EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
The Game Begins
(R. Caine High School Book 1)
(R. Caine High School Book 1)
by Victoria Danann
The Game Begins is the first book in the new R. Caine High School series by Victoria Danann. Get your FREE copy to 6 March. This book blitz and giveaway is brought to you by Xpresso Book Tours.
Description
New York Times bestselling author, Victoria Danann dishes up a stunning new teen/young adult series like nothing else.
When it came to the attention of the old ones that their creations, the Earth gods, had been playing games at the expense of humankind for millennia, they put a stop to it. But the rebellious gods were far too addicted to their games to give them up. After several summit meetings, they voted to use their own children as players and locate the playing field in the most treacherous environment in the known universe. High school.
To make it even more interesting, they would strip their children of their memories and withhold the rules of the game. The players believed they were ordinary kids until they were transferred to R. Caine High School. When odd things begin to happen, the players gradually realize they have special gifts or attributes. But that doesn’t mean they can’t die.
Note: Suitable for most teen and young adult readers.
Excerpt
My name is Ever Moore.
I know. It makes me wince every time I say it. When I’m eighteen, I plan to have it legally changed to something that doesn’t make people laugh. But right now I’m stuck.
My dad thinks puns are the highest form of humor. He calls it ‘word play’. That’s right. I’m the spawn of nerds. My dad creates video games. My mother is an ethics professor at UCLA who thinks the battle between good and evil begins at home.
If you want to know just how weird it can get at the Thanksgiving table, I can go one better. My grandfather was a big deal rock star in the seventies. You wouldn’t know the name of the band. So there’s no point in name dropping. After a visit, he exits with a two-finger peace salute like all the other well-adjusted hippie grandparents, but he doesn’t say, “Peace.”
He says, “Rock steady.”
Ugh!
My family is big on manners. They’re too strict to let me say what I think, especially about Buzz’s love life. My grandfather doesn’t want to be called Grandpa or Grandad or Gramps or anything close to normal. Oh no. He wants to be called ‘Buzz’. I have no idea why. That is not his name.
Anyway, the best protest I can mount is rolling my eyes. I keep trying to get his attention and roll my eyes back further into my head when he does the ‘rock steady’ thing, but he will not be deterred.
Anyway I was leading a completely typical and deliciously angsty teenage life in Austin, Texas when my parents were suddenly offered jobs in the LA area at the same time. It was weird, but weird is part of my normal. Always has been.
Since my grandad, the rocker, still lives in LA with the latest girlfriend who’s barely legal - she’s two years older than I am and her name is Charmin, yes, like the toilet paper. If that was my name, I’d have the decency to go by something like Charm, which would really be making lemonade from lemmons. But not Charmin. I don’t think she’s bright enough to understand what people are thinking whenever they say her name. Anyway, with the jobs and the fact that ‘Buzz’ lives there, moving seemed like a good idea.
To them.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
"LOVED IT. I love mythology, but not as much as I loved this book. It's different than any book I've ever read." ~ Ethan
"Victoria Danann has entered the YA world and she does it brilliantly. She truly captures the voice of a teenager and the stress of high school. This is the start of a fascinating series." ~ Ellen
"Victoria Danann has knocked it out of the park with her first foray into writing young adult." ~ Janine D.
"Ms. Danann once again has created characters and settings that draw the reader into the story so you feel as if you are there. The most treacherous setting you can imagine-high school, strange going-ons, and secrets-lots of secrets. While the audience for the book (and the series) is tweens and teens, adults will also enjoy it! Read it along with your young adult!" ~ AuntR
"My most favorite subject, great characters. I feel like I'm on a rollercoaster going up, with this book leading this thrill of a ride! Victoria enthralled me and now I want more, to read her books is to be inside them. Great for all ages young adult and above, this 5 star book is a must read. How she ties this story together, Ms. Victoria, you are a Genius!!" ~ jo
About the Author
New York Times bestselling author of seventeen romances including paranormal, scifi, fantasy, contemporary, and teen. Victoria's Knights of Black Swan series won Best Paranormal Romance Series and Paranormal Romance Novel of the Year the past four years in a row. This past year, two of her series took the top two places and two of her books took first and second place in Paranormal Romance of the Year category - Reviewers Choice Awards, The Paranormal Romance Guild.
Victoria is co-host of the popular Romance Between the Pages podcast.
The rich characterizations come from being a lifelong student of behavior, casually, and a serious student of behavior academically. She has also studied comparative religion, myths, and Dark Ages history.
Victoria lives in The Woodlands, Texas, with her husband and a very smart, mostly black German Shepherd dog.
Giveaway
Enter the blitz-wide giveaway for a chance to win one of ten signed copies of The Game Begins by Victoria Danann (US/Canada only).
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