Go to the YA Scavenger Hunt page to find out all about the hunt. There are eight contests going on simultaneously, and you can enter one or all! I'm on the PINK TEAM--but there is also a red team, an orange team, a gold team, a green team, a teal team, a blue team, and a purple team for a chance to win a whole different set of books!
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SCAVENGER HUNT POST
Before you go any further, add Starr Fall to your Goodreads TBR list! I will love you to pieces!!
Before you go any further, add Starr Fall to your Goodreads TBR list! I will love you to pieces!!
Great, thanks! Today, I am hosting May Freighter for the YA Scavenger Hunt!
May Freighter is an internationally bestselling author from Dublin, Ireland. She writes Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and Sci-Fi mysteries that will keep you entertained, mystified, and hopefully craving more. Her only pets are cacti. They're the only things that survived. It may be too dangerous to entrust her with an animal while she's engrossed in writing.
Blurb:
Alexander lives his life for two reasons: to protect his mother and keep his one-sided love for Katharine hidden. He is a servant, incapable of reaching the top of the social ladder without help. Chances like that come at a cost, and he is more than willing to pay for it.
All does not go according to plan. The woman he loves marries another, the man who tried to kill him becomes his rival, and the fate of his mother changes for the worst. Alexander knows one thing for certain. He cannot turn the time back, just as he cannot become human again.
You can buy Alexander: Memoirs HERE!
Now, for the Exclusive Content...
We start with the Cover Reveal for
Cherished
Gorgeous, right?!?!
Now, what's Cherished about?
Being a human amidst vampires is hard.
Being a woman of a Councilman is harder.
Perri has known that vampires existed long before she admitted it out loud. While suffering the loss of the man who treated her like a daughter and trying to build a relationship with Hans, she is quickly entangled in a plot that may destroy the European Vampire Council from within.
Being a woman of a Councilman is harder.
Perri has known that vampires existed long before she admitted it out loud. While suffering the loss of the man who treated her like a daughter and trying to build a relationship with Hans, she is quickly entangled in a plot that may destroy the European Vampire Council from within.
Hans’ world is falling apart. Lucious and Helena are unreachable, his men are questioning his every move, and he must contain his feelings for Perri to avoid putting her in danger. When he chose to become a Councilman, he never expected that the European delegates would openly declare their defiance. He must find strength within him to protect those close to him. As it stands, his life is not the only one at stake
Exclusive Excerpt:
1
ALONE
ALONE
HANS
A position on the Vampire Council brought with it a lot of pain and suffering to those who were entrusted with a seat of power. Hans was no different. Everything he used to enjoy doing had been limited to giving orders that would benefit the vampire kind and maintain some form of balance in Europe. Regardless of his desperate wish to fill his sire’s shoes, he could never become Vincent. His sire was two thousand years old when he perished in the fight against the demons at the Demon Gate. To this day, the Council’s hounds were searching the streets for the stray demons that escaped through the portal. Their presence was, indeed, visible by the number of dead humans piling up in the quiet communities across England.
A position on the Vampire Council brought with it a lot of pain and suffering to those who were entrusted with a seat of power. Hans was no different. Everything he used to enjoy doing had been limited to giving orders that would benefit the vampire kind and maintain some form of balance in Europe. Regardless of his desperate wish to fill his sire’s shoes, he could never become Vincent. His sire was two thousand years old when he perished in the fight against the demons at the Demon Gate. To this day, the Council’s hounds were searching the streets for the stray demons that escaped through the portal. Their presence was, indeed, visible by the number of dead humans piling up in the quiet communities across England.
Hans buried his hands in his short brown hair
and sighed. He was sitting behind his desk at the new Council building. After
the revival of the original vampire—Arthemis—more humans had been killed for no
reason other than feeding someone’s ego. Hans was glad that the Royals had used
the homeless for such a deed, and the mortals did not have enough time to take
note of the existence of vampires. Hiding in the shadows had been the only way
of life they knew. Being thrust into an open view of humanity who had great
weapons of destruction, his kind would perish too quickly. As a Councilman, he
cared for his people and had to stick to the original rules that the First
Council had transcribed on the ancient scrolls.
A knock on the door forced him to leave his
brooding state of mind and drew his attention to the person on the other side.
He twisted the ring that was on his wedding finger, knowing that it was Perri
by the pitter-patter of her heart. She waited for him to permit her
entry.
He rushed to the door and opened it for her.
“Is something wrong? I thought you were in the middle of unpacking your
belongings.”
She smiled at him, drawing his eyes to the
bright smile she wore that could light up any room. In the time that they had
been away from Scotland to deal with Master Vincent’s funeral and the Council’s
restructure, her blonde hair had grown long enough to reach past her
shoulders.
“I don’t have many belongings, Master Hans,”
she replied.
Hans frowned at the title she used. He
instructed her to use it in the event where they were not alone. Being called
that in private had somehow given him a terrible aftertaste in his mouth. They
were eternally spirit-bound by a restless ghost who roamed their castle near
Aberdeen. Since then, he came to realise how important she was to him. Her
existence was like that of a moon in the night’s sky—needed to light his path.
She brought life to the saddest moments. Even when Master Vincent had passed
away, she was the one who held him together with her cheer and warmth.
Her expression became serious. She reached up
to touch his face, and he stepped back.
“There is no one here,” she whispered, her
voice coming out hurt. Her face told him that his dismissal of her touch caused
her great pain.
Contrary to the relationship Lucious and
Helena had, where both of them were part of the same soul, he and Perri were
different beings. She was the pure, bright, loving human woman he had come to
believe he did not deserve, and he was the darkness that fed on the blood of
mortals and spent his days negotiating with unshakeable tyrants—the European
delegates—about the territorial division
and vampire law enforcement by the hounds. Two days ago, Lucious and Helena
left to investigate the recent vampire deaths in Italy, and Hans was left to
man the entire Council by himself. It was a task too great, even for someone
who had observed Master Vincent as a Councilman for over four hundred years.
Perri knotted her fingers in front of her. “Don’t
you want me to be here? Would you prefer it if I returned home?”
Hans took hold of her hands and lifted them to
his lips, kissing the back of them. “I apologise for my behaviour earlier. I
worry about you being here and yet I cannot bear to be apart from you for long.
It is selfish of me to keep you trapped in this Council building while Lucious
and I attempt to restore the Council’s power and reach.”
She shook her head. “It’s not selfish at all.
I want to be with you. You are my…husband.”
He let go of her hands and retreated to his
desk where he slid into his leather office chair. “I still believe it would be
best to seek a way to break the spirit-bond. We do not know the dangers it may
bring with it. And if either of us dies, the other will forever be unable to
love another.”
“I am prepared for that!” she countered, striding
to him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leant in, her brown eyes
burning with sincerity. “I don’t think I would ever be able to love another
man. You are the only one I need. Unless it’s you who wants to be free of me…”
Hans pulled her down and seated her on his
lap. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and listened to her excited
heartbeat that thudded in her chest. “Do not ever for a moment think that I
would want to abandon you. My duties take precedence, that’s all.”
She combed his hair with her fingers and
kissed him on the forehead. “I know. That’s why I haven’t complained and do as
you tell me.”
He wound his arms around her waist and kissed
her soft lips, allowing her to take control with
uncertainty. For now, such a small form of affection would have to satisfy him.
He feared to dirty her. She was at a
young age of twenty-two. She could decide to leave him or change her mind at
any second. If she so wished, and chose a different path to becoming the woman of a Councilman, he would
need to give up and support her decision. The life she was trying to live would
bring her much sorrow. As the years pass for them both, she would eventually
wish to have children or want to be turned into a vampire. He did not know if
he could be the one to extinguish her life or if he knew anyone trustworthy enough
who would not use their sire-childe
bond for malevolent purposes later.
Perri pressed her forehead to his. “We can
meet for dinner tonight.” She lowered her head and her voice. “Would you
consider spending the night in my room?”
Hans pressed his lips together. Her blushing
cheeks and meek voice had stirred his desire, but he had to control it. With
her, he could not allow any room for mistakes.
“I am sorry, Perri. I have a hunt to lead for
the possessed vampires tonight. You will have to eat alone.”
She smiled with faux cheer like she always did
when he denied her something. “Another time maybe.”
He nodded, and she slid off his lap. With a
goodbye wave, Perri left his office. For the next twenty minutes, he brooded
over going after her and taking her in her room. She was innocent to the point
where he knew not of what to do. His sire would turn in his grave if Hans hurt or upset her. She was like a daughter to
Vincent, and Hans watched her grow up from a young age. For many years, he
thought of her as a younger sister. And now that they were bound to each other,
spirit to spirit, his hidden urges were much harder to conceal.
Letting out another heavy sigh, he returned to
his paperwork that was quickly piling up on his desk in Lucious’ absence. There
were too many emails and letters arriving from the remaining delegates who did
not attend the first summoning and new Council coronation ceremony. They
demanded an explanation about what had happened to those who died a month ago
and the strange orders that came from the Royals who up and left the second
Arthemis was gone. The only one who had stayed behind was Laclia, and she was in
the middle of travelling across Europe, meeting with the delegates they had
already responded to. She was due to return before the end of the year if things
went well. With luck, they would gather another two Council members and restore
the Council’s power in Europe that had become as fragile as glass.
He used a letter opener to remove the wax seal
of the Cornelli family of vampires in Italy and began to read of their
complaints.
PERRI
It
was impossible to get Hans interested in her. She tried pretty dresses Helena
had suggested, grew her hair out, and wore makeup to bring out her maturity. Nothing
worked on the man of her obsession. Hans was an unmovable rock, and it was
making her wonder if he wanted to be with her or if he didn’t want to be mean
to her because she was Vincent’s favourite servant in Scotland. She had missed Master
Vincent and had made weekly visits to the mausoleum where his remains were
stored. She knew it was strange but doing so made her feel like he was still
there with her, listening to her woes.
She
walked down a long corridor that led to the living quarters of the Council
members and their partners. Hans had assigned a room to her in that wing. She
had often overheard the hounds whispering
about her and Helena’s presence there. They were scared of Lucious and what he
might do if Helena was mentioned, so conversations about her friend were
scarce, but Perri seemed to be on the tip of their tongue at all times. She was
a human with no super powers or abilities
unless she counted cooking and cleaning. Vampires could not ingest solid foods,
and they didn’t particularly care if someone cleaned the huge castle-like
building they were in. With four separate gardens, they definitely would
need a gardener or two soon enough.
Should I learn
gardening, too?
Her
restlessness prompted her to grab the nearest hound—a vampire servant of the
Council—and ask him for a dust cloth and cleaning materials. The blonde man seemed
confused by her inquiry, so she repeated her request.
“Master
Hans had not mentioned that you would be on the cleaning team,” he said in a
bored tone.
“I
want to do something to keep busy,” Perri countered.
He
raised his hands in defence. “I don’t want to anger a Councilman by doing
something that he did not order. Please find someone else.”
Perri
blew out a breath. She couldn’t even take her mind off of things by cleaning.
How was she supposed to get used to this massive castle and its grounds? Hans
had forbidden her to explore without him by her side or her assigned hound,
Lotte, who acted as her bodyguard. Lotte was a vampire woman who must have been
turned in her late teens. She was friendly and nice on the surface, but Perri
heard from Vincent that hounds did not choose to do their job because of their
kind hearts. They were either being punished by the Council for some crime and
had to serve a sentence by obeying orders or their sire sent them to improve
relations with the Council members and gain more influence. Perri hadn’t been
able to pinpoint which of the two boxes Lotte belonged in. The only things she
knew about that woman was that she was created thirty-five years ago and came
from some small town in Netherlands. She knew that Hans would not select someone who
would hurt her to be by her side. On the other hand, could she trust a person
she knew nothing about?
Her
shoulders sagged, and she made her way to her bedroom. If she couldn’t clean,
cook, or do anything without supervision, she would go mad. Then, an idea
struck her. She rushed the rest of the way to her bedroom and looked for her phone. She spied it on the bed and
dialled Rupert—the butler in the main house in Scotland. Three months ago, he
told her about the journals he discovered in the storage room that belonged to
Master Vincent. Hans had some of the older volumes sent off to translators in
other countries. Maybe if she read through the translations, she could find
something helpful that could aid Hans in his work or locate Master Vincent’s
favourite place where they could scatter his ashes. After all, Vincent had
lived for a very long time. She was sure that he had a lot of stories to tell
and advice to give.
When
someone picked up, she launched into the conversation, “Rupert, is that you?”
His
laughter came through the speaker of the phone. “It has been a while, Perri.
How did the service for Master Vincent go? Did the people he worked with give him a proper goodbye?”
Perri
licked her lips and held the phone closer to her ear. She couldn’t tell Rupert
that Vincent had received barely any attention from the vampires he had worked
with for a thousand years. It was as if they didn’t care about his passing in
the slightest.
“It
was a good send off,” she lied. “I would like to look through the journal
translations you’ve received. I may be able to find Master Vincent’s favourite
place there. I’m sure he would appreciate us scattering his ashes there.”
“That’s
a brilliant idea! You have thought of a good plan. Though, I am certain I don’t
have to tell you that you should run this by Master Hans. He is the new head of
the family, and we must respect his orders.”
Would Hans agree to
take the remains from the Council’s mausoleum and bring them to Vincent’s
favourite place? Not like she found its location yet. First thing’s first,
she had to get her hands on those translations.
“Will
you please send the documents to our new address?” she asked.
Rupert
went quiet for a minute. “There are a lot of them. I don’t think it would be a
good idea to send them all at once. So, I will post them out to you in separate
parcels.”
“That’s
a good idea.” Perri smiled. She was eager to get her hands on the old journals
that belonged to the man who was like a father to her. “Thank you, Rupert.”
“It’s
not a problem. Take good care of Master Hans while you are visiting him. He
must be working hard to fill Master Vincent’s shoes.”
“I
will, and I’ll call again to check in another time.” She ended the call. The
rest of the servants at the main house didn’t know about her relationship with
Hans.
Then again, she
scratched her head, what is our
relationship? They hadn’t gone beyond kissing each other. Every time she
tried to initiate anything more, he shot her down, claiming he had work or was
too busy to keep her company. At first, she accepted his words without complaint
until doubts began to form at the back of her head.
Does he not find me
attractive?
There
was no other reason she could think of. And what about the odd question he
asked her earlier about breaking the only connection that held them together.
Without the spirit-bond, she feared that he would revert to treating her like a
younger sister rather than a lover. Not like she was his lover yet. Helena and
Lucious were doing fine after they reunited. They
slept in the same room every night like a real couple.
What am I doing wrong?
She
fell backwards onto her king size bed and buried her face in her hands. The
constant insecurities that were eating away at her sanity were hard to keep hidden.
At the same time, she couldn’t allow others to see her being unhappy. It would
worry them. Too many things were happening in Europe with the vampires and lack
of stability of the Council for others to fret over her silly thoughts. To
remain by Hans’ side, she had to act mature and happy. She forced another smile
that felt unnatural. Pretending was getting a little easier.
Are you as interested in this book as I am?
Here's how you can get your hands on it!
Buy Cherished here!
Here's how you can get your hands on it!
Buy Cherished here!
In case you want to hook up with me out in the social media world, here are my links:
Twitter | Web | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram
In addition to my contribution to the wonderful book-package prize for TEAM PINK, I've included a $15 Amazon Gift Card (for bookish purchases of course) and a signed paperback of Starr Fall!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
And don't forget to enter the contest for a chance to win a ton of books by me, May Freighter, and more! To enter, you need to know that my favorite number is 15. Add up all the favorite numbers of the authors on the PINK TEAM and you'll have all the secret code to enter for the grand prize!
CONTINUE THE HUNT
If you'd like to purchase Starr Fall, you can pick up your copy here! To keep going on your quest for the hunt, you need to check out Kaitlin Bevis!
_________________________________________________________________
On the run from the Organization, Starr never planned on falling in
love.
Starr Bishop’s the complete
package. A perfect smile, brains to match, and a winning attitude. Boys want to
date her and girls want to be her. She’s the type of girl you want to
hate, if only she wasn’t so damn likable. But don’t worry, she’s not interested
in your boyfriend. Boys are one complication she can live without.
When the Organization decides she’s
not only the model student but the ideal assassin, Starr’ll need a lot more
than high test scores and extracurricular involvement to get herself out of
that commitment.
Dark, moody, and dead sexy
Christian Evergood is the last person she’d expect—or even want— to come to her
rescue. From opposite ends of Webster High’s social hierarchy, their lives collide in one electrifying moment.
Christian isn’t the Goth
loner he pretends to be, he’s
a part Cherokee, All-American boy who wants to be a hero, Starr’s hero. Christian makes Starr forget that
the Organization is after her, but nothing will stop the Organization from
collecting their top recruit.
By the way, the spot for junior
class president just became available.
AMAZON
| GOODREADS
| KOBO | BARNES
& NOBLE | INDIEBOUND
A Starr
falls, and a family is found.
On the run from the Organization, Starr and Christian find safety on
the Qualla Boundary with their friends, Ben and Coda, but Starr needs answers.
She owes her dear dead friends, Sami and Jody, that much. She forms a team of
her own to fight the general and his recruits.
Di, a mutual friend and anti-everything is a no-brainer, plus her Taser
will come in handy. Frank, Starr’s BFF, will put his life on the line for her.
Ben and Coda, not to be outdone by Starr’s friends, also swear their
allegiance. Christian’s the only hold out. He knows what the Organization is
capable of. He has the beaten body to prove it, but when Starr wants something,
she gets it.
Now that the team’s together, everything should be perfect. Trouble is Starr
loves Christian but so does Di. And Frank, well, he’s never been very good at
hiding his love for Starr. Will his four-year long crush on her threaten the
safety of the team?
Life becomes tense on the Qualla Boundary, sparks fly, and the
Organization is about to smash in their door.
AMAZON | GOODREADS | KOBO | BARNES
& NOBLE | ITUNES | INDIEBOUND
A Starr gone. A
team betrayed.
You never know who your true friends are until a gun’s
pointed at you. One will take a bullet, and the other will pull the trigger.
Starr learned that lesson the hard way.
The perfect smile. A killer attitude. General Treadwell wanted
nothing more than to turn Starr Bishop into the ideal assassin, but she’s far
more valuable as Jessica Chamberlain, granddaughter and heir to Chamberlain
Chocolates. Luckily, he’s found two enthusiastic replacements. They lack Starr’s
intelligence, but no matter, they possess their own weapons of persuasion along
with a flair for the dramatic, and that’s never a bad thing.
Di, along with Christian, Frank, Ben and Coda, are determined to
keep Starr safe, but the depths of betrayal crack the very foundation of the
team. When Starr becomes a pawn in a game of power, money, and
manipulation, Di channels her WWSD (What Would Starr Do) to rally the team. She
owes her best friend that much. No... More.
AMAZON
| GOODREADS
| KOBO | ITUNES | BARNES
& NOBLE | INDIEBOUND
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