Monday, June 30, 2014

{Cover Reveal + Giveaway} Descend - By Skye Malone

 
Happy MONDAY!!!
 
What better way to start the week by showing off a beautiful new cover!
 
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Title: Descend
Series: Awakened Fate (Book Two)
Author: SkyeMalone
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Wildflower Isle
Publication Date: August 4, 2014
Cover Designer: Karri Klawiter (www.artbykarri.com)


Chloe always dreamed of visiting the ocean, and now the ocean is the only place she has left to go. Trapped in the form of a mermaid and on the run from the Sylphaen, her best chance for safety lies in traveling with Zeke to his underwater home and staying under his protection there.

Leaving isn’t easy, however. Her best friend doesn’t know where she’s gone, and her family doesn’t either. She’s been forced to abandon Noah, the boy she’s liked for years and who she’s just discovered likes her too. She only hopes Zeke’s people will help her so she can return soon.

But when conspiracies follow her and people start to die, safety becomes harder to find than ever. The Sylphaen are coming. They’re more powerful than she could have imagined.

And they’re not through with Chloe yet.
 
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Awaken by Skye Malone
Book #1 in The Awakened Fate Series


99¢ for a limited time!

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About Skye Malone


Skye Malone is a fantasy and paranormal romance author, which means she spends most of her time not-quite-convinced that the things she imagines couldn't actually exist.

Born and raised in central Illinois, she hopes someday to travel the world – though in the meantime she’ll take any story that whisks her off to a place where the fantastic lives inside the everyday. She loves strong and passionate characters, complex villains, and satisfying endings that stay with you long after the book is done. An inveterate writer, she can’t go a day without getting her hands on a keyboard, and can usually be found typing away while she listens to all the adventures unfolding in her head.


Skye also writes YA urban fantasy as Megan Joel Peterson and is the author of The Children and the Blood trilogy.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Pinterest | Tumblr

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Giveaway

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Friday, June 27, 2014

{Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway} Awaken - By Skye Malone





 
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Author: Skye Malone
Website
Release Date: 6/3/2014
Purchase Info: Amazon ~ B&N
Running away from home was never Chloe Kowalski's plan. Neither was ending up the target of killers, or having her body change in unusual ways. She only wanted a vacation, someplace far from her crazy parents and their irrational fear of water. She only wanted to do something normal for once, and maybe get to know her best friend's hot stepbrother a bit better at the same time.

But the first day she goes out on the ocean, strange things start to happen. Dangerous things that should be impossible. Things to which 'normal' doesn't even begin to apply.

Now madmen are hunting her. A mysterious guy with glowing blue eyes is following her. And her best friend's stepbrother seems to be hiding secrets all his own. It was supposed to be a vacation. It's turning out to be a whole lot more.


Absolutely PERFECT!

(Just a forewarning, I'm sure that my review will have all kinds of water puns in it, so I'm apologizing in advance.)

My mermaid bubble has been popped! 

Yes, I have never read a mermaid book before....comense throwing stones....I know, what kind of a blogger am I? Well, obviously the book gods just wanted me to wait for the right book, because Awaken was such a perfect fit for me!

Diving head first, I instantly became intrigued with Chloe. Psyhco parents who won't even let her take a bath, plus they tear all the pictures of the ocean out of books....who tears pages out of books?! Escaping for a week away with your best friend seems like a great idea, especially when it's to her families beach house. What could go wrong?? 
*insert mad cackle*

During the first portion of this book I was slightly shocked by a few of the characters actions, well mainly Chloe's crazy parents. Who has to sit watch in a hotel room to make sure their own daughter doesn't take off...the kind that are hiding big secrest, that's who. Once this  sequence took place every action after that totally seems justified. There wasn't a single time when I seconded guessed any of the characters decisions, or where the plot was going, it all just fell into place.

Now let me talk about Noah and Zeke! 

Noah; protective brother of Baylie, who seems kind, understanding and gentle...not to mention has some random one-liners that of course have an underlying meaning. As with any mysterious man Noah knowledge and understand could mean something bigger.....

Zeke; Merman, uber protective, has a dangerous sense of curiosity & uses all his gifts for the greater good. With his intentions it seems like a unknown force is pulling him to Chloe.

I foresee a love triangle in the future, how could it not? With everything that went down at the end of the book Chloe is going to have to figure out how to balance & maintain her life.

 If you're looking for a great summer read go grab this book, you'll devour it.
Now can I have book #2!?!?!
 PLEAAAAAAAAASE!!


5/5






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TOUR SCHEDULE

6/23
Shortie Says (www.shortie-says.com) | Review
Rose Shadow Ink (http://roseshadowink.wordpress.com/) | Excerpt
Addicted Readers (http://addictreaders.blogspot.com/) | Guest Post

6/24
Book N Blog (Www.booknblog.com) | Review
Library of the Seen (libraryoftheseen.blogspot.com) | Teaser

6/25
WS Momma Readers Nook (http://wsmommareadersnook.blogspot.com/) | Review
Once Upon A Twilight (www.onceuponatwilight.com) | Review
Nocturnal Predators Reviews (http://nocturnalpredatorsreviews.blogspot.com) | Excerpt

6/26
Proserpine Craving Books (http://proserpinecravedfor.blogspot.ca/) | Review
Bookwyrming Thoughts (http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com) | Top Ten

6/27
Lil' Book Owl (http://lilbookowl.wordpress.com) | Review
Taking it One Book at a Time (Http://takingitonebookatatime.blogspot.com) | Review
Good Choice Reading (http://goodchoicereading.com/) | Interview 

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About Skye




Author Biography: Skye Malone is a fantasy and paranormal romance author, which means she spends most of her time not-quite-convinced that the things she imagines couldn't actually exist.

Born and raised in central Illinois, she hopes someday to travel the world – though in the meantime she’ll take any story that whisks her off to a place where the fantastic lives inside the everyday. She loves strong and passionate characters, complex villains, and satisfying endings that stay with you long after the book is done. An inveterate writer, she can’t go a day without getting her hands on a keyboard, and can usually be found typing away while she listens to all the adventures unfolding in her head.

Skye also writes YA urban fantasy as Megan Joel Peterson and is the author of The Children and the Blood trilogy.


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GIVEAWAY:


  • $30 Amazon Gift Card
  • $20 Amazon Gift Card


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

{Cover Reveal} The Dire Wolves Chronicles - By Alyssa Rose Ivy


Happy Hump Day PEEPS!!

 
We have been dying to share the covers for Alyssa Rose Ivy's The Dire Wolves Chronicles: DIRE, DUSK, & DAWN!! The Dire Wolves Chronicles is a brand new New Adult paranormal romance series that you will want to add to your TBR pile ASAP! The Order of the books is: Dire, Dusk, Dawn,with DIRE publishing September 2014!! 

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  Dire
(The covers are designed by Cover It Designs with photographs courtesy of CJC Photography.)

Add it to your Goodreads now!


  About DIRE: Dire: The Dire Wolves Chronicles Gage was the first guy I ever wanted. He was my first crush and my first fantasy, but he wasn't my first in any other way because he never saw me as anything more than a friend— at least not until the night that changed everything. It was all Gage's fault. He insisted we drive through the storm and take the back roads. By the time the storm hit full force we had no chance. One night of snowbound sex changed our relationship forever. The problem was at the same time I caught another guy’s attention. This other guy happens to be the alpha of a pack of shifter wolves.

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Be sure to look for the next books in the series DUSK & DAWN:
DuskDawn
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About the Author:
  Alyssa Rose Ivy- Author Photo
Alyssa Rose Ivy Bio: Alyssa Rose Ivy is a New Adult and Young Adult author who loves to weave stories with romance and a southern setting. Although raised in the New York area, she fell in love with the South after moving to New Orleans for college. After years as a perpetual student, she turned back to her creative side and decided to write. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and two young children, and she can usually be found with a cup of coffee in her hand.      

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

{Book Blitz} Chapter Release: Lost Girl - By Nazaera Andrews




Northern was supposed to be a fresh start—a place where people didn’t know who I was or how I had spent years in and out of mental institutes. People didn't know about my parents death or the island no one heard of. But when Peter sits next to me in lit class, I can’t stop the memories, and I don’t want to. He looks too much like the boy from the island, and despite my best intentions, coaxes my secrets from me.

He’s gorgeous, irresistible, a little mad, and completely lost—we are a pair of broken cogs in a world neither of us truly fits into. He is somehow gentle and fierce, heartbreaking in his devotion and savage in his defense.

When Belle, his best friend, shows up, pale and lovely and sick, Peter pulls away from me, a startling withdrawal. It’s a relationship that scares and confuses me. She is at times warm and friendly, and other times is violent and unpredictable.

Peter says that he wants me, but refuses to let himself get close. And there are secrets, surrounding both of us, that border on nightmares. As the memories close in, as Belle gets sicker and more violent, I’m torn between what is true and what I believe, and what this magical boy knows about my mysterious past.

BUY LINKS:
Barnes & Noble:  http://bit.ly/1n7opfj


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Chapter 1.

There are a few thing you should know about me, to start. I am Gwendolyn, the eldest daughter of Piers Barrie. I am a college freshman, and an heiress.
And, I am quite mad.

Freshman orientation is a joke. A mass of wannabe jocks and pretty boys waiting for fraternities to swoop in and give them a team to play for. Catty girls with perfectly styled tresses and designer handbags and a superior air of injured dignity. Gatherings of this sort are beneath girls like them.

I stand in the doorway, uncomfortable. Take a deep breath and paste a fake smile on.

This is my fresh start. Here, no one knows Gwen Barrie. They don't know about the Second Star or my parents.

They don't know about the time I spent in Pembrooke. That is the most important thing. I clench my fist, steadying my breath.

Someone bumps me from behind, and I shift a little as my younger brother steps up. He eyes me worriedly, and I smile, softlyI’m fine, Micah.”

“Darling, you are the furthest thing from fine I’ve ever seen. I’m still not sure why Grayson said this was a good idea.”

I flinch, furious that he would even mention that. “You promised,” I say stiffly.

I stalk away from him before he can respond, weaving through the crowd. Northern University is small, one of the reasons Grayson selected it. It’s perfect for me.

The dean is finally silent, and I drift through the crowd toward a group of girls who look friendly enough that I’m not ready to bolt. Micah gives me a little space, but I can feel him watching me from the corner of the room. He’s drawn into a conversation by a pretty blonde, and I release a sigh of relief.

Micah isn’t like me—he’s comfortable in groups like this. He would thrive at a larger school, but he wouldn’t leave me. After almost ten years of taking care of me, he wasn’t going to trust me alone at college.

“Excuse me,” a male voice says, and I twist. The speaker is a tall, slender young man in a white button down and black jeans, with dark hair, murky blue eyes, and a smile that makes me shiver.
I shove the memories down and force a polite smile. “Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. I didn’t want to startle you. Are you a transfer?”

I flush—this is a question I’ve been dreading. “No,” I mumble, looking down into my toes. “I deferred after high school.”

A smile tickles his lips, and for a moment, he looks less menacing. Less like a memory.

Across the room, a flash of movement catches my eyes, and I pale as I see the guy. He’s surrounded by other students, and I only see a glimpse—but I take a few stumbling steps in his direction, my heart pounding.
No. No. I can’t do this—I refuse to believe this. Not today, not here. I turn away and collide with Micah. “What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice low and worried.

“I need to go,” I whisper. His eyebrows inch up, that familiar worried look. My brother is too young to look that old.

“Come on, then,” he says immediately.

“Stay,” I order. “You were having fun—and I’m fine. I just need some air.”

His expression is one of disbelief, so I give him a smile, a real smile. “Promise.”

I squeeze his hand lightly and head to the exit. I don’t look back—I don’t know if that’s evidence I’m getting stronger or if I’m too scared to chance it.

I wander through campus until I’m at the Cliff. One of the reasons Grayson and I chose Northern was the seaside location. I need to be close to the water—as terrifying as it can be, I can’t imagine life without the steady throb of the ocean and the relentless whisper of waves. I stand on the Cliff and stare out at the wind swept sea, and I let the dangerous memories take me under.

I see him everywhere. In other patients, at Pembroke. At school, when Grayson thinks I’m sane enough for it. Laughing cat eyes and a shock of red hair, slanted, sly features. He isn’t the same as anyone else, and I can’t shake him.

They say I imagined it.

But they’re wrong. I saw him again, and it’s been six years. Micah is talking to Grayson and Aunt Jane. I know what they want to do. I’m so tired of years spent Pembroke.

A flash of red, a crooked smile from under the tilted cap. I shudder, and for the first time, I turn away.

I pretend.

I chose to not believe.

And ignore the flash of angry hurt that fills his eyes as I focus on my brother.

“What are you doing?”

I jerk around to face the unfriendly voice. A girl is standing a few feet away from me, her eyes narrowed. She looks annoyed, and I shrug helplessly. “Nothing. Just…um. Who are you?”

She huffs. “Orchid Lewis.”

The name tugs at my memory, and I frown. “Have we met?”

“No,” she says abruptly. “But if you’re Gwendolyn Barrie, I’m your roommate.”

I perk up. I’ve been looking forward to meeting the face on the other side of the email exchange. She seemed polite enough, then, if not incredibly warm. Now she’s staring at me like I’m crazy—I know those looks, because they’ve been directed at me for so long.

“You shouldn’t stand so close to the cliff, you know. It’s dangerous.”

Understanding sweeps me, and I flush. “Oh. I’m not—I wasn’t...” I trail off as her expression turns vaguely curious. “I wasn’t paying attention,” I finish lamely.

She stares at me for a long moment, and then, “Did you make it to orientation?”

I nod. “For a few minutes. Then I got out of there. It was too crowded.”

“Our class is only, like, two hundred people.”

I know that, and I’m annoyed that she feels the need to point it out. “I don’t like crowds,” I snap and turn away from the cliff, stalking toward the dorm hall. Orchid trails along behind me, a drifting presence.

“Was there anything we actually needed to pay attention to?”

I slide a glance at her, and she shrugs. “Hanging out with a bunch of over-eager jocks isn’t my idea of a good way to spend my last day before class.”

I laugh. “Nothing we haven’t been told in the admin packets. You came for a tour, right?” She nods, brushing a lock of straight black hair from her eyes. “Then you’ll be fine. We both already have our schedules.”

“Great.” She fidgets as I flash my key card and the door buzzes open. She follows me through the empty hall, pass the elegant, overdone commons room. She laughs a little. “What do they think we’re going to do in there, have high tea?”

I giggle, and her eyebrows wing up, like birds independent of the rest of her face. The rest of her expression remains immobile, but those thin dark eyebrows express a wide array of emotion.

I’m staring. I shouldn’t stare. This isn’t Pembrooke—staring gets noticed here.

Our room is on the third floor, with no elevator. The dorms of Northern are lovely, all cream brick and slate siding and soaring arches and columns. They claim to be original buildings, from when the university was founded in the mid-1800s. But they lack the basic amenities of modern structures. Like properly sealed windows and efficient heating. And elevators.

Orchid reaches our door first and lets it swing open. I’m a little embarrassed by how barren it is—I’ve seen the other girls’ rooms, half glimpses snatched through the open doors, and I haven’t done anything like them. There is nothing to say I’m here, aside from four large boxes and three suitcases. There are no pictures hanging, no personalized touches. I haven’t unpacked.

Part of me doesn’t believe that Grayson will let me stay. I’m an adult, and Aunt Jane can’t do anything to force me back into institutional care, but she controls Barrie Enterprises.

I grit my teeth and smile at Orchid. “You can have your pick,” I say, waving at the empty beds. She takes the bed to the right, and I move my stuff to the left, situating my desk to face the window. I push it open, and she gives me a curious look as the sound of the wind and the ocean seeps in. “I like the fresh air,” I say simply. She doesn’t comment, and I stare at my untouched boxes. Nod to myself, firmly.

I can’t screw this up. It’s my chance to prove to Micah and Grayson and Jane—to everyone who matters—that I’m not insane. I haven’t seen the Boy in months—not counting this afternoon, and I can dismiss that, because I didn’t see him. It was a boy, a normal student, a redhead, but not the Boy.

With that thought firmly in mind, I busy myself unpacking the boxes, working alongside Orchid in companionable silence.

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NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

FOREVER FOUND, a GIRL LOST novella,  will be released this fall and here is the blurb for that book.

FOREVER FOUND BLURB:
Forever Found, A Girl Lost novella, will be released Fall 2014. 

I never wanted to grow up. Until Her. I would follow her anywhere, through anything. But what do you do when the one thing you've ever wanted refuses to believe you exist?
I thought finding Gwendy would be the hard part. Convincing her that it was real. But now that she knows--the hard part is just beginning.
This--Northern, New York--it's not my place. But the Island isn't her's. How can we find a future if we can't find a place to be together?

AUTHOR LINKS:
Nazarea Andrews

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

{Book Highlight + Giveaway} Full Moon - By Jordan Deen



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Title: Full Moon
Author: Jordan Deen
Series: The Crescent #3
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

You know her story. You know her painful initiation into the werewolf world and you’ve seen her struggle to find the truth.

Now, Lacey Quinn is ready for the war to be over. Are you?

Lacey has been used, lied to and cheated out of the only thing she ever wanted: independence. Struggling with her newfound knowledge of being pack leader, Alex coming back into her life and the kidnapping of Lily’s mate—Matt—Lacey is faced with one of the biggest decisions of her life: fight or flight. While she knows running from the war will risk many lives, but staying means she would never have the life she wants and quite possibly never know a world without werewolves, witches and war.

Sometimes doing the right thing isn’t always the first or most obvious choice. Lacey Quinn is about to challenge what everyone thinks is the right thing to do. Unfortunately for her, most will not agree with her decision or the painful outcome.

Sometimes, love means death.


PRE-ORDER:


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Just please stop…, I said one last time as the ribbons encircled my wrists and my ankles and started pulling in opposite directions. There would be no end to the suffering until there was an end to me. The only way to stop the pain was to let myself go. To let it overtake me and to be one with the pain. I released the tension in each of my muscles and loosened my balled up fists. If I was going to die now, it would be on my own terms. As soon as the realization had registered in my mind, the onyx prisoner twisted onto itself and around me to squeeze my stomach and my ribs. It was determined to kill me and to make me suffer while it was doing it. I couldn’t fight back. I wouldn’t fight back. It was futile. I remained limp and it seemed to only further anger my captor.

            The next thing I knew, I was upside down and the ground was racing quickly towards my face. The shackles around my wrist were released and I was again screaming for my freedom. My arms flailed and hopes for developing an ability to fly rushed through my mind. If only I could fly… then my head hit the ground.

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 Jordan Deen is an Award-Winning Young Adult and New Adult Author from East St. Louis, Illinois. Her debut novel, THE CRESCENT was a 2010 Reader's Favorite Award Winner. Her second novel, HALF MOON released in 2011. BREAKING LAUREN is her third novel and was a finalist in the Texas Literary Awards. The sequel, LOSING LAUREN will be released on 12/5/2013.

She can usually be found curled up in her favorite chair with a book or her laptop. She is the proud mother of one crazy little boy and an even crazier teacup Yorkie.

Jordan is Indie published, as well as traditionally published with Black Rose Writing.
'Life is about the journey...'

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Monday, June 16, 2014

{Book Highlight + Giveaway} Gone - By Anna Bloom


Title: Gone
Author: Anna Bloom
Genre: Mature YA (intended for readers ages 16-19)
Publication: July 28th, 2014

Rebecca Walters harbours a dark secret, and as the fifty-three bangles she wears on her wrists as a self-imposed sentence of guilt remind her, she can’t even begin to consider moving on. Not after what happened on that night six months ago… a night which she can’t remember and yet managed to change her life forever.

When Rebecca comes across Joshua Adams, man equally haunted by past tragedies, on a moonlit beach, both of their lives are destined to change forever, and when the girl made out of the sun meets the boy made out of the moon and sea, anything can happen… but will the knowledge of their murky pasts bring them together or drive them apart?

Will Rebecca finally be able to claim her freedom? Will she stay and fight to be the girl she found on the sandy beaches of Cornwall or is she destined to keep running and hiding from a past that won’t stay Gone? One thing’s for certain: either way, nothing will ever be the same again.


Keep your eye out for the official COVER REVEAL on June 27th! If you would like to take part in the reveal, you can sign up HERE!



Walking down the lane from the pub I decide to take a detour to the beach. The light is fading but the glimmer of light from the sun setting on the horizon is just enough that I can make my way down the path without landing on my face.
I spend a lot of time on the beach at night. This isn’t like the beach in Newquay which is filled with drunks attempting to get it on under the cover of darkness. Our quiet beach in St Agnes is perfect for a solitary ten minutes. If I go home now I know Aunt May will be twitching around me like she has the last half a year, ever since my life ended at the end of one drunken night. She doesn’t know what to say to help my get out of the ‘phase’ I’m going through. Six months in, I think we can rule out the chance of it being a phase. This is just me. I’m a guy without a plan. Aunt May tries, but having her wandering around wringing her hands, asking me every three minutes if I’m hungry and need some food is not a relaxing way to spend an evening.
I don’t know what people want. Do they expect that one day I will wake up and suddenly be over the fact that I carelessly lost my girlfriend one night?
As I walk down onto the beach I keep thinking of Faye’s words. “Bridge Cottage.” “Painting.” “Mum and Dad.” They hammer inside my head.
I know everyone is waiting for me, for some resolution. They want to know that I’ve let go of the past, and that if I can do it, they all can too. But I can’t. I want them to, but I can’t do it myself. I can’t even acknowledge to myself what happened. I can’t even think about it or let the thought enter my mind.
 Small steps, that’s what a counselor told me a few months ago. “Just take small steps, Josh, and everything will work out.” Today I have picked up a paint brush and drunk a pint of cider. That’s got to be two small steps in the right direction. I’m not sure what direction those things are taking me in, but it’s heading somewhere at least.
As I tread over the dark sand I can see someone sitting on my rock. That’s just plain rude. Everyone knows it’s mine.
Edging myself closer, I slip off my flip flops and sink my toes into the cool sand as I walk down the beach and try to get close enough to investigate without being seen.
It’s her.
My feet come to a grinding halt.
I want to move in the opposite direction but my damn legs won’t listen. Instead I stand there, looming behind her on the sand, like an axe murderer.
“I can see your silhouette in the sand.”
Busted.
“What are you doing?” On my rock?
“Thinking. What are you doing?”
“Thinking too.”
“That’s nice.
“Yes it is.”
I stand there like an idiot working out what to say next. “Nice bangles.”
Thanks. They make me walk like a percusssion instrument.
“Why so many?”
“None of your business, dreadlock boy.”
“Well you’re a charmer aren’t you?”
“I was sitting here first. You’re the one with the stalking, stealth-like sand walk.”
“It’s my rock.” It’s my rock? It’s my rock? Really. . .?
She does not say anything. Let’s be realistic there is not much to say to that comment. She just sits there looking out to the sea, and I stand there my feet sunk into the cool sand.
“I like your dreadlocks," she says after an age has passed.
“Thanks. They're a lifestyle choice.”
She turns to look at me and for a moment, just one brief moment my mind swirls with colours. The make-up is gone and the waning sun illuminates her skin. She look different. So different. A better different.
I should walk away. I don’t talk to holiday makers unless I’m taking their money in the shop.
I don’t.
Instead I fold my legs and sit on the sand, my fingers automatically picking up a splinter of driftwood as I cast my eyes up at the sun and then I start to draw.
“So do you have a name girl with the bangles?” I’m trying to remember what the young girl who was with her in the shop called her yesterday. Becca? Something like that?”
Turning to me with a frown on her face she bites her lower lip. Jeez, I only asked her name.
The frown and the angry glare instantly make me recall her name. “Bex.” I answer for her. The frown deepens.
“No one calls me that, only my sister.”
“Well I don’t know what else to call you?” I prompt. Her feistiness is rather amusing, it’s actually doing a good job of distracting me from the usual shit I try to keep out of my head.
Her top lip curls a little in distaste at my goading. She really doesn’t want to tell me her name. Who doesn’t want people to know their name? My eyes flick over her with a little more interest. She is rather pretty. Hot, Dan would call it. But I would go with pretty. Pretty is a more delicate sounding word, easy to pair with the freckles and flame hair.
Oh good god. I’ve realized what I am doing? I’m looking at another girl. I try and turn myself away from her a little. She must register the motion because she speaks, her voice low like she is sharing a secret.
“Rebecca.” She clears her throat. “My name is Rebecca.”
Something about her low tone makes me cast my eyes back over her. Well not exactly willingly, my eyes just won’t damn behave themselves and head straight back to the smooth sunlit skin.
She looks nervous, her fingers brushing over her overload of bangles.
“Does Rebecca have a second name?” My feet do this bizarre thing where they scoot over the sand towards her toes.
“No.”
“What no surname? So you are Rebecca No Name?”
She scowls further. “Yes. I am Rebecca No Name.”
Her tone and the death stare she lays on me make me do something I am not expecting in the least. I laugh. Fucking loud. I laugh like I never stopped.
“Well Rebecca No Name. I am Joshua Adams, it’s a pleasure to meet you and your bangles.”
I lean forward and shake her hand my fingers grazing against hers, sand rolls between our connected skin.
Rebecca No Name digs her toes into the sand, burying them deep. “Walters. It’s Rebecca Walters.”
“Bex Walters, now that has a nice ring to it.”
“It’s Rebecca Walters.” She spits her name out like it burns her lips to say it.
“Okay, okay.”
“So Rebecca Walters where are you on holiday from?”
“Nowhere.”
Seriously. It’s like talking to a wall. I don’t even know why I am still sitting here. This makes an evening with Aunt May look like a social highlight.
I get up and start to brush the sand from my legs.
The girl with attitude stares up at me from the ground and I hesitate. “London. I come from London, and I’m not on holiday. My family have moved into Bridge Cottage.”
Just like that the air gushes out of my lungs. The girl with the attitude and the wrong clothes and the frown lives in the house that I was fully expecting to move into one day. The cottage I expected to grow old in.
I sit back on the sand with a bump.
“I am leaving though, in two weeks.” Her gaze is on the sea as she speaks. “Two weeks. I’ve just got to get through two weeks.” She repeats almost to herself.
Two weeks of what?
“Who are you running from?”
Rebecca, Bex, the girl with the attitude turns to me, her eyes hidden in the shadows of the dipping sun. “Myself.”
       And that I just don’t know how to answer, so I don’t. I pick my stick back up and start to draw some more.





Anna Bloom is a contemporary romance writer who writes about life as it happens. Combining a busy schedule of looking after two small children whilst working in a local school and completing The Uni Files series she also spends a lot of time imagining kissing hot guys – all in the name of her art.


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