Thursday, June 30, 2016

Blog Tour/Review: A Date with Danger by Kari Iroz



A Date with Danger, by Kari Iroz
2016, 256p, LDS Contemporary Romance/Suspense
My Rating=4.5 Stars
Source: Received a copy for an honest review



She just wanted to shake up her love life. Jacklyn (Jack) Wyatt is the typical twenty-five-year-old living the typical Provo single life with the typical bad luck—at least until the FBI recruits her for a completely different type of dating.

A young woman has gone missing, and all signs point to her online dating profile as the kidnapper’s operating ground. But when suspects who crossed paths with the missing girl begin contacting Jack, the FBI sees its opportunity for an inside man—er, woman.

Now Jack will have to play the field, dating each of the men in an attempt to weed out the kidnapper. But with such an unusual array of characters vying for her attention, pinpointing the culprit may prove even harder than finding Mr. Right. And as more young women disappear, will Jack stay professional and objective, even with the handsome Special Agent Damon Wade just a whisper in her hidden microphone away?

Jacklyn (who goes by "Jack") was recruited by the FBI to help find a young woman who went missing. Her connection to the missing girl is an online dating site that they are both members of. She is able to work with hunky Special Agent Damon Wade, who happens to be single as well.

This book sounded like it would be more serious but it made me laugh. A lot! It brought back lots of memories of being single and the dating pool that always seems to be available. Although some of her dates took it to another level. Jack and Damon were an easy couple to root for. They created plenty of sparks as they tried to narrow down the field of suspects.

I was thoroughly entertained the entire time I read this book and didn't want it to end. I have to say that I was a little disappointed in the ending. It felt a bit rushed and I personally wished for a little more. There are some references to the LDS religion but it isn't preachy at all. It was a perfect blend of suspense and romance. The romance is sweet and clean and even humorous at times. This is a fantastic summer read and one I definitely plan to read again!


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Tour Schedule:

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Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Blog Tour/Review: Beyond the Rising Tide by Sarah Beard


Tour Schedule

Beyond the Rising Tide, by Sarah Beard
2016, 304p, Clean YA Contemporary Romance
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the publisher for an honest review



Kai met Avery only once--in the moment he died saving her life. Now when he's not using his new healing powers to help people, he watches helplessly as Avery's life is unraveled by his death. To help her, he risks everything by breaking the rules, dangerously blurring the barriers between life and death.

WOW! This book is amazing! I loved the author's first book, Porcelain Keys (you can learn more and read my review here), so I was excited to get my hands on this one and it did not disappoint!

Avery's life has drastically changed since the night she almost drowned and was saved by a boy who wound up drowning himself. Her boyfriend can't handle what she's going through so he's giving her space. Although she's not sure how cozy he's actually becoming with some of the students he's teaching how to surf.

Kai is the boy who drowned saving Avery. He's moved on to the other side and is able to help others. He wants to help Avery move on in life and is able to find a way to do that. He breaks the rules to do it, but that's the kind of guy he is. He meets Avery and wants to help her find her way back to her old life and boyfriend, but as their friendship deepens, he doesn't want to leave. I absolutely fell in love with Kai! He comes from a rough background and his family situation is sad. He made some poor choices and his life was tough. I really wished life had turned out differently for him. I loved him and Avery together but their relationship was doomed from the beginning. I couldn't figure out how this story would end.

This book deals with some serious issues, but never feels heavy. It alternates between Avery's and Kai's points of view so we get to know each of them better and there is definite growth as the story progresses. I couldn't read it fast enough but never wanted it to end. I'm already looking forward to this author's next story!



Sarah Beard is the author of YA novels PORCELAIN KEYS and BEYOND THE RISING TIDE. She earned a degree in communications from the University of Utah and is currently pursuing an MFA in creative writing from VCFA. When she's not writing, she referees wrestling matches between her three boys and listens to audiobooks while folding self-replicating piles of laundry. She is a breast cancer survivor, a baker of sweets, a seeker of good love stories, a composer of melancholy music, and a traveler who wishes her travel budget was much bigger. She lives with her husband and children in the shadow of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Blog Tour/Spotlight: Sunborn Rising by Aaron Safronoff


Sunborn Rising banner

Today is my stop during the blog tour for Sunborn Rising: Beneath The Fall by Aaron Safronoff. This blog tour is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The blog tour runs from 27 June till 10 July, you can view the tour schedule here.

Sunborn Rising Beneath the FallSunborn Rising: Beneath The Fall (Sunborn Rising #1)

by Aaron Safronoff
Genre: Fantasy
Age category: all-ages, Middle Grade and up
Release Date: May 2016
Publisher: Neoglyphic Entertainment

Blurb:

Cerulean.

A distant world of Great Trees floating on an ocean surrounding a star.

The flotilla forests cycle light and water through their boughs into their lush canopies. But the once vibrant treescape has grown dark, slowly, subtly over many generations. The civilization of creatures living among the boughs believe the darkness is normal. That is, until one willful young girl named Barra discovers the hidden journal of her late father.

Pouring over her father’s writing, Barra learns of a mysterious plague, a creeping vine choking the flow of light and water into the canopy. Her father warned the Elders. He urged them to take action. Those were his last words.

Together with her two best friends, a Rugosic named Tory and a Kolalabat named Plicks, Barra will explore every bark, wood, and leaf of the Great Forest to relight her world and complete her father’s story, even if it leads her beneath the Fall.

You can find Sunborn Rising on Goodreads

You can buy Sunborn Rising here:


View the book trailer for Sunborn Rising here on YouTube

Excerpt:
Alone in the Dark

The room seemed alive, but it wasn’t. There was something else in the room with her.

Along the far wall, a sheet of black undulated like a doorweave waving in a breeze. The sheet grew wider as it moved, spreading outward from the center. It rippled and slid, covering up the wall and continuing up the ceiling, working its way around the room toward Barra.

The low light turned the sheet into a canvas where Barra’s imagination painted nightmares. As the sheet grew closer, details resolved out of the darkness; it was a multitude of tiny creatures moving in unison. Barra caught glimpses of legs and antennae as the creatures flowed together and expanded along the wall. It didn’t take long for them to cover every surface of the kitchen. She had no idea where they were coming from, or how many there were.

They were almost at her feet.

She stood, and the creatures stopped sharply.

The warped kitchen was trapped in stillness. Barra’s heart was drumming the urge to run into her chest. She stole a quick glance over her shoulder to locate the way out, and when she looked back, the tapestry of creatures had closed the distance to her.

Eyes burning because she was afraid to blink, Barra backed up slowly.

The bugs moved. They matched her progress toward the doorway. She took another step backward. They narrowed the gap.

Barra felt her pulse in the quick of her claws. Adolescent claws her mother was always reminding her; fragile. Easily broken, easily repaired, Barra had argued. Suddenly, she wished she’d listened to her mother, and just tried to avoid danger. If she made it home, she would hug and kiss her mom, tell her how right she was, and promise to listen better. She had to make it home.

She felt the closeness of the insects, and the closeness of her escape.

She picked her moment. They picked the same.

Hundreds of pinprick lights turned on as the tiny creatures’ eyes flashed open. Wings fluttered and clacked ominously. In unison, the insects faced Barra and swarmed like tendrils of smoke reaching for her. They billowed around Barra, a terrifying, rattling cloud. Barra coiled, and then in one swift motion, burst through the cloud and out the doorway. She flew into the open boughs of the Middens with the insects trailing after her.

Barra fled through the woods. The oily collection of insects accelerated. They flew together as one large predator. Barra cut through a thicket of brambles, but the insects were unfettered, flowing like liquid over the sharp thorns. The chase sent Barra winding around branches, through dense nettles, and over great gaps in the boughs, but she couldn’t lose them.

Trying a new tactic, she jumped and spun herself around. She whipped out her tail, lassoed a branch, and pulled. Changing direction mid-flight, she headed up toward the Loft. But the insects were too fast. They swarmed and cut off her ascent.

Her pursuers flowed in and out of each other, eyes appearing and disappearing in a frightening miasma. Barra saw their eyes and felt chills—no warmth in those tiny lights, only predatory instinct. They were focused. They allowed her to turn any way but up, relentlessly driving her toward the Fall.

Barra dashed into a den. She bolted through distorted rooms and passages, found a window, and leapt back out. Her eyes were focused, seeing only the path ahead. She ran, but not at full speed. The shadows and boughs were dangerously interchangeable in the dark. Barra hesitated at turns and stumbled after jumps, all the while colliding with leaves and ferns she couldn’t see.

A large clearing in the branches yawned open ahead of her. She couldn’t mark the distance across, but all the way to the edge was clear. She went for it, increasing her speed to make the leap of her life… then realization skewered her like a broken branch through her chest. Her blood drained. Her lungs collapsed.

It was too far.

Digging in with all her strength, she tried desperately to stop. Her claws broke and cracked from the stress, but fear kept her fingers braced through the pain. Searching for a hold, her tail thrashed like an angry snake behind her.

Barra stopped. A whisker’s breadth from the edge, shaking, she inhaled. She didn’t finish her breath before the mass of insects hit her like a tidal wave. They engulfed her and carried her over the edge.

As she struggled viciously against them, Barra realized that she wasn’t falling, at least, not falling fast. The cloud of tiny beasts was metamorphosing, becoming thick. Each insect clutched at the next, holding fast with their claws and jaws. Working together, they became a stretchy, writhing net.

Arms and legs frantic, Barra fought through the ever-thickening mesh like she was swimming upstream through sap. Finally, she splashed through the amalgam and burst out. The bough from which she’d just fallen was close. She reached for it. Pain shot through the tips of her shattered claws as she shredded bark before managing a grip.

Barra hauled herself back up onto the bough and was running again before she was even conscious of it. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the disentangling mesh of insects was slow to follow, unable to detach from one another quickly.

Barra went vertical, heading for the Loft while she had the chance. Hot blood in her veins, she ran and climbed like never before. She didn’t look back again until she crossed into the Loft. Looking down through the dense branches, she was positive she spied the insects hiding in the shadows. But they didn’t follow her. Cautiously, she waited. She stealthed, camouflaging herself with her specialized fur.

“Why’d they stop?” she thought as she paced, ready to run, but curious.

Snap!

It wasn’t unusual for branches in the Loft to settle, creak, and crack, and sometimes for no obvious reason they snapped. That’s probably all it was, that sound, but Barra was away in a flash.

Halfway home, Barra thought, “At least I have a good excuse for being late.”

Meet the Characters

Characters-of-the-Book

Barra-Swiftspur

Tory-Mafic

Plicks-Battidash

The World

Cerulean-World-Slice-copy

Aaron SafronoffAbout the Author:

Aaron Safronoff was born and raised in Michigan where he wrote his first novella, Evening Breezes. In his early twenties, he moved to California to attend culinary school. He fell in love with the Bay Area and has never considered leaving, although he did eventually leave the school.

During his ten years in the games industry, he worked at various levels and for several disciplines including quality assurance, production, and design. All the while he was writing a novel, short stories, plays, and poetry. His career in design introduced him to amazingly intelligent, fun, and creative people, many of whom he considers family today.

Safronoff self-published, Spire, in 2011, and won the Science Fiction Discovery Award for the same in the summer of 2012. By the end of that year he decided to drop everything and free fall into fiction. In the following three months he completed work on the sequel to Spire, Fallen Spire, edited Evening Breezes, and published both.

Today, Safronoff is co-founder and Chief Storyteller of Neoglyphic Entertainment and working on his fifth novel, the second book of the Sunborn Rising series. In his spare time, Safronoff enjoys reading a variety of authors, Philip K. Dick, Cormac McCarthy, and Joe Abercrombie among them. He enjoys living near the ocean, playing and watching hockey, and video games. He has a deep love of music and comedy.

You can find and contact Aaron here:


Sunborn Rising links:


Giveaway

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Sunborn Rising. These are the prizes you can win:

- 5 signed paperbacks of Sunborn Rising by Aaaron Safronoff

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:

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Cover Reveal: Venom and Steel by Melissa Wright




On tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for

Venom and Steel
By Melissa Wright

Coming September 2016...


(Frey Saga #4)

Three seasons of peace come with a price.

It's dark night in the kingdom of the fey when the castle is attacked, and Ruby has gone missing. If Frey can't decipher the clues, one of her Seven might pay with their life.

But winged gods and high fey tricksters are plotting to steal more than a Halfling. Frey's high guard is torn apart, her magic too volatile, and in three moons, the fates will dance.

If she can't regain her guard and get a grip on her powers, the fate of the lands will rest in fey hands—--but to do so, she must place her trust in one of them.

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Other Books in the Series


Frey
(Frey Saga #1)

Unaware she's been bound from using magic, Frey leads a small, miserable life in the village where she's sent after the death of her mother. But a tiny spark starts a fury of changes and she finds herself running from everything she's ever known.

Hunted by council for practicing dark magic, she is certain she's been wrongfully accused. She flees, and is forced to rely on strangers for protection. But the farther she strays from home, the more her magic and forgotten memories return and she begins to suspect all is not as it seems.


FREE in ebook everywhere.

Pieces of Eight

(Frey Saga #2)

The story of Frey continues in this, the second book of the series.

After revealing her dark history, Frey is forced to join with a group of strangers whose pasts seem to intertwine with her own. She struggles to regain her memories and her full power, only to discover there is more danger on the other side. Except now, there is no turning back.


Molly
(Frey Saga #2.5)

Molly dreamed her whole life of living in a world of magic... until the day she walked into one. This short story falls between The Frey Saga Book Two: Pieces of Eight and the third book, Rise of The Seven.


Rise of the Seven
(Frey Saga #3)

As Frey works to regain control of the North, a small silver dagger nearly brings her end. She raises her guard and proves her abilities, but another attempt on her life, from what appears to be fey, reveals not all are pleased with her return. If she could only figure out the force behind the attacks, she might be able to relax enough to decide what to do about her other problem... Chevelle.



About the Author


Melissa Wright is the author of the Frey Saga and Descendants Series. She is currently working on the next book, but when not writing can be found collecting the things she loves at Goodreads and Pinterest.


Cover Reveal Giveaway

$20 Amazon eGift Card

Open internationally

Ends July 3rd

Monday, June 27, 2016

Audiobook Release Blitz: Sheltered in His Arms by Tara Taylor Quinn


On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Audiobook Release Blitz for
Sheltered in His Arms
By Tara Taylor Quinn

About the Audiobook Release

I’m an avid reader. And with my 75th book publishing in a few days, I’m an avid writer, too. And yet there was one aspect of storytelling to which I was completely ignorant. Absent. I didn’t get it. The world of audiobooks.

And then, a few years ago, I was given a free audiobook from one of my favorite authors. I put it on iPod more to be polite than anything else. The book was a gift, I’d listen out of respect. Then, I figured, I’d go buy the book and read it so that I could get my full enjoyment out of the story.

That didn’t happen. Instead, as happens so many times in my life, my ignorance turned to understanding. And an entire new world opened up to me. I’d planned to listen to a few words on my daily commute and then switch to the music that always saw me safely down the road. Imagine my conundrum when, for that whole week, all I wanted to do was commute! I couldn’t wait to get in the car and get back to my friends.

And now, this week, I have the honor of bringing you one of my own books in audio format! Sheltered In His Arms is a unique story. It’s about a man who made a huge mistake. It’s about the people he loves. The people who once loved him. And it’s about healing. I hope you’ll give it a listen! I personally chose the narrator based on audition recordings and she does a great job. I promise friends to sit in the car with you as you get to where you need to be!

—TTQ


Sheltered in His Arms
(Shelter Valley Stories #4)
by Tara Taylor Quinn
Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 299 pages
April 1st 2001 by Harlequin

Sam Montford left Shelter Valley ten years ago. He's a direct descendant of the town's founder, the first Samuel Montford, and for him, Shelter Valley's expectations had become oppressive. Home had become smothering instead of sheltering.

Sam returns to the town--and to his ex-wife, Cassie Tate--with a seven-year-old child. This is a complete shock to Cassie. When Sam left, he hadn't known she was pregnant. Or that she had lost their baby.

Sam's back in Shelter Valley now, back to stay. But he refuses to become the man people expected him to be ten years ago. Can he be the man Cassie needs now?

GoodreadsAmazonBarnes & NobleHarlequin

Other Books in the Series

  
  
  
   

About the Author


The author of more than 70 original novels, in twenty languages, Tara Taylor Quinn is a USA Today bestseller with over six million copies sold. A 2015 RITA finalist Tara appears frequently on bestseller lists, including #1 placement on Amazon lists, and multiple showings on the Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller list. She has appeared on national and local TV across the country, including CBS Sunday Morning.

Tara is a supporter of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you or someone you know might be a victim of domestic violence in the United States, please contact 1-800-799-7233.



Check out Tara's Tour with Heather Graham for the Bestselling Author Collection!

Check out all of TTQ's ongoing tours HERE!


Heart Stopping Tara Taylor Quinn Giveaways

SHELTERED IN HIS ARMS AUDIOBOOK RELEASE GIVEAWAY

1 Winner: $10 Amazon eGift Card

3 Winners: 1 ebook of choice from the Shelter Valley Stories Series

Open internationally

Ends July 1st

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TTQ PRE-ORDER/PURCHASE KINDLE FIRE GIVEAWAY



Kindle Fire with Six Pre-loaded TTQ Books (books 1-6 from Where Secrets are Safe series)
US only

Ends August 31st

To Enter: Submit your receipt online for your pre-order or purchase of any of Tara Taylor Quinn’s six releases being promoted on her Heart Stopping Tour (Love By AssociationHis First ChoiceThe Promise He Made HerStrangers in Paradise: Sheltered In His ArmsSheltered In His Arms Audiobook, and For Love Or Money). Enter as many times as you purchase. One book purchase equals one entry (one receipt per entry and must be uploaded at time of entry).


TTQ HARLEQUIN MY REWARDS POINTS GIVEAWAY

1st Place: 25,000 Harlequin My Rewards Points – equivalent of 5 free books, reader’s choice of any book published by Harlequin/MIRA/Carina Press.

2nd Place: 15,000 Harlequin My Rewards Points – equivalent of 3 free books, reader’s choice

3rd Place: 10,000 Harlequin My Rewards Points – equivalent of 2 free books, readers choice
Open internationally

Ends August 31st

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Friday, June 24, 2016

Book Review: Forget Me Not by Julie Coulter Bellon


Forget Me Not, by Julie Coulter Bellon
2016, 72p, Clean Romantic Suspense Novella
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: Received a copy from the author for an honest review



After reconnecting with Lucy Aguayo on an undercover mission to Colombia, Bart Gutierrez can't imagine his life without her now. Exploring their new relationship has him thinking of love and marriage, but before they can move forward, their dangerous past comes back to haunt them. Can they face it together or will it tear them apart?

Lucy has been undercover for five years and her new "normal" life takes some getting used to. Bart and his family have welcomed her with open arms and just as she starts to believe her newfound happiness isn't going to be snatched away, government agents show up unannounced and give her an ultimatum---do one last operation for us or you won't like the consequences.

Everything doesn't go as planned, however, and soon both of their lives are on the line. Can they survive the mission and put the past behind them once and for all, in order to have the future they've always wanted?

(A companion novella that takes place directly following Pocket Full of Posies Hostage Negotiation Team #3)


There are some characters that you want more of after you finish reading their story and that's what I love about this novella--more Bart and Lucy! They've been home from Colombia for a month. Bart is still working with the hostage negotiation team but Lucy is now working with his mother in her flower shop, Forget Me Not. It doesn't take long for them to go on another dangerous mission together and come up with a plan to make it safely back home.

Bart and Lucy have known each other for years and have major daddy issues. They continue to work through those and their relationship moves forward. They have some sweet moments together, which is nice because there's a lot of craziness happening, too. They face men they hoped to never see again. Bart also needs to deal with more secrets his mother has been keeping from him. It's a quick read, but there are still some twists and turns along the way.

This is a fantastic addition to this series! I love the hostage negotiation team and am looking forward to catching up with Captain Ron Reed next!


Julie Coulter Bellon is married with eight children and eleven published books. She loves to travel and her favorite cities she's visited so far are probably Athens, Paris, Ottawa, and London. She would love to visit Hawaii, Australia, Ireland, and Scotland someday. She loves to read, write, teach, watch Castle, Hawaii Five-O, and eat Canadian chocolate. Not necessarily in that order.        

Cover Reveal: Scarred Beauty by Jennifer Silverwood


On Tour with Prism Book Tours.

Welcome to the Cover Reveal for
Scarred Beauty
By Jennifer Silverwood

Coming December 1st 2016...



(A Wylder Tale, #2)
YA Dark Fantasy
ebook

Vynasha has become prisoner with the other wyld beasts of the castle, but she is not alone. In the howling darkness her majikal bond with the Dungeon Master, Grendall grows, awakening the dormant power in her blood.

Yet as she discovers the true nature of the other beasts, she learns she must embrace madness in order to free them all. Vynasha is willing to do anything to end the curse, even if that means transforming into a monster.

Burried secrets come to light in this seductive sequel to Craving Beauty, the Gothic retelling of the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast, where nothing is exactly as it seems and the heroine must be her own hero.

Pre-order from:

Other Books in the Series

Craving Beauty

(A Wylder Tale, #1)
by Jennifer Silverwood
YA Dark Fantasy
Paperback & ebook, 239 pages
October 31st 2015

Vynasha has spent the last four years tending her mother's roses and looking after her nephew. The fire that killed their family has left her scarred and put Wyll on the brink of death. Soon the first frost will come down from the mountains and she knows this winter will be his last.

Until a strange beggar appears on the road, telling her of the majikal Source that can heal her Wyll. With nothing left to lose, Vynasha braves the forbidden Wylder Mountains to seek out a cure and her fate.

A lost kingdom is uncovered by an equally lost girl, but the castle is not abandoned as she believes. Shadows cloaking unseen eyes watch. Tapestries whisper from the hidden corners, wondering if the one to break their curse has come. And a hungry beast waits, ready to devour her soul.


Wolfsbane's Daughter

(A Wylder Tale Novella)
by Jennifer Silverwood
YA Dark Fantasy
ebook, 52 Pages
February 25th 2016

Wolfsbane and his daughter Resha are on a never ending quest in the Wylder Mountains, to wipe out the wolves who destroyed their village. Before their enemies stole everything she loved, Resha cared for little beyond learning how to be a hunter. After, she learned a hunter must be prepared to fight as well as flee. Now she cares for nothing but revenge.

Until she discovers two majikal humans half frozen in the forest. Resha has a choice, to follow her instincts and leave the strangers to the wolves, or save them. Yet the enemy is on the prowl and there is little time for Wolfsbane's daughter to find safe haven before they are discovered.



Jennifer Silverwood was raised deep in the heart of Texas and has been spinning yarns a mile high since childhood. In her spare time she reads and writes and tries to sustain her wanderlust, whether it’s the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, the highlands of Ecuador or a road trip to the next town. Always on the lookout for her next adventure, in print or reality, she dreams of one day proving to the masses that everything really is better in Texas. She is the author of the Heaven’s Edge series, Stay and Silver Hollow.


Other Books by the Author


Cover Reveal Giveaway

ebooks of all six of Jennifer's books: Silver Hollow, Qeya, Ohre, Stay, Craving Beauty, and Wolfsbane's Daughter (Open Internationally)

Copies of the first two books in A Wylder Tales: Craving Beauty (print) and Wolfsbane's Daughter (ebook), plus swag (US Only)

Ends June 29th