Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Second Look Tuesdays! Spellbound



Posted: 2/28/12













Title: Spellbound
Author: Cara Lynn Shultz
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 352 
Published: June 21, 2011
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #450,024 in Books
Rating: 5 Stars
Review Copy From: Purchased from Amazon


Book Description
June 21, 2011 Harlequin Teen
What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Conner, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.
But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.





Cara Lynn Shultz’s love of supernatural writing began when she was 7 and wrote a play about ghosts, which she and her friends acted out on her grandparents’ porch. Since then, her work has appeared in Teen People, Alternative Press, Stuff, InStyle, Us Weekly, The Guardian UK and countless posts on Facebook and Twitter. She is a proud graduate of Fordham University and is currently a senior editor atPEOPLE.com. Cara lives in her native New York City with her husband, tuxedo cat and 8 million other people.  Spellbound is her first novel.









Author Links:
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Website
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Brendan & Emma's Playlist
Itunes
Photo credit: Melinda Oswandel







My Review: 

When I first looked at this book back before it was published!  I thought that it had to much in common with the book Immortals.  But after taking a break and starting it again I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out!  

I was blown away by this book as there is not one of its kind.  There is so much in the is book that was great and not at all bad in any way! 

I am so addicted to this book and the story!  I am so happy that I will get the chance to read book two before it hits stores March 27th.  Look for that review SOON! (Im almost done with it) Which you can preorder now!  

Ok so I don't do spoilers!  So all I'm going to say is you need to go buy this book and read it like now! So you can go buy book two! 



















Ok I made this trailer be kind its my first one.  Comment and let me know if you like it!


















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Updated Featured Posts - Day of the Week






So I'm trying to get more books from Netgalley and other places. 
So I'm going to start posting on my site once a day! 

Scary right? O YA!  

So i'm going to start posting every day.  This however will EXCLUDE the WEEKENDS!

I am now ANIT-Sundays!


So now my Featured-Days of the Week will be as follows!

Monday


On mondays I will be posting what I have Finished reading, Started Reading, and what is in my TBR file.


Tuesday







On Tuesdays I'll take a second look at books that I have read in the past and rated those books under 4 stars. 

Wednesday
Well I have been slacking in my Witchy duties. So on Wednesdays I will be posting a spell or somewhat for all you witchy folks out there!  (don't worry they will all be nice)


Thursday 

Thursday Ill have a listing of any books coming out the following week. With links to Amazon! 
So You can go buy when it coming out next! I also want to know What book are you just DIEING to read?

Friday

On Friday we will start doing a Blog Hop!  YAY so don't forget to follow and add your link every Friday! 
We will start this every money and it will go until that friday.

Saturday 
Movies!  What movies do you want to see?

Sunday
On Sunday I will be giving my blog a break and be closed. 
*who knows maybe something will magikally post!*


This new set up will start next week! 
March 5, 2012







When I have a post for a tour I will post this content first then post the tour!
  This way the tour gets the first spot on the site!

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Priestess of the Nile




Priestess of the Nile
By Veronica Scott
Egypt, 1500 BC
Drawn to his abandoned temple on the banks of the Nile by an enchanting song, Sobek the Crocodile God is even more captivated by the sight of the singer herself. Appearing to her as a man, he learns she is Merys, a descendant of his last priestess. Though filled with lust, Sobek believes Merys deserves to be more than just his mistress. But the rules that govern the Egyptian pantheon forbid anything beyond a physical joining of a Great One and a human. 
Merys is attracted to the handsome stranger, who arouses passions in her that no man ever has. But with no dowry and no hope of ever leaving her village, she dares not dream of the future—or love.
Sobek takes every opportunity to visit Merys, taxing his resolve to leave her pure. When he saves her life, their mutual desire must be sated. But can a love between a human and an immortal survive the ultimate test of the gods?
  The sweet high note Merys held came to an end as she put a hand to her throat, then bent over the tiny waves. She searched along the riverbed, no longer focused on her song.
      A movement to the right caught his eye. What is the name of Set’s horns is that crocodile in the shallows doing? Is it actually swimming to attack her? Enraged, Bek threw himself down the trail at a breakneck speed.
      Merys stood carefully in one spot. She pushed her hair out of her eyes roughly and sighed in frustration, checking her neck one more time, not quite accepting the loss of her necklace. The slithering sensation against her skin as the old leather thong parted and the amulet fell had been so startling, she had not grabbed for it in time. Peering uselessly into the murk of the Nile, Merys blinked back tears. The only possession of bmy great-grandmother’s I had left, the symbol of my being a priestess—gone. I’ll wait for the silt to settle and then hopefully I can find it. Taking a moment to enjoy the soaring flight of a flock of white ibis against the blue sky, she stood straighter, easing her muscles. I envy them their freedom.
      The sky tilted and vertigo assailed her as her feet were violently yanked out from under her. A crocodile closed its mighty jaws around her ankle, ripping a desperate scream from her throat. The bone-crushing force sent a sheet of hot pain up her leg and through her body until adrenaline pulsed in her system. The beast dragged her under the surface of the Nile, pulling her toward the center of the river. Cold water rushed over her face, into her open mouth. Merys gagged, tried to hold her breath, beating on the animal’s closed jaws with her fists, then trying to jab at the nearest eye. Her stomach heaved, nausea and weakness from the intensity of the pain in her leg spreading outward from her gut.
      The crocodile rolled her over and over, tossing her like Tyema’s puppy with a rag doll. Black spots
danced before her eyes and she scrunched them tightly  closed against the dizziness. What do I do to get away before I drown? I have to breathe. My chest is going to explode. I’ve got to have air. Just as her lungs were bursting, something huge flashed by her in the water and struck the crocodile with enough force to shove it sideways a few feet against the current. The predator opened its jaws to deal with the threat and Merys floated free.
      A tiny hope of survival bloomed within her. A spurt of energy sizzled through her nerves, giving her
new strength. Kicking as hard as she could with the injured leg, heart pounding, Merys clawed her way to the surface. The water in her vicinity churned bright red. Something solid rose from the murky depths. Merys screamed and flailed, too weak to swim. A hard surface lay under her, lifting her completely out of the water, supporting her as if she were stretched out on a board or a raft. Thank the gods for helping me. Nausea and dizziness overwhelmed her and the world faded from her view.
      When Merys regained consciousness, she was held safe in Bek’s muscular arms, nestled against his broad chest. Too exhausted to question the miracle of his presence she curled closer to him in relief while he strode across the beach toward her favorite spot under the palm trees. Tenderly he laid her in the softest spot, then bent to examine her leg.
      Blood gushed from a long series of deep, serrated slashes, staining her dress as well as his hands and kilt. The crocodile’s teeth had shredded her lower leg from ankle to knee. The bone showed through. The pain was excruciating.
      Merys leaned to the side and vomited river water that burned her throat while Bek held her hair out of the way. As she wiped her mouth, exhausted, he pushed her gently to a reclining position. Chanting
something, he proceeded to run his hands over her legs. The pain spiked, then receded.
      What is he doing? Some kind of healing, but how?
      Green light shone from his hands, radiating from his palms in a cold, numbing rush. The light brought
blessed relief, mending her skin and bones in front of her eyes. Thank the gods.
      When he finished, Bek sat on his haunches, resting his hands on his thighs, and scrutinized her. His face was lined, his eyes shadowed. He was dripping wet.
      Another time I would have appreciated this view. But right now I need to understand what happened.
     “You saved me? How? How could you defeat a crocodile? And what did you do to my leg?” Wriggling her toes, Merys touched her shin hesitantly with the tips of her fingers. I’m safe in his arms. Her
pulse slowed. The weakness ebbed away as she relaxed.
      Bek gathered her in for a hug and she breathed deeply of his clean masculine scent. Crooning her
name over and over, he buried his face in her hair. Then he pulled back, framing her face with both of his broad hands, and met her eyes. “I thought I’d lost you.”
      She put a trembling hand on his cheek. “Who are you, Bek?”
     “Sobek.” He cleared his throat as he stroked her back with one hand. She realized her soaked dress
must be clinging to her as tightly as his wet tunic was plastered to his body. She leaned into the shelter of his mighty arms. Bek rested his lips next to her ear and whispered, “I am Sobek.”
      New adrenaline pumped through her, making her heart pound and sending a hot pulse along her nerves. “The Crocodile God?” I’ve been sitting and talking to the Great One all this time, treating him like a human man? I fell in love with him. How could I have been so blind? So stupid? 
      “The Crocodile God himself?”
      “Yes.” He nodded, watching her closely, his green eyes steady on her face, his brows slightly raised. “I’m sorry I misled you.”




About Veronica Scott:
Veronica Scott grew up in a house with a library full of books as its heart, and when she ran out of things to read, she started writing her own stories. Married young to her high school sweetheart then widowed, Veronica has two grown daughters, one young grandson and cats.
Veronica's life has taken many twists and turns, but she always makes time to keep reading and writing. Everything is good source material for the next novel or the one after that anyway, right? She's been through earthquakes, tornadoes and near death experiences, although nothing is as stressful as meeting a book deadline. Always more stories to tell, new adventures to experience--Veronica's personal motto is, "Never boring."

Web & Social Media:


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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Awaken by Sarah M. Ross

 


strong>Awaken (The Patronus)
Lucy Donovan was supposed to have a weekend of fun in the sun, celebrating
her upcoming graduation from college. In a split second, everything
changed. A drunk driver ended Lucy’s mortal life.

Lucy opens her eyes to a world she never imagined possible and a new
destiny: as a Patronus, a guardian of spirits. Adjusting to her new role
and abilities while negotiating this confusing realm will test her limits
and push her further than she ever dreamed she would go. From wayward
spirits who don’t want her help to soul stealing vampires, and even a
stuck-up British royal, Lucy must brave them all to save one spirit she
can’t bear to lose.

Further complicating her confusing life is an inexplicable yet growing
connection she feels to a member of her team, Max, whose mysterious
behavior leaves her both confused and intrigued.

Waking up dead was just the beginning of her problems. Lucy’s death is
about to become the greatest adventure of her life.






My Review:

Ok so after finding out that this book was only 140 pages on my Ipad2 I thought well I can read this in a day.  So Off I went.  Ok so I'm only 9 pages in and I must say I'm hooked!  I am so happy that this book adds to it something that I always wonder about horror movies and TV shows.  That do these people watch TV?  I mean if you do would you go down the dark hallway, go into a house that everyone says is haunted, or even say some words that are supposed to bring back a demon that tormented the works eons ago?  I know I wouldn't!  

Ok I'm SOLD!  If you look at my site you will see that my part ion goddess is Hekate and well that is what they are yay~

Ok I don't believe I didn't read this before!  You have to read this like NOW!

Friend's Review of this book:

Something New
Sarah M. Ross' "Awaken" has managed to breathe new life into the world of paranormal romance.  Though the elements of the story:  vampires, wares, and angelic guardians are the same, the story, lore and world that is built for readers within the pages of this tale are something new altogether.
   
Readers will be pleasantly surprised to find that there is a novel sized story within this relatively short read.  Don't let the size if this book fool you.  It is a complex, full bodied story that is chock full of complex characters, action, heartbreak and romance.

Romance....And So Much More
This book stands heads above the rest in that area.  It would have been so easy for  this author to have just allowed Lucy and Max to just fall into bed and succumb to the attraction that is so obvious from the start.  Instead, she takes the high road in this, allowing the relationship between the two to mature as an element of the story instead of becoming its focus.

There are so many other relationships that are allowed to have their place in the spotlight throughout this read.  The friendships that exist between Lucy, James, Cassie, and Max.  The love that shines through for Lucy toward her sister, and the battle within Lucy herself are just a few colors within the emotional rainbow that is this tale.

This is a wonderful read and a great introduction to what promises to be a fascinating series.  
Bring on book two...I'm hooked!

And Another Friend lol 


My Review- The story in this book was absolutely amazing. There's not a person that doesn't wonder about what happens when we die. This story gives yet another perspective on that question. It mixes up some of our long held beliefs about mythical creatures also. The story of Lucy and what happens when a drunk driver takes her life is one of the best I've read in a long time. I laughed and even cried at several points in the book. I would absolutely recommend this book and I can not wait for the second book to find out what happens next!





Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Insure Your Love!




You have to see this!  Its so funny! 

http://insureyourlove.org/

Dont forget to check out the Romance-O-Meter! You will laugh your ass off!


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Monday, February 20, 2012

Second Look Tuesday! Update



Ok so I know that I have been off the grid for a while now.  I haven't really posted anything.  Well here is an update!


So take a second look at my twitter stats and you will see it go up by a few people every few minutes.  I don't know why but I have gone from 301 followers to well over 400 followers in just two days.  So if this keeps going ill have more than a few hundred by the end of the week.  

Ok so Ill be posting a new giveaway for signed and unsigned bookmarks.  Im cleaning out my drawers and found a bunch of bookmarks that I have copies of.  

I will also be giving away my ARC of Embrace.  (yes its in print) and Ill be giving it away to one lucky follower.  

As well as some other books that I have laying around


!!So for the update!! 



So I am still on the crutches.  My ankle is getting stronger every day and then I walk on it and it starts to hurt again.  I am hoping to be mobile again by the end of Feb. Or it will be back to the ER for me. 

My daughter's legs look wonderful!! Her burns are healing way fast.  She has an appointment with the burn clinic this week so well see how that goes. 

Im attempting to catch up on reviews.  So for right now unless your book is something big-ie. the next house of night novel, or something like that I won't be reviewing any books right now.  








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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ereader Wars! What Reader is best for me?




So this past year we have heard of the EWar!  


Get a kindle and read in the sunlight! 
Get an IPad and get tons of features at the touch of a finger.  
Then you have the nook or BAM Reader the Sony reader, then you have Kobo and a few others.  
With all the hoopla around all the kinds of ereaders which one is the best one?
Well for me that was the ipad.  I use books from both kindle and ibooks which are Mobi and Epub.  I also use PDF sometimes.  And the ipad is the only thing that lets you use all three. 
Im not crazy enough to take my reader to the beach or anywhere near where it can get wet.  Like the side of the pool as in the kindle add that has been running.  
So here is a break down if you are trying to figure out what you want to get.  
First off Kindle

Monday, February 13, 2012

McDonald's Coffe is WAY TO HOT!!


So sorry guys for not being on for a few days.  As I will not be on for a few more days as well.  My daughter was burned with McDonald's coffee.  She was taken to the Bartow Hosital and then transferred to Tampa General.  We were told that she has 2nd degree burns on both thighs.  

We found out that the coffee from McDonalds is around 205 degrees.  Which if you ask me is way to hot to handle. 



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Wednesday, February 01, 2012

The Sounding





The Sounding
By Carrie Salo

Book Description:

In the Book of Revelation, a man named John has a prophetic dream.  He dreams of the final prophecies that will come to pass – and the seven archangels that guard them.  Each angel waits to sound their trumpet at God’s appointed time, preparing humanity to fight and win the final battle.

2,000 years later, Father Chris Mognahan is a member of the Hetairia Melchizedek, a secret society within the Catholic Church that studies Biblical omens. The society asks Chris to investigate an unusually grotesque crime – a murder on a college campus where the killer's hand literally burned off the victim's face.

While the killing seems isolated at first, the society ties the murder to the final Biblical prophecy and a terrifying omen that the order of the prophecies is about to be disrupted. The final battle is coming too soon – long before humanity is prepared to win it.

Suddenly, Chris finds himself fighting against time and hell to keep the prophecies in order and stop an early Armageddon. He is joined by a band of unlikely allies, and together they find themselves in Rome above the Vatican Necropolis – the city of the dead – where the future is revealed to them in ancient texts.

They are not alone, however; an evil as old as time itself hunts them. As they travel across continents on their mission, the demonic force follows relentlessly, waiting in every shadowed corner, and every dark place.

As Armageddon descends, Father Chris finds that his only hope lies in a young woman within the group who has a secret gift – and their belief that God Himself may have sent her to keep the final angelic trumpet from sounding out the early end of the Earth.


View the book trailer: http://youtu.be/K4Pp8F3A298   
Excerpt One

Lorenze strapped his uniform on, knowing where every clasp and buckle fell exactly.  Still, something about it felt foreign: he had not worn it in several days.  Several very, very long days. 
The red, blue and yellow stripes that Michelangelo designed for the guard centuries earlier: many men fell under those colors.  He knew their names by heart.  And he promised to join them if called to…
Lorenze propelled himself to the other side of the room where the society had left a small stockpile of weapons.  He pulled out the sniper’s rifle case and its box of bullets.  With hard clicks, he opened the case to see that all was in order.  The parts gleamed and winked at him in the light like so many eyes. 
More gently, Lorenze lifted the sight from the case. It was heavy to his hand.  He put it to his eye and some miniscule scratch in the floor became like a canyon. 
Thou shalt not kill.  Lorenze smirked and put the sight down.  Thou shalt not kill unless God asks you to. Thou shalt not kill unless God needs you to.
Lorenze closed the case.  He surveyed the room, looked again at the uniform.  He only had a few minutes left.  He knelt to pray. 
But what was there to pray for?  Should he pray for their lives, for their safety?  Could he ask that God grant them success on a murder mission?  Should he pray for time or protection, or just for the world not to die?
In the end with his last few minutes, Lorenze prayed for the soul of another assassin.  One who also betrayed innocence for the greater good.  Remiel had, after all, been right – they were in common with a certain other fallen disciple.  And so, with his eyes squeezed shut,Lorenze prayed for mercy for Judas Iscariot.  For if Judas – that tool of fate led to betray history’s most innocent man – was able to find God’s forgiveness, perhaps so might he.


 Excerpt Two

Clyde’s features were hardly distinguishable from his forehead down.  There was some fragmented cartilage where his nose had once been, and one eye was still intact, although the eyelid had been missing.  His cheekbone on the right side was gone, leaving the loose and shredded skin to fill in the sunken mess.  The left cheekbone was bared, along with parts of his chin.
But the fingers…now they were distinguishable.  Not Clyde’s of course, but rather the fingers of the person who hit him.
There were five visible areas of flesh damage – the first four were each the width and length of a finger beginning on the left hand side of his face and smearing across and down to the right.  They looked like dark canals, jagged and full of black, dried blood, giving the mutilated face a striped look.  The fifth and last “area of impact” was at his mouth – a shorter and smaller laceration the size of someone’s pinky – where Clyde’s lips had been removed.
“What about DNA?  I mean, if someone hit him that hard, isn’t there anything from them…in there?  Chris asked in a whisper.
“Nah.  See where the,” the sheriff cleared his throat, “the impact lines are?  You see them there in the picture? The forensic people couldn’t get anything from them. ‘Parently they’re burned in – not just cut.  They were too damaged to carry any sort of identifiable…um…fibers.”
“Burned?” Chris asked the question for both he and Francis.
“Yeah, that’s not all just dried blood there.”
Chris had suddenly envisioned the black, flaky skin of barbecued chicken left on the grill too long.

 Bio:

Carrie Salo is a dark storyteller and emerging author of supernatural thrillers.  Classically trained at an Ivy League university, she studied the works of master storytellers seven stories underground in the muffled heart of one of the world's largest libraries.  Carrie looks to wield unrelenting suspense in her own exploration of all things (especially true things) that keep us awake at night.  Her extensive travels have led her to many haunted places, including the private, underground catacombs of the Vatican.  The Sounding is her debut novel. 

Visit her at: www.carriesalo.com






























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