Release Day Launch+Giveaway: "Deceptive Cadence" by Katie Hamstead

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Welcome to the Release Day of "Deceptive Captive" by Katie Hamstead! A story which will captivate you for its story and the message of love and second chances!

About Deceptive Cadence:

Cadence Anderson has the perfect definition of happily ever after . . .

Until she doesn't. A freak earthquake shatters her life as surely as her home, taking away everything she holds dear. She wakes in a hospital to find that her beloved husband and infant daughter have been killed, crushed by the earthquake's wrath. Disoriented, injured, and alone, Cadence refuses to accept the loss. So when a man claiming to be her guardian angel appears and offers her a chance to go back in time to save her family, she doesn't need to give it a second thought. She accepts.

Thrust back eleven years, she now faces the ordeal of high school all over again. But this time, she's armed with all the knowledge of her adult life and the determined to do everything better, from preventing the loss of her best friend to avoiding her original, drama-inducing boyfriends. She's focused solely on Austin, her future husband, and is content to bide her time until she meets him again.

But then James Gordon crosses her path. Cadence wants to remain single, but James has his sights set. He is determined to win her over, and he's very hard to resist. As Cadence starts to develop unwanted feelings for him, she realizes he threatens to disrupt everything, changing the future and distracting her from her original goal. Now, Cadence must choose: deny the unpredictable and exciting path James offers her, or stay true to the life she had and is trying desperately to resurrect. Second chances are more complicated than they seem.

Deceptive Cadence combines the soaring emotion of a heartfelt romance with the innovative storytelling of magical realism, crafting a uniquely moving, intricate tale about love and loss that asks: what would you do if given the chance to right all your wrongs?

Add Deceptive Cadence to goodreads.

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Don't miss the book trailer!

About Katie Hamstead:

Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.

After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dogs.

She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as an Acquisitions Editor to help support her family. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.
Find Katie Hamstead on twitter, facebook, and her website.

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Review: "Crimson Bound" by Rosamund Hodge

Monday, June 29, 2015

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless— straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in an effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her find the legendary sword that might save their world. As the two become unexpected allies, they uncover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic, and a love that may be their undoing. In a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

(This is a standalone novel, not part of the Cruel Beauty Universe.)

BUY ON AMAZON (click the covers for more details)

REVIEW

A second book by Rosamund Hodge...hmm. I was quite hesitant to begin the second retelling by this author since "Cruel Beauty" was published last year. I had liked the idea of the first book but I didn't, kind of enjoyed it.

Crimson Bound introduces us into a world similar to 17th-18th century Paris with an idea of Northern Europe. And don't forget the dark world of the forestborn, which are a darker version of the Fae we all know.

Rachelle becomes a guard for the King after a horrible accident in her past and soon she will have to deal with the rules of court and a boy with no hands who is considered a saint by the people.
Now this heroine is one I like. She has made horrible choices but she struggles to fix everything, even if that means she'll have to forfeit her own life.

Romance is still faint in this book and only during the ending is shown. There is action and struggle but the ending is worth it! Much better than the first book and I hope to see more of Rosamund's writing.

About the author:

I love mythology, Hello Kitty, and T. S. Eliot. I write YA fantasy that draws on two of those things. My debut novel is CRUEL BEAUTY, a YA fairytale fantasy where Greek mythology meets Beauty and the Beast. My next novel is CRIMSON BOUND (5/5/15), where Little Red Riding Hood meets... many strange things.

Feature and Follow #259

Friday, June 26, 2015

Welcome to the Feature & Follow

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow me and them to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code at the host blogs and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Question of the Week:

Is there a book that you were required to read in school that you actually loved? - Suggested by Natalie Hearts Books

My answer:

On primary school, on 8th grade we read "The Little Prince" by
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. On the first two years of junior high we had to read Homer's Illiad and Odyssey. Then on the first year of high school we read as a class "Helen" the theatrical play by Euripedes.

How about you?

Now for the Follow Fun!

FOLLOW ME ON GFC ON YOUR LEFT!!

Alison Can Read

HAPPY FRIDAY!

An Ember in the Ashes Fandom: My reaction to the sequel!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

I was very surprised when I first got my hands on "An Eber in the Ashes" by Sabba Tahir. A story about a Roman-like Empire and mysteries along with prophecies! Se my review for more details. Today I would like to share with you my rections to the news of the sequel!

And yes... Penguin Teen did create an amazing two month tour with more news, reactions posts and news for the fans of "An Ember in the Ashes"! Follow for more details on Twitter and Tumblr.!

So when I first read the book was like:

BUT when I finished the book with that ending was like:

When I found out that there was going to be a sequel the following happened:

But when I realised the publication date...

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

I WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING I TELL EVERY SLAVE.

THE RESISTANCE HAS TRIED TO PENETRATE THIS SCHOOL COUNTLESS TIMES. I HAVE DISCOVERED IT EVERY TIME.

IF YOU ARE WORKING WITH THE RESISTANCE, IF YOU CONTACT THEM, IF YOU THINK OF CONTACTING THEM, I WILL KNOW

AND I WILL DESTROY YOU.

Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

BUY ON AMAZON (click the cover)

About the author:

Come find me on Twitter or Instagram @sabaatahir, or on my web site: www.sabaatahir.com

Sabaa Tahir grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s 18-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash and playing guitar badly. She began writing An Ember in the Ashes while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks and all things nerd. Sabaa currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her family.

Cover Reveal: "Before and After" by Nazarea Andrews

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Today we are revealing the cover for BEFORE & AFTER by Nazarea Andrews. This is an adult contemporary romance novel that will be released on July 30th.

BOOK BLURB:

Rike and Peyton fell in love in college. A boy from the wrong side of the tracks, covered in ink and crooning in a bar is the last person a straight laced girl with a art major should fall for, but his rough edges made her jagged, alive, shaving away the coddled southern princess and revealing a soul wild and brilliant. They fell in love, despite her family and his past and all the reasons why it wouldn't work--and with their best friends, they made a life. Everyone was supposed to live happily ever after. They, more than anyone, knows that life doesn't go according to plan. Rike and Peyton fell in love in college. A boy with a guitar, and a poet's heart, and a girl with freckles dusted over her nose, a perfect fucking fairy tale. But what happens when the fairy tale doesn't fall apart--but is forgotten?

CLICK HERE TO ADD BEFORE & AFTER TO GOODREADS.

EXCERPT:

“You’re girl was late,” Scotty rasps as we land on two stools at the bar. It’s late and the crowd of sorority girls has thinned to almost nothing, although a pair are nursing Cosmos and watching us speculatively.
Surprisingly, Scot’s ignored them completely. “Need anything, boys?” Manda asks as she sways past, giving Scotty a flirty smile. He grins at her, letting his gaze sweep over her.
My best friend is a fucking slut. But with Manda, it’s all flirting and no action. She’d take him up on it—she’s made that very clear.
But Scot doesn’t fuck where he works, and Barries has been too good for us to risk screwing it up for a quick fuck. Which is good, because I’d have to kick his ass if he touched her. She might be a little too friendly and a little desperate, but she’s a cute kid and I like her.
"Bourbon, Manda," he says and she glances at me questioningly. I nod and she pours the drinks. Scotty glances at me.
"What are you waiting on?" I shrug and grit my teeth. Scotty twists and gives her a look over his shoulder. "Fine. Stay here and keep Manda company. I'm going to introduce myself to your siren." I jerks him back by the collar of his shirt before he can take more than two steps and throw him back against the bar.
"Back the fuck off, Scott." I growl. He grins, a challenge and a taunt in that expression. "Then make your move, Rike." I snatch the bourbon from Manda and take a deep breath before walking to her table. And wait. For a long. Fucking. Time.
It takes almost a full minute for her to look up, almost long enough for my courage to fail. I'm almost ready to retreat when she blinks and looks up at me, her eyes widening a little as they find mine. She looks startled, and sleepy, and as gorgeous as she looked at a distance, is nothing compared to how fucking flawless she is this close.
There are freckles sprinkled across her cheeks and dusted over her nose. I swallow a groan as she licks her lips and gives me a tentative smile.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” I say, and then go blank.
Because in none of my fantasies did I ever consider we’d actually ever get to this point. And the smirks and smooth lines won’t work—not on her.
“What do you call a group of unorganized cats?” I ask and her eyes cloud, confused.
She gives me a pretty frown and I grin,
“A cat-astrophe.” For a second, all either of us do is stare, and then she giggles.
“That is literally the worst pickup line I’ve ever heard.” I grin,
“So you want me to leave?” Laughter dances in her eyes.
“Have a seat, jokes.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nazarea Andrews is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. She loves chocolate and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, and overgrown dog. AUTHOR LINKS:

Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Street Team

Cover Reveal: "LINK" (The Shadow of Light #1) by Summer Wier

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Do you love sci-fi? Maybe fantasy and star themed novels? Then LINK is for you! Don't miss the cover reveal of the new installment by REUTS Publications!

Are you ready?

About Link: For seventeen-year-old Kira, there’s no better way to celebrate a birthday than being surrounded by friends and huddled beside a campfire deep in the woods. And with a birthday in the peak of summer, that includes late night swims under the stars.
Or at least, it used to.

Kira’s relaxing contemplation of the universe is interrupted when a piece of it falls, colliding with her and starting a chain of events that could unexpectedly lead to the one thing in her life that's missing—her father.
Tossed into a pieced-together world of carnivals and gypsies, an old-fashioned farmhouse, and the alluring presence of a boy from another planet, Kira discovers she’s been transported to the center of a black hole, and there’s more to the story than science can explain. She’s now linked by starlight to the world inside the darkness. And her star is dying.

If she doesn’t return home before the star’s light disappears and her link breaks, she’ll be trapped forever. But she’s not the only one ensnared, and with time running out, she’ll have to find a way to save a part of her past and a part of her future, or risk losing everything she loves.
Dreamy, fluid, and beautiful, LINK pairs the mystery of science fiction with the minor-key melody of a dark fantasy, creating a tale that is as human as it is out of this world.

Add on GoodReads

About the author:

Summer Wier grew up spending Saturdays with a maxed out library card and her nose in a book. But as much as she loved reading, and even writing, both took the back seat when it came to career choices. With her sights set on law school, corporate greatness, and even a hankering to become the first female president, she set off to conquer the world. As life would have it, though, she didn’t attend law school, nor did she become president (although, one day, your vote may be appreciated), finding her strengths, instead, in accounting and business management. After finishing her MBA, she revived her love for reading and began writing with dreams of finishing a book of her own. When Summer isn’t working, reading, or writing, she’s trying to keep up with two energetic girls and her husband, and dreaming of the mountains of Montana.

LINK is her debut young adult sci-fi novel, the first in THE SHADOW OF LIGHT trilogy. Find more of Author Summer Wier on her website, twitter, facebook, or goodreads.

Rlease Day Launch: "Dream of You" (Wait for you Novella) by Jennifer Armentrout

We are so excited to bring you the Release Day Launch for Jennifer L. Armentrout's DREAM OF YOU!! DREAM OF YOU is a Contemporary Romance novella in Jennifer’s Wait For You Series! This is a 1001 Dark Nights novella so it is exclusively available as Amazon Kindle and Paperback. Grab your copy of this sexy novella today!!

Amazon US Kindle Amazon Paperback Amazon UK Kindle

DREAM OF YOU Synopsis: Abby Erickson isn't looking for a one-night stand, a relationship, or anything that involves any one-on-one time, but when she witnesses a shocking crime, she's thrust into the hands of the sexiest man she's ever seen - Colton Anders. His job is to protect her, but with every look, every touch, and every simmering kiss, she's in danger of not only losing her life but her heart also.

EXCERPT:

Detective Hart asked a few more questions. Did I notice if they had gotten in a car? No. Was a name even spoken? Not that I recalled. Did they say anything to the man they shot? I wasn’t sure. Eventually, he got up and left the room to retrieve some photos they wanted me to look at. I was alone with Colton. Any other time I probably would’ve been beside myself with nervousness, but at this point, I barely registered his presence. All I wanted to do was go home and forget this night.
“Abby?” My gaze slowly lifted at the sound of my name.
His voice was deep and gruff—a morning voice. He leaned toward me, placing his arms on the table. Short dark hairs dusted powerful forearms. The few times I’d seen him over the years, I hadn’t been in close proximity to him, but now I could see the tiny differences between the Colton I’d admired from afar in high school and the one sitting in front of me, some ten years later. Fine lines had formed around the corners of his eyes. His jaw seemed harder, and the five-o’clock shadow was something new. Something sexy. I really needed to stop thinking in general.
“Are you sure you’re okay, Abby?” he asked, and real concern filled his voice. I shook my head slowly as a shiver raced down my spine.
“Yes. No? I’m sorry. I’m so tired.”
“I can imagine.” He glanced at the door as he moved his shoulders, as if working out a kink. “We’ll get you home soon.” Slouching in the metal chair, I sighed. “Is this…the start of your shift or…?” Colton’s cobalt gaze tracked back to me.
“I usually get off around eight, but we work in cycles for homicide calls. It was our weekend.” “Sorry,” I whispered, and then frowned. “I don’t even know why I apologized. It’s got to be hard working those kinds of hours, having to be on call.”
“I imagine it is for some, especially those with a family.” One side of his lips quirked up, and despite the dire situation, my stomach dipped a bit. He lifted his left hand.
“Obviously, I’m not married. I wouldn’t know.”

About Jennifer L. Armentrout: # 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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Reviews: "Uprooted" by Naomi Novik+"The Wrath and the Dawn" (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1) by Renee Ahdieh

Monday, June 22, 2015

Uprooted by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

Naomi Novik, author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed Temeraire novels, introduces a bold new world rooted in folk stories and legends, as elemental as a Grimm fairy tale.

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

BUY ON AMAZON (click the cover)

REVIEW

When I first saw this book on GoodReads, I wondered why everyone wrote reviews for a MG. I am so, so sorry for being mistaken! After reading the summary I made sure to get a copy.

What this book reminded me of?

Howl's Moving Castle!

Beauty and the Beast

And rich and old Polish folklore! Many words, especially the spells are written like this and often there are mentioned myths and legends of Medieval Europe along with Fae mythology and also Greek. I liked how Agnieszka tried to fight her fear for Dragon with her own strange magic and also Dragon wasn't your usual sexy character of YA. He is grumpy, get easy angry but he is strong and protective, even shy.

Also, this book was optioned for film by Warner Bros. so I am sure that great work will be done on this book! I hope to read more of the same author since she clearly know how to captivate her readers on high Fantasy!

About the author:

An avid reader of fantasy literature since age six, when she first made her way through The Lord of the Rings, Naomi Novik is also a history buff with a particular interest in the Napoleonic era and a fondness for the work of Patrick O’Brian and Jane Austen. She studied English literature at Brown University, and did graduate work in computer science at Columbia University before leaving to participate in the design and development of the computer game Neverwinter Nights: Shadow of Undrentide. Over the course of a brief winter sojourn spent working on the game in Edmonton, Canada (accompanied by a truly alarming coat that now lives brooding in the depths of her closet), she realized she preferred writing to programming, and on returning to New York, decided to try her hand at novels.

Naomi lives in New York City with her husband and six computers. Her website is at naominovik.com

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

A sumptuous and epically told love story inspired by A Thousand and One Nights

Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will, indeed, get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and to break the cycle once and for all.

BUY ON AMAZON (click the cover)

REVIEW

I mostly love reading books related to "Arabian Nights". Renee didn't disappoint me with her story! It has everything: words in Arabic, sensual descriptions of a world in the desert, magic and a great atmosphere where hatred and love bloom.

Shahrzad decides to marry the all-scary boy king who every dawn kills his wives and no one knows why. Determined to destroy him for killing her friend she doesn't expect to gorw feelings for him and later discover his secrets.

I am not sure if this book reminded me the tale of "BlueBeard" or Beauty and the Beast. Myabe something in between. Mostly I enjoyed the world building while the romance came a little late to the plot. Also I liked Dspina very much! A Greek slave in the arabian court? Yes, she had the sassy mouth and the behavior you can find in every Greekk girl! ;P

Much to my dismay, the book ended in yet another almost cliffhanger, leaving me with many questions and worries about the future of Chorasan as also if the main characters will find each other again. I recommend this book to everyone!

About the author:

Find more about the author on her website: http://reneeahdieh.com/about-renee/

HAPPY MONDAY!