Release Day Promo and Giveaway: Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

Happy release day, Leah Cypess and Death Sworn! Here at The Eater of Books!, I'm celebrating the publication of this fabulous fantasy novel by sharing an excerpt, some links to stellar reviews of this book, and a giveaway, hosted by the wonderful author herself! Enjoy!

Read my review of Death Sworn!

Read a swoony excerpt from Death Sworn!

Death Sworn by Leah Cypess

Book One of the Death Sworn series

Publisher: Greenwillow

Publication Date: March 4, 2014

Summary (from Goodreads):

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to spend her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had died under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose… and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins… and possibly the entire world.

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About the Author:

I wrote my first story in first grade. The narrator was an ice-cream cone in the process of being eaten. In fourth grade, I wrote my first book, about a girl who gets shipwrecked on a desert island with her faithful and heroic dog (a rip-off of both The Black Stallion and all the Lassie movies, very impressive). 

After selling my first story (Temple of Stone) while in high school, I gave in to my mother’s importuning to be practical and majored in biology at Brooklyn College. I then went to Columbia Law School and practiced law for almost two years at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, a large law firm in New York City. I kept writing and submitting in my spare time, and finally, a mere 15 years after my first short story acceptance, I sold my first novel to Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins). 

I live in Brookline, Massachusetts (right outside of Boston) with my husband Aaron, a researcher and doctor at the Joslin Diabetes Center, and our three children. 

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The Excerpt:

Sorin rolled smoothly to the floor, then vaulted to his feet and began a series of punches, blocks, and kicks, his slow grace masking the controlled violence of the movements. "Why would a teacher want to kill the Renegai tutors?"

Ileni didn’t know. But there was a lot she didn’t know. “Did Absalm spend a lot of time with any of the other teachers?”

“With all of them.” Sorin said. He leaped into a double kick and landed in a light crouch. “He sat at their table, after all.”

“You brought out the small table just for me?” She had intended it to sound light, but even she heard the bitterness in her voice.

Sorin straightened. “No. Cadrel sat alone.”

“Then why didn’t Absalm?”

“Absalm had the master’s favor from the beginning.”

“Are you saying I don’t?” she asked, and surprised a laugh out of him.

“Perhaps not at the moment.” He was still poised to continue his exercises, but hadn't yet moved. “In time, you’ll be accepted, too.”

“I don’t want – never mind. It’s not important. “It’s not as if Absalm was teaching magic during mealtimes.”

“Not during other times, either,” Sorin said. “No one else here has much free time.”

“You have time to give me these lessons,” Ileni pointed out.

He gave her an inscrutable look. “Officially, you are giving me private lessons.”

“Only you? Doesn't that bother the others?”

He looked away, his shoulders stiff.

“It must bother Irun.”

“Irun,” Sorin said, “has his own suspicions about what we are doing with this time.”

Heat flooded her face. “Oh.”

(Note: this excerpt is from the ARC, pages 157-157. All quotations from the ARC are subject to change in the finalized copy.)

The Reviews:

Check out what other bloggers have been saying about Death Sworn! The links to each review is in the title of the blog.

Kaitlin at Dark Faerie Tales really enjoyed the romance, and was "very fond of the pairing of these two characters." (Ileni and Sorin)!

Paula at Reading Lark liked Death Sworn so much, she "will be grabbing up book 2 as soon as it's available"!

Carina at Carina's Books thinks that this book "is pretty much amazing"!

Kirkus loves how "Cypess has a talent for bringing freshness and depth to tired tropes"!

Nathalie at Villainous is "excited to know what happens next", despite the long wait!

Farrah at Imagine A World asserts that "Death Sworn was an absolutely brilliant YA read"!

Khanh at Bookistry wants everyone to know that "Sorin may be an assassin, but he’s not an ass." (my personal favorite) :D

The Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway