Teaser tuesday: The Burning star

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

*******************************************

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!

This week my teaser is from my current read "The burning star" by Jessie Lane

find out more about this book on goodreads

Don´t you just love this cover! It is so beautiful!

I frose.
Every muscle my body owned
locked down in fear.
The growl that vibrated in front of me
was the most menacing thing I´ve ever heard.
I was too terrified to move.

 

 



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In my mailbox!

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. 

It is a way for book bloggers to post what they have received for review, borrowed from a friend, bought at the bookstore, or picked up at the library.

 

This week I purchased an e book that was a happy surprise since I had no idea that it was to be released. It´s an inbetween story in the Cambion series by Shannon Dermott.

I purchased it today and finished the book today. It´s amazing!

I am totally inlove with this series so for you who has not read it yet, please do so! You are really missing something! The first two books are called "Beg for Mercy" and "Waiting for Mercy".

This is a novella in the Cambions series that should be read after Waiting for Mercy.

Best Friends until the end huh?

Flynn McAllister, bad to the bone, at least that’s what the girls say about him, is heading out of town for the weekend. He’s meeting up with a girl he met last summer. She and her sister will keep him and his best friend busy for the weekend. At least that’s what he thought, until a girl and other things get out of hand.

Luke Bishop isn’t an angel like everyone thinks. Okay, technically, maybe. But when it comes down to it, actions speak louder than words. And his shout that he’s more than what meets the eye. Getting out of town is a welcome idea. He just didn’t plan on meeting her and all the hell came with her.

 

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Guest post: Emotobooks: The Fusion of Written Fiction and Expressionistic Art by Ron Gavalik

Today we have a guest writer with us on our blog. His name is Ron Gavalik and is the author of Grit city publications and GCP publisher but we will let Ron explain more about this himself.

Emotobooks: The Fusion of Written Fiction and Expressionistic Art

Ron Gavalik

Thank you to Cecilia for allowing me to guest post.

As a writer and publisher, it’s always been a goal to bridge the gap between the cerebral gratifications of well-plotted fiction writing and the visual stimulation of illustrative art. The one day I had a mini-epiphany. Insert expressive, emotionally representative imagery in written stories, during moments of emotional consequence. By delivering a visual of what a character feels, the reader becomes more intensely immersed in the story.

Emotobooks are written fiction stories, not comics or graphic novels. The few emotional abstract images woven in the stories are the dream-like visuals each of us experience in the middle of the night.

The term Emotobook is a portmanteau word I conjured as a memorable label for the very first fiction medium for smartphones and tablets. For the first time, readers can now see actual representation of character emotions right on the page for a fun, interactive experience.

Stories are published as EmotoSerials or EmotoSingles. EmotoSerials are monthly-released, continuing stories, much like TV dramas or miniseries that continue until their climactic ends. EmotoSingles are individual experiences.

I launched Grit City Publications in July of 2011, with the first Emotobook series titled Grit City, a seven-part story about Dillon Galway, an idealistic freelance journalist, who scrapes out a living reporting on corruption. Since then, we’ve grown the Emotobooks Catalog into an array of fun genre fiction titles in Sci-Fi, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, and Horror.

Each Emotobook title consists of three creators: the author, editor, and illustrator. It’s our philosophy that three contributors on each Emotobook delivers a richer, more flavorful story. The creators even offer Autograph Cards and suggest mood settings, such as food, drink, and music. This way our fans can achieve a full-bodied experience.

Emotobooks accommodate a new audience, who desire a fast “full story experience” on smartphones, iPods, computers, or tablet readers in about 30 to 60 minutes. They can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers.

Our editors are currently seeking the best genre fiction for the Emotobooks transformation. It’s required that fiction writers read our submission guidelines and the free handbook, How to Create Emotobooks, before submitting. Our publishing model is unique and we require long-term participation from authors for everyone’s success.

Now that you’ve been introduced to the Emotobooks Revolution, I hope you’ll join our Readers Cult and begin collecting the coolest titles. We even offer free Autograph Cards to our fans. What it really comes down to is we write, edit, and illustrate the best modern fiction for our fans. Without you, we wouldn’t be here. Thank you.

Ron Gavalik’s Bio:

Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ron Gavalik is a seasoned freelance journalist and fiction author of the successful Grit City thriller series. As Publisher for Grit City Publications, he oversees the Emotobooks Revolution. Ron holds an M.A. in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University and a B.S. in Marketing Communications from Point Park University. When not writing, you can find him in the outdoors of Southwestern Pennsylvania on his trail bike, hiking, or fishing.

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Book review: Eyes from heaven by May Hull

Author: Mary Hull
Title: Eyes from Heaven
Series: book 1
Genre: Young Adult, paranormal romance
Purchase: Amazon
My rating: 2 stars

Synopsis:

Eyes from heaven is about a 17 year old girl named Lily who has just moved to a new town with her mother after the death of her younger brother. She begins to attend a new high school and tries to cope with the reality of her brother’s death. She befriends a new face at school who is actually her new neighbor, a boy her own age who also moved to their town. He has no family, no job, and is the smartest boy at her school and who also becomes the captain of the basketball team. Their time together brings about new disclosures about her fears, her desires, and the real reason for his presence.

My thoughts:

I really hate to give a bad review of a book because I understand how much time and effort an author has put in his or her book but at the same time I feel like I need to be honest. This book was not all that good.

I will say this. It had potential to be really good but first of I felt like I had read this a hundred times all ready.  The story just wasn´t original but it could have been if Hull had worked a little more with the book. When I read this book it felt like watching a movie on fast forward only pausing for regular speed at the key moments of the story and that made it hard for me to actually get a feel for the story and the characters in this book.

When you read a book you want to feel like you are there with the characters, that is what makes a great story. You do not want the story to be like a phone call with your best friend who is telling you the story of her first kiss or something like that. You want to be there in that moment and not hear about it.

In my opinion this book needs a lot more work before it can be truly great. It wasn´t for me but maybe someone else will love this story. Who knows?!

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Free Copy of Twin Souls!

K.A. Poe is giving away her first book "Twin Souls" on Amazon between July 25th-27th!
Don´t miss the opportunity to grab a copy of this awesome series =)

Seventeen year old Alexis finds herself on the eve of her eighteenth birthday. What generally means a step into adulthood instead opens its way to a terrifying truth about not only her family, but herself. She comes from a long line of vampire hunters, and her real dad wants her to carry on the family quest. At the same time, she is falling for a new boy at school who has his own secret. He is a vampire. Alexis is forced to make a decision from which there is no turning back. – Will she deny this newly discovered heritage, or embrace it.

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Book Review: Moonlight Mayhem by Sherry Soule

Author: Sherry Soule
Title: Moonlight Mayhem
Series: Spellbound Series #2
Genre: YA Paranormal romance
Purchase: Amazon
My rating: 4.5 stars!


About the book:
Otherworldly Creatures. Dazzling Magic. Fiery Romance.

Shiloh Ravenwolf thought she was getting used to the strange events in Whispering Pines, until the full moon brings another surge of supernatural threats to her coastal town. Ferocious wolves, deadly necromancers, and shambling zombies have descended upon the neighborhood, so Shiloh needs to gain control of her magical abilities—fast!

It sucks that she has a crippling fear of the dark, which for a demon hunter can be an epic problem. But she spends so much time wallowing in the darkness, how can she not become a part of it?

When her classmates are attacked by a mysterious creature and her father is murdered, Shiloh vows vengeance. Forcing her phobias aside, she forms an unlikely coven of supernaturally gifted teens to help her eradicate this menace. Except that’s not all Shiloh has to worry about. She’s battling a different monster within herself and struggling not to become the very thing she fights: evil.

But with demon blood inside her—anything can happen…


My Thoughts:


What can I say? I knew before I started this book that it would be great!
Before I started I was curious of the book title but now I definitively know. It really is a mayhem going on. You get new weird things happening and new characters that we are introduced to.
As the plot says Shiloh meets new allies and the people she allies with are soo unexpected! But I love it!
I must say that I at first thought that Sherry put to many different supernatural creatures in one book but as it progressed I ended up loving it. It would not be a good story otherwise.


Shiloh is so stongminded and when she wants something she makes it happen. I love how she doesn't care about what people thinks about her. If she want to dye her hair pink she does so without blinking.
I really felt sorry for Shiloh when her dad was killed and her sorrow was so great it could consume her. But she would not let it. Instead she turned to anger and vengance. Vengance is all she thinks about, but what happens when and if she finds it? That you will just have to see when you read it.


Trent, the all to lovely Trent! I love him too! I can´t really say much about him without spoilers so I will leave it at that =)

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Tune in Tuesday!

Tune in Tuesday is hosted by Ginger @ GReads

 

What were you listening to when you were a teenager? We all come from different decades, with different tunes.  For this month, please pick some of your favorite songs that bring you back to those glorious teenage years!

The Year: 2002. This year I was 14 years old and going through a Hip-Hop stage lol. I was mostly listening to Hip-hop and RnB from age 14 to age 18 so I guess I will have to give you my favorite hip hop artist. I was kind of inlove with him to lol! I also liked Aaliyah, 2Pac and Nas.

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Book Review: Hybrid by K.A. Poe

Author: K. A. Poe
Title: Hybrid
Series: Nevermore #2
Genre: Paranormal romance, Young adult
Purchase: Amazon
My rating: 








Hybrid is the second novel in K.A. Poe's Nevermore series. If you have not read book one yet, please look for Twin Souls (Nevermore, Book 1) available exclusively at Amazon!


About the Book:
Alexis has come a long way since learning the truth about her vampire hunting lineage. If becoming a hunter wasn't bad enough, she discovered that she possessed a gift few hunters have ever been blessed with. The gift of the raven. But is this a gift or a curse?
When a mysterious new girl starts hanging around Alexis' friends and lurking around town, Alex suspects the worst. Is Claire more than she seems? One thing is certain, Alex needs to learn to control her new ability in order to make sure the ones she loves stay safe.


My Thoughts:
Lovely Book! This was a perfect sequel to Twin Souls and I truly hope we will get to read a third book about Alex and Salem. There is a lot going on in this book aswell just like in Twin Souls but in this one I think it´s more action. And I must say OMG to all of the crazy, sad and confusing things that Alex have to endure in this book. I would crumble instantly if I was her, gladly i´m not her lol. The only thing I do envy is her relaionship with Salem. He is so loving and understanding all of the time and Alex is everything to him.  Alex relationship to her father Paul is kind of strained and weird at times, especially to the end of the story. Not to spoil anything but I really loved the turn Hybrid took towards the end of the book and it will be something to spin on in the third book (fingers crossed for that).


The story is so well written and you can really picture everything in your mind which I love! 
Thanks to K.A. Poe for writing such a great story!

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Book review: How to marry a Duke by Vicky Dreiling

Author: Vicky Dreiling
Title: How to marry a Duke
Series: How to series #1
Genre: Adult, Historical Romance
Purchase: Amazon |
My rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis:

Tristan, the Duke of Shelbourne is a man with a mission: find a wife he can tolerate as long as they both shall live. Love is not necessary--nor desired. But how to choose among a dizzying array of wealthy-yet-witless candidates? Hire London's infamously prim and proper matchmaker. Then pretend she's not the most captivating woman he's ever met...

Helping a devilish Duke create a contest to pick his perfect mate is the kind of challenge Tessa Mansfield relishes. Her methods may be scandalous, but she's determined to find the notorious bachelor more than a wife--she'll bring him true love. Yet when Tessa watches the women vie for the Duke's affections, she longs to win his heart herself. And after a stolen kiss confirms Tristan's desire, Tessa knows she has broken a matchmaker's number one rule: never fall in love with the groom.

My thoughts:

Before I start I just want to add that this is an adult romance and does contain love scenes that is not suitable for young adult readers

This was an awesome historical romance! I have always have a soft spot for historical fiction but is not very often I find a historical romance that is not only about the romance between two people. Usually the story goes: Man meets woman, they argue all the time, the make love, they argue some more have a few misunderstandings and then they kiss and make up and live happily ever after. RIGHT?!

Well you have that... sort of in this book too but you also have a secret past with skeletons in the closet and danger from a shadow of the past that nearly destroy the future happiness of our brave heroine. Not to mention a whole bunch of interesting side characters to make the story more intriguing. 

Tessa the main character of this story is a really strong and brave woman but she is also very troubled and afraid of a potential scandal with her name on it. Tristan is a man with a very clear view of what he wants and what does not want and his idea of the perfect woman is unattainable or  maybe Tessa is the perfect one to find him such a bride that fills all his qualifications? 

This book is filled with humor, love, jealousy, danger and sometimes just silliness when it comes to matter of the heart! I highly recommend this book if you like historical romances because it is one of the best I´ve read!

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Cover reveal: Shadow of the blood moon by Robin P. Waldrop

COVER REVEAL

Today we have great news! The title and the cover of the second book in the blood moon series by Robin P Waldrop is revealed. Sandra loved the first book in this series Ties to the blood moon and she did a review which you can read HERE. The book got 4 stars in rating
Buy your copy of Ties to the blood moon on HERE ON AMAZON
From The review:

 "It was a great story with a lot of twists and turns and you really never knew what was about to happen." 

"In the end of the story I was completely chocked by one turn of event which I think was really good since it was something you really did not expect."

Book 2 in the blood moon series:

Shadow of the blood moon

RELEASE DATE AUGUST 10th

Genevieve Labreck is back with a score to settle. Her mom has been kidnapped by Zane, hybrid and all-around monster.  Rumors fly that Gen’s mom is holed away in Prague, a city recognized by humans for its serene beauty and intense culture, but Gen and Will know something humans don’t. Prague is haunted by dark, evil forces.

Can Gen and Will save her mom, or will they be too late?

Some will live, others will fall. At what price do you walk away from those you love?

Which team do you want to join?

More info on Robin P. Waldrop

Robin´s blog: http://www.robinpwaldrop.blogspot.se/
Robin on twitter: https://twitter.com/Robinpwaldrop
Robin on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/robinsauthorpage

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Book review: The secrets of the Vanmars by Elizabeth Wheatley

Author: Elizabeth Wheatley
Title: The secrets of the Vanmars
Series: The Argetallam saga #2
Genre: Young adult, fantasy romance
Purchase: Amazon | B&N |
My rating: 4.5 stars

Synopsis:

After her adventures with the Key of Amatahns, sixteen-year-old Janir Caersynn Argetallam returns home to find Brevia on the brink of war with a neighboring country, Stlaven. Her foster-father and even Saoven—a brave young elf warrior—think it will be safe at the castle where Janir grew up. However, while trying to unravel a looming mystery, Karile—self-taught wizard and Janir’s self-appointed best friend—becomes certain that there is danger in the mountains surrounding Janir’s childhood home and that it has something to do with Stlaven’s most powerful family, the Vanmars…

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading this second book in the Argetallam Saga. It was a great read and just as intriguing and exciting as the first book in the saga. There is also more romance in this book which I love. This book is filled with exciting mysteries, action, love and a lot of humor and we have the best friend Karile to thank for that. 

If you´ve read the first book in this series you know that Janir struggles with her past and the fact that she is an Argetallam and not just that she is the heir and a princess. She is just as insecure and troubled about her heritage in this book as she was in the first one if not more. 

Karile is the funny best friend who always seems to get himself in trouble and he is just as good at that in this book! Without him there would be no story since he is the one who always gets Janir into trouble. 

Something happens between Janir and Saoven but noting is said but there is definitely something there. A beginning of something more than friendship.

I loved this book! I was unable to put it down, there is never a dull moment, something exciting is always happening. This book was greatly written and is a must read this year! 4.5 stars should speak for it self, if you do not have this one in your TBR pile then you should add it right now!

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Teaser tuesday: How to marry a duke

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading.

*******************************************

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!

This week my teaser is from the historical romance How to marry a duke by Vicky Dreiling

Tessa snapped her fingers, startling him out of his lusty contemplation.
"Tristan, you are not listening. Do not try to deny it. I see the glazed look
in your eyes."

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Book review: The Key of Amatahns by Elizabeth Wheatley

Author: Elizabeth Wheatley
Title: The key of Amatahns
Series: Argetallam saga #1
Genre: Young adult, fantasy
Purchase: Indiebound | Amazon | B&N
Rating: 4.5 stars

About the book:

Janir had the misfortune of being born with one of the hated Argetallams for a father. But unlike other Argetallam children, she was mostly granted a normal childhood, away from the rest of her family. It looked as if she would live a relatively normal life as the foster-daughter of a powerful lord. Until one critical day Janir’s powers awakened and she became entangled in a young enchanter’s quest for a long-lost treasure called the Key of Amatahns..

My thoughts:

It was a long time ago I read a real fantasy book and I can´t recall I have ever read a YA fantasy before! I LOVED THIS ONE! I was completely captured by the content of this book by page ONE. Some how I just think that fantasy should be written in third person. it works better some how and this book is. I usually give books a lower rating if they are written in third person because I like the books better in first person but with fantasy it works and always has for me so it was perfect!

I loved Janir, she is strong without realizing it and she is very brave. And even though she is Argetallam she unbelievably kind and she is ashamed that she is Argetallam and that is something she struggles with.

We also get to meet Karile who becomes a good but annoying friend to her. We also get to meet the mysterious elf Saoven who is a person I was curious of the entire story.

This was such a great read with several interesting characters who kept the story intriguing and sometimes funny throughout the book. When I was finished with this I could not wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

If you want to read a great YA fantasy this year then you have to read this one. It was well written, with both action, humor and a sense of romance that hang in the air. 

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In our mailbox!

IMM is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. 

It is a way for book bloggers to post what they have received for review, borrowed from a friend, bought at the bookstore, or picked up at the library.

This week Cecilia got a lot of new books:
The Dream Trilogy by Nora Roberts

Strange Neighbors series by Ashlyn Chase

"How to" Series (Book 1+2) by Vicky Dreiling

And Sandra received a very anticipated ARC Copy of Moonlight Mayhem by Sherry Soule!

On Goodreads:

Finding the dream by Nora Roberts

Holding the dream by Nora Roberts

Daring to Dream by Nora Roberts

Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase

The Werewolf Upstairs by Ashlyn Chase

The Vampire next door by Ashlyn Chase

How to marry a duke by Vicky Dreiling

How to seduce a scoundrel by Vicky Dreiling

Moonlight Mayhem by Sherry Soule

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