Silver Dagger Book Tours... THE SAND PRINCE by Kim Alexander - EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY!

The Sand Prince

The Demon Door Book 1

by Kim Alexander

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Two worlds. Bound by magic. Divided by a door.

On the barren, war-ravaged demon world of Eriis, the fierce queen Hellne fights to keep her people alive and her son Rhuun's heritage a secret.

On the green and gentle human world of Mistra, demons have faded into myth. Only a handful of old men and fanatical children still guard The Door between the worlds.

Different and shunned by his demon kin, Rhuun finds refuge in a book that tells of a human world of water and wonder. Forced by his mother's enemies to flee Eriis, he finds himself trapped on the other side of The Door in the very place he has read and dreamed about—Mistra. 

Chained to the deadly whims of a child who guards The Door, Rhuun must balance serving and surviving, even at the risk of exposing his true identity. Riskiest of all is his task of kidnapping an infuriating young woman who is about to find out that the demons of Eriis are much, much more than just an old bedtime story.

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Here, Lelet and Prince Rhuun (she calls him Moth) have been on the run and sleeping in the open for about a week. Now that they’ve found an inn, he wants to hit the sheets at once. She’s all, Dude, let a girl have a bath!

Lelet put Moth to work washing her hair. “No, it doesn’t get clean with just water, just use a little of the soap—the green one—that’s it.” She slapped his hand. “That is not my hair! Focus.”

“Lelet,” he said, pouring clean water over her head, “There’s something wrong with your hair.”

She looked up at him. “Is it falling out or something?”

“No, it’s a different color where it’s growing. It’s changing color.” He had a horrible thought. “It’s not going to be pink again, is it?”

She laughed. “I am the only one who liked the pink. No, it’s going to be dark, not as dark as yours, though. But I’ll probably make it white again when I have the chance. I don’t know anyone who has naturally white hair.”

He marveled. “Humans. So many colors, and you use them all.”

She stood up, water streaming from her hair and down her slender form, and reached for a fresh towel. “If you want a turn...”

“Maybe another time. But I do need the tub when it’s empty.” The thought of sitting in a pot of water did not appeal, it was a little too much like making soup. As far as he was concerned, if there was water, it was going to be his river. Or maybe her ocean, if it really existed. He took a breath and said, “I want to change my form, and I don’t want to set anything else on fire or scorch the floorboards.” He busied himself drying her back.

She looked over her shoulder at him. “Are you sure about that? You know I’ll be able to see you. I can close my eyes, I guess. If you don’t want me to watch.”

He shrugged. “You keep telling me you like how I look. This is part of how I look. Just don’t come too close.” He wasn’t sure at all, but he wanted to give her something, and he had nothing else.

She sat on the bed with her knees tucked under her, and as he stepped into the empty copper tub her eyes never left his face. He took a deep breath. She nodded. He wanted to close his eyes or look away, but she didn’t, so he didn’t either. It only took to the count of ten, and he was himself again. A scattering of ash lay at the bottom of the tub.

Since she hadn’t leapt to her feet or run for the door, he lay down beside her. Instead of the disgust he was used to feeling upon showing his true face, right now he felt only calm.

“I have to tell you,” she said, “I was expecting something...else. I didn’t really see you, that other time. It was dark and I was so tired. But now? You looked sort of like a statue of yourself, made out of ash and smoke. You looked soft. I wanted to touch you. It wasn’t ugly, although if I didn’t understand what you were doing I might have been afraid. But ugly? No.” She watched his face. “Do you believe me?”

“You don’t have to keep asking me that. I believe you.” And, he realized, he nearly did.

The Heron Prince

The Demon Door Book 2

The Demon Door can be opened...but the price is deadly.

Prince Rhuun has found acceptance among the humans on Mistra, something he could never have in the demon realm of Eriis, not even as heir to its throne. What's more, he has even found love with the prickly, passionate heiress, Lelet va'Everly.

The idyll can't last. The prince has enemies who are after more than his throne. They are out for his blood…which holds the key to unsealing The Door between the two worlds, and the demons want in. When Rhuun is lured into a trap on Eriis, Lelet has no choice but to turn to a motley group of exiles, children, and madmen to help save him.

Lelet soon discovers that, like all things, rescuing the prince comes with a price. The secrets in Rhuun's blood may be worth killing for, but are they worth dying for?

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The Glass Girl

The Demon Door Book 3

Love opens all doors…but betrayal locks them forever.

Newly blessed (or cursed) with wings and fire, Prince Rhuun of the demon realm of Eriis sees hope for his life on the human world of Mistra with his fierce human lover, Lelet va'Everley. She literally went to hell and back to save him, and she's not about to let anything—or anyone—ruin their perfect future.

All too soon, the claims of family, duty, and justice force Rhuun and Lelet to confront new griefs and old mistakes as they attempt to restore balance to the throne of Eriis. But, with every jealous rumor and each vengeful whisper, friends turn, family schemes, and forgotten enemies creep from the shadows.

Treachery in Eriis and betrayal in Mistra jeopardize what Rhuun and Lelet have fought so hard to build, threatening to tear apart the two lovers, their families, and even their worlds.

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Kim Alexander grew up in the wilds of Long Island, NY and slowly drifted south until she reached Key West. After spending ten rum-soaked years as a DJ in the Keys, she moved to Washington DC, where she lives with two cats, an angry fish, and her extremely patient husband who tells her she needs to write at least ten more books if she intends to retire in Thailand, so thank you for your patronage.

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Silver Dagger Book Tours presents... THE THORNE BROTHERS by Lee Kilraine - EXCERPT + GIVEAWAY!

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

So, today we're joining ranks with Silver Dagger Book Tours for a stop along their current promotion for a spotlight on two fabulously delicious looking titles that I so wish I had time to read RIGHT NOW, but I don't.  So, while my wish list grows, allow me to present you with your next possible must read selections...

Give and Take

The Thorne Brothers #2

by Lee Kilraine

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pub Date: 9/18/2018

Six Brothers Construction was built to reunite a family and heal a painful past. So far it’s opened to rave reviews. But the youngest sibling is about to discover that the right woman can shake even a rock-solid foundation . . .

Wyatt Thorne was so traumatized by his mother’s abandonment he didn’t speak until he was six. At 26, he’s still the quiet type—strong and silent, most comfortable with a hammer in his hand and work to do. But the reassuring rhythm of his life is interrupted when his brother Beckett decides to pay forward their unused office space to a needy start-up. Enter Rhia Hollis, flighty, impulsive, and outspoken—everything that drives Wyatt crazy. Only this time in the sexiest, most irresistible way . . .

Rhia is determined to disprove her reckless, party girl image by making her new company, Seize the Day, the premier event planning firm in Raleigh. She has big dreams, and the Thornes’ offer of a free command center is a huge help. But Wyatt’s gruff, stubborn resistance to her presence is an annoying hindrance. They’re as different as night and day, yet when they begin to meet in the middle, the sparks fly hot. Is this a case of opposites distract—or the beginning of a beautiful long-term project? . . .

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Rhia

“Uh oh.”

“No. No ‘uh oh.’ You swore on your stack of Scientific Americans that this time your experiment would be fine. You assured me this trial had zero chance of failure.” Steph had also pulled the older sister guilt trip on me. Don’t be a baby, Rhia. Besides, you owe me for helping you pass organic chem in college.

“Just because you’re showing signs of anaphylaxis, doesn’t mean my experiment is a failure.” She frowned as she examined my face.

“Anaphylaxis? Don’t forget we had a deal. I agreed to help you if we swung by the Business Expo after. It closes in an hour, and I need to go apply for the ‘Pay it Forward’ grant. Today’s the last day for applications.”

“Why in the world did you wait until the last day?” Of course, I got the older sister eyebrow quirk from her. Because my sister, Steph, my whole family really, had no idea what it was like to second guess yourself. They came into the world with confidence, an agenda, and a to-do list.

“I wasn’t sure if I was ready to make that big of a commitment.” That was a lie. I was so ready to jump at the next step in my new business endeavor. What took so long was tackling my inner doubts first. And getting past all the doubts of my family.

“I don’t think you know what commitment is, Rhia. You only stuck out teaching English, what? Two years?”

See what I mean? I taught for two long years. In college, I’d kept my options open with a double major in business and English, but I tried my hand at teaching first. Turned out I wasn’t made for teaching. I fell for every excuse my students gave me. I was a sucker for a sob story. And once the kids figured that out, I lost control of the classroom.

I didn’t let myself get discouraged, though. No, ma’am. Instead of wallowing in my failure, I remembered I was the “go-to” person in my sorority for planning all the parties and events. In fact, I was the Event Planning Chair for two years running.

That’s how I came up with the idea of starting my event planning business, Seize the Day. I felt good about it. Like maybe I’d finally found something I could succeed at and feel passionate about. Just like the rest of my family. I was excited and inspired. Until I ran the numbers.

“You should have majored in one of the sciences like the rest of us,” Steph said while she jotted something down on her clipboard. She set her paperwork aside and moved up close to peer into my eyes. “Your pupils look normal. Maybe if you’d gone into a STEM program, you’d be employed right now.”

Or maybe not. “You do remember those agonizing hours of organic chem tutoring, don’t you?”

Steph winced at the memory. “Painfully so, but there were science degrees that didn’t require organic chem. Plenty of less rigorous programs even you could have managed.”

Even you. I only flinched a little at that. I knew my sister hadn’t meant it as an insult. It was simply a fact in my family.

“Besides, I do so have a job. I’m self-employed.”

The long-standing joke that I was adopted stopped being funny by middle school when my average grades became a source of friction in the family. If only you’d apply yourself, Rhia. If only you’d try harder, Rhia. Rhia, stop daydreaming and focus. Oh, I tried. But my brain simply wasn’t wired like the rest of the Hollis clan.

So, no, I’d never really fit in with my brilliant family. But that hadn’t stopped me from trying. I was tired of disappointing everyone. Especially myself. That’s why I was determined to make my event planning business a success.

“How’s your airway?” Steph placed her fingers on my wrist and glanced at her watch. “Breathing feel okay?”

Was my breathing okay? My family always told me I was overly dramatic, but I don’t know, maybe my throat did feel a little closed up. I swallowed to check. No. My throat felt fine. Must be that whole power of suggestion thing.

“I thing I’m othay.” Wait, what? That didn’t come out right. Probably because my tongue suddenly felt too big for my mouth.

“Uh oh. Open your mouth and stick out your tongue.” My sister’s face slid into her serious scientist expression, and she spoke into her mini handheld recorder. “Test subject number one is showing signs of glossitis and uticaria—one-inch diameter, bright red with a pale center.”

“Whath’s glossithith and uthitharia?” Dammit. My speech slurred even worse. And my head felt like it had last New Year’s Eve when I’d imbibed too much champagne. A giggle escaped past my thick tongue. Ha! Imbibed. “Imbibed ith a funny word, don’t you thinth?”

“Test subject is showing signs of slurred speech. Possible intoxication.” She clicked off her recorder and peered closer at my face. “Still breathing okay?”


“Yeth but I’m ithy.” I scratched a spot on my cheek and then noticed the same feeling on my forearms. I held my arms out in front of me to look. “Yithes! I’m going to thill you, Sthephanie. You promithed I’d be fine thith time. Promithed!”

“Apparently, I miscalculated on the formula. This is a great data set.” She spoke into her recorder again with way too much excitement. “Decrease amylase dehydrate by fifty percent for second set of trials.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. Except, I only had to narrow one eye because the other was already half swollen shut. “Fixth thith.”

“Right.” She searched through the drawer in her desk, coming up with a bottle of Benadryl. After shaking two out, she slapped them in my hand and handed me a bottle of water. “Take these. You’ll be back to normal in six to eight hours.”

Six to eight hours? I glared at her with my one good eye. And I kept on glaring at her as I swallowed down the antihistamines. I could kill my sister and hide the body somewhere here in her lab, but I needed her to drive me to the expo, since I didn’t trust driving under the influence of both whatever she tested on me and antihistamines. Plus, I loved her, dammit.

I picked my purse up from the top of a stainless steel storage bench with a sign Warning: Radioactive Waste Only and snatched out my phone and car keys. I tossed the keys over to Steph, catching her by surprise so that she juggled them before having them firmly in her grasp. Then I texted her, since my tongue now felt incapable of forming any actual words.

We need to head to the expo. Now. Before the Benadryl knocks me out.

“Or before you blow up like a polka-dotted puffer fish.”

I texted an angry smiley face emoji to stress my pissed off-ness in case my swollen eye and hives was disguising how upset I was with her. Although I should have known better. It was only a few months ago when the last trial she’d guilted me into had fried my taste buds. Everything had tasted like cardboard for a week.

“Okay, let’s go. And don’t give me that face.” She pointed at me as we exited the building. “We’ll make it in plenty of time for you to fill out the application and make a good impression.”

“A good imprethon?” It was my turn to give her the raised eyebrow, because I sounded like a drunk with a lisp. As soon as I let myself into the passenger seat and buckled in, I flipped down the visor to look at the damage.

“Ack!” The face staring back at me had leprosy. Or the plague. Or sadly and too true to be funny: I looked like I’d been created in a lab by a mad scientist. Just like Frankenstein.

I sent a text to myself. Stop saying yes to family.

And then I pulled out my concealer and did the best I could trying to cover the bright red hives on my face and neck. When we parked at the Raleigh Convention Center, I made Steph trade shirts with me, since hers was long-sleeved and covered the hives on my arms.

“I don’t like putting on a strip show for any perv walking by, Rhia.” Steph grumbled but complied, giving my shirt a disgusted loook before pulling it on. “Honestly, your wardrobe looks like the result of a sheep mating with a box of neon crayons.”

I might have rolled my eyes while I slipped on my sister’s neutral beige blouse. First, because that didn’t even make sense. Second, what was wrong with liking color? Bright colors made me happy. Except of course these bright red hives. Those made me unhappy. And very, very itchy.

Okay, yes, this situation was less than ideal. I’d done my research on Six Brothers Construction, the company offering the free office space for a year, and had planned on talking with them for a few minutes to highlight my passionate, goal-oriented, future-focused, tech-savvy personality. (All qualities listed in the book, Entrepreneur to Mogul in 37 Easy Steps.)

“Let’s go, Rhia. You have five minutes to fill out the application, and then we’re out of here.” Steph slammed the door and beeped the locks behind us. “I’d like to get out of here before someone sees me looking like My Little Pony threw up on my shirt.”

Like the necessity for swapping shirts was my fault? I seriously contemplated knocking my sister over the head and pushing her into one of the display model Jacuzzis usually set up at these shows. I’d pick one without water of course. The fact that I might need her to speak for me if they asked any questions helped me stifle that impulse. Barely.

“Fine. Leth’s do thith.” My eye was swollen shut, the full body hives itched like I was wearing fabric woven from poison ivy, and my tongue was still unable to form words discernable to a human ear. It was fair to say my confidence about getting this grant had decreased by about a thousand percent in the last hour.

Steph grimaced, her eyes avoiding mine. “It’ll be fine. Just fill out the form. I’ll do the talking if they have any questions. What kind of business is it again?”

Wonderful.

Once inside the building, we rode the escalators up to the exhibit space. It was packed with every trade in the building industry pimping their wares like a modern-day bazaar. Rows upon rows, booths laid out into a giant maze throughout the immense space. There were home builders, interior decorators, garage door suppliers, roofers asking passersby how old their shingles were and were they interested in a low-maintenance, metal roof.

I brought up the map of the business expo on my phone to locate the SBC booth. Left side, halfway down over in the general contractor section. Jerking my head to direct Steph to the left, I maneuvered through the press of people in search of the lifeline I needed to secure my future.

Give It Up

The Thorne Brothers #1

Beckett. Asher. Gray. Eli. Ryker. Wyatt. Five out of six very different brothers reunited—and working to make their construction firm a success. But oldest brother Beckett just found their major new project becoming one hard and sexy challenge . . .
 
A rough childhood tore Beckett and his brothers apart. It took everything he had to track them down and establish Six Brothers Construction. He only trusts them—and his drive to win. Now if SBC can build a billionaire team owner’s much-hyped new mansion, it will put them on the map—and finally fulfill Beckett’s promise to take care of his siblings. Too bad he’ll have to collaborate with hot new rival Samantha Devine, who’s throwing him curves on-site, out-the-box . . . and between the sheets.
 
Sam knows from experience that arrogant good-ole-boy Beckett is long, strong, and built to go the distance. But this is her only shot to prove she and her fledgling design company can succeed on her own terms. She’ll match Beckett’s expertise by day—and reignite the explosive heat between them by night. But when passion threatens to become real love, will this competition separate them for good . . . or make the sizzling collaboration of a lifetime?

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A former Air Force spouse, Lee Kilraine moved seven times over eighteen years before finally settling with her husband in the pine woods of North Carolina. She has worked as a physical therapy aide, a cashier, a waitress, an English tutor, a ballet teacher and a stay-at-home mom. Holding tight to her mother’s motto, “There’s nothing you can’t do if you try hard enough,” Lee returned to college as an adult and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Writing thirty-one papers in two years (she counted) rekindled her love of writing, and she set her sights on her other dream—writing romance. When she isn’t swinging on her front porch swing or watching another of their four young adult children leave the nest (she swears she isn’t pushing them out!), you can find her typing away on her computer with her golden retriever, Harley, destroying something at her feet. Lee is a 2014 Golden Heart® Finalist.

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RHCB presents... DOUGLAS, YOU'RE A GENIUS! by Ged Adamson

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're welcoming Random House Children's Books for a stop along their current tour starring that lovable duo, Nancy and Douglas.  You made their acquaintance in Douglas, You Need Glasses! (SUCH a cute book!), and this time they're back with another FUN adventure all about making friends, being inventive, and even a bit of unexpected edutainment!  So, if you're ready, let's get this show on the road as we welcome today's book of choice....

Douglas, You're a Genius!

by

Ged Adamson

9781524765309

Schwartz & Wade

About the book...

Pals Nancy and Douglas think their baseball game is over after their ball rolls through a hole in the fence. But when the ball rolls back, followed by a note in an unfamiliar language, they have to discover who’s on the other side of the fence. And so in a series of truly outrageous–and hilarious–stunts, Nancy tries to launch, vault, and fly Douglas over to the other side to see what’s what. Finally, after all Nancy’s plans fail, Douglas gets his turn to execute a plan–and it works! And who do they find? New friends who speak Spanish. Readers will laugh out loud at the antics in this zany picture book, which proves that working together makes everything more fun.

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It's true, really; all that they said above.

We get to play ball with Nancy and Douglas, see them struggle with just how to get their lost ball back, and then deal with a whole new set of questions as they try to figure out how to get to the other side.  Maybe they should ask the chicken?  Ha!  Just kidding...  Both are creative, and both have ideas on just how they should find out who is on the other side of the fence.  The thing is...while Nancy's are totally inventive and look like a lot of fun, Douglas' just has a little more practicality when it all comes down to it.  Not to worry, it's not a contest, just a solution fest between friends, so the help is appreciated...and the results are spectacular!  

I loved how the author worked a similar angle on the other side of the fence, showing that is it just a small world after all.  The inclusion of blueprints explaining their ideas really put you in the inventor's seat as their plans were carried out...though wee ones may be asking to try a few themselves!  Hey, it could be fun...with a responsible adult supervising, of course.  Then there's the impromptu language lesson, and I'm telling you, it was unexpected, but totally welcome, once again showing how friendship, and kindness can bridge any gap.

Definitely a must read for Douglas fans, but also for any kiddo that's wondered just what (or who!) was on the other side...

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About the author...

GED ADAMSON is the author and illustrator of Douglas, You Need Glasses!;I Want to Grow; Shark Dog!, and most recently, Douglas, You’re a Genius! He has worked as a cartoonist, a storyboard artist, and a music composer. It was always his ambition to write and illustrate picture books. Ged lives in London with his family. Learn more at gedadamson.com and follow him on Twitter at @ged_adamson.

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Special thanks to Sydney at Random House Children's Books for the chance to bring this tour to you as well as the copy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now via Schwartz & Wade, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!