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Showing posts with label Gryphon Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gryphon Series. Show all posts
Friday, April 26, 2013
Blog Tour: "Sacrifice" by Stacey Rourke (Character Guest Post) + Giveaway
Welcome to our stop on the Virtual Launch of "Sacrifice" by Stacey Rourke brought to you by GWR Publicity.
Caleb was
just a boy when a demonic army stormed his village that lay in a lush green
valley of Ireland. His family ushered him, along with the other children, off
in hopes that they would reach safety. But the forces of darkness surrounded
young Caleb and whisked him off to a bloody and violent dimension where he was
trained and molded to be the perfect soldier. To bind him further they laced his
blood with a demonic essence. Yet none of this erased his longing for freedom.
Just when
Caleb is losing hope on ever breaking away from the clutches that hold him, he
is given an assignment. He must kill the Conduit. From the moment he sets eyes
on Celeste Garrett he knows he could never hurt her. She has the heart of a
warrior, and Caleb takes it upon himself to keep her safe—even from him.
Can his ties
to the Dark Army ever truly be broken? Can there be a happily ever after for a
demon and the Conduit?
Sacrifice
(Gryphon #3)
Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Description:
Celeste Garrett has finally found a happy balance in her life as the Chosen One, thanks in large part to a certain hunky Irishman. But if there’s any lesson she should heed since receiving her calling it’s that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Soon a terrible new threat, unlike anything she’s ever encountered, causes her to make a gut-wrenching choice that will strip her of someone she holds dear.
As much as she’d like to have a pity party for one, there’s no time for that now because wedding bells are ringing in Gainesboro! In between dress fittings and rehearsal dinners Celeste will have to fend off attacking demons and leering pirates. As if the Dark Army wasn’t scary enough our heroine is faced with the horrifying trauma of attending a bachelorette party with her mom and watching Grams do Jello shots. Is a walk down the aisle even possible for a member of the Garrett family when the Dark Army is out to destroy them? More importantly, will the Dark Army Glee Club sing at the reception?
Raise your glass to the happy couple, and get ready for a wedding…Conduit-style.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Gryphon #3)
Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
Description:
Celeste Garrett has finally found a happy balance in her life as the Chosen One, thanks in large part to a certain hunky Irishman. But if there’s any lesson she should heed since receiving her calling it’s that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Soon a terrible new threat, unlike anything she’s ever encountered, causes her to make a gut-wrenching choice that will strip her of someone she holds dear.
As much as she’d like to have a pity party for one, there’s no time for that now because wedding bells are ringing in Gainesboro! In between dress fittings and rehearsal dinners Celeste will have to fend off attacking demons and leering pirates. As if the Dark Army wasn’t scary enough our heroine is faced with the horrifying trauma of attending a bachelorette party with her mom and watching Grams do Jello shots. Is a walk down the aisle even possible for a member of the Garrett family when the Dark Army is out to destroy them? More importantly, will the Dark Army Glee Club sing at the reception?
Raise your glass to the happy couple, and get ready for a wedding…Conduit-style.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buy the books for 99 cents each!
Amazon and Smashwords
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012. Stacey Rourke is the author of the Gryphon Series. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant, drooly dogs. Stacey loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head. She is currently hard at work on the continuations of this series as well as other literary projects. Social Media Links www.staceyrourke.com Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stacey-Rourke/ Twitter @Rourkewrites.
Be sure to follow the full tour for reviews, interviews, excerpts, and the inside scoop on Stacey Rourke and the Gryphon series. To celebrate the third book in the Gryphon series, Stacey Rourke is offering one lucky fan an awesome prize pack. Enter below.
Review: "Sacrifice" by Stacey Rourke
Sacrifice
(Gryphon #3)
by: Stacey Rourke
Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Smashwords
Description:
Celeste Garrett has finally found a happy balance in her life as the Chosen One, thanks in large part to a certain hunky Irishman. But if there’s any lesson she should heed since receiving her calling it’s that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Soon a terrible new threat, unlike anything she’s ever encountered, causes her to make a gut-wrenching choice that will strip her of someone she holds dear.
As much as she’d like to have a pity party for one, there’s no time for that now because wedding bells are ringing in Gainesboro! In between dress fittings and rehearsal dinners Celeste will have to fend off attacking demons and leering pirates. As if the Dark Army wasn’t scary enough our heroine is faced with the horrifying trauma of attending a bachelorette party with her mom and watching Grams do Jello shots. Is a walk down the aisle even possible for a member of the Garrett family when the Dark Army is out to destroy them? More importantly, will the Dark Army Glee Club sing at the reception?
Raise your glass to the happy couple, and get ready for a wedding…Conduit-style.
My Review:
I feel like it has been forever since the last time I read the second book in the Gryphon series. How I missed Celeste and her family, as well as several other characters who stole my heart from the first two books.
Stacey Rourke puts Celeste through a lot harder dilemmas this time. She's faced with making a choice over sacrificing what is right to wrong and losing the one person she truly will anything for and love. She also is forced to deal with new enemies and old enemies together. She finds out though, that the one person she thinks hates her, really loves her and will do anything for her...until you break that person's heart again.
The third installment to the Gryphon series leaves you wanting more after you read the last sentence since of course, Stacey Rourke leaves you with a cliffhanger. There a lot of questions in this book that made me even in shock just like Celeste was. She had no clue who to trust and I do not blame her one bit.
I enjoyed every minute of this book, but it broke my heart what Celeste had to do. =( I am hoping what she did will be fixed in the fourth book. I did end up falling for Rowan a little more, until of course he showed his other side again. That demon definitely has me confused. One minute I could give him a kiss and the other I could give him a swift kick in the butt.
One of the main attractions in the book was Alaina and Gabe's Wedding in the book that was definitely spectacular, but they had to deal with some bumps in the road before they got their happily ever after. They had Celeste, Kendall, and Gabe (when he was not dealing with wedding fiascos), Sophie, Big Mike and a few others to help save the day. Even Rowan...but not always. Geez...I have no clue about him.
What really had me in shock was one certain character coming forth to help Celeste when she did not even know she needed it.
Stacey Rourke has a way of bringing you in the story and feeling like you are with the characters along the ride and all you want for them is to defeat the demons that want them dead, especially, Celeste, the Conduit.
I give this book 4.5 moons and highly recommend it to young adult fantasy readers out there. Make sure if you have not read the first two books, The Conduit & Embrace, to read those first. Otherwise, you will definitely be lost a bit on what has happened in the previous books.
I look forward to reading the fourth book and hopefully, Celeste will have a little easier, but that's highly unlikely (poor chosen one and all) and let's hope that Rowan gets his act together (that's another unlikely one).
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Blog Tour: "Embrace" by Stacey Rourke (Review)
Welcome to our Virtual Book Tour stop of "Embrace" by Stacey Rourke. Brought to you by YANR Blog Tour.
Embrace
(Gryphon Series #2)
by: Stacey Rourke
Publishing Date: 5/10/12
Publisher: Anchor Group
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy (Paranormal)
Source: Provided by YANR Tours (from Author)
Description:
Whether
she likes it or not, eighteen year old Celeste Garrett has come to terms with
being the Chosen One. She knew having a “normal life” would be tricky, between intense
training sessions and epic demonic battles, but she didn’t know at what cost it
would come. That is, until a dear friend is harmed by the malicious forces
hunting her.
Now,
she’d like nothing more than to retreat into a hermit lifestyle to prevent
anyone else from getting hurt. But startling revelations, amazing new
abilities, and mortifying moments in front of insanely hot guys won’t allow
time for that. Soon, Celeste finds herself surrounded by darkness and wondering
who she can trust—if anyone.
My Review:
Excuse me while I contemplate how I'm going to get over the ending of "Embrace" and write this review. Stacey Rourke left me hanging again. I love cliff hangers, but the ending of "Embrace" was just mind boggling for me since I want to know who that is that made Celeste scream. Ahhh!!!
The torture of waiting since I will not be able to read the third book until I am done with my other review books that I need to read. I will be finding out though....very soon!
Celeste and her siblings our back and they are still dealing with the darkness. At the ending of "The Conduit" Celeste found out some disturbing news about one her friends who she was about to pour her heart out too...instead she had to break up their friendship.
Now Celeste is determined more than ever to kill who is out there to get her. She is the chosen one and she has to keep her self from being killed. Still being hunted...but now from a new enemy that is hiding in the dark.
Celeste ends up quitting school, causing a ruckus at home with her siblings and even gets herself in danger several times where she has find away out without her siblings. Celeste has decided to focus on her job at the cafe and focus on her training sessions with her guide and her siblings.
She never imagined a guy would come into her life so soon after Alec...and she also never imagined a second guy who appeared out of thin air, warning her about the new enemy.
Now she has two guys that she cannot keep out her head...well three if you count worrying about Alec still.
But can she trust the guys that meets and whatever happened to Alec.
Well...Celeste will find out in "Embrace" and she will have to decide what has to do after she sees him for the first time in months.
She also has to decide if she trust the guy who keeps telling her about her enemy and also trust the gang of demons who say they are sent to kill her, but cannot. Instead they want to be her ally.
What is she supposed to do...she's keeping her new demon friends a secret from her brother and sister and she's also keeping another secret from them.
Does she trust her new friends or trust what she's destine to do.
First off, let me just say, "Embrace" was a very hard to put down book. Every time I had to step away from the book to take care of something around the house, I would find myself itching to get back to reading "Embrace".
Celeste had so many inner and outer demons to work out in this book and I felt terrible for her. There were several times I wanted to slap her brother and sister for her, for being so cold towards their sister. I also wanted to slap Celeste around sometimes too because she could not judge who was the bad guy and who was the good guy. She also tended to not think, but act too quickly. She should have told her brother and sister from the beginning on what was happening around her.
So many new characters were introduced in this book and may I just say I cannot choose who I love more now...Caleb or Rowan (you'll have to find out about them by reading the book)...and I still have mixed feelings for Alec after this book. What the heck is wrong with him and WHY?!!
Stacey Rourke definitely kept me on the edge of my seat in this book and this by far is the best book...probably until I read the next one. I just loved the action in this one and of course the secrets that came out. (Mainly about Gabe...and his new love interest...LOL) Poor Celeste...had no clue.
I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading young adult and loves a little bit of paranormal and fantasy. You'll definitely enjoy the Garrett siblings even more in "Embrace". You'll also fall in love with some of the male characters. *sigh*
Oh...just remember...Stacey will leave you hanging at the end of the book. At least I know "Sacrifice" released on Smashwords and I can go buy it and read when I have a chance after I am done reading other books. It's going to take a miracle to hold me back from reading it though. I need to know what is going to happen next.
Writing
is something I have always done. I can remember in elementary school
creating stories that I would stand up and read aloud to my classmates…whether
they liked it or not. As I grew older I didn’t flaunt my writing as
freely. It became something I did just for me to vent my teenage
angst, or chronicle my journey to adulthood. I never thought about
becoming a writer because that title prompted the visual of a grey-haired man
in a tweed smoking jacket with suede elbow patches, slaving over an old fashion
typewriter while puffing away on a pipe. No way was that stuffy kind of
life for me. (Plus tweed is itchy.) Instead I wanted to be in the
spotlight! I wanted to be–pause for dramatic effect–an actress! I
gave it my best shot, too. Got about as far as any aspiring actress can
get in Flint, Michigan. Which is exactly no where. But I did get
two great things out of my time delving into the theatrical world; I gained the
ability to act out the scenes I write to make sure they’re believable (yes, I
really do that and no, you can’t watch) and I met my amazing husband.
My
theater ambitions behind me, I decided to do the “mature,” “grown up” thing and
went back to college. As I worked toward my Bachelor’s degree in
marketing I did a lot of writing. Essays, research papers, PowerPoint
presentations. All of it mandatory, none of it what I would ever call
fun. Even then, becoming a writer never entered my mind. No, then I
was going to be a business tycoon…or somethin’.
Truth
be told, I never picked writing. It picked me. During my time as a
stay at home mom I needed an outlet to give me a mental break from diapers,
formula and midnight feedings. That’s when my hands found their way back
to the keyboard. Story ideas began coming at such an incessant rate that
my rapidly clicking fingers couldn’t keep up. Post-It notes and scrapes
of paper with story ideas decorated every inch of our house. In
mid-conversation with my husband I would dart off to jot down things that would
come to me. Sweet guy my hubby is, he would just shake his head at my
obvious rudeness and hold my place in the conversation.
My
first book was completed for an entire year before I told anyone about it.
I outed myself as an author and then sent out my first round of query
letters to literary agents. Surely, it would be picked up immediately and
become an overnight success! Yeah, not so much. For two years I got
rejection, after rejection, after rejection, after rejection…you get the idea.
Thankfully with the ever increasing pile of rejections came feedback.
I digested all the suggestions and applied the usable ones to my
manuscript. Little by little, the rough edges were chipped away and the
diamond shone through. The work paid off when I received an email from a
publisher offering me a contract on The Conduit.
It’s
been a long road, and it ain’t over yet. But now, at thirty-mumble,
mumble years old I finally know what I wanna be when I grow up–-a writer.
Review: "The Conduit" by Stacey Rourke
The Conduit
(Gryphon Series #1)
by: Stacey Rourke
Publishing Date: 3/16/12
Publisher: Anchor Group
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Source: Provided by YANR Tours (from Author)
Description:
All 18-year-old Celeste Garrett wants is to head off to college and make those fun, yet ill-advised, choices college kids are known for. And maybe to spend some time with the hot cameraman she just met. Instead, because of a pact her ancestors made in the 17th century with a mythical creature, she has to save the world.
While normal kids are slamming energy drinks and cramming for exams, Celeste will get her adrenaline rush fighting a fire breathing dragon. She wants to meet friends in the quad to exchange lecture notes, but first she must exchange blows with a shapeshifting demon on the rooftop. Life isn’t always fair for a superhero, but at least she doesn’t have to do it alone. With her brother and sister as sidekicks, they alternate between saving lives and getting on each others’ nerves. Together the trio encounters unspeakable odds, mystical forces and comes face-to-face with an image that will haunt them forever—their grandmother in a leopard print bikini.
My Review:
"The Conduit" is definitely a book I have never come across before. It was really a different kind of young adult book that I'm used to, but I did like it.
Celeste Garrett and her siblings are sent to live with their Grams in Tennessee since their Mom is in Michigan trying to sell their house there. All Celeste wants to do when she gets there is head off to her college so she can start working on her degree.
But...instead...she is being told she is destined to the save the world by a stranger who appears in the woods one day...this stranger of course is not human.
Celeste's ancestors made a pack with the Gryphon many years ago and now Celeste is to be "The Conduit" and she will harness powers from the Gryphon. Her brother, Gabe and her sister, Kendall are also part of saving the world.
If they do not accept their destiny, then the seekers (or otherwise known as demons) will take over the world.
There is one seeker out to find Celeste already and seek her out for his boss since she holds the key to everything. If the seekers finds Celeste he will let his boss know and Celeste will be in danger.
It is up to Celeste and her family to make sure the seeker never tells his boss.
Here comes the training of a lifetime for Celeste and her siblings and of course some strange things start happening to all of them and now they really need to keep what they are hidden.
"The Conduit" is a very humorous young adult story that I found very entertaining. It took me awhile to get into it until the Garrett siblings found out what they were destined to do. Celeste, Gabe, and Kendall are definitely siblings where they tend to fight with each other. There is one part between Celeste and Gabe that I could not stop laughing about. Gabe got his pride hurt...let's just say that.
I connected very well with all three of the siblings when reading "The Conduit" and I cannot wait to read more about them in the second book.
Poor Celeste, I felt terrible for her and when she was told the truth and I was even more sympathetic of her during the end of the book. =*(
Stacey Rourke, left me hanging at the end and what happened to the boy that Celeste was having feelings for.
I recommend this book to readers who love the young adult genre and love fantasy and paranormal elements.
Just be prepared to want to read the second book since you will definitely want to know what happens next to the Garret siblings.
"The Conduit" is definitely a book I have never come across before. It was really a different kind of young adult book that I'm used to, but I did like it.
Celeste Garrett and her siblings are sent to live with their Grams in Tennessee since their Mom is in Michigan trying to sell their house there. All Celeste wants to do when she gets there is head off to her college so she can start working on her degree.
But...instead...she is being told she is destined to the save the world by a stranger who appears in the woods one day...this stranger of course is not human.
Celeste's ancestors made a pack with the Gryphon many years ago and now Celeste is to be "The Conduit" and she will harness powers from the Gryphon. Her brother, Gabe and her sister, Kendall are also part of saving the world.
If they do not accept their destiny, then the seekers (or otherwise known as demons) will take over the world.
There is one seeker out to find Celeste already and seek her out for his boss since she holds the key to everything. If the seekers finds Celeste he will let his boss know and Celeste will be in danger.
It is up to Celeste and her family to make sure the seeker never tells his boss.
Here comes the training of a lifetime for Celeste and her siblings and of course some strange things start happening to all of them and now they really need to keep what they are hidden.
"The Conduit" is a very humorous young adult story that I found very entertaining. It took me awhile to get into it until the Garrett siblings found out what they were destined to do. Celeste, Gabe, and Kendall are definitely siblings where they tend to fight with each other. There is one part between Celeste and Gabe that I could not stop laughing about. Gabe got his pride hurt...let's just say that.
I connected very well with all three of the siblings when reading "The Conduit" and I cannot wait to read more about them in the second book.
Poor Celeste, I felt terrible for her and when she was told the truth and I was even more sympathetic of her during the end of the book. =*(
Stacey Rourke, left me hanging at the end and what happened to the boy that Celeste was having feelings for.
I recommend this book to readers who love the young adult genre and love fantasy and paranormal elements.
Just be prepared to want to read the second book since you will definitely want to know what happens next to the Garret siblings.
I was provided a complimentary copy from YANR tours from the Author in exchange for an honest review.
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