Monthly Re-Cap: June

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

 

Another month down, Here's another wrap-up- complete with Goodreads and Review links. 

 

The end of May was awesome! I got to go to BEA and NYC and had a blast and brought home loads of books...but this month in terms of reading was so bad...I barely got anything read. I got a new job and am moving (which you have probably seen all over the blog) from VA to VT...about 500 miles away, so with the packing and organizing and driving and moving, June was a bit of a bummer in the re-cap department. Here they are nonetheless :)

What did you read or listen to in June? Link me up in the comments section!

~~Books Read in June~~

Click the book covers to go to Goodreads

~~Links to Reviews ~~
The Wisdom of Hair by Kim Boykin
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Fall For Me by K.A. Last

~~Audiobooks in June~~

 

Click the book covers to go to Goodreads

~~Links to Reviews ~~
The Sorceress by Michael Scott
The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

Cover Reveal: Owlet by Emma Michaels

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Owlet by Emma Michaels
Publication Date: October 13th 2012
by Tribute Books
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

About the Book

Somewhere between falling and flying… there is a girl.

Iris has a secret. She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul. After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie. As the façade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her; the truth or her life.

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14059271-owlet?ac=1

About the Author

Emma Michaels is a cover artist and the author of Owlet. As the founder of The Writers Voice blog (http://OurBooksOurVoice.Blogspot.com) she loves to connect authors and readers. Her love of blogging started when she created a review blog in 2009 (www.EmmaMichaels.com) which gave her the courage to finally submit her own novels to publishers.
Feel free to stop by www.EmmaMichaels.com
and follow to receive the latest updates!

Find the Author

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | GoodReads | The Writers Voice

Cover Reveal: A Grimm Legacy by Janna Jennings

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A Grimm Legacy by Janna Jennings

Publisher: Patchwork press
Publication Date: October 1^st, 2013

The woods of Elorium appear ordinary, at least until elves appear and the birds start talking. Four teenagers, whisked out of their own world, find themselves as the reluctant guests of the strange and secretive millionaire, Mr. Jackson—a man who knows the secrets of their families’ histories as well as the way back home. But nothing comes without a price.

Mr. Jackson’s mother is dying and the only cure is in the hands of a giant barricaded on a floating island. Unable to retrieve it himself, Mr. Jackson strikes a deal with the teens: steal the antidote and in return receive the key back to their world.

Caught in Grimm’s fairy tales with characters short on whimsy and bent towards treachery, the teens begin a race against time. Without any other way home, they are forced into fairy tale roles that may not lead to a happily ever after.

About Janna Jennings: Janna is a Colorado based YA author who loves a good fairy tale. She’s married to her own real life Prince Charming, and will usually admit to being mom of three, including her incorrigible middle child, Benny. Besides wrangling her kids she can be found doing some therapeutic baking, dreaming of the ocean, and of course, curling up with a good book.

Important Links

A Grimm Legacy on Patchwork Press
A Grimm Legacy on Goodreads
Janna’s Website

Janna Jennings on Twitter

Blog Blitz: Giveaway + Trailer -- Disneylanders by Kate Abbott

In Disneylanders, 14-year-old Casey Allison, on the brink of starting high school, struggles to find a new identity on her family’s annual summer vacation, but with the help of an outgoing boy she meets while waiting in line, she discovers that Disneyland is the one place where her overprotective parents let her have the freedom to grow up.

Casey looks forward to her family’s annual summer vacation to Disneyland to escape her anxieties about starting high school. This summer, however, her vacation forces her to confront her parents’ ancient attitudes, getting dumped by her best friend, an intense crush, and a pack of gum-snapping girls who seem intent on ruining her vacation.

Her parents won’t accept she’s no longer a little kid, but she can’t fathom growing up to be like the bra-strap girls who seem to be following her. Worst of all, she fears that in order be accepted as “mature,” she’ll have to not only display her underwear but stop going to her beloved theme park. As she explores Disneyland—and her first romantic relationship—with Bert, the charming high school sophomore she meets, she realizes that she can overcome her real-world insecurities only when she’s in the Magic Kingdom.

As Casey and Bert banter in line for rides, they find that confessing the secrets they couldn’t share with anyone back home lets them both discover their true selves. Although they spend time in Fantasyland, they confront their real-life issues…Bert’s flaky parents, his precocious grandmother, and why he wears a watch that hasn’t worked in two years; Casey’s ex-best friend, her secret passion for old-school film photography, and her cast member crushes. By the last fireworks show, after she’s been on a wild ride of a summer vacation, Casey rediscovers herself and takes home new self confidence, along with a sentimental souvenir.

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER HERE

Get a copy today for only $10.91!

One lucky winner will get this awesome Disney themed gift pack from Kate Abbott, including:
Note card set
Mickey Bookmark
A copy of Disneylanders

Must be 13+ to Enter
US Shipping Only
No PO Boxes

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Disneylanders is Kate Abbott’s first novel. She received an MFA in creative writing from UC Riverside, Palm Desert. Kate lives in Northern California with her husband, son, terrier, and tiny parrots.

Website 

Goodreads
Twitter: @Kate_Abbott_

Blog Blitz: Giveaway + Guest Post -- Precious Things by Stephanie Parent

Precious Things by Stephanie Parent
Publication date: June 4th 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary

B&N

About the Book
Isabelle Andrews isn’t supposed to be here. She isn’t supposed to be a freshman at Hartford Community College, she isn't supposed to be living at home and working at her dad’s failing bakery, and she definitely isn’t supposed to be taking Intro to Electronic Music Production, a class that will get her nowhere toward her goal of an English Lit Ph.D. by age twenty-five. But when her dad’s latest business fiasco eats up her college fund, Hartford Community College is exactly where Isabelle finds herself—and thanks to her late enrollment, she doesn’t even get to choose her classes. Stuck with Electronic Music and way-too-easy English courses, Isabelle is determined to wallow in all the misery she feels entitled to.

But community college brings some unexpected benefits…like the fact that a certain overworked, over-scheduled Electronic Music professor hands over most of his duties to his teaching assistant. His tall, green-eyed, absolutely gorgeous teaching assistant. When TA Evan Strauss discovers Isabelle’s apathy toward electronic music—and, well, all music—he makes it his mission to convert her. The music Evan composes stirs something inside Isabelle, but she can’t get involved—after all, she’ll be transferring out as soon as possible.

Still, no matter how tightly Isabelle holds on to her misery, she finds it slipping away in the wake of all Hartford Community offers: new friendships, a surprisingly cool poetry professor, and most of all, Evan. But Evan’s dream of owning his own music studio is as impractical as Isabelle’s dad’s bakery, and when Evan makes a terrible decision, everything Isabelle has gained threatens to unravel. Soon Isabelle discovers that some of the most important lessons take place outside the classroom…and that in life, as in Evan’s favorite Depeche Mode song, the most precious things can be the hardest to hold on to.

1 Ebook of Precious Things by Stephanie Parent from the Author and Xpresso Tours

Giveaway is International and Ends 7/8/2013. Enter in the Rafflecopter below!

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Precious Things Playlist

Precious Things features a lot of Depeche Mode songs in the story, and while most of them are named in the novel, a few are not, so I thought it might be helpful to put together an official Precious Things playlist!  I also have to admit that I am not much of a Depeche Mode fan—I really only started to listen to their music while I was thinking about this book, mulling over the idea of a story set around an electronic music production class.  (Like Isabelle, I also took an electronic music class at a community college; however, I was already a college graduate at the time and the class wasn’t for credit.)   Also like Isabelle, there are a lot of Depeche Mode songs Idon’t like, but I have found a few that I really love, and the mood and tone of them had a huge influence on the writing of Precious Things.  So here are the songs, in the order they appear in the book:

1. “Enjoy the Silence”—For the record, I hate this song almost as much as Isabelle does.  It’s one of Depeche Mode’s earlier hits.

2. “Waiting for the Night”—This is the song Isabelle listens to after reading the Robert Frost poem “Acquainted with the Night,” and the combined effect of the song and poem prompts an unexpected emotional reaction.

3. “I Want It All”—Evan plays this song for Isabelle the first time they’re alone together.  In other words, the almost-kiss sexual-tension song.

4. “Halo”—The soundtrack to Evan and Isabelle’s first date.  The “girl with a famine in her heart” song.

5. “Goodnight Lovers”—This song foreshadows some of the troubles Isabelle and Evan will face in the last part of the book.

6. “Precious”—This one is my favorite too.

And if you want more Depeche Mode, here are some other songs that inspired me, but didn’t make it into the book: “Ghost,” “Useless,” “Stripped,” “One Caress,” “Suffer Well,” “The Things You Said,” and “Shine.” Happy listening!

About the Author

Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore
School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.

Find the Author

Website / Goodreads / Twitter

Recent Reads: The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan
Publisher: Random House Audio
Available: Now!!

 

Format: Audiobook
Source: Random House Audio for Review
  
My Rating:


Background: Ingrid and her family have recently moved to Paris for her mother to open a gallery like she has wished for forever. Her son has gone ahead to set up house and when Ingrid and her mother and sister arrive they find Grayson missing and without clues there is no way to find him. Ingrid and Gabby are whisked into a world of the supernatural, demons and gargoyles fighting a good versus evil battle that will never see closure.

Review: This was a beautiful book, the Gothic genre was wonderfully done and gargoyles are a paranormal entity you do not find very often in YA books, unlike the reoccurring zombies and vampires lately. Morgan sets a detailed picture of Paris past and builds the supernatural world in a spectacular fashion.

The story is told from all the children, Ingrid, Grayson, and Gabby take their turns to chronicle the going ons of their lives and the strange things happening to them all. Each has their own secrets and interesting personality. Ingrid is reserved but strong, Gabby is stubborn and rebellious as the youngest, and Grayson is often stupid and too trusting, but interesting because there wasn't too much from his POV. He is still mysterious.

I went into this book thinking it was going to be a stand-alone and was excited because I love stand-alones these days where many are not... and then realized I was wrong. Which actually did not upset me too much because there is still so much to learn about the story and the characters.

I really enjoyed the characters and the male counterparts to the girls, but did have some logistical issues with the plot. Everything really spans from the Waverly's returning to Paris...right place, right time kind of thing...and I can't stand that. I mean what would be the case if only Grayson comes to Paris and that is it? or only Ingrid? or none of the family? This really irks me because the plot and timing all depends on their family. I can only hope the author writes in how it all came to be and why they are there at the right time in later installments. I will have to read to find out.

This is a Young Adult series called the Dispossessed. The Beautiful and the Cursed is the first book in the series.


View all my reviews

Building the Book Pile #57

Welcome to Building the Book Pile! 
A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Giveaways Going on NOW!

BEA Giveaway! ARCs of Hit the Road, Helen! and Riptide
Fall for Me Giveaway
Wisdom of Hair Giveaway
Resilient Giveaway 

Others may be linked on the right sidebar :) check them out!
 

Coming up on the Blog...

Recent Reads: The Beautiful and the Cursed Review
Blog Blitz + Giveaway: Precious Things by Stephanie Parent
Blog Blitz + Giveaway: Disneylanders by Kate Abbott
Cover Reveal: The Grimm Legacy (it's a good one!)

What I got this week...

EBooks

Fallout by Todd Strasser from Netgalley and Candlewick Press
Hope by Beth Braken from Netgalley and Capstone Young Readers


Many Thanks to Candlewick Press and Capstone Young Readers for this weeks books!


Covers Link to Goodreads
 

Have you missed anything lately?

Bewitching Book Tours YA Giveaway!
Blog Tour: Review -- Fall for Me by KA Last
Waiting on Wednesday: Fallout (and look I got it ...giddy!)
Blog Blitz: Vulture + Giveaway and Excerpt

Comment and leave me a link to your Shelves post! Happy Reading!

Bewtiching Book Tours Sizzling Summer Giveaway! YA Book Giveaway

What do you get?

1 Signed print copy Portal by Imogen Rose- US Shipping

1 Signed print copy of INITIATION by Imogen Rose- US Shipping

1 print copy Hollow's End by Marianne Morea- US Shipping

5 print copies Visionary Unleashed by N. Dunham US shipping

1 THE HALLOWED ONES by Laura Bickle- US Shipping

1 print copy The Ifs (middle grade book) by JD Pooker

1 print set of Reckoning and Relentless by Molly Hall- US shipping

1 ebook copy of Soul Meaning by AD Starrling

1 ebook copy of King's Crusade by AD Starrling

1 ebook copy Hollow's End by Marianne Morea

5 ecopies Visionary Unleashed by N. Dunham

5 ecopies of Portal by Imogen Rose

5 ecopies INITIATION by Imogen Rose

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Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway-- Fall for Me and Sacrifice by K.A. Last

Fall For Me by K.A. Last
Series: The Tate Chronicles #1

 

Publication date: January 17th 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy

About the Book:

“Angels aren’t supposed to fall in love, especially with each other. But for the record, you were worth it.”

Grace Tate is a Protection Angel and Vampire Hunter, and she has always followed the rules. But some rules are made to be broken…

Until now the fight against evil has been simple, and falling in love was never part of the plan. So what happens when it’s beyond Grace’s control, and when she least expects it she falls for the wrong person?

All hell breaks loose, that’s what.

At Hopetown Valley High, not everything is as it seems, and the one person Grace thought was her enemy becomes her most important ally.

Blood will be shed, lives will be lost and friendships will be tested. It all comes down to one decision, and when Grace tries to save all those dear to her, she realises not everyone can be—or wants to be—saved.

Book Trailer

 My rating:

 

Background: Grace and her twin brother Archer are not your normal family, they are a pair of vampire hunters whose sole purpose is to rid the world of evil. Archer is a hunter and Grace is his protection angel who is reincarnated after every cycle. She is a rule follower by nature and has always done her job perfectly... until she begins to fall for a human and then things start to become trouble.

 

Review: This was a fast read. It had interested characters and all of the paranormal creatures that I like to read about, angels, fallen angels, vampires, and then completely unaware humans like normal.

Grace is a strong female presence and she knows it and her brother is strong willed and stubborn but overall entertaining and cute. The story is told from Grace's and Josh's point of views and normally thy alternate back and forth. Who is Josh you may be asking? Well, he is the human interest of Grace, only she is not supposed to fall in love with humans.

 

The plot has multiple levels, which I really liked, so it wasn't just the swooning teenage love melodrama, but an interesting fight and protection story as well. Grace and Archer have been killing vampires for a long time, and now they encounter a new type of vampire, one that can walk in the light and who does not kill people. It becomes their duty to protect her from the other vampires who are looking to steal her blood and make themselves all powerful.

This was a good combination of an Angel story with a Vampire story. It was a good mix of both an not too heavy on either paranormal entity. The Angels were both majestic and brooding and the Vampires evil but also very standard when it comes to the vampire lore. The author uses a lot of the same vampire stories in the creation of her vampires and the idea of a light-walker as well. I found it fun to read but a little predicable at times. Grace and her protection angel duties were very interesting to me and I would have liked to learn more about previous protection angel experiences, why now that she wants a human? So I did have some plot questions.

 

Overall fast and standard YA writing, swooning girls, paranormal plotlines, and easy to read. Great for the beach if you need something to sit in the sun with. (I wasn't at the beach but I was in the sun :))

Review for Sacrifice coming very soon....

Sacrifice - A Fall For Me Prequel by K.A. Last
Series: The Tate Chronicles #0.5

 

Publication date: May 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy

About the Book:

Sacrifice is a 23,000 word prequel to Fall For Me. It tells the story of Grace and Seth, and what happened in that castle. It is meant to be read after Fall For Me, although it can be read first...

Seth’s heart is breaking. He knows his decision will hurt the one person he keeps breathing for, but he can’t take it anymore. He can’t be near Grace knowing she will always be just out of reach.

Grace is oblivious to Seth’s turmoil. She loves him unconditionally, but not in the way he wants. They both know that in Heaven physical love is forbidden, and to break the rules is to defy everything they’ve ever been taught.

When Grace and Seth are sent on a mission to save a young mother and her unborn child, Grace must face the fact that Seth won’t be returning home. She doesn’t understand Seth’s decision and hates him for it. But what neither of them realise is how big a part that single decision will play in shaping their entire future.

What would you sacrifice for the one you love?

Prizes listed on the Rafflecopter. Open internationally. Here's the link to the terms and conditions for the giveaway.

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About the Author:

K. A. Last was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and moved to Sydney with her parents and older brother when she was eight. Artistic and creative by nature, she studied Graphic Design and graduated with an Advanced Diploma. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she concentrated on her career before settling into family life. Blessed with a vivid imagination, she began writing to let off creative steam, and fell in love with it. She now resides in a peaceful leafy suburb north of Sydney with her husband, their two children and a rabbit named Twitch.

Find the Author

Website

Goodreads

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Waiting on Wednesday: Fallout by Todd Strasser

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

FALLOUT by Todd Strasser

Expected publication: September, 2013

Goodreads Synopsis:

What if the bomb had actually been dropped? What if your family was the only one with a shelter?

In the summer of 1962, the possibility of nuclear war is all anyone talks about. But Scott’s dad is the only one in the neighborhood who actually prepares for the worst. As the neighbors scoff, he builds a bomb shelter to hold his family and stocks it with just enough supplies to keep the four of them alive for two critical weeks. In the middle of the night in late October, when the unthinkable happens, those same neighbors force their way into the shelter before Scott’s dad can shut the door. With not enough room, not enough food, and not enough air, life inside the shelter is filthy, physically draining, and emotionally fraught. But even worse is the question of what will -- and won’t -- remain when the door is opened again. Internationally best-selling author Todd Strasser has written his most impressive and personal novel to date, ruthlessly yet sensitively exploring the terrifying what-ifs of one of the most explosive moments in human history.

What are you waiting on? Link up in the comments!

Blog Blitz: Excerpt and Giveaway -- Vulture by Rhiannon Paille

Vulture by Rhiannon Paille 

Series: The Ferryman and the Flame #3
Publication date: June 18th 2013
Genre: YA Fantasy

About the Book

How far would you go to betray everything you've ever known?

Kaliel didn't think second chances came with this much turmoil. Exiled from her home, surrounded by strangers and in love with a boy she barely recognizes, she can't take it. She has her best friend, a new mentor, and a chance to win the war against the Valtanyana, but it's all wrong. Desperate to salvage some semblance of her former life, she makes a deal that shatters everything.

Goodreads

Kaliel watched the little girl in the silvery night dress skip along the frozen tundra. Her bare feet kicked up a layer of frost, leaving a trail of black footprints across the land. She was laughing and singing a song at the top of her lungs. Sounds twisted into the sky as Kaliel drifted along behind her, a cascade of black hair dropping to her ankles. It shimmied this way and that, strands sweeping along the ground, writing faint lines in the tundra. 

The girl stopped short, a hand placed on her brow as though she was trying to see far into the distance. Kaliel followed her view and her stomach lurched, smoke twisting into the sky. The little girl smiled gleefully and her song continued. Kaliel caught the words. 

Everything is burning 

Everything is burning, 

Fire and brimstone, 

Ash and smoke, 

The Horsemen leave nothing, 

Alive when they go. 

She began skipping again but Kaliel stopped following. She was paralyzed, a lump in her throat, tremors lacing through her body. The Horsemen were burning everything, everything was burning. Krishani was burning. She squeezed her eyes shut and caught a single glimpse of his brown and golden eye, his face covered in flames. She opened her eyes, still surrounded by the never-ending stretch of tundra–short bushes, frost on the ground, horizon far in the distance, the sun creating an orange line of the sky, the rest of it cast in deep gray clouds. She felt claustrophobic; the big space making her feel like the land was compressing her into a tiny ball. The little girl glanced over her shoulder, her white face inviting. 

“Come on,” she said, waving a hand in the air as she continued skipping.
Kaliel let out a breath and felt herself float forward. She wanted to escape but she couldn’t wake up. She struggled against herself but nothing happened. This was like the sandstorm, the same little girl who called herself Morgana, the little girl who brought the Horsemen.
She was the reason they were burning everything.

Morgana stopped. “You don’t want to miss the deaths,” she called, her voice ringing out like wind chimes. Kaliel recoiled from the sound, holding her hands to her ears. “Even the roads run red with blood.”

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Other books in the Series

 See the Cover2CoverBlog Review of Surrender HERE

The Ferryman + The Flame Series (really inexpensive $0.99 - $4.99 per book or novella)

SURRENDER
http://amzn.to/VMdCJG
http://bit.ly/17Wd7b1

LANTERN & POISON
http://amzn.to/U73Apl
http://bit.ly/19XcfPY

JUSTICE
http://amzn.to/W9ommv

BLOOD & GOLD
http://amzn.to/VIAjVJ
http://bit.ly/19XcfQ0

VULTURE
http://amzn.to/18d1YDR

About the Author

Rhi was never a normal girl. Her life was an urban fantasy wrapped in a paranormal romance and served with a side of horror. To escape her everyday weirdness she began writing fantasy. She studied at U of Sedona and MIMT, obtaining a PhD in Metaphysical Science and Parapsychology. She's married to a chef/comic book shop owner and has a fondness for architecture. She frequents twitter and facebook, but if you really want to get to know her you should visit her site: www.yafantasyauthor.com

Find the Author

Website

Goodreads

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