VBT: Review & Giveaway + Guest post - Liia Ann White's Dark Waters ( The Water Lands Book 1)

*Dark Waters*

by

 *Liia Ann White*

BLURB:

Randor is a Fae assassin. As the most feared military officer in the Faery Realm, he only got out by striking a deal with the late King to become an assassin for hire. Something he was only able to do because of his place as adopted family member. When he’s ordered to kidnap the Unseelie Faery Princess and deliver her to the Seelie Queen, he doesn’t think twice, until he sees his target. Adora. Unseelie Princess. Most beautiful being in existence and feared witch warrior and his soul mate. Disobeying orders is something he’s never done before. But when he brings her into the Human Realm; his home, he has no regrets. Until his Elvish friend, Kiel, disapproves and an unexpected attack raises questions about his loyalties. The only way that could have happened was if Kiel tipped off the Queen's witch, Maleficent.

Adora was fearless, powerful and intensely unhappy. Until she was kidnapped by a mysterious stranger, who happens to be her half human, half Seelie soul mate. After being attacked, Adora, fearing she'd lose Randor, admits her feelings for her soul mate. The two of them just need to find a way they can survive together - away from the feuding kingdoms. Entering the Seelie castle, under a pretense of needing the witch's help to bind Adora's immense power, they ask for Maleficent, whom they plan to eliminate so she can no longer track them.

When all hell breaks loose, they're involved in a fight including the witch, Kiel and the Queen. A fight that not all of them will survive. 

REVIEW: 

This is the first in Ms. White's Water Lands Series

This was a very good first book in a series. Dark Waters was filled with action, intrigue, mystery, and steamy sex. The hero & heroine were very like-able, and I didn't want their journey to end.

Adora is the princess of the Seelie Fae. She is the Kings only daughter, and her life has always been in constant danger. Adora isn't really happy in her role as princess, and you can usually find her on the battlefront healing the wounded.

There is a war between the Seelie Fae, and the Unseelie Fae that has been waging for years.

Enter Randor, the ultimate Unseelie assassin. Randor is allowed to live in the human world away from the war, as long as he takes on special missions for the Unseelie Queen. His latest orders are to kidnap Adora, and bring her to the Queen.

When Adora is kidnapped by Randor, she first seeks escape. Then  attraction sets in, and she develops feelings for him, and her life changes. Randor is her soulmate, and they will risk everything to stay together.

Adora is a very strong character, and I liked her a lot. Actually, I liked Randor a lot as well. Ms. White really knows how to write a character that you can believe in. Adora stands up for herself, and she isn't afraid to fight for her beliefs.

Randor was a perfect match Adora. He sees her for who she is, and recognizes her strengths. He is very honorable himself, and that is very appealing. I admired his resolve, and fell in love with his character. The two of them together really compliment each other.

There were some great battle scenes, and they were exciting, and well written. I felt like I was right there in the middle of the action. The sexual scenes were hot, and intense! They were made all the better by the sexual tension building up between the two.

The secondary characters brought a lot to the story, and lent a lot of mystery. You never really knew who was going to do what, until it was revealed. People you thought we're good, turned out not to be so good, and others surprised you with their honor.

I'm really excited to see where Ms. White takes us in the next book. I know I will be picking it up, and continuing the journey with Adora, and Randor.

5 STARS / 5

Excerpt:

Adora awoke lying on a cold, hard, stone floor. Her head ached and throbbed. What happened to her? She left the feast, headed for her quarters and...nothing. Her mind was completely blank.

So what was she doing on a floor? Sitting up, Adora rubbed her head and found she was shackled. Both her wrists and ankles were bound in iron cuffs. The metal shimmered with green energy. They’d been charmed, no doubt with a captivity spell.

Good gods, what am I supposed to do?

It was no use trying to free herself. Captivity spells were almost impossible to break without the proper words. Wait, could she pull the chains out of the wall?

Jumping to her feet, Adora stepped back until the chains were tight. They were attached by one hook embedded into the wall.

This should be easy.

Grasping the cold iron chains, she gave a mighty yank. The instant she did, pain shot up her arms. Adora hunched and winced as the cuffs around her wrists tightened, digging into her skin.

“The more you struggle, the tighter they become.” A deep male voice cut the silence around her.

She spun to find a man she didn’t recognise standing at the door of her small cell. He was tall and lean with muscle that she didn’t doubt held immense strength. His sky blue eyes shone in contrast with his tanned skin and brown hair. While this man was obviously Fae, there was something different about him. Something else emitted through his aura.

A smirk spread across his full lips as he took a step toward her.

Refusing to back away, she straightened and stood still. She was Princess Adora, first in line for the throne the Seelie Court and fearless warrior in the Seelie army. People feared her. She feared nothing.

“So, Princess,” he spoke as he continued to slowly approach her. “I’m supposed to deliver you to the Unseelie queen.”

Adora’s breath caught in her throat. The Unseelie queen had tried, many times, to invade the kingdom. But her soldiers never made it past the gates.

“But,” the stranger continued, “I think I’ll keep her waiting. Just for a little while.”

GUEST POST

When Tawania first gave me the blog post idea of ‘what advice would I give to an aspiring writer’ I beamed. I always jump at the chance to share my experience of writing in the hopes it will help others.

First of all, don’t give up. No matter how many rejections you may receive, don’t give up. A lot of people think being a writer and getting published is easy, but it’s one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.

It’s not all about having a great idea and jotting it down. There are several grammar rules to be learnt, colloquialisms for different countries, what’s been done already, what hasn’t and above all else, how to find your own voice.

The best advice I can give to anyone wanting to be a writer and author is learn. Learn as much as you can. Go to conventions, attend seminars, ask for advice and help from more experienced friends and never stop learning.

The day an author stops learning and honing their craft is the day their careers gets stale.

So to all you aspiring writers out there, I’ve been published for two years now and I’m learning something new about the craft every single day. I look back at things I wrote a year ago and *face palm* because I made some mistakes. In ten years I’ll no doubt look back at what I write now with the same reaction.

Writing is about passion above all else. If you don’t love what you’re writing, readers will know. Don’t cater to the masses; write what’s in your heart.

Thanks so much for letting me stop by and share my words if wisdom today!

GIVEAWAY

Liia Ann will be awarding a $10 Amazon Gift Card and a $10 Evernight Publishing Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour.

  

FOLLOW the tour and COMMENT; the more YOU comment, the better YOUR chances of winning. The tour dates can be found HERE: 

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/02/virtual-book-tour-dark-waters-by-liia.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Liia Ann White is an Australian author, hailing from Perth, WA.

She spent her childhood daydreaming about far off lands, creating her own unique characters, reading books about witches, faeries, demons, ghosts and a host of supernatural creatures. Eventually, she gained the courage to put her imagination to work.

A self-proclaimed geek, Liia collects Disney and Star Wars memorabilia and loves all things nerdy.

A vegan animal lover, she wishes to one day have her own rescue shelter for unwanted and 'unadoptable' animals. When not writing, she can be found reading or spending time with her dogs.

Liia is a member of Romance Writers of America, Romance Writers of Australia, Passionate Ink, Futuristic, Fantasy & Paranormal Chapter of RWA and Young Adult Chapter of Romance Writers of America as well as being the webmistress for YARWA.

Always interested in meeting new people, Liia can be found on facebook or twitter almost constantly.

Website: www.liiaannwhite.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LiiaAnn

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LiiaAnnWhite

 

 Buy Links

Evernight Publishing: http://www.evernightpublishing.com/dark-waters-by-liia-ann-white/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Waters-Water-Lands-ebook/dp/B00B56GX9U/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1359517557&sr=8-6&keywords=liia+ann+white

AllRomanceEbooks:https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-darkwaters-1047801-140.html