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Source: Won in a giveaway
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| Won from a giveaway |
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| Won from a giveaway - had so much trouble downloading it from Net Galley - I hate that place. |
First Visions 
| Amazon (Kindle)
| Jared and Kate have lunch together to discuss one of Kate’s visions about Cori’s abduction (Excerpt 1) I get you? What the hell was that supposed to mean? His comments were making her feel unsure and suddenly exposed. Quickly, she decided to change the subject. “Your aunt doesn’t have any abilities?” “No, she just always felt there was more to the world than we could see. Most of her major life decisions are based on answers she receives during tarot card readings. Some of her ideas are pretty out there. But I learned from a young age how to take things with a grain of salt,” he explained. “Is she local?” “Not anymore. Kind of lives off the grid now. She met this guy from Maine and moved up there about five years ago. He makes these amazing homemade brooms and Aunt Lizzie helps him run his business.” He gave a fond smile as he thought about his aunt. “You should meet her one day, you’d love her.” “She sounds cool. Although introductions might be a little awkward. How would you present me? As your psychic sidekick?” Before he could reply, the waitress returned for their order. He ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and potato salad. Against her better judgment, she went for the cheese fries with a side of gravy. Jared gave her an undisguised look of distaste once the waitress had left. “How can you eat that crap? Sounds disgusting.” As he let his gaze run over her body, she felt heat rise to her cheeks. “Why are you so thin? You should be a hundred pounds overweight if you eat that kind of stuff.” Kate snorted. Jeez, she really needed to stop snorting in his presence, talk about one of the least attractive qualities. “I’m hardly thin, I saw your girlfriend. I look like Cartman from South Park next to her.” “Ugh, girls with their weight issues,” he said and waved her off. “Want to show me that sketch now?” She pulled the picture out of her purse and he examined it thoroughly. After a moment of thoughtful consideration, he remarked, “You did a good job, I have a few ideas of what type of car it may be. Looks like an older model Ford or Toyota sedan. You said about ten years old and dark green?” She nodded and he continued, “I’ll work on getting printouts of models from around that time period. See if we can get an exact match.” “I wish I could’ve seen the license plate, but it wasn’t visible from the angle he brought Cori out in. The garage was well-lit, but the rest of the house was dark. The layout of the house looked like a Cape Cod style, but honestly he dragged her through so quickly I couldn’t say for sure.” She sighed and then took a sip of her diet soda. She figured ordering the diet soda helped to cancel out the massive amounts of calories in the cheese fries. “Do you have any idea of a timeframe? How long she was in the car for?” “She was unconscious for part of the ride. She didn’t have a good sense of time, but I would say he was driving for no more than twenty minutes while she was awake. It was very dark in the house which makes me guess it could have been a lot later after he left the Prestons. Not sure if he went anywhere first before heading to his house. Maybe someone near Cori’s house will remember seeing that type of car. I can’t imagine too many of the Prestons’ neighbors drive a hoopdie like that.” He leaned back and chewed on his thumb. “With the damage to the front, it would definitely stand out. Of course, I wish we knew more, but this has been extremely helpful, Kate. Thank you.” Closely, she watched his movements as he patted her hand. It only lasted a second, but Kate felt the touch long after he pulled away. Suffering a loss for words, Kate was grateful for the interruption when his phone rang. After answering, he put his hand over the receiver and addressed her. “I’m going to step outside and take this. It’s a call from another one of the detectives working on the case.” After her nod, he disappeared out of the diner. While she waited, she fidgeted and tried not to think about how right his hand felt on hers. A couple of minutes later, he returned with an apologetic look on his face. “Sorry about that. He wanted to let me know that they’re organizing a search party for tonight. The plan is to comb a few wooded areas in town to look for Cori. We have other detectives going door to door with Cori’s picture to see if anyone has any information,” he explained solemnly. It was hard to not get drawn in by his intensity as he spoke about Cori. As the food arrived at the table, she became convinced greasy food would help get rid of these butterflies she was feeling. She saturated the fries with the gravy. After shoving a forkful in her mouth, she closed her eyes and sighed. “These are heavenly.” Jared gave her a dubious look while taking a bite of his sandwich. “I can see your arteries clogging right before my eyes.” She held out her fork to him. “Go ahead and try them. You know you want to.” He looked on the verge of denial, but eventually caved. “Fine, but I have a feeling I’ll be regretting it.” She grinned as he took a large bite. He showed no reaction, but she giggled as he reached over and took another large forkful. “I can’t tell if I like it. I better taste some more in order to make a sound judgment.” “Sounds like a plan,” she said. She grabbed a side dish plate and piled some on it. “Here, stop denying yourself. One serving of disco fries will not kill you.” Her grin could not seem to fade as she pushed the plate to his side of the table. “So, that’s what these are called? Now that you have me addicted to them, I can blame you when I get too fat to chase anyone down,” he commented between bites. He cut his sandwich in half and held out a piece to her. “Wanna share?” She took the sandwich from him and felt a jolt as their hands brushed. She was in big trouble and she knew it. More of this and she was going to ask him to procreate on the table right then and there. He returned her smile and seemed to also revel in the intimacy of the moment. She wished she could’ve thrown his phone against the wall when it rang again a second later. Kate felt embarrassed that she was weirding him out when she noticed how uncomfortable he suddenly looked. |
| Prologue (Excerpt 2) Kate Edwards Journal May 8 I always prided myself growing up as being one of a kind. Being fearless and never giving a damn what anyone had to say about it. In high school, I was one of those girls who refused to fit into a mold. I wasn’t with the glue sniffers out back under the bleachers, but I wasn’t sitting with the head cheerleaders either. I felt in charge of my destiny and I was going to pursue my dream of being an artist despite the odds stacked against me. If anyone had told me otherwise, I had no problem telling that person where to shove it. Little did I know, it sometimes really blows being one of a kind. For starters, I contracted bacterial meningitis in college. What are the chances? Only about 1,500 people in the entire country get it each year. I think there were more kids than that in my graduating class of high school. Once a person has meningitis, she has an eleven percent chance of dying and a twenty percent chance of losing a limb or suffering from brain damage. Nineteen years old and there was a good chance I was either going to be dead or armless. Lucky for me, I woke up from the coma I fell into. No brain damage, both arms in tact and alive and kicking. Kate was back in business and ready to kick ass and take names. However, fate decided to kick my ass instead. I came back from the dead not the same old Kate. No, I was now Kate with a second sight. Some people may not understand why I don’t simply bask in the glory of having psychic abilities. Set up a psychic hotline, write a book or maybe open a palm reading shop. My mother and I could move to a mansion and I could rename myself some cool mystical name like Clairvoyant Caterina. Well, the first reason is— that idea isn’t possible. I have no control over what I see. I’ll go to sleep at night and dream myself unwilling into someone else’s head. It’s unimaginable how truly awful that could be. Do I really care about that special day my mailman spent with his first dog Skippy at the park during the summer he turned eleven? Or do I need to know about the yearlong affair my dentist has been having with his secretary? Worse yet, I haven’t been able to predict anything. I may be able to tell someone what he ate for dinner on a first date ten years ago, but not if he is going to die choking the next night. Sometimes I think maybe there is some way to control what I see. Or maybe I should be doing something worthwhile instead of destining myself to a life as a shut-in. I just can’t understand why this happened to me. Whose brilliant idea was it to nominate Kate to see inside other people’s heads? And now that I’ve been given this gift, what the hell am I supposed to do with it? |
Author bio 
Source: Gifted from Jen at Jen Ryland/YA Romantics
Gabe: "My only goal is to protect her, Lucifer. Don't make this into something it isn't."
Luc: "Honestly, I really don't care what it is. I took what I wanted. Whatever's left is yours."
Gabe: "Chill. She's just using me for my body."
Frannie: "I AM using you."
Gabe: "And I'm totally cool with that."
Solstice| Excerpt 1 Tana was disoriented by the complete darkness. It was impossible to decide what time it was—what time it reallywas. She loved the sunrise, so where the hell was it? She was a true sun worshipper, often dragging her boys out into the rays despite their protests about leaving their precious video games. At times, she found even heavy cloud cover jarring. She found the current darkness went well beyond jarring and right into bloody creepy. With no clouds in the sky, stars twinkled like fairy dust. The similarities to any kind of fairy tale ended there. The world had become mad, and there she was, a single woman alone with two kids, trudging down the street in the freezing cold. She had deadlines to meet. The lack¬ of sun and an ill child would not get her out of meeting those deadlines. How would she pay the lease? How would she put food on the table? The lack of light was an annoyance, at most. It was an eclipse, perhaps. She never paid attention to the news networks. In a while, things would settle back into their normal routine. Aiden had a touch of flu and would have to stay home from school. He was given to serious bouts of flu a couple of times a year. She would buy a few extra days. Self-employed web designers often begged for time. Well, the poor ones did, anyway. She wasn’t quite poor, at least not yet. What she wasn’t used to was the inability to get through on her cell phone. She’d tried the pediatrician several times, but each call was answered with the dull beep beep of a dead signal. She wanted to sit down and rest, but the few people who were out acted funny, running back and forth, huffing and grunting. Stopping might draw attention from one of those crazies. Aidan was small for a six-year-old, but at the moment, he was as heavy as lead. Her bedroom-slippered feet padded along the litter-strewn sidewalks, robe billowing behind her like a cape. Three steps behind, ten-year-old Davis trotted along, dressed in his Chuckie-T sneakers, Spider Man pajamas, and heavy coat. The lack of electricity was a bigger issue than the lack of sunrise. The apartment would be freezing when they returned. Luckily, the stove was gas, so they could eat, and she could have her coffee. Even the streetlamps were out. The sidewalks were gloomy, and it was beginning to sleet. She wished for some traffic. Headlights to cut the heavy darkness would be a small comfort. She wasn’t sure what had happened. She’d dozed on the sofa in front of a recorded episode of Being Human and was happily dreaming of becoming Mitchell’s next victim when Davis awakened her. He stood over her with his Luke Skywalker light saber. The pale blue light brightened his small face like an Avatar alien. “Aiden’s sick, Mummy.” She sprang to a sitting position. “Sick? Is he throwing up?” “No. He’s breathing weird. It woke me up. When I looked at him, he looked… scary.” “Scary?” Tana’s mouth felt dry. “Were you holding that thing? The blue light makes everything look scary.” “Just come on, Mum.” Davis took her hand and pulled her from the sofa, down the hallway and toward their bedroom, the light saber a beacon in the shadowy apartment. Aidan looked worse than scary. A weird burn-like rash ran along the side of his face. Fat, shiny blisters were already forming on his check. Tana touched his forehead and found it alarmingly chilled. He wouldn’t respond when she tried to rouse him. Increasingly panicked, she dialed the family doctor. Nothing. Next, she tried emergency. More nothing. Her Fiat was in the shop, where it stayed more often than not. There was nothing else to do but take to the street and hope to catch a cab or a bus. She considered a blackout of the city. How terrible would it be? The looting. The crime. It would be chaos. They’d be safer locked away inside the apartment, but with a sick kid, waiting was not an option. Outside wasn’t what she expected. There was no chaos, no looting, no raping. There was just… nothing. The feeling of complete aloneness was more chilling than the sleet and the gloom. The crunch of the ice beneath their steps and the clicking of sleet hitting the unmoving cars and the sidewalk were the only sounds aside from the wind and their increasingly labored breathing. Tana’s lips and cheeks became numb, and her teeth chattered. “Are you okay, Davis?” she asked. “I’m cold.” “Me, too, baby. Just keep going. We’ll be there soon.” Someone screamed, and she flinched, nearly dropping Aiden. A teenaged boy dashed past, sobbing. He wove between a pair of stalled cars, then glanced back at Tana, his eyes wide with horror. “Hide,” he hissed. Then he was gone. Tana grabbed Davis’s shoulder and pressed him back against a wall, attempting to vanish into the shadows. Next, a burly man lumbered into view, wearing a wife beater shirt and dirty, ill-fitting undershorts. No shoes. His big stomach swayed, peeking from beneath the shirt. Drool hung from his parted lips, frozen in mid-drip. Once the man passed their hiding place, Tana stepped from the shadows and removed the blanket from Aiden’s face. Her stomach tightened. She wanted to cry or to call out for help, but what the hell good would it do? “Aiden?” She kissed his icy forehead. “Hang in there. Mummy’s going to get help.” She thought she heard a soft groan. Thank the angels above! He’s wasn’t gone, at least not yet. “Mummy?” he whispered. “Yes. Mummy has you.” Aiden’s eyes slid open, but something was very wrong. His irises were nearly white, the same color as his pallid face. The hollows beneath his eyes were so dark they appeared like deep bruises on his smooth, baby-round face. Then Aiden, her sweet baby, dropped his head back until his chin pointed to the sky, and he howled. He writhed in her arms until her hold on him loosened, and he slithered to the sidewalk. Davis stepped forward, took her hand, and pressed against her side, trembling. Together, they watched as the boy struggled to free himself from the tangles of the woolen blanket. Once loose, he stood and glowered at her. He screamed again, and Davis screamed with him. “Hush, babies. Shh,” Tana cried. Aiden lunged, spittle spraying from his lips. He bared his teeth and screeched again, shrill and horrifying. Tana stepped backward, pulling her oldest child with her. “Aiden. Calm down, baby!” Behind the mad child, a slumping figure approached. As the spindly shape drew nearer, Tana realized it was only an elderly man. Dressed in what would have normally been a smart gray suit and tie, he was covered in splattered blood. “Run, woman! They’re monsters, now!” Aiden spun, and in a flash, he sprang and was on the stranger. Blood flew, inky in the darkness as Aiden ripped out the man’s throat. Tana watched for a moment, frozen with shock. Then, she came to her senses, realizing she had to get her other child to safety. “C’mon. Quickly!” She gripped Davis’s small, cold hand and fled down the street. She didn’t dare look back. The gruesome sounds told her more than she would ever have wanted to know. |
BLOOD GUILT
Author Bio:
Destiny Bewitched (Shadows of Destiny #4)| Excerpt 1 Finally, the piece she’d been fiddling with on the tape player clicked into place. She pressed play and turned up the volume. When music flowed from the small but effective speakers, she gave Geo an I-told-you-so look. His wide eyes told her he’d probably never heard music come from a machine before. She recognized the song. I Put a Spell on You by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Somebody in the Underworld liked 70’s rock. Go figure. “I love this song.” She placed the tape player on the bed and stood up, feeling a little reckless, a little free. Must be the wine. The lead singer’s throaty voice and the heavy beat fit the dim room. The song was gritty and raw just like the Underworld. She looked at Geo, laid back in the chair all big and bad, strong and silent. He’d never looked so sexy. Definitely the wine. “Dance with me,” she commanded. His brows lifted. “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and tugged. With a smirk, he let her pull him to his feet. “Just put your hands here and here.” She guided his hands to her hip and shoulder but he yanked out of her grip. “I know how to dance, woman,” he growled. Then he plopped both hands on her low back, just above her backside, and yanked her up against his body. |
| Excerpt 2 A growl tore through the cabin, startling her. She spun toward the noise so fast she fell on her ass. A giant…dog would be an understatement, flew out of the shadowy corner and landed on thick paws in front of her. Pitch black in color, covered in bulging muscle, it bared its oversized teeth and snarled at her. Holy mutant flea bag! She crab-walked backward a few feet, never taking her eyes off the beast, until she felt her sword under her hand. “Nice doggie,” she whispered, dragging the sword closer. She jumped to a crouch, the sword unsheathed and at the ready. The thing’s eyes glowed red as it stared at her weapon. “Nice possessed doggie.” The fur on its back rose up and its chest rumbled menacingly. Heart pounding, she kept her sword steady in her hands though inside she was shaking. “Okay Kujo, I’m all for animal rights – I support PETA and all that – but if you attack me, I’ll stick you with this nice sharp sword.” In answer, the oversized mutt growled. “Erebus.” Geo’s voice filled the cabin. She hadn’t even heard him come in. “Down, boy. She’s a friend.” Great. The demon had the equivalent of a pet mastiff on steroids and already the thing didn’t like her. Apparently Erebus wasn’t the obedient type. He growled again, and a line of drool dripped from his mouth. Ew. “Not very well trained, is he?” she said to Geo, gaze still locked on the dog. “He’s not a pet. Put your sword down.” “What? No way.” In the middle of a showdown with a dog-beast that looked like it wanted to gnaw on her bones – the sword was going nowhere. “One of us is making it out of this alive. I’d prefer it be me.” “Samantha.” She eyed Geo from her peripheral vision. “Put down the sword. Trust me.” |
| Excerpt 3 She struggled beneath him, her cheeks flushed and chest heaving. Several necklaces – silver chains with various charms and a piece of leather tied around a feather – drew his gaze to her pale, slender neck. A neck he could sink his teeth into. He liked the look of her underneath him far too much. Two hundred years without a woman…why couldn’t Ares just have had him flogged? “Let me up,” she yelled. “You’re squishing me.” Reluctantly, he did. “You’d be more than squished had I been someone else. Your stance is too narrow. That’s why you fell over so easily.” She scowled at him and straightened her clothing. “Don’t tell me how to fight.” “Then stay behind me and I’ll do it for you.” “Never.” “Stubborn.” “Bossy.” Gods, she was a saucy thing. Repressing a smile, he picked her sword up off the ground. “Spitfire and ambition will only get you so far, Samantha.” He held out her sword. “Knowledge and patience are the foundation for success.” “My sister doesn’t have time for me to be patient.” She started to put the sword back into its sheath. “No.” He grabbed her wrist and, under her icy glare, he positioned her sword arm out in front of her. “Widen your stance.” She tossed him a dirty look but did as he said. He walked a circle around her. “Good. Now scan.” She looked left then right. “Clear.” She took a step forward but he grabbed the back of her shirt and tugged her against his chest. “Never forget the sky,” he rasped against her ear. Her breath quickened and he could hear her heart pound wildly. She looked up then whispered, “Clear.” “Good. I can’t use a dead witch so try to keep yourself alive, yes?” “I suppose I can try,” she answered drily. |
Author bio: 
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