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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Incendiary Tour AKA Why Amy Bartol is Awesome!

People of the inter-webs, (well the cool ones who stop by this blog: aka you dear reader) if you do not know who Amy Bartol is, your life is a sad one my friend.  But, it's about to get injected with a WHOLE LOT of awesome!!  That's right, Amy is hanging out today on the blog and we are presenting you with an awesome character map for Zephyr (Zee King) from Amy's awesome premonition series.  Plus I will have a review and a raffle copter going for a signed copy of Incendiary that Amy is generously throwing in!  

So first a little about Zee, oh and here's a swoon worthy picture from Amy's pinterest on what he looks like ;-) 

ZEPHYR “ZEE” KING – when Evie first meets Zephyr in Inescapable, she recognizes him for what he is: a highly lethal, divine assassin angel.  He’s of the class called “Power.”  Power angels are the military division of angels that are assigned to annihilate fallen angels.  He is extremely intelligent, harrowingly strong, and exquisitely handsome.  Zee, like most Power angels, had limited emotions, but that changes when Evie enters his life.  Now he’s experiencing love and raw desire for Buns, a Reaper angel.  His life on Earth has been one of secrecy and isolation for centuries.  He’s forbidden to reveal himself as an angel to humans so when he saw Evie and found that she's half human and half angel he immediately tried to destroy her.  But now, he has joined Reed in attempting to protect Evie from the predators stalking her.

Physical attributes:  Appears to be approx. 20-years-old (but he’s ancient), 6’ 2”, brown hair with an “in the now” style, ice blue eyes, light brown avian wings that are retractable and can be completely hidden within him, chiseled face, flawless angelic skin, sleek muscles.
Zephyr’s Class of angel:  Divine Power angel – second tier of angel known as the military branch of angel or the “avenging angels.”  They’re ordered to annihilate the fallen angels on Earth and to restore order to the universe. They’re distinguished by their wing color that can be gray, brown, or green and resemble an avian.  Their military court on earth is called Dominion.  They cannot return to Paradise until they're called back.  Their symbol is the sword.
Supernatural abilities: 
·      Immense physical strength - he can juggle minivans if he wanted. This is a standard angelic trait.
·      Run extremely fast - like the wind, he can move so fast he is just a blur to the human eye. This is a standard angelic trait.
·      Fly – he can fly by using his light brown wings. This is a standard angelic trait.
·      Acute hearing – This is a standard angelic trait.
·      Higher visual acuity – ability to assess everything in a highly expanded field of vision and categorize each item within a fraction of a second.  Can see vast distances and has night vision.  Able to detect several colors not in the human spectrum of vision, and allows the angel to see lingering “souls” who have not ascended (ghosts). This is a standard angelic trait.
·      Extremely lethal fighting skills – an assassin whose sole purpose now is killing fallen angels.  This is a Power angel trait.
·      Immortality – Zephyr will never die unless another being kills him.  If he is killed, he ‘ceases to be’ because angels do not have souls.
·      Heal from serious wounds – ability to heal and regenerate tissue, sinew and bone rapidly.  This is a standard angelic trait.


Mappin' it out!! *disclaimer: Amy and I were not really sure what a character map is.  Here is our best guess on this, so just go with it!*



Zee

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To Reed, he's like a brother, a strategic partner in war  and the only person who has known Reed for centuries. 












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To Buns, he's a lover and an overprotective Power angel.





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To Evie, he's a mentor and as close as a big brother--family.







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To Russell, he's a mentor and a best friend.












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To Brownie, he's family












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To Brennus and the fellas, he's another "aingeal" to kill








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To Tau, he's one of the angels who saved his daughter...but an angel who is in the way of allowing Tau to win Evie's trust.










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To Xavier, Zee's one of the Powers who saved his angel (Evie)...but someone who now wants to kill him (Xavier) for what he did to Buns. 







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To Cole, he's a Power, which is beneath the Seraphim, and therefore Zee should do as he's told. 















Hopefully this map helped you out if you were at all lost in the world of angels and ganacaugh!  

Review:  I have been way too invested into this series.  I picked this series up last year on a whim because it had really good reviews, and the cover of Inescapable (book 1) is super pretty.  Needless to say I became HOOKED.  Going into the story of Evie was like a breath of fresh air, and with each addition to the series, more and more of this complex story becomes presented to you.  I thought that Incendiary was CRAZY.  Literally parts, (hello Xavier) made my jaw drop.  I remember while reading it I was frantically tweeting Amy asking her what she was doing to me.  Reed and Evie have been through SO much, I just want them to have a HEA, but I don't see that happening for the for-seeable future.  Incendiary is chalk full of people from Evie's AND Russell's angel past and it is a freaking doozy.  A huge part of me (ok all of me) is extremely happy that Russell's angst is somewhat diminished in this book.  He's an awesome character, and deserves not to have his heart killed in every scene.  But, whoa, with the introduction of Xavier (who by the way sounds incredibly hot) I'm not sure where my loyalties lie.  I mean I love Reed, please don't think I am abandoning team Reed, but I am completely torn with Xavier coming into the picture.  Seriously this book is giving me anxiety about who I really love the most, (It's still Reed, don't worry Premonition Pals). 


Ok, I must discuss the Evie's dad.  I think that Incendiary has been out for long enough that I am not going to be giving away a spoiler BUT IF YOU HAVE NOT READ INCENDIARY YOU ARE NOT SAFE FROM THIS POINT ON:  


I REPEAT: SPOILER ZONE AHEAD:


Ok, now that that's out of the way.  I really, really don't like Tau. I didn't like him already with the whole "ditching" Evie when she was younger thing, but his reappearance has taken my loathing to a whole new level.  In fact, I don't trust that trio at all.  I want to love Xavier because I am all for the true love never dies thing, but the reappearance, and controlling of Evie is just super sketch to me.  Maybe I am crazy, maybe not.  I just really need the next book.  


END OF SPOILER ZONE


Welp, I really must say that Incendiary was a ride chalk full of craziness.  Seriously, I was not expecting so many of the events in the book to happen, my jaw was to the floor at parts of this.  SUPER excited for Iniquity and to get more back story on this complicated group.  Seriously, Amy keeps peeling off layers and layers and I don't even know how many more layers we will see.  I LOVED Incendiary.  If you haven't read the Premonition series, this one you MUST read.  It's soooooooo good, and Amy Bartol is a superior story teller and all around awesome human being.  Seriously read the series!! 


Oh Yeah Count



5/5 OH YEAH I LOVED IT

International Friends please enter!  All are welcome in this contest! :D



About Amy Bartol:
Author of Inescapable: The Premonition Series (Volume 1), Intuition: The Premonition Series (Volume 2), Indebted: The Premonition Series (Volume 3) , and Incendiary: The Premonition Series (Volume 4). Currently working on a fifth novel in the Premonition Series entitled Iniquity.

I live in Michigan with my husband and our two sons. My family is very supportive of my writing. When I’m writing, they often bring me the take-out menu so that I can call and order them dinner. They listen patiently when I talk about my characters like they’re real. They rarely roll their eyes when I tell them I’ll only be a second while I finish writing a chapter…and then they take off their coats. They ask me how the story is going when I surface after living for hours in a world of my own making. They have learned to accept my “writing uniform” consisting of a slightly unflattering pink fleece jacket, t-shirt, and black yoga pants. And they smile at my nerdy bookishness whenever I try to explain urban fantasy to them. In short, they get me, so they are perfect and I am blessed. Please visit me at my website: www.amyabartol.weebly.com




Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Someone To Love Tour!



Blurb:
New Adult - Contemporary Romance
*Intended for mature audiences 17+* Sexual situations

Someone to Love is a light, sexy read that is far more naughty than it ever is nice.

What happens when two people who don’t believe in love, happen to fall madly into the most beautiful relationship they could ever imagine? A train wreck.

When twenty-year-old Kendall Jordan transfers clear across country to Garrison University, the last thing she’s looking for is a one-night stand. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what, gorgeous, Cruise Elton offers.

Kendall has long since come to realize that love is an illusion that never lasts, and Cruise couldn’t agree more—but something deep inside her wants him all for herself. So, Kendall devises a seat of the pants plan to “play the player” and proposes that Cruise tutor her in becoming a female version of himself, Garrison University’s own playboy.

Real feelings begin to emerge, and neither Kendall nor Cruise know how to classify them. Everything they once thought they knew is redefined as they discover, in one another, Someone to Love.


My Review:  One thing I really love about reading is that you see a whole spectrum of different people and emotions.  Relatable characters become like your friends and you can't help but connect to the people that are in the pages.  In Someone to Love that is exactly what we get with main character Kendall.  She's a little innocent, completely tough, and can hang in really bad situations, like not having a place to stay when you get to your school all the way across the country,  I would have been freaking and stressed out.  Well this is where Cruise Elton comes to the rescue and offers "Kenny" a place to stay.

Overall I thought the story was one that is very sweet and reminiscent of young love.   It's easy to become passionate when something new takes presence in life, and it is just as easy to create problems where there really aren't easy.  Both of these things are illustrated wonderfully in this book.  As for Addison's first foray into NA contemporary I thought she did a superb job breaking out of the paranormal stuff we've seen from her before.  Plus, she writes like she is writing poetry.  Words just flow off the page and become fluid and gorgeous.  Quite a treat to read if you ask me! 


The plot is the only I really have contention with, only because it was an insta-love instance.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing because first loves more often than not are felt immediately and powerfully.  I just like my love stories at a slow burn. ;-)  Definitely recommend this book for a beach read, or curling up on the couch on a cold rainy day for a little steam!  

Oh Yeah Count 
Oh Yeah: I liked it a lot!



Monday, January 7, 2013

The Edge of Never Blog Tour!!

First of all, we just need to love on this cover.  It is amazingly beautiful and wistful and wonderful.  I don't even care how many times I said and in that sentence because this is really an awesome cover.  Just see for yourself!!


If you have been on this blog before, you might have noticed that I have a love affair with a few authors because they are on here multiple times.  J.A. Redmerski is one of those authors and if you don't want to search through the entries to find other reviews of her books, you can click here and   here.  Yeah, I have a mad author crush on her.  

I realize that you may be reading this and thinking well if she's already a J.A. devotee then this review is biased.  I promise it is not.  When a book moves me so much that I am crying on my couch and not ashamed of it when my roommates walk in and catch me, you know that this book is dang good.  When the book first opens,  you're immediately thrust into this world of heavy depression.  It's not that the main character Camryn acts like she wants to die or anything, but it's her lack of will to truly live that settles heavy in your chest.  I truly think that she is an example of an individual grieving and just going through the motions of life.  While the decision to board a grey hound with no destination may seem odd and dangerous to some; but I think the reason this book has become so popular, (hello NYT bestseller list!) is because everyone at some point in their lives just wants to ditch it all.  When Camryn boards the bus, I felt like I was totally in solidarity with her.  Then she meets Andrew, and things definitely change for her.  Andrew is the boy who seemed to know how to fix things.  After reading the first chapter in his POV I was sold.  I am a one hundred percent Andrew Parrish fan.  I love that guy.  I wish he were real.  Seriously. 

As I was reading this I became so completely immersed in the story.  Sometimes when I sit down to read something, I still have all of these other thoughts running through my head. The Edge of Never captivated me.  There are stories that pretty much leave you incapacitated to deal with life after you finish them, and this is one of those books.   The plot was a journey you became invested in.  At every stop on the trip I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen.  The best part about this journey was nothing was contrived or cliche.  It was a slow building of trust and relationship between two people.  I've re-read it twice since I originally read it.  It's that good.  


Andrew's and Camryn's journey is something that is so gratifying.  I guess you could say that their road trip with no destination is a metaphor for how they were feeling in life.  Ultimately they ended up at their destination, and there was a major WTF moment when they got there.  This moment was SERIOUSLY out of left field.  I was bawling my eyes out unashamedly, (not easy to make me do with since I was around people) almost at the point of breaking my computer because I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING.  Seriously, well done Redmerski, well done.  It takes a lot to surprise me and the major plot twist did me in. 
You guys, seriously, I know I rave about all the books on my blog, (mostly because I only post about books I reeeeally like) but seriously, if you have not read this one, go freaking read it.  It is beautiful, and yes in my completely little girl romantic heart I LOVED this book.   As a loyal stalker, I mean fan of J.A. Redmerski you NEED to go buy this book, and if you already have and are as in love with it as I am: power to the people man.  If I did a favorite book list for the year, The Edge of Never would definitely be on there.

Oh Yeah Count:

OH YEAH I LOVED IT

Buy It!



Book description
Twenty-year-old Camryn Bennett had always been one to think out-of-the-box, who knew she wanted something more in life than following the same repetitive patterns and growing old with the same repetitive life story. And she thought that her life was going in the right direction until everything fell apart.

Determined not to dwell on the negative and push forward, Camryn is set to move in with her best friend and plans to start a new job. But after an unexpected night at the hottest club in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, she makes the ultimate decision to leave the only life she’s ever known, far behind.

With a purse, a cell phone and a small bag with a few necessities, Camryn, with absolutely no direction or purpose boards a Greyhound bus alone and sets out to find herself. What she finds is a guy named Andrew Parrish, someone not so very different from her and who harbors his own dark secrets. But Camryn swore never to let down her walls again. And she vowed never to fall in love.

But with Andrew, Camryn finds herself doing a lot of things she never thought she’d do. He shows her what it’s really like to live out-of-the-box and to give in to her deepest, darkest desires. On their sporadic road-trip he becomes the center of her exciting and daring new life, pulling love and lust and emotion out of her in ways she never imagined possible. But will Andrew’s dark secret push them inseparably together, or tear them completely apart?
Due to sexual content and language, this book is recommended for 17+ – Adult Contemporary Women’s – New Adult Fiction


Giveaway: (1) Signed paperback copy of THE EDGE OF NEVER, (1) Kindle or Nook copy, (1) sterling silver custom book pendant necklace $200 value. Open to United States and Canada only.








Follow the Tour!
Linky code:




About the Author
Author of THE DARKWOODS TRILOGY and DIRTY EDEN, mother, werewolf & zombie fanatic, book addict and a happy hermit obsessed with the Universe. Oh, and AMC’s “The Walking Dead”.
Addictions: Starbucks every morning, trolling Barnes & Noble’s shelves once a week, detesting winter, shopping flea markets and preparing for the collapse of society as we know it. Do I own a tin foil hat? Maybe. :-)
I was born in Arkansas and have lived here most of my life, except the couple of times when I lived in Pennsylvania. I started my first novel at the age of thirteen and have been writing something ever since. Generally, I love characters in life and on paper. I pay attention to people, especially those whose personalities make them different from the rest of us: the drug addict roaming the Laundromat that talks to himself, the young, inattentive mother in the park with the meanest kid on the playground – (the entire cast of ‘Swamp People’) – characters fascinate me and I hope that it shows in my literary work.




Author: J.A. Redmerski

Release date: November 15, 2012

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age Group: New Adult

Tour organized by: AToMR Tours




Friday, January 4, 2013

RECALLED REVEAL!


Woooo!  I am so stoked to be showing off this AWESOME cover today!!! People please meet Cambria Herbert's new baby Recalled!!!

















Blurb: Love or Death? A simple question really. The choice seems obvious. But. What if you never knew love, what if your life was spent just trying to survive? What if you knew your fate before you were fully grown?
And then you died.
And you were given another chance. A better chance.
This new life depended upon one thing: your job. And so you agreed. You thought it would be simple. You thought it would be cut and dry.
It never is.
And now you are left holding the fate of someone else in the palm of your hand and you have to make the ultimate choice.
Love or Death?

Title: Recalled
Series: Death Escorts
Author: Cambria Hebert
Genre: Young Adult Romance with paranormal, thriller and mystery elements
Release: Date: February 15, 2013
Format: Will be available in Print and Ebook
Publisher: Cambria Hebert
Death Escorts is a new series from the author of the Heven and Hell series. This series is unique because each book acts as a stand alone, meaning that you don't have to read all the books in order to understand each of them. They are all based off of the same idea (that idea being the characters are all Death Escorts) and will have some of the same characters in each book. The series is for young adults and beyond and encompasses the elements of romance, thriller, paranormal and fantasy. You will not see vampires, shifters, witches, fae or any type of those kinds of characters in this series.








About Cambria Herbert!
Cambria Hebert is the author of the young adult paranormal Heven and Hell series and the upcoming Death Escorts series. She loves a caramel latte, hates math and is afraid of chickens (yes, chickens). She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair. She currently lives in Pennsylvania where she is plotting her next book. You can find out more about Cambria and her work by visiting http://www.cambriahebert.com







Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Dead Harvest Blog Tour!

Hey all, today we've got Jeanette Bautista hanging out on the blog, so before we get to all the good stuff let's take a look at Dead Harvest!




Someone’s been raising the dead and it’s J’s job to find out who. As a detective operating in the Underworld, J—with her powers of shadow manipulation—is uniquely equipped for the job. What she isn't counting on is the help of an escapee from a mental institution who seems to attract trouble just by existing.

It’s up to J and T—two very unlikely allies—to find the necromancer and bring him before the Underworld Balance Magistrate for judgment before the human world gets wise to the dead walking among them.
So now I have a guest post from Jeanette for you! 
So I was given carte blanche on the subject of this post--which is always a bad idea because my head goes to unexpected places. Jessica mentioned talking about a childhood memory and as I was trying to pick one, I realized that most of mine are either rather disturbing, highly inappropriate, or a combination of the two. I mean, there’s the time my dad shot the Christmas tree with a shotgun (it was leaning to the side so clearly a gunshot would fix it), and there’s the time my grandfather got a bra for Christmas (we were big on gag gifts in my family and Grandpa was rather well endowed). The Huxtables we were most definitely not.
Still, the thing I remember most from my childhood was my rather odd thought process that required me to sleep completely covered when I went to sleep. I was raised on a steady diet of ghost stories and horror movies so I had a pretty overactive imagination. And what that imagination was good for was trying to suss out how to avoid being murdered by the ax wielding maniac that would inevitably find my house one night.
Yeah. That’s right. Completely convinced that I would be murdered in my sleep. Too much Stephen King.
So I came up with a cunning plan (seriously, I was like eight--stop judging me!): I pulled the covers up over my head and I carefully arranged my stuffed bear right next to and slightly above my head. The way I figured, the ax murdered would mistake the bear for my head and when he swung, he would decapitate the bear and not me. I would then be able to make my escape while he tried for a second swing.
I did this every night. It got to the point that I couldn’t sleep without the weight of the comforter covering my head. Even when we lost power and had no AC (I lived in Miami), I still had to have my ax murderer defying comforter and teddy bear.
I still sleep like that to this day. Like I said, I had a kind of strange childhood.

My review of this book will be up soon, I'm still trying to track down the book, but when I get my hands on it you guys will have my thoughts on it!