Novels On The Run

BOOK REVIEW - PREDESTINED by ABBI GLINES - EXISTENCE TRILOGY # 2 - PARANORMAL ROMANCE

2013-06-19T21:45:00.001+10:00

By: Abbi Glines
Published By: Abbi Glines
Released: Available Now
Details: Kindle, 213 Pages

RATING : 5 DANKMAR STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

You would think after helping save her boyfriend from an eternity in Hell that things would go back to normal. Well, as normal as life can be when you can see souls and your boyfriend is Death. But for Pagan Moore, things are just getting weirder.

The high school quarterback and reigning heartthrob, Leif Montgomery, is missing. While the town is in a frenzy of worry, Pagan is a nervous wreck for other reasons. Apparently good ‘ol Leif isn’t your average teenage boy. He isn’t even human. According to Death, Leif doesn’t have a soul. The quarterback may have skipped town but he’s still showing up in Pagan’s dreams... uninvited.

Dank has known from the beginning Leif wasn’t human. But he hadn’t worried about a simple soulless creature. Now, he realizes he made a grave mistake. Pagan’s soul has been marked since birth as a restitution, to a spirit so dark not even Death walks near it. Dank knows saving Pagan’s soul won’t be easy but Pagan is his. And he’s already proven he’ll defy Heaven to keep her. If Hell wants a piece of him too, then bring it on.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Existence ended with my mouth gaping open.

I was like WT!!

Didn’t see that one coming.

Good one Abbi!

Predestined is told from Pagan and Dank’s pov’s . I loved listening to Dank and his self discovery of emotions. I mean, he is Death. Death takes souls. He doesn’t feel. He doesn’t fall in love. He has a job to do.

Period.

Until Pagan.

Before Pagan, I hadn’t understood love. Before Pagan, taking souls had been easy. Now, I knew emotion. I knew pain and the feeling of loss and it made my purpose harder. Especially with the young ones. Even though I knew they’d get another life soon enough I understood their family’s pain as they lost someone they held dear.

I felt a wetness in my eyes and I blinked confused from the strange sensation. A small trickle of water ran down my cheek. I stared into the darkness as I held Pagan in my arms in amazement. Death had just shed a tear.

Dank just gets my heart a flutter. He is a gorgeous character who is showing us he has a heart. He just doesn't physically have one.

I melt.

“Saved by the best friend,” Dank murmured pressing one last kiss to my neck before reaching for my backpack and opening his car door. He stepped out into the morning sunlight looking like a greek god. The jeans that hung perfectly from his hips cupped his butt deliciously. And Dank could rock a fitted t-shirt and did so on a daily basis. Today the t-shirt showing off his impressive chest was a dark blue. His black boots never changed but I liked them. They were all kinds of sexy. He looked like a bad ass even with my red backpack thrown over his left shoulder.

Leif has gone AWOL , the people that were in his life are forgetting him. But Leif seems to be appearing in Pagan’s dreams as memories.

Leif is messing with the one person that nobody will mess with on Dank’s watch.

Dank has Gee on security detail while he is serving the Creator and doing his job from all around the world. But he can’t be there to watch Pagan, to protect her from restitution from the evil Voodoo Lord .

“Listen to me Pagan, you have no reason to worry. I’ve got this. Remember what I told you. What Death protects can’t be harmed and baby,” the pad of his thumb caressed my cheek, “you’re the only thing I protect.”

“And I promise you Pagan that not one of those things is a match for me. So stop worrying. I’m Death, baby. Remember that.”

I do kinda love Ghede. He is a cracker of a character. I love his Cajun dialect. When reading it adds so much more to the story, it really puts me in Ghede’s shoes. I really loved the scenes with Ghede showing us why he is the lord of badass. Very colorful and ..well... bad. He plays the part well.

Leaning back with a sinister grin on his face was a tall figure in a black top hat, a pair of dark sunglasses and two cigarettes hanging from his mouth.

“You don like de rum do ya gurl,” Ghede stated for the rest of the table to hear.

Gee is an awesome sub character. Just love her wit and she too has fallen for Pagan’s charms. She is a gal you want on your side.

The door creaked and I lifted my eyes to see Gee stick her head back inside. “It’s called Valentine’s Day, you moron,” she announced. “If you’re going to date a human, Dankmar, you need to remember their holidays.” Gee gave me an exasperated look before closing the door once more.

“This was bound to happen sooner or later. You can’t love Death, Pagan , and not accept him . It’s what he was created for. He’s not just some sexy guy who can sing and play the guitar.”

I do kinda feel for Leif as he has sat back and watched Pagan from afar, thinking he had her in the bag. He does love her. It is just unfortunate he is born with no soul and his folks are not from good stock.

“You know Pagan , fear can turn to love.”

“Because those were the times I fell a little more in love with you.”

“Leif is the product of one of the strongest evil spirits there is. The Voodoo lord of the dead, Ghede, is powerful because of the chants and prayers he receives from humans. Leif is his creation. His child. Leif is the prince of the dead within the Voodoo religion.”

His mother was a deranged voodoo sex goddess. Great.

Dank is doing double time trying to keep up with his duties and keep Pagan from Leif and his father. Not an easy task.

“Leif is what he must be. He was created Pagan. He did his job. He isn’t sweet. He has no soul.”

I leaned forward and kissed his jaw then whispered, “Easy, big guy. We both know who owns my soul.”

“That’s right,” Dank replied then nipped at my ear, “and don’t you forget it.”

Dank will find a solution, he just has to find it.

“I’m going to find a way to fix this. Evil has a claim on your soul. Deities don’t associate with voodoo spirits. They aren’t all powerful but they can use their power over humans to cause pain. A restitution must be made in order to send them away from you. I can protect you but the spirit after you is the most powerful voodoo spirit out there. It won’t go away without a fight.”

And....Pagan is out to save her loved ones from restitution, making Dank's job a little harder.

“Deep breaths, Peggy Ann. Take deep breaths. Don’t get his majesty over here raining down hell on all who get in his path because his girl is scared shitless.”

If that is not enough...... then we get a sniffles moment where Abbi rips our hearts out and then for good measure she throws another into the equation.

After all when a guy reads

She’s mine. That’s your one and only warning.

Dank Walker

He knows if he isn’t ready for a fight he can’t win then he’d better back the fuck off.

Dank is a most beautiful YA book boyfriend and Abbi will mess with your head with Leif. Ghede is a superb villain and Gee is the super kickass sidekick to our hero. Pagan will want to sacrifice herself and Dank won't be having none of that.

I must keep reading this series to find out what Death moonlighting as a sexy guitar band member and a girl that is in high demand from the opposite sex ....well....I gotta know what happens. It is as simple as that. Nobody wants a father-in-law like Ghede, but sure sounds like he knows how to throw a party.

Michelle

BOOK BLITZ - EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY - ABERRANT by RUTH SILVER - YA DYSTOPIAN

2013-06-19T15:26:00.000+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have a Book Blitz for ABERRANT by RUTH SILVER , a YA Dystopian. There are also some excerpts and an interview to have a read of. Throw this one on to your TBR pile. I love the cover.

Enter the giveaway. Good luck!

Michelle

Aberrant by Ruth Silver

Publication date: April 28th 2013 (paperback)

Genre: YA Dystopian

Synopsis:

In the future Dystopian society of Cabal, the government instills equality for all and offers its citizens the perfect system. There is food, shelter and jobs for everyone. The one requirement is to follow the rules without question, including the government's match in marriage and "The Day of the Chosen", a lottery that randomly selects families to conceive children as natural means hasn't existed in generations. Following her eighteenth birthday, Olivia Parker accepts her requirement to marry her childhood best friend, Joshua Warren, and is eager to start her work assignment and new life when it all comes abruptly to an end as she's arrested and thrown in prison. The only crime committed, her existence. Olivia is unlike the rest of the world born not from "The Day of the Chosen." The truth haunts the government and puts her life in grave danger as one simple fact would destroy the perfect system.

With Joshua's help, Olivia breaks free of prison and is forced on the run. Together they set out to find the promised rebel town in search of a new home and new life together. Their situation seems less than promising as they reach the town of Haven. New rules and customs must be adhered to in order to stay. Leaving would mean most certain death in the large expanse of the Gravelands. Time is running out as the government mounts an attack to destroy Olivia and bury her secret with her. Thrown into a world unlike their own, they must quickly adapt to survive.

INTERVIEW GUEST POST:

What was the hardest part of writing Aberrant?

The hardest part was writing the characters suffering. I know that they will get through the pain - physical or emotional - and it will make them stronger, but it's still hard to torture your favorite character.

Who was your favorite character to write in Aberrant?I had the most fun with writing Olivia. She's full of so many mixed emotions and traits that we're always learning something about who she is. She's not complacent. She has a mind of her own and likes to explore the world around her. She's curious by nature and it has the tendency to get her into trouble. She's complex, which makes her three-dimensional, but also incredibly caring and supportive of those she loves.

Why did you decide on making Aberrant into a series?
I felt like I had a huge story to tell. Something that would span across hundreds of thousands of words. That may not seem like a lot but when sending your novel to agents and publishers, there's a certain word count they're looking for in new authors and in young adult/new adult titles. The only way to properly tell the story, was to turn it into a trilogy.

Do you have the second and third book planned already?
Without getting into any specifics, yes! The next book, Moirai, will be available sometime in 2014. The first draft was finished last December but with the edits and some significant changes in Aberrant, I need to make the story flow a little smoother.

Can you tell us about one of these changes in Aberrant? What was added to the story?

Down to the final edits, I was adding details and shaping each character just a little bit more. I wanted the world that they're in and the cities to feel real. I wanted you to experience it, just as Olivia has for the first time. The very end of the Aberrant, I added a glimpse at what we can expect in the second novel. That was one of the final edits that was added, among many others.

EXCERPT

Joshua and I both headed out of the council hall with Jacqueline leading the way. The line of young men had barely dwindled. I avoided their stare, their curiosity as they slowly proceeded forward, giving the attendant their name. I wondered how they knew about me and more importantly what they knew. Jacqueline walked a few feet ahead of us, giving us privacy to talk. I silently thanked her for still respecting us and our wishes. She was probably the only one in Haven who liked us. I didn’t know if I should be relieved or angered by the recent news. I could feel the whispers, like tingles against bare skin as we walked further from council hall and rounded the corner. I was grateful to be out of sight from all those curious stares. "I guess we should consider ourselves lucky," I remarked. I didn't feel lucky. I tried to sound upbeat, but everything was quickly falling apart around us.

Joshua scoffed at the idea. "Lucky? I wouldn't go that far," he emphasized. "This is how it starts. Eventually, they'll make it a crime for us to see one another." He sounded disgusted.

"They sort of already are," I remarked, trying to understand the council's decision. "I think they just want to make sure I'm protected." Though I didn't quite understand how setting me up to meet multiple bachelors was any form of protection. It seemed as if they only wanted to keep Joshua away from me. The one person I could trust, implicitly. I knew the rules were different because I was different. They didn’t seem particularly bothered by Joshua having a girl in his room. It didn’t seem fair.

"Seems like they don't really care what we think at all," Joshua retorted as we headed into our building. "Were you okay last night? I worried when Landon escorted you out of the dormitory."

I walked slowly up the stairs, Jacqueline just a few feet ahead of us. "Aside from being locked in a room with no windows." I sighed. "At least they're giving me freedom from the tech center and a real bed. I should be grateful," I mocked. I didn't feel grateful, but I knew his mother at least tried to make it easier for me. As soon as we crested the top stair, I froze in place. The building shook with an alarming intensity as the first drone flew low overhead. The downstairs chandelier swayed and I held onto Joshua's arm and my eyes widened in terror. "What do you think is going on?" I asked watching the movement grow stronger as vibrations echoed through the dormitory. A nearby painting affixed to the wall crashed to the floor, the glass breaking. I could feel the ground quake beneath my feet as Joshua grabbed my hand, refusing to let go.

"We're being attacked." It wasn't a question. Together, we jogged briskly down the hall toward our rooms. I didn't know how much time we had. All I knew was the government was here, and they were searching for me!

EXCERPT

Joshua came into my room, ignoring all rules as he helped push the dresser further from the wall, knocking it to the floor allowing me more than enough room to grab the journal and go. I tossed it inside the pack and Joshua put the map inside before we stepped out of my bedroom. I glanced down the hall, not sure what I expected to see. To the right the dormitory had been hit, and a roar of smoke and fire filled the confined space. Jacqueline was gone. Hand-in-hand we ran in the opposite direction toward the staircase.

My eyes burned. Coughing, I refused to let go of his hand as we stepped outside. Drones weren’t the only things attacking Haven. Tanks rolled into town. A few soldiers jumped off, taking over the perimeter, guns drawn. I paused, gripping Joshua's hand as we were shrouded in smoke. Just a few feet away, a soldier lifted his weapon and unleashed fury on a group of innocent people. I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from crying out when a child no older than three hit the cement. His eyes remained open as blood seeped from his head. He didn't move. Didn't blink. It took only a moment to realize he’d died instantly. All I could do was stand there in shock.

"We have to move," I heard Joshua's voice, but it didn't register. The smoke swirled around us and gunfire erupted in every direction. He grabbed my arm. "Olivia, I need you to focus." I nodded once, trying my best to clear the cobwebs from my mind. I couldn't, though. I wanted to run out to the child and protect him, but it was too late. I was too late. They were here because of me, innocent blood on my hands. I felt the heat radiating from the dormitory and my eyes flashed back. "I need you here with me, Olive."

"I am," I insisted, knowing if I didn't focus we'd both be dead. I spotted more soldiers – their standard issue uniform and the Cabal crest on their jacket sleeve told me all I needed to know. The government had come looking for us. "Which way?" I couldn't see the exit. With the smoke enveloping us and the fear coursing through my veins, I forgot the direction we'd come from.

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17701160-aberrant

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1478348666?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1478348666&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/aberrant-ruth-silver/1115129966?ean=9781478348665&itm=1&usri=9781478348665

AUTHOR BIO

Ruth Silver is the best-selling author of Aberrant. The Young Adult/New Adult Romantic Dystopian Adventure, Aberrant is the first in a trilogy, released April 17th, 2013. Silver first began writing poetry as a teenager and reading heaps of fan fiction in her free time. She attended Northern Illinois University in 2001 and graduated with a Bachelor’s in Communication. While in college she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories. Her love of writing, led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading YA/NA novels and sharing her favorite books with other readers. She also enjoys photography, traveling and of most of all writing.

LINKS:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY TIME

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY - TRAGIC by J.A. HUSS - ROOK & RONIN # 1 - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY - 5 ROOK & RONIN WITH A SIDE ORDER OF SPENCER STARS!

2013-06-17T19:32:00.000+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I now have TRAGIC's blog tour stop with my review of this awesome book.

J.A. Huss rocked my kazbah with this one!

LOVED IT!!!

I love her book trailers, they are edgy and energetic. Makes ya wanna pick the book up!

I am so looking forward to some more Ronin and Spencer in Manic, Ronin & Rook # 2.

Michelle

Tragic by J.A. Huss

Publication date: May 20th 2013

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

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

Rook got a second chance.

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

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

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

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

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

Trailer:

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

This book was not what I was expecting. I mean what was I expecting?? I didn’t read the blurb, I went on the cover.

I love the cover.

I knew it was a contemporary, but it is a contemporary with a difference.

J.A. Huss had me entranced. This was a really awesome read. The characters and sub characters had me turning the pages. Visually I saw this story play out rather spectacularly in my head. A really great Contemporary.

Rook Walsh is Tragic. Her life has led her to foster care, then to an abusive relationship, then to a homeless shelter....... to model.

But this is not your typical Cinderella story.

This is the difference.

Elise smiles. “You’re not like the others, Rook. You’re calm and quiet, and a bit tragic, if you don’t mind me saying.”

“If ever there was a girl who is crying out that she’s TRAGIC, it’s this one. Just wait until you see her.”

Rook and Ronin are the two most likable characters. Ronin is something else. He really brings it in this story. At first you are trying to work him out, what is his game?

Ronin works for his sister Elise, and her partner the rather moody photographer, Antoine Chaput.

Describing him as an artist should really do the trick - he’s got all the stereotypical attributes like selfish, asshole, romantic, asshole, creative, asshole, temperamental, asshole. I could go on and on, but what’s the point. He’s an asshole.

Fate has Rook getting her hands on an invite to Antoine’s studio. She has no experience and nothing to lose.

“Except for the part where you got your hands on that invitation card and met us, of course. Because maybe tomorrow you’ll see this was a stroke of luck for you.”

I had favourite scenes in this book and they were mainly with the Cherry Blossom trees.

Every single cherry tree is filled with flowers, so many flowers every bough bends under the weight. It created a heaviness that transfers across the terrace and pulls me into the scenery. Ronin catches my gaze and stops for a moment. “We’re gonna take pictures of you out here tomorrow. It will be perfect, don’t you think?”

I stare at the trees a few more moments and then mutter, " They’re so beautiful I can barely stand to look at them.”

“I know the feeling.” His boyish charms are gone now as he looks down on me with a hunger I haven’t seen on a man’s face in a very long time. “and a picture of you surrounded by those blossoms will be enough to make a guy shed a tear over the perfection of it all.”

Tragic is a campaign that Antoine is the photographer for. He has chosen Rook as the model. But what has she got herself into?

Again, this is the difference.

But Elise has power in this house. Elise, no matter what Antoine says, wears the pants in their relationship because if Elise is unhappy Antoine cannot live with himself. He falls to pieces when they fight.

So we work on her for almost half an hour inside the office. We wear her down, we make promises. We will watch Rook, we promise. We won’t push her, we’ll be careful. We promise all these things if Elise will let us keep this girl.

We want her that bad.

I don’t want to do any spoilers so I will ssshhh up .

Enter Spencer Sturgis, biker, artist. He too wants Rook for the Sturgis account.

I love Spencer.

But, again, what has innocent Rook got herself in for?

I loved how Spencer explained to Rook what his campaign was about and she got an understanding of what he was advertising, if she signed on.

I must admit, I am still unsure about what actually the Tragic campaign is advertising. I totally get the photo shoot, clothes etc but what IS the Tragic campaign? I get that Rook has a bad past which gives her the look for the campaign. But what IS Tragic.

I think what I was most impressed with this story, was Ronin, I am still getting to know him , but he has a great presence in this book and Rook is a girl you are rooting for.

I smile because he just sniffed me.

“I’m just checking to see if you’re drunk, ma’am.”

I giggle a little.

“And if I wasn’t so tired, I’d check you for drugs as well. Pat you down until I found your hidden stash.”

“I’m naked, remember?”

“Awwww, come on, Rook! I’m trying not to think about that. Be good now, or I’ll break my promise and bother you all up. Make you all bothered...” His voice trails off, already giving in to the call of sleep.

A very smexi read in a different way.

Yes, this was a book that I loved...it was different!

Rook & Ronin..... they are dynamite when they are on the photo shoot...OMG! I love the way Ronin talks Rook the errrr, rookie model through her photo shoots and what he does!!!!!

“I’m glad you’re here,” I tell her honestly. I want to take her face in my hands and kiss her so bad, but I make myself behave. “I hope you understand that. I’m a flirt and I joke a lot but - “ I lose my train of thought as she starts breathing a little harder, making her chest rise and fall under the very sheer pale blue fabric that barely covers her breasts.”- but you stun me.”

“Most professionals would put that little bib thing on their clients, though. Right?”

“Only the ones who plan on getting their clients wet.”

“So... you don’t plan on getting me wet?”

He chokes down a laugh. “Be good, Gidget, or I’ll have to spank you.”

This book ends with the vibe of a to-be-continued. There is a villain of the story and I was kinda on edge the whole book ....waiting. When you are running from somebody, but you are a face of an advertising?? campaign, chances are the villain can now find you.

I am rather excited for Rook & Ronin # 2, Manic. Due August 2013. There is much more for Ronin and Rook to discover about each other and Spencer, well I am rather keen to see this biker lad again!

My only complaint , it was too short, I wanted to keep reading and reading and reading.....

Michelle

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17404203-tragic

Purchase:

-Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tragic-j-a-huss/1115333691?ean=9781936413218&itm=1&usri=9781936413218
-Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/TRAGIC-Rook-Ronin-1-ebook/dp/B00CTUWEFI

AUTHOR BIO

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

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

BLOG TOUR STOPS

GIVEAWAY TIME

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Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

BOOK COVER REVEAL - GIVEAWAY & TRAILER - MANIC by J.A. HUSS - ROOK & RONIN # 2 - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY

2013-06-17T14:05:00.000+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have the cover reveal for Manic by J.A. Huss. I am uber excited to read Manic, cause I have read Tragic and LOVED IT!

I have decided after reading Tragic - Ronin & Rook # 1 ( Blog tour this evening ) that J.A. Huss is becoming one of my fave Indie Authors.

Tragic was brilliant, loved it.

It is a NA Contemporary with a difference.

Huss's book trailers are always entertaining and Manic's trailer is enough to make those that haven't read Tragic, read it.

Climb on board.

Ronin is a smexi lad and Rook is a smart girl, but now the money is talking so who knows what she is getting herself into. All I know is Spence is very intriguing to me. Spence is the biker dude. Woot!

The book trailers kick book trailer ass. Love them!

Michelle

Manic by J.A. Huss

Series: Rook and Ronin #2

Publication date: August 1st 2013

Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Synopsis:

TRAGIC is over and Rook is ready for the future—Spencer Shrike and the STURGIS contract!

It’s three months of body art modeling! That means three months of Spencer Shrike’s paintbrush all over her body, three months in front of Antoine’s camera, and three months of twenty-four hour filming for Spencer’s Biker Channel reality show.

Wait a minute…what reality show? Maybe she should’ve read that STURGIS contract a little closer? ;)

Sure, Rook’s bank account is almost overflowing, but Ronin is angry, Clare is trying to escape rehab, Antoine is a worried mess, and Elise is just trying to hold everyone together. Her new family is about to fall apart before she even gets the chance to enjoy them.

Add in a mysterious man from her past, a road trip to the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and a final show in front of the entire world where all her goods are on display, and you’ve Manic—a new adult contemporary romance that will definitely make your summer sizzle!

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17857998-manic

Book Trailer

AUTHOR BIO

Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

GIVEAWAY TIME

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BOOK COVER REVEAL - TAKEN BY YOU by CARLIE SEXTON - THE KILLER NEXT DOOR # 2

2013-06-17T14:03:00.000+10:00

Today I have a cover reveal for TAKEN BY YOU by CARLIE SEXTON due for release 9th July 2013. Throw this one onto your TBR pile.

Woot!

Michelle

Book cover script—Taken by You
DUE FOR RELEASE
9TH JULY 2013

How tragic it is when a caged spirit finally finds its freedom and — entranced in its ecstasy — is invited by that freedom into a cloaked dance with danger.

In Book One of this three-part epic, Kate Simmons — young and alluring, and finally out of her cage of grief — attracts more than attention. Intoxicated by her newfound independence, a blithe Kate is on her way to finding out that around the corners of life, some life-changing eye-openers await. As the story continues in Book Two and she begins to churn a dangerously turbulent trail, it is Kate who now has to snap to, to react, to outrun, or become yet another tortured victim who vanishes down the path of wrong choice.

Having already roiled the risky waters of jealousy, Kate moves in with Neil while Roger — an enamored oddity — visits his son in Germany. Upon his return and finding Kate gone, Roger’s predator mind becomes unhitched, and then unleashed, on the hunt of a lifetime. But whose life?

Step by creeping step, even as Kate’s future closes in on her, she attends — obliviously — to her new life, working through the challenges of fresh relationships, losing family members both to death and to deceit, questioning the depth of love.

Every path offers a choice. Every choice offers a consequence. And every consequence summons its due. As emotions swirl across fateful days and nights, some in Kate’s life will reach out to touch happiness in warm embraces, others to sever ties in bloody traces.

The stains of passion are frequently mistaken. The question here is who will be taken?

Carlie's Facebook Page

BLOG TOUR - GIVEAWAY & EXCERPT - IN TOO DEEP by MICHELLE KEMPER BROWNLOW - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY - SAPPHIRE STAR PUBLISHING

2013-06-15T18:01:00.004+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run on our stop of the blog tour I have an excerpt from In Too Deep by Michelle Kemper Brownlow and a giveaway for you to enter.

Woot!

Michelle

In Too Deep by Michelle Kemper Brownlow

Publication date: June 6th 2013

by Sapphire Star Publishing

Genre: New Adult Romance

Gracie has just finished her freshman year of college in Memphis when she takes a job at a local pizza joint in her home town of McKenzie, Tennessee. She is the epitome of innocence when she meets Noah. Noah is unabashedly handsome, intriguingly reckless and just cocky enough to be sexy. Gracie’s instincts tell her to stay far away from him and based on the stories she hears from her co-workers he leaves broken hearts in his wake. But still, she can’t explain her fascination with him.

Noah puts aside his bad boy ways when what he thought was a summer crush has him unexpectedly falling in love. But soon after Gracie transfers to UT Knoxville to be with Noah, their unexpected love becomes riddled with anger, deceit and humiliation.

Jake, Noah’s former roommate and Gracie’s best friend, can no longer be a bystander. Gracie’s world falls out from beneath her and when she breaks she turns to Jake for strength. As Jake talks her through a decision she’s not yet strong enough to make, together they uncover a truth so ugly neither of them is prepared for its fallout. Will Jake pull her to the surface or is Gracie Jordan finally In Too Deep?

EXCERPT

The strong force of the wave pulled me under. I gasped for air just before my face disappeared below the surface. My body rolled over and over, my arms flailed, and my head pounded into the sea bed which felt like a concrete floor. The salty water stung my eyes. I forced myself to keep them open, fearing I would slip into unconsciousness from the blow I took to the head. I knew I had to hold it together long enough for the swell to pull me back up when the wave rolled. But something was pulling me deeper. I fought with all my might, kicking against the thick water swallowing me whole. I used my arms like underwater oars and sliced through the depths trying to reach what I needed most, but I was in too deep.

“Get out!” I could barely get the words out before I had to run to the bathroom and void my gut of its contents. Noah didn’t move.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and screamed, “I said, Get! Out!” I stumbled back into the room, grabbed the box of mementos I’d collected from the last year of our relationship, and dumped everything into the trashcan in the corner. Like a communal grave, there lay movie tickets, dried rose petals, a strip of photos from the boardwalk, all the beautiful letters he wrote last fall semester, an empty beer bottle, and all the rest of what was now just a reminder of the guy I thought I knew.

“Gracie, don’t…” His face fell, but he didn’t move from the edge of my bed.

“Don’t? Don’t what, Noah? Don’t break up with you? Are you kidding?” My ears burned from his admission of guilt. It hit me broadside. I wasn’t prepared for the words he had spoken just moments before.

The rush of water covering me grew cold. Icy. My body quaked. My lungs burned and begged for air. I could see light above. It glimmered and danced on the small waves my panic created. I reached for the surface. Even if I couldn’t pull myself up, maybe just feeling the sun’s warmth would stop the shivering that threatened to unravel me.

My legs gave out beneath me and I crumbled into a heap on my apartment floor. I sobbed so uncontrollably I gasped for air. I was livid. Repulsed. Crushed and torn. Noah was the love of my life, and things were just getting back to the way I longed for them to be. Back to what used to be our “normal.” Before he pledged Sigma Chi. Our relationship hadn’t been easy since I transferred to Knoxville. But our story wasn’t ready to end.

It went something like this:

Bad boy meets good girl.

First kiss.

Bad boy turns sensitive.

Love.

Good girl gives sensitive boy all of her.

Long distance.

Flowers. Love letters.

Long, sweet phone calls.

Good girl transfers to sensitive boy’s school.

Sensitive boy becomes fraternity boy.

Drunken social events.

Secrets revealed.

Fraternity boy pulls good girl under.

Good girl finds herself in too deep.

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17408300-in-too-deep?ac=1

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Too-Deep-Michelle-Kemper-Brownlow/dp/1938404602/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369835521&sr=1-1

AUTHOR BIO

Michelle Kemper Brownlow has been a storyteller her entire life. Her debut was on the high school cheerleading bus granting requests to re-tell her most embarrassing moments for a gaggle of hysterical squadmates.

Earning her Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University in Art Education and then marrying her very own “Jake,” she moved to Binghamton, NY where she taught high school. After having two children she quit work and finished her Master’s degree in Elementary Education at Binghamton University.

The Brownlow family of four moved to Michelle’s hometown of Morgantown, PA while the children were still quite young. A few years after moving, her family grew by one when they welcomed a baby into their home through the gift of adoption. The family still resides in PA, just miles from where that high school cheer bus was parked.

Michelle has been an artist for as long as she can remember, always choosing pencils and crayons over toys and puzzles. As a freelance illustrator, her simple characters play the starring roles in numerous emergent reader books published by Reading Reading Books.

“Writing is my way of making sense of the world. When I give my characters life on the pages I write, it frees up space in my mind to welcome in new stories that are begging to be told,” says Brownlow.

GIVEAWAY TIME

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Links:

Website: http://www.sapphirestarpublishing.com/michellekemperbrownlow

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6951309.Michelle_Kemper_Brownlow

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.k.brownlow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MK_Brownlow

BOOK COVER REVEAL - WICKED HOPE by TABATHA VARGO - THE WICKED TRILOGY # 2 - PARANORMAL / FANTASY ROMANCE

2013-06-15T14:29:00.003+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have a cover reveal for the lovely Tabatha Vargo's new paranormal book, WICKED HOPE.

Gorgeous cover. Check out the synopsis and excerpt to wet your whistle. Throw this on to your TBR pile.

Michelle

Title: Wicked Hope

THE WICKED TRILOGY # 2

Author: Tabatha Vargo

Release Date: Fall 2013

Genre: Paranormal / Fantasy Romance

Presented by: As You Wish Tours

SYNOPSIS:

There isn’t anything that Mage McPherson wouldn’t do for love, including steal someone’s spirit. After Adam is tragically lost to her, Mage discovers a spell that can bring him back. But things can never be that simple, and she learns the hard way that there are always consequences when it comes to magic. Adam isn’t quite the Adam she remembers and now whatever he feels, she feels...times two.

Adam Westcott knows three things. One, Mage McPherson is the love of his life. Two, thanks to Mage’s wonder spell they are now somehow physically connected. And three, there’s a part of him, right next to the heart that beats for her, that wants to kill her. The only option is to run, but it’s impossible to run away from yourself. The inner struggle within himself makes for a hard fight when yet another dark magic comes to call.

Sometimes it’s not evil that you must defeat, sometimes it’s love, and when the line between love and hate is at its thinnest, there’s no telling what can happen. But Mage won’t lose hope, even if destiny is being a witch.

EXCERPT

He’s here, just inside the electric-blue doors that mark the entrance to hell. I can sense him. The part of me that lives inside him calls to me. The connection is so strong that it takes my breath away. For a brief moment I begin to hyperventilate. Even if it wasn’t a matter of life or death, I’d still want to be here more than any other place on earth. Here, in a back alley of the city of sin.

I’m pulled towards him, so I waste no more time and push the doors open. The stench of lust and cigarette smoke invades my senses. The distinct smell of pheromones and overly sweet perfume mixes in for a very nauseating scent.

He’s knows I’m here. He can sense me the way I sense him and even though I can’t see him, I feel his eyes on me.

The loud techno music is distracting as I make my way through the crowded room. Half naked women rub themselves like horny cats against silver poles. One in particular catches my attention. She bends with the music allowing her platinum hair to fall over before she shakes it back and forth. She runs her hands up her knee high boots before throwing her head back—platinum locks thrashing around her narrow face. She looks down at me from her mini stage and mirror eyes flash with her overly seductive smile.

I turn away quickly and my eyes land on him. The moment I see him, the side of his mouth twitches into an evil smirk. Adam would never smile at me that way, and yet, there he is.

AUTHOR BIO

Tabatha's been writing since she could pick up a pencil. Her first publication was a little poem in her elementary school paper, from that point on she was hooked. When she was a teenager, she traded in her girly magazines for personalized writing notebooks.

At nineteen, she met her own personal prince charming and writing took a back burner for a while. She's now married to that prince and the mother of a beautiful seven-year-old princess/rock star. Once her daughter was born, writing came back into her life, and she finished her very first novel, Wicked Fate, in May of 2009.

She's now pursuing her English degree and she hopes to one day teach while continuing to write.

STALKER LINKS

BOOK LINKS

THE WICKED TRILOGY # 1

WICKED FATE

What if you lived in fear of yourself?

For Mage McPherson being afraid of herself is just the norm. Thanks to that fear, being a loner in a small town never bothered the mysterious Mage. Once she received her secret abilities, she figured being alone was the safest way to be. That all changes during her sophomore year at Summerville High when Adam, her equally mysterious secret crush, starts to notice her.

Afraid that she might harm Adam, Mage must learn to either control or deny herself. With Adam by her side she's more powerful than she’s ever been, but is she powerful enough to defeat her worst nightmare? She learns a hard lesson about love and magic when her destiny comes to collect.

Link Button to this URL

http://asyouwishtours.com/

BOOK BLITZ & TRAILER - FALLEN FOR YOU by CARLIE SEXTON - THE KILLER NEXTDOOR # 1 - ADULT THRILLER ROMANCE

2013-06-13T15:00:00.001+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have a Book Blitz for Fallen For You by Carlie Sexton and her book trailer. Today is the release party for Fallen For You. Below are Carlie's links.

www.facebook.com/carliesexton

www.carliesextonromance.com

http://www.facebook.com/n/?events%2F625499584144861%2F&mid=800a66cG5af42c4f322dG3d4515Gcb&bcode=1.1368828222.Abm7B1g2ajCrQDjx&n_m=carliesexton%40ymail.com

FALLEN FOR YOU

BOOK TRAILER

By: Carlie Sexton
Published By: Carlie Sexton
Released : Available Now
Details: Digital, 195 Pages

Blurb : Goodreads

If you believe your life is the sum total of your choices, what do you do when things just don’t add up?

You are about to find out.

It won’t be pretty. It won’t be dull. And surely, it won’t be safe. In fact, making just one wrong choice could put evil at your bedside watching you sleep.

And so it is with Kate Simmons, a young woman who, by choosing to regain her life, actually puts it at risk by the very choices she makes. After unimaginable heartbreak stops her world on a dime, Kate falls into a three-year blackness of self blame that brings her to the edge of life, itself. As time finally brings light back through tiny cracks of renewed desire, Kate moves out of the prison she made for herself in her mother’s home to find a new reality, rooming with her best girlfriend, Charlie.

Yet, to be free is to be vulnerable, and Kate’s choices more than ever mark a splattered line between being happy and being dead.

Care to choose? Here’s your menu:

A strangely alluring building manager so possessed with wanting you for his own, he’ll bury more than the fact he has a girlfriend; a buff college student for whom you are clearly hot, as are all the other girls on campus; a pushy lawyer who is as handsome as he is intoxicated with conquest, who doesn’t take no for an answer, who gets what he wants — always.

Sometimes, it’s whom you choose. Sometimes, it’s who chooses you. If you’re Kate, it’s both, and it puts you on a perilous road where good looks and humor are the thin masks of jealous delusion and utter violence.

You’re in trouble when the sum total of your choices is written in blood red.

GOODREADS

BOOK BLITZ & GIVEAWAYS - TEASER QUOTES - EVERSEA by NATASHA BOYD - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY

2013-06-13T14:21:00.005+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have a Book Blitz for Eversea by Natasha Boyd. Check out the synopsis and giveaways. There are also some lovely teaser quotes. Throw this one on to your TBR pile.

Michelle

Eversea by Natasha Boyd

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication date: June 10th 2013

Synopsis:

• An orphaned small-town southern girl, burdened by responsibility and stuck in time.

• A Hollywood A-list mega-star, on the run from his latest scandal and with everything to lose.

• A chance encounter that leads to an unlikely arrangement and epic love affair that will change them both forever.

When his co-star and real-life girlfriend is caught cheating on him with her married and much older director, A-list hottie, Jack Eversea, finds himself in sleepy Butler Cove, South Carolina. Jack hopes the sultry southern heat in this tiny coastal Lowcountry town will hide him not only from the tabloids and his cheating girlfriend, but his increasingly vapid life and the people who run it. He doesn’t count on meeting Keri Ann Butler.

Keri Ann has relied on herself so long, dealing with her family’s death and the responsibilities of keeping up her family’s historic mansion, that boys and certainly the meager offering of eligible boys in Butler Cove, have never figured into her equation. But fate has other plans. Suddenly face to face with the man who played the movie role of her favorite fictional character, Jack has Keri Ann yearning for everything she has previously avoided ... and Jack must decide whether this funny, sassy girl is worth changing his life for, before his mistakes catch up to him.

Eversea is a FINALIST in the Winter Rose Unpublished Contest for 2013

TEASERS/QUOTES:

Jack stepped toward me. If it was possible, he suddenly looked predatory.

Pressing my back further against the cool wall at his approach, I held my breath as he planted his palms flat against the wall behind me, his body hovering a scant inch from mine and his head ducking straight down to my neck.

“I’m glad we have our reasons laid out, Keri Ann,” he said quietly, breathing his words into my ear in a torrent of snapping electricity. “But that doesn’t mean it’s never going to happen.”

My stomach flipped over, and my breath whooshed out into a deep and embarrassing pant. Placing my hands against his hard chest, I pushed him away to arms length. “Wow, did anyone ever tell you how arrogant you are?”

“Not arrogant. Confident. There’s a difference.”

“Jack wasn’t just a boy. He was a dazzling, heart-stopping, aura of a man who in just five days had me feeling like I was perched on the edge of a precipice, and seriously contemplating throwing myself over the edge. The idea was terrifying in its finality and in its inevitability.”

“I wanted Jack to kiss me, I wanted his lips on mine, I wanted to know what he tasted like, what his tongue felt like, what his mouth would do when fused with mine. Whether he kissed fast or slow, hard or soft. If he was hot or cool. It suddenly became imperative to know that beyond anything else.”

Jazz grabbed a poker from the fireplace, and we both skidded on sock feet to the front door. I looked out of the peephole, but with no lights on I couldn’t really see a thing.

“I can’t see anything,” I whispered, and then jumped back as another round of banging started.

“Keri Ann?” Jack’s voice shouted over the wind and rain.

“Oh my God.” I mouthed to Jazz.

Her eyes were wide.

“Do you think he got my message?”

“Shit, I don’t know,” she whispered back, her shoulders hunching up.

“Keri Ann? Please ... please open the door. I really need to talk to you.”

What the heck was he doing out there in the rain? Obviously, I was going to have to let him in. I could feel mortification and it’s crimson tide crawling up my chest to my neck.

Jazz shrugged with an apologetic ‘this is your mess, I have no clue how to help you here’ look on her face.

“Thanks!” I hissed at her.

“Keri Ann! Open the Goddamn door ... please?” Jack’s voice broke over the last word and my shoulders slumped.

Jazz rolled her eyes.

I opened the door as a huge gust of wind blew in and wrenched it out of my hands. It swung back hard banging against the wall. And there stood the tall looming shadow of Jack, hands on either side of the doorframe, in jeans and a dark wet t-shirt that clung to his body. Water streamed down his beautiful face.

“For the love of shrimp n’ grits, girl,” I heard Jazz murmur next to me as we both took in the archangel standing on the threshold. “Good luck.”

I shivered.

Jack’s lips were warm and soft next to the rough skin of his chin, and I drew closer to him like a magnet, needing to press my body, my skin, against his. But there were two layers of fabric between us, and I became aware of the cool press of his wet t-shirt.

“You need to take this off,” I managed. My voice sounded raspy to my own ears as I made to lift the fabric.

He let go of me and reached behind his neck. Gathering a handful of shirt, he peeled it forward over his head.

My breath left me as I came face to chest with his perfectly sculpted body. The firelight played across his skin and his flexed abdominal muscles as he leaned back on his haunches slightly to lay the shirt out by the fire.

Without thinking, I brought the flat of my hand up to the center of his chest below his collarbone. His skin was cool to the touch and smooth.

He stilled where he was, leaning slightly away from me on his knees and brought his eyes to mine.

I very slowly ran my palm down over the ridges and planes of his chest, pausing for a moment when I noticed the hard beat of his heart. His eyes got darker and broodier as my hand continued it’s slow journey downward. His breathing changed, as did my own in response. My eyes dropped to follow my hand as it reached the belt buckle of his black jeans.

“You should take these off, too.” My words came out as a whisper.

I swallowed my nerves as I let my eyes slide down his abs to the vee his hips made as they disappeared into his shorts.

“You’d better stop that,” he said, his voice husky.

I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to kiss him again, but I didn’t want to be so forward. So I shook my head.

“No?” he asked.

“No.”

I leaned back and rested my elbows behind me on the ledge, mimicking his stance. A challenge. I almost didn’t recognize this new me.

His eyes narrowed as if he was trying to suss me out. I realized my position had thrust my bikini-clad chest forward, but it was too late to suddenly get shy.

“Come here,” he commanded, quietly.

I held his eyes. “You come here,” I countered.

His dimple reappeared as he shook his head slightly with a small lopsided and bemused smile, and then he swam four strong freestyle strokes to stand in front of me.

I stayed perfectly still as he held my eyes. His wet skin and hair made his eyes startling. Then he stepped forward between my legs, pushing my feet apart. My pulse tripped over itself.

“This is a good spot,” he murmured, echoing my unformed thoughts exactly. His hands came to my bare waist, the water allowing his skin to slide across mine.

My cold hands found Jack’s warm, smooth skin.

He tensed under my touch, his eyes now slate grey in the darkened hall.

Jack’s hand came up to my face, and his thumb brushed over my lips like when my tongue had accidentally found him. This time he pushed it against my lips, seeking entry. I hesitated a split second before sucking him into my mouth to taste the tang of his skin. Jack’s breathing hitched as he fed it to me, sliding it in and out against my tongue. His mouth grew taut, his nostrils flaring slightly, his gaze pinned on the action.

Watching his reactions, my own breath had grown shallow and irregular. My pulse was spiking, the heat inside of me swirling up between us like a fever.

Slowly he pulled his thumb out and rubbed the wet pad across my lower lip pulling my lip down.

The laughing was over.

Every point of contact my body had with Jack’s was like a conduit for an ever-increasing maelstrom of feeling. The feel of his rough denim clad hips under my bare thigh, the press of his hardness against my apex, and the warm skin of his hand as it roamed up my thigh and waist to my neck, to my chest. His mouth. My heart.

Jack tugged my scarf from its loosely wound place at my neck. In moments, his hand cupped my breast through my dress, his thumb running across my nipple.

My breath came in ragged pants. “Jack ...” I managed, my chest involuntarily thrusting forward into his hand.

His lips quirked. “What about this?” he whispered roughly and slipped his fingers under the low neckline of my dress, tugging it and my bra down. He feathered a light touch around my bare nipple in the cool air.

“Gah ...,” I mumbled.

He chuckled, and then his warm hand palmed my breast more fully and I moaned.

Jack’s eyes flickered. Sliding down my body, he bent his legs and hooked my other leg around him. He stood up quickly, taking my weight, his hands on my bare thighs and pressed me firmly back against the wall.

I gasped and grabbed onto his broad shoulders to steady myself.

Jack’s face was intense as he lowered his mouth to mine. He stopped millimeters away—his breath softly fanning my lips.

“Are you sure?” he whispered.

I nodded. “Yes.”

He captured my mouth into a deep kiss and pressed himself hard against me.

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17793815-eversea?ac=1

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Eversea-ebook/dp/B00D7VSQEQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370537334&sr=8-1&keywords=Eversea+Natasha+Boyd

--Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/eversea-natasha-boyd/1115517441?ean=2940016678870

AUTHOR BIO

Natasha Boyd is a writer with a background in marketing and public relations. She lives in the coastal Carolina Lowcountry, complete with Spanish moss, alligators and mosquitoes the size of tiny birds. She has a husband, two sons and a cat named Tuna. Eversea is her first full-length novel.

GIVEAWAY TIME

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PLUS!!

one (1) ebook copy of Eversea.

Open internationally

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ENDS 28TH JUNE 2013

Author Links:

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BLOG TOUR - THE FALLEN PRINCE by SHEA BERKLEY - KEEPERS OF LIFE # 2 - ENTANGLED PUBLISHING - BOOK REVIEW - THE MARKED SON # 1

2013-06-12T22:31:00.003+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run is my stop for The Fallen Prince blog tour. I was supposed to have both reviews for The Marked Son and The Fallen Prince here on my stop. I am a tad behind on The Fallen Prince. The review will be up soon. I really dug The Marked Son. If I was to recommend it to somebody I would say if you liked Julie Kagawa's - Iron Fey series then you will like this series. They are not similar, but I think anybody who likes the Iron Fey series would love this one.

Check out my review for The Marked Son on today's stop.

By: Shea Berkley
Published By: Entangled Publishing
Released: Available Now
Details: Digital, 333 Pages

RATING: 4.25 DYLAN, LEO & JASON STARS!!

Blurb: Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he's never met, he had no idea what.When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents' farm, he knows he's seen her before...in his dreams. He's felt her fear. Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he's completely insane or he's about to have the adventure of his life, because where they're going is full of creatures he's only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death..

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I had been looking at this book for quite some time, it is the cover. It drew me in. Then I got the opportunity to be on The Fallen Prince blog tour so it was time to crack open The Marked Son. I had no idea what this book was about.

The cover made me feel like it was a fantasy read. I had not read the blurb. I have quite a habit of just reading a book without any prior knowledge of genre or characters. It’s how I like to roll.

Well, this was a lovely YA surprise. If I was to recommend this book to somebody I would say if you like Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey series, then you would be digging this series. They are not the same, but I feel they are book cousins.

Dylan, seventeen years old, is a bit of a lost character. His mum is only thirty three years old, she hasn’t been the best mum. She is a little broken. You will find out why the more you read.

Dylan doesn’t fit in. He has dreamed ever since he can remember about a girl.

That would be Kera.

This is a story about two realms colliding. Dylan’s modern world and Kera’s world, separated by a wall that only certain people can see. What lies on Kera’s side is danger and an evil would be king named Navar out to destroy those who are not firsts.

To those who looked, he was a lord in waiting. A king in the making. A conqueror in the flesh. Only she saw him for what he truly was.

A danger to all.

What lies on Dylan’s side is a new found family he has been dropped into, to be promptly abandoned by his mother. Grandpa is quite a character. I would love him as my grandpa. Grandma is not your typical granny. She is very astute and very quickly the trio bond.

“George,” Grandma says in a firm voice. She doesn’t look at me, but directs her words my way. “What your grandpa means is that he would like you to go out with him and the sheep.”

The devil in me flares to life. “Really, Grandma. I only go out with girls.”

Grandpa coughs on his milk, and I find it hard not to laugh, too.

A far-off voice calls, “Is he okay, George?”

Grandpa turns the water off, his eyes on me.

I’m shivering like a newborn puppy, and I clench my teeth to stop their chattering. “That was messed up!”

He throws a relieved glance over his shoulder. “That fixed him.”

“What’s going on?” I say.

Grandpa hauls me to my feet. “You needed a little jolt. You know, a kick start. Seen it a million times in Nam.”

“S-seen what?”

“Shock.”

Enter Leo and Jason, Pop and Reggie. Leo is a great character, very intelligent with some of those scientific things he was pulling out.

“Magical flying lights and a ghost. It’s been a busy night for you.”

“You have no idea.”

Leo sighs, then slowly begins to nod until his head is bobbing with hope. He claps his hands, the echo of the sound fading into the trees, and grins. “Why not? Okay! Let’s do this.”

“Hang on, little mama.” He grabs hold of the nearest limb and starts to climb. “Daddy’s coming to get you.”

“Seriously, dude,” I mutter under my breath, “you need to get a girl.”

Jason, man mountain, has a painful hidden side, but he is quite the lad. Very funny dialogue.

Jason’s voice lowers into a movie trailer commentator, rumbling intensely. “A young man struggles to belong in a world not made for him. A mysterious female calls from anoth—”

“Shut up, Jason,” Leo snaps. “This is serious.”

“Just trying to lighten the mood,” Jason says.

“I get that the plan’s changed,” Jason finally says. “That something odd is going down, but this isn’t going to stop. We’ve got to grab the girl and take out the bad guy, Chuck Norris style.”

Dylan finds out why he wasn’t really fitting in on his side of the wall. His new buds get tangled up in a mission to save the girl that Dylan has always loved in his dreams.

Dylan learns quickly what he is capable of. Kera is at the mercy of the villain of this story and her father isn’t really much help.

I liked that Kera was an intelligent character and she was a go getter.

“Why is an adventurous nature cheered on in men, but stifled in women by yards of fabric?”

Faldon chuckled, but didn’t lift his head from his reading. “No man wants to marry a woman more manly than he.”

Shea brings a bunch of fanatsy creatures into her storyline , pux, millispits, two headed wolves, gryphons.... and Dylan and his buds must face off against Navar and his minions all for the love of Kera.

We read this story from both Kera and Dylan’s pov’s which I enjoyed.

Dylan quickly found friends he could trust and they believed in him, not something he was used to in life. For better or for worse these guys came to Dylan in his hour of need.

I really like Bodog. He is a cool little guy. He really is the guy that saved the day, without his knowledge and help, it was looking like a bust. He kinda rocks.

I enjoyed Shea’s first installment in her series. Dylan is a very likable character, and Kera is no damsel in distress. Bodog adds the wise little Yoda type sub character and the other sub characters bring humor in the fight for freedom.

A fast paced , page turner, with some twists thrown in to keep us on our toes.

An unexpected ending which I am keen to know more about.

Michelle

Synopsis

Dylan finally feels like he has it all. He's back home in the human realm with his beautiful girlfriend, loving grandparents, and some crazy powers over the elements. But Dylan's temper is climbing out of control, and along with the bursts of rage come new powers he wasn't expecting.

Kera has these new powers, too. She's seen them before and knows what they can do if kept unchecked…and it’s not pretty. Plus, going back to her home realm, Teag, would hasten the process. Kera is determined to keep her one true love, Dylan, safe on Earth, but when the barrier between the human realm and Teag weakens, allowing monster-like creatures to pass over, Kera becomes desperate to protect her home.

When Kera is kidnapped and imprisoned in a corner of her world that no one has ever escaped from alive, can Dylan overcome his unbridled powers—and himself—to save her?

The Fallen Prince Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Fallen-Prince-Keepers-Life/dp/1620612267/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fallen-prince-shea-berkley/1112131026?ean=9781620612255

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12726078-the-fallen-prince

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Fallen-Prince-Shea-Berkley/9781620612262

The Marked Son Links:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Marked-Son-Keepers-Life-ebook/dp/B008XB4MPM/

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-marked-son-shea-berkley/1104174158?ean=9781937044015&itm=1&usri=9781937044015

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11984884-the-marked-son

Book Depository: http://www.bookdepository.com/Marked-Son-Shea-Berkley/9781620612293

Author Bio:

I'm an author of YA fantasy novels, which means I'm the luckiest person alive 'cause I get to spend my day playing with my characters. Some are totally cool, others aren't so nice, but they all bring something to the party.

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: http://sheaberkley.com/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5009433.Shea_Berkley

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sheaberkley

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

The Fallen Prince by Shea Berkley

Blog Tour Schedule

June 10 - Fantasy Book Addict

http://www.fantasybookaddict.com

June 10 - Books are my Life

http://www.luana-book-shelf.blogspot.ca/

June 11 - You Gotta Read Reviews

http://www.yougottaread.com

June 11 - book2book.ca

http://www.book2book.ca

June 12 - Novels on the Run

http://www.novelsontherun.blogspot.com

June 13 - Sizzling Hot Books

http://www.sizzlinghotyabooks.com

June 14 - Fade Into Fantasy

http://fadeintofantasy.com

June 17 - Words in Sync

http://shahwharton.com

June 18 - Reader Girls

http://www.readergirlsblog.com

June 19 - My Library in the Making

http://mylibraryinthemaking.blogspot.com

June 20 - Romance Junkies

http://romancejunkies.com/

June 21 - Urban Fantasy Investigations

http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/

June 24 - Bookworm Lisa

http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com

June 25 - The Hardcover Obsession

http://www.hardcoverobsession.com

June 26 - A Little Bit of R&R

www.alittlebitofrnrreviews.com

June 27 - Notes From a Romantics Heart

www.nancyfraser.ca/wordpress/

June 28 - The Cover Contessa

www.thecovercontessa.com

BOOK COVER REVEAL - TRYING TO GET OVER YOU by J.D. RIVERA - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

2013-06-12T15:31:00.000+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have the cover reveal for TRYING TO GET OVER YOU by J.D. Rivera.

Cover for Trying to Get Over You by J.D. Rivera, designed by Emily Mah Tippetts

Trying to Get Over You by J.D. Rivera

Publication date: June 25th 2013

Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Synopsis:

College student Emily Reynolds has been in a three year relationship with Cooper Thomason but one awful night has left their relationship shaken. She soon finds out she is pregnant and Cooper can’t give up his partying ways. Emily leaves Cooper and tries to find a life without him. She finds out a life without Cooper is harder than she thinks. Will Emily be able to move on from Cooper and find a relationship with another man or run back to him?

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17901986-trying-to-get-over-you

AUTHOR BIO

J.D. Rivera lives in Oklahoma with her husband and two boys. Her life consists of school projects, homework, cartoon shows and little league sports. She loves Diet Mt. Dew, the OKC Thunder, costume jewelry, the beach, and of course reading.

Author Links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

BOOK COVER REVEAL & FREAKIN' AWESOME BOOK TRAILER - VERY BAD THINGS by ILSA MADDEN-MILLS - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY

2013-06-11T15:41:00.000+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have a cover reveal for VERY BAD THINGS by ILSA MADDEN-MILLS.

New Adult Contemporary Romance.

There is also a FREAKIN' AWESOME book trailer to check out. It really gives you a taste of the book. I likey!

"Because sometimes the wrong choices

bring us to the right places."

I really like the front and back covers.

Throw this one onto your TBR piles. The book trailer sealed it for me.

Michelle

Title: Very Bad Things
(#1 Briarcrest Academy)

Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills

Expected release date: September 10, 2013

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Age Group: Mature YA and NA

Cover designed by:

Toski Covey Photography and Sommer Stein from Perfect Pear https://www.facebook.com/toskicoveyphotography?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/PerfectPearCreative?fref=ts

Model is Mariah Jane Scott

https://www.facebook.com/MariahJaneScott?fref=ts

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17836829-very-bad-things

WATCH THIS!!!
Book Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue0eLwXXpdc

SYNOPSIS:

Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any nineteen-year-old girl could desire. She’s an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school. She’s perfect…

Leaving behind her million-dollar mansion and Jimmy Choos, she becomes a girl hell-bent on pushing the limits with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex.

Then she meets her soulmate. But he doesn’t want her.

When it comes to girls, twenty-five-year-old Leo Tate has one rule: never fall in love. His gym and his brother are all he cares about…until he meets Nora. He resists the pull of their attraction, hung up on their six year age difference.

As they struggle to stay away from each other, secrets will be revealed, tempers will flare, and hearts will be broken.

Welcome to Briarcrest Academy…where sometimes, the best things in life are Very Bad Things.

About the Author

Ilsa wrote her first work at the age of twelve when she penned a little ditty about a handsome prince who had no sense. Since then, she’s written plays, poems, and numerous short stories. Very Bad Things is her first full-length novel and part of a new series called Briarcrest Academy.

She graduated summa cum laude with a master’s in English. After graduation, she directed plays, worked with autistic children, helped start a children’s clothing company, and eventually had a family. Now, she spends her days with two small kids and her Viking husband. When she’s not typing away at a story, you can find her drinking too much coffee, jamming out to Pink, or checking on her carefully maintained chocolate stash.

She loves to hear from fans and fellow avid readers. You can find her on Facebook and a soon to come author website.

Author social media links:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Ilsa-Madden-Mills/164946810330135?ref=hl

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7059622.Ilsa_Madden_Mills

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - APOCALYPSE OF ANGELS : SEEING ANGELS by HARMONY LAWSON

2013-06-11T09:28:00.003+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have an author spotlight for Harmony Lawson. I have an excerpt you can read and her synopsis for Apocalypse of Angels : Seeing Angels. So check it out and pop it on your TBR pile if this sounds like a book for you.

Michelle

Synopsis:

Camille Harper, about to finish high school, can see angels all around her. They appear to watch her. She has been able to see angels from birth, and while she is amused by this ability, she just wants a normal life with friends, family, and good times. Why can she see angels? She doesn't know, but she believes the knowledge will change everything. Then she witnesses a confrontation between a beautiful angel and a dark winged creature. The strange event will signal the end of normal life. Did the strange beings know she could see them? Her friends want her to sneak out to an abandoned house for parties, but her instincts scream “NO!” Something is not right about the place. The hip new guy in school, Earl, wants to date, but she is afraid he will disturb her circle of friends, and there is something not right about him. Her parents aren’t doing well together. And whatever strange plot is developing, her sister may be in the middle. Now, for the first time, Camille Harper is interacting with angels face to face. This is incredible, but when Jason Waters enters her life, she gets more than she bargained for. Her strange ability complicates life on a whole new level. Camille and Jason enter an exciting but forbidden relationship. Strange beings present danger. What’s a Nephilim? What are fallen angels up to? Jason believes something is strange with Earl, but Jason is hiding things from Camille as well. Which one is right for her? Are they both trying to possess her for supernatural reasons? Camille just wants to make it through the year and graduate from high school, but changes are leading up to some apocalyptic event. Can Camille continue Seeing Angels without her life going to Hell?

Author Bio:

Harmony Lawson was born on a naval base in San Diego, California. Currently, she and her family live in Northern California in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Her education is in drawing, painting, and writing. When she read her first romance novel at age 16, she became a hopeless romantic.

Harmony is fascinated by angels, and she incorporates research in angels, the Nephilim, and fallen angels into her fictional stories. Many of the descriptions in her books reflect actual documentation found in religious documents.

While she has endured many hardships in life, she believes life will be better tomorrow. Life has its ups and downs, trials and tribulations, and Heaven and Hell. She believes the bad times are a test to prove a person's worth. Her books reflect on that concept.

EXCERPT

Chapter One

When I was a young girl, a glass covered picture fell off the wall during the night and shattered behind the couch. Everyone in the house sprang out of bed! We looked around, but there were no signs of break-in. The couch hid the picture. After a few days, Dad noticed the picture of Seagulls had disappeared and pulled the couch out from the wall. We all got a big laugh out of it.

The same thing seems to be happening again now, when I am almost eighteen, but this time I am the only one springing out of bed. Something has startled me awake, but no one else in the house is reacting—there are no doors opening or footsteps in the hall. I don’t know why I am awake—I’m not even sure it was a noise. Maybe it was one of those rumbling noises you hear from the airport. It is 5:52 a.m. when I look out the bedroom door. There is nothing down the hall and the living room is dark, so I go back to bed and listen with the covers over my head. Maybe it was my little sister, Beth, sneaking home.

Finally, I get up to look around—the picture is still hanging on the wall; there is nothing out of place. Whatever it was gave me a rush, and I am now totally awake. With my robe and slippers on, I plan to check outside. This is not a good idea, but if a perve is out there, I can scream as loud as any teenage girl. The neighbors are close by—we live in a small trailer park down by the river. Trailer walls are not thick.

There is nothing on any side of the trailer. Foot prints in the gravel tell me nothing. Beth is not around. Nothing looks wrong with the trailer—there is nothing on the roof. Okay then, no problem.

A huge oak tree grows by our single-wide trailer with a tire swing hanging down from a limb. The tire is a good place to swing and contemplate life. It has been there for me over the years. This morning the tire is covered with dew, barely moving in the fog. I might as well swing now to calm down and consider the morning’s mystery. The air is fresh, and the morning is getting started. Oregon is a beautiful place.

But I don’t make it to the swing.

There is a tap on my shoulder. I spin around. Where did that come from? A piece of bark drops past my face and a leaf seesaws down. Did a piece of bark just hit my shoulder? A giant network of branches sprawls over my head—there is nothing noticeable. Something is up there, and it froze right when I looked. Now it blends in with the branches.

A splash comes from the river. A fully dressed woman is swimming to the far bank. She crawls over river stones and settles on a large, flat rock. She begins to twist river water from her hair. Even from the distance she looks very beautiful with high cheekbones and long black hair. A ray of sunlight penetrates the fog and shines directly on her. She wears the kind of trench coat a detective would wear on TV, and when she stands up, she lets it drop to the ground. A large set of white wings spread out behind her.

It sounds crazy, but this does not surprise me as much as you think.

She pulls off a shoe and pours out brown water. Her movements are dull, as if she is stunned. She is not aware of me watching her.

There is a loud crack! The noise is inside my head! A large acorn bounces out in front of me. It must have dropped from way up in the tree. It nailed me right on the top of the head!

The acorn bounces as a dark figure drops to the ground over by the swing. Its legs bend from impact and the ground vibrates a dull rumble. I’m disoriented—what am I seeing? The figure is covered with fur or feathers so dark you can’t tell. Dark wings spread out from behind. The thing is tall, like a man, and has broad shoulders. The face is obscured by mist, hiding the features.

What do I do!? The dark form strides towards me, folding its wings. His left hand rises before him. In his palm there is a black stone. It looks like a river stone polished smooth with the shape and size of a small potato.

Terror grows in my chest. The thing is a walking nightmare. What is he going to do with the rock? I can’t just stand here, but I can’t move! It’s time to scream!

The stone now has a small red dot in the middle. It wasn’t there before—it hypnotizes me. It looks like a red light on a DVD player glowing from behind dark glass. The red light to where the stone is like red glass with black around the edges. Terror is fading. Fear is dulling. My eyes are locked on the stone. My vision is all red. I do not want to move or need to move. I do not need to scream…

The red light blinks out. The stone turns black and the dark man’s ‘eyes’ appear, glowing orange in his misty face—he looks seriously pissed. He snarls in surprise when suddenly his wing is twisted back. Two hands grab the top of his wing and yank it back. They pull down hard at a bad angle. A woman’s voice screams. The dark guy bends his knees in pain. The lady from the river is attacking from behind! She just kicked the guy in the butt! Wow!

The dark guy flashes around, cocks his arm, and strikes the lady in the face with a devastating punch. It knocks her back 20 feet before she hits the ground and slides another 10 feet. The man pursues, forgetting me. His wings spread to glide towards the lady. She rolls away just before he stamps both feet where she was—the ground rumbles. She springs up towards a tree nearby, grabs the narrow trunk with both hands and swings around the back of the tree horizontally. Her body is a blur. The man has no time to react. She whips around and blasts both feet into his head. He goes down hard. She drops sideways to the ground.

They both rise up from the ground at the same time—they float up. They pause and face each other.

I pick up a rock about the size of a baseball. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but the target is going be the guy with the black wings. This is bad idea, but there is no time to think.

Adrenaline and softball practice pay off. The rock arches over and cracks the guy in the skull—that was a nice sound. Payback for you, acorn guy! He looks over at me—his face is hazy and undefined. His eyes glare angry orange pink. While distracted, his head jolts to the side. The lady got in a shot.

The two grab each other’s throats, locking together. Their wings spread and start flapping, lifting them from the ground. They grip each other’s throats with intensity. Their wings flap harder and harder. They rise faster and faster, and then shoot up through the tree branches into the sky. A swirl spot is left in the clouds.

I am left standing here with a dumb look on my face. The excitement ended so quickly. My brain is still vibrating from the acorn. Fear is simmering, but whatever the black stone was doing has some lasting effect, leaving me with calmness. It worked out good in a weird way—I should be freaking out. Instead, I look like a cave woman with my mouth hanging open.

Quiet settles in. Will anyone come outside after the commotion? The encounter was wild—did my family or neighbors hear it? I check myself out while I wait and find a bump on the top of my head.

After a few minutes, the front door to the trailer opens. My father comes outside and heads for his truck, coffee in hand as usual. He sees me and walks over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“Have a good day Dad,” I say in the calmest voice I can manage. He nods and goes to unlock the cab.

***

Normal people would be shocked at the sight of angels. Not me—I have been able to see angels my whole life. But that is not the right way to describe it. Let’s say, I know when I am seeing angels when others don’t. Angels are around us all the time acting like regular people. They appear as a homeless guy pushing a cart, a nice lady on the bus, or people standing in check out lanes. They blend in with us, but they are angels, and I can tell.

I can sense them in a general way, but their eyes tell me for sure—they glow in different colors. I can see their wings when they have them out. The black wings today were new. It’s good that I can see the wings—the glowing eyes alone would be frightening.

Angels always seem very beautiful or striking in appearance. They remind me of movie stars. I have the idea that others don’t find them as beautiful as I do. Maybe that’s because it would attract attention. And angels can be male or female; don’t let anyone try to tell you anything different. So far, I am the only person I know that can do this.

The beautiful lady in the fight outside this morning is a great example of an angel. The other thing, who knows what he is, is something new and frightening.

I could see angels from when I was a kid—probably from when I was a baby. Early on, I thought everyone could see glowing eyes and wings. When I would say something, people would talk about my great imagination and how little girls love angels. Eventually, I figured out that no one else could see what I saw, and it was better to keep my mouth shut so I could fit in and be normal.

As for the big fight by the river—I better keep my mouth shut again. The dark guy is very frightening, but there is no way to talk to someone without looking nuts. I should ask for help, but from whom? Should I find a priest? Priests in Oregon would be hard to convince.

My name is Camille Ann Harper, but you can call me Cami.

My gift, the ability to see angels, makes me feel special. Duh, right? But what I mean is I see angels watching me all the time, like there is something important about me. For the last five years or so, I feel like something big is on the way—like being elected President or becoming a hero. I need to be ready for something.

Being elected President won’t work because of my fear of public speaking. I am very good at painting. Community college is probably next. I really have no clue what will happen to me, but this insane morning reminds me that something big is on the way.

Meeting someone and having a family would be nice, but that sounds way too normal for my future. Making a living as an artist, helping people, taking care of my family—these are the things I want.

Life in general has been getting complicated lately. My parents are not good together any more. Dad works overtime in his delivery job—I don’t spend much time with him. He doesn’t seem comfortable living with 3 females. Beth, my younger sister is becoming a party girl. The worst thing is with Mom. Lately, she lives on beer and cigarettes.

Play a violin for me, right? But what just happened in front of me this morning, the confrontation with a dark creature with a glowing black stone—now my special gift for seeing angels scares the hell out of me.

***

Dad is driving away. White hair around his temples is a handsome feature. Rushing around delivering boxes all day keeps him looking young and in good shape. He is short and stocky with firm muscles. A lot of delivery guys are toned, despite their age. He blames the white hair on Beth, which is probably true. I’m glad he didn’t notice she wasn’t in bed when he left.

Lamplighter Trailer Park is a small community of mostly elderly people. It is the only place my parents could afford—regular home prices are still out of the range for Dad’s salary. Lamplighter is normally quiet and boring. It is on the outskirts of Winston, Oregon across the Green Bridge by the river. The bridge has high steel arches, and of course it’s painted green.

My sister Beth and I are close in age—people often think we are twins. She is 13 months younger. We don’t look totally alike. Sometimes you see grown up identical twins that look different, like the environment affected them differently. That is how we look. She is shorter and her hair is curlier. I look more like Mom in the face, and Beth looks more like our Dad. I think Beth is more attractive with her petite, doll-like quality, oval brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. She has nice cheek bones and perfectly arched eyebrows. She blossomed almost overnight at age thirteen. Most guys in school want to ask her out.

Mom always makes the comment, “You’re both equally beautiful.” I guess we are. My sister and I do look very similar. Beth’s outgoing personality gives her the edge.

The smell of bacon wafts through the air. Is Mom cooking breakfast? She must not have heard anything either. We normally have cereal. I see a flash of black and brown go around the corner—Beth has made it back from her night out. She slips inside, and I follow her all the way into our little bedroom. Somehow Mom is out of the kitchen when we pass through. Beth can be lucky.

“Hey, you missed a good party last night,” she says, slightly out of breath. Even with smeared eyeliner and sleep-deprived features, she still looks pretty. “Think Mom or Dad noticed I was gone?”

“I’m sure I missed a raging party; and no, I don’t think they noticed.” We are close enough in age that we have the same friends. I knew the group had gone to the abandoned house a ways from here. It is always the same event. Her boyfriend Nick Thomas smuggles some liquor from his parent’s liquor cabinet, or Allison somehow convinces her brother to buy some beer. There is smoking and making out. I once went to a party at Nick’s house when his parents were out of town. My nerves were a wreck. I was too afraid of getting caught.

Once is enough. Most of the boys at our school do not interest me right now. Maybe it is the maturity difference or something. I can’t handle cigarette smoke, and I feel uncomfortable around people making out. No one wants to hear me whine about that stuff—might as well stay away.

“Is Mom cooking? Did I see eggs and bacon on the stove?” Beth sniffs the air.

“Smells like it.”

“I wonder why?” she asks.

“Who knows, maybe she feels guilty about something?” I look down at her sitting on her bed. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to puke.”

She has her head between her knees. She looks up at me, pale and weary. “I feel like holy crap.”

“That’s what you get for partying on a school night. No time to sleep it off now.”

I try to help Beth up, but she shakes me off. We have a pretty good relationship, probably because of our close age. I will not get her in trouble for staying out, and she will never narc on me. But if she gets busted for last night she is on her own.

We head back to the kitchen, and Mom is at the stove with a cigarette in her mouth. She has a beer can open on the counter while flipping eggs—it is not a good scene. She has bed hair, and her pink robe is hastily tied around her small waist. She isn’t overweight at all. She hardly eats but one meal a day. Beer is becoming a regular source of calories.

Beth takes a seat at the small dining table while I head for the shower. It is time to get ready for school. Beth says, “Wow! Mom, what’s the occasion?”

“Can’t I cook for my girls?” Mom’s voice has the beginning of smoker’s gravel. It makes me sad.

“Sure, Mom, you can cook whenever you want,” I say on my way down the hall. My response is not sarcastic. Her behavior has me worried.

Our small plastic bathroom has a small shower stall. When I finish Beth squeezes by me to get her turn. In our room, I dry my hair, pull it back in a ponytail, and then I go to the closet to find something to wear. Unfortunately, Beth and I share a closet. My clothes hang neatly on one side, and let’s just say Beth’s side looks like holy crap.

I climb into my favorite pair of jeans and look for my long sleeve black tee. Like most girls my age, my outfit is planned ahead of time. The black tee will go under my purple and gray striped short sleeve tee. But where is it? There is only one possible answer.

“Beth!” I shout with a tone. “You have my black tee shirt; I wanted to wear it today!” She was wearing black when she came home.

Beth sticks her arm out the bathroom door with the shirt dangling on her finger. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you wanted to wear it.” She is doing the innocent routine, poking her head out the door with her hair wrapped up in a towel. When we do fight, clothes are mainly the reason.

I inspect the shirt—there is a small hole at the corner of the right shoulder.

“Beth, can’t you wear something without putting a hole in it? Stop wearing my clothes!”

Now I can’t wear this thing. It smells like cigarette smoke and dirt. Great, now Beth is smoking. I am not in charge in this family, so what can I do? I don’t want things to keep getting worse.

“Whatever,” she mumbles through the wall.

She’d be in the bathroom until we left for school. She never goes anywhere without putting on her face. I wear makeup sometimes, but not all the time. It is too hard to get off.

The nasty shirt goes into the hamper. The purple shirt will have to do. I pull a dark blue hooded sweatshirt over my head and leave the hood on. It is time for breakfast.

Breakfast can be eaten in the kitchen, dining room, or the living room. It is an easy choice because they are all the same room—sorry. Our family trailer is worn down around the edges, but I feel comfortable. When you live somewhere and you wear it down yourself, you seem okay with it—I don’t know why. The faded wallpaper is coming lose, the white counter tops are scratched and dull, and the light brown cabinets are a decade out of style, but the blue carpet is nice.

Mom is sitting on the couch watching TV with her crossword puzzle. The coffee table has a thick novel, an ashtray loaded with butts, and a beer.

I eat quickly, grab my backpack and head for the door.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1938634012

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00AZCNXNE

http://www.slideshare.net/hlawsonauthor/apocalypse-of-angels-seeing-angels-presentation-1

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/36335.Indie_Authors_to_Watch#17249232 (I’m also on 8 other lists on Goodreads)

twitter.com/HLawsonAuthor

https://www.facebook.com/hlawsonauthor?ref=tn_tnmn

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Apocalypse-Of-Angels/202297853237106

BOOK SIGNING & SIGNED GIVEAWAYS - SYLVIA DAY - CROSSFIRE SERIES - PENGUIN AUSTRALIA - BIG W BRISBANE - 10TH JUNE 2013

2013-06-10T17:22:00.002+10:00

Today I took 'mini me' and hubs into Brisvegas ( Brisbane) for the Sylvia Day book signing at Big W in Elizabeth St. Four hour round trip of driving. Can't wait to tell hubs he has another thing in two weeks. He's a trooper!

Felicity , publicist with Penguin was there handing out Gideon's Angel , badges and getting us all organized for our books to be signed.

Felicity and me from Penguin

Sylvia signing my book. Note the little book display on the bottom left corner. My flapping arms knocked them over. I gotta get a handle on my arm flapping when I talk, seriously!

Me and Sylvia. I decided to look away from camera, go figure. Sylvia liked my necklace and she is absolutely gorgeous. She had a nice conversation with every single person and gave them a hug. We nearly lost my camera in the hug as I forgot we were gonna hug and we knocked arms.

'Mini me' getting her notebook signed. I did tell Sylvia that she doesn't know you write adult/erotic contemporary, she was just excited to get an autograph. Decked out in her 1D muff hat. I ask 'mini me' if she is gonna hunt whabbits....hehe! I think of Elma Fudd when she wears her 1D hat. ( One Direction)

We got there dead on 12 noon when the signing started and there was a line of about 150 people. Naturally we were at the end. Nearly 2 hours later, it was MY TURN!!! YAY!!

Seriously, there were only 8 people behind me. So I could have sat down for 2 hours.

A lovely Sushi company who had a shop in the plaza kept coming by giving us free samples of their Japanese fair. I of course dribbled it down my chin and onto my Gideon badge. I ended up chatting to a lovely Indian girl and an Asian girl about books, so the time passed quickly. Dribbling the Japanese treat down my face , kinda broke the ice.

Some serious Sylvia fans with piles of books for signing. I had one book and some prints for blog giveaways. They are currently with Sylvia and Felicity and she will post them on to me.

SooOOoooo, that brings me to my giveaway. I can't show you the signed prints until I get them back. I will insert image here when I get them in.

GIVEAWAY TIME

INTERNATIONAL

4 x SIGNED PRINTS = 4 winners

Novels On The Run FB Page Friend US

If link on rafflecopter doesn't work

IMAGES OF PRIZES WILL GO UP HERE WHEN I GET THEM BACK IN FROM BEING SIGNED IN THE MAIL.

The signed prints will be all different and different in sizes

I will randomly choose who gets what.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!!

Michelle

SKYPE INTERVIEW & SIGNED PRINTS GIVEAWAYS with ABBI GLINES - AUSTRALIAN BOOK SIGNING TOUR - SIMON & SCHUSTER - VLOG

2013-06-09T19:29:00.002+10:00

Today I had the pleasure of skyping with ABBI GLINES author of many New Adult Contemporary's and her YA Paranormal Romance series. I want to thank the lovely Anabel for making that possible from Simon & Schuster Australia.

I was a tad nervous , and it shows, but, challenge accepted!

Here is my vlog of the interview.

I want to thank Abbi for taking the time out of her busy schedule to chat to me. She is really lovely. To be truthful I was sweating like I had been running a marathon at my end, I was that nervous. But I got there in the end.

Abbi was kind enough to sign some prints of her covers I got printed off at Big W which I had prior organized with her.

I want to give a big shout out to the lovely Rachel from The Rest Is Still Unwritten who got a couple of my books signed and made the giveaways possible for y'all. I am in my little forest and could not get to Sydney or Melbourne to the signings , so Rachel was kind enough to get my books and prints to Abbi for me.

THANK YOU RACHEL!! xxxx

ABBI & RACHEL

I can't put a photo up now of the prizes but I will when I get them back in the post.

So sit back and have a watch and you will find out some interesting things.

Michelle

GIVEAWAY TIME

INTERNATIONAL

4 signed prints = 4 winners

IMAGES OF PRIZES WILL GO UP HERE WHEN I GET THEM BACK IN FROM BEING SIGNED IN THE MAIL.

The signed prints will be all different and different in sizes
I will randomly choose who gets what.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The silly link for the facebook pages isn't working on the rafflecopter so if you go and friend or like them you can find them by clicking in these links Abbi Glines, Therestisstillunwritten and Novels On The Run they will pop up under search. Just tell me in comments you did it :)

If you haven't started any of Abbi's books, she is brilliant . You can check my reviews out via the left side bar links under Abbi Glines.

I have read/reviewed:

The Vincent Boys - Beau..sigh

The Vincent Brothers - Sawyer - YOWZER!!

Fallen Too Far - Rush - O.M.G.!

Never Too Far - RUSH!! & Surprise Woods!

Existence - Dank Walker - Rawrrrrr!

Currently reading Predestined - Dank Walker RAWRRRR!!!

Here are some of her books

EXISTENCE TRILOGY

LEIF # 2.5 - NOVELLA

YA PARANORMAL

LOVE THIS SERIES!!

SEA BREEZE SERIES

NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY

THE VINCENT BOYS

2 BOOK SERIES

NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY

BEAU & SAWYER VINCENT - YOWZER!!

TOO FAR SERIES

FALLEN TOO FAR

NEVER TOO FAR

FOREVER TOO FAR

with

SPIN OFF SERIES FOR WOODS PERFECTION SERIES

TWISTED PERFECTION

NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY

YOWZER IN THE HOTNESS OF THE LADS DEPARTMENT

BLOG TOUR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - JET by JAY CROWNOVER - MARKED MEN # 2 - HARPER COLLINS - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY - 5 DELICIOUS JET STARS!!

2013-06-08T21:17:00.001+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have my stop on the blog tour for JET by Jay Crownover. You can read my review and read a guest post from Jay about where she likes to write.

I think Jay is just amazing how far she has come since late December 2012 when she landed on Amazon with RULE.

I have a habit of reading half the night and Saturdays are my sleep in mornings. Ya won't see me on facebook before 10.30am. So I was snoozing away happily in slumberland when this blog tour sign up went up. So naturally when I got my tushy out of bed it was closed. So thanks to Jay for having my back and speaking to the lovely tour hosts to get my tushy on the tour. I would have survived not being on it, but I have been moshing like only a mosher can mosh waiting for Jet and I wanted to show my support for Jay.

Then the news hits that for us Aussies and UK readers to read Jet, we would be waiting until 20 June 2013 due to different release date to USA. I loved all the creative people working their way around that little obstacle.

Love it!

The cat was already out of the bag for me as I had already pre-ordered it.

So my pre-order is sitting there waiting for the release, but I was lucky enough to get it for this tour. So a smile was on my face and I took my time reading about a rocker named Jet Keller and a girl named Ayden Cross.

Here is my review.

Title: Jet

(A Marked Men Novel #2)

Author: Jay Crownover

Genre: New Adult

Publication Date: May 28, 2013

By: Jay Crownover
Published By: Harper Collins
Released: Available Now ( US )
Details: Digital, 400 Pages

RATING: 5 DELICIOUS JET STARS!!

Blurb : Goodreads

With his tight leather pants and a sharp edge that makes him dangerous, Jet Keller is every girl’s rock and roll fantasy. But Ayden Cross is done walking on the wild side with bad boys. She doesn’t want to give in to the heat she sees in Jet’s dark, haunted eyes. She’s afraid of getting burned from the sparks of their spontaneous combustion, even as his touch sets her on fire.

Jet can’t resist the Southern Belle with mile-long legs in cowboy boots who defies his every expectation. Yet the closer he feels to Ayden, the less he seems to know her. While he’s tempted to get under her skin and undo her in every way, he knows firsthand what happens to two people with very different ideas about relationships.

Will the blaze burn into an enduring love. . . or will it consume their dreams and turn them to ashes?

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I am so in love with Jay’s writing, she can belt out a book with such beautiful lads who are working their way through a crop of women, cause they can, until they find THE ONE that rocks their kazbah. Then we strap ourselves in for the love fest and the difficult times and the angst.

JET

Ayden Cross was a puzzle that, every time I thought I was close to solving, proved to have five extra pieces and no corners. For a long time, I thought she was a Southern belle, complete with mile-long legs in cowboy boots, but then she would turn around and do something that knocked me on my ass.

AYDEN

I knew better than to ask my bestie what was wrong with me.

She was all about boys covered head-to-toe in ink and littered with jewelry in places the Lord never intended boys to be pierced. She would say it was the allure of someone so different, someone so obviously not my type, but I knew that wasn’t it.

He was entrancing. Every single person in the packed bar had their eyes on him and couldn’t look away.

His hair looked like he had just shaken off whatever girl had messed it up. At some point during the set he had peeled off his wife-beater to reveal a lean and tightly muscled torso that was covered from the base of his throat to somewhere below his belt buckle in a giant black and gray tattoo of an angel of death. He had on the tightest black jeans I had ever seen a guy wear, decorated with a variety of chains hanging from his belt to his back pocket, and they left little to the imagination.

Yup! Jay has me trying to see what is in her lads pants before she has even written a book. This uber nerd has become a bit saucy. I blame this on Jay’s writing. Seriously the piercings that pop up on google, image included, make my eyes boggle like a looney tunes cartoon. I know what Rowdy is sporting and OMG!! And his book hasn’t even been written yet. I swear when I come back in another life I am going to ditch the nerd and live on the wild side.

Truly!

“What am I supposed to do with that?”

I did LOL at this comment by Ayden. I would have said the same.

Speaking of Rowdy, I loved getting more of him in this book. He seems such a good mate. I am moshing for ya Rowdy ... already.

What I love is Jay's characters feel real. They are a great group of friends who watch out for each other. They have each other’s back and they look out for the girls.

Now back to Jet and Ayden. These two are putting themselves through a whole pile of heart ache in this book. Both have secrets and heavy stuff they are dealing with, keeping it all buried and private from their friends and each other.

Ayden takes a leap and Jet shuts her down. Fast forward a year and now Jet is rooming with Ayden and one of my fave gals in this series, Cora. Ayden and Cora together are quite funny. They like to rate Jet’s one night stands. I liked the way Jet handles their behaviour.

“One of these days there’s going to be a ten and you’re not going to know what to do with yourselves.”

I was surprised he was aware of what we were doing. That didn’t speak too highly of his respect for the girls he brought home with him on a regular basis.

“They get what they come for and then they go home satisfied. If they have to tangle with you two knuckleheads on the way out, I just figure that is part of the price of admission.”

Ayden has moved on with Adam in her bid to control her life and the expectations she has on her future. He cops a fair bagging from Jet and Rowdy. I did feel a bit sorry for sweater vest guy. Being a nerd myself. Hehe!

“Besides, if he didn’t want Rowdy and me to clown on him, he wouldn’t wear a damn sweater vest everywhere he goes. Who even wears a sweater vest anymore?”

“That’s the whole point; you don’t see anything wrong with dating a dude who thinks a sweater vest is badass, and I don’t see anything wrong with picking up a chick who gets ranked by my shithead roommates the morning after. Two different worlds, Ayd, two totally different worlds.”

It’s a natural progression for Jet and Ayd to be tempted by each other, living under the same roof and the smexi gets turned up. We get to see/visualize what Jet is sporting inside his pants.

YOWZER!

He tasted like whiskey and the sweetest kind of temptation there was.

“I wanna have sex, Ayd. Lots and lots of sex ... with you and only you. Does it have to be more than that right now?

I wanted to suck on that bar in the center of his tongue like it was a lollipop.

This boy could play a woman as well as he could play a guitar; there was no doubt about it.

Jet is a surprise package, he is such a down to earth guy who could have the world at his feet. He knows where his future lies. He knows what he wants from his day job.

"I could be famous on a ridiculous level singing metal or singing nursery rhymes. That’s not what I want.”

He has a beautiful set of pipes on him, which I thought was a gorgeous side to Jet. My son plays the scream music in his room and I find it hard to groove to it. I really had this urge to hear Jets singing coming out of the pages when he sung to Ayden.

Swoooooon.

“If you can sing like that why in the world do you get onstage and scream and yell so that no one can understand you? You’re amazing. That was so beautiful, it made my heart hurt.”

The shiz starts flying when both of their pasts catch up to them and threaten to take from them what they have worked so hard to achieve.

Jet gets a wake up call and Ayden knows blood is thicker than water , together they must find a place for themselves in a world of hurt.

I loved having Rule and Shaw popping up. Rule is a guy with such presence. He knows where his life is now headed and it is with Shaw all the way.

“Honestly , man, it’s whatever she wants. She wants a ring, I’ll buy her one the size of her head. She wants a kid, I’ll take her to bed every night until she has one, and I won’t complain about it at all. If she wants to keep things the way they are now, until the end of time, then I’m cool with that, too. All that matters is that it’s her and me at the end of the day. “

Rule cares about his mates and can see when they need some of his new found wisdom when it comes to the opposite sex. He is like Obi Wan Kanobi , now the wiser one on the female sex.

“When the right one comes along, Jet, you figure it out. You move mountains, you change your life and you do whatever it takes to keep them with you. I would be half the man I am without Shaw.

Now my boy Rome, he appears to have gotten himself in a mood and I think it sounds like Cora will be the one to work that out with him. Cora is a pocket rocket and I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.

What I wanna know is, Cora has pierced all the lads.... manly parts, but Romes. Will he be letting her at it J

Another bloody good time had by myself in the world of the Marked Men.

Giddy up, cowgirl!

Michelle

BLOG TOUR STOPS - HAVE AT THEM

Jay Crownover

Where I Like to Write

I can write when and wherever. I write in my room, I have a desk and an area set up, but normally I write on my bed with my lap top on my legs. Generally I only use the desk when the dogs are bugging me. They know when I’m sitting at the desk it’s time to lie down and be quiet because mommy has no time to play ball.

When I write on the bed, I have ropes and tennis balls, dog drool all flying at me, and yet I still manage to crank out a chapter or two at a time. I write with the music cranked up LOUD or the TV playing for white noise. I like to leave it on Investigation Discovery (or Murder TV as we call it around here). Dunno why, but its awesome background noise to write to.

When my bestie had her baby and I was at the hospital with her, I wrote the ending of Rule and the first two chapters of Jet. While I was in Mexico on vacation, I hammered out two chapters of Rome while sitting at the beach with a Pacifico in my hand.

What I can’t do is just stop in the middle of the scene I am working on. Even if I have places to go or things to do, I have to finish whatever it is I am working on at the time. I have to get the thought finished and tie up the conversation…whatever it is. Sometimes it can be frustrating because life likes to interfere and doesn’t care that my characters are making up, breaking up, or having sexy time or whatever!!! I’m having to learn how to balance all of that now that I am writing and working from home fulltime. I have to remember the real world needs me to participate too and that stopping and going to walk the dog has to happen and what is on the screen will be there when I get back to it.

I say the best place for any writer to write is wherever they are comfortable. Wherever they find inspiration and can tell their story in the way that works best for them. I write pretty fast…which is one of the reasons I think I suck so hard at editing, so I can be in any place and get a good portion of whatever I’m working on done. I cannot, however, write while I am on anything that moves. Hell no! Not unless puking in public is acceptable. You’ll never see me on an airplane, train, boat, in a car working on any kind of written anything. It makes me so freaking nauseous I can’t even tell you!! Yuck.

About the Author

Jay Crownover is the bestselling author of Rule. Like the characters in her Marked Men series, she is a big fan of tattoos. She loves music and wishes she could be a rock star, but since she has no aptitude for singing or instrument playing, she'll settle for writing stories with interesting characters and that make the reader feel something. She lives in Colorado with her three dogs.

Social Media Links

Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

GIVEAWAY TIME

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17204860-jet

PURCHASE LINKS

Amazon US:

http://www.amazon.com/Jet-A-Marked-Men-Novel/dp/0062302418/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369786532&sr=8-1&keywords=jet

Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jet-ebook/dp/B00CR42NBQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1369786572&sr=8-2&keywords=jet

Note:

UK and Australia: Jet’s release date has been moved to June 20th.

Amazon CA:

http://www.amazon.ca/Jet-Marked-Men-Novel-ebook/dp/B00CGZXRRU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369786616&sr=8-1&keywords=jet+jay+crownover

Barnes & Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jet-jay-crownover/1115217164?ean=9780062302410

Itunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/jet/id639882507?mt=11

Kobo:

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Jet/book-I_vcn_rr6E6mNLa844K56Q/page1.html?s=fwUKbjJKp0S7o0wOUHHApg&r=1

Event organized by: Literati Literature Lovers http://literatiliteraturelovers.com

BOOK REVIEW - EXISTENCE by ABBI GLINES - EXISTENCE TRILOGY # 1 - YA PARANORMAL - WILD CHILD PUBLISHING - 4.5 DANK STARS!!

2013-06-08T16:01:00.001+10:00

By: Abbi Glines

Published By: Wild Child Publishing

Released : Available Now

Details:

RATING: 4.5 DANG I GOT BLIND SIDED STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

What happens when you're stalked by Death? You fall in love with him, of course.

Pagan Moore doesn't cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.

Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead.

Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.

He is Death and he's about to break all the rules.

This is a really cute fan made trailer for Existence.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I’ve been going all out on Abbi’s contemporary’s and having an absolute smexi time with her lads she writes in her more mature adult reads. Abbi is still bringing it in her YA Paranormal genre of writing.

Dank. Yes, I did a double take when I first saw his name, and I let Dank Walker roll off my tongue a few times... and I like it.

Dank. Dank. Dank.

This was a really cool read and OMG soooo did not see that twist at the end. I was sucker punched with that one.

Dank is Death.

Pagan sees souls, she has her whole life. She sees Dank.

“You can speak,” I said looking directly at him. I needed him to know I wasn’t afraid. I’d been dealing with wandering souls, which is what I like to think of them as, all my life. They didn’t frighten me but I liked to ignore them so they would go away. If they ever thought I could see them, they followed me. He continued to watch me with an amused expression on his face.

Dank is a gorgeously smexi YA character. He has book boyfriend written all over him.

Dank treats Pagan differently. He likes her.

The problem is ...well he is Death.

“Fly away please. Stay out of my room. I could have been naked!”

A deep chuckle caused a strange warmth to course through my body. Dizziness seemed to touch me but just barely. “You want me to fly away? That’s cute.”

Death doesn’t date. He is created. He has a job to do. That would be...errr.... coming for those whose appointed time it is. This means you are gonna die.

Leif is the gorgeous misunderstood jock.

Misunderstood by Pagan.

Pagan is convinced to tutor Leif and a relationship begins.

“I don’t want you to just be my tutor. I want you to be the girl I look for in the halls every morning and save a seat for in the cafeteria. I want you to be the one waiting for me when I walk off the field at my games. I want you to be the one I pick up the phone to call just to make me smile.” His eyes watched me. Leif Montgomery actually appeared nervous.

I really liked Leif. He is a nice guy. A safe guy. There is nothing to dislike about Leif. He cares for Pagan. He may even love her.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED hearing Dank growl whenever Leif and Pagan were connecting.

“I want to kill that boy every time I see his hands on you.” He kissed a path up my neck and I arched my neck in response to give him better access. Nothing had ever felt like this. His touch was like a drug. “I want to rip his arms from his body so he can’t touch you again.”A low, familiar growl vibrated against my back. “But I can’t have you, Pagan. You’re not meant for me.” His voice sounded tortured.

The problem is, Pagan is lusting after Dank, but she can’t have Dank and some souls are getting a bit on the aggressive side .

Dank is not a happy Death.

Dank is full of surprises , he is a part time rock star too. You would think he was living the life.... but being Death is no party.

Miranda is a fun friend. She is always getting uber excited about a guy, even though she has Wyatt back as her exclusive. I really like Wyatt he is a great guy.

A cool guy.
Miranda grinned and shook her head. “Jeez, girl, you’re worse than me. At least I didn’t go that whack when I saw him in the office earlier. Of course, he didn’t seem real bothered by your reaction either. Which is a good thing, considering you seem a might bit stalkerish.”

Gee, love the girl. She has spunk and smart to boot, even if she is being treated. She is a little whacky chubacky.

“Oh, come on Twitter whore this is more entertaining than the shit we have to watch on television.”Gee called from her chair.

“Twenty minutes, Gee,” Nurse Karen replied with boredom.

“I already lost all my fucking time today, Nurse Karen.”

She glared and pointed a finger toward Gee. “Twenty minutes tomorrow and you will lose all privileges for a week if you say one more bad word.”

Abbi spun me a couple awesome twists in this book. Which I LOVED!!! A total blind side on one thing.

Seriously she kangaroo boxed me in the face.

An awesome start to this series, that just quietly after that ending, takes on a whole bag full of intrigue for me to know more.

So, onwards I march to read Predestined and see WT shiz is going on!!

Plus more Dank.

Dank. Dank. Dank. Team Dank!

I have cracked Predestined open and I will tell ya, this is shaping into a very original series. More surprises!!!

WEeeeeeEEeeEeeee! I love authors who can surprise me.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - PLAYING PATIENCE by TABATHA VARGO - BLOW HOLE BOYS #1 - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY

2013-06-07T19:42:00.000+10:00

By: Tabatha Vargo

Published By: Tabatha Vargo

Released : Available Now

Details: Digital for review, 425 Pages

RATING: 4.25 ZEKE STARS!!

Blurb : Goodreads

Sometimes all you need is Patience.

Life’s been hard for Zeke. Being a punching bag for his alcoholic father has turned him into stone. Not even the dodgy trailer park he lives in can scare him. Fighting is his release and sex, drugs, and his guitar bring him peace, but deep down Zeke isn’t quite as hard as he makes himself out to be. When he meets Patience, she finds all his broken pieces and puts him back together, but she’s a ray of light in his shadowed life and the last thing he wants to do is bring her into his dark world. Playing careless is easy, playing the bad guy can be fun, but playing Patience is impossible, especially when she can see right through him.

Zeke isn’t the only one who’s broken, and for the first time, in a long time, Patience feels alive. Her black and white world gets a shot of color when she meets Zeke. He’s unlike anyone she’s ever met with his tattoos, piercings, and blunt honesty. She wants nothing more than to let go and ride the wild side with him, but some wounds never heal and the broken pieces of Patience aren’t so easy to find.

***Warning: this book contains graphic language, sex, and violence. Mature readers only. Not intended for young adult readers.***

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

This is a story about two broken characters who meet, not realizing how broken the other is. They keep their home life hidden from friends, from each other. They exist in a bubble , holding that pain back.

Zeke Mitchell, guitar playing band member with Blow Hole , lives in a trailer park and his father’s fists worship Zeke’s body. He barely can make petrol money.

My gas hand was low and I didn’t have two dimes to rub together, but it just felt like the right thing to do.

He has trouble staying out of jail with Patience around.

“You again,” he said as he crossed his arms and bit down on his lip ring. “Guess that means I’m going to jail today.”

I suddenly got a big case of nerves. “Why would you go to jail?” I fiddled with my hair.

“Every time I see you I end up behind bars.....”

Zeke is a bad boy.

His loose-fitting jeans had rips and tears in them and the sleeves in his black T-shirt were rolled up. The tattoos on his elbows melted into the ones that disappeared into the sleeves of his shirt. There were letters placed on his fingers, but his hands were moving so fast I couldn’t see what they said. Once his solo was over, he looked back out at the crowd. His long, dark bangs still covered half his face. He shifted his head to the side, tossing them out of his eyes and giving me a peek of the little music note tattooed behind his ear.

He didn’t smile. He was as hard as the concrete that surrounded us, but in his eyes you could see he loved what he was doing. There was a natural look of joy in his sultry stare as he bathed the women in the front row with his inattentive gaze. He caught a break for a minute and reached over for his beer. I watched as he brought the bottle to his lips and his silver lip ring caught my full attention. He was covered in color and art; he was a standing statue for freedom, and I was drawn to his careless stature.

He doesn’t complain about the life he has been dealt, he gets up every day and holds on tight to his music.

Patience, love her name, she is a rich girl, living the rich life, or so we think. She has a horrendous secret she carries around with her. She is very protective of her mother and little sister, so her secret stays buried deep within her soul.

So deep that I wonder how she can function and not show cracks after so many years living with it.

Outsiders would never know that behind closed doors my life was hell. I was well liked and a soccer star, but I was a broken porcelain doll, cracked beyond repair and tossed in the back of a closet.

Zeke meets Patience when she is in need of desperate help. Zeke isn’t the type of guy to care about anybody but his mates and his guitar , drugs and some meaningless sex.

That is all about to change.

The first three quarters of this book for me was a fantastic read. I was drawn in like a moth to a flame, I could not put the book down. I was in a reading trance, I was consumed by the dance that Zeke and Patience were performing in front of me.

Tabatha gave her lads from Blow Hole, Finn ( front man) , Tiny ( bass guitar) , Chet ( drummer) and Zeke ( electric guitar) the voices of young men from the other side of the track. They do drugs, drink heavily, have energetic sex lives and Blow Hole is their life. School is not a priority. Their craft and getting a recording deal is a priority. Sex with girls is too easy and then they are too easily discarded. There is no fancy dinner, date night, dressing up, it’s hanging at The Pit or at Finn’s garage. They are not politically correct when they talk about women. They bang them and move on. They have no filter on their mouths when it comes to women.

She reached out and boldly grabbed my ass. This was a normal thing for me and nothing caught me off guard with the girls at The Pit. I turned and was met by a hot redhead with cleavage spilling out of a too-small top. Most of the redheads I’d had were wildcats under the covers, so I was definitely down if she wanted to play later. I leaned in to make sure she could hear me over the loud music.

“Nice tits.” I grinned down at her as I ran a finger across her bulging cleavage. There was a jagged tattoo just under her lacy bra line that I wanted to have a look at. “Meet me beside the stage later.”

I wasn’t asking. I was telling. My blunt nature was something I was known for and that suited me just fine. Dishonesty wasn’t my thing and I was born without a filter around my brain. Anything that crossed my mind came out of my mouth, whether it was hurtful or not. The no-filter thing initiated some pretty bad fights in my life. It also didn’t help that I had no idea how to bite my tongue.

Zeke’s music is the only thing he needs... until he meets Patience.... his snowflake.

She looked foreign, all pale with naturally platinum hair, not the box-dyed white that chicks liked to use.

She reminded me of a tiny snowflake fairy.

The story is told from dual pov’s from Patience and Zeke. I really liked listening to Zeke. We can see how he is reasoning things out in his head. He is a smart mouth around Patience, but it is a facade. He is happy in his bubble of bang them and move on.

But Patience is getting to him.

Parts of me wanted her natural reaction. I wanted to see her lips and nose curl up in repulsion. I hated her composed stance when I bet every nerve in her body screamed for her to run to safety.

I couldn’t take it anymore.

“What are you doing here?” I asked rudely. I made the face of disgust that I’m sure she wanted to make.

Zeke makes a lot of assumptions about Patience based on where she lives and how she dresses.

She had more nervous ticks than any other person I’d ever met in my life. She was like a little fawn on the edge of escape. She looked out of place. Her clean appearance stuck out among the dirty rock road and rusted trailers that surrounded her. Her name brand clothes and expensive purse were begging to be swiped by the nearest hood rat. She had to be smarter than this. Didn’t she know she’d walked through the gates of hell for that pitiful thank you? Didn’t she sense the danger that was all around her? She needed to leave. She was too fresh for such polluted air.

“You’re welcome. Now go back to your side of town,” I snapped.

I didn’t mean to sound so rude, but it pissed me off that I was once again worried about her. It felt unnatural to me and it was starting to freak me out.

I loved the Boys Club scenes and watching Zeke play music to his boys.

I peeked out of the little window into the gym and watched as the kids played without a care. It was actually kind of nice to have a place for troubled kids to go. I wish I’d had a place like that when I was growing up. Maybe I could’ve been saved. Maybe I wouldn’t be so fucked up.

I loved how Patience and Zeke were not insta love. Both characters play off each other. Patience has no idea how to be around a guy. She has only the horrors of what she has gone through and that will start to catch up to her.

“Are you always so blunt?”

“Always,” I said as I leaned back in the swing.

“I suppose I like that about you,” she said softly, like she was confessing something huge. “It’s refreshing. Even if you do say some pretty vile things.”

Did I have the word ‘lesbian’ written across my forehead or something today?

“No,” I said adamantly.

“No, that’s cool.” His smile was too big. “I don’t discriminate. Trust me. I like chicks, too. You know what? We should like them together, like at the same time.”

“Okay, so you’re not a lesbian. Then what are you?”

Aggravated by his question, I sighed loudly and answered honestly.

“You want to know what I am? I’m shattered, that’s what I am. There are tiny pieces of Patience scattered all over.”

Zeke for whatever reason doesn’t have relationships. He has one night stands or a quick bang, nothing romantic, no show of feelings or tenderness.

No love.

“My. Name. Is. Patience!” she yelled at me.

I had to admit, I liked it when she yelled at me. Mostly because it let me know she wasn’t as weak and defenseless as she looked, but also because I’m a fucked up individual and occasionally I get off on being jerked around.

Her voice reached every wall of the gym and everyone turned to look at us. I watched as a pretty red blush crept up her neck and filled her cheeks. Her eyes started to water and become bloodshot and she looked like she was about to blow up from embarrassment. The poor thing, she looked like she was about to pass out, but it was funny to see her so pissed off and embarrassed. I kind of enjoyed ruffling her feathers.

I laughed softly to myself, earning another evil glower and I couldn’t help but poke the bear one more time.

“Careful , snowflake, if your face gets too hot, you might melt.”

She pressed at my chest with tiny palms and actually growled at me as she pushed me out of her way. I fucking loved it.

They are starting to get under each other's skin.

“After you.” I motioned for her to go inside.

I wasn’t usually the gentlemen type, but she had gotten a good view of me. It was only fair that I get to watch her tight little ass in those gym shorts I loved so much. She didn’t disappoint as she shifted her hips. Unlike most girls, she wasn’t doing it on purpose. She had a natural sway that had me practically bobbing my head from side to side.

I wrapped my arm around her waist to keep her from tumbling over. Her hips and ass melded into me and I’d never felt something so fucking amazing. It turned me into a caveman.

Zeke will fight his feelings for Patience. He will go out of his way to convince himself that he needs to stay away from her. He will be hurtful. He will break her heart.

I was changing some and I wasn’t sure I was okay with going soft since I needed my hard shell to keep myself alive.

“I wouldn’t be too hopeful, snowflake. Do yourself a favour and quit deluding yourself into thinking there’s anything even remotely decent about me. I make the guy your daddy warned you about look like a little bitch. I get high, I drink, and I like to fuck. If you’re as smart as I think you are, you’ll jog your pretty little ass back to Pleasantville and stay away from me.”

“You’re doing it again, pretty girl,” he whispered. The smell of vodka roamed around me. “You need to understand the nature of the beast. Even a rattlesnake hisses in warning before he attacks.”

“You will never know the depths of me, so don’t even try to explore that far. You’ll get lost and you won’t survive me. Don’t pretend to understand my feelings and emotions. Half the time I don’t have any, but when it comes to you, they’re limitless, which is more dangerous. I don’t look at you like you are nothing, I look at you like you’re everything, because you are, and I fucking hate it.”

It was better than sex somehow. I’d had enough sex in my life, but this was deeper. This was different. It was being inside of her on a whole other level. I was letting her breathe me in. I was breathing her in and she was the breath I needed to take for most of my life.

I felt dangerous. I felt like I was about to explode into a million pieces. She had no idea how much she meant to me in such a short time and it pissed me off that she was making assumptions.

Patience sees Zeke. She knows there is more to this smart mouthed, hard edged guy. She sees glimpses of it showing through the mask he has in place.

Being around Zeke was like watching a movie on a broken tv and having the screen blink on and off. Every now and again, I got to see brief flickers of the real him and I had to admit, I really liked those brief moments. More than I should.

I wanted to know things about Zeke and his father. I wanted to know why his father pounded the shit out of Zeke. I wanted to hear his father rage out loud and give me an understanding of a man who seemed so broken himself. Why he laid into the son who gave him no reason, no provocation. I understood why Zeke didn't fight back. He had made a promise to his mum.

I wanted to know about the letters tattooed on Zeke's fingers, what they said.

I would have loved to see what Zeke thought of Patience paying his fine.

I wanted Zeke's band buddies to question more the bruises he had on him. I know his mates cared, but I wanted to feel that band closeness more.

The prologue gave us the ending, I would have loved a twist there when it came time.

I am looking forward to Perfecting Patience and seeing how she is handling the horrors that have been dealt to her for nearly ten years. It's not something that can be forgotten overnight. That is something that needs work to get over.

I devoured this book in one sitting. I really fell for Patience and Zeke and the short epilogue gave me a future that they both deserved. I'm looking forward to seeing how Tiny, Chet and Finn are doing.

Zeke is a very memorable character. I am looking forward to seeing Chet get a book. He showed us in this book that he has it in him to hold down a girlfriend.

Well done Tabatha, you captured me in the first chapter, and I didn't want to stop reading.

Michelle

Blow Hole Boys # 1.5

Sometimes happy endings are just the beginning of an even harder road.

Although her aunt and sister believe she should get help to deal with her past demons, Patience believes the only thing she needs is Zeke. When he comes back into her world, her life couldn’t be more perfect. Except old demons pick the worst time to surface, and once again their happiness is threatened. Help was never a necessity, but Patience finds out that love isn’t always all you need.

Zeke’s dealt with a lot in his life, but nothing could prepare him for watching the person he loves fall apart. Patience is different, she’s not the girl he came to love. He's willing to do whatever it takes to get her back, but a budding music career and his own demons seem to keep getting in the way. How can you help someone else when you can barely help yourself? Once again Zeke is faced with deciding between his future and the future of Patience.

BOOK BLITZ - GIVEAWAY & EXCERPT - SNOW WHITE SORROW by CAMERON JACE - THE GRIMM DIARIES # 1 - YA PARANORMAL

2013-06-07T14:07:00.000+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have a Book Blitz for SNOW WHITE SORROW by Cameron Jace and a giveaway. Check out the excerpt.

I Loveeeee the cover. It is stunning. Very eye catching and intriguing. Check out the synopsis and throw it onto your TBR piles.

Michelle

BOOK ONE:

Snow White Sorrow by Cameron Jace

Series: The Grimm Diaries #1

Publication: May 30th 2013

Genre: YA Paranormal/Fairy Tale

Synopsis:

What if all you knew about fairy tales was wrong?

Sixteen year old Loki Blackstar is no Prince Charming. His mother is a ghost. His only friend is a red Cadillac that talks to him through the radio. He looks like an Angel but acts like a jerk. No wonder he has been banned from Heaven, which is the least of his troubles. Loki needs a job to pay for school and support himself.

Still, Loki has a rare gift: He is a Dreamhunter. One of the few in the world who can hunt and kill immortal demons in their dreams so they never wake up again.

When Loki is sent to kill a sixteen-year-old vampire girl the locals call Snow White Sorrow, he is pulled into a magical but dangerous world. The locals believe the monster to be Snow White.

The real Snow White... living in the ruins of an ancient castle in a small town. She is described as horribly beautiful, terrifyingly enchanting, and wickedly lovely.

What he finds instead is a beautiful monster girl filled with rage and hurt, who has an epic untold story to tell of things such like why the Brothers Grimm altered the fairy tale, who the Evil Queen really is, where the mirror came from, and who possessed it.

Snow White has killed every person who has dared come near the castle where she once lived with the queen. Mysteriously, she lets Loki live, and whispers two words in his ears; two words that will change his life forever.

Excerpt from Snow White Blood Red

Dear Wilhelm Carl Grimm,

She is not that giddy, naïve, and helpless princess she pretends to be. Please don’t let her fool you with her innocence if you see her sing to the birds in the forest. Resist her charm from bringing joyful tears to your eyes, and shield yourself from her devious beauty before she deceives you into wanting to kiss her awake. It'll be a kiss of death. Your death. That’s how she fooled the Huntsman, Prince Charming, and me, her birth mother.

I still remember the original script of the fairy tale, the one you wrote in 1812. It clearly stated that she was my own flesh and blood daughter. I don’t have the slightest idea why you altered it fifty years later.

What was the point of turning me into an evil, narcissistic, and heartless stepmother, blinded by jealousy and envy of the young princess?

For years, I have been looking forward to telling you the truth about her, but you were impossible to reach.

I am glad I found your brother, Jacob. He told me that you wanted to tone the stories down so children could sleep better at night, instead of having nightmares about the Queen who sought to eat her daughter’s heart and liver.

Shame on you, Wilhelm.

You, of all authors, knew why I wanted to kill her. My actions were justified. I was trying to save my kingdom from her wrath, before everything we loved was destined to an end. The same way you had to rewrite the true fairytales after cursing us, so the War of Sorrows would end forever after.

Night after night, and year after year, parents fed their children false bedtime stories, until your lies grew into inescapable memories. Your happily ever after lies, Wilhelm, shaped the so called fairy tale world.

I wondered why you didn’t burn the original scripts, instead of rewriting them. You must have figured out that sooner or later someone would dig up the truth and expose you. Altering it was the smarter solution. You let children believe that the bites were resurrecting kisses, and that torturing glass coffins were made for sleeping beauties, waiting for a prince to come and kiss them awake.

A wise man once said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he was someone else. You did the same with us, Wilhelm. You turned us into pastiches of the immortals that we really are, and made it harder for us if wanted to persuade the world otherwise.

I know that you did it to save us from her. And I appreciate how you concealed our real names, or we would have ended up like Rumpelstiltskin, tortured by those who knew of his real name.

But sometimes, I can’t help but wonder why no one ever questioned why I was called the Evil Queen, and why I was never given a real name in the books.

Was I so superficial to the world, so stereotypical and mundane? Why was I treated as if I were the monster of the week?

You know what I think? I think that the world never got the time to hate me. It just wanted to hate me long before it met me.

If I tell those who detest me about the true nature of their little princess, would they ever care about me half as much as they care about her?

I know that deep inside, they adore me. They like the way I talk, walk, dress, and even the way I kill.

They are just afraid to admit how much they love me. I am the Snow White Queen, strong enough that I don’t need anyone’s pity or love, because I am loved by the greatest and most majestic heart in the world:

Mine.

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13557166-snow-white-sorrow

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.ca/White-Sorrow-Grimm-Diaries-ebook/dp/B00D3WHFHS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370443871&sr=1-1&keywords=snow+white+sorrow+cameron

--Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/321388

AUTHOR BIO

Wonderlander, Neverlander, Unicorn-chaser, enchanter, musician, survived a coma, & totally awesome. Sometimes I tell stories. Always luv the little monsters I write young adult paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and science fiction mostly. The Grimm Diaries series is a seven book saga that deals with retellings of fairy tales from a young adult POV - it connects most of the fairy tales together and claims to be the truth about fairy tales. I live in San Fransisco and seriously think circles are way cooler than triangles.

Author Links:

Website: http://cameronjace.blogspot.ca/

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/995289.Cameron_Jace

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cameronjace

GIVEAWAY TIME

one (1) ebook copy of Snow White Sorrow

Open internationally

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ENDS 20TH JUNE 2013

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY - REBOOT by AMY TINTERA - BOOK REVIEW & INTERVIEW & GIVEAWAYS - ALLEN & UNWIN - 4 CALLUM & WREN STARS!

2013-06-03T11:24:00.000+10:00

Today on Novels On The Run I have my stop on the blog tour for REBOOT by AMY TINTERA. I have my review of her YA dystopian/sci-fi book , an interview with Amy and a 3 book giveaway, for Aussie addresses only as publisher is sponsoring the giveaway and mailing them out.

A big thank you to Allen & Unwin for the giveaways.

So check everything out below and enjoy!

Michelle

By: Amy Tintera
Published By: Allen & Unwin
Released : Available Now
Details : Paperback from publisher for review, 365 Pages

RATING: 4 WREN & CALLUM STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

I screamed as the branded my wrist with my bar code, my number, and my human name, Wren Connolly. I screamed as they locked me in a cell, as they escorted me to the shuttle, as they put me in line with the other newly undead former children. I screamed until I arrived at the Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation, or HARC, facility, and they told me screaming meant death. Acting like I was still a human child meant death. Disobeying orders meant death.

And then I was silent.

I enjoyed Amy’s sci-fi/dystopian idea. I liked how the characters had a number which equalled the time they spent dead, before they rebooted, awakened.

Wren Connolly now known as Wren178 is the top Reboot at HARC - Human Advancement & Repopulation Corporation. When I say, ‘top’ , it is her number. She was killed when she was only twelve years old and she rebooted after 178 minutes.

The Reboots , the over 120’s, are the trainers. The under 60’s, if you are an under 60, like our lead male protagonist, Callum 22, then you will find yourself , most probably dying on your first assignment. If you don't die, then there are other things instore for you.

The quicker to reboot, the more human you are, the more emotion you feel.

Wren 178 is more machine.

Wren 178 and Callum 22 find themselves as trainer and trainee.

Amy brings those bone snapping moments that had me cringing a bit when I read the book. Just the thought of snapping a bone is not attractive and Reboot trainers will grab those newbies and start snapping.

Ouch!

“Try not to scream when I break your bones. It bothers me. You can cry if you want; that’s fine.”

He burst out laughing. I didn’t realize that was a funny statement.

“Got it,” he said, trying unsuccessfully to cover his grin. “Screaming, no. Crying, yes.”

With all good dystopians/sci-fi reads there is always the ‘corporation’ that needs to be taken down, dismantled, the poor verses the rich, the underdog coming back to fight another day and the rebels that are there when you know where to look.

Reboot has all that and a romance thrown in.

Watching Wren show human emotions was nice.

Callum is an unusual character, he just has so much forgiveness in him and a great attitude, he won’t let himself be changed, if he can help it. Paired with Wren who is all about getting the job done and, killing, makes for an interesting combination.

“Pull it together,” I said, lowering my voice. “ The first time is the hardest. You’ll adapt.”

“I won’t adapt. I don’t want to turn into some monster who enjoys hunting people.”

And then he gestured to me.

He hit the mat for the tenth time, his face a barely recognizable bloody mess. He didn’t get up this time. He collapsed breathing heavily.

“You’re right,” I said. “I should have picked One-twenty-one. But now I am stuck with you, so I suggest you quit your whining and pull it together. There are no more choices, rich boy. This is it, forever. Get used to it.”

I really like Callum but I did find him too happy, is that the right word. He gets the shiz kicked out of him, but he always has a smile for Wren. I would have liked to have seen him more, peeved for his situation. I went from thinking I couldn’t see this happy, clumsy guy be the romantic interest for Wren who is a strong , confident girl, to ....well, maybe I could be convinced.

“Maybe I can get you some clothes as well.”

“Sure. Grab me a book, too, while you’re out. Something funny.”

I thought he was serious, until a grin spread across his face. “Just come back, okay? I don’t need anything else.”

“I’ll try and sleep,” he said, closing his eyes. He cracked one open and held his arm out to me. “Want to come closer?”

“I can’t. One of us has to stay up and keep watch.”

“One cuddle. Maybe two. Fifteen, max.”

“Callum,” I said with a laugh. “Go to sleep.”

I did find flaws in the plot. Without giving anything away, let’s just say Leb and his daughter, I found that a bit hard to believe that no questions were asked. I will leave it at that.

I enjoyed the world building and liked Ever.

I felt like Reboots were like a form of a zombie, but not...but....then the more I read....

Well, you read, you will see what I am referring to without, referring.

I do have questions I would have liked answered in this installment, but that is ok.

I thought Gabe and Zeke could be fun. Will we see more of them???

Did I think some things were a bit too easy in the end, well, yeah. I thought things fell nicely into their laps, but hey, not everything should be hard. I put it down to human guards being a bit inept and HARC maybe needing to do some homework on their escapees.

I am intrigued to know more in Amy’s sci-fi/dystopian and to see Callum maybe toughen up and be lead guy worthy. He sure knows how to bring the kisses. A very likable character and he has some great lines in the book.

A great start with lots of potential for this series for debut author Amy Tintera.

Oh I hear it is a duology. Two books!

Michelle

INTERVIEW with AMY TINTERA

I would like to welcome Amy Tintera to Novels On The Run and thank her for taking the time to answer my Q's.

Michelle: What 5 words describe Amy Tintera the AUTHOR?

Amy: Optimistic. Quiet. Cookie-lover. Weird.

Michelle: Reboot, is your debut YA dystopian, sci-fi book. Congratulations! I personally love a great dystopian. I really liked Wren from the minute I met her. You give us a character who has the highest number attached to her name. She immediately has a stigma attached to her with the other characters with the lower numbers. You pair her up with Callum who is straight off the most relaxed around her.

What 5 words would Callum use to describe Wren?

Amy: Unconventional. Interesting. Strong. Scary. Adorable.

Michelle: What 5 words would Wren use to describe Callum?

Amy: Happy. Cute. Stubborn. Emotional. Passionate.

Michelle: Have you ever people watched, or been somewhere where you saw a person who you thought looked pretty cool and used their description for a character of yours. If so, can you tell us who?

Amy: I haven’t, actually! I’m not much of a people-watcher. I tend to live in my own head, so I sometimes miss things going on around me.

Michelle: Reboot # 2 is due out in 2014. How many books do you currently see for this series?

Amy: Just two. It’s a duology, so the second book wraps everything up.

Michelle: Is it possible to get a non spoiler quote for Reboot # 2. No names necessary?

Amy: “ATTACK!”

Michelle: If you were to walk up to somebody in the street and in a paragraph, not using book blurb, get them interested to read your book. What would you say to them?

Amy: I actually have to do that a lot! People always want to know what my book is about. I say:

“It’s a post-apocalyptic novel set in a future Texas where the teenagers Reboot after death and are forced into slavery by the humans. The story follows Wren, who was dead the longest of anyone, and the cute boy who shakes up her world.”

Michelle: What 2 songs would best describe Wren and Callum’s characters, individually? I love asking music questions, readers love hearing what song best describes a character or their relationship. I have had some awesome responses.

Amy: I always say there’s no song for Wren, that it’s just silence for her! But there is one song – “Sail” by Awolnation, which is the first song I ever associated with the book, and with her. And for Callum it’s “Surprise, Surprise” by Civalias, which is a bit of a sappy song, but I don’t care. It fits. J

Michelle: What has been your most memorable book signing event you have been to and why. Or if you haven’t been to a book signing, what author would you love to meet and why?

Amy: My most memorable was when I met Gayle Forman. She’s one of my favourite authors, and I couldn’t think of anything to say to her, so I just said “I have no words.” She was very sweet about it.

Michelle: Is there a genre other than dystopian you would like to one day write in and why?

Amy: I’d love to write a fantasy YA. I want to write about a princess in a pretty dress who also kicks butt! And contemporary YA. I love contemporaries with complex characters and strong romances.

Michelle: If you could choose four people, alive or dead, fictional or real to have dinner with, who would they be and why?

Amy: I’m going to go with all authors, otherwise I don’t think I could ever narrow it down:

1. Jane Austen, because I love her books and I would have liked to know if she was like any of her characters.

2. Gayle Forman – Like I said above, I’m a big fan. I’d love to talk to her about writing contemporary YA.

3. George R. R. Martin – I’d love to talk to him about world building!

4. J. K. Rowling – I’d also want to talk to her about world building. And everything about writing, ever. J

Thankyou Amy

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ENDS 17TH JUNE 2013

RANDOM ORG WILL CHOOSE THE WINNERS

BOOK REVIEW - FLESH AND BONE by JONATHAN MABERRY - BENNY IMURA # 3 - SIMON & SCHUSTER - 5 FUNNY, FRIGHTENING, HEART BREAKING STARS!

2013-06-01T18:04:00.000+10:00

By: Jonathan Maberry
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Released : Available Now
Details: Library, Paperback , 469 Pages

RATING: 5 FUNNY, FRIGHTENING, HEART BREAKING STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

Reeling from the tragic events of Dust & Decay, Benny Imura and his friends plunge deep into the zombie-infested wastelands of the great Rot & Ruin. Benny, Nix, Lilah and Chong journey through a fierce wilderness that was once America, searching for the jet they saw in the skies months ago. If that jet exists then humanity itself must have survived…somewhere. Finding it is their best hope for having a future and a life worth living.

But the Ruin is far more dangerous than any of them can imagine. They are hunted by fierce animals escaped from zoos and circuses. They must raid zombie-infested towns for food and medical supplies. They discover the very real truth in the old saying: In the Rot & Ruin…everything wants to kill you.

And what is happening to the zombies? Swarms of them are coming from the east, devouring everything in their paths. These zoms are different. Faster, smarter, infinitely more dangerous. Has the zombie plague mutated, or is there something far more sinister behind this new invasion of the living dead?

In Flesh & Bone, Benny Imura, Nix Riley, Lou Chong and Lilah the Lost Girl are pitted against dangers greater than anything they've ever faced. To survive, each of them must rise to become the warriors Tom trained them to be.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Joe sighed and stood up. He looked up at the endless stars.

“It’s been a long night,” he said softly, “and there are still a lot of hours of darkness left. But...”

He started to turn away, and Benny said, “But what?”

Joe gave him a small , sad smile. “No matter how long the night is, the sun always comes up.”

I can’t recommend this series enough to readers. It is YA genre , but Jonathan packs a punch in his story telling. He will have you laughing, cheering, scared for his characters and also heart broken.

Jonathan has a list of things to his name, among those being a writer for Marvel.

I am not ashamed to say, Jonathan had me in tears at the end of Dust & Decay. He just broke my heart , shattered it, I didn’t think he would go there.

He did.

It hurt.

A lot.

But what I loved about Flesh and Bone is Jonathan brought my heartache from Dust and Decay and made it a part of this story. He brought Tom along for the ride in a very clever way.

While he fought, he could almost hear Tom whispering advice.

Be warrior smart.

“Go away! Benny yelled, half to the zom and half to his brother’s ghost.

Benny... most people aren’t defeated - they lose!

It helped me to fill the empty void Tom left behind.

Needless to say, he slugged me again in this installment with another character.

The covers of these books look more horror, but for those of you who have not ventured into the Rot and Ruin, you don’t know what you are missing out on. These are zombie stories with a lot of heart and emotion.

Rot and Ruin , and Dust and Decay, both start off at a slower pace, but they build and build and whahhhhhh!!!

No one had tried to shoot them, torture them, kidnap them, or eat them in almost a month. Benny put that solidly in the “win”category.

Well, that was until the first chapter of this book.

Flesh and Bone started off in a total zombie crazed frenzie with its characters. There was no slow start to this one and it kept going and going with different character pov’s and the shiz was flying left , right and center.

Jonathan really brings a whole arc of emotions to this series. One minute you are laughing at the way Chong and Benny talk to each other ...such teenage boys, and the next your heart will be getting slugged by Mr Maberry.

“Hey, monkey-banger,” said a familiar voice. “You pick the strangest times to lie down for a nap.”

Chong gaped. “Wait ... what’s that on your back?”

“What ... does ... it... look like... you brain-dead... monkey-banger?” gasped Benny.

Chong finds himself becoming a bit of a hero, with the worst results.

Time seemed to have slowed for Chong, but this moment was stretched so taut that it was going to snap. He knew he could flee this encounter and head into the woods. Physically he could do that; but that was not possible on any other level. He also knew that he was no one’s idea of a hero. Benny was although his friend would laugh at the suggestion; and both Nix and Lilah were heroes. Chong was a self-admitted side-kick. No one should ever depend on him for anything heroic. He didn’t have the mentality or the musculature for it. His bokken was clutched in his fists , and his teeth were clenched.

“Talk to me,” said Chong.

“About what?” she asked. “I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with some smart way out of this bear trap, but every which way I look there’s just more traps.”

As far as the romance for his characters....well that doesn’t get addressed in his story telling like other YA reads where it makes up a whole lot of the story. He tells us that Benny and Nix love each other, but it is more words and life saving gestures than what we are more used to reading when a sixteen year old boy says he loves a girl. I have read enough in the series now to know that they do, but it doesn’t get backed up in the way we are used to in YA reads. There are more important things on these characters minds like saving their group from the horrors that attack them daily.

Benny and Nix are quite the team when it comes to being there for each other.

“Sacrifice?” gasped Benny. “What are you, nuts or something? It was like I said. Eve was being chased and-“

“We know she was being chased,” cut in Riot. “How stupid do you really think we are?”

“You really want an answer to that, baldy?” asked Nix coldly.

Lilah aka The Lost Girl , we get to connect more with her. She doesn't make it easy for Chong.

Lilah stood above them, tall and beautiful, her white hair whipping in the fresh breeze, her clothes streaked with gore, her hazel eyes glowing with fire.

She turned slowly to Nix and in her ghostly whisper of a voice said , “I hate boys.”

Lilah and Chong have some great moments. Chong is a bit slow on the uptake. They sure did make me laugh out loud.

Lilah squatted in the tall grass a dozen feet away and stared at the child with hollow eyes through which sad shadows flitted. Benny had once heard Tom refer to that kind of look as a “thousand-year stare.” When Chong made to sit down next to her, Lilah drew her knife and stabbed the point into the earth between them.

“I can see that you need some quiet time,” he said, and scuttled quickly away.

“Yes?” asked Chong.

“Well-?”she said.

“Well... what?”

“I said I was leaving.”

“I know. Did...you want me to go with you?”

She laughed. “This is a hunt.”

“I know.”

“I will be moving fast. Tracking.”

“Yes,” he said. “I know.”

“You’re a --“

“A town boy. Yes. I know that, too.” He smiled. it was a fact she reminded him of a dozen times each day. “And this town boy would slow you down, get you eaten by zoms, and other-wise bring about your downfall of what’s left of humanity.”

“Well...yes.” Lilah studied him, clearly unsure of how to respond. Humour was the bluntest tool in her personal skills set.

“Then if it’s all the same with you, I’ll stay here and manfully defend this tree.”

Lilah narrowed her eyes. “That is not a funny joke.”

“No,” he admitted. “Just mildly silly.”

They sat for a moment, she looking at him and Chong pretending to look at nothing.

“I am leaving,” she said again.

“Okay,” he said.

She lingered, waiting.

“What?” he asked again.

“I am leaving,” she replied, leaning on the word.

“Okay. Good-bye. Be safe. Come back soon.”

“No,” she said.

“Good hunting?”

Lilah growled low in her throat, grabbed his shirt with both hands, and hauled him toward her. Into a kiss that was fierce and hot and instantly intense. After several scalding seconds, she shoved him roughly back.

She got to her feet and snatched up her spear, then looked pityingly down at him. “Stupid town boy,” she muttered, then turned and jogged into the forest.

Chong lay sprawled, eyes glazed and face flushed.

“Holy moley...,” he gasped.

The villains of this installment are the most cray cray SOB’s I have read. More cultish in the way they swoop down on the desperate and brainwash them into being their followers.

Lordy these are some nutbags.

Jonathan does this soooo well.

Saint John is no saint! He is better known as an infamous serial killer, a psychopath, back in the old world. And the guy is totally bonkers.

He is lethal.

Mother Rose is a user and out to RULE THE WORLD.

I need to throw in an evil laugh here.

Mwah ha ha ha haaaaa!!

“Better her than me,” said Nix. “That guy freaked me out.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not having fuzzy puppy love about Mother Nut Job down there.”

Jonathan has gone all out throwing his teenagers into an onslaught of deathly trouble.

Nix and Benny, Chong and Lilah ( The Lost Girl) , throw in some new characters and the action is nonstop .

The pages turn all by themselves with Jonathan’s story.

Seriously you have to strap yourself in for this one.

I really enjoyed Lilah and Joe Ledger. Joe is very entertaining and he is the guy I would be hanging with. He is a wealth of knowledge and he knows how to survive.

“And why did you help me back there?”

“Is that a serious question?”

“Of course.”

“Well, let’s see. Girl. Hurt girl, actually. Bunch of freaking zombie pigs that want to eat hurt girl. Hmmm, why’d I step in? Truth is, I slept badly last night, woke with a kink in my shoulder, and as everyone knows, there’s no better way to loosen up old joints than to go chop-socky on a couple of zombie pigs. Well-known fact. “

She glowered at him. “That’s a stupid answer.”

“No,” he corrected, “it’s a silly answer. The question was pretty silly too, don’t you think?”

Joe adjusted the seat belts carefully around Lilah’s wound. “Not a chance.”

“You’re going to fight back?”

“Honey, I never stopped fighting.”

He turned and grinned at her. “I admire your spunk, darlin’, but you’re in no shape for a brawl.”

“I can shoot.”

“There’s that.” Joe dismounted. “Tell you what,” he said, “you can play target practice with anyone who gets past me and the fuzz-monster.”

“Okay, kids,” he said loud enough for the reapers and Lilah to hear, “before you go all wrath-of-God on me, let’s chat for a bit.”

“And we do not fear dying. To die is to become one with the darkness, and that is the greatest joy of all.”

“Really?” asked Joe, seemingly incredulous. “You guys actually believe that?”

“Yes!”declared the man with the hummingbird tattoos, and the other reapers roared in agreement.

“No fear of death at all, is that what I’m hearing? I mean. is that the gist?”

“Death is a pathway to glory and oneness with the infinite.”

“So... if I shot one of you, everyone here would be good with that?”

“You think like someone from the old world,” sneered the leader. “You still think that we fear death and -“

Joe drew his pistol and shot the man through the heart.

.... “Now the funny thing is,” said Joe into the silence, “there’s more than a couple of you who look pretty damn scared right now.”

....”This is an M67 fragmentation grenade. Yeah, I know it’s from the old world, but let’s pretend that it still has relevance to the moment. It has a casualty radius of fifteen meters, with a fatality radius of five meters. That covers all you cats. Now, I’m willing to bet a brand-new ration dollar that not one of you is going to bravely stand there while I throw it. In fact, I’m willing to bet you’re all going to run away as if you really are afraid for your lives. What do you think about that?”

The reapers stared at him.

Joe grinned at them.

He pulled the pin.

“She frowned. “You’re afraid of Saint John?”

Joe put his hands on her shoulders. “Lilah, there’s not a living soul on this planet who shouldn’t be afraid of Saint John.”

“Lock and load, little darlin’,“ bellowed Joe as he gunned the engine.

Joe Ledger is my Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead. I’m hanging with him! He’s got grenades and shit!

Quite an emotional ending , that had me sucking back a few. Jonathan knows how to hurt the readers feelings with how tough he can be on his characters hearts. He hurts my heart, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Jonathan brings human chaos and betrayal to their own kind to the fore front in this book.

Zombies are the least of this group of teenagers worries, it is their own kind that are more the monster.

By the time you finish this one, you will be crying for more.

I know I am.

I really liked Nix’s journal entries. A nice touch to the impact Tom has had on them all and what they have learnt from him.

Be warrior smart.

Benny and Nix stumble across world saving information and game plan winning equipment and a whole lot of frightening realization is waving like a flag in front of their faces.

It made no sense. Not according to everything Benny had learned in his nearly sixteen years. Since First Night everyone who died, no matter how they died, reanimated as a zom. Everyone. No exceptions. It was the way things were.

Until it wasn’t.

“A LAW rocket? God almighty, kid... where did you see that?” he asked in a fierce whisper.

Benny smiled and winked. “I can’t tell you,” he said. “It’s a secret.”

And then passed out.

I totally recommend reading this series about an endearing group of friends who will make you laugh, cheer for their survival and the little 'wins' they have on the battle field that has become their life.

Staying alive is a tough business and so is finding the time to eat amongst all the cray cray that the world is dishing at them.

Jonathan's writing is a total zombie escapism, it's comforting knowing I am safe and sound holding a book in my comfy bed, while Jonathan puts his very brave young gang through the grinder of appalling humanity, and what some people will do when a world has gone to shit and they are looking at power and euthanasia as an answer.

That was a bloody long sentence.

Michelle

Totally psyched for Fire And Ash due for release - 3rd September 2013

Benny Imura and his friends have made it to Sanctuary, they've found the jet and they've discovered that civilization is struggling to regain its foothold in the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Scientists are on the verge of finding a cure for the zombie plague. It should be time for celebration, but it's not. Benny's best friend, Chong, has been infected by an arrow dipped in the flesh of a zombie and he hovers between life and death and Dr McReady, a researcher who may have the critical formula for a cure, has gone missing. So Benny convinces Captain Ledger to mount a search and rescue mission to find the doctor and help Chong. But with the Reapers still pursuing their plan to turn all zombies into super-fast shock troops even if they can save Chong, can they save themselves? In the fourth book of the thrilling and emotionally charged Rot & Ruin series, the battle to end all battles is about to begin..

JOE LEDGER SERIES

This I gotta read!!

When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance....

Visit www.stmartins.com/jonathanmaberry to download the free short story COUNTDOWN

The Joe Ledger Series in Order
The JOE LEDGER series in order

This is a complete list of all of the Joe Ledger novels and short stories (so far) in the correct reading order.

COUNTDOWN
(teaser prequel to PATIENT ZERO)
Meet Joe Ledger, Baltimore PD, attached to a Homeland task force… who's about to get a serious promotion.
Available for all e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc)
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter

PATIENT ZERO
NOVEL #1/Published in 2009/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
When you have to kill the same terrorist twice in one week there's either something wrong with your world or something wrong with your skills... and there's nothing wrong with Joe Ledger's skills. And that's both a good, and a bad thing. It's good because he's a Baltimore detective that has just been secretly recruited by the government to lead a new taskforce created to deal with the problems that Homeland Security can't handle. This rapid response group is called the Department of Military Sciences or the DMS for short. It's bad because his first mission is to help stop a group of terrorists from releasing a dreadful bio-weapon that can turn ordinary people into zombies. The fate of the world hangs in the balance.... Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Blackstone
ISBN-10: 0312382855 / ISBN-13: 978-0312382858

ZERO TOLERANCE
Short Story
This sequel to PATIENT ZERO brings Joe Ledger back into action, hunting for zombies in the deadly mountains of Afghanistan. .
Available in print in THE LIVING DEAD 2 edited by John Joseph Adams
Coming soon as an e-story
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Tolerance/...

DEEP, DARK
Short Story
In an underground bioweapons lab a team of scientists working to develop super soldiers instead create something that is far deadlier and infinitely stranger. Joe Ledger and Echo Team must hunt –and be hunted—deep down in the dark.
Available for all e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc)
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter http://www.amazon.com/Zero-Tolerance/...

MATERIAL WITNESS
Short Story
A stand-alone short story that takes place in the early days of Joe Ledger’s service in the Department of Military Sciences, a top secret division of Homeland Security. Joe Ledger and the DMS must protect a Pine Deep resident spook and author who is in over his head with the wrong people and may know more than he is letting on.
Available for all e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc)
Available on audio by Blackstone, read by Ray Porter http://www.amazon.com/Material-Witnes...

THE DRAGON FACTORY
NOVEL #2/Published in 2010/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
Joe and the DMS go up against two competing groups of geneticists. One side is creating exotic transgenic monsters and genetically enhanced mercenary armies; the other is using 21st century technology to continue the Nazi Master Race program begun by Josef Mengele. Both sides want to see the DMS destroyed, and they've drawn first blood. Neither side is prepared for Joe Ledger as he leads Echo Team to war under a black flag.
Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Blackstone
ISBN-10: 0312382499 / ISBN-13: 978-0312382490

DOG DAYS
Short Story
Joe Ledger returns in this tale that follows the tragic conclusion of THE DRAGON FACTORY. In the wake of a devastating personal loss, Joe Ledger and his new canine partner, Ghost, go hunting for the world's deadliest assassin.
An audio exclusive story available from Blackstone, read by Ray Porterhttp://www.amazon.com/Dog-Days-Joe-Le...

CHANGELING
Short Story
Joe Ledger teams with a mysterious British agent named Felicity to investigate a dangerous bioweapons factory.
This story will be in Midnight Echo Magazine, May 2013.
http://midnightechomagazine.com/2013/...

THE KING OF PLAGUES
NOVEL #3/Published in 2011/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
Saturday 09:11 Hours: A blast rocks a London hospital and thousands are dead or injured… 10:09 Hours: Joe Ledger arrives on scene to investigate. The horror is unlike anything he has ever seen. Compelled by grief and rage, Joe rejoins the DMS and within hours is attacked by a hit-team of assassins and sent on a suicide mission into a viral hot zone during an Ebola outbreak. Soon Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences begin tearing down the veils of deception to uncover a vast and powerful secret society using weaponized versions of the Ten Plagues of Egypt to destabilize world economies and profit from the resulting chaos. Millions will die unless Joe Ledger meets the this powerful new enemy on their own terms as he fights terror with terror.
Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Blackstone
ISBN-10: 0312382502 / ISBN-13: 978-0312382506

ASSASSIN’S CODE
NOVEL #4/Published in 2012/ available in trade paperback, eBook and on audio
When Joe Ledger and Echo Team rescue a group of American college kids held hostage in Iran, the Iranian government then asks them to help find six nuclear bombs planted in the Mideast oil fields. These stolen WMDs will lead Joe and Echo Team into hidden vaults of forbidden knowledge, mass-murder, betrayal, and a brotherhood of genetically-engineered killers with a thirst for blood. Accompanied by the beautiful assassin called Violin, Joe follows a series of clues to find the Book of Shadows, which contains a horrifying truth that threatens to shatter his entire worldview. They say the truth will set you free… Not this time. The secrets of the Assassin’s Code will set the world ablaze.
Available in trade paperback from St. Martin’s Griffin and on audio from Macmillan
ISBN-10: 0312552203 / ISBN-13: 978-0312552206

MAD SCIENCE
Short Story
Joe Ledger and Violin go after a kill-squad of Red Knights in this sequel to ASSASSIN’S CODE.
A short story exclusive to the LIAR LAIR audiobook anthology; available now from Blackstone Audio.

BORROWED POWER
Short Story
Joe Ledger teams with a mysterious British agent named Felicity to investigate a dangerous bioweapons factory.
A story told in two parts: A young Mr. Church teams with Lilith to hunt monsters in the sewers beneath Paris; and when that ancient evil rises again, Joe Ledger and Violin close in for the kill.
Available in eBook only for all eReaders.

A FOOTNOTE IN THE BLACK BUDGET
Short Story
Joe Ledger, Top and Bunny go to the bottom of the world all the way to the Mountains of Madness in this crossover with H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
***This story is not yet released. It will be included in the anthology THE MADNESS OF CTHULHU, edited by S.T. Joshi, spring 2014.

EXTINCTION MACHINE
NOVEL #5
The President of the United States vanishes from the White House for five hours. Next morning he is found, apparently safe and sound. Except that he claims that during the night he was abducted by aliens. A top-secret prototype stealth fighter is destroyed during a test flight. Witnesses on the ground say that it was shot down by a craft that immediately vanished at impossible speeds. North Korea’s ultra top-secret weapons research lab is destroyed by a volcano –in an area where there has not been an eruption for forty millions years. All over the world reports of UFOs are increasing at an alarming rate. Key military personnel, politicians and scientists begin disappearing. And in a remote fossil dig in China dinosaur hunters have found something that is definitely not of this earth. Joe Ledger and the Department of Military Sciences rush headlong into the heat of the world’s strangest and deadliest arms race, because the global race to recover and retro-engineer alien technologies has just hit a snag. Someone—or something--wants that technology back.

ALIVE DAY
Novella / September 2013
Joe, Top and Bunny go deep into the Afghan desert to confront an ancient horror.
ALIVE DAY
This novella will be included in the new anthology, FOUR SUMMONER’S TALES (Gallery Books, September 2013)

CODE ZERO
NOVEL #6 / Coming March 2014
A rogue scientist takes the Seif al Din pathogen (and dozens of other deadly and exotic weapons) and begins selling them to the highest bidders. Bizarre science-based terrorist attacks tear the nation apart –and at the heart of it are new outbreaks of the zombie plague that first brought Joe Ledger into the DMS. Joe and his crew team up with Arklight (from ASSASSIN’S CODE) in a running battle that leaves a trail of bodies from Los Angeles to the steps of the White House.

PREDATOR ONE
NOVEL #7 / Coming March 2015

Also….JOE LEDGER makes cameo appearances in…

FLESH & BONE
Book #3 of the ROT & RUIN series / Available now in hardcover and eBook from Simon & Schuster

TOOTH & NAIL
An eBook exclusive set between FLESH & BONE and FIRE & ASH

FIRE & ASH
Book #4 of the ROT & RUIN series / Debuts August 2013 from Simon & Schuster)

BOOK REVIEW - NEVER TOO FAR by ABBI GLINES - SIMON & SCHUSTER - NEW ADULT CONTEMPORARY - 5 RAWRRR RUSH STARS & A SURPRISING WOODS STARS!!

2013-05-31T22:45:00.000+10:00

By: Abbi Glines
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Released: Available Now
Details: Kindle, 200 Pages

RATING: 5 RAWRRR RUSH STARS & A SURPRISING WOODS STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

He had held a secret that destroyed her world.

Everything she had known was no longer true.

Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him.
Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again.
What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately?

You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Who was the biggest surprise of this book?

Woods!

Dang, I loved him in this second book. The lad has book boyfriend stamped all over him. He is not the shallow lad I thought he was. He knows how to step up and he is a smart cookie to boot, and acting all responsible.

Go Woods! You snuck up on me.

Now, back to Rush, who is just a gorgeous, undeniable hottie, he already has book boyfriend status tattooed all over him.

Love him!

Love how uber smexi Abbi can write her lads.

“Praying to God you won’t stop me. I’m a starving man, Blaire.” He paused waiting on me to reply. When I didn’t he reached up and pulled the straps of my sundress down until my breasts were bare. They felt swollen all the time now and it made them so sensitive. I was going without a bra more and more. My bra didn’t exactly fit anymore and I hadn’t wanted to spend money on a new one if this bigger boobs thing didn’t last long.

“Damn, baby . They look bigger,” he said as his hands covered them.........

The rest is a bit uber uber smexi.....YOWZER!!!

* puts the fan on*

Lordy! One must fan themselves when Miss Abbi starts writing those scenes. I felt like I was sitting in a dry heat of high temperatures.

Is it getting hot in here people?

I love how Blaire can sort Cain out and Nan is no slouch in the eyes in the back of her head department. She is a cool Nan. She is nobody’s fool.

“Yes, Cain. That’s how I feel. I’m not sure what exactly you think we’ve been through. We were best friends, then we were a couple, then my momma got sick and you needed you dick sucked so you cheated on me. “

And that about covers that !

Grant is a lad that I would love a book for. He just says the best things to Blaire. Kind of all big brotherish with her. He cares.

Grant grinned. “I missed you. I’ve had to put up with Rush’s sulking ass so trust me I missed the fuckin’ hell outta you.”

Rush just has the best lines. He will dissolve the reader into a puddle with his need to protect , and when he stuffs up, he tries so hard to fix his error. This whole one woman, relationship thing is new to him and he does let things slide, but he makes a come back.

“She’s amazing. No ... she’s perfect. Everything about her is fucking perfect,”I said aloud then shifted my gaze back to Meg. “I don’t just love her, she owns me. Completely. I’d do anything for her.”

My car wasn’t here. I’d just have to carry her back down the hill and to my Rover. “I’m taking you to get a bed. A big ass bed. One that costs a fucking fortune,” I growled. I was furious that I’d missed that one major issue. It was no wonder Woods had been taking care of her. I’d failed. I wasn’t going to fail her again. I’d make sure she had it all.

Jimmy is simply gorgeous, I want to wrap him up and bring him home.

“Baby, if I’d just crawled out of bed with Rush Finlay I’d be grinning like mad too. In fact I’m envious as hell. I know my donuts didn’t put that satisfied gleam in your eyes.”

Abbi brings the most smexi moments blended with angst and new beginnings. Did I ever fear that Rush and Blaire weren’t going to make it?

Nah!

But....this one is still a to be continued. There sounds like some family issues to threaten this couple.

Choices to be made that won't come easily for Rush.

Check out Forever Too far, releasing June 10th 2013

Michelle

SPINOFF SERIES - PERFECTION

WOODS KERRINGTON'S STORY

Life outside of her house was a new experience for Della Sloane. The dark secrets of her past weren’t something she ever intended to share with anyone. They would never understand. No one would ever get close enough to find out. There was always a chance she’d go crazy sooner than they expected…

Woods Kerrington had never been one to be attracted to fragile females. They seemed like too much work. He wasn’t in it for the work just the pleasure. A night full of naughty fun had been exactly what was on his mind when he’d laid eyes on the hot little number that didn’t know how to pump gas and needed some help.

What he didn’t know was she was as fragile as they came.
The carefree girl who spoke her mind and didn’t care what the world thought of her was more breakable than he could ever imagine…

COVER REVEAL - TORMENTING LILA by SARAH ALDERSON

2013-05-29T22:03:00.001+10:00

Just when we thought we would'nt get anymore Lila, Alex, Nate, Suki and the rest of the gang........Sarah Alderson is giving us TORMENTING LILA.

A novella set 8 weeks after the end of Losing Lila.

And what could fans possibly want more out of this series.....you guessed it.......Alex, Lila and a romantic weekend getaway! But could this weekend truly be relaxing and without drama?!

Tormenting Lila is due for release July 1st.

Be sure to check back here on July 2nd as I have a candid chat with Lila during the casts whirlwind 5 stop blog tour.

And.....Sarah gave us a hint on her Facebook page today.....she's close to writing a third Lila book ! Woot Hoo!!

ENJOY!

MARISSA

BOOK REVIEW - FALLEN TOO FAR by ABBI GLINES - TOO FAR # 1 - SIMON & SCHUSTER - 5 RUSH STARS!!

2013-05-28T14:21:00.001+10:00

By: Abbi Glines
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Released : Available Now
Details: Kindle , 188 Pages

RATING: 5 RUSH STARS!

Blurb: Goodreads

To want what you’re not supposed to have…

She is only nineteen.

She is his new stepfather’s daughter.

She is still naïve and innocent due to spending the last three years taking care of her sick mother.

But for twenty-four year old Rush Finlay, she is the only thing that has ever been off limits. His famous father’s guilt money, his mother’s desperation to win his love, and his charm are the three reasons he has never been told no.

Blaire Wynn left her small farmhouse in Alabama, after her mother passed away, to move in with her father and his new wife in their sprawling beach house along the Florida gulf coast. She isn’t prepared for the lifestyle change and she knows she’ll never fit into this world. Then there is her sexy stepbrother who her father leaves her with for the summer while he runs off to Paris with his wife. Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous. He is also getting under her skin. She knows he is anything but good for her and that he’ll never be faithful to anyone. He is jaded and has secrets Blaire knows she may never uncover but even knowing all of that…

Blaire just may have fallen too far.

Okay, before I start, I was just speaking to publisher and Fallen Too Far has a 4 Chilli rating. So it is New Adult, but there are stickers here in Australia on Abbi's Sea Breeze series and Too Far series and the number chilli = how saucy the read is. Sea Breeze is a number 3 = Definitely Saucy. So when you are purchasing and you see the little chilli sticker with a number on it. That is how hot the book is in the smexi department.

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

Simon & Schuster - 4 Chilli Rating = Seriously Hot
Look for the sticker on the book

Abbi, Abbi , Abbi.... you sure know how to put sizzle in between the pages.

OMG!!

I thought Sawyer got me getting the jet fan out in The Vincent Brothers, but RUSH ...... lordy, lordy, lordy!

“Blaire, I’m not a romantic guy. I don’t kiss and cuddle. It’s all about the sex for me. You deserve someone who kisses and cuddles. Not me. I just fuck, baby. You aren’t meant for someone like me. I’ve never denied myself something I want. But you’re too sweet. This time I have to tell myself no.”

YOWZER!!!!

Blaire is your Southern gal, all the way from Alabama, nothing but her truck, her gun, $20 bucks in her purse and a suitcase.

Sounds like a Taylor Swift song in the making.

“I’m from Alabama, I own boots, tight jeans and a gun,” I replied with a wink.

Destination... Florida, to stay with her loser of a father until she can get on her feet. She knows nothing of her father’s new family, but she is about to find out.

The hard way.

Enter Grant, love the lad. He is sooo nice.

But he isn’t Rush.

“Ignore the hormone ridden idiot at the bar. That’s Will. His mother and Georgianna are sisters. So in some screwed up roundabout way he is my younger cousin. He showed up here last night after running away again for the hundredth damn time and Rush called me to come get him and take his crazy ass home.”

“Now, you’ve gone and done it. I better get him out of here before he falls anymore in love,” Grant replied, taking the cup he’d just filled up with coffee. He headed for the door saying, “Come on Will before I go wake up Rush and you have to deal with his ornery ass.”

Rush , what can I say, this lad is the bad boy, he has a sister who is an uber bitch, there are secrets.

BIG secrets.

Blaire's father has the world reining title for most 'selfish dickhead,' and Abbi infuses a little Harry Potter into her story. Well, kinda J

“I don’t want you under those damn stairs. I hate it. But I can’t move you up here. I’ll never be able to stay away from you. I need you safely tucked away,” he said without looking back at me. His hands gripped the railing on the staircase until his knuckles turned white.

Blaire is this sweet girl who has had it hard, she had to take on her father’s role when her mother was ill. She sacrificed a social life, missing out on things she should have been doing with her friends back in Alabama. Coming to Florida, she is met with disdain and mockery, but she holds her head high and people like Woods who started off, maybe being the sleazy character, turn out to be okay guys.

Jimmy is a hoot, love his caring attitude with Blaire.

Lordy does Abbi write sizzling Rush scenes. The lad is the son of a rocker and he works it like a pro. There are layers to him, which I liked discovering. There is a facade there, but under it, he is more.

Much more.

“I don’t need designer things. Any YOU are designer, Rush.”

“I’m not designer. Get that through your head. I can’t touch you. I want to so damn bad it hurts like a motherfucker but I can’t. I won’t mess you up. You’re ... you’re perfect and untouched. And in the end you would never forgive me.”

“I’ve been with a lot of girls, Blaire. Trust me, I’ve never met one as fucking perfect as you. The innocence in your eyes screams at me. I want to peel every inch of your clothing off and bury myself inside you but I can’t. You saw me tonight. I’m a screwed up sick bastard. I can’t touch you.”

“You don’t want to know me. You think you do but you don’t. I promise.”

“You aren’t what I expected. I wish you were. It’d be so much easier,” he said in a low voice then dropped my hair then turned and walked away.

He muttered a curse then glared up at the sky a moment before looking back at me. “There are things about me you don’t know. I’m not one of those guys you can wrap around your finger. I have baggage. Lots of it. Too much for someone like you.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’ll be your friend. I’ll try my damnedest to be your friend but I have to be careful. I can’t get too close. You make me want things I can’t have. That sweet little body of yours feels too incredible tucked underneath me,” he dropped his voice and lowered his mouth to my ear, “and the way you taste. It’s addictive. I dream about it. I fantasize about it. I know you’ll be just as delicious in ... other ... places.”

Rush is one of those characters , when he opens his mouth every sentence is a quote.

Every time the author steers Blaire away from Rush, we are turning the pages as we want Blaire to be steered back towards Rush. We want to see the son of a famous rocker learn from Blaire.

I gave this book 5 stars because I loved watching Rush and is inner fight to do the right thing with Blaire when he felt he was so much the wrong thing. He looks all perfect and pretty , but he has flaws that even he is just discovering.

Sweet , innocent Blaire knows how to turn up the heat and blossom like a spring flower before our eyes.

But, are the secrets locked tight, about to ruin everything Rush has just found?

I have a real soft spot for Grant, but Rush....well, he is a real rush on your emotions.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - ONYX by JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT - LUX # 2 - ENTANGLED PUBLISHING - 5 DROP DEAD GORGEOUS DAEMON STARS!

2013-05-28T11:25:00.002+10:00

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published By: Entangled Publishing

Released: Available Now

Details: Kindle, 366 Pages

RATING: 5 DROP DEAD GORGEOUS DAEMON STARS!

Blurb : Goodreads

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:

“Not in this lifetime, buddy,” I said finally.
“Resistance is futile, Kitten.”
“So is your charm.”
“We’ll see.”
Rolling my eyes, I faced the front of the classroom. Daemon was a total babe, but he was stab-worthy, which at times, zeroed out the babe part. Not always though.

I just finished Shadows the novella and threw myself head first into Onyx. I needed me a full sized serve of Daemon and Katy.

I devoured it in a day and washed it down with some milk.

Jennifer really knows how to write YA humor and give us a guy that has the reader dreaming of cookies and pen poking, and dreaming of blowing up our laptop with the sizzle of an alien kiss.

Yes, Daemon is still pen poking in class. Gotta love a guy who pokes you with his pen.

Gotta love a guy who wants to share his cookie with you.

“Cookie?” he offered, holding a cookie full of chocolate chips.

Upset tummy or not, there was no way I could refuse that. “Sure.”

His lips tipped up one side and he leaned toward me, his mouth inches from mine. “Come and get it.”

Come and get ...? Daemon placed half the cookie between those full, totally kissable lips.

Oh, holy alien babies everywhere...

I second that!

I so love the Katy and Daemon tension and the banter between them and Jennifer gives it to us in bucket loads of memorable quotes.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“I don’t know. I probably got alien cooties.”

“Caving in?” I laughed without feeling. “I just want you out of my face.”

Daemon chuckled deeply. “Keep telling yourself that, Kitten.”

“Keep using your ego steroids.”

He smelled wonderful. Like spice and man. “I don’t want you.”

“Uh, now is not the time to get into that conversation.”

This was just a dream. I sighed, wrapping my arms around his taut waist. “But I do want you.”

Daemon’s arms tightened around me. “I know, Kitten. You aren’t fooling anyone. “

“I saw a lot.”

“Shut up,” I hissed.

“Don’t be embarrassed.” He reached out, tugging on the sleeve of my cardigan. I smacked his hand away. “It’s not like I haven’t seen the upper part before, and I didn’t get a real good look down--“

“Don’t hit, Kitten. It’s not nice.”

“You’re not nice.”

“Humping my leg like a dog in heat every time I’m around you doesn’t prove you like me, Daemon.”

Daemon clamped his mouth shut, and I could tell he was fighting back laughter.

“Actually, that’s how I show people I like them.”

But, what is this Jennifer, you have given Daemon some competition in the form of the newbie student , Blake.

Blake the surfer/blogger. Blake the guy that can talk to Katy about the things she does....like blogging, and not have the mickey taken out of her.

“This is Daemon Black.”

His smile faltered. “Yeah, I know who he is, too.”

Laughing under his breath, Daemon straightened. At his full height, he was a good head taller than Blake. “It’s always nice to meet another fan.”

“Yeah, see, you saying her name alone makes me want to kill you.”

I was laughing out loud at Daemon’s jealousy. Blake really is a thorn in his side. All the name calling was hilarious. Biff, Bilbo, Flake, Bart, Bo...hehe. A jealous Daemon is such fun to watch , but at the same time, rather dead sexy.

He smiled. “It’s all right, Katy. I’ll take you home.

“That won’t be necessary.” Daemon smiled tightly. “I got this, Biff.”

I wanted to face-palm myself. “Blake. His name is Blake, Daemon.”

I did love that scene with Daemon being Katy’s vlog assistant. LOL!

He’s very egotistical and likes to hear his voice, but he’s promised to stay quiet. Right?”

He nodded and smiled angelically for the camera, but his eyes stirred with amusement. Yep, this was a bad idea. “I think reading is sexy.” Daemon smiled to himself.

My brows inched up my forehead. “Do you now?”

“Oh, yes, and you know what else I think is sexy?”He leaned forward so his entire face filled the picture and nodded his head toward me. “Bloggers like this. Hot.”

Dee is just a beautiful character. She is having some playtime in the background.

Daemon is having to swallow all that cranky pants attitude from Obsidian and Shadows, cause the lad is smitten. The quotes that pour from his lips are just dead smexi.

“Because I know.” Daemon appeared in front of me, eyes narrowed. He thumped his hand off his chest, directly over his above his heart. “Because I know what I feel in here. And I’m not the type of person to run from anything, no matter how hard it is.”

“I’m going to get changed,” I said.

“Need help?”

“Wow. You’re so chivalrous, Daemon.”

His smile widened, flashing deep dimples. “Well, the experience would be mutually beneficial. I promise.”

“Kitten,” he said again, voice strained. “You don’t get to do that and then stop. That’s not how it works.”

I stared at him, my breath stalling in my lungs.

“Not when you’re mine.” Daemon backed us up and slid down the wall, pulling me onto his lap so I was straddling him. “And you’re mine.”

“Oh, I still want to strangle you. But I’m insane. You’re crazy. Maybe that’s why. We just make crazy together.”

“Kitten, your mind is a terrible and dirty place.”

A whole new direction opens up in this installment where Jennifer can take the reader. The DOD are getting some real air time and a whole pile of trust issues are popping up.

Danger and death are lurking around each corner for Katy and she is showing us that she can go from a blogger to a kick ass ninja when given the opportunity. I think every blogger would love to be in Katy's shoes, especially with delicious Daemon and his cookies.

I gotta say Jennifer turned up the danger and betrayal in this one.

OMG!

Michelle