FFBC: Welcome to the club, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light

by Ann Jacobus

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Release Date: October 6th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Travel, Fiction, France

Synopsis:

A troubled teen, living in Paris, is torn between two boys, one of whom encourages her to embrace life, while the other—dark, dangerous, and attractive—urges her to embrace her fatal flaws.

Haunting and beautifully written, with a sharp and distinctive voice that could belong only to this character, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unforgettable young adult novel.

Summer Barnes just moved to Paris to repeat her senior year of high school. After being kicked out of four boarding schools, she has to get on track or she risks losing her hefty inheritance. Summer is convinced that meeting the right guy will solve everything. She meets two. Moony, a classmate, is recovering against all odds from a serious car accident, and he encourages Summer to embrace life despite how hard it can be to make it through even one day. But when Summer meets Kurt, a hot, mysterious older man who she just can't shake, he leads her through the creepy underbelly of the city-and way out of her depth.

When Summer's behavior manages to alienate everyone, even Moony, she's forced to decide if a life so difficult is worth living. With an ending that'll surprise even the most seasoned reader, Romancing the Dark in the City of Light is an unputdownable and utterly compelling novel.

Hello Ann! We are super excited to have you in our FFBC tours!

Thank you! I’m truly delighted to be here.

Could you tell our Book Addicts a little bit about “Romancing the Dark in the City of Light” without giving away spoilers?

Eighteen year-old Summer Barnes is ready to end it all. Even though she‘s now in Paris, the most romantic city in the world, she’s been kicked out of yet another boarding school for drinking, smoking, snorting and flunking.

Then Summer meets an awesome guy, nicknamed Moony, at the Paris American International School where they’re both seniors; and mysterious Kurt while she’s out scoping a celebrity cemetery. He’s so hot, he may be out of her league. 

Moony barely survived a horrific car crash as a kid. He’s totally upbeat about life and he wants Summer to embrace her own, maybe starting with a little less solo champagne drinking? Summer needs Moony’s friendship desperately, but no way will he put up with her bad choices much longer.

Kurt, on the other hand, is all about self-destructive fun. It gets harder and harder for Summer to resist him. He wants her to understand that life, and death, are in her own hands. 

Is there a specific scene that you had the most fun writing?

My editor and I changed the ending, not so much what happens, but where it was set. It’s really the last three chapters. I loved (re)writing that!

Is there a specific routine you follow when you sit down to write?

I get started early in the morning, sometimes postponing getting dressed until close to lunch time. I keep lots of snacks on hand, so the first thing I do is make sure my supplies (lately nuts, dried fruit, and, okay, chocolate) are stocked. I keep a cup of tea nearby and refill it several times. I used to do this with paint-peelingly strong coffee, Rolos and Twizzlers but finally realized there was a reason I was bouncing off the walls and not sleeping at night. Checking email and any social media early, then turning it all off until later, greatly increases my productivity.

Do you have a favorite fan moment?

A few early readers have let me know about their struggles, or those of someone they love, with depression and/or feeling suicidal. These are hard subjects to talk about, and I’m grateful for their stories and happy to encourage more talking about these things in general.

What would you say is harder to write, the first line of a book or the last?

First and last lines are both so important and correspondingly difficult to write. They’re both also most likely revised many times. Getting the opening and really, the first chapter “right” probably takes me more time and effort. 

What authors are auto-buys for you?

Ah, this is my problem. I have too many auto-buys. I’m sort of a “greatest hits,” reader, though, and can’t think of too many authors whose every book I’ve read. In YA, I love: Laurie Halse Anderson, M.T. Anderson, Markus Zusak, Sherman Alexie, Nancy Farmer, E. Lockhart, Rainbow Rowell, Kekla Magoon, Gayle Forman, Stephanie Perkins, Lauren Oliver…I could go on.

What would you say has been the most surprising thing you learned about becoming a published author?

How little it pays :)

Favorite book of 2015?

Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun was a standout, for sure. I read lots of books debuting this year and loved them all. I just finished Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. The Weight of Feathers by Annamarie McLemore, and The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis, The Fix by Natasha Sinel, were three other wonderful reads. See? I can’t pick just one. Oh, and Jennifer Niven’s All the Bright Places was another standout read this year. I think Book Addicts understand.

What shows are you currently watching?

I haven’t had much time for TV this new season, but I love Mad Men, Breaking Bad, OITNB. I’m way behind on Game of Thrones and must catch up. I will sob uncontrollably when Downton Abbey is finished. Really.

Thank you for participating in our FFBC Tours, Ann!

Thank you for having me.

Follow the Romancing The Dark in The City of Light by Ann Jacobus Blog Tour and don't miss anything! Click on the banner to see the tour schedule.

Ann Jacobus earned an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lived with her family for many years in the Arabian Gulf and in Paris, France. She now lives in San Francisco where she writes, reads, volunteers weekly on a suicide crisis line, and frequently resorts to crock-pot meals of canned soup, fowl and whatever's in the fridge.

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Blog Tour: Gaia (The Wings of War #2) by Karen Ann Hopkins

Gaia (The Wings of War #2)
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Release Date: July 26th 2015

Synopsis:

Watchers and Angels are at war. Which side will Ember choose?

Humankind is on the precipice of the apocalypse. 

As the Demons grow bolder and the walls between the planes of existence weaken, Ember is forced to develop her powers as quickly as possible, and she seeks out a powerful earth Watcher to continue her supernatural lessons. Her glimpse of the future demands she fight the dark forces spreading across the earth.

But her new mentor has his own agenda, making her question everyone and everything she ever trusted.

When Ember is thrust into the world of the Watchers, she learns of their plans—ones that defy the scripture and make them enemies of the Celestial Host. Ridding the world of evil gets complicated when it becomes impossible to take sides. 

As Ember struggles with morality, she soon discovers that there’s something more frightening than anything she’s faced before.

Praise for Embers, the first book in the Wings of War series: "An impending apocalypse provides a compelling backdrop for romance in this page-turning first installment of a new YA series...Hopkins delivers many successful elements of young-adult romance—appealing lead characters, high-voltage chemistry, repressed sexuality—which will win her ardent followers.” -Kirkus Reviews

“Embers is the start of an action-packed paranormal YA series. Ms. Hopkins draws the reader immediately in with her richly drawn prologue that introduces the lurking evil in a breath-taking manner. a must read for YA, paranormal, fantasy and suspense fans. Make that a delight for any reader!" Morgan Stamm, Ind'Tale Magazine

by Karen Ann Hopkins

Ember is a Watcher—a decedent of Angels, and with that distinction comes certain elemental powers. Most Watchers can only control one element and with differing degrees, but Ember is fortunate enough to control all the elements. And she’s quite powerful in each one.

Here’s what you can expect if you’re a Watcher:

Fire Watchers control fire, even creating it inside themselves and shooting it from their fingertips. On several occasions, fire has even flown from Ember’s arms and legs. This is the element of destruction, and it has a mind of its own. You must always be vigilant when using fire, never forgetting that it would rather be free to consume the world, than be controlled by you.

Earth Watchers can heal others and themselves. They also can control and communicate with animals and birds, earth’s children. It’s easier to enter the mind of an animal that a person has a connection to than a strange one, especially a predator. But it can be done. Ember has flown in the minds of birds and raced across the forest in the body of a great stag. She’s also used her earth powers to move the ground, a power well-suited to battle.

So far in the series, we’ve only had glimpses of the power of water. Ember hasn’t learned to harness that element yet, but when she does, she’ll have an amazing power to work with. She’ll be able to control the movement of any body of water, whether it’s a puddle, a lake or an ocean, it will do as she asks. She’ll also be able to control creatures that reside solely in its depths, much like an earth watcher with land bound animals. Lastly, the water element controls emotion, the most serious threat to most humans and Watchers alike. The flow of water can soothe Ember, making her able to think clearly in difficult times. She’ll even be able to affect other people’s emotions, giving her another weapon in her arsenal. And there’s one particular creature that will be introduced in TEMPEST, the third book in the Wings of War series that only answers the call of a Water Watcher of incredible power. 

Air is as versatile an element as earth and nearly as devastating a force as fire. When Ember harnesses its strength, she’ll control the wind and be able to form destructive storms on a whim. The air element also carries the words of its controller, so she’ll be able to communicate with someone across the world with just a whisper. But most importantly, air affects the mind, giving the power of higher thought and reasoning to the Watcher controlling it. This power might be just the one that Ember needs the most when the rapture is upon her.

When all the powers are used at once, whether by a solitary Watcher like Ember, or by the joining of forces by four Watchers of each element, a force is created so great that it rivals the Angels. And this is the reason the Angels declare war on the Watchers. They will not tolerate their offspring to be their equals.

Thank you for being a part of Gaia’s blog tour! I love to connect with readers on my Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram or at www.karenannhopkins.com. Please be on the lookout for the release of SECRETS IN THE GRAVE, the third installment in my mystery series, Serenity’s Plain Secrets, in early September! Thanks for reading!

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.

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Release Week Blitz: Breakout (Dred Chronicles #3) by Ann Aguirre

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Release Week Blitz for Ann Aguirre's BREAKOUT! BREAKOUT is an Adult Romantic Science Fiction novel set in the Jax Universe and is a part of Ann Aguirre’s Dred Chronicles, published through Ace. Grab your copy of BREAKOUT today!

Breakout (Dred Chronicles #3)
by Ann Aguirre
Publisher: Ace
Release Date: August 25th 2015

Synopsis:

All hell is breaking loose in the edge-of-your-seat follow-up toHavoc and Perdition from New York Times bestselling author Ann Aguirre…

The prison ship Perdition has become a post-battle charnel house with only a handful of Dred’s soldiers still standing and now being hunted by Silence’s trained tongueless assassins. Forging an uneasy alliance with mercenary commander Vost—who is their only chance at escape—the Dread Queen will do whatever it takes to end her life sentence on Perdition and keep the survivors alive long enough to cobble together a transport capable of getting them off station.

If Dred and her crew can win the deadly game of cat and mouse, the payoff is not only life but freedom—a prize sweeter than their wildest dreams. Yet the sadistic Silence would rather destroy Perdition than let a single soul slip from her grasp…

Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.

 

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