Suzanne Schultz Pick's Blog: bookblogarama, page 34

Monday Mashups for 2 Jun 2014

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.

• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).

• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!

• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musing:

 

I’ve just discovered clean, teen romance novels. I’m slow to realize that this is actually a thing. I read all the Twilight books, and I read Anna and the French Kiss, and those are romance. I like contemporary books, but it never occurred to me that romance books had more than “but he was soooo cute” kind of attitude in the main character.

I bought To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century. I’m looking forward to some slight fantasy and (hopefully) not a lot of bedroom details. I’m not going to hold my breathe on that with the first book now that I’ve read the reviews. *sigh* I understand it’s part of a teenager’s life, but I don’t remember any of us having books that had light innuendos and flirting. The romance stuff was for adult books – and who the heck wanted to read those at age 16?

Anyway, that’s my new quest in books I can just enjoy and read for entertainment. Wish me luck!

 

Happy Reading and Happy Monday!

Resistance Book Blog Tour

Excerpt from Goodreads :

“Don’t you know? Animals like you have no soul.”

Could God ever love a half-blood all of society looks upon with such fear and disdain? Jace once believed so, but when a tragic loss shatters the only peace he’s ever known, his faith crumbles as the nagging doubts he’s tried to put behind him descend on his grieving heart. With them come the haunting memories of the bloodstained past he longs to forget, but can never escape.

Taken from home at a young age and raised to serve the emperor, Kyrin Altair lives every day under a dangerous pretense of loyalty. After her unique observation skills and perfect memory place her into direct service to the emperor, Kyrin finds herself in further jeopardy as it becomes increasingly difficult to hide her belief in Elôm, the one true God.

Following the emperor’s declaration to enforce the worship of false gods under the penalty of death, many lives are endangered. But there are those willing to risk everything to take a stand and offer aid to the persecuted. With their lives traveling paths they never could have imagined, Jace and Kyrin must fight to overcome their own fears and conflicts with society as they become part of the resistance.

(Christian Fantasy/Clean New Adult/No Magic)

My Review:

I absolutely loved this. It’s a fantasy book without magic which is so unique and well done – much more up my alley than heavy fantasy books where anything goes. The reader is completely thrown into Jace and Kyrin’s point of view with lots of action and total submersion into the fantasy world. I can really see the Tolkien influences that Knight credits because the story of Elôm is much like those in LOTR where the allegory is not directly linked to Christianity, but you can feel for the characters is their own world version of the religion. I am really eager to read the rest of the series as well.

About the Author:

  Jaye L. Knight is a 25 year old homeschool graduate with a passion for writing Christian fantasy and clean NA fiction.

  Armed with an active imagination and love for adventure, Jaye weaves stories of truth, faith, and courage with the message that even in the deepest darkness, God’s love shines as a light to offer hope.

  (Previously published as Molly Evangeline.)

Book Blog Blitz–Devour by Jill Cooper

Devour by Jill Cooper

Release date: May 26th 2014

Self-published

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Life in Gloucester Massachusetts will never be the same. Raging storms, fierce winds, shadows shifting in the breeze. Storms are nothing new for the fishing hamlet. But darkness has come to claim the hearts and minds of those that stand in it too long. When that happens, love will be ripped from man leaving only violence, despair, and gnashing teeth. Except for two. Roberta is a single mom, a waitress struggling to get through life after a rocky start tainted by murder and loss. Her heart yearns for Gabriel; a deputy living in the shadow of the chief. He’s a battle weary soldier ready to settle down. When the storm comes, when the murders start, it will be up to them to stop it before darkness isn’t just an empty void.

Devour excerpt:

The door chimed and I glanced over, fluffing my red curls slightly. He was right on time.

With Brooding wide shoulders, Deputy Gabriel Manning could fill out a uniform in all the right places. His hair was sandy brown, and soft like an ocean’s wave. My heart skipped a beat in the way it had when I knew Gabriel growing up, but what girl hadn’t had a crush on him?

“Deputy.” I said with a smile as I poured a cup of coffee into a Styrofoam cup and attached a lid. “Danish?”

“Not today. I have to watch the calories.” Gabriel smiled and patted his perfectly flat stomach. Perfectly perfect was more like it. On more than one occasion I had imagined him without his shirt. Always made me feel guilty, I wasn’t ready to move on, and he just wasn’t my friend.

He was Rick’s friend too.

That just made it a whole host of complicated and while I knew Gabriel should have been off-limits, nobody told my heart that.

He took the coffee and his fingers swept across mine gently, but I knew he did it on purpose. It made me blush, but my heart sprouted wings. He had been working up to something for a while, but I never said anything. Always pretended I didn’t notice. My heart shouted at me through a bullhorn to say or do anything, but the guilt stopped me.

Guilt like I was betraying my dead soon-to-be-husband with his closest friend. Meanwhile Rick was somewhere at the bottom of Gloucester Harbor, still never found.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Author of the YA Dream Slayer series, Jill loves to blend horror, comedy, the supernatural, and love, through her novels. A fan of genre blending, her work strives to cross boundaries, but most of all strives to entertain. She loves soft cuddly cats, warm blankets, and paranormal romances. Jill resides in Massachusetts, is constantly renovating her home that she shares with her husband, young daughter, and two skittish cats. www.jillacooper.com | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

Rafflecopter Giveaway Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crane Release Day and Sale!

 



Crane by Stacey Rourke
Legends Saga Book 1

On Sale Now!

 
The Horseman is unending,
his presence shan’t lessen.
If you break the curse,
you become the legend.

Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep.

What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you?

Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover the key to channeling the darkness swirling within her. Bodies are piling high and Ireland is the only one that can save Sleepy Hollow by embracing her own damning curse.

But is anyone truly safe when the Horseman rides?

 
On Sale Now for Only .99 Cents!

 
About Stacy Rourke

There is nothing worse than being put on the spot and asked to talk about yourself. For me it brings back that inevitable moment in a new school when the teacher would ask me to stand up, introduce myself and tell the class something about myself. I was always worried I would blurt out something stupid that I would get teased for. Something like, “My name’s Stacey and I like pickles!” Then for the rest of the school year I’d be known as the Pickle Girl and let’s be honest, no one wants that. So to avoid such a faux pas I will simply say that I love to write. It allows me to get my crazy out just enough that I can function as a normal member of society.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter
 

Happy Reading!

Chased Dream Release Day

 




Lacey and Chase have created a story that is timeless and heartwarming. They truly know how to create a story about love and loss, while doing the series justice and ending it brilliantly!
–Lisa Markson, The Paranormal Bookworm

Chased Dreams
Lacey Weatherford & Chase Walden

Book Three – Chasing Nikki Series


Dreams of the future, dreams of love and happiness, dreams of being able to move on and get past the heartache that still resides in his soul, Chase Walker believes things are finally starting to look up.

But are they really?
When Chase suffers a devastating injury on the football field, his life is thrown into a tailspin once again. Feeling like he’s lost his identity, he struggles with keeping his relationship with Brittney from falling apart, while also trying to find out who he really is inside. But when dreams from the past resurface, causing old feelings to rise anew and clash with the life he’s living now, Chase is left to wonder if all he has is Chased Dreams.





Purchase Chased Dreams for $2.99







About Lacey Weatherford

Lacey Weatherford is the bestselling author of the popular young adult paranormal romance series, Of Witches and Warlocks, and contemporary series, Chasing Nikki and Crush, and Tell Me Why.
Lacey resides in the beautiful White Mountains of Arizona. She lives with her wonderful husband and children along with their dog, Talley, and cat, Minx. When she’s not out supporting one of her kids at their sporting/music events, she spends her time reading, writing, and visiting with her readers on her social media accounts.
Website / Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

 

 

Happy Reading!

Blog Blitz Tour – Nantucket Red (Nantucket #2) Review

Goodreads summary:

Cricket Thompson’s lifetime of overachieving has paid off: she’s headed to Brown University in the fall, with a spot on the lacrosse team and a scholarship that covers almost everything. Who knew living in the dorm cost money? An Ivy League education seems to mean living at home for the next four years. When Cricket is offered the chance to earn enough cash to afford a real college experience, she heads back to Nantucket for the summer. But the faraway island challenges Cricket in ways she hadn’t anticipated. It’s hard to focus on earning money for next year, when she finds her world opening up in entirely new ways-to art, to travel, and, most unexpectedly, to a future completely different from the one she has been working toward her whole life. A friendship blossoms with Ben, the gorgeous surfer and bartender who encourages Cricket to be free, even as she smarts at the pain of seeing Zack, her first love, falling for her worst enemy. But one night, when Cricket finally lets herself break all her own rules, she realizes she may have ruined her carefully constructed future with one impulsive decision. Cricket must dig deep to fight for her future, discovering that success isn’t just about reaching goals, but also about listening to what she’s been trying to ignore-her own heart.

My Review:

This is a good, light, fun, romantic summer read. The setting is definitely one of the highlights, and following Cricket around makes you feel like you’ve living the island life. I enjoyed Cricket’s character and I was interested in what was going to happen between her and Zach, Jules, Amy, and Ben, the Guitar Guy. It’s quick and easy to get into and I do recommend it for anyone who’s ready to ditch school and head to the beach.

However, this is not a stand alone book. Not having read Nantucket Blue, the first in the series, I could not follow a lot of the characters and their relationship to Cricket. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions because the characters where not explained. There are a lot of characters in the book as well, so I will definitely have the read Nantucket Blue now. So, before you pack up your summer books, please include this and it’s prequel, otherwise you’ll be totally lost like I was.

Main questions for me: Why did Cricket have to choose Zach or Jules? She doesn’t seem that interested in either of them if she willingly pushed both of them away. And is Jules Zach’s sister? Why would Nina (Jules’s mother?) have such an impact on Cricket?

I looked up some information on Goodreads to try and catch up with the story, so it is definitely not something you can dive into without having read Nantucket Blue.

The covers are very intriguing and the setting, again, is beautiful. I was a bit put off by how much the word “Nantucket” is used – sometimes twice on one page and for a while it was on every page. I honestly don’t know anything about Nantucket (I had to look it up on Wikipedia), so a lot of the references to the name itself fell flat with me. Some scenes also just seemed to have stuff going on that was either confusing or unimportant to the story. But, again, it’s an entertaining book and the more I read, the more I was curious how Cricket’s life would turn out. I really do love the time frame that Cricket is telling the story. It’s interesting to see her transfer from a high school senior to a college freshman with new people and new problems to deal with.

About the Author:

LEILA HOWLAND loves to read, explore L.A., and engage in funny and meaningful conversations with her friends and family, especially her brother who calls from Washington D.C. whenever he’s waiting for the bus. A lot gets discussed in those phone calls, but they tend to end abruptly when the bus shows up. She can really cut the rug, but wishes she could sing without people covering their ears. A graduate of Georgetown University, Leila spent five years acting in New York where she was a company member of the award-winning Flea Theater in Tribeca. It was a lot of fun and she often talks about “getting back into it.” The closest she has come was a stint as an extra on The Young and the Restless in 2010. Leila now lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two dogs. She teaches high school English and blogs for HelloGiggles. NANTUCKET BLUE is her first novel. Visit her online at www.leilahowland.com and at http://twitter.com/leilahowland.

Happy Reading!

WWW Wednesday 7 May 2014 (Find out what I am reading this week)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare

I go back to this one pretty often, but I’m only half way through it. It’s one that’s kind of grown on me, I guess.

California Diaries Dawn: Diary 1 (California Diaries #1) by Ann M. Martin

I don’t know where I’ve been, but I had no idea Ann M. Martin had this series. After being an avid Baby Sitter’s Club fan as a kid, I need to read some of this series to remember what I loved about reading as a teenager. Too bad these aren’t available online through the library.

The Bone Season (The Bone Season #1) by Samantha Shannon

I’ve wanted to read this ever since I saw Samantha Shannon on BBC Breakfast last year. It’s a long book that may take me a while to get into, but I plan on eventually buying it even though I have the ebook version from the library now.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

I have checked this ebook out so many times, but I cannot get past 43% or so. I don’t know what it is, but it just drags for me. I love the premise, but even by 40% in, I thought I was almost finished with it. I just don’t know if I should put it on the Did Not Finish pile and move on or not.

What did you recently finish reading?

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Halse Anderson is one of my favorite writers, but this one just didn’t do much for me. I just didn’t have the emotional reaction I was supposed to have with the main character. It was almost like the story wasn’t told at full volume or something. I kept reading and wanting more, but it just never went anywhere. The situation with the father was obviously not going to turn out well and I really wanted him to be just be sent away so the main character could go to college and live a nice life. I don’t know – with me and contemporary fiction I either obsessively love it, or I get bored easily.

What do you think you’ll read next?

Conquest: The Chronicles of the Invaders by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard

Per my new interest in sci-fi, I bought this in hard cover last week.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This was one of my sci-fi recommendations from Twitter. I’m not into high sci-fi or fantasy, so this seems like a good match for me.

 

Happy Reading and Happy Wednesday!

Luthier’s Apprentice Cover Reveal for 28 Apr 2014

  

Releases on May 15th

Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840), one of the greatest violinists who ever lived and rumored to have made a pact with the devil, has somehow transferred unique powers to another…

When violinists around the world mysteriously vanish, 16-year-old Emma Braun takes notice. But when her beloved violin teacher disappears… Emma takes charge. With Sherlock Holmes fanatic, not to mention gorgeous Corey Fletcher, Emma discovers a parallel world ruled by an ex-violinist turned evil sorceress who wants to rule the music world on her own terms.

But why are only men violinists captured and not women? What is the connection between Emma’s family, the sorceress, and the infamous Niccolò Paganini?

Emma must unravel the mystery in order to save her teacher from the fatal destiny that awaits him. And undo the curse that torments her family—before evil wins and she becomes the next luthier’s apprentice…  

About The Author

Website Blog Facebook Twitter Goodreads

Mayra Calvani writes fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen books, some of which have won awards. Her stories, reviews, interviews and articles have appeared on numerous publications such as The Writer, Writer’s Journal, Multicultural Review, and Bloomsbury Review, among many others. When she’s not writing, reading, editing or reviewing, she enjoys walking her dog, traveling, and spending time with her family. Represented by Serendipity Literary.

WWW Wednesday 23 Apr 2014 (Find out what I am reading this week)

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

 Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

I started reading this last week. I got through a good chunk of it, and it’s good, but I found other books that interested me more, honestly. I was put off at the beginning where sixteen year old Park says that in middle school the kids talked about seeing Aliens. The book begins in Aug 1986 and the movie came out in Jul 1986, so the reference in the timeline is a bit wonky. Of course, since I’m an Alien/Aliens geek, this drove me crazy for the first chapter. I do want to finish this one, just to say I did. It’s good and all, but I’m slowly going through it.

  The Program by Suzanne Young

I really liked this, but my Kindle Fire was starting to give me eyestrain, so I had to stop reading it for a while. I’d like to finish this one soon.

  The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This was a paperback book I bought for my Florida holiday last September. I’m usually way too distracted on vacation to read, so I only went through one chapter. I picked it up again when I had the eyestrain, and was pleasantly surprised by it, since it’s not usually my thing. I like the whole world Clare’s made. I saw the terrible movie and liked the concepts in it, so I’m on page 200 or so now, I think.

  The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

This is the book I’ve checked out of the (digital) library three times now, trying to get it read. I love Anderson’s work, and she’s definitely one of my favorite writers. This is the book I want to finish next. She just writes remarkable characters.

What did you recently finish reading?

  The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey

I’m going to fan-girl this a bit because this is definitely one of the best books I’ve ever read. I haven’t read adult literary fiction for so long and this made me remember why I miss it so much. I saw it mentioned on Vintage Book’s Facebook page and with one quote and the mention that it was a book about ballerinas, I read the sample. Pow! The first paragraph just grabs the reader and throws them right into the main character’s world. I’m going to write a review for this because it made me even write better (in my opinion) after reading this each day. Good writing, good characters, good narration. A++ book. I even went as far as to Tweet the author and tell her how good it is – that’s how good it is.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

After watching Saving Mr. Banks (one of the saddest movies I’ve ever seen, by the way) I wanted to get back to my Children’s Lit / Middle Grade roots and read something a little more light-hearted before I jump into another MG writing project.

Happy Reading and Happy Wednesday!

Two Things Tuesdays for 22 Apr 2014

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers from The Cranes Dance by Meg Howrey:

“If only we could crawl inside our dreams and live there. Why can’t I live inside my dream?”

Happy Reading and Happy Tuesday!