Guest Post: Curse Undone by Brandie June

 

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the CURSE UNDONE by Brandie June Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: CURSE UNDONE (Gold Spun #2)

Author: Brandie June

Pub. Date: October 4, 2022

Publisher: CamCat Books

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 336

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Two crowns. Two kingdoms. One chance to rule.

Nor and King Casper are captured by the fay army and forced to face the indomitable Faerie Queen, Marasina. At her command, Casper is thrown into a mysterious prison while an even sinister fate is in store for Nor―a deadly fay poison that reveals Nor’s true nature. She’s not only half-fay. She is Queen Marasina’s heir.

Revealed to be like the very creatures she despises, Nor must not only find a way to free Casper but also navigate a court that is as deadly as it is beautiful. Her allies are few, and though Pel claims to want friendship, Nor finds she cannot forgive his betrayal. As tensions mount and war looms between the kingdoms, Nor must choose a side, before it’s too late.

In this epic conclusion to the Gold Spun duology, Nor discovers that a glamour and a curse may be two sides of the same coin.

 

Grab book 1, GOLD SPUN now!

 

Book Trailer:

A day in your writing life.

In addition to being an author, I also hold down a full-time job as a marketing director, so a ‘day

in the life’ really depends on the day! On weekdays, I try to get up an extra hour early to do a

bit of writing before work. Before the pandemic I used to spend my lunch breaks at a nearby

coffee shop getting in some additional writing. A few nights a week I might do some writing

afterwork, but I’m often too tired. I try to set aside a chunk of my weekend to write as well.

Juggling my writing life with the rest of my life has taught me that this is a marathon, not a

sprint. I don’t beat myself up if I don’t write every day. And if I’m not on a writing deadline,

then I will allow myself to take more breaks so I don’t burn out. I guess this answer is more my

writing week than my writing day, but that’s how it tends to play out.

 

About Brandie June:

Brandie June spent most of her childhood onstage or reading, as both activities let her live in fantastic stories. She moved to Los Angeles to study acting at UCLA, and eventually branched out into costume design and playwriting. While she spends most of her free time writing, she will still take any excuse to play dress-up, especially if it involves wearing a crown. She happily promotes more stories as a marketing director for kids’ films and anime. When not writing or marketing, she can often be found doing aerial arts, playing board games, drinking too much espresso, and coming up with new art projects. She lives with her husband, two spoiled rescue pups, a spoiled cat, six fish tanks, and five bookshelves. You can find out more about her at www.brandiejune.com and follow her @brandiejune.

Subscribe to Brandie's newsletter (scroll to the bottom of the page)

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of CURSE UNDONE, US Only.

Ends November 22nd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want some awesome swag? Upload proof of Purchase of CURSE UNDONE and Brandie will mail you some! Fill out the form HERE to get a bookmark, signed bookplate, and pair of Gold Spun Duology pins. PLUS, a few lucky people also get a fairy wing necklace!

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/24/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Guest Post
10/25/2022	Books and Kats	Guest Post
10/26/2022	Book-Keeping	Review/IG Post
10/27/2022	Books a Plenty Book Reviews	Review
10/28/2022	Jenguerdy	IG Spotlight
10/29/2022	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt

Week Two:

10/30/2022	@jennareadstuff	IG Review/TikTok Post
10/31/2022	Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf	IG Review
11/1/2022	Bookish Trisha	Guest Post/IG Post
11/2/2022	YA Books Central	Guest Post/IG Post
11/3/2022	Fire and Ice	Review
11/4/2022	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Excerpt
11/5/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post

Week Three:

11/6/2022	BookHounds YA	Excerpt/IG Post
11/7/2022	Mom with a Reading Problem	Review/IG Post
11/8/2022	@allyluvsbooksalatte	IG Review/TikTok Post
11/9/2022	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
11/10/2022	A Backwards Story	Review/IG Post
11/11/2022	Living in a Bookworld	Excerpt
11/12/2022	bookbriefs	Review/IG Post

Week Four:

11/13/2022	@bookishreviews_byalison	IG Review
11/14/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
11/15/2022	The.bibliophile.michelle	IG Review
11/16/2022	two points of interest	Review
11/17/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
11/18/2022	@simplybeccamee	IG Review

Guest Post: Son of the Salt Chaser by A.S. Thornton

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the SON OF THE SALT CHASER by A.S. Thornton Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About The Book:

Title: SON OF THE SALT CHASER (Salt Chasers #2)

Author: A.S. Thornton

Pub. Date: (November 1, 2022

Publisher: CamCat Books

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 436

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

The gift of magic may be a curse.

After her desert-transforming wish, Emel follows Saalim to Madinat Almulihi to reclaim all she has lost. But the seaside city is not what she expected. When she is tasked with assisting the palace healer, she is faced daily with the reminder that Saalim―focused only on seeking the revenge of those who killed his family―does not remember her at all.

Cursing the magic that destroyed her love and brought her to an unwelcoming city, Emel regrets her decision to leave her settlement. That is, until she meets Kas. Though inscrutable, he is the first person to help her forget her past, and the pull of finding happiness with him tempts her from the life she wished for with Saalim.

But darkness waits in the desert, and not all people in Madinat Almulihi are what they seem. When Emel understands she is entangled in the fate of the city―and of Saalim―she is faced with the realization that magic may be the most powerful card in her hand. It might be the only way to save all that she loves, but if she plays her hand wrong, it could destroy everything.

 

Grab book 1, DAUGHTER OF THE SALT KING now!

 

Top 5 favorite scenes and why.

1. The journey through the desert: The book opens with Emel journeying through the desert with a large caravan, Saalim at its lead. It is a whirlwind of complicated emotions: relief and regret at being far from home, and grief from both the loss of her family and her lover. The journey is painful and long, and every step she questions why she has taken it when Saalim does not remember her at all. I believe it is an honest portrayal of how someone in her shoes would feel. Despite being finally freed from her horrendous life, she is not happy. 

2. The camel race: This takes place about a quarter of the way through the book. Emel is invited to watch the annual camel race—a city-wide event that most in Madinat Almulihi find to be wildly entertaining. This event is not quite what Emel expects, and through the scene and its aftermath you glimpse different qualities of the main characters that make them more or less likable. Scenes that complicate emotions and how the reader feels about characters are always lots of fun to read and write.

3. Visiting Jawar’s village: This part of the book (about two thirds of the way in) was also fun to write, because it offered a glimpse at the world outside of Emel’s settlement and Madinat Almulihi. I loved writing about a jungle and how that would be seen through Emel’s (and Saalim’s) eyes. There is also a nice surprise in this section that I had been planning since Daughter of the Salt King, so it was nice to put those words onto paper. 

4. Emel’s return home: This is a little bit of a spoiler, but I could not wait to write this scene. It turned out to be both the easiest and the hardest thing to write. I had been visualizing Emel’s return since I wrote Daughter of the Salt King, because it felt like the complete arc for her. What would it be like for her to return when so much had happened in her life? It was cathartic for me, and I hope that readers feel the same sense of relief and completion when they finally get to this chapter.

5. The final chapter: Similar to Emel’s return home, the final chapter of the book was something I had been thinking of since I wrote the first book. I wanted to cement in the story but still leave enough threads open that the reader felt there was a future that would grow from the final page. I was deeply satisfied with the ending for Saalim and Emel, and I hope the reader will be, too. 

About A.S. Thornton:

A. S. Thornton has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. She lives in Northern California, where she works as a veterinarian. Learn more about her on IG @as_thornton and visit her website asthornton.com.

Subscribe to A.S.'s newsletter

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of SON OF THE SALT CHASER, US Only.

Ends November 22nd, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

10/24/2022	Books and Kats	Guest Post
10/25/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Guest Post
10/26/2022	Wottaread	Review
10/27/2022	Two Chicks on Books	Guest Post/IG Post
10/28/2022	Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf	IG Review
10/29/2022	@jennareadstuff	IG Review/TikTok Post

Week Two:

10/30/2022	Sadie's Spotlight	Excerpt
10/31/2022	Jenguerdy	IG Spotlight
11/1/2022	Wanderingwitchreads	TikTok Review/IG Post
11/2/2022	Karen Dee's Book Reviews	IG Review
11/3/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review/IG Post
11/4/2022	Books a Plenty Book Reviews	Review
11/5/2022	Fire and Ice	Review

Week Three:

11/6/2022	@booksrn_rashi	IG Review
11/7/2022	The.bibliophile.michelle	IG Review
11/8/2022	Book-Keeping	Review/IG Post
11/9/2022	Wonder Struck	Review/IG Post
11/10/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	Review/IG Post
11/11/2022	@simplybeccamee	IG Review
11/12/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post

Week Four:

11/13/2022	The Page Ladies @jacleomik33	IG Review
11/14/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review
11/15/2022	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
11/16/2022	@thechattybookworm	TikTok Review/IG Post
11/17/2022	bookbriefs	Review/IG Post
11/18/2022	two points of interest	Review/IG Post

Blog Tour: A Light in the Window by Dan Lutts

 

This is my post during the blog tour for A Light in the Window by Dan Lutts. In A Light in the Window a tough-minded girl flees from a politically arranged marriage while the insulted suitor chases after her, but an unexpected attack by brigands leaves her alone in a strange countryside with as seriously wounded boy.

This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours and the tour runs from 21 October till 10 November. You can see the tour schedule here.

A Light in the Window (Charm Wars #2)
By Dan Lutts
Genre: Fantasy
Age category: Young Adult
Release Date: 21 October 2022

Blurb:
FLIGHT
PURSUIT
CATASTROPHY

ALYSE DEJUNE FLED Caldon to avoid becoming a pawn in her matriarch’s attempt to have the Dejunes remain a powerful First Family among their noblesse allies. She intends to seek refuge at her uncle’s legionary camp deep within the forest-covered wilderness of The Marches while he tries to patch things up between her and their matriarch. But even the best of plans can go awry, and Alyse’s does when she is captured by brigands. She believes they intend to hold her for ransom but soon learns they have a worse fate in store for her.

RILL LARKIN FINALLY achieved his lifelong goal of becoming a mage even though he alienated his family and his best friend in the process. Now a mage serving the powerful Estati Family, he is part of a search party that intends to find Alyse and bring her back to Caldon—by force, if necessary. But Rill didn’t anticipate having to deal with a band of brigands who vastly outnumber his small group of pursuers or with a brigand leader who loathes the Dejunes. Those miscalculation have horrible, life-threatening consequences for Rill.

Links:
- Goodreads
- Amazon
- B&N
- Kobo
- Vivlio

First book in the series

Charm Wars by Dan Lutts
“Welcome to Caldon, a land of mages and magic, where the noblesse possess massive political and magical power and destroy anyone who threatens the noblesse way of life—especially the commoners.”

Links:
- Goodreads
- Bookbub
- Amazon
- B&N
- Kobo
- Apple
- Indiebound
- Tolino
- Vivlio

About the Author:
Dan Lutts, the author of Charm Wars, was brought up in Quincy, Massachusetts, and began addictively reading Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman comic books at an early age, much to his mother's distress. In junior high school, he switched to reading science fiction novels. While in high school and college, he wrote science fiction short stories.

Dan taught history and archaeology in high school for ten years. After being laid off because of budget cuts, he used his love of writing to retrain and became a software technical editor and writer. He worked for several computer companies, taught technical writing at the college level, and worked as a freelance writer.

Dan loves to read and has varied tastes, including Young Adult, historical fiction, mysteries, 18th-century sea epics, and history. He especially enjoys Young Adult fiction and decided to try his hand at it. Charm Wars, Dan’s first novel, is the result.

Dan lives in rural Maine with his wife, Lisa. When he’s not working or writing, Dan can be found reading, making and shooting medieval arrows with his longbow, or playing with his dog and two cats—all rescue animals.

Author links:
- Website
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Instagram
- Newsletter

Giveaway
There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of A Light in the Window. Three winners each win a $25 gift card to either Amazon or B&N (winner’s choice). US Only.

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt

Two brigands—a man and a woman—sprang at Kate with their swords. She parried their

blades, and the three of them danced back and forth across the floor planks, fighting. Instead of

helping their two companions, the others watched the three fight as if they were observing a

sports contest instead of a desperate life-or-death struggle. When the man stumbled away

wounded, two of the onlookers replaced him.

“That’s right,” Eye Patch said. “Wear her out. She might be young, but she won’t last

forever.”

“Tag-team match,” Pock Face said, laughing gruffly.

Eye Patch sneered at Alyse, then nodded at a brigand and said, “Time to take the golden

goose.”

The man walked toward Alyse. The smirk on his lips told her he thought Alyse was easy

prey. When he reached for her, she slipped under his arm and thrust her dagger into his side. He

stumbled away, clutching the wound.

“She stabbed me! The little bitch stabbed me!” Then his eyes rolled up in his head and he

collapsed. Blood flowed from his side, painting the floorboards red.

Alyse charged the brigands who were fighting Kate. She knifed one in the back.

With a shout, the brigands on the sidelines raced toward her.

She spun around to face them, but someone came up from behind and put his arm around

her throat. Another seized the wrist of the hand holding the knife and squeezed. Alyse struggled,

but the arm around her neck cut off her air, and the fingers pressing her wrist felt like the jaws of

a vise. Her hand opened unwillingly, and the dagger clattered onto the pine planks.

Unsheathing his dagger, Eye Patch approached Alyse, grabbed and twisted a handful of

her long chestnut hair, and jerked her head back. He positioned the blade against her throat.

Alyse dared not move or breathe while her heart slammed against her chest, like a

prisoner trying to break out of jail.

“Drop your weapons, girlie,” he called to Kate. “Or I’ll slit her throat. Your matriarch

won’t like that, eh?”

Kate’s opponents stepped back out of sword range. Kate looked toward Eye Patch,

keeping her sword and dagger up.

Eye Patch drew the blade lightly across Alyse’s neck. Blood dribbled down her neck,

staining the front collar of her white linen shirt red. He leered at Kate. “Want more blood?”

He positioned his knife to make a deeper cut.

Kate threw down her sword, her face a combination of anger and disgust.

“And the dagger.”

The knife clunked onto the planks.

Two brigands seized Kate by the arms. Dagger in hand, a third walked up behind her,

grabbed a handful of her black hair, and yanked her head back to expose her neck. Then the

woman placed the blade just below Kate’s Adam’s apple and shot Eye Patch a questioning look.

Eye Patch nodded. “Kill her.”