Bestselling author Tony Abbott’s epic new middle grade series, the Copernicus Legacy, begins with The Forbidden Stone, a thrilling adventure packed with puzzles, intrigue, and action. Fans of Rick Riordan and Ridley Pearson will love this first book in an exciting series that takes the reader all over the globe in a race to find pieces of a mysterious hidden past—before it’s too late.
Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca fly from Texas to Germany for the funeral of an old family friend. But instead of just paying their respects, they wind up on a dangerous, mind-blowing quest to unlock an ancient, guarded secret that could destroy the fate of the world.
It all starts with an email and a murder…and Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca are off on an adventure of a lifetime. Following one clue to another, they find themselves on the hunt for a relic. I found their quest to be quite fascinating. Traveling across Europe, solving riddles and puzzles, and learning about the life of the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus – which was far more interesting than I would have guessed.
All of the kids are rather brilliant, piecing things together that I never would have been able to myself. The adults in the story act more as guides and chaperones, often seeming to not quite belong or be very helpful other than doing standard adult things. It was nice to see the story focus so intently on the kids and let them really lead the way.
There is plenty of danger and excitement and near-death situations. This is probably more appropriate for the higher aged or more mature middle grade readers as there is some violence – but not graphic. It does get rather tense at some moments, which I loved, and my kids loved, but not all will.
The puzzles are a lot of fun. They are challenging and exciting, and each one plays its own part in moving the adventure forward and revealing the final answer and location. I highly recommend this book for kids who enjoy mysteries with a lot of action and excitement.
Imogen Taylor: Artist. College dropout. Gamer. Screwup.
I had big plans for art school in California, but when the best mom in the world—mine—needed help, I came home to Arbolito, Arizona instead. I even got my old high school job back, making smoothies at the Desert Freeze…in winter.
So, yeah, by day, my life is a cold, tropical-hued hell. But at night, I escape reality by plugging into my favorite video game, Legendelirium, to become a powerful, sexy witch, going on epic quests while vanquishing baddies.
Until a cute guy from my gaming world shows up at work, gives me the worst kiss ever, and my reality and fantasy lives get blended by purple goo laced with lethal, nanorobotic technology.
Now, I’ve got powers—strange, witchy ones. Scary people are after me, and I don’t know who to trust. And, get this. Somehow, it’s up to me to defeat them, or it’s game over.
Enter the fast, fun, urban fantasy adventure of the BUTTERFLY WITCH series, where magic and science become one—mostly accidentally.
I could just give up. Most people would probably say—and some people had said—I should give up. But I just couldn’t, not yet. The only way to figure out what was happening to me was to find Brayden and beat it out of him point blank.
Somewhere behind the clouds, the sun was going down, and the already dusty hues of sage and burnt umber desaturated to dove and charcoal. As I crept down the winding roads, my hope faded with the light until in the long stretches of evening shadow, I found a wide spot that marked an access road. It obviously wasn’t used much, because tufts of pale cheat grass had sprouted through the gravel like a sorority girl’s leg hair during finals week.
With my luck, the Fiesta’s struggling engine would ignite the dry strands and I’d go up in a fireball. Despite the ruts in the gravel, I drove quickly to keep from catching fire. So I almost missed the glimpse of faded blue from the corner of my eye.
I slammed on the brakes, my heartbeat skipping. Throwing the Fiesta into reverse, I held my breath as I crept backward. Could be just a ranger’s truck, or an off-site tent from someone who didn’t want to pay the park fees. Shouldn’t get my hopes up…
I angled the Fiesta’s headlights into the gloom of the chaparral.
The silvery wings of the logo caught my light, but my gaze locked on the dented bumper, the buckled edges of exposed plastic flashing back at me like a warning.
The front half of the car was buried in the shrubbery.
Swallowing hard, I parked, leaving the headlights on. My fingers shook as I grabbed my phone off the seat beside me.
Swiping to the flashlight app, I stepped out into the scrub.
With the stink of dust and creosote clogging my throat, I crept toward the car. Sharp branches had scraped thin white lines in the paint that glinted like spiderwebs when I aimed my phone’s light toward the front seat. A fine layer of dust obscured the glass, reflecting back at me like an obstinate ghost.
I angled along the back fender, trying to avoid the spiny branches of wild lilac, but the door handle was buried in stickers. That was going to hurt…
I reached through the pokey wood to fumble for the handle. My heart beat too fast, making my head spin, and the shadows crowded way too close.
The door was locked.
I tugged again. But of course it was locked. People locked their car doors when they…left to do other things. Other things, like abandoning their vehicle on an empty road through the desert while they did…those other things—
“Ms. Taylor, step away from the vehicle.”
I shrieked as the voice and the bright white light hit me at the same moment. Then everything happened so fast, so damned fast.
Paranormal romance and science fiction romance for everyone who howls at the moon or looks up at the stars to dream. Learn more about Elsa Jade and the worlds of the Mating Season, Mating Fever & Intergalactic Dating Agency — and sign up for the New Release Alert — at http://elsajade.com
Latest News: See the profiles of the sexy aliens of the #IntergalacticDatingAgency in the free sneak peek at Instafreebie. http://instafreebie.com/book/15688
Erin Kellison is the bestselling author of the Dragons of Bloodfire series, the Reveler series, and the Shadow series. She writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and science fiction romance. She loves other worlds and visits them as often as possible via movies and books and her kids’ imaginations. When not daydreaming or writing, she’s goofing off with her family in sunny Arizona.
Title: Eau De Parfum Author: Lisa Acerbo Series: Hell in a Handbasket Genre: Young Adult Horror
The smell of Streaker lingers in the air.
I must be dead!
I woke up naked and covered in blood. Teeth marks littered my arms, creating holes and revealing muscle. Someone or something attempted to gnaw off my elbow.
I’m alone! So, maybe, I’m worse than dead.
If friends and family abandoned me, I must have turned into a Streaker. On second thought, it’s an easy “no” to eating body parts.
The idea of brains for dinner disgusts me.
I only see one option ahead, and that’s to find my family and ask why they left me as dinner for the undead.
His glance was quick and furtive. Nostrils flaring, Eric recoiled from the gore around him and the smell of death saturating the air. He held back a scream.
Where am I?
The irregular beat of his heart pounded in his ears like a truck accelerating under a bridge. Although the room was murky, the red ochre stains decorating the floor and walls like abstract paintings remained vivid.
What had happened here?
Eric sat naked, covered in blood, but alive. He lifted himself onto his knees. Everything hurt. He stared at the carnage that was his body and gagged.
Teeth marks littered his arms, creating holes and 1 revealing muscle. Someone or something had attempted to gnaw off an elbow. The tears in his thigh reached bone. Eric yanked his hand to cover the wound then tore it away. Half-healed scabs and open sores covered from fingers to wrist.
Is this what it’s like to be dead? How long have I been here? Like this?
Memories surged back to him. A few days ago, he and the rest of the survivors had taken refuge in this old movie theater, but Streakers found them.
The maggoty swarm had assembled along the large glass windows and doors. Agitated, held back from their sustenance, the zombies writhed and swayed against the barrier.
Dead eyes had stared from outside. Decayed, naked bodies, twisted limbs, peeling skin, and pustules, the Streakers blurred into a mirage of rot and decay. Many lacked clothes, leaving everything that hadn’t decomposed dangling in the open air.
His friends, Jenna and Caleb, had tried to herd Eric and his twin brother, Billy, to safety, but he’d pushed them away. Nearly sixteen, he had wanted to prove himself.
The shattering window had left him frozen in fear. One of the zombies focused its lifeless eyes on him.
A sound? Eric’s thoughts rushed into the present.
Quiet.
What happened to his friends? Had they all perished? Worse, had they abandoned him?
The crunch and crackle of broken glass had Eric jumping to his feet and heart thumping against his ribs. Adrenaline flooded aching limbs into action. Frantic, he searched the ground for a weapon but found nothing. He sprinted, pain in each step, to the corner and waited. There was little else to do.
Lisa Acerbo is a high school teacher and adjunct faculty at a local community college. She lives in Connecticut with her husband, daughters, two dogs, and horse. When not writing, she mountain bikes, hikes, and fosters dogs.
