The Weather Girl by Amy Vastine #BlogTour #Excerpt #Giveaway

A themed tour with Prism Book Tours


The Weather Girl
by Amy Vastine
Clean Adult Contemporary Romance
January 1st 2014 by Harlequin

Turbulence is in their forecast.

Summer Raines knows when it's going to rain. She can feel it. That's why the local weather girl's so good at her job. Too bad she couldn't have foreseen the tumultuous arrival of Travis Lockwood, everybody's favorite star NFL quarterback. Make that former star NFL quarterback. Sidelined back to Texas after an injury, the golden boy is trying to steal her precious on-air time. Summer is reduced to reporting from…football games. It's enough to make her quit and become a storm-chaser like her parents. She's stuck with a career that's going nowhere and a man who delights in her refusal to be charmed. Falling in love isn't nearly as easy as predicting the weather.



 



“I should go inside,” Summer said for the twentieth time. She kept saying it, but never actually got out of the car. Not that he minded. He was waiting for the perfect moment to kiss her goodbye. He’d have to initiate this time, but he couldn’t help being smug that she had kissed him first, as he had predicted.
“Thanks for driving,” she said.
“You’re welcome.” He reached out and squeezed her hand, afraid they were getting close to really saying goodbye. His thumbs brushed the soft skin on the back of her hand as he tried to remind himself it would be wrong to kidnap her from her grandparents’ driveway.
“I should go,” she said again. He didn’t want her to go. He wanted to keep her forever.

“So you’ve said,” he teased. He could tell she didn’t want to leave yet. “Can I call you later?”

She grinned. “I’d like that.”

He was leaning in for that goodbye kiss when a knock on the car window caused them both to jump. Travis’s heart stopped for a second. An older woman with the same eyes as Summer looked apologetic as Travis tried to catch his breath. Summer reached back and grabbed her overnight bag from the backseat.
“Thanks again.”

“Anytime.”

Pushing the door open, she made introductions. “Mimi, this is Travis. Travis, this is my grandmother, Sarah.”

“Pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” He nodded and gave a little wave, trying to play it cool, but all he could do was smile like a fool.

“Don’t call me ma’am, call me Mimi. And saying hello to an old woman in the driveway isn’t meeting her. Turn that car off and come on inside. Summer missed church and we held lunch. Least she can do is let me get to know you properly.”
“Mimi...” Summer looked hesitant. A nervous hand gripped the strap of her bag so tight the knuckles turned white. Wary eyes flitted between Travis and her grandmother. “He just drove four hours. I’m sure he has better things to do than hang out with us.”
“Well, you got something better to do, Travis?” Mimi asked, hand on hip. Summer’s spunk was definitely inherited.
“No, as a matter of fact, I don’t believe I have anything to do.” He shut off the car and got out. Spending more time with Summer was the only thing he wanted or needed to do today.
Summer smiled, but there was worry in her eyes. “Are you sure? Please don’t let her—”
He wondered if she was asking because she was really concerned about taking him away from something or if she wasn’t comfortable with him meeting her family. They had crossed a major bridge last night, but he feared seeing that look in her eye, the one that was always searching for an escape.
“I’m all good,” he assured her with a wink. He slid the strap off her shoulder and carried her bag to the house. Mimi tipped her head and smiled her approval. If he could win the grandma over, he’d feel a bit more confident. When Mimi opened the door, a black Labrador bolted out and headed straight for Summer, tail wagging.
“There’s my boy.” Summer knelt down and gave her dog the attention he craved. “Was he good for y’all?” she asked her grandmother, who was halfway inside the house.
“Oh, you know Big D spoils that animal rotten!”
The friendly dog realized Travis was an unknown and quickly positioned himself between the man and his owner. He gave the stranger a good sniff, checking for trouble. “Hey there, big guy.” Travis petted his head.
“Storm, Travis. Travis, Storm.”
He liked the name right away. It was so very Summer. “Nice to meet you, Storm.” Now that Travis was no longer a threat, the dog had no time for him. He was much more interested in Summer’s affection. Travis could completely relate. The dog followed them up onto the porch and through the front door. Inside the small, cozy house waited one more obstacle, however. Summer’s grandfather eased out of his faded blue recliner. When he stood, he was eye to eye with Travis, who was almost six foot four.
“Travis, my grandfather, David. Big D, this is my friend Travis.”
“Kissing friend,” Mimi added, arching her brow. Summer scowled at her grandmother, making the old man shake his head. Travis bit his tongue and chose not to remind Mimi there had been no kissing thanks to her.
David Raines was tall and thin, with gentle eyes. His shoulders were narrow and his pants were belted tight. “For heaven’s sake, didn’t you embarrass the girl enough when she was growing up?” he asked his wife as he stuck out his hand for a firm shake. “Nice to meet you, Travis. Don’t you listen to anything that one has to say about anything. And please don’t hold any of it against Summer.”
“Never, sir.”
“Oh, come on. Let an old woman have some fun.” She grabbed Travis by the arm. “Help me in the kitchen while Big D gets the scoop. My granddaughter never tells me anything.”
“Shocking,” Travis said with a laugh.




Amy Vastine has been plotting stories in her head for as long as she can remember. An eternal optimist, she studied social work, hoping to teach others how to find their silver lining. Now, she enjoys creating happily ever afters for all to read.

In September of 2012, she saw a tweet about Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write contest. She entered, hoping for nothing more than a little feedback from some people in the business. Amazingly, The Weather Girl made it into the semi-finals, thanks to the many wonderful voters out there! The manuscript didn't make it to the finals, but the editors over Harlequin were still interested. A few revisions later and The Weather Girl was contacted for publication with Harlequin Heartwarming - a dream come true!

Amy lives outside Chicago with her high school sweetheart-turned-husband, three fun-loving children, and their sweet but mischievous puppy dog.

   



- Grand Prize: $25 Amazon gift card, red umbrella, signed copy of THE WEATHER GIRL, umbrella bookmark, and decorative box (US Only)
- 5 ebooks of The Weather Girl (INT)
- April 21 - May 11




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The Hunt by Stacey Kade #BlogTour #Excerpt

Hello & welcome to the PROJECT PAPER DOLL: The Hunt blog tour!

The Hunt
By: Stacey Kade
Series: Project Paper Dolls #2
Published by: Disney Hyperion
Release: April 22, 2014

Ariane Tucker has finally escaped GTX, the research facility that created her. While on the run, Zane Bradshaw is the only person she can trust. He knows who-and what-she is and still wants to be part of her life.

But accepting Zane's help means putting him in danger.

Dr. Jacobs, head of GTX, is not the only one hunting for Ariane. Two rival corporations have their sights set on taking down their competition. Permanently. To protect Zane and herself, Ariane needs allies. She needs the other hybrids. The hybrids who are way more alien and a lot less human. Can Ariane win them over before they turn on her? Or will she be forced to choose sides, to decide who lives and who dies?


 



I didn't know how to go back. I didn't know how not to feel these things for him, now that I'd opened the door. And worse, admitted it to him. My face burned at the memory. Not with regret, exactly, but more with a realization of how vulnerable I'd make myself.

I dared a glance at him. His hands were tight on the wheel, his knuckles turning white, the only outward sign of his inner turmoil. He was afraid for me. My whole life I'd longed for someone who would care about me, just for being me. Not because of what I could do for him or because I reminded of him someone he lost.

But I hadn't considered the repercussions. That once you were no longer isolated, alone, but involved in a larger unit, a relationship or a family, there are additional considerations, obligations. Ties.




As an award-winning corporate copywriter, Stacey Kade has written about everything from backhoe loaders to breast pumps. But she prefers to make things up instead.

She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, Greg, and two retired racing greyhounds, Tall Walker (Walker) and SheWearsThePants (Pansy). When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll likely find her parked in front of the television catching up on her favorite shows (Scandal, The Vampire Diaries, Almost Human, The Walking Dead, and Sherlock, among others.)

Stacey is the author of the The Ghost and the Goth trilogy (THE GHOST AND THE GOTH, QUEEN OF THE DEAD, and BODY & SOUL) and The Project Paper Doll Series (THE RULES and THE HUNT). You can find her (far too often) on Facebook and Twitter as well as her website.

   


Follow the Tour


4/22- Mundie Moms
4/24- YA Insiders

4/30- Watcha Reading
5/1- Adventures in YA Publishing


Hosted by:

Top Ten Tuesday


This weeks Top Ten Tuesday is Top Ten Books If You Like… (fill in the blank with your favorite TV shows, games, movies, comics, etc)

So I decided to do Top Ten Books if you want to read Sci-Fi. These are not in any particular order and I don't think I have 10. Now I only put books I have read but I've got some more Sci-Fi in the bull pen. I am a Sci-Fi nut and there are probably books I'm missing on here. These are first ones that come to mind.

  
  
  

The Warrior by Victoria Scott #BlogTour #BookReview #Giveaway



Title: THE WARRIOR
Author: Victoria Scott
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 352
Pub. Date: May 6, 2014

War between heaven and hell is coming, but Dante Walker makes it look damn good.

Dante’s girlfriend, Charlie, is fated to save the world. And Aspen, the girl who feels like a sister, is an ordained soldier. In order to help both fulfill their destiny and win the war, Dante must complete liberator training at the Hive, rescue Aspen from hell, and uncover a message hidden on an ancient scroll.

Dante is built for battle, but even he can’t handle the nightmares where spiders crawl from Aspen’s eyes, or the look on Charlie’s face that foretells of devastation. To make matters worse, the enemy seizes every opportunity to break inside the Hive and cripple the liberators. But the day of reckoning is fast approaching, and to stand victorious, Dante will have to embrace something inside himself he never has before—faith.

  



The Warrior is the third novel in the Dante Walker series by Victoria Scott. So beware of spoilers for the first two books.

As we know the books have been leading up to an ultimate war. How could things not end that way with the how they have been escalating. We spend about 60% of this book preparing for it. Although there are scrimiches and fact finding missions intertwined. Plus a traitor in the mix but you have to figure on that. There are characters we have known from the beginning and characters that are new to group. To be honest even though I had my guesses it’s kind of like the who done it crime where everyone could have a possible motive. No matter how well you think you know them.

With that being said I have to tell you how unpredictable the ending is. I’m not talking about who prevails and who doesn’t, it’s the little things. The things that are written in the scroll that can sometimes seem obvious and sometimes not. Some of my guesses were wrong, some were right. It had that element of surprise in many ways and I think that Victoria did an absolutely fantastic job with it. Not only that, I was so happy that all this anticipation of a battle lead up to a real battle. Not just one big epic push that you feel unsatisfied with but things that happen to bring it all together. I was super happy with the ending. I thought it played out so well and made perfect sense. It was a great climax to this story. There is some definitely sad things but they had to happen in order to bring us to the happy things.

Dante is as always interesting. The thing that I have loved about him in this series, which has endeared me to him even when he is full of himself is that even though he has developed and learned. His basic character is still the same. The changes that happen to him, that he makes for his life are not far fetched or out of character. He stays true to himself, his basic self. When we finally meet the end game Dante it’s still Dante. Just the pimped out version.

I’ve never been strongly attached to Charlie. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because it’s not in her point of view. The thing that has been interesting to me in all 3 books is how Dante mentions things he misses about her original self, before the contract. Like he’s not fully happy with the changes she’s made. Which I think is something important to take note of. Dante thinks any version of Charlie is beautiful. She is a strong tough girl and even though her distance from Dante because of what happened with Aspen makes me sad. She really fits into her role perfectly. I might not be overly attached to Charlie but I like how she influences Dante. How her importance to him helps shapes him.

Of course there are so many other great characters. If Dante and Charlie were at an awards show their list of...I would like to thank… would be pretty long. I don’t want to delve too much into them because I don’t want to give anything away about their stories. I can tell you that the characters that you thought were kick ass, quirky and annoying are still as enjoyable as they were before.

One thing I was thinking about with this book is that it’s a battle between Heaven and Hell, and how as I writer I imagine it’s hard to address. You don’t want to focus on one religion so that’ it’s relatable so you have to strip it down to the basics. Heaven, Hell, Angels, Demons and redemption. I really liked how it was done with this series. It’s unique with it’s soul sealing and collecting and it’s one of my favorite things about the plot.

I really enjoyed this conclusion to the Dante Walker series and I will definitely miss him. I’m not sure how my life will go without him telling me how awesome he is.



Victoria Scott is a teen fiction writer represented by Sara Crowe of the Harvey-Klinger Literary Agency. She’s the author of the FIRE & FLOOD series published by Scholastic, and the DANTE WALKER trilogy published by Entangled Teen. Her books have been bought and translated in eleven foreign markets including the UK, Turkey, China, Poland, Israel, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Taiwan, New Zealand, and the Netherlands.

Victoria lives in Dallas with her husband and hearts cotton candy something fierce.

   


- 1 US winner to receive -
Signed copy of The Collector
Signed copy of The Liberator
Signed copy of The Warrior


Tour Schedule

Week One:
4/28/2014- Library of a Book WitchReview
4/29/2014- Fantasy Book AddictExcerpt
4/30/2014- Meredith & Jennifer's MusingReview
5/1/2014- Fictitious DeliciousReview
5/2/2014- A Dream Within A DreamReview

Week Two:
5/5/2014- Jenna Does BooksReview
5/6/2014- Stuck In YA BooksReview
5/7/2014- K-Books- Review
5/8/2014- Jenuine CupcakesReview

5/9/2014- FiktshunExcerpt