Release Day Launch: Melt by Selene Castrovilla

Happy Book Birthday to Selene Castrovilla's MELT! Many thanks to all of the wonderful readers and bloggers that are participating in the Release Day Launch today. Check out the book's details and teaser, and be sure to enter the giveaway below!

Melt
by Selene Castrovilla
Publisher: Last Syllable Books
Release Date: November 6th 2014

Synopsis:

MELT is a brutal love story set against the metaphorical backdrop of The Wizard of Oz (not a retelling). When sixteen year old Dorothy moves to the small town of Highland Park, she meets, and falls for Joey – a “bad boy” who tells no one about the catastrophic domestic violence he witnesses at home. Can these two lovers survive peer pressure, Joey’s reputation, and his alcoholism? Told in dual first person, Joey's words are scattered on the page - reflecting his broken state. Dorothy is the voice of reason - until something so shattering happens that she, too, may lose her grip. Can their love endure, or will it melt away? MELT is based on true events. It is both a chilling tale of abuse, and a timeless romance. It will hit you like a punch in the face, and also seep through the cracks in your soul.

For the past month leading up to the release of MELT, Selene Castrovilla has shared a fantastic MELTdown post every day on her blog! In these posts she's shared tidbits of "insider information” about MELT: its content, its inspiration and her writing process... including excerpts! The first post is HERE, and you use the post navigation at the bottom of the page to click through and read them. Enjoy!

Join us for MELT's Online Launch Party!

 

[RSVP Here]

You’ve invited to celebrate the release of Selene Castrovilla’s MELT at her Facebook Launch Party on November 9, 2014. The party will be from 5:00 – 11:00 PM EST, so we hope you’ll stop by! There will be prizes, and very special guests: Beth Fehlbaum, Gae Polisner, Cassie Shine, and Kathy Cannon Weichman. We hope to see you there! 

Selene Castrovilla is an award-winning teen and children’s author who believes that through all trends, humanity remains at the core of literature. She is the author of Saved By the Music and The Girl Next Door, teen novels originally published by WestSide Books and now available digitally through ASD Publishing. Her third children’s book with Calkins Creek Books, Revolutionary Friends, was released in April 2013. She is also a contributing author to UncommonYA. Selene holds an MFA in creative writing from New School University and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons. Visit her website www.SeleneCastrovilla.com for book excerpts and more information!

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Blog Tour: Mortal Enchantment (Mortal Enchantment #1) by Stacey O'Neale

Mortal Enchantment (Mortal Enchantment #1)

by Stacey O'Neale

Publisher: Phoenix Reign Publishing

Release Date: May 20th 2014
Rate: Enjoyed it (4 stars)

Synopsis:

In Kalin Matthew's world, elementals control the forces of nature. They are divided into four courts: air, woodland, fire, and water. At sixteen she will leave the life she's built with her mortal mother. Kalin will move to Avalon to rule with her father—the elemental king of the air court. Along the way, she's attacked by a fire court assassin and saved by Rowan, a swoon-worthy elemental with a questionable past. 

Worst of all, she learns her father is missing.

To rescue him, Kalin will have to work with a judgmental council and a system of courts too busy accusing each other of deceit to actually be able to help her. But, they aren’t her biggest challenge. With the Midwinter’s Ball only five days away, Kalin must take over her father’s duties, which includes shifting control of the elements—power Kalin has yet to realize.

As Rowan attempts to train her, a war looms between the four courts. If Kalin fails, her father will die and the courts will fall, but the betrayal she’s about to uncover may cost her even more...

Mortal Enchantment truly transported me to a whole new world. I found myself immersed in Avalon and dying to know what would happen with Kalin and Rowan. How could I not enjoy this story if it has the best thing about YA? Fantasy, danger and romance.

It is very important for a fantasy novel to build the world perfectly. As a reader myself, I want to be able to imagine the world that the author had in mind for the story and Stacey O'Neale did a perfect job. In every single scene, all that surrounds Kalin is explain to detail and it was pretty easy to imagine Avalon. 

The journey Kalin and Rowan both do together is a tough one and I liked that there were some battle scenes. As for the characters, Kalin is one of those main characters that either you connect with her or you don't. She has some special reactions to some situations that I found it a bit surreal, meaning I wouldn't react so dramatically. However, she was a good heroine and we could see over her childish moments because you can truly see that she was trying to be mature and we also have to remember that she's only sixteen. 

Rowan is definitely a perfect book boyfriend that I am dying to read more about. My only regret is that I wish I have read the novella first to get to know him better before meeting him in Mortal Enchantment. He's good, kind and has this all guardian thing going on that makes him kind of irresistible. Plus his playful side is what most of the times brought a smile to my face while reading the book.

Mortal Enchantment is a fast-paced fantasy novel worth reading about. With a good ending, an amazing world and memorable characters, this YA story has all the things to keep you interested until the very last page.

Click on the banner below to follow the Mortal Enchantment tour

Stacey O'Neale lives in Annapolis, Maryland. When she's not writing, she spends her time fangirling over books, blogging, watching fantasy television shows, cheering for the Baltimore Ravens, and hanging out with her husband and daughter.

Her career in publishing started as a blogger-turned-publicist for two successful small publishers. Stacey writes young adult paranormal romance and adult science fiction romance. Her books always include swoon-worthy heroes, snarky heroines, and lots of kissing.

Stacey loves hearing from readers. Follow her on Twitter @StaceyONeale, look for her on Facebook, Pinterest, and GoodReads. You can also visit her blog at http://staceyoneale.com/.

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