I’m so happy that I get to share my review of this great book for my stop on the blog tour. I love Emi Gayle’s writing. Love this world she’s created. And now I’m going to try and convince you to check it out so you can feel the same. So, hop on board because the train’s about to leave the station. 
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Title: Day After
Series: the 19th Year Trilogy
Author: Emi Gayle
Publisher: J. Taylor Publishing
Release Date: May 6th 2013
Source: ARC received from publisher
From Goodreads:
Demon crypts. Vampire lairs. Glowing angels. Sexy sirens. The stuff of fiction.
Or so Winn Thomas always thought.
Since being accepted into the fold of the supernatural, he knows better. None of what he imagined is true, but everything he feared is, and binding himself to his Changeling girlfriend until her nineteenth birthday will give him an education far beyond what he’d get at his human high school.
Luckily, Winn’s not giving up, he won’t back down, and he definitely isn’t going to run away with his tail between his legs. After all, only werewolves have tails. Right?
In this, the second of the 19th Year trilogy, Winn’s facing the challenge of one lifetime. If he doesn’t learn the truth about mythological creatures, his girlfriend Mac Thorne won’t either. That means, in six months, when she chooses her final form, she won’t know what to pick.
Winn, though, has his own ideas about Mac’s final selection—plans she knows nothing of.
He intends to have her pick human.
Whether she can or not.
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My Review
Day After is full of mystery and intrigue and excitement, and I pretty much enjoyed this book from start to finish. As always with Emi’s writing, the plot is as intricately revealed as it woven, leaving the reader constantly guessing and anticipating, and very often surprised. The slow reveal of revelation after revelation as each and every discovery is made is a strong motivator for the reader to keep turning the pages. But an even bigger motivator than that is the MC. Winn. *sigh*
Winnford Thomas, how I adore thou, geeky dude that thee are.
Winn won me over (ha! no pun intended) in After Dark, so I was very much looking forward to reading into his somewhat convoluted (he’s a guy, after all) mind and finding out just how the other half of Mac and Winn views their somewhat unusual relationship. Sure, to begin, his voice took a little getting into–I blame that on the great connection I felt from Mac in the first book–but it wasn’t long before I’d slid into the nerdy mind of Winn, and was very soon happy to be taken along on his ride (you can stop those filthy thoughts of yours; I didn’t mean it like that). As I expected him to be, he was intelligent and patient and caring and passionate and … just Winn. In case you hadn’t figured it out, I kinda like Winn.
Plus we have Mac–through Winn’s eyes. She was slightly more frustrating a character in Day After than she was in After Dark, but I imagine that’s because we got a much stronger smack upside the head of just how her actions and decisions affected Winn on a personal and emotional level–and thanks to that connection I mentioned, they can be tough to endure through his eyes. But I still love Mac, because deep down I suspected she had her own solid reasoning for doing what she did–after all, she does really consider her actions even if she doesn’t realise she’s doing it at the time.
I’m not going to delve too much into the plot, because it’s quite complex, so the best thing to do is to just read it for yourself. But just know, you will get some answers you’ve been hoping for, at the same time as landing with a few new ones; you will experience a couple WTF!? moments when some ‘stuff’ comes to light or characters behave in a certain way; you will definitely want to do a little bit of neck throttling; and you will adore Winn. So just read it anyway. ;o)
That is all.
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So, did I convince you yet? Maybe this excerpt will help:
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Sitting in front of the twelve most powerful non-humans on the earth would have shaken a lesser guy. In my case, I’d almost thrown up. Twice.
‘Don’t worry,’ Mackenzie Thorne, my girlfriend, had said. ’‘It’s just a formality.
She hadn’t known I’d have to go alone.
Only the intake and exhalation of air in the room made any sound. Eerie light flickered from the tips of candles mounted along dark, oak-paneled walls.
I refused to look anywhere but ahead of me. To the long, wooden, medieval-length table.
Waiting.
Watching.
Holding my own breath.
For a moment, it seemed the walls began to close in on me.
At almost midnight on the first day of the year, I prepared to accept a fate no other human had ever taken on, been given or even offered. In response, sweat pooled under my armpits as alternating cold and hot ran through me.
The scratch of wood against wood had heads turning. Mine included.
Nahir, the oldest of the twelve, rose from his chair. “Winford Richmond Thomas, please rise.” His voice had a gravelly, hoarse sound.
I did as requested, my knees pressing against each other.
Nahir moved closer to me, his grandfatherly, human form disappearing under protruding scales of deep green. His arms lengthened into dinosaur-like paws and hit the rock floor, making the room around us shake. Thick wings extended from his body, and a tail lashed out against the wall behind him, rattling the candles.
A dragon, in the color of tropical ocean water, stood before me, huffing air from horse-sized nostrils.
Oh. God. I’m going to die.
Not going to die. It’s part of the test. Remember, you have to see them all. Mac’s words flowed through my mind.
Keep breathing.
“Master Thomas.” Josie, a siren and one of the most beautiful women I’d ever met, rose, her long flowing gown matching the color of her reddish-gold hair. I couldn’t help but stare at her. “You’ve been asked by our current changeling, Miss Maya Mackenzie Thorne, to be her teacher. Have you willingly agreed to take on this duty?” As Josie talked, she stalked forward, shimmering, shifting, the already-pretty woman becoming deadly man-hunting female—according to the legends I’d read.
Vibes ebbed from her like the rocking tide. If she sang, throwing up would be the least of my worries. I’d be dead by sexual self-implosion.
With a rough cough, I gathered my wits. “Yes. I have accepted. Willingly.” Every nerve ending in my body urged me to go to Josie, to let her take me and do with me whatever she wanted. A groan built in my throat, tension straining my limbs, most particularly, my crotch. Not now! The need to shift what grew sent heat to my cheeks even as Mac’s words played through again. Force yourself not to react to any of them. They’ll think you’re stronger than you are since you’re only human.
Only human. Problem number one.
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That’s done the job. Right?
You can grab your own copy of Day After at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Aaaaaaannnnnnnd … in the meantime, why not enter Emi’s giveaway, where you could be in with a chance of winning a signed copy, an e-copy, or bookmarks. 
Clicking on the giveaway image will lead ye to the magic rafflecopter form.
Good luck!
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Emi Gayle just wants to be young again. She lives vicariously through her youthful characters, while simultaneously acting as chief-Mom to her teenaged son and searching for a way to keep her two daughters from ever reaching the dreaded teen years.
Ironically, those years were some of Emi’s favorite times. She met the man of her dreams at 14, was engaged to him at 19, married him at 20 and she’s still in love with him to this day. She’ll never forget what it was like to fall in love at such a young age — emotions she wants everyone to feel.
Nexi Jones—part witch, part guardian, and wannabe kick-ass warrior—can’t throw a punch or conjure the simplest magic. But that doesn’t stop her from hunting the werewolves who slaughtered her human family. She’ll have her revenge, but only if Kyden, the elite guardian, would get the hell out of her way.
Stacey Kennedy is an urban fantasy lover at heart, but she also enjoys losing herself in dark and sensual worlds. She lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, who gave her a happily-ever-after. Together, they have two small children who can always make her smile, and who will never be allowed to read Mommy’s books. If she’s not plugging away at a new story, you’ll find her camping, curling up with the latest flick, or obsessing over Sons of Anarchy and Game of Thrones.
She seemed far beyond his reach…could love draw them together?
Ruth Clampett, daughter of legendary animation director Bob Clampett, grew up surrounded by artists and animators. A graduate of Art Center College of Design, she has been VP of Design for Warner Brothers Studio Stores and taught photography at UCLA. Today she runs her own studio and as the Fine Art publisher for Warner Brothers Studios has come to know and work with some of the world’s greatest artists in the fields of animation and comics.
When J.T. Bock was a child, she wanted to be James Bond or Indiana Jones or a vampire hunter or Wonder Woman. Whatever brought her the most action, adventure and romance while play acting on her stage—otherwise known as her grandmother’s basement. Now J.T. has assembled her own team of action heroes, supernatural creatures and maniacal villains and set them on adventures far from her basement to exotic lands and alternate dimensions.
Formally trained as a corporate and real estate lawyer, I practiced law for 5 years before finally admitting to myself that negotiating contracts wasn’t nearly as fun as dreaming up stories. As an avid reader of romances and supernatural stories, I knew I wanted to write urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Tales of vampires, demons, and other supernatural beings ensued.
Lisa Kessler is an award winning author of dark paranormal fiction. Her debut novel,Night Walker, won a San Diego Book Award for Best Published Fantasy-Sci-fi-Horror as well as the Romance Through the Ages Award for Best Paranormal and Best First Book.
