Friday, October 31, 2014

"Stormfront" by K. R. Conway

EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Stormfront
(Undertow Book 2)
by K. R. Conway


Stormfront is the second book in K. R. Conway's Undertow series. Also available: Undertow.


Stormfront is currently on tour with YA Bound Book Tours. The tour stops here today for an excerpt and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.


Description
Not long ago Eila Walker’s choices were limited: death by a bullet to the head, or at the hands of her beloved bodyguard, Raef. Now, five weeks after Raef triggered her power and she nearly leveled a historic mansion, Eila is dealing with the fall-out of her decisions. While she doesn’t remember dying in the arms of the soul thief who loves her, she knows that Raef remembers everything about the night he nearly killed her.
Now on the mend and attempting to keep one step ahead of the FBI, Eila and her team of misfits are desperate for a bit of normal. Eila is trying to navigate high school, while her BFF Ana is cautiously hanging with past-boyfriend and soul thief, Kian. Shape-shifter, MJ, is trying not to piss off his mother, while Raef is coping with his fears that Eila will never be safe.
But just as “normal” seems within their grasp, a powerfully built newcomer arrives. Raef knows the scarred man as a Blacklist Dealer – a soul thief, who peddles the names of humans who deserve to die. Eila, however, knows him as the protective hunter from the woods, who she nicknames Thor. Before long, Raef and Eila realize they’ve met the same killer, and he has one hell of a story to tell the five friends ... if Raef doesn’t murder him first.

Excerpt
From Raef’s POV
Standing in front of a long mirror in a pair of pinstriped PJs and a cropped t-shirt was Eila, methodically dragging a comb though her wet hair, separating her mane into rail-straight lines. She concentrated on her reflection, making sure not to miss a single ribbon of hair.
As I watched her, I was hit with a desperate desire to touch her and feel her coffee black hair stream through my fingers, leaving a damp, cold trail in its wake. I wanted to run my hand down the side of her neck, tracing the edge of her collarbone that rolled so perfectly under her delicate skin.
When she had been injured, I had come in and out of this room with things she needed, or simply sat and kept her company when Mae allowed. Back then I was filled with a brutal longing to see her well and on her feet again. Now, however, I was hit with a different kind of longing entirely.
She glanced over at me, and I noticed the t-shirt stuck to her shoulder because of a wet blotch from her hair. I envied the blotch ... and the fabric.
“Are you planning on standing in the doorway like a stalker, or are ya coming in?” she asked, finally snapping me out of my trance. I moved into the room, my eyes drifting over Eila’s space as she began braiding her hair.

Interview with the Author


Featured Review
This series must be read in order. The first book is Undertow. This is the second book.
Eila found it disconcerting to find out she wasn't human. Or at least not all human that is. But to find out that not ONLY is she Lunaterran but Mortis as well?! There are no words! She. Should. Not. Exist. Ever! Not only does she not know how to control her power... No one has ever been like her in the history of the world. What new surprises will her hybrid genetics bring her? Are her powers even controllable? How is she still alive even? With the FBI poking around in the incident at the Breakers she may not even live long enough to find out anything about her heredity at all!
Raef is a man in love. He is torn up with guilt for his part in Eila's near death experience (let's face it... She WAS dead but the miraculously brought her back to life with modern medicine) and the fact that he failed to keep her safe from the traitor in their midst in the first place. He failed his friend Elizabeth but he refuses to fail her great grand daughter! Will Race ever stop blaming himself and ditch the paranoia patrol? Will they ever have anything even remotely approaching a normal life?
The supporting characters just keep getting better with each book! The quest to unlock and read the diary while discerning who is or is not on the proper side of the fight is almost all encompassing. Especially as new people arrive and others show conflicting natures. MJ, Anna, Christian and Kian almost deserve their own books! And the newcomers just add more intrigue and doubt into the mix making this one of the most thought provoking and engrossing reads I've had in a long time!
This amazing sequel starts out slow but stick with it! Believe me the exposition is truly needed especially as the action and mystery entwine crazily with the adventure that quickly picks up speed and drags you to the end wondering what happened and where all the time went! This book ate me :) This book is well worth the effort of getting through Eila's recovery and the exposition phase! Stick with is and you will be well rewarded! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!!!
This series is suitable for (very) mature young adult through adult readers due to graphic violence and some sexual content (though no actual sex scenes)

From the Author
I have been a journalist for 15 years and serve on the Board of Directors for the Cape Cod Writers Center. I also drive a 16-ton school bus because I am ENTIRELY NUTS.
In addition to working jobs that should come with a warning label , I hold a BA in Psychos (Forensic Psych), torment the tourists about Jaws, and occasionally jump from the Town Neck bridge in an attempt to reclaim my youth.
I live on Cape Cod with two smallish humans who apparently are my kids, my fishing-obsessed husband, two canines (adept at both flatulence and snoring), and a cage-defiant lovebird that sleeps in a miniature tent. Nope - that's not a type-o. The bird is quite the indoor camper.

Giveaway
Enter the tour-wide giveaway for a chance to win some great prizes.

Links