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Feb 27, 2014

Book Blitz: Book Excerpt and Giveaway: Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison

February 27, 2014 0 Comments

Hey guys! Kayla here. Today I am bringing you a gorgeous young adult fantasy novel titled Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison. I hope you guys enjoy reading its blurb and excerpt below, and farther down in the post there is blitz-wide giveaway for a $50 Amazon gift card. Cool, huh? Happy reading!


Book Blurb:


All her life, clever Aemi has been a slave in the Village of the Rocks, a place where the sea and sky meet. She's heard the stories about the fabled People of the Sea, a people who possess unimaginable technology who live below the waves in the dark, secret places of the ocean. But she never dreamed those stories were true.

When a ship emerges from the ocean and men burn her village, Aemi is captured, and enslaved below the waves in Itlantis, a world filled with ancient cities of glass and metal, floating gardens, and wondrous devices that seem to work magic. To make matters worse, her village nemesis, the stuck-up mayor's son Nol, was captured with her, and they are made servants in the same household beneath the sea.


Desperate to be free, Aemi plots her escape, even going so far as to work with Nol. But the sea holds more secrets than she realizes, and escape might not be as simple as leaving...

Book Excerpt:


The broad stone ground of the Training Rock was warm and smooth beneath my bare feet. A salt-scented wind teased the tendrils of hair escaping from beneath my hood. I straightened my spine and lifted my chin as if I belonged as I approached the group of boys and young men, who stood in a haphazard line before the target of wood.
I took my place at the end of the line. 
The smell of salt filled the air. Gulls screamed overhead as the first boy drew back his arm and threw his spear. It glanced off the target and clattered on the rock. His face creased with disgust, and he turned away. The second boy threw, and the tip of the spear embedded itself in the corner of the target.
I was better at throwing than any of these boys. I'd always been good at it, better than anyone else my age when I was small enough to swim in the shallows with the free children and sleep in my mother's arms at night. My mother had beamed with pride to see me throw, and so I continued to hone my skill even after she was gone. Sometimes I went out to the edge of the rocks that formed a ring around the sea like a circle of stone arms, and I caught fish to put on the fire so Nealla and I could eat more than the meager food we were provided for our meals. I was better than all of them, but being a girl banned me from participating in the competition.
At the front of the line stood Nol, the oldest in the competition and the favorite of the crowd. He cast a glance my way, but didn't look long.I exhaled as he turned his head away.
One by one, the boys threw their spears. They were still learning, and few were good yet. The aim of a fisherman was impeccable, once he'd mastered the art, but these were just boys.
I swallowed as the boy beside me took his turn, and then it was mine. I stepped forward and hefted my spear. The weight was familiar in my hand. I inhaled, squinted at the target, and threw.
The spear buried itself at the edge of the middle circle. A few of the boys cried out in appreciation. Sweat broke out across my back.
I hadn't meant to throw quite so well.
Nol turned his head again to look at me. He wasn't stupid, even if he was infuriating. He'd seen Kit throw before.
I held my breath, and he looked away.
Those who had struck the target gathered their spears and tried again. There were only a few of us, and the number rapidly dwindled. I threw poorly, but my spear seemed to swerve to meet the target against my will, and the rest of the boys threw with the skill of drunken monkeys. Finally, only Nol and I were left.
My heart drummed in my chest. I didn't dare look at Nol or the crowd.
"You've improved, Kit," Nol said as he passed me to retrieve his spear.
It was clear by the way he strode toward the target that he thought victory was assured for him. He barely spared me a glance as he drew back his arm to throw.
The crowd waited, breathless.
Nol threw first. His spear struck the inner circle of the target, and he straightened, pleased. I could tell by his posture that he thought he'd won. The necklace of shell he always wore tinkled faintly as he turned to me. He yanked off his mask, and his expression was triumphant.
"Your turn."
I drew my arm back and took aim. I heard the rush of the sea behind me, the cry of gulls above me, and the hiss of my breath over my teeth as I threw. Sea and gulls and breath combined to make music. I shut my eyes and threw.
My spear hit the mark and quivered.
It had struck closer to the center.
The boys roared in approval and swarmed around me. Nol's jaw tightened, and he shot a glance toward the crowd. I saw his father, the mayor, frowning.
I stepped forward to receive my prize. As I passed Nol, suspicion crossed his face. He snatched off my mask, dislodging my hood in the process.
My long hair tumbled down around my shoulders. Wind fanned my face.
I was exposed.
The crowd gasped. Nol let go of me as if he'd been burned.
"It's Tagatha's thrall!" someone shouted.
"You deceptive little brat," the spear master snarled. "Where's Kitran?"
I ran.
The spear master grabbed for me. His fingers slipped through my hair, giving one painful tug, then the strands ripped from my scalp and I ran faster. I reached the edge of the cliff, dropped Kit's spear, and jumped.
The rock was hard beneath my feet as I leaped, and then salty air rushed around me, the gulls' screams filled my ears, and I was falling, falling, falling through air and wind and sunlight. I brought my arms forward right before I entered the water in a perfect dive.
Bubbles exploded across my vision as I hit the water. Blue closed around me, cold and shocking, shutting out the shouts above. My chest skimmed the sandy bottom of the lagoon. Fish shot away, and seaweed snagged my ankles. The rocks of the bay were dark against the orange light of the dying sun.
I swam a ways from the cliff, holding my breath, kicking my legs to propel myself forward.
When my head broke the surface, I heard the spear master shouting after me. I swam away, my arms making sure, even strokes as his threats echoed across the water after me. I had no fear that he would jump in after me. I was one of the strongest swimmers in the village. He couldn't catch me, and he wouldn't try.
But I couldn't swim forever.


Links for Book:


Author's Bio:


Kate Avery Ellison lives in Georgia with her wonderful husband and two spoiled cats. When she's not writing, she's usually catching up on her extensive Netflix queue, reading a book, giggling at something online, or trying to convince her husband to give her just ONE bite of whatever he's eating. 



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Feb 11, 2014

Book Review: Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone by Dora Machado

February 11, 2014 0 Comments
Title: Stonewiser: The Heart of the Stone (Book 1 in the Stonewiser series)
Author: Dora Machado
Publication Date: December 9, 2013
Genre: Epic Fantasy




Blurb:


Between truth and deception, between justice and abuse, a stonewiser stands alone with the stones. Or so begins the stonewiser's oath. But what happens when a rebellious stonewiser discovers that lies have tainted the stone tales?

In a world devastated by the rot's widespread destruction, only the tales preserved in the stones can uphold the truth and defend the Goodlands. In this world, stone truth is valued above anyone's word, and stonewisers are the only ones capable of retrieving the tales from the stones, the only link between past and present, order and chaos.

Sariah is the most gifted stonewiser of her generation, but her talent does not atone for her shortcomings. A survivor of the Guild's brutal training, she is curious, willful and disobedient. Yet not even Sariah is prepared for what she finds when she steals into the Guild's Sacred Vaults: A mayhem of lies and intrigues that shatters her world.

Hunted, persecuted, and betrayed, Sariah must make an unlikely alliance with Kael, a cynical rebel leader pledged to a mysterious quest of his own. The fate of their dying world depends on their courage to overcome centuries of hatred and distrust. But not even the grueling journey has prepared them for what they are about to discover. Because nothing is really as it seems, and the truth is more intricate and devastating than they ever suspected....

Kayla's Thoughts:


Sariah has always thought that stones were pure in judgement. That only the truth was held throughout their natural substance, and on that supposed truth lies the very fate of the lands. But what happens when that truth is hidden or changed to submit to one, or even many, who does not want the true truth to come out?

When Sariah finds a terrible tale within stones she finds in the Guild's Vaults, a tale that was not meant to be found, and is almost killed because of it, she begins a journey that will take her from the Guild into the real world outside of it. A journey that will show her how strong she must be in order to throw away all she believes in order to realize the truth: that there is a rot infiltrating the very recesses of the world she thought to be protected from such things.

Throughout this journey, she will pair up with a group of New Bloods, and one in particular, Kael, seems to hold a slight animosity toward her, because she is at first unwilling to admit that the Guild might be part of the disease, and possibly even her kind. But thankfully this does not prevent him from protecting her when trouble comes calling. And, believe me, it will come calling a lot.



Verdict:


This book is different from a lot of the other fantasy books I have ever read. They way the characters speak, the beautiful descriptive writing, the storyline behind the whole thing, everything is intricate and intimate and so wonderfully put together. It is definitely worth the read, and I absolutely adored this novel.

Links for Book:


Author's Bio:


Ramona Dora Machado is the award-winning author of the epic fantasy Stonewiser series. She holds a master's degree in business administration and graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in history from Georgetown University. She was born in Michigan and grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she developed a bilingual fascination for writing, a preference for history, and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to her stories. She enjoys long and winding walks, traveling, and connecting with the amazingly clever reader who share in her mind's adventures. She lives in Florida with her indulging husband and three very opinionated cats.


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