Book Feature & Giveaway: The Syrenka Series by Amber Garr

Original Title: Promises
Series: The Syrenka Series #1
Release Date: December 7th, 2011
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy, Young-adult

Sometimes following your heart can end up destroying the ones you love.

When seventeen-year-old Eviana Dumahl is faced with the responsibility of an arranged marriage and clan leadership, she is forced to choose between the life required of a mermaid and one of a teenage girl simply infatuated with the wrong guy. Kain, her devoted fiancé, would make a wonderful husband except that she’s been in love with Brendan, a shape-shifting selkie, ever since they were kids. Choosing to abandon her family, her clan, and her life with Kain will have dire consequences far beyond anything she could have imagined.

A war is brewing amongst the clans and Eviana unwittingly becomes a pawn in the intricate schemes of a twisted mastermind. With Brendan’s life on the line, she has no choice but to involve those she once considered friends. Amidst encountering senseless tragedies and immense loss, Eviana discovers that she is more valuable as a clan leader than anyone ever suspected. Her survival is not only dependent upon the loyalty of her friends, but also on her acceptance of a life she so adamantly tried to escape.

EXCERPT - PROMISES

I barely heard her parting words as the screen door slammed shut.  My head spun in desperation as the anger coursed through my bones.  “Get back in here Eviana!” she continued to scream at me.  “We are not finished with this conversation!” 

I was already racing down the deck stairs toward the sandy beach, kicking off my shoes and unbuttoning my blouse.  We are for now, I thought as my blood boiled with rage and resentment.  I was going to be trapped!  How dare they?  This was not the eighteenth century anymore!  I had rights! 

I stumbled onto the sand, taking just a brief moment to savor the warmth and the feeling of the grains massaging my toes.  My shirt came off and I started to unzip my jeans.  No one was around.  But I wouldn’t care anyway.  The water was calling me and it was the only voice that I could hear now.  With one pant leg off, I hopped along in my forward progression until the other one was free.  My oasis was so close now that I could taste the salt in the air.  The sun broke free of a cloud, stopping me for a moment.  It was late afternoon with sunset still a few hours away, but the sky had already turning multiple shades of pink and orange.  The coloration reminded me of the inside of a brilliant conch shell.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  I knew there would be hell to pay when I returned to the house.  Marguerite, my mother, had tolerated my rebellious behavior when I was younger, giving me more freedom and second chances than anyone in our clan.  But apparently now, at seventeen, I was an adult.  Adult enough to bear children.  Adult enough to participate in clan gatherings.  Adult enough to navigate our youth through their transition period.  But not adult enough to choose who to love. 

A slight breeze wafted off the ocean, bringing with it scents that filled my gut with longing.  The freedom of the ocean.  Why couldn’t I just stay there forever?  A gull called overhead, beckoning me to join him.  The splashing waves calmed my inner rage as they ebbed and flowed in a hypnotic pattern.  A distant moan of a shipping vessel reminded me of our history.  I opened my eyes to see that I was standing alone along miles of sandy beach interlaced with large rocks and cliffs emblematic of the northern California coast.  So beautiful.  I stripped off the rest of my clothes and ran into the ocean.

As soon as I was under the water, I could feel the transition begin.  My lower body ached as the bones adjusted from a life on land to one at sea.  Both legs began to fuse together and work as one.  My foot bones elongated while I prepared for the agony.  I was accustomed to the changes now, but it was still a struggle of mind over matter.  Breaking through the surface of the water, I grabbed one last breath before the final jolt of pain ravaged through my body.  I bit my bottom lip and squeezed my eyes shut, willing the moment to be over.  At last I felt an electric tingle move from my hips to my toes as the hardened iridescent, scales appeared on my tail.  I opened my eyes to find that the internal transformation was complete as well.  My vision cleared.  My lungs expanded.  I could hear for miles.  I was free.

So I swam.  I swam away from the shore and the house that I lived in.  I swam away from my fears and obligations as though they could disappear with the distance.  I would temporarily forget my responsibilities, my duties, and the argument with my mother.  In here, I wasn’t trapped.  The sea was my true home.  I was a mermaid and this was my world.  

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Original Title: Betrayal
Series: The Syrenka Series #2
Release Date: February 20th, 2012
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy, Young-adult

Life as a mermaid can be suffocating.


Eviana Dumahl has returned home as a clan leader, an orphan, and a heartbroken teenage girl.  Her parents are dead and her boyfriend, Brendan, has decided that he needs some time away.  While battling her inner turmoil, Eviana is forced into the war that Lucian Sutherland has incited amongst her own kind.  With the help of Kain, her friend and formally betrothed, the two work together to prove that they deserve their birthrights as young merfolk leaders.

When The Council requests a demonstration of Eviana’s mermaid powers, she finds herself with an opportunity to win back Brendan’s heart.  But her orders to train with a repulsive merman and the presence of an attractive new suitor challenges Eviana to embrace her leadership and resist temptation. Lucian is after her, and no one seems to understand why.  Loyalties are tested as the casualties increase, showing Eviana that sometimes it is impossible to delineate between friends and enemies.

EXCERPT - BETRAYAL

I wanted to punch him in the face.

For at least the hundredth time today, I swung my fist towards his infuriating smirk.  He easily dodged it, of course, and proceeded to look down at me like a child.  “You’re getting closer,” he teased.

Throwing my arms down in frustration, I shook my head.  “How am I supposed to learn if you won’t even let me get a hit in?”

He laughed and resumed a fighter’s stance.  “How are you supposed to learn if I just stand still and let you pummel me?  That’s not ever going to happen in the real world.  Now, try with your legs.”

I rolled my eyes and shifted my feet so that my stronger right leg was in front.  Ideally, I’d be having this battle underwater where my legs were not an issue. 

“Protect your face,” he yelled at me and I lifted my fists up to nose level.  I could do this.  He’d taught me how to incapacitate my enemies.  Just go for the knee. 

I faked a few smaller kicks, pretending to hesitate.  Then, like a ninja, I struck.  The underside of my right foot was directly on target and I expected it to land a perfect hit to the side of his left knee.  Only it didn’t happen.

Out of nowhere, he grabbed my ankle and I was suddenly airborne.  The world spun around me once before I landed with a thud on my back, effectively knocking the air from my lungs.  I even saw some stars floating by.  My training sessions were getting harder every day, and after this debacle, I decided that it was time to quit.

A shadow moved above me and I used my hand to block out the rest of the sun.  Looking up at his ominous figure I said, “I’m done.”

I heard another laugh rumble through my trainer’s chest as he reached down and grabbed my arm.  In one swift motion, he pulled me up off the ground. 

“You would have broken my knee with that kick, Eviana.  I had to stop you.”  I glared at him.  “What?” he continued.  “I’m not going to let you hurt me.  But you did well.  I knew that you’d learn eventually.”

I jumped towards him as fast as I could, intending to get him in a choke hold.  My arms slipped around his neck, but my body kept rolling over him as he bent forward and used my momentum to toss me towards the ground.  In less than two seconds, I was on my back again with a forearm pressing against my throat and my pride seeping away into the dirt.

“Ahh!” I screamed in frustration.  The annoying grin on his face told me that I would never beat him in a fair fight.  Palmer was my cousin, my trainer, and also one of the numerous protectors now living at my house.  We’d been practicing for the past two weeks and although I couldn’t hurt him yet, Palmer reassured me that I was improving. 

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Original Title: Arise
Series: The Syrenka Series #3
Release Date: July 4th, 2012
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy, Young-adult

With power comes the responsibility to accept its consequences.

After the betrayal of those closest to her, Eviana Dumahl struggles to cope with her new reality. Kidnapped, broken, and confused, she is forced to engage in a war that will alter merfolk politics forever. With her estranged father leading the charge, Eviana has no choice but to stand by his side. Her continued existence hinges on the acceptance of the power growing inside her, even when that means embracing the family’s dark lineage.

Kain Matthew will sacrifice the world for Eviana. And he is not alone. As time runs out, her friends fight to save her life and theirs. An unlikely alliance gives them the edge they need to take a stand, although it keeps Eviana’s heart trapped in the past. A new discovery explains some of her previous mistakes, but it may not be enough to stop her father’s plans. Merfolk, selkies, and water sprites work together to save their kind, only in this final battle, not everyone will survive.

In the striking series conclusion, Eviana will learn the true meaning of power, sacrifice, and love.

EXCERPT - ARISE

Eviana

When Graham and I surfaced back inside our coral-walled prison, we noticed that someone had brought us two plates of food.  Without speaking to him, I pulled myself out of the water and willed my legs to come back to me.  Considering our history, I might have had some concern over Graham seeing me naked, but once again, I couldn’t muster up the energy to care.

“I see they’ve improved the food,” he commented.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m not eating,” I said without even looking at the plates.  Now that we had the light from underwater, it made it easier to move about the room and identify what Lucian’s cronies were feeding us.

“No?”

“Nope,” I said as I finished pulling my shirt over my head.  When I turned around, I saw Graham chewing on a piece of pineapple and sifting through the rest of the items.  Much to my dismay, my stomach growled.  It was so loud that Graham chuckled.

“Perhaps your body wants some nourishment.”

“I don’t care.”

“Suit yourself, tart.”

I rolled my eyes and walked over to him.  The smell of the food was overwhelming and I couldn’t help but look down at it.  “Don’t call me that,” I said but spoke more to the plate.  There was some type of fish wrapped in a banana leaf and it smelled delicious.

“You’re drooling,” he teased.

“It’s probably poisoned.”

He bit into another piece of fruit.  “Well, I haven’t eaten anything solid in days, so I’ll take my chances.”  Grabbing his plate, he sat down cross-legged on the floor and proceeded to stuff his face.

Tempted, I fought the urge to give in.  I didn’t really know what the purpose of my hunger strike was and how it would help get me out of here.  I guess I just wanted to be difficult.

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*** This tour is part of the tour for Bewitching Book Tours. *** 

GIVEAWAY

• One paperback package: All three signed books plus SWAG (US only)
• Three ebook packages: All three books in series via coupons (US and international)

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