Book Review - The Memory Witch

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today I bring you another book review from my extensive TBR list that was created to support the endeavors of Indie Fever 2014. What's Indie Fever? Well, it's a collaborative of readers who get together and read Indie books all year and write reviews. There are many different levels to sign up at! You can see them all here. I invite you to join the reviewer roster, read Indie books until your eyeballs ache, and write some reviews. It's easy; just decide how many books you're going to review, add your name to the linky list, and get busy. Not interested in reviewing but love to read reviews? Check out the reviews written by members here. Grab your comfy chair and let's get going!

First, a little about the book on the butcher block today!

Title: The Memory Witch
Author: Heather Topham Wood
Genre: Young Adult (I think it's maybe supposed to be New Adult) Urban Fantasy
Length (Print): 230 pages
Links to Purchase: Amazon Kindle $7.99 B&N (paperback) $12.98

Synopsis: Ten years ago, Quinn Jacobs’ mother made a bargain with a local witch—steal away Quinn’s memories from the first eight years of her life and in return, Quinn would spend a year in servitude to the witch.

On Quinn’s eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to leave her home and friends behind. For the next year, she’ll live at the Chadwick House, learning everything she needs to know about being a spellcaster. As her powers grow, Quinn begins to unravel the secrets of the past and the reason her mother was so desperate to conceal the horrifying truth.

~                  ~                   ~

*Will not appear in review elsewhere*
Let me start off by saying how much I LOVE the cover for this book. I did a look inside over on Amazon and I wish the inside matched the cover awesomeness. Even the chapter lead-ins done in the same font as the cover would've given it that little something extra. Being a lover of great typography and a graphic designer, I'm a huge fan of those gems I find in interior design when checking out the preview of a print book I enjoyed on Kindle. All that being said, I don't knock off points in a review for the cover of the book; I just like talking about them. *grin*

On to the good stuff!

I grabbed this title during my 12 Days of Christmas party, that special time of year when I stock my Kindle with books I intend to review over the next twelve months. Heather is an author whose work I love reading and she showed up with a pitch for The Memory Witch I couldn't say no to (I've also been sitting on pins and needles waiting for this title to hit the shelves). So, I popped on over to Amazon and ponied up the dough. I have to say, I'm glad I did. While Amazon has this categorized as Teen and Young Adult, I don't think it's appropriate for those under the age of sixteen/seventeen because of some graphic scenes. But, enough rambling, let's get to the review.

From a Reader's Perspective:
I loved the main character, Quinn. Wood has such a unique way of painting her characters so the reader can identify with them, I really enjoy delving into the mind of a new one she comes up with. That being said, Quinn seemed a bit prudish to me. According to the book, she's eighteen and a member of the dying breed known as virgins. That doesn't bother me so much, but her actions during the story threw me for a loop a time or two. I was left scratching my head and asking, "Why?" But the premise of the story and the pacing (which was wonderful and fast) made me care less about the questionable morals of a teen and more about what secrets would be unraveled during the course of the tale. I was hooked. Magic, a father Quinn can't remember, and an unanswered mystery about the past kept my eyeballs riveted to the pages. You'll cringe a number of times when the author gets to some very graphic scenes, but she wrote them well. Details were horrifying. Either way, I adored the story and stayed up late to finish it. Can't wait for the second installment! Let's move on to talk about the writing.

From an Editor's Perspective:
I waited on this novel for so stinking long, I thought I'd get the best of the best of the best (Sir! With honors!) as far as writing goes. Well, not so much. As anyone who reads my reviews knows, I mark errors as I go (it's an editor/proofreader thing). I found over seventy errors. Not misplaced pronouns or comma drops, but errors like: "I hadn't stay up hours each night..." and "...dating back almost thousand years." or "A startled sound broke into..." Needless to say, my head landed in my hand a lot. This isn't the norm for Ms. Wood. These errors didn't fudge with the story, but they were noticeable and did make my mind stutter over the words.

Rating:
+ 1 Star for a great reveal
+ 1 Star for pacing (fast)
+ 1 Star for the well written magic and horror scenes
+ 1 Star for hooking me with a world I felt could exist
- 1 Star for editing
Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. A highly recommended read if you love fantasy, magic, and curses.

Join me next week for a review of The Bestiarum Vocabulum (a collection of beastly short stories).

I hope you all enjoyed that review. If you've read it, what did you think? If not, will you take a chance on it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Book Review - The Disappearing Girl

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, a treat for you all. I'm participating in the Indie Fever 2013 reading challenge and have committed to read and review no less than eight Indie books this year. So far, I've done about four. But that's not all the books I've read, just the ones I've written reviews on up to this point. My plan for the next few days is to rectify that situation. For the first book, I bring you The Disappearing Girl by Heather Topham Wood. Enjoy!

Synopsis:

Kayla Marlowe is slowly vanishing…

Last year, Kayla’s world imploded. Her beloved father died, leaving her alone with a narcissistic mother who is quick to criticize her daughter’s appearance. During her winter break from college, Kayla’s dangerous obsession with losing weight begins.

Kayla feels like her world changes for the better overnight. Being skinny seems to be the key to the happiness she has desperately been seeking. Her mother and friends shower her with compliments, telling her how fantastic she looks. Kayla is starving, but no one knows it.

Cameron Bennett explodes into Kayla’s life. He’s sexy and kind—he has every quality she has been looking for in a guy. As Cameron grows closer to Kayla and learns of how far she’s willing to go to stay thin, he becomes desperate to save her.

Kayla’s struggles with anorexia and bulimia reach a breaking point and she is forced to confront her body image issues in order to survive. She wonders if Cameron could be the one to help heal her from the pain of her past.

New Adult Contemporary-Ages 17+ due to language and sexual situations.

You can pick up a copy today for free; but after that it goes to $2.99. Grab it on Amazon!

Now, for my review:
Author Heather Topham Wood has done a great job of bringing attention to something so many people struggle with in life. It's a difficult thing to live with and a terrifying disease to read about. Let's get to the meat and potatoes.
From a reader's perspective:
I found myself drawn in and feeling what Kayla was going through as she struggled with her life and the disease that threatens to ruin her. Being able to identify with a character is something every reader strives for. I not only identified with Kayla, I was cheering for her recovery, angry with her mother, and cried when the ball finally dropped on the whole situation. Not to be left out, the secondary characters like Cameron, Kayla's best friend, Brittany, and Kayla's sister, Lila, were all well developed. Brittany being in the picture helped show how your best friend can disappear before your very eyes and you never know how bad it really is. This story is captivating and will leave you emotionally wrought.
From an editor's perspective:
I'm always rough on the books I read because I'm an editor. I find things most wouldn't. This book is very well written. There are no plot holes, scene jumps, or inconsistencies. There were a couple of places where a pronoun or two would've behooved the flow, but that's minor.
Rating:
+1 Star for making me cringe and allowing me to feel the character
+1 Star for excellent character development (even the secondary ones)
+1 Star for bridging such a taboo subject in such a way that it made sense
+1 Star for being a great story I could really sink my teeth into
+.5 Star for really great editing

Overall, 4.5 out of 5 stars. Since there are no half stars, I round up when posting to review sites. This is a highly recommended read.

Pick up your copy on Amazon today! Come on back tomorrow for my review of Chasing Memories.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

First Visions Second Sight Book One Sale

Happy Hump-day, good people of the blogosphere! WOOOOOWEEEE do I have a deal for you today. If you remember my post from a while back, I listed my favorite reads of 2012. In it were two books by author Heather Topham Wood. Well, it's been about a year since I read First Visions (where does the time go?) and, as a birthday present, Heather has put the book on sale for the week. This offer is good until May 26th. I never posted my review of the first book on my blog, so I'll give you that to go along with the links and information. HAPPY READING!

Title: First Visions Second Sight Book One
Genre: New Adult Paranormal
Author: Heather Topham Wood
Page count: 231 printed pages
Price: $0.99

Description from Amazon:
Two years ago, 21-year-old Kate Edwards became deathly ill and slipped into a coma. While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother's home.

Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can't control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever.

My review (copied from Goodreads):
Rating is 4.5 stars but I round up.

I loved the protagonist, Kate, in First Visions. She is a typical girl who never really got the chance to grow up due to her extraordinary ability and the reclusive life she decided to lead after the media circus surrounding it. Her reactions to situations are perfectly human. There were parts that had me laughing out loud, worrying, and hoping that Kate and Jared ended up together somehow.

I adored the fact that Kate experienced change from page 1 to page 250. I felt like I could really identify with her (even though I'm not psychic). Those are qualities of a great story. I read this book over the course of a week and am looking forward to the next installment of the series.

The only issue I had, and this may be no big deal for most readers, was that pronouns were oftentimes used incorrectly and the book could use a proofreader for tiny errors here and there (as most could). These did not hinder the reading experience to a point that I wanted to drop the book in a puddle, but they did throw me off the story now and again. All in all, a very excellent read that I would highly recommend.

The Second Sight series:
First Visions (book 1): Amazon and Barnes & Noble
New Revelations (book 2): Amazon
Dark Premonitions (book 3): Amazon and read the review here on my blog.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Favorite Books of 2012 and a Giveaway

Happy Christmas Eve, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm going to list my favorite books of 2012 and tell you all about a super fantastic giveaway held by The Kindle Book Review. You don't wanna miss this post!

First up, my favorite books of 2012:

The Help - What a wonderful read! I picked it up after I saw the movie because I was super curious about the book behind the plot. Book wins; hands down!

First Visions Second Sight Book One and New Revelations Second Sight Book Two - About a psychic who denies her powers until she's needed to help find a missing girl. There are two in the series so far and both were fantastic reads! Guess what? They're both FREE today! Book One and Book Two! Go get yours!

Dragon's Mind - Wow. My first real trip into science fiction! I loved this book. It's about a girl and a brain trying to escape the clutches of an evil organization.

Beautiful Disaster - Holy moly! By far my FAVORITE read of the year. I would've given it ten stars if I could've. A super fantastic example of great indie writing!

Now, on to more fun!

The Kindle Book Review is holding a HUGE giveaway via Rafflecopter!!!

The prizes:
A 7" Kindle Fire HD WiFi 16GB and 80+ ebooks to read on it.
Two $100 Amazon Gift Cards

How to enter:
Follow THIS LINK, scroll to the bottom, and click to be taken to the rafflecopter entry form. Enter to win!

Easy, peasy!

Mystic~Bronya, the first book of the series, is still free through tomorrow. Go pick up your copy today. This book has a 4.4star average rating on Amazon and is pretty close to the same on Goodreads. CLICK ME!

Mystic~Shelia is currently in giveaway land over on Goodreads. FOUR people have a chance to win a copy! Go on and enter!! CLICK ME!

Good luck, everyone!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

12 Days of Christmas Day 12

It's the twelfth day! Also, doomsday! Seems we're all still here... It's been a long twelve days but I'm really enjoying finding new indies to read and giving away prizes! I had exactly 11 people yesterday, who don't already have a copy of Mystic~Lily, comment! So, congratulations to: Tom A, Jamie C, Santa F, bashashhazbaz, Becky F, Sherry J, Sandi T, Felicia T, Kate B, Brian B, and Leonardo N!! I'll be in touch to send your prize!

Now, a few announcements!!
Mystic~Shelia released today! The third book in the Mystic series is now available for purchase! More about it:
Synopsis:
After a horrible accident takes the lives of her parents, Shelia Morgan is placed in the care of her Aunt Ivy and Uncle Melvin. For six years they work her like a slave. On her twelfth birthday, Uncle Melvin makes Shelia an offer that will destroy her life.

When she turns 19, the ugly truth about her past comes out during a therapy session, Uncle Melvin is arrested, and she's placed in the sights of everyone in town. Hurling insults, objects, and threats, the townspeople side with her uncle and call Shelia a liar. She loses her job, her boyfriend, and her freedom in one day. When a girl named Markaza shows up and tells Shelia she's part of a group of young women destined to save the world, Shelia begins to dream of a new life and true freedom from her personal demons.

She tells the jury her story and boards a plane destined for New York and her new life. Once there, she meets Bronya and Lily: Two other young women with special powers they must learn to harness in order to fight an evil that will rise on December 21, 2012, and destroy the world.

Markaza boards a plane to Atlanta to save the life of a young lady named Melody before her mind destroys her from the inside out. As Markaza fights for Melody's life, Shelia, Lily, and Bronya throw themselves into their studies and learn that even power from within can get out of control.

Read these rockin' reviews! Indie Reviews and Heather's Book Chatter to find out what others are saying!

Click here to buy it on Amazon for just $3.99 or here to buy a paperback for just $8.99.

Second announcement! Starting today and running through December 25, you can pick up a copy of Mystic~Bronya FREE on Amazon!!!! Click here to go grab yours!

Let's get started on today's fun! Friday, December 21 - Twelve people who comment will win an e-copy of Mystic~Shelia!!!

Before I tell you how to enter, I'll do a recap of the indie books pitched thus far. The last two winners will be announced this afternoon at 5pm EST.
Without further ado, here they are:
Andrea Buginsky - The Chosen Amazon link $0.99 *WINNER*
Michael Cargill - Underneath Amazon link $3.30 *WINNER*
Jennifer Lafferty - Offbeat Love Stories and More Amazon link $0.99
Jacques Antoine - Sen No Sen Amazon link $4.99
Brian Bigelow - Horror Bent Amazon link $2.99
Seeley James - The Geneva Decision: Pia Sabel #1 Amazon link $5.99
LJ - Fighting Destiny #1 Amazon link $3.99
Eric Dulin - Condemned (Deus Ex Machina Series) Amazon link $2.99 *WINNER*
Deborah Armstrong - Forever Love Amazon link $3.49 *WINNER*
Kate Baggott - Love From Planet Wine Cooler Amazon link $4.99 *WINNER*
David Manuel - Killer Protocols (Richard Paladin Series) Amazon link $3.99
Aaron Saylor - Sewerville: A Southern Gangster Novel Amazon link $3.99
Ryan Astaphan - Travelphan: Fear, Faith, & Glory in a Journey Across Asia Amazon link $7.99
Michael Meyer - Deadly Eyes Amazon link $2.99
Ginney Etherton - Looping in Limbo (Lainey Tidwell Series) Amazon link $2.99 *WINNER*
S.J. Hunter - Longevity Amazon link $2.99
Felicia Tatum - The White Aura Amazon link $2.99
Brian Author Levene and Anon Beauty - The Other Girls Get Lucifer Everyday Amazon link $4.99 FREE today!
Troy Jackson - The Elementals Amazon link $4.99
Rebecca Elswick - Mama's Shoes Amazon link $3.79
Angela Graff - The Awakening Amazon link $2.99 *WINNER*
Hayley Linfield - The Truth about Dandelions Amazon link $5.99
Tom Abrahams - Sedition Amazon link $2.99
Sarwah Osei-Tutu - Bingo: One Woman's Journey Through Life Amazon link $4.99
Marc Nash - Time After Time Amazon link $2.99
Mark Mackey - Kristen Flemings in a Ghost Story Amazon link $0.99
Jamie Canosa - Dissidence Amazon link $3.95
Elizabeth Los - Second On the Right Amazon link $2.99 FREE today!
Sherry Jesberger - Aislin of Arianrhod Amazon link $1.99
Leonardo Noto - Intrusive Memory Amazon link $4.99 *WINNER*

Those books look great! I've got samples of them all and a number of you have made it through this far in my process. Remember, if you pitched before, you're still in the running.

Here's how to enter today:
Go enter the giveaway on Goodreads for a copy of Mystic~Shelia and go tag the book on Amazon. Come back here and leave me a comment telling me about the last book you read and what you thought of it.

******ATTENTION******
I'm doing things differently today! Since it's the last day of the giveaway, the FIRST TWELVE people to comment will win!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo  

Why Indies ROCK Blog Tour

Hello, people of the blogosphere! Welcome to the eighth stop on the Why Indies ROCK Blog Tour! To start us off, we've been given three specific topics to address. I hope you're enjoying your tour so far and are loving reading about rockin' Indie authors! Let's get going... 

Why I ROCK as an Indie author:
I give back. When I'm invited to an event for another Indie, I participate and push their books as hard as I push my own. I do a blog party now and then in celebration of great Indie authors. When asked to participate in a giveaway or other such thing, I always donate something to the cause to add value to their promotion. When I win a book via a giveaway, I do my best to read it and leave a review. After all, we want to expand our readership and gain a few fans and reviews by doing a giveaway, right?

When I saw this tour, I couldn't pass it up. It gives me a chance to name other awesome Indie authors and help out. I'm going to do my utmost not to include those on the tour (though I know many of them and they, too, ROCK) so you can get a broader spectrum.

I've also written seven books so far this year and have an eighth scheduled for release on 12/21/12. It's the third book in my Mystic series and is titled Shelia. Here's the cover and synopsis for you all.

Synopsis:
After a horrible accident takes the lives of her parents, Shelia Morgan is placed in the care of her Aunt Ivy and Uncle Melvin. For six years they work her like a slave. On her twelfth birthday, Uncle Melvin makes Shelia an offer that will destroy her life.

When she turns 19, the ugly truth about her past comes out during a therapy session, Uncle Melvin is arrested, and she's placed in the sights of everyone in town. Hurling insults, objects, and threats, the townspeople side with her uncle and call Shelia a liar. She loses her job, her boyfriend, and her freedom in one day. When a girl named Markaza shows up and tells Shelia she's part of a group of young women destined to save the world, Shelia begins to dream of a new life and true freedom from her personal demons.

She tells the jury her story and boards a plane destined for New York and her new life. Once there, she meets Bronya and Lily: Two other young women with special powers they must learn to harness in order to fight an evil that will rise on December 21, 2012, and destroy the world.

Markaza boards a plane to Atlanta to save the life of a young lady named Melody before her mind destroys her from the inside out. As Markaza fights for Melody's life, Shelia, Lily, and Bronya throw themselves into their studies and learn that even power from within can get out of control.

You can pick up a copy of Bronya or Lily over on Amazon.

Now, before I answer the next question, enjoy a video!



On to the next prompt!
Other Indie authors that ROCK:
Tia Silverthorne Bach - You may remember her from my blog party (if you happened by) or you may have been over to her blog Depression Cookies and had a read. She rocks because she gives back to the Indie community however she can, is an active participant over on She Writes, and went through quite an ordeal to get her book published but never gave up.
Heather Topham Wood - Heather has never been a guest on my blog (I'm hoping one day she will be) but I see her help other Indies out by tweeting their books, giving reviews, and providing useful information about promotions she's done to get her books out there. Heather's Book Chatter is a blog I follow to find new Indie reads and she does a great job of giving us a boost.
Crystal Lee - I met Crystal via comments on another blog and we discovered we had a lot in common. It was a fast friendship from there. We trade editing services and promotional activities in an effort to help one another out. She's a great indie author and has written unique books I love to edit (because I get to read them, duh!). Check her out over on her blog Crystal Lee Author and tell her I said, "Hiya!"
Janiera Eldridge - I know I promised to try not to include anyone on this tour on my list, but Janiera is the exception to the rule, people. She rocks because she's always around to give a helping hand with a promotion for someone else or just a quick re-tweet or share telling folks how wonderful the book is and urging them to check it out. She also writes reviews when she wins a book and that's HUGE in my eyes.

Before I move to the third and last prompt, have a lookie at our schedule!

Now, for the last prompt
Screw you, negative people!
For all you naysayers who think Indies are uneducated wannabes, I'll have you know the vast majority of us are very intelligent. A whole bunch of us take care when writing our books and preparing them for public consumption. So you stumbled across one book that was poorly written? Don't give up on us as a whole! We write because we're storytellers with something to say. If you don't like us, keep it to yourself, please, and don't read our books! We're sick of hearing your mouth run with, "Blah, blah, blah!" We've heard it before. You're neither having an epiphany nor communicating profound intelligence to the world at large. However, if making yourself look bad is your game, go for it. We don't hear you! *sticks fingers in ears*

Take a moment and click the Thanksgiving MEGA Giveaway button over on the right-hand side there and enter the rafflecopter giveaway. We have some great prizes!

I do hope you all make a stop on the next blog on our tour tomorrow and enjoy the insights of Ms. Tammy-Louise Wilkins!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

CR TBR and RR

Good Friday, people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm sharing my CR (currently reading), TBR (to be read), and RR (recently read) list. My goal here is to introduce you to books you may not know exist.

We'll start with my CR list and go in order. You can read the synopsis via the links provided. They will take you to the Amazon page for the books.

First on my list is a print book I won in a giveaway hosted by One More Chapter.

• Pulled by Danielle Bannister

Being read in tandem with Pulled is a digital book I picked up via a free promotion.

• Breath of Air (The Dryad Quartet) by Katie Jennings

Now on to my TBR list.

• Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
• The Dangerous Kind & Other Stories by Robert Chazz Chute
• New Revelations (Second Sight Book 2) by Heather Topham Wood (Goodreads link, not available for sale yet)
• Hollowland (The Hollows, #1) by Amanda Hocking (Free on Kindle today)
• The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (hardcover will read in tandem with e-books)

On to my RR list. My reviews are posted at these links as well (if I wrote one).

• Soul Sisters by Janiera Eldridge
• Soul Journey: The Greatest Secrets to Living the Live you Want by Lisa Cherry
• First Visions (Second Sight Book 1) by Heather Topham Wood
• Canopy by Crystal Lee (I was one of the editors on this book)
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I've only listed the books I've read over the last month. If I went back any further, this page would be out of control!

I hope you all enjoy looking through the books and I hope you find some new authors to read.

What are you reading right now?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo