Welcome to the Blog Tour for Undefined by Jessica Ruddick thanks to
YA Bound Book Tours!
Hopefully you check out
my review that I posted yesterday and you enjoy the excerpt and tour wide giveaway I have to share with you today.
_________________________________
The truth about her past may define her future.
Sophie
loves being an elemental. Being able to bend the natural world to her
will is thrilling, even if the need for secrecy is putting a cramp in
her dating life. Lately, though, her powers have been growing, making it
difficult to resist the heady temptation to use her gifts.
Trying
to balance the elemental world with having a normal life is tough
enough without her overbearing, way-too-perfect, and
way-too-good-looking guardian Aidan watching—and judging—her every move.
The trouble is she’s not sure where she fits in and she’s sure as heck
not ready to conform to stringent elemental rules.
But when
secrets about her life are revealed and outside forces threaten
everything Sophie holds dear, she must embrace who she is or risk losing
it all.
Purchase:
From Undefined....
I trotted out to the garage behind our house, which had been converted into a fully outfitted gym with
state-
of
-the-art machines. They seemed like a waste since Aidan preferred to torture me with CrossFit-
style training, which meant lots of heavy ropes and tires. And running. Lots and lots of running.
Why oh
why is there so much running?
When I walked in, Aidan was pounding on a punching bag, using his normal rhythm
—
jab, jab,
cross, jab, jab, cross.
If I were blindfolded in a room full of boxers, I would have been able to pick him
out. It was a music all his own. He danced around the bag, his movements graceful.
I'd once told him he moved like a ballerina, and I was probably lucky he hadn't used my face as a
punching bag. I'd meant it as a compliment, but he hadn't taken it that way. Maybe I should have
compared him to a bullfighter instead. I was pretty sure they
were graceful. He probably would have
preferred I compare him to the bull.
I watched him for a moment, admiring the way his triceps flexed with each hit. His focus was
unyielding, his eyes never leaving his target. Beads of perspiration had formed in the hair at the nape of
his neck, which connected to impressively defined traps. He might h
ave been a domineering control freak,
but he was built like a Greek god
—
tan with muscle lines so sharp I could cut myself on them.
Aidan turned, and his baby blues zeroed in on me as if he knew what I was thinking.
Whatever.
I could appreciate that he was good-looking. That didn
’
t mean I was
attracted
to him.
“I'm sorry about your mom,
”
I said. That probably wasn't exactly the right sentiment, but there was
no good way to tactfully say,
It sucks that your mom is such a bitch.
He turned back to the bag.
“Nothing to be sorry about.”
Aidan didn't instruct me, which was unusual, so I started stretching on my own, figuring a run would
be in the works.
"What's up with the vote?”
I pulled my foot up to my butt to stretch my quad. "Why is it such a big
deal? Why is Vic so angry about it?”
The process seemed perfectly democratic and civilized
—
voters cast their ballots, and hopefully the
best option won.
"He
’
s not mad about the vote,”
Aidan said, as if that should have been obvious.
“He’s mad about the
qualifications for elemental status.”
I’d loved my grandparents, but times like this made me angry about t
heir decision to keep me
removed from the elemental society only to have me thrust in
to it when I was twelve. Nearly six years
later, and I still wasn't caught up.
“You're going to have to fill me in.”
“They use an abilities test to determine who qualifies.”
“Oh,”
I said softly, understanding.
Generally, female elementals were stronger than males. In f
act, the strongest male elemental was
only as powerful as the average mid-level female elemental. A
lot of males
—
including Vic and Aidan
—
showed little to no ability, though they carried the trait that could be passed down to their children.
It was never something that seemed to bother them. After all,
we were forbidden from using our
powers anyway, so they weren't missing out on much, other than the occasional trick to keep
the clouds
from blocking the sun on a visit to the beach. Now their lack of ability would be used against them by a
community to which they'd dedicated their whole lives.
It was utterly unfair, but no one had asked my opinion. As an underage
elemental, I had no say in
anything. But there had to be a better way. Maybe they could analyze our DNA or something. Was being
an elemental a clear-cut part of our genes, like the X and Y
chromosome? Or was it more along the lines
of a sliding scale, like how a person could be three percent Native American? If that were the case, it still
begged the question of where to draw the line.
Since I didn't have the answer to that dilemma, I would focus on the other
one.
“What do you think about leaving the agreement?”
I asked.
“I have no opinion,”
he said.
Yeah, right.
Aidan was many things, but neutral was not one of them. Of course, if what he said
about the abilities test was true, his opinion wouldn't matter anyway.
“Come on.”
He ripped the Velcro on his gloves open.
“I think we need a run.”
Want more? Get your copy of Undefined today!
Jessica Ruddick is a 2014 Golden Heart finalist for her new adult novel, Letting Go, which was inspired by her own college experiences. She lives in Virginia and is married to her college sweetheart—their first date was a fraternity toga party (and nothing inspires love like a toga, right?). When she doesn’t have her nose in a book or her hands on a keyboard, she can be found wrangling her two rambunctious sons, taming two rowdy but lovable rescue dogs, and battling the herd of dust bunnies that has taken up residence in her home. To learn more about Jessica, please visit her website at
www.jessicaruddick.com.
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