Review: This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp #BibPleaseReview #diversebooks

Title: This Is Where It Ends
Author: Marieke Nijkamp
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (Sourcebooks)
Release Date: January 5, 2016
Acquired Via: Publisher
10:00 a.m.
The principal of Opportunity, Alabama’s high school finishes her speech, welcoming the entire student body to a new semester and encouraging them to excel and achieve.

10:02 a.m.
The students get up to leave the auditorium for their next class.

10:03
The auditorium doors won’t open.

10:05
Someone starts shooting.

Told from four perspectives over the span of 54 harrowing minutes, terror reigns as one student’s calculated revenge turns into the ultimate game of survival.

My Review

This Is Where It Ends is not a book that I would normally consider reviewing, though it caught my eye (the author is a big advocate of diversity in books), because the subject matter is very heavy. I am an escapist reader, and since I have a school-age child, it's not my first choice to read about something that I already worry about. That being said, the lovely people at Sourcebooks were kind enough to send me an ARC at the library, so I figured I could read it as a librarian and give it some attention here, too.

I do want to say before I get into the review that I did not like This Is Where It Ends. However, with it being so short and action-packed, I think it will be great for reluctant teen readers. I will be putting it into the hands of kids at the library. Easy, action-packed reads are important. Now for my thoughts on the book itself.

Cover Reveal: Don't Get Caught by Kurt Dinan #Giveaway @SourcebooksFire @kurtdinan

Title: Don't Get Caught
Author: Kurt Dinan
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: April 1, 2016
17-year-old Max Cobb is sick of being “Just Max”—the kind of guy whose resume boasts a measly 2.5 GPA and a deep love of heist films. So when an invitation appears in his locker to join the anonymous, untraceable, epic prank-pulling Chaos Club, Max jumps at the opportunity to leave “Just Max” in the dust.

Except that the invite is really a set-up, and Max—plus the 4 other kids who received similar invitations—are apprehended by school security for defacing the water tower. This time, Max has had enough. Time for Heist Rule #6:

Always Get Payback.

Let the prank war begin...

Interview

Describe your book in 140 characters or less?

A high school nobody recruits a crew of misfits for heists and pranks to get revenge on the mysterious Chaos Club. #DontGetCaught

How did you come up with the idea for Don’t Get Caught?

Blog Tour (Guest Post): The Beautiful One by Emily Greenwood #romance #giveaway @SourcebooksCasa

Title: The Beautiful One (The Scandalous Sisters #1)
Author: Emily Greenwood
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: June 2, 2015
A PICTURE SAYS A THOUSAND WORDS...
The ton is buzzing about The Beautiful One, a striking figure in a scandalous book of nude sketches. Only two men know the true identity of The Beautiful One, and they are scouring the countryside, determined to find her.

BUT NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES
The unlikely center of the scandal, Anna Black is forced to flee home as disaster looms. Her tomboy’s heart and impertinent tongue serve her well when she meets the most brooding viscount ever to darken a drawing room. Will Halifax, Viscount Grandville, has his reasons for pushing people away, and when his tempestuous teenaged ward arrives on his doorstep, he presses Anna to take on her care. As Anna begins to melt the Viscount’s frozen heart, she knows the more she loves, the more she has to lose. For although Will cares nothing for what makes Society titter, he has yet to see The Beautiful One.

Guest Post

A Historical Scandal
Emily Greenwood
With the release this month of the first book in my Scandalous Sisters series, The Beautiful One, I’ve been thinking a lot about scandals. So is it any surprise that Regency era bad boy Lord Byron came to mind—especially since, like Viscount Grandville, the hero of my new release, he’s oh-so brooding?

Lord Byron was famously said to be “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” With his dark good looks, his keen intelligence, and his perceptive poetry, he was irresistible to hordes of women, and certainly participated in his share of scandals, including a reputed affair with his half-sister, Augusta Leigh.

Blog Tour (Guest Post): Night of the Highland Dragon by Isabel Cooper #giveaway @SourcebooksCasa

Title: Night of the Highland Dragon (Highland Dragons #3)
Author: Isabel Cooper
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: June 2, 2015
“They say,” said the girl, “that people disappear up there. And I heard that the lady doesna’ ever grow any older.”
“The lady?” William asked.
“Lady MacAlasdair. She lives in the castle, and she’s been there years, but she stays young and beautiful forever.”

In the Scottish Highlands, legend is as powerful as the sword—and nowhere is that more true than in the remote village of Loch Aranoch. Its mysterious ruler, Judith MacAlasdair, is fiercely protective of her land—and her secrets. If anyone were to find out what she really was, she and her entire clan would be hunted down as monsters.

William Arundell is on the trail of a killer. Special agent for an arcane branch of the English government, his latest assignment has led him to a remote Highland castle and the undeniably magnetic lady who rules there. Yet as lies begin to unravel and a dark threat gathers, William finds himself drawn deeper and deeper into the mystery of the Highlands...and the woman he can neither trust nor deny.

He prays she isn’t the murderer; he never dreamed she was a dragon.

Guest Post

My Typical Writing Day
Isabel Cooper
This is very prosaic, I’m afraid.

A typical day of writing for me is just a typical day. I wake up, swear a lot because for some reason it’s morning *again*, work out, shower, eat some variety of breakfast, catch a train, hate everyone on the train for taking up too much space, get to work, and so forth. Usually either during my lunch break or sometime later in the afternoon, when I’ve gotten my work done and am waiting for people to send me email, I’ll get my day’s worth of writing in.

Blog Tour (Excerpt & Giveaway): Powerless by @TeraLynnChilds & Tracy Deebs @heroagenda @SourcebooksFire #yalit

Title: Powerless (The Hero Agenda #1)
Author: Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Kenna is tired of being "normal."

The only thing special about her is that she isn't special at all. Which is frustrating when you're constantly surrounded by superheroes. Her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, practically everyone she knows has some talent or power. Sure, Kenna's smart and independent, but as an ordinary girl in an extraordinary world, it's hard not to feel inferior.

So when three villains break into the lab where she interns, Kenna refuses to be a victim. She's not about to let criminals steal the research that will make her extraordinary too.

But in the heat of battle, secrets are spilled and one of the villains saves her life. Twice. Suddenly, everything Kenna thought she knew about good and evil, heroes and villains is upended. And to protect her life and those she loves, she must team up with her sworn enemies on a mission that will redefine what it means to be powerful and powerless...


Excerpt

“You never answered my question. What are you doing down here so late?”

Those bright blue eyes sear into me as he takes a step back. “I have to go.”

His sudden evasiveness makes me suspicious, so when he starts to move past me, I sidestep into his path. “Excuse me,” I say, “but this is a secure level. Are you even authorized to be down here?”

Cover Reveal: Awake by Natasha Preston

Title: Awake
Author: Natasha Preston
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Scarlett doesn’t remember anything before the age of five. Her parents say it’s from the trauma of seeing her house burn down, and she accepts the life they’ve created for her without question—until a car accident causes Scarlett to start remembering pieces of an unfamiliar past.

When a new guy moves into town, Scarlett feels an instant spark. But Noah knows the truth of Scarlett’s past, and he’s determined to shield her from it...because Scarlett grew up in a cult called Eternal Light, controlled by her biological parents.

And they want her back.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM | Book Depository


About the Author







UK native Natasha Preston grew up in small villages and towns. She discovered her love of writing when she shared a story online—and hasn’t looked back since. She enjoys writing romance, thrillers, gritty YA, and the occasional serial killer.








Find Natasha Online
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Social Media Giveaway

If you would like to post this on your blog, Facebook and/or Twitter with the hashtag #AreYouAwake anyone who retweets the cover will be eligible to win an early ARC of Awake.

Here is an example Tweet that you can copy & paste. (Yes, the links fall within the 140 character limit on Twitter.):

COVER REVEAL: @natashavpreston’s #yalit thriller, AWAKE - out this September! #AreYouAwake http://www.bibliophiliaplease.com/2015/03/cover-reveal-awake-by-natasha-preston.html https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B_R0yXGVIAAc1Of.jpg

Waiting on Wednesday (79): Of Silk and Steam by Bec McMaster

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: Of Silk and Steam (London Steampunk #5)
Author: Bec McMaster
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: March 3, 2015
When her father was assassinated, Lady Aramina swore revenge against the Duke of Caine. Leo Barrons, the Duke's heir, has long been her nemesis, and when she discovers he's illegitimate, she finally has leverage against the one man who troubles her heart and tempts her body.

Sentenced to death for his duplicity, Leo escapes by holding Aramina captive. A woman of mystery, she's long driven him crazy with glimpses of a fiery passion that lurks beneath her icy veneer. He knows she's hiding something; he doesn't know it's the key to saving his life.


I just finished the fourth book in the series, Forged By Desire and really enjoyed it. I have always been intrigued by Barrons, and I love the enemies to lovers trope, so I can't wait for the next book!

What are you waiting on this week?

Excerpt (Giveaway): Light Up The Night by M.L. Buchman

Title: Light Up the Night (The Night Stalkers #5)
Author: M.L. Buchman
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Trisha O’Malley rebelled against her affluent family by joining the U.S. Army’s secret helicopter regiment, the 160th SOAR. Now a Chief Warrant Officer, she found her toughest fight yet in the pilot’s seat of an MH-6M attack helicopter.

William Wallace Bruce is an undercover CIA agent who doesn’t trust the military. But when the Horn of Africa is threatened by Somali pirates, Trisha flies out to recover ships and hostages…including one very ungrateful Will. Everything about Trisha triggers his mistrust: her elusive past, her wild energy, and her proclivity for flying past safety's edge. Even as the heat between them turns into passion's fire, Bill and Trisha must team up to confront their pasts and survive Somalia's pirate lords.

Excerpt

Trisha looked up at Billy. His narrowed eyes revealed that he was indeed totally perplexed.

It was perfectly clear to her, and she just figured out that meant she was too damn stupid to live. She shrugged to herself, feeling the warm weight of his large hands still resting on her shoulders.

Well, stupid is something I'm really good at, she had to admit to herself. With one foot she shoved the door to her cabin closed until the latch clicked. Then putting a hand on either side of his neck, Tricia pulled his face down to hers.

Blog Tour (Interview): The Splintered Kingdom by James Aitcheson

Title: The Splintered Kingdom (Conquest #2)
Author: James Aitcheson
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: August 5, 2014
The brilliant second novel in James Aitcheson’s trilogy of the Norman Conquest of England.

Summer, 1070. Renowned for his valor in the battle for York, Tancred a Dinant is now a lord in his own right, with knights of his own to command and a manor to call home in the turbulent Welsh borderlands. But his hard-fought gains are soon threatened, as a coalition of enemies both old and new prepares to march against King William.

With English, Welsh and Viking forces gathering, and war looming, the Normans are forced to make common cause with some unlikely allies in defence of their newly conquered realm. For Tancred, meanwhile, there are also enemies closer to home: Norman barons envious of his fame, who regard him as a threat to their own power and who are only too eager to see him brought low.

Amidst the turmoil, Tancred is chosen to spearhead a perilous expedition into the heart of Wales. Success will bring him glory beyond his dreams. Failure will mean the ruin of the reputation that he has worked so hard to forge. As shield-walls clash and the kingdom burns, not only is his destiny at stake, but also that of England itself.

A gripping tale of battle, honor, and vengeance, The Splintered Kingdom is an epic saga of the struggle for England—and through it, the western world.

Praise

“An exciting and suspenseful post-Norman conquest saga filled with ambition, greed and betrayals...history buffs and adventure fans will definitely want to read all the exciting tales in this saga.” - Fresh Fiction

“A vigorously written, well researched tale of post-conquest England told through Norman eyes, with a rich, detailed setting, plenty of exciting battles, and a protagonist/narrator who is a real pleasure to read.” - Historical Novels Review

Interview

Kayla: Hi James, thank you so much for stopping by Bibliophilia, Please! Please tell us a little bit about The Splintered Kingdom in your own words but with a Twitter twist - 140 characters or less.

James Aitcheson: England, 1070. Shield-walls clash, a kingdom burns and a Norman knight seeks vengeance in the violent aftermath of the Battle of Hastings.

Kayla: Do we have to read Sworn Sword before reading The Splintered Kingdom?

Cover Reveal: Night Sky by Suzanne & Melanie Brockmann

Today, I'm sharing the cover of Night Sky here on Bibliophilia, Please! If you're anything like my family members and library patrons, you better sit down, because your excitement for Suzanne Brockmann's new novel with her daughter, Melanie, might just knock you over!



Title: Night Sky (Night Sky #1)
Author: Melanie Brockmann and Suzanne Brockmann
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Sixteen-year-old Skylar Reid is thrown into a strange world when she discovers that she has unique telekinetic and telepathic powers. After Sasha, the child she babysits, is kidnapped and believed to be murdered, Sky and her best friend Calvin are approached by Dana, a mysterious girl who has super-abilities similar to Sky’s. With the help of Dana and her sidekick Milo, the four teens embark on a quest to discover who killed Sasha, and to bring the killers to justice.

With Dana as Skylar’s surly and life-toughened mentor, Sky attempts to harness her powers to aid them in their quest. Complicating an already complex relationship with the older girl, Sky starts to fall for the dangerously handsome and enigmatic Milo – and begins to suspect that the attraction is mutual. But then Sky realizes that Sasha might still be alive, and the unlikely foursome’s mission becomes one of search and rescue, pitting the heroic teens against a very deadly enemy.

Buy Links
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Fishpond


About the Author

Release Week Blitz (Excerpt & Giveaway): Betrayed by Rebecca York

Title: Betrayed (Rockfort Security #2)
Author: Rebecca York
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: July 1, 2014
There is a spy in S&D systems who is leaking top-secret information that could lead to extreme disaster. It's up to Shane Gallagher to uncover the mole and set things right.

Systems analyst Elena Reyes had no intention of stealing company secrets until her brother's life was threatened by the cruelest of mobsters. When Elena finally confesses her deeds to Shane, he's ready to do everything he can to keep her out of danger. But will Shane's help be enough to protect them, or will his good intentions leave them all for dead?

Excerpt

Elena had never thought about seducing a man. She wasn’t even sure of her moves. But she knew that Shane wanted her, even if he wasn’t prepared to admit it. She also knew he felt protective of her, which was probably part of the conflict he must be feeling.

Spotlight (Trailer & Giveaway): The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick

Title: The Summer Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitaine (Eleanor of Aquitane #1)
Author: Elizabeth Chadwick
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Eleanor of Aquitaine, the legendary 12th century queen of France and later of England, is one of the most powerful and irrepressible women in medieval history, and her story of romance, scandal and political intrigue has fascinated readers for centuries.

Young Eleanor (or Alienor as she was known) has everything to look forward to as the heiress to the wealthy Aquitaine. But when her beloved father William X suddenly dies, childhood is over. Sent to Paris and forced to marry Prince Louis VII of France, she barely adjusts before another death catapults them to King and Queen. At the age of just 13, Eleanor must leave everything behind and learn to navigate the complex and vivacious French court. Faced with great scandals, trials, fraught relationships, and forbidden love at every turn, Eleanor finally sees what her future could hold if she could just seize the moment.

The first in this highly anticipated trilogy, The Summer Queen follows Eleanor through the Second Crusade to the end of her marriage to Louis VII. The author's meticulous research (including delving into the Akashic records) portrays the Middle Ages and Eleanor with depth and vivid imagery unparalleled in historical fiction that will keep readers riveted and wanting more.

Praise for The Summer Queen

"A magnificent woman's story told by a brilliant historical novelist; realistic, emotional, vibrant, exciting and unputdownable." - RT Book Reviews, July Top Pick

"The Summer Queen is a fabulous novel based on the most up-to-date and meticulous research. This is historical fiction at its best and I loved every page of it." - For Winter Nights: A bookish blog

"Meticulous research and strong storytelling." - Woman and Home

"A rich and compelling read." - Candis Magazine

"Uses authentic period detail to bring to life a new queen and the drama and intrigue surrounding her" - France Magazine

"Absolutely fantastic... It has it all, romance, adventure, and intrigue! I give this novel a solid FIVE out of FIVE stars!" - Historical Fiction Obsessed

"An immersion in the life of a queen who helped shape the Western world." - Kirkus

Book Trailer

Spotlight (Excerpt & Giveaway): The Longest Night by Kara Braden

Title: The Longest Night
Author: Kara Braden
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Years ago, former Marine Captain Cecily Knight fled her dark past and the nightmares forever haunting her nights. Alone in the remote Canadian wilderness, she survives day to day…until Ian Fairchild comes storming into her life and shatters her protective seclusion.

Aloof but intriguing, defensive but undeniable, Ian is everything Cecily shouldn’t want but can’t ignore. He watches her with shrewd blue eyes, as if determined to decipher her secrets…and for the first time in years, she finds herself coming alive beneath the hands of a man with too many scars to count.

As the hushed and harsh winter closes in around them, two lost souls find themselves on the precipice of a love that could save their lives…or destroy them forever.

Excerpt

Cecily shifted her weight, and Ian caught her sleeve, silently cursing the bulky jackets and gloves that separated them both. At the touch, she went still, saying, “Ian—“

“Cecily,” he interrupted quietly. He wanted to pull away her sunglasses, but he sensed that she needed that little artificial shield. If Ian pushed too hard, she would shut down completely, and he might never get another chance at her. Even this might be too much, but Ian had to try.