The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn Release Week #Giveaway

The Darkest Lie Release Blitz | Pintip Dunn | JenHalliganPR.com
I'm so excited to be part of the Release Blitz for Pintip Dunn's THE DARKEST LIE! Check out the book's details and teaser, and be sure to enter the giveaway below!
The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn | A Book and a Latte | bookandlatte.com
Publisher: Kensington YA
Publication: June 28, 2016



“The mother I knew would never do those things.

But maybe I never knew her after all.”

Clothes, jokes, coded messages…Cecilia Brooks and her mom shared everything. At least, CeCe thought they did. Six months ago, her mom killed herself after accusations of having sex with a student, and CeCe’s been the subject of whispers and taunts ever since. Now, at the start of her high school senior year, between dealing with her grieving, distracted father, and the social nightmare that has become her life, CeCe just wants to fly under the radar. Instead, she’s volunteering at the school’s crisis hotline—the same place her mother worked.

As she counsels troubled strangers, CeCe’s lingering suspicions about her mom’s death surface. With the help of Sam, a new student and newspaper intern, she starts to piece together fragmented clues that point to a twisted secret at the heart of her community. Soon, finding the truth isn’t just a matter of restoring her mother’s reputation, it’s about saving lives—including CeCe’s own…

Excerpt from The Darkest Lie

“I’ve been researching the story of her suicide,” Sam says. “And I came across something in my research that nobody could explain.”

“What is it?” I say dully, even though I can probably guess. I mean, there’s lots that’s inexplicable about my mom’s behavior. Tons.

Like: How could a grown woman be sexually attracted to a boy? Or more importantly: Why would she act on it? And my personal favorite: Did she have any kind of moral fiber—even a few lost threads—at all?

But Sam bypasses all the obvious questions and picks up a lock of my hair. I feel the slight tug all the way to my roots.

“Her hair.” He rubs my strands between his fingers, and I suppress a shiver. “It was chopped off, jagged. One article said it looked like it was lopped off with a butcher knife.”

I shrug, but even that simple movement is infused with the awareness of his touch. Still, he doesn’t let go.

“They said she was crazy,” I say. “Out of her mind. Maybe she was disfiguring herself as a sign of her shame. Who knows what motivated her actions?”

But even as I repeat the explanation the detectives gave for just about everything, my dad’s words echo in my mind: I knew your mother. She wasn’t capable of those things. I don’t believe she did any of it.

All of a sudden, my excuses sound exactly like what they are—easy, surface-level assumptions designed to make it easier for the detectives to close the case.

Sam frowns. “I guess I could buy that if I hadn’t seen the interview with her hair stylist in one of the local papers.”

Oh. One of those. Every newspaper in a fifty-mile radius went berserk when my mom committed suicide. Every day, there was a new article, featuring interviews with her fellow teachers, former students, even our lawn guy, for god’s sake. If there was a story on her hair salon, I must’ve missed it.

“The stylist kept saying your mom’s haircut was inconceivable, and I couldn’t understand why. So when I was scooting past Cut & Dry the other day, I stopped to talk to her.”

“Did she confirm my mom was a natural redhead?” I raise my eyebrows. “Reveal the exact color of dye she used to cover her silver sparkles?”

“Not at all,” he says, and something about his tone stops me. The chill begins at the base of my spine and crawls its way up, one long spider leg at a time. “The stylist said she’s been cutting your mom’s hair for two decades. And in all that time, your mother never let her cut more than half an inch. In fact, she came into the salon two days before she died, and they had the exact same argument. The stylist tried to talk her into a bob, and your mom adamantly refused.”

Abruptly, he lets go of my hair, and the strands swing back over my shoulder, loose, unencumbered, and very, very cold.

Sam’s eyes pierce right into me. “So what I want to know is: What could’ve happened in two days that made her change her mind? Unless . . . she didn't.”

Pintip Dunn

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Pintip Dunn graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. in English Literature and Language. She received her J.D. at Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the YALE LAW JOURNAL. She also published an article in the YALE LAW JOURNAL, entitled, “How Judges Overrule: Speech Act Theory and the Doctrine of Stare Decisis,”

Pintip is represented by literary agent Beth Miller of Writers House. Her debut novel, FORGET TOMORROW, is a finalist in the Best First Book category of RWA’s RITA® contest. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, YARWA, and The Golden Network.

She lives with her husband and children in Maryland. You can learn more about Pintip and her books at www.pintipdunn.com.

Giveaway

There are 2 prizes! One winner will win a signed copy of THE DARKEST LIE (US only), and another winner will receive a $50 gift card to Amazon or Book Depository (international)!

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100 Hours by Rachel Vincent #CoverReveal #Giveaway

I am so excited to share the awesome cover for 100 HOURS, the first book in a new trilogy by New York Times best-selling author Rachel Vincent, which releases on March 28, 2017 from Katherine Tegen Books, along with a note from the author about her upcoming novel and an amazing giveaway.

Scroll down to take check out the gorgeous cover, read what Rachel Vincent has to say about 100 HOURS, and enter for a chance to win. And be sure to share your thoughts about the cover in the comments!


The Cover Revealed



Title: 100 HOURS
Author: Rachel Vincent
Release date: March 28, 2017
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 368
Formats available to pre-order: Hardcover
Find it: AMAZON | GOODREADS
Maddie is beyond done with her cousin Genesis’s entitled and shallow entourage. Genesis is so over Miami’s predictable social scene with its velvet ropes, petty power plays, and backstabbing boyfriends.

While Maddie craves family time for spring break, Genesis seeks novelty—like a last-minute getaway to an untouched beach in Colombia. And when Genesis wants something, it happens.

But paradise has its price. Dragged from their tents under the cover of dark, Genesis, Maddie, and their friends are kidnapped and held for ransom deep inside the jungle—with no diva left behind. It all feels so random to everyone except Genesis. She knows they were targeted for a reason. And that reason is her.

Now, as the hours count down, only one thing’s for certain: If the Miami hostages can’t set aside their personal problems, no one will make
it out alive.

A Note from Rachel Vincent

In my upcoming YA suspense 100 HOURS, Genesis and her cousin Maddie come from opposite ends of the privilege spectrum, but when they wind up kidnapped for ransom during spring break in Colombia and have no one else to count on, they discover they have more in common than either of them thought.

If you’ve read any of my previous releases, 100 HOURS probably seems like a departure for a Rachel Vincent book. And that’s what I thought, back when it was just me and an idea. But as I wrote the story and got to know the characters, I realized that even though this book is set in the Colombian jungle and these characters have no supernatural abilities, 100 HOURS is very much a book about the themes that draw me in over and over. Survival. Family friction and loyalty. High-stakes pulse-racing action. Twists, turns, secrets, and revelations. Girls who can fend for themselves—and for anyone else who needs help.

About Rachel Vincent

Photo credit: Kim Haynes Photography
Rachel Vincent is a former English teacher and an eager champion of the Oxford comma. She shares her home in Oklahoma with two cats, two teenagers, and her husband, who’s been her # 1 fan from the start. Rachel is older than she looks and younger than she feels, and she remains convinced that writing about the things that scare her is the cheapest form of therapy—but social media is a close second.


The Giveaway

Courtesy of the author, there is a blitz-wide giveaway for…
  • ONE (1) winner will receive a SIGNED SET of a paperback copy of THE STARS NEVER RISE + an ARC of THE FLAME NEVER DIES
Giveaway is US only. Must be 13 or older to enter. Giveaway ends on July 11th at 11:59 PM Pacific.
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For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund

For the Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfeund is on sale! Grab your copy today for 1.99!
To celebrate the sale, Diana is sharing an excerpt with us as well as a giveaway!


About For the Darkness Shows the Stars:
FDSTS
Fans of Divergent will love Diana Peterfreund’s take on Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in a post-apocalyptic world.

In the dystopian future of For Darkness Shows the Stars, a genetic experiment has devastated humanity. In the aftermath, a new class system placed anti-technology Luddites in absolute power over vast estates—and any survivors living there.

Elliot North is a dutiful Luddite and a dutiful daughter who runs her father’s estate. When the boy she loved, Kai, a servant, asked her to run away with him four years ago, she refused, although it broke her heart.

Now Kai is back. And while Elliot longs for a second chance with her first love, she knows it could mean betraying everything she’s been raised to believe is right.

For Darkness Shows the Stars is a breathtaking YA romance about opening your mind to the future and your heart to the one person you know can break it.

Get your copy:
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Exclusive Excerpt:
FOUR YEARS AGO

Dear Kai,

The sun is probably streaming in through the big barn windows now, which means you’re awake. And if you’re awake, it means you’re wondering where I went.

I haven’t run away from you, I promise. But I knew that today of all days, they’d need me in the house. Tatiana may be the head of our household now, but she’s not the one the staff will look to in my mother’s absence. And there is so much to do to prepare for the funeral. Also, I have to go tell my grandfather what had happened to his daughter. I don’t want him to hear of her death from anyone but me.

Thank you for last night. I wish I could say I don’t know why you are the one I ran to—you, Kai, not Tatiana or my father or even my grandfather. But I know why. And I have a confession to make.

After you let me cry, after you let me sob and shout and choke on all that pain—after you did all that, and didn’t say a word—I didn’t fall asleep like you thought. Not right away. I lay there, wadded up into a ball, and you curved your body behind mine. You were barely touching me—your thigh against the edge of my hip, your arm draped lightly across my waist, your fingers entwined with mine. How many times have our hands touched, when we were passing each other tools or helping each other in and out of machines? Hundreds of times. Thousands. But last night, it felt different. You cradled my hand in yours, palms up, our fingers curled in like a pair of fallen leaves. Fallen, maybe, but not dead. My hand never felt so alive. Every place you touched me sparked with energy. I couldn’t sleep. Not like that.

And so I bent my head, just the slightest bit, until my mouth reached our hands. I smelled the oil you never quite get off your fingers. I breathed in the scent of your skin. And then, as if that was all I was doing, just breathing, I let my bottom lip brush against your knuckle.

Time stopped. I was sure you’d see through my ruse and pull away. I was sure you’d know that I was not asleep, that I was not just breathing. But you didn’t move, so I did it again. And again. And on the third time, I let my top lip join my bottom.

I kissed your hand, Kai. I didn’t do it to thank you for letting me cry. For letting me sleep in your arms. I thought you should know.

Yours,
Elliot

Dear Elliot,

I know. When will I see you again?

Yours,
Kai

About the Author:
peterfreund headshot
Diana Peterfreund is the author of a dozen books for adults, teens, and children. A lifelong Jane Austen lover and technophile, she lives outside Washington, DC with her family, her BBC miniseries collection, and her smartphone. You can visit Diana online at www.dianapeterfreund.com.

Website: http://dianapeterfreund.com
Twitter: @dpeterfreund
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diana.peterfreund/

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Break Me Like a Promis by Tiffany Schmidt #BookReview #Playlist #Giveaway@The_FFBC

Break Me Like a Promise (Once Upon a Crime Family #2)
by Tiffany Schmidt
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: June 7th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Retellings, Contemporary

No one is unbreakable.

All Magnolia Vickers has ever wanted was to follow father’s path as head of the Family Business. But new legislation is poised to destroy the Family’s operations in the black-market organ trade and Maggie’s recent behavior has wrecked the business-savvy reputation she’s worked her whole life to build.

She’s given an ultimatum: shape up or step aside.

Then Maggie messes up: she downloads a virus onto her father’s computer, and must sneak it off-estate for repair. When Alex, a tech whiz, uncovers the type of information on the machine, he offers Maggie a choice: her Family can give him a kidney, or he’ll irreparably scramble the data. Maggie agrees, but has no intention of keeping her promise or every seeing him again. That night Alex shows up at her Family estate with copies of confidential Family files and a shocking revelation—the kidney is for him.

The Vickers aren’t willing to let Alex out of their sight, so he moves onto their estate and Maggie is assigned to be his keeper. A task she resents and he enjoys making as challenging as possible. But procuring black market organs is becoming increasingly difficult, and as Alex’s health declines, she’s surprised to find herself falling for him.

Like it or not, Maggie must accept that if she wants to save Alex’s life and carve out a place in the new legalized organ business, she’s going to have to fight for both.


Break Me Like a Promise picks up after Hold Me Like a Breath. It’s actually been over a year since I read the first book so I was didn’t exactly remember everything. I think the book does a good job of jogging my memory though, for the key things at least.

Although the events happen with the crime families and in the same world. The story felt very different from the first book. Magnolia is grieving over the loss of Carter and also dealing with a changing world. The Organ Act is going to change the way the families operate and what Magnolia originally thinks the impact on her life will be drastically changes when she meets Alex.

I loved Magnolia. She is a fierce and strong woman but she is also dealing with the loss of her first love. I loved that Carters death is not glossed over and forgotten. Its not like she just wakes up and moves. I like that when she forces herself up she still have lapses where she wants to crawl back into bed and hide. We really get to see her work through the motions of grieving and finding a way to live on. She makes some dumb decisions at times and can act like a brat but I never found her annoying.

Alex is also a great character because not only does he challenge Magnolia he is dealing with an illness that could kill him. It gives him a freedom to be risky but he’s still honorable. He offsets Magnolia well and the relationship between them feels very organic They go from dealing with each other, to getting to know each other and then finally more.

I really like the plot and felt like it was fast paced. I really like Tiffany Schmidts writing and the fact that she can keep me intrigued and reading.

I think I might actually like Break Me Like a Promise more than Hold Me Like a Breath. I feel like there should be a third book. I’m not sure if there is going to be.



Tiffany Schmidt lives in Pennsylvania with her saintly husband, impish twin boys, and a pair of mischievous puggles. She's not at all superstitious... at least that's what she tells herself every Friday the thirteenth.

SEND ME A SIGN is her first novel. BRIGHT BEFORE SUNRISE will follow in Winter, 2014. The ONCE UPON A CRIME FAMILY series begins with HOLD ME LIKE A BREATH in 2015. You can find out more about her and her books at: TiffanySchmidt.com, TiffanySchmidtWrites.Tumblr.com or by following her on Twitter @TiffanySchmidt.

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27 Days to Midnight by Kristine Kruppa #BookReview #Giveaway

27 Days to Midnight
by Kristine Kruppa
Genre; YA Steampunk Adventure
Release date: May 3rd 2016
Giant Squid Books

Everyone in Dahlia's world knows when they're going to die. Except her.

Her father has never shown her the pocket watch counting down the days she has left to live. When he sacrifices himself to save her from her scheduled death, Dahlia abandons her comfortable home and sets off after his murderer to uncover the secrets her father died to protect…and the time research that could bring him back to life.

Then she meets Farren Reed. She should hate him. He’s an enemy soldier, a cowardly deserter, and the most insufferable man Dahlia’s ever met. Still, she needs all the help she can get, and Farren is the only chance she has to find the man who murdered her father. But Farren has only twenty-seven days left on his watch.

In that time, Dahlia must recover her father’s time research, foil a psychotic general’s plot, and learn to survive in a world that will never be the same. But the research holds secrets more dangerous than she had ever imagined. She will have to choose what is most important: revenge, Farren's life, or her own. And time is running out.

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27 Days to Midnight is an interesting world and read.

I love the world that is created in 27 days to midnight. Everyone has a watch that tells them how long they have to live. Once that watch runs out then their time is up. Around this involves the different levels of thinking. Some people want to beat the system, some want to never know what their time is, some want to know because they don’t want to fall in love with someone just to have them die a week later. In Dahlia’s situation he kept her time from her because she wanted her to enjoy life and I think she really understands that in the way Farren counts down his time.

There are things I definitely like about Dahlia’s character. She is a proper lady and when her father is murdered she doesn’t suddenly become some kind of Winter Soldier. She still doesn’t like getting her clothes dirty, she likes the comfort of the Inn and doesn’t want to hang out with gross Farren. She steals a gun and realizes she has no idea how to use it. She changes through the book as she falls into different circumstances. We really see her grow as a character.

Farren is just an interesting guy. He doesn’t have much time left so really he doesn’t have to do anything. He has nothing to lose, yet he helps Dahlia anyway. As the story progresses it becomes more of course, slowly. I like how he is up for adventure and figures that they have the same goal in the long run.

Some fun side characters, some crazy ones too. I like that there are airships and bounty hunters (just another kind of pirate in my mind). I loved some of the tech, it was subtle enough that you didn’t feel like you were getting dumped on with it. Of course the watches and the time research that Ansel Walker had worked on. I liked all of that.

The plot was good, there were some parts that felt slower. I’m not sure if that is because I’ve become an impatient reader. Everything flowed and made sense though. Nothing came out of nowhere or was left unsaid.

I really enjoyed the book and of course watches and airships you can’t go wrong. I loved that we got to see the characters develop. Especially Dahlia and definitely an intriguing plot.


Kristine Kruppa is a mechanical engineer, writer, and world traveler. Her days are spent
designing cool new car parts, but her evenings are filled with writing and cats. She has traveled solo to seventeen countries on five continents. Her other hobbies include hunting for the perfect cup of coffee, exploring used book stores, and accidentally climbing mountains. To keep up with her adventures, follow Kristine on Twitter @kskruppa.

(Author photo credit: Sunny Wong)

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Book Tour Organized by:

Autofocus by Lauren Gibaldi #BookReview #Giveaway @The_FFBC

Autofocus
by Lauren Gibaldi
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: June 14th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Adoption, Coming of Age, Family

Family.

It’s always been a loaded word for Maude. And when she is given a senior photography assignment—to create a portfolio that shows the meaning of family—she doesn’t quite know where to begin. But she knows one thing: without the story of her birth mother, who died when Maude was born, her project will be incomplete.

So Maude decides to visit her best friend, Treena, at college in Tallahassee, Florida, where Maude’s birth mother once lived. But when Maude arrives, she quickly discovers that Treena has changed. With a new boyfriend and a packed social calendar, Treena doesn’t seem to have time for Maude—or helping Maude in her search.

Enter Bennett, a cute guy who lives in Treena’s dorm. He understands Maude’s need to find her mother. And as Bennett helps Maude in her search, she starts to find that her mother’s past doesn’t have to define her own future.

Lauren Gibaldi has crafted a beautiful and timely coming-of-age story that poses the question: Is who we are determined at birth, or can we change as we grow?

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Autofocus is a great coming of age story. I loved how it takes a high school student and puts them in a college setting to accomplish it. Taking two selves and blending them.

Maude is given the photography assignment of capturing what family is to her. She loves her parents but being adopted has left a piece other feeling open-ended. She doesn't know much about her birth mother and it's important to her to understand that piece of where she comes from.

First of all I love Maude’s parents and the relationship she has with them. Its a strong and close knit family. They are so open with her and she returns the favor. As difficult as it is for them, they support her need to understand this unknown piece of her.

Treena is her best friend and is where the development really is. Being a year older she is already off at college and when Maude visit her to not only to spend time with her but find more about her mom, she sees a new side of her. Treena is growing up and trying to find a new place for herself. Maude hasn't quite made that leap yet so she is seeing it differently. Both of their characters really grow from this and it was great reading how it plays out. It's just as important as Maude's birth mom quest.

If you like the slow burn that would be Maude and Bennet. He's adorable, they are adorable together and they totally understand the limits of their relationship. I love them, I would read a companion novel about them when Maude goes to college.

I don't want to give anything away on the birth mom quest but I loved how it progresses and how it affects Maude in the end.

I really enjoyed Autofocus. It's a great story for coming of age and character development. It makes me want to make my own photo collage.

Public librarian and author of THE NIGHT WE SAID YES, MATT'S STORY (a Night We Said Yes novella), and AUTOFOCUS (out 6/14/16), all with HarperTeen / HarperCollins. Fan of dinosaurs and cheesy jokes. And you.

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Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh #BookReview #Playlist #Giveaway @The_FFBC

Ivory and Bone (Ivory and Bone #1)
by Julie Eshbaugh
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: June 7th 2016
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Romance, Retellings, Fiction

A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.

As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

Ivory and Bone has a great plot with a unique setting. It’s a little bit of role reversal Pride and Prejudice with some crazy twist.

I loved the unique setting! Wow, it’s not with dinosaurs but it has mammoths and the melting ice age. The imagery is so vivid that every time I read I felt like I was there. I love when a story has a small world but the details in the world are vast. Julie Eshbaugh describes each clans tribe in such a great detail. Including their origin stories, traditions and religious beliefs of the divine. You really understand what it means to be Manu, Olen and Bosha.

I found that having the male character be the mc is also very interesting. I’m never sure how I’m going to feel about it since I read so many female main characters. I really enjoyed Kol and his perspective. He is in next line to be High Elder of his clan and it shows. He is very kind and considerate. He loves his family and clan with all his heart. He can be very understanding and wants to believe in the good of people. He makes an effort towards Mya even though she shows him such disdain. He wants to believe that others do not have ill intentions even when faced with evidence. You really see his personality in the way he hunts and the way he loves to search for honeybees. He has a peaceful soul. I also love Kol’s name

Mya is very harsh and cold. You can see that she does care very much for her family but also is very closed off. Her brother is the High Elder of the Olen and you can tell she is more of his second in command. She is strong and skilled as a hunter. She is definitely better at than Kol. As more of her backstory comes to light you see that her history is filled with betrayal and sadness. She needs to be strong to protect her heart but she is also very prideful.

I liked the plot, there are many branches to it. There is the issues that Manu does not have many young girls and is also interested in moving South. The Olen clan prefers to keep to itself and has a past with the Manu clan that almost lead them to war five years ago but now they are trying to open friendship. The Bosha clan has their own troubles.

Ivory and Bone is such a great and unique read. I really enjoyed it.




Julie Eshbaugh is the author of the upcoming Ivory and Bone (HarperCollins, 2016). She used to have trouble staying in one spot, having lived in places as varied as Utah, France, and New York City. Julie eventually returned home to the Philadelphia area, where she now lives with her husband, son, cat and dog. Her favorite moments are when the unexpected happens and she cheers loudest when the pitcher gets a hit.

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Everyone who pre-orders the book before June 7, 2016 and submits a valid proof of purchase will receive the Pre-Order Gift as a THANK YOU from Julie! (You will also receive her appreciation and affection!!!) This gift is for ALL PRE-ORDERS--print and e-book--international included!

In addition to the Pre-Order Gift, everyone who pre-orders will be entered to win a PRIZE!!! There will be THREE levels of prizes:

FIVE Second-Place Prizes,
FIVE First-Place Prizes, and
ONE GRAND PRIZE!!!

The prizes include tote bags, posters, and even an American Express gift card worth at least $60 US dollars! (The value of the gift card has been increasing as the number of pre-orders increases.)
For all the details on the Pre-order Gift and Giveaway, please visit http://www.julieeshbaugh.com/preorder-gift/.

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