Blog Tour: For Beau: The Sarah Ashdown Story

Hello all! Today we are hosting a tour for YA Bound, and this historical fiction book sounds awesome! Let us know what you think in the comments!

For Beau: The Sarah Ashdown Story 
by Simon Gandossi

Genre: Historical Fiction 
Release Date: December 15th 2016 

Summary from Goodreads: 
The ground shook with each bomb that fell on London. The night sky lit up, and the sounds ofgunfire overwhelmed the city as our brave men fought back. It took so many bombs to fall onthis great city to make the Germans realize that England could not be defeated. It took just one bomb to make one woman realize her true destiny. Sarah Ashdown's insurmountable guilt and remorse over the death of a young girl sets in motion one of the most unbelievable stories of World War II. An ordinary housewife who defied the odds to become one ofthe most wanted women in occupied Europe, her story of determination and courage will shock and inspire those who read it.

Add to Goodreads
Buy Links:
Amazon l Barnes and Noble l Smashwords l iTunes 

About the Author:

Simon Gandossi is a historical fiction author who was born and raised in Western Australia. From an early age, Simon discovered a passion for history and writing. It is that passion combined with his desire to bring to light the different aspects of the past that makes him a unique writer. There are a lot of people who give up so much to follow their dreams, and Simon is no different. To become a professional writer is difficult, but his hard work and determination has seen him develop from an amateur to a full-time writer in just a few years. To learn more about Simon, please visit www.simongandossi.com. 

"I want everyone to take a step back in time when they read my books. Every book should take the reader on a journey. With my dedication to preserving history, I know that each and every person will begin that journey from the very first word" - Simon Gandossi

Author Links: Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook 

Blog Tour Organized by: 

YA Bound Book Tours

Your Friends,
The Autumn Bookshelf

Book Blitz: Air and Ash

We are so excited that AIR AND ASH by Alex Lidell is available now and that we get to share
the news!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by
Author Alex Lidell, be sure to check out all the details below.

This blitz also includes a giveaway for a finished
copy of AIR AND ASH & a copy of A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN by Sarah J. Maas,
International, courtesy of Alex and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a
chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

About the Book:

Title: AIR AND ASH

Author: Alex Lidell

Pub. Date: May 2, 2017

Publisher: Danger Bearing Press

Pages: 284

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Find it: Amazon, B&N, Goodreads

Master and Commander
meets Tamora Pierce in a seafaring adventure of duty, love, magic, and a
princess’s quest to protect her kingdom on her own terms. 

After a lifetime of
training, seventeen-year-old Princess Nile Greysik, a lieutenant on the
prestigious Ashing navy flagship, sails into battle with one vital mission—and
fails.

Barred from the sea and
facing a political marriage, Nile masquerades as a common sailor on the first
ship she can find. With a cowardly captain, incompetent crew, and a cruel,
too-handsome first officer intent on making her life a living hell, Nile must
hide her identity while trying to turn the sorry frigate battleworthy. Worse, a
terrifying and forbidden magic now tingles in Nile’s blood. If anyone catches
wind of who Nile is or what she can do, her life is over.

But when disaster threatens
the ship, Nile may have no choice but to unleash the truth that will curse her
future.

AIR AND ASH is the thrilling first installment of the TIDES series.
Recommended for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Tamora Pierce, and Naomi Novik.

Excerpt:

My breaths come quick, my
side vision a blur of sand. The horses rear, showing their bellies and hooves.
When Red turns to the beasts, I crash into him. The impact ricochets through
me. I drop my rock.

Red staggers but remains
standing.

I wrap my arms around Red
and draw the other pistol from his waistline even as he throws me to the
ground. I land in a heap and breathless, but my hands still clutch the gun.

Inconveniently, the bloody
weapon is as much a danger to me as to the men. It bucks in my hand, yielding
to the natural pulse of Clay’s uncontrolled magic. Rising to one knee, I move
the barrel between Bald and Red. “Stop,” I command. “All of you.”

Three sets of eyes grip me.
None give a sign of recognition. I little blame them—having spent most of my
life aboard an Ashing ship, the only people who’d reliably recognize me are
those I’ve served with. This Felielle trio is unlikely to recognize even Thad
outside the throne room, or think twice if they heard my name absent
salutation.

My palms are moist, but I
know better than to let the fear slip into my voice. “I believe the man has
understood your message,” I say.

Clay’s dog chooses that
moment to run up beside me and bare its teeth. Its low growl leadens the air
between us.

One heartbeat stretches
after another, punctuated by the break of waves and the horses’ snorts. My
breaths come quick and shallow. I’m unlikely to miss at this range, but the
pistol is good for one shot only.

Bald squints. “What’s your
stake in this?”

“A broken law and a bound
man.” I shake my head. The constant foreign presence in Ashing is a necessary
burden for now, but I hope to see it end after the war. “One pistol has fired
already, gentlemen. I expect the Ashing patrols are en route to investigate.”

Red scowls at me, likely
calculating whether he might knock me to the ground before I squeeze off the
trigger or the horses scamper. He probably can.

I scowl back, hoping the
thugs’ employer paid them too little to risk their hides so greatly. “I would
wager you will pay with your horses and backs if the patrols come upon us now.”

Bald snorts and makes a
decision. “Is the lady correct, Domenic? Has the message penetrated?” He lands
a vicious knee in the man’s abdomen.

Domenic’s jaw tightens, and
he has to draw a breath before he can speak. “I have a debt.” His voice is
steadier than I had expected. “I will pay it.”

“Why, that is all we wished
to hear in the first place.” Bald pats Domenic’s shoulder and turns away, then
twists back and punches Domenic’s jaw as an afterthought. “A pinch of a memory
aid.” He chuckles at his joke and, accepting the reins from Red, swings into
the saddle. The horses neigh and pick up a gallop, eager to be away, and I
raise my free arm to shield my eyes from the flying sand.

About
Alex:

Alex Lidell is an avid horseback rider, paramedic and ice cream addict.
Born in Russia, Alex learned English in elementary school, where a thoughtful
librarian placed a copy of Tamora Pierce’s ALANNA in Alex’s hands. In addition
to becoming the first English book Alex read for fun, ALANNA started Alex’s lifelong
love for YA fantasy books. Alex’s debut novel, THE CADET OF TILDOR, was an
Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards finalist. Her second book AIR AND ASH releases
in May 2017.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
| Instagram

Giveaway
Details:

1
winner will receive a finished copy of AIR AND ASH & a hardcover of A COURT
OF WINGS AND RUIN by Sarah J. Maas, INTERNATIONAL.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let us know what you think!
Your Friends,
The Autumn Bookshelf

Cover Reveal: The Dragons of Nova

Today Elise Kova and Rockstar Book Tours
are revealing the cover for THE DRAGONS OF NOVA, which releases July 11, 2017!
Check out the gorgeous cover and enter to win assigned ARC of the book!!

On to the reveal! 

Title: THE
DRAGONS OF NOVA (Loom Saga #2)

Author: Elise Kova

Pub. Date: July 11, 2017

Publisher: Keymaster Press

Formats: Hardcover,
eBook, audiobook

Pages: 488

Find it: Amazon | B&N | TBD | Goodreads

Cvareh returns home to his sky world of
Nova with the genius crafter Arianna as his temperamental guest. The mercurial
inventor possesses all the Xin family needs to turn the tides of a
centuries-old power struggle, but the secrets she harbors must be earned with
trust — hard to come by for Ari, especially when it comes to Dragons. On Nova,
Ari finds herself closer to exacting vengeance against the traitor who killed
everything — and everyone – she once loved. But before Ari can complete her
campaign of revenge, the Crimson Court exposes her shadowed past and reveals
something even more dangerous sparking between her and Cvareh.

While Nova is embroiled in blood sport
and political games, the rebels on Loom prepare for an all-out assault on their
Dragon oppressors. Florence unexpectedly finds herself at the forefront of
change, as her unique blend of skills — and quick-shooting accuracy — makes her
a force to be reckoned with. For the future of her world, she vows vengeance
against the Dragons.

Before the rebellion can rise, though,
the Guilds must fall.

Exclusive Excerpt!

“They’re coming from the front!” Nora
screamed over the crescendo of the engine gaining speed. On cue, the train
lurched as an endwig was splattered to a bloody mess on the point of the
engine’s pilot.

“Bloody cogs,” Florence cursed. The
Vicar Alchemist had sent her to protect the mission as the Revolver, but one of
her wasn’t going to be enough. “I’m going to the engine.”

“What are we going to do?” The usually
self-sure Nora had the face of a cornered hare.

“You’re going to fight.” Florence passed
her a weapon.

“I’ve never shot a gun before.”

“Now is a great time to learn.”

“I’m an Alchemist!”

Seriously, Florence was a breath away
from shooting the woman herself. “You’re dead if you don’t adapt! There’s three
more bombs exactly like the ones you just used, right there. Just fend them off
until the train gets up to speed. But don’t use any other disks.”

Florence had no more time to waste as
the train lurched again. They just had to survive until the train reached full
speed. For all the endwig were, they certainly couldn’t keep up with a
locomotive.

She hoped.

The wind whipped her hair around her
face as she stuck her head from the train car. Florence reached out for the
ladder to the right of the door, scaling up before another endwig could emerge.
She swung up just in time as an explosion nearly blew her foot clean off.

“By the five guilds, you two only had
three bombs!” she screamed over the wind, not knowing if they could hear.
“Ration them a bit!”

Standing, Florence looked in horror at
the tracks ahead. Dozens of endwig lined the path, running eagerly to meet the
train. She loaded six canisters at once.

Jumping to the tender, Florence lost her
footing atop the moving train car. A nail snapped clean off as she sought a
grip that would prevent her from being thrown to certain death. If she fell
now, she would never get back on the vessel. She’d be torn limb from limb.

Gritting her teeth, Florence rose to her
knees, shooting two endwig in the process. She wedged herself between two
grooves on the top of the tender. Blood pooled around her shins as she dug them
into the metal for a grip where there was none, but she was stable enough to
take aim, and that meant she could open fire.

Five shots down, and Florence reloaded
her gun. Endwig came relentlessly like a never-ending nightmare. But the train
didn’t gain any more speed. She repeated the process, waiting for the vessel to
be like her bullets, whizzing through the night at deadly speeds.

“Anders, now would be a great time to
open her up!” she screamed.

There was no reply.

“Anders, Rotus, we need speed, get us
out of here faster!”

Five long claws curled around the door
of the engine in answer. Florence watched in horror as the white silhouette of
an endwig, dotted in the black blood of a Chimera, pulled itself from the
engine room. Florence swallowed hard.

They were without Rivet and Raven,
stumbling through the darkness, enemies at all sides. She raised her gun
slowly, looking fearlessly at the face of death itself. Her revolver was steady
over the rocking of the train.

“You think I’m not used to this?” Her
mouth curled into a mad grin. “I’ve been fighting my way out of the darkness my
whole life. And you’re not going to stop me now.”

Gunshots echoed through the forest.

About Elise: 

Elise Kova has always had a profound
love of fantastical worlds. Somehow, she managed to focus on the real world
long enough to graduate with a Master’s in Business Administration before
crawling back under her favorite writing blanket to conceptualize her next
magic system. She currently lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, and when she is
not writing can be found playing video games, watching anime, or talking with
readers on social media. She is the USA Today bestselling author of the Air
Awakens Series as well as the Loom Saga (Keymaster, 2017).

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr | Goodreads

Giveaway Details:

(1) winner will receive a signed
advanced readers copy of THE DRAGONS OF NOVA.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Let us know what you think!
Your Friends,
The Autumn Bookshelf

Blog Tour: The Pearl Thief

Hello all! Today we are hosting a stop for the Pearl Thief blog tour, hosted by Rockstar Book Tours! Read below, and let us know what you think of the book in the comments!

Title: THE PEARL THIEF

Author: Elizabeth Wein
Pub. Date: May 2, 2017
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Pages: 336
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Goodreads

Before Verity . . . there was Julie.

When fifteen-year-old Julia Beaufort-Stuart wakes up in the hospital, she knows the lazy summer break she’d imagined won’t be exactly like she anticipated. And once she returns to her grandfather’s estate, a bit banged up but alive, she begins to realize that her injury might not have been an accident. One of her family’s employees is missing, and he disappeared on the very same day she landed in the hospital.

Desperate to figure out what happened, she befriends Euan McEwen, the Scots Traveller boy who found her when she was injured, and his standoffish sister Ellen. As Julie grows closer to this family, she experiences some of the prejudices they’ve grown used to firsthand, a stark contrast to her own upbringing, and finds herself exploring thrilling new experiences that have nothing to do with a missing-person investigation.

Her memory of that day returns to her in pieces, and when a body is discovered, her new friends are caught in the crosshairs of long-held biases about Travellers. Julie must get to the bottom of the mystery in order to keep them from being framed for the crime.

In the prequel to Printz Honor Book Code Name Verity, this exhilarating coming-of-age story returns to a beloved character just before she learned to fly.


About Elizabeth: 

I was born in New York City in 1964, and moved to England when I was 3. I started school there. We lived practically in the shadow of Alderley Edge, the setting for several of Alan Garner's books and for my own first book The Winter Prince; that landscape, and Garner's books, have been a lifelong influence on me.

My father, who worked for the New York City Board of Education for most of his life, was sent to England to do teacher training at what is now Manchester Metropolitan University. He helped organize the Headstart program there. When I was six he was sent to the University of the West Indies in Jamaica for three years to do the same thing in Kingston. I loved Jamaica and became fluent in Jamaican patois (I can't really speak it any more, but I can still understand it); but in 1973 my parents separated, and we ended up back in the USA living with my mother in Harrisburg, PA, where her parents were. When she died in a car accident in 1978, her wonderful parents took us in and raised us.

I went to Yale University, spent a work-study year back in England, and then spent seven years getting a PhD in Folklore at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. While I was there I learned to ring church bells in the English style known as "change ringing", and in 1991 I met my future husband there at a bell ringers' dinner-dance. He is English, and in 1995 I moved to England with him, and then to Scotland in 2000.

We share another unusual interest--flying in small planes. My husband got his private pilot's license in 1993 and I got mine ten years later. Together we have flown in the States from Kalamazoo to New Hampshire; in Kenya we've flown from Nairobi to Malindi, on the coast, and also all over southern England. Alone, most of my flying has been in eastern Scotland.

We have two children.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram

The Pear Thief is perfect for fans of:

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

When seventeen-year-old Rowan Chase finds a skeleton on her family’s property, she has no idea that investigating the brutal century-old murder will lead to a summer of painful discoveries about the past, the present, and herself.

One hundred years earlier, a single violent encounter propels seventeen-year-old Will Tillman into a racial firestorm. In a country rife with violence against blacks and a hometown segregated by Jim Crow, Will must make hard choices on a painful journey towards self discovery and face his inner demons in order to do what’s right the night Tulsa burns.

The Lost Girl of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill

Lydia has vanished.
Lydia, who’s never broken any rules, except falling in love with the wrong boy. Lydia, who’s been Piper’s best friend since they were children. Lydia, who never even said good-bye.
Convinced the police are looking in all the wrong places, eighteen-year-old Piper Sail begins her own investigation in an attempt to solve the mystery of Lydia’s disappearance. With the reluctant help of a handsome young detective, Piper goes searching for answers in the dark underbelly of 1924 Chicago, determined to find Lydia at any cost.
When Piper discovers those answers might stem from the corruption strangling the city—and quite possibly lead back to the doors of her affluent neighborhood—she must decide how deep she’s willing to dig, how much she should reveal, and if she’s willing to risk her life of privilege for the sake of the truth.

Night Witches: A Novel of World War Two by Kathryn Lasky

Sixteen-year-old Valya knows what it feels like to fly. She’s a pilot who’s always felt more at home soaring through the sky than down on earth. But since the Germans surrounded Stalingrad, Valya’s been forced to stay on the ground and watch her city crumble.
When her mother is killed during the siege, Valya is left with one burning desire: to join up with her older sister, a member of the famous Night Witches—a regiment of female pilots who fly light plains through curtains of fire to bomb crucial targets.
Using all her wits, Valya manages to get past the German blockade and find the Night Witches’ hidden base. That’s when the real danger starts. The pilots have been assigned a critical mission, one with the power to inflict serious damage on the Nazis. Valya will give anything to fight for her country, but when the person she loves most goes missing, she must make a choice between duty and the deepest desires of her heart. 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of THE PEARL THIEF, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the rest of the tour!

Week One:
5/1/2017- YA and Wine- Blogger Post
5/2/2017- Beauty and the Bookshelf- Review
5/3/2017- The Blonde Bookworm- Review
5/4/2017- The Autumn Bookshelf- Blogger Post
5/5/2017- Rants and Raves of a Bibliophile- Review

Week Two:
5/8/2017- Booklove- Review
5/9/2017- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Blogger Post
5/10/2017- Mundie Moms- Review
5/11/2017- YA Books Central- Spotlight
5/12/2017- History from a Woman's Perspective- Review

Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Your Friends, 
The Autumn Bookshelf