Breeder by K.B. Hoyle - Blog Tour Giveaway

Release Date: December 11 , 2014

Published by The Writers Coffee Shop

Genre: Fiction: Dystopian

ISBN e-book:   978-1-61213-292-1

Available from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and TWCS PH

 ~~SUMMARY~~

Everything about Seventeen’s life is perfect, from her genetics, to her home in Sanctuary, to her status as a Breeder in the Unified World Order. But all that changes when she meets a rogue Enforcer named Pax, who infiltrates Sanctuary and targets her for extraction from the Controlled Repopulation Program. Pax seems to know a little too much about her, and he plants dangerous doubts in her mind that accuse Sanctuary of hiding a dark secret, and that cause Seventeen to question everything she’s ever known.

When Seventeen’s life is threatened, she has little choice but to run away from Sanctuary with Pax. But for Breeders, contact with men is forbidden by law, and even the simple act of taking Pax’s hand is treason.

Mired in confusion, Seventeen travels with Pax to the outside world and takes the name Pria, the identity of her childhood. But she is far from certain she’s made the right decision when they discover an entire community of people who should no longer exist.

Seventeen, now Pria, is thrust into a position as a key player in a dangerous bid to bring down the Unified World Order. Meanwhile, Pax’s attachment to her and her growing attraction to him contribute to the ever-growing mysteries in her life.

Pria’s journey from a sheltered, naïve Breeder to a rebel agent requires not only external transformation but self-discovery. As her world crumbles, Pria must decide who she is and what she really believes.

But the truth comes at a cost, and uncovering it will require a greater treason than she could ever have imagined.

Goodreads * Add to Want To Read List

~~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~~

K.B. Hoyle is a bestselling author, a public speaker, a creative writing instructor, and a classical history teacher who uses her knowledge of the ancient and medieval worlds to pen speculative and fantasy tales for people of all ages. She has been married since the age of twenty to the love of her life, with whom she has four wonderful children. Find out more about her at www.kbhoyle.com.

 ~~CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR~~

Facebook * Website * Blog * Twitter

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Praise for Breeder

"Breeder was anything but a let down. The characters were extremely well written, making me able to empathize with Pria and Pax and the situation they find themselves in. I kept turning the pages because I just had to find out what happened to these people and, to my shock, finished the book in a day! "  - Angela  Goodreads Review

The Union by T.H. Hernandez - Blog Tour Excerpt

The Union Synopsis:

After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes – the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.

Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.

When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down. What she learns while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she’s ever known, from Bryce, to her family, and even the Union itself.

Now Evan must choose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy, resourceful survivor who believes she’s in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she’s ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.

Excerpt:

The sun continues its relentless assent, turning the air from blistering to scorching. My muscles scream in protest, cramping my arms and legs. My throat is drier than the ground I stumble across, my stomach has long since given up on food, and I’m scared as hell.

When I reach the top, I pull up in the shade of a large boulder and sit, resting my head on the rock. My eyes close and vivid images bombard me in that place between waking and dreaming.

A rattling sound startles me, and my eyes fly open, scanning the area. A beige snake with black markings is coiled a few feet from me with its head and long neck up.

Neither the snake nor I move as blood rushes through my ears at a manic pace. My brain is encouraging me to run at the same time instinct tells me not to. The snake and I watch each other and the only movement is the snake’s quivering tail.

I blow out a short breath. “I won’t beat you senseless with a rock if you don’t bite me. Deal?”

It doesn’t answer, only flicks that stupid tail the way my sisters’ cats do when they believe they’ve been annoyed beyond reason.

Fighting the urge to bolt, I scoot away from the snake on my hands and feet, crab-style, putting the boulder between us. When I’m on the other side, I scramble up, turn and run, my feet slipping on rocks as I go.

T.H. Hernandez Bio:

When not visiting the imaginary worlds inside my head, I live in San Diego, California, with one husband, three children, two cats, and one dog. In addition to my day job as a technical writer and editor, I write young adult fiction. I love the intensity of teen emotions and the way they're still figuring out life.

When I'm not writing, you can find me with my nose in a book, hanging out with family and friends, hiking, or knitting. I'm obsessed with Facebook, young adult novels, bad lip reading videos, pumpkin spice lattes, microbrewed beers, and the San Diego Chargers.

Buy Links:

Amazon | The Union Goodreads

Links:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Author Amazon Page

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Blog Tour Schedule:

November 18

Coffee Books & Art         Guest Post

101 Ways to Make Love to a Spoon        Excerpt

Her Book Thoughts                       Review

QueenMarkedBookOblivion       Review

Gaga Over Books                           Review

November 19

KindleObsessed                            Review

Reading Addict                Excerpt

Dirty Laundry Review     Review

Siren's Secret Spot          Excerpt

Sincerely, Annie                             Interview

November 20

mustreadbooksordie     Excerpt

Coffee Books & Art         Guest Post

The Readers Corner       Review

November 21

bookshores                      Review

Typical Distractions        Review

Word to Dreams                           Review

November 22

JeanzBookReadNReview             Dreamcast

Bibliophile Mystery                       Excerpt

SnoopyDoo's Book Reviews        Excerpt

People Like Books           Review

November 23

One Last Page Book Blog             Excerpt

Star-Crossed Book Blog               Review

The Caffeinated Booknerd          Excerpt

November 24

Book Reader Chronicles                             Review

Reading Away  The Days             Playlist

November 25

Addicted Souls                Review

Random Redheaded Ramblings Review

November 26

WiLoveBooks                   Excerpt

Tara! Let's Be Happy      Review

November 27

bookshelf dreaming       Review

Contagious Reads           Review

November 28

Ceres books world         Review

Books Need TLC                             Playlist

November 29

Behind Closed Covers    Review

Vera is Reading               Excerpt

November 30

LuLo Fangirl       Review

Book Lovin' Mamas        Review

December 1

Lis les Livres                     Excerpt

Mixed Emotions Book Blog         Interview

Sit Back And Get Cozy    Review

December 2

StarAngels Reviews        Review

InkBerry Books Review

Mixed Emotions Book Blog         Excerpt

Review: Ordinance 93 by L. Fabry

Description:
With the blessing of the 55th President of the United States, the newly formed Office of Familial Equality promises to end all the nation’s problems including poverty and illness with the Family Protection Act. The only catch is all pregnancies must be registered and approved.

All eyes turn to the first person to break the law, Justin Winters, an electrician suddenly turned subject of national attention. Joining him in the escape are the women known only as Spring, Summer, and Fall as they work together to run from the bureaucracy and national spotlight that pursues them.

Once the secretary of the OFE learns Winters has tested positive for causing multiple unregistered pregnancies, he comes after him full force, as the future of the Act rests upon if and how Winters and the women are brought in. Their successful defiance would lead to more defectors, their capture providing an opportunity to make an example of them all.

With little more than the clothes on their backs, the four set off on a quest for freedom and to keep the identity of the mother a secret. Most of all, they are running from an ordinance in the law which threatens what they hold most dear.

My Thoughts:
An interesting look at what happens with too much government control. A new law goes into effect requiring all pregnancies to be registered and approved and four people attempt to escape in order to get around it. It is an interesting story with a bit of mystery as you try to piece together the puzzle of why these people decided to break the law and you get to know them. There is also suspense as the government attempts to track them down to make an example of them. We see a futuristic society with many rules and everything is regulated. This is an enjoyable read that makes you think.


My Rating: ****
Steam Factor: !

My Source: author


Where to get it:

Amazon | B&N


Where to find the author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest | Google+

Book Release Blast: Uprising by Allana Kephart and Melissa Simmons

Uprising

The Dolan Prophecies Series Book #1

By- Allana Kephart & Melissa Simmons

Publication Date- April 18th, 2014

Genre- New Adult Dystopian 

The year 2102--the world as it was no longer exists. Ravaged by nuclear war and polluted almost to the point of no return, Earth was dying. When the faeries came and brought their healing magic, humanity was grateful at first. Centuries of damage repaired in just five years, and during the course of that rehabilitation, they invaded. Quietly overthrown, the human race is now enslaved. The majority doesn’t even realize they have no free will. Branded, herded and kept only to further the agendas of the Fae Courts, humanity could be facing extinction.  

But a resistance is coming…  

Fianna Dolan has spent her entire young life preparing herself for an uprising against the Fae. One scorching summer night Fi's parents leave and never return. Thrust into a position of power she never expected, Fi struggles with her new position and the responsibility it entails. When a secretive fae man known only as Flint breaches the city’s defenses claiming he can help, Fi begins to doubt everything she's ever considered truth. As betrayals and deception come to light, will Fi want the answers she’s been seeking, or will trusting Flint lead to her destruction?

   

Review: The Word Exchange by Alena Graedon

Description:

A dystopian novel for the digital age, The Word Exchange offers an inventive, suspenseful, and decidedly original vision of the dangers of technology and of the enduring power of the printed word.

In the not-so-distant future, the forecasted “death of print” has become a reality. Bookstores, libraries, newspapers, and magazines are things of the past, and we spend our time glued to handheld devices called Memes that not only keep us in constant communication but also have become so intuitive that they hail us cabs before we leave our offices, order takeout at the first growl of a hungry stomach, and even create and sell language itself in a marketplace called the Word Exchange.

Anana Johnson works with her father, Doug, at the North American Dictionary of the English Language (NADEL), where Doug is hard at work on the last edition that will ever be printed. Doug is a staunchly anti-Meme, anti-tech intellectual who fondly remembers the days when people used email (everything now is text or videoconference) to communicate—or even actually spoke to one another, for that matter. One evening, Doug disappears from the NADEL offices, leaving a single written clue: ALICE. It’s a code word he devised to signal if he ever fell into harm’s way. And thus begins Anana’s journey down the proverbial rabbit hole . . .

Joined by Bart, her bookish NADEL colleague, Anana’s search for Doug will take her into dark basements and subterranean passageways; the stacks and reading rooms of the Mercantile Library; and secret meetings of the underground resistance, the Diachronic Society. As Anana penetrates the mystery of her father’s disappearance and a pandemic of decaying language called “word flu” spreads, The Word Exchange becomes a cautionary tale that is at once a technological thriller and a meditation on the high cultural costs of digital technology.

My Thoughts:
I thought the concept for this book was intriguing. Paper books are basically obsolete. People are dependent on their hand-held devices and even pay for the definitions to words. Anana works at the Dictionary with her father Doug but he is suddenly missing and she is pulled into a mystery. Language lovers will appreciate this story. It was a big slow to start, though and jumped around quite a bit and became a little tough to follow at times. 

The footnotes were frustrating. They were bits of information that could have been put into the story or left out completely. The navigation back and forth didn't work at all on my phone and was hit-and-miss on my iPad. Overall it was an interesting story with some unexpected twists and kept me reading.

My Rating: ****
*Notes: Language

My Source: Netgalley

Where to get it:


Where to find the author:
Website
Random House
Facebook
Amazon
Goodreads

Blog Tour Review: Saving Raine by Frederick Lee Brooke

Description:

Matt, Raine went to California because her parents thought it was safe. It’s not. You’ve got to get her out as soon as possible. She could die, Matt.

When 19-year-old Matt Carney gets a cryptic message from his father telling him to go to California and save his girlfriend, Raine, he doesn't hesitate—he grabs his AK-47, revs up his blue pickup, and gets ready to make the 2,300-mile roadtrip.

But cross-country travel in 2021 isn't easy—or, sometimes, even possible. The U.S. has become a near-military state: 17,000 checkpoints severely restrict interstate movement, Predator drones target innocent civilians without cause, and explosions rock cities daily. Matt and his stepbrother, Benjy, face deadly attacks from a corrupt government, ruthless local law enforcement, and bloodthirsty terrorist groups as they embark on their trek. They're about to find out that their trip is much more than a private journey, and their success could change the face of the country—forever.

Can Matt and Benjy outrun the drone missiles raining down on their heads? Can they avoid assassination by government officials hell-bent on taking over what little is left of the country? Can they outsmart the deadly schemes set in motion against them?

Break the rules.

Save the girl.

He only gets one chance before she's gone forever.

My Thoughts:

This is the first book of a new series and sets up an interesting dystopian near-future that is scarily realistic.  After Matt's father is arrested, he gets a message that he needs to get across the country to save his long-distance girlfriend. Getting there is not as easy as it sounds. There is plenty of action and suspense and the story moves right along, although the storyline is split between several different characters' points of view. I found that a bit distracting at times because I forgot who was supposed to be the main character and what they were trying to accomplish. There are a lot of loose threads at the end to be continued in the next book. 

My Rating: ****
Steam Factor: !!
*Notes: Language, violence, some graphic parts.

My Source: blog tour

Where to get it:
Amazon (print and ebook)

Barnes & Noble (ebook only)

Smashwords (all ebook formats)

About the author:

Frederick Lee Brooke launched the Annie Ogden Mystery Series in 2011 with Doing Max Vinyl and following with Zombie Candy in 2012, a book that is neither about zombies nor sweets. The third mystery in the series, Collateral Damage, appeared in 2013.

Saving Raine, the first book in Fred’s entirely new series, The Drone Wars, appeared in December, 2013.

A resident of Switzerland, Fred has worked as a teacher, language school manager and school owner. He has three boys and two cats and recently had to learn how to operate both washing machine and dryer. He makes frequent trips back to his native Chicago.

When not writing or doing the washing, Fred can be found walking along the banks of the Rhine River, sitting in a local cafe, or visiting all the local pubs in search of his lost umbrella.

Where to find the author:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

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Review: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Description:
The war begins...

Darrow is a Helldiver, one of a thousand men and women who live in the vast caves beneath the surface of Mars. Generations of Helldivers have spent their lives toiling to mine the precious elements that will allow the planet to be terraformed. Just knowing that one day people will be able to walk the surface of the planet is enough to justify their sacrifice. The Earth is dying, and Darrow and his people are the only hope humanity has left.

Until the day Darrow learns that it is all a lie. Mars is habitable - and indeed has been inhabited for generations by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. The Golds regard Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

With the help of a mysterious group of rebels, Darrow disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside.

But the command school is a battlefield. And Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda..

My Thoughts:
Wow. Just wow. This book had me hooked from the very beginning: "I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war." Dark, gritty, intense dystopian sci-fi. Society is divided up into different social classes. Your place in society is decided by your color. Darrow is Red, the lowest of the low. But he has his family and he is fine with the way things are until his wife prompts him to do more. He soon learns that everything he knows is a lie. Brace yourself because you will get attached to characters who die, loyalties shift, and things are never as they seem. The unexpected always happens and it is just so good. More mature fans of Hunger Games and Divergent will love this. I can see this one as a movie as well. I will be waiting impatiently for the next book.

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !!
*Notes: Violence, language, rape (though not described)

My Source: NetGalley

Where to get it: 

B&N

Where to find the author:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Allegiant (Divergent #3) by Veronica Roth

Description: 
One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

My Thoughts:
Going to try to keep this spoiler-free as usual, but it is so hard for this one. I do wish I had done a quick re-read of the first two so that I had the details fresh in my mind. This book jumps right in where the last left off and it had been a while since I had read it.

I was not emotionally prepared for this book. I've had some time now to process and come to terms with it.

So by now I'm sure you know that this book doesn't end the way most of us expected, wanted, and/or hoped. That's okay. I'm always happy when an author stays true to their vision of a story and doesn't cave to the pressure of their fans. Sometimes an author is like a parent. They give us what we need instead of what we want. We end up getting what's good for us, even if we get mad about it.

This is a very powerful story and it was worth reading, even if it took me a few days to recover. If you haven't read it yet but plan to, just be prepared and be brave.


My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !


My Source: purchased

Where to get it:



Where to find the author:
Website
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth


Description:
One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

My Thoughts:
If you have read my review of Divergent, then you know I loved it. Insurgent, as the next book in the trilogy, did not disappoint. The story starts an hour after Divergent ended. Tris and company are dealing with the aftermath of those events and trying to figure out what to do now. This is a war situation and it is not pretty. People die, and people get betrayed, yet the story manages to be light-hearted at times as well. This book has danger, betrayal, friendship, romance, tear-worthy moments and laugh-out-loud moments. The ending promises good things to come in the next book. Counting down to Fall 2013 for #3!

My Rating: *****
Steam Factor: !

Where to get it:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Google Books


Where to find the author:
Veronica Roth
Divergent Trilogy
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