Monday 9 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (284): Unhinged (Splintered #2) - A.G Howard


Unhinged (Splintered #2)

Publication: 7th January 2014
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 400
Genre: Fantasy/Fairy-Tale Retellings
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.
My Thoughts.
Unhinged is the second book in the Splintered series by A.G Howard.

Wowza! What an ending, what a way to have people desperate to get their hands on the next book,  I will be desperately awaiting the next instalment, it's killing to be left hanging like this!

There were so many shocks and revelations in Unhinged, none so much as a certain vision of a future event, not what I was expecting at all, we learn Allysa's Mom's secrets that she has kept hidden, as well as a shock revelation regarding her Dad as well.

Then we have the 'love-triangle' involving Alyssa, Jeb and Morpheus, even after this book I still can't pick out of the two guys which one I hope that Alyssa will end up with, I'm hoping that this means that when it comes time for the final decision I'll be quite happy.

I can't say too much without spoiling the story but Alyssa is back from Wonderland, her Mom is back home and she is dating Jeb, unfortunately Wonderland is in trouble all thanks too a certain someone who has escaped and is wreaking havoc and of course the only person who can help fix the problem is Alyssa along with Morpheus who may or may not be helping whilst maybe keeping her best interests at heart.

Wonderland starts to encroach upon her mortal life with someone making their way into her world  for revenge, will Allysa be able to figure out who it is and what it is exactly that they want before it's too late?

I loved this so much more than the first book Splintered, this series seems to get better with each release, I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK!

A.G Howard has created such an amazingly, fantastic series with extremely appealing characters and an incredibly well thought out and written storyline that will have you craving for each and every new instalment.

Highly recommended!

I give this 5/5 stars.



Anita Grace Howard lives in the Texas panhandle, and is most at home weaving the melancholy and macabre into settings and scenes, twisting the expected into the unexpected. She’s inspired by all things flawed, utilizing the complex loveliness of human conditions and raw emotions to give her characters life, then turning their world upside down so the reader’s blood will race.

Married and mother of two teens (as well as surrogate mom to two Labrador retrievers), Anita divides her days between spending time with her family and plodding along or plotting on her next book.

When she’s not writing, Anita enjoys rollerblading, biking, snow skiing, gardening, and family vacations that at any given time might include an impromptu side trip to an 18th century graveyard or a condemned schoolhouse for photo ops.
  
Be sure to drop by her Twitter or Face Book Author Page and say "Hi." She's always up for meeting new friends!

Website: http://www.aghoward.com/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5186274.A_G_Howard

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Saturday 7 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (283): Afterparty - Ann Redisch Stampler


Afterparty

Publication: 31st December 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 384
Genre: Contemporary
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Emma is tired of being good. Always the dutiful daughter to an overprotective father, she is the antithesis of her mother -- whose name her dad won't even say out loud. That's why meeting Siobhan is the best thing that ever happened to her...and the most dangerous. Because Siobhan is fun and alluring and experienced and lives on the edge. In other words, she's everything Emma is not.

And it may be more than Emma can handle. 

Because as intoxicating as her secret life may be, when Emma begins to make her own decisions, Siobhan starts to unravel. It's more than just Dylan, the boy who comes between them. Their high-stakes pacts are spinning out of control. Elaborate lies become second nature. Loyalties and boundaries are blurred. And it all comes to a head at the infamous Afterparty, where debauchery rages and an intense, inescapable confrontation ends in a plummet from the rooftop... 

This explosive, sexy, and harrowing follow-up to Ann Redisch Stampler's spectacular teen debut, Where It Began, reveals how those who know us best can hurt us most.
My Thoughts.
Afterparty by Ann Redisch Stampler is not your ordinary, average contemporary story, there are quite a lot of resemblances to the movie Mean Girls, which keeps this book interesting.
Emma and her Father have finally settled down in California after constantly being on the road with her Dad's job, on her first day at her new school she makes friends with Siobhan, and it's not long before these two are inseperable, Siobhan soon has Emma lying to her Dad, sneaking out to parties, skipping school, drinking and smoking weed, seeming to become more mentally unstable as time goes on, Siobhan proves what kind of a friend she really is when she hooks up with Dylan, a boy that Emma has  had a crush on from her very first day.
Starting to realise how mean and spiteful Siobhan really is, with the more Emma tries to distance herself the worse she becomes especially after Emma starts dating Dylan herself.
It's when against her better judgement she goes to the Afterparty (a yearly huge party), which she and Siobhan had been planning to attend for most of the year, that tragedy strikes.
When Emma finally comes to realise what the pact that she made with Siobhan really meant it will change both their lives and leave them both fighting to live.
While I did enjoy this I found that I couldn't seem to stand most of the characters in this story, and unfortunately that meant that I couldn't really seem to care what happened to quite a few of them.
While I did like the concept, the characters let me down.
I give this 3/5 stars.


Where it Began marks the YA debut of Ann Redisch Stampler. She is the author of several picture books, including The Rooster Prince of Breslov. Her books have been an Aesop Accolade winner, Sydney Taylor notable books and an honor book, a National Jewish Book Awards finalist and winner, and Bank Street Best Books of the Year. Ann has two adult children and lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband.

Website:  http://annstampler.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnnStampler
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4949584.Ann_Redisch_Stampler


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Friday 6 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (282): Between A Rake And A Hard Place (The Royal Rakes #3) - Connie Mason & Mia Marlowe


Between a Rake and a Hard Place (The Royal Rakes #3)

Publication: 7th January 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Pages: 352
Genre: Historical Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult
When a royal's intended bride is kidnapped, only a rake can set things right...

Wealthy heiress Serena Osborne feels like her father is determined to sacrifice her on the marriage altar. The Duke of Kent is negotiating for a bride, and the wickedly appealing Sir Jonah Sharp is sent to woo the Lady Serena on the Duke's behalf. It only muddies the waters when she succumbs to Jonah's charm. Repeatedly. But Jonah has a secret agenda—to prevent the marriage at any cost. 

When Serena is kidnapped in a desperate attempt to force the royal betrothal, Jonah realizes his new agenda is to secure a bride—for himself.
My Thoughts.
Between A Rake And A Hard Place is the third and final book in The Royal Rakes trilogy by Connie Mason and Mia Marlowe.
I have so thoroughly enjoyed this series the combination writing duo of Connie and Mia have made these books so entertaining and enjoyable that it's a pity that there'll be no more.
Giving us extremely well written characters, I believe that they saved the best for last in giving us Sir Jonah Sharp and Lady Serena Osborne.
Serena is one of two women in the running for the hand of the Duke Of Kent arranged by her Father.
Then she happens to meet Jonah whilst completing a task off her list of things she wants to do before being tied down in marriage to the Duke, it's then she realises what attraction and passion really is, while fighting their feelings for each other.
Jonah of course is being blackmailed to 'ruin' Serena, if he fails he will be set up to take the fall for something that he never did but that will destroy his reputation forever.
If Jonah can somehow prove his innocence and Serena can stand up to her Father and admit her feelings about Jonah they may just both get their Happily Ever After that they both desperately want with each other.
This is definitely one of my favorite historical romance series, I highly recommend this one.
I give this 4/5 stars.


Mia's work has been featured in PEOPLE magazine's Best of 2010 edition. One of her books is on display at the Museum of London Docklands next to Johnny Depp memorabilia. Her books have been tapped for numerous awards including RomCon's Reader's Crown, RT Reviewers Choice and Publishers' Weekly named her Touch of a Rogue one of their 10 Best Romances!
Website: http://miamarlowe.com/index.php
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miamarlowe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mia_Marlowe
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1047085.Mia_Marlowe



Connie Mason is the best-selling author of more than fifty historical romances and novellas.  Her tales of passion and adventure are set in exotic as well as American locales.  Connie was named Story Teller of the Year in 1990 by Romantic Times and was awarded Career Achievement award in the Western category by Romantic Times in 1994.  Connie makes her home in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Prior to her first published work in 1984, Connie was a full time homemaker.  Always an avid reader, writing was one of Connie's dreams. 
In 1995 Connie was featured on a segment of the CBS news show 48 Hours, a television production that devoted an entire program to the romance novel industry.  Connie was also featured in an article published by National Inquirer.
In addition to writing and traveling, Connie enjoys telling anyone who will listen about her three children and nine grandchildren, and sharing memories of her years living abroad in Europe and Asia as the wife of a career serviceman.  In her spare time Connie enjoys reading, dancing, playing bridge and freshwater fishing.



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Thursday 5 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (281): The Surprise Holiday Dad (Safe Harbor #12) - Jacqueline Diamond


The Surprise Holiday Dad

I didn't realise at first that a) this was part of a series and that b) this was not the first book, the great thing is, is that it doesn't feel like you have to have read the books before this one, it reads well as a standalone, but because I really enjoyed this book, the settings and characters, I will definitely be hunting down the previous books, especially if they are all as well written and enjoyable as this story was.
I always seem to gravitate towards love stories that feature kids who are meeting a parent for the first time and the interaction between the two, adding in a little back story like this one did and I'm hooked.
After discovering that the Mother of his six year old son Reggie has died, Wade who has never been allowed to ever see his son, makes his way back to his hometown of Safe Harbor to finally meet his son and to be a part of his life, Reggie is being raised by his Mother's sister Adrienne who wants custody of him, but Wade refuses to let that happen, especially now that he has his son in his life.
Having to both compromise, with them both having Reggie's best interests at heart, they both discover that the three of them could become the family that they've all wanted.
If they could just admit their feelings for each other, they they could both end up with the Happily Ever After they deserve
I thoroughly enjoyed this, I read it in a matter of hours, Jacqueline's writing is great and her characters are extremely likeable, making for a great romance.
Highly recommended.
I give this 4/5 stars.


When you read an author's biography, sometimes it appears that everything went smoothly.  Well, I'm here to report that it took ten years of rejection slips (that's starting when I graduated from college--I also collected a few earlier) before I sold my first book.
It was a Regency romance called Lady in Disguise (1982), and it sold in hardcover to Walker and Co. for $2,500.  Not exactly a fortune even thirty years ago!  The good news is that I've reissued it on Amazon.com,BarnesandNoble.com, and on Smashwords, which distributes it widely.
But let's go back and hit the highlights…
I was born in 1949 in Menard, Texas.  My father, the only doctor in town, delivered me and my brother, who's two years older, at home with the assistance of a nurse. 
When I was six, we moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where he did his residency in psychiatry, and five years later, we moved to Nashville, Tennessee.  With a psychiatrist for a father and a ceramic sculptor for a mother, I grew up in a very creative environment.
I wrote my first story at age four or five.  By six, I knew I wanted to be a writer.  My early publications included an essay in the old American GirlMagazine and book reviews in our local paper.
After graduating from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, I spent a year in Europe on a writing fellowship from the Thomas Watson Foundation.  The play I wrote about Lorenzo de' Medici never did get produced, but I had a great time and learned a lot!  I still try to keep my Italian and French (both of which I'd studied for years) reasonably rust-free.
My next move, at age 23, was to Southern California, where my brother lived.  I worked briefly in public relations, then for two newspapers and The Associated Press bureau in Los Angeles.  I covered a variety of news stories as well as theater from 1980-1983.  In 1993-1994, I wrote a nationally distributed TV column for AP.  Along the way, I had the fun of interviewing stars including Michael Caine, Patrick Stewart, Debbie Reynolds, LeVar Burton, Dick Van Dyke, Pearl Bailey, Lily Tomlin, James Garner and many more.
All this time, I was writing plays, scripts and books.  Except for a couple of plays produced locally, they all came back with those painful rejection slips. 
In 1980, I fell in love with a PBS series based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.  I read all her books, discovered Regency romances, and got inspired. 
A year later, I sold my first two Regencies (the second was Song for a Lady, also now available as an ebook).  Since then, I've sold one horror novel (Echoes), one fantasy novel (Shadowlight), two hardcover mysteries (The Eyes of a Stranger and Danger Music), a paranormal romance (Touch me in the Dark) and romances in subgenres ranging from romantic suspense to screwball comedy.  My publishers have included William Morrow, St. Martin's, Berkley, Five Star, Walker and Co., and Harlequin.
I've written under the names Jacqueline Diamond, Jackie Hyman, Jackie Diamond Hyman, and (for Berkley's old Second Chance at Love line) Jacqueline Topaz, as well as one book under the name Jacqueline Jade for Silhouette Desire.  Publishers used to want exclusive names for an author; today, they're more likely to recognize the value of cross-publicizing. In reissuing my books, I'm putting them all under the Jacqueilne Diamond name, but using "writing as" where I originally used a different name.
I'm excited to have released my first original novel as an ebook. Out of Her Universe is a parallel worlds science fiction story that is very special to me. It's the first of a planned series.
My husband and I live in Southern California. Our younger son lives and teaches in Tucson, Arizona, while our older son works for Google.  



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Wednesday 4 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (280): The Vampire Hunter (In The Company Of Vampires #2) - Michele Hauf


The Vampire Hunter


Michele has been writing romance, action-adventure and fantasy stories for over nineteen years. Her first published novel was DARK RAPTURE.
France, musketeers, vampires and faeries populate her stories. And if she followed the adage 'write what you know', all her stories would have snow in them. Fortunately, she steps beyond her comfort zone and writes about countries she has never visited and of creatures she has never seen.
Michele blogs all over the internet. Check the Blog page to track her.
Michele can also be found on FaceBook and Twitter.
You can write to Michele at: PO Box 23, Anoka, MN 55303
or email: toastfaery@gmail.com

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Tuesday 3 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (279): Pregnant By Morning - Kat Cantrell


Pregnant by Morning

My Thoughts.
Pregnant By Morning was a very good, quick and easy read that took no time at all to get through.

Set in Venice, one night at a masquerade party two broken souls meet, Matt devastated by the loss of his wife eighteen months ago and pop singer Eva who's career as a singer was destroyed after a botched operation destroyed her vocal chords, leaving her to never be able to sing ever again.

The attraction in instant, the chemistry is hot and what is meant to be a one night stand ends up being a whole lot longer as Eva moves her stuff in.

But these two are both carrying emotional baggage, and have both run and hidden away from their problems. Over their time together they both help each other to overcome their problems, but when Eva discovers that she is pregnant, that's when the relationship starts to fall apart.

Can these two stubborn people put aside their differences and finally admit their feelings for each other?

A great romance that I very much enjoyed.

I give this 3/5 stars.


Kat read her first Harlequin novel in third grade and has been scribbling in notebooks since she learned to spell. What else would she write but romance? She majored in Literature, officially with the intent to teach, but somehow ended up buried in middle management at Corporate America, Inc.

Kat became a stay-at-home mom and devoted nap time to writing. After many thousands of words, her dream of publication finally came true. When she's not writing about characters on the journey to happily ever after, she can be found at a soccer game, watching Friends or dancing with her kids to Duran Duran and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Kat, her husband and their two boys live in North Texas. She's a proud member of Romance Writers of America®. Kat was the 2011 Harlequin So You Think You Can Write winner and a 2012 RWA® Golden Heart® finalist for best unpublished series contemporary manuscript.

Website: http://katcantrell.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kat-Cantrell-Author/164101746941195
Twitter: https://twitter.com/katcantrell
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6468593.Kat_Cantrell


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Monday 2 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (278): Hero Worship - Christopher E. Long.


Hero Worship

Publication: 8th January 2014
Publisher: Flux
Pages: 240
Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
Ever since becoming an IWP—Individual with Powers—Marvin Maywood has dreamed of joining the Core, a group of gifted heroes who save lives and stop crimes. But because he's a homeless teenager who is forbidden to use his amazing powers, wanting and achieving that dream are two very separate things.

But when Marvin saves a family from dangerous hoodlums with his incredible strength and speed, his chance to try out for the Core comes at last. The opportunity seems like a dream come true—until he realizes that the idyllic hero life he imagined is just a mask for the corrupt reality. And when a beloved hero is murdered, Marvin is suspected of being the villain behind the crime.
My Thoughts.
Hero Worship is a standalone superhero/fantasy novel by Christopher E. Long.
This book was such a delight to read, finishing it in half a day, the world building and characters were very well done and made for a quick and easy read.
Reminiscent to me of the movie 'Sky High' in some ways, the hot girl becomes interested in the potentially powerful teenager whilst pushing aside his friends and never realising that you can't take some things at face value no matter how much you want to.
Marvin and his friends Yvonne and Kent are considered 'dirties', individuals with unclean powers (children are tested when they are younger to discover whether they have dirty or clean powers) and so have to hide their abilities just to get by, Marvin is fascinated by The Core, the organization of Superhero's with 'clean' powers who rid the city of all criminals, and who happen to be Marvin's idol's much to the chagrin of his friends.
One night Marvin saves a family from a bunch of youths trying to rob them, and finds the next day that he's been outed by using his powers, and so The Core contact him to let him try-out for a prestigious position in their group, teaming up with the youngest member ever Eliza (aka: Roisin), Marvin discovers that The Core isn't all they make themselves out to be and are in fact corrupt, but when he is set up for the death of one of their popular and esteemed hero's he finds himself a wanted man unless he can somehow prove his innocence, but with not only the superhero's after him but the general population as well, Marvin will find himself hunted down until the truth comes out.
I can see this book being turned into a series, it really does have the potential there, but in saying that it works really well as a standalone novel as well.
For those of you who like superhero and underdog stories you should definitely pick this one up, a very well written story, that will keep you entertained all the way through.
I give this 4/5 Stars.


Christopher’s debut young adult novel,Hero Worship, will be published in early 2014 by Flux. He has worked for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, Boom! Studios and Image Comics. Christopher’s magazine writing has appeared in Flaunt Magazine, Anthem Magazine, and Lemonade Magazine. His short fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Spinetingler Magazine, and Powder Burn Flash.
He was born in Seattle, Washington, raised in Logan, Utah, and currently lives in Southern California with his wife and son.


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Sunday 1 December 2013

(ARC) Book Review (277): Almost Super - Marion Jensen


Almost Super

Publication: 21st January 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 256
Genre: Fantasy
Age Appropriate: Middle-Grade
Buy It: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository
Savvy meets The Incredibles in this fresh, funny middle-grade debut about two brothers in a family of superheroes who must find a way to be heroic despite receiving powers that are total duds.

Each leap year, on February 29th, at 4:23 p.m., every member of the Bailey family over the age of twelve gets a superpower. No one knows why, and no one questions it. All the Baileys know is that it's their duty to protect the world from those evil, supervillainous Johnsons.

Today, Rafter Bailey and his brother Benny are finally going to get their superpowers. Benny wants to be a speedy, and Rafter hopes he gets super strength so he can save the day just like his grandfather. But when their powers arrive, they are, well, duds. Rafter can light matches on polyester, and Benny can turn his innie belly button into an outie.

Suddenly Rafter and Benny's world is turned upside down. Especially when they realize that Juanita Johnson, the villain in Rafter's algebra class, thinks that her family are the superheroes and the Baileys are the villains.

What if everything Rafter thought he knew about superheroes turns out to be a lie? He may not have an awesome power, but with the help of Benny and an unexpected friend, he could just be almost super.
My Thoughts.
Almost Super by Marian Jensen is an action packed story with an extremely entertaining plot and equally intriguing characters.

 February 29......4.23pm

 It was meant to be the best day of brothers Rafter and Benny's life, this was the day they were both to come into their superhero powers, instead what they get is far from superhero like in any way.

 With their dreams shattered of aiding their family in the fight against their arch-enemies the Johnson family, whom also have super powers and are the villains in the town, Rafter and Benny worry about coming face to face with Juanita Johnson a classmate who also got her powers the same time as the boys and now would be able to defeat them both.

 But each family is under the same belief that each other are the villains, can they finally put their differences aside to help defeat an even bigger threat?

 I don't get the chance to read a whole lot of middle-grade books and when I do I love it when I find an extremely well written one as this one is.

 From the way this ended I'm hopeful that this is the first book in a series, I would love to continue on with this story.

 For those who like stories with a whole lot of action and adventure definitely pick this up!

 I give this 4/5 Stars.

By day I’m a mild-mannered instructional design manager at American Express. By night, I write books. Superhero books. Books that will make you laugh, cry (because you’re laughing so hard), and throw your fist in the air and shout “Hiiiyiiyiyiyiiiyi!” It’s not as hard to pronounch as you may think.
My first book, Almost Super, is set to come out in January, 2014 with Harper Collins.

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