Thursday, April 30, 2015

Blog Tour (Review): The Deepest Poison by Beth Cato (ARC) #giveaway #steampunk @MyShelfAndI

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The Deepest Poison Tour Schedule
Official Blog Tour
Hosted by MMSAI Tours
April 20th – 24th & April 27th – May 1st




Title: The Deepest Poison (Clockwork Dagger Duology #0.5)
Author:
Beth Cato
Publisher: Harper Voyager (HarperCollins)
Blog Tour Organizer: MMSAI Tours
Release Date: April 28, 2015 Acquired Via:
Publisher

Octavia Leander, a young healer with incredible powers, has found her place among Miss Percival's medicians-in-training. Called to the frontlines of a never-ending war between Caskentia and the immoral Wasters, the two women must uncover the source of a devastating illness that is killing thousands of soldiers. But when Octavia's natural talents far outshine her teacher's, jealousy threatens to destroy their relationship—as time runs out to save the encampment.

Fans of Beth Cato's debut, The Clockwork Dagger, will love this journey into Octavia's past—as well as an exclusive excerpt from the sequel, The Clockwork Crown!


My Review

The Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato is not a book that I've read, but it's been hanging out on the old TBR (to be read) list since before it came out. When the opportunity came to read and review The Deepest Poison, I knew this would be a great opportunity to get a taste for Cato's writing style and worldbuilding. I was not disappointed.

Cover Reveal: After She's Gone by Lisa Jackson

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Title: After She's Gone
Author:
Lisa Jackson
Publisher: Kensington
Cover Reveal Organizer: Pump Up Your Book!
Release Date: December 29, 2015

In this explosive new thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson delves into the deep bond between two sisters and their shared dream that becomes a harrowing nightmare of madness, hatred and jealousy...

Cassie Kramer and her younger sister, Allie, learned the hazards of fame long ago. Together, they’d survived the horror of a crazed fan who nearly killed their mother, former Hollywood actress Jenna Hughes. Still, Cassie moved to L.A., urging Allie to follow. As a team, they’d take the town by storm. But Allie, finally free of small-town Oregon, and just that little bit more beautiful, also proved to be more talented—and driven. Where Cassie got bit parts, Allie rose to stardom. But now her body double has been shot on the set of her latest movie—and Allie is missing.

Police discover that the last call to Allie’s phone came from Cassie, though she has no recollection of making it. Instead of looking like a concerned relative, Cassie is starting to look like a suspect—the jealous sister who finally grew sick of playing a supporting role. As the tabloids go into a frenzy, Cassie ends up on a Portland psych ward. Is she just imagining the sinister figure who comes to her bedside, whispering about Allie—a visitor of whom there is no record? Is someone trying to help—or drive her mad?

Convinced she’s the only one who can find Allie, Cassie checks herself out of the hospital. But a sudden slew of macabre murders— each victim masked with a likeness of a member of Cassie’s family—makes Cassie fear for her safety and her sanity. The only way to end the nightmare is to find out what really happened to Allie. And with each discovery, Cassie realizes that no one can be trusted to keep her safe—least of all herself...


Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo



About the Author

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Review: Becoming Jinn by Lori Goldstein (ARC) @FierceReads @loriagoldstein #yalit

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Title: Becoming Jinn (Becoming Jinn #1)
Author:
Lori Goldstein
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillian)
Release Date: April 21, 2015
Acquired Via:
Publisher

Forget everything you thought you knew about genies!

Azra has just turned sixteen, and overnight her body lengthens, her olive skin deepens, and her eyes glisten gold thanks to the brand-new silver bangle that locks around her wrist. As she always knew it would, her Jinn ancestry brings not just magical powers but the reality of a life of servitude, as her wish granting is controlled by a remote ruling class of Jinn known as the Afrit.

To the humans she lives among, she’s just the girl working at the snack bar at the beach, navigating the fryer and her first crush. But behind closed doors, she’s learning how to harness her powers and fulfill the obligations of her destiny.

Mentored by her mother and her Zar “sisters”, Azra discovers she may not be quite like the rest of her circle of female Jinn . . . and that her powers could endanger them all. As Azra uncovers the darker world of becoming Jinn, she realizes when genies and wishes are involved, there’s always a trick.


My Review

Once a Jinn becomes 16, she gets a bracelet which activates her powers and also allows her to grant one wish to each human. The wish granting and the Jinn world are ruled by the Afrit, and Azra believes that they are unfair jailers.

Azra is struggling with becoming a Jinn because she only sees the negative and feels like it equals a lifetime of slavery. She doesn't understand why the male Jinn are not allowed to travel to Earth. I really liked Azra, but I also empathized with her. I can see that she could be incredibly frustrating for other readers. I understood Azra, because I hate being told what I can and cannot do. I also would balk about having my future decided for me and my decisions limited by a ruling class.

Waiting on Wednesday (104): Last First Snow by Max Gladstone

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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: Last First Snow (Craft Sequence #4)
Author:
Max Gladstone
Publisher: Tor Books (Macmillan)
Release Date: July 14, 2015

Forty years after the God Wars, Dresediel Lex bears the scars of liberation—especially in the Skittersill, a poor district still bound by the fallen gods' decaying edicts. As long as the gods' wards last, they strangle development; when they fail, demons will be loosed upon the city. The King in Red hires Elayne Kevarian of the Craft firm Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao to fix the wards, but the Skittersill's people have their own ideas. A protest rises against Elayne's work, led by Temoc, a warrior-priest turned community organizer who wants to build a peaceful future for his city, his wife, and his young son.

As Elayne drags Temoc and the King in Red to the bargaining table, old wounds reopen, old gods stir in their graves, civil blood breaks to new mutiny, and profiteers circle in the desert sky. Elayne and Temoc must fight conspiracy, dark magic, and their own demons to save the peace—or failing that, to save as many people as they can.



Three Parts Dead was one of my favorite finds from last year, and although I wasn't equally as in love with the sequel, I'm still looking forward to continuing in the series. I still need to read the the third in the series, Full Fathom Five, but that will just get me more excited for this one!

What are you waiting on this week?

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Release Day Blitz: Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir #giveaway #yalit @sabaatahir

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I am so excited that An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir releases today and that I get to share the news, along with a special introduction from Sabaa herself!

If you haven’t yet heard about this wonderful book by Author Sabaa Tahir, be sure to check out all the details below.


This blitz also includes a giveaway for a signed copies of the book and some of those awesome sword letter openers we’ve seen around courtesy of Sabaa, Penguin Teen, and Rockstar Book Tours. So if you’d like a chance to win, enter in the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this post.

Letter from Sabaa Tahir

Dear Readers,

Today, my “baby” An Ember in the Ashes is finally out in the world! From inception to pub date, this journey took eight years. And what a journey it was: writing, rewriting, revising, editing, querying, submitting; Meeting other debuts, bloggers, booksellers and librarians, and hearing their thoughts on EMBER. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe the radness.

And now, the book is here! I am so excited to see it in the hands of readers. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. To celebrate release day, I’m giving away two signed, first-edition hardcovers of the book. Details below!

All my best,

Sabaa



Title: An Ember in the Ashes
Author:
Sabaa Tahir
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Blitz Organizer: Rockstar Book Tours

Set in a terrifyingly brutal Rome-like world, An Ember in the Ashes is an epic fantasy debut about an orphan fighting for her family and a soldier fighting for his freedom. It’s a story that’s literally burning to be told.

LAIA is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire’s greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

ELIAS is the academy’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias is considering deserting the military, but before he can, he’s ordered to participate in a ruthless contest to choose the next Martial emperor.

When Laia and Elias’s paths cross at the academy, they find that their destinies are more intertwined than either could have imagined and that their choices will change the future of the empire itself.


Book Trailer


Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks





About the Author

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Which Feature Characters Who Are Talking Animals

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

Top Ten Books Which Feature Characters Who Are Talking Animals



1. Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne - Oberon

Oberon is the main character, Atticus', Irish wolfhound. They have a psychic bond, so they're able to speak to one another through their minds. Their banter is hilarious, but Oberon is probably the very best thing about the entire series. Sausage anyone?





2. His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman - Pantalaiman

I mean, who doesn't want a daemon after reading these books? Pantalaiman was a saucy little critter, and I think I may need to reread these books now.



Monday, April 27, 2015

Release Day Blitz: Wash Me Away by Wendy Owens #yalit @WendyLOwens @MarkMyWordsPR

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Title: Wash Me Away
Author:
Wendy Owens
Publisher: Self
Tour Organizer: Mark My Words Publicity
Release Date: April 27, 2015

Monsters have a way of following you.

Immersed in a new world at boarding school, Addy Buckley learns she’s not the only one with secrets. While trying to navigate the minefield of painful lies that seem to be rattling around her family’s past, she meets soft on the eyes and heavy on the heart, Napoleon Blake.

When faced with the darkness, Addy must decide to cling to her new life and friends or let the monster carry her away. The choice is hers, sink or swim.


Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Smashwords





About the Author

Friday, April 24, 2015

Blog Tour (Review & #Giveaway): The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver (ARC) @FierceReads @tleaver

1 comment:

The Secrets We Keep Tour Schedule



Title: The Secrets We Keep
Author:
Trisha Leaver
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Macmillan)
Blog Tour Organizer: MMSAI Tours
Release Date: April 28, 2015 Acquired Via:
Publisher

A girl takes over her twin sister's identity in this emotionally charged page-turner about the complicated bond between sisters.

Ella and Maddy Lawton are identical twins. Ella has spent her high school years living in popular Maddy's shadows, but she has never been envious of Maddy. In fact, she's chosen the quiet, safe confines of her sketchbook over the constant battle for attention that has defined Maddy's world.

When—after a heated argument—Maddy and Ella get into a tragic accident that leaves her sister dead, Ella wakes up in the hospital surrounded by loved ones who believe she is Maddy. Feeling responsible for Maddy's death and everyone's grief, Ella makes a split-second decision to pretend to be Maddy. Soon, Ella realizes that Maddy's life was full of secrets. Caught in a web of lies, Ella is faced with two options—confess her deception or live her sister's life.


Praise for The Secrets We Keep

"Trisha Leaver crafts a powerful and haunting novel that will keep you up long after you read the last page. Full of twists and turns and FEELS, this book questions how far a person will go for her family . . . even if it means losing herself." - Lynne Matson, author of NIL

Haunting and beautiful, The Secrets We Keep, is a gripping, evocative examination of siblings' complex relationships. It compels us to question what we know, or think we know, about our loved ones and--most of all--ourselves. - Karen Rock, award-winning YA author and co-writer of the bestselling Camp Boyfriend series

My Review

I have no idea why I decided to review The Secrets We Keep by Trisha Leaver because I have a problem with switcheroos in a novel. However, I'm so glad that I did because there is nothing better than a good cry while reading a well-written book. Do not be disheartened by that, my lovelies, if you don't like "sad" books - there was also smiling through the tears.

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Review: Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier (ARC)

2 comments:


Title: Dream a Little Dream (The Silver Trilogy #1)
Author:
Kerstin Gier & Anthea Bell (Trans.)
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. BYR (Macmillian)
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Acquired Via:
Publisher

Mysterious doors with lizard-head knobs. Talking stone statues. A crazy girl with a hatchet. Yes, Liv’s dreams have been pretty weird lately. Especially the one where she’s in a graveyard at night, watching four boys conduct dark magic rituals.

The strangest part is that Liv recognizes the boys in her dream. They’re classmates from her new school in London, the school where she’s starting over because her mom has moved them to a new country (again). But what's really scaring Liv is that the dream boys seem to know things about her in real life, things they couldn't possibly know—unless they actually are in her dreams? Luckily, Liv never could resist a good mystery, and all four of those boys are pretty cute....


My Review

You can read Kayla's review HERE.

I read Gier's first trilogy The Ruby Red Trilogy and really enjoyed it. Considering I'm not generally a time-travel fiction fan, this was quite a feat. Gwyneth from Ruby Red was just so spunky and had such a silly, witty humor I had to smile while listening. Liv from Dream a Little Dream has the same spunk and humor so I just knew that I was going to enjoy it just as much. And if I had to wrap up the entire book into one word it would be "cute". In fact, in my two pages of notes on the book, I called it "cute" 6 times. I need a thesaurus apparently.

I do wonder if the slightly British humor is due to Gier's writing or Anthea Bell's translation, however. Bell translates both The Ruby Red Trilogy and Dream a Little Dream so either is possible. Either way, I want to be best friends with both of them. I did miss the narrator from The Ruby Red Trilogy, because her crisp British accent just added to my overall enjoyment of the story.

Regardless, I smiled throughout pretty much the entire book. I loved Liv's snark in her head like calling one of the gorgeous boys in school "Shaving Fun Ken." I did roll my eyes a few times about how much of an inquisitive idiot Liv was, but it advanced the cute story (See? I can't help myself). I giggled about how stubborn Liv was in refusing to believe in the supernatural. She's also a little more pragmatic than the normal YA heroine, because she and her sister both refuse to reduced to ninnies at the sight of a cute boy.

There is a little bit of a meandering plot that doesn't really go anywhere until the end. But I was so amused by Liv's humor and all the happenings in her family, I really didn't care. I was a little leery of the "Gossip Girl" type gossip blog at the beginning, but it worked its way into the story without feeling too much like a clone.

If you want a light and cute YA read with some British humor then pick Dream a Little Dream up. I'll definitely be picking up anything Gier writes and Bell translates in the future.

- 3.5/5 Stars -

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Fishpond | Google Play | IndieBound



To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance copy of the book for reviewing purposes through the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way affected the outcome of my review.

Waiting on Wednesday (103): Blood of the Earth by Faith Hunter

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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: Blood of the Earth (Soulwood #1)
Author:
Faith Hunter
Publisher: Roc (Penguin)
Release Date: October 6, 2015

When Nell Ingram met skinwalker Jane Yellowrock, she was almost alone in the world, exiled by both choice and fear from the cult she was raised in, defending herself with the magic she drew from her deep connection to the forest that surrounds her.

Now, Jane has referred Nell to PsyLED, a Homeland Security agency policing paranormals, and agent Rick LaFleur has shown up at Nell’s doorstep. His appearance forces her out of her isolated life into an investigation that leads to the vampire Blood Master of Nashville.

Nell has a team—and a mission. But to find the Master’s kidnapped vassal, Nell and the PsyLED team will be forced to go deep into the heart of the very cult Nell fears, infiltrating the cult and a humans-only terrorist group before time runs out



The Jane Yellowrock series is one of my favorite urban fantasy series, so I did a little happy dance when I found out that Faith Hunter was writing a spin-off series. And, we get two Jane Yellowrock universe books in one year! The only thing I'm kind of leery about is the seeming focus that Rick LaFleur might be a love interest. I'm not a Rick LaFleur fan, but maybe it will be different when he's not Jane's love interest.

What are you waiting on this week?

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Blog Tour (Guest Post & #Giveaway): Desert Rising by Kelley Grant #PUYB @HarperVoyagerUS @PumpUpYourBook

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Desert Rising Tour Schedule



Title: Desert Rising
Author:
Kelley Grant
Publisher: Harper Voyager Impulse (HarperCollins)
Release Date: April 21, 2015

“It frightens me, knowing the One has called up two such strong individuals. It means that there are troubled times in our future, and you must prepare yourselves.”

The Temple at Illian is the crown jewel of life in the Northern Territory. There, pledges are paired with feli, the giant sacred cats of the One god, and are instructed to serve the One’s four capricious deities. Yet Sulis, a young woman from the Southern Desert, has a different perspective – one that just might be considered heresy...

Sulis’s twin Kadar, meanwhile, is part of a different revolution. When Kadar falls in love with a woman from a Forsaken caste, he finds he’s willing to risk anything to get her people to freedom. But with Sulis drawing a dangerous level of attention from the deities, and war about to break out on two fronts, change may not come as easily as either twin had hoped.

An astonishing debut, Kelley Grant brings to life a powerful new epic fantasy tale of determination and self-discovery.


Guest Post

Writing Advice
Kelley Grant

I think the most common advice given to new writers is “write what you know.” Common advice, and frustrating to a budding fantasy or science fiction writer. I’m writing about dragons, or spaceships that haven’t been invented yet. How can I write what I know, when what I’m writing doesn’t exist? And why does it matter? Shouldn’t a writer be free to let her imagination wander?

Monday, April 20, 2015

Blog Tour (Review): The Dream Lover by Elizabeth Berg

1 comment:


Title: The Dream Lover
Author:
Elizabeth Berg
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours

New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg has written a lush historical novel based on the sensuous Parisian life of the nineteenth-century writer George Sand—which is perfect for readers of Nancy Horan and Elizabeth Gilbert.

At the beginning of this powerful novel, we meet Aurore Dupin as she is leaving her estranged husband, a loveless marriage, and her family’s estate in the French countryside to start a new life in Paris. There, she gives herself a new name—George Sand—and pursues her dream of becoming a writer, embracing an unconventional and even scandalous lifestyle.

Paris in the nineteenth century comes vividly alive, illuminated by the story of the loves, passions, and fierce struggles of a woman who defied the confines of society. Sand’s many lovers and friends include Frédéric Chopin, Gustave Flaubert, Franz Liszt, Eugène Delacroix, Victor Hugo, Marie Dorval, and Alfred de Musset. As Sand welcomes fame and friendship, she fights to overcome heartbreak and prejudice, failure and loss. Though considered the most gifted genius of her time, she works to reconcile the pain of her childhood, of disturbing relationships with her mother and daughter, and of her intimacies with women and men. Will the life she longs for always be just out of reach—a dream?

Brilliantly written in luminous prose, and with remarkable insights into the heart and mind of a literary force, The Dream Lover tells the unforgettable story of a courageous, irresistible woman.


Praise

“In her masterly new novel, Elizabeth Berg inhabits the adventurous heart of George Sand, making sense of a puzzling legend who dared to live and write against the grain.” — Nancy Horan

The Dream Lover—what a bold, insightful, and enticing novel. And how vigorously Elizabeth Berg brings us the iconoclastic life of George Sand. Berg writes with such intimacy and compassion that I think she must have some shared ancestral DNA with Sand. I savored every page.” — Frances Mayes

“What a rich, heartbreaking, triumphant novel Elizabeth Berg has written! I recommend reading it with a highlighter in hand to mark the insights about love and life and being a woman that are on every page so you can reread and savor them.” — Ann Hood

The Dream Lover is a historical novel at once expansively researched yet intimately imagined. George Sand may be the ultimate Berg heroine. ‘A life not lived in truth,’ Berg writes, ‘is a life forfeited.’ In this latest work, Elizabeth Berg has poured her own great gifts and her own great heart into the story of a woman determined to refuse any such forfeiture, no matter the cost.” — Leah Hager Cohen

The Dream Lover is the dream match of writer to subject, Elizabeth Berg animating George Sand so vividly that you feel the Frenchwoman speaking directly to you. Infamous for her eccentricities and her passions, Sand is shown to be a touching figure, a woman needing to love and be loved.” — Robin Black

My Review

Before being given the opportunity to review The Dream Lover, I didn't really know that much about George Sand. I'm so glad I read this novel, because George Sand was an extraordinary woman and a much needed voice in her time and ours.

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Audiobook Review: Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

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Title: Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas #1)
Author:
Charlaine Harris
Narrator: Susan Bennett
Publisher: Ace (Penguin)
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Acquired Via:
Personal Collection

From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale—populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s how the locals prefer it...

Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.

There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).

Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth...


My Review

I'm a bit of a book snob, in case you're new to the blog or haven't picked up on that yet. Though I loved both the Aurora Teagarden and Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris, the Southern Vampire Mysteries aka the "Sookie Stackhouse" books, left a bad taste in my mouth. It made me hesitant to pick up Midnight Crossroad though I've had a shiny, new hardcover sitting on my nightstand pile since its release day last year. And now that I've read it, I completely understand Tom Cruise's couch-jumping, and I'm hungry for more!

Friday, April 17, 2015

Review: Illusionarium by Heather Dixon (ARC)

1 comment:


Title: Illusionarium
Author:
Heather Dixon
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins)
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours

Far, far north, in the cold aerial city of Fata Morgana, apprentice scientist Jonathan is preparing to leave for university.

He doesn't know about fantillium, the newly discovered chemical that allows people to share hallucinations—sometimes wondrous ones, sometimes appalling.

He doesn't know he holds the rare skill to control the hallucinations—to become an illusionist.

He doesn't know that fantillium can also open gateways to parallel worlds. Or that he will soon begin an epic journey, crossing cities and worlds, to save his family, his friends, and his very reality.

He doesn't know any of that... yet.

And when he does, will his compass continue to point true north? Or will it break apart?


My Review

Illusionarium is a tricky book for me to review. While it is fast-paced and stands apart from the typical YA novel (hello there, non-badass male protagonist!), I had a hard time getting into the book. Why, you ask? Was it quirky? Yes. Was the science steampunkery making sense? To me, sure! Did you connect with Jonathan or detest the evil Queen Honoria? Well, not really.

Blog Tour (Review): The Witch of Painted Sorrows by @MJRose

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The Witch of Painted Sorrows Tour Schedule

Welcome to my stop on international-bestselling author M.J. Rose's virtual tour for The Witch of Painted Sorrows that is running from February 16th – April 30th.



Title: The Witch of Painted Sorrows (The Daughters of La Lune #1)
Author:
M.J. Rose
Publisher: Atria Books (Simon & Schuster)
Acquired Via: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours
Release Date: March 17, 2015

Possession. Power. Passion. New York Times bestselling novelist M. J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris.

Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother’s Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires.

Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten—her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s become possessed by La Lune: A witch, a legend, and a sixteenth-century courtesan, who opens up her life to a darkness that may become a gift or a curse.

This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul,” her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love, and witchery.


READ AN EXCERPT.

Praise for The Witch of Painted Sorrows

“Rose’s new series offers her specialty, a unique and captivating supernatural angle, set in an intriguing belle epoque Paris—a perfect match for the author’s lush descriptions, intricate plot and mesmerizing storytelling. A cliffhanger ending will leave readers hungry for the next volume. Sensual, evocative, mysterious and haunting.” Kirkus Reviews

“A haunting tale of possession.” Publishers Weekly

My Review

M.J. Rose is one of the first authors that I ever reviewed as a blogger, so when I got the opportunity to read and review The Witch of Painted Sorrows, I was very excited. The Witch of Painted Sorrows is almost as good as what I've read in Rose's Reincarnationist series. I mean, we can all agree that Rose writes some beautiful stuff, right? Right.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Blog Tour (Guest Post & #Giveaway): Dream a Little Dream by Kerstin Gier

2 comments:

Today on the blog, I'm a part of the Dream a Little Dream blog tour for Mac Teen Books. I'm so excited to share with you a guest post from Kerstin Gier and a giveaway provided by our friends at Macmillan! I hope you enjoy reading her guest post as much as I did!



Title: Dream a Little Dream (The Silver Trilogy #1)
Author:
Kerstin Gier & Anthea Bell (Trans.)
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. BYR (Macmillian)
Release Date: April 14, 2015

Mysterious doors with lizard-head knobs. Talking stone statues. A crazy girl with a hatchet. Yes, Liv’s dreams have been pretty weird lately. Especially the one where she’s in a graveyard at night, watching four boys conduct dark magic rituals.

The strangest part is that Liv recognizes the boys in her dream. They’re classmates from her new school in London, the school where she’s starting over because her mom has moved them to a new country (again). But what's really scaring Liv is that the dream boys seem to know things about her in real life, things they couldn't possibly know—unless they actually are in her dreams? Luckily, Liv never could resist a good mystery, and all four of those boys are pretty cute...


Guest Post

On Dreams
Kerstin Gier

I’ve always been fascinated by dreams. I’m convinced that in our dreams we not only process what we have experienced during the day, but that we also make a mystical connection to another world, to the depths of our souls and to the secrets hidden from us when we are awake. This is extremely fascinating for the storyteller in me, and also because I love secrets more than anything else!

Release Day Blitz: The Weight of a Wing by Ioana Visan #Giveaway

1 comment:


Title: The Weight of a Wing (The Stolen Wings #1)
Author:
Ioana Visan
Publisher: Self
Release Date: April 16, 2015

Alise has achieved the impossible. After her wings were chopped off, the fairy survived and now finds herself in the human world, once again hunted like prey by the sadistic Gorem.

Locating him with her help means that the two Guardians of Balance, Rafe and Vale, will not only be able to turn him in and make him pay for maiming her, but make him accountable for the deaths of other fairies as well.

Gorem has plans of his own for the rogue fairy. With the help of a wizard, Fabian, and an army of monsters by his side, Gorem will stop at nothing to recapture Alise.

With already so much on the line, Alise not only has to keep herself safe from harm, but will also have to protect her new human friend, Cassie, in the process.

Who will win the battle of good versus evil? Is capturing Gorem worth risking what remains of Alise's life?


Buy Links
Amazon $.99 | Free on Kindle Unlimited

About the Author

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Blog Tour (Excerpt): Masks and Mirrors by Sue Duff

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Title: Masks and Mirrors (The Weir Chronicles #2)
Author:
Sue Duff
Publisher: Crosswinds Publishing
Tour Organizer: Roger Charlie
Release Date: April 2, 2015

Ian Black’s commitment to safeguarding Earth has come at a price. His career as an illusionist is at a standstill and attending to the planet’s needs has distanced him from his best friend, his guardians, and the woman he loves. When presented with an opportunity to perform, Ian seizes the chance. But moments before he takes the stage, Ian encounters the mysterious Jaered and a rebel force fighting to protect Earth alongside the Weir.

Jaered is determined to stop a malevolent Weir from releasing a drug capable of wiping out the last vestiges of their race and plunging Earth into self-destruction. But when Jaered is willing to sacrifice an innocent child to obtain the drug for himself, Ian risks everything to uncover the secrets of the rebel forces and their true intentions for Earth’s survival.


Excerpt

A scream from beyond the glass. Jaered stepped toward the window, aghast at the test subject’s transformation. The center of the man’s chest glowed crimson, bright enough to be seen through his shirt. Heated fumes emanated from every pore of his translucent skin. He pressed his head back and his mouth opened, releasing flames into the air. The man’s core burned him alive from the inside out.

Waiting on Wednesday (102): White Hot by Ilona Andrews

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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: White Hot (Hidden Legacy #2)
Author:
Ilona Andrews
Publisher: Avon (HarperCollins)
Release Date: October 27, 2015

Nevada Baylor has a unique and secret skill—she knows when people are lying—and she's used that magic (along with plain, hard work) to keep her colorful and close-knit family's detective agency afloat. But her new case pits her against the shadowy forces that almost destroyed the city of Houston once before, bringing Nevada back into contact with Connor "Mad" Rogan.

Rogan is a billionaire Prime—the highest rank of magic user—and as unreadable as ever, despite Nevada's "talent." But there's no hiding the sparks between them. Now that the stakes are even higher, both professionally and personally, and their foes are unimaginably powerful, Rogan and Nevada will find that nothing burns like ice...



Another Ilona Andrews book! Two books within 3 months! I might go out of my fangirl mind! Seriously though, I haven't read an Ilona Andrews book I haven't adored, so I can't wait to read the newest in their paranormal romance/urban fantasy series. Don't let the awful cover fool you if you haven't started this series yet; Ilona Andrews jokes about the famously terrible covers of all of their books. :)

What are you waiting on this week?

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Blog Tour (Interview): All the Rage by Courtney Summers #ToTheGirls

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Title: All the Rage
Author:
Courtney Summers
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (Macmillan)
Release Date: April 14, 2015

The sheriff's son, Kellan Turner, is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything-friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy's only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and Kellan goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn't speak up. Nobody believed her the first time-and they certainly won't now-but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.

With a shocking conclusion and writing that will absolutely knock you out, All the Rage examines the shame and silence inflicted upon young women in a culture that refuses to protect them.


Author Interview

Kayla: First off, thank you so much, Courtney for answering a few questions about All the Rage. I guess I’m curious about this – what was the hardest part about writing a book about rape for teenagers?

Courtney Summers: Thank you so much for having me on your blog! I appreciate it. All of my books explore heavier themes like depression, girl-bullying and suicide. I’m committed to doing the best I can by those topics and so I’m very conscious of my approach. You have to be aware of the larger conversation surrounding these subjects and you have to be aware of what your work is adding to that conversation. Exploring sexual violence and rape culture in All the Rage was no exception. There’s a lot of pressure and it can be hard to write under that kind of pressure—but it’s also very necessary, no matter what audience you’re writing for.

Kayla: What was the most shocking thing that you discovered while doing research for your novel?

Monday, April 13, 2015

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (ARC)

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Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1)
Author:
Sarah J. Maas
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours

A thrilling, seductive new series from New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas, blending Beauty and the Beast with faerie lore.

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and George R. R. Martin, this first book in a sexy and action-packed new series is impossible to put down!


My Review

Whoa.

Seriously. Whoa.

Okay, let me start off by saying that A Court of Thorns and Roses is outstanding. I don't know if Sarah J. Maas could write a bad book if she tried. I loved Throne of Glass so much that it was also difficult to put to words, but obligation requires me to tell you guys about this book. So I shall. Prepare for gushing.

Friday, April 10, 2015

Blog Tour (Excerpt & #Giveaway): Black Scorpion by Jon Land #BlackScorpionBlogTour @JonDLand @torbooks

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Title: Black Scorpion: The Tyrant Reborn (Michael Tiranno The Tyrant #2)
Author:
Jon Land
Created By: Fabrizio Boccardi
Publisher: Forge (Macmillan)
Tour Organizer: PR by the Book
Release Date: April 7, 2015

The next adventure of The Seven Sins' Michael "The Tyrant" Tiranno, Jon Land's Black Scorpion is a pulse pounding action-thriller as he takes on a worldwide human trafficking cabal.

Five years have passed since Michael Tiranno saved the city of Las Vegas from a terrorist attack. And now a new enemy has surfaced in Eastern Europe in the form of an all-powerful organization called Black Scorpion. Once a victim of human trafficking himself, the shadowy group's crazed leader, Vladimir Dracu, has become the mastermind behind the scourge's infestation on a global scale. And now he's set his sights on Michael Tiranno for reasons birthed in a painful secret past that have scarred both men.

Already facing a myriad of problems, Michael once more must rise to the challenge of confronting an all-powerful enemy who is exploiting and ravaging innocents all across the globe and has set nothing less than all of America as its new victim. Black Scorpion has also taken the woman Michael loves hostage: Scarlett Swan, a beautiful archaeologist who was following the dangerous trail of the origins of the ancient relic that both defines and empowers Michael, a discovery that could change history and the perception of mankind's very origins.

With the deck and the odds stacked against him, Michael must come to learn and embrace his true destiny in becoming the Tyrant reborn as a dark knight to triumph over ultimate evil and stop the sting of Black Scorpion from undermining all of the United States and plunging Las Vegas into chaos and anarchy.

A major production for a feature film is in active development in Hollywood based on the franchised character of Michael Tiranno, the Tyrant. The film will be based on the blended adaptation of Black Scorpion and its predecessor, The Seven Sins, which both have also been licensed to DC Comics for comic books and graphic novels publications worldwide.


Excerpt

Part One
BEFORE


ONE
Northern Israel, 950 BC

“They come, oh great King.”

Solomon, weary and weak from going so long without rest, leaned heavily on the shoulder of his son as he emerged from inside his goat- hair tent. Already he and his private guard had fought off two ambushes. Bandits appeared to be to blame, but Solomon suspected otherwise given their weaponry, skill, and the fact that they hadn’t fled when confronted.

Now his heart pounded with anticipation, but also with fear, in the night’s heat. He was so close now, so close to fulfilling the destiny shaped by his father, the great King David. And that reality filled him with the awesome scope of the responsibility before him, along with the price of failure.

He could not fail. The fate of his kingdom was at stake.