Thursday, November 28, 2013

Songbird by Angela Fristoe is Free on Amazon!

Songbird by Angela Fristoe is up for FREE on Amazon November 28-30 only! It will then be part of the Amazon lending library for Amazon Prime Members for the next 3 months!

Songbird
by Angela Fristoe

There are defining moments in life when everything changes. For Dani Mays, it was the day she witnessed her father kill her brother. Now seventeen years-old, she still hasn't put it behind her. After Jace's death, she bounced between her alcoholic mother and foster homes, until she found a permanent place. And a reason to want to stay: Reece Tyler. He's her best friend, yet Dani wants more from Reece. 

Faced with losing Reece, Dani struggles to define his place in her life and escape the influence her memories of her brother's death have over her choices. Even as she weaves the pieces of her heart back together, the past becomes more than a memory when a former foster brother reappears and Dani begins receiving threatening phone calls.

Amazon Links:

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Review: Anatomy of a Single Girl by Daria Snadowsky

Anatomy of a Single Girl (Anatomy, #2)
by Daria Snadowsky
Published: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

http://amzn.to/19RIr6K
Synopsis:
After everything that happened—my first boyfriend, my first time, my first breakup—jumping back into the dating game seemed like the least healthy thing I could do. It’s not that I didn’t want to fall in love again, since that’s about the best feeling ever. But as a busy college premed still raw from heartbreak, which is the worst feeling ever, I figured I’d lie low for a while. Of course, as soon as I stopped looking for someone, an impossibly amazing—and devastatingly cute—guy came along, and I learned that having a new boyfriend is the quickest way to recover from losing your old one.

The moment we got together, all my preconceptions about romance and sex were turned upside down. I discovered physical and emotional firsts I never knew existed. I learned to let go of my past by living in the present. It was thrilling. It was hot. It was just what the doctor ordered.

But I couldn’t avoid my future forever.

In Daria Snadowsky’s daring follow-up to Anatomy of a Boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Dominique explores the relationship between love and lust, and the friendships that see us through.


Review:
I had a really hard time deciding how I felt about this book. I hadn't read the first, and though storyline-wise it didn't impact my understanding of the story, I do think it altered my connection to Dominique.

Anatomy of a Single Girl sounds like it's going to be a fun ride with some really great romance thrown in, along with a message that you don't need to have a boyfriend to have a life. Maybe my expectations didn't line up with the marketing. "Judy Blume-like honesty" doesn't mean much to someone who hasn't read any Judy Blume, though I am aware of her as an author. Snadowsky does present Anatomy with honesty and maybe that's why I couldn't connect with Dominique.

Dominique is a chronic complainer, and can be down right bitchy. I thought when she started her relationship with Guy it would get better, but it doesn't because despite her constantly saying she doesn't want a boyfriend, it is exactly what she wants and doesn't think she can have an interesting life without one. 

She complains about her friend ignoring her for a boyfriend, yet does exactly the same thing to her friend once she and Guy become involved. She knows exactly what Guy wants from her and life, yet she has the complete gall to be angry with him for not changing him mind. I was absolutely annoyed with her almost the entire book and not in a way that kept me reading. I finished the book because I really hoped that by the end she'd have some kind of epiphany - she doesn't have to have a boyfriend.

Okay, I'm done ranting. So if I had such big problems with the main character how did I decide to rate this 3 stars? Well, because it was well written and there were some really amazing moments addressing the differences between sex and intimacy, STDs, and the need to be safe no matter how intoxicating the rush of lust can be.


Saturday, November 9, 2013

Blog Tour: Nightmare City by Andrew Klavan *Review

http://yaboundbooktours.blogspot.com/2013/09/blog-tour-sign-up-nightmare-city-by.html
I am so excited to be hosting the next stop along the Nightmare City Blog Tour! You can click the tour banner to check out other stops along the tour!

http://amzn.to/17G4TWj
Nightmare City
by Andrew Klavan
Release Date: 11/05/13
Thomas Nelson Publishers

Tom Harding only wants the truth. But the truth is becoming more dangerous with every passing minute.

As a reporter for his high school newspaper, Tom Harding was tracking the best story of his life when, suddenly, his life turned very, very weird. He woke up one morning to find his house empty . . . his street empty . . . his whole town empty . . . empty except for an eerie, creeping fog and whatever creatures were slowly moving toward him through the fog.

Now Tom's once-ordinary world has become something out of a horror movie. How did it happen? Is it real? Is he dreaming? Has there been a zombie apocalypse? Has he died and gone to hell?

Tom is a good reporter he knows how to look for answers but no one has ever covered a story like this before. With the fog closing in and the hungry creatures of the fog surrounding him, he has only a few hours to find out how he lost the world he knew. In this bizarre universe nothing is what it seems and everything including Tom's life hangs in the balance.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17628640-nightmare-city?ac=1


Review:
I loved Andrew Klavan's novel Crazy Dangerous and had really high hope for Nightmare City. Klavan did not disappoint! The first few chapters were completely creepy. I had to stop reading at one point because I was too freaked out to keep reading.

The main character, Tom, was really well written. He was complex and Klavan did an amazing job of making Tom interesting without having him come across as over the top. I was drawn in by his fear and the constant curiosity that drove him forward in his quest for answers.

Klavan has managed to create a unique story, that has twists and turns to keep you guessing. Even though this is Christian fiction, it is dark and definitely meant for older teens. Nightmare City explores some very deep and dark questions though that I do think need to be addressed with young adult readers and he does not shy away from them.






 
About the Author
Andrew Klavan is a best-selling, award-winning thriller novelist whose books have been made into major motion pictures. He broke into the YA scene with the bestselling Homelanders series, starting with The Last Thing I Remember.He is also a screenwriter and scripted the innovative movie-in-an-app Haunting Melissa.

***Author Links***
http://www.andrewklavan.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/271685.Andrew_Klavan
https://twitter.com/andrewklavan
https://www.facebook.com/aklavan

***GIVEAWAY***
3 print copies of Nightmare City (US only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, November 1, 2013

Cover Reveal: Waken by Angela Fristoe


Waken (The Woods of Everod, #1)
by Angela Fristoe
Expected Release: January 2014

Moving to her parents’ hometown of Everod is the last thing Janie Lyndon wants. After years of abuse and eventual abandonment, she’d rather forget they ever existed. Haunted by nightmares of her mother killing her, Janie just wants to be normal.

The gorgeous Davin Andersen is out of her league, but for some reason he seems to actually like her. The emotions he draws from her are almost enough to make her ignore all of the weird things he says. Almost enough to ignore the way the entire town seems ready to pounce on her as if she were fresh meat.

Almost, though, isn’t enough when Janie finally discovers what the town is hiding. The town of Everod has been waiting for Janie and if she hopes to survive, she’ll need to confront the truth of who and what she really is.

About the Author
Born in Northern Canada, Angela grew up on the Canadian prairies amid dreams of becoming the next Dian Fossey or a world famous flight attendant. Those, however, were never meant to be. Instead she moved to the United States where she divides her time between her family, writing, and her day job as an instruction coach.

Angela was the winner and double finalist in the Romance category of The Strongest Start Contest 2010 hosted by TheNextBigWriter.com. She currently has three young adult novels published through Little Prince Publishing and her fourth novel, Waken, has an anticipated release of January 2014.


Other Books by Angela Fristoe