8. srp 2013.

Cover Reveal: Pendomus by Carissa Andrews

Book summary:

Humanity has colonized on a tidally locked planet known as Pendomus, a planet of extremes. Half eternal scorching desert and half perpetual arctic night. Surviving along the temperate band between the two, we've set up home in a complex known as the Helix. Within the Helix lies a highly sophisticated, highly technological society that seems to function solely on humans fulfilling their life's purpose. That purpose is determined and nurtured through a person's natural aptitudes, as read by their daily brain scans. Eating, sleeping, even procreation is handled by professionals. These basic concepts, no longer a part of society's every day norm. 


Seventeen-year-old Runa Cophem longs to be more than part of the Helix machine. Her life inside is anything but fulfilling. She feels disconnected, and longs to be more than society dictates. Inside, no one socializes, no one interacts in a meaningful way. It's never set right with Runa. She would love nothing more than to reach out to her family, but not even her own mother can show any semblance of love for her. Instead, Runa has found solace in the ancient woods nearby, despite being strictly forbidden. 

Seventeen-year-old Runa Cophem longs to be more than part of the Helix machine. Her life inside is anything but fulfilling. She feels disconnected, and longs to be more than society dictates. Inside, no one socializes, no one interacts in a meaningful way. It's never set right with Runa. She would love nothing more than to reach out to her family, but not even her own mother can show any semblance of love for her. Instead, Runa has found solace in the ancient woods nearby, despite being strictly forbidden. 

Runa's life takes an unforeseen turn when she's brutally attacked, and left for dead in those woods near the Helix. Rescued by a stranger with blue hair, she's immersed into a surprising way humanity has survived. Fueled by a yearning to belong, and an attraction she didn't even know was possible, Runa wants desperately to make a new life. Yet, there's much she doesn't know about herself, about the planet and the forces controlling her from afar.

What she needs is some answers.

About the author 

Born and raised in central MN, Carissa Andrews has always loved books. She started her career at 15 in a bookstore, just to be able to afford her book fetish. By 19, she worked for a magazine publisher. At 22, she was working for printers to learn their trade. At 27, she went back to school for graphic design, and became an award winning designer. Little did she know all of her experiences would lead her to becoming a self-publishing power house.

At 31, a magical world on a planet far away, invaded her mind.

At 34, she's learned what she needs to make her work successful.

Pendomus (Book 1 of the Pendomus Chronicles) will be released OCTOBER 10, 2013.

Author's Website / Facebook / Twitter

Until the next time,


7. srp 2013.

Cover Reveal: Daughter of Chaos by Jen McConnel

Nothing is more terrifying than the witch who wields red magic.

DOC cover
Book summary: 
Witches must choose the path they will follow, and Darlena Agara is no exception. She’s been putting it off long enough, and in her case, ignoring it has not made it go away. In a moment of frustration, Darlena chooses to follow Red Magic, figuring she had outsmarted the powers that be, since there’s no such thing as Red Magic. But alas, Darlena’s wrong (again) and she becomes a newly declared Red Witch. Her friends are shocked and her parents horrified by the choice Darlena has made. As a Red Witch, she now governs one third of the world’s chaos. She is the walking personification of pandemonium, turmoil, and bedlam, just as the patrons of Red Magic would have it to be. But Darlena believes there must be more to Red Magic than chaos and destruction, and she sets out on a journey to achieve balance. Only doing so puts her at odds with the dark goddess Hecate, who simply will not allow Darlena to quit. She encourages Darlena to embrace who and what she is and to leave good magic to the good witches. If only Darlena could, life would be simple, and she would not be the Daughter of Chaos. 
DAUGHTER OF CHAOS is the first in a YA paranormal trilogy. Coming March 2014 from Month9Books.
 About the author


Jen McConnel first began writing poetry as a child. Since then, her words have appeared in a variety of magazines and journals, including Sagewoman, PanGaia, and The Storyteller (where she won the people’s choice 3rd place award for her poem, “Luna”).
She is also a former reviewer for Voices of Youth Advocates (VOYA), and proud member of SCBWI, NCWN, and SCWW.
A Michigander by birth, she now lives and writes in the beautiful state of North Carolina. When she isn't crafting worlds of fiction, she teaches writing composition at a community college. Once upon a time, she was a middle school teacher, a librarian, and a bookseller, but those are stories for another time.
Author's 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until the next time,

UPDATE:

Starting tomorrow I'll take part in
I'm still not sure what will I read and how many books will I read but I'll make updates hopefully every day!

6. srp 2013.

The Year of the Great Seventh by Teresa Orts

Buy the book at 

Author's 

Book summary:

Sophie has always felt out of step—an outsider, even amongst friends in her high school with all the hype about celebrity culture. Her life in L.A. seems to have been already written for her, but when her junior year starts, it all takes a drastic turn. When she crosses paths with the school's heartthrob, Nate Werner, they fall for each other in a way neither can understand. What they don’t know is that by giving in to their desires, they are unlocking an ancient Egyptian prophecy that threatens to return Earth to the dark ages.

To undo the curse, Nate and Sophie embark on an adventure that takes them across the country. But their quest is not only to save the world as they know it. It is also a fight for their very survival. Behind the scenes, there are those that are counting on them to fail.

        Considering that I've been blogging, reviewing and mostly reading YA stories for a few years now I was really surprised that this has been the first YA book set in Hollywood to me. Which is a surprise but I guess that all that glow is focused on the movie industry. Regardless, it was a nice change. 

       With the change of the setting some other things changed too. I wasn't faced with cheer-leading again (yay) and now I was in company of girls who would want to be a movie stars. You would think it's not a big change but you'd be surprised. Anyhow, yes there are girls that want to have their name on the Walk of Fame one day and there is Sophie, the girl that didn't fit into that picture. Because of that it was easy to connect with her as I assume I'd act the same. Even though at the start both Sophie and Nate seemed kind of plain they grew through the book. You can see them change and you go through their coming of age with them. As characters grown so did the story. What one started as a story about high school students in Hollywood turned into a great mystery. I'm not telling you much about that because it was highly unpredictable for me so it's for the better to discover things on your own. 

      This was one of the rare times when I've actually read a blurb before diving into the book and I was really afraid after few pages as I didn't know how could an ancient Egyptian prophecy fit into all of this. Well surprisingly for me it worked out really good. Good thing is that it wasn't predictable and quite honestly I know close to nothing about ancient Egypt and I was really enjoying my ride. 

      So don't fear at the start that this book is plain and uninteresting because you must be patient with it and then it'll show you all its secrets. After it drags you into the story and you are desperately turning the pages to see what's happening in the end. It leaves you wanting for more even though the story doesn't end with the cliffhanger. 

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,


5. srp 2013.

Blog Tour: Arrow of the Mist by Christina Mercer

Buy the book at 

Author's 

Book summary: 

Terror strikes the Celtic inspired kingdom of Nemetona when barbed roots breach the veil of a forbidden land and poison woodsmen, including 15-year-old Lia’s beloved father. Lia and three others embark on a quest to the forbidden land of Brume to gather ingredients for the cure. But after her elder kinsman is attacked and poisoned, she and her cousin, Wynn, are forced to finish the quest on their own.


Lia relies on her powerful herbal wisdom and the memorized pages of her late grandmother’s Grimoire for guidance through a land of soul-hungry shades, trickster creatures, and uncovered truths about the origin of Brume and her family’s unexpected ties to it. The deeper they trek into the land, the stronger Lia’s untapped gift as a tree mage unfolds. When she discovers the enchanted root’s maker, it forces her to question everything about who she is and what is her destiny. Ultimately she must make a terrible choice: keep fighting to save her father and the people of the lands or join with the power behind the deadly roots to help nature start anew.

      I strongly believe that many, like I, were taken aback after seeing this book. It showed out of nowhere and suddenly I was in desperate need for this book. Look at the cover it literary talks to you and then you read the blurb and you stare at it in awe! At least I was. It sounded like everything one might need to have a bloody great fantasy novel.

      Honestly I'm like super close to posting a meme at the start of this review, but I shall resist. I'm sure though that you all remember the old fantasy TV shows for kids and fairy tales which had magic and good old riddles (you remember them?). Well this book has it all. Now I came to the hardest part and that would be explaining my emotions and awesomeness of this book to you with my words. It's basically impossible as this book is magical. Every aspect of it - from Lia who is a girl every kid wish to be. She is a girl who is brave and not thinking twice when everyone are in danger and she must cross to Burme, the magical land from which no one came back, in order to find a cure. She is ready to do that and much more to save her father and her land as shadows are getting closer and closer. On this magical quest she will also find a great friend in her cousin and also first affection and something that might turn into love (not in cousin but someone else). But most of all she will find herself and discover that magic is great part of her life and that it'll always be.

      You can find some basic elements of fantasy here and this, for sure, would be a book that I'd read under my tent in the bed as a little kid with a flashlight and staying awake longer than I should. Even though my age tells you something else I still do that, only I don't need flashlight with the new technology.

      This book fed the child in me the one that grew up on books about magic and the one that dreamed about magical lands and creatures. This book fed my soul at the same time as I discovered the whole new world and that world full of possibilities.

Rating: 5 stars.

Until the next time,


4. srp 2013.

Blog tour: Saved by Music by Selene Castrovilla

Buy the book at

Book summary:

The last place fifteen-year-old Willow wants to spend her summer is on a run-down former coffee barge, which her aunt is converting into a floating concert hall. In Saved by the Music, Willow thinks she’s alone until she meets Axel, an older teen who lives isolated from the world on the sailboat docked nearby. An unlikely romance sparks as the two grapple with their darkest secrets and bond through shared pain and laughter. It is a summer where music must do more than just soothe the soul.
Character Interview - Axel

Hi Axel it's great to have you here today. Welcome to Ja čitam, a ti? Well as this is a blog about books do you like reading? Who is your favourite author?
Thank you for having me! I do read, incidentally. My boat has a large book collection. Shakespeare is by far my favorite, but I have read most of the classics. I went to a snobby boarding school, but the good thing about it was that the teachers introduced me to many great authors.

First thing that I've noticed about you is music. So can you tell me more about it. What music means to you and how did you start playing?
Music and books mean more to me than anything (okay, now that I have Willow that is not so true.) Growing up, I felt isolated. I didn't make friends easily, my mom was gone, and my dad and brothers didn't spend time with me. I started taking cello lessons in first grade because that's what was done in my home. My dad insisted that each son take a musical instrument. He was not a good dad, but in that one case he did me a huge favor. Playing the cello saved my life. My cello became a friend who let out my sorrows through its sound. I never cried once I hit puberty – my dad wanted his sons to behave like men – but my cello did my crying for me. Playing music also forced me to get out of my head and focus on my task. It's very difficult and time-consuming, so I had less time to think about my problems. That is, until they built up to the point that I couldn't ignore them anymore. That's when I moved to the boat, trying to concentrate only on music and reading. I gave up on everything else. 

Also you can share some of your favorite songs with us...
All my favorites are classical. They include Chopin's Cello Sonata Op. 65, Shubert's Arpeggione Sonata and Bach's Cello Suite No. 1.

Back to present. How's it to live on a boat? You also live alone. Did you get lonely or it's for the best? (I'm trying not to spoil things for the future readers)

Living on a boat suits me fine because I don't need a lot of space – just enough for my cello and my books. I like the water more than the land. I don't really feel like talking about why. I never get lonely because people have always let me down, so how can you miss people who have never been there for you? I thought I'd never trust anyone – until I met Willow.

What were your first thoughts after seeing Willow?
My first thought was, Why is someone with such a bright spirit in this dingy boatyard? My second thought was, Why is she running away? My third thought was, Wow, she's clumsy! Because she banged right into something on the barge.

Can you pick a song to describe her? 
Hmmm...She loves The Doors and she's touched my heart, so I'd have to say Touch Me.

What were your thoughts after seeing her in not so comfortable situation with someone else? 
At first my heart hurt because I was jealous – I thought she wanted to be with him. But when I found out she didn't want to be with him, my heart hurt because she was hurt and I couldn't stop the pain. And I felt rage against the guy.

You opened up to her. Why? You felt that you could trust her?
I couldn't help myself. Have you ever been drawn to someone like a magnet? It's like the universe brought this kindred spirit to save me – from myself. I have no firm reason to know that I could trust her. I just knew. It was instinctive, and undeniable.

What are your plans for the future?
If I share them I will ruin the book for the reader, I fear. If you read the book, know that I am still in the frame of mind it ended with, and on that same path.

Well it was nice to have you here. Thank you and feel free to stop anytime you want.
Thanks for inviting me! It was great visiting. I need to get out every so often.
Bye!

About the author

Selene Castrovilla is an award-winning teen and children’s author who believes that through all trends, humanity remains at the core of literature. She is the author of Saved By the Music and The Girl Next Door, teen novels originally published by WestSide Books and now available digitally through ASD Publishing. Her third children’s book with Calkins Creek Books, Revolutionary Friends, was released in April. Selene holds an MFA in creative writing from New School University and a BA in English from New York University. She lives on Long Island with her two sons. Visit her website www.SeleneCastrovilla.com for book excerpts and more information!


Author's

Giveaway 

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Follow the rest of the tour at
Saved By The Music Blog Tour

Until the next time,


3. srp 2013.

Cover reveal: Illusion by S.M. Boyce

The Grimoire Saga is an Amazon bestselling series by fantasy author S. M. Boyce. Boyce has been designing and outlining this series since 2006, and the final book is nearly here. The cover for Illusion (Grimoire Saga #4) was formally released by Caffeinated Books Publishing. And because I’m awesome, I got you a sneak peek.
Illusion eBook Cover (Silver)
Available Fall 2014
In 2014, the Grimoire Saga ends with Illusion. Blood is spilled. Love is tested. Loyalty fades. Peace will come at a hefty cost. And in the final moments of the war, both Braeden and Kara must make a heartbreaking sacrifice to win. (Set to release in Fall 2014.)
Gorgeous, right? Want to get an advance review copy (ARC) of Illusion? Sign up for email notifications of when all Boyce's ARCs become available.

About S. M. Boyce

S. M. BoyceInternational Amazon Bestseller. Fantasy Author. Twitter addict. Book Blogger. Geek. Sarcastic. Gooey. Odd. Author of the action-packed Grimoire Saga. S.M. Boyce is a novelist who loves ghosts, magic, and spooky things. She prefers loose-leaf tea, reads far too many books, and is always cold. She’s married to her soul mate and couldn’t be happier. Her B.A. in Creative Writing qualifies her to serve you french fries. Boyce likes to update her blog a few times each week so that you have something to wake you up in the morning. For those of you new to the series, here’s the first book, Lichgates. Make sure you get your free copy (links are below).

Lichgates

“The writing is flawless. The kingdoms and surrounding landscapes breathtaking. The Grimoire is a piece of imaginative genius that bedazzles from the moment Kara falls into the land of Ourea."
 Spring 2013 Rankings #6 Kindle Store | #1 Science Fiction & Fantasy | #1 Epic Fantasy | #1 Sword & Sorcery | #1 Teens   Fans of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon will enjoy this contemporary remix of the classic epic fantasy genre.

Grimoire SagaKara Magari is about to discover a beautiful world full of terrifying things—Ourea. Kara, a college student still reeling from her mother’s recent death, has no idea the hidden world of Ourea even exists until a freak storm traps her in a sunken library. With nothing to do, she opens an ancient book of magic called the Grimoire and unwittingly becomes its master, which means Kara now wields the cursed book’s untamed power. Discovered by Ourea's royalty, she becomes an unwilling pawn in a generations-old conflict—a war intensified by her arrival. In this world of chilling creatures and betrayal, Kara shouldn’t trust anyone… but she’s being hunted and can’t survive on her own. She drops her guard when Braeden, a native soldier with a dark secret, vows to keep her safe. And though she doesn’t know it, her growing attraction to him may just be her undoing. For twelve years, Braeden Drakonin has lived a lie. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. Though he begins to care for this human girl, there is something he wants more. He wants the Grimoire. Welcome to Ourea, where only the cunning survive.

Note: All eBook copies of Lichgates are free
Learn More (free chapters and excerpts)

Until the next time, 

Waiting On Wednesday (#50)



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. We usually go with one pick each but today we'll post two books that we both can't wait to read.

Our pick #1





One choice will define you.

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









Expected publication: October 22nd, 2013

Our pick #2

Old Gods never die…

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

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

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

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

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

The Goddess War is about to begin.


Expected publication: September 10th, 2013

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

Until the next time,


Meant to Be by Lauren Morrill



Buy the book:

Find author:

Book summary:

Meant to be or not meant to be . . . that is the question.

It's one thing to fall head over heels into a puddle of hazelnut coffee, and quite another to fall for the—gasp—wrong guy. Straight-A junior Julia may be accident prone, but she's queen of following rules and being prepared. That's why she keeps a pencil sharpener in her purse and a pocket Shakespeare in her, well, pocket. And that's also why she's chosen Mark Bixford, her childhood crush, as her MTB ("meant to be").

But this spring break, Julia's rules are about to get defenestrated (SAT word: to be thrown from a window) when she's partnered with her personal nemesis, class-clown Jason, on a school trip to London. After one wild party, Julia starts receiving romantic texts . . . from an unknown number! Jason promises to help discover the identity of her mysterious new suitor if she agrees to break a few rules along the way. And thus begins a wild goose chase through London, leading Julia closer and closer to the biggest surprise of all: true love.

Because sometimes the things you least expect are the most meant to be.

     It's been a long time since last time I wrote review. Work, stress and, honestly, I've been into different kind of books since last summer. Well, it looks like I am again in sweet young adult novels phase. And what great book  to start with. 
     Meant to Be goes in my special category - summer books. Light, fun reads about summer, road-trips, unexpected love, testing friendships and growing up. Books that make me think about warm nights spent outside with friends, ice-cream and chips we used to eat, boys on bikes and skates ( I don't ride, but I had this really soft spot for boys that do - one of them being my man), shorts and flip-flops, highlights in my hair... 

"Paris was a city of love for unimaginative folks."

      This is perfect choice for everyone who read and loved Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - London, Shakespeare and love, what's not to like? I know, that was Paris, The City of Love, but you might change your mind after you read this.
      I've noticed that some readers didn't like Julia that much, but I think she is something different. Maybe that's just my inner adult-romance-for-the-last-six-months reader, maybe I would find 101 reason to rant about her if I read this book just few days ago when I was in weird book funk, but now I can say just this - Julia is great girl. One of the reasons why I think that? Shakespeare. No, it's not because I'm teacher. I had similar introduction to his plays like Julia and I've spend good part of my teen years obsessing over them. Until this day no one in my family knows for sure how that book ended on our bookshelf. I'll just go with the flow and say... It was meant to be.:)

"I was just hoping that you'd realize that guys like me, go with girls like you."

      If you enjoy reading about sweet first love, you are going to devour this book in one sitting.  Jason and Julia have this perfect chemistry, at first it looks like they have nothing in common, but just wait. Jason will make you fall on your knees and make silly, googly eyes. Scene in the skate park, in his room and there is one part that made me laugh so hard because it reminded me of all kinky books I've read. 

     Don't waste your time and go find this book and read it. If you did read it, find it and re-read your favorite parts. Meant to Be deserves big, shiny five stars.

Until next time,


2. srp 2013.

Tanja's Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR List


Hello. It's another Tuesday and it basically means it's time for another Top Ten Tuesday. It's a meme created by The Broke and the Bookish were we picks top ten picks on certain tasks. As I have missed one of the previous weeks I'll go with that one. So here we go...


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

Until the next time,


1. srp 2013.

Cover reveal: Origin by Jennifer Armentrout

Pre-order the book at 

Book summary:

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.
After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.
All Katy can do is survive.
Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?
Together, they can face anything.  
But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? And will they even be together? 
About the author

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Author's

Until the next time,


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