Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Winner: Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawan

Thank you to everyone who entered!!
Prize: Finished copy of Immortal Rules
The Winner chosen by Rafflecopter is.....
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Congrats!! I have emailed winner who has 48 hours to respond with mailing address or I will pick another.

Giveaway: The Impossible Cube by Steven Harper

*Available May 1 from ROC*

The Impossible Cube
Author: Steven Harper
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Publisher: ROC
Clockwork Empire Book #2
ISBN:   0451464508
ISBN13: 9780451464507
Genre:Steampunk

In an age where fantastic inventions of steam and brass have elevated Britain and China into mighty empires, Alice Michaels faces a future of technological terrors…

Once, Gavin Ennock sailed the skies on airships and enchanted listeners with his fiddle music. Now, the clockwork plague consumes his intellect, enabling him to conceive and construct scientific wonders—while driving him quite mad. Distressed by her beloved’s unfortunate condition, Alice Michaels sought a cure rumored to be inside the Doomsday Vault—and brought the wrath of the British Empire down on them.

Declared enemies of the Crown, Alice and Gavin have little choice but to flee to China in search of a cure. Accompanying them is Dr. Clef, a mad genius driven to find the greatest and most destructive force the world has ever seen: The Impossible Cube. If Dr. Clef gets his hands on it, the entire universe will face extinction.

And Gavin holds the key to its recreation..
US ONLY
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Releases: 4/15-4/21






Tues April 17

Glimmer by Phoebe Kitanidis



Happy Reading!!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Camilla Chafer

UFI welcomes Camilla Chafer Author of Illicit Magic. Thanks for Joining us!! It was Camilla's Birthday yesterday so make sure to wish her a happy birthday =)

Character interview: Evan Hunter

Today, we’ve got Evan Hunter from Illicit Magic here to talk with us. This is his first ever interview and there’s a few things he’d like to say about witches, magic and Stella Mayweather.

Q: So, Evan. Thanks for joining us today.

Evan: You’re welcome. It’s my pleasure to be here. This is a very dramatic looking blog. I’ve already made some notes of books Stella might enjoy.

Q: You played quite a part in Illicit Magic. How do you feel things went down?

Evan: I expected to do my job as her teacher for a few weeks and that was it. Didn’t turn out that way. I think I’m still shell shocked.

Q: That’s very understandable. Let’s talk about Stella. Was she the kind of witch you expected to have to teach?

Evan: She’s not what I expected at all. Really, I had no idea what I was getting into. It was supposed to be a favor for a friend and I thought, hey, why not? But her magic leaked all over the place when we first met and she couldn’t do a thing with it. Frankly, I’m surprised she survived this far alone. Plus, I… *Evan trails off, looks pensive* Fine, I’ll admit it. I thought Stella was beautiful the moment I saw her and it kind of threw me. I’m ashamed to say I may have appeared as rude when we met.

Q: Did your feelings for Stella make teaching her how to use her magic difficult?

Evan: *Runs a hand through his short black hair* My feelings for her were… distracting. I tried to keep it professional but there’s something about Stella that just got under my skin. She’s so determined. I could see how frustrated she got when she couldn’t use her magic as she pleased at first. As she came out of her shell, I saw the real Stella, someone I care for very much.

Q: Did you find a way to help her realize her magic?

Evan: Well… *hesitates* Yes, but… I’d rather not say how.

Q: But you did find a way to help her?

Evan: You’re just going to dig and dig on this one, aren’t you? You’re like Etoile, always trying to take a peek into someone else’s mind. Next question!

Q: Okay, moving on… Why where you asked to help Stella with her magic? After all you’re not a witch, right?

Evan: I believe that’s exactly the reason my old friend Robert Bartholomew, head of the Witches’
Council, engaged my services. I believe he knew Stella had more problems than those damn witch hunters, the Brotherhood. I think he wanted to make sure someone would protect her, and teach her
how to protect herself, someone without connections to the witch community.

Q: How did Stella take the news that you aren’t a witch like her?

Evan: You may recall that Stella didn’t grow up amongst witches so she doesn’t have the same kind of prejudices that some witches harbor. My friend David, who you met in Illicit Magic, is still wary of me and he’s always known what I am. But your question… I wanted Stella to get to know me first. Then she could make a judgment on what she knew about me and not my race. However, I didn’t get a chance to tell her and I regret that. There are a few things I would have changed about our final days at the safe house and that’s one of them.

Q: What’s next for you and Stella?

Evan: I wish I could say we settle down for a long and quiet future together but it’s going to be a bumpy road before we get there. Whatever happens, you can be sure I’ve got her back.
__________________________________

Hi, I'm Camilla and I'm the author of the Stella Mayweather Series, an urban fantasy/mystery. The series starts with Illicit Magic and a lonely young woman, Stella, who has been caught up in a terrifying witch hunt and is whisked thousands of miles away to what she thinks is safety to learn her craft. The series is a blend of magic, mystery and romance with a splash of humour - and while the girls really do go all out to save themselves, there's always a hunky guy or two on hand to help them out. The series continues with Unruly Magic and Devious Magic, both out now.

I live in London, England, but I try to travel as often as I can – I’ve been all over the US and Europe. In my day job I'm a journalist and editor so I write for magazines, newspapers and websites throughout the world (my favorite assignment was spending a week riding rollercoasters - if you listen carefully you can probably still hear me screaming) but writing fiction has always been my first love.
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Find Camilla and her books
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Illicit Magic
Stella Mayweather #1
May 1, 2011
 More than three hundred years after the most terrifying witch hunts the world has ever known, it's happening again.

Young witch, Stella, has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive but she might not be any safer in their midst than from the danger she is running from.

There is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful witch but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human? There is only one secret that someone will do anything to keep quiet, but whose secret is it and will Stella have to pay the price for silence?
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__________________________________
 International
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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Week in Review: 4/8-4/14



Books Ive Bought/received

*Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready- Publisher

* Hex Appeal-Arc- Librarything Early reviewers

* Arise by Tara Hudson- Arc- Publisher/Teen Book Scene


Books I read

Back from the Undead by D.D. Barrant
A Blood Seduction by Pamela Palmer
Lies & Omens by Lyn Benedict

Reviews posted


Royal Street by Suzanne Johnson
Wings of Desire by Arianna Skye
Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors by Molly Harper

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* New Releases for the week. Was there anything you were looking forward to reading?

* Monday Linda Poitevin author of The Grigori Legacy series was here with a guest post and giveaway for her new release Sins of the Son.

* Wednesday Author Arianna Skye was here in promotion of her book Wings of Desire.

* Voting is now taking place for the Goodreads Independent Book Blogger Awards. I would love your vote. 


* I went through all my reviews and tagged them with their Genre. Hopefully that will help people looking for reviews in only a specific area. (and hopefully I classified them all right lol there were a lot). Someone also said they would like to view reviews by Author so I will start working on that and have it up soon.


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*If you see something on my books Ive read list that you are dying to know about let me know I'm back logged on reviews and can move it up on the list if I know people are wanting one.

* I love comments so if you see something you like (or not) please comment away and let me know.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Review: Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors by Molly Harper

Nice Girls Don't Bite Their Neighbors
Author: Molly Harper
Release Date: February 28, 2012
Publisher: Pocket
Jane Jameson Book #4
ISBN:   1451641818
ISBN13: 99781451641813
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher


Just as Jane Jameson’s unlife seems to be stabilizing, fate sinks its fangs firmly into her butt. Despite her near-phobia of all things marital, her no-frills nighttime nuptials to her sexy boyfriend Gabriel are coming along smoothly. But the road to wedded bliss gets bumpy when a teenage acquaintance is fatally wounded in front of Jane’s shop and she turns him to save his life. The Council pronounces Jane responsible for the newborn vamp until he can control his thirst.

Jane’s kitchen at River Oaks barely holds enough Faux Type O to satiate the cute teen’s appetite and maintain Gabriel’s jealous streak at a slow simmer. As if keeping her hyperactive childe from sucking the blood out of the entire neighborhood isn’t enough to deal with, the persnickety ghost of Jane’s newly deceased Grandma Ruthie has declared a war on the fanged residents of River Oaks. Suddenly,
choosing monogrammed cocktail napkins and a cake that she can’t eat seems downright relaxing in comparison.

Tensions inside the house are growing…and outside, a sinister force is aiming a stake straight for the center of Gabriel’s heart. Most brides just have to worry about choosing the right dress, but Jane fears that at this rate, she’ll never make it down the aisle for the wedding all nice girls dream of…
I had never thought to pick up the Jane Jameson series before the publisher contacted me to review NICE GIRLS DON'T BITE THEIR NEIGHBORS. The publicist was nice enough to send me the whole series and once I started reading book 1 I could not put it down until book 4 ended.

Jane is my kind of girl. She doesn't take crap from anyone, she is absolutely laugh out loud hilarious and I never know what will happen next with her. Jane finally accepts Gabriel's proposal and things seem to go smoothly until the teenager that delivers to her store is hit by a car and the only way to save him is for Jane to turn him. I thought Jane's new childe was a great addition to an already hectic house. Jane's Grandma finally kicks the bucket, unfortunately she decides she has the right to Jane's house still and haunts it until Jane has a brilliant plan that finally gets rid of her. I knew Jane couldn't get marries smoothly and thought the whole ending was so Jane Jameson. I have really grown to love all of Jane's friends and even her family throughout the series (Grandma excluded).

NICE GIRLS DON'T BITE THEIR NEIGHBORS was fast paced and The whole series was highly entertaining and I would recommend you go out and buy all the books now. I have not seen anything about a book 5 but I hope that Molly writes more Jane in the future.

I gave it 5/5 stars

Friday, April 13, 2012

Review: Wings of Desire by Arianna Skye

Wings of Desire
Author: Arianna Skye
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Publisher: Self Published
Fey Chronicles Book #1
ISBN13: 9781470055356
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: Bewitching Book Tours


Not your (grand)mother's fairytale...

Rhiannon Kinsley's life goes from boring to downright crazy when a freak lightning bolt strikes her laptop. To make matters even more bizarre, strange words and symbols flash across the computer screen and she hears a mysterious voice. Time to call the men in white coats! Then Cerne Silverwing, an intriguingly sexy man, appears. He insists she's a faerie princess whose fate will determine his own. What a crock! Now she knows who really needs those white coats.

With the Dark Faerie forces threatening their kingdom, Cerne kidnaps Rhiannon and brings her to Fey, a land where magic knows no bounds. He's performing a duty to save his kingdom and nothing more--a duty that will bring him his wings and the strengthened magic that comes with them. If he doesn't unite with the princess as her consort, those wings will never grow. But this princess grew up in the land of laptops and instant messages, and she's convinced they're both crazy. Despite their differences, the two are thrust together to defeat the whip-wielding Dark Faerie Queen before she takes over their kingdom. Passion and peril aside, will Rhiannon and Cerne discover their true destiny?
I wont rehash what the story is about because the blurb above does a pretty decent job of that so I will just jump into my thoughts.

I found Rhiannon not suspicious enough in some instances and way to suspicious in regards to others. Cerne was a perfect fit for Rhiannon and when they let themselves be together. Their passion was high and came out in each paragraph. There tended to be a lot of tension due to misunderstandings and incomplete information given between Rhiannon and Cerne at all moments throughout the book. There are a lot of graphic sex scenes if your not into that I would pass on this book, they in no way bothered me though. Arianna's Faerie's are definitely Portrayed as nymphos. There is a wide array of characters to get to know. I loved how Arianna portrayed the Faerie realm it wasn't like most fay books and provided some unique new views to read about. There were some points throughout the book where things were slow and wish it would have sped up and others that were rushed when I would have liked it to be slower paced.


I wasn't thrilled about the ending, Rhiannon was very consistent on her want to go back home to visit and I would have liked to see that happen and see how it played out with her new changes. I have not read anything about this being part of a series but I think there is much more story that could be told. WINGS OF DESIRE overall was a easy read with lots of steamy scenes and a good plot to boot. I would read more.


I gave it 3/5 stars