Book Review (204): Ascension (The World Of Ascension #1) - Caris Roane

Ascension (The World of Ascension #1)

by Caris Roane

Publication: 28th December 2010

Publisher: St Martin's Paperbacks

Pages: 469

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Age Appropriate: Adult

Alison Wells is no ordinary woman. Born with supernatural powers, she can never make love to a man without putting him in grave danger. But when her special vision reveals a glorious muscled man soaring overhead on mighty wings, she feels an overwhelming attraction she cannot resist—even as he tells her: "I have come for you. Your blood belongs to me."

Kerrick is a vampire and a warrior who has fought his hunger for a woman's love for the past two hundred years. As a Guardian of Ascension, he is sworn to protect Alison from the death vamp armies who crave her blood and her power. But Kerrick has cravings of his own—a forbidden longing to open his heart and veins to Alison. To share his blood…satisfy his thirst…and seal their fates forever.

Ascension is the first in Caris Roane's paranormal romance series thatRomantic Times calls "a series with epic potential."

My Thoughts.
This books is a fantastic start to the series, if you're a fan of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Lords Of The Underworld, then definitely check this out.

A band of Warrior's who call themselves the Guardians Of Ascension, spend their nights keeping Mortal Earth safe from the death vamps that think of humans as nothing but food.

Alison whom is a human, has lived most of her life with supernatural abilities ranging from folding (moving from one place to another in the blink of an eye), visions and immense strength which landed her last boyfriend in the hospital, what she doesn't know is that she is about to ascend (acquire more power) and become a part of Second Earth where people like her live once they've ascended and also the home of the Warrior's.

When she is assigned Warrior Kerrick to guard her through her ascension it triggers the breh-hedden between the two of them, it occurs when two soul-mates find each other, both drawn to each others distinctive scent that only each other can smell, (every person has a unique scent), Alison's is lavender whilst Kerrick's is Cardamon, but with them both fighting their attraction to each other because of past relationships, and the leader of the death vamps Greaves only to happy to acquire Alison for himself the battle is on to get her through her ascension and away from Greaves clutches.

I cannot wait to continue on with this series, if you like your paranormal romances with hot alpha males and steamy love scenes then pick this book up.

I give this 5/5.

Blog Tour & Giveaways: Reaper's Novice (Soul Collector #1) - Cecilia Robert, Book Review (203).

Reaper's Novice (Soul Collector)

by Cecilia Robert

Publication: 10th January 2013

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services

Pages: 300

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon

**Reaper's Novice was previously published as a short story installment. It will be released in January 2013 as full length novel.**

17- year- old Ana Maria Tei’s life has always been perfect: loving parents, good grades, and a future so bright it outshone the sun. But now words like “separation” and “divorce” are sending her world plummeting to hell. Determined to keep her family intact, Ana plans a family-bonding trip from Vienna to Tuscany. Except fate has other plans. Ana’s parents and siblings are killed in a car accident on their way to pick Ana up from school.

Enter Grim, aka Ernest. He promises to relinquish the four souls if Ana agrees to trade her soul for theirs and serve a lifetime as his novice. In order for Ana to graduate from her Reaper’s Novice station to a Soul Collector graduate, Grim puts her to test. To her horror, she finds out becoming a Reaper’s Novice didn’t happen by chance. It was preordained, and she is forced to make a choice: save her family’s souls or come to terms with who she really is and complete the task set for her.

My Thoughts.

I'm so glad that I joined up to be a part of this blog tour otherwise I doubt that I would ever have come across this book, or the fantastic storyline that Cecilia has created.

Full of all the things that I love to read about in any book: action/adventure, love, angst, loss and the main character coming into their own.

I grew to care so much for these characters, our heroine Ana is a character that I really liked,  and besides a couple of characters that I didn't care for (the baddies) I found no fault with any of them which is refreshing.

I really loved that the story was set in Vienna, I can honestly say that I've never read a book set there and it was a nice change as most books you find these days are all set in America, I loved reading about the landmarks whilst making my way through the book.

After witnessing the fatal car crash that killed her family she makes a deal with Ernest a Grim Reaper that he can have her soul if he lets her family live, agreeing to the bargain he tells Ana that for the next thirteen months he will train her and if she passes the tests presented to her he will let her families souls go.

And so begins her introduction to reaping souls along the way she'll meet some interesting and unusual people/creatures, among them Zig another Reaper who's hot and funny and whom I'm hoping will end up with Ana eventually.

My only complaint that I have is that part towards the end, those who've read the book will know what I'm talking about, which had me in tears, it was so emotional but I can also understand why it happened, I just wish it didn't.

I look forward to the next book and I hope it won't be too long a wait, a fantastic start to a new series, I highly recommend this one.

I give this 5/5.

: The author is giving away some super awesome stuff for this tour and we have broken it all down into three unique giveaways all of which will be open internationally!
Giveaway #1: 2 eBook copies of Reaper’s Novice: a Rafflecopter giveaway Giveaway #2: Two $15 Amazon gift cards: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway #3: The Swag: Violin magnet, violin pin, and a beaded necklace/bracelet: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cecilia Robert lives in Vienna with her two children, has an incurable obsession with books, anything romantic, TV and medieval architecture. When not working in her full time job, catching up with her two children, writing or reading, she can be found, knitting or crocheting, taking photos of old buildings.

Social Media links: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CeCeMR 

Blog: cecereadandwrite.blogspot.com 

Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/CeciliaMRobert?ref=tn_tnmn 

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ceciliarobert/ 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/Cece26

Monday's Mailbox.

Only one book arrived in my mailbox today and it's a book I brought from The Book Depository.

Effortless (Thoughtless #2) - S.C Stephens

Blog Tour And Giveaway: The Darkening Dream - Andy Gavin

The Darkening Dream

by Andy Gavin 

Publication: 10th January 2012

Publisher: Mascherato Publishing

Pages: 382

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Age Appropriate:Young Adult

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand. 
With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?
No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be herself

BIO:

Andy Gavin is a serial creative, polymath, novelist, entrepreneur, computer programmer, author, foodie, and video game creator. He co-founded video game developer Naughty Dog and co-created Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter. He started numerous companies, has been lead programmer on video games that have sold more than forty million copies, and has written two novels including The Darkening Dream, a dark historical fantasy that puts the bite back in vampires.

ONLINE LINKS:

website: http://all-things-andy-gavin.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin

Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/andygavin

GR: http://www.goodreads.com/asgavin

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/andrewgavin/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Gavin

BUY NOW LINK:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Darkening-Dream-ebook/dp/B006PIMYLY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351633149&sr=8-2&keywords=the+darkening+dream• Amazon paper book 

Giveaway: 1 50.00 GC , 1 Signed Poster, 1 Signed Game, and 4 Bookmarks Rafflecopter a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday's Mailbox.

Today I received a mix of review books and books that I've purchased myself.

For Review.
The Kill Order (Maze Runner #0.5) - James Dashner
Fearless (Mirrorworld #2) - Cornelia Funke
(A Big Thanks To Scholastic Australia)

Brought. Blue Bloods: The Graphic Novel - Melissa De La Cruz
Shadow's Edge (Shadow's Edge #1) - Maureen Lipniski

Cover Reveal: Crossing The Line (Pushing The Limits #1.5) - Katie McGarry

Crossing the Line (Pushing the Limits #1.5)

by Katie McGarry

Katie McGarry captivated readers with her “riveting, emotional”* Young Adult debut, Pushing the Limits. In this gripping novella, she tells the story of Lila and Lincoln, who discover that sometimes it’s worth crossing the line for love…

Lila McCormick, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

Expected publication: April 1st 2013 by Harlequin TEEN

And The Winner Of The Young Adult Faeries & Fantasy Hop Is....

Entry #1033Kt A.

Congratulations! I've sent an email to the winner.