March 2019 Wrap-Up Post and Looking Ahead to April

So, I was on top of things, almost way ahead, then, beginning of this month, I got sick.  And that cough/upper respiratory infection/asthma flareup issues lasted for almost all month.  It was just this past week that I was finally able to sleep normally, without having to be sitting up to keep myself from coughing all night.  Now, I'm still pretty close to being on track, but not ahead, at all.  I took a trip during my spring break, and it was a weekend away from my dogs, everyone, it was supposed to be for writing.  But I was sick.  So I just kind of relaxed and kept up with blogging that needed to be kept up with, but didn't get anywhere near ahead.

However, I am still happy that I'm up to date enough to be still on top of an end of the month post.

Let's start with the reading stats again this month.

Once, again, according to Goodreads, I've read 59 of the 215 books I've set as my goal for the year, March  made up 20 of those.  I am 7 books ahead of schedule, but till debating whether to up my goal or not.

Here is a list of books I've read this month, and I'll link to my review if I've finished it:

1. The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton
2. Hold On by Samantha Young
3. Space by Penny Reid
4. The Last 8 by Laura Pohl
5. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
6. Riot by Jamie Shaw
7. Soaring With Fallon by Kristen Proby
8. Pucked (re-read/listen) by Helena Hunting
9. The Hashtag Hunt by Kristina Seek
10. Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
11. Misadventures of a City Girl by Meredith Wild and Chelle Bliss
12. Just Swipe Right by Allie York
13. Play (re-read) by Kylie Scott
14. Drunk Dial by Penelope Ward
15. Hissy Fit by Lani Lynn Vale
16. Eyes on Me by Rachel Harris
17. Forever Mine by Kennedy Fox
18. Sky Without Stars by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell
19. The Roommate Agreement by Emma Hart
20. Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Any that aren't reviewed are either part of upcoming blog tours, or I just haven't had time yet to review.

Books that I read in February but didn't get reviewed until March are:

1. Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill
2.  Off Limits by Vivian Ward
3. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
4. The Sweetest Match by Abby Tyler
5. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood:  The Poetry of Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers
6. One in a Million by Jill Shalvis
7. Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout
8. Diary of a Bad  Boy by Meghan Quinn

So, while I will have 50 posts for March after this one goes up, since it is a longer month than February, I'll say that I stayed about the same for not really getting better about less posts.  Still working on that!  I had 18 of those 50 that were review posts, and one of those had 4 reviews in it.  I've been good with my weekly posts I want to keep up with too!  My rating was the same as February, 4.4 stars for the books I read.

Okay, on with my challenges.

1.  As I mentioned above, still working on my Looking Forward To posts once a week, have moved them to Wednesdays to coincide with everyone else's Waiting on  Wednesday or Can't Wait Wednesday posts.
March 13th
March 20th
March 27th

Had a bad time with commenting on other blogs with being sick myself, as well as it seemed I had internet issues sometimes with just responding to comments on my own blog!

Been doing well on cleaning up my Goodreads TBR with my weekly post and giveaway, as well as even my physical TBR a little.  I still only have one person joining in, but feel free to join in as well.  Here are the posts for that:
March 2nd
March 9th
March 16th
March 23rd
March 30th - And this giveaway is still up for the next week!

2.  My Reading Goals are coming along with the Goodreads challenge, but haven't read any of my other specific books that friends suggested yet.  Unless I count finishing The Kiss Quotient.

3.  Writing goals went kind of phooey this past month. The best thing though is that I found a critique partner who gave me some great feedback.  Now I just need time and the health to go back and write and fix those things!

Not so great with this one.  Didn't add a single one from my list this month.

I actually joined in this month!  I posted a discussion about when you start not enjoying your former favorite authors:  I Will Always Love You or Do You Ever Begin to Get Over Favorite Authors.
I even have an idea for a discussion post I hope to do in April, if I get time!

Also, still need some kind of button for the First in the Series Challenge, but since I didn't do any of the ones on my list, no biggie.


Now, yesterday was the coolest day all of the month of March because Planet Comicon is taking place in my hometown this weekend.  So I got to meet some of my idols!  First was the one I spent big money on and am so glad I got to meet!

So cool, but so quick when you do the professional photos, so didn't do much other than pose and move on.  But still, I TOUCHED the Weasley twins!!!!!!

Had a little extra time before my photo op for the Weasley twins took place, so I decided to stop by and see Mark Pellegrino, or who I know as Lucifer from Supernatural.

My sister went with me, and she was there to meet her big idols, Superman and Lex Luthor, but from Smallville.  As we were leaving, she decided to go ahead and stop to see Dean Cain.  He was so nice, complimented her eyes a lot.  As I was standing to the side holding all her stuff so she didn't have to hold it in the picture, he asked who I was and said we should all get a picture, so that was a bonus shot!

Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley was there, but I was broke, and also William Shatner and Henry Winkler, but they weren't ones I HAD to see, so I was okay with what I saw and did.  I did see Wallace Shawn walking over to do his photo op, and he smiled at me, so that was kinda cool.


Looking forward to in April:
Okay, so here is my proposed TBR based on my blog tours and review requests for this month:

1. Stormy Kind of Love by Tia Lee - reading this one now, supposed to review this coming Friday, but not enjoying it, so it may be a DNF. 
2. Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton - Reading the ARC of this one right now, and part of a blog tour scheduled for the 10th.
3. The Stars in Her Eyes by C.M. Albert - review on the 11th
4. Two for Holding by Kay Gordon - review on the 12th
5. The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey - review on the 15th
6. All We Could Have Been by T.E. Carter - signed up for a tour, don't know yet if I got it, but could be reviewing on either the 16th or 19th
7. Give Me Fever by Jasmine and Arielle Lockhart - signed up for a review, I think on the 18th
8. The Perfect Dress by Carolyn Brown - review on the 21st
9. Baby Mine by Kennedy Fox - review on the 23rd
10. Lord Have Mercy by Lani Lynn Vale - review on the 24th
11. We Were Beautiful by Heather Hepler - review on the 26th
12. Imperfect Match by Corinne Michaels and Melanie Harlow - review on the 29th
13. Boyfriend Bargain by Ilsa Madden-Mills
14. Romanov by Nadine Brandes
15. #Poser by Cambria Hebert - currently listening to
16. Tinfoil Heart by Daisy Prescott - currently reading
17. First Down by Michelle Sodaro - currently reading
18. Time by Penny Reid - review will be shortly after pub date, they're not sending e-galleys early!
19. Things We Never Said by Samantha Young

There will probably be another audiobook somewhere in there, just not sure what I'll listen to next.  Because things have been so crazy this month, I'm going to skip the Best of the Bunch challenge today and just go ahead and wrap this post up.    One last reminder, don't forget to enter the giveaway on my last Cleaning Up My TBR Post which I linked to up above, the prize is going to be 3 books this week instead of just 2!

Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) - Down the TBR Hole #15

This meme was started by Lost in a Story.  Here is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

Because I have so many to do, I'm going to try to do this weekly, and do 10 at a time.


1.  Cabel's Story (Wake #1.1) by Lisa McMann:

A free online story by Lisa McMann. A companion to the first Dream Catcher novel, Wake, this is Cabel's perspective of the field trip that Janie and he took with their English class. 


My thoughts:
I will definitely want to read this at some time, and it is just a free book to read online.  I should just make it a goal to get it read soon!  Then I can move it from my TBR list to my Read list on Goodreads.

Verdict:  Keep



2.  Little Blog on the Prairie by Cathleen Davitt Bell:

Gen's family is more comfortable spending time apart than together. Then Gen's mom signs them up for Camp Frontier, a vacation that promises the "thrill" of living like 1890s pioneers. Forced to give up all of her modern possessions, Gen nevertheless manages to email her friends back home about life at "Little Hell on the Prairie," as she's renamed the camp. It turns out frontier life isn't without its good points, like the cute boy who lives in the next clearing. And when her friends turn her emails into a blog, Gen is happily surprised by the fanbase that springs up. But just when it seems Gen and family might pull through the summer, disaster strikes as a TV crew descends on the camp, intent on discovering the girl behind the nationwide blogging sensation, and perhaps ruining the best vacation Gen has ever had. 

My thoughts:
So I went through a phase of reading lots of books that referenced the pop culture phenomenon of Little House on the Prairie, after reading some bios of actresses on the show, as well as a fan's book where she traveled to visit the places Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in her life and that she wrote about in the series.  That's probably where this one comes in.  Now, for some reason I feel like I own a copy of this, but until I find it, I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to reading it.

Verdict:  Toss


3.  Dead Girl's Blog by Donna Burgess:

Meet Audrey Scott. She has it all. She’s the most popular girl at Lincoln High and dates Tommy Barker, the cutest boy in the senior class. She has a credit card with no limit, is head cheerleader and was probably going to be homecoming queen again this year—until she was bitten by a Deader. Worst part of it? He ruined her best jeans.
But that’s just the tip of the putrid iceberg. Now, Audrey is beginning to fester. She doesn’t smell very fresh. Her hair comes out, along with pieces of scalp. Her friends no longer want to hang out with her. Tommy has moved on to a new girl.
And poor Audrey is suddenly wearing Depends and hanging with her lame younger sister, Cindy.
The world isn’t like it was. Disease is in the air and people have become infected. The dead are no longer buried because they won’t stay put in their graves. They are sent out to big, green pastures with electric fences, where they remain until they rot away to nothing.
Told in blog form, this short is an introduction to Diary of a Dead Girl, a darkly humorous young adult novel by Donna Burgess, scheduled for release in the second half of 2011.
Also included is the bonus short story, Under a Blanket of Blue, a Romero-inspired tale of zombies, love and survival.  

My thoughts:  
Don't even remember why I added this one.  If it had been a free ebook I'd downloaded, I'd switch it to that TBR list, but it isn't one I have.

Verdict:  Toss
 


4.  The Lady in the Tower:  The Fall of Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir:

The imprisonment and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII's second wife, in May 1536 was unprecedented in English history. It was sensational in its day, and has exerted endless fascination over the minds of historians, novelists, dramatists, poets, artists and film-makers ever since.
 
Anne was imprisoned in the Tower of London on 2 May 1536, and tried and found guilty of high treason on 15 May. Her supposed crimes included adultery with five men, one her own brother, and plotting the King's death.
 
Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading up to her arrest. Was it Henry VIII who, estranged from Anne, instructed Master Secretary Thomas Cromwell to fabricate evidence to get rid of her so that he could marry Jane Seymour? Or did Cromwell, for reasons of his own, construct a case against Anne and her faction, and then present compelling evidence before the King? Or was Anne, in fact, guilty as charged?
 
Never before has there been a book devoted entirely to Anne Boleyn's fall. Alison Weir has reassessed the evidence, demolished many romantic myths and popular misconceptions, and rewritten the story of Anne's fall, creating a richly researched and impressively detailed portrait of the dramatic last days of one of the most influential and important figures in English history.  

My thoughts:
This was probably during my phase of watching the show The Tudors.  So while I still am interested in this topic, not sure when I'll ever read something like this.

Verdict: Toss 



5.  The Zombie Autopsies:  Secret Notebooks from the Apocalypse by Steven Schlozman:

As the walking dead rise up throughout the world, a few brave doctors attempt to find a cure by applying forensic techniques to captured zombies.

On a remote island a crack medical team has been sent to explore a radical theory that could uncover a cure for the epidemic. Based on the team's research and the observations of renowned zombie expert Dr. Stanley Blum, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES documents for the first time the unique biology of zombie organisms.

Detailed drawings of the internal organs of actual zombies provide an accurate anatomy of these horrifying creatures. Zombie brains, hearts, lungs, skin, and digestive system are shown, while Dr. Blum's notes reveal shocking insights into how they function--even as Blum and his colleagues themselves begin to succumb to the plague.

No one knows the ultimate fate of Dr. Blum or his researchers. But now that his notebook, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES, has been made available to the UN, the World Health Organization, and the general public, his scientific discoveries may be the last hope for humans on earth.   

My thoughts:  This one sounds like fun.  But still not sure if I'll get to it.

Verdict: Keep - for now



6.  Subject Seven by James  A. Moore:

Years ago, scientists began developing the ultimate military weapon: deadly sleeper assassins housed within the bodies of teenagers. Now, Subject Seven, the dangerous alter-ego living inside a 16-year-old boy, has escaped the lab and is on a mission. His objective? To seek out others like him and build an army capable of destroying their creators. 

Hunter, Cody, Gene, Tina, and Kylie: five teenagers leading typical lives, until the day they each receive a call from a mysterious stranger-and learn that their destinies are intertwined. Subject Seven holds the key that connects them all. And a vicious, bloody battle for their lives is just beginning.  

My thoughts:  
Sounded good at the time. And I'm sure it is good, but I just don't know if I'll get to it.

Verdict:  Toss




7.  I Totally Meant to Do That by Jane Borden:

Jane Borden is a hybrid too horrifying to exist: a hipster-debutante. She was reared in a propert Southern home in Greensboro, North Carolina, sent to boarding school in Virginia, and then went on to join a sorority in Chapel Hill. She next moved to New York and discovered that none of this grooming meant a lick to anyone. In fact, she hid her upbringing for many years--it was easier than explaining what a debutante "does" (the short answer: not much).

Anyone who has moved away from home or lived in (or dreamed of living in) New York will appreciate the hilarity of Jane's musings on the intersections of and altercations between Southern hospitality and Gotham cool.   

My thoughts:
Doesn't sound like one I'm really going to be interested in anymore.

Verdict:  Toss



8.  The Customer is Always Wrong:  The Retail Chronicles by Jeff Martin:

From mom-and-pop general stores to big-box, strip-mall chains, it is impossible to consider the American experience without thinking about the buying-and-selling retail culture: the sales and the stockrooms, the shift managers, and the clock punchers.

The Customer Is Always Wrong is a tragicomic and all-too revealing collection of essays by writers who have done their time behind the counter and lived to tell their tales. Jim DeRogatis, author of Let It Blurt, for example, describes hanging out with Al himself at Al Rocky’s Music Store, while Colson Whitehead explains how three summers at a Long Island ice cream store gave him a lifelong aversion to all things dessert-like. This book not only shines a light on the absurdities of retail culture but finds the delight in it as well. 

My thoughts:
This is a hard one!  I love this type of thing, as someone who has worked in retail for most of my life with part time jobs, I'm sure I'd relate to this.  I might keep it just in case.

Verdict:  Keep - for now



9.  Hater by David Moody:

A modern take on the classic “apocalyptic” novel, Hater tells the story of Danny McCoyne, an everyman forced to contend with a world gone mad, as society is rocked by a sudden increase in violent assaults. Christened “Haters” by the media, the attackers strike without warning and seemingly without reason. Within seconds, normally rational, self-controlled people become frenzied, vicious killers. As the carnage mounts, one thing soon is clear: everyone, irrespective of race, gender, age, or class, has the potential to become either a Hater or a victim. At any moment, even friends and family can turn on one another with violent intent. In the face of this mindless terror, all McCoyne can do is secure his family, seek shelter, and watch as the world falls apart. But when he bolts the front door, the question remains: Is he shutting the danger out or locking it in?  

My thoughts:  This one still sounds good.  I thought that I'd heard there was going to be a movie made of this?  Did I miss it?

Verdict:  Keep



10.  The Family that Couldn't Sleep:  A Medical Mystery by D.T. Max:

For two hundred years a noble Venetian family has suffered from an inherited disease that strikes their members in middle age, stealing their sleep, eating holes in their brains, and ending their lives in a matter of months. In Papua New Guinea, a primitive tribe is nearly obliterated by a sickness whose chief symptom is uncontrollable laughter.
What these strange conditions–kuru, scrapie, and mad cow disease–share is their cause: prions. Prions are ordinary proteins that sometimes go wrong, resulting in neurological illnesses that are always fatal. Even more mysterious and frightening, prions are almost impossible to destroy because they are not alive and have no DNA.

In The Family That Couldn’t Sleep, essayist and journalist D. T. Max tells the spellbinding story of the prion’s hidden past and deadly future. Through exclusive interviews and original archival research, Max explains prion diseases’ connections to human greed and ambition–from the Prussian chemist Justus von Liebig, who made cattle meatier by feeding them the flesh of other cows, to New Guinean natives whose custom of eating the brains of the dead nearly wiped them out- and their impact in the world today. With precision, grace, and sympathy, Max explores maladies that have tormented humanity for centuries and gives reason to hope that someday cures will be found.  

My thoughts:  Still sounds really intriguing.  I also have an uncle who contracted some sort of prion disease and died very quickly from it. So it still is something I'm interested in.

Verdict:  Keep


Final Thoughts:
Keeping half, tossing half this week.  Have you read any of these?  Would you suggest I keep any I'm tossing?  And if you're inspired to do this on your blog, please feel free to join into the Link-up below.  It will also get you an extra entry into my giveaway at the bottom of this post.   

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Giveaway:
Once again this is a US only giveaway, unless you are International and see a book here you really want and would be willing to pay for the difference in the shipping through Paypal or some other way.  This week I'm upping the prize, you get to pick any two books from the pictures below, as long as they don't get traded away, or picked by last week's winner, and I will pick a surprise book from the piles to add to your choice.  Here are your choices:

Above are my 2018 ARCs

2017 ARCs

2014-2016 ARCs

Sorry for the blurry pictures.  I updated them at night, and there's not a lot of light where I have them sitting.

You get to pick two this time, plus I'll throw in a surprise one!  Just enter in the Rafflecopter below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Excerpt with Giveaway: The Shadow Watch Series by S.A. Klopfenstein

Book Info:

Title: THE SHADOW WATCH

Author: S.A. Klopfenstein

Series:  The Shadow Watch #1

Pub. Date: May 15, 2018

Publisher: Guardian Grey Publishing

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 420

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble

 
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  -->Synopsis:

For centuries, the Oshan Empire has ruled the New World with terror and blood. The Watchers have been eradicated, and their sorcery is but a whispered myth. But the heart of magic beats on, and as it surges back to life, three young people will determine the fate of the world…

Tori Burodai, a strong-willed slave girl. Her magic could ignite a revolution, but only if she resists the ruler who wants to use her powers to restore the empire to its former glory.

Darien Redvar, the idealistic soldier she loves. His rage leads him down a dark path to power that could turn him against the one person he cares for.

Kale Andovier, a lordling rebel with a torturous past. His quest for a weapon of dark sorcery will thrust him into a twisted game of power that could change the world forever.

Will the return of magic transform the New World, or bring it to ruin?


Excerpt from The Shadow Watch:

Prologue:

The mother could feel the creatures in her mind, searching, probing, scouring, desperate to unveil what remained hidden to them in the city of tents. She gripped her daughter’s hand tight, so tight she could feel the throbbing of her daughter’s heartbeat in her palm. Little Astoria did not know why her mother had snuck her out of their tent in the middle of the night. She did not know what creatures might lurk behind the skin of any one of their tribesmen, waiting to crawl out and devour her.

Together, mother and daughter crept through the city, weaving from shadow to shadow. The mother prayed the creatures would not find her until her daughter was safe, but the sun goddess of the Yan Avii had turned her face from the world.

Astoria yawned, then covered her mouth with her tiny hand.

She’s seen only seven summers, thought the mother. It pained her to think of what she had to do, but she could not keep her daughter a secret any longer. It was not safe.

Astoria did not know what hunted her because she did not yet understand the New World. She did not know of the ancient vows that had been sworn by ancient rulers, nor of the vile creatures that had been molded by them, molded for only one purpose—to eradicate Astoria’s kind from the world.

Fear wrapped its fingers around the mother’s throat, and she held still. She could sense the creatures again. They were searching all across the makeshift City Upon the Steppe. They had sensed magic, and they would not leave until their hunger was sated.

It did not matter that the Yan Avii were no longer part of the empire. The creatures did not abide by treaties or boundary lines. They knew only the purpose for which they had been bred. Astoria had used magic, and they had come for her.

A tenuous cloud slithered across the sky, shrouding the twin moons of the New World. A blessing from the gods. The mother imagined the Sisters were whispering to her as they cast the world in shadow. She could almost hear their voices on the wind. Be brave, good mother, be swift.

The mother seized the moment and hurried down the dark lanes through the labyrinth of tents, tugging her daughter along behind her.

Astoria shivered. Her tiny hand trembled in her mother’s palm. Astoria wore only a cotton shift, which barely reached her knees and left too much of her bony shoulders bare. The mother wished she had thought to grab her daughter’s cloak, but there had been no time.

Such a lovely thing, her daughter’s magic, an innocent thing. Astoria had used her gift for good. She had saved the boy. But the creatures came for her, all the same.

The cloud passed, and the Sisters rejoined their thousand daughters in their nightlong dance across the sky, bathing the tent city in iridescent light. But the momentary darkness had been enough.

At the edge of the Yan Avii tent city, the mother reached the tent she sought. The flap fell behind them, shielding them from watching eyes, though the creatures relied upon another sense. The mother felt their minds again, but she would not have to ward them off much longer. Her daughter was nearly safe.

The merchant was so burly he seemed to fill the tent. His smile was crooked like his heart, the mother had no doubt. Her own heart shuddered at what she had to do.

Sweat beaded from the merchant’s bald, fat head. Piercings lined the left side of his face from jaw to earlobe, threaded by a golden chain. His robes were blue like the glaciers of the mother’s homeland, woven of fine silk, and she knew he had not attained that wealth from dealing in spices.

“Who’s he?” Astoria muttered sleepily.

The merchant grinned, but he let the mother explain.

“He’s… an old friend, my dear. He is going to look after you. You must go with him.”

Realization dawned on Astoria’s face. Her eyes widened. Her lips trembled. “Go with him where?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Y-you’re coming too?”

The mother shook her head. The merchant’s chest heaved with silent laughter. How many times has he witnessed such treachery, to find the betrayal of a mother so amusing?

“W-where are you going?” said Astoria.

The mother choked back a sob. She knelt and pulled her daughter close, and Astoria’s tears soaked through her tunic. “Far away, my love,” said the mother.

“I w-want to go with you.”

“You can’t. My friend will keep you safe. You must be strong, my love. You must trust me.”

“I trust you,” Astoria told her mother, straightening up bravely.

She’s strong, thought the mother. Too strong. This is the only way.

Astoria did not realize that her mother did not even know the merchant’s name. She did not understand when the man gave her mother a handful of coins in the exchange. The merchant took hold of Astoria’s hand, and the mother let go, biting her lip until it bled to keep from crying.

“We move out at first light,” the merchant said.

The mother handed him back the coins. “Leave tonight. Leave now.”

The merchant raised a dark brow, but he did not question her. His golden tooth shone when he smiled. His fingers closed around the coins. “As you say. Come, little girl. We’ll wake my friends, and then, we will go.”

“Her name is Tori,” said the mother. It was what the village children called her when they played. It sounded unassuming and common. Her true name betrayed its Old World origins. The mother feared anything, even a name, might draw attention to her daughter.

“Come then, Tori.”

Astoria held on to the merchant’s thick hand, and they left to wake his friends. The chain on the side of his face jingled lightly. His friends would be wearing chains too, the mother knew, though not on their faces. Soon, her daughter would wear chains as well. Astoria looked back one last time, her tawny face streaked with tears.

The mother managed a feeble smile. “Be brave, my love.”

The tent flap fell, separating them forever. Mother and daughter, blood of the same magical blood, no more.

“I’m sorry,” the mother murmured to the vacant tent. Her heart collapsed inside the hollow cave of her chest.

Her daughter was gone. But there was no time to mourn. Her daughter was not safe yet.

The creatures had sensed magic. They hungered for blood, and the mother would give them what they had come for. Her magic was of the realm of minds, and it was important Astoria forget the things she could do. As she hurried from the merchant’s tent, the mother reached out with her sense, found her daughter’s mind, and reached inside. One by one, she removed the memories that made Astoria who she was, what she was. Each one brought tears. She was robbing her own daughter, but it was the only way.

She hurried to finish, hoping it was enough. Already, the mother felt the creatures coming. They had sensed her magic, as they had sensed her daughter’s before.

But this time, the mother opened herself to their sense, and their minds washed over her, pulsing with hunger and anticipation. They had crossed the world for this. The creatures changed their skins and flew to find her, soaring on black wings. The mother rose from the ground and flew to meet them, soaring with no wings at all. Only magic. Tears ran down her cheeks in cold, meteoric streaks as she flew across the city, as she flew to die.

Her blood rained down upon the city of tents. Her body fell like a star. The creatures fell like crows, and they sated their hunger.

But the mother greeted the gods with grateful tears.

Her daughter was safe. That was all she had asked of them.

Astoria was safe.

 

The thrilling second installment in the Shadow Watch series! 

Title: THE RAGE OF SAINTS (The Shadow Watch series Book #2)

Author: S.A. Klopfenstein

Series:  The Shadow Watch series #2

Pub. Date: March 26, 2019

Publisher: Guardian Grey Publishing

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 507

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon

Synopsis:

The Shadow Watch has been undone. Their captain lies in the dungeons of the White Citadel, and the Gallows Girl has disappeared. Most of the surviving Watchers have joined the chancellor's new magical army, the Sky Guard, led by Darien Redvar, but the Gallows Boy is shaken from the return of the monsters of the Old World, and he must soon choose, once and for all, where his loyalties lie.

Tori and Mischa trek to the Great White North with an Alyut shaman, who believes Tori is the one who will bring Restoration to his people. A resistance is growing in the North, but Tori may not be the god the people are looking for, and the price of revolution may cost Tori her heart as well as her life.

Meanwhile, another threat grows in strength. Old World monsters are rising up across the New World, and no one knows how they've returned. As nations ready themselves for a magical war, their return threatens to change everything.

New alliances are set in place, new friendships are forged, new loves kindled. But no one is safe, for there can be no war without betrayal.

Don't miss this the latest installment in the epic fantasy series readers are comparing to Mistborn and Throne of Glass!

 

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About the Author:

S.A. Klopfenstein grew up on a steady dose of Tolkien and Star Wars. As a child, he wrote his first story about a sleepwalking killer who was executed by lethal injection.

                                  

He lives in the American West with his wife and their dog, Iorek Byrnison. He can be found exploring the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, or daring the halls of the middle school where he teaches Language Arts.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Giveaway:

• 1 lucky winner will win a finished copy of THE SHADOW WATCH & THE RAGE OF SAINTS, US Only.

--> a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

3/18/2019- Lone Tree Reviews- Excerpt

3/18/2019- Literary Gold- Spotlight

               

3/19/2019- Kelly P's Blog- Excerpt

3/19/2019- TMBA Corbett Tries to Write- Interview

3/20/2019- Life With No Plot- Review

3/20/2019- The Hermit Librarian- Guest Post

3/21/2019- Adventures Thru Wonderland- Review

3/21/2019- Graced with Books- Interview

3/22/2019- Lauren is Reading- Review

3/22/2019- ❧Defining Ways❧- Guest Post

Week Two:

3/25/2019- Sincerely Karen Jo- Excerpt

3/25/2019- BookHounds YA- Guest Post

3/26/2019- Colorimetry - Guest Post

3/26/2019- Two Chicks on Books- Interview

3/27/2019- Owl Always Be Reading- Excerpt

3/27/2019- Jaime's World- Excerpt

3/28/2019- D. Books and Reviews- Review

3/28/2019- 4covert2overt ☼ A Place In The Spotlight ☼- Excerpt

3/29/2019- Abooktropolis- Review

3/29/2019- Lisa Loves Literature- Excerpt