{Excerpt+G!veaway} Ward Against Death by Melanie Card

Welcome to my stop on the Ward Against Death Blog Tour and Scavenger Hunt!

I loved Ward Against Death so much. My review is coming up later today. 

Ward Against Death ( Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer #1) by Melanie Card

Blurb:Twenty-year-old Ward de’Ath expected this to be a simple job—bring a nobleman’s daughter back from the dead for fifteen minutes, let her family say good-bye, and launch his fledgling career as a necromancer. Goddess knows he can’t be a surgeon—the Quayestri already branded him a criminal for trying—so bringing people back from the dead it is.
 But when Ward wakes the beautiful Celia Carlyle, he gets more than he bargained for. Insistent that she’s been murdered, Celia begs Ward to keep her alive and help her find justice. By the time she drags him out her bedroom window and into the sewers, Ward can’t bring himself to break his damned physician’s Oath and desert her.
 However, nothing is as it seems—including Celia. One second, she’s treating Ward like sewage, the next she’s kissing him. And for a nobleman’s daughter, she sure has a lot of enemies. If he could just convince his heart to give up on the infuriating beauty, he might get out of this alive…

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes and noble

Add book 2 Ward Against Darkness(Chronicles of a Reluctant Necromancer #2)  coming out in June 2013!

Blurb:

The last thing Ward de'Ath wants is more trouble. On the run from both the law and the criminal underworld, Ward and Celia flee Brawenal City only to stumble into the mansion of a powerful evil necromancer. And when Ward discovers the man possesses a dangerous grimoire, his duty leaves him no choice. He can't allow the necromancer to keep the grimoire. But the mansion is filled with monsters--human and undead--and Ward has no way of telling who's friend or foe. The only person he can trust is Celia who dominates more of his thoughts and feelings everyday. But there are still laws in the way of anything but friendship. She's still dead and he's still alive . . . for now.

_____________________________________________________

Chapter 1 part 5

A cricket gave a shrill chirp.

 “Excuse me?” What an insensitive thing to say. She’d just said she’d been murdered.

Her expression softened. She knelt before him and cupped his chin in her hands. “I need your help.”

“You what?” He’d barely worked his mind around the thought that she’d been murdered, and now she wanted help. His help. No. This was all wrong. She was all wrong. One moment she was suspicious, the next begging for help.

Her bottom lip quivered. She was so close, her breath caressed his forehead, and her subtle, heady perfume intoxicated him. Was it roses or lilacs? It was difficult to keep his thoughts straight. He’d never had such a beautiful woman pay this kind of attention to him before.

“Please. The Goddess sent you to me. She must have.” She grabbed his hand and held it tight. “There isn’t much time. My father will discover we’re gone and...” A single tear traced a line down her cheek.

His head swam, a wave of dizziness numbing all sensation, as if he was suspended in a dream. A beautiful, mesmerizing fantasy, but her words didn’t fit. There was something wrong with them; he just couldn’t concentrate enough to figure out what that was. It seemed preposterous she’d ask him for help.

“You were ill,” he said, one final, weak protest.

“I wasn’t, and you know it. Do I look ill?”

He shook his head, although she also didn’t look as if she’d been beaten, or strangled, or stabbed. Some illnesses showed no signs or symptoms, but as soon as he thought it, he knew it wasn’t true.

“Please. My father is sly,” she said as if reading his thoughts.

“Probably a rare poison, but I need proof.”

He swallowed. It broke his heart to say it, but she had to know the truth. “You’ll only be awake for fifteen minutes.”

“I can prove it.” Her eyes shimmered with more tears.

Goddess, how could he say no?

Melanie Card: I have always been drawn to storytelling. In fact, I can't remember a time when I wasn't telling a story in my head or on paper. In grade school, we had journal writing time which I turned into story telling time, weaving tales of magic and adventure that mimicked the fairy tales and myths that I loved to read. It was there, with the help of two very special teachers, that I nurtured this love and started my journey as a writer.

I write fantasy, paranormal romance, and everything in between, seasoned with a good dash of adventure and mystery. Join me on my tales of magic, adventure, and romance.

Where you can find her:

Website: http://melaniecard.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/melaniecard

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/melanie.card.37?fref=ts

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4970892.Melanie_Card

Follow the whole tour:

12/31 K-Books  http://k-booksxo.blogspot.com  Ch 1 part 1

1/1  Tynga's Reviews http://www.tyngasreviews.com/  Review

1/1  Fiktshun   http://www.fiktshun.com/  Ch 1 part 2

1/3  Always YA At Heart   http://www.alwaysyaatheart.com/ Review

1/4  Bibliophilia Please   http://bibliophiliaplease.blogspot.com/   Ch 1 part 3

1/7  Refracted Light   www.refractedlightreviews.com  Q&A with Celila and Ward

1/8  Chapter by Chapter   www.chapter-by-chapter.com   Ch 1 part 4

1/9  Book Briefs   http://bookbriefs.blogspot.com/   Ch 1 part 5

1/10  Rants & Scribbles   http://rantsnscribbles.blogspot.com   Review

1/11  My Life With Books   http://www.jenkjovus.com/   Ch 1 part 6

A Ward Against Death Prize Pack including:

A Signed copy of Ward Against Death

A Mug

A tote bag

9 copies of the eBook of Ward Against Death

If you enjoyed this post, please Subscribe to Book Briefs in a reader a Rafflecopter giveaway