Review: Jessica Rules The Dark Side (Jessica #2)

Jessica Rules The Dark Side (Jessica #2) by Beth Fantaskey

Publisher: Harcourt, 2012
309 pages, Hardcover

Source: Purchased from Book Depository

Release Date: January 10th 2012

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

It's one thing to find out you're a vampire princess. It's a whole other thing to actually rule. Newly married Jessica Packwood is having a hard enough time feeling regal with her husband, Lucius, at her side. But when evidence in the murder of a powerful elder points to Lucius, sending him into solitary confinement, Jessica is suddenly on her own. Determined to clear her husband's name, Jessica launches into a full-scale investigation, but hallucinations and nightmares of betrayal keep getting in her way. Jessica knows that with no blood to drink, Lucius's time is running out. Can she figure out who the real killer is —and whom she can trust— before it's too late?

My Review:

Beth Fantaskey did an amazing job on picking up where she ended things in Jessica’s Guide To Dating The Dark Side. Everything in this book I fell in love with. When you start reading you are literally thrown in the deep end right into the plot of power, now that her marriage to Lucius is over with Jessica is learning to reign as Queen. She is learning the laws, language and the how to of being a good Queen to her people. I like that Jessica is showing her flaws, but she is having trouble in learning in what she needs to do. I also like that he does not hide it but really stresses over it. But with all the stressing Jessica and Lucius make a great team. That is what a real marriage is all about, working together, having each other’s back no matter what life throws at you?

It was amazing to see the growth of each character in the book, Jessica starts off rocky not really sure how to stand on her own 2 feet always relying on Lucius. But now it is good to rely on your husband but there will be times where you have to eventually stand on you 2 feet without the help. Soon as trouble rose Jessica took everything in with amazing strength, she was very stressed and tired but she knew what was needed to be done. You have to admire her ability to keep a straight face with all the death and trouble looming around her. But as always in the end Jessica is awesome at being a Queen in her own right.

Author Bio:

Beth Fantaskey, author of the YA novels Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Jessica Rules the Dark Side, Jekel Loves Hyde, and, most recently, my funny, romantic teen murder mystery, Buzz Kill.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Review: Jessica's Guide To Dating The Dark Side (Jessica #1)

Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side (Jessica #1) by Beth Fantaskey

Publisher: Harcourt, 2009
351 pages, Hardcover

Source: Purchased from Book Depository

Release Date: February 1st 2009

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, Fantasy, Supernatural

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

The undead can really screw up your senior year ...

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

My Review:

Jessica’s Guide To Dating On The Dark Side is very refreshing and a good change from what I normally read in my spare time. It is a book where our main characters are Vampires but one character just doesn’t know it yet, Jessica is a normal American teen that is until Lucius appears in her life and told her that she is his long lost fiancé and a Romanian Vampire Princess. Lucius is a vampire who has to bring and marry Jessica to save a war between Jessica’s family and Lucius’s family. The relationship between Lucius and Jessica was very intriguing to read about and I did not know where it would lead, if they were going to end up being together.

I liked the arranged marriage part because I have never read about that before, it made the book a little unique in its own way sort of. I was able to relate to Lucius and Jessica. There are a lot of twists and turns and surprises in this book, but it felt like you knew what was going to happen in the end anyway but it is still able to surprise in the end too, so it really doesn’t disappoint you any way possible.

Author Bio:

Beth Fantaskey, author of the YA novels Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, Jessica Rules the Dark Side, Jekel Loves Hyde, and, most recently, my funny, romantic teen murder mystery, Buzz Kill.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

ARC Review: Ice Kissed (Kanin Chronicles #2)

Ice Kissed (Kanin Chronicles #2) by Amanda Hocking

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2015
300 pages, kindle edition

Source: Netgalley

Release Date: May 5th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal, Magic

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

In the majestic halls of a crystal palace lies a secret that could destroy an entire kingdom…

Bryn Aven refuses to give up on her dream of serving the kingdom she loves. It’s a dream that brings her to a whole new realm…and the glittering palace of the Skojare.

The Skojare people need protection from the same brutal enemy that’s been threatening the Kanin, and Bryn is there to help. Being half Skojare herself, it’s also a chance for her to learn more about her lost heritage. Her boss, Ridley Dresden, is overseeing her mission, but as their undeniable attraction heats up, their relationship is about to reach a whole new level—one neither of them is prepared for.

As they delve deeper into the Skojare world, they begin to unravel a long-hidden secret. The dark truth about her own beloved Kanin kingdom is about to come to light, and it will change her place in it forever…and threaten everyone she loves.

My Review:

There have been a few books that I have been reading lately that were written in third person it was a real change to all the other books I usually read in first person. But I find that stories being told in first person have so much more emotion and personality. This story stars with Bryn recapping a failed mission along side Ridley and she is beating herself up over that failure.

I really enjoyed read this book, I grew to love the characters in the story, but I fell in love with them in the first book Frostfire. I did not understand the ending or how much depth that went into it until I properly read the synopsis of Frostfire again, it was like I light switch flicked on.

Author Bio:

Amanda Hocking is a lifelong Minnesotan obsessed with Batman and Jim Henson. In between watching cooking shows, taking care of her menagerie of pets, and drinking too much Red Bull Zero, she writes young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Wattpad | Email | Tumblr | Publisher Website | Instagram | Youtube

Cover Reveal: Loving Red (Loving Red #1)

Loving Red (Loving Red #1) by Alisha Costanzo

Publisher: Not available yet

Release Date: September 9th 2015

Genre: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Links: Goodreads | Preorder

Synopsis:

For Sergeant Severins Bouvier, silence means tactical planning and a large death toll, and he can’t shake how danger threatens him on the beaches of Miami, especially after seeing one of his associates in a local sandwich shop. Worse, the enemy seems fascinated with the woman he can’t stop thinking about—a woman determined not to trust him.

Everything about Sev crashes through Kaia’s carefully placed boundaries, traps, and avoidances. Regardless of her lack of interest in the majority of men, the ones that did catch her off guard left a lot of collateral damage. Who better than a soldier to understand that?

The problem is that she trusts him. Just not with her heart.

Author Bio:

Alisha Costanzo is from a Syracuse suburb. She earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she currently teaches English. She’s the author of BLOOD PHOENIX: REBIRTH and BLOOD PHOENIX: CLAIMED, and co-editor of DISTORTED. LOVING RED, a Broken World novel, is undergoing serious edits for its 2015 release. In the meantime, she will continue to corrupt young minds, rant about the government, and daydream about her all around nasty creatures.

Author Links: Website 1 | Website 2 | Twitter | Goodreads

Book Blitz: Ink (A Mermaid Romance)

Ink (A Mermaid Romance) by Melanie Karsak

Publisher: Not available

Release Date: June 2nd 2015

Genre: Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N

Synopsis:

A mermaid princess destined to wed a handsome king…

It sounds like a fairy tale, but the reality is far murkier.

Ink, Princess of the Florida Atlantic mers, is slated to wed the ancient enemy of her tribe, the King of the Gulfs. After years of war that led to countless mer deaths, as well as the genocide of aquatic shapeshifters and the freshwater mers of Florida, Ink’s marriage will bring lasting peace.

Or so it seems.

Mere hours before she’s supposed to leave the ocean for her customary year as a drywalker, Ink meets Hal, an alligator shifter who warns her that a storm is brewing. There is malicious intent behind Ink’s marriage—and worse, meeting Hal has also caused a storm to rage in Ink’s heart. Nevertheless, loyal to her tribe, Ink will put aside her feelings and journey to Miami to marry the decadent King Manx.

Ink soon learns that her only hope of surviving the crashing force swelling around her is to tap into a power deep inside—a forbidden power that might destroy them all.

Excerpt:

As I jerked my knife, I stared at the boat motoring overhead. Seaton was right.
Everything about this fishing practice was illegal. The purse-seine fishing method they
were using had been outlawed years ago. Disgusting. At least merpeople honored their
laws, even when we didn’t like it.

The torn net wagged with the motion of the waves. As I worked, anger welling up in
me. If it hadn’t meant having their refuse in my waters, I could just sink their boat and
drown them all. It was, after all, instinctual for me to want their death. While our law
forbad using siren song, which was nothing more than tuning of sound resonance, I still
felt the ancestral tug in me. I would have loved to purr a sweet song and pull them down
into a murky death. I could almost hear the tune in the back of my head, humming from
an ancient source. The song of the siren was nearly lost now, its banishment causing it
to fade from common use or knowledge. I closed my eyes. With just a few notes, it
would all be done.

“Ink?” Seaton called.

I opened my eyes. Careful, Ink. “Good. Almost there.” I glanced back at Indigo.
She’d moved the mother dolphin deeper into the water, away from the surface, and had
shifted back into mermaid form. Her blueish hair, befitting her name, made a halo
around her. She was using merdolphin magic to dazzle the creature, talking in low
melodious tones that echoed softly through the water.

Seaton stopped just above me.

“Got it,” I said, then slid my blade upward. The net broke in half, wagging like
seaweed in the waves.

Seaton and I swam to Indigo who was guiding the mother dolphin, holding her
gently by the flipper. From above, there was a terrible groan, then a screech as the
gears on the winch sprang to life. The net wall moved like it was alive, the tentacles of a
great sea monster closing in on us.

“We must hurry,” Seaton said.

Moving quickly, we swam through the tear and out of the net, back into the safety of
the open ocean.

The gears on the winch lurched. Water pressure pulled the tear, causing the net to
rip wide open. The tuna rushed free. I tread for a moment, stopping to watch the sight
as Indigo guided the mother dolphin into the dark water below us.

“The pup is coming,” Indigo called from the blackness below.

Above, the bottom of the boat rocked, unsteadied by the broken net. The winch
slowly reeled the mesh out of the water. It looked like a dead thing, a man-made
monster fished out of the living ocean. As the fishermen moved along the rail of the
ship, their images were weirdly distorted against the surface of the water. With all my
willpower, I sucked in the death-dealing note that wanted to escape from my lips. The
massive swirling tribal mark on my back started to feel prickly and warm. Harnessing
myself in, I reminded myself that it was forbidden. I turned and swam into the shadowy
deep.

Q & A with Author 
1. What is your favorite mermaid story or myth?

When I was a teen, I fell in love with the Slavic/Russian novels written by C. J. Cherryh,
including her work Rusulka. Rusulka is the story about a drowned girl who becomes a
haunted spirit. Rusulka are prevalent in Slavic myth. They are often depicted as spirits,
but sometimes they appear as nymphs or water sprites. I was really inspired by
Cherryh’s Rusulka character.

You can catch the paperback for a penny on Amazon! http://amzn.com/0345359534

2. What was the inspiration for your mermaid novella?

     

I moved to Florida about five years ago, and I was really inspired by all the sights on the
coast. We’ve taken trips to Miami on a few occasions. I enjoy the architecture, but
dislike the vibe of the city. It’s the same vibe Ink feels when she is there (sorry, Miami). I
live on the Space Coast, not far from NASA, and I love this area. We are close to Cocoa
Beach which has the feel of a “once-happening” place. There is a quaint charm to its
faded, sea-side glory. I adore Cocoa Village, a quaint downtown area. There are lovely
little shops and old oak trees with Spanish moss. It was the perfect setting for Ink’s
eventual rendezvous with a good friend.

3.    Cast your characters. If your novella was made into a movie, who would play your
main characters?


Ink is hard to cast, but I would probably choose someone like Megan Fox.

For Hal, I would definitely cast Jason Momoa. Because, well, Jason Momoa.

4.    What was most challenging thing writing about mermaids?

The world building! Oh my gosh, it took me forever to figure out just how “under the sea”
functioned in terms of a society. There was nothing to go from so I just made it all up! It
took a lot more time and brain-power than I expected.

5.    Ursula or Ariel?

Ursula’s attitude with Ariel’s looks. Ariel is too “I need a man” for me. Ursula is too “I
need power” for Ink. But they both have good qualities.
I actually really love cecaelia, mer-octopus like Ursula. They play an important role in
Ink.

6.    What else should we know about your novella?

There are alligator shifters and nyotaimori (Google it). I now know way more about
alligator mating calls than a normal person would find useful. Don’t judge me by my
Google searches. :)

Author Bio:

Melanie Karsak is the author of the Amazon best-selling steampunk series The Airship Racing Chronicles (Chasing the Star Garden and Chasing the Green Fairy) and the award-wining horror/dark fantasy Harvesting Series. She grew up in rural northwestern Pennsylvania and earned a Master’s degree in English from Gannon University. A steampunk connoisseur, white elephant collector, and zombie whisperer, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway:

Blitz-wide giveaway (OPEN INTERNATIONALLY)
1. Mermaid Mega-Gift pack (Mermaid necklace, Mermaid bracelet, Alligator Necklace, Shell necklace, a 7-year mermaid pen, Cocoa Beach photo album, Mermaid christmas tree ornament, pack mermaid buttons, Ariel car decal, Cocoa Beach tote)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Blitz: Dirty Boys Of Summer (Alphas, Billionaires, Bikers and Jocks)

Dirty Boys Of Summer (Alphas, Billionaires, Bikers and Jocks)

Publisher: Not available

Release Date: June 2nd 2015

Genre: New Adult, Erotica, Paranormal, Romance, Anthologies

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N

Synopsis:

WHO DOESN’T LOVE THOSE DIRTY SUMMER BOYS?
Alphas, Billionaires, Bikers, Bad Boys, Stepbrothers, and Jocks
99 cent Mega NA/YA Romance Bundle Sale. Limited Time Only!

Note: Sunglasses required

Grab this set of 16 Young/New Adult stories in one single volume and at one amazing price. Fill up a bucket with ice and prepare for a heat wave as the DIRTY BOYS OF SUMMER hit your e-reader giving your romantic minds a scorching thrill like no other.

Are you ready to lose your v-card, fall in love, get naughty, and say good-bye to your good girl persona with these ohhh so dirty summer boys? Intended for 17+, we’ve packed the box with the best in upper young adult, naughty new adult, sweet contemporary, and wicked paranormal.
Stories from:
1. Gennifer Albin
TEACHING ROMAN
2. Evangeline Anderson
THE ACADEMY
3. Avery Aster
LOVE, LEX
4. Jamie Blair
LOST TO ME
5. Opal Carew
TAKEN BY STORM
6. Marisa Cleveland
ACCIDENTAL BUTTERFLY
7. Carey Corp
THE HALO CHRONICLES: THE GUARDIAN
8. Julie Cross
LETTERS TO NOWHERE
9. Jen Frederick
UNSPOKEN
10. Rachel Higginson
BET ON US
11. Tamara Mataya
THE SOWING
12. Dawn Rae Miller
CRUSHED
13. Julie Prestsater
BEFORE SOMEDAY-PART ONE: THE WAIT
14. Becca Ritchie & Krista Ritchie
KISS THE SKY
15. Lynn Rush
FROSTBITE
16. C.L. Stone
LIAR: THE SCARAB BEETLE SERIES: #2

Giveaway:

Individual giveaways (OPEN INTERNATIONALLY) ENDS 28TH 2015
1. eBook copy of Dirty Boys Of Summer.

Leave you name, email, blog (if you have one) and a number starting from 1 in the comment section below.

ARC Review: Rogue (Talon #2)

Rogue (Talon #2) by Julie Kagawa 

Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 2015

400 pages, kindle edition

Source: Netgalley

Release Date: May 1st 2015

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Mythology, Supernatural

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can't forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he'd signed his own death warrant.

Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order's headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember's own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George.

A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?

My Review:

Man this book was an amazing read I thought it wasn’t going to be as good as the first book, but it blow my expectation out of the window. What really catches me off guard is every time Julie tells a story it feels so real, but her imagination is very outside the box but you can picture things happening as if they are happening in front of you, she has a way of bring her characters to life and I think that is so awesome in telling stories.

This book is packed with action, action, action and more action, and you will really like dragons in this one there is also a lot of ass kicking dragon fights. And also the love triangle in this book works for them and its strange but it is like second nature in this story, with Ember being dragon and human it becomes a point like their being 2 separate entities it just made sense. Her dragon side wants a dragon only and her human wants a human only. In the end this is not your usual love triangle.

My Rating:

Author Bio:

Julie Kagawa, the New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Fey and Blood of Eden series was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.
When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time (okay, at least the illustrations did), but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a
real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dog trainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full time.

Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, an obnoxious cat, an Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and a hyper-active Papillion.

Author Links: Website | Google+ | Twitter | Instaram | Facebook | Youtube

Cover Reveal: Eternal Light (Few Are Angels #3)

Eternal Light (Few Are Angels #3) by Inger Iversen

Publisher: Not available

Release Date: June 1st 2015

Genre: Young Adult

Link: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Ella has accepted her fate of fifteen years with Aleixandre, but does not consent to his plan of using her powers to eradicate the Chorý race. In a last ditch effort to sway her, Aleixandre offers an early release of her debt and to allow Kale residence in the garden house.

Will this be enough for Ella to take the deal?

Enlisting the help of Kale, Sola, and Jace—Ella sets off to look for the Zdrowy, a mysterious group of Chorý, thought to have been cured of la Luxure.

Join Ella and Kale in the final installment of the Few Are Angels series, as they are set on a path that not only leads to a possible cure to the Chorý status, but may also offer Kale something he has been chasing his entire immortal life—

Author Bio:

Inger Iversen was born in 1982 to Anne and Kaii Iversen. She lives in Virginia Beach with her overweight lap cat, Max and her tree hugging boyfriend Joshua. She spends 90 percent of her time in Barnes and Noble and the other ten pretending not to want to be in Barnes and Noble.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | 

Book Blitz: The Violet Hour

The Violet Hour (The Violet Stories #1) by Andrea L Wells

Publisher: Not available

Release Date: May 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N

Synopsis:

Still shocked over her mother’s mysterious death, California socialite Logan Keller is handed a one-way ticket to her long lost roots in Wyoming where love, deceit and danger await. Though she could forget everything staring into Luke Callahan’s eyes, Logan is quickly thrust into a fight for survival. Taking fate into her own hands, she begins unraveling the dangerous deceptions that abound at every turn. Her father is keeping secrets and Luke is keeping more. But Logan is keeping the biggest secret of them all.

The Violet Hour is a page-turning captivating twist of young romance and the supernatural.

Excerpt:

I sat up and pulled my knees in close to my chest. Electricity flared in the air as Luke inhaled.
“You know, Logan, you’re not who I expected you to be,” he said, taking a long thought-filled pause. “I thought the next twelve months were going to be hell living with a California socialite, but you’re pretty amazing. I guess I owe you an apology.”
“So, it’s a good thing that I’m nothing like you expected?” I asked.
“It’s a really, really good thing.”
As I started to smile back he craned his neck to look away from me. His eyes focused. Something black flashed across the road but I was more scared by Luke’s reaction. The warmth had vanished from Luke in a heartbeat. The object stopped moving toward us when it got to an opening between the trees. Even though I could feel Luke’s concern, I leaned forward toward the window, curious. It was a wolf – a really big wolf, staring directly at us with bright green eyes. It was close enough I could see quick breaths escape into the crisp rain-drenched air. I was startled when the engine roared to life. Luke threw the car into reverse, and I nearly slammed into the dash as the sound of gravel scattered everywhere. He quickly jockeyed around and pulled back onto the road heading home. I kept my eyes on the wolf until he was no longer in sight.
“Was that a wolf?” I asked. Everything happened so quickly, I had to be sure.
“Yes,” he spit.
“I’ve never seen a wolf before – that thing was huge.”
Luke immediately turned to look at me with an expression that I couldn’t begin to read.
“What’s going on?” I pressed, puzzled.
When he looked toward the road and didn’t answer, I knew my question needed to be more specific to get results.
“Why are you freaking out? It was just a wolf.” I was worried. He had gone from warm and comforting to moody and distant over such a small thing and I second-guessed how quickly I had fallen for him.
“Because I need to get you home, it’s getting late,” he muttered, failing to control his tone.
“That doesn’t make any sense, Luke. I have no curfew and you flaked as soon as you saw the wolf.”
“Wolves are dangerous.”
“We were in the car,” I countered.
“Doesn’t matter.” 

Author Bio:

The Violet Hour Series has been begging to escape Andrea’s subconscious for more than five years. Focusing on a wonderful career, handsome husband and two beautiful children by day, she began feverishly penning the series by night. Now a full-time writer, Andrea debuts The Violet Hour.

Author Links: Website | Twitter | Facebook 

Giveaway:

Individual giveaway (OPEN INTERNATIONALLY) ENDS JUNE 7TH 2015
1. eBook copy of The Violet Hour

Leave your name, email, blog (if you have one) and a number starting from 1 in the comment section below.

Blitz-wide giveaway (OPEN INTERNATIONALLY)
1. Kindle Fire HD

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ARC: Saving London

Saving London by Taylor Dawn

Publisher: Booktrope, 2015
272 pages, kindle edtion

Source: Publisher (Book Marketing Manager)

Release Date: June 9th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

The List. That Signified Finality.
The Journey. That Would Span The Globe.
The Sacrifice. That Would Decide The Outcome.
The Choice. That Could Unleash Evil On Earth.
The End Is Only The Beginning...


“You have terminal cancer.”

London Patterson, a seemingly healthy young woman, had her entire life ahead of her. That was until four little words brought everything to a screeching halt. As the shock and grief begin to fade, London decides to map out her last year and embark on an epic journey to complete a bucket list. She wants to do the things she’s been afraid to do in her life, step out of her self-contained box, and see the world. What she didn’t expect was for a mysterious stranger named Adam to breeze into her life like a breath of fresh air.

Adam offers to help London complete her list on one condition…that she sees it through to the end. Agreeing on those terms, the two set out on an adventure of a lifetime. But London soon realizes that Adam isn’t quite…human. Along their journey odd occurrences happen that cause London to question who or what Adam is and why he’s helping her.

Follow London as she checks off her bucket list in this inspiring new Urban Fantasy novel from Taylor Dawn.

My Review:

London is on the road of starting her very own bucket list, which leads London to run into a man named Adam who also offers to help her with her list. But only if she agrees to follow through with everything she has on list and competes it all. Adam then sort of takes over her list but seems to have connections everywhere and pretty much unlimited money, a few times she questions his stability where he talks about angels and its very cryptic about who he really is. But then with him around she feels very calm and safe so then she tries to forget about that.

London is also very spunk and snarky for a young lady who has been dealt a shit hand in her life, so not only has she just learned that she is dying caused by cancer but she has had it very rough her entire life growing up, in the foster care system, she has this sarcastic attitude which she uses as a coping mechanism so people do not get close to her.

Adam was courteous and very patient for a male, he sort of needed to be with London and all her personality. He showed up in London’s life at exactly the right moment he needed to be there, I like Adam’s character I found that he was easy to like with the secrets he held back about his life.

Author Bio:

C.D. Taylor/Taylor Dawn began writing as an item to check off her bucket list. She resides in the southernmost part of Illinois, right on the mighty Mississippi river. She enjoys the quiet country life with her husband, son and the many farm animals that make up the rest of the family. She. decided that farm life was just a little too mundane, so she started writing erotica and fantasy to liventhings up, so far so good. C.D./Taylor entered cosmetology school right out of High School and practiced the art of hair styling for 12 years. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found sitting around a table making people laugh. She has always wanted to be a standup comic. She loves pulling practical jokes, dresses up in a costume every Halloween and believes that dancing is the key to a happy life (even if you aren’t a good dancer). She believes that life shouldn’t be taken too seriously, we will never get out alive anyway. More than anything, she is a kid at heart, she doesn’t believe in bedtimes, eating everything on her plate, or having ice cream only for dessert. Her favorite quote is by Dr. Seuss…”Why fit in, when you were born to stand out.”


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Book Blitz: Secret Worlds (Paranormal Romance Boxed Set)

Secret Worlds (Paranormal Romance Boxed Set)

Publisher: Not available

Release Date: June 29th 2015

Genre: New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | B&N

Synopsis:

asdfLimited Edition, includes:

Taken by the Beast by C. Kressley and R. Hamilton: Women who look a lot like Charisse are going missing. And the man this beauty is falling for may be the beast responsible.

The Forever Girl by R. Hamilton: Sophia gets more than she bargains for when she finally decides to trust a shapeshifter.

Summoned by Rainy K.: Dimitri can’t reveal the paranormal bond controlling him, and Syd won’t tolerate his secrets.

Purgatory by S. Stec: A sex-hungry myth with no name, no flesh, and no identity …unless it wears one of you.

The Pandora Principle by N. Cosper: As a descendant of Pandora, Cassi must discover if her lover is one of the evil spirits she hunts before all her friends die.

Heart Song by S. LaFantasie: When incredibly handsome Marren frees Relena, there’s a catch.

Changeling by D. Herbert: As a changeling and a witch work together to restore order in Fairy, they discover that love, like magic, casts its own spell.

Shiftless by A. Easterling: After years of suppressing her inner predator, Terra meets a shifter who forces her to reclaim her wilder side.

The Black Parade by Kyoko M: Poltergeist Michael is the key to saving Jordan’s soul from hell, but can she handle the cost of her salvation?

Haunting Echoes by C. Faron: Will Amaia’s clan kill her ex-fiancé before she learns whether he returned from the grave for love or revenge?

Braving Fate by L. Hall: Diana and Cadan fight demonic forces and a deadly passion that has lasted centuries.

Trinity Rising by J.E. Taylor: Damian and Naomi are desperate for victory against the devil, but one wrong step could trigger Armageddon.

Moonlight by K. Salidas: Good girls don’t wear fur, fight over men, or run around naked, howling at the moon. But Fallon’s not a good girl.

Lash by L.G. Castillo: Lash must choose where to place his trust–in a home he fought so hard to regain or in a forbidden love he can’t bear to lose.

Between by L. Swallow: Alek could kill Rose with a kiss. Finn, with a touch. Pulled into an intense affair with Alek, Rose discovers her connection to Finn threatens them all.

The Devil’s Fool by R. McClellan: When vampire Boaz gives Eve the one thing she never had–love–she falls into a world of greed and seduction.

Spark Rising by K. Corcino: A runaway Spark and the agent arresting her ignite a revolution to end their people’s enslavement while resisting the electricity between them.

Ruby’s Fire by C. Stine: On the run from a desert cult, Ruby must choose which handsome stranger to trust with her heart and her darkest secret.

Cursed by L. Leroux: Isobel has been hiding an uncanny ability her whole life–until the day she must use it to save herself from a madman.

Hunted by A.J. Colby: With Agent Holbrook’s help, Riley races time to stay ahead of a crazed werewolf killer.

Vigilant by A. Lawson: Ari stumbles into a world of crime and vigilantism while discovering the one man that sets her heart on fire.

Giveaway:
Blitz-wide giveaway (OPEN INTERNATIONALLY) ENDS MAY 14th 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ARC Review: Southern Fried Wiccan

Southern Fried Wiccan by S.P. Sipal

Publisher: BookFish Books, 2015

173 page, kindle edition

Source: Netgalley

Release Date: March 24th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Cilla Swaney is thrilled to return stateside, where she can hang up her military-brat boots for good. Finally, she’ll be free to explore her own interests—magick and Wicca. But when she arrives at her grandma’s farm, Cilla discovers that life in the South isn’t quite what she expected. At least while country hopping, she never had to drink G-ma’s crazy fermented concoctions, attend church youth group, make co-op deliveries...or share her locker with a snake-loving, fire-lighting, grimoire-stealing Goth girl…

…Who later invites her to a coven that Cilla’s not sure she has the guts to attend. But then Emilio, the dark-haired hottie from her charter school, shows up and awakens her inner goddess. Finally, Cilla starts believing in her ability to conjure magick. Until…

…All Hades breaks loose. A prank goes wrong during their high school production of Macbeth, and although it seems Emilio is to blame, Cilla and Goth pay the price. Will Cilla be able to keep the boy, her coven, and the trust of her family? Or will this Southern Wiccan get battered and fried?

My Review:

I was a little unsure of what to expect when I started Sipal's Southern Fried Wiccan. The premise sounded cute and I thought the title was clever. What I got was a coming-of-age tale of a military brat who is trying to find her place in the world. The addition of religion was not over-bearing or meant to sway the reader one way or another. This is simply about a girl who is on the path to self-discovery and she uses wicca to find herself. I loved the incorporation of MacBeth, it really added a lot of depth and flair to the story. I also adored Cilla. She was easy to relate to. If I were still in high school, I could easily see myself becoming friends with her. I also cherished Cilla's family, particarly her grandmother. I would love to have a "G-ma" like Cilla, who is into making her own tea, and grows and sells organic vegetables. Overall, this is a sweet southern tale. I will definitely make a note to read more from Sipal in the future!

My Rating:

Author Bio:

Susan Sipal had to travel halfway across the world and return home to embrace her father and grandfather's penchant for telling a tall tale. After having lived with her husband in his homeland of Turkey for many years, she suddenly saw the world with new eyes and had to write about it. Perhaps it was the emptiness of the Library of Celsus at Ephesus that cried out to be refilled, or the myths surrounding the ancient Temple of Artemis, but she's been writing stories filled with myth and mystery ever since.

When not writing--wait, scratch that--she's always writing. Actually, she does have one other interest besides making sense of the voices constantly yabbering in her head (and her family, of course). She's heavily into nutrition and traditional foods. Her kitchen is usually filled with fermenting, bubbling concoctions of yesteryear.

Her small farm, however, is filled with kids and animals. She lives in North Carolina with her husband, two kids, one dog, two rabbits (though that's about to soon multiply), three cats, six goldfish, a dozen chickens, and too many frogs to count.

She is best known as an analyst of the Harry Potter series, with essays published both in the US and the UK discussing the alchemical and Egyptian metaphors. Along with multiple writing-craft workshops, Susan has spoken on the mythological underpinnings of Harry Potter at several fan-based and academic conferences in the US and England.

Author Link: Website | Twitter  | Goodreads

ARC Review: Dreamfire

Dreamfire by Kit Alloway

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2015

368 pages, kindle edition

Source: Purchased through Dymock

Release Date: February 24th 2015

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Supernatural, Romance

Links: Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon AU | Amazon UK

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Joshlyn Weaver has always lived with a big secret. Ordinary kids spend their free time going to the movies, hanging out with friends, and searching on the internet.

But for her, an evening at home usually means entering people's dreams. For many generations, her family has been part of a very powerful and very secretive society of dream walkers. Tasked with the responsibility of lowering the world's general anxiety — which only leads to war and strife in the waking world — their job has always been to stop nightmares before they go too far.
By stopping nightmares while sleeping, they help to stop nightmares in real life.

But when an ancient feud within the dream walker society resurfaces right when a seemingly unconnected series of very strange and very scary events start occurring during her dream walks, Josh finds herself in a race against time. The one true dream walker has never been known. Could she be the one?

My Review:

The whole concept of Dreamwalkers very interesting but I do have to the in-depth sometimes tedious explanations of dream walking and dream theories the book dragged for a while, even though all the action scenes in the nightmare. But lucky I stuck to it because it picked up about half way through the book and I could not put it down from there on wards.

As for the main character Joshlyn goes she was very gifted at what she did, her skills in resolving nightmares is unheard of in the dream walking community. Joshlyn is living with a lot of guilt over the death of her boyfriend in which she blames herself for his death, but of course she does not know how to handle her new found feelings for her apprentice Will. Their romance was slow building which is realistic and unfortunately I did not find any of the moments shared between them all that swoon worthy and maybe that had something to do with the fact that Will was just Will, there was nothing that made him stand out for me, any who back to character Joshlyn I did find that there was a few times where she acted before she thought her actions through which led to some pretty severe consequences to the people she loved and cared for so I did not really like that about her but she was loyal and it was easy to feel her pain which made me sympathise for her.

There were a couple of secondary characters that stood out to me, one was Windsor Josh’s BFF. I honestly did not really like her she did something that no real best friend would do and I do not know how Josh can tolerate her. And another character who I thought was just plain bloody creepy until we learned the truth about him was Haley. He was the twin brother of Josh’s ex and once we learn about his gift I found him to be one of the more interesting characters in the novel.

My Rating:

Author Bio:

I live in Louisville, Kentucky with my family and four Chihuahua mixes. When I'm not writing, I'm quilting, reading, and endlessly trying to improve my house. (Flooring? Sure, I can lay flooring! How hard can it be?) I'm the daughter of a professor and a film historian, and I grew up seeing a lot of movies. Currently, I'm taking my first ever college English literary criticism course, which is opening my mind in all sorts of exciting ways.

Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads