Waiting on Wednesday #6

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

Here's what I'm waiting...

City of Swords (Stravaganza #6)
by Mary Hoffman

Desperately unhappy, Laura has resorted to secretly self-harming. But Laura is a Stravagante, somebody who can travel in time and space. When she finds her talisman, a small silver dagger, she stravagates with it to sixteenth-century Fortezza, a town similar to Lucca in Italy, where she meets her Stravagante, who is a swordsmith. But Laura also meets the charming and attractive Ludo, and falls for him. Their love for each other is tested when Ludo lays claim to the crown of Fortezza, and Laura finds herself fighting on the side of the Stravaganti opposing him.

I honestly can't wait for this one. I already have it on pre-order from TBD and it seems it will arrive earlier than the expected pub date. I have loved the world of the Stravaganti from the very first book 10 years ago. Currently I am reading book #5, I kept postponing reading it until the next one was out. If you haven't read any of the Stravaganza books, you might want to get to them, especially if you love sixteenth-century Italy, magic and time traveling.

What are you Waiting on this Wednesday?

Unpack This [June 11 - June 24]

Unpack This is a meme I started instead of my usual IMM. It was inspired by my love to open boxes, yes I love doing that.

The past couple of weeks have been very slow for me in the new books department. I didn't get to unpack anything, but I got a freebie from Smashwords and I am also waiting on a few orders so hopefully next week I'll get to open some boxes.

Freebie:

Get it free from Smashwords. 

I won the third book in the series a few weeks ago but didn't have this one. Now I can finally start reading them. A lot of people seem to love the series.

What did you get this week?

Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Gifted #1) by Marilyn Kaye

Amanda has it all. She is the most popular 8-th grader, she is queen bee and the school is her queendom, but Amanda has a secret that could literally change her. Every time she feels sorry for someone else she ends up inside their body. And her latest target of sadness is Tracey the most insignificant girl in the whole school. When Amanda finds herself tapped into Tracey's body she soon realizes that Tracey is special, just like a few other kids in the school, she is gifted. But gifted kids have more to worry about than cold parents that pay you no attention, there are people out there that want to use them.

This book was a pleassant surprise. It was a very fast read with great promise for the future books of the series. I really enjoyed the gifted kids and the way Amanda had to navigate herself through Tracey's life. She had to straggle with every day problems all the while trying to find a way out of the other girl's body. 

I especially liked how Jenna, another gifted, came close with Amanda and they became friends even though they were totally different, or at least they wanted to believe they were. I can't wait to see what more will happen with these kids.

★★★★☆

book 27              book 17

book 3

Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1) by Jackson Pearce

Scarlett and Rosie have been two normal kids until the day their home was attacked by Fenris, werewolves and they were the only ones left alive, Scarlett getting terribly injured. After that they spend their whole lifes hunting. Everything seems to be a routine for the two sisters until Silas, Scarlett's old hunting partner returns to town and everything seems to change. Rosie and Silas are falling fast for each other and the Fenris seem to be getting more and more dangerous. The three hunters decide it's time to move to a bigger city so they can up their game but there they find all the different Fenris pack are starting to gathering and they are looking for something, a Potential, a future werewolve. Now Scarlett, Rosie and Silas have to find him first in order to lure the Fenris to their deaths all the while secrets are being kept for the first time between tha sisters and they might just drive them apart forever.

I really fell in love with this book from the Prologue. Scarlett and Rosie are two completely different characters. Scarlett, the older sister, is protective and lives to hunt, literally, there is nothing else she can see herself do. She has terrible scars from her first attack and they are a constant reminder that she is not normal and that she has to fight. On the other hand, Rosie, the younger sister, even though she loves hunting with her sister we soon find out that she is only doing it because she feels like she owes her life to her sister and hunting is what her sister loves. But Rosie wants to experience doing normal things, and when Silas returns to town it's even harder for her to keep her total faith to the hunt. I loved both girls for totally different reasons. Scarlett was noble, that's the first word that comes to mind, she knows that there is something terribly wrong in the world and wants to save as many people as possible. She was obsessed with hunting but whenever there was a chapter from her point of view it was easy to realize that hunting was the only thing that made sense to her and soon you will find yourself wondering what would you do. I loved Rosie cause she was very sweet and wanting to prove herself, being the youngest in my family I know how it is, I could really relate to her.

Besides the great characters that truly give life to the story the bad guys were pretty amazing too. The Fenris are always handsome men that are luring girls and then devoure them. Big bad wolf anyone? Well I loved them. There were packs with different tattoos. It wasn't really hard to keep track of what was going on with the Fenris, everyting about them was slowly intoducted and it felt almost normal. The only clues you have to figure out through out the book are about the Potential but it's pretty obvious who is going to be. 

Finally, I feel like I need to talk about the action and the romance. Fights fights and more fights! Well the girls are hunters what did you expect? The book starts with a bang and each chapter is a new fighting on the waiting. There are countless action scenes with are beautifully written and you always want more. Now the romance...well there is a quote at the back of the book form Becca Fitzpatrick that pretty much summarises everyting. "If you love your romance hot, your bad guys downright dirty, and your heroines real enough to bleed, this is your book!"

★★★★★

book 26              book 16

book 2

Teaser Tuesdays #6

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"It's just...what are we supposed yo do? Sit back and assume someone else  will kill the Fenris? It's our responsibility to do good when we have the power to."

~p.119, "Sisters Red" by Jackson Pearce

Dark Seeker Giveaway

Today I bring you another giveaway thanks to Taryn Browning, author of the Seeker Series. One of you will get to win an e-copy of the first book in the series, Dark Seeker and 2 signed bookmarks.

And if you don't know what Dark Seeker is about, read the blurb below. I am sure it will get you interested.

She's the Seeker. He's the hunted. What's at stake could kill them both...

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

Open Internationally

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Shapeshifter's Secret by Heather Ostler

Julia has a secret history her father has worked very hard to keep her away from. She is not like us. She is a werecat from another world, hiding from an avenging mother who only wants to fulfill her evil goals by using her own daughter. Despite her fathers wishes Julia's past catches up with her and she soon finds herself in an alien world and enrolled in a new school for werecats and more fantasy creatures.

This book was not what I expected. The beggining was good, while Julia found out what she was and traveled to her home world, but after that everything went south. I was happily surprised when I found out there was a boarding school in the book, but then I couldn't help but notice all the similarities to Hogwarts. I tried really hard not to compare the two schools, because nothing can compare to Hogwarts, but after a certain Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets deja-vu I gave up. 

Besides the setting, which I think was underdeveloped, whatever happened to the story was a little bit too convenient, like Julia's best friend going to the same school. Julia was very accepting about being a werecat and being lied to her whole life. She was also a hard character to like. She was overly obsessed about her mother all the while hating being anything like her. At times it felt like she didn't have an actual personality. 

As for the romance, I think it was the most unrealistic part of the book. Julia and Terrence were exchanging "I love you"s after only a couple of meetings. And he was a little bit too good to be true. I never really got what they were seeing in each other and how on earth they managed to fall in love like that.

★☆☆☆☆

book 28             book 25

book 1

Indie Authors Giveaway Hop

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Krazy Book Lady

In this Giveaway Hop we go Indie.

All the books listed will be gifted through Amazon.
What's up for grabs?

Prize Pack #1:

1. Leopard Moon (Moon #1) by Jeanette Battista
2. Hush Money (Talent Chronicles #1) by Susan Bischoff
3. Silver Moon (Silver Moon #1) by Rebecca A. Rogers
4. Prince of Wolves (The Grey Wolves #1) by Quinn Loftis
5. Enchant Me by Anne Violet
6. Angel Evolution (Evolution Trilogy #1) by David Estes
7. Darkness Falls (Darkness Falls #1) by Jessica Sorensen
8. Golden Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy #1) by Melissa Pearl
9. Straight to Hell (Lilith Straight #1) by Michelle Scott

Prize Pack #2:

1. Heroes 'Til Curfew (Talent Chronicles #2) by Susan Bischoff
2. Earth (Elemental #1) by Shauna Granger
3. Air (Elemental #2) by Shauna Granger
4. Draykon (Draykon #1) by Charlotte E. English
5. The Magi (The Magi Series #1) by Kevin M. Turner
6. Open Minds (Mindjack Trilogy #1) by Susan Kaye Quinn
7. Closed Hearts (Mindjack Trilogy #2) by Susan Kaye Quinn
8. Blood Rites (The Grey Wolves #2) by Quinn Loftis
9. Just One Drop (The Grey Wolves #3) by Quinn Loftis
10. ReVamped (Angel Creek #1) by Ada Adams

One of you can pick either:

9 books from Prize Pack #1 and 0 from Prize Pack #2

6 books from Prize Pack #1 and 1 from Prize Pack #2

3 books from Prize Pack #1 and 2 from Prize Pack #2

0 books from Prize Pack #1 and 3 from Prize Pack #2

Also you can always tell me to gift an ebook to someone else.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to visit all the other participating blogs.

Tell Me Something Tuesday #6

Tell me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Cambria Hebert. Every week we get to answer to a new question.

This week's tell me something:
Let's talk TV what are your favorite shows?

My answer:
There are so many shows I love old ones and new but I am only going to talk about the ones that I can watch over and over again without ever getting bored. There is no order cause I really can't make up my mind.

CSI
After 12 seasons and many changes in the cast and crew I still love this show. And of course this is the LasVegas version, the original, there is no other CSI for me. I love all the crimes and mystery and all the great trivia we learn along the way. After 12 years I got very attached to each and every character and it always hurts when one of them ahs to go. I just hope the show will go on for many more years. You'll be surprised to know that I have re-watched every season at least 5 times. This is how crazy I am about it!

The Walking Dead
I only started watching this show after I found out that Norman Reedus was palying. I am a huge fan. Anyways, I wasn't really excited after watching the first episode but that was mostly because he didn't get to see any other character than the main one. But from the second episode and on it was pure awesomeness. I should point out that I am a huge fan of horror movies and all the disgusting things on the show are only making me more excited about it. But it's not just about zombies, the characters are all amazing, unique even the bad guys you just love to hate them.

A Game of Thrones
Of course this show is in this list. I love epic fantasy and this series is epic fantasy at its best. The only thing that I don't like about it is all the sex, I mean come on there is so much actual action going on I want to see the battles. I also read the books before watching each season, that's why I still haven't watched half of season 2 cause I still haven't finished book 2.

Hot in Cleveland
I never thought I would love a series about middle-aged women so much. I mean why should I? But have you watched this show it's hilarious. All the actresses are amazing. I love the plot and lines. It makes laugh every single time. That's why I always re-watch it whenever I have time.

Veronica Mars
Ok, I know you might not have expected this one but I love, love, love Veronica Mars. She's the only tv show character I ever wanted to be like. Hell, we even have the same name. She is so smart and sarcastic. I loved the whole teen aged private investigator concept. I really loved this show and was really sad when there was no season 4. I want season 4!

Teen Wolf
This is kind of a new summer show, the second season has just began, but I have already re-watched the two first episodes 3 times each. What makes this show so special, mostly the characters, they are amazing. There are so many hilarious moments but also so many fights and creepy scenes too. Another reason I love this show so much: Derek aka Tyler Hoechlin, there are no words, you just have to watch this show.

Charmed
For the last tv series I had to list Charmed. This is the show that made me love witches and witchcraft. I used to watch it when I was in school and then re-watched it after got into UNI. I remember so many things about it and it always brings back childhood memories so I am very attached to it.


So this is my list. I am sure there might be some show I have forgotten but this are the ones that I always re-watch. As you can see I am a huge fan of tv series.

Unpack This [May 28 - June 10]

Unpack This is a new meme I started instead of my usual IMM. It was inspired by my love to open boxes, yes I love doing that.

This is an Unpack This post for the past couple of weeks, I didn't get so many books last week so decided to put them together with this week's.

E-books:

I got In a Wolf's Eyes for review. I really loved the blurb and it seems like a very promising fantasy book. I'll probably read this on July.

Witch Hunt was free when I found it and grabbed it. I had read the first book in the series and although the stories are stand alones I was really interested in reading more of K.C. Blake's world. This book has an even better story than the first one so I think I will enjoy it even more.

Physical books (I was bored to take a pic):

It's been six-seven years since I read the first one. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is very special to me, cause my best friend bought the book the first summer we spend apart (I left for a month long camp) and she was calling me everyday, telling what was happening in the book. I can't wait to read the second book.

Better Late than Never is the second book in the Gifted series. Yes, I haven't read the first one yet but I found so cheap I couldn't stop myself. I love used books!

Anyways, these are all the books I got the past few weeks.

But don't go yet. I have a little something for you too. Today as I was going through amazon I found that Emotionally Charged was free and will be today and tomorrow.

I really enjoyed this book. You can find my review: here.

What did you get this week?

Interview & Giveaway: The Greystone Series

Today I am welcoming Taylor Longford. I just reviewed her first book in the Greystone Series and really enjoyed it.

Find my Review for Valor: HERE

Get Valor for free

Taylor Longford lives with her family in Colorado and drives an old Jeep Cherokee with 270,000 miles on it. She’s rolled it once and it looks like crap but it still goes fast! If she can make a living as a writer, she’ll buy something a bit nicer and write some more stories.

1.Tell us a few things about the Greystone Series. What triggered the idea of it?

Gargoyles have always gotten a bad rap. It is SO not fair. Someone had to write their story and set the record straight. You see, the word "gargoyle" comes from the French word for throat and Valor's kind were called gargoyles because of the runes they wear tattooed on their necks. But the stone carvings that drained rainwater from buildings were also called gargoyles because they appeared to pour water from their throats. And it wasn't uncommon for harpies to hide on the walls of old buildings, pretending to be one of the manmade carvings. So over the centuries, harpies came to be known as gargoyles, while the original breed died out and the human race forgot they ever existed. 

2.The gargoyles in your books have very unique names. Why did you name them that way and do they represent their names?

I always wanted to write about a guy named Valor because I thought it would make a good name. To some extent, the gargoyles' names DO represent their personality traits. Dare has always been wild and reckless. Reason is the logical, sensible one. Valor is brave like a rock. Defiance is stubborn and argumentative. Havoc is like a tornado, a wild force of nature. 

3.What do you think is the worst and what is the best thing about being a writer?

Self doubt is the worst thing about being a writer. Never really knowing if your writing is any good. The best thing is the total escape that you find in writing fiction. You can leave reality behind, along with all of your problems. 

4.Any tips or suggestions for new writers?

Don't write about gargoyles if you want to be hugely successful. Right now, they're at the bottom of the sexy scale and will probably take twenty or forty years to catch up with vampires!

5.What can we expect from you in the future? Any more projects under construction? 

I'm working on Reason's story and hope to have it published by the end of August. When that's done, I'll write Defiance's story. After that, I have five more gargoyles to go. At this point, I'm not planning any other series.

Find Taylor

Goodreads | Official Site

Find the Greystone Series on Amazon

Valor | Dare

***

Giveaway

Since Valor is already for free on amazon, Taylor offered 3 Kindle copies of Dare, the second book in the series. Trust me you won't regret getting them both.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Valor (Greystone Novels #1) by Taylor Longford

MacKenzie, a 16-year-old girl, is about to discover that Gargoyles are real and are nothing like the uglie stone creatures we thought. After a shipment from her step-father arrives at her garage, MacKezie opens the big crate with no idea that this action will change her life forever. Inside the crate is the most beutiful winged stone sculpture she's ever seen and soon afterwards the sculpture comes to life only to save hers.

Valor is a gargoyle. He has spent the last 800 years of his life waiting for a ray of light to bring him back to his flesh and bone form. When he saves MacKenzie he becomes attached to the little red-headed girl all the while his brothers showing up at her garage too. All of them together will discover how the world has changed in the last 8 centuries and all the old enemies, the reason they lost so many years, that had remained unchanged.

I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this book. I mean Gargoyles? Who would want to read about them? But after reading the first couple of chapters I started falling in love with each and every gargoyle. I got sucked into the story and wished I could have been the one to find the six gargoyles at my front door.

As I said before I loved the gargoyles, Valor, Dare, Havoc, Reason, Victor, Defiance. Great names! Each of them has one main characteristic and his whole attitude will resolve around it. That made them very unique in my mind and whenever they were together it felt like the were one perfect complete person. The one character that I didn't loved that much was MacKenzie. Yes we get to see the story from her POV but it felt like we got to know more about the gargoyles seeing them through her eyes than we learned about her. She felt a little simple to me. That is the only word that can describe her in my mind. She was good-natured and caring but still she missed something.

The story was mostly about Valor and MacKenzie, since this is the story of Valor, and even though I really enjoyed their alone time, I loved all the moments when other gargoyles were around. It was really fun to see how they acted with each other. I especially enjoyed reading about Havoc, who is my fav gargoyle so far, you can see by the name that his scenes were pretty fun. There was a little bit of action at the end which was good placed in my mind. Meaning that, since this is the first book in a series I prefer to learn a few things about the main cahracters, get the settings all in my mind and then have all the action. I believe that there will be more fights in the next few books.

<

★★★★☆

book 27             book 24              book 15

Summer Reading List

I decided it was time for me to make a Summer Reading List, cause I need to stick with some books and actually read them.

Physical Books

• The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
• My Loves Lies Bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey
• Out of Sight, Out of Time by Marilyn Kaye (my review)
• The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares
• Storm by Brigid Kemmerer (my review)
• Possessions Nancy Holder (my review)
• City of Ships by Mary Hoffman (my review)
• Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (my review)
• Sisters Res by Jackson Pearce  (my review)

E-books

• Gifted by Liz Long (my review)
• The Shapeshifter's Secret by Heather Ostler (my review)

• In a Wolf's Eyes by A. Katie Rose (my review)
• Ethereal by Addison Moore (my review)

• Manifest by Artist Arthur (my review)
• Blackwood by Gwenda Bond (my review)

• Exiled by M.R. Merrick
• Silver by Talie Vance

What are your reading plans for this summer? Have you read any of these books yet?

Charade Tour Stop: Shopping in Italy + Giveaway

Hello guys! Today is my stop of the Charade Tour, the second book in the Heven and Hell Series. So without any further ado Cambria and Kimber are here to walk us through the streets and shops of Rome.

 ***

Happy Tour of Italy week! I hope you all are having a blast touring around Italy with me and the characters in the Heven and Hell series. In the second book of the series, Charade, the main characters travel to Italy for a school trip… but they have ulterior motives as well… a secret mission to complete while they are there. And NO they are not McGyver. Ha ha ha. They are just some teens trying to make it through a paranormal explosion.

Anyway, let’s move on to Italy. 

Today’s post is brought to you by Kimber. Kimber is Heven’s BFF… or is she? Read Charade to find out. 

Kimber travels to Italy with the crew and we all know that our girl Kimber loves to shop and loves fashion. So she is going to tell us all about the places she went while in Italy. 

Take it away Kimber!!

If you haven’t shopped in Italy then you haven’t shopped. Okay, you have but not like this. Sure, sightseeing was fabulous and Italy is gorgeous but what better way to remember a trip than by buying stuff to bring home? 

I think the most known shopping in Italy is probably the tourist shops. Now you know that a girl like me usually bypasses the tourist shops and heads for the more pricey items but there was something really fun about these little shops. Here are a few snapshots I took while I was shopping: 

I just loved digging through baskets like these looking for trinkets and memorabilia. 

Below is another shot of a rack of post cards. I sent several while I was there. Notice all the ones with the Pope? He’s like a celebrity around here! He’s on t-shirts, hats, mugs, magnets. I think Brad and Angelina better move over… but I did think Heven’s mom would appreciate the Pope as art so I sent her postcard.

This cute little shop was filled with keychains and little items: 

I grabbed up two of these because they reminded me of Heven. Have you ever noticed how she wears a key all the time? And that whistle she keeps tucked beneath her T-shirt sometimes? 

Then there were the street shops. I loved wandering down the street and looking at all the books and items that all these little places had to offer. There aren’t many places that you can do this in the U.S. (except a flea market and that is nasty). They were in a long row one after the other, I could have spent all day here. But we only had so long. 

That’s a ton of books! Most of them were written in Italian, but if you looked hard enough you could find a few in English. 

I really liked this shop. (the photo above) My favorite was the knight statue. I actually thought about buying him but I didn’t think I could jam him in my suitcase. What girl doesn’t want a knight in shining armor? 

This was a fun little shop. I liked the prints of Italy and the post cards most here. 

Now that I told you about the cute little street shops and the tourist shops let me move onto to something more up my alley… via del Corso is a very famous street in Rome and it is very expensive. Think shopping on Rodeo Drive in Hollywood. But it was so fabulous. The collection of stores is amazing. 

Check it out: 

This is a view of Corso Street. Isn’t it charming? 

And when you get tired of all that shopping you can stop in for a bite to eat here: 

Can you believe that Rome has a Hard Rock Café?? Here is the inside (I peaked in but didn’t eat. I was bummed): 

I also stumbled past this little pasta shop. They had pasta in all shapes it was cool. 

And then I saw this one – a shop that reminded me of being a little girl: 

So those are all the places I went and shopped at. It was totally fun and totally distracted me from everything that is going on in my life and with the people around me… sorry, I can’t talk about that now. But if you want to know about the drama read Charade. You can buy that online which is sooo simple. 

As they say in Rome: Ciao! 

A huge thanks to Veronica because she is the one who took all of these amazing photos in Rome which made this post totally authentic. I feel like I know a little piece of Italy now and I haven’t even left home. Thanks Veronica! 

So that’s it for today’s Tour Of Italy!

Be sure to enter the huge tour of Italy wrap up giveaway on June 8th (tomorrow) at Supernatural Snark!

Have a great day!

***

Charade
by Cambria Hebert
Buy it: amazon | smashwords | bookdepository

Dying at the hands of a psycho was a shock. Having my life returned to me by an angel was incredible. Being named a Supernatural Treasure and being given Sam as my guard was pretty darn awesome. Acquiring a debt for it all—well, I should have seen it coming.

Now here we are, fighting demons from Hell, caring for a boy that I just don’t trust, and traveling to faraway places to return a treasure to its rightful place. Nothing is as it seems. Everyone wears a mask; everyone puts on a charade. It’s up to us to separate the truth from the lies and reality from fiction. A hard task when my new reality involves fallen angels, witches and dragons… and did I mention Hell?

Anchoring me down through it all is Sam. Sam, who must face tragedies of his own and is put to the test again and again.

If we fail in our task, life as we know it—life as you know it—will end. Forever.

Giveaway Time

What one of you will win:

• A paperback of Charade
• A signed bookmark set (2 bookmarks)
• A magnet featuring Sam
• One of the keychains pictured above that I bought from Rome (the one that looks like a key)

International

a Rafflecopter giveaway