Blog Tour Excerpt & Giveaway: The Prophecy of Arcadia by M. H. Soars


Welcome to my tour stop for The Prophecy of Arcadia by M. H. Soars!
You can read an excerpt below, but first here's the book info...

The Prophecy of Arcadia
(Arcadian Wars #1)
by M. H. Soars
YA SciFi
January 17th 2014                  

Summary

Being a teenager is tough, especially when you have to pretend to be something you’re not, and you’re in love with someone you shouldn’t. 115 years ago, a small planet called Arcadia was invaded by a vicious alien race and nearly destroyed. Cut off from their resources, the Arcadians turned to Earth for help. A group of Arcadian explorers discovered a Prophecy that claimed their salvation lay in the hands of two children from Earth. To ensure their safety, the Arcadian Council sent their most gifted youngsters to Earth to act as protectors. Samantha is one of them.

To succeed in her mission she must learn to control her Arcadian powers and keep her true identity from her best friend, and the girl she swore to protect, Alexia. But Samantha will soon realize that nothing is as it seems. Someone is trying to prevent the Prophecy from taking place and the prophecy boy hasn't been found yet. There is also a new drug circulating at school that is turning students into freakishly strong menaces.

To make matters worse, distractions keep getting in her way. Such as her love/hate relationship with her “cousin” Matthew. Or her confused feelings toward popular and mysterious Julian. She wants nothing more than to be free to live her life. But the survival of Arcadia depends on her and her friends. Free will is not an option.

 

Excerpt

“You all must be guessing why I requested a meeting this morning,” Gary said in a good mood, and I wondered why he was so cheeky at 6 a.m. He ignored the grunts he received in response.

The boys still wore their PJs and were suffering from a collective case of awful bed hair. I was the last to arrive -- not surprisingly, since I was the only one in the house who had bothered to change clothes and brush my hair.

The need to look somewhat presentable put me in a less than comfortable situation when the only seat left in Gary’s spacious office was next to Matthew. Considering the situation between us, I might have hoped the others would be more thoughtful and not make me sit next to him. No such luck.

I avoided making eye contact with Matthew as I took my seat on the big leather couch, putting maximum space between us. He shifted in his seat uneasily.

Gary’s office was a mix of contradictory influences. It had several pieces that could easily belong to a very conservative law firm, like the massive mahogany desk and the button tufted, classic leather sectional sofa in dark brown. His chair had a classic design too but it was in neon green leather, and the paintings hurt the eyes if you stared at them for too long. It was like two different people had decorated the office. The result would make an interior designer have a seizure.

I focused my attention on Gary sitting behind his desk, and waited for him to explain why we had been summoned for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Alexia, our charge, was coming to Santa Barbara to spend her summer vacation with us and as usual, we had gone through a debriefing the day before.

As the Prodigies, we had been appointed since birth to be her protectors. However, unlike the majority of our fellow Arcadians, our abilities hadn’t started to manifest until very recently. The appointment had been more symbolic than anything else. This year, however, things would change.

Sean yawned loudly and received an instant glare from his twin brother in return. Not that he cared. My own twin sister, Mia, smiled sympathetically at Zach, which prompted him to soften his countenance.

“I’m pretty sure you must have a good reason for the meeting.” Matthew replied to Gary’s earlier statement, and I looked over at him. He was impossibly good looking, even with disheveled hair.

He sensed me staring and glanced my way, eyebrows furrowed. I felt heat rush to my cheeks and looked away.

Gary stood up and started to pace in front of us. “I just received word from the Council that Melanie must remain in Arcadia until she completes her training.”

“Why?” I asked. A sliver of dread pierced my heart. Since our abilities started to manifest we had taken turns going to Arcadia for training, but we never stayed more than a few days.

“Do you know how long it will take?” Zach asked before Gary could answer my question.

Gary stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Who knows? But don’t worry about it. I’m sure she’ll be back in a jiff.”

A typical Gary response, I thought as I tried to hide my annoyance. Sometimes I wondered why Gary, with his carefree personality, had been appointed to be our mentor. And the Council wondered why we didn’t take our roles more seriously. It was kind of hard to relate with the tragedy of our planet when we had never lived on it, and the person who should be guiding us treated everything like a joke.

About the Author

M. H. Soars is what we like to call a United Nations child. She was born in the United States but grew up in several different countries which gave her a broader perspective of life. She has always been passionate about books and stories and at a certain point had a comic book series going. 

With a background in fashion design she always thought she was going to follow that path. But the characters in her head kept begging to be set free. So she decided to write their stories. A couple of years and a baby later, the first installment of her Arcadian Wars series is finally done.

M. H. Soars currently resides in New Mexico with her husband and baby daughter. She loves to read novels in the YA, PNR, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, and Chick Lit genres. When not devouring said novels, you may find her shopping online (she's an expert), blogging about fashion, or trying to teach her daughter to walk (even though she's too young for that).


Giveaways

There are two giveaways. The first is run by me and the second is the tour-wide giveaway. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

17 comments

  1. Thanks for the excerpt and the giveaway!

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  2. Sounds like a good one...have you read it? Or am I going to make that comment and see on the next post that you have a review :)...Thanks for sharing :)

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  3. I'm excited about Midnight Thief…it sounds soooo good! I'm assuming an enemies turned to love story, which I love. Great pick! ~Pam

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  4. I desperately want to read Midnight Thief. It looks sooo good. I love anything to do with knights &

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  5. This book looks great thanks for the giveaway.

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  6. I'm so looking forward to both of these!!!

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  7. I'll have to let you know. I'm working on it. :)

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  8. They do sound great! Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. I'm looking forward to seeing what you think. I need to stop by - another catching up thing I have on my list.

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  10. Thanks, Jenea. I hope they meet expectations.

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  11. I love those types too. Hopefully we'll both love it, Pam!

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  12. Me too. Some of my favorite series are with assassins.

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  13. Lol! Haven't read this one. I don't even have a review copy. I'll have to see about eventually getting one. :)

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  14. I'll give all the credit to the tour host and author. :)

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