Review: Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards

My Review: 4 Stars

ANOTHER DEBUT AUTHOR!  This was a fast read! The plot never lets up and it is historically yummy!  I loved Lola Montez as a character! You will not want to put this down after you start!  I hope to see more of Lola's life! 

"*I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own."

Book Description

Publication Date: October 24, 2012

• Print Length: 274 pages
• Publisher: Astor + Blue Editions (October 24, 2012)

A wild and sexy romp through history based on the real-life adventures of the audacious, Lola Montez.It is 1842, London, and the gorgeous, ever-capricious twenty-two year old Eliza Gilbert, (aka Lola Montez) is in deep trouble and seeks escape from a divorce trial. Desperate to be free, Lola accepts an alluring offer of a paid trip to Spain, if she will only fulfill a few tasks for Juan de Grimaldi—a Spanish theatre impresario who is also a government agent and spy for the exiled Spanish queen, Maria Cristina.Lola soon finds herself in Madrid, undercover as a performer in a musical play. But when she falls dangerously in love with the target, General Diego de Léon—the “perfect Spanish soldier, lover and horseman”—Lola becomes a double agent and the two hatch a plot of their own. Disaster strikes when the plot is exposed, Diego is captured, and Lola is forced to flee on horseback to France, with a dangerous group of Loyalists in hot pursuit. Will Lola’s reckless daring, feminine whiles, and signature whip be enough to save her life and preserve her cause? She will have to be more whip smart than ever.Written with zest and a passionate, fiery fervor by debut author Kit Brennan, Whip Smart irresistibly whisks readers into a vivid journey through 19th Century, France, England and Spain, riding sidesaddle with Eliza Gilbert, the hot-headed Irish girl, as she transforms into Dona Maria Dolores de Porris y Montez—aka Lola Montez, the sensation of Europe!

Kit Brennan is a nationally produced, award-winning playwright, and teaches writing and storytelling at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. The Victorian era and its personalities have always been of major interest to her. Her play Tiger's Heart explores the life of Dr. James Barry, who was actually a woman living a double life disguised as a man in order to practice medicine, which was not an option open to women at the time. She divides her time between the vibrant city of Montreal and the quiet lake wilderness of Ontario alongside her husband, Andrew, and a variety of animal friends.Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards is her debut novel.

Find Whip Smart

BN |  Amazon | Kindle

"Thanks to the publisher or author for sending me this copy!"

Review: The Ragnarök Conspiracy

My Review:

This is me branching out of my teen ya reading list. This book I read Fearless earilier this year and was blown away and now again I am speechless.  This book was great.  And the use of Runes was great!  I love the book cant wait for more!

"*I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own."

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2012

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Seventh Street Books (October 9, 2012)

The world's most dangerous terrorist organization may well be located in our own backyard.An American bin Laden. An FBI agent. Connected by a terrible loss on 9/11, they now confront each other over acts of vengeance so horrific, the world is brought to the brink of war.
As Muslims around the world are being targeted in a series of devastating attacks, Agent John Savas is drawn into a web of international intrigue. He must put aside his personal pain and work with a man who symbolizes all he has come to hate. Both are drawn into a race against time to prevent a plot so terrible that it could shatter civilization itself.
In a thriller that spans the globe in an ever-widening arc of intrigue, violence, and personal conflict, the stability of the world hangs in the balance. Only by transcending his own devastating loss can Savas hope to prevent the ultimate calamity unleashed by the Ragnarök conspiracy.

 Buy Links/BAM/BN

› Visit Amazon's Erec Stebbins Page

Biography

I've always loved the written word, and after a hiatus of 20-so years (career, family) began to write again. Unexpectedly, this led to the publication of a novel, The Ragnarök Conspiracy. I have several other thrillers like it in the works, as well as other genre fiction that I might seek to publish down the road.

Author Website: http://www.erecstebbins.com/
Book Website: http://www.ragnarokconspiracy.info/

Social:
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/ErecStebbins
FB Book Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheRagnarokConspiracy
Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/erecstebbins
Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5990247.Erec_Stebbins
Twitter: https://twitter.com/erecstebbins

Day job: I'm an associate professor and head of the Laboratory of Structural Microbiology at the Rockefeller University in New York.
Lab Web Page: http://stebbins.rockefeller.edu/

"Thanks to the publisher or author for sending me this copy!"

Review: I've Been Called A Bitch

My Review: 4 stars

In a world where men still rule the business world. This book gives the business WOMAN the road to success!  Now we all know that one time or another us woman have been called the *B* word!  Well with this book you will find solutions to reinvent yourself!  You can be Bold, Brave, and Beautiful!  So embrace being called the *B* word and use it to your advantage!  

"*I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own."

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2012

• Print Length: 147 pages
• Publisher: RKG Marketing Solutions Inc. (October 28, 2012)

Redefine the B Word—Be Your Best!

Many successful businesswomen have been called the B word. But that, according to Dr. R. Kay Green, is about to change, and women will be the ones who change it.

In I’ve Been Called the B* Word… Now What Do I Do? Dr. Kay presents a tested framework for success in business and in life. Bold, brave, beautiful—with these strategies women can choose new B words to reinvent themselves and make their visions into reality.

Dr. Kay’s proven process will:

* Teach you how to ignore the traditional B word label and redefine yourself.
* Find your niche and revitalize your strategies.
* Create the right network on your path to success.
* Build a strong brand for yourself and your company.

Including interviews with twelve female leaders in technology, finance, and more, I’ve Been Called the B* Word reveals what it means to be an empowered woman in business. If you’ve ever been called the B word, this book will change your life.

“The roadmap to success for women entrepreneurs. Simply amazing.”
—Savannah Britt, owner of Girlpez.com

“The B* Word offers bold solutions for getting ahead. Part manual, part inspiration.”
—Juliette Brindak, cocreator and founder of Miss O and Friends

About the Author
Dr. R. Kay Green is the CEO and president of RKG Marketing Solutions, Inc. and an online professor and course developer for several major universities. She holds a doctorate of business administration in marketing and has been featured on Great Women Speakers, Black Experts, and Guru.com.

www.ivebeencalledthebword.com

"Thanks to the publisher or author for sending me this copy!"

Review: Delirium

My Review:

Ok this is probably going to get my flogged!  I am giving this book 2 stars.  (looks around for the hate)  I am so sorry I tried soooo hard to love this book.  But, in the end I found myself skimming just to finish it.  I do have book two and will be reading it soon.  But, this one is just a book that you want to take your time with and read.  It isnt something you will get through fast. It could have been cut down in pages.  NOW I want to say that the author knows how to write!  That is for sure!!!  Its just that this book was very slow and I am a lover of a story that grabs me and keeps me going until the last page.  I did read part of book 2 and it seems it is a little better.  So I guess well see.  

Purchased it myself!

Book Description

Release Date: February 7, 2012 | Series: Delirium (Book 1)

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (February 7, 2012)
• Language: English

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever. And I’ve always believed them. Until now. Now everything has changed. Now, I’d rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Review: The Panem Companion

Ok this one I LOVED!!  I so want it in print to go with my Hunger Games books.  It answers just about any question you had about Panem!  I want it so bad!  So if you are a lover of the Hunger games and you want to know more about Panem itself and not just about the main characters than THIS is the book you want to grab!!!

"*I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own."

Book Description

Publication Date: December 4, 2012

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Smart Pop (December 4, 2012)

Go deeper into the home of the Hunger Games with the creator of the best-known fan map of Panem

• What does Panem look like?
• How does Panem define race?
• How do Panem’s districts reflect the major themes of the trilogy?
• What allusions to our world are found in Panem names like Finnick, Johanna, Beetee, Cinna, Everdeen, and Mellark?

The Panem Companion gives fresh insight into Suzanne Collins’ trilogy by looking at the world of the Hunger Games and the forces that kept its citizens divided since the First Rebellion. With a blend of academic insight and true fan passion, V. Arrow explores how Panem could have evolved from the America we know today and uses textual clues to piece together Panem’s beliefs about class, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexuality, and more.

Includes an extensive name lexicon and color-illustrated unofficial map

"Thanks to the publisher or author for sending me this copy!"

Teaser: The Gifted Ones

Author P.G. Shriver has stopped by today with a teaser from her book The Gifted Ones: The Fairytale.

The cold, dim room saddened the visitor upon entry. Immediately, with a slap, he flipped the light switch up, drew the shades back, and placed the cheerful pot of daisies in the center of the shelf. In that location, the daisies sat in view of the shallowly breathing patient, should she awaken. He knew better, though. He seated himself next to the hospital bed, in the uncomfortable wooden chair, the seat cushion so well used little padding remained, lumps forming beneath the green plastic coating. Reaching out, he took a slender, limp, dark hand in his own, and then gently began stroking the forehead and hair of the sleeping beauty before him with his free hand. Tears pooled in his dark eyes while guilt flooded his heart. "Momma, I'm here. I know you already know that, and I realize I haven't been here in a while. I haven't exactly been doin' things that would make you proud the past few months, either, and I'm sorry. “I hope you don't know too much about that, but I've just been so angry. Just be glad I ain't in jail," he paused, waited, hoped that her eyes would flutter and he would see that disappointing look she would always give him when he transgressed. Her silence pushed him onward in the one-sided discussion. "You'll never guess what happened to me this morning," excitement shook his voice, muffled only slightly by a guilty tone, and flowed on hopefully, making him sound almost chipper. "I was doin' somethin' I shouldn'ta been doin', one of them things you wouldn't be proud of? And this girl walked up, ya' know?" he paused again, this time not for a response from the comatose woman before him, but out of fear that what he was about to tell her would be overheard, as well as a little disbelief over what had happened. Anyone listening outside might think him crazy when they heard the description of what he saw that morning, what he wanted his mother to know. After raising his eyes to the open door and the shuttered window looking out on an empty hall, he leaned forward, close to her left ear, her light, slow breath slightly warming his cool forehead, "I saw Bree this morning, Momma. Really! I saw her, and she told me I had to come see you. She made it sound really important, Momma... you know... like you might wake up today or somethin'. She knew I hadn't been here in a while, too. Her smile, Momma, man I surely miss her smile. Remember how pretty she smiled, Momma? Remember the sparkle in her eyes? I saw her today, Momma, and it made me so happy, but it made me feel guilty, too." He stopped, stood for a second, leaned forward again, and gripped the slender, brown hand firmer, a sense of urgency filling his heart. "Wake up, Momma. You can wake up now; you can come back to me; it's safe, really. I really need you, especially now. At least give me a sign you can hear me, Momma, please?" a tear rolled down his soft, plum cheek, but her eyes were dry, motionless and tightly closed. When no sign came, he scooted back in the chair, folded his hands together, set his elbows on the edge of the bed and bowed his head in silent prayer, something he hadn't done in months, since he had given up on her… on life.

Title: The Gifted Ones: The Fairytale
Author: P. G. Shriver
Publisher: Gean Penny
Pages: 274
Blurb: Thrown together by the cruelties of a modern day world in which genuine compassion is rare, evil abounds, and goodness is often tainted by the fight to survive, two unusually gifted teenagers discover they are linked by a fairytale told them repeatedly throughout their youth by their late mothers. Destiny awaits them, but first they must locate the others, as the fairytale foretells, to defeat the evil monster who waits and change the lonely world in which they live. Only then will they find peace... and family.
Author Links: Goodreads Authorcentral Purchase Website Blog Facebook Twitter
About P. G. Shriver Born in California, and raised in Minnesota and Texas, P.G. spent her early years writing poetry and winning poetry contests, while escaping the drama in her own childhood by reading great books for children. Ever since her earliest days, she loved story telling. She wrote numerous short stories in High School and her early college years, continually trying to relive that first experience at the age of seven of seeing her name in print in the local newspaper. P.G. sought her education at the University of Texas, where she studied English, literature, and Education. During the entire process of earning her BA and M.Ed, she never stopped writing and trying to be published. It was during this time that her first children's book No More Stinkbugs! was accepted for publication by Castle Keep Press. Many of her stories develop from nature. P.G. graduated college and began her career in education, another great world that offered real experiences to humor and delight through children's books. She watched children interact, bringing to surface her own experiences as a child and yet more events to write about. While teaching, she discovered many great books for young people, such as The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963, Maniac Magee, So. B. It and many more. She is a fan of Dean Koontz novels, too, and loves reading fantasy and paranormal books. P.G. was married 20 years in March 2012 and has a bright, young daughter who has begun her own college career. She lives on a small farm in Texas with her family and animals. P.G. has experienced great love and loss throughout her life. Those her family has lost have dedications in her books. P.G. has two young adult books published, Dead Perfect and The Gifted Ones: The Fairytale the first book in The Gifted Ones Trilogy. She also has several children's books written under Gean Penny, her pseudonym. P. G. has since dissolved her contract for her first book with Castle Keep Press and moved the title to her own imprint, Gean Penny Books.      

Review: Crater

My Review:

This ended up being a 3 stars for me.  Its just one of those books where the store will be great for some and well not so much for others.  This book was a fast read but just needed more.  If you are a sci-fi fan you will prob suck this book up. If you are more of a literature reader then this one may be to simple for you. This book is created for Middle School/High School.

"*I received a copy of this book for free to review, this in no way influenced my review, all opinions are 100% honest and my own."

Book Description

Publication Date: April 10, 2012 | Series: A Helium-3 Novel

A Helium-3 miner named Crater makes a treacherous journey through space to find a mysterious and priceless treasure.
It's the 22nd Century and a tough, pioneering people are mining the moon
to produce energy for a desperate, war torn Earth.  Crater Trueblood, an
orphan, loves his life in Moontown, a frontier mining settlement.  Just turned sixteen, Crater is already a seasoned Helium 3 miner, hoping someday to be a foreman on the scrapes.  But "the Colonel," the man who owns the mine, has a different plan for Crater which includes Maria, the Colonel's daring young granddaughter.  Crater, accompanied by Maria and his gillie--a sentient and sometimes insubordinate clump of slime mold cells--must shepherd a convoy of Helium 3 trucks across a forbidding river of dust while also looking for a mysterious, historical artifact that could mean the difference between life and death for every inhabitant on the moon.

"Thanks to the publisher or author for sending me this copy!"