Blog Tour, Guest Post, Book Review and Tour Wide Giveaway: Wanted by Annika James

Wanted

Annika James

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-77127-242-1

ASIN: B00B2EU7ZQ

Number of pages: 212

Word Count: 55,614

Cover Artist: Marion Sipe

Amazon MuseItUp All Romance ebooks

Book Description:

Attacked as a young witch and left for dead, Ashlinn is deathly afraid of being bitten again. Having survived until she’s almost eighteen without donating blood to any of her vamp friends, Ashlinn figures she’ll continue to live bite-free.

After her crush reveals how powerful she is, however, the Vampire Council declares she be claimed as a familiar, which requires biting. Ashlinn doesn’t want to be owned, even by hot vamp, Conor.

Luckily, her best friend, Matt, volunteers for the job. She is given one week to choose her protector, and the list of willing biters keeps growing. Will she go with best friend Matt, hot vamp Conor, or someone else to protect her? Will she be able to get her power under control by then? Will she overcome her phobia of being bitten? And who says she needs to be protected, anyhow?

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About the Author:

Annika James lives in small-town Wisconsin with her husband and two beautiful kiddos. She spends her days working to pay the bills and her nights dreaming of more fun ways to do so. Her passions include writing, reading, music and traveling with her family. She dreams of a world where vampires and powerful witches really exist, because life would be so much more interesting.

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Excerpt:

He leaned toward me, holding my gaze with his. I forgot how to breathe, how to think. Then his lips touched mine, electricity exploding up and down my body.

Soft and gentle, they probed, tasting, testing. I didn’t move to touch him, just remained frozen. There was only the kiss. His mouth moved to my jaw, kissing his way down to my neck. His teeth grazed my skin.

I unfroze and found my voice. “No!” I felt a surge of power push through me.

Conor flew backward across the room. He crashed into a bookcase, sending an avalanche of books over him as he fell to the floor. He slumped there, holding his head, dazed.

He looked up in confusion, mouth opened ready to speak. At that moment, my muscles remembered how to move and I ran for the door. It opened in front of me, not of my power, and Matt appeared. He’d probably felt my surge of power. I hadn’t meant to throw Conor. Panic had overtaken me and I had lost control for an instant.

I flew into Matt’s arms and he embraced me. Matt was my rock. His presence calmed me, it always did. He was like a protective big brother. I knew he understood the whole scene in the seconds before I’d found his arms. I buried my face in the T-shirt pulled tight across his strong chest, and breathed in his scent, a mix of fabric softener and cologne. It was familiarity, it was home, and it helped to center me. I peeked out at Conor. He stepped out of the pile of books and straightened his clothing.

“Is she yours, Matthew? I thought she was unclaimed.” Conor was now being formal. Vamps often addressed each other formally, even the teenage ones. He thought I was Matt’s, and to bite me would have been a serious offense to Matt’s family. I was not claimed, nor would I ever be. Matt’s arms tightened around me.

“No. I told you she’s not claimed. Did you try to bite her?” Each word seethed with anger. I had never heard so much menace in Matt’s voice. He trembled ever so slightly. Wasn’t Conor his friend? I felt like there was something else going on here I didn’t quite get.

“I just assumed she’d agree.” Conor’s voice came from right behind me. “I’ve never been turned down before.” His voice wasn’t cocky, not even confident. He stated it like he’d simply said his eyes were green.

“Did you ask her?”

Conor said nothing. Matt must have seen something in Conor’s face, though, because his grip on me tightened, voice outraged. “You didn’t even ask her?” He was furious. I raised my head. There was fire in his eyes, and if looks could kill,

Conor would have been so much more than dead.

I turned in Matt’s arms, forcing him to loosen his hold, although he didn’t let go completely. Conor’s brow furrowed, mouth drawn into a tight frown.

“I thought it was what she wanted.” His voice was soft and unsure.

Matt let go to put me behind him, further protecting me. “Ashlinn’s been bitten before. Without permission. Without the aid of making it feel good. Drained. Almost to the point of death.”

I shivered, remembering the night I met Matt. I would never forget the feeling of having life literally sucked out of me, of hovering so close to death. I was so young, at the time I hadn’t really known what was going on. Almost dying, however, would remain embedded in my memory forever. Matt had found me and knew what to do to nurse me back to health. He’d been my protector ever since.

I looked around Matt’s broad back. Conor’s wide-eyed gaze found mine. “I am so sorry, Ashlinn. I offended you. I meant you no harm. I was unaware of your past and thought you were giving me the okay.”

He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. I stepped out from behind Matt, to his side. Matt put an arm around my shoulders, still holding me close. I watched

Conor’s gaze slide over the embrace to Matt’s face, before coming back to mine.

He had apologized, now he waited for me to say it was okay.

“I suppose I probably was.” My voice was soft, though not wobbly. “Though I didn’t mean to.” I was pretty calm now, thanks to Matt. And I was almost sure Conor wasn’t going to attack me. I had unknowingly given him the green light, forgetting he wasn’t just a normal boy, and this wasn’t just a normal party. I liked him so much, I had sent him signals that probably seemed the same as “Bite me!”

“Sorry I threw you across the room.” I did feel bad. I hadn’t meant to hurt him.

Matt looked at me as Conor smiled slightly. “I deserved it.” Some of the confidence returned to his voice.

“It was quite impressive.”

“You did that?” Matt sounded surprised and a little proud. “Your power?”

I nodded. “I guess the panic took over. I reacted without thinking. And there he was, flying, crashing.” I gestured from where I’d read the poem to the pile of books on the floor.

Matt’s smile was big and genuine. “That is awesome, Ash.” He gave my shoulder a small squeeze.

Conor took a step toward us. I didn’t flinch. I knew he meant me no harm. If he had bitten me, my mind knew it would have felt amazing, completely opposite of how it had felt the last time I was bitten. Although, it would still have been against my will, without permission, and that was rape. No one was going to bite me again, ever. Even Conor. I didn’t want to be under anyone’s control but my own.

“You’re very powerful,” Conor observed.

I shrugged. “I guess.”

Guest Post:

Top 10 Vampires in the Movies

First of all, thank you so much for having me today! 
I love Top 10 lists, I love vampires, and I love movies - so let’s combine all three into one post… I will probably miss some great vampires, but that’s where you, the reader, comes in. Feel free to comment after the post with your favorite movie vamps. I had to do a little bit of research to complete this one. But watching vampire movies as research  sounds good to me. It was hard to rank these, so they are not particularly in order. 

9. Jerry from “Fright Night” - probably one of the first vampire movies I remember watching, “Fright Night” was creepy and cool all at the same time. Jerry was tall, dark, and handsome. He had charm until the fangs came out. I’m referring to the original “Fright Night” as I haven’t seen the remake yet. Let me know if it’s as good as the original. 

9. Dracula from “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” - The ultimate vampire, Gary Oldman’s Dracula was spot-on and creepy as all get out. As gross as he was, there was still the hint of romance as he searched for love. He had all the stereotypical vampire powers combined in one. 

8. Victoria from “Twilight” - yes, I picked Victoria. She is beautiful and deadly, and I like that combination. In “Eclipse,” she hunts Bella, and she was lethally intelligent in the way she went about it, it’s pretty admirable. She is smart, sexy, and scary. She might sparkle in the sunlight, but she’s no broody vamp.

7. Lothos from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” - He was kind of sexy in an older man way, deadly because even Buffy fell under his spell, and funny with the one liners. I can’t help it, maybe I just love Joss Whedon, and I definitely love Buffy, I still like this movie, and the vampires in it make me chuckle. 

6. The vampires in “30 Days of Night” - talk about scary. This was probably the first vampire movie I watched that freaked me out. I can handle gore, but there was something just heart dropping about this movie. There was little hope for survival, and the vampires were ruthless. No romantic vampires here - these were stone-cold killers who got uglier as they vamped. These are the nightmare vampires.

5. Blade - Ok, technically, he’s only half-vampire - but I think he still counts. He is so bad-ass, it’s ridiculous. I just remember him being practically silent for the better part of the first movie, every now and then throwing out a sassy one-liner. He hunts and kills his own kind, and he’s cooler than they are because he can walk in the sunlight. Imagine - all the strength of a vampire, with none of the weakness. Can you blame all the vampires for wanting him dead?

4. David from “The Lost Boys” - another movie from my childhood. David was the ultimate bad boy. Bleach blonde hair, leather trenchcoat, motorcycle - those all added up to one hot guy. He only came out at night and dang, did he look good. When he vamped out, he was also deliciously scary. Kiefer Sutherland played this part to a T, and started my obsession with bad-boy vamps. I can’t mention this movie without mentioning Corey Haim and how much I loved him in this movie. If you haven’t seen this one, watch it - there are some classic lines here!!

3. Selene from “Underworld” - I like a sexy vamp who can kick butt, and Selene is definitely that. Her wardrobe is amazing and I wish I could get away with head to toe leather. She’s a vampire with deadly fangs, but uses guns and other weapons to fight the Lycans. Kate Beckinsale does an awesome job with this role and Selene is one of my favorite vamps of all time. Not to mention the cool blue her eyes turn when she’s vamping out. 

2. Lestat from “Interview with a Vampire” - he had it all - Lestat was beautiful and charming, yet deadly. He had little conscience and killed without remorse, yet did it in such a way, you would almost willingly submit to him. Tom Cruise played him brilliantly. I picked Lestat over Louis because I like my vampires a little less broody and a little more “I’m immortal, let’s live it up.” and that is Lestat - he took advantage of all that being a vampire had to offer. 

That’s all I could come up with. Sad, I know… I also love Parker Posey’s vampire in “Blade Trinity” and although he doesn’t go full-on vamp - Jim Carrey is hilarious in “Once Bitten.” So, who are your favorite vamps? Who did I miss? What are some movies I need to check out to help fill my list? 

My Thoughts and Review:

I read a lot of paranormal, I can't help it. For whatever reason the genre draws me in, especially when it has to do with witches and okay, ghosts and vamps too. And while I didn't get any ghosts in this, I did get a whole lot of vamp, big hunky vamps to be precise.

I am normally not a huge fan of love triangles but somehow James makes it work in this. It isn't over dramatic or lovey dovey or even heartbreaking for that matter. From the get go you know who Ash likes and you know who she loves and even though both Matt and Conor are fabulous and I know who she has feelings for, I couldn't help like one over the other. But I admit, they were both pretty darn fabulous and I didn't feel heart broken over who she ended up with in the end. James handled it beautifully.

I really liked this story. It was completely engaging. I was quickly wrapped up in the storyline and the lives of the characters. It wasn't anything necessarily new to the genre by any means but it was completely entertaining and kept me guessing.

I truly enjoyed this read and would happily pick up a sequel to read if the author writes one. Not only would I know that I would get a great story but I would get some pretty great characters as well that I truly had fun reading about.

I give this one 4 Solid Stars!


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