Review- Beautiful Sacrifice by Jamie McGuire

Beautiful Sacrifice on Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Falyn Fairchild can walk away from anything. Having already left her car, her education, and even her parents, the daughter of the next governor of Colorado is back in her hometown, broke and waiting tables for the Bucksaw Café. After every shift, Falyn adds to her shoebox of cash, hoping to one day save enough to buy her a plane ticket to the only place she can find forgiveness: Eakins, Illinois.

The moment Taylor Maddox is seated in Falyn’s section at the Bucksaw, she knows he’s trouble. Taylor is charming, breaks promises, and gorgeous even when covered in filth—making him everything Falyn believes a hotshot firefighter to be. Falyn isn’t interested in becoming another statistic, and for a Maddox boy, a disinterested girl is the ultimate challenge.

Once Falyn learns where Taylor calls home, everything changes. In the end, Maddox persistence is met with Falyn’s talent for leaving, and for the first time, Taylor may be the one to get burned.

Release date: May 31st 2015

Published by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Page numbers: 284

REVIEW:

Normally, I do not read, nor do I like to read romances. There are, however, a few authors who stand as my exceptions when it comes to cheesy stories. On a daily basis, I prefer dark and serious reads. So the rare times when I do pick up a romance, all I hope for is an escape and a distraction, and that is exactly what Beautiful Sacrifice ended up doing for me. While I have come across many negatives reviews for the book, I honestly cannot pinpoint to anything specific that I liked or didn't like about the book that neither made it a must-read, nor a stay miles away from this book read. If anything, it was an average but fun book. Having said that, what has to be made clear here itself is that the more the book is on my mind, the more dumb it seems, which it was. But taken as a light, one-time read, which is far better, it was quite okay really. 

Plot-wise, Beautiful Sacrifice lacked depth and strength. It was the most dullest and predictable plot ever. From the beginning, I had my suspicions about the female protagonist, Falyn's past, and I ended up being right which frustrates me to no end because I want stories to surprise me, to give me the unexpected. Even the so called "twists" didn't pose as twists in the literal sense, but just added to the boring, irritating and highly unnecessary drama that was going on. Honestly, sometimes the plot took such ridiculous turns that the book could be classified as comedy rather than romance. 

Coming to the protagonist, while Falyn's past wasn't anything fresh or new, I genuinely liked reading about her present life where she worked at The Bucksaw Café. The environment there was so welcoming and friendly and instantly added to some nice warmth, in terms of the café owners and Falyn's co-workers who were very kind and fun. Falyn herself was very insecure and kept questioning herself which was frustrating at times. Taylor Maddox was really nice though. The main problem is that, from the very start until the end of the book, Flayn and Taylor's relationship didn't see any development or progress. It was exactly the same, and that was a major disappointment. What was admirable was that for the first time, a Maddox brother lived up to the expectation of a Maddox boy. 

Talking about the Maddox clan, as usual, it was lovely to meet them all, but Jamie McGuire, please! Enough with the same old, same old stuff. I am so fed up of the Abby and Travis wedding plot. It is too much of a coincidence that all these Maddox brothers find the perfect one at the same time. Seriously? I don't need to say every time that I love Abby and Travis. That is no surprise. But even for me, it is getting too much now. Move on, people. And speaking of coincidences, Beautiful Sacrifice had way too many to count. Like I said in the very beginning, I would neither bash nor buy this book. It served its purpose of a book by giving me a distraction for the time during which I read it. Nothing special or extraordinary in it, Beautiful Sacrifice is just another cheesy romance. 

Buy the book: AMAZON

Review- Something Beautiful by Jamie McGuire

Goodreads Summary:

America Mason, a sassy undergrad at Eastern State University, is in love with a Maddox--Shepley Maddox. Unlike his cousins, Shepley is more lover than fighter, but a road trip to her parents' home in Wichita, Kansas could mean the next step, or the end of everything.

REVIEW:

I hinted at a possible America and Shepley story in my reviews for Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster. I honestly felt that they were a sensible couple whose story had me curious. I was supremely excited when I first heard that Jamie McGuire would, in fact, release a book for them. What made me even happy was the fact that Beautiful Something wasn't a full length novel, but a short story or novella. 

While the storyline was a typical and predictable McGuire one, I did have fun reading Something Beautiful and it made me smile at the end. This isn't the most extraordinary story, which I wish it were, because like I said before, America and Shepley seemed to be very unique. Since we only had them as side characters until now, I was looking forward to seeing how they met and most importantly, how they fell in love. The latter was absent from the story, which was very disappointing.

From whatever I had read before, I was expecting America and Shepley to be these supremely different characters who would be nothing but fun to read about. Unfortunately, there was too much of unnecessary drama, which I have grown to associate with a Jamie McGuire romance. But then again, since I don't read romance on a regular basis, when I do read it, all I want is that ever famous escape for a few hours, and that's what Something Beautiful allowed me to do, so I can't really say that I hated it- because I didn't. I didn't love it either. It was just fine enough, and that's okay sometimes.

I'm waiting for a Jamie McGuire book that will blow me away like the Beautiful series did. What I love most about the author's books is that she believes Abby and Travis sell, and they do! It's so lovely meeting my most favourite book boyfriend and his family that I have grown to love, every time. It, however, disappoints me as well, because Travis always steals the show and the person whose book it's supposed to be gets sidelined. Anyway, Something Beautiful had too much drama and redundancy, but was a fun read in some places nonetheless.

RATING:

Review- Happenstance 3 by Jamie McGuire

Goodreads Summary:

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it all. 

Now that Erin has learned the truth about the girls who tortured her, and about the boy she loves, she finds her time before graduation dwindling at an alarming and exciting pace. What used to be summer break was now a countdown to her final days in Blackwell. Her parents, Sam and Julianne struggle with the fear that just when they’ve found Erin, they must let her go, and the tension is higher than it’s been since Erin discovered who she really was. 

Finally with the girl he’s loved since childhood, Weston grows more desperate as the summer days pass. He and Erin will go to separate colleges. His biggest fear is that this means they’ll go their separate ways. Plagued with making the best of the time he has left with Erin, and finding a way to make it last, Weston finds himself in a different state of mind hourly. He is just beginning to realize that hope is like quicksand. The harder Weston struggles, the faster Erin sinks.

REVIEW:

I have sincerely followed the Happenstance novella series, and each book has been pretty enjoyable. For really short Young Adult romance reads, that is exactly what you expect. On top of that, author Jamie McGuire, as all of her regular fan following already knows, tells really good stories. Happenstance 3 wasn't any different, but I didn't like it all that much, especially compared to the first novella in the series, which for me, was the best. The second one was good, but not that good. The third and final one was the same. I find that it was only in the first novella of the series that something actually happened, the remaining two were just an extension to an happily ever after that was going to happen in any case. 

Jamie McGuire has a knack for portraying independent, smart and genuinely nice female leads. Maybe that is the reason why her male leads sometimes seem as dickheads. I've said this before and I'll say it again, Erin was a really good protagonist and a good person as well since the beginning. We've seen a lot of changes happen in her life, but she remained herself throughout. Weston, on the other hand, wasn't as great as he first seemed to be. I started becoming less of a fan of his from the second novella, and in the third one, he was very dramatic and too possessive, especially for someone his age who has his entire life ahead of him. The whole family issue and presence made the story really sweet and warm and I appreciated that. 

I will end by saying that the Happenstance novella series has been enjoyable. I do not dislike the series or anything, but it's just that I know it could have been better. Nonetheless, as always, Jamie McGuire doesn't fail to give readers something to get lost in for the moment, and enjoy it. I highly recommend this series for those days when you're in the mood to read, but can't really pick something to read or even when you're experiencing the ever dreadful reading slump. Pick this series up. It'll make you cry sometimes but smile throughout. 

RATING:

Review- Beautiful Redemption by Jamie McGuire

Goodreads Summary:

If A Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever. But what if he didn't love you, first? 

No-nonsense Liis Lindy is an agent of the FBI. Deciding she is married only to her job, she breaks off her engagement and transfers from Chicago to the field office in San Diego. She loves her desk. She is committed to her laptop. She dreams of promotions and shaking hands with the director after cracking an impossible case. 

Special Agent in Charge Thomas Maddox is arrogant, unforgiving, and ruthless. He is tasked with putting away some of the world’s toughest criminals, and he is one of the best the Bureau has to offer. Though, as many lives as he’s saved, there is one that is beyond his reach. Younger brother Travis is faced with prison time for his involvement in a basement fire that killed dozens of college students, and the media want a conviction. Travis’s only savior is his unusual tie to the mob. In a deal that will spare his brother, Thomas has agreed to recruit Travis into the FBI. 

Liis is stubborn, defiant, and yet somehow softens Thomas’s rough edges, making her the perfect agent to accompany him to the ceremony. Posing as a couple, they must travel to Travis & Abby’s beach vow renewal and give him the news, but when the pretending ends, she finds herself wondering if they were pretending at all. 

In the second installment of the Maddox Brothers books, experience firsthand the mysterious world of the elusive Thomas Maddox, and how good love can be when you’re not the first, but the last.

REVIEW:

I went into Beautiful Redemption without any expectations whatsoever as I was highly disappointed by the first book in the Maddox Brothers series, Beautiful Oblivion. While it is no secret that I love love love the Beautiful series (and by that I mean Travis Maddox), I was hoping that Beautiful Redemption wouldn't be another Abby and Travis retelling from another perspective. I'm not saying that it wasn't. But this story had an actual fixed plot and really strong characters that made it a very good read or maybe it's just that I hadn't read a thorough Jamie McGuire romance or any romance in a long time, so I found this to be cute. 

There are only two negatives that I could come up with when it comes to Beautiful Redemption and unfortunately, those two points end up playing a major role. I did not like the way the story started and neither did I like the way it ended. Major turnoff, I know. And it has me confused about my final rating of the book. But trust me, what happened in between the start and the end was just too good. The story of two FBI agents, I didn't really care or even understand the mystery/ thriller aspect as I'm not the biggest fan of the genre. The characters, however, were well developed and most importantly, they were adults. For me, Beautiful Redemption is more of an adult romance. 

Speaking of the characters, Thomas Maddox was just too cute to be true. We didn't ever really get to know him before or even meet him for that matter. So he was always a mystery, and from the little that we saw of him in Beautiful Oblivion, I wasn't the biggest fan. But in his own book, he was awesome. I love how protective he was of his family. His love interest Liis was perfect for him. A career-oriented woman, I enjoyed how real she was as a person and her kick-ass attitude in a contemporary novel was a fresh and much needed change. But it was irritating when she tried denying her feelings all the damn time. Together, Liis and Thomas made for a cute couple who acted immature sometimes and took way too long to make things work. 

As always, it was great to meet the Maddox family who I didn't even realise I missed so much. Obviously we have Abby and Travis who we all know always sell. But thankfully Beautiful Redemption didn't revolve around them. Their part in the story was an amazing surprise that I enjoyed reading. But this book for me, is Liis and Thomas all the way. Beautiful Redemption was a fantastic read with fabulous characters and even though it had negatives, it was an enjoyable and funny read overall. 

RATING:

Review- Happenstance 2 by Jamie McGuire

Goodreads Summary:

Erin Easter was now Erin Alderman, because Erin Alderman was dead. 

In the second installment of this USA Today bestselling series, follow protagonist Erin, a high school senior in tiny Blackwell, Oklahoma. After a terrible accident leaves two classmates dead, Erin learns that she was switched at birth. Shortly after, she moves into the home of her true parents, Sam and Julianne Alderman, transforming Erin over night from pariah of Blackwell High School, to the only child of one of the most affluent couples in town. 

Also being pursued by her childhood crush, Weston Gates, the dream she once had is now reality. But when Erin stumbles upon secrets that gives her the answers she’s been searching for, she also finds a truth she never wanted to know.

REVIEW:

I absolutely enjoyed Jamie McGuire's Happenstance 1. For a novella, it was an enjoyable and very touching read. For all the bitterness that was the protagonist Erin's past life, there was a jar full of sweetness waiting to be opened when it came to her new life. I was looking forward to reading Happenstance 2 because, like it is with most good novellas, just one short and tiny story isn't enough and you have to know more. 

Happenstance 2 was a good read, but just not as good as the first book. The first novella ended on a hopeful note and the second started on a very positive note. But towards the end, I felt like I had to know more. The storyline was a complete high school drama and I've read lots of those before, so there was nothing new plot wise. The characters, however, were really good and well developed. 

In Happenstance 2, Erin moves to her new home with her actual parents and leaves her shattered past behind. It was nice to see her adapt to her new and fancy lifestyle. I liked how genuinely surprised and grateful she was as a person. I liked her parents as well. I did think that the family- even with their messed up situation- was too perfect, but oh well, I'll take it. I wasn't as big a fan of Weston, the love interest, in this novella as I was in the previous. 

Like I said, the end of Happenstance 2 left me wanting more, but at the same time, I felt it was way too familiar and typical. I have no idea if there are more novellas in this series, but I would like to read them. Jamie McGuire tells good stories and I'm all up for more short stories from her, but maybe something that isn't like something I've read before. 

RATING:

Release Day Blast- Happenstance 3 by Jamie McGuire

We're celebrating the release of Happenstance 3 by New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jamie McGuire! 

Title: Happenstance 3

Author: Jamie McGuire

Publisher: Jamie McGuire LLC (February 2, 2015)
Cover Design: Okay Creations, Sarah Hansen

Goodreads / Amazon / Happenstance 1 / Happenstance 2

Be careful what you wish for. You just might get it all.

Now that Erin has learned the truth about the girls who tortured her, and about the boy she loves, she finds her time before graduation dwindling at an alarming and exciting pace. What used to be summer break was now a countdown to her final days in Blackwell. Her parents, Sam and Julianne struggle with the fear that just when they’ve found Erin, they must let her go, and the tension is higher than it’s been since Erin discovered who she really was.

Finally with the girl he’s loved since childhood, Weston grows more desperate as the summer days pass. He and Erin will go to separate colleges. His biggest fear is that this means they’ll go their separate ways. Plagued with making the best of the time he has left with Erin, and finding a way to make it last, Weston finds himself in a different state of mind hourly. He is just beginning to realize that hope is like quicksand. The harder Weston struggles, the faster Erin sinks.

Grab HAPPENSTANCE 1 & 2!

Title: Happenstance

Author: Jamie McGuire

Publisher: Jamie McGuire LLC (May 9, 2014)

Cover Design: Okay Creations, Sarah Hansen

Goodreads

#1 New York Times Bestseller Jamie McGuire returns to self-publishing with this page-turning YA account of Erin Easter, one of three Erins in the small senior class of rural Blackwell High School who not only share a first name, but also their birthday. Easter, raised by a neglectful single mom, keeps to herself and admires Weston Gates from afar. The other Erins, Erin "Alder" Alderman and Erin "Sonny" Masterson are the darlings of the community: daughters of the two wealthiest families in town, best friends, cheerleaders, and everything Easter isn't--and they never let her forget it. Alder has even claimed Weston since the 8th grade.

Weston is a well-liked star athlete, and the son of two prominent attorneys. He struggles daily with the pressures of living up to his family name and secretly empathizes with Easter's feeling that she belongs somewhere else; in a different life. Not until he begins sneaking nights out with Easter does he gain the courage to buck expectations and acknowledge his feelings ... both for his future, and for her.

A shocking tragedy rocks the tiny town, and Easter's life is turned upside down in the best way possible. But when the truth is revealed and everything she thinks she wanted falls into her lap, life only becomes more complicated.

Title: Happenstance 2

Author: Jamie McGuire

Publisher: Jamie McGuire LLC (September 2, 2014)
Cover Design: Okay Creations, Sarah Hansen

Goodreads

Erin Easter was now Erin Alderman, because Erin Alderman was dead.

In the second installment of this USA Today bestselling series, follow protagonist Erin, a high school senior in tiny Blackwell, Oklahoma. After a terrible accident leaves two classmates dead, Erin learns that she was switched at birth. Shortly after, she moves into the home of her true parents, Sam and Julianne Alderman, transforming Erin over night from pariah of Blackwell High School, to the only child of one of the most affluent couples in town.

Also being pursued by her childhood crush, Weston Gates, the dream she once had is now reality. But when Erin stumbles upon secrets that gives her the answers she’s been searching for, she also finds a truth she never wanted to know.

About the Author:

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with international bestseller, Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel Walking Disaster debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She has also written apocalyptic thriller Red Hill, a novella titled A Beautiful Wedding, and the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy.

Jamie lives on a ranch just outside Enid, OK with husband Jeff and their three children. They share their 30 acres with cattle, six horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.

Find Jamie at her website or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Website / Facebook / Twitter

(Belated) Release Blitz- Beautiful Redemption by Jamie McGuire

We're celebrating the release of BEAUTIFUL REDEMPTION by Jamie McGuire!

Title: Beautiful Redemption

Author: Jamie McGuire

Release date: January 26, 2014

Goodreads

Amazon | iTunes | Kobo | BN

If A Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever. But what if he didn't love you, first?

No-nonsense Liis Lindy is an agent of the FBI. Deciding she is married only to her job, she breaks off her engagement and transfers from Chicago to the field office in San Diego. She loves her desk. She is committed to her laptop. She dreams of promotions and shaking hands with the director after cracking an impossible case.

Special Agent in Charge Thomas Maddox is arrogant, unforgiving, and ruthless. He is tasked with putting away some of the world’s toughest criminals, and he is one of the best the Bureau has to offer. Though, as many lives as he’s saved, there is one that is beyond his reach. Younger brother Travis is faced with prison time for his involvement in a basement fire that killed dozens of college students, and the media want a conviction. Travis’s only savior is his unusual tie to the mob. In a deal that will spare his brother, Thomas has agreed to recruit Travis into the FBI.

Liis is stubborn, defiant, and yet somehow softens Thomas’s rough edges, making her the perfect agent to accompany him to the ceremony. Posing as a couple, they must travel to Travis & Abby’s beach vow renewal and give him the news, but when the pretending ends, she finds herself wondering if they were pretending at all.

In the second installment of the Maddox Brothers books, experience firsthand the mysterious world of the elusive Thomas Maddox, and how good love can be when you’re not the first, but the last.

TEASERS:

“Me, too. I’m … Thomas, by the way,” he said softly. He rolled over and relaxed beside me, his head propped by his hand. Instead of getting dressed, he looked as if he were ready for conversation.

I pressed my lips together. “I’m,” Do it. Do it or you’ll just be kicking yourself later. “…emotionally unavailable.”

    ***

“I live in Midtown,” I said, wondering if I would see my neighbor again.

She grinned. “Me, too. A lot of us do. We can drown your sorrows together.”

“I don’t have sorrows. Just memories. They’ll go away on their own.”

***

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you insubordinate, Agent Lindy? Is that why you were sent here, to be under my command?”

“You requested me, remember?”

“I didn’t request you. I requested the best language expert we had.”

“That would be me, sir.”

About the Author:

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with international bestseller, Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel Walking Disaster debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She has also written apocalyptic thriller Red Hill, a novella titled A Beautiful Wedding, and the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy.

Jamie lives on a ranch just outside Enid, OK with husband Jeff and their three children. They share their 30 acres with cattle, six horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.

Find Jamie at www.jamiemcguire.com or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Website / Facebook / Twitter

Review- Beautiful Oblivion by Jamie McGuire

Goodreads Summary:

The Beautiful Disaster and Walking Disaster phenomenon continues in the first heart-pounding new adult romance in The Maddox Brothers series.

Fiercely independent Camille "Cami" Camlin gladly moved on from her childhood before it was over. She has held down a job since before she could drive, and moved into her own apartment after her freshman year of college. Now tending bar at The Red Door, Cami doesn’t have time for much else besides work and classes, until a trip to see her boyfriend is cancelled, leaving her with a first weekend off in almost a year.

Trenton Maddox was the king of Eastern State University, dating co-eds before he even graduated high school. His friends wanted to be him, and women wanted to tame him, but after a tragic accident turned his world upside down, Trenton leaves campus to come to grips with the crushing guilt. 

Eighteen months later, Trenton is living at home with his widower father, and works full-time at a local tattoo parlor to help with the bills. Just when he thinks his life is returning to normal, he notices Cami sitting alone at a table at The Red. 

As the baby sister of four rowdy brothers, Cami believes she’ll have no problem keeping her new friendship with Trenton Maddox strictly platonic. But when a Maddox boy falls in love, he loves forever—even if she is the only reason their already broken family could fall apart.

In the first installment of the Maddox Brothers books, readers can experience the rush of reading Beautiful Disaster for the first time, all over again.

REVIEW:

Okay, first and foremost, let me make one thing absolutely clear. The first book in Jamie McGuire's Maddox Brothers series and one of the most anticipated releases of 2014, is not the story of one single couple, Cami and Trenton. It is the story of three couples and I mean that in a negative way. With the #Trentislikewoah hashtag going around like wildfire, I was expecting Trent, Trent, Trent and more Trent. Unfortunately, this is not just about Trent, but T.J, Brazil, Kody and Travis.

I wouldn't say I absolutely disliked Beautiful Oblivion because I didn't. If anything, I was just disappointed. For me, it seemed like Abby and Travis- and I admit that they're one of the greatest couples out there and I heart them both large- seemed like sugar. You put it in anything and it'll sell. And in this case, it doesn't have to be a dessert, savoury will do too. I see nothing wrong in it. In fact, I was delighted to meet my most favourite book boyfriend. But honestly? We read Beautiful Disaster. We read Walking Disaster. And now we read. The. Exact. Same. Stuff. In Beautiful Oblivion. Besides, Beautiful Oblivion is essentially Cami and Trenton's book. This brings me to another part. I was so disappointed to see- and I keep the hashtag in mind here- that Trent didn't get a point of view. Maybe we'll read. The. Exact. Same. Story. From Trent's point of view in Walking Oblivion (totally made up) perhaps?

Now onto the better stuff. I must admit that I had fun reading his book. It was a nice change for me from a lot of intellectually heavy stuff I've been reading these days. So in that way, it was a nice read. But as I contemplate over it, I realise that there are many aspects to Beautiful Oblivion that seriously make me question it. I didn't appreciate how Cami was hiding such a major aspect of her life from Trenton. I got the why of it, but how? You say you love someone and then you don't tell them the truth. How is that going to work? And the same goes for Trenton. I mean, come on. You are a Maddox. Aren't you boys supposed to be walking sex? Why did you have to wait so long to tell the girl you love, that you love her? And why, someone please tell me why do you need a child- any and whom so ever's child- to make stuff pleasant?

I feel so bad to have said the stuff I have said, but it is what it is. Like I said, I did have some fun here and there when reading Beautiful Oblivion, but once I shut the book and started gathering my thoughts, I realised it wasn't all that worth it, and there's plenty of stuff to be discussed in there. Overall, Beautiful Oblivion wasn't as promising as it promised to be. And New Adult and I have gone- for the nth time this year- on an off relationship again. 

RATING:

Cover Reveal- Among Monsters by Jamie McGuire

Travel back to Red Hill on Halloween!

AMONG MONSTERS will be here on October 31st!

Title: Among Monsters (A Red Hill Novella)

Author: Jamie McGuire

Goodreads

Among Monsters will be available in ebook and paperback on Amazon!

*Amazon Exclusive

Follow Jenna and Halle's terrifying journey as they make their way to Red Hill Ranch. Head over to http://www.jamiemcguire.com/ for sneak peek!

                                      About the Author:

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with international bestseller, Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel Walking Disaster debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She has also written apocalyptic thriller Red Hill, a novella titled A Beautiful Wedding, and the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy.

Jamie lives on a ranch just outside Enid, OK with husband Jeff and their three children. They share their 30 acres with cattle, six horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.

Find Jamie at www.jamiemcguire.com or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Website: http://www.jamiemcguire.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jamie.McGuire.Author

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JamieMcGuire

Release Day Event- Apolonia by Jamie McGuire

We would love for you to join us in celebrating the release of   APOLONIA by New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jamie McGuire!

Title: APOLONIA

Author: Jamie McGuire

Age: NA

Genre: Sci-Fi Romance

Publisher: Jamie McGuire LLC (October 6, 2014)

Cover Design: Okay Creations, Sarah Hansen

Goodreads

Purchase:

Amazon

Amazon Paperback

iTunes

Nook

Kobo

Blurb:

“They killed me, but I survived.”

Three years after Rory Riordan foiled her own murder, she still trusts no one. Not Dr. Z, the eccentric college professor who has taken her under his wing, not Benji, the endearing, attractive classmate who insists on following her around, and certainly not Cy, the beautifully dark and mysterious boy who sits on the first row in Dr. Z’s Astrobiology class and asks far too many questions.

When Rory witnesses Cy being abducted by soldiers in the middle of the night, she finds herself submersed in a world that holds even more secrets than she could imagine--even darker secrets than her own.

From #1 New York Times Bestseller Jamie McGuire, experience the perfect combination of her bestselling books Providence & Beautiful Disaster. This New Adult Sci-Fi Romance is an action-packed, whiplash-inducing roller coaster ride. Page after page, this unpredictable, dark and sexy nail biter will keep readers guessing until the very end!

EXCERPT:

“Welcome!” Dr. Z began. “I am Dr. A. Byron Zorba, and you’ve arrived at Geobiology and Astrobiology . . . uh . . . with lab. That’s a separate class. Uh . . . later,” he added. “You should also be enrolled in the lab, separately from lecture. If not, see administration. So! Here, and in the partnering lab, you will study organic matter from microbes, rocks, and environmental samples. In lab, you’ll extract and, more importantly, interpret these samples. Beyond that, we will reconstruct ancient environments to understand how life evolved within the samples.”

“Yeesh,” Benji whispered.

“It’s really not that bad. Don’t be a baby,” I said, keeping my voice low as the professor went over the rules and syllabi.

“I’m still running in the mornings,” Benji said. “You should come with me sometime.”

“I don’t run.”

“It’s good for you. You should try it.”

“I’m not getting up at the crack of dawn to run until I stop freezing. That’s not healthy. It’s stupid.”

Benji just smiled, clearly amused.

“Excuse me, professor,” Cyrus said, holding his pen in the air. “Whom shall I contact . . .?”

I blocked out the rest of his question. The trace of a British accent in his voice and his perfect grammar would have never piqued my attention before, but on that day it was annoying and snooty.

Not only was Cyrus tall, dark, and handsome but, as class progressed, he also proved to be Dr. Z’s most adept and eager student.

“That would be Dr. Rosen,” Dr. Z said. “May I ask . . . from where do you hail?”

“Excuse me?” Cyrus responded.

“I was curious to know if you happen to be Egyptian?” the professor asked.

I don’t know what expression was on Cyrus’s face, but he must have smiled, because Dr. Z clapped his hands once, and a wide grin made his already full cheeks puff out.

Dr. Z patted Cy’s shoulder and shook his finger a few times. “We’ll have much to talk about. See me after class.”

“Oh, Christ, get a room,” I snarled under my breath.

The professor’s hobby was trying his hardest to be an Egyptian scholar. I thought maybe Cyrus’s origin was the reason for Dr. Z’s fascination, but that didn’t turn out to be it at all. Cyrus never answered the questions that Dr. Z presented to the class, but he asked at least a dozen of his own. He was curious, and I couldn’t deny that his questions were a work of art.

Dr. Z answered a few questions before lecturing for just ten minutes, giving us a reading assignment, and then waving us away, twenty minutes earlier than expected.

Everyone looked around, unsure what to do until I began packing my things. That started a chain reaction, and noise filled the room as students crammed their laptops into their bags and moved to leave.

After our dismissal, Cyrus stood next to Dr. Z’s podium, and they spoke in low voices with a lot of nodding and a few smiles. Oh, hell no. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and walked down the steps, standing in the space next to Cyrus.

“Cyrus has just returned from a summer in Mali,” Dr. Z said, smiling.

“Oh?” I said, with cold eyes. “You have family there?”

“No,” Cyrus said flatly. He didn’t offer further explanation, so I stared at him until he became uncomfortable and looked away. That was my very favorite thing to do to everyone.

“Cyrus is researching the Dogon tribe. Very interesting,” Dr. Z said. “He’s the third member of our team.”

“What?” I said the word louder than I’d meant and high enough to be embarrassing.

Cyrus nodded once to us both, and then he was gone.

“Are you replacing me?” I asked, my heart pounding. My assistant job was connected to my scholarship. If Cyrus stole it from me, I could be in real danger of losing that money. It was too late to find a student position that wasn’t already taken.

“Of course not. You saw the data I sent. You’ll never have time for anything else if I don’t add someone to the team.”

“I can do it,” I said, only feeling a tiny bit relieved. “You know I don’t go home for the holidays. I don’t mind working weekends.”

Dr. Z smiled. “Rory, I know you don’t mind working weekends, but you should.”

He walked out of the classroom, leaving me among his weird sculptures and artifacts. None of it made sense. Dr. Z had always been careful. I couldn’t imagine he would invite someone he didn’t trust into his precious laboratory. Something about Cyrus felt off, but he didn’t seem dangerous or untrustworthy. If the professor had been considering Cyrus as just a third team member, he would have mentioned it before today. The only explanation for my exclusion from this news was that he was planning to replace me. What’s more, hastily inviting a new student into his lab wasn’t just uncharacteristic; it was troubling.

My eyes were all over the place, looking at a different inanimate object with every thought. I couldn’t lose my position as Dr. Zorba’s assistant. Everything was riding on it.

The room grew darker, bringing my attention to the large windows. The clouds outside were gray. At this time of year, the weather was more likely to bring in a cold front than a storm. The wind began to blow the few leaves that had just started to fall from the huge oak trees. I pulled one of several tubes of lip balm from my jacket pocket and ran it over my lips. I loved winter up until the night I died. Now it just seemed ominous.

Clenching my teeth with determination, I lifted my bag and swung it over my shoulder. I refused to lose my assistant position with Dr. Z. Cyrus could take his thought-provoking, eloquently worded questions and shove them up his ass.

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About the Author:

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, OK. She attended the Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with international bestseller, Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel Walking Disaster debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. She has also written apocalyptic thriller Red Hill, a novella titled A Beautiful Wedding, and the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy.

Jamie lives on a ranch just outside Enid, OK with husband Jeff and their three children. They share their 30 acres with cattle, six horses, three dogs, and Rooster the cat.

Find Jamie at here or on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

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