Saturday, June 30, 2012

Review: Zombie Fever: Malaysia Outbreak By B.M. Hodges




Zombie Fever: Malaysia Outbreak

Title: Zombie Fever: Malaysia Outbreak
Author: B.M. Hodges
Published: February 11th 2012
Published by: Smashwords
Ebook
Pages: 283







Goodreads synopsis:




Overview

A young woman is cast in a reality TV show. Zombies are running rampant.

The contestants race cars deep in the Zombie Quarantine Zone. Who will become infected with zombie fever? Who gets eaten by the zombie horde? And most importantly, who wins the million dollar prize?

"More suspenseful than gory, fast paced, easy to digest and with a storyline that sticks to you."
-Debra Watkins, Attorney at Law

"Oh, please tell me there will be sequel!"
-Alexander Cheung

For those who love zombie horror and can't get enough of The Walking Dead, World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide... ZOMBIE FEVER: MALAYSIA OUTBREAK is a must read!!!

Disclaimer:

You may experience disorientation at the spelling in this novel during certain scenes. Please be assured that the spelling is not in error. In order to retain the authenticity of the South Eastern Asia region, this novel occasionally uses other English spelling and grammar including British, Singaporean and Malaysian English. For example, ‘taxi’ is ‘teksi’ in the Malay form, ‘already’ is ‘oledy’ in the Singaporean form and ‘tire’ is ‘tyre’ in the British vernacular. Do not be alarmed at this global English free-hand. Just read along and you’re sure to get the gist of it.




My Review:

Abigail Tan is a twenty year old who is a proud Singaporean whose parents are Chinese with many Indonesian ancestors. Abigail and her best friend Jamie enter and are chosen as one of the 6 teams on a reality tv show called Cera’s Amazing Rally Showdown, CARS for short. A reality tv show where they race across the Malaysian Peninsula. They have competitions, checkpoints and eliminations. The grand prize is a million dollars. If they win their plan or Abi's plan is to use the money to buy a condo that they can share. The plan is for them to travel and meet different guys in all the places that they visit.

They will be racing through The Zombie Zone. Malaysia has been over run by zombies. Maylaysian called the zombie's 'Berjalan penyakit' in English it means the 'walking infection'. Everyone in the Zombie Zone has been evacuated or has succumbed to the fever. The zombies in Zombie Fever are a little different than the zombies in The Walking Dead or movies that you see on tv. These zombies are a lot faster and they seem to have retained some of their intelligences if you can call it that.

I didn't think that I would enjoy Zombie Fever as much as I did when I saw that it was about a reality show and racing at that. But it was a very exicting, adrenline rushing read that I enjoyed very much. I was rooting for Abi and Jamie in all the compititions. It was like I was on the side line yelling go Abi, go Jamie. You wanted to help them out telling them where to go to find what they were looking for.

I received a copy of ZOMBIE FEVER: MALAYSIA OUTBREAK by B.M. Hodges from LibraryThing for review.





Look for B.M. Hodges on the web

Blog - B.M. Hodges
Goodreads - B.M. Hodges
Goodreads - ZOMBIE FEVER: MALAYSIA OUTBREAK
Facebook - B.M. Hodges
Twitter - B.M. Hodges



Purchase ZOMBIE FEVER: MALAYSIA OUTBREAK:

Amazon

Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday Recommends #15




Photobucket

Friday Recommends is a weekly meme hosted by Pen to Paper. This a weekly book blog hop where we as bloggers choose a book that we have read and recommend it to our fellow bloggers. We can then visit each others blogs to see what other bloggers recommend and find new books to add to our TBR list. Hopefully we all will have new followers from visiting each blog on the linky list.






The rules for Friday Recommends are:




  • Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
  • Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
  • Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers. It can be a book you've read recently, or a book you read years ago - it's up to you - but make sure you tell us why you love the book (like a mini review). You make the post as long or as short as you like.
  • Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of post on host site Pen to Paper after posting your blog post.
  • Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.
  • Visit the other blogs and enjoy!



My Recommend for this week:




Witchcraft (Witchblood, #2).

Title: Witchcraft (Witchblood #2)
Author: Emma Mills
Ebook:
Pages: 233
Published: June 15th 2012





Goodreads synopsis:




Jess is no ordinary vampire. Protected by the Manchester vampire clan, and initiated by her family’s east coast American coven, she is sought after by every dark witch and warring vampire faction. Jess must fight if she wants to keep hold of her friends, her sanity and finally her existence.

As the dead bodies of human girls begin to stack up, and her recently accepted vampire boyfriend, Daniel, finds himself in prison, Jess goes on a crazy, forbidden trip to London, racing against time to save an old friend and solve the mystery behind Daniel’s incarceration. In battling new enemies and finding new friends, Jess’s confidence finds room to grow, but who will she lose along the way?




My Thoughts

Witchcraft is a very intense read that keeps the adrenaline flowing with all the twist and turns. You don't want to put it down, you want to keep turning the pages to find out what is going to happen next. I felt like I was in the same room as Jess seeing an d feeling what she felt and saw. Emma makes you feel as if you are a part of Jess's world with her writing skills. It is like having esp you see the things that Jess sees through Emma's eyes.



Look for Emma Mills on the Web:

Website- WITCHBLOOD...a new novel to sink your teeth into

Facebook- Witchblood the Novel

Twitter- EmmaM

Goodreads- Emma Mills

Goodreads- Witchcraft (Witchblood #2)




Purchase Witchcraft (Witchblood #2):

Amazon

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Review: The Fall (The God Slayers Trilogy #1) By David L. Dawson




The Fall (The God Slayers Trilogy #1)

Title:The Fall (The God Slayers Trilogy #1)t
Author:David L. Dawson
Published: April 28th 2012
Ebook
Pages: 319







Goodreads synopsis:




In a post apocalyptic world ravaged by the gods Ben Casper lives in a crumbling shopping mall called The Glass Palace with his family. He's just come back from a rites of passage into the brutal outside world that officially makes him an adult. Now he must get married and be trained to take over from his father as Mayor. Except he sees things differently now; he falls in love and makes a friend in a member of the Felum, a vicious human/cat hybrid tribe. He doesn't want responsibility. Only he might have it thrust upon him when he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to kill the gods; a plot that could lead everyone he loves into mortal danger...

This is the first volume of The God Slayers Trilogy.




My Review:

Ben Casper is a fourteen year old who has just returned home from his journey. A journey that everyone has to make in the dangerous outside world that makes them an adult. He lives in the The Glass Palace with his family. Ben being the only one of his brothers that came back from the journey will now upon his return be trained to become Mayor after his father's reign. Ben is not sure that he wants to be Mayor, he does not want the responsiblity that the job will entail. He enjoyed the freedom of the outside world.

Upon his return Ben is to find a wife to marry. Several women have put in bids to marry Ben while he was away. Ben is to choose which one that he wants to marry. But Ben finds that he has fallen in love with Brian his best friend Skye's brother. But Brian doesn't feel the same way towards Ben. Brian is in love with one of the women Lottie, that put in a bid of marriage to Ben. Ben turns down the offer of marriage so that leaves her free to marry Brian which they do. Ben is very upset after telling Brian how he feels and finds that Brian doesn't feel the same. He gets very depressed and thinks that he will never find any one to love. He will be alone all of his life.

The two Gods Mixcoatl and Ninurta are still fighting and when they fight they demolition whole villages. The Gods have to be stopped before they kill everyone and destroy everything in their path. Ben finds that he has been kept in the dark about a group called The Order of Power. This group worship the Gods and are fighting to try to keep everyone else in the power of the Gods. There is also another secret group of people called The God Slayers. The God Slayers have been searching for the god cannon for years. The god cannon is the only thing that will kill the Gods.

I enjoyed reading The Fall set in a post apocalyptic dystopian world in the year 2026. While they had no real way of knowing the exact year they believed this to be the correct year. I liked that it was in the future. It was very different from any other post apocalyptic book that I have read. That is what made it so good I think. I liked Ben but I didn't agree with the way he handle somethings. Like when he kissed Brian not that I have anything against him kissing Brian. It's just the fact that he knew Brian belonged to someone else, that he was already married by then. Why didn't he try that before Brian and Lottie were married or even engaged. To me that was wrong. Ben was very immature but he was only fourteen.

I received a copy of The Fall (The God Slayers Trilogy #1) by David L. Dawson from LibraryThing for review.





Look for David L. Dawson on the web

Blog - David L. Dawson
Goodreads Blog - David L. Dawson
Goodreads - David L. Dawson
Goodreads - The Fall (The God Slayers Trilogy #1)




Purchase The Fall

Amazon

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Avid Reader was nominated for the Liebster Blog Award




Liebster Award



I have been nominated for the Liebster Blog Award by Reading With Holly. Thank you Holly for nominating me for this award.




The Liebster Blog Award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers and Liebster is a German word which means sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.




The rules:


  1. Each person must post 10 facts about themselves
  2. Answer 10 questions the tagger has given you and give 10 questions for the people you’ve tagged.
  3. Choose 10 people and link them in your post.
  4. Tell them you’ve tagged them.
  5. Remember, no tag backs.



Ten Random Facts about me:

  1. I have read books since fifth grade.
  2. I have 3 dogs 1 of which belongs to my great niece that we take care of for her. My 2 are Margarita and Little Carley. My great niece's is Big Carley. (Long story)
  3. I love HTML.
  4. I love reading.
  5. I like to drink Margarita's. (Mostly at restaurants)
  6. I can't stand labels on a can food, hand soap, etc... to be turned around backwards.
  7. My favorite writer is Stephen King.
  8. I am a tea-a-holic. Meaning I am addicted to ice tea.
  9. I have 5 or 6 hundred books in storage that I can't seem to get rid of.
  10. I had rather read or be on the computer than watch tv any day.



The 10 Blogs I tagged:

  1. A Reader in Time
  2. Michelle Chew Writes
  3. Fetch Me My Fainting Couch
  4. BeLoved Books
  5. The Lonely Bookshelf Of A College Student
  6. Spare Time Book Blog
  7. Library of a Book Witch
  8. My Book Obsession
  9. Books Are My Heroine
  10. The Daydreamer's Book Obsession



My Ten Questions From Holly

  1. Tell us something we do not know about you?

  2. I am very shy. I have to get to know someone before I can talk to them and sometimes that takes a long time for me. Even when I do get to the point that I can talk to them I still can't talk if there is a group of people. I don't know why. I wish I was not like this. But I don't know what to do about it. I don't how to fix it. I am not an unfriendly person but I know people think I am. I just never have a clue as to what to say when there is a lot of people around me. I get nervous. I have read on the internet that some people who are shy can hide behind there computers and say things they would never say in person. But not me, I still don't know what to say.


  3. Why did you start blogging?

  4. I wanted to make my own web site and I love reading books. There is so much to learning html for making a web site. Besides it takes a long time to learn also. One day I was searching the internet for something that I wanted to know how to do. I found blogs where bloggers were posting reviews of books that they have read. I thought I love to read and I like html. So I thought I could combine what little html I knew with blogging about the books that I have read. So The Avid Reader was born.


  5. How did you create your blog?

  6. I created my blog with the love of reading and the little knowledge of html I know.


  7. What genre(s) are your favorite?

  8. I love Paranormal Romance with any mythical creature like vampires, witches, werewolves or fairies etc.... added in.


  9. If you could date one character form a book who would you pick and why?


  10. This is a hard one. I have to pick just one? If I have to pick just one then it would have to be Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith. Why? Because he is one hot sexy dude. Built like a brick shit house. Need I say more? Naw seriously I think he has a very sweet and loving personality. He knows how to treat a lady. Besides all that he knows how to fight.


  11. If you could be a character in a series or book which would it be and why?

  12. That is easy I would be Zoey Redbird from the House of Night series by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast. She has the powers of all of the elements. Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit. How cool would that be?


  13. Do you write? Or want to be an author one day; if you are not already?


  14. No I am not a writer. I would be lying if I said that I have not thought about it. I have a story that I wrote a long time ago but I have never finished it. My husband says that it is good but I don't know.


  15. Do you read eBooks or hardcover/paperback more?

  16. I read more eBooks than hardcover or paperback.


  17. Do you have any upcoming books you are looking forward to this year or in 2013?

  18. Darkness Fades (Darkness Falls #3) by Jessica Sorensen
    The Burning Bush (Habitat #2) by Kenya Wright
    The Demon Bride (Witching Pen Novellas #3) by Dianna Hardy
    Riven (The Illumine Series #3) by Alivia Anders


  19. As bloggers, we all have another review/book blog that we absolutely love, what is yours?

  20. Turning The Pages



My 10 Questions For You:

  1. How long have you been a blogger?
  2. What is your favorite book or series?
  3. Who is your favorite writer?
  4. If you were in an apocalypse what fictional character would you hope had survived with you? Someone who you think could help you survive. Now don't pick someone just because their hot.
  5. Do you have any pets?
  6. If you were stranded on a desert island. What is the one book that you would want to have with you?
  7. How old were you when you first started reading?
  8. What is your favorite mythical creature? You know like a vampire, a witch, a werewolf etc...
  9. What is your favorite genre(s)?
  10. Is blogging every thing you thought it would be when you first started blogging?

Wishlist Wednesday #13




Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.







  • Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
  • Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
  • Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.
  • Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.
  • Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of the post on Pen to Paper.
  • Put a link back to pen to paper somewhere in your post.
  • Visit the other blogs and enjoy!






On My Wishlist:




Unwind (Unwind, #1)
Title: Unwind (Unwind Trilogy #1)
Author: Neal Shusterman
ebook:
Pages: 352
Published: June 2nd 2009
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers







Goodreads synopsis:




Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.





Why did I choose Unwind for this weeks Wishlist Wednesday?



Unwind sounds like a very intriguing read. The children's organs are transplanted into different donors. Who are these donors? Why do they transplant their organs? Why would they even want to do this to their own children?



Look for Neal Shusterman on the web:


Web site - Neal Shusterman
Goodreads - Neal Shusterman
Goodreads - Unwind (Unwind Trilogy #1)
Facebook - Neal Shusterman
Twitter - Neal Shusterman

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Blog Tour: The Last Arakad - Guest blog + Giveaway



The Last Arakad, The Last Arakad








The Last Arakad





Title: THE LAST ARAKAD
Author: Guillaume Wolf “Prof. G”













Book Description

Do you believe in destiny?

When sensitive Maya moves with her brother Thomas from Los Angeles to Paris hoping for a better life, she has no idea that everything is about to dramatically change. 

What starts as an initiation into the age-old Arakad magical tradition takes an unexpected turn when a wave of brutal murders shatters her world. Caught up in an ancient prophecy, she finds herself at the center of a ruthless battle between good and evil in which humanity’s future is at stake. 

When all hope is lost and she becomes the final target of a sinister clan, will Maya learn to trust herself and her own power? Or will her own fears prevail?





Excerpt from:

CHAPTER 10 — THE OLD ONE




Without saying a word, she stepped in.

 

It felt like being swallowed by a green monster. The wall of greenery had turned into a maze of tubes and tunnels. The sky above disappeared. As she walked deeper in, she felt as though she was leaving the world behind. She was growing distracted and tense, her legs getting scratched by the thorns. Like sharp blades, they cut through her clothes, making her bleed. The path was definitely not tourist-friendly.

After what seemed like an eternity, the narrow pathway led to an enclosure.

“Wow!” whispered Maya. “This is incredible.”

She’d finally found what she was looking for. There he was, eighteen feet tall, defying time. Looking magnificent and powerful, the Old One was standing in front of her. Maya was in awe.

"So . . . my friend was right,” said Thomas, as he arrived on the scene, “this is just an old stone!” His voice brought Maya out of her reverie.

Indeed, the Old One was a giant monolith, an ancient menhir, as they were called in Brittany. These mysterious giants abounded in this region of France and around England. No one knew who had erected them, why, or how. Some historians believed they had been set up in the Neolithic era around 9,500 B.C. Other scholars proposed they were even older, belonging to a forgotten time of legend.

“Thomas, isn’t he beautiful?” said Maya.

“Are you kidding me?” Thomas had had it. “No! This isn’t beautiful. And what do you mean ‘he’? You forced me to walk for hours in the rain and cold to see what? An old stone? And for what? Seriously, for what?” His face was flushed with anger, his eyes wide.

This wasn’t good. Maya knew that when Thomas threw tantrums, they could escalate very fast. She tried to calm him down.

“I see you’re upset and I know, I haven’t enjoyed walking around all day,” she said in a slightly contrived, positive tone of voice. “But we finally found what we’re looking for! We can stop walking. Valerie’s going to be impressed when we—”

“That’s my whole point!” cut in Thomas, “Valerie? Uncle D.? Why are you always so eager to please them? We’re not even related. They just keep pushing us around, telling us we ‘have’ to do this,” and we ‘have’ to do that. When does it stop? And why do we have to do what they tell us? The way I see it, they’re using us as distractions because they’re bored with their lives!”

“Thomas, please. You’re being unfair, it’s not—”

“Don’t you get it? I want to direct my own life!” yelled Thomas. He was in a frenzy. “I want to control my own destiny! I hate all this! I’m out of here!” He picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at the ancient monolith.

Pock! The rock hit the menhir. Thomas turned his back on Maya and left, still ranting.

Maya stood alone in silence. A cold, dark feeling began to rush up inside her, moving from her belly to her chest. Her eyes filled with tears. She held her breath, trying desperately not to cry.

As she finally opened her mouth to breathe, she burst into tears. She held her face in her hands, then looked into her pockets to see if she had a tissue. Of course, she didn’t.

“This is such a mess!” cried Maya. “I’m such a mess!” With her arms crossed around her chest, she was rocking back and forth. She sat down with her back against the monolith.

Her tears fell hot and fast down her face. Falling down . . . down . . . down . . . As they hit the ground, they splashed on impact like tiny, bursting water balloons. On a microscopic level, millions of water and salt molecules were rebounding into the air. And not far where Maya sat, at that exact moment, a dark wave broke onto the shore of the beach, itself splitting into billions of water particles. Water, salt, and earth—big and small—dancing together in one eternal dance.

The tears. The ocean. All was in perfect harmony. All was one despite the pain.

Suddenly, Maya felt a tremor in the earth. She stood up, fearing it might be an earthquake, a common occurrence back home in Los Angeles.

Nothing.

Next, she heard a humming. Everything started vibrating around her.

“Who is the little one crying next to me?” said a very deep voice.

Startled, Maya look around. No one.

“Who are you, little one?” insisted the voice.

As she slowly turned around, she saw that the giant monolith was glowing with what seemed to be an electric blue light, slowly pulsating.

 





Please join me in welcoming Guillaume Wolf “Prof. G” to The Avid Reader today. Thank you Guillaume Wolf “Prof. G” for joining us today. He is going to tell us a little bit about "The Secret Language of Symbols" .







The Secret Language of Symbols 




Hi, this is Guillaume Wolf “Prof. G,” author of the newly released supernatural thriller, The Last Arakad. Before we start, I want to thank The Avid Reader for inviting me to guest blog; it’s a pleasure to be here.

So today, let’s talk about the secret language of symbols.

First I’d like to invite you to imagine your day. Let’s say you drive to work. What do you see all around you in the city? You turn on your computer; what’s all over the internet? Finally, you’re back home in the evening. In the kitchen, you grab food and prepare a plate, then you move to the couch to watch TV. What are you surrounded by? What are these things that constantly try to influence you without saying a word?

Symbols.

In our consumer society, symbols are called “logos” and they are part of the tools of advertising and branding. For better or (possibly) for worse; we’re surrounded by millions of these commercial symbols. These symbols all share the same agenda: “buy more of me,” they say. But that’s not all, symbols are also capable, by association, of creating emotional changes within ourselves.

Let’s say you decide to sign up for a gym membership. You put on a new pair of Nike shoes and the swoosh logo will immediately tell your subconscious mind to “Just do it.” The Nike symbol is designed to inspire your inner athlete to rise up.

But manipulating symbols is a tricky business as they can create different reactions in different people. Think about the McDonald’s logo (called ‘the Golden Arches’). For the fast-food lover, it evokes delicious tastes and good times. For the strict dieter, it can possibly generates negative feelings (despite the fact that the brand actually serves fresh salads).

Influential graphic novel author Alan Moore (creator of The Watchmen) connects the use of symbols with magic. He remarks: “Art, like magic, is the science of manipulating symbols, words, or images to achieve changes in consciousness.” But he insists, “Artists have accepted the prevailing belief that art, that writing are merely forms of entertainment. They’re not seen as transformative forces that can change a human being, that can change a society.”

As an author, and a teacher of communication design (the art of branding and logo design), I’ve given a lot of thought to this quote. I really believe artists are responsible for the impact they leave on the world. I remember, for example, being contacted a few years ago by a tobacco company who wanted me to help them create a new brand of cigarettes targeting the youth. I passed. I would never want to be a part of anything like this. But this is just one step. Can symbols be beneficial? Can they, as Moore claims, “change a human being”?

I’ve spent decades studying symbols trying the solve this riddle. This is a fascinating domain because symbols operate on a level of communication that bypasses the rational mind. They can, in the case of spiritual or religious symbols, elevate the soul—or they can inspire the worst in the heart of humanity—like the Nazi swastika (a misappropriated symbol originating from the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient India).

Symbols have their own life, their own mode of expression and language. They’re at the heart of every civilization; and as humans, we love to be associated with them because they help us make sense of the world. They infuse us with energy.

In my novel The Last Arakad, the main protagonist, Maya, comes in contact with a mysterious symbol called the Arakad, part of an ancient hermetic tradition. The Arakad becomes a ‘silent teacher’ in the story, as it helps Maya stay centered despite the numerous struggles she faces. The symbol helps her grow.

The novel is a supernatural thriller (with a villain you’ll love to hate), but it’s also a story about moving beyond your fear and claiming your own power. Now the question is, how does the Arakad symbol connects with the reader’s experience? Well . . . I invite you to read the story to find out for yourself : )






In your own life, what are the symbols/logos that inspire you? Please share your comments below.






Guillaume Wolf "Prof. G" is the author of the supernatural thriller The Last Arakad and reDESIGN: reCREATE, a book on reinvention and creativity.










Bewitching Book Tours




















Guillaume Wolf “Prof. G”

BIO

Born in Africa (Sénégal), raised in Paris, France, and currently living in Los Angeles, California, Guillaume Wolf “Prof G.” embodies the spirit of the 21st Century “global village.”

 

Guillaume has spent decades exploring the transformative power of symbols, archetypes, and creativity (and their relationship with the everyday world); and this passion inspires his writing. 

Guillaume’s background includes among others: creative director; branding consultant; and teacher of communication design at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.

He is the author of reDESIGN: reCREATE, a book about reinvention and creativity. The Last Arakad is his first novel.

Guillaume lives with his wife and daughter in Los Angeles, California.




To learn more about Guillaume Wolf’s books and discover additional content, collectibles, and behind-the-scenes bonuses.

Visit  Arakad

Meet Guillaume on Facebook  







Giveaway will be 5 Kindle copies of The Last Arakad tour wide.







a Rafflecopter giveaway





Be sure and check out the other blogs on the tour

June 15 Guest blog
Lisa’s World of Books
Topic: Villians we Love to Hate

June 19 Guest blog and review
Wolf Majick Reviews
Topic: Villians we love to hate

June 20 Guest blog
Fang-tastic Books
Topic: The Mystery of Archetypes

June 21 Guest blog
Nilsas book blog
Topic: do you believe in destiny?

June 22 Guest blog
Roxanne’s Realm
Topic: The Alchemy of Emotions

June 26 Guest blog
The Avid Reader
Topic: "The Secret Language of Symbols"

June 27 Guest blog
So Simply Sara
Any listed topics good

June 28 Guest blog
The CReativley Green Write at Home Mom
Topic: Do You Believe in Destiny?

July 3 Review
Nazish Reads

July 5 Review / Excerpt
Katrina @ Kindred Dreamheart

July 6 Guest blog
aobibliosphere
Topic: The Secret Language of Symbols

July 7 Guest blog
For The Love Of Film And Novels
Topic: Mysterious Paris

July 12 Interview
JeanzBookReadNReview

July 13 Guest blog
Simply Infatuated
Topic: Mysterious Paris

July 15 Night Owl Book Lovers Magazine
Super Quick Author Interview

Review: The First By Sara Zaske




The First

Title:The First
Author: Sara Zaske
Published: April 21, 2012
Published By: Sara Zaske
Ebook
Pages: 170







Goodreads synopsis:




Cassie Craig is not the chosen one. Not even close.

She's just an ordinary, 15-year-old California girl with a few problems. She talks too much. She has a crush on a guy in her school. She worries about her dad who is a Marine in Afghanistan.

Then, there's her new friend, Violet Starkey. The weirdest girl in school, Violet comes from a group of magical people who claim to be the first on earth.

When Cassie discovers that Violet has powers over nature, she will do anything to be her friend--all for the chance Violet might help bring her dad home.

But Cassie isn't the only one who wants Violet's powers, and she soon finds out just how dangerous it is to be the true friend of one of the most powerful magical beings in the world.




My Review:

Cassie is a typical teenage California girl. Her best friend Angie is a very egotistical person. I couldn't understand Cassie and Angie being best friends. I mean they were like night and day. Cassie thought about other people and their feelings. Where as Angie only thought about herself.

Well they were best friends until Cassie became interested in the new girl at school. Violet is a very strange person until you get to know her. She doesn't talk much where as Cassie talks a lot. Violet ask Cassie to go over to her house for a play date. Cassie wants to go but is kind of ashamed to go to someone's house for a play date that is something that little kids do. Besides her best friend, Angie doesn't think she ought to go to that strange girls house.

But Cassie wants very much to go so she does. When they get there Violet tells Cassie about her magical powers. She also tells her about how her family are The First people. That her people were here on earth before humans were.

Violet's estranged grandfather wants her to come for a visit. But Violet's mother doesn't want her to go by herself. She ask Cassie to go with her. Her grandfather wants to use Violet for her what she can do, her being the most powerful person ever. Her grandfather wants to take the world back from the humans. When Violet finds out what it is that he has wanted all along with her she refusses to help him. Her grandfather then blackmails her into doing what he wants by threating her mother his own daughter's life. Violet thinking that she has no other choice but to help him after he threatens her does want her wants.

She send Cassie home to warn her family and everyone that she can. To try to get as many as she can to leave before it is to late. Cassie tries but no one believes her. The First is one of those books that will stay with you long after you have put it down. I really enjoyed reading it. I would like to know more about Cassie and Violet and The First people.

I recieced a copy of The First by Sara Zaske from LibraryThing for review.





Look for Sara Zaske on the web

Web site - Sara Zaske
Goodreads - Sara Zaske
Goodreads - The First
Facebook - YA Fantastic Book Review
Twitter - Sara Zaske




Purchase The First:

Amazon

Monday, June 25, 2012

Blog A Quote #6







Blog A Quote is weekly meme hosted by Michelle Chew Writes. Each week we will be sharing a quote from our favorite books. For more info and to sign up visit Michelle Chew Writes.





My quote for this week is from Darkness Falls By Jessica Sorensen


Darkness Falls



“But we all make mistakes. It’s how we fix them that makes us who we are.”








We all do make mistakes. Not everybody will admit that they have made a mistake. Admitting that we have made a mistake and not deigning that we did will make us a better person.





What is your favorite quote?

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Giveaway: 350+ Follower Giveaway! (INTERNATIONAL)







Incandescent Enchantments is celebrating 350+ Followers by having a giveaway. The Giveaway is international.




  • The prize is one book of your choice of 12 books from the Book Depository.
  • You must be a GFC follower.
  • The giveaway is from June 23 to July 7.
  • There will be one winner unless she reaches 400 followers then there will be two winners.



To enter this fabulous giveaway and to see a list of the 12 books head on over to Incandescent Enchantments to see the list and enter by Rafflecopter.

Stacking The Shelves #6




Stacking The Shelves, A weekly Meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Blog about the books we got in the past weeh.



Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. Where each week we share the books that we have added to our shelves during the past week. This includes books that we bought, borrowed from the library, received from the author for review, books that we won. They can be either physical books or ebooks.

You can find out more about Stacking The Shelves from the official launch page.




Giveaways





Goddess Interrupted

I won Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter from Emilie's Book World. I have not read The Goddess Test yet. But I hope to pick up a copy real soon. I have wanted to read The Goddess Test series for a while and can not wait to start reading them. This is a paperback copy. I would like to thank Emilie for the giveaway. I am very excited about this one.







The Near Witch

I won The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab from The Book Vortex. I am currently reading this one and am loving it so far. This is a signed, first edition hardcover. I would like to thank Hannah for having the giveaway.









Of Poseidon

I won Of Poseidon by Anna Banks from Into the Hall of Books. This is a hardcover, first edition. I would like to thank Asheley for having the giveaway. I am also exicted about this one also because I have not read any books about merpeople yet.









Sent by Bewitching Book Tours from author for Blog Tour





Wild Point Island

I recieved Wild Point Island by Kate Lutter from Bewitching Book Tours from the author for review and blog tour. I want to know why Ella, a descendent of the Lost Colony of Roanoke was banished from the island.









From author for review





Truth Teller (The Truth Teller Series, #1)

Truth Teller (Truth Teller Series) by Kurt Chambers is about a little girl Charlotte who doesn't think that magic is real untill she is taken away into a mystical land.










Paranormal Freebies Hop




Vengeance of the Wolf

I recieved Vengeance of the Wolf (The Dorian Trilogy) by Solitaire Parke from the author as a freebie from the Paranormal Blog Hop.









Gifted

I recieved Gifted (The Evangeline Devine Series) by Annalise Hulse from the author as a freebie from the Paranormal Blog Hop.









Amazon Freebies




The Underground

The Underground by Ilana Katz Katz is about a world where women rule and men must cater to their every whim. I am not the kind of person that thinks that women should rule men but neither do I think that men should rule women. It should be as equal as it can be given the situation. But this should be an interesting read to see women rule for a change though.









Her Dear and Loving Husband (Loving Husband, #1)

Her Dear and Loving Husband (Loving Husband Trilogy) by Meredith Allard is about Sara who is haunted by nightmares of the Salem Witch Trials. I love reading about the Salem Witch Trials and hoping to learn something new or different about the trials.







What did you add to your shelves this week?

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Review: Wanted Nightmares: Blood of the Immortal Vamprior (Wanted Nightmares, #2) By Pura Preis




Wanted Nightmares: Blood of the Immortal Vamprior (Wanted Nightmares, #2)

Title: Wanted Nightmares: Blood of the Immortal Vamprior (Wanted Nightmares, #2)
Author: Pura Preis
Ebook
Pages: 325







Goodreads synopsis:




Convicted! Tried! Sentenced! Amaya guilt by association has no choice but do as she is told, kill them all.

Amaya is Autumn Rose reincarnated but no one has proof only suspicion and that’s good enough to force her to become something she is not sure she wants to be, but she wants to be something. Amaya is pulled into being Autumn, a powerful Immortal that has created a vampire race. Her disappearance has been so long ago that no one knows the truth. Vincent is after her blood, Autumn is after her life, Matt is after her heart, and she can’t stop anyone. What can she do but take on Autumn’s identity until the real Autumn finally comes out of hiding.

Thomas is so close to find Autumn, the real Autumn so he can kill her. He has waited for so long and now she is being forced to return. Amaya has to pay for what Autumn has done and that pisses him off. How can he find a balance between his love Amaya and his hate for Autumn when he finds out the truth? Even he is taken aback when the truth comes out. How can he save Amaya when everyone wants her dead?

This second book brings answers to the questions the first book asked. Amaya is still on a quest of finding herself. Amaya is scared that she is Autumn and she is going to die before she can kill everyone else. Amaya somehow grows in this book as she deals with Vincent need to kill her for the blood that he has claimed as his.




My Review:

In Wanted Nightmares #2 Vincent, Amaya's father is hunting her. Vincent is a vampire and is addicted to Amaya's blood. He will do whatever it takes to find her. He will hurt or kill anyone who gets in his way.

Amaya loves her family very much and she will do what she has to do to save her family. Amaya knows that she will probably have to kill Vincent to save herself and her family. She doesn't want to do this but she will if that is what it takes. Amaya doesn't think that she is strong enough to stand up against her father. Vincent is a very powerful vampire, no one is as strong as he is. No one except Autumn, who lives inside of Amaya.

Vincient take Thomas, Jessica and Travis hostage to lure Amaya to him. Amaya tries to get Autumn to help her rescue them but she won't. Autumn can kill Vincent but she will only kill him in her own time and way. She does not want to help Amaya or anyone else. Autumn is a very egoistical, pernicious person.

Can Amaya rescue Thomas, Jessica and Travis before Vincent kills them? Will Autumn help Amaya save them? I could tell you but that would be giving away to much of the story so I will let you read it for yourself.

Wanted Nightmares is a very intriguing read that will keep you guessing as to what is going to happen next. Pura Preis is an amazing writer that will put you right into Amaya and Thomas' world. Like you are living inside Amaya's head right along with Autumn.



I recieced a copy of Wanted Nightmares: Blood of the Immortal Vamprior (Wanted Nightmares, #2) from the author Pura Preis for review.





Look for Pura Preis on the web

Web site - Pura Preis
Goodreads - Pura Preis
Goodreads - Wanted Nightmares: Blood of the Immortal Vamprior
Facebook - Pura Preis
Facebook - Wanted Nightmares: Blood of the Immortal Vamprior

Friday, June 22, 2012

Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway Ancient Canada by Clinton Festa





Ancient Canad Tour Pic, Pic for Ancient Canada tour. Full Moon Bites Tours.






Ancient Canada Book Pic, Pic for book review and media kit. Full Moon Bites Tours.

Book Title: Ancient Canada

Author: Clinton Festa

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: SynergEbooks







Book Description:


“Ancient Canada is a fantasy epic and a story of mythology for an alternate Canada. Because of her unique ability to see life and death, Lavender is exiled from her home. With the help of her sister Marigold, she survives in the wild using her gift. The two encounter various characters and creatures along their journey, not all human and not all friendly. Each chapter is narrated by one of these characters or creatures, sharing their personal story as well as their encounter of the two sisters. Together the chapters link to bring Lavender and Marigold’s epic, the mythological story of Ancient Canada.”




Buy Links:

Website

Amazon

SynergEbooks




Excerpt:

It had happened. Simon had seen his second child.

Quietly and peacefully, she opened her eyes, quite soon after birth. Perhaps the brilliance of the sky overhead opened her eyes itself, and if so, it was our first indication that she had the ability of sight.

“I’ve never seen that color before,” said the medic.

“Nor I,” said Simon. “They are clear, not even murky, as Marigold’s when she was first born.”

“Are those truly purple eyes, or is that just an effect of the Lights?”

“No, they are genuinely purple. Or maybe a sort of violet.”

“Or maybe Lavender,” spoke Simon. Once I told him what the peddler had said earlier, about the lavender I traded from him, we agreed on her name. I did not expect the color to be her permanent shade, but to this day they are identical to when she first opened them.




My Review




Lavender and Marigold are sisters who has been exiled from their home in Canada. Lavender has a gift where she can tell if someone is going to live or die just by looking at them. This gift is the reason that they are exiled. They are taken to the edge of the woods and dropped off. They use this gift of life and death to survive on their journey. On their journey they meet a man made out of stone. This stone creature tells them stories of all the people and animals that have come to visit him in his life time. Most of his visitors eat the plants and they don't know which plants are good for them or which ones are poison. Lavender with her gift knows which plants are poison and which ones are not. Marigold will start to eat the plants and if she glows white then Lavender knows they are poison. This is how they survive on their journey through the woods.

Lavender and Marigold meet a lot of very interesting people on their journey. They meet a prince and a princess to be along with the king and queen and Quinby the king's taste tester. I really enjoyed reading about the prince and the princess to be. Their story was one of my favorites and the book really picked up here for me and I started liking it more. The king thought that someone was trying to kill him and everyone was a suspect. The queen and everyone else thought he was crazy but it turned out he was not. There really was someone plotting to murder him.

I liked Horus a Featherman who had wings and could fly. The Feathermen were 2 or 4 times bigger than a human. Horus would fly Lavender and Marigold around with one in each of his talons. They had some pretty funny times with Horus. It seems being so high up in the air caused you to have gas. There was a few times there that Marigold and Lavender would have me rolling on the floor laughing when they were with Horus.

Lavender and Marigold were two sisters that really cared a lot about each other. I don't think either one of them could have made it out on their own at that time in their life with out the other one. They are two very smart girls for their age. Lavender is fifteen and Marigold is seventeen. Both girls did a lot of growing up on their journey together.




About the Author:

Ancient Canada Author Pic, Author pic for Ancient Canada. Full Moon Bites Tours.

Clinton Festa, raised in Rockland County, NY, is son to two educators and grandson to four. Clinton studied animal science with the intention of pursuing a doctorate in veterinary medicine. However, after graduation Clinton began flight training and has worked in aviation for the last ten years.




Find the Author:

Website








Giveaway Ancient Canada





Thanks to the author Clinton Festa I will be giving away 1 copy of Ancient Canada. The Giveaway will be from June 22 to June 29.







a Rafflecopter giveaway









Be sure and check out the other blogs on the tour for Ancient Canada



Tour Schedule:



June 11th- Erotic Romance With a Bite...Leigh Savage (Giveaway & Author Interview)
June 12th- Amy's Book World (Promo Post & Giveaway)
June 13th- The Book Connoisseur (Promo Post and Character Interview)
June 14th- Ramblings of an Amateur Writer (Author Interview & Promo Post)
June 15th- The Jeep Diva (Book Review & Giveaway)
June 16th- Ramblings of an Amateur Writer (Promo Post)
June 17th-The Bunnys Review (Author Interview & Giveaway)
June 18th- Tricia Kristufek (Promo Post)
June 19th- Full Moon Bites (Promo Post)
June 20th- Heart Of A Wolf (Book Review & Giveaway)
June 21st- Fangs For The Fantasy (Book Review & Giveaway)
June 22nd- The Avid Reader (Book Review & Giveaway)
June 23rd- D. VonThaer (Book Review & Giveaway)
June 24th- Simply Infatuated (Author Interview & Promo Post)


I recieved a copy of Ancient Canada from the author for review.

This tour was put together by FMB Blog Tours

Friday Recommends #14 'Salem's Lot By Stephen King

Photobucket

Friday Recommends is a weekly meme hosted by Pen to Paper. This a weekly book blog hop where we as bloggers choose a book that we have read and recommend it to our fellow bloggers. We can then visit each others blogs to see what other bloggers recommend and find new books to add to our TBR list. Hopefully we all will have new followers from visiting each blog on the linky list.










The rules for Friday Recommends are:




  • Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
  • Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
  • Pick a book that you've read, and have enjoyed enough to recommend to other readers. It can be a book you've read recently, or a book you read years ago - it's up to you - but make sure you tell us why you love the book (like a mini review). You make the post as long or as short as you like.
  • Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of post on host site Pen to Paper after posting your blog post.
  • Put a link back to pen to paper (http://vogue-pentopaper.blogspot.com) somewhere in your post.
  • Visit the other blogs and enjoy!



My Recommend for this week:




'Salem's Lot

Title: 'Salem's Lot
Author: Stephen King
Hardcover:
Pages: 439
Published: October 1st 1975
Publisher: Doubleday





Goodreads synopsis:




'Salem's Lot is a small New England town with white clapboard houses, tree-lined streets, and solid church steeples. That summer in 'Salem's Lot was a summer of home-coming and return; spring burned out and the land lying dry, crackling underfoot. Late that summer, Ben Mears returned to 'Salem's Lot hoping to cast out his own devils... and found instead a new unspeakable horror.

A stranger had also come to the Lot, a stranger with a secret as old as evil, a secret that would wreak irreparable harm on those he touched and in turn on those they loved.

All would be changed forever—Susan, whose love for Ben could not protect her; Father Callahan, the bad priest who put his eroded faith to one last test; and Mark, a young boy who sees his fantasy world become reality and ironically proves the best equipped to handle the relentless nightmare of 'Salem's Lot.




My Thoughts

I love Stephen King as a writer, he is one of the best. I love how there is more to his stories than appears the first time you read them. The messages that he puts in all of his novels. More than just the plot itself. I like reading about vampires also.



Look for Stephen King on the web:


Web site - Stephen King
Web site - The Dark Tower
Web site - Stephen King Library
Goodreads - Stephen King
Goodreads - 'Salem's Lot
Stephen King's Radio Station - WKIT 100.3


Purchase 'Salem's Lot:

Amazon





What did you recommend? Leave me a comment with a link to your Friday Recommend. I would very much like to see what you recommended.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Review: The Last Ride By James A. Thomas



The Last Ride



Title: The Last Ride
Author: James A. Thomas
Ebook







Goodreads synopsis:




Camelia is a recently orphaned teen who has to make it to her estranged grandparents' home in South Dakota or face foster care. But she's too young to travel alone, and she doesn't have enough money.

Bear is Camelia's neighbor, an aging biker with a terminal illness who is determined to make one last run to the big Harley riders' meet in Sturgis.

Camelia talks Bear into taking her along, since her grandparents live less than thirty miles from Sturgis.

Together with Bear's younger sister and a friend, they take off on Harleys, planning on going the long way and soaking up the scenery.

Things go well for a while, and it really is a dream vacation. Then people they meet start turning up dead. The group learns that a mass murderer known as the Northwest Killer is operating in the area. That's bad enough, but it soon becomes apparent that they are somehow psychically linked to the man.

For Camelia, it becomes less a matter of reaching her grandparents than of simply staying alive.

The Last Ride is a road novel, with death riding along. While it’s technically a young adult book because of Camelia's age (14), adults who don't require sex or four-letter words in their reading material should find it an interesting read.




My Review:



Camelia is a fourteen year old orphan. Her parents were killed in automobile accident and her Aunt walks out on her. Camelia is all alone with no money and no guardian. She has no one to turn to except her estranged grandparents in South Dakota. How is she going to get to South Dakota with no money? Besides she is too young to travel alone. Then she meets Bear her next door neighbor. Bear is going on one last ride to the big Harley riders' meet in Sturgis, only thirty miles from her grandparent's home. Camelia talks Bear into taking her along for the ride. On the ride they tell everyone they meet that Bear is her grandfather. It being illegal for Bear to take her other wise.

Bear's younger sister Mac and her friend Dori joins them on their journey. Along the way people that they have met and helped start turning up dead. The killer is dubbed the Northwest Killer. They all even meet the Northwest Killer, at first they don't realize that he is the killer. But it doesn't take them long to figure it out.

I really enjoyed following Camelia and Bear along on their ride. The author makes you feel everything that Camelia is feeling. James Thomas describes everything in a way that you can actually image that you are there seeing what he is seeing in his writing. If you enjoy reading "tear jerkers" then this is the book for you.

I won a copy of The Last Ride by James A. Thomas from LibraryThing for review.





Look for James A. Thomas on the web:



Goodreads - James A. Thomas
Goodreads - The Last Ride




Purchase The Last Ride:

Amazon

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Wishlist Wednesday #12




Wishlist Wednesday is a book blog hop where we will post about one book per week that has been on our wishlist for some time, or just added (it's entirely up to you), that we can't wait to get off the wishlist and onto our wonderful shelves.







  • Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
  • Please consider adding the blog hop button to your blog somewhere, so others can find it easily and join in too! Help spread the word! The code will be at the bottom of the post under the linky.
  • Pick a book from your wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves.
  • Do a post telling your readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.
  • Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of the post on Pen to Paper.
  • Put a link back to pen to paper somewhere in your post.
  • Visit the other blogs and enjoy!






On My Wishlist:




The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel
Title: The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel (The Dark Tower #4.5)
Author: Stephen King
ebook:
Pages: 322
Published: April 24th 2012
Publisher: Scribner







Goodreads synopsis:




In The Wind Through the Keyhole, Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement.

Roland Deschain and his ka-tet—Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two . . . and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past.

In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us.

King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. The Wind Through the Keyhole is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland’s world and testimony to the power of Stephen King’s storytelling magic.





Why did I choose The Wind Through the Keyhole for this weeks Wishlist Wednesday?



Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. I have read and own all of The Dark Tower books. So I can't wait to read The Wind Through the Keyhole. I know it will be just as good as all of the other books in the series. I loved all the characters in The Dark Tower series, Roland, Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy. Stephen King is a great writer.



Look for Stephen King on the web:


Web site - Stephen King
Web site - The Dark Tower
Web site - Stephen King Library
Goodreads - Stephen King
Goodreads - The Wind Through the Keyhole
Stephen King's Radio Station - WKIT 100.3


Purchase The Wind Through the Keyhole:

Amazon