Heartbreaks and heartfelts giveaway

I’m about to break your hearts…. And then I’ll make it better with a giveaway 🙂 ok, lemme get right to it. If you’re a follower, you’ve been seeing lovely posts about my lil bull calf, Kyland aka Dude. Keep reading, it’s not what you think. On Monday, due to some bad news on top of more bad news, some choices had to be made and some of our cattle had to be sold…. This included Dude’s mom. She would be going to the sale and I didn’t think it even close to fair to separate them AGAIN after he and she are just reuniting. So this meant, I had to say goodbye to my favorite bull calf. *sigh* no matter that I knew this was coming, you can’t have multiple bulls and he’s related to half the herd, he would have been sold later, but he had a higher chance of being eaten later. Yes, he is a breed that is for beef cattle. So Tuesday night, I went to offer him his last bottle. He refused as he has for 2 days, because his mom was finally keeping him full all on her own. I was sad, but still happy as this was as it should be. No I didn’t cry, but it was hard.

So Wednesday morning, on my way to work, I see a truck with a trailer with some cattle in it, traveling next to me. Low and behold, it’s Dude and his mom– and I lost it! I cried like I lost my best friend, and had to stop cuz I couldn’t see to drive. Yes I know I’m nuts. I think the stressful things that had been happening and then seeing him sent me over the edge. I turned into a helpless child for an hour.

Regardless of most people not understanding why I feel so much for animals, I have good news. Not only did I get more money than I expected for him-it’s not about the money, I promise- he and his mom went to a good home where he WILL NOT be eaten. The buyer fell in love with his face! LOL so he bought them both to be part if his farm- like ours 🙂 We do slaughter one calf a year for food, but mostly our cattle are for fun. My grandpa has passed down his love of animals to me, and we enjoy the things that come with having them.

So now, I know some of you kids are as sad as me about this, I wanted to show you the last pics I have of him.

He’s filled out so nicely and he’s a beautiful peice of my soul 🙂 he will never be forgotten.

And now that I’ve depressed you. I will show you something awesome to win.
I know most of you know I’m on the Heather Hildenbrand street team. And she is one fine author who is up for some awesome awards this week!! But in her awesomeness she gave me some lovely things and now I’m going to give them to you!

Yes, that’s my cat i’m using as a holder. He wouldn’t leave them alone. I will be giving one of each book mark away. Yep they are SIGNED!!! Love you Heather for giving me these!! I recently gave away my only signed swag of her stuff so I now will keep one for my self, as they are addressed to me being a hotshot 🙂 our street team is called Heather’s Hotshots! The other one is yours to win. So there will be two winners- one for each! Here’s how to win!

1. This is international. If USPS ships to you, then so will I!! It’s not too much since it’s small and weightless like a letter.

2. To enter- just leave me a comment on this post, tell me whatever you wanna say 🙂

3. You need tell me if you wanna win the Whispers or Dirty Blood or both signed book mark!

I’ll pull a winner in a week or two 🙂 again, sorry about lack of color, as I’m on my iPhone app again lol I’ll figure out how to add color eventually hahaha I have a TON of blog tours and giveaways coming up, so I wanted to just slip this in! Happy reading everyone! And good luck!!

Demonically Tempted Blog Tour

Hello everyone! Today I am awfully excited to be part of this blog tour. I am ashamed to say I had not heard of this series before I was informed about the blog tour (BAD DOG!!) but I sure am glad I was able to read BOTH books! Yep, both, as even though this tour is specifically for book 2, the author so kindly let me read both books of the series. So Now, you get to hear all my thoughts, and opinions, and crazy rambles about these! 🙂 So today, I am honored to have a character interview and a review spot for this tour…also, don’t forget if you click on the top banner, it will take you to Bewitching Book Tours site, and trust me, they have some of the greatest books on tour or going on tour right now. They also have lots of fun info too 🙂 Now, without any more interuptions, I want you guys to meet Tess, our star character of this series! She so kindly answered some crazy questions for me…

Welcome!!

Maghon: I am so happy you could make it, and can take time out of your really crazy schedule for us! How did you expect a relationship with Kipp to grow in his situation? Oh and maybe you should explain that for new interested readers 🙂

Tess: Well, there might be a problem with our relationship, Kipp is a ghost. And don’t go judging me! I know how weird that is. I never wanted this. I tried to fight it. But have you met Kipp McGowen? His charm was impossible to ignore. Heck, I doubt I could’ve ignored him even if I wanted to, which I did and tried my best to. The man has a way with words that makes me one of those mushy women who has no control over her hormones. *blushes*

Maghon: I will agree with his charm and hotness! LOL How do you feel about working with the cops now?

Tess: It’s a work-in-progress. I’ll admit it’s a cushy job. The only thing I have to do is talk to ghosts to help solve their cold-cases. The problem is it doesn’t seem to be that easy. Things just keep going in very odd directions that are taking me places I don’t want to go. Right now I’m taking it day-by-day and hoping I come out of it in one piece with some sort of sanity.

Maghon: I will say, I felt bad for your experiences at the end of Supernaturally Kissed… I may have a strong will, but I don’t know if I could have handle things as gracefully as you did. How do you feel about more and more people knowing about your gift?

Tess: At first I hated it. Listen, it’s a strange gift so getting people to come around to the idea is really brutal and embarrassing. But now that people do know, it’s kinda nice I suppose. I never expected that others would know, or that I’d have a job related to my gifts. I guess it feels good for it to be out in the open and no longer a secret. Not that I want everyone to know. The few that do are good with me. No need to announce it to the world or anything.

Maghon: I think your gift is cool, however I’d probably be committed as I can never keep my mouth shut, even for ghosts LOL If you could make your gift go away now, would you?

Tess: Wow! Tough question. I’d be lying if part of me doesn’t want that. This gift has brought on a lot of trouble in my life. It’s very annoying always having ghosts interrupt you at inappropriate times to ask for help. Sometimes I do want to be normal. But now having Kipp, I can’t want that, can I? If I didn’t have the gift, I wouldn’t see him, and that’s something I can’t even consider.

Maghon: I felt bad for you at how Kipp “introduced” himself in the beggining, but now I just think it’s hilarious! LOL sorry, I still giggle, but I understand how you feel. No one wants to have those kind of burdens sometimes. How do you feel about Dane and his involvement in your life?

Tess: The bastard needs to burn in hell. Oh, did I say that aloud? Dane is one of those annoying ticks that I want to squish with my finger. But sometimes you can’t choose who comes into your life, can you? I realize I need Dane to help me understand my gifts, but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy him. Any day is a good day if I don’t have to look at Dane.

Maghon: *cackles with laughter* Oh boy, I would love to be a fly on the wall when you finally have it out with him!! Now that you know the things you know, is there anything you wish we’re different?

Tess: *sighs* Yes, there are so many things I wish were different. I wish my life could be as normal as possible with the gifts I have. That there wasn’t so much danger. That everyone around me was safe. And that I could have a happily ever after with the man I love. Isn’t that what every girl wants? But wishing for something doesn’t mean it’ll happen. This is my life, no matter how strange it is, and I’m slowly accepting that.

Maghon: Well said! I wish you lots of happiness, even if it comes to you in stranger packages than the rest! Do you ever think about any of your family having this gift too, or is it just your bad luck?

Tess: Well, since my family died in the car accident that caused this gift I now have I mainly just mourn them. But even that I try very hard not to think about. Why stir up a painful memory? I’m perfectly happy living in a state of denial. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Maghon: LOL I have lots of denials LOL so I find it prefectly acceptible! What the most attractive about Kipp in appearance?

Tess: Every single ghostly thing about him. He’s gorgeous! Those sexy unique eyes…lips…muscular arms…damn perfect body…wait, where were we? Oh right, about Kipp. You know, on a physical level there’s nothing about him that I don’t drool over. *waggles eyebrows* That has always been my downfall where it comes to Kipp. Really, what girl can refuse a man that’s sexy-as-sin?

Maghon: *waves herself from the heat, then giggles* Yep, I agree that it’s really hard to refuse sexy-as-sin men! And most attractive in his personality?

Tess: Why yes, there is more to Kipp than his sexy appearance. Sure, I swoon over his caveman attitude when he gets all tough because heck, even if it annoys me, it’s still sexy. But I love the tender side to him too. It’s very surprising when it comes out. He’s just one of those guys that I swear took lessons in how to make a woman go gooey around him. Most of all, it’s his dirty mouth. *giggles* He can heat me up all too easily. It’s actually slightly irritating that I seem to have no off switch when it comes to him. More than all that, though, Kipp is a good man…a good cop…and I’m head over heels in love with a ghost. Yes, I can admit that!

Maghon: AWWW, I think that’s soooo cute!!! 🙂 Ok, some small tidbits! This or that…

A. Coffee or tea? Coffee

B. coke, sprite, dr.pepper? Coke

C. Beach or mountains? Beach

D. Winter or summer? Summer

E. vampires or werewolves? WHAT? I might see ghosts, but I’m sorry to break it to you that vampires are werewolves are not real. And if we’re talking fictional characters, I have enough of the paranormal in my life than to read about it too. No, thank you!

F. Cold or hot? Cold, of course. Kipp’s touch is cold. Might be why I love it.

G. Favorite color? Brown and blue…maybe because that’s the colors of Kipp’s eyes.

H. Night or day? Day. Don’t you know scary things happen at night? Like crazy-ass killers that come out of the shadows who try to make me a ghost too.

I. Moonlight or sunlight? Sunlight. Isn’t the above answer reason enough?

Ok, that’s enough! LOL thanks so much for coming visit me, Tess! I think you and I could be really good friends! either that, or you’d kill me hahahaha And thanks so much Ms. Stacey, for doing this with us! I appreciate it and I look forward to the next book!!

Website | Blog | Facebook |Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page

Stacey Kennedy’s novels are lighthearted fantasy with heart-squeezing, thigh-clenching romance, and they even give you a good chuckle every now and again. But within the stories you’ll also find fast-paced action, life-threatening moments and a big bad villain who needs to be destroyed. Her urban fantasy/paranormal and erotic romance series have hit Amazon Kindle and All Romance eBooks bestseller lists.

Stacey welcomes comments from readers. You can find her at http://www.staceykennedy.com.

Now wasn’t that a crazy fantastic interview! I love her crazy answers, and the fact that she is tough, but still scared of the dark, and not afraid to admit it!! Now, I will first tell you a little something about her first book of the series, which I will say is KILLER GOOD!! 🙂

You can click on the image if you’d like to read all about Supernaturally kissed, which is book 1 in the Frostbite series. You can go HERE for my review… and here’s my quote for this book as a little preview…

It’s also a really fresh look at a human falling for a supernatural being. And even then, there are no vampires, werewolves, etc. and it’s still really good. It has everything most readers ask for- humor, sad, anger, murder(s), investigations, awesome romance in a whole new light, and something to be proud of! I was originally gunna give it a 4.5 stars- com’on, there’s no werewolves-LOL- but it’s too good a book for that, so I cannot cheat a great book out due to my hairy obsession!!

Now that I have said that, it’s on to the good stuff…. drum roll please! Here’s Demonically Tempted!

Of course, if you click on the picture it’ll take you over to goodreads… and here’s a blurb for you via goodreads…

Tess Jennings, now a member of the Memphis Police Department, is on her first cold case. The suspected suicide of Lizbeth Knapp ten years ago isn’t a theory her family accepts—they believe she was murdered.

But the case is only one of Tess’s worries. Ghosts are talking, and word of her abilities rapidly spreads. A dark ghost is terrifying the spirits of Memphis, and she must force the entity to cross over.

Tess doesn’t have to do this alone. Not only does she have her ghost-lover, Kipp McGowen, but the department has brought in a medium. Dane Wolfe might answer all her questions, but he also brings a world of trouble. Will Tess finally have all she’s ever wanted, or will everything she’s vowed to protect be ripped away?

*SERIES DOES NOT CONTAIN STANDALONE STORIES. MUST BE READ IN ORDER. FIRST BOOK IN FROSTBITE SERIES IS SUPERNATURALLY KISSED*

BUY LINK

BOOK TRAILER

and now, here’s my review!!

This is one of the coolest books I’ve read about ghosts. Tess is learning how to use her gift and help ghosts instead of being afraid. How could she not do this after her whole world has been turned up side down. And she is completely in love with her own personal ghost. But then a seriously messed up FBI dude shows up to “help” her learn how to really use her gifts. And all the local ghosts are terrified and threatened by a new ghostly presence. They beg Tess to help, and she just couldn’t say no.

I will say that I read this book even faster then the first one. It’s fully of action and twists and completely sarcastic attitudes that I can’t help but love it! You are now learning more about some of the secondary characters as well. I always liked Zach, but now I also really like Max. He has shown me a whole new side.

And then there is Kipp…. Yeah, ghost or not, he’s hot!! LOL and he totally throws Tess for a loop in the book. And then there’s this TOTAL SHOCKER FOR AN ENDING!!! Ok I will say I kinda expected this to happen in book one, but when it didn’t, I excepted my wrongness and moved on. I NEVER expected it at the end of book 2, so it totally blew me away! I love it! No I will not give you hints about this 🙂 I now SERIOUSLY need book 3, which thank goodness comes out this fall! All in all, another 5 PAWS from me!

I hope you’ve all enjoyed all of today’s post, and I wish you all happy reading my gators!! 🙂

Moon Dwellers Blog Tour

Hello everyone! Today, I’m part of a blog tour for the upcoming book, The Moon Dwellers by David Estes.  I am thrilled to be part of this, I also must say that I CANNOT WAIT to read this book! I like the writing style of Mr. Estes, as I’ve read Angel Evolution, the first book of his Evolution trilogy.  But today, is all about one of the characters from the new book, as he will be taking over my blog for a guest post 🙂 Let’s just say, it’s awesome! So here we go, meet Adele Rose! WELCOME!! 🙂 

A Prelude to The Moon Dwellers

A passage taken from the diary of Adele Rose, a moon dweller, in the year 492 P.M. (Post-Meteor), seven years before The Moon Dwellers was written.

It’s my tenth birthday today, but it’s just like any other day.  My dad wakes me up at six in the morning for training.  It’s still dark in the caverns, although even at midday, the thin, pale lighting from the overhead cavern lights is dim at best.  We train on the tiny stone patio behind our shoebox house.  My mom is already up and getting breakfast ready, but she doesn’t say anything as I pass her.  She does glance at me, however, and I can tell from the slight curl on one side of her lip that she knows it’s my birthday and wants to surprise me.  I pretend not to notice.

My dad is already outside, stretching his arms and legs.  I follow his lead, because if I don’t, I’ll be sore tomorrow.  As I stretch my arms above my head, I see the glittering flutter of wings as a bat slides noiselessly above us.  The rough, gray cave ceiling is slowly coming into focus as the cavern lights begin to brighten right on schedule.

We start with hand-to-hand combat—my favorite—and, according to my dad, the most important part of training, because “You can always count on your own hands and feet,” as he likes to say.  I’m feeling energetic, which I try to use to my advantage, striking quickly with sharp stabs of my feet.  But my dad is always up to the task, faster than me, blocking each attack with ease.  Even when I start doing ninja moves, as I like to call them (of my own invention, of course), my dad just swats away my roundhouse kicks and judo chops like pesky gnats.  He’s says my invented moves are creative and effective, although they never seem to work on him.

It gets frustrating sometimes, not being able to beat him, especially considering how hard I work.  He says he pushes me harder than Elsey because I’m the older sister, and I can protect myself and her.  That just seems like a free pass for El.  He also says I’m getting stronger and faster with each training session, which sometimes is the only thing that keeps me motivated. 

So I keep at it, chucking fists and feet at him faster and faster, until a thin sheen of salty sweat is coating my bare arms and legs, where my pale blue tunic won’t cover.  As I begin to tire, I become bolder, lunging forward and aiming a knotted fist at his sternum, at one of the places that he told me will hurt the most.  To my absolute shock, my clenched fingers slide smoothly past my dad’s blocking arms, connecting with his chest, and I feel the solid thud of bone on bone and muscle. 

My dad grunts and lifts a hand to his chest, massaging it gingerly.  I can’t help but to lift my offending hand to my mouth as my lips form an O.  “Dad, I’m so…I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to–”

My dad laughs and I stop talking, my eyebrows rising along with my confusion level.  “Don’t ever apologize for winning a fight, Adele,” he says. 

“Wha…what?  You mean I…?”

“Won—yes.”  My dad is grinning.  “You are learning so fast, Adele.  In a couple of years I will have nothing left to teach you.”

“So the student will become the master?” I joke. I am such a dork—but I don’t care.

He laughs, deep and throaty.  “I wouldn’t go quite that far, but yes, you are doing well.”  Sometimes Dad can be so serious.

But I am grinning, too.  I’ve never even come close to hurting him during training.  The familiar rhythm of my hands and fists smacking against his hands and fists has become like a soundtrack for our mornings together.  But I’ve added a thud to the mix, and for that, I am proud.  I couldn’t ask for a better present on my birthday.

“We’ll finish early to celebrate your success,” my dad says.

I frown.  “No, Dad, I want to finish the whole session, please.”

Dad laughs.  “That’s my girl,” he says.  “You’re so much like your mother.”  I never understand what he means by that.  My mom is a quiet, generous soul, who would never hurt a fly.  Me, I’m tenacious, feisty, and sarcastic.  A redhead with black hair, my mom always says.

I’m not able to beat him again during training, but once was enough for me.  When we come inside I’m exhausted but happy.  Somehow our tiny, stone house looks even smaller than before, but to me, it’s cozy, it’s home. 

A warm and tempting aroma fills my nostrils when we cross the threshold.  My birthday surprise.  Freshly warmed bread, not more than a few days old from the bakery in the subchapter.  Only half a loaf, but more than I’ve ever seen in our house before.  A real birthday treat. 

“Happy birthday, Adele,” Mom says.  “Go wake your sister.”

I smile and sigh.  Yes, we live underground.  And don’t have much money.  And live in constant fear of the Enforcers, who ceaselessly roam the streets.  But we have each other: my mom, my dad, my sister, Elsey, and me—a family.  We’re all we really need.  Oh, and a warm half-loaf of bread for a birthday treat.  For a moment, I am happy.

Doesn’t that make you wanna read the book too!! I am so excited as there’s only a little bit of time left before you can get it! Now, I think you should check out all the other stops on the tour, as everyone is doing something different, and there will be giveaways, so here’s your links! 

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT EVERY STOP!

June 19
http://www.moosubi.blogspot.mx/
Review and Giveaway

June 20
http://mybookboyfriend.blogspot.mx/?zx=a3d2d1dd853486e7
Character Guest post

June 21
http://shutupandreadgroup.blogspot.mx/
Guest Post

June 22
http://raebethmcgeeswriting.blogspot.mx/
Excerpt

June 23
http://k-booksxo.blogspot.com/
Review and Giveaway

June 24
http://tana-someofmyfavoritebooks.blogspot.ca/
Author Interview and Giveaway

June 25
http://doctorsnotes-shy.blogspot.mx/
Excerpt

June 26
http://www.passionatebookdivas.com
Review and Giveaway

June 27
http://www.readingangel.com/
Guest Post

June 28
https://magluvsya03.wordpress.com/
Character Guest post

June 29
http://darkobsessionchronicles.blogspot.mx/
Author Interview, and closing post

 

Click on this picture to go to goodreads page. 

About the author

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children’s and YA markets in 2010. He´s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.

Author of the Evolution Trilogy
http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/David-Estes/130864990343920
https://twitter.com/#!/davidestesbooks

 

The Moon Dwellers Release Date: June 30th 2012

I hope you enjoyed that, and I look forward to telling you how the book is! 🙂 Happy reading my gators! 

Pandora’s Key Blog Tour

Hello everyone! Today I am a stop on the blog tour for Pandora’s Key! It’s a fascinating story about, you guessed it, Pandora, and her little box of trouble! LOL I’ve got a guest here today, one of the characters is going to witness my wrath-I mean craziness-LOL and answer some questions. And then I’ll let you in on my review so you can see what I thought of the story! So now, I would like to introduce Raphe, Evangeline’s crush, to my blog! WELCOME!! 

Maghon: How did you know when you had “more than friends” feeling toward Evangeline?

Raphe:  Most of the girls in my class are hard to talk to… and when I do talk to them it seems like they’re more concerned with what other people are saying or doing than about our conversation.  Evangeline isn’t like that – when she talks to you she’s… all there.  And she’s not worried about her clothes or wearing makeup (which she never needed, even before her looks changed).  She’s just totally real.  And I guess I’ve always known that she could be more than a friend from the first time I saw her insanely dark blue eyes and couldn’t look away.  And in case you’re wondering, I’m not blushing when I say that.  I’m good with it.

Maghon: What do you think about when you hear her name?

Raphe:  The way she makes me feel.  And now I am blushing…

Maghon: How did you take it, when you realized she was more than just “a little human”?

Raphe:  It’s complicated.  Being a descendant is kind of like being a superhero, you know?  And that’s pretty freaking cool.  But for Evangeline, the cool part is overshadowed by the fact that she’s always in danger and that there’s a really horrible curse hanging over her head.  I mean, how would you feel if you found out that the person you really cared about was cursed to die in the prime of her life?  Sometimes it really sucks… but I just try to enjoy what we have right now because life is uncertain for everyone, right?

Maghon: Is there anything that you wish could be different with Evangeline?

Raphe:  Here’s the thing… if I changed one thing about her, then she wouldn’t be who she is and I really like who Evangeline is… so I wouldn’t change a thing.  And I know that sounds corny, but it’s true.

Maghon: Did you know ahead of time that you would sacrifice something so big as you did for Evangeline?

Raphe:  (laughs) Um, no.  I never thought I was the kind of guy who would throw himself in front of a bullet, period.  I’m a good guy, and I try to treat people the way I want to be treated, but I always imagined I’d stop short of sacrificing my life for someone else.  All I can say is that it was pure instinct… 

Maghon: How do you feel about your mother’s involvement in things?

Raphe:  LIke crap.  We hardly talk.  Next question?

Maghon: Is there anything you wouldn’t do to protect Evangeline?

Raphe:  I guess I can’t know that until I’m in a specific situation, but I imagine I’d do pretty much anything to make her life better and I think she’d do the same for me.

Maghon: Where would you like things to go from here with Evangeline?

Raphe:  Obviously, I like her…  a lot.  And I’m hoping that our friendship will remain super strong and that our relationship will… progress.  I know you’re looking for specifics with that question, so I’ll say this (because even though you might think I’m some kind of selfless guy, I’m still a guy):  I’m insanely attracted to Evangeline – inside and out.  I just hope she feels the same way because I don’t want to date anyone else. 

Maghon: Are you going to be sticking around for good?

Raphe:  I hope so… but Evangeline’s life is pretty crazy and you never know what might happen to her, or me, next…

Maghon: This or that…  a. Coffee or tea?

Raphe:  Ice cream.

b. Coke, sprite, dr. pepper, other?

Raphe:  Little known fact about me is that I can’t burp so I steer clear of carbonated drinks.

c. Mountains or beach?

Raphe:  Definitely the mountains.

d. Winter or summer?

Raphe:  I’m from Oregon so I like any season when it’s not raining

e. Boxers or briefs?

Raphe: Boxers or boxer-briefs, never tighty-whiteys.  I do my own laundry because my mom isn’t around much, so whichever is clean.

f. Vampire or werewolf?

Raphe:  Werewolf – it would come in handy for helping Evangeline.

g. Cold or hot?

Raphe:  Dry (it rains a TON in Oregon)

h. Favorite color?

Raphe:  Midnight blue

i. Night or day?

Raphe:  Day – sleeping feels like a waste of time.

j. Moonlight or sunlight?

Raphe:  Sunlight so I can see where I’m going on my skateboard!

Ok, don’t you have a crush on Raphe now too, cuz I know I DO!! And don’t think I don’t know why your favorite color is Midnight Blue!! 🙂 I really like him as the romantic interest 🙂 And now for my review! 

First I will thank R2R, the author- she gave me my personal copy on a random day, and I’m so glad she did!- and the making connections group b/c I’m reviewing for R2R but making connections gave me a part in the blog tour!! yay!!

This book is exceptional! I dunno why I had it in my head something like mermaids or witches… Crazy, since everybody knows Pandora is Greek mythology!! Lol forgive me, I’m a blonde 🙂 but still what a great fun story!! I’ve also never read an author who kills a main character Lol but it’s got a great plot, the writing is well done, and it’s fun and a new twist to the Greeks. 

The main character is a literal descendant of Pandora, and she becomes involved in a crazy new world without ever knowing it existed. Her mom begins losing her mind, her best friend has a new boyfriend, and her love interest only knows her as his best friend. And then some crazy stuffs happens- sorry, not giving this away, and Evangeline has to not only cope alone, but figure out how to survive.

I was really intrigued with the part that the doctor played in the story, and I really like her best friend, as you know I love supporting characters. I was wonderfully surprised at how many twists the story had, especially with the characters.  I know that there are some great things that are to come in the next story, as how could it not, if the first part was so good. 🙂 Even with different point of views from the characters, you still get some big surprises! This is a new outlook on the back story of Pandora. It keeps things fresh without venturing too far away from the original myth surrounding her.  

I very much look forward to see how things will turn out and continue in this series! thanks everyone who helped me to find a very fun new series!! Nothing like reading a new book and really liking it! 

Don’t forget to check out the other stops so you can win free stuff! LOL who doesn’t love free stuff! 

June 21 – Elemillia – Book Reviews, Fiction Reflections, N’ More – personalliterarybookfrenzy.blogspot.com
Review, Interview, Bio, Excerpt

June 22 – Reviews By Molly (http://reviewsbymolly.com) excerpt

June 23 – Shieka – Http://doctorsnotes-shy.blogspot.com
Review

June 24 – Faye – A Daydreamer’s Thoughts, http://xxdaydreamer21xx.blogspot.com – review and interview

June 25 – Elizabeth – http://dailymommysurvival.com – review

June 26 – Pragya – Reviewing Shelf – Author bio/ excerpt/ guest post

June 27 – Maghon Thomas Happy tails & tales – www.magluvsya03.wordpress.com – Review/character interview

June 28 – Aleksandra –  http://ds-of-a-little-bw.blogspot.com/ (Divine Secrets of a Little Bookworm).review, author bio and an interview

June 29 – Suzanne F – Paranormal Book Fan http://paranormalbookfan.blogspot.com – Author Bio and Excerpt

June 30 – J.A. Beard – Interview 

I would like to thank everyone who participated in the tour, the author because she gave me a copy, and Making Connections for putting together this tour! I really would like to tell Raphe thanks for coming by, and if Evangeline and him don’t work out, he could always call me LOL 🙂  I wish everyone luck on the giveaways, and as always happy reading my gators!! 

AWESOME FREEBIES!!

Hello everyone!!

I received a wonderful email today! I was recently part of a book tour for Vaempires: Revolution and the author was so happy with not just my work but the work all of us tour hosts put into it. I’d like to first share a small piece of what that email said to me… Here ya go!

Dear Shae, Nicola, Anjana, Vix, Vanessa, Tana, Shawn, Sullivan, Shah, Rachel, Tanya, S.M., Molly, Michelle, Nikki, Maghon, Liz, Makayla, Bex, Carrie, Shelby, Gracen, & Gabby:

I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of you for being such wonderful tour hosts. So … thank you. :)… anyway! I was so amazed that I wrote a blog post about the entire experience (if you haven’t read it yet, you can find it here: http://vaempires.com/ode-to-the-bloggers-of-the-dark-mind-book-tours).

He is so sincere in his thanks that I literally had no words. We, as bloggers, do this for fun and our love of reading! After I read the email and then his blog post dedicated to us, I couldn’t help but feel like I’ve accomplished something great and my heart just swelled! It’s not often that someone takes the time to be so grateful, even for something as little as writing a blog post, a review, or just spreading the word. So, as Mr. Tom is not only one of the coolest authors I have the pleasure of interacting with, he’s ridiculously generous! We’ve had some very fun twitter conversations. 🙂 So, here’s what’s for you!!

Below are Smashwords codes for free copies of both Vaempires books:

Vaempires: Revolution KT25P
Vaempires: White Christmas TE58Z

The codes are valid until 7/10/12.

Yep, you as my followers are getting his two books for FREE! White Christmas is the prequel short story, and revolution is a fantastically written debut book! I’ve got reviews on my previous tour post of ya wanna see what I had to say.

I know I usually have pictures and links, but I needed to get this out right away, so I’m using my trusty iPhone WordPress app. Sorry that this post looks so plain, lol, as I’m usually colorful! 🙂

But most of all, I wanted to say that Mr. Winship has made me feel extremely proud of my “hobby” lol and THANK YOU!! and in turn, I hope my words are enough to give him courage to gimme another Vaempires book! LOL He’s been so kind and I will forever have a place for him in my heart!! And my bookshelf! Happy reading my Gators- now go forth and get your free books!!

A new favorite series

We all have a huge reading pile, as in to be read, and if I go by what my goodreads page says, I have over 1200 books in my TBR pile. LOL. and I’m sure it’s more, as I sometimes forget to press add to my list. 🙂 Oddly enough, one night, I went bonkers, as I LOVE werewolf stories. They have always been my favorite. I just can’t help myself. And a while back, on the kindle store page, I found Something Secret This Way Comes by Sierra Dean. Here’s a picture…

The picture will take you to the goodreads page 🙂 So, this book was a freebie for the day, and I of course swooped it up.  Well, little to my knowledge, I am now totally obsessed with this series.  After reading this one, I went and got the next 3 books in the series. LOL 

I read all three of them within 24 hours! Holy crap! I LOVE this series!! I cannot seem to help myself! It’s unlike any type of urban fantasy I’ve ever read.  But I’ll tell you why I love it, it reminds me of the Anita Blake series, which will always be my heart’s first love 🙂 Laurell K Hamilton introduced me to what fantasy was like.  Totally kick ass, without always revolving around romance, sometimes had sex, but what more about all the monsters. Yep, this one is like that too.  I’m going to include my review for the first book, and then leave links to read my reviews for the next two, and leave the nice pretty picture for book 4 about to be out, and you can make decisions based on your own opinion. 🙂 

Let’s start with the goodreads synopsis for Something Secret This Way Comes: 

Some secrets are dangerous. This Secret is deadly.

Secret McQueen, Book 1

For Secret McQueen, her life feels like the punch line for a terrible joke. Abandoned at birth by her werewolf mother, hired as a teen by the vampire council of New York City to kill rogues, Secret is a part of both worlds, but belongs to neither. At twenty-two, she has carved out as close to a normal life as a bounty hunter can.

When an enemy from her past returns with her death on his mind, she is forced to call on every ounce of her mixed heritage to save herself—and everyone else in the city she calls home. As if the fate of the world wasn’t enough to deal with, there’s Lucas Rain, King of the East Coast werewolves, who seems to believe he and Secret are fated to be together. Too bad Secret also feels a connection with Desmond, Lucas’s second-in-command…

Product Warnings
This book contains a sarcastic, kick-ass bounty hunter; a metaphysical love triangle with two sexy werewolves; a demanding vampire council; and a spicy seasoning of sex and violence.

I love, LOVE this series!! I want all of them, like yesterday, and I want to read them more than once! It was an accident that I stumbled upon this book, on the kindle store, and I somehow hadn’t heard of them before- but I’m SO GLAD I fixed this error.  Poor Secret, as her name is literally taken, when her mother abandons her to her grandmother and says keep her secret, she gets her name.  She’s become an assassin (yes, I do love assassins) for vampires who are bad little suckers, LOL, She’s hard core, takes no one’s crap, and is very bad-ass. She thinks her life is quite stable until she finds out her biggest, scariest, enemy is coming back just for her, and meets the werewolf king and has a crazy attraction to him… what’s worse, she has the same attraction to his second in command! 

I like Lucas, don’t get me wrong, but I put him in the same category as Richard-Anita Blake’s King Werewolf. I want him so badly to be “the one” but dammit if he doesn’t make the most stupid mistakes, and unfortunately, it’s so typical guy, and male alpha that most days I wanna punch him in the face, repeatedly! And then there’s Desmond, and I swoon, and drool, and wanna lick him HAHAHAHA I LOVE HIM!! I can’t help it! He’s cool, calm, HOT, and pretty awesome, and did I already say HOT!!! Yes yes, I know, love triangles sometimes are over done-BUT I LOVE THIS ONE!! hehehehe yes, sometimes, as much as I hate it, I love it too, and this one sucked me right in! 

Secret learns a few more secrets as time gets a little crazy, the vampires are somewhat strange, her mentor is a human, but one of the scariest monster hunters around, and I can’t help but wanna hug Desmond’s brother. Yep, awesome supporting characters. So well written, So much action, and fun! I will now be off to drool onto the next Secret book! 

I love that Secret has some of the best quotes… “If there were a boy scout motto for bounty hunters, it would be always be armed” … “Both Daria and I agreed we will overlook the events of last night.  Juan Carlos, as usual, wanted to eat you.” …”I vowed to never leave my house unarmed ever again. Leave your gun at home for one day and look at what happens.”…. “when you went limp, I saw every chance I had for happiness die with you.”~Desmond said that one 🙂 … “Detective Castilla, your Secret is safe with me.” She blinked with surprise, and I groaned. “God, Holden, How long have you been waiting to use that line?” “About 3 years” “and in 3 years, you couldn’t find any room for improvement?” “I like a good pun, what can I say?” “Terrible”, I just shook my head. 

So, now that you know how I feel about book one, here’s the links to books 2 & 3 reviews from me…

A Bloody Good Secret review

Deep Dark Secret review

Now, here’s a pretty picture of book 4, which I have pre-ordered!! 

hehehehehe I LOVE the bloody wedding dress, as you can click on the picture to read what it’s about, and I now have NO DOUBT that Ms. Dean is gunna blow me away! I have NO IDEA what’s gunna happen, but I know it’s going to be huge! This book is set to release July 10, 2012, which means I only have a little bit to wait! but I NEED IT! hahahaha I know, I’m a nut, but I really can’t help it. 

So, now that I’ve done my bullying for the day, I ill bid you ado, and wish you happy reading! 🙂 

Winners! Kyland update and another name game to win!

Hello everyone! 

First, I would like to announce the winners of all the goodies from my stop on the Charade Blog Tour! I know I am late with posting this, but I have literally had so many posts for my blog, I needed some time to fit it all in! I didn’t have as many entries as I thought I would, so I’ve decided to give them all something! Yes, I’m doing that again 🙂 

There were 5 people who entered, yes for multiple things, but all 5 of you will get something 🙂

Rachel and BN100 both asked for a kindle copy of Masquerade, so congrats, you both win this! If you would prefer a smashwords coupon, I will do this too! 🙂 Here’s the kicker, if you chose to do kindle version of Between, I’ll give you Between copies too 🙂 I have left over gift cards to use particularly for this.  This way you have the first two books, and you can also get Before (the prequel) for free, everywhere 🙂 

Nikki and Beth, you both asked for copies of Between, congrats, you both win this! I can also do a smashwords for Beth… Nikki, I am not sure how Ms. Cambria is going to send that copy, as you are the winner for hers 🙂 I’m sure she could do this for you! 🙂 Beth, I’d also like to offer you a kindle copy of Charade… Nikki I know you have it LOL 🙂 if you don’t, you can get it too 🙂 

Karla, you BLEEP… you were picked first, as I used random.org to pick the book plate winner before I gave other stuff away and you were it! You should now say you win as much as me! LOL hahahaha I secretly hate you, as I am giving this up hahahaha but I’m glad to do it, so it’s not really hate! HA! 

I wish to congratulate all of you on winning and I will send out an email in a short moment! 🙂 I’ll give you a couple of days to reply! 

Now, on to another contest and more pictures of course!!  🙂 I promised an update on my lil man, Kyland, though he still answers to Dude lol! So, for those of you who don’t know the back story of this cute little monster, you can see it HERE! Now, last Friday, June 15, I decided, since he was getting really strong- I have bruises in inappropriate places to prove this- and was doing so well, to reintroduce him to his herd. I was scared as sometimes things can happen. I opened all the gates, and he follows me like a dog, he also acts like my dogs hahaha he can’t help it, they were his surrogate nannies. After some hard choices, I walked behind the big pasture’s gate and walked away from him. I almost cried. But when I got a little further, he got really curious and began checking everything out. Then he realized that he had freedom and took off running like a crazy thing! He ran for what seemed like forever, and poor thing, his momma kept trying to run after him, but after about 15 minutes she was pooped and just started slowly following in his general direction. After his hilarious antics, and all the other babies excitedly playing with him, he realized he was really hungry! He took off back to me at the gate, with the entire caravan and herd following behind. He ran right up to me and drank his bottle and was a nut! He’s so full of energy!

He, of course, settled in just fine. He is so curious, needing to check out everything and anything for himself. He is always first, as he comes meet me for feeding times running in front of everyone. And then he’ll take a nap off to himself. He cracks me up. He didn’t drink from his mom for the first 3 weeks of his life, so I’m still feeding him twice a day to make sure his mom can make up for the milk, as she was drying up. That was the other reason for me to let him go back with her before she lost all milk. My Australian shepherd is heartbroken, as every single time I say “Dude” she goes looking for him. But she’s so happy for feeding time to give him a few licks through the fence. We don’t go inside the pasture anymore as mommy is protective, in a dangerous way, and I want him to be more cow than pet or dog, as he has some similar habits. He licks me as a greeting like a dog, and moos at me if I don’t walk quick enough, and rubs on me to play. These are so doggie traits and not bull traits lol My mom came over to watch a feeding and giggled the whole time as you can’t help but love this little kid 🙂

I am hoping in the next week to stop bottle feeding as he’s doing great with his mom. But I’ll still give him love everyday! Today (Sunday June 24) was his second to last day of one day feedings, and tomorrow will be his last bottle feeding from me, as his momma is keeping him nice and full…  And with this, I’d like to introduce you to some of his family and have a little contest!

This is his dad, named Brin-for his brindle stripes- and his CRAZY cousin, curious George. His name is the perfect name for him as he is ridiculously curious, like gunna get himself in trouble! 🙂 

This is Mysha (white) and Baylee (black/white), my dogs, giving him love, on his last day in the pen alone! I spent extra time with him that day before I let him out in the pasture. 

My dogs look on so curious as Dude makes some crazy noises! 🙂 Mysha’s face is priceless!

Mysha gives him kisses after he eats, and sometimes just because 🙂

These two pictures are of him in the pasture running at me, and as I know you can’t really see, he’s the little speck, and his mom is trying to keep up behind him 🙂 

Him and his mom at one of the gates watching me, and some of the other cows look on too 🙂

Momma gets nervous when I come around so she licks and nuzzles him, it’s really sweet. 

A close up of Kyland “Dude” and his mom. He eagerly waits for me, with his tail wagging like a dog 🙂

A close up of curious George 🙂 He’s very pretty, and not in the least bit shy

Another of Ky and his mom

One more 🙂 LOL

Ok, no this is the last one hahahaha

This I thought you guys would get a kick out of, as he would lick and suck on my legs all the time. Those spots on my shorts are his spit. No body ever said having a farm was easy, or even close to clean hahahahahaha

Now here’s where the fun comes in! The picture below is where you should look, so look now!!

These are 3 of Kyland’s cousins! The one standing up all the way to the right (he’s the big one) I’ve named Papillion (pap-ee-awn)… This is the french word for Butterfly-we Louisianans speak lots of French here, so it works.  He’s a dude, so butterfly was too feminine, and Papillion is kinda generic. On his face is a perfect imprint of a butterfly shape. It’s symmetric, and so obvious, so that’s how he got his name.  The one lying down has an all white face with two spots, one on each eye. He’s quite laid back and really calm. Maybe he’s to dignified to play! LOL The last one, is also a male, and was born at the same time as Curious George, like literally a few hours apart.  He’s so little, as his mom got sick, and so he is a little behind in the growing. No worries, his mom is all better, and he is now growing at a normal rate. 🙂 He’s really full of energy as well, as Kyland-though much younger, is the same size, so the fight and play together all the time.  These last 2 don’t have names… SO HERE’S THE CONTEST.  I would like a name for each of these two bull calves.  🙂 Here’s the rules…

1. Leave a comment on this post with your answers

2. Your name (please tell me which one you are talking about-lying down bull or standing up) can be anything you want, BUT I want you to tell me why you are picking it… like Kyland in German means bull or spirit of a bull… or you can say, I pick Jean Claude, as he is my favorite vampire in the Anita Blake series… I do not care what you pick, I just want to know why 🙂

3.  This is INTERNATIONAL!! If the book depository ships to you, then you can win!! 🙂

4.  You will get an entry for each name!! so you submit 5 names you get 5 entries!

5.  Here’s how I’ll pick the winners… One winner will be picked directly based on the name they give me.  I liked your name, and will be naming one of the bulls that name…I may do this for both names… I gotta see how my funds are LOL  The OTHER winner will be all of the names chosen by random.org.  So even if you really wanna win, but don’t have a great name, you can still get your chance! Yes, you can re-use the same names from my first contest where Kyland’s name was chosen, as I had some wonderful names picked, and I may even go with one of those if those people re-enter!! 

6. I will pick a winner for each, and here’s what you will win!! A BOOK OF YOUR CHOICE from either barnes and nobles, amazon, smashwords, or the book depository UNDER $10 (american monies LOL) (so $9.99 before tax/shipping counts LOL) yes yes, you can tell me what you want to win from any of these places.  If you are international, I would recommend the book depository, but from my fellow US kids, you can chose a paperback, or an ebook, that you wanna read & I’ll give it to you!! I know, this is another animal post, BUT I’ll give you a book in exchange for having fun with me! 🙂 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, as you can leave your question in the comments, or email me (it’s on my contact page at the top) or twitter, which is also at the top… You have until JULY 5TH to enter this contest, so you can continuously come back to add more names as you think of them, or find, or see them somewhere 🙂 I am really hoping to just have some creativity come out here! & I know I have some great followers, so don’t let me down… LOL, no go forth and get creative! LOL oh and of course, Happy Reading my Gators!!! 

Cover Reveal~ Determinant by AM Hargrove

Today, I am thrilled to be part of the cover reveal for AM Hargrove’s new The Guardians of Vesturon book! If you don’t know this series, well here’s the first two books and the prequel 🙂

If you click on each picture, it’ll take you to each books goodreads page, and you can read all about them. I suggest you check them out! 🙂 and Now, since I’ve made you wait, here it is, the big reveal!! 

EEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHE!!! Isn’t it beautiful!!! Doesn’t it add some much awesomeness to the series! I will be doing a part in the blog tour, and I’ll be posting my reviews of all the novels then-I just started reading them, so it’ll be fun! Now here’s a little something about Determinant…

January St. Davis, on her own since the age of sixteen and struggling to stay in college, thinks she’s scored in a major way when she lands a paid summer internship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.  One evening, after working an especially long shift, a chance encouter with a group of mysterious men alters the course of her life.

Rykerian Yarrister, a Guardian of Vesturon with unearthly powers and impossibly gorgeous looks, finds himself at odds over the human female he recently saved from certain death.  When it seems he is on the verge of winning her over, she is ripped from his hands by a strange and powerful being, threatening to destroy her if his demands are not met.

Do Rykerian and the Guardians have the ability to meet this fierce barbarian’s ultimatums, or will January suffer a horrid demise?

And now, here’s a little sneak peak into Determinant…

I was lost in the events of the day and the amount of work I had and I was still nursing my wounded ego as I headed out of the lab.  As I made my way down the corridor, I noticed six men advancing toward me. 

It wasn’t their actions I noticed so much or even the way they walked.  And though it was an oddity for them to even be here at all, it was their attire that captured my attention.  They were dressed identically, in an extreme fashion, much like members of a gang or secret society.  Large and muscular, they wore black vests and their bare arms were almost completely tattooed with tribal symbols of a sort.  Metal bands criss-crossed their chests and their legs were tightly encased in leather.  Knee high boots and black gloves finished off their ensembles. 

As I neared them I felt my flesh tingle and the hairs on the back of my neck come to attention.  Gooseflesh erupted and alarms started clanging in my head.  I sucked in my breath and as I did, my eyes connected with the apparent leader.  I say this because he was in the front of the formation as they plodded along.

Time stood still as our eyes connected.  His were an uncanny shade, lavender with hints of indigo and specks of silver.  It was a hue I was unfamiliar with but they were intriguing and fascinating.  The alarms were still ringing in my ears and the air felt electrically charged around us. 

“Halt!”

I turned into stone.  I couldn’t move a muscle.  He cocked his head as his eyes bore into mine. 

“Breathe!”

I distinctly heard his command in my mind and I was helpless to disobey him.  I felt myself take a deep cleansing breath.  I questioned him with my eyes.  He flicked his head toward his men and they stepped back several feet.

“Who are you? Why are you here?”

I was confused by the demanding questions swirling in my brain but felt compelled to answer him.  I had never used mind reading to communicate, but I was sure he would hear my answer.

“I’m January St. Davis.  I’m here working on an internship for college credit.”

“You are human?” he asked with incredulity.

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that.  Why would he want to know if I was human?  What a ridiculous question!

Here’s some goodies about the author…

One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn’t do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life.  So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase.  Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodgeball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head.  Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what lap top out the window.   She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone and hit #4 on her speed dial.

A.M.’s Boss:  Hello.

A.M:  Hey Boss, I’m calling to let you know you can pick up my luxury Ford Focus at Starbucks near the interstate.

A.M.’s Boss:  Why ever would I want to do that?

A.M.:  Because I quit!

 A.M. hit the end button and speed dialed her husband.

A.M.:  Hey hubs, can you pick me up at Starbucks?

A.M.’s Hubs:  Sure…having some car trouble?

A.M.:  Not at all.  I don’t have a car to have trouble with because I just quit my job.

A.M.’s Hubs:  WHAT?!

A.M.:  It’s time for a new career and I am going to be a very famous novelist.

So began A. M. Hargrove’s career as a young adult paranormal romance author of self-published ebooks.  Her series, The Guardians of Vesturon, centers around a family of six siblings and is a mix of humor, mystery, suspense and of course, love.  Survival and Resurrection are her first and second full length novels, and Beginnings is her prequel novella to the series.  Determinant, her third in the series will be released 6/30/12.

(It didn’t really happen like that, but you get the idea!) 

Book Links

The Guardians of Vesturon is available from the following retailers:

Amazon ebook:  http://amzn.to/I5RCcQ

Amazon UK:   http://amzn.to/Lg7mJm

Barnes and Noble:  http://bit.ly/JwH3yf

iTunes:   http://bit.ly/uChmR3

Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=a+m+hargrove

Where You Can Find Me

Blog:  http://www.amhargrove.blogspot.com

Website: htttp://www.amhargrove.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/anne.m.hargrove

Facebook:  http//:www.facebook.com/guardiansofvesturon

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/amhargrove1

Goodreads:   http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5338829.A_M_Hargrove

Goodreads Fan Club:  http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/71364-a-m-hargrove-s-fan-club

 I hope these little goodies have intrigued you! I look forward to telling you more about this series in the future as well! 🙂 Happy reading my gators!! 

ARC Review for The Shapeshifter’s Secret

Hello everyone! Today, I am sharing my thoughts on the Shapeshifter’s Secret by Heather Ostler, which I received from NetGalley-I just wanna say I love them! They give you nice ARCs to review and some of them are fantastic! 

So, at first, I was a little hesitant, as I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  Julia goes to a regular school, has normal friends, except for her dad, who is over protective, in a crazy way! And then there’s a new boy at school, that everyone seems to drool over. LOL, Caleb kinda sparks everyone’s interest. But when he talks to her at school, and somehow seems to make Julia more annoyed than attracted, things get interesting.  And then he saves her, and her life takes on this crazy, the-bottom-fell-out, kinda twist.  She also knows next to nothing about her mother.  Oh boy, does that part take on a crazy twist.  So, she finds out, after having a total crazy melt-down with her father, that she is a shapeshifter, and she is from another world-kinda- which you can only get to into portals. I like this world building, as it’s different.  It’s similar to her regular world, and it’s not really a parallel dimension, just another place, like think unexplored, no one knows about, island the regular humans haven’t discovered. And also, she’s royalty, as her father is a MAJOR person in that place. So after some hits on her life, her father decides to take her home, and then the journey sets out.  She has to enroll in the school that everyone attends, and learn how to control her inner beast, and also learn about her culture. 

There are some great parts in this book, and some I’m not sure if I liked. But let me say that I will be reading the next book, so that should say something.  I really liked that there’s more than shapeshifters, and oddly, no “real” vampires, LOL but different types of people with different types of powers.  I like how this was created, and thought out well.  I also liked Caleb, though I’m not sure if I like him as a romantic interest, or just as an interesting character. I really like her two best friends, but I don’t wanna spoil too much.  Supporting characters kinda make a story for me. It’s great when you have some awesome “leading” characters, but I like it more when they have awesome “support” LOL aka sidekicks 🙂 I am extremely happy with the crazy twist of who the bad guy(s) were and how some of the events happened.  

I don’t think I like how the romance part played into.  Terrance and Julia fall into love almost instantly, but it’s not a love at first sight, nor is it played upon with the whole “shapeshifter mate” kinda thing.  To me, it seems like teenage love, and I’m not sure how I feel about this. I am on the fence, as I almost like Terrance, but not enough to commit to his “team”. I think I just happen to like Caleb more. Also, I think I would have thrown some major fits after being lied to, and kept in the dark about so much my whole life. But maybe that’s just me, and I’ve always had a mouth that can get me into trouble LOL 

All in all, I did really like this book, as I think there are some great things to work with, and I am looking forward to seeing if the author can build and grow and the first part of what she’s given the readers from here. I think the writing is excellent, just has a few holes that maybe need filling in. Not holes big enough that I didn’t like it, so I am crossing my fingers and hoping the next book will knock my socks off.  There was enough at the end to leave you wanting to know what happened to that ONE PERSON, and what’s to become of Julia and Terrance, and what’s going to happen when Julia goes back home to New York, away from people that are kind. 

If you click on the cover image above, it will take you to the goodreads page for more info. I would like to thank NetGalley for a copy to read, and I am looking forward to a continuation! Happy reading my gators!! 

 

 

Absolution Book Tour Part 2

Hello everyone! Today, I am another stop on the Absolution Book tour! I am very excited for today, because not only do you get to meet Mr. Louis Corsair, as he’s about to take over for a guest post, but you’ll also get to read an excerpt! And of  course, I’ll remind you about all the giveaways for here too 🙂 so, let’s start with an excerpt, so you know what this book is all about… 

A Return

I was in a preparation chamber made completely out of light. I hovered like a cloud watching child-like celestials regenerate and reanimate my corpse. They didn’t bother with new clothes and simply fixed up the suit I had been buried in. When finished, they vacuumed me into my old body, a loving experience I could only compare to dying.

“Cold…” I said and my throat was dry like the Mojave in the middle of summer. They explained my body was mostly dead but this would improve as time passed. To help me with the shivers, the merciful celestials threw in a brown overcoat, shoes, and a fedora.

“Gun,” I said. True I was dead, but the people I was going to deal with were not and I had a feeling they would want to stay that way. Protection was necessary.

They gave me a revolver loaded with ten Thunderbolt bullets. I also got a good watch to keep track of time, an enchanted magnifying glass, and a special rune to communicate with the Committee. The big people wanted regular updates on my progress.

The celestials opened a portal to the Realm of the Living and sent me through it.

Sounds cool, huh? It is. If you want a little more, you can see my first post, with more details about this book, including the blurb and my review… GO HERE. Now, I would like to welcome Mr. Corsair!! 

Have you ever picked up one of those books that tell you how to write fiction? I have. Many different versions, actually. They all have the same information and rarely do I come across one that advocates a method that is radically different.

 Dull. Dull. That’s not how to start a story.

 Here at Happy Tails and Tales, Maghon does a great job of leading readers into stories, some written by her and others by the authors of the world. If you’ve followed along on my Dark Minds Book Tour, you already know my guest posts have an odd flair. This will continue that wonderful tradition. Let me tell you a story…

 Once upon a time, I was young and awkward and in a Los Angeles Junior High School English class. Our professor, an English fellow, had us write a story for homework. That was an impossible task. My friend Augustine and I were heavily into comic books, but had never attempted to write a story. For one thing, we didn’t know how. Just how do you tell a story if you’ve never learned how? The story I turned in for class reflected this. And I expected the same from my friend. But, Augustine, the bastard, turned in this short story that the teacher read aloud in class because it was so great. I still remember it.

 The world is in ruins after some apocalypse. The main character is given a chance to save the world by this monstrous being. He had to go back in time to change an event that would prevent the apocalypse. The main character struggles and fails. In the end he meets with the monstrous being who sent him back. Over the ruins of the planet, this thing kills the main character for failing. The last image is of a horrific death scream. It reminded me a little of Twelve Monkeys.

 What made the story memorable was how easily my friend jumped from being a reader to being a writer. These days I wonder if maybe he hadn’t been writing fiction all along. I don’t know. My guess is that he picked up on how comic books told stories and mimicked them. This is so simple an idea that it baffles me to this day. But it’s not so simple in practice. And to be completely honest, I’m still living in the shadow of that short story Augustine wrote.

 Allow me to explain that last sentence…

 Fast forward now, to a time after I left the military and my interest in writing was renewed. I took a creative writing class at Santa Monica College, one run by Jim Krusoe; the man admitted the first day that he had written one novel and he didn’t think it was very good. If you’ve ever taken a creative writing class, you know that one of the first things you do is tell everybody about yourself and why you are there. My answer was this:

 I came here to learn to write.

 Jim Krusoe smirked and said something like this:

 People don’t learn to write by going to classes. They didn’t have creative writing classes a hundred years ago.

 His tone and the way the others responded told me he wasn’t trying to be helpful. He just said it to be a dick. That’s why I dropped the class after that first meeting. But though mean spirited, what he said rang true. You don’t need a class to learn to write fiction. I don’t picture Dante or Shakespeare in a workshop, talking about writing effective dialogue. Everything you need to learn how to write a novel can be found inside a published novel. Every book you read is an enjoyable writing lesson. It’s the same way with a short story.

 Storytellers instinctively pick up on how to tell a story when they read things, like my friend Augustine (that and I think he was some kind of weird genius). For writers like myself this doesn’t come as easily. So, I read and read some more in hopes of capturing that mysterious quality of the novel, the logos of storytelling.

 This doesn’t discredit the Creative Writing programs of the world. I would never tell you to stop going to them; I hate prescribing things to other writers for one. But their workshops are great places to meet friends and are a first audience apart from your friends and family. And sometimes, you never know, the person who loved your little story might grow up to become the next Great Writer. And, hey, you know them–they will probably help your career because they remember you.

 As for Augustine, we went to different high schools and lost track of each other. I like to think that he became an Engineer like he had planned to. He might have children now and a wife and a dog or cat, the American Dream. At least that’s what the idealist in me wishes for him. Part of me hopes he didn’t become a writer.

HEH! Well, glad I got to hear this one! I hope you are, too! I want to thank Mr. Corsair for that wonderful compliment 🙂 And now, I want to remind you about the giveaways.  YOU HAVE UNTIL JULY 3, 2012 TO ENTER BOTH!  First, is my giveaway.  I & Mr. Corsair will each give an e-book copy of Absolution to TWO winners, as a smashwords gift, so you can chose your format.  The other giveaway is a BIG SWAG, for the tour.  You can go HERE to enter that giveaway! You can also see other stops on the tour, and some are also offering giveaways too! 

I would like to thank Mr. Louis Corsair, and Dark Minds Book Tour for letting me have this great opportunity! I also would like to wish everyone good luck on all the giveaways.  And as always, happy reading my Gators!