Want Blog Tour Stop

TITLE Want
AUTHOR Stephanie Lawton
PUBLICATION June 7, 2012 by Inkspell Publishing
READ July 23 - 24, 2012

Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche to help her. She can't understand why he suddenly gave up Boston's music scene to return to the South. He doesn't know her life depends on escaping it. Julianne must face down madness from without, just as it threatens from within. Isaac must resist an inappropriate attraction, but an indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball-the pinnacle event for Mobile's elite-forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past. Will Julianne accept the help she's offered and get everything she ever wanted, or will she self-destruct and take Isaac down with her?

A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Want was a nice surprise. I didn't know what I was in for starting this novel because the blurb doesn't give you too many details, which I think is good because everything that happened completely took me off guard. Julianna is a southern girl from Mobile Alabama with a gift for the ivory keys. She can play piano with the best of them and is preparing for her audition to get into a prestigious music college. When her teacher, Mr. Cline, has a heart attack his nephew, Isaac, steps in to help get her ready. Isaac and Juli are brought together by their deep dark secrets and find solace in each other.

Julianna has a terrible home life. I felt heartbroken for her so much throughout, her mother is very sick and the abuse she inflicts on her children is almost too painful to read. What was the most frustrating in this relationship was how she would have her good days and give Juli so much hope that she was doing better and would finally be the way a real mom should be. Juli's father is absent, always at his firm and avoiding the drama at home. It was terrible to see how he was constantly choosing the mother over his daughter's needs, and tending to her first when he should really be there for his daughter. The only supporting member of Juli's family is her brother R.J. who is off at college and only home on various weekends. She also finds love and support in the one place she knows she shouldn't, Isaac.

Right from the get go with Isaac we know there is a story there. He leaves Mobile to attend NEC (the prestigious music school) and we know that he ran from something. I will admit that once his past comes to light I was quite underwhelmed. I found it very hard to believe that an entire town would look down upon him and Juli working together and react in the extreme way that they did for something so trivial. But away from that I will say that Isaac was a character that I was very lukewarm with. He had a Jekyll and Hyde personality and you really never knew what you were going to get. It was comforting to know that he got away from the silly occurrence in his hometown and found happiness in Boston with some new friends, the gem of the group being Dave. Dave was a fantastic character, I would venture to say that he is one of my favorite characters that I have ever had the pleasure of reading. He was supportive, witty and he could be an alpha when he needed to be.

The problem that stuck out like a sore thumb for me was the pacing. It was very up and down and the first few chapters felt all over the place and I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to connect to any of the characters. The first two chapters could definitely use some fine tuning and be pulled together a little tighter. But once you hit chapter 3 it's almost as if you are reading a different novel, the characterizations are there and the relationships start to form. I really enjoyed Want, in the end it made me cry and it splayed a big grin across my face as the exact same time.

Mardi Gras in Mobile

Most people are surprised to find out that Mobile, Alabama, has a Mardi Gras celebration since the, er, debauchery in New Orleans gets all the attention. Mobile's celebrations are family-friendly (no flashing!) and predate the ones in New Orleans.

Much of my debut novel, Want, centers around Mobile's Mardi Gras traditions. As a relative outsider—we moved from Ohio to Alabama in 2009—it's been fascinating to see the different politics at play: who’s chosen as king and queen; the mutually agreed-upon segregation; women donning fur coats in tank-top weather; elaborate balls; and class warfare. It's both wonderful and bizarre.

Here are some colorful facts about Mobile's Mardi Gras:

• Mardi Gras was suspended during the Civil War, but restarted by a guy named Joe Cain, who dressed up like a fictional Indian chief and paraded through the streets of Mobile. Today, he is a legend and has a group of “merry widows” and mistresses who hand out black or red roses to spectators. They congregate at his grave each year to pay homage.

• Mobile's secret Mardi Gras groups are called mystic societies; in New Orleans they’re called krewes. Some of the newer societies are less secretive and easier to get invited into, but the older groups are reserved for those with “old money” and deep roots in Mobile society. They cost thousands of dollars to join. Then there are fees for the ball; you can either pay a fee or give your time building the floats; and there’s another fee to get a spot on a parade float. Then you must pay for your throws (beads, cups, stuffed animals, Moon Pies).

• So, the Moon Pies: In case you’ve never heard of them, they’re little, round snack cakes with marshmallow in the middle. The original ones are banana-flavored (and DISGUSTING) but there are also vanilla, orange, coconut, chocolate, peanut butter-chocolate and mint-chocolate ones. The latter two are pretty good, but the others make me gag. The reasoning behind using Moon Pies as throws is because they’re soft. If you’ve ever been hit in the face with beads or a bag of peanuts, you know how badly it hurts. I speak from experience!

More of Mobile’s quirks are fleshed out in Want, and our main characters, Julianne and Isaac, see their worst fears come to fruition at a Mardi Gras ball. Secrets are spilled after the gloves—and masks—come off!

-Stephanie Lawton

As part of the blog tour I am happy to be able to give away one ecopy of Want to a lucky reader.  Just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter. Good Luck!
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Stephanie's Website / Twitter / Facebook

After collecting a couple English degrees in the Midwest, Stephanie Lawton suddenly awoke in the deepest reaches of the Deep South. Culture shock inspired her to write about Mobile, Alabama, her adopted city, and all the ways Southern culture, history and attitudes seduce the unsuspecting.
A lover of all things gothic, she can often be spotted photographing old cemeteries, historic buildings and, ironically, the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast. She also has a tendency to psychoanalyze people, which comes in handy when creating character profiles.
On her thirtieth birthday, she mourned (okay bawled) the fact that in no way could she still be considered a “young adult,” so she rebelled by picking up Twilight and promptly fell in love with Young Adult literature.
She has a love/hate relationship with Mardi Gras –where does all that money come from?–and can sneeze 18 times in a row.

This has been a part of the Want blog tour. To see all of the dates on this tour click here.

Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed Cover Reveal

Colonization: Paradise Reclaimed
by Aubrie Dionne
to be published November 7, 2012 by Inskspell Publishing

Finding a new home has never been so dangerous.

Andromeda has spent all seventeen years of her life aboard a deep space transport vessel destined for a paradise planet. Her safe cocoon is about to break open as Paradise 21 looms only one month away, and she must take the aptitude tests to determine her role on the new world and her computer assigned lifemate. As a great-granddaughter of the Commander of the ship, she wants to live up to her family name. But, her forbidden love for her childhood friend, Sirius, distracts her and she fails the tests. The results place her in a menial role in the new colony and pair her with Corvus, “the oaf”.

But when Andromeda steps foot on Paradise 21, her predestined future is the least of her worries. Alien ghosts from a failed colonization warn her of a deadly threat to her colony. And when Sirius's ship crashes on the far ridge in an attempt to investigate, she journeys to rescue him with Corvus.

Andromeda now must convince the authorities of the imminent danger to protect her new home. What she didn't expect was a battle of her own feelings for Sirius and Corvus.

Can she save the colony and discover her true love?

Hubs never pays attention to what I am doing on the blog, but he saw this cover and thought it was totally awesome and I agree!! It's unlike any cover I have ever seen before.

As part of the reveal for Colonization, Inkspell is giving away a keychain that matches the cover.  This giveaway is open to residents of the US and UK only. To enter just fill out the rafflecopter below!

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Aubrie's Website / Twitter / Blog

Aubrie Dionne writes science fiction fantasy with romantic elements. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Inkspell Publishing, Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She’s also a professional flutist in New England.

Stacking the Shelves (14)

I said this morning that I didn't care that I only had two ebooks this week, I was going to make my readers suffer through another of my videos anyway! Then the day happened, and it was hot and we're still doing the renovations and now there is no way I am going on camera.  So, I will show you my measly book haul via photos.  So this week I got:



And that's all she wrote folks, though there are only two they are two that I am uber excited for and I can't wait to dig into both. A big thank you goes to Raincoast Books, Macmillan and Tanglewood Press!! Make sure you watch for the Ashen Winter blog tour hitting Alluring Reads September 27.

So what goodies did you get this week?

Giveaway: ARC of SEND by Patty Blount

Today I am so excited to be able to have a giveaway for an ARC of SEND by Patty Blount.  This sounds like a great novel and it's one that I can't wait to read for myself. Here's a little more about the book:

To keep his secrets, all he has to do is listen to the voice in his head and just walk away...

On his first day at his new high school, Dan stops a bully from beating up a kid half his size. He didn't want to get involved. All he wants out of his senior year is to fly under the radar. But Dan knows what it's like to be terrorized by a bully-he used to be one. Now the whole school thinks he's some kind of hero, except Julie Murphy, the prettiest girl on campus. She looks at him like she knows he has a secret. Like she knows his name isn't really Daniel.

Unfortunately since I am paying the shipping on this one out of pocket the giveaway is open to US/CAN residents only. But if you are international you should check out the Cover Madness Giveaway that is running on the blog. To enter THIS giveaway just fill out the Rafflecopter below!! Good luck ;-)

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The Waiting Sky Review

TITLE The Waiting Sky
AUTHOR Lara Zielin
PUBLICATION August 7, 2012 by Putnam Juvenile
READ July 16 - 17, 2012

One summer chasing tornadoes could finally change Jane's life for the better

Seventeen-year-old Jane McAllister can't quite admit her mother's alcoholism is spiraling dangerously out of control until she drives drunk, nearly killing them and Jane's best friend.

Jane has only one place to turn: her older brother Ethan, who left the problems at home years ago for college. A summer with him and his tornado-chasing buddies may just provide the time and space Jane needs to figure out her life and whether it still includes her mother. But she struggles with her anger at Ethan for leaving home and feels guilty--is she also abandoning her mom just when she needs Jane most? The carefree trip turned journey of self-discovery quickly becomes more than Jane bargained for, especially when the devilishly handsome Max steps into the picture.

 A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was lucky enough to receive The Waiting Sky along with my ARC of Black City, I wasn't expecting any other books and was so surprised. I was once again surprised when I finished reading it because it is a fantastic novel. It is full of heart, great characters and wonderful writing. Jane has grown up being the parent in her house, her mother is an alcoholic who would rather spend money down at the local bar than pay to have electricity and running water in the house. After her mom picks her and her friend up from the mall intoxicated, gets into an accident, flees said accident and covers it up, Jane decides she needs to get away for the summer. Her refuge, going to scour tornado alley with her older brother, Ethan all summer.

Jane was a character that I really felt for. She was in a tough situation and was just so used to the way things were with her mom that she didn't see how truly toxic the situation was. All along I of course knew what the right thing for her to do was, but I completely understood her hesitations and wondered if I may feel the same way. She also felt a lot of resentment toward Ethan because he got out of the house as soon as he could. It was interesting to see how they were both dealing with it in completely different ways. The root of all their trouble was their mother, and she was a despicable character to me, she stole from her children and didn't give a crap about anything except where she would find her next drink. She was so selfish and endangering Jane and Cat the way she did, then trying to hide everything had me so angry. Cat was awesome, she was there for Jane and pushed her to make some changes in her life.

The addition of storm chasing to the story was exhilarating. I was so excited when the Torbros were on a chase and was so scared for them. The group that Ethan got into is like a little family that has their own drama which really parallels with Jane's home life. I really liked Hallie, she was super cute and spoke her mind. The Waiting Sky was a wonderful, quick read that had me fully invested in its characters. It dealt with a heavy issue and had just enough to make it stand out amongst the pack. You should definitely add this one to you to-read shelf!

Waiting on Wednesday (24)

Smashed
by Lisa Luedeke
expected publication August 21, 2012 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

A field hockey star grapples with addiction in this riveting debut that will appeal to fans of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.

Stay out of trouble for one more year, and Katie Martin can leave her small town loneliness behind forever. She is a field hockey star on the fast track to a college scholarship, but her relationship with alcohol has always been a little questionable. Then trouble finds her. Alec is the most popular guy in school, and also the biggest bully—with his sights set firmly on Katie. When Alec turns on the charm, Katie thinks she must have been wrong about him.

Except that she wasn’t. On a rain-soaked, alcohol-drenched night, one impulsive decision leaves Katie indebted to Alec in the worst possible way. This debut novel is a fast-paced and compelling story of addiction, heartbreak, and redemption.  

OK, I LOVE this cover, and it sounds like a really dark contemporary that deals with some heavy issues.  In a bland sea of paranormal romance novels I'm always looking for a good contemp to get me out of my rut.  I loved Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson's so it appeals to me.  See what I did there... hahaha

What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer Review

TITLE Hold Me Closer, Necromancer (Necromancer #1)
AUTHOR Lish Mcbride
PUBLICATION May 8, 2012 by Square Fish
READ July 14 - 15, 2012

Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he's doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak.

Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.

With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

After reading Helen Keeble's Fang Girl, I realized that paranormal and comedy was the perfect combination for me so when I came across Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, I was all over it. Lish McBride put together a great paranormal story that is unique and downright hilarious. There is a bit of everything in this novel; we have vampires, werewolves, fey and zombies to name a few. People may assume from the title that this novel would be dripping with zombies, it's not, as a matter of fact they are few and far between. I do think that the next book in this series will be fantastic as this one didn't fully pick up until the second half, and it definitely left me wanting more, a lot more.

Sam and his friends were hilarious, they were your general slackers, and the pointless things they did while working at Plumpy's totally brought me back to my days of working at McDonalds.

"Frank was younger than me, and he still had a little enthusiasm for his work. Brooke, Ramone, and I had started a pool on how long it would take for this place to suck the life out of him. If he cracked next week, I got ten bucks. Brooke had this week and she was doing her best to get Frank to crack early."

These conversations always happened when I was working fast food, and we were always forcing the newbie's to do the crap jobs. Despite their teasing of Frank he was really a part of the group and they all had a great relationship. I liked Brooke a lot, she looked like your typical bimbo cheerleader but she could keep up with the boys and she had a wicked sense of humor. The tone of this book really reminded me on the movie Idle Hands, this group has so much thrown at them and they take it in stride and never lose their sense of humor.

At times the writing did feel a little jolty to me, it's a split POV with Sam's being in the first person and everyone else's being in the third so it was a bit hard to adjust as each chapter started. But once I got used to it I definitely did get into the swing of things and the story had a great flow. One part that was really fun were all the names of the chapters, they were all lyrics from awesome songs (Sweet Dreams are Made of This, I Hear You Knockin' But You Can't Come In, & Sweet Child O' Mine just to name a few.) So at the beginning of each chapter I got a new song stuck in my head! Hold Me Closer, Necromancer really hits its stride in the second half once Sam realizes what he is a begins to come into his power, I have very high hopes for the sequel and am very excited to read it.

The Unloved Cover Reveal

The Unloved
by Jennifer Snyder
to be published July 30, 2012

Sometimes the love our heart needs to heal can be found in the familiar eyes of a childhood friend...

Julie Porter learned the hard way that trust is something which must be earned and not something to be given out lightly, those who say they love you are those who hold the power to hurt you most, and best friends can help you survive anything—until they move away.

Nick Owen knows a thing or two about a hard life. At a young age Nick learned how to take a hit and to make lemonade out of the lemons life tossed his way. Returning home after nearly two years of being away, all Nick cares about now is protecting his mom from the abusive hands of his father and catching up with his best friend—the girl who lived across the street, the girl he can’t seem to stop thinking about.

Finally reunited after two years apart, Nick and Julie are about to learn that age does nothing to protect you from life’s trials and tribulations, heartache and loss, but maybe together they’ll find a way to survive.

(Mature Young Adult, contains violence, language, and sexual situations.)

This sounds like a really gritty contemporary and that's totally what I've been into lately so needless to say, I can't wait for this one.  I like that rough backdrop of the cover too, with the graffiti and all!

Jennifer's Website / Twitter / Goodreads

I live in a small town nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Growing up I was always an avid reader (my mother must have spent thousands on R.L.Stine and Christopher Pike books). Writing a novel wasn't something I'd ever really given much thought about until early 2006, but I never actually put pen to paper until late 2007, after the birth of my second child.

While juggling with the everyday responsibilities that come with being an adult first off, a wife, and a stay-at-home mama to two small children... I still found some time to allow my wild imagination to run wild, something I hadn't done in years. And, I wrote a book.

One lucky person can win an ecopy of The Unloved, this giveaway is open internationally, just fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter!

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On The Island Tour Stop

TITLE On The Island
AUTHOR Tracey Garvis Graves
PUBLICATION July 17, 2012 by Plume
READ July 18 - 19, 2012

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

A copy was provided by the publisher as part of the blog tour.

 

I don't review too many adult titles here on Alluring Reads, but after reading all of the hubbub I couldn't help but jump at the opportunity to take part in the On The Island blog tour. After reading it for myself I can say that I now know what all of the raving is about. Tracey Garvis Graves has weaved a story fully of desperation and forbidden romance that sucks you in and keeps you turning pages. High school teacher Anna is hired by a wealthy family to spend the summer with them on their family vacation on an island in the Maldives and act as a tutor to their son T.J. He is three months into remission from Hodgkin's Lymphoma and is quite behind in his schooling. When Anna and T.J. board a seaplane and head out to the island, things don't go quite as they had hoped. After their pilot suffers a heart attack they are lost at sea and forced to fend for themselves for three and a half years on an island.

My favorite part of this novel was that, not only do we watch as Anna and T.J. find ways to survive on the island but we also get to see how they readjust to civilization once they are rescued. They form a bond while stranded, in a situation such as theirs I wasn't surprised that it happened. It's a gradual romance and I was rooting for them the whole way. T.J. is sixteen when they get stranded so we essentially get to watch him become a man, and he is forced to do so quite quickly. I loved the strength that he had, not only had he just finished fighting cancer, but he never dwelled on the situation and adapted amazingly well. Rather than being someone that Anna had to take care of he was a partner and pulled his weight. Anna was also a fantastic character, though a bit less accepting of the situation, but hey, I would have freaked out too! Learning to survive under those conditions would be no easy feat but they were resourceful and admirably brave. There are some steamy scenes on the island which I felt were perfectly paced with the story and left me feeling a rush of excitement each time.

Once they return we see everyone struggle with the acceptance of their relationship. Of course it is seen as taboo since when they went missing he was 16 & she was 30 and his teacher. I knew that was something that would be difficult to face, but the way if affects so many aspects of their lives made it so very interesting. From the get go I was completely invested in T.J. and Anna and I needed to know their whole story. I was finished this story feeling completely fulfilled and like I went through the entire ordeal with them. The writing is spot on and the pacing wonderful, I can't say enough about how much I adored this novel.

 Tracey's Website / Twitter / Facebook

 Tracey Garvis-Graves is the author of On the Island and Covet. She lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa with her husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe. She blogs at www.traceygarvisgraves.com using colorful language and a snarky sense of humor to write about pop culture, silly television shows, and her suburban neighborhood. You can e-mail her at traceygarvisgraves@yahoo.com. She’d love to hear from you.

As part of the On The Island blog tour, Plume is giving away 10 signed finished copies of On The Island. This giveaway is open to the US only, to enter just fill out the Rafflecopter below!


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Thank you for participating in the ON THE ISLAND Event! This week in addition to reviews and posts, select blogs are hosting a word from the author's favorite quotes in the book as a Scavenger Hunt! There is one quote from Anna and one from T.J. Visit each stop this week to find the hidden words (they will be numbered for order) and after July 22nd, submit your answer to the quotes here! Random winners for books and swag will be chosen and notified by July 29th.

Also, next week July 23-27, there will be even more events and chances to win the book and swag!

• Monday, July 23 at 8:00 pm CST - Chat with the author Tracey Garvis Graves! We will be chatting with the author on Savor Chat: http://www.savorchat.com/chat/on-the-island-chat Come join us! (You can sign in with twitter or facebook)
  
• Each day look at #ontheisland on twitter for random shout outs to win books and swag! @Tale_of_Reviews
• ON THE ISLAND released in bookstores Tuesday, July 10th! If you see the book in stores or 'in the wild' take a picture. Please tweet it and use hashtag #ontheisland. Or you can post it to facebook! Please submit twitter and facebook links of your post/tweet here!  All entries need to be submitted by July 29th.

This has been a part of the On The Island blog tour brought to you by AToMR.

To see all of the stops on this tour click here.

Stacking The Shelves (13)

Books mentioned (click title for Goodreads):
White Lines by Jennifer Banash
Glitch (Glitch #1) by Heather Anastasiu
Death and the Girl Next Door (Darklight #1) by Darynda Jones
Send by Patty Blount
Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler
Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger
Unafraid (Archangel Academy #3) by Michael Griffo
Jane by April Lindner
Temptation (The Vampire Club) by R.L. Stine
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful #1) by Jamie Maguire
Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale
The Forsaken (The Forsaken #1) by Lisa M. Stasse
Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols
Team Human byJustine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan

Bloggers mentioned:
Kristilyn from Reading In Winter 

A big thank you goes to Raincoast Books, Penguin Canada and Kristilyn!

What did you get this week? 

Marked by Suzanne Cox Cover Reveal

Marked (The Pack #1)
by Suzanne Cox
to be published July 23, 2012 by Suzanne Cox Books

Nightmares and sleepwalking haven’t made good bedfellows for Alexis Miller for the last year. Now that she’s been exiled to the swamps of Lebeaux, Louisiana to spend the summer with an aunt she barely knows, she’ll have to deal with the problem on her own. But Lebeaux has its own problems. People are dying here and no one seems to be able to stop it.

New friends and a new guy she’s falling in love with should make for a good summer, but Alexis’ nightmares and sleep walking are escalating and are populated with the wolves she sees lurking in the woods near her aunt’s home. The visions she’s seeing of blood and death has Alexis wondering what exactly she’s doing when she’s sleepwalking and the discovery of her aunt’s bloody shirt makes her question her Aunt Louise’s involvement in the recent deaths. Even the sheriff is giving Alexis accusing looks.

Before summer ends Alexis will learn an ominous truth. One that will change her life forever.

This sounds so eerie and the cover is really eye catching! What do you think?

Suzanne's Website / Twitter / Facebook

I remember writing my first stories when I was about nine or ten years old. I've been writing ever since. In 2002 I decided to seriously try and get some of my work published. On February 14th of 2005 I sold my first book, A Different Kind of Man, to Harlequin Superromance. While trying to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, besides a writer, I went to college (alot) and worked a variety of jobs. I have a bachelor of arts in English with a minor in secondary education, a bachelor of science in nursing, a master of science in career and technical education with an emphasis in adult education and most recently, a master of science in nursing as a family nurse practitioner. I was also a National Board Certified Teacher in career and technical education. Along the way I've worked as a high school English teacher and an elementary teacher. I've worked as a registered nurse on a cardiac unit, brain injury rehab unit, and several different medical-surgical units. I've also done stints as a home health nurse and a commnunity health educator at a hospital, and many years as an allied health instructor at a high school career and technology center. Presently, I'm working full time as a family nurse practitioner at an inpatient psychiatric facility.

If I'm not writing I like to spend time reading. My husband and I share our home with our four legged children. Our boy and girl in puppy dog clothes, Toby and Sassy, who masquerade as Miniature Pinschers. We are also owned by three cats Chase, Jackson, and Spots. We are all terrorized by Gray Kitty, a stray who decided to stay and take over.

Pushing The Limits Review

TITLE Pushing The Limits
AUTHOR Katie McGarry
PUBLICATION July 31, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
READ July 11 - 13, 2012

"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.

 A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Pushing The Limits was a strange beast for me. I've seen people raving about it which of course sparked my interest immediately. Did I see the charm? Yes, it's a heavy novel and through Noah and Echo's terrible situations they have a very deep connection that at times gave me butterflies. Did it work for me as well as it did for the ravers? No, it didn't.

Echo was the popular girl at school until one day she woke up with a restraining order against her mother and scars all up and down her arms. She goes back to school a recluse who wears long sleeved shirts and gloves at all times and is deemed a "cutter." I felt terrible for Echo, something so terrible happened to her that she actually repressed an entire day of her life to block out the incident. Waking up with a gaping hole in your brain where your actions of an entire day should be is unimaginable, not to mention that the one person who should love you unconditionally put her in this situation. Her father was much more interested in his new, young girlfriend than he was in her and when he did show some interest he was more of a drill sergeant dictating her every move. Through the new school councilor Echo is pushed together with the schools hottie stoner Noah Hutchins.

Noah also had a rough go, his parent died in a house fire and he was thrown into foster care and separated from his little brothers. He was once a promising student and athlete but the system just wore him down to the point where he gave up and became a cliché. Watching Noah start to change and realize that his life was heading down the wrong path was refreshing and definitely interesting. The unbelievably sweet and selfless things that Noah did for Echo were exactly what any girl could hope for. He gave her his jacket when she was cold and went without, he gave her his food when she was hungry and didn't have money on her, and he pushed her to realize that she was being treated terrible by her friends. What really worked for me in this novel was Noah and Echo's councilor Mrs. Collins. She was an awesome, flake of a lady who was always there with advice but never pushed the kids. She took the approach of planting the seed but letting it grow on its own.

What didn't work for me in this novel were the relationships. Echo's friends were TERRIBLE and it's not like they were even secretive about it. Grace straight up refused to talk to Echo in public because it would bring her social status down, and yet Echo was all about trying to be her friend and I just didn't buy it. Another relationship that bothered me at times was Echo and Noah's, the thoughts that ran through his head when they were together were very unsettling. There's a scene where Noah takes Echo to a party at his house and when Echo sees one of his friends they realize that they used to have art classes together and were pretty close, they hug they catch up and Noah has a mini freak out in his mind. Noah actually puts his arm around Echo to show she is his property, his girl. I did not like that at all, it wasn't endearing and it was definitely not hot. There were so many instances where he laid claim to Echo and I'm not sure if it was just the thoughts that he had while doing it, or the actual act but it rubbed me the wrong way every time.

While I did appreciate the heavy tone and subject matter in Pushing The Limits, the majority of the relationships just didn't work for me. It really sucks too because Noah was the perfect bad boy that I would generally fall head over heels for, I just did not like how he constantly felt the need to mark his territory and his thought pattern was a total turn off. I can definitely see the allure of this one and I think a lot of people will love it, unfortunately just not me.

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

Mila 2.0
by Debra Driza
to be published March 12, 2013 by Katherine Tegan Books

Pitched as a "Bourne Identity"-type sci-fi thriller about a teenage girl who discovers that she is a Mobile Intel Life-like Android, an experiment in artificial intelligence created by the U.S. government, and her scientist mother, who kidnapped her when she was found to have human emotions.

This cover is freaking epic and I actually did read this blurb (it's so short, I figured why not!) It sounds pretty intense and I think I will love love love it!

 What are you waiting on this Wednesday?

Hushed Review

TITLE Hushed
AUTHOR Kelley York
PUBLICATION December 6, 2011 by Entangled Publishing
READ July 6 - 7, 2012

He’s saved her. He’s loved her. He’s killed for her.

Eighteen-year-old Archer couldn’t protect his best friend, Vivian, from what happened when they were kids, so he’s never stopped trying to protect her from everything else. It doesn’t matter that Vivian only uses him when hopping from one toxic relationship to another—Archer is always there, waiting to be noticed.

Then along comes Evan, the only person who’s ever cared about Archer without a single string attached. The harder he falls for Evan, the more Archer sees Vivian for the manipulative hot-mess she really is.

But Viv has her hooks in deep, and when she finds out about the murders Archer’s committed and his relationship with Evan, she threatens to turn him in if she doesn’t get what she wants… And what she wants is Evan’s death, and for Archer to forfeit his last chance at redemption.

Hushed is a haunting piece of work. It is full of dark characters that you probably shouldn't be able to connect to, but through their rehashes of history you find yourself feeling their pain as if it was your own. This book is so well written that it blurs lines between right & wrong. Archer and Vivian are lifelong friends, they have always been there for each other and have suffered through some horrific happenings. Once they are off to college and Archer sees Vivian falling into a terrible pattern with men because of what happened to her he concocts a plan that he thinks will bring back the old Viv.

I've heard it said before, and I agree that Archer is the YA version of Dexter. He's killing men who all have something in common, they have hurt the woman he loves more than anyone in the world. Throughout the book Archer is slowly delving into madness, he's so lost in his plot for revenge that he's lost sight of his own happiness and well being. I felt really bad for him because he was throwing everything away for a girl who only gave him the time of day when it was convenient for her. Vivian was a b*tch (I could not talk about her without using that word, I apologize.) Her selfishness drove me insane throughout the book, she was such a fair-weather friend to Archer and didn't reciprocate the love at all. This was not the only toxic relationship that Archer was involved in, his mother had completely given up on him and he really didn't let anyone get close to him.

The light at the end of Archer's tunnel is Evan, a new guy at school that Archer slowly realizes he has feelings for. The progression of Evan & Archer's relationship really was beautiful, the acceptance and patience that Evan showed was massive. The stark contrast in the way Archer was treated by Vivian versus how he was treated by Evan was conveyed perfectly and it made for a love triangle you don't see every day in YA novels. This was the first novel that I have read with a homosexual (bi curious?) protagonist and I can honestly say that I longed for the inevitable smooching between Evan and Archer just as I do with straight couples.

Hushed is unlike anything I have ever read before and I want more. It evoked emotions and I was seriously invested in the characters. If you are looking for something unique and most definitely on the darker side for YA then this one is definitely for you, it's safe to say that this has found a place on my favorites shelf and I will be highly recommending it in the future.

The Star Child Cover Reveal

The Star Child

by Stephanie Keyes

to be published September 21, 2012 by Inkspell Publishing

Kellen St. James is just your average seventeen-year-old prodigy, but with a Yale degree, a photographic memory, and an addiction to everything 80s. But what's not so average about Kellen is the girl who's been haunting his dreams for the last eleven years. When the sudden death of his grandmother takes him from the East Coast to the Irish Coast, he finds himself face to face with his own personal ghost and finds out that she's just as real as he is. Plus she's come spinning a tale about an ancient prophecy in which Kellen plays a key role. Together they will travel through an underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of wild dogs, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?

As part of the cover reveal for The Star Child, Inkspell is offering up one Celtic knot designed bookmark for giveaway.  It will go perfectly with the book! This giveaway in open to the US as well as the UK. Just fill out the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stephanie's Website / Twitter / Facebook

Stephanie Keyes was born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania and has worked for the past twelve years as a corporate educator and curriculum designer in the Telecommunications industry. She holds a Master's degree in Education with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Duquesne University and a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University. She is a classically trained clarinetist, but also plays the saxophone and sings. When she's not writing, she is a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband and mother to two little boys whom she cites as her inspiration for all things writing. The Star Child is Mrs. Keyes' debut novel.

What do you think of this new cover? Are you excited for The Star Child?