BLOG TOUR: Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans

Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for Reign & Ruin, the first in her Mages of the Wheel series, by J.D. Evans! On our tour stop today, we have an exclusive excerpt AND a couple of author-hosted giveaways to share! Be sure to check it out and grab your copy now!

Genre:

New Adult

Epic Fantasy

Series:

Mages of the Wheel, #1

Publish Date:

January 23, 2020

Publisher:

Whippoorwill Press LLC

Synopsis:

“All magic is beautiful,” she said, “and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.”

She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy.

She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people.

His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war.

Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion.

They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm…

Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning.

   

*FREE o Kindle Unlimited*

*Excerpt*

Naime rose up on her knees and pressed her mouth softly to his, her breath held, slipping her hands to rest on his shoulders. She pulled immediately away, unsure. 

“I don’t know how.”

Makram slid off the trunk, landing on his knees in front of her, wrapping his arm around her waist to draw her against him.

“I know you don’t.” He brushed his mouth over the bridge of her nose, then her cheek, then her brow, burning her with the tenderness of it. “I know I shouldn’t touch you or let you touch me. I shouldn’t speak to you, I shouldn’t look at you.” 

“But I like all of those things,” she protested breathlessly, her mind fogged. 

“I can’t stop,” he said. “I am trying and failing.”

“Then,” she began, tingles of anticipation and shyness arcing across her lips and down her throat, “teach me.”

“Yes, Sultana.” The pupils of his eyes broke open, spilling black night across the irises. 

Her pulse roared, her mouth went dry, and she breathed a halfhearted murmur of apprehension. Her parents had loved each other, but Naime had never expected that to be her fate. She had always imagined any kiss she experienced would be two people who barely liked each other pressing lips together for awkward moments of silence and the benefit of others. 

She had not imagined she would feel the clutch of desire that stole her breath.

His first kiss was brief and fierce, the softness of his mouth laid over hers, warmth and little shocks of sensation bursting all over her body, not just where his lips touched hers. Then he pulled back and rubbed his mouth over hers before concentrating first on her lower lip then her top with gentle, coaxing pressure. Naime gave the same in kind, trying to match his pace and focus on him without being made useless by sensation.

He tipped his head, pressing the same kisses along her jaw, and her throat, and the shivers that slipped across her skin were indiscernible from those caused by the cold. She gasped, her arms sliding around his neck to prevent herself falling backwards under his ministrations, and he returned his mouth to hers, less gently. His stubbled jaw abraded her skin, a shocking contrast to the wet, warm stroke of his mouth, then his tongue. 

She had never understood when she saw people lurking in corners and alcoves, had thought it all unseemly and nauseating. But now she understood. She did not know how she would ever stop thinking of this, of sharing breath and longing and touches so intimate they were unbearable and yet not enough. Naime’s hands flew to his neck, her nails digging against his nape, clinging as much as she was pleading, afraid and enraptured by every emotion and sensation that swept over her. Her entire world collapsed in and existed only in the places they touched. 

Makram parted from her but did not draw back, only tipped his face to nuzzle hers as his breath slid out in a slow stream. 

“You aren’t finished?” she said against his jaw. “I was just beginning to get the hang of it.” 

He breathed a laugh. “I am finished. You’ve ended me.” 

 

~~~~~

**About the Author**

J.D. Evans writes science fiction and fantasy romance and is the author of the novel, Reign & Ruin. After earning her degree in linguistics, J.D. served a decade as an army officer. She once spent her hours putting together briefings for helicopter pilots and generals. Now she writes stories, tends to a tiny human, knits, sews badly, gardens, and cultivates Pinterest Fails. After a stint in Beirut, J.D. fell in love with the Levant, which inspired the setting for her debut series, Mages of the Wheel.

J.D. currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, though she will always be a Montana girl at heart.

Stay connected with J.D. Evans

    

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***

Note: Not Responsible for Lost & Damaged Prizes in Your Mail Box

Get the details on J.D. Evans' Giveaways on Goodreads and Facebook,

HERE!

Goodreads   Facebook

Blog Tour Organized by

RELEASE DAY BLITZ: Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans

Today, we are celebrating the release of Reign & Ruin, the first in her Mages of the Wheel series, by J.D. Evans! To celebrate this book birthday, we have an exclusive excerpt AND a couple of author-hosted giveaways! Be sure to check it out and grab your copy now!

Genre:

New Adult

Epic Fantasy

Series:

Mages of the Wheel, #1

Publish Date:

January 23, 2020

Publisher:

Whippoorwill Press LLC

Synopsis:

“All magic is beautiful,” she said, “and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.”

She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy.

She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people.

His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war.

Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion.

They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm…

Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning.

   

*FREE o Kindle Unlimited*

*Excerpt*

“It’s subtle,” he said, “but I get the sense I’ve upset you.” His midnight eyes were bright and wild with energy from his fighting, his face flushed, his breath still quick. He was close enough to touch, and she clasped her hands in front of her. That was the extent of her self-control, and her gaze slid from his fierce expression to his bared torso. Naime had never been so close to a man who wasn’t fully clothed, outside of Ihsan while he was recovering from his burns. 

She had seen men without their caftans, in the fields, at the docks. But this was wholly different. He was different. A warrior, attested to by the hash-work of scars on his golden skin. Naime wondered at them, a thin one across his chest, a thicker, short line over his ribs, and a long, curved one that disappeared into his salvar. The entire expanse of her skin felt as if it were on fire. 

Naime cut her gaze away from his body and caught sight of the Viziers, huddled just outside the walkway that opened into the main courtyard. They were watching the two of them together, expressions pinched with suspicion.

“Do you have clothes?” Naime said, appalled that she’d been so preoccupied ogling him that she hadn’t considered the fact she was lurking in an archway with a half-naked man. 

“I am wearing clothes,” he said. Her gaze whipped to his, and her shame deepened to see the pleased expression on his face. Of course he was aware of her attention, she had been as obvious in her staring as her handmaids had. 

“More clothes.” Naime tried not to sound desperate, but the weak timbre of her voice gave her away.

“I do.” He reached up to swipe a hand across the back of his neck. A shower of sand fell to the stone floor between them and they both peered down. 

“In the future, wear them. And refrain from such inappropriate displays.” Naime managed to find some composure once she wasn’t looking at him.

“What exactly do you consider an inappropriate display, Sultana?” He almost laughed, but it came out as an impatient exhale instead.

“Tamar is a place of restraint and decorum, Agassi. You are more than welcome to spar with the guardsmen as long as Commander Ayan oversees it”—she pointed to Bashir—“and I would expect that you would not humiliate yourself by doing so half-clothed again. Certainly not in front of the Viziers. It will do you no favors in the Council Hall.”

“Humiliate myself,” the Agassi said, his voice flat with disbelief.

“It is offensive.” Naime gestured at him in a lame attempt to indicate his half-clothed state, then at the lingering Viziers. 

“Only in a place full of weak-bodied, self-important pacifists would sword practice count as humiliating. You find me offensive,” he said, “fine. There are few things I find more tiresome than someone who puts too much stock in pageantry and pretense. And you worship at the altar of pretense.” 

~~~~~

**About the Author**

J.D. Evans writes science fiction and fantasy romance and is the author of the novel, Reign & Ruin. After earning her degree in linguistics, J.D. served a decade as an army officer. She once spent her hours putting together briefings for helicopter pilots and generals. Now she writes stories, tends to a tiny human, knits, sews badly, gardens, and cultivates Pinterest Fails. After a stint in Beirut, J.D. fell in love with the Levant, which inspired the setting for her debut series, Mages of the Wheel.

J.D. currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, though she will always be a Montana girl at heart.

Stay connected with J.D. Evans

    

~~~~~

***The Giveaway***

Note: Not Responsible for Lost & Damaged Prizes in Your Mail Box

Get the details on J.D. Evans' Giveaways on Goodreads and Facebook,

HERE!

Goodreads   Facebook

Giveaways begin tomorrow, 1/24/2020!

Release Day Blitz Organized by

COVER REVEAL: Reign & Ruin by J.D. Evans

Today, we have a Cover Reveal to share for J.D. Evans’ Reign & Ruin, the first in her Mages of the Wheel series! To celebrate this reveal, we have a sneak peek with an exclusive excerpt and a book trailer! Check out the gorgeous cover and be sure to pre-order your copy today!

Genre:

New Adult

Epic Fantasy

Series:

Mages of the Wheel, #1

Publish Date:

January 23, 2020

Publisher:

Whippoorwill Press LLC

Synopsis:

“All magic is beautiful,” she said, “and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, or the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.”

She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy.

She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people.

His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war.

Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion.

They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm…

Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning.

   

*Excerpt*

Makram reacted to her touch by not reacting at all. His body remained tense, his eyes narrowed. Naime wondered if she’d offended him, and pulled her hand back, but he spun, catching her wrist. 

He held her hand up between them. “I am accustomed to being left to my own devices. We will both need to adjust to this, yes? To being allies?” 

Naime nodded. His thumb circled lightly against her palm. Some of the simple easiness of his presence in her space left. Expectant tension made her hyperaware of how their spaces interconnected, where their skin met, the roughness of his calloused thumb against skin that was tender and sensitive, how much distance there was between every part of her and every part of him. There was a pull she had not perceived before, as if the most natural thing in the world would be to step closer. 

“There is one thing.” His voice took on the same purr it had earlier. Naime felt too vulnerable without the shield of irritation she had kept between them. Without something to focus on that took her mind from the fact he was attractive, that when given the opportunity, he was kind and playful. 

“What?” Naime was appalled at the weakness of her own voice. 

“When this is over, I would like to call you by name.”

“That doesn’t seem like a very good idea.” 

“No, I don’t think it is.” 

But she wanted that, to hear him say her name, like they were friends. She had so few. In his eyes, void and oblivion leached outward in inky tendrils from his pupils. There was so much she wanted to know about him. About his magic. About Sarkum. 

“If you win, I will agree. But also…you will tell me everything I want to know about your magic.” She twisted her hand gently free of his grip and reached for his cheek, fascinated by the manifestation of his power. She stopped before she touched him, the spell broken by the suspicion that passed over his face. 

“No, your name is in exchange for me winning. If you want to know about my magic, then you have to offer something of equal value.” He turned his face a fraction, as if he meant to move it against her outstretched fingers, but did not.

“I am trusting you with all my dreams for the future. You don’t think you can trust me with this?”

“Is your name worth that much?” he asked as she lowered her hand to her side. 

“Only you can decide that.” She curled her hands in her caftan to prevent herself reaching for him again. 

“Well, I will have plenty of time to consider it as I prepare for this. Which reminds me that I need something else.” He scooped a handful of almonds from a plate and shook them in his fist. 

Naime raised her eyebrows in question. “It is yours, for your magic.”

He grinned, and tipped his head in agreement. “Rope.” He tossed a few of the almonds into his mouth. “And grappling hooks.”

~~~~~

**About the Author**

J.D. Evans writes science fiction and fantasy romance and is the author of the novel, Reign & Ruin. After earning her degree in linguistics, J.D. served a decade as an army officer. She once spent her hours putting together briefings for helicopter pilots and generals. Now she writes stories, tends to a tiny human, knits, sews badly, gardens, and cultivates Pinterest Fails. After a stint in Beirut, J.D. fell in love with the Levant, which inspired the setting for her debut series, Mages of the Wheel.

J.D. currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, though she will always be a Montana girl at heart.

Stay connected with J.D. Evans

    

Cover Reveal Organized by