Monthly Archives: June 2012

RISE OF THE FALLEN by Donya Lynne-a review

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RISE OF THE FALLEN (AKM 1) by Donya Lynne-a review

RISE OF THE FALLEN (All The King’s Men #1) by Donya Lynne

RISE OF THE FALLEN is the first novel (released March 2012) in Donya Lynne’s All The King’s Men paranormal series. All The King’s Men or AKM are a group of elite vampire warriors and mutant vampires brought together to save the humans and rid the world of the Drecks (hybrid vampire shape shifters). The series contains some BDSM, M/M and bisexual relationships as well as a HEA. Adult content.

Samantha (Sam) is hiding in plain sight. On the run from an abusive husband, Sam works nights at a ‘gentlemen’s club’ but keeps her true identity a secret through the use of costumes and masks. But when Sam stumbles upon a man being savagely beaten, she puts her military background and training into practice. And taking home the badly injured stranger, will open doors to a life she never had dreamed.

Micah is a loner. Considered a loose cannon by his fellow warriors, Micah has been MIA for several days. His personal life is in shatters (due to the SUFFERING) and with no hope in sight Micah is determined to commit suicide by dreck. But the actions of a beautiful woman save Micah from his own demons, and force him to consider other options. And finding a new mate was never a consideration.

Donya’s cast of supporting players includes Micah’s fellow warriors –each with their own story of love and lost. Tristan as their leader is both sure of his role yet knows when to aid a friend in trouble. Trace, as Micah’s self-appointed guardian hides a secret that few are aware, and Severin and Arion’s relationship will need to be addressed because their awkward night together ended with neither one knowing in which direction they should go. And Micah is not without some extra special ability of his own.

RISE OF THE FALLEN is a fantastic first instalment for Donya’s ALL THE KING’S MEN paranormal series. Like most introductory storylines, there is plenty of background information, but Donya does not overwhelm the reader with an inordinate amount of data. There is romance, heartbreak and betrayal. RISE OF THE FALLEN introduces a collection of characters and potential plots as well as the possibility for the need of a few prequel storylines. I am looking forward to the second book HEART OF THE WARRIOR.

REMINDER: Donya is offering ONE ecopy of either RISE OF THE FALLEN or HEART OF THE WARRIOR to one of our eligible Reading Cafe members.

Reviewed by Sandy

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2013 New Release Updates

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2013 New Release Updates


 November 2013-Thea Harrison-Elder Races series: TBA

August 2012-Thea Harrison-Elder Races e-novella-Hunting Season

September 2013-Nalini Singh-Guild Hunters series: TBA

June 2013-Jennifer Ashley-Shifters Unbound series: TBA

May 2013-Lora Leigh, Alyssa Day and Meljean Brook Anthology

May 2013-Laura Wright-Mark of the Vampire: Eternal Demon 

May 2013-Alyssa Day new series- The League of the Black Swan: TBA

May 2013-Jill Archer-Noon Onyx series: TBA

May 2013-Charlaine Harris-The Sookie Stackhouse series #13: TBA

April 2013-Shannon K. Butcher- Sentinel Wars series: Falling Blind

April 2013-Sherrilyn Kenyon-League series: Born of Fury

April 2013-Thea Harrison- Elder Races series: Shadow Game

March 2013-Alexis Morgan-Warriors of the Mist series: Her Knight’s Quest

March 2013-Lynsay Sands-Argeneau series:  Immortal Ever After

March 2013-Katie Reus:  Moon Shifters series:  Mating Instinct

February 2013-Nina Berry-Otherkin series: Othermoon

February 2013-Jeaniene Frost-Night Huntress series:  TBA

February 2013-Sylvia Day-Renegade Angels series:  A Taste of Seduction

October 2012-Sylvia Day-Crossfire series: Deeper In You

January 2013-C L Wilson-The Winter King

January 2013-Yasmine Galenorn-The Otherworld series:  Haunted Moon

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ICED by Karen M Moning-cover blurb

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ICED by Karen M Moning-cover blurb

The copy for ICED is up at Amazon, B&N etc….

RELEASE DATE:  October 30, 2012

“From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning comes the first book in her hotly anticipated new urban paranormal trilogy, set in the world of her blockbuster Fever series.

The year is 1 AWC—After the Wall Crash. The Fae are free and hunting us. It’s a war zone out there, and no two days are alike. I’m Dani O’Malley, the chaos-filled streets of Dublin are my home, and there’s no place I’d rather be.

Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities.

Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux.

When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s freezing Fae and humans dead in their tracks—and Ryodan will do anything to ensure her compliance.

Dodging bullets, fangs, and fists, Dani must strike treacherous bargains and make desperate alliances to save her beloved Dublin—before everything and everyone in it gets iced.”

Reported by Marcie

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A DARK KISS OF RAPTURE (Renegade Angels) by Sylvia Day-a review

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A Dark Kiss of Rapture (Renegade Angels) by Sylvia Day

A DARK KISS OF RAPTURE (Renegade Angels Series) by Sylvia Day

A DARK KISS OF RAPTURE is a free e-novella (October 2011) in Sylvia Day’s Renegade Angel’s Series. There is plenty of background and pertinent information that Sylvia includes at the beginning of the storyline-descriptions of Angels, Fallen, Lycan, Minions, Vampires etc and how each was created, made and or inspired. To be honest, without the information I would have been lost.

Kim is a young woman who hides the pain of the murder of her best friend. Hoping to forget for a little while, Kim approaches the brooding stranger, sitting at the bar, staring into his drink. Like herself, Kim senses he needs a few hours to forget about life. And if she were lucky, he would forget with her.

Raze is a Fallen (a former Watcher now forced into vampirism). Stripped of his wings, he is one of 200 Fallen on earth, but unlike so many others, Raze has never known what it is to find love or be loved. And tonight was no different. Finding an eviscerated human on his doorstep was a warning and Syre and Vash knew Raze would take responsibility and hunt for the person(s) responsible. Heading to Chicago, Raze’s first inclination was to head to the bar and pick up someone for the night. What he didn’t expect was to find a woman who would need him as much as he needed her.

Raze knew that his time with Kim was temporary, but there was something about Kim that drew on his emotions and he did not want to look at too closely. And Kim felt it as well. Unable to share his true identity with Kim, Raze was hoping that one day Adrian would grant Raze permission. But his time with Kim had placed her life at risk. Hunting the vampires and their minions had exposed Kim to the very beings he was hoping to find. The threat to her life was something that Raze vowed he would stop. Now that he has found her, he will stop at nothing to ensure she is safe.

A DARK KISS OF RAPTURE is a short story, a quick read. I will not say it is an easy read, because I would go back and forth trying to keep track of the different categories and labels for the varying characters and their identities. But it was FREE and I did enjoy the storyline. A DARK KISS OF RAPTURE caught my eye because of the author. I was first exposed to Sylvia Day through my read of BARED TO YOU-her new Crossfire series. I am looking forward to reading future storylines in the Renegade Angels series.

Reviewed by Sandy

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An Interview and Giveaway with Magan Vernon

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An Interview with Magan Vernon

 

The Reading Cafe would like to introduce YA author Magan Vernon. Magan has joined us today having recently published her first novel. Let us welcome Magan.

 

 

 

Hi Magan and welcome to The Reading Café.

TRC: Please tell us something about yourself?

Magan: My name is Magan and I’m a writing addict, ha. But really, I like to call myself the geek-to-glam poster child and I now channel my geek by writing science fiction for teens. I actually did sleep with a  night light until middle school for fear of alien attacks (the first thing my dad brought up when I told him I was getting a novel published about aliens). I now live with my husband, daughter, and dog in central Illinois and sometimes I still do sleep with a night light…just in case.

TRC: Would you please tell us about the INDELIBLES and how you became involved with the group of authors?

Magan: The Indelibles is a group of Indie authors who work to support and promote each other. After joining DarkSide one of the founders, Megg Jensen, sent the rest of us a message about a group being formed by marketing guru SR Johannes. It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up and it is awesome to have such a huge support and marketing system. It is seriously the best thing I’ve ever done for my writing career.

TRC: What has been the most difficult aspect about indie publishing?

Magan: The most difficult aspect is not getting the same respect from people. I’ve consistently ranked very well in children’s books on Amazon, have a really great following of fans, and a well-written book, but that doesn’t stop people from refusing to read my book or think of me as less of a writer. I may not have a big six publisher behind my books, but I do have a professional editor, cover artist, and a book on the shelves. There really isn’t that big of a difference when you get down to it, but some people still refuse to think of me as a “real” author.

TRC: How to Date an Alien is your first book in My Alien Romance series.  Will You please tell us about the premise of this story?

Magan: Here is the official blurb-
High school senior Alex Bianchi’s estranged father gets her an internship at Circe Operations Center to pad her college applications. But Circe isn’t your typical military base. It’s an alien-run operation center and not all of the aliens are friendly, especially the one that tries to kill Alex on her first day. When Ace, a dark-eyed Caltian, enters and saves the day, she can’t help but be drawn to him. Can these star-crossed lovers survive when they’re on the brink of intergalactic war?

TRC: How did you come up with the idea of a human & alien romance? How many books do you plan for the series:

Magan: Funny story, kind of, actually not that funny… I was walking around Borders with my cousin and checking out the YA books. I noticed there were tons of books about vampires, angels, and werewolves and thought, “what’s next?” I looked at my cousin and said, “You know there hasn’t been a good alien book out for a while, I’m going to write one.” So I did and haven’t looked back. There are going to be three books, one short story (so far), possibly a novella. The series could possibly go on, but I think that the third book ends it well.

TRC: How to Date an Alien has a lot of humor in the book. What led you to make this more of a light romance, then possibly a darker book, using the same theme? Click HERE for our review

Magan: This did actually start out with a darker premise, in my head, involving alien prophecies and big alien battles, but when I put myself in Alex’s head her sarcastic wit took over and the book became humorous. BUT there are still some elements that are dark (the Caltians still give me nightmares) and there are a lot of references to things like racism and social class. It’s like an episode of Saved by the Bell, except Zach Morris is an alien.

TRC: Your second book..How to Break Up with an Alien came out in May.  Can you please tell us the premise of this story?

Magan: How to break up with an Alien is the continuation of Alex’s story. She is now a senior in high school and with a new job, new friends, and an old crush crushing on her, Alex has to decide if her problems with Ace are interstellar or if it’s time to break up with an alien.

TRC: Are you interested in writing other types of genres?

Magan: Oh yes! I actually started out writing contemporary. I was supposed to have another contemporary YA out this Spring, but there certain unforeseen circumstances that have delayed that indefinitely. There will be a New Adult book out this summer by me under a different name and I have been published in Non-fiction as well.

TRC: What are you currently working (on)?

Magan: Alien book 3. I can’t give a title away yet, but it may be my favorite in the series!

TRC: Many authors bounce ideas between other authors or friends and family. With whom do you share ideas and troubles???

Magan: Oh goodness, there is of course my numero critique partner: Kelsey Ketch,and then my local RWA group- Heart and Scroll, and of course the girls of DarkSide publishing, and The Indelibles especially Karen Hooper, Susan Kaye Quinn, Rashelle Workman, and GP Ching. They have been very instrumental in bringing out the best in my books.

TRC: Do you have a favorite author or book?

Magan: That is like telling me to choose a child that I love more! Okay, well I guess I can pick, my two favorite books of all time have to be Shine by Lauren Myracle and Perks of  Being a Wallflower. They are both different than anything I write, but honestly they are two books that I don’t see a single flaw in and could read them over and over. I love the stories so much!

TRC: Would you like to add anything else?

Magan: I guess my words to live by are: The best things in life are always worth fighting for!

LIGHTNING ROUND

Favorite Food: Tiramisu gelato (no judging, good Sicilian girls love their gelato)

Favorite Dessert: See favorite food, well that and gooey butter cookies.

Favorite TV Show: Roswell, Glee, New Girl, Fact or Faked paranormal files

Favorite Movie: Dogma (I memorized it one summer, watching it every single day)

Last Movie you Saw:  In theatres- Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and at home I watched Knocked Up the other night because it was on E. 

Dark or Milk Chocolate: Milk chocolate

What book are your currently reading? I am currently reading The Veil by Corey Puntnam Oakes, it’s a fabulous read!

Thank you Magan very much for taking the time to answer our questions.  All the best with your writing career.

If you would like to learn more about Magan, you can visit her at these sites.

Website: http://www.maganvernon.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/maganvernon
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/magan.vernon
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5237606.Magan_Vernon
Blog: http://thepunchingbagfightsback.blogspot.com/

****GIVEAWAY****

Magan has graciously offered to give one lucky member of The Reading Cafe an e-copy of her first two books in her the My Alien Romance series…… How to Date an Alien and How to Break Up with an Alien. 

1. You must be a registered member at The Reading Cafe.  If you are not a member, please register using the log-in tab at the top or one of our social log-ins.

2.  The giveaway is open internationally.

3.  You must comment on either the Interview or the How to Date an Alien review.

4. Please drop by and say hello to Magan.

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How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon – a Review

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How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon – a Review

How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon is the first book in her My Alien Romance series, which is considered Sci Fi Young Adult.  When you read this book, you know right from the start that this is indeed a more youthful book, not to mention just by the title.

Surprisingly this turned out to be a cute story.  I liked the heroine in the book, Alex.  She was not your normal teenage heroine.  Alex was pretty, but she wore glasses, and she was a bit more on the plump side.  But that did not matter to the hero, Ace.   

This is a story of a human teenager, who gets her father to arrange for an internship at Circe, what she thinks is an army base. Alex plans to go to Columbia University, and this internship was her ticket there. She meets Ace almost as soon as she arrives, and from that moment on, Alex begins to realize that Circ is not what she thought it was.  The Circe center is filled with aliens, who work among humans, as they learn to share on various technologies.  Ace, of course, is an Alien.

This is a sweet romance, with two very likable characters in Alex and Ace.  In fact, Vernon does a good job creating many of these characters, some you like and some you don’t.  I liked Alex’s friendship with Jen, and not so much with Riley and Gavin.  Alex and Ace begin to work together on computer security, and despite the taboo on human/alien romances, they cannot ignore their attraction for each other.  This was the crux of the story, trying to keep their feelings a secret, and this is what leads to the more exciting last 1/3 of the book, when everyone finds out about them, and it almost leads to an alien/human war.

The story was a fast read, cute, as well a having a lot of humor in it.  Though this is not my typical read, I was impressed with Vernon ability to create excellent likeable characters, her humor, and being able to use her trademark humorous comments even with the tense and exciting parts. For those of you who want a light romantic read, not a lot of action, though there is some, and don’t mind an alien storyline; then this book is for you. I feel Magan Vernon has a wonderful future ahead of her.

Reviewed by Barb

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A VERY ALIEN VALENTINE’S DAY by Magan Vernon-a review

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A VERY ALIEN VALENTINE’S DAY by Magan Vernon-a review

A VERY ALIEN VALENTINE’S DAY by Magan Vernon

A VERY ALIEN VALENTINE’S DAY by Magan Vernon is a short story found in the anthology In His Eyes. As part of Magan’s Alien Romance series, A Very Alien Valentine’s Day is a sweet look at the confusion surrounding Ace’s first Valentine’s Day.

As a Caltian, Ace found the practice of Valentine’s Day unnecessary and a bit overwhelming. To add to his dilemma, his best friend Monte claims that human girls expect a little something from their boyfriends on V-day, even if the boyfriend was from another planet. But Ace had no idea what was expected and his girlfriend Alex seemed resistant to the idea of celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Like most females, Alex was hoping that Ace would remember the day for lovers, but she too, was not going to raise her expectations in case Ace wasn’t willing to partake in the very human tradition of celebrating another useless holiday. But a cold February evening would prove that Alex’s fears were fodder for the wind. To be loved as deeply and completely is the dream of every woman on this planet or the next.

A Very Alien Valentine’s Day is a quick read, basically a chapter in length and a welcome addition to Magan’s Alien Romance series. Change the alien scenario, and you will find yourself smiling at the very real dilemma of celebrating your first Valentine’s Day with a lover or friend.

IN HIS EYES anthology by The INDELIBLES is FREE:
Amazon Kindle
KOBO
B&N Nook

Reviewed by Sandy

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