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Beware the Night by Jessika Fleck
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Release Date: March 12th 2019
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
When her world divides, pitting light against dark, Veda must join a dangerous revolution to save her grandfather and fight against injustice...even if it costs her the boy she loves.
On the island of Bellona, life is peaceful--as long as the citizens dutifully worship the Sun, which protects them from all harm. Seventeen-year-old Veda knows that keeping the Sun happy will protect her and her grandfather from the Night, the dangerous people who snatch innocent citizens from their beds under the cover of darkness, never to be seen again. As long as Veda follows the rules, she will be safe.
But when Veda's grandfather is offered up as the next sacrificial offering to keep the Sun's favor, she starts to see that the safety she's been promised comes at a dangerous price. Maybe there is more to fear above than there is below.
With a mysterious young man, Dorian, at her side, Veda has to figure out if the scary bedtime stories she grew up hearing are real -- or dangerous lies.
Book Links:
Book Praise:
“The author has a true voice. Veda is interesting and has depth. Fleck writes in layers, leaving nothing unsurfaced.” — Tricia Norling
“I love it and I'm desperate to read the next one! It's like a cross between The Hunger Games and Divergent.” — BirdBeast03
“A gripping read, start to finish. The world-building feels whole, the action is fast-paced, and I can't wait to read more from this author!” — Daisy
Excerpt:
He jumps. Despite knowing what he knows and despite his hands are tied, Vance jumps. He flails and sputters at the water’s surface.
The door, our window down the Offering Canal that leads to the Great Sea, is cranked closed. The ear-piercing scraping of metal on metal, overtakes the silent dome, accenting the small boy’s last moments.
Vance barely makes it past the edge of the island, his lifeless body carried by the current out to open water.
As the door closes and the canal drains, the crowd stands, applauding, praising the day’s Offering.
Forcing my eyes to swallow back tears, I stand out of respect, expectation, but can’t begin to bring my hands together. I scan the blurred faces across the dome from me, straining to find Nico. But it’s no use, there are too many to sift through.
This is the first Offering I’ve attended without him by my side in longer than I care to remember. I realize having Nico near had kept me calm. An empty hopelessness consumes me, the weight of the world, or maybe just that of a five-year-old boy, folds my chest in on itself.
I glance up toward the High Regent’s balcony to gauge his reaction. He’s vanished.
10 Random Facts about Beware the Night
First off, I’m so thrilled to be here at A Book Addict’s Bookshelves—thank you so much for having me and for being a stop on the Beware the Night blog tour!
Now, here’s 10 Random (and hopefully fun) Facts about Beware the Night:
1. Beware the Night was originally titled THE OFFERING.
2. In the first version of the story, Veda had a ferret sidekick named Fin. He was written
out of the book during revisions because my editor felt it made the story feel too young.
I wasn’t sure how Veda would fare without her trusty companion, but it was definitely the
right call. As a character, Veda grew so much minus Fin who, apparently, had been stealing
her thunder. For fun, here’s an excerpt from when Fin was always on Veda’s heels.
“At my feet sits Fin. He looks up at me with desperate eyes. I drop two of the tiny fish in his mouth. He crunches them with delight, licking the crisp scales from his pointed ferret’s teeth.
“You squirrel,” I say, lifting the little animal to my chest and tilting my nose to his. Tiny puffs of fish breath hit my face.
Behind Fin’s head, I catch a glimpse of first day’s light as the Sun peels away from the dark blue
horizon, a faint line of yellow beginning to show.
I jerk the hood of my shawl over my already hat covered head, the movement interrupting Fin’s exaggerated
yawn, the sides of his mouth quivering as his ears perk up.
“You coming?”
Fin answers by scrambling from my arms and into my coat pocket. He’s a runt, filling the space
perfectly when balled into himself.”
3. The fictional herbal relaxant, moonroot, used to make teas and, when concentrated,
sedatives also shows up in my debut book, The Castaways.
4. Beware the Night went through a whopping SIX major revision passes. Basically, my
editor is a saint and thank the heavens for coffee and chocolate!
5. On love triangles: When I started writing the sequel to Beware the Night (title to be
announced soon), I wasn’t sure exactly who, if either Nico or Dorian, Veda would ultimately
end up with. Hint: I do now… :evil giggle:
6. The island of Bellona was originally the island of Chelatia and there wasn’t only one island
but a cluster of eight islands. This proved too logistically challenging, so I shrunk it down to
one single island.
7. The sequel to Beware the Night is written in dual point of view. The end of Beware the Night
heavily hints at exactly who’s POVs it will be told in.
8. I sporadically placed Easter eggs in Beware the Night for my twelve-year-old daughter who is in love with the fantastic Cartoon Network show, Steven Universe.
9. Not everyone realizes this, but Swoon Reads does this amazing thing where they have their
readers vote on covers. Originally, Beware the Night was given three equally magical cover
sketches illustrated by the talented Elen Winata for voting. I literally gasped when I opened
that email and would have been thrilled with any of them! (Though, I’ll admit, my absolute fave was the one that was chosen.)
10. Beware the Night just received its first editorial review and it was a coveted
STARRED review from the School Library Journal (SLJ). I’m still in awe!!!
About the Author
Jessika Fleck is an author, unapologetic coffee drinker, and knitter
— she sincerely hopes to one day discover a way to do all three at once. Until then, she continues collecting vintage typewriters and hourglasses, dreaming of an Ireland getaway, and convincing her husband they NEED more kittens. Her YA debut, THE CASTAWAYS (Entangled TEEN), is now available. Her next YA novel, BEWARE THE NIGHT (Swoon Reads/Macmillan) releases March 12, 2019.
More at www.jessikafleck.com.
Author Links:
To come.
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