Sunday, July 7, 2013

Guest Post: Annamarie and Magdalena by Marianne Spitzer

Book Description:

“Annamarie and Magdalena” is a supernatural thriller that begins where “Gypsy Spirits” ended. Annamarie walks home from the ordeal in the pines. Certain no one will ever know of her involvement, she tries to settle into the home she inherited from Daniel’s grandfather just two weeks earlier.

Daniel, refusing to accept his own death, has other ideas, and he joins his spirit with the spirit of his best friend, Garret, and an evil man Daniel had planned on killing. What Daniel doesn’t count on is that Annamarie is protected by her great-grandmother Magdalena’s spirit, and her Gypsy spirit family. Annamarie’s unexpected pregnancy drive Daniel to plot to steal his child while Magdalena does all she can to protect mother and child.

Daniel’s evil follows and torments Annamarie in every aspect of her life. Magdalena with the aid of Josef, Annamarie’s great-grandfather, begins a vicious battle of the spirits. Will good win over evil? Will Daniel’s evil be contained? Who will survive? Will Annamarie’s baby be safe or a victim of her father’s evil plan?

About Marianne Spitzer:

I was born in Milwaukee, and lived there until I was eighteen. Then I spent eight years in Washington state and California before returning to Wisconsin. I love eerie places and books. I began with a love of Nancy Drew books and as I grew I found H.P Lovecraft, Agatha Christie, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle among others.

 When I am not writing, I am reading or watching sunsets. I have been writing short stories since I was in grade school. Most were in the form of essays relating real life events. Many were purely imaginary trips to magical places and times. I enjoy making up stories about people I meet or see on the street. I can see a story in a picture, especially if the picture is eerie. My imagination runs wild and free.

I have self-published a book of essays and a book of children's stories for my granddaughter, Brittney. Gypsy Spirits is my debut novel and the first in the series of three "spirit" books. I have self-published the second "spirit" book, Annamarie and Magdalena. I also self-published a supernatural mystery, THE LETTER. I plan to have the sequel to THE LETTER out this year and the third "spirit" book available winter 2013/14. From there I am sure my muse will guide me into another story plot.

Thanks to Celestial Book Promotions and author, Marianne Spitzer, there is a giveaway.  To enter and find out the details, please use the Rafflecopter below.
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Buy Annamarie and Magdalena:





Saturday, July 6, 2013

July Reviews For the 2013 ARC Reading Challenge

In June, we collectively read and reviewed 40 ARC's for a total of 182 ARC's, so far in 2013!  
Here are the standings so far:
Level Bronze (up to 12 Arcs):

Christine 9

Freda 6
Krista 7

Lisa 10
Retha 4
Stacey 8

Working on Silver:

Amodini 16
Andrea 20
Darlene 20
Teddy 20


Silver (24 ARCS):

Working on Gold:

Rebecca 25
Yvonne 24

Gold ( 30 ARCS):

Working on Platinum:


Platinum (35 ARCS):

Nicola 66

If you don't see yourself in the standings above, it is because you didn't leave a comment telling me how many books you read so far. You need to do this at the end of each month.

Please post the books you read in July or earlier for the challenge in Mr. Linky, below:
If you forgot to post book in any previous months, please post them in Mr. Linky below as well.

Please enter your name and the name of the book in this format: Name: (Your Name, Book Title and Author's Name) for example: (Teddy, Obsessive Reading by Helen Reader).
 




Friday, July 5, 2013

Giveaway: The Cleaner of Chartres by Salley Vickers

Thanks to Rebecca Lang of Viking and Penguin Books Publicity, I am giving away one print copy of The Cleaner of Chartres.

Book Description:

There is something very special about Agnès Morel. A quiet presence in the small French town of Chartres, she can be found cleaning the famed medieval cathedral each morning and doing odd jobs for the townspeople. No one knows where she came from or why. Not Abbé Paul, who discovered her one morning twenty years ago, sleeping on the north porch, and not Alain Fleury, the irreverent young restorer who works alongside her each day and whose attention she catches with her tawny eyes and elusive manner. She has transformed each of their lives in her own subtle way, yet no one suspects the dark secret Agnès is hiding.

When an accidental encounter dredges up a series of tragic incidents from Agnès youth, the nasty meddling of town gossips threatens to upend the woman's simple, peaceful life. Her story reveals a terrible loss, a case of mistaken identity, and a cruel and violent act that haunts her past. Agnès wrestles with her own sense of guilt and enduring heartbreak while the citizens piece together the truth about her life.

About Salley Vickers:


ALLEY VICKERS is a former university professor of literature and Jungian psychotherapist. Vickers’s first novel, Miss Garnet’s Angel, was a book club favorite and an international bestseller. She lives in London and is currently royal literary fund fellow of Newnham College , Cambridge , UK .

This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on July 19th.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
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Thursday, July 4, 2013

Giveaway: The Riddle of Solomon by D.J. Niko

Thanks to Amy Bruno of Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours, I am giving away one print copy of The Riddle of Soloman. 

Book Description:

Publication Date:  July 1, 2013
Medallion Press
Paperback; 472p

Cambridge archaeologist Sarah Weston and anthropologist Daniel Madigan team up for another expedition and adventure in this second book in the Sarah Weston Chronicles. While working on the Qaryat al-Fau archaeological site in Saudi Arabia, the pair uncovers a mysterious ancient scroll composed as a riddle. As they attempt to date and decipher the scroll, a flurry of ills befalls their expedition and the scroll is stolen. A trail of clues leads to India, Jerusalem, and the Judean wilderness, where the two discover the scroll was written by the enigmatic King Solomon as a map to an ancient manuscript. Meanwhile a privileged young Briton, Trent Sacks, has invested years and a fortune looking for his manuscript. Believing he is the last descendant of the House of David in the line of Solomon, Sacks will do whatever it takes to amass the ancient relics which will prove he is the Jewish Messiah. Leaving a string of murders in his wake, Sacks vows to crush Sarah and Daniel for challenging his quest. Journeying through the worlds of the occult, corporate greed, geopolitical conflict, Judaic mysticism, and biblical archaeology, Sarah and Daniel race to uncover the powerful ancient message that could have an explosive impact on modern Israel.

Praise for The Riddle of Solomon:


"D. J. Niko's storytelling carries the grit of desert dust and the seductive scent of incense on every page as Sarah Weston races with a madman to save the treasures that King Solomon left behind." —Mary Anna Evans, award-winning author, Artifacts and Wounded Earth

About D. J. Niko:


D.J. Niko is the nom de plume of Daphne Nikolopoulos, an award-winning author and journalist. Her first novel, titled The Tenth Saint, was released in March 2012 to rave reviews by both readers and the trade. In March 2013, it was awarded the Gold Medal for popular fiction in the prestigious, juried Florida Book Awards. An archaeological thriller embroidered with historical motifs, The Tenth Saint takes readers on an adventure across the globe: Ethiopia, the Syro-Arabian Desert and Abyssinian Empire circa fourth century, London, Paris, Brussels, and Texas. The Tenth Saint is the first book in The Sarah Weston Chronicles series. The second, titled The Riddle of Solomon, releases July 1, 2013.

Daphne is now at work on a historical novel set in tenth century B.C.E. Israel. The epic story details the collapse of the United Monarchy and the glory and fall of the empire built by King Solomon. It will be released in early 2015.

As a former travel journalist, Daphne has traveled across the globe on assignment, or for personal discovery. She has been to some places most of us don’t realize are on the map, and she has brought them to life through her writing for various magazines, newspapers and websites on an international scale. Her travel background and rich experiences now bring authentic detail, color, and realism to her fiction.

She also is the editor in chief of Palm Beach Illustrated magazine, a 62-year-old luxury-lifestyle glossy. She also is the editorial director of Palm Beach Media Group, and in that capacity oversees 11 magazines and 3 websites.

She is the mother of twin toddlers and, in her spare


 time, volunteers for causes she believes in—literacy, education, child advocacy, and the advancement of traditional and tribal arts from around the world. Born in Athens, Greece, she now lives with her family in West Palm Beach, Florida.For more information, please visit D.J. Niko's website. You can also follow on Twitter and Goodreads.

This Giveaway is open internationally and ends on July 18, 2013.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
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Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Review & Giveaway: Solstice High by Ardash Vartparonian

As my readers know, lately I have been spreading my reading wings and trying genres I don't usually read.  Solstice High is my very first time reading urban fantasy.  There was something in the description that attracted me to it. 

The Book Description:

Publisher: Strategic Book Group  (October 22, 2012)
Category: Urban Fantasy/Sci Fi/Young Adult
Tour Date: July- Early August, 2013
Available in: eBook and Print,  360  Pages

Matt, Rochelle, Daphne and Jonas are four students starting their senior year of high school, but suffer a freak-accident the very first day and start to realize that they are developing superhuman abilities. They quickly realize that the school principal, Mr. Devlin, has in fact more than just education on his agenda, and is using the school for his own purposes.

Not only must the four friends try to figure out what Devlin’s plans are, but when he will strike, and seeing as how they cannot turn to grown-ups for help without exposing themselves, must themselves grow-up in order to stop him. As well as learning to cope with these developing powers, the four teenagers must deal with the day-to-day muddles of being a teenager, such as volatile emotions, infatuations and family issues.

My Thoughts:

I can't believe I'm saying this about an urban fantasy book, it was great.
 
Rochelle, Daphne, Jonas, and Matt happen to be outside of the gym change rooms and saw a sign saying do not enter.  Of course, they take it as a dare which they will live to regret, kind of.  They all develop different super powers and need to learn how to control their now found powers.  Control, something teens have a hard time doing in the best situations. LOL!

Not only did they need to learn how to learn to control their powers, they all had family, school, and social issues to deal with.  They also had to find a way to stop a sinister plot by an adult that they were supposed to be able to trust! They couldn't risk telling grownups what has happened to them, they didn't want to wind up in a lab like human rats being poked and prodded. 

Besides the genre being different for me, it is an young adult book.  I didn't realize how deep and philosophical a young adult book could go.  I was pleasantly surprised!  For example, read the following passage:

"Every culture, or at least ancient culture, worshipped these sort of supernatural beings that could do things ordinary humans couldn’t. I mean, just look at the ancient Greeks. They had as a super god a bearded dude who could throw lightning bolts from his hands. Other characters included some guy who could control the ocean and a woman who could make any man fall in love with her. And considering what we could do, those things didn’t seem like too far a stretch either."

I thought that was so cool.  These kids do a lot of growing up during the course of this book.  It seemed so realistic despite the super powers.  I also saw the super powers as a philosophical question, what if this happened in real life.  How would you deal with it?  To find out how Matt, Rochelle, Daphne, and Jonas deal with it, you will have to read the book.

I can hardly wait to read more by Ardash Vartparonian!  I highly recommend it!

4.5/5

I received this book for my honest review!

About Ardash Vartparonian:

Ardash Vartparonian was born in London but raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At the age of 18 he began his debut novel, Solstice High, and continued writing throughout his last year of school and first year of university, where he moved back to the UK to study English Literature at Edinburgh University. Now a fourth year student, Ardash enjoys going out with his friends, watching horror movies and reading fantasy book while trying to keep up with his university work. Find out more at http://sbpra.com/ardashvartparonian/



Thanks to the author, Ardash Vartparonian, I am giving away one print copy.  This giveaway is open to the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. and ends on August 29, 2013.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
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Follow the Tour:

So Many Precious Books July 3 Review & Giveaway
Shelf Addiction July 5 Review, Interview, & Giveaway
Heck of a Bunch July 8 Review
Jessabella Reads July 8 Guest Post  &  Giveaway
Saving for 6 July 9 Review & Giveaway
Romance Bookie July 15 Review
Cmfg! Books July 16 Review
Cmfg! Books July 17 Guest Post  & Giveaway
Ordinary Girlz July 18 Review
A Walk on Words July 19 Interview
Little Lovely Books July 23 Review
Little Lovely Books July 24 Guest Post
Ja čitam, a ti? Jul 25 Review & Giveaway
In This of World of Books July 26 Review
Sammy the Bookworm July 29 Review
JC’s Book Haven July 29 Review
Teen Blurb July 30 Review
Teen Blurb July 31 Guest Post  & Giveaway
Cozie Corner Aug 1 Review
Kate Policani Writing Reviews Aug 2 Review
Every Free Chance Aug 5 Review & Giveaway
Dab of Darkness  Aug 6 Review
Little Book Star Aug 7 Review
Laurie’s Paranormal  Aug 8 Interview
Haunting of Orchid Forsythia Aug 9 Review
Between the Lines  Aug 12 Review
Sweeps4Bloggers Aug 13 Review & Giveaway
Synchronised Reading  Aug 15 Review & Guest Post
Book Mark Belles Aug 19 Review
Book Mark Belles Aug 20 Interview
 Serendipity  Aug 20 Review
 Serendipity Aug 21 Interview
Networking Witches Aug 21 Review & Giveaway
Manic Mama of 2 Aug 22 Review
Books, Books & More Books Aug 23 Review
Moonlight, Lace, & Mayhem Aug 23 Guest Post
Up In the Bibliosphere Aug 26 Review
Up In the Bibliosphere Aug 27 Guest Post & Giveaway
Icy Cold Reads Aug 28 Review   

Buy Solstice High:

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Review & Giveaway: Tilda Pinkertin's Magical Hats by Angela Shelton

In October 2012, I had the opportunity to review the wonderful book, The Adventures of Tilda Pinkerton by Angela Shelton.  Now Angela Shelton is back, with a new Tilda Pinkerton Book, Tilda Pinerton's Magical Hats.  This installment is for younger children, K1-4.

Book Description:

Publisher: Quiet Owl Books  April 1, 2013)
Category: Children’s Literature/Fantasy/Magic
Tour Date: July- Early August, 2013
Available in: eBook and Print,  196  Pages, including a 344 Word Glossary
Illustrated by James Murry

Eleven-year-old Madison Mae and her younger brother, Albert, want to help save the family farm during troubled times. When a mysterious Magical Hat Shop appears by their grandpa’s red tractor mailbox, the children meet Tilda Pinkerton who presents them with one-of-a-kind hats, causing new ideas and talents to suddenly burst forth. As a flood of harm comes rushing towards the farm, Tilda Pinkerton teaches the children how they can accomplish much more than anyone ever imagined.

Increase your child’s vocabulary, self esteem and awareness of social issues, while they enjoy a great story!  Tilda Pinkeron’s Magical Hats does it all. Grades K1-4.

My Thoughts:

I do not have any children and my neice is 21 years old now, so I read this book for my own please and to give my honest review.  Wow, what a pleasure it was!  You do not have to have a child to enjoy it.

Madison Mae and her younger brother, Albert happen a woodchuck wearing a hat.  His name is Samuel P. Hoppbottom, "Sammy for short".  He's no ordinary woodchuck, he can talk.  He tells the children that the hat is bulletproof  helmet and that Tilda Pinkerton gave it to him to keep safe.  It turns out that Madison Mae's and Albert's grandfather shoots at him every chance he gets.

Sammy told the children that they should visit Tilda Pinkerton at her hat shop and she would give them each a magical hat.  I can't tell any more at the risk of giving out spoilers.

IMO the Tidler Pinkerton series of books, so far are destined to become classics.  The writing is fresh and engaging, with a fun plot and wonderful characters.  Children will have so much fun while growing their vocabulary at the same time.  They will be having so much fun, they won't even realize they are learning!  To make the book even more fun there are black and white illistrations for children to color in whatever colors they like! 

I highly recommend Tilda Pinkerton''s Magical Hats, Book One.  This is one for children to enjoy with adults or without.

5/5

I received this book for my honest review.

About Angela Shelton:

Angela Shelton is an author, actor, blogger and public speaker. She has been writing since she was eight years old. Her first novel was adapted into the movie Tumbleweeds. Angela won a regional Emmy award for her portrayal of Safe Side Superchick in The Safe Side video series created by Baby Einstein’s Julie Clark and America’s Most Wanted’s John Walsh. After living in Los Angeles for over a decade, Angela left the big city for a one-light country town to marry her first love and fulfill her dream of writing books in a barn house.

Find out how Angela has incorporated the character of Tilda Pinkerton into an entire line of book projects, each geared towards a different age group at www.MagicHatShop.com

Thanks to the author, Angela Shelton, I am giving away on copy of Tilda Pinkerton's Magical Hats!  This giveaway is international.  If the winner is in the U.S. s/he will receive the book in print.  It's a beautiful hardcover!  An international winner would receive the ebook.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.
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Monday, July 1, 2013

Giveaway: NORA ROBERTS LAND by Ava Miles

Thanks to Deb Tobias of Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting, I am giving away one ebook of Nora Robert's Land.

Book Description:

In the book, Meredith, a journalist, has just bought Nora Roberts' latest release.  It's the first she's picked up since her divorce.  Her New York power broker ex- husband blamed the break-up on Meredith's Nora Roberts addiction, saying it gave her unrealistic expectations of marriage.  For awhile, their messy divorce put a damper on her dreams of happily ever after, but no more.   Meredith has been asked to return home to Dare Valley, Colorado to fill in for her father at the family newspaper, and she's going with more than one agenda.  She also plans to find her own small-town Nora hero, prove that true love exists, and publish an article about her quest.

That is until her ex gets wind of it.  He's just hired war correspondent Tanner McBride for the international desk at his New York daily and needs him to take on a special assignment first.  He's to go to Dare Valley, make Meredith fall for him and put an end to the article about love à la Nora by breaking her heart. The media mogul is sure the piece will air dirty laundry that will threaten his senate run and he wants Meredith stopped.  Tanner refuses, until blackmail changes his mind.

When the two meet, the attraction between them is undeniable.  As they work together to uncover the mystery behind the death of a family friend, Meredith, who vowed never to date another newspaper man, nonetheless begins to wonder if Tanner could be her own Nora Roberts hero. Meanwhile, Tanner, who knows he's fallen head over heels in love, is determined to thwart his blackmailer and keep Meredith in his life. 

Ava Miles mixes humor and suspense in her small town tale as she brings readers a story from the heart and the promise of a happy ending.  Nora Roberts Land is the first book in the Dare Valley Trilogy.

Excerpt:

Meredith dropped her gaze from Tanner’s face and studied the strong arms filling out his gray dress shirt. She remembered what those muscles looked like dripping wet. Whimpering would be totally inappropriate, but she wanted to. God, the man was as intoxicating as Valrhona bittersweet chocolate.
He put his hands on either side of her, brushing their bodies together in a wildly tempting caress. “Maybe we could go out for breakfast after our next swim.”
The idea of going out for breakfast with this man fired up her imagination about other things…like wild sex and a sleep over. She leaned back for breathing room, but there was nowhere to go. He surrounded her. She couldn’t smell anything but him, and the counter was biting into her back.
He had her body purring, but that damn wounded part of her was sounding the alarms. Her lack of confidence—courtesy of Rick-the-Dick’s hurtful parting words—clanged like a train trolley.
And Tanner was a journalist. Just. Like. Rick.
She pushed him back with a hand to his hard, muscular chest, needing space. She searched for the caramel apple pie Jill had brought home from the coffee shop and raced over to it. Her hands shook as she took out the plates and dessert forks. Deep breaths seemed like a good idea to clear out Tanner’s musky smell, but she couldn’t seem to take in a full one. Her lungs had deflated like balloons after a disappointing party.
“I can’t…have breakfast with you,” she rasped, frantically touching her bustier. Even that wasn’t doing much to restore her confidence. Damn it.
Tanner’s boots scraped across the tile floor. She could feel the heat of his body behind her, and she imagined him gazing at that mole he’d mentioned. She wanted to lean back against him, but was suddenly afraid of how much she wanted him and where it could lead—especially with her family in the next room.
“Why can’t you?”
“I don’t date journalists. Ever.”
He turned her around. She stood stiffly in his hold.
“Neither do I…usually. But I don’t want to talk about journalism with you, Meredith.”

About Ava Miles:

Far from the first in her family to embrace writing, Ava Miles comes from a long line of journalists. 

Ever since her great-great-grandfather won ownership of a newspaper in a poker game in 1892, her family has had something to do with telling stories, whether to share news or, in her case, fiction.  Her clan is still reporting on local events more than one hundred years later at their family newspaper, much like the Hale family in her book. Ava, who's been scribbling down ideas and writing since childhood, says it wasn't until her characters "wouldn't stop talking" that she completed the first of several novels she had written. 

Born and raised in the Midwest, where her family's newspaper is located, Ava went on to earn an undergraduate degree in writing and advance degrees in political science and conflict management.  She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Washington Romance Writers. She is also part of an unofficial group that regularly convenes a writing retreat at Nora Roberts' restored Inn Boonsboro in western Maryland.  Now writing full-time in the peace and quiet of her northern Virginia porch-swinging-friendly community, she is putting the finishing touches on the two upcoming books in her Dare Valley Series and plotting her next series.  Ava Miles Website: www.avamiles.com

This giveaway is for an ebook and is therefore open internationally, it ends on July 15, 2013.  Please use Rafflecopter to enter.




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