Shock Me by Ashley Harris Blog Tour

Title: Shock Me
Author: Ashley C. Harris
Author Location: FL, United States
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance
Release Date: September 17th, 2013
Words: 68,230 Words
Publisher: Self-Published
Language: English
Format: Digital eBook
ISBN: 978-1-30157-839-9

Book summary:

"A promising gymnast, Donna Young is a shy, quiet nobody from the wrong side of town. The only exciting thing in life is her secret friendship with Ryan, her childhood crush. But after the accident—one that should have killed her—she discovers she has impossible powers! Why now, at sixteen, can she transform into something shocking and inhuman? Donna doesn’t know how to use her new abilities or who she can trust, but unveiling this mystery might lead to conclusions about Ryan that are deadly.

Rich kid, Ryan Applegate is the most popular guy in town. He has a face that should be on a poster in every girl’s bedroom and dates the hottest chick in school. But ever since the big explosion at the town’s power plant, Ryan has been keeping secrets of his own, that if revealed could force him to choose between his family and the girl he's forbidden to love.

As their electrifying puzzle unfolds, so unfolds a town where friends become enemies, and enemies become unrecognizable and intertwined. Tortured heroes just might be the bad guys, and Donna discovers that her and Ryan’s secrets are powerful enough to destroy everyone... including themselves."

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My review:

Shock Me by Ashley Harris is a story with new, fresh premise and I believe that fans of paranormal young adult novels will be thrilled to read it.

I was completely hooked after reading prologue - it goes few months ahead and than author returns back to tell you what is going on. But the thing is, you have no idea what is going on. I hate that opening scenes where you find out about main plot twist even before you start to actually read. Ashley Harris managed to masterfully confuse you and leave you wanting more.

Now, what I really liked is that she didn't make everything about angsty paranormal romance - if they are not together the whole world will come to its end. Don't be disappointed - there is brooding, hot guys and chemistry sparkling all around like crazy, but you will be so surprised. I now I did - after first third of the book I thought I had it all figured out, but I was so wrong.

One thing that I mind was constant switching of narrators - almost every character at some point tells you what is going on. That overwhelmed me at times, but I have to admit that it probably gave that extra something to the reading experience. I had started reading Shock Me before I read author info. Why is that important? Well, I noticed that whole book had "movie script" feel and I could clearly imagine everything in my head. Now I know that tat is no coincidence considering that Ashley Harris is also movie director.
I'm wondering if we will be seeing this in cinema soon.

My final judgement? Enjoyable 4 stars read.

About author:

Author and film director Ashley C. Harris resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. When she is not hard at work writing or dreaming up new indie films she spends her time working out, reading the bible, and going on breath-taking adventures with her sister.

The seed for becoming an author started budding for Ashley in the third grade, when she wrote her first hundred page book during her class's quite time, her teacher couldn't believe it and voiced over her that surly she'd become an author someday. Those words never left Ashley and she has been writing ever since.

Ashley loves to create young adult, science fiction, fantasy novels, and is currently working on her first steamy romance... with more to come.

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Giveaway:

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Happy reading,

 

Waiting on Wednesday (#67)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Glass' pick

Fifteen-year-old Blaise Montgomery lives in the gritty outskirts of Washington, DC, where a stray bullet can steal a life on the way to school. Drugs and violence are the only ways to survive, so Blaise and her friends turn to gangs for safety, money, and love. When Blaise is invited to join Core 9, one of the most infamous crews, she jumps at the chance. Though her best guy friends, Rico and Satch, warn her about the danger, she agrees to be beaten for a minute straight as part of the gang's initiation ritual.

Now Blaise is finally part of a crew. A family.

But things get only more dangerous when she becomes a member of Core 9 and tensions with a rival gang heat up. Trek, the head of Core 9, asks Blaise to be his "lure," the sexy bait he'll use to track down enemy gang members and exact revenge. Rico and Satch tell her it's a death sentence, but Blaise can't resist the money and unparalleled power. As Trek puts Blaise in increasingly dangerous situations, she begins to see that there's more to lose than she ever realized-including Satch, the one person who has the power to get under her skin. With death lurking around every corner, should Blaise continue to follow the only path she's ever known, or cut and run?

Expected publication: February 11th, 2014

Tanja's pick

Have you ever been so angry that hitting things felt good? Or so numb that you actually felt high? The past few years have been like that for me. Traveling between fury and indifference with no stops in between.

Some people hate me for it, while others are scared of me. But none of them can hurt me, because I don't care about anything or anyone.

Except Tatum.

I love her so much that I hate her. We used to be friends, but I found out that I couldn't trust her or anyone else.

So I hurt her. I pushed her away.

But I still need her. The sight of her centers me, and I can pool all of my anger into her. Engaging her, challenging her, bullying her...they are my food, my air, and the last part of me that feels anything human.

But she left. She went to France for a year, and came back a different girl.

Now, when I push, she pushes back.

Expected publication: December 16th, 2013

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Expected publication: September 17th, 2013

Author's 

Website / Blog / Twitter

Book summary:

"I'm lucky just to be alive"
Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.
Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.
Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

         With all the bum in the dystpian genre some things started to get clearer with the sequels. Many dystopian offered some really unique and amazing ideas at the start but with sequels it became a challenge to continue and develop that idea. Unfortunately many sequels failed to do so and sadly for me Once We Were falls into that category.

        After I got What's Left Of Me I was thrilled to read it. The book promised some great idea and something that was really new to me. I was blown away with the whole thing and with some minor flaws the book was a really great read to me. You can only imagine how excited I was to read this one. I really wanted to see how the whole idea developed. In case you don't know this book deals with double personalities in one body. Eva and Addie stayed in one body despite everything and maintained the picture of wholeness for a  long time. Now after all the changes in their lives they must fight as they're now not alone.

        Big problem raised here now that Eva was in charge and that changed everything for me. Addie was so easy to connect with and I could feel her fully. Eva is different and I couldn't support her decisions. She even frustrated me a lot. Her selfishness was unbearable at moments. Then there was this problem with pacing. For about two thirds of the book it was too slow for me. Something did happen but at the same time didn't. Until the last third which was actually the only part that I liked. So basically said this book suffered from mid-book syndrome.

         Quite honestly this book leaves me in worry. I have some ideas about what can happen at the end, what would be a solution to this situation and honestly I don't like it. So I'm deeply hoping that the author will pull something to surprise us all.

Rating: 2 stars.

Until the next time,

2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge

Hi guys. Fist I want to apologize for not posting these days. I was at the biggest book fair in neighbor and it was a long trip. Book fairs are quite different here than they are in the world (you don't get free books and there is not much authors and sadly only publishers from neighborhood attend so not many books in English) but overall it was a really nice book fest. Posts are coming back next week. Hope you had a great weekend!


Now this year Evie and other girls from Bookish are organizing 2014 TBR Pile Challenge. Of course I joined immediately as I managed to accomplish the one for 2013. I really cannot wait to tackle as many books from my TBR pile as I can.
I don't have a list but I'll tackle as many books from my Goodreads to-be read shelf as I can. But I'm sure it'll be more than 50.

All in all I expect this to be a lot of fun and I cannot wait to start the challenge. If you want don't forget to join us. You can do that here.

Until the next time,

ARC review: How to Love by Katie Cotugno

Expected publication: October 11th, 2013

Author's

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Book summary:

Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists…until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.
After: Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

          It rarely happens that I can divide things in a book that I liked and didn't like, but I can do that here. So I'll make this easy for you to understand.

What I liked: 

          I'll start with the way the story is written. The whole division into past and present is something I really liked. Especially when in some part of the story some character or even from the past is mentioned and then that event is described in the other section.
Secondary characters were really done well here too, my favorite is Shelby, because she seemed real and I could always say what she was feeling.
Also it is a story that deals with some really common problems nowadays and while it shows good and bad sides it shows a real picture too.

What I didn't like: 

           The general problem with me is that I tend to get annoyed by books dealing with teen pregnancy. For only one reason - it's always an accident, but in reality it never is. Well, my love, if you knew how to have sex then for sure you must know the consequences of it. I know I sound heartless, but it frustrates me a lot. Let's get real, this is 21st century, the age of STD and we all had educational classes, not to mention that protection is easily available. Therefore I hardly can sympathize with Reena. She is actually main problem for me here. I had no idea what she was feeling and in general what she wanted out of her life. It annoyed me a lot. The lack of some details can also be added as the thing I didn't like here.
Another thing that I must add is that ending. Yes the time has passed but forgiveness is not earned easily.

Ratings: 3 stars.

Until the next time,

Waiting on Wednesday (#66)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Our pick #1

Wren Caswell is average. Ranked in the middle of her class at Sacred Heart, she’s not popular, but not a social misfit. Wren is the quiet, “good” girl who's always done what she's supposed to—only now in her junior year, this passive strategy is backfiring. She wants to change, but doesn’t know how.

Grayson Barrett was the king of St. Gabe’s. Star of the lacrosse team, top of his class, on a fast track to a brilliant future—until he was expelled for being a “term paper pimp.” Now Gray is in a downward spiral and needs to change, but doesn’t know how.

One fateful night their paths cross when Wren, working at her family’s Arthurian-themed catering hall, performs the Heimlich on Gray as he chokes on a cocktail weenie, saving his life literally and figuratively. What follows is the complicated, awkward, hilarious, and tender tale of two teens shedding their pasts, figuring out who they are—and falling in love.

Expected publication: December 31st, 2013

Our pick #2

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

Expected publication: November 19th, 2013

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Something Wicked Returns: Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini

Hi dear readers. I'm so happy that Something Wicked finally arrived to our blog. I saw so many amazing posts so that I couldn't wait till my moment arrives. Now it has. In case you've been living under the rock this is a hop organized by lovely ladies from some of my fave blogs. 

In case you missed don't forget to check the opening post and a giveaway where you can win a book of your choice. 

Also another stop for today is

 Ali @My Guilty Obsession: Linda Grimes: Quick Fix

Buy the book at 

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed. As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.

          While many books try to explain different mysteries of life, mostly my favorites are the ones that have the eventual setting but don't focus on it, but on characters. For that reason after reading it you realize that it doesn't matter where you end but how did you live.

          Touching the Surface stars like that, when Elliot bursts from the lake into the surface of a well-know place to her. For the third time she is back to Obmil. You have no idea what is that? Doesn't matter, as it's a beauty of this story. It actually doesn't focus on explaining the afterlife to you but the author builds the world beautifully so that you discover everything piece by piece. In the meantime you are trying to understand Elliot. When you get to meet her for the first time your words to describe her would be selfish, brat and other not such lovely words, but by the end of the book you'll want to hold her and be there for her.

          We all make mistakes, that's understandable, but the key is in forgiving and compassion, the things that the author captures remarkably. While being lost Elliot hurts one that she cares for the most and as she doesn't know her past she cannot understand her present. With two more characters, Oliver and Trevor, to add to her confusion Elliot is lost.

         It's hard to point out what I like the most here - the beautiful writing, the uniqueness to the story, the characters and their development so that you'll love every single one of them by the end of the book, or the way the would builds around you easily for you to imagine it but at the same time your focus is always on the characters and the plot. There is also a nice balance between seriousness and entertainment. Everything here seems to be nicely balanced.

All in all a 5 star read for me.

Giveaway

Here is what you can win 

Enter through raffle form 

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You must be 13 or older

Must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner will be picked (don't do that to me)

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Until the next time,

2013-TBR-pile-challenge: Update

I'm so good at posting these updates that I should get some award! Really, I'm sorry but my memory is pretty bad. So yeah I missed a month or two and couple of days but here it is - the update:

Books read and reviewed before the last update

1. Whenever You Go by Heather Davis - REVIEW

2. Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher - REVIEW

3. Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins - REVIEW

4. The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta - REVIEW

5. The Dark Divine by Bree Despain - REVIEW

6. The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams - REVIEW

7. On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta - REVIEW

8. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - REVIEW

Books read and reviewed since the last update 

9. You Against Me by Jenny Downham - REVIEW

10. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta - REVIEW

11. The Taker by Alma Katsu - REVIEW

Books left to be read reviewed*

12. The Unbecoming of Maya Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

*I have read the book and I hope that I'll write a review till the next update. 

Until the next time, 

Book Spotlight: Waking Up Dead by Margo Bond Collins

Buy the book at Amazon

Book summary:

When Dallas resident Callie Taylor died young, she expected to go to Heaven, or maybe Hell. Instead, she met her fate early thanks to a creep with a knife and a mommy complex. Now she's witnessed another murder, and she's not about to let this one go. She's determined to help solve it before an innocent man goes to prison. And to answer the biggest question of all: why the hell did she wake up in Alabama?

Excerpt

When I died, I expected to go to heaven.

Okay. Maybe hell. It’s not like I was perfect or anything. But I was sort of hoping for heaven.

Instead, I went to Alabama.

Yeah. I know. It’s weird.

I died in Dallas, my hometown. I was killed, actually. Murdered. I’ll spare you the gruesome details. I don’t like to remember them myself. Some jerk with a knife--and probably a Bad-Mommy complex. Believe me, if I knew where he was, I’d go haunt his ass.

At any rate, by the time death came, I was ready for it--ready to stop hurting, ready to let go. I didn’t even fight it.

And then I woke up dead in Alabama. Talk about pissed off.

You know, even reincarnation would have been fine with me--I could have started over, clean slate and all that. Human, cow, bug. Whatever. But no. I ended up haunting someplace I’d never even been.

That’s not the way it’s supposed to work, right? Ghosts are supposed to be the tortured spirits of those who cannot let go of their earthly existence. If they could be convinced to follow the light, they’d leave behind said earthly existence and quit scaring the bejesus out of the poor folks who run across them. That’s what all those “ghost hunter” shows on television tell us.

Let me tell you something. The living don’t know jack about the dead.

Not this dead chick, anyway.

About the author

Margo Bond Collins lives in Texas with her husband, their daughter, several spoiled cats, and a ridiculous turtle. She teaches college-level English courses online, though writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about vampires, ghosts, zombies, werewolves, and other monsters. Waking Up Dead is her first published novel. Her second novel, Legally Undead, is an urban fantasy, forthcoming in 2014 from World Weaver Press.

Author's 

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Until the next time,

ARC Review: The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

Pre-order the book at

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Author's 

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Book summary: 

In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice.

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

         There are authors that tend to put me through a lot of pain and misery while I have to wait for the next book. Julie Kagawa can also be classified as author that likes to write cliffhangers. I have read The Iron Fey after all books were out so I didn't have to experience them then. Well that's why now I know how it feels.

         After The Lost Prince we were back to Nevernever once again. A favorite land of mine. Unluckily for him Ethan's first contacts with this land weren't that good. Instead enjoying new land and all the fantasy that it hides, it left him with traumas. For a long time he blamed Nevernever for taking away his sister and building a wall around himself to protect from all the magical creatures. Unfortunately for him his connections with Nevernever were hard to break and once again he was back there. Only now he had Kenzie to take care off. Taking in account her condition it wasn't an easy task and with all that Keirran is missing now and Ethan must help him, not only because he owns him but family is always family. All dangers of Nevernever are upon them and Forgotten ones are stronger than ever. They must fight and find a way to fix many broken things that bother the land.

        It wasn't hard to me to get used to Nevernever, despite all the flaws that land will always have a special place in my heart and going back is always a wonderful feeling. I was so happy to get to see Ethan develop as character and to see him break some of his walls. He is not alone anymore and that changes a lot. Now that he has people he feels he needs to protect everything is different. Once again Kagawa brought interesting twists into this story and made you turn pages frantically to see what happens next. Until there was no more pages.

        Again I'm left to live in agony until the next book. Luckily for me it's worth it every single time.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,

***NOTE: Copy of this book was kindly provided by publisher Herlequin Teens for review. Thank you. 
I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a lover of written word. All opinions are personal.

ARC Review: Skulk by Rosie Best

Buy the book at 

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

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.

         Now I'm thinking and realizing that we don't have enough shapeshifting books out there, or it's just me not finding them. I have no idea. But when I first saw that this was a book about shapeshifting I needed to read it. Luckily I have got a chance to do so.

         One night after out main character Meg sneaks out to paint graffiti something unusual happens. She sees  a fox, dying fox but in the next moment that fox turns into man. Even though scared she cannot but be surprised and when she is given a beautiful stone she had no idea that power is now transferred to her. Soon enough she discovers her new power and luckily manages to meet a group of shapeshifting foxes or Skulk as they're called. But she also discovers that it's not only foxes that people shapeshift into but that they're other clans that shapeshift into other animals. Actually there is five of them and the relations between them aren't the best to say so, but after the danger is upon to all of them they must unite and fight together.

          Like I said the whole shapeshifting part of this story made it really different. I liked how the author created the whole idea and the way she used different animals. Some of them you might never expect to be presented. Only thing that bothered me a bit was the start. I struggled to connect with Meg at first (I was a bit turned off when I saw that she was 16) but later as the whole story developed I got meet her better and see her grow.

          This book was really original and nicely paced with interesting characters. Also the readers who need a bit of romance in their stories, scare not. You'll get to enjoy the glimpse of it as well. But the focus is on the idea itself.

Rating: 4 stars.

Until the next time,

***NOTE: A copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher Strange Chemistry. Thank you! 
I'm not paid for writing this review - I do it as a lover for written word. All opinions are personal. 

Waiting on Wednesday (#65)

You know the story. This is a meme created by Breaking the Spine and every week we pick books we're waiting for. Here are our picks for this week.

Glass' pick

Life. Death. And...Love?

Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.

But Emma can't tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.

Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn't have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.

Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?

Expected publication: January 28th, 2014

Tanja's pick

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She’s special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can’t help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other “soul-eaters” around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They’re like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the “good guys” and she’ll finally figure out what, exactly, her ‘kind’ is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny… she may finally give into it.

Expected publication: November 5th, 2013

We'd love to see your picks so feel free to link them up.

Until the next time,

Cover Reveal: Something Wicked by Angela Campbell

Expected publication: October 31st, 2013

Book summary: 

Psychic medium Alexandra King is sick of being pestered by her boss’s dead mother demanding help to reunite her two estranged sons. Determined to get some peace and quiet again, Alexandra follows a lead in finding the younger Collins brother to Charleston, South Carolina, where she immediately meets the hottest man she’s ever laid eyes on and finds herself a willing participant in seduction. Of course, her one-night-stand turns out to be none other than Dylan Collins — her boss’s younger brother and a homicide detective who believes psychics are a complete waste of time.
All Dylan wants is a few hours of pleasure to take his mind off of the case haunting him. A serial killer is stalking the streets of The Holy City — a killer who calls himself The Grim Reaper. When the woman he’d just spent the night with turns up and offers her services as a psychic consultant on the case, his ardor quickly cools. Last thing he needs is to get tangled up with a con artist.
It doesn’t take long for Dylan to realize Alexandra is the real deal – and the killer’s next target. Dylan’s protective instincts battle his reluctance to get too involved with a woman he isn’t sure he can trust. As they get closer to finding the killer, they also grow closer to one another, but will Alexandra’s secret agenda destroy their chance at happiness — if the killer doesn’t strike first?

About the author

Author Angela Campbell is an overachiever with a soft spot for men who dress funny. Superman, Charlie Chaplin, Dracula, Doctor Who, Elvis - those are her kind of heroes. An eclectic reader who loves almost every genre, Angela read her first romance novel at 16 and immediately endeavored to write one, too. Many offbeat attempts (and a couple of decades) later, she published her first novel through Carina Press. Her new romantic suspense series is being published by Harper Impulse. With every story she pens, Angela aims to build in a paranormal element to a contemporary and recognizable world with characters who find love in oftentimes humorous and extraordinary situations.

A mild-mannered reporter with almost 15 years experience as a general assignment reporter, features editor and graphic designer, Angela has also worked as a production assistant in TV and film. Learn more about her books at her website.

Author's 

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Until the next time,

The Taker by Alma Katsu

Buy the book at 

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

Author's 

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Book summary:

True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural St. Andrew, Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting a quiet evening. Until a mysterious woman arrives in his ER, escorted by police—Lanore McIlvrae is a murder suspect—and Luke is inexplicably drawn to her. As Lanny tells him her story, an impassioned account of love and betrayal that transcends time and mortality, she changes his life forever. . . . At the turn of the nineteenth century, when St. Andrew was a Puritan settlement, Lanny was consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, and she will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for eternity.

          We all have these books that before they come out we must have and can't wait to read and of course we get the book once it's out and then it ends on our shelves for months and sometimes years. Well that happened with The Taker and maybe once upon a time I'd like it, now I have mixed feeling about it.

          One think it sure though, this book has some originality which is somehow a surprise because immortality is not unknown thing to us. But the whole mystery wrapped around it here makes is more appealing. Everything starts when one day in Luke's hospital arrives a supposed murderer. It makes a huge surprise as St. Andrew is a small city and this makes it big news. Luke goes to ER and there he meets Lanore and she decides to tell him his story. The story takes them back in time where everything started. We go back at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same St. Andrew in the time of it's founders. It tells us story about great mystery and love that lasted for many decades.

         Besides uniqueness that I like here the other interesting thing is it's connecting with past and the way the story is narrated. I really liked the picture of 19th century St. Andrew and the story about Lanore and Jonathan. Also the difference between the small rural town and later Boston where other things happened. What I have problems with - for starters the supposed love interest between Luke and Lanore, I have no idea when it started and how both of them felt. It was unnecessary moment for me. Mostly I had problems with all relationships here, except for Lanore and Jonathan's - that one was emotional. When the story goes to Boston and we meet supposed mysterious man who could be a man of our dreams, well he isn't. I did see the whole dom thing going on but for me he was a brute, a man without feelings who was cruel just because he could be. Not my type.

         All in all this book doesn't offer explanations about the paranormal part and I might continue with the series if I even got some hints that the things will be explained, but this way I will let it go.

Rating: 3 stars.

Until the next time,

Author Interview: John Kohlbrenner

Buy the book at Amazon

Book summary:

“The ultimate Halloween adventure.” – Professor Grimmgraves.. 

From a distance, the town of Autumnville never seemed quite right – the area being picturesque while at the same time haunting. It was a quiet, peaceful place to live, but there was a strange feeling that permeated the town and its people as Halloween approached. An eerie feeling that descended upon Autumnville, and no one knew why… until now.
Jason Myers, a 12-year-old boy who enjoyed all things monsters, discovers through a mysterious Halloween blog that monsters may be very real. On the blog is a video of a witch flying on a broom sighting. While showing it to his three best friends, they come to the horrible realization that it was filmed in the very town they live in.
The four friends will have to face a host of ghosts, witches, scarecrows, and other terrifying nightmares that have invaded Autumnville for a dark and sinister purpose. The boys will have many terrifying encounters and ultimately uncover the real secret behind Halloween. But Jason is not completely helpless, for he has the unwanted aid of a monstrous ally, and of course, Jason’s own incredible secret!

Interview 

Hello John. Welcome to Ja čitam, a ti? blog. It’s really a pleasure to have you here. I have some questions for you so let’s start.

1. Can you first tell us something about your book – One Dark Halloween Night?

One Dark Halloween Night is like all those costumed trick-r-treaters that visit your door on Halloween, from monsters, superheroes, to celebrities and politicians. The book has a wide variety of elements in it besides horror. There is mystery and suspense, action and romance and a story about young friendships that overcome great obstacles. Also the story incorporates a large number of elements from the holiday, from trick or treating, to costume parades, Halloween parties, haunted houses, corn mazes, candy, costumes, a spooky story, and of course lots and lots of monsters.

2. For people who get scared easily (ME) is this book recommended for younger readers or who scary it actually is? (To me this book sounds like a perfect read for young boys who love scary stories and are just discovering witches, ghosts and all those scary creatures)

There are scary elements in the story, but there are far more suspense, mystery to it, along with action scenes and humor to break up any scary tension. There is nothing too graphic so it would be fine for middle school kids.

3. What or who inspired you to write this book?

I would say it’s my love of the holiday Halloween. I’ve been trick-r-treating with my daughter for a couple years now and we always have a blast. It is the second most popular holiday in America, yet it barely any fictional mythology to it. Yes you can say any scary story is a Halloween story, but what is the definitive Halloween story about the holiday. You could say it’s The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury, but the book reads like a kid’s history lesson on the holiday. Or John Carpenter’s Halloween which is just a serial killer movie. So there is a void out there needing to be filled. Christmas has several stores that does it, A Christmas Carol, A Christmas Story, etc.. I hope my novel will fill that void.

4. Do you plan to make this book a part of series or it’ll remain standalone?

You will have to read my book to find out.

5. It’s October and time for Halloween so it’s be only fair to share your biggest fear with my readers.

My biggest fear is not making ends meet. It is a tough economy out there and becoming a successful writer is akin to winning a lottery. I think my book has winning numbers, I just hope they get picked sooner then later.

6. What’s your favorite author or book if you can pick one?

My favorite author would definitely be H.P. Lovecraft. He is a master at scary descriptions and his monsters were out of this world, literally.

7. At the end it’d be amazing if you’d share your favorite quote or something that inspires you.

What inspires me is my father, his reaction to reading my novel made all those hours of writing worth it. First by telling me how surprised he was at how good the story was, and the gasp of shock he made when he read the last page of my book. To write something that invokes such an emotional response you know just has to be good.

Thank you for this interview. It was a pleasure to talk to you.

Trailer

About the author

Born in Blytheville Arkansas, but living there was not to be.

Ended up growing up in Buffalo and Denver you see.

Went to the University of Colorado and got a film and English degree.

Then moved to Los Angeles to work in the movie industry.

Was a sound FX editor for eight years, but that was not for me.

Raised my daughter at home, lovingly doing it for free.

Now it’s time to start a new career, this being number three.

I’ve become a writer, so buy my book, if you hear my plea.

It’s an exciting and scary novel, I’m sure you would agree.

I hope you like my life rhyme and not found it too goofy.

Author's

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Until the next time,