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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Blog Tour Spotlight: The Funny Adventures of Little Nani by Cinta Garcia de la Rosa







Little Nani is a little girl who likes helping people. However, when she helps people the results can be a bit unexpected. Why is that? Little Nani is a witch! Or at least she wants to be a witch. With her magic wand, she will try to cast different spells to help her friends, but she won’t be successful all the time. Follow Little Nani in her funny adventures and meet her extraordinary friends. Funny ostriches, horses that love reading, super-fast turtles, grumpy zombies… Little Nani has lots of friends! You can also draw your own characters! Little Nani is willing to become a good witch. Will she manage to do it? Who knows? Read the stories and discover what happens next!


Add to Goodreads 



ABOUT CINTA GARCIA DE LA ROSA

Cinta Garcia de la Rosa is a Spanish writer who has loved the written word since she discovered she was able to read books at age 5. Since then, she has become a bookworm and reads around 100 books every year. She also writes, every day, compulsively, even in the middle of the night. You cannot control when inspiration hits you, can you? She writes in English because she is convinced that in a previous life she was British, so writing in English feels more natural to her than writing in her native language. Yes, she is crazy like that. Cinta Garcia is the author of “The Funny Adventures of Little Nani”, a collection of short stories for children, and “A Foreigner in London”, a short story published on Smashwords.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Book Review: Darkest Worlds: A Dystopian Anthology

This is an intriguing collection of stories with unusual stories and futuristic situations.
Darkest Worlds: A Dystopian Anthology 
Katie French (Author), S.K. Falls (Author), Zoe Cannon (Author), A.G. Henley (Author), Kate Avery Ellison (Author), Megan Thomason (Author)


  • File Size: 409 KB
  • Print Length: 237 pages
  • Publisher: A.G. Henley (September 2, 2013)
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • ASIN: B00EYMO344
Genre: Dystopian, Anthology
My Rating:4.25 of 5.0


Book Description
Publication Date: September 2, 2013
An anthology that explores what humans are made of when society falls to its knees. Darkest Worlds includes six original novellas by award-winning authors and best sellers of Young Adult and New Adult Dystopia
All proceeds go to Girls Write Now, a charity that promotes literacy of inner-city girls.
Nessa: A Breeders Story by Katie French.
MOON by S.K. Falls.
The First Unforgivable Thing by Zoe Cannon.
The Keeper by A.G. Henley.
Survival Lessons by Kate Avery Ellison.
clean slate complex by Megan Thomason.



Nessa: A Breeders Story by Katie French, author of The Breeders: Eighteen-year-old Nessa knows what it’s like to be an endangered species. Growing up in a dying world where nine out of ten babies are born male, she survives by trusting no one. When Marlin, the nineteen-year-old gunslinger, kills the man who has been keeping her enslaved, Nessa decides he might be her meal ticket. What she doesn’t realize is love is still possible, even in their decimated world.
4.25 I liked Nessa tough personality and Marlin’s caring. There are sacrifices and twists in this story. I just wished it had more history and explanation of the breeder program but that might be part of the first book in the series.

MOON by S.K. Falls, author of World of Shell and Bone: Loyalty. Obedience. Patriotism. Moon Stewart has no doubt that the New Amanian way of life is the right way. The only way. But was there ever a time when she felt differently? In this companion novella to the dystopian bestseller World of Shell and Bone, the secrets of Moon's past are revealed, giving readers a glimpse into the mind of their favorite antagonist.
4.0 Although I found the story interesting the characters are not warm fuzzy but rather cutthroat. Moon lives in a society where “good citizens strive to do what’s best for the collective, not the individual.” But everyone wears masks. Moon was only 13 trying to survive the harangues of her obsessed mother who is convinced that Moon’s older sister, Neptune, needs to be turned in to the enforcement as a dissident radical.  Now Moon is older and has a government job like her mother always wanted. Has Moon learned the hard lessons to balance the appearance with the ability to do what it takes to beat out her competitors?

The First Unforgivable Thing by Zoe Cannon, author of The Torturer’s Daughter: When a dissident working undercover as an interrogator is ordered to torture a confession from the only girl he’s ever loved, he chooses to defy both the totalitarian regime and the resistance by helping her escape—but she has an agenda of her own...
4.25+  This is a world where it is not always clear who is the real enemy – the authority or the resistance? I liked both Lucas, who was starting his career as an interrogator, and Simone, who was about to be interrogated as a member of the resistance. There were good twists and irony in this story and the ending left me interested in what would happen.

The Keeper by A.G. Henley, author of The Scourge: a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award. Peree knows his duty as the new Keeper of the Water Bearer, Fennel, is to make sure his people get every drop of their share of the water she collects when the flesh-eating Scourge roam the forest. He will motivate her, distract her, do anything he can to keep her working. He knows his duty is to his people and his people alone. What he doesn’t know is that he's falling in love with her.
4.5 This story had unique characters and society system. I was engaged by Peree (short for Peregrine), the new Lofty Keeper, and Fennel, the sightless Groundling who is the new Water Bearer. It is the Keeper’s job to protect the Water Bearer and make sure that a fair portion of water gets distributed to the Loftys. I liked how their growing friendship is going to challenge the societal boundaries. I was saddened when the novella abruptly ended leaving me wanting more.

Survival Lessons by Kate Avery Ellison, author of Frost: A young Farther prisoner named Eva escapes into the monster-filled wilderness of the Frost with a band of fellow inmates, all of whom are harboring secrets...but little do they know that Eva has secrets of her own. Set in the world of The Frost Chronicles.
4.5 This story includes a touch of steampunk-type elements and I think this was my favorite of the collection. As the author says “survival in a time of great danger is like a dance.” Eva gets the chance to escape with several prisoners into the Frost wilderness. She has managed to get tangled with three conspirators who are intent on finding a “treasure” - a special devise. This story is a dance of danger, thieves, rivals and betrayal. I was drawn in and intrigued by the secrets and definitely interested in reading more of the Frost Chronicles.

clean slate complex by Megan Thomason, author of the daynight series: Homeless Alexa Knight agrees to help the do-gooder non-profit The Second Chance Institute in return for medical care for her sick mother. The SCI is wooing the poor and downtrodden into their Clean Slate Complexes--where "everything is provided" from jobs to food, shelter, clothing, and education. Unfortunately, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there's a catch...
4.25 Having read the first book in the daynight series I was curious what this novella would cover. I wasn’t disappointed. This gives a scary look at The Second Chance Institute system and how it is enticing people for its goals. A young homeless girl, Alexa, meets up with Joshua, the rapper song artist son of the SCI leaders. Although she at first thinks he is very strange she is soon drawn to his buoyant personality. But can she trust him when she begins to think that things are not as good asthey appear? There is intrigue, danger, excitement and a bit of young romance. I liked the easy writing and the strength of the characters. I could see this novella pulling a reader into the series.

I purchased this book as I like Dystopia and as I was participating in BookBlast Feature and Giveaway.

Katie French

S.K. Falls

Zoe Cannon

A.G. Henley

Kate Avery Ellison

Megan Thomason

Girls Write Now--charity


See the previous post for BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

BookBlast Feature and Giveaway: Darkest Worlds: A Dystopian Anthology

Darkest Worlds: A Dystopian Anthology

An anthology that explores what humans are made of when society falls to its knees. Darkest Worlds includes six original novellas by award-winning authors and best sellers of Young Adult and New Adult Dystopia.

All proceeds go to Girls Write Now, a charity that promotes literacy of inner-city girls.

darkest worlds


Nessa: A Breeders Story by Katie French, author of The Breeders: Eighteen-year-old Nessa knows what it’s like to be an endangered species. Growing up in a dying world where nine out of ten babies are born male, she survives by trusting no one. When Marlin, the nineteen-year-old gunslinger, kills the man who has been keeping her enslaved, Nessa decides he might be her meal ticket. What she doesn’t realize is love is still possible, even in their decimated world.


MOON by S.K. Falls, author of World of Shell and Bone: Loyalty. Obedience. Patriotism. Moon Stewart has no doubt that the New Amanian way of life is the right way. The only way. But was there ever a time when she felt differently? In this companion novella to the dystopian bestseller World of Shell and Bone, the secrets of Moon's past are revealed, giving readers a glimpse into the mind of their favorite antagonist.


The First Unforgivable Thing by Zoe Cannon, author of The Torturer’s Daughter: When a dissident working undercover as an interrogator is ordered to torture a confession from the only girl he’s ever loved, he chooses to defy both the totalitarian regime and the resistance by helping her escape—but she has an agenda of her own...


The Keeper by A.G. Henley, author of The Scourge: a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Award. Peree knows his duty as the new Keeper of the Water Bearer, Fennel, is to make sure his people get every drop of their share of the water she collects when the flesh-eating Scourge roam the forest. He will motivate her, distract her, do anything he can to keep her working. He knows his duty is to his people and his people alone. What he doesn’t know is that he's falling in love with her.


Survival Lessons by Kate Avery Ellison, author of Frost: A young Farther prisoner named Eva escapes into the monster-filled wilderness of the Frost with a band of fellow inmates, all of whom are harboring secrets...but little do they know that Eva has secrets of her own. Set in the world of The Frost Chronicles.


clean slate complex by Megan Thomason, author of the daynight series: Homeless Alexa Knight agrees to help the do-gooder non-profit The Second Chance Institute in return for medical care for her sick mother. The SCI is wooing the poor and downtrodden into their Clean Slate Complexes--where "everything is provided" from jobs to food, shelter, clothing, and education. Unfortunately, as with all things that sound too good to be true, there's a catch...

Katie French

S.K. Falls

Zoe Cannon

A.G. Henley

Kate Avery Ellison

Megan Thomason

Girls Write Now--charity
The Girls Write Now mission is to provide guidance, support, and opportunities for at-risk and underserved girls from New York City’s public high schools to develop their creative, independent voices, explore careers in professional writing, and learn how to make healthy school, career and life choices.


BookBlast Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 9/30/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Mailbox Monday September 16, 2013

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.
Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs.  This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) but is now hosted at Mailbox Monday and through various blog hosts.
For SEPTEMBER: the Mailbox Monday Tour host is Yolanda of Notorious Spinks Talks Books.
[Starting next month, Bob of Beauty in Ruins will be the new back-up host for Mailbox Monday.]

Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.


I received two books for review, purchased one Audible and picked up a few free ebooks. 

Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles
I received one book from Hachette through NetGalley for review:



by Jill Shalvis
Tour Giveaway Link 9/23/13 through 10/4/13
Review to post 9/26/13

and
I received one book through BookBlast
for Tour and Review October 14.

by G.G Vabdagriff









Won

NONE


Purchased
I used my second August Audible Subscription credit to purchase the 2nd Charlie Davidson book.


Second Grave on the Left: Charley Davidson, Book 2
    UNABRIDGED
    by Darynda Jones
    Narrated by Lorelei King
        Series: Charley Davidson, Book 2




Free

I also downloaded a couple of free Kindle Titles this week
linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Free Par-tayInspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle Review.

It's Monday! What are You Reading? September 16, 2013

This meme starts at Book Journey!

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I had a busy work week with some traveling for court proceedings.  Reading was very good with the traveling and then being home sick over the weekend.  I finished five books and posted three reviews, one with Giveaway. I also posted a Kindle Giveaway.  
I also posted the weekly Mailbox Monday, Friday Pick Giveaway, Saturday Snapshot, Sharing Beyond Books Comment Giveaway and Sunday Words.

I didn't get any visiting early in the week but I did some visiting this Saturday while home sick.
Thanks as always to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:
  • Book Review and Print Giveaway: Scattered Petals by Amanda Cabot, Historical Romance; my rating 4.5. Open US; Ends 9/20.
Finished Reading:
1. Audible



Monster Hunter International
UNABRIDGED
by Larry Correia
Narrated by Oliver Wyman
Series: Monster Hunter, Book 1
This was fun listening.
I'll post a review this week. 
 Click on Title for full Book Description.



2. eBook/Kindle



Double Click
by Lisa Becker
This is an easy, enjoyable romance.
I will post a review later this week.
Click on Title for full Book Description.




3. eBook/Kindle



Color Me Bad: A Novella
by Sharon Sala/Dinah McCall
This was a quick fun introduction to characters.
I'll post a review later in the week.
Book Description
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
An original short story by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Sharon Sala links to her full-length contemporary women's fiction novel, The Curl Up and Dye.
The novella centers around the four women who run the Curl Up and Dye hair salon and their relationships with the quirky customers of small-town Blessings, Georgia. Their meddlesome efforts at match-making run awry, but there's always another makeover just around the corner.



4. Audible


First Grave on the Right: Charley Davidson, Book 1
    UNABRIDGED
    by Darynda Jones
    Narrated by Lorelei King
        Series: Charley Davidson, Book 1
This is sassy and full of action and sensual relationship. I read this from my own Audible library. I'll post a review soon.
Publisher's Summary
A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light”. But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice.
Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life... and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.
This is a thrilling debut novel from an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense. The audio includes a sneak peak of Second Grave on the Left.
Keep chilled: spend some more time with Charley Davidson.
©2010 Darynda Jones (P)2010 Macmillan Audio



5. Print


Convict Dad 
by P. Ryan Hembree
It took me a bit to get going but once I got going it was quick reading and I liked it.
I will post a review and giveaway this week.
Click on Title for full Book Description.




Line Edits/Releases:
We have a new eBook release this week - I'll put the link up next week.

Enter the bi-monthly drawings at eTreasures Publishing Facebook page.
This week's giveaway link: The Once and Future Now by Jim Gilbert
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller; Pages: 316

Currently reading:
1. Audible


Second Grave on the Left: Charley Davidson, Book 2
    UNABRIDGED
    by Darynda Jones
    Narrated by Lorelei King
        Series: Charley Davidson, Book 2
The first story was such fun I got the second one to listen to. :-)
Publisher's Summary
Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire, is back in this sexy, suspenseful novel of supernatural shenanigans.
When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously?
Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven… well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

Here is your signpost for the most hilarious listen of the summer: Second Grave on the Left.
©2011 Darynda Jones (P)2011 Macmillan Audio



2. eBook/Kindle


Darkest Worlds: A Dystopian Anthology 
Katie French (Author), S.K. Falls (Author), Zoe Cannon (Author), A.G. Henley (Author), Kate Avery Ellison (Author), Megan Thomason (Author)
I am participating in a BookBlast Giveaway 
which I will post by 9/18.
I decided to read the stories since I like this genre.
I am halfway through and like the different views.
Book Description
Publication Date: September 2, 2013
An anthology that explores what humans are made of when society falls to its knees. Darkest Worlds includes six original novellas by award-winning authors and best sellers of Young Adult and New Adult Dystopia
All proceeds go to Girls Write Now, a charity that promotes literacy of inner-city girls.
Nessa: A Breeders Story by Katie French.
MOON by S.K. Falls.
The First Unforgivable Thing by Zoe Cannon.
The Keeper by A.G. Henley.
Survival Lessons by Kate Avery Ellison.
clean slate complex by Megan Thomason.



3. Print


Sisterhood 
by Deleyna Marr
This is another book received at EPICon 2013 in March. I will post a review and giveaway - probably next week.
Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2012
A single gunshot shattered Dana's perfect life. Now she's starting over with a new life, new rules and an old flame to chase all her demons away. But Dana’s demons have other ideas. They want her—and her sisters—at any cost.

Fans of Dean Koontz will delight in Deleyna Marr’s first novel which takes the reader on an around the world adventure filled with industrial espionage, human trafficking and three very powerful sisters.

Marie works for SciTech, an international mega corporation that battles terrorists and industrial espionage. She loves the risk and adventure, the private jet, and the whirlwind her life has become. At least she did, until someone decides the world would be much better off without her.

Lara hides behind a smoke screen of witchcraft to disguise the strength of her enhanced psychic abilities. Working with the man who once tortured her to develop those abilities, she is developing the next generation of psionics, and keeping a close eye on her sisters.

Dana lives a seemingly quiet life, protected from outside stress, until an assassination attempt on Marie triggers her dormant psionic abilities. Now she'll have to escape her marriage and find her sisters in order to unravel the mystery of the corporation that claims to own them.

Kevin has finally escaped SciTech’s control and there is nothing that would make him return to that nightmare. Nothing except his love for the woman who was created to be his soul mate.



I am really lagging but still listening to The Listener's Bible NIV read by Max McLean. [Reading and listening on MP3.] I have been remiss and not keeping up with daily reading with my DH.

Line Edits: Still working. Several more releases being prepared for the next few weeks. I am still working on new print formatting this week.


I'm enjoying adding books as I go this month! :-)
September Scheduled (so far)
9/13-18 Darkest Worlds: A Dystopian Anthology Book Blast Giveaway Hop
9/17/13 The Funny Adventures of Little Nani by Cinta Garcia de la Rosa; Pump Up Your Book Tour

9/26/13 Always on My Mind (A Lucky Harbor Novel) by Jill Shalvis Review and Tour Giveaway Link

Sourcebooks
  My Lady Quicksilver by Bev McMaster (ARC) (Late September)


Hachette - Forever
    A House Divided by Kimberly Lawson Roby

NetGalley:
   I may browse for new choices.

AudioBook Jukebox

     Waiting for new selections.

Author Books received at March EPICon
      Sisterhood by Deleyna Marr


From TBR Collection - Monster Hunter, Incorporated (listening)
Won Book - TBD
Free Kindle/Nook or Smashwords: TBD

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