Candace's Book Blog: August 2013

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Tour Page: The Secret Rambling's of Harriet Hughes (Nov. 18-22)

This is the tour page for Diary of a Dancing Drama Queen and Diary of a Pop Sensation, the first two books in The Secret Ramblings of Harriet Hughes series!

This is an adorable middle grade contemporary series for girls ages 8-12. This tour runs Nov. 18th-22nd and consists of reviews, author interviews & character interviews. There will also be a tour wide giveaway.

Tour Schedule:
11/18
The (Mis) Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl- Reviews
Curling Up With a Good Book- Interview
Candace's Book Blog- Reviews

11/19
Brooke Blogs-Reviews
Deal Sharing Aunt - Interview (Possible Reviews)
3 Partners in Shopping - Reviews

11/20
Rose and Beps Blog - Interview
Cover2Cover- Review

11/21
Every Free Chance- Review
Gin's Book Notes- Review

1/22
~~Dalene's Book Reviews - Interview & Review~~
Met in Eleven- Interview & Review

Diary of a Dancing Drama Queen by Louise Lintvelt

Genre: Contemporary

Age: Middle Grade 8-12

Published: August 2013

Dates: Nov. 18-22

Page Count: 101 pages

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon

Harriet Hughes is not your typical 12 year old girl. She does not like pink and she is not what you would call breathtakingly beautiful. Harriet considers herself decidedly average; her sister Abigail on the other hand is very pretty and good at everything. Join Harriet as she makes her way through middle school. In diary of a dancing drama queen Harriet has to face the embarrassment of a dance class after her mother enrols her and her sister at Madam Zangara’s School of Dance. She is not exactly the best dancer in the world and when the most popular girl in school, Melanie joins the dance class, it marks the start of a fun filled adventure that includes a birthday party, a talent show and a school dance. Will she get asked to the dance by her biggest crush, Oliver Russel? Harriet writes about family, friends, school and boys in a fresh, young voice and the sketches in her diary (secret ramblings) add a touch of whimsy. This funny book is sure to be a hit with 8-12 year old girls.

Diary of a Pop Sensation by Louise Lintvelt

Page count: 89 pages

Harriet is whisked off to New York with her best friends to take part in a talent competition. Harriet has to focus on winning the talent competition while trying to deal with the aftermath of the school dance where she was humiliated by her crush Oliver Russel. Join the Daisies as they experience New York for the first time, navigate the twists and turns of the Tween Talent competition and take on the Trendy Triplets. This second book in the Harriet Hughes series is funny, imaginative and entertaining; the perfect read for tween girls.

Add Louise on GoodReads!

Tour sign ups have been closed, however if you are interested in reviewing please contact me at candacesbookblog(at)yahoo(dot)com

Friday, August 30, 2013

Saturday Situation- Link Up Your Reviews & Giveaways!

Saturday Situation is hosted by both Lori at Pure Imagination and myself. It's a linky for you to link your book related Giveaways and Reviews (and whatever neglected posts you may have). You'll find the same linky's at Pure Imagination, so don't enter them twice! Keep in mind that you can add your links through the entire week. You can find the newest Saturday Situation posts by the tab at the top of my blog labeled Saturday Situation.

Don't forget to sign up for Something Wicked Returns! There's a blog hop but we are also looking for more to post during the event! Find out all the details here.

Blog Tour: Love Among Pigeons- Guest Post by Abria Mattina + Giveaway

Today I have author Abria Mattina on the blog as part of her blog tour for her novella, Love Among Pigeons. I'm really loving this cover, BTW. Anyway, she's sent along a guest post for you all to check out (warning: there's some bad language so make sure there's no little ones peeking over your shoulder). First, here's a bit about the book:

In this companion novella to Wake, Frank invites the Kirk family home to Smiths Falls for Thanksgiving weekend. Holidays are always a trial for the family that lost their daughter and sister, but Frank is hopeful that this Thanksgiving will be the exception. He has some happy news to share. If only he wasn't so reluctant to talk about it.

My fiancé, Dan, is a great source of inspiration for the one-liners and snarky jokes in Wake and Love Among Pigeons. Since Dan is such a great source of humour and inspiration in my life, I thought I’d share some of his funnier remarks from the past few years. Most of these appeared on Twitter at some point, but they never get old.

On Food
Dan is a Cordon Bleu trained chef, so a lot of Willa’s attitude towards food and cooking was inspired by him. Here are some of his best one-liners on the subject.

“Leave food alone! It’s my mistress!”

“There are three dead animals on this plate. It pleases me.”

“Butter shall henceforth be known as emulsified slut-spread.”

“I didn’t burn myself. I warmed my hand expediently.”

“I think I must have accidentally put some kind of sex pheromone in this pulled pork, because I want to have its babies.”

On Boundaries
Hint: he has none. But he has a lot to say on the matter. Jem’s boundary issues in Wake were most definitely inspired by Dan.

“I know I’m on your hair, but that’s your fault, not mine.”

“You can’t pee on yourself to mark your territory! That’s like dividing yourself by zero!”

“Some castles have a moat, whereas I am surrounded by fart.”

“My God, your face is comfortable.”

On Political Correctness
There’s a notable lack of this in the stories of Willa and Jem, partly because they’re brash teenagers, and partly because Dan inspires such great material.

“Since when is the term ‘malevolent slut’ an insult?”

“LAAAAAME. That’s my lame alarm going off.”

“You even smell stupid.”

Every time I sneeze: “You plague-ridden whore!”

On Language
As a writer, these simply pain me.

“I couldn’t think of an adjective, so I just inserted an animal noise.”

On old English: “Thee, thou… thit?”

On Writing
Living with a writer isn’t easy, but Dan has learned to take my work in stride. He helps keep me motivated and upbeat. Unfortunately, he’s also become a bit of a literature snob.

“If you don’t finish writing this book, I’m going to shoot this puppy.”

On Divergent: “This book makes me want to punch a baby in the face. Is that normal?”

“In my fictionalized memoir I’m a preteen vampire growing up in the middle of nowhere, trying to fuck as many bitchez as possible.”

Everything Else
There are some things Dan says that simply defy category. These are the best of them.

On pain: “Come here, I’ll French kiss it better.”

On disappointment: “It’s like seeing your childhood hero drunk and naked in the street.”

On romance: “I’ll be your Prince Charming for the next hour. Or fifteen minutes, whichever comes first.”

On tragedy: “It’s as sad as a preschooler peeing his pants just as he’s making his first friend.”

On magic: “Don’t cast any curses. I’m not covering up another accidental newt-ing for you.”

On family: “Bastards are like iPods. Everybody has one.”

On desire: "All I've ever wanted is a machine gun mounted to the roof of my car..."

On cuddles: “My fee is half a pillow.”

He said this while perfectly sober: “What if we got a tit-shaped cat?”

On aging: “I’m gonna be one of those old men who’s like, ‘It's gonna rain, I can feel it in my nipples!’”

On luck: "It's bad luck to be superstitious!"

On his purpose in life: “I’m here to cause mayhem and annoy!”

On a steady tapping sound late at night: “I bet that’s our neighbor hammering in his butt plug.”

You can see where Jem and Willa’s humour comes from now, can’t you? In a lot of ways, they’re just like Dan and I were at nineteen. I hope you got some good laughs from this post, and that you’re just as entertained by the exploits of Jem & Willa.

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway

Capstone Cover Reveal!

It's no secret, I ADORE Misty Provencher, particularly her Cornerstone series. Now the latest book, Capstone, is scheduled to be released September 30th (WOOT!) and I'm excited to share the cover for the book!

It's supposed to stink. That's what Cusps do.

The Ianua, Nalena and Garrett's own community, have welcomed them back by charging them as traitors and chucking them into the Hotel Celare's slammer.

And outside the fortress walls, it's no better.

The Cusp is at full-boil as the world finally surrenders to The Fury's lifestyle. Looting, riots, murders—every kind of crime has become the norm—and The Fury want to make it all permanent. They might even succeed, now that they've nabbed all thirteen of the Ianua's Cornerstones.

To preserve mankind, the only chance the Ianua have left is to beat The Fury to the Earth's Core and somehow trigger the Reset.

Like that's easy.

There's no manual on how to activate a Reset. Nobody even knows if there’s an actual Core to the Earth.

Shoot, it could be one big myth; an epic waste of effort.

But the Addo thinks there is one last hope.

Maybe.

So long as someone is willing to sacrifice everything to be mankind's long shot.

Okay, that sounds EPIC and I can't WAIT to read it!

Make sure you add it on GoodReads!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Young Adult Review: The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna

The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published: July 11th, by Philomel

Source: Library

One part Libba Bray's GOING BOVINE, two parts String Theory, and three parts love story equals a whimsical novel that will change the way you think about the world.

Sophie Sophia is obsessed with music from the late eighties. She also has an eccentric physicist father who sometimes vanishes for days and sees things other people don’t see. But when he disappears for good and Sophie’s mom moves them from Brooklyn, New York, to Havencrest, Illinois, for a fresh start, things take a turn for the weird. Sophie starts seeing things, like marching band pandas, just like her dad.

Guided by Walt, her shaman panda, and her new (human) friend named Finny, Sophie is determined to find her father and figure out her visions, once and for all. So she travels back to where it began—New York City and NYU’s physics department. As she discovers more about her dad’s research on M-theory and her father himself, Sophie opens her eyes to the world’s infinite possibilities—and her heart to love.

Perfect for fans of Going Bovine, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and The Probability of Miracles.

I was excited to read this one but was slightly concerned as it's been compared to Going Bovine, which didn't work for me (though I read it years ago, and my taste has changed), I shouldn't have been concerned, I ended up loving this book!

Sophie is adorable and I want her for my best friend (though she needs to be older, or I need to be younger cause otherwise it might be weird...). She's very, very sweet and has a quirky and unique personality. She doesn't shy from her own personal style and taste and doesn't care what others think. At least for the most part... She is an amazing friend, even when she's lost in her own little world at times. An idea of her taste- she sews quirky pockets onto her thrift store clothing and dresses with a theme and she listens to 80's music on cassette's only.

Finny is my next favorite character. He becomes Sophie's best friend in the book and I absolutely loved him! He came at just the right time and was there for her no matter what. While others may have run screaming, he stuck by her side to help her figure out what causes the 'episodes' (more on that in a minute). On top of that, he has an adorable style and was just so darn perfect for a best friend!

This book is unusual. I would say some words to describe it are quirky, whimsical and adorable. Sophie has these episodes where she hallucinates strange things from Walt, her shaman Panda, to concerts she's actively part of. But her father had this happen as well and she's determined to find out more about him and more about these episodes. And it turns out there is more to them and the journey is a fascinating one.

There's a lot of scientific stuff, but you don't really have to get it. A lot of it is described in simple terms, I mean Sophie is just a 14 year old girl, and everything is understood by her. And somehow, it all just works and makes sense. And while I can see how this book might be too weird for some, I loved it!

There's a touch of romance, but the friendship is definitely more prominent as is the whole father/daughter relationship, even though the father is really only present in Sophie's memories (which we do see). While I wouldn't mind more romance, I felt like it was presented just perfect for this book. It wouldn't have worked being more center stage and I felt like the friendship of Sophie and Finny worked best for this story.

This was a fast read, I devoured it in one day and I recommend it to fans of contemporary YA who enjoy a touch of absurdity in their stories, but maybe have an open mind to some creative physics exploration/theories. It's a clean read, with no bad language, no drugs or alcohol, and no sex, or even talk of it.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Exemeus Scavenger Hunt- Win a Kindle Fire or $150!

The Exemeus Tour is in full swing! All week long there's been reviews, interviews, guest posts and so much more all over the blogosphere! There's also been an epic and amazing Scavenger Hunt with a Kindle Fire (or $150) as the prize for one lucky person! To find the tour page with the list of tour stops, go HERE. This tour is organized and hosted by me, CBB Book Promotions.

Chances to win the Scavenger Hunt are high since it's a low entry challenge. All you have to do is get a copy of the book if you haven't already (only .99 cents on Amazon) and go to each stop to answer the questions as you read! {Note, the above link is an affiliate link and if enough people purchase using it I might earn a few cents!}

Scavenger Hunt Time! (Win a Kindle Fire or $150!)

This is open internationally, but if you are outside the US you will receive the $150 via paypal.

For those of you just tuning in welcome to The Exemeus Scavenger Hunt. If you've missed the rules there's plenty of time to win, just head back to My Guilty Obsession. For those of you who have been following the tour and the hunt you're halfway to a kindle fire and to proving that you are the biggest Exemeus fan around!

11. What color are Singleton’s eyes?
12. What does the music on the mountaintop make Hyalee and Singleton do?

Next stop on The Exemeus Scavenger hunt tour is DJ’s Book Corner.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Cover Reveal Sign Up: Redemption Red by Delancey Stewart

This Reveal is Now Closed
I have a cover reveal coming up for Redemption Red by Delancey Stewart. This cover reveal is to take place Sept 4th-6th and does not have to be the top post. There is a giveaway included and a rafflecopter code will be sent to each participant. The participants will also receive extra entries in the giveaway, just for posting the reveal.

The Giveaway includes:

- an ebook copy of both "A Rare Vintage" and "Redemption Red" in winners choice of format

- a gorgeous bracelet created with recycled wine bottles on an aluminum link bracelet. It measures 7 1/2 inches long and features green, brown, blue, gold and clear color glass rings. The bracelet is handmade and can be dressed up or down, thanks to the elegant styling.

AND

- a 10 ounce jar of Oregon Pinot Noir chocolate sauce from Euphoria Chocolate Company in Oregon (where Redemption Red is set). Great for use on ice cream, in coffee or just on a spoon!

Redemption Red is an adult romance but the cover is clean and appropriate for all ages.

About the book:

Redemption Red by Delancey Stewart (A Wine Country Romance)

Love, loss, and a smoky red…

When Audrey Montgomery’s carefully planned life collides with the self-destructive path Tyson Dawes is on, neither of them can predict what will happen next.

Audrey is a diligent and self-reliant culinary student at Portland’s prestigious Cordon Bleu. She has a clear picture of her future in mind, and it allows little room for the steely-eyed and tormented young man she bumps into by chance while wine tasting with friends.

Tyson Dawes had a perfect childhood, raised among the vines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. But even the most idyllic of upbringings couldn’t have prepared him for what he would face as a Marine. He returns to his childhood home angry and haunted by the storms of what he has faced and by those he has lost.

Do opposites truly attract? Can the lure of Audrey’s apparent clarity and innocence offer Tyson hope in the face of his emptiness?

This is the second book in the Wine Country Romance Series. The first book, A Rare Vintage was published in June and is available on Amazon.

Delancey Stewart has lived on both coasts, in big cities and small towns. She's been a pharmaceutical rep, a personal trainer and a wine seller. Despite lots of other interests, she has always been a writer.

A military spouse and the mother of two small boys, her current job titles include pirate captain, monster hunter, Lego assembler, story reader, and tech writer for a defense contractor. She tackles all these efforts at her current home in Southern Maryland.

Delancey Stewart is the author of Through a Dusty Window: New York City Stories 1910-2001 and the Wine Country Romance Series which includes: A Rare Vintage and Redemption Red, as well as the Girlfriends of Gotham Series, publishing with Swoon Romance. The first book in that series, Men and Martinis, will be released in Fall 2013.

Find the book:

GoodReads

Find the author:

Facebook | Author Blog

Please sign up below and I will send along all the information. This will be an easy copy/paste job that will require very little effort on your part.

Young Adult Review: Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass) by Sarah J. Maas

Hardcover, 432 pages

Expected Publication: August 27th, 2013 by Bloomsbury

Source: Gift from someone who went to BEA

An assassin’s loyalties are always in doubt.
But her heart never wavers.

After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice.

Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

It's no secret that I absolutely adore high fantasy, and every new book/series that comes out, I'm all over it! When I read Throne of Glass last year I really loved it, but was hoping I would get an even better story with Crown of Midnight, and I think we did! It's been a whole year, so I could be wrong, but I think this one was even more heart pounding and incredible.

The second half of the book had me so fully entrenched in the story, so unable to put it down, that I would do everything while reading it. I would carry it around as I did the things that needed to be done and all interruptions were more frustrating then usual. Clues are finally piecing together and we are getting a better idea of where things may go in future books. And there's a scene in this one that is SO intense and terrifying. Seriously, not a good idea to read before bed!

The romance- Oh geez, it's hard to say anything about it without giving something away. These books have a love triangle and I love both guys so, so much. It's hard cause I want them both to win. But I think we see in this book who the right person for her is and I'm firmly on board with that even though he made some mistakes he's an incredible person and the right person for her. And the guy that doesn't get her, well, he's still present and still important and I think we could maybe see a HEA for him. But that may just be wishful thinking.

This book was incredible, it's far better than my average 'good' book, or even better than a lot of books I absolutely love, but it did have some things that I didn't love so much. The first is that Celaena makes some bad choices and I think she allowed herself to be blinded by emotion. She also overreacted (IMO) about something and her behavior just really frustrated me and made me angry. The next thing is that I felt like the Dorian we got to know in the first book wasn't really present. He's still there, though not as much, but his personality is more somber. It makes sense, I get why, but I miss the original Dorian. I'm not sure this is really a negative, but it is something I missed, even if it's necessary and more realistic.

For the most part I love the characters, they are witty and smart and have personalities that really stand out. Each are easily identifiable. I loved that we got different view points and even though it's not just the 3 main characters, I didn't feel like it was too much. I read the paperback ARC and felt it was easy to tell when narratives changed.

The ending... wow. Now THAT was an ending! It's not a cliffhanger, but there's something really big that happens and it's something that changes EVERYTHING. Epic. That's all I can say, epic.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Blog Tour: The Bitter Kingdom - My Favorite Things About the Series + a Giveaway

I'm excited to host a stop on The Bitter Kingdom blog tour, hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. You can find the tour page with all the information HERE. I was going to review the book, but it didn't come in time, so I'm listing my favorite things about the series (from the first two books at least), and I'll post my review as soon as I'm able!

Title: The Bitter Kingdom (Girl of Fire and Thorns #)

Author: Rae Carson

Pub. Date: August 27, 2013

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pages:448

Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads

The epic conclusion to Rae Carson's Fire and Thorns trilogy. The seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen will travel into the unknown realm of the enemy to win back her true love, save her country, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny.

Elisa is a fugitive in her own country. Her enemies have stolen the man she loves in order to lure her to the gate of darkness. As she and her daring companions take one last quest into unknown enemy territory to save Hector, Elisa will face hardships she's never imagined. And she will discover secrets about herself and her world that could change the course of history. She must rise up as champion-a champion to those who have hated her most.

My Favorite Things About The Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy

Elisa

In the beginning we see how Elisa has a low self esteem, she finds comfort in food and has found herself a bit overweight. I love that she's so real, many of us can imagine being in that same place. But then kind of go a little crazy and she find herself in life or death situations, time and time again. She finds her strength and her bravery and fights free of all that held her back. Through the series Elisa grows immensely and it's rare to find some amazing character growth. She's also just an amazing person who always strives to be the best she can be, even when she has to make hard decisions.

Hector

Now this one I don't want to say too much about because I don't want to reveal spoilers, but Hector is an amazing character. He has to make lots of tough decisions, but always strives to make them to the best of his ability. He's brave, strong and true and he will do anything and everything to protect Elisa.

All the Characters

I love when in fantasy books there are characters that walk that line of good and bad. And cross back and forth across it. When you never know what they'll do. That's definitely like that in these books, and there's more than one character like that. I also want to point out that the characters are so well fleshed out that it's so easy to not only feel like you know them, but to picture their mannerisms and habits.

The Romance

I'll tell you this, Rae Carson doesn't hold back. The first book was filled with lots of heartache, we had to deal with some really difficult things, but even while we were sad, we couldn't help but feel all the feels and know that it was right. So while the romance takes some twists and turns, I'm very happy where things are going, and very glad we didn't get some insta-love situation. In fantasy, I love the pain and agony we have to suffer through to get to the happy ending. Even if I hate it too. ;) All I can say is it's EPIC. And amazing... and I could go on and on.

The World

I'm a big fan of high fantasy, but when I see something new, a world completely different, I jump all over it. In these books it's set somewhere similar hot and dry. I don't recall which country she had said, but I'm imagining like somewhere like Turkey. And I don't recall any other fantasy set somewhere like that. I LOVE it!

I'm sure I could go on about more things I love, but I'll stop there, I think you get my point, I LOVE these books!

About Rae:

Rae Carson is the award-winning author of The Girl of Fire and Thorns Trilogy. She was named a Publishers Weekly Flying Start author for Fall 2011 and was a finalist for the Morris, Cybils, and Andre Norton Awards. Her first novel was named to ALA's Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults list.

Rae lives in Ohio with her husband, novelist C.C. Finlay, two stepsons, and two very naughty kitties. She is hard at work on her next trilogy.

Website /Twitter/Facebook/Goodreads

A signed set of the complete trilogy.

US Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

8/19/2013- Ivy Book Bindings- Guest Post

8/20/2013- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Interview

8/21/2013- Refracted Light Reviews- Review

8/22/2013- A Backwards Story- Review

8/23/2013- The Starry-Eyed Revue- Interview

8/26/2013- Candace's Book Blog- Review

8/27/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

8/28/2013- Citrus Reads- Review

8/29/2013- Hobbitsies- Interview

8/30/2013- Fiktshun- Guest Post

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Giveaway: The Gypsy Thief and The Dark Prince by Kellie Bellamy Tayer

Earlier in the summer I had Kellie Bellamy Tayer on the blog to feature The Gypsy Thief, but the second book, The Dark Prince, has now released and the author offered up paperbacks for giveaway!

The Gypsy Thief is set in modern day Rhode Island and is the story of Laura Calder and her love for two boys: Andrew Easton, a descendant of King George the First, and Miguel Dos Santos, a mysterious gypsy who has royal ties of his own. More than 300 years previously, a dying Portuguese princess named Gabriela cast a gypsy curse on King George the First who issued a royal decree to counteract that curse. In the spring of 2012, the time has come for the decree to be fulfilled: Miguel Dos Santos must die by the hand of Tristan Easton, the eldest son of the Duke of Easton. But when a tragic accident befalls Tristan, it is up to his younger brother Andrew to carry out the decree, a situation complicated by the fact that Miguel once saved Andrew's life. Andrew's father, the Duke of Easton, aware of Miguel's act of bravery, decides to let him live, but not without cost. He forces Laura into an impossible situation in order to save Miguel and her family. She must make a life-changing, heart-breaking decision, even as she tries to understand the messages from the mysterious disk she wears as a talisman around her neck, a talisman she must protect from the duke, as it is now her only tie to Miguel. Ultimately, The Gypsy Thief is a story of family honor and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love, a story to be continued in its sequel, The Dark Prince, and concluded in The Shadow King.

Laura Calder's life is no longer her own and now time has run out--she must marry Andrew Easton--sweet, trusting Andrew who loves her wholeheartedly and is unaware that he is a pawn in his father's twisted fairy tale. Miguel is haunted by a sentence in Laura's note and when he finally learns the truth about her 'arranged' marriage, he sets in motion a plan to free her and also to reclaim his family's lost legacy which the duke harbors in a safe on his country estate. The talisman's messages have never been more specific and the bond between Miguel and Laura has never been stronger, but the duke's other demand may be the one thing that drives them apart forever. He wants a grandchild--not only as proof that Laura's love for Andrew is real, but also to prove once and for all that the gypsy curse has not come to pass. As Book Two in The Talisman Trilogy races to its dramatic conclusion, Tristan makes a startling revelation and a dark prince emerges from the shadows. But it is the duke himself who has been keeping the deepest, darkest secret of all--one powerful enough to rewrite history and seal the destinies of Laura, Miguel and Andrew forever. Their story will conclude in The Shadow King.

The author is giving one person a chance to win both books.

Open to US addresses only.

Must be 13 or older to enter.

Ends 9/5

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, August 23, 2013

Saturday Situation- Link Up Your Reviews & Giveaways!

Blog Tour: Review of Wavecrossed by Andrea Colt

Tour Page is HERE.

Today I'm excited to host a stop on the tour for Wavecrossed by Andrea Colt. I just adore Andrea and she's an amazing writer, so it was a pleasure reading her newest release.

This tour is hosted by Oops! I Read Again Tours.

Wavecrossed by Andrea Colt

Expected Publication: August 22nd, 2013

Source: Author
GoodReads

A young-adult paranormal novel about selkies, tasers, kissing and secrets.

To Cassandra Kelleher, trust is a dirty word.

A teenage selkie who grew up on land, all she wants is to free her family from the man who stole their sealskins long ago. With her twin brother Brennan losing hope and her window of opportunity disappearing like the beach at high tide, she’ll try anything.

Before long, however, Cassandra can’t tell whether her biggest threat is the man holding her family captive, a classmate who’s discovered her secret, or her own paranoia. Battling broken friendships and alarming romantic entanglements, Cassandra finds that trust could be the key to winning her family’s freedom … or losing her own.

I read Torched by Andrea Colt last year and really, really loved it. She's brilliant at creating characters and her writing is amazing. She's definitely an author that I will always watch for. That being said, I was a bit concerned with Wavecrossed because it's about Selkies. These kinds of books are really hit or miss for me, more often being a miss. But somehow Andrea Colt made it all work really, really well.

Cassandra is the main character and her and her twin brother are determined to get their parents sealskins back. So determined that at times I grew frustrated with Cassandra. She had a hard time trusting anyone and it made her kind of mean at times. It's like she had this goal and nothing was going to stop her. She'd forget about being nice, or taking others into consideration and it led her to say and do some stupid things. But this is part of the story, it's about her discovering that she has to trust others in order for things to work. And we see her grow tremendously through the story. So while I was frustrated with her while I was reading, by the end I found I really liked her. Even when I was frustrated with her and her behavior, I was still enjoying the book a lot, so in the end it's not really a negative. It's nice to see growth in characters anyway.

Cassandra and her brother Brennan are not only twins but best friends. I loved how they were portrayed in the book. We see how close they are, how much they love each other, but we also see the normal sibling fighting. It felt real and I loved that relationship between them.

There is romance in the book and while it's not really a major part of it, I found I really enjoyed it a lot. The love interest is really great and while we don't know what to think of him at first he's just someone you can't help but love. Especially since we meet him while he's reading a book. At a party... Yep. And the banter between Cassandra and him is so, so fun. They just keep getting into predicaments and they gave me plenty of laughs.

The whole Selkie mythology or whatever is fascinating. I feel like we didn't learn a ton, but we learned stuff as Cassandra did so there wasn't any info dumps and I felt like I learned enough that I don't feel any gaps or any need to know more. Somehow it was just right. It was creative and unique and I felt it worked really well. One reason I may have enjoyed it was because they live on land and the time in the water is minimal. Other books I've read they've had like underwater kingdoms and that didn't work for me.

This was a pretty fast read, with some intense moments. It was extremely well wrote with an amazing cast of characters. As far as I can tell so far, this is a stand alone, and it has a conclusion, but I wouldn't mind more. I would love to see where things go and if Andrea Colt were to write a sequel I would be all over it! I most definitely recommend this one!

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

Purchase Links:
Amazon | CreateSpace (paperback) | B&N

About Andrea Colt

Andrea Colt grew up reading and squabbling with her identical twin. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, a fridge full of cheese, and two feline muses. Visit andreacolt.com to get to know her better.

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Website: http://www.andreacolt.com/

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Thursday, August 22, 2013

Blog Tour: Playing Tyler Review

Playing Tyler by TL Costa

Paperback, 304 pages

Published: July 2nd, 3013 by Strange Chemistry

Source: Publisher

When is a game not a game?

Tyler MacCandless can’t focus, even when he takes his medication. He can’t focus on school, on his future, on a book, on much of anything other than taking care of his older brother, Brandon, who’s in rehab for heroin abuse… again.

Tyler’s dad is dead and his mom has mentally checked out. The only person he can really count on is his Civilian Air Patrol Mentor, Rick. The one thing in life it seems he doesn’t suck at is playing video games and, well, thats probably not going to get him into college.

Just when it seems like his future is on a collision course with a life sentence at McDonald’s, Rick asks him to test a video game. If his score’s high enough, it could earn him a place in flight school and win him the future he was certain that he could never have. And when he falls in love with the game’s designer, the legendary gamer Ani, Tyler thinks his life might finally be turning around.

That is, until Brandon goes MIA from rehab and Tyler and Ani discover that the game is more than it seems. Now Tyler will have to figure out what’s really going on in time to save his brother… and prevent his own future from going down in flames.

Playing Tyler is about Tyler and Ani. We get the POV of both of them but Tyler is most definitely the main character as it's more focused on him. Each time it switches it's clearly labeled and easily distinguishable between the two. Tyler has ADHD and at times his sentences are more choppy, reflecting how he's truly thinking and feeling. While this may not work for everyone, this is a style that I really appreciate and enjoy. It makes me feel like I'm truly in the head of the person and feeling what they feel. I think it works extremely well in Tyler's case and gives a true portrayal of ADHD and how they think.

Ani is only 16 and already in college at Yale. It's clear she feels a little out of her element and she's a bit intimidated by it all. When her and Tyler meet it's clear they have a bit of a connection even if Ani is denying it. Tyler may be a bit starstruck at first since she's a legendary gamer, but he seems to truly like her and he doesn't give up. I admired this quality in him, he may have come across pushy or annoying in some cases, but he didn't stalk her, he just starts with friendly emails. Ani finds she can't stay away. For me the romance was very sweet and I loved their time together. We didn't get a lot of detail, for this reason it's one that should work good for guys who don't care for romance. Tyler is super sweet to Ani but he's a little awkward. It's sweet seeing as they both gain footing around each other. We know they kiss and other stuff, but it's not on the page much, so like I said, perfect for the boys as well.

Tyler has a bit of a rough home life. His mother is really absent, and while we know she loves him, she just can't deal with stuff. His brother is in rehab and Tyler just really, really wants him to get better. The brief time we see the two together we see how much Tyler loves his brother. And it's clear that Brandon loves him too, but kicking the drug habit is not really so easy. It's frustrating at times, but that's really how it is, and I felt this portrayal of a person with a drug habit was true. It's hard to read about, but it's real. Tyler has a sort of father figure in Rick, a guy selected from a big brother-like program. It's clear him and Rick are close and he's excited when Rick hooks him up to test out a new video game, which becomes a main plot point for this story.

I enjoy all the characters immensely, particularly Tyler. But the thing that frustrated me a little was his denial once he figured some stuff out. I felt like he should have known better. At the same time it's understandable, so I felt like I had to forgive him, and in the end he most definitely redeems himself.

I kind of wish that the description didn't have so much detail and that it wasn't so obvious what was going on with the game. So while Tyler is clueless, we know, or at least are pretty freaking positive we know, and I just wish there had been a tad more mystery to it. I'm not exactly sure if that could be done though, so maybe that's being nitpicky. The story was a fast one, it was easy to keep reading even if at times I didn't feel a particular urgency to do so. I was happy to see how things unfolded and the last quarter was constant action, I didn't put the book down once.

Overall this was a very enjoyable read and I recommend it to fans of contemporary fiction, particularly those who are gamers or enjoy a touch of realistic sci-fi.

Disclosure: I received this book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Young Adult Review & Giveaway: The Morning Star by Robin Bridges

I was very excited when I was asked to be a part of the blog tour for this book. Please check out my review and then enter to win your own copy at the end!

The Morning Star (Katerina Trilogy #3) by Robin Bridges

Hardcover, 320 pages

Expected Publication: August 27th, 2013 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Source: Publisher

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1890

Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, wants to be known as a doctor, not a necromancer. But Tsar Alexander III forbids women to attend medical school; his interest in Katerina extends only to her ability to raise the dead. Twice now, Katerina has helped him by using her power to thwart the forces of darkness—vampires bent on resurrecting the lich tsar Konstantin Pavlovich so that he can take what he sees as his rightful place on the throne. Katerina thought she had bound Konstantin to the Greylands, the realm of the dead, but he has found a way out. Now he is searching for the Morning Star, a sword that will allow him to command a legion of supernatural warriors.

Katerina must find the sword before Konstantin does—and she must travel to Egypt to do so. Along the way, she puts up with unwanted attention from her former fiancé, the nefarious Prince Danilo, and struggles with her feelings for her true love, George Alexandrovich. But with the looming threat from Konstantin, Katerina's focus remains on the sword. Russia's fate will be determined by whoever wields the Morning Star—and delivers the final blow.

Historical fantasy is so flipping fun, especially when there are real life historical figures in it. Not that I know

much about that, but there are some real historical figures in this book and just knowing that made it that much more interesting. And while I enjoyed the history it was the paranormal, the fantasy, that took center
stage. Keeping this spoiler free for the previous books means this review will be vague, but one thing that everyone knows once they start these books, is that it's full of paranormal creatures. There's about every paranormal type thing you can dream of. And in the first book I felt like it was a bit much, maybe a tad overwhelming even, in the second book I was totally on board with it. And for the most part that feeling has carried over into this one.

The people in these books have titles, so they are sometimes called by their title, sometimes by their name and sometimes by what they are. That on top of the fact that there are lots of characters, and they are important to the story, it got a bit confusing and at times overwhelming. I found myself struggling to keep everyone straight, but the fact that I had a year in between books likely added to that struggle and for that reason I do recommend you attempt to read the books closer together and I think you would appreciate them much more.

Katerina has had quite a journey and I was happy to see some things finally coming together. Unfortunately there's one last, very large, battle to deal with and Katerina is in the center of it all. I admired her for listening to her head and her heart equally. It's hard to make some choices, and I admired her ability to remember to use her head and look to the future and not just follow what she wanted at that very moment.

The other characters in the book are good as well. I really love Prince Danilo and his wit and snark. He's a character that you never really know what to expect from him and you can't help but like him, even if he's not necessarily good. George is the other character I want to mention. My favorite thing about him is he doesn't allow drama to enter his life. He wants to do the right thing but thinks of the others first. I admired him for his strength when faced with some particular things. He was able to see through certain things and followed his heart to what he knew was right.

I'm sad to see the trilogy end but I felt like it went out with a bang. While I'm unsure how I feel about the conclusion, I know that I enjoyed most aspects of it. There's a bit of open-endedness, but I can see how that was necessary. And the other big thing that happened made up for all of it and actually made me tear up.

I definitely recommend this series, but try to remember to read them closer together so you can keep everything straight. There's a bit of violence, but otherwise it's all pretty clean.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.

By day, Robin is a mild-mannered writer of fantasy and paranormal fiction for young adults. By night, she is a pediatric nurse. Robin lives on the Gulf Coast with her husband, one teenager, and two slobbery mastiffs. THE GATHERING STORM is her first novel.