Until Midnight by Melissa Landers Release Day!!

Hello guys!

Today I'm super happy to host Melissa Landers over on my blog to celebrate the release of a free short story in her Alienated series! It's called Until Midnight and it happens between Alienated and Invaded, and it'll tide us up till February! Now it's over to Melissa!


UNTIL MIDNIGHT is here…and it’s FREE!




Happy Holidays, everyone! I’m Melissa Landers, author of the Alienated series, and I have a present for you—a brand new e-short from Disney Hyperion!

UNTIL MIDNIGHT takes place onboard an intergalactic transport, soon after ALIENATED ends and before the sequel INVADED begins. The story details Aelyx and Cara’s last day together before he returns to Earth to mend the alliance and she continues to his home planet. It’s sweet and romantic, and as a bonus, it includes a four-chapter preview of the sequel, which releases February 3rd.


Oh, and did I mention the best part? IT’S FREE!


You can download UNTIL MIDNIGHT from the following e-tailers:

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1walSLX
Nook: http://bit.ly/1zshdpx
iBooks: http://bit.ly/1sT4CnM
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1AIb45a
Google Play: http://bit.ly/1v06kVd


*If you live outside the USA, no worries. I’ve uploaded the story to Scribd for you. (The only downside is it doesn’t include the bonus preview chapters, due to technical reasons from the publisher.)

Link: http://www.scribd.com/AuthorMelissaLanders


To celebrate this new release, I’m offering TWO lucky winners an autographed swag pack complete with a personalized bookplate, mini-poster, bookmarks, and stickers—open internationally! Just fill out the rafflecopter form below.

Best of luck, and happy reading!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

BIO: Melissa Landers writes romantic science fiction for teens and the young at heart. To learn more, or just to say hello, visit her at www.melissa-landers.com

Today is RELEASE DAY for Alienated by Melissa Landers (+ Giveaway)!!

Hello everyone!! Today I'm super excited for very many new books and one of them is Alienated by Melissa Landers! I was very excited to take part in her launch & giveaway promo!

First of all, let me introduce you to the book and to Melissa!

Synopsis:
 
Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

 

About the author:

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her husband and three kids. She lives outside Cincinnati in the small town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.” For more information, or just to say hello, visit www.melissa-landers.com.










And here's Melissa's post for today's launch and even a giveaway!!


Hey, fiction lovers. I’m author Melissa Landers, and I’m thrilled to announce that my debut YA sci-fi romance, ALIENATED, is finally available from Disney-Hyperion! Cue the dancers and toss the confetti, because it’s been a long wait!


In a nutshell, ALIENATED is the story of valedictorian Cara Sweeney, who gets more than she bargained for when she agrees to host the nation’s first intergalactic exchange student, the gorgeous but emotionally-stilted Aelyx (pronounced A-licks) from planet L’eihr. The tone is light and humorous, but I explore some deeper themes as well.


What do reviewers have to say?


“The storyline is out of this world and character development paired with authentic voice is superb. Filled with intrigue and suspense, this book will appeal to both sci-fi and contemporary YA fiction fans.” –VOYA


“Interstellar relations heat up in this start to a new romantic science fiction series. Landers [explores] larger social, ecological, and ethical issues in this tense, fast-paced read.” –Booklist


“The perfect blend of sizzling romance, action, and suspense.” –#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout


“Smart, funny, and epic. I am now awaiting contact from planet L’eihr.” Julie Cross, bestselling author of Tempest.


“Intergalactic exchange students? Yes, please! I fell in love with this story and couldn’t put it down.” Jodi Meadows, author of Incarnate.


If you like hot, swoony science fiction as much as I do, I hope you’ll give ALIENATED a try. It’s now available in stores and online.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1eHsLaf
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1dZqtBI
Book Depo (free international shipping): http://bit.ly/1hzxOfs
Indie Bound: http://bit.ly/1dfZHDW


To celebrate my book birthday, I’m offering one lucky winner a Nook Simple Touch. I’ll even throw in a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble so you can fill your new e-reader with whatever you want!


Now for the fine print: This giveaway is open to US residents only. (Sorry, international friends, but you need a US billing address to buy digital content on the Nook.) Due to sweepstakes laws, entrants must be 18 years or older to participate.


Best of luck, and happy reading!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/08007c38/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Mark This Book Monday: ARC Review of Alienated by Melissa Landers!!

For this week's first review for Mark This Book Monday I have an ARC review of a book I can't wait to re-read again as soon as my preorder hardcover arrives, hopefully close to the release date of February 4th!
I won this ARC on a Twitter giveaway that author Ashley Elston did, thank you so much for making it open internationally! A fun bit of trivia, this was my very first paper ARC too!



Alienated by Melissa Landers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had wanted to read this since I found out about the book on Twitter and read the blurb here, and when I got a chance to read the ARC I was so stoked! You know that feeling of not knowing if that long awaited book will disappoint you? Well, this one didn't!

On Alienated we meet Cara, a high school valedictorian, overachiever extraordinaire that is given the chance of a lifetime to be part of a student exchange, the first student exchange with aliens! The L'eirh made contact with humankind a pair of years back and now they want to stablish better human-L'eirh relationships. Cara will get the responsability of being a human ambassador, but it can also be her ticket to the college of her dreams!

Aelyx is not happy about the exchange, nor are other two fellow students going to France and China, and they have a plan that won't make neither humans nor L'eirhs happy.

At first Cara's attitude and outlook didn't endear her to me too much, and neither did Aelyx attitude, even if he got more of a dispensation being an alien with hidden motives.

But the story and the way the relationship between the characters started developing really got me hooked. I really didn't expect the focus of the book to be so much on showing big issues through the story, issues like unhealthy relationships, xenophobia, bullying, and modern witch hunting! Cara and her family have to face so much hate because of hosting Aelyx, and they never cave in and keep on trying to do the right thing. Cara proves that she is trying to make it easier for Aelyx not just out of a sense of obligation and to get her rewards, but cause it's the right thing (and of course, cause she seems to be building a massive crush on him!).

Aelyx starts with a horrible attitude towards the inferior race of humans, even if he tries to remain civil, but little by little he decides to stop focusing only on the bad and gives a chance to what's good in humankind, in Cara and her family.

The way the romance progresses worked really well for me, and since I have no issues with interspecies/alien romances, I was rooting for it as soon as Aelyx started questioning his attitude towards Cara and his actions following his original plan. There was some very swooning moments in there, and I loved them!

All in all, this is a book about two teens that fall in love despite and probably because of their differences, and a book about how humans (and aliens) can be capable of the best and worst. Some big issues are addressed in this book, but there's still enough lightness to it to make sure it doesn't come along as preachy.

The ending doesn't have a huge cliffhanger, but it sure leaves you waiting eagerly for the sequel!

Very well deserved 4 stars!



View all my reviews

Thankful Thursday: Winning Giveaways!

Hello everyone! How's your week going?

Mine is going fairly well, work is fairly insane busy but that's kinda usual anyways. For today's Thankful Thursday I wanna say thank you cause I've been insanely lucky to win a bunch of giveaways this past two weeks!

First, last week I won a Twitter giveaway from author Ashley Elston for an ARC of Alienated by Melissa Landers!

Then, I won a preorder of Avalon by Mindee Arnett at Realm of Fiction!

And today I won a preorder of All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill at My Friends Are Fiction!

I'm just SO happy and grateful! And I'm also thinking it might just be the time to play the lottery! ;)