Review + Giveaway: Say When by Tara West [Book Tour]

Welcome to my stop on the Say When tour! Don’t forget to check out the tour schedule and see what other bloggers thought of this title! 

Say When by Tara West  (Something More #1) 

Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Publication date: July 19th 2013 

Genres: New Adult, Romance

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Book Description:

He told me to say when, but I can’t. Not with Andrés. It’s so hard to say anything when he’s trailing feather soft kisses down my neck, or when his touch sends hot currents of lust rippling across my skin.

Then there’s the way he smiles and offers soft words of encouragement when I’m creating art, almost like he believes I have talent.

He’s not like any guy I’ve ever met. Not like my ex-fiancée. Not like my father. He’s got me thinking that maybe we can have something more. More than just lust, degradation, and abuse.

And now I’m scared, because that means I’ll have to trust him with more than just my body, but with my heart, too.

MY REVIEW:

Say When is an extremely emotional book, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you LOVE.

When I opened it and started reading I thought it was going to be the same sort of book as any other YA/NA romance. But it wasn’t!

It was more serious. And also more desperate.

Say When starts off with Christina breaking up with her boyfriend. She only dated him because her interfering mother set them up. Christina didn’t like the way he treated her, so she got rid of him.

Good call!

One thing leads to another and almost immediately, she meets Andres. A beautiful, Mexican mechanic.  They connect right away and jump into bed together. The sex was steamy, sensual and powerful.

Andres was in the army and has his own demons to face, but when he’s with Christina they fade away and he can sleep at night.

Christina has her own personal problems, but I won’t tell you about them because I think you should find out for yourself. Even if it was a little predictable, it was still emotional reading about it.

The one thing that I didn’t like was that Andres was a little cowardly and didn’t ask Christina a few things before he acted on them. Typical guy! But other than that I loved it!

Overall, this was a short, intense read that I would defiantly read again and recommend to all NA lovers!

Giveaways:

Grand prize giveaway

Prize (open internationally): a 50$ Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecoptor Giveaway

About Author:

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

A former Texas high school teacher, I enjoyed coaching the writing team and even the hectic deadlines that came with running the school publications. After taking a break to raise my baby girl, I now work from home as a cover artist.
In my spare time, I loves to read, exercise and spend time with family and friends. I contribute the cover art for my Whispers Series and have designed covers for over 500 other books.

This tour was organised by:

Giselle Cormier

Xpresso Book Tours

Xpresso Reads

Review: You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

You Are Mine by Janeal Falor

Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Publish Date: May 6th 2013

Genre: YA/ Fantasy/Dystopian

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Book Description:

Serena knows a few simple things. She will always be owned by a warlock. She will never have freedom. She will always do what her warlock wishes, regardless of how inane, frivolous, or cruel it is. And if she doesn’t follow the rules, she will be tarnished. Spelled to be bald, inked, and barren for the rest of her life—worth less than the shadow she casts.

Then her ownership is won by a barbarian from another country. With the uncertainty that comes from belonging to a new warlock, Serena questions if being tarnished is really worse than being owned by a barbarian, and tempts fate by breaking the rules. When he looks the other way instead of punishing her, she discovers a new world. The more she ventures into the forbidden, the more she learns of love and a freedom just out of reach. Serena longs for both. But in a society where women are only ever property, hoping for more could be deadly.

MY REVIEW:

I hosted a book blitz of this book on my blog a few months ago, and I remember wanting to read this book but for some reason I never got round to it or a tour was cancelled or something. So when I was it on NetGalley I squealed (quite loudly!) and instantly clicked to request it.

I was even happier when it landed on my kindle the next day 🙂

The moment I started You Are Mine, I was captivated. The world building was fantastic and unlike any other that I’ve ever read. It started off with Serena being sold as a bride to some horrid, rich warlock. After a few surprising turns, Serena ends up with a stranger from another land.

This new guy is swoon-worthy and I LOVED him, kay? Hands off!

In Serena’s world, women were merely seen as an object. An extra person who had no real meaning other than to have kids, or give orders too. Serena was used to being punished over the slightest thing by her father and expects no different from her husband to be.

But it turns out that he’s actually quite decent and doesn’t want to hurt her or her sisters. (Thirteen of them!)

There is a slight element of magic, but not enough to make you think Harry Potter. The romance was subtle, and more romantic than what I expected. (That sentence doesn’t really make sense, but I know what I mean!)

I would recommend You Are Mine to readers who love paranormal romances and those to enjoy a good swooning over a “barbarian” who is actually lovely!

About Author:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Janeal Falor lives in Utah where she’s finally managed to live in the same house for more than five years without moving. In her spare time she reads books like they’re nuts covered in caramel and chocolate, cooks whatever strikes her fancy, and enjoys the outdoors. Her husband and three children try to keep up with her overactive imagination. Usually they settle for having dinner on the table, even if she’s still going on about the voices in her head.

Review + Giveaway: Forever Innocent by Deanna Roy [Book Tour]

Welcome to my stop on the Forever Innocent tour! Click  HERE to see the tour schedule and to see what other bloggers thought of this title! 

Forever Innocent by Deanna Roy 

Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Publication date: October 1st 2013 

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Book Description:

“Our baby died on prom night, and nothing was ever the same again.”

Corabelle doesn’t feel like any of the other college girls. On what should have been one of the happiest nights of her life, she and her boyfriend Gavin watched a nurse disconnect the ventilator from their seven-day-old baby. During the funeral two days later, Gavin walked out and never returned.

Since then, her life has been a spiral of disasters. The only thing that has helped is her ability to black out whenever the pain gets too hard to bear, a habit that has become an addiction.

When Gavin shows up in her astronomy class four years later, he is hell-bent on getting her back, insisting she forgive him. Corabelle knows she can’t resist the touch that fills the empty ache that has haunted her since he left. But if he learns what she has done, if he follows the trail back through her past, her secrets will destroy their love completely. And once again, she’ll lose the only person who always believed she was innocent.

MY REVIEW:

Words cannot describe just how much I loved this book! It was insane, I literally couldn’t put it down!

Forever Innocent is one of those books that makes you wish they ended up together no matter what happened…LIFE WOULD NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT CORABELLA AND GAVIN TOGETHER!

I cried so many times in Forever Innocent. I am now an emotional wreck!

The jist of the story is;

Corabella and Gavin have known each other since they were babies, they lived next door to each other their entire life.

When they where teens, they decided to turn their friendship into something more. Corabella ended up pregnant, but Gavin stayed with her and they planned to get married.

The baby, Finn, came early by two months. He was fine, until they discovered a heart defect. Finn lasted seven days before it was time to turn off the machine that kept him alive.

Gavin stormed out of the funeral and Corabella didn’t see him for four years. During those four years, both of them did things they shouldn’t. But they found each other in a university, studying astronomy.

When Gavin was thinking about Finn and how he would never be a father to him….THE FEELS. RIGHT IN THE GUT. I’m not ashamed to say that I cried. Out loud. Not like, one single tear sweeping prettily down my cheek. I’m talking snotty nose, tissues, and chocolate.

I thought that Forever Innocent was written beautifully and after reading about the author, I realised that something similar happened to her in her life.

Overall, please, please read Forever Innocent. It’s really NOT like all of those NA’s out there. You can feel the magic in this book. Whatever genre you like, pick this book up. You won’t regret it.

Giveaway:

Grand prize giveaway

Prizes (open internationally):

–a $50 gift card to any store and a lovely butterfly necklace with a USB loaded with Forever Innocent.

a Rafflecoptor Giveaway

About Author:

 Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook

Deanna Roy is a sucker for romance and drama and dumps hefty amounts of both in her novels. She is also a powerful advocate for baby loss moms and has founded multiple support groups for women, from teens on up, who endure this impossible heartache. Her other novels include Baby Dust and Stella & Dane: A Honky Tonk Romance.

Tour Organised by 

Giselle Cormier

Xpresso Book Tours

Xpresso Reads

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Lost Without You by Liz Hannah

Lost Without You by Liz Hannah

Expected Publication: December 30 2013

Cover Design: CoverIt! Designs

ADD TO GOODREADS!

Book Description:

Grace Young thought she was a survivor – until the day her twin brother died, leaving her parents heartbroken and their relationship with Grace fractured beyond repair. Now all Grace wants is a chance to experience something of a normal life, before it’s all too late.

Going to college hundreds of miles from home seems like the right way to embrace her new found freedom, especially after years of homeschooling, but while Grace takes to her classes naturally, it’s the other side of college that she’s unprepared for.

The parties. The friendships. The boys. Especially one Dean Michaels, the Haven University’s star soccer player. Fate throws the pair together, and their friendship starts to turn into something more. But can Grace keep the secrets of her past hidden without hurting those she’s come to count on the most?

*New Adult Contemporary Romance, recommended for readers 17+ for mature situations*

GIVEAWAY:

Win 2 New Adult Paperbacks

a Rafflecoptor Giveaway

About Author:

Blog | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Liz Hannah is a New Adult author that calls both Scotland and Australia home. Currently studying her Bachelor of Arts at university, when she’s not busy reading or writing, Liz can be found procrastinating from her studies indulging in her Pinterest habit or watching too many TV shows. Lost Without You is her debut New Adult novel.

Giveaway + Excerpt: To Know Me by Marcy Blesy [Book Blitz]

Welcome to the blitz of To Know Me! Read on for an awesome excerpt!

To Know Me by Marcy Blesy

Published by the Author

Genre: YA

BOOK LINKS: GOODREADS | AMAZON

Book Description:

To know me is to die…

Seventeen-year-old Mae is convinced that the consequences of her poor decisions have caused the untimely deaths of her dad, sister Laura, and grandma who all die within a year, no matter how ludicrous her thoughts seem to those she loves. The solution? Run away so no one else she cares for gets hurt (even if she has to keep a GPS tracker on her phone at all times).

Desperate to earn her diploma and salvage something of her life, she transfers schools when people get too close. After switching to Woodson Prep with only two months to go until graduation, Mae keeps her goals in sight. But when she meets Ty, the “perfect boy” with his own secrets and a relentless interest in Mae, she must decide if she can stop running from the past and still protect those she loves.

EXCERPT:

“Is this for me?” I ask as Ty stands in the center of the clearing with a yellow rose in one hand.

“No. It’s for that grandma who’ll be passing this area in about ten minutes. I’m just practicing my delivery.” He’s so cute when he’s being sarcastic. I take the rose. In an instant I am shocked back to the day of Laura’s funeral. Everyone in her sixth grade glass brought roses to the cemetery to lay upon her grave, yellow ones, her favorite color. “Why aren’t you smiling?” Ty asks. “Did I do something wrong?”

“N…no.”

“Your hand is shaking,” he says coming over to my side. “Sit down.” He points to the picnic table. “Mae, if you don’t tell me anything I won’t ever be able to help you. I want to help you. I know what it’s like to need help. There’s a lot you don’t know about me, too. And I’m willing to tell you. It’s weird because I hardly know anything about you, but I feel like we’re a lot alike.”

“We’re nothing alike,” I say. I want to tell him. But if I do? Then what? He won’t understand. No one does.

“Is yellow not a good color for brunettes?” he jokes. I can’t help but smile. He takes the rose, breaks off the stem, and tucks it behind my ear. He leans in to smell the rose and kisses my cheek. Only the crunching of sticks from the older couple on the path stops him from reaching my lips.

GIVEAWAY:

2 ebook copies of To Know Me (mobi) US

a Rafflecoptor Giveaway

About Author:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter

I am a former elementary school teacher and currently run an elementary library which is the perfect job for my interests.

In October 2010 I  had an essay published in Chicken Soup for the Soul:  Devotional Stories For Mothers.   Another essay will be published in November 2013 in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just Us Girls.

In 2012 my debut picture book was released by Bronze Man Books. Am I Like My Daddy? follows the journey of a child who seeks to learn if she is anything like the dad who died when she was young.

My middle grade novel, Confessions of a Corn Kid, as well a YA short story trilogy, The Lexie and Rhett Chronicles, and To Know Me, were released direct to kindle in 2013.

I am a great eavesdropper and person profiler which proves a fabulous advantage for a writer. As my favorite shirt says, Be careful or you’ll end up in my novel.

 

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Book Blitz organized by:

YA Bound Book Tours

Review + Giveaway: By Blood by Tracy E. Banghart [Book Tour]

Welcome to my stop on the By Blood tour! Sorry it’s a little late, WordPress keeps messing me about…I’m terrible at computer skills! Click HERE for the tour schedule and to see what other bloggers thought of this title!

By Blood by Tracy E. Banghart 
Series: By Blood #1 
Publication date: February 18th 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Book Description:

For 17-year-old Emma Wong, spending a summer in England should be a dream come true. Gorgeous scenery? Check. Lots of hot guys with accents? Yes, please.

Throw in an estranged mom, annoying new stepdad, and drooling baby half-brother, and it’s a disaster even her favorite cherry red leather jacket can’t fix. Even worse, there’s (hot) live-in research assistant Josh to contend with. The only thing more embarrassing than   drunk-kissing him hours after they meet? Knowing he’ll be witness to her family’s dysfunction all. summer. long.

But when Emma meets a mysterious girl who happens to be a Druid, her vacation suddenly promises to be far more intriguing than she  anticipated. Powerful rituals, new friends, an intoxicating sense of freedom…and Simon, the sexy foreign stranger she was hoping for. It’s all a perfect distraction from dirty diapers and awkward family dinners.

Trouble is, intriguing doesn’t often mean simple. And Emma is about to discover just how not simple her life really is.

By Blood is a novel about the ways that blood can bind us to others – or tear us apart.

MY REVIEW:

I honestly, really enjoyed reading By Blood! I thought it was highly interesting and captured my imagination like no other book has done for a while.

It took me forever to actually pick this book up, I’m not sure what was so intimidating about it, but once I read past the first few pages I was hooked!

In some parts in By Blood I was a little frustrated with Emma, when she messed Josh about and made stupid decisions. And didn’t want to help out with Fermin, (Vermin haha!). (I LOVE babies!)

I knew from the beginning that Simon was trouble. Never go for the one that tells you he loves you. Rule number one! But seriously, I enjoyed By Blood and would read the sequel.

I would recommend By Blood to readers who love a mix of paranormal and romance  🙂

Info for the Second Book:

Moon Child by Tracy E. Banghart

Series: By Blood #2

Publication date: August 16th 2013

Genre: YA Paranormal

Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N

Book Description:

Before Emma’s adventures in Oxford, her best friend Diana came face-to-face with a killer…Diana Calvert is so over high school. Who cares if Olivia hates her? And David needs to forget about having a crush on her STAT. Even Emma’s crazy fashion choices can’t keep Diana entertained. All she can hope for is a dance scholarship to a college as far away as possible from too-small, too-boring, too-nothing-ever-happens New Freedom, PA.

Then Diana meets Nicholas Woodhaven. He’s pale, angry…yet weirdly charming. The more time they spend together, the more she wonders who – or what – he really is. Because he isn’t anything like the other guys she knows. Not with the whole only-going-out-at-night thing. And living with his creepy aunt. And not going to school.

Just when Diana thinks she’s got Nicholas all figured out, people in her small, nothing-ever-happens town start dying. She has to wonder – can she trust him? And even more alarming – could she be next?

A murder mystery with a paranormal twist, Moon Child is best read under the covers with a flashlight…if you dare!

 

Giveaway:

Grand prize giveaway

Prizes:

1) (US only) SIGNED paperback copies of BY BLOOD & MOON CHILD + $20 Amazon, B&N or Smashwords gift card

2) (US & INTL) (2 winners) paperback copies of BY BLOOD & MOON CHILD + $10 Amazon, B&N or Smashwords gift card

3) (US & INTL) (2 winners) E-copies of BY BLOOD & MOON CHILD + $5 Amazon, B&N, or Smashwords gift card

a Rafflecoptor Giveaway

About Author:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Tracy E. Banghart is a cheesy movie–loving, fantasy football–playing (go Ravens!), globe-trotting Army wife who began “practicing” her craft at the age of five, when she wrote her first story. She loves visiting the international friends she met while pursuing her MA in Publishing and spends a portion of every summer at her family’s cabin in Canada, where she finds inspiration and lots of time to relax on the dock. She lives with her husband, son, two lazy dogs and one ornery cat. When not writing or spending time with her family, she is on a mission to bake the perfect cupcake.

Review + Giveaway: Not Pretty Enough by Jaimie Admans

Welcome to my stop on the Not Pretty Enough tour! I got my dates all mixed up but Dianne sorted it all out for me 🙂 Click HERE to see thetour schedule and to see what other bloggers thought of title.

Title: Not Pretty Enough

Author: Jaimie Admans

Date of Publication: August 1, 2013

Genre: Contemporary YA

My Rating: 4.0/5.0

Book Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Book Description:

“New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Lloyd Layton will know I exist. He once said three whole words to me, so this is obviously progress. If I don’t get a proper conversation out of him soon, then I’ll take my top off and streak through the cafeteria, because nobody could fail to notice these boobs.

2. I will not get expelled for streaking through the cafeteria.”

Those are the words that begin her mission.

Chessie is fourteen, not pretty enough, and very much in love. Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and unaware of Chessie’s existence.

Her goal is clear: to get Lloyd to love her as much as she loves him, and she has exactly one year to do it.

As Chessie’s obsession with Lloyd reaches boiling point and she starts to spin a web of lies that spiral out of control, Lloyd turns out to be not quite the prince she thought he was. Can Chessie avoid the gathering storm before things go too far?

MY REVIEW:

When I started this book, I was actually reading a completely different book to this. But I clicked on this on my kindle and the next thing I knew, I was already half way through!

I laughed so much in this book! It was seriously hilarious! I was LOL’ing so hard, it was unreal. The only other books that I have read that make me laugh out loud, are written by Sue Limb. I’m sure most have read the Zoe and Chloe books, the Charming but Insane, Girl 15 books… and Not Pretty Enough reminded me of them.

Chessie is absolutely bonkers mad! I loved it! So many mental things happened to her! At one point she even dyes her hair with food colouring…I mean….who on earth DOESN’T want to read about THAT? That’s not even the worst, cringe-worthy thing that happens to the poor girl!

I’ve mentioned that I KEEP reading mind numbing NA romances, but Not Pretty Enough was great because the main character Chessie, is fourteen and in school! Not UNI! SCHOOL! Yay! So refreshing to read something different for once!

I also liked that there was a moral to the story. Basically, you ARE pretty enough. But I don’t want to give too much away 😛

The one thing that I didn’t like was the swearing. There was a LOT of it for the main character to be fourteen. It just didn’t feel right. It might have been okay in a different sort of novel, but in my opinion, there was too much in Not Pretty Enough.

Overall, Not Pretty Enough is a hilarious read that will make you laugh out loud and, in some parts, cringe! There’s a good moral at the end of the story which we see so little in novels today. So yes, I would defiantly recommend!

GIVEAWAY:

$40 Amazon GC + swag

a RAFFLECOPTOR GIVEAWAY

EXCERPT:

There’s a common misconception that everyone wants big boobs. Let me tell you something: they don’t. If they’re fourteen and have a chest bigger than most of their school, including the teachers, they don’t. I’m a DD cup. People pay thousands of pounds to have their boobs enlarged to be smaller than mine. I can’t remember the last time I passed for a half fare on the bus. Or the last time a bus driver asked my face and not my chest for the fare. Everyone notices boobs when you’re my age. In fact, the only human in the world who doesn’t notice them is the one person I would quite like to notice them.

Lloyd Layton.

I’d quite like him to notice my personality too, but at this point just noticing my mere existence will do. If I have to use my boobs to lure him in, then so be it. The thing is, Lloyd Layton is hot, popular, and really, really tall. Taller than everyone else in our year. Taller than the teachers. Occasionally taller than the doorways. He knows what it’s like to be picked on for a physical attribute you can’t control. He’s different too. He knows what it’s like to be an outsider. Okay, when it comes to Lloyd Layton, he’s not really an outsider, because he’s absolutely gorgeous and loads of people like him, and I doubt anyone would dare to pick on him for anything because he could knock them flying with one swoop of his gigantic hands. But still. He’s taller than everyone and I have bigger boobs than everyone. We’re clearly a match made in heaven. It’s just a shame that he can’t see it yet.

But I’m sure he will one day soon.

I’m actually moving closer to that goal because he said one sentence to me back in December.

One sentence. Three small words. Not the three words I would like to hear him say, but I’ll take what I can get.

It was the last lesson of the last day of term before the Christmas holidays. Double technology. Not usually something to get excited about, but we came to the conclusion that the Christmas spirit had gone to Mr Vale’s head because he let us watch a movie in class instead of doing any work.

The Princess Bride.

We were allowed to pull chairs in around the TV and sit and watch a movie for two hours. Guess who pulled his chair in not that far away from mine?

Lloyd Layton.

I don’t know what happened next. I can’t explain it. It was like having an out of body experience. I’ll never understand how I had the courage to do it, but halfway through the film, I leaned over and said, “This is a good movie.” To Lloyd Layton. Better than that, he actually replied. He said, “Yes, it is.”

Three whole words.

It got even better than that again because after it was over and we were putting the chairs up on the desks, he smiled at me. A real smile. And it wasn’t at the person behind me because I was next to a wall. He smiled at me.

 About Author:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Newsletter

Jaimie is a 28-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, drinking tea and watching horror movies. She hates spiders and cheese & onion crisps. She has been writing for years but has never before plucked up the courage to tell people. Afterlife Academy is her third novel and she hopes you enjoy it. There are plenty more on the way!

This tour was put together by Dianne! And she’s lovely, so go check her out!

Blog | Twitter | Facebook