Happy Release Day Post & Giveaway to Fire in You by Jennifer L. Armentrout!

Some are born with fire in them.

✮✮✮SECOND CHANCES, HOPE, & RED-HOT CHEMISTRY…FIRE IN YOU, the final book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Wait For You World is here! Don’t Miss Brock and Jillian’s passionate and richly moving story in this standalone contemporary romance!✮✮✮

Let the FIRE IN YOU burn and grab your copy today!

About FIRE IN YOU:

From the # 1 New York Times and International bestselling author comes a richly moving story about heartbreak and guilt, second chances and hope. Full of familiar, fan-favorite characters and no two people more deserving of a happy ending, Fire In You will burn bright beyond the last page…

Jillian Lima’s whole world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun. It takes six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.

She just never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.

Brock knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more than her heart, because when the sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together, and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Order a digital or paperback copy of FIRE IN YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout, writing as J.Lynn, AND fill out THIS FORM by December 3^rd, and get an exclusive bonus scene-an Epilogue featuring POVs from all the major couples throughout the Wait For You World!

FIRE IN YOU will be available in paperback and eBook November 28th, 2016!

Just enter your name, age, email address, and the order number from your digitalor paperback pre-order receipt at https://a.pgtb.me/M7KhMC to receive your exclusive FIRE IN YOU bonus scene! All entrants will receive the bonus scene on December 5th, 2016 through email using the email given when the entrant filled out THIS FORM.

EXCERPT:

Making my way through the narrow pathways between the tables, I headed back toward the bathroom. Only once I pushed open the double doors and stopped in front of the water-spotted mirror did I realize I’d left my purse at the table, so there’d be no reapplying my lipstick.

I pumped soap onto my hands and waved them under the facet. Water flowed, washing away the suds as I slowly lifted my gaze to my reflection. Normally when I looked at myself, I didn’t really pay attention longer than was necessary to put makeup on without ending up looking like a tutorial gone wrong.

Standing here now, I really looked at myself, though.

I used to wear my hair up all the time, but I’d stopped doing that every day. My hair now hung in waves and the ends curled over the tips of my breasts. I also used to have heavy bangs, but thank God they were long gone. I’d finally learned how to put on eyeliner. That was another miracle. The slight flush of my face darkened my naturally tan skin. My lips were fuller and my nose straight.

My hair was parted to sweep to the left so it shielded my cheek…and my cheek didn’t look that bad, especially considering how it looked the first time I’d seen it after…after days in the hospital.

Hell, my entire face had been one hot mess.

There was a deep indentation in my left cheek, almost like an icepick had been shoved in there, and as I stared at my right jaw line, I was still amazed by what reconstructive plastic surgeons could accomplish. Half my face had literally been pieced back together with an iliac crest graft with a reconstruction plate and a crap ton of dentistry to give me back a full set of functional teeth.

Plastic surgeons didn’t have magic wands, but they were magicians. If you weren’t looking at me straight on, you’d have no idea that my right jaw was thinner than my left.

You’d have no idea what had happened to me that night.

Now I stared back at myself just like I had done that night, six years ago, standing in a bathroom, mere minutes before my entire life came crashing down.

It wasn’t that I hated the way I looked now. The fact that I was alive meant I was one of those rare, walking and breathing statistics.

But even knowing how lucky I was didn’t change the fact that I felt…deformed. That was a harsh word to use. I didn’t like to whip it out often. Doing so on what was so far a pretty good date was probably not a good idea.

Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. I didn’t need my thoughts going in that direction tonight. So far, the dinner had been amazing. Grady was nice and he was cute. I could maybe see myself going out with him again, to an art exhibit, and maybe coffee.

And that was what had freaked me out.

I was not going to let living freak me out.

Nope.

I could give him a chance and not worry about whether or not I was settling.

Turning from the sink, I dried my hands and then readjusted my hair so it fell forward, over my left shoulder and cheek. I walked out of the bathroom and into the narrow hall, gaze trained on the floor as I took about two steps before I realized someone was standing right outside the door, leaning against the wall. Before I nearly plowed into him.

Gasping, I took a step back. All I could see were finely cut black trousers paired with…with old black and white Chucks? What an odd combination, but those shoes reminded me of…

I gave a little shake of my head and stepped to the side. “Sorry. Excuse—”

“Jillian.”

I stopped.

Time stopped.

Everything stopped except my heart, because it was suddenly pounding in my chest too hard, too fast. That deep, rough voice. I recognized it all the way to my very core. Slowly, I lifted my gaze, already knowing what I was going to see but refusing to believe it.

Brock Mitchell stood in front of me.

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/fDn7F_mJuok

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. She spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Inkslinger for allowing us to be a part of this tour! We love working with them just as much as we love Jenn Armentrout's books! *heart eyes and grabby hands*

Review: All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

Title: All The Ugly and Wonderful Things
Author: Bryn Greenwood
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Hardcover, 346 Pages
Published August 2016

Summary: As the daughter of a meth dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible "adult" around. She finds peace in the starry Midwestern night sky above the fields behind her house. One night everything changes when she witnesses one of her father's thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold, wreck his motorcycle. What follows is a powerful and shocking love story between two unlikely people that asks tough questions, reminding us of all the ugly and wonderful things that life has to offer.

I received a finished copy of this book from St. Martin's Press way back in July to read and review, and I've been a bit held up getting adjusted to college, but I've been getting through it bit by bit. Now that the semester is coming to an end and classes are winding down, I had the opportunity to sit down and finish this book, and I'm very glad that I did.

This book tells the story of Wavy, a young girl who has a pretty hard life. Her mother is pretty absent, her father is a meth dealer, and nobody really takes care of her or her younger brother. It's only when Kellen, an employee of her father's, wrecks his bike and stumbles upon Wavy that someone finally cares about her. He feeds her, takes her to school, pays for her tuition, and does all he can to keep her thriving.

And eventually, they fall in love. Which would be sweet and all, if Kellen wasn't in his twenties before Wavy was even fourteen. Nevertheless, the love between the two of them was sweet, and throughout the book you could tell how much he loved Wavy, even if he sometimes made some stupid decisions.

So, this book basically follows Wavy throughout her life, from childhood to adulthood, as she grows up in an extremely broken household. She's feared by pretty much everyone she knows for being a "weird girl" -- one that is very tiny, barely speaks, and never eats in front of people. She has some quirks and insecurities and such, things that most people don't understand, but Kellen always seems to get her. He takes care of her and loves her, even when people don't approve and her life is going downhill.\

There are a lot of hard things that go on in Wavy's life, also. It's hard enough being ignored by your parents -- but some of the things she's had to witness were just awful -- people doing drugs and people performing sexual acts on her own father, just to name a few. Before she was even thirteen, Wavy had experienced plenty of things that most college freshman haven't seen yet, or ever plan to see in their lifetime.

Wavy leads a very twisted life, and your heart can't help but ache for the poor girl. But I enjoyed seeing her bravery and her ability to keep a level head throughout all of the things that happened to her, especially with Kellen by her side, loving her and taking care of her.

All in all, I really enjoyed All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. It was a very interesting read, definitely not something I've read before. At times, things got really intense and graphic, so I wouldn't recommend this book for younger readers. Other than that, I really enjoyed Wavy and Kellen's love story. It was something sweet and adorable, something that wasn't common, and something I was rooting for the whole way. 

If you're looking for a different kind of romance story, something that isn't all fluff and rainbows, I definitely recommend giving this one a try. You won't regret it! 

I'd also like to thank St. Martin's for sending me this book a few months back -- I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, and I'm now so glad that I had a chance to read it! I'd definitely be opened to reading more work from Bryn Greenwood in the future.

Happy Thanksgiving! 12 Books We're Thankful for this Holiday Season

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Today at The Book Bratz, we're celebrating this holiday of giving thanks by sharing twelve books that we're thankful for. (And then, of course, we're going to go stuff our faces.) How many of these books have you read?

           

So, those are just a handful of books that we're thankful for this year! What about you? Comment down below and tell us what books you're thankful for this Thanksgiving! And also, a bonus question: What's your favorite part about Thanksgiving overall? 

For me, it's personally all of the good food and then getting to go Black Friday shopping the next day -- I love getting people Christmas presents!

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving, everyone! Eat lots of good food and spend lots of good time with family! :-) And also, enjoy this GIF:

Book Blitz & Giveaway: Shadow Fall by Audrey Grey

Shadow Fall
Audrey Grey
(Shadow Fall, #1)
Published by: Blaze Publishing
Publication date: November 22nd 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

The asteroid hurtling toward the earth will kill billions.
The Emperor and his Gold Court will be safe in their space station, watching from the stars. The Silvers will be protected underground. But the Bronzes must fight it out at the Shadow Trials for the few remaining spots left on the space station.
When an enigmatic benefactor hands Maia Graystone a spot in the Trials, she won’t just get a chance at salvation for her and her baby brother, Max: She gets to confront the mother who abandoned her in prison, the mad Emperor who murdered her father, and the Gold prince who once loved her. But it’s the dark bastard prince she’s partnered with that will make her question everything, including her own heart. With the asteroid racing closer every day, Maia must trust someone to survive.
The question is who?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

You can get your copy now for the special release price of 99 cents, and be sure to meet us at the Facebook Party happening right now!

—

EXCERPT:

My legs wobble as I step into the now lukewarm water. I sink to the bottom. Tiny bubbles escape my nose as I watch all the ugly remnants from the last seven years leave my body.

Lungs burning, I rise and come face-to-face with Pit Boy.
I glare at him. “You really have to work on the knocking thing.”
Despite the fact that I’m indecent, his attention never falls from my face. I almost wish it would, just to give me a break from the intensity of his focus.
“I only get a few more hours to be the ‘one-eyed freak’ from the pit. Might as well take advantage.” He doesn’t dare crack a smile, so it’s hard to tell if he’s joking or serious.
“Don’t worry. In my heart, that’s exactly who you’ll always be.”
His words remind me that soon we’ll be reconstructed using forbidden nanotech. But it won’t just be our flesh they’ll reengineer. It will be our brains, too.
I don’t foresee my rewiring being too complicated, but Riser needs to upload almost twenty years of false memories. That will be tricky and time-consuming.
And time is the one thing we don’t have.
Riser flicks his gaze to the mirror. He lifts a hand, touches the patch of mottled flesh where his eye should be.
“How did it happen?” I ask.
“Careful, my lady.” His gaze settles on my face. “You’re beginning to sound like you care.”
I roll my eyes. “And I thought I was lacking in conversational skills.”
He focuses his attention on the graffiti sprayed across the mirror.
“It’s written language,” I blurt, even though all I want to do is end the conversation so Pit Boy can leave. His presence unnerves me more than the other Pit Leeches ever could. “It’s how we communicate.”
“I know what it is.” He examines his jagged thumbnail. “I just . . . can’t read it.”
“It’s just stuff about the Chosen. You know, insults.” The populace is finicky. As much as they love watching the Chosen with their petty intrigues and court life, they would be just as happy to see their heads on a pike.
“Chosen?”
Time to explain what you are, Everly, Nicolai’s voice grates inside my head. Riser’s eyes flutter just enough that I know he’s heard Nicolai’s voice too.
You do it, I think, watching Riser’s reaction. But his face remains emotionless; either he’s a good actor or only Nicolai can hear my response.
“The Royalist astronomers discovered the asteroid twenty-one years ago,” I begin. “It’s actually a slow moving planet called an earth-crosser, meaning its orbit and ours intersect every twenty-thousand years. Usually it’s too far away to affect us, but this time it will pass close enough to wreak havoc and make the earth uninhabitable for years.” I stir the water with my big toe. “Before I was born, the Emperor decided that creating a population of genetically superior humans would be a great idea, you know, just in case the Caskets don’t work or the asteroid does more damage than predicted.”
Riser’s hyper-focused gaze bores through me. “You’re one of them?”
“Yes.” I run my hand through the filthy water. “But my father’s a Bronze, so even though my mother comes from a Gold House, the Emperor only allowed them one Chosen instead of the customary twins. So it’s just me . . . not Max.”
“What makes being Chosen so special?”
“I don’t know . . .” I bite my lip, trying to remember everything my parents told me. “My genes are perfect, I guess.”
For some reason, talking about my body makes me remember that I am naked in a room with a boy. As if reading my mind, Riser slowly lets his gaze fall, his expression both curious and unapologetic as he takes me all in, his thoughts cryptic.
“What are you staring at?” I blurt, smashing my breasts beneath my hands. Not like there’s much there to cover. “Haven’t you seen a naked girl before?”
A smile twitches his lips. “Not one that’s genetically flawless.”
“It doesn’t work that way! You can’t just look at us and tell. We look like everyone else—”
“No.” Riser shakes his head, a dark swath of hair covering his damaged eye. “You don’t. Whatever you are.”
“You must be happy . . . about our reconstruction, I mean,” I mumble, trying desperately to change the subject. “They’ll fix your eye . . . and . . . and all those horrible scars.”
I freeze as he slides off the counter, unable to look away as he hooks one finger beneath his shirt and lifts.
Scars ravage his anemic body in varying shades of red and silver and white. Some deep and pitted like the craters of a far-away planet, others smooth and neat. One particular nasty scar carves down his shoulder, tunneling across his chest and stomach. A fresh red wound nestles just below his throat.
He carefully touches the long ugly one. “I’m not ashamed for surviving.”

Author Bio:
Audrey Grey lives in the charming state of Oklahoma, with her husband, two little people, and four mischievous dogs. You can usually find her hiding out in her office from said little people and dogs, surrounded by books and sipping kombucha while dreaming up wondrous worlds for her characters to live in.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

GIVEAWAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We'd like to thank the lovely staff at XPresso for allowing us to be a part of this tour! :-)

Blog Tour: Fire in You by Jennifer L. Armentrout!

Some are born with fire in them.

✮✮✮SECOND CHANCES, HOPE, & RED-HOT CHEMISTRY…FIRE IN YOU, the final book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Wait For You World, releases November 28, 2016! Don’t Miss Brock and Jillian’s passionate and richly moving story in this standalone contemporary romance! And check out each stop on the FIRE IN YOU Feature Tour taking place November 21-December 3!✮✮✮

Let the FIRE IN YOU burn and order your copy today!

About FIRE IN YOU (Standalone Contemporary Romance Releasing November 28, 2016):

From the # 1 New York Times and International bestselling author comes a richly moving story about heartbreak and guilt, second chances and hope. Full of familiar, fan-favorite characters and no two people more deserving of a happy ending, Fire In You will burn bright beyond the last page…

Jillian Lima’s whole world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun. It takes six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.

She just never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.

Brock knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more than her heart, because when the sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together, and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Pre-Order a digital or paperback copy of FIRE IN YOU by Jennifer L. Armentrout, writing as J.Lynn, AND fill out THIS FORM by December 3rd, and get an exclusive bonus scene-an Epilogue featuring POVs from all the major couples throughout the Wait For You World!

FIRE IN YOU will be available in paperback and eBook November 28th, 2016!

Just enter your name, age, email address, and the order number from your digital or paperback pre-order receipt athttps://a.pgtb.me/M7KhMCto receive your exclusive FIRE IN YOU bonus scene! All entrants will receive the bonus scene on December 5th, 2016 through email using the email given when the entrant filled out THIS FORM.

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/fDn7F_mJuok

FIRE IN YOU Feature Tour

November 21

The Book Bratz-Review
This Wacky Mama Reads!-Review & Excerpt
Booklovers For Life-Character Q & A-Jillian

November 22

The Reading Geek-Review
Words With Sarah-Review & Author Interview

November 23

Grown Up Book Reviews (MundieMoms)-Review
Krista’s Dust Jacket-Review & Excerpt
Oh My Growing TBR-Review & Excerpt

November 24

A Bookish Escape-Review
Star-Crossed Book Blog-Review & Author Interview

November 25

Book Bitches Blog-Review & Excerpt
The Irish Banana Reviews-Review & Author Interview

November 26

Stuck In YA Books-Review & Top 5 List
Step Into Fiction-Review & Excerpt

November 27

Less Reality, More Books-Review & Character Q & A-Kristen
My YA NA Book Obsession-Review & Author Interview

November 28

RentasticReads-Review
Stuck in Books-Dual Reviews
Mrs. Leif’s Two Fangs About It-Review
MEReadAlot-Review

November 29

Milky Way of Books-Review
Love Between the Sheets-Review & Character Q & A-Brock
Book Boyfriend Reviews-Review

November 30

The Cover Contessa-Review & Top 5 List
Deity Island-Review & Excerpt
All Romance Reviews-Review & Excerpt

December 1

Cocktails and Books-Review
Readers Live 1000 Lives-Review & Character Q & A-Avery & Cam
K-Books-Review

December 2

Tome Tender-Review & Excerpt
The Book Hookup-Review & Excerpt

December 3

Nose Stuck in a Book-Review & Excerpt
Kimberlyfaye Reads-Review & Top 5 List

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:


# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. She spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.


Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.


She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

We'd like to thank InkSlinger for allowing us to be a part of this blog tour!

The College Diaries: Jess on Class Registration

Hi guys! Jessica here, with another quick installment of the College Diaries. Since I just recently registered for my spring semester classes, I figured that there's no time like the present to rant about that entire process.

Let me just say, I used to think that trying to get into a class in my own high school was the hardest thing I'd ever have to do. Competing with over 1,400 other students to not just get the good classes, but just any classes that fit into my schedule somehow, was a whole different animal. 

One of the biggest things that upperclassmen and advisers tell me at my university is to always have a backup plan, in case things don't go your way. So, being the over-prepared person I am, I prepared four schedules. Four. I made sure that there was a backup plan for my backup plan's backup plan. 

But of course, life didn't go my way, because the day before I was able to register for classes, I checked online to make sure that all of my classes that I wanted to take still had seats available. And every single class was filled.

Yep. Every single class on my original plan and my three other backup plans. 

Yeah.

I didn't think that kind of bad luck would happen to anybody. I certainly wasn't expecting it to happen to me. 

So the night before registration opened, I had to scramble around to make things work. I managed to find some courses that weren't too terrible, but basically everything that I was excited to take for my spring semester was out of my reach. Instead of NYC in Literature, I have to take Women in Modern Drama. Instead of Urbanism, I have to take Art History. (Which are still some interesting classes, but not really the things I was going for.)

But hey, there's a bright side -- this is my last semester taking Italian, so after May, I'll be free! (Seven years later...)

Basically, the college registration process is just super stressful. On registration morning, I had to get up at the lovely hour of 6:00am and dutifully watch the world clock to make sure I logged into the portal at exactly the right time. I had to shakily type in all of my course numbers, praying that nothing went wrong. After I managed to breathe a sigh of relief having gotten into all of the classes I needed to be in, I was about to go back to sleep.

But then I got a tornado of texts from other girls on my floor, all needing help with their own registration, so I took off to help them out. Basically, registration morning felt like a blend between a sinking ship and the Hunger Games.

It's definitely not a good time.

So, that's my rant on the college registration process. Other than that, I'd say that classes are going really well. I'm heading home for Thanksgiving break on Tuesday, which makes me super excited -- I can't wait to see my friends and family (not to mention my boyfriend *heart eyes*) again! It'll be a good week filled with lots of food, family, and time well spent with my friends from home.

If you'll excuse me, it's time for me to take a nap. Because it's college, and that's the kind of thing we do here.

NaNoWriMo Progress Post!

Hey guys! Jessica here. We're about halfway through National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), so I decided to check in and update everybody on my progress. (And if you're wondering what NaNoWriMo is or how I started off this project, you can check out my previous check-in post here.)

So, as for the quick update on my progress. I was expecting to be able to dedicate a lot more time to writing, but being that I'm in college, I'm not making nearly as much progress and I hoped I would. I'm still confident that I'll win this year and finish on time, but it'll definitely require a lot more work on my part.

What's frustrating is that it's not because I'm too "lazy" to write. I went home a few times throughout the past few weeks for family obligations, and I've been swamped with a lot of homework and papers for my classes. So I've been finishing homework so late in the night that can barely keep my head up, let alone work on my writing. But after looking back at the progress I've made so far, I'm definitely going to schedule a much more rigid time frame for me to get my writing accomplished. Because if there's one thing I'm not, it's a quitter.

So I just need to figure out how to make more time for my writing. I think I'll have to start waking up earlier in the day (because most of my classes are late in the afternoon and at night), and I can get more homework done quicker so I'll have more time to work on my writing at night. I'm also horribly stuck with the ending of my book and not sure where I want to go with that, so I'm running out of time and definitely need to figure that out soon.

So, that's just my brief check in regarding NaNoWriMo. If you're participating, comment down below and let me know your progress also! Are you doing as well as you expected? Better? Worse? 

Also, any tips on how I myself can make more time for my writing during my busy college schedule would be greatly appreciated, so if you've got any of those, drop them down below in the comments section!

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to buckle down and tackle my writing for tonight!

Excerpt Reveal: Fire in You by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Some are born with fire in them.

✮✮✮READERS OF THE #1 NYT BESTSELLING WAIT FOR YOU SAGA REJOICE! FIRE IN YOU is coming! SECOND CHANCES, HOPE, & RED-HOT CHEMISTRY… Don’t Miss Brock and Jillian’s passionate and richly moving story in this standalone contemporary romance releasing November 28, 2016! ✮✮✮

Check out the excerpt below and preorder your copy today!

About FIRE IN YOU (Standalone Contemporary Romance Releasing November 28, 2016):

From the # 1 New York Times and International bestselling author comes a richly moving story about heartbreak and guilt, second chances and hope. Full of familiar, fan-favorite characters and no two people more deserving of a happy ending, Fire In You will burn bright beyond the last page…

Jillian Lima’s whole world was destroyed in a span of a few hours. The same night her childhood love, Brock ‘the Beast’ Mitchell, broke her heart, her life was irrevocably altered by the hand of a stranger with a gun. It takes six years to slowly glue together the shattered pieces of her life, but Jillian is finally ready to stop existing in a past full of pain and regret. She takes a job at her father’s martial arts Academy and she’s going out on her first date since a failed relationship that was more yuck than yum. Jillian is determined to start living.

She just never expected Brock to be a part of her life again. But he’s firmly back in her life before she knows it, and not only is he older, he’s impossibly more handsome, more teasing and more everything. And when he sees Jillian, he’s no longer capable of thinking of her as the little girl who was his shadow growing up or the daughter of the man who gave him a second chance at life. He sees the woman who’d always been there for him, the one person who believed in him no matter what.

Brock knows she’s the one he should’ve made his, and what begins as a tentative friendship quickly turns to red-hot chemistry that sparks a flame that burns brighter than lust. Falling for Brock again risks more than her heart, because when the sorrow-filled and guilt-ridden past resurfaces, and a web of lies threatens to rip them apart, the fallout could lay waste to everything they’ve fought to build together, and destroy the dreams of those they care most about.

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EXCERPT:


Brock’s gaze flickered over my face and the line of his jaw softened. “It’s been a really long time since you and I have sat and talked to one another. I know you have every reason to hate me. I don’t blame you.”


“I don’t hate you.” That twisting motion in my chest picked up. What I had said was true. Maybe at one point I did. Okay. I’m sure I had, but I’d never been one to hate anyone. It just wasn’t in me. Well, I hated plenty of fictional characters, but some people would claim they didn’t count. I drew in a shallow breath and repeated, “I don’t hate you.”


Brock was still as he stared at me, a flicker of surprise and relief mingling across his chiseled features. “I’m…I’m glad to hear that.”


I pushed all that mess aside and focused. “Why are you even the GM? You’ve probably made enough money to live a very, very long time without having to worry about a paycheck.”


“I have. When I retired from professional fighting two years ago, I could’ve lived quite comfortably for the rest of my life.”


I wanted to ask why he’d retired so young. At his age, he still had a couple of more years left, but I resisted the urge. “So why take this job?”


A frown started to appear. “Do you really need to ask me that?” Before I could respond, he lifted a hand, thrusting his fingers through his hair as he said, “Your father saved my life. That’s not an exaggeration. You know that. If it hadn’t been for him, I would’ve died on those streets. The Academy became my life and it is a part of me. This company is important to me, and even if I’m not fighting, representing the Academy, I still need to be a part of it.”


Lowering my gaze, I squirmed in my chair. Of course I knew that. No matter what had happened, that would’ve never changed for him.


“I love scouting, looking for fresh talent,” he continued. “As the GM, I can still do that. I can give back to your father for everything he did for me. I need to do that. Especially considering how badly I let him down.”


“How in the world did you let my father down?” I asked, genuinely curious. “You’ve won championships for him. Brought so much attention to the—”


“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Tone serious, he held my gaze. “You never told him why you were at Mona’s that night.”


I stilled.


“If you had, he would’ve—”


My eyes snapped to his. “Brock.”


“And I would’ve deserved everything I had coming to me,” he continued, leaning forward. “And the only reason why I never told him you were there because of me was because you made me promise not to.”


Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips together. I had made him promise not to say a word. I’d begged him, because I knew what would happen if he’d been honest. Brock would’ve lost everything.


The knot was back, expanding in my throat. I couldn’t sit here and think and talk about these kinds of things if I was going to be able to make this job work. Curling my hands together, I opened my eyes. “What happened back then has nothing to do with now. It can’t.”


Brock leaned back and straightened.


“And I don’t want to talk about it,” I continued, struggling to keep my voice steady. “We don’t need to talk about any of that for us to work together.”


He was silent for a moment, his body deviously relaxed, but he was like a coiled cobra, and could strike at any moment. “I don’t agree with that, but I’ll let it go.”


Some of the tension seeped out of my shoulders even though I had a feeling there was an unspoken “for now” at the end of what he said. “That’s all, then? I would like to get my office set up and get to work.”


Brock nodded and pushed off the desk. Walking around it, he scanned the paperwork on his desk. “I do believe we have a meeting today with the sales team. Two o’clock.”


“Sounds good.” I rose on oddly shaky legs and turned to the door. Everything felt surreal.


“Jillian.”


Stopping, I faced him. “Yes?”


His shoulders rose with a deep breath as his gaze drifted over my face once more, and I wondered what he thought about how I looked now. “I really want this to work for us, Jillian,” he said, and I felt the very sharp twisting motion in my chest give one powerful stab. “It’s a second chance for us.”











About Jennifer L. Armentrout:


# 1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. She spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.


Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Jennifer has won numerous awards, including the 2013 Reviewers Choice Award for Wait for You, the 2015 Editor’s Pick for Fall With Me, and the 2014/2015 Moerser-Jugendbuch- Jury award for Obsidian. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.


She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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 We'd like to thank InkSlinger for allowing us to be a part of this tour! We are sooo excited for this one!!