Promotional Post & Giveaway: Claire Ashgrove

**Available Now from Tor Books**

Immortal Hope
Author:Claire Ashgrove
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: Tor
Curse of the Templars Book #1
ISBN:   0765367580
ISBN13: 9780765367587
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Centuries ago, Templar knights defied the archangels and unearthed the copper scroll that revealed the locations of the gates to hell. Cursed for their forbidden act, they now roam the earth, protecting mankind from evil. But darkness stalks them, and battles they fight bring them ever closer to eternal damnation. One promise remains to give them salvation—the return of the seraphs.

Embittered by his purpose, Merrick du Loire must honor an ancient pact and bring peace to his cousin’s soul, releasing him from the clutches of their enemy. When he stumbles upon history professor Anne MacPherson, he discovers that she possesses a sacred artifact that marks her as a seraph. Duty demands he set aside his personal quest and locate the knight she’s fated to heal. As Merrick struggles with conflicting oaths, Anne arouses buried hope and sparks forbidden desire that challenges everything he’s sworn to uphold.   

Anne has six weeks to complete her thesis on the Knights Templar. When Merrick takes her to the Templar stronghold, he presents her with all she needs—and awakens a soul-deep ache that he alone can soothe. Yet loving Merrick comes with a price. If she admits she is destined for him, her gift of foresight predicts his death. 

About the Author: Claire Ashgrove has been writing since her early teens and maintained the hobby for twenty years before deciding to leap into the professional world. Her first contemporary novel, Seduction's Stakes, sold to The Wild Rose Press in 2008, where she continues to write steamy, sexy stories for the Champagne and Black Rose lines. Adding to these critically acclaimed contemporaries, Claire’s paranormal romance series, The Curse of the Templars, will debut with Tor in January 2012. For those who prefer the more erotic side of romance, she also writes for Berkley Heat under the pen name Tori St. Claire.

Claire lives on a small farm in Missouri with her two toddler sons, fifteen horses, four cats, and five dogs. In her “free” time, she enjoys cooking, winning at rummy, studying ancient civilizations, and spending quiet moments with her family, including the critters. She credits her success to her family's constant support and endless patience.

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Review: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Switched
Author:Amanda Hocking
Release Date: January 3, 2012
Publisher: St Martins Griffin
Trylle Trilogy Book #1
ISBN:   1250006317
ISBN13: 9781250006318
Genre: Young Adult
Review Copy Source: Librarything Early reviewers

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

 I won a copy of of SWITCHED from Librarything's Early reviewers program. The cover was definitely the first hing that stuck out to me and the blurb left me interested in finding out more about Wendy and her life. Wendy has always wondered why her mother tried to kill her and when she discovers the truth about herself she isn't sure why she ever wanted to know the truth. 

I liked Wendy but didn't think she was fantastic. She was super independent and strong willed for most of the book and then would fall back into a role of being a meek needy pushover. Finn of course ran hot and cold because of his duty and his feelings for Wendy. At times I wanted to smack him upside the head and tell him to hold her already but of course that would never happen in their situation. He was pretty consistent in wanting what was best for Wendy and his people though. I knew who Rhys was from the moment he was introduced. I'm excited to see how Wendy's family reacts to him and to see if they find out the the truth about him in book 2. 

I enjoyed the story's ideas and creativity but there were many times that I found myself bored with the events, especially in times where the plot slowed and stalled a bit. I enjoyed the characters and their development. If anything will push me to read book 2 it will defiantly be because the characters drew me in and it was easy to care about them and I want to know what happens to them. The world building was nice, but I wish that the Trylle community was more mystical then it was. I will probably read some reviews before I read book 2 but I do want to know what happens next to some of the characters so I will probably pick up a copy from the library.

I gave it 3/5 stars 

New Releases Jan 15-21

Tues Jan 17

Fracture by Megan Miranda

Halflings  by Heather Burch

Hallowed (Unearthly, #2) by Cynthia Hand

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Tempest (Tempest #1) by Julie Cross

Happy Reading =)

Guest Blog: Untraceable by S.R. Johannes

UFI welcomes S.R. Johannes Author of Untraceable. Thanks for Joining us!!

Teenage Garage Sale

Okay I have not thought about this in years. First of all, I’m old so I’m totally giving up my age here. (boo hiss) Here are some things from my childhood including my teen years that stick out to me.

1. The first thing would be my huge Barbie Collection. How boring is that? Didn’t every girl have a set? I had Sunset Malibu Barbie, PJ, Skipper and – of course -Ken. Along with Barbie’s Pink camper and Ken’s blue corvette. I also had the Barbie and PJ Sleep case complete with pajamas.

2. My Girl Scout Uniform and sash with tons of badges. I was a huge Girl Scout. Started in Brownies and was in it until middle school. Then it wasn’t cool anymore but I still have my sash and horrid green uniform with the tassels on the socks. I loved everything outdoors and hated anything Home Ec related.

3. My Princess Leia collection. My brother was a huge Star Wars fan. So of course I leaned toward Princess Leia. And yes I used to wear my hair in braided buns on my ears. I still get that warm feeling when I eat CinnaBons.

4. My bright yellow Banana Boat bike. Complete with handle tassels and wicker basket. Man, I loved that bike. That bike was to me what The General Lee was to the Dukes of Hazard.

5. My Cabbage Patch doll. Only my parents would not buy me the real one so my mom had one made. I was upset at the time but still have it. I still get sad feelings when I walk down the cabbage patch aisle at Target. There are some wounds that will never heal.

6. The cassette tapes my boyfriends made me. Yes we did not have CDs then (sigh told you I was old ) my boyfriends used to make them for me. They would include Aha, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and Journey.

7. My hair spray and mousse. I had big hair and loved it. - Unfortunately I bought into this even though my hair was (and still is) naturally curly. If I had my yesteryear hair today, I'm pretty sure I'd be stopped by Homeland Security for harboring a possible weapon

8. My jelly bracelets and swatch watches - O-Rings (Jelly Bracelets) - the pretty colored neon plastic bracelets. I say, the more the better. Imagine one arm filled with Jelly bracelets and the other covered in Swatch Watches (so why was I always late for school)

9. My Atari complete with Pac Man and Super Mario Brothers box set. Okay fine, cassette set but you get the point. Don’t know what it is? Think of the Xbox’s great, great grandmother. Not to brag or anything, but I flipped Pac Man like a zillion times.

10. My high school varsity cheerleading outfits. Go Raiders! Yes I was a spirit leader with tons of cheer. Only I was always on the bottom of a pyramid. Which gave me a “stocky” complex after awhile. But now, I can do a mean herky. It was the only way to get off the bottom and into the spotlight.

11. My beloved car. A red Toyota Celica. Hatchback. I ran that car into the ground. My dad actually sold his Z to get it for me When I finally got a real job out of college, it had almost 200,000 miles, no radio, no air, and I had to pour in a quart of oil every morning.

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S.R. Johannes lives in Atlanta Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. After earning an MBA and working in corporate america, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. You can find her hanging out online and visit her at srjohannes.com

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Find Shelli and her books

Website / Twitter / Facebook

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Untraceable 
The Nature of Grace #1
Now Available

16-year-old Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.

When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he’s dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.

Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and lives. Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves.

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Week in Review 1/8-1/14

Books Ive Bought/received

* Alpha Instinct by Katie Reus- Publisher
 

* Deliverance by Dakota Banks- E-Arc- Publisher

* Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood- ARC- Publisher


Books I read
 

To Walk the Night by E.S. Moore
Alpha Instinct by Katie Reus 
Blood and Bullets by James Tuck
Partials by Dan Wells
Banshee Charmer by Tiffany Allee

Reviews posted



Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey
Shadow Heir by Richelle Mead
Under the Moon by Natalie J. Damschroder


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

* A Special Follower giveaway went up on Monday.


*  Thursday a promotional post for Bound by Kira Saito was posted. 


*  Friday I posted a trailer for Tempest by Julie Cross

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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.

Trailer: Tempest by Julie Cross

**January 17,2012**

Tempest
Author:Julie Cross
Publisher: St. Martins Griffin
Tempest Book #1
ISBN:   0312568894
ISBN13: 9780312568894
Genre: Young Adult

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Helpful Links:

Tempest Facebook Fan Page / First 4 Chapters