Wednesday 18 April 2012

Blog Tour: Embrace Review


Title: Embrace (The Violet Eden Chapters #1)
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Publication Date: March 6, 2012
Published By: Sourcebooks Fire
Format: ARC

*This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review*

Summary
It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…” 

Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before. 

Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her. 

A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden…

My Thoughts
 It's going to be hard to touch on all the things I loved about this book without giving anything away, so if I seem annoyingly vague, I'm sorry. I don't want to spoil it for you.
Embrace is chock-full of intriguing, original angel lore and a steamy love triangle. From the get go Violet is easy to relate to and has a clear, engaging voice.
On Violet's seventeenth birthday her entire world is flipped upside down. Everything she thought she knew has been a lie. She is presented with a disturbing truth and the knowledge that her closest friend isn't at all who she thought he was. Instead of doing a crazy amount of moping, she finds a way to cope and move on with her life. Violet has a great inner strength that isn't as nearly as popular in books as it should be. Don't get me wrong, she has physical strength too, but no matter what gets thrown at her, she picks up the pieces left behind and forges on with minimal complaining. I didn't always agree with her choices, but that was the beauty of Violet. She is who she is and she changes for no one.
The lore in the book is fantastic. It was detailed and highly original. Jessica Shirvington's spin on angels and the fact that they can be good and bad, and one cannot exist without the other was just fantastic to read about. If you enoy angel books this is a must read and if you don't it's still worth it.  5out of 5.


Check out the book on...
Book Trailer



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Monday 16 April 2012

Taste Cover Reveal and Excerpt

First I want to thank Kate for letting me be a part of the cover reveal for her book!!
Now here's all the good stuff :)

Title: Taste 
Author: Kate Evangelista

Summary
At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

Excerpt

I sat up and followed Calixta’s gaze upward. I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first. A statue? ­My brain refused to snap together coherent thoughts. I didn’t realize I’d fallen so close to one of the garden benches until I stared up at the boy that sat on one. He was strikingly beautiful. His tumble of blonde hair curled just above his sculpted cheekbones. He wore a silk shirt and a loosened cravat, like he’d become bored while dressing and decided to leave himself in disarray. His ivory skin and frozen position was what had me mistaking him for something carved from marble by Michelangelo. Then he sighed—a lonely, breathy proof of life. If I had to imagine what Lucifer looked like before he fell from heaven, the boy on the bench would certainly fulfill that image. My brain told me I had to look away, but I couldn’t. 

“Luka,” Calixta said again, her voice unsure, almost nervous. It no longer contained the steel and bite she had threatened me with, which made me wonder who the boy was. 

He leaned on his hands and crossed his legs, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the night sky. His movements spoke of elegance and control. I’d encountered many people with breeding before, but his took on the air of arrogance and self-assuredness of someone used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. 

I only realized I’d been holding my breath when my lungs protested. I exhaled. My heart sputtered and restarted with a vengeance. Luka tore his gaze away from the stars and settled it on me. I’d expected pitch-black irises, like the other Night Students, but blue ice stared back at me. 

“Human,” he whispered. 

He reached out, and with a finger, followed an invisible trail down my cheek. I stiffened. His touch, cooler than Demitri’s, caused warm sparks to blossom on my face. He lifted his finger to his lips and licked its tip. He might as well have licked me from the way my body shivered. 

Luka’s curious gaze held mine. “Leave us,” he said, but not to me. 

“But—” Calixta protested like a spoiled child. 

He spoke in a language I hadn’t heard before, remaining calm yet firm. The words had a rolling cadence I couldn’t quite follow, like rumbling thunder in the distance. They contained a harsh sensuality. The consonants were hard and the vowels were long and lilting. 

Footsteps retreated behind me. 

Luka reached out again. 

It took me a minute to realize he wanted to help me up. I hesitated. He smiled. I smiled back timidly and took his hand, completely dazzled. Even with my uniform soaked from melted snow, I didn’t feel cold—all my attention was on him and the way his callused hand felt on mine. Without moving much from his seated position, he helped me stand. 

“What’s your name?” he asked. He had a voice like a familiar lullaby. It filled my heart to the brim with comfort. 

I swallowed and tried to stop gawking. “Phoenix.” 

“The bird that rose from the ashes.” Luka bent his head and kissed the back of my hand. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.” 

My cheeks warmed. My head reeled, not knowing what to think. I couldn’t understand why I felt drawn to him. And the strange connection frightened me. 

From behind, someone gripped my arms and yanked me away before I could sort out the feelings Luka inspired in me. I found myself behind a towering figure yet again. Recognizing the blue-black silk for hair tied at the nape, relief washed over me. Calixta hadn’t come back to finish me off. 

Demitri’s large hand wrapped around my wrist. Unlike the night before, no calm existed in his demeanor. He trembled like a junky in need of a fix. The coiled power in his tense muscles vibrated into me. 

“What are you doing here?” Demitri asked. 

I didn’t know he’d spoken to me until I saw his expressionless profile. I sighed. 

“Phoenix.” 

I flinched. The ruthless way he said my name punched all the air out of me. “You owe me answers,” I said with as much bravado as I could muster. 

“I owe you nothing.” He glared. “In fact, you owe me your life.” 

“I don’t think so.” 

Ignoring my indignation, he faced Luka, who’d remained seated on the bench during my exchange with Demitri. “Why is she with you, Luka?”

Trailer





Author Bio



When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master's courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing. Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing. Today, she has four completed Young Adult novels.



Thursday 29 March 2012

The Lure of Shapinsay: Book Trailer and Giveaway


Title: The Lure of Shapinsay
Author: Krista Holle
Publication Date: December 16, 2011
Published By: Sweet River Romance

Summary
Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant. 

Kait is woken unexpectedly by a beautiful selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure. 

She obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?

The Lure of Shapinsay
AmazonGoodreads

Krista Holle
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Book Trailer



And now for the giveaway, and it's open International!!
Just fill out the rafflecopter form below.

The Prizes
*e-book copy of The Lure of Shapinsay
* T-shirt
*Bookplate and Bookmark




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Sunday 25 March 2012

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren

Won from Rhiannon Frater's blog. I can't wait to start these, I've heard some really great things about them.


The First Days (As The World Dies: A Zombie Trilogy #1) by Rhiannon Frater
Fighting To Survive (As The World Dies: A Zombie Trilogy #2) by Rhiannon Frater
Seige (As The World Dies: A Zombie Trilogy #3) by Rhiannon Frater

For Review from the authors. Big thanks to Karina Halle, Randall Lowe and Ciara Knight :)


Darkhouse (Experiment in Terror #1) by Karina Halle
Rise From Darkness (Battle For Souls #1) by Ciara Knight

What's in your mailbox??

Thursday 22 March 2012

Kick Butt Characters Giveaway Hop


For my part stop in the hop I'm going to give away two books, one for each winner. The first person picked gets to choose between the two books and the second winner gets the other.
I chose these books because they both have strong, butt kicking, female characters that any girl could look up too.

Here are the prizes:

Rules
Giveaway is open to wherever the Book Depository ships
Must be 13 yrs. or older to enter
Must be a blog follower
Reads With Wreckless Abandon is NOT responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail

Fill out the Rafflecopter form below




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