Butterfly-o-Meter Books

Review: Ink by Isabelle Rowan @dsp_mm_romance

2012-02-25T00:01:00.002+02:00

Ink
by Isabelle RowanEditions: paperback, ebook
Published December 12th 2011 by Dreamspinner Press (first published December 1st 2011)
Source: NetGalley
Roman centurion Dominic drew his last human breath during the time of Hadrian. In the centuries since, he’s seen much of the world change around him, but the vampire finds himself held captive in Melbourne, Australia, by his fascination with young, passionate, fun-loving, and alive tattoo artist Michael Chapman. Unable to resist the lure of Michael’s beauty, Dominic finds himself entering the parlor to get a tattoo he knows will fade.
The attraction he feels only grows, and despite Dominic’s extreme reluctance to get involved with a human, he and Michael form a bond—a connection that all too soon attracts the attention of a dark specter from Dominic’s bloody past. Soon, a dangerous game of cat and mouse threatens not only the budding romance, but also their humanity.
This is an expanded novel based on the novella Ink originally published in the Desire Beyond Death anthology by Dreamspinner Press.~ Goodreads Blurb

I will start off by saying this was a 'clean' romance story, so the one on one was safely skipped. For once, we're talking about romance revolving around romance, and not bodily sparks (that are fun, don't get me wrong!). I highly appreciated that, just because I'm all for diversity, and when something becomes a trend I'll always appreciate more the parts that stand out sort of against the current rather then the ones following it. That's just me, the rebel reader. :)

The plot itself wasn't necessarily a new angle; vampire meets love interest, vampire hates self and tortures love interest, you know that line of action. You've seen it, you've read it, you've loved it. You're most likely going to love it in this novel as well as in many others, because it's a story that captures your heart. It always captures mine. In our particular case, I really like Michael, spunky, tattoo-artist Michael. Me being a very big fan of tattoos, I was completely taken with the Ink shop, Abby, the whole crew.
While reading, however, I felt the novel was somehow composed of two different parts, connected no doubt, but not interwoven. The first part of the novel was very slow on rhythm, very focused on emotion and less centered on action. Though I didn't much like Dominic's attitude and behavior (rare occurrence, since he's the vampire of this part of the story), I liked the focus on emotion and emotional reaction that this part of the read held. I found myself wishing something would happen already, there was this tension and frustration that just escalated into me snorting and gaaah-ing until the something I was itching for finally did happen. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't frustrated with the novel, I was frustrated with Dominic as a person, let's say, not as a character.
And then came the second part of the read, the active, dynamic one, that lingered on the emotional part of things little and followed all sorts of exciting events more. I really liked the fact the plot followed the Dominic/Michael relationship beyond the point of turning, many stories somehow stop then, as if that would be the final resolve of all possible issues. In this case, it was the trigger to the real issues, fact that puts in perspective all the emotional turmoil when comparing it with some more palpable danger.
I wished I would have felt the passing between one orientation and the next smoother, that the rhythm of the plot would have been a bit more balanced, giving the impression of the tightly knit whole instead of two slightly different parts.

As far as characters go, they were fun, Michael being my favorite, spunky, and more charismatic then the vampires, something of a first if you ask me. It's the vampires that always end up being the charismatic ones, and not because of their beauty or their innate mystery necessarily. Ok, it has a lot to do with those two things, lol, but the vampire is often the one written as the magnet, shall we say. Here Dominic was more of a repellent while Michael was the charismatic one, and I enjoyed the change of roles. In fact, considering how their relationship goes, Michael is making all the major decisions and moves, Dominic is more of the evade&flee type. As I've said before, I didn't agree with his behavior, including when Galen showed up, but it was consistent with his persona. I was feeling very Lestat a lot of the time, itching to just snort at Dominic and say something like "Would you stop it already with all the whining??".
The most intriguing character for me was Galen, after all was said and done. I found his conflict with himself, his human life, his vampire life, and the world around him very interesting.
On the whole, I felt the vampires of Isabelle Rowan were much more Anne Rice style then the modern vampires, and I appreciated the reference (also textual, somewhere in the novel), since Anne Rice's vampires are the ones I personally fell in love with all those years ago.

I enjoyed the writing overall, though I felt the strongest point in this particular case was building tension more then description/observation or action-centered; appealing to you emotionally was the strongest part. It did well on all other accounts, but through this it stood out to me.

All in all, I say you should give this a try. It's 'clean' (ie not graphical) romance, an emotional story with interesting characters and a happy ending. If you loved Anne Rice's vampire and miss that type of character, like I did, you should definitely try this out.

Amazon

Book Depository

ttyl

Review: My Boyfriend Merlin (My Merlin #1) by Priya Ardis

2012-02-24T00:01:00.003+02:00

My Boyfriend Merlin
by Priya Ardis;
Editions: ebook
Published November 21st 2011 by Ink Lion Books
Source: review copy
If you can't trust your boyfriend, who can you trust?In this modern retelling of the Sword and the Stone, 17-year-old nice girl Arriane, aka Ryan, DuLac just found out her badass biker boyfriend, Matt, is a little older than he was letting on. By a few eons.In fact, he is really Merlin--the Merlin, King Arthur's Merlin, the greatest wizard who ever lived. But Ryan's not impressed. Tired of being a pushed around relationship loser, she'd rather kick his legendary behind.Sure, the world has been crazy ever since the sword and the stone fell out of the sky like a meteor. And Ryan's a bit freaked about the scary shadow-dragon trying to burn her alive. And now, Matt--er, Merlin--needs her and her brother to leave home because they are Candidates to pull the sword.But despite gruesome gargoyles, a new world of magic, and the guy driving her crazy, Ryan knows that family is everything. Will Merlin sacrifice hers to save the world? Will she be able to stop him?~ Goodreads Blurb

A book tour stop brought to Butterfly-o-Meter Books by Bewitching Book Tours.

I loved the idea of this as soon as I read the book description. Though I wouldn't quite call it a retelling, it's a reinterpretation and contemporary remix of Merlin and Camelot.

The book started out just a bit confusing to me, the action felt a little bit rushed. I had a few moments when I thought I had perhaps missed something, or there had been some short story or something published previously that I should have read but hadn't, because at times it was just that confusing to me. However, as the plot developed, I felt the pace of things went to a lovely upbeat but not confusingly fast tempo and I enjoyed it considerably more after it did so.
I felt the story was interesting and I had fun following it.

The characters were certainly entertaining, though not vastly explored. Their interaction felt very natural, it flowed very well, and I felt the Vane / Ryan angle held more chemistry then the Matt / Ryan one. That sort of threw me off a bit because by the title of the book I was expecting it to be all about Merlin, not Vane, but it was a pleasant surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun reading about the gargoyles as well and their society, for sort of personal reasons (ok, so I'm a big fan of gargoyles :D).
We have some of the basics, badboy-ish character, the good guy, the spunky girl - the romantic triangle, angst, action, fighting, all the elements are there.

The writing was nice, clear, accessible, very conducive to projecting the action in my mind, though I am sad to say I found a few typos along the way, the kind that you do when typing in a hurry, you kno? (See what I did there? haha) It wasn't grating because overall not much of that stood out, but it was there all the same.

As a personal note, the cover didn't draw me in much. Had I seen this title as is somewhere, say on Goodreads (where I do most of my book-prowling, I don't know about you), I most likely wouldn't have been drawn in by the cover. Don't get me wrong, it has happened that after being drawn in by the cover I'd regret ever picking the book up, it's not a necessarily good way of picking your reads, but when you have really fun and entertaining content, I believe you should do your best to give it a tempting cover.

All in all, I say this YA title would deserve a try, and I am curious about what will happen in future novels of the series.

Barnes&Noble | Amazon

ttyl

Q&A with Priya Ardis

2012-02-24T00:00:00.006+02:00

About the Author:
Priya Ardis loves stories of all kinds--but especially the gooey ones that make your nose leak and let your latte go cold. Her young adult novel, My Boyfriend Merlin, comes from a childhood of playing too much She-Ra and watching too much Spock. She started my first book at sixteen, writing in notebooks on long train rides. While reading My Boyfriend Merlin or most books, she recommends pajamas first and a pumpkin spice anything for taste. Her favorite Arthurian piece is the poem The Lady of Shalott by Lord Alfred Tennyson and a gorgeous song by Loreena McKennitt. A hopeless romantic, she’s a longtime member of the Romance Writer's of America.

Links: Blog | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

1. Of all the PNR possibilities, what made you choose Merlin?

I’ve wanted to read a YA Arthurian where the girl was a central focus for a long time. Besides the Mists of Avalon, most Arthurians tend to revolve around the male characters. In My Boyfriend Merlin, I gave voice to those who wanted to see a kick-butt heroine take the spotlight. Bringing Merlin forward to our age evolved from that idea. I wanted to tie what was going on in the present with the legend we already knew. And who better to bring forward than the all-powerful wizard and put him through the hoops of a modern relationship?

2. What inspired the idea of your story?

Seriously, one day I was driving and I had the thought what would happen if the sword and stone fell in the middle of London today? I guess I needed an Arthurian fix :D

3. Are you a history-buff by any chance, how went the research for the historical part of the story?

I do love history. It’s always been my favorite subject. When writing a book, I’ve found it’s the little details that really make the book sparkle. Usually these are the lines everyone skims past (I know I do), but it adds flavor by being there. I had loads of fun with this.

4. Can we persuade you to tell us a bit about Vane? Would you describe him as the bad boy of your novel?

Oh, Vane. He’s totally the bad-boy brother. You don’t know if you should hate him or love him. He is Merlin’s foil. Where Merlin strives to be noble, Vane is daring. Where Merlin drives a motorcycle, he has an SUV. Where Merlin doesn’t like gadgets, Vane’s into video games. Everything is a competition between these two.

5. Ryan has one tremendous name. How did that come about?

All the great heroes seem to have big names. She has to live up to hers.

6. Would you tell us a bit about your Matt? What’s he like? What would he wear when going shopping? :D

Matt is a jeans and t-shirt guy. He’s a bit of a bohemian with his fake leather jacket, but really he’s a professor at heart. Also, he’s pretty much always right. It’s a good thing he’s cute.

7. Matt seems to be rather anti-gadgets, would you say he’s a romantic for favoring tomes instead?

Oh, yes. Matt is technology challenged. It does make him a bit of a throwback. His head is too full to tackle technology. He would bring you roses on Valentine, if he dug his nose out of a book!

8. Avalon Preparatory – a fabulous idea. Perhaps you could tell our readers a bit about it? What is it, how do things work there? :D

Avalon Prep is the seat of the Wizard Council and affectionately termed as wizard school. It’s a secondary school so for students about thirteen and above. It is located in southwest England near Glastonbury, a place with many ties to the Arthurian legends. (It’s where King Arthur’s body may have been brought back after his death. Glastonbury Abbey may have been where Lancelot retreated to after Arthur’s death.) In My Boyfriend Merlin, Merlin takes the Candidates to hide out and train at Avalon Prep. I think after Harry Potter “wizard school” invokes images of castles, etc. Avalon Prep is more like a university campus. Oh, and all the students have iPads. The school runs on tablets (much to Merlin’s chagrin).

9. Who (and what, lol) is Morgan and how is he relevant to the story? Maybe you can tell our readers why would I have loved to see him duel it out with Matt? *evil grin*

Morgan is a gargoyle and Ryan’s ex-boyfriend. He’s the reason she calls herself a “relationship loser.” Morgan reminds me of the bogeyman. He’s the fear Ryan has to get over to move on. Unfortunately, Matt can’t do it for her :)

10. And the regular questions of all interviews, have some exciting new plans for a novel? Give us something to look forward to.

I am putting the finishing touches on Book 2, My Merlin Awakening, as we speak. It delves deeper into Ryan’s relationship with Merlin and Vane and also explores the story of the Fisher King. Make sure to add it to your to-read on Goodreads. I’ll be doing a cover reveal there soon!

Guest Post: Mitchell Maxwell

2012-02-23T19:22:00.000+02:00

For more than a year now I have tried to make the career change from producer to author. It has been going well my first book was well received and is gathering momentum and my second novel is finished and waiting for release. I have enjoyed the transition as it allows my creative juices to take flight without the myriad personalities acting out and it allows me to tell a story without dealing with divas and budgets and the stakes of a Broadway show.

Nevertheless I was back at pre production today for a new musical that opens this spring. And it was both glorious and frustrating. The musical director, choreographer, my assistant director and the composer all sat in an empty theater lit simply by a ghost light and talked through the shape of the show. Its content, conceit approach and overall character of the piece. It was freezing. The meeting was chock full of brilliance and equal amounts fear and insecurity. It's the nonsense of the theatre ideas have to come from somewhere and they can't all be good. Ideas in the arts are like mining for gold --one winner can make it work make you rich make it all worthwhile.

We fought which is silly because we have a long road to travel but in doing so we found little nuggets of gold little acorns that will grow into large stunning oaks. So although I want to say good bye to all the insanity I guess I'm not ready to leave completely. Its like a crazy relationship which you can't let go of because the sex is too good. So I'll write, I'll direct and all the while I'll hope to remain sane. It is all part of the process the challenge and the joy.

Review: Little Did I Know by Mitchell Maxwell

2012-02-22T02:11:00.000+02:00

Little Did I Know
by Mitchell Maxwell;
Editions: hardcover 336 pages, ebook (though Kindle not for Europe - the thinking behind this decision is lost on me)
Published September 27th 2011 by Easton Studio Press, LLC
Source: review copy
Here is the story of an unforgettable summer. Set in Plymouth, MA in the late seventies, Little Did I Know is the tale of a young man with an outsized dream – to refurbish a dilapidated but historic theater and produce a season's worth of vibrant musicals. A recent college graduate, he fills his cast and crew with people he has come to love and trust in his university life, and with others whose talents and personalities prove undeniable. Yet, while the productions drive his ambitions, a local woman drives his passions, and their romance is fateful, star-crossed, and ultimately more than either of them expected. Told with with, compassion, and the kind of insider's access to the theater that only someone like Mitchell Maxwell can provide, Little Did I Know is a novel about coming of age in the spotlight and embracing one's entire future in a single season.- Goodreads Blurb

This book tour stop has been brought to Butterfly-o-Meter Books by Pump Up Your Books.

This sounded like something new for me, so I was eager to try it out. The cover had a lot to do with my openness as well, I guess, such a gorgeous cover! I'm very much into gfx, deal with it! :P

The plot was entertaining, I had fun reading about August, Veronica, Lizzy and the whole theater intrigue (the actual building-related intrigue, it wasn't about the performers). I wasn't taken with anything in particular as I read on, August was fun and smart, but strangely un-charming, Veronica pushed it a little too far for me to be interested in her, Lizzy was as shallow as that and you can put whatever you want in place of the 'that' , her husband was outright annoying to me.
The characters were pretty much predictable, I felt each of them was a type and they staid true to it, surprisingly Lizzy was the most brave since she seemed to sort of jump around from boat to boat (and other things as well, lol, you'd have to have read it to get what I mean here), but I wouldn't say I felt in her a lot of evolution though she does go through the motions.

The part that could have been very intriguing to me was the theater-related one, but somehow the novel seemed to skip over some meaningful insight and instead focused on the motions of putting this together, putting that together, having trouble putting that other together. Perhaps someone more in the know would feel differently about this, but for me, the very essence of theater - the magic of it, was nowhere in sight while reading this.
So I thought the focus would go on the characters, on one character at least, on its evolution and substance. But I didn't feel I found a lot of that either, as with the magic part of theater, the magic part of characters felt somehow skipped over, again the focus falling more on the motions then on the deeper essence of things.

The writing was very enjoyable, fun and light and accessible, but the moral tone August in particular loved to take started to take the fun out of it at some point. He wanted to do the right thing, for everyone else to do the right thing, ok, I got it...I wish I hadn't gotten it by repetition but by drawing my conclusions about him, perhaps.

All in all, I had fun reading this novel, but not a lot. I was into it some, but not a lot. I liked the characters, but not a lot. I say try it out for yourself if you don't mind the obvious types and the predictable, done in a fun and entertaining way.

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Book Depository

ttyl

In my Mailbox #11

2012-02-21T21:59:00.000+02:00

NetGalley Grabs:

Review Submission:

Part of Upcoming Virtual Book Tours:

I bought:

Don't frown, I know I've said I won't buy new books without reading the ones I have...but these are for the RAWBL! And I am going to read them this and next Saturday, so they won't go into the "gotten and forgotten" pile, I swear :D In fact, I'll be reading more from that pile thanks to the lovely Beck @ Vicariously xDD

So what about you guys, what bookish goodies did you grab this past week? Tell me in the comment or gimme a link to your IMM of the week! Or did you already any of these, tell me what you thought of them, lol, it might stimulate my reading appetite xDD

*Images are Amazon clickable links for the books/ebooks

#RAWBL: Weekend 2. We're reading Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1) by Kiersten White

2012-02-20T00:01:00.004+02:00

Hey everyone! This is Beck and Livia's new weekend fun, #RAWBL aka Read-Along Weekends with Beck & Livia. That's right, read-along! Fun, right?

The Time: Saturday, 25 February, 3 PM [GMT]

The Place: Twitter

The Title: Paranormalcy

Next up: March 3 RAWBL read - But I love him by Amanda Grace

The How To:

- post a check in tweet at 3 PM [GMT] ( or anytime later, but before we check out of the read-along) with the "#RAWBL check in" text or something similar and suggestive. This your official sign-in in the read-along

- read any sort of copy you have of Paranormalcy (paperback, ebook, audiobook, review copy if you have it and didn't get around to it...), we're all reading it at the same time! This is not a competition, so take your time and enjoy it.

- tweet at least once during reading it using the hashgtag #RAWBL , it can be whatever you wanna tweet except a spoiler, lol, we just want to know you're still there with us

- when you're done reading the book, tweet a check out like "#RAWBL check out" or something similar and suggestive that you're done reading it.

If you'd like to post a review about it, we'd love you to join our review link-up for this week's title starting Sunday. Read more about it here. The link-up posts will be Beck's and my review, they'll have a linkz list you can enter into from the time we post our reviews to Friday.

Next week's title will be announced on Monday, along with a sign-up linkz list; I'll be sending out email reminders of the title, time and place on Friday, if you sign up in the linkz list with your email address, we know readers have a busy schedule :D

So take this opportunity to read this book if you've had a copy of it for a while but never got to actually read it (like me *sigh*), or if you just got it and would like to read it asap before getting sidetracked :D

We're looking forward to it, Beck and I, hope to see you guys on Twitter-ville Saturday!

Review: Pariah's Moon by Ian Thomas Healy

2012-02-20T00:01:00.001+02:00

Pariah's Moon
by Ian Thomas Healy;
Editions: Ebook
Published April 26th 2011 by Ian Thomas Healy
Source: review copy
Branded on his face and exiled following his forbidden affair with the Princess of Aelfland, Elven soldier Giele seeks redemption on the frontier across the ocean, but even fleeing half a world away isn’t far enough to escape the troubles that follow a marked man. He finds sporadic acceptance, even some measure of friendship, from a holy man, a drunken mage, and even a shopkeeper, but when he inadvertently crosses paths with a local gangster, the frontier is no longer safe. Giele accepts a surveying job for the railroad, but once in the wilderness, the gangster and his thugs ambush Giele and leave him staked out, wounded and dying.
Giele is rescued from certain death by an old native medicine woman and soon he finds himself immersed in the culture of the primitive but peaceful Horks. He begins to let go of the scars of his past, but the past hasn’t yet let go of him. When the gangster takes his hatred of Giele out on the Hork tribe, Giele realizes that his redemption has come at a terrible price, and a showdown is inevitable.~ Goodreads Blurb

Before we go any further into this, let me tell you 2 things that I find relevant:
1 - The fact that this review showed up now had nothing to do with this article, it's sort of coincidental that I finally got to this title right about the time the article was posted. Funny how the Universe works, huh? (Also, as a personal note, I agree with him on the whole, though I'm not sure what the "be more considered" part refers to?)
2 - I've been in an adventure-reading phunk, I've noticed lately. This is the sequel of my YA-reading phunk that went on November-December 2011. It's one of those moods, you know, when you just don't feel it as much as you did or might at any other time. I'm sure it happens to all of us readers, especially the ones reading more genres. It's like ice-cream, you know? I love ice-cream by large, but there are time I wouldn't consider anything but lemon-flavored ice-cream, and times when chocolate-flavored is a must.
Moving on.

The plot of this novel starts out pretty medieval, we're talking king (no, I will not capitalize it, the king didn't work hard enough to earn it, lol), princess, marriage for alliances, pretty basic castle setup. Except it's for elves, and the princess turns out to be her father's daughter in more then one way. Poor Giele gets used and abused, and then ventures on to new and brave explorations.

The world-building was interesting, but I can't say I felt I was 100% there. A lot of it has to do with my adventure-phunk, I'm more likely to be on board some thriller/romance ride, something more intense and less high-fantasy tale-like, you know? But Pariah's Moon was very tale-like, and I'm not using the fairytale term for it because it's not your typical fairytale setting. It's something like a Wild High-Fantasy world, the concept was very interesting.

Giele was a rather stoic, admirable character, but I didn't connect with him emotionally. Not even when the princess pulled her stunt on him, an I generally connect with characters in that sort of situation. The rest of the 'cast' of characters was interesting, the Horkish were my favorite part of it all I think, Ullu being the most fun. The Giele / Ullu part was pretty awesome, I loved their chemistry (and Ullu's lines were great).

The writing style leans more on the old-school vibe, descriptive, omniscient and leveled authorial voice. Though there were tense moments, the intensity of them didn't reach me much for some reason.

Overall, I felt this was a good story, with good characters and an interesting tale, but I didn't have a lot of chemistry with it. If you like high-fantasy worlds and the journey/adventure type of scenario, you might want to try this out.

Amazon

ttyl

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blake

2012-02-19T00:27:00.123+02:00

Anna Dressed in Blood
by Kendare Blake;
Editions: Hardcover, Paperback , Ebook
Published by Tor Teen August 30th 2011
Source: own copy
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story. . .
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.~ Goodreads blurb

Since this was our first RAWBL read, I'll be doing a RAWBL-style review.

1. What were your thoughts on the world-building?

I loved the setup of the book! Since it's not a fantasy, but a paranormal novel I wouldn't say there was a lot of world-related improvising, though I wouldn't know what to tell you about the Obeah thing, but I loved how the elements of different 'worlds' mixed, witchcraft, voodoo, ghosts, telepathy, high-school and queen bees, you name it, it was there.
It was a fab ride.

2. Did you feel you could relate to the characters and connect with them? Had a favorite?

My favorite part of the book were the characters, definitely! I mean, Cas was amazing, to begin with. Funny, smart, strategical in places, something of a bad-ish boy doing the good work to some extent, I loved him. His mother was awesome as well, and I really appreciated the fact she remained involved overall, ever notice how the parents tend to mist out of the stories in some YA titles?

Thomas and his grandfather were really fun, I even liked Carmel and it doesn't happen to me often that I'd like that type of character, but she was awesome as well. I would be tempted to say my favorite was Anna, but she got it easy, being all powerful and mysterious here, and so vulnerable and heart-warming there, I really really loved reading about her, though it broke my heart in places. And Gideon, man!! He cracked me up, I was lol-ing like a mad woman each time Cas and him had a conversation.

But overall I think my favorite was Cas, clueless, courageous, adorable Cas.

3. What did you think of the plot?

Well for one thing, it threw me off that the main character was a guy. You're laughing at me, I know, I didn't actually read the blurb ok? I mean, I was planning on reading this, so as I do with many titles I plan to read, I blur out anything plot-related until I get the chance to read them, and if they're recommended to me I just keep these main lines of it and ignore any details if they were given to me. So I had no clue we'd have a male MC, the cover had a freaky chick on, the title sounded like a freaky chick story, so I was sort of expecting that. I was surprised in a good way, just because it's little things like that, special little things that make a read fabulous.

The story of the Lowood family was touching, and the members so endearing, I was sort of heart-broken about them, but at the same time I loved the way they did team work for everything, Cas and his mom were great. Their family history marked Cas's behavior and I felt it influenced his decisions a lot, as I would have imagined it would, and everything made sense together, it all worked. It's rare I have this feeling about a book, I'll normally walk away from reading one with this nagging sensation that this thing was sort of boinging my brains, or this other one. But here, smooth sailing, all the way. Well, as smooth as such a roller-coaster story would permit.
I also very much so appreciated the amount of freaky factor. I mean, if you're gonna write about ghosts, make then really awesome ghosts. And man, the ghosts were awesome!

What stood out to me was that the tensest part of the read felt longer, and very tense. The pace of events was just right to build this tension in me, and it didn't really get resolved away when the book ended. It's clear there's going to be a book #2 at least, and I am seriously itching to read it right now. Now, now, now!

4. How did you feel about the writing?

It felt very smooth and natural, I could picture everything really well as it happened. I never got that "Ughh...what the...did I miss something here?" feeling, the scenes didn't capitalize on details to the point of popping your eyes out, but they didn't skim over them either. It was just the right balance between description/observation and action-oriented writing.
The images in my mind were very vivid, and where I didn't have details, I just filled in the blanks, kind of like Cas liked his stories about parties, you know?
I really liked the fact that the author didn't weasel out of freaky details where freaky details were in order, sort of gory in places (killer ghosts, it's not like they're doing ballet, is it?), and certainly gutsy. Way to go!!

5. What was the strong point of the book, for you? What about the weak point?

Characters and the pace of the plot, definitely strong points. And being gutsy, I loved that about it. It's the gutsy books that stay with me, even though I might love many others during my reading spree in a year, let's say. But when I'll be doing top 10 reads, for instance, at the end of the year? It's the gutsy titles that will come to mind immediately.
As far as weak points go, nothing jumped at me, nothing felt wrong, too slow or out of place. It felt purrrfect (except for the cat's demise...:( that part, I didn't like.) Being a romantic, I might have liked it if more of the Anna-Cas angle would have been explored, or better said, that they would have had a bit more time together, but it wasn't a weak point, just a personal wish. There will be more of it in book #2, I'm sure.

6. On a scale of 1 to 5, what would you rate this book?

Definite 5.

Participated in our #RAWVL Saturday? Link up your review in the linkz list bellow, so we can hop around all over :) You have time until Friday to enter your review's link.

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Book Depository

ttyl

Review: Time Out by Jill Shalvis

2012-02-18T00:01:00.045+02:00

Time Out (Harlequin Blaze)
by Jill Shalvis;
Editions: Paperback, 224 pages, Ebook
Expected publication: February 21st 2012 by Harlequin
Source: egalley from NetGalley
Sign up for recreational adult programs now!
Class: How to Drive Him Crazy
Instructional program for women unexpectedly facing the totally dishy guy from their past. Everyone Welcome!
NHL coach Mark Diego’s plan to spend his off-season volunteering in his hometown goes awry when he learns that not only is he coaching teenage girls, but that the program is coordinated by energetic (and five feet two inches of trouble) coordinator Rainey Saunders, his childhood friend–and the woman he could never stand to see dating any other guy…
When their tempers flare, Mark and Rainey discover their fireworks don’t just burn angry–they burn very, very, hot! But that’ll just sweeten the victory. Because Mark always plays to win. And with Rainey, he’s planning on playing very dirty too…~ Goodreads Blurb

This sure was a blazing read, ladies and gentlemen! Blazing read, no doubt about it. Let's get right to it, shall we? :D

The plot was really fun, entertaining without going over-complicated or demanding, pretty straight forward. You could see the romantic interest coming miles away, yet when the Rainey and Mark connection really began to work its magic, predictable and obvious as it was, I was totally gripped and with it. I also liked the youth center setting and Mark's generous (though not entirely selfless, fu~fu) gesture near the end of the novel.

The characters were really, really fun to read, spitfires, they had humor, spark, twinkle, the works. I loved Rainey's independence and intensity, and Mark was the alpha hallmark, hot latino lover thing going on full power. They had amazing chemistry, like nuclear-explosion intense, and I had a lot of fun reading about their one on one encounters. Their relationship built some substance as well, but of course we were more privy to the explosive part. Rainey was very conflicted about her feelings towards Mark, and he sort of woke up to them, had a revelation that he had fallen for her while being away from her for a week (typical much? lol).
Their connection was fully loaded with a lot of tension, even after they began having one on one time, and I really enjoyed that.

Jill Shalvis writes with a lot of humor and skill, from what I can tell from this read. There's no overly done part, nothing boinging at you as you're reading, but her writing is very engaging and it certainly had me hooked 100%, all the right moves were made, at all the right moments, all the while feeling completely natural and real. If that's not good adult romance, then I don't know what is.

So if you're fond of contemporary adult stories with hot alpha guys and awesome gals, I say this is something you should totally try. It's fun, very well done, engaging and very entertaining. I had a blast reading it.

Barnes&Noble

Amazon

Book Depository

ttyl

Hoppity hop Galore #14: Thy name...

2012-02-17T15:36:00.000+02:00

Ok so this the 3rd post of the day, I know...bear with me here...I need to #FF, I can't help it!

Q: BeefcakeandBabes Asks: I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What’s the most unique character name you’ve come across?

It would have to be Renesmee from Twilight, definitely. I thought that name was genius, just pronounce it out loud, it sounds like a whispery echo even spoken out loud. Genius.

What I like about it most it that it sounds genius, but it's not elaborate. I mean, I've read about some pretty tongue-acrobatic names, they're complicated, convoluted, unique most likely through not having a likeness. But genius names are rather uncomplicated and memorable, special, memorable by effect not by form, if you ask me.

What about you? Check the end of this post for the linky list of blogs to hop through.

» Click to show Linky List.. «

Q&A with Yasmina Kohl

2012-02-17T00:02:00.001+02:00

About the Author:
Yasmina is from a small town in the middle of...naw you know better. Yasmina is originally from Vancouver, WA and then by way of the Navy and college ended up in Grays Harbor County with her husband and her two kids and now the two black cats. Yes, she has two of the furry beasts.
During the day, she keeps the people happy or tries to anyway. At night, she tries to keep her sanity by escaping aforementioned family to write down what the evil muses have shoved in her brain all day.
She waits for the graduation of her kids (one imminent and one not so imminent) so that the house will become quite.
She listens to an eclectic mix of music when she writes, anything from Shinedown to Nora Jones and a little of The Asteroids Galaxy Tour thrown in for the fun of it.
Her sarcastic sense of humor has and will continue to get her in trouble but hey who cares?
Yasmina has been writing between cries of MOM and YASMINA for ten years and plans to write for many more. Her first published stories were fanfiction for her favorite TV series but the first story she tried her hand at was Cassandra's Heart now available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Smashwords.com and soon in print.

Links: Website | Twitter

1. What made you decide to make Cassandra a Wiccan?

Well a long time ago in a world far far away…oh wait wrong story, sorry. When I originally wrote this story ten plus years ago, it was for two different reasons. I was trying to add a little spark to my relationship and I was trying to find a story about a pagan, not Tabitha or Sabrina or any witch from a movie. But just a plain ol’ witch, I wanted a witch you would live next to and not know, because I was that neighbor. At the time I wrote this I was more structured and more ritual oriented in my religion so I wrote Cassandra that way. Over the years, my path has mellowed and I’ve thought about mellowing hers but decided my life was messy enough I would just leave hers alone.

2. Is there any way of getting the recipe for that wine Cassandra made for her honeymoon? *grins*

Well if it wasn’t a figment of my imagination, I would be happy to share. I’m sure someone could come up with one but honestly, I don’t know what fruit you would use that would work well with the ginseng. I do have a degree in medicinal herbs so I can tell you what would work but don’t ask me to make it taste good, and my husband will defiantly agree with that.

3. How would you describe Mark? Tell us about something he’d love and something he’d totally hate.

This is hard because I never built Mark full in my head. I didn’t want to become attached to him since the story starts with him dead.

4. Could we perhaps persuade you to tell us a bit about Cassandra’s aunts? They’re hilarious!

AHHHH The aunts, I was in the Navy and I while I was in boot camp there was a girl that had a stripe like the aunts and I thought it would be fun to have one of each left right and middle. But I knew their personalities would have to be polar opposites, which was hard since there is three of them.

5. Would you describe Cassandra and James’s connection as love at first sight? Were they meant to be together?

Yeah they are so meant for each other. James grounds Cassandra in a way that she needs to keep her sanity with her empathic abilities. And Cassandra reminds James that flights of un-reality are good for the soul.

6. Their relationship is very intense, how was it to write such a rollercoaster of a couple?

Honestly about the same to live it, their relationship is a bit of how my husband and I met and how quickly it moved. We are two people who don’t drink in bars but where dragged out by people we knew, met in one, and haven’t been apart for more than a week total, in over 15 years.

7. Did you do something special to set up the mood for writing different types of scenes? Tell us a bit about your writing process.

Food, drink (what kind depends on the time of the day), LOUD music and a note threatening my family with grievous bodily harm if the bug me. It doesn’t do any good but hey, it’s worth a shot.

8. Have you always wanted to become an author? What else do you love doing?

It’s hard to hear myself called an author. It was never something I set out to do; I only ever expected a dozen or so people to see what is now called Cassandra’s Heart. It’s had a few different titles over the ten+ years that I’ve spent messing with it.
As for what else do I love…reading. I have hundred of books on my selves and a hundred more on my nook as well as dozens of sites bookmarked for fanfiction stories. Some of these people should hired by the shows they write about. Their ideas and fresh and new and would spice up any writing group.
(I know, right? I'm an avid reader of fanfiction, actually, NCIS especially. And I'm SO going to read your fics xD )

9. What would you say was the hardest stage of writing Cassandra’s Heart? How did you overcome it?

Starting it actually, just sitting down, and writing the first word. Though finishing wasn’t any easier. I have a tendency to get easily distracted;”Oh shiny” syndrome as my friends calls it. It took me; you know I’m not sure how long it took me to write Cassandra’s Heart. I know I started it the year my daughter was born and she will be 12 in October. It’s been finished for a few years but I can’t remember how many.

10. And the regular question you probably get all the time: what are your plans for the future concerning writing? Give us something to look forward to. :)

I do have more books in the works. The second book of the Magical Ways Series, Saver’s Savior will be out soon, I’m hoping end up March. And the third book, The Godfather’s Niece is written but still being edited. I am currently writing the fourth, We Three and have ideas about the fifth, Our Sweet Queen. The sixth book Heal Thyself is written as well. I know, I know it’s weird to have to finish the fourth and write the fifth when the sixth is done but there’s a reason for that. Then there is plans for a seventh one call We Do.
Recently a friend asked me to write them an Irish ménage a trio story so that is kind of simmering on the back burners for when Magical Ways is finished. But my friend also informed me that they expected it to be a trilogy because of course there HAS to be THREE stories for the Irish. That series will be called the Shamrock Lover’s, I know a bit cliché but that’s the title they want.

Review: Cassandra's Heart by Yasmina Kohl

2012-02-17T00:01:00.057+02:00

Cassandra's Heart (Magical Ways)
by Yasmina Kohl;
Editions: Ebook
Published August 2nd 2011 by ICB Publishing (first published July 29th 2011)
Source: review copy
Cassandra St. James has lost her true love, or she thinks she has. Cassandra's friends are trying to get the empath to learn to live again.
James Austin never looked for love because he never thought he'd find it. James just wanted to find a better way of training a shy colt.
Neither was looking for the other, but someone decided to put them in each others way.
Trying to clear his mind James watches as a sad and lost Cassandra wanders in the park. He knows he should be thinking of Sparks, the colt, but he can only think of the sparks he feels from the brunette.
Cassandra knows she needs to move on in her life before her gift of empathy takes too heavy a toll, but she doesn't want to acknowledge the feelings that are stirred by the handsome man in the park.
Can they find their way to each other?- Goodreads blurb

I really, really liked the idea of this story. I really liked the idea of the characters as well, and the writing itself was entertaining and accessible. All of these were big pluses, but I'll also tell you what the minus was.

Reading this story made me think back on a lot of original fiction/fan-fiction I've read over the years. Yes, I do read that as well as published books. As a ~~stalker~~ reader of online fiction, I can honestly tell you I've noticed a common trait between some of the stories I loved reading: the idea of the story was awesome, the idea of the characters was awesome, but the writing process itself felt somehow rushed though really, really entertaining. I don't know if I'm making myself really clear here... *sigh* Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying all online fics are that way, but some of the ones I read seemed to fall into those lines. Like they had been written for the sheer fun and joy of writing, for an audience that comes expecting to have fun with a light read of a story they're very much so into.

Anyways, while reading this story I felt like I often did while reading some awesome original fics online. Without there being anything wrong with the story or anything, my first reaction was "Wow, this could be developed into a really awesome novel!", you know? I felt it lacked some layering, some texturing somehow. While reading it I kept thinking this is an amazing idea-draft for a novel to be worked out of. Like reading conceptual writing; if your novel would be a building, state of the art architecture, for instance, this felt like the conceptual planning of the architect, the fun, interesting, creative ideas put together. But from there to the building itself there's a lot of masonry to be done, tedious work like building the structure and calculating the resistance of materials and fitting your beautiful ideas into this finished product.

Was it a fun read? Definitely. Was it a quick and fun read? For sure. But it could have been an amazing read, in my opinion, it was all in there, waiting to be developed.

B&N

Amazon

ttyl

#RAWBL: Weekend 1. We're reading Anna Dressed in Blood!

2012-02-17T00:00:00.005+02:00

Hey everyone! This is Beck and Livia's new weekend fun, #RAWBL aka Read-Along Weekends with Beck & Livia. That's right, read-along! Fun, right?

The Time: Saturday, 18 February, 3 PM [GMT]
The Place: Twitter
The Title: Anna Dressed in Blood

The How To:
- post a check in tweet at 3 PM [GMT] ( or anytime later, but before we check out of the read-along) with the "#RAWBL check in" text or something similar and suggestive. This your official sign-in in the read-along
- read any sort of copy you have of Anna Dressed in Blood (paperback, ebook, review copy if you have it and didn't get around to it...), we're all reading it at the same time! This is not a competition, so take your time and enjoy it.
- tweet at least once during reading it using the hashgtag #RAWBL , it can be whatever you wanna tweet except a spoiler, lol, we just want to know you're still there with us
- when you're done reading the book, tweet a check out like "#RAWBL check out" or something similar and suggestive that you're done reading it.

If you'd like to post a review about it, we'd love you to join our review link-up for this week's title starting Sunday. Read more about it here. The link-up posts will be Beck's and my review, they'll have a linkz list you can enter into from the time we post our reviews to Friday.

Next week's title will be announced on Monday, along with a sign-up linkz list; I'll be sending out email reminders of the title, time and place on Friday, if you sign up in the linkz list with your email address, we know readers have a busy schedule :D

So take this opportunity to read this book if you've had a copy of it for a while but never got to actually read it (like me *sigh*), or if you just got it and would like to read it asap before getting sidetracked :D
Since this is a last minute call, there's no linkz list to sign up, but Monday there will be one.

We're looking forward to it, Beck and I, hope to see you guys on Twitter-ville Saturday!

Review: Enemy in Blue by Derek Blass @DerekBlass

2012-02-15T00:01:00.001+02:00

Enemy in Blue
by Derek Blass;
Editions: Paperback 334 pages, Ebook
Published May 2011 by Rogue Books, LLC
Source: review copy
The streets aren't safe when your enemy wears a blue uniform and a gold badge.
What if the good guys weren't good?
What if a cop went rogue and killed an innocent man?
What if it was all caught on video and the cop would do anything to cover it up?
- Goodreads blurb

WhoA!! Ok so as I've said it a few times already, I'm a big fan of detective/police related books/shows, I eat up all those documentaries on cases, solved or not yet solved, reality shows where a crew follows a team and stuff, thrillers of all sorts. I'm a fan of seeing law enforcement, well, enforce law, in a non-abusive way. It builds my trust in the notion of civilized society and it gives this sense of security, you know? I mean that's the whole point of the "guards" in the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle concerning the ideal republic - in order for the city to work, it needs to have keepers of law and order, and these will supervise and correct other citizens that do wrong - but then who supervises the supervisors, right?
Well here we have one example of the supervisors of the greater good of the citizens going sort of against their ethic porpoise. And if you want the simpler, clearer version of my reaction to reading this novel I'll give it to you straight up and clear: it freaked the hell out of me in a major way!

I felt everything about the novel was well to greatly done, the writing, the weaving of the plot, the characters and their personalities, all great. The ending was gutsy and daring, in my opinion, sort of positive-ish maybe (haven't decided yet, lol) and open to sequels. I feel a sequel coming after this, totally, one because the story deserves it (hint, hint, hiiiint!), and two because this book has been received well - that generally spurs on the creative process of authors, I'd say.

My soft spot in reading, as in life I guess, is character. Man, the characters in this story blew me away! For one thing, there were several of them that I desired to personally shoot in the toe. Or in the pinky, I'd take either option if they were available, lol. Shaver was awful and I hated his guts almost as soon as I 'met' him, that's a clear sign of really good writing regarding mood-setting and showing off the personality of the character. I will say that the male characters of the story felt better done (no pun intended, lol) then the female ones, but the female ones were more like side-dish anyways since the main cahoonas were dudes.
Though I liked the way they were built, and they seemed very vivid to me, I can't say I actually liked any of the guys. There were actions I really got and sympathized with more then agreed with (like the Diego situation - I didn't agree with his choices at all, but I got his reasoning for making them), but I didn't walk away from this novel wishing to read more about any one particular character.
I would however like to read more about them, by large.

What this novel excelled at was eliciting my emotional involvement and getting all kinds of reaction from me. I was crushed when that punkass Shaver started doing his nasty, and I was very in tune emotionally with everything happening to Martinez and the others, without having a crush on the characters themselves - now this is a really hard trick to pull off in my case. By large my emotional involvement with a story is directly dependent on how attached I am to one or more characters in it. I really loved the fact it was one of those thrillers that kept the eye on the ball, though action got layered and it developed on some tangents, we always had the eye on the ball. I like that in a book, call me conservative, but I do. I like it to know what its identity is and for it to be really well rooted in, not bounce around on all fields.

Anyway, all in all I totally recommend this novel if you like cop-thrillers. It's well done, it's intense, it's emotionally gripping, it's awesome.

Barnes&Noble

Amazon

Book Depository

ttyl

In my Mailbox #10

2012-02-13T23:05:00.000+02:00

Hey guys. Wow, it's been like 4 weeks since I did this meme last, I suck. But it's been a crazy couple of weeks. If I go totally silent you can guess we ran out of electricity, with this meters-high layers of snow falling all over you can never know, lol. Anyways, on to the book loot, right? xD

NetGalley grabs:

Review submission:

Part of Upcoming Virtual Book Tours:

So what about you guys, what bookish goodies did you grab this past week? Tell me in the comment or gimme a link to your IMM of the week! Or did you already any of these, tell me what you thought of them, lol, it might stimulate my reading appetite xDD

*Images are Amazon clickable links for the books/ebooks

Q&A with Morgan Hannah MacDonald

2012-02-10T00:01:00.070+02:00

About the Author:

Morgan Hannah MacDonald writes Romantic Thrillers-Not for the faint of heart. She has always been interested in writing and serial killers, but it wasn’t until she found she had dated one herself that a true writer was born. She belongs to Romance Writers of America’s San Diego Chapter, as well as the Kiss of Death Chapter. She resides in San Diego, California where she is busy working on her next novel.

Links: Website | Facebook

What inspired the Sandman’s MO?
His mother abandoned him as a young child to be raised by a highly abusive father.
A recent traumatic experience brings all this to the surface and we see his childhood replayed in his nightmares. He has serious abandonment issues.

Tell us a bit about the creative process involved in putting together the killer.
I have studied serial killers through non-fiction books. Some by FBI experts like John Douglas. They usually start as abused children. Cruelty to animals, abnormal sexual appetites, etc.

Why would you say Meagan attracted such a row of ‘remarkable’ characters?
Meagan has a certain light about her that attracts people who want to feed on her light like a vampire! She’s upbeat, funny, attractive and out spoken. She only sees the good in people, so she takes them at face value until proven otherwise.

If there’d be a contest for having the wackiest ex’s, would she by any chance win it?
Oh yes!

Why write about a serial killer?
I’ve always been fascinated by serial killers since I read Thomas Harris’ SILENCE OF THE LAMBS back in the 1980’s. So I write about what interests me. There is danger around every curve because you know there will be more victims. SANDMAN was inspired by my own realization that I had dated a serial killer. When I found out I was shocked, of course, but at the time I didn’t know just how fortunate I was to have survived. I just thought; Wow, I’m lucky he wasn’t crazy when I dated him! In denial much? So while I was getting ready for this blog tour, I googled his name to check on the date he was apprehended. I was right, it was my birthday 1998. There was an extensive article about him and as I read it, I was blown away. He did have a troubled past. He was discharged from the Marines in the 1980’s for mental problems. Eight years prior to our brief relationship he had been arrested for the brutal rape and beating of a prostitute. The case was dropped due to lack of evidence. And his killing spree began three short years after we broke up.
(Livia's note: Holly Crap!!! Thank God he didn't have a meltdown when you were dating him!! *shiver*)

J.J. had a great relationship with kids in the novel, would you describe him as great dad-material?
Most definitely. He comes from a big family, and would like the same.

Are any of your characters inspired by someone you’ve known or a situation you’ve been yourself in?
Well, the medical examiner, Cheryl, in SANDMAN is based on a real person. I stayed at this woman’s house one weekend with friends. She was quite the character. She swore like a sailor, had a gruff demeanor, but was actually sweet and a gracious hostess. She was in her fifties and lived in a house on the beach in Mexico. Alone. Now that woman had grit.
Sean and Katy O’Brian who play close friends of Meagan’s from SANDMAN were based on a couple of close friends of mine. And believe me, they are a couple of characters. He’s an artist and a surfer. His wife listens to a police scanner. She’s a ghost hunter. And she’s guest stared on numerous reality shows. For years we talked daily on the phone. She even called me on my honeymoon night! She really cracks me up.
Meagan McInnis, the heroine of SANDMAN, is loosely based on me. I say loosely because I gave her the looks I wish I had and she’s much healthier. I don’t get up at six in the morning and jog along the beach! But her personality is pretty much mine. Also, her misadventures in dating are all inspired by true stories. So when you read SANDMAN, don’t go thinking that all those things couldn’t happen to one woman, because they did. Including that icky boss of Meagan’s. And many more. I could fill a book on the crazy guys I dated after my divorce. I wouldn’t even have to exaggerate to make it interesting! After all, how many women do you know have dated a serial killer? So when women say they have lousy luck with men, I’ve just got to laugh. Seriously? I’ve got you beat sister. It’s no wonder I’m single, huh?
Would you tell us a bit about your writing process? Do you do something special to set up the mood for writing a certain type of scene?I get up, grab a big cup of coffee, sit down in my high backed chair and put my feet up on an ottoman with my laptop on my. . . well, my lap! Then I read the last chapter I’ve written to get my head back into the story and go for it!
What inspired you to become an author?
Well I had fantasized about it for years. I am an avid reader, of course.
Then I found out I had dated a serial killer and just knew there was a book in there somewhere. But it wasn’t until two years later that I actually did something about it.
I was visiting my parents for the weekend and my father asked me what I would do if I ever won the lottery? I told him I would buy a cabin in the mountains and be a writer. He went and got his old laptop computer, handed it to me and told me not to wait. I started the minute I got home.

Was it something you’ve always wanted?
Nope. Actually I was a singer all my life, so I wanted to be a rock star when I grew up! *giggle* I was in a rock band and a punk band, but being a star never entered the equation.

What was the very first thing that you wrote that made you feel like this would be it, your dream, and your future?
Well, the book I went home and started writing was called BLOOD IN THE SAND. It just flew out of me and took only three months. After some writing courses and a lot of rejections, I rewrote it and called it AND THEN YOU DIE. As in Life’s a beach, and then you die. Many more rejections followed. Then I joined Romance Writers of America and took more classes and joined the online critique group Lethal Ladies. Then I rewrote the book for the last time and that book is now called SANDMAN. This book was eleven years in the making! But from its first inception I knew that this was my calling. Even after hundreds of rejections, I never gave up. So I urge anyone who is thinking of writing to join RWA. Whether you write romance or not. Their classes and resources are matched by none. And then, of course, persevere!

If you could pick any book ever written up to date, which one do you wish you would have wrote?
Lisa Gardner’s LOVE YOU MORE

Why that one?
The premise is unique. It raises the questions: What would you do if you were afraid of your own child? Nature vs. Nurture? It was so suspenseful. It’s the best book I’ve read in years!

And now, the infamous question: any exciting new plans for the future? Give us something to look forward to.
My next book is SPIRITS IN THE TREES. It is book one of THE SPIRITS TRILOGY. It has a serial killer as well, but I added ghosts to the mix. Look for it in May 2012.

Thank you Morgan, it has been an absolute pleasure to chat!

Review: Sandman by Morgan Hannah MacDonald

2012-02-10T00:01:00.026+02:00

SANDMAN
by Morgan Hannah MacDonald;
Editions: Kindle
Published in 2012
Source: review copy
Beware the SANDMAN he’ll put you to sleep. . .forever.A serial killer on the loose, a woman being stalked, and a homicide detective who must find the connection between the two before she becomes his next victim.
He collects women. He imprisons them, plays with them, tortures them. Until they bore him. Then he removes a souvenir. They call him the Sandman.Meagan McInnis is being plagued with late night calls, yet when she answers, no one is there. Then one night she makes a grizzly discovery in her own backyard.
The caller is silent no more.Homicide Detective, J.J. Thomas, realizes Meagan is the key to finding the Sandman. Now not only must he protect her, but he must find the connection between Meagan and the killer before she becomes his next victim.WARNING: This is a Romantic Thriller that contains adult language, explicit sex and graphic violence.- Amazon blurb

A book tour stop brought to Butterfly-o-Meter Books by Bewitching Book Tours.

So, you're thinking about the Sandman that sprinkles sparkly sand over your eyes to bring you sleep and great dreams right? Will this is reverse-Sandman, he's bringing you horror and it's final. I thought that twist of the idea was really awesome. The serial killer was horrible, not as a character but as a person, but the idea was awesome.

One of the things that I really loved about this book is that I had no clue who the killer would turn out to be. I tend to 'sniff' the killer out something like 9 times out of 10, I'm a fan of crime-documentaries and cases-solving TV shows, so I sort of have a nose for the guilty party, lol. Here? I had NO clue whatsoever. I can't begin to tell you how I was quivering and jumping while reading about Meagan and how freaking terrified I was for her. A total rush!

Plus, I really liked J.J., I have a thing for cops, detectives, soldiers...*day-dreams* What, where was I? xD So, J.J. was awesome. I just loved him, he was so sweet and yet to intense and protective, yummy. I'm totally into alpha characters, and he was a treat. Plus I felt he had a totally awesome chemistry with Meagan, greatly due to her complete kickass-ness. She was funny, witty, totally hilarious in places, sort of vulnerable but independent, and unpredictable. Loved her, she brought J.J.'s character to life just as much as he brought her to life. They complimented each other really well in my opinion.

The writing was also something I really liked, it was really alive, it paused enough on the horror to make your heart speed and your hurt but not long enough to totally freak you out, and it had the same very good perspective on the romantic angle.

If you like crime thrillers, are into detective stories and bubbly characters, this is an awesome read. I loved reading it, and I'm looking forward to reading more by the same author.

Amazon

ttyl

Review: Blue by Lou Aronica

2012-02-09T00:01:00.192+02:00

Blue
by Lou Aronica;
Editions: Paperback 400 pages, ebook
Published January 8th 2011 by The Fiction Studio (first published December 3rd 2010)
Source: review copy
Chris Astor is a man in his early forties who is going through the toughest stretch of his life. Becky is Chris's fourteen-year-old daughter, a girl who overcame enormous challenges to become a vibrant, vital young woman - and now faces her greatest obstacle yet. Miea is the young queen of a fantasy land that Becky and Chris created when Becky was little, a fantasy land that has developed a life of its own and now finds itself in terrible, maybe fatal trouble. Together, Chris, Becky, and Miea need to uncover a secret. The secret to why their worlds have joined at this moment. The secret to their purpose. The secret to the future. It is a secret that, when discovered, will redefine imagination for all of them. Blue is a novel of trial and hope, invention and rediscovery. It might very well take you someplace you never knew existed.- Goodreads blurb

Book tour stop brought to Butterfly-o-Meter Books by Pump up Your Book.

Ok, so I'll just come right out and say it: I got teary-eyed a few times reading this novel, I couldn't help it. Aside the obvious reasons regarding the story, it had to do with the fact I read in sessions and not all of it in one go, and the emotional grip of the story returned each time I got back into it - a really good sign.

One of the things I felt very touched by is the fact this novel revolves around the father-daughter relationship and how it's affected by Becky's parents divorce and her mother's, uhm, let's call them grab-y ways. I'll explain myself without giving away too much of the plot. I really loved the fact that the author was interested in that part of it, many of the stories about divorce I've read focused on how mom and her daughter/son/kids make do after the big D event, so I loved to idea of reading about the other side of the story this time.

Becky's parents get a divorce, something that's not exactly a rare occurrence sadly. Chris, her dad, is crushed by the turn of events, and he doesn't really manage to get over it. I really liked him as a character and my heart went out to him, it just broke my heart to read about him watching those DVD's. Becky's mom, Polly, has no issue whatsoever in not only getting over the family breakup (that she calmly brings on), but getting married right away to this really fun guy Al (too nice a guy for her, if you ask me; ever notice how really nice people tend to find a less-then-lovely partner?). Al's daughter and Al himself seemed lovely, and I liked them both.

As it's obvious by now, Polly I disliked. I really disliked her and had absolutely no second thoughts about it, not even near the end. She had this live-and-crush-dreams sort of attitude, and I was literally cringing every time Polly sprouted one of her deep-philosophy-on-life pearls. Bleh. Being disillusioned is one thing, but trying to bring disillusion to your kids is a whole other matter. Polly lost faith in dreams, in feelings as well if you ask me, I'm not going to blame her for that but I am certainly not going to like or admire her for it. She seems sort of self-oriented in her decisions and behavior, something I personally dislike.
I'm on team Chris, no question about it.

Chris and Becky have built together this fantasy world by doing storytelling together when Becky was younger and sick, I completely loved the idea.
The fantasy world angle was really interesting, and I liked how it worked to resolve some issues between Chris and Becky; but, I am sad to say, I think I would have actually liked this novel more if it had focused more on the contemporary drama then on the fantasy world part of it. This comes from someone who really likes dramatic plots and conflicted, hurt, beautifully damaged characters and their evolution in new circumstances. Let's say that between watching a Lord of the Rings/Harry Potter type of movie or a The Hours/A Single Man type, I'll always go for the second option, you know? So this is the perspective I have on things. I found the fantasy world to be interesting and smart, and loved the concept of it and how it was connected to the plot, but I would have loved it more if the emphasis would have fallen more on the family dynamics and those characters.

I will mention the ending, because it was...well. It's sort of open, meaning you can interpret it in at least two very different ways, it can be a very sad ending or a relatively positive one. You can be the idealist, the dreamer, or you can be the realist, the down-to-earth person, you can be Chris or you can be Polly let's say. And while I disliked Polly and liked Chris, in this I will not take either one of their perspectives on it. To me it's a bitter-sweet ending, not happy and not hopeless either. Loss and hope go hand in hand, who am I to say one is greater then the other?

All things considered, I say give this a read. It's a great idea, moving, well written, with lovely (or in ~~Polly's~~ some cases, bleh) characters, and an interesting ending. Try it, see what you think about it and let me know how you interpret the ending, I'd love to hear about it. :)

Barnes&Noble

Amazon

Book Depository

ttyl

Guest Post: The world through the eyes of a murder mystery writer by Dawn Ireland

2012-02-08T00:01:00.001+02:00

About Dawn Greenfield Ireland:

Dawn Greenfield Ireland has been writing stories since attending summer camp around the age of seven. To date she has five completed novels (science fiction and contemporary), 15 completed screenplays (one optioned in 2009) and as many scripts in various stages of completion. Dawn is the author of two award-winning self-published books: The Puppy Baby Book (hardcover) and Mastering Your Money (print and eBook). Many of her screenplays have won awards. She spends her days editing and formatting engineering documents as a senior technical writer.

Dawn's Website.

The world through the eyes of a murder mystery writer by Dawn Ireland
I challenge someone to show me one day in recorded history where no one was murdered. I am willing to bet you won’t be able to find any such day, anywhere on the planet where a murder did not take place. We are a passionate species. Killing happens even in sacred places, which to me means that man has no compunction about desecrating a sacred place with murder.

People are killed out of passion. Most of the times, when you hear something in a news story, it is so preposterous it is hard to believe that it took place. But every day there is a bizarre story about a killing that took place, or luckily, was found out in time to save the intended party.
It’s all about love triangles. Man/woman/man, woman/woman/man, and every combination your head can think up. Even if there doesn’t appear to be a triangle at first inspection. As long as one character has it in their head that there’s a triangle, unrequited love can drive an unbalanced person over the edge. And then you have to consider “unrequited love” as a whole because, sometimes, someone could have an unhealthy focus on a person without the other person having a clue.
I think that’s the most dangerous type of fantasy there could be: obsession from afar - but not physically stalking the intended. Someone sitting and stewing about “their love” year after year while the other person doesn’t even know they exist, or barely knew them to begin with.
This flawed character, our future murderer, holds down a day job, performs his duties well, is considered reliable, trustworthy, even commended for a job well done – all the attributes that would keep him off any “suspect” list. He’s an average guy - helps old ladies cross the street, gives a buck to a bum.
However… this person that we thought was so balanced is rotting inside with want, lust, longing and some type of duty to “protect” his love from that which stands between them: her husband - even if hubby is a wonderful guy, a pillar of the community, treats his wife like a princess and would never step out of the bounds of matrimonial commitment.

From snippets of information overheard and out of context, or garnered from online snooping, our guy interprets all of this information into something that is way out of proportion of the actual facts, and he is affronted by what he determines is a terrible thing for his love to have to endure. He must rescue her! At all costs!
The elaborate plan is born, plotted, tweaked, practiced a few times, and in most cases, a call to action takes place and the plot is played out. The triangle is now broken and finally… the killer is free to approach and love his intended!
There may be another character that is just quirky enough to have the finger pointed at them, thus giving our real nut-job of a murderer a chance to slink under the radar of the police and media. He’s safe for a while and drops his guard. He really isn’t too smart anyway, so in the end he gets caught in the web.

A virtual book tour stop brought to us by:

Follower Love Giveaway Hop (int) - 1 winner

2012-02-07T00:02:00.071+02:00

Follower Love Giveaway Hop

February 7th to 14th

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Rachael Renee Anderson

The Butterfly-o-Meter loot:

Meet the middle-aged Alcott sisters: Madge, Lila Mae and Dorothea, heiresses to the Alcott Chocolate fortune and mavens of Houston’s elite River Oaks.Madge ambushes Lila Mae with Dorothea’s manipulative plea: she can’t care for Bernie, their 92-year old father, any longer. Lila Mae explodes in a hissy fit—she had warned Dorothea years ago that they should put Bernie in an assisted living center.Robert, Lila Mae’s astrologer, warns of impending problems and he’s rarely wrong.The sisters call a meeting with Walter Branson, their solicitor. They discuss Bernie’s nurse Bambi Chaline, a blonde bombshell who looks more like a hooker than a nurse.Arrangements are made for Bernie to be transferred over to Lake Sides Assisted Living Center in the Uptown Galleria area and a severance package is drawn up for Bambi.Jimmy Ray Chaline, Bambi’s bowling alley husband, is enraged that Bambi was let go. He hires ambulance chaser Mark Slade to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.The suit is thrown out of court further fueling Jimmy Ray’s rage. Bambi had been more than satisfied with her bonus, letters of recommendation and praise from the Alcott clan.When Jimmy Ray fails to return home from the bowling alley that night, a series of events unfold that shocks the entire Alcott family and their extended members.- Amazon blurb

The Butterfly-o-Meter Rules:

1. To enter: Fill the form bellow with all your relevant data (valid email address please, or I won't be able to contact you ok? :) )
2. The prize is 1 ebook, this is an international giveaway!

   3. The novel is a cozy (murder) mystery/humor novel so you need to be an adult to enter.
   4. Winner will be announced on 15 February in this post.
  5. If you wanna comment, please do so, but valid entries are the ones on the Google form bellow, ok?
   6. The Winner: Paulette Alexander
- winner has 48 h to confirm mail or another will be chosen.
   7. Overall rules for all giveaways aka the fine print

That's it, all you have to do to enter it is fill the form. Of course, if you wanna follow my blog in any way, GFC, NetworkedBlogs, email subscription or newsletter (I rarely if ever send them out though, lol), or if you wanna connect with me over on all the places you can find me, I'll love you to do so since I'm all about networking, but none of that is mandatory to enter ok?
If you do follow me, or grab my blog button, leave a comment telling me so and gimme your blog's link so I can return the favor, deal?

Hope you like my Follower Love Giveaway, and hop on to the next giveaway!

» Click to show the Linky List.. «

Review: Hot Chocolate by Dawn Greenfield Ireland

2012-02-07T00:01:00.001+02:00

Hot Chocolate
by Dawn Greenfield Ireland;
Editions: Ebook ( Kindle / Nook )
Published by Artistic Origins Inc (October 20, 2011)
Source: review copy
Meet the middle-aged Alcott sisters: Madge, Lila Mae and Dorothea, heiresses to the Alcott Chocolate fortune and mavens of Houston’s elite River Oaks.
Madge ambushes Lila Mae with Dorothea’s manipulative plea: she can’t care for Bernie, their 92-year old father, any longer. Lila Mae explodes in a hissy fit—she had warned Dorothea years ago that they should put Bernie in an assisted living center.Robert, Lila Mae’s astrologer, warns of impending problems and he’s rarely wrong.The sisters call a meeting with Walter Branson, their solicitor. They discuss Bernie’s nurse Bambi Chaline, a blonde bombshell who looks more like a hooker than a nurse.
Arrangements are made for Bernie to be transferred over to Lake Sides Assisted Living Center in the Uptown Galleria area and a severance package is drawn up for Bambi.Jimmy Ray Chaline, Bambi’s bowling alley husband, is enraged that Bambi was let go. He hires ambulance chaser Mark Slade to file a lawsuit for wrongful termination.
The suit is thrown out of court further fueling Jimmy Ray’s rage. Bambi had been more than satisfied with her bonus, letters of recommendation and praise from the Alcott clan.When Jimmy Ray fails to return home from the bowling alley that night, a series of events unfold that shocks the entire Alcott family and their extended members.- Amazon blurb

A book tour stop brought to Butterfly-o-Meter Books by Virtual Author Book Tours. Stop by at the tour page to check other tour stops, giveaways, reviews and guest posts. Check in tomorrow to read an interesting guest post by the author on the world through the eyes of a murder mystery writer's eyes. Also be sure to check my stop on the Follower Love Giveaway Hop ( 7 - 14 February ) for a chance to win 1 ebook copy of this cozy mystery.

Oh my gosh, how much fun this novel was! I was lol-ing all over the place, I couldn't help it. It was a very pleasant experience to read it, because all that tension that usually is present in a murder mystery that spurs on my natural curiosity was replaced by a light-hearted sort of curiosity here, but I was dying to know who did it just as much as I was enjoying each and every page.

One thing that I had a lot of fun with was the fact the characters are all mature people, most of them really mature, like 40+. Wealthy, educated, cultured people, totally fun and charming each on their own, and double more so fun to follow while interacting. We're talking really wealthy, like butler-style and such service. I loved the way the whole household had this air of a family, and the curiosity and dynamics of the Alcott 'clan'. Chance Walker was totally fun to read as well, and his and Lila Mae's relationship was totally awesome.
Lila Mae was totally awesome, I loved how involved she was with astrology and all sorts of divination methods, how careful she was to warn people and find all kinds of out-of-the-box solutions. Totally loved her.
Of course I had a lot of fun with Uncle Tito as well, he was a complete treat. Oh, and Bernie, man, Bernie! The Alcott's sure were a busy bunch, I mean their numbers increase steadily as the novel progresses, lol. You'll see what I mean while reading, it was amusing and disturbing at the same time.

The plot was well paced and the amount of clues poured in hand in hand with the humor, making it a really pleasant reading experience for me. The type of humor in particular was really to my taste, that's a rare occurrence; I'll expand on that. You know all those Jim Carrey comedies for instance? Can't stand to watch one; I'm more the Louis de Funès type, you know? I'm not saying the humor of the novel was exactly the Louis de Funès type, but it leans more into that part of the specter if you ask me. That's a big plus for me.

I loved the writing as well, it was elegant, it didn't feel rushed, it was beautiful in a suave sort of way; it left me with a very pleasant feeling each time I read it, light and beautiful. Loved it. And I will also mention that adding the recipes at the end there was total genius, I'm SO going to try them, lol. They sound real yummy.

I say you guys should give this a try, totally. It's fun, original, entertaining, a total win for some good fun and thought-provoking mystery.

Barnes&Noble

Amazon

ttyl

Guest Post & Giveaway: Satan's Playlist E Van Lowe Valentine Tour

2012-02-06T00:01:00.007+02:00

About The Author

E. Van Lowe is an author, television writer, screenwriter, Playwright and Producer who has written and produced such shows as The Cosby Show, Even Stevens, and Homeboys In Outer Space. He has been nominated for both an Emmy and an Academy Award. Van Lowe recently stepped into the young adult fiction genre with his comedic novel, Never Slow Dance With A Zombie. It was a selection of the Scholastic Book Club, and a nominee for an ALA Award. Boyfriend From Hell is Van Lowe’s second YA novel.

Links: Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Satan’s Playlist by E Van Lowe
I am often asked if I have playlists for the books I write, which got me thinking. One of the key characters in my new novel, Boyfriend from Hell is Satan himself. What music do you suppose would be burnin’ up Satan’s ipod? I thought I’d have a little fun with it. Here is my take on Satan’s Playlist:I believe Satan has to be a serious rocker, so I am certain Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf would be high up on his list; along with Hotel California by The Eagles. He’d round out his rock list with a little metal: Hells Bells by AC/DC, and what devil doesn’t listen to The Rolling Stones: It Must Be Hell, along with another Stone’s hit, Sympathy for The Devil. Yeah, I bet Satan really loves that one.When Satan is in the mood for classic Rock & Roll you know he’s banging The Devil With The Blue Dress On, by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. When he’s in a somber mood he’ll pop on Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash. On those disco days when Satan’s gotta get his hustle on, you know he’s listening to Burn Baby Burn Disco Inferno by The Tramps. Rounding out his mix he’s got to have something by The Boss, I’m On Fire and, of course, The King, Devil in Disguise.Those, in no particular order, are my top 10 songs on Satan’s Playlist. I’d love to hear what songs you think he’d listen to. You can check out both Boyfriend From Hell and Earth Angel on my website http://evanlowe.com/. There’s even a free sample of Boyfriend From Hell on the home page so you can try it before you but it. While you’re there please click on the buttons to follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook Fan Page.

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Review: All That Matters by Youseph Tanha

2012-02-04T00:01:00.034+02:00

All That Matters
by Youseph Tanha;
Published July 27th 2011 by Youseph Tanha ; Kindle Edition
Source: review copy
Ethan Wright is just like any other high school kid that is one day lucky enough to meet the girl of his dreams. Throughout the course of high school the young couple learn to cope with incredibly difficult odds to discover all that matters.- Goodreads blurb

This was the kind of plot that I'd totally be into. Pretty straightforward, dramatic, full of feeling. The story would have been really up my alley, except for some reason it didn't go that way.

For one thing, despite the story, I didn't feel any connection whatsoever to the characters. I sympathized with the idea of them, but I didn't really feel much about the specific characters I was reading about, you know?

There was a direct, candid quality to the author's voice, but the writing itself wasn't gripping and it didn't elicit my emotional involvement nearly as much as it could have, I'm sorry. I was so un-invested that I didn't even feel bad for Ethan when Amanda pulled a Houdini on him, I wasn't disappointed in her or her decision, and frankly I didn't feel like there was anything there between them to begin with. I read about these things, but I didn't feel they were going on for either of them.

I think the idea of not telling your reader what characters are feeling and only 'showing' is turning some potentially good stories into not such good ones; this is another example of the situation/action oriented sort of writing, and if you're not going to give us some really intense or exciting or desolating situation/action scenes, and you're not going to skilfully tell us in a more or less subtle way what the characters feel either, as readers we just might not get anything about your character's emotions and thoughts. It's just a thought. You can always be cryptic and metaphorical and very literary in daring ways, but if you're going for accessible I feel you should make it not only word-accessible but emotionally-accessible as well.

The plot is a good idea, and if you're cool with sad tales that aren't dramatic either by intensity or approach, then you might want to give it a try.

B&N

Amazon

ttyl

Hoppity Hop Galore #13 | GFC is going down - what the blog am I to do? | Spread ❤, not Hate!

2012-02-03T17:39:00.000+02:00

Hey guys!

Q: Define what characteristics your favorite books share. Do they all have a kickass heroine or is the hot love interest the Alpha Male?

For me, it's gonna be the kickass villain. It can be a kickass alpha chick or a kickass alpha dude, I don't much care. It's not about gender, it's about attitude and character. And I like mine all gutsy, intense and unrepentant, lol.

What about you? Check the end of this post for the linky list of blogs to hop through.

A quick note, today the Spread <3, not Hate! event takes place, check it out and join in maybe? I'd love you if you would spread the word or the links of posts you find inspiring to people who have been bullied or who tend to bully. You never know what might change someone's mind about something, so you should never stop trying. :)
Check it out:

Now, since I'm a book blogger myself, and participate in meme's and blog hops and stuff, I thought it would be nice to share my thoughts (useless as they might be, lol) on some blog-ish stuff.

So, right now, as Parajunkee's #FF will show you or has showed you, there's some migration going from Blogger to Wordpress. This is not what we're going to discuss though if you'd like I could always give you my 2 cents on it anytime, you only have to ask. What we're going to talk about is:

Following Options.

Because as we all know, or are bound to find out, GFC is going to go R.I.P. for non-Blogger blogs. So this leaves us, follower-fans in a bit of a tough place, or at least it does so for me even if I don't intend on moving my blogs from Blogger at the moment.

What I'm about to say is going to make me look sucky perhaps, but it's my truth so I won't poppycock it. I don't want to subscribe by email to 100 blogs, I'm sorry. I follow a lot of blogs in many ways, but receiving email updates is not something that works out for me.
Why? Book blogs tend to be very active; like one post a day if not more, if they're really into it (and many are). What that leads to is, on top of all the emails I get every day (I'll make you a list if you want, but they get to a solid number believe me, and my blog is a small one!), 100 post updates daily is going to drive me literally insane. So email updates are out for me, because I'm not primarily a reader, I'm primarily a blogger and secondarily a reader. That means on my to do list for any day my reading books comes first, my blogging about them comes in tow, and reading what others have said about other or the same books comes after that. Am I the only one thinking that way? If I am, feel free to ignore my useless ramblings, lol.
I'm sure these are not the only options, but I'm just naming the ones coming to mind.

1. Feedburner

Just because GFC is out if you went to Wordpress, it doesn't mean you can't have a Feedburner working it's magic for you. Your theme has a traditional RSS icon incorporated? Groovy. I use Google Chrome as a primary web browser, so your RSS that shows up like :

http://www.yourwebsite'saddress.com/feeds/posts/default

or similar shows up as a bunch of senseless text for me and that's the end of it. It works fine in other browsers, but in the one I'm using it's basically useless. Could I open a new browser just to log in to all of my accounts and subscribe to your feed? I could, yes, but the question is will I? Will all the other Chrome'ers take that time to subscribe to your feed? My policy in such circumstances is why take the chance of finding out they won't? Give them options! Like adding a Feedburner icon or text link to your sidebar, aside all your counters, Team X stickers, and whatever else you've got. Maybe place it strategically near your social media icons, which I'm going to presume are in a really accessible and attention-grabbing spot on your blog, because you want people to notice and not ignore them. So put up there a Feedburner icon too, while you're at it. Your readers will love you for it, I know I will.

I'll tell you why I love Feedburner, and why you should love it too: it gives your readers options about how to subscribe to your blog. Options are the vital element here, if you ask me. A simple "Subscribe by email" option won't work for me or possibly for others like me, I'm sorry. If you have no other option for me, I'm most likely not going to subscribe; I would love to have a non-invasive way of staying up to date with your updates though, so Feedburner would be the number one solution I'd point out.

And, you can post your feed updates to places like Twitter and Facebook, and show off the number of your subscribers via this cool little counter they have, there's tones of options for doing tons of stuff. I heartily recommend using this option.

2. Google Reader

Google Reader is also something I love. It's included into the Feedburner options, but you can put it up as an option on it's own from what I've seen. I followed a few sites that had a Google Reader icon up in a visible place on their blog. Follow/subscribe problem solved. How to add this separate option? Easy peasy, use your Google Webmasters option right here. Need other options? Search Google for a tutorial on how to, trust me, there's tutorials for bending your spine backwards, you will find one for these sorts of topics guaranteed.

3. Facebook NetworkedBlogs Follow Widget

If you have set up a NetworkedBlogs account for your blog through Facebook, you can always place the follower widget on your blog's sidebar. I personally only subscribe through it for blogs hosted outside of Blogger, because it's yet again a non-invasive option for me to keep up to date with your stuff. But I need to be selective about the blogs I want to subscribe to in this fashion because there's a limit of 200 blogs you can follow and write at the same time with a free account. I dunno if having a paid account solves that problem, but I'm not about to get one even if it is.
So if your blog has this option available and the only other option is Subscribe by email, I'll go for this, but I'd much rather have other options as well, just saying. You're killing another NetworkedBlogs blog's chance to be followed by me because you're not offering me any other options :p

4. Facebook Fan Page Subscribe Option

Did you know a Facebook Fan Page gives that option? Scroll down under the Likes icons, look for the blue text on the left side of your menu, way waaaay at the bottom. See that Get updates via RSS text?
Yeah, clicking it in my Chrome browser brings me a ton of text and no action, yet again, but others viewing your Fan Page on some other browser can still subscribe via that link. It's not really a top notch option if you ask me, but since we're on the topic of possibilities I'm just mentioning it. If you have Fan Page, and no other follow option, mention somewhere that your fans have this option available as well, some might not know about it and might like to use it.

5. BlogLovin'

Yes, yet another free tool for you to use. As a subscriber you just sign up for a free account, and then you can follow any and all blogs that have set up a BlogLovin' option for you. You can decide if you do or don't want to receive daily prompts about updates, so you can yet again keep track of your favorite blogger's updates in a non-invasive way.
So, fellow book blogger, you might want to consider giving me this option. I will use it if it's available to me, and you can show off your follower numbers just like with Feedburner to impress those publishers. It's free, it's easy, it's pretty straightforward. Give it a try.

I have read some opinions similar to:

"I don't want to fill up my sidebar with all sorts of subscription options and widgets and stuff making my sidebar look all busy and ugly."

Fair enough, it's your blog, your option. It's my option to subscribe or not, as well. If you're trying to push into the Subscribe by email option alone, you'll find I don't like that sort of pushy attitude and will not subscribe.
Will I subscribe by email for the blogs I'm totally hooked on, like Rachel's or Alison's or others? Yes, I will. Will I subscribe by email to all other blogs that participate in the weekly feature just because they're not giving me any other option? No.

If you're featured on the awesome Parajunkee and Alisan Can Read's Follow Friday and you're thinking I have to follow you through your one-way option, keep this in mind: the blog hop will be there next week, and the week after that, and the week after the week after that, I have participated in it for months will do so for months, I might as well skip one week and it won't be the end of the world... you're only featured once though, you might not want to miss out on all the opportunities this might give you, hm? :)
Just my thoughts.

That being said, thank you for your time!