Review - Teardrop (Teardrop, #1) by Lauren Kate

Blurb from Goodreads:

Never, ever cry . . .

Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean.

And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense.

Can everything you love be washed away?

  

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Amazon UK 

Amazon US 

My Review:

*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Random House Children's Publishers UK and Lauren Kate*

2.5/5 stars

After her mother was killed in an accident seventeen-year-old Eureka's life loses meaning. 

Until she meets Ander the mysterious boy that seems to follow her everywhere. 

When Eureka receives her part of her mother's will she uncovers the story of an ancient civilisation, a civilisation that could return if Eureka does what her mother told her never to do and cries.

The best thing about Teardrop is the cover. 

I can't actually decide if I liked the book itself. 

The storyline was predictable, though easy to follow. 

I didn't have any problems with the characters and I liked the Atlantis theme which didn't feature as heavily as I thought it would. However the last ten percent was terrible. 

I wanted to bang my head against the wall.

Overall this was an okay but disappointing book. 

I didn't like Teardrop enough to read the sequel.

 

Cover Reveal - Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison

Of Sea and Stone by Kate Avery Ellison
Publication date: February 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:

All her life, clever Aemi has been a slave in the Village of the Rocks, a place where the sea and sky meet. She’s heard the stories about the fabled People of the Sea, a people who possess unimaginable technology who live below the waves in the dark, secret places of the ocean. But she never dreamed those stories were true.

When a ship emerges from the ocean and men burn her village, Aemi is captured, and enslaved below the waves in Itlantis, a world filled with ancient cities of glass and metal, floating gardens, and wondrous devices that seem to work magic. To make matters worse, her village nemesis, the stuck-up mayor’s son Nol, was captured with her, and they are made servants in the same household beneath the sea.

Desperate to be free, Aemi plots her escape, even going so far as to work with Nol. But the sea holds more secrets than she realizes, and escape might not be as simple as leaving…

Goodreads

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AUTHOR BIO

I've been making up stories since I was five years old, and now I'm thrilled to be able to do it as a full-time job. I have an obsession with dark fantasy, dystopian futures, and Pride and Prejudice-style love stories full of witty banter and sizzling, unspoken feelings. When I'm not writing, I'm creating digital art, reading funny blogs, or watching my favorite shows (which include TVD and BSG). I live with my geeky husband and our two bad cats in Atlanta, GA.

 

Author links:

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Book Blitz + Giveaway - Cup of Life (Everlast #2.5) by Juliana Haygert

Cup of Life by Juliana Haygert
(Everlast #2.5)
Publication date: January 20th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Paranormal Romance

Synopsis:

His existence would mean nothing without her.

**New Adult Fantasy Novella**
**Novella between book #2 and #3, told on Micah’s POV**

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Purchase: 

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AUTHOR BIO

While Juliana Haygert dreams of being Wonder Woman, Buffy, or a blood elf shadow priest, she settles for the less exciting—but equally gratifying—life of a wife, mother, and author. Thousands of miles away from her former home in Brazil, she now resides in Connecticut and spends her days writing about kick-ass heroines and the heroes who drive them crazy.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Excerpt:

Thirty or forty years ago, I wouldn’t have stared at the girl in front of me for more than five seconds before charming her into going to bed with me.
But this girl ... this girl was different.
“I think that’s everything,” Nadine said, stepping out of the cottage as Rok flew from the roof.
It was early January. The lights around the cottage reflected on the three feet of snow, and illuminated Nadine’s long brown hair, tinting some strands bronze. Her hair, her dark green eyes, and her red lips contrasted with her fair skin, and the only thought on my mind was that I had never seen a more beautiful girl in my entire life. And I had been alive for quite some time.
Nadine approached me, and as it was every time she looked at me, I fought the urge to reach to her, to pull her against me, to kiss her, to—
“It is everything, isn’t it?” She glanced at the bag slung across my shoulder and the box in my arms. She held her sister’s stuffed bunny in one hand, and a duffel bag in another.
We had been moving to our new location all day, making several trips to and from, and now we were the last ones here.
“I think so,” I replied, quickly glancing to Rok hovering above our heads. “Ready?”
She walked down the porch steps, into the snow, and turned to the cottage. Her eyes scanned it, as if she wanted to take every little detail with her.
She slung the duffel bag on her shoulder and turned the collar of her jacket up. “It’s odd. I feel like I should feel bad for leaving this place after fleeing so many others, after losing so many people.” She sighed. “But I don’t, and I totally should, especially after seeing the new place Ceris got us.”
I nodded, knowing too well that the new place brought her depressing memories.
No matter. It was a new place, a new path on our journey, a new beginning. We were on the right track.
I offered my arm to her. “Let’s go, darling.”
With a half-smile that made my heart skip a beat, Nadine sauntered to me and hooked her arm with mine.
I scooted closer to her, more than necessary, because I could, because I wanted, and transported us out of there.

Blitz-wide giveaway 

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Cover Reveal - Where We Hide by Dulaney-Glen

Where We Hide

An Adult Contemporary Romance

By Authors Dulaney-Glen

Releasing March 2014

Cover designed by Okay Creations

It was a wrinkled, white envelope pushed to the back of the mailbox. In it, a note carrying one word written at the top …

Tallence.

It held everything that I had been hiding from for twelve years ... our past, our memories, the pain, and the hope of healing. Everything that I had given up on in just one letter, and all it said was:

Everyone is hiding from something … until we’re not, and that’s when the real struggle begins. When there’s nothing and nowhere left to hide.

I’m done hiding.

-Grant

About the Authors K. Dulaney & J. Glen, sisters & authors.

K. Dulaney was born, raised, and still resides in the Mountains of North Carolina. She is the proud mother to an amazing little boy, and happily married to her high school sweetheart. Dulaney attended Southern Universities and obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Masters in Family Studies. Her passion for reading and books began at very early age, and Dulaney dreamed of one day writing stories of her own. Partnering with her sister, J. Glen, they began a journey that has exceeded their expectations and proven that through hard work and determination, that dream can be a reality.

J. Glen is a North Carolina native currently residing in a small mountainous town. She attended an East Coast university and obtained a degree in Communication and Journalism. With an interest in writing at a young age, Glen had one idea of the perfect career and now, along with the help of her sister, she's embarking on a journey to achieve just that.

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Blog Tour - Alchemy by Sheena Boekweg, Melanie Crouse and Sabrina West

Title: Alchemy (Prophecy Breakers)

Authors: Sheena Boekweg, Melanie Crouse and Sabrina West

Genre: YA Parnormal Romance 

Synopsis:

 

We didn’t know how much we had to lose until we were infected with magic. Sam was in love, Juliette was the main caretaker for her siblings, and Ana and her dad planned the best parties in New York. But we lost it all when we were shipped to Chebeague, an exclusive school for newly infected mages. Everyone knows about the mages, those who survive the infection and end up with magical abilities. We’ve seen the power of magic, the high-paying jobs, and the world fame. But we never saw the

cost. We didn’t know we’d be forced to give up everything: sanity, family, even the right to talk on the phone. We didn’t know mage was just another word for prisoner.

Purchase on Amazon 

Purchase on B&N

About the Authors

Sabrina West, Sheena Boekweg and Melanie Crouse never dreamed they would actually create a book worth publishing when they started writing together. Alchemy was merely supposed to be an exercise in flexibility. And it has been that, but it is so much more. Friendships that span the American continent have been forged, and unforgettable characters have been created. Writing this first book in the Prophecy Breakers was a fun-filled adventure, and we hope that reading it is just as fun for you. Visit us at theprosers.blogspot.com or check out Sheena Boekweg's amazing novel, Funny Tragic, Crazy Magic.

Website

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Exclusive Teaser: 

I scanned the crowd, making sure that no one else needed help. I started toward an old woman who was looking lost, when magic erupted into the sky.

All around me, people were screaming and running, but stupidly, I stood transfixed, unable to look away. The magic was potent, and deadly. It was also the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

When I’d envisioned magic, I’d always thought of objects falling off of shelves, of people babbling thick-tongued visions of the future, or of Healing that had equal chances of killing and infecting a non-mage. But this… this was something different. Light boiled into clouds, sparkling with color and texture, like nebulas with lightning flashing through their core. I was transfixed. It didn’t even occur to me to run, because I didn’t think I could bear for that beauty to end.

Just as it was reaching its apex, the nebula shuddered, and exploded. The ensuing blast knocked me off my feet. The light washed through me, bathing my insides in acid. I sprawled on the sidewalk, gasping for breath, as the world around me turned as twisty and surreal as Lewis Carroll's nightmares.

Cover Reveal - In Pursuit by Olivia Luck

In Pursuit by Olivia Luck
Publication date: February 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Synopsis:

Eddie Neff needs space. Not the type that country stars croon about, but physical distance from her emotionally distant father and the tatters of a broken relationship. So when the opportunity to relocate her life and interior design business arises, the answer comes easily.

Adjusting to life with Claire, her gregarious new roommate, is more than simply testing comfort limits. With just one meeting, Eddie finds herself unable to resist the draw of Harris Grant, Claire’s brooding and overprotective older brother.

Harris doesn’t fit her idea of a safe relationship. He pushes Eddie to face her deepest insecurities and fears of abandonment. And Harris holds on to his own painful loss, unable to overcome personal demons.

Eddie and Harris must learn to conquer their internal struggles. But as they navigate their new love, outside forces fight to drive them apart.

Goodreads

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Author links:

 
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My Week in Books (13th-19th January)

Read:

Addicted to You (Addicted, #1) by Krista and Becca Ritchie

2/5 stars

Read my review here. 

Discovery by Brina Courtney

DNF (1/5 stars)

Read my review here. 

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

4/5 stars

For Review:

Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout

Doctor Who: Into the Nowhere (Time Traps) by Jenny Colgan

Death of the Body (Crossing Death, #1) by Rick Chiantaretto

Bought:

Vain (The Seven Deadly, #1) by Fisher Amelie 
Kindle copy, £0.77

Greed (The Seven Deadly, #2) by Fisher Amelie
Kindle copy, £0.77

Borrowed:

Antigoddess (Goddess War, #1) by Kendare Blake

Slated (Slated,#1) by Teri Terry

Currently Reading:

Death of the Body (Crossing Death,#1) by Rick Chiantaretto

All pics from Goodreads.

Don't forget to check out the giveaways listed at the top left hand side of the page.

Hope you all had a great week.