Tour and Review! — What would YOU do to secure a place on “The Ark”?

Hullo everyone! Welcome to my stop on The Ark’s tour!

The Ark by Laura Liddell Nolen
Published by: HarperVoyager
Publication date: March 26th 2015
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Dystopian
Book Links: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon || B&N

There’s a meteor headed for Earth, and there is only one way to survive.

With her criminal record, sixteen-year-old Char is never going to get a place on an Ark, one of the five massive bioships designed to protect Earth’s survivors. The Arks are reserved for the real goody-goodies, like Char’s mom, dad, and brother, all of whom have long since turned their backs on her.

With Earth on the brink of destruction, Char must use all her tricks of the trade to swindle her way into outer space, where she hopes to reunite with her family, regardless of whether they want to see her or not.

Once she arrives on the North American Ark, Char discovers that the remnants of humanity haven’t achieved the egalitarian utopia they’d planned for. For starters, the “Officers of the Peace” are anything but peaceful, especially since stealing a spot on an Ark is a crime punishable by death…

REVIEW (More Like Rant) & THOUGHTS

Rating: 3.5 Stars!

I loved the whole premise of this book from the description alone and thankfully this book panned out as something worthwhile of my time.

However, I can only give this one a solid 3.5 stars.

Reason being: The weird-instalove TIMES TWO that took place in a book that REALLY DID NOT NEED IT.

It’s fine when the book is actually classified as a romance or something, but… this is a science fiction — YA yes, but still sci-fi — and that part of it was AWESOME. Yes, I’ll admit, some of the story reminded me of others (but that’s not always a bad thing when told in an interesting voice with interesting characters and — Oh yeah. Did I mention the world’s about to end? RUN FOR YOUR LIIIIIIIIIIIVES!)

What did it for me was our main character, Char. I actually liked Char quite a bit. I was genuinely surprised. Sometimes I have a real insta-NO reaction when I hear a book is being told from a female POV, and this was one such instance. (I know, it sounds horrible and I’m a bad person boo-hoo, but it’s the truth. I’ll always quote GRRM, who replied with this when asked how he was able to make all his female characters seem so different and genuine:

“You know… I always considered women to be people.” – George RR Martin

“I always considered women to be people.” Yeah. Well, that’s kinda what I’m talking about here.

Although it should SEEM to be common sense to simply WRITE FEMALE CHARACTERS LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE BECAUSE, I DUNNO, THEY ARE… writers have THE BIGGEST PROBLEM making like-able, authentic, female leads (or not-leads. Because even the female sidekicks often suck — and that’s such a… I mean, wtf, man! Really???).

Which brings me back to why I often shy away from books with female leads or lots of female characters.

I’m not big on teeny, high school reads, so I will almost NEVER read those unless there is something worthwhile in me reading it or I actually think it might be different from all the rest. I can’t stand the whiny shit that seems to go hand-in-hand with most female characters or the “I’M A BADASS, DON’T MESS WITH ME” vibe they give off if they’re NOT whiny bitches. I also can’t stand the chatty know-it-alls, either. Or the boy-crazy, girly-girls who do nothing else but look pretty, (though are often also INCREDIBLY SMART, because dumb blonds are SOOO overrated. Smart blonds are SO MUCH CUTER! 😀 😀 😀 …. UGhh, shoot me now. -_____-;;; )

Oh — and by the way — I hate these “supposed characteristics” in guys JUST AS MUCH as I hate them in the ladies. The only time either one of these scenarios work out is if… I dunno… it’s a SPOOF and that’s the POINT of the book. Otherwise, you expecting me to believe all of this crap is not gonna happen.

….and I totally got off track from Char, didn’t I?

Or did I?

No, I don’t think so. Because just like I went off on a random sidetracked exploration of existentialism and behaviorism, so does she. She’s not pretending that’s she’s the smartest cookie in the jar. She’s got problems — sadly it IS boy-related problems later in the book, but as I said, that is the one thing that irked me about her — but isn’t your usual teen if for no other reason than because she knows full well there are more IMPORTANT problems.

Like say… getting her ass on one of those ships ASAP.

Or finding her hairbrush.

I mean… the damn story opens with her looking around for her hairbrush, understanding fully well that the world is going to end and she REALLY shouldn’t care, but… but that hairbrush was one of the few things her mom tried to instill in her to use to keep her hair neat, and now she can’t find it, so it’s taking up her every waking moment because WHERE THE HELL IS THAT HAIRBRUSH?!

…y’see that? *That* I love. I love female characters just being… people. NORMAL PEOPLE. Not gong-ho slingers, or girly-girl, or whatever other stereotype you can think of. But just normal people who are sorta having a meltdown because the world is ending and they can’t find their hairbrush.

And it’s because this general theme of NORMALCY in the midst of total destruction and mayhem that keeps playing out with Char, that *I* kept reading and inevitably give this book 3.5 Stars.

She’s not perfect. She’s got her flaws. She gets caught up with all the wrong people and makes some bad choices (often not properly explained away by the author which might also be why this book gets the star rating I’m giving it…), but she’s also pretty REAL to me, and that’s what counts.

Were it not for that GOD-AWFUL INSTALOVE SORTA-TRIANGLE (because a simple, normal instalove just isn’t the YA way *eye roll*), this book would have gotten 4, perhaps even 4.5 Stars. Easy. That and the cliffhanger, because unless this book is going to turn out to be a series… that ending was NOT COOL, man. NOT COOL. 😦

The writing was done beautifully. Description and general happenings were all spot-on. I was engaged throughout the book, although my interest did wane a bit towards the mid-end half of the book. The other characters like Isiah, Eren, and Kip thoroughly entertained me for various reasons. And the whole escape plan was quite a bit of fun to read~

Still recommending this one. Especially to those who may not hate instalove as much as I most abhorrently do.

 

This book fits these 2015 Reading Challenges:

2015 GoodReads Reading Challenge

You Read How Many Books?

52 Books in 52 Weeks

Read A Million Pages

105 Reading Challenge (Categories: 1, 4, 10)

2015 New To You Reading Challenge (New Author To Me & Brand New “Series” hopefully)

NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge

This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. In no way does it affect my rating or review.

Laura grew up in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where she spent an excellent childhood playing make-believe with her two younger brothers. The Ark is the direct result of those stories and a lifelong devotion to space-themed television. It received a Work in Progress Grant from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Laura has a degree in French and a license to practice law, but both are frozen in carbonite at present. She lives in Texas with her family.

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Author Links

Website || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter

Organised by:

Tour, Review, and Giveaway! — Let’s Break Through The Illusions of “A Neophyte’s Tale”

Hullo everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Good Tales Book Tour for A Neophyte’s Tale, an Abbey Thorne short story!

Be sure to scroll down and check out my review as well as enter the GIVEAWAY for signed copies and all sorts of lovely swag!

A Neophyte’s Tale, an Abbey Thorne short story
Series: Prequel to The Netherwalker Series
Author: C.K. Dawn
Publication Date: April 27 2015
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Book Links: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon || Smashwords

Abigail Thorne hears voices. Well, one voice repeating one word over and over again. Soft and sweet with the promise of power, it calls to her. The twelve year old has no idea that the tender little word is a catalyst that serves to reveal a world hidden to most humans. Abbey has yet to discover that following the word’s call to its origin will change the course of her life forever.

Abbey and her mother don’t have much, and depending on the day, sometimes they don’t even have a roof over their heads. She wants more out of life than just wondering where her next meal is. So she shouldn’t be wasting her time daydreaming about going on a selfish quest, should she? Does she have the strength to leave behind what little she has? Will she have the courage to break through the illusions surrounding her and lift the cloak of shadows?

REVIEW & THOUGHTS

Rating: 3/3.5 Stars!

A great teaser for the series. I’m glad it’s set as a short story prequel and not a novel or novella – because it is neither. But a great intro to this world? Oh yeah. I’m expecting great things from this series. Interested to see where it’ll go from here. The writing was a bit… irritating, at times. Not bad, per se, just a tad juvenile. I know the book’s probably YA or Teen, but it could still do with a little work. World-building is decent enough for the short space of time we were there. I hope more will be built on this premise and expand further into something awesome. I can’t really say whether I like anyone yet, because we just don’t know enough about them, but I anticipate liking Bernie best. I mean, he’s a freakin’ cat man after all. What’s not to love? 😉

And, though I have a feeling EVERYONE’S “word” is different, I’m still curious what Abbey’ s might be.

Guess I’ll find out in the next installment of the series!

This book fits these 2015 Reading Challenges:

2015 GoodReads Reading Challenge

You Read How Many Books?

52 Books in 52 Weeks

Read A Million Pages

105 Reading Challenge (Categories: 1, 4, 9, 10)

2015 New To You Reading Challenge (New Author To Me & Brand New Series)

This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. In no way does it affect my rating or review.

CK lives with the love of her life John, his cat Scout, her cat Hagrid, their mutually adopted and socialized feral kitten Pepper (yes, cats have favorite humans. It’s a thing), and their dog Diesel (aka Methane– Please, don’t make her explain).

She credits her mother for the strong independent woman she is, her father for her inner peace and beautiful outlook on life, and the summers of sweaty, manual labor on her grandparents’ farm for her strong work ethic.

In writing, CK has truly found her bliss. Stay tuned, because there will be a lot more to come in her Netherwalker series. Seriously, things have only just begun.

 

Author Links

Website || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Amazon

 

Giveaway

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.

Tour, Giveaway, & Guest Post! — What secrets will we find in Macyn’s Letter?

Welcome to the first tour of the month! This one’s for Macyn’s Letter, a book I also did a cover reveal for during last month. 

As per usual, we’ve got a giveaway and a really special guest post on background noise, so be sure to scroll down and check them both out! 

Title: Macyn’s Letter (Book 1)
Series: Macyn McIntyre
Author: S.L. Stacker
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Publication Date: May 21st
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Amazon ~ Barnes & Nobles

A near-death experience at the hands of her husband would cause any woman to cling to her crippling trust issues and dating phobia, and Macyn McIntyre is no exception. Falling into the lap of a sexy stranger may persuade her to change her mind, but before Macyn realizes what’s happening, a second potential love interest is vying for her affections.

When a threatening letter turns up in her mailbox, Macyn realizes choosing between two guys is the least of her worries. Abduction, violence, and rescue by an elite squad change the course of her life forever. When she seeks revenge on those who hurt her, she has to decide if she can trust the ones who vow they love her.

Will Macyn be able to overcome her past and use their aid in her vendetta, or will she take matters into her own hands?

Shh…Listen, or Don’t:
S.L. Stacker on Background Noise

Stop what you’re doing and listen. I mean really listen. What do you hear? If you’re like me and work from home, you probably hear a washing machine, dishwasher, dog barking, etc. When you’re trying to write, do you have to have some type of background noise? Does it need to be totally silent? Are you one of those people where you can live with or without the noise?

Depending on the time and day, my need varies. Some days I find myself enjoying the quiet surrounding me. Other days, I crave some type of noise to assure myself I’m in the land of the living. I would love to be able to say I can take or leave background noise on a daily basis, but unfortunately I can’t.

When I first began writing, I could sit down and write no matter where I was. There could be kids yipping with glee as they sailed through the air on their swing, or I could be the only person at home with zero noise. It didn’t matter. I was so focused on what I was doing, I didn’t pay any attention to my surroundings. Those were the good days!

The next phase along my writing path found me needing the background noise. When I would sit alone in the quiet of my house, I would stare at my screen hoping and praying the voices would talk to me. Despite my begging, they would never allow me to hear them until my family was home—the kids screaming at each other, my husband sitting in the garage listening to music. It was then, during the busiest and noisiest time in my household, the voices would begin talking, and I’d find myself in front of my computer, my fingers moving as fast as I could manage to keep up with story.

Now, as I stated above, my current stage of writing requires quiet and noise, but I never know which I’ll need on any given day. Luckily, my noisy requirement doesn’t have to be my family. I can start our super loud dishwasher, turn my music on, and write without any problems. However, when the silent days are required, the hum of the air conditioning unit running can be a nuisance. It’s on those days, I go through the house and make sure everything is off. I also know once my family begins trickling through the door from school or work, my writing for the day is over until they go to bed.

If you aren’t sure which type of person you are, I suggest taking a few days and paying attention to your most productive days. If you find you’re a noise magnet, and thrive during these times, try writing with some type of background noise all the time. If you need the peace and quiet, find somewhere in your house or outside the house where you can get that. Don’t try forcing yourself to write during a time you know won’t be productive because in most cases, the quality of what you write, will falter. It’s better to acknowledge your need for or lack of background noise. Use it to your advantage!

Author Bio:

S.L. Stacker is a romantic suspense author and novelist with Booktrope publishing and a member of International Thriller Writers association. She has written and published three books in the Macyn McIntyre series. Her current work includes several fiction novels, but her focus is Sisters of Summit Bay—to be published in 2015. When she isn’t throwing her readers for a loop and leaving them with cliffhangers, she can be found chilling with her husband, children, and dog.

Author Links:

Website || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || Amazon

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.

Tour & some mellow jams from Kate Thomas — The Light (Equilibrium II)

Welcome to my final tour of the week (and consequentially also the month!) This one is for The Light, the second book in the Equilibrium series by Kate Thomas.

We’ve got a giveaway and some nice, chillin’ music this time, so definitely scroll down and check it out! 

 

Title: The Light, Equilibrium II
Series: Equilibrium
Author: Kate Thomas
Genre: Paranormal Romance – New Adult

With the truth of Ellie’s place among the Balance Keepers finally coming to light, training now begins. She must learn to harness the powers that are growing within her, some spiraling out of control. Confusion and frustration become her constant companions, as her search for answers does nothing but push her further from the man she’s come to love.

David is The Light, the speaker of truth, the whisperer of good in the world. His desire for more than he can have with his new apprentice tears at the fabric of his own stability, bit by bit. He knows what the future holds — and just how damning it will be for Ellie if she’s not prepared to handle it — but he’s forbidden to help.

As tragedy becomes reality, will she reach for The Light, or run into the soothing arms of The Darkness?

 

Kate’s “Top Ten” Music To Mellow Out To

1. Ho Hey – The Lumineers // 2. All of Me – John Legend // 3. Stay with Me – Sam Smith // 4. Counting Stars – OneRepublic // 5. Battle Scars – Lupe Fiasco & Guy Sebastian // 6. Broken – Seether featuring Amy Lee // 7. Clarity – Zedd featuring Foxes // 8. Don’t Wake Me Up – Chris Brown // 9. Glowing – Nikki Williams // 10. Safe and Sound – The Civil Wars

Author Bio:

Kate Thomas, is the author of the upcoming Equilibrium Series, a five-book supernatural new adult series, with plans for a few more series in 2015.

She is a CPA by trade, a church planter and entrepreneur at heart; however, writing and reading are passions she just can’t help but indulge in. With more ideas than one person should be allowed, she is blessed to have a muse that doesn’t seem to take a vacation and more energy that one might consider healthy.

 

Author Link:

Newsletter | Goodreads | Twitter | Website | Facebook

 

GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.

Tour, Giveaway, & My Honest Review of “Alien Love”

Welcome the Alien Love sci-fi tour! 

Included in this tour is my review and a giveaway, so be sure to scroll down and check them both out! 😉

Title: Alien Love
Author: Stan Schatt
Publisher: Booktrope Publishing
Publication Date: April 30, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction

Purchase:  Amazon ~ Barnes and Nobles

In Stan Schatt’s latest Science Fiction novel, a dying astronaut reveals a secret that blows the lid on a government treaty with extraterrestrials while other alien races have come to Earth with their own agendas. Meanwhile an ancient alien race with a base on the Moon makes plans that could spell doom.

25 year- old EX-SEAL, Jack Starling, has plenty of his own problems, but he can’t help falling in love with the beautiful woman he rescues after she is brutally attacked. He learns how dangerous it can be to fall in love with someone who is not human who has her own plans for him.

Jack finds himself pitted against aliens far stronger and far more cunning than any human enemies. Once he learns what the aliens have planned for him and for Earth, he must race against time before it is too late.

REVIEW & THOUGHTS

Rating: 3.75/4 Stars!

I actually REALLY enjoyed this book! Wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into at first, but the story proved to be an engaging one… One that didn’t drag on or bore me to tears as some sci-fi books tend to by simply adding too much information too quickly or just dumping it in weird places that don’t fit/add to the story besides, “HERE. HAVE SOME TECHNO-JUMBO, AND WE’LL CALL IT A NIGHT.”

Alien Love did none of the sorts, and for this I am most sincerely grateful.

This book was concise, tight, and held a bit of mystery as we tried to solve the bizarre situation our MC Jack suddenly finds himself in. One aspect of Jack that really made me interested in him was his ability to [HIGHLIGHT TO SEE SPOILER]see the color of other people’s auras[/END SPOILER]. I totally made me think of Cannan from the anime of the same name. She had the ability to [HIGHLIGHT TO SEE SPOILER]use synesthesia to aid her in combat, viewing the world in different colors to tell enemies from civilians… which is exactly what Jack does to a lesser extent all the time[/END SPOILER]. But it was also a big issue with me because I was like, “Hello? Why are people giving him such a hard time about this? It’s basically a super-heightened form of synesthesia folks! How – as a DOCTOR – do you not know about this???” *is directing that DIRECTLY TO his shrink yo*

You REALLY mean to tell me you’re THAT SURE he’s crazy? REALLY? Really? *judging you*

Another thing I liked was the way the author (Stan Schatt) handled the whole “alien conspiracy” thing here. It did feel a little X-Files-y at times (which was totally fine by me – after all, who doesn’t like a good X-Files marathon? XD ) but overall I really good read!

I can’t pinpoint exactly what I liked about this book. It wasn’t as mentally stimulating as some of the scifi I like to read typically is, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless! I’d recommend it to the alien and alien invasion sci-fi buffs in a heartbeat.

This book fits these 2015 Reading Challenges:

2015 GoodReads Reading Challenge

You Read How Many Books?

52 Books in 52 Weeks

Read A Million Pages

105 Reading Challenge (Categories: 1, 4, 5: ORANGE, 9, 10)

2015 New To You Reading Challenge (New Author To Me)

This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. In no way does it affect my rating or review.

Author Bio:
Dr. Stan Schatt spent many years as a futurist responsible for forecasting future technology products and markets for Fortune 500 companies. He served as a Fulbright Professor and taught at Tokyo University, USC, and the University of Houston. He is the author of over thirty books ranging from science fiction and paranormal mysteries to young adult novels. Schatt is a technology expert who has been quoted in the New York Times, Fortune, and BusinessWeek as well as CNBC.

Author Links:

Website || Facebook || Goodreads || Amazon || Twitter

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.

Tour & Guest Post — Midnight: There is Magic in the Air…

Welcome one and all to another tour. Midnight is a new YA Fantasy novel by Eve Eschenbacher. 

There is a guest post and giveaway, so be sure to scroll down and check them both out! 😉

Title: Midnight
Author: Eve Eschenbacher
Publisher: Booktrope
Publication Date: May 11, 2015
Purchase Links: Amazon ~ Barnes & Nobles
Genre: Young Adult

When ordinary girl, Karen, waits out her last year of high school, she hopes for magic. Her small town has nothing for her and she longs for adventure, which she finds at a party of all places. Finally away from the small town minds she meets someone new. Someone, who with a few scratches of ink on her skin, awakens a part of her she never knew about.

All of a sudden Karen is shown a whole new world, and Gabriel wants her to make it hers. All she has to do is love him eternally. Her new life is magical and amazing, until her new powers bring a new threat. Can she do what needs to be done? The sacrifices and decisions that will need to be made–Is she strong enough?

 

Guest Post:
Do you believe in magic like Karen does in your book does?

Do I believe in magic?

Well, Karen certainly hoped for magic. Karen and I have something similar, in that we’re both from small, rural farming communities that were far away from larger cities. It was a setting that I hadn’t seen in many YA books, and I wanted to use it for mine. I grew up in an area that was a 1-square mile town surrounded by 20 square miles of farmland. My house was a quarter mile away from the next house, and it was one of two houses on that side of the road. You had to drive if you wanted to get anywhere, because the nearest grocery store was a 15 minute drive away, and there was no bus service out there.

So Karen and I, we both felt like there was something out there. There had to be. When you’re that isolated, you almost feel as if you’re travelling between worlds whenever you go to school, or go home. Once you pass the “city limits” and suddenly it’s nothing but cornfields as far as the eye can see, you feel as if you’ve pierced the veil and passed over into a different world. I could sit in my backyard at night in the summer and see for miles in any direction by the moonlight. I could even watch fireworks from five different towns during the fourth of July. It really lent itself to the idea that I had passed over to the land of the fairies, and was hiding somewhere in Queen Mab’s domain.

But there’s another feeling that comes from that kind of isolation, a feeling of longing for that populated world, or longing for something different. That quiet, safe, familiar, samey sort of background becomes more and more like a blanket, isolating you and smothering you until you want nothing more but to see something, anything different. For me, I made my something different by writing stories and exploring virtual worlds. Karen is at that stage where she’s just hoping for something different to appear, and *poof* there’s Gabriel. He’s her something different, and she’s drawn to that.

That magical message on her arm helps, too. 🙂

A book I’ve read several times is “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman. One of the central concepts of the book is that believing in something gives it power, and enough belief in something can make it real. I love this concept of magic, that the mind makes something real. While I can say that my attempts to think myself back to eighteenth century France have been thus far unsuccessful, I can at least make it real through my writing, and share that with all of my readers.

Author Bio:

Eve Eschenbacher lives in the Pacific Northwest with her son and a very fluffy cat. By day she’s a video game voice-over producer, and by night she writes books and freelances as a Japanese translator. Always with a book and a video game close at hand, she probably spends too much time looking at screens.

 

 

Author Links:

Twitter || Facebook || Website

GIVEAWAY:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.

 

Tour & Danny’s (The Dog) Top Ten List — Molly Lee

Welcome again to another wonderful tour. This one is for Molly Lee, Andrew Joyce’s sequel (or really, “side-quel” as some have amended) to his best-selling novel Redemption!

There’s no giveaway this time, but we do have a special treat as Danny The Dog entertains us with his top ten list of “favorite things.” Be sure to scroll down and check it out! 

Title: Molly Lee
Author: Andrew Joyce
Publication Date: March, 29, 2015
Purchase Links: Amazon ~Goodreads ~ B&N ~ iTunes ~Kobo
Genre: Literature

It’s 1861 and the Civil War has just started. Molly is an eighteen-year-old girl living on her family’s farm in Virginia when two deserters from the Southern Cause enter her life. One of them—a twenty-four-year-old Huck Finn—ends up saving her virtue, if not her life.

Molly is so enamored with Huck, she wants to run away with him. But Huck has other plans and is gone the next morning before she awakens. Thus starts a sequence of events that leads Molly into adventure after adventure; most of them not so nice.

We follow the travails of Molly Lee, starting when she is eighteen and ending when she is fifty-six. Even then Life has one more surprise in store for her.

Molly Lee is the story of a woman who knows what she wants and starts out to get it. Molly is about to set off on the quest of a lifetime… of two lifetimes.

Danny’s Top Ten List:

I’ve been asked to write a top ten list. You know, I would love to do so. However, the ice cream truck is coming down the street, and I’ve got to get out there and get my daily Popsicle. I even have the exact change today!

Hence, I’ll be turning the honors over to my dog, Danny. Now don’t you all laugh. Danny is an author in his own right. He writes a monthly column for a blogger that gets 1,000 visitors a day. He has his own Facebook author page, and some of his fans (all women) have flown in from around the world to meet him. That is 100% true. So may I introduce you all to Danny the Dog.

Man, Andrew sure can be long winded at times. Hello, I am Danny the Dog, purveyor of wit, wisdom and wonderfulness. So let’s get down to business before Andrew gets back and screws up the whole thing.

Danny’s Top Ten Favorite Things

1. Hot dogs
2. Finding chicken bones on the street.
3. Sniffing where another dog has gone before.
4. Wait . . . let’s go back to #3. You humans are so proud of yourselves for coming up with Facebook. Well, I gotta tell you, we dogs had our own Facebook while you guys were still living in caves. What do you think we’re doing when we sniff one of our fellow canine’s pee? I’ll tell you . . . we’re reading their post and when we are done, we either “like” it (a quick tinkle) or “comment” on it (a more pronounced stream).
5. I see we’re out of time, so we’ll have to continue this later. And besides, I’ve got to con Andrew out of a few licks from his Popsicle.

Danny the Dog, over and out.

Author Bio:

Andrew Joyce is the author of the best-selling novel REDEMPTION: The Further Adventures of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. He lives on a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with his dog, Danny

 Author Links:

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.

Tour, GIVEAWAY, and (eventual) Book Review! — Join me in the world of “Omni”

Hullo, hullo readers! Welcome to my stop for Omni (Book 1 of the Omni Duology)!

Be sure to scroll down and check out my review (eventually up there…) as well as enter the GIVEAWAY for a $20 GC, and 2 e-copies of Vivid!

Title: Omni (Book 1 of the Omni Duology)
Author: Andrea Murray
Publisher: Booktrope
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi
Amazon ~ Barnes & Nobles ~ iTunes ~ Goodreads

They will risk everything, even challenging the all-seeing eye of the Omni government. But will the prize be worth the cost?

Seventeen-year-old Pierce is a Drudge, the lowest social stratum in society.  For over two years, he’s hoped—prayed—that his upcoming aptitude test will finally free him from his virtual slavery and give him a chance at a better existence.  When he rescues Harmony, an Artist and member of the most successful stratum, his life takes an unbelievable twist.

With his gallant act and good looks, he becomes a media sensation.  Every stratum in society seeks his membership for their publicity, but as he becomes closer to Harmony, Pierce realizes what fame in Omni is truly like. His choices will not only affect him but Harmony as well. The life Pierce thought he wanted may not be worth the cost to either of them.

REVIEW & THOUGHTS

*ADDED IN: 5/21/15*

Rating: 3 Stars

Alright. So the premise was great. Characters, interesting enough (although too frustratingly perfect at times). Pace, a bit fast and disjointed at times, but still manageable. Romance… eh, I couldn’t care, but it was decent enough. So what happened?

I got further into the story, that’s what happened.

I’m not really satisfied with labeling this one bad, because it wasn’t… but it wasn’t as good as it should have been from how it started off. What drew me in from the very beginning was the prologue which thrusts us into a desperate situation immediately and has us wondering, “What’s going on? What’s happening? How did it get like this?” But quickly thereafter everything just… plummets. I wanted Omni to be a little less… LESS of what it ended up being.

Omni is basically a dystopian re-imagining of the a classic Greek mythos: the story of Paris and Helen – which, all-in-all sounds pretty damned cool. Except it turned into what I would call a hot mess waay too quickly. Don’t get me wrong, there were some good points to it! I loved the relationship between Hale and Pierce, but there was far too much melodrama (almost like a bad soap opera) in the rest of the book to keep me interested, and then coupled with a pace that didn’t really allow for any character development or growth, plus a rather generic authoritarian-government-in-control-of-everyone’s-lives scenario didn’t help the mix at all.

What saved it from being a complete washout for me was HALE (Oh gods, he’s awesome) and that ending which suddenly brought us back to why this book should have been good. It leaves you wanting the next one – even after the flaws you just suffered through in the last two-hundred pages – and that’s how I feel after finishing it.

This book fits these 2015 Reading Challenges:

2015 GoodReads Reading Challenge

You Read How Many Books?

52 Books in 52 Weeks

Read A Million Pages

105 Reading Challenge (Categories: 1, 4, 10)

2015 New To You Reading Challenge (New Series & New Author To Me)

This book was provided for free in exchange for an honest review. In no way does it affect my rating or review.

Author Bio:

Andrea Murray has been teaching English for longer than most of her students have been alive. She has taught everything from elementary reading groups to concurrent credit classes. She is currently teaching junior high language arts. She has a BSE and an MA in English. She lives in a very small town in Arkansas with her husband of nineteen years and their two children. In addition to teaching, she also blogs on Chick Lit Plus, writes young adult fiction, and recently completed her fourth novel, Omni, a YA dystopian based on the story of Paris and Helen. Andrea has also written The Vivid Trilogy, a YA paranormal romance. When she isn’t doing that, she’s probably reading or watching bad B movies.

Author Links:

Website || Goodreads || Amazon || Facebook || Twitter

Giveaway

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This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours

Excerpt Tour + Giveaway! — “Insight Kindling” is awaiting…

Hullo everyone! Welcome to my stop on the Good Tales Book Tour for Insight Kindling, Book 2 of The Call To Search Everywhen series!

Be sure to scroll down and check out the excerpt as well as enter the GIVEAWAY for signed copies and all sorts of lovely swag!

Title: Insight Kindling
Series: The Call to Search Everywhen #2
Publication Date: January 13, 2015
Publisher: Czidor Lore, LLC
Book Links: Goodreads
Purchase: Amazon || iTunes || Barnes & Nobles

Calla faces charges against her for changing the past. Her use of the Travel Glasses resulted in the creation of two writings that affected the lives of Edgar, the inventor of the Travel Glasses, and Valcas, their prior owner. Now Calla must explain her actions before the Time and Space Travel Agency.

The hearing does not end well. The travel commissioner finds Calla guilty as charged and forces her to choose between two harsh penalties. Despite the risk of becoming lost herself, Calla accepts a dangerous travel mission that may help her find her father. She teams up with a group of talented travelers. While working with them, she soon discovers that she has a special travel talent of her own.

Pursued by the sentient being of white light that’s been tracking her father’s bloodline, Calla fears her newfound talents may not be enough to protect her and her teammates before they complete their mission.

Insight Kindling is the second installment in The Call to Search Everywhen serial series.

EXCERPT FOR:

INSIGHT KINDLING (Book #2)

Valcas and I landed with me still in his arms.

I looked up at him and caught my breath.  “You could have told me when we needed to jump.  I’m not going to run.”

“Good.  Between the Uproar that is after you and now the TSTA, I’m the least of your worries.”  He let go of me and looked up at the sky.  “Stay close by.”

I followed Valcas’ gaze.  The sky was a dirty slate of charcoal smeared with a scribbling of chalky clouds.  Everything underneath it was thick with fog.

“What’s an Uproar?” I asked.

“The being that knocked you flat to the ground at Winston Lake?  Suffice it to say that the being is deadly.  It was playing with you back then, testing you out.”

“Okay, but what is it?”  All I remembered seeing at the dock near the lake where Valcas and I had first met was a flash of bright white light.  It attacked me multiple times, once just before Valcas arrived, and then again the next day, right before Valcas and I escaped using his travel glasses.

“The Uproar is a disturbance.  Chaos.  A being that feeds on the blood of travelers and the lost.”  Valcas waved his arms in front of him, as if he were trying to part the fog, to clear a path.  “This is not good.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The visibility here is worse than I’ve ever seen it.”

I tried to read the expression on his face, but I couldn’t.  It was bad enough that the glasses covered his eyes.  The fog covered everything else.

“Take my hand,” he said.  “We have to run inside.”

As I stared at his outstretched hand, my stomach twisted into a knot.  “But I’m not lost.”

“I know.”

Hand in hand, our feet pressed forward to the same beat.  The gravel beneath us grated with each step.  A bright white glow, thicker and more pervasive than the gritty fog, once again surrounded us.  Without our travel glasses the light would have been painful.  It would have forced both of us to close our eyes.

I kept my eyes open as the light faded.  Smooth polished stones replaced the rough gravel below us.  We stopped running.  I let go of Valcas’ hand and stepped forward.

A steel blue building stood at the end of the stone pathway.  Its façade of smooth brick-shaped rectangles reflected the sky like glossy mirrors.  The door to the building was closed, barred shut with long mirrored posts.  The stenciling on the sign above the door read:

TIME AND SPACE TRAVEL AGENCY.

I wiped sweat from my palms across my jeans.  All I had to do was run, to use the travel glasses to transport me somewhere else.  Anywhere else but here.

Author Bio:

Chess Desalls recently authored the first two installments of the YA time travel series, The Call to Search Everywhen. She’s a longtime reader of fantasy and sci-fi novels, particularly young adult fiction. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys traveling and trying to stay in tune on her flute.

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Author Links:

Goodreads | Twitter | Blog | Facebook | Website | Tumblr | Instagram

Giveaway

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This tour was organized by Good Tales Book Tours.

Blog Tour, Interview, & GIVEAWAYS! — Jaded (3 Part Serial Romance) by Ali Parker [May 4 – 15]

Hullo, hullo, my readers!

Today’s tour is for an Ali Parker 3-part serial called Jaded.

Keep scrolling down for an interview with her, and the giveaway!
One of you could be the lucky winner! Good luck everyone, and have fun! 😉

 

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Title: Jaded (3 Part Serial Romance)
Author: Ali Parker
Publication Date: April 15, 2015

As a photographer for the New York Post, Kari Martin was used to seeing heartache and scandal up close. But one night at the club… her whole world changed.

Heartbroken and willing to call off her wedding, she decides a change is in order and moves from NYC to a small town in Maine, where the average age of the residents there is sixty (or thereabouts). She works to fit in perfectly, and tries like hell not to let anyone find out just how very jaded she’s recently become over the lie called love.

Jake Isaac left Texas quite a few years ago; his heart torn from his chest, and his mind set on being a bachelor forever. Maine would welcome him, give him land to explore and a community to belong to. Getting a job as the coach of the local junior high and serving on the fire department kept him busy — and labeled him a hometown hero — but the truth of his damaged heart was forever hidden.

No one would ever know just how jaded he was about love. That is… until he meets Kari.

 

Purchase Links:

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Scribd

The next installments in the series:

Box Series Available for only $2.99

Paperback Book Coming Soon…

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AN INTERVIEW WITH ALI PARKER

Q: Tell us a little about yourself!

A: I have the best hubby in the world and we live in a house that fits us perfectly. Small pool in the back and lots of woodworking tools in the garage for him. We’re in our early 30’s and love life. I’m a lawyer most days of the week, but my books give me a creative outlet.

I’m a free spirit, helpful, loving and dream in violent colors. Life is a gift and I’m the kind of person who lives it to the fullest.

Q: You just released two romance novels, back to back. Tell us what’s next or are you done for a little while?

A: Done? I’m just getting started!! I plan on releasing Justified in May/June to tell Marc and Lisa’s story. They are two of the characters you are introduced to in my Jaded serials. After that I will move over and work on the serial for the last couple, Sicily and Drake. I have a million other projects underway, one with a good friend of mine, Lexy Timms. We’ll be co-authoring something this year too, or several things really. Now that Baited and Jaded are out and doing so well, I’ll start pushing forward on these other things too.

Big project for me will be to connect with my fans. I’m interested in knowing what they love and want – that’s where I want to focus my time honestly.

Q: Word on the street is that you write a Billionaire Series under a pen name. Tell us about this?

A: The hookers are telling my secrets, I see? Yes. I write under Zoe Reid, a name I just opened to really test out the truth of Billionaires and Step Brothers being the latest craze in the world of romance. I can see why both topics would be, so I figured I’d write something to see how people reacted. My stories will be serials again, part I and II being on Amazon now.

I’ll have another two parts out in the next few weeks and hope to write up the eight part serial by the end of June. The stepbrother part seems like it would hold incest at its core, but I’m not down with that, so mine are new siblings later in life – no blood relationship. Just the taboo of loving someone that society would deem inappropriate.

Check it out here:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoe-Reid/e/B00WC5555Q/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Q: Why Romance for your genre? Tell us about how you ended up here verses another genre.

A: Well, my favorite genre is paranormal romance, but I wanted to focus on starting my writing career in a world I knew, exploring the various dreams and fantasies in my own heart. Where I love the supernatural elements, they leave something to be desired for those of us a little grounded in the “what if” truly being a possibility. I’m not likely to run into a vamp (oh please let it happen?), but a sexy guy at the office? Absolutely.

I love the idea of creating a story with a clear line to a happy ending too. Too many of us don’t get the happy ending in life – I have it now, but it hasn’t always been that way – and we should get to experience it in one way or another. Love is beautiful and precious, the feelings of it washing over us whether we’re living it or reading it. That’s why I chose it.

Q: What’s the difference between Erotica and Romance? I feel like it crosses the line nowadays. Tell us your thoughts on the two. Any plans to cross over to erotica?

A: Great question. I researched this not too long ago because Baited was my first romance novel and I was UBER careful to have one small sex scene that was hot (in my opinion), but not explicit. I was concerned with being labeled as erotica when it really wasn’t. I watched my verbiage and ensured that it was as “clean” as could be.

With Jaded, my male character just wouldn’t corporate, his hormones giving way to several sex scenes and a few more details. I’ll never write the physical aspects really of love-making, but I can paint the emotion well enough around it (again my own opinion) to push the feelings of what’s happening. After finishing it, I was worried about crossing the line again. So I researched it.

Basically, the industry says that the verbiage and level of detail isn’t the defining factor – the focus is. Is the story about love and emotions with some sex? Romance novel. Is it about sexual fantasy and finding yourself sexually with a little bit of relationship and romance? Erotica.

Not sure if I’ll ever cross over. I love telling a good story and in the world of adults, that includes sex. To leave it out or overdo it would be a travesty to me.

Q: What encouragement would you give to a new indie writer, or someone who’s just starting to get that famous writers itch, to pick up the proverbial pen and get busy creating?

A: I would simply say that we’re all capable of doing anything we believe possible. Nothing is out of your reach with enough “want-to” and work put forth. Pick up that pen and write your heart out. You can worry about the details later, but get the story out while your muse is pushing it through you. The editing and next steps, the struggle with going indie or with a publisher, the cover art – all details for later. For now, create and breathe life into something new to share with us. You can do ANYTHING you put your mind to.

So get to it…

 THANKS ALI!
YOUR INSPIRING WORDS WILL DEFINITELY HELP
US REALIZE WHAT WE’RE CAPABLE OF!

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Author Bio

Ali Parker is a contemporary romance writer who is looking to flood the market this year with lots of great, quick reads. For those of you who love a full-length novel, we’ll be boxing up the serial trilogies into a box set a week after the last release.

We’re looking forward to putting out both Baited, and Ali’s latest project, Jaded in the month of April.

Want to know when Ali releases something new? Join her mailing list!
http://eepurl.com/bjFlZD

Author Links

Amazon || Twitter || Facebook || Mailing List

 

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GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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This tour was organized by: