High fanfiction.

Q: Do you guys know the endings of your books before you write or does it just come to you?

A (Victoria): While I don’t know exactly how Mare’s story ends, I do know the last line and I knew I wasn’t going to reach that line with only three books in the series, so Harper agreed to expand the series to four books. They even asked if I could do five.

A (Sophie): I didn’t even know who Jacinda was going to end up with in the Firelight trilogy.

Q: Do you prefer writing romance or action?

A (Sophie): I prefer relationships, if the relationship isn’t there, I can’t write the action. I do like action though.

A (Victoria): Fights before romance. It’s hard to write a kiss.

Q: Is it difficult to write in certain POVs?

A (Sophie): Two POVs is difficult to write. My friend read Reign of Shadows and she said both characters sounded the same, so I had to change some things.

A (Victoria): We may get another POV in the third book. (Gasps in the audience.) I understood Mare’s voice, but it was hard to write as if Mare didn’t know what was going on in other characters’ heads when I actually did know.

Q: Why do you write fantasy?

A (Victoria): I like historical fiction, but writing it involves too much research, so I can create my own huge world instead.

A (Sophie): I love medieval stories.

Q: What books have you read that you’d recommend?

A (Victoria): Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, A Court of Thrones and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, The Wrath and the Dawn sequel

A (Sophie): I want to read JLA’s The Problem with Forever, but I love all of Katie McGarry’s books.

Q: What are you guys doing/writing next?

A (Victoria): I’ve got the screenplay itch.

A (Sophie): Not the YA thriller I’ve had on the backburner. I’ve been thinking about a two-book YA companion series. (Contemporary?)

Question from the audience:

Q: Any news about your movie?

A (Victoria): Elizabeth Banks, the director signed on for it, is awesome. She knows the YA world and fans because of The Hunger Games.

A (Sophie): Firelight is set to get its own film, and an actress, who I can’t name, has signed on.

***

There were a few other questions I didn’t write down, but I think this info is pretty satisfactory. Especially the news that there’s going to be another POV in book three!

After the Q&A, I lined up for the signing. I was in Group 1 because I’d gotten there so early, so I managed to be eighth or so in line. When I got up to Victoria, I made a joke about getting to her before her hand cramped up and she said that this was nothing, she’d signed 25,000 copies of Glass Sword. 

I then took a picture with both authors (it’s a little blurry, but I’m going to try to clean it up with Photoshop). 

When I slid my books over to Sophie, things got a little backed up because I’d brought all six of her YA books to get signed. And Sophie doodled in Reign of Shadows and put taglines in different colored ink on each book. So awesome! Victoria even made a joke that it took Sophie forever because she wrote a whole sentence when signing a book.

Oh, and before I forget, I met a fellow booklover at the event. Her name’s Carole and she has a blog. You should check it out. We talked about future St. Louis signings and she even gave me some Edelweiss pointers. Thanks, Carole!

All in all, it was a fun event. Both authors were pretty funny and I’m glad I get to add them to the ever-growing list of authors I’ve met. I just wish I didn’t have to drive so far to meet them all. *sigh*

Of course, that doesn't mean I'll stop going. Especially since there's another signing in March. ;)

Happy Valentine's Day with Dean Winchester!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I’m doing nothing special beyond cracking down on some homework and binging Netflix. Sounds romantic, right?

Hope you enjoy your Valentine’s Day! Read a good book!

Stacking the Shelves: The Sword, Shadows, and Kings Edition

"Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme that is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I went to the Victoria Aveyard and Sophie Jordan tour this week. So freakin’ awesome. And now I can’t wait to read Glass Sword and Reign of Shadows.

Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat
Reign of Shadows by Sophie Jordan

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

I'll have a recap of the event up pretty soon. (I'm going to say by Monday, but don't hold me to that.) I also was having a rough week, so I bought Kings Rising for myself. I really want to read it, but I'm going to make myself re-read the entire trilogy first.

What books have you bought/received lately?

Dean Winchester Friday

Dean Winchester (or sometimes Jensen Ackles) Fridays make me a very happy fangirl. You'll see why when you look at the image.

Valentine’s Day is coming! Will I be doing anything special? Yes. I’ll be reading and enjoying Jensen Ackles in gym shorts.

The Jungle Book Movie Trailer

Who's going to go see this? I know I will! How do you guys feel about all of the Disney live action movies that are coming out? Let me know in the comments!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Power by Jennifer L. Armentrout

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, what's really got my pages in a twist is...

The Power

Jennifer L. Armentrout

(Titan #2)

Publication Date: February 23, 2016

Paperback, Spencer Hill Press

Genres: NA, Paranormal

Book Depository | Amazon | Goodreads

With any great change, there is always strife, and the Covenant University has become the frontline between pure-bloods who want the Breed Order reinstated and the half-bloods who want the right to control their own destinies.

Fate has other plans.

The violence is escalating and war between the races seems inevitable, and it couldn’t come at a worse time. Hyperion may be out of commission, but Josie and Seth know they have only earned a reprieve. Seth must get Josie fully prepared, which means controlling her newfound abilities, and they need to find the other demigods before the Titans do.

But the gods are sensing a greater threat.

Only one thing is more dangerous than a bunch of starved Titans, and that’s an out-of-control Apollyon. The aether in Josie is drawing Seth in deeper, and when lust mixes with love and gives way to power, he knows being close to her is not only dangerous to her, but to everyone around them, but letting her go requires a level of selflessness that just isn’t Seth’s style.

The paths taken in the past are becoming the roads of the future.

Just as chaos breaks out, familiar faces from the past return, complicating the already strained bond between Josie and Seth, and when the danger from the Titans erupts with devastating consequences, the dark allure of power calls to Seth again, but this time Josie might not be able to pull him back.

And when the struggle between power and love becomes the deadliest battleground, there may be no salvation.

My Thoughts

I haven’t read the first book yet and this one comes out in less than three weeks! GAH! I’m so behind! I don’t even own it. I need to go on a JLA book-buying and book-reading binge right now!

What book are you waiting on this Wednesday?

What I Think About Fanfiction

Bah! These last few weeks have been crazy! I feel like I’m not getting any downtime, or at least no downtime when I’m not thinking about what I have to do or who I have to see.

Basically, this just means that I haven’t been reading any books lately. I know, it's sad. The last book I read was back in the middle of January. January!

That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been reading, however. I’ve actually gotten pretty addicted to another type of writing. Some of you may have already guessed what I’m about to say just by the vague language I’m using, but I’ve been unable to stop reading fanfiction.

I know some people have strong thoughts about fanfiction. They either love it or they hate it. I love it. I think authors or TV show producers can sometimes completely ruin a character or world’s development. Oftentimes, authors/producers can forget what a character previously said in a book or show, whereas fans are sometimes dedicated enough that they can hang onto every word. Or, authors/producers just make horribly stupid decisions that fanfiction writers can fix.

I’m currently into a lot of Supernatural, The Mortal Instruments, and Teen Wolf fanfiction. I’ve been reading fanfic since my freshman year of college when I first found out it was even a thing. Now that I'm three years into it, I realize sometimes I prefer the fanfic world to the show or book one. My roommate sometimes makes snide comments about fanfiction and how it isn’t the job of the reader/watcher to write the author’s story. I disagree. I also think no one should belittle you for liking fanfiction.

Oh, and I almost forgot! The best thing about fanfiction is that 99.9% of the time, it's free! XD

So, after that whole spiel, I guess what I’m trying to ask you guys is if you like reading fanfiction? And what are your thoughts about fanfic? Good, bad, neutral? Let me know.

Book Trailer: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

I'm going to see Victoria Aveyard tomorrow! And I'm finally gonna get my hands on a copy of Glass Sword! Also, I didn't have a post ready for today, so this is why I'm sharing the trailer. :)

Pinterest Sunday: Harry Potter Wands

I have decided that Sundays will now be Pinterest days. What does that mean? It means every Sunday I’ll be sharing a bookish craft with ya’ll that I found on Pinterest.

Obviously, none of these craft ideas were created by me, and I’ll give the creator the credit he or she deserves. I just want to share some cool and fun—and maybe even new—craft ideas with you. And maybe I’ll even scrounge up the willpower to actually do the craft one day. Who knows?

The craft I want to share today was posted by Gretchen over at Boxy Colonial. I’ve actually already done this particular craft at my Harry Potter party, which you can check out here. My roommate actually used these directions for us to make our very own wands, just like these:

This is a great craft for book clubs or just a night of hanging out. Besides owning a glue gun, all you need is brown colored paints and some of those weird sticks from the craft section of Walmart.

Mine from the party turned out a little more dark and loopy than I originally intended, but I like it. It makes great bookish décor. Of course, the Hermione wand I bought from Ollivander’s is cooler, but this one is MINE. Check it out:
 

So, what do you guys think? Would you do this? Yay? Nay? Maybe? Sound off in the comments.

Also, if you’d like to follow me on Pinterest, you can do so here. Or, if you just want to check out what bookish crafts I have saved so far, you can go here.

Stacking the Shelves: The Hold Couple Edition

 "Stacking the Shelves" is a weekly haul meme that is hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It allows book buyers to share their accumulation of books with the online book-loving community.

I just picked these two books up like less than thirty minutes ago. And, miracle upon miracles, I did not buy them. 

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Two of my six holds (I don’t remember requesting that many books, but I’m sure I did) came in today. I have a three-day weekend coming up, so guess what’s going to be happening in that time. ;)

What books have you bought/received lately?