C.C. Jackson's Blog, page 3

Goodreads Giveaway Winners

Congrats to my Goodreads Giveaway winners! 
Brittany Gale from Ontario, CanadaHeather Ottenschot from Syracuse, New YorkRebekka Weissbach from Cambridge, Great BritainKarin Tobing from Arcadia, CaliforniaMegan M. from Wilson, North Carolina
A signed copy of Stay is being sent out to you!
   I would also like to thank all of the awesome Goodreads members who took the time to check out my book and to enter my contest. Stay made it to #9 under Goodreads Most Requested Giveaways. I am truly humbled. You guys are awesome!

R&R

   I just have a couple of nights of work left and then we are beach bound! I can't wait! I have been craving the surf and sand for months. I am hoping that the clear blue water will be a big inspiration and that I can sneak out on the balcony before everyone wakes up and get in a good bit of writing.    I don't know what it is about the beach, but I always seem to be a bit more productive when I'm there. I want to eat better, and get outside and move my body. I can relax more. Maybe it's the calming waters or the laid back lifestyle. I don't really know for sure, but I like it.

The Secret of a Spicy Jalapeno Review

The Secret of a Spicy Jalapeño
by
Charlie Courtland

Synopsis
Beyond the urban sprawl of a Pacific Northwest city lurks the peculiar little town of Providence and in it, an organic farmer named Joe Parker. Joe's lurid story, or rather this particular piece of it, begins when Sheriff Caine fashions the big idea to grow jalapenos, albeit with questionable methods. The gritty scheme is plucked from the undercurrent of the sheriff's self-righteous mind and carried out with the help of Joe's skill, two local agents, and a coroner. Everything is progressing as planned. That is, until Vera Cruz, a prostitute and girlfriend of a drug dealer, is delivered late one night on Joe's doorstep. The new houseguest suddenly complicates his routine. The woman bunking on the rear porch not only threatens to upset the jalapeno operation, but also Joe's conviction about what is rightly just and intrinsically wrong. Will Vera save Joe or lure him further into depravity?

The creation of The Secret of A Spicy Jalapeno derives from the unequivocal influence of acclaimed Southern gothic writer, Flannery O'Connor.

"Sometimes it takes a violent and grotesque act for a character to experience a moment of grace. Perhaps, this is the truest path toward fictional redemption." ~ Charlie Courtland(
Review
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. I was a little taken back when first started reading it, but I must say that it turned out to be surprisingly entertaining. Charlie Courtland is amazing. Once I got over the immediate shock of what I was reading about, I found myself falling in love with Joe and Vera. I couldn't help but pull for them to get together throughout the entire book. Joe's quirkiness kept me smiling and the gruesome truth of his occupation kept me with my nose buried in this book. I couldn't wait to see how everything was going to turn out. One thing is for sure, I'll think twice about using any Jalapeño Chutney in the future.

I give it 5 stars.* * * * * 

I'm giving away a copy of Stay...

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Goodreads Book Giveaway








Stay


by C.C. Jackson



Giveaway ends June 20, 2011.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.




Enter to win

Review of Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Synopsis
It's all she's ever wanted to be, but it couldn't be further from her grasp… Dana Hathaway doesn't know it yet, but she's in big trouble.  When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she's had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.   Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she'll never have a chance with… until she does.  Caught between two worlds, Dana isn't sure where she'll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…

Review
I thought Glimmerglass was awesome. I am awe struck by the creativity of the author. I really enjoyed that Avalon was a blend of the world of the Fae and the world of the humans. The descriptions put me right into the story. The book was full of just the right amount action, romance and suspense. It kept me with my nose buried in my Nook and I couldn't wait to start reading Shadowspell.

I give it 5 Stars* * * * * 

Versatile Blogger Award

A huge thanks goes out to Tania aka T.F. Walsh for awarding my blog with The Versatile Blogger Award.
Tania is an amazing fantasy writer who is also an amazing baker. I truly love her blog, which a lot of the time is about my two favorite things... books and sweets. :)
 Check her out here... http://tfwalsh.wordpress.com/

Now for the rules:1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.3. Pass the award on to 5 new-found blogging buddies.4.Contact the winners to congratulate them.a7 random facts about me:1. I was born in Baltimore, Maryland.2. I am a nurse and work part-time in a local nursing home.3. I am addicted to Coca-Cola.4. I have three amazing sons.5. I have a very smart yellow lab named Buff.6. I love the beach and can't wait for the day that I can move close to one.7. My favorite color is blue because it reminds me of the ocean.aAnd now for my 5 nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award:Author Thomas AmoAuthor Dean Pace-FrechAuthor SM ReineAuthor Cherie De SuesShannon's eBook Reviews

Congratulations!!

Review of Follow The Money by Fingers Murphy

Follow The Money
byFingers Murphy

Synopsis
"ALWAYS ASSUME PEOPLE ARE LYING, BUT NEVER ASSUME YOU KNOW WHY."

Oliver Olson went to law school to help people.

But when one of the world's most prominent law firms offers him a high paying summer job, he thinks he'd be crazy not to take it. He soon finds himself enthralled by a world of wealth, privilege, and power.

Blinded by his gilded new world, Ollie is slow to see that something is not right with the case he is assigned to work on - a case with no chance of winning, given to a "summer associate" merely to keep him busy.

Are people following him? Is he imagining things? Are they listening to his conversations? Why are people coming out of the woodwork with a sudden interest in a twelve year old murder case? And is it really possible that the wrong man went to prison?

Ollie wants to succeed, but when he sacrifices his own moral standards for a shot at the big time, he winds up staring down the barrel of a gun.

When you've sold out and can no longer follow your heart, you can only FOLLOW THE MONEY.

This novel is 75,000 fast-paced words.
Review
Follow the Money is an exciting tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Ollie Olsen is a second year law student who has landed a golden opportunity. He has been invited by a high profile law office to work for them as a summer associate. His first assignment has him knee deep in a twelve year old murder case. Ollie's job is to find a way to get the convicted murderer, who just happens to be a former politician, off the hook.

As Ollie begins to uncover clues about the case, he finds himself in the middle of something that he soon wishes he had never been a part of.

The suspense will keep you turning pages, and the dramatic twists in the story will keep your heart racing as the story unfolds.

Fingers Murphy did an excellent job of keeping this chick-lit reader engrossed in a story outside of her norm. I found a whole new genre of books to love.

I give it 5 stars.* * * * * 

Review of Immortal by Lauren Burd

ImmortalbyLauren Burd


Synopsis
   The wound inflicted only a few minutes before was nearly healed. A small cut was the only sign that anything had occurred. I watched in disbelief as it finished closing and eventually disappeared.

   "What are you?" * * *   Gods, demons, fiends, eighteen year old Alina Taylor doesn't believe in any of them, until she meets Samuel Grant and Duncan Michaels, and discovers a world that could destroy everything she loves.

   Review
   This book was most definitely a Twilight copycat mixed with a hint of The Vampire Diaries. With that being said... I still thought it was great. I will admit that I loved Twilight and The Vampire Diaries, so the similarities did not offend me at all.
   I found myself very engrossed in the story and falling in love right along with Alina, the main character. There were some places in the book that seemed to jump from one thing to something completely different without warning and leaving me a bit confused. Other than that, I truly enjoyed it and look forward to the sequel.

I give it 4 stars.* * * * 

Review of The Spell by Heather Killough-Walden

The SpellThe Big Bad Wolf SeriesBook 3
byHeather Killough-Walden


Synopsis
Dannai, who is also known as the Healer, has begun dreaming of werewolves. She'd always been able to hide the fact that she was a dormant, using her magic to shield the sweet, promising scent from the alphas she's been forced to work around. But now that they've invaded her dreams, her world has really been turned upside down. For, though every dormant dreams of her intended mate - Dannai is dreaming of two wolves, not one. And neither one of them is good news. One is a notorious killer. The other is Lucas Caige.
Lucas Caige is a man with a haunting past. A warlock took his brother from him fifty years ago and he's spent his life outrunning that dark magic. But fate has a way of throwing sand in your gears - and just when Caige thought he could forever leave behind the magic that brought pain to his life, his path crosses that of the Healer. Dannai unwittingly casts her spell over him the moment he lays eyes on her. She's stunning, she's kind, and everything about her wreaks havoc on his senses. 
She's also magic incarnate. 
But if Dannai thinks that's going to stop him from doing everything in his power to make her his mate, the little witch has another thing coming.



Review
   I had a little trouble getting into this book at first. I'm not sure if it was because I hadn't read the first two books in the series or if it just started off a little slow. Either way, it didn't take long before the story picked up and I couldn't put it down. The characters were intriguing, not to mention sexy. The action was great, and the twists towards the end kept it exciting.

I give it 4 stars.* * * *

Anathema Review

                                         Anathema                                                   (Cloud Prophet Trilogy #1)                                                  by Megg Jensen
Synopsis   Reychel is a slave girl surrounded by magic, lies and manipulation. Her best friend disappears in the middle of the night leaving Reychel to face her fifteenth birthday, the day her master burns his brand into the back of her bald head, alone. She's sheltered from the outside world and doesn't have any hope for escape, but when people desperate for freedom ask for her help can Reychel learn to believe in herself?
Review   I was completely drawn into this story from the very beginning.  It was a fun read that left me wanting more. I can't wait for the next books in the series.I give it 5 stars.* * * * *