Book Blitz: White Raven (Raven #1)

White Raven (Raven #1) by J.L. Weil
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: March 27, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

DREADFUL LIES.
UNEXPECTED LOVE.
IMPOSSIBLE TRUTH.

It only took one heartbeat to change my life—one chilling phone call in the middle of the night.

And then, as if my life didn’t already suck, my dad sends my brother and me to some idyllic island for the summer to live with a grandma we never met. WTH. Naturally, I rebel. In the end, I find myself shipped off to Raven Hallow…and bored to tears.

Until I get an eyeful of the mind-bendingly gorgeous Zane Hunter. The dark-hair cutie makes my pulse go bonkers, and I think, maybe this might not be so bad after all. Six feet of swoon inducing looks, with a hint of Celtic charm in his voice, he was the type of guy that left a string of broken hearts in his wake. And I had all the heartbreak I could handle.

Yet, there is something uncanny, almost supernatural about Zane, and it’s not just his devastating smirk. No matter how much distance I put between us, Raven Hallow isn’t big enough, and the sparking tension between is undeniable. Of course, the one person I want to avoid becomes my salvation.

My past comes back to terrorize me. Someone wants me dead, and the closer I get to the truth, the more I realize my whole life is a lie. I am no longer sure what is more frightening—the attempts on my life or the guy whose heart and soul are synchronized with mine.

♥ ♥ ♥
Excerpt:

TJ and Rose kept the conversation rolling as I gave the appropriate one-word responses or a head nod. I didn’t have much of an appetite, mostly picking at my chicken Caesar salad and gazing out at the ocean, until…

His hair was black as a wintry night, eyes icy blue as a gypsy’s heart. He had a lazy saunter about him and a glint of humor twinkling in those heart-melting eyes. There was nothing loose about his body, muscles bunching as he tethered a boat to the dock. I twiddled the straw, staring brazenly.

Good God. I wanted to have his babies. Not now, but most definitely someday.

And just like that, my summer got a billion times hotter…and interesting—way more interesting. I bit my lip, mulling over how I was going to accidentally fall into his pants. Um—I mean path or even his lap would do, anything to get that one’s attention.

Book Blitz: Nearly Almost Somebody

Nearly Almost Somebody by Caroline Batten
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Romance
Release Date: March 26, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

She’s nearly perfect – He’s almost the one

When Patrick’s caught in flagrante with a local beauty queen, his father delivers an ultimatum: one more newspaper scandal and Patrick will be out on his ear. Desperate not to lose his job at the family veterinary practice, Patrick needs to avoid trouble – and girls like Libby.

The Broken Ballerina’s a headline waiting to happen, but mourning her short-lived career as a dancer, Libby casts a Wiccan spell to summon a new love: Good-looking, honest, non-brown eyes, English, good with animals… in a nutshell, she summons Patrick.

But fighting Libby’s love spell will be the least of Patrick’s problems when an old lady dies from a ketamine overdose – ketamine stole from his surgery.

Witchcraft, Scandal, Murder...

Will anyone find their perfect Somebody?

♥ ♥ ♥



14 Things I’ve discovered on the road to becoming a self-published author

By Caroline Batten 2015

I’ve been writing since I first read a Sweet Valley High book and thought I could do better myself. Of course I couldn’t at the time, I was nine but over the years the years, I’ve also learned a few things. Please note, these are my experiences and may not be typical – in fact, they may be as far from typical as appears feasible whilst still sitting somewhere within the realm of possible...

1. If you look at self-publishing as a hobby, it’s cheaper than horse-riding, diamond mining or going to the movies once a month.

2. A brilliant book does not mean you’ll bag an agent/six-figure publishing deal. A brilliant book, kick-ass cover, slick editing, and selling a hundred thousand Kindle editions might.

3. Submitting to agents is a form of self-flagellation. Horsehair shirts cost less and are emotionally less devastating. (Plus you can write about the experience later, publish that book on Kindle, give it BDSM tags and sell more copies than you would the dystopian YA thriller you were originally touting to agents.)

4. Having a blog is great - random strangers DO read your witterings. Some of them even buy your book.

Review: Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold (Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency #1)

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold (Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency #1) by Iain Reading
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Action, Adventure
Release Date: December 2012
Buy Links:

Amazon

Book Description:

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is the thrilling first installment in a new series of adventure mystery stories that are one part travel, one part history and five parts adventure. This first book of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Agency Series introduces Kitty Hawk, an intrepid teenage pilot with her own De Havilland Beaver seaplane and a nose for mystery and intrigue. A cross between Amelia Earhart, Nancy Drew and Pippi Longstocking, Kitty is a quirky young heroine with boundless curiosity and a knack for getting herself into all kinds of precarious situations.

After leaving her home in the western Canadian fishing village of Tofino to spend the summer in Alaska studying humpback whales Kitty finds herself caught up in an unforgettable adventure involving stolen gold, devious criminals, ghostly shipwrecks, and bone-chilling curses. Kitty's adventure begins with the lingering mystery of a sunken ship called the Clara Nevada and as the plot continues to unfold this spirited story will have armchair explorers and amateur detectives alike anxiously following every twist and turn as they are swept along through the history of the Klondike Gold Rush to a suspenseful final climatic chase across the rugged terrain of Canada's Yukon, the harsh land made famous in the stories and poems of such writers as Jack London, Robert Service and Pierre Berton. It is a riveting tale that brings to glorious life the landscape and history of Alaska's inside passage and Canada's Yukon, as Kitty is caught up in an epic mystery set against the backdrop of the scenery of the Klondike Gold Rush.

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold is a perfect book to fire the imagination of readers of all ages. Filled with fascinating and highly Google-able locations and history this book will inspire anyone to learn and experience more for themselves as Kitty prepares for her next adventure - flying around the world!

♥ ♥ ♥

Kitty Hawk and the Curse of the Yukon Gold, book one of the Kitty Hawk Flying Detective Series for young adult readers, is exactly the kind of story I would have enjoyed as a teenager and one that I will purchase for the young adult readers in family.

As with many books that I review, there are things that I love about this book and things that I didn’t care for as much.

The story seemed a bit confusing for me in the beginning and I felt that a few things could have been left out of the first quarter of the book, but it didn’t take long before I was engrossed in Kitty’s adventures as she travels to Juneau, Alaska for research on humpback whales. The story took off once Kitty is kidnapped by four brothers transporting stolen gold across the Chilkoot Pass.

Book Blitz: Voices (The Reincarnation Series #1)

Voices (The Reincarnation Series #1) by R.E. Rowe
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: February 27, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

In a small town in Arkansas, two lives that seemingly have nothing in common will converge and change each other forever. A brilliant but tormented street artist and an ex-track star whose career was cut short by a heart condition.

Aimee DeLuca had a promising athletic career before her heart gave out during a high school track and field contest. Aimee struggles to find her way after spending time with a deceased grandmother during a near death experience. Reizo Rush is a street artist whose torment fuels his desire to add color to the gray walls of the city. But Reizo’s tagging and the two voices only he hears land him in perpetual trouble with both his teachers and the law.

During a chance encounter, the two quickly find out they have much more in common than love. When they stumble upon a century-old storm cellar hidden underground on Aimee’s uncle’s ranch, they unearth a cellar full of artifacts and a hundred-year-old Will. Once the news of the discovery leaks out, a drug-dealing teen and a mysterious soul named General are determined to bury the truth along with anyone who gets in their way.

♥ ♥ ♥
Excerpt:

Forty-three minutes without a heartbeat—a little longer than a sitcom. About the time it takes for first period at Theodore High. It’d been five years since I’d seen Grams. She looked amazingly happy, considering she was dead.

After waking up from heart surgery, the first words I uttered in the recovery room were “Did my team win?”

“Miracle, miracle,” a nurse whispered. I guess she thought I’d have brain damage.

Another nurse cried. A male nurse asked me if I’d experienced anything strange. He said some patients have what they call a “Near-Death-Experience”—NDE for short. After all, I’d been officially pronounced dead before the doctors brought me back to life.

Cover Reveal: Killer

Killer by Clarissa Wild
Age Group: Adult
Genre: Romance
Release Date: May 24, 2015
Book Description:

Some secrets are meant to stay hidden …

Secrets could kill you. My husband is the prime example.

I’m a trophy wife. Someone’s prized possession, just there to be pretty. My dreams were pushed aside for his. Until one fateful night, one chance encounter, all his dirty secrets were exposed.

And then my supposed husband is killed.

Book Blitz: Something Like This (Secrets Series, #1)

Something Like This (Secrets Series, #1) by Eileen Cruz Coleman
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: April 24, 2015
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Twenty-three-year old Jadie Santiago has a secret.

One morning on her way to work she stops to offer a homeless man a bottle of water. As she meets the man’s eyes, Jadie instantly recognizes they belong to her father, whom she hasn’t seen since she was sixteen. 

Unable to accept the truth of her encounter, Jadie flees, hoping eventually to forget the experience and continue leading a normal life.

But then she meets Reece, an aspiring writer with a mysterious past who is set on capturing Jadie’s affection. Jadie wants nothing more than to give her heart to Reece, but her broken past and crippling secret keep her from surrendering it to him fully.

Things won’t come easy to Jadie as she fights for her place in the world, but there is strength in her, and she is determined never to stop struggling for what so many others have: love, happiness, and a sense of belonging.

♥ ♥ ♥
Excerpt:

I have a secret and I need to tell someone.

So it went something like this. I passed him every day on my way to and from work. He lived on the sidewalk under the train tracks. Sometimes, he was asleep, a stained blanket on his thin and frail body. Sometimes, he was awake and sitting against a concrete wall, his folded blanket at his side, glazed eyes staring at nothingness.

Sometimes, I chose to walk on the other side of the street because I just couldn’t bear it. I couldn’t stand seeing him. And sometimes, when he wasn’t there, I felt my heart sink, wondering if he was okay, if he was hurt, if he had left me again, this time forever. Those were the worst days. I’d spend all day worried about him, feeling guilty, unable to close my mind to the dark thoughts that screamed I was a horrible, horrible person.

Book Blitz: Twisted (Deathwind Trilogy #1)

Twisted (Deathwind Trilogy #1) by Holly Hook
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: December 15, 2013
Buy Links:

Amazon ♥ B & N

Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Allie isn’t like other girls. Instead of spending her summer break sitting around on the beach, she takes the epic vacation of a lifetime.

Tornado chasing.

And she’s not disappointed. Just a few miles from the town of Evansburg, Nebraska, Allie meets her dream of seeing a tornado. In person. She can’t wait to tell her friends back home. Never mind that her parents are going to kill her.

But her dream soon turns into a nightmare, and a strange event leaves her shocked. Confused. When she returns home to Wisconsin, something’s…different. Allie now bears a curse so awful, it could destroy everyone and everything she’s ever known.

With her best friend, Tommy, Allie must return to the plains to find a way to reverse it. She enters a world that she had never imagined, where she becomes a pawn in a fight to save the people of Evansburg from her fate…or to destroy them.

♥ ♥ ♥
Excerpt:

The woman looks down at me, keeping her elbows locked and holding down my arms. She's strong, way stronger than she should be, and her face is smooth and sharp in a way that's borderline creepy. It almost looks like a mask. "You're about to join the family that you've always wanted." The words stun me into silence. They make no sense. These people are nuts. Insane. I have the family I want.

And if I don’t get out of here, my parents will remember me as a liar. I’ll leave them with nothing but pain and betrayal. And Uncle Cassius-- "I need to find my uncle. Now!" I glare up at the woman, making my neck cry out in pain. She stares down at me with eyes that match her hair color. Her face is unreadable, blank. Something's very familiar about her. "I need to call my mom and dad. Why are you holding me here?”

The woman blinks. "Because you're drawn to the fury of nature.”