Wednesday 29 March 2017

Book Blitz + Giveaway - Ivory Queen (Order Of The Bell #1.5) by Jacob Devlin



Hello readers!
Are you looking for your next read?
Well, let us help make things easier for you!

Welcome to the Book Blast for
Ivory Queen (Order Of The Bell #1.5) by Jacob Devlin
presented by Blaze Publishing!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
Looking for more books to read? Read on and find a book that’s waiting for you to devour!




Twenty-five years ago, the venomous Queen Avoria was banished from the enchanted realms of Florindale and sentenced to spend eternity inside a cursed mirror.
After a seemingly endless tumble through the mirror’s abyss, Avoria awakens in a gloomy metropolis in the darkest corner of Wonderland. There she meets the shrewd King of Hearts, Cornelius Redding, and the two strike a turbulent alliance. As Avoria helps Cornelius execute his conquest of Wonderland, she plots her own vengeance against the world that cast her out. In the city's cold shadows, Avoria finds pawns in the souls that defied her, truth in the reflection that calls to her, and power in the past that forged her. And thus, the Ivory Queen begins carving a path to the ultimate throne.


Ivory Queen (Order of the Bell #1.5) by Jacob Devlin
Publication Date: January 10, 2017
Publisher: Blaze Publishing






WHAT READER'S ARE SAYING:


"a well-written glimpse into the magic mirror." - Janelle

" Avoria is a really fascinating villain"Samantha





When Jacob Devlin was four years old, he would lounge around in Batman pajamas and make semi-autobiographical picture books about an adventurous python named Jake the Snake. Eventually, he traded his favorite blue crayon for a black pen, and he never put it down. When not reading or writing, Jacob loves practicing his Italian, watching stand-up comedy, going deaf at rock concerts, and geeking out at comic book conventions. He does most of these things in southern Arizona.






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The asteroid hurtling toward the earth will kill billions.
The Emperor and his Gold Court will be safe in their space station, watching from the stars. The Silvers will be protected underground. But the Bronzes must fight it out at the Shadow Trials for the few remaining spots left on the space station.
When an enigmatic benefactor hands Maia Graystone a spot in the Trials, she won’t just get a chance at salvation for her and her baby brother, Max: She gets to confront the mother who abandoned her in prison, the mad Emperor who murdered her father, and the Gold prince who once loved her. But it’s the dark bastard prince she’s partnered with that will make her question everything, including her own heart. With the asteroid racing closer every day, Maia must trust someone to survive.
The question is who?


Shadow Fall (Shadow Fall #1) by Audrey Grey
Publication Date: November 22, 2016
Publisher: Blaze Publishing







the-surrendered-case-maynard-blaze-publishing-ebook

After a financial collapse devastates the United States, the new government imposes a tax on the nation’s most valuable resource—the children.
add to goodreads







the-carver-ebook-m2

Crescenzo never would’ve thought his father’s figurines were modeled after real people, but when his loved ones start vanishing from his life, he must unite their real life counterparts and seek their aid to save his family.
add to goodreads


The Carver by Jacob Devlin
Publication Date: July 19, 2016
Publisher: Blaze Publishing






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Thursday 23 March 2017

Review - Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan




Title: Hold Back the Stars
Author: Katie Khan
Pages: 308
Publisher: Transworld Digital
Release date: 26th January 2017

Blurb from Goodreads: 
 
We’re going to be fine.’ He looks around, but there’s nothing out here: nothing but the bottomless black universe on their left, the Earth suspended in glorious technicolour to their right.

Carys and Max have ninety minutes of air left. None of this was supposed to happen. But, perhaps this doesn’t need to be the end…
Adrift in space with nothing to hold on to but each other, Carys and Max can’t help but look back at the well-ordered world they have left behind – at the rules they couldn’t reconcile themselves to, and a life to which they might now never return.
For in a world where love is banned, what happens when you find it?











My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley*




Carys and Max are floating in space with only ninety minutes of air remaining before they die.
As Carys and Max count down the minutes left, they contemplate their home and the rules they broke by loving each other.


Hold Back the Stars was an emotional, unique read.
Carys and Max come from Europia, a utopia in a world where the United States and the Middle East wiped each other out. In Europia people are encouraged to make a name for themselves as individuals while they are young before settling down later to have a family. I thought this was an interesting idea but, obviously, it wouldn't work for everyone.
I liked both Carys and Max. They had very different upbringings and beliefs but they brought the best out in each other. I thought the romance was sweet.
The plot was interesting and went in a direction that I wasn't expecting. I got rather emotional in places.
I enjoyed the writing style, which held my attention and made me want to read on to find out what happened to Carys and Max.


Overall this was an interesting, unique read that I would recommend.
 


Monday 20 March 2017

Review - Timekeeper (Timekeeper, #1) by Tara Sim




Title: Timekeeper (Timekeeper, #1)
Author: Tara Sim
Pages: 424
Publisher: Sky Pony Press
Release date: 8th November 2016

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Two o’clock was missing.

In an alternate Victorian world controlled by clock towers, a damaged clock can fracture time—and a destroyed one can stop it completely.

It’s a truth that seventeen-year-old clock mechanic Danny Hart knows all too well; his father has been trapped in a Stopped town east of London for three years. Though Danny is a prodigy who can repair not only clockwork, but the very fabric of time, his fixation with staging a rescue is quickly becoming a concern to his superiors.

And so they assign him to Enfield, a town where the tower seems to be forever plagued with problems. Danny’s new apprentice both annoys and intrigues him, and though the boy is eager to work, he maintains a secretive distance. Danny soon discovers why: he is the tower’s clock spirit, a mythical being that oversees Enfield’s time. Though the boys are drawn together by their loneliness, Danny knows falling in love with a clock spirit is forbidden, and means risking everything he’s fought to achieve.

But when a series of bombings at nearby towers threaten to Stop more cities, Danny must race to prevent Enfield from becoming the next target or he’ll not only lose his father, but the boy he loves, forever.
 










My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley*




Danny Hart lives in a version of Victorian London where clock towers control time. Danny is a clock mechanic like his father, who has been trapped in a town that has been Stopped for three years.
When Danny is assigned to the clock tower in Enfield, he meets the clock's spirit, Colton. The two are drawn to each other but Danny knows that having a relationship with a clock spirit isn't allowed.
When several clock towers are targeted by bombs, Danny is worried that Enfield will be next.
Who is behind the bombings?
Can Danny and Colton have a future?


I really wanted to like this book.
The idea of clock towers having spirits that control time was intriguing and I liked that Timekeeper was set in Victorian London. I also liked the mythology aspects - I'm a sucker for mythology.
Danny was an okay character and I felt sorry for him.
I wasn't a fan of the romance. It happened too quickly for my liking but I could see that both Danny and Colton were lonely.
The plot was alright. I didn't guess the person behind the bombings.
The pacing was a bit slow for me and I lost interest at several points.
I was disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.


Overall this was an okay read.


Saturday 18 March 2017

Book Blitz + Giveaway - Bellamy and The Brute by Alicia Michaels


Bellamy and The Brute by Alicia Michaels
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: March 13th 2017
Genres: Fairy Tales, Retelling, Young Adult

A fresh twist on a classic story, Bellamy and the Brute proves true love really is blind.

When Bellamy McGuire is offered a summer job babysitting for the wealthy Baldwin family, she’s reluctant to accept. After all, everyone in town knows about the mysterious happenings at the mansion on the hill—including the sudden disappearance of the Baldwin’s eldest son, Tate. The former football star and golden boy of Wellhollow Springs became a hermit at the age of sixteen, and no one has seen or heard from him since. Rumors abound as to why, with whisperings about a strange illness—one that causes deformity and turned him into a real-life monster. Bellamy wants to dismiss these rumors as gossip, but when she’s told that if she takes the job, she must promise to never, ever visit the third floor of the mansion, she begins to wonder if there really is some dark truth hidden there.

Tate’s condition may not be the only secret being kept at Baldwin House. There are gaps in the family’s financial history that don’t add up, and surprising connections with unscrupulous characters. At night there are strange noises, unexplained cold drafts, and the electricity cuts out. And then there are the rose petals on the staircase. The rose petals that no one but Bellamy seems to be able to see. The rose petals that form a trail leading right up to the 3 rd floor, past the portrait of a handsome young man, and down a dark hallway where she promised she would never, ever go…

As Bellamy works to unravel the mysteries of Baldwin House and uncover the truth about Tate, she realizes that she is in way over her head… in more ways than one. Can her bravery and determination help to right the wrongs of the past and free the young man whose story has captured her heart?














Author Bio
 
Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. With several Fantasy and Science Fiction titles under her belt, Alicia strives to write multicultural characters and stories that touch the heart. V-Card, the first book of the Sharing Spaces series, was her first Contemporary Romance.

The mother of three and wife to a soldier, she loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.








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Friday 17 March 2017

Interview - Kim Briggs, Author of Starr Fall



Today I'm hosting an interview with Kim Briggs, author of Starr Fall.


About Starr Fall: 
 

Title: Starr Fall (Starr Fall, #1)
Author: Kim Briggs
Pages: 192
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
Release Date: 4th November 2016


Blurb from Goodreads:
 
 On the run from the Organization, Starr never planned on falling in love.

Starr Bishop’s the complete package. A perfect smile, brains to match, and a winning attitude. Boys want to date her and girls want to be her. She’s the type of girl you want to hate, if only she wasn’t so damn likable. But don’t worry, she’s not interested in your boyfriend. Boys are one complication she can live without.

When the Organization decides she’s not only the model student but the ideal assassin, Starr’ll need a lot more than high test scores and extracurricular involvement to get herself out of that commitment.

Dark, moody, and dead sexy Christian Evergood is the last person she’d expect—or even want— to come to her rescue. From opposite ends of Webster High’s social hierarchy, their lives collide in one electrifying moment. Christian isn’t the Goth loner he pretends to be, he’s a part Cherokee, All-American boy who wants to be a hero, Starr’s hero. Christian makes Starr forget that the Organization is after her, but nothing will stop the Organization from collecting their top recruit.

By the way, the spot for junior class president just became available.











 Interview:


When did you start writing?

It started with a diary when I was eight and the promise I would write in it everyday. I lasted two days, then my dog needed someone to throw him the tennis ball and then a flower caught my attention and then my model horse wanted me to play with it. As the years progressed, I transitioned to the more mature writing medium of the journal. There were times I poured out my angsty teenage soul onto the pages of the journal and there were times I kept it all in. I don’t like talking about myself even in private, but I do like to make up stories.

I’ve been scrawling down imaginary adventures on scraps of paper for as long as I could write. I still have a folder bursting with story ideas, along with character names, plots, and short stories. A couple years out of college, I got ‘serious’ about writing. I quit my job, not as a conscious decision to pursue writing but because I refused to compromise my ethics. I spent the next few weeks writing picture books, bought a publisher guide, and was ready for the brave new world of publication, but like a squirrel at an all-you-can-eat-nut buffet, I got caught up in life—I got a new job, went back to school for my English teaching certificate, became a teacher, and completed my Masters in Secondary Education. All my writing was spent completing assignments for class. All my reading time was spent consuming Shakespeare, the classics, or whatever book I was either assigned or taught. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. For years, I was obsessed with Salman Rushdie, Alex Haley, Malcom X, and Willa Cather—I read nothing else.

It wasn’t until after my third child and all-night binge reading session of Twilight, that epiphany struck. Never in all my life had I read a book that let me slip into the story and become the love interest of a vampire. After obsessively reading the series several times and reaching adequate levels of sleep deprivation, I Googled Stephenie Meyers and discovered she had three kids roughly my kids age and wrote four books. I figured if she could do it, I could do it, and so it began. For the first time in my life, I sat my butt in a chair and got to work. 500,000 words later I sat up in my chair and patted myself on the back for completing the story of Starr Fall. I knew it was a little long, so I broke it up into three books. (READ: naïve and stupid.) I cleaned up the first 75,000 words and sent it off to agents. I figured in no time I’d have agents beating down my door. (READ: naïve, stupid, and completely delusional.)

When the offers didn’t pour in (weird right?) I went back and rewrote Starr Fall. Then sent it off again. (READ: still not ready.) I decided to write a stand alone—no one wanted trilogies anyway. I joined SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators—FYI, the best decision I have ever made) and attended their 2012 Winter Conference. Surprisingly, I didn’t get an agent just by showing up, but I did meet my Writing BFF and InkSister, Alison Green Myers. Fast forward a few months, and I attended my first Highlights Foundation workshop with Harold Underdown and Eileen Robinson. Harold told be exactly what I didn’t want to hear, my WIP, (and actually my current WIP) was not a stand alone. It needed to be a trilogy. WHAT?!?!

So, I put that WIP back in the drawer and brought out Starr Fall. Starr wouldn’t leave me alone—she’s pushy like that. Since then, I changed the tense, reworked the story arc, developed the characters into a much stronger version of that vomit draft all those years ago.

Since the night I received my first laptop, I haven’t stopped writing and I don’t plan to because I’ve got far too many stories to tell.

Wow, that was a really long answer. Sometimes I’m long-winded, but that should be expected.


What makes you want to write?

Now, that I’ve started writing. I can’t stop. Ideas keep rolling through me. I don’t have enough time in the day (with that pesky thing called work and those awesome things like family) to write as much as I’d like to, but when I get a minute here or there. I grab it.


Do you ever get writer's block and what do you do to get over it?

Sometimes I might have a difficult time with a scene—I guess you could call it writer’s block. To combat it, I try not to stop writing when a passage isn’t working. I push through for better or for worse (usually for worse) and stop when I’m on a roll, so it’s easier to return to. (It’s also more difficult to stop then, but it helps spur a creative start the next writing session.) I also take what I call Brain Dumps—I workout or go for a walk and return to the MS refreshed. What also works, and I learned this from Susan Campbell Bartoletti, is to write for forty-five minutes, stop wherever you’re at in your writing, take fifteen minutes to go for a walk, do laundry, clean, but don’t check emails or social media. You’ll find you’re thinking about your WIP during your break, and you return refreshed and raring to go.  **REMEMBER: Do not check email, text, or social media. Don’t do it! Keep WIP on the brain!


Do you have a special way of going about writing?

I’m pretty strict about my forty-five minutes on, fifteen minutes off writing routine (see above answer). It really helps. I also run writing sprints with my writing BFF Alison. We set a time (mostly on weekends because of our work schedules and always early in the morning before the demands of the world are upon us) and text “GO!” to each other. I write for forty-five minutes, but I might do fifty or sixty minutes because it’s the weekend and I might not get another chance to write. We end with, “I’m out,” and plan our next sprint session. These sessions are extremely productive.

I also outline and plan the basic direction of the story. I don’t get too tight with my planning because more often than not, my characters take over and tell me who they want to try a spell on or whose butt they want to kick or who they might want to kiss. For instance, the other day after I finished a scene I sat back and said, “Huh, that’s not what I thought was going to happen.” To accommodate this new direction, I re-outlined a few chapters and I scheduled a therapy session with two of my characters to make sure we’re heading where they want to go. I think they’ll agree with me.

  
Do you have any works in progress?

Oh yes. My current WIP is a Celtic Mythology retelling combined with the original mythology for the werewolf. Think Antigoddess Series by Kendare Blake meets Avril Lavigne before she got pretty.

There’s also my YA contemporary in letter format I’m dying to get back to. In that WIP a boy examines his friendship with another boy and realizes that he may have committed the greatest crime of all, the act of doing nothing. I also have a young YA series about a book nerd forced to spend her summers in the Poconos while she’d rather be reading.

By the summer, I’ll also have Book Four of the Starr Fall series completed.


What are your hobbies? 

Aside from writing, I love to read. I love to camp and play outside with my kids. We spend the summer traveling the country road-trip style. I also do some rug hooking and other crafts. I play with our horse a few hours every day—that’s my therapy session.


Who is your favourite character in Starr Fall?

Oh, that’s a hard one. I love so many of them. I like Starr because she’s the main character and pretends to have her stuff together but really she’s got a lot to learn. She kicks ass when she needs to. I love Christian. He is my book boyfriend crush for sure. I’d love to spend a weekend in the cabin with him. Coda is wildly entertaining to me. He always makes me laugh. Di and Frank don’t play dominate roles in Starr Fall, but in Starr Lost, Di becomes the second POV and she is a kickass heroine for our times.


How did you get the idea for Starr Fall?

The inspiration for Starr Fall came in the form of a dream. I’m always chased by bad guys while I sleep—I blame an overactive imagination combined with consuming one too many action and adventure movies. One night I woke up in a cold sweat. A secret organization wanted me as an assassin. Me? No one wants to read about me, but Starr Bishop? That’s a character readers can get behind. I added Christian, because who doesn’t need some kissing and a dreamy hero in their life?


What was your favourite part of writing Starr Fall?

The entire process. I love the storyline. Once I started writing Starr Fall, I couldn’t stop.

 
What are you currently reading? 

Today, “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry,” by Mildred Taylor. I plan to read Bone Gap next (I know kill me for not reading it yet.) I also want to read a few witchy fantasy tales.


What is your favourite book? 

Impossible question. Watership Downs by Richard Adams fed my hunger for an incredible story. Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel got me hooked on engrossing characters, complicated storylines, and series arc. From these two, I fell down the rabbit hole.

The simplest answer and the truth: Generally, whatever I’m reading.


Who is your favourite author?  

Honestly, I become enamored by whatever author I’m reading, but I will read anything by Maggie Stiefvater. Alex Haley, Salman Rushdie, and Willa Cather are still some of my all-time favorites.


What is your favourite film? 

Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter Movies.


What is your favourite TV show?

Right now we are addicted to Heartland—it’s a wonderful family friendly show. I also love Pretty Little Liars and the 100—I can consume them on Netflix.



Quick-fire questions:

Chocolate or ice cream? Chocolate. Always chocolate.
Paperback or ebook? Paperback.
Dogs or cats? Dogs.
Go out or stay in? Ooooohhhhhhhhh, secretly I would rather stay in and curl up with a book.
Summer or winter? Both, Summer reading and writing outside. Winter, reading and writing by a fire.





About Kim Briggs



 Kim once smashed into a tree while skiing. The accident led to a concussion, a cracked sternum, temporary notoriety as a sixth grader returned from the dead, and the realization that fictionalized accounts are way more interesting than just slipping on the ice.

An unhealthy obsession with conspiracy theories combined with a love of travel and happily ever afters led Kim to write her YA novel, Starr Fall, where a secret organization decides 17 year old Starr Bishop is not only the model student, but the ideal assassin. While in hiding, Starr meets dark, moody, and dead sexy Christian Evergood. Cue the swoon worthy music. But it’s not all happily ever afters for Kim. Her NA novel, And Then He, explores the dark and scary corners of the human psyche. Following a night of innocent flirting with a handsome stranger, Tiffani finds herself in the midst of a nightmare she can’t escape. And Then He is available now through Amazon and other major book retailers. Starr Fall will debut November 2016 with Inkspell Publishing, followed by Starr Lost in January 2017.

When she’s not doing something writerly, Kim can be found jumping into snow drifts with her three kids, husband, and dog. She’s careful to avoid trees.



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