{Trailer Sunday} ROOM by Emma Donoghue

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

{Blog Tour Review} First Bite by Dani Harper

Series: Dark Wolf #1

Publication date: October 15, 2013

Publisher: Montlake Romance

ISBN-13: 9781477807590

Synopsis  

Neva was trying to end things before she became a killer, before she lost her identity, before she became like them. But sadly her hopes to save humanity from herself don’t go as planned, especially when Travis Williamson comes along to save her preaching that her life isn’t over.

Now Neva will learn to trust this stranger that has helped her more than once, while they keep moving away from her sire and all the messed up things she entitles. While learning that the guy with the permanent scold may not be as bad as the alternative, and that maybe the life she was forced into isn’t as bad as she was made to believe.

Review

First Bite is a story told from different perspectives in a way that you don’t really need a main title every time the point of view changes from character, it has been a long while since I’ve read something with more than two different P.O.V.’s and I don’t feel like I am trying to figure out just who the hell is the owner of the voice I am reading.

I liked Neva, she may have found it really hard to trust Travis but honestly that just added to the excitement and thankfully she got over it before it got old. Travis on the other hand is hunted by his past and may be in denial of some of the things happening right in front of him, he is strong and refuses to leave Neva until she is no longer a danger to society and he shows her that being a changeling doesn’t equal being a murderer.

Most of the characters that come into play where fun to read, I do have some issues with the villain and her relationship whit our heroin, the foundation of it all leaves to believe some of the things wouldn’t have developed the way they did if their past was truly what we end up learning.

Sometimes this story would throw me of my game with some of the revelations or plot twists it we got, sometimes it was really on the safe side of thing when I feel that this story could have taken some of those opportunities to shine.

Rating: 

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{Review} Snowbound with the Soldier by Jennifer Faye

Publication date: October 1st 2013

Publisher: Harlequin

ISBN-13: 99780373742615

Synopsis  

Seven years have passed since Kara saw Jason, since Jason broke their engagement during Christmas and enlisted in the army without a proper explanation.

Now the loft that Kara’s been working for has been sold and there are really strong rumors that the new management want’s their people to move in, but all those rumors dull up when she finds out exactly who the new management is.

There are times when it’s just time to quit the military life, sometimes it forces you to quit, Jason is a member of the last circle. Now as a civilian he is trying to rebuild parts of the life he left, discovering that Kara is still in town is one of the few surprises that have been waiting 7 years to be discovered.

Review

Snowbound with the Soldier is my first experience with sweet romance, I usually shy away when the genres adult + romance mix because in a lot of them bum! They have sex problem solved which means I’ve either had a really bad experience with this two genres mixed together or that that’s usually how the work, either way I really liked the way this book dealt with romance .

The awkwardness and the first interactions with Jason and Kara feel real and I like how they’re relationship evolves, how not everything is clean and each characters shows the reader their doubts, their hopes and fears.

I like how in this story the reader is a silent and helpless confident that even if he gets a bigger picture the reader is still trying to put two and two together to see everything that happened in this characters during those seven years.

There was a large range of important subjects touched in this story, each one had its place and even if I didn’t like how some of them where enact each of them portrayed  the right message at the end.

I would suggest this story for all of you that will be doing some travelling for Christmas or New Years, this story would be a good companion during those trips or a good little companion during those times out we sometimes need during the holidays.

Rating:

3.5 Broken TV’s

{Trailer Sunday} Phoenix Rising by Phip Ballantine & Tee Morris

Evil is most assuredly afoot—and Britain’s fate rests in the hands of an alluring renegade . . . and a librarian.

These are dark days indeed in Victoria’s England. Londoners are vanishing, then reappearing, washing up as corpses on the banks of the Thames, drained of blood and bone. Yet the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences—the Crown’s clandestine organization whose bailiwick is the strange and unsettling—will not allow its agents to investigate. Fearless and exceedingly lovely Eliza D. Braun, however, with her bulletproof corset and a disturbing fondness for dynamite, refuses to let the matter rest . . . and she’s prepared to drag her timorous new partner, Wellington Books, along with her into the perilous fray.

For a malevolent brotherhood is operating in the deepening London shadows, intent upon the enslavement of all Britons. And Books and Braun—he with his encyclopedic brain and she with her remarkable devices—must get to the twisted roots of a most nefarious plot . . . or see England fall to the Phoenix!

{Audio Book Review} Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill

Series: Chicagoland Vampires #1

Publication date: December 23, 2010

Publisher: Tantor Audio

ISBN-13: 978140014936000

Synopsis

Merit was a 27 year old grad student in the University of Chicago, happy with her life and 100% human. But one night it all changed... after being attacked and ends up being transformed into a vampire against her will, the explication she got was... "it's the only way we could have saved your life" but Merit isn't sure it was for the best when she is forced to make her academic life come to a sudden end while all her dreams and plans jump out the window.

She is put to the test right away as the only "survivor" of a series of murders and she feels its her responsibility to help put an end to them, the only problem is she has to play nice with her Lord, the extremely attractive and charming Ethan Sullivan who isn't afraid to accept the attraction between them nor is he afraid to say he isn't the least pleased with it.

Merits to do list is a little extreme for a newly turned vamp, she has to accept the fact that she is now a vampire, drink blood, remember to stay away from the sun, stay alive, find out who was the person that attacked her and not to kill or succumb to the charm of her Lord.

Review

If you are thinking of starting the Chicagoland Vampires series in its audio book version you may want to listen to the sampler, Cynthia Holloway the narrator of this audio book, isn’t the best person to give a voice to this story and believe you want to know what you are getting yourself into.

I read this story and suddenly I wanted to try another version of this book hoping that it would feel like I was reading this book for the first time, get to hear the phrases I love and get to see the first interactions between Merit and Ethan Sullivan.

All those expectations of dynamism and the narrator’s voice inviting the listener to get lost in this book where lost at the first chapter, there weren’t really any inflections on her voice, any intentions while this book was being read or any life as she walked us around the Some Girls Bite.

I dared review this DNF book because I have a base, I read the book then tried the audio book and between us guys I am sticking with the books, I prefer to listen to the characters in this series interact in my head then the work that Cynthia Holloway voiced them.

In case that your first try on the Chicagoland Vampires series was the audio book I would strongly recommend blacking out that experience and giving the physical or e-book version of this book a try.

Rating:

{Blog Tour Review} Before Midnight by Jennifer Blackstream

Series: Blood Prince #1

Publication date: July 1st, 2013

Publisher: Key Publishing

ASIN: B00DPYZZXA

Synopsis

After a weird event in a land that connects different planes where a werewolf, a vampire, a demon, an angel and a god meet under a mysterious tree there only lies hope for a prophecy to come to life.

After each of the men part our story follows Etienne the werewolf prince that carries the consequences of a blessing gone wrong that has left him being half of what he once was now he is the future heir of a kingdom he can no longer protect the way he was destined to.

As faith would have it there is a solution for his terrible “blessing” but he must act fast yet a stop on the woods marks an encounter with a creature that makes him find the peace he has not known since the day marked him.

Review

Before midnight is an entertaining story that from the very beginning lets you know that if you wish to truly discover all the secrets this book hides you will have to continue with this series up until the very end.

The way Jennifer Blackstream blended and twisted the story we all know as Cinderella was beyond my expectations, she made this story feel original, fresh and at times as if I was reading it for the first time.

Loupe the gentle creature that catches Etienne’s eye was entertaining to get to know, the way her circumstances changed and her dreams came crumbling down on her don’t present her as a truly weak women but as a strong woman in the making.

My main issue with this book would be the sex scene in this book, for me if there is going to be a scene giving a lot of importance on the sexy times it better be relevant to the story and in my opinion it wasn’t relevant to dedicate such a word count to this event but also the time it took place wasn’t the smartest one.

Before Midnight is a fast and interesting read that will let you feeling that there is more about this Cinderella then you think you knew perfect for those that don’t mind an explicit sex scene.

Rating:

 3.5 Broken TV's

{Spotlight} I Kissed a Dog by Carol Van Atta

Series: The Werewolves of the West Series Book One

Publisher: Cambridge Press US under the umbrella of Charles River Press (CRP)

ISBN:  1936185725 

ISBN13: 9781936185726

ASIN: B009SV179U

Cover Artist: Ann Falcone

Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuDqevNSXM

Book Description: 

Chloe Carpenter isn't like other women. She can communicate with animals. A gift she unwrapped following one of her frequent dances with death.

 In her otherwise wacky life, she's finally found a semblance of sanity working at the Plum Beach Wildlife Park, where her unique talents can make life or death differences for the animals in her care. That semblance is shattered when a new veterinarian roars into the park in his spiffed up sports car and sets his golden gaze on her. If she had her way, he'd roar right back out.

Problem: He's her new coworker and he's saved her life twice - in the past twenty-four hours.

Zane Marshall, Enforcer for the Pacific Pack of purebred werewolves, has a job to do - figure out who or what is mutilating the young men of Plum Beach.

With orders to find the woman who talks to animals, he accepts a position working alongside the fiery Chloe Carpenter, a female who ignites his interest far more than he ever expected. Remarkably, she's the one elusive female with potential to bring meaning and passion to his empty existence.

Problem: She despises him.

Together, they're forced to unravel a mystery of supernatural proportions, a murderous mystery with eternal implications for everyone. In the process, they discover opposites really do attract.

Major Problem: Zane is pledged to another woman, and she'll do anything to keep him from Chloe.

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About the Author:

Like most authors, Carol Van Atta is no stranger to the written word. She penned a short novel at age 12 (somewhat frightening illustrations included, and lots of bunnies were involved), and had a creative writing piece published in her high school newspaper (about David Bowie's Diamond Dogs LP). Yes, she's an ex-80's chick.

Devouring books from numerous genres, Carol developed a deep thirst/hunger for more reading material, and could almost always be found with her nose in a book.

She has contributed to several popular inspirational anthologies and devotional books, and lives in the rainy wetland of Oregon with a terrifying teen (another in college) and a small zoo of animals. She is taking an undetermined hiatus away from inspirational writing to delve into her darker side. (Though you can check out her latest spiritual suspense novel, Soul Defenders). It is rumored that this genre-jumping occurred after Carol discovered too suspicious red marks on her neck, and experienced an unquenchable urge to howl at the moon.

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{Blog Tour Review}Silver Hollow by Jennifer Silverwood

Publication Date: November 9, 2012

Publisher: SilverwoodSketches

ISBN-13: 9781481000147

Synopsis

Writing has always been her passion, but when she is pushed by her editor to write paranormal romance Ami loses her focus.

Now she is getting a letter from her only living relative asking her to join him in England, and after a bizarre series of events that put Ami’s life on the line she decides to flee to her uncle.

What she finds in the Silver Hollow is a lot of colorful characters, a strange house and a hell lot of questions that need answering.

Review

Jennifer Silverwood takes us in a magical adventure where instead of mixing the England we’ve all heard about and sparkling with magic she makes a little nook where the world of the Silver Hollow breaths and lives.
The way the characters talked was weird, not in a frustrating way nor in a way that will make you feel left out (although you might find yourself thinking 'what the hell is he/she talking about' once or twice), I loved it because they helped give a sense that we were not in Kansas anymore but down the rabbit whole. It added a sense of the culture and that there was still a lot that this new world wasn't showing us.

This story may feel a little long, but not in the “Gosh, when is this story going to end” sense but in a sense that this is a story that needs to take its time while it answers but Ami and the readers questions about this new land, its folklore and its people.

I really enjoyed this book, even if I didn’t get my way in a couple of things that happened while this book developed. I would love to be a little brat about it, but honestly this is a good book my only suggestion would be to read it with time and don’t abandon it there are a lot of names going around and you might be lost when you try to pick it up.

Rating:

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{Blog Tour Review} Shooting Stars by H.D. Gordon

Series: A Surah Stormsong Novel #1

Publication date: March 15, 2013

Publisher: ShareAread

Synopsis

Over a thousand years ago a boy and a girl met, both victims from the Great War. Their meeting only lasted a couple of minutes but it was life changing moment.

Now the boy and the girl meet again, only as men and women and as the one to bring justice and the prime suspect of the investigation. Now the boy that fell in love with the princess must prove his innocence, but things will only get more complicated when Black Heart comes to take him away making it harder to explain himself and for him to walk out of this mess.

Review

I enjoyed the trip around Shooting Stars, for me it has a few things to work on but it is a nice journey to an unfamiliar world full of magic, creatures that may look like the ones we know here but couldn’t be farther from, royal drama and love.

The one quirk about this book that made me keep on wondering about the world the story is set in was when we stumbled into technology when this world didn’t seemed to have a need for it, when he get to read about the sign of the bar or the motorcycles that some of the guards use but then puff technology isn’t mentioned again in the book. I know this might not bother some of you but for me this makes my imagination falter and prevents me from getting a good idea of the settings.

I liked most of the characters in this book; I think that H.D. Gordon did a good job letting us know Surah, Charlie and Samson and making us hate other characters which will not be mentioned because of spoilery reasons.

Another thing that stole some of the taste in this story was the main villan, ok we get it he is cuckoo for cocoa puffs but… what else? I get it that he is driven by revenge and that there is more to the story but I would like to at least know what drove him to this point.

I really liked the love story in this book, it was sweet and even if we got to see more of the side of the male lead I am sure we will get to see how love really blossoms on Surah on the next book.

Being this my first H.D. Gordon experience I would have to say I liked it and enjoyed this book. Don’t be surprised if you see me reading and reviewing some of her other books.

Rating:

{Book Blast} Reinventing Claire by Darian Wilk

Reinventing Claire by Darian Wilk is FREE this week (2/25 to 3/1) on Amazon. Get your copy and find out how to enter to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card below.

Reinventing Claire by Darian Wilk

August 20, 2012 

People get divorced, but that's what happens to other people. That's what Claire thought anyway, until her husband, Charlie, tells her he wants a divorce.

Claire has no choice but to take on the title of Divorced Woman, and face the question she has no idea how to answer. Who is Claire without Charlie? Her family believes her newly divorced woes can be cured by landing herself a boyfriend. With her dating dunce cap in hand, Claire stumbles her way through the foreign territory of online dating.

A teacher from hell, a softball coach, and a sap later, Claire proclaims herself the dating idiot she thought she was, and fears she's doomed to be a lonely, crazy cat lady. But an accidental run-in with an old acquaintance might change everything. What starts with comparing dating battle wounds over a cup of coffee, quickly turns into something Claire had given up on.

As Claire discovers maybe there is love after Charlie after all, Charlie realizes his mistake. He wants her back, and he'll do anything to prove it to her. Now Claire must choose who deserves her heart, and if she's really willing to give it away again.

About the author:

Darian Wilk was born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the younger of two children.  While still a toddler her family moved back to their home state of Michigan, where she still lives today.  

After high school Darian tried her hand at college, majoring in Nursing, while she worked as a Physical Therapy Technician.  "I loved my job, but I still couldn't picture doing it forever," she says now.  But before she finished her degree she became pregnant, and focused her attention on the challenges of being a single mother to her daughter.

In 2005, Darian married her best friend, Steve, whom she met and became close friends with several years earlier.  In their second year of marriage, Darian became pregnant with her son.  She worked on and off throughout her twenties as a Home Health Aid to the elderly, but preferred to stay home and raise her babies. 

In 2007, her mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and Darian quit working to tend to her mom.  It was in those three years of taking care of her that Darian realized how precious, and short, life really is.  In her moms last year of life, she finally had the courage to pursue what her heart always secretly longed for; becoming a writer.  It was then that she started her debut novel, Love Unfinished, and continues her writing journey today. 

Find out more at DarianWilk.weebly.com. 

Giveaway Details

One winner will receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card.

Giveaway ends at midnight on March 1, 2013 EST.

Open internationally as long as you can use a Amazon.com gift card. 

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This book blast and giveaway is hosted by Krazy Book Lady.