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GATES OF THREAD AND STONE: Book Blast Giveaway

http://www.memyshelfandi.com/2014/07/release-day-celebration-gates-of-thread.html

GATES OF THREAD AND STONE (Gates of Thread and Stone #1) by Lori M. Lee

In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.

In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.

Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

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PRAISE

“Lori M. Lee excels in building a world of intrigue, oppression, and magic amidst a Labyrinth setting as twisted and winding as the secrets hidden inside her characters’ hearts. Fans of strong heroines who don’t need a boy to hold their hands, action-packed fighting scenes, and whispers of steampunk and mythology, will find themselves wishing they, too, could manipulate the threads of time, if only to stay inside the story a little longer.”
A.G. Howard, the SPLINTERED series

“Inventive, romantic, and gripping. I was hooked from the first page!”
Amy Tintera, REBOOT and REBEL

“A fast-paced, heart-wrenching whirl of a story full of magic, immortals, and a romance that will leave readers gasping for more. I adored the tough, scrappy narrator and fell in love with the boy chasing after her heart. Lori M. Lee introduces us to a fantasy world unlike any other and gives us the first taste of an epic love story in the making. I can’t wait for more!”
Mindee Arnett, THE NIGHTMARE AFFAIR series and AVALON series

AUTHOR

Lori is the author of young adult fantasy Gates of Thread and Stone, coming August 5, 2014 from Skyscape. She has a borderline obsessive fascination with unicorns, is fond of talking in capslock, and loves to write about magic, manipulation and family. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, kids and a friendly pit bull.

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Giveaway is open Internationally | Must be 13+ to Enter
1 Winner will get (1) $25.00 Amazon Gift Card + a Swag Pack
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ACCESSION: Book Blast Giveaway

Accession (Sarath Web #1) by Terah Edun

Sixteen-year-old Katherine Thompson wasn’t trained to rule a coven. That was her sister – perfect, beautiful Rose. But when a mysterious plane crash kills off the heir presumptive of the Sandersville coven she has no choice. After stepping in to fill her sister’s shoes, Katherine realizes she didn’t have a clue – faery wars, depressed trolls and angry unicorns are just the beginning.

For centuries, her family has served the high Queens on both sides of the Atlantic but it is a well-known rule that mid-level witches stay away from high-level Queens. But when Katherine’s youngest cousin vanishes without a trace in the Atlanta court and no one wants to investigate, Katherine decides to step into the darkness on her own. She soon discovers that nothing, especially in the Atlanta High Queen’s court, is as it seems.

When she accidentally opens a rift in the search for her cousin, Richard LeCross, the Queen’s warlock, decides that Katherine is more trouble than she’s worth. He determines that this mortal, dangerously close to becoming a High Queen, needs to die. But killing Katherine is easier said than done. For a young woman who’s always believed in right versus wrong, she’s about to go head over heels into the dark side.

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EXCERPT

You know the old saying ‘If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you?’ Katherine thought wryly
while she waited for her sister and Derrick to do their worst. Well, I have the opposite problem. If
I show you my gifts, you’ll be dead. There’s no explaining, no second guessing. Which was why
even though she was furious with her older sister, she couldn’t defend herself. Not as a witch.
Katherine might not like her sister, but she loved her. Loved her in the way that siblings that
fought like cats and dogs, but still hung together against a common enemy did. Since they were
rarely on the same side of anything recently, Rose and Katherine had yet to face anything worse
than the schoolyard bully they had taken down together when Katherine was in kindergarten and
Rose was in second grade. That incident had proved that blood trumped friends, at least in the
all-out war over the marbles container, that is.

But now? Now, Rose and I never really see eye-to-eye at all, Katherine thought with a
shiver. She must have been desperate to invite me on this stupid escapade. I know I was pretty
stupid to accept the invitation. And now I’m going to pay for that. That hope that for once Rose
wanted me along for me, as her sister...as a friend.

AUTHOR

Terah Edun is a young adult fantasy writer born and raised in the Atlanta metropolitan area, who transplanted to the Northeast region for college, and has spent years living abroad in South Sudan and Morocco. She writes the stories that she always loved to read as a young girl.

She prefers tales of adventure, magic, fellowship and courtship – in other words fantasy of both the contemporary and high variety. Terah’s Courtlight series was featured on the USA Today Happily Ever After Blog and her Crown Service series hit the Amazon Top 500 on release of Book One. She has sold over 30,000 copies of her books and is proud to be a young adult author.

Her favorite writers include Mercedes Lackey, Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore, Robin Hobb and Maria Snyder. Check out Terah's author website for more information about her books and subscribe to her newsletter to be notified of upcoming releases.

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Courtlight Series
Book 1 - Sworn To Raise
Book 2 - Sworn To Transfer
Book 3 - Sworn To Conflict
Book 4 - Sworn To Secrecy
Book 5 - Sworn To Defiance

Crown Service Series
Book 1 - Blades of Magic

Book 2 - Blades of Illusion

GIVEAWAYS

Please, read the Terms & Conditions listed in the widget(s) below before entering.

INTERNATIONAL / Must be 18+ to enter.

One (1) e-book copy (MOBI or EPUB only) & $25 Gift Card from Amazon or B&N.

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GUEST POST: What makes a book a classic?

Meet Pema Donyo.

Pema Donyo is the teen author of recently released YA romantic suspense The Innocent Assassins (Astraea Press, June '14) and forthcoming historical Western romance One Last Letter (Crimson Romance, Aug. '14). In other words, she's a coffee-fueled college student by day and a creative writer by night. As a rising sophomore at Claremont McKenna, she’s still working on mastering that delicate balance between finishing homework, meeting publisher deadlines, and… college. More of her musings on writing and reading can be found on her blog.

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From Trashy Tales to Canon Critiques

"How a human being could have attempted such a book as the present without committing suicide before he had finished a dozen chapters, is a mystery. It is a compound of vulgar depravity and unnatural horrors."
- Graham's Lady Magazine (USA), July 1848, review of Wuthering Heights

It's no secret that public perception of a novel changes over time. When Lolita was released, reviewer John Gordon of Sunday Express deemed it "the filthiest book I ever read" and "sheer unrestrained pornography." Yet the novel also happens to be required reading for several of my college's literature courses. Today, Lolita has acquired "classic" status.

But what creates a classic? Is it immortal literary themes recurring time and again in every generation? Is it novels displaying sparkling wit and dialogue? Better yet - maybe it's just because (gasp!) readers just like them for some unexplained reason.

Jane Austen's novels are regarded as undeniable classics, but what's thrown the books into the waiting arms of Western canon is the ability of her novels to transcend time. They make great adaptations, and for good reason - they're classic situations which every generation of readers can relate to. They possess themes of love and loss and longing and (very properly hinted at) lust.

Yet what themes could be more lasting than sordid tales of sex or drinking or gambling? Erotica or "steamy romance" novels flood today's book industry in greater volumes than ever before. One of the early books to give a serious push of promotion to the popularity of erotica - whether you agree or not - is the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James.

The popularity of the Fifty Shades of Grey trailer had me thinking - "Wait, there are people that like these novels?!" (Also, how did they get Beyoncé to agree to that?!) So I did some research, thanks to Dr. Google. And yes, there are people who genuinely love E. L. James's books. They're not everyone's cup of tea, but all that matters is that they're someone's idea of a good read. They may be your favorite books!

But will it ever become required reading in college literature courses? It's impossible to tell. Cult classics cannot be defined and pointed to within our own time; canon status can only be reached a generation after the book has been published.

"Western canon" seems to be defined as the books which have proved the most influential in shaping Western society, yet most writers use "classics" and "canon" interchangeably. And rightly so. If a book has lasted the test of time and remained popular, there's gotta be some influencing-of-the-world going on in that span of time.

If we're going strictly by popularity (and ignoring the Fifty Shades craze for now), the Harry Potter novels are both generally well-liked and stand as candidates to last the test of time. They may not strictly "reflect our society" (though let's be real, who wouldn't want to go to Hogwarts and swap his or her life with a world reflected by the books?). Yet the same issue hasn't prevented sci-fi adventures or Gothic horrors from reaching canon. Last time I checked, there wasn't a ton in common between my life and Victor Frankenstein's, but that didn't stop my English teacher from assigning it to me.

Canon tends to hit at something deeper - human emotion. It's not so much about the exact experiences or settings that the reader relates to, it's (to use #fangirl speak): "THE FEELS." Readers can relate to Frankenstein's loneliness, regret, and anger. Readers understand Elizabeth's attraction toward Darcy. Canon literature forms from the reader's ability to relate to the character's emotions. If the reader can relate, the book remains popular.

Why do you think a book becomes a classic? (And do you think Fifty Shades could ever reach canon status?)

What do you think of Pema's take on this subject?

Visit her blog for more fangirl-ish yet insightful literary observations.

Comment for further discussion or continue the conversation via Twitter.

#SnarkWeek Book Blogger Challenge

Inspired by Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, Parajunkee is hosting Snark Week!

Snark Week Book Blogger Challenge, Aug 11-15th

SNARK WEEK POST PROMPTS:

MONDAY Snark Attack: Tell us how you really feel about a particular blogging subject, and get it off your chest. This is your chance to EXPLODE!
TUESDAY Feeding Frenzy: Top 10 Worst Books Ever Read
WEDNESDAY Snarknado: Cheesy tropes, eye-roll inspiring actions, plus words and phrases that you just wish were never used in novels.
THURSDAY Snark Bite: Be creative – your own snarktastic topic.
FRIDAY Snark Visual: Snark just isn’t the same without GIFs – review a book or post your own brand of snark with the use of animated GIFs.