Less
Than Perfect
Kelly
Jensen
Release
Date: 10/28/13
Genre:
Sci-fi Romance
Publisher:
Entangled
Book
Description:
Mikayla’s
read every book in her collection of post-apocalyptic novels at least
twice. She thinks she’s prepared for aliens taking over
Earth. She’s not.
Nor is she prepared
for the attention of a good-looking refugee named Reg.
All Mikayla and Reg
want is a safe place to see out the end of the world, hidden away
from the aliens that call themselves The People, but cities of the
depopulated United States not infested with The People are rife with
gangs, the detritus of civilization and disease.
On a mission to
restock their supplies, Mikayla and Reg are captured by The People
and prepared for the procedure that will make them perfect, but no
longer quite human. In order to escape, they need to rely on each
other…if
Mikayla can trust a man who seems too good to be true.
.
Excerpt:
Lips
twisting, I studied Reg’s face for the space of a breath. He had
irregularly regular features.
Masculine,
all angles and planes, a slightly crooked nose, mouth touch too
narrow, ears on the large side. His dark-brown hair flopped across
his forehead in an endearing manner and he had dark lashes and a
square jaw lined with three or four days’ growth. A handsome man,
by all accounts, by the sum of his parts. Not like them, who were
regularly regular, all pleasing in their perfection and not quite
real.
“Did
you think about taking their deal?” I asked.
Reg
began to shake his head, then paused. “I guess I did, for a
second.”
His
honesty plucked at something in my chest. I liked that he was able to
admit a fault. It made him real.
His
blue gaze swept over my face. It didn’t feel as if he lingered on
my freckles, or tried to count them.
“What
about you?” he asked.
Heat
crept across my cheeks, partly at his scrutiny, mostly because I
didn’t know if I could be as honest.
The
People offered perfection. Anyone who joined them could be rebuilt
from their toes to their hair follicles. They had a cure for
baldness, and tinea. There was a price for those perfect bodies,
though, something out of a macabre gothic horror novel. Perfection
cost no more and no less than a soul. No one noticed the difference
at first. I think they were happy.
I
had considered accepting the bargain; most of us did, even if only
for a minute. When I thought of those skirts that should stop above
my knee, the blouses with boatnecks that bared a hint of cleavage,
legs long enough to look sexy in heels, I thought about trading up.
Taking a job with The People, giving them myself for perfection.
Lifting
my shoulders in a small, not quite careless shrug, I offered an
affirmative sound and looked away. Don’t know why I felt so
embarrassed; shame had little place after the collapse of
civilization.
Here
we were, unwashed, tired, and hungry, walking from A to B with
nothing but four backpacks and a box of books.
An
arm brushed mine in a less-than-gentle nudge and I looked up.
“Smile
for me, Mickey.”
A
wobbly smile tried to overtake my lips. I fought against it, then
gave in.
Reg’s
lips curved in return. “That’s better,” he said. “Your face
is made for smiling.”
Not
sure when he decided that, but I liked the idea that he’d been
studying my face as intently as I had his. My smile widened. So did
his.
About
the Author:
If
aliens ever do land on Earth, Kelly will not be prepared, despite
having read over a hundred stories of the apocalypse. Still, she will
pack her precious books into a box and carry them with her as she
strives to survive. It’s what bibliophiles do.
Kelly
Jensen lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter. When
she’s not busy being a mom, Kelly spends her time volunteering at
the local library, playing video games, and studying Kiryoku, a
martial art combining Shotokan, Aikido and Tang Soo Do.
Less
Than Perfect is her first book.
Website:
http://kellyjensenwrites.com/
Giveaway Info: A box of books- Titles included are: Gravity by Melissa West (Entangled), Chosen Ones by Tiffany Truitt (Entangled), Alas Babylon by Pat Frank, & A Wrinkle in the Skin by John Christopher
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Thank you for this giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThanks for featuring Less Than Perfect on your blog today. Good luck to everyone who entered the giveaway. :)
ReplyDeleteI could use that box of books today. Home in bed with a ugly cold :(
ReplyDelete