Monday, March 24, 2014

{Review} Warriors by @AlexHawke {Published} @HarperCollins

Warriors (Alex Hawke, #8)British counterspy Lord Alexander Hawke must rescue a kidnapped American scientist and catch a villainous megalomaniac—a man obsessed with horrifying experiments in state-of-the-art warfare—in Ted Bell's latest mesmerizing, high-action thriller in his New York Times bestselling series, reminiscent of the very best of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, and Daniel Silva

On the streets of Washington, D.C., a brilliant scientist in the high-tech military industry, the brains behind a revolutionary fighter aircraft prototype in development by the Pentagon, is snatched by masked thugs—along with his wife and children—and disappears without a trace.

Now, five years later, an elderly professor at Cambridge University has been murdered, a victim of bizarre, ancient Chinese torture methods. Alex Hawke teams up with former chief inspector Ambrose Congreve, his Scotland Yard colleague and friend, to find the killer, but this death is merely the opening gambit in a tense and lethal game of geopolitical brinkmanship.

In the United States, the president's behavior makes many question his fitness for leadership. Is his mental health deteriorating—or is there something far more sinister at work? The answer is crucial, for hostilities are rapidly escalating among China, North Korea, and the United States. At a somber state funeral in Arlington Cemetery, an unmanned drone twice the size of a twin-engine Cessna dives out of the sky and wreaks chaos on a shocked crowd of military and civilian dignitaries. In the East China Sea, a North Korean patrol crew murders four sailors aboard a U.S. Navy vessel. Then China launches vastly advanced fighter jets and a megasubmarine far more sophisticated than any seen before—military technology that might leapfrog everything the U.S. and Great Britain now possess.

With the situation edging closer and closer to the yawning abyss, Hawke faces a female Chinese mastermind and assassin named Chyna Moon. He must pull off his most daring mission yet: infiltrate enemy territory and neutralize their advantage . . . or risk the outbreak of World War III.

Biography

My life has entered a brand new and exciting chapter. In addition to publishing a new thriller, PHANTOM, next March, I have been elected a Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University, UK. I hold this position at the University's Department of Politics and International Studies. We are a primary resource for the Intelligence Community as well as high level government connections. I was also honored to be named Writer In Residence at Sydney Sussex College here at Cambridge. My college was founded in 1596. I am working on a new novel, the 7th in the Alex Hawke series of spy thrillers. The new thriller will be rooted in Cambridge espionage traditions (the university is over 800 years old) and deal with the looming threat of China's ascent to world dominance. I also plan to write a 3rd installment in my series of historical novels for young people, the Nick McIver Time Adventures published by St. Martins. My Alexander Hawke novels are published by Harper/Collins. Life here at Cambridge is extraordinary, as well it should be as it was recently voted the #1 university in the world. There is certainly no lack of intellectual stimulation and even the most casual conversations with fellow scholars are a wonder to me. As are the amazing architecture and ancient customs. I often feel I'm living in a Harry Potter movie.

WARRIORS, will be published on APRIL 1ST, 2014. Set against a backdrop of increasing tensions with China in the Pacific, the insane actions of China's surrogate, North Korea, and the abduction of America's premier weapons designer,
Hawke must destroy a new undersea weapons system deployed by China in order to avert global catastrophe. Hawke, Stokely Jones, and Chief Inspector Ambrose Congreve, must also solve a puzzling and sadistic murder at Cambridge University in England that is somehow tied to the Chinese threats of world war.





The thing I love best about this book is the sense of balance in the story.  The characters, emotions, plot, twists, pacing, etc. Are wonderful!  This is my first Ted Bell novel but it will NOT be my last.  This one deals with a kidnapping of Bill Chase's wife and two kids.  It had a wonderful balance between family.  This was a great fast read even though it is almost 500 pages. The author knows how to tell a story that will grip its reader till the last page. And although I have not read anything about the other 7 books in the series I didn't feel like I missed to much. Although I will deff. be going back and reading those in the coming months.

"*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. OR I purchased the book on my own."
Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.

{Review} Don't Even Think About It by @SarahMlynowski {Giveaway} @randomhousekids

Don't Even Think About ItContemporary teen fiction with romance, secrets, scandals, and ESP from the author of Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have).

We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

Biography

Sarah is the author of both the WHATEVER AFTER and MAGIC IN MANHATTAN series, as well as DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT (March 2014), MILKRUN, FISHBOWL, AS SEEN ON TV, MONKEY BUSINESS, GIMME A CALL, TEN THINGS WE DID (AND PROBABLY SHOULDN'T HAVE) and HOW TO BE BAD (along with E.Lockhart and Lauren Myracle). Sarah's short stories and novellas include A LITTLE BIT BROKEN, A NICE FLING IS HARD TO FIND, KNOW IT ALL and CRUISIN'. Sarah also co-edited the bestselling chick-lit collections GIRLS' NIGHT IN and GIRLS' NIGHT OUT and co-wrote the first ever guide to writing chick lit, SEE JANE WRITE.

Sarah's books have been translated into twenty-one languages and optioned to Hollywood. She was born in Montreal but now lives and writes in New York City.




This was a wonderful Contemporary, YA, Romance, set in Manhattan, NY with a hint of Paranormal.      I loved it!!  So a normal flu shot turned into so much more for a group of students.  They now have telepathic powers. They know all the secrets even that their school nurse used to be a stripper.  Which of course is so not something they wanted to know.  They know what everyone is thinking.  Who cheated on who. Who loves who, etc.  They get some good things via the powers they now carry. Ie. sitting next to the smart kids to get all the answers a test. They can even dump their boyfriends etc before they get dumped themselves.

This was a very cute one of a kind story that I would love to get back into with a second book.  Or even a spin off.  It has humor and seriousness.  And the group of students find out that even though they can hear what everyone is thinking. Having powers might make High School even tougher.


"*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. OR I purchased the book on my own."
Disclaimer: Thanks to Goodreads and Amazon for the book cover, about the book, and author information.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, March 21, 2014

Join {ReadOn} March 22 4pm EST Q & A @WiggB & @KBaileyBooks #Enter 2 #Win #Books {Giveaway}



This week on #ReadOn we have authors Bethany Wiggins author of Shifting and her new series Stung!  We also have returning #ReadOn author Kristen Bailey author of The Secret Order series.  So make sure you watch tomorrow and share the button above.  It will link to the Spreecast!  And don't forget to get the secret word of the week to enter to win some yummy books!!
Check out all their books! 

@WiggB

Bethany Wiggins has always been an avid reader, but not an avid student. Seriously! She failed ninth grade English because she read novels instead of doing her homework. In high school, she sat alone at lunch and read massive hardback fantasy novels (Tad Williams and Robert Jordan anyone?). It wasn't until the end of her senior year that the other students realized she was reading fiction--not the Bible

Once upon a time, Bethany's sister dared her to start writing an hour a day until she completed a novel. Bethany wrote a seven-hundred page fantasy novel that she wisely let no one read--but it taught her how to write. Since then she has penned SHIFTING (2011), STUNG (2013), and CURED (2014). 
Website | Goodreads | Twitter  
Click Here to Buy the Book
Cured (Stung #2)Now that Fiona Tarsis and her twin brother, Jonah, are no longer beasts, they set out to find their mother, with the help of Bowen and a former neighbor, Jacqui. Heading for a safe settlement rumored to be in Wyoming, they plan to spread the cure along the way--until they are attacked by raiders. Luckily, they find a new ally in Kevin, who saves them and leads them to safety in his underground shelter. But the more they get to know Kevin, the more they suspect he has ties to the raiders. He also seems to know too many details about Jacqui and her family—details that could endanger them all. For the raiders will do anything they can to destroy the cure that would bring an end to their way of life. Bethany Wiggins’s reimagining of our world after an environmental catastrophe won’t fail to stun readers.

This was such a wonderful book!  I loved Bethany's other book Shifting and was over joyed that she had written another book.  And this one being a series.  I had the opportunity to read then one after the other and I must say that this series will knock your socks off!  This book is unlike anything I have read and I couldn't put it down until the last 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."

@KBaileyBooks 


Kristin BaileyKristin Bailey grew up in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley in California. As a kid she enjoyed visiting the beach, camping and skiing with her two brothers.

Now she is a military wife and mother of two young children. She is also terrible about spoiling her pets. She has one fluffy mutt, two cats who think they own the world, and a fish tank with a quartet of fat fish, and two secretive striped ninja-assassin snails.

In the course of her adventures, she has worked as a zookeeper, balloon artist, and substitute teacher. Now she enjoys writing books for teens who enjoy mystery and adventure as much as she does.


Website | Goodreads | Twitter 
Click Here to Buy the Book
Rise of the Arcane Fire (The Secret Order, #2)
After her parents died in a fire and her grandfather disappeared, Meg Whitlock thought her life had come to a standstill. But when she learned that the pocket watch her grandfather left her was really an intricate key, Meg, with the help of a stable hand named Will, uncovered the Amusementists: members of an elite secret society dedicated to discovery and shrouded in mystery.

Now the Amusementists are convening in London, and Meg is determined to join their ranks. But being the first girl in the Order has its difficulties, and with Will away in Scotland Meg fears she can’t trust anyone but herself. Her worries are only supported by the sabotage happening at the academy, with each altered invention being more harmful than the last.

With threats lurking around every corner, and while trying to prove her worth as the first female Amusementist, Meg must uncover the identity of the academy’s saboteur before the botched devices become deadly. And after she finds evidence of a sinister and forbidden invention, Meg must stop it - or risk the entire future of the Amusementists.

This one was even better than the first.  With twists, turns, and more! You are sure to love this book two to The Secret Order series.  This one still follows the leading lady, Meg as she tries to discover what happened to her grandfather and the rest of her family.  I loved the strong character of Meg. She doesn't think twice about what she must do.  I can't wait for book three.


"*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."

{Review} Luminescence @BradenBellCom

The Kindling


Determined to rescue their favorite teacher, Conner, Lexa, and Melanie confront their worst fears and use their powers in unexpected ways to defeat Lady Nightwing, the treacherous Darkhand leader. But when the trio makes a terrible choice to save Dr. Timberi, their powers may not be enough to keep everyone alive. A thrilling conclusion to the Middle School Magic series!


Braden Bell


Biography

Braden Bell holds a Ph.D. in educational theatre from New York University. He and his family live on a quiet, wooded lot in Tennessee, where he teaches middle school theatre and music. An experienced performer, Braden enjoys singing, acting, reading, gardening, and long walks with the dog.





The conclusion to the Middle Grade Magic series, Dr. Timberi has been kidnapped and everyone thinks he is dead. But Lexa knows better, and she is going to to save him. She must find a way to work together with her brother and best friend Melanie or all will be lost. 

Using their new powers the three of them form a powerful force against evil. Luminescence has it all!  It talks about guilt, healing from the past, and the loyalty of friendship. This is deff. one story that I am sad to see come to a thrilling end.  But it is one series you SHOULDN'T MISS!


"*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.
The Kindling
a Rafflecopter giveaway