31 May 2013
28 May 2013
Waiting on Wednesday: Earth Bound by Aprilynne Pike
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.
Expected Release Date: 30th July 2013
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)
Goodreads link is here.
Love, fate, and power collide in this new series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike!
Tavia Michaels is the sole survivor of the plane crash that killed her parents. When she starts to see strange visions of a boy she’s never spoken with in real life, she begins to suspect that there’s much about her past that she isn’t being told. Tavia will soon to discover that she’s an Earthbound—someone with the ability to create matter out of nothing—and that she alone holds the key to stopping the Reduciata, an evil society that manipulates global events for its own shadowy purposes. Tavia will ultimately have to make a choice: to come into her powers and save the world from the evil Reduciata or to choose free will and a love of her own.
27 May 2013
Dusty Reads: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
Dusty Reads is a Tuesday meme that I found at Ya-aholic.com and was originally started
at Xpressoreads.com.
This is a meme where I intend to showcase a book that has been on my
shelf for a while and haven’t got to yet.
If you have read this or have heard of this book, I would love to hear
your comments on whether you like it or
not, or have heard great things about it.
This
week, my Dusty Read is:
It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up.
When the night began, Nora had two best friends and a boyfriend she adored. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands. Chris was dead. Adriane couldn’t speak. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora’s determined to follow the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. But Chris’s murder is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life
When the night began, Nora had two best friends and a boyfriend she adored. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands. Chris was dead. Adriane couldn’t speak. And Max, Nora’s sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.
Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora’s determined to follow the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. But Chris’s murder is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life
Book Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.
Published: 7th August 2012
Publisher: Orchard
Goodreads : Click here
Series: Book 2 Anna
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Review: 5 out of 10
Best wishes
Debs :-)
25 May 2013
Book Review: French Kiss (Diary of a Crush) by Sarra Manning
New town, new college, new people, Edie's feeling overwhelmed. What if nobody wants to be her friend? But then something happens that turns her life upside down: Edie spots Dylan. Messy-haired, pouty, frustratingly elusive Dylan. . .
Fast forward to the college trip to Paris and things are really heating up. In between the shopping, the clubbing, the kissing and the making up, something happens between Edie and Dylan that changes both their lives for ever. But do boys like Dylan ever play for keeps?
Published: 30th May 2013
Publisher: Atom
Goodreads : Click here
Series: Book 1, Diary of a Crush
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Review: 5 out of 10
Best wishes
Debs :-)
23 May 2013
21 May 2013
Waiting on Wednesday: The Dark Between by Sonia Gensler
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.
Expected Release Date: 27th August 2013
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)
Goodreads link is here.
A supernatural romance about the powers that lie in the shadows of the mind, perfect for fans of Sarah Rees Brennan, Alyxandra Harvey, and Libba Bray.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Spiritualism and séances are all the rage—even in the scholarly town of Cambridge, England. While mediums dupe the grief-stricken, a group of local fringe scientists seeks to bridge the gap to the spirit world by investigating the dark corners of the human mind.
Each running from a shadowed past, Kate, Asher, and Elsie take refuge within the walls of Summerfield College. But their peace is soon shattered by the discovery of a dead body nearby. Is this the work of a flesh-and-blood villain, or is something otherworldly at play? This unlikely trio must illuminate what the scientists have not, and open a window to secrets taken to the grave—or risk joining the spirit world themselves.
Dusty Reads: The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards
Dusty Reads is a Tuesday meme that I found at Ya-aholic.com and was originally started
at Xpressoreads.com.
This is a meme where I intend to showcase a book that has been on my
shelf for a while and haven’t got to yet.
If you have read this or have heard of this book, I would love to hear
your comments on whether you like it or
not, or have heard great things about it.
This
week, my Dusty Read is:
From Kim Edwards, the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Memory Keeper's Daughter, an arresting novel of one family's secret historyImbued with all the lyricism, compassion, and suspense of her bestselling novel, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards’s The Lake of Dreams is a powerful family drama and an unforgettable story of love lost and found.
Lucy Jarrett is at a crossroads in her life, still haunted by her father's unresolved death a decade earlier. She returns to her hometown in Upstate New York, The Lake of Dreams, and, late one night, she cracks the lock of a window seat and discovers a collection of objects. They appear to be idle curiosities, but soon Lucy realizes that she has stumbled across a dark secret from her family's past, one that will radically change her—and the future of her family—forever.
Lucy Jarrett is at a crossroads in her life, still haunted by her father's unresolved death a decade earlier. She returns to her hometown in Upstate New York, The Lake of Dreams, and, late one night, she cracks the lock of a window seat and discovers a collection of objects. They appear to be idle curiosities, but soon Lucy realizes that she has stumbled across a dark secret from her family's past, one that will radically change her—and the future of her family—forever.
20 May 2013
Author Interview: Kelly Anne Blount
I’m an avid writer by night and an Early Childhood Special Education
(ECSE) teacher by day. Through my work as a teacher, I am able to closely
examine human behavior and tell made up stories on a regular basis. Both of
these skills come in handy when I sit down to write my novels!
When I’m not at work or writing, I enjoy spending time with my
husband, our five furry rescues (four cats and one dog), my friends, and of
course my family!
What I Like...
Reading: I read just about anything, but my
favorite genre is young adult fantasy. I’m a huge fan of Amanda Hocking,
Cornelia Funke, Suzanne Collins, Brandon Mull, and Harlan Coben.
Movies: The Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings,
and Elf.
Musicians: I listen to anything from hip hop
to reggae!
In the world of
Necoh, everyone fears Grishma, a hideous murderous beast responsible for
ruining or ending the lives of anyone who dare cross her.
As a young boy, Ryder lived with his family, deep in the caves underneath the Kadin Forest, unaware of the horrors of the world. His simple world was turned upside down one horrible night when Grishma attacked his family, killing his father and kidnapping his mother and younger sister.
From that night on, Ryder devoted his life to killing Grishma. He tracked the monster from Necoh, to our world, and back again. Unfortunately, during his quest, he accidentally transported Brooklyn, a high school junior into his tumultuous world, where she is mistakenly identified as Princess Sophie, the missing princess of Sumner.
Days after Princess Sophie’s return, Grishma plots and manipulates the King into drugging and marrying off his only daughter to Prince Algid of Dratun. Desperate to save Brooklyn, who now believes she is the long lost princess, his mother, and his little sister, Ryder embarks on the deadliest part of his quest.
Will he save Brooklyn? Will she ever regain her memory? What will become of his mother and sister?
As a young boy, Ryder lived with his family, deep in the caves underneath the Kadin Forest, unaware of the horrors of the world. His simple world was turned upside down one horrible night when Grishma attacked his family, killing his father and kidnapping his mother and younger sister.
From that night on, Ryder devoted his life to killing Grishma. He tracked the monster from Necoh, to our world, and back again. Unfortunately, during his quest, he accidentally transported Brooklyn, a high school junior into his tumultuous world, where she is mistakenly identified as Princess Sophie, the missing princess of Sumner.
Days after Princess Sophie’s return, Grishma plots and manipulates the King into drugging and marrying off his only daughter to Prince Algid of Dratun. Desperate to save Brooklyn, who now believes she is the long lost princess, his mother, and his little sister, Ryder embarks on the deadliest part of his quest.
Will he save Brooklyn? Will she ever regain her memory? What will become of his mother and sister?
GOODREADS LINK – CLICK HERE
1. If you could work with any other author,
who would it be and why?
I would love to work with Amanda Hocking! She is an amazing author
whose ability to write amazing books in a short amount of time is unbelievably
impressive. Also, her storylines are fantastic! I think if the two of us worked
together we could write an awesome book!
2. What would be a typical working day for
you? When and where do you write?
A typical working day for me starts at 7AM, when I wake up and get
ready to go to my day job, which is an Early Childhood Special Education
teacher. During the school day, I work with preschoolers with and without
special needs. After work, I come home and relax by watching something on Bravo
or an episode of one of my favorite shows (i.e., The Real Housewives, Bones,
The Closer, Rizzoli and Isles, Grimm, Once Upon A Time, NCIS, etc.) and having
something delicious to drink.
After relaxing, I typically get out my computer, sit on the couch and
read what I last wrote, usually a chapter or sometimes two. Once I’m back into
my writing world, I get typing! I try to get in at least 1,000 words every time
I write. While writing, I usually have a rerun of one of my favorite shows on
in the background. If I get stuck on a scene, I take a break, read or watch a
movie that falls into the genre that I am writing. I love the feeling I get
after I’ve written an awesome scene or chapter, it puts a huge smile on my face
and I feel accomplished!
3. What is the hardest part of the writing
for you?
The hardest part of writing for me is taking the time to write! I am
usually really tired when I come home from teaching and some nights I just need
to recuperate! The weekends are usually the best time for me to write. My
husband loves to play golf, so he usually plays for a few hours on a Saturday
or Sunday afternoon, while I stay home and write.
4. When and why did you first start
writing?
I first started writing as a little girl. I always loved to write and
tell stories. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I wrote fictional
stories in notebooks and for school assignments. During college, I didn’t have
enough time to write for fun, so I mainly wrote papers. One of my professors
wrote, “Your future is so bright you’re going to need sunglasses!” on one of my
papers, which was a phenomenal compliment! After college, I taught in Grand
Cayman, Cayman Islands. The combination of being a new teacher and living in
paradise also meant there wasn’t a lot of time to write.
It wasn’t until May of 2012 that I seriously started to write. I came
up with the idea for Grishma and went
for it! I did a lot of research and chose my audience carefully. From that
point on, it was a go! I finished Grishma
six months later and now I’m working on the sequel! Yea!
5. How did you come up with the idea for
your book?
I’ve always had a vivid imagination and thanks to that, I came up with
the idea for Grishma and several
other stories just by sitting down, closing my eyes, and thinking, “What would
make a fantastic story?”
6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are
you reading now?
Absolutely! I love to read! My favorite genre is young adult fantasy;
however, I will try just about anything! I’m currently reading Wake by Amanda Hocking.
7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring
writers?
My best advice is to find a critique group and write as much as
possible! Both help improve your motivation and writing skills.
Links:
Website: www.kellyanneblount.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/KellyAnneBlount
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyAnneBlount (@KellyAnneBlount)
Goodreads Best Fantasy Covers List
(currently in first place): http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3307.Best_Fantasy_Book_Covers#16421118
Amazon Grishma Page: http://www.amazon.com/Grishma-Necoh-Saga-ebook/dp/B00BSG4XG2
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Kelly-Blount/e/B00BSKKA5Q
17 May 2013
Book Review: The Holiday Home by Fern Britton
Set on a Cornish cliff, Atlantic House has been the jewel in the Carew family crown for centuries. Each year, the Carew sisters embark on the yearly trip down to Cornwall for the summer holidays, but they are as different and vinegar and honey.
Prudence, hard-nosed businesswoman and married to the meek and mild Francis, is about to get a shock reminder that you should never take anything for granted.
Constance, homemaker and loving wife to philandering husband Greg, has always been out-manoeuvred by her manipulative sibling. But now that Pru wants to get her hands on Atlantic House, Connie is not about to take things lying down.
When an old face reappears on the scene, years of simmering resentments reach boiling point. But little do the women know that a long-buried secret is about to bite them all on the bottom. Can Constance and Pru put their feuding aside for the sake of everyone else, or will this family holiday push them all over the edge?
Published: 9th May 2013
Publisher: Harper Collins
Goodreads : Click here
Series: N/A
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Review: 9 out of 10
Best wishes
Debs
14 May 2013
Waiting on Wednesday: Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tuckolke
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly memo that is hosted by Breaking the Spine Blog.
Expected Release Date: 15th August 2013
(Release date obtained from Goodreads)
Goodreads link is here.
You stop fearing the devil when you’re holding his hand…
Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White’s sleepy, seaside town…until River West comes along. River rents the guesthouse behind Violet’s crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard. Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more? Violet’s grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery...who makes you want to kiss back. Violet’s already so knee-deep in love, she can’t see straight. And that’s just how River likes it.
13 May 2013
Author Interview: Kristy Brown
Meet Kiera, a pretty, intelligent, and talented girl, brought up by her uncle, and abandoned by her parents. Life is as normal as she believes it to be, apart from the deep ache inside her, telling her she’s different. For years, Kiera has had dreams where she ventures into a different reality. She’s not alone; a presence is always there, keeping her safe, yet she feels vulnerable, and hunted.
Zakk, Prince of Zantar, is under the Witch Queen’s spell as she tries to take over his world. He crosses paths with Kiera, and their fates are entwined.
As their journey unravels, she learns that she is not the only one affected by this prince. Who is on her side? Will she find out why she has been chosen? How can someone so young, defeat such evil? Will she find the strength to save the ones closest to her? Will this be Kiera’s only quest?
1. If you could work with any other author, who
would it be and why?
If I could work with any other author, I would have to say Tolkien or Roald Dahl. They inspired me as a child and still do now! Their huge imaginations and humour is something I try to aspire to.
2. What would be a typical working day for you?
When and where do you write?
My typical working day. First I get my kids to school. I cannot work with noise. I need complete silence. I do my boring housework, then I may sit down and write at my table for two or three hours.
3. What is the hardest part of the writing for
you?
I think the hardest part of writing is the marketing! Getting your book noticed amongst the thousands of talented writers out there, is very hard.
4. When and why did you first start writing?
I
started writing poetry and short stories as a child. Then I trained as an
actress and did small stage shows etc. But my real passion was writing. When my
first son was born, I began writing the first book in the "Kiera's
Quest" series. When he slept, I would scribble a few pages. Then I knew I
had to follow my real dream.
5. How did you come up with the idea for the
book your book?
I came up with the idea for the book, whilst staring at my niece's doll's house. Read it and you will understand!
I came up with the idea for the book, whilst staring at my niece's doll's house. Read it and you will understand!
6. Are you a big reader? If so, what are you
reading now?
I am
a big reader. If I'm not writing I try and read as much as possible. I like YA
and MG. I have just bought "Everafter," by Elizabeth Chandler. I love
"The Hunger Games," I shed a few tears with that!
7. Do you have any advice for other aspiring
writers?
My
advice for aspiring writers would have to be, believe in your book and
someone else will! Do not give in at the first twenty rejections!
Links:
Amazon.co.uk
Twitter
Facebook
MuseItUp
Goodreads
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