Shower of Books Giveaway Hop

Hooray for Giveaway hops! You made it. I'm kind of in the middle of this hop, so if you've made it this far, you are quite dedicated.

Thanks to One a Day YA and I Am a Reader Not a Writer for the Shower of Books Giveaway Hop.

Today we have an awesome giveaway brought to you by author T.L. Shreffler. Her debut YA novel, Sora's Quest (Cat's Eye #1), was just released, and she is giving away a Kindle copy to FIVE lucky readers!

Let me give you two reasons you want to enter this giveaway.

Reason number one:

Enticing, no?

Reason number two:

A noblewoman, an assassin, and a soul-stealing necklace....

Sora planned on running away from her wedding, but she never expected to be kidnapped! Dumped into a world of magical races, arcane jewelry and forgotten lore, she finds herself at the mercy of a dangerous assassin, haunted by an even darker past. She yearns for freedom, but he won't let her go -- not when her Cat's Eye necklace is the only thing that can save his life.

But the necklace itself presents a problem. It is an ancient device from the long forgotten War of the Races, and its magic has the ability to steal souls. Can Sora learn to wield its power -- or will the power wield her?

Winner of the SKOW Best Fantasy Award! Find it on Amazon here.


Sounds awesome right? Well, five of you get to experience this amazing title for yourselves. Just enter below.



a Rafflecopter giveaway


(If the rafflecopter isn't working because it hates my guts, just follow this blog and then comment leaving your name and an email address. Thanks.)



The Giveaway will run from April 20 to April 25th. The winners will be announced and contacted via email; you will have 24 hours to claim your prize, or we will have to pick another winner. And then you'll find out that you won and it'll be too late because we'll have already given your book to someone else.

Don't make us do that.

Good luck! And don't forget to check out the other sites below to continue the hop.

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Review: Prince Charming Must Die!, by Isabella Fontaine and Ken Brosky

From the Authors:

On the eve of her 18^th birthday, high school junior Alice Goodenough feels on top of the world. Classes are almost finished. She’s about to start her summer job at the local library, where she’ll be surrounded by all of her favorite books. And she has a wonderful boyfriend.

Then the rabbit shows up. The giant talking rabbit. He has a message:

200 years ago, the Brothers Grimm unleashed their stories upon the world.

Literally.

With the help of a magic pen and paper, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm brought all of their characters to life. The world was a more magical place … for a time. Slowly, the Grimms’ characters began to change for the worse. They became Corrupted. Evil. They didn’t belong in our world, but it was too late for the Brothers Grimm to destroy them.

Only a hero could save the day. Every generation for the past 200 years, a hero has been chosen to fight the Corrupted and rid the world of the Grimms’ fairy tales. To her horror, Alice has been chosen as the next hero. As her 18^th birthday nears, she begins to realize life is never going back to normal. School will never be the same.

As for her boyfriend, Edward … well, he just might be hiding a terrible secret.

***

I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  Judging by the title, I was expecting something a little corny, a little funny, and a little entertaining.  I was more than a little entertained, and the story was much more adventurous and action packed than I had anticipated.  It wasn't a very long book, but from what I understand, another installment will be coming out in a couple of months.  I will definitely be reading it.  

I had only one complaint with the book (other than a few minor typos) and it had to do with the age of the heroine, Alice.  She seemed a little old to be in the 11th grade.  There were also a few inconsistencies  surrounding her.   Sometimes she was dealing with very grown up issues, and other times she was playing tag.  Tag?  And I don't think I've heard a teen use the phrase "we necked" in...well...ever.  

Other than my issue with the age inconsistencies, I really enjoyed this read and I can't wait for the next installment.  Alice is a character that I would love to learn more about and see how she develops over the course of this series.  I would love to find out how and why she was chosen to be the hero of her generation.  I am also interested to see if her newest friend will prove loyal to her, or possibly be her downfall.  

Title: Prince Charming Must Die!

Authors: Isabella Fontaine, Ken Brosky

Publisher: Brew City Press

Release Date: April 25, 2012

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Author Interview and Giveaway!

Today we are very pleased to have Vanessa Morgan with us. She is the author of Drowned Sorrow and The Strangers Outside.

Her upcoming screenplay, A Good Man, will be released on April 15th. It's actually being turned into a French feature film by Radowski Films.

Here is a short blip of her bio, stolen straight from her webpage:

Vanessa Morgan was born May 24, 1975 in Vilvoorde, Belgium. She graduated from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and she first worked as a freelance journalist, a language teacher and a pet supply store manager before becoming a full-time writer. Her native language is Dutch, but she loves to write in other languages such as English and French.

Vanessa Morgan lives in Brussels, Belgium, where she is at work on a French vampire screenplay for Radowski Films and a comic book series starring her beloved cat Avalon.

And on to the interview:

It's great to have you Vanessa. So, tell us about your upcoming release, A Good Man.

A Good Man is a dark comedy with a few horror elements.  I could best describe it as American Psycho with a vampire. Some people have also compared it to the TV-series Dexter.  It's a fun and moving story and it turns the vampire myth completely on its head. It's not the kind of vampire story you've seen before and if you think you know how things will turn out, then think again.

It sounds pretty exciting! Can you tell us a little more about Louis as a character. Is he your stereotypical vampire?

Not at all. Have you already seen an old, Botoxed, self-conscious vampire with arthritis? Probably not. And that's just the beginning. Louis has several other traits that set him apart from 'normal' vampires. He's a funny character, obviously, but he's also touching and even a bit tragic at times.

Is A Good Man the first in a series?

I don't have the intention of turning it into a series, but who knows... Only the future will tell.

This is actually a screenplay. It's being made into a French feature film; will we be able to see it in the states?

Sure. It will be a big production with a French star cast, so it'll be available on DVD and it should make it to the American screens as well.

What made you decide to start writing?

Seeing movies and stage plays that I adored and recognizing something of myself in it. It's all about creating emotions and about sharing something that 'rings true'.

Can you tell us a little more about yourself?

I'm obsessed with my cat, horror movies, tea and spicy food. All the rest is secondary. I've come to a point where writing has become my day job, so that means that I'm fortunate enough to combine my job with everything I love.

When will A Good Man be available to readers and where can we get a copy?

The Screenplay of A Good Man will be released on April 15, 2012 and will be available in all the digital formats such as Kindle, Kobo, Nook etc. It will also be released in French as Un homme bien. The movie itself is still in preproduction, so you will all have to wait a little for that one, but the screenplay is an excellent way to have an exclusive preview.

Where can fans go to learn more about you and watch for upcoming releases?

I have a personal blog at http://vanessa-morgan.blogspot.com where I post updates about upcoming releases, pictures of book signings and extracts of guest posts. I'm also doing a cute web comic about my cat at http://avalon-lion.blogspot.com.

Vanessa is giving a way a copy of A Good Man to one lucky reader! Enter below, and a winner will be announced on Friday April 20th. You must verify your winning email address within 48 hours or another winner will be chosen. 

Good Luck! (Click the Read More link to enter)

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Review: Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay (Juliet Immortal #1)

From Goodreads:

The most tragic love story in history . . .

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, a sacrifice made to ensure his own immortality. But what Romeo didn't anticipate was that Juliet would be granted eternity, as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light. For 700 years, she's fought Romeo for the souls of true lovers, struggling to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent. Until the day she meets someone she's forbidden to love, and Romeo, oh Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy that love.

"These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume."
—Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

**

OK, here comes a long review. Ready?

I have been wanting to read this book for a very long time. I saw it on Amazon and read the interview posted there with author Stacey Jay. I loved her interview and thought, "I've got to read this book!" Because, let's be honest, Romeo and Juliet is a classic, but it's also morbid. They don't call it a tragedy for nothing. I won't mention that I was completely obsessed with it as a teenager.

Anyway.

When my library called and told me they'd bought the book because I requested it, I was ecstatic! I drove over right then and got the book. I finished it 4 days later. The surprising thing was that, while I felt a push to finish and know what was going to happen next, it wasn't all that hard for me to put the book down in between my reading spurts. So, while 4 days seems pretty fast, it's actually longer than I would have expected.

Juliet: Eh...I'm not quite sure how I liked her as a character. If she were a normal person, rather than the heroine of a love story, I'd probably like her just fine. But the fact was she supposedly had 700 years of practice, and all of a sudden it's really hard for her to do her job. What? There was a little bit of light shed on that subject late in the book. For those of you who've read it, it's the comment Nurse makes about the number of shifts she's done. For those of you who haven't read it, read it and you'll discover what I mean.

Overall, I was sort of unmoved by her performance. I didn't hate her, but she wasn't one of my all-time favorite characters. And really, being distracted by a guy...wasn't that what got her into this mess in a first place?

Romeo: Surprisingly, I liked him. Sorta. Kinda. Just a little. He's super complex and totally warped. I'm probably a tad bit biased toward him because I've already started the sequel (called Romeo Redeemed...). But in the end we discover that even though he's a monster, he is still doing what he thinks is best and what will save Juliet. It's like he says, he's always loved her.


Ben: Um, I'm just going to say that I would have totally loved Ben had it not been for one simple thing. The head-over-heels, complete devotion kind of love that abounded seemed way too fast for me. It's supposed to be love at first sight, but that's what got Juliet into this mess in the first place! (Wait...have I said that before?) So really, it's not his fault. As a guy, I liked him. He was awesome. The situation was what make me pull back just a little. However, there was a twist at the end that was totally brilliant. 


The plot was fascinating. It was unlike anything I've ever read before. Two thumbs way up. The pacing was good and I didn't feel any jerks in the storyline (except for with Ariel's "best friend" Gemma. 'Scuze me? What kind of friend....never mind.) A drawback is the amount of blood, guts and gore mentioned in this book. The Mercenaries are the bad guys, and they are way bad guys. They feed (literally) off of killing people and convincing lovers to murder each other. Yeah, ick. There wasn't always a ton of detail, but that's the beauty of a good writer. She suggests just enough to let your mind fill in the blanks. And then, of course, there are the times when she just lays it out on the line and you don't need an imagination to know exactly what's happened.


All in all, if you don't have a weak stomach, this is a very interesting book, worth reading if you've got a gap in your to-be-read pile. I am already reading the sequel and finding it very interesting.


There is heavy violence, sexual references and swearing.

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (August 9, 2011)
• Source: local library
• Amazon
• Goodreads

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