Saturday, April 28, 2012

Review - Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi

Goodreads Blurb:

Imagine finding your first love, only to be ripped apart by the apocalypse. Peyton Anderson will never forget the day she was forced to make a choice--between her family--and Chris Parker, the boy she'd given her heart. Now, four years later, as she steps from the fallout shelter and into a dead and broken world, he's the only thing on her mind.

All Chris "Chase" Parker wanted was to take Peyton away and keep her safe from harm. But he waited for hours in the rain on judgment day and she never showed - breaking his heart without ever telling him why.

Now the two of them have been thrown together once again, reluctant chaperones to a group of orphan children in a post-apocalyptic world where the dead still walk...and feed. As they begin their pilgrimage to the last human outpost on Earth, can they find a way to let go of old hurts and find the love they lost - all while attempting to save what's left of the human race?


My Thoughts:

Overall, this book was a lot of fun! I'm a big fan of post-apocalyptic books, especially a zombie apocalypse! It switches between past and present every chapter, which I found confusing at first, but in the end I liked it. I enjoyed knowing something would happen, but being able to see the events leading up to it. The novel was quick and fun and I would definitely read more of Mari Mancusi's work in the future!

There were a few things I didn't love so much though. First of all, I wish Mari Mancusi had put more depth into her secondary characters. They all feel a little one dimensional, except maybe Tank, but even he is lacking. Second, I don't like the title at all. It sounds like a cheesy science fiction book and also reminds me of the cryogenics guy from Futurama when he says "Welcome to the World of Tomorrow"! As well, I felt like it was unrealistic how quickly Peyton adjusted to going from living in a tiny fallout shelter for 4 years to living in a post-apocalypse world. I would have been seriously messed-up, but she was just fine. One other thing was that the plot didn't feel super original. Not bad, but nothing novel. And for me the book didn't feel as edgy as I think it was trying to be. Finally, and I'm pretty sure this is just a weird personal thing, but it drove me nuts when Chris would continually call Peyton his "goddess". Probably because I equate goddesses with power, not beauty.

While I may have had a few issues with this book, I still really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys young love and zombie apocalypses!


On the Cover:

I really like this cover. It's eye-catching and I think it fits the story.

Rating: 3.5 hearts



Source: I received a copy via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Where to Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Stalk the Author: Goodreads | Twitter | Website

Friday, April 27, 2012

Review: Meeting Destiny by Nancy Straight

Goodreads Blurb:

Lauren is visited in her dreams for years by a stranger claiming to be her destiny. Destiny becomes reality when paths cross during a failed robbery attempt. Lauren and the stranger experience chemistry like no other and now her doubt over her long time relationship with her high school sweetheart is not her only secret…someone else knows about her keen intuition and sixth sense.A mysterious clairvoyant seeks Lauren out and tells her not only of her life now but what the future may hold. Soon Lauren is in the middle of a murder investigation and a questionable friendship with the key suspect. Law enforcement, friends and family are concerned for Lauren but unfortunately they are unaware of the true danger…Sinister forces are at work and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren’s abilities.

My Thoughts:

Meeting Destiny was a bit of a change from some of the other books dealing with destinies that I've read lately. Instead of Lauren being destined to be something, she is destined to love someone. While this is fundamentally a love story, there is a fair bit of action and you don't have to wait for it; you're blasted with it in the very first chapter!

Lauren was a likeable characters and I enjoyed that she was often just as confused as I was with all the strange happenings. She wasn't perfect (I found she tended to jump to conclusions), but she wasn't the stupid kind of character I found myself yelling at either, so I think Nancy Straight struck a good balance.

Max, Lauren's destiny, seemed like a nice enough fellow. He's a paramedic (bonus points) and he has horses (major bonus points from me). Unfortunately, his feelings for Lauren are so strong that he tends to get very possessive of Lauren, which would fly with me (or Lauren for that matter). His possessiveness annoyed me, but other than that, I thought he was a good male lead.

After finishing this book, I had so many unanswered questions! Who is Rewsna and why does she know so much about Lauren? Why does Lauren have such a strong 6th sense? And what the heck happened at that campsite? Now I'm definitely itching to read the next book to see what happened and if I'll get any answers!

On the Cover:

This cover is really pretty, however, I can't really see the connection to this story.

Favourite Character:

I like Lauren. She was really brave and also believable!

Rating: 3.5 Hearts


Source: Review copy provided as part of the Meeting Destiny Blog Tour.

Where to Find It: Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle | Smashwords

Stalk the Author: Goodreads | Twitter

Bonus:
I'm giving away a SIGNED copy of Meeting Destiny as part of the blog tour. Enter below and be sure to check out by awesome guest post from Nancy Straight!


Thursday, April 26, 2012

The Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse author Q&A

 I'm super excited to have Nina Post on my blog today answering a few of my questions about her awesome book The Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse, which I reviewed here. First of all, I just want to say Nina is awesome. She's been really friendly to me on twitter and goodreads, so you should definitely check her out. So, let's get started with some Q&A action!

***

Pothole City is place unlike any other, particularly Amenity Tower. How did you come up with these locations?

 First, thanks, Megan, for hosting me on your blog! Pothole City is an alternate Chicago (which gets terrible potholes), and Amenity Tower is partly inspired by the condominium where I live. Some of my research involved attending the often ridiculous, vagary-stuffed board and committee meetings, and interviewing building personnel, who were baffled over why I wanted to know so much about the air conditioning system.

What was the hardest part of writing The Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse?


The hardest part was just keeping track of the storylines and characters, especially because I didn't use Scrivener yet :::shudder::: Now I outline and put my research notes in Scrivener, and this helps me maintain writer sanity. Figuring out the method that's right for you takes trial and error.

My favourite character was Tubiel. What a cutie! Do you have a favourite?

 Thanks! I'm particularly fond of Tubiel. I wanted his job of returning small birds to their owners to get in the way of Kelly's job, and pictured him referencing Italian fashion magazines of the 1980s to blend into human society. The inspiration for Tubiel's appearance came from someone I saw at Trader Joe's, who was small in stature and had an unusually placid expression.

The Last Condo Board of the Apocalypse is your first published work. How excited were you to see it as a finished book?

 The most exciting part was actually getting the response from the publisher telling me they wanted the book. The next most exciting part was signing the publishing contract. Having the ebook on my Kindle and the book in my hands was great, but it felt even better when my mother had them! The real Snoopy-dance thrill, however, was the initial response.

Finally, do you have any advice for aspiring writers?


 My advice for aspiring writers is to work hard, because nothing will make you improve more than writing. You learn a hell of a lot of more by finishing multiple projects. Build your platform before you start submitting. Analyze the best books, TV, and movies in your genre. Finally, be nice.




Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Teaser Tuesday - Straight to Hell Edition

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


***

This week my teaser comes from Straight to Hell (Lilith Straight #1) by Michelle Scott. I'll be participating in the blog tour next month! I just started it, but so far it seems like a really fun read! I cheated a little this week and posted a whole paragraph instead of 2 sentences. Bad blogger!

Dead. The word hit like a jab to the solar plexus, and I sank backwards in my seat. "I can't be dead! I know I was hit by a car, but still..." I stood up. "I mean, look at me! I look fine. I feel fine." I spun in a little circle. "No injuries. No scars." (page 39)

Monday, April 23, 2012

Review: Socialpunk

OnlyIndies Blurb:
Ima would give anything to escape The Dome and learn what’s beyond its barriers, but the Chicago government has kept all its citizens on lockdown ever since the Scorched Years left most of the world a desert wasteland. When a mysterious group of hooded figures enters the city unexpectedly, Ima uncovers a plot to destroy The Dome and is given the choice between escaping to a new, dangerous city or staying behind and fighting a battle she can never win.

My Thoughts:

My favourite thing about Socialpunk was the action. Right from the beginning, I was hooked! The main character, Ima/E/Cinder, doesn't seem to catch a break through the entire book and is always on the move. Socialpunk kind of reminded me of the Truman Show, but with a dystopian sort of real world instead of this one.

However, there were a couple things in the book that bothered me. First, I found Silicon City confusing. So did Ima at first, but while things are eventually explained to her, many of them aren't explained to the reader, so the world felt a little bare-bones to me. Second, I found it confusing that the main character went by 3 different names through the book. I understand 2 of them, but I wish Monica had chosen either Ima or E and not had her go by both in the beginning. Third, I felt a bit like the character of Cinder wasn't really compatible with the character of Ima. I know she went through some serious changes, but I felt they weren't even close to the same person.

Finally, I hated where this book ended. I realized it was supposed be a bombshell, but I was expecting some kind of action-y finale and I didn't get it. In fact, I went to the next page to keep reading and was very confused because I was now on a sneak-peak of a completely different book (I have a bad habit of skipping over chapter numbers and titles, so I missed the part that said preview). I felt like there should have been at least 3 more chapters in this book. I felt like it ended really abruptly.

Overall, I really enjoyed Socialpunk and am excited to read the rest of the trilogy!

On the Cover:

Overall, I like the cover. Green is one of my favourite colours and I like the barbed wire. However, I feel like the formatting is off a bit and things should be shifted to the right a bit, not shoved up against the left side.

Favourite Character:

 I think I'll go with Vaughn. He's strong and gruff, but I think he really does care!

Rating: 3 Hearts


Source: I received an ecopy of Socialpunk for review as part of a blog tour.

Where to Find It: Goodreads | Kindle | OnlyIndie

Stalk the Author: Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Writing Blog

Bonus: The Socialpunk blog tour is on now! Check out the other exciting posts here. Plus, author Monica Leonelle is doing an great giveaway for the blog tour. Check it out below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, April 22, 2012

IMM - 04/22

In My Mailbox is a fun meme from The Story Siren where we get to show off all of the awesome things we got in the past week! I've had another excellent mailbox this week!

Winnings:
3 x Oracle signed bookmarks (1 of these may be making an appearance in an upcoming giveaway!) - Thanks so much to J. C. Martin for these beautiful bookmarks!

eBooks for review:
Thorn - Intisar Khanani
Particle Horizon - Selso Xisto
Blackbirds - Chuck Wendig
Make Me - Parker Blue
Touch of Greek - Tina Folsom


Free Kindle Books (I swear, I'll stop when they stop making sure interesting books free!):
The Becoming: Brothers in Arms - Jessica Meigs
Jaguar Sun - Monica Bourke
The Childe - C. A. Kunz
Amaranth - Rachel Wade
Branded - Keary Taylor
Darkhouse - Karina Halle
Dark Before Dawn - Stacy Juba

I can't wait to see what everyone else got. If you want to add to your upcoming mailboxes, remember to stop by the giveaways currently running on the blog here, here and here!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Meeting Destiny Blog Tour - Guest Post by Author Nancy Straight + GIVEAWAY



I'm super excited to be a part of the Meeting Destiny Blog Tour, put on by the awesome Heather from SupaGurl Books!

Meeting Destiny Blurb:  Lauren is visited in her dreams for years by a stranger claiming to be her destiny. Destiny becomes reality when paths cross during a failed robbery attempt. Lauren and the stranger experience chemistry like no other and now her doubt over her long time relationship with her high school sweetheart is not her only secret…someone else knows about her keen intuition and sixth sense.A mysterious clairvoyant seeks Lauren out and tells her not only of her life now but what the future may hold. Soon Lauren is in the middle of a murder investigation and a questionable friendship with the key suspect. Law enforcement, friends and family are concerned for Lauren but unfortunately they are unaware of the true danger…Sinister forces are at work and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren’s abilities.



Author Bio: Nancy was born in Sioux City Iowa, left the cold of the Midwest in 1991 and only returns to see family in the summer time. She spent ten years traveling the world as a US Marine and settled in rural SC with her husband, two children and three dogs.  She enjoys RVing with her family, writing Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy and reading all types of Paranormal and Young Adult literature.

***

I'm lucky enough to have author Nancy Straight on my blog to answer one of my favourite questions: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
Thanks so much for hosting the Meeting Destiny blog tour!! Let me preface this advice with:  I’m still a big-time rookie myself.  I’ve learned a lot in the last nine months and am happy to share things that have worked for me.  If any writers out there are reading this post, and have advice for me – I’m all ears.  Rather than just put out advice, I thought I'd write about a few of the myths that I've run across.
Myth #1:  If you write a book you love, that you believe in (or an entire series) - it will sell thousands of copies.  It turns out readers rarely “stumble” onto a good book.  Normally someone has to point them to it.  I had published nearly the entire Destiny Series before I realized I needed to find readers.  I’m not necessarily a social butterfly so it was hard in the beginning.  What I looked for instead of readers were new friends.  People that enjoyed the same type of books that I did that I could chat with about great books I had read.  If I found a book I LOVED, I contacted the author to tell them how great their book was and asked for advice for everything from cover design to book pirating.  Books won’t sell themselves no matter how good you believe they are.
Myth #2:  I’ve read the book twenty-five times, all the spelling and grammar is perfect.  WRONG!  Spend the money on an editor.  If you’re on a tight budget, solicit friends that will give you honest critiques.  I actually have a whole posse of people that read mine, some are grammar fanatics, some avid readers and my actual editor is my aunt who was a creative writing teacher for more than thirty years.  It’s safe to say that when I thought Meeting Destiny was ready to be published she still nearly drained the ink from her red pen with edits!
Myth #3:  I have Photoshop, I’ll make my own cover.  Okay, I’ll preface this comment with:  there are some extremely talented authors out there that have made their own beautiful covers, but that tends to be the exception rather than the rule.  From my own experience, I put my heart and soul into writing the Destiny Series (Meeting Destiny, Destiny’s Revenge and Destiny’s Wrath).  It had fabulous reviews, but sales were still low (2-3 per day).  Another author told me my covers were horrible – I agreed because, well – Duh, I’m not a graphic artist, I’m a writer.  I spent the money to have covers designed for the series.  Sales increased enough in the first month to pay for the cost of the covers.  Keep in mind that most people will only see your cover when it is the size of a quarter, so don’t look at your cover when it is “book” size, look at it when it is only as large as your thumb.  The cover has to be eye catching enough for a potential reader to click on it, to read the book’s synopsis.
Myth #4: I have to be inspired to write.  Not! I recommend writing every day.  There are days that I am able to write 1000 words and other days I write 2, but I write every day.  Sometimes I’ll go back and read what was written the previous day and delete the whole section; but setting a goal like: I am going to have a first draft ready in three months, is not nearly as effective as: I’m going to write 500 words per day.  Then reward yourself when you exceed your goal.
Myth #5: I don’t want the stigma of being a self-published author.  I see this statement frequently on blogs and on the internet.  Although I don’t begrudge any author that chooses to publish the traditional way, there are things that make self-publishing much more attractive for me.  I don’t have an agent or a publicist representing me, absolutely every reader that contacts me, gets a response, from me.  I feel connected to the friends I’ve made that enjoy my books and they are an exceptional source of motivation on the days when I’d rather park myself in front of the television.  I have full control over my books, I can change covers, I can change text, I can even give a whole bunch of them away and no one can stop me (Meeting Destiny’s e-book is FREE right now).    
Myth #6: Bad reviews are bad.  Bad reviews may want to make you cry, or go slash someone’s tires, but they’re an opinion.  Not every book is for every person, that’s why there are millions to choose from.  It’s natural to focus on the bad, but if you have 50 reviews and 45 of those reviews are 4 and 5 stars – try to start a friendship with those 45 people – the ones that love your writing.
Myth #7: My writing is my hobby.  Although you may enjoy writing, I think the more successful authors think of their writing like a business.  I dedicate 2 hours each day to “author stuff.”  This can be twitter, email, guest posts on a book tour, or writing.  It’s a set part of my schedule and it allows me to still meet all the other commitments I have as a wife, mom, and friend while giving me a set amount of time to balance all the things that I love.
I’m sure you didn’t want this post to become a book in itself so I’ll add just one last piece of advice:  Tell Book Bloggers how much you LOVE them!  I have a whole page dedicated to favorite book bloggers on my blog and I tweet at least once a week asking friends to follow them.  They are the unsung heroes that find diamonds in the rough and convince readers to give a novel a test drive.  For any bloggers that are reading this that have helped promote my series – “Thanks” will never be adequate, I will forever be grateful to each of you!   

***

Great advice, thanks so much Nancy! And stay tuned for my review of Meeting Destiny, which will be posted April 27.

And now, I'm super excited to announce that Nancy will be giving away a signed copy of Meeting Destiny. This giveaway is only open to US readers, but if you're international, no worries! You can snag a free ecopy on Smashwords!

Release Day Party: Shadow of the Witte Wieven



Book Title:  Shadow of the Witte Wieven
Author: Debbie Peterson
Genre:  Paranormal Romance
Publisher: InkSpell Publishing
Publication Date: April 21st 2012
Format: eBook, Kindle, Paperback
Book Synopsis:
Despite a contract on her head, lone Drug Enforcement Agent, Aliyana Montijo must ferret out a mole and stop the assassination of top DEA officials, as so ordered by the Colombian drug lord she seeks to take down. The task is a daunting one, for there is no one she can trust. No one that is, until she encounters a most unlikely ally.
Former seventeenth century captain of the Dutch West Indies Company, Wolfaert Dircksen Van Ness, now from a parallel dimension, encounters the beautiful agent during an unearthly storm in the Bermuda triangle. Drawn to the Spanish beauty he rescues, he pledges his assistance, despite her reluctance to accept either his help or his heart.
Can Wolf bridge both space and time to claim the woman he loves?
 ***
This book sounds like it has tons of action (Colombia drug lords!), plus parallel dimesions via Bermuda Triangle! Plus, here's a chance to win your very own ecopy!

Giveaway 5 eBook copies Shadow of Witte Wieven
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, April 20, 2012

Friday 56 - Tomorrow Land Edition

Friday 56 is a fun meme from Freda's Voice.
Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.
*Post it.

***

This week my Friday 56 comes from Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi.

"The shelves nearby were stacked with discounted electronics, yellow bouncy ball signs declaring which products were currently - or four years ago, in this case - on special. A long row of checkouts, manned by silent cash register sentinels, stretched off into the distance. In short, it was a barren wasteland of dust-caked commercialism, a vivid reminder of how the world once was."

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Destiny Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway


I'm excited to be a part of the Destiny Blog Tour and will be sharing reviews of the first 2 books in the Destiny Saga by Heather M. White. To check out the entire tour, click here.

Goodreads Blurb:
When Destiny Knocks: 
16 year old Karlie has had a pretty normal life... But when her Mom dies she is forced to move over 1,000 miles away to live with her Dad. That's when things start getting weird.

She can't explain the earthquakes that nobody else feels, or why she no longer sleeps. But most of all she doesn't know why she trusts Shane so much, even though his Dad wants her dead.

Suddenly, Karlie's normal life is turned upside down and she enters a world she never dreamed could really exist.


When Destiny Strikes:  
Now that Karlie has received her full powers, things are going to be great... right?

Karlie's number one priority is to kill Serenity - after all she deserves it for trying to kill Alex. Though it isn't as easy as it sounds. Serenity teams up with demons to create an army to destroy Karlie.

On top of that, there are a ton of zombies, everywhere... And a new angel in town, who seems more like a demon... And of course, a shape shifter dragon! It's all weird, even for Karlie.

With friends turning against friends, it seems as though her life got a whole lot more complicated.


My Thoughts: 

At first When Destiny Knocks reminded me of Twilight. Girl moves to a new city to live with her somewhat estranged father. Girl meets and is immediately drawn to a boy that is somehow 'apart' from the rest of the school. But that's where the similarities ended and Karlie became much less Bella Swan and much more Buffy Summers! 

Karlie went very quickly from being a grieving teen to a kick-butt heroine. Lucky for her, she has a very awesome group of friends, not to mention the love of her life, who turn out to be almost as kick-butt as she is. But Karlie's troubles go way beyond the odd zombie or vampire. She must face off with the nasty demon Paymon, who is bound and determined to start an all-out war! There's a couple big twists in this duo and the finale of When Destiny Strikes definitely took me by surprise!

Karlie was a straightforward, uncomplicated heroine, interested in trying to have as normal of a life as possible while still kicking baddie butt, but there was one major point in the first book where I wanted to shake her. If one day you're practically planning your wedding with one guy, you don't get to flirt with another guy two weeks later. Not cool. But luckily she got her act together shortly after and I liked her from then on.

The writing in the Destiny series took me a while to get used to. It's kind of stream-of-conciousness, all the things that Karlie thinks, as she thinks them. It's not a literary or lyrical as most books, but it's probably pretty close to how I thought and spoke when I was seventeen. It just took so getting used to.

Also, I felt the climax of When Destiny Strikes felt a little rushed. I think Heather could have fleshed it out just a little more.


On the Cover:
The covers were both nice. I think I prefer the cover of When Destiny Strikes, because it's a little more striking (hehe, get it).


Favourite Scene:
The final scene in When Destiny Strikes totally took me by surprise!


Favourite Character:
I loved Hugh, who appears in the second book. He such a nice, caring guy, not to mention has some pretty awesome skillz!


Find the Books: 
When Destiny Knocks: Goodreads | Amazon | Kindle | The Book Depository
When Destiny Strikes:  Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository


Stalk the Author: Goodreads | Blog | Twitter


About the Author:
I am a returning resident to Arkansas. I just migrated south from Saint Louis, MO with my husband. We have a married a year. :)

I love to write. I have been writing since I was a kid - literally. I decided in the 2nd grade I would write a book. I wrote lots of short stories and poems... And did I mention I wrote over 200 songs? (Yeah, I'm a musician too - guitar, bass, drums and vocals). So I wrote my very first novel at the ripe age of 14... My Mom still has it :-/. OK, so maybe it wasn't my best work, but I had a LOT of fun writing it!

When I'm not writing, I am normally reading. I am also a caffeine addict... Dr. Pepper and NOS (the energy drink) are my drugs of choice :)

Bonus: GIVEAWAY! I have one ecopy of When Destiny Strikes up for grabs! Just enter the rafflecopter.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Review: The White Oak by Kim White

Goodreads Blurb:
In The White Oak, the first book in the Imperfect Darkness series, Cora Alexander falls through a sinkhole and enters the underworld still alive. Her living presence threatens the tyrannical rule of Minos and the infernal judges who have hijacked the afterlife and rebuilt it, trapping human souls in a mechanical, computer-controlled city that lies at the core of the earth. To survive, Cora must rely on her untrustworthy guide, Minotaur, an artificial intelligence built by Minos. She is helped by a mysterious voice, and by Sybil, underworld librarian and author of each person's book of life. Sybil's collection holds the key to humankind's intertwined life stories. When Cora's own book is destroyed, Sybil gives her a magical golden pen and sends her to the underworld city to write her own destiny. Along the way, Cora finds the ghost of her dead brother, Lucas, a genius programmer who alone is capable of finding the chink in Minos's armor. But will he be able to get Cora out alive, or will they both succumb to the seemingly inescapable underworld trap?

My Thoughts:

Reading this book made me feel the way they portray taking drugs on television. You're in one place, then things get shimmery, then you're someplace else and how no idea why, then somewhere else, then somewhere else, then the first place again, then you wake up and have no idea what just happened. Does that even make sense? I guess what I'm trying to say is that The White Oak left me dazed and confused. Cora travels around the Underworld, but nothing is explained, so I had no idea what events and places signified or why I should care.

That said, I enjoyed the first half of the book. I was really curious about how Kim White would portray the Underworld and it's inhabitants. Story about what happens after death have always intrigued me. However, as the book went on, I felt like all Cora did was go from place to place in the Underworld, but nothing really happened. And once it does at the end, it reminds me a bit of Alice in Wonderland, but less enjoyable.

There were also a few things that were introduced, then I felt like they were abandoned. First, the mysterious voice Cora hears when exploring the caves. Based on the beginning, I felt like it would be a major part of the story, but it completely disappears until the last few pages. Second, the golden pen Cora receives from Sybil. I don't understand it's purpose beyond vibrating.

For me, the characters fell a little flat and felt one-dimensional. Cora was a bit too single-minded for my taste and I felt like she just did as she was told.

Overall, while this book wasn't for me, I still found it was a page turner (I just wanted to know what was going on). I enjoy the cyber-underworld idea, but I had trouble following what was happening and why.

On the Cover:

I really like the cover. Not only is it beautiful, but I can exactly place where this happened in the book, instead of just a picture of a girl.

Favourite Character:

Like I said, the characters felt a bit one-dimensional, but I will go with Cora's brother Lucas.

Rating: 2 Hearts


Source: I received an ecopy in exchange for an honest review.


Where to Find It: Goodreads | Kindle

Stalk the Author: Goodreads | Website | Twitter

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Teaser Tuesday: Tomorrow Land Edition

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



My teaser this week comes from Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi.


Not exactly what Ian Anderson had had in mind when he first created his super soldiers. And when he learned of the genocide missions and other atrocities, he quit his job and joined a radical militia group, rallying against the government for which he's once worked. Breakining into his former labs, he's destroyed all of the prototypes and plans and then set fire to the building itself in order to ensure these creatures could never be built again.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Cover Reveal - Frozen Heart


Before I show off the cover, I just want to say that it's gorgeous! I am completely in love with it! I'm definitely a fan of chilly-looking covers. If it makes me shiver, I know it's good!

Title: Frozen Heart

Author: Annabelle Blume

Genre: SciFi Romance

A decade surviving on her own. Three days with the enemy. Can love conquer all?
Cressenda knows how to survive. With her sled dogs as her only companions, she’s spent the past ten years hiding in the snow covered wilderness from the oppressive regime of the Affinity. When a routine trip to civilization takes a turn for the worst, Cressenda is forced to take refuge with the enemy or lose her life to the frozen countryside.
But Beckett, a Guard of the Affinity, is more than a man in uniform. His desperate need to help Cressenda escape both- the blizzard and the Affinity- makes her feelings for him all the more troubling. Will Beckett be true to his word and set Cressenda free? Will her heart let her leave after all they’ve shared?

Author Bio:
Annabelle is a Science Fiction and Urban Fantasy Romance author. That is, when she's not checking homework or begrudgingly cooking dinner. Her dogs bark too much and her husband thinks there are too many dogs shoved into their tiny house out in California, but she believes their life is awesome if only because they live so close to Disneyland – which she loves with the tenacity of a nine-tentacled octopus.
She's also the author/personality of The Bombshell Mommy at Vitacost.com, where she expounds her knowledge of being a vixen clad in sweatpants.
Read about her adventures in writing at www.AnnabelleBlume.com.
Follow her on Twitter @AnnabelleBlume and like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AnnabelleBlumeAuthor

Saturday, April 14, 2012

In My Mailbox - 04/14

In My Mailbox is an awesome meme from the Story Siren where we share what showed up in our mailboxes over the past week.

I haven't done an IMM in 3 weeks (I only had one book, so I waited, but then it was Easter and I ran out of time to put one together), plus I've had a very exciting couple weeks, so this is going to be a long one!

Books Won:
Luna Moon Hare by Wendy Andrew - A huge thanks to Wendy and to Petra from Hazel the Witch for this one and a special thanks to Wendy for the pretty card as well!
Loss by Jackie Morse Kessler - Big thanks to Rhiannon at The Diary of a Bookworm!
Descended by Blood by Angeline Kace - Thanks to Angeline for this book and the signed bookmark!





eBooks Won:



eBooks for Review:


Free Kindle eBooks:

Holy moly, what a list I have. I guess I shouldn't leave it for 3 weeks! I can't wait to see what everyone got this week!