Update: The winner of the signed copy of Legend is announced this morning on Susan's blog [link] !! Hop over to see the results!

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Something a little different today, dA folks! Today I'm very proud to be included as part of a blog tour for 1 fabulously lovely author friend and 1 super awesome novel that she wrote.

The author in question? Miss Susan Dennard. The novel in question? The thrilling, dark, and charming Something Strange & Deadly, now out from HarperTeen.

First of all, I'd like to announce the prize winner of the 7/29 Giveaway (on author Amie Kaufman's blog [link]) of the highly sought-after ARCs, Falling Kingdoms (by Morgan Rhodes) and Pushing the Limits (by Katie McGarry). The winner is... Michelle Harper!! Shoot an email to SSADOutbreak@gmail.com to receive your prize!

So. What is Something Strange & Deadly (SS&D), you ask? Back in March of this year, I was given the enormous privilege of blurbing SS&D. The short version of the story is this: in an alternate 1876 Philadelphia where the dead terrorize the streets, Eleanor Fitt of the Philadelphia Fitts seeks out the (badass) Spirit-Hunters in order to unravel the mystery of her brother's disappearance. In the midst of all this, she finds herself drawn to the irresistibly charming, clever, and working-class Spirit-Hunter Daniel, and must find a way to deal with her mother's plan to match her with a young upper class gentleman.

Sounds awesome, doesn't it? Yeah, I know.

I remember reading SS&D over the course of a long flight, and I must say--THANK YOU Sooz, because SS&D made an otherwise uber-dull flight an absolutely thrilling one. This is due in no small part to the amount of kickass action that happens throughout SS&D.

Seriously. When the opening line is: " 'Dead!' a woman screamed. 'It's the Dead!' ", you know you're in for a rollercoaster of a ride. Susan takes you not only through the outer conflicts that Eleanor has to deal with (the Dead), but her romantic and family (my favorite) conflicts as well. I loved the complex relationship Eleanor had with her mother and brother, and when those threads were woven together with the Spirit-Hunters and all the mayhem happening in Philadelphia, the action took on a much greater depth. I pretty much bit my nails off wondering what would happen next in each scene.

Another aspect I loved about this book was the lovely blend of tension, darkness, and....fun. Fantastic fun. Even though Eleanor has to deal with very dark issues, there are also light-hearted scenes that balance that darkness really well, and touches of humor that made me laugh out loud. It also helps that Eleanor is just charming and witty as all hell, and Daniel Sheridan is a book boy I can totally get behind.

Anyway, can you tell I thoroughly enjoyed Something Strange & Deadly? Pick it up, for it is now available in all bookstores as well as online at Amazon [link] , IndieBound [link] , and Barnes & Noble [link] . You can't go wrong.

And finally, to finish off this post, I have a signed copy of the hardcover version of Legend to give away! To enter, just post a comment here. (This giveaway is U.S. only, but the grand prize (below) is international!)

The winner of this contest will be announced tomorrow on the next stop of this blog tour...

Tomorrow (Tuesday 7/31): Susan Dennard herself [link] will announce the grand prize winner!

In the meantime, help us spread the word about SS&D on Twitter with the #SSaDOutbreak hashtag. Don't forget to enter the grand prize giveaway for a chance to snag some seriously epic prizes. I am not kidding about how good the grand prize is--an Amazon gift card, highly coveted ARCs, crits from authors Erin Bowman and Sarah J. Maas and literary agent Joanna Volpe, and more! How do you beat that, I ask you? For details on how to enter, click here.