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BLURB:
A Shade. A Storm. A Soul.
Cursed with forbidden knowledge, 19-year-old Dela must hide her secret from her nomadic tribe or face exile into the frozen wasteland of the Bitters. When she becomes separated from her people during a blizzard, a mysterious and dangerous wanderer named Talon promises to help her find her way back to them. She quickly learns that nothing is what it seems, that her curse may actually be a gift, and that the Bitters are far more dangerous than she could have imagined.
Packed with unexpected twists, Bittersouls is a mixture of survival, adventure, and slow-burn romance that is sure to get your heart pounding.
Buy on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BQFLM7D4
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My Thoughts:
I love reading the Acknowledgement that an author has made personal. It’s just a small way of getting to know the person who wrote a story you are about to read.
Dela has something that she can’t tell anyone else about. But is it something that others are afraid about or something that they want to be suppressed. She has a heavy weight that she must carry on such young shoulders. And if the wrong person finds out, she’s going to have a lot of trouble on her hands. People who are different are not prized, as they should be.
What I love about fantasy, and even paranormal, is that the whole story is from the author’s imagination. Nothing is off limits. It may even raise questions. You are brought on a quest that you have no idea where it’s going to take you. You enter a world that you’ve never seen before, so you rely on the author’s words to paint a picture that you can see in your mind.
Not all fantasy worlds are beautiful and happy. We must fight for truth and what we know is right. It was interesting to see a male author create such a strong female character. It’s a story that’s hard to turn away from. And the ending didn’t help. This book may be considered young adult but I think even adults will enjoy the story that this author has weaved. It’s a great way to forget about all the stressors that may be in your life.
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EXCERPT:
A Soul
[Dela] rounded the corner, stepping into the mouth of the cave. As she expected, she wasn’t alone. But the man who leaned against the far wall of the cave, watching her with a wild and savage curiosity, was not a man she’d ever laid eyes on before. He wore a stark, white roughcloak. To Dela’s eye, it looked to be fashioned from a Jackal’s fur. The head of the beast encircled his own as a hood, the angular snout coming to a toothless point a few inches past his forehead. His arms were crossed over his chest, pushing the sides of his rough out enough to reveal a tattered and patched network of leather garments, ugly and indelicate, but which looked to be sturdy and thick. At his sides, an array of bone hooks much like her own supported various tools and weapons.
But what caught her eye most was the fiery array that spread out around him, stemming from the center of his back. Unlike those in her congregation, whose entities kept small and close and wrapped themselves around their humans, his spread all four of its ghostly appendages out behind him like crimson wings, swaying gently as though breathing or being brushed by the wind. If the congregations’ were simply alive, his was awake.
“Interesting,” the man mused. His voice was low and scratchy, as if from months or years of disuse. Dela realized she’d been staring at him for some time.
“Interesting?” she repeated. Who was this man? What was he doing out here? He’d been so close to their group… and she’d followed him out here. Alone. Had that been his plan?
The man shrugged, stepping off the wall and approaching her with footsteps too quiet to hear over the din of the storm. “I had expected another—”
“Bittersoul.”
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Author Bio:
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A life-long lover of the magic of storytelling, L.A. wrote his first story at the age of 7 and has been writing ever since. Speculative fiction, particularly fantasy, has always held a special place in his heart for the uniqueness of the places and the questions it can address. Though veiled by apparent strangeness, he has always seen it as capable of revealing deeper truth about our own reality.
L.A. graduated from Montana State University in 2015 with Honors in Biochemistry and a minor in Music Composition. This helped nurture his critical thinking and research skills which continue to be instrumental to his writing. During his collegiate years, he also met the love of his life, Julie, whom he later married. At once his greatest supporter and his staunchest critic (when he is wrong, which is more often than he’d like to admit), she has been an integral part of his creative process ever since.
In February of 2018, L.A. became the father of his first son, Griffin. His second son, Tiber, was born in December of 2019 and his third son, Malachi, was born in January of 2022. Though life has become considerably busier since he became a family man, L.A. continues to work on writing in what little spare time he can find. He hopes to one day pass on his love of literature to his sons.
Links:
Substack- lamortonyates.substack.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lamortonyates/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/authorlamortonyates
Twitter - https://twitter.com/lamortonyates
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GIVEAWAY:
L.A. Morton-Yates will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Thank you for hosting today!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting! Glad you enjoyed the read.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts on Bittersouls, I love the cover art, synopsis and excerpt and I am looking forward to reading this story myself
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to hear what you think about it!
DeleteI am so excited to follow Dela's journey!
ReplyDeleteSo am I! Let me know what you think.
DeleteThank you for sharing your review thoughts.
ReplyDeleteWow! At such a young age you were into writing!!
ReplyDeleteI definitely knew from the start that it was something I was made to do. Took me a while before being any good though, haha.
DeleteSounds really good. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good book.
ReplyDelete