Book Blitz: Say Something... by T.A. Roth (Excerpt + Giveaway)

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Title: Say Something…
Author: T.A. Roth
Series: Speak, #1
Publication Date: March 25, 2015

Synopsis: Twenty–two-year-old Ari Munoz prefers to keep men at an arm’s length. So when her best friend Vonne guilts her into going to a frat party, she couldn’t think of a worse way to spend her night. That’s until she sparks the interest of love’em and leave’em Ben Rodriguez. She knows she shouldn’t trust him, but the electricity she feels when they lock eyes is something she’s never felt before. Twenty-two-year-old Ben Rodriguez has it all, and his senior year marks the beginning of even bigger things to come. He’s a football star, fraternity president, and his endless pick of beauties makes him the envy of all of his frat brothers. So why is a pair of long legs and hazel eyes making him want to throw out his rules?

Ari has her secrets.

Ben has his rules.

What happens when both your pasts threaten your future?

Say Something…
—
*This novel contains adult themes and language. 18+ please. This is book one in a series and contains a cliffhanger.

About the Author: T.A. Roth is a wife and mother of two funny and crazy kids. Born and raised in Los Angeles, she couldn't imagine living anywhere else. When she's not beautifying clients as a stylist/make-up artist at her day job you can find her reading, fangirling her favorite authors, or singing along to the radio. After getting the opportunity to read the debut novel of a then client now friend something clicked. Her "what the hell" attitude kicked in and a year later, here we are. Say Something... A new adult romance is her debut novel.


Excerpt:

Every word is a whisper across my lips. I want him to kiss me so bad. I even start to chant it like a mantra. Repeating the words over and over in my head. kiss me . . . kiss me . . . kiss me. . . All it would take is a small tilt of my head. The closer he gets to the end of the song the more desperate I become. F*ck it! I tilt my head up unable to resist any longer and bring his juicy bottom lip into my mouth. I gently suck and he releases a moan that I feel vibrate throughout every inch of my body. His right hand slides up the back of my neck and he fists a handful of my hair. He gently pulls away and holds my stare, his golden brown eyes to my hazel green. His breath is coming out in quick pants. He looks like he’s fighting himself to make a decision. I’m blinking quickly, saying a silent prayer that he doesn’t make the wrong one.


-Kristen ♥

Book Blitz: Maneater by Cambria Hebert (Excerpt + Giveaway)

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Title: Maneater
Author: Cambria Hebert
Series: A Love in the ‘80s Novella
Publication Date: March 25, 2016

Synopsis: Watch out, girls. Here she comes.  

There’s always that girl. She’s popular, beautiful, and has everything together. The one with the perfectly teased hair, arms full of colorful (but coordinated) bangles, and expertly painted bright-pink lips.

A teacher’s pet. Daddy’s girl.

Everyone loves her.

Because everyone is afraid to challenge her.

Kelly Ross is that girl. She uses her powers of popularity for good… her own good. She doesn’t care who she hurts.

She always gets what she wants.

Including your man.

When she walks down the hallway in her hot-pink heels and ruffled denim miniskirt, all the boys’ heads turn. And all the girls start whispering.

Man-eater.

There hasn’t been a single guy Kelly hasn’t been able to chew up and spit out.

Until now.

Kelly has finally met her match. He’s been there all along, and he’s the exact opposite of everything you’d expect.

About the Author: 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.

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Excerpt:

Eric

Do people change?

Or do they always stay the same?

That’s more of a philosophy question. I’m more of a science guy.

I like tangible theories that can be measured, questions with answers that have irrefutable proof. I’m not much for matters of the mind with no exact equation, therefore without exact answer.

I’ve heard it said that the more people change, the more they stay the same.

That statement is confusing. Whatever “great” mind came up with the saying probably was a philosophy major and had no knowledge of scientific reasoning.

It’s a false notion.

A mathematical and scientific fact. In an equation, a + b = c. If even just one variable is changed, the entire equation changes, the answer does not remain the same.

If math and science don’t give enough irrefutable proof, the world I live in does. In the universe of high school and growing older, everyone changes. It’s a natural evolution of life.

I see her every day. Even without my glasses, my eyes would still make out her shape.

She’s one of those girls the eyes must look at, just like the lungs must breathe oxygen. Her presence is loud in the hallways of Edward Little High.

Yet her reputation is quiet… at least the real one anyway.

Whispers. I hear them. When you are invisible, or thought to only think about equations and charts, people think you don’t listen. But I hear.

I listen.

It’s how one learns.

The Choice thinks they know everything, but the people who know the most in this school are the ones who are known the least.

I’m practically a shadow, practically a ghost.

“Beat it, losers!” Tad yells from across the hall. My friends and I look up, surprised he’s talking to us.

Okay, maybe I’m not as invisible as I thought.

I glance at Kelly as we scurry off.

Or maybe, I’m only visible when my presence is useful.

I knew Kelly once, a long time ago. Practically in another life. We aren’t friends. She probably doesn’t even remember my name. I remember hers.

I remember the way she used to twist her Oreos in two and hand me the side with the most cream. The way she would grab my hand and pull me off to play before who we were got in the way.
I remember when she was nice.

As I walk to class, my two friends by my sides, I tune out their conversation and wonder. I saw the way Kelly was looking at Tad, her best friend’s boyfriend. It was a sign. Kelly was gearing up to take down another one. It was a pattern. Patterns always repeat themselves.

This time, I wondered if she would go too far.

Kelly was the reason I was spending my time on an internal philosophical debate. Do people change? The theory was no.

I was seeing evidence to the contrary.

The girl I knew all those years ago would never act the way she does now.

But she does.

The whispers follow her around the hall.

People do change.


-Kristen ♥

Cover Reveal: Endangered by Dani Hoots

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Title: Endangered
Author: Dani Hoots
Series: Daughter of Hades, #1
Publication Date: May 13, 2016

Synopsis: Chrys has been in the Underworld for thousands of years, hidden away by her father, Hades, from all of the other gods. He's afraid that if someone finds out about her, they will destroy her because of the dichotomous power that she holds, the power of life and death. So she has remained in the Palace of Hades all her life, making very few friends and always bored out of her mind.

Huntley would have never guessed that after he died he would wake up with a beautiful girl standing over him. And that she would be the Dark Lord of the Underworld's daughter. Yet, for some reason, she keeps him around as her tutor, as if he knows anything about the world. But Huntley knows that all she really wants is a friend; being trapped in the Underworld can get pretty lonely. 

That is, until Chrys decides she wants to run away to the human world after a big fight with her mother Persephone. Chrys claims her father is just over reacting and that nothing bad will come of it. There's no way that the gods will notice she's there for only a couple of days...right?

  

About the Author: Dani Hoots is a science fiction, fantasy, romance, and young adult author who loves anything with a story. She has a B.S. in Anthropology, a Masters of Urban and Environmental Planning, and is currently in the Your Novel Year Program through Arizona State University. Currently she is working on a YA urban fantasy series called Daughter of Hades, a historic fantasy vampire series called A World of Vampires, and a YA sci-fi series called Sanshlian Series. Her hobbies include reading, watching anime, cooking, studying different languages, wire walking, tinkering with her violin and concertina, and volunteering at the library. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two cats.


AND NOW, for the cover....


-Kristen ♥

Book Blitz: In the Hope of Memories by Olivia Rivers (Excerpt)

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Title: In the Hope of Memories
Author: Olivia Rivers
Publication Date: March 21st 2016

Synopsis: Hope is dying.

Hope Jackson has lived her short life to the fullest, but her four closest friends are dangling on the brink of disaster. Right before dying of a rare heart condition, Hope sets up a scavenger hunt across New York City using her graffiti art. The directions she leaves her friends are simple: Solve the clues hidden in her art, and they’ll solve the problems haunting their lives.

Hope is dead.

Two days after her heart fails, Hope’s friends are thrown together:

Aiden, her best friend, whose plans to attend college have been scattered by his OCD.
Kali, her foster sister, whose last ties to sanity are as razor-thin as her anorexic waistline.
Erik, her high school crush, whose success as an athlete is based on a lie with no end in sight.
And Sam, her online pen-pal, whose perfect life exploded into chaos in the aftermath of a school bombing.

Together, the four teens take to the streets of New York to complete Hope’s scavenger hunt and fulfill her dying wishes. But in order to unravel the clues hidden in Hope’s graffiti, her friends will need to confront their personal demons head on.

Hope is within reach.

About the Author: Olivia Rivers is a hybrid author of Young Adult fiction. Her works include the independently published novels “Frost Fire” and “In the Hope of Memories,” along with the traditionally published novel “Tone Deaf” (Skyhorse 2016.) As a certified geek, she enjoys experimenting with new publishing technologies, and her online serials have received over 1,000,000 hits on Wattpad.com. When Olivia isn’t working as a writer, she’s a typical teen attending college in Northern California. Olivia is represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, and nothing thrills her more than hearing from readers.

Excerpt:

“Wait!” I slam my hand against the door to stop it from clicking shut, wincing as the splintered wood digs into me. “I’m looking for Hope. Hope Jackson. She said she’d be here.”

The dude shakes his head. “She’s dead.”

My heart stutters a fast and hard beat, like it does right when I get tackled on the field. “No. No, she’s not. She’s the exact opposite of dead. Today is her eighteenth birthday. Her birthday party is about to start right now.”

Official Reason Number Infinity it Sucks to Be Going Blind: When you can’t see right, you can’t stop a fist from colliding with your face. The dude’s knuckles crash into my jaw, and I yelp, more out of shock than pain. I’m about to pound my own fist into the freak when he starts talking again, this time in a tone that’s actually kind of pissed.

“She’s dead, you jerk! You really think it’s funny to joke about that?”

“I’m not joking!” I rub at my jaw with the back of my clenched hand. Part of me is itching to mess up this guy’s face, but a larger part is starting to panic. “You’re the one with the wrong info,” I say, silently praying I’m right. “Hope isn’t dead.”

The dude stares down at his hand and slowly curls and uncurls his fingers, like he can’t quite believe he just threw a punch. Then he whispers, “You’re not messing with me?”

“No! What kind of sick joke would that be? Like I said, I’m just trying to find her birthday party. I got an invite from her, I swear. It said to come here.”

“Oh.”

Apparently, this conversation isn’t weird enough for him, so he has to add in some awkward silence. Fan-freaking-tastic. Just when I’m starting to think he’s slipped into a coma, he says, “Sorry I punched your face.”

I take a deep breath. “Just tell me where her birthday party is, okay?”

“I told you, there is no party. Hope is dead.”

“Christ, are you seriously going to make me explain this again? She’s not dead. It’s her birthday today. As in the day when you celebrate a person being alive.”

“It would have been her birthday,” the dude says, slipping back into his strange monotone. “But now she’s dead.”

The seriousness in his voice makes my gut twist, and for a moment, I wonder if maybe he hurt Hope. My hand edges toward my pocket, but just as I’m considering grabbing my cell phone and dialing 9-1-1, I see a tear trickle down his cheek. It looks strange on his expressionless face, but another tear quickly follows, and then a third. He sniffs and turns away, wiping his right eye on the battered sleeve of his hoodie.

“What happened?” I ask, my voice a cracked whisper. All sorts of scenarios rush through my head—Hope’s plane crashing on vacation, a car accident, getting caught in a wrong-place-wrong-time shooting…

“You don’t know?” the dude asks.

“No. Was it in the news?”

The smallest beginning of a frown tugs at his lips. “Of course not. Why would the news report about a stroke victim?”

“Stroke?” I repeat. “She had a stroke? What…why? What triggered it? She’s a health freak.”

He blinks slowly and then says again, “You don’t know?”

-Kristen ♥


Book Blitz: The Witchling Apprentice by B. Kristin McMichael (Excerpt + Giveaway)

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Title: The Witchling Apprentice
Author: B. Kristin McMichael
Publisher: Lexia Press, LLC
Publication Date: March 15th 2016

Synopsis: Witches, potions, and magical spells—that all made sense, but men turning into animal-like monsters in the middle of the night? That had to be fiction, right? Wrong. Cassandra Booth thought her world of witches would be complete when she joined her coven. Fate didn’t plan to let that be the case for her. Joining the coven brings new knowledge, like mates and men as animals, all things Cassie would rather not know. As her plans unravel she must find a way to join the coven without committing her life to a guy she once was friends with and now hates.  




About the Author: Originally from Wisconsin, B. Kristin currently resides in Ohio with her husband, three small children, and three cats. When not doing the mom thing of chasing kids, baking cookies, and playing outside, she is using her PhD in biology as a scientist. In her free time she is currently hard at work on multiple novels. Every day is a new writing adventure. She is a fan of all YA/NA fantasy and science fiction.


Excerpt:

Tick ... Tick ... Tick ...

Cassandra Booth tried to ignore the clock as it clicked away from above the desk beside her. It was nerve-wracking enough knowing that if you wanted to take the test to be an apprentice witch you had to do it in front of at least fifty people. However, the clock reminding her it was just about to start was driving her nuts. 

Tick ... Tick ... Tick ...

Cassie tried to go over each step of the potion she was making in her head. She needed to concentrate and ignore the noises around her as the room began to fill up with high schoolers. 

Tick ... Tick ... Tick ...

The sound was lost in the now-growing sound of students talking. Unfortunately, that wasn’t any better. She glanced up at the room in front of her. Mistake. It was almost half-full of people. No one was looking directly at her, but that didn’t make it any easier. Cassie was anxious enough sitting in the lecture area alone, on display, but now there were students who would be watching and talking about her. 

Cassie kept her eyes locked on the table and all her supplies. Taking inventory was easy. Doing the actual potion and saying the spell correctly was supposed to be the hard part. No one in her high school, let alone grade, was even attempting to make the protection spell that had been assigned to her and which would move her from witchling up to the level of junior apprentice. Most people were shocked when she’d asked. It had been many years since a high school student had apprenticed, but that wasn’t going to stop Cassie. She was ready to get out of her boring classes. She was ready to join everyone in obtaining the great knowledge that came with being a full-time member of the coven. Cassie was ready to belong.


-Kristen ♥

Book Blitz: Love in B Minor by Elodie Nowodazkij (Excerpt + Giveaway)

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Title: Love in B Minor
Author: Elodie Nowodazkij
Series: Broken Dreams, #3
Publication Date: March 15th 2016

Synopsis: No promises. No fake tomorrows. That was the plan.

New city. New life. At least, that’s what nineteen-year-old Jen Harrison believes. On the surface, she’s living her dream: dancing in a prestigious dance company in Paris. But her sister’s death and the mistakes she’s tried to bury haunt her. She’s become a pro at hiding who she truly is, and she definitely doesn’t want a guy to derail her, but a one night-stand she can do. Nothing more. She definitely doesn’t plan to see the sexy stranger who made her laugh for the first time in years ever again.

Girls don’t walk away from Lucas Wills. Bad boy turned rock star, he’s got his share of groupies. Always upfront, he doesn’t promise fake tomorrows because love can destroy everything. Been there, done that. His ex not only lied to him, she stomped on his heart, used him to become famous, and almost ruined him. So, waking up alone after a night beyond his wildest imagination with a girl he just met shouldn’t upset him, shouldn’t inspire one of the saddest songs he’s ever written, shouldn’t make him want to chase after her.

When Jen, the one-night stand who got away, auditions to be a dancer in Lucas’ next music video, they can’t stop their growing attraction. But Jen’s secrets and his ex could shatter the careers they tried so hard to build and their hearts…they will have to decide what’s more important and if love is worth the fight.

Love in B Minor is the third standalone novel in Elodie Nowodazkij’s Broken Dreams series.



About the Author: Elodie Nowodazkij was raised in a tiny village in France, where she could always be found a book in hand. At nineteen, she moved to the US, where she learned she'd never lose her French accent. Now she lives in Maryland with her husband, their dog and their cat.
She's also a serial smiley user.


Excerpt:

And his laughter booms in the quiet night. And seeing him laugh makes me want to smile right along with him. And I want to hold on to that feeling a bit longer. One of my hands slowly reaches out and my fingers trail down his cheek while my other hand falls on his knee. He stops laughing. His gaze turns hungry.

“I’m not really thirsty anymore,” I whisper. Our eyes lock. The tension crackling between us gets even more intense. He leans in and I hold my breath. We’re lost in the moment, in the anticipation, in that one second. That one second before a first kiss. I bridge the tiny distance between us and when our lips meet, I breathe again.

His lips are strong and soft.

My body melts into his despite the layers. One of his hands caresses my back and I press myself against him, wishing I could feel his skin against mine. His tongue slips inside my mouth, teasing mine into a playful dance. His other hand cups my face and I could stay like this forever. But I want more. And what I have in mind probably shouldn’t happen outside.

We might get arrested.

But I don’t want to end the night here and now.

I don’t want this night to end at all.


-Kristen ♥

Review: In the Shadows

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In the Shadows
Kiersten White & Jim Di Bartolo
Scholastic
April 29th, 2014
Young Adult
For Review from Scholastic

 Synopsis via Goodreads
From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures.

Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch.

Thomas and Charles are brothers who’ve been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can’t.

Review
When I first got this book in the mail, I had never heard of it before. This is especially shocking since I am a worshiper of the goddess that is Kiersten White. Needless to say that when I saw the lovely cover and Kiersten's name, I got pretty excited. I was a little wary of the whole mixed media thing (told through both written narrative and illustrative narrative), but when I started reading it, I was like, "Hey, this is kind of cool." As I got further into the book, I grew to like it even more. And by the end? I was in love, finding that In the Shadows had gradually, but surely, secured a special place on my heart's bookshelf. It is always so great when a book can surprise you with it's awesomeness.

In the Shadows is told from the perspective of five different characters: Cora, Millie, Thomas, Charles, and Arthur. Cora, the elder daughter, used to be fun and outgoing but, after an unfortunate incident and the death of her father, grew cautious and reserved. I loved that we actually got to see this scene happen, as it occurs before the rest of the story. I had a great deal of sympathy for Cora, though I wished I could have seen a little more of what she was like before, possibly through a couple of brief flashbacks via Millie. Millie is the polar opposite of Cora, possessing a sort of wildness and curiosity about her with a penchant for story telling. Thomas, the elder brother, was similar to Cora in that he wasn't much of a talker or adventurer, but I got this sense that he had a wild side back home, and I hated that I didn't get to see any of that in him at the boarding house; I wanted to know more about his past. Charles, his younger brother, is gravely ill but full of humor, charisma, and a live-life-while-you-can, no worries attitude that I adored. He loves a good problem to solve and Millie proves the perfect challenge for him. Then we have the broody and mysterious Arthur, who was, quite frankly, probably my least favorite of the group, but I came to appreciate him towards the end. Finally, we have our little group of villains. There is Mary, the crazy woman (witch?) that lives in the scary house on the hill. I actually really liked what was done with her character and found her to be surprisingly dynamic. Then there was Alden, who very thoroughly and effectively played the role of evil villain. And Constance, who is also, you know, evil. However, she had this deceptively sweet charm about her that I just loved. All of this being said, if there was one thing I had to pick as a weakness for the book, it would be the characters. They all had such great, distinct personalities, but they weren't given a lot of time to fully develop their potential. This bothered me some, because I wanted more, but I found not nearly as much as it would have bothered me in other books. 

In the Shadows is told in two alternating story lines. One follows the lives of the aforementioned characters through the written narrative, taking place at a boarding house in Maine. Then there is the illustrated story line which follows a mystery man on a dangerous journey into the future and across the world as he searches for the society. I had a couple of characters that I was considering for the role of this mystery man, and in the end, the one I was most sure of was correct. Seriously though, this book had it all: a dash of romance, action, intrigue, and some mild horror. Seeing the two story lines play out in juxtaposition was thrilling and revealed information in some of the most fascinating ways that kept me guessing throughout. White and Bartolo made a very wise decision in how to go about writing the two stories in terms of plot timelines. All of this is why I wasn't too upset by the shortness of character development. This book was all about telling a story, and I could imagine sitting at the foot of a rocking chair while listening to some wise elder telling it to me. I could see and hear this story.This would make an awesome frikin movie if it weren't for the fact that it would probably get butchered. 

Kiersten White's writing was just magical, but no shocker there. The style of this story was quite different than the Paranormalcy books, and her writing style adapted quite nicely to fit In the Shadows. It was lyrical, descriptive, and full of haunting and mesmerizing imagery. I enjoyed the third person (on the fence between omniscient and limited) perspectives, as it really added to the fact that the focus of this novel is to tell/show a story. However, I felt that this, combined with the fact that we had five perspectives, contributed to a lesser development of the characters. The written sections were often brief, and I sometimes had a hard time knowing who the focus was on. Honestly, I think this novel could have used a little more of the actual written sections to balance out the illustrated portions. This book could have easily been around 450 pages. Moreover, what was there did suffice to tell the story that needed to be told. 

Jim Di Bartolo's illustrations were lovely and very versatile, though never in a way that felt inconsistent or disjointed. The dramatic lines, use of colors and shading did an excellent job of getting across the more eerie aspects of this story. At the same time, there would be panels that had me going, "Wow, this is really exquisite." Bartolo's illustrations worked so cohesively with the written narrative when it came to reflecting both In the Shadow's dark and beautiful sides. They also did a very efficient job of fulfilling their responsibility for their half of the story. They weren't pictures to simply be glanced over and moved past; they demanded to be looked at more closely for full appreciation and understanding of the story being told. And I loved this about them; they had good looks and a brain.

As this book was drawing near its end, I could see a pretty clear connection between the two stories being told, but I also still had a ton of questions. More questions than I thought could be answered in what remained. But I was wrong, and the stories ended up pulling together to create the perfect conclusion. I'll admit, there were a couple of small questions that lingered about, but I was able to answer them for the most part by going back through the illustrated panels. In the Shadows wasn't a book that I finished and just put down; I took my time going back through, looking for things I might not have noticed the first time around, and it was great. Everything made so much sense going back with enlightened eyes. This book works excellently as a standalone novel (and let's face it, we could use more standalone books), but if another book came out following more closely the story that was told via the illustrations, I'd buy it. Cause I was left craving more.

In Essence

Characters: Great, distinctly varied cast of characters, but could have been more developed.
Writing: Magical. But what else should I expect from Kiersten White? Would have liked to have seen a greater ratio of writing sections in contrast to the illustrated ones.
Plot: Exciting, palpable, and brilliantly plotted.
Illustrations: Beautiful, dark, and creepy. 
Ending: Perhaps a bit rushed, but wrapped things up wonderfully.
Enjoyment/Likability: I didn't fall head over heels in love right off the bat; instead, it took its time winning me over. And what girl doesn't like to be properly wooed on occasion? 
Recommendable: OMG, yes. Read it! Perfect for a dreary, rainy evening. 

Overall: This book had a couple of small flaws but, overall, was an exceptionally pleasant surprise, and I'm so glad that Scholastic sent it to me. Because of the format, this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I highly recommend giving it a try, even if it is out of your comfort zone. In the Shadows is a masterpiece of a story, a work of art that only two truly great minds could have executed so seamlessly. This book has reaffirmed my love for Kiersten White's writing, and it has also given me a new illustrator to keep an eye out for. Mad props, you two. 

Cover: Frikin' gorgeous. The picture doesn't do it justice. The pattern around the edges and stuff is raised. The book is even pretty naked. ;) 

Buy In the Shadows
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