Blog Tour Excerpt & Giveaway: Magnolia by Krisi Cook

Welcome to my tour stop for Magnolia by Kristi Cook! You can see my review here. Scroll on down for the book and author info, excerpt, and the fabulous giveaway!

Magnolia

by Kristi Cook

YA Contemporary
Hardcover, 384 Pages
August 5th 2014 by Simon & Schuster

Summary

In Magnolia Branch, Mississippi, the Cafferty and Marsden families are southern royalty. Neighbors since the Civil War, the families have shared vacations, holidays, backyard barbecues, and the overwhelming desire to unite their two clans by marriage. So when a baby boy and girl were born to the families at the same time, the perfect opportunity seemed to have finally arrived.

Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden have no intention of giving in to their parents’ wishes. They’re only seventeen, for goodness’ sake, not to mention that one little problem: They hate each other! Jemma can’t stand Ryder’s nauseating golden-boy persona, and Ryder would like nothing better than to pretend stubborn Jemma doesn’t exist.

But when a violent storm ravages Magnolia Branch, it unearths Jemma’s and Ryder’s true feelings for each other as the two discover that the line between love and hate may be thin enough to risk crossing over.

    

Excerpt

“Look,” he says, pointing toward the sky. “Right there—that’s Venus. Just above and to the right of the moon. See it?”

I release my knees and brace my hands against the ground as I gaze up at the spot he’s indicating—at what looks like a bright, twinkling star. “That’s Venus? You sure?”

He nods. “And see that, up higher and off to the left? That’s Saturn.”

“Cool,” I say. “You were always good with that stuff—stars and planets.” He’d spent our entire childhood pointing out constellations in the night sky that I could never quite make out—things that were supposed to look like bears or dragons or what have you. To me they were just…stars.

For a moment we just sit there silently, our heads tipped back as we stare at the sky. A minute passes, maybe two. And then Ryder’s hand grazes mine before settling on the ground, our pinkies touching.

I suck in a breath, my entire body going rigid. I’m wondering if he realizes it, if he even knows he’s touching me, when just like that, he draws away.

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About the Author

As a child, Kristi Cook took her nose out of a book only long enough to take a ballet class (or five) each week. Not much has changed since then, except she’s added motherhood to the mix and enjoys penning her own novels as much as reading everybody else’s. A transplanted southern gal, Kristi lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

That’s the official version–here are some other fun facts:

~ As an undergrad, I majored in History and minored in English at the University of Southern Mississippi. While at Southern Miss, I was a member of Phi Mu sorority, and I was a Dixie Darling. And yep, Brett Favre was our quarterback at the time!

~ I studied American History in grad school at Columbia University. I *love* history, especially the Civil War era (U.S.) and Regency- and Edwardian-era British history.

~ My all-time favorite book *and* movie is GONE WITH THE WIND. My favorite literary characters are Rhett Butler, Atticus Finch, and Mr. Darcy. I kind of want to add Peeta Mellark to that list!

~Weirdly enough (or maybe not so weirdly?) I’m also a big fan of STAR TREK (the original series). I never can remember if I’m supposed to call myself a “Trekkie” or a “Trekker,” though!

    

Tour-Wide Giveaway

Win (1) $25 gift card to an online bookstore of choice (Amazon or B&N) plus an entire paperback set of the Winterhaven series (Haven, Mirage, and Eternal) [INT]
a Rafflecopter giveaway