Monday, October 31, 2011

Halloween Guest Post from Courtney Cole



Happy Halloween everyone!
I hope everyone is having a great day and having lots of fun celebrating Halloween in their own way.
My plans for the day are to catch up with my reading, have a nice long hot bath with the Lush Halloween/Day of the Dead products and then scare myself silly with some Japanese horror films!
I love everything Japanese, and the great thing about Japanese horror films is that no matter how much you want to to turn away from the screen, you can't because you need to keep reading the subtitles!

As a Halloween treat for all my lovely followers, I asked one of my favourite authors, Courtney Cole to do a guest post about Halloween. Although once again Courtney has went completely above board and not only given you a guest post to read but also a letter from Cadmus to Harmonia.



Cadmus and Harmonia are the main characters in Courtney's Bloodstone Saga, if you haven't read the series you should really check it out! I loved every single book, you can read my reviews of them under the review catalogue tab.

So Without futher ado, it's over to you Court...


Ahhhhh. Is there anything better than raging bonfires with crackling, Autumn leaves drifting from the trees above and the smell of roasted marshmallows in the air… all while bundled into a toasty cashmere sweater? I thought not. And that’s not even taking into consideration those yummy, beautiful little foil-wrapped packages of fun-sized deliciousness (Otherwise known as Halloween candy). Halloween is by far the best time of the year, in my opinion.

 There’s something about the magic of it… the air just feels different as Halloween night approaches, chilly and crisp and fun. I love the lit jack-o-lanterns, the costumes, the full moons, the scary movie marathons and the witches. Part of that might be because I’m a paranormal writer—we tend to love the magical side to life the imaginary possibilities that we conjure up when we stare into the night.

And I’ll just admit it- I’ve got a huge imagination. I’ve been under the impression that my house is haunted for  quite a while now- but my husband thinks that I’ve just got an over-active imagination. *shrugs* It’s possible, I’ll admit. I might just wish that my house was haunted. Because honestly, what better fodder for a book than if my house was actually, truly, scarily haunted??

But I digress.  
I’m actually here to share a letter that I thought you might want to see. If you follow my Bloodstone Saga, then you are familiar with Harmonia and Cadmus. They are two of the most romantic people that I’ve ever had the good fortune to know. Cadmus might not sparkle, but he has been Harmonia’s soul mate for several millennia—fighting for her time and time again with a true warrior’s heart. And honestly, there is nothing sexier than that. So when I saw this letter, I just knew I had to share it with Bloodstone Saga fans. Cadmus does offer Harmonia a warning… a warning that everyone could benefit from during this time of year. You can never be too careful. I wish you all a spooktacular Halloween filled with magic and full moons and chocolate. I hope you enjoy Cadmus’ letter. Trick or treat!!

My Dearest Harmonia,

My love, you have only been away for a few days, but already
I miss you. I am happy that you travelled to the Spiritlands to assist Hecate with a Seeking spell, because we owe Empusa much. I want to find her as much as anyone. But I do miss your smile, your sweet scent and your laugh. Waking up to your smile for eternity is the best kind of bliss and I am a very blessed man.

Raquel is well. She misses her mama, but she knows you will return soon. She wants you to give Aphrodite and Ares her love. She specified that you should give them each 100 kisses, but I would guess that one or two would suffice. Your sister follows her around everywhere she goes- Ortrera is quite protective, but I suppose that is her nature.

Sweet, I do want you to be careful as you return home. Youmknow that All Hallow’s Eve approaches, which means that the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. The dead are not always pleasant, so you must use caution. With Mormo still free, you must be on your guard- particularly since you are trying to help Hecate find Empusa. It is hard to say what lengths he will go to stop you. And he is not the only unhappy spirit that will be about on Halloween. Please be careful. If you need me, you need only say the word and I will be there in a scant moment.

Come home to us soon, my love. This palace is empty without you in it. Until I see you again, I will dream of your beautiful face.

Hurry home.
All my love,
Forever,
Cadmus


All I can say is wow!
After finishing the series not too long ago, it's great to hear from some of my favourite characters again!
Thanks so much for doing this special Halloween guest post today Courtney, I hope you and your family have a great Halloween.
And to all my followers - have a great time no matter what your doing, but stay safe :)
Leave me a comment to let me know what your plans for Halloween are!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

In My Mailbox (IMM)


Sorry there's no video this week, I still have the flu :(


This week I got:
Prophecy of the Sisters - Michelle Zink
Bitter End - Jennifer Brown
Shut Out - Kody Keplinger
Destined - P.C. Cast
Carries of the Mark - Leigh Fallon
Fracture - Megan Miranda

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Review: Tommy Nightmare (The Paranormals #2) - J.L. Bryan



Name: Tommy Nightmare (The Paranormals #2)

Author: J.L. Bryan

General Release Date: 9th April 2011

Date I finished it: 26th October 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Review Copy

My Rating: 4/5 stars





Tommy Nightmare is the second book in the Paranormals series by J.L. Bryan, the book picks up right where we left Jenny and Seth after the unbelievable ending of Jenny Pox.

This time around we are also introduced to a couple of new characters, Tommy. His touch conjures fear in the other person's mind and Esmeralda who can talk with the dead.
We see these two characters first meet as young children, now years later after seeing Ashleigh on tv Tommy feels an unexplainable urge to find her. After discovering Ashleigh's remains he remembers the girl who can contact the dead and tried to track her down in order to talk to Ashleigh.

In the mean time there is also a massive Homeland Security investigation happening in Fallen Oaks, no one can seem to explain the tragic events that happened at the end of Jenny Pox.

I don't want to give too much of the plot away, even though we have some new characters Seth and Jenny are still in this book as well. The point of view switched between the characters throughout the book. In this case I really enjoyed seeing the world and what was going through everyone's eyes. It made all the characters that bit more real to me.

The story itself is brilliant, I didn't think that Jenny Pox could be topped but Tommy Nightmare is just as good, if not better than Jenny Pox. The book flowed wonderfully from the first one, almost as if the two books were one. Usually with sequels there a time gap between books, or a massive recap. Not this time around the story picked up right away after that one night that changed everything in Fallen Oak.

There was a few unexpected twists in this book that I didn't see coming, especially towards the end.
This was another book that I pretty much read in one day, purely because I couldn't put it down. I got so wrapped up in the story, the next thing I knew the book was finished and it was 3am! This is one of these books that you can completely get swept away in, and I loved it!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Review: Legacy - Molly Cochran



Name: Legacy

Author: Molly Cochran

General Release Date: 20th December 2011

Date I finished it: 24th October 2011

Type: E-Book

From: S&S Galley Grab

My Rating: 4/5 stars






Firstly, massive thank you to the S&S Galley Grab for drawing my attention to this book. I had never heard about Legacy before, after reading the blurb I decided to go ahead and download the ARC. I ended up reading this book in one day.

Legacy has been getting some mixed reviews from what I've seen so far, but honestly I really enjoyed this book.
The story itself follows 16 year old Katy whose father and step-mother ship her off to an exclusive boarding school in Massachusetts. While Katy first gets there however she realises people in the town seem to hate her for some reason, as if being shipped off to the middle of no where wasn't bad enough, she has no one to turn to either.

Katy soon discovers that the town is full old witching families and her mother went to the same school she is now attending and lived in this small town before she passed away.
She discovers family she never knew she had, falls head over heels for classmate Peter and discovers some powers of her own, all while trying to decode one town secret after another.

To me Legacy was a really great and enjoyable read. I'm glad to have discovered it as I hadn't really heard anything about it in the book blogger world. The writing style in the book isn't as great as some of my other recent reads, but this is no way makes it a bad book or difficult to read. To me it just seemed a bit choppy in places, which is probably more down to the fact that I was reading an ARC and editing changes rather than Molly Cochran's actual writing style. I'm sure the final book is released it will have been fixed up a bit more.

The character of Katy is good as a main character, she is believable, likeable, and readers can can easy get wrapped up in her story. As most of you will know, I'm a sucker for any YA that involves some type of boarding school, so to me the setting of a school in a mysterious little town in Massachusetts really drew me in right away. I would however have liked to have seem more of the school life and academic side to the story. Especially for a YA novel, I think setting a book in any kind of school requires the author to get the point across to readers that education is important, which I didn't see this time around. That is really the only reason this book got 4 and not 5 stars from me.

The plot itself is a bit predictable at some points, and at others it was full of twists and turns. I like the mix of being able to guess what was happening and having the unexpected pop up on the next page. Like most YA books there is a love story tangled up throughout this book as well. To me this love story seemed believable and wasn't over the top like love stories can be in some YA paranormal books. It was sweet and didn't happen too fast for me.

I really enjoyed the ending of this book, the last few chapters where like a whirlwind of emotions which really swept me away into this witchy world.

Overall I thought it was a really great read and I hope Molly writes some more about Katy in the future.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Review: Jenny Pox (The Paranormals #1) - J.L. Bryan



Name: Jenny Pox (The Paranormals #1)

Author: J.L. Bryan

General Release Date: 24th July 2010

Date I finished it: 23rd October 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Amazon

My Rating: 4/5 stars






This is one series I've had on my Kindle for ages, when I first heard about it I went out and bought this book right away, but just haven't found the time to get around to reading it yet!
Thankfully I'm taking part in a blog tour for this series in November, so that gave me the kick I needed to get started on this series right away!

Jenny Pox follows teenager Jenny who for her entire life has been harbouring a massive secret. Her touch kills, literally!
Ever since she was born, anyone who touched Jenny had came out in puss filled boils and tumors. If they hold on for too long they die.

At first I thought Jenny Pox would just be another YA paranormal read, you know girl meets boy - they fall in love. Throw in some paranormal elements and you have it made. I was completely wrong!
Jenny Pox is like nothing I've ever read before, the stories of each individual character are so complex and wonderfully written. That along with the amazing idea that one touch from Jenny could kill someone is was really got me hooked into the story.

I am not entirely sure that I would personally class Jenny Pox as YA, lets just say there is a lot of things in it that made even me squeamish. This is not a book for the faint hearted, but it is a fantastic read!
The story itself follows Jenny, the self made outcast. Keeping to herself is the only way to keep from any kind of human contact, therefore saving lives! It's the one thing thats been drilled into her from a young age, stay away from people. 
When you think about it, that is such a hard thing to do. Especially growing up and hitting your teenage years, can you imagine not even being able to hug your parents as a child after falling over and grazing your knee?

As the story unfolds we meet the rest of the main characters, who in my opinion are all just as important as Jenny in the book. Especially twisted, manipulative Ashleigh. I think Ashleigh is actually my favourite character to read about in the book, everything she does either makes me laugh, cringe or want to hide under my covers!

I did enjoy the fact there was so many different YA topics brought up in this book, drinking, drugs, relationships, sex, pregnancy, death. Even though they all fall to the sidelines to the main plot of the story, it was amazing how the author managed to fit so many topics into just one book.

The ending of the book completely blew me away, after reading the book and feeling like I got to know Jenny I was completely shocked! Looking back now though, if I was in the same position at the time I doubt the ending would have been any different!

From the moment I started reading this book I was hooked, I read it in one day and quickly started on the next book in the series, Tommy Nightmare. All I can say is if your debating on whether to read this book or not, just go for it. You won't be disappointed!

Character Guest Post from Jaycie Lerner

Today I am super excited to have a character guest post from Jaycie Lerner.



Jaycie is the amazing telepathic, main character in Natasha Larry's Darwin's Children.
You can read my review of Darwin's Children here









The Difference Between Revenge and Justice

 When the first angelic Guardian I met told me “relationships are a great way to restore balance in the world,” I was like, whatever. I knew what the angel meant as soon as I found out about what happened to my best friend. Haylee isn’t even just my best friend, she’s my soul mate.

I get why people think kidnapping her father and sic’ing a vicious, psychic vampire on him was an act of revenge. It’s only because they don’t understand what the world really looks like. When Haylee’s power first manifested it was when something evil was happening to her. Not just something bad- absolute evil. You see, all superhumans are empathic by nature… it is, after all, the amygdala that gives us our power. When our abilities first manifest, they do so in response to an event that is charged with an extreme emotion or idea. With Haylee it was evil. But, Haylee’s ability to burn evil is a part of having the superhuman ability to manipulate the human soul. Her larger ability got trapped by the fact that she didn’t adapt in that moment- she was supposed to burn her father alive but she couldn’t look at him.

Haylee is also a Core member, which complicates thing a little. If the problem was simply killing her father, Misha of the Dey-Vah Guard would have done it. Haylee and I needed a true bond, and the imbalance had to be corrected.

When I took on Haylee’s pain the bond was secured. My parents knew what was about to happen, and they could have stopped it. My father actually dropped his shields so I could put him out, and told me that the Gray family would help me end Haylee’s father’s life. But, he only let it happen because Haylee was there. Haylee, despite the fact that she wouldn’t be able to look him in the eyes, could look into
mine. In that moment she understood that she could understand goodness as well. I knew that even if she couldn’t look him in the eyes, she had to be able to watch him die.

My dad made me go to Sasha because we’re his kids, and vampires kill humans all the time anyway. Which, I think is pretty funny. The result is the same. He timed everything so that by the time Sasha agreed, he would be there to give Haylee back all that pain so that she could face it.

You see, Haylee cannot burn a person unless they are absolute evil. I don’t know what absolute evil is, but when I was in her head it wasn’t the actual men that raped her she wanted to burn- it was the man that watched it happen. She watched her father die at the hands of Sasha Gray as the little girl he abused, but in those final seconds she had to look into his eyes to make sure.

Anyway, all I know is that my best friend is totally awesome. For someone that literally has to worry about having unlimited power corrupting myself absolutely, I feel better knowing that Haylee will be
there.


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Review: Life Eternal (Dead Beautiful #2) - Yvonne Woon



Name: Life Eternal (Dead Beautiful 2)

Author: Yvonne Woon

General Release Date: 24th Feb 2012 (US Release Date)

Date I finished it: 24th October 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Review Copy

My Rating: 5/5 stars





I was so excited to get a copy of Life Eternal from NetGalley to review, just after I finished Dead Beautiful as well, talk about perfect timing!
I was really excited to read this one as it's not out till February next year in the US and it doesn't have a UK release date yet!

Life Eternal pretty much picks up right where we left Renee in Dead Beautiful, after all the tragic events that happened at Gotfried, the school is now closed to everyone except the Undead.
Renee is shipped off to Lycée St Clement's in Montreal, which is a school solely for Monitors. Although ever since Dante gave Renee her soul back, something just hasn't been feeling right to Renee. She still has no appetite, no sense of smell and she looks much older almost overnight.

At Lycée St Clement's Renee faces some new problems, not only does she have to face a new school full of people who think she is immortal and somehow survived death, but she also has to find away to sneak in some Dante time. Which is almost impossible with a town full of Monitors! She is also having some strange visions, that seemed to be triggered by her new surroundings.
And as if that wasn't enough to deal with, Renee is still searching for a way of helping Dante prolong what is left of his life.

While searching she comes across the legend of the nine sisters, who apparently found a way to cheat death and vowed to take the secret to their graves with them.
Eight of the sisters were all murdered, presumably by the Undead. The ninth sister was never named in any documents or ever found. It is this sister Renee decides to try to track down.

Firstly, let me just say I loved all the French bits in this book. I really used to love French, but it took a bit of a back seat to Spanish while I was a university. So reading all the French names and streets in this book really started to bring everything back to me!
I loved the fact that this book was set in an entirely different place from Gotfried. To me Dead Beautiful taught me all about the Undead, and Life Eternal taught me all about the Monitors.

The story itself is full of twists and turns that kept me gripped to the edge of my seat! I had no clue what was going to happen in this book, every page just seemed full of more and more mystery. I actually read this book in one day, I was completely hooked on it from page one!

There are a few new characters in this book, some of them I grew to love as I got to the end of the book. 
I really liked Noah, he seemed like a really nice boy and if Dante wasn't in the picture I could really picture him and Renee together.

The legend of the nine sisters was well planned out, looking back, as the story unfolds you can see that the reader is given a small hint here and there. At the time you are too wrapped up in the Renee and Dante story that you don't even realise it's a clue until you reach the end of the book!
The plot itself is amazing, although very different to that in Dead Beautiful I think that it works well with this new setting.

Ugh the ending. All I can say is I hope the actual book has an ending, because this ARC didn't.
I had to go back and read the last few paragraphs three times before I realised there is actually no ending. The book just stops! I really don't even understand what happened in the last paragraph, it just stopped! Big disappointment to me, but at least I'm pretty sure now that there will be a third book, Yvonne Woon can't just leave it like that. Although I'll probably have to wait till 2013 for it :(

Review: Parallel (Travelers #1) - Claudia Lefeve



Name: Parallel (Travelers #1)

Author: Claudia Lefeve

General Release Date: 26th August 2011

Date I finished it: 23rd October 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Review Copy

My Rating: 4/5 stars






I got a review copy of Parallel as I was taking part in the blog tour for this book, you can see my interview with Claudia Lefeve a few posts back.

Parallel follows teenager Etta who has been brought up jumping from foster families and is eventually dumped in Dominion House for Girls, an institution for delinquent foster children where she finds herself sharing a room with a girl she used to live with in a foster family years ago.

Etta goes on with her normal life, school, hanging out and and trying not to break anymore rules.
That is until she meets Cooper who transports to a whole new reality, which is apparently the real one and where she was born and is meant to be.

At first I wasn't too sure about reading Parallel, it seemed a bit too science fiction for me, and I'm usually more a fan of paranormal. After reading the first few chapters however I was totally hooked on the story!
The characters are very well written and are described brilliantly, making it easy to follow them and fall into their story.
Although the story line is a bit choppy and confusing at first, once you get the hang of what is going on and what reality is which, everything does start to make sense.

The story of time travel can be hard to convey in a book, especially a book aimed at a younger audience, Claudia Lefeve manages to make the subject both entertaining as well as informative.
The plot itself is genius, this was one of those books where as I was reading it I was thinking to myself, how on earth do people think up this stuff?!
The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five was purely because I didn't really love it.
As great as the book is, it didn't have me mesmerised like some books do. Don't get me wrong, it was a great book, had a great plot and brilliant and believable characters, for me it just seemed to be lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on.

Overall I'm, really glad I read this book and am looking forward to reading the rest in the series!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Review: Forgotten (Witches of Santa Anna #14) - Lauren Barnholdt


Name:Forgotten (Witches of Santa Anna #14)

Author: Lauren Barnholdt

General Release Date: 12th October 2011

Date I finished it: 17th October 2011

Type: E-Book

From: Amazon

My Rating: 4/5 stars






This is the fourth instalment in the Witches of Santa Anna series, by now I'm just itching for the series to come to an end and for everything to be wrapped up. No such luck as yet though!

Forgotten follows Nat and Cam after the events in book 13, Oblivion.
Nat wakes up in the hospital and cannot remember anything that happened at the strange witch camp, while Cam tries to fill in the pieces for her Nat's mother phones the police because she is sick and tired of all the secrecy surrounding Nat and Cam's relationship.

Nat is banned from seeing of talking to Cam, and to be honest she doesn't know if that is a good or bad thing for now, at least until her memories return.

Nothing really exciting happened in this book, it was all about dealing with the aftermath of everything that happened to the two characters in book 13. Even though I enjoyed the book and rated it four stars, to me it wasn't the best book in this series, it felt more like a filler book. So hopefully something more exciting happens in the next book to keep me hooked on the series.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Bout of Books read-a-thon


I've decided to take part in the Bout of Books read-a-thon.

The read-a-thon takes place from October 24th 12:01am till 30th October 11:59pm.

You can find out all the info over at the sign up sheet

I am hoping to read:

Jenny Pox - J.L. Bryan
Tommy Nightmare - J.L. Bryan
Alexander Death - J.L. Bryan
Unholy Ghosts - Stacia Kane
Dearly Departed - Lia Habel

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Review: My Tattered Bonds (Bloodstone Saga #4) - Courtney Cole


Name: My Tattered Bonds (Bloodstone Saga #4)

Author: Courtney Cole

General Release Date: 1st November 2011

Date I finished it: 18th October 2011

Type: E-Book

From: E-ARC from author

My Rating: 5/5 stars






If you have been following BelleBooks for a while, you will know by now that I am in love with The Bloodstone Saga. So I was thrilled when I got an ARC of the last book in the series, My Tattered Bonds. Massive thank yous have to go out to Courtney for once again sending me a copy to review, and for once again completely blowing my mind with her amazing plots, characters and writing style.

As I mentioned this is the last book in the Bloodstone Saga, I took a little bit longer reading this book than I have any of the previous books in the series, purely because I really wanted to savour this one and try to drag it out a bit longer, I really did not want the series to come to an end just yet!

My Tattered Bonds picks up where we left Harmonia and her family in With My Last Breath, confused, shocked and determined to get little Raquel back once and for all. Although in order to do that, they need to find her first.
Their search takes them into the heart of the underworld where they encounter a number of dangers and obstacles.


I loved reading about the underworld and the different lands in it. Hades is also a great new character to the book, at parts this book did remind me of Richelle Mead's Dark Swan series. Most of you know how much I gush about that series as well! My Tattered Bonds does have similarities but of course it is an entirely different plot with different characters. The fact that it reminded me of Dark Swan just shows how great the writing and plot line in this book truly is!


The book is full of unexpected twists and turns, just like the rest of the books in the series.  The love story between Harmonia and Cadmus only seems to get better with each book, and with this one the love between them is beautifully written. There are a few familiar faces in this book from the previous books in the series, it was nice to see them again and find out what they are doing now as the saga draws to an end. There was also a few new characters in the book as well. To me bringing in new characters at the end of a series can be a bit hit or miss. On this occasion however the new characters bring the story to a whole new level.


The level of research that goes into each book in this series always amazes me, My Tattered Bonds is no different.
To write about the underworld , Hades, the greek gods and everything else that pops up in this book must require a lot of time and energy spent researching. That effort has really paid off in the case of the entire series. To me each book as well as being enjoyable to read has also taught and gave me a greater understanding  about mythology and the ancient world.


The ending completely blew me away, I honestly was not expecting what I was reading! 
I'm not going to say everything works out perfectly for out favourite characters, or that it's all doom and gloom, you will have to read it for yourself to find out!
I will say that the ending brought the entire saga to an end very nicely, and thinking back now I don't really see how it could have ended any differently.


I could gush all day about this book, and about the entire series but I think I will leave it there, i'm sure you get my point!
As sad as I am about the series now being finished, I am also super excited for Courtney's new project,  The Moonstone Saga.
From the title you can kind of guess the books are going to be similar in a way to the Bloodstone Saga, but this time around we have a whole new leading lady!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Parallel - Claudia Lefeve Blog Tour


Today BelleBooks is taking part in the Parallel Blog Tour!

 
 This is the new cover for Parallel, and I think it stands out a lot more from the first cover, I love the reflection/shadow of the title.


I had the chance to interview Claudia about her writing and the book, here is the full interview:

First of all tell us a bit about yourself? 
This is like the National Inquirer and inquiring minds want to know. Honestly, there’snot much to tell. I watch a lot of TV, I’ll be 35 next week, and I change my hair color constantly because I’m grey! Seriously though, books have been my passion since I was a little girl and I love writing stories with a twist.

Tell us a bit about your book Parallel?
Parallel is about a girl named Etta, who finds out she’s actually from an alternate reality.
Believing she was an orphan for most of her life, she learns about her real family, as
well as the source of her psychic abilities. On the romance end, she’s got a bit of a
crush on Cooper, the guy who brings her back to her real world, not to mention getting
to know the boyfriend she’s involved with in her new reality.

What inspired you to write Parallel?
I love YA paranormal books that feature vampires, werewolves, and witches. However,
when I set out to write Parallel, I wanted to mix it up a bit. I wanted to write a book that
focused less on the supernatural and more on the scientific end of the paranormal.

How did you come up with the idea for the book?
Originally, Parallel started out as a book about a girl who discovered she was a fairy.
After awhile, I realized that the story demanded to be told in a different way, so I
changed it from a girl learning about her new fairy world, to a girl who discovers she’s
from an alternate reality.

Who is your favourite character in the book?
Aunt Maggie! She’s got a cool profession as a graphic designer and is the best cook
ever. Everyone should have an aunt like her. She’s named after one of my closest
friends, who is nothing like the character in the book, but they’re similar, as they’re both
women who manage to do it all.

How long did it take to write the book?
That’s hard to say. What I initially wrote, which took a couple of months, ended up being
changed dramatically. Once I decided to change it, I ended up spending a good two
months re-writing it to it’s final version.

Are you working on anything else just now?
I’m working on the second book in the series, Paradox. I also have an adult paranormal
romance on the back burner that will incorporate the Mexican folklore I grew-up with as a child.

Tell us some of your favourite books from when you were younger?
When I was little, I was a big fan of Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown. As I got
older, I read a lot of Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I rarely read any Young Adult as a
teen, but now that I’m an adult, it comprises most of my reading list.

What are you reading right now?
It changes daily! In the last year, I’ve read books by indie authors almost exclusively.
They’re awesome reads and since they tend to run a bit cheaper than traditionally
published books, I can support my 3-4 a week reading habit!

Thanks so much for stopping by BelleBooks today Claudia!


As I mentioned earlier there are also two giveaways running during this blog tour!
The first is an e-copy of Parallel to one of my followers. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your email address. The winner will be picked by random.org and I will announce the winner on the 26th of October!

The second giveaway is open to US/CAN only. You can win a travel mug, bracelet and more!

To enter this giveaway, comment on this blog post with your email address. You can also comment on any of the other posts from the rest of the tour, each comment counts as one entry. So if you comment on 10 blog stops, you get 10 entries!

Make sure to stop by the rest of the blogs taking part in the blog tour and comment to get your entires in!

Monday, October 3rd - Alice Marvels 
Tuesday, October 4th - Librarian Mouse 
Wednesday, October 5th - Smitten with Books 
Thursday, October 6th - My Shelf Confessions 
Friday, October 7th - Bewitched Bookworms


Monday, October 10th - Kindle Fever
Tuesday, October 11st - Ravishing Reads 
Wednesday, October 12nd - The Book Faery  
Thursday, October 13th- I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read 
Friday, October 14th - Chick Loves Lit


Monday, October 17th - Tynga's Reviews 
Tuesday, October 18th - That Bookish Girl  
Wednesday,October 19th - Books Complete Me  
Thursday, October 20th - BelleBooks 
Friday, October 21st - Books With Bite





Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Vengeance (Transcend Time Saga #2) Cover Reveal Blog Tour


Today I'm taking part in a Cover Reveal Blog Hop for Vengeance by Michelle Madow.

Thanks so much Michelle for asking me to take part in this tour, I loved Remembrance and am super excited to read Vengeance when it's out!

If you haven't read Remembrance yet, here is what it's all about:

You can read my review of Remembrance HERE

So a bunch of us book bloggers are revealing the cover to you bit by bit this week just to tease you!
Michelle will be revealing the full cover for Vengeance on her blog this Friday!

I also have a fun fact about the book that I got to ask Michelle!




Me: Since Vengeance is told from Chelsea's point of view, will we still be seeing a lot of Lizzie and Drew in this book?


Michelle: You will see one of them -- but I'm not giving away which one of them it is! :)





How exciting is that?! I really cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of this book, I loved Remembrance so much!


I also have a little fun fact about Vengeance to share with you:


Shannon plays a bigger part in the story—it turns out she has secrets of her own

I also have my little puzzle piece of the cover to share with you all as well!



I think just from this small piece, I've fell in love already! I can see Michelle has stuck with the masquerade masque idea from the cover of Remembrance, this one looks orange or red, I really want to see the whole mask!

Remember to stop by the rest of the blogs participating in this blog hop so you can catch all of the puzzle pieces!

Monday 17th October: Xpresso Reads
Tuesday 18th October: Reading Vacation
Wednesday 19th October: BelleBooks
Thursday 20th October: For Those About To Read
Friday 21st October: Michelle's Blog (For the big reveal!)

And thats not all!
Michelle currently has a massive giveaway happening to celebrate the cover reveal for Vengeance!


You can win a whole bunch of Remembrance goodies as well as a signed copy of Vengeance when it is released (1st Dec)
The giveaway is open internationally and you can enter it on Michelle's Blog HERE




Monday, October 17, 2011

Generations 1: Book of Enlightenment Blog Tour







Today I am so excited to be the first stop on the Generations Blog Tour!

Thank you so much to Mia who asked me to be a part of this blog tour, I read her first novel The Ocean a while back and fell in love with it! Now she back with a paranormal series, how exciting!
Firstly I'll admit I haven't read very much of this book yet. I know I a terrible book blogger! I've just been so busy with work the past two weeks I haven't had time for anything!! 
According to my Kindle I am 38% done with the book so far. What I can say is out of what I have read so far the book is really good! I'm loving the characters and the plot already!

Anyway for today's stop on the tour I have an excerpt of the book to share with you all!


Chapter One


Ellie Solomon, sit down!” Her eyes locked into mine. I saw them ease from frustration to compassion. “Come sit by me, sweetie.” 
“I can’t. Does it always take this long? It’s a simple answer: ‘yes’ or ‘no’.” 
I continued pacing in the long corridor of deep maple walls. My dress was shades of purple, but in the dim halls it just looked grey. The government building in our city of Jordan was as old as the city if that was possible. It was very intimidating in its majesty. It was the only place I’d ever lived, so I knew it like the back of my hand. Jordan was the epitome of a small Midwestern town from the storefront five and dimes, to the fifties diner across from my high school. My shoes clanked on the marble floors. I walked the circle of the rotunda to give my nervousness some form of escape. The noise resounded throughout the whole building. “Should it be taking this long?” I asked again as I wrung my hands, willing the doors to open. 
“Well, he is petitioning to be your guardian. And he’s only eighteen. This is a big deal and takes a great deal of consideration.” Nancy was right. She’d helped us get this far, being our social worker for the past five years. Her black hair was graying at the temples. Her grey, square-rimmed glasses made her look wise beyond her years. She had smile wrinkles in the outer corners of her dark eyes and her thin lips. She wasn’t beautiful or elegant. She was kind of plain, but she was precise. From her stiff, pressed skirt suit to her perfectly molded immoveable hair, she was precise. We trusted that she knew what she was doing. She and I had testified already why this was the best thing for Gideon and me. We’d bombarded the judge with letters from teachers, former foster parents, and Gideon’s current employers. We’d put together a plan about how we were going to support ourselves and go to school. Gideon was going to the university next year on a full scholarship. He still planned to work at his part-time job. I would be a senior next year and also work part-time. I had had a job since I was 14; so had Gideon. Hard work was nothing new to us. That wasn’t a problem. We were young. That was the problem. Nancy would still be checking in with us weekly, and we’d have a reoccurring court date to show our progress. We would be on probation if we got permission. Gideon would be my guardian. We’d be free of the system, sort of. I was still pacing when Gideon rushed out the door. I couldn’t read his expression. His dark brown hair that had been perfect when he went in an hour earlier was disheveled. I held my breath. “Sorry, kid, we tried.” I looked away. I was trying not to burst into tears. “You’re going to have to unpack all those boxes back in your room. In our new apartment,” he said. I finally breathed. “Are you saying?” “Yes! Yes! We got it. I’m the boss of you. Ha-ha.” He began to laugh for real, not the teasing laugh. Before he finished, I was in his arms hugging him so tightly. His laughter was contagious. I laughed so hard. His brown eyes were dancing with delight, as were mine. No more foster care. No more wondering how long in “this house” or “that house.” Don’t get me wrong; we were lucky most of the time and got to stay with some real angels. We shared our life with some good people. But there were a few families that were awful. I’d never want to go back to that again. “Now, before you get too excited, we will have a check-in from Nancy every month for the next five months, and every two months for the final six months. Then you’ll be eighteen, and we won’t have to answer to anyone but ourselves.” “You’ll always have to answer to me. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” Nancy came over to where we were hugging and embraced us both. “I’m so proud of both of you. Do you know how special you are?”


There is also a giveaway happening, you can win yourself and e-copy of Generations and a print copy as well as 5 postcard and bookmark sets!!
Want to be in with a chance of winning these goodies?
Then make sure to follow the tour this week!

Tour Stops
Monday 17th: BelleBooks
Tuesday 18th: Jagged Edge 
Wednesday 19th: K-Books 
Thursday 20th: Reading Away The Days
Friday 21st: Woven Myst

To qualify, you must:
1. comment on each blog post (each comment gets you one entry into the drawing. 
2. tweet the blog post that day with the hash tag #generations (each tweet earns you another entry.) 
3. post a link on facebook to the blog entry.(Allowing you yet ANOTHER entry) The winners will be announced during the Virtual Launch Party Saturday at 6pm est on USTREAM. The Release Date of the Novel is October 25th and it will be available, on amazon, bn.com, ibooks, and kobo, as well as print!

Good luck everyone who is entering for the print copy, I swear I'm not seething with jealously! Remember to stop by all the blogs participating in the tour this week, it's going to be a lot of fun!
 
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