Book Review
of Witch Way to Turn
Witch
Way to Turn
By Karen
Y. Bynum
Witch
Way Series Book #1
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Lyrical Press, Inc.
Date of ePublication: August 6, 2012
Print: October 1st
ISBN: 9781616503994
Number of pages: epub 237
Word Count: 78,000
Blurb
:
Can you give one guy your heart and another
your soul?
The last thing eighteen-year-old Breena Cross
needs in her life is more complications. It’s all she can do to balance
studying, working, trying to keep her foster-sister safe and drooling over the
new guy at work. But things go from complicated to crazy when a fit of rage
ignites the dark magic inside her and she finds herself fending off the
supernatural underworld.
Myles, Breena’s drool-worthy coworker and
vampire convict, is carrying a load of secrets--one of which is that he’s
fang-over-lip in love with Breena and in danger of violating the terms of his
sentence.
Orin is a soul-hungry assassin sent to kill
Breena. However, he takes one look into her eyes and sees his own lost
humanity. For once thinking of someone other than himself, he chooses not to
end her life, even though it means risking his own.
Despite a convict and an assassin fighting over
her, all Breena wants is custody of her sister. But to do this, she will need
help from both Myles and Orin. And if Breena doesn’t learn to control the
darkness within, she could lose her sister…forever.
WARNING: Contains strong language and some
graphic content.
About the
Author:
Karen Y. Bynum is an author of young adult paranormal fantasy. Her novel Witch Way to Turn is published
through Lyrical Press. She grew up in
Hickory, North Carolina where mountains and magic surrounded her. Even as a child, she wrote her own faery
tales and prattled incessantly to her imaginary friends.
After graduating from UNC Charlotte with a Bachelor’s degree in
Mass Media Communications, she went on to become certified in culinary arts
from The Art Institute of Charlotte. But
it wasn’t until her aerospace engineer husband accepted a job in Virginia and
they relocated that she knew what she wanted to be when she grew up.
With the support of family and friends, Karen embarked on a journey
with the voices in her head. They
wouldn’t stop talking (yes, she does answer back) and their stories took shape.
Karen currently lives in coastal Virginia and enjoys reading,
tweeting, writing and spending time with her husband and their spoiled rotten
Vizsla named Rusty.
Contacts:
Excerpt:
She caught his look. Oh God, she’d been staring. Her mouth was
practically watering. The heat forming in her cheeks brought her back to
reality. And the way he watched her nearly brought her to her knees. Looking
into those pale-green eyes with the golden rim made her weak, left her
breathless. He couldn’t be more than eighteen or nineteen but there was a
knowing look in his eyes that made her want to find out what, exactly, he knew.
She took a step toward him and the knowing look turned darker, hotter.
There was something raw about it. Something ravenous, and so powerful she could
barely keep herself from being consumed.
He tilted his head slightly in her direction, and it seemed almost as
if he was…listening to her. As if he were trying to puzzle her out by catching
the subtle beat and hum of her body.
It finally dawned on her that they’d been standing there a good while
in complete silence. She managed to shake herself out of her lust-filled stupor
long enough to recover something vaguely resembling her manners. “Ah, about the
other night…
Thanks.”
(excerpt – 596 words)
“You Breena Cross?” The white guy closed the distance between them.
“Who’s askin’?” she shot back.
“The witch has attitude.” The black guy moved closer.
“Hey, who you calling a witch, ass?” She gripped her car key tight
against her palm, ready to go for the eyes first.
It happened so fast, she didn’t even have a chance to use her makeshift
weapon. The white guy pinned her against the car door and her keys fell to the
ground.
“We got her,” the white guy said. His breath smelled like rotten
hamburger.
She tried to push him off her, but he forced her even harder into the
door handle.
“He’s gonna be real happy with us, Jay,” the white guy practically
sang.
Breena wondered who “he” was, but only for a second, because the guy’s
lips pulled back and she saw his teeth. They were flat but, somehow, they
looked sharp.
Sharp? What the hell?
His gaze was a roaring fire of hunger. Predatory. It looked like he
wanted to rip her throat out.
He made a low growl and pressed his lips to her neck. A sound like
crazed bees buzzed in her ears, nearly deafening her. She didn’t know what to
do. Her palms began to sweat and, for a moment, she thought the blue light
would be her saving grace, but her hands only shook.
“Back away from her.” The man sounded calm enough, but his voice had an
edge to it that meant business.
“You lookin’ to lose a fight?” Jay swiveled around.
“I never lose.”
He appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Breena’s attacker by the back of
his shirt and threw him a good two or three parking spaces down the lot. The
black guy froze in place.
Her savior’s ears sprang up through his hair into two sharp points.
The two guys got one good look at the pointed ears and hauled tail.
Breena didn’t blame them for running. She would’ve joined them if
curiosity hadn’t got the better of her. Besides, it was hard to be too scared
of someone who’d just saved your life and looked sexy as all get out. So what
if he had weird-looking ears?
“What are you?” She fidgeted with the strap on her backpack, swallowing
her nerves.
He smiled, revealing beautiful not-at-all-sharp teeth. “You can’t
tell?” He sounded surprised.
“No.” She twisted her hair. “Should I be able to?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve had very little experience with halflings.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” Halflings?
“No. I didn’t.”
Annoyance chasing away the last remnants of fear, Breena let out a
little huff. Was he trying to push her buttons?
He moved closer, his steps as graceful as flowing water. His eyes caught
her attention immediately--a ghostly pale-green with a golden circle around
each pupil. Standing by her side, he propped himself against the VW.
“Amazing,” he whispered, staring at her. His gaze was intense, and
slightly bewildered, as if he were trying to solve a riddle.
“What is?”
“Your soul. It’s strong.”
Weird much? She shifted on her feet, eyeing the keys on the ground.
“Sorry. You must think I’m a crazy superhero-wannabe.” He shook his
head and traced his finger along his open palm. “Your kind is so rare.” His
eyes lit up as he smiled. He stooped to pick up the keys and handed them to
her.
Breena snatched them and started backing away from the car as
nonchalantly as possible.
About to run like hell? Me?
“You asked what I am,” he said.
She hesitated. Nodded.
“I’m a preternatural.”
Author Interview:
I
appreciate your taking the time to visit with us today. It's so great to be here!
1.
What character was your favorite to
write for in this story? Why?
Wow, starting with a tough one first... I like
that :) Probably the heroine. Breena Cross. She internalizes so much and is
such a *real* person to me. She knows what's important and strives for it even
though nothing comes easy for her. She always amazes me with how she adapts and
finds the good in the bad.
2. Which was your favorite scene to write?
Hm. I absolutely loved writing the kissing
scenes. teehee But I also enjoyed writing the action scenes...the ones where my
heart would race and my fingers couldn't keep up with my thoughts... Especially
the first chapter and the black moment. I was so on the edge of my seat as I
wrote.
3. What was the hardest thing about writing
this story?
Dealing with the emotional roller coaster that
came with writing Breena's character. I would feel her pain as I wrote it--even
when I wasn't near my laptop. There were times when I would have to stop
whatever I was doing and go write just so I could get Breena out of whatever
crisis I had gotten her into. When she was sad, so was I. When she was
angry...well, I felt it too.
4. What would you say is your interesting
writing quirk?
I'd
say it's more of a bad habit than a quirk. When I'm thinking about my
story--getting ready to type--I pick at my thumb. I've tried to stop, but I
can't. Help! Lol
5. Where do you find your Inspirations?
I find
inspiration in almost everything. Always on the lookout for ideas of things my
characters would say or do. My biggest inspirational tool though would be
music. I listen in the car or when I'm doing housework. I make soundtracks for
my books and it helps get me in the zone.
6. Please let readers know where they can
connect with you and purchase your books...
I love to tweet! I'm on Twitter every day,
multiple times a day. I'm learning Facebook and Google+ too! Oh, Pinterest is
my newest addiction. The best place to connect would be my website because
there are direct links to everywhere I am. www.karenbynum.com Witch Way to Turn will be sold on Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, Lyrical Press and anywhere e-books are sold releasing
August 6. The print book will be available at these sites on October 1.
Anything
additional you want to share with the readers? There's more to come for the Witch Way series. I'm over halfway finished
writing the second book and can't wait to share it with you as well!
Thank you so much for chatting with us today. Thank you so much for having me! Great
questions!
Book Review:
Loved
it. Such a great story. I love reading about paranormal supernatural
fantasy stuff and this one was chock full.
The story line was compelling and the romance was spicy. A great read.
I give this story 4.5 out of 5
clouds.
This
product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my
opinions or reviews.
Hi Mindy!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting me on your blog today. I enjoyed the interview questions very much. Also appreciate you taking the time to read and review Witch Way to Turn :)
Faithfully writing,
~karen