Saturday 24 December 2016

Happy Holidays!

Thank you for another wonderful year of support to all of the readers out there, and to the authors and publishers who offer up morsels for us to delight in!

I will be enjoying the holidays with my family from December 24th-January 1st, but will be back on the 2nd of January with a fresh wave of enjoyable reads to kick off 2017.

I hope the warmth of the season brightens your homes and your hearts, and that the New Year ahead brings all you wish for!

Friday 23 December 2016

Living or Retiring in Mexico - Leo Buijs

Living or Retiring in Mexico
by Leo Buijs

'Living or Retiring in Mexico' is a poignant collection of stories and practical information for anyone that wants to spend more time in Mexico, or would even be considering staying permanently. Written by a seasoned gringo, the book covers Mexican culture and history, how to make it workable, and what to expect in this foreign country and how to deal with it. From bringing goods into Mexico, medical and car insurance or buying property, handling utilities like water and gas to nachos and mescal. Many useful suggestions are shared, even for one who is not planning to be an expat, it’s informative and at times funny to anyone with an interest in Mexico. The 174-page book is a guide for people considering 'living the life', or retiring in Mexico, while seeing their retirement budget gain substantial spending power.

The book is divided into five parts: Introduction, The Fun Part, Food and Beverages, the Not So Fun Part and The Important Stuff. The latter deals with visas, medicals, becoming permanent resident etc. It will give a tremendous insight on 'Life in Mexico' through the eyes of an expat and will help you shape your opinion and decision making about living in Mexico, and figuring out if this would be the right thing for you.


Please Pass The Books Review:

Living or Retiring in Mexico: All You Need to Know Before You Go offers an insider's guide to all things expat, perfect for anyone looking into mid to long-term relocation. Comprehensive in its delivery, Buijs tackles the full-gamut of what to expect and includes a great deal of insight from his own personal experience. With the average age of retirement being pushed further down the road, Mexico, Central and South America have become increasingly popular options for many looking into other viable, sustainable alternatives. I think this book will also be useful to the huge and ever-growing collective of travel bloggers, most of who look for affordable home-bases outside of US and Canada.

For me, the most interesting section covered Mexican holidays. It's fascinating to read about the varied customs, traditions, and both national and religious holidays that the country has on offer. As a frequent tourist and expat myself, I found Buijs' guide to be practical and informative; an excellent stepping stone for anyone considering spending an extended amount of time off of the beaten path.

FOUR STARS



Born in the Netherlands, Leo Buijs immigrated to Canada in 1978, with his wife and two boys. He used to live in Victoria and moved to Courtenay B.C., where he lives now with his wife and his Dutch Sheepdog Femke.

In 2003 he wrote '50 Best Dog Walks around Victoria' which sold out very quickly including a second print. After his move up-island, the first print of 'Best Dog Walks on Vancouver Island' appeared in 2006 followed by a second print in 2008.

In 2010 he published the very popular 'BEERS of British Columbia,' a book about the then popular and upcoming Craft Beers and Micro-breweries development on the West Coast.

Besides dogs and craft beer, his foremost passion is travel, and he often takes his dog along the way. He also loves to sail and write. In 2015 he dug through thousands of photographs from his extensive travels to put a handsome photo-book together, first in a small format and recently in a larger coffee-table book with twice the number of photographs. 10% of the sales from this book go to UNICEF Canada to support children's poverty.

After his dog-walking books were out of print, the demand did not subside, so in the fall of 2015 he produced an updated and revised version of 'Best Dog Walks on Vancouver Island.' This updated edition is his third of its kind.

Some of his short stories were published in Whistler's ‘Pique Magazine’ and he was a regular contributor to ‘The Gringo Gazette,’ an English language paper in Baja California Sur. In 1999, he was featured in the June issue of ‘Boulevard Magazine,’ with winning photographs from Africa and South America.

In September 2016, he released 'A Taste of Living in Mexico' and in November the full-size book 'Living or Retiring in Mexico' was launched in print and as e-book.



Thursday 22 December 2016

Spotlight! A SHADOW BRIGHT AND BURNING - Jessica Cluess

A SHADOW BRIGHT AND BURNING
Jessica Cluess
Pub. Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

I am Henrietta Howel.
The first female sorcerer in hundreds of years.
The prophesied one.
Or am I?

Henrietta Howel can burst into flames.
Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she's shocked when instead of being executed, she's invited to train as one of Her Majesty's royal sorcerers.

Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the chosen one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her.

But Henrietta Howel is not the chosen one.
As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, what does it mean to not be the one? And how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?

Exhilarating and gripping, Jessica Cluess's spellbinding fantasy introduces a powerful, unforgettably heroine, and a world filled with magic, romance, and betrayal. Hand to fans of Libba Bray, Sarah J. Maas, and Cassandra Clare.




Wednesday 21 December 2016

Spotlight! EVER THE HUNTED - Erin Summerill

EVER THE HUNTED
Erin Summerill
Pub. Date: December 27, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Seventeen year-old Britta Flannery is at ease only in the woods with her dagger and bow. She spends her days tracking criminals alongside her father, the legendary bounty hunter for the King of Malam—that is, until her father is murdered. Now outcast and alone and having no rights to her father’s land or inheritance, she seeks refuge where she feels most safe: the Ever Woods. When Britta is caught poaching by the royal guard, instead of facing the noose she is offered a deal: her freedom in exchange for her father’s killer.

However, it’s not so simple.

The alleged killer is none other than Cohen McKay, her father’s former apprentice. The only friend she’s ever known. The boy she once loved who broke her heart. She must go on a dangerous quest in a world of warring kingdoms, mad kings, and dark magic to find the real killer. But Britta wields more power than she knows. And soon she will learn what has always made her different will make her a daunting and dangerous force.




Erin Summerill was born in England. After spending years bouncing between Air Force bases in Hawaii, England, and California, her family settled in Utah, where Erin graduated with a B.A. in English from Brigham Young University. She had aspirations to write the next great American novel, but writing proved tougher than she first thought. So she grabbed a Nikon and became a professional photographer while crafting manuscript after manuscript. The scenic detour of shooting weddings across the United States, as well as internationally, provided world-building inspiration. It gave her the vision to draft her debut YA fantasy, EVER THE HUNTED. Now when she isn’t writing, or shooting a wedding, she’s chasing her four kids, two dogs, one cat, and five chickens. This could be why she downs massive amounts of Coke Zero and Hot tamales.

Website     Twitter     Goodreads


Tuesday 20 December 2016

Trailer Reveal! Revelations - T. Marie Alexander


Revelations
T. Marie Alexander
Publication date: January 27th 2017
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Have you ever craved something so badly that all reason was just an excuse getting in your way?
Have you needed something so desperately that you didn’t care how you got it or who you hurt in the process?
I have—and not that long ago.
Acceptance.
Acceptance… from family and friends…
Acceptance of the person I am inside and not outright rejection.
It didn’t come easily for me, and now I believe the world needs to know just how ruthless life can be. How that overwhelming yearning for acceptance can mold you into someone you don’t recognize when you look in the mirror. I’m through hiding behind one façade after another—it’s time for the world to meet the real me.
~Antoinette Justice





T. Marie Alexander lives in Arkansas. She can be found sitting at a computer on any given day, usually writing or looking up something to do with fashion. When she is not doing either of those things, she’s reading on her Kindle or binge watching Roswell on Netflix time and time again. She shares her apartment with her husband and some annoying ghost that like to take her belongings. Her dream of becoming an author started around the age of seven when she would glue small pages together and write about her favorite thing at the time, boy band crushes. T. Marie writes Young Adult Science Fiction and Paranormal Fiction.



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Monday 19 December 2016

Paralegal by Day, Romance Author by Night! Guest Post by Sylvie Parizeau, author of Incandescently

Paralegal by Day, Romance Author by Night!
Guest Post by Sylvie Parizeau, author of Incandescently

The 10 ways I was able to balance my day job as a legal professional, and work on Incandescently...

1. Accepting that a perfectly balanced day is not always quite of this world ... even when you’re organized.
    Still, I am so grateful for the following circumstances that helped pave my way through (my fit of the crazies), so that I could write (did I mention the crazies? :-D), and write some more...

2. A needed change of pace, leading us to leave big city life behind and move to the quiet and peacefulness of the country.

3. Working for my favorite attorney, my husband (are you reading over my shoulder, Grégoire? He is.). Well, you are my favorite attorney, unless we even when we work on weekends. (See? Told you, you were unequivocally my favorite!)

4. Working from our home office (thanks to intranets and high speed internet connexions) so NO commuting hours to and from downtown Montréal. A bit like working from the bat cave, we are virtually in Montréal.

5. Getting up at the crack of dawn and taking full advantage of ... NO commuting hours.

6. Having a separate reading/writing nook upstairs to keep both lives, well, separate.

7. Eating (pretty much) granola bars for supper for weeks on end, glued to my laptop upstairs; other meals (meaning lunch) generously provided (hot) by said favorite attorney/husband, downstairs. So I could stay glued to my desktop office computer and get the day’s work done and out of the way, but hey, such is life in the bat cave.

8. Acknowledging seven days a week, fourteen hours straight on the computer is a hard limit; my brain is fried after twelve hours. I won’t go into the seven days’ thing; you mentioned ways to balance... ;)

9. Living (under the proverbial rock) on top of a mountain, with no cell phone, *gasp*, no TV, *GASP*, and not much of a social life, *sigh* (refer to my fit of the crazies above). But then again, it’s amazing how much free time those three combined gives back, not to say it feeds my inner-introverted-self to perfection for now and I love it! Does that count for three ways to...? I think it does, so I’ll go for an ‘even dozen’ ways to.

10. Last but not least, now having two (very) grown-up sons out in the world, doing their wonderful and amazing things in their own, wonderful and amazing ways (who may or may not kill me if they ever read one of my stories)...

Want to peek some more inside my head? Feel free to visit my ‘About Me’ tab and peek under the Q&A toggles.

Season greetings from my winter wonderland, and happy reading holidays everyone!
Sylvie xo


A paralegal by day and incurable romantic by night, Sylvie is a cross-genre, and she takes Happily Ever After very seriously. The End just isn’t in her vocabulary.
An incorrigible daydreamer, she now feeds her obsession with epilogues by concocting stories in which heroes deal with the happy from the get-go. Ready, or not. And she confesses under oath to loving every minute of it. 
Sylvie lives her own Happily Ever After in the beautiful mountains of Les Laurentides in Northern Quebec, alongside her whole set of characters. 
In between treks in their backyard wilderness, you can find them hanging out at www.sylvieparizeau.com 




Incandescently
Sylvie Parizeau
Publication date: October 22nd 2016
Genres: New Adult, Romance
LIAM O’SHEA, bestseller author of the SciFi saga, Eiloe.

All I knew was pain – a childhood filled with cruelty and villains who used and abused.

Until Éolie.

I first heard her sweet, angelical voice in the dark of night, when I lay bathed in my own impending death. Seventeen years later, it’s not the nightmare she pulled me out of that haunts me, but the glimpse of Happily Ever After she revealed just before disappearing.

They said she was a figment of my boundless imagination. A wish. A dream. Until I had no choice but to believe them, cherishing my imaginary savior the only way I knew how – in fiction and lore.

But fantasy has a way of transforming reality. When I finally tire of being a citizen of the world, I take an impromptu sabbatical as a professor at a small college on the coast of Maine. And there I see her, the girl with the sea-green eyes and angelic voice.

My world turns upside down. Turns out my girl is for real, and the pull between us is anything but imaginary.

Happily Ever After has a story … and this one is mine.





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Friday 16 December 2016

Spotlight! The Elf - Max Dune


The Elf
Max Dune
Publication date: October 18th 2016
Genres: Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Young Adult
This Christmas…it’s war. Grab your weapon and join the fight in this modern Santa Claus retelling with a dark twist. Fans of Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar will be riveted by The Elf‘s action, humor and romance! 
Elves are dying in the North Pole, and none of their scientists can find a cure. They believe it’s a virus, unleashed by a powerful enemy. All signs point to Jack Frost, who’s been biding his time from afar. Watching. Waiting. Plotting. One brave elf, to save his kind, will venture out to meet evil in the eye. But he uncovers a mystery more dangerous than he could have ever imagined. Now Lucian must join a group of warriors and fight. Fuego; a flame-wielding pyro. Tiktok; a brilliant bomb expert, Yuriko; a deadly ninja assassin. And Bullets; a hot-headed gun aficionado. These unlikely heroes must learn to work together and defeat the rising evil. Or Christmas will soon be lost…forever.





Max Dune is a Southern writer who spent most his childhood watching TV, devouring comic books and weaving magical worlds in his head. In his mid-twenties, he decided to follow his true passion. He has since created a number of short stories, novels, screenplays and TV pilots. To be alerted to future books and giveaways, please sign up for his newsletter at http://eepurl.com/b5Is91





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Thursday 15 December 2016

Spotlight! Marlene: A Novel of Marlene Dietrich - C.W. Gortner

Marlene: A Novel of Marlene Dietrich
C.W. Gortner
William Morrow, Harper Collins, 12/13/16
Historical Fiction/Contemporary Women/Biographical

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From the gender-bending cabarets of Weimar Berlin to the tyrannical movie studios of Los Angeles, this sweeping story of passion, glamour, art, and war is a lush, dramatic novel of one of the most alluring legends of Hollywood’s golden age: Marlene Dietrich.

Raised in genteel poverty after the First World War, Maria Magdalena Dietrich dreams of a life on the stage. When her budding career as a violinist is cut short, she vows to become an actress, trading her family’s proper, middle-class society for the free-spirited, louche world of Berlin’s cabarets and drag balls. With her sultry beauty, smoky voice, and androgynous tailored suits, Marlene performs to packed houses and conducts a series of stormy love affairs that push the boundaries of social convention until she finds overnight success in the scandalous movie The Blue Angel.

For Marlene, neither fame nor marriage and motherhood can cure her wanderlust. As Hitler rises to power, she sets sail for America to become a rival to MGM’s queen, Greta Garbo. As one of Hollywood’s top leading ladies, she stars with such legends as Gary Cooper, John Wayne, and Cary Grant. Desperate for her return, Hitler tries to lure her with dazzling promises. Defiant in her stance against the Nazis, Marlene chooses instead to become an American citizen, and after her new nation is forced into World War II, she tours with the USO, performing for Allied troops in Europe and Africa. But one day, she must return to Germany, where she will discover a heartbreaking secret amidst the war’s devastation that transformed her homeland and the family she loved.

An enthralling account of this extraordinary legend, MARLENE reveals the inner life of a woman of grit and ambition who defied convention, seduced the world, and forged her own path.


“Skillfully evokes the cross-dressing, sexually fluid atmosphere of the seedy nightclubs that helped Marlene define her unique appeal. Well-detailed and truly moving; an ambitious account of the German-American star. ” —Kirkus Reviews

“Full of the sizzle and decadence of Weimar Berlin, and the scandal and soirees of Hollywood’s golden era, this is a gloriously entertaining read. CW Gortner’s Marlene is utterly beguiling, the kind of woman who only comes along once in a century. Reader, you can’t take your eyes off her!” —Beatriz Williams, New York Times bestselling author

"From the ribald cabarets of Weimer-era Berlin to the glamour of golden-era Hollywood, beguilingly androgynous and fiercely passionate Marlene Dietrich . . . fairly leaps off every page." —Booklist, starred review




03_cw-gortner

C.W. GORTNER holds an MFA in Writing with an emphasis in Renaissance Studies from the New College of California, as well as an AA from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco.
After an eleven year-long career in fashion, during which he worked as a vintage retail buyer, freelance publicist, and fashion show coordinator, C.W. devoted the next twelve years to the public health sector. In 2012, he became a full-time writer following the international success of his novels.
In his extensive travels to research his books, he has danced a galliard at Hampton Court, learned about organic gardening at Chenoceaux, and spent a chilly night in a ruined Spanish castle. His books have garnered widespread acclaim and been translated into twenty-one languages to date, with over 400,000 copies sold. A sought-after public speaker. C.W. has given keynote addresses at writer conferences in the US and abroad. He is also a dedicated advocate for animal rights, in particular companion animal rescue to reduce shelter overcrowding.
Half-Spanish by birth and raised in southern Spain, C.W. now lives in Northern California with his partner and two very spoiled rescue cats.
For more information visit C.W. Gortner’s website and blog. You can also find him on FacebookTwittterGoodreadsPinterest, and YouTube. Sign up for C.W. Gortner’s Newsletter for updates.



Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on December 20th. You must be 18 or older to enter..
– Giveaway is open to US residents only. 
– Only one entry per household. 
– All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. 
– Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Spotlight! Juliet - Kailee Reese Samuels


Juliet
Kailee Reese Samuels
Publication date: December 20th 2016
Genres: Erotica, Romance
To have and hold, love and cherish, til death do us part… 
When an unexpected twist of fate hands Iris her worst nightmare, the world spins out of control. As she falls apart, Iris finds comfort in her unpredictable behavior. With mysterious clues hidden by her husband, Iris drives away from her life to uncover the world he kept hidden for years.
Small town Sugargrove, Texas is unlike anything Iris has ever experienced. Foreboding, dark, and sensual, the enchanting Juliet academy lures Iris with hopes of discovering who she really is. Making friends and meeting people, she delves into the treacherous world of her surrender. But when she encounters Salvatore Raniero, the sexy alpha male ignites her in unimaginable ways, haunting her every thought and showing her a new kind of high. 
As she learns Sal is more than the mischievous sexual provocateur of Juliet, revealing a composed and thoughtful side, Iris wonders what else is hiding behind his mesmerizing ebony, emerald eyes. Pushing her into an even deeper erotic journey, Iris soars with her newfound freedom in the collar. 
The secrets unfurl as the web of lies continues to grow, and Iris realizes she is not the girl she once was. Trapped between a lonely past and an unknown future, she is left with the daunting task of deciding what she truly desires and who she wants to obey.
A love story doesn’t always go the way it should, sometimes the path to forever is a twisting, spiraling, and flying ride.

JULIET is Kailee Reese Samuels' full-length debut novel. 
THE INITIATION book 1 is set within the Juliet world and provides further glimpses into Salvatore Raniero’s character and history. 
Kailee Reese Samuels writes contemporary, romantic, and suspense, with an erotic flair. Let her words whisk you away, escaping with delicious guys, toe-curling kisses, and addictive stories. 
This book contains graphic BDSM, strong sexual situations, and explicit language. 18+ only.




KAILEE REESE SAMUELS has been spinning tales since she can remember. Her books are contemporary fiction with a no-holds-barred attitude. She adores listening to her characters ramble and putting them into situations that push the boundaries.
Creativity is the way to change.







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Tuesday 13 December 2016

Cover Reveal! Obsidian Sky - Amy Braun


Obsidian Sky
Amy Braun
(Dark Sky #3)
Publication date: February 7th 2017
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult
The final struggle against the Hellions has arrived. A trapped engineer and a desperate marauder scramble to fight an enemy with unspeakable power on its side. Time is running out, and one world will be destroyed…
After sacrificing herself to save the lives of her friends and family, Claire Abernathy struggles to outwit her Hellion captors. They torment and terrify her into working on a weapon with the sole purpose of obliterating the world, friends, and love she has struggled to save. If Claire has any chance of saving those she loves, she must delve deeper into the Hellion world, and witness nightmares she could never imagine.
In Westraven, Sawyer Kendric is desperate to find the woman he loves. To do so, he must finally embrace his family’s atrocious past and heal the wounds it has caused. He will be forced to make new allies, uncover secrets that change all he knows, and find the courage to lead a ragtag crew into the darkest, deadliest battle of their lives.
Claire and Sawyer fight to save their broken world in the final installment of the epic DARK SKY trilogy.

Previous books in the series:

28260225 29963541


Amy is a Canadian urban fantasy and horror author. Her work revolves around monsters, magic, mythology, and mayhem. She started writing in her early teens, and never stopped. She loves building unique worlds filled with fun characters and intense action. She is the recipient of April Moon Books Editor Award for "author voice, world-building and general bad-assery," and the One Book Two Standout Award in 2015 for her Cursed trilogy. She has been featured on various author blogs and publishing websites, and is an active member of the Writing GIAM and Weekend Writing Warrior communities. When she isn't writing, she's reading, watching movies, taking photos, gaming, and struggling with chocoholism and ice cream addiction.

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Monday 12 December 2016

Spotlight! Disruption - Chuck Barrett

Disruption
Chuck Barrett

There are two types of people: those who have been hacked and know it, and those who have been hacked and don’t know it.

Former Naval Intelligence Officer turned secret operative Jake Pendleton finds himself in a pulse-pounding race to stop a cyber-terrorist from releasing a string of the most heinous cyber-crimes the world has ever seen. Crimes that could render the world’s advanced technology useless.

Jake teams with his partner, Francesca Catanzaro, to track down their only lead, a white-hat hacker in Italy known only as The Jew. A man who might hold the key to stop a group of black-hat hackers from causing worldwide chaos—tag named Disruption.

After a search of the hacker’s flat in Rome turns up empty, Jake and Francesca follow the clues—a trail of dead bodies that leads them across Europe. Along the way, Jake discovers a possible link between recent hacks and a Malaysian airliner that mysteriously disappeared.

In the final adrenaline-charged moments before Disruption, Jake and Francesca find themselves in a high-voltage race to stop these cyber terrorists from unleashing destruction against their sworn mortal enemy.



Chuck Barrett is the bestselling author of the Award-Winning Jake Pendleton series—Breach of Power, The Toymaker, and The Savannah Project, as well as his latest award-winning blockbuster, BLOWN, the first book in his new Gregg Kaplan series.

In addition to writing thrillers, Barrett speaks and conducts workshops at book festivals, book clubs, reading groups, writers conferences, and writers groups. Some of his topics include Nuts & Bolts of Self-Publishing based on his book—Publishing Unchained: An Off-Beat Guide To Independent Publishing—as well as, Blueprint for a Successful Book Launch, Getting from ‘Idea’ to ‘Finished Manuscript,’ Mysteries & Thrillers: Fact or Fiction, and Adding the “What if” in Storytelling.

Barrett is a graduate of Auburn University and a retired air traffic controller. He also holds a Commercial Pilot Certificate, Flight Instructor Certificate, and a Dive Master rating. He enjoys fly fishing, hiking, and most things outdoors. He and his wife, Debi currently reside in Colorado.





Please Pass The Books offers a spotlight of this book.
You may follow the official blog tour here:

Dec 12 - Essentially Italian - book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Dec 12 - Working Mommy Journal - review / giveaway
Dec 13 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway
Dec 13 - The World As I See It - review
Dec 14 - Brian's Book Blog - review
Dec 15 - A Mama's Corner of the World - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Dec 15 - Dalene's Book Reviews - review / giveaway
Dec 16 - Bookmyopia - book spotlight / guest post
Dec 16 - Splashes Into Books - review / guest post
Dec 19 - Bound 4 Escape - review / giveaway
Dec 20 - Olio by Marilyn - review / author interview / giveaway
Dec 21 - Il Mio Tesoro - review / guest post
Dec 22 - Cheryl's Book Nook - review / giveaway
Dec 23 - The Autistic Gamer - review
Dec 26 - Mystery Suspense Reviews - book spotlight / guest post
Dec 27 - Book Reviews Nature Photos - review
Dec 28 - Outset-Rakhi Jayashankar's blog - review / author interview
Dec 29 - Jaquo Lifestyle Magazine - review
Dec 30 - Nighttime Reading Center - review / author interview / giveaway


Friday 9 December 2016

#PNR and #UF Giveaway Party!

Welcome to the #PNR and #UF Giveaway Party!

Who’s ready for a giveaway you can get your hands on? A bunch of authors got together to bring your this Big Box of Paperbacks Giveaway! One lucky winner is going to win SIXTY-TWO (62) Paperback Books! How’s that for an epic Book-Lover’s Prize?! If you are a fan of Urban Fantasy, Dystopian Fiction, or Paranormal/SciFi Romance, you’re going to want to get in on this! The best part is that even if you don’t win, you’ll be subscribed to the sponsoring authors newsletters for a chance to grab some freebies, snag some special offers, and enter more giveaways!




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Thursday 8 December 2016

Spotlight! GLITTER - Aprilynne Pike

GLITTER
Aprilynne Pike
Pub. Date: October 25, 2016
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike comes a truly original new novel—Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette in a near-future world where the residents of Versailles live like it’s the eighteenth century and an almost-queen turns to drug dealing to save her own life.

Outside the palace of Versailles, it’s modern day. Inside, the people dress, eat, and act like it’s the eighteenth century—with the added bonus of technology to make court life lavish, privileged, and frivolous. The palace has every indulgence, but for one pretty young thing, it’s about to become a very beautiful prison.

When Danica witnesses an act of murder by the young king, her mother makes a cruel power play . . . blackmailing the king into making Dani his queen. When she turns eighteen, Dani will marry the most ruthless and dangerous man of the court. She has six months to escape her terrifying destiny. Six months to raise enough money to disappear into the real world beyond the palace gates.

Her ticket out? Glitter. A drug so powerful that a tiny pinch mixed into a pot of rouge or lip gloss can make the wearer hopelessly addicted. Addicted to a drug Dani can sell for more money than she ever dreamed.

But in Versailles, secrets are impossible to keep. And the most dangerous secret—falling for a drug dealer outside the palace walls—is one risk she has to take.



Aprilynne Pike has been spinning faerie stories since she was a child with a hyper-active imagination. At the age of twenty she received her BA in Creative Writing from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. When not writing, Aprilynne can usually be found at the gym; she also enjoys singing, acting, reading, and working with pregnant moms as a childbirth educator and doula. Aprilynne currently lives with her husband and three kids in Utah, and dreams of warmer climates.

Aprilynne Pike's #1 New York Times best-selling debut, WINGS, is the first of four books about a seemingly ordinary girl with a not-so-ordinary destiny. In this tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever...

Goodreads     Website     Twitter


Wednesday 7 December 2016

Spotlight! Snowed - Maria Alexander

Snowed 
Maria Alexander
Publication date: November 2nd 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Young Adult
Charity Jones is a 16-year-old engineering genius who’s much-bullied for being biracial and a skeptic at her conservative school in Oak County, California. Everything changes when Charity’s social worker mother brings home a sweet teen runaway named Aidan to foster for the holidays. Matched in every way, Charity and Aidan quickly fall in love. But it seems he’s not the only new arrival: Charity soon finds the brutally slain corpse of her worst bully and she gets hard, haunting evidence that the killer is stalking Oak County. As she and her Skeptics Club investigate this death and others, they find at every turn the mystery only grows darker and more deadly. One thing’s for certain: there’s a bloody battle coming this holiday season that will change their lives – and human history – forever.
Will they be ready?


Maria Alexander is a produced screenwriter, published games writer, virtual world designer, award-winning copywriter, interactive theatre designer, fiction writer, snarkiologist and poet. Her short stories have appeared in numerous publications and acclaimed anthologies alongside living legends such as David Morrell and Heather Graham.
Her debut novel, Mr. Wicker, won the 2014 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. She's represented by Alex Slater at Trident Media Group.
When she's not wielding a katana at her Shinkendo dojo, she's being outrageously spooky or writing Doctor Who filk. She lives in Los Angeles with two ungrateful cats and a purse called Trog.


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Tuesday 6 December 2016

Spotlight! The Pawn - Skye Warren


The Pawn
Skye Warren
(Revenge and Seduction #1)
Publication date: December 6th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
The price of survival…
Gabriel Miller swept into my life like a storm. He tore down my father with cold retribution, leaving him penniless in a hospital bed. I quit my private all-girl’s college to take care of the only family I have left.
There’s one way to save our house, one thing I have left of value.
My virginity.
A forbidden auction…
Gabriel appears at every turn. He seems to take pleasure in watching me fall. Other times he’s the only kindness in a brutal underworld.
Except he’s playing a deeper game than I know. Every move brings us together, every secret rips us apart. And when the final piece is played, only one of us can be left standing.
THE PAWN is a full-length contemporary novel from New York Times bestselling author Skye Warren about revenge and seduction in the game of love.



Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of contemporary romance such as the Chicago Underground series. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, two sweet dogs, and one evil cat.





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Monday 5 December 2016

Guest Post! Location Research in France by Rebecca Bischoff, author of The French Impressionist

Location Research in France
by Rebecca Bischoff, author of The French Impressionist


When I began to write my novel, The French Impressionist, I wanted the French location to feel authentic to readers. I knew that would require research, but along the way I realized something. My research actually began long before I thought about writing my book.

In kindergarten I fell in love with a book called Arm and Arm by Remy Charlip, an American artist, writer, and choreographer. Because of his French name, I was certain he lived in France. From that young age I developed an obsession with all things French. When I got to high school and got to choose a foreign language to study, I, of course, chose French. Throughout high school and college, I studied French language and literature, took opportunities to travel to Europe to practice my French, and enjoyed getting to know a number of native speakers.

Because of that, I had many experiences to draw upon as I wrote The French Impressionist. I used my proficient (though not perfectly fluent) knowledge of French language and culture, along with my knowledge of the challenges involved in learning to speak another language. It helped me create characters that I felt were authentic. For example, when some of my French characters spoke in English, their word patterns were “colored” by French patterns of speaking. I also remembered my own awkward experiences in trying to make myself understood (or understand someone else) while struggling to learn a foreign language.

Beyond language differences, I also hoped to vividly portray the beautiful town of Nice, where my story takes place. Since I’d spent some time in France and in Italy along the Mediterranean coast, I took time to re-read my travel diaries to remember my impressions of Europe when I visited the first time. I also read travel blogs, watched informational and tourist videos (Rick Steves is great), and used Google Earth to research the specific location for my book.


I think that creating a vivid and authentic setting for a novel can be done well with help from the internet. But more than anything else, I believe it’s important to have personal, “real-life” experiences to share through your writing. My research for The French Impressionist really began long ago in a kindergarten classroom where I obsessively read a wonderful book filled with illustrations and poetry that made me (if mistakenly) dream of France.  



Rebecca Bischoff currently resides in Idaho with her family and works as a speech-language pathologist. She loves helping others, especially kids and teenagers, discover their own unique voices and learn to share who they are with the world. When she isn’t writing, she loves to read, spend time with her kids, and make awkward attempts to learn foreign languages. She is drawn to all things both French and Italian, used bookstores, and anything made out of chocolate.




The French Impressionist
Rebecca Bischoff
Publication date: December 6th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Rosemary is fifteen and gloriously free, on her own for the very first time. Part of an exchange program for aspiring artists, she arrives in sunny southern France with a single goal: she doesn’t plan to leave, ever. She wants a new life, a new family, and a new identity. But her situation, crafted from lies big and small, is precarious.
Desperate to escape haunting images from her past and a stage one helicopter parent, Rosemary struggles to hide her lack of artistic talent and a communication disorder that has tormented her all her life. She believes her dream of a new start will come true, until she unwittingly finds herself enveloped in a decades-old mystery that threatens to ruin her only chance for success. Determined to stay, Rosemary must choose whether or not she’ll tell the biggest lie of all, even if it means destroying the life of someone she cares about.
Dramatic, heartwarming, and full of teenage angst, The French Impressionist perfectly captures the struggle of those who feel they have no voice, and also shows the courage it takes to speak up and show the world who we really are.



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Friday 2 December 2016

Spotlight! The Adventures of Natalie Bloom - Brooke Stanton


The Adventures of Natalie Bloom
Brooke Stanton
(Bloom Sisters, #2)
Publication date: December 2nd 2016
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance
Natalie’s dreams are about to come true. She’s found the perfect spot for her new restaurant and a perfect business partner to make it happen – gorgeous Luke Hawker – until she discovers things are not as they seem. Luke has run off with her money, leaving her dreams crumbling around her.
With Max Euston – her friend and secret crush -alongside her, Natalie must race against the clock to find Luke and get the money back before it’s too late.
With twists and turns, Natalie won’t know who to trust (or love) until the very last page.

Here are some bonuses if you buy the book between Dec 2and Dec 6:
1: 75% off the retail price
2: entrance into an exclusive giveaway for a $50 Amazon Gift Card
3: A FREE, advanced copy of The Downfall of Catie Bloom
The bonuses will be available in the table of contents under Bonus when you buy the eBook.



After her own misadventures in New York City, LA, and London, Brooke Stanton now lives in sunny South Florida. She’s an award-winning author who has contributed to Natural Awakenings Magazine, wrote a column for Examiner.com, and is the author of The Bloom Sisters series.








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Thursday 1 December 2016

Spotlight! The Semper Sonnet - Seth Margolis

THE SEMPER SONNET
SETH MARGOLIS


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In this stunning thrill ride, perfect for fans of Dan Brown and Steve Berry, a long-lost manuscript, written for Elizabeth I, holds the key to unlocking the past—and to eliminating the future.
Lee Nicholson is ready to take the academic world by storm, having discovered a sonnet she believes was written by William Shakespeare. When she reads the poem on the air, the words put her life in peril and trigger a violent chase, with stakes that reach far beyond the cloistered walls of academia.
Buried in the language of the sonnet, in its allusions and wordplay, are secrets that have been hidden since Elizabethan times, secrets known only to the queen and her trusted doctor, but guessed at by men who seek the crown and others who seek the world. If the riddles are solved, it could explode what the world knows of the great Elizabeth I. And it could release a pandemic more deadly than the world has ever imagined.
Lee’s quest for the answers buried in the sonnet keeps her one step ahead of an international hunt—from the police who want her for murder, to a group of men who will stop at nothing to end her quest, to a madman who pursues the answers for destructive reasons of his own.
As this intelligent thriller moves back and forth between Tudor England and the present day, Lee begins to piece together the meaning behind Shakespeare’s words, carrying the story to its gasp-out-loud conclusion.

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | INDIEBOUND


About the Author

Seth Margolis is a writer whose most recent novel, THE SEMPER SONNET, was published on April 19. He is the author of six earlier novels, including LOSING ISAIAH, which was made into a film starring Halle Berry and Jessica Lange.
Seth lives with his wife, Carole, in New York City. They have two grown children, Maggie and Jack. Seth received a BA in English from the University of Rochester and an MBA in marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business Administration. When not writing fiction, he is a branding consultant for a wide range of companies, primarily in the financial services, technology and pharmaceutical industries. He has written articles for the New York Times and other publications on travel and entertainment.
For more information, please visit Seth Margolis’ website. You can also find him on FacebookTwitter, and Goodreads.
Please Pass The Books offers a spotlight of this novel. Feel free to follow the official book blog tour here:

Thursday, December 1
Review at Jessica and Gracie’s Tree
Friday, December 2
Spotlight at The Never-Ending Book
Saturday, December 3
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews
Monday, December 5
Review at A Bookaholic Swede
Tuesday, December 6
Review at Jorie Loves a Story
Spotlight at The Lit Bitch
Wednesday, December 7
Review at Kinx’s Book Nook
Spotlight at What Is That Book About
Thursday, December 8
Interview at Author Dianne Ascroft’s Blog
Spotlight at Susan Heim on Writing
Friday, December 9
Review at Trisha Jenn Reads
Monday, December 12
Review at 100 Pages a Day
Review at Queen of All She Reads
Wednesday, December 14
Review at JulzReads
Thursday, December 15
Guest Post at JulzReads
Friday, December 16
Spotlight at Books, Dreams, Life
Monday, December 19
Review at Beth’s Book Nook Blog
Wednesday, December 21
Spotlight at A Literary Vacation
Tuesday, December 27
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective
Wednesday, December 28
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Thursday, December 29
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views
Friday, December 30
Review at Broken Teepee