Waiting on Wednesday: April Releases!

Thursday, March 31, 2016

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

I know it's not Wednesday today, but since I had a post yesterday for the Get Up Offa That Slump Blogging Extravaganza, I decided to switch this post to today. It works nicely because that's one less discussion post topic I had to come up with this month which is FINE by me! Unless you want to discuss with me what April releases you're looking forward to in the comments! ;)


Dreamology by Lucy Keating

For as long as Alice can remember, she has dreamed of Max. Together they have traveled the world and fallen deliriously, hopelessly in love. Max is the boy of her dreams—and only her dreams. Because he doesn’t exist.

But when Alice walks into class on her first day at a new school, there he is. It turns out, though, that Real Max is nothing like Dream Max, and getting to know each other in reality isn’t as perfect as Alice always hoped.

When their dreams start to bleed dangerously into their waking hours, the pair realize that they might have to put an end to a lifetime of dreaming about each other. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?

Whimsical, romantic and utterly original, Lucy Keating’s debut novel will win readers’ hearts.


The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Cursed with a horoscope that promises a marriage of Death and Destruction, sixteen-year-old Maya has only earned the scorn and fear of her father's kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her world is upheaved when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. But when her wedding takes a fatal turn, Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Yet neither roles are what she expected. As Akaran's queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar's wife, she finds friendship and warmth.

But Akaran has its own secrets - thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Beneath Akaran's magic, Maya begins to suspect her life is in danger. When she ignores Amar's plea for patience, her discoveries put more than new love at risk - it threatens the balance of all realms, human and Otherworldly.

Now, Maya must confront a secret that spans reincarnated lives and fight her way through the dangerous underbelly of the Otherworld if she wants to protect the people she loves.

The Star-Touched Queen is a lush, beautifully written and vividly imagined fantasy inspired by Indian mythology.


The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows

Wilhelmina has a hundred enemies.

HER FRIENDS HAVE TURNED. After her identity is revealed during the Inundation, Princess Wilhelmina is kept prisoner by the Indigo Kingdom, with the Ospreys lost somewhere in the devastated city. When the Ospreys’ leader emerges at the worst possible moment, leaving Wil’s biggest ally on his deathbed, she must become Black Knife to set things right. 

HER MAGIC IS UNCONTROLLABLE. Wil’s power is to animate, not to give true life, but in the wraithland she commanded a cloud of wraith mist to save herself, and later ordered it solid. Now there is a living boy made of wraith—destructive and deadly, and willing to do anything for her.

HER HEART IS TORN. Though she’s ready for her crown, declaring herself queen means war. Caught between what she wants and what is right, Wilhelmina realizes the throne might not even matter. Everyone thought the wraith was years off, but already it’s destroying Indigo Kingdom villages. If she can’t protect both kingdoms, soon there won’t be a land to rule.

In this stunning conclusion to THE ORPHAN QUEEN, Jodi Meadows follows Wilhelmina’s breathtaking and brave journey from orphaned criminal on the streets to magic-wielding queen.


The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead

A dazzling new fantasy series set in a mix of Elizabethan and frontier worlds that’s dripping with romance from Richelle Mead, #1 internationally bestselling author of Vampire Academy.

Big and sweeping, spanning the refined palaces of Osfrid to the gold dust and untamed forests of Adoria, The Glittering Court tells the story of Adelaide, an Osfridian countess who poses as her servant to escape an arranged marriage and start a new life in Adoria, the New World. But to do that, she must join the Glittering Court. 

Both a school and a business venture, the Glittering Court is designed to transform impoverished girls into upper-class ladies capable of arranging powerful and wealthy marriages in the New World. Adelaide naturally excels in her training and even makes a few friends: the fiery former laundress Tamsin and the beautiful Sirminican refugee Mira. She manages to keep her true identity hidden from all but one: the intriguing Cedric Thorn, son of the wealthy proprietor of the Glittering Court.

When Adelaide discovers that Cedric is hiding a dangerous secret of his own, together, they hatch a scheme to make the best of Adelaide’s deception. Complications soon arise—first, as they cross the treacherous seas from Osfrid to Adoria, and later, when Adelaide catches the attention of a powerful governor.

But no complication will prove quite as daunting as the potent attraction simmering between Adelaide and Cedric. An attraction that, if acted on, would scandalize the Glittering Court and make them both outcasts in wild, vastly uncharted lands. . . .


The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh

The much anticipated sequel to the breathtaking The Wrath and the Dawn, lauded by Publishers Weekly as "a potent page-turner of intrigue and romance."
I am surrounded on all sides by a desert. A guest, in a prison of sand and sun. My family is here. And I do not know whom I can trust.
In a land on the brink of war, Shahrzad has been torn from the love of her husband Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan. She once believed him a monster, but his secrets revealed a man tormented by guilt and a powerful curse—one that might keep them apart forever. Reunited with her family, who have taken refuge with enemies of Khalid, and Tariq, her childhood sweetheart, she should be happy. But Tariq now commands forces set on destroying Khalid's empire. Shahrzad is almost a prisoner caught between loyalties to people she loves. But she refuses to be a pawn and devises a plan.

While her father, Jahandar, continues to play with magical forces he doesn't yet understand, Shahrzad tries to uncover powers that may lie dormant within her. With the help of a tattered old carpet and a tempestuous but sage young man, Shahrzad will attempt to break the curse and reunite with her one true love.


The Island by S. Usher Evans

Prince Galian is third in line to the throne, but prefers his place as a resident at the Royal Kylaen Hospital. When his father urges him to join the military to help reclaim their colony, Galian is forced to put aside his oath to Do No Harm and fight a war he does not believe in.

Across the great Madion Sea, Captain Theo Kallistrate dreams of a day when she is no longer bound by conscription to fight for her country's independence. But when the Kylaens threaten, honor and duty call her to the front lines to fight off the oppressors.

When an air skirmish goes wrong, both Theo and Galian crash on a remote island hundreds of miles from either nation. Grievously injured, Theo must rely on Galian's medical expertise, and Galian must rely on Theo's survival skills, to live another day in a harsh and unforgiving terrain.

Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive? Or will the war that brought them to the island tear them apart?

The Island is the first in a new romance trilogy by S. Usher Evans, author of the Razia series and Empath.

What April books are you desperately waiting for?

Books 'n' Bloggers Swap Sign Up Post

Wednesday, March 30, 2016


YOUR SWAP OBJECTIVE

Send a book-package to your book-loving partner!
Note: This swap is open internationally.  Book Depository has free worldwide shipping!

YOUR PACKAGE MUST INCLUDE

  • 1 Book from your partner’s wishlist
  • 1 Book you love and recommend they read
  • 1 Other book of your choice
  • Other book-related goodies

IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

  • Sign-Ups Start: Monday, March 28th
  • Sign-Ups End: Monday, April 4th
  • Parnters Assigned by: Wednesday, April 6th
  • Packages Ship on/by: Saturday, April 16th
  • Recap Linky Opens: Wednesday, April 20th
Doesn't this sound like fun? Sign up for this here! I love swaps so much! If you do too, I recommend joining! I've joined one other bookish swap from this blog and I loved it! And also any excuse to push Salt to the Sea on someone is a good thing in my book!

Do you plan to sign up for this?

Get Up Offa That Slump: Positives of Blogging


Today is the final day of the Get Up Offa That Slump Blogging Extravaganza hosted by Rachel at Beauty and the Bookshelf! So without further ado, I shall list some positive things about blogging!

The prompt for this post says:

It's THE LAST DAY. I hope you've enjoyed the Blogging Extravaganza and that it's helped to give you a gentle shove back into blogging, and that it's given you some blogging inspiration. For the last post we're getting just a wee bit serious. Even if you're struggling with blogging, you're still here and you're still doing this; there's a reason why you don't want to quit blogging, and you know there's a light at the end of the tunnel. So tell us: Why are you still here? What makes blogging worth it? Why is it so fun and fantastic and you don't want to let it go? Why do you love it? (And the goods outweigh the few hardships, don't they?)

In general, when I started doing this little extravaganza, I wasn't feeling very negative about blogging, I just like to participate in stuff especially when it gives fun prompts for what to post about. I wasn't really struggling anymore than usual to come up with things to post about. I just think I'm still too new to be too terribly blahhhhh about blogging. But I shall list a few of my favorite things about blogging!

1. BOOK RECCOMENDATIONS!!


Since I started blogging last June, I have heard of SO many amazing new books that I'm just dying to read! If I hadn't started following people on Twitter or reading other people's blogs, I wouldn't have heard of a lot of the books on my shelf right now. I probably wouldn't have even given some of them a second glance at the bookstore! And that, my friends, would be the most tragic thing ever. The Wrath and the Dawn? Probably wouldn't have ended up reading that one. A Court of Thorns and Roses? Wouldn't have picked that one up based on the cover probably. Not sure if I can say I would have picked up Salt to the Sea or walked past it and that is the most tragic realization of all because LOOOOOOOOVE.

2. FRIENDS!!


If it weren't for books and blogging, I wouldn't have made myself a twitter account. I wouldn't have connected with any of the awesome people I've met through blogging. I would still be dying on the inside waiting for my sister to finish one of my recommendations so we can talk about it or just babbling the BF's ear off even though I can see that it goes in one ear and directly back out the other. That would be sad. I love all you lovely bookworms. You make me happy.

3. THE PERK OF EARLY BOOKS!!


This is a fun one! I like that blogging has given me access to eARCs on Netgalley and Edelweiss! And most recently physical ARCs from publishers! I just got my first one this month (The Star-Touched Queen!!). It's nice to know that I've worked hard enough that I finally got my first physical one! But anyway, I feel so lucky that I have access to these resources! It has saved me more than one time from buying a book that I had been looking really forward to that I didn't actually end up enjoying! And when my job was looking pretty bleak and I never had any money, I still had access to new books through this, that was nice too!

Those are just a few of the many reasons why I love blogging! More so the first two, I have started to see number three as more so just a perk, but it's a perk that I quite enjoy!

What are some things that you love about blogging? :)

Top Ten Tuesday (#37)

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish!

This week's topic is Ten of the Best Books I've Read Recently!


1. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys


2. Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor


3. Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover


4. Front Lines by Michael Grant


5. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken


6. The Forbidden Orchid by Sharon Biggs Waller


7. Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman


8. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo


9. The Siren by Kiera Cass


10. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

What are some of the best books that you've read recently?

Get Up Offa That Slump: Tell Us Your Ways & My Dream Easter Basket

Monday, March 28, 2016


Today for the blogging extravaganza, I'm going to be doing both prompts. They both sound like fun so I decided not to make myself choose. First I will be sharing with you my blogging ways! The prompt for this post says:

As we all know, blogging isn't easy. Sometimes it's hard to write a post, other times it's hard to stay organized and keep up with everything that goes into blogging--it's almost like you need a system to help keep the flow going. If you have any methods to help make blogging work and keep it the most enjoyable and actually do stuff, please share your ways and cheat sheet!

I have kind of talked about this topic before, awhile ago. I had really been struggling with posting meaningful content on a regular basis and basically just stared at blank posts like what do I doooo?

Well, I decided to implement a blogging schedule. I found that this helped me be soooo much more productive. I have days of the week set for certain posts and days set where I can either post nothing, or if something interesting comes up, I can have wiggle room to rearrange posts to make everything fit or whatever. This has seriously worked wonders for me.

The schedule I have set up is as follows:

Monday: Review
Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday
Wednesday: Once a month, I do a Waiting on Wednesday post containing all the books I'm looking forward to that are releasing the next month.
Thursday: Discussion
Friday: Nothing
Saturday: Stacking the Shelves
Sunday: Tags/Awards/Nothing/Whatever

When I first started my schedule, I figured I could just use it until I got more into the swing of things, but now that I have had it for awhile, I don't think I ever want to get rid of it! Maybe tweak it every now and then, but having it set up this way makes it SO much easier to plan things out and be productive and it makes blogging feel so much less intimidating to me.

If I was gonna change one thing, I had just recently thought that maybe I could do a discussion every other week instead of every week? It gets really hard to come up with a topic EVERY week sometimes even with the fact that once a month I use my discussion topic to talk about something relating to my life rather than books. I feel like my discussions aren't as meaningful as I would like for them to be.

Now onto how I keep my blog posts organized and plan them out and such! In January, I bought a composition notebook that I have been planning things out in. It wasn't meant to be like a bullet journal when I started it, just a more convenient planner, but it has kind of turned into a bullet journal type thing.

For each new month, I have been doing a page labelled with the month and year and then I'll write down a tentative TBR of the books I want to get to or have to get to during the month. I also keep a list of books I have read, books I have bought, and books I have otherwise acquired during the month.


Then on another page, I write out my posts by day of the week. Like I list all the Mondays of the month together, all the Tuesdays together, etc. Since they should all generally have the same type of post, I like to have them together to see how many of each type of post I have to come up with for the month. You can kinda see what I mean in the picture below.


I write in the name of the post when I figure out what I'm going to do for that day and then I highlight it when I'm done with it and have it scheduled. I have really found that this system works really well for me!

I also have a page in my notebook with a list of all the reviews I have written/posted on my blog to keep track of where I have them cross posted and the date if they aren't out yet so I can cross post them when they come out! It works out really nicely, I find.

Well, I think that's about all I have to share on that subject. Now I still want to share what would be in my dream Easter basket!



The first thing that came to my mind when I thought of what I wanted to see in my dream Easter basket was Game of Thrones merchandise. I just recently finished watching season 3 of the show and I am LOVING it so far! I want to get the books soon so this is a list of what I would love to see in my basket:

Hardcover copies of all the books


ALL THE DAENERYS FUNKO POPS
AS WELL AS HER DRAGONS
House Targaryen symbol necklace
Like 12 Reese's chocolate bunnies

I think that I would be happy seeing that sitting in the living room when I wake up on Easter. Hop on over to my house Mr. Easter Bunny!!

What would you like to see in your dream Easter basket? Also, do you have any blogging ways you find super helpful that you'd like to share?

Review: Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan

Sunday, March 27, 2016


Sword and Verse #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: January 19th, 2016
Rating: 3 Stars
Source: Audible Audiobook
Pages: 384

Summary (from Goodreads):

Raisa was only a child when she was kidnapped and enslaved in Qilara. Forced to serve in the palace of the King, she’s endured hunger, abuse, and the harrowing fear of discovery. Everyone knows that Raisa is Arnath, but not that she is a Learned One, a part of an Arnath group educated in higher order symbols. In Qilara, this language is so fiercely protected that only the King, the Prince, and Tutors are allowed to know it. So when the current Tutor-in-training is executed for sharing the guarded language with slaves and Raisa is chosen to replace her, Raisa knows that, although she may have a privileged position among slaves, any slipup could mean death.

That would be challenging enough, but training alongside Prince Mati could be her real undoing. And when a romance blossoms between them, she’s suddenly filled with a dangerous hope for something she never before thought possible: more. Then she’s approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slaves—to help liberate the Arnath people. Joining the Resistance could mean freeing her people…but she’d also be aiding in the war against her beloved, an honorable man she knows wants to help the slaves.

Working against the one she loves—and a palace full of deadly political renegades—has some heady consequences. As Raisa struggles with what’s right, she unwittingly uncovers a secret that the Qilarites have long since buried…one that, unlocked, could bring the current world order to its knees.

And Raisa is the one holding the key.

I'm finding it hard to start writing this review because I'm not really sure what to say. I didn't love this book as much as I had expected to. And I listened to it as an audiobook which may have been a mistake because there are so many words in this book that I have zero idea how to spell. But at the same time, it may have been a good idea because the words that I don't know how to spell, I probably couldn't have said correctly.

Anyway, I felt like most of this book was really slow. It takes place over a long period of time. I got kind of lost as to how long of a time period this book covers. The first third of the book was all romance and really in depth descriptions of writing and what the different symbols look like. I reeeeallly found that to be boring.

The relationship between Raisa and Mati seemed to come out of nowhere. The only place they see each other is in the Adytum for their writing lessons with the Tutor. They don't really get a chance to talk with each other anyplace other than their lessons and then one day BAM they're making out and sneaking off to the library and being all lovey dovey. 

Then she finds out that Mati is in an arranged marriage and she gets butthurt as if that wasn't something to be expected. Then she breaks it off with him. When they were still happily in love, she was approached by someone from the Arnath resistance trying to recruit her to their cause. She declined the offer, but as soon as she's no longer with Mati she joins and does some little missions for them inside the palace. Then she and Mati seem to rekindle their relationship and she uses the opportunity to rat out members of the resistance. So it was like when she was with Mati she was so against being in the resistance, but when she doesn't have him, she'll join. She's really a flip-flopper.

She also rarely seems to tell him the truth about ANYTHING until she has to because she gets found out and in trouble. But he never really seems to care that much. He forgives her EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. While I am a sucker for the romance and definitely was rooting for them to get together, I found that a bit frustrating because she just didn't deserve for him to be so dang loyal when she couldn't return the favor!!!

One thing I really don't understand is why writing is so sacred to everyone? Out of all the things in the world that the gods could be picky about distributing to any old person, why is it writing? Why do  they feel like they can't live without being able to write? They only want to write so badly because they're not allowed to. Raisa says as much at one point when she finally figures out what her heart verse says after whining about being unable to read it for the ENTIRE BOOK! And then she's disappointed in it because she thought it would be some totally revealing piece of information or something and it's not.

At the end of each chapter there was a little segment of a story about the gods and goddesses doing whatever gods and goddesses do. I found this to be mostly pointless? Like it was a more drawn out version of the little skit that gets put on every year or whatever their method of time is.. Shinings and veilings... I feel like I lost a lot listening to this because a lot of terms are really confusing to me and I think they would have stuck a lot better if I had read it rather than listened to it. But I feel like those portions of the book were mostly useless information.

I think something I would have found more interesting is more backstory on Raisa's life on the Nath Tarin. Like maybe flashbacks or something. More in depth information about the raid and being on the raider ship and what it was like for her right after arriving in Qilara. More information about Learned Ones would have been nice too. I feel like all the mentions of these things was just filler because I didn't feel like I learned anything meaningful about any of it. 

And FINALLY, I don't see the point in all the mentions of the previous Tutor-in-training. I don't even remember what her name was. Like you don't learn anything meaningful about her either. Just that she was executed for teaching writing to the peasants. In general, I didn't understand the point of the Tutors. Like they pick someone to be the Tutor for the next prince and then they teach them and the new prince how to write and then the cycle starts over. Just get someone else to teach the prince to write. What's the point?!

All of that being said, it doesn't sound like I really found a point to any of this book, does it? Despite all of that and all the times I found myself rolling my eyes at these things, there were also things I enjoyed! It's just that this seems to be another one of those books where I find it easier to whine about what I didn't like than talk about what I did like. I really think that that can be attributed to having listened to this rather than reading it.

I liked Mati and Raisa together even if I thought their relationship came out of the blue and thought Mati was dumb for continuing to trust Raisa over and over and over.... and over again.

I liked when Raisa joined the resistance and the suspense of wondering if she was going to get busted sneaking around the palace. 

I liked reading about the battle at the end of the book and how they planned to move forward and rebuild in the aftermath. I liked that things wrapped up nicely at the end.

Overall, I thought this book was basically all romance with very little fantasy. The characters were mostly frustrating with their blind loyalty and flip-flopping tendencies. It was overly long and I didn't see the point to most of it. I don't think that I would recommend this book to anyone unless maybe you're going into it just looking for the romance.

Stacking the Shelves (#36)

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Stacking the shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to highlight books received each week!

During the week of March 19th - 25th, I got...

SUBSCRIPTION BOX:


I got this in the subscription box The Best Damn Book Box that I have a review posting for early next month!

TRADE:


Thank you @heartbreakdx for the trade!

ARCS4ART:


Thank you Kiersten White for sending me this one!

What kind of fun things did you get this week?

Get Up Offa That Slump: Plan a Fictional Trip

Friday, March 25, 2016


Today for the Get Up Offa That Slump Blogging Extravaganza, I will be planning a fictional trip!

This is easy peasy to plan out because I can't think of any fictional trip that would be more magical than seeing the places from Harry Potter!

I would need to get the full experience so I would obviously have to start by going through Diagon Alley!


I would have to check out all the stores. Ollivander's, the pet store, the broom shop, all of them! I'd need to rob Gringott's because I'd be going on an epic shopping spree here! I'd have to buy all of the wizard goodies!

Besides that, it wouldn't be a Harry Potter trip without catching a Quidditch match!


Being that I'm not a sports person (fictional or otherwise), this would all be for the experience. I'd just want to watch a big match and buy gear for whichever team happens to have the hottest dude playing for them.

I'd take a trip to Hogsmeade definitely! Gotta check out Honeyduke's and buy ALL the sweets! Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, I'd have to sample it all.

After that, I'd hit up the Three Broomsticks and take a break with a delicious Butterbeer! And take a stroll to play tourist at the Shrieking Shack!


Another MUST SEE location on my fictional trip is Weasley's Wizard Wheezes! This is another place where I'm gonna need to buy ALL the things! Gotta take some good jokes home to play on my friends!


And, of course, no Harry Potter themed trip would be complete without a ride on the Hogwarts Express and a tour of Hogwarts itself! I would absolutely adore seeing Hogwarts and all its glory!


So, in a nutshell, that is my dream fictional trip! I'm sure there are SO many amazing things I could see in the Harry Potter world, but off the top of my head, these are the places that I would most like to see!

If you were to take a fictional trip, where would you go?

Tour Blitz: Furious by T.R. Ragan

Thursday, March 24, 2016


Furious by T.R. Ragan
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication Date: March 22nd, 2016
Pages: 305

Synopsis:

Faith McMann comes home to a nightmare: her husband is killed and her son and daughter are taken. Although the intruders leave her for dead, she survives. Crippling grief and fear for her children make life unbearable. Until her anguish turns to anger…and she trades victimhood for vengeance. Frustrated with the law’s efforts, she takes action to rescue her children—and wreaks havoc on the brutal criminals who tore them from her. With her family and newfound allies at her side, Faith descends into the hellish underworld of human trafficking, determined to make those who prey on the innocent pray for mercy. The forces she's up against have already proven that their ruthlessness knows no bounds. And there's nothing they won't do to turn Faith's crusade into a suicide mission. But they're about to learn that nothing is more dangerous than a mother fighting for her children—especially one who's earned the nickname Furious.

Buy Links:


Excerpt:

The kids unlatched their seatbelts, jumped out of the car, and ran through the garage and into the house before the song ended. Faith sang along until the last verse, then sat there for a moment and soaked in a little peace and quiet. 

Working full-time and raising two young kids tended to make moments like this rare.

Her cell phone buzzed. It was her sister. “Hey, what’sup?” Faith asked.

“I’ll tell you what’s up,” Jana said. “Steve is driving me nuts! I quit drinking, I stopped devouring cake and cookies, but now he won’t let me lift anything heavier than a milk carton. This baby is going to be born stressed out if he doesn’t chill.”

Faith smiled. Her sister was a drama queen. “What time will you be coming tomorrow?”

“Oh, my God, I forgot about the party.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Faith said. “You were supposed to make six dozen cupcakes. Do you know how much I still have to do before—”

Her sister’s laughter cut her off midsentence.

Faith sighed when she realized Jana had been joking about not making the cupcakes. “That’s not funny, Jana.”

“You’re such a dweeb. How could I possibly forget to make six dozen cupcakes when you’ve reminded me every single day for the past two weeks?”

“I don’t know, but I have to go.”

“Wait—Have you told Craig the news?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“He’s been busy with work—and, you know, bills stacking up, new tires for the car, busted water heater last month. I haven’t found the right moment to tell him about baby number three.”

“He’ll be thrilled. Don’t wait too long, OK?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Faith disconnected the call and was about to head off for the store when she remembered the grocery list hanging on the refrigerator. She left her purse in the car and climbed out. Weaving around toys and bikes, she headed through the garage door into the kitchen, where it looked as if a tornado had swept through the house. Kitchen drawers had been left open.

Papers and broken dishes were scattered across the floor.

Her heart raced. What is going on?

Just as she was about to call out her husband’s name, she stepped into the family room and saw Craig on the floor, bound and gagged.

A man she didn’t recognize hovered over him.

The scene before her made no sense.

Her heart pounded in her chest, making it difficult to breathe as her gaze darted around the room.

And then she spotted them.

Lara and Hudson sat together on the couch. Their hands had been duct-taped behind their backs. More duct tape covered their mouths. Another man stood close by, watching over them.

Time stopped as she tried to figure out what to do.

Craig always said they should buy a gun, but she didn’t want to keep one in the house. Eyes wide, she looked at the knife drawer. Grab a knife? Or run and alert the neighbors?

The two men exchanged a glance. Their eyes said it all.

She turned and ran.

If she could get inside the car and lock the doors, she could honk the horn or drive the car right through the wall and into the house if she had to. That might get one of the neighbors’ attention.

She flew through the back door leading to the garage and screamed at the top of her lungs before someone grabbed her from behind, twisted her around, and brought her face up close to his.

“Where is it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said as she struggled to get free.
He sneered. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with desperation.

He smelled of stale tobacco. Strong arms held her in place. She thought of every show she’d ever seen on getting away from an assailant, but fighting him was useless. “Let us go!” she cried.

He shook her hard enough to make her teeth rattle.

“You have five seconds to tell me where it is!”

This time when she screamed, she dug her heel into his foot and tried to twist out of his grasp.

He slammed her to the ground. Her head hit the cement floor, and her world turned black.


Text Copyright © Theresa Ragan, Published by Thomas and Mercer

Early Praise:

“Faith McMann, heroine of this gripping novel, is a Sacramento schoolteacher, wife, and mother who comes home just in time to witness her husband’s throat getting cut and her two children hauled away. The attempt on her life is botched—the killers were in a hurry—and as she recovers, she’s convinced the police are brushing her off. So she whacks a detective with his computer keyboard and gets sentenced to anger management sessions. If this were a cookie-cutter thriller, the male hero would be tracking the killers with an automatic weapon and maybe a major babe beside him. But our hero is smarter than that, and her revenge is a product of relationships, not bullets. In classes, she meets other victims as angry as she is, and, together, in fine scenes of action and suspense, they seek explanations and vengeance as well as the children’s rescue, which takes them into a slimy world of human trafficking. Learn here about “lot lizards” and “kiddie strolls” on the way to a wild finale. Suspenseful and smart, in equal measure.” —Don Crinklaw, Booklist

“Searing...Readers with strong stomachs will eagerly await the next installment.” —Publishers Weekly

About the Author:


T.R. Ragan (Theresa Ragan) is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author. Her exciting Lizzy Gardner series: Abducted, Dead Weight, A Dark Mind, Obsessed, Almost Dead, and Evil Never Dies, has received tremendous praise. In August 2015 Evil Never Dies hit #7 on the Wall Street Journal Bestselling List. Since publishing in 2011, she has sold over two million books and has been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, the L.A. Times, PC Magazine, Huffington Post, and Publishers Weekly. Theresa grew up in a family of five girls in Lafayette, California. An avid traveler, her wanderings have carried her to Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, China, Thailand, and Nepal, where she narrowly survived being chased by a killer elephant. Before devoting herself to writing fiction, she worked as a legal secretary for a large corporation. Theresa and her husband Joe have four children and live in Sacramento, California. FURIOUS, the first book in her most recent Faith McMann series will be released March 22, 2016, followed by OUTRAGE and WRATH.

Giveaway:

5 copies of Furious (US only)


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