~**~ Release Blitz for Descending Into Madness (Winterland #1) by Stacey Marie Brown w/ Review, Excerpt & Giveaway ~**~

 

Your holiday season is about to get deliciously naughty...
What if Alice Liddell’s story didn’t happen the way you think? What if it wasn’t Wonderland she fell into, but Winterland. This mad tale is dark, twisted, sexy, and nothing like the legend you know.
After losing her job and finding her boyfriend/boss cheating on her with her replacement, twenty-five-year-old Alice Liddell has moved back home to save money and regroup.
She doesn’t think things can get worse until her younger, more responsible sister, Dinah, gets her a job—as a Christmas elf.
Dressed in a slutty costume with fathers peeking down her top and kids vomiting on her, she wants nothing more than to escape the reality of her life.
When she sees a sexy, shirtless man, carrying a glowing red light, and bearing antlers, her curiosity gets the better of her. But following him might be the biggest mistake she ever made.
Falling into another realm, Alice finds herself in the world of holiday legends and fairytales. But she is not prepared her for the dark madness of this place. Nothing is what is seems and no one is what they are in the fairytales.
Even the mysterious, sexy Scrooge.Welcome to Winterland, where the good guys from the North Pole have gone bad, and the only way to survive is to descend into its madness.

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***5 ‘Losing Oneself Takes Time’ Stars***

Ever since reading a little tease of this story in Such Violent Delights: A Paranormal Romance Holiday Anthology (Sorry it’s no longer available but was chock full of some really great stuff) I’ve needed/wanted/died for more the story, because who doesn’t love a good twist on the already trippy Alice in Wonderland tale? Especially when that twist has it meeting and melding with practically every Christmas story, or story that happens around Christmas time (sooo did not see that one coming. At. ALL)?

Well, let me tell you I got way more than ever expected.

This book is Christmas on crack. I’m mean “Holy Massive Stocking’ on crack. It was a tinsy bit overwhelming at times, but considering what Winterland is/was I got it. I got used to it and have to hand it to Ms. Brown for going big on that point.

And then there are Alice and Scrooge, who are, of course, absolutely fascinating. I loved Alice’s free spirit and at times lack of an edit button. But this woman is fierce and even though this is just the beginning of her journey, I loved watching her become more. Scrooge is everything his name implies, but his heart isn’t as black as he wants everyone to believe. He has some HUGE demons riding him, but the man is all that a huge bag of Christmas Cookies and then some (Ok...that was lame, but, hey, I tried). Their relationship is a rocky one, but that spark is there and I NEED to see how it all plays out in the next book.

But, if you know me, you know I ADORE well written secondary characters and this one has them in spades. The baddies I want to gut with a spoon, but...that’s pretty normal. But Hare, Pen, Dum and Dee own my heart as much as Alice and Scrooge. They are the most imperfectly perfect group I’ve ever met and want to hang out with (with lots of mead though)

I have to say, Ms. Brown went big with this one. She took Alice, mashed up a ton of Christmas...everything, and basically birthed a crazy, dark, dangerous and chaotic yet intriguing world. No, this ain’t the happy happy animated kids version. Yes, there are triggers (so beware). This is also a duet and there a cliffy of sorts at the end, but it was done well and as I’ve already said once before, I NEED Ascending From Madness ASAP!

~ Copy provided by The Next Step PR & voluntarily reviewed ~

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“Looking for something, Ms. Liddell?” His voice cut from the dark, making me jump with a gasp. An outline of a man, leaning against a tree, blue eyes flickering with light, like an animal being caught in headlights.
“Holy Christmas cookies!” I patted my chest. “You scared me.”
 He tilted his head, his gaze sharp on me. Something had shifted, squashing the air in around me. “You can’t be scared of something you were seeking.” His voice lowered until it rumbled with a carnal tone, his body curled. Stalking me.
Daring and perilous. The wild beast I had seen earlier scratched under his skin, demanding to get out, animating his posture. He inched forward; a hunter ready to strike his prey. “Tell me…what were you hoping for once you found me?”
Everything screamed at me to run, to turn around and head back to the cabin, but I couldn’t get my body to oblige. “N-nothing.” I stepped back, my heart thumping in my ears.
 “Really?” He licked his lips. “Hare told you about my unspeakable past.” It wasn’t a question. “So now you think you know me? Want to save me?” He advanced, causing me to stumble back more, my tailbone hitting a tree, halting me in place. Brutally his gaze sliced down my frame, feeling as if he were stripping away the little clothing I had left. The man who had walked out of the cabin was no longer; this guy was feral and dangerous. And all it did was make my thighs pulse, hot need lacing with fear stretched and folded every nerve ending. “You came out into the night, searching for me, dressed in only my shirt, smelling of me…and you want nothing? Please, Ms. Liddell, I think you can come up with something better than that. I can feel the need coming off you. Your body is craving for me to touch it again.”
 The bark of the tree dug into my scalp as I locked my gaze with him, showing he would not intimidate me. If that was all I was feeling, I could have handled myself, demanded him to move away. Contradictory to what I should, my body ached for him, to pull him into me, feeling every inch of him pressing into my figure. To feel him inside…losing my mind as he pounded into my body.
As if every dirty image displayed over my face, his eyes flashed with desire, arching an eyebrow. He moved in closer, his hips pushing into me, setting my skin on fire, my mouth parting for oxygen.
“That’s what I thought.” He smirked, his mouth only inches from mine, with me wanting nothing more than him to close the distance. His fingers grazed over my blazing cheeks, his voice harsh. “How hard and deep do you want me to fuck you, Ms. Liddell?”

Read the First Chapter HERE !

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Join Stacey & friends at the BestSellers & BestStellars Party Room on July 31 from 5-11PM EST HERE !

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Enter HERE !

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Stacey Marie Brown is a lover of hot fictional bad boys and sarcastic heroines who kick butt. She also enjoys books, travel, TV shows, hiking, writing, design, and archery. Stacey swears she is part gypsy, being lucky enough to live and travel all over the world. She grew up in Northern California, where she ran around on her family’s farm, raising animals, riding horses, playing flashlight tag, and turning hay bales into cool forts. She volunteers helping animals and is Eco-friendly. She feels all animals, people, and environment should be treated kindly.

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