Mundie Moms

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Opposition by Jennifer L. Armentrout; Blog Tour: Excerpt


Hello & welcome to the first stop in the Lux: Opposition Blog Tour, hosted by Entangled Teen! Today's stop kicks off a week long tour that will feature excerpts from Opposition. Trust me, you'll want to read each of the excerpts..... I've not read them yet, but being a huge Jennifer L. Armentrout fangirl, and being a fan of this series, I know these excerpts will either make us laugh, swoon or make us more impatient for August to hurry up and get here. It's highly probably that we'll most likely feel all three of those things at the same time while reading this week's excerpts.

 

The much-anticipated conclusion to the national, bestselling Lux series, OPPOSITION by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Entangled; 8/5/14), will hit bookstores this summer and readers will finally learn the fate of Katy, Daemon and the world  as we know it in this Dawson’s Creek-meets-Roswell-romantic-thrill ride.

For anyone who has yet to embark on the out-of-this-world series, it’s about an alien colony (all of whom are spectacularly hot) finding refuge on Earth only to find out that their rival planet's residents are as well—and the existence of both is being kept under wraps by the US government. What follows is a battle between good and evil for galaxy domination with a few humans getting folded into the mix, one of whom just may be taking on some out-of-this world powers after helping rescue her alien friends from their foes. And yes, there's an alien-human sexy love dynamic as well.

With more than 1 million copies in print and the movie rights to Obsidian (book 1) sold to a major studio, aliens are certainly looking to become the new vampires, and Daemon, the new black.

The print edition of Opposition includes a bonus novella, Shadows, a series prequel.

ABOUT LUX: OPPOSITION


OPPOSITION Comes out August 5th! Pre-Order It Now

Pre-order it from: Amazon | Barnes and Noble  
Add the LUX Series on Goodreads: LUX: Beginnings  | LUX: Consequences Opposition


SUMMARYKaty knows the world changed the night the Luxen came. She can’t believe Daemon welcomed his race or stood by as his kind threatened to obliterate every last human and hybrid on Earth. But the lines between good and bad have blurred, and love has become an emotion that could destroy her—could destroy them all.

Daemon will do anything to save those he loves, even if it means betrayal. They must team with an unlikely enemy if there is any chance of surviving the invasion. But when it quickly becomes impossible to tell friend from foe, and the world is crumbling around them, they may lose everything— even what they cherish most—to ensure the survival of their friends…and mankind.

War has come to Earth. And no matter the outcome, the future will never be the same for those left standing.

READ AN EXCERPT FROM OPPOSITION


{ Katy }
I still stared at Daemon, completely aware that everyone else except him was watching me. Closely. But why wouldn’t he look at me? A razor-sharp panic clawed at my insides. No. This couldn’t be happening. No way.
My body was moving before I even knew what I was doing.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Dee shake her head and one of the Luxen males step forward, but I was propelled by an inherent need to prove that my worst fears were not coming true.
After all, he’d healed me, but then I thought of what Dee had said, of how Dee had behaved with me. What if Daemon was like her? Turned into something so foreign and cold? He would’ve healed me just to make sure he was okay.
I still didn’t stop.
 Please, I thought over and over again. Please. Please. Please. On shaky legs, I crossed the long room, and even though Daemon hadn’t seemed to even acknowledge my existence, I walked right up to him, my hands trembling as I placed them on his chest.
 “Daemon?” I whispered, voice thick.

His head whipped around, and he was suddenly staring down at me. Our gazes collided once more, and for a second I saw something so raw, so painful in those beautiful eyes. And then his large hands wrapped around my upper arms. The contact seared through the shirt I wore, branding my skin, and I thought—I expected—that he would pull me against him, that he would embrace me, and even though nothing would be all right, it would be better.
Daemon’s hands spasmed around my arms, and I sucked in an unsteady breath.
His eyes flashed an intense green as he physically lifted me away from him, setting me back down a good foot back.
I stared at him, something deep in my chest cracking. “Daemon?”
He said nothing as he let go, one finger at a time, it seemed, and his hands slid off my arms. He stepped back, returning his attention to the man behind the desk.
“So . . . awkward,” murmured the redhead, smirking.
I was rooted to the spot in which I stood, the sting of rejection burning through my skin, shredding my insides like I was nothing more than papier-mâché.
“I think someone was expecting more of a reunion,” the Luxen male behind the desk said, his voice ringing with amusement. “What do you think, Daemon?”
One shoulder rose in a negligent shrug. “I don’t think anything.”
My mouth opened, but there were no words. His voice, his tone, wasn’t like his sister’s, but like it had been when we first met. He used to speak to me with barely leashed annoyance, where a thin veil of tolerance dripped from every word.
The rift in my chest deepened.
For the hundredth time since the Luxen arrived, Sergeant Dasher’s warning came back to me. What side would Daemon and his family stand on? A shudder worked its way down my spine. I wrapped my arms around myself, unable to truly pro- cess what had just happened.
“And you?” the man asked. When no one answered, he tried again. “Katy?”
I was forced to look at him, and I wanted to shrink back from his stare. “What?” I was beyond caring that my voice broke on that one word.
The man smiled as he walked around the desk. My gaze flickered over to Daemon as he shifted, drawing the attention of the beautiful redhead. “Were you expecting a more personal greeting?” he asked. “Perhaps something more intimate?”
I had no idea how to answer. I felt like I’d fallen into the rabbit hole, and warnings were firing off left and right. Something primal inside me recognized that I was surrounded by predators.
Completely.
----------------------------------------
NOOOOOO!!!! That excerpt can not end there. lol What is Jennifer trying to do us? Slay our Daemon hearts? You can now find me in the fetal position under my desk. Now I am more than impatient to get this book in my hands.
About The Series


Lux Beginnings: Obsidian & Onyx (books 1 & 2)
ISBN: 9781622664801 (hc)
ISBN: 9781622664481 (pb)
Released on: 6/3/14

Lux: Consequences: Opal & Origin (books 3 & 4(
ISBN: 9781622664481 (hc)
ISBN: 9781622664498 (pb)
Released on: 6/3/14

Lux: OPPOSITION
By Jennifer L. Armentrout
ISBN: 9781622662647
To be released on: 8/5/14


About Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author-photo

Jennifer ArmentroutThe #1 NY Times and USA Today bestselling author, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia with her husband and Jack Russell Terrier Loki. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and dog.


Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories, which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. Obsidian, book one in the Lux series, has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press) has been optioned for TV.

Find Jennifer L. Armentrout: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Follow the Tour
7/15- Mundie Moms
7/16- Tales of a Ravenous Reader
7/17- Once Upon a Twilight
7/18- Book Hounds
7/19- Books Complete Me
7/20- Cover Contessa
7/29- Secretly Adorkable

#ReadIsla Week 3- A Look Back At Anna & the French Kiss





Welcome to week #3 in our #ReadIsla campaign.
Today we're featuring the first Stephanie Perkins book we ever read and totally fell in love with, Anna and the French Kiss. This book also happens to be one of our all time favorite Mundie Mom reads.


*sigh* Etienne..... 
 It feels like just yesterday I sat down to read this book. In looking through my Stephanie Perkins feed on the blog I realized it was back in 2010 when I first read it. I can't believe it's been that long ago. It's amazing that even though it was a few years ago, this is a book that still stands out to me when countless other books that I read between then and now have long been forgotten about. This was a book I couldn't wait to read. Not only was I getting to read a debut author's books, but the book itself was one of the first contemporary books that I was excited about. Stephanie is one of the first authors that made me realize I really do love a well written contemporary. How could I not love it? With a setting like Paris, some great charters and an epic love story, this was a book made of win! Check out my original review for it here.



Anna's covers.... let's talk about these to just a moment. I loved the original Anna and the French Kiss cover. Normally I'm not a fan of cover changes, but I've come to love the new covers for Stephanie's books. I think the new covers are just as fitting as the original covers.

About the Book:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?



In December of 2010, I had the chance to interview Stephanie about her book. I loved it so much, I had to know more about it, and Stephanie graciously said yes. Here are some of my favorite Q&A's from that interview, which you can read in full here


MMs: I absolutely love Anna and the French Kiss, the characters are real and the setting made me feel like I'd just had a private tour of Paris. What inspired you to choose Paris as your setting and have you ever been before?

SP: Thank you! The inspiration arrived in a dream — a beautiful boy with a French name and an English accent sitting on the steps of the Panthéon — and it was impossible to resist. Or, more accurately, THE BOY was impossible to resist.


I’d only visited Paris when I was very young, so my memories weren’t exactly reliable. And when I got this idea, my husband and I didn’t have the money to travel. This meant years of research — books, film, music, food, language classes, etc. Anything and everything French that I could get my hands on! Last January, I was fortunate enough to have spent an entire (glorious, glorious) month in the center of Paris, but by that point, Anna’s story was already said and done.

In other words, it was all research. Never underestimate the power of good research!

MMs: I'm having a hard time picking a favorite character from Anna and the French Kiss, as not only are Anna and St. Clair fabulous, relatable characters, but so are the secondary characters. Which character surprised you the most in terms of how much they grew from the beginning of the story to the end?

SP: Oh my word, definitely Anna. Story-wise AND process-wise. In my first draft, she was an empty character. I knew who St. Clair was, but I had no idea what type of person his ideal match would be. I rounded her out by giving her several of my own obsessions — both positive and negative. In fact, I gave her TOO MANY of my negative habits! My editor and I worked hard to scale things back again, to make her both likeable and worthy of such an interesting boy.

MMs: I think St Clair is a modern day Mr. Darcy, as he's the good looking, real, down to earth guy who has some quirkiness to him. Who inspired his character?

THAT IS THE MOST AWESOME COMPLIMENT EVER.

Ah hem.

Well, of course, the boy in my dream was the biggest influence. I was lucky in that Étienne St. Clair arrived nearly fully formed! But I fleshed him out with romantic influences, that’s for sure. To be honest, there’s definitely some Darcy in him. A dash of Meg Cabot’s Michael Moscovitz. And a heaping tablespoon of one particular actor who shall remain nameless!

__________________________


Need a quick refresher for Anna? You're in luck! You can read the ANNA & the French Kiss digital chapter sampler. When you're done reading it, be sure to read this ANNA & the French Kiss deleted scene.

  • Purchase your copy of ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER from one of the 55 independent bookstores and you could get a signed first edition + swag and tell everyone you know to do the same!
  • While you're waiting for the book's release to get here (August 14), 2014 release, read the ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER sampler.
Stay tuned for more exciting news next week here on Mundie Moms about #ReadIsla!

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