Friday, June 28, 2013

Suspense from Joan Hall Hovey




Blurbs:


Defective:

Therapist Melanie Snow is driving to her office when her Honda is struck by a dark-colored van and sent spinning into a ditch, where it catches fire. The driver never stops. A passerby pulls Melanie from the car just seconds before it explodes. 
Waking from the coma nine days later, she is devastated to find she is blind.
As Melanie struggles to cope with her new reality, life as a blind woman, her fragile state of mind is further threatened by a madman who is stalking and strangling disabled women. The first two victims were mentally challenged and Detective Matt O’Leary, who carries a torch for Melanie, (even though Melanie is engaged to someone else) tells himself she is not the killer’s targeted prey. But then a woman who lost a leg to cancer is murdered, and another physically disabled woman is stalked. Even with a whole town in terror, Melanie refuses to live her life in fear and reopens her practice in the basement of her home. She has a living to earn. 
And Detective Matt O’Leary must find a way to keep Melanie safe until the monster is caught. But how? Her door is now open to the public and the killer can just walk through anytime he chooses.
 And he does.


Nowhere To Hide:

Eppie Winner ~ Best Thriller    -  1992

SHE DARED TO CHALLENGE A MERCILESS KILLER
Raised in an atmosphere of violence and unpredictability, Ellen and Gail Morgan have banded together, survivors of a booze-fertilized battleground, forming a fierce united front against an often cold and uncaring world. When their parents are killed in a car crash, Ellen becomes the mother figure for Gail.
When fifteen years later Gail is brutally raped and murdered in her shabby New York basement apartment, practically on the eve of her big breakthrough as a singer, Ellen is inconsolable. Rage at her younger sister's murder has nearly consumed her. So when her work as a psychologist wins her an appearance on the evening news, Ellen seizes the moment. Staring straight into the camera, she challenges the killer to come out of hiding: "Why don't you come after me? I'll be waiting for you."
  
Phone calls flood the station, but all leads go nowhere. The police investigation seems doomed to failure. Then it happens: a note, written in red ink, slipped under the windshield wipers of her car, 'YOU'RE IT.' Ellen has stirred the monster in his lair … and the hunter has become the hunted!


Excerpt from NOWHERE TO HIDE:

NOT ALONE

It was nice to be alone. As she brushed her hair, Gail launched into her favorite fantasy of buying her sister a white Ferrari. Ellen's birthday was coming up in May; she'd have the car delivered right up to her door, a big red bow tied on the antenna ... dream on, girl she told herself, grinning at her reflection in the mirror.

Tiger padded into the room just then, winding his sleek, warm body around her bare ankles, purring like an old washing machine.

I owe her so much, Tiger, Gail said, reaching down to stroke the cat's soft, glossy fur. If it wasn't for...

Suddenly, Tiger's back arched under her hand and he hissed. Gail's heart leapt in her breast and her hand drew back as if burned. "What the...?" But Tiger, fur standing on end, had already fled the room. Gail turned in her chair just in time to see his electrified, retreating tail...

Then she caught a movement from the corner of her eye. Turning, she froze at the sight of the closet door slowly opening.

Chapter One

August 6, 1979

The closet door was at the top of the stairs at the end of the hall. To get to it he had to pass by two doors, one on either side, both now partly open. He could hear talking, very low. Farther away, the sound of running away. In three quick strides he was past the doors and inside the closet. He knew he was smiling. He felt excited the way he always did when he got past them. Even if anyone had got a glimpse of him, it wouldn't really matter. He was invisible. The invisible man.

The secret door was to his right, just behind the wide rack of musty-smelling winter coats in varying sizes. He ducked beneath them, and opening the door, let himself into the narrow, cave-like space.

The space separating the inside and outside walls went nearly the whole way round the third floor, stopping abruptly at the wall of the stairwell where he had to turn around and go back the way he had come. Once, this space had been used for storage - old bed springs, broken chairs, trunks - but the doors, except for the one in the closet which he had come upon quite by luck, and through which he had come again and again, had long since been replaced by sheetrock and papered over with rose-patterned wallpaper.

It was pitch black in front of him and all around him, like he was all alone in the world. He had his flashlight, but didn't turn it on. He knew the way. Besides, it might shine through someplace.

As he made his way along the darkened corridor, breathing the stale, hot air, his progress slowed by the long, heavy skirt he wore, he had to stoop. At seventeen, though narrow-shouldered, he was nearly six feet tall.

Sweat was trickling down between his shoulder- blades, and under the wig, his head felt squirmy, so he took the wig off and stuffed it into his pants pocket, under the skirt.

And then he was there. He could see the thin beam of light shining through, projecting a tiny star on the wall. It was coming through the place where two Sundays ago, when they were all at Chapel, he had made a peephole. He'd made it by simply pounding a nail through, then drawing it cleanly back out so that there would be nothing detectible on the other side - no more than a black dot.

A giggle floated through to him and the smile froze on his face, his fists clenching involuntarily. No, it can't be me they're laughing at. They can't see me. They don't know I'm here. I'm invisible, remember? Calming himself, he slowly brought his face to the wall.

Eight narrow, iron-framed beds faced him, each covered by a thin, grey blanket with a faded red stripe across the top and bottom. Twelve beds in all, but the two at either end were cut from his view. A few religious pictures hung above the beds. The one facing him said 'Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me'. It had a picture of a lamb on it. Only three of the beds were occupied. It was still early. Some of the girls were probably downstairs watching their alloted hour of T.V. Others would still be doing kitchen duty. At least one troublemaker would be doing 'quiet time'. He grinned.

He understood now that the laughter he'd heard had come from one of the two girls sitting on the edge of the bed flipping through a teen idol magazine. He'd caught a look at the cover - some weirdo with a green punk hairdo and a guitar slung around his neck. The two sluts, heads together, were still at it, giggling, whispering, low and secretive. He felt a hot surge of hatred course through his veins. He wished SHE would walk in on them right now. He knew what they were doing. They were talking about who they liked, who they thought was 'cute', who they would let do it. They were thinking and talking about that.

Two beds over, a fat girl with short brown hair that looked as if someone (guess who? Ha-ha) had cut it around a bowl, lay on her back with her hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling. A jagged scar travelled from a spot between her eyebrows right up into her hairline. He could tell she'd been crying; her raisin eyes were all red and puffy, practically disappearing in her moon face. They cried a lot in here. Mostly in the middle of the night when they thought no one could hear. It always excited him hearing their soft muffled sobs. Sometimes, though, it just made him mad like it did when they laughed. Then he wanted to fix it so they didn't make any sound at all.

His gaze wandered back to the girl who had first caught his attention, the one who sat under the lamb picture, and who he'd wanted to save for last. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a writing tablet balanced on her knees, her long, pale hair fallen forward, though some damply dark ends curled against her neck. He watched as she scribbled a few lines, then frowning, looked over what she had written. She would chew on her yellow pencil, then write some more, the pencil making whispery sounds on the paper. He watched her for a long time, taking in the flushed, shiny cheeks that made him think, as had the darkly damp curls, that she might just have stepped out of the bath. Yes, he remembered hearing the water running. He liked to see them when they just got out of the bath - all that damp flowing hair, pinkly scrubbed skin, soft necks. Sometimes they changed into their flannel nightgowns right there on the edge of their beds, right there in front of him - though of course they didn't know that.

That was the best part. Them not knowing. It didn't matter that they dressed so hurriedly and so slickly that he often didn't get to see much. Though occasionally there was a flash of white shoulder, a curve of breast.

I'm watching you, he thought, and had to stifle a giggle of his own.

And then she raised her head and those clear blue eyes were staring right at him, stabbing fear into his heart. He couldn't move.

She was frowning, not in the way she did when she was thinking of what to write, but with her head cocked to one side, as if she were listening for something. A terrible thought struck him. What if he hadn't just almost laughed, but actually done it, right out loud? Adrenaline pumping crazily through his body, he backed slowly away from the peephole. Standing perfectly still with his back against the wall, he waited. When after several minutes there were no screams, no sudden cries of alarm to alert the other girls - and HER, especially HER - he began to relax. His heartbeat returned to normal; once more he brought his eye to the hole. She was back to writing. Of course she was.

He smiled to himself.

He hadn't laughed out loud, after all. And she hadn't seen him. Of course she hadn't. His gaze slid down to her breasts, their shapes round and firm as little apples under the flannel nightgown.

But you will, he thought. You will.


My Review:  June 19, 2013  ~ Review Copy ~



Nowhere to HideNowhere to Hide by Joan Hall Hovey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First I would like to thank the author Joan Hall Hovey for giving me this book for review. Ellen and her younger sister Gail have survived alcoholic parents and Gail is on the verge of her singing career taking off. They are getting ready to spend Christmas together when on the eve of Gail's flight home she is brutally raped and murdered. Ellen has lost everyone, their parents, her husband who died young of a heart attack and now her sister. She is so distraught she goes on TV for an interview and challenges the killer to come after her. The psychopath takes up the gauntlet and leaves a note on her car telling her she is it. This book kept me hooked to find out what would happen next, I really enjoyed the suspense. The main characters were well written. Ellen is very strong, and also one tracked minded to the point of taking a chance with her life to get her sisters killer to come after her. Her best friend Myra has been through her own trauma in her childhood and wanted to help her friend, but Ellen wouldn't let her. There is also a little romance in the book.

View all my reviews


Author Giveaway:

Joan will award one randomly drawn commenter a $50 gift certificate for sunglasses at Sunglasses Shack (US/Canada only).  The more you comment the better your chances are of winning.

You can follow the blog tour here:  Goddess Fish Promotions



AUTHOR Bio and Links:


In addition to her critically acclaimed novels, Joan Hall Hovey's articles and short stories have appeared in such diverse publications as The Toronto Star, Atlantic Advocate, Seek, Home Life Magazine, Mystery Scene, The New Brunswick Reader, Fredericton Gleaner, New Freeman and Kings County Record. Her short story Dark Reunion was selected for the anthology investigating Women, Published by Simon & Pierre.
Ms. Hovey has held workshops and given talks at various schools and libraries in her area, including New Brunswick Community College, and taught a course in creative writing at the University of New Brunswick. For a number of years, she has been a tutor with Winghill School, a distance education school in Ottawa for aspiring writers.
She is a member of the Writer's Federation of New Brunswick, past regional Vice-President of Crime Writers of Canada, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

www.joanhallhovey.com




Praise for Joan Hall Hovey’s Books
“…suspense that puts her right up there with the likes of Sandford and Patterson..." Ingrid Taylor for Small Press Review

 "...Alfred Hitchcock and Stephen King come to mind, but JOAN HALL HOVEY is in a Class by herself!…" 
J.D. Michael Phelps, Author of My Fugitive, David Janssen

"…CANADIAN MISTRESS OF SUSPENSE…The author has a remarkable ability to turn up the heat on the suspense… great characterizations and dialogue…" James Anderson, author of Deadline
"...a gripping style that wrings emotions from everyday settings. Oh and by the way ...is your door locked?" Linda Hersey - Fredericton Gleaner

"...will keep readers holding their breath until the very end..." inthelibraryreview, Melissa Parcel

"This one is a chiller - you won't be able to put it down - guaranteed!"- Rendezvous Magazine

"If you are looking for the suspense thriller of the year-look no further…you will find it in Nowhere To Hide..." Jewel Dartt Midnight Scribe Reviews

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Fall For Me by K.A. Last





“Angels aren’t supposed to fall in love, especially with each other. But for the record, you were worth it.”

Grace Tate is a Protection Angel and Vampire Hunter, and she has always followed the rules. But some rules are made to be broken…

Until now the fight against evil has been simple, and falling in love was never part of the plan. So what happens when it’s beyond Grace’s control, and when she least expects it she falls for the wrong person?

All hell breaks loose, that’s what.

At Hopetown Valley High, not everything is as it seems, and the one person Grace thought was her enemy becomes her most important ally.

Blood will be shed, lives will be lost and friendships will be tested. It all comes down to one decision, and when Grace tries to save all those dear to her, she realises not everyone can be—or wants to be—saved.


My Review:  June 23, 2013   ~ Review Copy ~




Fall For Me (The Tate Chronicles, #1)Fall For Me by K.A. Last
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was given this book in exchange for honest review (LoP). I really liked this book. Grace is a protection angel who is born over and over again as a twin in the Tate family. Archer is her twin hunter brother whom she protects. They fight vampires, go to high school and are the only surviving tates left of the family. Grace deals with love, right and wrong choices. I look forward to reading the next book in the series to find out what happens.

View all my reviews

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Bewitching Book Tours Sizzling Summer Giveaway





Rafflecopter Giveaway One: Kindle and swag packs


1 Kindle HD -30 authors joined together to offer a spectacular grand prize A Kindle Fire HD 8.9” screen , Wifi ,16GB $269 value Open to US shipping, if outside US you can receive an equal value Amazon Gift Card

1 huge package of book swag from Bewitching Book Tours filled with fun goodies from Bewitching Book Tours, owner Roxanne Rhoads and numerous Bewitching authors including a Starbucks giftcard from Gina Conkle

4 packages of book swag from Bewitching Book Tours- filled with fun goodies from Bewitching authors

1 mixed swag pack of various book swag from Milly Taiden

1 book swag from Constance Phillips

$15 Amazon gift card from Sky Purington








Rafflecopter Giveaway Two: Print Books


1 set of Bleeding Hearts (Demimonde #1) and Blood Rush (Demimonde #2) by Ash Krafton- US Shipping

2 sets of Her Dear & Loving Husband and Her Loving Husband's Curse by Meredith Allard open to US Shipping

1 Kidnapped by Maria Hammarbald us shipping

1 ROGUE ORACLE and DARK ORACLE by Alayna Williams- us shipping

1 EMBERS and SPARKS by Laura Bickle- US shipping

1 Fall of Sky City by SM Blooding US Shipping only

1 signed set of DARK LIGHT OF DAY and FIERY EDGE OF STEEL by Jill Archer

1 Life After the Undead and Death to the Undead by Pembroke Sinclair- US shipping

1 DiSemblance by Shanae Branham

1 Shield: Allie's War, Book Two by JC Andrijeski (or Revik: Allie's War, Early Years) by JC Andrijeski

1 signed copy of VICIOUS CIRCLE by Linda Robertson (or any other title written by her if winner already has VC)

1 DiSemblance by Shanae Branham open to International Shipping

1 The Necromancer’s Seduction by Mimi Sebastian open to International Shipping

2 print copies of The Chosen by Annette Gisby, US/Canada and UK entrants

1 Print or ebook Copy of Night Hawk by JE Taylor to US residents or ebook (mobi or epub) for international folks. If US resident would prefer ebook - that can be done as well.

1 Print or ebook Copy of Hunting Season by JE Taylor to US residents or ebook (mobi or epub) for international folks. If US resident would prefer ebook - that can be done as well

1 Winner’s choice of print or digital (.mobi or .epub) of Royal Street or River Road by Suzanne Johnson, in either U.S. or U.K. editions; open to international.

1 Winner’s Choice of print, audio, or digital (.mobi only) of Redemption, Absolution, Omega, or Storm Force by Susannah Sandlin open to international.

1 All three books in the Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator series The Seduction of Phaeton Black, The Moonstone and Miss Jones, The Miss Education of Dr. Exeter by Jillian Stone. Print or eBook any format, reader's choice Ebook open international







Bewitching Giveaway Three: YA Books


1 Signed print copy Portal by Imogen Rose- US Shipping

1 Signed print copy of INITIATION by Imogen Rose- US Shipping

1 print copy Hollow's End by Marianne Morea- US Shipping

5 print copies Visionary Unleashed by N. Dunham US shipping

1 THE HALLOWED ONES by Laura Bickle- US Shipping

1 print copy The Ifs (middle grade book) by JD Pooker

1 print set of Reckoning and Relentless by Molly Hall- US shipping

1 ebook copy of Soul Meaning by AD Starrling

1 ebook copy of King's Crusade by AD Starrling (

1 ebook copy Hollow's End by Marianne Morea

5 ecopies Visionary Unleashed by N. Dunham

5 ecopies of Portal by Imogen Rose

5 ecopies INITIATION by Imogen Rose









Bewitching Books Tours Summer Giveaway Four- Ebooks


1 ebook copy Flashback by Maria Hammarblad

10 ebook copies of Shield: Allie's War, Book Two by JC Andrijeski (or Revik: Allie's War, Early Years)

1 Tyrant of Tarsit (Time travel romance) by Holly Hunt

2 ebooks of New Zealand with a Hobbit Botherer by John Gisby (international)

1 each Bleeding Hearts (Demimonde #1) and Blood Rush (Demimonde #2) by Ash Krafton

2 copies each Her Dear & Loving Husband and Her Loving Husband's Curse by Meredith Allard

1 Winner’s choice Caged Heat or Wolf Protector by Milly Taiden

1 ecopy Resurrecting Harry by Constance Phillips

1 The Cat's Meow by Stacey Kennedy

1 Stavros is giving away 1 of each- eBook copies of Dead Girl: A Romantic Zombie Tale of Revenge, Blood Junky, and Love in Vein

1 Murder on Mars (A New Orleans Mystery) by MM Shelley

1 Little Red Riding Wolf by Jessica Aspen, mobi or epub available

1 Cindy Spencer Paper is giving away an E-book - winner’s choice of any available on her website.

1 eCopy of The MacLomain Series Boxed Set by Sky Purington (Books 1-4), PDF or gifted to Kindle

5 free copies of DRAGONSTONE by Paula Millhouse : pdf, emobi, ePub

5 ecopies of THREE WISHES by Paula Millhouse pdf, mobi, ePub

1 ecopy SMOKE AND MIRRORS (The Gifted, Book 1) by Marie Treanor

1 ecopy SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE (Serafina’s, Book 1) by Marie Treanor

1 BLOOD GUILT (Blood Hunters, Book 1) by Marie Treanor

1 Annie Nicholas is giving away Reader's choice of any ebook from her backlist winner’s choice of .pdf, epub, mobi.

1 one e-book set of the first two books in the Seven Seals Series (Seal of Destiny and Seal of Surrender) by Traci Douglass

1 ecopy Wucaii by Pembroke Sinclair

2 ebooks of Silent Screams by Annette Gisby (international)

2 ebooks of Shadows of the Rose by Annette Gisby (international)

3 EBOOKS (one set): THE CROSSE HARBOR TIME TRAVEL TRILOGY by Barbara Bretton

1 More Than Friends by Jessica Jayne (.epub, .pdf, .mobi)

1 In Flames by Jessica Jayne (.epub, .prc and .pdf)







Saturday, June 22, 2013

Bewitching Book Tours Sizzling Summer Giveaway





Rafflecopter Giveaway One: Kindle and swag packs


1 Kindle HD -30 authors joined together to offer a spectacular grand prize A Kindle Fire HD 8.9” screen , Wifi ,16GB $269 value Open to US shipping, if outside US you can receive an equal value Amazon Gift Card

1 huge package of book swag from Bewitching Book Tours filled with fun goodies from Bewitching Book Tours, owner Roxanne Rhoads and numerous Bewitching authors including a Starbucks giftcard from Gina Conkle

4 packages of book swag from Bewitching Book Tours- filled with fun goodies from Bewitching authors

1 mixed swag pack of various book swag from Milly Taiden

1 book swag from Constance Phillips

$15 Amazon gift card from Sky Purington








Rafflecopter Giveaway Two: Print Books


1 set of Bleeding Hearts (Demimonde #1) and Blood Rush (Demimonde #2) by Ash Krafton- US Shipping

2 sets of Her Dear & Loving Husband and Her Loving Husband's Curse by Meredith Allard open to US Shipping

1 Kidnapped by Maria Hammarbald us shipping

1 ROGUE ORACLE and DARK ORACLE by Alayna Williams- us shipping

1 EMBERS and SPARKS by Laura Bickle- US shipping

1 Fall of Sky City by SM Blooding US Shipping only

1 signed set of DARK LIGHT OF DAY and FIERY EDGE OF STEEL by Jill Archer

1 Life After the Undead and Death to the Undead by Pembroke Sinclair- US shipping

1 DiSemblance by Shanae Branham

1 Shield: Allie's War, Book Two by JC Andrijeski (or Revik: Allie's War, Early Years) by JC Andrijeski

1 signed copy of VICIOUS CIRCLE by Linda Robertson (or any other title written by her if winner already has VC)

1 DiSemblance by Shanae Branham open to International Shipping

1 The Necromancer’s Seduction by Mimi Sebastian open to International Shipping

2 print copies of The Chosen by Annette Gisby, US/Canada and UK entrants

1 Print or ebook Copy of Night Hawk by JE Taylor to US residents or ebook (mobi or epub) for international folks. If US resident would prefer ebook - that can be done as well.

1 Print or ebook Copy of Hunting Season by JE Taylor to US residents or ebook (mobi or epub) for international folks. If US resident would prefer ebook - that can be done as well

1 Winner’s choice of print or digital (.mobi or .epub) of Royal Street or River Road by Suzanne Johnson, in either U.S. or U.K. editions; open to international.

1 Winner’s Choice of print, audio, or digital (.mobi only) of Redemption, Absolution, Omega, or Storm Force by Susannah Sandlin open to international.

1 All three books in the Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator series The Seduction of Phaeton Black, The Moonstone and Miss Jones, The Miss Education of Dr. Exeter by Jillian Stone. Print or eBook any format, reader's choice Ebook open international







Bewitching Giveaway Three: YA Books


1 Signed print copy Portal by Imogen Rose- US Shipping

1 Signed print copy of INITIATION by Imogen Rose- US Shipping

1 print copy Hollow's End by Marianne Morea- US Shipping

5 print copies Visionary Unleashed by N. Dunham US shipping

1 THE HALLOWED ONES by Laura Bickle- US Shipping

1 print copy The Ifs (middle grade book) by JD Pooker

1 print set of Reckoning and Relentless by Molly Hall- US shipping

1 ebook copy of Soul Meaning by AD Starrling

1 ebook copy of King's Crusade by AD Starrling (

1 ebook copy Hollow's End by Marianne Morea

5 ecopies Visionary Unleashed by N. Dunham

5 ecopies of Portal by Imogen Rose

5 ecopies INITIATION by Imogen Rose









Bewitching Books Tours Summer Giveaway Four- Ebooks


1 ebook copy Flashback by Maria Hammarblad

10 ebook copies of Shield: Allie's War, Book Two by JC Andrijeski (or Revik: Allie's War, Early Years)

1 Tyrant of Tarsit (Time travel romance) by Holly Hunt

2 ebooks of New Zealand with a Hobbit Botherer by John Gisby (international)

1 each Bleeding Hearts (Demimonde #1) and Blood Rush (Demimonde #2) by Ash Krafton

2 copies each Her Dear & Loving Husband and Her Loving Husband's Curse by Meredith Allard

1 Winner’s choice Caged Heat or Wolf Protector by Milly Taiden

1 ecopy Resurrecting Harry by Constance Phillips

1 The Cat's Meow by Stacey Kennedy

1 Stavros is giving away 1 of each- eBook copies of Dead Girl: A Romantic Zombie Tale of Revenge, Blood Junky, and Love in Vein

1 Murder on Mars (A New Orleans Mystery) by MM Shelley

1 Little Red Riding Wolf by Jessica Aspen, mobi or epub available

1 Cindy Spencer Paper is giving away an E-book - winner’s choice of any available on her website.

1 eCopy of The MacLomain Series Boxed Set by Sky Purington (Books 1-4), PDF or gifted to Kindle

5 free copies of DRAGONSTONE by Paula Millhouse : pdf, emobi, ePub

5 ecopies of THREE WISHES by Paula Millhouse pdf, mobi, ePub

1 ecopy SMOKE AND MIRRORS (The Gifted, Book 1) by Marie Treanor

1 ecopy SERAFINA AND THE SILENT VAMPIRE (Serafina’s, Book 1) by Marie Treanor

1 BLOOD GUILT (Blood Hunters, Book 1) by Marie Treanor

1 Annie Nicholas is giving away Reader's choice of any ebook from her backlist winner’s choice of .pdf, epub, mobi.

1 one e-book set of the first two books in the Seven Seals Series (Seal of Destiny and Seal of Surrender) by Traci Douglass

1 ecopy Wucaii by Pembroke Sinclair

2 ebooks of Silent Screams by Annette Gisby (international)

2 ebooks of Shadows of the Rose by Annette Gisby (international)

3 EBOOKS (one set): THE CROSSE HARBOR TIME TRAVEL TRILOGY by Barbara Bretton

1 More Than Friends by Jessica Jayne (.epub, .pdf, .mobi)

1 In Flames by Jessica Jayne (.epub, .prc and .pdf)







Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Alphabet Everywhere by Elliot Kaufman





There is a world of letters just waiting to be discovered in the world around us -- if we know how to look for it.

n this engaging and delightful book, photographer Elliott Kaufman reveals the "secret" life of the alphabet through his photographs, showing how letters can be found in things we encounter every day. Each letter of the alphabet is represented by multiple images, each unintentionally created by the intersection of architectural details, shadows, light, or natural elements as caught by Kaufman's keen eye. Some are obvious, while others demand a little more imagination to recognize, inviting the readers to start their own game of hunting for letters! This fun approach also reinforces the notion that learning to see the familiar in new ways encourages visual literacy and creativity.

Elliott Kaufman is an architectural photographer whose work has been displayed in venues such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Light Gallery (NYC). He currently teaches at Queens College and the International Center for Photography.


My Review:  June 19, 2013  ~ Review Copy ~




Alphabet EverywhereAlphabet Everywhere by Elliott Kaufman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First, I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for this book for an honest review. I sat down with my four year old grandson and we read this book. It is pictures of different structures etc that make up letters of the alphabet. It made saying his abc's more fun as we looked at the different things that made letters of the alphabet.

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Are You Sleeping Little One? by Hans-Christian Schmidt




Introduce young children to how baby animals sleep with this whimsical board book. With lyrical bedtime rhymes, it describes the sleeping habits of over a dozen animals, including species both common and rare, from ducklings to sloths, bats to giraffes! Its gentle rhymes and sweet, soothing pictures are the perfect way for little ones to end the day.


My Review:  June 19, 2013  ~ Review Copy ~




Are You Sleeping Little One?Are You Sleeping Little One? by Hans-Christian Schmidt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First, I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for this book for an honest review. I sat down with my four year old grandson and read this book. It was a fun easy read which showed and told the different ways animals sleep. My grandson had fund pointing out the different animals and talking about how they sleep.

View all my reviews

Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara C. Levine




What animal would you be if your finger bones grew so long that they reached your feet? Or what if you had no leg bones but kept your arm bones? This picture book will keep you guessing as you read about how human skeletons are like—and unlike—those of other animals.


My Review:  June 19, 2013  ~ Review Copy ~




Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal SkeletonsBone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara C Levine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I would like to thank the author Sara C Levine for letting me have this book to read for an honest review. I read this book to my four year old grandson. We had a lot of fun with it, guessing what kind of animals we would be if we had different bones. The book is not to technical so children can understand and have fun with the book at the same time. Great illustration also.

View all my reviews

A Place for Turtles by Melissa Stewart



In simple yet informative language, A Place for Turtles introduces young readers to the ways human action or inaction can affect turtle populations and opens kids minds to a wide range of environmental issues. Describing various examples, the text provides an intriguing look at turtles, at the ecosystems that support their survival, and at the efforts of some people to save them. At the end of the book, the author offers readers a list of things they can do to help protect these special creatures in their own communities.


My Review:  June 19, 2013  ~ Review Copy ~




A Place for TurtlesA Place for Turtles by Melissa Stewart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I would like to thank the author for giving me this book for an honest review. I sat down with my four year old grandson and read this book to him. He really enjoyed learning about the different turtles and looking at the pictures and comparing how they were like what we were reading about. The book is pretty educational about turtles and how we can help them to survive.

View all my reviews

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Cover Reveal for Conjure by Jennifer Snyder




Available July 1, 2013
Sometimes to understand the present you have to conjure up the past...

The last thing Addison Harmon needed was to become tethered to the broody, often seemingly cold, Theo Van Rooyen, but that's exactly what happened.

Forced to partner up with Theo to figure out a way to break the tether, Addison soon realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

(New Adult/Mature Young Adult: Contains sexual situations, language, underage drinking, and drug usage.)







Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing new adult and young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.







Sunday, June 16, 2013

Vampire Origins - The Strigoi Book 1 - Project Ichorous by Riley Banks



From the Christian Crusades to the war in Afghanistan, the Vampire Origins series seamlessly weaves historical fact with vampire fiction.

Exploring the origins of five very different vampire tribes - Strigoi, Cambion, Strix, Nosferatu and Bretonnian - the series opens with Book 1 of the Strigoi series; Project Ichorous.

He slaughtered 30,000 in one night in Jerusalem and impaled 100,000 more in Romania in the 1400s. Now Vlad has discovered a way to enslave humans and rule the world - and this time, the death toll will be catastrophic.

Only one thing can put an end to his plans - a Strigoi human. And Vlad will stop at nothing to eradicate every last one.

Scarlett Fraser has no idea she's the very thing Vlad is hunting, or that the castle her dad is renovating is ground zero for Vlad's Ichorous Project and his plans for world domination.

She can stop Vlad and save the world but she must stay human long enough to do so.

As Scarlett is about to discover, staying human is a lot easier said than done.


My Review:  June 15, 2013   ~ Review Copy ~




Vampire Origins - The Strigoi Book 1 - Project IchorousVampire Origins - The Strigoi Book 1 - Project Ichorous by Riley Banks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First I would like to thank the author Riley Banks for giving me the book for an honest review. The constant scene changing through-out the book was a little off putting for me. But the overall story was great. I love the characters Alex, Anna, Caleb and a few more. Scarlett was an angry teenager who blames the birth of her little sister Ruby for their mothers death. There are many types of vampires explained in the story. Vlad is the main bad guy and his wife is just as bad he is. The sudden ending leaves you wanting more. I am looking forward to the next book to find out what is going to happen to everyone.

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Crimson Sunrise by Renee Rearden




Saari Mitchell attends a Tueri conference in Las Vegas, Nevada to strengthen her bonds with Dhelis Guidry and Brogan Vincent-and see if they can make their three-sided relationship work. But when Saari and her vampire brother Mag's lives are threatened, her trip to paradise soon becomes a surreal fight for survival. Dhelis and Brogan's psychic abilities are no help in finding Saari. Desperate to save their mate, they call in favors from the psychic and preternatural community, but the information leads only to more questions. Is the threat against Saari personal or part of a larger plan that threatens every human and Tueri's existence?


My Review:  June 10, 2013  ~ Review Copy ~



Crimson Sunrise (Tueri Fated Souls, #2)Crimson Sunrise by Renee Rearden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First I would like to thank the author for giving me this book for an honest review. I have to say the continuing story of Saari, Dhelis and Brogan just gets better. I love all the characters, we get new characters added to this book and even expand Saari's surrogate family. Every one that she connects with cares about her as much as she care about them. Dhelis's ex girlfriend is plotting evil things. Saari, Dhelis and Brogan have spent the last four months getting to know each other better, now they are at a conference to take classes to expand their physic talents and to bond even deeper with each other. No sooner are they there, when Brogan gets called away to heal a council member, then Dhelis gets called to Washington for a senate meeting. Which leaves it open for Saari to get nabbed along with her surrogate vampire brother Mag. There are many twists and turns and during everything the three find they can do things they didn't know they can do through their bond. I love the story line and I hope that Renee is going to keep the series going because I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

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Monday, June 10, 2013

Moonlight Bleu by Renee Rearden



Saari Mitchell sees a psychologist in order to understand why--500 years later--she's still dreaming of her dead lover. Her shrink isn't helping, the nightmares come every time she closes her eyes, and the lack of sleep is interfering with her job at Sacred Heart Hospital. With her psychic ability to heal the human spirit on the fritz, her auric radar becomes as reliable as her spotty cell phone service.

By day, Dhelis Guidry works as a detective for the new Angeles Police Department investigating the missing or murdered women in the Full-Moon Killer case. In his spare time he hunts rogue vampires as a Tueri executioner.

Brogan Vincent is a Tueri healer. Though he could offer his miraculous talents to the rich and powerful, he has chosen anonymity and peace by only using his psychic abilities among the Tueri.

One look into Saari's tri-colored eyes and both men realize she is Tueri. One touch tells them each she's their soul mate. But can either of them protect her from the Full-Moon Killer?


My Review:  June 6, 2013  Review Copy ~




Moonlight BleuMoonlight Bleu by Renee Rearden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First I would like to thank Renee Rearden for giving me this book for review. There were a couple of spelling errors but not anything that would make reading the book unenjoyable. I really loved the story. Saari is a very strong main female character and I enjoyed her very much. Dhelis matches her heat very much and Brogan keeps her grounded. They make a perfect match all three of them even though it is hard for Dhelis to come to terms with it. They have to come to terms with their match in the mean time, Saari has been seeing a psychologist who happens to be crazy. Dhelis and his cousin are partners on the police department hunting serial killers. The story had me so involved instead of writing my review right after I read this book I went to the second book.

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

100 Animals on Parade! by Masayuki Sebe


With hundreds of colorful animals to count and hundreds of hilarious details to hunt, this unconventional counting book guarantees hundreds of hours of fun!



My Review:  June 5, 2013  Review Copy ~



100 Animals on Parade!100 Animals on Parade! by Masayuki Sebe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First I would like to thank Kids press for giving me this book for review through Netgalley. I sat down with my four year old grandson and we read the book and he loved it. It is so interactive that we went back through it to find the items that you can find on each page. It has the different animals at a hundred count so you can count each type of animal up to a hundred. My grandson loved looking for everything and counting with me.

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Scapemaker by Steve Cypert




Matthew is the son of Mr. Nicholas Namely, a local high school teacher. But unbeknownst to Matthew, his father is a dreamscaper whose classroom is connected to the dream-world. From his classroom, his students enter the halls of Scapemaker, a dream-world high school for young dreamscapers.

Following a couple of heartfelt tragic events, Matthew is compelled to investigate the unbelievable mysteries surrounding those events and is propelled into a whole new world. Matthew and his mother, Mae, are soon coerced into moving across the country for his father's strange medical needs. While attending his new school, Matthew comes to know the secrets that Daedree, an annoying girl from his former high school, has locked away. Matthew also meets Amber, a beautiful enigmatic girl who leads him to Mr. Xoner's classroom. While there, he learns the art of dreamscaping (which has been in the Namely bloodline for thousands of years).

Matthew will come to know of Nox Celare, otherwise known as The Sandman, who is after a special element called Magineum. Neck deep in skinwalkers, sandsleepers, zombies, soul feeders, ghosts, dream-world criminals known as “night terrors” and more, Matthew learns he is in over his head. Matthew must not only solve the mysteries surrounding those tragic events, but he will also have to protect the Magineum with his life and find a way to be with the one girl of his dreams. Filled with secrecy, mystery and a forbidden tangle of young love, this new life will lead Matthew to unbelievable characters with the most extraordinary abilities he could never have imagined.

Scapemaker will keep you grounded in the real world while at the same time make the fantastical world around it that much more possible and enduring. This tale of young adult paranormal fantasy will keep you guessing and wanting more.


My Review:  June 5, 2013  Review Copy ~



Scapemaker (Scapemaker #1)Scapemaker by Steve V. Cypert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

First I would like to thank the author Steve V. Cypert for giving me this book for an honest review. I wasn't sure how I would like this book and I am glad that I read it. The first few chapters were confusing but once you get past that it all makes sense. I really like the story the author is very good at making his world and characters work. I liked most of the characters and you can feel for a couple of characters. Matthew could come off as shallow at times, but not as much as his friend Daedrae thought he was. He had very good friends in the dream scape world as in the real world. I definately want to read the next book to continue the story and find out what happens.

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Sunday, June 2, 2013

Blood Heavy by S.L.J. Shortt



Seventeen year old Daniel ‘Jerry’ Jericho’s life is thrown into a blender made of claws and fangs when he’s dragged into the middle of the supernatural world he never knew existed. 

After it’s discovered that his blood has the ability to remove the age old weaknesses from which vampires have always suffered, he becomes the most valuable human on the planet. Drinking his blood makes them immune to silver, stakes and even sunlight. But the door swings both ways and locked inside his veins might be the key to creating a permanent cure that would completely eradicate the species. 

Now he’s being hunted by a group of sadistic bloodsuckers, studied by witches, psychics and professors while being protected by a pair of vampire sisters who are constantly on the verge of killing each other. On top of all that he has to deal with teenage hormones and loyal but worried friends as he tries desperately hard to find out what makes his blood so special.

However, the supernatural world might be in for a shock because this kid isn’t going to be a vampire’s happy meal without putting up one hell of a fight. From here on out it’s hunt or be hunted and Daniel Jericho is armed, grinning and ready for some monster killing. But going up against an undead army led by a souped-up ubervamp isn’t exactly a two for one special at the Playboy mansion. 

It’s going to get bloody, but that’s okay because Jerry is blood heavy.

1/8 of the Blood Heavy Series.




My Review:  May 2, 2013   Review Copy ~



Blood Heavy (Blood Heavy, #1)Blood Heavy by S.L.J. Shortt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

First, I would like to thank the author S.L.J. Shortt for letting me have this book for an honest reveiw. I will start out with what I did not like, which it had a lot of spelling and grammer mistakes. I also did not really care for the main character going back and forth between Daniel and Jerry when there were not any other charaters introduced in the book with the name Daniel. At times I was annoyed with Daniel and how he was acting like a grade A jerk at different times in the story. I did like the story line, I really enjoyed the banter between Daniel and Cass. I liked how supportive his Uncle Joe and his friends were even when he was acting the jerk. I would like to see where the story leads in the next book, since it is to be continued.

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