Posts by Nichole
With a Kiss by Stephanie Fowers Excerpt
There are seven rules of the faery kingdom that Halley Starr must never break:
1. No trespassing sacred faery territory
2. Don’t ever say thank you
3. Using a faery’s given name is a no-no
4. Never break a promise to a faery
5. Faery music is forbidden
6. Resist all faery food
7. And never, never fall in love with a faery
But Halley is cursed. Yeah. No joke. She can barely survive Omak High with that shard of ice in her heart. How could she possibly be a proper godmother and stop Rumpelstiltskin from taking the heir of the faery kingdom? And let’s be honest, there is no way she’ll go with Goldilocks (some hot faery guy) who won’t bother telling Halley his name or that she looks like she’s talking to herself when he’s around. Not a chance.
And really, who can blame her?
If Halley wants her heart back again, she can’t worry about the rules…
With a Kiss is 0.99$ for a limited time on Amazon. Go get your copy!
Stop the clock from striking twelve
Who is Bridgette anyway?
1. Loser of Omak High
2. Girl who rubs her fingers raw working fast food
3. Victim of the evil stepmother who runs the group home
4. Not-so-proud owner of a hearth where fire-starting goblins live
5. Asylum wannabe with occasional schizophrenic episodes
Not even Bridgette knows. Not that she can do anything about it. Besides, her godmother is supposed to save her, not the other way around! But Halley Starr is a little busy fighting Rumpelstiltskin flunkies and his beanstalk, so her godmother sends some rude faery guy to help Bridgette instead. It’s up to him to make sure she gets that true love’s kiss that will undo the banishment curse, except he seriously knows nothing about love or faery hunters, red riding hood, spindles…or high school!
Excuse me?
Even if he did, how is Bridgette supposed to find true love if everyone she loves disappears?
Will it be happily ever after or the end?
Daphne’s sister and stepsister are in big BIG trouble!
1. It’s the third and final day
2. Rumpelstiltskin plans to suck their powers dry
3. The queen wants them dead
4. The wolves switched sides
5. The world is about to end
6. And did they seriously expect to keep this all from Daphne?
Oh yeah, A LOT of trouble! Daphne Starr pricks her finger on a spindle and it awakens the power that was always within her. That’s a big time no no! Now Rumpelstiltskin and some evil queen are after her. Even more annoying, the biggest player at Omak High is a shapeshifter and he goes beast on her, dragging her into a beanstalk and getting them stuck in a time-warp. He won’t stop asking her to marry him to get to her powers. I mean, give up already! Sure, it’s cool when she scores matching boots with the weirdo cat, and some cute faery guy accidentally tags along for the ride, but…
Enough is enough already!
Halley and Bridgette had better get her out of this—especially since she only has until the battery runs out of her cell phone before she loses…to a beast.
Excerpt:
The clatter woke my shadow from her catnap and she sat up on my bed, her formerly perfect hair askew. Oh sure, she could sleep!
“Get away from the door!” Hobs warned. I turned to see it ripping from its hinges. Misty fingers traveled through the cracks. “Start singing!” His voice cracked. “Keep it bad!” I ran for my radio, singing at the top of my lungs. Maybe I could give the Banshees something better than my insubstantial voice. I clicked the radio onto our only rock station. “Yes, good, good,” Hobs said. “Find the worst song you can!”
“We don’t have that many stations here!” I argued.
“Find one about a truck or a dog or something! Something country. Faster!”
I traveled furiously through the channels, found a song about a star crossed-lover, and turned it up loud. The Banshees tried to out-wail it with their chants and I pumped the volume up all the way, trying not to snap the knob off in my panic. The Banshees pounded against the door, but I could tell they were losing their strength in the face of the competition. Babs’ lower lip jutted out. I stroked her soft bangs away from her face, trying to comfort her. I covered her ears. “Is this why faeries love music?” I shouted. “It keeps the Banshees away?”
“Banshees are faeries!” Hobs shouted through the din.
“They don’t look like faeries!”
“They’re cursed to roam the earth. They were naughty. They were the maidservants of Queen Ratis when the treasures were lost.”
I put my fingers to my lips with a shrill shriek. “Don’t say her name!”
He gave me an impatient look. “Ratis is not the hag! Don’t worry. She was the keeper of the treasures. And besides, it’s what we call her—nobody knows her real name. Even if I knew it, I would never . . .” The door warped in front of us and I yelped, dragging Babs toward the bathroom. “Oh, no you don’t . . .” Hobs tugged us both back. “Don’t let them corner you. They tear down walls—you can’t.”
“Why aren’t they tearing down this wall then?”
“Would you want to be in here?” he cried. Well, no! Hobs breathed in deeply, pacing the room around us.
Giveaway:
What Should I Read Next? (7)
Hi Everyone! Welcome back!
Every Sunday you guys get a chance to vote on what I am going to read next. Last week you guys voted and chose Requiem by Lauren Oliver Stay tuned for a review!
Let me know (or link me to your website) in the comments section what books you’ve received this week or what you’re planning on reading next!
Take a look at this weeks choices!
Everneath (Everneath #1) - Brodi Ashton
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned-to her old life, her family, her boyfriend-before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.
Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance-and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.
Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.
I’ll be honest, it was the cover that drew me to Everneath. I didn’t really care what the synopsis was. I was giving this book a shot no matter what, because the cover is freakin gorgeous. Kiona actually reviewed this book in January, 2012, and she adored it. You can find her review here.
Everneath started out really strong. I loved all three of the main characters, Nikki, Cole and Jack. I’ve been having a problem lately where I’m not falling in love with the main female character, but this book took me out of that funk. I really enjoyed it. I thought that it was light and fluffy with a supernatural twist, and I really enjoyed that.
Nikki’s character bothered me a little bit, because she’s very miserable and depressed for a big chunk of the book. She just spent a century in the Everneath with Cole, and she is now back in the human world after being missing for about 6 months. Before she went missing, she had been dating Jack, which obviously led to a not very good situation when she returned. So, I understood why she was so upset, but I hate reading about that. I just wanted to read about something uplifting.
For once, though, I didn’t automatically sway to the bad guy. I actually really liked the good guy in this series, Jack. He wasn’t a pushover. He was smart, strong, and he really wanted to help out Nikki with all of her problems. I didn’t find him controlling like I do with most other YA main interests. I thought that he was a really great candidate for Nikki’s heart.
On the other hand, I also really enjoyed Cole’s character. I didn’t fall head over heels in love with him, though, because he really didn’t make himself that known or available during the book. Yes, he’s a main character and has lots of scenes, but he really hasn’t gotten the opportunity to fully express himself. I’m hoping to see a lot more of that in the second book.
The ending of Everneath was very predictable. I knew what was going to happen wayyyyyy before it did. I wish that there would have been some shocking twist that knocked my socks off. I’m getting really tired of predicting everything that happens in books. I want to see authors start taking risks and straying from the norm.
Overall, I really enjoyed Everneath. I thought that it was a great first start to a potentially amazing series. Did it blow me away? No. Would I buy the book? No. But it’s definitely a book that I will continue to follow, even if it is through my library. I’m really excited to see what’s next for Nikki, Cole and Jack, and I will be shocked if I am left disappointed.
Pages: 370
Publication Date: January 24th, 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins/ Balzer & Bray
Rating: : 
Teaser Quote: “Look, Nik, I know you don’t like public scrutiny lately. If you stand off to the side, all mopey and such, without a date, you’ll stick out like a nun at a strip club.” He leaned in. “Trust me, I’ve seen one. A nun at a strip club, that is. Everyone was staring at her.”
Amber Garr’s Guest Review of Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand
Review of Dirty Blood by Heather Hildenbrand
Summary from Goodreads:
I killed a girl last night. I did it with my bare hands and an old piece of pipe I found lying next to the dumpster. But that’s not the part that got me. The part that scared me, the part I can’t seem to wrap my head around and still has me reeling, was that when she charged me, her body shifted – and then she was a wolf. All snapping teeth and extended claws. But by the time I stood over her lifeless body, she was a girl again. That’s about the time I went into shock… And that was the moment he showed up.
Now, all I can do is accept the truths that are staring me in the face. One, Werewolves do exist. And Two, I was born to kill them.
The Review:
Dirty Blood was an enjoyable read for me. Heather captured my interest from the beginning and I found that I looked forward to my “reading time” each day. The reader is pulled into the supernatural world rather quickly and I liked that. Tara learns more than she bargained for when she has a run-in with an angry wolf and her whole world quickly changes. She meets Wes, learns the truth about her heritage, and is forced into a hidden world all in the matter of a couple of weeks. Tara is a strong character that readily accepts her new fate and I’m looking forward to see what will happen with her. Let’s talk about Wes…I liked him. I think Heather did a nice job expressing his internal struggles to obey his orders or help Tara understand. That being said, I didn’t fully believe the connection between Tara and Wes. It started out exciting and good, but then very quickly turned to “I love you” and “I love you too” that I just didn’t believe. And then there were the talking wolves. I am a huge fan of fantasy (of all kinds) and enjoy reading books that challenge me to ignore the rules of reality…but I got stuck on the wolf-speaking-like-a-human thing. As creative and fun as the rest of the book was, I guess I’d hoped for more. However, the overarching plotline was well developed and set the stage for the series. Despite my hang-ups, Dirty Blood was a fun read and I’m excited to see how the series progresses.
The Good:
I really liked the title. Oh, and the werewolves. I love them and it was nice to read a book revolving around that species.
The Issue:
Three major things for me: 1) the wolves spoke like a human when in wolf form; 2) insta-love that I didn’t feel fully invested in; and 3) a little Twilight-ish with the mind reading and the “protecting the virtue” type story lines.
The Rating:
4 stars. Looking past the talking wolves, it was a story that kept me reading and had me purchasing the second book right away.
Amber Garr spends her days conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a vampire. Born in Pennsylvania, she lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell. She writes both adult and young adult urban fantasies and when not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.
There Comes a Prophet Review/Interview/Giveaway - David Litwack
Who among us will cast aside a comfortable existence and risk death to follow a dream?
A world kept peaceful for a thousand years by the magic of the ruling vicars. But a threat lurks from a violent past. Wizards from the darkness have hidden their sorcery in a place called the keep and left a trail of clues that have never been solved.
Nathaniel has grown up longing for more but unwilling to challenge the vicars. Until his friend Thomas is taken for a teaching, the mysterious coming-of-age ritual. Thomas returns but with his dreams ripped away. When Orah is taken next, Nathaniel tries to rescue her and ends up in the prisons of Temple City. There he meets the first keeper of the ancient clues. But when he seeks the keep, what he finds is not magic at all.
If he reveals the truth, the words of the book of light might come to pass:
“If there comes among you a prophet saying ‘Let us return to the darkness,’ you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the light.”
I received There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack for the blog tour over at Xpresso Book Tours. I found the cover to be fascinating, and I was in the mood for a dystopia/sci fi/fantasy type of book. I was a little interested in how the author was going to meld those three categories into one book, but he managed to do exactly that.
David Litwack’s writing is so beautiful and full of detail. I could really visualize everything that I was reading, which is something that takes a lot of skill. Sometimes I thought that there was a bit too much detail, though. There were some scenes that had two to three pages of detail for one specific thing, which I thought was a bit too much.
One thing that I loved about this book were the characters. Nathaniel, Thomas and Orah start out as young adults in the beginning of the book, and there is a lot of maturity that develops in each of them throughout the book. They each had their own individual personalities and voices, which I adored.
On a negative note, there was a bit too much religion in the book for my taste. This is obviously something that is not going to bother everyone, but that’s really just not something that I’m interested in at all. Litwack did a very good job of making it so that the reader wasn’t being preached to, and I really appreciated that. The religion also tied in well with the book. Again, it’s just a personal complaint.
Overall, I really enjoyed There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack. The plot was captivating and well-written, and I’m interested in reading more from him in the future. I would definitely recommend that fans of dystopia and sci fi YA books give this book a shot, as it will keep you on your toes and leave you craving more.
Pages: 282
Publisher: Double Dragon Publishing
Publication Date: July 12th, 2012
Rating: :
Teaser Quote: “Like a foolish parent, to save us from wickedness, they’ve given us a world of limits and not a world of possibilities.”
Buy the book: Amazon Barnes & Noble The Book Depository
The urge to write first struck when working on a newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the night when lightning flashed at sunset followed by northern lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was the newsletter’s editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean. But he was inspired to write about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic.
Using two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life intervened. He paused to raise two sons and pursue a career, in the process becoming a well-known entrepreneur in the software industry, founding several successful companies. When he found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned. There Comes a Prophet is his first novel in this new stage of life.
David and his wife split their time between Cape Cod, Florida and anywhere else that catches their fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages a day and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word processor.
Stalk David: Website Goodreads Facebook Twitter
Author Interview:
Cats or Dogs? Dogs. I’m allergic to cats.
Hunger Games or Mortal Instruments? Hunger Games.
Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla.
Can you tell readers about your latest book, There Comes a Prophet?
There Comes a Prophet is about a society devoid of technology, the result of an overreaction to a distant past where progress had overtaken humanity and led to social collapse. The solution—an enforced return to a simpler time. But Prophet is also a coming of age story, a tale of three friends and their loyalty to each other as they struggle to confront a world gone awry. Each searches for the courage to fight the limits imposed by their leaders, along the way discovering their unique talents and purpose in life.
What were the challenges with writing There Comes a Prophet?
As the story progresses, readers begin to realize this is not an idyllic past but a dystopian future. The main characters discover things that are familiar to today’s audience, but alien to them. I had to be careful to view every detail through the eyes of people who have grown up in a more primitive time. I tried to keep in mind the quote from Arthur C. Clarke: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Did you ever experience writer’s block? How did you work through that?
I’m sure no writer sits down and has words flow freely while writing an entire novel. I sometimes wander down plot paths that get me in trouble, so I have to back up and start again. I force characters to do things that are against their nature and they rebel. At a certain level, the novelist’s challenge is to be absolutely clear what he’s trying to say. The problem is that when we stare at a blank screen initially, it just isn’t that clear.
I try to have the mindset that there will be lots of drafts, that with each, I’ll better understand the characters and the story. When I get stuck, I go back to basics: what do the main characters want? What’s stopping them from getting it? How will they overcome the current obstacle and move on to the next, greater obstacle until they either achieve their goal or realize it’s not what they really wanted.
If I’m having trouble seeing the story clearly, I’ll take a break, read, or go for a long walk. Occasionally, I need to set the project aside and work on something else for a while, until I can gain a fresh perspective. The worst thing a writer can do is sit there and bang his head against the screen.
Do you have any writing habits?
I write in two hour sessions, the most I can do at one sitting. I generally try to get one under my belt first thing in the morning while I’m fresh. Then, after getting some exercise and having lunch, I’ll do a second session in the afternoon. On bad days, that requires a nap. On good days, when the story is clicking and I’m making good progress, I’ll do a third session at night.
How long did it take you to write There Comes a Prophet?
It took a year on the first try. Then I put it aside and wrote a couple of drafts of a different novel. After that, I went back to it with a much sharper pencil, figuratively speaking, and spent another six months of additional editing.
You have two other books that you’re working on: The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky and Along the Watchtower. Can you give us a little info about those?
Along the Watchtower is a mainstream fantasy about an Iraq war veteran from a troubled family background, who has been severely injured in an IED attack. Prior to the attack, he coped with tragedy and hardship by playing World of Warcraft every chance he had. Now, suffering from traumatic brain injury and PTSD, he lapses in and out of a dream world like in the fantasy game. But unlike the video game, his quest is not for gold or a higher level, but to find a reason to live.
The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky is about a world divided between the Blessed Lands, a place of the spirit, and the Republic, whose people worship at the altar of reason. A mysterious nine-year-old girl from the Blessed Lands sails into the lives of a troubled couple in the Republic and changes everyone she meets. She reveals nothing about herself, other than to say she’s the daughter of the sea and the sky. But she harbors a secret wound she herself cannot heal.
For more of an advance look, you can check them out at www.davidlitwack.com.
What inspires you to write?
Those people in my head who have stories they want to be told.
What is the best book that you’ve read recently?
I’ll give you two: Alan Brennert’s Molok’ai—a fictional biography of a woman who grew up and lived in the infamous leper colony. It’s sounds depressing but it’s one of the most uplifting books I’ve read in a while. And Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, for its originality and wonderful, lyrical style.
What is currently in your To-Be-Read pile?
I recently finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass. So I’ve added to my to-read list The Remains of the Day and the last two books of the His Dark Materials trilogy.
Giveaway:
One winner will win a paperback copy of There Comes a Prophet by David Litwack
Giveaway open to U.S. and Canadian residents only.
Giveaway will run from March 28th, 2013 to April 8th, 2013
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