#Book Spotlight #Yesterworld by Rebecca Phelps #Paranormal #Time Travel #YA Fiction @Wattpad Books1/12/2022
 Fans of Stranger Things and everything related to dark and paranormal will be delighted with this brand-new sequel to Rebecca Phelps' Down World': From the blurb: In the sequel to Down World, Marina is lured back through the doors … Eighteen months have passed since Marina O’Connell first discovered the doors, and her life changed forever. She’s a senior now. And she’s living in a plane of reality with her stepmom and her dad, while Robbie and her mom are in Oregon. She and her best friend Christy are making plans for college. They’re crushing on Mr. Martel, the new history teacher, young enough to inspire her class to take the subject seriously. But he isn’t who he seems, and when he confronts Marina with the secret they both share, she knows she can’t, or won’t, turn away from the doors that have been calling out to her for months. Publication Date: December 6th, 2022 Publisher: Wattpad Books Purchase Also available for purchase from Indigo, Amazon, Books-A-Million, Kobo, Apple, your favorite US indie bookseller, or your favorite Canadian indie bookseller. Praise for Downworld “. . . an imaginative work of young adult science fiction” –Foreword Reviews “Down World [is] a twisting and changing novel...a fun and riveting read” –CM: Canadian Review of Materials
#Book Blitz #In the Echo of This Ghost Town by C.L.Walters #Young Adult @Xpresso Book Tours12/10/2021
In the Echo of this Ghost Town
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo -- EXCERPT: “Hey.” I look up at the sound of a voice, grateful to be jerked from the train of my thoughts. The girl. She’s standing on the other side of the table in her dark t-shirt and cutoff shorts, her back to the gas pumps and road. The light from the store illuminates her, and I think she’s cute, but obviously not all there if she’s talking to a stranger. “Yeah?” She sits down with a Slurpee, and I look at it longingly but also wish I had some vodka to spike it with. I conjure Danny’s words from the night before. I’d told him I’m always drunk. What had he said back? “Yeah. Maybe that’s the fucking problem. It’s time to grow up, Griff.” What if I do have a problem? Then I’m annoyed by the stupid thought—of course, I don’t. What the fuck? Can’t this weird girl tell I’m busy sulking? My face must screw up because she says, “I’m not carrying any diseases.” I take a sip of my water, not sure what to do about this stranger who’s sat with me at a table outside of Custer’s. I glance to check if someone is playing a joke on me, but all my friends have abandoned me. So yeah, there’s that. I look at her. She’s got a round face, but it’s smooth and pleasant looking. Brownish hair, I think, because it’s pulled back in a bun or something off her face. Black eyeliner. Black T-shirt with the words Def Leppard inside a Union Jack. She pinches the straw and moves it around the slushy. It squeaks. “Decide I’m not a serial killer?” She smirks, and my eyes are drawn to her blunt black nails at the end of her long fingers holding the red straw. “Jury’s out.” I look away and take a sip of my water, annoyed but kind of curious. “Why’s that?” I shrug. “What if I’m the serial killer?” I can’t look at her, though I’m not sure why. It isn’t like I’m nervous, even if she’s a little unnerving. Why have I said that? The idea of being compared to a killer takes me backward. Griff Nichols, son of a murderer, when I’d been alone, but I’d shed that persona with my crew. I shove the reminder aside. “It’s a distinct possibility.” My eyes connect with hers, the curiosity revving up a notch. “Why’s that?” “Guy sitting outside of a convenience store on a Monday night looking all moody. Definitely sending shady vibes. You spike that unassuming water bottle? Use the innocence of water to lure in your victims but in reality, you’re just setting the trap?” She smiles, and I see that she’s joking around even though I don’t know her; it’s the squint of her eyes. “You’re weird.” “I get that a lot.” She pauses and leans forward to take a sip of her drink and looks over at me. Her eyes sparkle with mirth, but it’s hard to tell what color they are even in the light. Lightish. “So, what do you do in this town for fun?” “Get drunk. You new?” “Yes. Why aren’t you doing that?” “It’s Monday.” “So, a drunk six days a week? You have standards, I see. So that must be real water.” She pauses and raises a single eyebrow—which bugs me for some reason. “You don’t look much like the type with standards.” I’m not, but I don’t say it. “Neither do you.” “Touché, serial killer. So, you don’t drink on Monday for other reasons, then?” “I didn’t say I don’t drink on Monday. I just said it was Monday. You made the assumption.” She laughs, but it’s mostly air. “Fair enough.” This conversation could die. I could stand and walk away. I don’t. I blame it on my lack of being alone, which I’m going to have to reestablish. “So, you’re new here?” “Yep. Just moved. Only here for the summer.” “Why’s that?” “Why what?” She takes another sip of her slushy. I watch her swallow it. Then I look back at my water bottle to resume plucking the plastic label. “Only for the summer?” “The band I play with is going on tour.” “Really?” She laughs. “No.” “You’re weird.” “So you’ve said.” She stands. “Well. Thanks for sharing the table.” “There were two other ones you could have chosen.” She glances at the other two and then leans forward. “But then I wouldn’t have gotten to talk to a serial killer.” She smiles, offers me a nod, and with her hand wrapped around her cup, she walks away. She’s wearing jean cutoffs, tight, and the strings of the cut denim hang against her long and shapely legs. I scoff, looking away because I don’t want to notice her. A serial killer. Stupid. As I watch her—the nameless, weird girl—walk away, I realize I forgot what I was sulking about. 
GIVEAWAY! Hosted by: #Blog Tour #Book Review of He'll Be Waiting by Liz Alterman #Young Adult#Thriler @Xpresso Book Tours11/8/2021
Today I'm delighted to participate in the blog tour for He'll be Waiting, a new, gripping thriller by Liz Alterman.
He’ll Be Waiting
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Indiebound 
My thoughts:
What a ride!Liz Alterman's newest thriller He'll Be Waiting proved to be such a gripping, compelling read, I just had to finish it in one sitting and here I am writing this review five hours after I picked the book! 17-year-old Tess Porter wakes up in a hospital with broken bones, bruises all over her aching body, stitches on her head after a surgery and, for better or worse, no memory of the 'accident' that caused all of this. Her parents are there taking shifts looking after her, doctors, nurses, a psychologist- the only person who is missing is her boyfriend James. Tess remembers that James was supposed to come back home from his college a day early to spend it with her, but probe further and her mind draws a painful blank. When she does see him, his visits are hurried, full of apologies and half-memories. What exactly is going on? Why would people who love her or are supposed to make her well-being their highest priority would force her through this torture of trying to remember the events of that snowy day on her own, without help? Why not just tell her what happened? This is about as much as I can tell you without spoiling the story. Pay attention- the clues are there all there. When it all slowly and gradually gets revealed, you'll see how well-thought-through this compelling plot is. Personally, I don't like it when crucial information comes out at the end and there's no way you could have guessed who the culprit is and what their motivation was. This isn't the case here. Everything is foreshadowed and developed later. The same can be said about the characters. When we first meet Tess, she is hurting, she's confused, she's focused on herself, but through her eyes we get to see the people who are most important to her and who are all somehow involved in this mystery. Part of the message of this book is that everything is interconnected and even the smallest of our actions can have unpredictable consequences. Unpredictable because we can't control other people, their feelings and their actions, but we can do our best to be there for people we love and pay real attention to them. The book is very easy to read, it just grips you and compels you to keep turning pages until you solve Tessa's mystery and go through a rich mix of masterfully-portrayed emotions - grief, anxiety, anger, sadness, forgiveness. An extremely well-written YA thriller from the author I didn't know much about, but certainly hope to read more in future. Thank you to Giselle from Xpresso Book Tours, the publisher and the author for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
Whisper
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play -- EXCERPT: CHAPTER 1: OLIVIA My dad used to tell me there are people inside of marbles. They were always talking to him. Whenever I wanted to play a game, he would pick the one with marbles. Only we wouldn’t actually move the marbles. My dad would just stare at them. Finally I stopped asking to play games. But that didn’t matter. My dad would still get out the game with the marbles, and he’d put the marbles in their little resting spots and watch them. And listen. At Samantha’s house, her three-year-old sister, Cara, is playing a marble game with one of her friends. They’re off in a corner by themselves, probably wondering why all these people are stuffed inside the house, wearing dark clothes, crying randomly, and talking in hushed voices. Cara wasn’t at Samantha’s funeral. Does she understand that her sister is never coming home? I move away from Cara and fill a plate with cubes of cheese, triangles of salami, and round crackers. I chew, swallow, and make small talk. But mostly I just stare out the window at the pool and remember the last time I was here. Sixth grade. A pool party for Samantha’s birthday. She and I were friends then. We stopped being friends sometime in seventh grade. I think it had something to do with green slime, a ham sandwich, and a guy we both liked, though I’m not really sure anymore. It all seems pretty stupid now, which gives me a lumpy ache in my throat, and makes me feel like a fraud for being here. But the whole junior class was at the funeral, all ninety-eight of us. Make that ninety-seven. Plus a good part of the rest of the high school. And although not everyone made their way here after the funeral, the house is still packed, with people spilled out onto the lawn, hovering by the pool, and clutching their paper plates as if they’re life preservers. My best friend, Julia, slides up next to me. Her chestnut brown hair is arranged in its usual French braid, except a lot of strands that she missed are poking out today. She takes a loose bit and wraps it around her finger. “Brings back memories, huh?” she says, following my gaze to the pool. “Remember that sleepover in sixth grade?” “Yeah, that was fun.” Except now my brain jumps right from sleepover to sweet dreams. The Sweet Dreams Strangler. I shake my head, trying to blot out the images seared into my mind by the news media. Images of Samantha, lying in a field wearing a beautiful dress, her head on a pillow, hair neatly arranged, hands folded. Beautiful. But dead. Strangled. I don’t know what to say, even to Julia. I look back out the window. A cardinal is perched on the feeder, picking through seeds, scattering debris on the ground. “It sure is stuffy in here,” Julia says. I’m about to agree when a wall of cold air hits me. “Mrs. Young must have read your mind. Wow. That feels good.” Julia scrunches up her face. “What are you talking about?” “The air. She turned on the air. Don’t you feel it?” “No. Are you under a vent or something?” Julia peers up at the ceiling. “Here, switch places with me.” “It’s just as hot here—” “It’s just as cold—” We say it at the same time. “I guess it’s just your wishful thinking.” Julia pats my shoulder. “Enjoy. I’m going to get some more to drink.” I nod and head across the room, by the TV, where hopefully it’s warmer. Goose bumps pop up on my arms. I rub them, but it doesn’t help. Next to me Josh Wallace tosses a cube of cheese into his mouth. Is that sweat dripping off his forehead? Why am I the only one shivering? I spot a decorative blanket on the couch. Should I? I tap Marcus on the shoulder. “Sorry, could you lean forward? I just need to get something behind you.” I tug at the blanket and drape it over my shoulders. Julia is back with a drink in her hand. “Why do you have a blanket wrapped around you? Are you feeling okay?” “Not really,” I answer. “What’s that noise?” “What noise?” “That buzzing sound. Is that the TV? Maybe someone turned it on without switching on the cable box.” I fumble with the buttons on the TV. An image flashes across the screen, and a voice blares. Funeral services were held today for Samantha Young, the fourth victim of the Sweet Dreams Strangler. Mrs. Young hovers in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. All the color drains from her face. I can’t seem to move. Julia turns off the TV. The buzzing grows louder, and then I realize that it’s voices I’m hearing, lots of them, all blending together into one big buzzing sound. And then the buzzing fades away until I hear only one voice. Olivia. It’s not real. I know it’s not real. Olivia. It’s not real because the voice is Samantha’s, and Samantha is dead. Olivia! It’s not real because the voice is not coming from a person. It’s coming from a fricking figurine on the mantel. From a yellow bird with black wings and a black head. I pick up the figurine, and I hold it in my hands. This is what my dad meant when he said there were people living in marbles. And then it speaks again. Olivia! Stop him! Even though I’m kind of expecting it, Samantha’s voice scares me all the same. It makes me jump and my hands open up and that figurine smashes on the floor and breaks. And I’m a little glad because maybe now the voice will stop. But suddenly I’m burning up, the salami and cheese rumbles around in my stomach, and before I can sit, the room spins all around me and darkness sets in. 
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Beyond the Shore and Shadows
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / Parliament House Press -- EXCERPT: Lena sat up in bed with a gasp. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could barely breathe. As she darted her gaze about the room, she noticed a strange grey cloud lingering all around her. Lena took in a deep breath but began to cough on the strange pungent scent in the air. Her eyes stung as she searched the darkened room. There was smoke…so much smoke. Lifting her arm up to cover her nose, she tried to look around the small living-area again, but the fumes stung her eyes. Everything was cloaked in the thick grey cloud. Involuntarily, she sucked in a breath before immediately coughing again, choking on the thick smog that was quickly filling the area around them. What was happening? Just beyond the stone wall of the Bror Boghandel, Lena could make out the echoes of rising voices off in the distance. Whoever they were, the ringing of their voices drifting through the walls seemed rather ominous. “Soren!” Lena gasped, pushing herself from the bed. Lena coughed and slid to the floor. At least there, she could breathe better again. After a small evening meal, Lena had spent a few hours going looking over the letters Soren had begun to teach her, while he sifted through a few of the books he’d taken from Edwin’s room. She had even seen him dig out the small broken white opal stone he possessed from his mother, to gaze at it more closely. He leaned over the books on the table, comparing the sketches in the pages to the stone in his hand. At some point amongst his research, she’d given in to sleep. He must have put her to bed, for she was still dressed in her blouse and skirt. “Soren!” she hissed as she closed her eyes; they were beginning to water against the stinging air. She could hear the voices off in the distance, and she carefully tried to make out what they were saying. But it seemed they were too far away. Taking a quick breath, Lena began to pull herself across the floor; her fingers acting as her eyes. “Soren!” she tried again, choking on the swirling air around her. Her chest began to grow tight as she continued to crawl toward his still, sleeping form on the floor. Just as her fingers grazed over him, he moved, startled. “Lena?” Soren’s voice broke through the darkness. She saw the shadow of his head move, seemingly taking in the surroundings before reaching for her. He lifted the blanket to her face. “Don’t move this away. We’ll die if we breathe in too much smoke.” She obeyed and slid her hand to hold the blanket in place. “We have to get out of here,” he managed, lifting a small blanket to cover his own nose and mouth. The smoke had already begun to sting her lungs, reminding her of the first time she broke through the sea’s surface. She remembered the way her lungs fought between fresh air and salt water. She wanted to take in a deep breath, but knew she had to resist. “I’m going to grab what I can,” Soren murmured, gently taking her arm and leading her to the door. “Stay in the shop. I’ll be right there.” With her heart pounding in her ears and quick thinking, Lena moved back toward the nightstand, grabbing her nightgown before turning on her heel and reaching for Soren’s brown jacket that hung near the door. Both might come to be useful wherever they’d need to go. She shoved her feet into the extra pair of boots left by the door and slipped into the bookshop. “Why is this happening?” Lena asked softly, her voice wavering from fear. What is going to happen? She stood shivering despite the insufferable heat that was burning its way through her last safe haven. Taking in another breath and promptly choking on the thick smoke, she couldn’t help but look around her. All of the books… all of the stories and ship logs she would now never learn how to read. Over her shoulder, she could hear the sounds of Soren rustling through the stacks of books. Squinting through the dark and hazy air, Lena could only make out Soren grabbing various things and shoving them into a small cloth satchel. Lena held the blanket against her nose and mouth, trying to breathe in whatever air she could. It wasn’t nearly as bad in the shop, but she could make out the shadows of strangers through the windows, just outside the main door. Their voices echoed throughout the shop. She turned her violet gaze back to the darkened doorway. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears. “Soren,” she called out softly. “Soren!” Ahead, she could hear more of what those gathering outside the doors of the Bror Boghandel were saying: “Come out here, bookkeeper! We know you’re in there!” Lena darted toward the door. Were they here to help? She reached for the latch but froze when she heard another voice just on the other side. “Come out little pearl,” Lord Jarl’s voice rang. “Everyone knows the truth.” Lena’s heart sank to her stomach. She felt frozen, despite the licking flames beginning to engulf the small book shop from the side. Lord Jarl had come for her after all, and he hadn’t stayed in hiding for long. Was Jace with him? Lord Jarl’s words echoed in her ears, as she allowed the realization of what he’d said to fill her. Everyone knows the truth. They all knew she was a merrow. Her fate was sealed. Her fingers began to tremble, and she swallowed hard, her throat thick with smoke and unshed tears as she gripped the blanket against her nose. They all know. They were all here for her 
GIVEAWAY! Hosted by:
Break the Stone
-- EXCERPT: Kody Walsh gripped the sealed red envelope tightly while his other hand steered around a John Deere. He pulled up to an old farmhouse where lace curtains blew out from an open window. His smart watch alerted him about his increased heart rate but Kody ignored it. He parked his Jeep at a distance behind a set of oak trees, leaving it running–just in case. Hopefully no one’s home. I’ll be quick. Kody patted his Glock and hustled past a blue Chevy with a dented-in door. It looked so run down that it probably couldn’t even start. Good. No one can chase me when I leave. A tall, broad, lumberjack-looking man with a trimmed beard marched out the side door, out to a barn. Shit! Kody plastered himself against the side of the house, then snuck inside the open window. He scanned the study room, taking inventory of the exit options: one closed door leading to the rest of the house, the window he just came through and a chimney. His gaze darted around the room. Desk chair—blunt force trauma, non-lethal. Award hung on the wall—one quick slice from a shard of broken glass to the neck could do the trick if needed. Darts in the corner could poke out someone’s eye. An antique desk stood against a wall in the small room. Kody dropped the red envelope on top of the desk as instructed. Then, he started searching for the item Snyder commanded that he borrow—steal. Kody’s hands were jittery, but he kept repeating the same phrase in his head. A soldier does anything for the team. Anything. He sprang across the study and looked in boxes, under books, on top of the shelf, in the cabinets, and rummaged through the drawers. As he slid the bottom drawer out, the rollers got stuck and fell off the track, sending it down at an angle. A girl’s voice started singing from the other side of the door. Kody’s heart raced as he ducked below the desk. Wait! There it is! A white marble box was taped underneath. It had a gold compass shape engraved on the front with tiny red specs sparkling like jewels. Kody ripped it off and jammed it in his pocket. Sacrifices must be made for the team. There’s no other option. The voice grew louder again and the door knob turned slowly. 
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The Ones We’re Meant to Find
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play 
GIVEAWAY! Hosted by: My thoughts: This book was everything I was waiting for! Science-fiction is one of my favourite genres and when the writing is as good as Joan He's, it makes you feel powerful emotions and makes you think about the world created in it for days and days afterwards. The Ones We're meant to Find has multiple twists and while I am dying to tell you how brilliant the plot is, I don't want to spoil your reading pleasure. Straight from the beginning we are thrown into a mystery. We meet Celia who is stranded on an island, lost her colour vision and most of her memories and is desperately trying to find her sister Kay. Then the story switches to Kasey and her life in this futuristic dystopian world and we get a new set of elements that might seem confusing at the beginning, but will all come together into a mesmerising overall picture. Joan He's use of different forms of narrative (first person for Celia, third for her sister Kaycey) was absolutely brilliant. The characters are so well-differentiated and unique and you are compelled to read on to understand their personalities and their motivations. Both sisters are flawed in their own ways and you might relate more to one or the other,or more likely than not, you will relate to both of them at different points. The intensity of the bond between them and their love for each other is undeniable and will break your heart. Whatever expectations you have,the book is going to surprise you. I loved the steady pace and this feeling of being on the verge of figuring it all out. Of course, you learn more or get another mind-blowing twist which shifts your perspective. It is one of the most engaging and emotional stories I've read this year. Everything in it including the futuristic world with its environmental disasters that is paying consequences for our actions in the present, the characters, the plot- all of it was so well-written that the book definitely went beyond my expectations and I can't recommend it high enough. Can't wait to read what Joan He writes next! Thank you to Giselle from Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley and Roaring Books for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
Code
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo -- EXCERPT: I should have landed on him, but instead I dropped to the floor on my hands and knees like a wounded deer. An electrical sensation zapped through my middle and wrapped around me like invisible arms, holding me in place. Hundreds of needles pricked me all at once. Excruciating pain seared from head to toe. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even blink. I had been wounded many times on missions, but nothing I’d felt in ISAN compared to what had just hit me. Immobile, a foot from my monster of a brother, I’d never felt so vulnerable. My muscles simply shut down. A whimper escaped me, but it could have been only in my head. Worse, a tear slid down my cheek. I felt humiliated beyond measure. “Aw, sis. Are you crying? Does it hurt?” Gene took his hand out of his pocket and showed me a metal trinket, a circle about the size of his thumb. “I thought it was best to have it handy in case you lost control.” He came dangerously closer and lowered, his warm breath brushing the shell of my ear. “Now you know, sis. I can contain you. You might want to show me some respect if you don’t want to be on the ground, helpless and weak. I might accidentally hurt you. We don’t want that do we?” Oh, the pain. Every tiny movement—every blink—hurt so much. He ran a knuckle down my cheek to wipe away another teardrop, and then grazed his index finger slowly across my neck, savoring my weakness. “Next time it won’t be so soft,” he said. “You should get some rest. You look like hell.” I screamed in my head. Peering up under my eyelashes, I watched him walk toward the sliding door. I wanted to rip out his throat, stomp on his heart, but I couldn’t move. Even a fraction of movement felt like a knife slitting deeper into my spine. I couldn’t win. At least not this time. But I would find a way. There had to be a way. Gene’s back to me, he held up that metal circle trinket and clicked. Just as the door blended into the wall, he released me. I thumped my head on the tile floor and wept for Brooke and the rebels who had died because of my stupid mistake. Groaning, I crawled like a worm, my knees and elbows digging across to get to the rug, each movement agony. I refused to lie on the cold ground like I was nothing. I’d never felt so small. No—I had, when my foster father beat me. Where was he now? Locked up. That would be Gene’s fate, too. Just you wait, big brother. Just you wait. Karma is a bitch. 
GIVEAWAY! Hosted by: #Blog Tour #Publication Day #Heir to the Darkmage by Lisa Cassidy #YA Fantasy @rararesources22/4/2021
 Happy Publication Day to Lisa Cassidy's Heir to the Darkmage, a YA Epic Fantasy novel. If you read The Mage Chronicles, you'll be delighted with this sequel, set in the same dark and fascinating world.  Heir to the Darkmage Ambition drives her. Danger thrills her. But magic always has a price. Twenty years have passed since the Darkmage was destroyed and the war between mages ended. For Lira Astor, the single living heir to the Darkmage, escaping her name is impossible. People still fear what is long dead, and they see in her the rise of another dangerous mage with deadly ambition. Desperate to claw her way free of her grandfather’s shadow, to make her own name amongst the world of mages, Lira is willing to do whatever it takes. Even if that means joining the secretive rebel group looking to restore his vision. Survival is a lesson Lira learned early and often, yet when she is abducted and held prisoner in a deadly game of cat and mouse, she finds herself facing a nemesis she may be no match for. Forced to band together with unlikely allies who challenge everything she believes about what it means to be a mage, she will have to rely on every bit of ruthlessness she possesses. Because the war may only just be beginning… …and Lira Astor intends to come out on top. Purchase Links UK / US My thoughts: My first book by Lisa Cassidy and it definitely won't be the last. I got hooked on the story right from the beginning when I started reading about Lira, who turned out to be quite a complex character. I didn't realise that this was a follow-up to another series by Lisa Cassidy (The Mage Chronicles), but it didn't stop me from enjoying this one. Lisa carefully feeds in all the information you need about this dark and fascinating world and its diverse cultures. Lira grew up knowing very little about the war described in the previous series, so we build our knowledge of the events together with her. My heart went to her when I read about the suffering she endured as a child, trying to survive in a place where people hated and feared her for the power her grandfather Shakar wielded. Lira would like nothing more than take control of her own life and stop being defined by the long shadow cast by her formidable ancestor. Lira's early experiences shaped her into someone clever, streetwise, resourceful, and determined to prove her worth. They also taught her to know her limits and train and practise relentlessly to become the best. There are two timelines- one deals with the past, Lira's heart-wrenching childhood, and the second one with the main events happening at the time when Lira has already become an apprentice at the Mage Academy. The book is quite fast-paced, and it felt as if there was a perfect balance of the backstory, and the action-filled narrative of the present. The book proved to be a real page-turner, and my only complaint is that now I have to wait for the next book to come out. Looking forward so much to the continuation of Lira's story in the next instalment of this fascinating series.  Author Bio Lisa is a self-published fantasy author by day and book nerd in every other spare moment she has. She’s a self-confessed coffee snob (don’t try coming near her with any of that instant coffee rubbish) but is willing to accept all other hot drink aficionados, even tea drinkers. She lives in the Australia’s capital city, Canberra, and like all Australians, is pretty much in constant danger from highly poisonous spiders, crocodiles, sharks, and drop bears, to name a few. As you can see, she is also pro-Oxford comma. A 2019 SPFBO finalist, Lisa has published the YA fantasy series The Mage Chronicles, and is currently working on her latest epic fantasy series A Tale of Stars and Shadow. She has also partnered up with One Girl, an Australian charity working to build a world where all girls have access to quality education. A world where all girls — no matter where they are born or how much money they have — enjoy the same rights and opportunities as boys. A percentage of all Lisa’s royalties go to One Girl. Social Media Links – Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LisaCassidyWrites Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/lcasswrites Website – https://www.tatehousebooks.com/Lisa-Cassidy  Thank you for reading the post! Have a wonderful day!
Guiding Gaia
Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo / Google Play -- EXCERPT: Our initial four months were hard. The dynamics of bringing back a goddess beyond her own will required a certain amount of cosmic interference—hence her being reborn a teenager instead of simply awakened as the true goddess she was. With myself an eternal thirty-five, I’d been able to witness the world throughout the centuries. However, the moment she awoke, we were deposited on Earth together, and found Gaia’s powers and memories to be limited, forcing her to learn all she could about the modern world and its customs today. Luckily, money wasn’t an issue, as I’d been divinely gifted a limitless amount in the form of a little, black charge card I’d been putting to good use. But no amount of computers, books, or even the iPod I bought her could negate the frustration of being cooped up in a hotel for four months while learning to ease her way back into a world she, herself, had created. Hence the random storms due to her emotional outbursts. How could the gods put something like this on a teenager? I rubbed a hand over my face. “Honey, I know things haven’t been easy, but I’m truly honored to serve as your guardian, and it’s not something I take lightly.” “Ugh … you’re always so uptight.” Laughing, she turned back to the dark-tinted window, her red hair shining in the soft morning light. “It’s so beautiful here.” I took a quiet breath, swallowing my sigh. Watching her process this world anew was often a heart-breaking task. She was the ancestral mother of all life, consort to Uranus—the creator of the heavens and the sky, and mother to the Titans themselves. She created all we see and know, and was now tasked to evaluate the chaos that enveloped that same world, deciding if it was worth saving or not. So far, I couldn’t tell which way she was leaning. It would take us completing our mission before she regained her full powers and all of her original memories—both of which she’d need to make her final decision. So, in times like these, when she still noticed the beauty around her … I took note. 
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