Waiting on Wednesday {119}: Perfekt Control

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine. This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is: Perfekt Order.

Perfekt Order (Aere Saga #2)

by ST Bende

Publication date: February 9, 2016

From Goodreads:

Brynn Aksel is a valkyrie—a battle goddess tasked with protecting both the God of War and the future of Asgard. She fends off giants and dark elves with an iron fist, a glossy smile, and no less than perfekt control. She’s focused one-hundred-percent on rising through the valkyrie ranks, and not at all on her lifelong crush on Henrik Andersson—the one guy in all the realms who could be her undoing.

Henrik serves as War’s other bodyguard, and he’s too focused on protecting their shared charge to realize that Brynn’s a girl. When an unprecedented surge of darkness abducts the Goddess of Love, Brynn’s already-steely focus is singularly directed on her new assignment—accompany Henrik to recover the realms’ source of light before the cosmos descends into chaos.

While battling demons, dragons, and the not-quite-dead, it becomes clear that immortality does not equal invincibility. And when Hel herself puts a hit on Brynn, the valkyrie has to decide if staying in control is worth losing everything . . . or if it’s time to rule the realms.

Waiting on Wednesday {113}: Perfekt Order

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine. This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is: Perfekt Order.

Perfekt Order

by ST Bende

Publication date: December 8th, 2015

From Goodreads:

All's fair when you're in love with War.

For 18-year-old Mia Ahlström, a world ruled by order is the only world she allows. A lifetime of chore charts, to-do lists and study schedules have helped earn her a spot at Redwood State University’s engineering program. And while her five year plan includes finding her very own happily-evah-aftah, years at an all-girls boarding school left her feeling woefully unprepared for keg parties and co-ed extracurricular activities.

So nothing surprises her more than catching the eye of Tyr Fredriksen at her first college party. The imposing Swede is arrogantly charming, stubbornly overprotective, and runs hot-and-cold in ways that defy reason . . . until Mia learns that she’s fallen for the Norse God of War; an immortal battle deity hiding on Midgard (Earth) to protect a valuable Asgardian treasure from a feral enemy. With a price on his head, Tyr brings more than a little excitement to Mia’s rigidly controlled life. Choosing Tyr may be the biggest distraction—or the greatest adventure—she’s ever had.

Cover Reveal: Perfekt Control by @STBende

COVER REVEAL

PERFEKT CONTROL

THE ÆRE SAGA: BOOK TWO

By: S.T. Bende

Genre: Upper YA Paranormal/Fantasy (Norse Mythology)

Release Date: February 9, 2016

Back Cover Copy

Rule the realms.

Brynn Aksel is a valkyrie—a battle goddess tasked with protecting both the God of War and the future of Asgard. She fends off giants and dark elves with an iron fist, a glossy smile, and no less than perfekt control. She’s focused one-hundred-percent on rising through the valkyrie ranks, and not at all on her lifelong crush on Henrik Andersson—the one guy in all the realms who could be her undoing.

Henrik serves as War’s other bodyguard, and he’s too focused on protecting their shared charge to realize that Brynn’s a girl. When an unprecedented surge of darkness abducts the Goddess of Love, Brynn’s already-steely focus is singularly directed on her new assignment—accompany Henrik to recover the realms’ source of light before the cosmos descends into chaos.

While battling demons, dragons, and the not-quite-dead, it becomes clear that immortality does not equal invincibility. And when Hel herself puts a hit on Brynn, the valkyrie has to decide if staying in control is worth losing everything . . . or if it’s time to rule the realms.

Pre-Order Links

iBooks

Amazon

Kobo

B&N

Smashwords

Add PERFEKT CONTROL to your Goodreads TBR

Goodreads

AUTHOR BIO:

Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia, S.T. Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s Coffee) and Europe… where she became overly fond of McVities cookies. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired the books of The Elsker Saga and The Ære Saga. She hopes her characters make you smile and that one day, waffles will be considered a health food.

Find S.T. on Twitter @stbende, her website (www.stbende.com), or send her an e-mail. While you're at it, introduce yourself to @UllMyhr and @TyrFredriksen -- when they’re not saving the cosmos from dark elves, they love meeting new friends . . . especially the human kind.

Want to connect with fellow Norse god fans? S.T.'s readers have created a Facebook group! Head over to the RagnaRockstars page to chat with other readers, talk with S.T., and get access to exclusive content... including Ull POVs and sneak peeks at upcoming Ære Saga books!

AUTHOR LINKS

Connect with ST Bende at:

WEBSITE - AMAZON - FACEBOOK - TWITTER - WATTPAD - GOODREADS

TUR is currently available for FREE to newsletter subscribers!

Skål, y’all!

COVER REVEAL: ST Bende's PERFEKT ORDER

Hey, guys! I'm so excited to share the cover of my sweet pal, ST Bende's new book! If you read ELSKER, ENDRE, and/or TRO, you'll know how fun it was getting to know Ull (an um, NORSE GOD) and his cohorts! So check out ST's new series, and make sure to stop by her Facebook page for a chance to win the novella before ELSKER: TUR!

✰✯✰ COVER REVEAL ✰✯✰

Perfekt Order 

The Ære Saga: Book One

by ST Bende

Release Date: December 8th, 2016

All's fair when you're in love with War.

For 18-year-old Mia Ahlström, a world ruled by order is the only world she allows. A lifetime of chore charts, to-do lists and study schedules have helped earn her a spot at Redwood State University’s engineering program. And while her five year plan includes finding her very own happily-evah-aftah, years at an all-girls boarding school left her feeling woefully unprepared for keg parties and co-ed extracurricular activities.

So nothing surprises her more than catching the eye of Tyr Fredriksen at her first college party. The imposing Swede is arrogantly charming, stubbornly overprotective, and runs hot-and-cold in ways that defy reason . . . until Mia learns that she’s fallen for the Norse God of War; an immortal battle deity hiding on Midgard (Earth) to protect a valuable Asgardian treasure from a feral enemy. With a price on his head, Tyr brings more than a little excitement to Mia’s rigidly controlled life. Choosing Tyr may be the biggest distraction—or the greatest adventure—she’s ever had.

Amazon

Kobo

Smashwords

iBooks

Add Perfekt Order to your Goodreads TBR:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26308021-perfekt-order

Before finding domestic bliss in Suburbia, S.T. Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet's coffee) and Europe... where she became overly fond of the musical Cats. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired the Elsker Saga. She hopes her characters make you smile and that one day pastries will be considered a health food.

Connect with ST Bende at:

FACEBOOK | WEBSITE | TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | AMAZON | GOODREADS

TUR is currently available for FREE for newsletter subscribers!

This week's writerly news

First off, I'm just loving The Flash. Why-oh-why isn't it going to be on for a few weeks, now? :( Here's a gif from the karaoke episode from a few weeks ago. Anyone else watch it? I'm finding myself liking it more than Arrow!

This week's writerly news is small, but it's somethin'... The cover process for Cozenage 2 will soon be under way! Woohoo! (If only I could figure out the title... Hmmm.....) I can't *wait* to see what Hafsah comes up with! 

On that note, the lovely Madi recently read/reviewed Pity Isn't An Option (Cozenage 1), and I totally got a kick out of her ship name! (Yeah, not thinking it's going to work, either, Mads!) She's started posting reviews on her blog. You should totally add her to your blogroll!

This week's song I'm loving is Peter B. Allen's The Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands. Gracious, it's so beautiful. Couldn't find it on video for ya, but you can sample part of it HERE (listen to the entire sample because what I love so much shows up at the very end); or there's a longer sample, HERE, on iTunes. After *years* of our piano sounding like a confused whale, we finally got it tuned, and I wish I could sit down and play like this! It would be so wonderful!

Around the interwebs: Did you see that ST's Kristia and Ull from The Elsker Saga (yes, same series that's featured in this month's #JLBgivesawayanINDIE) won 2015's MFEO (Made For Each Other) Tourney for SWEET NEW ADULT COUPLE OF THE YEAR? Talk about awesome! Make sure to congratulate the lovely lady if you have a chance, and if you haven't entered the giveaway yet, what are you waiting for? ;)




This week's dish is Buffalo Ranch Stuffed Peppers and it was so. Stinking. Good,. Especially with fresh, homemade guacamole! Made it a bit spicy for Lovemuffin, but I thought it was awesome. 


Waiting on Wednesday this week was DUPLICITY. I am so, SO excited about this one. It's so different and sounds very intriguing!


Also: after a bit of a break, Reader Interviews is back Monday, so keep your eyes peeled for the lovely J from life_love_fandoms on Instagram... she'll be sharing her favorite book designs, quotes, and more! :)

Have a blessed weekend!

This Valentine's Day, spread the #booklove & enter to win books + Amazon & Etsy gift cards!

Yes, you read that right! We're spreading the #booklove this weekend with the simplest, most exciting way EVER, and throwing a giveaway, to boot! After seeing so many books with a decent amount of reviews on Goodreads (indies especially), but realizing what a surprising number of those reviews never make it to actual purchasing sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords, I thought, maybe readers just need a little incentive! 

Reviews influence purchases...
which raise books in the ranks... 
which gets them in front of more readers...
which means they eventually get into more reader's hands... 

and that's exactly the point of spreading the #booklove: getting books to more readers! 

So. Here's how it works:

The main point of this giveaway is to encourage readers who've reviewed books on Goodreads to also share those reviews on other websites. Think of it as passing the word along, without having to do much more than copying and pasting! Easiest #booklove ever, right?! There will be no required links to share, nor will we require proof in any other way; it's all based on the honor system. We're simply encouraging readers to spread the word a little further. 

If you have no reviews to share but still want to get in the Valentine's Day spirit, feel free to share #booklove by mentioning a few of your current favorite authors or books on Twitter, Insta, Tumblr, FB, or anywhere else using the above graphic and/or by linking to this giveaway. (Don't forget to use the hashtag!) 

And now, here's what's up for grabs as a thank you for sharing the #booklove: one winner will receive TEN e-books, two novellas, an Etsy gift card, and an Amazon gift card! YAY! Read about the authors and gifts up for grabs below the Rafflecopter. As always, there's a free entry as well as other features that can get you extra entries. THANK YOU for helping us share the #booklove!

You've got sweet YA conspiracy theory, sweet NA Norse mythology, YA superheroes, YA magical realism (with a bit o' romance), and a YA space opera. Talk about lots of fun reading options!!! Remember, all readers are welcome to enter, but keep in mind that the entire spirit of the #booklove giveaway is to encourage readers to share thoughts/reviews already on Goodreads to other sites so that their favorites can be brought to the surface of the book sea that is the internet (or even be inspired to share their #booklove in some other way, like spreading word of mouth on social media or even writing review/s if they've been meaning to, but haven't gotten around to it yet). 

And now for the Rafflecopter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Stacey Nash, author of Forget Me Not and Remember Me (link) 

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

ST Bende, author of The Elsker Saga (link)

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Hafsah Laziaf, author of Unbreathable (link)

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Cheyanne Young, author of the Powered trilogy (link)

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Jessica L. Brooks, author of the Flora series (link)

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

This week's writerly news: February's #JLBgivesawayanINDIE photo-a-day challenge + more

Howdy, guys! :) As promised, here is what's been brewing for a few months now: a new monthly meme/giveaway here at Let Me Tell You A Story, co-hosted by Ashley and Anna's For the Love of Books and Rachel at The NerdHerd Reads! :D 

I'm so excited! #JLBgivesawayanINDIE isn't just about a monthly indie book giveaway. It's about sharing booklove with fellow readers and sharing favorite books and expanding our book fan base and just overall booknerdery interaction. That's why, even though each monthly photo-a-day challenge will be loosely based on the book-of-the-month up for grabs, it's also broad enough of a subject that participants can choose to use the words however they see fit (bookish or not). Woot!

Participating will get entries into the giveaway, but they're not necessary. You can do the photo-a-day challenges just for fun and not enter at all! Whatever works! Point is, camaraderie, and support for indie authors and talk about ALLLL THE BOOKS. :) 

So... that's all I'm saying until February 2nd, when February's #JLBgivesawayanINDIE will officially begin (the challenge will begin on Instagram/Tumblr/Facebook/wherever you want to do it Sunday, February 1st, but the giveaway starts Monday, the 2nd). If you're curious about what's going to be up for grabs, check out Elsker (I believe it's actually free right now on Amazon), go over the photo-a-day challenges and see how the words coincide with the book (or how you could make them work for you in a different way) in your daily photos. I think we're going to have a great time, and I know ST is going to love giving one winner a book and some great swag. :D (And you will all love Ull! *swoons*) I'll be announcing the specific items up for grabs on the 2nd, so make sure to come back and check it out!

Moving on...

This week's song is one I've been totally addicted to by Sia called Soon We'll Be Found. The video is my favorite version of it (because her voice is sorta raspy), but you can also watch the official video (YAY! ASL!), HERE.

Also, I've updated my (very boring and plain-looking) YouTube writing playlists, so if you'd like to get a feel for the books or simply want some new songs to listen to, feel free to check them out, HERE! :)

Waiting on Wednesday: This week's WoW was THE BUNKER DIARY by Kevin Brooks (haha... in case you noticed, I somehow happened to choose two people with my same last name two weeks in a row!).

And... I guess that's about it. Do spread the #booklove about #JLBgivesawayanINDIE and the photo challenge, and have a blessed weekend! 

Jessica

Waiting on Wednesday -- Tro by ST Bende

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine.  

  This week's can't-wait-to-read pre-publication book is Tro. 

Tro

by ST Bende
Publication date: September 4, 2014

From Goodreads:

Sometimes you just have to believe.

Finding her destiny nearly cost her everything. Kristia knows she can handle whatever The Fates throw at her next—including her long-awaited honeymoon with the God of Winter. But as things heat up between Kristia and Ull, a frost settles over Asgard. An unexpected death marks the beginning of the end, much earlier than anyone expected. Kristia’s barely begun to understand what she’s capable of, and controlling her powers seems completely out of her grasp. With her new family fighting for their lives, and Ull fighting for their future, Kristia has to make a devastating choice: preserve the life she loves, or protect the god she can’t live without?

Ull--er... I mean, Tur and Elsker cover reveal + #giveaway

Hey guys! I don't do very many cover reveals, but my pal ST is re-releasing her New Adult books, Tur and Elkser, and I had to get in on the action! I loved reading about these kick-butt protagonists... and Ull and his sweaters, well... let's just say that if you like Thor, you're going to love his step-son, Ull! :D

Here's the new covers, blurbs, and Rafflecopter! 

TUR
The Elsker Saga #0.5 
by ST Bende

Inga Andersson is the envy of every girl in Asgard. On the surface she has it all -- great friends, a job as Odin’s personal fight choreographer, and a happy ever after with her realm’s hottest assassin. But when evil invades Asgard, her perfect world comes crashing down. Someone is planning to kill off the gods, and Inga’s best friend Ull is first on their list. With the Norse apocalypse a nanosecond away, Inga has to decide how she’ll spend her final moments of freedom. Because from the moment this battle begins, Inga’s happily ever after will be nothing more than a memory. Some things are worth fighting for. Add to Goodreads

ELSKER
The Elsker Saga #1 
by ST Bende

You don’t win the heart of an immortal assassin without making a few enemies along the way.  Kristia Tostenson prefers Earl Grey to Grey Goose and book clubs to nightclubs, but when she transfers from her one-stoplight town to Cardiff University in Wales she falls in love with Ull Myhr.  Her new boyfriend isn’t exactly what she was expecting.  He’s an honest to goodness Norse God - an immortal assassin fated to die at Ragnarok, the battle destined to destroy Asgard and Earth.  Kristia’s crazy visions are the only thing that can save their realms.  Her orderly life just got very messy. Add to Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About ST:

Before finding domestic bliss in suburbia, ST Bende lived in Manhattan Beach (became overly fond of Peet’s Coffee) and Europe… where she became overly fond of the musical Cats. Her love of Scandinavian culture and a very patient Norwegian teacher inspired the ELSKER series. She hopes her characters make you smile and that one day pastries will be considered a health food.

You can follow ST Bende on Twitter (@stbende), and connect with her on Facebook, Goodreads, or her blog.