"WORDS ARE, IN MY NOT-SO-HUMBLE OPINION, OUR MOST INEXHAUSTIBLE SOURCE OF MAGIC. CAPABLE OF BOTH INFLICTING INJURY, AND REMEDYING IT." ~ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

Monday, January 17, 2011

A Brush Of Darkness=A Brush Of Awesomeness (ARC Giveaway)

The man of her dreams might be
the cause of her nightmares...
Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.

When I had the opportunity to grab an ARC of A Brush of Darkness, I jumped at it! Not only did the premise sound super fun, but if you've ever read Allison's blog, or had any conversations with her, you already know how sweet and sassy she is. I figured there was a good chance I'd love her book--and I did :)

Let's start with Abby, the main character. She's absolutely snarktastic--with the perfect slice of hidden vulnerability. Her voice carries humor and sarcastic undercurrents that pull you right into her character. 

Exhibit A: 
"Heaven knew just about every angel I'd ever met damn near had a stick up his ass. And really? However pretty the daemon girls are, it's almost a guarantee they're going to come back and eat your soul one dark night, and who wants to deal with that?"
And that's just one, small snippet. The entire book is filled with that kind of goodness. Abby is totally bad ass, has blue and pink stripes in her hair (can you say jealous? I can!), while at the same time--she can't even make an omelet. How could you not love her?

She's not the only kick-ass character either. She has this amazing group of girl friends. Melanie St. James--a fiddler whose violin makes magic music. Katy--17yo with a spine of steel determined to push her way into the world of OtherFolk. Charlie--an angel's touchstone, and, yanno, girlfriend :)

Plus, add to the cast a werewolf bartender, a miniature unicorn (who turned out to be one of my favorite characters), daemons who play World of Warcraft, a missing Elven princess, and groups like Pixies for PETA--you've got one hell of an awesome book. Especially because all of the secondary and minor characters have their own stories. Each and every one of them. I can't wait find out what happens next with Abby--but I also can't wait to follow the stories of the rest of the cast.

Hm. Now, what am I missing?

Oh that's right. 

Brystion.

*sigh*

Ridiculously sexy, brooding Brystion. An incubus encased in mystery and filled with dark secrets. The chemistry he rocks with Abby is out of this world. Also? Um, wow. In YA you find these hot and sometimes sweet steamy scenes. In adult? Well, things are on a whole new level. A Brush of Darkness takes a look at the word "steamy" and laughs. Because in Allison's book? It's all about the BLAZING scenes. Holy hotness. Prepare to blush.

The plot is fast-paced and packed with humor and suspense. The world is built expertly, and is (even more important, imo) believable--with the paranormal living both in and out of the real world.  


I absolutely can't wait for the next book in the series. 


And the ones after that. 


A Brush of Darkness releases on January 25th--but if you leave a comment on today's post with your email address, you might win the ARC I have to give away! Contest closes this Friday (1/21), and is open to anyone in the US. 
(PS I *may* just have some bookmarks to give away as well! :)


You can also pre-order the book on Amazon, and find it HERE on Goodreads!!


Want to know more about Allison? Find her blog here, and twitter here


Go on--go check her out :) 

40 comments:

  1. Ahhh... I so want A Brush of Darkness ARC!!

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  2. Sounds fun! I like the idea of a miniature unicorn. I'd like to have one of those...
    dream(dot)traveling(at)gmail(dot)com

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  3. Sounds like an awesome read! Sign me up!

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  4. Yay! I love Allison. And a mini unicorn living in a drawer? WANT!

    Please sign me up. :)

    Hugs,
    Lola
    authorlolasharp (at) g mail (dot com)

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  5. Allison is the sauce of awesome. I loved her first chapter, like, hardcore. (I think it was "wangst" that got me. For serious.)

    I don't need the ARC, 'cause I'll buy my own copy when it comes out, but...yay for almost being at release day! :D

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  6. I have this on pre-order, but I would love to get it early!!

    Thanks!
    Katie
    bigferret at email dot com

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  7. I think I should win, because I have a super cute kitten. You already know my e-mail.

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  8. Totally sold! This book sounds amazing, and just what I need. Thanks for the awesome review!
    meredithmoore5@gmail.com

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  9. This sounds like a great read!
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

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  10. I would love to read it, it sounds really good.
    twoofakind12@yahoo.com

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  11. OH wow, I did not know that this books of awesome was out there. It looks like a fantastic read. Maybe the heat on the pages can melt the snow that is keeping me stuck in the home this past week.

    terilhack at yahoo dot com

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  12. Ohh this looks like one nice adventure. It is raining a lot and I would love a new read, thank you for the opportunity.

    kasuranna at yahoo dot com

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  13. Free stuff is awesome! I'm in.

    Jeffsodaman@aol.com

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  14. Normally I wouldn't go in for this kind of romance, but this actually sounds really hilarious.

    mattmrush(at)gmail(dot)com

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  15. This sounds really good! Thanks for the giveaway.
    erinberry12 at charter dot net

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  16. I cannot WAIT to read this book, it sounds awesome!

    noxzimbyp [at] gmail.com

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  17. A miniature unicorn? That sounds adorable! And snarky commenting through-out? Is Allison Pang stalking me?

    I'm in!

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  18. Oh, this sounds fun! I would really love to get lost in another world right now. :)

    jgbeads(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. This sounds like a good book. I'd love to read it.

    jlynettes @ hotmail . com

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  20. Ohmygosh this sounds AMAZING! Pink & Purple hair? Werewolf bartender? WoW!? Must...have...now!

    hornbowler@netscape.net

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  21. This sounds like an amazing read. I was hooked from mini-unicorn in the underwear drawer. I have had some interesting things in my drawer, but never a unicorn.

    Plus, I love a snarky herione.

    heatwave96(at)hotmail.com

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  22. I would love to be entered. Thanks for the giveaway.

    lizzi0915 at aol dot com

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  23. A Brush of Darkness sounds fantastic! I'm totally interested! Thank you for the giveaway :)

    piratepenguinreads(at)gmail(dot)com

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  24. This is awesome! I would love to be entered in this drawing.

    macmomma2099 at yahoo dot com

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  25. Sounds great. Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to checking it out.

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

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  26. Been seeing this book around lately and have to admit the cover is pretty appealing and it sounds very interesting!! I am so in!

    jessbess2505[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  27. This is on my TBR and has been since I first read the blurb. Here's hoping I win!

    stephanie AT stephaniemloree DOT com

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  28. This sounds freaking awesome \O/

    If I don't win the ARC, it's definitely going on my To Buy list.

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  29. Yay! I met Allison at RWA; she's so nice and funny!

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  30. Looking forward to getting to know this shifted reality and all the players.

    linze_e at hotmail.com

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  31. OK, I'm hooked! I want it!

    pattyblount3 at gmail dot com

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  32. This sounds like a great book and great giveaway thank you very much!
    tishajean@ charter.net

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  33. I've always wanted a miniature unicorn.
    You already know my email. Yay for Allison's book release!

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  34. I'm suspicious... but I'd if I win and it's good then that would be good heh~~

    snifflykitty@gmail.com

    Sniffly Kitty
    Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books
    Loving the Reviews Challenge

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  35. "a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer" Love it! I loved unicorns as a kid.

    meredithfl at gmail dot com

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  36. Sounds awesome! Rachelharris1@gmail.com

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  37. Abby Sinclair seems like a great heroine and I love the descriptions of some of those secondary characters! Thanks for the info and chance to win!
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

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  38. Man, it's been ages since I've read an adult novel. It's kind of pathetic. Allison's book sounds like a fab read with a kickass heroine. Great review! Daemons and miniature unicorns? Sold.

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Yay! I love when you have things to add :)