Monthly Archives: July 2012

Kalayna Price Grave Memory Giveaway

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Kalayna Price Grave Memory Giveaway

With our wonderful interview with Kalayna Price complete, we still have another surprise Giveaway. Thanks to Kalayna and her publisher, one winner will receive a copy of her new release….Grave Memory.  

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

2.  If you are using a social log-in e.g. Twitter, please leave your email address along with your comment.

3.  Please post a comment on this thread.

4.  Giveaway open to US or Canada only

5. Contest ends on July 19, 2012

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Angel Betrayed (The Fallen 2) by Cynthia Eden- a review

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Angel Betrayed (The Fallen #2) by Cynthia Eden-a review

ANGEL BETRAYED by Cynthia Eden

ANGEL BETRAYED is the June 2012 new release by Cynthia Eden. The second storyline in The Fallen series, Angel Betrayed follows Fallen angel Sammael as he helps a beautiful hybrid escape the demands of the Angel of Punishment, fight the hounds from hell, as well as a host of other demons and the Fallen.

Seline knew she was different. As a hybrid cross between a succubus demon and an angel, Seline believed her demon father had killed her mother and the Angel of Punishment- Rogziel had always fueled the flames of Seline’s sorrow and guilt. Raised from a small child by Rogziel, Seline only knew that she had to follow orders whenever he ordered her to hunt. But her latest assignment involved a Fallen angel with his own agenda. And drawing power from her lovers was an added bonus when her relationship with the Fallen pushed beyond her assignment.

Sammael (Sam) was a Fallen Angel. Punished for disobeying and taking the souls of those who were not meant to die, Sammael had a dark side. Sam had stood by his reasons for the many deaths at his hands, but Rogziel had promised that one day he would pay. Always ready for an attack, Sammael was taken by surprise when the beautiful Seline ‘conspired’ to set him up. But finding himself on the run, chased by the hounds of hell while trying to determine if Seline’s actions were a betrayal, kept Sam ever vigilant. And the death of two of the other Fallen was warning that something bigger than just Seline was heading his way.

Azrael was a powerful angel, but as a newly Fallen he still considered Sammael his primary target. But finding himself targeted by the Angel of Punishment for something he could not remember forced Azrael to consider his options. To find Sammael, he would have to hunt the hybrid. But allegiances and promises can be broken, when it is discovered that perhaps there is more to the story than just what appears on the surface.

The relationship between Sam and Seline is very sexual and tense. Seline knows that she is falling for the Angel, but trust is difficult when neither has been truthful about their intentions. Each with their own agenda, betrayal is a constant worry, but their feelings are hard to deny, especially when they discover they are more compatible then they would have thought.

Cynthia introduces Tomas. As one of the Fallen Guardian angels, Tomas was stripped of his wings when he fell in love with Sierra whom he had sworn to protect. But Tomas was soon a pawn in Rogziel’s hunt for Sammael and Seline, and Sierra would be the one to suffer the most. And it is Tomas who will eventually bring the Fallen together at the ‘crossroads’ between heaven, hell and earth. But the Angel of Death will once again make an appearance, and someone will lose their life in the battle between Heaven and Hell.

Angel Betrayed is another fantastic instalment in Cynthia Eden’s new Fallen series. Based on the premise of heavenly angels who have fallen to earth for disobeying their superiors, the Fallen angels find themselves serving their sentences on earth after a fiery exit from Hell. With only the shadows and the memory of their wings, the Angels must fight their way through a maze of deception and torment at the hands of those who still consider themselves above everyone else. And Uriel, once believed to be the second-in-command in heaven, will make it known that he will not tolerate any disobedience from his angels. Punishment is swift, but when an ‘new angel’ is willing to give up the wings for the love of another, there will be another Fallen who must burn in Hell before remembering the reason for the Fall.

The Fallen is a fantastic new series that is sure to please. If you love angels, demons, witches and shifters, Cynthia writes a story that includes a collection of supernatural beings that will grab your attention from the very first word.

Reviewed By Sandy

READING ORDER
1. Angel of Darkness
2. Angel Betrayed
3. Angel in Chains (Nov 2012)

Copy supplied by the author

LINKS TO ORDER:
The Book Depository
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Book
B & N Nook and Paper Book

Want to start your love of CYNTHIA EDEN? Why not start with BOUND BY BLOOD-it is FREE today from Amazon for your Kindle

*****************

****FREE from AMAZON KINDLE-Today*****

Amazon Kindle Link: BOUND BY BLOOD by Cynthia Eden

NOTE:  At the time of this posting, BOUND BY BLOOD was FREE from Amazon.

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On The Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves – a Review

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On The Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves – a Review

On the Island is the debut novel of Tracey Garvis-Graves. It is the story of two people who are stranded on an island, forced to help each other survive.  But this is not your normal survival story. It is more about the two individuals, who must overcome insurmountable odds to survive, and along the way, learn to trust and care for one another.  When I first read the premise of this story, I hesitated, as I knew at some point, the two characters would eventually progress to a relationship that might not sit well with me. But based on the wonderful feedback I went on to read this, and I am glad I did.  I loved On the Island.

We meet Anne Emerson right from start.  Anna is a 30 year old teacher, who is currently in a long relationship that is going nowhere.  She wants commitment, a family, and her boyfriend just wants status quo.  Anna decides to take a job for the summer to join a family on a vacation to a tropical island and tutor their 16 year old son, who is currently recovering from Hodgkin’s disease, and he needs tutoring to catch up.

TJ Callahan wants to spend time with his friend Ben, and gets his family to agree to let him join them on the island a few days later, allowing him to fly with Anna.  Circumstances force them to take a private seaplane that will bring them to where TJ’s family is staying.  Since this is somewhat of a survival story, the pilot of the plane has a heart attack and dies, and the plane crashes.  In their life jackets, TJ manages to help Anna, who is unconscious, to find safety in the treacherous waters to an island….an island that is deserted. 

What follows is an amazing tale of survival.  How each worked together to survive each day, in frightening and at times horrendous situations.  What I loved was watching their realistic adventure; finding food, such has coconuts or breadfruit, eventually fish; each coming up with serious injuries or fevers, and helping one another to recover; meeting and playing with the dolphins; even find the chicken who became their pet, building a small house off the beach; and all the scary storms, shark, rats. 

But what I found so wonderful was how Tracey Garvis-Graves brought these two wonderful characters to life.  At the time of the crash, Anna was the responsible one, and you loved Anna from the start.  TJ was a typical teenager, who would gawk at the beautiful Anna.  He developed a teenage crush, but kept it to himself.   Anna would take it upon herself to avoid any possible situations, making sure TJ knew not to follow her when she would bath.  They started out as teacher and student, then became great friends, and eventually as the years went passed on the island, and TJ grew into a wonderful caring young man, they did become lovers.   But it was done so well, and Anna knew if they were ever to be found, she would have to face the consequences.  But on the island after 4 years of surviving each day, they both came to depend on each other, learn everything about each other,  take care of each other, enjoy the little fun they had together, and they fell in love.  

Just when they figured they would never be found, and each worried something would happen to the other, leaving one of them alone to survive, an occurrence happens that though very scary brings them what they never thought would happen….discovery.

You would think this story ends, but the story continues as they must face the media, their own families, and their love for each other.  This was done so realistically, and I am totally impressed with Tracey Garvis-Graves writing.  She made this story so believable, so beautiful, and even when they did become lovers, Garvis-Graves handled it so well. The possible stigma when they come home, even though TJ was now 20 and not a teenager anymore, Anna’s concern that TJ needed to discover what he may have missed, the meetings of both families.  This added on to the story and it was wonderful.  I recommend this to anyone to read, as I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As an added note, Tracey Garvis-Graves had her book rejected 17 times, before she decided to self publish this book.  340,000 ecopies sold later, and entrance on the NY Times bestseller list, Tracey was offered a book deal by Plume/Penquin.  If you read one book this year, you won’t go wrong by choosing On The Island. 

Amazon: Link to purchase
Barnes & Noble : Link
Kobo Link:

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

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The Portal Series by Maggie Shayne Promotion

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THE PORTAL SERIES by Maggie Shayne Promotion

The Portal Series, from MIRA Books, is Maggie Shayne’s brand new Paranormal Romance series featuring three Warrior Witches and the men they must tame; The Priest, The Player, and The Demon.  The women have reincarnated from their lifetimes in Ancient Babylon, and while there are several segments about those lifetimes, the books are contemporary romances.  Here’s what you need to know about this series, and about this site!

▪ The Portal Series launches with a FREE ebook prequel, LEGACY OF THE WITCH on September 1st, 2012.  You’ll be able to download this free prequel for Kindle and Nook (and others, I hope) or from Harlequin.com. Legacy of the Witch is the story of young Amarrah, the slave girl to the slave girls.

▪ Book 1, MARK OF THE WITCH goes on sale on September 18th, 2012.  It is the story of Indira, who’s having visions of execution, and the priest who has come to save her–or maybe, to kill her.

▪ Book 2, DAUGHTER OF THE SPELLCASTER hits the stands on November 20th.  It’s Magdalena’s story.  She’s single and pregnant by a player she mistook for a prince, Magdalena is determined not to trust him again.  But it might be the people she does trust who pose the biggest threat to her child, and the demon who thinks he needs its body in order to live again.

▪ Book 3, BLOOD OF THE SORCERESS releases January 20th.  Lilia didn’t reincarnate lifetime after lifetime as her sisters did.  She remained in an in-between state, watching over things, waiting for the right time to save her cursed lover from his underworld prison, to restore his lost humanity and the missing pieces of his soul.  But if she fails, it’s her life on the line.

▪ THE MAGICK OF THE WITCHES: Maggie’s non-fiction book about witchcraft, magick, how and why it works, with spells and rituals to enhance anyone’s practice, will be available in E and print editions on Halloween 2012.

▪ MAGGIE’S MAGICK ONLINE: The Online Book of Shadows right here on this site includes real spells and lessons on the Craft of the Wise, along with suggested holiday rituals and more.  We’ll be adding to that page as we go forward.

▪ Collectible Trading Cards: They are in the process of creating a full set of collectible, full color trading cards featuring the characters found in The Portal Series.  Their hope is to have a set of at least 9, and possibly as many as 13 cards.  They’ll be released one at a time, in extremely limited editions, and they’ll always be free for a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

▪ They will have much more, including excerpts from each book as they become available, a big contest just prior to the launch of Book 1, video trailers for each of the books, and more.  They hope you’ll visit often, and take a walk inside…

SOURCE: Maggie Shayne-The Portal

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Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire-Excerpt and Blurb

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Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St.Claire

BLURB: When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad’s whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she’s Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father–and she’s the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire–if usually absent–father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal.

But on the insde, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she’s offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn’t as simple as you think.
To read an excerpt, go HERE

LINKS to purchase
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Books
B&N Nook and Books
The Book Depository

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Angel of Darkness (The Fallen 1) by Cynthia Eden- a review

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Angel of Darkness (The Fallen #1) by Cynthia Eden-a review

ANGEL OF DARKNESS (The Fallen #1) by Cynthia Eden

ANGEL OF DARKNESS is the first book in Cynthia Eden’s The Fallen series. The Fallen series will focus on the Angels of Death and what they have had to endure before and after they have ‘fallen’ from grace.

Keenan is an Angel of Death who has been enlisted to collect the souls of the recently departed. But his most recent assignment has him both confused and surprised, when he discovers that he has feelings for Nicole St. James. Angels do not have feelings=they suffer no pain or guilt. The Angel of Death’s only duty is to retrieve the souls from the dead.

Nicole St. James is slated to die a horrible death at the hands of a vampire, but something about the woman will shock the Angel into taking another life and sparing Nicole’s. When it is discovered that Keenan failed to collect Nicole’s soul, Azrael is forced to send Keenan into hell where he will suffer for neglecting his duties. And 6 months later, Keenan will go in search for the woman who changed his life, but Nicole is no longer the shy, young teacher who was searching for peace.

Nicole St James is a vampire. Turned during an attack in a dark alley, Nicole only knows hunger. But her maker is dead and Nicole no longer hears the insidious voices urging her to kill. Feeding from human prey is a necessary part of her life, but there are many ‘others’ known as the Nightwatch including humans, demons and shifters that have organized against the vampires and are willing to hunt and kill. But when a mysterious stranger is willing to aid Nicole as she flees from the others, she believes she has found her ‘guardian angel’.

The relationship between Nicole and Keenan will grow as they continue to run from those trying to kill the vampire. But there are some who have the knowledge and the ability to ‘see’ what Keenan was, and it is with that knowledge that Keenan will become the hunted as well. AS the descendants of the fallen, Demons have the ability to see the true faces of the fallen, and it is the demons that are enlisted to find Keenan and Nicole.

Sammael is a ‘fallen angel’ who at first appears to be aiding in the search for both Nicole and Keenan, but appearances can be deceiving. As newly fallen, the former angels no longer retain memory or their abilities, but Sammael will aid Keenan in his search for both his powers and the knowledge to know what it is he has to do. And it is with that knowledge that Keenan will strive to protect the woman with whom he has fallen in love.

ANGEL OF DARKNESS is wonderful introduction to Cynthia Eden’s The Fallen series. There is plenty of background information as well as the introduction of an assortment of demons, shifters and other angels that will allow for the series to continue. There is plenty of action, the storyline never stalls, but I found myself having to go back a few times wondering what I had missed because the storyline goes back and forth between events and characters without a break. I am looking forward to reading Angel Betrayed-release date June 2012.

READING ORDER
1. Angel of Darkness
2. Angel Betrayed
3. Angel in Chains (Nov 2012)

LINKS TO ORDER:
The Book Depository
Amazon Kindle
Amazon Paper Book
KOBO
B & N Nook and Paper Book

Reviewed by Sandy

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Thea Harrison announces-RISING DARKNESS

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Thea Harrison announces new series RISING DARKNESS-A Game of Shadows novel

From Thea’s Blog: Rising Darkness

Jul 12, 2012 |
The following is the cover copy for RISING DARKNESS, the first of two paranormal stories with Berkley.  The release date for RISING DARKNESS is April 2, 2013.  We’re working on cover art ideas now, so we will probably have a cover design sometime next month that I’ll be able to share with you.
~~~
USA Today bestselling author Thea Harrison begins an all-new, darkly romantic paranormal saga, in which the fate of existence itself lay in the balance—and the key to victory may rest in the hands of two eternal lovers…

In the hospital ER where she works, Mary is used to chaos. But lately, every aspect of her life seems adrift. She’s feeling disconnected from herself. Voices appear in her head. And the vivid, disturbing dreams she’s had all her life are becoming more intense. Then she meets Michael. He’s handsome, enigmatic, and knows more than he can say. In his company, she slowly remembers the truth about herself…

Thousands of years ago, there were eight of them. The one called the Deceiver came to destroy the world, and the seven came to stop him. Reincarnated over and over, they carry on—and Mary finds herself drawn into the battle once again. And the more she learns, the more she realizes that Michael will go to any lengths to destroy the Deceiver.

Then she remembers who killed her during her last life, 900 years ago…Michael.

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Alice Parker’s Metamorphosis by Nicola Palmer

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Alice Parker’s Metamorphosis (Alice Parker #1) by Nicola Palmer

Continuing our series of middle-grade novels for the young and young at heart.  A little something to break up the summer boredom.

ALICE PARKER’S METAMORPHOSIS (Alice Parker Book 1) by Nicola Palmer

ALICE PARKER’S METAMORPHISIS is the first book (March 2012 release) in Nicola Palmer’s new Middle Grade fantasy series –Alice Parker. Following the life and metamorphosis of 13 year old Alice Parker as she tries to navigate and fit into a world she never knew existed.

For weeks, 13year old Alice Parker had been feeling ill. Body aches, burning sensation in her back and an increased appetite for fruits and sweets. And to add to her misery, she begins to think she is seeing things. Life in middle school is progressively getting worse –the Coven as she calls the ‘mean girl group’ is constantly teasing and bullying Alice and her friend Sarah. But wait, Alice’s test scores are sky-rocketing and she knows the answer to every question without having to read the book. Something was happening to Alice and she had no one in whom to confide.

The Christmas holidays were fast approaching and now that Alice’s brother Thomas was home from his studies at Oxford, he seemed to be overly attentive, and come to think of it, so did many people that Alice met throughout the day including her Grandpa. But the day Alice finds herself sprouting a full set of butterfly wings, will change everything and open her eyes to a new world-the world of FINWIPs-Fully Integrated Winged People.

Thomas and Grandpa are also FINWIP and Alice is a little more than perturbed that no one had told her about the change. But not everything is hopeless, when Thomas exposes her to an Underground fully operational society for FINWIPs. And like many fantasy creatures of myth and lore, their society must remain a secret. There are a few humans who are aware of the Winged People but soon Alice will come to realize that there are more people with Wings than she could ever have imagined-friends, family and enemies.

As the story progresses Alice begins to learn how to control her wings and the new found abilities that come with her metamorphosis. But there are bigger things in store for Alice when, she is suddenly singled out by the people in charge to save and rescue a missing friend. And to Alice’s surprise, she is ordered to befriend one of the Coven. The secret society has enemies as well. Each FINWIP has a special ability (that they are forbidden to use for personal gain) and it is those abilities that will be targeted by another group-with evil intentions.

ALICE PARKER’S METAMORPHOSIS is the first book in a series directed at middle grade readers. The publisher’s notes suggest for girls ages 7 and up, but the writing and premise may be too difficult for anyone under age 10. There are magical creatures, underground societies, secret passageways and evil villains. If you read the Harry Potter series, you will see many similarities. If you liked Harry Potter, you will probably like the Alice Parker series.

Reviewed by Sandy

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