Sunday, December 23, 2012

Review: V is for Virgin







Author Kelly Oram

Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen–a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and loves to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and four children.



Links:
Blog |  Twitter |  Facebook  |  Goodreads




My Review: 4 Stars
For those who might wonder about content based on the title -
From Kelly: The book has a great overall message and promotes good strong moral values. For a book all about sex, there's not anything even close to a sex scene in it, but because of the nature of the topic there is a lot of innuendo/sexual humor and some name calling.
This one was great!  In a world where if you make it high school as a virgin is almost un heard of. This book brings a new look to what it means to be one.  Wherever your choice be it to have sex before you were married (yet I did this one) or to wait until your wedding night.  Its always up to you.  You are the one who will have to live with that decision.  No one can make it for you!  This book was a fast read and was so good.  So if you don't know what to choose read this and think about it some 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

 December 5, 2012

  • File Size: 1453 KB
  • Publisher: Bluefields (December 5, 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
When Val Jensen gets dumped for her decision to stay a virgin until marriage, the nasty breakup goes viral on YouTube, making her the latest internet sensation.

After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy.

As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.

How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over?

"Thanks to the publisher or author for sending me this copy!"
V is for Virgin Tour Schedule

December 23rd
Bibliophilia, Please - Interview or Guest Post
Crossroads Reviews - Review
FLY HIGH! - Guest Post

December 24th
Reviewing Shelf - Review
Bookworm Lisa - Review & Interview or Tens List

December 26th
Every Free Chance Book Reviews - Review
Mom With a Kindle - Interview or Guest Post
LDS Forever Friends Book Nook - Review
The Itzel Library - Review

December 27th
Reader Girls - Excerpt
Karey White - Review
Paulette's Papers - Tens List
Reading Lark - Guest Post

December 28th
Day by Day in Our World - Review
Debbie's Inkspectations - Review
Emily's Crammed Bookshelf - Interview or Guest Post
My Devotional Thoughts - Review

January 2nd
Wall-to-Wall Books - Review & Author Interview


Tour Giveaway

$30 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Open Internationally
Ends 1/6/12
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Event #3: The Magic of Christmas


"Today Crossroad Reviews and Tours is excited to join the WinterHaven Sleigh Tour hosted by WinterHaven Books

This week, we are posting our favorite Children's, Winter or Christmas story. 

This is one of our favorite pagan stories to tell during this time of year!  I hope that you enjoy it as much as we do. 

Today I wanted to share a story that I share on my blog every year. It is the first in a series of stories about the Sabbats, geared towards kids. Hope you all enjoy.
“Grandfather can you tell us a story?” the children asked in unison as they ran up to the old man reclining peacefully by the fire.
The old man sat up straighter in the chair, took a puff from his pipe and asked with a grin, “What story should I tell? What story do you want to know? You there,” he said pointing to one of the children, the smallest, “you haven’t had a turn to ask for a story in quite a while. So you pick, tell me what you want to hear.”
In a small voice, the child said “Grandfather can you tell me of the story of the first Yule? I always liked that one the best.”
With a clearing of his throat and another puff on his pipe, the Grandfather started to spin the tale of the first Yule.
“We all know that Yule is at the end of December. When the night and the day are equal to each other. But the story really starts much earlier. In fact over a month earlier. For you remember that in August the Harvest Lord laid down his sword of power and went away to Summerland to rest. Well the Goddess missed her husband so much that she began to grow old just with the grief alone and that is why we have Winter. The time when the Earth grows barren and cold.
“Well the Goddess because of her sadness after a time, left us also and went on a journey to Summerland to try and find him. Now she doesn’t die now, she only goes on a vision quest. But she is gone so long that at Samhain her body passes on and when she is found frozen in the forest two weeks later a wake is held for her in the Holly King’s drinking hall.
“It took over a week for all the faeries and other mourners to come.For they came from all corners of Creation. But there was one unexpected guest, an old woman. She was so old that she almost looked like a walking skeleton. So of course everyone there was mean to her out of fright and disgust.
“Yet when she greeted the Holly King, calling him her Son, everyone realized with much fright that this was the Goddess returned to them. The very Goddess whose death, they were there to mourn.
“So angry was she, that she was treated so poorly, the Goddess passed a prophecy to the Holly King. That she had within her the Oak King, soon to be reborn. And for rebuking her the Holly King would pass to Summerland upon the birth of that child.
“Now this scared the Holly King that he decided to lock the old Crone away in the top room of the tallest tower in all the world. Then he walled up the doors and all but one of the windows so that she is trapped within the room at the top of this tower. The window he left open so that he could have the birds fly food to her.
“Now he did this hoping that he could escape the doom that was foretold to him. But the Crone knew that the birth of her child was her only hope of escape. The Crone then wove magick and took the light and warmth from the Sun, and passed it to her son. So that in just four weeks, she gave birth to the Oak King. Who ever after was also given the name of the Sun King. For he was born fully grown and glowing with a golden light so bright that it caused the dying of the Sun to be reversed.
“Those four weeks of magick are why we light the candles for the four weeks before Yule. One candle for the first week and two for the second and so on until we have four candles lit on the night of Yule. This represents the growing light inside her as outside the Sun grew weaker.
“But the birth was hard on the old Crone, so hard that she slipped into a sleep very near to Death. So the Sun King in his anger thinking that his mother was dead, flew out the lone window as a large golden eagle. All across the Earth he hunted the Holly King, Lord of the Wintertime. Finally cornering him at the shores of a great ocean.
“And when he found him he threw his magickal spear at him and destroyed him. The spear hit the Holly King so hard that his body just vanished. But don’t worry, for the Holly King simply reappeared in Summerland. When he got there he found the Crone in one of her other aspects, the Young Maiden.
“She spoke to him of prophecy and the Wheel of the Year. She spoke of the new cycle that had been made in the last year. That the events of the last year would repeat themselves forever and ever.
“And although the Holly King had passed away now, he now knew that he would return just past the height of Summer to take the Sun King’s place again.
This is why the Holly King, as Santa Claus, brings us gifts every year to make up for the Winter that he brings with him. But he only brings presents to good little boys and girls because he wants us to learn to not be mean like he was to the Crone on that first night that he met her so long ago.
“Now back to the Sun King, when he returned to the Crone he saw that she wasn’t really dead but only asleep. So he went out and found a large log, the first Yule Log, cut from the largest Oak he could find. In hopes that this would revive the Goddess. And for their lifegiving properties he decorated her room with evergreens. Even bringing in a tree and decorating it with his light.
“But all this magick did was to make her youthful again, so that now she was a beautiful youthful Maiden. Yet she still slept a deep sleep almost near death.
“So you see my grandchildren there are good reasons why we do the things that we do at Yule. They served a purpose long ago and it is good to recognize and honor that. “
“But Grandfather,” spoke up the eldest, “What happened next? I know the Goddess didn’t stay asleep forever. Please tell us more.”
Shaking his head, the old man said, “Lunch is overdue and I’m hungry so let us go to eat and then I will tell you all another tale. I will tell you of what happened next to the Goddess and to the Sun King. I will tell you the story of the first Imbolc.”






To see who else is on the sleigh, go to WinterHaven Sleigh Tour  for a list of participating blogs."



"As part of The Magic of Christmas, WinterHaven Books is hosting a give-away that will include a Children's or YA book bundle to be shipped to an elementary school or library of the winner's choosing. The winner will be offered a few options and they can choose what bundle and location to ship to within the United States.  Good luck and happy holidays!"
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, December 21, 2012

Review: Mia's Heart

My Review: 4 Stars
I am so glad that I got to be on the tour for Mia's Heart.  Because I would have never found Dante's Girl!  
"*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

 June 22, 2012
I have spent every summer since I was ten years old with my father in London. Every summer, since I was ten years old, has been uneventful and boring.

Until this year.

And this year, after a freak volcanic eruption strands me far from home, I have learned these things:

1. I can make do with one outfit for three days before I buy new clothes.
2. If I hear the phrase, "You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto," even one more time, I might become a homicidal maniac.
3. I am horribly and embarrassingly allergic to jellyfish.
4. I am in love with Dante Giliberti, who just happens to be the beautiful, sophisticated son of the Prime Minister of a Mediterranean paradise.
5. See number four above. Because it brings with it a whole slew of problems and I've learned something from every one of them.

Let's start with the fact that Dante's world is five light-years away from mine. He goes to black-tie functions and knows the Prime Minister of Great Britain on a first name basis. I was born and raised on a farm in Kansas and wear cut-off jeans paired with cowboy boots. See the difference?

But hearts don't care about differences. Hearts want what they want. And mine just wants to be Dante's girl.

My heart just might be crazy.

********
Dante's Girl is book one in The Paradise Diaries.  It is followed by book two, Mia's Heart.



 My Review: 4 Stars
Ok so glad I got on this tour!  I even snagged book 1!  I was so blown away by this book!  It is a deff. MUST READ!
"*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

 November 13, 2012
My name is Mia Giannis.
I am seventeen years old.
I live in Valese, Caberra.

This has become my mantra and my lifeline, having recently lost my memory due to a scary natural disaster.

Yeah. I have amnesia. Messed up, right?

You don't know the half of it.

Not remembering anything has turned my world upside down. My parents try their hardest to “remind” me of who I was, but it doesn't feel right. Or, if what they're saying is true and that really was me, I'm not sure I like that person very much.

And then there’s my love life. Apparently, Gavin Ariastasis is my oldest and best friend in the world. Also, apparently, we’ve never dated. But now, noticing him for what feels like the first time, he’s making my heart do somersaults. He knows me inside and out—the real me. Plus, he’s sexy and charming as hell. Sounds perfect, right?

But then... there’s the new guy. Quinn McKeyen – tall, gorgeous and deliciously American. His mischievous grin and slow Midwestern drawl turn my insides to mush in two seconds flat making me question who I really am and what I really want.

Seriously. What am I supposed to do with all that?! I feel torn between them, but I barely even know who I am, let alone what I want.

I just hope my indecisive heart will clue me in. And sooner rather than later…before I lose what little of my mind that I have left.

Mia's Heart is Book Two in the Paradise Diaries. It is preceded by Dante's Girl.



Check out Dante's Girl - the first book in the Paradise Diaries Series  




About Courtney Cole

website | twitter |  facebook | facebook fan page

Courtney Cole is a novelist who would eat mythology for breakfast if she could.
She has a degree in Business, but has since discovered that corporate America is not nearly as fun to live in as fictional worlds.
Every Last Kiss is her debut novel and she followed it with the rest of The Bloodstone Saga (Every Last Kiss, Fated, With My Last Breath and My Tattered Bonds).
Courtney lives in quiet suburbia, close to Lake Michigan, with her real-life Prince Charming, her ornery kids (there is a small chance that they get their orneriness from their mother) and a small domestic zoo.
Learn more about Courtney and her books at www.courtneycolewrites.com

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The Official Splintered Blog Tour hosted by Mod Podge Blog Tours





My Review: 5 Stars
Ok first off FAN GIRL SCREAM!!  I LOVE IT!  Second I was lucky enough to not only get one signed copy of this book in print.  But also another copy!  So that means that you guys get to win one.  Just comment and share this post.  Dont forget your email so I can contact you. And please be in the USA!  Ok on to the review this book blew me away! It was awesome and amazing!  It had me from the beginning page! 
"*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

January 1, 2013
Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  • Hardcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Amulet Books (January 1, 2013)
This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.
When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Praise for Splintered:
"Attention to costume and setting render this a visually rich read..."
--Kirkus Reviews

Biography

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would've happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

When she's not writing, A.G.'s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.

"Thanks to the publisher or author for sending me this copy!"
Twelfth stop: Visiting Hour at the Asylum

On the twelfth day of Splintered, we tiptoe into the local asylum for a peek at their Christmas décor. The nurses are dressed like candy canes, and a garland of empty syringes drapes the tree. Nurse Jenkins believes in recycling—although some of us suspect she just likes to taunt the patients. The walls and floors are dingy and echo every sound, as unnerving and cold as a ghost-filled mausoleum.



 

Or maybe that sense of unease originates from the screams upstairs in the padded cells. Inside of one sits a woman who has spent her life fighting her destiny. And now, her daughter will have to face it for her.

If there is a moral to this story, it is this: don’t leave your messes for other people to attend, because you might not like the way they go about cleaning them up.

The tour may be ended, but you have one more stop to make! Hop over to A.G. Howard’s website for the *Frabjous Giveaway* with prizes of MAD proportions…

Visit the rest of the tour!

12/3 Mr. Dodo's House @ I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
12/4 Ivory Queen's Castle @ Reading Angel 
12/5 The Red Queen's Castle @ Krazy Book Lady
12/6 Christmas Tea Party @ Katie's Book Blog
12/7 Gifts in Wonderland @ Icey Books
12/10 Wonderland Fashion @ ReadingTeen
12/11 The Ocean of Tears & The Zombie Flower Forrest @ The Mod Podge Bookshelf
12/12 Wonderland's Historic Library @ Book Hounds YA
 12/13 Wonderland's Secrets @ Mundie Moms
12/14 The Spritelings @ Pages From My Thoughts
12/17 Butterfly Threads @ Jennifer Daiker
12/18 Visting Hour at the Asylum @ Crossroad Reviews





a Rafflecopter giveaway