Monday, June 29, 2015

Little Miss Somebody Blog Tour



Title: Little Miss Somebody
Author: Christy Abram
Release Date: 7/1/2015
Rating: 4/5
Format: e-ARC



 It had been a long time since another person treated me with love, respect and graciousness. More importantly, it had been a long time since someone treated me as if I was somebody. The two-year journey that led me to my decision had reached its peak. Something had to go-even if it was me.
Left to fend for herself, Nikki is starved of affection from her mother and the little attention she does receive often results in bruises. Feeling worthless and rejected, Nikki is determined to break free and find life outside of her painful circumstances.
At only fourteen years old she boldly decides to embark on a journey to find her father, a missing piece to the puzzle of her life, but along the way she unravels more pain and layers of family abuse, causing her to want to give up.
But she won't give up. Not yet. Not Nikki. Not until she finds what she's looking for. But, will Nikki find the love she desperately needs?




 *I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*
Little Miss Somebody was a good book. The characters were some in which I was able to follow through with them and not feel at all lost with what was being talked about. Just like the title suggests this book is one in which Little Miss Somebody just wants to be known. 

Nikki having been left to fend for herself, sets off to find her father and just wants to be treated like somebody again. This book opened my eyes to a world which does exist around us and shows that everyone should be treated like they are worth it to someone else and not invisible.

I have to give credit that I don’t normally go for books like this but a wonderful job was done by Christy Abram in hitting the hard stuff and managed to make me feel things I don’t normally feel. Abuse, love, hope and everything else that could have went into a book to bring out all the emotions was done with right here. 

If you want a book to make you feel and go on a journey of discovery and to be exposed to the harsh reality of the world around us then Little Miss Somebody is the book for you.   

Monday, June 22, 2015

Random Ramblings #1 - My Love for NA

This post is just what it says "random ramblings" that I pulled from my brain and have attempted to put into words on a post for others to make sense of. As this is my first post for random ramblings please bear with me if you actually decide to read all of this.

Quite recently I came across a male blogger of the name Ethan over at One Guy's Guide to Goodreads, during his blogversary celebration. While I was celebrating with him and many other fantastic people, I met some really amazing authors courtesy of that. After talking with them, I learned of the NA genre (don't get mad I called it a genre). So because I'm game for trying just about anything out there I asked Ethan for some recommendations, which he delivered.

I got introduced to the works of Nazarea Andrews, Chelsea Fine, Cora Carmack, Jennifer Armentrout and Christine Manzari. Little did I know that these 5 would become the start of a new found love of mine in the way of literature and what I was reading before.

Now I stick with mostly NA contemporary romance when I'm reading NA (not sure why, I just do). I think I love NA because the characters are around my age (I'm 23) and most of the time they're college students or just out of college. Now this isn't true for all of them but it seems to be the case. Each of the 5 authors that I was given as a recommendation write some wonderful stuff and found some all time new favorite books from this.

After reading most of what all of them have written, I was looking for more NA and about the time that I was, Ethan came through again and brought Sarina Bowen to my attention. All I have to say is THANK YOU SARINA BOWEN FOR YOUR IVY LEAGUE SERIES! Yet another series that takes place in college but it by far is ONE of my absolute favorites that I've read so far. I blew through this series in no time and needed more.

Thank you NetGalley for having an NA section because almost all of my books I have from NetGalley currently are NA. So I suppose I need to say why I love NA so much (I mean I sorta started to above). So moving onto that A) characters are about my age; B) they remind me of college C) there is a mixture of elements that draw me into the books. Most NA I've read are also fairly short which helps because they become a quick read for me and I can get through them when I need a break from my other stuff.

There's not much about NA that I don't like (actually I haven't found to many NA I don't like). Most of the time the books seem similar just because of the covers but underneath those covers the stories have been different and some deal with more difficult topics than others. The difference in subject matter helps a lot with moving the story along. Its nice to see books that can take serious topics and bring them to light. Yes I know YA and adult books do this as well but I find it more relateable in NA. (I think I'm starting to talk in circles but I did call this rambling).

So anyway I have a  new found love for NA books; whether its the contemporaries, romance or paranormal, urban or even fantasy, I will probably read it or at least give it a chance. So if you haven't read any NA books yet, here is a list of authors and some of my favorite NA titles.

Chelsea Fine - Finding Fate Series
Cora Carmack - Rusk University
Jennifer Armentrout - Stay With Me and Wicked
Nazarea Andrews - University of Branton
Christine Manzari - Hooked 
Sarina Bowen - Ivy League Series
K.B. Nelson
Megan Erickson - Trust the Focus
Lis Lucassen
Rebecca Paula
Sadie Munroe
Katherine Locke - District Ballet Company Series

There are a lot more than what I listed but these are some of my favorites and I'm so glad I was introduced to these books and I have discovered more on my own and I can't seem to get enough of them. Well if you stuck with me through all of this then I applaud you! I hope you leave some comments on new titles I don't know of or hope you get to take away some recs of your own from here. 

Saturday, June 20, 2015

Guest Book Review: Hero by Perry Moore

Title: Hero
Author: Perry Moore
Publisher: Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group
Release Date: 2007
Page Count: 428
Rating: 4 ½ /5 stars

                Synopsis:
               The last thing in the world Thom Creed wants is to add to his father's pain, so he keeps secrets. Like that he has special powers. And that he's been asked to join the League the very organization of superheroes that spurned his dad. But the most painful secret of all is one Thom can barely face himself: he's gay.

But becoming a member of the League opens up a new world to Thom. There, he connects with a misfit group of aspiring heroes, including Scarlett, who can control fire but not her anger; Typhoid Larry, who can make anyone sick with his touch; and Ruth, a wise old broad who can see the future. Like Thom, these heroes have things to hide; but they will have to learn to trust one another when they uncover a deadly conspiracy within the League.

To survive, Thom will face challenges he never imagined. To find happiness, he'll have to come to terms with his father's past and discover the kind of hero he really wants to be.


 Have you ever wondered where young heroes like Spider-Man and Robin get their start? Well this novel is not exactly like that.

Hero by Perry Moore is an origin story for a young superhero named Thom Creed. It tells a great beginning to his powers and his kind of embarrassing attempts at superheroics, all the while dealing with Thom’s life at home, as the son of a retired superhero! Oh and did I mention he’s gay? No? Woops, my bad.

Thom is a young boy, whose father, Hal Creed, is a retired superhero, kind of a pastiche of Batman and Captain America, and they live in rural suburbia trying to make some kind of a living. Thom himself is a bit of a backseat driver in his own tale, which can get grating a bit. However, he generally has the compassion of a true hero, keeping secrets from his father so as to protect him. His powers are a bit of a confusion and not exactly introduced in a normal way, but in a world of heroes and being related to one, it makes sense. Thom is asked to audition for the League, a team that spurs his father, and in a bid to prove himself as a young man trying to come to terms with his home and school lives and his sexuality, Thom accepts and meets his squad of fellow trainees.
              
Hal Creed is actually quite a complex character. He’s a “forced” retired superhero, and they story doesn’t go too much into why he was forced into retirement or why the vast majority of people who meet his father respond with negative comments and outright hostility. Creed Sr. dos not have superpowers. As a result of his past, Hal resents powered people and has a huge issue with homosexuals.
              
The other characters include, the elderly precog (psychic) Ruth, who reminds me of Sophia from the Golden Girls, Typhoid Larry, a young hero who’s only power is to get sick (charming no?), Scarlett, a fiery pyrokinetic with a past and story all her own, and Golden Boy, a younger member of the League as their sponsor and rival towards Thom. Not to mention the other members of the League, and a mysterious basketball rival named Gorlan who Thom connects to when he has his down time.
                
This story has the makings of a great origin story to a great hero story full of suspense, drama, heroics, comedy, mystery, pastiches out the wazoo to famous heroes from comics, and even some wonderful family and friend PSAs! If you like superheroes, enjoy YA novels, and maybe want to broaden your library into some new LGBT novels, Hero is probably one of the best out there!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Downcast Blog Tour - Review

Title: Downcast
Author: Cait Reynolds 

Release Date: May 28, 2015
Publisher: BookTrope
Format: E-Arc 

Rating: 4/5 stars

Synopsis:

What would you do when faced with an impossible truth? Written with heart and passion, Downcast by Cait Reynolds is ripe with twists you never saw coming and love that defies the odds in this intense new Paranormal Romance retelling one of mythology’s greatest love stories.

It’s the start of Stephanie Starr’s senior year of high school, but sadly, this is no life of the prom queen. Stuck at the bottom of the high school social totem pole, Stephanie is forced by her domineering mother to wear lumpy linen dresses and eat organic tofu for lunch in a world of mini-skirts and pizza.

What Stephanie doesn’t anticipate is gorgeous and cocky Haley Smith who breaks social convention and pursues her with a determination that is both terrifying and flattering. Afraid that Haley is simply trying to set her up for massive humiliation, Stephanie does her best to push him away. But the more attention he pays to her, the more she runs, and the more everyone else begins to notice.

Instead of a loving family to support her as the mean girls make their play, Stephanie’s mother begins to unravel mentally, her possessiveness of Stephanie spiraling to new and frightening extremes. Stephanie is forced to grow up, find herself, and learn the truth about her past in order to save her mother, her friends, and her town. When the truth is revealed, nothing can prepare her for the outrageous reality of her existence…and nothing can save her from her fate.

Except Haley.
 Now onto the actual reviewing of Downcast. I love mythology and retellings, so an opportunity to read and review a Greek mythology retelling of course I was going to take it! Cait Reynolds didn't disappoint me at all. Stephanie just wants to live her life as normal as she can as she enters her senior year, which yeah that's all everyone ever wants. What she didn't expect was the whirlwind of secrets that was going to take over her life.

I wasn't sure who Stephanie was supposed to be when the story started, I mean I knew she had to be a Goddess or God or even a demigod but I was never quite sure until it was revealed.  The other characters and who they turned out to be were even more surprising because I would have switched them. Actually I did switch them in my head but once you read it you will understand. Anyway the whole plot was full of twists and turns that I never saw coming and it was wonderfully written.

To take Greek mythology and retell it in a way in which it leaves the reader guessing takes a lot to do. Besides the characters, Cait did a wonderful job at sticking to the myth as well and didn't rework a lot of the original ideas. The characters such as Stephanie and her friends had a lot of learning to do, to brace themselves for what was to come and it was nice to see how it was going to turn out.

The ending while it wrapped everything up nicely and pretty much ended the book (as far as I know), it left a hint of there could be more and did leave me wanting more to read. Maybe a companion which I would be all for because I want to know more about Helen and how her life is now that the events in Downcast are over. I would have said which retelling this was but I don't want to spoil who's who.

Monday, June 15, 2015

ARC Review - Bad Reputation by KB Nelson

Title: Bad Reputation (Bad Reputation #1)
Author: KB Nelson
Release Date: June 15, 2015
Publisher:
Format: E-ARC
Rating: 5/5

Synopsis:
 She knows better. She just doesn't care.

On the verge of college graduation, Apple Malloy finds herself entangled in one last game of manipulation, deceit, and sexual corruption with her ex-lover, and constant enabler, Brick Valmont. The bet? That she can seduce the professor who had failed her the semester prior. He destroyed her GPA, and now she's going to destroy his reputation.

If Apple emerges victorious, Brick will be forced to admit she's better at these cruel games they play. If she loses, she must sleep with him one last time before graduation.

But when the tables are turned, and Apple finds herself falling for the man she’s supposed to destroy, all bets are off. And as the games quickly spiral out of control, one thing remains certain; nobody escapes unscathed in this story of manipulation where nothing is as it appears.

*** For Mature Audiences ***
 *I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review*

I read KB's book Carnival at the suggestion of Ethan (take note Ethan is responsible for almost all  of my NA reviews from here on out currently).  Then came the opportunity to read her latest novel Bad Reputation and of course I wasn't going to turn that down. Let me just say that KB has a way of getting me to say Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Like Whoa. Dude whoa. Bad Reputation was no exception to this (even if it is my second book written by her that I've read).

Let me start off with saying the characters of Apple and Brick are by far some of the more interesting people I've ever had the pleasure of reading about. The whole of Apple's character had a lot more to her than what first appearances would give. Understanding what turned her into the girl that she became was a thrill in itself. Being treated like a game piece, why not just decide to turn it around on the guys who like to use women. Brick on the other hand is a major player, who no matter how I look at it, won't become a favorite of mine anytime soon. He was interesting to say the least but how anyone can do what he did to his brother and not feel ashamed makes me wonder, how is he going to ever change.

The rest of the cast that KB has created were all equally amazing and to see the good girl; CeCe; become a pawn in this game of sex and manipulation was eye opening to say the least. Dom, Jensen, and Tyra were all just drug into this whether they wanted to be or not. Dom having had some of the worst luck out of all the characters for me and being the most hurt out of everyone by the past. KB knew how to play the emotion factors with me.

Romance in this game is a big factor and was well written, I mean an entire book based on sexual seduction and falling in love and all sorts of complications that arise, couldn't have been pulled off as well had it been poorly written. Yes there is a lot of romance in this book and a lot of sex but looking beyond what you see, its a tale of so much more. Lies, deceit, love, passion all made it into a book that kept me turning all day when I had the chance and the ending left me wanting more. What happens when you want what you can't have or the plan backfires and the drama that follows isn't worth what is going to happen? Read Bad Reputation and find out what happens. Trust me once you finish you'll want the second book.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Sunday Street Team - Revenge Playbook Guest Post and Giveaway

Title: The Revenge Playbook
Release Date: June 16, 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen 



Goodreads Link

Synopsis (GR):
In this poignant and hilarious novel, Rachael Allen brilliantly explores the nuances of high school hierarchies, the traumas sustained on the path to finding true love, and the joy of discovering a friend where you least expect.

Don’t get mad, get even!

In the small town of Ranburne, high school football rules and the players are treated like kings. How they treat the girls they go to school with? That’s a completely different story. Liv, Peyton, Melanie Jane, and Ana each have their own reason for wanting to teach the team a lesson—but it’s only when circumstances bring them together that they come up with the plan to steal the one thing the boys hold sacred. All they have to do is beat them at their own game.

Brimming with sharp observations and pitch-perfect teen voices, fans of Jenny Han and Sarah Mlynowski are sure to fall head-over-heels for this sharp tale—by the author of 17 First Kisses—about the unexpected roads that can lead you to finding yourself.

 

 

Guest Post: 10 Things We Don't Know about Rachael:

  1.  I used to make scavenger hunt dare lists in college for my friends’ 21st birthdays and bachelorette parties. I can’t tell you which dares in the book we field-tested, but I can tell you we definitely didn’t do any of the mean ones and the worm is much harder than it looks.
  2. I wanted to be a dolphin trainer when I was little.
  3. I can’t whistle, and I’m super jealous of anyone who can.
  4. I don’t like M&M’s because they smell funny. My little brother would always crunch them up in his mouth and blow M&M breath on me. GROSS.
  5. I played flag football all through grad school and college. I played Cornerback, and one time I caught a clutch interception against Zeta in the playoffs, and we won the sorority championships that year. It’s kind of like I’m Deion Sanders.
  6. Like Peyton, I also sing in the shower loudly and off-key.
  7. Like Melanie Jane, I also have Cherokee ancestry.
  8. Like Ana, I’m a rabid Game of Thrones fan and I have a giant white dog (named Thor, not Falkor).
  9. Like Liv, I do enjoy a good tacklehug and get really excited over ice cream and a secret rendezvous.
  10. My best friends and I are as close as the girls in THE REVENGE PLAYBOOK, and I’m spending the weekend with one of them right now, which means: eating ALL the fancy cheese, dancing around her kitchen to the Backstreet Boys, taking a no make up selfie and sending it to another friend from college (that’s right - we’re no make up close), and talking about all the big life things until we laugh and cry.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Bound by Spells Blitz

Book & Author Details:

Bound by Spells by Stormy Smith 
(Bound #2) 
Publication date: March 19th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal

Synopsis:
Aidan Montgomery hadn’t been prepared for Amelia Bradbury to walk in and then out of his life. He also hadn’t expected to find the powerful magic hidden deep within him for the last nineteen years, but he’s embracing it — finding more control and more answers every day. Now, with the help of Amelia’s best friend, Bethany, Aidan is on a quest to understand his destiny and find Amelia.
Amelia decided to stand by her duty, which meant walking away from her first chance at love. Trapped in Cresthaven at the Queen’s mercy, she spends her days with Micah — an ally she still holds at arm’s length — struggling to manage her heartbreak while keeping her mind focused on the task at hand. As she continues to unlock the secrets of the Keeper power, Queen Julia’s true motives reveal themselves, forcing Amelia to decide, yet again, how much she’s willing to sacrifice.
Will Aidan get to Amelia before it’s too late, or will the very power that sustains them keep them apart?


It’s always fun to talk about a second book, but we never want to spoil anything about the first one for you, so today, we have a special treat from Stormy Smith, author of the Bound Series. Right now, BOTH Bound by Duty and Bound by Spells are on sale for just 99 cents each on Amazon (US and UK).




Guest Post:
To set this up, the Bound Series is a coming of age story. A clean, new adult, urban fantasy that has wracked up 190 5-star reviews between both books. Bound by Duty is the story from Amelia, our main character, and Bound by Spells alternates between Amelia and Aidan.

Right now, Bound by Duty is nominated for “Best Book Hangover” in the UtopYA 2015 awards and Bound by Spells was endorsed by USA Today’s Happy Ever After blog as “paranormal gold.”

Our treat, however, is an alternate POV scene from the swoon-worthy Aidan, our main man in the Bound series. This scene happens near the beginning of Bound by Duty and gives you a glimpse into what’s to come without spoiling anything. Consider it a teaser of the man you’ll get more from in Bound by Spells!

Bound by Duty – from Aidan

What in the hell am I doing here? The thought raced through my head for the hundredth time. I scrubbed both hands over my face and back through my hair, yanking on it a little and trying to reason with myself. 

You’re going to freak her out. 

She doesn’t even know you. 

‘Oh, hi, Amelia. I know you don’t know me but I’ve been watching you the last few weeks and I think we’d get along great. No, I’m not a creeper. Trust me.’ 

I groaned and dropped my head down. I was sitting under some kind of beach pergola on a picnic table that had seen better days. If I even took a deep breath it might crumple under me. I was hiding and I knew it. It’s bad enough I heard Amelia and her friend talking about this party and then psyched myself into showing up, but now I have totally chickened out. I wasn’t interested in the party or the drunk chicks upstairs. Just her.

I don’t normally get worked up like this but she has me all turned around. I’d been watching Amelia Bradbury since the first day of class. I was the charmer. I knew from years of experience with foster families how to make sure people liked me, but she never even gave me a chance. She wanted to hide and never once even looked my way. I could see it in the way her eyes darted all over the room without making eye contact with anyone. And in the way she wore her hair down, trying to hide behind the long, dark strands. She sat in the back, forcing me to the outer edges of the room so that I could keep watching without making it obvious. When she got up she would often run into things, but never people, clutching her backpack before hustling to the next place. 

The first time I saw her relax was by accident. I was in the commons eating and suddenly, there she was. Her eyes lit up and her posture straightened. She yanked the band from her wrist and flipped her head down, coming back up with it in a ponytail. It was the first time I’d been able to truly see her and I was captivated. Her eyes couldn’t decide what color they wanted to be and floated between brown and green. Some people would call it hazel but they didn’t mix so much as shift as the light hit them. She was thin but curved. I wanted to run my hands from her shoulders to her hips just to feel the dip and flare. I turned, anxiety flooding my system, and found the source of her joy…another girl. I let go of a breath I hadn’t known I was holding and couldn’t stop the laugh the erupted from my chest. Amelia strode up, gave the blond a hug, and they immediately started talking. Then the blond spoke and Amelia laughed. It was music to my deaf ears and something inside me came alive. I wanted to be the one to do that. I wanted to make her laugh. For the first time in my life I was jealous of a girl.

I was ready to call it. Being here on this picnic bench was ridiculous and there was no way I was going to have the balls to walk up to her now. I had completely psyched myself out of having any kind of shot at this. I was ready to get up and head for my car when I heard someone bouncing down the stairs. I worried first that something was wrong. Their feet pattered down so quickly I thought they might be running. I stayed in my spot in the shadows, but tensed my body in case I had to move quickly. Lately I had had way too much excess energy and I’d been spending a lot of time in the gym. I could do some damage if it came down to it. The last thing I expected was to see shoes flipping off and long legs soaring through the air as Amelia leapt from the last step and landed softly out into the sand. For just a moment she was suspended mid-air and I could have sworn she was flying. When she hit the beach she didn’t miss a beat, her feet moving her swiftly toward the water. 

Her body was long and lean. A ballerina but with curves. She was so focused on the water that it wasn’t until she was ankle deep and had dropped her head back, a small satisfied smile pulling at her lips, that she realized she wasn’t alone. I had barely moved, a low groan coming from the bench underneath me. Her whole body stiffened in what I assumed was fear. I felt like an intruder. This was going to be a great way for us to meet, surely. But, you shouldn’t blow opportunities when they come. Or so said my last caseworker before I turned eighteen and had been accepted into Brighton’s community college. No sense in turning back now.

“So, you’re hiding from them, too, huh?” I was going for charming. Like I had some kind of game. But the words felt like peanut butter in my mouth and I was glad she couldn’t see my reddened face from where she was standing. Amelia slowly turned toward me, her voice small as she squinted and tried to see me better. “Do I know you?”

I felt like even more of a tool. She had no idea who I was. She stared my way for a few more seconds and then whipped around, facing back out into the water. I watched her chest moving quickly, her breaths coming too fast. I slowly started to move toward her, worried she might be getting a little too freaked out and wanting to reassure her that I wasn’t actually a sociopath.

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady but soft. She turned to face me slowly and the full moon sliced its light just perfectly to illuminate me but keep her face mostly shadowed. She was close enough that I could see her eyes widen and roam from my nose to my knees, without ever meeting my own. I stood up a little taller and couldn’t stop the smirk as I realized I might have some of the same effect on her that she had on me. She raked her gaze up and down and it wasn’t until I tried to get her attention that her eyes finally snapped back to mine.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I waved a hand in front of her face and said, “Hello?” Then the Amelia I knew came back in a mad rush. She fumbled over her words, looking anywhere but at me. She tugged at the ends of her hair and a tried to walk away, but I couldn’t let her. I wasn’t ready to let her go yet and I needed to know her. I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out and taking her arm. It was our first contact and I don’t know what I had expected, but it wasn’t heat blooming under my fingertips or her heartbeat inside my head. In milliseconds of my skin on hers she was inside me, and I knew I’d never get her out.

“Wait. Just wait.” More quiet, controlled words. I couldn’t let her leave. I had to keep her there. I had to keep touching her. “I’ve seen you before. You’re Amelia, right?” Normal, Aidan. Act normal.

“Yeah,” she whispered. I had forced her to look at me and I would swear to any judge that we wore the same expression. She felt something. I knew she did.

“We have a couple classes together, but you always sit in the back and never say anything.” Dammit. So suave. So charming. You’re an idiot, Montgomery 

I was instantly ashamed. I watched her reaction and I knew it too well. She squeezed her eyes shut and her lips smashed together, holding in the pain of not fitting in. I might be a charmer now, but I’d been sent away by enough families to know what I had just done.

“Oh, that was dumb. I’m sorry. Anyway, I’m Aidan. Aidan Montgomery.” I took advantage of the opportunity to trail my fingertips from her bicep down to her wrist and then folded her hand into mine, shaking it softly. I felt fire the whole way and judging by the widening of her eyes and the swift intake of breath, so did she. For a second, she gripped my hand, but as our eyes connected again and I couldn’t stop my grin, she dropped it and without a word took off running. I couldn’t move, my hand still in front of me and my jaw hanging open, as I watched her bound up the stairs and disappear. I dropped onto the hard-packed sand and didn’t bother to move as the tide rose and the salty water surrounded me.

Well, that couldn’t have gone better. 

---

Are you sucked in yet? Here’s everything you need to know.

Buy the books:
-          Bound by Duty (Bound Series, Book One) Release Date: July 24, 2014
-          Bound by Spells (Bound Series, Book Two) Release Date: March 19, 2014


Bound by Duty Synopsis: Amelia grew up in a world of half-truths. She knows she's an Elder, but has no idea what that means. Her father reminds her daily that she must maintain control, but he refuses to explain why. Even worse, she's betrothed to the prince of the Immortals and doesn't even know his name.

Finally breaking free to live a few normal years at a community college, the last thing Amelia expects is to find her best friend in a cheeky southern girl, or fall for a self-assured human who sees her for who she is, not what she will become.

As she learns more about herself, Amelia realizes the line between love and duty is a thin one. As her power continues to increase exponentially and her questions are slowly answered, Amelia must make the ultimate choice. The question is, will her head win the battle, or her heart?

Bound by Spells Synopsis: Aidan Montgomery hadn't been prepared for Amelia Bradbury to walk in and then out of his life. He also hadn't expected to find the powerful magic hidden deep within him for the last nineteen years, but he's embracing it -- finding more control and more answers every day. Now, with the help of Amelia's best friend, Bethany, Aidan is on a quest to understand his destiny and find Amelia.

Amelia decided to stand by her duty, which meant walking away from her first chance at love. Trapped in Cresthaven at the Queen's mercy, she spends her days with Micah -- an ally she still holds at arm's length -- struggling to manage her heartbreak while keeping her mind focused on the task at hand. As she continues to unlock the secrets of the Keeper power, Queen Julia's true motives reveal themselves, forcing Amelia to decide, yet again, how much she's willing to sacrifice.

Will Aidan get to Amelia before it's too late, or will the very power that sustains them keep them apart?

Endorsement for Bound by Spells: "Featuring a cast of mages and shapeshifters with unique magical abilities, one destiny-shaping prophecy, a genocidal megalomaniac, and a budding, heated romance (or two!), this book is paranormal gold! Read the first book in the series first, of course, but once you finish this one you're sure to be salivating for the next release in this not-to-be-missed romantic paranormal series." 
-- Serena Chase, USA Today's Happy Ever After blog

Bio: Stormy Smith is the author of the Amazon best seller, Bound by Duty, and Bound by Spells. She calls Iowa’s capital home now, but was raised in a tiny town in the Southeast corner of the state. She grew to love books honestly, having a mom that read voraciously and instilled that same love in her. She knew quickly stories of fantasy were her favorite, and even as an adult gravitates toward paranormal stories in any form.
Writing a book had never been an aspiration, but suddenly the story was there and couldn’t be stopped. When she isn’t working on, or thinking about, her books, Stormy’s favorite places include bar patios, live music shows, her yoga mat or anywhere