Friday, August 30, 2013

Guest Post: Author Kassy Tayler

Ideas
 

I’ve been asked how I came up with the idea for a world inside a dome with a coal miner as a heroine.  It was a lot of thought combined with a horrible accident and the memory of an old Star Trek episode. 

I write historical westerns under the name Cindy Holby and Scifi under the name Colby Hodge and was thinking about branching out into another genre.  Steampunk was a logical fit because of the historical setting and the addition of gadgets.  I was giving serious consideration to a story when the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred in WV on April 10 2010.  28 of 31 miners were killed by an explosion. 

This disaster struck close to my heart because both of my grandfathers were miners and my mother’s brother was killed in a mining accident which indirectly led to the death of his daughter who was only 2 days younger than me. 

I wanted to pay tribute to the miners and the life they lead, especially after hearing my grandfather talk about how my uncle knew he was going to die in the mines even before he went into them.  And he went into them because it was the only job available to him. 


That’s when Wren was born.  I saw her, lying on her back on top of a building, looking up at the dome.  The dome came from a Star Trek episode called The World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky.  For some reason that line stayed with me my entire life. 

Wren MacAvoy came to me as a full character.  Her wants and her failings were all wrapped up in a neat package and our journey began.  I had no intention of writing her story in first person present but that’s the way it came out and her words were so strong that I chose to keep it that way. 

You never know what’s going to inspire you and where the ideas come from.  Our stories are a result of our experience.  Who knew that a show I watched when I was in middle school would stay with me this long and inspire me to write about it. 

I am also very grateful that I got to honor my uncle and cousin in such an
extraordinary way.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Countdown: September 2013 (3)


Fall is officially (almost) here, and it's my favorite time of year! No matter where I live or where I get the chance to visit, the Fall months are always the best wherever you land. I love pulling out a favorite pair of jeans and a super comfortable and slimming black turtleneck sweater with a pair of great boots. That's my idea of a perfect outfit, and a great book always goes great with that. And now that Summer is wrapping up, I'm winding down on the quick and fun reads that I feel goes hand in hand with the weather, and instead will venture into reading just about anything that comes across my path and sounds intriguing. Here are a few that fit that bill.
 
Countdown Pick #1:  The Woken Gods by Gwenda Bond (09/03/2013)
 

The more things change…

Five years ago, the gods of ancient mythology awoke all around the world.

The more things stay the same…

This morning, Kyra Locke is late for school because of an argument with her father.

Seventeen-year-old Kyra lives in a transformed Washington, D.C., dominated by the embassies of divine pantheons and watched over by the mysterious Society of the Sun that governs mankind’s relations with the gods. But when rebellious Kyra encounters two trickster gods on her way home, one offering a threat and the other a warning, it turns out her life isn't what it seems. She escapes with the aid of Osborne "Oz" Spencer, a young Society field operative, only to discover that her scholar father has disappeared with a dangerous Egyptian relic. The Society needs the item back, and they aren’t interested in her protests that she knows nothing about it or her father's secrets.

Now Kyra must depend on her wits and the suspect help of scary Sumerian gods, her estranged oracle mother, and, of course, Oz--whose first allegiance is to the Society. She has no choice if she’s going to recover the missing relic and save her father. And if she doesn't? Well, that may just mean the end of the world as she knows it. From the author of Blackwood comes a fresh, thrilling urban fantasy that will appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, and Rick Riordan.

 
The way I see it I get not only a book that centers around ancient mythology (one of my favorites) and takes place in modern times all in one package!  If what the synopsis says is true and it's anything like Clare's work, with the added bonus of this high powered action adventure featuring the ancient and mythical gods, I'm totally on board.
 
 

Smart girls aren't supposed to do stupid things.
Madelyn Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she's so gifted that she can attend college through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets Bennet. He's cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she's endured - and missed out on - in order to excel academically and please her parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she's falling in love.
 
There's only one problem. Bennet is Madelyn's college professor, and he thinks she's eighteen - because she hasn't told him the truth.
 
The story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to Bennet - both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.
 
The synopsis alone would have been enough to make me want to pick up a copy of this future release for my collection, but then I found out that author Amanda Grace is actually just a pen name for Mandy Hubbard and it was a done deal.
 
Countdown Pick #3:  Antigoddess (Goddess War, #1) by Kendare Blake (09/10/2013)
 

The Goddess War begins in Antigoddess, the first installment of the new series by acclaimed author of Anna Dressed in Blood, Kendare Blake.

Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.

These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.


Super excited for yet another future release centering around ancient mythology.  I realize this one might not be playing too close to the textbooks we're giving in school on these legends, but I like the idea around each god or goddess dying in different ways, and I'm eager to see who forms which side of this war.
 
Countdown Pick #4:  The Red Queen Dies: A Mystery by Frankie Y. Bailey (09/10/2013)
 

Frankie Bailey introduces readers to a fabulous new protagonist and an Alice in Wonderland-infused crime in this stunning mystery, which kicks off an exciting new series set in the near future.

The year is 2019, and a drug used to treat soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder, nicknamed "Lullaby," has hit the streets. Swallowing a little pill erases traumatic memories, but what happens to a criminal trial when the star witness takes a pill and can't remember the crime? When two women are murdered in quick succession, biracial police detective Hannah McCabe is charged with solving the case. In spite of the advanced technology, including a city-wide surveillance program, a third woman is soon killed, and the police begin to suspect that a serial killer is on the loose. But the third victim, a Broadway actress known as “The Red Queen,” doesn’t fit the pattern set by the first two murders.

With the late September heat sizzling, Detective Hannah McCabe and her colleagues on the police force have to race to find the killer in a tangled web of clues that involve Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Fast-paced and original, this is a one-of-a-kind mystery from an extremely talented crime writer.


What a combination huh?  I love all things Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland related so I was on board from the start.
 
Countdown Pick #5:  Relativity by Cristin Bishara (09/10/2013)
 

If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities.

Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her life—if things had gone differently at key moments. The windshield wiper missing her mother’s throat…her big brother surviving his ill-fated birth…her father never having met Willow. Her ideal world—one with everything and everyone she wants most—could be within reach. But is there such a thing as a perfect world? What is Ruby willing to give up to find out?

Much like Kasie West's Pivot Point, I like exploring the idea of seeing what other realities could have been and characters facing choices of what if?  It's an idea that's always intrigued me, and while I understand that sometimes the saying 'careful what you wish for' proves to be a very wise one, it never hurts to read about it, right?

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Goodreads Top 200 Most Popular Books in 2013

Have any of you had a chance to check out the list that Goodreads put up with the top 200 most popular books for the year 2013?  As most of you know, I'm not shy about admitting my love for a good countdown post while I wait for some of the titles that I'm most craving.  This GR list that was posted was so much fun to browse and critique that I couldn't help but share.  Here are a few of my favorites that made the list for this year, but make sure to check out the whole list to see if there are any titles that you might have missed and want to pick up!

Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth


One choice will define you.

What if your whole world was a lie?
What if a single revelation—like a single choice—changed everything?
What if love and loyalty made you do things you never expected?

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.


Walking Disaster (Beautiful, #2) by Jamie McGuire


Finally, the highly anticipated follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Disaster.

Can you love someone too much?

Travis Maddox learned two things from his mother before she died: Love hard. Fight harder.

In Walking Disaster, the life of Travis is full of fast women, underground gambling, and violence. But just when he thinks he is invincible, Abby Abernathy brings him to his knees.

Every story has two sides. In Beautiful Disaster, Abby had her say. Now it’s time to see the story through Travis’s eyes.


The Elite (The Selection, #2) by Kiera Cass


The hotly-anticipated sequel to the New York Times bestseller The Selection.

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.


Just One Day (Just One Day, #1) by Gayle Forman


A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!


Splintered (Splintered, #1) by A.G. Howard


This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.


Pivot Point (Pivot Point, #1) by Kasie West


Knowing the outcome doesn’t always make a choice easier . . .

Addison Coleman’s life is one big “What if?” As a Searcher, whenever Addie is faced with a choice, she can look into the future and see both outcomes. It’s the ultimate insurance plan against disaster. Or so she thought. When Addie’s parents ambush her with the news of their divorce, she has to pick who she wants to live with—her father, who is leaving the paranormal compound to live among the “Norms,” or her mother, who is staying in the life Addie has always known. Addie loves her life just as it is, so her answer should be easy. One Search six weeks into the future proves it’s not.

In one potential future, Addie is adjusting to life outside the Compound as the new girl in a Norm high school where she meets Trevor, a cute, sensitive artist who understands her. In the other path, Addie is being pursued by the hottest guy in school—but she never wanted to be a quarterback’s girlfriend. When Addie’s father is asked to consult on a murder in the Compound, she’s unwittingly drawn into a dangerous game that threatens everything she holds dear. With love and loss in both lives, it all comes down to which reality she’s willing to live through . . . and who she can’t live without.


Apollyon (Covenant, #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout


Fate isn’t something to mess with… and now, neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the Awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate, and Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods—and Alex herself—to bring her back.

The gods have killed thousands and could destroy entire cities in their quest to stop Seth from taking Alex’s power and becoming the all-powerful God Killer. But breaking Alex’s connection to Seth isn’t the only problem. There are a few pesky little loopholes in the whole “an Apollyon can’t be killed” theory, and the only person who might know how to stop the destruction has been dead for centuries.

Finding their way past the barriers that guard the Underworld, searching for one soul among countless millions, and then somehow returning will be hard enough. Alex might be able to keep Seth from becoming the God Killer… or she might become the God Killer herself.


Chosen At Nightfall (Shadowfalls, #5) by C.C. Hunter


Kylie Galen's life hasn't been the same since her world was turned upside-down in Born at Midnight, Shadow Falls #1, and now an epic conclusion to her journey—not to mention a tough choice between two guys!—is brewing in Chosen at Nightfall:

When Kylie Galen left Shadow Falls, she thought it was the hardest decision of her life. Heartbroken and separated from everyone she loves, she has to embrace her abilities and what it means to be a chameleon. But as Kylie's journey comes to a close, she must return to the camp that started it all...and she must finally chose between the two boys who love her. The werewolf who broke her heart when he chose his pack over her, and the half-fae who ran from their intense attraction before they ever really had a chance. For Kylie, everything will finally be revealed and nothing will ever be the same.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

ARC Review: Taste Test by Kelly Fiore

Nora Henderson has been basting baby back ribs for as long as she could reach the counter of her dad's famous barbecue joint. When she's accepted to Taste Test, a teen reality cooking competition, Nora can't wait to leave her humble hometown behind. On set, run-ins with the maddeningly handsome and talented son of a famous chef, Christian Van Lorten, make Nora wonder if it's him or the win she really wants, but as she and Christian emerge as front-runners for the final prize, Nora can't ignore the mysterious accidents plaguing the kitchen arena. Someone is conducting eliminations of their own, and if Nora doesn't stop them, she could be next to get "chopped" for good.

With romance and intrigue as delectable as the winning recipes included in the story, this debut novel will be devoured by all.
I absolutely adored this book!  It's been a while since I read this one, but I still remember all the fun and laughs that were had throughout the entire book.  I'm a huge fan of all the reality shows with cooking themes, so when I got wind of this book I was completely anxious to dive right in.  As this was a title by a debut YA author, I wasn't sure what to expect, but had high hopes despite all that based on the book's premise alone.
 
With a little time left in this final month of Summer, there's still plenty of time for readers to pick this book up and enjoy all the comedy and delicious recipes that Fiore strings together.  It was a fast read, mainly because I couldn't wait to see who would win each cooking competition, who would be subject to the next "accident" that took place on each set, and what would come of the sparks that were flying between Nora and Christian.
 
Fiore packed a lot into this opener and she's definitely won me over, and has me eagerly anticipating anything she puts out on the shelves in the future.  The only disappointment was that the reality cooking show wasn't something I could actually watch on TV.  Now I know that Master Chef has a child's version coming out soon, and one can only hope that maybe a teen version will be next, but in the meantime, I just might have to go back to this title from time to time for a little re-read in order to quench my appetite.  A very entertaining and promising start for Fiore!

Sunday, August 25, 2013

In My Mailbox (107)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.

Here's what I got, what did you guys get this week?

For Review:
 
 Dead Girls Don't Lie by Jennifer Shaw Wolf (Thanks to Walker Childrens)
 
Rachel died at two a.m . . . Three hours after Skyler kissed me for the first time. Forty-five minutes after she sent me her last text.
Jaycee and Rachel were best friends. But that was before. . .before that terrible night at the old house. Before Rachel shut Jaycee out. Before Jaycee chose Skyler over Rachel. Then Rachel is found dead. The police blame a growing gang problem in their small town, but Jaycee is sure it has to do with that night at the old house. Rachel’s text is the first clue—starting Jaycee on a search that leads to a shocking secret. Rachel’s death was no random crime, and Jaycee must figure out who to trust before she can expose the truth.

In the follow-up to her powerful debut, Jennifer Shaw Wolf keeps readers on their toes in another dark, romantic story of murder and secrets.

Fields of Elysium (Fields of Elysium, #1) by A.B. Whelan (Thanks to InMotion Capital)


How can love mend a heart full of hate?

Small town girl, Molly Bennett, moves to Los Angeles where she becomes an outsider while attending Beverly Hills High School. It seems life cannot be any more dreadful. Then one day after school, something magical happens. On a secluded hike in the Hollywood Hills, Molly chases her disobedient mutt and only friend into a hidden cavern. She stumbles upon a strange glimmering gateway that transports her to Arkana, a planet that is the cradle of an advanced human race. There, teenagers navigate amazing flying vehicles, compete in perilous games for glory, and possess supernatural powers. While Molly tries to wrap her mind around this unbelievable discovery, she meets the alluring and mysterious Victor Sorren. He is a Sentinel Apprentice, whose hatred toward people from Earth is beyond understanding. Yet every time Victor unpredictably saves Molly's life, his heart draws closer to hers, no matter how much he tries to fight against it. It further complicates things that their growing friendship is strictly forbidden. Earth people are prohibited in Arkana, yet Molly continues to cross through the portal to Arkana to see Victor. Torn between their double lives, they go down a dangerous path, from where there is no return and multiple endings.

Fields of Elysium is a suspenseful romantic tale full of forbidden secrets, danger, deception, and the never-ending fight for true love.


The 100 (The One Hundred, #1) by Kass Morgan (Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)


In the future, humans live in city-like spaceships orbiting far above Earth's toxic atmosphere. No one knows when, or even if, the long-abandoned planet will be habitable again. But faced with dwindling resources and a growing populace, government leaders know they must reclaim their homeland... before it's too late.

Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents are being sent on a high-stakes mission to recolonize Earth. After a brutal crash landing, the teens arrive on a savagely beautiful planet they've only seen from space. Confronting the dangers of this rugged new world, they struggle to form a tentative community. But they're haunted by their past and uncertain about the future. To survive, they must learn to trust - and even love - again.






Skulk by Rosie Best (Thanks to Strange Chemistry)


When Meg witnesses the dying moments of a shapeshifting fox and is given a beautiful and powerful stone, her life changes forever. She is plunged into the dark world of the Skulk, a group of shapeshifting foxes.

As she learns about the other groups of shapeshifters that lurk around London – the Rabble, the Horde, the Cluster and the Conspiracy – she becomes aware of a deadly threat against all the shapeshifters. They must put aside all their enmity and hostility and fight together to defeat it.










Relativity by Cristin Bashara (Thanks to Walker Childrens)


If Ruby Wright could have her way, her dad would never have met and married her stepmother Willow, her best friend George would be more than a friend, and her mom would still be alive. Ruby knows wishes can't come true; some things just can't be undone. Then she discovers a tree in the middle of an Ohio cornfield with a wormhole to nine alternative realities.

Suddenly, Ruby can access completely different realities, each containing variations of her life—if things had gone differently at key moments. The windshield wiper missing her mother’s throat…her big brother surviving his ill-fated birth…her father never having met Willow. Her ideal world—one with everything and everyone she wants most—could be within reach. But is there such a thing as a perfect world? What is Ruby willing to give up to find out?





Palace of Spies (Palace of Spies, #1) by Sarah Zettel (Thanks to HMH Books for Young Readers)


A warning to all young ladies of delicate breeding who wish to embark upon lives of adventure: Don't. 


 Sixteen-year-old Peggy is a well-bred orphan who is coerced into posing as a lady in waiting at the palace of King George I. Life is grand, until Peggy starts to suspect that the girl she's impersonating might have been murdered. Unless Peggy can discover the truth, she might be doomed to the same terrible fate. But in a court of shadows and intrigue, anyone could be a spy—perhaps even the handsome young artist with whom Peggy is falling in love . . . History and mystery spark in this effervescent series debut.








Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Thanks to St. Martin's Press)


From the author the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Back to Reading with Tiffany Truitt

I am so excited to be stopping by today to announce my “Back to Reading,” contest. Like millions of teachers and students, I will be returning back to the classroom, and I thought this needed to be celebrated with a MAJOR book giveaway….and other fun goodies for all my fellow fans of Young Adult Literature.

What Do You Win: One lucky winner will receive copies of the following books
(Only US residents need apply)



How Do You Win: Simply stop by my website between Aug 23-26 to enter.

More Goodies: And that’s not all. Entangled Publishing and I are excited to announce that from August 23-26 books 1-2 of The Lost Souls Series (Chosen Ones and The Naturals) will be available for Kindle, Nook, and Apple for only 99 cents.
 
That’s right. For less than a dollar, you can join the world of Tess and James before the final book in the trilogy hits store in April 2014.
Need more enticement? Below you will find an excerpt from book three, The Creators.
Somewhere, James was just as trapped as I was. I thought of the morning when we lay with each other, curled against one another, never beginning and never ending.
 
How we’d stayed like that till the sun began to rise.  
      
James had reached down and pulled me off the ground. He wore a satisfied grin on his face. “Someone is mighty proud of himself,” I teased. 
         
He laughed. It bounced through the forest, calling it awake. Readying it for the day. “I’m just insanely happy.”
I stood on the tips of my toes and kissed him gently on his scar. “I’m insanely happy too,” I whispered.   
   
James looked down at me, and I was lost all over again. I would never tire of looking into those mismatched eyes. They didn’t make him different. They made him him. He chuckled as he reached over and pulled a leaf from my tangled hair. “They’ll know just by looking at you that we’ve been up to no good.” 
    
“No good?” I purred. “I thought it was very, very good.” 
 
James growled and lifted me into the air. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he pressed his lips hungrily against mine. I moved my hands to his hair, curling my fingers into it, attaching myself to him. I never wanted to let go. Every part of me ached to be touched by him, and every part of me ached to touch him right back.
“Do you know how much I love you?” he breathed into the base of my neck. His lips fluttered against my skin.
I nodded, kissing the top of his head. “As much as I love you.” 
James slowly put my feet back on the ground. He cradled my face in his hands. “That will never change. No matter what.”
I looked deep into his eyes. “I know.” Because I did. It was one of life’s few assurances. I would always love James.
I pressed my lips once again to his scar. “I adore this scar,” I whispered, unable to hide the smile that seemed etched on my face all morning.
“You’re enough to drive a man crazy,” he said The tremble of his voice caused my toes to curl. I wanted him again. And again. And again.
My fingers traced the waist of his pants. “Tonight?” I said, knowing full well it was a promise that I probably wouldn’t be able to keep.
James grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. “Tonight,” he echoed.
As the sun climb higher into the sky, I knew our moment was coming to an end. James reached down and placed his hand over my heart. “Thank you,” he said.
“For what?” I asked, my voice choked with emotion.
“For everything.”
As the memory slipped away, I looked back up at the night sky. Praying and hoping that James knew how much I wanted to thank him too.
For everything.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Blast Post: Wrath (Soul Savers, #5) by Kristie Cook

Wrath (Soul Savers 5) by Kristie Cook
Release Tour / Book Blast
Genre: Paranormal Romance / New Adult

Release Date: 8/16/2013

New Adult Paranormal
Romance by bestselling author Kristie Cook**Mature Content**Recommended for
ages 16+ due to sexual situations and language.


Will a mother’s wrath make her cross the line?

didn't want to cry. For once in my life, tears evaded me. Perhaps because I
refused to grieve this loss, because it 
wasn't a loss in my eyes, in my heart.
It was a call for war, yes. But not a loss. I 
wouldn't allow it.


Besides, I was too mad to cry, even in my exhaustion, and anger would get me
much further.


As I curled my body around Sasha’s, though, I realized the anger within me had
changed. I no longer felt irrational and blinding fury that dulled all other
emotions. But that was okay. I really 
didn't want to be Psycho Alexis. This,
what I now felt in every cell of my body down to the core, was better. My anger
had condensed and solidified into a cold, hard stone settling within me.
Something I could control and hold onto for the long term to keep me going and
focused on the goal.


Wrath.

That’s what I felt. And there was nothing worse than the wrath of a pissed-off
mother.


Wrath, the fifth volume in the bestselling, award-winning Soul
Savers Series, will have you on the
edge-of-your-seat-ravenously-devouring-junk-food as you experience the
mysteries, magic, betrayals, and passion that 
you've come to expect from
Kristie Cook’s writing.

Where to buy Wrath (Soul Savers 5)
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo

Other Books by Kristie Cook 





About the Author


Kristie Cook is a lifelong,
award-winning writer in various genres, from marketing communications to
fantasy fiction. She continues to write the Soul Savers Series, a New Adult
paranormal romance/contemporary fantasy, with the first four books, Promise, Purpose, Devotion and Power available now and the next book
coming in June 2013. She’s also written a companion novella, Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella,
currently available. Over 200,000 Soul Savers books have been sold, with Promise peaking at #54 on the Amazon Top
100 Paid list and at #1 in the Amazon Fantasy category. 
The
Space Between
kicks off her second New Adult paranormal series, The Book of
Phoenix.
Besides writing, Kristie enjoys
reading, cooking, traveling and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has
lived in ten states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her
husband, three teenage sons, a beagle and a puggle. She can be found at:

Author's Website
& Blog: http://www.KristieCook.com
The Book of Phoenix
Website: http://www.TheBookofPhoenix.com
Soul Savers Series
Website: http://www.SoulSaversSeries.com

 
 

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Countdown: September 2013 (2)


Fall is officially (almost) here, and it's my favorite time of year! No matter where I live or where I get the chance to visit, the Fall months are always the best wherever you land. I love pulling out a favorite pair of jeans and a super comfortable and slimming black turtleneck sweater with a pair of great boots. That's my idea of a perfect outfit, and a great book always goes great with that. And now that Summer is wrapping up, I'm winding down on the quick and fun reads that I feel goes hand in hand with the weather, and instead will venture into reading just about anything that comes across my path and sounds intriguing. Here are a few that fit that bill.
 
Countdown Pick #1:  Project Cain by Geoffrey Girard (09/03/2013)
 

Fifteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’.

There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy . . . even other Jeffrey Dahmer clones. Some raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the men they were created from.

When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?

 
The idea of something like this happening is so sick and terrifying that I can't even believe it.  And yet, at the same time, I'm of course overwhelming intrigued to see how Girard will spin this, and where he'll take his readers throughout these pages.  I had no choice but to add it to my countdown list.
 
Countdown Pick #2:  Projection by Risa Green (09/03/2013)
 

When 13-year-old Gretchen Harris's mother is murdered at Gretchen's 8th Grade graduation party, everyone in the town of Delphi, California, suspects a power struggle within the Oculus Society: Delphi's version of the Junior League. Gretchen's best friend, Jessica Shaw, might even hold the key to finding the culprit withThe Plotinus Ability: the Oculus Society's jealously guarded secret power to trade souls, which hinges on a kiss. Gretchen's hope at finding the murderer ends in tragedy when Ariel Miller—the class outcast—stalks Gretchen and Jessica and surreptitiously films them exchanging a kiss to test if the Plotinus Ability is real, not knowing their motives. The ensuing YouTube video ("Popular Girls = Secret Lovers") goes viral, Gretchen's and Jessica's lives are further shattered, and they vanish from Delphi.

Flash forward two years later: Ariel is suddenly the most popular junior in town, but wracked with guilt over what she did to Gretchen and Jessica. When both girls reappear after their mysterious absence, Ariel finds herself pawn, suspect, and key player in their scheme to bring the murderer to justice.

 
As someone who knows plenty about the Junior League I'm curious to see how this California like society plays out.  Don't even get me started on the rest of the plot laid out in the synopsis above, because there seems to be a lot that will be going on in this future release, and all of it remains a mystery to me in one way or another.
 
Countdown Pick #3:  Scorched by Mari Mancusi (09/03/2013)
 

TrinityDon't leave me here... It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she's going crazy. It wouldn't be a big surprise--her grandpa firmly believes there's a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it's begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it...

Connor
He's come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.

Caleb
He's everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons.

Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head--a dragon that won't be tamed.

I love that we're able to get multiple point of views for the book's synopsis alone, and can only hope that the actual books reads the same way.  I've always been a fan of books and movies focusing on dragons, and can't wait to add this one to my collection.
 
Countdown Pick #3:  Somebody Up There Hates You by Hollis Seamon (09/03/2013)
 

Chemo, radiation, a zillion surgeries, watching my mom age twenty years in twenty months: if that’s part of the Big Dude’s plan, then it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Somebody Up There Hates You.

SUTHY has landed me here in this hospice, where we—that’s me and Sylvie—are the only people under 30 in the whole place, sweartogod. But I’m not dead yet. I still need to keep things interesting. Sylvie, too. I mean, we’re kids, hospice-hostages or not. We freak out visitors; I get my uncle to sneak me out for one insane Halloween night. Stuff like that. And Sylvie wants to make things even more interesting. That girl’s got big plans.

Only Sylvie’s father is so nuclear-blasted by what’s happened to his little girl, he glows orange, I swear. That’s one scary man, and he’s not real fond of me. So we got a major family feud going on, right here in hospice. DO NOT CROSS line running down the middle of the hall, me on one side, her on the other. It’s crazy.

In the middle of all of this, really, there’s just me and Sylvie, a guy and a girl. And we want to live, in our way, by our own rules, in whatever time we’ve got. We will pack in some living before we go, trust me.

 
As long as this doesn't turn out to be like John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, than I'll take a chance.  I might wait to read a few reviews first before diving into this one, because to be quite honest...I'm not sure I can take the type of devastation I experienced during and after Green's novel.
 
Countdown Pick #4:  Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney (09/03/2013)
 

Seventeen-year-old Julien is a romantic—he loves spending his free time at the museum poring over the great works of the Impressionists. But one night, a peach falls out of a Cezanne, Degas ballerinas dance across the floor, and Julien is not hallucinating.

The art is reacting to a curse that trapped a beautiful girl, Clio, in a painting forever. Julien has a chance to free Clio and he can't help but fall in love with her. But love is a curse in its own right. And soon paintings begin to bleed and disappear. Together Julien and Clio must save the world's greatest art . . . at the expense of the greatest love they've ever known.

Like a master painter herself, Daisy Whitney brings inordinate talent and ingenuity to this romantic, suspenseful, and sophisticated new novel.A beautifully decorated package makes it a must-own in print.

As a huge fan of all things Paris and romance related, there was no way this title wasn't going to make the countdown list.  I love the idea of this, and not to mention a romantic leading male who is attempting to rescue a legitimate damsel in distress, but in modern times...I like it!
 
 

Looking back, I wonder if I had an inkling that my life was about to go from ordinary to extraordinary.

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it’s like fireworks — for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and by her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccurring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind — memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger — and much more terrifying and beautiful — than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again.

An epic and deeply original sci-fi romance, taking inspiration from Albert Einstein’s theories and the world-bending wonder of true love itself.

 
A little bit of star-crossed and unrequited love never hurt anybody...reading about it that is.  I'm not sure that I can say I've ever read a science-fiction romance before, but I'm happy to make this my first.

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