Cover Reveal: The Fallen by Linda Foster

Today is a joint cover reveal of three authors from Glass House Press, PT. McHugh, Linda Foster and Mary Fan.

Ash never thought going to a party could be dangerous. He certainly never thought it would change his life. But when a man with red eyes begins following him – and his sister – he realizes he was wrong. Soon they’re running, leading the man on a desperate chase over icy roads.

When Ash crashes his car, nearly killing his sister, the red-eyed man offers Ash a choice – save his sister, but pay the highest price possible. Bring Grace back to life, at the cost of his own soul.

Suddenly, Ash is facing a choice he never sought. But will he use that choice to save his sister? And if he does … what will it mean for Ash himself?

***

Someone has started a revolution in Heaven, his betrayal and lies tearing the fabric of the angels apart. Things are coming quickly to a head, and before long the angels will find themselves at war … with each other. Friends and allies will turn against each other, each choosing their own side of right and wrong.

If that happens, the world as they know it will end.

It's up to Kali, protector of angels and humans, to stop the treachery before war breaks out and peace is shattered forever. But how far is she willing to go to save the lives of the angels? Will she turn against her own dearest friend to save her world?

And if she does … will anything be left for her to come home to?

***

Join Ash and Kali on their individual adventures as we see what – and who – led them to find each other in Soul Bound, the first book in the Realm of the Claimed.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheRealmOfTheClaimedSeries

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindafoster86

website: http://www.linda-foster.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6862118.Linda_Foster

a Rafflecopter giveaway

---

1. Kelly P's Blog	2. Mythical Books	3. Wicca Witch 4 Book Blog
4. Here is some of whaf I read	5. Bookishly Devoted	6. Avid Reader Musings
7. Never Judge a Book by it's Movie	8. Mommy's Late Night Book-Up	9. Cover2CoverBlog
10. Jody's Book Reviews, Giveaways & Tours	11. Books Over Reality	12. Margay Leah Justice
13. Fabulous and Fun	14. Shooting Stars Reviews	15. Our Wolves Den
16. Books and Their Worldly Realm	17. In The Pages of a Good Book	18. Infinite House of Books
19. The Reading Geek	20. Blog of Erised	21. JET-Fueled Fiction Interviews and Rants
22. Zigzag Timeline	23. No Minor Characters	24. A Dragons Love
25. Mommasez. . .	26. Every Day Books of Gems	27. My Book Crushes
28. The Other Shelf	29. Magic Immortals and Being A Good Monster	30. The Cover (and Everything in Between)

You are next... Click here to enter
This list will close in 7 days, 11 hrs, 12 min (11/21/2013 11:59 PM North America - Pacific Standard Time)

Linky Tools  |  Linky Blog 2013

Review: The Commitment

The Commitment
By Dan Savage
I found this book while doing my usual audio book search through the now six libraries I have cards for on my OverDrive media app. Just like the many times before, I selected this book on a whim and just hit download. Since listening to the audio books from the library is free and easy to do, I am willing to take the risk on just about any book that catches my attention. On rare occasions I stumble upon a book like this one, and it instantly soars to the top of my favorite-books-of-all-times list.

This book is about family. Specifically, it is a memoir written by a gay man who recounts his experiences in love, sex, marriage and family. (It even says so right on the cover) Savages writing style is amazing. I was sucked in and hung on every word. Many times I literally laughed out loud like a crazy person and even shouted out repeats of some amazing quotes. This book is quotable in the way that people quote popular movies. So many one liners that are pure literary gold. Some, more inappropriate than others to accidentally yell out while listening to the book in the grocery store, but all equally memorable. (If the nice family who was shopping at Kroger the other day is reading this...I am sorry for my outburst and the interesting conversation you now have to have with your six or so children.)

This book is not only entertaining, hilarious, and heartfelt, but it is also stocked full of amazing advice and inspiration for couples. All couples, homosexual or heterosexual alike. His beautiful way of storytelling captured all the emotion and personality of each and every person in his family and circle of friends. I could literally see each scene as if I were watching it on TV instead of reading it in a book. I laughed and cried several times throughout this story.

Along with a wonderful story, this book is filled with information about the battle for marriage equality as it stood in 2004/2005 in America. It is changed some now in the years since the book was written, but still we as a society have a long way to go. This book is probably the best argument for marriage equality in existence. It is impossible to read this story and not feel the overwhelming urge to fight for this family to be recognized as just that, a family. In fact, this family is doing more things right than the majority of heterosexual families. Same-sex marriage is threatening heterosexual marriages? No way! This one has actually been an encouragement and helpful to me as a newly-married straight woman. And I am sure I am not the only person that has drawn inspiration from this wonderful families story.


Cheers!

Review: The Heavens Rise

The Heavens Rise
By Christopher Rice

To start, I will admit to never having been interested in the horror genre. However, I recently began listening occasionally to Rice's online radio comedy show,  The Dinner Party Show, where he has been advertising his book for months. Still I had no plans to read this novel simply because horror is really NOT my thing (why give myself more reasons to be afraid of the dark?) But I have come to realize that sometimes it's good to read something outside your comfort zone. Plus, the weeks of buildup through the interviews, reviews and other hype (Not to mention that I would feel like an ass hat if I went to his joint book signing with Anne Rice and had no book for him to sign) led me to purchase my copy and begin to read.

I'm glad I did.

For the first 75% of this book there is so much unknown to the reader. We know the source of the power or gift and we know which two characters posses it. (Marshall and Nikki) But there are so many questions! What are the limitations of the power? What happened to Nikki and her family? Are they going to show up? Where is Marshall? What is he going to do next? Are there others with this power? How in the world do you defeat someone who can control minds?  I found myself speculating and was partially correct, but there was so much to the story that was completely unpredictable. I honestly had no idea how the book would end, who would survive, or what the "monster" would become. Just when I thought there were no more surprises, two or three more surfaced!

So how scary is this novel? I would say this novel is more intellectual than terrifying. It is as scary as you imagine it to be because as you read it, you are left to imagine when Marshall (or someone else with this power) will strike next and just how horrific his presence will be. This novel is like none other in the fact that there is seemingly no limit to the evil that can take place because if someone with the power can imagine it, literally any of the other people around him or her can do it.

But this book isn't just about horror. Mixed into this nightmare is love and friendship and, in my opinion, the overall theme of staying true to the people (or in this case also the city) you love no matter what. The last couple pages of chapter 27 is one of the most intimate scenes I've ever read between two people who aren't romantically involved, and to me summed up an overall theme of this beautiful book.

     "You told me no matter who I turned out to be, you would always accept me. You would always love me. Do you remember that day?" 

"...And I'm offering you the same things in return. Always." (Rice, 266) 

It is at that exact moment when you realize that there is hope. That the side for "good" is no longer solitary.  And it is impossible to not read the rest of the novel in one frantic sitting.

Cheers!

Review: The Demarcation of Jack

The Demarcation of Jack

By Dana and Bennett Blakely

This was my latest book that I accepted in exchange for an honest review. I have to say, of all the review copies I have received, this one has to be one of my favorites. 

The premise of this novel is one that is all too common for many people: Marriage Problems. Jack and Jenna are a young married couple who are experiencing a rough patch in their relationship and decide to go on a trip to Jamaica as a way to try to relight the flame. I love vacation novels (where was this book when I needed some good beach reading a few months ago!) This book would go great on your next vacation or even as just a nice little treat for yourself after a busy work day.

This novel is not your typical contemporary romance. While it is honest and deals with realistic struggles plaguing young married couples, it also gives a serious dose of humor, which was refreshing.

What was most meaningful to me as I read this book was not that it followed the typical arc of a contemporary romance, but that it did so while adding a new a variety that I haven't read yet. Many romances come off sounding similar to all the other romances from the same time-period. This was not so with this novel which I certainly would describe as off-beat. 

There is a twist to this story and it is NOT your typical twist. I don't want to tell you what this twist is...why give away the books secrets before you have even started reading? But I will say this...this is a steamy romance novel in which two of the characters know how to keep things interesting all while loving one another genuinely and deeply.

Blog Tour and Review: Surrender to Fate

Title:   Surrender to Fate (Fate’s Path #1)

Author:  Jacelyn Rye Genre:  
New Adult Romance 18+
Publication Date:  September 17, 2013
Cover Designed By:  Damonza  
Event organized by: Literati Author Services, Inc.


Purchase Links
Amazon | Barnes&Noble | Smashwords 


My Review

From the moment I began reading, I fell in love with this novel. I casually accepted this novel agreeing to give it a place on my blog simply because it was set in my home state of Colorado. What I didn't expect was to add it to my favorites list.
This novel opens with vivid imagery of the beautiful Colorado Rocky Mountains that you can see, smell, and feel as Sarah interacts with the forest. Instantly, her love story is presented in her lifelong friend Will. They are innocent in the way first love always is and make promises of forever. Reading their story is like a glimpse into my own memories of my first love.
Then, Sarah is forced to move away.
This wouldn't be so bad in our modern time with easy access to phones and email, but this novel is set in the late thirties and our young lovers must communicate through letters. Letters that may or may not get delivered.
As the time goes on and both feel the other has moved on, they too move on with their lives, creating a whole new set if romantic story lines for our lovers separated by miles. Unlike many novels, Rye builds a world full of characters that are developed and add to the story instead of writing the love story within a bubble. We have Sarah and Wills families, as well as a whole new family in Sarah new home of California.
The book ends abruptly after two major incidents. It then gives you a taste of part two which I have to say, sounds pretty amazing as well thought out. I absolutely cannot wait to read more and find out which romantic scenario wins out.
Rye is a talented author who has engaged all of the senses while making the reader fall in love with her characters as if they were the readers own loved ones. I held my breathe for them, mourned for their loses, laughed at their innocence, and am praying for their well being in the installment yet to come.

Synopsis

Some say fate holds the cards. But what if love deals the hand? No love goes untested. Ever. Indeed, true love is left to prove itself. And that is exactly where fate steps in to play the game.

 For William and Sarah, that game begins with growing up, in the unspoiled mountains of Colorado. In a time and space as clear as the Rocky Mountain skies above, these young souls together learn about life, what matters most, what endures, what doesn’t, and about love. Innocent young love moves ever so surely toward lives they both can picture, lives spent loving each other in a place they know so well and cherish.

 Will and Sarah are ecstatically swept away in the swells of new love. And it is in their rarefied bliss that they make the fragile promise of first love, a promise that fate will soon rock and pound into doubt, guilt, and epiphany.

 Unexpected and unprepared, these young lovers are suddenly torn apart, first by distance, and then by the far greater pressures of temptation that test the very fidelity of their heart-held promise. No longer able to console each other, hold each other, touch each other, they face the inevitable decision: move on to other loves, or cling to the faith that they will someday be together, again.
 Will and Sarah stare down an unknown path, sensing destiny will not wait long before it comes to take them. Wracked with doubt, they wonder if their love was real. Caged by guilt, they both feel tempted by others intent on stealing their hearts.

 Fate plays hardest when love is tested. And Will and Sarah are no exception, letting go of their happy past to embrace hope for an uncharted future. Love plays hardest when fate tests. And so it is, even through their trials of the heart, Will and Sarah never really stop loving each other. Theirs is a love so real and pure that each just wants the other to find happiness, even if it's with another.

 But fate does not surrender so easily. Dealing blow upon blow, both Will and Sarah are each struck by jolting events that take them to the very edge of life, itself.

 Sarah and Will hold tightly to their past, but steadfast promises begin to wane. Life continues, filled with romance, drama, and two souls yearning to understand the challenges brought with coming of age, and learning that fate is ultimately in control. What happens to love when life is on the line? Can they both relinquish control when love is on the line? Will fate even allow them to find out?

Add to Goodreads:


 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18231367-surrender-to-fate?from_search=true

Purchase Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords 


About the Author

Jacelyn spent her childhood growing up in the mountains of Colorado.  After graduating from college, she moved to Southern California, where she still resides with her husband and two young sons. 





Facebook  | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog











Tour-Wide Giveaway  (Gifted from Amazon or Smashwords)

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f229a427/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway



a Rafflecopter giveaway







http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f229a427

Tour Schedule (link to the tour banner)


http://wp.me/p3EtUb-7l

New Release: Winning the Bosses Heart

Winning the Bosses Heart by Hayson Manning

Today is the release date for this fun novel! I had the pleasure of reading it ahead of time which was great!

First, if you aren't familiar with this author, you should be. Her characters have a ton of personality. Her heroines are always strong and sassy and certainly not damsels in distress. Her heroes are struggling with their emotions for one reason or another. 

In this novel, you really come to dislike the hero, Mason. I honestly wanted to reach through my kindle and shake him! But, I've met that type of man, one who has been through a very tragic loss, and I have to say Manning wrote him very well. Of course he was a total jerk, he was a man who had faced horrific sadness who was attempting to lock it up and simply move on as if nothing happened. Obviously it turned him robotic. 

I read our heroine, Billie, through a completely different lens. She is a woman who had to grow up fast and be the adult as a child. Then she's attracted to a man who needs some serious emotional help. Therefore, she gets her heart absolutely trampled! Of course she does! She is a woman desperately seeking the stability she never had but she's looking for it from a man who uses keeping himself closed off as a way to not finally breakdown and deal with his loss. 

This book is real, fresh, and simply delightful. It's filled with spunky back and forth banter and clever things that had me literally laughing out loud. The overall theme is healing, which is something we all need very now and then. 

Pick it up today! It's a great late summer read. 

Review: Saltwater Kisses: A Billionare Love Story

Saltwater Kisses: A Billionare Love Story by Krista Lakes
US Link http://www.amazon.com/Saltwater-Kisses-Billionaire-Story-ebook/dp/B00DIM87FC
UK Link http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saltwater-Kisses-Billionaire-Story-ebook/dp/B00DIM87FC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373673703&sr=8-1&keywords=salt+water+kisses

This is the second novel by this author and I have to say, I am enjoying her fun little stories about the adventure of falling in love.

This story begins with a small-town girl named Emma goes on a dream vacation to a tropical island...alone. She won the trip calling a radio station during a contest. I was instantly excited because I won a similar vacation on the radio not too long ago. Crazy right? Anyways, so Emma goes on this vacation and somehow ends up in the right place at the right time and assists in a water rescue of a man who had a heart attack while swimming. The other person to help her happens to be a gorgeous single billionaire who she instantly connects with. They spend the rest of her trip together.

But then he goes home and so does she. Emma thinks their fling with Jack is over until fate would intervene once more and she is swept up in a paparazzi nightmare. Jack was that important and the tabloids would love to harass Emma endlessly.

This story is full of "1% chances." She wins the vacation, she gives someone CPR (stayin' alive, stayin' alive.... ah ah ah ah stayin' aliiiiiiiiive) meets a billionaire, ends up whisked away to his pent house. Every few chapters I kept saying "No way!" It was exciting and fresh. I enjoyed having a vacation from the ordinary or a while and reading this book.

My only regret is that I read it when I did, because it would have been the perfect beach reading material for my own trip this fall. Shucks! :)

It also left us on somewhat of a cliff hanger...grrr. BUT, good news, there's a second novel coming out very soon that tells the story of one of the minor characters in Salt Water Kisses. So hopefully we will get to check back in on Jack and Emma.