Release Day Blast:Path of Destruction by E. Lee and C. Quinn

We would love for you to join us
in celebrating the release of 

PATH OF DESTRUCTION by E. Lee and C. Quinn!

Title: Path of Destruction (Broken Heartland #2)

Author: E. Lee and C. Quinn

Age Group: Upper YA/NA

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: December 24, 2014

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Synopsis 

They ignored the warning signs and it cost them everything... 

At the end of a life-changing summer a devastating tornado hit the small town of Hope’s Grove, Oklahoma.

While the brick suburban mansions of Summit Bluffs saw very little damage, their occupants weren’t so lucky. As the members of both communities struggle to put the pieces of their lives back together, lies will be told, truths will be revealed, and nothing will ever be the same. The road to recovery is long and paved with past hurts and future heartbreaks.

They ignored the warning signs, and one of them didn’t make it out alive. The four that remain know they’d be crazy to think the storms are actually over.. 

Because it’s just when you think you’re safe that you find yourself right in the path of destruction.

EXCERPT

Prologue – Cameron
I’d always heard that your entire life flashes before your eyes right before you die. Now, I can honestly say that it’s true. Well, almost true. It’s more like your mind flips through a mental photo album of all the things you’d done and the people you’d met—a birthday party, the first time you drove, someone’s face when you told them they’d never be as pretty as you, your mother’s reprimanding glare when you didn’t win the pageant title you were supposed to, you as a little girl waiting on the front steps for your father to come home—it’s all there. The good, the bad, the ugly. All of it.

You can try to focus on the good—like the face of the person you loved—but it’s no use. Whether you want to or not, you see it all. It must be God’s way of letting you see what he saw so you aren’t surprised when you end up on the other side in Hell. Which is exactly where I’d assumed I’d just booked a first class ticket too.

I was too weak to fight it—to argue that I was in fact a good person—once the storm decided that I was going to be one of its victims, there was nothing I could do but try to hold on to the face of the one person I was sure I’d never see again.

Served me right. I shouldn’t have waited to tell him how I felt. I should have told him the moment I felt it. The moment I realized that despite what I’d done in my past, I was a better person just for loving him.

As the darkness and quiet started to surround me, I knew that it was too late to beg for forgiveness now. Instead, I just closed my eyes and prayed for mercy.

What I thought about Path of Destruction

Path of Destruction picks up where Storm Warning, the first book in this series left off, as Hope's Grove and Summit Bluffs recover after the devastating tornado. Combined with the other interpersonal misunderstandings that occurred that night, nothing will ever be the same, and the gang struggles for quite some time over everything that happened. There are many reveals in the first part of Path of Destruction and I don't really want to spoil anything. Readers should experience how the details of what happened that night are revealed. 

There's quite a bit of sadness in this second installment in the series because no one emerges unscathed from the tornado. Mixed in with the sad stuff are break-ups, fights, jealous "friends" and temptations all in a new school setting and there are still some secrets and misunderstandings between the main characters and their parents.

What I really like about this series is the characters.  I was drawn into their lives in the first book, and by the time I started Path of Destruction I was hooked.  I had to know what happened to them. The authors manage to carry that tension and emotion through the second book of the series, leaving the reader again with a cliffhanger that left me wondering how things can ever get on a better path with this group of young adults struggling to communicate their complex feelings to anyone who can help sort out what's going on. Yeah, I know, that's cryptic, but a lot of the charm here is what is held back and how it is revealed to the reader. 

Path of Destruction isn't perfect though and there were times where I just couldn't believe that the characters don't seem to look beyond their own noses to understand what's going on.  And there were times that a conversation could clear up the confusion between the couples but it was easy to overlook some of these plot points for the enjoyment of the story.

Overall, this is a YA contemporary with tons of emotion. Looking forward to what happens next.

ARC provided for review.  

GIVEAWAY:

(5) Print Copies of STORM WARNING

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Check out the first book in the series for $.99!

Title: Storm Warning (Broken Heartland #2)

Author: E. Lee and C. Quinn

Age Group: YA

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: December 12, 2013

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Description:

Sometimes you can’t see the storm coming until it’s too late...

Severe Storm Warning Tip #1:
Be alert to changing weather conditions. Look for approaching storms.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #2:
If you see approaching storms or any of the danger signs, be prepared to take shelter immediately.

Severe Storm Warning Tip #3:
They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.

Situated just outside of Oklahoma City, Calumet County is divided into two drastically different communities: Hope’s Grove and Summit Bluffs. One is the small backward town where dirt roads lead the way to field parties and railroad tracks. And the other, a sprawling suburb where paved drives lead to the landscaped lawns of the wealthy and over privileged.

For five teenagers smack in the middle of Tornado Alley, summer is heating up fast. The winds of change are blurring the invisible line that divides the rich and the rural.

One has a secret.
One has a crush.
One has been lying.
One will get caught.
And one might not make it out alive.

They’re from two different worlds…but one summer is about to change everything.


Series info:
Whether you believe in destiny, divine intervention, or just plain ol' dumb luck, several things happened in 2013 that caused E. Lee and C. Quinn's paths to cross. It may have been that the stars aligned perfectly, or the fact anytime Luke Bryan was mentioned on a social media site both of them were tagged, or maybe it was just that their small town roots and country girl attitudes were magnetically drawn together—calling out to one another, “Y'all should write a book!” Despite geography keeping them apart—Lee in Illinois and Quinn in Alabama—they did. Thanks to three-hour phone calls, ridiculous amounts of online chats, and umpteen Google Docs—Storm Warning is the first book in their edgy new Young Adult series, Broken Heartland.

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Author Bios:

Elizabeth Lee 

Born and raised in the middle of a Midwestern cornfield (not literally, that would be weird), I’ve spent my entire life imagining stories. Stories where the right guy always gets the right girl, first kisses are as magical as they are on the big screen and anything is completely possible if you believe.

Although this journey began years ago, it recently took on a whole new life. After years of devouring hundreds of Romance, YA and New Adult novels, I had an epiphany... I should write a book. And I did it!

If I’m not reading, writing, enjoying drinks with my amazing group of girlfriends or chasing around a sarcastically funny kid, I’m probably watching television shows that were created for teenagers, while my husband teases that I’m too old to watch them.

Connect with Elizabeth:  Facebook | Twitter | Website

Caisey Quinn

Caisey Quinn lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her husband, daughter, and other assorted animals. She is the bestselling author of the Kylie Ryans series as well as several New Adult Romance novels featuring country girls finding love in unexpected places. You can find her online at www.caiseyquinnwrites.com .

Website: http://www.caiseyquinnwrites.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7041163.Caisey_Quinn

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCaiseyQuinn

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaiseyQuinn

Giveaway & Review: Where There's Smoke by Elizabeth Lee

We are thrilled to celebrate the Release Day of Elizabeth Lee's WHERE THERE'S SMOKE!!!

WHERE THERE’S SMOKE is a New Adult Romantic Suspense novel that you don't want to miss!  The hot cover made me want to read this and I wasn't disappointed.

About WHERE THERE’S SMOKE:
There is something to be said for letting go. Ryland Roberts knows that better than anyone. He'd let go of his ambitions, of his family and—most of all—of her. He'd perfected the art of putting his past behind him and accepted the fact that the town he wanted to leave in his rearview was the place where he was going to live out his days. But sometimes the past doesn't just go away. Sometimes it comes back to haunt you.

Piper Jameson convinced herself that she left for all the right reasons. She'd saved people by leaving—made sure that they weren't tainted by her rebellious ways. When her little sister asks her to come home and say goodbye to their ailing mother, she's forced to see that things aren't always as they seem. The people who she'd left behind might not have been saved at all.

In the amount of time it takes a bullet to travel from point A to point B, Piper and Ryland will have to put their feelings for each other aside and make a choice. Forced on the run with Piper's sister, they begin to understand that the future they thought was gone was never really lost.

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WHERE THERE’S SMOKE Excerpt:

I stretched my arm out and placed a hand on the cool concrete, the grit and dirt sticking to my palm. Such a contrast to the warmth I felt with Ryland firmly pressed up against me. The curves of my backside fit perfectly against his long, lean frame, our skin heating up the chill around us.

The fall weather had descended upon our small Midwestern town almost overnight. It seemed like only a week or two ago we had been wearing shorts and flip-flops. Now it was jeans and jackets. Well, actually, now it was nothing.

I felt my cheeks heat as I thought about what we had just done. I wasn't embarrassed. Far from it. In fact, I'd never felt more sure about anything in my entire life as I was about what had just happened with Ry.

“That was incredible,” he whispered against my neck as he traced lazy circles on my shoulder with his fingertips.

“Yeah,” I breathed, rolling onto my back to look up at him. The soft glow of an outdoor utility light crept through the open side of the airplane hangar, barely lighting up the space. “Never imagined our first time being on a blanket spread out on a cold, hard floor, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“Me too. Let’s get on that then,” he said with a wicked grin before he pressed his lips to mine. Propping himself on one arm—his hand resting against the side of his head—he snaked his free hand under one of the flannel blankets he'd commandeered from an airplane parked beside us.

I liked this side of him. The side that wasn't perfect and calculated. The side that just did, said, and felt what he wanted. He was literally feeling his way up my body—his hands smooth and rough all at the same time—sending all of my teenage hormones spiraling out of control. We were living in the moment, which was exactly where I preferred to be.

“You know how much I love you, right?” His face became very serious, almost concerned. “I wanted tonight to be special. I thought we'd go back to my house after we looked at the planes. My parents are gone and...” He was back in his head, thinking about his meticulously thought-out evening. Doubting his ability to be perfect. He did this sometimes—overanalyzed things. “It didn't go exactly as I planned, but—”

“It was perfect,” I assured him. “Plans, schmans.” I pulled his face to mine, giggling, my lips barely grazing his. “And I love you, too.”

That was the thing about Ryland—I saw a side of him that no one else saw. I could probably say the same for him about me. Until him, I’d never felt like I was going to amount to much, but he believed in me, even when I didn't—which was most of the time. When I was with him, I didn't feel like I needed to do everything in my power to piss people off. He made me want to stay in this Godforsaken town with a family that ignored my existence. They ignored it until I did something wrong—which was about ninety percent of the time. Then my stepfather made sure to let me just how worthless I was.

“So do you feel like a rebel?” I asked. “This being your first breaking and entering and all.”

It had been his idea to sneak on to the airfield—something that was much more in my wheelhouse than his. I was the one who usually threw caution to the wind. He was the good boy. The straight-A student. The doting son.

“Oh yeah.” He laughed. “I'm a regular badass. Nothing like walking through an open gate to an abandoned shed.” He cast his arm out sarcastically in the vacant space above our heads. Nothing but sheet metal and wooden beams. A handful of airplanes were parked around us with a smattering of fuel cans, tools, and parachutes hanging from the walls. “I'm not sure we actually broke into anything. More like casually strolled in.”

We lived in a town where people left their front doors unlocked. The kind of town where everyone knew everyone and all of their business. Truitville. It was a place with a minimal crime rate. I think that night, that's what we’d both thought: What's the worst that could happen? “So what's next then, Clyde? Wanna rob a bank?”


  What I thought about Where There's Smoke

Ryland and PIper were highschool sweethearts, making plans to stay together after graduation and Ry goes away to college on a scholarship. But everyone said she wasn’t good for him, and when there’s some major trouble what they say about Pepper seems to be true.

Six years go by. Star-student Ryland never gets out. Never goes to college. The reader doesn’t know why or what happened that fateful night when everything fell apart. But as the truth is slowly revealed, it’s easy to feel sympathetic toward Ry and even Piper.

I liked the story, and I was convinced that Ry still loved her after six years, even though he had some things he had to say first. But like matches and gasoline ;) -- another tragedy strikes, forcing Ry, Piper and Piper’s sister Hadley on the run.

The second half of the book had a nice fast pace, and the story kept moving along. And even though circumstances are very dire for all of them, it gives Ry and Piper time to reconnect.. and reconnect… *wink*. There’s some heat there!

The final resolution of their plight is a bit unbelievable and left me a bit conflicted as to whether the ends justifies the means. But since this is a HEA, it’s all good.

Overall, I liked the characters, the fast pace and the slightly unpredictable plot. A solid 3.5 for me, with an honorable mention for a very hot cover.  

About Elizabeth Lee: When I'm not writing or playing the part of wife and mother, you can find me dancing back-up for Beyonce, singing back-up for Miranda, or sunning myself on the beach with a drink in hand. Here's the thing about being born and raised in a small town—you have a very vivid imagination! Now, I channel it all to create stories where the girl always ends up with the right guy, first kisses are magical, and a happy ending is just that! 
   

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