[Giveaway & Blog Hop] Debut Authors

To me, there's nothing better than finding a brand new author to add a little freshness to my life. So, here are a few of newbies I've found this year. Make sure to enter to giveaway below for a $5 Amazon e-gift card so you can find your own new authors. Also, a special thanks to Bookhounds for always hosting. Happy reading!

Hatred Day

In the year 2052, it's not love but hate that unites the world.


Humanity is unified against the Inborns, an extraterrestrial species with godlike intelligence and abilities whose arrival on earth caused an environmental and biological crisis.

Enslaved and despised even by her own Inbornkind, 18-year-old Snofrid Yagami reawakens to the world after having her memories stolen and is certain of only one thing: she will do anything to ensure her freedom. But her resolution is soon tested when the son of a high-ranking human official is murdered and her home city becomes the center of the interspecies war, one that might see the Inborns purged. Desperate to find a way out of the city for herself and her family, Snofrid risks making a deal with the manipulative Inborn Commander, Hadrian, and his brutal cadre of soldiers. Her task is simple: take part in a historic hunt that will bring wealth and fame to all who survive. Unfortunately, Snofrid’s role is one in which survival is rarely seen—the bait.

Goodreads | Amazon

Borrowed Magic

After a three-year siege, Lord Kern, the dark mage, is dead. Magic has left Tredare, and life is almost back to normal.


For everyone except Maren, that is.

Before the siege, an attack by Lord Kern left Maren near death and with a sliver of magic buried deep inside her. Now, for reasons Maren doesn’t understand, that magic has been triggered, giving her the ability to “see” the truth: that her world is nothing more than a magical façade; and that the kingdom’s hero may not be a hero at all.


But this gift of sight comes at a high cost. Maren is in constant pain, and fears her own death is imminent. Plus, no one believes her suspicions that another Dark Mage has risen, and that Tredare may be in just as much danger as it was when Kern was alive.


With the country’s future in the hands of a man who’s vowed revenge on its king, Maren must convince someone else of the truth. Unfortunately, the only person powerful enough to help is also the one man she can’t trust; the man she almost married; the man who abandoned her and disappeared for three years: Kern’s son.


As Tredare crumbles around them, Maren must persuade him to help - before the king is murdered by the very hero he reveres; and before the same magic that gives Maren the gift of sight also takes her life.


Goodreads | Amazon

Giveaway

Rules: This giveaway is open internationally to anyone who is able to receive their prize as an Amazon gift. One lucky winner will receive a $5 Amazon e-gift card to purchase the next book on their summer reading list.

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[Review] The Broken Crown

The Broken Crown

by Amryn Cross

Publish date: May 23, 2016
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads summary

Princess Emilia Aurelius was only seven when she watched her mother die at the hands of her father—martyred for believing in the God of the Atlas Empire’s Insurgo rebels. At seventeen, exiled to a military outpost where no one knows her true identity, she’s vowed to leave her royalty behind and explore the truth of the Insurgo rebels her mother loved. 

When the Emperor of Atlas summons the princesses from each of the provinces to the imperial city to choose a wife for the crown prince, Emilia must leave her military life behind to join a royal court rife with cunning and intrigue. Navigating the waters of court politics and budding love are treacherous on their own, but Emilia fears for her life should anyone learn of her Insurgo sympathies. 

With an unlikely ally in the captain of the emperor's guard, Emilia must uncover the truth of the Insurgos, start a revolution, and learn to become the princess she’s vowed never to be, all while protecting her heart from a prince who could sign her death warrant.

My thoughts

In The Broken Crown we have the story of religious persecution by the Emperor and those who serve him, reminding me a lot of the early days of Christianity. Anyone caught practicing the religion of the Insurgos is put to death. One girl will try to change it all and fight to allow everyone to worship their own God. 

Emilia is my kind of heroine princess. She's strong in so many ways; physically, mentally and in spirit. She can kick butt just as well as any many, but as she enters the court to vie for the prince's affections, she finds she knows so little of court politics and how to be a lady. The stakes are high in this game she plays, yet she doesn't know all the rules. 

I enjoyed watching Emilia grow as a person. She's comfortable in her role at the military outpost her father exiled her to, but as soon as it's disrupted she puts on her big girl pants and makes the best of a new situation. She knows she's meant for something greater, she just doesn't know how or what yet. 

As to the romance in The Broken Crown we have two contenders, the commander and the prince, Felix and Ronan. There's no insta-love in this book, thankfully, and I spent most of my time going between wanting one, then the other, to win her heart. But you'll have to read to find out what happens. Felix and Ronan have a great bromance that I enjoyed reading about.  

My only complaint, and why I rated it 3.5 stars, is that this book is highly religious; more so than the blurb would lead you to believe. Sometimes, I felt I was back in religion class being preached at. In my opinion there are too many prayers and too many discussions along the same lines. I found myself skipping over those parts pretty early on in the novel. I would have been happy with a quick sentence that said she sent up a quick prayer before XX happens, rather than having to read the entire prayer as she said it in her head. As I said, I felt I was being preached at a lot. However, take that with a grain of salt. I spent my entire life being preached at, so I'm at odds with religion on most days. 

With being said, The Broken Crown was well-written; I'd be hard pressed to find more than a few errors in this novel. The characters at interesting and in-depth, and the world building was great. Overall, it's definitely worth the read and I'll be waiting for the next book in the series to see what happens. 

** I was provided a copy of this book in return for an honest review

Get it here
Amazon | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About Amryn Cross

A tomboy with southern belle roots, Amryn Cross was born and raised in Tennessee where she learned the importance of God, family, Southern hospitality, and football. She’s loved the written word from the time she was a child, convinced the squiggly lines on top of the Hostess cupcake really spelled out a secret message.

Amryn is a proud momma to two adorable puppies –Argo and Luna– who provide lots of laughs and kisses. She is also an active member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and My Book Therapy (MBT) and answers writers' forensic questions at Jordyn Redwood’s Medical Edge blog.

Author links

Website| Goodreads| Twitter | Facebook

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Blog tour organized by YA Bound Book Tours