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Friday, December 23, 2016

Review for The Soulstealer's Child




Can a human heart overcome a demon soul?




When soul-eating demons overrun his world, Kaelis, a young seraph warrior, uses the Queen’s ring to open a portal in space and flee with the infant heir to the throne, landing on earth. Unbeknownst to him, the demon leader, Nsark, follows through the portal, determined to devour the soul of every last seraph, especially the Queen’s heir. After Kaelis hides the baby, Nsark creates the ultimate weapon by fathering a half-human, half-demon: a soul-stealer’s child. 



Sixteen years later, an awkward teen named James struggles to fit in with his peers. In a last-ditch effort, he joins the school play, where he meets Lucy. Something deep draws them together, and their friendship reveals their hidden pasts: one is an angel, one is half-demon. Lucy and James find themselves pulled into an age-old war between their peoples. Hunted by relentless enemies, and grappling with deep-seated instincts and strange new powers, they must fight for their lives, their souls, and each other.






I honestly adored this story. I was completely sucked in from the first words and every time I had 2 seconds I went back to it to read even a couple more lines or a paragraph (More if I could get away with it). I loved the conflict and the energy of the piece. And I loved not knowing who was the angel and who was the demon for a while. I was back and forth not knowing and then knowing and then not knowing again until it all came out. That captivated me and I was dying to know but am not one to skip ahead - so I read on. The story was unique and fun, the setting was perfect and the conflict so high that i found myself completely involved. When the book ended I was completely floored and am so eager to read the next book! Thanks Brandon for an amazing story and please hurry with the next one! I Highly recommended this book.





Brandon Gray is the pen name of Braden Bell (Brandon writes YA fiction; Braden writes for middle grades). Braden holds a Ph.D. from New York University. He and his family live on a quiet, wooded lot in Tennessee, where he teaches middle school theatre and music. An experienced performer, Braden enjoys reading, gardening, and long summer afternoons writing in his hammock. His most notable skill is being able to eat a full rack of BBQ ribs with one hand on long drives.



Connect with the Author here: 
Facebook ~ Website ~ 
 ~ Amazon ~ Twitter ~ 
 ~ Goodreads ~


To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



Monday, December 12, 2016

Christmas Countdown Day 7!





Railyn Stone, author of The Christmas Tree Guy, A Secret to Keep, Restored Hearts and Lest We Aren't Forgiven, lives in North Carolina with her husband. When she's not behind the screen of her laptop, she's usually enjoying time with her family. The only child of two educators, she learned early on just how magical words can be.

Q & A With The Author:
4. What is your largest unfulfilled dream, and what are you doing to reach it?
            My largest unfulfilled dream is to vacation in Bora Bora and stay in an over the water bungalow. I am trying to save money to get to my destination, but it’s not happening as fast as I want it to.

5. What is the hardest thing you've ever done?

            At this point in my life, the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was to hit ‘send’. When it comes to writing, I’ve gone through many emotions and feelings, but the most nerve-wracking feeling was pushing ‘send’ to send my query letter to a literary agent, knowing there was a chance I would be rejected. And what was harder than that was receiving rejection after rejection and still having the courage to push send to other agents.


Connect with the Author here: 


EnVee McAlister just bought a house. It’s an old Victorian home that needs a lot of work, especially if she wants to get into it by Christmas.

Logan Edwards is the contractor she’s hired to help her. Unfortunately, he’s not like any man she’s ever encountered and his arrogance and crass demeanor is making it hard to deal with him. Both she and Logan hold no punches and their terribly blunt personalities clash like oil and water.

But when she finds out about Logan’s tragic past, it forces her to deal with her own insecurities and emotions she’s desperately tried to forget. And instead of a house for Christmas, EnVee receives something she never expected.




Snippet:

EnVee was not happy. How could this happen to her? Here she was excited to be working on her dream house. The house she’d always wanted. She’d found the perfect one and now somehow she’d ended up hiring some arrogant, crass man that was going to be a nightmare to work with to restore it. She could hear him mumbling something as he opened the door for her to enter. Walking across the threshold, her frustrations with him subsided and she smiled at the old house’s charm. It needed work, but she didn’t care. It was perfect. Logan’s deep voice broke her trance.
My brother says you have some things you are requesting. I wanted to go ahead and get those from you so I can work on the blueprints. If there are major structural changes, we need to plan for those up front so there are no surprises later in the job.”
She turned to see him staring at her and she felt a little intrigued. She wasn’t quite sure why this man had her feeling this way. She’d dated outside of her race before, so she had no problems with the cultural differences, but he wasn’t anything close to the clean cut, expensive suit types she’d ever been out with before or was usually attracted to. His dark hair lapped at his collar, but was still neatly coiffed and that was a plus. The eyes, she’d initially assumed were brown, were actually a deep sapphire hue and they were sheltered by rows of dark lashes. His strong jawline was covered by rugged but well-groomed stubble. Shaking her head, she reached into her briefcase and pulled out a list. “Here.”
Logan stepped forward and took the list from her manicured hand and she watched him skim the list before she turned to inspect the fireplace and mantel.
Wow. I’m kind of impressed.”
EnVee turned on her heel, wiping dust from her fingers. “Excuse me?”
Well, I figured a hoity toity like yourself would want to modernize everything about this house. You’d be wanting an elevator installed and all other fancy accouterments.”
Are you this rude with all of your clients? I’m no hoity toity and I happen to believe this house is perfect the way it is. It just needs some refreshing. It doesn’t need too much modernization in its structure, just maybe needs life breathed into it again.” She’d gotten so caught up in her daydream of the house and all it could be that when she placed her eyes back on Logan, he was staring at her in shock. “Look, I don’t really care what you think of me.”
Obviously.”
I just want the job done. Can you do it? Or shall I call your brother and tell him I can’t work with you and I need to find another company that’ll do the job right?” She crossed her arms in front of her, tapping her Jimmy Choo on the hardwood. She’d just about had it with his holier than thou attitude.
I can more than do this job.” His eyes never left her face and he added. “You won’t find anyone better suited for this and who can handle this the way you want it.” His eyes were so intense, EnVee felt a spark of electricity shoot down her spine, settling in the pit of her stomach and she cleared her throat.
Well, fine. I’d like to see the rest of the house if that’s not a problem for you.”

Logan slightly bowed and with a flourish and twist of his wrist, he smiled. “After you Princess.”



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The Soulstealer's Child Blitz




Brandon Gray is the pen name of Braden Bell (Brandon writes YA fiction; Braden writes for middle grades). Braden holds a Ph.D. from New York University. He and his family live on a quiet, wooded lot in Tennessee, where he teaches middle school theatre and music. An experienced performer, Braden enjoys reading, gardening, and long summer afternoons writing in his hammock. His most notable skill is being able to eat a full rack of BBQ ribs with one hand on long drives.



Connect with the Author here: 
~ Facebook ~ Website
 ~ Amazon ~ Twitter
 ~ Goodreads ~




Can a human heart overcome a demon soul?



When soul-eating demons overrun his world, Kaelis, a young seraph warrior, uses the Queen’s ring to open a portal in space and flee with the infant heir to the throne, landing on earth. Unbeknownst to him, the demon leader, Nsark, follows through the portal, determined to devour the soul of every last seraph, especially the Queen’s heir. After Kaelis hides the baby, Nsark creates the ultimate weapon by fathering a half-human, half-demon: a soul-stealer’s child. 



Sixteen years later, an awkward teen named James struggles to fit in with his peers. In a last-ditch effort, he joins the school play, where he meets Lucy. Something deep draws them together, and their friendship reveals their hidden pasts: one is an angel, one is half-demon. Lucy and James find themselves pulled into an age-old war between their peoples. Hunted by relentless enemies, and grappling with deep-seated instincts and strange new powers, they must fight for their lives, their souls, and each other.






Top Ten List:

1. My wife
2. My kids
3. My students
4. Dr. Pepper
5. BBQ ribs
6. Amazon gift cards
7. Old Christmas movies
8. Turner Classic Movies
9. My new Amazon Firestick (love this!!!)
10. My job--teaching choir and theatre at a middle school.



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



Thursday, November 17, 2016

Doorway to Murder Review!




Secrets lurk in a small New York town and betrayal is just around the corner. The morning after the worst blizzard of 1934, Detective Steven Blackwell takes on a highly charged murder case. The investigation starts badly: one clue, lots of lies and alibis. To make things worse, Steven is seeing visions of a woman in his house.

One night, she speaks. Her name is Olivia Watson and she lives in 2014. She believes time has folded over in the house they share. As their relationship deepens, Steven’s investigation intensifies. Soon he can no longer trust anyone in his own time. Can Olivia help crack the case—and catch a killer?




Reviews:
The past collides with the present in DOORWAY TO MURDER, an exciting new mystery by debut author Carol Pouliot.

With its fresh premise covering two eras that crackle off the page, Carol Pouliot introduces compelling characters to lead her series forward. Add a sharply written mystery with clever plot twists, and you have all the elements that make DOORWAY TO MURDER an accomplished debut.
Marni Graff, award-winning author, The Nora Tierney series and Death Unscripted
Mystery. Romance. Time-travel adventure. DOORWAY TO MURDER is the total package. Carol Pouliot interweaves the past and present as easily as I turned the pages. I highly recommend this fun read.
Betsy Bitner, award-winning humor columnist, Times Union (Albany, NY)
There's nothing I like more than a time-travel tale, but how much better to get a crisp, fair-play police procedural, too. The atmosphere grabbed me. The ending surprised me. I'm already looking forward to Steven and Olivia's next adventure.
Catriona McPherson, multi-award-winning author of the Edgar-shortlisted The Day She Died
Steven and Olivia make a great couple of crime busters in this era-jumping romance and hard-boiled police procedural. Join them. You’ll be glad you did!
Steve Axelrod, author of the Henry Kennis Nantucket mysteries





I have learned more and more to enjoy a good murder mystery - but what I loved about this one is that there isn't a lot of blood and gore, nor the feeling that the murderer is standing around a corner waiting to do it again. That's why it grabbed me! It was a unique story with a murder that was quite obviously out of the ordinary for the murder, and thus not a rampant killer on the loose. This made it harder to follow clues and to piece together a motive and logic. I loved that even though there is time travel in this book, it is not the type that risks changing history or changing the future. It's almost a side story but still adds depth to the situation in both story-lines from the 2 different times. I admit that I was interested in the book from the start but it wasn't a bit further down on the long to-do list I had. So when I got it I was very surprised that it gripped me and didn't let go. I literally took it with me everywhere on my kindle and listened to it while driving with the Voiceover app just so I didn't have to stop reading. It is that good! I highly recommend it!





Hi! I’m Carol Pouliot. (French pronunciation the “t” is silent.)            


I’ve always loved books and learning. I can still picture the library my family went to when I was little. I remember my excitement picking out books. Now, the bookshelves lining the walls of my house are stuffed to over-flowing mysteries, political thrillers, time-travel, ancient Egypt, French literature, biographies of British kings and queens, and favorites from my childhood. I guess it was inevitable I’d want to write.

I fell in love with France and all things French at age 11. Throughout high school, I dreamed of getting my passport, packing my suitcase, and going to Paris. I graduated from SUNY Oswego with a BA in French and Spanish and got my MA in French at Stony Brook University. Then, I headed to France for my first teaching job.

After returning home to upstate New York, I taught French and Spanish for over 30 years. I also started my own business an agency that provided translations in over 24 languages.

I’ve always felt very much a part of the world and at home everywhere I’ve ever been 5 continents so far. I did volunteer work for a couple of international organizations. I loved getting to know people from all over the world. A friend from Kenya taught me some Swahili; a woman from Japan showed me how to make her mother’s favorite chicken recipe; a friend from Panama taught me to salsa. All these wonderful experiences have enriched my life beyond measure.

I currently live on several acres of woods in the lake-effect zone. This means I get about 10 feet of snow every year thanks to the strong winds off Lake Ontario. I enjoy seeing the deer, chipmunks, and foxes. I also love watching the birds at my kitchen-window feeders over 25 different kinds at the latest count.   

Connect with the Author here: 
~ Website



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 



Tuesday, November 15, 2016

The Wrong Side of Magic Review!!





Hudson Brown stopped believing in magic long ago. That is, until the day he is whisked away to the magical land of Logos by a curious compass given to him by his off-beat neighbor, Charlotte.

Hudson discovers that Logos is a land ruled by words, thoughts, and memories. A fairy might ferry you across the river for the price of one memory. But be sure to look out for snarky unicorns, as they will see through those who are not pure of heart.

Not understanding the many rules of Logos, Hudson is quickly saddled with a troll curse. Charlotte, who, along with her father, was banished from Logos, can help get rid of the curse--but only if he agrees to find the lost Princess of Logos in return.










I have always enjoyed Janette Rallison’s books, and this was no exception. It was different than the books I’ve read previously by this author, but oh so much fun. I laughed so many times and I was eager to turn the page every time – to see what was going to happen. I absolutely loved her images of unicorns and mermaids, the way she portrayed them and the personalities of each character/creature they came across. This was one of those books I couldn’t put down until the end, and afterward (2 days later) I found myself laughing out loud when thinking about part of the story. My husband thought I was crazy, but a good story is worth thinking about for days afterward as this one was. I’m very eager to read it again and I will be recommending it to everyone, even if this is not your typical genre. The writing alone is worth reading and the story is fantastic.
Thanks Janette for writing books we love.
I’ll keep reading her books without hesitation because I know she will always provide the best.




Janette Rallison/ CJ Hill writes books because writing is much more fun than cleaning bathrooms.  Her avoidance of housework has led her to writing 26 novels that have sold over 1,000,000 print copies and have been on many reading and state lists. Her books are fantasy, sci-fi, and romantic comedy because hey, there is enough angst in real life, but there’s a drastic shortage of humor, romance and hot guys who fight dragons. She lives in Arizona with her husband, kids, and enough cats to classify her as eccentric. 

Connect with the Author here: 
~ Goodreads ~ Website ~
 ~ Amazon ~



To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page