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 (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

Waiting For Wentworth

The Magic Attic
The Fairy Tale Nerd
Doctors Notes
Books Movies Reviews Oh My
My Reading Room
Young Readers
Paranormal Book Fan
Taking It One Book at a Time
Coffee Books and Me
Better Read than Dead
Jelly Loves Books
Nightly Reading
Always YA at Heart

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Release Day Review and Giveaway

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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Dark Matter Heart by Nathan Wrann

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.

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

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Waiting on Wednesday #10

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

Pods by Michelle Pickett

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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Teaser Tuesday

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 :)





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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The Weepers (The Other Life #1)

The 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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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 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

***************************************************

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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In My Mailbox #15

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.

Only a couple of things in my mailbox this week....

 

Redemption (Hearts of Stone) by Veronique Launier

Crux by Julie Reece

These are both review books and I'm really looking forward to reading them both.


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


Thanks to Netgalley, Flux and J. Taylor Publishing.

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Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz
Published by Harlequin Teen, 27th March 2012
ISBN: 0373210507 (ISBN13: 9780373210503)
Source: Netgalley
Target Audience: Young Adult


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Spoilers for book 1, Spellbound


Having beaten the curse, Emma and Brendan are free to live happily ever after, or so it would seem. Emma, who now knows she's a witch, is taking spell lessons from her best friend Angelique, who's also a witch. Angelique is an empath and she begins to feel danger around Emma. When Brendan is set up and Emma gets attacked in the park, they have no idea how bad things are going to get.


This book just didn't capture me at all and I'm not sure why. There is nothing I can put my finger on, but I just couldn't get into it. To the point where I really struggled to make myself pick up my kindle and read it.


There is nothing I can actually find to fault it. I liked the authors writing style, all of the characters are well defined and enjoyable, her descriptions are well done and there is a lot of mystery and suspense to keep the reader guessing. Maybe its just me, so I would recommend anyone who is interested to read it and form their own opinions.


Emma and Brendan are still very much in love and its really sweet. It does get quite annoying though and unbelievable that every single female is supposed to fall all over Brendan, some even becoming obsessed with him. This is probably my only fault with the book.


Angelique is a really enjoyable character. We get to know her an awful lot more here. A couple of times, we change from Emma's POV to Angeliques. This is really interesting as it is when she is interacting with Brendan, who she really doesn't like but is starting to respect.


I did really enjoy the ending of this book. I felt it was really well done.  I don't know if there is a 3rd book in this series. Again, this one ended without a cliff hanger and with the illusion of happily ever after but so did book 1, so who knows. I'm not too sure if I would read another book in the series because I kind of feel as if the whole thing is just being dragged out. Spellbound would have been a great stand alone book and I think that's kind of what made it so hard for me to connect with Spellcaster, it felt like it was written just for the sake of making a series where there really shouldn't have been one.

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Guest Post and Giveaway: Suzan Battah

Today we have a guest post by Suzan Battah, author of the fantastic BaSati: Outside In. You can read my review here. She is also offering 5 ecopies of the book to giveaway. 

Seventeen year old, Armani Radnelaq a full blooded BaSatai is plagued by a curse in her blood. A curse created from hate and designed to break the divide between two parallel worlds of Earth and H-trae when Armani's blood is spilled in attack and she dies.

S'teuqoubs have been travelling back and forth across the divide for centuries without trouble. The BaSatai and Guardians monitoring activity and enforcing rules to ensure peace and harmony but if the divide splits and opens, a much greater number of supernatural S’teuqoubs will filter into earth destroying equilibrium which the BaSatai and Guardians will be unable to control. Humanity and the BaSatai will suffer and perish. The parallel divide must remain secure at all costs.

Armani has remained hidden on earth with her adopted father Elijah since her birth. She has been raised in the human way and fights her natural instinct to evolve into a BaSatai. The BaSatai in her requires her to evolve and shift, use her powers and strength. Yet Armani is freaked out by the need to shift. She smokes, has a bad attitude, must deal with aggressive bullies and control her natural BaSatai instinct. Her Guardian with BaSatai Warriors are coming for her. She refuses to accept her fate and doesn't believe any BaSatai should die to protect her.

The blood curse maturing in her veins makes her a target for her enemies. Her Guardian Karhl and an elite BasSatai Warrior Rafael are the first to arrive and prepare her for her crossing over. Her attraction to Rafael complicates her purpose to stay on earth even more. They both insist she fall into line and follow their lead but she is not ready to leave earth just yet... 



BaSatai: Outside In - A History of Where it All Started.

Firstly, thank you to Suzanne for having me as a Guest on her blog. As an author who writes in a few different genres, I must confess, chatting about the Worlds I create in Urban Fantasy is the most fun.

The original BaSatai: Outside In concept evolved in 2010. I was on holidays and the idea just walked into my head - blood curse, love & hate and a parallel world. I'm going to give you a brief introduction to the BaSatai and Guardian people, nothing too in depth or it may spoil the fun :)

The History of the BaSatai people: You will notice in BaSatai: Outside In when you read it, there is minimal explanation - I did this purposefully. I want readers to understand but also not to know everything of the BaSatai history. I want readers to think about what their own interpretation is and what the real interpretation could be. I certainly didn't want to overload readers with information that was not relevant at the time and also that was not necessary in moving the story forward.

The expected life span of BaSatai and Guardians is between 150 - 200 years. They are not immortal but are given a longer youth life due to their special skills in protecting H-trae and Earth. From birth to 25 years old they grow to adulthood. From 25 years old to 100 years old, they remain in a youthful state and generally can start to have children from age 30 years old. The BaSatai rarely have more than four children. From 100 years to 150 years BaSatai are in middle age, still very much active and a healthy people. From 150 years to 200 years the BaSatai are elderly and ready to move onto their next life in the Holy Realm.

BaSatai: Outside In revolves around parallel worlds: Earth and H-trae. A gate, divides the two worlds known as the parallel divide, it's a metaphysical gate that opens periodically at certain times when the planets turn at different angles. The BaSatai and Guardians, an alien humanoid race with intense supernatural powers maintain and protect the gate between the two worlds. BaSatai have so much strength and power both mentally and physically. They train on H-trae to understand and learn how to use their skills. They are known as Warriors and each has a more prominent skill: healing, peace, strength, dependent on the fate chosen at their birth. BaSatai have an extraordinary ability to transform and adopt animalistic features and capabilities. Each BaSatai learns this as they grow up and their transformation known as a shift or shifting is unique to each BaSatai in that each experiences it differently and adopts their own unique characteristics.

Guardians are male BaSatai with exceptional power far beyond what a true BaSatai is capable of. Guardians are born for one only to protect, die and kill. It is not a romantic relationship between Guardian and his special connection, though it can happen. Guardians also can choose to have a special partner or two BaSatai Warrior females trained to be with them (which are most times sisters). If Guardian's choose two female BaSatai, they remain celibate and will possibly never marry, they are tied together for life. They gain more strength in having two females with them. If one of their females dies, the Guardian has a right to marry the other one and usually will because they do love both their females. There are also Torvar Cascade Guardians, born for many not just one. They are alike to the BaSatai Male Warriors only stronger, they are leaders also and protect jurisdictions. A difference between Guardian's and BaSatai males are that they don't shift at all.

H-trae is where all supernaturals live, all types of supernatural creatures can be found. S'teuqoubs are a supernatural creature which are BaSatai born but use both evil and good which differentiates them from the BaSatai due to the dark power they use. S'teuqoub or S'teuqoubs' is also a term used in the book to describe a supernatural wanting, needing or ready to kill.

Without giving away integral parts of the book and concept behind this story I will do my best to offer an explanation of the curse without giving too many spoilers for the 1st and 2nd book. A great Guardian in his youth fell in love with a beautiful BaSatai young woman. Her sister really wanted to be his female also which he could have accepted and been more powerful, yet his love for the one BaSatai woman was enough to refuse the offer. He loved his woman too much, wanted only her and could see a future with her. The sister in her fury at being rejected cursed their bloodline, damning all BaSatai and Guardians to eternal uncertainty until the curse is broken or fulfilled. Armani is the descendant born with the cursed blood, if her blood is spilled in attack and she dies, the curse prophecy is designed to destroy the parallel divide between H-trae and Earth. The BaSatai would not be able to contain the chaos that would erupt. Supernatural's will filter into Earth and destroy the balance of power, both worlds will collapse - humanity will become extinct and so too will the BaSatai and Guardians.

The BaSatai language is unique in that there is a simple trick to it; I'm not going to give it away. The clues are all in the book. Some readers have worked it out, some have not yet. I've also thrown in a few nonsensical words generally as names with the same trick. The second book will have the same thing but it's going to be a lot harder, trickier to work out and yes Armani will learn her language, it's already in her blood but there will be scenes where she'll be speaking her own language. So if you work out the concept of the BaSatai language, you'll understand most of what they say. Not all words I have created are from English words anyway. This is going to be great fun!

Thank you again for having me and I hope this intrigues you enough to pick up my Young Adult Urban Fantasy novel BaSatai: Outside In #1 and add it to your TBR pile. Book trailer coming soon.

Suzan Battah

Book Trailer 

And now, onto the giveaway (Ireland and UK only)

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My Quote of the Week #11

This is my weekly meme where I post one of my favourite quotes. Feel free to join in. I do it on Friday but you can do it any day of the week you choose just post your link in a comment below and I will check it out. 

This week my Quote comes from Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz.


"Brendan, you would do it for her." "Yeah, but I'm the guy. I'm supposed to." I didn't stop myself from gagging at that statement. "What?" Brendan asked, surprised. "I love Emma. I want to protect her. Why does that offend you?" "Well, you love a really strong woman. Tough titties for you."


I love this lol, what do you think?

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Spellbound by Cara Lynn Schultz

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
Published by Harlequin Teen 21st June 2011
ISBN: 0373210302
Source: Bought
Target Audience: Young Adult




My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I had read mixed reviews about this book on Goodreads and was unsure of whether or not I would read it. But, I happened to see Spellcaster on Netgalley and decided to request it and if I was approved, I would buy Spellbound to read first. And I'm so glad I did, because I loved it.


Emma has had a very tragic life up to this and now, at the age of 16, she has gone to live with her aunt in New York. She is just starting at a private school, Vincent Academy, where she makes some good friends, and some deadly enemies.


But she also meets her soul mate, Brendan Salinger. An extremely hot guy who also happens to be very rich. But they soon learn of a curse which means they can't be together, or she will die a horrible death.


I really, really liked this book. It kept me enthralled from start to finish. I just didn't want to stop reading.


Emma is a likeable character. She deals well with the bullies that she finds herself on the wrong side off, and is not afraid to stand up to them. She's interesting and it was easy to be inside her head. When she meets Brendan there is an instant attraction, but then he pulls back and things move a lot slower so we don't have the dreaded insta love. Brendan is also a likeable character. He is caring and very protective towards Emma, and completely swoon worthy. Emma's best friend Angelique and her cousin Ashley are also interesting characters. All of the characters are well defined here so we feel really involved with all of them.


I thought this book was mainly about the curse and star-crossed lovers so I was totally surprised and delighted to see that there is so much more to it. There is no cliff hanger in sight here either and it just ends so well. It's definitely one that I would recommend.

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Crave Tour Stop: Review and Interview

Crave by Melissa Darnell
Published by Mira Ink 6th April 2012
ISBN13: 9781848450967
Young Adult

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Savannah and Tristan got married in the fourth grade, when they used to be best friends.  But soon after, all the kids from the Clann stopped talking to Savannah, and some became downright mean to her.  And she had no idea why or what she had done wrong.

The Clann are the founding fathers of the town of Jacksonville. They still run the town and a good portion of Texas, having  people in local and federal government. But rumour in the town has it that they have reached their positions of power by using magic.

Savannah lives with her mother and grandmother as her parents divorced when she was very young. Now, she only sees her dad twice a year. But when she suddenly gets really ill, after never having been sick before, her dad arrives to explain to her what she is.

When she returns to school, she finds that guys are starting to notice her more. And when she looks them in the eye, they suddenly become crazed stalkers. From then on, she makes a point of never looking people in the eye. But then she mistakenly makes eye contact with Tristan and suddenly he’s everywhere she is, trying to get her to go out with him. She’s not sure if he’s been “gaze dazed” or not, but she hopes he hasn’t because she really likes him, and always has.

This book totally blew me away. It was different to what I expected but in a very good way. It’s the first time I’ve read about witches and vampires in such a scenario. It is not an action packed witches versus vampires’ type book but that does not take from it one bit. It is a fantastic love story with Savannah and Tristan as star-crossed lovers.

The writing flowed along really well and I didn't want to put it down. The characters were all really well defined and I loved Savannah and Tristan.  I also really liked Emily, Tristan’s sister.  She and Tristan have a really close relationship and it’s great that he can trust her so much.

This is written from the POV of both Savannah and Tristan and I really liked getting an insight into Tristan’s feelings for Savannah. He worries about her and is protective of her even from afar, and I loved that.

I really wasn’t expecting what happened in the end and then the cliff-hanger just knocked me for six.

I need the next book in this series NOW!!!

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Melissa has kindly agreed to answer some questions about this fantastic book. So let's get started.

What inspired you to write a book with a vampire and witch mix? It’s quite unusual.

When the YA vampire craze started to take off, as a long time lover of vamp romances I was thrilled but felt the genre was really missing something...namely a vampire heroine. Why should the boys get all the fun here?! But I wanted to see her start off as a normal, clueless human and then have to experience this crazy transformation process as well as learn how to deal with the final result of becoming a vampire.

I also wanted a real Romeo and Juliet forbidden kind of love, one where both the hero and heroine were equally powerful, equally interesting in a paranormal way, and equally dangerous to each other so the forbidden aspect of their love would have a huge rippling effect not just on each other but on their worlds as well. When I considered what kind of hero could possibly be as strong and powerful as a vamp, the answer seemed natural...a male witch.


If you could hang out with one of the characters for a day, who would you choose and why?

Hmm, that's a tough one. I couldn't spend it with Tristan (it would make my hubby too jealous--he knows how much I adore Tristan!). I dearly love Savannah, but I'd be tempted to give her too much advice/psychotherapy and probably drive her further nuts by asking her way too many questions, lol. So it would have to be either Anne or Emily. Anne is based on my real life best friend from high school, who I miss all the time and would love to get to see more of (we talk on the phone, but I haven't gotten to actually see her in years!). Hanging out with Anne would be the next best thing. Emily would also be great to hang out with for a day because she's blunt and outgoing in a way I always wish I could be, and she leads with her heart and adores her family despite all their many faults. Plus she's got that whole super powerful witch thing going on, so maybe she could whip up a few spells for me!



Savannah could show stronger vampire or witch traits. If you were in her position, which would you be hoping to become the strongest side.

Savannah actually hopes that the witchy side will take over, because then she wouldn't be a danger to Tristan. Whether she actually GETS that wish is another thing entirely!



Savannah wants to be a dancer and Tristan wants to join the NFL. Did you always want to be a writer or did you have a different ambition when you were in high school.

Typical for most kids probably, I wanted to be many things when I grew up...a writer, dance team director, video game designer, and later a website designer. Thankfully I've gotten to do all of them in some capacity as an adult, serving as a substitute dance team director, creating dance-themed digital design products similar to what might appear in a video game for the virtual world of Second Life, and then to support my writing I learned how to design my own websites, including www.TheClannSeries.com with an online playlist and other interactive fun stuff relating to the series books, as well as www.melissadarnell.com for my general author site where readers can contact me anytime.

Can you sum up Crave in ten words?

The Clann Series...Bloodlust. Magic. Forbidden love.


Thank you for the interview, it was a pleasure! Please let your readers know that I would love to hear from them, and they can feel free to contact me through either of my websites at www.theclannseries.com or www.melissadarnell.com, where they can also learn about the history of Savannah's race of vampires and the Clann, listen to the online playlist for each Clann Series book, and much more!

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Melissa Darnell is a book lover through and through. In addition to authoring a growing list of adult and YA fiction and nonfiction books on a wide assortment of topics and genres, she is also a freelance book editor, layout and cover designer, and ebook formatter with more than 75 books to her professional credit. She wrote her first story in the third grade, was first published in the sixth grade when her poem was selected for an anthology, and has since won several regional and national essay contests with prizes ranging from the complete Harry Potter collection in hardback to an actual horse with a year's worth of feed in the 1992 Ponies of America essay contest. Born in California, she grew up in East Texas and has also called the following states home at one time or another: Utah, West Virginia, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, and Iowa. A former award-winning dancer with 12 years' formal training in jazz, tap, and ballet, she currently lives in South Dakota with her husband and two children, where she enjoys watching Whale Wars, UFC matches and True Blood, trying out new hair colors, designing fun stuff to sell in the virtual world of Second Life, and of course writing her latest book!

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