#BookReview: Stolen Lives (Scion #2) by Michael J. Allen #Giveaway

  Alaric’s made a new life in the Protectorate despite his missing memories. His ship’s AI, Cassii, and a successful trading venture help fill his accounts with enough credits to finish repairing his ship for a rescue mission to Earth. Or would have, had his heroics not smashed Cassiopeia once more.

His interference with the Corollas crime syndicate fills his thruster wash with more than just an angry ex-mentor. Pirates thrive on the star lanes, preying on all those who stray within their sights. Cassii’s been stolen and with her Alaric’s hopes to rescue his friends. Pirates, bounty hunters, and disgruntled plants besiege him along all vectors, preventing his capture of the scum responsible.

Alaric recruits a reluctant doctor, a pacifistic AI, and several escort pilots to help him chase down Cassii. Kindhearted decisions leave Alaric wallowing in misery. Deaths and desperation, financial losses and constant attack force him to make dark choices that threaten all.

Alaric embraces the vast interstellar emptiness, struggling to harden himself enough to thwart the Protectorate’s criminal elite. Every sacrifice he makes to rescue Cassii seems to cost chunks of his soul. Will he free her before he loses himself or will she return to find her beloved captain a worse villain than her kidnapper?

#BookTube: #BFest #MailHaul #BannedBooksWeek and More!

Last month we got to go to B-Fest that is hosted by Barnes and Nobel once a year and man was it fun!  So here is our video of the items we got from that event as well as some things from Banned Books Week and our mail haul! 

My Week in Review #14

This past week has been crazy!  So many things have been happening and its just getting busier! I have gone though so many books and I cant wait to share them with you below.  Please note there will NOT be a post next week due to our event for Jeffe Kennedy!  However you will be able to enter to win 6 books! 

#BookReview: Scion of Conquered Earth (SCION #1) by Michael J. Allen #Giveaway

  An alien force has descended upon Earth. Fighters bombard the ruins. Monsters hunt the wastes – some humans serving the Welorin in order to indulge their petty cruelties. The last free survivors struggle against starvation and capture. It’s a world where friendship costs too dearly and heroics verge on suicide.

One young man simply can’t resist either. Welorin torture machines ravage his world, filling it with literal nightmares. Cannibalistic aerobics instructors hunt him and snatcher teams dog his every step. Alaric attempts one rescue after another, hoping someone might possess keys to unlock memories stolen by the initial assault.

An aborted rescue lands him in a three way fight between Welorin forces and interstellar raiders. He takes cover in the pirates’ ship, coercing its AI, Cassii, into helping him. Success comes with unexpected consequence as Cassii abandons her crew, his friends and Earth’s solar system.

Cassii refuses to return to Earth, decrying her former captain’s despoiling of the ship’s weapons and armor. Alaric leverages goods stolen from Earth by Cassii’s former crew into a bid at privateering. Surrounded by tech he barely understands and exotic life forms, he’s easy prey for the Protectorate’s mercenary population.

Escort Captain Manc Shepherd and the sultry pirate Tyne Ren – Manc’s onetime partner – manipulate, exploit and seduce him across the stars. Alaric’s perilous heroics complicate their tug-of-war, endangering both and Alaric’s ship – their intended prize.

Alaric must decide who he is, what he holds dear and how far he’ll go to protect both. He must choose who to trust: his mentor, his temptress or his smitten ship’s AI. The right choice could save worlds. The wrong one could throw him into a desperate battle to save thousands from his betrayer at the cost of his truest friend. 

#BookReview: Tunnel Rat by John M. Ward #Giveaway

 

When former US Army captain Eric Tucker decided to visit Old City in Jerusalem with his daughter and granddaughter, he thought it would be a chance to get some family time with his girls and enjoy his retirement. But when a terrorist organization threatens his family’s safety, Captain Tucker must reach into his past in order to survive. Can he do so without becoming the cold-blooded killer he once was?

Emir Farouk is falling on hard times, and the loyalty that once came so easily to him is dwindling. When an old man and a teenage girl from America appear in his sights, he believes it is a sign and orders his men to kidnap them. But things don’t go as planned…

What follows is an intense cat-and-mouse game between a powerful terrorist cell and one man who’s determined to protect his family, the woman he loves, and his ship. Captain Tucker can’t—and won’t—give in, even if it means returning to the man who led an elite unit of soldiers into claustrophobic tunnels after their enemies with nothing but flashlights, knives, and pistols: the infamous Tunnel Rats.

#BookReview: Heir of Illaria (Illaria #1) by Dyan Chick

  In Illaria, there is a fate worse than death.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been taught to fear the Necromancer King. He controls the kingdom of Illaria with dark sorcery and the constant threat of his undead army. I never thought I’d have reason to cross his path. Everything changed the day his guards tried to kill me. That’s when I found out my whole life has been a lie. By joining a resistance group called the White Ravens, I’ve claimed new roles. Princess of Illaria, sorceress in training, and threat to the Necromancer King.

#Shelfie: The "Guilty Reader" Tag

  Welcome to this weeks Saturday Shelfie!  We are finally back into our calendar and I am so happy to be doing memes again!  This week we are doing the Guilty Reader Tag!  I hope you have a lot of fun reading this as I did making it!  

#BookReview: I'm Not a Scaredy-Cat: A Prayer for When You Wish You Were Brave by Max Lucado

  I’m a big cat. I’m a strong cat. I’m not a scaredy-cat . . . except when . . .

From New York Times bestselling author Max Lucado comes I’m Not a Scaredy-Cat, a hilarious new picture book to help kids manage their fears and worries and learn to trust God.

Follow a silly series of misadventures as scaredy-cat faces his worst fears: an appalling abundance of (gulp!) yellow and pink sprinkles on his donut, an elephant on the verge of a ginormous sneeze, and the terrifyingly loud chime of a clock. For each of the fears, Max provides this reassuring child’s version of Philippians 4:6–9:

“God, you are good.

God, you are near.

God, you are here!

And, God, you love me.”

A fun read for children and parents, I’m Not a Scaredy-Cat will open doors for important conversations about fear in a nonthreatening way and help you instill godly bravery in your kids.

#BookReview: Shadow Rise (Shadow Fall #2) by @AudreyGreyBooks ‏ Thanks to @BlazePub @Netgalley

  Terrorist. Rebel. Traitor.

One rash decision during the Shadow Trials led to unspeakable horrors that left innocents dead, friends injured and hunted by the Empire, and Maia Graystone imprisoned in the Tower at the Archduchess’s mercy.

Unsure if Riser Thornbrook survived, Maia must find a way to battle the Empire from within its own walls and escape so she can fulfill the promise to her father and stop the asteroid. But when she breaks free and joins Nicolai's Rebel army, she discovers she’s been branded a traitor. With war between the Rebels and the Empire looming, old alliances shifting, and suspicion hanging over her head, she must fight in the Rebel Blood Courts—and win command—to regain their trust.

Only problem is, first she has defeat the reigning champion, someone she knows all too well. Will Maia’s emotions lead to her defeat, or will she rise up and claim her victory? 

#BookReview: Mask of Shadows (Untitled #1) by Linsey Miller

  I Needed to Win.
They Needed to Die.

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home. 

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen’s personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge. 

But the audition is a fight to the death filled with clever circus acrobats, lethal apothecaries, and vicious ex-soldiers. A childhood as a common criminal hardly prepared Sal for the trials. And as Sal succeeds in the competition, and wins the heart of Elise, an intriguing scribe at court, they start to dream of a new life and a different future, but one that Sal can have only if they survive.

#BookReview: Sparked by @Helenaechlin @MalenaWatrous ‏@GeekandSundry

  Fifteen-year-old Laurel Goodwin wakes up to find her older sister Ivy missing from their Airstream trailer in the Oregon redwoods. A recurring nightmare convinces her that Ivy was abducted, but no one takes her dream seriously, including her mom. Laurel, a loner, has to learn to ask for help, and Jasper Blake, a mysterious new kid who shares her love of old books, quickly becomes her ally. Together they find their quiet town holds a deep secret and is the epicenter of a dark prophecy. 
Laurel soon learns that her worst enemies, mean girls Peyton Andersen and Mei Rosen, are developing powers that she needs to find and save Ivy. With time running out, Laurel realizes that power doesn't always take the form that you expect. And once she learns to look beyond her snap judgments, she develops an unexpected gift of her own.

#BookReview: Truthwitch (The Witchlands #1) by Susan Dennard

  In a continent on the edge of war, two witches hold its fate in their hands.

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch. 

Join the #BookClub: @WinterHavenLib #TheBookAddicts #JoinTheShadowhunters #JeSuisPrest

Welcome to our new Thursday Meme! Each Thursday we will give you an update on what our book clubs are doing! 

#BookReview: Nadya's War by C.S. Taylor

  Nadezdah “Little Boar” Buzina, a young pilot with the Red Army’s 586th all-female fighter regiment, dreams of becoming an ace. Those dreams shatter when a dogfight leaves her severely burned and the sole survivor from her flight.

For the latter half of 1942, she struggles against crack Luftwaffe pilots, a vengeful political commissar, and a new addiction to morphine, all the while questioning her worth and purpose in a world beyond her control. It’s not until the Soviet counter-offensive at Stalingrad that she finds her unlikely answers, and they only come after she’s saved her mortal enemy’s life and fallen in love with the one who nearly kills her.

#BookReview: Traitor's Hope (Blade's Edge #2) by Virginia McClain

  Traitors lurk around every bend. Mishi’s mind is betraying her, and she fears her kisō and katana will betray her next. Taka’s heart abandons her for a person she cannot possibly trust. Now that the two friends are obliged to help re-establish peace in the land of Gensokai, the only question is where the next betrayal will come from and if Mishi and Taka will have the strength to survive it.

#BookReview: Christmas in London by Anita Hughes

  A charming, glamourous love story set at Claridge's in London during the magical week before Christmas starring a sweet NYC baker and the Cooking Channel Producer who could change her life.

It’s a week before Christmas and Louisa Graham is working twelve hour shifts at a bakery on Manhattan's Lower East Side. When a young cooking show assistant comes in from the rain and begs to buy all the cinnamon rolls on her tray, she doesn’t know what to do. Louisa is just the baker, and they aren't hers to sell. But the show burned the rolls they were supposed to film that day, so she agrees.

The next morning, Louisa finds out that her cinnamon rolls were a hit, but the star of the show was allergic, and the whole crew is supposed to leave for London that afternoon. They want Louisa to step in for their annual Christmas Eve Dinner TV special at Claridge's. It’s a great opportunity, and Digby Bunting, Louisa’s famous baking idol, will be there. Even if he does seem more interested in her than her food.

And then there’s Kate, the show's beautiful producer. On their first day in London she runs into the skinny boy she jilted at St. Andrew's in Scotland ten years ago. Now he’s a handsome, brilliant mathematician, and newly divorced. Their familiar spark is still there, but so is the scar of how they left things. Kate and Louisa are busy preparing for the show, but old and new flames are complicating their work.

Set during London's most festive time of year and filled with delicious food, Christmas in London is about love and friendship, and the season's most important lesson: learning how to ask for and give forgiveness.

#FirstPage: with @sashaalsberg @authorlindsayc

Welcome to this weeks, First Page! I am so excited to share this first page with you. It's one of the most anticipated titles coming next year! 

#Blast: The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen, #3) by @Emily_R_King

Expected publication: February 13th 2018   In the explosive next volume of The Hundredth Queen Series, the queen of fire faces off against a demon of ice.

Despite the odds, Kalinda has survived it all: Marriage to a tyrant. Tournaments to the death. The forbidden power to rule fire. The icy touch of a demon.

That same demon now disguises itself as Rajah Tarek, Kalinda’s late husband and a man who has never stopped haunting her. Upon taking control of the palace and the army, the demon brands Kalinda and her companions as traitors to the empire. They flee across the sea, seeking haven in the Southern Isles.

In Lestari, Kalinda’s powers are not condemned, as they are in her land. Now free to use them to protect those she loves, Kalinda soon realizes that the demon has tainted her with a cold poison, rendering her fire uncontrollable. But the lack of control may be just what she needs to send the demon back to the darkest depths of the Void.

To take back the empire, Kalinda will ally with those she distrusts—and risk losing those most loyal to her—to defeat the demon and bring peace to a divided nation.

#BookTour: I am Gandhi & I am Sacagawea by @bradmeltzer Christopher Eliopoulos

 

Today we have the honor to share two books with you! I am Gandhi and I am Sacagwea!  Awesome Annie had such a great time with these books and you can see her video below! We hope you enjoy this post as much as we did making it. 

#BookReview: Draw Your Own Fonts Tony Seddon

  Learn how to turn a doodle into a terrific, fully functional font with this easy-to-follow guide to hand lettering and how to do it. With 30 complete alphabets drawn in a variety of styles by a team of designers and illustrators, you too can learn how to  create energetic, funky fonts that seem to jump off the screen, the poster, or the page. With tips and demonstrations on how you can copy or adapt the alphabets to make them your own and sections on how to use your fonts online as well as on paper, this is a do-it-yourself book that will appeal to anyone who has ever begun a hand-lettered project – then wondered why it didn’t have the punch of professional work. Let your inner creativity flow and put your personality into a bespoke font designed by you!