Quote This:

“You must be new,” Liska said. “Wait until we’re un here eating egg salad sandwiches while Doc scrapes the maggots off a severed head.”

90% of the time I start my reviews off with a personal story. I find it’s a great way to establish community with my readers. But today that is not the case. Today I am going to start by telling you why I decided to read and review Tami Hoag’s “The 9th Girl.”

Unlike most of you (that will decided to pick up this book) I have never read a Tami Hoag novel. I own all of them, for no other reason than I have a friend that lives and dies by Hoag’s words, but until her publicist contacted me asking if I would take a look…the idea of reading any of them (in the relative near future) was pretty much at ground level zero.

The truth of the matter is, I just don’t have the time to read a hand load of novels just so I can review one random one in the middle of the pack. I have over 200 books waiting (not so very patiently) on my review TBR, to stop in the middle for the sole purpose of binge reading a series just to review one doesn’t make a lot of sense. But, as a person who doesn’t like burning bridges, I agreed, deciding to approach this novel from an entirely different angle.

The angle? To see if it’s possible to pick up a Hoag novel (having not read any previously) and successfully follow along.  Could I, having skipped books 1-3 in this series, establish an emotional relationship with the characters? Would I care at all about the story, if I had no connection to the past? Could this book ultimately stand alone? Or did it need the crutch of its predecessors?

The answer, I have to admit…shocked me.

Now, before I dive into the intricacies of characters, connections and the fate of reading a book from the middle of a series, I want to talk about the plot. Like most great suspense novels, “The 9th Girl” is overflowing with mystery, twists, and handful of artfully penned disfigured corpses. It is also a product of its environment. Meaning there is more than one plot line to sort through at once. However there is one very significant thing that sets Hoag’s “multiply story lines” apart from the others I’ve read. Not knowing what is significant and what is filler. So instead of guessing the killers identity 50 pages in, I had to collect ALL of the information, weave them together and THEN try to dissect them.

The result…I still got it wrong.

Which actually made me quite happy. I WANT to be surprised. I WANT to be strung along with the police, the families, and all of the gawking media outlets. I WANT to gasp and be outraged right along with the characters, and Hoag delivered that. The “way” in which the overall concept was built remained generic and formulaic (1. Murder 2. Investigation 3. Bump in the road 4. Killer’s perspective 5. The end.) but the way in which it was delivered showed Hoag’s maturity and ingenuity in what she DID or DID NOT deem worthy to present to her audience.

I KNEW the formula, yet I remained engaged.

And the moment I realized I was engaged, was the moment I realized it didn’t matter that I was reading a book from the middle of a series. I cared about the characters inside this novel. I was heartbroken for some, disgusted by others. Past cases, were exactly that…past, and ultimately had no bearing on my understanding of what was going on inside this novel. Relationships seemed natural, flitting across the page with easy and comfort. Soothing my instinctual feeling that reading this book was wrong.

In the end…it was just another (stand alone) psychological thriller, with amazing attention to detail, just the right amount of humor, and enough heart to make the story sink its teeth into you. I didn’t need to backtrack. I didn’t need to research. All I needed to do was kick back and take it all in.

Which (to me) is the sign of a successful novel.

That said…I actually DO recommend you read novels 1-3 first. Not because it’s necessary, but because I have a feeling they will be just as entertaining as this one was. And, since most of you read for fun (not work) adding a few more books to your list isn’t such a big deal.

So where does this leave my thoughts overall? In a pretty happy place.

Good book. Interesting story. Captivating characters. If you are a thriller/mystery buff…take a chance. Apparently Hoag IS (as some may say) all that and a bag of chips.

Happy reading me fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Listening is only the beginning. Understanding is what matters.

Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Publication Date: January 21, 2014

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Jeth Seagrave is the leader of the Malleus Shades, the galaxy’s most accomplished and elusive band of teenage mercenaries. Working for feared crime boss Hammer Defoe, Jeth and his crew have made their name stealing unsecured metadrives – the complex piece of technology that makes faster-than-light-speed travel possible. The ITA–the far-reaching organization that produces and polices metatechnology–has been on Jeth’s tale for years, and is looking for any chance to take down Hammer’s black market metatech trade.

But Jeth doesn’t care about any of this. All he wants to do is earn enough money to purchase his parents’ ship, Avalon, from Hammer. His parents, former ITA scientists, were executed for treason years back, and Jeth, his sister Lizzie, and their uncle Milton fell into debt to Hammer. Finally, Jeth has found himself just one job away from freedom. This job, however, is going to give Jeth much, much more than he bargained for – and when he finds himself in possession of information that both Hammer and the ITA will kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he’ll go to get the freedom he’s dreamed of for so long.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ok, first of all….let’s talk about how freaking awesome this cover art is. No, really…I have the urge to make sweet sweet love to it in the back of an old beat up VW van. Tattoo it on my ass, or at the very least make lewd comments like the ones above about it.

As for WHY I am waiting not so patiently for it? I freaking LOVE Sci-Fi!! And, it’s been really hard to find hardcore Sci-Fi lately in this big ol world we like to call YA. Why? Because authors have a tendency to make it all about the love connection. Don’t get me wrong…I like a love connection as much as the next girl, but sometimes I just want spaceships, evil space Nazis, and roughly 200 words I have to crack a dictionary to understand. Also…I like the name Hammer, it’s ominous.

Anyways, this is what I am waiting for.

What are YOU waiting for?

Click images for additional information

Now, we all know how this story ends (or at least I hope you do) which is with me curled up in the fetal position crying like a lunatic. Looking back, I’ll be the first to admit, I might have been a tad melodramatic. But as an adult I maintain my love for him. The fact of the matter is, he taught me an incredible lesson at a very young age. A lesson that shaped the way I treated others, and myself when I got into high school. A lesson that I will teach MY children, and that is:

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.”

Jealousy is a fact of life. So are envy, admiration and resentment. You can’t control those emotions, but you can stop them for controlling you. Go ahead…envy a person’s looks. Covet their job. Be jealous of their easy way with people. But at the end of the day take stock of YOURSELF. Think about what other’s may admire about YOU. And then…BE yourself. Because you will never be more comfortable than you are in your OWN skin. Contributing your OWN thoughts, and sharing your OWN feelings.

In “Becoming Bryn,” Jesse learns this lesson two fold. That trying to be someone else not only wastes the person that SHE it, but also the person she is pretending to be. That sometimes…the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. That looks can be deceiving and, an that you can’t truly understand a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes.

Since apparently this review is all about “learning lessons” let me teach you another one I learned very early on in my blogging career. You cannot judge a book by it’s first 50 pages. In Becoming Bryn’s case, 57 pages. To be frank, until I read the final sentence of Chapter 13:

I was not a fan. As a matter of fact, I felt like I was reading a YA version of chick lit. (Oh….dreaded chick lit.) Lot’s of whining, not much substance. But with one sentence the entire story change, and suddenly…I found myself sucked in. I was no longer reading pages and pages of “she’s so pretty” “she’s so lucky” instead I was reading phrases like this:

A story that I had almost written off as mindless drivel morphed into an intriguing tale of bad choices. Of repercussions. Of misguided hope.

To make a long story short…Bryn is the popular one. Everyone loves her, everyone wants to be her. Jesse is the book nerd. One evening, fate deals them a pretty crappy blow and before she knows it Jesse has a choice to make. She can continue to be herself, or she can pretend to be her sister. Thinking life looks a looks peachier atop a pair of 4 inch heels, she chooses the latter. And this is where the story unfolds…Jesse becoming Bryn.

The interesting part however is not in the details of Jesse’s transformation, it’s in the realization that Bryn get’s to watch it happen.

Writing in companion narration (lordy I feel like I say that phrase a lot these days) Carling is able to do what most can’t. Create growth through death. Allowing Bryn the opportunity to see the aftermath of her untimely departure adds depth to the second half of the novel that was decidedly missing from the first. She is no longer focused on herself, therefore she gets to see the WHOLE picture. What people thought about her. How they react when she’s not looking. She also gets to see her sister clearly, for the first time. Separately these qualities fall flat, but throw them in a pot and stir it up, and you get a genuinely absorbing plot.

The same can be said for Jesse’s side of the story. Running with what she assumes instead of what she knows…spells disaster. And before she knows it she isn’t sitting high on Bryn’s marble pedestal, instead…she is struggling to hold it up.

In the end I can honestly say I was shocked. A story I had almost given up on morphed into a butterfly, leading me along a beautiful path of self-discovering and appreciation. It took envy and flipped it on it’s head, illustrating the dirty business “trading places” in a truly unique way.

Kudos to you Ms. Carling for challenging my patience. It paid off in the end.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: ”Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs.

First Impressions

Guest Post by Mark Chisnell

 
New York, New York, so great they… well, you know the rest. Whatever might have been said about the place in the 1970s and 80s, the Big Apple is back and close to its pumping, vibrant peak. So I took the opportunity on a research trip to spend a couple of days in New York, which meant arriving from England into New York’s  JFK airport.

Arriving in America is a haphazard affair when you’re not a US citizen, you never know quite what to expect. The first time I ever flew internationally it was to Los Angeles, notorious for the queues at immigration, but on that occasion I was out on the streets in under an hour. And within an hour, someone had tried to sell me a car, buy me a beer, and mug me after I’d been thrown out of a closing bus station. Oh, the joys of the big city…

Returning to New York, we had just reached the front of the queue when the immigration computers packed up. And so we stood and waited for them to reboot America, or something. The indifference to our plight (it was 5am on Saturday morning where we’d come from) by one particular immigration agent had to be seen to be believed – but then, he was reading Nietzsche.

It started me thinking about first impressions though — at one point during that wait, if someone had offered me a return ride straight back home I’d probably have taken it. The same thing can be said about books; how often does your gaze flick across the first lines of a novel and you think…. nah.

First impressions are really important for books, those crucial first sentences will either draw the reader in, or spit them out. The American Book Review did a great survey to come up with the best 100 First Lines from Novels.

A more contemporary version was done by Stylist magazine, but there’s a fair bit of overlap

If you’re short of time, the Guardian chose to focus on just the top ten, but did it with pictures and some explanations.

The only consistent theme is that they all make you want to read on. If I had to choose just one, it would probably be Douglas Adam’s opener for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.”

It makes me smile, and it makes me want to read on, I’m immediately transported to a place where the earth finds itself in an unfashionable and unregarded neighborhood – and I want to know more about that place.

A second and more serious choice would be, ‘You better not never tell nobody but God.” from Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Again, it makes me read on, because I have to know what’s so awful that it must never be spoken of again.

I thought I’d close with my own most recent opening sentence, from the action/adventure thriller, Powder Burn:

“Seven and a half thousand miles from home, still unpublished, slightly hung-over and almost certainly broke, Sam didn’t see him at first.”

First lines, first impressions – they all count, so what’s your favorite?

Powder Burn by Mark Chisnell

 
If Dragon Tattoo’s Mikael Blomkvist and the Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen could have a love-child, she’d probably be a lot like Sam Blackett…

Sam had given up her Manhattan job, and her cute apartment in Brooklyn. She’d abandoned her astonished boyfriend to the charms of ESPN, and flown off into a new dawn to chase her dream of becoming an investigative journalist.

Three months later, alone in a soulless internet café, she’s facing some cold, hard facts; she’s unpublished, unhappy and broke. And right then, the gorgeous Pete Halland blows into her life – headed for the mythical Powder Burn mountain to write history and blast into legend.

If she throws in her lot with Pete and reports the story for National Geographic magazine it could rescue her ambitions, but he’s holding back some crucial information – the question for Sam is… what?

Soon, Sam is up to her neck in snow and the weather is the least of her problems; lost in a secretive Himalayan kingdom with – what could be – a magic sword and a simmering and potentially bloody revolution.

But the father she lost to the war in Iraq was a marine, and he taught her a few tricks in the Vermont backcountry that might just get her out alive – and with a story to tell that could make the front page of the New York Times.

Powder Burn is the first of a new series featuring Sam Blackett from the author of the best-selling Janac’s Games books.

Add it to your Goodreads Shelf!

Purchase it on Amazon!

Excerpt

Here are the first 4 pages from Mark’s newest novel Powder Burn. To continue reading a longer sample, visit his website HERE!

I will be the first to admit that being a blogger comes with some pretty awesome perks. I won’t got into detail, because sounding like a superficial blow-hard is no fun for anyone, but let’s just say that among other things…my wallet is very happy. BUT…being a blogger also comes with a significant amount of stress. For example: making sure you post enough content to keep your readers happy, or agreeing to review a book by a certain date, and then realizing (3 days before the review is due) that the book you agreed to read is the 3rd in a series. I’ll let you guess which category this falls under.

Assuming you picked the second (because you are basically a genius…right?) let me explain how exactly I ended up reading three 500 page books in a matter of 3 days (and very obviously did not sleep.)

Some of you might have figured out by now that I am a participant in the Amazon Vine program. This is a program created (by Amazon) to solicit reviews of products for their huge list of retailers. The products range anywhere from chips, to toothbrushes to…(you guessed it) books. Obviously, I usually pick the last. Anyways, about a month ago I agreed to review one of the books you see here, Sacrifice by Cayla Kluver. Normally…I am really good about checking a book out and making sure it’s not a 2,3, or 4 in a series I have never even cracked a book on. This time? I was hypnotized by its cover. (Yes, I know…shame on me.) I DID read the synopsis, but to be honest…nothing really said “Hey, you daft girl…I’m part of a larger story!” so I jumped on the bandwagon. Sign me up! It wasn’t until weeks later, when I grabbed the book from my TBR pile that I took a closer look.

“Oh shabby monkey nuts!” I very eloquently yelled from the foyer of my house. “I think I recognize this cover art!” (Yes…the same freaking art I was so captivated by before I even agreed to read the novel now released it’s voodoo hold and a lightbulb went off.) So I took the book, stomped over to the desk, and began to research.

It took 5 seconds, a 1 click to realize my mistake.

But I’m no quitter! So I purchased books 1 and 2, said goodbye to civilization and got to work. The end result? This collaborate review. (Because why exactly would I introduce you to the last book in a series I’ve never even mentioned before?)

In the interest of saving everyone a little time (and because I smell like sweat and dust from cleaning all day and a shower would be grand right now) I’ve decided to start this review in the most direct way I know how:

These books irritated the living crap out of me.

They weren’t bad (and thank the Lord I had them all to read at once or I may have committed suicide) but in the 4 years I’ve been reviewing, I have never wanted to punch a character in the face (with my foot) as much as I did the lead character of this series.

Do you know that girl? The one that is incredibly strong, despite her situation. Refuses to let custom dictate her future, but makes every horrible choice possible? That is Alera of the Legacy Trilogy. I love strong women. I am personally encouraged by those that make a stand, defend their beliefs. But as a person who thrives on the joys of common sense, I found myself cringing in disbelief at the decisions made inside these novels. Yes..there is a love triangle. Yes, there is a war. Yes, people are dropping like flies around you, and your family is in a state of constant fear. I understand fully the trials and tribulations of your current predicament. What I don’t understand, is your need to challenge EVERYTHING. Choosing your battles does not make you weak. It makes you smart.

Alera’s constant need to thwart everything in her path becomes cumbersome very quickly, and despite myself (and because of this trait) I found myself agreeing with her (totally egotistical, douchy, but ultimately loving) betrothed on more than one occasion. Speaking of her betrothed (and I use that word to keep from spoiling anything) I liked him. Putting aside the fact that he is a total asshat from the very first book, he has more growth that any other character in the series. Growth that his father (my favorite player in the entire story who I would later go on to blabber over like a 2  year old lost in Walmart) hinted at very early on.

Say what?

Ok, let’s back up.

In Legacy, Alera has a very difficult time with one of her suitors. She insist that he is pig-headed. Doesn’t know a thing about love, and has some very screwed up priorities. This suitor’s father (realizing that the match is going horribly awry) addresses Alera stating simply that: he will change, all he needs is perspective. One crazy war (that includes some pretty rad magic) and a near death experience later…he becomes a fairly decent guy. A guy that Alera is still a total B towards. (*ding ding* bad choice.)

Book 1 also boasts her betrothed’s nemesis. A nemesis that Alera instantly falls head over heals for. (Go figure.) A nemesis that I, even after 3 books, don’t really trust…or like for that matter. I blame this entirely on character building. Whether it was a lack of focus or a lack of total growth, the fact of the matter is…I didn’t believe their love story. His fighting technique, his tortured past, and his crazy ability to climb into her room every night by scaling the roof? Sure. His undying devotion to her? No.

This led to a huge disconnect for me. It also made book #2 (Allegiance) the best book in the entire series. (FYI – If I was to base the entire review on the second book, it would get 4 stars.)

Why?

Because this is where everything comes to a head. The fighting, the secrets, the look at a desolate future. Book two captured everything that book one should have. Which brings me to book 3. The most…abstract of them all.

Unlike in Legacy and Allegiance, Sacrifice (the book I agreed to review in the first place) was not just about Alera anymore. Instead it was about Alera and Shaselle. A character that was barely mentioned up until this point. So imagine my bafflement when she suddenly (and inexplicably) has her own line of narration. Narration that actually dominates the majority of the book. For the first half of the novel, the companion narration makes zero sense. Sure…she has a sweet little (totally rebellious) story, but the reason for Kluver’s branching out is unknown. Instead it just feels like a lame attempt to add more depth to the plot. It isn’t until the last few chapters (when Alera leaves the kingdom and we still need to know what is going on) that following Shaselle makes any sense, but I ask you this…was there not a better way to handle this? Carrier pigeons? Smoke signals? Some weird African clicking language? It just seemed (to me) to be a little too much. As interesting as her climbing out windows, drinking herself into a gutter, and trying to steal horses tirade was, I think trying to add her as a lead (when she was otherwise ignored) came across as a little desperate.

Now…all that said (which appears to be a whole lot of negativity) I do have to give Kluver credit where credit it due, and that is her plot. Notwithstanding my utter irritability with the characters (minus all of the elite guards who I freaking LOVED!) the story behind them was exceptionally entertaining. Two kingdoms, hellbent on destroying each other because they have a difference of opinion when it comes to who deserves respect? (Men vs Women.) Who wouldn’t like that? Add in a little magic, some jealousy and one big batch of “I told you so” and what you get is three 500 pages novels that go by in the blink of an eye. Not once did I feel stalemated, or like I was on the treadmill of backward motion. Instead the story had a fairly quick gallop in the forward direction at all times. (Even when they were stuck in a cave eating nothing but gruel and babying a recent kidnap victim.)

All in all…it could use some improvements, but I didn’t want to gouge out my eyes with an a salad fork, so I call that a win. (For me…I kinda like my eyes.)

This one is a toss-up. If you like historical fiction with a flair…chances are you will enjoy it. Everyone else, spend your money elsewhere.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: People sometimes act big because they feel small.

The only  book trailer that I could find was for book #2 so watch if you dare. 

Summer at my house means endless hours at the pool. Unfortunately (for me) I’m not an outdoorsy type person. I’d rather read about trolls galavanting through the woods, or hot t-shirtless men comparing abs around a pool, than actually take part in it. (Ok, maybe not the abs one.) So my rules for finding summer (pool) reading are simple.

1. They need to be short enough to read in a couple of hours. (1-200 pages. When I finally decide to drag my crinkly fingered children back into the house, that book better be done.)

2. They can’t be overly complicated. (Sorry George R.R. Martin, but it’s hard to concentrate on your 70 different story lines when I have a 4 year old trying to Houdini her water wings.)

3. They must have endings. (My neighbors already think I’m a lunatic, no need to prove them right by acting like Bobby Knight -in public- because some sadistic author decided to end their book in a cliffhanger.)

You’d think this would be easy. But with trilogies basically ruling the roost these days, quick reads are pretty hard to come by. (Unless of course I want to cruise the Harlequin aisle. Then it’s like diving into an ocean of insta-love with a side of saddle soreness.)

Which brings me to WHY I decided to read and review Nicolette Day’s (who just happens to be Tara Fuller’s wicked alter ego – for those of you that read YA) mini-ebook “No Strings Attached.”

To start…it’s only 62 pages. (Winner winner chicken dinner) but that’s not what really sold me. It was the premise on TOP of the 62 pages. If Day could solidly convince me (in so few pages) that her characters had a real connection, sported a solid background, AND believable emotions, I would vow to add her to my “solid author” summer reader summer list. The verdict…success.

But, first….let’s hear what it’s all about.

Now, before I tell you what I liked and didn’t like about this STORY, I want to talk a little about one of the lead characters (and yes, I did mean “1 of” – because this is written in companion narration.) names. This is probably as petty as I am ever going to get (so let me apologize in advance) but I was only 3 pages in before I had to mentally change one of the characters names. (Not Jace…though my love for Jace in the Mortal Instruments made that one a little awkward as well) It was Hayden. Hayden is a girl. A very lovely, very talented (obviously dense, or blind) girl. But for some completely mucked-up reason I had a HUGE problem gluing the name Hayden and the concept of her having boobs together. Maybe it’s because I have a MALE friend named Hayden. Maybe because when I see the beginning of it (hay) it reminds me of a farm, and cows, and boys on that farm milking the cows. I don’t know. But whatever the case…I couldn’t digest the name Hayden. (Because I suck.) So it became Haven. Problem averted.

Despite the fact that I apparently lack the brain power to oversee personal nuances in this book, I will happily admit that it held my attention. Not only were the characters very well written (Both came with very vivid, clear, and intriguingly intertwined backstories) but there wasn’t a single moment when I thought the chemistry between the two felt forced. It landed much more on the “inevitable loveliness” side of the fence than the “wholly crap monkeys..that was a little fast” side. Making the issue of “insta-love” disappear completely. (*throws confetti*)

As for the story itself? What can I say….

Though predictable in the most dramatic part, it was still a wildly engaging story. The journey was not about whether they would “get together” (that was more obvious than HOW they did) it was about what they would say to each-other ONCE they did. If they would allow themselves freedom with their emotions, stop hiding and be real.

The fact that Day was able to pull of such a successful story with very little space says quite a bit about her ability to form, and execute necessities. She realized that to make the story believable, she must show the HEART of the story, not the places and things around it. Because of this…”No Strings Attached” made for a genuinely perfect (flirty) summer read.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Sometimes it’s ok to just lay it all out there.

Find “Not Strings Attached” Here:  Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble/ Kobo/ iBooks

The Giveaway!!

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Living Your Covenants Every Day

 
By Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt

About Jennifer

Jennifer Brinkerhoff Platt is currently an assistant visiting faculty member at Brigham Young University and a recent addition to Deseret Book’s Time Out for Women events. A former seminary and institute instructor, she earned a PhD from Arizona State University in lifespan developmental psychology, focusing on women and social issues. She is married to Jed Platt, and the couple lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Stalk Her: Website / Facebook

Excerpt

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There is this tumblr account I follow (mostly because I enjoy the perks of being publicly ironic) called: Problems Of A Book Nerd. Each day (or sometimes twice a day if I’m really lucky) Cecilia (the girl who runs it) posts little ecards with nerd quips on them. For example today’s (#378) was “Claiming to be scared of the dark so having a nightlight doesn’t seem odd which you then proceed to read next to for hours after you were supposed to come to bed.”

Anyways, a while ago (you’ll understand how long when I show you it’s number) she posted a quip that I considered to be the cream of the crop. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, this puppy was on the money. So I saved it to my desktop, in hopes that one day I’d be lucky enough to use it for this exact purpose.

This is what it said:

#83 – When I say “I wish they would turn this book into a movie” what I really mean is “I wish they would turn this book into a 17-hour-long spectacle that includes every single solitary detail and doesn’t deviate at all from the storyline and has perfect casting.”

Now, most of you (at one time or another) have had the “book to movie” conversation with me, and learned that (while I’d be impressed if they didn’t) I have no big issue with movies taking liberties with adaptated work. Why? Because I am scary good at separating reality and expectations. I know that the movie will never live up to the book, so I just don’t expect it to. Instead…I enjoy it for what it is. Someone else’s interpretation of a book I really enjoyed. Like a visual book club if you will. So when I decided it was imperative that I purchase a copy of Brian McGreevy’s “Hemlock Grove” (after watching it’s Netflix adaptation – which I loved with the passion of a thousand caged succubi) I wasn’t expecting the exact same story. A phrase here. A reference there. Tada…a collaboration is made. Instead…I got as close to a #83 as I have ever seen. Which I have to admit is pretty freaking awesome.

For those of you that have had to opportunity to watch the TV version of Hemlock Grove, you are (at this point) probably accustomed to it’s odd cadence. For everyone else…let me explain.

Unlike traditional novels (especially those dealing with supernatural/paranormal elements) HG is not easy to read. It is written in “conscience thought.” What does that mean? Well…let me think. Ok, imagine for a second that there is a man sitting at a table. On that table are roughly 5 thousand fortunes (because obviously this dude has a weird obsession with Chinese food.) The man, he loves these fortunes, doesn’t want to throw them away. So he comes up with an idea. He will write a book, and use the fortune cookies as his guide. Punctuation will not deter him. Fragments, and vague references will cower in his glory…because this is his calling. To unite forward thought with the grotesque beauty of Gothic realism. That is the writing base for Hemlock Grove. Stunted but informative.

For example:

Straying way outside of the lines, McGreevy adds poetic justice to not only the world he builds for his characters to tromp clumsily through, but also the characters themselves. Judged/spoiled/forgotten/mistreated/sacrificial/and evil incarnate only tip the ice berg when delving into such a uniquely tortured cast.

Peter (the werewolf) struggles with perception. Roman (the umpir) with loneliness and expectation. Shelley, acceptance. Each has a distinct place in the story, and each deliver in a way that can be considered either stunning or beautiful, depending on your point of view.

I will be the first to admit that this book (much like the show) is not for everyone. As a matter of fact, it’s not for most. The writing style alone with bother at least 80% of you. Another 5% will be irritated by the blatant disregard for traditional “supernatural” rules. (aka what a vampire/werewolf is “supposed” to do according to every other book on the planet.) For the last 15% you will be swept away in a fantastic (original) Gothic tale, that breaks barriers and sets new standards. Something I am VERY happy to have realized early on.

And (as a side note) for those of you who are deciding whether or not to purchase this book for a little “show clarity”…good luck with that. The show follows the book (with the exception of a few small things and a couple of pages of illustrative detail) if the show confused you, the book will not help you.

Overall…it’s not what I expected, but exactly what I wanted. Two thumbs up for off-beat books!

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: sometimes it’s good to step outside of your comfort zone.

A look at the Netflix series…

This is a new meme hosted by Sugar & Snark. It came about when Sugar was wondering which cover to use for her #70 Cover of the Week post. She kept on thinking of more than one, and they all seemed to have a theme/characteristic. So she decided to switch things up a bit!

Each week I (along with the S&S ladies) will post a characteristic and choose 5 of my favorite covers with that characteristic. I would love for you to join in and share your 5 favorite covers with the weeks particular characteristic so hop on down to the comments and tell me what you think.

Today’s Cover Characteristic – Stairs

And The Winner Is…

The Girl on The Stairs – Louise Welsh

There is something so incredibly disturbing about this cover that I couldn’t help but make it this weeks winner. I’m not sure if it’s the black pit of never ending stair doom in the middle, the rustic (and by rustic I mean rusty) look to the stairs themselves, or the girl…just standing there like one of the children of the corn. You know what…it’s totally the girl. Eeek. Regardless… The Girl on the Stair took the cake this week.

Prices are subject to change at anytime, be sure to double check before you click buy!

If Hogwarts were more like Woodstock, and Voldemort was your childhood sweetheart turned abusive boyfriend…As long as Nora Sparrow can remember, Owen has protected her. He’s been there through years of miserable foster homes and snobby mean girls, always whispering to her that she doesn’t belong here. Telling her that this is the mundane world, and someday, he’ll get them back to Helicon, the world of the muses. The world where they belong. But Nora’s fifteen years old, and she isn’t sure she quite believes it anymore. When he begs her to try another ritual to open the dimensions, she agrees mostly to humor him. Owen’s rituals never work. But this one does, and Nora is flung into the whimsical, bohemian land of Helicon, where she’s expected to do nothing more than create and inspire. With the help of her new muse friends, Nora sets out to discover who is creating holes in the fabric of Helicon and draining away the muses’ energy. Everything would be perfect, if only Owen’s protectiveness wasn’t starting to seem so…obsessive.

“There was an illness much worse than anything I had ever seen, and that was the sickness of my country.”Fourteen year old Adenine is blind and isolated in her small attic bedroom. The last carrier of the Death Plague — that wiped out thousands of her country’s people twenty-five years ago — she must avoid contact with the outside world. When her mother fails to bring her food Adenine begins to starve. Driven by her hunger, Adenine ventures into the house discovering her mother bedridden and sick. Despite her terror of infecting others, Adenine fumbles her way onto the streets of Borrelia in search of the town’s doctor. Soon, she is surrounded by new friends… and enemies she never knew existed. Adenine’s mother is keeping dark secrets, her friends are lying to her and when threats arise she must decide who to trust.

Three bestselling novels together in one omnibus, including:MOON DANCE Mother, wife, private investigator…vampire. Six years ago federal agent Samantha Moon was the perfect wife and mother, your typical soccer mom with the minivan and suburban home. Then the unthinkable happens, an attack that changes her life forever. And forever is a very long time for a vampire. Now the world at large thinks Samantha has developed a rare skin disease, a disease which forces her to quit her day job and stay out of the light of the sun. Now working the night shift as a private investigator, Samantha is hired by Kingsley Fulcrum to investigate the murder attempt on his life, a horrific scene captured on TV and seen around the country. But as the case unfolds, Samantha discovers Kingsley isn’t exactly what he appears to be; after all, there is a reason why he survived five shots to the head. DARK HORSE Dark Horse takes place in Huntington Beach, California. Surf City, USA. Written in the tradition of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser and Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, Dark Horse introduces a new hard-hitting, wise-cracking hero with a modern twist. When high school student Derrick Booker, the only black student at a posh Orange County high school, is accused of killing his white girlfriend, ex-college football hero and detective Jim Knighthorse is hired to dig a little deeper into the murder. It doesn’t take long for Knighthorse to realize that not all is as it seems at tranquil Huntington High, from a band director who preys on the innocent to a vice-principal with a secret agenda of her own. Not to mention someone’s hired a professional killer to keep Knighthorse permanently off the case. THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Three years ago, high school student Veronica Fortune witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. Now armed and dangerous, she sets out to hunt down the very thing that destroyed her life. That is, until she disappears. Spinoza is a private investigator who specializes in finding the missing. He’s good at what he does. Damn good. But he’s also a recovering alcoholic and a royal mess. Hired to find Veronica, Spinoza won’t let his personal demons—or demons of any kind—get in the way of finding the truth about the missing girl. Now following a bizarre set of clues that leads him into stranger and stranger territory, Spinoza is about to come face-to-face with something legendary…and something hungry for blood.

Anthony Gambese thought he had life sussed.  Happy family, good mates, the freedom of surfing, a new career, and enough action in the bedroom to keep him well satisfied. He had no idea.  But two chicks were about to show him the error of his ways, trashing his love-life, stealing his promotion and challenging his honour. And that was before he discovered what a roller derby doll could do by skating over his heart.

A tragic death… A disturbing photo that can’t be explained… A woman drowning in an ocean of secrets…In 1950s Virginia, Jenna Appleton seems to have found the life she’s always wanted. But underneath the shallow gleam of her bright suburban world, murky truths are waiting to surface. On the morning that her husband dies in a tragic accident, Jenna finds a shocking photo of him in the arms of a beautiful woman. And before she can ask him about it, he’s gone forever. Five years later, Jenna has buried her questions and remade her life. But the reappearance of an old love stirs up guilty questions, and she realizes that some secrets aren’t meant to be kept. The deeper she dives for answers, the darker the water gets. How will she find happiness for herself and her family, when every move she makes toward the strange and awful truth seems to lead her right back to her own home shores?

Channie Belks is trying to hide the fact she’s a witch.Sorta hard to do after her parents slap a chastity curse on her for flirting with “dirty-minded, non-magical, city-boys.” She can’t even walk by a hot guy without zapping him. There’s a way to break the curse; but one mistake could kill her. It’s not worth the risk…until she meets a certain BMX champion named Josh. Suddenly, the threat of death isn’t such a deal-breaker.

Bound by love and magic. Betrayed by those they trust. Not everyone survives. In this second installment of The Channie Series, Josh and Channie are tested physically and emotionally as the tough choices they are forced to make affect not only their future together but their very existence. The risks are high but the rewards are even higher.

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa’s body screams at her to run… but yet she’s powerless to move.Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees – and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell – Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers. Because what Alessa hasn’t figured out yet is that she’s not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university’s idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface… The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

Note:A re-imagining of my young adult book, The Fallen Star, told as a New Adult Paranormal. You can download the young adult version, The Fallen Star, for free on AmazonFor twenty-one year-old Gemma, life has never been normal. She knows nothing about her past and has been haunted by the same monsters in her nightmares for the last few months. Unemotional and numb to life, she feels disconnected from everyone. Until the very first day she cries. After that, nothing in her life is the same. Her emotions slowly surface and she starts experiencing love, happiness, and anger, feelings she never knew existed. But they leave her confused and she doesn’t know whether to embrace them or run away from them. Her life only gets more complicated when she meets Alex. Sexy, arrogant, and secretive, Alex can get under Gemma’s skin like no one can. Yet she’s drawn to him by an invisible connection she has no control over. She’s also seen him before. In her nightmares. Every part of Gemma’s mind is screaming at her to stay away from Alex, but every other part of her is begging to get close to him. But the closer she gets, the more she realizes Alex knows more about her than he originally let on. As secrets about her past unravel, Gemma’s life becomes threatened. She needs to figure out what’s going on, before she winds up dead. But the only person she can turn to for answers is the one person she isn’t sure she can trust.

Megan Connors’s life is not going in the direction she thought it would. With her love life in the dumps,she doesn’t think it could get any worse until her long-time crush, Shane asks to move in. After all, he has no clue that she’s been in love with him for the past ten years. But fate has a way of turning things around.As their relationship goes from “just friends” to lovers, life takes a turn for the unexpected. Shane isn’t the person that Megan once fell in love with all those years ago. Shane has a past; murder and drugs is a portion of what he’s been hiding and is only revealed once the FBI knocks on Megan’s door. Secrets, tragedy, and deceit force Shane—and Megan—to make choices that will change their lives forever. Once Megan learns the truth, will she still want to be with Shane? Or will someone else be at the end of her broken road?

For Will Innis and his daughter, Devlin, the loss was catastrophic. Every day for the past five years, they wonder where she is, if she is—Will’s wife, Devlin’s mother—because Rachael Innis vanished one night during an electrical storm on a lonely desert highway, and suspected of her death, Will took his daughter and fled.Now, Will and Devlin live under different names in another town, having carved out a new life for themselves as they struggle to maintain some semblance of a family. When one night, a beautiful, hard-edged FBI agent appears on their doorstep, they fear the worst, but she hasn’t come to arrest Will. “I know you’re innocent,” she tells him, “because Rachael wasn’t the first…or the last.” Desperate for answers, Will and Devlin embark on a terrifying journey that spans four thousand miles from the desert southwest to the wilds of Alaska, heading unaware into the heart of a nightmare, because the truth is infinitely worse than they ever imagined.

Pete Talbott is a California native and harried Boston computer wonk still grieving over the death of his wife Terri, when he finds himself at the wrong end of Gino Parini’s .45 reading his own obituary torn from that morning’s newspaper. Talbott figures it is all a big mistake until Parini shows him his wife’s obituary too. That is a mystery Talbott cannot leave alone. From a funeral home in Indiana, to car chases on the Dan Ryan, a bloody Back Bay townhouse, snipers in New York City’s Washington Square, The Undertaker is a fast-paced mystery filled sleazy lawyers, corrupt County sheriffs, mafia hit men, the FBI, an army of Chicago cops, and an unforgettable scene in the upper berth of an Amtrak Train. Snarky, funny, and terror-filled, The Undertaker is an action-packed thrill ride with a touch of humor and romance. Someone with a penchant for sharp scalpels and embalming tables is planting bodies under other people’s names. If Pete Talbott doesn’t stop them, he and his quirky new girlfriend, Sandy Kasmarek, will be next on the Undertaker’s list.If you enjoy The Undertaker, take a look at the author’s two new suspense novels. Amongst My Enemies centers on an old German U-Boat rusting on the bottom of the Baltic.  Inside are millions in gold, stolen art and jewels, and a secret that could tear NATO apart. Thursday at Noon is a Middle East thriller filled with spies, rockets, action, Islamist radicals, and a broken-down CIA agent trying to stop the next Arab-Israeli war.

A witness is dead and linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter is the prime suspect. If he doesn’t find the killer, he’ll face a murder charge.   A bloody trail of evidence leads to an abandoned silver mine under the Colorado ski slopes and an explosive finale.

Is Ahmose’s divine gift a blessing or a curse?The second daughter of the Pharaoh, Ahmose has always dreamed of a quiet life as a priestess, serving Egypt’s gods, ministering to the people of the Two Lands. But when the Pharaoh dies without an heir, she is given instead as Great Royal Wife to the new king – a soldier of common birth. For Ahmose is god-chosen, gifted with the ability to read dreams, and it is her connection to the gods which ensures the new Pharaoh his right to rule. Ahmose’s elder sister Mutnofret has been raised to expect the privileged station of Great Royal Wife; her rage at being displaced cannot be soothed. As Ahmose fights the currents of Egypt’s politics and Mutnofret’s vengeful anger, her youth and inexperience carry her beyond her depth and into the realm of sacrilege. To right her wrongs and save Egypt from the gods’ wrath, Ahmose must face her most visceral fear: bearing an heir. But the gods of Egypt are exacting, and even her sacrifice may not be enough to restore the Two Lands to safety. The Sekhmet Bed is the first volume of L. M. Ironside’s series The She-King, a family saga of the Thutmosides, one of ancient Egypt’s most fascinating royal families.

Feeling bored and unfulfilled, Jennifer seeks excitement exploring the online personals. Driven by a need she does not fully understand, she responds to an ad that is definitely on the kinky side, never dreaming that she will actually follow through with a meeting. But on the other side of the ad is a man who seems able to peer inside her head and heart at will. When Jennifer knocks on his door, she is drawn into a sensual and sexual world she never knew existed…This book is rated XXX and is intended for MATURE AUDIENCES ONLY.

A beautiful, young shape-shifter discovers a lost backpacker trespassing in her territory during a blizzard. She has two choices: recruit him into her cult-like tribe, or kill him.

Off the court, tennis star Jason Cartwright’s playboy image is taking a public beating. On the court, he’s down forty-love. A knee injury is shutting down his game, and the paparazzi are splashing his love life on every magazine. A comeback is in order, but the makeover he needs to save his faltering career is in the hands of the woman he loved and left fifteen years ago.While single-mom, Izzy Connors, sees people for who they really are through the lens of her camera, even without it, she knows Jason isn’t the star he appears to be. Although his charm and good looks haven’t dimmed since he broke her heart, all she sees is his wasted talent and playboy lifestyle. Can Izzy put the past behind her and help Jason get his game, and his image, back on track? Or will the click of her camera shatter his world as well as his heart?

Chloë desperately wants a normal life. She wants to go to college, make friends, fall in love, and just be an 18 year old girl. There is only one problem, Chloë is a witch.Soon after arriving at the university Chloë meets Finn, Anita, and Dean. The four college freshmen become inseperable. Love and friendship blossoms, but their carefree college days are violently interrupted. College students begin to go missing, and so have several powerful supernatural beings. Chloë and her friends are drawn to investigate by a mysterious visitor. The four learn that the supernatural world has plans and expectations for them, plans they aren’t happy with. Can they fight their destiny, or will they learn to accept it?

What happens when five people from three different countries move to the same apartment building in Italy for one year? One thing’s for sure–their lives will never be the same. Meet Carlisle, Nicolette, Josh, Charles, Eva and their landlord Senor Benedetto as they spend a year at 32 September Way. Whether they hope to find something in Verona or wish to leave something behind, the City of Love manages to change each one of them in ways they never expected.

His parents were killed.  His people are hunted.  His world is at war. All of his life, Blackwell has been looking for a break, a place to call home–and suddenly someone’s come to take that away from him again.  Now he’s chasing a mysterious artifact on a one-way trip into the heart of danger, and as friends begin to fall around him he’ll have to decide if he can stand up and fight back.

This is a 20,000 word novella, prequel to the Lost and Found Series. It contains strong language, violence and adult situations. Not for readers under 18.A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the Wounded Warrior Project. In the harrowing prequel to The Lost and Found series, three embattled Marines must deal with their devastating physical and emotional injuries in a world that seems to have turned against them. When the rescue helicopter crashes into his convoy in Iraq, Marine First Sergeant Duncan Wilde struggles with the loss of men, his career and the use of his body. Things can’t get much worse. Until his fiancée decides she has to move on with her life, and that of her unborn child by another man. Sergeant Chad Lowell knew when he went to war that it would come with a price. And it did. A young Marine under his command is killed by a landmine. Chad’s left with one less leg and a mountain of recriminations. That doesn’t mean he wants to be a pitied by every female he comes in contact with. Gunnery Sergeant John Palmer is furious at the hand he’s been dealt. He’s served his country faithfully, if not without antagonism, for many years. Now they’re turning him out like a relative who has overstayed his welcome. And, since he’s not even a real man anymore, maybe it is time to move on permanently. Can these wounded warriors use a friendship borne out of adversity to form a partnership rescuing others? And can they find real love in spite of their challenges?

When Eric lost his wife to a short battle with cancer, he knew he couldn’t go on as he’d been doing. Tina had been his rock and his best friend – the one who had held the family together while he traveled into the city to film his own TV show. With her dying, he became lost.But one thing he knew was that he needed to be there for his seven-year-old twins. He resigned from his show, packed up everything and moved to a small town. He was lucky to get a job in the general hospital in a larger town a few miles away, but he needs help with the boys, especially after school. Everywhere he goes one name keeps popping up – Debra Brown. From the reports he hears, she’s the answer to his prayers, his guardian angel and fairy godmother all rolled into one. But no matter how hard he tries, she won’t talk to him. Finally, he decides to play dirty and ambushes her with his kids in tow. If what he’s heard is true, she won’t be able to resist them Debra has lived in the same small town her entire life. To most of the townfolk, Debra is a sweet angel. After her parents drowned in a boat accident when she was only sixteen, didn’t she drop out of high school and take care of the younger ones? And when her younger sister came back from college and married Debra’s fiancé, did she not smile and prepare a grand wedding for them? There was no one with a finer heart than Debra Brown and who else can help the Nelson boys in their time of need? But Debra knows better…

What would you do if a simple errand takes a deadly twist, turning you from cautious prey to dangerous predator?Someone is trying to send a deadly message to Mason, arranging the deaths of those he loves and it puts the entire pack and Alpha on high alert. Darcy understands the primal instincts driving her beloved Mason’s commands. With the help of those he sets as protectors, she learns about herself and the things she’ll need to help support her Alpha and pack. When events turn dire however, one truth offers her strength – once given, oaths are unbreakable … even if it means risking it all.

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister’s guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoe’s sister darts in front of cars. Her brother’s a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don’t see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe’s autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he’s legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can’t last forever.

Sunny’s not sure she’s even looking for Mr. Maybe, when her friends decide to find her Mr. Right.Sunny Vale considers herself a dog-loving, romance-reading, homebody. But her life goes from dull to deadly when her book club fires her from her own love life and sets her up on six blind dates- one of whom might be with a murderer. More trouble arrives in the dead of night, in the form of Jake Landon, a mysterious stranger, who breaks into her neighbor’s house and possibly her heart. But Jake is packing more than a loaded gun in his well-fitting Levi’s. He brings an arsenal of secrets and plenty of heat to Sunny’s ho-hum summer. Jake Landon finds himself caught up in the capers of the sexy blonde in the house next door. But he has his own agenda which doesn’t involve playing hero to a curvy second-grade teacher and babysitting her panty-puking puppy. He’s got other problems like fiery explosions, a missing person…and a parade of jerks Sunny insists on dating. Could Sunny’s Mr. Right be right under her nose? Even though Jake is gorgeous, likes her dog, and has abs she can crack an egg on, can she really go out with him if he’s just murdered her next door neighbor?

Tara Evans loves working at Miami’s swank Walker Hotel. The only problem is Tara’s boss, Franco Santia. When he’s not hitting on her, he’s hustling hot diamonds and snorting lines with his creepy pal, Manny Bommarino. He’s also borrowing heavily from savvy investor, Louie Morelli.When Louie assumes control of the Walker, Tara’s life takes an exciting turn. Louie’s a charmer, and Tara is hot for him even before he seduces her on his yacht, the Stella di Mare. Tara soon discovers Louie is married, and that he is not just connected to the mob, he is the mob. But this doesn’t stop her from falling madly in love with him. Tossed from his hotel, Franco is desperate to recover the stolen Blue Diamond necklace he’s hidden in Room 313; a necklace Manny will do anything–including committing murder–to get. Convinced Tara has it, Manny starts stalking her. Nobody touches Louie’s girl. Employing some old-fashioned mob tactics, Louie persuades Franco to betray Manny. Then he devises a scam involving a famous producer, an eccentric diamond dealer, and his lovely mistress, Tara. Caught up in a high-stakes world where power and money rule, Tara faces shocking new truths about herself and her lover. And now, as her fate and Louie’s becomes even more entwined, Tara makes a decision that will drastically alter their relationship and put her life in danger.

Grave Passage explores crime on the high seas, and introduces a valiant and original protagonist. Henry Grave is an investigator for the Association of Cruising Vessel Operators. A former P.O.W., Henry is as cunning as he is charming, and at 84 years of age, he fits right in with his fellow passengers.When retired FBI profiler Robert Samson is murdered onboard the cruise liner Contessa Voyager, Henry Grave is sent to investigate. Samson was giving a series of lectures on cold case crimes he felt he could crack. But he got cracked first. Henry has just five days before Voyager reaches Miami. There, the FBI will question the passengers, but the case will have grown cold and the killer will walk free unless Henry can find him first. With the help of a television actress, a cosmonaut, and a Venezuelan general fighting extradition, Henry draws on skills honed in a Nazi prison camp to track down a couple of passengers who might have their own reasons for taking this particular cruise, reasons unrelated to the sumptuous meals, delightful shipboard activities, and exciting ports of call. 12 million people take a cruise each year. Most have fun. Some die. Henry Grave investigates.

Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out. But when he’s the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he’s given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he’s transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight–the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist’s teen daughter.With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he’s still one of Houston’s best detectives.

In the aftermath of a battle that forced Ruby to flee the safety of the guardian angels, she settles into a small town, hoping to blend in and forget about the ones she loved. It isn’t until Hunter stumbles across her working in a bar and a well-timed email from Ivan Aleksandrov that she realised she could go back to Sage Sanctum—for a few days, at least.Out for revenge, Lucian will stop at nothing until he has Ruby for himself, but he isn’t the only one that needs her. The council, a group of gods/goddesses have a mysterious hand in Ruby’s return to Sage Sanctum and Mr Aleksandrov is eager to find out what it is. Destroying Lucian is the least of her worries when Ruby comes face to face with Eli De Luca, the love of her life. It seems her departure has affected him more than she thought it would, but his frustration with her isn’t strong enough to hide the electricity that crackles relentlessly between them. Determined to end her very real nightmare once and for all, Ruby fights the biggest battle of her life, one that affects not only her, but everyone involved.

Katy Rivers’ life has been perfect so far. Perfectly boring, that is. She’s lived by the rules and made all the safe choices. She has a great accounting job, her own home, and…zero fun. She’s looking for a taste of excitement, but she gets more than she bargained for when the sexy, but off-limits bad boy she dreamt about in high school is suddenly back in her life and wanting more than her number.Scott Beckstead has grown up during the ten years since he dropped out of school. He’s no longer the bad boy the town remembers. He owns a profitable construction company and keeps his wild adventures just this side of legal. A chance meeting with Katy reminds him of the one thing he always wanted, but never thought he could have. The holidays are a time to come together, but Katy’s family and friends are determined to keep her and Scott apart. If she wants Scott to stay and wants the passionate nights by the Christmas tree to become a tradition, she’s going to have to leave “safe” behind.

Everyone at some point has probably done something they wish they could take back. Madison Hanson’s past mistakes have made her feel like a shadow. Her grades suck, her social life is non-existent and her home life isn’t much better. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, the sudden and tragic death of a fellow student forces Madison to reevaluate everything she thought she believed in.Fate intervenes in the form of Dean Jackson, a popular “Mr. Everything” at school whose life is the polar opposite of Madison’s. What starts as a simple tutoring session blossoms into an unlikely relationship, proving that opposites do sometimes attract. With Dean’s help, Madison discovers a new life outside of the darkness she has cloaked herself in, and the power of forgiveness, acceptance, caring and love.

Darkness has been Ellie Coulter’s constant companion since her parents’ untimely death when she was eight, and she harbors a secret that never fails to remind her that she’s different than everyone else. Fresh off a failed marriage with a man who harbored his own dark secrets, Ellie shut herself off from the world as a form of self-preservation.For months, Ellie’s protective bubble includes nothing but her coffee shop, her few friends, and her dog. The attention of a handsome young doctor, David Mitchell, pushes her out of her comfort zone, and Ellie warms to the idea that she may have found a risk worth taking. Then one of Ellie’s friends abruptly leaves town; entrusting her home to Ellie’s care. The house has its own mysterious past that draws Ellie into a tangled web of deceit. Her ex-husband resurfaces with premonitions of Ellie’s death. And suddenly Ellie’s life is being turned upside down yet again. Something old and evil has found Ellie, and wants to keep her all to itself.

Allison Kane, a journalism student at UCLA, takes a summer job as a TV news intern—soon becoming involved in a scandalous murder investigation and the media firestorm that follows—a position that pits her squarely against her iron-fisted police detective father.Exploring the secrets that lie at the core of every family, Allison tells a story of growth and sexual awakening, of betrayal and reconciliation, and most of all, of the abiding strength of the family spirit.

Sixteen-year-old Keegan is struggling to keep her huge secret from her friends–she’s an elf, descended from a long line of elves that live in secrecy alongside humans.In elfin society, mates are predetermined but not allowed to meet until they are eighteen.  Against tradition, Keegan’s brother Thaddeus told her Rourk’s name because his visions warned him she’d need Rourk’s protection, especially since Keegan will play a key role in the coming war between the dark and light elves. Rourk finds himself drawn to Keegan’s side every time she thinks his name. He wants to talk to her but remains in the shadows, silently guarding her every time she mentally beckons him. A twist of fate thrusts the two of them together when Rourk is forced to step up his protection and make his presence known. An ancient prophecy deeply entwines Keegan’s family and the future of their society. Somehow they must find a way to thwart fate and win the battle…without losing Keegan. With war brewing, and dark forces aligning, will Keegan and Rourk ever have the life together that they both desire?

Prince Damien, the spoiled youngest son of the king of Cardenas, finds that his world will never quite be the same again when a fiery Gypsy girl, Esmeralda, comes dancing into his privileged life.Rake. Rogue. Scoundrel. Each of these words has been used to describe Damien Largess, youngest prince of Cardenas, most frequently by his ridiculously somber eldest brother. Damien is perfectly content to spend his days drinking at the card tables, and his nights in the bed of his scheming mistress, especially since doing these things seems to vex his high-handed brother to no end. But when he steps into a glittering ballroom on the night of his twenty-fifth birthday, the roguish young prince’s life will be forever changed. Beautiful. Graceful. Sensual. When Esmeralda steps into the center of the King’s ballroom to perform for his youngest son’s birthday, every eye in the room is glued to the tall, lithe Gypsy dancer. One pair of eyes seems to burn straight through her, and though she has worked endlessly to shield her heart, she finds her defenses slowly slipping away in the presence of the handsome prince. She cannot resist his devastating charm, nor is she immune to the earth shattering desire in his kiss. As she falls rapidly under his spell, Esmeralda dares to hope for a future she would never have thought possible. With a deadly plot against the royal family surrounding him in danger and intrigue, Damien will face a decision he never thought he would have to make. Would he step up to claim a responsibility that should never have fallen to the third son? Or will he abandon it to risk all for love?

In August of 1989, Duncan MacPherson–a pro hockey player from Saskatoon, Canada–vanished without a trace in Europe. With no help from the police, his parents, Lynda and Bob, drove all over the Alps looking for him, and finally found his car at the Stubai Glacier, a popular ski resort near Innsbruck, Austria. Thus began their twenty-year struggle to discover why their son had disappeared after snowboarding on a beginner slope. Had he, as the local police suggested, wandered off the beaten track and died in a remote area, or had he been the victim of something sinister?In the course of their search, the MacPhersons encountered an extraordinary cast of characters, including a 5,000-year-old ice mummy, an amnesiac initially thought to be Duncan, a renowned psychic with a startling vision, a charismatic ski resort developer, and a deceptively friendly forensic doctor. In 2009 they asked author John Leake to help them with their ongoing search for answers, and after a two-year investigation, he discovered the shocking reality of what happened to Duncan.

Fourteen-year-old Sophina Murray will be the first to tell you: Bad luck comes in threes. First, her father is lost at sea. Then, the rains start. And don’t stop. And finally, her little brother is taken from his bed by a monster straight from her worst nightmare. A glimpse into the parallel universe of Trellah – a land of giant trees, bizarre creatures, and a glowing red mineral with mystical properties – convinces Sophina that all may not be lost. But first, she’ll have to survive in a hostile world where her darkest fears live and breathe.Trellah is an original and realistic fantasy for ages 12 to 112, with a cliffhanger-free ending. Parental guidance suggested for advanced readers ages 10-11 for moderate elements of horror.

On the surface, siblings Brenda and Brian Andrews are attractive, well put together, ultimate catches for any single male or female looking for a suitor. Unfortunately, looks, and the Andrews siblings can be deceiving. Their true chaotic, manipulative & promiscuous lives are revealed when their often abusive & alcoholic father dies under bizarre circumstances. Soon, the doorway to dark family secrets is slung open at the funeral, where many dust covered skeletons begin tumbling out; threatening the pedestals that Brenda and Brian once stood on, plunging them into a dangerous descent that they may never be able to come back from! (contains strong language and sexual situations)

How can you be attracted to a guy who just said he wants to kill you?Ara-Rose asks herself the same question. She’s been torn away from her old life, thrown into a new one in a new country, and in the midst of death, heartache and depression, she finds herself in love with a vampire—one who kills people with his teeth! But the vampire is forbidden to fall for this human, and at the point Ara-Rose decides she can’t live without him, he pulls away and leaves her falling back to the darkness he woke her from. She will be caught up in a century-old feud among brothers, and the fight for love becomes a fight for her life. The only question now is whether her beloved vampire will find her in time, or leave her to face a destiny he triggered with their first kiss.

Keatyn has everything she ever dreamed. Her life is following the script she wrote for the perfect high school experience. She’s popular, goes to the best parties, dates the hottest guy, and sits at the most-coveted lunch table.She’s just not sure she wants it anymore. Because, really, things aren’t all that perfect. Her best friend is threatening to tell everyone her perfect relationship is a scam. Her perfect boyfriend gets drunk at every party they go to. It’s exhausting always trying to look and act perfect. And, deep down, she isn’t sure if she has any true friends. To add to the drama, her movie star mom has a creepy stalker. A hot, older man flirts with her and tells her they should make a movie together. And she’s crushing on an adorable surfer. Dating him would mean committing social suicide. So she writes a new script. One where all the pieces of her life will come together in perfect harmony. But little does she know, there’s someone who will do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Tasmyn Vaughn didn’t expect much when her dad’s job moved them to a small town in Florida; it was just another new school. But there is more to King than meets the eye, and soon Tasmyn’s ability to hear others’ thoughts is the least of her worries. Entangled in a web of first love, quirky and secretive townsfolk, magic and blood rituals, she discovers the town’s secrets aren’t just bizarre, they’re deadly.

”Crime did not take a holiday during the Civil War, far from it. As Tobin Buhk shows in this fast-paced narrative, the war created new opportunities to gain profits from illegal activities, to settle old scores against personal enemies under the cover of fighting the nation’s enemies, to pillage, plunder, and murder amid the carnage and destruction that seemed to offer license to legitimize such crimes. Students of the Civil War will find new information in this readable account.” –James M. McPherson,Author of Battle Cry of Freedom Examines criminal cases during the conflict Cases include currency counterfeiting, tyrannical actions of Gen. Benjamin Butler, the murder of Gen. Earl van Dorn, raids by William Quantrill’s Bushwhackers, the Fort Pillow Massacre, the horrific prison conditions at Andersonville, the fate of Lincoln the assassination conspirators, and more

Every year, professor of antiquities Jack Hawthorne looks forward to the winter break as a time to hide away from his responsibilities. Even if just for a week or two. But this year, his plans are derailed when he’s offered almost a blank check from a man chasing a rumor.Billionaire Gordon Reese thinks he knows where the bones of the prophet Elisha are–bones that in the Old Testament brought the dead back to life. A born skeptic, Jack doesn’t think much of the assignment but he could use the money, so he takes the first step on a chase for the legendary bones that will take him to the very ends of the earth. But he’s not alone. Joined with a fiery colleague, Esperanza Habilla, they soon discover clues to a shadowy organization whose long-held secrets have been protected . . . at all costs. As their lives are threatened again and again, the real race is to uncover the truth before those chasing them hunt them down.

“Wilson can do everything” that’s what Wilson’s mom always says to him, but can he really do everything?This sweet and funny kid’s book comes to remind us all that right guidance and positive reinforcement are always important for building the confidence and the independence of our children. Come and join little Wilson for a bedtime reading. Pick up your copy today, your kid will love it! And just before you take your decision, I know there is a huge variety of books here at Amazon Kindle Store, but… This fun children book also includes FREE GIFT inside (a coloring book !) for you to enjoy some quality time with your kid THIS SUMMER!

“Lucky is a cute and happy puppy” but also very forgetful.Not remembering how to ask for food any longer, Lucky asks other animals how to do so.Will Lucky be successful in learning how to ‘moo moo’ or ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’ in order to get his dinner? Follow Lucky’s journey around the farm in this charming story. FREE video book included

Emma Holden’s nightmare has just begun. Her fiancé vanishes, leaving the battered and bloodied body of his brother in their London apartment. Someone is stalking her, watching her every move. And her family are hiding a horrifying secret; a secret that threatens all those she loves. In a desperate race against time, Emma must uncover the truth if she ever wants to see her fiancé alive again.

Book 1 in the Refiner’s Fire series. The daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family from Richmond, Virginia, Caroline Fletcher is raised in a culture that believes slavery is God-ordained and biblically acceptable. But upon awakening to the cruelty and injustice it encompasses, Caroline’s eyes are opened for the first time to the men and women who have cared tirelessly for her. Her journey of maturity and faith will draw her into the abolitionist movement, where she is confronted with the risks and sacrifices her beliefs entail.

When Dr. Catriona Ross discovers clues to a long lost highland treasure, her only hope of finding the jewels is to obtain the help of Scotland’s most eligible bachelor and playboy, Iain MacCraigh. ​ Iain can’t believe his luck when he finds out the jewels are hidden away somewhere on his land– and it doesn’t hurt that the historian looking for them has curves to go with her smarts. With his brother betting the family fortune, this is the life line he desperately needs. ​ The odds are against them, and with word getting out about the jewels, they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Time’s running out, but can they learn to trust each other, or will they lose the jewels and true love in the process?

Life can get a little wild from time to time for John Marlin, the game warden in Blanco County, Texas—but few incidents compare to the stories flying around town at the start of this new deer season. Hunters are reporting an incredible sight: a six-foot-tall, drop-dead gorgeous blonde is roaming the woods, searching out camouflage-clad men with guns and disarming them with powers of seduction the likes of which none of them have ever come across before. Everyone has a hearty laugh at the expense of a few embarrassed hunters, until one of their own turns up dead in the woods. Now Marlin has a real mystery to deal with. Meanwhile, rumors are spreading about a new Blanco resident, an ex-New Yorker named Sal Mameli who’s ruffling feathers with his loud mouth and his penchant for getting his own way, no matter what the cost. Before long, John Marlin realizes he may be the only sane man in town, and he’s starting to wonder if he can last much longer himself. It’s just the start of another unforgettable hunting season in Bone Dry, the hilarious second novel from Edgar finalist Ben Rehder.

Being captain of his own rescue ship is the life Liam Synar has always dreamed of living. Being master of a hereditary demon is not. Coveting Malachi’s power, his exiled evil brother hunts him, wanting to capture the demon that Liam’s life mate now unknowingly hosts. Putting Malachi inside Ania two years ago had been an act to save her when she almost died saving his. If only the demon hadn’t killed again.

All alone on the Kansas prairie, Summer Steadman has few options. With her husband and children lost to illness, she has no desire to continue on farther west to where she and her husband planned to build their future. Instead, she seeks employment in a small Mennonite community in order to be near the graves of her family.Widower Peter Ollenburger, the local gristmill owner, needs someone to teach his young son. When he hears of a “learned woman” in town, he believes she is the answer to his prayers. He soon discovers, however, that helping this outsider may have troublesome consequences. There is little this father will not do for his son, but as the boy begins to look at Summer as more than a teacher, Peter must make a choice. Does he marry this woman to give his son a new mother, or does he marry only for love? Will Summer’s broken heart ever be able to love again?

Unaware she’s been bound from using magic, Frey leads a small, miserable life in the village where she’s sent after the death of her mother. But a tiny spark starts a fury of changes and she finds hersef running from everything she’s ever known. Hunted by council for practicing dark magic, she is certain she’s been wrongfully accused. She flees, and is forced to rely on strangers for protection. But the farther she strays from home, the more her magic and forgotten memories return and she begins to suspect all is not as it seems.

Murder, betrayal, the fate of Humanity… it’s all in a day’s work for Jim Meade: Martian P.I.In a slow orbit around the sun, just beyond Mars, a mining colony known as Rosetta houses thousands of Consortium citizens who mine the valuable ore Humanity uses for space travel. Over the last three years, Rosetta has grown exponentially, from a tiny mining colony, into an economic behemoth that threatens the delicate balance of power between The Consortium and Coalition – two nations who are still healing from a devastating nuclear war that turned Earth into a hellscape of hopelessness and despair. After a prominent scientist for The Consortium dies in an apparent accident, Jim Meade is hired by the victim’s family to find out what really happened to their father Dr. Sanjay Sinjakama. There, Meade finds himself caught up in a power struggle between the diabolical CEO of Nebula Mining Dimitri Koschei, and Lazarus Rincon, the charismatic leader of a vicious cult. With the assistance of his friend and confidant (the beautiful Emeline Hunan), Meade races against the clock to find Sinjakama’s murderer and prevent a catastrophic disaster that might mean the end of all life on Earth.

Prepare to be seduced by the dark side!  The New York Times bestselling author of the Feral Warriors shapeshifter series, Pamela Palmer now carries us into the perilous heart of Vamp City, where paranormal romance lovers will be helpless to resist the sensuous allure of A Blood Seduction. A world of eternal night is crumbling—a vampire haven called Vamp City—and one woman with extraordinary supernatural powers is the sole hope for the future…with the help of a shockingly handsome immortal who knows her secret. Paranormal romance readers’ thirst for sexy vampires remains unquenched—and every insatiable fan of Jeaniene Frost, Nalini Singh, and Lora Leigh is going to want to sink her teeth into A Blood Seduction.

Once upon a time in New York City, there was a down-on-his-luck actor named Reeve, who was talented and gorgeous in that dreamy, broody sort of way that makes all the women swoon. But show biz is a rough biz – he lost out on a part in a big film, and now his day job hours have been cut too. What’s a handsome young thing in need of a role to do? Enter Sutton Brenner. She’s sexy and shrewd and the most top-notch casting director there is. She’s this close to landing a coveted gig casting a film based on a best-selling mega-romance novel, but there’s a catch. After one too many transgressions with lovely single ladies, the film’s philandering producer has been put on a short leash by his wife, who’s forbidden him from working with anyone unattached. So the happily single Sutton strikes a pact with Reeve – play the role of her fiancee until she closes the deal, and he’s guaranteed to get an audition for the starring role in the film. But as the two play pretend, the lines between make-believe and matters of the heart start to blur. Especially after that hot night in the balcony of the Broadway theater. And that scorching afternoon in the stacks of the New York Public Library. Who’s playing who? Or is someone else really the director in the secret affair of their lives?

Journey back to 1858 Berlin, Ohio, in this free short story e-romance from The Amish of Apple Grove series by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith. For 19-year-old Jonas Switzer, the promise of a productive life as an Amish farmer is only as real as a dream on the western horizon. Living on the charity of the Bylers, and with no claim to a family farm, Jonas’s future depends on a bold plan and an ambitious move. He also longs to catch the eye of Caroline Hersberger, the most beautiful young woman in the village, and share his dream with her. Will Matthew Kennel woo her first? Will she reject Jonas outright? Only God knows, and only He can provide Jonas with a godly wife and a home in the West.

Book 1 of SHENANDOAH SISTERS. Two young Southern girls, one the daughter of a plantation owner and one the daughter of a slave, barely survive the onset of the Civil War and the loss of both their families. When these tragic circumstances bring them together, they join forces to discover if they can make a life for themselves. As their preconceptions give way to experience, they gradually learn to value their contrasting and complementing strengths and skills as they face the formidable task of keeping body and soul together in the aftermath of this devastating war. But is it possible the Lord they have come to know has something bigger in mind for the plantation than either of them can imagine?

Round Robin Phinney…She’s 230 pounds of bad attitude. She dishes out sandwiches and insults to the customers at Screaming Mimi’s deli. She takes a dim view of people in general and men in particular. Her home is her sanctuary. She has an apartment upstairs. Downstairs, she’s created a private park, lushly landscaped, dotted with ponds, furnished with two Chicago Park District benches. Manfred Welk is what Charles Atlas would have looked like if he’d been serious about lifting weights. A former Olympic powerlifter for East Germany, his ex-wife turned him in for spying. Brought to Chicago after the fall of the Berlin Wall, he needs a place to live. When cold weather hits and Robin’s furnace goes out, the plants in her park start to die. Worse, she has no money for repairs — but she does have a small vacant apartment in her basement. Something she might swap for the services of a live-in handyman. After interviewing a number of prospective fix-it people, Robin finds, to her great horror, the best choice is a giant German with CIA connections. That’s bad enough, but the guy turns out to have a kid, a blue-haired prepubescent brat named Bianca who’s been raised in a brothel. Robin, Manfred and Bianca all have their demons to cast out. You’ll have a grand time watching as they do.

The bartender, and his incredibly smart Macaw parrot both explore the magical paths of love and the tropics in this escapist tale from Hawaii. In his family run Tiki Bar, and from his bedroom in the treehouse just above, our storyteller describes the characters surrounding his idyllic existence. Not immune to danger or mystery, each adventure leads him further and further toward a self realization of just how perfect the world can be.

Alexis Ames has a life full of promise…but not all promises can be kept.When Alexis Ames is attacked by creatures that can’t be real, she decides it’s time she learns who she really is, with or without the help of her mother, who guards their family’s secrets closely. After meeting the inhumanly attractive, multi-talented Tristan Knight, however, Alexis retreats behind her façade of normalcy…until she discovers he’s not exactly normal either. Then their secrets begin to unravel. Their union brings hope and promise to her family’s secret society, the Angels’ army, and to the future of mankind. But it also incites a dangerous pursuit by the enemy – Satan’s minions and Tristan’s creators. After all, Alexis and Tristan are a match made in Heaven and in Hell.

Lysandra Keates is running out of options. Her father is dead, her mother is ill, and her efforts to find respectable employment have ended in failure. With her small savings bleeding away, she swallows her pride—and her terror—and turns to Vivien Manning, an infamous courtesan, to match her with a wealthy protector. For years, Viscount Andrew Callis has lived a monastic existence at his country estate, hardening his body against the snobbish, lazy young man he once was, hardening his heart against grief over the deaths of his wife and infant son. When Vivien asks him to spend one month training a young woman in the ways of a mistress, his mind resists…but his body responds with an ache he thought long dead.As Andrew begins his gentle tutelage, he finds himself falling under the spell of Lysandra’s innocent charms. And as they give in to the powerful hunger, the last thing Andrew ever expected, or wanted, forms between them. An emotional connection that could carry them well past the training period—if only Andrew can open his heart to the possibility of love.

Join the S.A.V.E. Squad—Sunny, Aneta, Vee, and Esther—as the four sixth-grade girls, with nothing in common but their differences, come together through the rescue of a Basset Hound they dub Wink and form a plan to benefit stray dogs and place them in “forever homes.”

Widowed and broke, Rachel Kent collects her two children, packs up their belongings, and heads across the Ozarks to stay with her parents. They stop for the night at a newly opened campground, then take a short hike. The three return to find the other occupants of the campground murdered. They flee the campsite and stumble upon a ranger’s cabin, where they enlist the help of handsome, former-Army Ranger, Wesley Ward, who informs them a survivalist group laid claim to the mountain. Can a man who wants only to escape his past and be left alone and a woman damaged by life forge a love that survives a flight through the Ozark Mountains?

She doesn’t want wild and raunchy, just a little spice…He wants commitment and long-term, not a quick roll… Two best friends who both want each other, but for very different reasons. The walls are thin in the Apple Trail Apartments. Ever since she moved in after her divorce, Stephanie has listened to her best friend next door getting busy. By the bed knocking on the wall and the gasping women, Stephanie wants to be one of those women on the other side. She just has to get the courage up to ask. The only woman Parker Madison ever wanted long-term was the very-married Stephanie. He’s tried finding a substitute, but there just isn’t another woman like her. Now that she’s available, he just has to keep his hands to himself for a respectable length of time after her divorce. He’s planning to make a move after eight months. Stephanie takes him by surprise after three. Does he fulfill her request and risk becoming that best friend rebound guy or wait it out to better his chances for happily ever after?

When the search of love leads to the discovery of oneself……Keisha Morgan is caught in a whirlwind. Between raising a child on her own, maintaining a relationship with her daughter’s father and trying to focus on her career she is dangerously burning the candle at both ends. Without notice, tragedy strikes. A lover from her past returns with promises of a new beginning. But will promises be enough to secure a happy ending?

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life–silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendent of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body. As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

So….it’s finally summer and you have ZERO idea of how to keep your little one entertained. My advice? Get him/her reading! There is nothing more fantastic than watching your child escape into a book. I should know…I have 2 that just realized books are better than TV! *gasp* But…with soooo many books out there, how do you decide? Well, I say go with what’s fun. Your kiddos will have plenty of time to devour the classics, so instead of pounding the benefits of Old English into their tiny little skulls, I say LET THEM LAUGH instead. Here is just 1 incredibly cute series your kids will thank you for later. (FYI – yes, this is a blog tour, but I assure you….I have read these books and they are great. 2 birds, 1 stone.)

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember… Reading is contagious… PASS IT ON!!

Author Adam Sidwell

In between books, Adam Glendon Sidwell uses the power of computers to make monsters, robots and zombies come to life for blockbuster movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean, King Kong, Transformers and Tron. After spending countless hours in front of a keyboard meticulously adjusting tentacles, calibrating hydraulics, and brushing monkey fur, he is delighted at the prospect of modifying his creations with the flick of a few deftly placed adjectives. He’s been eating food since age 7, so feels very qualified to write this book. He once showed a famous movie star where the bathroom was. Adam currently lives in Los Angeles, where he can’t wait to fall into the sea.

Stalk Adam: Website / Twitter / Facebook

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Ends 6/30/2013

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Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the participating author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $50 US.

Afternoon Kindle-ites! Ok, so I had every intention of posting a review today, BUT while cruising around town (aka running errands) a song came on and inspiration struck. So instead of spending the last hour writing a snarky review (like I should have been) I decided to write a little story instead. This (admittedly) is way outside of  my writing style, so I’m a little concerned about how it might go over, but I encourage your thoughts all the same. Oh…and I INSIST that you watch the video I’ve attached at the bottom, after you read the story. It’s not only beautiful, but it might help you understand my thought process. xoxo – Misty

To Whom It May Concern

by Misty Baker

The world had always looked the same to Matt. Sparks of light, nestled neatly between rows and rows of debilitating darkness.  Maybe that’s why he had signed up, he thought. To retrieve more sparks. Find a way to replicate them and live off their brilliance. Instead he had only found more darkness. Behind collapsed buildings, buried a foot underground. Cloaked and standing in a solitary window; commanding space that had once been occupied by things like hope.

Instead he learned a different lesson. That days were long, but nights were longer. A lesson he’d be all too willing to share with his dust-covered companions if they had half a mind to listen. But they didn’t. For all intents and purposes, they were much too happy for that. So instead, he did what he always did. He lay on his bunk, eyes facing up, counting the number of patches that now graced the top of his home, and wondering, selfishly, how it would feel to be loved.

*

To everyone who had ever encountered her, Julie, who was made of big blue eyes, and yards and yards of glossy brunette hair, was perfect.  But no one knew better than her that looks could be deceiving. For each day, before the sun decided to grace the world with its radiant brilliance, Julie wrote letters.

She wrote letters to her loved ones, which had passed on with little more than a flutter of exhausted eyelids. Letters to her father, who spent his days silently enduring the past from the comfort of an assisted living establishment three states away. To her sister, who reminded her daily that independence could easily morph into loneliness if not watched properly. And to him. A him she had never actually met, but had faith would find her, and need her as desperately as she needed him.

Her letters weren’t filled with information; the most logical of assumptions, under the circumstances. No name, only initials. Sent to a random mailing address she found online, but the sentiment was clear. She craved connection. To have real conversations, disperse the dust from her hazy days, and welcome the feeling of warmth in her chest. That feeling you get when excitement overwhelms your better judgment. Joy, she believed it was called.

So she wrote her letters. Each day, on pretty little purple sheets of paper and sent them on their way.

*

Today was especially dark. The sounds growing louder with each pop. A wail from a heartbroken mother. A curse, so full of steel, it was almost certain to cause physical pain. A pain he welcomed, almost begged for, because it meant he was still alive. And alive was a blessing seldom received these days.  Glancing to the left he watched the flames lick the sky. Make this desolate place they laid their heads its bitch.  Taking what it wanted, and making no apologies. He smiled as he watch their letters catch a breeze and take flight. Karma for the brothers that liked to bait him with their blessings. But then cried as he saw their memories disappear under sand and sadness. Lost to the ugliness of misunderstanding.

*

She had been walking for hours, forced to find a new home after hatred had destroyed her last one. Her feet blistered, face covered in dirt. Eyes wild with a fear she never knew existed.  A fear steadied on the building blocks of what she now was. Alone. She had watched them fall. All of them. Her mother, so full of animosity, her brothers…carrying rifles longer than their arms. Fighting a battle they didn’t understand, never understood, but bore the weight of.

She had promised herself ten more steps. Ten more steps and she could finally rest her weary bones. Gather her thoughts, and allow herself to grieve, but then she saw it. Dingy and tattered, it’s corner peaking from the ground like a treasure map. She picked it up, confused by the unfamiliar writing on the outside, and opened it. What she saw she didn’t understand, but what she felt was undeniable.

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

I’m still waiting patiently. Oh how I miss you, though I haven’t met you. But I really want to. Oh how I do.

J.

Folding it gently, securing the words from further harm, she put the letter in her battered pocket, and moved on.

Guest Post by Jocelyn Adams

When I first realized I was a bonafide author…

My writing journey has been relatively short.  Some authors know right out of diapers they want to transform their imaginations into paper worlds and three dimensional characters.  While I enjoyed writing when I was young and even showed some aptitude for it, it wasn’t something I ever considered doing seriously.

A big change hit my world back in 2009, one that made me take a step back and wonder…who am I?  What do I want to do with my life?  What makes me happy?  They were surprisingly hard questions, and even harder answers, as the one I came up with was:  I have no freaking clue.

I found myself with too much free time on my hands and mind.

A friend of mine put me onto a book series that jerked a thought free of me, that maybe I could write something like that, too.  Stories had always been twirling in my head for as long as I could remember, so I decided to take an online writing course just for kicks to see the methods behind the madness.  After that, I found an online writing community where I met some wonderful people who took that small interest in me and helped turn it into a true passion.

I began writing in earnest, and by the end of 2009, I had a few short stories accepted and scheduled to be published.  Even with that small but exciting success, I still just felt like a dabbler, though.  That would soon change.  Over a period of six weeks, I wrote my first viable novel, The Glass Man, the first of my Lila Gray trilogy.

When I began receiving awesome feedback on the novel from my writing group, I knew come hell or high water, I was truly in this for keeps.  I was an author.  It was my passion, my outlet, and my way of understand the strange world around me.  I wasn’t in it for money, but to share my stories and give others an escape for a few hours, to make them laugh and cry and feel everything I want them to feel.

It’s my drug of choice.  Even when I’m old and grey, I’ll still be spilling my mind onto the paper.

Rise Of The Magi by Jocelyn Adams

A Lila Gray Novel

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In a battle of wills, who is strongest? The one who hates or the one who loves?

In a test of faith, who will fight the hardest? The one who has everything to lose or the one who believes only in herself?

For Lila Gray, the answer is both. For the Magi, the questions are pointless since they can’t lose, and they’ve been waiting since before Lila’s birth for this one moment. Lila only needs to find them to understand her entire purpose in life. This time, though, instead of protecting her people, Lila may be leading them all, including her unborn child and the man she loves, to their deaths — and not by accident.

In the ultimate trial of heart and soul, and the conclusion to the Lila Gray series, Lila will learn that the greatest weapon of war is herself, with one ultimate unknown. For which side will she fight?

Excerpt

I choked on the black fear unfurling in my soul, brought on by what would come, what always assaulted me the moment I slipped into unconsciousness. It was stupid to think I could run from it for a third night, but shreds of hope were all that had kept me sane. Primal, cold and so dark it blotted out my Light.

Sleep, more terrifying than anything I’d faced yet, claimed me again.

Standing on the balcony of the new fae castle, I gazed over winding rows of ancient shifter houses, each quiet and seemingly content in slumber, in a night that wasn’t dark. Dark and light all at once—a perfect balance, as if the world hadn’t yet decided which side would win, until the red clouds rolled and curled across the sky like blood spilled into water. Flames, intelligent and ravenous, spread from the east, ready to consume everything and everyone until nothing but ash remained. Heat licked at my skin, growing hotter. Knowing it was only a dream didn’t keep sweat from pearling along my face and neck or the blue streak of profanity from escaping to color the air. Heart thundering, I gripped the railing while I stared at the coming storm, brain frozen with the puzzle I hadn’t yet solved.

What are you trying to tell me? What am I missing?

From below, shrieks invaded my ears, thundering across the land until they rose into a deafening clatter of sound. The houses came alive with light, moaning as fae spilled into the cobblestone streets and stared skyward before scattering, each filled with agony and despair deep enough there would be no escape from it. Dying. They were dying. My own scream built in my throat, to tell them I would fix it somehow, that I would save them, but it couldn’t find an escape. Nor would my body obey my commands to move, to help them. To do something. Anything.

The scene changed as it always did. I stared down from far above, my limbs turned to torches of white fire. A globe of light around me cast a white wash over the city, over the fae who still ran in every direction.

From me.

I am the storm.

Wings pounding against the wind reached me a moment before a giant snowy owl arrived to hover before me, those golden eyes shining with rage and fear, both inducing immense relief that Liam had come and blinding horror with some distant knowledge that he should have run, too.

My scream pierced the silence as a wail let loose from his beak.

No. No!

“Wake up, Lila. Please, wake up!”

Warmth on my arm jerked me awake.

Damn near hyperventilating, I scrambled out of bed and landed on my hands and knees on the hardwood without a stitch of clothing on, unsure if the room spun or if I was just dizzy. When Liam approached, his eyes haunted and glassy, a chilled realization hit me and stalled my breath until my lungs ached with need. What if the storm hadn’t been a dream?

The Giveaway

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I am a sucker for Dystopian literature. This is not a big surprise, as I’m certain most of you have discovered my Dystopian Bucket List by now. But what you may not know is the why. While I think the relationships formed inside quality dystopian literature are easily some of the most compelling these days, it’s the social structures that keep me coming back.

Let’s face it, the world we live in is not perfect. Painfully so. And at any given moment we could be victims of an environmental meltdown, a historical study on the effects of nuclear fall out, or eaten by a few incredibly large, very angry killer tomatoes. And while the life changing event itself will be noteworthy (especially if our vegetables start to rebel) how we SURVIVE that event will define future generations.

How we rebuild. How we reestablish community. How we take our situation and morph it into a home.

THOSE are the elements that keep me coming back to dystopian literature. To read about “struggle through acceptance.” To envision NEW worlds – good or bad. To bask in the glory of differences. To picture buildings rising from the ashes, laws established and the challenged. To experience survival.

So imagine my disappointment when “Pulse” was 1% foundation, and 99% selfish girl – saddled with a creepy technoholic tween, and a quazi-superhero who harbors some very serious “Peeping Tom” tendencies.

Oh Mr. Carman…you broke my heart.

Ok, first off…let me explain my dystopian rant before I get filleted by a hoard of my book-loving cohorts. Yes, I am aware this book is listed as Fantasy/Science Fiction, WHICH is pretty much the furthest you can get from dystopic lit. But I want to point out something. In not 1 but 4 quotes printed on the inside cover of “Pulse” literary bobble-heads around the world compared this book to “The Hunger Games.” Now, I don’t know about you, but those 3 words basically drop “Pulse” into a world filled with “overthrow the government!” “Damn the man…save the Empire!” territory. My thoughts were NOT unwarranted. As a matter of fact, I consider them next to necessary. Which is why I also think my next words should be viewed as the most important in this entire review.

If you plan to purchase “Pulse,” it is SCIENCE FICTION!

That said, I don’t mind Sci-Fi, so let’s set that aside and get down to the business of dissecting (I mean…lovingly reviewing) this book.

To start…it’s slow. Though only 379 pages, the first half will leave you feeling like it’s closer to 500. Why? Because, with the exception of a few floating tablets and a quick jog through an abandoned elementary school, the action is all but non-exsistant.

“Hey! Not everything can be Wham! Bam! Thank-you ma’am! Misty!”

I’m aware of that. But it also doesn’t (solely) need to be about a girl desperate to find a pair of killer jeans that make her ass look scrumptious.

Think I’m kidding? I’m not. Feeling much (too much) like a contemporary YA novel until page 300, Carman chose to focus his story on a boy obsessed social outcast, a drug addicted megalomaniac, and a desperately sad sub-character with abandonment issues. (For the sake of honesty,  ”Abandonment Girl” – aka Liz – did have me tearing up in a few places.)

Because the focus was more on budding relationships, and boys (as in more than one) who are apparently experts at window-stalking, the “bigger plot” (or the Pulse – if you will) seemed almost inconsequential.

For example:

What is a “Wire Code” exactly? How does it work? I know it basically acts like a roofie (for any dude who needs to hide a mass murder) but is it like a program reboot for your brain?

What happened to Hawk’s parents?

Why is RED a difficult color to kenesteticly (um…is that a word?) manipulate?

How does the (oh so critical) 2nd pulse work? WHY does it work?

I can tell you what color Hawk’s eyes are. I  can explain Liz’s need to hold hands. Hell…I can even tell you the training order of Noah’s bouncy balls. But ask me to explain why Wade and Clara had to throw their events and the Field Games and I’m a blank slate.

In short, the focus was in the wrong place.

The characters were also a huge problem for me (since I seem to be on a “cons” roll.) Showing a considerable lack of good sense, the forefront cast in “Pulse” (Faith, Dylan, Liz, Hawk, Wade and Clara) spent a little too much time defending (or at the very least trying to define) their deplorable behavior, than trying to correct it. Clara (who was a solid Grade-A Bitch from page 1) seemed to be the only character that stuck to her guns, everyone else came across as wishy-washy (or stale, like two day old Dr. Pepper after spending some time in the Texas sun. Ew.)

So let’s sum this up. 50 pages of rip-roaring X-men type action. 320 pages of sub-par, slightly whiney build-up.

Doesn’t sound appealing does it? Yeah…I didn’t think so.

My suggestion? Read Carman’s “Dark Eden” series instead. Because when it comes to “Pulse,” it barely has one.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: sometimes you have to comprise, sometimes you have to just give in.

Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler

Publication Date: June 18th, 2013

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The unhappy child of two powerful parents who despise each other, young Lilly turns to the ocean to find solace, which she finds in the form of the eloquent and intelligent sea monster Octavius, a kraken. In Octavius’s many arms, Lilly learns of friendship, loyalty, and family. When Octavius, forbidden by Lilly to harm humans, is captured by seafaring traders and sold to a circus, Lilly becomes his only hope for salvation. Desperate to find him, she strikes a bargain with a witch that carries a shocking price.

Her journey to win Octavius’s freedom is difficult. The circus master wants a Coat of Illusions; the Coat tailor wants her undead husband back from a witch; the witch wants her skin back from two bandits; the bandits just want some company, but they might kill her first. Lilly’s quest tests her resolve, tries her patience, and leaves her transformed in every way.

A powerfully written debut from a young fantasy author, Sea Change is an exhilarating tale of adventure, resilience, and selflessness in the name of friendship.

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A Kraken? Oh my cheese balls! I… I just….yeah, I have no words. Ok, maybe 3 words.

RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!

Did you really think I would pass that up? Anyways…this is what I (in all of it’s eery old keys/sea slug/carrot/holy crap is that a tooth? cover glory) am waiting for.

What are YOU waiting for?

Click images for additional details.

For those of you that don’t know, I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan.

The very first time I was introduced to him was way back in 2002 when I (for no apparent reason) decided to check out his book “Stardust” from my local library. Instantly enthralled I read the 256 page novel in just a few hours – swearing off food and water for fear of being interrupted for a potty break at a crucial moment.

Once I finished I put the book on my kitchen counter and returned to civilization. But the story didn’t fly away, like so many before it had. Instead it made a home inside my head, a constant loop of lyrical prose and brilliant technocolored imagery. It began to take on a life of its own. The story continued to grow, the characters taking on whole new lives, journeys and meanings.

The following day (all before 7am at which time I needed to be at work) I walked past that kitchen counter 10 times. Each time sweeping my hand across the cover of that book. By noon I had left work, claiming some ridiculous ailment, that I’m certain sounded fake even to my overly empathetic boss. I got in my car, drove home, and picked the book up again. For the second time in two days I found myself reading the exact same words.

Since then I have purchased everything Neil has every written. Not in Kindle format (as shocking as that may sound) but in hardback, so I can lovingly place it on my shelves once I’ve finished reading it. I have never given it another thought. It is just something that I do. A quirk if you will. That is…until today, when for the very first time I heard Neil narrate one of his own stories.

While sitting in my car, waiting for my son to get out of school, I turned on his latest short story (Shoggoth’s Old Peculiar – which was free to promote his latest release but has now vanished into thin air) With no expectations other than a little wasted time, I settled in my seat, closed my eyes, and opened my mind. But much like in 2002, when I read the first 3 lines of Stardust:

the exact moment I heard Neil speak, I knew something inside of me had irrevocably changed. I would never “read” a Gaiman book  again. I would only ever listen to them, in his own voice, they way they were intended. Because nothing I have ever heard, has sounded as beautiful.

But don’t take MY word for it, let him convince you.

The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection

After listening to “Shoggoth” and then immediately realizing that reviewing it for the blog would be impossible, I decided to purchase another one of Neil’s short story collections. This time hoping to let my son in on all the fun while running my afternoon errands. What I expected was slightly off-kilter Neil. What I got instead was laugh-out-loud Neil (with an admitted side of predictable off-kilter-ness.)

While I won’t go into drastic, overly analytical detail about each story (with the exception of telling you “The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish” was the best of the four) I will say that they are expertly written. Magnificently executed, and just what the doctor ordered for a few minutes of down time. Capturing not only me, but my son from the very first word Neil Gaiman did what Neil Gaiman does best: He set our imaginations free. I highly recommend this collection for parents as a way to spark a love of literature. Not too scary, but witty and smart…they will make fantastic bedtime stories. All you have to do is sit back and LISTEN with your child. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Listen to Neil read chapter one from The Graveyard Book