Monday, August 31, 2015

Treasured By Thursday: Excerpt + Giveaway!


Happy Monday Everyone! Wait. No. That doesn't really work does it? Mondays are never any fun, but today I hopefully get to make your Monday a little better by sharing a swoon-worthy excerpt from Treasured by Thursday, the latest contemporary romance from Catherine Bybee. You're welcome ;-) Be sure and check the bottom of the post too for a chance to win all sorts goodies!

And now, the promised swoon:

“I think we should talk about what’s going on here.”

She swallowed. “We’re cooking.”

“Gabi, look at me.”

She shook her head, taking the coward’s way out. If she noticed the lock of hair falling into his eyes a second time, she might have to push it back in place.

“Gabriella?” The smooth texture of his voice was like chocolate on her tongue.

His sticky hand tucked under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze.

He stepped closer, his frame molding to hers and pressing her back against the counter.

She couldn’t breathe.

His thumb traced her bottom lip. “This is a bad idea,” he mumbled her thoughts.

She nodded. “Very poor choice.” Her hands gripped the side of the counter to keep from touching him.

Hunter sucked in a deep breath. “You smell like flowers.”

“I’ll change my shampoo.”

He started to dip his head and she kept talking. “Something musky, so you won’t notice me.”

“I don’t think that’s going to work.”

He was close enough to catch the scent of mint on his breath. “I don’t even like you.” One of her legs lifted and rubbed against one of his.

“I don’t trust you.” His hand moved from her lip the side of her neck.

“You blackmailed me.”

“You tricked me into cooking with your mother.”

She smiled. “The two hardly compare.”

Instead of dropping his lips to hers, he detoured to the side of her neck and kept talking, his breath brushing her skin. “Have you met your mother?”

“That’s sill—”

His lips found her neck.

She moaned and closed her eyes. Such a deliciously bad idea.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

TREASURED BY THURSDAY


The seventh and final tale in the dazzling, heartwarming, and pulse-racing Weekday Brides series.
Gabriella Masini: She’s a woman haunted by her past, with the scars to prove it. She believes that fairy tales are for other people. An elite matchmaker at Alliance, she’s great at crunching numbers, but something doesn’t add up with her latest prospective client: a billionaire bad boy with his own secrets. When Gabi refuses to be his temporary wife, Hunter forces her hand with an offer she can’t refuse. But marriage to a man like that could never last…or could it?

Hunter Blackwell: Only his bank account is bigger than his ruthless ability to obtain anything he wants. These days, he has a secret reason to settle down, at least for a while—and he thinks the sensual and sassy Gabi will fit the bill perfectly. But when their marriage of convenience becomes downright dangerous, Hunter must decide how far to take his vow to honor and protect Gabi forever.

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CATHERINE BYBEE


New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee was raised in Washington State, but after graduating high school, she moved to Southern California in hopes of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Weekday Brides Series and the Not Quite Series. Bybee lives with her two teenage sons in Southern California.


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GIVEAWAY


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Thursday, August 27, 2015

Review + Giveaway: When a Scot Ties the Knot

WHEN A SCOT TIES THE KNOT
Castles Ever After #3
Tessa Dare
Historical Romance
384 pages
Avon
Available Now
Source: eARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
On the cusp of her first London season, Miss Madeline Gracechurch was shyly pretty and talented with a drawing pencil, but hopelessly awkward with gentlemen. She was certain to be a dismal failure on the London marriage mart. So Maddie did what generations of shy, awkward young ladies have done: she invented a sweetheart.

A Scottish sweetheart. One who was handsome and honorable and devoted to her, but conveniently never around. Maddie poured her heart into writing the imaginary Captain MacKenzie letter after letter … and by pretending to be devastated when he was (not really) killed in battle, she managed to avoid the pressures of London society entirely.

Until years later, when this kilted Highland lover of her imaginings shows up in the flesh. The real Captain Logan MacKenzie arrives on her doorstep—handsome as anything, but not entirely honorable. He’s wounded, jaded, in possession of her letters… and ready to make good on every promise Maddie never expected to keep.


MY THOUGHTS
When a Scot Ties the Knot charmingly reminds us of all the reasons we love a Tessa Dare historical romance, giving us a sweet, self-aware heroine to show our gruff, slightly damaged hero that there’s more to life than duty and loneliness. A fanciful teenage attempt at self-preservation irrevocably alters the course of both their lives, taking all of us on a journey full of laughter and heat without weighing us down with unnecessary drama and conflict.

Maddie is nothing short of adorable, inventing a fantasy suitor in order to keep her family from pushing her to attend all the social events of her first Season out, something that makes her break out in a cold sweat thanks to a traumatic crowd-related incident in her youth. Years later when he suddenly shows up at her door, she meets him head-on with humor and self-deprecation, repeatedly reprimanding herself for bathing him in a romantic light when he’s clearly not there to sweep her off her feet, and begging him to share any number of faults to aid her in her quest to keep her heart from skipping a beat in his presence. What results is a relationship that’s utterly endearing, the two of them fighting their growing affection in a way that manages to be cute rather than frustrating.

Logan has the perfect amount of alpha in him; big, imposing, and completely loyal to the men under his command, but he also undeniably has what Maddie refers to–much to his chagrin–as “squish”. She’s not put off by his attempts at intimidation, instead choosing to see the positive over the negative at every turn regardless of both their efforts to yank her rose-colored glasses from her eyes. Despite a hasty marriage of convenience and necessity, the romance is definitely of the slow burn variety, the sexual tension between them taut as a bowstring for much of the book until Ms. Dare puts all of us out of our delicious misery.

Overall, When a Scot Ties the Knot is as sweet as can be, supporting fluff with plenty of substance and a strong set of secondary characters (here’s hoping we see some Logan’s men get books of their own!) to keep us engaged on every level.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find When a Scot Ties the Knot:


Find Tessa:


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Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Mechanica Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

http://www.rockstarbooktours.com/2015/08/tour-schedule-mechanica-by-betsy.html

Welcome to my stop on the Mechanica Blog Tour! I'm thrilled today to have author Betsy Cornwell popping in to answer a few fun questions about tiny metal animal companions, inventions, royal balls and more, so I hope you guys get excited about this one and add it to your lists. Be sure and check the bottom of the post for all the details on a fantastic giveaway as well as the list of participating blogs so you don't miss out on any Mechanica awesomeness!

If you could pluck one of Nicolette’s inventions from her world and bring it into ours, what of hers would top your list?

Nicolette’s tiny metal horse, Jules, is technically her mother’s invention, so I don’t think I can say him! But she also makes a mechanical glass carriage to get herself to the royal family’s Exhibition of Art and Science. I need a new car, but ‘glass steampunk carriage’ would definitely be my dream vehicle if I had my choice.

What are three books we might find on the shelf in the secret cellar workshop Nicolette discovers?

Ooh, cool question! Nicolette’s a pretty omnivorous reader, so even though she lives in a fantasy world I would open a magic portal to slip her a collection of Christina Rosetti’s poetry (especially “Goblin Market,” which helped inspire the Night Market in Nicolette’s world), Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Ada Lovelace’s work on the Analytical Engine. All of those brilliant women would be kindred spirits for Nicolette, and I know she’d fall in love with each of them.

I would personally love a tiny metal horse of my very own (come live with me Jules!).  If you could make yourself a tiny metal companion, what type of animal would you choose and what would his/her name be?

Jules pretty much became my favorite character as I wrote the book, and I think a tiny steampunk horse with great fashion sense would be an ideal companion. Especially after seeing this amazing fanart by Laya Rose, I’d have to bring him to life if I had the chance!

However, I love this question, and if I could have a tiny metal companion who wasn’t in the book, I would make a rattlesnake named Vivian who could slither around my house and eat dust and clutter in hard-to-reach corners, and maybe rest on my feet while I write (I’m always cold, and steam-powered metal animals must stay pretty warm).

What’s one modern-day dance you think would liven up a typical royal ball?

I am suddenly picturing royal ball-goers dancing to The Jacksons’ “Blame It on the Boogie,” and now I can’t give any other answer.

Nicolette doesn’t necessarily want the standard fairy-tale happily ever after. If you could choose one book that doesn’t have a happy ending and change things around, what book would you choose?

Okay, spoilers ahead if you haven’t read this children’s classic: I have always loved Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, but when I first read that ending it broke my heart. Of course, I was eleven, but all I wanted was for Winnie and Jesse to be together. I couldn’t fathom why she made the choice she did. I mean, you could live forever with a guy that cute?

I hate to tell my eleven-year-old self this, but now I think the ending of Tuck Everlasting is perfect. Winnie made exactly the right choice, and I can see Jesse’s flaws much more clearly now (even though I still think he’s a wonderfully drawn character). That’s the book that sprang to mind right away, but I actually love when a story’s ending kind of beats me up, so I can’t think of any that I would really want to change.

. . . Wait, there is one. If Will and Lyra were real, I would let them be together at the end of the His Dark Materials trilogy. Pullman’s ending is transcendently good, but I still ugly-sob when I think about those two sitting alone at their bench every year.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions Betsy!

• • • • • • • • • •

MECHANICA


Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home.

But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairy tale happy ending after all.

AmazonB&NiBooksGoodreads

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BETSY CORNWELL


Hi! I'm Betsy Cornwell, an American writer and teacher living in a stove-heated cottage in west Ireland, together with my horse trainer spouse, a small herd of dairy goats, and an increasing number of other animals. I write fiction and nonfiction and blog about Irish folklore, travel, wild food, goats (of course!), homesteading, and growing up.


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GIVEAWAY


  • 1 winner will receive a finished copy of MECHANICA and a beautiful watch necklace from this etsy shop! US Only.
  •  2 winners will receive a finished copy of MECHANICA. US Only.

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WEEK ONE

8/17/2015- FangirlishInterview  
8/18/2015- Uncreatively ZoeyReview  
8/19/2015- Two Chicks on BooksGuest Post  
8/20/2015- A Backwards StoryReview  
8/21/2015- Dark Faerie TalesGuest Post
WEEK TWO

8/24/2015- FiktshunInterview
8/25/2015- Bookish LifestyleReview
8/26/2015- Supernatural SnarkInterview
8/27/2015- Bookhounds yaReview
8/28/2015- Me, My Shelf and IGuest Post

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Court of Fives Blog Tour: Interview with Kate Elliott

http://thenovl.com/post/127083441040/lets-run-welcome-to-the-fantasy-of-all

Today I have the pleasure of welcoming author Kate Elliott to the blog as part of the promotional tour for her first foray into YA fiction, Court of Fives. Kate was nice enough to answer a few questions for me about Jes, Kal, and all things competitive sports, and I was even able to pry from her a 5 word sneak peek at what's in store for us in the next installment. *pats self on back* I hope you guys enjoy the interview, and be sure to check the bottom of the post for the full list of participating blogs!

If Jes was helping you train to compete in The Fives, what would the first words out of her mouth be on day one when she evaluated your fitness and strategy?

“I have so much respect that you have come to train, Honored Lady, but at your age I have to suggest that you might think twice about setting your sights on the highest levels of competition.”

What was Kal’s first thought when he saw Jes first compete in The Fives?

How does she DO that???

If Jes lived in our modern world, what are the top three Olympic sports she’d be dying to compete in?

Jes would be dying to compete in American Ninja Warrior, of course! As for the Olympics, she would leap at the chance to try out the snowboard halfpipe with its twists and tricks, as well as the one sport the Olympics finally just last year allowed women to compete in: the ski jump. Nothing like the adrenalin rush of flying!

The social and gender divide in this world was enough to make me want to throttle a few select characters for their treatment of another human being. What’s the last book you read that made you spitting mad (the good, “I’m so involved in this story” kind of mad)?

Can I change the medium? I adore the television show Nashville, and probably the last time I got spitting mad with a narrative in the “I am so incredibly involved in this story and in these people’s lives that I have lost all perspective given they aren’t even real” has been with Nashville. Whether it’s Jeff, or Juliet, or Deacon, or even stubborn Rayna (why did you dump Luke???), I love this show exactly because I get exasperated with the characters in the same way I might with people I know in real life. That’s the magic of narrative!

If Jes could ask an Oracle what she’ll have to face in the next book, what are a few of the words she might hear in the Oracle’s answer?

poet

desert

cheat

murder

heart

Cheat and murder do not sound good. *bites nails* Thanks so much for answering my questions Kate!

• • • • • • • • • • •

COURT OF FIVES


The greatest danger is that she might win.

In this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's first young adult novel weaves an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege.

Jessamy's life is a balance between acting like an upper-class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners. But away from her family she can be whoever she wants when she sneaks out to train for The Fives, an intricate, multilevel athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom's best contenders. Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an unlikely friendship between two Fives competitors--one of mixed race and the other a Patron boy--causes heads to turn. When Kal's powerful, scheming uncle tears Jes's family apart, she'll have to test her new friend's loyalty and risk the vengeance of a royal clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death.


• • • • • • • • • • •

KATE ELLIOTT


Kate Elliott has been writing stories since she was nine years old, which has led her to believe that writing, like breathing, keeps her alive. As a child in rural Oregon, she made up stories because she longed to escape to a world of lurid adventure fiction.  She now writes fantasy, steampunk, science fiction, and YA.

It should come as no surprise that she met her future husband in a sword fight. When he gave up police work to study archaeology, they and their three children fell into an entirely new set of adventures amid dusty Mexican ruins and mouthwatering European pastry shops.  Eventually her spouse's work forced them to move to Hawaii, where she took up outrigger canoe paddling. With the three children out of the house, they now spoil the schnauzer.

 
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BLOG TOUR
 

Monday, August 24, 2015

Review: Bounce

BOUNCE
Boomerang #3
Noelle August
Contemporary New Adult
304 pages
William Morrow
Available August 25th
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Amazon)
When you have one chance to become a star, you can't let love get in the way . . .

Playing the occasional club gig just isn't cutting it for twenty-two-year-old cellist Skyler Canby, who's trying to support herself and her mother back home in Kentucky. When she accompanies her best friend Beth on an audition for the first feature film launched by Blackwood Entertainment, she figures, Why not? Beth's a shoe-in for the lead, but maybe Skyler's newly dyed pink hair will help her stand out enough to score a small speaking part.

Never in her wildest dreams does Skyler imagine she'll land the lead role or that she'll have her socks knocked off by the kiss her audition partner, Grey Blackwood, plants on her—a kiss that feels very real and not at all like acting.

Reckless musician Grey Blackwood spends his days fetching coffee and doing odd jobs on the set of his CEO brother's newest project, but he lives for nights when he performs with his band. He knows that if he can stay focused, success as a singer is just around the corner. But that's tough with a distracting pink-haired girl occupying his every waking thought. Skyler and Grey have every reason to resist each other. But, like a song neither of them can get out of their minds, they have no choice but to go where the music takes them.

MY THOUGHTS
Bounce continues in the same vein as Boomerang and Rebound before it, delivering a sweet, low-drama New Adult romance between to people with whom it's a joy to spend a few hours. Unlike the previous two books however, a faint love triangle comes into play as things between Grey and Skyler progress, and though it's not a major source of angst for any of the parties involved, Skyler spending time with another guy when it's obvious she and Grey are going to get together is still somewhat off-putting for those of us who like the path to love to be a straight line between two points rather than three.

Our relationship with Grey starts out a bit rocky as we're reunited with him when his older brother Adam comes home to find his beautiful home trashed thanks to a party thrown in his absence, but the writing team of Noelle August does a beautiful job of growing him up over the course of the book. Grey proves he's capable of learning from his mistakes with each chapter, putting forth a valiant effort to stand and meet his problems head-on rather than running away and licking his wounds, becoming a young man we want to see achieve whatever goal he sets for himself by the end. Skyler doesn't quite have the same maturity hurdles to overcome as Grey, but she does learn a few things about herself thanks to a business that's brutal on even those with the thickest of skins, taking some of Grey's newfound strength to prop herself up when her legs get knocked from underneath her.

The romance itself is perhaps the slowest burning of all three Boomerang books due in large part to the aforementioned triangle and Grey's younger age (he's nineteen), leading us on a merry dance of hesitation and flirtation until the very end when things finally heat up between them. Overall, Bounce is another hugely enjoyable tale from Noelle August, giving us plenty of depth and complexity in our lead pair (and a standout secondary character in Garrett Allen) to have us feeling as though we've learned a great deal about them by the time we reach the last page, and leaving us with a satisfied smile as we take comfort in the knowledge that good things lie in store for them both.

Rating: 4/5

Find Noelle August:


This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Friday Flourish (+ Giveaway!): Secrets in the Grave

Happy Friday Everyone!

I've been crazy busy with work lately which never ceases to amaze me–in the best possible way–as for a while there I was sure designing book covers was only ever going to be a dream job. Luckily enough though, I've had a number of fantastic authors and publishers take a chance on me, and I'm always so excited to share the final products with all of you.

I've had the pleasure of working with Karen Ann Hopkins on all of her indie published books, and I'm so absurdly grateful to her for bringing me such fun and challenging projects. Her Wings of War series and Serenity's Plain Secrets series couldn't be more different in look and feel, so I always enjoy bouncing back and forth between them (Karen writes crazy fast!). The third installment of her Amish murder mystery series is titled Secrets in the Grave, and we kept to the aesthetic established with the previous two books, focusing on an ominous outdoor landscape with lots of color to make sure it stands out online. I hope you guys love this latest installment as much as we do!

SECRETS IN THE GRAVE
Serenity's Plain Secrets #3


Just when Sheriff Serenity Adams thinks life is getting back to normal, the death of a young, pregnant Amish woman rocks the community. Is it circumstance…or murder? It’s up to Serenity and her ex-Amish boyfriend, Daniel Bachman, to discover the truth about the new shaman-type medicine man who’s brought his dark secrets to Blood Rock.

But Serenity has secrets of her own, and if she and Daniel don’t work it out, the reappearance of a woman from his past could threaten to ruin their relationship.

The deeper Serenity delves into the magical world of Amish herbal medicine, the phenomenon of laying of the hands and other cultural healing oddities, the more she wonders if miracles are real. What she witnesses with her own eyes may be too fantastical for her to believe.

In this riveting third installment of Serenity’s Plain Secrets, beliefs are challenged, a way of life is questioned and family skeletons are unearthed, leaving no one untouched.  


WHISPERS FROM THE DEAD
Serenity's Plain Secrets #2


Some Amish communities aren't so cozy.
Whispers From The Dead is the powerful and thrilling sequel to Lamb to the Slaughter, in the Amish mystery series, Serenity’s Plain Secrets.

Sheriff Serenity Adams and Daniel Bachman are once again partnered up in a criminal investigation, when they travel to a northern Amish settlement that has been riddled by arsons for the past two decades. Serenity quickly discovers that there is much more going on than just barns being set on fire in the touristy community, and that the new group of Amish has their own secrets to hide. She begins to unravel an extensive criminal underworld that threatens to destroy everything that the simple people of Poplar Springs hold dear and once again puts her own life in jeopardy.

And even though Serenity tries desperately to avoid it, things begin heating up between her and Daniel, making her wonder if true love and happiness are really within her grasp.


LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
Serenity's Plain Secrets #1


Lamb to the Slaughter is a story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely people in an Indiana Amish Community and the devastating results when a rebellious teenage girl is found shot to death in a corn field during the harvest.

Serenity Adams is the newly elected young sheriff in the country town of Blood Rock and besides dealing with the threatening behavior of her predecessor, she now has a dead Amish girl on her plate.  At first glance, the case seems obvious.  The poor girl was probably accidently shot during hunting season, but when the elders of the Amish community and even the girl’s parents react with uncaring subdued behavior, Serenity becomes suspicious.  As she delves deeper into the secretive community that she grew up beside, she discovers a gruesome crime from the past that may very well be related to the Amish girl’s shooting.

Serenity enlists the help of the handsome bad-boy building contractor, Daniel Bachman, who left the Amish when he was nineteen and has his own dark reasons to help the spunky sheriff solve the crime that the family and friends who shunned him are trying desperately to cover up.  Serenity’s persistence leads her to a stunning discovery that not only threatens to destroy her blossoming romance with Daniel, but may even take her life in the end.

GoodreadsAmazonB&N

Find Karen:
 
You can find more of my cover design work at Seedlings Design Studio!

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GIVEAWAY

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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Review: Archangel's Enigma

ARCHANGEL'S ENIGMA
Guild Hunter #8
Nalini Singh
Paranormal Romance
384 pages
Berkley Sensation
Available September 1st
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Naasir is the most feral of the powerful group of vampires and angels known as the Seven, his loyalty pledged to the Archangel Raphael. When rumors surface of a plot to murder the former Archangel of Persia, now lost in the Sleep of the Ancients, Naasir is dispatched to find him. For only he possesses the tracking skills required—those more common to predatory animals than to man.

Enlisted to accompany Naasir, Andromeda, a young angelic scholar with dangerous secrets, is fascinated by his nature—at once playful and brilliant, sensual and brutal. As they race to find the Sleeping archangel before it’s too late, Naasir will force her to question all she knows...and tempt her to walk into the magnificent, feral darkness of his world. But first they must survive an enemy vicious enough to shatter the greatest taboo of the angelic race and plunge the world into a screaming nightmare…


MY THOUGHTS
The Guild Hunter series is an unusual one in terms of overall format, focusing on a single couple in the early books before veering off and giving us one-book romances featuring prominent secondary characters. While falling in love with a primary couple in a series and then having to give up our time with them in favor of others (especially since we do loop back around to them in a later book) might sound a touch off-putting, Ms. Singh makes it work effortlessly, ensuring we’re so invested in this world as a whole that we can do nothing but look forward to whomever is in the starring role.

Archangel’s Enigma sees one of Raphael’s Seven step to the forefront once again, Naasir winning our hearts easily (as has the entirety of the Seven) in previous books with his unapologetic nature. Naasir has teased both those around him as well as readers with hints about what he truly is (something uniquely other from the angels and vampires that inhabit this world) from the background of others’ stories, and proves as delightful in this tale as we’d hoped he’d be. He’s endearingly quirky and blunt, boldly announcing his desire to “rut” with Andi from almost the moment he meets her and rarely allowing polite company to dictate his words and behavior.

Once he learns Andi has made a vow of celibacy, one enormously important to her given the things she’s seen growing up with parents who take debauchery to a nightmare-inducing level, he refuses to let her break it even as their feelings for one another develop and deepen. Before setting off on their assignment, Andi gives Naasir what she believes to be an impossible task, stating that she’ll only break her vow should he be able to complete it (it’s important to note however that she doesn’t give him this task to make him jump through hoops or prove himself worthy, instead it’s more for herself – to keep her desire for him in check by making the reality of a relationship something that will never come to pass). The seriousness with which Naasir takes this task is absolutely adorable, his occasional grumbling about her “stupid Grimoire” when things get romantically tense between them keeping a smile on our faces even as the darkness of this world settles heavily in our bones.

The two of them together are a joy, and given Andi’s vow we get to spend a lot of time with them as they get to know one another emotionally before even the tiniest of baby steps toward physical intimacy are made. While this is the only book that will feature Naasir and Andi as the main couple, it’s best to read this series in order, the overall plot arc regarding the start of the Cascade in previous books continuing to develop in this installment. We’re of course left with a happy ending for Andi and Naasir, but the political climate for the archangels is turbulent at best by the time we reach the last page, and big changes are clearly on the way in future books.

Rating: 4.5/5

Find Nalini:


This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Legacy of Kings Blog Tour: Interview + Giveaway

http://www.kismetbt.com/legacy-of-kings-by-eleanor-herman/

I'm so pleased today to welcome author Eleanor Herman to the blog as part of the promotional tour for her newest release, Legacy of Kings. Eleanor was nice enough to answer a few questions about her characters as well as the history behind the story for me, so I hope you all enjoy the interview. Be sure and check the bottom of the post for a full list of participating blogs and all the details for a fantastic giveaway!

If all 6 characters were told their names would appear in the history books of humanity in the future, what one word would they each most wish would appear next to their name?

Katerina: the Just
Hephaestion: the Loyal
Cynane: the Victorious
Jacob: the Achiever
Zofia: the Beloved
Alexander: the Great

What are 3 historical tidbits you came across in your research that would make good icebreakers (or not) at a social event?

Great question! Because, armed with these tidbits, I have been the glittering star of cocktail parties for many years. Three of my favorites:
  1. Did you know that of all those “warrior king” skeletons archeologists found a hundred years ago in Ukraine—bones with arrowheads and axes in them, and surrounded by weapons—modern research proves that 25% of them were women?
  2. Did you know how ancient people bleached their tunics gleaming white before the advent of Clorox? They soaked them in urine!
  3. Did you know that at ancient Greek funerals you were supposed to cut off your hair and tie it to the funeral wreath?
Legacy of Kings has a somewhat complicated romance given there are three men who have Katerina in their sights. What’s one famous historical romance you wish you could have witnessed firsthand?

Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII. How did that relationship go from so a love so passionate it set the world on fire to a mangled body on a scaffold? And, because I can never stop at just one, I would love to watch Cleopatra seduce Julius Caesar and Marc Antony.

Let’s say that tomorrow you wake up in the world of Legacy of Kings. What’s the first thing you would do in order to blend in?

Pin up my hair and try to get clothes that fit in. Then I would get some kohl eye liner, green malachite eye shadow, and crushed eggshell face powder. I would really go to town on the ancient make-up. The one advantage to their blurry bronze mirrors was that they must have always thought they looked better than they did.

If you could choose any one author to temporarily borrow Alexander, Katerina, Hephaestion, Jacob and Zofia and write a short story or novella, whose take on them would you be most interested to read?

Sabaa Tahir! I love her protagonists in An Ember in the Ashes. She, too, built a very real, three-dimensional world. I would love to see what she could do with a Legacy novella.

Thanks so much for stopping by Eleanor!

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LEGACY OF KINGS



Imagine a time when the gods turn a blind eye to the agony of men, when the last of the hellions roam the plains and evil stirs beyond the edges of the map. A time when cities burn, and in their ashes, empires rise.

Alexander, Macedonia’s sixteen-year-old heir, is on the brink of discovering his fated role in conquering the known world but finds himself drawn to newcomer Katerina, who must navigate the dark secrets of court life while hiding her own mission: kill the Queen. But Kat’s first love, Jacob, will go to unthinkable lengths to win her, even if it means competing for her heart with Hephaestion, a murderer sheltered by the prince. And far across the sea, Zofia, a Persian princess and Alexander’s unmet fiancée, wants to alter her destiny by seeking the famed and deadly Spirit Eaters.

Weaving fantasy with the salacious and fascinating details of real history, New York Times bestselling author Eleanor Herman reimagines the greatest emperor the world has ever known: Alexander the Great, in the first book of the Blood of Gods and Royals series.



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ELEANOR HERMAN 


Before the Game of Thrones craze swept the nation, Eleanor Herman was hard at work entertaining readers with her extensive research on courtly intrigue and romance. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Sex with Kings, as well as three other works of nonfiction: Sex with the Queen, Mistress of the Vatican, and King Peggy.

Obsessed by all things royal and historical, she lives in McLean, Virginia with her husband and four extremely dignified cats. Legacy of Kings is her first novel.


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GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the amazing team at Harlequin Teen, each stop on the tour will be offering up a copy of THE LEGACY OF KINGS, so be sure and follow along for more guest posts, interviews and chances to win! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open to US/CA only.

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Don't forget to check out all the stops on the Legacy of Kings tour!

Monday, August 3rd - Swoony Boys Podcast - Guest Post
Wednesday, August 5th -  Bewitched Bookworms - Guest Post
Friday, August 7th - Once Upon a Twilight - Guest Post
Monday, August 10th - Book Swoon - Author Interview
Wednesday, August 12th - Pageturnersblog - Guest Post
Friday, August 14th - Reading Lark - Author Interview
Monday, August 17th - Two Chicks on Books - Author Interview
Wednesday, August 19th - Supernatural Snark - Author Interview
Friday, August 21st - Mundie Moms - Guest Post

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Dead House Blog Tour: Kaitlyn's Book Recommendations

http://thenovl.com/post/126610446484/the-dead-house-mirror-tour-i-am-real-i-exist

Today I'm SUPER excited to be a part of a very unique blog tour for Dawn Kurtagich's The Dead House, releasing in September from Little, Brown. The Dead House introduces us to Carly and Kaitlyn, two souls inhabiting a single body yet living separate lives. Carly gets the day and Kaitlyn gets the night, so in following in Carly and Kaitlyn's footsteps, this promotional tour also has a dual nature. Two blogs will be posting each day, one from the UK and one from the US, each featuring the same topic but written by two very different girls.

I LOVED this book (review coming soon!), so it's with great pleasure today I welcome Kaitlyn to the blog to share her top 5 book recommendations. Be sure and stop by Bookbabblers to see what Carly has chosen and how her picks differ from Kaitlyn's, and don't forget to follow along with the tour so you can get a feel for what makes each of these girls tick ;-)

The Dead House contains journal entries, interviews and various other media, so all Kaitlyn's responses below are written in journal form (how cool is that?!). If they're hard to read, just click to enlarge.

KAITLYN'S TOP 5 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

The Woman In White  by Wilkie Collins


'In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop... There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white'

The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright's eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter becomes embroiled in the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his 'charming' friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons, and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.

Matthew Sweet's introduction explores the phenomenon of Victorian 'sensation' fiction, and discusses Wilkie Collins's biographical and societal influences. Included in this edition are appendices on theatrical adaptations of the novel and its serialization history.


























Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling


Harry is furious that he has been abandoned at the Dursleys' house for the summer, for he suspects that Voldemort is gathering an army, that he himself could be attacked, and that his so-called friends are keeping him in the dark. Finally being rescued by wizard bodyguards, he discovers that Dumbledore is regrouping the Order of the Phoenix - a secret society first formed years ago to fight Voldemort. But the Ministry of Magic is against the Order, lies are being spread by the wizards' tabloid, the Daily Prophet, and Harry fears that he may have to take on this epic battle against evil alone.
















The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith


Sixteen-year-old Jack gets drunk and is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is kidnapped. He escapes, narrowly. The only person he tells is his best friend, Conner. When they arrive in London as planned for summer break, a stranger hands Jack a pair of glasses. Through the lenses, he sees another world called Marbury.

There is war in Marbury. It is a desolate and murderous place where Jack is responsible for the survival of two younger boys. Conner is there, too. But he’s trying to kill them.

Meanwhile, Jack is falling in love with an English girl, and afraid he’s losing his mind. Conner tells Jack it’s going to be okay.

But it’s not.


Scowler by Daniel Kraus


Imagine your father is a monster. Would that mean there are monsters inside you, too?

Nineteen-year-old Ry Burke, his mother, and little sister scrape by for a living on their dying family farm. Ry wishes for anything to distract him from the grim memories of his father's physical and emotional abuse. Then a meteorite falls from the sky, bringing with it not only a fragment from another world but also the arrival of a ruthless man intent on destroying the entire family. Soon Ry is forced to defend himself by resurrecting a trio of imaginary childhood protectors: kindly Mr. Furrington, wise Jesus, and the bloodthirsty Scowler. 




The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice


Once an aristocrat in the heady days of pre-revolutionary France, now Lestat is a rockstar in the demonic, shimmering 1980s. He rushes through the centuries in search of others like him, seeking answers to the mystery of his terrifying exsitence. His story, the second volume in Anne Rice's best-selling Vampire Chronicles, is mesmerizing, passionate, and thrilling.

We follow Lestat as he searches for others like him--in churches and brothels, in gambling houses, huts and palaces--sometimes joined by the vampire-angel Gabrielle, who is bound to him both by blood and by passion; sometimes traveling with his adored Nicolas, the violinist whose music and beauty are equally transcendent.  We follow Lestat as he travels from the snowcapped mountains of the Auvergne and the primeval forest of ancient Gaul to Sicily, Istanbul, Venice and Cairo, searching for his origins, sometimes finding clues to the birth of the vampire race, knowing always that the central truth eludes him.


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THE DEAD HOUSE

 
Over two decades have passed since the fire at Elmbridge High, an inferno that took the lives of three teenagers. Not much was known about the events leading up to the tragedy - only that one student, Carly Johnson, vanished without a trace...

...until a diary is found hidden in the ruins.

But the diary, badly scorched, does not belong to Carly Johnson. It belongs to Kaitlyn Johnson, a girl who shouldn't exist Who was Kaitlyn? Why did she come out only at night? What is her connection to Carly?

The case has been reopened. Police records are being reexamined: psychiatric reports, video footage, text messages, e-mails. And the diary.

The diary that paints a much more sinister version of events than was ever made publicly known.
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DAWN KURTAGICH


Dawn Kurtagich writes psychologically sinister fiction, where girls may descend into madness, boys may see monsters in men, and adults may have something to hide. She lives in Wales, but grew up all over the world, predominantly in Africa. She writes and blogs for YA Scream Queens and is a member of the YA League. THE DEAD HOUSE is her first novel.


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Be sure and follow the entire tour to get to know Carly & Kaitlyn better, and don't forget to add The Dead House to your lists for September!