Nov 30, 2012

The Christmas Books Giveaway Hop- Ends 12/7

Lords A Leaping! It's a Christmas Giveaway Hop!

The Christmas Books Giveaway Hop is Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Co-hosted by Laurie Here

So whats up for grabs this time?

Prize:
A Hardback/ Autographed Copy of 
A Cup of Christmas Tea by
A Cup of Christmas Tea 

Rules:
You must be 13 or have a parents permission to enter.
Enter on the Rafflecoper below.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond to email or forfeit their prize.

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Want to enter all the Christmas Book giveaways? Here they are... Have fun!  

Early Reader Review: Danger Girl/G.I.Joe (#1-4) by Andy Hartnell and Chris Madden

Danger Girl / G.I. Joe (#1-4)Danger Girl / G.I. Joe (#1-4) by Andy Hartnell and Illustrated by Chris Madden

Publisher: IDW Publishing, Diamond Book Distrbutors
ISBN: 9781613774182
Format: Hardback
Available: February 5, 2013 *

Review Format: EBook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Background: Danger Girl/ G.I. Joe (#1-4) follows the story of Danger Girl and G.I. Joe joining forces to combat Cobra. Issues one through four are included in this hardback edition in full color.

Review: I have read some of the Danger Girl comics before and was super excited to find this gem on Netgalley. Introducing the Danger Girl team to the G.I. Joe team was a great plan, the plot was action packed and full of surprises and twists. Having these four issues back to back was very nice, I enjoyed being able to continue the story so easily, but was super upset at another to be continued after issue four. I will be keeping a lookout for the next issues.

*Issues are available currently as paperback single issues.

Received this copy from IDW Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Nov 29, 2012

Early Reader Review: Retrovirus by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, & Norberto Fernandez

RetrovirusRetrovirus by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Illustrator Norberto Fernandez
Publisher: Diamond Book Distributors
Available: December 4, 2012

Format: E-Book 

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Background: Zoe Wallace is offered the job of a lifetime right after a depressing time in her life, only to realize that said dream job is just as horrible as everything else. Retrovirus focuses on long extinct Neanderthals and the viruses they once carried.

Review: I saw the cover for this graphic novel on Netgalley and scooped it up to read, I figured it would have a strong female character busting ass and taking names...well sort of. Zoe started off awesome, not taking crap from anyone, then it turned into the traditional sexualized female of comics. There was even a few boobie jokes here and there, now don't get me wrong boobie jokes can be funny, but it really took away from the strong female they portrayed in the beginning. The story line was interesting and a little predictable, but overall good and entertaining. Very graphic in the violence department.

Copy was received from Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for review purposes, in exchange for an honest review.
View all my reviews

Still on My Mind: The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear

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Still on my Mind is a meme created by YA-Aholic to feature a book that you read months or even YEARS ago that was so good (or so scary/unique/funny..etc) that it is 'Still on my (your) Mind!'

This week the book that is still on my mind is...


The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear (Zamonia, #1)

The 13.5 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers

Goodreads Synopsis:

Captain Bluebear tells the story of his first 13-1/2 lives spent on the mysterious continent of Zamonia, where intelligence is an infectious disease, water flows uphill, and dangers lie in wait for him around every corner.

"A bluebear has twenty-seven lives. I shall recount thirteen and a half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest," says the narrator of Walter Moers’s epic adventure. "What about the Minipirates? What about the Hobgoblins, the Spiderwitch, the Babbling Billows, the Troglotroll, the Mountain Maggot… Mine is a tale of mortal danger and eternal love, of hair’s breadth, last-minute escapes." Welcome to the fantastic world of Zamonia, populated by all manner of extraordinary characters. It’s a land of imaginative lunacy and supreme adventure, wicked satire and epic fantasy, all mixed together, turned on its head, and lavishly illustrated by the author.

Why this is still on my mind?

This book got very mixed reviews on Goodreads, it was either a hit or a complete miss it seems, but I loved it. Bluebear was an awesome character. I think the downfall for most was the length-- it is over 700 pages. The story was great, broken up into smaller tales so you could read casually or you could read it all together. It was an adventure! and a grand one at that! Fun summer time read if you have the time to put toward it.

What's still on your mind?!


Nov 28, 2012

Recent Reads: The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Diviners (The Diviners #1) by Libba Bray 
Publisher: Random House Audio & Listening Library
Format: Audio Book
Available: NOW!

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Background: Mysterious things are happening in New York City, and luckily Evie O'Neill has been sent there to live with her professor, uncle Will. Little does she know that a case involving the occult, murder, and spirits will engulf her life as she comes to realize that not everything is as it seems. Libba Bray tells the spooky tale of random people on the city and how they become involved in the lives or one another.

Review: This was a LONG book! I got the chance to review an audio copy of The Diviners and was super excited to get started listening, sadly it has taken forever to get through, and I am not sure why. The reader is awesome and does very distinctive male and female voices for each of the characters- which also helped me to keep track of them all- there were quite a few. Of all the characters I had the hardest time coming to like Evie, the main character, she tends to be rude and stuck up and she was very self centered most of the story. I enjoyed uncle Will the quirky professor of the strange and unusual and think that would be an awesome profession. The others characters were also easy to follow but the story for q good portion seemed so fragmented by the multiple stories and how they didn't really overlap. In the end, it starts to make a little more sense, but like I mentioned it did take a good chunk of time to get through it all.
The plot was super spooky and eerie, there were a few moments that I had to switch it off because I was alone driving in the dark, granted I am a huge chicken, but still creepy. The author does an awesome job with details throughout, you will not believe the beautiful picture she portrays of the roaring 20's in NYC. I was listening while also in the evenings watching Boardwalk Empire and it all kind of painted a cool picture in my head of the types of people and parties during the period.
Without giving too much away, I have to say that the bad guy was appealingly grotesque in all the right ways.
If you haven't picked this up yet, please do as soon as you can, but maybe not too soon because there are more, it's a series!

Review copy was received from Random House Audio in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews

Waiting on Wednesday: Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizel

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Stolen Nights (Vampire Queen, #2)

Stolen Nights by Rebecca Maizek (Vampire Queen #2)

Goodreads Synopsis
Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human—and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss.

With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead

Expected Release: January 29th, 2013

What are you waiting for?

Nov 27, 2012

Cover Reveal: The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater and Kody Boye

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Cover designed by Phatpuppy Art.

Publication date: February, 2013

Synopsis:

Best friends since kindergarten, Adam and Christy have always been the perpetual outsiders in their small town in Texas.  The other kids call Adam gay and Christy a witch.

On both counts the bullies are right.

Their junior year in high school seems destined to be the same old same old until Christy decides to cast a love spell for Adam at the midnight hour. The next day an alluring and mysterious boy enrolls at school and sets hearts a flutter, including Adam’s. Meanwhile, Christy’s mad crush on the handsome football player Ian seems to be going nowhere fast and her witch puberty is making her life miserable.

When a great evil arrives in town that threatens everything they hold dear, the best friends realize that finding a boyfriend is the least of their worries. Soon Adam and Christy will have to battle a force of darkness that has killed in their town before, and will again.



About the Authors


Rhiannon Frater:
Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

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Kody Boye:
Kody Boye was born and raised in Southeastern Idaho. Since his initial publication in the Yellow Mama Webzine in 2007, he has gone on to sell nearly three-dozen stories to various markets. He is the author of the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunrise and the dark fantasy novel Blood. His fiction has been described as ‘Surreal, beautiful and harrowing’ (Fantastic Horror,) while he himself has been heralded as a writer beyond his years(Bitten by Books.) He currently lives and writes in the Austin, Texas area.

 

 

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Nov 26, 2012

Blog Tour: Review and Excerpt -- North Pole High by Candace Jane Kringle

North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus by Candace Jane Kringle aka Candycane Claus


Genre: YA teen romance/humor/fantasy
Publisher: elfpublished books
ISBN: 978-0615681917

Number of pages: 302
Word Count: 80,000
Cover Artist: Jessica Weil

   

Buy the book!

Amazon US   Kindle   Amazon France  Amazon Italy 

Amazon UK  Kindle   Amazon Germany Kindle  Amazon Spain  Kindle

 

Synopsis:

MEET SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD CANDYCANE CLAUS. She's the most popular girl at North Pole High. Her father is world-famous. And every day is Christmas. What more could any girl want?

BOYS! And the new boy, Rudy Tutti, is hot chocolate. But he hates anything to do with Christmas!

When Candy and Rudy are forced to work together on a school Christmas-tree project, her world is turned upside down: Her grades start to suffer, she loses her taste for ice cream, and now the two North-Star-cross'd teens must contend with her overprotective father — Santa Claus — before Christmas is ruined for EVERYONE! 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Background: Candy Cane Claus is a sixteen year old who is living it up in the North Pole as the daughter of none-other-than THE Santa Claus. When a new kid comes to town her holly filled Christmas cheer is thrown all out of whack. There are two boy fighting over her and she doesn't even know who she likes more, and to top it all off her father doesn't even know she is dating already.

Review: This book is Christmas cheer in between its covers. Candy is a hilarious narrator for the story as she tells the tale of the craziness that insured in her life. I absolutely LOVE Christmas, not really the presents but the songs and decorations and the snow; and this book had it all! The characters that all live in the North Pole all have holiday based names/ nicknames, refer to Christmas excessively, and eat things like Fruitcake topped pizza... so this was amazingly fun to read.
The characters were fun, I am glad that it wasn't just a normal Santa Claus story. We meet the whole Claus family and all of Candy's friends, including Tinsel, Snowflake, and Silentnight. They played off of one another well throughout the story.

The plot was fun, cheerful for the most part, and energetic. I read through it in only a matter of a few days. In its roots it is a Christmas tale of miracles and cheer, but it is also a teen romance of sorts which was playful.

If you enjoy humor, Christmas, a good teen love, this book is definitely for you!

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Don’t get me wrong. I love my dad. Just not the way the rest of the world loves him.
He’s not really all that holly-jolly the rest of the year. Someone once asked me if I get presents every day because of who my dad is. That’s a laugh!
I’m not saying he’s a bad guy. He just doesn’t get me. I mean, he’s great with kids and all. No question about it. But I’m sixteen. I’m becoming a woman. And Daddy’s having a tough time with that. I imagine it’s like that with most dads. Why should mine be any different?
So it’s not like I blame him or anything. I’m just saying, if he would have let me be me, none of this would have happened.
But first, a couple things I have to get out of the way right from the start. I get a lot of letters asking all kinds of questions about how my dad slides down chimneys and stuff like that. Sorry, but that’s his business. You’ll have to wait for him to write his own book. This is my story. People don’t understand what it’s like growing up in this family. Sure, there’s a lot of love and magic and joy. But I’m really just like everybody else.
The other thing I need to make clear up front is: If you’re one of those people who thinks my dad doesn’t exist, you might as well stop reading now. This isn’t one of those stories. I’ve known the guy for sixteen years. Believe me, he exists.
Now back to how this whole catastrophe started. Or rather, how it could have been avoided. After all, I begged my father not to make me go to that stupid Welcoming Feast.
It was still Daylight time—the beginning of the school year, before the setting of the midnight sun would plunge us into six months of darkness. Not dark darkness. Not Gothic vampire darkness or dystopian darkness. As a matter of fact, the Dark season up here is actually quite pretty, for obvious reasons. All the colorful lights, the sleigh bells ringing, the twinkling stars. It’s kind of amazing.
Anticipating all the coming glad tidings, I skipped down Gingerbread Lane—yes, I literally skipped home that day. I know. Pretty dorky. But when you’re sixteen, you still get to be a kid even when you’re in that desperate rush to grow the heck up.
Anyway, I slipped in through the side door of the unassuming A-frame at the end of the quiet, snow-covered cul-de-sac and quickly pulled off my maroon moon boots. I hung my candy-cane-striped coat on my special candy-cane hook in the mudroom—candy canes are my namesake and style—then continued skipping merrily into the kitchen.
Chefy stood hunched over the twelve-burner cast-iron stove. He craned his thick neck, pointing his pencil-thin beak at me, the corners of his mouth curling into something close to a smile as he stirred something delectable in a five-gallon pot. “There’s my little princess. Was your teacher duly impressed with your lovely little heart?”
Chefy gets me.
He was referring, of course, to the heart-shaped bauble I’d turned in for Ornaments class. Was it any wonder I sometimes felt more like Chefy’s little princess than my dad’s? I couldn’t remember the last time Daddy had shown an interest in my homework, or even knew what classes I was taking. I doubted he even knew my friends’ names.
Last year, I asked Daddy if Snowflake could come with us on the mall tour.
“This is a business trip, Candy. We can’t have outsiders,” he’d said.
Outsiders? You’d think he didn’t know that Snowflake and I had been best friends since preschool. Sure, he knows if all of you have been bad or good, but he was sometimes pretty darn clueless when it came to his own daughter.
Come to think of it, that wasn’t always such a bad thing. I got away with a lot. And it wasn’t like he had to worry about me becoming some kind of ’toehead or something. I always got good grades.
“I got an A-super-plus,” I answered Chefy.
The seven-foot-tall penguin frowned and said, “Shall I call that polar bear and demand he give you an A-super-duper-plus?”
LOL! He would do it too.
“Oh, Chefy. That won’t be necessary. I’ll just have to try harder next time.”
Chefy laughed and patted me on the head with a flipper while his other flipper slid a plate of baked candy canes, fresh out of the oven, under my still-frosty nose. Yum.
Daddy had originally brought Chefy up from the bottom for his legendary culinary talents. But he’d become so much more than just a chef to us. He was Daddy’s right hand. Not in the Workshop, mind you. Chefy would never have anything to do with that toy stuff, thank you very much. However, he did basically run our household. Even so, he never liked being thought of as anything other than the best chef in the North Pole.
And he truly was. Take this after-school treat melting in my mouth, for example. It wasn’t just that Chefy had thought to take vine-ripened candy canes and wrap them in extra-virgin gingerbread dough. He had to wake up hours before the rest of the family to handpick the juiciest canes from that garden he’d cultivated in the custom-built greenhouse he designed himself. He wouldn’t have it any other way. There was simply no limit to the pride Chefy took in his creations.
As that warm, gooey goodness slid down my throat, I hungered for the many other wondrous delicacies whose indescribable aromas made my tummy rumble like a glacial avalanche. Then it hit me. White-chocolate truffles on the cob? Lollipops in taffy fondue? Marzipan-glazed turkey stuffed with bubblegum? There was way too much food here for just our family.
Chefy was preparing the Welcoming Feast—for that new kid!

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About the Author: 

Candace Jane Kringle is a junior at North Pole High. She likes candy canes, unicorn races, and making snow angels. Her father is the most well-known and beloved toymaker and distributor in the world. Her memoir, North Pole High: A Rebel Without a Claus, is her first book. After high school, she plans to enroll at North Pole University and write more books.

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Nov 22, 2012

Blog Tour: Giveaway, Excerpt & Trailer -- Touching Evil by Amber Garr


Touching Evil, Book One of The Leila Marx Novels by Amber Garr

Genre: Urban Fantasy

ISBN: 978-1480021594
ISBN 10: 1480021598)

Number of pages: 326
Word Count: 81,000

Cover Artist: Amber Garr
 

Synopsis:

Leila Marx is trying to put her life back together after her fiancé is murdered. Her book illustrating career has limited her social contact and nightmares have trapped her in the past. When a police acquaintance enlists her help with a difficult case, Leila is surprisingly thankful to have a purpose. Not only will this help to keep her mind focused, but she will be able to use her talents as a touch clairvoyant that are frequently dismissed by skeptics. Leila and Detective Garrick Pearson delve into the mystery behind a series of missing teenage girls and mummified corpses while fighting their own growing attraction to each other.

Conner Hoffman is an intriguing lawyer and striking half-demon who enters Leila’s life unexpectedly. Although her visions are terrifying, she is fascinated by his charm and his legacy. When it becomes evident that the murders are linked to a paranormal event, Conner introduces Leila to a world unbeknownst to ordinary society. She suddenly finds herself immersed in supernatural politics, sorcery, and danger as she becomes the killer’s next target. Staying alive will mean relying on friends, accepting the unbelievable, and trusting in her heart again.





Excerpt


What does one wear when they commit the first felony of their life? I probably spent two hours going through my closest trying to find something criminal. It had to be black. Yes, definitely black. I finally settled on a turtleneck, spandex workout pants, and the only pair of black sneakers I’d ever owned. They were left over from my waitressing days and I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were still in good shape, even if they did smell a little like grease.
I just finished pulling my hair back into a low bun, like spy girls do in the movies, when the doorbell rang. Conner was here and my heart fluttered instantly. Last night had been a lot of fun and I really enjoyed my evening with Garrick, but this was the first time any man had been to my house who wasn’t a part of the police force since Russ was killed. This was also the first time I’d ever had a half demon in the house, at least as far as I knew. After another quick glance in the mirror, I bounced over to the door.
And as soon as I opened it I realized how much of a dork I must have looked like.
There was Conner, in a regular pair of jeans and a college sweatshirt doing all that he could not to laugh at me. I glared up at him.
“What? No one told me what to wear so I had to improvise.” He started laughing but then choked it back down when I tried to close the door on him. His foot shot out and blocked my attempt.
“I’m sorry. You look good. Really.” He smiled fully at me and then bowed his head as he put his hands together in a prayer-like position. “May I have permission to enter my ninja warrior princess?” 
I could see his shoulders shake with amusement again and I refused to be embarrassed. With an exaggerated sigh, I walked back into my bedroom, leaving Conner to let himself in. I decided that he should wallow in uncomfortable silence for a while, although when I came back into the living room and saw him flipping through some of my illustrations, I realized he was unfazed.
“These are really good. You’re quite talented.” I stood there, leaning against the wall for a few seconds trying to judge if he was being serious or not. Just as I started to give him the benefit of the doubt, he arched an eyebrow my way and said, “A much better artist than fashionista.”
I threw the sweatshirt I had in my hands at him and stomped over to the kitchen. His laugh consumed the room and I was surprised to find a smile on my face as I opened the refrigerator.
“Should we take snacks?” I asked. We were going to drive to a spot close to the house and wait until it was clear. I’d been told that it might take several hours and I didn’t want the cambion getting hungry while we waited.
“Sure, if you want. Maybe some water would be good.” It was obvious that he enjoyed my lack of stake-out abilities. 
I grabbed one of my reusable grocery bags and filled it up with water, crackers, and Twizzlers. All of the essentials. I briefly considered grabbing a bottle of wine to control my anxiety, but decided against it in the end.
“So, are we ready to go?” I asked as I hoisted the bag on my shoulder and grabbed the sweatshirt back. He studied me for a moment and then pulled an object from his back pocket.
“Not until you put this on,” he said as he tossed something small and black at me. It was a ski mask, one of those ones that covered everything except for your eyes. I pulled it over my head and batted my lashes.
“Am I ready now?”
He laughed and took the snack bag off my shoulder. “Yes, Leila. I think you’re ready for a life of crime.” 
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Trailer




About the Author

Amber Garr spends her days conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a vampire.  Born in Pennsylvania, she lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids.  Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell.  She writes both adult and young adult urban fantasies and when not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.

 

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