The Forgiven Duke Blog Tour

The first time I read Jamie Carie's The Guardian Duke the first book in the Forgotten Castles series, I fell in love with the characters as well as the world she'd created. So when I heard there was a tour for the second book, I scrambled to get included in this tour. I'm a big fan.

Ms Carie is having a giveaway for this book. The details are at the end of this post.

Without further ado, I'd like to present:

The Forgiven Duke by Jamie Carie is now available on bookstores and online stores nationwide. The Forgiven Duke is the 2nd installment on The Forgotten Castles Series.


Title:The Forgiven Duke

Author: Jamie Carie

Series: The Forgotten Castles Series

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Release Date: July 1, 2012



 Book Blurb:


Tethered by her impulsive promise to marry Lord John Lemon - the path of least resistance - Alexandria Featherstone sets off toward Iceland in search of her parents with a leaden heart. A glimpse of her guardian, the Duke of St. Easton - the path less traveled by - on Dublin’s shore still haunts her.

Will he come after her? Will he drag her back to London, quelling her mission to rescue her treasure-seeking parents, or might he decide to throw caution to the wind and choose Foy Pour Devoir: “Faith for Duty,” the St. Easton motto. The Featherstone motto Valens et Volens: “Willing and Able,” beats in her heart and thrums through her veins. She will find her parents and find their love, no matter the cost.

The powerful yet wing-clipped Duke of St. Easton has never known the challenge that has become his life since hearing his ward’s name. Alexandria Featherstone will be the life or the death of him. Only time and God’s plan will reveal just how much this man can endure for the prize of love.

 About the Author:

Jamie Carie writes novels about fierce, passionate women; their dreams; their fears; their triumphs. Her deepest desire is to see her readers find that same passion as they follow their destiny and discover deeper intimacy with Jesus.



She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and three sons.




My Review

The Forgiven Duke continues where The Guardian Duke left off. Alex is on the ship on the way to Iceland with her now fiancee, John. Thing is, she isn't sure if she did the right thing getting engaged to John, because her mind is still centered on the Duke of Easton, Gabriel. At the end of The Guardian Duke, Gabriel watches as the ship sails away with the woman he has grown to care for. Yeah, that cliffhanger made me want to tear at my hair. But it was a good cliffhanger that made me look forward to this book even more.

Now Alex has arrived in Iceland with her Fiancee, and is off again in search of her parents. As she continues with her search the danger seems to swim around her. On the other side Gabriel who was arrested for disobeying the King's orders in the beginning of this book, is now free and doing investigation of his own, fighting the fact that he is deaf, and worried about Alex, in between he receives letter from her which gives them hope.

Oh my gosh -  I can't say how addictive this series is becoming. I love Alex: she is impulsive,  but I guess that comes from her thinking with her heart more than her mind. She's brave and hasa sense of humour. She'd do anything to find her parents.

Great characters, fantastic story.

This is a 5 star for me, and I'm holding the third book series in my hands - or kindle. And I promise you it's still as fantastic as the first two.

Book Links:

Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/The-Forgiven-Duke-Forgotten-Castles/dp/1433673231/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339645357&sr=1-1&keywords=the+forgiven+duke

Barnes and Nobles:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-forgiven-duke-jamie-carie/1111346261?ean=9781433673238

Book Depository:http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Forgiven-Duke-Jamie-Carie/9781433673238

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12934289-the-forgiven-duke

Jamie Carie



Website: www.jamiecarie.com

Blog: http://jamiecarie.com/blog

Facebook: http:www.facebook.com/jamie.carie?ref=profile

It's here! The official Facebook page for The Forgotten Castles series: facebook.com/ForgottenCastles


Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/jamiecarie

The Guardian Duke – February 2012 See the making of the cover and trailer  here!

The Forgiven Duke – Book 2 in The Forgotten Castles series - July 2012

The Paperback giveaway is US/Canada, and will be awarded to one winner.
To check out other blogs participating in this tour, please hop over to Abby Flore's blog who was kind enough to include me in this tour:


http://bookshelfconfessions.blogspot.com/2012/07/forgiven-duke-now-on-tour.html

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pushing The Limits Book Review

Title:		Pushing the Limits
Publisher:		Harlequin
Imprint:		HarlequinTEEN
Pub Date:		July 24, 2012
ISBN:		9780373210497

Book Description

"I won't tell anyone, Echo. I promise." Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. "You didn't do that-did you? It was done to you?" No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other...and yet so right.

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

"An edgy romance that pulls you in and never lets go. I was hooked!"-Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author of the Intertwined series.
from Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Pushing The Limits is written in two POVs. giving the reader firsthand experience in the main characters inner thoughts and turmoil.

Noah, is a bad boy, but deep inside his is something else entirely. He's got a past so sad it makes you as a reader want to cry for him, and he's been enough foster homes to last a lifetime. One thing keeps him streamlined: His siblings leaving in another foster home. he has dreams, and among them is uniting himself with his family.

Echo is a girl, haunted by her past, one particular event she can barely remember. She doesn't get along with her step mother and blames the things that happened to her family on her. She's also morning the death of his brother.

As the story unfolds, Noah and Echo, who are complete opposites find they have a lot in common. There lives have been touched by death in the family.  In each other they find the love and support they both crave, and in a way heal each other.

Pushing The Limits is an emotional story that cleverly weaves in themes like forgiveness, letting go and moving on, love. Ms McGarry did a wonderful job with the characters, as well as the side characters, giving them depth, giving us a reason to care about the characters.  Each added a different quality in the story. Can't wait to read her next book, hopefully soon.

The Siren Book Review

***This is an adult book, therefore an adult review. ***

Title:		The Siren
SubTitle:		The Original Sinners
Publisher:		Harlequin
Imprint:		HarlequinMIRA
Pub Date:		July 24, 2012

Author Website: http://tiffanyreisz.com/






Book summary

 Notorious Nora Sutherlin is famous for her delicious works of erotica, each one more popular with readers than the last. But her latest manuscript is different—more serious, more personal—and she's sure it'll be her breakout book...if it ever sees the light of day.

Zachary Easton holds Nora's fate in his well-manicured hands. The demanding British editor agrees to handle the book on one condition: he wants complete control. Nora must rewrite the entire novel to his exacting standards—in six weeks—or it's no deal.

Nora's grueling writing sessions with Zach are draining…and shockingly arousing. And a dangerous former lover has her wondering which is more torturous—staying away from him...or returning to his bed?

Nora thought she knew everything about being pushed to your limits. But in a world where passion is pain, nothing is ever that simple.

My Thoughts:

The Siren is not your typical romance story. When I started reading this book, I thought it would be like every other story, boy meets girl, boy and girl tortured by their past, they overcome and live happy ever after.

It wasn't. It was a story so entirely different from anything I have ever read. And I loved it.

The characters weren't perfect. Infact, I loved just how imperfect they were, full of flaws. Couldn't help but fall in love - even those that scared me to pieces. Believe me there were. One especially.

The story: Ah, the story. 

Ms Reisz wrote a story so emotional. It breaks your heart at the same time mends it, fulfilling it at the same time feeling as if something is missing. It's been a while since I read writing so beautiful, some of her sentences, her words, I read them twice, thrice. If it was possible, I would glue them in my brain and staple or sew them shut just so they could stay locked in there.

I look forward to reading the second book in this series.

On Spotlight: Meradeth Houston

Today I'm handing the reins over to Meradeth Houston, the author of Colors Like Memories. I'm currently reading her book, and really enjoying it. I will post the review as soon as I finish. All I can say is this story is fantastic and addictive. 

Before I leave, I'd like to introduce this lovely lady and wonderful writer to you.

 A bit about Meradeth Houston:

Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:

>She’s a Northern California girl. This generally means she talks too fast and use "like" a lot.

>When she’s not writing, she’s sequencing dead people’s DNA. For fun!

>She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It's her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!

>If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights.

And now a guest post from Meradeth.

Writing as Catharsis

First off, thanks a million for hosting me, Cecilia! I’m so happy I stumbled across your awesome blog J. I was sitting at my computer attempting to find something fun to write about and I started thinking of why I started writing in the first place. There are two main things that got me putting pen to paper: it was fun, and it let me escape from the real world for a while. The same things keep me going now, and I’ve kind of become addicted to the release that writing gives me—that escape is a really wonderful thing!

Most readers know that feeling of being sucked into a book where the whole world just disappears and the written world becomes so real you can taste and touch it. It’s my absolute favorite thing about a good book: getting to live it with the characters. For writing, especially a first draft when the words are really flowing, it ten times better. Everything goes away and I’m there, watching my characters act, do what they need to, and sometimes completely surprise me. It’s incredible.

I kind of feel like I’m some kind of junky, describing my drug of choice J. I promise, it’s all harmless fun!

I’m certainly no expert in the subject, but this escape, and the ability to lose yourself in something fun, engaging, and totally new, is healthy. It’s so hard to find the time to do something like that as an adult (I mean, honestly, who has the time?), and even more difficult to find something that gives you that kind of release. It’s different for everyone (something I’m regularly reminded of by my family, who can’t understand why I like sitting in front of my computer even on my day’s off). Once you have something that makes you happy (when it’s not, well, drugs) it makes everything a little better. And it makes the time you devote to it completely worth it—we all need our mental health, right?

At the very least, that’s my thoughts on the subject! What do you do that makes you happy? That makes the world just a little brighter for you?

A bit about the Colors Like Memories:

Julia has a secret: she killed the guy she loved. It was an accident—sort of.

Julia is a Sary, the soul of a child who died before taking her first breath. Without this 'breath of life' she and others like her must help those on the verge of suicide. It's a job Julia used to enjoy, until the accident that claimed her boyfriend’s life—an accident she knows was her fault. If living with the guilt weren't enough, she's now assigned to help a girl dealing with the loss of her mother, something Julia's not exactly the best role model for. If she can't figure out a way to help her, Julia's going to lose her position in the Sary, something she swore to her boyfriend would never happen.

Available from MuseItUp Publishing. 

www.MeradethHouston.com

meradethhouston.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/#!/MeradethHouston

www.goodreads.com/book/show/13030422-colors-like-memories

http://www.shelfari.com/books/28925571/Colors-Like-Memories

http://www.facebook.com/ColorsLikeMemories

http://pinterest.com/merbear95695/

http://youtu.be/HFRNJ-Yn7So (teaser trailer)

http://youtu.be/7lUpK68bYFI (book trailer)

http://www.amazon.com/Colors-Like-Memories-ebook/dp/B0083ODXSG

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/176295

http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=492&category_id=60&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

Friday Fantastic Feature: Ella Medler

Happy Friday! I'm pretty excited to have Ella Medler, the author of Blood is Heavier and her recent release, Martin Little, Resurrected.
 

About Ella Medler

 I live in Cornwall with my husband and our two teenage daughters who regularly threaten to never leave home (must be my cooking).

Together, we care for a large assortment of pets, some small enough to fit in a fish tank, and some capable of causing you significant injury on impact.

I was born in Transylvania but got chucked out due to my inability to grow fangs and reluctance to sleep in coffins. I studied economics to masters level, and qualified with 93.5% (damn good, considering I really wasn't interested). I wanted to be an archaeologist, travel the world, scrape around in mud and live in squalor. Unfortunately, my mother won that argument, and so, after refusing a teaching post (I never did like school), I started work in business development consultancy roles, where I met my husband, the lucky so and so. The rest is history. If you’re reading this, you’ already know the end of the story.

 Martin Little, Resurrected is a quirky and original novel which seamlessly blends the daily irritations of contemporary life in Britain with an unusual and unexpected setting. The storyline is action-packed, moderately thought-provoking and relentlessly funny. In order to rescue the girl with whom he has fallen in love despite his better judgement, Martin has to set aside his snobbish hang-ups and inhibitions and work together with his newly acquired friends, a gang of lawless misfits whom he despises. The plot thickens and picks up pace as the loop of officialdom trips them up and the law threatens to catch up with them. Through all this, Martin has to stay one step ahead and find help where it doesn’t seem possible in order to earn his friends’ and his own freedom. Essentially a light-hearted journey of discovery and self-improvement, the many dizzying twists and heady surprises make this story an engaging read and a real crowd pleaser with universal appeal.

Hi Ella, It's great to have you here with us. Please tell us a little about yourself.

I live in Cornwall with my husband and daughters. I like to smile, laugh and talk a lot, and that is reflected in my writing style: I prefer to put fun into my stories, and all of them tend to turn into full-length novels.

Martin Little, Resurrected. Which genre does it belong to? 

It’s a contemporary fantasy, a lighthearted social satire. I have purposefully kept away from the all-too-common wizards, vampires and werewolves and chose to make fun instead of our current lifestyle, customs, behavior and silly society habits such as excessive bureaucracy and extremes in general.

Do you plot a story or just write as the story comes to you?

It depends on the genre. When I write fantasy, I prefer to trust my characters to carry the story forward. They do a brilliant job, and I am only too happy to provide the necessary twists – my brain is never idle. When I write suspense/thrillers I have a well-determined plot. I think the genre requires it. The new genre I’m trying out this year is paranormal romance – yes, it does have vampires in it – and I’m finding this one completely different; I’m still adjusting to it, though my co-author, Kristie Drennin Haigwood is doing a fine job of showing me the way.

What book title are you currently promoting? Blood is Heavier – a thriller about a man who is trying to protect his family. This is part one of a trilogy. The second one in the series is due out in December and the last one in 2013. I am making it free to download until the next book is out, so if I were you, I’d get it now.

Martin Little sounds like a fun character.. How did you come up with his character  and his name?

I’m a people-watcher. I created the character by gathering together a lot of my observations about men. It’s quite uncommon for a female author to write in first person from a male point of view, but I think being different is a good thing. Judging by the reviews I received from male reviewers especially, I got it right. Once I had the character, I looked for a name that would suit him best: Martin because it’s not a particularly ‘hip’ modern name, and Little because he imagines himself as being ‘of little importance’ in the universe in general.

Are you working on any other project at the moment?

 Yes. I am co-writing a series of paranormal romance books in collaboration with Kristie Drennin Haigwood, the first of which we hope to release this year. I am also working on the second in the Martin Little series, Martin Little Takes Epic Action, and the sequel for Blood is Heavier. And I plan to release a non-fiction Author Resources book in September. Apart from that, most of my work is going into my daily blog which is getting a little overcrowded – I am planning to split it into several strands so that the many Author Spotlights I organize and the book reviews can have a dedicated page, and the book series I work on can each have their own ‘home’, too.

What book are you currently reading?

In the last week I have read two: Cemetery Street by John Zunski, and Unauthorized Access, by Andrew McAllister, which I’ve finished about an hour ago. They were both good reads; both got five star reviews from me.

What do you do when you are not writing?

I edit, or read, or play with my dogs. Or I murder a keyboard. I left it a bit late in life, I know, but I started piano lessons this spring. It was something I’ve always wished I could do, and I got tangled into a half-bet discussion with an old piano teacher who insisted anyone could learn, at any age. Not sure who’s winning the bet at the moment, but I’m not giving up. She’s not wearing earplugs, so I’m taking that as a good sign.

Where can readers and fans find you online?

You can reach me by simply leaving a message on my blog http://ellamedler.wordpress.com/

I’m on facebook and twitter, too, with links from my author website  http://www.ellamedler.com/

Blood is Heavier is free to download from:

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/158896

Diesel http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/item/SW00000158896/Medler-Ella-Blood-Is-Heavier/1.html

Kobohttp://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Blood-Is-Heavier/book-HfheYx3XXE-N1u2CT4bmXA/page1.html?s=ivr3texcM0eN6sOt_iyw5w&r=1

and (soon) Barnes & Noble.

Amazon hasn’t price-matched yet, but it’s there, too. http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Is-Heavier-Hunter-ebook/dp/B0080UVRSQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340899731&sr=8-1&keywords=blood+is+heavier

Here’s a link to my author page on Amazon, where you can see all my books http://www.amazon.com/Ella-Medler/e/B007FVQTFW/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Martin Little, Resurrected is available from

Amazon (paperback and Kindle) http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=martin+little%2C+resurrected

Barnes&Noble

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/ella-medler?keyword=ella+medler&store=allproducts

Kobohttp://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Martin-Little-Resurrected/book-XA4thbGT10iwYHKsBu7Kaw/page1.html

Omnilit http://www.omnilit.com/product-martinlittleresurrected-645557-234.html

Waterstones http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/ella+medler/martin+little2c+resurrected+28ebook29/8927606/

And in pretty much every other format you can think of.

Thanks, Ella!

Catching up

Catching up....
My weekend was fantastic. I managed to send some chapters from my current WIP to Kelly Hashway, my lovely editor and a Godsend. Everytime she returns the edited chapters with a email saying she's looking forward to read the next chapters in my story, I feel elated. As a writer, it feels good to have someone cheering you on, and always open to discussing about your work, troubleshooting. Kelly's book Touch Of Death will be released in 2013. I'm looking foward to that. :)
Reaper's Novice was previously published as short story - about 5000 words - for about a month. Due to some complications with the publisher I pulled the story , rewrote it to its proper novel length and now I'm editing it, hoping to publish it soon. Can't wait to introduce Ana (The MC) to you, shareher world with you.

On Friday I received luggage tags from Norwegian Cruise. I'm not sure if I ever mentioned that I will be going for a 10 day cruise in August?  On 17th August, I will be flying to Barcelona, 18th will be the boarding date. It is a Mediterrenean Sea cruise. It's a girls only trip. :) I'm really looking forward to my summer trip.

How was your weekend? What are you looking forward to this summer?

STORM blog tour

 Book Title: Storm
Author: Bernard Lee DeLeo
Source: Blog Tour







Book Blurb

The FBI blackmailed Storm Crandall; but only after Storm hacked their database. At sixteen, she’s under cover at a high school, looking for clues involving five missing girls. Besides computer skills, Storm has game in the magic department. A sect of the Temple of Set soon finds out power comes in many guises.
With two FBI agents posing as her parents in the city of Warren, Ohio, Storm finds love, allies, and tragedy in her hunt for answers. By fulfilling her end of the bargain, Storm can buy her way out of spending the days until her eighteenth birthday in a juvenile detention facility.
Storm’s FBI handlers discover their young charge can do more than type fast. Their first encounter with the creature behind the disappearances shows the agents they need Storm for far more than information gathering as a high school spy.
Teaming up with an enigmatic young man attending classes with her, Storm begins unraveling a horror no one anticipated. When the case morphs from serial kidnapping into a supernatural witch hunt, Storm and her friends, under the guidance of the FBI agents, scramble to stay alive while tracking down monsters, both human and inhuman.

Review:

This story had an interesting plot, the pacing was well done as well.
Sixteen year old, Storm is a computer whiz and works for the FBI after being arrested for hacking their database. At the begining of this book, she is enrolled in a new school, working undercover on a case where five girls have gone missing. She meets Logan who comes to her rescue when she is being bullied by three students, and later on meets other girls in her class. During her investigation she finds out who is responsible for the kidnappings, and so 'Storm together with her friends and the FBI agents work together to solve the case.

The author did  a great job of providing enough details to create vivid images in the story. The characters well done and believable.  What didn't work for me was the predicatability of the story. It would have been nice to see Storm being challenged by the events, maybe lose something/someone close to her to create more conflict, make me care more about what is happening to her. Janet was tough/acted tough. A little background, maybe a small paragraph while on her POV would have helped to know why she acted they was she did.

I recommend this for fans of action-packed supernatural stories.