Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Salvage by Alexandra Duncan
The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi
Stolen Songbird by Danielle L Jensen
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (138)
Hosted at Breaking the Spine.
Dreams of Gods & Monsters
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone 3)Laini TaylorApril 8 2014By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.
Common enemy, common cause.
When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.
And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.
But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.
What power can bruise the sky?
From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.
At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?
Why am I waiting
for it?
I remember being quite take by the last book, so I can't wait for this conclusion.
I remember being quite take by the last book, so I can't wait for this conclusion.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Book Tour: Evacuation by K.D. McAdams (Q&A)
Evacuation(The Seamus Chronicles #2)Author: K.D. McAdams
Publication: March 7th 2014Genres: YA Post-ApocalypticBuy: Amazon
They have only one chance for survival, leave… the planet.
The virus that wiped out most of the human race is adapting to defeat the vaccine and kill the survivors. There is a government response protocol but it will kill them too, it involves a nuclear winter. The NASA scientists believe they can leave Earth and achieve faster than light travel, but Seamus doesn’t want to slog through space. He knows that to survive they have to go somewhere fast. To save them all he needs to invent a warp drive and evacuate the planet.
8 Questions with K. D. McAdams
1. How did you get into writing?
As a stay at home father of three I was looking for an opportunity where I could make my own hours and work only on things that I loved. After trying my hand at a few different at home business ideas that I did not enjoy I started writing almost two years ago and I have loved every minute of it.
2. What is your target audience?
My stories are for people ages 16 to 25. I think that starting in junior year of high school and going through our mid twenties we all struggle with choices about what are we doing, what are we supposed to do and what do we want to do.
3. What have you published to date? Do you write under a pseudonym?
I write under the name K. D. McAdams, not a pseudonym. My debut novel Annihilation – Book 1 of The Seamus Chronicles was published in 2013, the sequel, Evacuation – Book 2 of The Seamus Chronicles was published in March 2014.
4. If you are self-published, what led to this choice?
For me it came down to a question of control. As a self-published author I get to control all aspects of my business.
5. How would you review your book for readers who might be considering it?
The Seamus Chronicles is a twist on the post-apocalyptic story. One of the biggest problems the survivors face is that there’s no one left. Being one of the last humans alive on Earth causes them to reevaluate who they really are as people. There is action and intrigue but it is focused on the characters and their struggles as survivors.
6. If any of your books were to be made into films, who would you have as the lead actor(s)?
I see Seamus as a Jason Dolley character, Grace is someone like Brenda Song and Liam is definitely Jaden Smith (my son told me that’s who should play him). I can’t think of the frumpy middle aged white man to play the Dad.
7. What are you working on at the moment? Are you planning on another book?
I am currently writing Colonization – Book 3 of The Seamus Chronicles. I am also developing a new series called The Stewards of Humanity which is a Dystopian story of a sister and brother who were raised in very different worlds.
8. If you could invite three people from any era to dinner, who would you choose and why? What would you serve your guests or where would you dine?
I would invite Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt and Jimmy Buffett to dinner at one of the great Streak houses of New York. I choose these three men because they all have a reputation as storytellers and people who enjoy life.
K. D. McAdams writes stories about young people who make choices with their heart and not their head. ‘Don’t talk to strangers’ is the most common phrase in our house, I have failed several art classes and I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast. I have a son that loves to talk to strangers, my daughter is an incredible artist and I have another son that is a stickler for details with a near eidetic memory. We nurture our kids everyday with advice and information but deep down they all have an element of nature that overrides our nurturing and influences their choices. Kids who have the courage to follow their instinct and make their own choices are the ones who make life memorable.
Author links:
Friday, March 21, 2014
Book Tour: The Right Moves by Emma Hart (Excerpt + Giveaway)
The Right Moves
(The Game #3)
Author: Emma Hart
Publication: March 27th 2014
Genres: NA Contemporary RomanceHer past is wrought with demons.
His past is full of heartbreak.
Yet he’s the one person that can remind her what it means to live.
Abbi Jenkins never thought she would leave the walls of the mental institution that’s housed her for the last year. Now she has, but that doesn’t mean she’s forgotten everything Pearce put her through.
She knows there’s only one way to deal with the depression that claws at her mind each day, and ballet becomes more than a hobby, a dream. Ballet – and Julliard – becomes a reason to live. Something to hold on for.
Blake Smith left London for one reason and one reason only. Running from the heartbreak of his past was never something he wanted to do, but with constant reminders everywhere he turned, it became his only option. When he arrives in New York City, he vows he’ll keep the promise he made to his sister and get into Juilliard.
But he doesn’t expect to be paired with Abbi in class, the girl whose eyes show a world of pain he’s seen before. Pain he knows too well. As each hour they spend together pulls them closer, Blake can’t fight his need to save her from herself.Lines blur as their pasts are wrenched into the open, and they have to ask themselves whether they’re too broken to ever to be fixed, or if they’re the healing the other needs.
Excerpt
“Let me go,” she begs.
“Please, Blake.”
I shake my head. “No.
Not until you talk to me.”
She tries harder to
throw me off her. “There’s nothing to talk about!”
“That’s bullshit, and
you know it.”
“It doesn’t matter. It
doesn’t matter anymore. None of them matter a single damn bit!”
“It matters to me.”
She stops moving. Her
eyes crash into mine as she snaps her head up, and her lips purse. “Well it
shouldn’t. It doesn’t matter to me anymore.”
“Then why are you hiding
them?”
“Because I hate them!”
She finally knocks my hands off and turns, walking a few paces before stopping.
“I hate them and everything they are. Everything they mean. Everything they
remind me of. I hate them.”
Her voice is thick with
tears both falling and unshed and her shoulders rise and fall with each heavy
breath she takes. Standing in the middle of this huge studio, she looks tiny.
And with her shoulders falling forward, her head hanging and her arms tucked
around her, she looks completely and utterly broken.
She looks exactly how my
heart feels.
Silence lingers between
us. No words are spoken, and I’m waiting for her to say something. Anything.
Even if she just tells me to piss off, that’ll do, even if it’s not what I
want.
“They remind me of how
things were,” she whispers, her voice barely there yet seems to echo off the walls.
“They’re everything my life was. Everything I don’t want it to be again.
They’re hideous. They’re the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, and I can’t believe
I ever thought what caused them was beautiful. They taint my skin in the worst
way, and I’m ashamed of them. If I knew I’d be stuck with them for the rest of
my life I would never have done it or I would have cut even deeper.” Her voice
trails off at the end.
My stomach rolls. “Don’t
say that. Ever.”
“It’s true.”
I press my chest against
her shuddering back, pull her into me, and rest my cheek against the side of
her head. My hands take her arm and I ease the material of her leotard up to
her elbows. She breathes in sharply and squeezes her eyes shut when I touch my
thumb to her wrist.
The scars stretch up the
inside of her arm, crossing each other and disappearing under her sleeve. I can
barely believe what I’m looking at – each one of them is perfectly healed, some
of them barely visible to my eyes. I know we see different things when we look
at her arms.
“How many?” I whisper,
my voice thick. “How many are there?”
“I don’t know. Hundreds,
maybe. Everywhere. They’re everywhere.”
By day, New York Times and USA Today bestselling New Adult author Emma Hart dons a cape and calls herself Super Mum to a terrible two year old and growing bump, due September 2013. By night, she drops the cape, pours a glass of juice and writes books.
She likes to write about magic, kisses and whatever else she can fit into the story. Sarcastic, witty characters are a must. As are hot guys. Emma is currently working too many books to even count - including Playing for Keeps, the companion book to the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel, The Love Game. She likes to be busy - unless busy involves doing the dishes, but that seems to when all the ideas come to life.
Author Links:
Giveaway
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Mary's Review: Love and Cupcakes by Susan Bishop Crispell
Love and CupcakesAuthor: Susan Bishop CrispellPublisher: Swoon Romance, 2014Genre: Magical Realism RomanceFor Jaclyn “Jack” Pace, sensing what sweets people crave is as easy as breathing. But it’s not enough to keep her cupcake bakery in the black.
So, when her estranged sister Harper comes back to town with an affinity for making art out of icing—and a past full of secrets—she reluctantly gives Harper a job and a place to crash.
As their sisterly relationship begins to thaw, the one with her business partner Graham starts to heat up. Given the legend that says Hollingsworth men will recognize their soul mates at first touch, Jack’s always been resigned to the fact that she’s not his.
But when she starts sensing desires that are decidedly not dessert-related, it’ll take all of her magic to set things right with customers and make her own desires come true.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (137)
Hosted at Breaking the Spine.
Stolen Songbird
(The Malediction Trilogy 1)Danielle L. JensenApril 1 2014For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.
Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.
But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.
As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.
Why am I waiting
for it?
They're promoting it as a mix of Seraphina and Graceling, and it sounds like a remix of Helen and the Troyan war. I dig it.
They're promoting it as a mix of Seraphina and Graceling, and it sounds like a remix of Helen and the Troyan war. I dig it.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Teaser Tuesday (111)
Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
Love and Cupcakes
by Susan Bishop Crispell
“Eight hundred forty-two,” Jack said when Graham came in later that morning.“Dalmatians?” Graham asked.“The number of cupcakes it will take to make Harper’s Twilight masterpiece.”
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Book Tour: Transformed by E.V. Fairfall
Transformed
Author: E.V. Fairfall
Publication: January 1st 2014
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ Smashwords
Since the beginning, two entities have had complete, unquestioned control over Thea: the Earth and God.
But when Thea suddenly figures out that the Earth has trapped her within a forest, she discovers that the only way to set herself free is to break God’s one rule; she must forsake her animal form and become human.
The result is nothing she could ever have expected. Lost within the torrent of human emotions, Thea starts to lose who she is and even begins to fall in love with the one thing she always hated: a hunter.
As her act against God proves more problematic than anticipated, it is only a matter of time before her punishment may prove to be worse than Earth’s entrapment.
Q & A with E.V. Fairfall
Well, let me first ask you this: how often have you read a book in which God and Mother Earth are siblings? Or a book in which Earth itself is an entity of its own, and prevents God from doing anything he wants? How often have you read a book in which Mother Earth is able to take any form except for that of a human because it is forbidden? Though Transformed is a story about finding one's self, it also explores the foibles of being human and the value of all life. It is about making mistakes and finding a solution, even if that solution isn’t what was originally intended.
Where does the story take place?
Transformed takes place in a small mountain town in Colorado. This fictitious town resides next to a forest and is green and lush (Colorado can get very dry), and because of its high elevation, it has strange weather patterns.
How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on the way they sound or the meaning? Do you have any name choosing resources you recommend?
Names! Names are so important to me, mostly because I can’t actually write a character without first knowing their name. I can have the perfect scene in my head but until I find a name that I know fits the character, I just can’t write them in. I don’t pick names based on the sounds, but sometimes I pick a name because of its meaning. Mostly I just know when a name works for my character. As for resources, I tend to use lots of baby naming websites.
Who is your favorite character from Transformed and why?
Oh gosh, I’m going to say Cricket. I love Chamber of course, but Cricket is just so fun. Cricket is a girl who Thea turned into a squirrel because she needed to borrow her apartment while she was human. Even though Cricket is now a squirrel, she insists on taking special care of the clothes that she reluctantly let Thea borrow—more like take. Thea, who doesn’t understand why Cricket cares about the clothes, tends to leave them wherever she might drop them. Here is a quick excerpt from the book:
"You have a squirrel in your sweater." Brice cocked his head to the side. "Actually, I think it’s stealing it."
Thea looked over her shoulder to see the little squirrel dragging the sweater across the floor toward the closet. If Brice saw a squirrel put a sweater on a hanger, she would never hear the end of it. She shook her head toward the squirrel, causing the ball of fur to stop and glare before continuing to drag the sweater out of sight. If Thea didn’t start hanging up the squirrel’s clothes, she had a feeling the little rodent would attempt to kick her out."
Give us some insight into your main character. What does she do that is so special?
Thea is God's sister and has spent her life filling the role of Mother Earth, creating the plants and animals and serving as their guardian. Alongside her brother God, the two siblings used their light to create for hundreds of years. She doesn’t understand humans, and she likes them even less. It isn’t until she takes a human form that she begins to understand what she has been missing out on, and ultimately she gains a deeper understanding of her brother and what it means to be a part of a family.
Did you have a specific song or playlist that you listened to when you were writing Transformed?
I actually can’t listen to music when I write. I wish I could. Sometimes a song will inspire me or motivate me, but while writing I need quiet. Of course, that never really happens because I live in an apartment with paper thin walls—but that is part of the adventure.
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
Never give up, and go to writers conferences! I wish I had gone to a writers conference earlier. They open your mind to a side of book writing that you normally wouldn't consider. You can meet people who love what you love, and it is a great chance to break out of your shell and read some of your work out loud. Not only that but you will meet other writers who will help you through the hard times.
What can readers who enjoy your book do to help make it successful?
Reviews! Social media posts on Facebook, Tumblr, Goodreads and so on. Word of mouth is huge for any author. There are so many great books in the world that people haven't discovered, but they only need to be pointed in the right direction.
E.V. Fairfall
I love to write just as much as I love to read. I try to read a book per week, which doesn't always work out, but it's the thought that counts. Aside from all that I am a huge animal person.
Transformed is my first novel, but it isn't my first publication; I've had several short stories published over the last two years. My main goal as a writer is to explore humanity and to give people something fun to read.
Author links:
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Review: Midnight Frost by Jennifer Estep
Midnight Frost
(Mythos Academy 5)
Author: Jennifer Estep
Publisher: Kensington, 2013
Genre: YA Mythology
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ TBD
Here we go again …
Just when it seems life at Mythos Academy can’t get any more dangerous, the Reapers of Chaos manage to prove me wrong. It was just a typical night at the Library of Antiquities — until a Reaper tried to poison me. The good news is I’m still alive and kicking. The bad news is the Reaper poisoned someone else instead.
As Nike’s Champion, everyone expects me to lead the charge against the Reapers, even though I’m still hurting over what happened with Spartan warrior Logan Quinn. I’ve got to get my hands on the antidote fast — otherwise, an innocent person will die. But the only known cure is hidden in some creepy ruins — and the Reapers are sure to be waiting for me there …
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (136)
Hosted at Breaking the Spine.
The Summer I Wasn’t Me
Jessica VerdiApril 1 2014Lexi has a secret…Ever since her mom found out she was in love with a girl, seventeen-year-old Lexi’s afraid that what’s left of her family is going to fall apart for good.You are on the road to truth. Help is on the way.The road signs leading to New Horizons summer camp promise a new life for Lexi—she swears she can change. She can learn to like boys. But denying her feelings is harder than she thinks. And when she falls heads over heels for one of her fellow campers, Lexi will have to risk her mother’s approval for the one person who might love her no matter what.
Why am I waiting
for it?
It's not often I read contemporary YA, but once in a while a book will catch my eye.
It's not often I read contemporary YA, but once in a while a book will catch my eye.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Teaser Tuesday (110)
Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
Midnight Frost
by Jennifer Estep
~Spartan Girl~
Twang!Even as I started to move, I knew I couldn’t duck out of the way in time to keep the arrow from hitting me—Something moved off to my right, a shadow flitted in front of my eyes, and I heard the distinct sound of wood hitting flesh. I blinked.Smack!The arrow had stopped a foot from my face.Eyes wide, my head snapped to the side, and I realized that the angry girl from the train station was there—and that she was holding the arrow in her hand like it was a football she’d just plucked out of midair.“You’re welcome,” she said in a snide voice.Then, she tossed the arrow up in the air, grabbed it by the end, and threw it at the Reaper with the crossbow.The arrow sunk into his throat.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Out This Week
The Shadow Prince (Into the Dark 1) by Bree Despain
Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland
Night Broken (Mercy Thompson 8) by Patricia Briggs
Friday, March 7, 2014
Book Tour: Control You by Jennifer Snyder (Excerpt)
Control You
Author: Jennifer Snyder
Publication: March 4th 2014
Genres: NA Contemporary
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ Smashwords
Kind hearted and naive, Paige Jacobs wants what every girl craves…to be loved. She uses this need to make excuses when her current boyfriend goes from being a tad jealous and slightly overprotective to stalker-ish. She isn’t that girl and Craig isn’t one of those guys. Things are fine. Perfectly fine. Until the moment a dark-haired, tattooed hottie with a snarky mouth walks into her life and tells her she deserves better.
Confident and boldly spoken, Cameron Green has always been the guy bad girls can’t get enough of and all the good girls want to tame. He’s lived a lavish lifestyle filled with drugs, women, and alcohol up until his destructive path finally caught up with him. Now Cameron isn’t sure what to do with himself or how to dampen the longing for something more festering inside of him since coming out of his drug-induced haze. But when he meets a doe-eyed girl who gets past his walls like no other, everything about him clicks into place.
Together the two learn there are emotions that hold within them all the power to control you…
Excerpt
“I’m such a fuck up.” My voice had cracked when the words came out.
“So change…”
Eva’s words echoed through my mind. I had changed. I’d taken her advice and checked into rehab. No one knew besides her and Scott; I’d kept it a secret. I’d even kept my failed attempt at suicide a secret. I’d been sober now for a year, and had been slowly working my way back to becoming someone my parents would have been proud of. Hearing Scott say those words to me today had meant more than he would ever know.
Taking a drag off my cigarette, I smiled.
After pulling out my cell, I dialed the one person I needed to be with tonight. She answered on the third ring.
“You know you shouldn’t call me at five o’clock unless you’re going to take me out to eat,” Eva muttered as a greeting when she answered.
I chuckled. “That’s exactly why I was calling. So, what’s your answer?”
“I get to pick the place and you can pay the bill.” I could hear the playful smirk in her voice as she spoke. We both knew she’d be paying for her portion of the meal. Eva never let me buy her anything, but it was fun to joke about it anyway. When I’d paid her rent for the year, she hadn’t even known until she attempted to make a payment a little late one month.
“Sounds fine by me.” I put my cigarette out and dug in my pocket for my keys. “I’ll be there in fifteen.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Eva said in a singsong voice before she hung up.
I grinned like a fool as I slid into my car. She was going to be so fucking surprised at dinner tonight when I pulled out the bracelet I’d bought her. Hell, I might walk away from dinner with a black eye after she beat the shit out of me for buying her something. Tonight was a celebration of when she’d saved my life though. Eva didn’t know it, but I was about to pamper her ass for the night whether she wanted it or not. She deserved it.
Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing new adult and young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.
Author Links:
Blog / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Review: Lady Thief (Scarlet 2) by A.C. Gaughen
Lady Thief
(Scarlet 2)
Author: A.C. Gaughen
Publisher: Walker Children, 2014
Genre: YA Fairy Tale
Buy: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ TBD
Scarlet’s true identity has been revealed, but her future is uncertain. Her forced marriage to Lord Gisbourne threatens Robin and Scarlet’s love, and as the royal court descends upon Nottingham for the appointment of a new Sheriff, the people of Nottingham hope that Prince John will appoint their beloved Robin Hood. But Prince John has different plans for Nottingham that revolve around a fateful secret from Scarlet’s past even she isn’t yet aware of. Forced to participate at court alongside her ruthless husband, Scarlet must bide her time and act the part of a noblewoman—a worthy sacrifice if it means helping Robin’s cause and a chance at a future with the man she loves. With a fresh line of intrigue and as much passion as ever, the next chapter in Scarlet’s tale will have readers talking once again.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Waiting on Wednesday (135)
Hosted at Breaking the Spine.
Night Broken
(Mercy Thompson 8)Patricia BriggsMarch 11 2014An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.
Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.
Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.
Why am I waiting
for it?
My favorite Urban Fantasy series ever. No, like really.
I took the first three books with me on a trip to England because I just HAD to read them. If hauling hardcovers across an ocean isn't love for a series, then I don't know what is.
My favorite Urban Fantasy series ever. No, like really.
I took the first three books with me on a trip to England because I just HAD to read them. If hauling hardcovers across an ocean isn't love for a series, then I don't know what is.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Teaser Tuesday (109)
Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.
Lady Thief
by A.C. Gaughen
~Love~
“They call me Marian, Rob, and they act with so little honor to call them nobility.” I pushed my head to his. “They took my name, Rob.”
His lips touched mine again, more puffed and soft now, burning against mine. When he stopped he didn’t go nowhere, speaking straight into my mouth. “They can have your name. I know who you are, with or without it. And I won’t ever let you lose that. My love. My Scarlet.”
I pressed a kiss to his mouth. “Say it once more?” I asked.
He kissed me. “Scarlet,” he breathed. Another kiss. “Scarlet.”
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)
