Devon Ashley's Blog, page 11

Captives (The Safe Lands #1)
Jill Williamson

One choice could destroy them all.
When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem—taken captive. Now alone, Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything but safe.
Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Lands has protected people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams.
Meanwhile, their brother Mason has been granted a position inside the Safe Lands, and may be able to use his captivity to save not only the people of his village, but also possibly find a cure for the virus that threatens everyone within the Safe Lands’ walls. Will Mason uncover the truth hidden behind the Safe Lands’ façade before it’s too late?
Like a few other small communities, the residents of Glenrock have managed to live peacefully outside the nearby Safe Lands for quite some time. Their existence is quite archaic compared to the posh lifestyle offered within city walls, but those city dwellers suffer from something the outer communities don't - infection via the thin plague, which has completely ruined their ability to reproduce. So it's not surprising when Glenrock is invaded and their women, children, and young men are taken at force, and their elderly killed off (because in the city's eyes, all people should be liberated (ie. put down) by the age of forty.)  Only one young man wasn't present for the invasion, and after failing to acquire help from the other communities, sets off with the delusion of being able to save his people and his bride-to-be. It's not long before they're all captives and forced to assimilate to city life or be put down themselves. The women are forced into a surrogacy program and the men forced to donate their sperm to impregnate them through in vitro fertilization. Disgusted with their newfound fame, with the women in a harem that literally treats them like queens while a part of the surrogacy program, the residents of Glenrock are desperate to find cracks within the civilization and reclaim the freedom that is rightfully theirs.  What I like best about Jill Williamson's novels, is that although she writes Christian fiction, she neither preaches through her writing nor shoves religion down your throat. So if you're hesitant to pick up her novel because of this, don't be, because even though the religious undertones are there, you probably won't even pick up on them if your not religious yourself. Captives is a great dystopian novel about a greedy, self-centered society so corrupted and run by desperation that they can no longer see how immoral their lifestyle and actions have become. And the fact that it was one of their own that sold them out to the city to begin with? Priceless.   Novel provided by publisher for honest review.

October 2013!
A hardback of Wither by Lauren DeStephano!   Want a chance to win? Head here to enter! By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

 CONGRATS to all the winners and a big THANK YOU to all the awesome authors who made this such a fantastic event! To see the original post and pics of all the books, visit the September Madness Giveaway! Winners will be receiving an email from me shortly, and will have 72 hours to claim their prize before another winner is drawn, so please check your spam and trash bins if you see your name!   Jackpot Winner ($40 Gift Card to either Amazon or The Book Depository): Darcus M.     A DARK FAERIE TALE OMNIOUS by ALEXIA PURDY: 2 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf or Smashwords): Nicole WH, Amber HALMOST DEAD by REBECCA A ROGERS:5 ebooks (Amz, B&N or Smashwords): Kendra G, Laura T, Jodi CM, Nicole WH, SC LAMERICAN GIRL ON SATURN by NIKKI GODWIN:2 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Kendra G, Danielle B5 bookmarks (mailing address): Kendra G, Erika LR, SC L, Amber H, Elizabeth HCHASING FOREVER DOWN by NIKKI GODWIN:2 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Mandy ME, Rose W5 bookmarks (mailing address): Rose W, Cynthia G, Mariana GC, Cassandra H, Amy GDEADBEAT by AMY SPARLING:5 ebooks w/ bookmark (epub, mobi, pdf)(mailing address): Aishah HW, Abby F, Elizabeth H, Susan H, Amber HHIS DARK WAYS by NAOMI CANALE:1 signed paperback with swag (mailing address): Mandy MEMOTOCROSS ME by CHEYANNE YOUNG:3 signed paperbacks w/ bookmarks (mailing address): Gabby P, Carly W, Erika AW5 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Vera M, Handan YK, Cristi R, Natalie LW, Stephanie VMUTILATE MY HEART by EMILY GODWIN:2 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Karin S, Lauren R5 bookmarks (mailing address): Lauren R, Shadow K, Susan H, Tallulah A, Meghan SORIGIN by JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT:1 signed paperback w/ swag pack: (mailing address): Lexie MPLAY WITH ME by PIPER SHELLY:1 paperback/bookmarks (mailing address): Barrie MRYAN HUNTER by PIPER SHELLY: 1 paperback/bookmarks (mailing address): Lea J    AFTERMATH by DENISE GROVER SWANK: 2 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Margay J, Shadow K1 paperback (mailing address): Carly WANYWHERE by J. MEYERS: 3 ebooks (epub, mobi): Amber H, Jessica R, Amber DBECOMING MORE by BAYLI LANE:1 ebook (epub, mobi): Abby GalBREAKING NOVA by JESSICA SORENSEN:3 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Emily W, Valerie R, Cassandra HCATCHING LIAM by SOPHIA BLEU:2 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Jeannette OW, Ashley MTHE COINCIDENCE OF CALLIE & KAYDEN by JESSICA SORENSEN:1 signed copy (mailing address): Amber HEMERGE by S.E. HALL:2 ebooks (mobi, pdf): Lea J, Sherry SEPIPHANY by CHRISTINA JEAN MICHEALS:1 ebook (Amz): Cindy G1 signed paperback (mailing address): Sarah HFALLING UPWARD by DEVON ASHLEY:2 ebooks (Amz, B&N, epub): Abby Gal, Susan HFIGHTING FATE by LINDA KAGE:2 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Melissa W, Darcus M1 signed paperback/swag (mailing address): Sherry SFROM ASHES by MOLLY MCADAMS:2 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Bobbye HB, Mary PGIRL ON TOUR by CAISEY QUINN:1 ebook (Amz): Carly WGIRL WITH GUITAR by CAISEY QUINN:1 ebook (Amz): Holly LGOOD by S. WALDEN:2 ebooks (mobi, pdf): Ryver, Erika LR1 signed paperback (mailing address): Ashlee DGOOD INTENTIONS by S.L. SCOTT:1 ebook / bookmark (Amz, B&N)(mailing address): Gabby PGOOD VIBRATIONS by S.L. SCOTT:1 ebook (Amz, B&N): Karin SHEARTSTRINGS by HEATHER GUNTER:1 ebook w/ swag (epub, mobi, pdf)(mailing address): Gretchen CHI STAND BEFORE YOU by S.R. GREY:3 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Kenia C, Amber S, Cindy GIN THIS MOMENT by AUTUMN DOUGHTON:35 ebooks (Amz): Darcus M, Rebecca R, Mandy ME, Atalia M, Amber S, Mary P, Shubhi S, Gretchen CH, Danielle S, Barrie M, Ashlee D, Zoe B, Shadow K, Kendra G, Cassandra H, Kenia C, Yohanna B, bn100, Elizabeth H, Amy G, Kayla O, Cindy G, Meghan S, Alicia P, Amy L, Bobbye HB, Carly W, Jodi CM, Tiffany W, Brandy H, Valerie R, Erika AW, Susan H, Denise LB, Monica GLET LOVE IN by MELISSA COLLINS:1 ebook (Amz, B&N, iBooks): Helen BLOVE, LIES AND DECEPTION by L.P. DOVER:3 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Shadow K, Elizabeth H, Andre R1 signed paperback/swag (mailing address): MikiLOVE NOTES by HEATHER GUNTER:1 ebook / swag (epub, mobi, pdf)(mailing address): Mandy MELOVING YOUR LIES by PIPER SHELLY:3 ebooks (pdf): Elina V, Gretchen CH, Shubhi SNEARLY BROKEN by DEVON ASHLEY:2 ebooks (Amz, B&N, epub): Shadow K, Sarah H1 signed paperback (mailing address): Mandy MENOT YOUR FAULT by CHEYANNE YOUNG:5 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Vera M, Anja P, Natalie LW, Elena K, Kayla O3 signed paperbacks/bookmarks (mailing address): Rebecca R, Tiffany W, Darcus MONE WEEK GIRLFRIEND by MONICA MURPHY:1 signed paperback w/ bookmark (mailing address): Stephanie VOUT FROM UNDER YOU by SOPHIE SWIFT:1 ebook (epub, mobi, pdf): Andre RREDESIGNED by DENISE GROVER SWANK:2 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Ashlee D, Shubhi S1 paperback (mailing address): Tiffany WROMANCING THE BOOKWORM by KATE EVANGALISTA:1 swag (mailing address): Atalia MRUIN by RACHEL VAN DYKEN:10 ebooks (Amz, B&N, Smashwords): Barrie M, Nicola SH, Rasika L, Cristi R, bn100, Andre R, Kendra G, Amber H, Amanda M, Nicole H5 signed paperbacks (mailing address): Darcus M, Denise LB, Elizabeth H, Rebecca R, Kenia CSEDUCE by MISSY JOHNSON:3 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Rebecca R, Shadow K, Linda TSKIPPING STONES by J.B. MCGEE:1 signed paperback w/swag (mailing address): Barrie MSTEALING HARPER by MOLLY MCADAMS:2 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Carly W, Helen BTAKE IT ALL by EMMA GRAYSON:1 ebook (Amz): Holly LTAKEN BY STORM by KELLI MAINE:1 ebook (Amz US/UK, B&N): Lexie MTAKING CHANCES by MOLLY MCADAMS:2 ebooks (Amz, B&N): Emily W, Angela CTEARS OF TESS by PEPPER WINTERS:2 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Lea J, Elina VUNBREAK ME by LEXI RYAN:2 ebooks (epub, mobi): Nicole H, Jessica HCUNTEACHABLE by LEAH RAEDER:5 ebooks (epub, mobi): Valerie R, Darcus M, Anja P, Melissa S, Lisa M   BECOMING BAD by RAVEN & BLACK:1 ebook (epub, mobi, pdf): Kendra GBECOMING RED by RAVEN & BLACK:1 ebook (epub, mobi, pdf): Amy GTHE FINAL LESSON PLAN  by DEENA BRIGHT:1 ecopy (Amz only): Lexie MKILLING SARAI by J.A. REDMERSKI:1 paperback (mailing address): Lexie MLOVE SQUARE by JESSICA INGRO:1 ebook (Amz, B&N, Smashwords): Melissa WMIRROR DEEP by JOSS LANDRY:5 paperbacks (mailing address): Gretchen CH, Victoria Z, Emily W, Joey R, Kimberly M10 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Denise H, Vera M, Amber D, Darcus M, Cindy G, Sherry S, Tonya S, Desire P, Holly L, Lauren RSCHOOLED by DEENA BRIGHT:1 ebook (Amz): Denise LBSIN AT SEA by EMMA NICHOLS:3 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Cassandra H, Jodi CM, Barrie MSTORMY SURRENDER by NICOLE ANDREWS MOORE:5 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Daniela P, Cristi R, Vera M, Kayla O, Holly JUVIXEN IN VEGAS by EMMA NICHOLS:3 ebooks (epub, mobi, pdf): Erika AW, Kim P, Jennifer J

 I'm now offering a sign-up form for those bloggers interested in receiving a review copy of my novels. If interested, head over to my official Read & Review page.

September 23rd - 25th, all Devon Ashley books are just 99 cents on Amazon. See a list of available books at Kindle US, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT, JP, IN, CA, BR, and MX. (International sites may experience a delay in price.)

Dusty
YellowBella

She loves him. He loves her crazy.
She's a hopeless romantic. He's just hopeless.
She's afraid to let go. He won't let her.
A story about a silly girl in love with a foolish boy.
Here, forever is a lie.  
***This is one post I will not be censoring my language. If expletives offend you, then back the fuck off.***
Love. Love.Four little letters that will fuck your life over ten ways on Sunday. Love is gentle. Love is steel. Sweet and airy like cotton candy. As piercing as bleach down a raw throat. Love is a little girl's eyes, brighter than a sparkler on the fourth of July. Love is consuming. Awe-inducing. A fucking Band-aid ripped cruelly from a fresh gash. Love is warmth. Ecstasy. So fucking intense you seethe.Love is everything.Love is need.Love is me.

Love just is, and never followed with but.  Love is a twelve year old girl. Innocent. Naïve. Falling for her best friend's brother. Love is a boy. Tainted. Lost. Falling for his sister's best friend. Love is an addiction. Mistrust. Misguided. Forced to fucking repeat the same damn mistakes over and over again. Love is a heart that just won't die. Love is raw. Blissful. Smooth cherry lip balm on a hot summer's day. The bluest fucking star in the universe. Love is a black hole. Love is the biggest fucking train wreck I've ever seen. Hopeless. Helpless.

Love does more than kill you softly. Love crucifies. Knows you can't walk away. Drowns you just to save you. Scars your lungs so you can never truly breathe again.

Fuck love. Love can go straight to hell.  Love is a novel that is seriously 2,000 goddamn pages that steals your day, makes you her bitch at night. Love leaves you empty once it's gone, begging for 3,000 more. Naked. Fucking shattered. Pleading to be embraced no matter the pain. Stranglehold. Love is starving for air. Sweet suffocation. Arsenic ripping through your fucking veins. Love swells with passion. Bleeds you dry. Drains you to the brink of stinkin' death.Love is Bliss baby, baby. Love is Dusty. Love is collective casualty.Love is 4.5 dreamcatchers. Love is bending. Forgiving. Love is giving the extra half star.      Dusty is not a published novel, but available for free online reading. A few people in this world, like myself, have a pdf copy, but it is not mine to give. If you prefer pdf, email me and I'll guide you to the yellow brick road.  Note: This is Twilight fan fiction. Other than the screwed up, crazy love, and the use of a few character names and a total lack of parenting, this is not Twilight. Certainly not sparkly-vampire-werewolf paranormal. So if you read this, and I highly recommend that you do, leave all your goddamn expectations at the door, ignore the slight discrepancies if you catch them, push through the first hundred pages as you ease into the writing style and a girl slowly growing up, and let motherfucking love shred you to pieces.

  Yep, today's the day! The guy Jenna didn't choose is getting his own happily ever after novella. You didn't seriously think I'd leave you guys hanging, did you? For all the newbies to my novels, Falling Upward can be read as a standalone, but it will contain some spoilers from Falling in Between and Falling Away, most importantly, who Jenna ends up with in the end.



Pick up Falling Upward at the following platforms:
eBooks available on Kindle US, UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, CA, BR, JP, MX; Nook and Kobo.

 Yep, it's that time again! What's up for grabs? 219 Giveaways! Check out the pics below and head over to September Madness Giveaway to start entering for all these awesome books!

September 2013
Delaney Collins doesn't believe in fairy tales. And why should she? Her mom is dead, her best friend is across the country, and she's stuck in California with "Dr. Hank," her famous life-coach father—a man she barely knows. Happily ever after? Yeah, right.

Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.

But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own? Interested? Head over to the Previously Loved Book Giveaway page.

Anywhere
J. Meyers
Exp. Pub.: August 25, 2013

Skye Whitcomb is running from her troubles, and where better to run than Europe? Fresh out of college, she makes quick plans with her best friend Paige and hops on a plane.
Of course, nothing ever goes as planned—at least not for her. First, Paige has to bail, and Skye’s left to travel alone. Then she meets sweet and sexy Asher Benedict in Paris, and sparks fly after a night together on the train to Rome. He’s all kinds of perfect for her, but the timing couldn’t be worse since she was running from the altar when she left—so the last thing she wants right now is a relationship.
But Skye’s about to discover that no matter how far you run, love can find you anywhere..

Okay, so I've totally been this girl. Not the runaway bride part, but the girl in the exact same train station in Paris where not a lick of English is anywhere, all by her lonesome, trying to figure out what the hell to do next. It's weird, it's uncomfortable, but it's also a rush. However, I would've been a hell of a lot more suspicious of a sexy guy trying to talk to me. And if he asked me where I was going, only to follow it up with, "Me too," little red flags would've been popping up all over the place! Hey, I've seen Taken! And I had way to many single guys coming up to me on my trip that I made it my number one rule to always be where others were and never by myself. But hey, that's real life and this is a book, so of course Skye is going to be relieved to have someone to talk to on the train. :)


So Skye has just bailed on her fiancé several days before the wedding, fleeing to Paris with her best friend to spend several months backpacking across Europe. Couldn't blame her really. She spent her entire life being told what to do by her overbearing mother, that she just couldn't marry a guy that had already began treating her the exact same way. The guy had their entire life planned out, including a place in the city (which she vocally said she didn't want) to the number of kids they'll have and when. Hello Stepford Wife. I'd get the hell out too. Unfortunately, Skye's best friend has her own dilemma that sends her packing for home, leaving Skye all alone to begin her journey. On the very first day, she meets Asher, an American guy that's also lost his backpacking buddy, heading in the same direction Skye is. Figuring it's just company on the train, Skye opens up to this sweet stranger and immediately feels the relief of having someone alongside her that allows her to actually be. Asher is the sweetest guy, letting her vent, cry and and letting her make some decisions without telling her how very wrong she is, which poor Skye has spent a lifetime without. The two become inseparable as they journey city to city, country to country, living on a whim. The more time passes, the more they both realize they're meant to be. But with Skye needing to go home soon and Asher already committed to returning to an ex-girlfriend, will these two ever admit what their hearts have already declared?


This was such a sweet story. Seriously. I whipped through it in one sitting, practically salivating over Asher. Where was he when I found myself in Skye's position, huh? Asher was everything Skye needed to become her own person, and I loved watching her grow stronger and more confidant throughout the novel. Pick it up peeps, it'll have you going aww.... when you turn the last page.

...and I'd love to see some bonus material for the very special day that I don't wanna mention here. Hint hint! That would be a great scene seeing if and how Skye handles herself.

ARC provided by author for honest review.