Sunday 23 December 2012

Book Review (190): Waltz With A Stranger - Pamela Sherwood


Waltz with a Stranger

Publication: 4th December 2012
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pages: 448
Genre: Historical Romance
Age Appropriate: 16+
One dance would change her life forever...

A man who never expected to inherit. A woman who never expected to wed. A choice that pits their honor against their hearts.

Crippled after a riding accident, Aurelia Newbold shuns Society—until a dashing stranger draws her into a secret waltz and changes her life forever. After a year abroad, she returns home and discovers that the one man she's been dreaming of is engaged to her beloved twin sister. 

James Trelawney is not prepared for the vibrant woman who returns to London in the place of the wounded girl he took pity on—or his growing need for her. But forbidden love is not the only danger...a chilling secret reaches out from beyond the grave, threatening both Trelawney and the woman he loves.
My Thoughts...
I've long been a fan of Historical Romance books, having not read one for a long time  this was the perfect story to get right back into it, and although I pretty much guessed the ending  I still loved the story and all of the characters.
One night while at an engagement party James ventures into the conservatory to find some peace and quiet, it's there he finds a woman Aurelia, hiding away from the other guests after a horse accident which left her crippled and her face scarred, after asking her for a dance they both feel a connection but neither do anything about it.
A year later and Aurelia has returned from abroad, happier, healthier and a lot more confident than she was after the accident, after reuniting with her identical twin sister Amelia she is introduced to her sister's fiancee who happens to be none other than James the one person she was hoping to reacquaint herself with after having him constantly in her thoughts for the past year.
James has also had Aurelia in his thoughts since the night that they met, but after inheriting the title of Earl from his recently deceased cousin he needs money to repair his crumbling estate and so proposes to Amelia for her dowry, while she agrees to marry him because of his title but once Aurelia comes back into the picture that both find themselves falling in love with each other but to save hurting Amelia they keep their feelings towards each other hidden.
There is also a subplot involving the mysterious death of James' cousins death, the search for the killer and the motive.
I really liked that the pov in the story was shared between Aurelia, Amelia and James, it helped knowing what thoughts were going through the heads of these three and their complicated relationships.
This was a top notch historical romance, Pamela Sherwood is a new author to watch out for.
I look forward to reading the next book set in this world, highly recommended.
I give this 5/5.


Saturday 22 December 2012

Blog Tour: Bound - Jennifer Dean, Book Review (189).



Bound


 
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

ISBN: 9781300196211

Number of pages: 254
Word Count: 89,600


Book Description:

Once finally back in her hometown of Washington, North Carolina, seventeen year old Emma Morgan learns the simple life she knew has changed from the moment she meets the charmingly, bright-eyed Liam Alexander.

The problem?

Her brother and best friend, Sean, doesn't approve. Only the more Emma tries to avoid Liam the more she finds him in her constant company. A risk that will expose his supernatural calling and both of their hearts. But what happens when Emma learns that Sean is the real one keeping secrets....

My Thoughts...
I really liked this book, there were quite a few similarities to Twilight but as it is my favourite book series I didn't mind and I really enjoyed it.
The mystery surrounding the Alexander's and what they are had me gripped right from the start, and I never guessed at what their secret would be.

Emma has come back to her hometown after being away for four years, finally reunited with her brother Sean whom stayed behind, on her first day at school she meets Liam, before even having a proper conversation with him Sean warns her away from him with no reason why.

Add in Liam's evasiveness and Sean's  dislike for Liam and you have a story with a mystery of what is going on, throw in a couple of big twists and you have yourself  an intriguing and very entertaining story.

The characters were extremely likeable and I would definitely read a sequel if there was one as I felt that the ending was left open for that reason.

I give this 4/5.

Excerpt...

This is the end of chapter five, after a very intense scene.

Once I shut the door behind me, I felt as if the imaginary director had yelled “cut”, letting me finally involuntarily collapse to my knees. I closed my eyes, sitting on my heels with my hands resting on my thighs, slowly filtering in a shaky breath. What the hell just happened? I wanted to hear Sean’s voice to soothe me, but I didn’t have the strength to grab my phone from inside my purse, which I had thrown to the bed a moment before my collapse.

Suddenly I heard a knock at my door. Damn. I opened my eyes before my hands helped lift me back to my feet. I knew my mom would definitely question me if she found me on the floor like that. I breathed out two deep sighs in order to calm my expression before I was ready. Action, I thought.

 “Come in,” I said.

The door opened, but it wasn’t my mother. It was Sean that peeked his head through the frame gap, before stepping inside my room and shutting the door behind him. I didn’t waste the time to rush him. I wrapped my arms underneath his as I laid my head to his chest. The instant warmth of his presence lifted me to a better place.

“I thought you had to work late,” I said.

“I just got back and felt like I should stop by and see you.” I felt him gently pat the back of my hair comfortingly. “Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know how you do it,” I said.

“Do what?”

“Make yourself appear right when I need you. But I’m glad that you do.”

“It’s a gift. Now are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

I finally stepped back to look up at him. But now in the moment of truth, I knew that I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t be the reason that Sean lost his friends. But I also knew that was what Ross and Nick were hoping on, and I wasn’t keeping quiet for their sake. I have to tell him. I opened my mouth, but still nothing came out. I curled my fingers into fists, looking for the courage to speak.

“I got . . . ” This was my chance as my tongue lingered with the words. Say it. “Freaked out earlier.”

Sean narrowed his gaze with a prepared anger. “Freaked out by what?”

I gulped, not quite sure why this was so hard to say. I hadn’t even begun to wrap my head around Liam Alexander. “I forgot my purse, and when I went back for it the janitor was really creepy.” I rolled my eyes for dramatics with a small shrug. “But you know how my imagination can be.”

I sighed with the guilt weighing me down like lead. I’ll admit the janitor wasn’t going to be my friend but he didn’t deserve the persona I was building of him. I expected a lecture of any kind for being stupid enough to not bring a friend with me. I even welcomed it in order to serve as punishment for lying.

Instead Sean merely pulled his neck back to gaze at me with his brow lifted. “Are you sure that’s all?”

I nodded, maybe a little too much. It wasn’t as if he knew I was lying but more that I wasn’t telling the truth. Luckily he was choosing to ignore it, and I was grateful.

 My eyes shifted to the floor with guilt.

“I know it sounds a bit childish, but would you stay until I fall asleep?”

 “Sure,” he said.

I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to fall asleep, but I was glad Sean had stayed to do what he had always done best, protect me. Lucky for him, I would have no problem staying away from Liam Alexander now. I wasn’t even sure where to begin with Liam. My mind could barely decipher the idea of what I had seen, let alone how to articulate it into words.

There must be an explanation for it all, but for now I laid under the covers, moving to curl into Sean, with my head rested on the warmth of his chest. It was like sunshine that radiated around my body. The warmth on my skin was like that sensation of hot water from the shower on a cold day. Just being near him made me feel better.

“Sean,” I said.

“Yeah, Em?”

“I’ll stay away from Liam.”

There was a few seconds of silence where I felt like I could almost see his eyes shift away with a smile of accomplishment.

“Why now? Did something happen with him tonight?”

I shook my head, while my mind knew the opposite. “No, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I believe you. There is something strange about him.” I paused to exhale at the memory of tonight. “So, you don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

 I thought of how different things would be if Sean had seen what I did. He would surely be even more protective of me. But if he had known, then it would be something he would have already told me. Even if I knew how hypocritical I seemed by withholding what I had seen tonight.

I felt Sean’s light, comforting kiss on my scalp before he laid his head on top of my own. “Promise?”

I sighed into the warm silence crawling around the two of us.

“I promise.”




About the Author:

Jennifer lives in Dallas, Texas with her family. When not immersed in her writing, she is either engaged in a book or one of her favorite television shows.




Thursday 20 December 2012

Book Review (188): Daughter Of The Earth And Sky (Persephone #2) - Kaitlin Bevis And Guest Post


Daughter of the Earth and Sky (Persephone, #2)

Publication: 21st December 2012
Publisher: Musa Publishing
Pages: 267
Genre: Mythology
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Buy It: Amazon   Barnes And Noble
Some vows can never be broken.

Persephone thought she could go back to her normal life after returning from the Underworld. She was wrong.
The goddess Aphrodite is born among the waves with more charm than she can control. Zeus is stalking Persephone and her loved ones, and Thanatos is no longer content with Persephone’s silence.

He wants her soul.

Persephone can’t tell anyone about Thanatos’ betrayal, and it drives a wedge between her and Hades. Her mother is still keeping secrets, and Melissa’s jealousy of Aphrodite threatens to tear their friendship apart.
Alone, Persephone turns to a human boy for comfort. But will their relationship put him in danger?
Sacrifices must be made, and Persephone must choose between her human life and her responsibilities as a goddess. If she doesn’t, she could lose them both.
But will either life be worth choosing once Zeus is through with her?
My Thoughts...
OMG! Kaitlin how can you do this to me?
That ending was was so good/bad, good in the sense that it was a bloody fantastic cliffhanger and bad because well it's a cliffhanger and we have to wait till Spring 2013 to be able to find out what happens!
 This book is in my opinion definitely better than the first book Persephone, I loved it, loved it, loved it, but jeez I will not sit here and wallow in the fact that 2013 still feels like years away when you're waiting to find out how this ending will resolve itself, ok so maybe I'll wallow a little.
God how I love Hades character, and although he was in the book quite a bit, I still wanted more, I can never read too much of him and his gorgeousness, but I'm also a fan of Persephone as well and life didn't exactly go so well for her this time, in the first book she found out who she was in this one she lost herself through the interference of Zeus, Thanatos, The Reapers and even Aphrodite.
Through the oath that Persephone made to Thanatos in the previous book, she cannot tell anyone, especially Hades, about his dealings and betrayal of secretly working with Zeus to bring down Hades, knowing this secret and not being able to tell Hades drives a wedge between the two of them, Hades knows that she's hiding something from him but he can't figure out what.
Persephone is effectively alone in this book, she's not talking to her mother Demeter, her best friend/priestess Melissa or Hades, and this is what Zeus wants, and he uses it to his advantage, but can Persephone and Hades defeat Zeus?
And will Hades find out about Thanatos and his intentions before it's too late?
I cannot explain how much I loved this book, Kaitlin you've got another winner on your hands.
A fast-paced, unputdownable series that gets better with every book, definitely pick this one up.
I give this 5/5.

Guest Post...
Which authors have influenced my work? That's a tough question because I feel like everything you read plays a part in how you end up writing. But I would have to say my biggest influence is L.J Smith.

I read everything by her (written prior to the year 2000) repeatedly while I was in middle school. I've always enjoyed reading, but her books were the first books that allowed me to escape into a magical world when I was reading them. Everything else was either too far fetched or too preachy to put myself into. Through L.J Smith, I discovered the young adult genre.

Her books were set in this world (mostly) and featured typical teenagers discovering that the world around them wasn't what they thought. It was magic. Sometimes the teen themselves were or became something supernatural, but sometimes they were just normal. Well, no matter what they were they were always possessors of "unearthly beauty."

I  have no idea how much of her work influence mine, but it's there. And I'm not the only one. Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight" has several scenes that I'm pretty sure were put there to pay homage to L.J Smith's work. I know reading over her stuff now, it doesn't look like much, but here's what you have to understand, she set precedence. I'm willing to wager pretty much any urban fantasy writer that grew up in the eighties or nineties read her work because there wasn't much else out there. The young adult section didn't used to take up half the book store. There was L.J Smith, R.L Stine, Christopher Pike, and Sweet Valley Twins,  Babysitters Club, and random books by Caroline B Cooney. If I close my eyes and picture a bookstore I see that one to three shelves with those books on it.  It wasn't until I hit High School that Harry Potter came around and transformed young adult literature. Now it's half the book store and the genre is thriving!

All young adult writers owe early young adult books a debt. I know I do. They made me love reading, and planted a spark that grew into a love of writing. I never even considered writing a "grown up" book.:)

About This Author



I spent my childhood curled up with a book, and a pen. If the ending didn’t agree with me, I rewrote it. I’ve always wanted to be a writer, and I spent high school and college learning everything I could so that one day I could achieve that goal. I graduated college with my BFA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing, and am pursuing my masters at the University of Georgia.
My young adult fiction novel “Persephone,” will be released this summer. I also write for Athens Parent Magazine, and truuconfessions.com. I have also published several short stories, my latest, Siren Song, is available on amazon.com.

For up to the minute information on my future releases subscribe to my facebook or twitterpage!



Tuesday 18 December 2012

Waiting On Wednesday.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on....



Strength (Mark of Nexus #1)

Book Review (187): Indigo Awakening (The Hunted #1) - Jordan Dane


Indigo Awakening (The Hunted #1)

Publication: 18th December 2012
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 304
Genre: Paranormal
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Because of what you are, the Believers will hunt you down.

Voices told Lucas Darby to run. Voices no one else can hear. He’s warned his sister not to look for him, but Rayne refuses to let her troubled brother vanish on the streets of LA. In her desperate search, she meets Gabriel Stewart, a runaway with mysterious powers and far too many secrets. Rayne can’t explain her crazy need to trust the strange yet compelling boy—to touch him—to protect him even though he scares her.

A fanatical church secretly hunts psychic kids—gifted “Indigo” teens feared to be the next evolution of mankind—for reasons only “the Believers” know. Now Rayne’s only hope is Gabe, who is haunted by an awakening power—a force darker than either of them imagine—that could doom them all.
My Thoughts...
Just like her previous book 'On A Dark Wing' Jordan has kept me riveted to each and every page in this book
This book has been on my wishlist ever since I first heard about it and so when I was asked to review it, by the fabulous author Jordan Dane herself, well to say I was excited was an understatement!
I loved the whole concept and world-building, it was an original story to add to the paranormal genre.
Most of the characters were so likeable in this book, I say most but really the ones I don't like are the 'baddies' because  let's face it, that's why they're not particularly likeable anyway.
The main thing I loved about this story was the different feelings I felt throughout while reading it and the biggest one was this big sense of dread, I had throughout the book, I just had a feeling it wasn't going to end well at all for someone and I was right, and I cried it was just so heartbreakingly sad, and I can see why it happened but it was upsetting anyway.
Rayne gets a phone call from her sister one night to say that their brother Lucas has escaped from the 'mental hospital' he's been kept at, on the run he manages to leave a message from Rayne to tell her not to look for him, but being the sister that she is she does anyway and while on her travels to find him she meets a boy Gabriel 'Gabe'  whom has some kind of special powers as does Lucas unbeknown to Rayne, Lucas manages to find shelter with a bunch of kids as special as he is, they are called Indigo's, all gifted with different powers and the saviors if you will of mankind, the hospital Lucas was admitted to was a cover for a church organization called the Believers that want to rid the world of these children but not before experimenting on them first.
So the aim for these Indigo kids is to stay off the radar and away from the believers, and with Lucas and Gabe being recognised as Crystal kids (a higher form of Indigo's) they need to group together if they have any chance of escaping with their lives.
And of course what's a book in a series without a killer ending, I sort of had an inkling towards the end of the book, but I was still shocked to have it confirmed either way, and it's cruel because now it's the sitting and waiting for the next book that's going to try my patience.
I loved this book and I highly recommend it.
I give this 5/5.

About This Author

Avon/HarperCollins launched Jordan Dane's debut suspense novels in a back to back publishing event in Spring 2008 after buying the 3-book series in auction. Pursuing publication since 2003, Jordan had received awards in 33 national writing competitions and was an energy sales manager in the oil and gas industry prior to selling. Now she is following her passion and writes full time.
Ripped from the headlines, Jordan's gritty plots weave a tapestry of vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. She loves challenging a reader's moral barometer with the borderline ethics of her characters and their flawed personalities—dark, angst-ridden antiheroes pitted against unforgettable villains. Publishers Weekly compared her intense pacing to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag—"romantic suspense that crosses over into plain thriller country with tight plotting and exceptional male characters, both bad guys and good."

Jordan and her husband share their residence with two cats of highborn lineage and the spirit of an intelligent canine who is impossible to forget.

Monday 17 December 2012

Book Review (186): Chase Tinker And The House Of Magic (Chase Tinker Series #1) - Malia Ann Haberman


Chase Tinker and the House of Magic (The Chase Tinker Series, Book 1)

Publication: 15th August 2012
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Pages: 252
Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriate: Middle-Grade
Buy It: Amazon   Barnes And Noble
In Chase Tinker's world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination...

Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has a weird magical ability too.

Can things get any crazier? Chase thinks.

Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him for the summer so they can learn about their supernatural heritage and why they have magical powers in the first place.

The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in an out-of-this-world house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway and corridor. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them.

It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns that all their magic is controlled by a very powerful and mysterious Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy that is determined to steal all their magic, their house and their relic. 

Now Chase must find a way to stop these evil beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets and not letting on that he has a huge crush on the housekeeper's daughter.
My Thoughts...
Chase and his brother are being raised solely by their Mother after the disappearance and suspected death of their Father over a year ago.
Chase has a secret, he can move things with his mind and then he discovers that his brother Andy can freeze time.

One day they are unexpectedly visited by their long thought to be dead Grandfather, he informs them that they come from a long line of Wizards and he's there to take them to his home and to train them, but the Tinker family home just isn't your normal house, the rooms all have different magical themes to them and when a family member dies a new room appears with that persons power inside.

 And with their cousin Janie and the housekeeper's daughter Persephone (whom Chase has a crush on) they have a ton of adventures inside the amazing, never-ending house.

Of course this story wouldn't be complete without some bad guys, in this instance a group who are set on stealing the Tinker family's powers and using them for their own gain, but can the combined powers of the Tinker's help to defeat the group?

There was a big twist towards the end of the book that I didn't see coming and I thought it was extremely well done, and the end sets up well for the next book.

A great start to a new series.

I give this 3.5/5.


I love writing, reading, ballroom dancing, watching TV, chocolate, pizza, avacados, Fall, driving my car, a cozy fire on a chilly night, ladybugs, snapdragons, Christmas trees, long summer days, full moons, Seahawks football, Mariners baseball, my computer, my ipod and ferrets.

I hate onions, eight-legged freaks, bigotry, bullying, rude people, waiting in line, jogging, getting up early, fleas and the middle of winter when it gets dark at 4:30 in the afternoon.   

I keep Christmas lights up in my house year round. It know it's weird, but they're so colorful and festive. Besides, I'm sort of afraid of the dark and they make very lovely night lights. 

I never devloped wisdom teeth, but I like to think it's not because I'm not wise, I'm just more evolved. :)

I have TERRIBLE motion sickness. I can't even watch or play a video game with too much movement. It really sucks.

I don't know why, but kids and cats always really like me.

I have two awesome daughters and four wild and crazy ferrets.

I've had a lot of different jobs (cashier, ballroom dance instructor, proof operator, car salesperson, receptionist, server, bartender, AutoCAD drafter, office clerk, real estate agent, hand assembly worker, ferret-sitter), but more than anything, because I love reading so much, I've always just wanted to write 'Tween/Teen books for all the 'Tweens and Teens out there to enjoy and look forward to reading.



Cover Reveal: Racing Savannah (Hundred Oaks #4) - Miranda Kenneally


Racing Savannah (Hundred Oaks #4)

Author of CATCHING JORDAN, Miranda Kenneally’s RACING SAVANNAH, about an underprivileged girl training to be a jockey while working in the barn at a high-stakes horse farm whose on-again, off-again relationship with the owner’s son has an upstairs/downstairs effect on race day, pitched as Downton Abbey in the South.
Expected publication: December 1st 2013 by Sourcebooks Fire