tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21549651162481750302024-03-13T15:15:06.493+01:00Rea's Reading and ReviewsReahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.comBlogger234125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-57254765509839279502012-09-25T13:30:00.000+02:002012-09-25T19:09:28.103+02:00Blog Tour: The Healer by J.L. Bowen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s1600/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="89" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s320/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1335231617l/13610809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1335231617l/13610809.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Healer-J-L-Bowen/dp/1608206521/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348580359&sr=8-1&keywords=healer+bowen" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon US</span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Story</u>: Thirteen-year-old Armond Costa heals in three days, no matter what abuse
his uncle and aunt inflict upon him. On his fourteenth birthday, he sprouts
wings and discovers his aunt and uncle had lied to him. He's the lost Golden
Demon's Healer. His father, King of the Golden Demons, insists he return with
him and save his people from being persecuted by their mortal enemies, the Dark
Demons. Now, Armond must choose between the Ellis brothers and
seventeen-year-old Rusty Owens -- the only family he's ever known -- or condemn
the Golden Demons to extinction.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: Though intrigued by the concept behind the book, I have
to admit that I found the first third-to-half of this book fairly hard going. This
is due to the fact that things felt a bit all over the place, which resulted in
me having a hard time building up a clear picture in my head of the events
taking place. By the second half, it felt like the author had found her voice
and her focus and I was able to settle into the story much better. This
obviously resulted in me enjoying the story much more!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There were certain things that worked in this story’s favour,
such: as a very well-drawn main character who was far from perfect; the fact
that the author was not afraid to put her character through the ringer in such
a way that you rarely see in fiction aimed at teens / YA; the struggle with
burgeoning sexuality and having to face the question of whether homosexual
urges are natural and acceptable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There were other things that worked against it, such as:
a plethora of characters who are all named but often don’t play a pivotal role.
I’m a big fan of the rule of not introducing a character if you can make the
story work without them – the human brain just can’t juggle that many names and
it’s very frustrating to read about “John” and “Peter” doing something that
puts a big question mark on their motives when I can’t even remember who “John”
and “Peter” are! What´s more, the character descriptions were often fairly
generic. All the characters seemed to look the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond this, there’s
also the fact that the struggle with sexuality was made redundant by the
introduction of a love-at-first-sight (kill it with fire!!) very plain Jane
female character who had nothing really special going for her when the male romantic
interest had been built up so well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite a rocky start, I came to enjoy the characters and
world built up in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Healer</i> and will
be looking for more by this author. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Style</u>: Some big problems in the first half of the book that would occasionally drag me out of my reading zone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Final verdict</u>: All in all, the story fairly comes out at a balance of
the bad versus the good. For each bad point, there’s a good point to counter
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Get a sneak peek:</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Chapter One<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I grabbed the wobbly banister and climbed the stairs two
at a time to the attic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A small stampede barged after me. “Going somewhere boy?”
Uncle Peter’s heavy footsteps trailed me. “You’ll never get the chance to
heal.” His heavy panting echoed in the cramped stairwell. “Not…after…I…
get…through…with…you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Not in three days, you won’t,” Aunt Janet gritted her
teeth. “I promise you that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Great, more pain. They could at least tell me what I did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My hand shook as I whipped open my door. I charged
towards the window. Freedom was only six feet away. Out the corner of my eye,
an elephant size blur barreled right for me. I shrank, but Uncle Peter grabbed
my arm and threw me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the room swirled, I crashed into the wall, knocking
the wind out of me. Sweet Aunt Janet stormed over to me and backed me against
the wall. “This. Is. Your. Fault.” With each word, she slapped me across the
face and slammed my head like a ping-pong ball into the hard wood paneling. She
wheezed and stopped. “Since it’s your damn fourteenth birthday tomorrow,
they’re hunting you, putting us all in danger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">God, her breathe stank of peppermint gum. Her hands
reeked of her gawd, awful rose perfume. A metallic taste swirled in my mouth.
Blood again. My cheeks throbbed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I don’t understand.” I rubbed my face. “Who can’t find
me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Shut up.” Aunt Janet folded her skinny arms across her
flat chest. “I never should have agreed to raise you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wiping my bloody mouth on my arm, I kept silent. That’s a
laugh. Yeah, I was real grateful. Nothing like getting the crap beat out of you
because you’re not a Martin. My last’s name’s Costa, my mother’s maiden name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A motorcycle roared outside my window. Aunt Janet’s thin
face paled. Her thin lips, smeared with red lipstick, pinched together. She
dropped her arms. “It’s them. I know it’s them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I half-hoped it was Rusty Owens, my self-appointed protector.
Rusty had long dark red hair and rode a fiery crimson motorcycle, but when I
peered out the window, disappointment hit me. It was just some old gray haired
guy on a blue bike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I frowned. “So, whoever is looking for me rides a
motorcycle?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Holding up her arm, she clenched her fist. “Didn’t you
hear me?” She took a step towards me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I cringed and clamped my jaw tight. With her wild green
eyes and spiky blond hair, she loomed over me like an Amazon ready to rip my
guts out. I turned away. Never look a rapid dog in the face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Get a hold of yourself.” I peeked back around. Sweat
poured down Uncle Peter’s face and a lock of fuzzy orange hair stuck to his
forehead. He glowered at Aunt Janet and then slammed his fist into his
oversized palm. “They can’t find him.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I swallowed. Who? A lump of fear formed in my stomach.
Somebody chased me, but no one would tell me who. But the thing that terrified
me more was that Aunt and Uncle were scared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aunt Janet ran her hand through her sonic hedge-hog cut
blond hair and paced across the floor. Her high heels clicked on the hardwood
floor. “What will we do?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Keep him locked in the cellar. If he’s beat down…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She stopped and clapped her hands together. “You mean
they can’t find him if he’s in pain?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Nausea gripped me. My achy stomach dropped to my toes. I
knew that look. Damn, my right arm just healed. Three days ago, Uncle broke it
- all because I punched my sixteen-year-old cousin, Bobby, in his round red
pocked face - served him right. I hid my grin. He won’t make fun of the color
of my eyes for a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Glancing away from both of them, I caught my reflection
in the cracked dresser mirror. Strands of long black hair hung in my face.
Shaking, I pushed the hair behind my ears. With my silver eyes, swollen cheeks,
and bloody mouth, what looked like a beaten vampire stared back at me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Great. I took quivering breathe. At least in three days,
I’d be normal again, not a scratch on me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yup.” <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uncle’s firm word got my attention. I wiped the blood on
the back of my hand, turned, and bit my lip. Don’t get sick.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uncle stretched out his flabby arms and nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">An evil smile spread across Aunt’s face. “Our family will
be safe.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He dropped his arms to his side. “Exactly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At those words, I quivered. Uncle Peter seized my arm again
and threw me onto my bed. He leaped on top of me, knocking the wind out of me,
and pelted his meaty hooks into my face. “They’ll. Never. Find. You.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In one leap, Uncle jumped off the bed and chucked me on
the floor. I gasped for air, but it hurt to even breathe. I never got over how
enormous Uncle and Bobby were, and how fast they could move. You’d think they’d
be slow and clumsy, but they weren’t. More like, mad bull elephants bent on
trampling you to death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With his steel toed cowboy boots, he kicked my ribs. At
the loud crack, I sucked in my breath. Thoughts fled my mind. As I crawled, I
gasped for air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“You like that?” He kicked me again, and got my hip.
“You’re like your smart mouthed mother.” I rolled into a ball, and he stomped
on my lower back. My kidneys screamed with agony. I’d piss blood for three
days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“You bastard.” Uncle Peter yanked me onto my feet. He
shook me. “Your mother and her boyfriend are hunting you. If they find you,
we’re dead.” His fingers dug into my tender skin. “Like when they murdered your
father.” He dragged me down the stairs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My mind went blank. Did I hear him right? Blood drained
from my face. My feet tripped over each other as if I was a toddler, but Uncle
Peter never slowed. “Quit stalling.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When he whipped open the basement door, the air changed
from summer clean to dusty and mildewed. Not again. I beat on his arm. “No!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Shut up.” He shoved me, and I somersaulted down the
stairs. My vision blurred until I landed splat at the bottom, gasping for air.
Above me, a darkened light-bulb dangled from a string. Sunlight struggled
through the windowsills, but failed to chase away dark shadows that lurked
under dusty, rickety, chairs, behind old trunks and a headless mannequin. My
whole body throbbed as pain consumed me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Light peered through a dusty window. Escape. I braced my
hands on the cool cement, but before I could stand, Uncle threw me against
another wall again. I landed on bumpy metal. Damn, not the stupid chains again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“No,” I whispered and darted toward the door, but he
grabbed me. I pushed and slapped his hands, but I couldn’t peel off his fat
handcuffs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He hurled me against the same wall. I shook my head, but
he grabbed my hair and pulled me to his chin. Thrusting his giant bulbous sized
gut and chest, he pinned me. I couldn’t breathe or move. His hot breath brushed
over my head. He clanked the bands on each of my wrists. “There.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I peered at him. “You said my father was killed in the
line of duty. So, did grandma and grandpa.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“We lied,” he hissed into my ear. His breath stank of
buttered popcorn. “Your father went after your mother to bring her back and
raise your ugly hide, but her boyfriend ambushed him and killed him in cold
blood. Because of you, my brother’s dead.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I don’t understand.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“You’ve paid for that sin every day since you’ve come
here. My brother was my best friend.” His fingers gripped my shoulders, and he
shook me. My teeth rattled and my vision blurred. “And now, your mother is back
and wants you, all of us dead. Is that plain enough for you? There only can be
one healer, and she’s it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He released me, and I fell against the hard wall. As my
head cleared, I gazed at him. Sweat trickled down his jowls and splashed onto
the cement floor. He averted his hazel eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“You’re a liar.” I yanked on the chains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He stomped to the corner where a crooked metal rack
leaned against the wall. Masking tape, screw drivers, hammers and pliers
cluttered the other shelves. Stained turpentine jugs, and open and unopened
paint cans were stacked on one metal shelf. Brushes and rollers were stuck
inside a paint splattered brown and white coffee can. “I can see I’m gonna have
to keep your mouth shut for you.” He jerked a smudged white rag out of a faded
yellow bucket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He waddled over to me. With a sneer on his fat face, he
wrapped his fist in my hair. My head snapped back. He stuffed the rag into my
mouth. Oil and dirt tinged my tongue. I gagged and shook my head. My salvia wet
the cloth, and grit and turpentine ran down my throat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I refused to show fear no matter how much it pooled in my
stomach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Better, much, better.” He swiped his hands on his pants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Softer footsteps thumped on the stairs. Aunt Janet
emerged with a whip in her hand. All she needed was a skin tight black spandex
suit and a mask, and she could be a super villain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I am sooo dead,” I mumbled into the rag and braced the
wall with my back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As a sharp toothy smile spread across her mouth, I
quivered. She raised the whip. “This is for putting us at risk, you bastard.”
She lashed my gut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I arched my back. My hands clenched the chains.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“After this, you’d wished you had never been born.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My heart hammering, I blinked back tears and bit the rag.
Slime coated my tongue. With each swish, I counted back from a thousand. There
is no pain. There is no pain. There is no pain. But a muffled groan escaped my
lips and collapsing to the floor, my legs betrayed me. Aunt Janet’s laugh
weakened my resolve. “There, I knew I could make you cry.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Conan the Barbarian
and Rusty Owens, I’m not.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uncle Peter gripped my hair. “To let you know,” he hissed
into my ear. His hot breath blew onto my neck. My stomach revolted. “This is
your mother’s fault. Abrianna should have stayed away. She had her chance.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My mother had a chance for what? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Make up your mind, dude. Does she want to kill us or stay with your
ugly ass?</i> With his sweating face and beady wild eyes, he’d finally gone
mad. Did I fall down a rabbit hole?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As the whip slashed my legs again and again, my thighs
and calves pulsated with pain. At each slash, my body bumped up and down on the
freezing cement floor. Sweat secreted from every pore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Damn it, Janet.” Uncle Peter jerked away from me. “You
nearly hit me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Don’t mention that woman’s name. Not ever.” Tears weld
in her eyes. “The bitch will pay for her sins.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Fine.” Uncle Peter strolled towards the stairs. “I’m
hungry. I’ll be right back. Do you want anything honey?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“No.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She lifted the whip and lashed me again and again. Deep
cuts dug into the back of my thighs, buttock and back. Each time she hit me, my
body jolted. I lost count of time. Not wanting to hear her cackle again, I
pictured Rusty. His musical voice echoed in my head, “Don’t show them fear.
Stay strong. Stay tough.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Inside, I screamed with agony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“God, I can’t stand anymore,” Aunt Janet panted.
“Have..to..sit..down.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I glanced over my shoulder. Aunt Janet’s spiky hair stuck
to hear head, and the light glistened off her shiny face. She wrapped the whip
around the handle and plopped next to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Burying my face in my arms, I held my breath. She seized
the bottom of my ankle. Her nails dug into my ankle. She smacked the bottom of
my foot. I kicked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Don’t you dare kick me.” She sat on my calves. I
squirmed. She swatted my feet again and again. If you don’t think, that hurts,
you’re crazy. Pain, God, I was dizzy from it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The smell of fish filled the basement. Aunt Janet
stopped. “Peter, what are you eating?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Through my swollen eyes and matted hair, I watched him
lean against the wall, holding a sandwich in his hand. He sat a glass of milk
on a wooden, splintered chair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Tuna fish sandwich,” he smacked his lips together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The smell of tuna, mixed with the damp and mustiness of
the basement, mimicked the scent of a tackle box. I wrinkled my nose. I’d never
eat tuna again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“There,” she gasped. “No one will find him now,
especially his slut mother.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Janet, shut up.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Uncle
Peter narrowed his eyes at me. Walking over to me, he licked his fingers. With
a malicious smile, he kicked me hard in the side, and my rib cracked again or
maybe it was already broken. Hard to know. I groaned. My side throbbed each
time I breathed, and blood swirled in my mouth. I wanted to pass out, but sweet
relief eluded me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Concentrating on
anything but the pain, my mother came to mind. Had she been at the game?
Awesome, she knew what I looked like, but I wouldn’t know her until I had a
bullet in my brain or worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Standing, Aunt Janet wiped the sweat from her brow. “So,
do you think this is good enough?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Gee, didn’t know mangling me was such hard work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uncle Peter kicked me twice, and I doubled into a tight
ball. I moaned. He knelt and stared at me. “Yeah, they won’t be able to find
him.” He shook his head. “Damn, I never knew they were this close.” He gritted
his teeth. “If they think I’m giving up our chance for immortality, they’ve got
their heads up their ass.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Immortality? What
the hell is he talking about?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aunt stared at me. “So, now what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Wait until tonight. He’s not going anywhere. Hey, honey,
is there anymore pie left?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She tossed the whip across the room. “Yes, dear, I think
so. You know, I’m starving.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hope the skinny bitch chokes on her own cooking. When
they left and shut the basement door, I sat numb. Each time my heart beat, pain
pulsed through me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All this time, Uncle Peter knew my mother could heal like
me, but never told me. So, did he think she would keep healing him so he’d
never die? Or maybe he had started eating one too many brownies laced with
weed. It slipped his addle mind that my mom had my father murder.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My world had turned upside down. First, they told me my
father had been shot in a robbery gone bad. I even read the newspaper article -
“Cop Gunned Down At 7-11.” Nowhere did it mention that Brian Martin’s ex-wife
and her stupid boyfriend murdered him. So what, mom and her putzy boyfriend
stopped off to buy some cupcakes, and my father confronted them so they blew
him away? Or did the boyfriend not want to share his Twinkies with my dad?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I licked my bloody lip. Every day I passed my dad’s
graduation picture from the police academy and the framed newspaper article on
the mantel – only to know it was all lie. Why the cover up? My mind spun, not
able to piece the puzzle together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I frowned. “How come my mother can’t find me if I’m in
pain?” No answer came forth from the damp walls or the spiders too busy
spinning their webs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But then who cares. My life sucked anyway. More lethal
lies told from the two people who were supposed to love me. What did I expect?
I needed the truth. I wanted to go someplace where there was no pain, no fear
and no sadness – I wanted to be treated like a person. Pent up tears were
released. I hadn’t cried for so long, but to know my mother killed my father.
With each sob, my body shook. I never expected that. It hurt more than Aunt
Janet’s torture. Now, my mother wanted me dead, but she had the all the
answers. Great. Exhausted, sleep finally stopped the agony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When I woke, the moon shone through the barred basement
window. I could barely see through my swollen eyes. Raw torment gripped me. The
pale light shined on a brown spider crawling on the cement floor. The spider
darted over my lifeless arm. The feel of its long legs sent shivers through me.
A sharp prick pierced my arm. The spider fled, and ran across the floor. I
ignored the pain. I hurt too much to move.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The damn rag gagged me. I tried spitting it out again,
but only licked more blood, dirt<span class="msoDel"><del cite="mailto:Ralph" datetime="2012-01-31T21:55"><span style="color: red;">,</span></del></span> or oil, or whatever nasty metallic
stuff stained it. Better to not know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When the basement door creaked and footsteps shuffled
down the stairs, I shuttered and cowered against the wall.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A voice whispered, “My God, what have they done to you?
It’s never been this bad.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Out of the shadows, Larry Martin, who was a few weeks
older than me, stood there, holding a bowl and wash rag in his hands. Aunt and
Uncle’s second son. With wide eyes, he gawked at me. Two heads shorter than me,
Larry passed more for a scared, fat third grader than a seventh grader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I exhaled and relaxed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He rushed over to me. Already sunburned, his dark pink
face matched the stains of a strawberry slurpee on his white tee-shirt. Gasping
for air, he put the bowl onto the floor, reached into pocket and pulled out his
inhaler. Blood rushed to his face and changed him into a cherry head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My hair was plastered to my forehead and cheeks. With his
other hand, he swept it off of my face. He stuffed the inhaler into his pocket
and then untied the rag and clean air rushed into my mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I spat on the ground. “God, that tasted like crap.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I-I-I brought warm water. I-I-I thought you’d want me to
wash you up. I-I-I’ve looked for the key to the shackles, but they’ve hidden it
this time, and I don’t know where it is. I’m sorry.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Thanks for looking.” He’d helped me more than once in
this hell house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Larry dipped the washcloth into the warm water and rung
it out. When he put it on a cut, I winced.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He snatched his hand away. “I put hydrogen-peroxide in
it. It says it’s supposed to help disinfect and heal cuts. They don’t want you
to heal, Armond. It’s like they’re afraid to let you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“No kidding.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He stared at the bowl. “I’ll go and empty this. I don’t
want to hurt you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Immediately, I regretted being a smart ass. In a sincere
voice, I said, “Go ahead and finish.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Okay, this will sting a bit.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I hated those words. Whenever someone said that, it meant
it would hurt like hell. I tensed. With his shaking hand, Larry patted my open
cuts. I muffled a groan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Sorry,” he mumbled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He gently brushed the rag along my torso, down my legs
and across my arms, and after a while, his soft touched soothed the smarts. He
shoved my hair away again and dabbed my face. “Can you even see?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite the torment of forcing those tiny muscles to
move, I smiled. “As bad as I must look, yeah, I can.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“God, I don’t even recognize your face.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My smile vanished. “They’ll know you helped me again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I know, but they won’t do anything. Well, they might
lock the basement door.” He glanced over his shoulder and then at me. He half
grinned. “But I’ve figured out how to pick the lock.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“What time is it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“About quarter to twelve.” He twisted the wash rag, and
pink water dripped into the bowl. “Um, they’ll be back at midnight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Great. Did they tell you my mother is the one after us?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Larry’s green eyes widened. “Nooo waaaay.” He smiled.
Well that’s good. She’ll-“<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Actually, she wants to kill me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He blinked. “What?” He dropped the rag into the bowl. “Oops.
Sorry. But why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Apparently, there can only be one of us. Oh and by the
way, she helped murder my father.” I studied him. “Did you know that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“What?” He shook his head. “Uh uh. The Rocky Mountain
Newspaper said he was killed during a robbery at Mom and Pop’s Grocery store at
72<span style="font-size: small;"><sup>nd</sup> Avenue and Lowel by an unknown assailant.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had read those words over and over
throughout the years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“According to good ole Uncle Peter, my dad knew his
killers. My mother’s dumb boyfriend shot him.” I frowned. “I don’t understand
why Uncle lied.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I don’t know.” His face turned pensive. “Wait a minute,
you mean your mom can heal herself too?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yeah and she wants to be the only one. It’s like she
wants to be worshipped as some kind of god or something. I guess with me around,
she’d lose some of her supposed followers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“That sucks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Tell me about it, but I don’t care.” My voice hardened.
“I’ve got to find her.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Why?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I can’t stand this. It sucks. I want to find out who I
am.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He gripped my shoulders. “No, you can’t. Not if she’s
gonna kill you. You’re my brother. I can’t let you die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I studied his plump serious face. “I know.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He released me and looked into the bowl. “God, I can’t
believe how much blood is in here. I gotta go.” He stood and then hurried out
of the basement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">After he left, I forced myself to sit and leaned against
the wall. So, the Reverend Peter Martin of Our Rising Savior Lutheran Church,
and his lovely wife not only hated my mother, but were afraid of her. Oh, and
blamed me for my father’s death. What ever happened, I got blasted for it.
Terrorists invaded Arvada, my fault. Collections go down at Uncle’s church, my
fault. My mom killed my dad, my fault. The power I had.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I racked my brain. We were at my baseball game this
morning, and I didn’t remember any woman stalking me or trying to cut my head
off or shoot me between the eyes, but then again, I wasn’t exactly looking
either, not with my team losing. Maybe I could find her first. Gee, that will
be easy since I don’t know what she looks like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I stared at the same biting spider crawling across the
floor. So, how come all the grown-ups in my life wanted to hurt me? No wonder I
never trusted anyone over twenty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">What did Uncle mean by wanting to keep his immortality?
He couldn’t heal himself and the only person I could heal was me. Did he mean
my mom? Maybe her powers were stronger than mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When heavy, fast footsteps came down the stairs, I
huddled in the corner. My chains scrapped the floor. I buried my face in my
arm, and pretended I was asleep. The light turned on, and I trembled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I know you’re a wake boy,” Uncle Peter said. He nudged
me with his foot. “Look at me. Or I’ll kick the crap out of you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I lifted my head and froze. Uncle Peter held a chain saw
in his hand. The blood drained from my face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aunt Janet flashed her eyes over me. “God, look at him,
Larry’s been down here.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uncle Peter shrugged. “So?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s five minutes to midnight, Peter. Do you think he’ll
change?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“They always do. Fourteen. At the witching hour.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Change?<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I clutched the iron chain and flung it at them, but it
clunked short of their feet, clanging on the cement floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uncle Peter narrowed his eyes at me. “You better stop
right now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I flicked it at them again. “Stay away from me.” My voice
sounded funny. What would he do if someone planned to cut his fat ass into tiny
pieces?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">A splintering pain burned in my back, but Uncle and Aunt
stood still. The force of the pain threw me onto my stomach and took my breath
away. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stop, make it stop. S</i>omething
moved inside me like a knife moving through my flesh. I screamed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uncle ran over and held my right arm. “Janet, grab his
other arm. They’re forming.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aunt clawed her nails into my left arm and Uncle held my
right. He covered my mouth. I tasted dead fish. Did he ever wash his hands? As
something poked through my spine, I withered. My stomach swirled from the
agony, and I spewed into his hand. “Please, stop.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">They released my arms, and I collapsed, face first into
my own vomit. Slime went up my nose, and I sneezed. With my arms trembling, I
pushed myself away from the putrid smell. The pain ceased, and I caught my
breath. Cool air hit my back and moved my hair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Glimpsing over my shoulder, I blinked. It couldn’t be. I
had black wings. Not with feathers like a bird or an angel, but shiny and
smooth like patent leather. Cobwebs flew overhead and landed on Aunt’s arm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Eeww, get it off me,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I shook my head again, but my wings were still there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Janet, quit whining. Grab his other arm and let’s move him
away from here before I get sick.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As they dragged me, the chains hung down my arms like
vines. When they came to the far corner of the room, they threw me down on my
stomach, and Uncle plopped on my buttock.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I groaned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Go get the chain saw,” he ordered. “And plug it into the
outlet.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Please don’t kill me,” I said in a puny whisper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">He anchored his boots on the iron bands of my wrists. As
he moved his boots, my wrists snapped. “Ack,” I shrieked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Here.” Aunt Janet panted. “It’s heavy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’ve broken both of his wrists, so he won’t be able to
yank them from you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Aunt Janet seized both of my hands. Pain jolted through
me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As Uncle Peter stood on my thighs, his boots crushed me
to the ground. His heavy weight bore his boots deep into my skin and muscle.
Too weak to move, I waited, but managed to mumble, “Get off of me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The roar of the chain saw blocked out my words. As the
jagged blade cut into me, I lurched. Bones cracked and shattered. My teeth
chattered. I screamed. Not even getting beaten with a baseball bat hurt this
bad. Blood and gore splattered on Aunt’s face. At her blood-sucking-vampire
smile, I passed out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I woke again and lay still. Warmth spread over my right
side. Breathing hard, I clamped my mouth shut and turned my head towards the right.
Through the window, the sun’s purple and pink rays light my naked bruised and
bloody side. Spilled orange, pink, crimson, and brown paint stained the cement
floor, but the red wasn’t paint. It was blood. My blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d never been in so much pain. Dying was better than
living like this. More than once, I had tried to off myself - took pills,
slashed my wrists, wrapped a rope around my neck, but each time, I healed.
Being immortal sucked. So, why did Uncle want to be immortal? Especially since
he always preached about eternity with God. Hypocrite. I shook. Alone for
eternity terrified me. “Make it stop.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, obviously I wasn’t human. No, that wasn’t true. I was
half-human. Upstairs, my dad’s pictures sat on the mantel. He had the familiar
Martin orange hair, pink face, and portly body, but I had long blue-black hair,
olive skin, and silver eyes. Did I get this from my murderess mother? Is this
why my Uncle and Aunt hated me, because I reminded them of her?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I wished I had super powers like Superman or Hercules.
Being the strongest boy on Earth would be so cool. I’d send Aunt and Uncle into
orbit permanently. Or, at least heal like Wolverine, but mine doesn’t work like
his. It takes three days. Now, if I could heal other people that would be
bitchin’. I could cure Larry’s asthma. Maybe my mother could do it, but I sure
as hell couldn’t, not even a wounded squirrel. Bobby had shot one in the head
with a bee-bee. I touched the animal, but it twitched and died.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I gritted my teeth. My mom could have healed my dad but
she let him die. What a bitch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Useless, stupid, ability.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The power flickered inside me. Like always, my blood
surged. A flutter like a butterfly moved deep within my chest, but this time,
the sensation grew stronger, and intensified. I licked my lips and took a deep
breath. The flutter changed to an electric pulse. The darkness faded. My skin
tingled and shimmered. A white glow illuminated all over me, and the room
brightened like I’d seen in Harry Potter when he conjures up his <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">patronus </i>charm of stag in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</i>.
But unlike Harry, spasms shook me. My vision blurred. I broke out in a hot,
sticky sweat as if I were strapped to a tanning bed stuck on high. Perspiration
drenched me. With each heartbeat, the agony lessened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">As I panted, my vision became clearer, my teeth stopped
chattering and the convulsions ceased. What the hell had caused that? I scooted
against the wall. The putrid smell of vomit and blood turned my stomach upside
down like a tipsy curvy rollercoaster. Another spasm gripped me. I clenched my
fists and groaned. Agony tore through every muscle, and I flopped on my
stomach. Cool air seeped out of a crack in the window and brushed over me. I
glimpsed over my shoulder. My ebony wings glistened in the sun. Not a scratch
on them. I peered at the doorway, but no sign of Aunt and Uncle. With grim
determination, I flapped them. To my surprise, I rose to the ceiling and the
tips rammed into the wooden beams overhead hard. “Ow!” I winced and crashed to
the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got the air knocked out of me and struggled to catch my
breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lay motionless except for my
beating wings. I frowned. So, how did this happen? Now I could grow appendages.
Never knew that. Uncle Peter had never severed a limb before either, but then
again, he just did. I pushed my lips together. I jerked, twisted, and pulled on
the chains, but it was useless. I flopped onto the floor and wiped the sweat
off of my face with my arm. I glowered at the steadfast bolted links. “Dumb
wings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I lay on my stomach motionless on the floor. The cool air
stopped. I frowned. As I reached around my back, my hand only touched smooth
skin. I peered over my shoulder. Where now did they go? Wait a minute, I could
twirl my wrist. It wasn’t broken. I sat up. I twisted my neck around, stretched
my arms and raised my legs. I even pointed my toes. The healing usually took
three days - not one night. How had I healed so quickly?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I cocked an eyebrow. Even now, the pain subsided on my
arms and legs. The sun rays showed unbroken, perfect skin – no bruises, cuts,
or lashes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Footsteps clumped on the stairs. I clenched my fists
waiting for more pain, more torture, more agony. The light flickered on. Aunt
Janet held a handkerchief to her nose, while Uncle Peter clasped the same chain
saw in his hand. I crawled away and huddled against the wall. My hands gripped
the chains. “Not without a fight this time,” I promised.</span></div>
Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-34179944297131500082012-09-18T20:00:00.000+02:002012-09-18T22:26:42.450+02:00Blog Tour & Giveaway - The Grimm Chronicles by Isabella Fontaine & Ken Brosky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s1600/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s400/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m0wrrlVWTf8/UFjVKNW-OYI/AAAAAAAAA_I/APgDJ9WZpF8/s1600/photo-full+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m0wrrlVWTf8/UFjVKNW-OYI/AAAAAAAAA_I/APgDJ9WZpF8/s320/photo-full+-+Copy.jpg" width="207" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Grimm-Chronicles-Vol-ebook/dp/B008SHPM8M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1347999047&sr=8-4&keywords=grimm+chronicles" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-grimm-chronicles-vol-1-isabella-fontaine/1112480648?ean=9781478288633" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>I adore fairy tale retellings! As in, when I discover books that are based on fairy tales, it's very rare that I will ever pass them up, even if they look like they'll be a far cry from what I'd normally read. </i>The Grimm Chronicles <i>immediately caught my attention and it was soon on my TBR list. Fairy tales and a strong female heroine? Yes please!</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Story</u>: <span style="background-color: white;">200 years ago, the Brothers Grimm unleashed their stories upon the world. Literally. Now the characters of the Grimms’ stories walk among us. With every day that passes, they grow more evil. They are the Corrupted, and only a hero can stop them.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">For 18-year-old Alice Goodenough, that means taking precious time off from her summer vacation. In addition to volunteering at the local library, Alice must stop the Corrupted who are now actively hunting her down. With the help of her magic pen and her trusty rabbit friend, the world has suddenly gotten a lot more complex. The Corrupted are everywhere, and only Alice can see them for what they truly are. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">This book contains the first 3 episodes of the critically acclaimed series: Episode 1: Prince Charming Must Die! </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Episode 2: Happily Never After </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Episode 3: Revenge of the Castle Cats </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Additional features for the print edition: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">- An introduction </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">- Two special “Lost Diaries” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">- A behind-the-scenes interview </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">- A collection of original Grimms’ Fairy Tales </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The Grimm Chronicles is intended for Young Adults aged 13 and up. The goal is to provide Young Adult readers with a strong, charismatic young woman in the role of the hero and provide readers with a positive protagonist who uses her brain to overcome obstacles life throws in her way.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: </span>Fairy
tales are very popular right now, from retellings of the classics (Alex Finn’s
books<i>) </i>to fantastical spins that
leave the story a far cry from the original (<i>Throne of Glass)</i>. They’re all over TV and cinema as well, with
Grimm, Once Upon a Time, a new version of Beauty and the Beast lined up for
this fall, the recent Snow White and the Huntsman, Snow White (the Julia
Roberts version), and Jack the Giant Killer coming soon.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Most of
us are fairly well aware of the existence of most of the fairy tales just due
to general culture. I know that I personally read a few of them when I was
young (the few that are appropriate for that age group) but I haven’t read the
originals since then. It’s something that I always mean to rectify but never
seem to get around to doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">With
this book we have the first of four eventual volumes comprised of three tales
each. They’re centred around one character, Alison Goodenough (have to admit
that I’m not a fan of the name, mind), who is living the original Grimm fairy
tales, warped slightly by events that transpire in the beginning and our modern
society. There’s a white rabbit mixed into it all, which I wasn’t as keen on
because a) it felt at times that he was used as an easy way of wrapping up the
situation, and b) the white rabbit belongs to Alice in Wonderland, and as far
as I am aware there is no talking white rabbit in the fairy tales written by
the brothers Grimm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Despite
this little niggle, I enjoyed this book a lot. A very nice touch was that the
Grimm’s fairy tales used in this are listed so it’d be fairly easy to go and
find the original should you wish to compare it with this new spin on events. I
personally won’t be doing that as I don’t have the time to do so right now, but
it’s a great added extra for anyone who would be interested in making their own
comparison.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">The
whole aim of this series was to have a new take on the fairy tale events in
such a way that would allow a strong female character to rise to the forefront
of events. This was a success and Alison Goodenough turned out to be an
enjoyable character to follow through her adventures. I’m interested in seeing
where the authors will take things from here!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Final verdict</u>: I'm always interested in fairy tale retellings and I vastly enjoyed what the authors did with these tales from the Brothers Grimm. <b><i><u>4 stars</u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Get a sneak peek:</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Chapter one: Prince Charming Must Die!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
should have known Edward was too good to be true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">No.
Wait. Let me go back to the beginning. Before I had this curse. Before I went
around slaying creatures that shouldn’t exist. Before I made friends with a <i>rabbit</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s
start at the end of my junior year of high school. That was when all of this
really started. I was looking forward to summer. I didn’t have a job but I had
something even better: a volunteer spot at the local library. It was the best
job in the world—sure, I mostly just put away all of the books and no, I wasn’t
getting paid. But I loved being inside that old building. From the outside, it
looked like a big old firehouse complete with rusty red bricks a rusted fire
escape on one side. All it needed was one of those big garage doors for the
fire truck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Inside,
though … that was where it all happened. When you walked in through the front
door, you passed the little check-out desk where one of the old librarians
would give a smile. Beyond that: rows and rows of old metal bookcases. Fiction.
History. Biography. Science. In the center of the massive space was a circular
table with five computers, the only hint of technology in the entire place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Even
the <i>light bulbs</i> were old! I’m not
kidding—the lights hanging from the tiled ceiling had old steel shades,
something out of the nineteenth century. It was a good thing the library closed
before it got dark because without sunlight streaming in through the windows,
the place might take on a much creepier tone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">But
in the daylight, it just looked <i>neat</i>.
On the second floor were more bookcases, mostly children’s books and young
adult books, but there was a reading room up there, too. I remember going there
as a child and sitting on the red carpet of the reading room and following
along as one of the librarians read one of the children’s novels. My dad sat
outside, reading <i>Star Trek</i> books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
remember the first time I “graduated” to the first floor. I chose a science
book about extinct animals from long ago. I’d been enraptured by a drawing on
the first page where a long-extinct saber-toothed tiger was battling a
ferocious lion. I just knew the tiger had won because tigers are the greatest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
remember that time because I’d almost gone into the basement. The basement door
was near the bathrooms and I’d opened the door by mistake. A cool breeze had
touched my skin. It was so dark that I squinted, trying to make something out.
Anything. But it was too dark, and it gave little 13-year-old me the chills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">The
basement. If only I’d known what was waiting for me down there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Needless
to say, I was ready for exam week to be over. Even my last class of the
day—hardly a class at all—couldn’t keep me entertained. Fencing. Where other
girls chose basic gym because the rules for roller skating and badminton were
relaxed enough to allow casual gossip, I’d made the choice to fence with six
other guys—including my boyfriend Edward—and a girl named Tina who was on the
verge of failing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“You
have to attack,” I told her midway through class. She’d lost twice already
during the week and we were being graded on our form. Tina didn’t have form.
Tina had nothing more than an amazing ability to swing her sword—called a
“foil”—left and right as fast as possible and delay the inevitable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
can’t attack,” she told me, shifting in the chair. We were in a small weight
training room off of the gym. In front of us, two of the other students were
fencing in full gear, their shoes squeaking on the red rubber mats. “The boys
are stronger.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Oh
gawd,” I muttered. “Look,” I pointed to the two boys fighting. They were both
wearing white uniforms but one of the helmets had an A printed on the back and
the other a B so our teacher—Mr. Whitmann—could communicate the scores.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“What
am I looking at?” Tina asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Watch
Gregg,” I said. “He’s the A. Watch him parry. See how he always uses the same
riposte? He loves stabbing after he parries.” We watched them attack and parry
again, the thin blades of their fencing swords clanging together. Gregg took
two steps back, parrying his opponent’s attacks. When the time was right, he
took the offensive, stabbing wildly at his opponent’s ribs. “Just watch their
shoulders,” I told Tina.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Mr.
Whitmann called an end to the fight and tallied up the scores. Gregg was the
surefire winner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“He’s
too good,” Tina moaned. “All these swords just blur my vision. I can’t even see
them coming!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Just
focus,” I said. “We’re not losing to a bunch of stinky boys. Gregg doesn’t even
wear deodorant, for crying out loud.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Alice,”
Mr. Whitmann said, wrinkling his black mustache. “You can’t keep quiet sitting
there? You’re up. Gregg, you stay on.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
grabbed the B mask and foil from the quiet boy who’d just been creamed by
Gregg. I adjusted the plastic chest protector underneath my jacket, much to the
chagrin of the boys seat at the edge of the mat. Edward simply smiled, giving
me a thumbs-up. I have to admit, he looked pretty good sitting there. He was
one of the few guys who could wear the bulky fencing gear with any grace, like
he was actually <i>comfortable</i>
underneath all the padding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“En
guard,” Mr. Whitmann called out. I barely had time to get a grip on the foil
before Gregg came crashing at me with all the grace of a football player. I
parried his thrusts; the clang of the swords was almost lost inside the mask
but not quite and I relished it. I loved this moment. I loved the salty smell
of sweat inside the mask. I loved the way the world seemed dark and closed-in
from behind the black mesh.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">And
I loved winning. Especially against boys bigger than me. And as Gregg came in
again, I parried low, pulling his foil downward, taking a quick step back and
then a quick step forward and thrusting the foil into his chest. The tip of my
sword pressed into the protective jacket and the narrow blade bent in a U-shape.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Point,”
Mr. Whitmann called out. “Parry-riposte from the right. Good job, young lady.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Can
you sound more surprised?” I muttered inside the mask. Mr. Whitmann was a
small, portly man with jet-black hair and hairy arms. He favored the boys; that
much was obvious. And he loved Edward. Everyone loved Edward. From the very day
he transferred to Washington High School, he was universally loved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Gregg
came at me again, this time swinging his sword even more violently. I parried
as best I could, stepping away from him. He didn’t even have his free hand
behind his back, and if our foils weren’t dulled at the tip I could have nicked
the skin of his bare hand. He left me another opening and I took it, stabbing
him in the rib.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Point
B,” Mr. Whitmann said. “Excellent job, Alice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Gregg
stepped back, tearing off his mask in frustration. I took mine off and pulled
loose strands of black hair behind my ears. I glanced at Edward, who was
sitting with the other boys, smiling approvingly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">Later,
at the end of the day, he sidled up to me at my locker. “Do you need help with
your books?”</span> Students had begun sifting out; the only ones lingering were the
select few who needed a few extra minutes to fill our backpacks with notes and
textbooks. Our school was like that: a lot of slackers. Kids who preferred C’s
because it allowed more time to watch awful TV shows. Exam week was even worse
because some students only had one or two classes—plus gym—and then could
leave.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
spun around and wrapped my arms around him, planting a kiss on his lips. He had
soft, full lips, perfect for smooching. “We’re waiting for Tricia and Seth. I
told them you would give them a ride home. Is that OK?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
smiled, holding me close. “Of course. Will you spend some time with me
tonight?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">How
could I say no? Edward was dreamy. Edward was everything a 17-year-old girl
wanted: dark looks, chiseled body, searching green eyes, short brown hair, and
of course an earring to top it all off. That isn’t to say the earring was the
deal-maker—more of a cherry on top of a tasty sundae.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">A
really, really tasty sundae.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I’d
met him in a strange sort of way. Well, strange in retrospect. At the time, it
couldn’t have been more exciting. I’d been at the park down by Lake Michigan
with a couple friends right before school started. They’d gone rollerblading
and so I took to the opportunity to knock down a few chapters of a new fiction
novel, lying back on a bench. My eyes slowly shut.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">When
I woke up, he was standing over me. In all his hunky glory. Wearing a tight
blue button-down shirt. He was looking down at me like he wanted to kiss me.
Yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m
sorry,” he said. “I just noticed that something is about to flitter out of your
purse.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
glanced down at my black purse sitting on the grass next to the bench. He was
right: a little slip of paper was hanging out, fluttering in the wind.
“Flitter,” I repeated with a smile. “I like the sound of that word.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“It
used to be quite a popular word,” he said, crouching down beside me. He was
regarding me ... really, really staring into my eyes. “Royalty used it for a
long time. And then when the peasants started using it, the royalty stopped.
Weird, no?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
laughed. “Do you always walk up to girls and tell them about the history of
words?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
laughed, too, glancing at the piece of paper still flittering as the breeze
picked up again. “No, no. I don’t know where that came from. I’m usually <i>much</i> more awkward.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
felt incredibly calm around him, calm enough to sit up and hold out a hand.
“I’m Alice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Edward,”
he said, taking my hand in his. “So what is it?” he asked, nodding to the
paper. “I bet it’s a shopping list.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s
so goofy!” I said with a laugh. “I hate shopping. My mom shops for me.” I
winced. Stupid, stupid. “I mean, I shop for myself. Sometimes. It’s just a note
to myself. It says <i>Alice, please remember
to return your book to the library</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Ah,
a library denizen,” he said. “Do you go to the downtown library?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“No,”
I said. “I live out by New Berlin. There’s a little library right by my house.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“So
you go to Washington High, then?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m
starting there this year,” he said. “I’m a little nervous. I transferred from
out of state.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Just
keep a list of weird words handy,” I offered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
smiled. We talked some more. I don’t remember what we talked about because my
head was swimming with excitement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
came up to me the first day of class. We were leaving English, having been
assigned a section of <i>Jane Eyre, </i>one
of my favorite classic novels. Just walking through the crowded hall, I could
see eyes on me in every direction. That never happened before. But now here the
mysterious new guy was talking to little old me, telling me about his original
copy of <i>Jane Eyre</i> that he wanted to
show me, but only if I agreed to let him take me out to dinner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">That
Friday night, the first Friday of the school year, we had our first date in a
crowded dark little restaurant in downtown Milwaukee that featured $25 plates
and whose walls were covered with old paintings. I thought I was going to die.
Being there with him. Eating food my parents would be jealous of. Staring at
the plastic-wrapped original copy of <i>Jane
Eyre</i>, with “An Autobiography” in small text underneath the title.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Tricia
and Seth met us at the entrance to the school. Tricia was wearing heels today,
which made her an inch or two taller than Seth. They were both wearing their
Washington Dragons t-shirts to show a little school spirit: the girls’
basketball team—the “Lady Dragons”—had won the state championships again. Seth
looked younger with such a large shirt on. He was already short, and his boyish
pimpled face and short blond hair didn’t help things. He’d gotten an ear
pierced a year ago but it had become infected and he had to take it out … just
Seth’s luck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“That
really doesn’t do much for your figure,” I said to Tricia with a smile. I turned
to Seth. “Yours either, dear.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Seth
just shrugged. “They were out of small sizes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
got mine for free,” Tricia said proudly. She tossed her blond hair over her
shoulders. “The cheerleaders were throwing t-shirts into the stands at the last
home game.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Seth
jerked a thumb in her direction. “Trish reached over an old lady’s head and
tore it out of her hands.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
did not!” Tricia said, slapping him lightly on the arm. This could have been
the beginning of a long, drawn-out fight. That was how they were. It was the
complete opposite of Edward and me: we never fought. I didn’t want to deal with
their fight today. I didn’t want either of them preoccupied before our biology
final on Thursday. The only sensible course was a diversion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Are
those the jeans we picked out last week?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Tricia
lifted up her too-long shirt, extending one leg. “Indeed they are. Acid wash is
going to make a comeback, I swear it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Edward
and Seth both laughed a little. “She’s probably right,” Edward said. “Every
style eventually makes a comeback.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Yeah
but is she going to live that long?” Seth asked with a raised eyebrow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Another
playful slap. But this time, he caught her hand and held it. A good sign that
they would stay on good terms and at least <i>try</i>
to get some studying done tonight. I didn’t want either of them to fail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We
walked toward Edward’s car on the far end of the parking lot. Nothing but the
best for Edward: a great car and a great parking space. Only the upper-class
kids had parking spaces in the little lot behind Washington High. The rest of
us peasants parked on the streets in the surrounding neighborhood, generally
upsetting the owners of the one-story boxes who liked their street quiet and
devoid of teenagers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“You
think it’s gonna rain?” Seth asked, glancing up at the gray sky. “I’m so sick
of the rain. I gotta start biking to work to save money on gas.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Tricia
wrapped her arm in his. “It’s going to rain every day you have to work. All
summer.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s
the meanest thing you’ve ever said to him,” I told her with a laugh. Edward’s
hand found mine and squeezed it tight. I felt a little surge of warmth spread
across my body. I looked up at him. He was a foot taller than me, a good six
inches taller than Tricia and she was five-ten. He could have been on the basketball
team. I told him that. He would always respond: “I’d rather spend time with
you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Dreamy,
eh?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">In
the car, Seth sat up front and controlled the radio dial with calculated fury,
making sure we were never tortured by any commercials. Edward had one of the
nicest cars but he drove in control and always used his turn signals, even as
he was pulling out of the parking lot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“You’re
such a weirdo,” Tricia told him when he made a complete stop before pulling out
of the parking lot. “Not even one squealed tire? Really?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
laughed and gave a little shrug, turning on the wipers as a small sprinkling of
rain started up. “I like to be safe. It’s a nice car, if you haven’t noticed.
With some nice ladies inside, too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Where?”
Seth asked, looking around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
kicked the passenger’s seat. “Be good.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
bet if we were wearing low-cut blouses he’d be nicer,” Tricia said with a
smile. We were on 85<sup>th</sup> street now, heading away from the city of
Milwaukee and toward the little suburb of New Berlin. “Remember two years ago
when we didn’t have chests? I don’t even think Seth ever even talked to me in
the hall.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
never talked to anyone in the hall,” Seth muttered. “Especially girls without
chests.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
bet I’d still have talked to Alice,” Edward said, glancing at me in the mirror.
His dark eyes narrowed deviously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Probably
not,” I told him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Tricia
laughed. “Yeah Eddie, she really wasn’t much to look at when she was a frosh.
See how straight her dark hair is now? It used to be much frizzier. I had to
teach her how to use hairspray. And this face? Zits. Tons and tons of zits. She
needed a lot of help.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s
true,” I murmured. I’d smoothed out some of the rough edges over the past two
years. My skin was clearer (although I didn’t tan well) and I’d filled into a
slight hourglass shape. My bright brown eyes seemed brighter now than when I
was younger—or maybe I’d just gotten used to them. I used to hate them. Now, I
loved how they complimented my indigo-friendly wardrobe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Every
high school student needs a lot of help,” Edward said with a smile. “Me
included.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Yeah
I think one of your pecks is smaller than the other,” Seth said, giving Edward
a poke in the ribs. Edward flinched, smiling, but said nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Suddenly
he braked, forcing my body against the seat belt. I looked out the windshield
and saw the car of Joey Harrington pass us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“What
an ass,” Tricia said. “Who passes someone on a residential street?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Joey
Harrington,” the rest of us said at the same time. Joey lived in our
neighborhood, too. He kept to his clique of popular students inside the
lunchroom and played football and hockey. He didn’t talk to us, but he didn’t
pick on us either. We were the in-betweens—not quite popular, not quite
outcasts who were the target of bullies. But we had friends in the outcast
cliques, and so Joey and his friends’ taunts affected us too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">After
Edward started dating me and word had spread, Joey was even nice to me in the
hallway. Not <i>overly</i> nice, mind you …
but he’d say hi. And it was hard not to enjoy it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“You
should cut him off,” Tricia said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I’d
love nothing more,” Edward responded. “But not today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Not
today,” Seth scoffed. “You always say that. You’ve got, like, the coolest head
in the school. And I mean that in a bad way, dude.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Yeah,”
said Trish, “what happens when you get caught in some drama? You’ll have to
take a side. Joey and his friends and those cool girls are <i>obsessed</i> with making drama.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Edward
just shrugged. It didn’t get to him. At least, I don’t think it did. He was
cool. He looked cool—calm, I mean. His short dark hair and square jaw made him
look like someone out of an old black-and-white detective film, one of those
guys who’s always thinking one step ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">As
we headed farther west, the houses and properties began to spread out. No more
small boxy World War II-era homes … now, everything was getting bigger. Bigger
homes. Bigger front yards. Bigger cars. We passed Southridge Mall, and then our
rival high school. The street widened into four lanes to accommodate more
traffic.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Edward
turned right at Cherokee Drive, weaving around bends in the street. The houses
in this small patch of neighborhood were crowded with pine and maple trees.
Everything was green. Summer was here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Your
stop, my friends,” Edward said, pulling into the driveway of a long two-story
house with brown siding and wide windows overlooking the road. This was Seth’s
house. You couldn’t see it from the front road, but in the back yard was one of
the most amazing swing sets out there, complete with a climbing tower and
monkey bars. As kids, Seth and I had logged hundreds of hours on that jungle
gym. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Tricia
opened her door, then reached out and grabbed Edward’s shoulder. “So you’ll
pick us up tomorrow, right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
laughed. “I promise.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Please,”
she said. She turned to me. “Don’t either of you forget. I <i>can’t</i> miss that exam.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“You
need to focus on <i>passing</i> the exam,” I
told her sternly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
will.” She smiled her pearly white smile, then blew me a kiss.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Edward
gave a wave to Seth, pulling out of the driveway and heading back toward 86<sup>th</sup>
Street. On the way, we passed my house. My parents were both home, their twin
Toyotas sitting in the driveway. Our house was narrower than Seth’s. Taller,
too—our house had two floors. The paneling outside was dark blue and the
windows much, much older. Drafty. Edward had never been inside my house, but if
he had he would have first noticed the draft coming in through the windows.
Everyone noticed that first.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We
were quiet for a while. Edward didn’t talk much. I thought it was sexy; it
reminded me of the hunks that always showed up in the books that all the girls
in school read during Study Hall. The hunks were always silent. Always
mysterious. Like Edward. Why he’d zeroed in on plain Alice was the subject of
many guesses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Are
we going to prom next year?” I asked him suddenly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
turned right on 86<sup>th</sup> Street. “Of course.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
leaned back. I wished I’d gotten in the front seat to be closer to him. I
wanted to be close to him suddenly. To make sure he didn’t disappear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“What
made you think of that?” he asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
just got this, like, real weird feeling run over me,” I said. “Like, we’re not
going to be together next year or something.” Give me reassurance, I thought.
There were prettier girls in school. They all liked Edward. They talked to him
in class. They tried to make him laugh because he had a nice smile. OK, I’m
being modest. A lot of them downright fawned over him. I pretended not to see
it, but in reality we’re talking more than a little anxiety. He’d made friends
so quickly—that was what happened when you joined track. The runners were
popular.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
didn’t answer at first. Not exactly what I was hoping for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Seriously?”
I asked. “No answer?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Of
course we’re going,” he said finally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“But
you hesitated.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“A
lot of things happen over the course of the year, Alice.” He shrugged. “I’m game
if you are.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“But
what?” I asked. “You think I might not be up for it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
didn’t answer. The downside to having a mysterious boyfriend was sometimes he
was mysterious in an annoying sort of way. The popular girly books never
prepare you for <i>that</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“You
OK?” he asked finally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
touched my forehead. “Yes. I think. I’ve just been having some weird dreams.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“What
about?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
don’t know. I can’t remember them well. But I keep waking up in a cold sweat. I
know they’re scary, though. I remember them being scary.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Don’t
eat pizza before bedtime,” he offered. “It causes nightmares.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Thank
you, doctor. That’s really wonderful advice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Farther
out at the edge of the suburb were the much larger houses. These houses were
less social than the ones in my neighborhood: each one had a wrought iron gate
and expansive yards and high fences that acted as a buffer between their
neighbors. Each house was secluded and that, I think, was the way the owners
liked it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">They
liked their yards, too. Edward’s neighbor had put in a number of massive green
shrubs that had been cut to resemble animals. Edward’s parents had “installed”
maple and ash trees around the edge of the property to give their mansion—a
thick, two-story monolith with off-white paneling and narrow prison-like windows—the
feel of a cabin out in the woods.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">A
really, really big cabin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
stopped the car at the gate, running his keycard across the little sensor box.
The gate opened and he drove up the asphalt driveway, parking at the side of
the house. Up close, the house looked more “middle class” and less “Super
Filthy Rich.” There was a small door that presumably led to the basement and
two green garbage bins that always seemed to be overflowing. Rain water had
stained the red-brick foundation with ugly black streaks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Ugh,”
I said, stepping around the garbage bag sitting on the grass next to the
overflowing bin. Food wrappers and empty orange juice cartons were leaking out.
“The raccoons got to it. Don’t your parents tell you to take out the trash?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Every
week,” Edward said with a smile. “I hate doing it. It’s a long walk from the
house to the street, if you haven’t noticed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I’ve
noticed,” I said. “You could almost have your own bus line from the street to
your house.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We
walked up the concrete steps to the front door. Edward pulled out his keys and
unlocked it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“No
parents?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“What
do you mean?” he asked with concern in his voice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
thought you said they might be home today.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Tonight,”
he said. “Later tonight. Much, much later.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We
walked into the house. The front door opened into a massive living room. Near
the front door were two blue couches and a large flatscreen TV smushed against
the wall. Over the beautiful dark gray floral pattern wallpaper. That idea had
to have come from Edward’s dad, I thought. No sane woman would hang something
over such beautiful wallpaper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Beyond
the living room was the kitchen and a bathroom, the only other two rooms—beside
his bedroom upstairs—that Edward said we were allowed to hang out in. The first
floor had three more rooms, each one filled with things teenagers weren’t
allowed to touch. Edward had shown me one afternoon when he was sure his
parents wouldn’t show up. The first room was full of tall marble statues. Old,
old statues. Statues of goddesses and ancient soldiers and plain-looking
figures who had the curly hair and wardrobe of philosophers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">The
second room was full of paintings, which hung on the wall and were held in
place by solid metal frames whose intricate designs were almost as interesting
as the paintings themselves. Lots of cherubs. Edward’s parents had a thing for
cuddly little angel babies, I guess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">The
third room led to the staircase and the bedrooms upstairs. This room was
simpler, with tall solid wood bookshelves that tempted me every time we snuck
upstairs. Books so old just looking at their delicate broken spines might cause
them pain. Books so old the writing on the covers looked as if it had been
inked in a different language entirely, the font so obscure you had to squint
and remember back to your cursive lessons to figure out each letter. It was
beautiful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We
went in there now on our way to his bedroom. I stopped as I always did,
exploring one of the bookshelves nearest the large staircase pressed against
the far wall. My bare toes sank into the soft red carpeting as I ran a finger
along the middle row. This was the only room with carpeting. It looked old,
too, as if it belonged in an earlier generation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Fairy
tales,” I murmured. “God, there must be dozens of books of fairy tales.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“They’re
important,” Edward said. “Don’t you think?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I
guess.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“They
<i>are</i> important,” Edward said.
“Children need to believe in happy endings.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“And
Prince Charming,” I added. I looked up at him. “Right? Prince Charming is real,
isn’t he?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
smiled and kissed me on the forehead. “Of course, my love.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“What’s
this?” I asked, grabbing a flat wooden box sitting on one of the shelves. There
was glass over one side and when I saw what was inside, I nearly dropped it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Careful,”
Edward said, taking it from me. “They’re just butterflies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“<i>Dead</i> butterflies!” I exclaimed, wiping
my hands on my pants. “Stabbed with needles!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s
how they’re displayed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Well,
it’s gross. Almost as gross as spiders.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
seemed offended, sliding the box back into the bookshelf between two books. “I
have a lot of these, all over the house, so you might as well get used to them.
I collect them. Every butterfly species is different. They’re all beautiful in
their own way.” He looked at me and smiled devilishly. “I bet spiders can taste
the difference, too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">My
stomach lurched. “Oh that is so gross. Please stop.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
put an arm around me. “If you insist, my love.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We
went upstairs. I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong: I didn’t sleep
with him. In fact, I’d never slept with him. It was strange, especially since
we’d been dating for more than half a year, but I was having doubts about
whether we should go that far at all. He seemed so much more mature than me. He
didn’t laugh at Seth’s ridiculous jokes—he just smiled. He didn’t get excited
at the hockey and basketball and football games we went to—he just clapped. He
didn’t goof around with his track mates in class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">If
we were going to have sex, I wanted to make sure it meant something. And I
still didn’t know Edward, not really … I mean, what about that butterfly
collection? What was that all about? Was he going to work in a museum or
something? And I hadn’t even met his parents yet! Always so busy, running
around making money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">We
necked. There was nothing wrong with that, right? His bed was soft. His dark blue
sheets felt silky on my bare toes. His lips pressed against mine, then made
their way down to my neck. This is nice, I thought. This could be every night
for the rest of my life and I would be happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">His
hand crept lower. I let it happen until he reached my waist, then pulled it
back. “Not now,” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“When,”
he whispered into my ear. I could sense the longing. It was hard not to give
in. Still, I felt something was <i>wrong</i>
about this moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Soon,”
I said. “I promise. I turn eighteen on Monday, remember?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
rolled back, sighing. His tight shirt had rolled up a bit and his strong abs
were visible now. I had to fight the urge to run a hand along them. Gawd, I was
fighting a lot of urges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m
sorry,” I told him. “Really. You’re wonderful. Almost <i>too</i> wonderful. But I want to wait until I’m eighteen.” There. A
little lie, yes, but it would buy me some time before I had everything figured
out. Plus, I’d be a thousand dollars richer, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s
OK,” he said, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s OK. This just feels so right for
me, that’s all.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Yeah.
Right. I bet it did, Edward. I didn’t think any of that at the time, though. At
the time, I felt nothing but shame. Like I’d done something wrong for saying
no. Like I should feel bad because I wasn’t ready to have sex with him. Why
wasn’t I? He was one of the coolest guys in school. He was dark. He was
mysterious. And he was mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">He
drove me home in silence. I fought the urge to apologize. Be tough, I told
myself. Be <i>tough</i>. You didn’t do
anything wrong. Just because a lot of the kids in the cool clique talked about
sex all the time didn’t make it <i>cool</i>.
Or right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
made it past the kiss goodbye. I made it past the kitchen, where my mom was
sitting at the table reading a magazine. I made it to my room. Then I cried. I felt
as if I’d done something wrong saying no. I felt as if I was <i>supposed</i> to sleep with Edward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Mom
came into my room without knocking. Her soft hand rested on my back and stayed
there while I let it all out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s
hard,” I said into my pillow.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Mom—ever
the understanding one in these moments—simply affirmed my outlook on life with
a quiet “Mmmm-hmmm.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Why?”
I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“Because,”
Mom said, “that’s just the way it is. Life isn’t a fairy tale. It has a lot of
ups and downs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">I
sighed, dry-hiccupping. The tears were gone. If Dad was up here, he’d call this
a “woman thing” and maybe he was right. My cycle had begun acting less on time
for the last six months, ever since I’d started dating Edward. It was nothing
spectacularly big—a couple days early, then a couple days late—but it was
incredibly strange given how rigorous my cycle usually was. I didn’t want to
mention that to my mom. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Those types of topics had a tendency to lead to “sex
talks,” and I’d had enough of those. Really, just one or two is enough, Mom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“You’re
starting your new job in a few days,” Mom said. “Look forward t</span>o that. Just get
through these last few exams and then focus on that. I’ll run your pillow case
through the laundry tonight, too.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s
not a job,” I murmured. Gawd, what a teenager-thing to say. Here she was,
trying her best to cheer me up, and I had to go and pick her words apart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">She
was unfazed. “Books,” she said in her soothing “Mom” voice, “are what you
love.”</span><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Win a copy of your own!</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9822da40/" id="rc-9822da40" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a Rafflecopter giveaway</span></a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-55184233580493360992012-08-29T21:00:00.000+02:002012-08-31T08:23:14.350+02:00untitled<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Content removed as per author's request.</b></div>
Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-54669667561557809112012-08-28T14:00:00.000+02:002012-08-28T15:35:23.933+02:00Blog Tour: The Immortality Virus by Christine Amsden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/?action=view&current=banner-37.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="104" src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/banner-37.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VRsNXp5aMkA/UDzFWftk7HI/AAAAAAAAA9s/dipwIHu7l2o/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VRsNXp5aMkA/UDzFWftk7HI/AAAAAAAAA9s/dipwIHu7l2o/s320/cover.jpg" width="206" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Immortality-Virus-ebook/dp/B004WOY0W4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324259273&sr=8-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Amazon US</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> ; </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-immortality-virus-christine-amsden/1103019090?ean=9781606190036" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Barnes & Noble</span></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><u>Story</u>:
In the mid-21st century, the human race stopped aging. Those who know why aren't talking, and the few who are brave enough to ask questions tend to disappear. To an elite few, The Change means long life and health, but to the ever-increasing masses, it means starvation, desperation, and violence.<br /><br />Four centuries after The Change, Grace Harper, a blacklisted P.I., sets off on a mission to find the man responsible for it all and solicit his help to undo The Change -- if he's still alive. To complicate matters, Grace's employer is suspected of murdering his father, and when the police learn of their connection, they give her a choice -- help them find the evidence they need to convict Matthew Stanton, or die. But if they discover Grace's true mission, they won't hesitate to kill her in order to preserve their shot at immortality.<br /><br />Winner of the Epic Award for Science Fiction, the Global eBook Award for Science Fiction, and a <span style="font-family: inherit;">finalist in The Next Gernation Indie Book Awareds.<br /> <br />Will Raphael tame the willful woman or love the untamed fire that burns within her?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: What would it be like if we, as humans, no longer aged? <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our intelligence as animals is really a double-edged
sword. On the one hand, it gives us a completely different view of the world
around us, but at the same time it makes us very aware of our mortality. It
leads us to fear our death, which is part of why we have such a fascination
with the concept of immortality. There have long been stories of those who are
able to cheat death, and if not then there are stories of death is not the end
and so we get to live eternally in this fabulous place. We are afraid of our
deaths. Just how far would some people go to assure their immortality if such a
possibility were presented them? After all, we already have cryonics in place
and some people actually get themselves frozen rather than live their life to
its natural end.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now imagine our world as a place where no one dies. We
already have problems with overpopulation and lack of food. In the world
presented in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Immortality Virus</i>,
these problems are taken to their next logical step. There’s not enough housing
for everyone and what is available is beyond most people’s means. There’s not
enough food to feed everyone, so only the fabulously wealthy are able to afford
proper food while the hordes are given these shady protein bars that are
suspected to contain human flesh. Yummy!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The society that is painted here is scary for one very
simple reason: it is the sort of society that I can easily see arising should
the key to immortality ever be found. There is a very small group of the elite
few who dictate everything to the masses, who in turn are left to live in
squalor. Life is not good and you can easily see that there is a reason why we
are not immortal creatures – we are meant to die.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This fabulously crafted setting is the perfect backdrop
to action full of the corruption of those who cling jealously to the power they
have managed to horde. It was scarily realistic and that’s one of the reasons
why it went down so well for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On top of this, we have a feisty, spunky heroine who
quickly turned into a character that I enjoyed rooting for. She’s not perfect;
she’s well-rounded and likeable most of the time. She was fun to read about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">From time to time the story became a bit on the slow side
and I’d find my interest waning slightly, but it picked up again and the slower
part was worth the faster, more action-packed moments.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Final verdict</u>: A tought-provoking piece of sci-fi / dystopian with a great female lead and a plot brimming with twists and turns<strong><em>. <u>4 stars</u></em></strong></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Sneak peek:</span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span></strong> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Check him for an ID
chip,” McMillan said.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Grace checked both
wrists, but didn’t find the tiny metal button that acted both as tag and as a
neutral interface for portables. She also did not see any sign that such a chip
had been ripped out of his skin by the same people who had stolen his clothing.
This man had probably been born on the streets. “Nothing.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Good,” McMillan said.
He subvocalized an instruction to his portable. It must have opened up a com
link because a moment later he said, “Send a cleanup crew to my location
beacon…no ID…10-4.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">McMillan turned to
Grace. “All right, let’s go.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“W-wait! Shouldn’t we
find out what happened here? Someone murdered this man.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">McMillan actually
laughed, a sound that infuriated Grace. He caught a glimpse of her face and the
laughter died immediately. “Just like me. I bet I said all the same things my
first day. It ain’t fair, is it?”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“So you’re just going to
accept it? Accept a man being murdered in the middle of a crowd of witnesses?
You’re going to accept not knowing his identity and not letting his family know
he’s dead?”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“The cleanup crew will
take fingerprints,” McMillan said. “The census gets almost everyone’s
fingerprints. If they come up with a contact, they’ll let them know.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“And if not?” Grace
asked.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Then he’ll join the
ranks of the nameless, faceless dead. C’mon, let’s go.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Grace didn’t move.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Look, before the day’s
out we’ll handle a dozen more like this. We don’t have time to ask questions or
take statements. We don’t have time to properly examine the body or the area
for clues – most of which have been taken away by other unfortunates.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It took her a moment to
find her voice. When she did, her words dripped out like acid. “Would we have
had time if he’d had an ID bracelet?”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“<u>We</u><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>would not have. We’d have called in
the homicide team and they’d decide. Get in the car.”</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This time, Grace
complied, but she sat in stony silence as McMillan lifted off and began
circling the area anew.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">“It
helps if you don’t think of them as human,” McMillan said after a while. “More
than one officer has called this job pest control.”"</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span></span> </div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">The author:</span></strong></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16.65pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span></strong></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kpygPh9N3OE/UDzHbo1x7UI/AAAAAAAAA90/5wKXtP_sz6w/s1600/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kpygPh9N3OE/UDzHbo1x7UI/AAAAAAAAA90/5wKXtP_sz6w/s1600/author.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"></span> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Christine Amsden has been writing science fiction
and fantasy for as long as she can remember. She loves to write and it is her
dream that others will be inspired by this love and by her stories. Speculative
fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but great speculative fiction is about
real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine
writes primarily about people and it is in this way that she strives to make
science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with
Stargardt’s Disease, a condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of
central vision. She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or
get in the way of her dreams.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">When she's not writing, Christine teaches
workshops on writing, usually at Savvy Authors. She also offers professional
editing services. She maintains a book review blog on her website with
occasional writing tips thrown in for the fun of it.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span> </div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Christine lives in the Kansas City area with
her husband and two children. </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span style="background: white; color: #6b5d40; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 12.6pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #565555; font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">http://christineamsden.com/wordpress/</span></span></a></span><span style="color: #565555; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="https://twitter.com/ChristineAmsden" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">https://twitter.com/ChristineAmsden</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Amsden-Author-Page/127673027288664</span></span></a></span></div>
Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-50624691805619710802012-08-22T22:55:00.000+02:002012-08-22T22:55:10.867+02:00Blog Tour: The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club by J.C. Isabella<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Late%20Summer%20Badges/?action=view&current=banner-47.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="104" src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Late%20Summer%20Badges/banner-47.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqHJqYkNbCs/UDVFY-EPkXI/AAAAAAAAA88/VxEqrh1RYkU/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JqHJqYkNbCs/UDVFY-EPkXI/AAAAAAAAA88/VxEqrh1RYkU/s320/cover.jpg" width="245" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-Zack-Warren-Club-ebook/dp/B0067MSQEC/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343417164&sr=1-4&keywords=J.C.+Isabella" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-unofficial-zack-warren-fan-club-jc-isabella/1107878134?ean=2940014954921" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Story</u>: Welcome to the big leagues. To secrets and scandals. It's
all about the game. Who's playing. Who's not. Who has no idea about the game.
And...wait, what game are we playing?</span></div>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<br />
I'll leave that for you to decide.<br />
<br />
Where to start is the big question for Chloe Baker. How was she supposed to
explain to Zack Warren that she started a fan club for him when she was a kid?
It was just a game. A way to make friends and have fun. She never thought it
would spiral out of control. And never. In a million, gazillion years, did she
think it would follow her to college. How could she tell him her best friend
Lana kept the club alive? That she had nothing to do with the craziness?<br />
<br />
Chloe didn’t understand why she cared so much about Zack's opinion of her. She
hated him. He hated her. They had very mutual feelings of dislike for each
other. So he'd just hate her even more when or if he found out.<br />
<br />
And that's totally fine...she thinks.<br />
<br />
Zack Warren had a soft spot for Chloe Baker. He likes the way she walks. He
likes the way she talks. If he was poetically inclined, he’d write a sonnet
about her ass.<br />
<br />
It's Zack’s junior year of college. He’s got things to worry about. Scouts from
the major leagues. Baseball games. Contracts. Grades.... His father ran away to
Vegas with Chloe's mother. He didn’t have time to worry about a girl. But he
did. He worried about Chloe a lot, especially with that jerk Max sniffing
around her. It's weird though, to like your stepsister, right?<br />
<br />
But Zack could argue that he saw Chloe first. Way before his dad met her mom.
He was too young to stake a claim. But he just doesn't care anymore.<br />
<br />
He’s done playing games.</span></span><div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: This story immediately caught my
attention. The synopsis screams the sort of thing I used to read a lot of as a
teen. It’s not the sort of book that I still read very often now that I’m a bit
older, but occasionally I do enjoy a foray back in this sort of genre. I knew
as of the get go that this book was going to be one of those forays.
</span><div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to say I really enjoyed this
blast from the past!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That isn’t to say that the book is
without its problems. For example, I wasn’t sold on how much of a creep Max
was. Maybe it would have been possible to paint him as such a character with
ulterior motives, but Max’s never really rang true to me. I got that he was
being an arse but his actions didn’t really fit for me. It might have helped to
see more backstory of the rivalry between Max and Zack and why Max hates him so
much.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That was my one major sticking point,
though. For the rest of it, I enjoyed this fluffy, light romance. It consisted
mostly of how stricken Chloe is about the unofficial Zack Warren fan club that
she set up when she was young but soon abandoned after Zack stole the pink
streamers from her bike, resulting in her deciding to hate him forever rather
than love him. Unfortunately for her, under her best friend’s ministrations,
the unofficial Zack Warren fan club became a living, breathing monster in its
own right – a monster to be reckoned with. Even worse, she’s still considered
the founder and everything about the group is attributed to her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Zack meanwhile has been fighting his
attraction to Chloe for years now. After losing his mother at a young age, he
chose to protect himself from future heartache by not allowing anyone to get close
enough for him to have feelings for them. Chloe gets past all his barriers,
though, and with his father having just married her mother, he’s going to be
forced to spend rather a lot of time around this very dangerous girl.
(Dangerous to the barriers he’s erected around himself).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The story is very easy and slow-going.
It’s not mile-a-minute or anything like that, but it never fails to keep your
attention and even induces a few chuckles with some laugh out loud moments. It’s
short and sweet but, apart from the Max weirdness, it really works well!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On a side note, poor any future half siblings!
Can you imagine being a kid having to explain to the other kids at school that
your brother and sister are dating? Owch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Style</u>: Some minor problems, most importantly there is no distinction made between "X and I" and "X and me". I see an increasing number of people who don't know how to use these terms grammatically correctly and this worries me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Final verdict</u>: A fablous piece of light fluff that kept me well entertained at a time when I needed a distraction from reality. I highly recommend if this is your sort of thing. <b><i><u>4.5 stars</u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><i><u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></u></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Extra notes: Some bad language use. No sex.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading
Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author.
Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no
payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation
to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may
not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or
readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and
Testimonials in Advertising*<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sneak peek:</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Chloe's PoV:<br /><br />Nostalgia is for idiots and Zack Warren is trouble. <br /><br />I knew it the first time I saw him in second grade. The boy had heartbreaker written all over him. He was two years older, wiser. He did a back flip off the jungle gym, landing right at my feet with a cocky grin, getting dirt all over my new pink Keds. <br /><br />He didn’t apologize. <br /><br />Instead he dropped a lizard on my head and called me prissy. <br /><br />Despite the fact that we didn’t hit it off on day one, I harbored a huge crush on Zack, my first ever. In the third grade I started a club. Girls only. We dubbed it an unofficial club because we thought some powerful person, like Oprah, had to deem it official. <br /><br />We have since discovered that is not true, but the name had a nice ring to it. <br /><br />During our unofficial meets we talked about Zack, spied on him, and risked being found out on a regular basis. What a rush, seriously. It was going great. The group accepted new members, and we even drew up plans for a clubhouse. I invented a fun game and made new friends. <br /><br />Then, when I was in the fifth grade, Zack stole the streamers off my bike. <br /><br />I cried, and made the very rational decision to hate him until the end of time. <br /><br />This effectively ended my reign as leader of The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />--<br /><br /><i>Zack's POV </i><br /><br /> “Horse races.” Vince said with enthusiasm, flipping through the TV channels. “Now that’s a sport.” <br /><br />Never in my life, not once, had I ever resorted to violence to solve a problem — since I have reformed myself— except for pinning Max to the fence when he talked about Chloe. <br /><br />Okay, so one time I’ve used physical methods. But I wouldn’t mind making it two. I imagined grabbing Vince by the back of his too big suit and kicking him out the front door. He was one of those people you wanted to swat, like an annoying little fly buzzing your sandwich. I wanted to chat with him about as much as I wanted a baseball to the crotch. <br /><br />“Gambling’s not a sport.” I said under my breath. My dad, sitting on the couch next to me, nodded in agreement. Vince wasn’t scoring points with him either. <br /><br />“So, Zack, tell me what you do.” Vince jingled. The man had on so much gold he actually jingled. I couldn’t believe he and Chloe were related for a second. His lady, Helga, boy was she a trip, too. <br /><br />“I go to college.” I said, trying to keep my voice friendly. <br /><br />I mean, what kind of question was that? I only had enough time for a job during the summer. <br /><br />He nodded. “Yes, with Chloe. How old are you?” <br /><br />“Twenty-one.” <br /><br />Dad clapped me on the shoulder, “Zack’s into sports.” <br /><br />“Really?” Vince didn’t seem impressed, more like bored. He uncrossed then re-crossed his legs so tightly, he either had to take a piss, or he’d been cursed with balls the size of grapes and a dick like a gherkin. It just wasn’t normal for a guy to do that. <br /><br />“I play baseball,” I supplied. He didn’t react. Not even a raise of his greasy black eyebrows. What the hell, maybe I could get him interested in something else, “I practice martial arts too.” <br /><br />His eyebrows shot up now. “Isn’t that dangerous?” <br /><br />What a wiener. <br /><br />This guy was a serious hot dog.<br /><br /><b>The author:</b></span></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tY_B4x7sHHo/UDVGdTGSMrI/AAAAAAAAA9E/0b9okVIXZyo/s1600/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tY_B4x7sHHo/UDVGdTGSMrI/AAAAAAAAA9E/0b9okVIXZyo/s1600/author.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h3 style="background: white;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">J.C. <span style="background: #FFFFCC;">Isabella</span> is the author of Chasing McCree
and The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club. Ever since she discovered romance
novels in high school, she has been a self proclaimed fan. This led to penning
her first YA . When she isn't thinking up new recipes for the cookbook she
hopes to one day write, she is brainstorming a new novel and listening to
country music. She lives in the tropics of Florida with her big fat Italian
family and ornery feline companion.</span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.jcisabella.com/">Website</a> <br />Twitter @jcisabellabooks <br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/JC-Isabella/249262975154372">Facebook </a></span>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-87007864847289175212012-08-21T23:04:00.002+02:002012-08-21T23:04:57.565+02:00Blog Tour: Fire on the Island by J.K. Hogan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Summer%20Blog%20Tours/?action=view&current=banner-27.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="104" src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Summer%20Blog%20Tours/banner-27.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g8J2hm0A90Y/UDP1_XxmqPI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/FNqTVVKKhp4/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-g8J2hm0A90Y/UDP1_XxmqPI/AAAAAAAAA8Q/FNqTVVKKhp4/s320/cover.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Island-Vigilati-Series-ebook/dp/B008RO8BZM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345582615&sr=8-2&keywords=fire+on+the+island" target="_blank">Amazon US</a></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Information</u>:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: Fire on the Island</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: J.K. Hogan</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: Sapphire Star Publishing</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Series: Vigilati #1</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Target audience: Adult</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Paranormal romance</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Length: 376 pages</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Story</u>: <span style="background-color: white;">All Isla Macallen wanted was a simple existence on her little Scottish island, free from her mother's insanity and the prying eyes of neighbors. What she got was embroiled in a war for the souls of mankind. A war of good versus evil, of witches versus demons, and Isla learns that she alone can end it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Dr. Jeremiah Rousseau was a self-proclaimed nomad, traveling the world researching paranormal phenomena. He doesn't expect his research to lead him to Scotland, and to the woman who will turn his world upside down.</span><br style="background-color: white;" /><br style="background-color: white;" /><span style="background-color: white;">Together with a facetious shapeshifting animal spirit guide, Jeremiah and Isla discover that she is part of an ancient bloodline bred to protect the gateways between the human world and the spirit world, to keep evil demons from destroying them. They must find the key to defeating Alastore, the demon king, and closing the gate before Samhain, when the veil between the worlds is lifted. As the war for their souls wages around them, Isla and Jeremiah will risk it all for love—a love neither had ever thought possible.</span></span><br />
<div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>:<span lang="EN-GB"> First of all, what a setting! I love the Scottish islands: they’re picturesque,
they’re remote enough to each have a very distinct personality, and they’re the
perfect getaway. I’ve been to several of the Scottish islands (Colonsay, Jura,
Mull, and Islay) and my memories of them are all of a rural paradise, the kind
that you don’t tend to find very often in Britain nowadays (though the beaches leave a lot to be desired). The author shows an
obvious passion for her setting and managed to create that isolated island
feeling that is just so important (in my opinion) in such a story. I felt that she did her setting justice. I hope that inhabitants of these islands would think so too.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Though
perhaps not entirely original in subject matter, the story is definitely one of
the more interesting paranormal romances that I’ve read so far this year. There
was just the right balance of romance and action that I needed – one didn’t
outweigh the other and there was no getting bogged down in the details to the
point where I just lost interest in it all. Beyond this, as the character
herself is not actually initiated into this supernatural world that she’s a
part of, the reader was able to follow her baby steps. Isla is unaware of her
heritage as a witch and so it never felt like she was taking the time to break
away from her story in order to explain her world to me. I was able to discover
everything alongside her and I felt that this gave the story a much smoother
and more authentic feel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is
one character, Marduk, who is quite the funny guy. I’m not as sure about the
quotes he spews as you have to be aware of the general culture they come from
in order for it to really work. This means that anyone not entirely familiar
with Hollywood won’t connect with him as well. It really dates the story more
than any other aspect of it. Some people like this but I’m one of those who are
wary of it. Despite this, he was a great character and one of my favourites!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
romance did advance possibly a little on the fast side, but whirlwind romances
do happen like that (my own included, so I can’t judge). I did have some issues
with passing time on occasion – the narrative would tell me that X time had
passed but I didn’t get the impression that it had been that long while
reading.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
witches were fabulous. I’m particularly interested in witches right now (along
with ghosts) so any book set on a Scottish island (part of my childhood) that
adds witches (part of my paranormal preferences) is a definite hit for me
before I’ve even cracked it open. There are other paranormal creatures also present and they're just the icing on the cake. I really enjoyed them all, even the ones that I'm usually not that big on in this genre.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What’s more, the characters caught my
interest and they didn’t let go, each developing at a believable rate, allowing
me to connect with them and really come to root for them in their fight against
the evil demons. This is just what I look for in a book. Obviously this one turned up to be just my cup of tea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I will
definitely be tuning in for book two!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Final verdict</u>: A really enjoyable, well-developed and addictive paranormal romance. <b><i><u>4.5 stars</u></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><i><u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Extra notes: Both bad language and sex are present.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading
Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author.
Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no
payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation
to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may
not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or
readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and
Testimonials in Advertising*<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author:</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PDNdfp7kjSk/UDP3H28JgpI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/L0Kq1qr-Amc/s1600/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PDNdfp7kjSk/UDP3H28JgpI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/L0Kq1qr-Amc/s1600/author.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 14.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">J.K. Hogan has been telling stories for as long as she can
remember, beginning with writing cast lists and storylines for her toys growing
up. When she finally decided to put pen to paper, magic happened. She is
greatly inspired by all kinds of music and often creates a “soundtrack” for her
stories as she writes them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 14.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">J.K. resides in North Carolina, where she was born and raised. A true
southern girl at heart, she lives on a farm with her husband and their three
horses, one miniature donkey, one cat, and two champion agility dogs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 14.4pt; margin-bottom: 14.4pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition to writing, she enjoys training and competing in dog sports,
spending time with her large southern family, camping, boating and, of course,
reading! Please feel free to visit J.K.’s contact page—she’d love to hear from
you!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.jkhogan.com/">Author Website</a> <br />Twitter: @JK_Hogan <br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/OfficialJKHogan">Facebook</a></span>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-62283098362583185652012-08-17T13:30:00.000+02:002012-08-17T13:30:02.821+02:00Blog Tour: The BACHELORETTE Project by Tami Anthony<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Blog%20Tours/?action=view&current=banner-39.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="103" src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Blog%20Tours/banner-39.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HthqsziEZkQ/UC4otMcHglI/AAAAAAAAA7k/ThMWK66VcO4/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HthqsziEZkQ/UC4otMcHglI/AAAAAAAAA7k/ThMWK66VcO4/s320/cover.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Buy the book:
<a href="http://amzn.to/RAHVDo" target="_blank">Amazon US</a>
</div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 12.6pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<u>Story</u>: When an unfortunate twist of fate leaves 28 year-old socialite Leslee Robinson broken-hearted and unemployed, she embarks on a journey to discover what boggles every twenty-something single woman’s mind: What do men REALLY want and how do you find the perfect mate? With the help of her two best friends; Annie, a self-conscious, sarcastic single mother; and Karen, the neurotic, perfectionist ‘bridezilla,’ Leslee creates The BACHELORETTE Project, a ‘scientific’ dating experiment designed to uncover the enigma of the male species. <br /><br />After multiple dates gone awry and unanticipated encounters of the extreme, Leslee decides to confide in the last person that she’d ever consider asking dating advice from: Eric, her handsome, womanizing college friend with a well-known ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ reputation. Aside from Eric’s infamous bachelor tactics, Leslee can’t help but to be oddly attracted to him, but will pursuing the charming, ‘bad boy’ philanderer that Eric is even be worth the risk? <br /><br />With unbelievable twists and a contemporary, comedic Chick-Lit feel, The BACHELORETTE Project is the chronicle of a single woman’s journey to finding true friendship, discovering herself, and learning the enigma of love down to a science.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: I came up against some
problems when getting into this book. The first and foremost was how utterly
incapable I was of relating to the protagonist. She’s very materialistic, to
say the least. Personally I have absolutely no interest in expensive clothes
brands so reading about a character that is focused on such things is not
always easy. She also felt very shallow, especially when at the very beginning
her boyfriend is giving a speech and she’s thinking at him to hurry up and
finish so they can go home and have sex. Maybe it’s just that I’m coming from a
very different humour background, but that just didn’t work for me and it placed
a wedge between me and the character.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When she loses her boyfriend and her job in one day,
Leslee decides to move back to her hometown. Once there she mopes around on her
best friend’s sofa for a couple of months before she’s forced to start pulling
herself together. The story only actually focuses on her obsession with getting
her romantic life back on track. There is no interest in her professional life.
In fact, it gets completely ignored until towards the end she goes for one job
and gets it immediately with no problems. There wasn’t enough balance here for
me, especially as she admits that she only has $400 in her account when she
arrives (and somehow manages to pay for endless taxi rides). I needed to see
more of her worrying about her finances and her professional standing, and not
just her attempts to secure herself a new man.</span><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Her dating experiment was an original idea. I didn’t
really feel that the basic idea was really worked on. The idea was to go on a
series of dates, employing different techniques on each to try to find out what
a man wants from a woman. Well, she did go on a series of dates and most of
them led to some laugh out loud moments, but it didn’t feel like she was
actually trying to do things differently each time. It was more like she
reacted on instinct a lot of the time.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">She roped in a friend to help her with this.
Unfortunately I felt that this showed just how shallow she was. The only time
she really showed any interest in this friend, Annie, was when she needed
something from her to do with this BACHELORETTE project. As soon as she dropped
the experiment, she dropped the friend as well and, at the end, admits to not having
seen her in months. I did rather like Annie, though. She was more grounded in a
group of other characters that were just weird at times (even if that weirdness
did lead to laughs at times).</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I also felt that Eric was not really given enough
attention. I didn’t feel the relationship between them growing. There were some
interactions between them and then a couple of hints at his interest in her,
her potential interest in him… and then she got drunk and things get physical.
This would have been a great opportunity to work on growing Eric’s character
but instead he disappears and Leslee starts going on a few dates with someone
else. I wanted to get to know Eric better. From the synopsis, I expected there
to be more focus on him and her fighting her feelings for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The book wasn’t in anyway bad. It was a well-imagined
plot that’s not really anything new in the chick lit genre but entertaining in
its own right. I simply felt that the book focused on too much on certain
things that were not as necessary and didn’t give enough time of day to other
things that needed to be developed more.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Style</u>: Some problems here and there but nothing
that would potentially drive to distraction.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Final verdict</u>: The story didn’t blow me away but I
enjoyed it for what it was. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>3.5 stars</u></i></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Extra notes: bad
language is present. Sex takes place but it’s not described in detail and the
scene cuts before anything really happens.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading
Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author.
Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no
payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation
to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may
not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or
readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and
Testimonials in Advertising*<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<strong><u>Sneak peek</u>:</strong><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I follow Mark to his house from the bar. We pull up to
this very quaint brick rancher with a gigantic front yard and half groomed
bushes and trees spread about. There is nothing spectacular about Mark’s house.
It’s … well, very plain actually. It’s not a dream house nor a McMansion. It’s
as ordinary as ordinary can be. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yup, </i>I
think to myself, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this will definitely be
a booty call. </i>I can’t even imagine living in a house like this. It doesn’t
scream RICH and FABULOUS the way I would want a house to scream. I imagine that
my future husband will have a fantastic two-story house with a classy
cobblestone driveway and this breathtaking garden with white roses and lilacs
growing in effigy. Yeah, maybe I need to leave this dream world of mine and
face reality. I could very well fall in love with a man who lives in a rancher
or worse, a motorhome.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I park Karen’s car in front of his house. He walks over
and opens the car door for me. “So, this is it,” Mark says as I exit the car.
“This is my home.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“It’s very nice,” I reply politely. So what if I lie?
Don’t act like you’ve never done it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Yeah, I’m not home a lot because of work and all,” he
tells me. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You can say that again, </i>I
think to myself. Who in the world doesn’t make sure that their hedges are cut?
Who doesn’t mow their own lawn? There’s a solution to this scenario and it’s
called hiring a landscaper.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“That … sucks,” I blurt out. I couldn’t think of a good
word to use. It seems that most of our conversation topics were used up at the
bar. Maybe it’s a good thing, though. Less talk, MORE ACTION!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I hold on to his arm as we walk to his front door. I
place my head onto his shoulder devouring the exotic scent of his cologne. I’m
in heaven. I decide to go in for the kill. Before I know, I’m stopping him in
his tracks and planting the most passionate kiss on his lips, taking his breath
away. He looks stunned, in a good way of course.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“What was that for?” he asks.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“For being the sexiest man that I’ve ever met,” I say
slyly. “I can’t wait to see the inside of your house, mainly your bedroom.” I
slowly move my hand under his shirt touching his finely-chiseled abs. Mark
becomes speechless.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“I, um, yeah,” he stutters in shock. “Yeah, you can see
the bedroom,” he says eagerly and rushes me to the front door. “Let’s, um, do
that!” He opens the door and pulls me inside. I push him against the closest
wall and begin to kiss on his neck. “You still,” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">GROAN! </i>“Want that … oh, God! Coffee?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Not … right … now,” I say between breaths as I pull
anxiously on the top of his jeans. I then feel something rubbing against the
bottom of my leg and I jump.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“What is it?” Mark asks with his eyes closed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Your dog,” I reply. The dog continuously jumps on my leg
and I laugh. “He’s a cute dog.” A little brown, furry thing. His dog is the
most adorable pocketbook dog that I’ve ever seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Let me put him in the guest room,” Mark tells me. “I’ll
be right back.” He directs me to his couch. “Have a seat. I have a surprise for
you.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Already?” I ask. I doubt it’s diamonds. After all, we
just met. Maybe it’s a very fine Chardonnay of some sort. A girl can wonder.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Let’s just say I like to set the mood,” he says then
winks. He walks away with the dog.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">OK, </i>I think to
myself as I take a look around the living room. It’s your typical man-home
equipped with a gargantuan-sized flat screen TV, an X-Box, surround sound
speakers, an overly technical stereo, a wooden coffee table with absolutely
nothing on it, and a wide collection of DVDs and video games. One thing’s for
certain, he has a clean home that doesn’t smell funny. That has to be a plus,
right?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Leslee?” I hear Mark say seductively a few feet behind
me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Yes?” I ask without turning around assuming that any
second now he’ll be the one kissing my neck. He claps twice and the room
darkens. The sound of house music blares from the speakers and white strobe
lights begin to flicker within the room. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What
… the … fuck? </i>“Um, Mark?” I ask. “What is going on?” I hear him breathing
heavily behind me and I begin to panic a little.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“There’s one thing that I didn’t tell you at the bar,” he
says and I’m so afraid to turn around. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Where
the hell did I put my Mace?!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“And, um, what’s that?” I ask. Now I’m speechless! What
in the world is about to happen? Should I be praying?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I feel him licking on the back of my neck and I shiver.
“I’m a dancer,” he says.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“You mean like Cabaret dancing, Riverdancing, what?” I
ask as my body shakes. I have no clue what he’s talking about nor do I want to.
“You dance the Tango?” I guess. “Waltz? Tap? Ballet?” I ask quickly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“No,” he says and laughs. “I … am … SUPERMAN!” he shouts
as he leaps over the couch and jumps onto the coffee table wearing a Superman
thong and a red cape all while holding a glowstick in each hand. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh … my … God, </i>I think to myself. Is
this really happening? My libido has gone from roaring and ready-to-go to
temporarily shutting down for the night. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Is
he serious?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Mark throws his arms in the air and freezes into some
sort of funny, galactic pose. The music stops for a second and his eyes widen.
Dramatic effect, I guess?<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
He throws off the cape and begins to thrust his pelvis
forward. The music seems to get louder and louder, and I become more and more
anxious to run.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Accountant by day,” Mark yells, “private dancer by
night, baby!” He then leaps off the table and jumps on my lap, humping me like
some overly anxious teenage boy. I cringe. This is not how I imagined my night
… not at all.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Maybe I should go,” I say with fear in my voice. “I, um,
have to get up really early for Pilates and I …” I’m lost in thought. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Why do these things always happen to me?!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“You like this body?” he asks as he breaths heavily into
my face.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Um, sometimes?” I say in the form of a question. “I
don’t know?”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“You like this rock-hard ass?” he asks as he stands on
the floor and bends over.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“I, um, it’s getting late. I should go,” I say in a rush
and grab my purse. I try to stand up but he pushes me back on the couch. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kick to the crotch NOW? </i>I ask myself but
too frightened to move.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Grab my ass,” he instructs me. Apparently there’s no
shame in his game.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Oh, no. I really shouldn’t.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“GRAB MY ASS, DAMNIT!” he yells.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“OK, OK!” I yell back as I grab his left buttock. For
some people, this would be the ultimate turn on, being dominated by a man in a
Superman thong, but to me, not so much. I hold on to his butt cheek for dear
life as his eyes roll into the back of his head. He looks just like a man who’s
just cum. How is he getting aroused by this? Is this some sort of crazy
Superman butt fetish that I wasn’t informed about? I have to get out of here!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Ooooooh!” he groans loudly, then slowly his knees buckle
and his body drops to the floor. He doesn’t move.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Mark?” I say. He resembles a dead fish: pale,
non-mobile, sickly looking. I clap twice to turn on the lights. “Mark, are you
OK?” I ask as I stand over him and let my foot give his limp body a little
nudge. He doesn’t respond. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Oh fuck! I
think I killed him! </i>I grab his shoulders and shake him. “Mark, get up!” I
yell. He lays still. “You can’t be dead!” I whimper pathetically as I smack his
face. Sadly, part of me wants to take off the thongs and sneak a peek at the
goods, another part of me wants to roll him on to his front yard for his
neighbors to see what type of freak they live next to, but the part of me
that’s telling me to leave quietly and quickly has hands down gotten my vote.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
I slowly grab my purse and head to the door as his dog
walks out into the living room and begins to lick on Mark’s face. The secrets
that the dog could tell me are probably endless.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Should I just steal the dog? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">No,
Leslee, you can’t, </i>I tell myself, then again …<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
“Since I obviously can’t have the man, I guess I’ll
settle for man’s best friend,” I say aloud. The dog pauses from licking Mark’s
face and runs toward me, jumping into my arms. The dog just looks at me.
“What?” I ask him. “Would you rather be adopted by a woman with fabulous taste
or would you rather be an orphan?” The dog looks down and whimpers. “Yeah, I
thought so,” I say as I walk out of Mark’s house quietly. Another date, another
disaster, but this time I leave with the cutest, most adorable partying gift
ever: my new dog.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<strong><u>The author</u>:</strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RTZwtSs3p9M/UC4pqHxmcbI/AAAAAAAAA7s/BIveFc36H-I/s1600/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RTZwtSs3p9M/UC4pqHxmcbI/AAAAAAAAA7s/BIveFc36H-I/s1600/author.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "serif","serif"; font-size: 8pt;">Tami Anthony is an author, a playwright, and the
beautiful mind behind<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Pink
Butterfly Publications,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></i>a
publishing company devoted to female-driven literature. She is a graduate of
Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s in English Literature and Theatre Arts.
Tami presently resides outside of Philadelphia with her son and is currently
working on her second novel and future plays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.tamianthony.com/">Website </a><br />Twitter - @ tami_anthony<br /><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/tamianthony">Goodreads</a><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/authortamianthony">Facebook</a> Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-65042486668165041322012-08-14T12:00:00.000+02:002012-08-15T08:31:12.556+02:00Blog Tour & Giveaway - Kentucky Green by Terry Irene Blain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s1600/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="111" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s400/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JXRbgeXLu2I/UCoehn4cYpI/AAAAAAAAA7A/JTfwyUTcMTs/s1600/BCKentuckyGreenFinal-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JXRbgeXLu2I/UCoehn4cYpI/AAAAAAAAA7A/JTfwyUTcMTs/s320/BCKentuckyGreenFinal-1.jpg" width="221" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: </span></strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kentucky-Green-ebook/dp/B008A6EZK2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1339342939&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon US</span></strong></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Story</u>: April Williamson’s heart calls her across the frontier, but only one man—a
handsome army scout with a tormented past—can get her safely to
freedom.<br /><br />Daniel McKenzie was an army scout—quiet, capable, handsome…and
utterly unwilling to be the trail guide April Williamson needed to reach
Kentucky. The Indian attack at Blue Licks was but one bitter taste of the
American frontier, a massacre that had taken her father just as cholera had
taken her mother. But April would not give up on her dream. At journey’s end was
independence, and nothing would stand in her way. <br /><br />The young widow was
beautiful and determined, but the months of travel involved in her plan would be
too hard. Without the general’s order Dan would have told any woman no, but
April especially. His secret would destroy her—or she might destroy him. April’s
kiss was like the country itself. Restless and sweet, it promised a love that
denied every boundary and looked only to freedom and the future.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: Much like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Colorado
Silver, Colorado Gold</i>, I was drawn to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kentucky
Green</i> for two reasons:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">1. It’s a historical romance and these seem to be my weak
spot (even if I find most of them to be mediocre at best).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. It’s one of those rare(r) historical romances set in
the early USA rather than *insert European country here*.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The author weaves an interesting piece of historical
fiction with many a nod to real people and events. Not being from the USA – and
having left school in the UK before we touched on anything relating to
non-European history (except Ancient Egypt) (and French history lessons were
only interested in their own colonies) – I am only vaguely aware of these parts
of American history. In fact, most of my knowledge about this period comes from
documentaries / films (and who knows how historically accurate those are!) that
I’ve seen over the years.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">With <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kentucky Green</i>,
the author gives a glimpse of what life could have been like for the colonials
when neither the Americans nor the British were at their moral best. The
British because they were fairly double-crossing the Indians and the Americans
because they were pretty much invaders stealing the land from the native
inhabitants.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I particularly appreciated that the author didn’t shy
away from some of the more historically accurate points, choosing political
correctness over historical truth. She wasn’t afraid to include a racist side
to this story. All too often these days you see authors who are pretty much
walking on eggshells in order to avoid such controversial topics. But that’s
not how it was back in those days. Racism was a part of the norm and this story
embraces that, working with it rather than skirting around it. I think that the
book is that much the better for it; it wouldn’t have felt as authentic without
it.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the classic tale of boy meets girl, boy pisses
off girl (and vice versa), boy is required to spend significant amount of time
in girl’s company, boy ends up developing feelings for girl that he tries to
ignore (and vice versa), boy can no longer ignore said feelings, some form of
drama befalls boy and girl – can they come out on top? It’s a tried and true
formula, and obviously it works.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My one… not qualm but thing I want to comment on I guess…
is that April is a young widow. It soon emerges that she was merely given the
position of wife in order to protect her after the deaths of both of her
parents. She is never touched by her husband. This keeps the character
“unspoiled” for the “love of her life” that is to come in the form of the hero
of the story but I personally would have preferred a different approach here.
I’ve never understood the appeal of having a window character with no sexual
experience. As a widow she should be able to match the hero for his knowledge
rather than still being cast in the role of swooning heroine. Maybe that’s just
me?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
<u>Style</u>: I noticed some minor mistakes but these are easily overlooked. Overall, a good style that perfectly fits the historical romance genre!<br />
<br />
<u>Final verdict</u>: Another fun read from Terry Irene Blaine. It held my interest from start to finish. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as <em>Colorado Silver, Colorado Gold</em> but I'm still giving it <em><u><strong>4 stars</strong></u></em>.<br />
<br />
<em>Extra notes: Some bad language and sex are present.</em></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>In the author's words:</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: NL;">Topic: Where Ideas Come From</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: NL;"></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: NL;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a writer friend who says people keep asking her were writers get their
ideas. Her reply is that we get so many ideas that we can't write them all.
Getting the idea is the easy part of writing.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So where did the idea of writing Kentucky Green come from? From Alistair
Cooke's A Personal History of the United States. When I taught US History (and
Western Civilization) in the community college, I would show parts of Cooke's
America television series (the instructor for my education class - known as
‘how to teach' said that the generations that grew up watching Sesame Street
could learn via video - and it gave my voice a break). In the episode Gone
West, Cooke talks of Daniel Boone, and gives one of Boone's quotes: A man needs
three essentials – a good horse, a good rifle, and a good wife.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">If a good horse, a good rifle and a good wife doesn't spark a story, then
you're probably not a writer. In addition to the Boone quote, one of my
favorite historical novels (The Kentuckian by Janice Holt Giles) is set in the
Kentucky frontier in the generation before my story. I'm really drawn to
frontier stories, as in Boone's Kentucky and in my Kentucky Green; it took a
man and a woman working together to make a home. Neither could do it alone.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So for writing Kentucky Green, I gave my hero, Dan, a good horse. His goal is
to breed horses in Kentucky, (which I think that will turn out pretty good for
his family's future). I gave him a good Kentucky long rifle, made by one of the
best know gunsmith's in Pennsylvania, John Philip Beck, which he shows off to
April, the heroine. Luckily, at one time my husband had a black powder rifle,
so I had a little firsthand experience when I wrote that scene.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But the key to Daniel Boone's quote is the good wife. This is where the
heroine, April comes in. Although it takes her some time, she proves to Dan
that she's a capable woman. She's the partner he needs. Thus for Dan, completing
the quote of a good horse, a good rifle and a good wife.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>The author:</strong>
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">Terry Irene
Blain was lucky enough to grow up in a large Mid-western family with a rich oral
tradition. As a child she heard stories of ancestors’ adventures with Indians,
wildlife, weather and frontier life in general, so she naturally gravitated to
the study of history and completed a BA and MA then taught the subject at the
college level. Married to a sailor, now retired, she’s had the chance to live in
various parts of the U.S. and has traveled to Hong Kong, Australia, England and
Scotland.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US">“My degrees
and my teaching experience make me a natural to write historical romance.
Writing historical romance gives me the opportunity to pass on stories of who we
are and where we come from while exploring the relationship between men and
women. What could be more exciting than that?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
giveaway:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Open
internationally</span></b></div>
<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9822da26/" id="rc-9822da26" rel="nofollow"><span style="font-family: inherit;">a Rafflecopter giveaway</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-76954573544035371312012-08-13T09:00:00.000+02:002012-08-13T09:00:08.698+02:00The Cover Wars: The Nightwatch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UGYuwP2oI84/TxnSPC_3qFI/AAAAAAAAAT8/v5cnosvB6c0/s1600/the+cover+wars" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UGYuwP2oI84/TxnSPC_3qFI/AAAAAAAAAT8/v5cnosvB6c0/s400/the+cover+wars" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tara of <a href="http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/" style="color: #9900ff; text-decoration: none;">Basically Books</a> and I decided to get together to do a weekly meme where we would compare covers of the UK editions of books with those of the US editions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; line-height: 19px;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The aim of this is to just have a bit of fun. We put ourselves in the position where we see both of these books side by side in the bookstore. Which would we choose? Why that one and not the other?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This week we will be comparing the covers of The Nightwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko. (Amazingly I was able to spell that surname without having to look it up!)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dFMiuxa4CJk/UCiLdUCEkuI/AAAAAAAAA6U/Y5F0KqcdkXI/s1600/10.US.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dFMiuxa4CJk/UCiLdUCEkuI/AAAAAAAAA6U/Y5F0KqcdkXI/s320/10.US.jpg" width="216" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4wjTLArJ4Us/UCiLeksWhlI/AAAAAAAAA6c/HYi93CcTeGg/s1600/10.UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4wjTLArJ4Us/UCiLeksWhlI/AAAAAAAAA6c/HYi93CcTeGg/s320/10.UK.jpg" width="207" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">US cover UK cover</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rea
says: This is another one where there’s very little contest for me. The US
cover does capture a side of the story but I don’t really like the art – it’s
certainly not the sort of cover that will draw my attention when I’m browsing
the shelves. The UK cover art, on the other hand, is the sort of thing that I
find really very appealing. The colours are just the sort of thing to catch my
eye as well and I feel that the art really suits a setting in a Moscow that is
just emerging from Soviet repression. UK for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tara says: I like them both. The UK one is
blue, different and it stands out, the US one is orangey-red and has a birdy on
the cover. I will go with the UK one
just because it stands out more. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Score:<br /><br />Week 30:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">US: 5 UK: 16 Draw: 8</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 1: Copy and paste the Cover Wars image.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 3: Copy and paste the US and UK cover images.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 4: Compare the two.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 5: Either use our score or keep your own score.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 6: Post it and share it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Thanks and have fun!</span></div>
</span></span></div>
Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-59007824599058389332012-08-10T21:00:00.000+02:002012-08-15T08:30:59.569+02:00Blog Tour & Giveaway: Colorado Silver, Colorado Gold by Terry Irene Blain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s1600/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s400/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pzci-b3THgo/UCQikdCP5NI/AAAAAAAAA5w/isJpLjbxb_g/s1600/ColoradoSilverUpdated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pzci-b3THgo/UCQikdCP5NI/AAAAAAAAA5w/isJpLjbxb_g/s320/ColoradoSilverUpdated.jpg" width="220" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Colorado-Silver-Gold-ebook/dp/B008A3NAY2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339342916&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/colorado-silver-colorado-gold-terry-irene-blain/1014995996" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Information</u>:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Title: Colorado Silver, Colorado Gold</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Author: Terry Irene Blaine</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Target Audience: Adult</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Genre: Historical romance</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Length: 225 pages</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Story</u>: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">To protect her sister, Juliette Lawson stole documents and fled west. Now Wes Westmoreland, undercover lawman, threatens both her plan and her heart.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">Socialite Juliette Lawson fled west from Philadelphia on a train and in disguise. In Colorado she’d be safe; she’d take work with her uncle at the Rio d'Oro, his smelting operation. Her actions back east had been wrong, but to protect her pregnant sister from scandal she would have done anything. Then she met a man as hungry for answers as she was for independence. A handsome, honorable man. For him, she wished the truth was hers to tell.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br style="background-color: white;" /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: small;">From the first, Wes Westmoreland knew he couldn’t trust her. Having grown up in the saloons and brothels of San Francisco, he saw trust, like love, as a luxury an undercover lawman couldn’t afford. Not on a job like this one, not with gold involved. This woman dressed as a widow was clearly hiding something; he’d felt it the moment they touched. But he’d felt other things too, stirrings in his heart, and for the first time ever, he saw riches worth the peril.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">Historical romance seems to be one of my weaknesses. It’s not a genre
that’s usually particularly inspiring and often enough the books are set in
England (or Scotland) but written in modern day American English, which bugs me
to no end. I haven’t read very many historical anythings set in the Americas
but I’ve been brought up around a grandmother who happens to be overly fond of
westerns, so when I read the synopsis of this one I was intrigued. The American
west in that period was still very much on the wild side and that sort of
setting appeals to me, possibly because it’s such a far cry from anything to be
found these days.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">The author managed to really capture the
feel of the period for me. I felt transported. I could just imagine this little
western town they were living in! It was obvious that she did a lot of research
and went to great lengths to make her period feel authentic – research and
great lengths that definitely paid off for me as the reader.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">It was also interesting to see the process
of getting gold and silver from the ore and how the refineries (that might not
be the correct word but it’s the only one coming to mind right now) were
operated. There was a slight issue here, however, in that the information was
too clumped for me. Wes gives Julie a tour of her uncle’s “refinery” and
explains the processes to her, which is a good example of exposition through
dialogue. My issue was that there was too much information too fast for me to
really absorb it properly. It didn’t help that I was already tired and so a
large amount of what is essentially nonfiction coming at me all at once felt
more like a barrage of facts than part of the story. I understand what the
author was doing, but my mind just couldn’t deal with it.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; orphans: 2; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">Thankfully these “info dumps” were few and
far between and I was able to really appreciate the intricate story that the
author was weaving. As a historical romance it does, of course, focus mainly on
the budding relationship between Wes and Julie but there’s enough going on
around it to keep it well balanced. I didn’t feel completely swamped by just
the relationship and it wasn’t love at first sight (though it was lust, but I’m
happy with lust. Lust is normal).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background: white; font-family: inherit; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">Wes being an undercover officer for Wells Fargo was also of particular
interest. I have to admit that I didn’t even know there was such a thing as
Wells Fargo; never mind what its role was. So I actually learnt bits of
American history from reading this book! That’s something that always appeals
to me in a book.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Style</u>: I don't have anything in partiulcar to note about the style. I enjoyed the author's prose from start to finish.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><u>Final verdict</u>: Historical romances are one of my weaknesses and I have to say that usually they don't really live up to what I was expecting of them. This one, though, really tickled my fancy! <i><u><b>4.5 stars</b></u></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Extra notes: Sex is present. Bad language didn't stand out but could be present.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>In the author's own words:</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span lang="EN-US"><i>Topic: Story Ideas from Research</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Colorado Silver, Colorado Gold’s
</span></i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">story idea grew out of the location.
Having driven through Durango on several occasions, I loved the place. Doing
research on the history of Durango brought up the city’s connection with Wells
Fargo and reading about Wells Fargo, I found that the company in the era of my
story did in fact, have detectives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Wow, what a great idea – my hero, Wes,
could be a detective for Wells Fargo. Many of the incidents that happened or
are related to my hero as a Wells Fargo detective actually occurred (although
I’ve used my hero, with changes in times and place). This is why I love
research.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">The Wells Fargo connection also gave me
some of Wes’ backstory/background. To<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">communicate between offices and various
other businesses in San Francisco (giving me where my hero grew up), Wells
Fargo employed boys to carry messages at twenty-five cents a message. This
would be Wes’ first job, connecting him with the company. This allowed Wes to
advance in the company eventually becoming a guard for the iconic green box
(green painted box wooden box bound with strap iron and sealed with a hasp and
lock), which became a trademark of the company; his foiling a robbery ended up
with him becoming a detective for the company.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Much to my surprise, I found that
several undercover Wells Fargo detectives held jobs as deputy sheriffs, or even
county sheriffs while actually working for Wells Fargo. So Wes’ job working for
the smelters isn’t as odd as it might seem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">The most famous Wells Fargo detective
was James Hume, responsible for the capture of Black Bart, the notorious
stagecoach bandit know for leaving poetic messages at the site of his
robberies. At what turned out to be Black Bart’s last robbery, he was wounded
and fled the scene. One of the items left behind was a handkerchief with a
laundry mark. Hume and another Wells Fargo detective went to over ninety
laundries in San Francisco and traced it the customer and his boarding house.
The suspect confessed to the robbery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Even today, the Wells Fargo stagecoach
is still one of the enduring images of the West. Doing research on Wells Fargo
really helped me shape my hero and his character and helped me develop the plot
of </span><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US">Colorado Silver, Colorado Gold</span></i></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><b>The author:</b></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">Terry Irene Blain was lucky enough to
grow up in a large Mid-western family with a rich oral tradition. As a child
she heard stories of ancestors’ adventures with Indians, wildlife, weather and
frontier life in general, so she naturally gravitated to the study of history
and completed a BA and MA then taught the subject at the college level. Married
to a sailor, now retired, she’s had the chance to live in various parts of the
U.S. and has traveled to Hong Kong, Australia, England and Scotland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: small;">“My degrees and my teaching
experience make me a natural to write historical romance. Writing historical
romance gives me the opportunity to pass on stories of who we are and where we
come from while exploring the relationship between men and women. What could be
more exciting than that?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>The giveaway:</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Open internationally</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9822da10/" id="rc-9822da10" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
</span><script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script></div>
Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-66481951428417515322012-08-09T13:59:00.001+02:002012-08-09T13:59:34.343+02:00Hacienda Moon by KaSonndra Leigh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wmLn3hh8Cts/UBQn3nwgyRI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/iiZ9zsKiuHg/s320/Hacienda+Moon+cover.jpg" /></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hacienda-Moon-ebook/dp/B008QAY0BQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343498068&sr=8-1&keywords=Hacienda+Moon" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Amazon US</span></a></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Information</u>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: Hacienda Moon</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: KaSonndra Leigh</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: TriGate Group</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Target Audience: Adult</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Paranormal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Length: 280 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Story</u>: </span><span id="freeText12234473332825689026"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Love, obsession, and betrayal, the most powerful human emotions, are spun together in this gothic novel. Tandie Harrison is a police medium who has just suffered a divorce after losing both her psychic visions and her daughter in a car accident. When she leaves New York City to start a new life near her hometown, she moves into the alluring plantation house, Chelby Rose, and falls for its charismatic caretaker, Eric Fontalvo. Their burgeoning affair ignites a centuries old curse, ensnaring them in a web of danger, deceit, and intrigue. Soon Tandie learns that in placid Bolivia, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected.<br /><br />Hacienda Moon is a seductive tale of one woman’s journey to confront the demons of her past and find the courage to face her future. It is a mesmerizing novel that explores the deepest depths of human nature, and the characters will hold and haunt you long after you have read the final chapter.</span><a class="actionLinkLite" href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13038786-hacienda-moon#"></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Thoughts and impressions</u>: As soon as I read the
synopsis for this one, I was intrigued. I wanted to know more and so when the
promo tour also offered six review copies, I immediately signed up for one of
the six. I didn’t actually receive my copy until after the promo post (here)
and I had a couple of other blog tour books to read before I could crack this
one open, but I had itchy-finger-syndrome when it came to this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I cracked it open for the first time after having just
finished another book of a very different genre. In hindsight, that wasn’t the
best idea ever. I should have given myself some time to unwind from the first
book before I cracked open this one. I also only allowed myself the time to
read the prologue and things might have been different had I been able to
immediately continue on to the first couple of chapters. The consequence of not
doing so was that the prologue left me thrown and not entirely enraptured. This
is my own fault, of course, and I suspect that my experience of starting the
book would have been very different had I approached it differently.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It doesn’t help that I’ve been very busy recently, which
meant that for the first few chapters I was only managing to snatch a chapter
or two at a time rather than sitting down and reading a large chunk all at once
(which is my preference). As a result of this style of reading, the story felt
very slow-burning to me. This is not at all a bad thing. The author took her
time to present each part of the story just as she wanted it to be presented,
taking the reader down a dark path of confusing twists and turns and more than
a few dead ends rather than rushing in to things head on.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There were certain things that were certainly confusing.
At times I could tell that the person Tandie, the main character, was
interacting with was not of our time. In fact, it seemed odd that she herself
didn’t stop to question why on earth these people would be wearing period dress
rather than jeans and a t-shirt. At other times I couldn’t figure out whether
she was interacting with someone living or with one of the dead. These sorts of
scenes really leant to the spooky feel that was gradually being built up in the
story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Right now I have a thing about ghosts in my paranormal /
urban fantasy stories. They’re not as used and abused as vampires and
werewolves (yet) which gives the author a little more leeway to make their
ghosts relatable characters who are still unique in their own way. I liked all
of the characters but one of the ghosts in particular (not naming names so
people can deduce which of the characters are ghosts on their own should they
choose to read the book). She was a chilling but fabulous character, very
complex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Though I had some reservations to begin with, the story
soon smashed them all apart and turned out to be a gripping thrill ride. Well,
I say thrill ride but I want to stress that it is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">slow burning</i>. Things come together very slowly, but once all of the
pieces are in place, it is definitely worth it! I really enjoyed the book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Style</u>: I noticed a tendency to repeat the same
word sometimes rather than using synonyms. There were times when it felt like
it verged a little too far on the tell instead of show side, but overall a
style that I enjoyed.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Final verdict</u>: A highly enjoyable ghost story that
takes the time to draw the reader into the world created. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>4 stars</u></i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-66825248234790249002012-08-09T09:00:00.000+02:002012-08-09T09:00:04.375+02:00Get A Taste: Throne of Glass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6xgVdtmqLU/Tx3STrY0BZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/SSUCq8jtnx4/s1600/Get+A+Taste+meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6xgVdtmqLU/Tx3STrY0BZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/SSUCq8jtnx4/s1600/Get+A+Taste+meme.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 16px;">Tara of <a href="http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/" style="color: #9900ff; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Basically Books</a> and I often read very different books but sometimes find interesting new books to potentially add to the ever-growing monsters that our TBR piles have morphed into. However, we know that we do not have 100% the same taste and we wanted another way of getting a look at these books...</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you ever feel like getting a bit of a taster for a book you’ve been thinking of reading but aren’t fully sold on yet? Do you feel like sharing a taster for your current read with the world? Well, here’s your chance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each week the random number generator will pick a number between 1 and 100 for books with pages or 1 and 25% for ebooks. We figured that these numbers would keep us out of spoiler territory. Open your book to the specified place and pick a paragraph. Share it with the world!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The numbers for this week are:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Page 21 for books</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">16% for ebooks</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My book:</span></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13519397-throne-of-glass" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OhulWvXrdS0/UB7UiApMwWI/AAAAAAAAA38/TARWh3gewzw/s320/Throne+of+Glass.jpg" width="210" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">When Chaol came to fetch her the next morning, he found her sleeping on the floor, wrapped in a blanket. "Sardothian," he said. She made a mumbling noise, burying her face father into the pillow. "Why are you sleeping on the ground?" She opened an eye. Of course, he didn't mention how different she looked now that she was <i>clean</i>.</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">She didn't bother concealing herself with the blanket as she stood. The yards of fabric they called a nightgown covered her enough. "The bed was uncomfortable," she said simply but quickly forgot the captain as she beheld the sunlight.</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pure, fresh, warm sunlight. Sunlight that she could bask in all day if she got her freedom, sunlight to drown out the endless dark of the mines.</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tara took a quote from this one last week but as I spent all day Sunday reading it, I decided that I wanted to have it up as my book, too, though I suppose that I could have chosen another book had I really wanted to. I was actually a frequent reader on FictionPress when Sarah J. Maas was publishing this (as <i>Queen of Glass</i>) on there but the length of it made it too daunting for me to tackle - something I came to regret later. I'm glad I got this opportunity to read it now! I've finished the book already. Review will be coming sooner or later.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 1: Copy and paste the Get A Taste image.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 3: Find the designated page for the week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 4: Type out a paragraph or so from your book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 5: <o:p></o:p></span>Post it and share it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We would appreciate it if you'd leave a comment letting us know where we can find your post. We'll be sure to pop on by and leave a comment!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks and have fun!</span></span></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-48082803979081649172012-08-07T09:00:00.000+02:002012-08-07T14:12:08.486+02:00Blog Tour & Giveaway: Bayou Myth by Mary Ann Loesch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s1600/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s400/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fJZW0MUb9qw/UCA0aShsBZI/AAAAAAAAA4o/ae3mUyeq3Sk/s1600/Bayou+Myth+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fJZW0MUb9qw/UCA0aShsBZI/AAAAAAAAA4o/ae3mUyeq3Sk/s320/Bayou+Myth+Cover.jpg" width="215" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<center>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=teaandboo-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0984657819&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=22226C&bc1=000000&bg1=EBE9D1&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe></span></center>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Information</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Title: Bayou Myth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Mary Ann Loesch<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Series: Bayou Myth #1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: Dragonfire Press<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Target
Audience: YA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Urban fantasy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Length: 240 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Story</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: <o:p></o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27px; text-align: left;">As a sixteen year old voodoo queen in the making, Joan Renault just wants to be like all the other girls in the small town of Monte Parish, Louisiana—obsessed with boys and swamped with social lives. If the other kids would quit calling her “hoodoo hag,” she might have a small shot at normality. It would also help if Joan’s weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren’t always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie Laveau. After all, it’s hard to make out with your best friend when your grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts, normal doesn’t come easily.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27px; text-align: left;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27px; text-align: left;">When Joan witnesses the brutal sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere’s scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present. Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess is determined to use the residual energy of Pandora’s Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi’s Day—the voodoo day of resurrection—Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Thoughts
and impressions</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: As
soon as I read the synopsis for this one I was sold. Voodoo and Greek gods?
Cool! Totally sounds like my sort of thing... Then I stopped and thought about
it for a bit and I started to have a few reservations about whether or not the
author would be able to successfully pull off a believable scenario that mixes
voodoo and the myths and legends on Ancient Greece. So I went into the book in
a state that was somewhere between excitement and trepidation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Excitement
won.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">I read
the book in two sittings. One that was about 1-25% (I only stopped because it
was late and I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore!) and the second was the
other 75% of the book. The fact that I sat down and read 75% of a book with no
breaks says everything. I could finish the review right here… but I’m not going
to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">I’m not
going to spoil how the author manages to merge the two very different cultures
of voodoo and the Greek myths and legends, but I thought the way she did it was
rather ingenious. It allowed them both to stay true to themselves without
forcing either into an uncomfortable situation. I was so glad that they were
mixed together in such a way rather than trying to shove two pantheons together
and require them to work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">The
story itself turned out to be addictive. I was in one of those “just one more
chapter…” phases. You know, the ones you never slip out of until you’ve turned
the last page and then you have an oops moment as you realise just how much of
the day you’ve lost. Oops. But it was worth it! I’ve never seen Marie Laveau
portrayed in a positive light before so this was an interesting experience for
me from that point of view. I was also captivated by the Louisiana bayou
setting. For someone who grew up in the Pennines and the Alps, the bayou is a
far cry from any environment I’ve known. That could be part of its mysticism
and the charm it weaves on me. I loved how the author managed to really bring
it to life for me, despite the huge distance separating me from it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Joan,
the main character, was also very interesting. Chosen to be the next great
voodoo priestess, she’s still in the phase where she resists her calling
despite her grandmere’s consistent intervening. Of course, events line up just
so and she can no longer ignore the destiny that is before her. I did
occasionally get the feeling that she was a little too blind to things around
her. For example, at one point she thinks she’s talking to her best friend and
just blurts out her whole plan when he’s practically interrogating her. Only
later does she realise that her best friend might not actually have been the
one controlling the body she was interacting with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">There
was also a fair amount of exposition through dreams. This is not something that
I’m usually fond of, preferring other means to be used to uncover secrets, but
I have to say that it did work fairly well in this particular novel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">I wasn’t
aware that this is actually the first of a series. In a way, I’m slightly
bummed out because I want to have the answers to my questions already – in the
form of the next novel of course! Things are not really rounded off at the end
of the story and a lot of threads are left dangling to be picked up come book
two. I really want to find out how Joan’s relationship with her best friend,
Dave, will progress now that she’s finally uncovered the truth about the
secrets he’s been keeping. I’ve got my fingers crossed for them as Dave turned
out to be a very decent guy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Possibly
the very best thing about this novel is the role that the parents play. There
are far too many YA novels out there where the parents either aren’t there or
just don’t give a damn about what their teenage child is getting up to. In <i>Bayou Myth</i> the parents played a very
positive role. They cared about Joan,
gave her limits to what she could do (not that she always respected them) and
helped her when the going got tough. There should be more YA books out there
where the parents are portrayed in such a positive light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Overall
a fabulous book. When’s book 2 coming out?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Style</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: There were some problems towards
the end of the book. It felt like the editor had just got bored and so missed
some fairly obvious mistakes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Final
verdict</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: Not at all
what I was expecting but so much the better for it. I really enjoyed this book!
<b><i><u>5
stars<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Extra notes: Bad language is present. Sex
behind closed doors.<o:p></o:p></span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>The author:</b></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-orLyA5ZkZqA/UCA3Dnv7-MI/AAAAAAAAA5M/RH8WFxH47-k/s1600/facebook+profile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-orLyA5ZkZqA/UCA3Dnv7-MI/AAAAAAAAA5M/RH8WFxH47-k/s1600/facebook+profile.jpg" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US"> Mary
Ann Loesch is an award winning fiction writer from Texas. Her urban fantasy, <b><i>Nephilim</i></b>,
was published in July 2011 by Lyrical Press Inc. An avid blogger for All Things Writing (<a href="http://www.allthingswriting.blogspot.com/">http://www.allthingswriting.blogspot.com</a>)
and Loesch’s Muse (<a href="http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com/">http://www.loeschsmuse.blogspot.com</a>),
Mary Ann has also contributed stories in the horror anthology, <b><i>All
Things Dark and Dastardly</i></b>. Her latest book, <b><i>Bayou Myth</i></b>, was released
in June 2012. While she loves dirty martinis and cuddling with her dachshund,
she loves fan mail even more! Contact her through her website at
www.maryannloesch.com.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br />
Win your own copy of Bayou Myth:<br />
<br />
Open internationally.<br />
<br /></div>
<a id="rc-9822da7" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/9822da7/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-52723465949672290972012-08-06T09:00:00.000+02:002012-08-06T09:00:05.468+02:00The Cover Wars: Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UGYuwP2oI84/TxnSPC_3qFI/AAAAAAAAAT8/v5cnosvB6c0/s1600/the+cover+wars" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UGYuwP2oI84/TxnSPC_3qFI/AAAAAAAAAT8/v5cnosvB6c0/s400/the+cover+wars" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tara of <a href="http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/" style="color: #9900ff; text-decoration: none;">Basically Books</a> and I decided to get together to do a weekly meme where we would compare covers of the UK editions of books with those of the US editions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; line-height: 19px;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The aim of this is to just have a bit of fun. We put ourselves in the position where we see both of these books side by side in the bookstore. Which would we choose? Why that one and not the other?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This week we will be comparing the covers of Room by Emma Donoghue.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r_Ycl2yyTYI/UB7TEs5Tz9I/AAAAAAAAA3s/anabqjhVlDQ/s1600/9.US.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r_Ycl2yyTYI/UB7TEs5Tz9I/AAAAAAAAA3s/anabqjhVlDQ/s320/9.US.jpg" width="206" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2qGv57-zcw/UB7TFdPdWaI/AAAAAAAAA3w/y0S8jPZrDW4/s1600/9.UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r2qGv57-zcw/UB7TFdPdWaI/AAAAAAAAA3w/y0S8jPZrDW4/s320/9.UK.jpg" width="194" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">US cover UK cover</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rea
says: Both of these covers are very appealing. They both catch my eye and leave
me wanting to crack open the book. This said, I adore the simplicity of the US
cover. US for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tara says: I like them both so very much and
they are very appealing. The UK one is blue, it has a little house and it just
makes me want to read it. The US one is simple and yet I feel as if it’s going
to be a great book. Just because it’s simple yet eye-catching, and I have seen
it so many times, I will go with the US one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Score:</span><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br style="line-height: 19px;" /><span style="line-height: 19px;">Week 29:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height: 19px;">US: 5 UK: 15 Draw: 8</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 1: Copy and paste the Cover Wars image.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 3: Copy and paste the US and UK cover images.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 4: Compare the two.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 5: Either use our score or keep your own score.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Step 6: Post it and share it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB">Thanks and have fun!</span></div>
</span></span></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-46599066254721316742012-08-04T20:26:00.001+02:002012-08-04T20:26:32.881+02:00Blog Tour: Sykosa by Justin Ordoñez<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCGPnJ1Wp6o/UB1m-nzc4cI/AAAAAAAAA24/cDHHaHXyMN0/s1600/banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="82" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PCGPnJ1Wp6o/UB1m-nzc4cI/AAAAAAAAA24/cDHHaHXyMN0/s320/banner.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rpIo0o0p3Y4/UB1m_5HrTlI/AAAAAAAAA3A/mYDbmOEfoXI/s1600/Sykosa600x900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rpIo0o0p3Y4/UB1m_5HrTlI/AAAAAAAAA3A/mYDbmOEfoXI/s320/Sykosa600x900.jpg" width="204" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sykosa-Part-Junior-Year-ebook/dp/B007N709IG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344104675&sr=8-2&keywords=sykosa" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sykosa-Part-Junior-Year-ebook/dp/B007N709IG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344104695&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a> ; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sykosa-part-i-justin-ordo-ez/1110112960?ean=9780985424312" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Information</u>:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: Skyosa</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: Justin Ordoñez</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: TDS Publishing</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Series: Skysoa #1</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Target Audience: Older YA+</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Realistic fiction</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Length: 320 pages</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Story</u>: <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;">Sykosa (that's "sy"-as-in-"my" ko-sa) is a junior in high school. She belongs to an exclusive clique of girls called the "Queens." The leader is her best friend Niko. Their friendship has been strained lately because Tom—Sykosa's first boyfriend boyfriend—has gotten all serious about making her his pretty Prom princess. That is if he ever gets around to asking her. Before Prom, there's a party at Niko's cottage where parental supervision will be nil. He wants to have sex. She doesn't. He sometimes acts like that doesn't matter.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;">It matters.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;">Sykosa has a secret she has never told anyone about. Although, some people—Tom included—know anyway. It happened last year and it was big and she'll cry if she talks about it so she's done talking about it, okay? Never mind, it's nobody's business. Except it keeps happening, and it never stops. She doesn't want to deal with it. He does. She sometimes acts like that doesn't matter.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px;">It matters.</span></span><div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Thoughts
and impressions</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:
The style of this story is very out of the norm. It’s one that’s very raw and
to the point while still somehow managing to only skirt around certain
subjects. I admit that it took me a while to actually get into the style. I
read the book in parts, at first because the style failed to really lure me in
and then because I had other reading obligations that were more urgent. The
synopsis was one that caught my attention immediately, but I was quite a way
into the book before it had really sucked me in. On top of this the jumpy
narration occasionally made it quite hard to follow events and I would find
myself having to go back and reread passages in order to really understand what
was going on. This was frustrating.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eventually
I came to realise that this was written more like the style of Skyosa’s thought
flow. I’m not so keen on that style (<i>“je
buvais des grenouilles”</i> – I drank frogs – the sentence that put me off this
style), but I do see the appeal for it, especially for a story such as this where
everything is very dependent on Skykosa’s innermost thoughts and secrets, and
her preference to skirt around a certain event in her past rather than tackling
the event head on. This event in her past is very important to the evolution of
her character. She often alludes to it but never quite manages to tackle it
head on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I think
that it is important to note that while the story may be considered aimed at
the YA market, it’s more aimed at mature YA or adult readers. There are a
number of subjects tackled that I wouldn’t consider entirely appropriate for
younger readers. There is a huge focus on sex in particular. And when I say
that it focuses on sex, I mean it seems like all of the characters focus on sex
almost all of the time. I don’t remember being that sex-mad as a teen but then
I did grow up in a very different environment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact,
I’m not sure that this environment could have been any farther from the one I
experienced myself. I liked that they were Asian characters, in a very religious
environment and yet many of the parental figures take a backseat to the action,
seeming to take little interest in their teenage children’s antics. It made for
an original setting. I’m not sure if I’ve ever read something quite like this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There is
a darkness that overshadows the whole of this story. It’s not a feel good book.
It’s a grim look at a potential reality that a teen could face. There’s a cast
of broken individuals who are all struggling to come to terms with events they’ve
faced and how their lives have been impacted. It’s not a book that I would
normally pick up but it’s one that made me stop and think. And it’s got me
intrigued – I’m very interested in seeing where things will go next!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Style</u>: See review.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Final verdict</u>: A dark tale that took me places I hadn't expected to go. I really enjoyed the story but found the style a little off putting (the style is, however, part of what makes this story so different and is central to what makes Skyosa Skyosa). <b><i><u>4 stars</u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><i><u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></u></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Extra notes: Bad language is present. There is a focus on sex.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TQKHSFHtzY4/UB1oXrrRGSI/AAAAAAAAA3I/051-yamHm_0/s1600/ordonezheadshotsmaller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TQKHSFHtzY4/UB1oXrrRGSI/AAAAAAAAA3I/051-yamHm_0/s320/ordonezheadshotsmaller.jpg" width="217" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; text-align: left;">Justin Ordoñez was born in Spain, raised in the mid-west, and currently lives in Seattle. He's nearly thirty years old, almost graduated from the University of Washington, and prefers to wait until TV shows come out on DVD so he can watch them in one-shot while playing iPad games. For fifteen years, he has written as a freelance writer, occasionally doing pieces as interesting as an editorial, but frequently helping to craft professional documents or assisting in the writing of recommendation letters for people who have great praise for friends or colleagues and struggle to phrase it. Sykosa is his debut novel.</span>
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.sykosa.com/mainpage.html" target="_blank">Website</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://twitter.com/SykosaNovel/" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/SykosaNovel" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</span></a>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-46334989236682255342012-08-02T09:00:00.000+02:002012-08-05T22:39:39.455+02:00Get A Taste: The Child Thief<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6xgVdtmqLU/Tx3STrY0BZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/SSUCq8jtnx4/s1600/Get+A+Taste+meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6xgVdtmqLU/Tx3STrY0BZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/SSUCq8jtnx4/s1600/Get+A+Taste+meme.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 16px;">Tara of <a href="http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/" style="color: #9900ff; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Basically Books</a> and I often read very different books but sometimes find interesting new books to potentially add to the ever-growing monsters that our TBR piles have morphed into. However, we know that we do not have 100% the same taste and we wanted another way of getting a look at these books...</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you ever feel like getting a bit of a taster for a book you’ve been thinking of reading but aren’t fully sold on yet? Do you feel like sharing a taster for your current read with the world? Well, here’s your chance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each week the random number generator will pick a number between 1 and 100 for books with pages or 1 and 25% for ebooks. We figured that these numbers would keep us out of spoiler territory. Open your book to the specified place and pick a paragraph. Share it with the world!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The numbers for this week are:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Page 19 for books</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">20% for ebooks</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My book:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6308379-the-child-thief" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SXBnWUiFhRo/UB7W1FEEEDI/AAAAAAAAA4E/N8ExU-E6MtY/s320/The+Child+Thief.jpg" width="234" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Peter ducked and spun, and again Nick found himself amazed at the boy's speed. The back of Peter's fist caught Bennie full in the face. Nick couldn't see the actual contact from where he sat, but based on the way Bennie's head flew back, based on the horrible cracking sound, he knew Bennie was going down.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bennie crumbled to his knees, his arms flopping limply by his sides, then he fell over face-first onto the sidewalk.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">A chill climbed up Nick's spine. <i>He's dead. He's dead for sure. </i>And just for a second, Nick caught a haunted look on Peter's face. Then, as though knowing the boy's eyes were upon him, Peter's quirky smile leaped back into place. But Nick couldn't get that look out of his dead. He'd seen something wild, something scary.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I bought this book from one of the small shops by the canals just outside of the city centre in Utrecht. It's one that I've been aware of for some time but just never purchased for whatever reason. I've not had the chance to read very much of it yet, but what I have read has been a fabulously woven dark tale. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 1: Copy and paste the Get A Taste image.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 3: Find the designated page for the week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 4: Type out a paragraph or so from your book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 5: <o:p></o:p></span>Post it and share it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We would appreciate it if you'd leave a comment letting us know where we can find your post. We'll be sure to pop on by and leave a comment!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks and have fun!</span></span></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-48270965684695412202012-08-01T09:00:00.000+02:002012-08-01T09:00:03.077+02:00Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9962031-infinity" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xcnrR5MLA0w/UBWOqHnvqwI/AAAAAAAAA1A/Da74PkbfXOk/s320/Infinity.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Chronicles-of-Nick-ebook/dp/B003GYEGMK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343594180&sr=8-2&keywords=infinity+sherrilyn+kenyon" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Infinity-Chronicles-Nick-Book-ebook/dp/B003PPDBV2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1343594186&sr=8-2" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a> ; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/infinity-sherrilyn-kenyon/1100356930?ean=9780312603045" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a> ; <a href="http://www.bookdepository.com/Infinity-Sherrilyn-Kenyon/9781907410215" target="_blank">Book Depository</a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Information</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Title: Infinity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Author: Sherrilyn
Kenyon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Series: Chronicles
of Nick #1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Publisher:
St. Martin’s Press<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Target
Audience: YA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Genre: Urban
fantasy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Length: 306
pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Story</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: I control my destiny and my life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Nothing
controls me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Ever.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Nick
Gautier thinks he knows everything. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick
sarcasm is renowned. But his whole world is suddenly turned upside down on the
night his best friends try to kill him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Saved by
a mysterious warrior, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters –
immortal vampire-slayers who risk everything to save humanity – and he quickly
learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous
one that’s filled with all kinds of evil. Nick knows he’s in real danger and he
soon has a lot more to deal with than high school – all without getting grounded,
suspended… or killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Thoughts
and impressions</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: I
know that this series is a spinoff of the author’s long-standing paranormal
romance series for adult readers. I’ve never read any of the Dark Hunter books,
though I’m aware of their existence (who isn’t?). It’s entirely possible – if not
likely – that reading this book will be a completely different experience for
someone who’s read all of the other books prior to this one. For me, I felt
like I was missing a lot of information. There was a lot of name-dropping and I
suspect that long-time readers will recognise the names and appreciate the nods
to old characters that they’d come to love and adore. However, this wasn’t the
case for me, nor I suspect for many of the YA readers who will be new to Sherrilyn
Kenyon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">These
names meant nothing to me and just served to confuse me as, it has to be said,
there were an awful lot of peripheral characters who were all named but tended
to play very small roles. Indeed, I often found myself trying to keep up with
the who’s who. Occasionally I’d find myself in a situation where I thought
there were two characters having a conversation when a third would intervene
but I had no idea who they were or when they’d come into the story. I’m a big
believer in the rule that if you (the author) can tell the same story without
introducing character X, then character X should not be introduced as they
obviously don’t play an essential enough role to merit being there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">The
synopsis is also misleading and relies on knowledge of the Dark Hunter series.
There’s that little bit popped in there about how the Dark-Hunters are “immortal
vampire-slayers who risk everything to save humanity” – but there’s nothing in
the book about them being vampire-slayers, or even that they’re trying to save
humanity. In fact, they’re not really expanded on much at all in this
particular book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">So what
is the book about? It’s about a young teen, Nick Gautier (who pronounces his
name, Gautier, with an “sh” in it for some reason, but I just spent the whole
book pronouncing it the French way – Go-tee-ay instead of Go-shay). He comes
from a difficult background – his father is in prison for murder and his mother
struggles to earn enough money to keep them going – but is a pupil at a prestigious
school. Because of just how different he is to everyone else there, he is often
bullied not only by his fellow pupils but also by the head teacher. His mum
doesn’t pay any attention to his complaints and Nick is very frustrated by the
existence he leads. Frustrated enough to lash out and agree to participate in
something illegal at his friends’ prompting. This results in Nick getting shot
and a mysterious stranger stepping in to save him from certain death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">The mysterious
stranger accepts Nick into his employ in exchange for paying his hospital bills
(which his mother cannot afford). This throws Nick into a new world of
supernatural creatures that he’d never even dreamt could actually exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">This
first book deals with one supernatural creature in particular: zombies!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Argh…
brainssss…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">But
these zombies are a little apart from the norm. Those who become zombies are
still living. They’re no longer in control of their motor functions and seem to
be actually hunting their targets rather than just going for the closest piece
of human meat. Unfortunately for Nick, he’s one of those targeted. For someone
who didn’t believe in the supernatural mere days earlier, he gets quite the
wake-up call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">There
are some fabulous characters in here, such as Bubba and Mark the zombie
hunters. They’re the bit of humour to bringer a bit of lighter laughter to a
story that’s supposed to be fairly on the dark side. I liked them both and
their rules for fighting zombies (shoot first; cover yourself in duck urine;
etc.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">For the
most part, the novel was fairly tightly woven but there was one thing that was
never really resolved: the game that induces living zombie-ism was only given
to one person. It is hypothesised that someone else distributed the game to all
the others who “changed”. But this is never expanded on. We never discover who
distributed it beyond the original victim.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Style</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: There was some serious abuse of
the “…” in this style. They’re all over the place!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Beyond
this, there were some places where I found it hard to follow the sentence
structure, but I don’t know whether that was just my head being slow or the
actual style.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Final
verdict</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: Even
though I felt like I’d missed out on a lot by not having read the Dark Hunters
series, I did enjoy this book. I intend to read the second book at some point
later this year. <i><u><b>4 stars</b></u></i><b><i><u><o:p></o:p></u></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB">Extra notes: Bad language is present. Sex is
not.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-26572707885192012592012-07-31T09:00:00.000+02:002012-07-31T09:00:03.997+02:00Blog Tour: Take This Regret by A.L. Jackson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Summer%20Blog%20Tours/?action=view&current=banner-28.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="104" src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Summer%20Blog%20Tours/banner-28.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFMjnN0zL3k/UBbj1krxM6I/AAAAAAAAA2E/RKaiHdocLoM/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gFMjnN0zL3k/UBbj1krxM6I/AAAAAAAAA2E/RKaiHdocLoM/s1600/cover.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Take-This-Regret-ebook/dp/B007QPS0WW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339437853&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Amazon US</a></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Information</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Title: Take This
Regret<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Author: A.L. Jackson<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher: The Writer’s
Coffee Shop Publishing House<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Target Audience: Adult<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre: Contemporary
romance / chick lit<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Length: 242 pages<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Story</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">There
are some mistakes we make that we will regret for the rest of our lives.
For Christian, it was the day he betrayed Elizabeth.</span></span><span style="color: #181818;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Christian Davison
has a plan for his life. He is determined to become an attorney and to
one day take his place as partner in his father’s law firm. Nothing will
stand in his way, not even Elizabeth Ayers and their unborn child.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">After Christian
cuts her from his life, Elizabeth spends the next five years struggling to
provide for her daughter and willing to sacrifice anything to give her child a
safe, comfortable life.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">For five years,
Christian has regretted the day he walked away from his family and will do
anything to win them back just as Elizabeth will do anything to protect her
daughter from the certain heartache she believes Christian will bring upon them.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;">When Christian
wrestles his way into their lives, Elizabeth is faced with asking herself if it
is possible to forgive someone when they’ve committed the unforgivable and if
it is possible to find a love after it has been buried in years of hate.
Or are there some wounds that go so deep they can never heal?</span><br />
<br />
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">They say everyone deserves a second chance.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Thoughts and
impressions</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: The decision to read
this book was one of those spur of the moment things. It’s a very different
sort of story to what I normally read but of course reading is all about
expanding your horizons. I’m not the sort of person who really keeps to a
limited reading sphere, so I figured I’d take a chance on the book!<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When Elizabeth falls
pregnant, Christian gives her an ultimatum: him or their unborn child. She
chooses the child and walks out of his life. Six long years later, a chance
meeting between Christian and a young girl draws him into the life that he’d
turned his back on, the life that includes fatherhood. A small taste of what he
had up until that moment never known is enough to make him crave it and he
muscles his way into his daughter’s life, despite knowing that Elizabeth is
less than comfortable with this change.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The story mostly
focuses on the excursions that the three of them make as a family, showing the
reader just how Christian is growing as a person in order to embrace the new
role that he has taken on. He’s actually a very interesting character and I
enjoyed observing his evolution from spoilt rich kid to doting father, even if
I did often find the interactions between Christian and Lizzy (his daughter,
not to be confused with Elizabeth, the mother). I suppose this reflects on my
relationship with my parents. It’s a healthy relationship, but we tend to show
our love through actions rather than endless direct proclamations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Elizabeth was another
matter entirely. She started off as a woman willing to make a difficult choice
and ready to face the consequences of it. Unfortunately, while Christian
evolved, I felt that Elizabeth devolved. Christian hurt her and she never got
over the pain of his betrayal. I get it. Considering his actions, her reticence
around him was taken too far and just ended up as a lot of repetition about how
he’ll just hurt her again so she should keep her distance – but it’s so hard! I
lose all respect for her when she held Christian accountable for her actions
and made him responsible for them not having sex. When she then takes out all
her fears on her daughter while claiming to be protecting her, she became a weak-willed
character that was a shadow of the strong woman she’d been; a character I could
not stand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I understand why this
is in the story but it just didn’t work for me personally. What’s more, once Elizabeth
lost my respect, she failed to regain it before the story ended so I parted
ways with her feeling dissatisfied with her character, and because of this
ultimately with the story as a whole.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My copy of the book
also had some formatting issues and I’d come across sentences like:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“He could wanted, but it would never change what he discarded us and he
had no right in our likes. apologize all he did. He had”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sometimes I could
reconstruct these broken sentences but others I had no idea where the fragments
were supposed to fit in. I couldn’t say for sure whether I missed anything
important because of this.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Style</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: The style in the story was actually very heavily on
the tell side. Both characters would often tell us the low down of their
actions rather than show us the events.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author also had a
habit of using some weird syntax with constructions such as:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“He’d just disappeared in the middle of the night from our lives
forever.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Final verdict</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: As mentioned in the review, I found myself rather on
the fence about this one. It was one that I enjoyed but at the end of the day I
didn’t enjoy it as much as other readers, with different tastes to me, will do.
It had certain shortcomings, Elizabeth’s character in particular, that I couldn’t
get over.<b><i><u>3.5 stars</u></i></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Extra notes: Both bad language and sex are present.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i><br />
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading
Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author.
Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no
payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation
to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may
not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or
readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and
Testimonials in Advertising*<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Get to know the author:</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">1. Describe
your book in ten words or fewer.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What one
man would do for a second chance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">2. With
such a large number of books out there, what do you feel sets your apart from
all others?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even though
I write in the contemporary romance and paranormal romance genres, my books
tend to be very emotional. My hope is that a reader will get so into my
characters that they feel what the character feels. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">3. Tell us
a bit about your influences and just how / why these authors and / or their
work inspire(s) you.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even though
I write in a very different genre, the author who has inspired me the most is
Janet Fitch, author of White Oleander. Her writing style helped me see that I
didn’t have to write in a box.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">4. How did
the seeds of this story come to you?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had a
vague sense of Christian when he first popped in my head. I saw a man who was
living a life he didn’t want to be living. I began thinking about him and his
situation, and finally the plot of the story clicked into place. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: inherit;">5. Which
five books would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bible. This one was easy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Survival guide. Knowing me, I’d eat
something I wasn’t supposed to on the first day.</span> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shakespeare anthology. I’ve always wanted to spend more time
studying Shakespeare. Guess there’d be no better place than on a deserted
island.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Shadowbound by Erin Kellison. Total
guilty pleasure, but one of my favorite books.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Twilight. Another guilty pleasure. I
could probably read it a thousand times and never get bored.</span></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">6. Who was
your first book crush? (Or if you’ve never had a book crush then who is your
favourite character to read about?)</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My first
crush had to have been Ashley Wilkes. Gone with the Wind was one of the first
romances I read in elementary school. I was hooked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">7. Let’s
imagine that your book’s getting turned into a movie / tv series. Woo! Which
actors can you envision playing the lead roles?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ooo…this is
an easy one. Christian would be a black-haired Chris Pine and the perfect Elizabeth
would be a blonde Scarlett Johansson. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">8. What do
you like to do in your free time (when you’re not reading or writing)?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Most all of
my free time is spent with my family. I spend a ton of time watching my boys
(and holding my breath) at the skate park, going to the movies, or going out to
dinner. And of course I LOVE a night out
with the girls.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">9. If you
could visit your destination of choice, which plane would you be on in the
morning?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anywhere on
the Mediterranean Sea. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">10. What’s
your least favourite chore to do around the house?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ugh, folding
laundry!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">11. Does
bacon make everything taste better?</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The only
place Bacon belongs is on a BLT.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #a64d79;">12. Anything
else you’d like to share with us all? Extra points if you make us giggle!</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just want
to say thank you to Rea for having me on! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you
for taking the time to share this with us. I wish you the best of luck with
your future career as a published writer and look forward to seeing the book
you churn out next!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author:</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hXKA6vk9cP0/UBbl4OJdsvI/AAAAAAAAA2U/KmnyhI8eiCc/s1600/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hXKA6vk9cP0/UBbl4OJdsvI/AAAAAAAAA2U/KmnyhI8eiCc/s1600/author.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A.L. Jackson first
found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college
student. She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems
used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in
day-to-day life.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Years later, she
shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and,
with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L.
now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her
husband and three beautiful children. Her favorite pastime is spending time
with the ones she loves. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/aljackson" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Publisher Website</span></a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">
</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #414b56;"><span style="color: #89a9aa;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/aljacksonbooks" target="_blank">Twitter</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #565555;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #414b56;"><span style="color: #89a9aa;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/aljacksonbooks" target="_blank">Facebook</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #565555;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #414b56;"><span style="color: #89a9aa;"><a href="http://www.aljacksonbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blog</span></a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #565555; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-29822579564057909122012-07-30T11:00:00.000+02:002012-07-30T11:00:07.086+02:00Blog Tour: Sneak Peek of Vestige by Deb Hanrahan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/?action=view&current=banner-36.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="104" src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/banner-36.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The book:</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13119263-vestige" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sBIG49dU-LE/UBWSJquu3PI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/2yC-dVKXGoE/s320/Vestige.jpg" width="198" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vestige-ebook/dp/B008BMJISO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341615204&sr=8-1&keywords=vestige" target="_blank">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vestige-deb-hanrahan/1111565709?ean=9780983526698" target="_blank">Barnes & Noble</a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Civil Authorities have
issued a Civil Danger Notification Until Further Notice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The following message is
being transmitted by the request of The United States Government. An unknown
number of citizens have gone missing. Authorities are trying to locate the
missing persons. Residents are asked to stay in their homes. If you must go
out, do not travel alone and carry proper identification.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please do not call 911 to
report missing persons. Emergency Call Centers and local law enforcement
agencies are no longer fully staffed. The United States Military has been
dispatched to assist local authorities.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This notification applies
to all receiving this broadcast. Please stand by for further instructions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vestige is the first book
in a two book series.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"This is the first book in a two book series. This book contains
strong language that may be offensive to some."<span style="color: #222222;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Sneak Peek:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By the time the lunch bell rang, Micah was
certain that everyone had chilled, so he made his way to the school courtyard
and to their usual table. As he approached his friends, he could see that Jess
was crying, and then he noticed Dustin’s arm draped around her shoulder.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Hey Jess...What’s going on?” Micah put his
hand on her shoulder and pushed Dustin’s arm off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dustin grinned at Micah. “Just comforting
your girlfriend...”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Jess...seriously...what’s wrong?” Micah
wedged himself between Jess and Dustin, forcing Dustin to slide over several
inches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“My family...my little brother and sisters
are gone. The police think some cult kidnapped them...all of them.” Jess buried
her face into Micah’s shoulder and continued her sobbing. “Oh Micah, what am I
going to do? This is the worst day of my entire life.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Micah put his arm around Jess and kissed
the top of her pink head. “So...I guess we’re not babysitting.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jess stopped crying, lifted her head, and
glared at Micah. She pushed his arm away, picked up her things, and marched
off. Amber shot Micah a disgusted look and ran after her friend.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Smooth,” Cody said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“What? I didn’t mean anything by it. I just
wanted to know,” replied Micah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Yeah right, jackass,” Dustin said. “You
just wanted to know if you were still going to get some. Don’t you care about
anyone but yourself?” Dustin smirked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“What makes you think Micah’s getting any?
This kid is still a virgin. Isn’t that right, Micah,” mocked Cody.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“It’s none of your business,” said Micah.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Jess tells Amber everything, and Amber
tells me everything,” said Cody.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Micah tried to change the subject. “Are we
going to the park after school today?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Nah, man. I have to look for my dog,” Cody
said. “He ran away or something. He’s been missing since last night. I let him
out around 8:00, and when I went to let him back in, he was gone. I bet my dad
left the gate open on purpose. He hates that dog.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s weird. My neighbor’s dog ran away
too,” Dustin added. “He was yellin’ that dog’s name all night,
‘Daphne...Daphne.... Where are you girl?’ What a douche. I didn’t sleep at
all.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I saw a lady looking for her dog this
morning,” Micah said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Maybe the same cult that took Jess’s
little brother and sisters took all the dogs too.” Dustin laughed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Micah thought about the dog from his dream.
It was still so clear. It seemed as if it had actually happened. He could
almost feel the pressure of the dog’s teeth on his hand. He looked down at his
open palm and gasped at the sight of two small bruises. Were those teeth marks?
He turned his hand over and saw a matching pair on the opposite side. At first,
Micah stared at the marks in disbelief, but then he thought about his hasty
departure that morning. He must have grabbed a rough piece of wood or scratched
himself on a nail.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Let’s meet at the park tomorrow morning,”
concluded Cody. “Micah, did you hear me?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Micah snapped back to reality. “Yeah,
sure...park...tomorrow morning.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Wanna ditch?” Since Micah wasn’t going to
see Jess after school, he wanted to skip an afternoon of total boredom. He
couldn’t stand the thought of sitting in the auditorium for another three
hours.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Nah, me and Amber are in the library
together. She’ll be pissed if I ditch without her,” replied Cody.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I’m in the cafeteria.” Dustin looked at
Micah. “Jess is too.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Asshole,” Micah muttered.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“You’re on your own, Micah.” Cody stood and
headed towards the school. Dustin gave Micah one last smirk and followed Cody.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Fine.” As Micah slinked away in the other
direction, he wondered where he should go. He couldn’t go home, and since he
only had a fiver, he couldn’t hang out at the arcade. He eventually settled on
the park.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ever since Micah was a kid, he loved the
park. It was just so…ordinary—an ordinary place where ordinary parents played
with their ordinary kids. It became his refuge from the crazy. He would watch
these ordinary people and take mental pictures, and these pictures would
sustain his daydreams for as long as he needed them to do so. These people gave
him hope that maybe one day he might have an ordinary family of his own.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author:</span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pAcSO0f-Fp0/UBWSukJGwvI/AAAAAAAAA1g/NYhmXw5_YeA/s1600/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pAcSO0f-Fp0/UBWSukJGwvI/AAAAAAAAA1g/NYhmXw5_YeA/s1600/author.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 12.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">Deb lives with her husband and three teenagers in
the Chicagoland burbs. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a
B.S. in Chemistry, she worked at a nuclear power plant for five years. She then
left her career to stay at home with her kids.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #6b5d40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.6pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;">Seemingly, overnight, she went from being
crazy-busy to having way too much time on her hands. With her husband working
long hours and her kids pursuing their own lives, she decided to write that novel
she always wanted to write. Vestige is her second novel.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #6b5d40;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://debhanrahan.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Blog</a></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 12.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/DebHanrahan" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</span></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-67230819632540637852012-07-30T09:00:00.000+02:002012-07-30T09:00:11.016+02:00The Cover Wars: The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UGYuwP2oI84/TxnSPC_3qFI/AAAAAAAAAT8/v5cnosvB6c0/s1600/the+cover+wars" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UGYuwP2oI84/TxnSPC_3qFI/AAAAAAAAAT8/v5cnosvB6c0/s400/the+cover+wars" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tara of <a href="http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/" style="color: #9900ff; text-decoration: none;">Basically Books</a> and I decided to get together to do a weekly meme where we would compare covers of the UK editions of books with those of the US editions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The aim of this is to just have a bit of fun. We put ourselves in the position where we see both of these books side by side in the bookstore. Which would we choose? Why that one and not the other?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This week we will be comparing the covers of The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yJSZGXnkKIE/UBWQ6EUenJI/AAAAAAAAA1I/Ntmu7jCb39E/s1600/8.US.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yJSZGXnkKIE/UBWQ6EUenJI/AAAAAAAAA1I/Ntmu7jCb39E/s320/8.US.jpg" width="211" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_MvjmsuJf-s/UBWQ6wH4myI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/Up8yrnkrMfc/s1600/8.UK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_MvjmsuJf-s/UBWQ6wH4myI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/Up8yrnkrMfc/s320/8.UK.jpg" width="206" /></a></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">US cover UK cover</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rea
says: This is one of my absolute favourite books. It won’t appeal to all
readers, but it is so very different and a fabulous gentle fantasy / steampunk.
Both covers depict something from the book: the US one has the train that
they’re always taking to get to the mansion where the secret society holds all
their meetings; the UK one has the masks that everyone’s always wearing to
conceal their identity. I think the UK one fits the feel of the story better,
and obviously it worked for me as it’s a book that caught my eye when I was
browsing for one to just pick up at random at an airport. UK for me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tara says: I don’t really like either cover. The US one has misty weather and a
train track with people there, which seems very boring to me. The UK one is a
lot more interesting; it’s bold and in your face and the mask on the front is
very appealing. UK for me. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Score:</span><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br style="line-height: 19px;" /><span style="line-height: 19px;">Week 28: US: 4 UK: 15 Draw: 8</span><br style="line-height: 19px;" /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 1: Copy and paste the Cover Wars image.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 3: Copy and paste the US and UK cover images.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 4: Compare the two.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 5: Either use our score or keep your own score.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 6: Post it and share it!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Thanks and have fun!</span></span></div>
<br />Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-89977375959694471292012-07-28T20:02:00.002+02:002012-07-29T19:02:06.063+02:00Promo: Hacienda Moon by KaSonndra Leigh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://sites.google.com/a/myaddictionisreading.com/promo-blitzes/kasonndra-leigh-3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Reading Addiction Blog Tours" height="204" src=" http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Blog%20Tours/badge-38.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wmLn3hh8Cts/UBQn3nwgyRI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/iiZ9zsKiuHg/s1600/Hacienda+Moon+cover.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wmLn3hh8Cts/UBQn3nwgyRI/AAAAAAAAA0Y/iiZ9zsKiuHg/s320/Hacienda+Moon+cover.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hacienda-Moon-ebook/dp/B008QAY0BQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343498068&sr=8-1&keywords=Hacienda+Moon" target="_blank">Amazon US</a></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">published today!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The blurb:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; text-align: left;">Love, obsession, and betrayal, the most powerful human emotions, are spun together in this gothic novel. Tandie Harrison is a police medium who has just suffered a divorce after losing both her psychic visions and her daughter in a car accident. When she leaves New York City to start a new life near her hometown, she moves into the alluring plantation house, Chelby Rose, and falls for its charismatic caretaker, Eric Fontalvo. Their burgeoning affair ignites a centuries old curse, ensnaring them in a web of danger, deceit, and intrigue. Soon Tandie learns that in placid Bolivia, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="color: #181818; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; text-align: left;" /></span><br />
<span style="color: #181818; font-family: inherit; line-height: 17.27272605895996px; text-align: left;">Hacienda Moon is a seductive tale of one woman’s journey to confront the demons of her past and find the courage to face her future. It is a mesmerizing novel that explores the deepest depths of human nature, and the characters will hold and haunt you long after you have read the final chapter.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The sneak peek:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">"How many months has it been since you last had sex?" Frieda asked Tandie while taking a drink. She nearly spit out her Bahama Mama as she glanced around the club full of people, thankful they sat in a place where a rock band was playing. "It's okay to say: 'Frieda I haven't had sex in ages. Jack was a royal bastard who made me feel like the ice queen. So I never wanted any.' "Frieda took another swallow of her drink. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Even Tandie had to laugh, even though she was glad to be the designated driver. “Must we talk about something like that in a club?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Like that? Do you mean to say sex? Let me hear you say it?" Frieda teased. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tandie rolled her eyes upward. "You know what I meant." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“If we weren’t in a club, you would still clam up. Mental note to me: Must take my bestie out more often before she forgets how to have any kind of fun at all. Deal?” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“All right, deal. Anything to keep you quiet.” Tandie glanced around, taking in the club scene. She hadn’t been anywhere near a dance floor like this one in almost six years. Getting involved with someone hadn’t even crossed her mind, especially while she still grieved for Breena. In the presence of a cute guy, she either stuttered or dropped her tampons at his feet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Frieda Tyson. You made it,” a dark-haired woman with a braid sweeping her waistline announced. A gangly man stood behind her, scoffing. Dressed in an apron, he was the thinnest male Tandie had ever seen. Spiky brown hair gave him a rock star look and the thick-rimmed glasses he wore reminded her of a movie she couldn't quite finger. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Frieda stood, embraced the woman, and stepped back to admire the huge diamond on her left hand. “Whoa! You must’ve really whipped it on him, Shania.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It was those tips and pointers you gave me. Now I know why you’re such a good therapist.” The two women exchanged laughs, while the gangly man standing behind them shook his head and sighed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Excuse, me," he said to Tandie and Frieda, "Shania, can you tell me where to sit this box of glasses. It feels like I'm holding an elephant." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Gus, my fearless multi-tasker. Meet my co-worker, Frieda, and her sidekick I haven't met," Shania said. Her voice was light and her carefree attitude made Tandie want to know more about her. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Frieda turned to Tandie. “This is my good girlfriend, Tandie Harrison. She recently moved back here. Keep an eye on this chick, Shania. She intends to be a bestselling author.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Ah yes. I’ve read one of your non-fiction pieces. I especially enjoyed the one where you explain how you channel psychic energy. Excellent piece of literature,” Shania said and turned to Gus. "Put those over behind the wet bar. Those are for the Geisha celebration next week." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"It's about time," he muttered and turned to Tandie and Frieda, "Nice meeting you ladies. Try not to be strangers." His eyes were locked on Tandie, making her feel uneasy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Thanks,” Tandie said. Gus nodded and moved on toward the bar. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tandie's gaze drifted off to the right side of Shania. The man sitting at the bar, the same man she’d run into at the airport a week ago, had his gaze locked on her. Tandie looked away, pretending not to notice him. But each time she glanced back in his direction he was still watching. Her breath hitched, and her pulse increased. It was the same feeling she experienced before when she last saw him. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Hugging her shoulders, she suddenly had the urge to leave the area. Frieda and Shania were engrossed in their own conversation, so Tandie had no problem slipping away. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She had wanted to investigate the rooftop dining area ever since they arrived. She headed up the steps leading to the balcony, taking in a quick breath when the cool nighttime wind bit into the top Frieda made her wear. A July night at the beach sometimes packed the same ice-cold punch as a September one. There were fewer people sitting at the tables. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Leaning on the rail facing the ocean, she took in the black view and listened to the waves sloshing against shores invisible in the nighttime hours. Something rode the waves in the distance. At first glance it resembled a cruise ship sailing along fully lit. Tandie moved over to the telescope attached to the rail and glanced at the ship. Inside the lens, the ship’s form changed. It was more like a blurry silhouette of a ship. Straining to focus on it, Tandie stretched her eyes until they felt dry. And then like magic, the ship disappeared completely from view. No lights, blurry outlines, no nothing. “Whoa. Too much Bahama Mama tonight, I think.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Nope. It's not your wine. Not that you'd be the type to get drunk," a woman's deeply accented voice said from behind her. The woman dressed in a red shirt and black jeans was pretty in a gothic kind of way. Her dark red lips blended in with her deep auburn tresses; but her eyes lined with mascara reminded Tandie of a burglar. "There's really a ship out there, but only certain ones of us can see it. Creepy isn't it?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The woman studied the ocean, lost in her thoughts. Tandie always attracted strangers who would suddenly start spilling all their secrets. It had been that way for her ever since she was a little girl. But this woman along with the disappearing ship she had just seen succeeded in making her jittery. The chill in the air increased and the thin cottony blouse she wore did a lousy job of blocking any wind. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Wow. It's really cold up here. I'm heading back inside." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Don't you wanna know why you can see it?" the woman asked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">An invisible force stopped Tandie in her tracks. There was no way this woman could be talking about the ship she just saw. "Not really, I’m good," Tandie answered truthfully, turning to study her face. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"We can see it because I'm touched by death. And you…" she turned and narrowed her eyes at Tandie. "You got the witches mark. I can smell dark magic on somebody all the way from my house." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Feeling a bit anxious, Tandie turned to go back inside the club. The woman moved in her path and stepped closer to her face. "You stay away from what's mine, witch. Do you hear me?" </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I don't even know you. It would be hard to take something from a person I don't even know," Tandie said, inching back toward the telescope. She really wished her psychic intuition still worked. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Abby! What's going on?" a male's deep voice said behind the woman. She flashed a bright smile just before she turned around and said, "Not a thing. We girls were just having a little chat." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was him, the man from the airport and the bar. He strolled toward them. His dark shirt and blue jeans gave him a strikingly mysterious appearance under the balcony’s lights. With his gaze locked on Tandie, she suddenly understood the woman's warning. Sure, he was drop-dead sexy; but it was more like the turn-me-into-a-zombie kind of death. That way I can come back and kidnap you when I'm ready. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"I'm sorry, ma'am. Abby doesn't mean to be this way. We still have to keep child locks on the cupboards because of her." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Abby clucked her tongue. "Don't you dare talk down to me." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Look, people. I don’t have a clue about who you two are; but y’all need to work out your problems. I'm heading back inside to get my friend. Try to have a good night," Tandie said and headed back into the club before the man could say anything else, and before that woman accused her of being a witch again.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">The author:</span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yHHczM8zsdU/UBQo-vS180I/AAAAAAAAA0g/uvyo8-nq_hY/s1600/KaSonndra+Leigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yHHczM8zsdU/UBQo-vS180I/AAAAAAAAA0g/uvyo8-nq_hY/s320/KaSonndra+Leigh.jpg" width="238" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">KaSonndra Leigh was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She now lives in the City of Alchemy and Medicine, North Carolina. She likes to write about people doing fantastical things in magical worlds. Her two sons have made her promise to write a boy book next.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">She holds the MFA in creative writing, and loves to play CLUE, Monopoly (the Indiana Jones version), and Pandora's Box (good writer's block therapy). She lives in an L-shaped house with a garden dedicated to her grandmother. It has a secret library complete with fairies, Venetian plastered walls, and a desk made out of clear blue glass.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.kasonndraleigh.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Website</span></a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://kasonndraleigh.blogspot.nl/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blog</span></a></div>
<div>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/KaSonndraLeighBooks" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Facebook</span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Twitter: <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: left;">@kasonndraleigh</span></span></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-58831142028526263042012-07-27T09:00:00.000+02:002012-07-28T12:36:14.613+02:00Blog Tour: Racing to Love by Amy Gregory<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Summer%20Blog%20Tours/?action=view&current=banner-30.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" height="104" src="http://i1249.photobucket.com/albums/hh501/myreadingaddiction/Summer%20Blog%20Tours/banner-30.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GoA6tCZuus4/UBO8_apKGJI/AAAAAAAAAzY/-Z5xaXhz7c0/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GoA6tCZuus4/UBO8_apKGJI/AAAAAAAAAzY/-Z5xaXhz7c0/s320/cover.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Racing-Love-Carters-Treasure-ebook/dp/B0089G3T3W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1339792524&sr=8-1&keywords=racing+to+love" target="_blank">Amazon US</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.4pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #565555; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode', sans-serif; font-size: 8pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>This was supposed to be posted yesterday but my internet went down. :( It's still rather rocky but I wanted to try to backpost this. </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>My apologies, Ms Gregory, for the slight delay here!</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Information</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Title: Racing to Love<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Author: Amy Gregory<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Series: Carter’s
Treasure #1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Publisher: Sapphire
Star Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Target Audience: Adult<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Genre: Romance / chick
lit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Length: 214 pages<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Story</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: <span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">From
the outside, Molly West had everything, beauty, brains, and a career she'd
retired from not once, but twice. Being in the limelight and in a sport that
was male driven, she was often surrounded by men. She ignored first the boys,
and as she got older, the men. Her cold shoulder and patented not a chance in
hell look were usually enough to get her point across. Molly had no plans in
changing what was a perfectly good system. That is until she walked into the
pits. Carter Sterling had traveled the racing circuit since he was a boy. He'd
heard all the old standbys, She's out there somewhere, love comes along when
you least expect it. Good things come to those that... Yeah, he'd heard them
all. The last place he expected to meet the love of his life was on a pro
track. All she did was smile, and he knew, looking into her sapphire blue eyes,
Molly West was his. Forever. If it was only that easy. From the moment he laid
eyes on her, he had a gripping feeling in him. An overwhelming need to protect
her-a girl he'd just met. Carter had learned a long time ago that gut feelings
are almost never wrong. Molly now held his heart in her hands, but it was going
to take a lot more than just love to protect her from the past she thought
she'd buried a long time ago.</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Thoughts and
impressions</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: I’m going to be
honest here: I had a hard time even getting going with this story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">First of all, even as
it starts the two characters go against what the synopsis led me to expect of
them, specifically Molly. For a woman abused in her youth, with trust issues
and no time of day for men, it just didn’t feel natural to me when she immediately
welcomed Carter’s physical advances. They were just little things, like laying
his hand on her thigh, but it all felt as though it moved far, far too fast. I
know it was supposed to be a whirlwind romance but the result of this is that I
was not invested in the relationship between the two characters. I missed out
on build up of feelings and consequently I wasn’t as interested in the outcome of
their relationship as I would have preferred to be. I could have done with an
additional 50 pages or so of Molly learning to be more open to the
possibilities that Carter is offering her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Second, the book is
written in the third person but in a POV that has access to the characters’
innermost thoughts rather than just observing actions. The POV jumps between
characters from one paragraph to the next with nothing to show that such a jump
has taken place. Towards the beginning of the book I found it hard to keep up
with the seemingly random jumps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Once I’d actually got
into the story, things started to improve for me. But as I eased into the
style, I become more aware of the fact that there’s actually very little plot
to it at all. Everything focuses on the relationship, but there’s never any
doubt about the outcome there so you’re more reading to see their relationship
than to watch them overcome the obstacles in their way. This said, there are an
awful lot of romance books out there where you see this sort of thing. It’s
just that I usually prefer mine with a more substantial plot around the romance
itself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Admittedly there is an
attempt at an external threat when Molly starts receiving threatening letters.
Unfortunately, this isn’t really explored to the full potential that it
presented. All things considered, it resolved far too quickly and easily; the perpetrator’s
reasoning isn’t really gone into beyond scratching the surface enough to establish
a reason; and other characters’ involvement – however unwilling – isn’t even
touched on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">This is balanced by
Molly slowly learning to stand on her own two feet and make her own decisions
outside of the supportive network that her adoptive family had set up for her
when she came to them. She had to let go of the past in order to fully embrace
her future. I vastly enjoyed this part of the story! Seeing her stand up to people who claim to have her best interests at heart (but are not listening to her when she tells them that this is what she wants) inspired a feel-good feeling that lasted throughout the rest of the novel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Carter was possibly a
little too on the perfect side, but again this is something you see a lot so I’m
willing to overlook it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading
Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author.
Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no
payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation
to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may
not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or
readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade
Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and
Testimonials in Advertising*<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Style</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: The one thing that bugged me the most with this
style was the persistent use of “drug”. The past tense of drag is dragged, not
drug. Drag is not an irregular verb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">There was another one
of my pet hates in here. <i>“I’d never of
believed it otherwise.” </i>In this case, the author is aware of how to use the
past tense of the conditional as she used it correctly in other places, but it
still really, really annoys me whenever I see “of” used instead of “have”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">There was some
incorrect word use, such as: <i>“The waiting
room of the ER had been overtaken by their friends and family.”</i> Taken over,
not overtaken.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">And there was some
clunky phrasing, such as: <i>“Their whole
table let out a collective breath”. </i>I get what the author is trying to say
here, but it’s still clunky.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Other than this, once
I’d settled into the style, I enjoyed it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<u><span lang="EN-GB">Final verdict</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: The story was a light, easy read that turned out to
be enjoyable despite my initial wariness. I would have preferred more of a
focus on external threats, though. <b><i><u>3 stars</u></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB">Extra notes: Both bad language and sex are present.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b>Read an excerpt:</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Sometimes,” he whispered, “there’s a
bigger plan out there and we don’t have the answers to it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<br /></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Sure feels like that, huh? It’s kinda
scary, don’t you think?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Why’s that?” He stroked her back.
“You’re not scared of me, are you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“No, no, not at all. It’s <i>this</i>. I
mean, twelve hours ago life was very different. I was missing home and my
family and I wasn’t ready to be gone for four months.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">She couldn’t help the sickening feeling
she just had. James. Ugh. She’d thrown the equivalent of a temper tantrum
before they’d left town. She had just gotten home from one contract job to find
out that two days later she had to leave for another. And this was a long one.
When he found out she not only wasn’t mad anymore, but that she was excited
about being here—God, he’d never let her live it down. Then he’d lecture her on
men. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">She had that one memorized, probably
because she’d heard it regularly since she was fourteen years old. She only
mimicked it verbatim when his back was turned. She loved the man with all her
heart, but she had to admit she was a teensy bit worried about how he’d take
the news of Carter. Well, more than a teensy bit. She was more like scared to
death for Carter’s safety. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep the smile
under control. She didn’t want to scare the man off by explaining what was
going through her mind at that moment, especially since he’d stuck out the
panic attack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“But now?” he asked in his low, sexy
voice, hugging her to him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">He continued to rub her back and rested
his cheek on the top of her head. He didn’t know it, but his voice was such a
comfort to her. When he lowered it like that, it could almost slip her into a
peaceful trance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“But now, I want time to stand still.”
She pulled in a breath of his cologne, his scent like a magnet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Me too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“We’re moving really fast, Carter.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">She knew it was one kiss, a hell of a
kiss, but<i>—one</i> kiss. But combined with other comments he’d slipped in
here and there? She knew what he meant when he said she was <i>the one</i>. He
was talking about something much bigger than just a weekend fling. She wouldn’t
have done that anyway, but he was making <i>this </i>into <i>more</i>. Way
more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">Plus, if she had to be honest, he
deserved points. Most men would have run like their ass was on fire when they
saw her in a heap of tears on the floor. He hadn’t. He’d been sweet, nurturing,
and if she wasn’t mistaken, scared to death. He also hadn’t pushed her. He hadn’t
made her feel bad when she denied his earlier kiss, he hadn’t pushed her to
talk when she wasn’t ready, and he wasn’t pushing for more right now. He seemed
happy to go at the pace she was setting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<br /></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Fast is relative. When its right, you
don’t measure it, and we aren’t teenagers.” He laughed lightly. </span><span style="background-color: white;">“You can’t even
consider us </span><i style="background-color: white;">young adults</i><span style="background-color: white;"> anymore, Gorgeous. And look at the thousands of
people who go to bed together the first night they meet or have one night
stands.”</span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“That’s not me,” she said softly, then
shut her eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“I know, baby.” He had figured out that
she was only confident and out-spoken around their big group. When he was alone
with her, she was quiet, sweet, and vulnerable. He grinned to himself,
completely in love with both sides of her already, but also proud that she
trusted him. Seeing first-hand how fast she could throw a wall up against men
that wanted to be with her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Carter, I have never really had a
boyfriend before.” She took a deep breath at her admission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Never? I find that hard to believe.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“No. There was never anyone worth the
effort of a long distance relationship. We grew up on the road. Hell, I’m still
on the road a lot. You live the same way, you know what it’s like. So why
bother? I have been on a few dates over the last few years, but just a date and
usually just once. It doesn’t take long to figure out that they’re all just the
same. But here…tonight…with you? I’ve been acting like a ditzy, flirty girl.
I’ve been hanging on you all night. Uh…your friends are going to think I’m
easy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“I knew you were the kind of girl to
worry about that.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“I do. Look, it started a fight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“There was nothing you did that started
that fight. I promise you, Molly. That was all on Martins. He’s a jackass.
Don’t you dare feel guilty over that. Please? And as for you hanging on me, you
weren’t. But I’ll admit, I like it. I like having your hand in mine, my arm
around you. I love your head on my shoulder. I could tell you were able to
relax around me. If you consider all that hanging on me, I’ll take it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“That’s a <i>man</i> answer.” She softly
chuckled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">With her still in his arms, he whispered
in her ear in an even lower voice, one with an edge to it, “I am a man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<br /></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">Her stomach did another flip flop, but
then her mind caught up and her heart dropped. <i>Like you need to remind me?</i>
She looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. “Yeah, and I’m sure you’ve got
women throwing themselves at you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Not really.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“I don’t believe that for a minute.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“I don’t.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Carter, you are incredibly good looking
and you have killer eyes. So no, I don’t believe you.” A cocky, slow grin
danced across his face. “Oh, don’t you look at me like that,” she teased. “You
know you’re absolutely amazing, don’t play innocent with me.” His hands slid
down to her butt, pulling her as close as he possible could.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Oh yeah?” He raised his eyebrows up at
her a couple of times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Yeah.” Her eyes were as wide as saucers,
but she wasn’t minding that his hands were on her, and she was loving the
crooked grin on his face. It made him appear almost boyish when just seconds
before he was—almost—hungry. Boyish she could handle. Hungry scared the shit
out of her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“So…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“So?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Am I worth a long distance
relationship?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">Her heart went from zero to sixty from
the excitement and the fact he really did like her. Karen had always told her
there would be someone. She felt her insides go gooey and her cheeks get warm. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">Feeling a little braver, she said,
“Depends.” She grinned up at him, getting a small thrill off the control. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">He squeezed her butt. It was a total possessive
move on his part and she knew it. “Oh yeah? On what?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“On how long it takes you to kiss me
again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“That I can do, Gorgeous.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">She slid her arms up to his neck and
smiled at him. Then she bit her bottom lip. He smiled his slow, sexy grin that
kept driving her insane. There went the control, back to Carter—she had no
power against that smile. “What? You’re staring.” She giggled nervously. She
gave herself a mental slap upside the head for sounding like a goofy teenage
girl.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">He smiled down at her and she melted all
over again. “I’m just…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“Just making me nervous,” she finished
for him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“I just can’t get over the fact that I
get to be the man holding you. I get to be the man to kiss you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“I was thinking that I’m the lucky one.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<br /></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">He leaned down to kiss her and she slid
one palm to his cheek. With her other hand, she threaded her fingers through
the back of his hair just as she parted her lips to kiss him. When he pulled
her even closer to him, she sighed. The move was intentional. He needed her to
know how much he wanted her—to feel how badly he wanted her. A part of him
needed her to know how hard he was struggling to keep himself under control, to
silently prove to her she was safe with him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">He broke the kiss and pulled her tight to
him, the man in him wishing she wouldn’t object to going back to his motorhome.
But he knew she wasn’t ready for that. He drew back. “Oh my God.” He breathed
heavily, just standing there holding her, willing himself to behave. Carter
finally caught his breath and pulled away a few inches to look at her before he
leaned his forehead to hers. “Oh girl, what you do to me.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">She looked up at him and graced him with
the sweetest smile he had ever seen. “I don’t want to let you go,” she
whispered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">“So…” he replied just as quietly, “Don’t.
Tell me I’m worth it, that you’ll do long distance. Please.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US">She reached up to kiss him gently.
“You’re worth everything.”</span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<b>The author:</b></div>
<div class="ChapterBody">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mET2LJPDj1Y/UBO_vctdJ1I/AAAAAAAAAz4/c_1rvJuj4G0/s1600/author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mET2LJPDj1Y/UBO_vctdJ1I/AAAAAAAAAz4/c_1rvJuj4G0/s1600/author.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
Amy Gregory leads an incredibly active lifestyle in Kansas City with her husband and their three fantastic kids who keep them running in three very different directions. When she’s not rushing her oldest daughter to tumbling, her youngest daughter to music lessons, or sitting track-side watching her son practice motocross, she’s taking the few minutes in between to scribble the next pages in her Racing to Love series. <br />
<br />
When asked, “When do you have time to write?” Amy Gregory giggles. “In bits and pieces,” she says. <br />
<br />
Amy is known for her snarky, off the cuff sense of humor, which you’ll find shining through in the characters she’s created. Her debut novel, Racing to Love, Carter’s Treasure, is set for release June 7, 2012. <br />
<br />
I’ve spent my whole life trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and now I’ve finally found it. – Amy Gregory <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/ssp/amygregory/">Publisher Author Page</a> <br />
<a href="http://www.amygregory548.blogspot.com/">Blog</a> <br />
Twitter - @AmyGregory548<br />
<br />
<div class="ChapterBody">
<b><br /></b></div>
<br />Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-88925410763354744102012-07-26T09:00:00.000+02:002012-07-29T21:35:23.102+02:00Get A Taste: Infinity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6xgVdtmqLU/Tx3STrY0BZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/SSUCq8jtnx4/s1600/Get+A+Taste+meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H6xgVdtmqLU/Tx3STrY0BZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/SSUCq8jtnx4/s1600/Get+A+Taste+meme.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="line-height: 16px;">Tara of <a href="http://basicallybooks1994.blogspot.com/" style="color: #9900ff; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Basically Books</a> and I often read very different books but sometimes find interesting new books to potentially add to the ever-growing monsters that our TBR piles have morphed into. However, we know that we do not have 100% the same taste and we wanted another way of getting a look at these books...</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Do you ever feel like getting a bit of a taster for a book you’ve been thinking of reading but aren’t fully sold on yet? Do you feel like sharing a taster for your current read with the world? Well, here’s your chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Each week the random number generator will pick a number between 1 and 100 for books with pages or 1 and 25% for ebooks. We figured that these numbers would keep us out of spoiler territory. Open your book to the specified place and pick a paragraph. Share it with the world!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">The numbers for this week are:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">Page 79 for books</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">3% for ebooks</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;">My book:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9962031-infinity" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xcnrR5MLA0w/UBWOqHnvqwI/AAAAAAAAA1A/Da74PkbfXOk/s320/Infinity.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
</div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><br /></i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>You know, Bubba, I need to pay you to work here. </i>'Cause if women like that came by often, even if they were total head cases, he definitely wanted a job. Forget Liza and her store that was usually frequented by little girls and their moms. He wanted to work in Hot Woman Valhalla until he died of testosterone poisoning.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Letting out a low whistle of appreciation, he pulled the stakes off the counter and wondered who or what had bled on them. With Bubba's friends, there was no telling.</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I read this book without having read any of the Dark Hunter books. I feel like I missed out on quite a lot all the time, but despite this I enjoyed the story! Review should be up some time next week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Do you want to join in too? Here’s how:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 1: Copy and paste the Get A Taste image.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 2: Copy and paste our intro or write your own but it must link back to both of our blogs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 3: Find the designated page for the week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Step 4: Type out a paragraph or so from your book.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Step 5: <o:p></o:p></span>Post it and share it!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We would appreciate it if you'd leave a comment letting us know where we can find your post. We'll be sure to pop on by and leave a comment!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; line-height: 19px;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks and have fun!</span></span></div>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-2073825899039795052012-07-25T09:00:00.000+02:002012-07-25T09:00:00.989+02:00Blog Tour: Guest Post by Laxmi Hariharan - The Inspiration Games<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N49yTyRnR9g/UA76TR6tFOI/AAAAAAAAAyI/xursEhPuVaU/s1600/banner+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="82" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-N49yTyRnR9g/UA76TR6tFOI/AAAAAAAAAyI/xursEhPuVaU/s320/banner+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b><u>The Inspiration Games by <span style="background-color: white;">Laxmi Hariharan</span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">“It was India which invented the bow & arrow” my Dad blustered over
the phone from </span><span lang="EN-GB">Bombay<span style="background: white;">, “remember Arjuna’s skill at archery? How he could
concentrate till he saw nothing else but the target and shoot it with unerring
precision time after time….” He had just returned from seeing the Hunger
Games at his local multiplex, when my weekly Sunday phone call had sparked off
this conversation; with him insisting that the cross-bow was an Indian
invention. “Uh! Dad,” I protested,
“not everything in science fiction comes from Indian mythology….” I was, as
usual, embarrassed by his well known theme of India shining and claiming
ownership of emerging trends. Yet his comment gave me pause for thought. I
began to wonder if he had a point?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0QOxEAj9I4/UA76kiFepJI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/WDW8-8hDsmo/s1600/Lord+Rama+Bow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s0QOxEAj9I4/UA76kiFepJI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/WDW8-8hDsmo/s1600/Lord+Rama+Bow.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lord Rama with his bow from centuries ago!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wutFBnvVcIQ/UA76l_fUyxI/AAAAAAAAAyY/BhTvvEa7xFM/s1600/hungergameskatniss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wutFBnvVcIQ/UA76l_fUyxI/AAAAAAAAAyY/BhTvvEa7xFM/s1600/hungergameskatniss.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Katniss in The Hunger
Games</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Cut to a few years back, when, on one of my annual trips to Bombay, the
extended family had trooped off en masse to see Avatar in 3D at the brand
new </span><span lang="EN-GB">IMAX
theatre<span style="background: white;"> in Bombay. I sat next to my father
enjoying his excitement as he leaned forward to perch precariously close to the
edge of the seat, fascinated by the incredible images flashing across the
cinema screen.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OcuHDSIGGJk/UA76mzbsdZI/AAAAAAAAAyg/CUUXvt8WR-M/s1600/avatar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OcuHDSIGGJk/UA76mzbsdZI/AAAAAAAAAyg/CUUXvt8WR-M/s1600/avatar.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Avatar inspired by Indian mythology? Who would have thought!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">And as the scene with the </span><span lang="EN-GB">Tree of Souls<span style="background: white;"> which has a neural
link to the Na’vi uniting them all as one, unfolded, he gasped in surprise
shaking his head; explaining to me later that Ayurveda the Indian system
of </span>traditional medicine<span style="background: white;"> had a
very similar concept of unity. That, all living creatures are linked to
this planet and are one with Earth. The concept of blue people itself was
familiar as many Indian Gods are depicted in similar fashion.</span> <span style="background: white;">Flying chariots, Gods teleporting at will across
dimensions, powerful weapons of war that could destroy entire armies, revolving
discs & guided swords spewing fiery sparks which would return to their
owners after hitting its target, illusions which could frighten without
hurting, and the massive bow which only Rama could string to win the heart of
the beautiful Sita… Hmmm! I had seen these scenes countless times over the
years.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dqcLX3papl0/UA76s3QjaOI/AAAAAAAAAy4/_5ZuEcm1PGg/s1600/Tiina+inspired+by+Goddess+Parvati.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dqcLX3papl0/UA76s3QjaOI/AAAAAAAAAy4/_5ZuEcm1PGg/s1600/Tiina+inspired+by+Goddess+Parvati.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Tiina inspired by Goddess Uma (<i>The Destiny of Shaitan</i>)</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Amar Chitra Katha</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> (Indian comic books) took over where my
grandmother left off, yet what chance did a teenager’s raging hormones stand
against tight bodysuits, plunging necklines, fanatical crime fighting and
passionate love stories. With the first </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Superman</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> movie I was in love with caped crusaders – </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Spiderman, Legion of Superheroes</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> (my personal
favourite) </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Green
Lantern, Wonder Woman </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">not to mention </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Tarzan</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> &</span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Phantom </span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">and much later </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Conan the Barbarian</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> – I lived happily with them for a very
long time. And then I stumbled across the gaming world which is proud to borrow
from Indian mythology. Take for example </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Asura’s Wrath</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> an </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">action<span style="background: white;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game" title="Video game"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">video game</span></a> released
February 2012. According to the </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">game’s producer Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, “Asura’s Wrath takes elements
from </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">Hindu
mythology<span style="background: white;"> and blends them with </span>science
fiction<span style="background: white;">. In the game, Asura is a </span>demigod<span style="background: white;"> fighting to reclaim his daughter from the
deities who kidnapped her and banished him from earth.”</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Or for that matter </span><i><span lang="EN-GB">Xena the Warrior Princess’</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"> trademark chakram which looks and acts
very similar to the famed sudarshan chakra (Lord Vishnu’s deadly weapon of
choice – a golden discus which cuts through the target and returns to owner.)</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tDhVzLlbIvA/UA76pAGJQcI/AAAAAAAAAyo/GibsUwEo3Aw/s1600/Xena+Chakra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tDhVzLlbIvA/UA76pAGJQcI/AAAAAAAAAyo/GibsUwEo3Aw/s200/Xena+Chakra.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Xena's Chakra</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">VS.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iq2UUwadH4E/UA76rEJm__I/AAAAAAAAAyw/XIhr8puG3Y8/s1600/Lord+Vishnu+Chakra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Iq2UUwadH4E/UA76rEJm__I/AAAAAAAAAyw/XIhr8puG3Y8/s1600/Lord+Vishnu+Chakra.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Lord Vishnu's Chakra</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Over the years I realised that Hollywood and the West have looked to
Indian mythology for inspiration. But time has come full circle, with a brave
new breed of Indian fantasy writers seeking to carry on the tradition of the
ancient epics. Check out the brilliant </span><span lang="EN-GB">Ramayana 3392 AD<span style="background: white;"> from New York based Liquid comics and the </span>seductive
Devi<span style="background: white;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;">Do you have more examples of western science fiction drawing from Indian
mythology? Do let me know.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; padding: 0cm;"><b>The author:</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OTJ6KQhjGPk/UA76uaphtNI/AAAAAAAAAzA/UxKC-FIDwjs/s1600/Laxmi+Hariharan+Author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OTJ6KQhjGPk/UA76uaphtNI/AAAAAAAAAzA/UxKC-FIDwjs/s320/Laxmi+Hariharan+Author.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">Laxmi Hariharan
was born in India. She lived in Singapore and Hong Kong and is now based in
London. She is inspired by Indian mythology. When not writing, this
chai-swigging, technophile enjoys long walks in the woods and growing eye
catching flowers. Her debut novel <i>The
Destiny of Shaitan</i> is available on Amazon </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://tiny.cc/szqsew"><span style="background: white;">http://tiny.cc/szqsew</span></a>.
<span style="background: white;">Reach Laxmi here:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white;">Facebook: </span><span lang="EN-GB"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/laxmihariharanauthor">https://www.facebook.com/laxmihariharanauthor</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;">Twitter: </span><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/laxmi." style="background-color: white;">@laxmi</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;">Pinterest: </span><a href="http://pinterest.com/laxmihariharan/" style="background-color: white;">http://pinterest.com/laxmihariharan/</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white;">Website:</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.laxmihariharan.com/"><span lang="NL">http://www.laxmihariharan.com/</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSTK5P-f82k/UA76vs32wrI/AAAAAAAAAzI/lfsrvbj616M/s1600/Bookcover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vSTK5P-f82k/UA76vs32wrI/AAAAAAAAAzI/lfsrvbj616M/s320/Bookcover.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Buy the Book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Shaitan-Chronicle-Three-ebook/dp/B007M2IBH8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343159461&sr=8-1&keywords=the+destiny+of+shaitan">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Destiny-Shaitan-Chronicle-Three-ebook/dp/B007M2IBH8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343159457&sr=8-1">Amazon UK</a></b></div>
<br />Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154965116248175030.post-30909053518994723132012-07-24T11:27:00.001+02:002012-07-24T11:27:40.554+02:00Blog Tour: Circe by Jessica Penot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s1600/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uIHarm8RLL0/T6QW0FYHsfI/AAAAAAAAAmQ/oQQxbE0QNTE/s400/IOTours-fantasy-1-1-3-1+small.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<center><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13079104-circe" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img height="320" src="http://i43.tower.com/images/mm120994832/circe-jessica-penot-paperback-cover-art.jpg" width="206" /></span></a></center><center><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></center><center><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Buy the book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Circe-ebook/dp/B0068QDD9U/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1343119507&sr=8-2">Amazon US</a> ; <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Circe-ebook/dp/B0068QDD9U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343121918&sr=8-1">Amazon UK</a> ; <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/circe-jessica-penot/1109453640?ean=9781897562895">Barnes & Noble</a></span></b></center><center><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></center><center style="text-align: left;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Information</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Title:
Circe<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Author:
Jessica Penot<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-GB">Publisher:
</span><span style="background-color: white;">Lachesis Publishing</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="FR"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Target
Audience: Adult<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="FR"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Genre:
(Psychological) thriller<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Length:
209 pages<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Story</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-color: white;">When Dr. David Black
takes an internship at a very old psychiatric hospital back home in Alabama, he
vows two things—that he will be a better husband to his beautiful and loving
wife Pria, and that he will stop cheating on her.</span><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Then his enigmatic supervisor Dr. Cassie Allen,
a self-proclaimed witch with ties to the underworld, begins to draw him into her
darkness. David finds it hard to resist her wicked sensuality, but even harder
to resist her evil pull.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">As strange and violent deaths pile up left and
right, David realizes that Cassie’s psychotic behavior is connected to the
mysterious hospital itself. There a demonic force threatens to destroy
everything that David holds dear—his wife, his family, even his very sanity.</span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Thoughts
and impressions</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">:
First off, in my copy Doctor David Black is called Eric Black. As I received
the book as a gift from Amazon, I’m not sure what happened there. It’s not that
much of a big deal, but worth pointing out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This
book is one that lies firmly outside of my reading comfort zone. It’s very rare
that I’ll read anything even resembling a psychological thriller, though I do
enjoy watching movies of the same genre. The whole concept of the haunted
asylum drew me to it. Haunted buildings, especially ones where horrors were
committed by humans against other humans in the past, is a fascination that I
think many people share. I know that I personally am fascinated by such things.
So after some initial internal debate over whether I wanted to attach myself to
an obligation to read something to far from my comfort zone, I finally caved in
and couldn’t resist the temptation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I got
off to a bit of a rocky start with the story. The style at that point is very
much tell rather than show (it does become more show later on after the
foundations are laid) and the character, Eric, is one who repulsed me. But
then, I’m fairly sure that he’s supposed to repulse the reader. At several
points throughout the story he is described as being a ‘monster’, and he
certainly is! Not in the whole “I go around killing people muahahah” sense, but
in the sense that he does not seem to be capable of actually feeling. His thoughts
and actions, despicable though many of them are, hold no real meaning for me,
and thus entail no real consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As he
starts to come undone when things are spiralling out of his control, he takes
refuge in the wife to whom he is incapable of being faithful. He keeps telling
himself that he’s changed, that he just wants her now… but the reader’s been
spoon-fed enough of this same sort of line that they know to be wary of his
declarations. It’s just fear pushing him, not real emotional ties. Eventually
his status as a monster is completely solidified in a way that I hadn’t been
expecting, but one that gives the story, and this C.R.C. (Circe) mental
hospital quite the twist!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
asylum was very well portrayed. It was only when Eric started his internship
here and we were introduced to the variety of characters who reside there that
I was finally able to stop keeping the story at arm’s length. I adored meeting
the mentally handicapped individuals and how their various handicaps were
manifested. I’m not going to go into any of these, though, as that would spoil
the discovery for anyone who does choose to read this story.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
asylum itself wasn’t really so much creepy in the way that I’ve seen other
creepy buildings portrayed in literature, but the entity that belongs to the
grounds was certainly creepy enough to make up for it. I enjoyed the little
titbits into the history of the asylum and would have liked to have had more
random facts woven into the story, but I guess that’s what non-fiction books
are for.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At the
end of the day, even though I really didn’t like the character, I was able to
get past this thanks to the compelling tale that is presented. It’s very rare
that I can overlook such bad character traits so the author deserves points for
that! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Style</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: As the story is written in the
first person, it did occasionally feel like Eric was telling the reader about
his story rather than narrating events as they occurred.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u><span lang="EN-GB">Final
verdict</span></u><span lang="EN-GB">: Not
something that I would usually pick up but something that I’m glad I took the
time to read! <b><i><u>4 stars</u></i></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<i><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Extra notes: Both sex and bad language are present.</span></span></i></div>
</center>Reahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10522508029694843469noreply@blogger.com0