Friday 31 May 2013

The Tale of Mally Biddle Tour

 
mally biddle


The Tale of Mally Biddle by M.L. LeGette When Mally Biddle agreed to spy upon the King of Lenzar and his overbearing knights she knew she was heading into danger. She didn't know she'd find a family unlike any other. Posing as a servant in Bosc Castle, Mally serves tea and tends fires for the most dangerous men in the kingdom. Her goal is to learn the truth of what happened sixteen years ago, when the infant princess met her death ... a death that is surrounded by more questions than answers. Along her search for the truth, Mally meets the energized Lita Stump, the strict and matriarchal Meriyal Boyd, and the opinionated Archibald Diggleby. Then of course there are the knights: Leon Gibbs who is slicker than a greased hog, Adrian Bayard, hot tempered and violent, and the worst of the lot: Sir Illius Molick, Captain of the Knights. And then there is Maud, a mysterious woman who just might know everything...


Thursday 30 May 2013

Flightless Review!






Pen was a Guardian, but one violent night took his wings. Ten years later he is given the opportunity to earn them back.

Jade is spellbound by the new student. Pen is quiet, but she is determined to learn more about him. When her terrifying past comes back to haunt her, Pen reveals there is much more to him than she could have ever imagined.

With his soul on the line, Pen cannot protect Jade if his feelings keep getting in the way. But with Jade’s soul on the line, he must protect her from unearthly forces who want her blood. Will the truth redeem them, or tear them apart?





 Wow! I have to first say I loved the characters in this book!  We have Pen a red haired "Guardian Angel" who causes his own fall from grace.  An angel who .... oops I can't say, but suffice it to say it is one heck of a surprising thing he does. Naughty, naughty angel!  Just my type of angel!

Then we have Jade, what a complete mess this girl is at the beginning of the book.  And my how she grows during the book.  I do so love characters which grow.

Do you love Angels?  Do you love drama?  Do you love suspense?  Then this is the book for you! 

One thing you did get to see in this book was Point of View changes.  This works for some people, not for others. So I thought I'd give you the heads up on this aspect of the book.  It does work in the story and doesn't detract from it at all.  It in fact gives you a little bit of a different aspect to what happens which gives you the bigger picture which really was interesting.

I can also say that I liked that the young girl, Jade grew into the teenager who blocks memories.  That was an interesting aspect to the story and actually helped create an entire aspect that we didn't expect.

Kerri Neal provided me with a copy of this book for my honest review.  I must say that this free copy held no bearing on my final review.  I gave this book 4.5 stars.  

Thank you Kerri for my chance to read and review your work.





Keri Neal is a native Californian who calls Texas “Home”. Growing up an only child, she was a big movie buff and an even bigger reader. As a child, she would write mini-mysteries on her typewriter and fantasize about becoming the next Christopher Pike. As an adult, she showed no interest in writing until her BFF, Cheryl sent her a text one day: “I’m thinking about writing a novel…”. And so they did. It was a fun, soul-crushing experience that taught her about the thrill of self-expression and the agony of rejection. Keri lives near Austin with her husband, two children, two hamsters and a snake. She crochets, sews, reads, paints and loves all things artsy and craftsy.




Wednesday 29 May 2013

Destiny's Flower Review


Title: Destiny's Flower
Author: Linda Harley
Publisher: Infinity Publishing
Date of Publication: September 21, 2012
ISBN: 0741478366
Word count: ~95,000
Genre: sci fi/fantasy/romance/ya

Doctor Lynn Davis is kidnapped by handsome Lord Kyle von Talion and taken to a far off planet, Saldiora. As she finds herself in this unfamiliar culture, she must learn to fight with a sword, ride a talking horse, and endure the politics of a royal court if she is to survive. Kyle has his hands full keeping Lynn from making cultural blunders and ensuring her safety. The Juntu’s are plotting to take over Saldiora and consider Lynn to be a threat to their success. Will Lynn live long enough to fulfill her destiny and save the kingdom of Saldiora?

  Buy Link: Destiny's Flower
Review
This book by Linda Harley was an interesting mix of Science Fiction and Fantasy. It is the first in the Saldiora series. It has an amazingly strong female heroine.  A fabulous story and an exciting mix of ancient sword style fighting and modern technology.

It has some very intense moral values of being true to who you are as Lynn is kidnapped and taken to an entirely new world where she just really doesn't fit in.  Lynn winds up in Saldiora which is a very strange world where modern technology is available yet they still have slavery, where strictly black and white, and still fight with swords.

Yes this is a strange world indeed, one in which animals TALK! So what a mix we have in this book.  I for one can't wait to read the next book in this series.  

All in all, I give this book 4 stars.  It had a few slow points for me so I couldn't give it the full 5 stars, but I definitely recommend this book and will assuredly be picking up the next book in the series.  I am looking forward to reading more about Kyle and Lynn and the adventures with the enemies of Saldiora.


Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.
You can view the book and sample chapter at



Monday 27 May 2013

Demon Tour and Review




Title: Demon (Dark Musicals Trilogy, 2)
Author: Laura DeLuca
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller
Tour Host: Lady Amber's Tours








Book Description:
When Justyn and Rebecca set off for the New York School of Performing Arts, they think their dreams are about to come true. To their dismay, they aren’t in high school anymore, and the competition is steep. Rebecca must compete against accomplished singers for a role in the production of Demon Barber, including a stunning Gothic diva with her sights set on Justyn

It doesn't help that things keep disappearing from their apartment or that Rebecca's father refuses to accept that Justyn is an essential part of her life. Yet, all this seems minimal in comparison to the serial rapist terrorizing the campus.
Consumed by fear and obsessed with revenge, Rebecca and Justyn start living the story of Sweeney Todd—both on and off the stage.

 You can also add Demon to your shelf on good reads


Review
I have to say first that Phantom of the Opera is one of my all time favorite musicals. So when I was offered the opportunity to read and review Phantom and Demon by the Author I had to jump at the opportunity.

I won't go into details of Phantom here, but suffice it to say it was an excellent book which I gladly gave 4.5 stars to.  But this isn't about Phantom this review is about Demon which is book two in the Dark Musical Series.

The relationship between Becca and Justyn continues in this book.  This book is full of mystery and quite a bit of suspense, all while the love between Becca and Justyn continues to grow.

We meet some new characters in this book and once again the friendships make an integral part of the story.  I immediately hated Livy, Chad and Scott.  And the story Sweeney Todd was the perfect tie in for this story.

I have to say I just cannot wait for book 3.  I give this book 5 stars and have to say that this book was better than the first book.

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

Demon, Book Two in the Dark Musicals Trilogy, inspired by Sweeney Todd is available now in both PRINT and eBook!
Purchase

If you haven't read the first book in the series, now is a great time to get your copy. To celebrate the release of Demon, Phantom is now on sale for only $1.99 exclusively on Amazon!
Purchase
Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart.  In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the editor of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years.  Her current works include Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, Phantom, Morrigan, Player, and Demon.

Links:
Follow the author Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Pinterest

Excerpt from Demon

“What the hell are you looking at?” Livy demanded.

At first Rebecca just ignored her hostility. She walked back to her cubbyhole and opened it to stowaway her bags until practice was over. She was going to forget the whole stupid idea and just walk away. But Livy was still standing there, leaning against the lockers, looking just as sad as she did angry. Rebecca couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She was reminded of how horribly everyone had treated Justyn during the production of Phantom and thought perhaps Livy was just as misunderstood.

“Livy,” she started, “can we talk for a minute?”

The Goth just gave her a dirty look. “I don’t know what we could possibly have to say to each other.”

“I just wanted to apologize about what happened at the party,” Rebecca spoke with as much sincerity as she could muster. “No matter how we feel about each other, I never meant to … to embarrass you the way I did.”

Rebecca had never seen the cliché of flashing eyes come to life like it did at that moment. “Don’t you dare!” Livy spat. “Don’t you dare pity me!”

“That’s not what I meant,” Rebecca tried to explain, though she knew she was fighting a losing battle. “I just regret—”

“Do you want to know what I regret?” Livy interrupted and actually shoved Rebecca against her locker. “I regret not ripping every strand of hair out of that pretty little head of yours when I had the chance. This isn’t high school, Becca! We aren’t going to be friends. And I’m not going to stop until Justyn is mine and you run back to New Jersey with your tail between your legs. Is that clear enough for you, deary? Don’t try to make nice with me again.”

Livy stomped away, and Rebecca just stood there, feeling shocked and a little stung. She couldn’t believe how vicious Livy could be. So much for olive branches. Instead of trying to hand her one, Rebecca should have shoved it straight up her….

“Wow.” Frankie came up beside her, shaking his head. “It’s girls like that who give PMS a bad rep. I seriously think the next play she should star in is the Taming of the Shrew.”

“There’s no taming that one,” Rebecca replied, still shaking her head.

Saturday 25 May 2013

Above Rubies Tour

above rubies tour  

above rubiesAbove Rubies

His chivalry was strangling her. He thought he was helping her—and in truth, he was. She was in desperate straits. But as honorable as he was, he was also breaking her heart. Her attraction was drowning him. When World Champion rodeo cowboy Rossen Rockland and his friends rescue a young runaway who has been abused by her foster father and take her home to his parents’ ranch, he expects her to turn out to be a pain in the neck. And sometimes she is. It doesn’t take him long to figure out that she has way more than her allotment of troubles—and far more than her share of gifts. Lovely, talented, and ravingly brilliant, Kit Star is too young, unbelievably humble, and oh, so loveable. Knowing that she needs his protection and time to grow into her potential, Rossen also figures out that what she really is, is a pain in the heart. Watch for more of the Rockland Ranch Series!  

Praise for Above Rubies:

I absolutely could not put this book down. It had me laughing, crying, angry and pretty much every other emotion. I can not wait for the next one in the series to come out. Keep them coming!!! ~Addicted to Books This is the second book in the Rockland Ranch Romance Series. It can be read as a stand alone or copies of Peace River can be supplied if you would also like to review it.  

peace riverPeace River (Book 1)

The police didn't understand the danger, but she did. Her father had always been abusive, but now, with a ten million dollar Thoroughbred farm on the line, and a powerful bookie leaning on him, her father had become out of control. But how do you get away and take a world famous stallion with you? Carrie was getting desperate when a handsome and honorable but thoroughly cynical rodeo cowboy from Wyoming happened to show up with a horse trailer. He didn't ride a white horse, but he was definitely a knight in shining armor. He'll protect her from the mob, but can she survive falling in love with a bull rider?  

Praise for Peace River

"Give me a clean romance, humor and a good looking cowboy and I'm a happy girl. LDS fiction isn't always my favorite but I really enjoyed the characters and adventure in this book." ~Carol - Goodreads "There was plenty of action, adventure and danger to keep me guessing just how everything was going to turn out. I didn't want to put it down until I finished! Jaclyn Hawkes is one of my favorite LDS romance authors. You really can't go wrong with any of her books that you pick up!" ~Cathy -Goodreads
 

jaclynAuthor Jaclyn M. Hawkes

Jaclyn M. Hawkes grew up in Utah with 6 sisters, 4 brothers and any number of pets. (It was never boring!) She got a bachelor’s degree, had a career and traveled extensively before settling down to her life’s work of being the mother of four magnificent and sometimes challenging children. She loves shellfish, the out of doors, the youth and hearing her children laugh. She and her fine husband, their family, and their sometimes very large pets, now live in a mountain valley in northern Utah, where it smells like heaven and kids still move sprinkler pipe.

  Book Blast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 6/11/13  
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 http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $50 US.

The Color Keepers Tour and Review




Hoping to have a good change and good ending to go with it, Emily, a 16- year-old girl from Ohio, has moved to sunny California.

Moving to a new town can be scary, especially a new school. So when Sam, the most popular kid there, looks her way, she can’t believe this is happening to her.

Everything seems to be working out fine. That is, until her mother buys an enchanted mirror by mistake.

Suddenly, Emily finds herself in a whole new world, full of talking animals, magic and more change than she was hoping for.

With the help of her new crush, Sam, and her annoyingly goofy 12-year-old brother James, Emily sets out to save their world and ours.

Friday 24 May 2013

Saving Me Tour and Review





Sixteen-year old Peyton Jones had it all: straight A's in school, the perfect boyfriend, and nothing to worry about but keeping her GPA up. Then one night her perfect world is suddenly ripped away from her. Everything she has ever known changes and she goes from having a perfect plan to watching her world crumble around her.

Steve Gibbons was the quarterback of his high school football team...until the new guy showed up and stole his spot, causing him to lose his chance at a scholarship. Football was his life and now he feels like he has nothing.

Drawn together after losing hope for their futures, Peyton and Steve become best friends, but as they grow closer, a colossal secret is revealed changing everything. Will Peyton be left to face her inevitable future alone, or can she trust enough to let someone else in?


Review

This is a hard book to review, the story itself had a lot of potential.  We have the young girl Peyton who seems to have it all.  We have Steve, the High School Quarterback, and we have Aaron who takes Steve's place as the High School Quarterback.  And we have a horrible incident that is told in extremely graphic detail.

For me this book was unbelievable.  Not because of what happens to Peyton, because that has happened and will happen sadly many times in the future.  But because of her reaction to it all.  Her reaction to Aaron was unbelievable, her reaction to Steve was unbelievable. And basically most of the things she does are a bit unrealistic to a girl in her situation.  

I do NOT recommend this book to anyone younger than 15 or 16 because of the graphic scenes which are in this book.  I also have to say that Peyton is NOT who I want my daughters to be like.  Peyton is not a good role model in my opinion.  Yes she was a good student, and the consequences that grow from the incident she made a choice that many pro-lifers will agree whole heartedly with, but how she dealt with the incident and how she reacted and what she did after just for me felt too fake. Yes I know this is a book, but if we want out children to read about rape we should at least give them a realistic type response to that rape.

I prefer open communication between parent and child and sadly this book did not have that in it.   I also do not think that it was quite realistic a situation for a young girl to be all over a boy who she just met.  The boy yes I can actually picture a young boy like Aaron, mostly because I have sadly known a few of them in my life and the damage they have done.  

I think that the worst thing for me was I knew from the small story that Aaron tells about his own parents the type of child he was going to turn out to be, and I was actually disappointed in the Author for depicting him in such a classic manner as she did.  *The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree* popped immediately to mind and when the Author had him do exactly that I just went "sigh!"  It was just far too predictable. 

But don't take my word for it, you may enjoy this story.  I just warn you that it does have a fairly violent and graphic scene towards the beginning and it may confuse younger readers.

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.

Thursday 23 May 2013

Falling Review and Tour




After seventeen year-old Sophie’s mom dies in a tragic accident, she is so engulfed with guilt and sadness, she feels like she could literally, simply lie down and die. But a few months later, on the night she and her friends experiment with a Ouija board, things begin to change in unimaginable ways. Sophie begins to hear, and then see, Nick, a boy who has been dead for two years. This story tells of their blossoming friendship, young love, and how, through Nick, Sophie learns to live again. But even in the spirit world, happiness can’t last forever. There is a dark side to this otherworldly friendship. Not all spirits are good. Sophie’s dreams become haunting, scary nightmares. And soon these nightmares become reality, and lead Nick and Sophie into a battle against this evil spirit. They must fight for her life, but even if they can figure out how to fight a ghost, Sophie isn’t sure she wants to. If she dies, she could be with Nick forever.


FALLING grips emotions and keeps the reader turning pages late into the night.

This book was fabulous!  I absolutely adored Nick.  I WANT MY OWN GHOST!!!! I loved how the author created Nick and the changes which occurred during the story.  I loved the character growth.  As the summary states Nick is of course long dead.  But he seems more alive than many people I've had the pleasure of knowing in real life.  Yes I realize he is a fictional character, but hey he was just THAT alive!

Sophie I felt so sorry for, she lost her mother when she drowned and blames herself for her mother's death.  I will say that this story is a little bit scary at times so it isn't for the younger YA.  Unless they like shows that have the creepy aspect to them.  I figured out who the bad guy was relatively quickly, so I wasn't surprised at the ending.  But all in all this was a fabulous story.

This book is a fairly quick read with only 207 pages.  For me that is about an hour and a half with distractions of my son popping in to bug me with his millions of daily questions.  But once you start you really won't want to stop reading it until you find out what is going to happen with Nick and Sophie and her real living boyfriend.  Who while I didn't mention is just as nice as Nick in his own way.

Details/Disclaimer: Review copy was provided to me in exchange for a fair and honest review. The free book held no determination on my personal review.


Lisa lives near the beach with her daughter and four dogs. She spends every spare moment at the beach, either reading, or surfing, or just sitting and watching the water. That's also where she does most of her writing, in a notebook, with a pencil. Lisa is a school teacher, and a yoga teacher. She is passionate about dog rescue. As busy as she stays, she is most happy sitting on her sofa, cuddling with her pups.


Twitter- @LisaRigsbee


$10 Amazon.com Giftcard
Signed Paperback Copy of ‘Falling’ by Lisa Rigsbee (US ONLY)


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