6

COVER REVEAL: Reaper by L.S. Murphy

Monday 30 April 2012.
Reaper by L.S. Murphy

Reaper by L.S. Murphy
Release Date: January 7, 2013
Target Reader: Young Adult
Keywords: Urban Fantasy

Blurb:
There's no way sixteen year old Quincy Amarante will become the fifth grim reaper. None. Not over her shiny blue Mustang. Her Jimmy Choos. Or her dead body.

She’s supposed to enjoy her sophomore year, not learn about some freaky future Destiny says she has no choice but to fulfill.

It doesn’t take long for Quincy to realize the only way out of the game is to play along especially since Death can find her anyway, anywhere, anytime. And does.

Like when she’s reassuring her friends she wants nothing to do with former best friend Ben Moorland, who’s returned from god-knows-where, and fails. Miserably.

Instead of maintaining her coveted popularity status, Quincy’s goes down like the Titanic.

Maybe ... just maybe ... that’s okay.

It seems, perhaps, becoming a grim reaper isn’t just about the dead but more about a much needed shift in Quincy’s priorities—from who she thinks she wants to be to who she really is.

What do you think?

Add to your TBR on Goodreads

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9

Stacking the Shelves #1

Sunday 29 April 2012.

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, (and filling our kindle) sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process! Hosted by Tynga over at Tynga's Reviews

I can't believe another week is over already. Where does the time go. Here is what I received this week. I'm really excited by Burn Mark, I can't wait to read it. 

You can click on the book title for more details.

For review

Glitch (Glitch, #1) Burn Mark
Glitch by Heather Anastasiu
Burn Mark by Laura Powell
Viscious (Vivid #2) by Andrea Murray (No cover or blurb yet)


Amazon freebies

Captivated (Affliction, #1) Sleepers (The Swarm Trilogy, #1)
Captivated by Deb Apodaca
Sleepers by Megg Jensen

So, what goodies did you have in your mailbox this week. Leave me your link in a comment and I'll check it out.


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3

Untouched (Denazen #1.5) by Jus Accardo

Saturday 28 April 2012.

Untouched (Denazen, #1.5)Untouched by Jus Accardo
Published 28th March 2012 by Entangled Publishing
Target Audience: Young Adult




My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Kale and Dez are travelling around the country, trying to contact other sixes and take them back to safety. After they visit the next six, they are heading to an amusement park so that Dez can get some "Kale time" as she calls it. She doesn't really trust them and tags along to the amusement park. Where they are attacked by one of Denazen's best, Samsen. A nightmare from Kale's past. He can control Kale just by using his voice.


This short story is told from Kale's POV. It is quite amusing being in Kale's head. He doesn't really understand sarcasm, wit or slang. He is such an innocent, it is really cute. When they go to the amusement park, he is amazed at all the rides, and slightly fearful of the clown. He can't really figure how the amusement park is fun.


Once they are attacked by Samsen, we see a much different Kale. He is very protective of Dez, he is strong, brave and well trained. It kind of felt like the man taking over from the little boy when danger appeared. He is such a likeable character. I am looking forward to Toxic now.

Buy the Book: Amazon/Barnes & Noble





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4

COVER REVEAL: Breaking Glass by Lisa Amowitz

Friday 27 April 2012.

Title: Breaking Glass
Author: Lisa Amowitz
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press (www.SpencerHillPress.com)
ISBN: 978-1-937053-38-3
Release Date: July 9, 2013
Formats: Paper, e-book
Genre: Young Adult paranormal mystery

Blurb
On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he's not sure whether they're real or if he's losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.



Book Trailer


Add it to your TBR on Goodreads


I love this cover. The hand on the broken glass makes me feel like there's someone trapped behind it. And the winter scenery makes it look so desolate. I'm intrigued by the way the title is written too. Doesn't this sound like a great read, full of mystery and suspense. Unfortunately we have a long wait for it, but I think this could be one worth waiting for.

What do you think. Leave me a comment and let me know your opinion.
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6

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Thursday 26 April 2012.
Starcrossed     Starcrossed (Starcrossed, #1)
UK Cover                   US Cover

Published: MacMillan Children's Books UK, Harper Teen US
Publication Date: 31st May 2011
Target Audience: YA


My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was a re-read, but as I didn't write a review the first time around, I decided I would write one now.


I needed to re-read this to refresh my memory for reading Dreamless and I was really surprised by how much I had forgotten. But I do remember that I loved it the first time around and I loved it just as much this time.


Helen lives on the small island of Nantucket with her dad. Her mother deserted them when she was a baby. Helen finds the island boring and longs for college when she can get away to the mainland.


All that changes when the Delos family move from Spain to Nantucket. It is all the people on the island can talk about but Helen has no interest whatsoever and is getting fed up listening to people going on about them.


But the first time Helen sets eyes on Lucas Delos, the hottest of all the Delos guys, in the corridor at school, she feels so much hate and anger towards him that she attacks him, wanting to kill him.


But sometimes, love is stronger than hate.........


This book is based around Greek mythology. I remember being slightly confused at times the first time I read this but this time, already having some idea as to what was going on, I think I picked up things that I missed first time around.


I was totally captivated by this book again. I didn't want to put it down. It has a great cast of characters who are all extremely well written and relateable. I was wary of the Delos family at the beginning but I quickly warmed to them. Except for Hector, but by the end, he was one of my favourites.


Claire and Matt were great as the best friends. Always looking out for Claire and there when she needed them. And Zach, he is kind of like the "bitchy girl" of the story. Helen thinks he is trying to blackmail her at one point. I am interested to see his part in the next book, Dreamless.


And Daphne, I really didn't take to her. I did not trust her one bit. And poor Jerry. I felt really bad for him most of the time. He is a great dad to Helen and they have a great relationship. I just didn't understand why she would tell her friends her secret and not tell her dad.


Helen herself is a really likeable character and she grows a lot in this book. With the introduction of the Delos family, her life is changed forever. But she deals with it really well, until Daphne arrives with information that changes things for Helen and Lucas. I really liked Lucas. He is incredibly hot but he is crazy about Helen. I enjoyed their relationship and how they went from hating each other to loving each other and trying to deal with the fact that they could never be together.


I cannot wait to read Dreamless and I am extremely lucky to have a copy on hand that I received from Pan Macmillan for review. Keep an eye out for my review around the UK release date of the 5th July 2012.


Buy the book: Amazon/The Book Depository

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13

Waiting on Wednesday #11

Wednesday 25 April 2012.


Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 


Hemlock (Hemlock, #1)
Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
Publication Date: 8th May 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins

Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac’s life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac’s hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy’s killer: A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy’s murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock’s thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

Add this to your TBR on Goodreads

I can't wait for this one. I am a really big werewolf fan. And thankfully, I don't have to wait too long.

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? Leave me a comment with the link to your post so I can check it out.
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3

Blog Tour - Release Day Review

Tuesday 24 April 2012.

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1)

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa
Published by Harlequin Teen
Pub Date: 24th April 2012
ISBN: 0373210515
Target Audience: Young Adult


5 of 5 stars

Julie Kagawa is amazing. She reeled me in with her Iron Fey series, even though I wouldn’t have been a great fan of faery books. I read great reviews for that series and I had to give it a shot, and I love it. It has become one of my favourite series. And I now have a new favourite to add to my list, The Blood of Eden series. When I heard that Julie was writing a vampire series, I was excited to see her take on vampires. And I wasn’t disappointed, she did an amazing job.

Allie (Allison) is an unregistered. She is unknown to the vampires who run the city and treat humans like blood cattle. Because she’s not on the system, she doesn’t have to attend the blook bank to give regular donations but that also means that she doesn’t get any food stamps. She lives in the Fringe where she has to scavenge for food.

When she is attacked by the rabids, and on the brink of death, she is given a choice by a vampire, Kanin. He can let her die from her attack, and maybe turn into a rabid, or he can change her into a vampire. Ultimately, still killing her. She chooses to live after death and become a vampire, one of the monsters she detests so much, because when it comes to it, she doesn’t want to die.

Kanin teachers her the vampire history and how to fight and live as a vampire. When they find themselves being chased down by vampires from the city, she must separate from Kanin and make her way on her own. This is how she meets a group of humans who are searching for a better place, called Eden. They believe her to be human and invite her to join their group. She travels with them, and vows to protect them. To hold onto her humanity and not become the monster she is destined to be.

Allie is an amazing character, a hero I would say. She cares so much and wants to help even those who hate her for what she is. Even as a human, she looked after the weaker in her group.  She will risk her own life for others. Her strength of character is clear as we see her fight her inner monster throughout the book.

I really took to Kanin. He was a dark, brooding vampire with a heart. I am hoping he is making a comeback in the second book.

The love interest, Zeke, is such a sweetie. And yet, he is tough and brave when the need arises. He is second in command to the group, under his stepfather Jeb. He has a fantastic manner for dealing with the group and has all their best interests at heart.

The romance was written really well. No love triangle…..but as I loved Kanin so much I had a bit of one going on in my head because Zeke was so lovable too lol.

Julie once again does a fantastic job of the world building. Her descriptions are so good, you can literally visualise yourself there.  I would give this book a 5+ star rating as I couldn’t fault anything about it. I absolutely loved the story line and I can’t wait for the next instalment in this series. 


Book Trailer




Buy the Book: Amazon/The Book Depository



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Monday 23 April 2012.
Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1)
Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
Published by Kensington Publishing Corp.
Pub Date: 1st August 2011
ISBN: 0758266928
Target Audience: Young Adult


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Touch of Frost is a book that encompasses a lot of Greek mythology. Gwen Frost attends Mythos Academy, a school for ancient warriors who are there to train and become the best warrior they can.


Gwen attended a normal school until her mother died and her grandmother sent her to Mythos. She's not like the other kids there and feels completely isolated and is treated like she doesn't exist.


When Jasmine Ashton is murdered in the library while Gwen is working there, nobody seems to care. But Gwen just can't seem to stop thinking about it. She has a gut feeling that something is wrong, while also feeling that maybe it should have been her.


I have not read many books with Greek mythology previously so I couldn't say I'm a big fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Jennifer tells this story impeccably with a lot of detail so the reader is totally clued in and understands everything. She played her cards close to her chest and didn't give up all her secrets at the start. By the end, I felt like all my questions had been answered and I was really happy with how it finished.


This school has the usual cliques of mean girls, hot guys and geeks except that here, they all carry weapons and are trained to kill. I really enjoyed the world that Jennifer creates  inside the school walls and her descriptions and character definitions are faultless.


I really liked Gwen and completely felt for her at the beginning of the book when she is feeling lost and alone at a school that she doesn't feel she belongs to. She is not like the other students there. Yes, she has powers, but they are completely different to everyone else there. She is also mourning the loss of her mother, who was killed by a drunk driver six months previously. I liked the fact that Gwen mentions her mother a lot throughout the book. Sometimes I find when a character dies in a book, they can just seem to be forgotten about as the story goes on.


As the book continues, Gwen finds a friend in the most unconventional girl, Daphne, and attracts the flirtatious attention of the most unconventional guy. The hottest and strongest guy in the school, Logan Quinn.


I really liked how this book played out and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of the genre.


“What did you expect? That he'd send you flowers and write you bad poetry? That dead Nemean prowler is pretty much as close to a stuffed animal as you're ever going to get from a Spartan like Logan Quinn.”


Another cover version, I much prefer this one.
Touch of Frost


Buy the book: Amazon/The Book Depository
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18

In My Mailbox #16

Saturday 21 April 2012.



In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. This is where we share what we have bought/received/borrowed throughout the week.








Click on the book title for Goodreads blurb.


I bought this one. I really enjoyed Shannon's first book in this series, Beg for Mercy and I'm really looking forward to reading this one
Waiting for Mercy (Cambion #2)
Waiting for Mercy (Cambion #2) by Shannon Dermott


From the library
Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy, #1)
Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep
I finished reading this one last night and I really really liked it. (Review to come) Now I just have to get the second in the series lol. 


I received these for review
Shift Silver From Out Of Chaos Spectral
Shift by Kim Curran
Silver by Talia Vance
From Out of Chaos by Nathan Wrann
Spectral by Shannon Duffy

Power Within Make Me (Demon Underground, #4) The Glimpse Dark Frost (Mythos Academy, #3)
Power Within by C.L Causer
Make Me by Parker Blue
The Glimpse by Claire Merle
Dark Frost by Jennifer Estep

What is in your mailbox this week? Leave me a link so I can check it out.


Thanks to Netgalley, Nathan Wrann and Chantelle Causer for providing copies of these books for review.

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17

Quotable Quotes Feature with Jus Accardo


                                                                 

A great quote can be inspirational. It can make us laugh, or swoon. It can make us feel connected when we’re lonely. A quote is the perfect example of the power words can hold. They can come from anywhere. Movies, books, people… I thought today I’d share some of my favorites with you.


Let’s start with people. Some of my absolute favorites come from Lord Byron.


For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction – Simple and says it all. This describes my life perfectly. Example? My 60 something year old neighbor mowing the lawn at midnight wearing nothing but a red Speedo. Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up…


If I don't write to empty my mind, I go mad – My brain is a random idea generator. Some pan out, others get filed away in a WTF were you thinking folder. Either way though, I need to get them out. If I don’t, it gets really crowded in there…


And what about movies? Everything from creepy to hilarious. Movie quotes stick with us.


I’ll be back... – You know you think badass, unstoppable killing machine when you hear that.


I see dead people – Tell me you didn’t get the chills when you saw Haley Joel Osment turn to Bruce Willis and confess his big secret?


I want my two dollars! – I don’t care how old you are, if you don’t know this quote, a small part of me just died…


Of course I saved the best for last. The book quotes. Funny, swoontastic, and all around awesome! I’ve seen everything from t-shirts to tattoos honoring these puppies. A few weeks ago, I even saw a van that had Jacob’s face (Twilight) and I'm gonna fight for you, until your heart stops beating airbrushed across the driver’s side. On the passenger’s side, Edward's face and Look after my heart - I've left it with you. Crazy, right?


Pick up your clothes. I am not your maid. How do I know this? A maid cannot kill you with a tube sock. I can. – If you haven’t read Rob Thurman’s Cal Leandros series, you need to snap it up ASAP. There are so many awesome one liners, it will make your head spin.


So, since I’m a sucker for book quotes, we’re going to play a little game! There are 15 participating blogs for this event. At each stop there will be a teaser quote from TOXIC. It will be your job to figure out who said what. A random commenter from each blog will be picked to receive a swag bag and an eBook copy of UNTOUCHED, and then those winners will be pooled and one grand prize winner will get a signed copy of TOUCH and a Touch key chain. On the last day of the event, I’ll pop by each of the blogs and give the answers!


WHO SAID THIS:


“Let’s just say it won’t win you Boyfriend of the Year."

a. Ginger
b. Dez
c. Alex
d. Kiernan
e. Kale


Leave your answer in a comment below also stating if you have an international or US/Canadian address. The eBook giveaway is international, but the swag and signed copy giveaways are US/Canada only. 

Untouched (Denazen, #1.5)
Untouched (A Denazen Novella 1.5)


Until he met Dez, Kale’s days were filled with violence and death. He was used as a weapon of destruction by the power hungry men of Denazen. He’s a Six. A person with an abnormal ability. Some people call them gifts, but not Kale. Kale’s touch means instant death.


But now there’s Dez, the girl he can touch, and they’re hunting down Sixes and warning them about Denazen. Kale is learning about the world outside captivity and trying to put his dark past behind him. But they underestimated how badly Denazen wanted him back.


When Dez sacrifices herself to save the new Six they’d rescued from falling into the corp’s hands, Kale is lost. Denazen has brought out its best to get the job done. Samsen, a nightmare from Kale’s past—the only person he’s ever truly feared—has come for them, and it soon becomes obvious he has his own twisted agenda.


Kale will need all his training to get Dez back and ensure they make it out, free—and alive. But will it be enough?


Add Untouched to your TBR pile on Goodreads






Touch, the first novel in the Denazen series, is set to re-release in mass market on June 12th (Complete with additional scenes from Kale’s POV!). You can pre-order your copy here








Toxic (Denazen #2) hits shelves on September 11th 2012








Bio


Jus Accardo is the author of YA paranormal romance and urban fantasy fiction. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald. Her first book, Touch, is available now from Entangled Publishing. She is represented by Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.


Give Jus a yell on Twitter, or visit her on Facebook, and her website.


Participating blogs:
The Bookish Brunette
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2

Release Day Review and Giveaway

Friday 20 April 2012.

Between (Heven and Hell, #1.5)


Between by Cambria Hebert


I grew up in a comfortable house with two parents and a white-picket fence. My brother, Sam, and I used to play with sticks in the backyard and pretend they were swords. There were always cookies on the table and milk in the fridge. Then, one day, things changed.

Sam changed.

Life was never the same again. Sam left. My parents abandoned him when he needed them most, and I was left to survive in a house that was merely a shell of what it used to be. Mom cried all the time and Dad expected me to fill the void my brother left behind. But mostly, all we did was pretend. We pretended that things weren’t messed up. We pretended that Sam never existed.

Until I changed, too.

Now, everything’s a mess and I’m so confused. It’s like there are two different people trapped inside one body—my body—and one of them wants out. I do things. Bad things and I don’t know how to stop. I’m not sure I want to. The only way I can be normal again is if I find Sam. He’ll know what to do.

He has too. 



Novellas are not something that I am ever truly blown away by, but this was a good one. It met its purpose, I know more about Logan’s background and why he appeared cagey when he first met up with Sam and Heven, and I can’t wait to read Charade.

I like Logan. I didn’t at the end of Masquerade, I didn’t trust him. Whether I will still like him by the time I’ve finished reading Charade, we will have to wait and see. I’m still not sure if I would trust him, but I like him, and I really feel for him. God love him, he is just a messed up kid, struggling with leaving his family and becoming a hell hound. I’m really looking forward to seeing how his character develops in Charade. 



Enter now to win an ecopy of Between (Heven and Hell #1.5)

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4

Dark Matter Heart by Nathan Wrann

Thursday 19 April 2012.

Dark Matter Heart (Cor Griffin Bloodsuckers, #1)Dark Matter Heart by Nathan Wrann
Published: 11th May 2011
ASIN: B0050ITJEU
Purchase: Amazon/Smashwords


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


After Cor was almost killed in a car accident four years ago, when he was 13, he developed allergies. His is allergic to the sun. He is weak and sickly during the day, and can't sleep at night. After getting into some trouble in Los Angeles, his mom Jane decides to move to the misty Pacific Northwest, with two hundred and forty overcast days per year. He makes a new best friend Taylor. But it seems that trouble has followed him.


Nathan Wrann has done a fantastic job of weaving a paranormal romance/murder thriller with a web of suspense and mystery. This book would interest paranormal fans as well as those who love a good "whodunnit" book. Nathan has a writing style that I really liked and I just didn't want to put this book down. It was totally unpredictable and kept me wondering and guessing throughout.


Cor and Taylor are really likeable characters and I really enjoyed the interactions between them, total geek speak and playing detective and forensic scientist. Taylor turned out to be a much different character than I thought he was going to be when I started reading this.


The only downside I had was Caitlyn. I don't feel her character has enough depth for the reader to be able to connect with her properly. The type of girl who dated the dumb ass jock didn't gel with the type of person who would have been drawn to Cor. I would have liked some more insight into Caitlyn, like who she hung out with, was she popular etc.?


I really liked the ending when the action kicks off. We find out who the killer is (shocker) and there's also another twist. I am really looking forward to reading the next instalment in this series, From Out of Chaos.






Nathan was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions, so let's get started.


Why don't you start by telling us a bit about yourself? 
Yikes! That's a little bit of a broad question and I'm not sure how much time we have. But here's a brief history: Born in Florida (USA). Joined the U.S. Army (Military Police) directly after High School. After 5 years in I got out and went to college at Southern Connecticut State University where I studied Theatre and Video Production and met my future wife. Immediately upon graduation I opened a coffee shop in New Haven, Connecticut called Elm City Java. Got married to Kimberly Dalton (jewellery maker and children's book author). Sold the coffee shop and went to work in an office. Created the online music magazine www.heartsandsleeves.com. Wrote, produced, directed, photographed, edited my first feature film, a slasher horror film called "Hunting Season". Wrote, directed etc. etc. my 2nd feature film, a surreal, mind-trippy piece, called "Burning Inside." Wrote and published Dark Matter Heart and From Out of Chaos, and am currently working on book 3 in the series. I live in West Haven, CT with my wife, our adopted chihuahua Napoleon Dynamite and our cat Konstantine. 

What challenges, if any, did you face while writing this book? 
I've written plenty of screenplays over the years and I was pretty intimidated by the change in format. Screenplays have their own kind of shorthand where you can get away with things. You know, "a picture is worth a thousand words"? In a screenplay you can simply say "Cor's Bedroom" and not have to worry about it until you decorate and film Cor's bedroom. In a book the writer has to actually describe Cor's bedroom to develop it in the readers head. Along the same lines there isn't much collaboration when writing a book. With a book I can't expect an actor to flesh out the character, or a cinematographer to set the tone, or music to enhance the scene. It's all gotta be on the page or it isn't there. But at the same time you don't want too much description to bog the story down.

Did your characters behave the way you wanted them to or did they change the direction of the story? 
DARK MATTER HEART started its life as a screenplay, called "NICE" that I wrote in 2005. The movie, didn't get produced so after six years of my wife prodding me to turn it into a book I relented and turned the screenplay into the novel. I can't remember if back when I wrote the screenplay if the characters gave me any trouble, but this time around they were all well behaved and did what they were supposed to. The story had already been set in stone for quite some time. However, Cor and Taylor do have a tendency to start bantering and I have difficulty shutting them up so they can get on with what they have to do.

Forensic science plays a significant part in this book. Is this something you have a lot of interest in? 
As a former Military Policeman it would have been neat to further pursue a career in that. Solving mysteries and especially using science to do so has always interested me but my life took a different direction. Now I enjoy doing the research to see how this stuff works.

What inspired you to write in the YA paranormal genre? 
I've always been a fan of "teen" stories. Ever since "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton or Romeo & Juliet or "Back to the Future" or "West Side Story" as a child. In the late 90's there were some great teen movies that spanned a few genres like "Drive Me Crazy", or "The Faculty" and "Disturbing Behavior" and I loved the TV Shows "Roswell" and "Veronica Mars" so when I was writing the screenplay in 2005, I wanted to write a cool teenage vampire movie. Flashforward 6 years and the book maintains its YA/Teen roots.

Can you sum up Dart Matter Heart in 10 words? 
I'll cheat and pull the quote that I have at the beginning of the book which is from H.G. Wells' "The Invisible Man" I think it sums it up beautifully: "It is wonderful how little a man can do alone!"

How many books do you plan to write in this series? The "Dark Matter Heart" series will be a trilogy. And that trilogy will be the "Origin" of The Cor Griffin Bloodsuckers. I plan to write stand-alone novels for Cor (and any others that make it through. wink wink) that will take them around the world on individual adventures. I've got the ideas for 3 additional stand-alones already but there could be plenty more.

Nathan Wrann

You can find Nathan on Facebook/Goodreads/Twitter/Website

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11

Waiting on Wednesday #10

Wednesday 18 April 2012.



Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

PODs

Publication Date: June 4th, 2013
Publishers: Spencer Hill Press

Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, it’s in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, it’s a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. That’s the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.



This sounds very similar to a book I just read recently, but I really enjoyed that one, so I want to give this one a try. What do you think?

Leave your WOW links in a comment so I can check them out.
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10

Teaser Tuesday

Tuesday 17 April 2012.




Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. You know the rules: grab your current read, open to a random page and share a two sentence teaser with us (no spoilers!). Be sure to tell us about the book, so we can add it to our TBR list!


I am very late doing my Teaser Tuesday this week because I am loving the book I'm reading at the moment and trying to get as much reading in as I can while I also try to fit in some spring cleaning :)


Unraveling


This week my teaser comes from Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris. This book is SO good.


And the emotion I feel is undoubtedly love - heart aching, chest filling, so powerful it hurts, like these are memories of someone watching me, someone whose happiest moments are when he sees me smile, and someone who aches and feels powerless and heartbroken when he knows I'm sad. Someone who loves me.
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5

The Weepers (The Other Life #1)

Monday 16 April 2012.
The Weepers: The Other LifeThe Weepers: The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
Publishers: Marshall Cavendish
Release Date: 12 May 2012
ISBN: 9780761462750
Source: Netgalley
Target: Young Adult


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Weepers were neither animal nor human. They were something else. Something wrong


When an outbreak of rabies occurs, people are told by the government to hide in bunkers until they get the situation under control and to wait to hear from the military before they leave. Sherry and her family have been living in a sealed bunker for over three years and they have just run out of food. Updates from the military have stopped coming. The time has come to leave the bunker but they don't know what's on the outside. Has anyone else survived? Are they all still in their bunkers? Is the rabies under control?


This is an excellent dystopian novel. Susanne has done a brilliant job building this world that is over run with weepers. It seems there are very few humans left and like the ones who are left, are fighting a losing battle. Sherry is a very tough character from the get go. Even living in the bunker, she seems to be dealing best with the isolation from the world. When she meets Joshua, who saves her from being killed by Weepers, they become a great team. Joshua likes to hunt the weepers and he helps Sherry to find her dad and get her family to safety.


Joshua is a very closed person and keeps his feelings to himself, but as the story progresses, we gradually get to hear about what he went through before he came to Safe Haven. Every character has a horror story to tell and we hear most of them throughout the book. All of the characters are likeable though we don't really get to know the rest of them too much. This book is fairly short so we didn't seem to spend a lot of time with the rest of the characters and I would like to think that there could be a lot more to come from some of them.


I could really feel myself in this world and Susanne did a great job of portraying the despair, isolation, abandonment, panic, terror and anger that these characters were feeling.


This is fast paced with a lot of action and also some romance. I just wish it could have been longer. I am really looking forward to the next in this series, The Life Beyond, as there is a lot left open ended and I can't wait to see what happens next.


His lips brushed against mine, his palms warm against my cheeks. Our kiss tasted of blood and tears. Of rain and dirt. Of pain and relief. But more than anything, it was a promise. An oath to never let anything happen to the other.
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7

COVER REVEAL: After Dark by Emi Gayle and Taste by Kate Evangelista

Today I am happy to show you two brand new covers. Check them out and let me know what you think. I love them, the colouring, they have a darkness about them.


They both sound like really good books and I can't wait to read them. Make sure you read the excerpt of Taste, it has me so excited to read this book. 


After Dark by Emi Gayle

After Dark The 19th Year Trilogy - Book 1
by Emi Gayle
Release Date: October 31, 2012
Target Reader: Young Adult
Keywords: Paranormal Romance

Blurb
What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her.

In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life.

She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours.

Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists — which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge.

In this first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.

I love this cover. Its dark and mysterious looking. I can't wait to read this book!

Add it to your TBR on Goodreads


Goodreads/Website/Facebook/Twitter

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Taste by Kate Evangelista
Publishers: Crescent Moon Press
Publication Date: May 1st, 2012
Target Reader: Young Adult


Blurb:
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.



Taste Excerpt

I mentally stomped on the intimidation their perfection brought into my mind and said, “Excuse me.”
The group froze, startled by my words. The girls had their brows raised and the boys stopped mid-speech, mouths agape. They stared at me with eyes the shade of onyx stones.
I smiled and gave them a little wave.
The boy a step ahead of the rest recovered first. His stunning features went from shocked surprise to intense interest. He reminded me of a hawk eyeing its prey. I gulped.
“A Day Student,” he said, his eyes insolent and excited.
Something about the way he said “Day Student” made my stomach flip. “Excuse me?”
They snickered. The boys looked at each other while the girls continued to stare, muffling their laughter by delicate hands. I seemed to be the butt of some joke. 
“You broke the rule.” The boy’s grin turned predatory.
The students formed a loose semi-circle in front of me. My gaze darted from face to face. Hunger filled their eyes. The image of lions about to chase down a gazelle came to mind. I mentally shook my head. I was in the mountains not the Serengeti for crying out loud.
I took a small step back and cleared my throat. “Can any of you give me a ride back to the dorms?”
The boy wagged his forefinger like a metronome. “Ah, that’s unfortunate for you.”
One of the girls pinched the bridge of her nose. “Eli, you can’t possibly—”
“It’s forbidden, Eli,” another boy interrupted, pronouncing the word “forbidden” like a curse.
The nervous murmur at the pit of my stomach grew louder. Six against one. Not good odds. Instinct told me to cut my losses and run. Bad enough I faced expulsion, now it seemed like weird, beautiful people who’d suddenly appeared on campus wanted to beat me up. No, scratch that. Judging from the way they studied me, beating me up wouldn’t satisfy them. Something more primal prowled behind their looks.
I definitely wasn’t going down without a fight. Years of self-defense and hand-to-hand combat classes had me prepared. While other children from rich and important families got bodyguards, I got defense training. But I think my father meant for my skills to go up against potential kidnappers, not against other students who may or may not be crazy. Oh God! Maybe I stepped into a parallel universe or something when I reentered Barinkoff.
“None of the students are supposed to be on campus,” I said. Then, realizing my mistake, I added, “Okay, I know I’m not supposed to be here either. If one of you gives me a ride back to the dorms, I won’t say anything about all this. Let’s pretend this never happened. I didn’t see you, you didn’t see me.”
“We’re not ordinary students,” Eli answered. “We’re the Night Students.”
He’d said “Night Students” like the words were capitalized. I didn’t know Barinkoff held classes at night. What was going on here?
Eli smiled with just one side of his mouth and said to the group, “She’s right, no one will have to know. We’re the only ones here. And it’s been so long, don’t you agree?”
The rest of them nodded reluctantly.
“What’s been so long?” I challenged. I fisted my hands, ready to put them up if any of them so much as twitched my way.
“Since the taste of real flesh passed through my lips,” Eli said. He came forward and took a whiff of me then laughed when I cringed.
“Flesh.” Yep, parallel universe.
“Yes,” he said. “And yours smells so fresh.”
Someone grabbed my shoulders from behind and yanked me back before I could wrap my mind around the meaning behind Eli’s words. In a blink, I found myself behind someone tall. Someone really tall. And quite broad. And very male.
I realized he wore the same clothes Eli and the other boys did. Not good. He was one of them. Although… I cocked my head, raking my gaze over him. He seemed born to wear the uniform, like he was the pattern everyone else was cut from. My eyes wandered to long, layered, blue-black hair tied at the nape by a silk ribbon. Even in dim light, his hair possessed a sheen akin to mercury.
I looked down. The boy’s long fingers were wrapped around my wrist like a cuff. His fevered touch felt hotter than human standards, hot enough to make me sweat like I was standing beside a radiator but not hot enough to burn.
“I must be mistaken, Eli,” the boy who held my arm said in a monotone. “Correct me. Did I hear you say you wanted to taste the flesh of this girl?”
A hush descended on us. It had the hairs at the back of my neck rising. How was it possible for the atmosphere to switch from threatening to dangerous? Unable to help myself, I peeked around the new guy’s bulk. Eli and his friends bowed. They all had their right hands on their chests.
“Demitri, I’m sure you misheard me,” Eli said.
So the guy standing between me and the person who said he’d wanted to taste me was named Demitri. I like the sound of his name. Demitri. So strong, yet rolls off the tongue. Definite yum factor.
“So, you imply I made a mistake?” Demitri demanded.
“No!” Eli lifted his gaze. “I did no such thing. I simply wanted to show the girl the consequences of breaking curfew.”
“Hey!” I yelled. “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”
Demitri ignored my protest and continued to address Eli. “So, you threatened to taste her flesh.” His fingers tightened their grip around my wrist. “In the interest of investigating this matter further, I invoke the Silence.”
All six students gasped, passing surprised glances at one another.
Before I could ask about what was going on, Demitri yanked me down the hall toward the library. But why there? Oh, maybe we were getting my things. No, wait, he couldn’t have known about that. Everything was too confusing now.
Eli and the others didn’t try to stop us when we passed them. Demitri’s cold command must have carried power. Handsome and powerful, never a bad combination on a guy.
We reached the heavy double doors in seconds. He jerked one open effortlessly. I’d needed all my strength just to squeeze through that same door earlier. To him, the thick wood might as well have been cardboard. I raised an eyebrow and mentally listed the benefits of going to gym class.
“Why are we here?” I asked after my curiosity overpowered my worry. I’d almost forgotten how frightened I’d been right before Demitri showed up. I wasn’t above accepting help from strangers. Especially from gorgeous dark-haired strangers with hot hands and wide shoulders.
Demitri kept going, tugging me along, snaking his way deeper into the library. I had to take two steps for every stride his legs made. I tried to stay directly behind him, praying we didn’t slam into anything.
He stopped suddenly and I collided with him. It felt like slamming into a wall.
“Hey,” I said, momentarily stunned. “A little warning would be nice!”
He faced me, and I gasped. His eyes resembled a starless night, deep and endless. Their intensity drilled through me without pity, seeming to expose all my secrets. I felt naked and flustered beneath his gaze.
“You could have died back there,” he warned.
A lump of panic rebuilt itself in my throat.


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