Cover Reveal - "Runners and Riders" (Treasure Chronicles #2.5) by Jordan Elizabeth

Runners & Riders

Companion to the Treasure Chronicles

A young adult novel of gangs and love in a steampunk world.

Thank you, Eugene Teplitsky, for this radiant cover!

Juliet loved growing up at the seaside, although it meant lonely hours chasing after the other beach rats while her mother worked as a seamstress. Juliet never expected her seaman father to inherit a fortune and move the family to New Addison City. Suddenly her mother is a socialite and Juliet is best friends with a strong-willed girl who actually likes her. When Juliet’s new friend welcomes her to the Runners, a gang that has plagued the East Coast for years, Juliet sees it as the opportunity to fit in, learn tricks, and make eyes at one of the hottest members. What the gang does isn’t really wrong…right? She’s used to being a pawn for the Runners, but she starts to question what she sees as harmless fun when the gang uses her to attack a young officer.

Jonathan Montgomery vowed to end the Runners after they murdered his family. He joined the Riders, an elite police force dedicated to stopping the Runners’ crime spree. They have put him in New Addison City, but rookie mistakes follow Jonathan as he struggles to accomplish his goal, until a young woman feeds him inside information to bring down the Runners. 

Between murders and secrets, Juliet will need to find her strength to help Jonathan, before the founder of the Runners crawls up from the sewers amongst her inventions to burn down the city.

RUNNERS & RIDERS will be available August 22 on Amazon from Curiosity Quills Press.

Check out early reviews on GoodReads!

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This story takes place after BORN OF TREASURE, featuring new characters in exciting new settings.  TREASURE DARKLY, book 1 of the Treasure Chronicles, is on sale for July 11^th and 12^th for 99 cents!  Grab your copy now from Amazon.

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Jordan Elizabeth became obsessed with steampunk while working at a Victorian Fair.  Since then, she’s read plenty of books and even organized a few steampunk outfits that she wears on a regular basis (unless that’s weird, in which case she only wears them within the sanctuary of her own home – not!). Jordan’s young adult novels include ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, COGLING, TREASURE DARKLY, BORN OF TREASURE, GOAT CHILDREN, and VICTORIAN.  RUNNERS & RIDERS is her fifth novel with Curiosity Quills Press.  Check out her website for bonus scenes and contests.  

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In honor of RUNNERS & RIDERS, enter for a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card so that you too can buy amazing steampunk paraphernalia!

Contest runs from July 11 to July 24.

All winners will be notified after verification of entry at the end of this promotion.  Prizes have been supplied by and the responsibility of delivery are solely that of the author and/or their representatives. Blogs are not liable for non-delivery on the part of the author. No purchase necessary.

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"The Diviners" (The Diviners #1) by Libba Bray

Book Blurb (from Goodreads): Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.




My Review
I couldn't really get into the story. It was a good book after all, but in my opinion there was nothing that really kept me hooked to the story and made me want to keep on reading.
I believe that this book was set after World War 2 in America. Evie O'Neill is has just been kicked out of her small hometown and sent to New York City after a mysterious party trick she performed went wrong and earned her some enemies. However, Evie isn't any safer in New York. A series of gruesome murders take place and Evie decides to help her Uncle solve the case along with some of her new friends.
It is already made clear from the start of the book that Evie and several other characters have mysterious powers that are best kept hidden. There are quite a lot of different characters in this book, which is part of the reason for the frequent perspective change. However, I found some perspectives more interesting than others. I liked Evie's perspective the most because it was the most interesting and there was more going on, meaning that the plot moved on a lot faster with Evie. Theta and Memphis' perspective bored me on the other hand. I would stop reading when their perspective came up or power through until I finally reached Evie's perspective again.
The main characters became better as the plot progressed. Evie was definitely very annoying and selfish at the beginning. All he wanted to do was partying and she didn't pay attention or listen to her Uncle Will. However, as the murders continued, I noticed that Evie's character changed. She became more serious and mature and handled dangerous situations very well. She was still kind of annoying when she acted childish and cared too much about her image. I also really liked the characters Will and Jericho. Jericho has a very interesting backstory, which is gradually revealed towards the end of the book. The other characters were also alright but didn't really interest me, which is why I didn't connect with them.
All in all, I didn't feel like the writing style captivated me, especially at the beginning. However, the story did progressively become more interesting the further along I got in the book. It took me quite a while to finish this book. I eventually got used to the characters, but they did annoy me at the beginning. I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.