Month: July 2014

Jul 31

{Giveaway} Beach Reads Hop!

Click on the banner for the giveaway host page. Hosted by Stuck in Books. As the title suggests, for this hop I am going to share some awesome books that I think would make a great beach read. Before we get to what you can win I want to tell you what I think makes up an awesome beach read. I normally lean to lighter, yummy romances for beach reads, but every once in a while I catch myself leaning toward some drama filled romance or darker read that I just couldn’t put down. So most of the prizes will be contemporary romance books, but there will be a few other genres thrown in. Something for everyone. All great beach reads The winner can choose any of the books listed and I will send them an ebook from amazon (or a US winner has the option of a couple of paperbacks at the bottom of the post) Ebook choices: Paperback options (US winner only) Fill out the rafflecopter to enter… Read more »

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Jul 31

{Review+Giveaway} Normal is the Watchword by Jasmine Tru

Normal is the Watchword is the first book in a new series from Jasmine Tru called the Watchword series. Right off the bat I was drawn to the beautiful and vivid cover. The story started off pretty interesting. We are dropped into the life of Juniper, or Juni who is trying to complete her senior photography project to win a scholarship to college. I really liked the start of the story. It was very every day life writing. It helped me get to know the characters well and get a feel for their friendships and relationships. The book took a while to get going into the main storyline, but once that part of the book got started, everything seemed to happen at lightning speed. Juni is out taking pictures for her project one day, and she witnesses as murder. Throw in a mysterious guy at school, with lots of secrets of his own and a kidnapped best friend and you have quite the exciting story on your hands. I enjoyed… Read more »

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Jul 31

{Interview+Giveaway} Aizai the Forgotten by Mary-Jean Harris

Today I have Mary- Jean here for an interview about her book, Aizai the Forgotten and then a giveaway of an ecopy of her book! 1. Describe Aizai the Forgotten in a tweet. Aizai the Forgotten follows seventeen-year-old Wolfdon as he tries to find the lost world of Aizai in France and Spain of the seventeenth century. With a beautiful horse he borrows from an astrologer, Wolfdon meets many peculiar people and eventually discovers the portal to Aizai with the aid of a mysterious girl he believes to be a goddess. Once in Aizai, Wolfdon witnesses magic beyond his imagination, but also realizes that there is a deadly secret, something that may involve him more than he could have guessed, and takes him even further on a dangerous mission. 2. What is one thing that we would be surprised to learn about Wolfdon Pellegrin? He has a strange mix of loyalty and disloyalty to his character. You find this out in the book, but he’ll be perfectly alright with ‘borrowing’ books and… Read more »

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Jul 31

{Giveaway+Series Recap} Strange and Ever After by Susan Dennard

IFB is hosting the promo tour for the third and final book in Susan Dennard’s steampunk, zombie trilogy. Continue below for a sample and a cool giveaway. Series: Something Strange & Deadly #3 Release date: July 22nd 2014 Publisher: HarperTeen Purchase: Amazon | B&N Synopsis via Goodreads: In the conclusion to the trilogy that Publishers Weekly called “a roaring—and addictive—gothic world,” Eleanor Fitt must control her growing power, face her feelings for Daniel, and confront the evil necromancer Marcus…all before it’s too late. He took her brother, he took her mother, and now, Marcus has taken her good friend Jie. With more determination than ever to bring this sinister man to justice, Eleanor heads to the hot desert streets of nineteenth-century Egypt in hopes of ending this nightmare. But in addition to her increasingly tense relationships with Daniel, Joseph, and her demon, Oliver, Eleanor must also deal with her former friend, Allison, who has curiously entangled herself in Eleanor’s mission. With the rising dead chomping… Read more »

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Jul 30

{Review} The Hazards of Sex on the Beach by @AlyssaRoseIvy

I have said it before, and I will say it again…I love Alyssa Rose Ivy. She is one of those authors that I know is so consistently good, that I can pick up any of her books and I will enjoy them. I love her hazards series, and this third book, The Hazards of Sex on the Beach is no different. It is fun, romantic, and an all around great read. I love that the series follows a group of friends. The Hazards of Sex on the Beach is Cara’s story. The book starts out much like all the books in the Hazards series do, with the very act that the title says. There is something comforting in that. I pick up the book, knowing how it will start and then I get to enjoy the ride from there. Cara just broke up with her jerk of an ex boyfriend after she found out that she was cheating on her basically during their whole relationship. Can you believe that? She… Read more »

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Jul 29

{Review} Phantom’s Dance by Lesa Howard @LesaBoutin

Phantom’s Dance is a contemporary re-telling of Phantom of the Opera. The story was great. I thought Lesa Howard had a beautiful dichotomy in her writing between the young, upbeat, and sweet feel of the teenagers in the story, along with the dark vibe that is the Phantom. Fans of the Phantom of the Opera should not mist Phantom’s Dance by Lesa Howard. It was really cool to see the Opera and music get substituted with dancing. They so often go hand and hand, but Ballet is an excellent art to see woven into the story of the Phantom. Christine moves to Houston to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. She is clearly an excellent dancer, but things in her life are holding her back from moving up to join their second company. I will admit that I didn’t know very much about the technical side of Ballet, except for a few phrases I have seen thrown around in movies and tv. But Lesa Howard made the world of dance… Read more »

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Jul 29

{Bookish News} Alloy Entertainment launches today with 3 new book releases!

Alloy Entertainment Launches New Digital-First Imprint with Amazon Publishing First three books release today Today, Amazon Publishing and Alloy Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Television Group, announced a digital-first imprint that will focus on young adult, new adult and commercial fiction. The new imprint, named Alloy Entertainment, will be part of Amazon Publishing’s Powered by Amazon program. Powered by Amazon enables publishers and authors to leverage Amazon’s global distribution and personalized, targeted marketing reach. Today also marks the publication date for the imprint’s first three titles: Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand, which follows Ven, the clone of a wealthy, 18-year-old named Raven. Imitations like Ven only leave the lab when their Authentics need them—to replace the dead, be an organ donor, or in Ven’s case, serve as bait when Raven’s life is threatened. It is Ven’s job to draw… Read more »

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Jul 28

{Reading Challenge} ARC August #ARCAugust

ARC August is hosted by Octavia @ Read Sleep Repeat Head over to her post HERE to sign up! ———————— I think this will be a great way for me to read some of my ARC’s on my TBR Goals: To Read 15 ARCs To Review 15 ARCs To read at least 3 ARCs that are already released I made my goals easy this time around. I also want to chat with people on twitter, but I think August is going to be a really busy month for me so I don’t want to over-commit myself. Progress:

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Jul 28

{Review+Giveaway} #HomeroomDiaries by James Patterson & Lisa Papademetriou

The Homeroom Diaries is a hilarious story told in the form of a teens diary, complete with tons of awesome illustrations. It is hard for me to decide which I enjoyed more- the story through Margaret, or “Cuckoo” as she has everyone call her, entries or her pictures to go along with the entries. It was a close call, both were equally awesome and both totally hilarious. The Homeroom Diaries is told from Cuckoo’s point of view, but because it is her diaries it is told in a kind of easily accessible stream of consciousness. I loved every page of this book, even the sad ones. Cuckoo does not have it easy. She has had more than her fair share of crappy things happen to her, but still through it all she is holding it together remarkably. I know the counselors at her school don’t think so, but I do. I admired the heck out of her. And I loved seeing her with her friends. Check out how they describe themselves… Read more »

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Jul 28

${Review} Demons of Desire by @debra_dunbar$

{Review} Demons of Desire by @debra_dunbar

Demons of Desire is the first book of Debra Dunbar that I have had the pleasure of reading. I absolutely loved it! I am waiting on the edge of my seat for the next book to come out. This is my first journey into the world of Succubus. I have read one other series that featured an Incubus, but this was my first experience with the female version. And to make her even more interesting she is a half breed- half succubus and half elf. Throw in an awesome New Orleans setting, some vampires, some witches, and you have a whole lot of fun. Demons of Desire had two major storylines going on at the same time. On one hand there is the whole inner battle that Amber has accepting her demon side, and on the other hand there is this warring coven storyline. Someone. or multiple someones are trying to kill off the land around New Orleans. The who and the why are what we have to figure… Read more »