Showing posts with label Blog Tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Tour. Show all posts

Tuesday, 29 January 2019

Blog Tour: Excerpt + Giveaway: Only a Breath Apart by Katie McGarry

 

Would you dare to defy destiny? Are our destinies written in stone? Do we become nothing more than the self-fulfilling prophesies of other people's opinions? Or can we dare to become who we believe we were born to be?

“A gorgeous, heartfelt journey of redemption and love” (Wendy Higgins), ONLY A BREATH APART is a young adult contemporary novel from critically acclaimed Katie McGarry. “Haunting, authentic, and ultimately hopeful” (Tammara Webber), order your copy of ONLY A BREATH APART now!

 

   


About ONLY A BREATH APART:

 

They say your destiny is carved in stone. But some destinies are meant to be broken.

The only curse Jesse Lachlin believes in is his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year.

A fortuneteller tells Scarlett she's psychic, but what is real is Scarlett’s father’s controlling attitude and the dark secrets at home. She may be able to escape, but only if she can rely on the one boy who broke her heart.

Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings, but as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…

 

Amazon | Kobo | Google Play

B-A-M | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books

 

 

     

Gritty and real, Only a Breath Apart is a story of hope conjured from pain, strength drawn from innocence, and love earned from self-respect. Beautiful, poignant, and fierce.” ―Kristen Simmons, critically acclaimed author of the Article 5 series



 EXCERPT



~SCARLETT~

My entire body seizes. “You’re supposed to give me a ride home.”
Glory ends the call and offers me an apologetic expression. “I forgot I had a phone meeting. I’ll take you home, after the call, but this will be a lengthy session.”
Meaning I won’t be home by curfew. “Reschedule.”
Glory has a thoughtful look as she approaches me. One that makes me feel like I should run. She leans forward and says in my ear, “You felt something when you saw the Chariot.”
The moment she placed that card on the table I felt as if I had sprinted headfirst into a wall. It was a stunned feeling, as if I were lost in a fog, but I won’t admit that. Not to her, not to anybody.
“You’ve been asleep for a very long time,” she whispers. “It’s time to wake up, Scarlett. There’s a whole word of possibility waiting for you.”
I step back from her because this lady is insane. “I need you to take me home.”
“I can’t, but I’m sure Jesse can lead the way.”
Um…no. I spin on my toes, and I’m out the door, down the stairs and I head east for home. Seconds later, the screen door slams shut again, and there are heavy footfalls on the wooden steps.
“Wait up!” Jesse calls out.
Nope. Not going to happen. I enter the tree line and curse the sky above that there’s no moon. This is the country, which means that besides the fading light from Glory’s house, I’m in complete darkness.
“Scarlett!” Jesse tries again. “Wait!”
But I don’t. I walked this land hundreds of times with Jesse, sometimes by myself so I could find him when I needed a friend. I can do this on my own.
“Let me find you so I can walk you home,” Jesse says.
He’s to my right, and I hurry because I don’t want to be found. My pulse pounds in my ears, and my blood tingles with this need to stay hidden, to stay alone.
Once upon a time, Jesse was my best friend, and then one day he froze me out. He stopped answering the door when I knocked, he ran away when he saw me coming across the field and then when we were forced into the same space on the first day of our freshman year, he humiliated me in front of the entire school.
Jesse Lachlin crushed me, and while I feel sorry for him because his grandmother died, I don’t forgive him for leaving a scar on my soul.
“Dammit, Scarlett, stop being so stubborn.”
My jaw clenches, and it takes an immeasurable amount of self-control to not explain to Jesse in a very loud tone that he’s the biggest jerk I’ve ever met. Doing so will inform him where I’m located, and I need him to leave me alone.
I push forward, faster this time, but then my foot snags on a root. My balance is thrown and my arms swing wildly in the air. I attempt to reach for something to break my fall, but my fingers catch air. The sensation is like the first massive hill of a roller coaster as my stomach lifts, and I brace myself for impact with the ground.
I close my eyes, tense my muscles and I’m caught. Strong, warm arms weave around me from behind and then my back is pressed flush against a solid chest. My heart leaps, and my lungs are robbed of air.
“You okay?” Jesse’s mouth is incredibly close to my ear, and his hot breath tickles my skin. I tremble because of the adrenaline or because of this achingly beautiful intimacy, I don’t know.
“Are you okay?” he asks again, and this time his arms tenderly squeeze me as if he’s offering comfort, as if he honestly cares. It’s been so long since anyone has hugged me that a part of me melts into the embrace as if I’m dry ground welcoming a warm rain.

 


 
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

   
Katie is the author of the PUSHING THE LIMITS series, THUNDER ROAD series, SAY YOU’LL REMEMBER ME, and the upcoming YA novel, ONLY A BREATH APART. Her novels have received starred reviews, critical acclaim and have won multiple awards including being a multiple Goodreads Choice Award Finalist for YA Fiction, multiple RT Magazine's Reviewer's Choice Award Finalist for Best YA Fiction, including a win in the category, and she was a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick.      

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest











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Katie McGarry’s ONLY A BREATH APART – Review & Excerpt Tour Schedule:
 

January 21st
@booksniffer7 – Review
Bickering Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Book Ballistic – Excerpt
Book Hoarder Mom – Review
Celindareyesblog – Excerpt
Do You Dog-ear? – Review & Excerpt
Novel Addiction – Excerpt


January 22nd
Beyourselfbebhaltair – Review & Excerpt
Booknerd1107 – Review
CeliaMoontown – Review & Excerpt
Crazy Chaotic Book Babes – Review & Excerpt
Echoing Books – Excerpt
GataLeitora – Excerpt
Its a mun thing – Excerpt
Mythical Books – Excerpt
Stellar Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
The Romance Reviews – Excerpt
Words Are Life – Review & Excerpt


January 23rd
A Novel Glimpse – Review
Bewitching bibliophile – Review & Excerpt
Book Freak – Review
Books Are My Life – Review & Excerpt
Bookworm Misfit – Excerpt
ClaryNathanWill – Excerpt
Craves the Angst Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Latteandbook – Review & Excerpt
Once Upon a Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Red Hot + Blue Reads – Review & Excerpt
The Book Hammock – Review & Excerpt
Velarisreads – Excerpt


January 24th
A Court of Coffee and Books – Review & Excerpt
Avid Reads – Excerpt
Bookishly Nerdy – Review & Excerpt
Dazzled by Books – Review & Excerpt
Kick Back & Review – Excerpt
Milky Way of Books – Review
Star-Crossed Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Sweet Red Reads – Excerpt
Tale Out Loud – Excerpt
The Cover Contessa – Excerpt
The Lovely Books – Excerpt
The Start of Something New – Review & Excerpt


January 25th
A Literary Perusal – Review & Excerpt
Abellafairytale – Excerpt
Book Bite Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Boundless Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Confessions of a Wordaholic – Review & Excerpt
Fandomly Bookish – Excerpt
Girl Plus Books – Review
Kaidans Seduction – Excerpt
The Book Branch – Excerpt
The Book Trollop – Review & Excerpt
VoxLibris – Review & Excerpt


January 26th
Ali's Bookshelf – Review & Excerpt
Beauty and Lace – Excerpt
Blunt Book Blog – Excerpt
Book Angel Booktopia – Review & Excerpt
Bookish Intoxication Writes – Review & Excerpt
Confessions of 2 Book Lovers – Review & Excerpt
Crazii Bitches Book Blog – Review & Excerpt
Jesssiereads – Excerpt
Little Read Riding Hood – Review & Excerpt
Madison’s Library – Review & Excerpt
Reese's Reviews – Review & Excerpt


January 27th
As the Book Ends – Excerpt
Book Bitches Blog – Review
Books 4 Girls – Review & Excerpt
Bumbles and Fairy-Tales – Review & Excerpt
Chasing Faerytales – Review
K&M Sultry Reads – Excerpt
K's Korner – Excerpt
Less Reality More Books – Review & Excerpt
Poetry law and something more – Review & Excerpt
Roxy's Reviews – Excerpt


January 28th
Aaly and The Books – Review
A Book Fanatic Obsession – Review & Excerpt
Book Reader Addicts – Review & Excerpt
Bookishly Slytherclaw – Review & Excerpt
Contagious Reads – Review & Excerpt
Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Escape 2 Fiction – Review & Excerpt
Midnight Book Girl – Excerpt
PBC – Excerpt
Rad Babes Read – Review & Excerpt
The Book Hookup – Review & Excerpt
Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews – Review & Excerpt
We Live and Breathe Books – Review & Excerpt


January 29th
A Gingerly Review – Review & Excerpt
Bangor belle books – Excerpt
Becky on Books – Review & Excerpt
Books & Tea – Review & Excerpt
Chapter by Chapter – Review & Excerpt
Echosreviews – Excerpt
GotToReadThoseBooks – Excerpt
Kindle and Me – Review & Excerpt
Lita's Book Blog – Excerpt
Margay Leah Justice – Excerpt
The Book Maven – Review & Excerpt


January 30th
Book Reader Chronicles – Review & Excerpt
Buttermybooks – Review
Ficwishes – Review & Excerpt
Geeky Reading – Excerpt
Little Bookworm Reviews – Review & Excerpt
Lo’s Lo-Down on Books – Review & Excerpt
Read. Eat. Love. – Review & Excerpt
The Butterfly Reads – Excerpt
The Writing Finch – Excerpt
YA Bibliophile – Review & Excerpt


January 31st
BookCrushin – Review & Excerpt
Little Lovely Books – Review & Excerpt
Margaux – Excerpt
Ms. Me28 – Excerpt
Nerdy Soul – Review & Excerpt
TBR Book Blog – Excerpt
The Bookish Introvert – Review & Excerpt


February 1st
Alotabooks13 – Review & Excerpt
Caitlin's World – Review & Excerpt
CJR The Brit – Review
Hedwig Reads – Excerpt
Literary misfit – Excerpt
Readers Retreats – Excerpt
The Reading Faery – Review
Total Book Geek – Excerpt
Twirling Book Princess – Review & Excerpt
Vera is Reading – Excerpt
Whoo Gives A Hoot – Excerpt
YA/NA Book Divas – Excerpt


Thursday, 25 October 2018

Blog Tour + Review: Five Reasons to Go by Candace Knoebel



We are thrilled to be bringing you the release of FIVE REASONS TO GO by Candace Knoebel. FIVE REASONS TO GO is the second standalone in the Risky Hearts duet. If you love your contemporary romance emotional and angsty then grab your copy today!



 


About FIVE REASONS TO GO

One day a week. That was his rule. And it was also our downfall.
My marriage to Hank was one of convenience. When I got pregnant at sixteen, he took me in and kept a roof over my naïve head. We had an agreement—we could sleep with whomever we wanted so long as our children were kept in the dark. It worked great… until it didn’t.
Cocky Jack Swanson was never supposed to be mine. His marriage was open, but his heart was guarded… until he slowly let me in, revealing an alluring man with a painful past. With him, I felt what love could be. I felt wanted… needed. I’d never wanted to fall in love… but then I did.
And now… the rules have changed.
Jack isn’t the same man I fell for. Broken and gutted from his divorce, he’s a shell of who he once was. Sullen and worn down. I know I can bring the good in him back out, if only he’ll let me in. If only he’ll just stay, instead of giving me all his reasons to go.

Add FIVE REASONS TO GO to your Goodreads TBR!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Amazon AU    


REVIEW

Candace Knoebel is one of my go to author's. I don't even have to read the synopsis of a book she's written and I already know I'm going to walk away an emotional wreck; whether in tears or feeling all light and tingly.

And this book did not disappoint. Although it could be read as a standalone, I would suggest reading the first book in the duet, only because I think it would be a great introduction to the characters found in this one, also giving more backstory. If you don't, you may find the start of this book to be a bit rushed. 

The idea of an open marriage has always been strange to me, but I also believe that sometimes we're with someone just long enough until we find our soulmate. This was very much the case for Corinne and Jack, and even Jess. She fell head over heels at such a young age and this story tells of the repercussions that may have.

My heart went out to her every time she was made to suffer in a loveless marriage, whether emotionally or physically. At least she had the joy of her kids to lift her spirits, but again, as so often it happens, people put their own happiness aside and make sacrifices that leave them in hell, almost costing them their own sanity.

Thankfully this was a heartwarming story, so even though there were tough moments endured, there was a rainbow that led right to pleasure and justice.



Don't miss the first book in the Risky Hearts duet!


TEN REASONS TO STAY | FIVE REASONS TO GO

 


About CANDACE KNOEBEL

Candace Knoebel is a hopeless romantic with an affinity for whiskey and good music. Her love of words began when she met the boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs. She’s a self-proclaimed Lost Girl. Words are her mirror. With two completed series, her work ranges from paranormal to contemporary, all centered heavily around romance. Currently she lives in Florida with her husband and two children, and has just completed her fifteenth novel, Ten Reasons to Stay. Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Instagram | BookBub | Reader Group

Wednesday, 7 March 2018

Blog Tour: Review + #Giveaway: Lies That Bind by Diana Rodriguez Wallach







What do you do when you learn your entire childhood was a lie? 

Reeling from the truths uncovered while searching for her sister in Italy, Anastasia Phoenix is ready to call it quits with spies. The only way to stop being a pawn in their game is to remove herself from the board. But before she can leave her parents’ crimes behind her, tragedy strikes. No one is safe, not while Department D still exists.

Now, with help from her friends, Anastasia embarks on a dangerous plan to bring down an entire criminal empire. From a fire-filled festival in England to a lavish wedding in Rio de Janeiro, Anastasia is determined to confront the enemies who want to destroy her family. But even Marcus, the handsome bad boy who’s been there for her at every step, is connected to the deadly spy network. And the more she learns about Department D, the more she realizes the true danger might be coming from someone closer than she expects… 





REVIEW


If you are looking for a thrilling twisted adventure with betrayal, secrets and a dash of romance, this is the read for you.

Proof of Lies was an action-packed espionage thriller that had me on the edge of my seat and, Lies That Bind, although not as fast-paced, was just as nail biting. The story begins where the first book ended. Ana and her friends have uncovered some terrible family secrets, and this only means more danger for the entire group. Many questions hang in the air, waiting for answers, and I was eager to find out every sordid detail. 

This book was intense and exciting, with the beauty of Europe as the backdrop to all the tragedy and turmoil keeping these characters from living normal lives. On top of all the Department D drama, Ana had many personal decisions to make and she was faced with a reality that could very well see her losing the only person she'd ever had a romantic connection with, but if it meant keeping her sister safe she was willing to do so. It showed a level of maturity that I really liked about her. She wasn't all sappy teenager, she stepped up to the plate and made difficult choices.

While a bit of the plot line was kind of expected, after everything that happened in book one, there were a few new twits thrown into the mix and they certainly lit this book up. 

I did feel that there were a few loose ends, though, and without giving too much away, I think the Antonio situation was dealt with far too easily, and I still had many questions about a certain female associate of his, as well as things with Regina. Having said that, I still thoroughly enjoy this book from start to finish.

Looking forward to more intrigue and suspense as the journey continues for Anastasia Phoenix.








About Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Diana Rodriguez Wallach is the author of the Anastasia Phoenix Series, three young adult spy thrillers (Entangled Publishing, 2017, ’18, ‘19). The first book in the trilogy, Proof of Lies, was named by Paste Magazine as one of the “Top 10 Best Young Adult Books for March 2017.” Bustle also listed her as one of the “Top Nine Latinx Authors to Read for Women’s History Month 2017.” Additionally, she is the author of three award-winning young adult novels: Amor and Summer Secrets, Amigas and School Scandals, and Adios to All The Drama (Kensington Books); as well as a YA short-story collection entitled Mirror, Mirror (Buzz Books, 2013).

She is an advisory board member for the Philly Spells Writing Center, a school-based Workshop Instructor for Mighty Writers in Philadelphia, and has been a Writing Instructor for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth since 2015. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University, and currently lives in Philadelphia.

Author Links:

Friday, 25 August 2017

Blog Tour: Excerpt + #Giveaway: Forsaken by Connie Ann Michael





Title: Forsaken
Author: Connie Ann Michael
Release Date: May 23, 2017
ISBN: 9780997727890


Eighteen-year-old Oli cannot remember life outside the barrier, a life before the oil spill that poisoned human kind, killing half the population and infecting the other half until they deteriorated from the inside out, forced to walk the earth as Screamers. It’s a dangerous new world in which barely anyone makes it past the age of twenty, and Oli’s time is running out.

Studying the Bible, Oli searches for words to help restore faith in a lost world, and when she receives a message from God telling her to leave the barrier, she knows what she must do. There’s only one problem: Her best friend, Coi, doesn’t believe her, and he’s showing the first signs of infection. But before she can convince him to leave with her, the Governor quarantines Coi and orders his execution.

Oli risks it all to rescue Coi, and they set out to find sanctuary away from the safety of the compound, not knowing who or what will get to them first: the Governor, the illness, or the Screamers. When they stumble upon a group of uninfected humans hidden among the rubble of an apartment building, they think they’ve found their salvation. But not everything is as it seems, and their enemies are closer than they thought.


Book Links:
Anaiah Press:http://anaiahpress.com/forsaken
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Forsaken-Screamers-Book-Connie-Michael-ebook
Barnes and Noble:https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/forsaken-connie-ann-michael
Itunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/forsaken
Kobo:https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/forsaken-61
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35209907-forsaken?from_search=true


About the Author

A new resident of Montana, Connie Ann Michael grew up in a close family on the outskirts of Seattle. Drawn to the Lord she’s followed her calling of service and has taught for twenty-six years, currently the fifth grade teacher at Crow Agency Public School, on the Crow Reservation. Connie loves her family and is lucky enough to have two grown boys. Living with her husband and two dogs in Big Sky country, Connie enjoys any activity that takes her outside and is working hard to overcome her fear of being eaten by a bear to enjoy more hiking trips in the mountains.
Website:http://connie-avidreader.blogspot.com/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/connieannmichael/
Twitter:https://twitter.com/connieamichael


Excerpt

I’d worked in the garden all day, digging up dry, hard dirt in an attempt to thin out weeds that were indistinguishable from the edible plants. I sat back on my heels and looked around at the others digging with sticks and crude tools bent from scraps of metal. I thought back to a history book I’d found in the school across the street from where our tiny speck of civilization sat. The pictures of the cities were faded, but the grandeur couldn’t be dulled. The sun shone from the great heights of the buildings like stars guiding people through their lives. Lives that were full and held the hope of growth and diversity. Lives that were lost, and lives I would never know. I devoured news from the past. I’d read every book I could find until the day the Governor took over and sent the Guard in to gather them all and burn them in a huge bonfire to show us the past no longer mattered.

Only the future mattered now. The future he would make for us.

I’d hidden a few of my favorite books and then ripped out pictures that spoke to me of what could be once more. I had them in my pockets until the day one fell out and the Guard, a group of empowered teenagers doing the dirty work for the Governor, found them. My arms were bound to a table in the middle of the compound, and my hands were hit with a switch twenty times before I was left as an example. My transgression—hope—was the first of the rules scratched on to the wall of rules. Of course, it said act of defiance.

Defiance of what?

Defiance of a rule that took the past and left it there?

I kneeled at the table until dusk when my friends, Bliss and Coi, were allowed to release me. I was expected to continue my duties in the garden the next day as if my hands weren’t sore, swollen, and bloody; as if nothing had transpired.

Take your punishment and step back into the predictable path of your life.

I was much more careful after that and folded the photographs until they were small squares and hid them among my possessions, only giving myself the luxury of carrying one hidden deep in my pocket. After more than ten years behind these fences, we had little to show other than a belief system that was the backbone to salvation slowing being taken from us. Even though I didn’t agree with rules outlined and constantly being revised without question or input from those living under them, this was the only home I’d known since arriving when I was nine.

It was desolate and dying a little more every day, but it was a refuge for those of us who refused to give up a chance of survival. We paid for our residence through tedious chores that never seemed to get us closer to breaking the barrier between survival and living. Every day we woke to the monotonous tasks, doing what needed to be done to earn our place and not be forsaken into the abyss of death waiting outside our fences.

Most days, I found my refuge in the skeleton of a school just outside the safety zone of the chain link. A place once filled with knowledge and guidance but now a shell of a world left far behind.

Dusk had settled, along with a light drizzle. I’d left my tools in the shed after my chores and had spent the last hours of daylight in the school with History books and the Bible I had hidden deep in the bowels of a dilapidated classroom. I’d found loose pages in a pile of trash that listed the nine things needed before a world was considered a civilization; a written language, a belief system, a stable food supply, government, art, ways to improve life, a social structure, lasting settlements, and a trade or economics. If this list was accurate, we had a long way to go before we were considered anything more than a group of young people camping in the middle of what used to be a sports field. I began to cross over the make-shift bridge the Guard had strung between the school and the rickety guard tower they’d erected. I usually slipped through the gate to walk the short distance across the road and through the doors of the school, but I’d waited too long and the path back to the barrier was filled with the infected, the screeching noise of their breathing, earning them the name Screamers, floated up from the road below. I stopped, daring to look down at the small space between my feet and the dozens of clawing fingers reaching up in the small chance they could snag my pants or a shoelace and bring me to my death. I inched forward, hearing the deep rasp of a cough before I saw the figure waiting on the other side of the bridge. I glanced up at the clouds, darkening as they filled with the poisoned rain they would tease us with. A wetness that wouldn’t bring life but instead kill the small plants we nurtured and damage the health of the young who eagerly drank from the barrels before the water was purified.

The cough came again, and as I neared the other side, the tall figure of my best friend, Coi, emerged.

"Bliss missed her work duty for the day," his words came out quickly.

"I’ll find her." I didn’t wait for an explanation, there wasn’t time. I needed to find her before Bliss’s punishment became a new revision on the wall of rules.

Coi grabbed my arm, stopping me. "I was sent after her. She’s at the fence but won’t come back with me. I can’t stall the Guard long."

"I told you, I’ll get her." I stomped down the stairs and took off at a run.

It was her first absence in months, so the punishment would more than likely be a warning. I prayed it would be a warning and nothing more, but I needed to make sure if she was doing anything more than missing work that I got to her before anyone else did. I needed to know she was okay and keep her that way. It didn’t take long to find her. The barrier wasn’t that big.

"Missed you at the garden today," I said quietly, walking up behind her. Bliss was eleven, and I’d practically raised her even though I was a kid myself. She was sitting on the ground watching a small group of Screamers milling around a pile of… of something I didn’t want to know what it was. The barrier was surrounded by trees that, at one time, I was sure provided a cool shade from the sun. Now the needles were red with what looked to be the same fate as us. The school we’d settled in was away from a town I assumed lay out past the trees. I’d always thought it was why it was chosen in the early years… for its seclusion. No one alive today had ever gone farther than the school across the broken road. Very few buildings lay further, a long patch of runway from what use to be an airstrip, but legend had it the large metal buildings housed a mass of those who died from infection, and going that far from the barrier was listed on the wall of laws, so no one I knew ever ventured that way.

"There’s plenty of people to clean the gardens. You don’t need me," she muttered. Her fingers were laced into the metal links of the fence, her eyes glued to the slumped figures across a small dirt patch.

"It’s best we leave them to…"

"To what?" Bliss questioned. Her mood concerned me. Bliss was the happy one. The one whose real name I couldn’t even remember. We all called her Bliss because of her never ending cheer.

I looked at the ground, the water collecting in rounded mounds over the caked earth, not yet soaking into the tightly pressed dirt, and wondered the same thing. It was best we let them be. It was best we left them to do whatever it was they did without anyone watching. "I don’t know, Bliss, but you don’t want to watch them."

Bliss turned to me. "Our existence means nothing if we don’t honor the dead."

I tried not to flinch at her words. "Honor the dead?"

"They were just like us until their luck changed. I don’t think they mean to hurt us. They want to survive… so do we."

I looked at a woman who stood swaying slowly back and forth on the other side of the barrier. Her face was unrecognizable, but even with clothes in tattered strips and covered in mud, I knew who she was. This woman had been the last of what would be considered an adult in our small community of safety. I sighed again and understood what had kept Bliss from her work. The woman had been Bliss’s aunt.

I didn’t want to argue the fact that their need to survive was futile seeing as they were as good as dead, infected with a sickness that if there was a chance of a cure, we certainly didn’t have any way of finding it, but I also didn’t want to agree with her. The Governor had been in control for a few short years, and words used when discussing the methods he had for removing those who questioned him had to be chosen more carefully these days.

Bliss stared out into the growing darkness. "She didn’t do anything wrong."

"She questioned," I said quietly.

"And is that so wrong?"

I shook my head no, but in my heart I knew it was dangerous to question the Governor and his methods. I understood his need to control us. In the beginning, there was no organization and mistakes were made that we continue to pay for today.

"She told the guard she was too sick to work. She snuck out when they were watching the gate." She glanced up at me. "She was with child." Her big eyes blinked and a tear fell. "I would have had a cousin."

I opened my mouth to respond, but words had left me. I wasn’t sure where to start on the list of disturbing questions her words put in my head. The biggest being why she thought her aunt had had a choice in her exile. Finally, I said, "I’m sorry."

"It was her terms not theirs." Bliss let out a long breath, releasing her negativity. "Tell me something good." She wiped at her cheeks with one hand. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the fence tighter with the other. I placed my hand over hers. When darkness fell completely and the Screamers became frenzied for food, they would come for something as small as a finger. Even the smallest scratch from their infected nails could cause the infection to spread.

"You’re here for a reason. If you weren’t supposed to be here, you wouldn’t be," I said.
The rasps of the Screamers were getting louder as the sky became fully dark and the rain began.

"Please, Bliss," I whispered. "Please. Come to dinner with me."

One of the Screamers came to us, head cocked to the left, jaws chomping at nothing. Bliss took a step back, finally letting go of the fence.

The vacant eyes of the walking corpses drew me in. Many called them lost souls, but they weren’t. These were empty shells of people. People who’d been loved. I’d spent many hours looking into the weeping, yellow eyes of the sick, trying to understand. But when there is nothing in them, there’s nothing to find.

"Please," I said again.

Bliss didn’t divert her eyes from where they stared. "You can go, Oli."

"No. Come with me."

She turned and met my stare. "I need her to know I’m here. I’ll survive for her, and I want her to get strength from that."

I pressed my lips to her temple. "I love you, Bliss. But you can’t be found here. Illness is the only excuse for absence. You can’t stay."

Reluctantly, she agreed and returned with me to the large building where dinner was waiting. The Screamers rarely returned to the barrier. Her aunt had slipped away in the morning. Escaped, we told ourselves. Trying to find others and then return with a great flourish to tell us the world had returned just a few miles down the road. It was best we kept those dreams alive. It was better than the alternative, the one where the Guard led her into the vacant world outside our walls without even a simple weapon. No one who left ever returned. The Guard made sure of that, and I highly doubted it was her aunt. This was just a woman wearing the same dress who happened upon us. I looked down at my own clothes and wondered if this was an outfit I wanted to wear while I walked the earth as a Screamer.

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