***The Starry-Eyed Revue***: olivia rivers

I've seen Olivia Rivers' works floating around Goodreads and on fellow bloggers' sites, but I wasn't familiar with her books, so I never gave them a second look. But when the author approached me with the synopsis of her newest novel and asked if I would help with the cover reveal, I knew I'd be giving this book a chance. It sounds so unique and poignant, and I can't wait to check it out myself!

Without further ado, I give you the cover for the forthcoming Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers...

TONE DEAF

By Olivia Rivers

In stores May 3, 2016

Pre-order Tone Deaf: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound | The Book Depository | Books-a-Million
Here's the blurb for Tone Deaf:

For child prodigy Ali Collins, music was life. All that changes when a brain tumor lands her in a silent nightmare, controlled by her physically abusive father and the deafness she’ll never get used to. When Ali accidentally wins a backstage tour with the chart-topping band Tone Deaf, she reluctantly accepts the prize, only to be kicked out. Jace Beckett, the lead singer of the pop-punk band, refuses to even speak to Ali because she is deaf.

Ali threatens to report Jace’s discrimination, but ends up agreeing to keep quiet in exchange for money. With a bit of cash, she can escape to New York and get away from her father. Then Jace notices her fresh bruises and changes the offer, claiming he’ll use his influence and connections to help Ali escape. But even when Jace reveals a baffling fluency in American Sign Language, she can’t bring herself to trust him.

When Ali’s dad crosses a new line, she’s driven to accept Jace’s offer despite her fears. Soon she’s traveling cross-country, hidden away in Jace’s RV as the band finishes their nation-wide tour. As weeks pass, the members of Tone Deaf start to resemble a quirky little family. Then there's Jace. Ali can't figure out his mood swings, but she knows she’s falling for the passionate and secretive musician. Jace’s hardened attitude melts away more with every mile they travel, and Ali finds herself ever closer to understanding his attitude towards the deaf. But when tragedy strikes, Ali must decide between walking away from Tone Deaf, or sacrificing her freedom to save Jace and his band.

About the author:

Olivia Rivers is a hybrid author of Young Adult fiction. Her works include the independently published Tortured Elements and Duplicity series, along with the traditionally published novel Tone Deaf (Skyhorse 2016.) As a certified geek, she enjoys experimenting with new publishing technologies, and her online serials have received over 1,000,000 hits on Wattpad.com. When Olivia isn’t working as a writer, she’s a typical teen attending college in Northern California. Olivia is represented by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, and nothing thrills her more than hearing from readers.

Find Olivia:

Twitter | Goodreads

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So, what do you think of the cover? Have you read anything else by the author? Doesn't Tone Deaf sound amazing? :)

Labels: contemporary, giveaways, official cover reveals, olivia rivers, promotions, sky pony press, tone deaf, tough subject

Today, I have the immense pleasure of featuring the first book in Olivia Rivers' Tortured Elements series here on the blog. Frost Fire is a “Good Reads and Good Deeds” book. All net proceeds for Frost Fire go toward the Dysautonomia Youth Network of America, a charity that supports youth with medical conditions affecting the nervous system.

Below, you'll find a synopsis, a little about the author, an excerpt & a giveaway! I'd love to know your thoughts on the book, too.

Title: Frost Fire
Author: Olivia Rivers
Series: Tortured Elements, book #1
Publisher: indie/self-pubbed
Publication Date: November 20, 2012
Genre: young adult, ages 14+
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

“Magic is just like love, Allai. It won’t wait for permission before it destroys you.”

Like sand in an hourglass, Allai’s future is dwindling away. She’s spent her entire life fighting the Mages who threaten humanity, and dreams of someday eradicating magic. But all it takes is an anonymous phone call for the truth to spill out: Allai is the one thing she despises most.

She’s a Mage.

Though ancient law mandates Allai’s death, she still has one last chance of survival. His name is Drake Rhaize, and he swears he can lead Allai to a sanctuary for Mages. Allai hasn’t seen Drake in years, but she remembers him as the Demon boy who used to hold her close and softly whisper that he’d keep her safe. But Drake has changed since then: He’s now suspected of murder, and has been out-casted for betraying his own kind.

While Allai doesn’t trust Drake, she has no choice but to put her life in his hands and hope he can get her to safety. Because Allai’s father has hired a pack of Demons to bring her back to him, dead or alive–and Demons never stop the hunt.

About the author:

Olivia Rivers is a high school student, a literary agent intern, and an obsessive-compulsive reader. She has a slight obsession with Kootenai County in Idaho, and she’s pretty sure life will always be awesome as long as Irish accents exist. She lives with dysautonomia, a chronic medical condition affecting her nervous system. Portions of proceeds from her “Tortured Elements” series go toward supporting youth with dysautonomia.

Find out more about Olivia Rivers and her books:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Seeing him was like reliving a perfect daydream and her worst nightmare at the same time. She didn’t know how to react. She didn’t know how to even think.

She knew Drake was the guy who’d tried to take her life. But somehow she couldn’t feel the right kind of fear toward him. She didn’t have that gut-wrenching, instinctual terror she’d felt toward Silas. Her fear for Drake was way more confusing, but she was slowly starting to decipher it:

She was afraid of learning the truth. Of finding out whether all those memories of him—of his comforting golden eyes and soft words—were real or not.

The thought threw off her footsteps, and she nearly missed the next step of the staircase. She slammed her foot down to regain balance. Her bad foot, of course. Because wasn’t that just her luck?

Pain ricocheted through her ankle, almost tearing a scream from her. But she held it back, biting her lip and only letting out a tiny whimper. Luke was going to have to look at her ankle and make sure it was only sprained, and not broken.

As if on cue, he appeared at the top of the stairs, his arms crossed and his expression turned down in a scowl. Allai read his expression and swallowed hard to keep her pounding heart in place. How could he have found out about Drake so quickly?

Allai gripped the banister, her nails digging into the smooth varnish. She had to tell him. She had to just blurt everything out and pretend she’d had no intention of keeping Drake’s predicament a secret.

“Allai,” Luke said quietly.

She hobbled up a few more steps and didn’t reply. She just focused on the plush carpet covering the steps, trying to dig her good foot into it to keep from slipping. All she had to do was open her mouth and say some simple words: Drake Rhaize is out by the border. Go catch him. It should have been easy.

But it wasn’t.

Rules:

This giveaway is international.
One entry per household.
All entries will be verified. Any entry found to be falsified will result in disqualification of all entries for that participant.
Winner will be notified via email. Winner will then have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected. And, people, check your SPAM folders...I've had to reach out more than once to some winners because they "didn't get the first email." I don't want to, but I'm going to have to start just picking new winners. :C

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So, what did you think of the excerpt? Did it make you want to pick up the novel to find out more about that Drake character? Me, too! :P

Thanks for stopping by & happy reading!