Cover Reveal: Sugar Spells by Lola Dodge!

Sugar Spells
by Lola Dodge
(The Spellwork Syndicate #2)
Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication date: October 30th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

After her run-in with a jealous warlock, apprentice baker Anise Wise can’t wait to get back into the kitchen where she belongs. But thanks to her brush with death, the land of the living isn’t all cupcakes and marshmallows.

Anise’s magical mojo is way out of whack and her changed powers are stirring up trouble. The town’s abuzz with news that Anise can bake deathly spells, and unsavory characters start lining up for a taste. They’ll stop at nothing to use Anise and her witchcraft to further their own plots.

She plans to hole up researching solutions until the attention dies down, but then she discovers the horrifying terms of her bodyguard’s contract. Wynn has saved her life so many times, she can’t leave him trapped. Doing the right thing will mean risking death or worse—losing her dream job.

For this witch, justice might not be as sweet as advertised.

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Author Bio:
Lola Dodge is a compulsive traveler, baker, and procrastinator. She earned her BA in English from Stonehill College and MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University–and hasn’t stopped moving since. When she’s not on the road, Lola spends her time indoors where the sunlight can’t melt her, writing or bingeing on anime and cherry soda. She can be summoned in a ritual involving curry, Hello Kitty idols, and a solid chocolate pentagram.

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Cover Reveal: Deadly Sweet by Lola Dodge!

Deadly Sweet
by Lola Dodge
(Spellwork Syndicate, #1)
Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication date: January 16th 2018
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult

For fans of Hex Hall, The Magicians, Practical Magic, and Food Wars!
Anise Wise loves three things: baking, potion making, and reading her spellbooks in blissful silence. She might not be the most powerful witch, but enchantment is a rare skill, and her ability to bake with magic is even rarer. Too bad one wants witchcraft on their campus. Anise’s dream of attending pastry school crumbles with rejection letter after rejection letter.
Desperate to escape her dead-end future, Anise contacts the long-lost relative she’s not supposed to know about. Great Aunt Agatha owns the only magic bakery in the US, and she suddenly needs a new apprentice. Anise is so excited she books it to New Mexico without thinking to ask what happened to the last girl.
The Spellwork Syndicate rules the local witches in Taos, but as “accidents” turn into full-out attacks on Anise’s life, their promises to keep her safe are less and less reassuring. Her cranky bodyguard is doing his best, but it’s hard to fight back when she has no idea who’s the enemy. Or why she became their target.
If Anise can’t find and stop whoever wants her dead, she’ll be more toasted than a crème brûlée.
Who knew baking cakes could be so life or death?

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Author Bio:
Lola Dodge is a compulsive traveler, baker, and procrastinator. She earned her BA in English from Stonehill College and MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University--and hasn't stopped moving since. When she's not on the road, Lola spends her time indoors where the sunlight can't melt her, writing or bingeing on anime and cherry soda. She can be summoned in a ritual involving curry, Hello Kitty idols, and a solid chocolate pentagram.

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Cover Reveal: Quanta Rewind by Lola Dodge!

Quanta Rewind
by Lola Dodge
(The Shadow Ravens #4)
Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication date: April 25th 2017
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

   With more and more Red Helixes turning up missing or dead, the Shadow Ravens are ready to take their fight to Doctor Nagi himself.
   But breaking into Alpha Citadel is no cakewalk, and Quanta isn’t so sure about this whole “teamwork” thing.
   If she and the Ravens can’t learn to work together, no amount of rewinding time will save them from the inevitable.
   And if the Seligo win, everyone loses.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iBooks

Author Bio:
Lola Dodge is a compulsive traveler, baker, and procrastinator. She earned her BA in English from Stonehill College and MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University—and hasn’t stopped moving since. When she’s not on the road, Lola spends her time indoors where the sunlight can’t melt her, writing or bingeing on anime and cherry soda. She can be summoned in a ritual involving curry, Hello Kitty idols, and a solid chocolate pentagram.

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Quanta Reset (The Shadow Ravens #3) by Lola Dodge (Review)

     Continuing on in the Shadow Ravens series, we get to see more of Quanta as she struggles to stay alive and protect those around her. Since the last book in the series, Quanta has grown more unstable in her time oriented powers and is slowly falling apart. Unfortunately though, she doesn't have time to deal with that as her old captors are out to kill or capture her and everybody she has grown to love deeply, preferably kill. With even more lives at stake, every choice she makes is critical, good thing Quanta can reset time.
    I enjoyed Quanta Reset, but if I'm honest, I'm getting a little board with the series. After the first two novels being about two new and riveting super powered character, Quanta reset was a little boring in comparison. That is because instead of following the trend of the first two novels, it continued the story of Quanta, which leaves room for very little new character development. I also felt like the author was not truly solid on the extent of Quanta's powers, and that could have been improved and clarified. That aside, the story was still very well written and the plot was still pretty intriguing. I still like Quanta and her comrades and they are each unique and intriguing characters. Overall I give Quanta Reset the rating of THREE AND A HALF STARS!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*

Cover Reveal: Quanta Reset by Lola Dodge!

Quanta Reset
by Lola Dodge
(The Shadow Ravens #3)
Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication date: October 4th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
   Quanta has escaped her laboratory prison, but that’s where the good news ends.
   Life at the Shadow Ravens’ compound is a disaster. She’s drowning in visions of the dark pasts and darker futures of her fellow Ravens and is plagued by her own panic-inducing memories, but Lady Eva still expects her to “train” and “participate in missions.” Plus, the food tastes like burnt plastic.
   The only bright spot is her genetic pairing to the brilliant Altair Orpheus. As their relationship grows, she’s positive that chemicals aren’t the only things drawing them together—although chemistry is definitely involved.
   While they test the limits of her game-changing new ability to reset time, word arrives from Eva’s agents: Doctor Nagi is still experimenting with her DNA. If he succeeds in duplicating her power…
    Forget the Shadow Ravens. The whole world is toast.

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Author Bio:
    Lola Dodge is a compulsive traveler, baker, and procrastinator. She earned her BA in English from Stonehill College and MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University--and hasn't stopped moving since. When she's not on the road, Lola spends her time indoors where the sunlight can't melt her, writing or bingeing on anime and cherry soda. She can be summoned in a ritual involving curry, Hello Kitty idols, and a solid chocolate pentagram.

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Blog tour: Quanta by Lola Dodge!

Quanta (The Shadow Ravens #2) by Lola Dodge

    Just because Quanta can see the future doesn’t mean she can change it. She’s spent most of her life imprisoned, feeding her captors information to keep herself alive, but she’s finally reached the endgame and her death creeps closer by the moment.

    The son of two senators, Altair Orpheus leads a life of privilege that provides the perfect cover for his side job: working with the rebel Shadow Ravens to undermine the ruling Seligo government. Everything is running like clockwork until he crosses paths with Quanta. As he watches her deftly maneuver through life in a perverse prison, his plastic heart melts. A jailbreak would be suicide, but       Tair is willing to sacrifice everything to give her a chance at happiness.
Now Quanta senses a terrifying new future brewing. She and Tair are bound together, but every image of them kissing, snuggling, and acting knee-weakeningly happy is balanced by a much darker possibility. They’ll be picture perfect together, but only until time rips them apart. How can she follow her heart when she’s seen how their love plays out?

     

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 Mother smiled like a cat, full of ambition and smugness. “Someone wants to meet you.”
 Someone? Suddenly, I knew where this was going. “Mother—”
 “There are the Astors.” Mother gave a demure wave and started gliding toward a trio standing near an ice sculpture. Her fingers clamped my arm, dragging me along. Father walked on my other side, sandwiching me in place.
 No way to run without making a scene. Senator Astor and her husband stood waiting with their daughter.
A set-up.
 My free hand bunched into a fist, but I tucked it into my pocket. I couldn’t make a mistake in front of this audience.
 Mother exchanged greetings, then made a sweeping gesture. “This is my son, Altair. Altair, this is Layla Astor.”
 Layla’s blonde hair tumbled in artful curls and braids. She wore tasteful neutral makeup that emphasized her full lips and emerald green eyes, but a hint of darker eyeliner smudged like a leftover from some previous night’s debauchery; that was half of what I needed to know to escape the conversation.
 And I would escape. I had no interest in these shallow romances meant to gain my family position.
 “It’s so nice to meet you, Altair. I knew your sister at academy.” And that was why Cass had been invited. Some common bond to me to a potential future mate.
 Good thing Cass had stayed home. She’d hate the situation as much as I did.
 The girl extended her arm, flashing her Green Helix and I couldn’t avoid the handshake. “Likewise.” Layla’s rough fingertips gave me the last clue I needed. Calluses from playing an instrument. Between that and the eyeliner, I had an excellent guess at how to get rid of her. Rather than sell her out in front of her parents, I offered her an arm. “I was just about to admire the ice sculptures. Would you care to join me?”
 “I’d love to.” She smiled and placed delicate fingertips on my arm.
 Our parents grinned conspiratorial smiles as we strolled away. No doubt they’d already picked a wedding date. I waited until we were out of modified earshot to speak. “How upset would your family be if I mentioned that you play in a band?”
 “Very.” Layla tensed, and her expression and tone shifted from vapid politeness to shrewd consideration. “Not that you should know.”
 I shrugged. “I won’t say a thing as long as you don’t press an engagement.”
 “Thank God.” Layla shuddered. “Our mothers schemed this one. I thought you were in on it.”
 I grinned. I didn’t often stumble onto others faking their way through Helix life, but every so often an ally dropped in my lap. “Should we small talk for a few minutes and then pretend to offend each other?”
 Layla pressed her lips together, eying me up and down. “If you’re up to it, I have a better suggestion.”
 “Oh?” I handed her a drink taken from a passing tray. Our parents still watched from across the room.
 “Let’s meet for coffee. We could draw this out for months.”
 “A faux courtship?” It had promise, although there were certainly risks.
 “You’re the first guy they’ve set me up with who’s not a self-centered ass.” Layla’s mischievous smile made her eyes sparkle. “My girlfriend would love you.”
 Her voice was clear of subterfuge and I found myself smiling back. “Next week? I’m sure our parents already exchanged our contact information.” And faking a relationship would save me getting blindsided at every event.
 “Call me.” She finger-waved and then headed for a crowd of friends, who proceeded to glance my way, slipping a few quickly smothered cackles. I nodded before heading off to work the crowd.
 Despite my parents’ efforts, the night was going better than expected.

Authors Top Ten - Top Ten YA novels.

      This list challenged my brain! I ended up picking mostly classic YA—the books I read when I was a teenager. I love some of the contemporary stuff, too, but when I start trying to list my favorites, I always end up back where I started. Hope you enjoy some of these as much as I do!!

1. Sabriel (Abhorsen Series) by Garth Nix 

Beautiful necromancy. Need I say more?

2. Wild Magic (The Immortals Series) by Tamora Pierce 

Tamora Pierce’s heroines are always fantastic and 7th grade me would’ve killed for Daine’s Wild Magic. Also important: Numair was my first book boyfriend.

3. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials Series) by Phillip Pullman

It took me many tries to get The Golden Compass. When I finally got it? WOW.

4. A Tale of Time City by Diana Wynne Jones

DWJ is one of my favorite authors of all time and her works deserve so much more attention. I stumbled onto A Tale of Time City in middle school and it was my gateway drug into becoming a booknerd. Still waiting for butter pies to become a thing.

5. Alanna (Song of the Lioness Series) by Tamora Pierce

I keep my books obsessively clean and scowl at people who try to open the spines too far, but Lioness Rampant spent way too many days in my backpack on the way to school to stay pristine. It’s ratty and covered in leaked highlighter and nothing else could so perfectly show how much I’ve loved this series over the years.

6. The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

This was in the curriculum for my MFA program. The narrator is hilarious and I would’ve picked it up anyway—always love a good banned book.

7. The Giver by Lois Lowry

Classic for a reason. Just don’t watch the movie (((internal screams)))

8. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Another classic. I made my parents let me take French (I was already studying German) after reading this because I wanted to be a smart girl like Anne. I don’t know if I accomplished that, but this whole series is still one of my favs.

9. Charmed Life (The Chronicles of Chrestomanci) by Diana Wynne Jones.

DWJ again because she deserves it!

10. Dealing with Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles) by Patricia C. Wrede

Love when the princess runs away to work for the dragons. I’d do that if it were a serious career option!

   Lola is a compulsive traveler, baker, and procrastinator. She earned her BA in English from Stonehill College and MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University—and hasn’t stopped moving since. When she’s not on the road, Lola spends her time indoors where the sunlight can’t melt her, writing or bingeing on anime and cherry soda. She can be summoned in a ritual involving curry, Hello Kitty idols, and a solid chocolate pentagram.

         

Website/Blog

http://www.loladodge.com 

http://inkmonster.net/blog

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Book Blitz: Quanta by Lola Dodge

Quanta by Lola Dodge 

(The Shadow Ravens #2) 

Published by: Ink Monster LLC

Publication date: October 13th 2015 

Genres: Futuristic, Romance, Young Adult

Synopsis:

   Just because Quanta can see the future doesn’t mean she can change it. She’s spent most of her life imprisoned, feeding her captors information to keep herself alive, but she’s finally reached the endgame and her death creeps closer by the moment.
   The son of two senators, Altair Orpheus leads a life of privilege that provides the perfect cover for his side job: working with the rebel Shadow Ravens to undermine the ruling Seligo government. Everything is running like clockwork until he crosses paths with Quanta. As he watches her deftly maneuver through life in a perverse prison, his plastic heart melts. A jailbreak would be suicide, but Tair is willing to sacrifice everything to give her a chance at happiness.
    Now Quanta senses a terrifying new future brewing. She and Tair are bound together, but every image of them kissing, snuggling, and acting knee-weakeningly happy is balanced by a much darker possibility. They’ll be picture perfect together, but only until time rips them apart. How can she follow her heart when she’s seen how their love plays out?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23271279-quanta?ac=1

Excerpt:

Following the plan should’ve been harder, but as I drew a mural of elvish Tair on my bedroom wall, conjuring a smile was cake. Stopping the smile?

That was harder.

After a few last strokes of charcoal to finish off his long elf hair, I stepped back to admire my work. I didn’t usually do portraits, but this was probably my best one ever, thanks to the subject. He was pretty, but no one had forced me to memorize his face down to the length of his eyelashes.

I kept myself from scowling. It was just a drawing and this was still just an act for Darren and the cameras. I wanted him to know I was thinking about Tair so he’d let us spend more time together, but that was where I had to stop it.

Rubbing the heel of my hand back and forth, I smudged Tair’s perfect face into a blur.

Too bad erasing the picture didn’t get him out of my head. Not with all the timeghosts paging in and out everywhere I looked.

“Quanta…” My name falls breathy off Tair’s lips as he hugs me close; he pushes me gently on a swing and I giggle as he laughs; my legs wrap his torso as our lips connect…

I fell back onto my bed. The expressions were killing me more than the actions.

The way my fingers knotted in his shirt. The reverence when he held my head between his hands to kiss my forehead.

It wasn’t some passing crush. We were happy together.

And even less believably?

We were outside the lab.

If I saw it in the potential future, there was no point questioning whether it was possible. It was still ultra fuzzy unlikely, but it could happen.

Getting out had never been a real option before. I always died or got knocked out in the futures where I tried to escape.

I didn’t dare peek at the paths that could lead to freedom. Letting myself watch the happy futures dance around was bad enough.

It made hope burn in my chest. Could we really…?

Nope. Don’t go there.

That road ended in disappointment and worse, because whatever I wanted, I couldn’t put something as pointless as my own happiness above other people’s lives.

I was tempted. Super tempted. I wasn’t such a good person that I didn’t think about screwing them all over. Just to taste a piece of happy. Just once. Even if I knew in my heart it wouldn’t last.

But I held too many lives in my palms.

All the surviving Reds and a few who weren’t born yet. The Shadow Ravens who were working to take down Nagi and his citadels.

I knew their names and faces. Cipher. Devan. Cleo. Even Eva.

Especially Eva.

I’d been living this long to keep them safe, and if I was going to screw them over, I should’ve done it a long time ago. Now I couldn’t. They were the only people I had and I wanted them to have what I never would.

Real lives. Actual happiness.

The good stuff.

I’d been totally fine with the status quo until Altair Orpheus waltzed into my life and rewrote the future. It wasn’t the first time I’d had a wrench thrown in my plans, but it was definitely the biggest twist I’d ever missed.

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Quanta-Shadow-Ravens-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00NQAD0TE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443700460&sr=1-1&keywords=9780996086479

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/quanta-lola-dodge/1120377920?ean=9780996086479

AUTHOR BIO:

   Lola Dodge is a compulsive traveler, baker, and procrastinator. She earned her BA in English from Stonehill College and MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University--and hasn't stopped moving since. When she's not on the road, Lola spends her time indoors where the sunlight can't melt her, writing or bingeing on anime and cherry soda. She can be summoned in a ritual involving curry, Hello Kitty idols, and a solid chocolate pentagram.

Author links: 

http://www.loladodge.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LolaDodge

https://twitter.com/Lola_Dodge

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5826088.Lola_Dodge

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Quanta (The Shadow Ravens #2) by Lola Dodge and Aileen Erin (Review)

    The second novel in The Shadow Ravens series, Quanta introduces readers to a future seeing red helix named Quanta. Kept in a laboratory for years on end, Quanta is forced to read the future to for her enemies and torturers. Through this she has survived, and it looks like help is finally on it's way, in the form of a handsome Shadow Raven undercover.
    I loved this novel. I thought it was riveting, intense and romantic. I was captivated by the narration and the internal dialogue of the main characters, Quanta and Altair Orpheus. Both characters are diverse and lovable. The plot itself is captivating and very well developed. I found that the characters were also awesomely developed. By the end of the story, I felt that the characters were so rounded and solid I could talk about them as if I knew them in real life. This is the second novel in the series, after Cipher, and holds up the high standards Cipher had put down. Both novels are intense, action packed and ultimately adorably romantic. The romantic tension between Quanta and Altair was thick and tangible. I totally recommend Quanta, especially to romance lovers, and give Quanta the star rating of FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*