The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta

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Author's 

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Book summary:

Award-winning author Melina Marchetta reopens the story of the group of friends from her acclaimed novel Saving Francesca - but five years have passed, and now it’s Thomas Mackee who needs saving. After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can’t forget. Shooting for oblivion, he’s hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom’s in no shape to mend what’s broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper’s Son redefines what it means to go home again.

     I have no idea why I'm still try to write reviews for Melina's books. Probably because I know there is few of you still left to read her books. This is me trying to make you do so but really my words can't describe the beauty of these books.

     In case you don't know The Piper's Son is sort of continuing the story from Saving Francesca. You could see my review for the later and find some things about Francesca. But somehow I managed no to mention another character then - Thomas. The boy who is telling us his story in this book. Tomas Mackee is now a grown up boy who as the blurb says needs saving. Some things in the past are now stopping his family to be together and besides that he mast find his love again. Not that he has lost her, she's, well gone. It takes a lot of courage to find balance in life and fight for things he cares the most.

    Some things never change with Melina - one of them is her writing. She manages to tell you some, we could say every-day stories and makes them special. Then there are her characters who are always so close to you and so lovable. I still haven't and I highly doubt I ever will read a story written by Melina that won't make me cry. Somehow I don't even want to.

Until the next time,

Quote of the Week: Falling For You by Lisa Schroeder

Hi people. Well I just wanted to share few quotes with you. I owe you review for this book too, well dear book welcome to the club. I hope I'll catch up with my reviews this week. In the meantime enjoy the quotes. They're from the book called Falling For You and it's by Lisa Schroeder.

Circumstances shape who we are and who we become. I believe that. But I also believe we have choices. There are always choices. 

Your parents may have created you, but they don't define you. 

Maybe, just maybe, a reader would feel a little less alone in the world.

Until the next time,

Transcend Time Blitz Post & Giveaway

Today I'll present you Transcend Time saga! I hope you'll enjoy the guest post and that you'll meet the characters better. So let's start with the blurbs.

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The book is only 0.99c at the moment! 

Book summary: 

Lizzie Davenport has been reincarnated from Regency Era, England ... but she doesn't know it yet.

Then Drew Carmichael transfers into Lizzie's high school at the beginning of the year, and she feels a connection to him, almost like she knows him. She can't stop thinking about him, but whenever she tries talking with him about the mysteries behind her feelings, he makes it clear that he wants nothing to do with her. Reaching him is even more difficult because she has a boyfriend, Jeremy, who has started to become full of himself after being elected co-captain of the varsity soccer team, and her flirtatious best friend Chelsea starts dating Drew soon after his arrival. So why can't she get him out of her mind?

Even though Lizzie knows she should let go of her fascination with Drew, fighting fate isn't going to be easy.

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Book summary:

How far would you go to get revenge?

When Chelsea Givens discovered that her ex-boyfriend Drew dumped her to be with her former best friend Lizzie, she'd never felt so betrayed in her life. Then her new friend Shannon tells her she can help set things right. Chelsea's willing to listen, but what Shannon wants her to believe -- that she shared a past life with Drew -- is impossible. And what she wants her to do to get him back … well, it's downright crazy. 

Could Shannon be telling the truth? And if she is, what lengths will Chelsea go if it means making Lizzie pay? 

Find out in Vengeance, the second part of the Transcend Time Saga.

*Vengeance is the short story that bridges the events in Remembrance and the final novel in the Saga.

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Book summary:

IT'S A RACE AGAINST TIME.

In Remembrance, Lizzie and Drew changed the course of fate so they could be together. 

In Vengeance, Chelsea set fate back on its original, deadly path. 

Now, strange things keep happening to Lizzie. Things that are omens of darkness to come. A curse has doomed her to die an early death, just as she did in her past life. To make matters worse, even if she can figure out who cast the curse, it's irreversible. There's only one option left for her to save herself. It's crazier than anything she's heard yet, and to do it, she'll need Drew and Chelsea's help.

Because to make things right, they must go back to when it all began ... and Lizzie discovers that the final events in her past life were more sinister than she ever imagined.

Also Transcendence is free on Smashwords!!

Guest post 

Drew’s Top Ten Favorite Books

As you might recall from Remembrance, Drew has a large bookshelf in his loft full of lots of different books. Here are some of his favorites from his collection.

1) The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

Because this is clearly one of the best book series of all time.

2) The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin

Drew stated reading these books after watching Game of Thrones on HBO, and it quickly became one of his favorite series’.

3) Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

Drew has read all the books in the Alex Cross series. This is the first one, and it is still his favorite in the series.

4) Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

A friend recommended he read this before the movie came out. He did, and ended up loving the entire trilogy.

5) Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine

This was Drew’s favorite series when he was in elementary school, and he still has his collection. He specifically loved Say Cheese and Die.

6) Deception Point by Dan Brown

This book isn’t as well known as DaVinci Code or Angels and Demons, but it’s Drew’s favorite book by Dan Brown. (He has read all of Dan Brown’s books).

7) The Stand by Stephen King

Drew has read many of King’s books, but this is his favorite. He liked the end of the world aspect of it.

8) Timeline by Michael Crichton

This is a time travel book, and Drew really enjoyed it. He liked seeing how what happened in the past affected the future.

9) Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich

This is a great book based off the real life MIT students who figured out a mathematical way of playing blackjack that allowed them to “beat” Vegas. Drew also loved the sequel, Busting Vegas.

10) The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Drew read this book in middle school, and it has always stuck with him.

Drew reads mainly adult fiction, although he will read the occasional YA book if it is highly recommended to him. When choosing a book to read, he veers toward thrillers. His favorite authors are Dan Brown, James Patterson, and Stephen King.

Giveaway 

Okay. I have an ebook copy of Remembrance for you. All you have to do is enter the giveaway below! 

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Until the next time, 

Blog Tour & Giveaway - Shadow Eyes by Dusty Crabtree

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil.  But she is the only one who can see them.  She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.

Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters.  First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend.

As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

     Is it me or paranormal is back on track these days. Recently I've received few request for reading paranormal stories and it's nice to see these around. But let me present you this one.

     Shadow Eyes is a story about a girl - Iris. I guess you already assume that her name has something to do with her eyes and it does. She has a beautiful violet eyes. It's not only that they're unusual, which they are, it's also that it brings something into her life. The story has it when she was 14 she experienced a traumatic even and ever since then she was able to see shadows. The shadows that are evil and harass people into doing some really bad things. She can't stop then but she can also see a light that can. She met only a few people with the bright aura that stopped the shadows. But recently she started seeing them more and more plus some really weird things started to happen. Soon enough she is in the middle of the battle and trying to find the truth but only thing that can help her is going back into the past and seeing everything with the different eyes.

      While I'm happy to see that this is something relatively new in the paranormal world there are few things that stopped me from fully enjoy it. As much as I love mystery and waiting to see the truth at some point it was painful to wait the end of the book to get all the things together. We can say that I can be impatient at times. Still this was a relatively fast and interesting read.

Rating: 3.5 stars

Giveaway

Everyone, don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win a print copy of Shadow Eyes, your full name in the sequel, and a KINDLE FIRE!

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Until the next time,

Waiting on Wednesday (#34)

Hi. It's another Wednesday and it means another WOW post. As you all know it's a meme created by Breaking the Spine. Here are our picks for this week.

Glass' pick

Four best friends, five summers of camp memories

The summer we were nine: Emma was branded “Skylar’s friend Emma” by the infamous Adam Loring . . .
The summer we were ten: Maddie realized she was too far into her lies to think about telling the truth . . .
The summer we were eleven : Johanna totally freaked out during her first game of Spin the Bottle . . .
The summer we were twelve : Skylar’s love letters from her boyfriend back home were exciting to all of us—except Skylar . . .
Our last summer together: Emma and Adam almost kissed. Jo found out Maddie’s secret. Skylar did something unthinkable . . . and whether we knew it then or not, five summers of friendship began to fall apart. Three years after the fateful last night of camp, the four of us are coming back to camp for reunion weekend—and for a second chance. Bittersweet, funny, and achingly honest, Five Summers is a story of friendship, love, and growing up that is perfect for fans of Anne Brashares and Judy Blume's Summer Sisters. 

Expected publication: May 16th, 2013

Tanja's pick

After an elemental apocalypse, the fate of Earth hangs in the balance.

The hunt for Micah in a world that has gone dim leads Kaitlyn straight to Shawn and One Less. While struggling to survive, she battles a side of her that is as dark as the rest of the planet. In the exciting conclusion to The Akasha Series, our heroine is no longer a part of The Seven or One Less. Now she is on Team Kaitlyn; who will join her?

Expected publication: April 22nd, 2013

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

Until the next time,

Tanja's Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Series I'd Like To Start But Haven't Yet

Hello. It's another Tuesday and as always that means Top Ten Tuesday post. It's a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. So here are my picks for this week, in pictures this week :)

I'd love to see your posts so feel free to link them up in comments below.

Until the next time,

Blog Tour & Giveaway - Ashes by Estevan Vega

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

MORE THAN THREE MONTHS HAVE PASSED SINCE ARSON AND EMERY WERE SUDDENLY TAKEN. TAKEN AND THEN SEPARATED. AND EXPERIMENTED ON.

The minds running Salvation Asylum have abducted them for a dark purpose. A campaign has been set in motion to genetically alter mankind. Unknowingly, Arson has become the most vital instrument in this global scheme, initiated by a select group of brilliant scientists and cunning world leaders. Confused, trapped, and unable to fully manifest his abilities, Arson faces a new existence crawling with questions. Will he ever see Emery again? Is Grandma still alive? Can the fate of the human race really hang in the balance of one choice?

Nightmare and reality collide in Ashes, book two in the gripping ARSON trilogy. Love will be tested. Powers will shift. And the past will invade the here and now as Arson discovers a part of himself he has never before known and fights against his own shocking origins. Will this boy who once tempted fire be able to take on a fearful future? When the struggle intensifies and secrets come to light, will Arson be ready to accept the haunting revelation that there may be others out there, others like him?

    Few moths back I discover this series (well technical it discovered me...but hey - details) and I really liked the first book in the series - Arson. As you could see in my review unusual was a word for it. By now I discovered that Estevan has its own way of telling you the story and all you have to do is get used to it. It looks like I did.

     It'll be hard to tell you much about the story in the sequel without spoiling the first book but I'll try. In case you don't know our main character - Arson well he has been through a lot and during that journey Emery was a good company. Now after everything the things have changed. Three months later they're taken. We're now in different environment with different problems. It was hard to catch all the links at the starts but once you do the story flows easily. In the Ashes we get to know new characters who change the dynamics of the story. I really like that, even though as in Arson this book skips form one story to another until they cross their paths. Still this book was - how to say it? - disturbing. I have no idea how to explain this but I had some strange feeling while reading this. Maybe darker would be a good word. Some people will probably like it but as always I'm too much of a coward and I don't really enjoy it so much. But what's still there is a need to find out more or what happens next.

      If you have read Arson I believe you'll love the sequel. In case you haven't then I believe you should. Maybe at first you won't be satisfied but you'll get used to the storytelling and Estevan's writing style. Now I have to wait for the third and I believe last part of this series.

Rating: 4 stars.

Giveaway 

It's a bit late but in case you wanna win something here is your chance! ;)

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Until the next time,

Dirty Red by Tarryn Fisher

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

Dear Opportunist,

You thought you could take him from me, but you lost. Now, that he's mine I'll do anything to keep him. Do you doubt me? I have everything that was supposed to be yours. In case you were wondering; he doesn't ever think about you anymore. I won't let him go....ever.

Dirty Red

     This series is another one from I-blame-Zemira list. She introduced me to this series and I was really  surprised by The Opportunist. I couldn't wait to see Leah's story even though she was never my type of the character.

      So Dirty Red continues where The Opportunist stopped. As you could see in my review I really enjoyed the story about Caleb and Olivia and I couldn't wait to see what happens next. I really can't tell you much about the story itself cause I'll spoil it for those who haven't read The Opportunist but let's just say that this book brought a lot of different feelings. I was never fan of Leah and I'd never be. She is basically everything I'm not but I still could understand her - up until one point. She knows what she wants and she is not going to stop until she has it. She'll do anything to get it. I admire her for that cause she has a real will and courage. What bothers me the most is the way she treats innocent people. That I'll never be able to forgive her. Those who have read this story will know what I'm talking about. But still the fact that Miss Fisher knows how to create a really strong characters and story and still so real is admirable.

     Now I can't wait to read the rest of the story from Caleb's POV. I really don't know how this will end or I don't know how I want it to end. I really hope that the author has a few surprises for us.

Rating: 4 stars

Until the next time,

Blog Tour : Review & Giveaway - None of the Regular Rules by Erin Downing

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Author's 

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Book summary: 

Sometimes, a few dares can change lives…

The weekend before the start of senior year, Sophie Erickson and her best friends, Ella and Grace, discover a handwritten list of dares tucked away in the glove compartment of Sophie’s beat-up old Toyota. But this isn’t just any list; it’s a dead girl's bucket list.

Sophie's beloved aunt Suzy died as a teenager in a fatal fall, leaving Sophie with an overly cautious family, a few fading photographs, and a bucket of bolts that barely passes for a car. But now, Sophie has Suzy’s list of the things she wanted to do in her last year of high school. Sophie can't help but wonder: What would happen if she tried to fulfill Suzy’s last wishes, to live out the longed-for life of her aunt, her hero?

As Sophie and her friends attempt to knock off the things on Suzy's list of dares, love blossoms in unexpected places and Sophie begins to feel that her life is finally coming together...when in fact, everything is slowly unraveling around her. When the truth about a long-held family secret threatens to shatter everything she believed to be true, Sophie is forced to question everything she knew about the life and people she believed in, and ultimately herself.

     This is one of these books that I thought I can't make mistake with. Well that's partly true, cause when I say I - I mean the person I used to be..it's looks like that. But I should tell you more about the story first.

      Sophie is a really typical young girl. She is in high school now and most of her days she is spending with her two best friends. Her neighbor next door is a bit older. He is leaving for college this summer and that's why he's hosting parties in his yard all night long. Of course Sophie is invited but too scared to go. Until one day when by the accident she finds a list. It's a list her aunt left in the car which Sophie inherited. Her aunt was her hero and now she is gone - dead. Sophie feels like she needs to knock off the things on the list in memory of her aunt. She doesn't even dream that by doing so she will change herself too. She grows up with the list but unfortunately not always things go according to the plan.

      Now back to the start. Like I said few years back this book would be something wonderful to me. It's a realistic story about teens growing up, getting to know the world, love and find themselves. Well today I guess I'm older and I don't feel the same. So I believe that the younger readers will love this book but I think it's time for me to leave them behind.

Rating: 3 stars.

Author's bio 

Erin Downing has written more than a dozen books for young adults, tweens, and kids. Her guilty pleasures include an unhealthy obsession with reality TV and cheesy romantic dramas (Revenge! Alias!), an addiction to Us Weekly magazine, and cupcakes.

Before turning to writing full time, Erin worked as a book editor, spent a few months as a cookie inventor, and also worked for Nickelodeon. Erin has lived in England, Sweden, and New York City, and now resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and kids. More information about Erin and her books can be found at her website.

Giveaway

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Until the next time,

Cover Reveal - Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes

Book summary:

"Olivia

He tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his, his thumb brushing lightly across my lips. I close my eyes. I know Z is trouble. I know that being with him is going to get me into trouble. I don’t care.

At least at this moment, I don’t care.

Tossed from foster home to foster home, Olivia’s seen a lot in her sixteen years. She’s hardened, sure, though mostly just wants to fly under the radar until graduation. But her natural ability with computers catches the eye of Z, a mysterious guy at her new school. Soon, Z has brought Liv into his team of hacker elite—break into a few bank accounts, and voila, he drives a motorcycle. Follow his lead, and Olivia might even be able to escape from her oppressive foster parents. As Olivia and Z grow closer, though, so does the watchful eye of Bill Sykes, Z’s boss. And he’s got bigger plans for Liv…

Z

I can picture Liv’s face: wide-eyed, trusting. Her smooth lips that taste like strawberry Fanta.

   It was just a kiss. That’s all. She’s just like any other girl.

Except that she’s not.

Thanks to Z, Olivia’s about to get twisted."

Release date: November 5th, 2013.

Pre-order the book:

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