Kickstarter: The Stolen Tears Series by Cortney Pearson with Giveaway!

Chosen Guardian

The Stolen Tears Series, #1

by Cortney Pearson

YA Fantasy / Romance

 

“This story by an accomplished YA writer is jam-packed…The action moves so quickly that the reader is fully engaged to the very last page.” –Publisher’s WeeklyBookLife Prize

Tears are used to steal magic. Stolen magic equals slavery. I must take up the fight.

In an emotionless world, tears are a precious commodity, valued for their magic and sold on the black market. When I find a vial of these enchanted tears, it paints a target. The ruthless Arcaian soldiers use tears to steal magic, and now they’re after me.
I can’t defend myself against an army. My only chance of survival is aligning myself with a rogue soldier. Talon is rugged, battle-scarred, and full of heavily guarded secrets that keep us both in danger, but I can’t help how drawn to him I am. But what happens when I discover his darkest secret of all?
With Talon’s wavering allegiance, there’s no one I can trust. The tears have chosen me as their guardian, and I’ve got to keep them from falling into the wrong hands. If I fail, my people and their magic will be enslaved to the Arcaians forever.
If you like bold twists, riveting worldbuilding, and slow-sizzle romance, find out why readers are calling Chosen Guardian “magically delightful!”
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The purpose of this Kickstarter is to raise funds to launch Special Edition hardcovers of the 3 full-length books in the series as well as to offer an exclusive book box!

SNEAK PEEK:

“I hope we get some good tears,” Gwynn whispers. “Hopefully, they won’t extinguish my magic or shrink us to the size of nymphs or something.” Nymphs are small, hobbling creatures the size of small children.

“Or maybe you’ll get a siren’s ability to transfix the unsuspecting passerby with the power of your song.”

Gwynn grins at the prospect. “Hypnotic song power? Yes, please. Or maybe we’ll become instantly rich. Or smart like Darrin Graffman—”

“Right?” Darrin Graffman is the only guy at school I’ve ever heard of actually getting his hands on some. Supposedly, he drank tears the night before his Pledgeschool Acceptance Exams and got soaring scores, and he’s about as smart as a fencepost.

“It depends on your innermost desires,” I say. “I’ve heard tears personalize themselves to what you want most. Once you drink them, they make whatever that is happen. If you don’t know what you want…well, that’s when it becomes a gamble.”

“I know exactly what I want,” she says.

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.” I hope my words sound more reassuring than I feel.

Author Bio:

Cortney Pearson is the USA Today bestselling author of the Stolen Tears series. She writes fantasy worlds brimming with adventure, loyalty, and romance, from wizards, to ghosts, to pirates. She is the mom of four cuties, loves classical music, chocolate, slow-burn kissing scenes, and sparkles. Not necessarily in that order.

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Excerpt: Such A Daring Endeavor by Cortney Pearson with Giveaway

Such A Daring Endeavor

by Cortney Pearson

(Stolen Tears, #2)

June 23rd 2016

YA Fantasy

325 pages

Hope only fades if you allow it to…
Now that Talon Haraway has been taken captive by the Arcaians, Ambry knows it’s only a matter of time before he is executed. But to make matters worse, she must go against her once-best-friend, Gwynn Hawkes, to free him. Whether Ambry likes it or not, drinking those tears changed Gwynn. Not only is she subjecting her kinsmen’s magic, but with Tyrus preoccupied with his upcoming war, Gwynn is acting more and more in Tyrus’s stead, giving commands and leading skirmishes.
Ambry refuses to believe Gwynn is gone for good, however. Along with juggling with her forbidden feelings for Talon, her desire to free her people’s magic, and the ever-growing need to protect the tears from being drunk, the solution to stopping Gwynn means hoping harder than she ever has before. Hope can’t undo what magic has already done, but paired with action–and her newfound magic–Ambry’s hope in Gwynn might be just what her friend needs to leave the dark path she’s on.

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Sequel to:

Join Ambry Csille in her quest to rescue a stolen vial of tears containing the most powerful magic ever shed. Ambry makes deals with sirens, plunges deep into love with a mysterious warrior before knowing the secrets of his past (including the very reasons she can’t be with him), and fights off soldiers who wield claws that can suck the very magic from her bones.

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EXCERPT

“In the vision, I was sitting on a bench,” says Jomeini, her eyes distant. “The sunlight beat warm against the stone I sat on, but the wind that blew was brisk and harsh. A storm rode on that wind, a storm I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop. Afterwards, I drew this.”
Jomeini pulls another card from beside the others and hands it to Shasa.
“It’s a coat,” Shasa says, confused. She traces a finger over the handless, headless trenchcoat, drawn as though it’s blowing in the very wind Jomeini claims she felt during its vision.
“I assumed it meant that I wouldn’t be comfortable in my home much longer, that I would need protection from whatever storm was riding on that wind. I assumed it meant that Grandfather was taking me from my refuge, my home in Xavienke, and that I would need to find protection in Valadir. And it did, in a sense. But the drawing was also literal. Whose coat do you see?”
Chills brush across Shasa’s skin. “Color it yellow, and that could be Craven’s.”
Jomeini rubs her arms as if chafing away whatever memory fills her mind at that moment. Shasa wonders if it’s the same one she’s recalling, the sight of the dingy yellow trenchcoat Craven wore the day he snatched Shasa from right in front of the Triad Palace into an abandoned building and stole her magic then and there.
“What does the star mean, then?” Shasa asks. When Jomeini doesn’t answer immediately, Shasa continues thinking aloud. “Stars provide light in the night sky. They’ve held their places for years, giving sailors something to sail by.”
“But this one is a shooting star,” Jomeini says. “This one is setting off on its own course.”
“And you think it pertains to Tyrus?”
Jomeini shakes her head. “I thought so at first. I Saw Tyrus, yes. But I Saw others with him. Among his soldiers was a blonde woman I didn’t recognize.”
“A group of stars,” Shasa says inwardly. “With one straying from all the rest.”
“It means change is coming, and someone is at the center of it. I thought it was Tyrus, but now I’m not so sure. See the other star beside this? See how the bursts on the star go one way, so it looks like the star can be spearing to the left? But if you look at it this way…” Jomeini turns the card until it’s upside down. “Now the star could be shooting to the right.”
“So Tyrus isn’t leaving?”
“Not in so many words. It’s more complicated than I can explain, but something Tyrus is going to do will be as vast as the effort of crossing an ocean with no other guide but the stars. It’s going to change the world as we know it. And depending on what we do, that change is going to veer the races one way or the other. For good.” She holds the star picture one way. “Or for ill.” She turns it the other direction.
Shasa swallows and takes the card, experimenting. The star’s direction turns with each flip, more indecisive than the weather. It’s like the picture of a smiling man with a furrow in his forehead her mother used to draw. She would turn it upside down, and though the picture hadn’t changed at all, the man would look sad and menacing instead. All because of one or two carefully placed lines.
“So how do we get this change to veer in the direction we want it to go?” Shasa asks.
Jomeini doesn’t answer. Instead, she fingers the collar at her throat. The two girls sit in the boat in silence, bathing in the deep wake of their thoughts.




And here she is. . .

CORTNEY PEARSON!!! 

Cortney Pearson is a mother, a musician, and a lover of all things pink and sparkly. She is the author of Phobic, about doors that shouldn't be opened, and the Stolen Tears series, about an enchanted vial of tears and the girl chosen to wield them. Cortney lives with her husband and three sons in a small Idaho farm town. She believes anything can be made better with a good attitude and a book tucked away for those just-in-case times.

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Review: Such A Secret Place by Cortney Pearson

Such A Secret Place 

by Cortney Pearson 

(Stolen Tears #1)

YA Fantasy 

412 pages

When sixteen-year-old Ambry Csille’s brother gets taken in a raid, her utter fear and panic should be enough to invoke tears in any normal world. But for Ambry, tears are a thing of the past.

Because of a spell, people can no longer feel emotion; not enough to cry, and definitely not enough to defend themselves against the tyrannical soldiers stealing her people’s magic. A rare vial of enchanted tears chooses Ambry to reverse the spell, and soon she finds herself the target not only of the Arcaians, but of battle-scarred Talon Haraway, who wants the tears for his own reasons.

All Ambry wants is to rescue her brother, but when her tears get stolen, Ambry determines to work with Talon to get them back. Any day the Arcaians could drink her tears. Any day they’ll succeed at draining her people’s magic completely, and all hope will be gone—not only for her brother, but for her world.

MY TIDBITS

Magic, tension, a rising tyranny and romance--this story propels the reader into a wondrous world which grabs and doesn't let go.

Ambry Csille is one of the few left who feels emotions, but even she can't shed a tear. A powerful magician rid humans and other creatures of their tears years before, leaving behind barely any emotions at all. The rising tyranny uses this to their advantage, and with the use of a magical claw, sucks the magic out of the people. leaving the with not much more than the life of a numb shell.

This book grabs from the very first scene and keeps the adventure rolling the entire way through. It's no problem to dive into the world and picture the surroundings, and that without long, detailed descriptions. Told from Ambry's point of view, even the side character's come to life. Each has their own problems, secrets and agendas, and most of these are understandable even when seemingly evil or unexpected. The plot is rich with several layers, making it hard to guess what will happen next, who to trust, and what Ambry will decide.

Despite the play of magic and mythical creatures, there was enough about this world which felt familiar, making it easy to sink into. The magic used is powerful but subtle enough that it doesn't feel over powering.  Ambry herself comes across as an average girl, but then, despite her will to help and warm-heart, she isn't a born fighter. Her weaknesses make her as likable as her strengths.

Of course, there's romance, and it's not the 'love at first sight' type. The banter between Ambry and her hero is delightful, and adds a wonderful touch to often more serious scenes. Their love is a growth of trust and friendship, and it's not always clear that it's enough to pull through...which makes it that much more interesting.

I had no trouble reading this in one sitting and was disappointed when the last page finally came that I had to put the book down. It does have a cliff-hanger ending (which I'm not always a fan of), but there's reason to believe that what's coming next is worth waiting for.