eARC Review: Scorched Souls by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef {Book 3 in Chosen Series}

Title: Scorched Souls
Author(s): Jeff Altabef; Erynn Altabef
Series: Chosen, book 3
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Genre: Scifi, YA thriller, paranormal, action
Source: received from authors, Novel Publicity, ebook, 13+



Synopsis:

Fate and destiny clash in the explosive, heart-pounding conclusion to the award-winning Chosen series.~~~~~Survival is not enough.Alliances will be formed.Loyalties tested.A choice made.My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone and I’m not just a Chosen, I’m the Alpha… and the fate of Earth rests in my hands.When I finally met the Prime Elector, he wasn’t anything like I expected. He was supposed to be our mortal enemy, a monster I needed to destroy to fulfill my destiny, yet he was nothing like that—he’s young, brilliant, and looks like an angel.Caught in the middle of a conflict between two ancient foes, which threatens to rip Earth apart, I must do what is right at all costs. To choose my fate, and Earth’s future, I will need to navigate a new path, form unlikely alliances, and solve ancient mysteries forgotten for centuries.Yet I cannot do it alone. Will the other Chosen follow me? Do I have the strength to make the right choice, or will the people of Earth be enslaved for all time?

My Thoughts:

It's finally here! The last book in the series, Chosen, by Jeff and Erynn Altabeff, a father daughter author team!! Scorched Souls is such a perfect title to this story.  It is literally the embodiment of how the characters feel; how I feel after reading this! 

I want to thank the authors for sending me the e-book, and also a huge shout out to Novel Publicity for thinking of me too. You guys rock!!

Now, I need you to remember that this is the last book in the series.  I try my best not to reveal spoilers, but sometimes when you are discussing the last book, that is impossible to do.  So if you haven't read the other two books then please run and grab those books before you even read this.  

Scorched Souls picks up around about where Brink of Dawn leaves off.  All of the Chosen are together, having survived a battle and losing their mentor, Stuart.  They are all a little shaken, but Juliet, our main protagonist, seems to be feeling the effects of her choices.  She still feels guilty for killing and she worries more and more about the other Chosen.  

There is also  a budding relationship between Juliet and Connor that seems to give her strength when she needs it most.  

I am grateful the authors did not make this into a love triangle with Troy.  I love Troy and I believe what he and Juliet shares transcends any physical love.  Troy is her best friend, her brother, maybe even her Jimny Cricket, or her conscience.  Their relationship is magical and I appreciate the fact that it wasn't lessened by turning it into a love triangle.  Thank you!

I believe this book is a literary masterpiece because of the utmost care that is put into creating characters that are believable, realistic, and lovable.  Yes, our main characters have powers and abilities that most of us don't, but that doesn't take away from us being able to relate to them.  It just shows us more of how human they become when they are forced to bear such responsibility.  

These people are wracked by fear, anxiety, guilt, and self-doubt; yet they overcome all of this to protect each other every day.  They also show us love, respect, honor, intelligence and bravery in every choice they make.  I honestly believe lots of teens today could learn from Juliet and her friends.

I know I have, even being a lot older than these characters.  

There is a quote that Juliet's grandfather tells her and I absolutely love it:

"The Wind Spirit isn't always good, and Coyote isn't always bad." 

Honestly, I believe that  sums up life perfectly.  Every person has both inside them.  You have to look at their actions and try to find their soul to see the "goodness" that you need to find.  Wonderful quote!

There are lots of concepts discussed through the book, including the American Indian culture, as well as the essence of souls, and forgiveness.  I think an important concept that gets addressed is death.  There are different aspects and beliefs out there and I like that the book caters to other beliefs as well.  And of course, I love how there are many common similarities to the Spirit World in different beliefs.  Great job!

There  is non-stop action in Scorched Souls, and we are traveling to England this time, Connor's hometown.  So we get to explore a little more about our resident good bad boy's past. 

I have always wanted to visit England and through the beautiful and detailed descriptions, I feel like I was right there with everyone.  

I feel like a great way to sum up Juliet and her progression is a quote from our friendly neighborhood hero, Spiderman:

"With great power, comes great responsbility."

Juliet continues to get stronger and stronger and struggles with controlling the power as it flows through her body.  She is faced with a difficult decision that could destroy everything she holds dear.  Even throughout all of this, though, she doesn't lose sight of her humanity.  She continues to grasp what it means to be human, to contain a soul.  

And of course as well as being introduced to some new characters, we are allowed a reunion with some returning characters from the other two books.   

I will warn you that the ending is a hard one.  We do lose people and you will shed some tears.  But I also understand the need for this ending and I think you will too.  

The Takeaway:

Scorched Souls is a fantastic ending to a wonderful series that combines aliens, faith, American Indian culture, and secret societies to give us a story that is wholly satisfying and soul embracing. 

Don't forget to check out the sponsored giveaway posted here. And remember to grab your own copy at:

Purchase:

Amazon

Connect with our Authors:

Jeff Altabef:

Twitter|Website| Facebook | Newsletter

Erynn Altabef:

Facebook|

Spotlight Post for Scorched Souls by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef: The final book

Scorched Souls in the Spotlight

Welcome to The Scorched Souls Tour!

Welcome to another exciting Spotlight Tour with Novel Publicity. Today, I’m sharing the spotlight for Scorched Souls, the final story in the Chosen Trilogy by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef. Don't forget to enter for your chance to win some great prizes including an Amazon Gift Card, a Paperback of Scorched Souls and a dream catcher!

GIVEAWAY

Here is an Exclusive Excerpt

I lean back in my chair; he’s dumped a bucket of ice water on my head, and the chill settles into my bones. “So the Chosen were set up to fail. You’ve planted a bomb on the planet to explode when the Deltites take over.”

He nods, a smug self-congratulatory grin on his face. “A Heart Stone to be precise. It was the only logical action to take.”

Bile burns my throat. “But billions of humans live on the planet.... They will all die. They have souls.”

Still, my father’s logic is undeniable.

 “Another complication has developed.” Two different human faces materialize above us and hover in front of the image of Earth. “The woman’s name is Summer Stone. She’s what humans call Native American, and is the mother to the Alpha among the Chosen. The man is not from her tribe. He’s what they call Irish.”

“So?” Why does he care?

“The calculations behind the Chosen were extremely advanced and fragile.” A third face

joins that of the others. “The Alpha’s name is Juliet Wildfire Stone. She was supposed to be born from a union between two members of the same Native American tribe. That genetic combination was the only way humans could produce a Chosen strong enough to be an Alpha and draw power from the other three. The secret order had specific rules regarding this, yet they failed to heed them. Fools! I can’t predict what the outcome will be of this particular pairing.”

I study the faces and notice that Juliet has inherited much of her physical appearance from her mother: the long straight black hair, the caramel colored eyes, brown skin and high cheekbones—all but her sharp nose, which resembles her father’s.

Her eyes seem to sparkle, but I shake my head. These are only holographic images. I can’t read too much into them or let my imagination cloud my reason. “I don’t understand the problem. Either she is powerful enough to be the Alpha, or she isn’t. Since you want them to fail, why do you care?”

My father bores his gaze into me, and an icy blade carves into my chest and twists. “There is a third possibility.”

My body turns weak. I’m lucky I’m already sitting. It’s unthinkable, but it’s the only thing that might frighten my father. “You’re afraid she’s an... abomination.”

“I can’t rule it out. Even if she is, she won’t be strong enough defeat an Elite, but we can’t take any chances. I want you to go to Earth. Make sure the Chosen fail and never find out about our plans. They can’t tell the Deltites about the Heart Stone I’ve planted on the planet. If they retrieve that crystal, all would be lost, and they could use its power against us.”

“Me.” I point to my chest. “Why me? Why not send someone else, someone who has already proven—”

“I trust no one else with this! You will succeed and return to Alpha, and when you return you will take the final test. This way we have an excuse for your... reluctance to finish the final exam.”

Two small discs fly into his hand, and he hands one to me. “This one is programmed with my brainwaves. You will use it when you have succeeded. I will keep the second here, so I can contact you... if need be.”

I sense the implied threat in his words and bow my head. “Yes, father. As you command.”

If pure evil exists in this universe, it’s sitting next to me, and I am this monster’s son. What does that make me?

I glance at the hologram of Earth above me. It’s a beautiful planet.

He’s sentenced billions of humans to die, but can I carry out the punishment?

About the Book

Fate and destiny clash in the explosive, heart-pounding conclusion to the award-winning Chosen series.

~~~~~

Survival is not enough.

Alliances will be formed.

Loyalties tested.

A choice made.

My name is Juliet Wildfire Stone and I’m not just a Chosen, I’m the Alpha… and the fate of Earth rests in my hands.

When I finally met the Prime Elector, he wasn’t anything like I expected. He was supposed to be our mortal enemy, a monster I needed to destroy to fulfill my destiny, yet he was nothing like that—he’s young, brilliant, and looks like an angel.

Caught in the middle of a conflict between two ancient foes, which threatens to rip Earth apart, I must do what is right at all costs. To choose my fate, and Earth’s future, I will need to navigate a new path, form unlikely alliances, and solve ancient mysteries forgotten for centuries.

Yet I cannot do it alone. Will the other Chosen follow me? Do I have the strength to make the right choice, or will the people of Earth be enslaved for all time?

About the Authors

Jeff Altabef is an award-winning author who lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and Charlie the dog. He spends time volunteering at the writing center in the local community college. After years of being accused of “telling stories,” he thought he would make it official. He writes in both the thriller and young adult genres.

Jeff is very happy and proud that his co-author for the Chosen Series is his teenaged daughter, Erynn Altabef. Wind Catcher, the first in the Chosen Series, has won the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for Coming of Age Novels, the 2015 Beverly Hills Book Award for Best YA Fiction and a Mom’s Choice Award.

As an avid Knicks fan, Jeff is prone to long periods of melancholy during hoops season. Jeff has a column on The Examiner focused on writing and a blog designed to encourage writing by those who like telling stories.

Connect with Jeff on his http://www.jeffaltabef.com">website,

https://www.facebook.com/Jeff-Altabef-Author-479282732198216/?fref=ts">Facebook, https://twitter.com/JeffAltabef">Twitter, http://www.jeffaltabef.com/newsletter/.

Erynn Altabef is an avid reader, dancer, and community activist. Some of her favorite authors are Veronica Roth, Joelle Charbonneau, and her dad! (That would be Jeff Altabef.) She just started her freshman year at Connecticut College is proud to be a camel!!!

Connect with Erynn on https://www.facebook.com/erynnaltabefauthor/">Facebook.

Book Review: Brink of Dawn by Jeff Altabef & Erynn Altabef

Title: Brink of Dawn
Series:  Chosen
Author(s): Jeff Altabef & Erynn Altabef
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Date of Publication: Nov. 28,2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

Follow-up to the multiple award-winning Wind Catcher
They walk among us as if they are gods.Only the Chosen know what they are.Only the Chosen know to fear them.And only the Chosen can defeat them.
Evolved Publishing presents the second book in the multiple award-winning Chosen series of young adult mystery thrillers, which feature an American Indian fantasy and supernatural theme, from the same author who brought you the award-winning thriller Shatter Point, and his daughter.
Juliet Wildfire Stone and her best friend, Troy Buckhorn, barely escaped their sleepy Arizona town alive. Now they’re speeding to New York City to find the three other Chosen. The Chosen must band together to face an ancient foe that threatens all humanity.
Yet Juliet doesn’t know whom to trust, and strange things are happening in the City.
The Chosen will be tested, their resolve questioned, and their flaws exposed. Each must decide whether he or she will fulfill their destiny—or run. To defeat the enemy, they must stop battling among themselves and overcome their own struggles.
Only one can lead them. Will Juliet embrace her powers in time?
Brink of Dawn picks up where the multiple-award-winning first book in the Chosen series, Wind Catcher, left off, but it can also be read as a stand-alone novel. Continue the adventure! And be sure to watch for the third and final installment in this exciting series, Scorched Souls, to launch in late 2016.
AWARDS FOR WIND CATCHER:WINNER: Readers' Favorite Awards -- Gold Medal 2015: Young Adult Coming-of-Age
WINNER: Mom's Choice Awards -- Silver Medal: Young Adult Books
WINNER: Beverly Hills Books Awards - 2015: Best Young Adult Fiction
WINNER: Awesome Indies -- Seal of Approval: "A treat to read."

My Thoughts:


Is it possible to actually fall  in love with something or someone more than you already are? 
Yep, absolutely possible.
And that is pretty much what has happened with this series, these authors, and the characters.  The Chosen series really does keep getting better and better.  
I love that  in the second installment, Brink of Dawn, we delve deeper into the prophecy and realize it isn't only central to Native American folklore; it gives us similarities and examples from the other major religions too.  So just like in the book where we have very different people from all walks of life coming together for a common purpose, we see that the beliefs have more in common than most people realize they do.  It is truly a breath of fresh air in this day and age.  
Our main character, Juliet, is still recovering from losing someone very close to her in the first book, Wind Catcher, as well as trying to reconcile herself with the fact she will have to commit crimes she may not be able to forgive herself for, even if it is to save the planet.  In this book, Juliet has to learn more about herself as she goes into a self-imposed exile internally.  
Troy is still there protecting his best friend, Juliet, and learning more about himself as well.  We see a tremendous growth in each of these characters as they learn their importance in each other's lives. 
We are also introduced to a few new characters that play pivotal roles in the progression of the story.  Connor, a young man who is very troubled and drinks to deal with the pains of the past, is an interesting character that I have to say I really enjoyed.  He proves the point "never judge a book by its cover" to be true time over time.
Akari is super fun!  I also love that we get to see Japanese mythos brought in and are able to find similarities between it and the other mythos in the story.  Akari is a strong and tough female but still has issues that she must learn to overcome.  She has panic attacks when she least needs to have them and I just find myself loving her so much because I , too, suffer from panic attacks.  I can definitely relate, even if I can't save the world from powerful aliens! 
Blake is also an enigma in his own right too.  At first glance, you would think he is a pompous and spoiled young man, but we soon come to find out he has the biggest heart you could imagine.  He, just like his counterparts, have some serious issues that he will have to work through to save the world.

I found myself reading Brink of Dawn nonstop and having a very hard time putting it down to do routine things like eat, sleep, or teach.  This is a story that has an exciting plot, relatable and lovable characters, and a theme to die for.  
I highly recommend this series to anyone that loves fantasy with a mixture of the different mythos (including Christianity) and has a scientific appeal to it too.

Connect with the Author:

Goodreads | Website| Twitter|

Get your own Copy:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Brink of Dawn Blog Tour: Excerpt & Giveaway hosted by Novel Publicity and Jeff Altabef, Erynn Altabef

Welcome to the Brink of Dawn Tour
hosted by Novel Publicity

Authors Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef

Follow-up to the multiple award-winning Wind Catcher:

They walk among us as if they are gods.

Only the Chosen know what they are.

Only the Chosen know to fear them.

And only the Chosen can defeat them.

Juliet Wildfire Stone and her best friend, Troy Buckhorn, barely escaped their sleepy Arizona town alive. Now they’re speeding to New York City to find the three other Chosen. The Chosen must band together to face an ancient foe that threatens all humanity.

Yet Juliet doesn’t know whom to trust, and strange things are happening in the City.

The Chosen will be tested, their resolve questioned, and their flaws exposed. Each must decide whether he or she will fulfill their destiny—or run. To defeat the enemy, they must stop battling among themselves and overcome their own struggles.

Only one can lead them. Will Juliet embrace her powers in time?

Brink of Dawn picks up where the multiple-award-winning first book in the Chosen series, Wind Catcher, left off, but it can also be read as a stand-alone novel. Continue the adventure! And be sure to watch for the third and final installment in this exciting series, Scorched Souls, to launch in late 2016.

About the Authors

Jeff Altabef is an award winning author who lives in New York with his wife, two daughters, and Charlie the dog. He spends time volunteering at the writing center in the local community college. After years of being accused of "telling stories," he thought he would make it official. He writes in both the thriller and young adult genres. Fourteenth Colony, a political thriller, was his debut novel. Evolved Publishing has published Jeff’s second thriller, Shatter Point, which won the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for Fall 2014 in the category of Best Thriller.




Jeff's first young adult novel, Wind Catcher: A Chosen Novel was published in March by Evolved Publishing. He's extremely excited that his daughter, Erynn Altabef, is his co-author on the Chosen Series. As an avid Knicks fan, Jeff is prone to long periods of melancholy during hoops season. Jeff has a column on The Examiner focused on writing and a blog designed to encourage writing by those that like telling stories.




As an avid Knicks fan, Jeff is prone to long periods of melancholy during hoops season. Jeff has a column on The Examiner focused on writing and a blog designed to encourage writing by those who like telling stories.

~Excerpt ~

Please enjoy this wonderful excerpt from the novel Brink of Dawn and be sure to enter the giveaway afterwards.  And when you get the chance, run out there and grab this book as well as the first one.  YOU will not be disappointed!

Amazon |

~Excerpt~

“You don’t have to do this, Jules.” Troy cocks his head to the side a little, the way he does when he’s worried about me.





The warm expression in his eyes melts my heart. What would I do without him?





He’s always looking out for me. I used to get into fights, but even when they were my fault, he’d always stand up for me. Now I need him more then ever. The fate of the world is at stake, and he’s still here beside me, standing up for me. He’ll die to protect me if he has to, but I don’t need him to protect me anymore. I need him close, to wrap his friendship around me like a blanket, to connect, to feel human.





Lately I’ve had a hard time feeling human without him.





“When was the last time I did something I didn’t want?” I smirk, but my words ring hollow, untrue—at least for me. I’m always stuck doing chores for other people, and now there’s an entire destiny to fulfill that’s been thrust upon me. I’d rather be normal and have nothing to do with this future, but we don’t get a chance to pick our destiny. At least I didn’t.





“What’s your mom going to say when she finds out?”





“Since when are you worried about my mom? You’ve been getting me in trouble since we were in kindergarten. Your name has been etched at the top of her Undesirable List since we were six. I’ve seen it. She keeps it posted on the refrigerator.”





Troy arches his eyebrows. “Hey, your mom loves me! I’m the other child she’s never had.”





“Are you serious?” I shoot him a half smile so he knows I’m joking.





Everybody loves Troy. Still, he’s not on the college track, and Mom wants me to go to one of the best colleges so I can make tons of money and become a big shot lawyer, like her or some other Master of the Universe that has no fun and works way too hard.





“Mom’s back home and we’re here. She doesn’t get a vote.”





He frowns. “It’s just that... once you do this, you can’t undo it. It’s forever.”





“Really. That’s the point.” I shove him lightly in the chest. I’m old enough to make up my own mind, but he’s just trying to protect me, so I can’t get too angry with him.





“What are your classmates at that fancy private school going to think when they find out?”





I pause for a second and look at him. I mean, really look at him, and peer past the handsome exterior: the almond-colored eyes, the chiseled chin, and the long raven hair that falls past his broad shoulders in a tight braid.





Beyond his confident shell, deep in his soul, he harbors doubts that trouble him—doubts he’ll never share with me. He’s making believe life will go back to normal once I fulfill this destiny—if I fulfill this destiny—but that’s not possible. Normal has become a bad joke, but I won’t shatter the illusion for him. He needs to sort events into a pattern he understands and imagine a time when life returns to what it was for us. It’s how he’s coping with the situation. I need to be strong for him. I can’t weaken his defenses, even if fears riddle my mind at every turn.





I straighten my back. “You know I don’t care about what they think at Bartens. I want to do this. I need to do it.” The wind kicks up, and the cool night air sweeps against my skin, leaving an army of goose bumps in its wake.





The almost full moon lights the cloudless sky. We inch toward the store and hesitate at the door. A red neon sign reads Lost Souls Tattoos in the front window. I take a deep breath and shove the door open, and a bell jingles above us.





No one’s in sight. Pictures of various tattoos line the walls of the small rectangular shop.





Toward the front left is a glass case with a cash register on top, and farther in the back are a massage table, some bright lights, and a chair with wheels on the legs.





A woman strolls from a back room. She’s in her twenties, gaunt with sharp features, smoky gray eyes, short hair, one nose ring, and small hoops that circle the edges of her ears. She holds a half-eaten wrap as she ambles toward us. “What do you guys want?”





She wears a loose gray T-shirt and tight jeans. Brightly colored tats cover her left arm, mostly eagles and hawks, and on the left side of her neck is a teardrop the size of my palm.





“I want a tattoo,” I say casually, as if ordering a cheeseburger at McDonalds.





She points to a sign taped on the cash register. “You’ve got to be eighteen for me to give you a tattoo, and there’s no way you’re eighteen.”





I’m almost sixteen. In the right light I could pass for eighteen, but she probably has a lot of experience with underage teenagers asking for tattoos. Still, I feel a lot older than eighteen and that should count for something.





“No one else is here. It’s late and this tattoo is really important to me.” My voice whines slightly at the end. I wish it hadn’t.





“Why?” She crosses her arms against her chest and arches her eyebrows upward. Two gold rings, one in each eyebrow, bob up and down.





An invisible door creaks open. I’ll only get one chance to persuade her to give me the ink. Her teardrop tattoo stands out and must be important. Grief dulls the sparkle in her eyes and shows in the muscles that tighten her jaw. She’ll relate to my story, if it’s truthful.





“I need to remember someone who died recently. He was really important to me.”





“Who?”





“My grandfather. I called him Sicheii, and he raised me like a father. He died to protect me.” Tears moisten my eyes. The tears are real, as Sicheii’s death is a fresh wound. People tell me the pain will get better with time, but they don’t know what they’re talking about. They mean well, but this hurt will always be fresh. He’ll always be gone, and it’s my fault. The woman’s face softens. “Just for the sake of discussion, what’re you looking for?”





Troy drops the satchel looped over his shoulder, smiles, lifts his T-shirt, and reveals his well-muscled chest and copper skin. Across his heart is a blue tat of two twisted arrows in a circle. Each arrow features different feathers and arrowheads.





The woman glides toward him and examines the ink on his chest. It’s beautiful in its simplicity and symmetry. She clearly admires it and perhaps wouldn’t mind trying to copy it.





Her eyes widen as she lingers over the details. “What does it mean?”





I hesitate. What am I going to tell her, the truth? That the symbol represents the ancient Order of the Twisted Arrows? Or that my grandfather unwittingly injected me at birth with alien DNA, which has changed me forever? Or that I’m one of four Chosen thrust into a battle for our world against a powerful enemy called from a different planet?





None of those explanations will get me a tattoo. She’d probably chase us from the store. I settle for something bland. “It represents an old society he belonged to. It meant everything to him. It was kind of a... club.”





At least it’s not a lie. She’s probably used to people lying to her and would catch a whiff of one right away.





She traces the circle with her finger. “Is it some weird Native American thing?”





“You could say that.” Native Americans use tattoos generally to identify with certain tribes or to honor their animal spirit guide. I’m half Native American on my mom’s side, and Sicheii was her father. I have long black hair, an oval face, coffee-colored eyes that are round but not quite round enough to be beautiful, and a long, pointy nose I inherited from my Irish father. I look Native American except for the ghastly nose.





The tattoo artist leaves Troy and slides in front of me. She stands close, no more than a foot away, and traces of vegetable wrap linger on her breath. I’m taller than the average person and stand at least three inches higher than she does.





She studies my face for a long moment; perhaps she’s trying to see if I’m serious. “What’s your name?”





“Juliet Wildfire Stone.” I never used to tell people my middle name. It embarrassed me. Now I realize it’s who I am, part of my identity.





“Wildfire, huh? I can see that. Where do you want the tattoo?”





I roll up the right sleeve of my T-shirt. “My shoulder would be great.”





She nods. “It’ll cost you two hundred cash, and you can’t tell anyone you got it here.”





“Done.” I hand her four fifty-dollar bills.

She locks the door to the shop, guides me to the table in the back, and places a pillow on one end. “You want it the same color?”





I jump on the table. “Yep.”





She gestures for Troy to come close. “Keep your shirt up. I want to get it just right.”





Two hours later, she wipes my arm with a towel. “That’s so weird.”





“What’s wrong?” My heart jumps. Did she just totally mess up my arm and leave me with some ugly circle thing?





Troy’s smiling, so how bad of a job could she have done?





“Usually it takes a couple weeks for the tat to heal. It always bleeds a little or gets puffy, but your arm already looks perfect, as if the ink had been on it forever.”





She hands me a mirror, and I smile. My tattoo is exactly the same as Troy’s. Exactly the same as Sicheii’s had been.





I shrug and hop from the table. “I’ve always been a fast healer.”





My DNA’s been changed, so my body can regenerate itself almost instantly. I didn’t know that before. It’s just another one of my abilities, as Sicheii would say. I’ve started to think of them as aberrations.





I have five so far: I can hear other people’s thoughts and read their emotions; I can possess animals for a short period of time; I have increased strength and speed; can move things with my mind; and heal instantly. There will probably be more, but they scare me. With each new one, I become less human.





“We’d better head out.”





I step toward the door, and she grabs my wrist. “Wait. I want to take a picture of the ink for the wall.”





“You can’t.” I yank my arm away from her.





“I won’t take your face. Just the ink.”





“Tough.” She scowls at me, but I ignore her and march outside.





When we leave the store a sharp pain stabs through my head, as though someone has taken an axe to my skull and cleaved it in two. A wild rage burns through me, and all of a sudden I’m inside a villa next to a piano.






Breath catches in my throat, all the strength saps from my body, and I plummet to the ground.

About the Prizes

We've got great prizes for this tour including signed paperbacks AND a 6 month subscription to Kindle Unlimited! You can enter multiple times & every day if you want!

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Blog Tour Review: Wind Catcher by Jeff and Erynn Altabef {Chosen book 1}

Welcome to my stop on this amazing blog tour for Wind Catcher by Jeff Altabef and Erynn Altabef.  A huge thanks goes to the Novel Publicity for putting this all together and allowing me to be a part of it!  

This fantasy adventure series is steeped in American Indian culture and so much more.

Winner: Mom's Choice Award -- Silver Metal

Winner: Awesome Indies -- Seal of Approval

Recipient: Readers' Favorite -- 5 Star Review

Juliet Wildfire Stone hears voices and sees visions, but she can't make out what they mean. Her eccentric grandfather tells her stories about the Great Wind Spirit and Coyote, but he might as well be speaking another language. None of it makes any sense.
When she stumbles upon a series of murders, she can't help but worry her grandfather might be involved. To discover the truth, Juliet must choose between her new life at an elite private school and her Native American heritage. Once she uncovers an ancient secret society formed over two hundred years ago to keep her safe, she starts to wonder whether there's some truth to those old stories her grandfather has been telling her.
All she wants is to be an average sixteen-year-old girl, but she has never been average-couldnever be average.
Betrayed by those she loves, she must decide whether to run or risk everything by fulfilling her destiny as the Chosen.

"Wind Catcher is a suspenseful, wonderfully written story that will capture your attention and hold it prisoner. A book that you won't want to escape from. Brava!" - Stephen Fisher, Readers' Favorite Book Reviews

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What an amazingly unique story!! I can honestly say I have never read anything like it! I loved the strong Native American themes running through it as well as the deep plunge into the rich culture then and now.

This story seemed to quench my thirst for knowledge of the more supernatural aspect to the Native American history and storytelling and I loved the creativity of the authors.

Even though this is, in essence, a young adult book, I was literally kept at the edge of my seat while reading. The plot has some very intense situations as well as mature threads running throughout the story. I love that our authors see our “young adult” crowd as more than older kids; they see them as very intelligent and can handle the more mature themes including murder and secret societies.

And come on, who doesn’t love secret societies?



I was also totally in love with the fact that Wind Catcher can’t be limited to just one genre. It has mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, and I personally think it has this “coming of age” sense to it too. Trust me, there is something for everyone in this awesome novel!

Besides being super interesting, the book is very well written. Both authors, Jeff and Erynn, pay such close attention to details, big and small, and the words flowed easily from the pages to the mental pictures in my mind.

The characters are complex and you can see definite changes as the story progresses for the main character. Juliet Stone starts out as being torn from fitting in at her private school and still trying to hold on to a place in her culture too. I enjoyed watching her as she learned more about her past, which helped her deal with her problems with the present.

I also enjoyed immensely how at the beginning neither Juliet or Troy was very trusting of those out of the Native American society, but as the story goes on and delves deeper into the mysteries of the secret society, we see more trust being developed. We see characters of different heritages putting their lives on the line for Juliet and others. I love to see this coming together of different peoples. Awesome!



Overall, I was insanely happy with the way Wind Catcher turned out! I was hooked from the very first pages and found myself reading this story in less than two days. I already know I am going to have a really hard time making it till November for the book two, but I will probably find myself re-reading book one to make the wait a little easy. I would definitely recommend Wind Catcher to anyone who is fascinated by the Native American history and the rich mythology too, especially when it is combined with a modern twist!

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