Blog Tour (Guest Post): In the Land of Magnanthia by B.R. Maul

In the Land of Magnanthia Tour Schedule



Title: In the Land of Magnanthia (Portals, Passages & Pathways #1)
Author: B.R. Maul
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Tour Organizer: JKS Communications
Release Date: December 11, 2013
When a portal to another world cracks open just outside the small town of Riverside, it sets off a series of events forever changing the lives of two boys; one boy is chosen to lead a world to peace while the other one is chosen to tear it apart.

Simon Whittaker lives an ordinary teenage life until his best friend, Jessica Wells, and her family takes him on a last-minute camping trip. There, amongst towering pines, Jessica confesses a secret; her family has been watching over Simon his entire life because he is the key to another world’s salvation, and now someone has come from that world to kill him. Amidst a whirlwind of unanswered questions, doubt, and curiosity, Simon is given the Ring of Affinity and then is led through a magic portal into the land of Magnanthia.

In the faraway land that’s in the midst of a brutal war, Simon must place his life in the hands of a swordsman, ranger, cleric, and wizard sent to teach him how to wield the power in the Ring of Affinity and to help him become the next guardian of Magnanthia. The ring, Simon is told, has chosen him, a rare and honorable event. But no one knows why he was chosen.

Meanwhile, the once peaceable king of Magnanthia, King Elderten, has ordered death to Magnanthia’s nine guardians, the nine he helped to assemble and now believes is responsible for the death of his queen and the kingdom’s devastation. If he can stay alive long enough, Simon will become the first guardian of Magnanthia to be chosen by the Ring of Affinity, instead of appointed by mere men. Simon remains the only hope for those who believe the guardians are innocent.

Jak Jakobsin, another teenager from Earth, has been pulled through a portal by two of Bedlam’s demented soul seers sent to capture Simon. The soul seers were impressed with what they saw in Jak, so they offer him up to the overlord. Jak is given the ultimatum, do or die. Obsessed with his discovery of magic spells, power, and control, Jak quickly acclimates to his new environment. Bedlam’s overlord plans to use Jak, along with Bedlam’s undead army, to build a force so powerful that the great King Elderten will perish and Magnanthia will be his forever.

Guest Post

Allow me to take a moment to say, thank you. I appreciate both the time you took showing an interest in my work and the chance to say a little about Magnanthia, the magical world in Portals, Passages & Pathways book 1: In the Land of Magnanthia, on BibliophiliaPlease.com.

What’s it like?

The land of Magnanthia is an astonishing place to see…and live. I would pack my family up and move there in a heartbeat. Its mountains are majestic; its rivers and valleys are grand. The indigenous shiftwood trees can rival our skyscrapers here on Earth. And the spiritwood trees are so vibrant they almost shine. The scenery is breathtaking.

Cover Reveal (Giveaway): My Soon-To-Be Sex Life by Judith Tewes

Title: My Soon-To-Be Sex Life
Author: Judith Tewes
Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark
Cover Reveal Organizer: Blog Tours by Elana
Release Date: June 24, 2014
Charlie is down to her absolute. Total. Last. Resort.

Despite a thoroughly comprehensive list of potential cherry poppers, er…suitors, and careful plotting, Charlie is three weeks into her devirginization campaign, still untouched, and getting desperate. In the movie of her life, this aspiring screenwriter is giving herself a PG, for please, get some.

Her project goes into freeze frame when her mom checks herself into rehab and packs Charlie off to live with her estranged, or just plain strange, grandfather, Monty. How is she supposed to get a date when she has to go pick up his Depends?

Enter Eric, a hot rehab grad on the road to redemption, and the only one who can make Charlie rethink her strategy. The more she gets to know him, the more convinced she becomes that is the one, and not just another to add to the list of people who will abandon her.

In this hilarious and heartbreaking story of one girl’s detoured road to womanhood, Charlie’s list develops a life of its own – right when she realizes there’s so much more to lose.


About the Author

Waiting on Wednesday (47): The Perilous Sea by Sherry Thomas

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: The Perilous Sea (The Elemental Trilogy #2)
Author: Sherry Thomas
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
Release Date: August 26, 2014
After spending the summer away from each other, Titus and Iolanthe (still disguised as Archer Fairfax) are eager to return to Eton College to resume their training to fight the Bane. Although no longer bound to Titus by a blood oath, Iolanthe is more committed than ever to fulfilling her destiny—especially with the agents of Atlantis quickly closing in.

Soon after arriving at school, though, Titus makes a shocking discovery, one that makes him question everything he previously believed about their mission. Faced with this devastating realization, Iolanthe is forced to come to terms with her new role, while Titus must choose between following his mother's prophecies—and forging a divergent path to an unknowable future.


I loved the first in the series, The Burning Sky. The first book had a lot of overused YA fantasy tropes, but it didn't really matter as I was so engrossed in the story and characters. Plus, these covers are absolutely gorgeous. I had never read anything else by Sherry Thomas before, but her backlist is now definitely on my TBR, especially since she writes historical romance, too.

What are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Things on My Bookish Bucket List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Things on My Bookish Bucket List
1. Meet Neil Gaiman
Or at least go to one his shows/talks. I would also love to get a signed book by him.

2. Go to BEA or Other Book Conference

3. Read 304 Books This Year
Although I don’t think this one is going to happen. I’ve been a bad reader this year (I’m blaming my brand-new obsession with the t.v. show Bones), and Goodreads is telling me that I’m 15 books behind. Well, at least last year was a stellar book reading year when I read 303 books.

Review: Expiration Day by William Campbell Powell

Title: Expiration Day
Author: William Campbell Powell
Publisher: Tor Teen (Macmillan)
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date: April 22, 2014
It is the year 2049, and humanity is on the brink of extinction…

Tania Deeley has always been told that she’s a rarity: a human child in a world where most children are sophisticated androids manufactured by Oxted Corporation. When a decline in global fertility ensued, it was the creation of these near-perfect human copies called teknoids that helped to prevent the utter collapse of society.

Though she has always been aware of the existence of teknoids, it is not until her first day at The Lady Maud High School for Girls that Tania realizes that her best friend, Siân, may be one. Returning home from the summer holiday, she is shocked by how much Siân has changed. Is it possible that these changes were engineered by Oxted? And if Siân could be a teknoid, how many others in Tania’s life are not real?

Driven by the need to understand what sets teknoids apart from their human counterparts, Tania begins to seek answers. But time is running out. For everyone knows that on their eighteenth “birthdays,” teknoids must be returned to Oxted—never to be heard from again.

Told in diary format, Expiration Day is the powerful and poignant story of a young girl coming of age and discovering what it means to be truly human by a talented debut novelist.

My Review

Expiration Day is one of those books that is exceedingly difficult to review. It is such a shade of gray between good and bad, that I find it difficult to articulate my thoughts on it. Expiration Day deals with some pretty heavy issues, like what it means to be human, and it is told through Tania's diary. It is also the plausibly futuristic style of writing in science fiction that I usually love. However, I still find myself searching for words.

Review: Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen

Title: Stolen Songbird (The Malediction Trilogy #1)
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Acquired Via: Publisher
Release Date: April 1, 2014
For five centuries, a witch’s curse has bound the trolls to their city beneath the ruins of Forsaken Mountain. Time enough for their dark and nefarious magic to fade from human memory and into myth. But a prophesy has been spoken of a union with the power to set the trolls free, and when Cécile de Troyes is kidnapped and taken beneath the mountain, she learns there is far more to the myth of the trolls than she could have imagined.

Cécile has only one thing on her mind after she is brought to Trollus: escape. Only the trolls are clever, fast, and inhumanly strong. She will have to bide her time, wait for the perfect opportunity.

But something unexpected happens while she’s waiting – she begins to fall for the enigmatic troll prince to whom she has been bonded and married. She begins to make friends. And she begins to see that she may be the only hope for the half-bloods – part troll, part human creatures who are slaves to the full-blooded trolls. There is a rebellion brewing. And her prince, Tristan, the future king, is its secret leader.

As Cécile becomes involved in the intricate political games of Trollus, she becomes more than a farmer’s daughter. She becomes a princess, the hope of a people, and a witch with magic powerful enough to change Trollus forever.

My Review

You're going to want to watch your feet while reading my review of Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen because I fear my gushing may stain your shoes. You've been warned. Yes, Stolen Songbird is that good. Strange Chemistry was kind enough to send me an ARC, and I swear I'll hug anyone from that publisher whenever I meet them. Seriously. But you're not here to read about my awkwardness - you want to read about how awesome this book is.

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): Alpha Goddess by Amalie Howard

Alpha Goddess Tour Schedule



Title: Alpha Goddess
Author: Amalie Howard
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Acquired Via: JKS Communications
Release Date: March 18, 2014
In Serjana Caelum’s world, gods exist. So do goddesses. Sera knows this because she is one of them. A secret long concealed by her parents, Sera is Lakshmi reborn, the human avatar of an immortal Indian goddess rumored to control all the planes of existence. Marked by the sigils of both heaven and hell, Sera’s avatar is meant to bring balance to the mortal world, but all she creates is chaos. A chaos that Azrath, the Asura Lord of Death, hopes to use to unleash hell on earth.

Torn between reconciling her past and present, Sera must figure out how to stop Azrath before the Mortal Realm is destroyed. But trust doesn’t come easy in a world fissured by lies and betrayal. Her best friend Kyle is hiding his own dark secrets, and her mysterious new neighbor, Devendra, seems to know a lot more than he’s telling. Struggling between her opposing halves and her attraction to the boys tied to each of them, Sera must become the goddess she was meant to be, or risk failing, which means sacrificing the world she was born to protect.

My Review

I waited a long time for a book that featured some sort of Middle Eastern mythology. Alpha Goddess focuses on Hindu mythology, but there is a bit of Iranian lore that is mixed in with the story. It's not a major thing, but it was enough to make me a happy camper. Besides the wonderful mythology, there is also the typical YA love triangle, which isn't quite as exciting. However, Sera was a realistic teen who behaved like a typical kid that young readers will easily relate to.

Waiting on Wednesday (46): Midnight Thief by Livia Blackburne

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Midnight Thief (Midnight Thief #1)
Author: Livia Blackburne
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: July 8, 2014
Growing up on Forge’s streets has taught Kyra how to stretch a coin. And when that’s not enough, her uncanny ability to scale walls and bypass guards helps her take what she needs.

But when the leader of the Assassins Guild offers Kyra a lucrative job, she hesitates. She knows how to get by on her own, and she’s not sure she wants to play by his rules. But he’s persistent—and darkly attractive—and Kyra can’t quite resist his pull.

Tristam of Brancel is a young Palace knight on a mission. After his best friend is brutally murdered by Demon Riders, a clan of vicious warriors who ride bloodthirsty wildcats, Tristam vows to take them down. But as his investigation deepens, he finds his efforts thwarted by a talented thief, one who sneaks past Palace defenses with uncanny ease.

When a fateful raid throws Kyra and Tristam together, the two enemies realize that their best chance at survival—and vengeance—might be to join forces. And as their loyalties are tested to the breaking point, they learn a startling secret about Kyra’s past that threatens to reshape both their lives.

In her arresting debut novel, Livia Blackburne creates a captivating world where intrigue prowls around every corner—and danger is a way of life.


I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the prequel novella to this series. You can read my review HERE. I really liked it and am interested in continuing in this world. I'm also interesting to see the first full length novel, mostly because the author stated that the novella was darker, and the novel was more YA than the novella.

What are you waiting on this week?

Veronica Mars Exclusive App and Giveaway

If you're anything like my friends, you have been dying to see the new Veronica Mars movie that hit theaters on March 14th. This is your lucky day because you can check out the Veronica Mars blog app, the ten "Must Watch" episodes, AND enter to win a copy of the Veronica Mars Mars movie when the DVD releases in May!

About the Movie

On the eve of graduating law school, Veronica Mars has put Neptune and her amateur sleuthing days behind her. While interviewing at high-end New York law firms, Veronica Mars gets a call from her ex-boyfriend Logan who has been accused of murder. Veronica heads back to Neptune just to help Logan find an attorney, but when things don't seem right with how Logan's case is perceived and handled, Veronica finds herself being pulled back into a life she thought she had left behind.

See it In Theaters MARCH 14
Pre-order on DIGITAL HD
http://theveronicamarsmovie.com
@veronicamars
How the Film Got Made:

Following a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign that ended on April 12, 2013, Veronica Mars was shot over 23 days during June-July 2013. It will be released in selected theaters nationwide on March 14th, 2014.

Veronica Mars 10 Must Watch Episodes



Blog App


TROUBLE VIEWING APP? GO HERE
The Giveaway

Review: Salvage by Alexandra Duncan

Title: Salvage
Author: Alexandra Duncan
Publisher: Greenwillow (HarperCollins)
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date: April 1, 2014
Her life is a shadow of a life. Her future is not her own to fashion.

Her family is a tangle of secrets. She cannot read. She cannot write.

But she is Parastrata Ava, the Captain's eldest daughter, the so girl of a long-range crewe—her obligations are grave and many.

And when she makes a mistake, in a fragrant orchard of lemons, the consequences are deadly.

There are some who would say, there but for the Mercies go I.

There are some who would say Parastrata Ava is just a silly earthstruck girl who got what was coming to her.

But they don't know the half of it.

My Review

Some of the synopses (not the one I used from HarperTeen's page) for this book are misleading. You see, Salvage - Alexandra Duncan's debut - is indeed a scifi novel with a desolate-seeming future for women and humanity. It is, most assuredly, quite unlike like Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale and Beth Revis' Across the Universe. Now that those things have been stated and are (mostly) off my mind, shall we proceed? (I don't want to go on about it too much because Duncan can't help who her book is compared to, amiright?)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Spring 2014 TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten Books on My Spring 2014 TBR List



1. Ruins (Partials Sequence #3) by Dan Wells
This was released on March 11, 2014, and I used my Audible credit for this month to download the audiobook. I am so excited to finish this Dystopian series!



2. Hexed (The Witch Hunter #1) by Michelle Krys
I love reading about witches; they're probably my top fantasy characters. So, when I saw this described as The Craft meets Bring It On, I was sold. I received a review copy from NetGalley and I can't wait to get started.

Book Blast (Book Trailer & Giveaway): The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau

The new novel The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau, sends readers on a page-turning historical quest. Set in Henry VIII's England, the story is driven by plot twists, deceptions, spiritual searching and romantic tension. Readers fall in love with protagonist Joanna Stafford, a Catholic novice forced to leave her priory and find her answers. "She is strong and determined and very likable," says one blogger. "Exhilarating," says Good Housekeeping, and "The novel is riveting and provides fascinating insight into into the lives of displaced nuns and priests, with fully realized characters," says RT Book Reviews. Launching in paperback on March 18 and available in ebook too.

The Chalice
Publication Date: March 18, 2014
Touchstone Publishing
Paperback; 496p
ISBN-10: 1476708665

Series: Joanna Stafford, Book Two
Genre: Historical Mystery

Between the crown and the cross stands one woman...

IN 1538, ENGLAND is in the midst of bloody power struggles that threaten to tear the country apart. Aristocrat-turned-novice Joanna Stafford knows what lies inside the king’s torture rooms and risks imprisonment when she is caught up in an international plot targeting the king. As the power plays turn vicious, Joanna understands she may have to assume her role in a prophecy foretold by three different seers.

Joanna realizes the life of Henry VIII, as well as the future of Christendom, are in her hands—hands that must someday hold the chalice that lies at the center of these deadly prophecies...

READ AN EXCERPT HERE.
Praise for The Chalice

Book Blast (Book Trailer & Giveaway): Three Books by Deborah Swift

HF Virtual Book Tours is delighted to introduce you to historical novelist Deborah Swift! Deborah’s acclaimed novels are set in turbulent seventeenth century England and have been described as “brilliant” and “a must for all readers looking for something out of the ordinary but grippingly alive”. Her previous life as a scenographer and costume designer shine through as the settings are beautifully evoked, immersing the reader in the sights and smells of the time.

Deborah’s multi-layered and engrossing historical adventures will make perfect picks for reading groups. Reading Group Guides can be conveniently found in the back of each book and on her website.

Find more information on Deborah's novels below and enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card (£15 UK)!

The Lady's Slipper
Publication Date: June 3, 2011
Pan MacMillan
Formats: Ebook, Paperback

England, 1660.

The King is back, but memories of the English Civil War still rankle. In rural Westmorland, artist Alice Ibbetson has become captivated by the rare Lady’s Slipper orchid. She is determined to capture it’s unique beauty for posterity, even if it means stealing the flower from the land of the recently converted Quaker, Richard Wheeler. Fired by his newfound faith, the former soldier Wheeler feels bound to track down the missing orchid. Meanwhile, others are eager to lay hands on the flower, and have their own powerful motives.

Margaret Poulter, a local medicine woman, is seduced by the orchid’s mysterious herbal powers, while Geoffrey Fisk, Alice’s patron and former comrade-in-arms of Wheeler, sees the valuable plant as a way to repair his ailing fortunes and cure his own agonizing illness. Fearing that Wheeler and his friends are planning revolution, Fisk sends his son Stephen to spy on the Quakers, only for the young man to find his loyalties divided as he befriends the group he has been sent to investigate.

Then, when Alice Ibbetson is implicated in a brutal murder, she is imprisoned along with the suspected anti-royalist Wheeler. As Fisk’s sanity grows ever more precarious, and Wheeler and Alice plot their escape, a storm begins to brew, from which no party will escape unscathed. Vivid, gripping and intensely atmospheric, The Lady’s Slipper is a novel about beauty, faith and loyalty.

Praise for The Lady's Slipper

"The novel grips from the opening lines and carries the interest throughout. The several plot-lines are seamlessly blended and come together in a wholly satisfying conclusion. Her characters are so real that they linger in the mind long after the book is back on the shelf. Highly recommended." - Historical Novels Review Magazine

Blog Tour (Guest Post & Review): Alice Will by Ashley Chappell

Title: Alice Will (Dreams of Chaos #1)
Author: Ashley Chappell
Publisher: Center One Books
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
With her leaky powers and premature smiting problem, fourteen year-old Trotter was still just trying to get the hang of the demi-godding business when the apocalypse began. In a world where the gods have withdrawn from humanity, leaving mortals bitter toward magic, she finds herself torn between the human and the goddess in her. When the world begins to fade away and she becomes the prime suspect, her search to determine the cause and prove her innocence ends up revolving around a mysterious little girl named Alice. Then she discovers that not all of the gods had been as distant as they seemed...

Now, with everyone against her and the gods fighting amongst themselves, Trotter is on her own to save her world and stop a spiteful god from using Alice to destroy everything.

Book Trailer


Guest Post

Just Inching Along
Ashley Chappell
If there is one thing that social networking has done better than anything else for us writers, it’s how obsessed it’s made us over word count. How many times have we all felt good about a 500 word day just to turn on Facebook and see someone’s status update with a 5,000 word day? It makes your own hard work feel insignificant in comparison, no matter how hard you sweated over those 500 precious words. That feeling is never worse than when writer’s block hits and I had a doozy of a case just a few weeks ago.

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): The Violet Hour by Whitney A. Miller

Tour Schedule



Title: The Violet Hour
Author: Whitney A. Miller
Publisher: Flux
Acquired Via: Book Nerd Tours
Release Date: March 8, 2014
The voice inside me is breaking free. I can’t stop it.

Some call VisionCrest the pinnacle of religious enlightenment. Others call it a powerful cult. For seventeen years, Harlow Wintergreen has called it her life.

As the daughter of VisionCrest’s patriarch, Harlow is expected to be perfect at all times. She must be considered a paragon of integrity by the other Ministry teens and a future leader in the eyes of the world.

Despite the constant scrutiny Harlow is keeping a dark and dangerous secret, even from her best friend and the boy she loves. She hears a voice in her head that seems to have a mind of its own, plaguing her with violent and bloody visions. It commands her to kill. And the urge to obey is getting harder and harder to control…

Book Trailer


My Review

Do you like horror? I like horror. And let me tell you, The Violet Hour does horror well, so much so that it reminded me of why I enjoyed the genre so much in the first place. It made me cringe, squirm, and creeped me out - which is kind of the whole point, amiright?

Blog Tour (Guest Post): Houses of Common by Derick William Dalton

Title: Houses of Common
Author: Derick William Dalton
Publisher: Synaptic Labs, SP
Blog Tour Organizer: Blog Tours By Elana
Release Date: January 14, 2014
In the 22nd century, pilgrims leave Earth for the nearby planets that terraformers have crafted to meet their needs. Ranyk is a smart-mouthed alien, the best of the world-builders employed by the US government--and he always completes his risky assignments solo, pushing to the deep recesses of space for the good of colonists and to avoid his growing fame.

Until he's handed an on-planet assignment in Ireland, of all places, as an undercover international student of aquaponics. His real plan? To pull scientists and their families out of a country careening toward civil war--and off earth to a world of their own before marital-law lockdown ends their ground-breaking discoveries.

Risking his life is no novelty for Ranyk. He's been battered by asteroids, nearly incinerated in volcanoes, and has out-piloted pirates. But political espionage on Earth is more dangerous than anything he's encountered before, and he's completely ill-equipped for such delicate matters. Now he must figure out who to trust and who to eliminate, or it will mean his freedom, the safety of forty thousand desperate colonists, and the lives of his friends.

Guest Post

I was browsing this site to get a feel for the authors who post here, when a familiar face jumped out at me. A coworker from my day job is a fellow writer. As in my current I-was-just-there-yesterday day job! And neither of us knew the other had such a dark secret as writing!

(That person can out themselves in the comments if desired, but that's all the gossip you're getting from me.)

Small world, eh?

Waiting on Wednesday (45): Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Sixth Grave on the Edge (Charley Davidson #6)
Author: Darynda Jones
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Few things in life can come between a grim reaper and her coffee, but the sexy, sultry son of Satan is one of them. Now that Reyes Farrow has asked for her hand, Charley Davidson feels it's time to learn more about his past, but Reyes is reluctant to open up. When the official FBI file of his childhood abduction lands in her lap, Charley decides to go behind her mysterious beau’s back and conduct her own investigation. Because what could go wrong?

Unfortunately, another case has fallen into her lap—one with dangerous implications. Some very insistent men want Charley to hunt down a witness who is scheduled to testify against their boss, a major player in the local crime syndicate. If Charley doesn't come up with an address in 48 hours, the people closest to her will start to disappear.

Add to that a desperate man in search of the soul he lost in a card game, a dogged mother determined to find the ghost of her son, and a beautiful, young Deaf boy haunted by his new ability to see the departed as clearly as he sees the living, and Charley has her hands full. The fact that Reyes has caught on to her latest venture only adds fuel to the inferno that he is. Good thing for Charley she's used to multi-tasking and always up for a challenge…especially when that challenge comes in the form of Reyes Farrow.


All of Charley's shenanigans are highly entertaining to me. I love Charley's sarcastic silly wit, her relationship with Reyes, and all the silly bumper sticker, t-shirt sayings, etc. at the beginning of every chapter. The series reminds me of the Stephanie Plum series except there is no love triangle and it's paranormal. It's my go-to series when I want to read a less serious version of urban fantasy.

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver

Title: The Queen's Choice (Heirs of Chrior #1)
Author: Cayla Kluver
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Acquired Via: NetGalley
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.

When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.

Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined.

My Review

I loved the concept of the world in The Queen's Choice. The human world and the faerie world are divided by a “bloody road” that apparently only the fae may cross. The division between the world and the prejudices against the humans and faes was also very interesting. Some of the characteristics of the fae seemed very arbitrary (like how faeries only have magic if they have wings), but this is a fantasy novel, so I was willing to overlook it. I do wish that we would have had more of the fae world described, especially considering that the human world is hyper-described.

Top Ten Tuesday: All Time Favorite Books in the Fantasy Genre

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Top Ten All Time Favorite Books in the Fantasy Genre



1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1) by J. K. Rowling
The book/series that began my love affair with young adult fantasy.





2. Graceling (Graceling Realm #1) by Kristin Cashore
Katsa and Po are two of my favorite fantasy characters. This is the book I recommend to anyone that has the tiniest of interest in fantasy.

Blog Tour (Interview & Giveaway): Wakeworld by Kerry Schafer

Wakeworld Tour Schedule



Title: Wakeworld (The Between #2)
Author: Kerry Schafer
Publisher: Ace (Penguin)
Tour Organizer: Coffee and Characters Blog Tours
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Vivian Maylor is trying to hold it together. But her attempts to build a life with the man she loves seem doomed by the dragon inside her yearning to break free. Vivian is a dreamshifter, the last line of defense between reality and the dreamworld, and the only one of her kind.

Weston Jennings also believes he is the only one of his kind. He fears his powers as a dreamshifter, and resists learning to control them. After suffering a tragic loss, Weston heads deep into the woods of the Pacific Northwest to embrace a safe life of solitude. But when a terrible mistake leads to an innocent’s death, his guilt drives him to his former home, where he encounters what he never thought he would find: another shifter.

Now Vivian and Weston must work together to defeat a new threat to the dreamworld.

Interview

1. Please tell us a little bit about Wakeworld in your own words but with a Twitter twist – 140 characters or less.

Locked into Wakeworld by a power hungry dragon, Vivian joins forces with a rogue dreamshifter to rescue her lover and save the dream worlds

2. Where did you get the idea for the Between series?

Cover Reveal (Giveaway): Killing Ruby Rose by Jessie Humphries

Title: Killing Ruby Rose
Author: Jessie Humphries
Publisher: Skyscape
Cover Reveal Organizer: Blog Tours by Elana
Release Date: May 1, 2014
In sunny southern California, Ruby Rose is known for her killer looks and her killer SAT scores. But ever since her dad, an LAPD SWAT sergeant, died six months ago, she’s also got a few killer secrets.

To cope with her father’s death, Ruby has been trying to stay focused on school (the top spot in her class is on the line) and spending time with friends (her Jimmy Choos and Mahnolo Blahniks are nothing if not loyal), but after months of therapy and more than a few months of pathetic parenting by her mom, District Attorney Jane Rose, Ruby decides to pick up where her dad left off and starts going after the bad guys herself.

But when Ruby ends up killing a murderer in defense of another, she discovers that she’s gone from being the huntress to the hunted. There’s a sick mastermind at play, and he has Ruby in his sights. Ruby must discover who’s using her to implement twisted justice before she ends up changing Valentino red for prison orange.

With a gun named Smith, a talent for martial arts, and a boyfriend with eyes to die for, Ruby is ready to face the worst. And if a girl’s forced to kill, won’t the guilt sit more easily in a pair of Prada peep-toe pumps?

Buy Links
Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Paperback) | Book Depository


About the Author

Blog Tour (Guest Post): The Well's End by Seth Fishman

Title: The Well's End
Author: Seth Fishman
Publisher: Putnum Juvenile (Penguin)
Release Date: February 25, 2014
Half a world away, the Chinese military has a target list of ten US cities in case of war. Most are obvious (DC, NY, LA) and some a little less so (Atlanta for instance has the CDC) . . . but one is an absolute mystery: Fenton, Colorado. Unfortunately for her, sixteen-year-old Mia Kish is about to find out what makes Fenton so special when emergency sirens start blaring and ritzy Westbrook Academy is put on lockdown. No students in or out until otherwise notified. For the rich boarders whose homes are safely states away, their concerns are missed vacations and trips home, but for the handful of townies, like Mia and her friends Jo and Rob, there’s no escaping the danger.

The situation becomes dire when students and faculty are stricken with a strange illness that ages them years in a matter of hours, the end result death, seemingly from old age. No one knows what to do, but Mia and her friends are not just going to sit there while their parents might be in mortal danger. They escape the school grounds in search of a cure and answers; answers they hope to find in the sealed off mountain bunker where her father supposedly runs Fenton Tech. But along the way, they discover that the military presence is not what it seems, and that the long buried secret of Fenton is a fabled object of myth and legend that may actually exist deep within the earth below.

Guest Post

Research
Seth Fishman

Book Blast (Excerpt & Giveaway): The Frost of Springtime by Rachel L. Demeter

The Frost of Springtime Blast Schedule
The recent release of The Frost of Springtime, by debut author Rachel L. Demeter, transports readers to the war torn streets of nineteenth century Paris. Driven by paradoxical characters, steamy encounters, and a compelling storyline, it’s a bittersweet tale of revolution, redemption, and the healing power of love. Described as “poignant,” emotionally devastating,” and “beautiful,” The Frost of Springtime is sure to please historical and romance readers alike. Available now in both eBook and paperback. Currently Amazon Prime members can read the Kindle edition for free!



Title: The Frost of Springtime
Author: Rachel Demeter
Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing
Book Blast Organizer: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Release Date: February 14, 2014
To rescue her was to rescue his own soul.

On a cold Parisian night, Vicomte Aleksender de Lefèvre forges an everlasting bond with a broken girl during her darkest hour, rescuing her from a life of abuse and misery. Tormented by his own demons, he finds his first bit of solace in sheltering little Sofia Rose.

But when Aleksender is drawn away by the Franco-Prussian war, the seasons pass. And in that long year, Sofia matures into a stunning young woman—a dancer with an understanding of devotion and redemption far surpassing her age.

Alongside his closest friend, Aleksender returns home to find that “home” is gone, replaced by revolution, bloodshed, betrayal—and a love always out of reach. Scarred inside and out, he’s thrust into a world of sensuality and violence—a world in which all his hours have now grown dark, and where only Sofia might bring an end to the winter in his heart.

Inspired by the 1871 Paris Commune, The Frost of Springtime is a poignant tale of revolution, redemption, and the healing power of love.

Excerpt

Rue de la Paix was packed to its limits. The square was a perfect viewing spot for such destruction. The Vendôme Column was front and center, Napoleon’s lifeless stone features etched with blissful oblivion. Ladies hung out of their balconies and chattered amongst themselves. Days earlier, they’d coated the windows with paper and paste to help numb the shattering blow to come.

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): Dominion by C.J. Sansom

Dominion Tour Schedule



Title: The Frost of Springtime
Author: C.J. Sansom
Publisher: Mulholland Books (Hachette)
Acquired Via: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Release Date: January 28, 2014
To rescue her was to rescue his own soul.

On a cold Parisian night, Vicomte Aleksender de Lefèvre forges an everlasting bond with a broken girl during her darkest hour, rescuing her from a life of abuse and misery. Tormented by his own demons, he finds his first bit of solace in sheltering little Sofia Rose.

But when Aleksender is drawn away by the Franco-Prussian war, the seasons pass. And in that long year, Sofia matures into a stunning young woman—a dancer with an understanding of devotion and redemption far surpassing her age.

Alongside his closest friend, Aleksender returns home to find that “home” is gone, replaced by revolution, bloodshed, betrayal—and a love always out of reach. Scarred inside and out, he’s thrust into a world of sensuality and violence—a world in which all his hours have now grown dark, and where only Sofia might bring an end to the winter in his heart.

Inspired by the 1871 Paris Commune, The Frost of Springtime is a poignant tale of revolution, redemption, and the healing power of love.

Book Trailer


My Review

Dominion by C.J. Sansom is one monster of book (over 600 pages), yet its promise of an alternate history following World War II drew me in regardless. (I used to love large books before I had a child and blog.) Stephen King also says to "check it out", so how could I not read it? Despite Dominion seeming to be a book that has "Kayla" written all over it, I didn't love it.

Waiting on Wednesday (44): Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



Title: Mortal Heart (His Fair Assasin #3)
Author: Robin LaFevers
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has.


I loved Grave Mercy, and Dark Triumph may have been even better. This is one of my most anticipated releases this year. As soon as it was available for pre-order on Amazon, I did. If you like fantasy and historical fiction, you definitely need to pick up this series.

What are you waiting on this week?