ARC Review plus Giveaway: BROKEN BLOOD (Dirty Blood #5) by Heather Hildenbrand

How do you defeat an enemy that knows your every thought … even as you think it? 


BROKEN BLOOD
(Dirty Blood #5)
by Heather Hildenbrand

I thought watching my Werewolf boyfriend get arrested for murder was the worst experience of my life. But then I was knocked out and dragged off to a cell of my own by the very people who were supposed to protect me from danger.  I thought being held prisoner in solitary confinement for weeks on end was the worst experience of my life. But then a visitor came, and I realized I’d been wrong all along. There are worse things than torture and death. Much worse.  

He wants my blood. More than that, he wants to get into my head. To use my bond to control his army, to wipe the world clean of anything with dirty blood. I can’t let that happen, but if I don’t he’ll kill every single person I’ve ever cared about—beginning with my Werewolf pack.  

The prophecy said I would have to make an impossible choice, but I must be doing this wrong—so far every choice I’ve made has only led to more pain and danger and death. Hunters are pitted against Werewolves and I’m alone in my war against Gordon Steppe. I can’t fight him off anymore; all I can do is try to keep him out of the important places. And I’m failing at even that.  

I thought the demons were out there, clearly marked and clinging to the shadows. But they’re not. The monsters are within the ranks of those sworn to protect. The enemy is among us.

BROKEN BLOOD, book 5 in the Dirty Blood series is NOW available!! 
BUY LINKS:
Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)
Kobo
iTunes

BOOK REVIEW:
Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I can't tell you how awed I feel right now. I didn't realize I miss this series and the characters so much until I've read the book and delved again into this beautiful world that Heather Hildenbrand created.
As much as I wanted to delay reading the book so I wouldn't have to say goodbye to Tara, Wes and the gang just yet, I couldn't stop myself. I just had to know how it ends (and of course there's the whole blog tour I signed up for so I really have to read the book and write a review.) 

Tara had come so far and has changed a lot from the clueless girl we met on the first book to the fearless and capable person she had become. She has proven herself to be a badass and a strong character all through out the series but in Broken Blood she just cemented my admiration for her. She's selfless, protective and reckless and I love her for all those things. She never ceases to amaze me on how far she's willing to go and sacrifice just so she can save everyone's lives. She's sassy and a kickass. And I love seeing her grow, toughening it up and finally embracing the role that the prophecy has told her she'd become countless times.

This book would surprise you in a really good way. I love every turn the story took. It's full of thrilling action and a lot of unforeseen events that would keep you reading until way past midnight.
What I love most about the book though is how it wasn't centered entirely on Tara and her being "the one that changes the world". Everyone had a role to play and this gave the side characters also room for development. I love it when an author makes it about the whole group rather than about an individual only. You can see how everything came into place because everyone had an important part to play and that just made things more intense and well, fun. (And more characters to get to know means more to love right?) I actually have a special place in my heart for Derek and Cambria. If these two had their own series, I'd be the first one to read it. (There's a thought. Maybe I'll stalk Heather Hildenbrand and email her countless times until she gets annoyed with me and maybe convince her to write the book. Hmm.) It's not just Derek and Cambria though. It's everyone. Cord and Victoria surprisingly grew on me too. I think Victoria said it best. They're that kind of friend who doesn't hold back and tells you exactly how it is. No shitting. Just plain honesty. And don't we all need and have that one friend?

There was never a dull moment in the book because if it's not werewolves trying to kill Tara and the others it was the bickering between the gang and the endless supply of humor from Logan, Cambria and George. And if it's not those two then it's Tara and Wes fogging my kindle's screen with their steamy, sweet moments. Ah, Wesley St. John. Wesley freakin' St. John. I don't think I've ever heard a name more beautiful than thee. That guy, every time he opens his mouth I get giddy and fluttery and swoony and... sigh. I have a confession to make. I think I've read the entire series solely because of him. Forget about the the Hunters, the werewolves, the Hybrids, CHAS, the prophecy, The Cause and everything else. I could read a whole book about Wes and you won't hear me complaining. I AM IN LOVE. 

Broken Blood is full of everything you could ask for. It has action, humor, drama and romance. It's the final book in the Dirty Blood series and let's just say it was an unforgettable and satisfying end. It's sad to have to say goodbye to this amazing world and equally alluring characters but I'm so glad that it ended so perfectly and well, happily ever after-ish. And is it just me or did the ending felt like kinda not the end?
This series is a must-read! Now excuse me while I stalk the author some more.

GIVEAWAY:
Enter for a chance to win a Kindle Paper White (Grand Prize) and a wolf's tooth necklace plus signed swag from the author (Runner-up)!

New to the Dirty Blood series?
Get started with Dirty Blood. It's FREE!


Amazon
B&N
iBooks
Google

And for a limited time, get COLD BLOOD (book #2) for FREE!
Sign up to be a Love Bird, get Heather 's book updates & new release info!
Cold Blood is your free gift!


COLD BLOOD (Dirty Blood #2)
Get it for FREE!

Sometimes Family Can be the Death of You.

Wood Point Academy is not at all what I expected. For one thing, it looks like a cross between military school and Buckingham Palace. Everyone stares, the floors shine so bright you can see your reflection in them from a mile away, and no one smiles.  

At least I’ve got plenty to take my mind off the fact that my psycho cousin, Miles De’Luca, keeps calling and declaring his love and promising to come for me just as soon as he’s destroyed anyone standing in our way. Wes isn’t going to like that idea. So between Miles, Wood Point’s evil welcoming committee, and the drill sergeant hottie trainer from hell, I just keep asking myself, how did I end up here?

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Release Day Blitz and Excerpt: SCARRED BY VENGEANCE (Titanium Series #2) by Valia Lind


SCARRED BY VENGEANCE
by Valia Lind
Genre: YA Thriller

This is the mission: Save. Protect. Destroy.

Everything in Anastasia’s world came crashing down when the one person she decided to trust failed her. On the run, now more than ever, she’s trying to piece together the life she doesn’t remember. With Blake still missing, she sends the rest of the family away, hoping to keep them out of danger. But being alone is a lot harder than it used to be and she blames herself for allowing Logan into her heart. He’s gone now and she must let him go. Even though her perfect memory continues to play out the time they’ve spent together, much like a broken record.

But Anastasia has no time to dwell on the mistakes of yesterday; her mission isn’t over. Kallos Enterprises continue their experiments, as the death rate goes up, and Anastasia has no choice but to fight. However, she’s not as cold blooded as she used to be and that proves to be a problem when the people she cares about are once again put in danger. With her strength—and memory—failing and Blake’s time running out, Anastasia must tap into parts of herself she never knew existed, hoping that in the end, it will be enough to save them all. Add it on Goodreads
EXCERPT:
I try to stay off the grid. The run down hotel I’m at right now has no Wi Fi, no cable TV, no computers in the lobby. I paid cash and they let me chose a room on the other side of the building, away from the front.
I had to leave Chicago, even for a little bit. I didn’t go far, but the pressure of the big city was getting to me. I felt like I was being watched on every corner. At least here, I can hide away until my wounds have stopped bleeding.
I lay down on the bed, stretching out my sore muscles. It’s been three days.
I should be better by now.
I should be getting back to work.
I should be hunting those bastards down.
But I can barely breathe without my ribs protesting in pain. I hate feeling this helpless. The ever present rage within me burns hotter and hotter. Each passing moment, my mind runs over all the ways I’ll make Foster pay.

PIECES OF REVENGE, Book #1 is currently FREE!!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Author. Photographer. Artist. Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, Valia Lind always had a love for the written word. She wrote her first full book on the bathroom floor of her dormitory, while procrastinating to study for her college classes. Upon graduation, she has moved her writing to more respectable places, and have found her voice in Young Adult fiction. You can visit her online at https://valialind.wordpress.com or follow her on twitter, where she spends way too much time, @ValiaLind.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:


Blitz organized by:
HEA Book Tours, PR & More: http://heabooktours.blogspot.com/


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SHH! (Oxley College Saga Book #1) by Stacey Nash Excerpt and Giveaway



OXLEY COLLEGE SAGA BOOK #1
Release Date: February 23, 2015

Olivia Dean has the perfect reputation, the perfect boyfriend, and an increasingly perfect CV. She has it all, until Christian breaks up with her in public, calling her out as a self-gratifying sexoholic: the kind that plays solo. But Olivia doesn’t masturbate all night — the only thing she does is sleep … right?

Now all the boys on campus seem to want her attention for the absolutely wrong reason — including resident hottie, Logan Hays. He’s pulling out his best moves to gain her attention, so resisting his sexy charm is hard work. With rapidly slipping grades, a disturbingly lurid reputation and demanding parents, Olivia must discover the truth behind her rumoured sleeping problem. If she doesn’t, the perfect life she’s worked so hard for may slip away, including the one person who has Olivia breaking all her rules — Logan.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU’RE ASLEEP?

BOOK EXCERPT:
At five p.m I was starving. After just the muesli bar for breakfast, I’d skipped lunch to avoid a potential repeat of this morning, which meant my stomach had jumped into full riot mode. Nervous about facing my fellow students, I pulled my big girl panties up and marched myself to the dining hall. It was early, so I wasn’t all that brave, if I were being totally honest with myself. The place should have been near empty.

There were half a dozen people in the common room, watching some crappy reality television show. I scooted around the back of the seats and up into the dining hall. Dinner smelled delicious—burgers—if my senses served me right.

Twirling my meal card around my fingers, I strolled right up to the servery and stood in line. The girl in front of me turned and I tossed a confident smile her way. She smiled back. The line wasn’t moving yet as dinner hadn’t officially started, but people began flowing in, increasing the number of voices in the room. I swiped my clammy hands on my jeans. This was the first time in more than a year that I’d come down to dinner alone. Generally I came with Christian and being alone was a little daunting. It was all cool, though. Savvy should turn up soon, then I wouldn’t look like a loner. She never responded to this morning’s text and I hadn’t seen her since Saturday night, but that wasn’t uncommon if she’d hooked up with a guy. Especially with how busy I’d be this year. She knew my Sundays were reserved for study, so she didn’t usually bother me then, and today we’d been at classes. Still, it was a little weird. She could have at least called to chat about Christian, surely she knew like everyone else.

My tummy grumbled like a truck moving at high speed. I glanced at the clock; it read five-thirty p.m. The line started moving, thank the lord. I glanced over my shoulder, and surprisingly the line curled all the way around the edge of the hall. Everyone had to be famished tonight, not just me. 

I kept my eyes to the front and walked through the servery where I built my own burger: meat, egg, tomato, beetroot, no lettuce, and a slathering of tomato sauce—perfect. As I emerged out the other side, my gaze slid over the line, looking for someone who might join me, and the weirdest thing happened. Not a soul met my gaze. It was like they all deliberately looked the other way, or were engrossed in such deep conversation that they didn’t see me.

I’d never had problems with friends. People just … well … they liked me. It had always been that way. I liked everyone, and they all liked me back.
My tummy churned for reasons not associated with hunger. What the heck had I done wrong? I walked over to one of the many empty tables and set my tray down, then flicked my phone out of my pocket and pretended to check my texts. Savvy had replied and I’d missed it.

Sorry I missed breakfast. Catch you at dinner.

A string of girls who I knew—we’d all been freshers together last year—walked right past me, talking softly as if they thought I couldn’t hear, but when people are talking about you, it’s not hard to tell. And those girls were most definitely doing just that. The glances my way every few seconds were a dead giveaway when everyone else in the room was deliberately avoiding my gaze.

I ducked my head, and studied my phone again. Whatever was going on, it was weird. I was the captain of Oxley’s hockey team, netball team, in the social committee, and even campaigning for the university’s student council. I had lots of friends.

Savannah’s giggle sounded like it came from somewhere behind me. Thank gosh. I really needed to talk to her and figure out what was happening. The whispers and stares, the fresher at uni this morning, Dane on Saturday night, sexploits—Oh my gosh. Christian. I glanced over my shoulder, raising my hand to call Savvy over, but my heart dropped into my stomach.

Savvy was attached to Dane’s hip. Her arm hung around his waist and his rested on her shoulders. Christian walked in step with them and the two guys wore massive grins. I hadn’t seen Christian that happy since … well, since I couldn’t remember. I suppose now that I thought about it, lately he’d been kind of cranky and tired. Always tired.

I swung back around in my seat, hoping they hadn’t seen me, and there someone had sat in the chair opposite me: the tool from this morning. He stared like I was some porn star he’d just paid to watch. And he smelled like a brewery; not to mention his eyes looked a little glassy.

Those same eyes locked on my mine and he placed his flattened palm on his chest like he was about to dive headfirst into a heartfelt apology. Which frankly, he owed me. His hand circled over his left pec, going for his heart, but then it moved to the other side and—ohmygod did he just tweak his nipple? My heart pounded a little faster and I glanced away. The entire dining hall looked at us. But he was like a train wreck. I couldn’t stop my gaze sliding back. His hand trailed down his chest and disappeared under the table in the general direction of his groin. He moaned, then his arm started moving slow at first and increasing in speed, all the while his dark eyes held my gaze. Then the crazy guy rolled his eyes back in his head and yelled, “Yes. Aaa—aa—ash. Yes!”

Someone clapped.

He arched his back. What in hell’s name was this freak doing? It was like that old nineties movie where the chick faked an orgasm in the middle of a café, except this was some dude in the centre of the Oxley College dining hall and I wasn’t entirely sure he was faking it.

Spent, he flopped in the seat, his arms hanging beside it, then snapped his head forward again and his face split in a stupid grin as he pushed his chair back, placed an arm across his waist, and freaking bowed. 

Everyone laughed.

The whole room full of people thought this idiot was funny.
I couldn’t move. It was as if the air had frozen around me and I was a statue unable to even blink.

“My impersonation of the one and only Olivia Dean,” he shouted, loud enough for the whole room to hear.

Couldn’t the ground just open up and swallow me already? My cheeks burned so hot they should have caught fire. Blood rushed past my ears so loud that I couldn’t hear anything; my stomach lurched.

I was going to throw up.

I needed to get out of there, right now. Whatever held me in place snapped free. I shot to my feet and high-tailed it out of the dining hall, past a million staring faces. The common room was no more than fuzz at the edge of my periphery, Front Courtyard much the same. I cut across the back of block F and made a beeline for K, then darted up the stairs and into my room.

Whatever was going down, it looked like I was the centre of a joke I didn’t find funny or nice.

BOOK TRAILER:

GIVEAWAY:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Stacey Nash writes adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. She loves to read and write books that have a lot of adventure, a good dose of danger, a smattering of romance, and KISSING! Hailing from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, she loves nothing more than immersing herself in the beauty and culture of the local area. 
Author of the Collective Series and the Oxley College Saga.

Stalk the Author:
Author Website: www.stacey-nash.com 
Twitter: @staceynash


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Release Day Giveaway: BROKEN BLOOD by Heather Hildenbrand plus Exclusive Excerpt

How do you defeat an enemy that knows your every thought … even as you think it? 


BROKEN BLOOD
(Dirty Blood #5)
by Heather Hildenbrand

I thought watching my Werewolf boyfriend get arrested for murder was the worst experience of my life. But then I was knocked out and dragged off to a cell of my own by the very people who were supposed to protect me from danger.  I thought being held prisoner in solitary confinement for weeks on end was the worst experience of my life. But then a visitor came, and I realized I’d been wrong all along. There are worse things than torture and death. Much worse.  

He wants my blood. More than that, he wants to get into my head. To use my bond to control his army, to wipe the world clean of anything with dirty blood. I can’t let that happen, but if I don’t he’ll kill every single person I’ve ever cared about—beginning with my Werewolf pack.  

The prophecy said I would have to make an impossible choice, but I must be doing this wrong—so far every choice I’ve made has only led to more pain and danger and death. Hunters are pitted against Werewolves and I’m alone in my war against Gordon Steppe. I can’t fight him off anymore; all I can do is try to keep him out of the important places. And I’m failing at even that.  

I thought the demons were out there, clearly marked and clinging to the shadows. But they’re not. The monsters are within the ranks of those sworn to protect. The enemy is among us.

BROKEN BLOOD, book 5 in the Dirty Blood series is NOW available!! 
Buy Links:
Amazon (US)
Amazon (UK)
Kobo
iTunes

Exclusive Bonus Material:
(Alex's POV for the morning after goodbye)

Alex stood on the roof of Griffin Hall for what would be the last time and looked out over the grounds of Wood Point. From here, all of the buildings were visible—and bustling with activity, even this early. Parents loading their cars with their student’s baggage. Kids horsing around or exchanging numbers. One last kiss with their latest beau.

He had done none of that. The few people he knew well enough to say goodbye to were going with him as part of Kane’s hunting party. Except for her. But he’d already said his goodbyes and he wasn’t up for doing it again. 

Damn, but it’d been hard to walk away last night.
Especially after the way she’d thrown herself into his arms. Her dress bunched up around her thighs and tears streaking down her cheeks … he couldn’t get the image out of his head. He wouldn’t for a long time, he was sure. 
In some ways, he hated the way she affected him. She was nothing like what he should want. But it’s not like he’d been able to control it. Just then, the door to Lexington Hall opened and she walked out into the filtered sunlight of the courtyard. Cambria was beside her. He’d heard they were spending the summer together. His chest pinged with jealousy. Part of him wished it were him she would be spending time with this summer—but at least she had a friend. She deserved some fun, some down time after everything that’d happened the past few weeks. 
From his perch on the roof, he watched them cross the courtyard, smiling and talking, as they headed for closing assembly. He knew the bus would be waiting on him by now but he couldn’t take his eyes off her. The cheap, black gown she wore did nothing to diminish her beauty. Her tanned skin gleamed smooth and fresh and her hair glistened in the sunlight. She looked untouchable. 
Or at least, that’s how it felt as she passed through the doorway leading to the auditorium and disappeared from view.
It felt final. He hated the ache it left in his ribs. 
From the other side of Griffin Hall, a horn sounded. He sighed and finally turned for the stairs.

Giveaway:
Enter for a chance to win a Kindle Paper White (Grand Prize) and a wolf's tooth necklace plus signed swag from the author (Runner-up)!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New to the Dirty Blood series?
Get started with Dirty Blood. It's FREE!


Amazon
B&N
iBooks
Google

And for a limited time, get COLD BLOOD (book #2) for FREE!
Sign up to be a Love Bird, get Heather 's book updates & new release info!
Cold Blood is your free gift!


COLD BLOOD (Dirty Blood #2)
Get it for FREE!

Sometimes Family Can be the Death of You.

Wood Point Academy is not at all what I expected. For one thing, it looks like a cross between military school and Buckingham Palace. Everyone stares, the floors shine so bright you can see your reflection in them from a mile away, and no one smiles.  

At least I’ve got plenty to take my mind off the fact that my psycho cousin, Miles De’Luca, keeps calling and declaring his love and promising to come for me just as soon as he’s destroyed anyone standing in our way. Wes isn’t going to like that idea. So between Miles, Wood Point’s evil welcoming committee, and the drill sergeant hottie trainer from hell, I just keep asking myself, how did I end up here?

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE


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