Embrace Launch: Guest Post from Jus Accardo + Giveaway

I'm so excited to be hosting Jus Accardo, author of the upcoming Ruined from Embrace, the recently launched New Adult imprint of Entangled Press! Be sure to grab a copy on December 30, 2013! Also you should definitely check out the other stops on this tour and learn about the other amazing books coming from Embrace. But first, check out Jus Accardo's favorite NA books and then enter the awesome giveaway at the bottom of the post. 

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Guest Post from Jus Accardo

New Adult is gaining popularity with each passing day, which I think is awesome—and overdue. That chunk of time between being a kid and stepping into adulthood is full of so many emotional firsts. The struggles we take on as we search for our path in life, and morph into the person we are destined to become, is finally getting its time in the spotlight! Here are four of my favorite New Adult books (in no particular order).

1.  Losing It by Cora Carmack

2.  Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

3.  Easy by Tammara Webber

4.  Taking Chances by Molly McAdams

Do you have a favorite New Adult book?

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About Ruined

Hell is looking for a way to break loose… 

Jax lost the genetic lottery. Descended from Cain, the world's first murderer, he's plagued by a curse that demands violence in exchange for his happiness. He left everything behind, including the girl he loved, but thriving on the pain of others is lonely… And it's killing him.


After a series of heartbreaking losses, Samantha put rubber to pavement and headed for college as fast as her clunker could carry her. But she can't outrun her problems. When an attack at school drives her back home, she's thrown into the path of a past—and a guy—she's been trying to forget.


Sam strains Jax's control over his darkness, but running isn't an option this time. Someone—or, something—followed her home from school: a ruthless monster with a twisted plan centuries in the making. Forced together to survive, and fighting an attraction that could destroy them both, Jax and Sam must stop a killer bent on revenge.

Book Links: Goodreads :: Amazon :: B&N

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About the Author

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing. Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing and is currently working on the first book in a new adult series due out summer 2013. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

Author Links: Blog :: Twitter :: Facebook :: Goodreads

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About Embrace

EMBRACE…endless possibilities.  A new adult imprint from Entangled, launching November 11^th! You can follow them and get more information about future titles @EPEmbrace or their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmbraceImprint

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Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the rest of the Embrace Launch Tour! 

Blog Tour: Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington :: Interview

I'm so excited to have Jessica Shirvington on the blog today answering my questions. I'm totally embarrassed about my first question, because I asked it before I knew that there are more books in this series. But ultimately, it's great news so it's okay! I love Violet and Lincoln so much, I'm ecstatic there are two more books still coming. Now for the interview:

In the Best Worlds: It's so exciting and bittersweet to read the end of Violet's story. What was the hardest part about ending this amazing trilogy?
Jessica Shirvington: Actually, it isn't a trilogy - There will be five books in the series in total. But I can totally understand how you thought it was going to be a trilogy - there were a lot of early descriptions that outlined the series as a trilogy even though it was never intended to be one.
Endless, book 4, will be out in October and book 5 will follow shortly after!

ItBW: Lincoln is an amazing hero and definitely a character worth crushing over. Who is your number one book boy crush?

JS: I'm not really sure. Though I always took a shine to Valek from Maria V. Snyder's Poison Study series.

ItBW: What is the main idea/theme/character/etc. you hope translates perfectly into the Embrace TV series? 

JS: Violet. It has to be her because everything is built around her, around her emotions, around the choices she makes and how she deals with the consequences. Phoenix and Lincoln are very important too.

ItBW: Since you are writing books for teens - what were you like as a teenager?

JS: Lost, mostly. And complicated. And probably not too dissimilar to most teens out there now. But I also fell in love when I was 17 and that changed my life and my future. That is part of the reason I love to write YA, why I feel it is so important what happens to our hearts in those precious years.

ItBW: Finish these sentences: 

The weirdest thing on my desk is...currently, a My Little Pony figurine. There is always something my daughters leave behind on their visits!

The last dream I remember was...actually not a good dream. I can't remember it perfectly but I know I woke up very unhappy and worried.

We could be best friends if...you could forgive me for being constantly preoccupied with my fictional character's lives.

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About Emblaze: Once again Violet Eden faces an impossible choice....and the consequences are unimaginable.

Violet has come to terms with the fact that being part angel, part human, means her life will never be as it was. 

Now Violet has something Phoenix - the exiled angel who betrayed her - will do anything for, and she has no intention of letting it fall into his hands. The only problem is that he has something she needs too. 

Not afraid to raise the stakes, Phoenix seemingly holds all the power, always one step ahead. And when he puts the final pieces of the prophecy together, it doesn't take him long to realize exactly who he needs in order to open the gates of Hell.

With the help of  surprising new allies, ancient prophecies are deciphered, a destination set and, after a shattering confrontation with her father, Violet leaves for the islands of Greece without knowing if she will have a home to return to... 

Embrace - Jessica Shirvington

Synopsis: Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before. 
Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her. 
A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden… 
(From Goodreads)

It's kind of hard for me to pinpoint why I love this book so much, but I guess, on the surface, it's because I felt all the feelings. Like, whoa. Lots and lots of feelings. It's a little difficult to isolate the things that make this book great because it blends and floats together so wonderfully. It's all so good. And I'm going to attempt to break it down here.

First, Violet may or may not be one of my new favorite heroines ever. I wish I could be her. Sometimes, anyway. Because for being a potential supernatural being, she's so human. She makes bad decisions, she makes good decisions and then she has to deal with the consequences. But no matter what, she's always very strong and always is in control (or at least she does a very good job of looking like it).

And then there are the boys. I didn't not like Phoenix, I think he was the weakest link in this story. I always felt things were very muted when he was around and I had no connection to him. But, those things just made me love Lincoln even more. And I loved him before. He's perfect. The perfect boy. I mean, minus the obvious issues that I won't go into here. The scenes between Violet and Lincoln were absolutely the best parts of this book. Love love love Lincoln.

I read a lot of angel books. I kind of think angels are the most popular paranormal creature out there right now. I did feel that this one was different, but I couldn't quite figure out why. I'm thinking now that it's unique because it sticks to the Bible angels without being preachy or actually religious. There's all the levels of angels that come into play and the best part was the way that Jessica Shirvington brought the concept of "free will" into the story. Free will is a huge thing when it comes to man kind and apparently angels as well, but when you add the clear difference between good and evil - how much free will do you actually have? How much do you have when your only decisions are to do the right thing or the wrong thing? Making a choice could choose the very essence of who you are. How much free will do we have when you factor in consequences.

So yeah, awesome awesome book. I'm very much looking forward Enticed which will hopefully be out in the US this fall.