Amazon Review Tour & Excerpt: Breathe In by Michelle Bellon

Title: Breathe In

Author: Michelle Bellon

Genre: Thriller/Suspense

Published: June 27, 2017
Publisher: Limitless Publishing

“If you like dark thrillers THIS book is right up your alley! If you've never read a Michelle Bellon book-this one is, seriously, her best book yet! I have loved them all, but this one ..WOW!” - 5 Star Amazon Review

“I couldn't set it down!!” - 5 Star Amazon review

Breathe in, breathe out. This mantra gets Tessa Benson through the day.

The man she loves walks all over her, and she just wants to get by without her heart shattering to pieces. If she could find her voice, she’d scream.

Everything changes in one night, when she’s snatched from the streets and tied to a bed, a camera set up to capture her dying moment. And the person who paid to watch her die...is still out there somewhere.

Tessa prowls dark neighborhoods in a quest for justice, but she doesn’t find the killer. Not until they strike again…in the place Tessa is least expecting, and where it hurts worst.

Warning.  This book contains some major triggers.  It contains violence, sexual assault, and scenes of PTSD.  

Tessa has a complicated love life.  The man she likes, Tom, wants nothing to do with her.  The man who likes her, Gerald, she wants nothing to do with.  To unwind from her troubled life, Tessa goes out with a friend.  What started as a fun night ends up in violent despair.  Tessa is taken by two men, kidnapped and held hostage in a lone cabin.  They videotape the mental and physical torture she experiences.  Sure that she will not make it out alive, Tessa fights back and escapes.  Yet the pain of her experience lingers—she suffers from serious PTSD, often turning violent herself.  Determined to find out who orchestrated the kidnapping, Tessa and a cop Tobin, whom she begins to develop feelings for, seek out answers.

Breathe In is definitely not a novel for the faint of heart.  Tessa endures things that take her to the very brink of a dangerous edge.  It was hard to read what her kidnappers put it through.  The process of her grief and anger was realistic and heartbreaking.  The inner psychology of being the survivor of extreme abuse is well written and very emotional.  It is hard not to feel for Tessa.  And her anger?  You don’t dislike her for what she does because you sympathize and understand her pain.  The end came as a surprise, and the victory much needed.  I can’t say she that her pain was assuaged, but the cathartic revenge at the end was enough to satisfy the need for resolution.

Blindly, I run across the lot. As I round the corner, I run smack into someone as they are coming the opposite direction.  

“Tessa? Are you okay?”

I glance up through the stream of tears to see a blurry image of Gerald. “No, no. I just want to go home.” I push off his chest and stumble backward, then turn and flee the opposite direction without saying a word, ignoring Gerald’s plea of confusion as the distance between us widens. I pray he won’t follow. I just want to get away from this place. 

I keep running until I’m at least a few blocks away. Winded, fatigued, and little sick to my stomach, I stop. I lean against the wall of a building, taking in sharp gasps of air, and look around. Thankfully, Gerald didn’t follow. Where am I? Terin. I left Terin back at the club. I can’t go back there. I’ll have to call her and let her know I’ve gone home. She’ll be fine. 

My phone? Where is my phone? It was in my handbag. I had my handbag when I left the club with Tom. Shit. It must be in his car. Fear, pain, shame, anger, guilt, all well up tight within my chest and rise until I feel as if I will go mad. I run my fingers through my hair and cry so hard I start to gag again. I want to puke. Get that man out of me. Get him out!

“Can I help you? Are you okay?”

Startled, I spin around. The man from the library is standing at the corner, maybe fifteen feet away. My crying wanes as muddled thoughts spin around in my mind, trying to make sense of it all. Why is he here? Did he follow me from the club? His brow is pinched with a look of concern. He takes a step forward. “Are you okay?”

My knees and hands are trembling violently. “I’m…I’m fine.” I drag both hands across my face, swiping away the tears.

He takes another step forward. “Are you sure? You seem upset. Are you ill?”

I take a step back. I don’t want any further interaction tonight. I’ve had more than enough. All I want to do is go home. And this guy…he seems friendly, but he freaks me out. “No, really. I’m fine. I’m just on my way home.”

Another step forward. “Do you need a ride?”

Another step back. Why won’t anyone listen to me? “No. I’m fi…”

Something is pulled over my head from behind. The world is dark and muffled. I scream. Hands go around my waist. My arms arc outward, side to side, hoping to hit anything in my path. What is happening? Fear, stark and white, drains the blood from my head to my toes. I’m dizzy. 

Voices bark out sharp orders but I’m flailing about and screaming so I can’t make out what they’re saying. Another set of hands grab my legs and pull them out from under me so now I’m being carried by two men…one by my waist and the other by my legs. I writhe and twist. I have to get out of this. I need to get away. What is happening? My breath plumes in and out in short, hot gasps inside the small bag over my head. Claustrophobia flares up. A stronger wave of panic follows. I’m…going…to pass…out.

Michelle Bellon lives in the Pacific Northwest with her four quirky and beautiful children. She loves coffee, Superman, rollercoasters, and has an addiction to chapstick.

She works as a registered nurse and in her spare time writes novels. As a multi-genre author, she has written in the categories of romance suspense, young adult, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. She has won four literary awards. You can visit Michelle’s website at http://www.michellebellonauthor.com/

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Release Blitz, Review & Giveaway: TS901 by Stacey Rourke & Tish Thawker

Title: TS901: Anomaly Rise of the Rebels

Series: The TS901 Chronicles

Author: Stacey Rourke & Tish Thawer

Genre: NA Fantasy Dystopian 

Release Date: August 1, 2017

On Sale for 99 Pennies 

Tainted water for the good of the people. Fluoride and vitamins to sustain the health of the human race. Added ingredients to extend and elevate the quality of life. All good things, right?

Wrong. 

Thia Kelly has been changed by the TS901 chemical in the world’s water supply. Now, forced into hiding with the other inflicted outcasts, she struggles to survive as her powers emerge.

Evan Daniels hunted for others like himself, and finding Thia suddenly brought meaning back into his life. Love blossomed between the strange couple while they searched for a way to reverse the effects. Unfortunately, the Government had something else in mind. 

Super-soldier creation on a mass scale was their end goal, and thanks to an unfortunate family tie, Evan became Patient #1.

Good-guy? Bad-guy? The world isn’t sure, but Thia is left with only one choice––save the ass of the world’s first Anomaly who just happens to be her boyfriend.

Thia is part of an unfortunate group of people infected by the water distributed TS901.  The concoction, which was intended to help, hurt many people, turning them into anomalies (Malys), who are at odds with the "normal" people, the Narys.  The abnormalities suffered range from physical deformities to "powers" like mind control, sonic voice, and rapid healing.  Because of their differences, the Malyies are segregated into a dilapidated old subway station, always one misstep away from being labeled a dangerous presence and harmed.

Thia is careful to hide her abnormality.  She passes for normal so much that she acts as a liaison between the Malie and Nary worlds.  But when she learns her boyfriend Evan, whose father is a powerful man using his son to push forth an agenda that Evan hopes will bridge the divide between the two opposing sides, Thia springs into action.  She employs the help of a haphazard group.  There is Eugene, who spends too much time drunk but really just misses his family.  Eugene has a sonic boom voice.  Then there is Gigi, a beautiful scientist with evolving powers.  These powers let her control minds and create illusions.  These do provide very useful modes of trickery when the group infiltrated the "Hill," a secure base, to rescue Evan.  The group is accompanied, though not on purpose, by a Nary named Lance.  Initially, he is part of the border guard that keeps the peace between the Malies and the Narys, but he betrays his station when he goes rogue to rescue his mother from the military men at the Hill.  But it turns into more than a rescue mission, but rather a race to avoid war between the Malies and the Narys.

I loved the pace of TS901.  There is a ton of action-- you run the story through your mind like a movie as it plays out because that is exactly how the story reads. I also thought that the concept was very unique.  The basic plot of mutation and genetic segregation has been done a lot, but TS901 is refreshing and new because the world in which our characters are placed is unique and well thought out.  It bears mentioning that every character is fleshed out and fully developed-- they seem realistic and therefore believable.  The suffering of the characters is almost palpable, and you root for each and every one to have a happy ending.  I think this novel fits nicely within the dystopia genre.  Long live the revolution.  

RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel

Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012

Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013 

Readers' Favorite Silver Medal Winner for Crane 2015

Stacey Rourke is the author of the award winning YA Gryphon Series, the chillingly Legends Saga, and the romantic comedy Reel Romance Series. She currently hard at work on the Unfortunate Soul Chronicles, and additional literary projects. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction, and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head.

Award Winning Author, Tish Thawer, writes paranormal romances for all ages. Her magickal elements and detailed world-building are a welcome constant in every novel.

Before becoming a writer she worked as a computer consultant, a photographer and a graphic designer. She also operates a custom glass etching business, in addition to being a wife and the mother of three wonderful children.

She's been a fan of the paranormal for as long as she can remember. Anything to do with superpowers, myth and magic has always held a special place in her heart. From her first paranormal cartoon, Isis, to the phenomenon that is Twilight, this genre has always been a part of her life.

 

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