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Thursday, January 30, 2014

SPARROW 59 Cover Reveal - NA Romantic Thriller

Sparrow 59
Devon Ashley
Exp. Pub.: Fall 2014


Members of the CIA’s specialized team Sparrow, who investigate specifically into black market deals involving stolen medical research, were mostly wiped out in a single night. Drew and Samantha, team five-nine, have been more than just partners since their academy training days. Safeguarding their secret tryst from everyone in their professional lives, they trust no one but themselves. But when Samantha finds herself left for dead and Drew missing, she won’t believe the truth until the CIA throws it in her face – proof that Drew is not only alive and has defected from their organization, but is facilitating the deaths of prominent research developers worldwide. Now the only member of Sparrow Drew hasn’t killed off, Samantha finds herself under serious investigation by association – and a prisoner within her own home.

Just when she’s on the verge of being labeled a traitor to the United States, Drew activates a beacon only she can see, taunting her from across the world. She knows he’s watching. She knows he’ll be gone forever if she discloses his location to anyone else. With nothing left to lose and everything to gain, she does the very thing he baits her to do – she deactivates her CIA tracker and goes rogue to track him down and clear her good name. But when she finally catches up to her partner of four years, he hasn’t a clue who he is or what he’s done, and bullets rain down on them both.

Frantic yet determined, Samantha is forced to protect Drew’s life as they backtrack his steps and learn why Sparrow is suddenly on someone's hit list. The truth may be just around the corner, but the unknown variables haunt her every move as she finds herself falling for this possible killer all over again. But is he really amnesiac and a victim himself in a much greater scheme, or is Drew pulling the ultimate ruse to finish off the last surviving member of Sparrow?

New Adult Romantic Thriller

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Monday, January 27, 2014

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe (ARC)(Giveaway)

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant (The V Trilogy, #1)
Joanna Wiebe
Pub: January 14, 2014

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant (V, #1)So many secrets for such a small island. From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the world’s wealthiest teens, the hushed truths of this strange, unfamiliar land begin calling to her—sometimes as lulling drumbeats in the night, sometimes as piercing shrieks.

One by one, unanswered questions rise. No one will tell her why a line is painted across the island or why she is forbidden to cross it. Her every move—even her performance at the school dance—is graded as part of a competition to become valedictorian, a title that brings rewards no one will talk about. And Anne discovers that the parents of her peers surrender million-dollar possessions to enroll their kids in Cania Christy, leaving her to wonder what her lowly funeral director father could have paid to get her in… and why.

As a beautiful senior struggles to help Anne make sense of this cloak-and-dagger world without breaking the rules that bind him, she must summon the courage to face the impossible truth—and change it—before she and everyone she loves is destroyed by it.


Sixth Sense meets Pretty Little Liars

Thursday, January 23, 2014

City of Bones: Book vs. Movie

City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1)
When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?
This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... 

So I tried reading City of Bones back in 2011 and was unsuccessful. In fact, I failed so badly I hardly made it past the initial club scene, which was chapter one. Why, you ask? I honestly couldn't tell you at this point. But I gave up, and it made me hesitant to watch the movie, so I waited until it had been out on DVD for awhile. Turns out I loved the movie. Who knew, right? So it made me curious enough to try the book again. So for fun, this review will be a comparison of what I liked book vs. movie, and which I think won out in the end.
 
Truer Words Have Never Been Spoken - ie. The Language.
Do You Hear The Words Coming Out Of My Mouth?
 
 photo WHATEVERTHATMEANS_zpsd10ce511.gifBOOK: One minute, they were relatable characters, the next, it was thesaurus overkill. Seriously, no fifteen year old girl talks this way. Neither would a bunch of teenage assassins who spent more time training how to kill a demon than opening a book. What were all these words?  My SAT test didn't contain vocabulary this complex. Seriously. If I wanted to kick up my vocabulary ten notches, I'd open a vocabulary book. I simply want to enjoy the book I'm reading, and a huge part of that is understanding what the hell is being said without having to run for the thesaurus. (I wish I would've marked some of these as I went through, but I didn't realize it at the time. If I have time later, I'll do some searching.)
 
MOVIE: Totally relatable and believable for teenagers. Obviously, they pulled a few from the book, but they were so few and far between that it passes right over and doesn't dampen the moment.
 
 
Ahh...That First Kiss.
 
 photo cw_zps83483b35.gifBOOK: WTF was that? Why in the hell did these two people kiss? In reality, their kiss should have been as awkward as this:

Clary's the POV we mostly get, and I'm sorry, but there was nothing going on in her inner monologue that had anything to do with thinking Jace was kiss-worthy. Sure, she asked the occasional question, like had he ever been with Isabel, but they were so left field and not even supported by thoughts of desire to warrant such a question. Seriously. Jace wasn't even on the radar until he kissed her and he fell off it again afterwards. Oh, wait... She did admit he was  good kisser after the fact. <rolls eyes> And what few times we got Jace's POV, ditto on the same problem. So I'm left wondering WHY?! At best they merely tolerate one other.

 
MOVIE: Uh...LOVED! There were moments leading up to the kiss that actually made me think these two were growing on one another. Things happened in the movie that just didn't in the book, like catching one another's gaze and holding on for a bit; Clary landing on top of Jace and the two of them again, unable to separate themselves right away; Clary regretting screwing up his first advance and silently chastising herself for it, that she literally jumps him for the second attempt. Alright, a little music to set the mood helps too, but I actually understood why the kiss was coming and smiled when it did.

The Final Smackdown
 
 photo tumblr_lisoz4zh0z1qb8zso_zpsdf7e636f.gif
MOVIE: Loved it. A so-called family collides and their not so cheery reunion becomes an intense battle to the death. Thank you, movie screenwriters, for coming up with an ending that wasn't lackluster like the book. I was happy when they rewrote the ending to Breaking Dawn to actually give it some action (LIKE A FINAL BATTLE SHOULD HAVE - DUH!) and I was happy when they did it to City of Bones. And Clary got to play a significant role in the battle. And being our main character, she should've had that role all along.
 
buffy gif photo: buffy uni sparkz0r1.gifBOOK: I'm honestly a little disappointed in this. You could argue that it's because I saw the movie first and was looking for similarities, but that's really not the case. I was underwhelmed, and quite frankly, a little bored for this to be the conclusion. The entire (*coughs) family ends up at the asylum where Valentine is staying. Jace is completely docile, and even though Clary and Luke argue valid points that Valentine is not the man he claims to be, Jace is a little too eager to take him on as his father and refuses to lift a finger against him. That poor boy needs some serious love and affection. 
 
 photo hdfgh18_zpseb048959.gif
I VOLUNTEER!
 
The only fighting was between Valentine and Luke, leaving out the main characters. So that bums me out that they didn't participate more than Jace trying to hold her back out of the way.

 photo bullshit_zpsaa1b18de.gif
And sorry, but I still don't think Jace is Valentine's son. I think it's highly possible he killed Michael Wayland and took his son to raise him in a way of screwing MW over more. What the hell he did with his real son is still up in the air for me. I'm not sure he would have been psychotic enough to kill him, but he's obviously not with his father, so I'll have to think on it a bit more. ...But I guess I'll find out soon enough as I read the rest of the books.
   
The Little Things
 
Like with any book to movie release, things have to change to cram a novel into a two hour time slot. 
  1. Hodge. Hmm. Need I really comment on either book or movie? He was a douche either way. Although it was interesting that he was cursed in the book but not the movie.
  2. Alec. Ditto on the douche part.
  3. mean girls photo: Mean Girls &#9829; meangirls3.pngIsabel I prefer in the movie because she's kickass and sassy. In the novel, quite annoying and likes to play with people, and at times I felt she was ready to have Clary sleepover just to pretend they're BFFs and paint her nails and braid her hair like a crazy high school chick.
  4. psych gif photo:  tumblr_ljptw17gZA1qd80ug.gif Alec and Isabel have parents? And they live in the Institute and raised Jace? Say what?
  5. Interesting to learn that there were only two portals nearby, and neither were in the Institute like in the movie. One was at Dorthea's and was why Clary's mother chose to live above her, and the other was at an abandoned asylum. I have to say, an asylum would've been a cool place for the final showdown, but I understand budget costs when it comes to locations.
  6. Luke went and challenged the local pack leader once Clary's mother went missing just so he could have a bunch of werewolves back his ass up? lol. That's a man worth keeping. (Part man...whatever)
  7. Jeesh. Clary has to write runes on the paper to reach in and grab the object? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of just her and her mother having that ability? Wouldn't anyone be able to do it if all it called for was writing the rune? No wonder they skipped that step in the movie. Much cooler without.
  8. Uh...Simon is turning into a vampire in the movie but not in the book? Or does this happen later in the series and they're already throwing it out there?
Sorry guys, I know it's rare, but in this instance, movie trumphs book for me. I think they took this story and made it better. What do you think?


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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Happy Release Day!!! - WAITING ON MY REASON

 
 
Paperbacks pending.
eBooks available on Kindle USUK, DE, FR, IN, IT, ES, CA, BR, JP, MX, AUKobo and Nook.

Everything happens for a reason.
I just wish I knew the why behind mine.

Five years ago, graduation wasn’t what it was supposed to be. Publicly humiliated, Melanie was more than happy to kiss off her high school sweetheart. But in doing so, she lost more than just her boyfriend, she lost the only other guy she truly cared for – his best friend, Shane.

Shane loathed the idea of returning to his small hometown. He just wanted to get in, help his best friend manage a legal matter, and get the hell back out again. But he wasn’t expecting to run into the one girl who got away, who always held a piece of his heart despite the animosity that lingered. Melanie could’ve been the one, but after everything that happened, trust was a serious issue.

She just wanted to do right by her son. He just wanted to do right by his best friend. And just when they thought they could find the strength to forgive the sins of the past, more secrets and lies bubble to the surface, threatening to push them irrevocably apart.
 
 
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Saturday, January 18, 2014

READ AND REVIEW Available For All My Books!


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Did you know you could simply ask for a review copy of one of my books? If you have a blog, post reviews on GoodReads and other sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo, or have a facebook profile dedicated to books, you qualify for a an ebook. I do have a few rules though: 
  • You can only ask for one novel at a time. If you read the first in a series and like it, once you post your review, you're more than welcome to ask for the next, and so on and so on.
  • The more sites you can post your review on or link to your review, the more virtual huggzies I'll have you!
  • Please don't ask for a review copy unless you think your review turn-around-time is less than 6-8 weeks.
  • I know it's tempting, but please don't share the ebooks with anyone. If you have a blog, you're allowed to share with your fellow blog members, but please make sure they understand not to share outside your blog contributors. We indies work hard to bring you these stories and it only takes one person to illegally upload our books to unauthorized sites and pass them around for free. I promise you I'm not rich, nor do I make a lot of money off these books to begin with. I only charge $2.99 for full length novels and $1.25 for novellas, and the three platforms I sell from always take their cut for hosting it. Also, I have a way of identifying each novel as it goes out with something placed randomly within the novel itself, and should it go public, I'll know right away who it was initially gifted to, and I'll have to add you to the blacklist. :(
If you're good to go with the rules, scan the books below to see which you'd like to read and review first. To learn more about each of the novels, select the series title on the upper left hand side bar. Once you've chosen, head over to my official Request a Review Copy page to sign up!

    Thursday, January 16, 2014

    A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey (ARC)

    A Breath of Frost (The Lovegrove Legacy #1)
    Alyxandra Harvey
    Pub.: January 7, 2014

    A Breath of Frost (The Lovegrove Legacy, #1)In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld.

    Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies.

    Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away?
     

    Lordy. Where to begin? A Breath of Frost begins with three cousins attending a party in historical society. Emma's mother had long gone mad, and found comfort pocketing an old perfume bottle of hers, which accidentally gets broken and unleashes a massive spell that was binding not only Emma's powers, but that of her two cousins. But apparently, it also opens several gateways to the Underworld that change locations every day, and out with them came the Greymalkin sisters, another trio of powerful witches who had already been banished by the Order. And with them come several witch deaths that Emma is drawn to - which is bad luck, because now the Order believes she's the one responsible for offing them so the Greymalkin sisters can steal their powers. The only way to get them temporarily off her back is to board at a finishing school for young witches, and to work with her cousins, a Madcap named Moira and her on-and-off love interest Cormack to figure out who is really behind the attack, and stop it before the Order permanently removes Emma as a threat to society.
     

    Tuesday, January 14, 2014

    Waiting on my Reason - Take a Peek at the First Chapter! / Giveaway (INT)

     
    Release Date: January 21st, 2014
    New Adult Romantic Suspense
    Note: Language and Sexual Content
     
    She loves him. He loves her. But sometimes love just isn't that easy...
     
    Things always happen for a reason.
    I just wish I knew the why behind mine.
    Five years ago, graduation wasn’t what it was supposed to be. Publicly humiliated, Melanie was more than happy to kiss off her high school sweetheart. But in doing so, she lost more than just her boyfriend, she lost the only other guy she truly cared for – his best friend, Shane.
    Shane loathed the idea of returning to his small hometown. He just wanted to get in, help his best friend manage a legal matter, and get the hell back out again. But he wasn’t expecting to run into the one girl who got away, who always held a piece of his heart despite the animosity that lingered. Melanie could’ve been the one, but after everything that happened, trust was a serious issue.
    She just wanted to do right by her son. He just wanted to do right by his best friend. And just when they thought they could find the strength to forgive the sins of the past, more secrets and lies bubble to the surface, threatening to push them irrevocably apart.
    
     
    Guess I knew what my social identifier would be for the rest of my life. Amazing how one little picture could define your high school career. Like nothing ever happened during those four years to contradict that one moment in time, that people would suddenly look at you like you sprouted warts and aimed to shun you for the rest of your life.
         One. Little. Picture.

    Thursday, January 9, 2014

    Unhinged by A.G. Howard (ARC)

    Unhinged (Splintered #2)
    A.G. Howard
    Pub.: January 7, 2014

    Unhinged (Splintered, #2)Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

    That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

    As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

    If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

    See my review of Splintered (Book #1) here.

    Sunday, January 5, 2014

    Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill (ARC)

    Being Sloane Jacobs
    Lauren Morrill
    Exp. Pub.: January 7, 2014

    Being Sloane JacobsMeet Sloane Emily Jacobs: a seriously stressed-out figure-skater from Washington, D.C., who choked during junior nationals and isn’t sure she’s ready for a comeback. What she does know is that she’d give anything to escape the mass of misery that is her life.

    Now meet Sloane Devon Jacobs, a spunky ice hockey player from Philly who’s been suspended from her team for too many aggressive hip checks. Her punishment? Hockey camp, now, when she’s playing the worst she’s ever played. If she messes up? Her life will be over.

    When the two Sloanes meet by chance in Montreal and decide to trade places for the summer, each girl thinks she’s the lucky one: no strangers to judge or laugh at Sloane Emily, no scouts expecting Sloane Devon to be a hero. But it didn’t occur to Sloane E. that while avoiding sequins and axels she might meet a hockey hottie—and Sloane D. never expected to run into a familiar (and very good-looking) face from home. It’s not long before the Sloanes discover that convincing people you’re someone else might be more difficult than being yourself
     .

    One Sloane Jacobs is having trouble landing her triple spin, another Sloane Jacobs is having trouble shooting the puck. Both are having personal problems and neither are fond of going to Montreal for a month long camp in their respective sports. So when they literally bump into one another at the hotel, it occurs to them that they could each take a break from their lives for a bit. Sure, they'd have to pick up a new sport rather quickly, but neither of them want to face their real issues at the moment.