Sunday, September 30, 2012

2012 Spooking The Spine Update

Hi everyone! Spooking The Spine starts tomorrow. I am so excited about SPS this year. I am going to go about this a bit differently.

Spooking The Spine 2012 button

The first thing that will be a bit different this year is I will be having quite a few guest reviews from fellow bloggers that are awesome!!! I am so excited to have new bloggers on the spine.

Second, I am going to do giveaways a bit different this year. Instead of having a few books to choose from you will choose what you win. Starting tomorrow, and continuing the three Mondays after that I will have a giveaway lasting from Monday to Sunday for a book of your choice up to ten dollars from Book Depository. I will also post the winners every following Monday. Did that all make since? I wanted to give more people the opportunity to win and participate this year.

I will still have GP and giveaways from authors, but I thought giving you book choice would be good for the most part.

I will have a vlog up every Monday to go along with the giveaways.

I hope everyone comes and participates this year:)
Thanks y’all,

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Stacking The Shelves #7

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a post for bloggers to share what books they've received to review, bought, won, borrowed or were gifted.
 
Purchased
 
The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns, #2)
 
In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.


I LOVED The Girl of Fire and Thorns! I am so excited to see what Rae Carson has in store for these characters.


Bared to You (Crossfire, #1)

Our journey began in fire... Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness-beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily... Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds... and desires. The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart...





A friend recommended this to me. I don’t know that I am going to like it but I’m going to give it a shot.


Other News!!!

Tomorrow I will post a Spooking The Spine update as it starts Monday:) I am really excited about this. I am going to do things a bit different this year. The main giveaways will be the big difference this year. Hope to see you tomorrow when I explain!

Have you read any of these???
What is new to your shelf this week?
Happy reading,
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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

So So Scary!!!

Image from freefunnypixs.com

Yesterday I was working on the final stuff for Spooking The Spine. I went to check on something on my blog and it was gone!

My. Blog. Was. Gone.

I tried not to freak out to bad…Epic fail by the way.

Hours later my blog did reappear, but my last two post are gone.

Has anyone else had this problem? Today I will be backing up my blog…It’s been a while since id did that, but I have now learned my lesson. I was So Scared it would not come back:(

Happy blogging and reading everyone,
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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Stacking The Shelves #6

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews and is a post for bloggers to share what books they've received to review, bought, won, borrowed or were gifted.

I only got review books this week:)

From Netgalley

Oddkins: A Fable for All Ages

Blockbuster author Dean Koontz’s first novel for young readers, a beautifully illustrated and visually stunning story about a magical band of living toys who learn to overcome the fears we all face in the dark

Toymaker Isaac Bodkins created the Oddkins, a group of living toys, for very special children who face difficulties in life and need true friends. There’s Amos, the brave stuffed bear; Skippy, the rabbit who dreams of being a superstar; Butterscotch, the gentle, floppy-eared pup; Burl the elephant; the wise and scholarly Gibbons; and Patch the cat. The Oddkins are given to children to inspire, support, and love them, especially during times of adversity. Only now, the toys themselves are the ones who need help.

Before he dies, Mr. Bodkins delivers a dire warning to Amos the bear: Watch out for an evil toymaker and his dangerous creations! Locked up in the dark sub-basement, another group of toys is climbing out of boxes and crates and coming to life as well. These bad toys—like Rex and Lizzie, the puppets with no strings; Gear, the vicious robot; and Stinger, the horrid buzzing bumblebee with his knife-sharp stinger—were made to hurt children, not help them. Leering, laughing, and deadly, they are let loose into the world by a terrifying force.

Frightening as it may be, the Oddkins must go on a journey to find Colleen Shannon, Mr. Bodkins’s chosen successor as a life-giving toymaker and the only person who can save them. The stormy night is perilous and the Oddkins face a danger that threatens not only their magic . . . but the magic in us all.(Goodreads)


I am so excited about Oddkins! My little girl is going to review it for Spooking The Spine. Thanks to Mel Parker Books.


Splintered

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse and the whispers grow too strong to bear, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Unless she fixes the things her great-great-great grandmother Alice put wrong, Wonderland will have her head.(Goodreads)

Goodreads   Amazon
Splintered was one of my WOW post a little bit ago… Don’t you love it when you don’t have to wait as long as you think you will for something you really want to read?!?! Thanks to Amulet publishing.


From the Author

Building From Ashes (Elemental World, #0.5)

For a thousand years, powerful earth vampire Carwyn ap Bryn has served others. God. His family. His friends. But tragedy and loss disrupt his peaceful existence, causing him to question everything he has committed his eternity to.

Brigid Connor has known about vampires since they rescued her from a painful childhood. But not even their vast elemental power can save her from the demons that torment her.

As loyalties are tested and new paths are forged, a lurking danger slowly grows in the Elemental World. Carwyn and Brigid will learn that even secrets revealed can come back to haunt you when you least expect it.


A continuation/spinoff of the Elemental Mysteries series...(Goodreads)

Goodreads  

To say that I enjoyed the Elemental Mysteries series would be a HUGE understatement. I love that I get to dive back into this world.  And the fact that this book is all about my book boyfriend, Carwyn… Yeah, I’m excited!!! Thanks to Elizabeth for sending me a copy.


Other News
Don’t forget to enter our current Giveaway!

Have you read any of these???
What is new to your shelf this week?
Happy reading,
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Friday, September 21, 2012

Cover Reveal: Opal (Lux #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Are you ready for this?!?!?!

Well


Here

It


IS
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Opal

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.


But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.


Together we’re stronger... and they know it.
 
 
Follow this link to an ~~~ EPIC CONTEST ~~~ Announcement. You will want to bookmark this page!
 
 
 
Armentrout, Jennifer

 
USA TODAY Bestselling author, Jennifer L. Armentrout, lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She also writes adult romance under the name J. Lynn.
 
Find Jennifer on: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Website | Blog

 
 
So, what do y’all think???
Looks amazing right!!?!?!
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Review: The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell

The Vespertine (The Vespertine, #1)

Title: The Vespertine
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition
Release Date: March 7, 2011
ISBN-10: 0547482477
ISBN-13: 978-054748247
Goodreads   Amazon

It’s the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him. When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia’s world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she’s not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.(Goodreads)

Review

Ok, y’all, this book is sexy!  Ameilia and Nathaniel make sparks jump off the page!  I don’t know how Saundra managed to make it so super sexy without actual sex, but she did.  There was this element of being risqué, that made the forbidden/frowned upon attraction between them almost too much to handle!

I fell in love with the characters.  I felt very passionate about them (though often confused on who the minor characters were—there were many!) and wanted good things for them, and good things did happen!  Amelia’s visions, though, perforated a happy period piece with flashes of tragedy.  Even if the visions weren’t tragic, they were often bittersweet.

The language is appropriate, but not overly-haughty.  I felt transported back in time, without feeling as if I was an outsider—I connected with the writing and was drawn in.  The major plot elements really develop about half-way through the book.  The story is so enticing, so entertaining that it wasn’t bothersome that that no real action takes place right away.  And the paranormal elements keep things interesting.

Y’all, you need to read this book, even if you aren’t fans of either period or paranormal.  This is just good!

Bending_The_Spine_Moon_RaterBending_The_Spine_Moon_RaterBending_The_Spine_Moon_RaterBending_The_Spine_Moon_RaterBending_The_Spine_Moon_Rater
5 Moons: Read this in front of a fan.  It’s HOT, y’all!

Get to reading,
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Side Note:
I don’t normally like period novels.  I would have never read this book had it not been for YALL Fest 2011.  Saundra was on a panel and hearing her talk about The Vespertine made me want to read it—BAD!  So, I bought it that day, had her sign it, and the rest is history.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Are You Buying??? (September 18,2012 Edition)

I love Tuesdays! These are some of the titles releasing today.

The Crown of Embers (Fire and Thorns, #2)

In the sequel to the acclaimed The Girl of Fire and Thorns, a seventeen-year-old princess turned war queen faces sorcery, adventure, untold power, and romance as she fulfills her epic destiny.

Elisa is the hero of her country. She led her people to victory against a terrifying enemy, and now she is their queen. But she is only seventeen years old. Her rivals may have simply retreated, choosing stealth over battle. And no one within her court trusts her-except Hector, the commander of the royal guard, and her companions. As the country begins to crumble beneath her and her enemies emerge from the shadows, Elisa will take another journey. With a one-eyed warrior, a loyal friend, an enemy defector, and the man she is falling in love with, Elisa crosses the ocean in search of the perilous, uncharted, and mythical source of the Godstone's power. That is not all she finds. A breathtaking, romantic, and dangerous second volume in the Fire and Thorns trilogy.


The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle, #1)

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

From Maggie Stiefvater, the bestselling and acclaimed author of theShiver trilogy and The Scorpio Races, comes a spellbinding new series where the inevitability of death and the nature of love lead us to a place we’ve never been before.

Goodreads   Amazon

Ten

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?


Necromancing the Stone

With the defeat of the evil Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is getting used to his new life. Okay, so he hadn’t exactly planned on being a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf sort-of-girlfriend, but things are going fine, right?

Well . . . not really. He’s pretty tired of getting beat up by everyone and their mother, for one thing, and he can’t help but feel that his new house hates him. His best friend is a werebear, someone is threatening his sister, and while Sam realizes that he himself has a lot of power at his fingertips, he’s not exactly sure how to use it. Which, he has to admit, is a bit disconcerting.

But when everything starts falling apart, he decides it’s time to step up and take control. His attempts to do so just bring up more questions, though, the most important of which is more than a little alarming: Is Douglas really dead?

Goodreads   Amazon

Incarnation

In the steampunk world of Victorian London, a beautiful vampire seeks out the author of Dracula–to set the record straight . . . If one is to believe Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale, Lucy Weston is Dracula’s most wanton creation, a sexual creature of the night who preys on innocent boys. But the real-life Lucy is nothing like her fictional counterpart—and she demands to know why the Victorian author deliberately lied. With Stoker’s reluctant help, she’s determined to track down the very fiend who transformed her—from the sensual underworld where humans vie to become vampires, to a hidden cell beneath a temple to madness, and finally into the glittering Crystal Palace where death reigns supreme.

Haunted by fragmentary memories of her lost life and love, Lucy must battle her thirst for blood as she struggles to stop a catastrophic war that will doom vampires and humans alike. Ultimately, she must make a choice that illuminates for her—and for us—what it means to be human.

Goodreads   Amazon

The Dead Girls Detective Agency

Pop quiz: What would you do if you had to solve your own murder to get anywhere in death?

Maybe if I hadn't slept through my alarm, slammed into Kristin--my high school's reigning mean

girl--or stepped in a puddle, destroying my mom's new suede DVF boots (which I borrowed without asking), I wouldn't have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I wouldn't have been pushed in front of that arriving train. But I did, and I was.

When I came to, I was informed by a group of girls that I'm dead. And that because I died under mysterious circumstances, I can't pass straight over to the Other Side. But at least I'm not alone. Meet the Dead Girls Detective Agency: Nancy, Lorna, and Tess--not to mention Edison, the really cute if slightly hostile dead boy. Apparently, the only way out of this limbo is to figure out who killed me, or I'll have to spend eternity playing Nancy Drew. Considering I was fairly invisible in life, who could hate me enough to want me dead? And what if my murderer is someone I never would have suspected?

Goodreads   Amazon

Stormdancer (The Lotus War, #1)

A DYING LAND
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.


AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger—a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.


A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.


 Safekeeping

 
Radley just wants to get home to her parents in Vermont. While she was volunteering abroad, the American People's Party took power; the new president was assassinated; and the government cracked down on citizens. Travel restrictions are worse than ever, and when her plane finally lands in New Hampshire, Radley’s parents aren’t there.

Exhausted; her phone dead; her credit cards worthless: Radley starts walking.

Goodreads   Amazon


Adaptation (Adaptation, #1)

Reese can’t remember anything from the time between the accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: She’s different now.

Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.

Reese and her debate team partner and longtime crush David are in Arizona when it happens. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On their drive home to San Francisco, along a stretch of empty highway at night in the middle of Nevada, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won’t tell them what happened, where they are—or how they’ve been miraculously healed.

Things become even stranger when Reese returns home. San Francisco feels like a different place with police enforcing curfew, hazmat teams collecting dead birds, and a strange presence that seems to be following her. When Reese unexpectedly collides with the beautiful Amber Gray, her search for the truth is forced in an entirely new direction—and threatens to expose a vast global conspiracy that the government has worked for decades to keep secret.

Goodreads   Amazon

The Diviners (The Diviners, #1)

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.
 
Goodreads   Amazon
 
 
Cursed

Dying sucks-- and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he's a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she's more than interested. There's just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out.

However, she's willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't? But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not have been an accident at all, she's not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.


The Peculiar

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings--Peculiars--and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley--Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, "The Peculiar" is Stefan Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.

Goodreads   Amazon

Glass Heart (Cold Kiss, #2)

Wren can do things that other people can only dream of. Make it snow on a clear, crisp day. Fly through an abandoned tunnel. Bring a paper bird to life.

Wren knows her abilities are tinged with danger—knows how easy it is to lose control—but she can't resist the intoxicating rush. And now that she has Gabriel by her side, someone who knows what she can do—what she has done—she finally feels free to be herself.

But as Wren explores the possibilities of her simmering powers, Gabriel starts pushing her away. Telling her to be careful. Telling her to stop. The more he cautions her, the more determined Wren becomes to prove that she can handle things on her own. And by the time she realizes that Gabriel may be right, it could be too late to bring him back to her side.


What's Left of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles, #1)

I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.


Transcend

All seventeen-year-old composer Ien Montgomery desires is an escape from his family's rigid expectations for his life; someone to inspire his music. When he meets a beautiful violin-prodigy, Kiera McDougal, his life music takes on new life. With her, he imagines a future outside of his parents’ control. That is, until a horrible accident tears them apart.

Sent to die in a sanatorium, Ien’s obsession for Kiera grows unbearable. Tortured by thoughts he can’t escape and the truth of his monstrous disfigurement, he flees, desperate to exact revenge on the people that ruined his life – his parents. But, vengeance is empty. Betrayed by those closest to him, Ien discovers that the price for his happiness may be his sanity.

Set amidst the landscape of New York's Gilded Age, and inspired by Phantom of the Opera, TRANSCEND exposes the fine line between love and madness.


Low Pressure

Bellamy Lyston Price was only 12 years old when her older sister Susan was killed on a stormy Memorial Day. Bellamy's fear of storms is a legacy of the tornado that destroyed the crime scene as well as her memory of one vital fact that still eludes her...

Now, 18 years later, Bellamy has written a novel based on Susan's murder. It's her first book, and it's an instant sensation. But because the novel is based on the most traumatic event of her life, she's published it under a pseudonym to protect herself and her family.

But when a sleazy reporter for a tabloid newspaper discovers that the book is based on a real crime, Bellamy's identity - and dark family secrets -- are exposed. Suddenly, she finds herself embroiled in a personal conflict and at the mercy of her sister's killer, who for almost two decades has gotten away with murder...and will stop at nothing to keep it that way.


Something Red

From debut author Douglas Nicholas comes a haunting story of love, murder, and sorcery. During the thirteenth century in northwest England, in one of the coldest winters in living memory, a formidable yet charming Irish healer, Molly, and the troupe she leads are driving their three wagons, hoping to cross the Pennine Mountains before the heavy snows set in. Molly, her lover Jack, granddaughter Nemain, and young apprentice Hob become aware that they are being stalked by something terrible. The refuge they seek in a monastery, then an inn, and finally a Norman castle proves to be an illusion. As danger continues to rise, it becomes clear that the creature must be faced and defeated—or else they will all surely die. It is then that Hob discovers how much more there is to his adopted family than he had realized.

An intoxicating blend of fantasy and mythology, Something Red presents an enchanting world full of mysterious and fascinating characters— shapeshifters, sorceresses, warrior monks, and knights—where no one is safe from the terrible being that lurks in the darkness. In this extraordinary, fantastical world, nothing is as it seems, and the journey for survival is as magical as it is perilous.


Mark of the Witch (The Portal, #1)

From New York Times bestselling author Maggie Shayne comes the first novel in her thrilling new trilogy, THE PORTAL She was born to save what he is sworn to destroy...

A lapsed Wiccan, Indira Simon doesn't believe in magic anymore. But when strange dreams of being sacrificed to an ancient Babylonian god have her waking up with real rope burns on her wrists, she's forced to acknowledge that she may have been too hasty in her rejection of the unknown. Then she meets mysterious and handsome Father Tomas. Emerging from the secrecy of an obscure Gnostic sect, he arrives with stories of a demon, a trio of warrior witches-and Indira's sacred calling. Yet there's something even Tomas doesn't know, an inescapable truth that will force him to choose between saving the life of the woman he's come to love-and saving the world.



So… do you plan on snatching any of these books up today? Is anything new to you?
I am so excited about The Crown of Embers!!! I loved The Girl of Fire and Thorns!

Happy Bookday!!!
To all the author that have books out this week.
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Monday, September 17, 2012

Blog Tour Interview: Dark Promise by Julia Crane and Talia Jager

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Title: Dark Promise
Author: Julia Crane, Talia Jager
Print Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Valknut Press
Release Date: July 28, 2012
ASIN: B008QI80MS
Goodreads   Amazon

Rylie has it all - great friends, dream boy, loving family. But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her perfect little world shatters. A stranger claiming to be her real mother appears with a secret: Rylie is a faery whose powers will be unleashed on her birthday. Captured and forced into a new life, Rylie struggles to keep everything she loves and discovers a terrifying truth: some promises cannot be broken.


Interview

1) Hi Julia! Hi Talia! I am so excited to have y'all with us today. Could you both tell us a little about yourselves?
 
Julia: Well, I currently live in Dubai and love to travel. I have three children: two teenagers and a toddler. I'm addicted to coffee and carbs, but only eat carbs on the weekends. I've always dreamed of becoming a writer. It's still hard for me to believe I have seven books published. 
 
Talia: Thanks for having us. I'm married to a wonderful man, and we have six children. With all the drama that goes on in this house, I always have something to write about. We live in Texas. I'm more of a homebody. I like to relax by reading a book or watching TV. I love writing and have 7 solo books out plus 2 with Julia.
 
 
2) Could you tell us about Dark Promise?
 
Julia: Dark Promise was a lot of fun to write. Rylie's world goes from stable to unknown very quickly. She has a lot to deal with emotionally. She's in love with one boy, but promised to another. She finds out her parents are not her biological parents and that her real dad traded her for access to dark magick. That's a lot for a teenager to take in.
 
 
3) How did the idea for Dark Promise come about?
 
Julia: Talia had the idea and asked if I would be interested in writing the story with her. 
 
Talia: The beginning of the book just popped in my head one day. I asked Julia if she wanted to write it with me.
 
 
4) Are your characters based on anyone you know?
 
Julia: Not this time. I usually do use characteristics from people I know on my solo books. 
 
Talia: Not really. Sometimes I take a trait from someone I know in real life and use it on my characters. 
 
 
5) What is your writing process? (Do you right outlines? Do you know how a story is going to end when you start it? Is it harder to write with someone or alone?)
 
Julia: I'm a pantster. I write as I go and the ideas flow at odd times, usually while I'm doing the dishes or something else mundane. With co-writing, you can't really do that. So we discuss our ideas and compromise. It is faster to co-write, because we bounce ideas off each other. 
 
Talia: Usually I don't do an outline at all. I just sit down and write. With my fantasy or paranormal books, I seem to need a basic outline. Just an idea of what's going to happen when. Especially when time is different between the two worlds. I knew exactly how I wanted Dark Promise to end and I have a scene in mind for the second book. But, if there's a third book, I'm undecided. I love both Adam and Kallan. It's easy to write with someone else because somewhere I get stuck, and Julia knows exactly what to write. 
 
 
6) What is your favorite genre to read? 
 
Julia: I'm all over with reading. If I had to pick a favorite it would be psychological thrillers. I love the human mind. 
 
Talia: Young adult. I do read some medical thrillers and romance, but not as much.
 
 
7) What are you reading right now?
 
Julia: A perfect Evil by Alex Kava
 
Talia: I began helping my daughter understand A Separate Peace, so I'm reading that.
 
 
8) What can we be excited about that is coming from you in the future? 
 
Julia: In October I'll be releasing Lauren which is a spin-off from my series Keegan's Chronicles. Talia and I are also working on the second book in the Between Worlds series. 
 
Talia: I have a couple YA dramas started. One about cutting and a different about a teen searching for her biological father. Julia and I are in the middle of book 2 in The Between Worlds series.
 
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions!
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Blog Tour Promo Stop:Dark Promise by Julia Crane and Talia Jager


DarkPromise

I am excited to share an excerpt from Dark Promise with you today!

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Title: Dark Promise
Author: Julia Crane, Talia Jager
Print Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Valknut Press
Release Date: July 28, 2012 
ASIN: B008QI80MS
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Rylie has it all - great friends, dream boy, loving family. But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, her perfect little world shatters. A stranger claiming to be her real mother appears with a secret: Rylie is a faery whose powers will be unleashed on her birthday. Captured and forced into a new life, Rylie struggles to keep everything she loves and discovers a terrifying truth: some promises cannot be broken.
 
Dark Promise Excerpt
 
 
My mother led her into the living room. The lady’s piercing green eyes rested on me, sending a chill down my back. My father followed her gaze. “Rylie, do you know this woman?” Dad asked.
 
“No.” I shook my head slowly. “I’ve never seen her before.”
 
“Rylie, maybe you should go to your room,” Dad suggested, his gaze demanding I do as he said.
 
“No. If this has something to do with me, I want to hear it.” I crossed my arms and sank against the back of the couch.
 
Mom and Dad exchanged a worried glance, but turned back to the lady on the couch. “Please, go on.”
 
Without taking her eyes from me, the lady calmly stated, “My name is Azura, and I am Rylie’s birth mother.”
 
My father, who was always a level-headed man, was on his feet in seconds, his face hard. “What are you talking about?”
 
I felt like I had fallen into some kind of parallel universe. Did this woman just say she was my birth mother? How could she be my birth mother? That would mean I was adopted, but wouldn’t my parents have told me something like that?
 
My mother shook her head. “Birth mother? Rylie isn’t adopted.” She reached over and took my hand. “Believe me, I’ll never forget the eleven hours of labor.”
 
The woman sat perfectly still in the blue armchair across from us, with her hands clasped on her lap. “I know it’s hard to accept, but it’s true. Your daughter died shortly after she was born. I switched the infants. Rylie is mine.”
 
The wind left me as if I had been punched in the stomach. I couldn’t breathe, and the room spun. I gripped the pillow next to me with my other hand as I clung to my mother.
 
Silence filled the room for a moment, and then my father exploded. “You need to leave now!” He pointed to the door. “Get out of this house and don’t come back without a court order.”
 
The lady smiled sincerely, her face still as calm as it had been when she walked in the door. “Please, hear me out. I realize this is a lot to take in.”
 
“No! This is preposterous! Nobody died. Rylie is ours.” Dad’s voice was like thunder.
 
I studied the lady. She seemed so honest and soft-spoken. Why would she pretend something like this? Why would she ruin our family if it weren’t true? And if was true, why was she coming clean now? Something in me believed her even though I didn’t want to. I swallowed hard and rubbed my sweaty palms on my shirt.
 
“Let her talk,” I said hoarsely.
 
“Rylie, you can’t believe her.” Dad looked stricken.
 
“I’m curious as to why she thinks I’m her daughter. Let’s hear her out.” I crossed my arms and scooted closer to my mother, comforted when she wrapped an arm around me.
 
Dad turned back to the woman called Azura, and his frown deepened. “Fine.” He sat back down in his seat and glared. “Talk.”
 
“Thank you. I’m going to tell you something not many humans know, and I have to trust you to keep it secret for Rylie’s sake.” She addressed the statement to my parents.
 
Humans? Who talks like that?
 
About the Authors
 
Julia Crane
Julia Crane is the author of the YA paranormal fiction novels: Keegan's Chronicles, Mesmerized, Eternal Youth, and Dark Promise. She was greatly encouraged by her mother to read and use her imagination, and has believed in magical creatures since the day her grandmother first told her an Irish tale. Julia has traveled far and wide to many of the places her grandmother told her about, gaining inspiration from her journeys to places like Nepal, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Italy, France and many more. And who knows? Maybe the magical creatures she writes about are people she met along the way.




 
Talia Jager
When Talia isn’t hiding in the closet from her six children munching on a chocolate bar, she enjoys hiking the red rocks in Utah or sitting on the beach with a Kindle in her hands and her toes in the ocean
Talia has written a number of books for young adults, including Damaged: Natalie’s Story, Teagan’s Story: Her Battle With Epilepsy, If I Die Young, Secret Bloodline, Lost and Found, and The Gifted Teens Series.




 
Happy reading,
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Sunday, September 16, 2012

Book Shop Stop #5 (Paperback Exchange)

I am so excited to share about an independent bookshop I got to visit last weekend.

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As someone who tends to go back and reread books like visiting old friends I loved seeing this quote when I walked in the door of the Paperback Exchange.

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The Paperback Exchange sells new and used books. Paperback Exchange has a very easy to follow exchange and credit policy. This is the link to how it works.

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Paperback Exchange is well stocked in all genres. I really enjoyed stalking through the shelves.

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Even the children’s section was separated by genre. How awesome is the dragon on the wall?!?! It was painted by one of the Paperback Exchange employees.

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Paperback Exchange is very supportive of local authors. I learned about a few new authors while I was there.

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Paperback Exchange is located:
105 N Main Street, Greer, SC 29650

Current hours are:
Mon.-Fri. 10AM to 5PM
Saturday 10AM to 4PM
Sunday closed

This is a great shop! If you are ever in the area you should take the time to stop by.
Paperback Exchange Website

Do you know of any amazing bookstores I don’t know about? If they have a website let me know about it in the comments:) I live in the upstate of SC, so if you know of any bookstore gems in my neck of the woods tell me about them and I will do my best to give them a visit. I will be posting my bookstore adventures on Sundays:)

In a few weeks I will be visiting Richmond VA for a couple of days. Anyone know of anything I must see while in the area???

Happy booking,
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