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Showing posts from December, 2014

Top 10 books of the year

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First off let me say this has been an amazing year for me. I actually got to travel to two states with my family, which was our first ever family vacation. I have gotten a new dishwasher after needing one after a year. My daughter has grown up so much to where she has sass when she talks, and amazes me every day. My son is in second grade and I have seen him grow and be just amazing in everything he does. My husband has worked so hard this year to provide for us all that I hope this new year will be good to him because he needs it more than anyone I know. As a book blogger I felt I have grown in my reviews and connecting with authors. I have learned so much about the blogging world and have become more opened to new genres and new authors. I hope that in the new year I continue to write reviews and read plenty of books. Because as my saying goes "So many books, not enough time." Below is my top 10 books that I literally have enjoyed and maybe you will to they are i

Review: The Sham by Ellen Allen

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When love leads to death, be careful who you trust…  Eighteen-year-old Emily Heath would love to leave her dead-end town, known locally as "The Sham", with her boyfriend, Jack, but he's very, very sick; his body is failing and his brain is shutting down. He's also in hiding, under suspicion of murder. Six months' ago, strange signs were painted across town in a dialect no one has spoken for decades and one of Emily's classmates washed up in the local floods. Emily has never trusted her instincts and now they're pulling her towards Jack, who the police think is a sham himself, someone else entirely. As the town wakes to discover new signs plastered across its walls, Emily must decide who and what she trusts, and fast: local vigilantes are hunting Jack; the floods, the police, and her parents are blocking her path; and the town doesn’t need another dead body. WARNING: THIS BOOK IS UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER TEENAGE READERS. IT DEPICTS ADULT SITUATIONS, MURD

Review: I, Anna by Elsa Lewin

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Fifty, middle-class, divorced and respectable Anna lived with her teenage daughter in a small New York apartment. And one night, after a singles party, in a strange man's apartment, all the loneliness and frustration come to a head. What happens next is only the beginning of her nightmare.

Review: That Night Chevy Stevens

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As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn't relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren't easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night. Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison. Now thirty-four, Toni is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she’s doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy—not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts To

Review: The Deadline by Ron Franscell

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Neeley Gilmartin, imprisoned in 1948 for the murder of a little girl, is let out of prison in 1996 because he's dying of tuberculosis. Wracked with pain, he still smolders from the injustice done to him all those years ago, and pleads with the newspaper editor, Jefferson Morgan, to clear his name and find the one who really killed the child.Morgan finds the request abhorrent, and is unable to believe that Gilmartin could be innocent. He refuses to help, until he does a little research and realizes that Gilmartin could indeed be telling the truth-the local sheriff won't release the trial records; the library has the microfiche files in a safe; Morgan's own newspaper clippings of the event hint at a cover-up by the town fathers at the time of the murder. Everything points to Gilmartin's innocence, and when someone burns down the newspaper office -- apparently to kill Morgan himself -- Morgan is sure of it.But what else will Morgan lose before he can print the truth?

Review: Piercing the Fold (Piercing the Fold #1) by Venessa Kimball

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“I'm Jesca. I have intense nightmares nightly and hallucinations of dark auras closing in on me daily. Strangers’ faces distort before my eyes and I hear voices in my head. All symptoms of insanity, ‘illusions in reality’, right? Wrong. This is my reality and it has been set askew.” Jesca Gershon Sera discovers that she is part of a legacy and a fellowship of guardians destined to protect the human race from a galactic event that will invade and evolve our world. *The Piercing the Fold series is intended for Mature Young Adult and Adult readers due to the the paranormal and unorthodox scientific concepts addressed throughout. This series contains a rich mixture of the paranormal, science fiction, romance, adventure, and suspense. *

Review: The Ghoul Archipelago by Stephen Kozeniewski

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After ravenous corpses topple society and consume most of the world’s population, freighter captain Henk Martigan is shocked to receive a distress call. Eighty survivors beg him to whisk them away to the relative safety of the South Pacific. Martigan wants to help, but to rescue anyone he must first pass through the nightmare backwater of the Curien island chain. A power struggle is brewing in the Curiens. On one side, the billionaire inventor of the mind-control collar seeks to squeeze all the profit he can out of the apocalypse. Opposing him is the charismatic leader of a ghoul-worshipping cargo cult. When a lunatic warlord berths an aircraft carrier off the coast and stakes his own claim on the islands, the stage is set for a bloody showdown. To save the remnants of humanity (and himself), Captain Martigan must defeat all three of his ruthless new foes and brave the gruesome horrors of...THE GHOUL ARCHIPELAGO.

Review: Forever His Baby by Morgana Phoenix

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Two brothers. One impossible choice From the moment her suspicions are confirmed, Lily knows she’s screwed. What the hell is a nineteen year old with no future going to do with a baby? She can barely take care of herself. She needs help. In walks Sloan McClain, the only man Lily has ever truly wanted — and the brother of the boy whose baby she’s carrying. While Lily expects a great number of outcomes when she tells Sloan her news, him proposing marriage and asking her to keep the baby is not one of them, especially not when she has every intention of giving the baby a better future by giving it the home she can’t. Having spent the majority of his life protecting his brother from the bone-breaking fists of their father, Sloan is no stranger to hardship, loss and abandonment. He has learned long ago never to rely on anyone to take care of what was his, and that baby is his. He isn’t about to let Lily give away his family, nor can he allow that child to destroy the future he has built f

Review: The Unbecoming of Maya Dryer by Michelle Hoodkin

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Mara Dyer doesn’t know if she is crazy or haunted—all she knows is that everyone around her is dying in this suspenseful and “strong, inventive tale” (Kirkus Reviews). Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can. She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed. There is. She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love. She’s wrong. After Mara survives the traumatizing accident at the old asylum, it makes sense that she has issues. She lost her best friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s sister, and as if that weren’t enough to cope with, her family moves to a new state in order to give her a fresh start. But that fresh start is quickly filled with hallucinations—or are they premonitions?—and then corpses, and the boundary between reality and nightmare is wavering. At school, there’s Noah, a

Review: Crickett (Devlin Haskell Mysteries #8) by Mike Faricy

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Crickett is the Eighth mystery in the highly entertaining Dev Haskell Private Investigator mystery series. Mike Faricy once again proves himself to be Minnesota's Master of the Bizarre. When the city's laziest Private Investigator, Dev Haskell spots his old flame Karen Riley in The Spot bar she's changed, for one thing she's no longer Karen Riley, now she's Crickett, and then there's the stroller with ten month old Oliver. Dev hangs on and does the math, ten months plus nine months equals when? It seems Crickett's sometime lover Daryl has been caught in possession of some drugs and she thinks they may have been planted on him. But five million dollars worth? Tough to hide that much in your pocket. Dev starts looking under rocks and quickly uncovers local crime lord Tubby Gustafson and his psychopathic enforcer, Bulldog. Things seem to go downhill rather quickly from there and Dev finds himself literally running for his life. Crickett is a hilariously e

New Release: Broken Lights by Dianna Hardy

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Title : Broken Lights Series : None. Standalone Author : Dianna Hardy Genre : Contemporary Romantic Fiction Norman Smithson is at the end of the line. His wife left him, women don't look at him, he was made redundant, and at forty, he could be just that little bit slimmer. He would be a has-been if he'd ever been a 'was' in the first place. He's not the Alpha male of the 21st century – or of any century. He was the chubby oddball who used to sit silently at the back of the class so he wouldn't get picked on. Rosa is a dreadlocked, tattooed and pierced twenty-something, who uses her image as armour to keep everyone away from every broken thing about her. But her past is about to catch up with her ... at the exact moment Norman finds himself in completely the wrong place, at the worst possible time. One gunshot, one scramble for life, one unlikely couple, one very long night ... can one damaged woman and one ordinary man, find the ext

Blog Tour: Review and GIVEAWAY: Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich

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Rite of Rejection by Sarah Negovetich Straight-laced, sixteen-year-old Rebecca can’t wait for her Acceptance. A fancy ball, eligible bachelors, and her debut as an official member of society. Instead, the Machine rejects Rebecca. Labeled as a future criminal, she’s shipped off to a life sentence in a lawless penal colony. A life behind barbed wire fences with the world’s most dangerous people terrifies Rebecca . She reluctantly joins a band of misfit teens in a risky escape plan, complete with an accidental fiancé she’s almost certain she can learn to love. But freedom comes with a price. To escape a doomed future and prove her innocence Rebecca must embrace the criminal within. Available now at Amazon , B&N , Kobo & iTunes

Review: For Nicky (Torey Hope #1) by A.D. Ellis

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Elizabeth Decker views herself as shy, totally average, and pretty much insignificant. She’s nothing special, at least not compared to her little sister, Audrey. Elizabeth is content with her plain and lonely future; she’s too insecure to contemplate a relationship thanks to her sister. Audrey is a bombshell and uses this to get what she wants. She’s a girl who will stop at nothing to control anyone and everything around her. She craves power and doesn’t care if she has to hurt Elizabeth to get it. Nathaniel Morgan has spent his whole life fighting for his twin brother, Nicholas. Somewhere along the way, he lost himself. Now he’s just getting by. He’s devoted to his family, but emotionally detached from the women he burns through like wildfire. He has no plans of getting into something as complicated and committed as a “relationship”. Nicholas Morgan has placed the new librarian, Miss Elizabeth, on a pedestal and is begging her to meet his twin brother, Nathaniel. Elizabeth and Nat

Review: Satu Country: Coming Tides by Rebecca Chance

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A fire at a boarding school sparks a journey for seven teens that could change their lives. While the pretentious Doctor Wynn and the exasperated Principal of the school plot of how to destroy the credibility of a bothersome coach, Kano and Hisano Shadow, a brother and sister team, are reunited with their pasts that they would rather forget. As hidden dangers move in from all sides, will the teens be able to all return home? Or will lives have to be sacrificed for the sake of the cause? Coming Tides is the first of the Satu Country tales.

Review: Captured by Neil Cross

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Even though he is still young, Kenny has just weeks to live. Before he dies, he wants to find his childhood best friend Callie Barton and thank her for the kindness she showed him when they were at school together. But when Kenny begins his search, he discovers that Callie Barton has gone missing. Although cleared of any involvement, her husband Jonathan seems to be hiding something. Kenny has no choice but to take matters into his own hands. And knowing that time is running out on him, he's prepared to do whatever it takes ...

Review: Without Shadows (Soulless #2) by Olivia Owens

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As new feelings for one of his own cloud his thoughts, Nicolas Rider tries to distract himself by diving too deep into the human world but manages instead to attract the attention of the local pack of werewolves. When his actions put his friends in danger, the vampire in him emerges and he is forced to paint the snow in crimson to protect the ones he loves, unknowing that the secrets they keep will change everything.

Review: Beautifully Broken (Infinite Love #2) by Kira Adams

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Jacqueline Blunt hasn’t had an easy life. In fact, she’s had anything but. From a drug addicted mother to being bounced around in foster care, Jacqueline longed for one thing—normalcy. Lee Bennett had everything he could ever want—girls falling all over him, a dream job, money. The one thing he was missing? Passion.  Sometimes the ones worth fighting for don’t know their worth. Sometimes being broken is beautiful. This is a story of strength, courage, hope, faith, and love. This is Beautifully Broken.

Review: Broken Lights Dianna Hardy

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Norman Smithson is at the end of the line. His wife left him, women don't look at him, he was made redundant, and at forty, he could be just that little bit slimmer. He would be a has-been if he'd ever been a 'was' in the first place. He's not the Alpha male of the 21st century – or of any century. He was the chubby oddball who used to sit silently at the back of the class so he wouldn't get picked on. Rosa is a dreadlocked, tattooed and pierced twenty-something, who uses her image as armour to keep everyone away from every broken thing about her. But her past is about to catch up with her ... at the exact moment Norman finds himself in completely the wrong place, at the worst possible time. One gunshot, one scramble for life, one unlikely couple, one very long night ... can one damaged woman and one ordinary man, find the extraordinary in the very last second they're given? Broken Lights is a standalone story of what's really worth fighting for, when

Book Blast: Wicka: The Chronicles of Elizabeth Blake by Christy Deveaux

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Title: Wicka: The Chronicles of Elizabeth Blake Author: Christy Deveaux Publication Date: May 28, 2014 Publisher: Independent Pages: 224 Recommended Ages: 12+   Book Description: While mourning the loss of a mother figure, Elizabeth Blake, a smart but socially introverted seventeen-year-old girl from Ann Arbor, Michigan, enrolls in an international school in the south of France to finish her final year of high school. Here she meets her true love, finds out that she is a witch from an ancient family, and discovers that her life is in danger. Meanwhile, the Elders—the most powerful coven of witches in the world—have been tracking Elizabeth since her birth. According to an ancient legend, a battle led by “One barely born existing to lead” will cause the downfall of the Elders. Fearing that Elizabeth is the heir to this legend, the Elders try to destroy her before she can fulfill the prophecy. With the help of her new friends, Elizabeth must travel to Greece to try and prov

Book Tour: I, James by Mike Hartner

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Title : I, James Author : Mike Hartner Publisher : Eternity4Popsicle Publishing Pages : 293 Genre : Historical Fiction/Romance Format : Kindle Purchase at AMAZON James Crofter was ripped from his family at age 11. Within a year the prince was a pauper in a foreign land. Is nature stronger than nurture? And even if it is, can James find the happiness he so richly desires? Book Excerpt: It required two days of marching to get to what I’d learned was a plantation, which was in the middle of nowhere. When we finally arrived at our destination, I considered how memorable my last 16 months had been since I was removed from a prince’s life. Yes, they were memorable. And even though I had a pouch full of coin hidden inside my drawers, I was now a slave on a plantation in Africa. Mike Hartner was born in Miami in 1965. He's traveled much of the continental United States. He has several years post secondary education, and experience teaching a

Review: My Forever (Infinite Love #1) by Kira Adams

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Grief and loss can make a person act out in all the worst kinds of ways. Madalynne Johnson has always been a bit of a handful, but with the loss of her brother, separation of her parents, and her boyfriends unexpected news of joining the army she has gone into a full on tailspin. Parker Grant experienced loss firsthand when his brother took his own life. Darkness closed in. Madalynne saved him; showed him the light. And even though he isn’t sure what the future holds--he wants Madalynne and this time he won’t give up without a fight.

Review: Alice Will (Dreams of Chaos #1) by Ashley Chappell

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With her leaky powers and premature smiting problem, fourteen year-old Trotter was still just trying to get the hang of the demi-godding business when the apocalypse began. In a world where the gods have withdrawn from humanity, leaving mortals bitter toward magic, she finds herself torn between the human and the goddess in her. When the world begins to fade away and she becomes the prime suspect, her search to determine the cause and prove her innocence ends up revolving around a mysterious little girl named Alice. Then she discovers that not all of the gods had been as distant as they seemed...  Now, with everyone against her and the gods fighting amongst themselves, Trotter is on her own to save her world and stop a spiteful god from using Alice to destroy everything.

Review: The Gifted Soul by Avalon Hart

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Every year during October the American government administers the annual Psychic Sweep Test throughout the country’s schools. The Sweep is to find the ones known as gifted among the mundane humans. Sophie Walters has been keeping her secret for ten years purposely failing the Sweep, but she is finally outed by a random boy walking the halls during the test, who turns out to be a gifted himself. Sophie is dragged out of her old life and away from her two best friends Ian, and Cassie who don’t know what to think about Sophie keeping her gifted status a secret, and thrown into the world she had been avoiding for five years. Sophie expects to find herself at one of the many psychic institutes, but instead she finds herself at the first Psychic Academy in the United States. The headmaster of which sets Sophie up in a special research group to help further the understanding of the abilities of ghosts, and the gifted that can see them, but as Sophie helps the stranger things become. The bo

New Release: Dragonflies by Samantha Fontien

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This... ‘IS’ the concluding part of Duncan Peters’s story... And the Dragonflies Trilogy. This book contains explicit sex scenes and is recommended for readers 18+ Add to Goodreads Cover designed by Jade at JEZ Creative Life has transformed quite considerably for Duncan Peters, as he approaches his fiftieth year... Change is very much in the cards for our hero... We now find the natural born tactician out of his comfort zone, ‘in more ways than one’ mentoring his two boys... What will life have in store for our man who believes in taking Love, Friendship, Honour and Loyalty ‘above and beyond’...? Can he deal with it all in his normal smooth Duncan fashion... or will life deal him blows that he will never be able to recover from? I'm a Happily Married, MUM of 2 very loved children. One is a teenager… so far (fingers crossed) a great one. I LOVE Music… I should do as I am the daughter of Musicians; I was reared with a Guitar in one hand and a pen in the other.