Blog Blitz Bonanza-Awakening

Today, I’m participating in a blog blitz bonanza book launch for the intriguing story Awakening by author Elexis Bell. This bonanza hosted by Xpresso Book Tours includes a giveaway so be sure to participate. Keep reading to find out about this new book release.

Book & Author Details:

Awakening by Elexis Bell (The Regonia Chronicles, #1)
Publication date: February 20th 2024
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction

Synopsis:

Tortured by memories implanted by his captors, Krona knows only one thing. He must find Tenna, his partner, his Queen. She can’t be dead. But when Ricardo, one of his human guards, tells him she’s alive on another space station, the truth might be just as painful as their lies.

With her memories missing and her planet supposedly destroyed, Tenna struggles to acclimate to life among humans. Olivia, a spaceship pilot and hacker, does her best to help. When a guard shows up with an alien Tenna knows she’s seen before, it’s obvious things aren’t what they seem.

When they learn that family ties bind enemy and ally, Krona and Tenna can only hope the honor they see in their human friends is strong enough to overcome blood. Can they work together to save themselves, their minds, and their tribe? Or will they lose everything?

Get your copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Or read reviews and leave your thoughts on Goodreads.

Excerpt One:

Ricardo

I sit on the bench in Francis’ quarters, peering out the window at the black expanse of space. I pull my leg up
underneath me as she plops onto her bed. My eyes focus on her reflection for an instant, drawn to the flash of her red hair, but I return my gaze to the stars.
After working some magic on her Link to loop camera and recorder feeds from her room, she says, “Okay. We’re
good. Now, what’s wrong?”
I turn to face her, stomach in knots.
“Something isn’t right,” I say.
And everything pours out.
The details that just don’t line up. All my questions about the prisoner, Krona. The oddity of his behavior.
“He doesn’t act like a Drennar. Hell, he said they’re his ancestors, that they’re dead.” Sighing, I run a weary hand
over my face. “I don’t know if it’s a trick, if he’s toying with us, or what, but he doesn’t act like them. He’s… emotional.
When he sings, I feel it. We all do, that’s why Garcia cracked. It was too much for him.”
Francis stares at me, uncertain, but she says, “He’s probably just trying to trick us.”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. If it was just the story about them dying off, maybe, but it isn’t. He’s different. He’s not one of them.”
Realizing the words that just crossed my lips, I rush to add, “Or… he might not be. I don’t know.”
“I think you might be reading into it a little too much,” Francis says, but her tone does little to back her words.
She’s perceptive. She must have questions.
“Then, explain the emotion? Explain the woman he’s clearly mourning, or the doubt in his words. The translator can’t be adding too much to that. Hell, it doesn’t have to add anything to it. Even in his language, I feel it. He’s mad and upset, and I don’t know why. But Drennar don’t feel. If they do, they don’t express it. You’ve seen the footage of them just as well as I have.”
Francis’ brows reach for each other, carving lines in her face, and a deep breath puffs out her chest for an instant.
She purses her lips as my words sink in.
So, I forge ahead.
“All the times the Drennar came for us, did they ever sing? Even once?” I shake my head, answering my question for her. “If he’s one of them, why the weird renovations to his cell? Why a stone cell? He’s strong enough to get out. He showed Garcia that pretty clearly today.”
Recalling his words earlier and Garcia’s multiple dislocations, I ask, “What’s really keeping him in there? Because it sure as hell isn’t us.”
Giving in just a bit, Francis leans forward, propping her arms on her thighs. “Suppose you’re right, and he is
something else. What are we supposed to do about it? What does that change? He’s a prisoner. We’re Guards. It’s
simple. And why would they lie to us? If he’s not a Drennar, why would they say he is?”
“I don’t know,” I say. My stomach turns, and I look out the window again. “I don’t know what to do.”
But I do.
Defeated, I take a deep breath. “I need some answers. Something doesn’t add up.”
Shaking her head, Francis says, “I don’t like the sound of that.”
And if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t either. My gut tells me something’s wrong here, and it’s never steered me wrong.
But it has steered me straight into trouble, many times.

Excerpt Two:

Tenna
At the door to my room, Olivia says, “I’m going to the bar soon since we don’t work tomorrow. Just need to freshen up a bit. Want to come with?”
“No, thank you.” I let out a deep breath. “I just… want to be by myself.” My brows scrunch together. “Besides, I have to go to the hospital for more tests in the morning,” I add, already dreading the prospect.
“Okay,” Olivia says, unperturbed. “Well, I’ll see you in the cafeteria for lunch tomorrow?”
I nod, slipping quietly into my room as Olivia turns for her own. Immediately, I start some music. I don’t know any
songs yet, so I give the Link my swirling thoughts.
It takes them literally and plays, “Green Eyes by Dark Moor. 2005.”
Those beautiful eyes fill my mind, tug at my heart. Undressing quickly, I fold myself into the tiny shower. Hot water falls over me but does little to ease the chill inside.
The Humans have hope. They were prepared for the end of their planet.

But I have nothing.
Something inside me cracks, and bitter tears cascade over my cheeks, lost in the water that pours over me.
He can’t be dead. He can’t just be floating around space somewhere.
The thought sends a shiver through me, and sobs wrack my body.
He can’t be dead.
My thoughts whirl, and the world falls out from under me. With my heart in my throat, I choke on the life I don’t have anymore.
The other five of my kind, still slumbering in the hospital wing, spring to mind, and I wonder if they’re partnered.
Could they rebuild our species? Or are they too few?
I count myself out, knowing that I couldn’t find another, even without my memories of him. He was my one. And
though I know nothing else, I know he was my partner, my only partner.
Tears fall faster, and my breath hitches. Hope deserts me.
What do I even do now?
If I can’t remember them… How do I mourn them?
But the thought of mourning them, all of them, the thought of mourning him, claws at my heart. A hole opens within me, all-consuming.
I force myself to wash, to finish my shower, but the tears never stop flowing. I dress in things the Humans call
pajamas, specially printed for me while I slept in the hospital.
Resentment builds within me, and I wonder why I can’t have my old clothes. Maybe they’d help me remember, but all I have are my boots.
Standing in the middle of my room, I stop the music, head full of a tune from my life. I hum it quietly, and it eases the tension within.
My feet move, leading me through the dance from last night, the dance I know from my past. I drift one direction, then the other. I spin briefly, arms rising, reaching.
And this time, I know what I’m reaching for.
I’m reaching for him.

Get your copy at Amazon.

AUTHOR BIO:

I’m a nerd with a lot of hobbies and enough sarcasm and swear words to make a sailor blush, though, you’ll never hear a word of it if I’m not comfortable around you. I’ve been an introvert since birth. When I’m writing, though, words come easily.

At the end of the day, I just want to write stories that make people feel something.

Author links:

• https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17807452.Elexis_Bell
• https://www.instagram.com/elexis_bell
• https://www.facebook.com/elexis.bell.author
• https://elexisbell.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4034813e937f82a89f243707c&id=ad131d8482

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Check out my other book reviews and my participation in blog blitz promotions through Xpresso Book Tours.

• Mercy and Grace – book review
• The Space Between Us – blitz tour
• Awakening – blitz tour
• Catch and Release – blitz tour
• The Belle of London – blitz tour
• Seven Perfect Days – blitz tour
• Slashed Potatoes and Grave-y – blitz tour
• Write Out Loud – book review
• The Algorithm Will See You Now – book review
• Savage Passion – blitz tour