Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Rewind to You by Laura Johnston - FREE for a limited time!

Young adult clean romance for FREE?!? 
Yes, please!


Rewind to You

Rewind to You by Laura Johnston is FREE on all major online eBook retailers through the first week of October, so be sure to click one of the links below and DOWNLOAD!



One last summer before college on beautiful Tybee Island is supposed to help Sienna forget. But how can she? This is where her family spent every summer before everything changed, before the world as she knew it was ripped away.

But the past isn’t easily left behind. Especially when Sienna keeps having episodes that take her back to the night she wants to forget. Even when she meets the mysterious Austin Dobbs, the guy with the intense blue eyes, athlete’s body, and weakness for pralines who scooped her out of trouble when she blacked out on River Street.

When she’s with Austin, Sienna feels a whole new world opening up to her. Austin has secrets, and she has history. But caught between the past and the future, Sienna can still choose what happens now…



“Johnston’s debut spotlights romance and familial relationships, including themes like grief and self-sacrifice. It’s an ideal story for readers looking for a deep-rooted YA love story with the emotional ups and downs and poignancy of a Nicholas Sparks contemporary. There’s also a touch of wit and a sigh-worthy hero – a definite on your TBR list.”
– RT Book Reviews


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Monday, September 28, 2015

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? September 28, 2015


Hello! Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? This weekly meme, hosted by Book Journey, is where we share what we have read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week. It’s a great way to see what others are reading and to discover books to add to your own To Be Read list. You never know where that next great read may come from!

Click on the book image to read more on Goodreads. 

What I'm currently reading/listening to


The Sparrow Sisters: A Novel
by Ellen Herrick
Started this one when we were traveling in the evening cause I could read it on my Kindle. My thoughts will be posted on October 7th.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25574782-pretty-girls
Pretty Girls
by Karin Slaughter
Love her books! My thoughts will be posted October 6th. 


The Seacrest
by Aaron Paul Lazar (audio-book)
Had some great listening time in the car on our vacation so I was able to really get into this book. Love it.

What I recently finished reading


All the Difference
by Leah Ferguson
What an interesting way to tell a story. My thoughts will be posted soon.

Smoke
by Catherine McKenzie
Another great story by Catherine! My thoughts will be posted soon.

What I am going to read next

Beach Wedding
by Bella Cruise

I love my reading life!
What's going on in your reading world this week?


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Saturday, September 26, 2015

Book Spotlight Giveaway! The Fourth Hand by John Irving


I have sooooo many books! I have a ton of print books and probably even more e-books. The Book Spotlight feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the books I have. There are a lot of different reasons that I might be letting some of my books go, the biggest one is that when we moved I discovered just how many books I really do have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy them.

My daughter recently moved and wants to clear out her bookshelves. Like mother, like daughter, right? So this week's book is one from her. I have read a few of John Irving's book. As a matter of fact, I was kind of surprised at how many I have read when I looked at his list of books. This one sounds like another good read.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

The Fourth Hand


The Fourth Hand by John Irving
Paperback, 368 pages
Published April 29th 2003 by Fawcett Books

While reporting a story from India, a New York television journalist has his left hand eaten by a lion; millions of TV viewers witness the accident. In Boston, a renowned hand surgeon awaits the opportunity to perform the nation’s first hand transplant; meanwhile, in the distracting aftermath of an acrimonious divorce, the surgeon is seduced by his housekeeper. A married woman in Wisconsin wants to give the one-handed reporter her husband’s left hand—that is, after her husband dies. But the husband is alive, relatively young, and healthy.


About the author


John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, in 1942. His first novel, Setting Free the Bears, was published in 1968, when he was twenty-six. He competed as a wrestler for twenty years, and coached wrestling until he was forty-seven.

Mr. Irving has been nominated for a National Book Award three times—winning once, in 1980, for his novel The World According to Garp. He received an O. Henry Award in 1981 for his short story “Interior Space.” In 2000, Mr. Irving won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules. In 2013, he won a Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person.

An international writer—his novels have been translated into more than thirty-five languages—John Irving lives in Toronto. His all-time best-selling novel, in every language, is A Prayer for Owen Meany. Avenue of Mysteries is his fourteenth novel.

Connect with John





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Friday, September 25, 2015

Banned Books Week Hop 2015


I want to give a big shout out to the hosting blogs of this awesome hop, I Am A Reader and Bookhounds. Libraries and books have been a huge part of my life, my entire life. Growing up, I was a regular at our small town library and as an adult, I have worked in libraries for over 23 years now.

Banned Books Week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. The 2015 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 27 - October 3.

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 311 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2014, and many more go unreported.

The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country. They compile lists of challenged books in order to inform the public about censorship efforts that affect libraries and schools.

The top ten most frequently challenged
books of 2014 include:

(click on the book covers for more information about each book)

1. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
by Sherman Alexie


Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs / alcohol / smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”

2. Persepolis,
by Marjane Satrapi


Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”

3. And Tango Makes Three 
by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell


Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”

4. The Bluest Eye 
by Toni Morrison


Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”

5. It’s Perfectly Normal 
by Robie Harris


Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”

6. Saga 
by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples


Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

7. The Kite Runner 
by Khaled Hosseini


Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence.

8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower 
by Stephen Chbosky


Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”

9. A Stolen Life 
by Jaycee Dugard


Reasons: drugs / alcohol / smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

10. Drama 
by Raina Telgemeier


Reasons: sexually explicit.


The fine print:
The Book Bag's giveaway will be any book (up to $20) from the top 10 list of challenged books from 2014, so one of the 10 books above. This giveaway is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to you. I reserve the right to select the edition to be sent to the winner. If the challenged book is part of a series, the winner can select any one of the books in the series. The winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond or another name will be drawn.

Good luck!

Now start hopping!



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Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Release Week! The Blue Jay by Michelle Schlicher

Happy Release Week! 



The Blue Jay

The Blue Jay by Michelle Schlicher
Print and e-book, 172 pages
Published: September 20, 2015 by Michelle Schlicher

A debut novel about a young woman and a young boy scarred by abandonment who find they share an unlikely bond.

Josie McCray was eight years old when her mother left. Now a young teacher, she guards her heart carefully but finds herself pulled to mentor a child in need.

Payton Runnells was 12 when his mother left. Now in foster care, he’s slow to trust anyone but senses that Josie might somehow understand the grief that grips him.

As Josie and Payton lower their walls and forge a friendship, they begin to open themselves up to all life has to offer.


About the author


Michelle’s debut novel, The Blue Jay, will be released in September 2015. Michelle Schlicher is an American fiction writer and the author of The Blue Jay.

A graduate of Iowa State University, she subsequently worked for the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau for six years in the communications and marketing department. During that time she became involved with a local mentoring organization, which had a huge impact on her life and became the foundation for which The Blue Jay is based.

Michelle grew up in Iowa and still resides there with her husband and two children.

Connect with Michelle


 

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Release Day! Beach Wedding by Bella Cruise and a Giveaway! @givemebooksblog


Happy Release Day!



Beach Wedding

Beach Wedding by Bella Cruise
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: September 23, 2015


Three weeks. One quirky small-town. The wedding of the year. What could go wrong?

Big-city wedding planner Ginny Austen has landed the job of a lifetime. Her new celebrity clients want a smash hit TV wedding, and they’ve got their hearts set on a quirky home-town wedding. Her home-town: Pelican Key Cove, Florida.

Ginny hasn’t been home since she high-tailed out of town the night before her high-school graduation with nothing but a vintage pink Camaro and a broken heart. She’s spent years building a life of her own, but now she’s got just three weeks to face her past and put together a dream wedding — in a town that makes ‘eccentric’ its middle name.

Ginny may be determined to stay professional, but the inhabitants of Pelican Cove have other ideas. And between her crazy aunts, a TV producer who puts Macciaveli to shame, and a downright sexy former flame, nothing about this wedding is going to plan. Can she pull off the big day with her sanity - and heart - intact? Or will her reputation go down in flames -- on national TV?


Amazon US
Amazon UK
   

About the author


Bella Cruise is a Florida girl turned California beach babe. She loves to travel and explore new places, and currently works as a nanny to two adorable little girls. For a close-up view of her crazy life (and favorite cupcakes!), you can find her on instagram @bellacruisewrites.

Connect with Bella





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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Release Day! Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs #StayPeculiar

Happy Release Day! 


Library of Souls

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
Series: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #3
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published: September 22nd 2015 by Quirk Books

The epic conclusion to the best-selling series!

Time is running out for the Peculiar Children. With a dangerous madman on the loose and their beloved Miss Peregrine still in danger, Jacob Portman and Emma Bloom are forced to stage the most daring of rescue missions. They’ll travel through a war-torn landscape, meet new allies, and face greater dangers than ever. . . . Will Jacob come into his own as the hero his fellow Peculiars know him to be? This action-packed adventure features more than 50 all-new Peculiar photographs.



I love this series and can't wait to read book 3!!


About the author


HI, I'M RANSOM, and I like to tell stories. Sometimes I tell them with words, sometimes with pictures, often with both. I grew up on a farm on the Eastern shore of Maryland and also in a little house by the beach in Englewood, Florida where I got very tan and swam every day until I became half fish. I started writing stories when I was young, on an old typewriter that jammed and longhand on legal pads. 

When I was a little older I got a camera for Christmas and became obsessed with photography, and when I was a little older still my friends and I came into possession of a half-broken video camera and began to make our own movies, starring ourselves, using our bedrooms and backyards for sets. I have loved writing stories and taking photographs and making movies ever since, and have endeavored to do all three.

Connect with Ransom



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Monday, September 21, 2015

Cover Reveal: Twisted Sisters by Kimber Leigh Wheaton, an Excerpt, and a Giveaway!

Cover Reveal


Twisted Sisters
The Orion Circle Book 2

Twisted Sisters by Kimber Leigh Wheaton 
(The Orion Circle #2) 
Publication date: October 27th 2015
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult

It’s a child’s toy—what could go wrong?

While playing with a spirit board, two sorority sisters summon the vindictive spirits of three women brutally murdered by a psychopath. Join Logan, Kacie, and the rest of the Orion Circle as they delve into the disturbing events of the past to find the key to freeing the spirits.

But this isn’t any ordinary haunting.  These ghosts were banished before, and now they have returned more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Anger breeds hatred and hatred leads to darkness—these phantoms are on the verge of losing their last spark of humanity and becoming completely lost to the shadows.

Can Logan and Kacie convince the tortured souls to embrace the light and move on, or will the spirits succumb to the hypnotic pull of evil, leading to an eternity of torment and suffering?


Excerpt

“Huge EMF spike!” Carl shouts, waving the EMF detector in the air.

That’s it. I can’t wait for Raven any longer. Mr. Kincaid’s voice echoes in my ears, calling me stupid for rushing in not knowing what’s in there. I’m in charge of this fiasco… I never should’ve let her run in without more information. Steeling my shoulders, I cross the threshold into the house.

I stop and survey the scene in seconds, taking in the ridiculous amount of damage. The living room is trashed: sofa overturned, lamps broken on the floor, and the front window shattered by the flying armchair. No sign of Raven, but the girls said they were using the board in the kitchen. As I walk down the hall toward the back of the house, a ceramic figurine flies at me. I duck just in time as it grazes the top of my hair. I’m finding it difficult to believe spirits summoned from a spirit board by amateurs could be this powerful.

The family room is in a similar state to the living room. When I spy the sixty-inch TV on the floor in a smashed mess my heart thumps faster. These are powerful spirits or maybe even a rogue gang. That TV had to weigh over one hundred pounds, and it’s a good twelve feet from the entertainment center. No sign of Raven in here either.

A fierce wind blows from the kitchen, slamming me against the wall. So much power. None of this makes any sense!

“Raven.” I try to call out, but my voice comes out a hoarse croak.

My body is freed as the wind dies down, and I race toward the kitchen. Something shoves me from behind, sending me reeling across the tile floor. I manage to rotate myself at the last second so my shoulder impacts the wall instead of my head. The wind stops the moment I hit the wall. As I rub my sore shoulder, a loud scream pierces the silence. My stomach drops at the sheer terror echoing in that scream. Raven.

Leaping to my feet, I search the large kitchen for her. When my eyes land on her, I blink a few too many times. This shouldn’t be possible.

“Hang on, Raven,” I call out to her form suspended in midair near the ceiling.

“Hang on? Really?” Her arms are splayed out to the sides. Though she tries to project confidence with her words, I can tell from her face that she’s terrified.

“Release her at once!” I yell at the invisible spirits. “She has done nothing to you.”

“Don’t you think I already tried that?” Raven bites out in between gasping breaths.

“St. Michael, the archangel, def—” I start the prayer, but something crashes into me, knocking the wind from my lungs as I’m slammed into the floor. It takes a few dazed seconds to realize it’s Raven’s body crushing me. “Can you move?”

“I don’t know.” She rolls off me despite her words, groaning. “Those damned spirits. Madder than cornered rattlesnakes.”

“I can’t feel anything but intense hatred and fury.” I push to my feet, ignoring the searing pain in my side. After hauling Raven up by the arm, I drag her toward the back door.

“Wait!” she yells, yanking her arm away. “The board.” Raven disappears beneath the long oak table. A few seconds later, she pops out holding the spirit board.

“Come on,” I shout when I feel the spirits returning for round two. “Crap, too late.” An invisible force plows into me, pushing me back into the unforgiving wall. “Raven, run!”

Something hits me in the ribs, banging my body into the wall once, twice, three times. My head spins from the impact. At least Raven made it out. A white mist fills my vision, and I blink several times. It doesn’t go away, only becomes sharper, more focused. Her form is wispy, ethereal. She would be beautiful were her lips not turned into a vicious sneer. I lay on the ground, waiting for her to make her move while she floats around me.

About the author


Kimber Leigh Wheaton is a bestselling YA author with a soft spot for sweet romance. In addition to writing, she works as an editor for two publishers as well as select indie authors. She is married to her soul mate, has a teenage son, and shares her home with three dogs and lots of dragons. 

Kimber Leigh is addicted to romance, video games, superheroes, villains, and chocolate—not necessarily in that order. (If she has to choose, she’ll take a chocolate covered superhero!) Winner of the 2014 Rising Star Award at the BTS Red Carpet Awards in NOLA.

Connect with Kimber Leigh



Tortured Souls and Twisted Sisters

Aren't these covers just beautiful? 




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