Tuesday 25 April 2017

Bellamy and The Brute by Alicia Michaels (Review)

     A loose remake of Beauty and the Beast, Bellamy and the Brute takes on a modernized murder mystery theme where the beast would be a brutish teenager with a disease that is being haunted, and the beauty is a random nice girl who takes on the wrong baby sitting job. Trying to make some money over the summer, Bellamy accepts a babysitting job with the obscure rich family in town. While there, she runs into some pretty strange occurrences like rose petals leading up to the restricted third floor, and ghostly women following her and chasing her. She has a mystery to solve before she pays for it with her life.
     It was okay, Bellamy and the Brute was more loosely based on Beauty and the Beast then expected. It was less of a romance and more of a paranormal-ish murder mystery for characters that were mostly disconnected from the story. But that aside, on its own it was mildly entertaining. I liked Bellamy and Tate, but they were not interesting enough characters to push the story over the edge and into being a riveting and an addicting story. I found the murder part to be interesting, but not very complementary to the story of the Beauty and the Beast theme. Ultimately Bellamy and the Brute was not that bad, it was a good read, just not something to get excited over, and I give it the rating of FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS!
*Advanced Readers Copy Review*

Saturday 8 April 2017

Book Blitz: Queen Fae (NYM Mecca #3) by Jaymin Eve and Leia Stone!

Queen Fae
(NYC Mecca #3)
By: Jaymin Eve and Leia Stone
Release Date: April 4th, 2017
Genre: Upper YA Fantasy (Shifters)
Blurb:
    When the fae kidnapped Violet they underestimated Arianna, Queen of the wolf shifters. There was literally nothing she wouldn't do to save her best friend. Which is why she sets out with her mate and pack of dominants to rescue the magic born from the fae lands. 
    As she expected the Otherworld is fraught with danger, but there is one thing which takes her completely by surprise. A dark secret which could rock her world to its very foundation. 
    Arianna must now save her friend and herself. Because the fae have been waiting for her, and she's just walked right into their trap.
Buy Link:
Amazon (Kindle Unlimited)
Goodreads:

Excerpt:
    The shock of her revelation hit me so hard my body was ripped from the dream state and I woke up panting. Kade was immediately alert, his hands tightening on me as he pulled me closer. I blinked a few times as droplets of liquid fell into my eyes; my whole body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. As I met Kade’s dark gaze, my breathing stuttered. Could Violet be right? Holy shifter gods, what had my mother done?
    “Arianna!” The deep tones cut through my disorientation, and I realized Kade had been calling my name for some time. He growled then, before turning to yell for Nikoli.
I dropped my hand onto his chest, which had his eyes right back on me. “What happened? Are you okay?”
    I nodded and shook my head at the same time, trying to figure out how to answer. “Violet just appeared to me in my dream. She’s hurt – they’re hurting her.”

Author Bios:
Jaymin Eve:
    Jaymin Eve is the USA Today Bestselling author of Young Adult and New Adult romance novels (both urban fantasy and contemporary). She loves surrounding herself with the best things in life: her two girls, a good book and chocolate.
    Living on the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia, the family loves spending lots of time on the beach. And traveling as frequently as possible.
    When Jaymin isn’t trying to wrangle two daughters, a puppy and her husband, you will find her hiding in a corner trying desperately to write her stories (without little fingers pressing random keys). She asks for forgiveness if you notice the occasional sskkkkssis appearing in her book, her children are proud of their contribution.
     She’d love it if you contacted her, giving feedback or just to have a chat.

Leia Stone:
    Leia Stone is a USA TODAY bestselling author and mother of twins. When she isn't writing or kiddo wrangling, her nose is shoved in a good book. She lives with her husband and family in Gilbert, Arizona. She loves Indian food and is a vegetarian.
    **The Matefinder series has been optioned for film.**
    Sign up for my monthly newsletter! Get inside details and a chance to win free stuff.
Author Links:

Tuesday 4 April 2017

Release Day Blitz: Perfect by Cecelia Ahern!

PERFECT 
(Flawed #2)
by Cecelia Ahern
Pub. Date: April 4, 2017
     Celestine North lives in a society that demands perfection. After she was branded Flawed by a morality court, Celestine's life has completely fractured--all her freedoms gone.
     Since Judge Crevan has declared her the number one threat to the public, she has been a ghost, on the run with Carrick--the only person she can trust.
     But Celestine has a secret--one that could bring the entire Flawed system crumbling to the ground. A secret that has already caused countless people to go missing.
    Judge Crevan is gaining the upper hand, and time is running out for Celestine. With tensions building, Celestine must make a choice: save just herself or to risk her life to save all Flawed people.
    And, most important of all, can she prove that to be human in itself is to be Flawed?

FLAWED
by Cecilia Ahern
     Celestine North lives a perfect life. She's a model daughter and sister, she's well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she's dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.
     But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.
     In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and flaws are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.

Excerpt:
Chapter Eight
            They stay there for three hours.
            My muscles burn, my feet ache, but I’m afraid to move.
            When the fire has reduced to a smolder, Granddad and Dahy are ordered to place the bundles of food onto the coals. The farmworkers watch from their orderly line, their F brand armbands all visible on their right arms, just above their elbow.
            This was supposed to be a celebration, a coming together to show that the Guild couldn’t beat them down. Now the Whistleblowers themselves are here. Hiding behind the tree, huddled on the ground, hugging my legs, shivering from the damp forest, I can’t say that I feel empowered. This feels like a defeat.
            Granddad and Dahy cover the food with the soil so it will cook under the ground in the heat. Granddad looks at the ground, his work finished, as though he’s buried me alive. Again I want to call out to him that I’m okay, I made it out, but I can’t.
            A phone rings and the female Whistleblower takes it. She steps aside, walks away from the others, so she can talk in private. She moves closer to me in the woods. I tense up again.
            “Judge Crevan, hello. It’s Kate. No, Judge, Celestine isn’t here. We’ve checked everywhere.”
            Silence as she listens and I hear Crevan’s voice from where I stand. Kate walks farther and stops by my tree.
            I press my back to the tree, squeeze my eyes shut, and hold my breath.
            “With all due respect, Judge, this is the Guild’s sixth visit to the property and I believe Mary May was meticulous in her search. We’ve checked everywhere you can imagine. I don’t believe she’s here. I think the grandfather is telling the truth.”
            I can hear the frustration in her voice. They’re all under pressure to find me, pressure placed on them by Judge Crevan. Kate takes a few more steps, right into my eyeline.
            She slowly scans the forest, her eyes searching the distance.
            Then she looks right at me.

About Cecilia:
     At twenty-one, Cecelia wrote her first novel PS, I Love You, which was sold to forty-seven countries. The film of the same title, directed by Richard LaGravenese and produced by Wendy Finerman productions, starred Hilary Swank, Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates, Gerry Butler, Harry Connick Jr, Gina Gershon and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. PS, I Love You was one of the biggest-selling debut novels of 2004, reaching number 1 in Ireland and in the UK Sunday Times bestseller list. It was also a bestseller throughout Europe and the USA, staying on the best-seller list in Germany for 52 weeks.
     That same year, in November 2004, her second book Where Rainbows End (as Rosie Dunne hardback in the US, Love, Rosie paperback in US) also reached no.1 in Ireland and the UK, remaining at the top of the Irish bestsellers list for 12 weeks and again was a bestseller internationally.  Where Rainbows End was adapted for film titled Love, Rosie and will be released in Oct 2014, starring Lily Collins and Sam Claflin.
     Her third book If You Could See Me Now was published in November 2005 and also became an international bestseller. It has been optioned by producer Simon Brooks, producer of Love, Rosie.
     Cecelia’s fourth novel A Place Called Here (published under the title There’s No Place Like Here in the US) also became an international number one bestseller.
     Thanks For The Memories her fifth novel was also a huge bestseller and is now being adapted for a TV Drama Series by Gate Productions.
     The Gift was published in October 2008 and became an International bestseller. It is optioned by Oscar winning producer Andreas Bareiss, and it is going into production later this year.
     Her seventh novel The Book Of Tomorrow was released in October 2009 and eOne Television are developing it for a TV series in the US.
     In March of 2011 her two short stories, Girl in the Mirror were published.
     In November by Cecelia’s eighth novel The Time Of My Life was published and also became a bestseller.
     Her ninth novel One Hundred Names was published in October 2012 and became a number one bestseller.
    Her tenth novel How To Fall In Love was published last November and also became another bestseller.
   To date Cecelia has sold over 22 million copies of her books worldwide.

Giveaway Details:
2 Winners will receive finished copies of FLAWED & PERFECT, US Only.
Ends on April 18th at Midnight EST!

Monday 3 April 2017

Blog Tour: When Planets Fall by Abby J. Reed!

When Planets Fall
(Stars Fall Circle #1)
by Abby J. Reed
Pub. Date: April 12, 2017
Publisher: Soul Mate Publishing
Pages: 420
Formats: Paperback, eBook

   On a planet where the only difference between three tribes is their blood color, war is on the horizon. Breaker, an amputee, wants peace for his family and home. Malani, a kidnapped POW, wants to return home. Luka wants justice for his home. All three teens come together when Breaker is given seven days to fix a wrecked enemy starship or their home, and peace, is forfeit..

    "In this richly imagined start to a new sci-fi series, Reed brings optimism to the goal of solving entrenched violence in a galaxy far, far away . . . A propulsive, sharply crafted tale about a planetary war." -Kirkus Reviews

Excerpt:
      I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Brody! Brody!” 
      Nobody was allowed to break boundary unless you were on hunting rounds and wanted a shot at the deercorns—three-horns, good meat—or on boundary duty. The land between here and the Heron Mountains in the west was technically neutral territory and belonged to no one. Too many good game trails passed through and everyone needed good protein. You’d think this meant a peace card for any who marched through the area. Then a handful of cycles back, attacks started becoming more frequent. Now, neutral territory meant open hunting season on everyone. 
And if you were in trouble . . . the compound wouldn’t help. 
      I couldn’t leave him out there. I had to go over the fence. Beyond the compound’s boundary. 
      I was going to murder that kid. 
      The tree branches on the opposite side created a tunnel. Ravines on either side had been dug deep for a grave ditch in case of a future blood bath. Water filled them now. No need to waste time or tears while shoveling, just dump the bodies in the pre-dug ditch. Time and pain in the past saved time and pain in the future. 
       I set my foot on the lowest rail. The wood jiggled. Bangit. I couldn’t climb over the stupid thing. I pocketed the pick, got back on my bike, reversed, and aimed it at the fence. Even though the bike ran on solatech energy, the magnetic polarity of mineral deposits in the ground kept it afloat. In theory, the bike should pass right over the fence, since the fence wasn’t quite solid, so the bike would never lose complete contact with the ground. 
      I revved the bike. A surge of solaenergy sent me flying toward the fence. I shoved on the handles right before I hit the broken rail, bouncing and soaring right over the fence. The bike didn’t even bounce on the ground on the other side. 
My chest tightened a notch.
I just broke boundary.
I hadn’t broke boundary in eight cycles.
      I swear there was still a faint smell of cinnamon, though the gun smoke couldn’t have hung in the air this long. Lining the ravine were the twelve gravecrosses. Rainwater ran like thinned-out blood off the names carved into the bars. The letters were slowly being erased by weather and time, as though the people were being slowly erased from our memory until they never existed. 

About Abby:
    Abby J. Reed writes young adult science fiction and fantasy novels that ask what if. She has a degree in English Writing and is drawn to characters with physical limitations due to her own neurological disorder called Chronic Migraine. Her debut novel, WHEN PLANETS FALL, will be published in April 2017 by Soul Mate Publishing.
    Abby lives in Colorado with her husband and two fluffy pups. If her hands aren’t on the keyboard, they are stained purple and blue with paint.


Giveaway Details:
1 winner will receive a signed paperback of WHEN PLANETS FALL, & Swag, US Only.

Tour Schedule:
Week One:
4/3/2017- Twinning for BooksInterview
4/3/2017- Everything MarieReview

4/4/2017- Jennifer Mary G.Guest Post
4/4/2017- What the Cat ReadReview

4/5/2017- The Not So Public LibraryExcerpt
4/5/2017- YA and WineReview

4/6/2017- The Autumn Bookshelf- Interview
4/6/2017- A Trail of Books Left BehindReview

4/7/2017- Smada's Book SmackGuest Post
4/7/2017- Kayl's Krazy ObsessionReview

Week Two:
4/10/2017- Two Chicks on BooksInterview
4/10/2017- The Broke Book bankReview

4/11/2017- Read Day and NightReview
4/11/2017- Wishful EndingsReview

4/12/2017- Books,Dreams,LifeExcerpt
4/12/2017- Book-KeepingReview

4/13/2017- Bibliobibuli YAInterview
4/13/2017- Reese's ReviewsReview

4/14/2017- YA Book MadnessGuest Post

4/14/2017- Taking It One Book at a TimeReview