Book Loving Mom

Review: Absent by Katie Williams

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date: 5/21/2013
Source: eARC provided by the publisher via Edelsweiss

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

Forever is a long time to be stuck in high school.

Seventeen-year-old Paige is dead, the victim of a freak fall from
the roof during Physics class. Now she’s a ghost, permanently
bound to the grounds of her high school. It isn’t all bad, she can
find out everyone’s secrets, which can be amusing—for a while.
But then Paige hears something that isn’t amusing at all: the
rumor spread by the most popular girl at school that her death
wasn’t an accident—that she supposedly jumped on purpose.
Paige is desperate to stop the gossip, but what can a ghost do?
Then Paige discovers something amazing. She can possess
living people when they think of her, and she can make them do
almost anything. Maybe, just maybe, she can get inside the girl
who’s responsible for the stories. . . and have a little fun turning the tables while she’s at it.

Katie Williams’s second novel is a suspenseful page-turner full of
eerie wit and a touch of the otherworldly.

My Thoughts

I admit, it was the cover that attracted me to this book. It's so simplistic, yet gorgeous and I had to know more. Then, I found it was a ghost story and I was sucked right in. I had to have it! This was a very quick read and it had a bit of mystery to it. I loved discovering the outcome along with Paige, though some of it I was able to figure out before she does.

Paige was a character that I really felt bad for. I mean, how could I not feel bad for a girl who died at school and is now stuck there. Talk about suckishness!! She isn't alone at least. She and Evan, another ghost trapped at school, get along pretty well. She gets along okay with Brook, but she prefers to spend her time wandering alone or with Evan. She is really upset that people think she committed suicide and wants more than anything for people to know that she didn't, especially her best friend Usha who is angry that she could do that. I could almost feel her desperation, but also thought she was selfish inhabiting people's bodies to try to stop the rumor. She is lost, broken, and upset. I loved who she became through the book though, and that she was able to grow up. Sadly, that can't bring her back.

There was a whole bunch of other characters that I really enjoyed too. Evan, who was friendly and helpful, but kept his past to himself mostly. He really was a big part of the story, and I think that he was fantastic. Then Usha, who is still alive. She's hurt and angry at Paige, but she is a great person and was a wonderful friend. Then there is Harriet, who somehow can see the ghosts. The part she plays in the story is a major mystery solver. Probably my favorite was Wes. He is one of what Paige refers to as the "Burners" but she has him all wrong. He is really a sweet, artistic, real guy. He says what is on his mind, though it's not always interpreted the right way. He was so awesome and I couldn't get enough of him. I was glad that we got to know him well. There are so many other characters that play a big part in the overall story, but those are the most notable.

I was so sucked in to this story. I thought that the plot was wonderful, the characters were amazing and well developed, and there was just enough emotion to really fully absorb me into the book. I was frantically turning pages the closer I got the then end. I needed to know if the things I suspected were correct. For such a short book, this was packed full and was very satisfying. It's also a stand alone, which is nice in a sea full of series. This was really a great book that I think anyone who likes ghost stories, or contemporaries would enjoy.

Book Blast: Tragic by J.A Huss

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hello and happy Monday!!! I am taking part in the Book Blast for Tragic by J.A. Huss, organized by GCR Promotions.

TRAGIC: Rook and Ronin, #1
By J. A. Huss
New Adult Contemporary Romance
Published May 15, 2013
Science Future Press

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

New Adult Contemporary Romance *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage

**Does contain strong language

I gather up all my clothes and stick them in the stackable washer in the closet just off the bedroom. The breeze caresses my naked limbs and gives me the chills, but I enjoy it. The goose bumps travel up my arms and spread out to my whole body. I shiver for a second and then head to the kitchen.

And stop dead in the living room.

Ronin fucking Flynn is sleeping on the couch.

What is he doing here? My eyes track to the front door and I suppose it's my fault, I left it open. There's nothing but a screen door between this apartment and the terrace. My gaze wanders back to the sleeping man. He's lying on his stomach, his one arm tucked underneath him, the other falling over the edge of the cushion, and he's shirtless.

And then I realize I'm naked.

"Shit!"

He stirs and I make a break for the bedroom. It's one thing to let him see me naked half hidden in darkness and quite another to be fully illuminated by the bright morning sunshine. I wrangle the sheet around my body and then head back to the living room, wistfully looking at the washer that contains every single article of clothing I own.

"Ronin!" I say loudly.

Nothing except a half-muffled snore from him. Lord, this man has the most perfectly chiseled and muscular back I've ever seen. Both hands pull up and go under his face, like he's blocking out the sunlight, and this gives me the perfect opportunity to study his flexing biceps. The muscles are thick and hard-looking near his shoulders. They curve down, dip into a little valley, and then climb once again.

I lean down and smell him.

"Why are you sniffing me?" he asks groggily.

"Uh—" Because you smell delicious, the inner Rook says. But luckily the outer Rook says, "I'm checking to see if you're drunk. Why are you sleeping on my couch?"

He peeks up, opening one eye in my direction, squints, and then croaks out some words. "I love your outfit." He grins, winks, and then drops his head back down into his arms.

"Are you leaving?" I ask, frustrated and confused at the same time. "I mean, why are you here?"

"I told you I'd come back with dinner. But when I got here, the lights were on and you were in bed. I only sat down for a second to think up a rational excuse to wake you up, but I guess I fell asleep." He raises his head again, grins sheepishly, and then rolls over on his back, tucks his hands behind his neck, and flashes his perfect body at me as he closes his eyes, probably confident that I'll be checking him out.

I do check him out. It's quite hard not to notice that he's got the perfect six-pack abs and that absolutely adorable fuzzy happy trail you see on a shirtless designer jeans model. Hmmmm… maybe he is that model? "You have no shirt on."

Yes, after all that gawking, I finally manage the obvious.

He opens the one eye to look at me again. "Neither do you."

Purchase your copyAvailable on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.

J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.

GOODREADS

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Weekly Recap / Stacking the Shelves (55)

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

*Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

Another big week for me. The weather is getting nicer too which means more outdoor time. (Which means more reading time because the computer doesn't distract me. My phone is acting up so it shuts down when I try to tweet lol) I love summer because it means more family time, more outdoors, and warm weather. I have lived in Massachusetts my whole life, but still hate the cold.

OMG I keep getting all bug eyed in my vlog. I don't know why I kept doing it, but it looks weird. My eyes are itching and burning from allergies so I keep feeling like they are droopy. Maybe I was trying to open them up better lol!! And I know, I'm totally lazy, but I didn't link any of the books. I also didn't include my weekly recap, but I did put my search terms. I hurt my foot, and then got super lazy and didn't get on the computer until late and then I just wanted to throw it together quick. I am such a fail this weekend.

Books Mentioned

Review

As the World Dies: Untold Tales Volume 3 by Rhiannon Frater
Asylum by Madeline Roux
Blurred (Inbetween #2) by Tara Fuller
Dire Warning (In Darkness We Must Abide #6) by Rhiannon Frater
Don't Bite the Bridesmaid by Tiffany Allee
Freshman Forty by Christine Duval
Tarnished by Rhiannon Held
Ten Tiny Breaths by K.A Tucker (Audiobook)
The Planet of Thieves by Dan Krokos
This Song Could Save Your Life by Leila Sales
Wallbanger by Alice Clayton (Audiobook)

Won/Gifted

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

Bought

Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

People Mentioned

Thank you so much to HarperTeen, Edelweiss, Entangled Publishing, Rhiannon Frater, Giselle, Blythe, Tor Books, Simon Audio, and Macmillan.

Search Terms

strings by kendall grey - Loved this!!

lux series summary - Umm I don't know if the series itself has a summary, but each book does.

adam warner shatter me - Honestly, at this point I am team neither, though in Shatter Me I was team Adam.

aiden's pov from the covenant series - There are a few Aiden POV's for the Covenant series. Check out JLA's website. She has all the goods and links to such things.

as the world dies untold tales volume 2 - I loved this!! The characters in the ATWD series are so awesome and I loved getting to know them better. Vol. 3 comes out soon too!!

audiobook review lightning thief - I reviewed this a few months ago. Maybe more.

bella andre - I haven't read it, but have heard it's a fantastic series.

book cover loki’s wolves, by k. k. armstrong - I have a pic of the cover on my review. This book was awesome too!!

That's all I have for you. Sorry for my laziness guys. I will be better next week with my recap and links. You know, all that good stuff. (Do people actually click on the links anyways? Just curious.)

Book Girls Don't Cry - Best and Most Anticipated of 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Can you believe it's almost June?!! Half the year?!! Where in the world did the time go? So for this weeks topic we decided to do top 5 books we've read so far this year and top 5 we are anticipating.

Other Book Girls Posts This Week

Jenni

Giselle

Publisher: Forever (Grand Central Publishing) when I read it, it was self published
Publication Date: July 2nd, 2013 (paperback) ebook is available now

Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?

Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction

Guys, this book gave me ALL the feels. I laughed, I cried (the ugly cry at that), and went through every other emotion with the characters. You can see my review here.

Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication date: 4/2/2013

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried.

This book was so fun and entertaining. Dante was the perfect mix of bad boy and awesome!! See my review here.

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publication date: 4/9/2013
Series: Covenant , #4

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

Fate isn’t something to mess with… and now, neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the Awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate, and Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods—and Alex herself—to bring her back.

The gods have killed thousands and could destroy entire cities in their quest to stop Seth from taking Alex’s power and becoming the all-powerful God Killer. But breaking Alex’s connection to Seth isn’t the only problem. There are a few pesky little loopholes in the whole “an Apollyon can’t be killed” theory, and the only person who might know how to stop the destruction has been dead for centuries.

Finding their way past the barriers that guard the Underworld, searching for one soul among countless millions, and then somehow returning will be hard enough. Alex might be able to keep Seth from becoming the God Killer… or she might become the God Killer herself.

I just love this series and love the characters. I almost feel like I actually know them. I am very invested in this series. My review for this is here.

Publisher: J. Lynn
Publication date: 2/25/2013
Format: eBook

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Kobo

Some things are worth waiting for…

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…

Oh, man. I can't even. I was so sucked into this and Cameron was fabulous. Of course I am a huge NA fan, but this was just amazing! My review is here.

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication date: 3/19/2013
Series: Infernal Devices Series , #3

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

*This review is spoiler free and is just my overall feelings about the book. I do not give away any details on any of the events that occur in the book.

I have never been so glad that I listened to a book on audio than this. Even at that I had to take breaks to compose myself. This amazing conclusion to the series had my emotions totally strung out and I loved every minute. See my review here.

I was actually surprised going back through my books how few (for me) books I had rated 5, and a lot that are 5's are actually 4.5's rounded up. Now onto the books I am highly anticipating!!

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publish Date: July 30, 2013 ebook only, then November 5, 2013 in paperback

For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

Well, it's JLA and I'm a huge fan girl, but besides that it sounds amazing!! I will love anyone who wants to get me an ARC of it at BEA! I've head that there will be some!!

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Publish Date: November 2nd, 2013

It's a beautiful day for a war. Alex must face a terrible choice between destruction of everything she loves and her own destruction. The final book in the COVENANT series.

AHHHH!!! I swear I will die waiting until this comes out!! I need this like a few months ago when I finished Apollyon!!!

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication date: 9/10/2013

Mac can’t lose another friend. Even if he doesn’t want to be found.

The ripple effect caused by Mac’s best friend Amy’s murder has driven Mac’s new love, Kyle, to leave Hemlock and disappear from her life forever. But Mac knows that Kyle plans to enroll in a rehabilitation camp, where he can live with other werewolves. She refuses to accept his decision, especially since the camps are rumored to be tortuous. So she sets out in search of Kyle with a barely sober Jason—and Amy’s all-seeing ghost—in tow.

Clues lead Mac to find Kyle in a werewolf den in Colorado—but their reunion is cut short by a Tracker raid. Now Mac and Kyle are trapped inside the electric fences of Thornhill, a camp for young werewolves. As she devises an escape plan, Mac uncovers dangerous secrets buried within the walls of Thornhill—and realizes that the risk to the people she loves is greater than ever before.

I loved Hemlock and can't wait to see where the story goes!! I am anxiously awaiting this one!!

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: 10/1/2013

When eighteen-year-old Hunter Jackson and his half sister, Ashlin, return to their dad’s for the first winter in years, they expect everything to be just like the warmer months they’d spent there as kids. And it is—at first. But Chance, the charismatic and adventurous boy who made their summers epic, is harboring deep secrets. Secrets that are quickly spiraling into something else entirely.

The reason they've never met Chance’s parents or seen his home is becoming clearer. And what the siblings used to think of as Chance's quirks—the outrageous stories, his clinginess, his dangerous impulsiveness—are now warning signs that something is seriously off.

Then Chance's mom turns up with a bullet to the head, and all eyes shift to Chance and his dad. Hunter and Ashlin know Chance is innocent...they just have to prove it. But how can they protect the boy they both love when they can’t trust a word Chance says?

I love Kelley York's writing and have read all of her books. This sounds so good, and I know how well she writes emotion and tough issues and situations. I can't wait to curl up with this and a box of tissues.

Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publication date: 9/17/2013

Josie Byrne's life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she's betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can't get worse.

Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.

Jo's life is everything Josie wants: she's popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they're just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.

Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo's perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.

But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo's boyfriend, he hates her. Jo's mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.

By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?

From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.

I'm a sucker for creepy and dude, this sounds so awesomely creepy. I have also really enjoyed Gretchen McNeil's previous two books, so I am really excited for this one!!

So that's what I've got. There are obviously so many more that I am dying to get my hands on, but these were the first to pop into my head as must have now books!! What have been some of your favorites this year? What are you looking forward to?

Blog Tour: Stripped by Brooklyn Skye - Review and Tour Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hello my lovelies!! Welcome to my stop on the Stripped Blog Tour! I have my review for you today! For the full tour schedule, click on the banner above to be taken to the tour page.

Publisher: Self Published
Publish Date: May 14th, 2013
Source: eARC provided by YA Bound Blog Tours for review

College freshman Quinn Montgomery will do anything to avoid the mistake her sister made—killing herself over a boy. But when she is forced into nude modeling at a local college to support her family after a bankruptcy, she begins to crack, just enough to let Torrin, the university’s top varsity oarsman, see that the real Quinn is not as feisty and unapproachable as she wants everyone to think. But letting someone in comes at a steep cost and, it turns out, Torrin is connected to Quinn’s family in more ways than she could ever imagine.

Buy Links

My Thoughts

I have been on a contemporary NA kick lately so it was a given that I would want to read this. That tagline totally had me. This book was great and had just what I like in NA novels, which is a broken character who is trying to manage without breaking, is lost, but is able to find the person inside that they didn't know existed. Unlike so many other books in this genre, the love interest is super sweet and awesome, not the douche bad boy. (Though there is one of those too!)

Brooklyn was one of those characters who is not likeable, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy her. I felt for her, I sympathized with her to a point, I even cared what happened to her. She is an unlikable character, but she's intended to be that way. It's her armor, her shell. She needs her bitchy attitude, and don't give a shit personality to get through each day. Sometimes I really wanted to jump into the book and tell her to just stop being such a bitch to everyone around her, but that is how she copes with her issues.

Torrin was fabulous! Unfortunately, besides being nice, funny, athletic, artsy, and persistent, we didn't get to know a whole lot about him. I really liked him, so I wish we would have gotten to know him a little bit better. He really was great with Quinn though. He made her see that it's okay to trust people, to break down her walls, let people in who really care. Sadly, he keeps a secret from her (in defense, she's keeping a secret from him too) that is pretty big. I liked the way that he handled it though and it made me like him even more.

This was very predictable to me, but I still was able to really enjoy it. That's a good book when even with an unlikable MC and a predictable storyline, it can still win me over. I just took it for what it was, and let myself enjoy the journey of Quinn discovering herself and not being afraid. It wasn't intensely emotional for me, but I did feel the buzz of them at certain points. Overall I thought this was a great read, and loved that it didn't stick to the normal standard of the virgin girl or the bad boy. I also liked the realness of how the characters are. They are just typical college kids doing what they do. And total bonus points for no insta-love!! I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

About the Author

Brooklyn Skye is just your average awkward girl who's obsessed with words. She grew up in a small California town where she quickly realized writing was an easy escape from small town life.

Website / Twitter / Goodreads

Tour Giveaway

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Blog Tour: The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller - Review, Interview, & Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hi everyone!! I am so excited to be taking part in the blog tour for The Summer I Became a Nerd. Ever since I first saw the cover and read the synopsis I was looking forward to this book. I have my review and and an interview with the author on my stop today!

Publisher: Entangled Publishing
Publication date: 5/21/2013
Source: eARC provided by the publisher for tour/review

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

On the outside, seventeen-year-old Madelyne Summers looks like your typical blond cheerleader—perky, popular, and dating the star quarterback. But inside, Maddie spends more time agonizing over what will happen in the next issue of her favorite comic book than planning pep rallies with her squad. That she’s a nerd hiding in a popular girl's body isn’t just unknown, it's anti-known. And she needs to keep it that way.

Summer is the only time Maddie lets her real self out to play, but when she slips up and the adorkable guy behind the local comic shop’s counter uncovers her secret, she’s busted. Before she can shake a pom-pom, Maddie’s whisked into Logan’s world of comic conventions, live-action role-playing, and first-person-shooter video games. And she loves it. But the more she denies who she really is, the deeper her lies become…and the more she risks losing Logan forever.

My Thoughts

When I first read the synopsis for this, I was so excited for it!! We all know how judgmental kids are in school so I thought it was cute that she has her inner nerd that she lets out when she thinks no one knows. This book was so fun and great to read, and I loved the romance. It was seriously so cute and sweet. Another thing was how present the parents were. I love when parents are a big part in YA books!

Maddie didn't start off as a very likeable character to me at all, but by the end I totally loved her. She starts off, obviously hiding her love for comic books and all things "nerdy" and is pretty oblivious to things going on around her. How other people feel, what others are dealing with. How petty her need to keep up her appearance as the perfect, popular girl really is. She has worked to mold herself into the perfect high school girl. Cheerleader, pretty, dating the quarterback (even if they don't really like each other and it's all for show), and hangs out with all the right people. Only she thinks that none of them would like her if they knew she loved comic books and video games. She had an embarrassing situation years ago, and refuses to ever let herself be laughed at again. She makes stupid decisions and mistakes, but that is what makes her so real. When she starts talking to, and then hanging out with Logan, I loved seeing the change in her and how much she developed. That was the Maddie that I came to love by the end. The one that Logan was able to bring out.

Logan was awesome from the first moment he was introduced in the book. He was sweet, charming, geeky, and funny. I loved getting to know him. My favorite thing about him was, what you see is what you get. He lays it all out there. Well, except one thing, which is his true identity on his radio show, but I thought that was so fun, and loved that people loved him so much. If they had known it was really him at first, I don't know that they would have. It kind of reminded me a bit of the Disney Channel Movie Radio Rebel. (which was a cute movie) Anyways, he really brings out the good side of Maddie, even when she resists it. He won't let her be embarrassed or ashamed of who she really is. He is also a super awesome older brother. He dotes on his little sister and what is more swoon worthy than that right?

I also loved how family was so present in this. Logan's mom especially, but Maddie's parents were a big part too. It wasn't just in passing, or they were mentioned here and there. They were part of things. You got to see the family dynamics. It was really important to the story to have the parents be very much a part of it and I am so glad that they were. Logan's mom was among my favorite characters in this book.

If you are looking for a fun, romantic, and entertaining book, this is one you have to pick up. It is very realistic to the way high school is, how kids can be very judgmental, and how the people you care about will be there for you and help you through. I thought that the situations were captured very well, and nothing seemed too easy or convenient. This book was fantastic and I loved it!

Interview

Hi Leah, thanks for doing this interview!!

I know this is a common question, but what gave you the idea for this book?

I wanted to write about something fun, something I love. “Comic books” was the first thing to pop into my head. I also love teenage romantic comedy films and combining those two things sounded like a no-brainer.

Did you have a rough outline of the book before you wrote it, or did you just write it as it came to you?

I didn’t have an outline for the book. I ended up writing a big portion of it before plotting it out. I’m definitely a pantser. I need to have the feel of the characters and the story before I can go too in depth in the plot.

Maddie loves comic books and feels the need to hide it. Why did you choose comic books as her inner nerd thing?

Because comics are awesome! I also felt like it would be a unique thing. Unfortunately, there aren’t a ton of girls Maddie’s age that are into comics.

I was really into comic books at her age too. I wouldn't say as much as her, but I really loved them too!! Comics are awesome!

The comic book store where Logan works sounds awesome! Is that based off of a real place, or was it all made up?

It is based on a real place that doesn’t exist anymore, unfortunately. When I was little, The Phoenix was a comic shop in Natchitoches and I used to love it! But, much like in the book, it had a hard time being successful.

LARP takes place in this book. What type of research did you have to do for it? Have you taken part in it?

I didn’t need to do any research on LARP because I’ve done my fair share of it. I used to LARP in my early twenties. I played Vampire: The Masquerade and D&D. I have so many good memories from those games!

That sounds really fun. I have never done it, but always wanted to. I think I would get really confused about all the rules and stuff though lol!

Maddie is so worried about people finding out about her hidden self that she becomes very self absorbed. Did you do that intentionally, or did she kind of just go that direction on her own?

She pretty much did that on her own, but I understood why she was that way and went with it, if that makes any sense. I thought being so concerned about keeping a secret could potentially cause a person to lose sight of things around them.

I found Maddie a hard character to like at first. Is she supposed to come across that way? Maybe it's just me lol!

I don’t think it’s just you, at all. It was just hard for her not to be unlikeable at first considering the predicament she’s gotten herself into. I was concerned that it might be a turn off for people, but I’m hoping the development she goes through makes up for that initial feeling of “OMG, sometimes I want to smack her.”

I totally did have a feeling of wanting to smack her a few times, but by the end of the book I really liked her and who she became.

So even though I had a hard time liking Maddie at first, I thought that she grew tremendously. What she did at the end was pretty amazing. Was it planned that she would do something like that?

That’s another part that kind of just happened organically. It just felt right, ya know?

I think that the cover for this book is awesome!! Did you have any say at all in the final cover?

I could have had a say if I wanted to say anything, lol. But I’m like you, I love this cover and think Heather Howland did a fantastic job!

Random questions

Who is your favorite comic book character?

Jean Grey. If I could have any super powers, I’d pick hers.

Have you ever dressed as a comic book character for Halloween?

I don’t think I’ve done a comic book character. I have done a lot of fictional characters, though.

If you could be in any comic book, which one would you choose?

OMG! Such a hard question! I’d have to go with the X-Men universe. And Jean Grey and I would be BFFs and Professor X would teach me to harness my powers and there’d be witty banter between Wolverine and I andandand… Okay, I’ll stop now 

If you could marry any comic book hero, who would it be?

These questions are killing me! So tough! Okay, hmmm… Bruce Wayne might be nice to be married to, but that might be like marrying a cop. Lots of stress. Gambit would be nice, but ugg, talk about the gambling debt. I can’t pick anyone with a super long life span like Clark Kent or Wolverine because that wouldn’t be fair to them. You know what, looks like I’d just have to be single! I can’t pick just one!

I think I would choose Iron Man, but that could just be because Robert Downey Jr. plays him in the movies and he's pretty swoon worthy!

Okay, that's all I have. Thank you again for taking the time to answer some questions for me!!

I also have the book trailer if you want to watch it!

About the author

Born and raised in northern Louisiana, Leah Rae Miller still lives there on a windy hill with her husband and kids. She loves comic books, lava lamps, fuzzy socks, and Cherry Coke. She spends most of her days reading things she likes and writing things she hopes other people will like.

Links: Twitter ~ Website

Tour Giveaway

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*This book was received from the publisher for an honest review.

Review: In Darkness We Must Abide Season 1 by Rhiannon Frater

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

This review is going to be a little different than normal since I have never reviewed a serial before. Each episode will be reviewed separately, but they will be more like mini reviews.

*Episodes 1-3 were gifted to me by Giselle @ Xpresso Reads. Episodes 4 & 5 were provided by the author for an honest review.

* I did not link to each individual episode, but from the link the season 1 you can find them all.

In Darkness We Must Abide is the epic saga of one young woman caught in the dangerous world of the creatures of the night.

Already living in the shadows due to her albinism, Vanora is just a little girl when her older brother inadvertently unleashes a terrible evil from the family crypt that changes their lives forever.

As she grows up in a world where beautiful deadly beings hunt by night, one captures her eye and her heart. Yet, can she trust the mysterious Armando? For there is a powerful entity plotting to claim her when she reaches adulthood in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy, and her enemy has enveloped her in a web of deceit, casting doubt on all she believes to be true. Soon, she will have to fight not only to save those she loves, but also for her very soul.

Rhiannon Frater delivers a chilling adventure once again with this multi-part epic serial with a dynamic cast, old school vampires, bloody action, a smoldering forbidden love, and a terrifying villain set against the backdrop of a modern day vampire war.

** Warning!! Since this is a serial, each new episode review may contain spoilers for the previous episode. I will try to keep them to a minimum, but you have been warned.

Publisher: Self Published
Publish Date: March 6th, 2013
Source: Gifted from Giselle @ Xpresso Reads

My Thoughts

In this first episode we meet the main character Vanora, and her older siblings Roman and Alisha. Vanora is albino which sets her apart from others. Her brother Roman has been taking care of her since their parents died. He is like a father/brother. He is very dedicated to family.

They have just brought the bodies of long dead family members to their estate to keep in the mausoleum built on the land. Both Alisha and Vanora have a special ability "the sight" which they inherited from their mother, and they know that something is not right with one of the coffins. Sure enough their fears are confirmed when a vampire tries to get into their house.

I was totally creeped out by the whole atmosphere and the feel that I got from reading this. Though not very long, Rhiannon Frater has a way of immersing you in her writing and instantly makes you care what happens to the characters. I quickly became invested in them and needed to know what would happen. I also really loved how the episode starts off with Vanora grown up and away at college, then goes to the events that started everything. I could see it all very clearly in my head, just like watching an episode of one of my favorite shows on TV.

Publisher: Self Published
Publish Date: March 21st, 2013
Source: Gifted from Giselle @ Xpresso Reads

My Thoughts

Just like a TV series, this picks up where the first episode left off. We get a little scene from present time Vanora (who is 20 years old) then it goes back to where the story left off. I love this style a lot since it really makes you get right back into it.

The ending of Episode One was pretty terrifying and left goosebumps on my skin. This one starts off pretty intense too. From the present time clip, you can almost feel the urgency and desperation and then in the past, the situation at hand is pretty scary.

Something absolutely horrifying has happened that is going to change things forever. Alisha and Vanora are still terrified of the vampire that has been trying to get in and have taken measures to ensure their safety, but unfortunately there is no escaping, short of leaving. The vampire is determined to make Alisha his vampire bride and will keep trying to get to her relentlessly.

At the end of this episode, with the help of the staff, and their uncle, Roman is set on making sure family is safe. It will not be easy, but he will make it work. He is strong, and dedicated. Things are going to be much different for all of them, but he knows it can work if they all try hard. More than anything, he wants Vanora to be safe and will stop at nothing to make sure she won't be harmed.

Publisher: Self Published
Publish Date: April 11th, 2013
Source: Gifted from Giselle @ Xpresso Reads

My Thoughts

As the title suggests, we meet Armando DeLeon in this one. I wasn't sure what to think of him, and as the episodes go on, I am really invested in the characters and the story so I totally don't trust what his motives toward the Socolis. Especially since Vanora got a bad feeling from him when she first meets him.

Armando starts to integrate himself into their lives, but Roman being the super protective older brother/father figure doesn't want the vampire around Vanora very much. He becomes a regular in their lives though and is around a lot. Still, though he seems friendly enough, I still didn't quite know what I should think of him. Vanora is smitten with him, but of course she would be. He's an attractive vampire who seems to just ooze charm.

Armando entering into their lives changes things a lot and now they have a whole other set of issues that pop up. We get to see just how protective of Vanora not only her brother and sister are, but Armando too. Though this episode was a little on the slower side (just like not every episode of your favorite show can be amped up), this episode definitely takes you for a loop and leaves you needing the next one right away.

Publisher: Self Published
Publish Date: April 24th, 2013
Source: eBook provided by the author for review

My Thoughts

In this one, Vanora is getting ready to turn seventeen, and feeling more alone than ever. With all the new vampires always hanging around, and Roman trying to keep their interaction with her minimal, it really makes her long for the family time that she's used to having.

It seems that the only one who is noticing how left out and alone Vanora feels is Armando, but we also learn a bit more about Armando which still leaves me with a lot of trust issues towards him. He seems to genuinely care about Vanora, but he isn't exactly truthful about his reasons for being around.

Vanora celebrates her birthday away with her relatives and has a great time. It's good for her to be out and about, doing normal things with normal people, and not surrounded by vampires all the time. She did really miss her brother and sister though, and is happy to be go home to celebrate with them also. She needs to get used to being away from them though since she will be going off to college on her own. Along with that, her powers are strengthening. She discovers that she isn't sure whether she can trust Armando or not, no matter how she is starting to feel about him.

Publisher: Self Published
Publish Date: May 14th, 2013
Source: eARC provided by the author for review

My Thoughts

This final episode of the first season totally blew me away!! I have now become incredibly invested in the story and all of the characters, so this one was quite a ride for me. This was fun, entertaining, sexy, terrifying, and also sad. Considering the length of these episodes, that's a lot of feels to go through in just one, but I did.

Vanora has been away with family for the summer, and is excited to return home to her brother and sister. The first person to greet her is none other than Armando, who she hasn't seen since her birthday. Her crush on him hasn't gone away at all, and it's apparent he is attracted to her too. Roman is oblivious to it, but Alisha can see it clearly. Armando is acting weird and she knows that he likes Vanora. He decides to distance himself for a while.

They throw a fabulous Halloween Ball and all the vampires come, including Armando. Things are going good, extremely well actually, until there is a major issue that arises. It was disturbing, terrifying, and had me literally tense and feeling anxious. That' wasn't the real power of this episode though, that was the end. OMG I was seriously falling apart over it. My heart was racing and aching at the same time. It left me feeling fear for some of the characters, and heartbreak for others. I am going to be so impatient waiting for season two of this serial. I need it now!!

Waiting on Wednesday 5-15-13

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine to share what book you are highly anticipating the release of.

Okay, obviously I am huge JLA fan girl, so now that Obsession has a cover it was a given that it would be my next WoW. OMG guys! I am so excited for this one.

Publisher: Entangled Publishing (Covet Imprint)
Publish Date: May 31st, 2013

He’s arrogant, domineering, and... To. Die. For.

Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.

Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something... unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.

Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life…or is it Hunter?

The Lux series is one of my favorite series, so an adult novel set in the same world has me super excited! I have been dying for this since I first heard about it and now that I have seen the cover, I need this in my life! The great thing is, it's only a little over 2 weeks away!!!

What book is on your mind this Wednesday? I love (and hate) adding to my massive TBR list seeing books that everyone else is looking forward to.

Audiobook Review: The Program by Suzanne Young

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date: 4/30/2013
Read by: Joy Osmanski
Source: Digital audio provided by the publisher for review

Purchase: Amazon | Audible | B&N | Simon & Schuster

Includes a bonus interview with the author! Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in. And The Program is coming for them.

My Thoughts

A book about a suicide epidemic? Sounded super interesting to me!! I was intrigued. I wanted to know what happened. What is making people want to commit suicide? What do they do to the in The Program to erase their memories? I needed this book!! Unfortunately, it wasn't really as good as I was hoping. While I still enjoyed it, there were just a lot of things that didn't work for me.

Sloan is the main character and she was a character who I liked, despite some things that bothered me about her. I really loved how passionate she was and refused to let the program win. She was a mess of emotions and pretty all over the place, but somehow, she still manages to keep her head. Even with everything that happens and she's not sure she even knows herself. What I didn't like about her was her obsession with James and him being almost her only thought so often. I get that she loves him, but it's like everything she does is for him and about him and it got old very quickly. She was definitely a feisty chick and really determined though, and I liked that a lot about her.

There is a bit of a love triangle in this, but it was one that I actually didn't mind since it made sense. Of course James is the love of her life, but things aren't quite so clear after The Program is involved. I loved James and thought he was fantastic. He is caring, sweet, funny, and totally in love with Sloan and it melted my heart. I wanted so much for them to be able to be together and for everything to work out. Then there's Relm (I have no clue if that's the right spelling since I listened to the audiobook) and I never really trusted him. He seems to really care about Sloan and want what he thinks is best for her, but there's a big difference between what is best for her in his eyes and in hers. I just never felt like he was right for her, but I could understand why Sloane was torn.

What I didn't like about this book was, we never really find out what has caused the epidemic and why. We really find out almost nothing at all about the actual illness itself. It's obvious that it's a way to erase people's memories and make them who they want them to be in a way. It's like they wipe you clean and mold you to their specifications. They have "handlers" follow you and watch you, but we still don't know why or how. I just hate not getting important information in a book. Basically we just go through everything with Sloane, find out a little inside info about some people who work for The Program, but that's it.

The audiobook of this was a bit iffy for me too. I liked the narrator for Sloane. I thought she did a good job with her. I could tell who was supposed to be talking by how she changed her voice for the characters, but I didn't think the male voices were that great. Also, it might not bother other people, but the over emphasis on the "h" in the "wh" words, especially "when". It just really stood out for me and was a little distracting. Overall the audio was good though, and I think that I would have rated the book the same even if I had read it instead of listening.

The premise of this book sounded really awesome, and I think it really could have been, but it just didn't feel like I got enough out of it. I liked getting to know the characters, and see their struggles. I thought Sloan was done really well, but with the lack of information I had a hard time really liking this as much as I wanted to. It might be dystopian burnout, or it might just be the book. It was good, but it didn't stand out among all the other dystopian books on the shelf.

Cover Reveal: First Kiss by Ann Marie Frohoff

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hello my fabulous readers!! I have a cover reveal for you today. I am beyond excited about this book. I can't wait for it to be out in the world for everyone to read!

Title: First Kiss (Heavy Influence Trilogy, #1)
Author: Ann Marie Frohoff
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Pages: 483
Find it: Amazon & Goodreads
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Synopsis

It was all about the band, until the girl next door.

Her innocence is tempting.

A sexually charged coming of age story set in the throes of stardom.

About an up and coming teenage rocker on the verge of stardom, when the girl next door becomes something more; they're forced to face the harsh realities on his road to fame and the expectations of their friends and family.

Sacrifices are made as everything changes as they know it.

And the book trailer for you if you want to watch it!

About the author

Ann Marie ("Annie") Frohoff grew up in sunny Southern California. As a teen and young adult she spent her time frequenting and living in nearly every beachside city up and down the coast.
The first installment in her Heavy Influence Trilogy, FIRST KISS, is tentatively set to release June 11, 2013 — The series is a story about young, reckless love between a rising rock star and his younger muse, spanning 10 years of their tumultuous and passionate relationship. Each book in the Trilogy will come with a soundtrack of original music, of which the lyrics will appear in the pages of the books.

Annie is now settled in the South Bay area of Los Angeles with her family.

Links: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Other stops today:

Tash at Confessions from Romaholics

Christina at Bibliophiles Thoughts on Books

Stops for tomorrow:

Destiny at Totally Bookalicious
Mandy at I Read Indie
Keren at Gothic Angel Book Reviews
Andrea at Reading Lark

There is also a great giveaway. The rafflecopter is the same across all the blogs!

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This post brought to you by Lady Reader's Blog Tours

Mother Sea Turtles Month - Promo Post & Review of Turtle Book

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

*This book was received from the publisher for an honest review.

Stephanie Lisa Tara presents Mother Sea Turtle month! Mothers need to stick together; whether scaly, feathered, furry or skinned! And to celebrate this Mother's Day and the release of her newest turtle book, Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book—which is the companion follow-up to her first international bestseller, I'll Follow the Moon—Stephanie Lisa Tara is giving away 2 gorgeous, large plush sea turtles (26"L x 8"H x 16"W) to reviewers!

Dear Turtle Activists,

I want to thank each and every one of you for your tireless dedication and love to our cause! I have written this book FOR YOU! I dedicate this book TO YOU! 120 pages of fotos, facts and fun!

Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book has a primary goal: SAVING SEA TURTLES FROM EXTINCTION. A portion of proceeds from this book go to charitable organizations like the Turtle Foundation (www.turtle-foundation.org) of whom my first turtle book, I'LL FOLLOW THE MOON—is a proud sponsor.

If you are new to us—please join with us, for together, holding hands, we can effect change. Yes—really! xoxo. SAVE GREEN SEA TURTLES on Facebook (www.facebook.com/.../Save-Green-Sea-T...) is our hugely popular hang-out—tens of thousands of Activists-strong. Please join us!

NOW—prepare for something totally new and amazing!

Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book is not your typical scientific turtle book: my special book is all about having FUN! Enjoy the mini FLIP-BOOK in the corners and create a movie of your own! Click the ebook pages—or thumb through manually in the paperback—YOUR CHOICE!

I've written these chapters in a fun, chatty voice—you know, the one YOU use when talking up your favorite topics! Don't be surprised if you find yourself giggling as you turn pages! Enjoy breathtaking photography, incredible facts, and way-out wow'ing surprises that these millennium-old creatures have to share.

AND: TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE! Yep! Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book is my second turtle book—it's a perfect TWIN to my first international bestseller, I'LL FOLLOW THE MOON: buy BOTH TOGETHER for your shelf. Two little twins; one a fable, one fotos, facts & fun.

So, in closing...please accept this deeply personal gift from me, your faithful sea turtle leader, the turtle-lady, or Stephanie Lisa Turtle - as I was renamed recently by a fan—from my heart to yours.

GOD BLESS EVERYONE WHO HAS SUPPORTED THE CAUSE TO SAVE SEA TURTLES FROM EXTINCTION!

My Thoughts

This book was so fun to read and look through. It has so many amazing facts about all the different sea turtles and wonderful colorful photos. Besides being a very informative book, the way it's written is very fun and the author really makes it easy to understand. Her personality shows through in the writing and instead of feeling like an educational book, it's more like something you would pick up over and over again.

From a child's perspective, this book is also great. It has a cool flip book on the corner of the pages and my daughter was thrilled to just watch the picture move over and over again. She loved all of the pictures in the book and was actually interested in learning about the turtles. She loved looking through the book and asking me questions, and when she's a little older I think she will enjoy reading this herself. This is a fabulous companion to go with I'll Follow the Moon, and both books have become favorites in our home.

I've always believed that magic hides in special places. As a child, people would often stare at my bright red hair, which was very, very bright indeed.
Unfortunately, I developed a bad habit of making up rhymes about all of them, and they soon became funny characters. I didn't have much time to think about being different; fanciful lyricisms danced in my head, and no one was safe!
Since then, I've come to believe that storytelling has the power to inspire a deep love of language and learning. Words tripping off the tongue in somersaults that stick to your thoughts like taffy-- those are the things that stay forever in the mind.
I've lived in many special places: on a farm, in a city skyscraper, on a tropical beach, and in the beautiful country of France. Now I live in northern California, between the redwood forests and the sea. Even though I'm an adult, I'm still as silly as ever.
Many nice words have been used to describe my books, such as fun, engaging, delightful, and whimsical. Some folks say that I deliver timeless messages of love for kids and parents to share again and again; this makes me very happy. I hope that you'll enjoy my stories, too. Captivating children with language is something that I believe in, and I strive to live my life with this always.
--Stephanie Lisa Tara
www.StephanieLisaTara.com
stephanielisatarabooks@gmail.com

Cause pages (each supports a book's vision):

Facebook page for Save the Polar Bears | Facebook Page for Save the Green Turtles | Facebook Page for Save the Redwood Forests

Stephanie Lisa Tara's Personal Sites:

Facebook | Amazon | Website

Giveaway:

15 lucky people will win a copy of Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book. You must be 13 or older to enter. Open to US addresses only. Giveaway runs from May 12th to June 12, 2013

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Two lucky reviewers will win a Melissa and Doug Giant Plush Stuffed Sea Turtle that retails at $34.99 and measures 26"L x 8"H x 16"W. You must review Stephanie Lisa Tara's Turtle Book on Amazon to enter. This giveaway runs from Mothers Day, May 12th to June 12th, 2013.

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And you can still enter to win a Kindle Fire!

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*This book was received from the blog tour host for an honest review.

Bout of Book 7.0 Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 12 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000

Just setting up a quick goals post for my very first Bout of Books!! I hope to try to read 5 books this week. I don't know if I can, but I am going to try my hardest. So, not in any order, here's what I hope to get done.

Parallel by Lauren Miller
One by Leigh Ann Kopans
The School for Good and Evil (audiobook) I am only 15 minutes into it at the time of posting this so it's basically a full book still.
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith
Dare You To by Katie McGarry

If I finish the audiobook of The School for Good and Evil, I am planning on starting another audiobook also. Probably either Wallbanger or Transparent. This is a pretty tough goal for me, but I am really hoping to do well. Perhaps a lot of coffee and 5 hour energy drinks will have to be used lol!!

Weekly Recap / Stacking the Shelves (54)

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 12 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

*Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

Hello everyone!! Happy Mother's Day!! So it's pretty funny, this week on Thursday I decided to film my vlog to get it done early, then I got like 7 more things so I had to do another vlog. Instead of doing it all over, I just decided to do a second one and add it on so I apologize for it being really long. I suppose I could have skipped it since it was mostly all ebooks, but I felt like doing it anyways. What started as a 6 minute video ended up being 10. Sorry!

Books Mentioned

Review

Dance of the Red Death (Masque of the Red Death #2) by Bethany Griffin
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Ghost Leopard: A Zoe & Zak Adventure by Lars Guinard (audiobook)
How to Love by Katie Cotugno
Night School by C.J Daughtry
Sex and Violence by Carrie Mesrobian
Shadow of the Mark (Carrier #2) by Leigh Fallon
The Dark Shore (Atlanteans #2) by Kevin Emerson
The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (audiobook)
Transparent by Natalie Whipple
Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts
Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

Won

$10 Amazon Gift Card (from M.R. Merrick for the Endure cover reveal)

Bought/Free

After Math by Denise Grover Swank
Anathema by K.A. Tucker (Kindle Freebie)
Lover Undercover by Samanthe Beck
Suddenly Royal by Nicole Chase

Thank you to HarperTeen, Harper Audio, Fantastic Press, St. Martins Press, Macmillan, Carolrhoda LAB, CBB Promotions, and M.R Merrick for the fabulous haul this week!!

Weekly Recap

Reviews: Of Triton (Of Poseidon #2) By Anna Banks, The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher, Towering by Alex Flinn, and Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller
Cover Reveals: Revelations, Act Like You Love Me,
Weekly Memes: Waiting on Wednesday, Book Girls Don't Cry
Random: Good Guys Love Dogs Tour Highlight, Spotlight for Brothers of Rock series,

Search Terms

real dead mermaids - Ummm this is really weird. I think I saw a show on TV about it at some point?
mom loves mom ,com - Another really odd search term.
beautifully broken series courtney cole - I loved If You Stay and can't wait for the next book!!
bella andre - I haven't read it, but I've heard it's an awesome series.
book - Yes!! All the books!!!
book cover models - Lots of great cover models.
character of chandler gamble in tempting the bodyguard - I can't wait for this book!! Chandler seems like he will be my favorite!
how does lux series opal end - I can't tell you that. Well, I won't tell you. Read the book, it's pretty harsh!

Leave me a link to your post and I will be sure to stop by as soon as I can! Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend.

Book Girls Don't Cry - Pet Peeves

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 11 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Welcome to another week of Book Girls!! This weeks topic is pet peeves. Oh, there are just so many. I tried to not go on and on with this. I think a lot are pet peeves that others have too.

Review: Bowling Alley Bandit by Laurie Keller

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 11 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date: 6/4/2013
Series: Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut Series , #1
Source: ARC provided by the publisher for review

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

As Mr. Bing's new pet "doughnut dog," Arnie couldn't be happier. When Mr. Bing joins a bowling league, Arnie gets to go along to practices and competitions. But then Mr. Bing starts rolling gutter balls. Someone or something is behind the madness. Arnie, together with his team of goofball friends, must sort through the shenanigans and solve the mystery. Get ready for some sleuthing and even some magic.

Full of Laurie Keller’s winning charm and silly humor, this chapter book—the first in the series—is sure to please her many fans.

My Thoughts

This book sounded so fun and cute, so I was really excited to read it. Besides, how fun is that cover? So being that it's a short book, this review will be short too. It was great for the age group it's intended for, though probably on the younger side of it. I would consider this more of a children's book, than middle grade.

Arnie is a doughnut that Mr. Bing decides not to eat and instead becomes his pet "dog-doughnut" and is treated like he's a companion. Artie is fun and entertaining, and goes wherever Mr. Bing does. His favorite is bowling. He is determined to help the team, and all of his friends when things seem to be a bit strange.

This is a fun, short book about friendship and doing what's right, put in the form of a talking doughnut, bowling balls, pizza, and other wacky things. It's a great book for young children who love cheesy humor. It was a very quick read and had some good lessons in it. The illustrations were entertaining and the characters were fun. The age recommendation is 7-10, but I would say that 10 year old's might find it a bit too young for them.

*This book was received from the publisher for an honest review.

Review: Towering by Alex Flinn

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: 5/14/2013
Source: ebook provided by publisher via Edelsweiss for review

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

At first, I merely saw his face, his hands on the window ledge. Then, his whole body as he swung himself through the window. Only I could not see what he swung on.
Until, one day, I told my dream self to look down. And it was then that I saw. He had climbed on a rope. I knew without asking that the rope had been one of my own tying.

Rachel is trapped in a tower, held hostage by a woman she’s always called Mama. Her golden hair is growing rapidly, and to pass the time, she watches the snow fall and sings songs from her childhood, hoping someone, anyone, will hear her.

Wyatt needs time to reflect or, better yet, forget about what happened to his best friend, Tyler. That’s why he’s been shipped off to the Adirondacks in the dead of winter to live with the oldest lady in town. Either that, or no one he knows ever wants to see him again.

Dani disappeared seventeen years ago without a trace, but she left behind a journal that’s never been read, not even by her overbearing mother…until now.

A #1 New York Times bestselling author, Alex Flinn knows her fairy tales, and Towering is her most mind-bending interpretation yet. Dark and mysterious, this reimagining of Rapunzel will have readers on the edge of their seats wondering where Alex will take them next!

My Thoughts

I am always so excited when I see another fairy tale retelling, and Rapunzel is one of my favorite fairy tales so I had to read this one! It didn't really work for me as well as I was hoping, but keeping in mind it's supposed to be a fairy tale, I let some things slide. I thought that the general story was really interesting and I liked where the author went with it, but things such as insta-love and conveniences really put me off, as much as I tried not to let them.

I will start with Wyatt since I think of him as the main character really, though Rachel is too. He was sent to a town in the middle of nowhere to live with an old woman that his mother knows. He went through a lot back home, so getting away from it all seems like a great idea. Except he hears a voice that no one else can, and then he finds Rachel locked in a tower. Well, that is after she saves him from drowning. He is instantly in love of course and they can't stand to be away from each other. I do applaud his determination to do what he must to solve the mystery, which he does pretty quickly. He is also sweet and charming and says and does all the right things to make Rachel melt. (I wouldn't think it would be hard since he's the first boy she's met) He shows that he is brave and selfless, unlike that way he felt when he got there. I really did like him. He was a great character.

Rachel was naive, but it's not her fault since she's been isolated her entire life. She falls for Wyatt immediately, and she knows that he was sent to her for some purpose. She also knows that she is supposed to do something big. She has a great purpose in life, and with Wyatt's help she figures out what it is. I never felt a connection to her, but I think it's meant to be that way. She is so distant from real life and doesn't know common and basic things.

The romance was sweet, but it was still insta love and not very convincing. I know that there's this whole thing where they are supposed to be together and whatever, but seriously, after the second time they see each other they are telling each other they love the other. I believe that they feel strongly for one another, but love? Not so much. Putting that aside though, I really did enjoy their time together. Wyatt was really sweet to her, explaining things and telling her stories. I had to keep telling myself that it's a fairy tale, it's supposed to be a whirl wind romance and all that jazz.

Overall, I just wasn't feeling it. The plot itself was good, but I think that I could have done without a lot of the seemingly unnecessary scenes. I know a lot of the small things add up to things in the end, but so much of it felt drawn out and I almost wanted to skim over it to get to the real story. I thought that this would be a little darker than it was too, but nothing was really surprising or overly dark and dramatic. I think that I just went into this thinking about it all wrong, and would have enjoyed it more if I had not had any expectations at all.

Cover Reveal: Act Like You Love Me by Cindi Madsen

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

I am so excited to show you guys the cover for Act Like You Love Me by Cindi Madsen today. Not only does it sound fabulous, but Cindi is awesome!!

Publisher : Entangled Publishing (Bliss)
Publish Date: June 10th, 2013

Synopsis

All’s fair in acting and amore...

Brynn McAdams isn’t the awkward drama geek she was in high school—she’s grown up and confident, or at least she likes to think so. But when her old crush, the impossibly handsome and impossibly unattainable Sawyer Raines, comes back to town to direct her community play, Brynn finds herself determined to be someone other than the girl he doesn’t even recognize. Good thing she’s an excellent actress.

After his bad breakup in NYC, the last thing Sawyer wants is to get involved with another actress. But the glamorous and beautiful Brynn draws him in, even though as her director, he knows she’s off-limits. There’s just something about the woman that feels…familiar. Like home.

As Brynn’s lies start to snowball, she struggles to stop acting and come clean. But what if Sawyer is already falling for the fake Brynn, not the Brynn she truly is?

Purchase Links: Amazon ~ B&N

ACT LIKE YOU LOVE ME excerpt:

“Cut, cut cut!” Sawyer stood. “Was that supposed to be more passionate? Because it sucked.”

“This is supposed to be the eighteen hundreds,” Brynn said. “It can’t be too passionate or it would seem inappropriate for the time.”

The next instant Sawyer was charging up the steps to the stage. “I’m not saying it’s got to be a kiss with tongue, I’m saying you’ve got to look at each other like you’re in love so the audience will want it to work out. Our modern audience.” Sawyer shook his head. “Take it again, from before the proposal.”

It was impossible to concentrate with Sawyer standing right there, so close she could hear every shift of his body and feel his gaze on her like a weight. All her lines were swimming together.

Leo knelt, told her she was an angel. She said her line, trying to peer into his soul like she wanted to be with him, and then Leo kissed her. And it was sloppier than usual.

She did her best to not jerk back, though it was her first instinct.

“Okay, that was just…” Sawyer moved in front of her. He looked at the playbook, then lowered it by his side and stared into her eyes. The air thickened around them and she could feel every thump of her heart. “What a perfect angel you are, Cecily.” He said it so tenderly, his smile close-lipped but full of joy.

“You dear romantic boy,” she said, all out of instinct because thoughts were getting fuzzy.

He leaned in and kissed her, a soft kiss with his lips barely parted. The pressure of his lips increased for a delicious moment, and then they were gone. A quick, simple kiss, but when his mouth left hers, she felt its absence so strongly that she couldn’t think about anything else for a couple seconds. Her breath was stuck somewhere in her lungs and her lips still tingled, living the sensation over and over again. Heat wound through her body, her hands itched to reach out and touch him. And then she remembered she was supposed to. She ran her fingers through his hair and felt the whisper of his breath on her wrist as he exhaled.

“Wow, that was good,” Wendy said from the front, breaking Brynn from her trance.

Brynn stepped back and swallowed, but her throat wasn’t working right. Sawyer’s eyes never left hers, and one corner of his mouth curved up in a smug, self-satisfied way.

“It was all right, I suppose,” Brynn said, working to keep her voice steady. She crossed her arms and shrugged. “For a first-timer, anyway.”

That only made Sawyer’s smile grow wider.

Brynn couldn’t help but watch Sawyer as he jumped off the stage. Funny how she’d dreamed of kissing him all the time in high school, but her fantasy wasn’t even close to the real thing. Her heart felt like it’d just been wrung out and shoved back in her

And her scene with Leo was better. She was sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she closed her eyes and pretended it was Sawyer kissing her again.

Nope. Nothing at all.
 

About the author

Cindi Madsen sits at her computer every chance she gets, plotting revising, and falling in love with her characters. Sometimes it makes her a crazy person. Without it, she’d be even crazier. She has way too many shoes, but can always find a reason to buy a new pretty pair, especially if they’re sparkly, colorful, or super tall. She loves music, dancing, and wishes summer lasted all year long. She lives in Colorado (where summer is most definitely NOT all year long) with her husband and three children. She is the author of YA novelsAll the Broken Pieces and Demons of the Sun, bestselling short romance Falling for Her Fiancé and the women's fiction novel Cinderella Screwed Me Over.

Around the web: Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Also check out her first book in the Accidentally in Love series, Falling for her Fiance: Amazon ~ B&N ~ iTunes ~ Kobo

Spotlight: Brothers of Rock Series by Karolyn James

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:30:00 +0000

Hi guys!! I have a great guest post from Karolyn James about her Brothers of Rock series.

Guest Post

My latest book release is titled Broken Sound and it’s the second book in the Brothers of Rock series. For those who haven’t read the first book (All Access) and don’t know much about the series, here’s a quick breakdown.

Brothers of Rock follows rock band, Chasing Cross, and each band member’s life on and off the stage. Each band member gets their own book, allowing me to explore each band member and create romantic rockstar love stories. See, on stage, they’re a band of brothers, but off stage, they’re individual people. They have lives, problems, and through it all, they have each other, the band, and the music. Plus romance. 

Part of the fun of the series is the ability to take the band members to different places and coordinate their shows and tours along with it. In the first book, lead singer Johnnie slips away on a break to take his new love interest to a secret cabin high in the mountains. It’s where he goes to write music, record lyrics, and unwind. It’s the perfect romantic spot.

In the second book, Broken Sound, Davey stays local because he has to. His original plan during a tour break was to write music with fellow guitarist, Danny, but his plans are thrown upside down when a woman shows up with a child and claims he’s the father. It keeps all the emotion right there in one spot… and the drama only gets worse when Davey falls in love with a woman and it’s not the woman who has his supposed child.

Now that I’m putting the finishing touches on the third book in the Brothers of Rock series, I’m taking things to a different state. I can’t give away too many details, but Danny must face not only a loss in his life but also a lost life coming back. He’s going home to take care of some personal matters and the last thing he expects to do is fall in love.

It’s such a blast writing these different rockstars (these sexy men!) and being able to take them to different places in each book. I hope everyone enjoys the settings as much as I do!

***For fans of Nashville the TV show and Bella Andre, the BROTHERS OF ROCK series is dramatic, sexy, romantic,and entertaining. It sizzles!***

__

With ALL ACCESS, a contemporary romance series begins that explores, life, love, and music. Join the five band members of Chasing Cross as they find that there's more to life beyond the stage.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Jess is caught off guard when a sexy stranger buys her a cup of coffee and asks her to sit with him. He's mysterious, nice, and even though he says the right things at the right time, Jess can sense that there's something hidden about him.
*
As Johnnie sits across from the beautiful woman, he can't believe she doesn't recognize him. Everyone does. It comes with the territory when you're the lead singer of one of the hottest bands in the world, Chasing Cross. With one more show to go before taking a small break in touring, it feels like luck is on Johnnie's side. That is, if he can find a way to tell Jess who he is, without scaring her off.
*
After her best friend begs her to come to a concert, Jess finds herself standing in the middle of a crowd. The lights are off, music begins, and the crowd erupts in cheers. She doesn't know much about the band, but that's all about to change. When the lights come on, Jess can't believe her eyes. The lead singer of the band is the man from the café.
*
Plucked from the crowd during the show, Jess makes her way backstage. The encore may have ended on stage, but the real show is just about to begin. Johnnie's passion quickly turns to romance but the more time he and Jess spend together, the more things get complicated. Johnnie has a big decision to make about himself and the band, testing his loyalty and love for the music, and when Jess's dreams start to come true, she starts to realize that true love exists, but it's not always an easy path to take.

Purchase: Amazon ~ B&N

_________________________

The second book in the Brothers of Rock series is BROKEN SOUND, where lead guitarist, Davey, is faced with life changing decisions involving love, family, and as always, music.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Rockstars expect women to show up at their hotel room, but when a woman shows up with an infant and tells Davey he is the father, his world is turned upside down.
*
Anna is a teacher and part-time waitress, desperate to make enough to pay off debts left to her by an ex-boyfriend who made her life a living hell. When her boss schedules her for an extra shift, he tells her it's her job to take care of a special guest... lead guitarist of Chasing Cross, Davey. The second Anna meets eyes with Davey, she feels something she's wanted for a long time. But with someone famous? That's impossible. Besides, Davey is there with a date.
*
When Davey returns to the restaurant, sans date, he asks to see Anna. She doesn't understand what he would want with her. He is a man with a big heart, kind eyes, and the true power that only a real rockstar could have. Then Anna learns the truth of Davey's life, from his haunted past to his rocky present. Still, she longs to be part of his future. But when Anna's own past turns potentially deadly, life and love suddenly collide in a way that could hurt everyone and leave someone dead.

Purchase: Amazon ~ B&N

What do you guys think? I think this series sounds really good.

Review: The S- Word by Chelsea Pitcher

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Thu, 09 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication date: 5/7/2013
Source: ebook provided by the publisher via Netgalley for review

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

First it was SLUT scribbled all over Lizzie Hart’s locker.

But one week after Lizzie kills herself, SUICIDE SLUT replaces it—in Lizzie's looping scrawl.

Lizzie’s reputation is destroyed when she's caught in bed with her best friend’s boyfriend on prom night. With the whole school turned against her, and Angie not speaking to her, Lizzie takes her own life. But someone isn’t letting her go quietly. As graffiti and photocopies of Lizzie’s diary plaster the school, Angie begins a relentless investigation into who, exactly, made Lizzie feel she didn’t deserve to keep living. And while she claims she simply wants to punish Lizzie’s tormentors, Angie's own anguish over abandoning her best friend will drive her deep into the dark, twisted side of Verity High—and she might not be able to pull herself back out.

Debut author Chelsea Pitcher daringly depicts the harsh reality of modern high schools, where one bad decision can ruin a reputation, and one cruel word can ruin a life. Angie’s quest for the truth behind Lizzie’s suicide is addictive and thrilling, and her razor-sharp wit and fierce sleuthing skills makes her impossible not to root for—even when it becomes clear that both avenging Lizzie and avoiding self-destruction might not be possible.

My Thoughts

Going into this, I was expecting an emotional, dark contemporary about a girl grieving the loss of her friend and out for revenge. In the case of revenge, yes, we get that. But the deep dark emotions, not so much. I didn't feel bad for Angie, in fact, I didn't really like her much. It's not to say this wasn't a good book, it just wasn't quite what I was expecting. Also, completely predictable. Which in some cases I don't mind since it's common for me to figure things out, but the journey to the end wasn't interesting enough to counteract that I knew where it was going.

Angie was very self centered. Everything was always about her. Even Lizzie's death. Then she is supposedly feeling so guilty about it that she needs to get revenge, and starts to interview people to the point where I thought it was verging on bullying. She was pushy and not thinking about anyone else or how they might feel. Then, it's been like a few weeks since her friend died and she's all wrapped up in this new guy. She's just kind of a nut job. Like, really. I get that her dedication to her now dead friend is supposed to be all inspiring and all, but her character just was not likeable. Also, she's not thinking about the fact that the revenge she wants to get on people and the things she is doing or planning to do could push some other people over the edge the way that it did with Lizzie.

Of course there is romance. What's a YA novel with tragic circumstances without it right? Unfortunately, I really could have done without. It's not that I didn't like Jesse, but I just felt that the romance was distasteful considering she's just lost her friend, and it just seemed a bit forced to me. Actually, Jesse was one of the characters I enjoyed in this book. He seemed to be the only one capable of logical thinking, and that's including the parents too. He was nice, caring, and wanted to do the right things, and not betray or hurt anyone.

So this sounds like a really negative review, but it wasn't a bad book. It was just very predictable to me, and it didn't really seem like Angie was out to avenge Lizzie's death for most of it. It was more like she needed to make herself feel better about it. To get rid of her guilt, but she didn't come across as someone who was upset over someone she's known her whole entire life dying. I know that they weren't friends at the time, but they had been best friends their whole life. It's not to say she wasn't upset, but it seemed she was more mad about not knowing who did the horrible things to make Lizzie kill herself, and the guilt over feeling like they did it all because of her, than actually being sad that she was gone. I don't know, maybe it just came across that way to me, but I just didn't feel it. There was also a whole bunch of other issues from every direction in this too. Almost to the point of too much in one book. I liked it enough, but it wasn't fabulous for me.

Waiting on Wednesday 5-8-13

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine to share what book you are highly anticipating the release of.

I haven't done one of these in like a month. Honestly, I have been super lazy this past week and didn't feel like writing a review and had this in draft so I decided to post it. This week my WoW is Learning Not To Drown.

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date: 4/1/2014

There is a pecking order to every family. Seventeen-year old Clare is the overprotected baby; Peter is the typical, rebellious middle child; and Luke is the-can't-do wrong favorite. To their mother, they are a normal, happy family. And then there are the roles we give ourselves. Clare: the ambitious striver; Peter: the angry ticking time bomb; and Luke: a drug addicted, convicted felon who has been in and out of jail for as long as Clare can remember. To Clare, they are a family on the verge of disaster. Clare has long refused to believe her brother is truly bad...he dotes her, doesn't he? But as Clare starts piecing together the truth about her brother's stints in jail, it starts changing the way she thinks about him. It has also changes the way the community views the family. The only thing it hasn't changed is the way their mother feels about Luke. Each time she welcomes him home with open arms and brushes off his crimes as "wrong place and wrong time," Clare can feel a little piece of her happy home life being taken away. And when her mother does the unthinkable--takes Clare's hard-earned college savings to post bail for Luke's latest transgression--Clare has to decide if sticking up for herself and her future means selfishly turning her back on family...or if it's the only way to keep herself from drowning along with them.

Debut novelist Anna Shinoda's raw, gritty, powerful novel cuts right to the bone and brings to life the skeletons the lurk in the closet.

I am such a sucker for books like this. It sounds like it will be really emotional. I love the cover too. I hope they don't change it. Most of the sites say this isn't until April of 2014, but The Book Depository has it listed as June 25, 2013. I am assuming that is wrong, but one can hope right!! It might be coming out first in a different country. (It's on Edelweiss in case you are interested, I got declined, so I will go cry in a corner now.)

So what are you waiting on? Leave me a link and I will hop over to your blog and check it out!

Cover Reveal: Revelations (Bloodlines series #3) by Lindsay Anne Kendal

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hello loves!! I have a cover reveal for you today!! This is for Revelations by Lindsay Anne Kendal. The third and final book in the Bloodlines series. Published by World Castle Publishing.

Revelations
Bloodlines Series Book 3

Author: Lindsay Anne Kendal
Print ISBN: 9781937085797
E-Book ISBN: 9781937085780
Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Description:

In this final installment of the Bloodlines trilogy, Keira and her friends face their toughest battles yet. Not only with the ones they believe have set out to destroy them, but also with themselves and each other.

A shock revelation throws the group into confusion, torn between what each of them think is right and wrong. Keira now has to make a hard choice – does she stay with the people she loves, and fight with them – Or does she leave them, join forces with the person they originally thought was heartless, cold and brutal, but in fact, is doing something she actually agrees with. Something that could benefit and comfort almost every person who has ever lived.

Revelations will take you to a place you never could have imagined existed. Heart-wrenching passion, death-defying friendship, treachery and pain, mixed with extreme battles, powerful magic and self-belief, make for an unbelievable climax that will stay with you until the end of time.

About the Author

I have lived in Droylsden, Manchester, all my life. I live with my parents and my younger sister, Cheryl. I never knew what I wanted to do with my life until I began writing. This is my dream.

I get most of my inspiration from music, I’ll sit there listening to it and suddenly I’m no longer in the room. My stories play like videos in my mind, then I go and write them down.

I’m a very dark person, I love anything spooky, supernatural, or unexplainable, and so that’s the genre I want to write in for the rest of my life. I love watching scary films, although I find it very hard to find one these days that actually frighten me.

Good Guys Love Dogs Blog Tour Highlight

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hi Guys! Today I am participating in the Good Guys Love Dogs Tour Highlight. The tour was organized by GCR Promotions and kicked off yesterday!

Prologue

Ian McKinley had finally made it. Reached the pinnacle. The top rung of the ladder. Tonight represented the crown jewel in the career he’d spent seventeen years of his life building. Thirty-nine, and by most definitions, he had everything. Money. Success. A teenage son. A beautiful fiancée.
Not to mention, having just brought on board the biggest client ever for CCI Investments of Manhattan, he was a hero to his partners. This party at the Waldorf-Astoria had been thrown for him, the invitation list a who’s who of New York City high rollers.
Standing here now among trays of champagne and tables loaded with exotic-looking foods, he should have been nothing but exhilarated. Somehow, he merely felt tired. Bone weary with the routine of his life, the predictability of it.
Every morning he bought his breakfast at the same bagel shop on Sixtieth Street, ate it at his desk with exactly two cups of coffee, no cream, no sugar. Every day he ran six miles at noon. He couldn’t remember when he’d done anything remotely spontaneous.
But this was the life he had wanted. This was what he’d worked so hard for—to prove a poor boyfrom the wrong side of Manhattan could make it to Park and Sixty-first. He only regretted that neither Sherry nor his mother had lived to see his success. He’d promised them both he would make something of himself one day. He wondered if they would have been proud of him. But then, if Sherry had lived, maybe he wouldn’t have been quite so driven. Wouldn’t have buried himself in his work. Life would have been more about family. More normal for him and for Luke.
Did he even know what normal was anymore?
For the past three weeks, he’d gotten no more than five hours of sleep a night. That might explain his fatigue, except that part of him felt as if he’d been tired for years. He needed a vacation. Away from the city. When was the last time he’d taken one? The last time he’d spent more than an hour alone with his son? Guilt gnawed at him. He would plan something for them to do together. Soon. And he would make sure he kept his word.
“Why is it you look like a man headed for the gas chamber instead of the man of the hour?”
Ian swung around to find Rachel looking up at him with inquisitive eyes and a smile on her lips. “Hey,” he said, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a soft squeeze. “A pillow and a bed sound pretty good about now.”
“I could go for that. Especially since I’ve been getting just a little jealous of the stares half the women in the room have been sending you all night.” She leaned in to kiss the corner of his mouth, her right breast pressing into his chest. He waited for the surge of attraction that should have followed her deliberate provocation and decided, when it did not come, that he was more tired than he’d realized.
“Hey, we can’t have any of that.” Curtis Morgan clapped a hand on Ian’s shoulder. A short man witha receding hairline and an expanding waistline, Curtis was one of Ian’s partners at CCI. “Not until after the wedding, at least. Ms. Montgomery, you’ll have our guest of honor ducking out before I’ve had a chance to make my toast to him.”
“I suggest you hurry up and do it,” Rachel said with a raised brow. “I’m afraid he’s nearly dead on his feet.”
“No wonder. You really gave this one everything, Ian,” Curtis said. “Our firm will see the benefit of it. We’re all very appreciative.”
“Yes. I’m so proud of him,” Rachel said. “Now, if I could just get him to agree on a wedding date.”
She looked up at Ian with wide eyes that attempted to convey innocence, but Ian suspected Rachel knew exactly what she was doing.
As methodical about her personal life as she was about attaining senior partnership status at the law firm of Brown, Brown and Fitzgerald, Rachel made no secret of the fact that she thought a marriage between them would be mutually beneficial. She’d continued pressing her case for the past couple of years until she’d finally convinced him she was right.
Two weeks ago, when Ian asked her to marry him, it had been with the understanding that there was no rush. Both their lives were full, and a piece of paper wouldn’t change things drastically. Or so he had told himself.
When Sherry died right after Luke was born, he said he would never marry again. Unexpectedlylosing his wife at the age of twenty-three was the most painful, life-altering thing he’d ever known. Something inside him simply shut down. For the first five years after her death, he didn’t date at all. When he did start seeing someone, he made sure it never lasted for any length of time, never long enough to let things get serious.
With Luke almost grown now, he didn’t relish the idea of spending the rest of his life alone. His relationship with Rachel was a comfortable one. It made no demands or even hinted at happily-ever-after and white picket fences. At one point, he’d believed in destiny and people who were meant for each other. A young man’s dreams. He no longer believed in any of that. If what he had with Rachel met the definition of compatibility more than love, he still appreciated her. Smart and beautiful, he personally knew of a dozen men who envied him.
“So what’s the holdup, Ian?” Curtis asked with a punch to his left shoulder. “You need a reason to leave the office before midnight.”
A waiter approached them and handed Ian a cordless phone. “There’s a call for you, Mr. McKinley.”
“Now, who could that be?” Curtis joked. “We’re the only ones who ever bother you at this hour, andwe’re all here.”
Ian shrugged and moved to the window, away from the noise of the party. “Hello.”
“Mr. McKinley?”
“Yes?”
“This is Detective O’Neill with the New York City Police Department. Is Luke McKinley your son?”
Alarm shot through Ian. “Yes, he is.”
“He was arrested tonight for possession of marijuana, Mr. McKinley.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. One by one, they finally did, even as disbelief washed over him. “Is he all right?”
“Yes.”
“There must be some mistake. Luke has never—”
“No mistake, Mr. McKinley.”
The detective gave him the address of the station and told him where to find Luke. Ian hung up, feeling as if someone had just punched him in the gut. He found Rachel and told her everything he knew. When she offered to go with him, he asked her to stay and explain to the others that he’d had an emergency.
He caught a cab outside the building, imagining, during the drive, a hundred different scenarios involving Luke and jail.
When the driver pulled over at the police station, Ian handed him a fifty and sprinted for the door, his stomach churning. Inside, he took the elevator to the third floor. Even at this hour, the place vibrated with purpose. Still dressed in his tuxedo, he got his fair share of stares as he wound his way through a maze of desks littered with coffee cups and mounds of paper.
From the far corner of the room, a thin man with graying hair and skin that could use a little sunshine waved at him and called out, “You Mr. McKinley?”
“Yes.”
“Your son is in the room across the hall. Go on in. I’ll be right with you.”
“Thank you,” Ian said, while the detective went back to his call.
At the door, Ian stopped and drew in a deep breath before quickly turning the knob. Relief flooded him at the sight of Luke standing by the window with his hands jammed in his pockets.
His hair, long in front and short at the sides, halfway covered his eyes. His stance screamed defensive, his mouth set in a straight line. “Guess I messed up your party, huh?” he asked, his tone belligerent.
If Luke felt any fear, he wasn’t showing it.
“Is that what you meant to do?” Ian asked quietly, not at all sure where to go with this.
“I didn’t mean to do anything.” Luke shrugged, clearly a rebel with a cause, the origins of which Ian couldn’t begin to guess.
“They said you were arrested for drug possession.”
Another shrug. “Big deal.”
“Big deal?” Ian repeated. “Do you have any idea how serious this is?”
“It must be if you left your party to come down here.”
The verbal slap achieved its intended sting. “I know things have been busy lately, but. . . .”
“Lately?” Luke interrupted with a short laugh. “You’ve been saying ‘lately’ since I was six years old. Probably before then, I just can’t remember so far back. You only have time for work. And Rachel, of course, now that she’s going to be your wife.”
Bitterness layered the declaration. The vehemence behind it shocked Ian. Luke wasn’t a big talker. For the past few years, getting information out of him took the finesse of a secret service agent. Ian chalked it up to teenage rebellion. The boy had been even less communicative since he’d told him about his engagement to Rachel. He looked at his son now and felt as though he were seeing him for the first time in a very long while. “I think we need to talk.”
“So pencil me in before your nine-thirty, and I’ll tell you all about how I know you wish I’d never been born.”
The anger in the boy’s voice hit Ian like a brick in the face. “Why would you say a thing like that,Luke?”
“Because it’s the truth.”
“No. It’s not. Son—”
“If it hadn’t been for me, she wouldn’t have died,” Luke yelled. “Don’t you think I know that?”
Ian grappled for composure. “Nobody could have prevented what happened to your mother. She had a stroke. How could you possibly think I would—”
“I don’t know,” he interrupted. “Maybe because you work all the time just so you don’t have to bearound me.”
“Luke!” Ian stopped, at a complete loss for a response. Somehow, when he hadn’t been looking, something had gone terribly wrong between the two of them. Staring across at his son, part boy, part man, Ian wondered how Luke had felt this way without his knowing. How long had Luke been trying to get his attention? “Does this have something to do with my marrying Rachel?”
“I don’t care who you marry. I’m sure you’ll make all the time in the world for her.”
Ian felt as if someone had just held a mirror in front of him. He didn’t like what he saw. He thoughtabout the party given in his honor tonight and realized the price. He’d spent the past seventeen years trying to make sure Luke had the things he himself never had as a kid. He’d sent the boy off to a camp in Wyoming every summer and to Austria in the winter with his ski team. In fact, he’d given him everything possible except one thing.
Time.
Maybe if he had, none of this would be happening.
Maybe if he had, he wouldn’t have needed this kind of wake-up call to see what a mess he’d made of things.
Ian sank down on the chair behind him. He raked a hand through his hair and wondered how he’d gone from such heights to such depths in the span of one night. Luke was in trouble. Ian could blame no one but himself.

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Author

RITA Award-winning author Inglath Cooper has written 9 published novels and 2 novellas. She fell in love with books as soon as she learned how to read. “When I was a little girl, we had a black-and-white TV with rabbit ears. Needless to say, it didn’t pick up a lot! I spent a good deal of time with my nose in a book. I think I read most of the books in my elementary school library.”

That love for books translated into a natural love for writing and a desire to create stories that other readers could get lost in, just as she had gotten lost in her favorite books. Her stories focus on the dynamics of relationships, those between a man and a woman, mother and daughter, sisters, friends. They most often take place in small Virginia towns very much like the one where she grew up and are peopled with characters who reflect those values and traditions.

“There’s something about small-town life that’s just part of who I am. I’ve had the desire to live in other places, wondered what it would be like to be a true Manhattanite, but the thing I know I would miss is the familiarity of faces everywhere I go. There’s a lot to be said for going in the grocery store and seeing ten people you know!”

Her passion for writing has most recently translated into songwriting which she considers a natural extension of her love of storytelling.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads

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Review: Of Triton (Of Poseidon #2) by Anna Banks

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication date: 5/28/2013
Source: eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley for review

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

My Thoughts

Mermaid books are kind of hit or miss with me, but I can say that this series is a win so far. In the first book, I wasn't a huge fan of Galen, but he was better for me in this book. I loved where the story went, the adventure, and the danger. This one was a step up from the first and I really enjoyed it.

Emma is a character that I don't really feel strongly one way or another for. She is just kind of there. She can be brave, but she also does stupid things. She can put up the tough girl act, but she's also weak at times. I guess besides being a half breed, she's just pretty normal. We get so used to all these super kickass female heroines in books, that when we have a mostly average one, it's just kind of blah. Not to say she doesn't have a few really awesome moments to shine. She just didn't really have a whole lot to offer aside from the fact that they need her to save the Syrena kindom.

Galen wasn't nearly as arrogant and possessive in this as he was in the first. It's still there a little, but I really started to like him in this. Instead of acting like Emma is something he wants to own, he starts actually showing he really cares. That she is more to him than just a possession. He is willing to do whatever he has to in order to be with her too, even if he has to go against Syrena law. He just hopes he won't have to. He holds his Syrena heritage and laws very high and he doesn't want to go against it, but Emma is very important to him.

The other characters are well developed too. I liked getting to know more about her mothers history, and we get to be in the underwater kingdom quite a bit too. There are times when you don't know who you can trust and who you can't. There is a lot thrown at you having to do with the characters and who is really on what side. I really loved that since I am rarely thrown off. I would think I saw something coming, and then be turned in a different direction. The characters are probably one of my favorite things about this series.

I liked getting to know more about the Syrena's backgrounds and getting to spend more time underwater in this one. Even on land things are kept interesting though, and there is always something going on. There was never a boring moment in this book and I read it quickly. The characters grew and changed for the better I think and I thought that the story went in a great direction and the resolution of the issue at hand was done really well. This was a very fun and entertaining read.

Weekly Recap / Stacking the Shelves (53)

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sun, 05 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

*Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews

Hi everyone! Another week, another pretty big book haul. I got a few more gifts in the mail (Thanks Giselle, love ya bunches!!), I bought a few books, and I got a few for review. I wasn't expecting most of the stuff I got this week so it's all pretty exciting. Oh, and I got a pretty new banner for my Weekly Recap (and WoW) thanks to Giselle also. She is pretty much the most awesome chick ever!!

Books Mentioned

Review

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry
Chosen At Nightfall (Shadow Falls #5) by C.C. Hunter
Eliza's Forever Trees by Stephanie Lisa Tara
Enemy Within (Vampire Born #2) by Angeline Kace
Faking It by Cora Carmack
Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark
Lullaby (Watersong #2) by Amanda Hocking
The Program (audiobook) by Suzanne Young
The Vampires (In Darkness We Must Abide #5) by Rhiannon Frater
Turtle Book Fotos, Facts, and Fun by Stephanie Lisa Tara
Wake by Amanda Hocking

Won/Gifted

Newsflesh Trilogy Boxed Set by Mira Grant - Includes Feed, Deadline, and Blackout (gifted from Giselle @ Xpresso Reads)
What Happens Next by Coleen Clayton (gifted from Giselle @ Xpresso Reads)

Bought

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor
Wife in Name Only by Hayson Manning

People Mentioned

Giselle @ Xpresso Reads
Candace @ Candace's Book Blog
Rhiannon Frater
Angeline Kace

Thank you Macmillan, Netgalley, HarperCollins, Edelweiss, Simon Audio, Candace, Angeline, Rhiannon, and Giselle. All of you are super awesome!!!

Weekly Recap

Reviews: Naturals by Tiffany Truitt, Real Men Don't Quit by Coleen Kwan, Wrecked by Alyssa Rose Ivy, and Sky on Fire by Emmy Laybourne
Blog Tours: Naturals, Game. Set. Match., and Wrecked.
Cover Reveals: Endure by M.R Merrick
Weekly Memes: Book Girls Don't Cry
Random: Bout of Books and Siege book blitz,

Search Terms

aiden's pov chapter 22 - This was part of the Apollyon blog tour and can be found on Stuck in Books with the correct password.
hope you had fabulous day mom - Well, this is random, but sweet. My kiddo is too young for the internet, but I hope whoever did this search said this to their own mother.
on the day i died by: candace fleming tracy chapter - I have my review for this, but no chapter.
aiden st delphi pov from - I am assuming you are looking for the one mentioned above.
ann marie frohoff - I reviewed Skid Out a while ago and will be reviewing First Kiss soon.
apollyon jennifer armentrout review - Yup, it's on my blog. Hope you found it.

So that's my week. I hope that all of you had a fantastic week. I would love to know what you got, so leave me a link and I will stop by.

Book Girls Don't Cry: Trends and Genres

noreply@blogger.com (Amy) — Sat, 04 May 2013 04:00:00 +0000

Hello my lovelies!! Welcome to another Book Girls post! Did you all miss me last week? I missed all of you. I am now back from my sort of hiatus and ready to talk about this weeks topic, trends in books or genres. I was going to do a vlog, but the hubs came home and I can't do vlogs around him. It's just weird.

Other Book Girls Post This Week

Jenni

Giselle

Okay, so it seems that I am in total agreement with the other Book Girls about dystopians. It just seems like they aren't doing it for me. I really want to love them, but it's just not happening. I'm sick of not knowing why things are the way they are now, horrible characters, and not great world building. Especially with a dystopian novel. You need to make me be able to imagine how desolate and horrible things are now.

Another thing that I am so over, at least for now. The super douche bag guy who is drop dead gorgeous! It happens mostly in paranormal books, but we still get it in other genres too. That is a trend that I could definitely do without. I mean seriously, why does the super bad boy always have to be absolutely stunning to look at?

Oh, and speaking of the hot guy, what's with the popular hot guy always falling for the new girl, or the new guy is hot and falls for the awkward, not so popular girl at school. It's like it was meant to be!! They are soulmates and intended to be together since the beginning of time. *rolls eyes*

Also, the whole stereotyping thing. It really bothers me. I don't know if it's because I was a cheerleader, and also was in with the "popular groups" when I was in school, but I am so sick of the stereotypical mean cheerleaders who are blonde, and tall and gorgeous. I get it, some popular girls are mean, but so are some of the non popular ones. In fact, in my school, all of the popular girls were really nice and it was the ones who weren't who were mean and picked on people, and were just mean in general. And yes, I was a cheerleader and had a lot of friends, but I am also short, with dark brown, curly frizzy hair. I am not tall, blonde, and supermodel gorgeous, and I was never mean to anyone. I was actually friends with people from every group of people at my school. Okay, so I think I am getting off topic. Moving on.

A genre that I have not gotten sick of is contemporary, mostly in the new adult genre. I just find them so great and awesome. Well, actually, adult contemporary romance has been a big hit for me too. I think because I am a very character driven reader, and contemporary is very character based and doesn't rely so much on the world around them. It is real and believable situations.

I don't know if I really said everything I wanted to in this post. I think I do much better when I babble to the camera, but like I said, hubs was home and it's always weird vlogging with him here. What are your thoughts on genres and trends? Let me know in the comments. As always, we are more than happy to get suggestions on topics that you want to hear us discuss. You can find the form in any of our Book Girls tabs on our blogs.