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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Maya Rodale's Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement Blog Tour and Giveaway

Button for Your Blog:


Guest Blog Post: 

Who’s that girl? Meet the heroine who captured the heart of the bad boy billionaire

By Maya Rodale

What’s not to love about a bad boy billionaire? Modern day Wallflower Jane Sparks can’t think of any reasons not to…other than the possible broken heart. But his kisses are damn hard to give up. Here’s what you need to know about the girl who captures the heart of Duke Austen, the bad boy billionaire.


1.      She’s a small town girl, living in the big city. After one really bad day in which she lost her job and got dumped by her boyfriend of twelve years, Jane does the sensible thing: ditches her small town life and moves to New York City for bigger and better adventures.

2.      She’s a librarian by day…A lifelong book lover and librarian, Jane lands a job at the New York Public Library. True fact: I had a really awesome day researching NYPL! It’s definitely a great place to visit in the city.

3.      …And a romance novelist by night. She’s always kept a stack of romance novels under the bed, but now she’s determined to write one. The problem: she doesn’t have an idea for a story. The solution: Duke Austen, the bad boy billionaire. He definitely gives her something to write about (and it’s The Wicked Wallflower, a historical romance).

4.      The hero calls her Sweater Set. Because Jane wears sweater sets. She’s a good girl who plays by the rules, likes things just so and hasn’t done a daring thing in her life. Until now…Duke tempts her in ways she never imagined (and gives her pleasure she’s never imagined). Soon enough this good girl is breaking all the rules.


For more of Duke and Jane’s sexy romance, check out The Bad Boy Billionaire's Wicked Arrangement and The Bad Boy Billionaire’s Girl Gone Wild.



Question: Are you a small town girl or a city girl? 

Excerpt:






And the giveaway:
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Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Fire & Flood (Fire & Flood #1) by: Victoria Scott

ARC received from publisher. There is no bias in this review. 

3.5 Stars, Rounded Up




A modern day thrill ride, where a teen girl and her animal companion must participate in a breathtaking race to save her brother's life—and her own. 

Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?
Do you know what's horrible? The fact that in the title, the "i" is not capitalized, but all the other letters are. It's terrible, and I almost didn't read it for that capitalization error alone, but come on, it was a Victoria Scott novel, and that woman is an amazing writer. But fear not! What's inside the book makes up for that "i". Kind of.

So a while ago, there was a huge craze about this book. It's died down since then. But what always confused me was what a Pandora was. Maybe it was just me being the typically ignorant me, and Victoria and everyone in the blogging community specifically defined it, but I never really understood what it was until after I read the book. And no, this isn't a spoiler, since it's in the first fifty-ish pages. For all you people out there that are like me, a Pandora is a genetically-engineered animal companion in the Brimstone Bleed. It's a different animal for everyone. For Tella, however, it's a fox. A really, really, REALLY cute fox. One that you just want to snuggle with and pet and play with. All the Pandoras have special powers and are basically amazing.

The plot is like in the Hunger Games. Actually, it is the Hunger Games. There's a teenage girl who needs to save her younger sibling and the only way to do so is to join a tournament where only one can survive. Add in a few extra characters and plot points, and ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Brimstone Bleed!

Fire & Flood is basically the Hunger Games, but better. Tella isn't as whiny or ignorant as Katniss, there's no love triangle, and the writing's just better. Victoria Scott has this imaginative way of writing that's snarky and relatable.

Since this book is targeted for teens, there's automatically going to be a romance aspect to it. An awesome thing about this book is that there's no instant attraction between the two main characters. In fact, it's like they don't really care for each other. For part of the book, at least. And then, with little to no warning at all, both of them just become like every other teen couple in YA,

The descriptions and the settings of Fire & Flood were insanely vivid and interesting. Though I'd hate to be in the Brimstone Bleed, I can relate to Tella and how she manages to pull through every challenge the tournament throws at her. She had some of the idiotic teenage moments, though, which really annoyed me.

This novel immediately hooked me in from the beginning, but then it drags towards the middle. The end of Fire & Flood is better than the beginning, though.

If not for all the similarities to the Hunger Games, this would have easily been a four point five, maybe even a five star read,

Thank you, Scholastic Publishing, for giving me the opportunity of reading and reviewing Fire & Flood.
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Happy Holidays


To All You Amazing People Reading This,

I hope you have a great Christmas and holiday season. And so what if you have to not be able to read for a few minutes and have to interact with living things? You get to...um... fine. The holidays aren't that awesome anymore now that you think of it. Except for that bit about presents. And spending time with people that matter to you. So, I hope you all the books you wanted are under the tree. And I also hope that the trashy books you got aren't opened by a six year old wondering how the people aren't cold because they have no clothes on. And then, you'll have to explain to said six year old why they aren't wearing any clothes, which will be a great and fun experience.

Happy Holidays,
Alisa


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Friday, December 20, 2013

Book Blitz and Giveway : The Double Life of Incorporate Things




"Just when we think our nightmares are over, the Society has invented a new horror. Around every corner a shadow, behind every whisper a demon. If we don't end what the devils began, we will die haunted..."

The Magic Most Foul saga takes a deadly turn as The Master’s Society unveils its next ungodly avenue of paranormal experimentation. First, souls were split from bodies. Then the dead were reanimated. Now, a mind-altering chemical has been unleashed in Manhattan. Demonic trauma and terror escalates for the dashing Lord Denbury and brave, feisty Miss Natalie Stewart. Together with their stalwart friends and unlikely heroes, they take the fight directly to the Denbury estate, where a collective evil has awakened. But are Natalie and Jonathon prepared for all the sacrifices that shall be asked of them? With their very lives and the sanctity of their mortal souls at stake, these lovers are past the point of no return...

Excerpt:

I set the paper down slowly enough to see the thin edges shake as the full, personal impact of the newspaper article hit me.

"Natalie, what is it?" Jonathon asked, staring at me with those eviscerating blue eyes of his. I opened my mouth but no sound came out. Damn my unpredictable, inconstant voice.

For the past many months now, I'd been pummeled by one strange event after another, pulled into the center of a paranormal whirlpool. At least in this case, we had an inkling, some sense of the next onslaught. Still, a foreshadow was hardly a comfort. We couldn't have guessed the scope.

Now it wasn't just myself or Jonathon Whitby, Lord Denbury in danger, with the occasional collateral victim. Now it was a crowd. I knew the Association. I adored them. They weren't hooligans or criminals, they were gentle souls, artistic and individual. Overdramatic, yes, but a threat? Hardly. This maligning was the work of The Master's Society, turning lambs into lions in ungodly experiments, leaving them for fodder in sensational, indelicate journalism. It could only get worse. Exponentially worse.

"It's begun," I finally managed to reply quietly, sliding the paper across the lacquered console table behind the sofa toward Jonathon's reach. "Another phase. They've gone after the Association. And the papers will vilify those poor dears, every last one of them. Jonathon, the demons won't give up..."

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Website - http://www.leannareneehieber.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LRHieber
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Leannarenee
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1651952.Leanna_Renee_Hieber

Buy Links:

Amazon -  http://amzn.to/19mdmN0
Barnes and Noble - http://bit.ly/1cG5C9o

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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Mind Trace Tour and Giveaway




Mind Trace
Holly McCaghren
What would you do to possess unlimited knowledge and power?
Nineteen year-old Alice McArthur never had a choice. A shy girl from a small town, Alice has gained a reputation for her near-genius programming abilities, even getting the attention of EngineerCorp, a rising electronics empire. With her unique skill-set she is hand-picked to test their network security by hacking into their global mainframe.
But something goes terribly wrong.
The next thing Alice knows, she wakes up on the floor with a migraine, unnatural powers, a server’s worth of data in her head and the realization that this job was not what it seemed.

Now a fugitive from justice and on the run from the evil leader of a corporate empire, Alice doesn’t know who to trust or where to turn. She must find a way to secure her freedom and stop those who would keep her prisoner for life — or worse.


Excerpt:         
 As she was closing the side cargo compartment on her Ducati, a deep, velvety voice spoke behind her.

"Going somewhere, Alice?"


She spun around so fast that she tripped over the wheel on her bike and fell down onto gravel. As fast as she could manage, she stood up and found herself backed against the opposite sidewall under the carport.


It's him!


Eric stood there, on the edge of the opposite wall. He was dressed in a perfectly fitted, expensive-looking suit, leaning casually against the wall as if he had every right to be there. A smirk teased the corner of his lips, and his eyes glittered menacingly down at her. She quickly glanced around, trying to assess her chances of escape. She didn't see anyone else around, but she had to assume that there were others, currently hiding out of view.


How did this happen? I should have known better. I should have been prepared! What am I going to do? I have to stall him until I figure out a plan.


"Wha-what are you doing here?" she finally managed to ask him.


Eric smiled; a confident look on his face.


"Alice, dear. Let us not feign ignorance. You know very well why I am here. You took something from me, and I want it back. It's really quite simple."


"How could I possibly have anything that you want? I don't even know who you are!"


"Oh, I think you know exactly who I am. That is irrelevant though, because I know for a fact that you gained unlawful access to a large amount of data that did not belong to you. You are going to take a little trip with me, so we can discuss all of this in great detail."


He paused, and then turned his head, glancing behind him, mouth opening as if to speak. She saw four men dressed in black tactical uniforms seemingly materialize, fanning out behind Eric.


You have to be kidding!


Alice looked around, rapidly calculating the best possible route of escape.


Now or never.


Without hesitating, she bolted around the edge of the carport, running as fast as she could in the direction of the forest surrounding the cabin.





Tour Schedule:

12/2 - A Book Obsession - Spotlight
12/3 - A_TiffyFit's Reading Corner - Excerpt
12/4 - 
The Reading Obsession - Spotlight
12/5 - 
Michelle Chew Writes - Excerpt
12/6 - 
Library Girl Reads and Reviews - Spotlight
12/6 - 
The Readiacs - Review
12/7 - 
Cassandra Lost in Books - Excerpt
12/9 - Chelle's Blue and Sparkly Corner - Spotlight
12/9 - 
Romancing the Readers - Excerpt
12/10 - 
Stitch Read Cook - Spotlight
12/11 - 
The Qwillery - Excerpt
12/11 - 
What the Cat Read - Review
12/12 - 
Happy Tails and Tales - Spotlight
12/12 - 
What I'm Reading - Review
12/13 - 
Hot Off the Shelves - Review
12/13 - Realm of the Sapphired Dragon - Review



a Rafflecopter giveaway


I was born and raised in the Houston, Texas area, and have lived in Texas my whole life! (Gotta love humidity!)
Nothing makes me happier than settling down with a good book, but they aren’t always easy to find! Some of my favorites (in no particular order) include: Jane Eyre, The Blue Sword, Dracula, Ender’s Game, Heir to the Empire, and the Harry Potter series. I love a good scifi/fantasy book, but it certainly isn’t limited to that genre.
My first book was just published via Createspace, called “Mind Trace.” It is a science fiction/adventure novel, appropriate for all ages! It is currently available through Amazon.com (paperback and Kindle), Barnesandnoble.com (paperback), and the Createspace store.
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MindTrace
Blog:
http://hollymccaghren.com/
Website: 
http://hollymccaghren.com/
Goodreads: 
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590128.Holly_McCaghren





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Monday, December 2, 2013

Bitter Sweet Love Release Day Launch

Jennifer L. Armentrout's novella in her new The Dark Elements Series, BITTER SWEET LOVE, is out and we are excited to join in the release day launch for it. BITTER SWEET LOVE is the Prequel Novella for The Dark Elements Series and is full of Wardens, fantasy, and romance. The first novel in the series, WHITE HOT KISS, will be released February 25, 2014. Check out what we have for you today! 




In a sizzling prequel novella to her new series The Dark Elements, #1 New York
Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout draws readers into the extraordinary, irresistible world of Wardens and demons.

Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining the balance between good and evil. He was her everything…right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again…

EXCERPT:


Moving lightning fast, Dez shifted and I was suddenly
underneath him. His arms were on either side of my head, caging me in. Our
bodies didn’t touch, but I felt him to the tips of my toes anyway.
        
The teasing grin disappeared when I dragged in a deep breath and my chest
brushed his. Everything changed in an instant. The playful mood faded, replaced
by primal heaviness. Our gazes collided and locked. Neither of us moved. His
closeness sent a series of shivers skittering across my skin and made it hard
to take slow, even breaths. My body tensed when his gaze dropped to my mouth.
        
He tilted his head to the side. “I… I honestly have no idea what we were
talking about.”
        
“Good. Neither do I.”
        
He shifted his weight onto one arm, bring him closer. “Have you enjoyed your
trip so far?”
        
“Yes.” I felt as if I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs.
        
“Good.” He lowered his head. His breath was minty as it moved across my cheek
and then my lips. “I’m glad.”
        
I wasn’t really following the conversation and I wasn’t sure that he was fully
aware of what was coming out of his mouth. I searched my hazy brain for
something to say and wet my lips. I-
        
The sound that came out of Dez’s chest rumbled through me. A stuttered heartbeat
passed and then his lips were on mine. There was nothing slow about this kiss.
It scorched my skin and caused my body to stretch tight like a bowstring. The
kiss deepened, spinning my senses. I shuddered when his hand curved over my
shoulder and drifted down to my waist, his long fingers spreading out under the
hem of my shirt, grazing the bare skin of my stomach.
        
I gasped, floored by the raw sensations pounding through my blood. My skin felt
as if I was about to phase. Maybe I was.


                “Jasmine,” he whispered, the word falling against my lips, and then his body
was pressing mine into the mattress, heavy, sweet and hard



.Don't miss White Hot Kiss, book one in

Jennifer L. Armentrout's The Dark Elements series from

Harlequin TEEN!

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction,
fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the
name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.






Links:




WHITE HOT KISS Buy Links:





Created by the ever amazing: 
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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Bitter Sweet Love by Jennifer Armentrout

Four Stars

ARC received from Harlequin TEEN. There is no bias in this review.


In a sizzling prequel novella to her new series The Dark Elements, #1 New York
Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout draws readers into the extraordinary, irresistible world of Wardens and demons.

Dez wasn't just Jasmine's crush. A gargoyle Warden like Jas, he helped her come to terms with her destiny—fending off demons and maintaining the balance between good and evil. He was her everything…right until the moment he disappeared without a trace. It didn't help that Jas's father had just announced that she and Dez would one day be mated. Hard not to take that personally.

And now he's back, three years older, ten times hotter, ready to pick up exactly where they left off. But Jas isn't taking that risk again. Dez has seven days to meet all her conditions and earn back her trust. Seven days filled with terrifying danger and sweet temptation. Seven days to win her heart—or shatter it all over again…


As with the Obsidian and the Covenant series, Jennifer Armentrout's next Young Adult series starts out with a novella featuring a paranormal creature everyone has heard of, but never really thought about. Instead of only being around twenty pages or so, it's slightly over a hundred, which makes it more satisfying. The best part about this, though, is that I can actually write a (kind of) full review instead of a few sentences.

Three years ago, Jas's friend/ love/ boyfriend/ typical romance character disappeared. Because she's an awesome character, she gets over it for the most part. Then, he comes back and wants to become mated with her. I swear, this isn't as dirty as it sounds. They have seven days before Jas has to make a choice between accepting or declining said ma- I can't even type out this word without snickering. She proposes a deal consisting of Dez taking her out to feel human in exchange for considering him.

This novella is possibly my favorite of JLA novellas- not that there are many of them. It sets up the storyline for the next book, White Hot Kiss, perfectly and doesn't give too much away.

As with the rest of her books, Jennifer Armentrout creates a beautifully descriptive world similar to ours. When she adds her awesome characters, it just intensifies the amazingness of it.

There isn't a hugely convoluted plot to this books; it's a simple romance story that puts a smile on your face. There are no strange plot twists or many subplots, so it's a good novella to read when your in a sad mood. It's very predictable, but in a way that automatically makes you happier.

The reason Bitter Sweet Love isn't five stars is because it's too short to reach all the expectations of a five star rating.

If you've never read a book by Jennifer Armentrout, this is a good work to start out with. It's not too complicated and is snarky and basically awesome.

Thank you again, Harlequin Teen, for giving me the opportunity of reading this prequel early. And the first book. Yes, people, I get an ARC of White Hot Kiss. Everyone be jealous of my awesomeness.
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