BookHounds ya: January 2014

Friday, January 31, 2014

Share the Love GIVEAWAY Hop - WIN SACRED & SPLENDOR by ELANA ARNOLD @ElanaKArnold

Welcome to the SHARE THE LOVE Giveaway Hop

This hop is hosted by

herding cats & burning soup

There are a bunch of blogs participating in this one with each blog featuring an author or blogger that needs love. Each has their own entry rules and geographic limits, so be sure to read the rules for each one. This hop starts February 1st and ends on February 14th, midnight.

Click on the covers for details!

Want to win this set of books?

Ends 2/14/14 Open to US for paper copy Open Internationally to anyone who can accept an ebook (format of your choice)

Open only to those who can legally enter

Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary.

You must be 13 or older to enter .

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 BookHounds and sponsored by me.

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Giveaway Review HER DARK CURIOSITY by MEGAN SHEPHERD @megan_shepherd @BalzerandBray @RockstarBkTours

HER DARK CURIOSITY

Author: Megan Shepherd

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Pages: 432

Pub. Date: January 28, 2014

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

To defeat the darkness, she must first embrace it.

Months have passed since Juliet Moreau returned to civilization after escaping her father's island—and the secrets she left behind. Now, back in London once more, she is rebuilding the life she once knew and trying to forget Dr. Moreau’s horrific legacy—though someone, or something, hasn’t forgotten her.

As people close to Juliet fall victim one by one to a murderer who leaves a macabre calling card of three clawlike slashes, Juliet fears one of her father’s creations may have also escaped the island. She is determined to find the killer before Scotland Yard does, though it means awakening sides of herself she had thought long banished, and facing loves from her past she never expected to see again.

As Juliet strives to stop a killer while searching for a serum to cure her own worsening illness, she finds herself once more in the midst of a world of scandal and danger. Her heart torn in two, past bubbling to the surface, life threatened by an obsessive killer—Juliet will be lucky to escape alive.

With inspiration from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is a tantalizing mystery about the hidden natures of those we love and how far we’ll go to save them from themselves.

About Megan:

Hello!

I’ve been many things, like a professional exchange student, park ranger in Montana, and LOST enthusiast, but what I am now is a writer.

I think it’s fair to say I was born into it. I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, raised behind the counter of my parents’ independent bookstore, Highland Books in Brevard. Ah, so many free books. But I never thought being a writer could be a real career. After college I thought I’d end up as a foreign service officer somewhere dashing and exotic, like Canada. I studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian and still speak a few of those. Then I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Senegal, where I learned a few more languages I’ll never speak again and lived in a mud hut with no electricity or running water. You can probably imagine how that experience went, but if you’re curious, here are the dirty details.

It wasn't until a chance aquaintance read something I wrote and said, "have you ever considered being a writer?" that something clicked and I realized it was possible. My husband encouraged me, and I quickly fell head-over-heels in love with writing and children's literature in particular. I started out writing articles, which have appeared in Faces, Appleseeds, and Calliope magazines, and stories for younger children. I soon realized I wasn’t sweet enough to write fiction for that age and found myself writing young adult literature instead, which doesn’t require nearly as many tender moments and includes a lot more cursing.

When I'm not writing, I can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. I love to hear from readers, so please drop me a line!

I am represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.

Author Photo by Kristi Hedberg Photography

Website/Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr/Goodreads

SOURCE: PUBLISHER

MY THOUGHTS
LOVED IT

Spoiler involved. Highlight the blacked out portion to read it.

The story picks up right where The Madman's Daughter left off. Juliet is back in London and living under the protection of Professor Von Stein, a college of her father and a somewhat mysterious man with his own reasons for supporting her. As she makes her way back into society with her best friend, Lucy's help and reunites her with Edward Prince. Edward has been courting Lucy as a means to get to Juliet and in his beastly form, killing those that have wronged Juliet in some sort of twisted gift to get her attention. As Juliet figures out Edward's issues and hides him, she also runs right into Montgomery, who is trying to kill Edward. Edward also has another person on his tail, in the form of Lucy's aggressive and possibly soon-to-be fiancee, Inspector John Newcastle.

As Juliet and Edward are both suffering from from their beast-human body part rejections, she is looking for a permanent cure to save Edward from his beastly counterpart and her from certain death. I loved the transition from one classic, The Island of Dr. Moreau, to another one The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Over all the romantic triangle works for the plot, and I could see Juliet's point of wanting to save everyone but it seems she needs to save herself first. Yes, Juliet made a bad choice with Edward (not gonna give that one away) and Montgomery is still trying to save her from herself. I can only hope that Juliet wakes up in the next book.

Giveaway Details:

1 grand prize pack a paper back of Madman's Daughter, hardcover of Her Dark Curiosity, a tea canister for both books, and bookmarks. US/Canada Only

5 Tea prize packs that will include individual custom book tea bags and bookmarks! US/Canada Only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/20/2014- A Backwards Story- Interview

1/21/2014- Crossroad Reviews- Review

1/22/2014- Step Into Fiction- Interview

1/23/2014- Chapter by Chapter- Review

1/24/2014- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Interview

Week Two:

1/27/2014- Mundie Moms- Guest Post

1/28/2014- All Things Urban Fantasy- Guest Post

1/29/2014- Bookhounds ya- Review

1/30/2014- Confessions of a Readaholic- Review

1/31/2014- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

$50 Giveaway MOONCALF by LINDA ZERN @LindaLZern @toobusyreading #BookBlast

Mooncalf by Linda Zern

Over Olympia and Leah's heads, Americans race the Russians to the moon; on their television sets young men fight and struggle in the mud of Viet Nam; and America holds its breath between heartbreaking tragedies. But on Miss Brinker's school bus, in the seat with the rip in the green plastic, Olympia and Leah fall in love, the way children do: immediately, completely, and without knowing or caring why they shouldn't. Olympia Crooms, with her happy hair, and Leah Breck, with her silly red dog, are two smart girls. Olympia's father works other men's orange groves in rural Central Florida and tells his daughter that school is the best way to reach for the stars. Leah's father moves his family from the Space Coast to the country where she and her brother can climb orange trees, imagine lions in the tall grass, and learn to feed baby cows milk from a bottle. At Evegan Elementary, two smart girls find each other and have to decide if they will learn the hardest lessons of all: the false traditions of their fathers.

amazon

Praise for Mooncalf

"One of the most admirable things about Mooncalf is that it's difficult to find a single wasted word in the entire book. Granted the book is short; yet, it is very rare to find a book which treats with such delicacy the choosing of each word--each adjective, verb, and noun. Themes, motifs, and symbols are everywhere throughout Mooncalf, and most impressive of all none of it is discarded. Motifs and themes exist in big and small circles in Mooncalf, circling back in on themselves as well as intertwining themselves with the plot and the characters that inhabit it. And those motifs and themes, those messages and those symbols, don't go away once you've finished the book. They stick with you. It's hard to forget Mooncalf."" ~ The Thousander Club "I never expected to be moved to tears by a book meant for adolescents. Buy it, read it, share it, and let yourself be changed by it." ~Lacey Smith

Excerpt

Olympia’s voice was a whisper in Leah’s ear. “I don’t have those things, those cooties.” “I know. I don’t even care what those things are.” “Cootie bugs. Miss Rhodes is saying I have bugs crawling and living in my hair and at my house.” “Miss Rhodes didn’t mean you.” Leah felt icky. “She couldn’t mean you.” “It’s because I’m one of the poor kids, you know. She said it: sharecroppers.” Without looking, Olympia pulled her hand out of Leah’s and started trying to flatten the wrinkles out of the crushed paper doily on the valentine. Leah put her hand over Olympia’s, the valentine a ruined mess under their fingers. “But Miss Rhodes has hair just like yours.” “No,” Olympia said, shaking her head. “No, Miss Rhodes doesn’t want hair like mine, like she had when she was a little girl. She wants white folk’s hair. That’s what Granny Mac says. ‘Cuz some colored folks like her don’t know who they want to be any more.’” Leah looked at the neat part in her friend’s black braids, and loved the way Olympia’s barrettes danced when she dropped her head. She saw only the complicated, clever patterns in her friend’s clean black hair. Leah saw only Olympia.

Tour Schedule

Author Linda Zern

Linda Zern is a native of Florida where she learned to be moonstruck. She wrote her first children's chapter book, The Pocket Fairies of Middleburg, in 2005. Writer's Digest called "the perspective of these tiny beings [the pocket fairies] refreshing, enchanting, and intriguing." Florida Publisher's Association was kind enough to award her little book the President's Book Award for best children's book of 2005. Mrs. Zern has since published an inspirational book, The Long-Promised Song, serving as both writer and illustrator. Three collections of her humorous essays (ZippityZern’s Uncommon Nonsense) can be found at Smashwords.com, and her award winning essays have been recognized and published at HumorPress.com. Her current project, Mooncalf, is her first work of historical fiction for Middle School readers. Set in rural Central Florida, the author tells the story of two misfit girls and the hard lessons they must learn about friendship and love from their friends, their families, and their world. The mystical state of Florida remains an enchanted and delightsome place for both Mrs. Zern and her husband of thirty plus years, and so they continue to make their home among the palmettos and armadillos in the historic town of Saint Cloud.

Website * Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest

BookBlast Giveaway $50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 2/28/14

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 and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, January 27, 2014

$50 Giveaway EKHO by MARIE D JONES @MarieDJones @toobusyreading

EKHO by Marie D. Jones

Ten-year-old Elvis Jones is tired of being picked on, taunted, and teased by the bullies at his elementary school, so he does what any smart, technologically brilliant kid his age would do: he creates EKHO, the Evil Kid Hunting Organization, a sophisticated network of kid spies and secret agents that utilize a variety of cool gadgets to stay one step ahead of the enemy – the bullies. They hire kids, make them swear allegiance to the organization, and train them as Commandos, Privates, and Elite Spies. As kids rise through the ranks, the missions, posted on an encrypted EKHO website, require more smarts and skill, especially when the bullies form their own counterspy group called DEKE (Destroy EKHO Kids Everywhere). It’s all in good fun, until the kids of EKHO must put their pretend skills to use for far more serious, and dangerous, missions. As field agents come across evidence of more sinister forces, they now have to deal with the strange, weird, and the unknown as they look for the truth about the bizarre and creepy threats to their school, their families, and their own lives. They experience betrayal, intrigue, infiltration and counter-espionage as well as teachers and adults who act more mysterious with each passing day, which leaves Elvis and his EKHO team wondering: who can you trust when the person standing next to you might not be entirely human?

Coming February 4, 2014

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * The Book Depository

Tour Schedule

Author Marie D. Jones

Marie D. Jones is a best-selling author with an extensive background in unknown mysteries, metaphysics, science, and the paranormal. She has been featured multiple times on the History Channel in Ancient Aliens and Nostradamus Effect. Marie also served as a special UFO/abduction consultant for the 2009 Universal Pictures movie, The Fourth Kind. She is a staff writer for FATE Magazine and Intrepid Magazine and a regular contributor to Paranoia Magazine and New Dawn Magazine. Marie has been interviewed on hundreds of radio talk shows all over the world, including Coast to Coast AM, and has been featured in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and online publications, internationally. She has lectured widely at major paranormal, new science, and self-empowerment events, and is the screenwriter and co-producer of 19 Hz, a paranormal thriller in development with Bruce Lucas Films.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Friday, January 24, 2014

Giveaway Guest Post A LITTLE TOO HOT by LISA DESROCHERS @LisaDez @HarperImpulse #NewAdult

About A LITTLE TOO HOT

Author: Lisa Desrochers
Series: A Little Too Far #3
Publication Date: January 21, 2014
Publisher: William Morrow Impulse

Description…

From USA Today bestselling author Lisa Desrochers, comes the third book in her sizzling New Adult series.

If you play with fire…

Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen’s club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny’s: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.

Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he’s got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming.

Because Harrison Yates isn’t who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | iTUNES | GOOGLE PLAY

Praise for A LITTLE TOO HOT

“Every page is deliciously breathtaking, wickedly sexy and sensational. A LITTLE TOO HOT is wonderfully unique and a LOT HOT! I am a HUGE Lisa Desrochers fan.”
— Katy Evans, New York Times bestselling author of REAL, MINE, and REMY

“Lisa is brilliant at creating sizzling sexual tension and impossible circumstances that make the reader hold their breath all the way to happy ever after. Sam and Harrison are more than A Little Too Hot, they are scorching!"
— Jay Crownover, New York Times bestselling author of RULE, JET, and ROME

“Lisa Desrochers’ best yet! A LITTLE TOO HOT is hotter than hot with all the emotional punch to back it up!”
— Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author

About Lisa Desrochers

Lisa Desrochers is the USA Today bestselling author of A LITTLE TOO FAR , courtesy of HarperCollins, and companions, A LITTLE TOO MUCH (Nov 12, 2013), and A LITTLE TOO HOT (Jan 21, 2014). Also in stores is her YA PERSONAL DEMONS trilogy (Macmillan).

She lives in central California with her husband and two very busy daughters. There is never a time that she can be found without a book in her hand, and she adores stories that take her to new places, and then take her by surprise.

WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS

PLEASE WELCOME LISA TO BOOKHOUNDS

How hard is it to write those “hard” hot scenes?

Confession: In every single book, I write all the sex scenes first. It doesn’t matter how far into the book they are, or who is involved in said sex scene. So, to answer the question, they’re not hard at all. The hot scenes are the easiest for me. I never write a book chronologically. When I sit down at my laptop, I write whatever scene is speaking to me at that moment, and usually, those are the sexy times.

I love to write the sexy times for two reasons. First, HELLO! It’s sexy times! I mean, who doesn’t love a little heat? (Confession #2: Even in my YAs, everyone has sex. O_O) But also, what faster way to get to know my characters REALLY WELL? (And for them to get to know each other.) When a character is in the middle of… *clears throat* …THAT, they are at their most vulnerable and totally exposed to another individual. The way they act and react in that situation is very telling. I see how they interact on a very visceral level, where all their insecurities and doubts (or lack thereof) are on their sleeve (or lack thereof ;p).

So…yeah, I guess if you want chaste characters, maybe my books aren’t really your best bet, but I will say that when the sexy times happen, they are organic to the characters and the situation, so my books are far from “full of sex,” and there is no “insta-love.” The actual sex is pretty sparse. But the heat…that’s a different story. People have been known to burn themselves on my books. I recommend hot mitts.

Title: A LITTLE TOO FAR (A Little Too Far #1)
Pub. Date: September 17, 2013/October 1, 2013
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 336
Formats: Paperback, eBook

Description…

Lexie Banks has.

Yep. She just had mind-blowing sex with her stepbrother. In her defense, she was on the rebound, and it’s more of a my-dad-happened-to-marry-a-woman-with-a-super-hot-son situation. But still, he’s been her best friend and confidant for the better part of the last few years … and is so off limits. It’s a good thing she’s leaving in two days for a year abroad in Rome.

But even thousands of miles away, Lexie can’t seem to escape trouble. Raised Catholic, she goes to confession in hopes of alleviating some of her guilt … and maybe not burning in hell. Instead, she stumbles out of the confessional and right into Alessandro Moretti, a young and very easy-on-the-eyes deacon … only eight months away from becoming a priest. Lexie and Alessandro grow closer, and when Alessandro’s signals start changing despite his vow of celibacy, she doesn’t know what to think. She’s torn between falling in love with the man she shouldn’t want and the man she can’t have. And she isn’t sure how she can live with herself either way.

To read an excerpt on the author’s website, CLICK HERE.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

***

Title: A LITTLE TOO MUCH (A Little Too Far #2)
Pub. Date: November 12, 2013/December 10, 2013
Publisher: William Morrow
Pages: 416
Formats: Paperback, eBook

Description…

In the follow-up to Lisa Desrochers’ explosive New Adult novel A Little too Far, Alessandro Moretti must face the life he escaped and the girl he loved and left behind.

Twenty-two year old Hilary McIntyre would like nothing more than to forget her past. As a teenager abandoned to the system, she faced some pretty dark times. But now that’s all behind her. Hilary has her life on track, and there’s no way she’ll head back down that road again.

Until Alessandro Moretti—the one person who can make her remember—shows up on her doorstep. He’s even more devastatingly gorgeous than before, and he’s much too close for comfort. Worse, he sees right through the walls she’s built over these last eight years, right into her heart and the secrets she’s guarding.

As Hilary finds herself falling back into love with the man who, as a boy both saved and destroyed her, she must decide. Past or future? Truth or lies?

GOODREADS | AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

The Giveaway

Note: This giveaway is shared between both tours for A LITTLE TOO HOT and is not run by Rockstar Book Tours. It is hosted by the author who will choose the winner.

The giveaway is international.

The GRAND PRIZE is a blurb pack of all three REAL series books signed by Katy Evans, all three Marked Men series books signed by Jay Crownover and FOREPLAY signed by Sophie Jordan, plus signed swag.

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Tour Schedule

The full schedule does NOT have to be included in your posts. If you can include your day of the tour’s stops that would be great.

Please be sure to include the link to the schedule on Rockstar Book Tours: http://www.rockstarbooktours.com/2014/01/tour-schedule-little-too-hot-blog-tour.html