Release Day Blitz: The Curse of Mary by Enjay Taylor

Release Day: Chasing the Fairy Garden by Melanie Karsak

Title: Chasing the Green Fairy

Author: Melanie Karsak     

Genre: Adult Steampunk

Blitz Host: Lady Amber's Tours

Release Day Interview: Sonya Loveday, author of Casted

Today I am MORE than happy to introduce Sonya Loveday for you. Her Expanded version of Casted is now live, and if you want to know my thoughts - stop by my previous post. Right now, let me show you what happens in Sonya's life:

Release Day: The Seduction of Gretchen by Rosalind Scarlett

Happy Release Day Rosalind!!!

Today I'm happy to tell you all that another short story from Rosalind is seeing the light; The Seduction of Gretchen. This story is focusing on another of the characters from Sanguelascivia; Gretchen. Remember Gretchen? She became friends with Giuliana in The Submission of Giuliana. 

Let me introduce you to the book, and the absolutely amazing author behind: Rosalind Scarlett.

  

“I know that I should not allow myself to be vulnerable to a Vampire like this, but he has me so hot, how can I possibly deny him?  Besides he is far more than just a Vampire to me.  He is my Vampire.  And I am his.”

Release Day Blitz: Pony Dreams by KC Sprayberry

HAPPY RELEASE DAY KATHI!!!

 



Release Day Blitz:Fire & Shadow by Rochelle Maya Callen

Hi Guys!!!

Today it's Release Day for Rochelle and her sequel to Ashes & Ice (which I read last year). I have been looking forward to this day!! Now, let me tell you about Fire & Shadow:

 



Secrets. Silence. Sacrifice.

 

Jade is only beginning to unravel her own secrets. Facing fate, a murky past and a brutal inner battle, Jade must become what she fears without giving into the darkness.

 

If she doesn't, the world will be devoured by Fire and Shadows.

Release Day Blitz: Chasing the Star Garden by Melanie Karsak

Hi Guys!

Thank you for stopping by on my stop in this Release Day Blitz for Chasing the Star Garden. I'm also a part of the tour, and I have a review coming on December 16.
Remember to enter the giveaway, and make sure to scroll past the rafflecopter to get to the excerpt; the entire first chapter of Chasing the Star Garden.
Hope you all enjoy!
Psst... Did you see my December Giveaway in the previous post? Closes December 15! Open international.

ALMOST Release Day Review: Bound by Wish and Mistletoe by Kat Bastion

 Before starting my review of Bound by Wish and Mistletoe, I want to congratulate Kat on her new Release - coming tomorrow. Hope you have a wonderful day!

Secondly, if you're on Twitter, please make sure to keep an eye out for Kat, there's a Release Day celebration going on there tomorrow. From what I've heard; lots and lots of goodies!!

And lastly. Want to win a copy? Goodreads have a giveaway going on. 5 SIGNED copies, closing on November 12. Click here.

Now, back to my review ;-)

 

Bound by Wish and Mistletoe is #1.5 in Kat Bastion’s Highland Legend Series. I read and reviewed the first book, Forged in Dreams and Magick a while ago (click here to read my review), and it tore me apart, put me back again, just to toss me in another direction next. I loved Forged in Dreams and Magick. So, I was a bit nervous about starting to read Bound by Wish and Mistletoe – would it be just as good, or was the first book a once in a lifetime? As we all knows, it does happen. What we read, and how we perceive the books all depends on mood and where we are in life.

 Robert Brodie and two of his fellow Guards are on a hunt for a tree for Lady Isobel when Robert quite literally is run down by Susanna MacEalan. Not knowing if she is a friend or foe, Robert takes her into custody. In reality, he has just sealed his own Fate, he just doesn’t know it yet.

Turns out Susanna is on the run from her abusive father and his clan, swearing that she will take her freedom, or die trying. She doesn’t want to suffer the way her dear Mama did. Seeing firsthand how cruel men can be, she has fiercely determined that she will never fall under a man’s spell – ever.

Robert has been chased by lasses most of his life. All of them can’t see past his title (commander of the Guards), so he has sworn off ALL women. He’s so tired of all those greedy, needy and vain girls. He needs a partner, a woman who can stand up to him, AND see the man he is underneath.

As the magical Season of Christmas is closing in, both Robert and Susanna has to decide if they can trust themselves and each other to let the other person in. Hopefully Susanna’s past won’t destroy her one chance of True Love, or maybe the damage is already done?

 

Kat Bastion has done it again. She wrote a book that is filled with magic, love, passion, fear and action (both with a sword, and the more steamy kind). But more importantly… Kat wrote a book that made me connect with the characters emotionally. My heart tore at how frightened Susanna was, not only for her father, but her fear for love. Or more accurately, how she thought love was. Growing up with a mother who was abused by her husband (her father), I’m not surprised that she is afraid. I’m relieved she has any fight left in her. There are many who would’ve lay down on their back and bared their throat, just to get everything over with. But not Susanna.

I loved the chemistry between Robert and Susanna, how he tore down her walls, but also how she bared him. It was a delight to read. The fight back and forth, the banter between them, the feelings coursing through Susanna, where she alters between doubting them and savoring them. She dares to hope, just to trample all over them herself two minutes later because she is so afraid to bring in a little flicker of light to her darkness. Sometimes it’s easier to believe in the darkness, than hope for the light.

 Even more amazingly, Kat manages to write in quite a few of my favorite characters from Forged in Dreams and Magick; Lady Isobel and Ian, Ian’s sister, Brigid, their brother Gawain, and my favorite angel; Cupcake.. uups… I mean Skorpius. *giggles* You should hear some of the other names Isobel finds for him.

I can’t wait to find out who is featured in book two. Will it be Brigid and Skorpius, or will the mighty and haunted Gawain finally find some peace?

I loved Bound by Wish and Mistletoe, it was a magical read, showing us that miracles do happen, especially around Christmas.

About Kat Bastion:

 

 

A lover of romance and alpha males, I've begun a series set to release this fall.

Highland Legends Series

Forged in Dreams and Magick
Bound by Wish and Mistletoe (a holiday novella)
Born of Mist and Legend
Found in Flame and Moonlight

I'm fortunate to have won several awards for my paranormal romance writing in the novel now entitled Forged in Dreams and Magick. In my time-travel Highlander story, the heroine gets thrown far off her path into an unfamiliar world, her foundations rocked to the core, and the inner journey is an amazing one.

I had no idea I’d foreshadowed my own life. While editing the manuscript, another writing blessing happened. In early September 2012, I discovered poetry and took the detour of a lifetime.

Within two months, I'd created a collection of poetry, originally intended as a twentieth anniversary present, that my husband and I decided to share with the world for charity. It's entitled Utterly Loved.

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Sylvain Reynard, the quintessential humanitarian, graciously wrote the brilliant foreword.

In Utterly Loved, all proceeds, less costs and taxes, go to selected charities. Without hesitation, I believe extraordinary gifts are meant to be given, not taken. So far, I've chosen World Vision and Covenant House.

{smiles slowly} As with all good things, that unexpected detour was only the beginning. I've now created a Charity Support and Awareness page on both my blog and website, outlining how a portion of the proceeds of all of my books will go to charities that fight against human trafficking.

 

Connect with Kat here:

 

Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Blog ~ Website ~ Goodreads

Buy Links for Bound by Wish and Mistletoe:

amazon

Please note, this is NOT an affiliate link. If you wish to support this blog and the different giveaways, please use any of the links in the left sidebar. Thank you.
 

Release Day Review: Cursed by S.J. Harper

 

About the book:

 

Emma Monroe is a Siren, cursed by the gods and bound to earth to atone for an ancient failure. She’s had many names and many lives, but only one mission: redemption. Now that she works missing persons cases for the FBI, it could be just a rescue away. Unless her new partner leads her astray.

Special Agent Zack Armstrong just transferred into the San Diego Field Office. He’s a werewolf, doing his best to beat back the demons from his dark and dangerous past. As a former Black Ops sniper, he’s taken enough lives. Now he’s doing penance by saving them.

Emma and Zack’s very first case draws them deep into the realm of the paranormal, and forces them to use their own supernatural abilities. But that leaves each of them vulnerable, and there are lines partners should not cross. As secrets are revealed and more women go missing, one thing becomes clear: as they race to save the victims, Emma and Zack risk losing themselves.

My Thoughts:

Being a siren can’t be easy. Being banned from home without being able to return home before a Goddess says so – even worse. Then imagine having to save young women from fates worse than death, to hide who you truly are, always keeping your guard up, never falling in love, because if you do, they die. NOT easy.

But Emma isn’t the only one running from her past – although to be fair, her past is… uhmmm… longer than Zack’s.

I think this is the first story I’ve read involving a siren. And to tell you the truth, I enjoyed it immensely.

It was wonderful to dive into this story, to be absorbed by the puzzle that Emma and Zack had to solve, the clues leading to the culprit, and let me tell you – it certainly wasn’t the villain I expected. I was turning page after page, not even noticing how late it got, because frankly, the writing was amazing. I got caught into the hopelessness of Emma and Zack’s possible Happily Ever After, and the horrible decision Emma had to make. And in all the personal drama, they still had to find all the missing persons, follow all the clues and connect the dots.

I loved reading Cursed. Every damn second. The mix of a love story (although a tad bittersweet) with the police investigation, detective work… wow. Amazingly spun. I have read a few mysteries/police investigations over time, and this one is definitely on the top of my list! The balance between the two sides is perfect, the characters are wonderful written, and the story that the author is telling is captivating.

I’ll have to tell you though…  The ending was… oh, it was gruel. My heart was beating, my heart pounding, my hands were shaking… And even though the ending hurt like a b*tch, I understood the WHY. I truly did. I would’ve done the same, even if it ripped out my own heart in the progress.

Cross my heart, this is a wonderful start to a new series, and it shows exactly how good both Samantha Sommersby and Jeanne C. Stein are together. I hope they keep up the amazing good work and keep feeding my addiction! Thank you Ladies!

 

About the authors:

 

 

 

S.J. Harper is the pen name for the writing team of Samantha Sommersby and Jeanne C. Stein, two friends who met at Comic-Con in San Diego and quickly bonded over a mutual love of good wine, edgy urban fantasy, and everything Joss Whedon.

Samantha Sommersby left what she used to call her “real life” day job in the psychiatric field to pursue writing full-time in 2007. She is the author of more than ten novels and novellas including the critically acclaimed Forbidden series. She currently lives with her husband and cocker spaniel, Buck, in a century old Southern California Craftsman. Sam happily spends her days immersed in a world where vampires, werewolves, and demons are real, myths and legends are revered, magic is possible, and love still conquers all.

Jeanne Stein is the national bestselling author of The Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles. She also has numerous short story credits, including most recently the novella, Blood Debt, from the New York Times bestselling anthology, Hexed. Her series has been picked up in three foreign countries and her short stories published in collections here in the US and the UK. She lives in Denver, CO where she finds gardening a challenge more daunting than navigating the world of mythical creatures.

 

 

Where to find Samantha & Jeanne:

 

Goodreads

 

Website

 

Facebook - Jeanne

 

Facebook - Samantha

 

Twitter - Samantha

 

Twitter - Jeanne

 

 

Buy Links:

amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ KOBO ~ All Romance Ebooks

 

 

 

 

 



Happy Release Day Kat Bastion! ARC Review

Isobel MacInnes is an archaeology student, who wants to figure out what ancient secrets Scotland is hiding. It’s her passion, her life. Little does she know that she will discover some of these secrets first-hand the day she finds the mystery box. A box hidden in the side of the creek, found by accident involving a rental car, trouble with manual gear shift and a flock of sheep, the box is made of a different kind of metal and a crest that Isobel know she has seen before, but not where.

Without warning (or her permission) Isobel is tossed back into time – to Laird Ian Brodie’s castle. In the thirteenth century. By the box.

Can you imagine Isobel’s confusion? And how exactly is she going to go home again? The box isn’t humming with energy now, but is sitting quietly over in the corner. With no escape home, she is forced to listen to Ian and his tale.

Ian tells her the truth, the box is the way the Laird finds their mates. It’s always been that way, for centuries.  And Ian is not ready to give Isobel up, not just yet. Every trick in the book is being played to make her stay. Slowly Isobel’s walls are crumbling, and just when she is starting to accept the fact that she will never be able to go home to California,that she feels something more for Ian than just friendship, the box plays another (cruel) trick on her; sending Isobel further back into time. All the way back to the Picts. She is forced to realize that things are out of her control, that Fate have something planned for her, but without knowing what, all Isobel can do is try to survive.

And now Isobel finds herself into more trouble than ever. One box, two lifetimes, to men, one heart belonging to a woman, who simply will not give either of them up.

 Oh boy, where to start? Kat Bastion (the author) took me by surprise with this book. I read the blurb, and thought; “Hmmm.. Sounds like a good read.” I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

Forged by Dreams and Magick is a wonderful and amazing tale about a woman’s journey through time. Her finding of not only one, but two, soulmates and her fight to stay with both of them, her growth not only as a woman, but as a warrior as well…. I am telling you, it is amazing.

To see Isobel go back in time to the thirteenth century, to have her feistiness, her modern attitude clash with the everyday in the thirteenth century, to see her run her head against the wall and still come back up fighting for what she wants, what she thinks she needs and then to see her realize the truth. To accept and adapt, but never really give up on herself. Wow. Just.. wow.

It was heart wrecking when the box sent her back to the picts. Isobel finally allowed herself to feel, to accept and be accepted, when this happens. It broke my heart. But then Isobel being Isobel, adapts. Learns and never gives up the hope that she will be able to find her way back to Ian. Only to find herself falling for the second time.

I felt her frustration in having two men she loves, not willing to give up on either, can’t be separated from them, but is. Not by countries, but by time. Millenia. It’s scary.

This book took my breath away, descended me into two different worlds, and did so masterly. I had a short stop about 85% into the book, where I HAD to put it down. I just couldn’t continue reading on. My emotions where a turmoil, my frustration peeking and my heart was breaking all over again – but not the bad way. It wasn’t because the book wasn’t good, quite contrary. I had to put it down, because I couldn’t bear what happened. I was so caught up in the book, it actually gave me an emotional whiplash. And don’t get me started on the ending. Just trust me, you do NOT want to piss Isobel off. She is deadly. And though I understand the ending, and it was perfect for the book, and necessary, it was also tinted with a bit of sadness. You’ll understand when you read it. Hopefully you agree with me.

Here in the end, I want to congratulate Kat Bastion for creating a book that not only was an amazing read, but caught me so unaware, it was a delight. Thank you Kat. Keep writing girl.

 

 About Kat Bastion:

Kat Bastion is an award-winning paranormal romance writer, poetic warrior, and eternal optimist who loves getting lost in the beauty of nature.

 

On a never-ending, wondrous path of self-discovery, Kat throws her characters into incredible situations with the hope that readers join her in learning more about the meaning of life and love.

 

Her first published work, Utterly Loved, was shared with the world to benefit others. All proceeds from Utterly Loved, and a portion of all her other books, supports charities who help those lost in this world.

 

Kat lives with her husband amid the beautiful Sonoran Desert of Arizona. 

 

 

Where to find Kat:

Facebook

Twitter

Blog

Webpage

 

Buy Links:

amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ All Romance ebooks