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Smoke, Wings and Stone - Teaser Tuesday

Witches? Check.
Dragons? Check.
Vampires? Check.
Gargoyles? Oh, yes!

Since young adult fantasy is not my usual genre, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from SMOKE, WINGS AND STONE, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book was so much fun to read! The charming Gargouille prince and all the other fantastic characters, as well as the two Fleming sisters, kept me completely entranced and entertained. I'll never look at gargoyles the same way again.

My Teaser (from 1% on my Kindle):
Still safe. Still running.
The next turn was sharp, and I took it too fast, tripping just a bit, but it was enough. I could see them now, angry, reaching. 

Amazon Link: Smoke, Wings and Stone
Number of Pages: 252
Genre: Teen and Young Adult / Fantasy
Marijon Braden's Website: HERE

Amazon Synopsis:
      Carrie and Sara Fleming are as different as two sisters can be. Both in high school, Carrie is an outgoing soccer jock, trying to navigate the minefield of Varsity sports –and dating. Sara is a talented musician, who wants to spend her senior year focusing on graduating and getting into a great music school. Both of their lives change forever when Sara inadvertently finds herself engaged to marry Lucien Gargouille, prince of an ancient race of gargoyles.
      Sara has no interest in marrying anyone, but a vow spoken in the moonlight has bound her to Luc – forever. To make matters worse, there is a war brewing. For centuries, the gargoyles have protected mankind from all the dark forces in the world. But someone is making trouble, and trying to break the fragile treaty that has kept evil at bay, and Sara has become a target.
      Carrie sees the danger around her sister, but can only watch and wait, hoping that Luc and his Family can keep Sara safe. After all, this is what they were born to do – protect the world from vampires, and all the other creatures, who would try to break out of their darkness. But when the enemy makes a daring move, it falls on Carrie to not only save her sister, but to keep the two worlds from crashing together.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.

Through a Yellow Wood (A Catskill Mountains Mystery) - Teaser Tuesday

Well, I've done it again. I read the sequel before the first book. Lucky for me, Through a Yellow Wood stands alone. I enjoyed the characters and the story so much that I also downloaded the first Catskill Mountains Mystery - Hemlock Lake - to my Kindle. But I sure wish I'd read them in order because there are some spoilers in this one. However, they just served to make me curious about what happened before Through a Yellow Wood started.

Here's my Teaser from the opening paragraphs of Chapter One:

Seven months since he shot me and torched my family home.
It seemed like years since that night of blood and fire.

Amazon Link: Through a Yellow Wood
Number of Pages: 466
Genre: Mystery
Carolyn Rose's Website: Deadly Duo Mysteries

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Seven months after cheating death in the dark waters of Hemlock Lake, Dan Stone discovers a search dog trainer and his dogs shot down at a remote cabin in the Catskill Mountains. Only one young dog, badly wounded, survives the attack. No longer wearing a badge and intent on rebuilding the family home and making a life with Camille, Dan feels an obligation of blood to Clarence Wolven, a distant relative. He arranges the funeral and adopts the three-legged dog he names Nelson. When the sheriff's investigation stalls, Dan returns to the cabin with Jefferson Longyear. They feel the presence of Clarence's angry ghost and Nelson bolts into the forest. Trailing him deep into rugged "forever wild" land, they discover a serial killer's dump site. That grisly find is just the first. As summer wears on, Dan suspects the killer is taunting him and may even be someone he knows. Goaded by a ghost he only half believes in, Dan is drawn deeper into the investigation until his life and that of a young girl depend on a dog's loyalty and a sniper's aim.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.

Teaser Tuesday - Tougher Than The Rest

Today's Teaser Tuesday excerpt is from Tougher Than the Rest,  the first book in the McLarens of Fire Mountain series by Shirleen Davies. I had such a good time escaping with this sweet Western romance! The author's skillful writing made me care about Kate and Niall - I hoped they'd end up together. She did a great job of introducing all the main characters and giving their history, too, making me look forward to the stories of each of the four MacLaren brothers. Future books in the series are due out later this year. I'll be watching for them!


TEASER:
     She'd told him more than once that he was the toughest man she'd ever met. And that, in a nutshell, was what she wanted--a tough, rugged westerner to hang on her arm and warm her bed.
(at 33% on my Kindle)

Amazon Link: Tougher Than the Rest
Number of Pages:  163

Here's the synopsis from Amazon:

A passionate, fast-paced story set in the untamed western frontier by an exciting new voice in historical romance.

Niall MacLaren is the oldest of four brothers, and the undisputed leader of the family. A widower, and single father, he is focused on building the MacLaren ranch into the largest and most successful in northern Arizona. He is serious about two things—his responsibility to the family and his future marriage to a goal of a wealthy, well-connected widow who will secure his place in the territory’s destiny
.
Katherine is determined to live the life she’s dreamed about. With a job waiting for her in the growing town of Los Angeles, California, the young teacher from Philadelphia begins a journey across the United States with only a couple of trunks and her spinster companion. Life is perfect for this adventurous, beautiful young woman, until an accident throws her into the arms of the one man who can destroy it all.

Fighting his growing attraction and strong desire for the beautiful stranger, Niall is more determined than ever to push emotions aside to focus on his goals of wealth and political gain. But looking into the clear, blue eyes of the woman who could ruin everything, Niall discovers he will have to harden his heart and be tougher than he’s ever been in his life…Tougher than the Rest.

Here's my review on Goodreads:
Goodreads Review

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.