{Nerd Blast} In Shadows of Magic by @AlisonPrince13 @BookNerdTours

Mandy McKinney lives the charmed life. She is beautiful, athletic, popular, dating the hottest jock in school, and certainly doesn’t have any time for her loser twin sister. But Mandy also has a secret. When the truth is unveiled, her world is twisted upside down, and her very life is at stake.

Mandy’s twin sister, Brianna, has never had any success in the dating department. When Brianna finally meets the guy of her dreams, it turns out that he has secrets of his own. Dangerous secrets. Just her luck.

The twins are about to be swept away into a world of beauty and power beyond their wildest imaginations where nothing is what is seems, danger is lurking in the shadows, and their only chance of survival is finding themselves, and each other, once again.

You can get a copy of In The Shadow of Magic at these retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About The Author

Alison F. Prince is a school psychologist in northern New Jersey.  In Shadows of Magic is her debut release.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AlisonPrince13Tumblr:  http://alisonfprince.tumblr.com/Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7172856.Alison_F_PrinceIn Shadows of Magic Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/InShadowsofMagicWordPress:  http://alisonfprinceauthor.wordpress.com/

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{Tour} {Review} The Edge of Normal by Carla Norton

In many ways, Reeve LeClaire looks like a typical twenty-two year old girl. She’s finally landed her own apartment, she waitresses to pay the bills, and she wishes she wasn’t so nervous around new people. She thinks of herself as agile, not skittish. As serious, not grim. But Reeve is anything but normal.

Ten years ago, she was kidnapped and held captive. After a lucky escape, she’s spent the last six years trying to rebuild her life, a recovery thanks in large part to her indispensable therapist Dr. Ezra Lerner. But when he asks her to help another girl rescued from a similar situation, Reeve realizes she may not simply need to mentor this young victim—she may be the only one who can protect her from a cunning predator who is still out there, watching every move.

From the author of the #1 non-fiction bestseller Perfect Victim: The True Story of the Girl in the Box comes a novel that draws you into a chilling and engrossing world. With powerfully gripping characters and an ending that is a masterpiece of deception, Carla Norton's The Edge of Normal is a stunning debut thriller. 

Is THE EDGE OF NORMAL inspired by true events? Absolutely. When a shocking kidnapping case first hit headlines, Carla Norton wedged herself between reporters and sketch artists to cover the trial, and later wrote PERFECT VICTIM with the prosecutor. The book made the reading list for the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit and became a #1 New York Times nonfiction bestseller.

Carla's debut crime fiction, THE EDGE OF NORMAL, is inspired by that haunting true story. Her novel's protagonist is a 22-year-old survivor of kidnapping and captivity. She’s scarred, flawed, and psychologically unbalanced. But ‘Edgy Reggie’ has a hot sense of justice. And when called upon, she’s absolutely fearless.

Slated for release this September, THE EDGE OF NORMAL is already earning accolades: Jeffery Deaver says it's the "perfect blend of literary style, psychological insight and edge-of-the-seat thriller." Chevy Stevens calls it "a heart-pounding thrill ride that had me holding my breath to the end."

THE EDGE OF NORMAL won the Royal Palm Literary Award for best unpublished mystery last year, and will soon be released in the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan. The novel is included in BUZZ BOOKS 2013 as one of the most anticipated books of the coming fall/winter season. 

Carla's 2nd true crime, DISTURBED GROUND, is now available in ebook formats. This nonfiction thriller details the life and nine-murder-count trial of Dorothea Puente, a white-haired landlady who planted bodies in her rose garden. 

Carla gives book talks, speaks at conferences, and has appeared on Larry King Live. When she's not writing books about crime, she writes essays and really bad poetry.

This one will keep you on your toes.  The only issues I had with this one was the rather abrupt ending for the baddie it made the ending seem a little lacking.


"*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."

Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.

No Strings Attached {Giveaway} {Hop}

This is hop for all the people who hate jumping through hoops to enter giveaways. 

This is a no strings attached, no requirements to enter hop.

January 15th to 21st

The earth-shattering conclusion to Veronica Rossi's "masterpiece" Under the Never Sky trilogy and sequel to the New York Times bestsellingThrough the Ever Night (Examiner.com).

Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world.

The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do-and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost.

Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission-because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend. And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

In this final book in her stunning Under the Never Sky trilogy, Veronica Rossi raises the stakes to their absolute limit and brings her epic love story to an unforgettable close.

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{Review} The Almost Girl by @AmalieHoward {Giveaway} @StrangeChem

Seventeen-year-old Riven is as tough as they come. Coming from a world ravaged by a devastating android war, she has to be. There’s no room for softness, no room for emotion, no room for mistakes. A Legion General, she is the right hand of the young Prince of Neospes, a parallel universe to Earth. In Neospes, she has everything: rank, responsibility and respect. But when Prince Cale sends her away to find his long-lost brother, Caden, who has been spirited back to modern day Earth, Riven finds herself in uncharted territory.

Thrown out of her comfort zone but with the mindset of a soldier, Riven has to learn how to be a girl in a realm that is the opposite of what she knows. Riven isn’t prepared for the beauty of a world that is unlike her own in so many ways. Nor is she prepared to feel something more than indifference for the very target she seeks. Caden is nothing like Cale, but he makes something in her come alive, igniting a spark deep down that goes against every cell in her body. For the first time in her life, Riven isn’t sure about her purpose, about her calling. Torn between duty and desire, she must decide whether Caden is simply a target or whether he is something more.

Faced with hideous reanimated Vector soldiers from her own world with agendas of their own, as well as an unexpected reunion with a sister who despises her, it is a race against time to bring Caden back to Neospes. But things aren’t always as they seem, and Riven will have to search for truth. Family betrayals and royal coups are only the tip of the iceberg. Will Riven be able to find the strength to defy her very nature? Or will she become the monstrous soldier she was designed to be?

›Visit Amalie Howard's Amazon Page| Website | Twitter

Biography

AMALIE HOWARD grew up on a small Caribbean island where she spent most of her childhood with her nose buried in a book or being a tomboy running around barefoot, shimmying up mango trees and dreaming of adventure.

An aspiring writer from a young age, Amalie's poem "The Candle," written at age thirteen, was published in a University of Warwick journal. She was also a recipient of a Royal Commonwealth Society essay award (a global youth writing competition). A Colby College graduate, she completed simultaneous Honors Theses in both French and International Studies, and graduated Summa Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa. At Colby, she was cited for research and criticism in Raffael Scheck's article, "German Conservatism and Female Political Activism in the Early Weimar Republic," and his subsequent book, MOTHERS OF THE NATION. She also received a distinction in English Literature from the University of Cambridge (A-levels) as well as a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, France.

Traveling the globe, she has worked as a research assistant, marketing representative, teen speaker and global sales executive. In between writing novels and indulging her love of reading, Amalie is also a review editor for TheLoopNY, a local Westchester-New York periodical, and blogs at amaliehoward.com. She is represented by the Liza Royce Agency and is a member of SCBWI.

Her debut novel, BLOODSPELL, was selected as a Seventeen Magazine Summer Read. Look for WATERFELL from Harlequin TEEN Fall 2013, THE ALMOST GIRL from Strange Chemistry in January 2014 and ALPHA GODDESS from Skyhorse/Sky Pony Press coming April 2014.

4 STARS
Ok so first off I want to congratulate the publishing company for getting the cover of this book right one! The cover is both beautiful and is appropriate to the story and the book yay!!

I love parallel universes, LOVE IT!  Ok so with that said the first part of the book is slow going but once it picks up it will knock your socks off!  This book is exciting and well paced (other than the beginning) with a shocking ending that I didn't see coming!

"*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."

Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.

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{Review} The Pledge (The Pledge #1) by @kimberlyderting

Author: Kimberly Derting  
Series: The Pledge  
Publisher: Simon and Schuster   
Release Date: 11/15/2011  
Pages: 323 
Format: Print 
Source: Purchased
Description:
In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.  Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.(

  Author Kimberly Derting Kimberly Derting is the author of the BODY FINDER series, THE PLEDGE trilogy, and THE TAKING (coming April 2014 from HarperTeen). She lives in the Seattle area, with her husband and three children, who often find the outrageous things they say either in the pages of her books or posted on Twitter or Facebook for the entire world to see.
      

This was such a great book!  At first I didn't like it at all.  I though it was slow and just a pointless read.  But after I read through 134 page the story was so good and mind blowing that I couldn't put it down! 

"*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."

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.

{Tour} {Review} Lingering Echoes by @ericarockkiefer {Hosted} @itchingforbooks

Release date: November 16th 2013
Publisher: Clean Teen Publishing
Purchase: Amazon | B&N

Synopsis via Goodreads:

She's broken with guilt. 

He harbors a chilling past. 

It's safer if they keep their distance... 

But, the echoes that linger connect them. 

Returning to Hidden Pines is the last thing Allie Collins wants to do during her final summer before college. For her, the family cabin she spent her youthful summers in, now holds a dark memory that has haunted her every day for the last year. 

While struggling to forget her past, Allie runs into Damien, a local rebel with secrets of his own. He's dark, dangerous and he keeps showing up when Allie least expects him to. She has every reason not to trust him. So why does she find herself opening up to him in a way she hasn't been able to with anyone? 

As pieces of Damien’s identity emerge, answers to a rumored mystery begin to unfold. By the time Allie unearths the secrets of Damien’s past, she realizes just how intricately they are connected. Now she is caught in a dangerous battle that threatens her life and those she loves.

About the Author

Erica Kiefer was born on Christmas Eve in Southern California to an American father whose ancestors arrived from Europe during colonial times and a Thai mother who moved to the US during high school. Adding to her rich and varied heritage, Erica grew up living abroad in Asia, including Taiwan, Fiji, Thailand and Indonesia. She gained a great respect for the beautiful mosaic of cultures found in various parts of the world. After graduating from International School Bangkok, she attended Brigham Young University in Utah, where she earned a degree in Recreation Therapy. Her career as a Recreation Therapist has allowed her to work with at-risk youth since 2007.

Erica made the best decision of her life by marrying her husband in 2005 and is currently a mother of three, one of whom awaits her in heaven. Erica also loves singing, reading, writing, and satisfying her sweet-tooth with chocolate-chip cookies. Playing collegiate rugby was one of the most memorable experiences of her life, thus far.

ericakieferbooks.com | twitter.com/ericarockkiefer| facebook.com/ericakieferauthor

So glad I could be on this tour.  This book from the cover to the last page was very good.  It was exciting with lost of suspense and mystery.  And a LOT of Kissing!  You will not want to put this one down!  I do think that one of the last plot twists didn't add or take anything away.  It was just unneeded.  But that was the only issue I had.

January 13th -

Crossroad Reviews *Review
The Book Town *Review
Nyx's Guide to YA *Review & Favorite Quotes
The Bookish Owl *Interview

January 14th -

Dreamer *Interview
Alison J's Book Blog *Review & Excerpt (blogger's choice)
Boarding with Books *Review

January 15th -

Reading Corner *Review
Paperrdolls *Review
The Anonymous Book Life *Review
Pen and Muse *Review & Favorite Quotes

January 16th -

Bex Book Reviews *Review
Bittersweet Enchantment *Interview
Unladylike Reviews *Review & Excerpt (blogger's choice)

January 17th -

Musings of Immortals *Interview
Deal Sharing Aunt *Review
Once Upon a YA Book *Review
The Reading Chic *Review & Favorite Quotes

Katie's Corner *Review

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{Review} Uninvited (Uninvited #1) by @SoVerySophie {Giveaway} @harperteen

Title: Uninvited
Author: Sophie Jordan
Series: Uninvited
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Pages: 384
Format:Print ARC
Source: Publisher  
Description:
The Scarlet Letter meets Minority Report in bestselling author Sophie Jordan's chilling new novel about a teenage girl who is ostracized when her genetic test proves she's destined to become a murderer.

When Davy Hamilton's tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)-aka the kill gene-she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn't feel any different, but genes don't lie. One day she will kill someone.

Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he's not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.

The first in a two-book series, Uninvited tackles intriguing questions about free will, identity, and human nature. Steeped in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's trademark mix of gripping action and breathless romance, this suspenseful tale is perfect for fans of James Patterson, Michelle Hodkin, and Lisa McMann.

@SoVerySophie

› Visit Amazon's Sophie Jordan Page

Biography

Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she's also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Avon historical romances. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she's not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes and Diet cherry Coke preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and cramming her DVR with true-crime and reality-TV shows. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler.

website: sophiejordan.net

I had such high hopes for Sophie Jordan's Uninvited.

Sadly, however, I have had to face the fact that all the dreams I had for edge of your seat, can't put it down dystopian bliss are just not to be.

What this is...is a predictable snore fest coupled with a poor little rich girl meets poor gorgeous hot guy love scenario.  

The kicker? 

The love story is the savior of the read.

Here's what I mean...

Girl has everything

Finds out that she has "the kill gene."

Loses everything.  (Not counting the hot new love interest in the same situation.)

Faces being demoralized and treated as a nonhuman.

Sent to a camp for TRAINING

To become a KILLER!

The saving graces of this read lie in the expert writing and in the love story that is 

Sean and Davy.

The good news is that this is the first book in a duology, meaning that there is hope that things will get better.

"*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."

Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.