Tuesday, April 30, 2013

{Book Review} "Chase Tinker and the House of Magic" by Malia Ann Haberman



Synopsis:


In Chase Tinker's world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination...
               
Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has a weird magical ability too. Can things get any crazier? Chase thinks.

Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him so they can learn about their supernatural heritage and why they have magical powers in the first place.

The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in an out-of-this-world house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway and corridor. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them.

It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns that all their magic is controlled by a powerful and mysterious Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy that is determined to steal all their magic, their house and their relic.

Now Chase must find a way to stop these evil beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets and not letting on that he has a huge crush on the housekeeper's daughter.

{Cover Reveal} "The Tale of Valiant Hero Kenta" by Ezra Jonah Jacobs

Cover Reveal
The Tale of the Valiant Hero Kenta

By Ezra Jonah Jacobs

Fantasy/Romance/ Historical/Action-Adventure
Date Published: March 22, 2013


Synopsis: 

Kenta Takeyama is a 16 year old martial artist who possesses superhuman strength and abilities and the Takeyama -ryuu fighting art. He desires to become the most powerful shogun on the Nikkoujima (Sun Light Islands), as there are much more powerful  men in the world. He lives with his father Tesshin, who trained him in the martial arts, and  his mother Amaya, who is the former princess of a royal family and master fighter; his little  sister Mana, who wants to become a famous play actress and open her own production studio,  as well as his pet bear Kumomori, whom he had since he was 4. Kenta finds that it’s time to follow his dreams of becoming a great and powerful shogun (using his power to protect people  and build more homes and villages, help the poor and starving, rather than just for pomp and  circumstance. 

He wants the people to live in peace and prosperity with no fear, as the world is  already entering another age of war. Essentially, he wants to change the country). And so, with his parents’ permission, he decides to travel to Senkyou to enlist in the military and become  a true samurai warrior. He feels confident that the can do so after going through many trials  and travels through his childhood, and training under the  tutelage of his father in his family’s  martial arts styles.

Monday, April 29, 2013

{Cover Reveal} "Hope's Reign" by Selina Fenech


Hope's Reign
Selina Fenech
YA Fantasy
Book Two in Memory's Wake Trilogy
Date Published: May 10, 2013

Summary:

Everything is slipping away from Memory. The bond of friendship between her, Eloryn, Roen, and Will, that was formed while running for their lives is tearing. In a world that doesn’t feel like home, with a mind filled with nothing but questions, Memory struggles to be true to herself… whoever that is. When her past self starts haunting her, she knows her sanity could be the next thing she will lose.

{Book Review} "The Never" by Kristina Circelli


Book Description:



“Out of nothing, we create something.”

Arianna has spent her entire life being called a dreamer, an artist who created a world no one else can see. And for her entire life, she has taken the medication that keeps that world – and the one who brought her there – at bay.

Now an adult, Arianna reawakens that part of herself kept locked away in the darkest corners of her mind. When she hides her medicine from her fiancĂ©’s ever-watchful eye, he returns – the shadow in the night who collects her for an adventure known only in her fantasies.

But something is different about this world called The Never. It is no longer the cheerful place filled with light and laughter that she knew as a child. Now, the sea creatures drag their visitors into the depths of murky waters. The natives battle to the death against the tribe of children. And the pirates, led by the feared captain called The Hunter, seek out Arianna for their own sinister plans.

As Arianna goes deeper into The Never, she discovers just what her connection to the land means – and must choose between her life rooted in reality, and the world where anything is possible.

"Breaking the Rules" by Cat Lavoie {Review & Giveaway - Ends 4/30}


Book Description:



When twenty-seven year old Roxy Rule’s best friend and roommate accepts a glamorous new job overseas, she expects their relationship to continue as it’s always been—carefree and easy—until they share a heart-stopping kiss moments before his departure. Overcome with mixed emotions, she fights the urge to over analyze the situation and resumes back to her normal life in New York City, working for an intolerable boss at a dead end job, creeping further and further away from her own dreams of becoming a professional chef.

While things become more complicated between her and Ollie, Roxy is sure that nothing can come between two lifelong best friends—not even mild jealousy over a thriving career or a silly little kiss that meant nothing. In fact, it was such a meaningless and forgettable kiss that she convinces herself that it’s not even worth mentioning to her fiancĂ©, although it is all she can think about.

Roxy’s already topsy-turvy life only gets more complicated when her sisters Steffi and Izzie suddenly become her roommates. Steffi is six months into a pregnancy she refuses to discuss and Izzie is in the throes of a premature midlife crisis. Roxy tries to take control of her career, her love life and her sisters – but can she really handle it all? And can the Rule family keep it together – or break under the pressure?

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Spotlight on: "There Are Many i's in Team" by Brian L. Swartz




Book description:


We are all on Teams, Many Teams and for most they have nothing to do with sports at all. We are on a team at home, work, school, church, and numerous organizations, and possibly on the sports field or court? Players, Teams, Coaches affect us all. Manager/Employee, Parent/Child, Coach/Athlete, Teacher of any kind/Student, Leader/Member are all team scenarios involving Player and Coach, something most people don't even consider.

"There Are Many i's in Team" is an honest with sometimes humorous accounts that will open up and help you understand that the sign has been wrong all these years. It will give you an insight of all the coaching opportunities we overlook each and every day on and off the field, in the living room, the board room, the class room, the meeting room, the locker room, and the community. This book will absolutely help you be a better coach for sports at all levels, but also in non-sport leadership, a better teacher, a better manager, a better spouse or companion, a better parent and in turn a better and more successful player, in all the games you are in, including the game of life.

Friday, April 26, 2013

{Book Spotlight} "A Scholar's Journey: The Divine Tempest" by Herrick C. Erickson-Brigl




A Scholar's Journey: The Divine Tempest


A Scholar’s Journey: The Divine Tempest is a no-holds-barred fantasy brawl. It begins when the God of Justice and Retribution opens The Abyss and unleashes a vengeful demon upon the mortal realm of Therra. Now it is up to scholar Penndarius Greyson and his tormented protector, martial artist Soren Luna Mortalitas, to stop a crisis that would send shockwaves through the very fabric of creation. In addition, Penndarius is waging an internal battle with a disembodied presence attempting to possess his mind. The two heroes must avoid death or capture, but there is a catch: They have only one day to solve a riddle older than history before a dark host of unstoppable demons is released into the world. The Divine Tempest includes warring factions, betrayal and redemption, and of course, Herrick Erickson-Brigl's trademark: epic fight scenes. This is the lean, hard-hitting first installment in a series that follows Penndarius’s growth as the avatar of the God of Creation and Soren’s reclamation of his lethal family’s humanity.

Guest Post by Patricia Neely-Dorsey, Author of "Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia" and "My Magnolia Memories and Musings






Poetry Month: Celebrating Poetry ...and the South
by Patricia Neely-Dorsey 


I am very passionate about celebrating the south and promoting positive images of the south, especially Mississippi. It is very rare for people to highlight any positives about our state and region. I try to do that in my poems. I invite readers to "Meet Me and Mississippi Through, Poetry, Prose and The Written Word." I try to give a personal, up-close view of the southern way of life.  I do this through sharing childhood memories, personal thoughts and experiences.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

"The Dohmestics" by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar {Book Review}



Welcome to My Cozie Corner's stop on 
"The Dohmestics" book tour. 
This tour is brought to you by Innovative Book Tours.


BLURB:


Edna, Amira, and Noof are neighbors but that doesn't mean they know what happens behind closed doors or that they have anything in common with their hired help. 

Maria, Maya, and Lillie live in the same compound as their employers but that's where the similarities begin and end. 

There's never a dull moment for anyone in this desert emirate. 

The unending gossip and unrelenting competition may be business as usual for expatriate communities but the unspoken secrets threaten to destroy life as everyone knows it.

{Book Review} "Through The Valley Love Endures" by Eddie David Santiago


Book Description:



What if death came for you today? Would you be ready?

Forced to face his own mortality, Eddie Santiago fought to stay alive in a broken world. His incredible journey through heartbreak, abuse, and adversity left him with one truth: every life makes a difference.

This is the true and compelling story of his supernatural quest through the valley of death, doubt, and darkness. Eddie provides a passionate story that will capture the attention of even the toughest skeptics.

Angels, demons, heaven, hell, Jesus and the devil: are they fiction, or are they more real than anything else in the world?

{Book Review} "Heroes & Hearts" by Noemi Betancourt


Synopsis:



Isabel Kendra prides herself on being a strong independent woman.  She doesn’t fawn over men, doesn’t swoon and would rather take care of things herself than ask for help.  She has no use for heroes.  So when a dark stranger tells her of a kidnapped child who needs her help she approaches the situation in her usual practical manner.  Of course, with coming across her long lost father and gods and sorceresses who are constantly trying to kill her, Isabel soon realizes she’s out of her element.  Enter the dashing Prince Alaric for whom rescuing the damsel in distress is second nature, only this time the damsel doesn’t want to be rescued!

Together the two must thwart the evil forces that threaten their lives and their worlds while struggling against their own blistering attraction for each other. Can Isabel balance her aversion to the prince’s habit of coming to her rescue with the realization that sometimes it is all right to accept help from a man? Can Alaric handle himself around a woman capable of rescuing herself and learn to be simply the man who loves her?

The Crystal Palace Chronicles Part Two will be released on May 3rd

{Book Spotlight} "Chimney Bluffs" by David B. Seaburn


Book Description:


When state park ranger Clancy Brisco discovers two bodies and two sacks at the bottom of 300 foot high Chimney Bluffs, he is shocked. When he discovers what is in the sacks, his life is changed forever. Chimney Bluffs is a story about the power of relationships to foster hope and enable healing.

Kate and Mitch Duncan adore their young son, Danny; when he dies unexpectedly after a brief illness, they are inconsolable. Mitch believes their only option is to join their son in the afterlife so he will not be alone; Kate agrees to Mitch's proposal of suicide, not because she believes in the afterlife, but because she feels responsible for Danny's death. They put two sacks in the back of their VW van, one containing their son, the other containing his toys, and go to their favorite place, Chimney Bluffs, Ice Age spires carved out of the Lake Ontario shoreline. Mitch jumps to his death; Kate lives.

{Book Review} "Ice Blue" by Susan Rae


Synopsis:



When lives are on the line, sometimes the wrong thing is the right thing to do.

Born into a Chicago cop family, Angela DeLuca gets her rush from saving lives while her brothers get theirs from catching the bad guys. A tough beauty with a heart perhaps too big, she champions the underdog because, as the youngest of six siblings, she often felt like one.

ICE Special Agent Troy Deavers became a cop to prove he wasn’t like his father—a southern politician who brought his family down with greed and corruption. He doesn’t suffer victims well. At first intrigued by Angela’s passion, he soon fears that the fire in Angela’s heart will be her undoing.

What happens when Troy falls in love with the lovely but infuriating Angela, the Chicago paramedic who insists on protecting a young witness and her unborn baby—a witness who could break his case wide open?

You met the DeLuca family in heartbeats, now come to know them even better in ICE blue.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

{Book Review} "Dead Peasants" by Dustin Stevens


Synopsis:



Bargain Mart, long a fixture in the Missoula economic structure has fallen on hard times. Things are dire, and if a financial windfall doesn’t arrive soon, their doors will close.

Across town, a woman grieves her recently deceased husband. Sitting alone at her kitchen table trying to put her life back in order, a call arrives asking where his quarter million dollar life insurance policy should be sent. A quarter million dollar life insurance policy she never knew existed.

Answering the phone on the other end of her call for help is Drake Bell, third year law student at the University of Montana. Joined by his partner Ava, and his loyal friends the Zoo Crew, Drake must attempt to make sense of the case Alice presents him.

A case that only grows more complex as people continue to pass in Missoula, all with ties to Bargain Mart, all with large life insurance policies attached to them. Policies known in the corporate world as Dead Peasants…

"Restore My Heart" by Chelsea Camaron {Review & Giveaway - Ends 5/3}


Book Description:


Bad Boy, Ryder Davenport comes into Dina Fowlers life in the middle of her own personal hell. Still coming to terms with the death of her parents, she pushes everyone away. When she trusts the wrong man, putting her in a bad relationship she felt she couldn’t escape, Ryder comes along. Enjoying his play boy ways, fast cars, motorcycles and a new woman in his bed nightly, Ryder had no thoughts of settling down. That is, until he sees the damage a man can do when he meets a very broken Dina. He changes in hopes of one day being enough for her. But, can she ever feel safe with a man again? Ryder has restored hundreds of classic cars, can he restore Dina’s heart?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Interview with Cynthia Dagnal-Myron, Author of "The Keka Collection"



Cynthia Dagnal-Myron is an award-winning former reporter for both the "Chicago Sun Times" and "Arizona Daily Star." She is also the first black woman to become a rock critic for a "major metropolitan daily," and her articles have appeared in "Rolling Stone" and "Creem"--the latter under the tutelage of legendary rock critic Lester Bangs.

For five wild years she traveled with, interviewed and reviewed 70's and 80's legends like Kiss, Queen, the Who, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Traffic Rod Stewart, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, Todd Rundgren and Brian Eno.

She also interviewed stars like John Travolta, Kirk Douglas, Richard Pryor and the then unknown cast of "Star Wars--and dated Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Once.

And then one day...she walked away from all of it.

And never looked back.

After moving to the Southwest in the early 80's, she became a public relations liaison for The Hopi Tribe, and moved to their reservation where she eventually returned to her first career, teaching. Three years later, she married a Hopi artist and became part of his proud-and very large-family.

She continued to publish regularly in Working Mother and elsewhere, but only when spirit moved. With a daughter to raise, children to teach and the wide turquoise skies of the Hopi reservation to gaze upon, her spirit was otherwise occupied most of the time.

Over 20 years later, left free to "just be," having retired early to do precisely that, she started a blog on Open Salon to take stock of what had gone before and ponder what might come next. She wrote of the triumphs and challenges of midlife, celebrating family, friends and the Southwestern way of life she'd grown to love.

But she gradually began to chronicle and comment upon the times she lived in--sometimes with deep affection, sometimes with righteous indignation. Salon editors took note, placing her blog posts on the covers of Open Salon and Salon itself. A British magazine reprinted one of her most popular posts about her "rock and roll summers" in London.

A controversial post about the Trayvon Martin shooting prompted the producers of the TV and radio show Democracy Now, to invite her discuss her own experiences "walking while black" and to celebrate her 5th grade teacher and beloved role model, Mamie Till Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till, the 16-year-old boy whose lynching was one of the watershed events leading to the Civil Rights Movement.

Soon an old Sun Times colleague, Roger Ebert, discovered that the young woman with the infectious laugh with whom he'd sat "desk-to-desk" for five years was doing some of the best writing of her life. Supportive as ever, he began to Tweet and Facebook her articles regularly. And the "hits" catapulted her to the top of the Open Salon popularity charts each time.

Week after week, readers urged her to "...make a book out of all this!"

This...is their book.

And the story of her life.


Interview:



1.      Why was writing The Keka Collection so important to you?

I had amassed a big, supportive circle of readers at Open Salon who, like my friends and family before them, felt that I should turn some of my blog posts into a book that would let other people unfamiliar with my blog read my writing.  When my old Sun Times pal Roger Ebert chimed in, I knew it was time to do it.

2.      What was the writing/creative process like?  

Writing, for me, is always more like transcribing.   So I rarely outline, though some would say that the outlining process goes on in my head before I begin to write.  But it begins with an idea that won’t stop nagging me or that is almost completely “ready” to be downloaded onto the page.   I tell people the first draft just writes itself, and then I tweak it.  I never write unless it’s “urgent.” 

3.      How did you come up with the title?

For this book, it was a “no brainer.”  It’s a collection of my blog posts from my Keka’s Blog page on Open Salon.

4.      When did you first consider yourself a writer?  I’ve been writing since I could first hold a pencil, and I considered myself a writer even back then when I made up little stories and pretended to be “writing” them down.  Even in middle school, when I wrote and helped edit the school newspaper, people urged me to become some kind of writer or journalist.

5.      What books do you believe influenced you in your life?

Soooooo many books.  But I most vividly remember these:  The Catcher in the Rye, The Sound and the Fury, The Beautiful and the Damned, The Grapes of Wrath, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Tennessee Williams’ plays, Tom Stoppard’s plays, everything by Ernest Hemingway, Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde and Rimbaud.

6.      How much influence did you have in the cover of your book?

Did you initially have a different idea of how it would look?  I created it on Createspace, so I had lots of templates to tinker with.  I only knew that the picture I use on my blog, of me at one of my birthday parties, had to be part of it.

7.      Can you describe a typical day for you?

I get up, grab the laptop on my bed or go to my “mothership” PC and check in with my online students.   Then, I make a “portable” breakfast and go back to my computer to do some work on the 12th grade critical reading and writing curriculum I’m creating for a virtual high school being launched next fall.   After I exercise, shower and get dressed for the day, I write for about three or four hours.  Then I have dinner, watch some TV or read for a while…and go back to do some more writing just before I go to bed.  On occasion, I’ll have a lunch with one of my wonderful women friends, to get out of the house and away from the daily routine.

8.      What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?   I watch my favorite movies or discover new ones that become favorites, or I read.  I’ve also begun to create beaded jewelry, just for myself, because I’ve found out how easy it is to make what I like.

9.      What do your family and friends think of your writing?

They’re my biggest fans, and are constantly pushing me to write more.  So I have a great support group.

10.  What do you think is more important – a good plot, or good characters?  Why did you choose the one you did?  

This isn’t a novel, but I’m writing one.  And for me, it all begins with good characters who nudge me into telling their stories.  I’m not a plotter—I think I did well in the Project Greenlight competitions created by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck a few years ago because they, too, are not “plotters” by nature.  If I wait ‘til the characters are just chomping at the bit to be “born,” they take me through all the right twists and turns when I start writing.  So the actual writing process doesn’t take very long at all.

The kid I’m writing about right now is from a script that several of my screenwriting gurus and two producers said should have a novel written about him.  They felt that confining him to a script wouldn’t do him justice.  So I’ve finally decided to act on that advice, and he is just running me ragged.  I can hardly keep up!

Connect with Cynthia:

Purchase the book:





* Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Pump Up Your Book. Although payment may have been received by Pump Up Your Book, no payment was received by me in exchange for this publication.  This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.


"Through The Valley Love Endures" by Eddie David Santiago - Book Tour & Giveaway



~Guest Post~


Through the Valley Love Endures

What if death came for you today? Would you be ready?
Forced to face his own mortality, Eddie Santiago fought to stay alive in a broken world. His incredible journey through heartbreak, abuse, and adversity left him with one truth: every life makes a difference.
This is the true and compelling story of his supernatural quest through the valley of death, doubt, and darkness. Eddie provides a passionate story that will capture the attention of even the toughest skeptics.
Angels, demons, heaven, hell, Jesus and the devil: are they fiction, or are they more real than anything else in the world?

Monday, April 22, 2013

{Book Review} "The Space Between" by Kristie Cook



Synopsis:


When Life Falls to Pieces, Answers Lie in the Space Between

After a month-long dance tour through Italy, 20-year-old Leni Drago returns to Georgia to care for her great-uncle, only to find him gone, the home they shared empty and any evidence he ever existed wiped out. All that’s left is a journal she can’t open.

Jeric Winters has been searching for a piece of his past for over a year, only to reach a dead-end in Georgia. When an urgent and magnetic pull draws him out of his hotel room, he comes face-to-face with the beautiful dancer who’s been haunting his dreams day and night.

Jeric’s one to stay away from—a bad-boy, hit-it-and-quit-it type—but Leni can’t escape the fervent feelings between them. As their own existences begin to crumble around them and shadowy forms that are more monsters than men attack, they realize there’s more to the connection between them than physical fascination.

To solve the riddle their lives have become, they must embark on a journey that requires them to face their pasts and release their true souls. And they must do it fast—dark ones from another world are closing in, intent on killing them. Permanently.

"Tin God" by Stacy Green - Book Tour & Giveaway

~Guest Post~

Tin God

Getting pregnant as a teenager and being coerced into giving her baby up for adoption left a festering scar on Jaymee Ballard’s life. Trapped by poverty and without many allies, Jaymee nearly gives up hope of getting her daughter back after her best friend is murdered. Now, four years later, a wealthy woman with legal connections hires her as a housekeeper, and Jaymee gathers the courage to seek her help. But Jaymee’s last chance ends up in a puddle of blood in one of the historic antebellum mansions in Roselea, Mississippi.
I just murdered your wife…again.
An unsigned letter consisting of six horrifying words turns Nick Samuels stagnant life upside down. Stuck in emotional purgatory since his wife’s unsolved murder four years ago, Nick is about to self-destruct. The arrival of the letter claiming credit for his wife’s murder and boasting of a new kill sends Nick to Roselea, where he and Jaymee’s worlds collide.
Jaymee and Nick realize exposing the truth about her daughter’s adoption is the only way to solve the murders. Up against years of deception, they rush to identify the killer before the evidence–and Jaymee’s daughter–are lost.
But the truth doesn’t always set the guilt-ridden free. Sometimes, it destroys them.

Friday, April 19, 2013

"Swallowtail" by Sheri Meshal {Book Review}


 

Book Description:


Chicago wife, mother and finance executive Claire Cummings, arrives at work one morning to discover her friend Julia has embezzled millions and vanished. Blindsided and devastated by the betrayal, she’s sent home pending further investigation. Claire’s bizarre death the following day sends everyone reeling, guessing and looking for her in all the wrong places. In no time she's addicted to an enchanting menagerie of tricks and techniques for getting the living's attention, but most people are harder to reach than she'd ever dreamed and even harder to set free.

She was still a mother, a wife, a daughter and a friend... she'd move heaven and earth to keep it that way.

Sheri Meshal’s Swallowtail is a haunting story about life, love, loss and just how far we’ll go to control it all.

This debut from a thought-provoking new voice in fiction begs the question… what would you do if all the rules changed, and you were suddenly bestowed powers beyond your greatest imagination?


"Search for the Lost Realm" by Kraig Dafoe {Author Guest Post & Giveaway - Ends 5/31}


Book Description:



Search for the Lost Realm is an epic journey in which a young man named Varan wants to find a power which has been missing from the world of Kantania for thousands of years.
 
Varan sets out but soon discovers his true mission is to save the worlds creator from a spiritual bond placed upon him by the powerful demon, Eldrok.
 
From demons to dragons and sorcerers to soldiers, battles erupt and Varan must hurry or the world could be lost to darkness forever.
 
This story does not consist of action alone as Varan faces dilemmas of the heart, struggles of the flesh and complex issues of the mind.

{Book Review} "The Haunted Halls: Volume 1" by Glenn Rolfe


Book Description:



What lies in wait at the Bruton Inn? Where did it come from? What does it want? People are checking in, but the little voices, the nightmares; the deep cold sinking into their marrow is changing them. What haunts these halls will alter those within its confines. Something big is unfolding, something dark- something evil. The haunted halls of the Bruton Inn welcome you. Checking in?

This debut novelette from Glenn Rolfe has been a top 10 serial at jukepopserials.com.


Thursday, April 18, 2013

"Finding Trust" by Natalie Gayle {Book Review}



Welcome to My Cozie Corner's stop on the 
"Finding Trust" book tour. 
This tour is brought to you by Innovative Book Tours.


BLURB:


Finding Trust – Book 1 Centre Games Series Brayden and Rihanna He’s hot, sexy, and leads a double life. Sometimes in the limelight, mostly in the shadows. Brayden James holds fast to a secret that’s more than his to share. She’s a singularly focused veterinarian out for a rare night of fun with friends, at a New Year’s Eve rock concert. Going home with the lead guitarist was furthest thing from Rihanna Mason’s mind when the night began. When Rihanna inadvertently becomes the target of a deadly terrorist plot using the Hendra virus as a biological weapon, Brayden is forced to reveal his other life. His job is to keep her safe and together they must stop the terrorists before it’s too late. But what happens when she becomes more to him than just the assignment? Will the secret he cannot disclose ultimately prove too much for Rihanna’s fragile trust in relationships? Or will he finally break through the double brick walls around her heart, where every other man has failed?

{Book Review} "Borrowing My Mother's Saints" by Olga G. Soaje



Book description:


With a plum job at Nelson and Nelson ad agency, a Manhattan apartment, and a boyfriend named Michael who looks good enough on paper, Julianna is at the peak of her game. That’s when everything starts going south fast. Nancy, her nemesis at work with a fake smile (and other body parts!), has somehow stolen her account. Her boss, Peter, deems her burned out and sends her out the door with her cardboard box. And that’s just the beginning of the rapid-fire onslaught of serious woes.

After Michael dumps her squarely, her mom is diagnosed with breast cancer. Julianna is officially at her wit’s end. However, just as she’s in the deepest despair, enter a cast of characters that Julianna hasn’t seen since her childhood days at home and in her Catholic grade school. Tucked away in her mother’s recipe box is a bounty of saints cards, and soon, those the saints come marching in to represent a source of strength her mother had found in them and a way to develop other career paths she had not considered on her road to happiness. Julianna is greeted with new opportunities, for better and sometimes for worse, that help her forge her own road to a richer, more authentic life.

A warm hug of a book, Borrowing My Mother’s Saints is chock-full of insights, hope, humor, and a dash of modern romance. Inspiring and of-the-moment, this charming, lighthearted look at contemporary life will move you to muster the courage to follow your heart on a path that might just lead you to everyday miracles.

"The One Series" by Laurel Ulen Curtis {2 Book Reviews & 2 Giveaways - Both Ends 4/28}


About the Author, Laurel Ulen Curtis:






Laurel Ulen Curtis is a 26 year old mother of one. She lives with her husband and son (and cat and two fish!) in New Jersey, but grew up all over the United States. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology, and puts that to almost no use other than forecasting for her friends! She has a passion for her family, laughing, and reading and writing Romance novels. And Coke. The drink, not the drug.



Learn more about Laurel and her books on:

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

{Book Review} "The Queen's Pawn" by R.J. Hore


Synopsis:



An impoverished scholar and farm youth Harrow, becomes involved with a magician and is forced to assist in the escape of Queen Reginee and Princess Desire-Rose from the burning capital city. Pretending to be a famous duke, Harrow reluctantly agrees to escort the sensuous queen and her very annoying daughter to the castle of the queen’s brother. They have to leave in a hurry and are pursued by a large band of the rebels who captured the city. All the fleeing refugees have are the clothes on their backs and a small squad of untrained guards for protection.

Black wizardry is afoot, sundry dangerous creatures hide in the underbrush, and villains, monstrous and common, seductive and evil, lurk all along the way. If that were not enough for the young man to worry about, the queen’s amorous chambermaid and bodyguard, Mathilde, a smallish giantess, just wants to get Harrow alone. Oh yes, and he can’t stand Desiree-Rose.

 They do eventually reach the castle of the queen’s younger brother, but unfortunately they do not find the sort of welcome they were hoping for. Harrow would really like to leave all this strife behind and escape back to his former life on the family farm, but that does not appear to be his destiny.

{Book Review} "Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out" by Pandora Poikilos


Book Description:



Anya Michaels is having the time of her life. She has the man of her dreams by her side. She has graduated at the top of her class. She has the job others were lining up for. Between late night drinks at her favourite bar and fancy dinners at the most expensive restaurants, she has a string of adoring friends. Everything changes when she hears the dreaded words, "You are sick."

Being diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder, her world starts to fall apart, one piece at a time. Now dumped, her four year relationship is nothing but a memory filled with pictures, thoughts and a very broken heart. Her job becomes an even further challenge as she tries to hide her condition. Her friends suddenly have more important things to do, what is a party without a party girl? Perfect could not crumble any faster.

Soon, caught between situations, people and pieces of life that she never dreamed of planning for herself, Anya begins to wonder if her brain condition is all that bad. As she absorbs the changes in her life and realization sets in, she begins to wonder if she is the only one saying: Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out.

(20% of royalties will be donated to the National Organisation of Rare Disorders)

"Fate War: Alliance" by E.M. Havens {Review & Giveaway - Ends 4/24}


Synopsis:



Prince Cole meets Samantha when she walks down the aisle. Though she seems like the polished women he is familiar with, there is something different. She is complicated and full of mystery. Her dowry comes with a promise of air ships and mech capable of defense against their common enemy and for his country to survive, he must unravel her secrets. It is only when each accepts their destinies can they save their people from the plans of the Fate Sovereign.


{Book Spotlight} "Past Tense" by Shawn Kilgarlin


About the Book:


Stress Relief is right here, in your hands.
 
Are you tense and need a break? You will love this book! Open it to any page on any day. You'll find guidance and useful tips that are positive, fun, light-hearted and profound so you can get the peace of mind you really need - right now. Whenever you feel bothered and annoyed, fearful, insecure, angry or frustrated, it is probably from on of these:
 
*Daily Hassles - traffic jams, lost keys, bills to pay, unruly children
*Workplace - office politics, lack of respect, unemployment, helplessness
*Environmental - noise, pollution, harsh lighting, crowds
*Life Changes - college, marriage, divorce, aging, emergencies, grieving
*General Anxiety - holidays, peer pressure, addictions, feeling inadequate

"Letters From Your Future by Brett L. Bowden {Book Review & Giveaway - Ends 5/6}

Book description:


Our lives are changing.  Indeed they are always changing that is because we are always growing and in this respect the words growth and change are synonymous.  However something is happening now in which we are changing in a different way, another way.  We are changing energetically.  The planet we live on is changing energetically. And because of these energetic shifts new avenues of growth and awareness are now being given to us.

This book will help you to understand what is happening as we make our way through this energetic growth period.  Growth is not always easy and sometimes it comes in the form of illuminating circumstances and sometimes it comes in the form of tragic events that touch our lives.  Both offer benefits to the soul for expansion. 


Inside this book are instructional letters for Humanity, whispered into my consciousness. The Letters explain why certain events happen in our lives and on our planet. The book goes on to explain why some are here on earth at this time, but some of our loved ones may have moved on and are now gone. The Letters describe how life really works from their perspective in the spiritual realm and how one can use these instructions to rebuild their lives and their planet. The book talks of a unending love from our Creator and a unparalleled unity created out of love for one another. The Letters beautifully describe how to create our Heaven on Earth. 

"The Gatekeeper's Daughter" by Eva Pohler Book Blast & Giveaway

~Guest Post~


The Gatekeeper's Daughter

The Gatekeeper's Daughter

In The Gatekeeper's Sons, Therese and Thanatos, the god of Death, met and fell in love. In The Gatekeeper's Challenge, they did everything they could to be together, even break an oath on the River Styx. But the Olympians don't tolerate oath-breakers. In this final book in the trilogy, The Gatekeeper's Daughter, Therese may have finally succeeded in becoming a goddess, but if she wants to remain one, she'll not only have to discover her unique purpose, but also make some allies among the gods. Artemis sends her on a seemingly impossible quest across the world, while Than searches for a way to appease Ares. To make matters worse, her aunt's baby's life hangs in the balance.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

"Together in Starlight" by Susan Mac Nicol {Book Review}



Welcome to My Cozie Corner's stop on the 
"Together in Starlight" book tour. 
This tour is brought to you by Innovative Book Tours.


BLURB:


CASSIE & BENNETT
ACT TWO

Bennett Saville is sexy. At the peak of his career, the English star of stage and screen is everything a woman might desire, as fiancĂ©e Cassandra Wallace well knows. Together they’ve seen the world, from L.A. to Shangri La, yet shadows persist even in the spotlight. At home they face lust, greed and ghosts from their pasts—and that’s off stage. There is also “The Val”. The aged London theatre holds a mystery four centuries old, cast in starlight and waiting to be revealed. Intensely personal, impossibly passionate, the play must go on…and Cassie and Bennett must face it together.

{Book Review} "Dead Light" by Mike Pace



Synopsis: 


…a matter of light and death…

In the sleepy college town of Cumberton, MD, an old cemetery must be moved to make room for a new dormitory, and an ungodly Light, buried for centuries, escapes. A rash of gruesome student suicides rocks the town. Sheriff Estin Booker teams up with former Baltimore homicide detective Anna Tucci to investigate the deaths. What neither expects is to have all roads point to a 2000-year-old legend which, if true, could lead to the destruction of mankind.

The most frightening account of the power of evil breeching our world since The Exorcist, DEAD LIGHT will teach you the most improbable lesson you will ever learn:

 FEAR THE LIGHT!

{Promotional Book Blast} "Broken Faith" by Brandy Nacole


Synopsis:



This was it. The moment Heaven and Hell would clash. But which unearthly being would win? The Fallen Angel or the Hell Hounds?


Overtaken by fear, I close my eyes.


Kayson is a Fallen Angel who has spent decades running from the Hell Hounds while searching for something that no one else believes can be so, not even God. Kayson is determined to find a Blood Child. But when a hound finds Kayson first, he is sure his end has come.

Falon, Alpha of the Hell Hounds, destroyer of the blood children, and devoted believer in his master’s plan, is bound and determined to drag Kayson back to Hell with him.Sabrina is a Vampire, a half-breed created from one of Lucifer’s original blood children. After years of hiding, Sabrina’s fate changes when she finds Kayson barely alive. Against her instincts, Sabrina saves him. Now she and Kayson are both marked by the Hell Hounds. Emma is an ordinary human, whose only problem is making ends meet, and getting over the hurt caused by her untrustworthy brother. Her everyday problems become supernatural ones when she finds Kayson and Sabrina hiding in her parent’s backyard shed. Kayson, Sabrina and Emma are unlikely allies, thrown together by chance to fight against the most powerful creatures of the underworld in order to follow their world-changing quest.

But will the broken faith of one break the faith of all?

{Book Spotlight} "No Way Back" by Andrew Gross



Synopsis: 


No Way Back is a thrilling page-turner from Andrew Gross, the New York Times bestselling author of 15 Seconds and The Blue Zone. One woman is framed for a horrific crime, and desperate to prove her innocence.

A chance meeting with a stranger in a hotel ends in a shocking murder. Wendy Gould is an average mom--and the only witness. Nanny Lauritzia Velez knows a shocking secret that could prove to be deadly. Both of their lives in danger, this unlikely pair must work together against a network of dangerous men who want nothing more than to see them dead.

A fast-paced, riveting tale with strong, compelling characters, No Way Back is an edge-of-your-seat read with nonstop action and a complex mystery

Monday, April 15, 2013

"Deadly Recall" by Donnell Ann Bell {Book Review}



Welcome to My Cozie Corner's stop on the 
"Deadly Recall" book tour. 
This tour is brought to you by Innovative Book Tours.


BLURB:  


A terrifying memory is locked deep inside her.  A killer wants to keep it that way.

Nine-year-old Eden Moran thought she was saying good-bye to her mentor that fateful day in St. Patrick’s.  She had no idea she’d witness the nun’s demise, or that her child’s mind would compensate.  Now seventeen years later, Albuquerque cops have unearthed human remains, and the evidence points to Eden as being the key to solving Sister Beatrice’s murder.  When a hellbent cop applies pressure, Eden stands firm.  She doesn’t remember the woman.  Unfortunately for Eden, Sister Beatrice’s killer will do whatever it takes to keep it that way.

{Book Review} "When Summer Comes" by Brenda Novak


Synopsis:



One day, Callie Vanetta receives devastating news . . .
She needs a liver transplant. But her doctors warn that, in her case, the chances of finding a compatible donor aren’t good. Determined to spend whatever time she has left on her own terms, she keeps the diagnosis to herself and moves out to her late grandparents’ farm. She’s always wanted to live there. But the farm hasn’t been worked in years and she begins to fear it’s too much, she’ll have to return to town.

One night, a stranger comes knocking at her door…
He’s an attractive and mysterious drifter by the name of Levi McCloud who offers to trade work for a few nights’ shelter. Callie figures she doesn’t have anything to lose. He needs a place to stay until he can fix his motorcycle; she needs an extra pair of hands. The arrangement seems ideal until what was supposed to be temporary starts to look more and more permanent. Then she
realizes she does have something to lose — her heart. And, although he doesn’t yet know it, Levi stands to lose even more.

{Book Review} "Security" by Mandy Baggot



Synopsis: 



Autumn Raine is a pop vocalist at the very top of her game. She’s a style icon, the paparazzi’s darling and everyone wants to be her friend. But when her safety is threatened, her whole life starts to unravel.

Eluding kidnap and trying to stay alive, can Autumn find the strength to be the person she longs to be? And can two people, poles apart, forge something strong enough to survive anything?

This book is intended for Adults 18+



{Author Guest Post} "The Boys of Summer" by C.J. Duggan



Blurb:


It seemed only natural to nickname them the ‘Onslow Boys’. Every time they swaggered in the front door of the Onslow Hotel after a hard week’s work, their laughter was loud and genuine as they settled onto their bar stools. I peeked through the restaurant partition, a flimsy divider between my world and theirs. I couldn’t help but smile whenever I saw them, saw him ... Toby Morrison.

Quiet seventeen-year-old Tess doesn’t relish the thought of a summertime job. She wants nothing more than to forget the past haunts of high school and have fun with her best friends before the dreaded Year Twelve begins.

To Tess, summer is when everything happens: riding bikes down to the lake, watching the fireworks at the Onslow Show and water bomb fights at the sweltering Sunday markets.

How did she let her friends talk her into working?

After first-shift disasters, rude, wealthy tourists and a taunting ex-boyfriend, Tess is convinced nothing good can come of working her summer away. However, Tess finds unlikely allies in a group of locals dubbed ‘The Onslow Boys’, who are old enough to drive cars, drink beer and not worry about curfews. Tess’s summer of working expands her world with a series of first times with new friends, forbidden love and heartbreaking chaos.
All with the one boy she has never been able to forget.

It will be a summer she will always remember.

Warning: sexual references, and occasional coarse language.

Promotional Book Blitz "The Order of the Black Swan" by Victoria Danann


~Guest Post~


The Order of the Black Swan
By Victoria Danann

Paranormal Romance / Fantasy
Date to be Published: 2/14/2013

Synopsis:

Synopsis:  Discover a world of adult fantasy where modern day knights of a secret society interact with an alien, a witch, a demon, a psychic, a berserker, a most unusual vampire, werewolves, elves, and fae. Fairytales intersect adventure, romance, and emotion proving that true love can find you in the strangest places, even when you're least expecting it, even when you're far, far from home.This is a compilation of the first three installments of the Black Swan serial saga

Sunday, April 14, 2013

"Dead Peasants" by Larry D. Thompson {Book Review}



Synopsis


Lawyer Jack Bryant retires early to Fort Worth to kick back, relax and watch his son play football at TCU. Bored with retirement he opens a pro bono office in his RV. When Jack finds an elderly widow at his doorstep, clutching a check for life insurance proceeds on her husband but payable to his former employer, Jack files a civil suit to collect the benefits rightfully due the widow. A seemingly accidental death of his client’s husband thrusts Jack into a vortex of serial killings. He and his new love interest find themselves targets in the same murder for hire scheme. To stop the killings Jack must unravel what in their past makes certain people worth more dead than alive.

Promo Blitz Book Tour - "Pain and Gain" by Marc Schiller


Book Description:


Pain and Gain – The Untold True Story’ is a gripping memoir that tells the true story behind the Paramount film Pain and Gain. Written by the real Sun Gym Gang victim, Marc Schiller, ‘Pain and Gain – The Untold True Story’ will take readers on an adrenaline rush with a shocking ending.
This is the untold true story of one citizen’s pointless torture and month-long captivity. The story, formerly mistold if not utterly overlooked, has been made into a feature film. Even as a dark comedy, there is little amusement to be found in human suffering. The sick and twisted minds of Mr. Schiller’s captors would be fodder for the Darwin Awards if the results were not so alarmingly inhumane. Physical, mental and emotional torture, as well as sensory deprivation and starvation, the prisoner of war like conditions differed only in the fact that Mr. Schiller was completely alone during his extended stay at the warehouse he refers to as Hotel Hell. An early victim of identity theft in the years following Hurricane Andrew in Miami, Mr. Schiller chronicles his story in tortuous detail. His humiliation, pain and suffering at the hands of these perverted social misfits is a shocking revelation. 

What is it like to be imprisoned in near dungeon-like conditions? All this mayhem on American soil toward the end of the last millennium. 

Greed, lust for power and the desire to inflict pain and misery were the apparent motivating forces behind this gruesome incident. 

Truly a harrowing tale and one that you won’t soon forget.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

"Jagged Little Edges" by Lorelie Rozzano {Book Review}


Book Description:



Jagged Little Edges. That's how it had felt for her as long as she could remember. Like cuts, coming first in words as they tore little pieces of her innocence, trust and self worth, evolving into the physical form with a smack to the head, a cuff to the ear and at times, welts and bruises on her back side. By far the greatest damage of all was what couldn’t be seen. A soul torn asunder, left with an open wound, a vast emptiness and a hunger that screamed to be fed.

Lyndsey wanted nothing more than to be on her own. Problem was that's what she'd been doing her entire life. She didn’t trust others and always held a piece of herself back. Lyndsey knew something was missing and she was determined to find it. Not comfortable in her own skin and trying to fill the vast emptiness, she stood on the edge.

Needing to belong to somebody, Lyndsey discovers love, the kind of love that's sick and leaves her needing more. She'll do anything for him and does. Lyndsey learns that love hurts, but still, she searches for her happy ending. Not able to find what she's looking for in people, places or things, Lyndsey descends into a spiral of hopelessness.

This story follows a ten year journey on the need for love and leads readers through the depths of despair and addiction. It will move and inspire. It will leave readers on the edge of their seat wanting more...

"A Glimpse of Her Soul" by Stuart Jaffe {Book Review}


Synopsis:



When 16-year-old Gillian Boone discovers that a secret message has been etched into her soul, her world of normal teenage life is destroyed. Now, bizarre monstrosities try to kill her so they can read this message as her soul departs, hoping its information will guide them back to the world they came from.

Though she has the aid of her father and some new friends, there is only one who has the real power to help. A rogue monster named Jackhammer Jack. But he might want her secret, too, even as he helps her evade the clutches of those pursuing her.

With threats surrounding her, Gillian will have to lead her allies in a struggle for survival - a struggle all the more treacherous when her allies are just as dangerous as her enemies.

Filled with action, excitement, magic, a touch of romance, and mystery, A Glimpse of Her Soul is a pulse-pounding ride you're sure to enjoy.

"Welcome to Paradise" by Rosalind James Promotional Blast


~Guest Post~


Welcome to Paradise
By Rosalind James
Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 4/12/13

Synopsis:
By the bestselling author of the Escape to New Zealand series—
They’re going to party like it’s 1885.

Mira Walker is hoping that competing on a “living history” reality show will give her what’s missing from her real life. Maybe she’ll get closer to her boyfriend, who hasn’t been all that nice to her lately. Get fired up about her job again. Who knows, she might even win a million dollars.

Gabe Kincaid and his brother Alec are after that million too, though. Mira and Scott are no threat at all, not when everybody involved is going to want to kill Scott after the first day. And there’s no bond stronger than a twin’s. What could possibly go wrong?

Free on Amazon April 13-17 "Beyond the Western Sun" by Kristina Circelli


~Guest Post~


Beyond the Western Sun

Beyond The Western Sun

*Book One in The Whisper Legacy* A gripping journey into the heart of Native American legend, "Beyond the Western Sun" follows the epic struggle of Whisper, a young female Cherokee apprentice, on a harrowing adventure into the Land of the Dead to save the captive son of Ian Diavya. Together they face insurmountable odds, conquer terrible demons, and in the process, find a strength and courage within themselves neither knew possible. What they don't know is that these early adventures are only tests, for to save Ian's son, they must also stop the evil-minded Raven-Eater from unleashing his Army of the Dead to destroy the living world. As the Army of the Dead marches closer to the Western Sun, as Whisper leads them deeper into the Land of the Dead, and as the truth behind Cole's death is slowly revealed, Ian discovers that the fate of both worlds depends on his courage, his humility, and the life of his son. An epic saga of hope, redemption, and undying love, "Beyond the Western Sun" is what all fantasy adventures must strive to be: a complex, intricate examination of human emotion set within the context of worlds known only in our imagination. And in this regard, "Beyond the Western Sun" is a stunning achievement. Melding fantasy and legend in an epic quest, the third novel of her young career signals the arrival of Kristina Circelli as a master storyteller. Creating the indelible character of Whisper, vividly portraying the worlds that she and Ian must traverse to accomplish their goal, and capturing their human frailties, hopes and fears with depth and touching sincerity, Circelli reminds us with stunning precision the greatness we are all capable of, and the heavy price our actions can rend.

Friday, April 12, 2013

"The Beast Within" by Jonathan Yanez {Book Review}


Synopsis:



My name is Connor Moore, I’ve just graduated from high-school and if my up and down relationship with Katie, or what to do about college wasn’t enough to worry about, now I have a far greater more complicated burden to bear.

Fate has chosen to cross my path with Larentia Abelardus, a dark-haired mystery woman who has information about a father, I never knew. She has a story to tell, a story that questions everything I thought was true; about me, about my family, about the history of the world.

Concealed throughout the pages of time, there has been a powerful race of human-like creatures manipulating mankind. This Elite race is made up of five ruling families who have obeyed The Law and continue to keep their identities a mystery. Now, after centuries of secrecy, an ancient foe is forcing them out of hiding and because of the blood that flows through my veins, my destiny is tied to theirs.
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