Readers Confession

ARC Review: Gameboard of the Gods by Richelle Mead

2013-05-23T00:00:00.000-04:00

Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X #1)
by Richelle Mead
Expected publication: June 4th 2013 by Dutton Adult

Blurb:

In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Gameboard of the Gods, the first installment of Richelle Mead’s Age of Xseries, will have all the elements that have made her YA Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series such megasuccesses: sexy, irresistible characters; romantic and mythological intrigue; and relentless action and suspense.

Review:

I had pretty high expectations for this one. Mead is a really good writer and I love everything I read from her so far. THIS actually did exceed my expectations. Gameboard of the Gods is rather different from Mead's usual paranormal adult and young adult books. I was taken aback how much Mead has honed her craft since her first Vampire Academy book. Don't get me wrong, I think they are good, but this is seriously good stuff. Even while reading Gameboard I took note of it, but once I finished and all came together it was undeniable. In my opinion this is one of Mead's best works.

Mead mixed sci-fi, dystopian, mythology and mystery to make up a fast paced intricate plot, that kept me guessing and hoping at once. It's a Mead book so its fast and kick-ass, just what I like about her. But at the same time, there is depth to it and it made me think for a bit after. The first half or so has quite a bit of technical terms in it, being a geek I really enjoyed them though.

The character building is superb, I think Mead has always been good at this probably my favorite part of her writing. I happily would read her books even if they would be totally character based. To my amazement she manages to improve with each piece she write on this aspect. And in Gameboard she came up with faceted intriguing and captivating characters. The two MC's Mae and Justin are flawed, likable and extremely different, at least on the surface. They have palpable chemistry and I loved seeing how their relationship evolved just as much as the two characters. The support characters though were extremely well written as well and I think they highlighted the different aspects of the MC's superbly. As example Justin's relationship with Tessa on the one end highlights how protected and naive she is (Justine being the opposite) but it also shows that Justin has a generous and sweet side to him.

The world building is incredible! Mead created a post-apocalyptic world made up with pieces of the world we know today, old school mythology and great sci-fi. It's so well done that it is totally believable and more importantly it's fresh and exciting and unique. I just must say, I loved the ravens!

Mead's prose was always beautiful and really great, and she does deliver another well written book. While this is really different than her previous books, it still is recognizably her style. Her descriptions of the characters feelings and their relationship with others left an impression on me, that stayed with me for days and made me think about it. Which in means that Gameboard of the Gods will probably made it into my favorite books and definitely is one of my favorite releases in 2013 so far.

My only minor criticism- the lusting for each other but cant have each other romance. It's kinda Mead's MO i guess and to be honest she does it so well, that I didn't mind too much.

Fabulous action scenes, well crafted mystery, fascinating world building and likable interesting character left me wanting more! I'm looking forward where Mead will take this exciting and fabulous new series.

**I received this book from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review**

Audiobook Review: The Program by Suzanne Young

2013-05-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Program
by Suzanne Young
Published April 30th 2013 by Simon & Schuster Audio
Narrator: Joy Osmanski
Source: self purchase via Audible
LENGTH 10 hrs and 56 mins

Blurb:

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

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

Review:

I really just want to gush about this book that it's so hard for me to write this review. I have to slow down, step back and think about this coherently. It's been 2 days since I finished The Program and I haven't started listening to another book YET. This is not my norm...I end one, I start one. I just can't get this one out of my head. Okay...let me back up.

This book has been on my TBR since I first read the premise last summer. I'm chosey about my dystopian and YA books especially but this one just sounded so interesting to me. I've seen mixed reviews about this book and after I was told the audiobook was good, I didn't hesitate. I listened to this book in 2 days. I usually just listen on the car rides to and from work, but this book was so addicting that I just COULD NOT stop. My addiction was to the point that my husband was even taking notice. LOL

I've seen other reviews and it seems like others are upset about the premise of the book "suicide as an epidemic". Listen...if you are SUPER nit picky about science not working out perfectly in your book, then this book may annoy you. If you want to read a book for the enjoyment and aren't going to harp on the tiny details, YOU'LL LOVE THIS ONE!!!

Okay, review really below.....

The Program is told only from Sloane, the heroine's POV. She is living in a time where suicide has become an epidemic, an epidemic that caused the loss of her brother. Teens are struggling with their raging emotions but aren't able to fully express themselves for fear of The Program. Tons of people have bought into the propaganda including teachers and parents. There are handlers watching students at school all day long for an signs of distress.

There are 3 parts in the book. The first part Sloane tells us about her world. We learn about her relationship with her friends, her parents and most importantly James, her boyfriend. All of the students in her high school are scared of The Program. The only thing they know is that after 6 weeks in The Program the once "sick" teens are now blank slates and have lost their memories.

Sloane and James have been together for two years and are madly in love with each other. These two are just adorable together. They are trying to be strong for one another so that they don't get sick. There is only so much that they can do when everyone is getting sick around them, so Sloane and James are faced with the likelihood that they will enter The Program. Since the book takes place with them already been together for two years, we don't see their love blossoming first hand. We do get to see them present tense, as well as Sloane's past memories (some flashbacks) and hear her feelings for James.

I don't want to spoil most of the book but readers do learn the ins and outs of The Program, including how their memories are taken away. Sloane continues to be very strong throughout everything. No matter what has happened to her, she continues to stand up for herself and what she believes is right.

There are several great secondary characters including Miller, Lacey and Realm. Tons of twists and turns in this one. Jaw dropping incidences that had me completely baffled. Realm...oye Realm!! Realm made me want to love him and kill him at the same time.

The Program is a love conquers all book!! “If it's meant to be, you'll find each other again.”

**Note- This book is for mature YA readers. There is cursing and sex (not graphic at all) in the book.
(Fans of Shatter Me series would love this book!)

Did you read this one? What did you think?

My 21 Questions Interview with @TheBookNympho @Goldilox3Weres @LittleRead1

2013-05-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

In preparation of my Blogoversary I threw out on Twitter if anyone would like to interview me. I got several responses, 3 to be exact. From 3 of my favorite bloggers. Each one decided to ask me 7 questions to make the nice number of 21.

Before we begin..I have to also say there was some SERIOUSLY hilarious discussions about the title of this blog post. Here are two that were thrown out: Readers Confession: Jenese Gets Gang Banged or 3 Girls, 1 Interview and it got worse! LMAO!! Hilarious!!

1. Favorite Urban Fantasy book/series? Adult- Fever series by Karen Marie Moning or Downside Ghosts by Stacia Kane for YA- Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead or Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

2. Favorite snack while reading? Popcorn or KitKat (serious obsession lately)

3. Favorite audio book narrator? Lauren Fortgang or Khristine Hvam

4. How many packages of batteries do you go through in a month? You know what I mean, for your BOB. Not enough- haha! I broke my last friend and haven't had a chance to get another one. Sad times people! LOL!

5. What male character would you like to ride at a gallop until their legs buckled? Wow! He would have to have some serious stamina...how about Gideon Cross! Yum! :-)

6. Same question as #5 but a female character. Female character I want to ride? Yikes...I can't say that I've wanted to ride a female character. Do you have one Jen?

7. What book heroine are you most like? Really tough question...she has to speak her mind, bold, loud and curse A LOT! Hmmm...can't think of any...who do you think? Rose from VA maybe, Chess from Downside Ghosts (umm...minus the excessive drug usage)

1. Favorite drink - alcoholic or otherwise Diet Coke or Cranberry & Vodka

2. Favorite Author There are tons, but if I had to choose just ONE...I would say J.R. Ward

3. Favorite position ... you know ;-) I would have thought Jen would ask this one...haha! Umm...I'd saw I enjoy a LONG HARD RIDE! :-P

4. Favorite weekend hobby - other than reading Does sleeping count? Honestly the only other hobby that I have besides reading is blogging :-) Don't have time for anything else.

5. Pick 2 book boyfriends that get to be real for a day - what do you do (and your husband would never find out!) OMG...hot orgy!! LOL! Just 2 book boyfriends, huh? Ok, I'll go with...Rhage from BDB and Barrons from Fever series...yummy!

6. What book heroine would you like to hang out with & why? Chess from Downside Ghosts. She's just so bad ass, honest and crazy all at the same time. It would be interesting to hang with her and go out on an assignment with her.

7. In your year of blogging you've met a lot of cool people, both authors and bloggers. Who was your favorite to meet in person? YOU! *slaps knee* No really? LOL! (Love you Laura!) I really don't have a favorite. I've just been so excited to meet everyone. I will say it have been AWESOME to meet locals like yourself, Kait Ballenger, Tiffany King, C.A. Kunz and many more.

1. What's the best part about listening to people have sex in your dirty dirty audio books? LOL! The unassuming passengers in the car next to me that have NO CLUE I'm listening to dirty sex. haha! No really...I haven't listened to many dirty books in audio, mostly UF books which is TOO dirty.
2. Who is the handsome book hottie you'd most like to get down and dirty with? Oh, there are TONS Barrons, Bones, ALL of the BDB vamps, Ryodan, Terrible, Gideon Cross...hell the list goes ON AND ON!!! I could probably brake some laws with the YA hotties too. LOL!
3. ...and exactly which position would the two of you be getting down in? Position you say...up against the wall, on all 4's...hell I'll try just about anything once, twice if I really liked it. Ha!
4. Which book heroine or villain do you have a girl crush on? Rose from Vampire Academy. I'm not sure totally why but I love her totally and completely.
5. What's your favorite position...to read books in? (I know what you were thinking! In the gutter as usual!) :-P Usually laying down in my bed
6. What author have you been most starstruck to meet? Nalini Singh and Jeaniene Frost (saw Sherrilyn Kenyon too but didn't talk to her)! Saw them both at RWA literary signing in Orlando a few years ago. I was so excited to meet them and they were both sooooo nice. I even got picks with them.

7. Why is it so funny when I say, "For fuck's sake!"? It's so funny b/c for people that don't know you...you look like such an innocent. Very much like your avi above^ blond hair, all doe-y eyed and pretty. Of course being a elementary school teacher adds to the "innocence" and when you curse it's hilarious to me! When I saw you in February you kept catching me off guard with "For fuck's sake!" and it just makes me laugh every time I hear it or see it! :-P

Thank you ladies for interviewing me, for keeping me sane and for making me laugh!! :-)

For my readers...do you have any questions for me? Ask away in the comments and I will answer them.

Graphic Novel Review: The Walking Dead, Compendium 1

2013-05-21T00:00:00.000-04:00

The Walking Dead, Compendium 1
by Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, Tony Moore
Published May 19th 2009 by Image Comics

Blurb:

Introducing the first eight volumes of the fan-favorite, New York Times Best Seller series collected into one massive paperback collection.

In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally start living. WithThe Walking Dead #1-48, this compendium features more than one thousand pages chronicling the start of Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning story of zombie horror, from Rick Grimes waking up alone in a hospital, his band of survivors seeking refuge on an isolated farm and the controversial introduction of Woodbury despot, The Governor.

Review:

This is a review or the walking dead compendium one. This book is an absolute beast, and weighs nothing short of a ton. It's a bind up of the first 48 individual novels, or the first 8 volumes of the newly bound up paperback or the first 4 hardback books... confused much?! If you're thinking of investing in this series then I highly recommend buying the compendiums, it's a lot cheaper than buying the hardback books or the newly issued paperbacks. Unless you're pumped up in the bicep department this book can't be carried around, it's heavy, big and down right awkward, it was a little uncomfortable to read at times due to the weight of it. Once I hit halfway through balancing the book became easier.

I absolutely love The Walking Dead TV show put out by AMC. I didn't know that the series was based on graphic novels, at the end of series 2 I decided that I wanted to read the original story. I needed something to fill the gap that the series finale had left, so with that I placed an order. I was a little nervous going into it, I worried that I would get the characters mixed up, and I wouldn't recognize the faces in the artwork. I need not have worried. The artwork is black and transparent but it works fantastically with this story. I don't think I would have enjoyed it so much if it had been in color. The world within The Walking Dead has gone to shit, the world has lost its color, it's dark, bleak and gritty and this comes through with the amazing artwork. The details are just out of this world, zombies chowing down on some dudes neck, I can see them pulling on the tissue and I wince as I look at it. Amazing! At the very beginning I was a little confused about who was who, some of the faces looked a bit similar but after a few pages the confusion was gone and the characters were distinguishable not only from their faces but the dialogue.

The story starts how the TV show starts, with Rick waking up in hospital and wondering wtf has gone down. We see what Rick goes through on his journey to finding his family, dealing with the dangers in this world that he's has woke up in and trying to find salvation not only for his family but survivors that now rely on him.Rick is more emotional, and you can see his character better in these novels. There is no Daryl Dixon in the story, which I found disappointing, so I'm glad his character was brought to the TV show. There are more characters in the novels, some people will and do show up in the TV series. Some events happen in the books that don't happen in the TV show, things surrounding Hershel and his farm. I liked how things developed in the novels and how different some of the characters are/were. I think you could watch the TV show and also read these at the same time without having mass spoilers they work well together but also as a separate story arc. I liked how some things happened to characters in the novel but happened to someone else in the TV show, I also see why the producers of the show changed things up.

This book is huge but it didn't take me long to read, I read the whole lot within a week, I just couldn't stop reading. I was so invested in the artwork and the writing, it really is an addictive read. I wish that I had taken more time with it, and spaced it out between reading other books.The story always moves at a fast pace, there's a lot going on, with the main story but also the characters each have their own shit to deal with. I was just so eager to keep plowing on that sometimes I would forget what just happened so I'd have to re read the last few pages.

There is a lot of cussing throughout the whole book so if you're not a fan of swear words then this is not the graphic novel for you. The world is bleak, dark, gritty, there is despair and disappointment violence and horror. The world is full of zombies, but they aren't the only thing to fear, humans are now hunters, rapists and torturers. This book shows the best but also the worst of human behavior and when the shit goes down what we'll do to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

I highly recommend this graphic novel for fans of the TV show, or someone wanting a fantastic zombie/apocalyptic/horror graphic novel series. In short, a broken world plagued by zombies and what it takes to survive in a world of death and misery, a must read.

Promo: Blood Prophecy by @GabrielleBissett

2013-05-20T03:00:00.000-04:00

BLOOD PROPHECY by Gabrielle Bisset Book #4 of the Sons of Navarus series Publication Date: May, 2013 First 5 chapters FREE
ADD TO GOODREADS
Blurb:
I am everything you fear. I am vampire. As the two Sons chosen to decipher the Prophecy of Idolas, Ramiel and Thane journey to find the key to defeating the Archons. Together with Noele, a born vampire, they confront their fates as they fulfill their duty to their world. Along the way, they'll find love, but death and betrayal lurk in the shadows, threatening everything dear to them. Descended from the gods and warriors all, each Son's loyalty will be tested. Every action has consequences, and the choices they make now seal their fates. Alliances as old as the vampire world itself are reforged, and the Sons' duty is clear. Stop the Archons. Or die trying.
Buy Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Prophecy-Sons-Navarus-ebook/dp/B00CR1DV56/

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115288478

About Gabrielle Bisset I began writing years ago because I wanted to emulate the stories I’d loved. Now in an age that seems to glorify everything fast, I’m a bit of a relic. I believe that great things take time (you know–Rome wasn’t built in a day). I take my time as I write and edit as I go because after a decade of being an editor and English composition instructor I know of no other way. Much of the joy of writing for me comes in the choosing of the exact word that can deliver just what I want a character to express to affect the reader the most. For me, books aren’t just narratives of this character did this, so this character did that, and therefore this occurred. They’re stories full of the bigger issues of life: love, hate, power, lust and sex, hopes and dreams. And these wondrous things all thinking and feeling beings experience are shown not through the telling of he did and she did, but through the slow unveiling of events and characters so the reader becomes a part of the story. As Stephen King has said, “Good books don’t give up all their secrets at once.” The idea for my first book came to me in a dream. I know that seems almost cliched, but it did. I woke up one morning after having an extremely vivid dream and began to jot things down that I was able to remember. Days later, I had the first pages written and the ideas that I had dreamed about had become the characters in my first book. Those characters are the basis for the first series I’ve written, The Destined Ones Series, about a people called Aeveren who have lived side by side with humans since almost the beginning of recorded time. The first book in that series, Stolen Destiny, was published in June 2011. I’m still working on The Destined Ones books, and I look forward to what my imagination has waiting for me next. The second book about Aeveren, Destiny Redeemed, was released in October 2011. I’ve finished the Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy, three erotic novellas set in Victorian England. The first one, Vampire Dreams, is a paranormal erotic romance. The second novella, another erotic romance but an historical, Love’s Master, involves some light BDSM. The third novella, Masquerade, is a straight historical, no kink or paranormal but still a great story. And now I’ve begun a new paranormal series called The Sons of Navarus series that begins with Blood Avenged. Anyone who read Vampire Dreams will remember Vasilije, Brandon’s sire. Blood Avenged is his story. The second book in the series, Blood Betrayed, was released in May 2012, and this fall 2012 the third book, Blood Spirit, was released. I’ve even reworked the original Vampire Dreams to be an official prequel to the series, Vampire Dreams Revamped. As the series progresses, readers are drawn into the civil war between the Sons and the Archons who seek to take over the vampire world. It’s a power struggle to the death, for only one side can win this battle. The joy of storytelling isn’t in the end result but the journey, not only for the writer but also for the reader. In a world that seems increasingly disposable, I work to create tales that find a home in readers’ hearts and memories..
Author Links: Website - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads - Amazon Blood Prophecy page: http://www.gabriellebisset.com/blood-prophecy-sons-of-navarus-4.html Blood Prophecy swag page: http://sonsofnavarus.weebly.com/blood-prophecy-goodies.html Sons of Navarus series: http://www.gabriellebisset.com/sons-of-navarus.html Blood Prophecy on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/gabriellebisset/blood-prophecy-sons-of-navarus-4/ Sons of Navarus Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SonsOfNavarusSeries

Gabrielle is giving away an awesome TOUR swag package.

The final giveaway will be a Blood Prophecy bookthong (pic attached), Sons of Navarus swag, including a mousepad, cover flat, signed bookmarks, pens, and trading cards for five of the Sons. And a signed copy of Blood Prophecy.

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TOUR SCHEDULE
May 13 - (Guest Post) Urban Fantasy Investigations: http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com
May 14 - KV Loves Books: http://www.kvlovesbooks.blogspot.co.uk
May 15 – Paranormal BookClub: www.paranormal-bookclub.com
May 15 –All I want and more books: http://www.alliwantandmore.blogspot.com
May 16 - Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Reviews: http://pnrurbanfantasyreviews.blogspot.com/
May 17 – WOW From the Scarf Princess Blog: http://wowfromthescarfprincess.blogspot.com
May 20 – Readers Confession: www.readersconfession.com
May 21 - (Guest Post) at Tynga’s Reviews: http://www.tyngasreviews.com
May 22 – Nettes Bookshelf: http://nettesbookshelf.blogspot.com
May 22 – Dark Addictions: http://darkestaddictions.blogspot.com
May 23 – Over The Edge Book Reviews: http://overtheedgebookreviews.blogspot.com/
May 24 - (Guest Post with promo) Crazy Four Books: http://www.crazyfourbooks.blogspot.com

The Jessica McClain Ultimate Swag #Giveaway

2013-05-20T00:00:00.002-04:00

Join Amanda Carlson and the Jessica McClain Street Team for an exclusive giveaway!! Giveaway includes signed copies of Full Blooded & Hot Blooded as well as a "Welcome to Pack" T-shirt (I have one, it's awesome!)
This giveaway is also international!! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wet and Wild Blog Hop

2013-05-20T00:00:00.001-04:00

Be sure to add your email in the comment section for the grand prize, as that is how you will be notified.

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

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Feature: Confession from Kay

2013-05-19T03:00:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone! It’s Kay, part-time blogger here at Readers Confession. I’m a romance reader at heart but love reading several different genres.

What’s My Confession?

As a reader, I am so anal about reading a series in order about 95% of the time. If someone recommends a book that is in the middle of a series, I have to pick up book 1 before the subsequent books. I won’t just jump right into the middle of a series, even if those books could be read as standalone novels. This is a good thing and a bad thing. The good is that I get to follow all the characters in the series from the beginning and watch them grow. Unfortunately, if the first couple of books do not grab my attention, I will just give up on the series despite knowing that future books could get better.

Another confession I have is that, at times, I forget what books I’ve read or not. Since I read about 175-200 books a year, after a while, some storylines just all blur and blend together. If someone brings up a particular book that I don’t remember, I have to be reminded what the plot of the book was about and then I’ll be like, “Oh yeah, I remember reading that book! Duh!” Sometimes, my memory is so bad where I have to check my goodreads account to see if I have that book on my ‘read’ shelf and to make it even worse, sometimes I don’t remember the book plot at all! So, this probably makes me sound like a bad reader but I really do love reading. I guess some books are just not as memorable to me as others.

(Kay with one of her favorite men, Jordan Knight!)

If you aren't already following Kay, be sure to follow her reviews here! Don't forget to follow check her out on Twitter and Goodreads

Thank you for your confession Kay! You read wayyy more than me so I haven't quite gotten to forgetting what I've already read yet. LOL! Depending on the series I feel the need to read in order too. I don't think you're alone in this one. But I will say if I can read it as standalone I'll go for it.

Thanks for sharing!

Anyone else have these problems too?

Alpha Showdown - Round 5

2013-05-19T00:00:00.001-04:00

Click here for all the Alpha Showdown posts!

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that the Alpha Showdown has begun!!!

There is one person that is championing each Alpha contestant.

My alpha is Dragos Cuelebre!

Here is a taste of my post today...

"He had been born along with the solar system. Give or take" -Dragon Bound
He is an ancient of the Elder Races and is feared by all. Over the years he's been referred to as The Great Beast with the stories surrounding him being legendary. While in dragon form he will leave you in aw at his sheer size (think airplane) and beauty.

Go forth and be sure to VOTE for DRAGOS here!!!

When you VOTE for him, be sure to stop by and leave me a comment....if we move to the next bracket in the showdown I will do a GIVEAWAY!!!

We only have 48 hours to VOTE...so GO!!!

Breed of Innocence Promo + #Giveaway

2013-05-18T01:00:00.000-04:00

Breed of Innocence (The Breed Chronicles #1)

by Lanie Jordan

Published July 4th 2012 by LJ Books

Blurb:

One goal: Hunt the demon that killed my family. Make that two goals: Survive.

Six hours ago, men in dark suits and sunglasses came looking for me.

Four hours ago, they offered me training to hunt the things that killed my family: demons.

Two hours ago, I joined their secret organization--the CGE.

Now... All I have to do is survive demon-hunting school.

The classes won't kill me, but the finals might.

Website: http://www.laniejordan.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lanie_Jordan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLanieJordan

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4673842.Lanie_Jordan
The Breed Chronicles: http://www.thebreedchronicles.com

About Lanie Jordan:
Lanie Jordan writes stories. Sometimes her characters drive her crazy, but then she gets her revenge by making their lives more difficult. Fictional payback is fun.
She loves reading, writing, watching TV, and listening to the same songs for months on end. The WWE is a not-so-secret secret obsession of hers, and she vows to one day write a story about wrestlers, just so she can claim watching it is for research.
Dean Winchester from Supernatural is one of her all-time favorite characters. Her friends would probably tell you she’s obsessed with all things Dean/Supernatural; she’s not, really. She just loves them a little. Okay, so it might be a tad more than a little, but if anyone ever finds out she’ll claim it was a blatant lie and that aliens wrote her bio.
And while she’s on the subject, she does believe in aliens and ghosts and things that go bump and boo in the night. You won’t find her admitting that she’s seen any of those things, of course, cause let’s face it, who would believe her? But she writes about them. And demons and angels and weirdo people who do weirdo things.

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Stacking the Shelves

2013-05-18T00:00:00.001-04:00

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, it's all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
Kindle Freebies:

Edelweiss & NetGalley:

Audible purchase/credit:

I also received a signed copy of Twilight Hunter from the FABULOUS Kait Ballenger yesterday! :-)

What did YOU get this week?

Off Limit Blog Tour/Review/Giveaway by Sawyer Bennett

2013-05-17T00:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Off Limits

Author: Sawyer Bennett

Release date: April 16, 2013

Publisher: Big Dog Books, LLC

Age Group: New Adult

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

**I received this book from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review**

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17607787-off-limits

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Off-Limits-ebook/dp/B00CD6KQSK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368140703&sr=8-1&keywords=off+limits

Blurb:

“There is a vulnerability there, hovering just below the surface. And I want to pick at it until I expose it. Then I want to kiss it."

Two years ago, Emily Burnham, had an epiphany about the shallowness of her life. And she made it her mission to become a different person…a better woman. Out from under the controlling thumb of her mother, Emily is tasting the real world for the first time. And she likes it.

Nixon Caldwell has served his time in the Marine Corps, surviving two brutal tours in Afghanistan. He is back home, surrounded by what he likes best…isolation. It's certainly the easiest way to avoid confrontation of the consuming guilt that is weighing him down.

When an accident brings Emily and Nix together, he soon learns he is not the master of his own fate. Struggling with his own pain, Nix tries to guard himself against Emily’s charms. He wants her in his bed, but he doesn’t want her in his heart.

Having grabbed life by the horns, Emily wants it all. But is she willing to accept just the small part of himself that Nix is offering? Can she reach the part of his soul that he has deemed to be Off Limits?

**This book is the follow up novel to Off Sides by Sawyer Bennett. It can be read as a stand-alone.

Review:

I love a tortured hero and Nix is very tortured. He’s a former Marine who served in Afghanistan. He suffers from trauma & guilt that he experienced there and has trouble letting people in. He comes off as one of those quiet, brooding guys who stand in the corner at parties while watching everyone else have fun. He’s also full of tattoos (ok, not surprising in this New Adult category) but he isn’t all bad-boyed out. I appreciate that he’s a well-established working man who can support and hold his own. He builds expensive motorcycles for a living so there’s no loser here and to top it off, he’s an artist. He makes beautiful pieces of art by welding different metals together.

Emily has made a complete transformation since we met her in Off Sides. She’s no longer that spoiled, b*tchy, judgmental, rich girl. Instead, she’s working on being a better person with positive influences from her brother Ryan and his girlfriend, Danny. She has grown and matured a lot while making decisions about her life despite it being against her mother’s wishes.

With Nix’s past, Emily “gets” him. She’s kind and patient even though Nix isn’t very nice to her, is stand offish and rarely smiles. Emily doesn’t push Nix for information that he doesn’t want to share. Nix is attracted to Emily but doesn’t want to admit it. The sexual tension between these two is hot! I couldn’t help but to root for them to give into it. When they finally do, it is all worth it. Again, Bennett writes good steam without being raunchy. It’s also sweet enough for a reader to connect to the characters.

This book was very fun and just what I needed to escape from reality. I really enjoyed Off Sides and Off Limits was just as good. There are some conflicts with Emily’s stalker ex-boyfriend and also her mother’s controlling attitude but the main focus is on Nix overcoming all his demons and Emily helping him along the way. It was nice to get updates of Ryan and Danny from Off Sides. The next book is about Linc, Nix’s brother, and it sounds like it may be a sports romance. I like how each book so far in this series is a different theme and I can’t wait to read more by Sawyer Bennett!

3.5 Stars

About the Author

Sawyer Bennett is the pen name for a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.

Author Social Media Links:

www.sawyerbennett.com

www.facebook.com/bennettbooks

www.twitter.com/bennettbooks

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**I received this book from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review**

Cover Reveal: Giving You Forever by Ashley Wilcox

2013-05-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Giving You Forever

Author: Ashley Wilcox

Expected release date: July 8, 2013

Genre: Erotica

Age Group: Mature Adult

Cover Designed by: B Designs ; http://bdesignpublishingservices.wordpress.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17375101-giving-you-forever

Book Description:

From the moment Nolan Pratt walked into Alexa Arnold’s life everything was forever changed. After a year of dating, the ring was on her finger, the house was purchased, and life was heading down Pleasantville Lane. Everything was perfect.

Or so they thought.

With help from his parent’s inheritance, Nolan takes on a new business adventure, utilizing all his free time. What was once their life- carefree with minimal responsibilities, is no more. When Alexa starts to feel the pressure from school, wedding planning, and lack of help from Nolan, exhaustion kicks in and feelings get hurt, testing the strength of their relationship. But, if there is one thing that Nolan will never compromise, it’s Alexa’s happiness. There’s nothing Nolan Pratt won’t do to make sure Alexa is well taken care of, loved, and happy.

When Nolan’s past resurfaces- a past that Alexa didn’t know existed- will it all be too much? Will Nolan’s devotion to Alexa’s happiness cost him their relationship and lose him the only thing that has ever mattered in his life? Or will Nolan discover that his past doesn’t determine his future and he is worth the happiness he doesn’t think he deserves?

About the Author

Some may consider me a jack of all trades, but I consider myself well rounded.

I’ve waitressed, styled hair, answered phones and, most recently, worked full time as mom to my two beautiful little boys.

Then there was this book…

Everyone and their brother started talking about this book series titled Fifty Shades of Grey by EL James. I didn’t really pay attention to the craze at first, since I wasn’t a big reader- okay, I didn’t read at all. But curiosity got the best of me, so I downloaded it to my kindle.

I was immediately hooked. I read the whole series in three days. Yes, three books in three days.

I kept finding all these great books that I HAD to read (just ask my credit card!).

Then I started hearing voices. Voices that turned into stories; stories that were begging to get out of my head.

I started writing them down on scraps of paper. Then I transferred them to my computer. Before I knew it, Planning on Forever was born.

The voices in my head are still talking, so I’m still writing.

For more information about me, and what I’m working on please follow me on:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ashley-Wilcox-Author/534100859949004

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6564533.Ashley_Wilcox

https://twitter.com/ashleywilcox55

http://www.ashleywilcoxauthor.com/

ARC Review: One Tiny Secret by Adam Kunz

2013-05-16T00:43:00.002-04:00

One Tiny Secret
by Adam Kunz
Published May 16th 2013
Source: eARC from author

**I received this book from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review**

Blurb:

Just one tiny secret has the potential to ruin everything.

Being the daughter of the sheriff in a small town like Holden Ridge means that eighteen-year-old Danielle “Dani” Marks’ life is under constant surveillance. She’s made a habit of staying under the radar by being a floater among social circles at school, which has kept her out of trouble—until now.

After a missing persons case stirs up the entire town, Dani finds herself caught right in the middle of the scandal. When she’s labeled a possible suspect, things quickly go from bad to worse. The sudden return of her old flame, Parker Reed, manages to make her whole situation even more complicated.

When an elusive unknown person begins to blackmail Dani by threatening to reveal her deepest secrets, Dani refuses to play along. That is, until the person’s actions take a violent turn. Holden Ridge begins to lose its sense of quaint town security, and Dani is caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Who can she trust when anyone around her could be a suspect?

One thing’s for certain though: Never underestimate the power of one tiny secret.

Review:
**Please keep in mind that I was a beta reader for this book and my views may be slightly biased**

Let me start out by saying, this book is nothing like I normally read. I'm a total scaredy cat, I don't even watch scary movies, so I wasn't sure how much I would like this book. Adam is awesome and so is his mom, Carol (the other half of C.A. Kunz) so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read this one.

Within my first few pages I knew I would love this book. Dani is funny and sarcastic (just like me :-P) and seems just REAL! She's a typical teenage girl in high school, but she keeps finding herself is these precarious situations. She is tested over and over and must protect her loved ones.

Parker is the ex boyfriend, the one that got away. Parker is sweet, understanding and the perfect match for Dani. Although the burden falls primarily on Dani, Parker is there every step of the way helping Dani.

Unknown (the villain) was great, I was actually impressed. I could not figure out (still haven't) how the heck the villain was able to set Dani up in all of these situations. The scenarios were so intricate and Dani almost didn't even have a chance.

One Tiny Secret had me on my toes the entire time. Every time that I thought I just KNEW who the killer was, Ugh, something would happen and NOPE not him. Then NOPE, not her. There were surprises, twists and turns, through the whole book and I was shocked and in aw by the end.

I do want to also add that this book reminded me a tiny bit of Scream. This could also possibly be because I don't have much to compare it too except that movie.

I'm glad that Adam has helped me find a new genre of books to read and I can't wait to read more from him in the future.

**I received this book from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated for this review**

One Tiny Secret Blog Tour & #Giveaway

2013-05-16T00:00:00.000-04:00

First off...Happy Release Day to Adam!!!

*throws confetti*

Be sure to buy One Tiny Secret TODAY!!!

Amazon

it's ONLY $3.99

But...there's more of course...

Please give a warm welcome to the one of my new favorite people, Adam Kunz!!

Just in case, tell everyone a little bit about yourself.

Hello! I’m Adam Kunz, the A part of the mother and son author duo C.A. Kunz. Growing up, I always had a fondness for R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series and other books that go bump in the night. So, when I decided to write my own standalone novel, it was a no brainer that it’d be a thrilling mystery with a dash of horror and a little romance thrown in for good measure.

When I’m not busy writing, I enjoy my job at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida as a décor consultant for their Art and Design department. This job brings me face to face with all sorts of nightmarish creatures, especially when I help decorate the haunted houses for the park's annual Halloween Horror Nights event. Oh, and it’s been said by many that my addiction to Starbucks coffee will most likely be my downfall later in life, hahaha!

Congrats Adam on your first solo book. As you already know I LOVED the book. How nervous were you to write a book by yourself?

I was INCREDIBLY nervous to write One Tiny Secret. I had the idea and the outline of the story all set, but I was so used to writing books with my mom that writing a book all by myself seemed like a daunting task. I was still able to bounce ideas off of her when I was stuck on a scene or something, but it just wasn’t the same. It was definitely not a bad experience by any stretch of the imagination, but it was certainly different.

How did that change your typical writing style?

It’s kind of funny you ask this question, because for the most part my writing style stayed the same. I did however write more from the gut than I usually do when I write with my mom, but I still used a very structured outline to lay out the story beforehand. When I write with my mom, we tend to stick to our outline very closely, but with One Tiny Secret I found myself veering from it quite often. There was a sense of freedom that I don’t necessarily have with the co-authored books, which added both pros and cons to the process. With the other books I help write, there’s another person’s ideas that have to be incorporated and discussed along with mine, but with One Tiny Secret every idea was pretty much mine alone, and I had to connect them all to weave the story until the conclusion all by my lonesome.

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer? If no, when did you realize it?

Yes, I have always wanted to be a writer in some way. Now, I never thought I would be writing books as a career choice, but I have always loved writing. From an early age I wrote poems, short stories, and even movie scripts, but never thought I’d be where I am today with my writing. There are some days that I absolutely CANNOT go without putting words on paper (yes, I still handwrite most stuff). I almost feel guilty if I’m not writing sometimes.

What can we expect from you in the future? What are you working on?

Well, before 2013 concludes, I plan to write a spin-off for One Tiny Secret, but it won’t be a direct sequel. The working title for the book is Two Little Lies. Oh, and just so I’m clear on this, One Tiny Secret does have a definite end. After finishing it though, I had another idea for a story that takes place in the same world as OTS.

Mom and I are also in the process of writing Wicked Darlings which is the 3rd novel in our The Childe series. And after that, we will work on the 2nd book in our The Modified trilogy, The Enhanced. To say the least, I’ve got A LOT of writing to get done before the year is out, hahaha!

Quickfire:

Favorite authors: Gretchen McNeil, R.L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, James Patterson.
Favorite food: Thai foodFavorite all-time book(s): The entire Harry Potter series and the entire Fear Street series.
Favorite drink: Iced tea with lemonade (an Arnold Palmer)
Favorite quote: The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read. -Abraham Lincoln

Just one tiny secret…has the potential to ruin everything.

Being the daughter of the sheriff in a small town like Holden Ridge means that eighteen year old Danielle “Dani” Marks’ life is under constant surveillance. She’s made a habit of staying under the radar by being a floater between social circles at school, and up until now this has kept her out of trouble…but that’s all about to change.

After a missing persons case stirs up the entire town, Dani finds herself caught right in the middle of the scandal. When she’s labeled as a possible suspect, things quickly go from bad to worse. Not to mention the sudden return of her old flame, Parker Reed, manages to make her whole situation even more complicated.

Then an elusive unknown person begins to blackmail Dani by threatening to reveal her deepest secrets if she doesn't cooperate. When she initially refuses to play along, the person’s actions take a violent turn, and Holden Ridge completely loses its false sense of quaint town security.

Who can Dani turn to? Who can she really trust, when anyone around her could be a suspect?

One thing’s for certain though…never underestimate the power of one tiny secret.

**Mature Content Warning** Recommended for 17+ due to language, violence, and sexual content.

Adam Kunz is the A part of the mother and son author duo C.A. Kunz. Growing up, he always had a fondness for R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series. So, it was a no brainer when he decided to write his own novel that it’d be a thrilling mystery with a dash of horror. When he’s not busy writing, Adam enjoys his job at a theme park in Orlando, Florida as a décor consultant. This job brings him face to face with all sorts of nightmarish creatures, especially when he decorates the haunted houses for the park's annual Halloween event. It’s been said by many that his addiction to Starbucks coffee will most likely be his downfall later in life. If you would like to find out more about this author, C.A. Kunz, or One Tiny Secret, please visit the links below:

Author Website- http://www.cakunz.blogspot.com

Facebook Author Page- http://www.facebook.com/cakunz11

GIVEAWAY TIME (INT)

One Tiny Secret Promo Tour Grand Prize Giveaway:

Make sure to visit each blog on the One Tiny Secret Promotion Tour schedule to grab the hidden word or words to crack the code! *Hint: the blogs are in order for a reason.

Once you’ve gathered the puzzle pieces from each blog, and arranged them to complete the hidden phrase, please send your answer directly to authoradamkunz@gmail.com for an entry into the Grand Prize Giveaway.

One winner will be drawn for the GRAND PRIZE:

A signed paperback copy of One Tiny Secret
A Hello Kitty Masquerade plush doll
A mini pink skull-and-crossbones clutch purse
A hand crafted skull-and-crossbones flower pin
A One Tiny Secret book charm necklace
A hand crafted skull-and-crossbones over the shoulder bag
A One Tiny Secret button
A purple skull-and-crossbones lanyard with a pink skull-and-crossbones charm attached
A pair of black and silver skull-and-crossbones earrings
A One Tiny Secret beaded bracelet
A One Tiny Secret bookplate
A One Tiny Secret glitter framed front cover picture (made by Adam Kunz himself)
A $10.00 gift card to Amazon
A $10.00 gift card to Barnes and Noble

Here are the tour schedule:

Thursday, May 16th – Jenese: Reader’s Confession

- Review/Interview/Giveaway

Friday, May 17th – Trinity: A Love Affair with Books

- Review/Back Book Blurb/Giveaway

Saturday, May 18th – Melanie: Reviewer for Little Read Riding Hood

- Interview/Giveaway

Sunday, May 19th – Mandy: I read Indie Bookl Blog

- Review/Back Book Blurb/Giveaway

Monday, May 20st – Holly: I Love Indie Books Blog

- Review/Back Book Blurb/Giveaway

Tuesday, May 21nd – Diane Morasco: Blog critics

- Review/Interview/Giveaway

Wednesday, May 22rd – Heather Gunter: Into the Night Book Reviews

- Review/Back Book Blurb/Giveaway

Review: Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer

2013-05-15T00:00:00.002-04:00

Spirit (Elemental #3)
by Brigid Kemmerer
Expected publication: May 28th 2013 by K Teen

Blurb:

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…

Review:

I was totally blown away by this one!

So it's not secret that I got hooked on this series. I actually read every book and novella in one go. One straight after the other. I was totally Elemental obsessed, then I ran out of material...

I love getting into a series so much that you need to spend every free minute reading. Sadly that happens very rarely, partly because authors take a while to churn out those books and the other much more significant part: those are the top of the crop. It's those few series that become your favorite and that you start comparing others to. Well, Elemental has become one of them for me.

I think I would be one of a million, if I would mention that these novels are really character driven. I think I even said so in my review of Breathless. Spirit is the same as the previous books in that. If you someone who like a really good plot, well this ain't your series. Though I do feel that Spirit had a wee bit more to offer when it comes to plot than the other books in the series. Still basically its the an "elemental Guy falling for a girl, they have doubts/ confusions and they finally end up together" formula. But I guess by now people who like this series don't care that much about that. Because as I said this is a character driven series

And the character building is superb! I know I just admitted to be kinda obsessed with this series, but I was actually a bit apprehensive about Spirit Hunter was rather annoying me in Storm and while Fearless gave one an idea of where he was coming from I didn't care for him at all. Then he teamed up with Gabe in Spark and I didn't totally loath him anymore. But an entire novel all about him? I wasn't sure if I would like this one as much as the others.. BUT I loved it.

I think that Kemmerer's writing has grown and improved over the series. Honestly I might not have noticed it as much wouldn't I have read them back to back. Still it's impressive and exciting. And writing Hunter the way she did, made her one of my favorite YA writers.
Hunter was still confused and at times angry, indecisive and distrusting. But amazingly enough I totally got him. I absolutely could relate to him and I ended up really caring for him. That's where I see Kemmerer strength. She takes one of the characters in each book and slowly fleshes them out and makes them come to live. I care for the characters in the series. And every time around it's like meeting old friends again.

Kate is a different female lead than the others. She is stronger more forward in some ways, really insecure in others.

I loved the interactions between Kate and Hunter. The sassy dialogues were my favorite bit of the book. Oh and I should mention, I think this is the steamiest novel of the series. Hunter and Kate make out A LOT.

One of my friends actually mentioned to me that she found Kate was just a make-out backdrop for Hunter. I didn't think so, but I think in compare to Hunter Kate came out a little flat.

I think this might have to do with the fact that we got way more of Hunters POV. But also because Kate had little interaction with the support cast in compare to Hunter. The relationships between Hunter and all the other characters were simply amazingly written.
To be honest I actually think if you can't connect to Hunter than you might not like this novel very much.

A really good sequel to a great series. The only downside? I have to wait soooo long for the next one!

1 Year Blogoversary Kick-Off

2013-05-15T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well I made it!! Can you believe I've hit my 1 year? I can't! It feels like I started my blog just yesterday. :-/

I have made tons of friend along the way. I now have plenty of ladies that are willing to lend a helping hand, push me to read THAT book or just talk dirty on Twitter. LOL!

THANK YOU to my new friends for being there! You are going to hear from them soon-eekk, they're going to interview me. THAT should be fun or scary, let's see!

Jennifer of The Book Nympho
Laura of Little Read Riding Hood
Christen of Goldilox and The Three Weres
Shelley of Gizmo's Reviews
Cimmaron & Braine of Talk Supe

Rachel from Parajunkee likely doesn't know this but she helped me TREMENDOUSLY at the beginning of my blogging career. She has several tutorials on her blog that were my first real lessons into HTML.

There are tons more bloggers that helped me a long the way that I have learned from, unfortunately I can't name them all. But thanks for you ALL!!

I have met TONS of new authors, went to my first book con (Olde City, New Blood) and already have my next 3-4 book events already planned out! Be on the look out for pics and more info about these events, especially Coastal Magic Convention. :-)

A special thank you to my girls here at RC - Louise, Deniz and Kay! You have helped me a lot recently and I hope we will celebrate more together!

Of course I couldn't have done it without my readers. I appreciate you all for stopping by, entering my giveaways, leaving comments and feedback. You are all AWESOME!!! To celebrate my LURVE for you all, here's another giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Restore Me by J.L. Mac

2013-05-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

Restore Me (Wrecked #2)
by J.L. Mac
Published April 29th 2013 by J.L. Mac Books

Blurb:

Navigating the world alone is all Josephine Geroux has ever known. Life altering tragedy struck early on for her. She endured an admirable struggle through her youth and learned the hard way how to adapt and survive. She managed to arrive at adulthood in one piece in spite of it all.

After such chaos, maintaining a life free of complications is a priority for her.
Everything changed when a man with amber eyes came through her door and claimed her heart. She fell hard in more ways than one. The pull between Jo and Damon seemed like fate bringing things full circle.

With another devastating loss looming, Jo fights to hold on to the very thing that brought her to her knees. She finds herself torn between a promising future and clinging to a devastating past.
But that’s not the most worrisome problem on her hands.

She must convince more than just herself to let the past stay in the past, where it belongs, but on her journey to find closure and resolution, she does the exact opposite. An old wound caused by a heinous act becomes exposed for what it is. The truth is catastrophic and Jo is helpless, watching as the ruins of her fragile world endure more turmoil.

Can something conceived from tragedy and malice end well? Can something so completely poisoned conquer adversity? Jo is left to make a decision; accept the circumstances she finds herself in or fight with unwavering ferocity to restore what has been damaged.

Review:

The end of Wreck Me ends on a cliffhanger, but for me it wasn't too bad. I knew how that book was going to roll, and I knew deep down that Damon was going to be ok.. sort of.

Restore Me picks up where Wreck Me left off, Jo is feeling anxious about Damon's current state, who wouldn't, the guy is pratically a zombie. Unsure if Damon will ever come back to her, Jo is trying real hard to make things right between them. Jo is also battling with her own demons and now Damon's and I think she does a great job of keeping things together. I love Jo's personality, she's strong and reliable and she refuses to give up. I love how J.L.Mac wrote Jo.

I don't want to talk much about Damon, but what I will say is, for the most part of this book, he's a complete bastard to Jo. Damon is cruel with his words and he treats Jo unfairly, but she takes it, and gives as good back. The sex is different from book one. Damon is hard, cold and the sexual connection they shared has shifted, but at the same time it was still hot and I think I loved it even more.

We're also introduced to some new characters. Brian is Jo's new gay best bud, who's also Damon's right hand man. I love Brian, he's so funny and sweet and I'm glad that Jo has a friend. We also meet Elise, Elise is Damon's sister. Elise is a piece of work, but Jo soon puts that right. Then there's Handy Andy... I'm not sure about this guy. Andy is weird and creepy and I have feeling Andy is going to cause some trouble.

Grams is also back! I love Grams, she's a great character and I think J.L.Mac could have some fun with her. Jo has grown close to Grams, she visits her a lot and she feels bonded with her. Jo would do anything to protect her, so when Grams money starts going missing and Edward, Damon's drunken asshole father comes on the scene she will do anything and everything to help her.

I picked up on something with Noni in book 1, and yes! I was right. I loved the ending to this book, we get a revelation, mystery and the possibility of something quite dangerous. I did find some things predictable, but it doesn't make the story any less enjoyable. I loved the writing, the pace and the way everything unfolds. J.L.Mac has created some wonderful characters and I can't wait for book 3. I need it now!!...please!

Promo & #Giveaway: Until I Break by M. Leighton

2013-05-13T01:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Until I Break

Author: M. Leighton

Release date: May 14, 2013

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17667913-until-i-break

Blurb:

Laura Drake is an author. She writes bestselling paranormal romances that continue to top the charts. She is sharp. She is confident. She is in control.

And she doesn’t exist.

Samantha Jansen is the woman behind the wig, the woman most of the world doesn’t know exists. She is shy. She is insecure. She is nothing like her main character or her alter ego. She is scarred—deeply scarred—by a past she can’t let go of and a present she can’t make peace with.

Samantha’s dreams are consumed by one man, the broken hero from her books. Mason Strait is both her wildest fantasy and her most terrifying nightmare.

When Samantha meets Alec Brand, a corporate consultant, it is as though Mason has come to life. Alec is handsome to a fault, as elegant as he is arrogant, and more intense than any man has a right to be.

Samantha is soon sucked into a world that mirrors the fiction she writes. Just like her main character, Daire Kirby, Samantha finds herself unable to resist the forbidden lure of Alec. And just like Daire, she also finds that she is faced with taking a chance on a man who could either set her free or destroy her.

The scale tilts toward destruction when Samantha finds out that Alec is as much a work of fiction as Mason. And he has scars of his own, scars that could ruin them both.

Bio: New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, M. Leighton lives in the deep South with her super-hero husband and super-smart malti-poo. She has a fondness for coffee and chocolate, loves the color red, laughs at almost anything and often stares out her window, daydreaming of far-away places.

Author social media links:

Blog http://mleightonbooks.blogspot.com

FB http://www.facebook.com/pages/M-Leighton/189192087759491#!/pages/M-Leighton/189192087759491

GR http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1152263.M_Leighton

Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/mleightonbooks

EM m.leighton.books@gmail.com

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/M.-Leighton/e/B004LL0TAU/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/m-leighton?r=1

EXCERPT:

“Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!” she hisses through lips that move very little. “Here he comes!”

I don’t move. Not a single muscle. I just stare into Chris’s wide eyes until a shape appears at my right. Slowly, I turn my head and look up, falling headlong into the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen in real life. I see them in my head all the time. And I saw them from somewhat of a distance. But no amount of exposure could’ve prepared me for the reality of them up close. They’re like drops of cool lime with a splash of warm cream.

He glances away from me and nods to Chris before his eyes return to mine. He tilts his head slightly to the side as he considers me. Still, he hasn’t said a word. Still, my pulse is racing out of control.

“Can we help you?” Chris says from across the table. I can hear the smile in her voice.

He doesn’t answer for several long seconds.

“I know you.” It’s a statement, not a question.

A voice inside my head, one that I only listen to when I’m writing, cries out emphatically. Yes, yes, yes! You know me inside and out! Just like I know you.

But I shush her. He doesn’t know me. He couldn’t possibly. And I couldn’t possibly know him. Even though he looks and, thus far, acts exactly like the man that arose from the core of my imagination, from my darkest desires and deepest fears, I can’t let myself forget that he’s not Mason Strait.

“No,” I reply.

He falls silent again, his continued perusal making me increasingly breathless. Finally his eyes narrow on me. “I want to.”

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Review: Lord's Fall by Thea Harrison

2013-05-13T00:00:00.000-04:00

Lord's Fall (Elder Races #5)

by Thea Harrison

Published November 6th 2012 by Berkley
Source: ebook gifted

Blurb:

In the latest Novel of the Elder Races, two mates find themselves on different paths, torn between their duty to the Wyr and the passion that binds them…

Before she met Dragos, half-human/half-Wyr Pia Giovanni was alone and on the run. Now she’s mated, pregnant and heading south to repair the Wyrs’ frayed relationship with the Elves. Being separated from Dragos is painful, but for the good of the Wyr demesne they need to figure out how to be partners—in more places than just the bedroom.

In New York to preside over the Sentinel Games, Dragos is worried about his mate, but knows that finding two replacement sentinels is essential to show the rest of the Elder Races just how strong and brutal the Wyr demesne can be. But as the Games heat up, Pia’s negotiations with the Elves take a turn for the dangerous, straining her bond with Dragos and threatening everything they hold dear…

Review:

There was some good stuff in this one and some boring stuff in my opinion. Overall, I would describe this book more as meh or blah. Nothing great, nothing bad.

Dragos and Pia's interactions were my favorites of this book. I constantly wanted more from them, as I love Dragos so much. They have great dialogues and cute banter. Dragos was his usual pig headed, alpha male self. He's not accustomed to having a woman in his life and actually having to compromise. He's not able to rule with an iron fist like he can with others. Instead he has to learn how to be a mate, husband and father.

Pia annoyed several times in this one. I hated that she called her security team "the psychos" through the entire book. Yes, they were an interesting bunch but they still watched out for her and took care of her. She knew their names did she still need to refer to them as "the psychos"? I did like her interactions with the baby. I thought it was cute, their connection they had so early on in her pregnancy.

The story wasn't pretty much broken into 2 parts. Wyr side and the Elven side. Pia went to visit the Elves to try and repair the relationship between the Wyr and Elven races. Dragos stayed behind to host the Sentinel Games. The Sentinel Games was interesting. I enjoyed hearing about the fights during the Games as well as learning about the new fighters. One in particular sounds VERY interesting, but I don't want to spoil it. Pia's trip to see the Elves was pretty boring to me, but once the action picked up after the crossed the Wood then it all got better. The story quickly moved after that and the battle/action scenes were good.

Although I was happy that this book went back to Pia and Dragos, I wish there was more of them together. This book had them separated for far too long.

Stacking the Shelves

2013-05-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

Smashword Freebie with Code: UU33D

$10 Audible credit:

Edelweiss:

What did YOU get this week?

Review: Off Sides by Sawyer Bennett

2013-05-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

Off Sides (Off Series #1)
by Sawyer Bennett
Published February 21st 2013 by Big Dog Publishing

Blurb:

Ryan Burnham is the privileged son of a U.S. Congressman and captain of his university’s hockey team. While he is on the verge of fulfilling his dreams to play in the NHL, his parents want him on a different course. One he is expected to accept for the sake of his family’s public image.

Forced her to abandon her music career after the heart breaking death of her parents, Danny Cross exists on the opposite side of the tracks from Ryan. She is struggling to make her own way, working two jobs, attending college part time and volunteering in a homeless shelter. She is on a mission to build her own success.

With a chance meeting, their vastly different worlds collide, causing each to evaluate whether they are truly on the correct path to self-fulfillment and happiness. Can their relationship survive? Particularly when others are against them every step of the way. A lot can happen in just ten short days...

Review:

This is such a fun theme of a rich, privileged boy who meets a girl who couldn’t be more opposite. For a New Adult novel, I find this to be quite refreshing since it is not a common theme of a girl and her attraction to bad boys. This is a short book, roughly about 137 ebook pages, which I finished within a few hours because I just couldn’t put it down. I was pleasantly surprised how satisfied I was when I was done.

As for the characters, I really like Danny. She’s a virgin, has piercings, purple hair and smart wit. Her parents are dead, she is a talented violinist but had to drop out of Julliard (not by choice), and she’s working as a waitress to make ends meet. Life is not a piece of cake for her and I appreciate how she is hard working and determined to conquer all this. Despite this tough life, she finds time to volunteer at a homeless shelter while she pays her way through college part-time.

Ryan is a rich guy who basically has everything handed to him on a silver platter. He’s the all American boy, captain of his hockey team, popular and in a fraternity at his college. With all this going for him, I value that he does not have the “sense of entitlement” attitude that most kids of his background have. Ryan is well aware of just how shallow his so-called friends are and I admire that he recognizes the fakes from his genuine friends.

When Ryan and Danny decide to pursue their attraction and begin a relationship, it’s not easy since they are from two different worlds. I like how Ryan freely admits how scared he is and asks Danny to take a chance on him so that they can face everything together. The obstacles they encounter include crude remarks from Ryan’s friends and team mates, his mother’s arrogant behavior about pushing Ryan to be with a girl of the same “class,” and an ex-girlfriend who torments Danny at every meeting. There are also some scenes of violence where the consequence of that is another issue they both have to combat as well. Despite all of the forces against them, they have the “love conquers all” attitude where they deal with everything openly and honestly.

I do think that the author’s writing style flowed really well for me which attached me greatly to the story. The sexiness was not “fade to black” nor was it overly explicit. I thought it was just the right amount to feel the characters emotional and physical connection to each other. Be warned that “love” and “marriage” comes up sooner in their relationship than one would expect but to me, I felt their connection so I didn’t question it. This is such a hidden little gem and I hope many people will pick up this book.

3.5 - 4 Bolts

* Please join me at Readers Confession on May 17th for the author’s “Off Limits” Blog Tour where I will review, Off Limits, the second book to this series about Ryan’s sister, Emily.

ARC Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

2013-05-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry Expected publication: May 28th 2013 by Harlequin Teen

Blurb:
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Review:

Beth was not my favorite character in Pushing The Limits so reading her story was going to be... interesting.. on several levels. I was wondering if I'll be ok reading an entire book about the at times rather bitchy girl, if McGarry could sway me and if this is going to be a completely different story line than Pushing The Limits. Knowing how well McGarry written the previous sequels in this series I did expect a lot. AND a lot I got.

McGarry has managed to write another amazing piece and her writing has improved and grown even more. But before I'll gush on about how much I loved her writing, the plot was interesting. Similar set up as Pushing The Limits, except McGarry to Beth out of the familiar setting. A stroke of brilliance in my opinion. Also with that new characters were introduced but also while we still saw the familiar Beth new aspects of her could unfold and we got to learn about her past and understand why she is the way she is. As I said the set up is similar, one kid from broken home and ruff background the other from a good upbringing and problems at home. They kinda end up together and fall in love. Well at least that's the basic run down. But McGarry made this super basic set up into a completely different story and without breaking the connection to the previous book, this is in my opinion the incredible feat she achieved. It felt new and unique but there were familiar and love aspects there as well. Brilliant!

As I said I wasn't that excited about Beth to start off with, and she did live up to my expectations several times in behaving like the utter bitch. But as the story went on things become clearer and Beth does change as well and I ended up really really liking her. (Another testament to McGarry writing skills)

While Beth comes from a rough background, her bitchiness isn't just kinda excused because of it. One actually get to see that, yes she is sassy and sometimes even mean, she also is loyal and devoted. And her relationship with her mother is devastating and moving both at once.
McGarry has a real sensibility towards building up realist and rounded characters and she went all out with Beth. I could totally connect to her feelings and insecurities even though she is the furthest from my character.

Ryan is sweet, fun and genuinely good guy. And everyone is going to root for him. Because he also is cocky, charming and a golden boy. The only thing I found a bit too much was his problems at home. It kinda felt a bit over the top.

Scot is the one support character that I have to mention. He is amazing! His story is difficult and as we get to know him, you realise how much he invested and how much he cares for Beth. He is the one that chose to do things right. I loved how he rebuild his relationship with Beth and also how he protected his wife.

I really enjoyed getting to know the new support characters, but was also happy to get a glimps of the old "crew". And its interesting to see them through Beth's and Ryan's eyes.

There are so many details to this novel that are worth mentioning. This is not just your straight forward plain romance story. NO! There are so many levels to it. I would say that McGarry is best at writing emotions but that isn't quite true. She also created really amazing characters, with interesting backgrounds and then there a little things like the analogy with the bird in the barn. And the rainwater in the bottle.
The dialogues are fun and witty as well.

Which brings me to my favorite bit McGarry's prose. I have little words to explain how good it is. She transmits feelings and situations with beauty. I can only say that McGarry is offically one of my favorite YA writers. Because yes her novels are great and much deeper than most but her writing! AH! She is an artist. And the best part, it gets better with each book!

So I am not only waiting desperately to read what Isaiah's Story, I am waiting for anything McGarry is going to write!

Guest Post/Promo with Poppy Dennison

2013-05-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

Please give a warm welcome to m/m author Poppy Dennison! I actually met her in February at Olde City New Blood mini-con and she was a total doll! Look forward to my review soon of Book 1 of the Triad series. Without further ado, here is Poppy!

GUEST POST

From Angel to Angelus: Writing the Male POV

Since I started writing Gay Romance (M/M Romance), I’ve often been asked about writing men. What’s different about it? Isn’t it a challenge to accurately portray the male perspective?

The answer is as complex as the question. Yes and no. The challenge of being a writer is digging deeply into your character’s heart and finding their motivations. The emotions are key. Without them, you have a cardboard cutout with no personality.

Those of you who follow me know that I’m a bit of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanatic. If you watched the show too, you’ll be very familiar with the characters Angel and Angelus. Both men (well, vampires!) and both in the same body. One could argue that they are the same person. But are they?

Angelus is the dark side, the evil villain of the story in many ways. He’s soulless and torments the other characters in truly horrifying ways (those poor goldfish…). His alter ego is our hero, Angel: the vampire with the soul who helps Buffy on her mission to save the world from other evil vampires.

So what does this have to do with writing the male perspective? Good question! LOL. The genius that is Joss Whedon created a character who travels all sides of the emotional spectrum. All of the characters I create have their own journey. Just like Angelus, they all have a dark side, or flaws that they battle to become the person they are meant to be. But on the other hand, they are also the dark hero, Angel, with a mission and goals of their own.

The key to writing from the male POV is making sure I take the time to develop that background so that I truly know my character. When Buffy’s writers were crafting lines for Angel or Angelus, they had to keep their distinct histories and personalities in mind. It’s my job to do that for each of my characters, to give them their own unique personalities that are so clear that even if they are identical (or share the same body in Angel/Angelus’ case) my readers can tell them apart by the way they talk and how they act. I have a writing friend who once told me that she even knows what her characters smell like! Now, I’ve got to confess that I don’t necessarily know their smells, but I do know them.

Take, for example, Simon Osborne. (Anyone catch the little Buffy reference there?) Simon’s journey begins in Mind Magic, the first book of my Triad trilogy, and concludes in Soul Magic. Simon has his Angel side (he has a heart of gold and is willing to break the rules to help kids in danger) but he also has his Angelus side in the form of self-doubt, anxiety, and a general lack of self-worth. Sound familiar? They are flaws many of us face on a daily basis, myself included!

The trick was to take those flaws and transport them to the male perspective. How do males react to self-doubt differently from women? As a writer, it’s my job to understand that difference. I’ll give you a funny example of a misstep I made in my first draft of Mind Magic. I confess to being a little nervous about the first sex scene I wrote. I had a good friend read it for me. He did, then handed me back the chapter with a frown.

“Poppy, love,” he said as he patted my arm sympathetically. “For gay men, a blow job is like a handshake. Try again!”

Once I picked my jaw up off the floor (and stopped blushing!) I realized he was right. I’d not really gone into Simon’s head when I wrote that scene. I did try again, and the result was a chapter that had my buddy fanning himself with appreciation!

For me, writing the male POV can be a challenge at times, but that’s what I like about it. Characters are the backbone of any romance novel, and being able to dig deep, to get both the Angel and the Angelus of their emotions into play, well, that’s what makes the challenge worthwhile!

Soul Magic (Triad #3)

Publisher: Dreamspinner

Genre: Paranormal M/M

Price: $6.99 eBook $14.99 Print

Release Date: May 6, 2013

Blood runs soul-deep. Cormac hasn’t been the same since the night the High Moon Pack was attacked. With his magic weakened, he’s consumed by a bloodlust he hasn’t felt since he first became a vampire. His need to replenish his power makes him a danger to his last remaining family member, and his hunger makes him careless. And that’s just the beginning of his troubles. Feeding from pack beta Liam Benson was supposed to slake his appetite, not leave him craving more.

Simon Osborne and Gray Townsend are trying to fight a being history says shouldn’t exist—one with all three types of magic. The pack must use all of their resources to combat the mysterious triad, even turning to the shady Council of Mages for help. While Cormac struggles to reconcile his past failures with his current desires, Simon must attempt the impossible: an alliance between mind, body, and soul.

Buylinks:

Dreamspinner Page http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/index.php?cPath=55_602

About the author

A sassy southern lady, Poppy Dennison developed an obsession with things that go bump in the night in her early years after a barn door flew off its hinges and nearly squashed her. Convinced it was a ghost trying to get her attention, she started looking for other strange and mysterious happenings around her. Not satisfied with what she found, Poppy has traveled to Greece, Malaysia and England to find inspiration for the burly bears and silver foxes that melt her butter. Her love of paranormal continues to flourish nearly thirty years later, and she writes steamy love stories about the very things that used to keep her up all night. If her childhood ghost is lucky, maybe one day she’ll give him his own happily ever after.

You can find out more about Poppy’s books on her website http://www.poppydennison.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Poppy-Dennison/270574609631110?ref=ts

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/ParanormalPoppy

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5108648.Poppy_Dennison

Cover Reveal: Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout

2013-05-07T23:30:00.000-04:00

Obsession

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Expected publication: May 31st 2013 by Entangled Publishing, LLC (Covet)

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

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

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

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jlarmentrout

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferLArmentrout

Website: http://www.jenniferarmentrout.com/