The Best Fairytale Retellings of YA

I don't know what it is about this time of year that gets me in the mood for fairytales. Maybe it's because the new year brings hope often felt in fairytales or maybe it's just because I like finding excuses to talk about fairytales. Regardless, fairytales have become an inspiration for many writers and have influenced many aspects of their stories. Popular in young adult fiction is fairytale retellings. Here are some that I've read and loved and recommend for those of you out there that have a soft spot for them.

1. The Lunar Chronicles by: Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles is a series about classic retelling fairytales set way into the future. It's filled with sci-fi and fantasy and is promised to fill all of your fairytale needs.

2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by: Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses  is a beauty and the beast retelling. Although Maas has added a fae element, which was something I was unsure of when I picked up this book, I haven't let it influence my opinion of the book in one way. Instead, I was reading the book and I fell in love with it.

3. Throne of Glass Series by: Sarah J. Maas

While this series may not seem like a retelling from first read, there is definitely a fairytale influence to it. It's not really seen at first, so I won't give anything away, but once you continue on with the series, you'll see those aspects.

4. The Selection Series by: Kiera Cass

This series is a bit of a Cinderella retelling. A poor girl gets invited into the palace and ends up winning the prince's heart. However, this is not without Cass's own twists and turns. Our protagonist is only there to keep food on her family's table and she's not a step-child. It's the perfect story that will have you swooning.

5. Entwined by: Heather Dixon

This is a retelling of the 12 Dancing Princesses. It's enrapturing and fulfilling for the fairytale lover in all of us.

6. The Hollow Series by: Jessica Verday

 This is the retelling of the legend of Sleepy Hollow. This is one of my favorite books series of all time. There are so many aspects about this book that kept me reading had me up at night thinking about it once I had finished the series.

7. Red by: Alyxandra Harvey

This book, inspired by the tale of Red Riding Hood, follows one girl as she's forced to live with her grandmother at some giant manor surrounded by secrets and monsters.

8. Beastly by: Alex Finn

This book, turned into a movie, is another beauty and the beast retelling. The boy, cursed by a witch to be as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside, is forced to find love to break the curse in the modern world or live the rest of his life like that.

9. Splintered by: A.G. Howard

This series sheds a new light on the stories of Alice in Wonderland. The dark twisty elements make the light tale we all knew growing up more enticing to our older selves. This is, in my opinion, one of the best Alice in Wonderland retellings. If you haven't read this series yet, you must.

10. The White Rabbit Chronicles by:  Gena Showalter

Another fabulous Alice in Wonderland retelling. This one, however, is much darker. Ali has fallen down the rabbit hole and found herself in zombieland.

12. Drown by: Esther Dalseno

This is a very well written retelling of the Little Mermaid, but with so much more. This is a complete reinvention of the original story from Hans Christian Anderson bound to impress readers.










And I'm sure there are many more, but let's be honest, these are just a few that have taken over the YA world. Maybe you've heard of some of these. Maybe you've read them all already. Regardless, these twelve need to be on your book shelf.

Illusion by Lea Nolan Review

Hey there everyone! Today, Cover to Cover Reviews is the next stop on the Illusion Blog Tour! And I am sharing with you my review of the book.

I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

As many of you know, Illusion is the third and final book in the Hoodoo Apprentice series. The series is one that comes with intrigue, danger, and of course that charm we all love. It follows the story of Emma and her companions Jack and Cooper, among others, as they find themselves immersed in Hoodoo.

I was new to this series when the publisher invited me to review it, but once I picked it up, it was a series I could not put down. The first two books were enthralling and I was relieved that I had the third and final book to follow them up with. And let me say, Illusion did not disappoint. Between the action and the dark elements that I loved so much, Nolan has found a way to end this series on just the right note.This installment starts off fast, so be prepared. But once it gets going, you almost can't believe you finished this series so fast.

I really like the Hoodoo approach Nolan took. It's completely different from most YA novels and was a refreshing read. However, the characters are much younger than I thought they would be. Normally, it bothers me to see such dark elements thrust upon such young protagonists, but Nolan wrote it well and I don't see a need to complain about that with this series on every note except the romance one. The characters just seem so young for there to be any level of actual love growing between Cooper and Emma. When I was that age, just going to the movies with someone was a big deal. However, Nolan did a good job of balancing that aspect of the novel so that it was satisfying for readers that were into it and manageable to read about for readers that weren't. And really, who could focus on the romance with everything going on in that story! And I say that as a good thing. There was so much action going on that it was near impossible to put the book down because I was afraid I was going to miss something. Emma has a lot of ends to tie up and saving to do.

All in all, Illusion was just wonderful. I wish I would have gotten more involved with the series when it came out some time ago, but I am so happy that I finally got to read it. This last installment is the perfect ending to a wonderful series!

Lea Nolan is having giveaway for her wonderful series! Above is what the grand prize will be for those who enter. If you haven't already and want to enter, please follow this link:  http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/OTAyMjM3MzE4ZWE3ZWQ1YzBkZDE2YTA1YzNkOGNlOjMx/?

Thank you for stopping by Cover to Cover Reviews on this fabulous blog tour for Lea Nolan to celebrate the final installment in a wonderful series!

The Revolution of Ivy by Amy Engel Review

A book that is highly anticipated, particularly in the Entangled Teen realm of YA publishing, is The Revolution of Ivy after the first installment, The Book of Ivy, took off gathered a rather large following, including the trending hashtag #BishopIsMine. This is easily one of the most popular books from the publisher. I, myself, fell into the mass following of Ivy. So when I got the opportunity to review the sequel, and supposed conclusion,  I could not pass this one up.

**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**

The first installment, for those who don't know, is about a city called Westfall that is one of the surviving communal towns after the War when everything went downhill. So it's a little dystopian, but it has a new and refreshing take on what the future looks like in literature. At sixteen, they force the daughters from the losing side of town to marry the sons of the winning sons of town. And in this installment, Ivy Westfall is being forced to marry her father's sworn enemy's son Bishop Lattimer - the son of the president of Westfall. Only there is one stipulation to that marriage contract that Bishop and the Lattimers don't know. Ivy's father has trained Ivy to kill Bishop; to put their family back in power. As all romance YA novels go, Ivy fell in love with Bishop and couldn't kill him. But she loved her family as well and couldn't let them go down for the planned assassination, either. So she took the blame and was put out of the "fence", which hardly anyone survives. And that's where The Revolution of Ivy picks up.

Ivy Westfall is lying beyond the fence, open to any threats out here. But she has this sort of hope that she can survive.

No one survives beyond the fence. At least that’s what my father always told me when I was a child. But I’m not a little girl anymore, and I no longer believe in the words of my father. 

Amy Engel has an enrapturing way of writing. She has easily created some of the most lovable characters in YA. The reason for the Bishop hashtag is simple: Engel wrote the perfect guy into Bishop with imagined skill and everyone loved him. With the first novel being such a success, and setting up this series for a whirlwind of events, I was expecting a lot out of this second novel. And she delivered.

All of our fears were realized as readers as we go through this installment. Mark Laird makes an appearance and it becomes pretty intense from there on out. 

I loved the new introductions of characters that were relatable and lovable. I would like to know more about the relationship side of Ash and Caleb, however. The idea of a civilization thriving outside of Westfall's walls is not far fetched. Rogue societies like that would definitely exist - and some even do know. Ivy stumbling across them was only good luck on her part.

Once Bishop shows up, the story-telling remains kind of lulled, hanging suspended, because as a reader, I knew something big was going to happen. And then something did. Bishop and Ivy finally have that long anticipated heart-to-heart after months of tension, but it's Callie's sister's head on the chopping block that sends this story back into motion.

I don't know why Ivy would want to go back and save her sister after all the hell she put Ivy through, but whatever Ivy needs to do. The fact that what happens actually happens makes me kind of annoyed that they even returned at all. They were doing just fine beyond the fence. But then everything works out and we get a happily ever after.

I was expecting a bit more of a morose ending with the world they live in being so dark. But everything worked itself out. Sure, there was that big explosion of an ending that had my head whirling, but Engel wrapped it all up nicely, leaving little to few loose ends. It's the perfect conclusion to The Book of Ivy. And if you haven't read either, now is the time. It's a wonderful series that will bring you in and hold you hostage for the duration. It's a definite recommend. I wonder if Amy Engel plans on writing more...I wouldn't object.

The Revolution of Ivy is the perfect ending to a perfect story. Many conclusions lack the emphasis the series needs, but this one did not. It's filled with relatable and lovable characters and a storyline that's a little refreshing, in some ways. And that's what I discovered when I read this book cover to cover.

The Revolution of Ivy will be on sale November 5th. 

The Summer Marked by: Rebekah L. Purdy Review

Ah! It's finally here! I must say, I was not expecting a sequel to The Winter People because it just ended so perfectly and nicely. I don't know what went into Purdy's decision making on a sequel, whether is was just the need to return to that world or she really did have so much more to say, but I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to receive and review this ARC from Entangled Teen.

**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**

All of my initial reservations about this book disappeared as soon as I started reading it. I loved seeing immediately in to Salome's life with Gareth in the Faerie realm. It was like a glimpse at "happily ever after" until Nevin had to show up and burst that beautiful bubble. But before that, we see a glimpse of the past where Salome's grandma is actually hiding a girl for the Faerie Queen that the queen bestows all of her powers in. Your inference that the girl is actually Salome isn't ever actually confirmed, but it's almost as good as confirmed over the course of the story and, especially, that first chapter where Doris (the grandma) is telling the real stories to little Salome and little Kadie, but the stories are actually based in truth.

Clearly, not everything ended happily at the end of The Winter People, although I didn't want to believe that. There was still turmoil in Faerie, which is probably one of the reasons a sequel was in order. The Winter Kingdom is still trying to take over everything and the Summer Kingdom is the only other one still standing - Autumn and Spring having already fallen to Winter. Nevin is king of Summer and Gareth is one of their best warriors, so Salome can't get out of Faerie trouble. That and Winter is still hellbent on killing her. Fun.

Meanwhile, Salome's best friend Kadie is returning from college for Thanksgiving with the plans of making this stay at home permanent. She followed her high school boyfriend to Texas and he ended up cheating on her. Of course, when Kadie returns home, something isn't quite right at her house. So she goes to Salome's where things are even weirder. She gets turned away at the door, and then gets a text "from Salome" that she's at this club and had a fight with Gareth (totally not true because Salome is off in Faerie trying to save Summer). So Kadie goes to the club and ends up getting kidnapped and dragged to Winter where she's held prisoner for information about Gareth and Salome and Summer.

Kadie is forced to spend her first night in Winter in the Red Room (which immediately reminded me of Fifty Shades of Grey). In the Red Room, it's really decorated with human body parts such as skin and bones (completely grossed, but I honestly loved it). So Kadie runs out of the room and comes face to face with a tree that is actually Salome's father. So let's throw it back to the time in The Winter People where Salome's dad hit her. Yeah, apparently that was not her dad. That was a Fae disguised as him, while her dad was really in Winter being turned into the tree. That piece of the story has yet to be fully explained, but her dad does die because Kadie puts him out of his misery towards the end of the story.

While Kadie is being held prisoner and having Etionne, one of the Winter Princes, take care of her and is probably the only reason she survived as long as she did with that mouth of hers, Salome is traveling to Summer with Gareth. First, they pick up some weapons in the ruins of Spring and a sword of the four kingdoms chooses Salome (major foreshadowing here). As they continue on, the run into some former soldiers of Spring and Salome is hearing voices. There's so much going on!

Trolls attack Gareth and Salome and Gareth sends Salome on ahead for safety with her horse that protects virgins. Why was this relevant? I mean, it did save her ass in the end, however. While trying to stay safe, Salome runs into ghosts that are tied to the ruins she's hiding in. They say she's the only one who can save them and we start to get this whole chosen one thing going on. I liked how in the first book, you didn't feel this, but it's okay that we do now.

Nevin shows up to save Salome. Gareth is still fighting off the trolls, and while Salome is rightfully worried, Nevin keeps trying to get her to calm down and it feels kind of sketchy and like he has ulterior motives. Gareth shows back up and everything is currently fine for Salome. Not so much for Kadie who's resilience has gotten her work in the Bone Yard. Basically in the Bone Yard, they separate the bones from the skin and muscles and blood. I found myself asking why all this darkness was necessary, but the answer was just that it made it more interesting. It shows how dark Winter really is and, let's be honest, who doesn't love a little gore?

Back in Summer, Nevin drops the bomb that he needs a queen so that the magic in Summer is more powerful than the magic in Winter. He wants his queen to be Salome. Like really? She already has Gareth and is like in love with him. Why does he have to complicate things!? But shockingly, it's not because he has secret feelings for her and wants to steal her from Gareth (because that just would have been too much for me). He actually has only loved once in his life and it was the King of Autumn. Awesome.

So everything is all crazy and twisted and Kadie is fighting for her life, Salome is dodging attempts on her life as well, and I'm starting to wonder what is this going to boil down to. The Winter Queen befriends Kadie (completely weird, but I see where it's going) and asks her to kill Salome. Etionne escorts Kadie to Summer so she can do her job and while Kadie is blood bound to the Winter Queen, she kind of has no choice. Etionne runs away to go and try to fight to save Faerie, and somehow Salome survives a dagger to the heart. Salome becomes Summer Queen, but also has the markings to be queen of all the other kingdoms (I am set in my inference that it's because she has the Faerie Queen's magic in her and only that reason), saves Gareth after he almost dies on one of Nevin's missions, and that happily ever after I loved so much from the first book is completely shot out the window.

So, basically, I had only a few qualms with this book and here they are: Kadie just accepts this Faerie-ness way too easily and quickly, and at one point she actually just states that she's in Winter and I was like "how do you know" with a bajillion question marks after it; I did not like how Kadie became all self-centered and tried to kill Salome because I thought she had more willpower than that (note: this is not a comment on the story or choices, just personal opinion I had while reading); and I don't really understand how Salome came back to life?

However, there is much praise I have for this book. Bringing in the other fae made it way more interesting. It still kept the darkness I loved from the first book even though they were in the sparkly faerie realm. Salome is slowly becoming a badass and I love it. And at least Gareth and Salome get to still be together even though Salome is married to Nevin and Queen of Summer.

I cannot wait to figure out how all of this plays out in the next installment. Hopefully that book comes out soon...

Hope you enjoyed this review! Please leave comments!

Illuminate by Tracy Clark Review

**WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD**

Since this is my first review of the series, let me go back over the first two books to get you caught up.

In the first book, protagonist Cora Sandoval discovers she can see auras and that her aura is solid silver unlike the many colors of the regular people around her. She also ends up falling for Irish exchange student Finn who randomly leaves after they have a few intense make-out sessions. Anyways, on Cora's journey to discover who she really is and what her special aura means, she travels to Ireland where she delves deep into her roots. She discovers she's Scintilla and thanks to her new friend Giovanni, she's on the road to finding all the answers with his help.

Of course, what is a good story without some bad guys. So these Arazzi guys show up and are actually the kind of people who kill by taking someone's energy/soul into their own creating a solid white aura. Oh, and they desperately want to kill Cora because she's like their natural born enemy.

Now, both of these books kind of ran together in my head, so I can't remember quite when book two picks up, so I'm just going to summarize them all together now.

Cora gets captured by this Arazzi man who happens to be Finn's uncle. And Finn happens to be an Arazzi (Ooh! Drama). Only Finn hates what he is and refuses to accept it. Cora still is doesn't know how she should feel about her first love being her natural born enemy and then there's Giovanni who's like perfect and Scintilla and helping her, but she swears he's hiding something from her. Anyways, Giovanni and Cora get captured by Clancy (Finn's Arazzi Uncle) and it turns out that Clancy has Cora's mother who was presumably dead for the majority of Cora's life. The reunion is short lived as Cora's father shows up to save them and dies so that they can all escape.

There's still so much more to discover about Scintilla in Ireland, so Cora can't just return home like everything is okay. Especially since her father died trying to help her. But luckily, that little secret Giovanni has been keeping is going to help them (supposedly). There's this facility in Dublin that can help them and he knows the doctor running it. They manage to get there and everything is fine and all until it's not.

They lock Cora in one room and Giovanni in the other in hopes that their strong feelings for one another will cause them to hook up and create children so that they can be studied like lab rats. They fake it, sort of, to get the doctor guy off their backs, but Finn walks in and sees it and everything goes down hill from there.

See, Finn was at the facility in time to see that because his "good friend" Lorcan (note the sarcasm there) brought him because Lorcan's mothers Ultanna is working with the doctor. Now, Ultanna is a very interesting lady. She believes she's immortal and is head of this Arazzi organization known as Xepa, which is hellbent on destroying each and every Scintilla. (Cora actually manages to sneak into a Xepa party wearing Ultanna's ring to do so recon).

Anyways, they manage to escape from the facility, leaving a lot of people dea. And literally nothing is okay anymore.

Cora gets kidnapped again, her mother gets kidnapped again, and then Mami Tulke (Cora's grandmother) gets kidnapped by Clancy and he's planning on using them for some kind of sacrifice. Cora's mother dies, but Mami Tulke and her both manage to escape.

Things happen, etcetera etcetera, and here we are. Book three: Illuminate.

This book starts off with a bang. Finn and Cora both kill Arazzi and regular humans working with the Arazzi. But the trouble they are facing is way bigger than an ambush leaving them murderers. Cora must go to Italy, Giovanni must go to Chile to be with his surprise daughter Claire (the offspring of an experiment done at the facility), and Finn must stay in Ireland.

I did not like how these guys were split up for the majority of the book. I get why it needed to happen, though. Real life does not mean they all get to hang out and do research together. Finn had responsibilities in Ireland. Giovanni had to be with his daughter for obvious reasons. And Cora needed to finish this lead. I just wish it hadn't been that way for selfish reader reasons.

Giovanni starts to prepare the Scintilla in Chile who were hiding out on Mami Tulke's ranch, which was like major news and made me really happy, for war with the Arazzi. Now this approach seemed pretty rushed and kind of sat awkward with me. I mean, I probably would have been the same way in a situation like that, but it was just a little odd feeling for Giovanni to hop right on in to battle strategy.

Finn's off in Ireland getting cozy for strategic purposes with Ultanna's daughter, who inherits the throne her mother left behind. Lorcan gets super pissed about that and Soarise is kind of sketchy this entire time. (I would like to say that I pegged her as the bad guy the moment she walked onto the page!) Finn isn't completely helpless towards Cora's cause. He's researching and doing as much as he can to help her using his Arazzi status.

Cora, on the other hand, makes a shocking discovery in Italy that I think we need to discuss. Cora discovers what that key that's been around her neck forever unlocks. And it's a picture of Mary and Jesus. Surrounded in a silver aura. As Scintilla.

First off, this is very dangerous for a writer to do. You don't know how your audience is going to react to taking something religious and powerful like that and messing with it in your writing. But I applaud Tracy Clark for doing it at the same time.

Now I know that many of you probably weren't too happy about this approach because it could be considered slightly blasphemous, but before you bring out the torches, hear what I have to say about it and why I think it was a smart thing for her to do.

Tracy Clark's world is entirely her own. If it were real, the odds are that someone like Jesus would have been Scintilla and there's literally nothing wrong with that. I mean, why wouldn't he be? He brought people back to life, so did Cora. It makes total sense and it would almost be inaccurate for that not to be the case.

Of course, it was kind of strange and it did take me a while to get used to it, being a Catholic myself, but I see where she was coming from and I respect that. It did work for the story as well, I must say. And when the story goes on and talks about the corruptness of the Church, I feel conflicted on that part. There is truth in it. Many churches are corrupted although I think our pope now is doing wonders for the Catholic community. But hey it is what it is and it worked for the story.

The story goes on and everything is sort of weird for a while. Cora enlists the help of some documentary person in return that she expose Scintilla. It reminded me of some book I read, but I couldn't place it. It was a nice road she took it down, however, because it offered more to the story than just going to Chile and saving the world would have. She had someone documenting it the entire time.

But then the Arazzi show up and Cora touches some age old book and suddenly everything is put in perspective. Arazzi and Scintilla are not natural born enemies. They were born to be together. So does this mean Cora chooses Finn? Because I was still stuck in that love triangle. And I guess I still am because what they decide to do doesn't exactly explain anything to me. Other than that they restored balance to the world (I'm talking Arazzi and Scintilla as a whole and not just Cora and Finn).

The Arazzi and Scintilla join themselves to each other by the Scintilla giving themselves to the Arazzi and then they all kind of erupt into light and disappear. It's a beautiful idea. But I'm going to be honest with you, I was left with no closure!

What happened to Claire? Was she really Arazzi because I didn't think so. And what about all those people falling down randomly and not because of Arazzi attacks? And who did Cora choose? Because it didn't feel like she chose Finn for romantic reasons. Please Tracy Clark, answer these questions and I will be able to die in peace!

Overall, it was a good book. I rated it four out of five stars on Goodreads. Deviate is still my favorite installment of the series, especially since it's got the best cover (in my opinion) and I'm really sad to see this series end. Cora was a character I related to and loved. I can't believe it's all over.

Illusion Cover Reveal!

Hey viewers! Guess what I have for you! That's right! I have the cover reveal for the third installment in The Hoodoo Apprentice Series, Illusion by Lea Nolan! And I might even have an exclusive excerpt for you...

So for those of you that have not heard of The Hoodoo Apprentice series, here are the summaries of the first two books:

Conjure:

Be careful what you search for…Emma Guthrie expects this summer to be like any other in the South Carolina Lowcountry--hot and steamy with plenty of beach time alongside her best friend and secret crush, Cooper Beaumont, and Emma's ever-present twin brother, Jack. But then a mysterious eighteenth-century message in a bottle surfaces, revealing a hidden pirate bounty. Lured by the adventure, the trio discovers the treasure and unwittingly unleashes an ancient Gullah curse that attacks Jack with the wicked flesh-eating Creep and promises to steal Cooper's soul on his approaching sixteenth birthday.But when a strange girl bent on revenge appears, demon dogs become a threat, and Jack turns into a walking skeleton; Emma has no choice but to learn hoodoo magic to undo the hex, all before the last days of summer--and her friends--are lost forever.

CONJURE: Amazon | Barnes and Noble 

Allure:

Worst. Summer. Ever. Emma Guthrie races to learn the hoodoo magic needed to break The Beaumont Curse before her marked boyfriend Cooper’s sixteenth birthday. But deep in the South Carolina Lowcountry, dark, mysterious forces encroach, conspiring to separate Emma and Cooper forever. When Cooper starts to change, turning cold and indifferent, Emma discovers that both his heart and body are marked for possession by competing but equally powerful adversaries. Desperate to save him, Emma and her twin brother, Jack, risk their lives to uncover the source of the black magic that has allured Cooper and holds him in its grip. Faced with the horror of a soul-eating boo hag, Emma and Jack must fight to resist its fiendish power to free Cooper long enough to join their strengths and face it together, before it destroys them all.

ALLURE: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

And finally, here is the cover reveal and summary of Illusion!

New school. Cross-country move. Broken heart. If only these were Emma Guthrie’s worst problems as the first day of her sophomore year dawns. Instead, she must battle a trio of enemies—human and spectral—who may or may not have joined forces against her. All while pretending to be over Cooper Beaumont, her ex-boyfriend and true love, to shield him from her arch-nemesis’s revenge.

Worse, when the fight escalates, Emma is tempted to use the black magic she’s always fought against, endangering her own soul. As her enemies close in, join forces, and fight with new and dark magic she’s never seen before, Emma must finally harness the power within her to fulfill an ancient prophecy, defeat a centuries-old evil, save her family, and reclaim the only boy she’s ever loved.

This book is set for release October 5th, 2015! I am so excited for this one!

Author Lea Nolan is a USA Today bestselling author of Contemporary Romance and YA. Her books for young adults feature bright heroes, crazy-hot heroes, diabolical plot twists, plus a dose of magic, a draft of romance, an d a sprinkle of history. She also pens smart, witty contemporary stories for adults filled with head-swooning, heart-throbbing, sweep-you-off your feet romance. Born and raised in Long Island, NY, she loves the water far too much to live inland. With her heroically supportive husband and three clever children, she resides in Maryland where she scarfs down crab cakes whenever she gets the chance.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Newsletter

Here is an exclusive excerpt from the novel! 

A screech echoes through the woods. The sound is like a nail scraped against tin and raises the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. It’s the unmistakable caw of a crow. Spinning, I search the dimness for the source. Before my eyes can focus, a glossy black shadow bursts through a sheet of Spanish moss draped on a nearby live oak.

Shrieking, I cover my head with my hands and duck, then dart toward the path that brought me here. The bird pursues, flapping its large wings and gaining ground fast. With a whoosh, it swoops from the sky and slams into me, sinking its talons into my arm. I scream, then thrash around, trying to knock it loose. Its spiky nails clamp deeper into my flesh.

“Get off her!” Cooper’s voice booms.

Tears, the very best kind, surge. I’ve never been so happy to have him near. “Help!” I lamely shake my arm again, but the psychotic bird hangs on.

Cooper’s feet pound against the dirt as he races toward me and my winged assailant. As he draws close, the crow squawks, then jams its beak into my scalp, yanking out a clump of hair.

Pain, brilliant yellow and blinding, flashes across my vision. I wail, overcome.

“Emma, duck.”

I drop to my knees. Something hard thumps against the bird, launching it into the air like a golf ball from a tee. Its piercing caw bounces across the clearing. As the bird soars into the moonlit sky, it attempts to beat its wings, but something’s wrong. Only one of its feathered sides extends. Midair the shiny black crow stalls then careens back toward the earth. Just as I’m sure it’s headed straight for us, the lame wing unfolds then beats furiously to avoid what is sure to be a deadly collision. Veering off, it follows a wobbly flight path toward the shadowy forest.

Cooper tosses a long, heavy stick onto the ground, then reaches for my hand and pulls me to my feet. “Are you okay?” His wide hands clutch my arms as his eyes search mine.

“I—I think so.” My voice shakes as I work to process all that’s happened in the last few minutes. My temperature drops as shock sets in. Was it real, or just an immensely screwed-up dream? One glance at the slick streak of blood dripping down my skin confirms my new wound, though I can’t tell how bad it is until I see it in the light.

Grabbing me close, he wraps his strong arms around my back. The heady scent of his Cooperness swirls around me, filling me with familiar warmth that heads off my shock. My thoughts zoom to the red stain that has likely already smeared his polo. “I’m bleeding.” I try to pull away.

“I know.” He grips me close, like he’s fallen from a ship and I’m the only life preserver.

“But it’ll get it on your shirt.” A tear streams down the side of my face.

He pulls away, just enough to meet my gaze. “Who cares about my shirt? I thought I lost you, Emmaline.” Brushing his thumb against my cheek, he wipes away the salty liquid.

“But you didn’t. You saved me.”

“I was almost too late.” His voice is breathy and so full of despair it nearly breaks my heart.

Now don't forget to enter the giveaway and get excited! Because Illusion is going to be here October 5th!