Chasing Destiny Release Party

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Yay! I know you're all super excited about this one. I won't mess around today. Let's get going!

Join the Chasing Destiny release party over on facebook here.

Friday, November 13, 2015 from 3pm-10pm EST

There's an amazing lineup of authors! Plus, it's Friday the 13th! Helloooooo!

If you're not familiar with this series, let me give you the 411:

Author: Tia Silverthorne Bach
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal

Chasing Memories is the first in the series (and is FREE on Kindle). It was released June 5, 2013. Here's the blurb and cover: 

There isn’t another way; not now. The others are coming. I can’t let them have you…

Seventeen-year-old Reagan has a problem: She can’t remember what happened the night her brother was taken. Now, the dreams haunting her from the incident are becoming more intense by the day. All the while, the lines between what’s real and what’s a product of her paranormal-obsessed mind are becoming blurred.

Is she losing her mind or has she just stepped into a world she thought only existed in books?

Caught in a web of worried parents, competing boys, Wiccan relatives, protective amulets, and psychiatrist babble, Reagan must determine the truth before it’s too late.


Chasing Shadows is book two, and it came out May 4, 2014. Here's the blurb and cover:

2014 Reader's Favorite International Book Awards Finalist in Young Adult Paranormal

Reagan thought one night changed her life forever, but her fate was written long ago.

Merging creature and white blood,
One of flame, one of night,
At eighteen years it will commence,
Spiritual warrior and power,
Will bring an end to the lawless ones.
A war looms: One that pits brother against brother for werewolf supremacy. Angels and demons will each have a say before a victor is chosen.

With her eighteenth birthday only six months away, time is running out. Reagan must find a way to harness the two powerful, ancient bloodlines coursing through her: Werewolf and Wiccan. Then, she has to figure out her role in the century-old prophecy foretold by her great-grandmother.

However, if Reagan can't save her family from her most vicious rival, Rafe, the forces of Hell will be unleashed and the war will be over before it starts.

Chasing Forgiveness is a companion novella, and tells the story of two sisters. It released April 11, 2015. Once again, the blurb and cover:

2015 Utopia Award Nominee Best Companion Novella

When terror strikes, forever altering your life, it doesn’t ask permission or forgiveness.

Madeleine and Amélie’s quiet lives are ripped apart by a creature they never imagined could exist outside a horror story. Their mother is murdered, their father is missing, and the only safe haven is with a family full of secrets. But rescue comes at a price.

Ripped from the light of youth, the sisters are forced into the shadows—where they meet brothers Rafe and Rowan.

It’s not the time for infatuation or love, but the heart rarely listens to reason.

Now, the young women have decisions to make. Will they be able to achieve their unified goal of stopping evil, or will it consume them from the inside out?

They soon learn some choices can’t be undone.

Now, we get to celebrate Chasing Destiny, book three of the series. It will release November 12, 2015. Here's the blurb and cover:

An ancient prophecy set forth her ultimate destiny:
Destroy the lawless ones or Hell’s gate will burst open.

So much has changed since Reagan shifted for the first time. She found the grandfather and brother she thought were dead, reunited with her grandmother and aunt, met a twin sister for the first time, discovered a powerful magic pulsing through their family’s veins, fell in love, and became part of a pack.

Evil also came into Reagan’s life in the form of Rafe, a madman who commands a demon-werewolf army. He’ll stop at nothing to destroy everything good.

Destiny may have determined Reagan’s fate, but she refuses to allow it to define her path. To save the world, she must:

Gather powerful allies.
Call forth a team of angels.
Form an unholy alliance.
Discover an angel sword.
Survive devastating losses.

Along the way, Reagan will discover that strength comes from faith, from believing in the unbelievable, and a new battle cry emerges…

With Faith, We Fight

How amazing does that sound? 

Yeah. So come on over and join the party!

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

Jo

Book Review - Honey Queen

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I bring you another book review. This one wasn't on my TBR for the year, but I won a paperback at Utopia and took it on a trip with me. I devoured it. This title will go into the 2015 Time for Books Review Team pool. As of today, there are 373 book reviews posted there. You must check them out. Amazing authors on that list! Anyway, enough of my gabbing! Here's the book up for review today:

Title: Honey Queen
Author: Christina Mercer
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy/Mythological Romance
Length (print): 284 pages
Buy Link: Amazon Paperback $11.99

Blurb:
A Regional SCBWI "Best in Show"

Love is honey sweet, but it comes with a fatal sting . . .
Melaina Maris needs wings to fly the gap between loving Sam and her family's ancient curse that forces carnal love and then kills the male lovers. She won't let the same fate that killed her father befall another. She refuses to allow her goddess-created bloodline to continue. But there's no easy way out, specially after the curse turns her into the Honey Queen--savior to honey bees--intensifying her charms.

To help her fulfill the curse's demands in the least harmful way, her grandmother takes her to mate with terminally ill Boyd. But Boyd's gay. And an expert in mythology. Instead of having sex, Melaina learns how she might summon the goddess who created the first ancestor bee-charmer and cursed her bloodline. Melaina's magic--tears to save honey bees from endangerment--could be enough to persuade the goddess to end the curse. But an unexpected discovery soon changes that hope, spinning Melaina into a swarm of love, friendship and death.

***Will not appear in review elsewhere. Let me tell you, the cover and interior of this book blow me away! What a wonderful job by the designer. Love the branding with the bees. So amazing! I'd like to see the author's name a bit more prominently, but that's just a nitpick of mine :)***

Let's get to the review!

I won a copy of this book in a drawing at Utopia, a conference for women writers. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was, because I'd had my eye on this novel for a long time, but hadn't had an opportunity to add it to my TBR. Well, having a paperback turned out to be the thing that got me reading it (on an airplane, no less). I dove in and devoured this book in a little over twenty four hours. Now that you know how I came about a copy, let's get to my thoughts on what's inside.

From a Reader's Perspective:
What an interesting premise for a novel! I have to say, I've never read anything quite like it. Mythology, sure, but honey bees? I fell in love with the main character right away. Watching her struggle through the curse made me smile because she's funny when she's frustrated. Melaina's grandmother was awesome. I adored the interactions with her and the guys chasing her granddaughter. Quite a spry old lady. Tears of the Honey Queen being the savior of the bees was a great twisty idea.

Romance in this novel was a slow burn that had been building over the years. Take two characters that have known one another since childhood (and seem destined by the gods to be together), and you have a recipe for perfection. However, the romance didn't play front and center, even though it was the reason Melaina wanted to be free of the curse. It was beautifully complex.

Another thing I got into was the description of the cars. You can tell the author likes American classic muscle by the way she describes Melaina's vehicle. Roaring, even. I loved it!

Pacing was awesome, and didn't let up on the action from page one. Like I said above, I read all 200+ pages in just over twenty-four hours. There was never a time I felt like things were dragging.

One detail threw me off, and I mention it because it was questioned, clarified, then stated again several times. Melaina talks about how she's the last in the line of descendants from the goddess Aera. But the last daughter has always been the last in line--the only one left--until she procreates. There's one place where the characters mention how Iliana had two daughters, but then it's clarified when we find out one of those daughters died. So there's always been just one. Gran was the last when she was a teen, Melaina's mother, then Melaina. I just didn't quite understand why this girl was the most important "last" one.

From an Editor's Perspective:
Plot, grammar, and punctuation were all on the up and up. Nicely done!

Rating:
1 Star for making me love the main character and her Grandmother
1 Star for the fresh idea
1 Star for pacing and wonderful humor
.5 Star for the slow romance
-.5 Star for the confusion
1 Star for editing
Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars! I round up, so this book gets a 5. Recommended for those who like a good dose of gods and goddesses and a fresh story idea.

What do you think? Have you read it? Plan to?

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

Jo

The Gatekeepers Trilogy by Eva Pohler

Happy, happy Sunday, everyone! Man, do I have one heck of a deal for you all today from author Eva Pohler. Sit back, relax, and get your clicking finger ready! Here we gooooooooo!

Readers are calling this series, "Amazing," "Addicting," and "One of the best modern retelling of ancient myth." Kirkus Reviews wrote that it's "sure to thrill Hunger Games fans," and Midwest Book Reviews calls it "a powerful young adult fantasy." A teen becomes entangled with the gods of Mount Olympus when one of them, Thanatos, the god of death, wants his chance at love. He makes a deal with his father, Hades, but not all the gods want him to succeed. Part paranormal romance and part adventure story, this trilogy follows Therese's adventures as she struggles to overcome the challenges the gods dish her in her quest to become like them. For one week only, from June 7th to June 13th, the digital box set of The Gatekeeper's Trilogy, usually $5.98, can be downloaded from any ebook retailer for 99 cents! That's three full-length novels, a total of 230,564 words, for less than a buck!

Here are the download links: Kindle Nook iBooks Google Play Kobo Smashwords

To celebrate this one-week sale, Eva Pohler Books is also giving one lucky winner a $40 gift certificate of his or her choice, plus a signed paperback set of the trilogy. Keep reading to find out how to enter. This series was initially written as a trilogy and can end with the third book, or you can keeping reading through all six. This box set includes the first three books. If you want to keep reading, come back here to follow Therese's adventures as she strives to become a goddess in the ancient Greek pantheon. You can find the other three books in the series here:

  Kindle Nook iBooks Google Play Smashwords Kobo
 Kindle Nook iBooks Google Play Smashwords Kobo
 Kindle Nook iBooks Google Play Smashwords Kobo  

After you download your copy of The Gatekeeper's Trilogy, be sure to enter this international rafflecopter giveaway, which ends at midnight on June 13th. You can enter daily!

Then be sure to come back to this page to find out if you won and to get the other three books in the saga!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

What do you think? Did you snag them? Awesome deal, huh? Get to entering!

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

Jo 

New Release - Crown of Smoke

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Yes, it's the second post for today! Woot!

Please enjoy absorbing the deets for this awesome new release by Snowa Fox.

Title: Crown of Smoke (Angel Marked Book One)

Author: Snowa Fox
Genre: YA Paranormal
Length (print): 416 pages
Buy links: Amazon Kindle $3.99  ~  Paperback $14.99

Blurb:
A Life Bound
A Destiny Revealed
A Vengeance Unleashed

Dream Guardian Vaughn Khale is on the brink of gaining his redemption to claim the demon crown of Lucidity when his world is set ablaze.

Deception fractures his life of duty and honor, altering his younger brother’s fate forever.

Pragmatic. Archeology student. Angel Marked.

Lila Vanderhook leads a normal 22 year old life, until her nightmares attack her in the flesh.

Her brush with an ancient relic has ancient demons hunting her and she must flee to save herself.

The decision has grave consequences for her guardian, revealing a destiny neither of them are prepared for.

Will betrayal bury them or will they save each other?

Join in the Facebook party for the book's release, and follow Snowa on social media!

Facebook personal page: www.facebook.com/authorsnowa.fox

Facebook Author page for fans: www.facebook.com/snowa.foxauthor

Website: http://snowafox.wix.com/snowafoxauthor

Twitter: Https://mobile.twitter.com/snowa_fox

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/40213744-snowa-fox

What do you think? Gonna check it out?

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

Jo