Jessie Harrell's Blog, page 22

Recommendation ~ MY ENCHANTED LIFE by Laura Eno

My Enchanted Life is a light-hearted and fun read for anyone who enjoys paranormal romance - particularly YA.


Goodreads Description: 
An American teen finds herself thrust into a world she never knew existed in England's magical community of Wode Gate. While dealing with gnomes, a cranky dragon, murder and mayhem, Emma tries to cope with her unwanted duties as Sentinel and fights to get back home again. 
She finds that things aren't always what they seem, people aren't who they pretend to be, and someone wants her dead. The king of the underworld wants her too, but he may be the least of her problems as Emma struggles to control her powers—while losing her heart to a demon.

Laura Eno's writing style drew me in immediately. Despite being Indie published, her editing was flawless and I was very impressed by the overall quality of the novel.

In this book, the main character, Emma, finds out on her 18th birthday that she has inherited a house in England and a powerful heritage. When she arrives at her new estate, she's greeted by every manner of enchanted creature you can imagine (except weres and vampires). But elves, sirens, dragons, shape shifters, and even demons, make an appearance. And the house -- it's quite simply enchanted. Eno's descriptions of the creatures and home make you feel like you're really there without slowing down the story.

The twists and turns in the story were also fun and added to the suspense. If I had to pin point the one thing that I didn't quite love, it was that the novel was so lighthearted, I never really believed that Emma was in that great of danger, even when she was. So, the suspense wasn't quite as protected as I would have liked.

But bottom line, I'd say that fans of Ella Enchanted, classic fairy tales, or younger YA in general, will probably really enjoy this novel.  Kindle readers can pick up a copy for just $2.99.


**FTC Disclaimer: Laura provided me with an e-copy of her novel in exchange for my honest review.**

Happy Debut YA Book Birthday

What debut YA novels does the last full week in January have in store for us? Well, let's go see...
How about these??

Everneath by Brodi Ashton (I'm suffering from some serious cover love for this novel ~ hence, it's jumbo size appearance.)

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.
As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.
Everneath is a captivating story of love, loss, and immortality from debut author Brodi Ashton.

Daughter of Centaurs (Centauriad #1) by Kate Klimo (this is Kate's debut YA book birthday, although she has published novels in other genres)


Malora knows what she was born to be: a horse wrangler and a hunter, just like her father. But when her people are massacred by batlike monsters called Leatherwings, Malora will need her horse skills just to survive. The last living human, Malora roams the wilderness at the head of a band of magnificent horses, relying only on her own wits, strength, and courage. When she is captured by a group of centaurs and taken to their city, Malora must decide whether the comforts of her new home and family are worth the parts of herself she must sacrifice to keep them.

Kate Klimo has masterfully created a new world, which at first seems to be an ancient one or perhaps another world altogether, but is in fact set on earth sometime far in the future.

Forbidden by Syrie James and Ryan M. James (this is Ryan's debut YA book birthday)

She should not exist.He should not love her.Claire Brennan has been attending Emerson Academy for two years now (the longest she and her mom have remained anywhere) and she's desperate to stay put for the rest of high school. So there's no way she's going to tell her mom about the psychic visions she's been having or the creepy warnings that she's in danger.Alec MacKenzie is fed up with his duties to watch and, when necessary, eliminate the descendants of his angelic forefathers. He chose Emerson as the ideal hiding place where he could be normal for once. He hadn't factored Claire into his plans. . . .Their love is forbidden, going against everything Alec has been taught to believe. But when the reason behind Claire's unusual powers is revealed and the threat to her life becomes clear, how far will Alec go to protect her?

So, did I just convince you to add to your ever-growing TBR pile?

J.A. Souders' Cover Reveal Scavenger Hunt

SQUEE!!  I am so excited and honored to be a part of my Oasis Sister's cover reveal scavenger hunt for her debut YA novel, RENEGADE.  Even I haven't seen the full cover, but if this piece is any indication, I am going to LOVE IT!!

Awesome, right?  Well, as great as the full cover is going to be, it won't be nearly as lovely as Jessica, who is just an awesome person!


J.A. Souders was born in the heartland with an overactive imagination and an over abundance of curiosity that was always getting her into trouble.  She first began writing at the age of 13, when she moved to Florida and not only befriended the monsters under the bed, but created worlds for them to play together.   Because she never grew up, she decided she'd put her imaginary friends to work and started writing.  She still lives in the land of sunshine and palm trees with her husband and their two children and is an active member of the RWA, CFRW, YARWA and SCBWI.  
She is represented by Natalie Lakosil of the Bradford Literary Agency.  Her debut book, RENEGADE, surfaces Fall 2012 from Tor Teen.

Now, If you are ready for a scavenger hunt, simply visit the following blogs and collect a word along with the puzzle pieces and head over to the three blogs hosting the giveaway on Monday.



7 AM: Woven Strands (WovenMyst.com)
9 AM: Writer's Ally (http://writersally.blogspot.com/)
10 am: The Oasis  (http://oasisforya.blogspot.com/)
11 am: Fire and Ice (http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com/)
1 pm: Confessions of a Bookaholic (http://www.totalbookaholic.com/)
3 pm: you're here.  :)

For the final cover, on Monday visit one or all of the following blogs:
Reading Teen  (http://www.readingteen.net/)
Books Complete Me (http://www.bookscompleteme.com/)Mundie Moms (http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/)Simple Love of Reading (http://simpleloveofreading.blogspot.com/)Stuck in Books  (http://www.stuckinbooks.com/)
The scavenger hunt word for this blog stop is: PERFECT

Check it Out -- The Green by Karly Kirkpatrick

Hello everyone -- I just wanted to do a quick shout out for my Indelibles sister, Karly Kirkpatrick.  Her new YA contemporary novel, THE GREEN, came out this week, and it sounds awesome!!


How far would you go to save your dream?
Seventeen-year-old Ariceli Pisa is a senior at the prestigious Cambridge High School and has her sights set on Northwestern University. She's a cheerleader, a member of the National Honor Society...and a drug dealer. That's not the only secret she has to keep from her best friend Naomi--she's also madly in love with Naomi's ex-boyfriend, James Bartlett. Trying to balance her life at Cambridge High with her new demanding job keeps her teetering on the edge of disaster.
THE GREEN is available in ebook format at the following retailers for $3.99: Amazon                                                                                    Barnes & Noble Also available on Amazon UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
For more info about Karly and her books, check out www.karlykirkpatrick.com and www.darksidepublishing.com.

Happy Debut YA Book Birthday!

It's Tuesday, time for another debut YA book birthday celebration!
This week, we welcome the "babies" of these debut novelists into the world:

The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
Brie's life ends at sixteen: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart - literally. But now that she's in heaven, Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend knows a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost - and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul who's been D&G (dead and gone) much longer than she… and who just might hold the key to her forever after. With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on… but how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces?


Fracture by Megan Miranda

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine-despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?


Tempest by Julie Cross
The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he's in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it's not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there's no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it's just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he's stuck in 2007 and can't get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it's not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these "Enemies of Time" will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.


Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic
Austin Parker is on a journey to bring truth, beauty, and meaning to his life.


Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he's going, he probably won't even see the end of the year. The doctors say his chances of surviving are slim to none even with treatment, so he's decided it's time to let go.


But before he goes, Austin wants to mend the broken fences in his life. So with the help of his best friend, Kaylee, Austin visits every person in his life who touched him in a special way. He journeys to places he's loved and those he's never seen. And what starts as a way to say goodbye turns into a personal journey that brings love, acceptance, and meaning to Austin's life.

Getting Somewhere by Beth Neff
Four girls: dealer, junkie, recluse, thief 

Sarah, Jenna, Lauren, and Cassie may look like ordinary girls, but they're not. They're delinquents whose lives collide when they're sent to an experimental juvenile detention program on a farm in the middle of nowhere. As the girls face up to the crimes they committed, three of them will heal the wounds of their pasts and discover strengths they never dreamed they had. And one, driven by a deep secret of her own, will seek to destroy everything they've all worked so hard for.


So, that's this week.   Are any of these going on your TBR list??

In His Eyes

Did you know?  The Indelibles are releasing an anthology called IN HIS EYES on Valentine's Day (1 month from today!).  You can get short stories told from the perspective of some of your favorite new book boyfriends (including Eros ~ yep, he's in there!)
So please add it to your TBR list and then look for the FREE DOWNLOAD on the most romantic day of the year.  Whether you have a Valentine or not, you'll want to snuggle up with these stories.

Happy Debut YA Book Birthday

There are some great sophomore efforts coming out this week (Jessica Rules the Dark Side, A Million Suns), but since we celebrate debut YA book birthdays here, let's send out happy birthday wishes to:
January 8th
Shadow's Edge by Maureen Lapinski

My magical life is dead to me now . . . This is my last chance at freedom.
Once, Leah Spencer didn't mind being a natural-born Shaman to the Créatúir, a human helper to faeries, shapeshifters, and other magical beings. But that was before she listened to her friend Fiona and broke Rule #1, traveling unprepared to the Other Realm where she quickly lost a whole year of time. She missed out on everything—holidays, school, her sixteenth birthday, the boyfriend who ditched her. After that, Leah swore to leave all things magical behind and lead the life of a normal high school girl.
Now Fiona is missing, and something is killing off the Créatúir, both Light and Dark. As the Créatúir prepare to go to war, Leah is torn between her safe new life and solving the Other Realm murder spree. With the help of her three sisters (each with her own magical gift), and three gorgeous guys—who may or may not be part of the evil magic—Leah must vanquish an ancient dark force. Unless an unimaginable secret about her family destroys her first.

January 10th
The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue. 

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn. 

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?


The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani
After her father loses his job, Sonia Nadhamuni, half Indian and half Jewish American, finds herself yanked out of private school and thrown into the unfamiliar world of public education. For the first time, Sonia's mixed heritage makes her classmates ask questions—questions Sonia doesn't always know how to answer—as she navigates between a group of popular girls who want her to try out for the cheerleading squad and other students who aren't part of the "in" crowd. 

At the same time that Sonia is trying to make new friends, she's dealing with what it means to have an out-of-work parent—it's hard for her family to adjust to their changed circumstances. And then, one day, Sonia's father goes missing. Now Sonia wonders if she ever really knew him. As she begins to look for answers, she must decide what really matters and who her true friends are—and whether her two halves, no matter how different, can make her a whole.

First Date by Krista McGee

The last thing Addy Davidson wants is to be on a reality TV show where the prize is a prom date with the President's son.
She's focused on her schoolwork so she can get a scholarship to an Ivy League college, uncomfortable in the spotlight, never been on a date, and didn't even audition for it.
But she got selected anyway.
So she does her best to get eliminated on the very first show. Right before she realizes that the President's son is possibly the most attractive guy she has ever seen in person, surprisingly nice, and seemingly unimpressed by the 99 other girls who are throwing themselves at him.
Addy's totally out of her comfort zone but that may be right where God can show her all that she was meant to be.

A diverse crop this week... any being added to your TBR list?

Indelibles On Fire! (Bloghop and Kindle Fire Contest)

Introducing the IndeliblesWelcome to The Indelibles Blog Hop!

In celebration of our official launch, we are giving away a KINDLE FIRE! If you'd like to start at the beginning of the INDELIBLES ON FIRE GIVEAWAY BLOG HOP, then please start here: http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/
If you are already mid-hop, then welcome to your next stop! By following the link at the bottom of this post, you can proceed to the next author (and check out the awesome, individual giveaways we are doing along the way!). If you are entering to win the KINDLE FIRE, don't forget to make a note of the keyword at the end of every blog post - the words spell out a phrase you will need to enter the contest on the last stop. 
Marketing guru Shelli Johannes Wells has teamed up with twenty-four other indie and small press authors to bring you the Indelibles.
[image error]"We are indie authors who write middle grade and young adult fiction. We are dedicated to leaving a permanent mark on the world with our stories and words. We are The Indelibles." Each week, we'll explore fun, fabulous, and fierce topics for today's teens, drawing on pop culture and themes from the books we write. Check out our official launch TODAY, Monday, January 9th for fun giveaways (including a Kindle Fire!!) at http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com/. We'll also be having a "blogger" chat on January 11th and a writer/author chat on the 18th to answer questions about self and indie pubbing. See our blog for more details.


In addition to introducing the Indelibles as a group, we're also introducing ourselves individually on our blogs.
I don't want to bore you too much with my own details. It boils down to this: I'm a wife, mother, lawyer, author of Destined (as if you couldn't tell from the blog), and not nearly as cool as I'd like to be ~ you can learn all you ever wanted to know (and more) by checking out some of the interview links in my sidebar. If you're new here, WELCOME! I'm excited to meet you. Feel free to use any of my various button to follow me on twitter, like me on Facebook or add Destined to your TBR pile on Goodreads.
What I'm really excited about though, is introducing you to all of the other members of the Indelibles. This is one amazingly talented group of authors and I count myself lucky to be among them. So, AFTER you enter my contest for an ecopy of Destined, pretty, pretty, please with sugar on top CONTINUE ON THE HOP by going Christine Bryant's blog. She's offering up a prize of her own and you won't want to miss out!
Now, to enter to win an ecopy of Destined, all you have to do is either follow this blog or like me on Facebook. THEN, leave a comment below telling me: (1) which method you went for (or both - double entries there) and (2) your e-mail address so I can get in touch with you if you win. The contest will close at midnight on Wednesday, January 11th.
Happy Hopping! Oh, and for your chance at winning the Fire, my key word is: AND


***The contest begins at 12:01 AM Monday, January 9th and ends at 12:01 AM Thursday, January 12th. If you've stumbled on this post early, please be aware that all the links might not be working yet, and you'll have to come back during the official contest to complete the hop.
 

Fairies and Fantasy Giveaway Hop

Pretty cool, right? I am a Reader, Not a Writer and vvb32reads are co-hosting this fabulous blog hop.  Here on the Daily Harrell, I'm giving away a copy of my ARC of A Touch Mortal by Leah Clifford.  If you haven't read it yet, you'll be up on the angel story just in time for the release of the sequel, A Touch Morbid.

Here's the Goodreads description of the contest book:

Eden didn't expect Az. 

Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings. 

Yeah. 

So long happily-ever-after. 

Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven. 

She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own. 

And that's only the beginning of the end.

OPEN TO U.S. ONLY this time.  All you have to do to enter is be a follower of this blog.  Then leave me a comment with your e-mail address, so I can contact you if you win.  If the winner doesn't respond to my e-mail within 48 hours, I reserve the right to pick another winner.

Once you've entered, be sure to hop on over to the other stops for more chances to win!


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(Nearly Belated) Happy Debut YA Book Birthday

I don't know if anyone else's schedules are as off as mine, but I'm out of whack after that 4-day weekend.  So, while these "happy birthday" wishes are nearly belated, they are sincere just the same.
Cracked by K.M. Walton
In this gripping debut, a teen takes a bottle of pills and lands in the psych ward with the bully who drove him to attempt suicide.Victor hates his life. He's relentlessly bullied at school and his parents constantly ridicule him at home.
Bull is angry. He's sick of his grandfather's drunken beatings. And he likes to take out his rage on Victor.
Determined to end it all, Victor takes a bottle of his mother's sleeping pills—only to be disappointed when he wakes up in the psych ward. And his roommate? None other than Bull, whose loaded-gun effort at self-defense has been labeled as a suicide attempt. Things go from bad to worse—until the boys discover they might just have something in common: a reason to live.


Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.
In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.


The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams
Seraphina's first love made her immortal…her second might get her killed.


Incarnation is a new series that introduces a fresh mythology perfect for fans of bestselling series like The Immortals by Alyson Noel and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

After spending six hundred years on earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world's riches, but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to swap bodies with other humans, jumping from one vessel to the next, taking the human's life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she's done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again.
Then sixteen-year-old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she's inhabiting—and falls for the human boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she's his again, and every moment she stays, she's putting herself and the people she's grown to care for in great danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that's eluded her for centuries: true love?


Cinder by Melissa Meyer
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.


Everything You Need to Survive the Apocalypse by Lucas Klauss


A male perspective on sorting love from loss, faith from fear—brimming with humor and romance.Phillip's sophomore year is off to a rough start. One of his best friends ditches him. His track coach singles him out for personalized, torturous training sessions. And his dad decides to clean out all of the emergency supplies from the basement, even though the world could end in disaster at any moment...and even though those supplies are all Phillip has left of his dead mom. Not that he wants to talk about that.


But then Phillip meets Rebekah. Not only is she unconventionally hot and smart, but she might like him back. As Phillip gets closer to Rebekah, he tries harder and harder to turn himself into the kind of person he thinks she wants him to be. But the question is, can he become that person? And does he really want to? 


I know at least one of these is immediately going on my TBR pile. What about you?