Showing posts with label final book. Show all posts
Showing posts with label final book. Show all posts

Monday, October 24, 2016

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!



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,


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!!!



Monday, August 4, 2014

Book Review: Ruin and Rising {Book 3: The Grisha Trilogy} by Leigh Bardugo

Title: Ruin and Rising
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Series: Book 3 The Grisha
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Date of Publication: June 17, 2014
Source: bought, hardcover, 417 pages
Genre: fantasy, young adult, romance


Goodreads Summary:
The capital has fallen.
The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.
Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.
Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.
Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

 My Thoughts:

Anyone remember the song from Boys II Men about saying goodbye?  Well, I did shed a few tears with this one.  I really didn't want to say goodbye to Alina, Mal, Nicholai, hell I kinda miss the Darkling too!  Who wouldn't?    This series wrapped its magical arms around me and just squeezed my heart so much that it hurt to say goodbye to these characters.

I feel like everyone had grown so much through the three books and become what the world needed them to be, even if it left us disappointed for the outcome.  I felt like this book was so much more than just a story about right and wrong, good and evil.  The Darkling was charismatic; charming even while he was committing the most despicable acts throughout the book.  I seen there was so much more to him than meets the eye and knew he was pushed in this direction.  That isn't an excuse for him but I enjoyed learning more about him as a child, just so I could understand his brand of evil better.

I believe Alina respected him at first and of course she did have a slight crush on him { who wouldn't?} but there was more to it than that.  She felt connected to his emotions because some of them were her own. So I agree with the ending and I am glad that it was finished the way it was.  Compassion is a strong force just as much as hate and love is.

Bardugo put us through some serious tear jerking moments in the final book.  Yes, there was people that were lost that I didn't want to lose but again, it shaped the outcome in a way that fit for every character.  Leigh Bardugo is a wonderful writer who makes me question my very sanity as I read her stories.  She gives us insight into the innermost feelings of some of the darkest characters ever and we find ourselves understanding some of their motives and giving in to some pity for these people.  She shows us that we can't just group everyone into the "good" category and the "bad" category because basically people have layers.  I wonder if our author was fan of Shrek?

I really believe that Ruin and Rising did a good job of bringing the series to a close-even if it hurt like hell and it wasn't what I was expecting for Alina.  After everything that happened, the ending seemed so simple.  But  maybe that was the complexity of it; that no one was expecting it.  We were shocked right along with all of the characters and it was beautiful.

I cried for this book and yet my tears wasn't all sad.  I was happy for these people {yes I know they are not real, only in my heart } and I felt connected to them and genuinely vested in their lives.

I also loved reading the Darkling's short story that I got in the back of my book { Barnes & Noble edition}.  I loved that it was at the end of the story; of the series and it took us inside the Darkling before he became the terror everyone knew.  He was  just a boy and I loved seeing him in this fragile way.

All in all, I was extremely happy with the third and final book in The Grisha Series, Ruin and Rising.  It captured the entire thrill of the series again and everything seemed to come full circle in a way that was beautiful and sad and destined.
I have to give it five hearts!  Even many more for the love I felt for this series!





Get your own copy at:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |

Connect with Leigh Bardugo:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter |

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