Blog Tour + #Giveaway: THE RAKEHELL'S SEDUCTION by Lauren Smith @LSmithAuthor @Barclay_PR

Both Ambrose and Alexandra want nothing to do with falling in love, but will a “gentleman’s bet” cause the stakes to be higher than either bargained for? Find out in RAKEHELL’S SEDUCTION, book 2 in Lauren Smith’s Seduction series.

Giveaway:

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Synopsis:

HE’S MADE A DANGEROUS WAGER

Ambrose Worthing is no gentleman. He’s a proud cold-hearted rake who’s determined to stay a bachelor forever. He enjoys bedding a different woman every night without the risk of falling in love. When he hears about a wager over the seduction and ruination of the daughter of his father’s best friend, he knows he must intervene. Committing himself to the bet, he agrees to seduce Lady Alexandra Rockford—for her own good. He never expected the lady in question to be a beautiful, fiery creature who has passions of her own that call to his guarded heart.

SHE’S VOWED NEVER TO FALL IN LOVE AGAIN

Alexandra Rockford has sworn off men, her heart still broken from the false promises of a childhood sweetheart who left her to marry an heiress. When she stumbles into Ambrose outside of a country ball, she knows the rake is trouble. His smile, his touch, his forbidden kiss are all too tempting but being with him would ruin her. Determined to enjoy herself without falling in love, Alex can’t help but let her defenses down with the too charming rake. But when she discovers Ambrose is seducing her to win a bet, it will take everything Ambrose has to prove to her that he is worthy to love her.

Available at:  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo  | Google Play

Add The Rakehell’s Seduction  to your GOODREADS TBR pile!

Guest Post:

The Betting Book of Whites aka How Gentleman Were Wicked- Lauren Smith

In Regency England gentleman often went to clubs where they believed they could escape the rigors of their home lives and find solace among their peers. They also got up to no good when they went to these clubs. Rumors were spread, gambling was made, and they placed wagers in what were called “betting books.” The title explains exactly what the book’s purpose is. A gentleman would go to the book and write down what he wanted to wager. Then other man could respond to the bets and try to win them. Some of those entries were on sports, but more often on political developments, especially during the chaotic years of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. A good many were social bets, such as whether a friend would marry this year, or whom.

In my story, The Rakehell’s Seduction, I included a wager made in a betting book at whites where a mean spirited man placed a wager that if any man ruined the heroine Alexandra publically, that man would get five thousand pounds. This is by no means a real bet, but there have been some exceedingly strange bets that were actually placed in the betting book of White’s Gentleman’s club. One of which involved a man betting £3,000 as to which of two raindrops would first reach the bottom of a pane of a bow window at the club. Can you imagine betting that much on raindrops? The amount today would be closer to ten thousand pounds! It’s reminds me a lot of the wild and crazy betting that can happen in Las Vegas Nevada.

Since women weren’t allowed in these clubs (and still aren’t even today), it was considered rude to even mention women in conversation to other men in the club. But they were mentioned in the betting books from time to time, such as when a certain woman would get married etc. So when I wrote my story, I thought I’d would make it as scandalous as possible and have the bet center on a woman’s ruination.

If you could bet on something wild and crazy, what would you wager in a betting book?

About Lauren Smith:

Amazon Best-Selling Author Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. 

Connect with Lauren: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon  | Pinterest | Instagram

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Book Tour + #Giveaway: Legion Series By K.C. Finn @humblequill @SDSXXTours

Legion Lost

By K.C. Finn

Genre: Dystopian

One Underground girl escapes from a soldiers’ raid. Lost and above ground for the very first time, she has only one option to secure her survival: the Legion—a government organization for teenagers with no place left to run. Leave your identity at the gate, and join a life of military service until you reach adulthood. It sounds ideal, but the Underground girl knows that the System won’t stop looking for its female runaway. So, she tells a lie about her gender.

And it will change her forever.

Posing as Raja, a boy-soldier, the Underground girl is thrown into Legion life at its full, brutal speed. Here, she meets Senior Commander Briggs, whose savage authority reigns over the teenage soldiers. Amongst them are a band of oddballs known as the South Tower Rejects, led by Stirling, a tall, savvy stranger with bright copper hair and eyes that shine like oceans. There’s something hiding behind his cocky smile, and Raja wants to know what it is.

Goodreads * Amazon

Excerpt from Legion Lost:

“Little boy, if you think I’m not going to notice how incompetent you are, just because you’re next to her, then think again.” 

He thinks I’m cowardly now too—a very promising sign. When the commander runs through the process of how to load our automatic guns, I ask him to stop and repeat even the simplest parts of the instructions. I can see the strain in his steely eyes, like he’s resisting the urge to just get up and smack me for interrupting him. On the outside, the others are still looking at me like I’m defective in some way, but, on the inside, I’m starting to enjoy winding Briggs up by playing the fool. 

We have limited time to practise setting up the guns in our pairs. The bruised girl is surprisingly good at locking the pieces into the right places, and I learn more from watching her than I did from Briggs’s brisk display. 

“What’s your name?” I ask her, once I’m sure the commander is busy helping someone else. 

“Lucrece,” she replies. 

I am taken aback by the broken quality to her voice. She sounds as though someone has forced her to gargle with glass. 

“I’m Raja,” I tell her, and she lets that little smile slip out again. 

“You’re all right, Raja,” Lucrece says. “The first friendly-looking face I’ve seen around here. Pity friendly isn’t in Briggs’s assessment criteria.” 

Lucrece is a remarkably intelligent girl. Though her hands shake with nerves, she understands the mechanics of the gun far better than I do, and she explains the principles of distance, perception, and air resistance with confidence. From her, I learn that the guns have two settings: single shot and continuous fire. She finds the switch to change between the modes with ease. It pleases me to know that she has so much skill, but a little part of me is sad when I realise that she won’t be coming to the South Tower with me after all. Once today is over, we might never speak to one another again. 

“Time’s up,” Briggs snarls. “You, you, and you, with me up here.” 

Lucrece is one of the three people that Briggs’s pointing finger finds. She hands me her gun and stumbles nervously to the commander’s side with the two tall boys the commander has picked. Briggs uncovers something huge and lumpy from beside the gun stores, throwing it at Lucrece. She misses the catch as the heavy object thumps her hard in the chest, but when she manages to lift it again, the object takes shape. It is a thick, padded jacket, which appears to be full of small, frayed holes. 

“Put these on,” Briggs barks, handing a jacket to each of the boys too, “and go and stand in front of the targets.” 

He can’t be doing what I think he’s doing, and yet I watch in horror as Lucrece pads up and walks a few metres away. She heads toward the spiral-shaped targets that I’d assumed we would be aiming at. Briggs gives the three teens a shout when he’s satisfied with their distance, then turns back to us with a self-satisfied smirk. 

“Set your weapons to fire single shots,” he instructs. “Let’s make some holes in those dummies, recruits.” 

They aren’t dummies. They’re people. Real people. My fellow soldiers are adjusting their guns, but I can’t stand to even touch mine now. 

“What if we miss, sir?” I interject. “We could kill them.” 

Briggs leans close to my face, his bared teeth glowing white against his dark lips. 

“You’d better not miss then, had you son?” he purrs. 

Legion Found

The heart-wrenching sequel to Kindle Press's LEGION LOST has arrived. As our heroine Raja suffers with intense grief, her new identity as a Highland rebel soldier is about to be put to the test. As part of an intrepid rescue mission, she and her fellow Highlanders will travel south to infiltrate the System itself, discovering the fresh horrors that Governor Prudell has subjected her people to. Death, destruction and all-out war awaits, and nothing can prepare them for the terror of the truth.

Goodreads * Amazon

Excerpt from Legion Found:

“Whoa,” says a voice near the doorway to the chamber. 

It takes me a moment to break the glare that Sun and I are sharing, but the sight of Goddie and Apryl is a welcome relief when I spot them entering the room. Apryl has a small bag of provisions which she hands me, and I sling it over my shoulder as my gaze rests on Goddie. He’s looking me over, his mouth open a little.

“I know. Don’t say it,” I tell him. “I look ridiculous.” 

“No,” Goddie says gently. “I mean... ya don’t look like you, dat’s for sure. But ya look... good. Okay.” 

“Wow,” Apryl adds dryly. “That was charming. You’re just full of backhanded compliments today.” 

“I,” Goddie begins at once, wincing at me apologetically. “No, I don’t mean dat, I mean... Oh hell, ya know what I mean, right?” 

“Seldom if ever,” I tell him. 

But really, I do know. I must look different, so radically different from normal. And yet this is how I was supposed to turn out, I presume. Mumma’s little girl. Long hair and dresses. Pretty as a picture. 

“So long as it gets me in and out unnoticed,” I add quickly, feeling the redness in my cheeks. “As soon as we know where Dad is, we can make a move.” 

“Kip’s waiting for you on the surface,” Apryl tells me with a nod. “He’s going to tail you both back to the walls in case there’s any trouble. But I want you to take this.” 

She reaches into her pocket, then forces something small and cold into my hand. It’s a brooch, apparently made of gold, and it has a black stone set in the centre that glistens a little strangely. The circular piece of jewellery has a pin on the back for it to be secured on clothing. When I don’t do anything with the brooch except stare at it, Apryl huffs and then takes it back. I watch her pinning it to one side of my dress, a little to the right of my heart. 

“What’s that?” Sun asks sharply, eyeing the brooch. 

“A camera,” Apryl explains. “Delilah and I rigged it up back at the base. Direct feed back to our computers and tablets here.” 

“We’ll see everything you do,” Delilah adds. 

When I glance towards her, I realise she’s looking directly at Sun Lin. Sun, for her part, seems to pale a little at the eyes on her, but soon she shrugs the comment off in that haughty way of hers. 

“Enjoy the show,” she says with a curling smile. 

K. C. Finn was born and raised in Cardiff, South Wales, where her love for storytelling grew at a precociously young age. After developing the medical condition M.E. / C.F.S., Kim turned to writing to escape the pressures of disabled living, only to become hooked on the incredible world of publishing.

Kim spends most of her time locked in the writing cave with an obscenely large mug of tea. When not writing, she can be found pursuing her PhD in Linguistics, watching classic British comedy, or concocting evil schemes in the secret laboratory in her attic.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Amazon

***From February 17th to 23rd, my fantasy novel The Book Of Shade will be 99 cents, a 78% discount on the usual Kindle price.***

Buy it on Amazon!

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Book Tour + #Giveaway: Emerge Beyond Circles by John Geers @JohnGeers @JaidisShaw

Title:   Emerge Beyond Circles

Author:   John Geers

Published:  January 7th, 2017

Genre:  Fantasy

Synopsis:  

Two couples from Madison, with entwined destinies, both seeking love, are connected by a single element: the ancient Siberian witch, Thuban-Pol. Her magic will either be their savior or their ruin.

Thuban-Pol is the latest in a lineage of Siberian witches. Their eternal aim is to guide humanity to true love. Their guiding tenet, “For love to bloom, these three endure: sacrifice, perseverance and suffering. But the greatest of these is suffering.”

Since the dawn of humanity, they have summoned countless couples, inflicting suffering with the intention to grow true love. They have never succeeded…but now they have their best opportunity in two couples from Wisconsin.

If they succeed, love will finally bloom for all of humanity, if the suffering inflicted on these couples doesn’t kill them first.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodReads

Excerpt from Emerge Beyond Circles by John Geers:

She patted the volume with the wood cut flower on the cover. "These rules, they put us at ease. The fences they built are too safe. Love constrained by rules is not love. Love is caribou in stampede, Salix in full summer whip. It is frost on a wisp of caribou moss. Love is as dark as Siberian winter and as rugged as Ural peaks. Consider the orbit of our star in the heavens, how dare we contrive rules to direct the path. The Kara Sea knows love. Waves batter and smash and settle to a tickle and are whipped to batter again, their cycle of passion is eternal. These are love. Can we apply rules to these? Are we not revealed as fools if we try? Draconis, we are revealed as fools! The time has come to put aside childish ways and deliver love to humanity."

About the Author:

John Geers drew inspiration to begin Emerge Beyond Circles from a dream he experienced.

Hours spent in the caffeinated air of his favorite coffeehouse proved to be the perfect place to complete the first book in the Eternal Coven Series.

John is a middle school literacy educator, where he inspires and is inspired by the writers of tomorrow. He is the founder and facilitator of his school’s Creative Writing Club. He is also a columnist for the online magazine Elephant Journal. He loves a good story, being on the water, and witty puns. He can be found hiking the wilderness, biking big hills, sipping dark coffee, and looking for a chair in the mall.

He loves a good story, shopping farmers markets, being on the water, and witty puns. He can be found hiking the wilderness, biking big hills, sipping dark coffee, and looking for a chair in the mall.

Amazon Author Page | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Website | Newsletter

Character Facebook Page

Giveaway Details:

There is an author sponsored tour wide giveaway. One Lucky winner will receive the following:

• Stuffed white tiger, print copy of Emerge Beyond Circles, and a $25 Amazon gift card.

Click this link to Enter:  http://www.johngeers.com/index.php/giveaways/emerge-beyond-circles-juniper-grove-book-solutions-giveaway/

Ends March 11, 2017 6:00 pm CST

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Cover Reveal: You Can't Hurry Love by Lee Kilraine @LeeKilraine @SDSXXTours

YOU CAN'T HURRY LOVE

by Lee Kilraine

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pub Date: 9/19/2017

In Climax, North Carolina, climbing the professional ladder means making the right connections. And Paxton Cates is about to form a partnership he never expected . . .

While his brothers have found their true loves, Paxton remains stubbornly single, and it’s not helping his career. Sure, he’s a successful lawyer, but to become a judge you’ve got to mingle with the right crowds—and without a partner at his side, he’s not getting enough invitations. He needs someone, and soon. Someone like Jolene Joyner . . .

Jolene, a local high school English teacher, has a history of driving Paxton crazy. She’s just too perfect—and she’s never let him forget it. But now Ms. Goody Two-Shoes is in trouble for the first time in her life, and she needs a lawyer. He’ll take her case—if she’ll play by his rules. Six months of socializing should do the trick—if they can convince everyone they’ve put aside their animosity and fallen madly in love. Then they can go their separate ways.

The only problem is that Jolene seems to have developed a taste for bad behavior . . . especially where Paxton is concerned. And instead of just a pretty partner in deception, he’s got himself a new client who’s anything but innocent . . .

Amazon * B&N * GooglPlay * Kobo * Apple

Lee Kilraine lives with her husband and children in the pine woods of North Carolina. When she isn't typing away on her computer with her golden retriever, Harley, at her feet, you might find her on her front porch swing plotting her next book while guarding her hydrangea bushes from the local gang of deer. Lee is a 2014 Golden Heart Finalist. She loves writing and reading stories with a Happily Ever After and if they make her laugh...well, that's perfect.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

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VBT + Review + #Giveaway: Age of Order by Julian North @GoddessFish

Age of Order

by Julian North

GENRE: Dystopian Young Adult/New Adult

BLURB:

What if the people who thought they were better than you… really were?

In this world, inequality is a science. Giant machines maintain order. And all people are not created equal.

Daniela Machado is offered a chance to escape the deprivation of Bronx City through a coveted slot at the elite Tuck School. There, among the highborn of Manhattan, she discovers an unimaginable world of splendor and greed. But her opportunity is part of a darker plan, and Daniela soon learns that those at society’s apex will stop at nothing to keep power for themselves. She may have a chance to change the world, if it doesn’t change her first.

Age of Order is a novel that explores the meaning of merit and inequality. Fans of the Hunger Games, Red Rising, and Divergent will enjoy this world of deception and intrigue, where the downtrodden must fight for a better future.

Excerpt:

The sky was vast. The glow of the city made all but the brightest stars invisible, but the black dome above us was no less magnificent for it. Alexander’s familiar trailed behind us like a flying metal dog.

“Thank you for agreeing to come with me,” he said.

“I’m surprised you asked me.”

We walked half a block before he answered. A soft breeze pushed us along, making our steps light and easy.

         

“I misjudged you when we first met. Not just you, but especially you. You reminded me of lessons I learned as I child… about looking within a person. And within myself. You certainly shouldn’t be surprised I asked you.”

“I’m not sure I understand. Why did you ask me, exactly?”

“Many reasons. But one is that you didn’t want to come.”

“Good plan.”

The street lights let me see the amused grin on his face. “Let me try to explain, if I can. I’m not as good with words as you are, and wary of giving offense.” He took another half a block to muster his thoughts. “Among the families I grew up with, and within my own, there is always the game. This competition to be more, have more, to seek position, status. I grew up living it. My father is a master of game, my sister… she is beyond that. In such a world, it is easy to forget there is another way.” I saw the moon in his irises. “It has been a very long time since I met someone who wanted nothing from me.”

My Review:

Daniela Machado lives in a world where the country has been divided into different classes of people. Not only have the people been divided but they all go to different schools and live in different places. People who live in Daniela’s part of the country cannot go to the rich part without a reason and permission.

Daniela is on the track team at the high school she attends and is the fastest runner on the team. Daniela loves running it helps her to deal with everyday life. Daniela has an older brother who has a disease called the Waste that only people from the lower class have. One of Daniela’s goals in life is to one day being able to get her brother the cure he needs.

So when Daniela is offered a scholarship to the Tuck Academy, a school in Manhattan she accepts. She has some issues with the offer and accepting but under the circumstances she has no choice. She knows deep down this will be the best thing for her and her brother because hopefully eventually it will get him the cure he needs before it is too late.

Daniela meets some very interesting people at the Tuck Academy some of who become her friends and some who do not. There is a lot of mysterious things going on at the academy and being the person she is Daniela has all intentions of finding out what the school and the people there are hiding and why they are hiding it.  

Come join Daniela and her new friends while they try to figure out what is going at the Tuck Academy and what they are going to do about it once they figure it all out. I love reading dystopian books and Age of Order takes the dystopian world to whole new level one which I enjoyed tremendously. I would love to read more about Daniela and the new world she has found herself in. 

Interview with Julian North

What inspired you to write Age of Order?

Age of Order was inspired by my experiences fighting to get my two young children into school in my adopted home of New York City. You could say that the book was born out of anger and frustration, then raised on glimmers of hope. What started out as a way to blow off steam evolved into a vessel to discuss the unfairness, inequality, and occasional brilliance I saw around me through my favorite medium: dystopian science-fiction.

Can you tell us a little bit about the next book(s) in Age of Order or what you have planned for the future?

Age of Order has a real ending, not a cliff hanger. If I don’t write a sequel, I don’t think anyone will hate me. I thought that it would be rather presumptuous for a new author and first novel to leave everyone hanging. However, I left plenty of room for the story to continue. Assuming reader want it, I’ll be thrilled to write all of the story, which should be 3-4 books. I’m also itching to write a fantasy novel.


Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Age of Order?

The story is told by Daniela Machado, a sixteen-year old girl from Bronx City—formerly a borough of New York. Daniela, like most people in her world, hasn’t had it easy: she’s lost most of her family, has few material possessions and has a ton of responsibilities. Yet she focuses on the bright lights in her life: friendship and being the best runner in Bronx City. When we meet her she’s an angry young woman, and she uses that anger. The events of the book test not only Daniela’s strength, but her sense of identity.

Nythan Royce is probably my favorite character. He gets the best lines, and his interest in 20^th Century science fiction books and film mirrors my own (I wonder how that happened?). He’s the voice that keeps people from taking themselves too seriously. He’s also one of the characters who still has lot of story to tell. We’ve barely scratched the surface of Nythan in Age of Order.

Alexander Foster-Rose-Hart. See that triple barreled name? That means he’s highborn. Alexander may be the epitome of the highborn, the product of two generations of genetic engineering (or double-sifted, as Nythan would say). A self-described man of honor, yet his world isn’t as simple as it appears.

Kristolan Foster-Rose-Hart. Think Regina George form Mean Girls, but with intelligence and genuine ambition. Another one of my favorites. It’s fun being Kristolan, most of the time.

There are many others. I can’t do any of them justice in a few sentences. Please go meet them for yourselves.

You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

Pierce Brown. The Red Rising books are bloodydamn awesome. They’ve got it all: characters, amazing dialogue, action, pace. I devour them as soon as they are released. It’s also great to see a young, first-time author find success.


If you could time-travel would you travel to the future or the past? Where would you like to go and why would you like to visit this particular time period?

It’s a tough call, but I’d opt for the future. My childhood dream was to go to outer space. It’s looking increasingly dubious as my hairline recedes. I’ve still got my fingers crossed for men like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Robert Bigelow to come through for me. But, to be “realistic,” I think a time machine may be my best bet to get up there.


Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

We live in an apartment in Manhattan which isn’t the best place for most pets, unfortunately. My only fuzzy friends are my children. At least they’re potty trained.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit with us today. 

AUTHOR BIO:

I’ve been writing since I could grab a pencil (remember those?). Then I had kids. Not much time for writing anymore. Until they started school… in New York City. I’m not from here, and the tumult of that experience inspired me. AGE OF ORDER grew from a diary of injustice. Now I write what I’m feeling, and let the rest flow from there. I hope you enjoy it. 

Please visit my website at www.juliannorth.com and join my book club to receive a free short story set in the same world as AGE OF ORDER.

Author Links:

Website ~ Goodreads

Giveaway:

$50 Amazon/BN GC
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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VBT + #Giveaway: Becoming Dragon by Eve Langlais @evelanglais @GoddessFish

Becoming Dragon

by Eve Langlais

GENRE: Contemporary Romance

BLURB:

Can he embrace the beast within?

I’m a monster. That’s what Brandon thinks when he flees the medical institute that changed him. Living a normal life isn’t in the cards for him because, while he can hide his scaly skin, his wings are hard to miss. So he runs and lives in the shadows where monsters belong. What he didn’t expect to find were others just like him, and they call themselves dragons. Or so Aimi with the violet eyes tells him when she pins him to the ground.

Seriously, though, dragons?

He doesn’t want to believe, but the evidence is mounting. Not helping his resolve is the fact that the woman with the silver hair doesn’t fear the monster and wants to claim him.

However, before he can think of his own happiness, he has to rescue his little sister. Uncle Theo kidnapped her, and Brandon will do anything to get her back, even if he must embrace the monster within to become the dragon.

Excerpt:

“What do you mean, what am I?” Her brow crinkled. “I am the same thing you are.” Her shoulders drew back, her head tilted imperially, and for a moment, shadowy wings glistened silver at her back. “We are dragon.”

At her serious claim, he gaped then snorted before he outright laughed.

“Why are you giggling?” She seemed perturbed at his reaction.

“Men don’t giggle. We guffaw. And I’m guffawing because that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard. I’m no dragon. I’m nothing anymore but a fucking mess.” Bitter words for a bitter fate.

AUTHOR BIO:

A New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

Hello, my name is Eve. I’m a stay at home mom who writes full time in between juggling my three kids, hubby, and housework, I write hot romance with a bit of a twist. I like strong alpha males, naked chests and shifters. Lots of different breeds of shifters. I am also extremely partial to aliens, you know the kind who abduct their woman and then drive them insane…with pleasure of course.I love to write, and while I don’t always know what my mind is going to come up with next, I can promise it will be fun, probably humorous and most of all romantic, because I love a happily ever after.

Author Links:

Facebook ~ Website ~ Twitter

Buy Links:

Website

Giveaway:

$50 Amazon/BN GC – 1 Winner 

Print copy of Becoming Dragon (international giveaway) – 3 Winners

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