Cover Reveal: The Elementals - Saundra Mitchell

The Elementals (The Vespertine #3)

by Saundra Mitchell

AETHERBORNE is the third and final book in Saundra Mitchell's trilogy that began with THE VESPERTINE.

Expected publication: June 4th 2013 by Houghton

Book Review (126): Blood Song - Rhiannon Hart

Blood Song (Lharmell #1)

by Rhiannon Hart

Publication: 1st September 2011

Publisher: Random House Australia

Pages: 290

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

I wanted to turn but I was held captive by the song on the wind. I’m coming, I told the voices. Please, wait for me.

When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more. 

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares?

My Thoughts...

Zeraphina is Princess of a land called Amentina, but the kingdom run by her mother Queen Renata is falling into disrepair, their crops are failing due to extreme cold weather, they have no money and the only way to survive is to have Lilith, Zeraphina's older sister marry a wealthy Prince.

Lilith's fiancee dies and after a brief period of mourning, Prince Amis of Pergamia requests her hand in marriage, encouraged more by her mother than her own desire to marry him she agrees, encouraged by Zeraphina who feels a pull towards the north where Pergamia is.

I was thinking of blood again so I went to practice my archery.

The pull that Zeraphina feels isn't normal, she craves blood and after a childhood illness which changed her hair and eye colour she knows she's not normal, she wants to find out more about what happened to her and feels going with her sister will give her some answers.

Once there she becomes accquainted with Rodden, the King's advisor, who has the same hair and eye colouring as she does and she realises that he's the same as she is and that he knows what they are and more about Lharmell where people like them are from.

Zeraphina and Rodden have an antagonistic love-hate relationship, their encounters with each other are quite funny and provide a lot of amusement throughout the story.

'Don't talk to me, don't look at me, and don't touch me,' I said, taking my arm back as soon as we reached the high table.

He snorted, 'That's rich, coming from someone I found only yesterday hiding under my bed.

Zeraphina takes it upon herself to find out anything and everything to do with Lharmell and tha war they have going on against Pergamia, after Rodden isn't forthcoming with information about the situation.

I loved the original and intriguing aspects to this story, and Hart has invented a world that had me captivated the whole way through.

I look forward to reading and discovering more of this series and the furthering of the will they-won't they relationship between Zeraphina and Rodden.

I give this 4/5.

Blog Tour: Amateur Angel - Karri Thompson / Review (125).

I'm happy to be today's stop on the Amateur Angel blog tour, hosted by Young Adult Novel Reader.

Amateur Angel

by Karri Thompson

Publication: 1st May 2012

Publisher: Comfort Publishing

Pages: 250

Genre: Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Only 18-years-old, Ashley is no ordinary teenager. Not only is she dead, but upon her death, she mistakenly enters the wrong line in the afterlife, a line meant for trained, guardian angels. With a pair of wings on her back, Ashley is sent to Los Angeles to replace another angel whose "assignment" was none-other-than Cannon Michaels, a current member of the band Sendher, the sexiest man alive, and Ashley's celebrity crush in life.
While exposed to Cannon's selfish, judgmental behavior and his reckless, rock-and-roll lifestyle, Ashley is far from meeting the requirements of a true guardian angel. She misses her family and friends. Will she ever be able to accept her own death? What will she do when she jeopardizes her position as an angel and Cannon's physical safety by falling in love with him?

My Thoughts...

Nooo..... please tell me there is going to be another book, you can't leave us hanging like that! I really liked this book it's a cute, adorable and a fast read, a great addition to all the angels books out there.

The fact that it was such a different take on angels made it fresh and exciting.

Ashley has died in a car accident on her eighteenth birthday, she finds herself in Heaven, she is ushered into a line all the while in disbelief that she's dead, instead thinking that she's dreaming, she finds herself wandering into a line not her own, next thing she knows she's sent back down to Earth into the middle of a guy's massage, who just happens to be Cannon Michaels the lead singer from Ashley's favourite band Sendher.

She learns from the masseuse Claire's angel that she is now Cannon's guardian angel, responsible for his safety.

But Ashley soon finds that Cannon is nothing like his public persona, he is definitely living the Hollywood lifestyle and seems to be on a downward spiral.

Gradually Ashley learns how to do the basic things like learning how to fly and touch things,  and things she shouldn't like having Cannon see her and feel her, which leads to his manager Jonathan thinking he's imagining her.

 And then the ending, well I sort of had an idea of what would happen but there was also a part I never would have guessed and that left me hoping and wishing for another book.

I loved all the characters and especially with Ashley through learning about her job as a guardian angel also had her growing up and knowing that she can't fix everything.

I urge everyone to read this book, it's really good!

I give this 4/5.

About Karri Thompson

As a first-time author, I cannot express- not even in words- how excited I am about the release of my debut novel, Amateur Angel.  It took a lot of hard work and sleepless nights.  There were many disappointments and rejections along the way, but in the end, my persistence and determination eventually paid off.  In many ways, I think writing a novel is easier than finding an agent to represent it and then a publisher to buy it.  Two years ago, I almost gave up on my dream to become an author, but then my son, Kyle, wrote a special poem for me, and it inspired me to write a new book and try again.  The new book was Amateur Angel.

Here is his poem:

        You fail and you fail,

        You fix and you fix,

        You wait and you wait,

        Until you succeed.

I hung this poem in my closet and read it every day when I was getting ready to go to work and each night before I went to bed.  It is still there and always will be.  I know what I’m about to say will sound like a cliché, but based on my own personal experience, the best advice I can give anyone is to always believe in your abilities, hold your head high, swallow your pride, accept criticism and then learn from it, and most importantly, never give up.

I grew up in San Diego County and attended San Diego State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in education, and my teaching credential.  I am a high-school English teacher in the East County of San Diego where I also live with my husband, our son, and two dogs.

Being a lover of Victorian literature, my favorite author is Charles Dickens although I haven’t quite finished reading all of his books.  Someday I’ll finally finish David Copperfield- I promise.  If you are one of my students, you are either laughing or shaking your head at this.

I lead a very busy life, but when I’m not teaching, grading papers, or attending my son’s soccer games, I find time to write novels, my greatest passion.  

Author's Links:

Website

Purchase on Amazon

Purchase on Barnes and Noble

Facebook

Twitter

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Feature And Follow Friday (39).

Q: What blogger inspires you? It can be any kind, it doesn’t have to be a book blog.

I wouldn't say that I've been inspired by just one blogger but by a whole heap of you, when I decided to start up my blog it's because of all the different blogs I came across that were so interesting and well put together.

Cover Reveal: Wicked Kiss - Michelle Rowen

Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers #2)

by Michelle Rowen

MY KISS CAN KILL. 

I used to be ordinary Samantha Day, but that's changed. Now, after one dark kiss from a dangerous boy, I can steal someone's soul...or their life. If I give in to the constant hunger inside me, I hurt anyone I kiss. If I don't...I hurt myself. 

Bishop is the one whose kiss I crave most, but if I kiss him, I'll kill him. Then there's another boy, one I can't hurt. One whose kiss seems to miraculously quell my hunger. They're both part of a team of angels and demons that's joined forces in my city to fight a mysterious rising darkness, an evil that threatens everyone I know and love. I just wonder if I'll be able to help Bishop-or if I'm just another part of the darkness he's sworn to destroy.... 

NIGHTWATCHERS 

When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

Expected publication: February 26th 2013 by Harlequin Tee

Waiting On Wednesday.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on....

Also Known As

by Robin Benway

ALSO KNOWN AS is the story of Maggie, a gifted teenage safecracker, who works alongside her parents as a spy for the mysterious entity known as the Collective. When she's assigned to infiltrate a private Manhattan high school, she's forced to make friends, investigate the mysterious Jesse, and solve the case, all without blowing her cover. 

Expected publication: February 2013 by Walker

The Fairest Beauty

by Melanie Dickerson

A daring rescue. A difficult choice.

Sophie desperately wants to get away from her stepmother's jealousy, and believes escape is her only chance to be happy. Then a young man named Gabe arrives from Hagenheim Castle, claiming she is betrothed to his older brother, and everything twists upside down. This could be Sophie's one chance at freedom—but can she trust another person to keep her safe?

Gabe defied his parents Rose and Wilhelm by going to find Sophie, and now he believes they had a right to worry: the girl's inner and outer beauty has enchanted him. Though romance is impossible—she is his brother's future wife, and Gabe himself is betrothed to someone else—he promises himself he will see the mission through, no matter what.
When the pair flee to the Cottage of the Seven, they find help—but also find their feelings for each other have grown. Now both must not only protect each other from the dangers around them—they must also protect their hearts.

Expected publication: December 24th 2012 by Zondervan

Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands #1)

by Sarah Fine 

"My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple."

A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos's best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance – hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn't just anyone – she's determined to save her best friend's soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife. 

As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she's captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city's endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn't – the dark city isn't the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

Expected publication: October 16th 2012 by Marshall Cavendish Children's/Amazon Children's Publishing