Release Day: A Bond of Venom and Magic by Karen Tomlinson

A Bond of Venom and Magic by Karen Tomlinson

The Wraith Lord is hunting; his prize, the key to unleashing darkness and Chaos upon the eight Kingdoms.
For Diamond Gillon the war raging in the south seems a remote danger until her home is brutally attacked. Having lost everything she holds dear, Diamond is catapulted into a terrifying new world in which legendary beasts arise, magic is condemned and half blood fae, like her, have no rights. Despite her growing feelings for her saviour, Commander Hugo Casimir, he remains a paradox – not only is he a heartless killer, he is owned by the cruel immortal fae queen; a queen who will murder her own people for magic.
As Diamond’s circumstances become ever more perilous she is drawn deeper into Hugo’s world and discovers the lengths to which he will go to save what he holds dear. Will Hugo become her friend, her protector, or – an enemy not worthy of her trust?
A Bond of Venom and Magic is a tale of two people bound by magic and secrets, but trapped in the complexities of love and betrayal. It is the beginning of an epic journey, one that will test Diamond’s resolve and determination to battle an evil that threatens not only her world but that of Eternity, the land of The Goddess and The Guardians. 

IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!!!!! *Ahem* Hey guys! It’s release day for ABOVAM and I cannot even begin to tell you or even show you just how excited I am because HELLO!! This was the BEST read of the entire year for me! For all of you who read my review, you saw just how much I fangirled over this book… and a character *Ahem* Hugo… for those of you who didn’t get to see my all informative review – you can find it here. You’re welcome.

Happy Book Birthday Karen! I’m so glad that you shared this beautiful creation with me and I hope you enjoy today! I am so happy that I got to know you along the way and that I became a part of your Black Ops Ninja Team! 😀  Anyone who is interested, you can join us for the release day party on Facebook (today!) with special guests and giveaways! You can find the page here! You’re all also welcome to join Karen’s street team!

Also, don’t we just ADORE the cover?!? If you are interested, the artist is Jonas Jödicke and you can find some more of his work on his Facebook Page.

So, Young Adult Bound Book Tours is hosting a book tour for ABOVAM, and I think you guys should go and check out the other blog posts! You can find the schedule and links to the other bloggers on the original post! 

So, to tickle your taste buds… because you are going to want NEED to gobble up this book by the end of this post, here are two excerpts. Yes, two. Can you see how nice we are to you guys! (Please ignore the random dots that are at the beginning of the sentence! They are, naturally, not in the final book, its just my wordpress not cooperating!)

Excerpt one:

Silence swept through the forest, deafening to Arades Gillon’s fae ears. In the act of shoving a freshly felled tree further onto the ancient cart, he froze, his gut twisting with fear. The fresh scent of pine sap tickled his nose as he ignored the woodcutters bantering across the small clearing.

He pushed his bulk upright. Sweat beaded between his shoulder blades and trickled down his spine. Arades sucked in a deep breath, desperately reaching for the cold, calculating calm that had kept him alive for so many years.

It wasn’t there. His heart raced, pounding against his ribs; for the first time in his life, Arades readied himself to flee from his enemy. His breath became shallow and fast, his keen eyes searching out the nightmarish shadow that lurked in the gloom of the old forest. It wouldn’t be alone.

A guttural growl rippled through the trees, sinking deep into his bones. A violent shudder racked his body. For seventeen years that sound had been blissfully absent from his life; there was no mistaking it. The creature fixed its yellow, predatory gaze on one of the other woodcutters.

Arades had to run. Now.

Spinning on his heel, he burst into motion.

The Seeker snarled. Drool ran from its gaping jaws as it leaped from the dark shadows.

Yelling a warning to his friends would achieve nothing. They were as good as dead. Wild snarling filled the air as more Seekers burst from the forest. Petrified screams were cut short as human throats were slashed open by razor sharp claws.

Arades did not look back. Experience told him what he would see, and he did not wish to see his friends die such violent deaths. Terror squeezed his heart as yet more screams were abruptly silenced.

He would not—could not—fail. Panicked, Arades increased his effort and sprinted toward the town, its people and his beloved daughter.

:Excerpt 2

The window warrior spun swiftly in front of the door, facing Hugo with his sword drawn. Clearly he wanted to give his lord time to escape, even if that meant his own death. Before the door banged shut downstairs, Hugo stormed forward. The warrior flicked his wrist. Diamond gasped. Red magic. No Avalonian had red magic anymore. It ripple across the room like a wave of shimmering heat. Hugo roared, but not in pain.

Leaning into the onslaught of power he grinned with fiendish delight, darkness rippling around him. A shroud of silver-flamed shadow devoured the red wave, even as his powerful body charged forwards.

The warrior swore, desperately raising his sword in defence. Clearly he had expected a different reaction to his magical attack. Hugo’s wrathful bellow filled the room as he drove his sword down. Metal jarred and sparked.

“You took her from me! I can smell her blood. Now you will die!” he promised, his voice nothing like his own. It was more animalistic than Diamond had ever heard.

The warrior blocked Hugo’s blade with skill and precision. Red magic meant the ability to control heat and fire. Hugo’s blade began to glow as the other fae heated it like it had come out of a furnace. Hugo grunted but did not let go. The white-hot metal did not burn him through the glove of darkness rippling around his hand.

“Stop this, commander! We are not your enemy,” the warrior panted, blocking and spinning away from Hugo’s blades with utter confidence and no small amount of skill.

Hugo did not answer, his only response was to blast the red magic away with a veil of darkness, parrying a strike and bringing his other blade down with such force the window warrior stumbled, almost driven to his knees. Hugo blocked the warrior’s sweeping sword strike and stabbed him through the shoulder, before mercilessly slashing across the male’s thigh. A move meant to incapacitate. The warrior dropped to one knee but somehow still managed to block Hugo’s killing blow.

“Commander! Stop! She will be safer with us. If you take her back to the palace, the Queen will kill her! You know she will! We need Diamond to live! All of us do!” he panted, desperation in his voice now.

Diamond gasped as she saw the warrior’s hand drop to his boot and grasp the handle of a small concealed knife.

“Hugo!” she yelled, fighting her bonds with all her might. Pain screeched through Diamond’s wrists as the silk tightened. She screamed. It was going to cut off her hands!

Instead of killing the warrior, Hugo kicked his assailant in the chest sending him sprawling. There was a solid thud as the warrior’s head smacked into the wall and he stilled. Hugo immediately twisted to Diamond, dropping to his knees in front of her. Blood ran from her wounds, dripping down the chair arms.

“Keep still,” he ordered, pulling a dagger and slicing through the silken rope.

Sobbing with relief, she sagged against him before the pain started in earnest. Her fingers burned as blood rushed back in. Diamond whimpered, not sure what to do with herself.

Thoughts of the window warrior escaped them both. Hugo quickly slashed strips of material off his tunic. Dropping his blades he firmly bound her wrists, trying to staunch the heavy flow of blood. For a moment he leaned his forehead against hers and gripped each wrist as she fought to control her panicked sobs.

“Shh. It’s alright. You’ll be fine now. Breathe, Diamond. In…out…with me. That’s it.”

Slowly her mind returned to her. With her head leaning against Hugo’s, they shared the same warm breath. She closed her eyes, her body responding to his. Her breathing slowed until it mirrored his own and she could swear she heard the distant beat of his heart.

The scuff of boots on the wooden floor had Hugo on his feet in front of her, blades ready. Diamond looked on as he faced the bleeding warrior, his face icy and calm.

“We are not your enemy,” the warrior panted. Equally calm and with slow intent he sheathed his own blades.

“Kill me if you must. But you know if you take her back to the palace, the Queen will destroy her. Let her come with me, commander. Please. I give you my word I will keep her safe,” the warrior appealed, holding his bloodied hands out to Diamond.

Hugo looked down at her, his brow bunched. Diamond shook her head frantically and grabbed at his tunic. He couldn’t be considering it.

If that isn’t enough to get your spine tingling, here are a couple more 

*Phew* Talking about getting excited all over again!! If that still isn’t enough for you, you can sign up for Karen Tomlinson’s newsletter and get the first 5 chapters free!

Now, obviously you want to order a copy of this beautiful piece of work… because, let’s be honest – how could you even consider resisting?!? Here are the links so that you can order your preferred format:

Amazon US/Amazon UK/Barnes and Noble/Kobo/iTunes

I reckon you can also order it in the Amazon for your own country – just search for it!

There is also a giveaway for a chance for two winners to win an ebook of ABOVAM! Be sure to enter that here! Do not miss out!

About the Author:

Karen has always been an avid reader. Her taste in books is eclectic but she likes nothing better than an exciting fantasy, set in a new and magical world. She lives in Derbyshire, England, with her husband, twin girls and her dalmatian, Poppy. Karen trained as a nurse and currently works as a resuscitation and clinical skills trainer, this involves training a wide variety of health care professionals and medical students in acute patient care. In addition to writing, and reading whenever she can, Karen likes to keep active. She has been training at Shotokan karate since being thirteen, likes walking, mountain biking and (for something completely different) cake decorating. She is currently working on book two in the Guardians of The Goddess series.

Again, Happy Book Birthday to the most wonderful, evil author out there! I cannot wait to steal the manuscript for book two read book two and immerse myself in this world all over again! Much Love! 😀