Monthly Archives: September 2017

The Chosen Knights Freebie Book Blitz with Mary Ting

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Title: The Chosen KnightsAuthor: Mary TingGenre: YA Fantasy/ParanormalCover Designer: Naija Qamber DesignsHosted by: Lady Amber’s PR
Blurb:
(HIGHLY recommend to read prequel first–The Angel Knights)
***City of Bones meets The Da Vinci Code.
Urban fantasy lover’s dream! Demons, vampires, angels, witches, and fallen angels all set to the back drop of high school in Hawaii, and astral travel to the past to Knights Templar era.
*** SILVER AWARD WINNER 2016–YA FANTASY–READERS’ FAVORITE INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD***
A page turning mystery with a supernatural twist that entertains to the last page! ~InD’tale Magazine
When teens go missing in Hawaii, a group of demon-hunters—half human and half angel—disguised as high school students, must leave Crossroads, the place where they reside. In a race against time, they uncover the mystery connecting the missing teens, which dates back to the era of the Knights Templar. However, when they discover one of the Templars passed down a book containing all the secrets and codes to finding a particular treasure, they soon realize this forbidden treasure needs to be found before Cyrus, the lord of the possessor demons, acquires it—a treasure which been safeguarded and hidden from him.
There is only one problem: the pages containing the clues leading to the treasure is missing. When the first page is found, Cyrus threatens to kill more descendants of the Knights Templar if it is not given to him by Friday the thirteenth. In the midst of threats and discovery, the demon-hunting angels find they are not alone when supernatural beings begin to reveal themselves. Can they put their differences aside and work together to solve the Knights Templars’ cipher? As they astral travel to the past, they witness a lot more than they have bargained for. And some things are better left unseen.missing. When the first page is found, Cyrus threatens to kill more descendants of the Knights Templar if it is not given to him by Friday the thirteenth. In the midst of threats and discovery, the demon-hunting angels find they are not alone when supernatural beings begin to reveal themselves. Can they put their differences aside and work together to solve the Knights Templars’ cipher? As they astral travel to the past, they witness a lot more than they have bargained for. And some things are better left unseen. 
Mary Ting resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. Why the pen name, M Clarke? She tours with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children’s chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.
Author Links:
The Angel Knights: http://amzn.to/1RyYWdZ
The Chosen Knights: http://amzn.to/1PpJU8H
The Blessed Knights: http://amzn.to/2skJkt1

Review of Uncanny by Sarah Fine

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Uncanny is the story of Cora and how she has to both come to terms with the death of her stepsister and the fact that she was the only person with her when she died under suspicious circumstances.  In a future world where everything is recorded and mainstreamed the events of that night are nowhere to be found.  With Cora unravelling under the pressure of blame it is up to those around her to both protect and exonerate her, even if that comes from the most unusual of sources.

Uncanny covers a lot of difficult themes, I was reminded a lot about 13 Reasons Why with the passive aggressive bullying suffered by Cora and the attempts at humiliation and playing on fragile mental health.  Cora is a very broken young girl, thrown into a world of excess and struggles to keep her head above water, never fitting in with the popular crowd her new sister inhabits.  Our smartphones scarily have become part of us, installed in our heads, never being able to escape the constant messages, video feeds and recordings.  AI is all around, ready to catch the parts that you don’t want others to see, which makes the journey to uncover Hannah’s murderer all the more difficult when this fail safe apparently fails.

The story plays out in 2 POV’s, Cora’s and then also a retrospective with different video clips being reviewed of Cora and her step sister Hannah’s interactions.  It’s these retrospectives which I struggled with at the start.  The flow of them didn’t really work for me, there was no change in font or formatting to indicate video clip conversation versus the inner narrative of the person viewing the video file and I often found myself reading in Cora’s voice when I shouldn’t have been. That being said as new characters were introduced and clips starting catching up to present day, I found the voice that I needed to differentiate.

I did find Uncanny very difficult in the start, if it wasn’t for the fact I had committed to a review I probably would have put it down before I got to the good stuff.  I’m glad I did persevere though as I did find it quite the page turner at the end as it became an intense murder mystery thriller, with some very shocking twists.

Note: This title is currently available for pre-order and will be released on the 3rd October.

Blood & Bone Series Sales Blitz with Tara Brown

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Title: Blood & Bone Series
Author: Tara Brown
Genre: YA SciFi/Mystery
What would you do if your life was a lie—and everyone knew but you?
Jane has come a long way from the dark days of the horrific car accident that robbed her of many memories. Living the life of a shopgirl with a charming boyfriend—a handsome, green-eyed doctor named Derek—is so satisfying that she doesn’t want to revisit her past.
But the past insists on revisiting Jane. People keep thinking she’s Samantha, a dead girl who looks exactly like her. Now, Jane is determined to discover her connection to the girl, leading her to question everything from her relationship with Derek to her own sanity. Should she believe Rory, the man who insists she actually is Samantha? Or should she depend on Derek, who offers her love and shelter…but who may have other reasons for keeping her under wraps? Who is telling her the truth—and what are the others hiding?
Blurb:
Not even the warning label on the experimental project could have prepared Jane Spears for the nightmare she would walk into when the Ashley Potter case landed in her lap. Deep inside the victim’s mind, Jane finds clues hinting at the worst crimes she has ever come upon. But the bread crumbs don’t lead anywhere, and in the waking light Jane discovers nothing is as she believed. The conspiracy goes deeper than she can reveal, and the crimes are too hideous to leave unsolved. Can she stop it all in time, or will she be sucked in—trapped by the deranged mastermind?
Blurb:
Being a mind runner isn’t easy, but catching criminals is all that matters to Jane Spears. Though her job may be gruesome, she’s not willing to stop just yet. And even as she admires the ring from her fiancé, she has no intention of letting a wedding sidetrack her work—not when she’s about to delve into the darkest mind she’s ever encountered.
As she starts to explore the twisted ruins of a sociopath’s psyche, Jane realizes she may have finally met her match. She knew this case would be a challenge, but she didn’t expect to get caught in a mind-bending nightmare. Because this irredeemable murderer seems to know something about Jane that even she doesn’t—something unspeakable lurking in her past. Can she escape the killer’s derangement unscathed and ready to walk down the aisle?
I believe growing up in a really small town gives a person a little advantage when it comes to the imagination. You need one or you go mad.
Needless to say, mine saved me. After it got me into trouble first, that is. That’s the problem with a vivid imagination, all the lies you tell.
I am happily married with two daughters.
I have two giant dogs, two savage cats, and a penchant for a glass of red.
Also, I drag my bread through the sauce. I can’t help myself, bread is life.
According to my age, I am meant to be a responsible adult, but it isn’t going well at all. I would still head off to Hogwarts tomorrow and I suspect there isn’t a single wardrobe I haven’t crept into, hoping to find the door to Narnia. And don’t even get me started on the King’s Road, I get lost.
Fortunately, I am an international bestseller so I have wormed my way into a quirky or eccentric category.
Thank God for that.
I am represented by Natalie Lakosil from the Bradford Literary Agency and am published traditionally with Montlake Romance.
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S.K.I.E. Series Book Blitz with Caitlyn Mancini

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Title: S.K.I.E. Series
Author: Caitlyn Mancini
Genre: YA science-fiction/genetic engineering (futuristic not alien sci-fi)
Cover Designer: Renee Barratt from The Cover Counts
Blurb:
Selie is starting college in the year 2098 at Ashmore University located within White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia. While technology has advanced to incorporate artificial intelligence microchips, the worries of a teenage girl have not. Selie thought the worst she would be dealing with was hard tests and difficulty making new friends. Instead, she stumbles upon a ghastly discovery of missing students and illegal experiments. Just when she thinks she’s made a friend and meets a handsome boy who’s much more than he seems, her world is turned upside down and she soon realizes that she is no longer ordinary. Now, along with her newfound friends, she has to fight for survival and stop others from falling victim.
Blurb:
Selie has survived the horrible ordeal she underwent when she was kidnapped and injected with an unknown serum. The quiet illusion is disrupted when a body is discovered, a victim who may have been Dr. Daven’s. With potential evidence of the illegal experiments, Selie delves deeper into her obsession to stop him and Reyna. Selie, alongside her friends Eirian, Heero, Rose, and Brody, takes it upon herself to learn more about the experiments and potentially who Dr. Daven really is. Among the uncertainty surrounding their intensifying abilities and the growing feelings between her and Eirian, Selie has no idea what she may uncover but feels whatever she may uncover might be far worse than she realizes.
Caitlyn Mancini was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in English and a sub-concentration in creative writing. Caitlyn started her writing journey at the age of 7, coming up with fantastical stories and characters, including a children’s series at the age of 12 inspired by her sister Laurynn. Caitlyn’s hobbies include writing, drawing, making board games, and Taekwondo among other dabbles. She has a love for anything supernatural including sci-fi/fantasy. Caitlyn works as a stenographer in Michigan.
Author Links:
Buy Links:
Project S.K.I.E.: http://amzn.to/2xOKbpe
S.K.I.E. Secrets: http://amzn.to/2wtwagq

Bookish Ramblings Part 2

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Hello again to you all, I have decided to continue sharing my bookish ramblings with you all you lucky things!

So the big thing for me this week is Book Subscription boxes – there are a ton of these out there and I was feeling really disheartened when so many of them were based in the US, the shipping was almost as much as the box!  Then I discovered Fairy Loot, they are based in London so only a few £ for shipping and they only send YA fantasy books out in their boxes so i’m always going to get a book that i’ll enjoy! They also set you up with random reading buddies who also get the box to read the BOTM with. I’ve set it up that I’ll get my first box in December, in time for my birthday 🙂  It seems like forever away, but it’s my birthday present to myself and I’ll be sharing the big reveal with you all when I get my first box delivered! Are any of you signed up to boxes, which ones?  What made you choose that particular box?

This week I have been reading A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas, I finished it yesterday after having a complete binge read, it was so amazing! I want to start book 3 in the trilogy but because I have ARC’s I signed up for ages ago coming through I need to prioritise those, which leads me to my next big problem – I have been reading paperbacks again for soooo long now that I have no idea where I left my Kindle!  When I have signed off from you I’m going to have to have a search, arggghh.

Finally, as the autumnal nights start drawing in I have gained a snuggly reading buddy 😉

Also, I never found a book case – my hunt continues…..

Stay safe from the Zombie hoards until next time!

HER Release Blitz with Danielle Rose

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Title: HER
Genre: YA Horror, Short Story
Cover Art by Gwenn Danae
Cover Text by Eight Little Pages
Blurb:
Kemper Academy is over a hundred years old, but it has only recently reopened after a series of murders and stories of hauntings shut it down. Avlynn, a new student, refuses to let the rumors scare her, chalking them up to a bit of friendly freshman hazing. But when night falls and screams draw her from her room, she finds the truth is much more horrifying than any ghost story.
Danielle Rose holds a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Southern Maine. Currently residing in the Midwest, where she spends her days dreaming of warmer temperatures, when she’s not writing, she enjoys pretending she lives in California, spending an embarrassing amount of time at Hobby Lobby, and binge-watching Netflix. Visit Danielle on the Web: www.Danielle-Rose.com.
Author Links:
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Sinister Souls & Dead Things Cover Reveal with Martina McAtee

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Title: Sinister Souls & Dead Things
Author: Martina McAtee     
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Blurb: Seventeen-year-old Ember Lonergan has made her pack a promise: To go after their enemies before their enemies can come for them. It was a bold statement that she has no idea how to back up. She hasn’t mastered driving on the highway, much less how to take down a hostile system of government. What’s worse, half her pack is crazy, and the other half is broken…possibly forever.

But none of that matters anymore. Ember isn’t just Ember anymore. Ember and her cousins are the prophesied Trinity, foretold to take down the druids and break the curse that’s plagued witches and reapers for centuries. The Oracle has been gathering their allies—laying the groundwork for their return—for decades, but all of that work is destroyed in an instant when Ember’s betrayed by somebody she thought she could trust.
  
Alliances are crumbling. Humans are missing. People are dying. The High Inquisitor has arrived. Witches have taken over the school, and they are instituting new policies every day.
Their new message is clear:
If you fight for the Trinity, you burn with the Trinity.
Martina McAtee lives in Jupiter, Florida with her teenage daughter, her best friend, two attack chihuahua’s and two shady looking cats. When she isn’t writing young adult books about worlds with reapers, zombies, werewolves and other supernatural creatures she’s reading or watching shows that involve reapers, zombies, werewolves and other supernatural creatures. Her debut novel Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things released in August of 2015. Her second book in the Dead Things series, Dark Dreams and Dead Things, will release July 15, 2016.
Author Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/MartinaMcAtee1
Buy Links: Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: http://amzn.to/1Z4L4NHDark Dreams and Dead Things: http://amzn.to/1Z4KVtH

Bookish ramblings Part 1

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I’m all about trying new things for the most part as long it allows me to remain my introverted self. When I started up this blog I was all about it being a community and not just piles of promo – well somewhere along the line I failed with that.  I think it’s because I didn’t have the nerve to talk to you all and I slowly became a faceless blogger.  I’m going to try and remedy that for those of you who are still with me!  So I will from time to time talk to you on here about what’s going on with me and the YA/Dystopian/Fantasy bookworld!

SO big news is that after 2 years of solidly reading Indie on my kindle I have been reading a ton more trad published fantasy.  I always find it difficult to review trad published books, I don’t know why.  It’s almost like I feel they have already been validated and who am I to judge? How about you?  Do you like to see reviews of traditionally published books or are you all about the indie? I would like to know as if you do like to read these types of review maybe I will try and push out of my comfort zone and then share my reviews with you too!

My new big love at the moment is Bookstagramming, I started last week on a whim and found myself completely in love with it.  Although my 2 year paperback drought has left me woefully without subject material to photograph!  I’m working on it though.  I am taking part in a bookstagram monthly challenge which at least gives me a place to start everyday – this is one of my favourite that I have done so far – it was a challenge to post a short title, you can’t get much shorter than a single letter!

I love searching around and looking for props as well as digging out old books I forgot I had when given the theme for the day.  I have to admit that I have plundered the children’s toys for a large amount of the props I use (Harley Quinn up there is one of my daughters favourites) but I think that has helped me find my style 🙂

I have serious book case envy too – some of the big bookstagram players have the most fabulous book shelves and we are on a mission this weekend to find the perfect shelf so we can mix our paperbacks with our fandom related merch!  If you like the look of what I have done and you want to follow me on Instagram then I would love it if you would join me! Post Apocalyptic Playground Bookstagram

See now i’ve started talking I don’t want to stop, but I will keep my ramblings to just this for today, if you like my ramblings then let me know and I will talk to you some more!

Stay safe from the Zombie hoards until next time you guys!

Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things Freebie Book Blitz with Martina McAtee

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Title: Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things
Author: Martina McAtee     
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Blurb: 17 year old Ember Denning has made an art of isolating herself. She prefers the dead. She spends her days skipping school in old cemeteries and her nights hiding from her alcoholic father at the funeral home where she works. When her own father dies, Ember learns her whole life is a lie. Standing in the cemetery that’s been her sanctuary, she’s threatened by the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and rescued by two people who claim to be her family. They say she’s special, that she has a supernatural gift like them…they just don’t know exactly what it is.

They take her to a small Florida town, where Ember’s life takes a turn for the weird. She’s living with her reaper cousins, an orphaned werewolf pack, a faery and a human genius. Ember’s powers are growing stronger, morphing into something bigger than anything anybody anticipated. Ember has questions but nobody has answers. Nobody knows what she is. They only know her mysterious magical gift is trying to kill them and that beautiful dangerous boy from the cemetery may be the only thing standing between her and death.
As Ember’s talents are revealed so are the secrets her father hid and those in power who would seek to destroy her. What’s worse, saving Ember has put her cousins in danger and turned her friend’s lives upside down. Ember must learn to embrace her magic or risk losing the family she’s pieced together.
Martina McAtee lives in Jupiter, Florida with her teenage daughter, her best friend, two attack chihuahua’s and two shady looking cats. When she isn’t writing young adult books about worlds with reapers, zombies, werewolves and other supernatural creatures she’s reading or watching shows that involve reapers, zombies, werewolves and other supernatural creatures. Her debut novel Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things released in August of 2015. Her second book in the Dead Things series, Dark Dreams and Dead Things, will release July 15, 2016.
Author Links: Facebook: www.facebook.com/MartinaMcAtee1
Buy Links: Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things: http://amzn.to/1Z4L4NHDark Dreams and Dead Things: http://amzn.to/1Z4KVtH

The Opal Blade Pre-Order Blitz with Kristy Nicolle

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Title: The Opal Blade
Author: Kristy Nicolle
Genre: Dark Fantasy Romance
Editor: Jaimie Cordall
Publication Date: Oct. 13, 2017
Blurb: When Sephy Sinclair is forced to sign a contract taking over her father’s business empire, she’s not happy. What she doesn’t know though, is that in having her Father’s legacy thrust upon her, she’s about to discover the secret lives of her parents, and most importantly that her lineage is steeped far deeper in ancient myth and magic than she ever anticipated.
Journey, with Sephy, through The Hollow and find yourself among the sinners of Mortaria, The Underworldian City ruled by a council of Gods made mortal. Here, she will seek sanctuary beneath a purple sun and vermillion sky, ruled by Haedes, a man broken beyond repair by an incident far too close to home.
Unfortunately for Sephy, it is Haedes alone who can teach her how to wield her newfound powers. Will he overcome his personal loss in time to save Sephy as she is hunted by the Demon Lords of Ancient, or will Sephy be used as a bargaining chip to bring Mortaria to its knees?
Facebook Showcase: 
Kristy Nicolle is a 23 year old writer living in the historically beautiful English city of Norwich. She is a full time writer and a graduate of The University of Lincoln in English literature & language, as well as an avid collector of first editions.
Having penned her first novel length piece at age thirteen, Kristy has been writing daily ever since and is particularly drawn to Paranormal Romance, Fantasy Romance and Science fiction. Kristy Nicolle’s Queens of Fantasy Saga is a collection of 3 trilogies, following the lives of three extraordinary women and their journeys, both personal and fantastical, into three unique but interconnected fantasy worlds. The first trilogy in the saga, ‘The Tidal Kiss Trilogy’, captures the fantastical underwater world of the Occulta Mirum and its scaly tailed residents as their world, which seemed stable for so long, begins to shift. The Second and Third Trilogies names- The Ashen Touch Trilogy and The Aetherial Embrace Trilogy are currently a work in progress.
Kristy is also an animal lover and has a cat, Mitsy, who she has lovingly dubbed Doctor Moo after harboring the belief that all cats are secretly Time Lords. Kristy’s reading preferences are wide, spreading from William Gibson to William Golding and encapsulating multiple genres, though her favorites include Science fiction, Adventure stories and Postmodern narratives such as Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’, and numerous Angela Carter titles.
Author Links:
Buy Links:
Amazon (Pre-Order): http://amzn.to/2eKbW6G