Friday, October 17, 2014

Chapter Reveal: Lifer by Beck Nicholas

M9B-Friday-Reveal
Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!
This week, we are revealing the first chapter for

Lifer by Beck Nicholas

presented by Month9Books!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
BNicholas_M9B_Lifer_1800x2700
Asher is a Lifer, a slave aboard the spaceship Pelican. A member of the lowest rung of society, she must serve the ship’s Officials and Astronauts as punishment for her grandparents' crimes back on Earth. The one thing that made life bearable was her illicit relationship with Samuai, a Fishie boy, but he died alongside her brother in a freak training accident.
Still grieving for the loss of her loved ones, Asher is summoned to the upper levels to wait on Lady, the head Official’s wife and Samuai’s mother. It is the perfect opportunity to gather intel for the Lifer’s brewing rebellion. There’s just one problem—the last girl who went to the upper levels never came back.
On the other side of the universe, an alien attack has left Earth in shambles and a group called The Company has taken control. Blank wakes up in a pond completely naked and with no memory, not even his real name. So when a hot girl named Megs invites him to a black-market gaming warehouse where winning means information, he doesn’t think twice about playing. But sometimes the past is better left buried.
As Asher and Blank’s worlds collide, the truth comes out—everyone has been lied to. Bourne Identity meets Under the Never Sky in this intergalactic tale of love and deception from debut novelist Beck Nicholas.
add to goodreads
Title: LIFER
Publication date: December 16, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Beck Nicholas
Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Excerpt

Chapter One
[Asher]
I mark my body for Samuai.
My right hand is steady as I press the slim needle into my skin. It glints under the soft overhead light of the storage locker, the only place to hide on Starship Pelican. Row upon row of shelving fills the room. Back here I’m hidden from the door.
It’s been seventeen days since Samuai passed. Seventeen days of neutral expressions and stinging eyes, waiting for the chance to be alone and pay my respects to the dead Official boy in true Lifer fashion. With blood.
The body of the needle is wrapped in thread I stole from my spare uniform. The blue thread acts as the ink reservoir. It’s soaked with a dye I made from crushed feed pellets and argobenzene, both swiped from farm level. The pungent fumes sting my eyes and make it even harder to keep the tears at bay. But I will. There will be no disrespect in this marking.
My slipper drops to the floor with the softest of thuds as I shake my foot. I raise it to rest on a cold metal shelf. Samuai always held my hand when we met in secret, but I can’t bear to examine those memories now. The pain of him being gone is still so fresh.
The first break of skin at my ankle hurts a little. Not much, since the needle is nano-designed for single molecule sharpness, and it’s not as though I haven’t done this before. Recently. The tattoo for my brother circles my ankle, completed days ago, a match for the one for my father. My memorial for Samuai had to wait for privacy. The blue spreads out into my skin like liquid on a cloth. The dot is tiny. I add another and another, each time accepting the momentary pain as a tribute to Samuai. Soon I’ve finished the first swirling line.
“Are you mourning my brother or yours?”
My hand jerks at the familiar voice, driving the needle deep into the delicate skin over my Achilles. Davyd’s voice. How did he get in here so quietly? I wince, clamping down on a cry of pain. No tears though. Nothing will make me disrespect Samuai. I remove the needle from my flesh and school my features into a neutral expression before I turn and stand to attention.
“Davyd,” I say by way of greeting. Despite my preparation my throat thickens.
My response to him is stupid because he looks nothing like Samuai. Where Samuai radiated warmth from his spiky dark hair hinting of honey and his deep, golden brown eyes, there is only ice in his brother. Ice-chiseled cheekbones, tousled blond hair, the slight cleft in his chin, and his gray eyes. Eyes that see far too much.
But he’s dressed like Samuai used to dress. The same white t-shirt and black pants. It’s the uniform of Officials, or Fishies, as they’re known below. He’s a little broader in the shoulders than his older brother was—to even think of Samuai in the past tense is agony—and he’s not quite as tall. I only have to look up a little to meet his gaze. I do so without speaking.
I shouldn’t be here, but I’m not going to start apologizing for where I am or his reference to my forbidden relationship with his brother, until I know what he wants.
“Is that supposed to happen?” He points at my foot, where blood drips, forming a tiny puddle on the hard, shiny floor.
His face is expressionless, as usual, but I can hear the conceit in his voice. I can imagine what the son of a Fishie thinks of our Lifer traditions.
Today, I don’t care. Even if his scorn makes my stomach tighten and cheeks flame, I won’t care. Not about anything Davyd has to say.
“It’s none of your business.”
One fine brow arches. Superior, knowing.
He doesn’t have to say the words. The awareness of just how wrong I am zaps between us. Given our relative stations on this journey—he’s destined to be a Fishie in charge of managing the ship’s population, and me to serve my inherited sentence—whatever I do is his business, if he chooses to make it so. He’s in authority even though we’re almost the same age.
In order to gain permission to breed, Lifers allowed the injection of nanobots into their children. These prototype bots in our cells give our masters the power to switch us off using a special Remote Device until our sentence is served. At any time we can be shut down. I’m not sure how exactly, only that each of us has a unique code and the device can turn those particular bots against us. It’s an unseen but constant threat.
I keep my face blank and my posture subservient, but my fingers tighten around the needle in my hand. How I long to slap the smooth skin of his cheek.
For a second, neither of us speaks.
“Your brother or mine?” he asks again. Softly this time. So low, the question is almost intimate in the dim light.
I inhale deeply, welcoming the harsh fumes from my makeshift ink. The burning in my lungs gives me a focus so the ever-present emotional pain can’t cripple me. My brother and my boyfriend were taken on the same day, and I’m unable to properly mourn either thanks to the demands of servitude.
I can’t let it cripple me. Not if I want to find out what really happened to Zed and Samuai.
“Does it matter?” I ask. Rather than refuse him again, I twist the question around. He would never admit to having interest in the goings-on of a mere Lifer.
“No.” His voice is hard. Uncaring. He folds his arms. “But it’s against ship law to deface property.”
It takes a heartbeat, and then I realize I’m the property he’s talking about. My toes curl because my fists can’t. I see from the flick of his eyes to my feet that he’s noticed. Of course he has. There’s nothing Davyd doesn’t notice.
It’s true though. The marks we Lifers make on our bodies are not formally allowed. It is a price we pay for the agreement signed in DNA by our parents and our grandparents. They agreed to a lifetime of servitude, and their sentence is passed down through the generations for the chance at a new life on a new planet. I am the last in the chain, and my sentence will continue for twelve years after landing.
We Lifers belong to those above us, body and soul, but no Fishie or Naut—the astronauts who pilot the ship—has ever tried to stop the ritual. In return we are not blatant. We mark feet, torsos, and thighs. Places hidden by our plain blue clothing.
If the son of the head Fishie reports me, it will go on my record no matter how minor the charge, and possibly add months to my sentence. A sentence I serve for my grandparents’ crimes back on Earth after the Upheaval. Like others, their crime was no more than refusal to hand over their vehicle and property when both were declared a government resource.
I swallow convulsively.
I don’t want that kind of notice. Not when we’re expected to land in my lifetime. Not when I hoped to find answers to the questions that haunt me.
The first lesson a Lifer child learns is control around their superiors. I won’t allow mine to fail me now.
“Did you want something? Sir?”
If there’s a faint pause before the honorific, well, I’m only human.
He lets it pass. “The Lady requires extra help at this time. You have been recommended.”
“Me?”
His lips twist. “I was equally surprised. Attend her now.”
The Lady is the wife of the senior Official on board the Pelican, and both Samuai and Davyd’s mother. She’s a mysterious figure who is never seen in the shared area of the ship. I imagine she’s hurting for her dead child. Sympathy stirs within me. I’ve seen the strain my own mother tries to hide since Zed died, and I don’t think having a higher rank would make the burden any easier to bear.
It’s within Davyd’s scope as both Fishie-in-training and son of the ship’s Lady to be the one to inform me of my new placement, but I can’t help looking for something deeper in his words. There should be a kinship between us, having both lost a brother so recently, but Samuai’s death hasn’t affected Davyd at all.
“Who recommended me?”
He shrugs. “Now. Lifer.”
I nod and move to tidy up, ignoring the persistent pain in my ankle where the needle went too deep. My defiance only stretches so far. Not acting on a direct request would be stupidity. I will finish my memorial for Samuai, but not with his brother waiting. It’s typical that Davyd doesn’t use my name. I can’t remember him or his Fishie friends ever doing so.
It was something that stood out about Samuai from when we were youngsters and met in the training room. It was the only place on the ship us Lifers are close to equal. I was paired to fight with him to first blood, and he shocked me by asking my name. “Asher,” Samuai had repeated, like he tasted something sweet on his tongue, “I like it.”
In my heart there’s an echo of the warmth I felt that day, but the memory hurts. It hurts that I’ll never see him again, that he’ll never live out the dreams we shared in our secret meetings. Dreams of a shared future and changes to a system that makes Lifers less than human.
When I’ve gathered the small inkpot and put on my slippers, I notice a smear of blood on the slipper material from where I slipped earlier. It’s the opportunity I need to let my change in status be known below.
“Umm.” I clear my throat. Please let the stories I’ve heard of the Lady be true.
“What?” asks Davyd from where he waits by the door, presumably to escort me to his mother. The intensity of his gaze makes me quake inside. It’s all I can do not to lift my hand to check my top is correctly buttoned and my hair hasn’t grown beyond the fuzz a Lifer is allowed.
“My foot attire isn’t suitable to serve the Lady.” I point to the faint smudge of brown seeping into my footwear. It is said by those cleaners who are permitted into the Fishie sleeping quarters that the Lady insists her apartment be kept spotless. She’s unlikely to be pleased with me reporting for duty in bloodstained slippers.
Davyd’s jaw tenses. Maybe I’ve pushed him too far with this delay. I hold my breath.
But then his annoyance is gone and his face is the usual smooth mask. “Change. I will be waiting at the lift between the training hall and study rooms.”
He doesn’t need to tell me to hurry.
He opens the door leading out into the hallway and I expect him to stride through and not look back. Again he surprises me. He turns. His face is in shadow. The brighter light behind him shines on his tousled blond hair, which gives him a hint of the angelic.
“Assuming it’s my brother you’re mourning,” his voice is deep and for the first time there’s a slight melting of the ice. “You should know. … He wasn’t worth your pain.”

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author
Beck-Nicholas-head-shot-248x300
I always wanted to write. I’ve worked as a lab assistant, a pizza delivery driver and a high school teacher but I always pursued my first dream of creating stories. Now, I live with my family near Adelaide, halfway between the city and the sea, and am lucky to spend my days (and nights) writing young adult fiction.
Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest
Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway
Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
The book will be sent upon the titles release.


Button

Friday, October 10, 2014

Chapter Reveal and Giveaway: The Night House by Rachel Tafoya

M9B-Friday-Reveal
Welcome to this week’s M9B Friday Reveal!
This week, we are revealing the first chapter for

The Night House by Rachel Tafoya

presented by Month9Books!
Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!
Nighthouse-cover
Bianca St. Germain works at a Night House, a place where vampires like the aristocratic Jeremiah Archer, pay to feed on humans, and she doesn’t much care what others think of her. The money is good, and at least there, she’s safe. Bianca also doesn’t care that the Night House is killing her. All she cares about is: nauth, the highly addictive poison in vampire bites that brings a euphoria like no drug ever could.
But when Bianca meets James, a reclusive empath who feels everything she does, for the first time, she considers a life outside of the Night House and a someone worth living for. But Jeremiah has decided to keep Bianca for himself; he won’t allow her to walk away.
As she allows her feelings for James to grow, she struggles to contain nauth’s strong hold on her life. If they are to have a future, James must make her see what she’s worth, what she means to him, before Jeremiah and nauth claim her for good.
add to goodreads
Title: THE NIGHT HOUSE
Publication date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Month9Books, LLC.
Author: Rachel Tafoya
Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Excerpt
Enjoy Chapter One! Happy Reading!

The Night House
Rachel Tafoya
Bianca

It’s been one day since I last had nauth.
A chill is starting to set into my bones. As some giant carelessly spills orange and red over the sky, I hurry back to the Night House. This tiny black pillowcase that I call a dress is tighter than it should be, and I’m in heels that force me to walk on my toes. I never took ballet, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been walking on pointe since I came to Philly.
When I reach the building, the sun is long gone. My boss, Finn, waits behind the black double doors. I can’t see him, but I can feel him—or maybe I’m just used to his grimace greeting me. My shoes click against the stone steps. I love that sound. Sometimes I spend my days just listening to everyone walk by. The click, thud and slap of shoes are the real soundtrack of the city.
But the Night House is quiet.
Finn opens the door for me with a scowl. He could be beautiful like the others, if he tried, but he is the laziest vampire I have ever met.
“Bianca St. Germain.” His voice is bored, as usual. “You’re late.”
“Figured you’d rather I take my time than break my ankle in these shoes.” I breeze past him. The chilly night air follows me in, pawing at my back like a neglected pet.
“I can fix ankles,” Finn is still facing the door like I haven’t moved. “Your pitiful lack of manners, however … ”
I shrug him off. “It’s a couple of minutes, cut me some slack.”
“This isn’t high school, Bianca. You’re not a teenager when you’re in here.”
“Sorry, I’ll start investing in stocks or something. That’s what old people do, right?”
He huffs in my direction as I feel my way around the darkness. The whole place is pitch black until the thin hallway forks. To my left, pale blue lights beckon the customers. I go right, through the heavy curtain that leads to the girls’ rooms. Vampires with their night vision don’t need guidance, but I’m fairly certain every girl has tripped at least once down here.
The doors are nearly invisible except for the strips of space at the bottom where they don’t quite reach the floor. Those spaces cast light on my feet as I teeter past on these impossible heels. They’re new, and I’m still breaking them in, but I’ve never felt this tall before.
I hear scuffling and shifting behind those doors. The other girls hide in their rooms all day. They don’t understand why I still crave the sunlight, why I don’t make my room my little home and never leave until I’m called. That’s what Finn wants me to do, what the girls think I should do, but I would rather sleep on the cracked unyielding sidewalks of Philly than in the Night House. I would rather be homeless than call this place home.
When I find my room, I turn the knob and bump my hip into it. It opens with a groan. My door has been broken for at least three months. Finn keeps saying he’ll fix it, but he couldn’t care less and we both know it. Still, I keep bugging him. I can’t give up that easily.
My room is like two closets that had the walls knocked out between them. A bed is nestled in the corner. Most of my important stuff is underneath there, like sketchbooks, novels and accessories to hide my scars. One wall is dominated by a large mirror with huge lights, like an actress might have for her dressing room. Though I’m sure an actress would have working lights. I slump into the folding chair and rest my fish-netted legs on the dresser. Makeup and various beauty tools—eyeliner, lipstick, blush—lay scattered over it. This is the only time I can bear to look at myself. Right before I become another person.
I start with the lips. Blood red, the way they like it. Then I frame my eyes in black so that the green pops. I don’t need to do anything to appear pale. That one comes naturally. But I smooth my face with lotion and foundation, and then add rosy cheeks. When I unravel my scarf, I have to close my eyes. That way, when I open them, I can pretend it’s someone else’s neck covered with scars. Some crazy girl with her makeup on. The scars are nearly invisible, thanks to Finn and his healing blood, but I can still see clumps of white scar tissue, just a shade paler than my skin. I hate not being able to cover my scars with anything—makeup doesn’t taste good.
When I am done with makeup, I change out of my dress and tights and heels and put on an awful old corset. Each girl has at least one old-fashioned outfit because sometimes vampires prefer to live in the old days. We all have different specialties. My friend Alex is all about the 1950s. I got stuck in the 19th century.
Tonight, I have an appointment with Jeremiah, and he’s very old and very proper but he’s not above throwing a tantrum if I’m not perfectly in period. Jeremiah is a regular here. For a while, he used to switch between the girls until I showed up. He’s something of a collector, and when he found out I had AB negative, he became my regular. Apparently AB neg means something, or that’s what Finn told me anyway. It’s tricky having the same guy come by all the time because you start to know each other. That doesn’t make it easier. I wish they were all strangers. Unfortunately, I know Jeremiah very well.
So I put on this musty old dress with frills and lace and after it’s on, I am a dusty layer cake. I hate Jeremiah, but he pays nicely so I always get a tip from him. That means a new sketchbook, or maybe I’ll treat myself to a cupcake.
Finn knocks on my door even though it’s open. “Jeremiah is here.”
I stifle a groan and meet his gaze.
He gives me a once over. “Fix your hair.”
“One hundred strokes, right?”
“He’s in the Fire Room.” Finn leaves before I can say anything else.
I pick up my paddle brush and make my hair as flouncy as I can, but it’s thick and heavy and sits the same way no matter what I do to it. It could take hours to make my hair salon styled. Besides, it’s fine the way it is. Maybe not 1800s fine, but Jeremiah will have to deal. It’s not my hair he comes for, anyway.
I step out of my room, and I feel like I walked out of Sense and Sensibility. I like Jane Austen. She writes happy endings.
I hate Jeremiah.
The hallway takes me past all the doors which start to open, like night-blooming flowers. Alex flashes a smile. Her hair is full of curlers. Jessie tries to zip up her dress by herself even though we all know she can’t. Yvonne runs between her room and Jordan’s, trying to decide which shoes to wear. Both pairs are ugly.
I take the back way into the lounge, away from the front doors. One of Finn’s guys waits by the entrance. He is even less animated than Finn, which is hard to accomplish. He’s probably well paid with some name like Tank or Gunn. We both pretend this isn’t awkward, and he lets me through.
Yet another hallway lies ahead. Another thick set of curtains separates the lounge from the rooms, but I can see a bit of the blue lights on the other side. There, one of the luckier girls gets to pretend she isn’t vamp food in order to be the hostess, taking names. There, vampires sit idly on a long winding couch, tapping their feet, waiting their turn, while they ignore their thirst. There, Finn handles all the customers and tells them to be patient while the girls get ready. Then we can sneak into the rooms and appear like we’ve been there all along. We’ll ask sweetly, “What took you so long?” and they’ll blame Finn, but they’ll thank him later.
Inside the Fire Room, creatively named for being the only room with a fireplace, is where it starts. My hunger. It is different from the vamps’. It is a void, embedded deep in my veins, which can never be filled.
Nauth.
The word echoes in my head and sends chills down my spine.
I want it.
I want it now.
But I must be patient and distract myself by taking in the decorations in the Fire Room. It really seems like it was transported straight from some Victorian’s living room. From the stiff baroque curtains and the velvet couch, to the unused silverware sitting on the dark wooden table, I blend right in.
This is one big show for the vampires. The whole Night House feels like a movie set. I am an actress. Finn directs us. Still, I know it’s real. So I face the fire and let it warm my skin as I wait for everything to get too close.

Chapter-by-Chapter-header---About-the-Author
Rachel Tafoya
Rachel Tafoya studied creative writing while at Solebury School and was published in their student run literary magazine, SLAM. She attended a writing program for teens at both Susquehanna University and Denison University, and the Experimental Writing for Teens class and Novels for Young Writers program, both run by NY Times bestselling author, Jonathan Maberry. Rachel is the daughter crime author Dennis Tafoya.

Connect with the Author: Tumbler | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Chapter-by-Chapter-header---Giveaway
Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!
Button

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Review: Bird by Crystal Chan

Title: Bird
Author: Crystal Chan
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

A girl, who was born on the day her brother Bird died, has grown up in a house of silence and secrets; when she meets John, a mysterious new boy in her rural Iowan town, and those secrets start to come out.


Don't let the fact that the book summary really doesn't say much turn you off of this one.  It was an amazing story about a family trying desperately to move on after a tragedy - and so far failing to do so.  Their 12 year old daughter is feeling the brunt of this tragedy - the death of her brother on the day she was born.  Her family has never come out from under this cloud, in fact her grandfather doesn't even speak anymore.

Jewel has learned to live life this way, until she meets a new boy in town.  He helps her see herself as something valuable and smart.  He shows her that she has something to contribute.  It was beautiful to watch this family slowly begin to pull themselves back together and build their life all over again.

There was a surprising amount of culture in this story.  An interesting mix of Jamaican and Mexican.  I learned a lot about Jamaican superstitions and they play a role in how this family functions.  They are also the cause of many arguments and long time hard feelings.  Yet more things for Jewel to find herself stuck in the middle of.

Bird was a great coming of age story about a family that has hit rock bottom and the daughter that pulls them back up again.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*


Monday, October 6, 2014

Review: Miss Landon and Aubranael (Tales of Aylfenhame) by Charlotte E. English

Title: Miss Landon and Aubranael (Tales of Aylfenhame)
Author: Charlotte E. English
Source: The Books Machine
Genre: Fantasy
Release Date: September 30, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Tilby, Lincolnshire, 1811. Miss Sophia Landon is the daughter of an impoverished clergyman. Her father’s health is failing fast, but who wants to marry a woman without birth, beauty or wealth? Her prospects are limited indeed - until her friendship with the town’s fae denizens earns her passage to the otherworldly realm of Aylfenhame. Could her fate truly lie beyond the shores of England?

There she meets Aubranael, a young man with a warm heart and a ruined face. In Sophy he sees the answer to his loneliness, but how can a disfigured Ayliri hope to win her heart? When a mysterious witch offers him the temporary gift of beauty, he eagerly accepts: and so begins an adventure that could change his life, and Sophy’s, forever.



This is a great fantasy book that people of all ages will fall in love with.  We open by meeting our story-teller, who just happens to be a bridge troll.  He is a pretty good story-teller and I was captivated from page one.  He tells us that story of Miss Sophia Landon, a rather down and out young lady that has a heart of gold.  She is the perfect fairy tail heroine.  A little quick to temper at times, but she is a very incredibly good person, especially to the fairy types that live near her village of Tilby.

As a gift, a friend of Miss Landon's sends her to Aylfenhame for a visit - a bit of a day long vacation.  It here she meets a strange young man by the name of Aubranael.  He is an elf but has been left horribly disfigured and shunned by his people.  The two instantly feel a connection and Miss Landon can't seem to get him out of her mind when she returns home.

The rest of the story revolves around the two of them trying to find their way back to each other - but not succeeding very well.  Much of this is Aubranael's fault as he is not used to English society and he does not approach the situation with honesty.  It's a great moral tale on the benefits of telling the truth and being true to who you are.

There is a lot of fairy magic and fun all through the book.  It is very fun to read and did a great job of holding my interest.  With a handful of very cure illustrations scattered throughout the story at just the right moments to help you picture the characters and places.  I'm thinking of purchasing a copy for my daughter, as I'm sure she will love it just as much as I did.  I will need watch and see if the author writes more in the series.  While the book does have a very nice ending, I think there's still more to tell in the story of Aylfenhame.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*


Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Review: Tortured Souls (The Orion Circle #1) by Kimber Leigh Wheaton

Title: Tortured Souls (The Orion Circle #1)
Author: Kimber Leigh Wheaton
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Release Date: July 28, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Sometimes Rest in Peace isn't an option...

Kacie Ramsey sees ghosts—and it's ruining her life. Her mother left, her father blames her, and no matter how hard she tries, she can't keep the ghosts away. Now a new power has emerged. Nightly visions of grisly murders and a relentless predator draw her to the brink of insanity.

When the phantom appears at a party, Kacie's longtime crush, Logan, saves her. He invites her to join the Orion Circle, a group of supernatural hunters with chapters in schools all over the country. Through the Circle, Kacie learns to embrace her spiritual powers, and for the first time in her life she feels in control rather than a victim.

But the Foxblood Demon will not give up so easily. A demented serial killer in life who trapped the souls of the thirteen children he murdered, imprisoning them within the walls of his mansion. Now in death, he plots his return while drawing power from the pure souls of the children. He recognizes something in Kacie he's never seen before—a medium powerful enough to provide a vessel for his tainted soul.

Kacie can't ignore the tortured souls of the children crying out to her every night. With Logan at her side, she will fight the Foxblood Demon. But can they banish this powerful phantom, or will Kacie lose not only her body, but her eternal soul to the monster.



This was a fantastic introduction to The Orion Circle, an special club that investigates paranormal mysteries, hauntings, and tries to assist the unwanted ghosties on their way to the other side.  Kacie is a new addition, invited after a current member (and serious crush) finds out she can see and communicate with spirits.  But this time the spirit she sees isn't just annoying or needing help, it wants Kacie.  And it will do just about anything to have her.

This spirit is incredibly nasty and has quite a history that the Orion Circle has to figure out before they can get rid of it.  The journey if very exciting, and all the little clues dropped throughout the story all come together brilliantly.

There is a romance between Logan and Kacie, but while it is somewhat important, the real story is defeating the Foxblood Demon.


Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Review: Against the Darkness (Cimmerian Moon #1) by A. M. Griffin

Title: Against the Darkness (Cimmerian Moon #1)
Author: A. M. Griffin
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

This one time, at band camp…aliens invaded earth. Sounds like a bad riff on an old joke, doesn’t it? Unfortunately for me and my friends, it’s all too true. I thought a mess like this only happened in the movies but, as I watch the alien ships hovering over the major cities, I suddenly realize I’m a thousand miles away from my Mom. From home. From safety.

Darkness may have fallen over the world, but I won’t let it claim me. I’ll do anything I have to get back to Michigan. Yet nothing could prepare me for what we find on our trek north from Tallahassee. There’s hardly anything the aliens haven’t bombed. Survival, at any cost, is the name of the game for the few people who haven’t been killed or captured. As if trying to stay free and alive isn’t enough, I think I just met the love of my life. And he’s just the kind of bad boy who’ll tear down the walls I’ve built around my heart—then break it.





Amazing.  That is the best way to describe Against the Darkness.  It was a brilliant mix of coming of age, science fiction, and alien invasion apocalypse.  Sinta was a very well built character and you can't help but love her.  She has plenty of flaws for readers to relate to, but has such an inner strength and fortitude that you admire her at the same time.  Watching as she turned from the bratty teen arguing with her mother into a formidable survivor was great.  I enjoyed watcher her recover from her mistakes and was thrilled that she didn't make them over and over again.

Now the aliens - we don't see too much of them, but they are this constant threat lurking everywhere.  And I really mean everywhere.  The first time you actually see them as a reader is incredibly intense and brilliantly written.  

There is a sort of love triangle, but the players all know where they stand with each other so it didn't really bother me.  Sinta is pretty sure who she wants, and even the times that it doesn't work out well for her, she sticks to it.  She's not the type to change her feelings easily.

There is one scene where I was afraid something beyond horrible was happening, but thank goodness it didn't - I think you will all recognize it when you get there as the kids were all rescued just in the nick of time.  I had a hard time putting this down and I loved the world that A.M. Griffin created.  Familiar, but at the same time strangely transfigured by the alien invasion.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*


Saturday, September 20, 2014

Review: Dreams and Shadows (Dreams & Shadows #1) by C. Robert Cargill

Title: Dreams and Shadows (Dreams & Shadows #1)
Author: C. Robert Cargill
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: February 26, 3013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

A brilliantly crafted modern tale from acclaimed film critic and screenwriter C. Robert Cargill—part Neil Gaiman, part Guillermo Del Toro, part William S. Burroughs—that charts the lives of two boys from their star-crossed childhood in the realm of magic and mystery to their anguished adulthoods

There is another world than our own—one no closer than a kiss and one no further than our nightmares—where all the stuff of which dreams are made is real and magic is just a step away. But once you see that world, you will never be the same.

Dreams and Shadows takes us beyond this veil. Once bold explorers and youthful denizens of this magical realm, Ewan is now an Austin musician who just met his dream girl, and Colby, meanwhile, cannot escape the consequences of an innocent wish. But while Ewan and Colby left the Limestone Kingdom as children, it has never forgotten them. And in a world where angels relax on rooftops, whiskey-swilling genies argue metaphysics with foul-mouthed wizards, and monsters in the shadows feed on fear, you can never outrun your fate.

Dreams and Shadows is a stunning and evocative debut about the magic and monsters in our world and in our self.



While this story begins with the tale of two boys - this is definitely an novel geared towards adults.  The first part of the story tells the history of Ewan, Knocks, and Colby.  It all begins in the fairy courts - and eventually it seems to end there as well.  The story is full of new legends and lore that are based in some of the traditional faerie legends that I have read in the past.  It is at the same time both familiar and strange.  This wonderful mix was what kept the book going for me.  I loved the history and the interactions between the non-human folk.

The downfall of this book was that even once I finished - I wasn't quite sure where the story was going.  This is a series, so perhaps more will be "settled" in book two, but I was just confused as to what the point of it all was at the end of book one.  It was also much more violent than I had expected - so if you like your violence behind closed doors and glossed over - this isn't for you.  While it wasn't overly graphic, it was still quite descriptive and not my favorite.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Review: Collide by Christine Fonseca

Title: Collide (The Solomon Experiments #1)
Author: Christine Fonseca
Source: YA Bound Book Tours
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Release Date: July 7, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

The most dangerous secrets are the ones that kill.

When a surprising mental breakdown draws too much attention from a secret government group call the Order, 17-year-old Dakota discovers that her so-called boring life isn’t so boring after all. Between the lies, secrets and assassins out to kill her family, Dakota discovers there’s more to paranormal activity than ghosts and cheap mind tricks. Now she must uncover the truth before a new breed of terrorism takes everything away – including her life.



Collide was a bit of a mixed bag for me.  There were parts that I really, really liked.  There were also parts that just seemed a bit dull.  The beginning of the story was a little all over the place and the story dragged a lot until about half way through.  By then, I had gotten a little more into the rhythm of the author's writing and the way events were pieced together within the book and within the individual chapters.

There were several points of view - we had Dakota, The Architect, and a doctor's journal.  They all helped slowly piece together the history of five children with special powers.  The history of a grand experiment that went bad - wiping the memories of most of the kids and splitting them in protective custody.  But someone wants them back - for all the wrong reasons.  The story is their fight for freedom and understanding.

There seemed to be a few too many "I learned this just in time to save the day" scenarios.  I would understand a couple, but it seemed every time they got in trouble some really cool thing would help save the day.  There also didn't seem to be too much logical character growth.  While Dakota goes through a remarkable change - I had a hard time believing that it could have happened to her that quickly.

There really was no set ending.  I hope the sequel explains a little more about Dakota's past and the inner workings of her power and mind.  Perhaps it will make me understand her drastic change better.  The premise of the world and story were great - it just needed to be flushed out a little better for me to really get into it.


Cover Reveal: The Evolution of Emily by Kate Scott

The Evolution of Emily by Kate Scott 
Publication date: November 18, 2014

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Designed by Vinnie Kinsella


Emily Charles knows how to run away. Away from her overprotective, agoraphobic mother. Away from her biology-obsessed, autistic sister. Away from her quiet sheltered claustrophobic homeschooled life. When Emily’s escape plan involves starting her junior year at Kennedy High School, she realizes she’s no longer running away.

Now she’s running towards. Towards her quiet thoughtful cross-country teammate, August. Towards her zany enthusiastic lab partner, Miles. Towards friendship, love, independence, and life.

Thanks to her sister’s special interest in biology, Emily knows all about the birds and the bees. Boys are a lot more confusing!

Readers who enjoyed Counting to D will enjoy Scott’s second title, also set at Kennedy High School.


AUTHOR BIO:
Kate Scott lives in the suburbs outside Portland, Oregon with her husband Warren. Kate was diagnosed with dyslexia as a young child but somehow managed to fall in love with stories anyway. COUNTING TO D is her first novel. When Kate isn't writing, she enjoys listening to audiobooks, camping, and spending time with her friends and family. Kate also spends a lot of time doing math and sciency things and is a licensed professional engineer.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Review: Astral Tide (Otherborn #2) by Anna Silver

Title: Astral Tide (Otherborn #2)
Author: Anna Silver
Source: Self-Purchased
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia
Release Date: February 24, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

London and her friends are fugitives in a reprocessed world where anything New is illegal. But as Otherborn, they’re different. They can dream and create, which hasn’t gone unnoticed. After fleeing Capital City with an assassin on their heels, the Otherborn found nothing went according to plan. Now, they are down by two and on the run in the Outroads, but the Tycoons keep mysteriously gaining on them. And seven months later, London is no closer to her promise to go back for Rye, if there is anything left to go back for. But Zen is teaching London that there may be more to her heart than the pieces she left behind, and London can’t help but feel guilty about not looking back since they fled New Eden. Should she hold on to hope that Rye is more than just a memory, or embrace a new life and love with Zen?

In their race to outrun their enemies, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: they can only run for so long. Eventually, they’ll have to face what waits when the road runs out. Eventually, their fates will catch up to them.



This was a fantastic sequel.  The story picks up as London and her friends are on the run from New Eden, the tycoon paradise.  After discovering a betrayal, they are all a little out of sort and quite confused about what to do next.  There is tons of drama and excitement all the way through, and lots of development for the story line and the characters.

London's Otherborn skills need some work, but once she puts her mind to maxing out her abilities, she accomplishes some pretty amazing things.  The Otherborn "disease" of dreaming seems to be spreading, but the tycoons are dead set on stopping it and preserving their way of life.  London plays quite a key role and so much is going on that it's hard to really talk about it without giving away key parts of the story.

I love that the author isn't afraid to have her characters go through some pretty drastic changes.  It made them all so very real and at the end it gave me an enormous surprise (along with a cliffhanger)!!  Be prepared to read this book quickly, you won't want to put it down.



Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Cover Reveal: The Expatriates by Corinne O'Flynn

The Expatriates #1 by Corinne O’Flynn
(Song of the Sending)
Publication date: October 15th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Designed by Steven Novak


Seventeen-year-old Jim Wales can communicate with animals, but his animal mind-tap ability isn’t why he lives with a traveling carnival. Turns out his family’s been hiding him there since he was little, when they learned someone was hunting all the Scholars. Jim’s a Scholar, and he has no idea.

When a falcon arrives with a message from Jim’s not-dead father from their not-destroyed homeland, Jim’s whereabouts are discovered and Jim’s brother is murdered in his place.

On the run with a strange glass map and a single coin, Jim finds himself racing to reclaim the father he thought he’d lost, plotting to avenge his brother, and finally discovering the truth about who he is.

But going home isn’t the same as being safe, and trust is everything.



AUTHOR BIO:
I write books and stories with fantasy and magic, and sometimes creepy stuff. Ok, a lot of times creepy stuff. I also blog about my adventures over at my website.

Friday, September 12, 2014

Review: Entangled by Amy Rose Capetta

Title: Entangled
Author: Amy Rose Capetta
Source: Amazon Vine
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Alone was the note Cade knew best. It was the root of all her chords.

Seventeen-year-old Cade is a fierce survivor, solo in the universe with her cherry-red guitar. Or so she thought. Her world shakes apart when a hologram named Mr. Niven tells her she was created in a lab in the year 3112, then entangled at a subatomic level with a boy named Xan.
   

Cade’s quest to locate Xan joins her with an array of outlaws—her first friends—on a galaxy-spanning adventure. And once Cade discovers the wild joy of real connection, there’s no turning back.


This was an amazing sci-fi adventure with a nice theory about music behind it.  Cade is unique - she lives in a world filled with static, and only the right kind of music from her guitar can make it fade for a little while.  Then one day she seems to break through and it all goes away - but a strange man shows up with a bit of a history lesson for her.  The history of her life.  And it isn't anything like what she thought.

She is one of a pair of babies - bonded in a strange new molecular way called entanglement.  And her pair, Xan, is out there somewhere and she needs to find him before he is killed by the un-makers.  The un-makers are a strange new race that Cade has never seen before, and they are after her.  Her only hope is to trust in a strange group of new friends.

These new friends were amazingly written.  They had such unique personalities and ways of looking at life.  I loved how even the spaceship was portrayed - she was great!  Their search for Xan leads to several little side adventures and new information about Cade's past.  Each step closer, Cade manages to somehow unlock strange abilities that no one really knows how to control.

The ending was an odd mixture of sadness and hope.  At one point in time, I thought this was going to be a tragedy, but the author managed to miraculously turn it around just in time.  Not everyone comes out at the end unscathed, but their world is not a much better place because of what they've done.


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Review: Bound (Bound Trilogy #1) by Kate Sparkes

Title: Bound (Bound Trilogy #1)
Author: Kate Sparkes
Source: Author Request
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Release Date: June 11, 2014
Reviewed by: Jasmyn

Welcome to Darmid, where magic is a sin, fairy tales are contraband, and the people live in fear of the Sorcerers on the other side of the mountains.

Rowan Greenwood has everything she's supposed to want from life—a good family, a bright future, and a proposal from a handsome and wealthy magic hunter. She knows she should be content with what she has. If only she could banish the idea that there's more to life than marriage and children, or let go of the fascination with magic she's been forced to suppress since childhood.

When Rowan unknowingly saves the life of one of her people’s most feared enemies, that simple act of compassion rips her from her sheltered life and throws her into a world of magic that’s more beautiful, more seductive, and more dangerous than she ever could have imagined.

Rowan might get everything she ever dreamed of—that is, if the one thing she's always wanted doesn't kill her first.





This is a young adult fantasy novel that is geared for the upper end of that age category.  With a handful of violent scenes and budding relationship between two of our main characters, it may be a tad bit much for the younger crowd.  That being said, it was incredibly well written with very few points that I wasn't fond of - and nothing that I flat out didn't like.

A few times the author wasn't as clear as she could have been about who was speaking or performing some action and I had to go back a few sentences to try and figure it out.  This seemed to happen mostly when she was writing from Aren's point of view - so perhaps I just didn't pick up on his voice well enough.

I loved the character of Rowan.  Her fierce curiosity that often got her lectured on what topics were appropriate for her to read and learn about, her seemingly fearless nature, and her quick thinking were all traits that anyone would find themselves drawn to.  But at the same time, she wasn't perfect.  She trusted too easily and found it difficult to make the hard decisions on her own (such as if she should get married).  The way she matured and grew throughout the journey was amazing.  I didn't even realize how much she had changed until near the end.  She was a completely different and more confident person that she was at the beginning, and I liked her even more.

Aren is a person everyone in Darmid fears - he has magic and that means he's bad.  The people of Darmid really don't look any farther than that.  Aren was a small problem for me.  He was so hung up on what he was doing and why that I got just a little tired of his internal dialog.  It was an important part of the story, and much of it gave me some good insight into why he was doing things, but I heard it one too many times is all.

Rowan's journey was incredibly exciting.  It was a grand adventure and she got to see and experience so many new things.  It was everything she had ever dreamed about - but terrifying at the same time.  I loved the creatures they came across - Ruby especially was very fun.  I will be keeping an eye out for book two (sometime 2015 I believe) so that I can see how Rowan's journey continues.

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*