Tuesday, September 6, 2011
All These Things I’ve Done by Gabrielle Zevin Book Trailer and Giveaway
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Kelly's Review: THORN QUEEN
THORN QUEEN
Book 2 in the Dark Swan Series
By Richelle Mead
Published by: Zebra Books, Kensington Publishing Corp.,
119 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018
www.kensingtonbooks.com
First Printing: August 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-0097-6
ISBN-10: 1-4201-0097-1
Amazon; Barnes and Noble; Goodreads
Concept: “Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire, paid to bind and banish creatures from the Otherworld. But after her last battle, she’s also become queen of the Thorn Land. It’s hardly an enviable life, not with her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and Eugenie eager to avoid the prophecy about her firstborn destroying mankind. And now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one – except Eugenie – seems willing to find out why.
Eugenie has spilled plenty of fey blood in her time, but this enemy is shrewd, subtle, and nursing a very personal grudge. And the men in her life aren’t making things any easier. Her boyfriend Kiyo is preoccupied with his pregnant ex, and sexy fey king Dorian always poses a dangerous distraction. With or without their help, Eugenie must venture deep into the Otherworld and trust in an unpredictable power she can barely control. Reluctant queen or not, Eugenie has sworn to do her duty – even if it means facing the darkest – and deadliest – side of her nature…” [From book cover.]
Review: This is the second book in the Dark Swan Series and, in my opinion, better than the first book. I gave the first book 4 feathers, this one, I’m giving a full five. I actually cried in this book and I’m not one to do that. I LOVE Eugenie’s character. The story is told in first person and while I know that bothers some, it doesn’t bother me and in this case, it just made the story perfect. We learn things from Eugenie’s point of view and she is one sharp cookie. She makes good decisions even when they turn out to be bad decisions. I love the men in Eugenie’s life as well. Dorian and Kiyo are two excellent choices although I would bet most people are pulling for Dorian. I am. He’s hot. In this book, Dorian avenges Eugenie and that made me love him more while Kiyo is not my favorite guy. There is some sex slavery/rape scenes that may be difficult for some to handle but I found them explained in such a way that my heart broke for Eugenie and the other girls that were involved. I wanted to reach through my book and smack the bad guy around and I was SO glad he was taken care of. If you couldn’t tell, this book made me FEEL and I love when a book does that.
Warning, I’m feeling a strong urge to run to the third book in this series right now even though I need to read some other books that I need to review, and I’ve read some reviews where reviewers are chomping at the bit to get to the next book. If you need to read something after you read this book, you may want to wait before you pick it up.
What I disliked: I disliked the character Leith so much. Evil, baaaaaad man.
What I liked: I liked feeling. I liked hearing Eugenie’s thoughts. I liked everything about this book so very much.
My rating: 5 feathers
by Kelly
for Book Lovers Hideaway
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Kelly's Review: WHEN THE WIND BLOWS
(Book 1 in the When the Wind Blows Series and Book .5 in the Angel Experiment Series)
By James Patterson
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
First Printing: April 1, 2000
ISBN-10: 0446676438
ISBN-13: 978-0446676434
Amazon; Barnes and Noble; Goodreads
Kit secretly pursues the investigation, yet witnesses keep turning up dead. Then Frannie stumbles upon an astonishing discovery in the nearby woods, and their lives are altered in ways they could never have imagined. Simply knowing the secret of Max — the terrified 11-year-old girl with an amazing gift — could mean death.
As more and more diabolical details are unearthed, the murderer's bloody trail ultimately leads the trio to an underground lab network, known as "the School." Here scientists conduct shockingly incomprehensible experiments involving children and genetic alteration.
But perhaps not so unfathomable: Doctors and medical researchers who have read Where the Wind Blows say the events described in this book could actually be a reality in the next 20 to 30 years. If not before.” [From Goodreads.]
Review: As I always do when I read any book, I go through and read some reviews so I know what I’m up against. In this book’s case, the very first review I read on this book said that it was “amateurish” writing and that the characters were one dimensional. In fact, there were quite a few negative reviews on this book. I came upon this book and ended up picking it up on the recommendation of my sister in law. This book is the .5 book in the “Angel Experiment” series so I got it, along with the first book in the series from my library, so I could read both. I wasn’t sure how well I would like the books after what I read from reviews but I thought I’d give ‘er a go. I am SO glad I did.
I found this book to be a true page turner from the get go. Something about Patterson’s writing style always draws me in even though I’m not a real fan of his books. Its weird because I like everything I’ve read that he’s written, but his usual murder mystery genre doesn’t work for me. THIS story though really struck me as fascinating and the fact that it *could* be true, really fascinates me more. One dimensional characters? I really found the opposite to be true. I found the dimension that was given was just perfect and worked well with the story. It was exciting and a little romance was thrown in (which for me is always a plus) and I am really anxious to start the next book in the series. Quite a few readers must feel as I do because the series is a popular one. The next book in the series seems to be a follow up to this book but then the Angel Experiment series branches out? I’m confused and I’ll have to figure that out. All in all though, I say poo to the other reviewers, This was a darned good book! As much as it pains me to say this, my sister in law was right!
What I disliked: Each chapter in the book represented the view of a particular character. One of the characters switched to first person and that switch between third person and first person back and forth annoyed me. I don’t mind either view, I just don’t like it switching back and forth.
What I liked: This is going to sound sort of goofy, but as I am writing this I’m thinking back on the ugliness of scientific research that is set in the contrasting beauty of the Colorado mountains. I don’t know if that was meant for the location of this story, but it hit me. When it did, I realized that the book affected me and I liked that. I am very anxious to start the next book in the series, whatever book that is.
My rating: 4.5 feathers
Kelly
for Book Lover's Hideaway
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Indie Book Blow Out Book Sale
Hade's by Alexandra Adornetto Book Trailer and Giveaway
When a party game – a séance – inadvertently releases Jake from the Underworld, he disguises himself and tricks Beth into taking a ride on his motorcycle. When the highway opens up and swallows them, Beth learns too late that she’s now a prisoner in hell. What happens to angels there? As her archangel brother, Gabriel, her sister Ivy, Xavier, and her best friend, Molly search for her, Beth must weigh Jake’s bargaining for her freedom: one night with him, and she will be released back to Earth.
Can Jake be trusted in this wager? And is he also using Beth to engineer the fall of the archangel Gabriel? Xavier has already lost one love – when Jake tricks him into thinking that Bethany is dead, his grief and anger result in a betrayal that will leave Bethany – and readers – wondering if he is so good after all.
It will be up to Beth to use everything she’s learned about her powers as an angel – and about love – to free herself and those she loves from the clutches of Hades.
Friday, September 2, 2011
August RAK and September sign up
Thursday, September 1, 2011
The BSP Tour Guest Post and Giveaway with Monique O'Connor James Author of The Keepers
Justin's general disdain for the human race makes him difficult to like, but some higher power has appointed him her keeper. Justin's convinced he can mend her broken relationship with her maker, but in the process he learns a thing or two about his own humanity.
Never mind falling in love, that's not supposed to happen. In fact, it may even be forbidden. Jess just wants Justin to understand her plight, and he wants to protect her from a world she doesn't know.
If neither are equipped to save the other, then whose soul will live and whose will perish?(
How do you get a dark brooding hero in a world of angels? I don’t know about you, but my favorite male characters are strong and mysterious and aren’t angels supposed to be all white wings and servitude of God and man? Not the blue-eye bad boy, Justin, in The Keepers.
Justin not only managed to get himself thrown out of Heaven, but also a cast of five brothers who chose allegiance to him over loyalty to their Maker. His bad boy meter just went up a few points right? Traditionally, one would call any angel banished from the borders of Heaven a Fallen, but that’s not the case with our troubled hero.
Justin didn’t choose to take up with Lucifer and become an all-out demon, because after all his transgressions he still feels the need to set it straight, if not for himself, than for his brothers. The one thing he can’t seem to overcome is his hatred for humans. His job as a member of the Powers rank meant he had to protect the very souls he loathed. The conflict ultimately drew him great punishment. What was he supposed to do? Humans are repulsive.
Just when he eased into his role on Earth and found a way to cohabitate with the dismal beings, he meets Jess and this girl is human to a fault.
So what is it about this bad boy that makes you love him? Maybe it’s the fact that he’s gorgeous and mysterious, but it’s probably the cracks in his cool exterior that make us drool. He has an obvious soft spot for at least one human and carries around a truck load of guilt over the fate which was dealt his brothers. So he can’t be all bad right? I think we just like to think if given the chance, we could change his mind about mankind.
Who are some of your favorite angelic bad boys? What qualities keep you coming back for more? I’d love to hear why you think these supernatural hunks keep our motors revving. Hope you enjoy Justin as much I have.
Cheers,
Monique O’Connor James
Monique's Links
Website
http://moniquejames.wordpress.com/
http://www.facebook.com/monique.o.james
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Monique-OConnor-James-Author/151581321573144
Monique is the mother of two beautiful children and lives in a small community outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She currently works full time as an insurance agent, but her favorite jobs are mother, wife, and author.
On her eighth birthday, her mother bought her a journal and said "write whatever you want, just write". And so, a love affair with words was born. She wrote poetry and short stories in high school and college, until 1993 when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
After her mother's death in 1998, deep in depression, she found herself unable to write. Nine years passed, and only on rare occasion did she attempt to write.
Finally, in 2007, under the urging of friends, she sat down and pecked out her first novel. It was raw and unpolished, but the process had been unquestionably cathartic. The next three years were spent filling her hard drive with seven complete manuscripts.
At the beginning of 2011, Monique decided it was time to edit the work and share it with the world. She hopes you enjoy the ramblings of a truly southern girl raised in a state rich with heritage and love.













