Thursday, November 1, 2012

Alight by K.C. Neal ~ Tour Stop - Excerpt, Review & Giveaway


 Very happy to be a stop on the Alight tour!  Got an excerpt and a review for ya!

First the excerpt!


Alight: The Peril (Pyxis Series Book 2) by K.C. Neal


In this excerpt, Mason and Corinne have already gotten pretty good at communicating with each other through their telepathic link. Now, they’re both starting to discover the true nature of their abilities. 

“Wanna see something cool?” He asked after a minute.


“Sure.” I looked at him expectantly in the dark room, but didn’t see anything.


Then, there it was. Mason was glowing. It was as though a faint, warm light had illuminated just beneath his skin.


I sat up. “Shut . . . the . . . front . . . door!” My voice sounded harsh compared to our silent exchanges through our link. “How are you doing that? It’s like you’re a human firefly!”


Mason’s laugh rumbled deep in his throat, and I eyed the ceiling, remembering my sleeping family upstairs.


I don’t know how to explain how I do it. There’s more. Watch.


I stared as the light within him changed from a faint, warm yellow glow to a whiter, more intense light.


“Wow, that’s—” The words died on my lips as Mason raised his hand, and an orb of blue-white light formed in his palm. The ball of light detached from his hand and floated up until it was level with my face. I gaped in wonder.


Touch it, he said softly.


I raised my hand to the light, hesitated, and then pushed my fingertips into it. A buzz of pleasant, ticklish electricity ran up my arm to my body, leaving goose bumps in its path.


I can make it a lot more intense, but I’m afraid it might hurt you. I think it’s supposed to be some kind of defense.


The glowing ball disappeared, and my fingers hung in the empty darkness for a second before I lowered my arm.


Defense? Like a weapon? A stun gun? I asked. I was tempted to flip on the bedside lamp so I could really see his face. I wanted some confirmation that I’d actually seen what I thought I saw. I slowly lay back down on the bed, and curled up on my side facing him. A strange twinge of excitement stirred at the base of my sternum.


He shrugged. Maybe, I’m not sure. I haven’t told your Aunt D about it yet. I wanted to show you first.


Just then I noticed the heat radiating from him, much more than usual. I reached out and ran my fingertips slowly down his arm, and I gasped when residual static crackled softly between my skin and his, illuminating tiny blue sparks. His skin was as hot as the bottom of my laptop after it’s been on for a few hours. When my fingers reached his wrist, he grasped my hand in his and wove his fingers through mine. His hand was so warm, I started to sweat a little.


He rolled to his side, still gripping my hand, and faced me. His lips hovered inches from mine, and my heart thumped.


Hold still, he said.


I waited, wondering what new trick he could possibly have. He drew a slow breath in through his nose, and then his lips parted and he began to exhale. His breath washed over my nose, mouth, and cheeks, and a million tiny sparks burst against my skin. Everywhere the sparks touched, my skin tingled.


He sent no words through our link, but I could sense how badly he wanted to close the space between us. His longing stirred like a heavy, hot wind through my mind, and for a moment, I couldn’t distinguish his feelings from my own.


He ran out of breath and leaned a fraction of an inch closer to me. I closed my eyes, anticipating the pressure of his mouth. When his lips touched mine, our emotions and thoughts seemed to twirl and twine around each other in a rush, like strands of seaweed caught in crashing waves.


Too soon, Mason pulled back and the tide of our jumbled thoughts receded.

Review



Source:  Received an eBook copy from the author in exchange for an fair and honest review.

From Goodreads:

When Corinne learns who the second Guardian is, she must find a way to make peace with the last person in the world she wants to deal with. As she struggles, her nemesis unleashes an otherworldly evil, and a mysterious illness strikes Corinne’s friends. Faltering under the weight of her destiny, Corinne escapes to the dream world. There, she meets Zane, an Australian guy with a hot accent and a revelation that binds them together and alters the path of Corinne’s life. She throws herself into fighting for everything she loves, but just as she’s certain she will prevail, she’s robbed of what she needs most.



My Thoughts:

 

3 stars - Continues to be such a unique YA read  

As I said yesterday in my review of the first book Pyxis, Alight is different, refreshing and unique.  So much is unexpected in this book that it shakes up the conventional ideas of YA and creates something new and delicious. 

I had a lot of questions after book one, more than I like to have at the end of a first book.  I did get some answers in this book but really a bunch more questions.  I continue to have that feeling of seeing acts of a play with this one being the middle act.  I'm more comfortable reading books that have more resolution than this one did.

I still love Mason.  My lingering doubts about him have faded and I just love him.  I will always be Team Mason.  We saw more growth from Corinne in this one, which I really enjoyed.  Her cohorts are the best!  So love Angelina! When the other guardian is revealed, you could hear me cheer.  Finally felt that teenage angst in full gear! Loved their reactions and it was totally fun watching that play out.  Really, could it have been anyone else? I think not.   

This world is fun and fabulous and I'm so glad I read this book.  Looking for that something different to get you excited about reading again, this one might work for ya.
  
*****GIVEAWAY*****

The tour giveaway is for $35 Amazon Gift Card.  See the Rafflecopter below.





10 comments:

  1. Thank you for this awesome giveaway! ^_^

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  2. There was a whole lot going on in this book. I really enjoyed it. I am definitely Team Mason too!!

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  3. I like answers, too, Val. I'm glad you enjoyed Alight.
    Nice review!

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  4. Nice review and excerpt. Thanks for the giveaway.

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  5. Thanks so much for the giveaway!

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  6. The cover is kinda cute... =)

    Thank you for this!!!

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  7. Thanks for the great giveaway :-)

    Peter

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  8. I haven't heard much of this series, but will check it out further.
    Thanks for the giveaway!

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