Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Guest Blog & Giveaway: Her Sweetest Downfall by Rebecca Hamilton

UFI welcomes Rebecca Hamilton Author of Her Sweetest Downfall. Thanks for Joining us!!



My Favorite Books of ALL Time!

I wanted to talk a bit about my favorite books. Like, EVER. Because these are the books that are so awesome, it makes me wonder why I bother writing at all and at the same time challenges me to improve as a writer.



In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteen-year-old Rex Shellenberger scours his father’s pasture, looking for helpless newborn calves. Then he makes a shocking discovery: the naked, frozen body of a teenage girl, her skin as white as the snow around her. Even dead, she is the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. It is a moment that will forever change his life and the lives of everyone around him.
What I love about this book: This is one of my favorite mysteries. The way Pickard switches back and forth between then and now works to build suspense and mystery! And the paranormal aspects gave the story a nice touch!




In Sola’s city, everyone obeys the rules. Stay away from the trigger cameras and regularly update your Debtbook, and you just might survive. But having to watch the way criminals are dealt with—murdered by Demonstrators in the Stadium—is a law Sola tries to avoid. When a charming Demonstrator kisses her at a party, however, she’s thrust into the Stadium and forced into the very role she despises. 

What I love about this book: More like what DON’T I love about this book. There’s a reason I published it and can’t stop recommending it. I haven’t been this addicted to a book in YEARS. I couldn’t put it down, and I didn’t want it to end! I’m DYING for the sequel. I loved the plot, the characters, everything about it.


When Martin Grace enters the hip Philadelphia coffee shop Cornelia Brown manages, her life changes forever. But little does she know that her newfound love is only the harbinger of greater changes to come. Meanwhile, across town, Clare Hobbs—eleven years old and abandoned by her erratic mother—goes looking for her lost father. She crosses paths with Cornelia while meeting with him at the café, and the two women form an improbable friendship that carries them through the unpredictable currents of love and life.

What I loved about this: The whimsical writing style had me smiling throughout, the descriptions had me in awe, and the characters had me in tears. I love a book that can make me laugh and make me cry and leave me mystified by the writing. This book did it all.



More of my Favorite Books

Girl Over the Edge by Amy Kinzer

Promise Not To Tell by Jennifer McMahon

Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard

The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle



So there you have it, 10 of my favorite books of all time! I hope you can share my enjoyment of some of these books. If you’ve read any of them before or think any of them look interesting, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
 
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Rebecca Hamilton writes Paranormal Fantasy, Horror, and Literary Fiction. She lives in Florida with her husband and three kids, along with multiple writing personalities that range from morbid to literary. Having a child diagnosed with autism has inspired her to illuminate the world through the eyes of characters who see things differently



Find Rebecca and her books
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Her Sweetest Downfall
Forever Girl Journals, Ophelia
  Ophelia's been successful at hiding her true identity, until the mark of the serpent appears on her neck—a death sentence, should it be seen by anyone in her town. Hiding the mark might save her from falling victim to the witch hunts of her era, but the scorching sensation it carries can’t be ignored.

When the mysterious Ethan is sent to collect her for a life of something more, she learns concealing the mark is the least of her concerns. She’s destined to do a new task—to join a dark, supernatural world and protect the future of people she may never meet.

What she doesn’t know—what she learns too late—is that her initiation won’t be complete until she kills the man who’s captured her heart.
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International

  
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New Releases: 3/3-3/9





Tue Mar 5

A Conspiracy of Alchemists (The Chronicles of Light & Shadow, #1) by Liesel Schwarz
Agave Kiss (Corine Solomon, #5) by Ann Aguirre
A Touch of Menacing (A Touch Trilogy, #3) by Leah Clifford
Blood and Magick (Occult Bounty-Hunter, #3) by James R. Tuck
The Chosen (The Legend Chronicles, #3) by Theresa Meyers
Crave the Darkness (Shaede Assassin, #3) by Amanda Bonilla
Death, Doom and Detention (Darklight, #2) by Darynda Jones
Deep Down by Deborah Coates
Forged by Fate (Fate of the Gods Trilogy, #1) by Amalia Dillin
Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson, #7) by Patricia Briggs
The Holders (Holders, #1) by Julianna Scott
Infatuate (Gilded Wings, #2) by Aimee Agresti
The Last Grave (Witch Hunt, #2) by Debbie Viguie
Legacy of the Clockwork Key (Secret Order of Modern Amusmentists, #1) by Kristin Bailey
Let the Sky Fall (Let the Sky Fall, #1) by Shannon Messenger
Mating Instinct (Moon Shifter, #3) by Katie Reus
Midnight Blue-Light Special (InCryptid, #2) by Seanan McGuire
The Murmurings by Carly Anne West
The Nightmare Affair (The Arkwell Academy, #1) by Mindee Arnett
Real Vampires Know Hips Happen (Glory St. Claire, #9) by Gerry Bartlett
Redemption (The Seven Signs, #2) by Erica Hayes
Requiem (Delirium, #3) by Lauren Oliver
Slackback (Cal Leandros, #8) by Rob Thurman
Spellcaster (Spellcaster, #1) by Claudia Gray
Strange Fates (Nyx Fortuna, #1) by Marlene Perez
Undead and Underwater (Undead, #11.5) by MaryJanice Davidson
Unremembered (Unremembered, #1) by Jessica Brody
When We Wake (When We Wake, #1) by Karen Healey
Written in Red (The Others, #1)by Anne Bishop

Thur Mar 7

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith

Fri Mar 8

What's a Witch to Do? by Jennifer Harlow

Happy Reading there are a ton of great books that came out today!!


Monday, March 4, 2013

Early Review: Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Frost Burned
Author:Paricia Briggs
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Ace
Mercy Thompson Book #7
ISBN:  0441020011
ISBN13: 9780441020010
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

Mercy Thompson’s life has undergone a seismic change. Becoming the mate of Adam Hauptman—the charismatic Alpha of the local werewolf pack—has made her a stepmother to his daughter Jesse, a relationship that brings moments of blissful normalcy to Mercy’s life. But on the edges of humanity, what passes for a minor mishap on an ordinary day can turn into so much more…

After an accident in bumper-to-bumper traffic, Mercy and Jesse can’t reach Adam—or anyone else in the pack for that matter. They’ve all been abducted.

Through their mating bond, all Mercy knows is that Adam is angry and in pain. With the werewolves fighting a political battle to gain acceptance from the public, Mercy fears Adam’s disappearance may be related—and that he and the pack are in serious danger. Outclassed and on her own, Mercy may be forced to seek assistance from any ally she can get, no matter how unlikely.

We are back in the Tri-Cities, Adam and the pack have been kidnapped and Mercy is doing everything in her power to get them back. There are plenty of twists and surprises along the way.

Mercy is kick ass and has turned into one of my favorite female heroine's. For most of FROST BURNED Mercy is on her own and I really enjoyed seeing her in action again. As always I love Mercy and Adam's relationship, they fit well together. A lot of our favorite characters make an appearance in book 7 and some have to take a more back seat role while certain politics play out in the background.  It was interesting to have Adam's POV for a few chapters in FROST BURNED. I love being inside Mercy's head but it was a nice little twist. There was also some nice bonding with Jesse. They were already close but with Jesse getting older it was nice to see them getting closer. I would also like to mention I love the cover!!

FROST BURNED brought us plenty of action, danger, humor and things to ponder for the future. All of the characters in the series have developed nicely and the story line's never stop entertaining me. I hope there isn't another two year wait ahead until the next Mercy novel but no matter the length of time it takes I'm a fan until the end.

I gave it 4/5 stars

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Week in Review: 2/24-3/2


Books Ive Bought/received

* Pros and Cons by Jenna Black-eCopy-Publisher

* Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson-eARC- Publisher/Author

* Absent by Katie Williams -ARC- Librarything early reviewers
 


Books I Read

The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa 
The Registry by Shannon Stoker 
In the After by Demitria Lunetta 
Fragments by Dan Wells 
Hot Blooded by Amanda Carlson 
Seven Kinds of Hell by Dana Cameron

Reviews Posted

Black City by Christina Henry
Written in Red by Anne Bishop
Requiem by Lauren Oliver

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

* Monday- A Guest post and giveaway for The Chosen by Theresa Meyer was posted.

* Wednesday- Bella Forrest was on UFI with an Interview for her book A Shade of Vampire.

* Friday- Tara Maya's new book Blood is on tour and stopped in for a promo post and giveaway.

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

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Early Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem
Author:Lauren Oliver
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: Harper Teen
Delirium Book #3
ISBN:  0062014536
ISBN13: 9780062014535
Genre: Young Adult/Dystopian
Review Copy Source: Edelweiss

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

There is really no way to write this review without giving something away so please know that there might be some minor spoilers but I will try to not give anything big away.

I really hate to say it but I was bored a lot during REQUIEM. There are two different POVs and neither of them connected with me. There isn't any romance and we definitely don't get the great reunion we want. There are a lot of feelings and fighting feelings and thinking about feelings but with the huge build up and cliffhanger at the end of book 2 I really was expecting more. The only thing that interested me in REQUIEM was the adventure, fighting scenes and the story's pace was decent.

The ending didn't leave me feeling satisfied, it feels like something else should be coming next. There is nothing resolved really and you have no clue what will happen next for the characters (or even if some are still alive for that matter). Its open ended and in no way concluded. I guess I was just expecting more from the ending to the series. Bummer.

I gave it 2/5 stars

Friday, March 1, 2013

Promo & Giveaway: Blood by Tara Maya

UFI welcomes Tara Maya Author of The Unfinished Song Series. Thanks for Joining us!!

WELCOME TO FAEARTH…where humans are trapped between the immortal fae and the minions of Death. But one woman and the warrior who loves her will defy every taboo to protect their people.

This is the sixth book in The Unfinished Song epic fantasy series. Haven’t read the other books yet? Come taste the world of Faearth... The first book is available right now for FREE.
 

The Unfinished Song (Book 1): Initiate      Amazon
The Unfinished Song (Book 2): Taboo       Amazon
The Unfinished Song (Book 3): Sacrifice      Amazon
The Unfinished Song (Book 4): Root      Amazon
The Unfinished Song (Book 5): Wing      Amazon


Excerpt:

Dindi landed hard, though a cushion of dry pine needles saved her from broken bones. Through a ring of lofty sequoia, she could see a glimpse of bright blue. She bit through the honeycomb Kavio had given her to protect her teeth. For a moment, she sucked the sweet wax, but its shape had been ruined by Kavio’s last blow, and she had to spit it out. She rubbed her jaw as she rebounded to her feet. Her shins were scraped bloody, and her left elbow throbbed. Ever since Kavio had started training her in Red, war dancing, she had been collecting bruises at an alarming rate.
The two of them were alone in the woods—unless one counted the sylphins perched in tree branches or the pixies cuddled in crocus buds, who watched and giggled—since their practices must be secret.
“Pathetic, Dindi,” Kavio scoffed. “You’re fighting like a girl.”
“What does that even mean?” she demanded. “Or is it just something boys say to feel superior to girls?”
“It means you don’t take yourself or your opponent seriously.”
“I take myself seriously…”
“No you don’t. You think of yourself the way a girl is reared to think of herself. Like a pretty pony in a field of flowers, a cuddly bunny rabbit, a doe frolicking in the woods. Like you need to play nice, nuzzle up to the rest of the herd. You need to think like a carnivore. Don’t nibble at me. Eat meat. You have to win your Shining Name. You have to think like a hero. Stop trying to be nice.”
“Heroes are nice…”
“Heroes are good; they aren’t nice. Why are you standing there? Strike again!”
She waved her staff in his direction, not connecting with anything but air.
“Muck it all, Dindi, you did it again.” He smacked her hard with the stave, knocking her to the ground. “Stop treating me with disrespect! That’s your second problem. You don’t respect your enemy!”
“I do!”
“Who is your enemy?”
“Right now, I’m fighting you, but…”
“Who is your enemy?”
“The person I’m fighting!”
“Wrong!” Kavio cut down with his staff.
“You can’t talk things out.”
Slash.
“You can’t make nice.”
Slash.
“You can’t compromise.”
Slash.
“You never fight a person.”
Slash.
“You fight a monster.”
Slash.
“And if you’re going to win, you better be the bigger monster.”
He was beating her back relentlessly. She kept ducking and backing away, but it was getting harder to dodge.
“Stop.” Slash. “Holding.” Slash. “Your blows!”
She smacked her staff forward, and the end of the pole slammed into Kavio’s solar plexus. He flew across the dirt clearing and landed on his back.
He didn’t move.
“Kavio!” she screamed, running to him.
He sat up, wincing. “That,” he said, “Showed respect. Do it again. And again. Until it’s instinct: always kill the monster.”

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Tara Maya has lived in Africa, Europe and Asia. She’s pounded sorghum with mortar and pestle in a little clay village where the jungle meets the desert, meditated in a Buddhist monastery in the
Himalayas and sailed the Volga River to a secret city that was once the heart of the Soviet space program. This first-hand experience, as well as research into the strange and piquant histories of lost civilizations, inspires her writing. Her terrible housekeeping, however, is entirely the fault of pixies.

Find Tara and her books
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Blood 
The Unfinished Song #6
Dindi and Umbral have an uneasy truce, forced to work together to defeat a greater enemy: the Bone Whistler. The Bone Whistler’s scheme to sacrifice humanity and resurrect the Aelfae will culminate during an eclipse on the spring equinox…in three days.

Their fragile alliance may not withstand the terrors they face. Dindi hides as a clown, but even disguised, her dancing draws the eye of the Bone Whistler himself. She will have to defy him alone, for Umbral has his own troubles.
Finnadro, who has hunted Umbral for a year, finally catches up with him… determined to punish Umbral for all his black deeds.

Life and death, spring and autumn, human and faery, are all reeling out of balance, and the next three days will determine the fate of all Faearth.
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 International
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Thursday, February 28, 2013

Early Review: Written in Red by Anne Bishop

Written in Red
Author:Anne Bishop
Release Date: March 5, 2013
Publisher: NAL
The Others Book #1
ISBN:   0451464966
ISBN13: 9780451464965
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: Publisher

As a cassandra sangue, or blood prophet, Meg Corbyn can see the future when her skin is cut—a gift that feels more like a curse. Meg’s Controller keeps her enslaved so he can have full access to her visions. But when she escapes, the only safe place Meg can hide is at the Lakeside Courtyard—a business district operated by the Others.

Shape-shifter Simon Wolfgard is reluctant to hire the stranger who inquires about the Human Liaison job. First, he senses she’s keeping a secret, and second, she doesn’t smell like human prey. Yet a stronger instinct propels him to give Meg the job. And when he learns the truth about Meg and that she’s wanted by the government, he’ll have to decide if she’s worth the fight between humans and the Others that will surely follow.

I never imagined I would enjoy WRITTEN IN RED as much as I did. I could not seem to put it down and when it ended I wished there was information on what the next book would be about to settle my roaming mind that just wanted to know more. 

The world that Anne Bishop has written for The Others series is phenomenal. Her world is filled with just about every mythical and paranormal character you can think of and more. There is plenty of history and back story. The humans and the Terra Indigene live separately and despise each other for the most part. Simon Wolfgard runs Lakeside Courtyard a bit differently as he allows humans to come and shop in a certain area of their community. With that he also has a few human employees and is intrigued enough to hire Meg when she stumbles in his store half frozen and applies for the Human Liaison Job. Meg is a blood prophet who ran away and is hiding from those that have kept her and controlled every moment of her life. When she stumbles upon the others community she has hope that it will keep her safe. She is a lot different from other female heroine's. Meg was both innocent and fierce. She doesn't know anything about life outside of where she was kept besides what she has read or was shown in movies. She treats the others in ways that they have not seen before and they all quickly fall in love with her.

Be careful when you pick up WRITTEN IN RED, you might just get stuck between the pages with no way out!! The whole story flowed really well from the first sentence to the last and I honestly can't wait to see what will happen next for Meg and the rest of the wonderful characters.

I gave it 5/5 stars