BooksChatter: ☀☄ The Paladins: The Artisans [2]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for The Paladins, a Young Adult Epic Fantasy Adventure by Julie Reece (3 May 2016, Month9Books, 278 pages).

This is the second book in The Artisans series.

Don't miss our interview with author Julie Reece.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below. Read the first five chapters with Amazon Look Inside.

Author Julie Reece will be awarding a one digital copy of the Paladins to five randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Teaser | The Series | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

The Artisan curse is broken. Souls trapped in a mysterious otherworld called The Void are finally released. Now, Raven Weathersby, Gideon Maddox, and Cole Wynter can finally move on with their lives...or so they thought. If the ancient magic is truly dead, then why are mystical fires plaguing Gideon at every turn? What accounts for Raven’s frightening visions of her dead mother? And who is the beautiful, tortured girl haunting Cole’s dreams?

Last year, a group of lonely teens sacrificed secrets, battled the supernatural, and faced their own demons to set one another free. Yet six months later, the heart of evil still beats within The Void. And the trio is forced to face the horrific truth: that their only way out is to go back in.

The Paladins completes this eerie YA Southern Gothic where loyalties are tested, love is challenged, and evil seeks them on the ultimate battlegrounds—in their minds, their souls, and their hearts.

Teaser: Excerpt

     I prop my feet on the couch while Raven leans over the hearth. Her sleek black hair swings forward picking up a red hue from the hot coals below. The low burning flame reflects in her eyes, and the sight speeds my pulse.
     “Oh, ouch!” She blows out the flame charring her marshmallow and plucks it from the prongs.
     I’m off the couch in a blink. “Careful, you’ll burn yourself.” Taking her hand in mine, I guide the scorched sugar to my lips and devour the whole thing.
     “Gideon! That one’s ruined.”
     I release her fingers and laugh through the mush. “But I wuv the burnf wons.”
     “You do?” Her little frown destroys me.
     “Mm-hm.”
     Her glaze flits to the fire and back. “Here’s an idea. Don’t go to New York, and I’ll make you as many charred s’mores as you can eat.”
     I gulp the last of my marshmallow, confused by her request. “I’d love to, but you know I can’t.” Truth is, I’d avoided half a dozen meetings in the last two months. Art Windsor, my father’s longtime business associate, called to warn me tomorrow’s meeting was mandatory.
     She slides her empty skewer onto the mantle. “I’m sure it’s stupid paranoia, but I have a bad feeling about this trip.”
     My head lowers. “Everything’s fine.” Our lips are warm and sticky with sugar. My hands drop to her hips, and though I meant to distract her, it’s my pulse that’s revving. “I’ll be back in two days, three at most. Deal?”
     When I slide my arms around her, the contact energizes me. My heart pounds harder. Her lips part, and I deepen the kiss, making sure she understands what she means to me, what she does to me. My fingers dig into the fabric of her blouse. Her answering whimper drives me half-crazy with wanting. I never knew it could be like this with anyone. Then I realize, it wouldn’t be like this with anyone but her.
     Thought goes up in smoke, replaced by need, yet I can’t help but notice the increasing heat from the hearth. The warmth becomes uncomfortable, then unbearable.
     Breaking the kiss, Raven balks at our little fire. Only it’s not so little anymore. The color’s wrong. Blue flame licks the interior brick walls, flaring up the chimney. My hearing sharpens, detecting an odd hum coming from the grate.
     I step between Raven and the fire, but it seems I’ve overreacted, because the blaze lessens. Colors revert from blue to a natural orange and the flares shrink to their former size in seconds.
     Raven presses a cheek to my shoulder, and I draw her under my arm.
     “Gideon—?”
     “It’s nothing,” I say, too quickly. “Probably some old tree sap caught fire.” But if that’s true, why hold her so close?

The Paladins
Available NOW!

The Series: The Artisans

Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.

Artisans [1]

They say death can be beautiful. But after the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Raven Weathersby gives up her dream of becoming a fashion designer, barely surviving life in the South Carolina lowlands.

To make ends meet, Raven works after school as a seamstress creating stunning works of fashion that often rival the great names of the day.

Instead of making things easier on the high school senior, her stepdad's drinking leads to a run in with the highly reclusive heir to the Maddox family fortune, Gideon Maddox.

But Raven's stepdad's drying out and in no condition to attend the meeting with Maddox. So Raven volunteers to take his place and offers to repay the debt in order to keep the only father she's ever known out of jail, or worse.

Gideon Maddox agrees, outlining an outrageous demand: Raven must live in his home for a year while she designs for Maddox Industries' clothing line, signing over her creative rights.

Her handsome young captor is arrogant and infuriating to the nth degree, and Raven can't imagine working for him, let alone sharing the same space for more than five minutes.

But nothing is ever as it seems. Is Gideon Maddox the monster the world believes him to be? And can he stand to let the young seamstress see him as he really is? [Published 12 May 2015, 292 pages]

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About the Author

Born in Ohio, I lived next to my grandfather’s horse farm until the fourth grade. Summers were about riding, fishing and make-believe, while winter brought sledding and ice-skating on frozen ponds. Most of life was magical, but not all.

I struggled with multiple learning disabilities, did not excel in school. I spent much of my time looking out windows and daydreaming. In the fourth grade (with the help of one very nice teacher) I fought dyslexia for my right to read, like a prince fights a dragon in order to free the princess locked in a tower, and I won.

Afterwards, I read like a fiend. I invented stories where I could be the princess… or a gifted heroine from another world who kicked bad guy butt to win the heart of a charismatic hero. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that? Later, I moved to Florida where I continued to fantasize about superpowers and monsters, fabricating stories (my mother called it lying) and sharing them with my friends.

Then I thought I’d write one down…

Hooked, I’ve been writing ever since. I write historical, contemporary, urban fantasy, adventure, and young adult romances. I love strong heroines, sweeping tales of mystery and epic adventure… which must include a really hot guy. My writing is proof you can work hard to overcome any obstacle. Don’t give up. I say, if you write, write on!

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