Book Blast (Giveaway): Working It Out by Rachael Anderson

Title: Working It Out
Author: Rachael Anderson
Publisher: HEA Publishing
Release Date: July 15, 2013
A chance encounter . . .

Grace Warren's life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle—a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.

A chance for love . . .

Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace's rehab clinic post surgery, he's every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there's something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he's everything she's sure she doesn't want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along—assuming she's willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.

August New Release Giveaway Hop

Welcome to my stop on the August New Release Giveaway Hop! As always, it is being hosted by the magnificent O'Dell at Book Twirps and the glorious Dani at Refracted Light Reviews. They exude awesomeness to an extent that I am sure is contagious. I wasn't able to participate last month, but I'm back on track and hoping you guys are looking for some great books!

What You Can Win

Here are my August new releases that you may be interested in (and choose from):

Promo (Excerpt & Giveaway): Recaptured Dreams by Justine Dell

In honor of Justine Dell’s upcoming release, Until Next Time on August 27th, Omnific Publishing is celebrating by sharing Justine’s other books this month!



Title: Recaptured Dreams
Author: Justine Dell
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Adult
Event Tour Organizer: AToMR Tours
Release Date: September 2012
Ten years, the Atlantic Ocean, and several rungs in society have kept Xavier Cain from having Sophia Montel. Now twenty-seven, he's spent his entire adult life building a fashion empire that could finally prove his worth to her family. When fate reunites him with Sophia at London's premiere fashion show, one problem lodges in Xavier's path: Sophia doesn't remember him.

The only obstacle that has kept Sophia from Xavier is a horrific car crash that erased her memory at seventeen. She's spent the last ten years fighting to reclaim a sliver of her past that her mother refuses to help her remember. When Sophia meets Xavier at the London show, however, all her fantasies come to life in one night of passion. Discovering he is the missing link, she is determined to find all the pieces to their love story and her memory.

Xavier wants forever. Sophia wants her memory. If they take this chance, they'll have to start over. How far are they willing to go to get what they want? And when the past catches up to them, can they handle the truths it has hidden?

Book Trailer

Book Blast (Giveaway): Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams

Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire (Heroes in Training #4)
The action heats up for Zeus and his fellow Olympians in this blazing Heroes in Training tale.

Phew, it’s hot! Under the titan Hyperion’s rule, the sun is burning even brighter than normal and scorching everything in northern Greece—including the villagers! The Olympians are forced to play a sizzling “game” of Dodge the Sunbursts as Hyperion hurls giant fireballs that could fry them to pieces!

Armed with some clues, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades set out to figure out why in the world Hyperion has been making things so hot. They also need to rescue Hera, who is still missing. Battling the extreme heat—and some fantastical and scary creatures, courtesy of their old foe Cronus—the boys are off on another epic adventure…and Zeus is one step closer to discovering his destiny.

Buy Links
Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble


Praise for the Heroes in Training

Blog Tour (Review & Giveaway): The Darwin Elevator by Jason M. Hough

Title: The Darwin Elevator (Dire Earth Cycle #1)
Author: Jason M. Hough
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: July 30, 2013
Acquired Via: TLC Book Tours
Jason M. Hough’s pulse-pounding debut combines the drama, swagger, and vivid characters of Joss Whedon’s Firefly with the talent of sci-fi author John Scalzi.

In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura.

Skyler Luiken has a rare immunity to the plague. Backed by an international crew of fellow “immunes,” he leads missions into the dangerous wasteland beyond the aura’s edge to find the resources Darwin needs to stave off collapse. But when the Elevator starts to malfunction, Skyler is tapped—along with the brilliant scientist, Dr. Tania Sharma—to solve the mystery of the failing alien technology and save the ragged remnants of humanity.

Advance praise for The Darwin Elevator

“A brilliant debut, full of compelling characters and thick with tension.”—Kevin Hearne, New York Times bestselling author of The Iron Druid Chronicles

“Claustrophobic, intense, and satisfying . . . I couldn’t put this book down.”—Hugh Howey, New York Times bestselling author of Wool

“This book plugs straight into the fight-or-flight part of your brain.”—Ted Kosmatka, author of The Games

My Review

One of my favorite authors blurbed this book and really liked it, so I came in with high expectations. Twenty percent into the book, I already had a chronic case of the meh (it’s a thing).

Book Blitz (Excerpt & Giveaway): Dawn of the Apocalypse by E.S.P.

Title: Dawn of the Apocalypse
Author: E.S.P.
Publisher: Mind Candy Media
Blitz Organizer: YA Bound Book Tours
Release Date: August 9, 2013
January 1, 2000.
May 21, 2011.
December 21, 2012

These are just a few of the days humans prophesied as bringing catastrophic events that would end the world. We predicted nuclear warfare. Drastic climate change. A call from God.

We were wrong.

Cue the gargoyle invasion—laboratory bred mutants designed to slaughter humans. When the government goes AWOL and gargoyles are swarming by the hundreds, it's up to the citizens of the United States to regroup and save themselves.

Meet Cliff Matthews, a teenage boy separated from his entire family with the exception of his younger sister, whom he is desperate to keep alive. Along the quest to save their lives, he encounters people who aren't all that they seem. Everyday's a battle, but if he can't trust his own species, where does that leave his family?

And we can't forget the man who may be willing to sacrifice Cliff's life, if it means world domination.

In terms of doomsday, no one could've seen this coming. The dawn of the apocalypse…

Excerpt

It smelled like smoke. Not the smoke you smelled when your dad left the burgers on the grill too long or when you forgot you had that last batch of cookies in the oven. This was a dark, penetrating, no nonsense smoke. The kind that made your throat burn, fire singe the inner core of your chest, and slowly killed you from the inside until you were a burning mass of nothing.

Review: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake

Title: Antigoddess (Goddess War #1)
Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
Acquired Via: Around the World ARC Tours
Release Date (US): September 10, 2013
The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.

Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

My Review

It only seems fitting that the Greek gods are dying in today's world, and Kendare Blake takes that idea and runs with it in Antigoddess. Hermes' body is consuming itself, Athena is growing feathers internally, and the other gods are in equal decline. Even the Greek heroes of old have been reborn, but they have no memories of their past lives or knowledge of their identities. As a mythology nerd and a huge fan of Anna Dressed in Blood, I was immediately drawn to the novel.

Book Blitz (Excerpt & Giveaway): Camp Boyfriend by J.K. Rock

Title: Camp Boyfriend
Author: J.K. Rock
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Blitz Organizer: YA Bound Book Tours
Release Date: July 2, 2013
The summer of her dreams is about to get a reality check.

They said it couldn't be done, but geeky sophomore Lauren Carlson transformed herself into a popular girl after moving to a new school halfway across the country. Amazing what losing her braces and going out for cheerleading will do. Only trouble is, the popular crowd is wearing on Lauren's nerves and she can't wait to return to summer camp where she's valued for her brain instead of her handsprings. She misses her old friends and most of all, her long time camp-only boyfriend, Seth. This year she intends to upgrade their relationship to year-round status once she's broken up with her new, jock boyfriend, Matt. He doesn't even begin to know the real her, a girl fascinated by the night sky who dreams of discovering new planets and galaxies.

But Matt isn't giving her up without a fight. As he makes his case to stay together, Lauren begins to realize his feelings run deeper than she ever would have guessed. What if the guy she thought she was meant to be with forever isn't really The One? Returning to Camp Juniper Point was supposed to ground her uprooted life, but she's more adrift than ever. Everything feels different and soon Lauren's friends are turning on her and both guys question what she really wants. As summer tensions escalate, Lauren wonders if she's changed more than she thought. Will her first big discovery be herself?

Excerpt

“Can I ask you a question?” I’d been dying to ask him this for years, but the old me had been too afraid.

“Shoot.” He wrapped his arms around his knees and locked a hand around his other wrist.

I gathered my courage. “Why did you want to break up every year after camp?”