Blurb:
Tragedy has made Keaira wise beyond her twenty
years. Forced to work for the General, a commanding man who blackmailed his way
into her life, she was ordered to study self-defense and master knife throwing.
In the hidden community of Shifters, falcons are considered weak, a fact which
may ultimately save her life. To escape his cruelty, she will need to call upon
her quick-witted falcon side, but the General has other plans – ones which
involve his only son, Carson.
When unexpected feelings form between Keaira and
Carson, the General quickly moves his pieces into place, launching his quest to
take over the world. If she wants to survive, Keaira must stay one step ahead
in the General’s deadly game and discover his weaknesses. Even if it means
risking her life and the lives of those she cares about most.
With war on the horizon, sides are being drawn. Deadly secrets must be exposed. Time is
running out for Keaira and all of mankind.
Excerpt:
Keaira jumped when her desk phone rang. Cursing, she
picked up the phone.
“Mr. Scott’s office.”
“Hey, it’s Carson.”
Keaira felt her face light up.
“Oh. Hi. How did you get my work number?” Keaira
shook her head at her own stupid question. “Ugh, I think I already knew the
answer to that.”
“Sorry. I talked to my dad this morning. Just
thought I’d warn you that he was asking questions about us.” He sounded a
little unsure of himself.
“It’s not a big deal. So, what’s up?”
Keaira twirled her chair around to stare at the
boring white wall behind her.
“I was just going to tell you I’d really like to see
you again. How does tomorrow night sound?”
Keaira pushed her foot lightly against the floor to
turn the chair the way around and rested her elbows on her desk. The deep sound
of his voice made her feel a little light headed.
“I’m free.” Keaira caught herself before she
giggled. I will not act like a giddy little school-girl over a guy, even
Carson.
“Sounds like fun.”
“Last time you shot down my idea, so I just wanted
to make sure. I’ll pick you up after work.” Now he was back to the cocky Carson
she had been with last night.
“See ya then. Bye.”
Keaira turned back around to hang up, but the cord
wouldn’t reach the cradle. She untangled it from around the chair and freed the
finger that was all wrapped up in the cord from twisting it while she was
talking to Carson. Gah, I am acting like a school-girl. Who doesn’t use
cordless phones these days anyways.
Keaira was so distracted she didn’t see Mr. Scott
come into her office. She nearly fell out of her chair when she looked up. She
could understand not hearing or seeing him enter, but surely she should have
smelled his cologne when he came into the room. I hate that cologne.
He tried to smile. To Keaira it just looked like a
sneer. She’d love to be the one who wiped it from his face one day.
He said, “Sorry, did I interrupt something?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. He knew damn well she
had just been on the phone with Carson.
“Not interrupting, no.”
He set a handful of papers on her desk. “New
membership information.”
Keaira took the papers and started looking through
them. Despite her obvious attempt to ignore him, the General didn’t leave. She
avoided his gaze as she started transferring bank accounts and phone numbers to
the computer. He pulled up a chair to the front of the desk.
“So how are things going with Carson?”
He unbuttoned his navy-blue suit jacket as he sat
down, exposing the crisp white dress shirt underneath.
Keaira didn’t look at him.
“Considering you are my boss and he is your son,
there are two strikes against you. I guess the fact that you hold my life in
your hands is the third reason why I will not talk to you about anything having
to do with me and Carson.”
The General chuckled. “I knew I could trust you to
keep secrets.”
Keaira tried not to let him affect her, but the
tremor, which ran up her spine, couldn’t be stopped. Her fingers clenched into
fists, and she figured that while he was in a good mood she would broach the
subject that had been nagging at her all day.
“Speaking of secrets, why are you keeping your, um,
plans from your family?”
She held her breath, hoping she would not regret
acting on her curiosity. She peered at him out of the corner of her eye.
The General sighed and looked at her oddly. Funny,
he thinks he can trust me. Keaira inwardly laughed. She met his brown eyes as
he stared at her. A minute passed with neither of them moving. He finally
leaned back in his chair and closed the door. Keaira relaxed a bit, allowing
herself to breathe.
“I don’t want to put them in harm’s way any more
than I already have. Those who deny the rise of the higher class may try to get
information out of them.”
He spoke quickly. Keaira had the feeling he wasn’t
telling her the whole reason.
Not being the best at holding her tongue, Keaira
whispered, “You don’t want them to try to stop you.”
The General suddenly stood and then returned the
chair to its place in the corner. He turned back toward Keaira, and she slumped
into her chair as his brown eyes bore into hers.
“I love my family. I will not let anything hurt
them.” He gave her one last hard glance as he opened the office door and left.
Keaira sat there, mouth wide open and watched him
leave.
She believed the General loved his family but on
selfish terms. This man was insane, and he held her life and the lives of many
others in his hands. If it were not for the collateral the General had over
Keaira, she would want nothing to do with his scheme to rule over the humans.
She swallowed the lump in her throat as she reminded herself he had the ability
to take any life he wanted. She wasn’t the only one in danger. Right now she
was just thankful her big mouth didn’t get her into even bigger trouble.
Guest Post:
About the Author:
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Guest Post:
Bake or Freeze Chocolate Chip Cookie
You
know how everyone has that one chocolate chip cookie recipe they
love. After years of searching, trying over fifteen different recipes, I
have found my ONE.
And
I want to share it with you!
Here
is what you’ll need:
2 and
1/4 cups of flour
1
tsp. baking soda
1/2
tsp. salt
1
cups butter (two sticks) softened
3/4
cups brown sugar
1/2
cups granulated sugar (white)
2
tsp. vanilla extract
1
egg
1
Pkg. of semi-sweet chocolate chips (12oz)
Also
two bowls (one medium one large), egg beater, and a cookie sheet
If
you are baking cookies right after making then heat oven to 375 F
First
combine flour, baking soda, and salt in the medium bowl. Set aside.
Cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in the large mixing bowl until
fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. Beat well. Gradually add in flour mixture. Beat
until flour is completely mixed in. Use a spatula to get the insides of
the bowl, be sure to get all the flour. Beat again. Stir in chocolate chips
with spoon. At this point I put the dough in the fridge while I prepare to
either bake or freeze it. It makes scooping it onto the cookie/plastic wrap
much easier.
If
you are baking right after making, then you will be dropping rounded
tablespoons, two inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 F for
8-11 minutes or until golden brown. If you are freezing you do the same only
place on a sheet of plastic wrap (I split mine up into three
batches). This is great for making cookies now and freezing some to put in the
oven later for Santa! I know he loves fresh cookies. Using an ice cream scoop
makes things easier for me.
If
you are freezing your dough, cover your dough with another piece of plastic
wrap and press in between the dough drops. Roll up. Pull all your plastic
wrapped dough into a freezer bag and save in the freezer for later.
When
you are ready for one batch or all the batches, preheat oven to 375 F. Unroll
and remove the dough drops from the wrap. Roll dough one by one in your hands
to make them into balls (also helps them unthaw).
Place
onto ungreased baking sheet two inches apart.
Bake
at 375 F for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown.
I
like this recipe because it makes great milk-dunking chocolate chip cookies.
I
also like that I don’t have 36 cookies sitting around waiting for me to eat
them. By baking a batch at a time I can limit my kids’ (ok, fine, my)
cookie intake.
I
hope you enjoy! Have a Merry Christmas!
Angela is an author, a wife, mother of two, and a
part-time assistant office manager. She loves nights when her husband cooks.
Her two kids keep her hopping and help her tap into her well of creativity and
imagination.
At thirteen, Angela read Harry Potter and was
reacquainted with books. She reads everything from Steven King to Will Hobbs.
She started writing after her youngest was born. The characters started to
visit and wouldn’t let her sleep until she wrote down their stories.
December
2 – Character
post and Review @ Sizzling
Hot YA Books
6 — Interview and
Review @ Becky on
Books
9 — Spotlight @ Delphina Reads Too Much
11 —
Spotlight @ Crazy
Vermonters Blog
14 — Interview and
Review @ Self
Publish or Die
17 — Top Ten Post
@ Laurie’s
Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews
20 — Guest Post
and Review @ Books to
Get Lost In
27 — Spotlight and
Character Interview @ Lusty
Penguin
30 — Guest Post @ Mark of the Stars
Meagan's Review:
When looking at the reviews for this book there were a lot of mixed ones. I really enjoyed this book and the groundwork it is laying for the rest of the series. At every turn this book surprised me and kept me guessing till the very end and even then I'm still curious to see what is next. Our story starts out with Shane talking about the day he met his girlfriend fifteen months ago in high school. And it was such a super sweet day and he was adorably sweet to her and they just connected. Back in the present they are heading home from a basketball game when tragedy strikes.
Eighteen months later....Keaira is working for the General and trying to figure out her life. So I should mention that Keaira is a shifter as well as the General...well he's actually a little more than that, but you'll have to read to find that out. Keaira does different tasks/assignments for the General and when she finally comes back to Utah and she meets Carson. Carson is also the General's son. Carson and Keaira hit it off and start hanging out and have the beginnings of a relationship, but their "relationship" takes and interesting turn. At first the General wanted to set up Keaira with Josh, his ex-best friend's son, as a spy. But then seeing Carson and Keaira together, he liked the idea of them leading the next generation.....together.
As the story progresses we being to see why and how relationships are formed. The General has big plans for the shifter community and of course it is nothing short of interesting. I can see how the story will continue based upon his plans. As the story progresses different pieces of information is given to the reader to hold on to, to use in the future. In the epilogue a lot of information is given and it also takes place 3 years into the future. I'm hoping that in the next book we back track (somehow) slightly to see what happens to Keaira during those 3 years. And I'm stoked to see what happens in her future. She and Carson have a good relationship with one another. And the rush of the ending is a good cliff hanger. And I'm dying to see what comes of the encounter with a waiter and cheese fries. Eppp.
However, I still think that Angela wrote this book amazingly. I loved learning about the shifter community, about the life that Keaira has had to lead, all about the General and his life and I'm dying to know what will happen next. Is a war going to break out? Who will it be between? I would definitely recommend this book, it's a super quick read (which I hated...I'm hoping the next one will be longer). But full of facts and lots of information for the reader to fall in love with.
Giveaway:
When looking at the reviews for this book there were a lot of mixed ones. I really enjoyed this book and the groundwork it is laying for the rest of the series. At every turn this book surprised me and kept me guessing till the very end and even then I'm still curious to see what is next. Our story starts out with Shane talking about the day he met his girlfriend fifteen months ago in high school. And it was such a super sweet day and he was adorably sweet to her and they just connected. Back in the present they are heading home from a basketball game when tragedy strikes.
Eighteen months later....Keaira is working for the General and trying to figure out her life. So I should mention that Keaira is a shifter as well as the General...well he's actually a little more than that, but you'll have to read to find that out. Keaira does different tasks/assignments for the General and when she finally comes back to Utah and she meets Carson. Carson is also the General's son. Carson and Keaira hit it off and start hanging out and have the beginnings of a relationship, but their "relationship" takes and interesting turn. At first the General wanted to set up Keaira with Josh, his ex-best friend's son, as a spy. But then seeing Carson and Keaira together, he liked the idea of them leading the next generation.....together.
As the story progresses we being to see why and how relationships are formed. The General has big plans for the shifter community and of course it is nothing short of interesting. I can see how the story will continue based upon his plans. As the story progresses different pieces of information is given to the reader to hold on to, to use in the future. In the epilogue a lot of information is given and it also takes place 3 years into the future. I'm hoping that in the next book we back track (somehow) slightly to see what happens to Keaira during those 3 years. And I'm stoked to see what happens in her future. She and Carson have a good relationship with one another. And the rush of the ending is a good cliff hanger. And I'm dying to see what comes of the encounter with a waiter and cheese fries. Eppp.
However, I still think that Angela wrote this book amazingly. I loved learning about the shifter community, about the life that Keaira has had to lead, all about the General and his life and I'm dying to know what will happen next. Is a war going to break out? Who will it be between? I would definitely recommend this book, it's a super quick read (which I hated...I'm hoping the next one will be longer). But full of facts and lots of information for the reader to fall in love with.
Soul Fire
Giveaway:
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