The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

 

Discovery of the Five Senses

by 

K.N. Smith

 

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GENRE:   Young Adult Action-Adventure, Young Adult Thriller, Urban Fantasy, Mystery/ Thriller

 

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BLURB:

 

A suspenseful incident in a forbidden preserve heightens the senses of five friends. But furious battles confront the boys as they try to understand their sensory super powers in a race to save mankind. With light beings and mysterious strangers complicating their plight, will the boys be able to defeat the evil Druth before it’s too late?

 

Goodreads

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EXCERPT

Soft swirls of light rose, dissipating as they spoke.  

“The others are capable, but they need our help. Peace will not come easily. We must give them strength.”

“Druth will destroy our home. He will hurt the gifted ones if the nectar finds him.” 

“They will not survive him.”

“The others must seek the will for survival. They   must understand their own power.”

A transient suspension held the beings in the preserve. Faint flecks of light dotted the landscape.

“In these two worlds, our ideas converge, yet  collide.”

“He must be stopped!”

“It is true.”

“Naculea must endure.”

“It is chosen.”

Now resting upon the succulent, running rich with the life-giving nectar, the beings absorbed its energy, glowing as bright as the sun. 

Thirst became a distant need yet again.

“We must warn… the one.”

“The one who sees.”

“The one who sees and hears much.”

“It is the only way.”

Final clicks faded into silence.

 

Book Links

U.S./International Amazon 

(will allow users to access Amazon in their own country)

Amazon (U.S. Amazon only) - please use the link above, if possible

Barnes and Noble 

Google Play 

Google Books 

Apple iBooks

Kobo

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

 K.N. Smith, winner of the “Best of” in the category of “Outstanding Young Adult Novel” at the Jessie Redmon Fauset Book Awards, is an author, screenwriter, and passionate advocate of literacy and arts programs throughout the world. She inspires people of all ages to reach their highest potential in their creative, educational, and life pursuits. She lives in California with her family.

 Visit K.N. Smith at her website.

 

Social Links

 Facebook

Website

 

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GIVEAWAY

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here

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My review:

 

3.5 stars

 

The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith follows a close-knit group of high school youngsters who not only deal with the challenges of teen life and angst, but must also find a way to combat an evil that threatens to destroy them and their town.

 

This young adult urban fantasy story blends typical challenges facing high school upperclassmen with a far more fantastical struggle that has been waging for decades. Filled with lyrical and beautifully vivid descriptions, this story explores bonds of family and brotherhood that is both genetic and formed. I love the diversity and the depiction of families who pull together despite trauma and loss, and younger brother Mason almost steals the show with his devotion and determination to protect his big brother, Jordan. There are intermittent explosive violent encounters, so use caution if that is a trigger.

 

The fantasy element is a little forced for me, although I like the idea of each of the boys developing a specific sense and working together to form a cohesive unit. Those who are concerned with such things should be aware that there is considerable head-hopping because the third party omniscient point of view tends to be a bit intermittent. I would have liked a little more depth to the characters, but I was able to connect to their struggles and definitely wanted them to be successful in their endeavors.

 

I think this is a good fantasy adventure story for young adults that also provides inspiration and reminders of how important a good support system is, whether that is parental or peer related.

 

A copy of this title was provided for review

I Know When You're Going To Die by Michael J. Bowler (Spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

I Know When You're Going To Die

by 

Michael J Bowler

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GENRE: Mystery/Thriller

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BLURB:

Leonardo Cantrell is a painfully shy sixteen-year-old who cannot look people in the eye. One night while he’s volunteering at a homeless shelter, an old man forces eye contact and gives Leo the power to see Death.

His best, and only, friend—J.C. Rivera—thinks this new power is cool until Leo accidentally looks into J.C.’s eyes and “sees” his murder, a murder that will occur in less than two weeks. Stunned and shaken, the two boys sift through clues in Leo’s “vision” in a desperate effort to find the killer and stop him before he can strike.

Aided by feisty new-girl-at-school, Laura, the boys uncover evidence suggesting the identity of the murderer. However, their plan to trap the would-be killer goes horribly awry and reveals a truth that could kill them all.

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EXCERPT

After lunch, we head to a nearby McDonald’s and buy bags of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, and fries to give out on the streets. I make momentary eye contact with each person I hand a bag to because I want them to   know they’re human like me. But I can’t hold it for more than a second until, beneath the dim shade of the freeway overpass on Main Street, this one man grasps my arm as he takes his bag. He’s a regular named Hank, an older guy with a limp who always wears a dirty Dodgers cap and mismatched clothes   I’m sure he found in a dumpster.

“Thank you, Leo.” Hank’s voice is strained, but sincere.

I force myself to look into his grateful eyes and our gazes lock. I can’t    seem to look away. It’s like I’m being drawn into Hank’s  very soul. Then I see it! Gasping, I lurch back and yank my arm away from him.

He recoils, looking stung by my action, and I want to apologize, but no words come. I’m paralyzed by what I just saw and can only offer him a silent nod.

Gripping the bag with gnarled fingers, Hank lurches down Main Street until he reaches the corner and turns out of sight.

J.C. steps around in front of me. “Hey, Leo, you okay? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“I know… when he’s… going to… die.” I barely get the words out.

J.C. stares at me. “Huh?”

 Amazon buy link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author who grew up in Northern California. He majored in English/Theatre at Santa Clara University, earned a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and a master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills. Michael taught high school in Hawthorne, California, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities. When Michael is not writing, you can find him volunteering as a youth mentor with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and raising his newly adopted son. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, and hopes his books can show young people they are not alone in their struggles.

Social Media:

Website

FB: michaeljbowlerauthor

Twitter

tumblr

Pinterest

YouTube

Instagram: michaeljbowler

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway



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My review:

4.25 stars

I Know When You’re Going to Die by Michael J. Bowler follows sixteen-year-old Leonardo (Leo) Cantrell as he navigates life more interested in serving the less fortunate than keeping up with the latest fashion trends. An unexpected “gift” results in his being able to foretell a person’s death after looking into their eyes. Facing bullies at school and trying to come to terms with his newfound power, Leo must discover a way to change the outcome of his visions or risk losing his best friend permanently.

This young adult story provides a unique twist on the angst of teen existence as Leo battles not only peer pressure, bullying, entitlement, abandonment, and discriminatory behavior, but also has to deal with the horrendous responsibility conferred upon him by an elderly man. The story is told in first person point of view in the present tense, so it was a little challenging for me to get used to at first, but eventually I became caught up in the action. One of the things I was fascinated by was the glimpse of my city through Leo’s eyes. Of course, I have never traveled in those “entitled” circles, but I have definitely driven down some of the streets mentioned, so it was fun to read about the kids’ adventures in familiar areas.

I like the thought-provoking question of cause and effect and the twists and turns of Leo’s adventures, but I would have liked to have a little more depth to the characters. Those who are squeamish should be warned that there is a bit of carnage and death in the story, plus some spookiness, but the action escalates and keeps one enthralled and cheering for the good guys to win.

A copy of this story was provided for review

Gunfight at the Old Leake Canal by GB Hope (VBB, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

In Liverpool, England, 18-year-old student and Freerunner, Bodie, survives an assassination attempt and flees for his life. His only thought is to secure the safety of girlfriend, Lily, and reach his journalist cousin, Anthony.

Bodie has stumbled into a diabolical plot from the world's governments to end terrorism, famine and global warming in one swift swoop. So begins a race for survival, joined by a variety of other characters, moving from one set piece to the next, as the world that everyone knows is about to change forever.

Excerpt:

The weather in Liverpool was absolutely wonderful: wall to wall sunshine, and a refreshing breeze. Feeling the unwanted start of a suntan, Bodie walked onto a supermarket car-park, moving towards the entrance doors, while trying to look as nonchalant as possible. He watched shoppers coming and going with their trolleys. He saw one lady loading the boot of her Audi A3, and veered off towards her. The instant that he saw the keys in the ignition, he was in to the driver’s seat and driving the car away, leaving the woman screaming and running futilely after him. Bodie drove out of the car-park, but the tail-gate was still up and it smashed into the height restriction barrier with a massive crash and a shattering of glass.

‘Dammit!’


Buy link

Amazon




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About the Author: GB Hope is the author of 11 novels of various genres. He lives in Manchester with his Indonesian wife and their two boys.

Amazon author page


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GIVEAWAY

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. GB Hope will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



 
The tour dates can be found here

Sarah by Teri Polen (VBT, guest post, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

It is my pleasure to share a guest post from author Teri Pole, who shares how hobbies have enriched her writing...


TP:  Like most people, I have many hobbies – I enjoy weight-lifting, yoga, watching movies, attending wine and bourbon tastings (there’s talk of making it a law here in Kentucky), but the hobby that has undoubtedly enriched my writing the most is reading. I’m fairly sure I came out of the womb with a book in hand and have rarely been seen without one since. When I leave the house, my checklist includes purse, phone, and Nook or Kindle.


Reading extensively is, or should be, a job requirement of writers. Stephen King said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or tools) to write.” And I’m a firm believer in that statement. No one is born knowing how to write a book. It takes time, hard work, and tremendous effort to learn the craft, not to mention blood, sweat, and tears – all the while requiring the patience of a saint. Learning to write is an ongoing process and self-improvement should be a goal of every writer - and one of the best ways to improve is to read, read, then read some more.


My love of horror books led me to Stephen King when I was around twelve. The way he creates characters that rise from the pages and walk around the room or sit beside me while I’m engrossed in the story is awe-inspiring. I’ll never be able to perform that miracle – but it doesn’t mean I can’t learn from his techniques.


Victoria Schwab is a master at fantasy world-building and I’d love to spend a day in her head just to see how her mind works. The Archived Series is wildly creative but her Shades of Magic Series (A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows) is pure genius, in my opinion, with not just one world, but four within one book. So many writers are ready to dive straight into their novel, but if fantasy or sci-fi is your genre, in order to make your story believable and cohesive, creating your world and establishing the rules of that world should be the first priority - something that can take months, depending on the complexity of your setting.


Maybe reading isn’t one of your hobbies – it’s not the end of the world, but I’d still strongly recommend it. Observing people is also beneficial. People-watching at airports can be highly entertaining and add to your mental bank of eccentric characters. Whatever the case, you can still use your own experiences, people you meet, and emotions you feel in different situations to enrich your writing in some way. 


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Sarah

by Teri Polen

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GENRE: YA horror/thriller

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BLURB:


Seventeen-year-old horror fan Cain Shannon thought helping a ghost find her killers would be the supernatural adventure of a lifetime. Now, he just hopes to survive long enough to protect his family and friends from her.

A bet between friends goes horribly wrong, resulting in Sarah’s death. When she returns to seek justice against those responsible, Cain agrees to help her. But when he discovers Sarah has been hijacking his body, he realizes she wants retribution instead of justice.

Terrified of what could have happened when he wasn’t in control, Cain commands Sarah to leave his house - but exorcising her isn’t that easy. She retaliates against her murderers in bloody, horrific ways, each death making her stronger, then sets her sights on Cain. With the help of friends, Cain fights to save himself and his loved ones and searches for a way to stop Sarah before she kills again.

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EXCERPT

“So, not only is she a body-snatching, man-hating ghost with breathtaking anger management issues, she’s also a compulsive liar? Do you think there are support groups for ghosts? Is that a thing?”

After having Finn as my best friend for over ten years, you’d think I’d know how his mind worked and nothing that fell out of his mouth would surprise me. But you’d be wrong. He was completely unpredictable at times, but I could always count on him for an honest answer or opinion. Weird and out of left field occasionally, but honest. And highly entertaining. “So, you’re suggesting we get Sarah into therapy? Maybe having an intervention?”

“Seems like it would make her afterlife a little more pleasant, don’t you think? I mean, we’re talking a long period of time here, right? Maybe if she interacted with more ghosts, she’d learn to fit in better, make some friends. Stop living in your body. Just saying.”

Amazon

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Teri Polen loves horror, sci-fi, and fantasy books and movies. She fangirls over The Walking Dead, Harry Potter, and anything Marvel-related. She lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband, sons, and black cat. Visit her online at www.teripolen.com.




Twitter
Website
Facebook
Amazon author link
Goodreads



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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here

Lies I Live By by Lauren Sabel (Spotlight, excerpt and GIVEAWAY) GFT

Lies I Live By

by Lauren Sabel

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GENRE: YA Thriller

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BLURB:

These are the facts: My name is Callie Sinclair. I am seventeen years old. I live in San Francisco. I love my boyfriend, Charlie. I work for a secret governmental agency. I am a psychic spy. This romantic, action-packed twist on the classic spy novel is perfect for fans of Ally Carter’s Embassy Row series or for any reader who enjoys cinematic writing and stories of romance and intrigue.

At seventeen, Callie is the government’s youngest psychic spy, trained to track dangerous people and weapons in her visions. When another young—and handsome and witty—psychic joins the agency, Callie’s personal and professional lives get messy all at once. If she can’t find a way to change the events she’s seen in her visions, she could lose the people she loves most . . . and her mind. Literally.

Richly painted against the backdrop of San Francisco and Berkeley, Lauren Sabel’s enthralling novel captures the thrill of exploring a unique power in a dangerous world.

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Exclusive Excerpt:

It all started when the spoon bent.

I didn’t mean to do it. It just happened, completely out of the blue at Stanford University’s Christmas party, among Mom’s nerdy colleagues and their families. One second I was staring at my reflection in my coffee spoon, waiting for Charlie to stop talking to my mom about college, and the next moment the spoon was bent at a ninety-degree angle in my hand.

“What were you thinking just then?” a voice asked inches from my ear. It was a washed-up looking hippie, with stringy blond hair and the stubble of a beard.

I tucked the spoon into my purse before anyone else could see it. “I was thinking how stirring coffee has just become problematic?”

I glanced over at Charlie and Mom to make sure they hadn’t noticed the bent spoon. They hadn’t. Not that they would, with Mom trying to convince Charlie of the hundred reasons he should stay in San Francisco forever, rather than taking her only child away from her. It struck me that the problem with being an only child is the word only.

“Can you do that again?” the hippie asked, and reached for the spoon in my purse.

I put my hand over my purse. “You do realize that I don’t know you, right?”

He sighed and withdrew his hand. “You’re right. I should spend the next hour explaining how I know about the migraines that paralyze you several times a week, and how, when you’re falling asleep sometimes, you suddenly know things that you shouldn’t know, things that are in other people’s minds.”

I felt my mouth fall open in surprise.

“And then I should explain how you sometimes guess what’s going to happen long before it does,” he continued, “and you see really terrifying things happening to people, and how you’ve tried to hide these things from the people you love, scared they’ll call you a—”

“Freak,” I whispered.

Book Purchase Links:

Lies I Live By
 

Amazon

B&N 
Indiebound

Vivian

Amazon

B&N

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lauren Sabel lives in the quirky dark spaces of her mind, and she tries to shed light on these spaces in her books. After publishing VIVIAN DIVINE IS DEAD in Summer 2014 with Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, she confronted her lifelong fear of being psychic by writing OUT OF MY MIND. Since in this YA thriller, teenage psychic spy Callie Sinclair works undercover for the government, forced to hide her real identity from everyone she loves, Lauren is now certain she’s on the CIA watch list.

Social Networks:

Website

Blog

Twitter: laurensabel

Facebook

Instagram: laurensabel

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lies I Live By by Lauren Sabel (VNBtM, guest post, excerpt and GIVEAWAY)

It is my pleasure to share a guest post by author Lauren Sabel, who answers...





ELF: What was the most difficult thing to overcome on your path to becoming a published author and how did you conquer it?


LS: The hardest part of writing is self doubt.

Self doubt corrodes your insides and makes it nearly impossible to move forward towards any dream in your life. When you doubt yourself, you inevitably hide that beautiful thing that you are meant to share, and that harms both you and the world around you.

My self doubt stems from the disbelief that I have something interesting to say, or maybe an unique way of saying it, that makes my writing valuable to the world of my readers. But writing takes a lot of time and perseverance, and in order to keep pushing, I needed to learn to put my self-doubt aside and trust myself long enough to finish the next section, or chapter, or book.

Although writing a first draft of a book can be an exhilarating and exhausting process, it is also just the first step in a whole series of steps towards publishing that book. When you decide that you will be a writer, come hell or high water, you have to agree to a few specific terms:


1. You will finish the book.

2. You will allow yourself the internal freedom to write.

3. You will trust your own mind to come up with creative ways to solve the characters’ problems.

4. You will not let self-doubt stop you. (The critics will try to. They will beat at you with your worst fears until you want to cave, but you can’t. Because then they win.) And the fifth term you have to agree to is:

5. You can’t let the naysayers win. You get to choose how to feel about yourself, about your writing, about your next project, about whom you listen to. YOU get to win.


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Lies I Live By
by Lauren Sabel

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GENRE: YA Thriller

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BLURB:

These are the facts: My name is Callie Sinclair. I am seventeen years old. I live in San Francisco. I love my boyfriend, Charlie. I work for a secret governmental agency. I am a psychic spy. This romantic, action-packed twist on the classic spy novel is perfect for fans of Ally Carter’s Embassy Row series or for any reader who enjoys cinematic writing and stories of romance and intrigue.

At seventeen, Callie is the government’s youngest psychic spy, trained to track dangerous people and weapons in her visions. When another young—and handsome and witty—psychic joins the agency, Callie’s personal and professional lives get messy all at once. If she can’t find a way to change the events she’s seen in her visions, she could lose the people she loves most . . . and her mind. Literally.



Richly painted against the backdrop of San Francisco and Berkeley, Lauren Sabel’s enthralling novel captures the thrill of exploring a unique power in a dangerous world.



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EXCERPT

When I focused on a metal light switch across the room, I felt this intense confidence, this feeling that my life was mine alone, and that I could go anywhere and do anything with it. As this feeling surged through me, I felt heat sliding down my arm into my fingertips.

“Test your power,” Indigo said.

It was like the word “power” flipped some switch inside me. I lost focus, and my gaze slid a few inches over, to a small metal box.

The fire alarm went off.

Everyone screamed and ran for the exits, grabbing their kids along the way. Across the room, I saw Charlie and mom headed towards me, and when I looked over, Indigo was no longer by my side. As the sprinklers turned on, and ice-cold drops of water pelted my skin, I closed my fist, and where the spoon had been, there was now a card with a phone number on it. Right then, I knew that everything had changed.

I would never be normal again.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Lauren Sabel lives in the quirky dark spaces of her mind, and she tries to shed light on these spaces in her books. After publishing VIVIAN DIVINE IS DEAD in Summer 2014 with Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, she confronted her lifelong fear of being psychic by writing LIES I LIVE BY (pub May 2016). Since in this YA thriller, teenage psychic spy Callie Sinclair works undercover for the government, forced to hide her real identity from everyone she loves, Lauren is now certain she’s on the CIA watch list.



Social Networks:

Website
Blog
Twitter: laurensabel

Facebook (author)
Facebook (Lies I Live By)
Instagram: laurensabel AND liesiliveby



Book Purchase Links:

LIES I LIVE BY

Kindle
Nook
Indiebound




VIVIAN DIVINE IS DEAD

Amazon
Nook


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GIVEAWAY


a Rafflecopter giveaway


The tour dates can be found here