Release Day Blitz with Giveaway: Blastaway by Melissa Landers

I am so excited that BLASTAWAY by Melissa Landers is available now and that I get to share the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by author Melissa Landers, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a finished copy of the book, US Only, courtesy of Disney-Hyperion and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About the Book:

Title: BLASTAWAY

Author: Melissa Landers

Pub. Date: July 9,2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 304

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, TBD

Synopsis:
Kyler Centaurus isn't your typical runaway. All he wanted was a quick trip to the legendary Fasti Sun Festival. Who wouldn't want to see new stars being born? Um, try Kyler's entire family. They couldn't care less about mind-blowing wonders of science.

When an accidental launch sequence ends with Kyler hurtling through space on the family cruiser, the thrill of freedom is cut short by two space pirates determined to steal his ship. Not happening!

Luckily, Kyler bumps into Fig, a savvy young Wanderer who makes a living by blowing up asteroids. She could really use a ride to Earth and Kyler could really use a hand with the pirates.

But when Kyler learns the truth about Fig's mission, the two must put aside their differences long enough to stop the threat of astronomical proportions racing towards Earth.

Exclusive Excerpt!

At some point, I must have fallen asleep.

I say that for two reasons. First, my chin was wet with drool, and I hardly ever slobber on myself when I’m awake. And second, I was no longer on Earth.

I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as distant stars whizzed past in a blur. There were no planets in sight, and judging by the swirling purple nebula ahead of me, this wasn’t the way to Nana’s house. I checked the navigation screen and felt my mouth drop open. The flashing beacon that represented my ship was halfway between Earth and Fasti.

(So you see, it is totally possible to steal a spaceship on accident.)

I guess my hand hit the EXECUTE button when I fell asleep. And because it would take just as long for me to turn around and go home as it would to finish my journey, it made sense to keep going, right? Either way, my parents would ground me into the afterlife, so I might as well earn the sentence, right?

Right.

An electric thrill rushed through my veins when I thought about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Anything could happen on this trip. Literally anything. I could discover a brand-new element. Or meet a secret race of aliens. Or invent a new energy source. Or eat so much chocolate that I puked. Either way, I had complete freedom to make this journey into whatever I wanted, and once I realized that, there was no freaking way I could turn back. It was like the universe had dropped a gift in my lap, a gift I had no intention of returning.    

I wiped the drool off my chin and smiled.

“Hold onto your stars, Fasti. Here I come.”

About Melissa:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati in the town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will win a finished copy of BLASTAWAY, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal: Blastaway by Melissa Landers

Today Melissa Landers and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and an exclusive content for BLASTAWAY, her new Middle Grade Sci-Fi which releases Summer 2019! Check out the awesome cover and the excerpt!

On to the reveal! 

Title: BLASTAWAY

Author: Melissa Landers

Pub. Date: Summer 2019

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Find it: Goodreads

Pitched as "Home Alone in space," a young science prodigy who runs away in his family spaceship must team up with a plucky mutant to save the Earth from destruction.

Scheduled for publication Summer 2019.

Exclusive Excerpt!

At some point, I must have fallen asleep.

I say that for two reasons. First, my chin was wet with drool, and I hardly ever slobber on myself when I’m awake. And second, I was no longer on Earth.

I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as distant stars whizzed past in a blur. There were no planets in sight, and judging by the swirling purple nebula ahead of me, this wasn’t the way to Nana’s house. I checked the navigation screen and felt my mouth drop open. The flashing beacon that represented my ship was halfway between Earth and Fasti.

(So you see, it is totally possible to steal a spaceship on accident.)

I guess my hand hit the EXECUTE button when I fell asleep. And because it would take just as long for me to turn around and go home as it would to finish my journey, it made sense to keep going, right? Either way, my parents would ground me into the afterlife, so I might as well earn the sentence, right?

Right.

An electric thrill rushed through my veins when I thought about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Anything could happen on this trip. Literally anything. I could discover a brand-new element. Or meet a secret race of aliens. Or invent a new energy source. Or eat so much chocolate that I puked. Either way, I had complete freedom to make this journey into whatever I wanted, and once I realized that, there was no freaking way I could turn back. It was like the universe had dropped a gift in my lap, a gift I had no intention of returning.    

I wiped the drool off my chin and smiled.

“Hold onto your stars, Fasti. Here I come.”

About Melissa:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati in the town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Three Audiobook Mini-Reviews

As I mentioned last month, I'm totally behind on reviews.  So, once again I'm going to do some mini-reviews, this time three audiobooks, and while two of them are new adult/contemporary romance, the other is YA science fiction.  I'll do the YA one first, so that if you're not interested in the other two, then you can be done after that.  As usual, I'll give you my rating, my thoughts, and then the blurb from Goodreads.

United (Alienated #3) by Melissa Landers:

My rating:  5 stars
I totally loved the first two in the series, and while at first I had a bit of trouble maybe getting into this one, by the end I was loving it just as much, and I really like the way it ended.  The narrator on this audiobook sounded a little different than she did on the first two.  Not sure why.  And then she also kept pausing in spots that didn't make sense to pause, and then not pausing when she really should have.  But other than those narrating issues, I was glad to be back and see how Cara and Aelyx's story would end, would it be an HEA?  If you haven't read the first two, you can go read my reviews of them here, Book 1 and Book 2.  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:

After thwarting a deadly coup and saving the alliance between their worlds, Cara and Aelyx have finally earned a break. Their tiny island colony is everything they dreamed it would be―days spent gathering shells on the beach and nights in each other’s arms.

But the vacation is short-lived.

The treaty between Earth and L’eihr has awakened an ancient force that threatens to destroy them all. The Aribol, mysterious guardians charged with maintaining interstellar peace, deem the alliance a threat to the galaxy. They order a separation of the races, decreeing humans and L’eihrs must return to their own planets within the month or face extinction. In fact, they already have agents in place on Earth, ready to begin.

With the clock ticking, Aelyx and Cara assemble a team of colonists and race back to Earth, where they unite with old friends to solve the mystery of who the Aribol are, what they want, and the real reason the alliance has provoked them. As tensions build to a full-scale war, Aelyx and Cara must fight harder than ever―not just for their future, but for the survival of both their worlds.

Letting Go (Thatch #1) by Molly McAdams:

My rating:  4 stars
This book had me constantly leaving status updates on Goodreads as I read it.  I loved Jagger and Grey, but I did NOT like Jagger's sister Charlie.  There were also so many times that I wanted to cry in this.  While there was the one aspect that is always in stories that annoys me, even though I know, I know, it's part of what helps with the dram and suspense.  I hate  how people don't tell the important person whatever some secret is that will upset them, because really it's a pretty stupid reason why they don't.  And if they would just do it right away, they wouldn't probably have some of the problems.  But as I said, drama.  A great book otherwise!  Here's the blurb from Goodreads:

Grey and Ben fell in love at thirteen and believed they’d be together forever. But three days before their wedding, the twenty-year-old groom-to-be suddenly died from an unknown heart condition, destroying his would-be-bride’s world. If it hadn’t been for their best friend, Jagger, Grey never would have made it through those last two years to graduation. He’s the only one who understands her pain, the only one who knows what it’s like to force yourself to keep moving when your dreams are shattered. Jagger swears he’ll always be there for her, but no one has ever been able to hold on to him. He’s not the kind of guy to settle down.

It’s true that no one has ever been able to keep Jagger—because he’s only ever belonged to Grey. While everyone else worries over Grey’s fragility, he’s the only one who sees her strength. Yet as much as he wants Grey, he knows her heart will always be with Ben. Still they can’t deny the heat that is growing between them—a passion that soon becomes too hot to handle. But admitting their feelings for each other means they’ve got to face the past. Is being together what Ben would have wanted . . . or a betrayal of his memory that will eventually destroy them both? 

Roman Crazy by Alice Clayton and Nina Bocci:

My rating:  5 stars
I love Alice Clayton, but the synopsis of this book didn't grab me at first.  I don't always get into books about divorced women, as I'm single and never been married. They don't really speak to me because I don't identify with them. But, this story.  This Italian hunk, Marcello.  I've never been one to lust after Italian men, even though my dad's side of the family is very proud of their Italian heritage.  But now, well now I want my own Marcello.  My only gripe is one that I've had with some of Clayton's other books, the beginning is so much description of the place and other things, that it often really takes me a bit to get into it.  But it was totally worth the pay off, as her books always tend to be!  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

Avery Bardot steps off the plane in Rome, looking for a fresh start. She’s left behind a soon-to-be ex-husband in Boston and plans to spend the summer with her best friend Daisy, licking her wounds—and perhaps a gelato or two. But when her American-expat friend throws her a welcome party on her first night, Avery’s thrown for a loop when she sees a man she never thought she’d see again: Italian architect Marcello Bianchi.

Marcello was the man—the one who got away. And now her past is colliding with her present, a present where she should be mourning the loss of her marriage and—hey, that fettuccine is delicious! And so is Marcello…

Slipping easily into the good life of summertime in Rome, Avery spends her days exploring a city that makes art historians swoon, and her nights swooning over her unexpected what was old is new again romance. It’s heady, it’s fevered, it’s wanton, and it’s crazy. But could this really be her new life? Or is it just a temporary reprieve before returning to the land of twin-set cardigans and crustless sandwiches?


A celebration of great friendship, passionate romance, and wonderful food, Roman Crazy is a lighthearted story of second chances and living life to the fullest. 

Three great audiobooks, ones that kept me listening!  I've still got another four, plus one I'm listening to currently that I'm almost done with to review.  But this gets these done! 

Launch Blitz and Giveaway: Starfall (Starflight duology #2) by Melissa Landers

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STARFALL Launch Blitz and Giveaway

Hi, booklovers!

I’m author Melissa Landers, and I’m so excited to launch STARFALL, the second and final book in my Starflight duology! This story picks up shortly after the first book ends, but now Cassia and Kane are the main characters, with Doran, Solara, and the rest of the Banshee crew pitching in to help take down an intergalactic mafia. (You know, just an ordinary day in space.) And while saying goodbye to characters is never easy, I think I gave the crew a proper sendoff with plenty of humor, heart, and action. I hope you love STARFALL as much as I do!

Haven’t read the first book? You’re in luck, because for a limited time, Starflight is on sale for 99 cents in all e-formats. Now you can binge read the entire duology in one sitting!

Praise for Starflight:

“Smart, action-packed and utterly addictive!” –New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman

“Starflight has the cinematic appeal, warp-speed action and unlikely heroes of Star Wars.” –Justine Magazine

“A lively tale of romance, space pirates, conspiracy, and made (as opposed to genetic) families.” –Booklist

“A great choice for fans of raw sci-fi action, reminiscent of the lawlessness presented in the television series Firefly.” –School Library Journal

If you love sci-fi adventure with a dash of romance, I hope you’ll pick up the Starflight duology today. Starflight and Starfall are both available in stores and online.

STARFLIGHT (book 1)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2jmEOqA

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/2kjs57n

Book Depository (free international shipping): http://bit.ly/1OoN2WD

Indie Bound: http://bit.ly/1IIMPx7

STARFALL (book 2)

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2jmNsW2

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/2ddKuih

Book Depository: http://bit.ly/2k98EvN

Indie Bound: http://bit.ly/2dhMLry

Giveaway:
 
To celebrate my book birthday, I’m offering one lucky winner a Starflight duology swag pack, complete with bookmarks and two signed mini posters! The giveaway is open internationally. Due to sweepstakes laws, entrants must be 18 years or older to participate.

Best of luck, and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author bio:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.” For more information or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.

  

Launch Day Blitz and Giveaway: United (Alienated #3) by Melissa Landers

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Hey there, booklovers!

I’m author Melissa Landers, and I’m thrilled to announce the release of UNITED, the final book in the Alienated trilogy. Our star-crossed lovers Aelyx and Cara have overcome some heavy obstacles to be together—riotous mobs, alien hybrids, and worst of all, high school on two planets. Now to stay together they’ll have to unite their people against a common enemy, a threat more deadly than they ever imagined. (NBD, right?) I’ve written an ending to this trilogy that makes my heart happy, and I hope you’ll love the conclusion as much as I do!

What do reviewers have to say about the series?

“The author’s storyline is out of this world.” –VOYA on Alienated

“The unusual plot and world building are ingenious.” –Library Media Connection on Alienated

“If [the third novel] is as entertaining as this tale, it can’t come soon enough.” –Kirkus Reviews on Invaded

“A fun genre-blending series that will only gain traction as it continues.” –Booklist on Invaded

If you love hot aliens, snarky humans, and wild sci-fi adventure, make sure to pick up a copy of UNITED today. It’s now available in stores and online.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/25XrSct

iBooks: http://apple.co/1sGfH1Z

Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1tqvT7u

Book Depository (free international shipping): http://bit.ly/1XpeAjN

Indie Bound: http://bit.ly/1Uc75wb

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.” For more information or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.  






Giveaway:

To celebrate my book birthday, I’m offering one lucky winner a set of all 3 mini-posters in the Alienated series—signed by me! The giveaway is open internationally.

Best of luck, and happy reading!
  
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Waiting on Wednesday: United (Alienated #3) by Melissa Landers

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.  My choice this week is the final book in a trilogy that I joined into a bit late.  I only listened to the first book in the trilogy, Alienated, just last year, and then shortly after that I listened to the audiobook of the second book, Invaded.  Now, I love these characters, I want my own alien exchange student like Aelyx!  And I can barely wait until August for this final book, to find out just how all of the issues will be solved, and how Earth will be saved.  Here is the blurb from Goodreads:

After thwarting a deadly coup and saving the alliance between their worlds, Cara and Aelyx have finally earned a break. Their tiny island colony is everything they dreamed it would be―days spent gathering shells on the beach and nights in each other’s arms.

But the vacation is short-lived.

The treaty between Earth and L’eihr has awakened an ancient force that threatens to destroy them all. The Aribol, mysterious guardians charged with maintaining interstellar peace, deem the alliance a threat to the galaxy. They order a separation of the races, decreeing humans and L’eihrs must return to their own planets within the month or face extinction. In fact, they already have agents in place on Earth, ready to begin.

With the clock ticking, Aelyx and Cara assemble a team of colonists and race back to Earth, where they unite with old friends to solve the mystery of who the Aribol are, what they want, and the real reason the alliance has provoked them. As tensions build to a full-scale war, Aelyx and Cara must fight harder than ever―not just for their future, but for the survival of both their worlds.

I love that cover, other than the fact that it doesn't look like Aelyx on there, the hair color is wrong!  I'm hoping that's just a color issue until the final print of the book.  So that is my most anticipated book this week. What are you waiting for?

Audiobook Review: Invaded (Alienated #2) by Melissa Landers

Another great audiobook borrowed from the library once again.  And I have to say I now understand what all the fuss I've seen people make about this book series is about.  I loved the first one, Alienated, so much.  Obviously if you haven't read the first one yet, you probably shouldn't read my review of the 2nd one, as it will have spoilers for the first book.  You should go click the link for the first book above, and read up on that one.  But here goes my review for the second book!

As we left off in the first one, Cara is on her way to participate in the exchange on the planet L'eihr.  Unfortunately she won't get to have Aelyx with her, as it should have been, because of how they still have to try to convince the people of earth to accept an alliance with the L'eihr.  If they don't, in about 10  years, everyone on Earth will die.  Horrible deaths of dehydration, as the water is now ruined from a government experiment that went wrong.  An Earth government, not the aliens.  But the L'eihr have the way to fix it. And the only way they will share the fix is if the alliance works out.  And part of that means they have to stop trying to kill the L'eihr. And in this book, it seems as if Aelyx is the lucky recipient of all the assassination attempts.  He and Syrine are traveling the world to try to gather the support needed.  They are set up with a personal bodyguard, David, who soon becomes like a best friend to Aelyx, and after averting a bomb explosion from killing Syrine, she develops feelings for him.

Things aren't going so great on L'eihr for Cara either.  It seems this advanced race that doesn't have the emotions that humans do, is just as petty and mean as the people on Earth were to the L'eihr students when they were there.  Not only are the other students mean, the classes are extremely advanced for Cara for the most part.  Especially the physical education ones.  For awhile Cara's brother Troy is there, which gives her at least one friend, along with Aelyx's sister, Elle, Cara's roommate.   Of course there is Jackson, one of the members of The Way.  But there is something about Jackson that creeps Cara out.  There are other issues, soon Cara starts getting framed for things that would get her punished, in some cases the punishment is as severe as death.  When she gets to go see the colony, there is much still to be done.  And there are a lot of other things going on, Cara learns of a theory that says humans came before the L'eihr.  And then there are all these little probes that keep landing, starting with one that falls in the middle of Cara's Sh'ovah ceremony, which makes her a L'eihr citizen.

But things begin to come to a head, Cara can't imagine staying on L'eihr forever, especially when even after she's given a spot on the community that is planning the colony.  The others on the committee won't give an inch towards any suggestions that Cara brings up.  When Cara and Aelyx meet up again, these are things that will need to be discussed.  There will be some heartache as they try to decide what they will do next.  And all of it will be a part of a bigger plan, one that will lead to the death of characters we have grown to love, as well as making other characters out to be something that wasn't even imagined at the beginning of the story.

Such a great read.  Again, parts where I cried.  Parts that I laughed, and all in all, I just loved the story.  I still want my own Aelyx.  And this is another book that I think I would love to see as either a movie, or a tv series.  But if it was a series, I'd want them to do so much better about staying close to the story than they seem to do.  A great sequel, and now, now I can't wait to read the final book!

Also, right now I've got a giveaway going on where  you can pick one of the books in this series, just go HERE to enter by February 14th!

Audiobook Review: Alienated by Melissa Landers

This was the next audiobook I downloaded from my local library.  I'd been hearing constantly how great this book was.  But I had yet to pick it up.  I can't decide if I can count it as part of my It's New to Me Challenge, since technically I started listening to it right at the end of 2015.  But I can tell you that I am hooked on this series now!  I also can't decide whether to just buy and read the 2nd book, Invaded, or if I should listen to it on audiobook as well.  When I was going to do my updates on Goodreads as I read, I had to actually look up stuff online about how names and such were spelled.  Listening, I just assumed that the main male character's name was spelled Alex, the way it was pronounced, I just figured it was Alex with an accent on the A.  But no, it was spelled Aelyx.  Either way you spell it, I might have a little crush on him. 

So, as I said, there are two main characters.  One is Cara, and she is a girl from Earth.  The other is Aelyx, a boy, an exchange student, from the planet L'eihr, the first aliens they've come in contact with.  The L'eihr are supposed to be pretty advanced, in fact one of the things that convinces Cara to have an exchange student is that they had given her mother a cure for the cancer that was going to kill her.  The other benefits to taking him in are that she will get a full scholarship to the college she really wants to go to, and she will get to visit the alien planet as part of the exchange program.  There are only 3 L'eihr students coming.  One to America with Cara, one to France, and one to China.  When we first meet the L'eihr, on the trip to Earth, they are talking about something they are sneaking onto the planet. And we find that they do not want to have a treaty with the humans.  So whatever it is they are sneaking with them must be something that will not be good for humans.  Aelyx is Cara's student, and their first meeting, well, let's just say it isn't the way anyone would want their first meeting with someone to go.  Cara is uncomfortable in the spandex that her mother got her to wear under her very tight dress, and so she goes to take it off. But the bathroom is being blocked off because the president is inside.  So she goes and finds a quiet little corner out of the way.  Unfortunately, Aleyx had been using it to get away from the crowd, and so he sees her, basically she moons him.  When they fly home, the embarrassment soon gives way to some annoyance. 

Aelyx is very aloof, and also very condescending.  Cara is the valedictorian of her class, and so as you might guess, she likes to win.  So losing the first three games of chess she plays with Aelyx also don't necessarily endear him to her.  Other issues will be that there are many people against having aliens come to Earth.  Her boyfriend Eric, is one of them.  It causes issues and actually shortly after she brings Aelyx home, they break up.  Her best friend Tori isn't necessarily thrilled with the aliens, but at first she is supportive of Cara.  Until pressure from others in the town beefs up.  Soon the group HALO, Humans against L'eihr occupancy(not sure about the last word, but I listened to it, so not sure where to find it in the book at the moment), is causing a ruckus at school.  Not only are they protesting outside of the school every day, their members are everywhere at school, shunning Cara and Aelyx, and then Tori starts losing things, her student council position, her position on the soccer team, etc.  At that point, even Tori deserts Cara. 

But the more Cara gets to know Aelyx, the more she even finds things to like about him.  And even Aelyx begins to like Cara.  Something about her, the differences actually between them, draw him to her.  And he begins to regret the plan he and his fellow L'eihr exchange students have put into place to ruin their experiment. And while the girl student in France is having a horrible time, their friend in China is loving it, and really growing to love his family, the way that Aelyx begins to feel about Cara and her parents.  But it may be too late.  The protesters are increasing in number, and also getting violent.  One of the few people in school left to be friends with Cara and Aelyx, a little freshman girl who has been a huge fan of the aliens is pushed down the stairs.  Aelyx has found other things in his research of Earth, going out and taking samples of the water and soil.  Earth has problems besides what he and the others have started.  And those things are all going to lead up to a very big catastrophe.

I won't tell more of the story.  Just know that there is a romance.  It is NOT a love triangle.  Just because Cara had a boyfriend at the beginning, well, he is gone pretty quick.  The romance, it's pretty perfect.  Towards the end there is this one moment, and the way Aelyx shows Cara that he likes her, let's just say it is very hot.  Hot without being too much.  Just perfect.  I'm pretty sure that Melissa Landers writes romantic scenes just about on the same level as Jennifer L. Armentrout, for me anyway.  And hey, there is even a blurb from JLA on the cover of the book!  Listening to the scene in the car on my drive home from work.  I was a little breathless myself!  And nothing happened between them really. 

I am on the bandwagon now with this series.  Love, love, love it!   Don't know that I can say enough about how much I love it.  Don't know how when I read the 2nd book I'm going to be able to wait for the third one!