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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

Giveaway and Book Review of A Soulmate for Christmas Anthology


Giveaway and Book Review of A Soulmate for Christmas Anthology
Sponsored by Virtual Book Tours
Welcome to Books, Books, and More Books.  I am pleased to share my review of this book with you.  Thank you for visiting and please come again.

Tags
Anthology Book, anthology, list of book writers, Christmas Stories, a soulmate, A Soulmate For Christmas, Char Chaffin, Aliza Mann, Cindy Racette, JJ Devine, Angela Scavone, virtual book tour cafe, virtual book tour, authors on tour, authors website

Blurb : 

A SoulMate For Christmas, five stories that celebrate the wonder, the passion and the spirit of love during the Christmas season.

I KNOW YOU by Char Chaffinar
Star-crossed lovers, united by death on Christmas Eve, search every fifty years to find each other again.
Author Tagline: Char Chaffin Writes Contemporary and Mainstream Romance that Pairs Flawed Heroes and Heroines with that One, Perfect-For-Them Love

A VAMPIRE FOR YULE by J.J. Devine
Two lonely hearts come together during the holidays and discover their destiny.
Author Tagline: Powerful Paranormals and Historicals for the Heart are J.J. Devine’s forte.

STELLAR HEART by Aliza Mann
http://www.heroesandheartbreakers.com/
Would-be high school lovers Harper Stellar and Alexis Alston are back together to save his family business during the Christmas shopping season. Can they correct past mistakes and find their future?
Author Tagline: Aliza Mann: Romance with the Lights On.

TO GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE WE GO by Cynthia Racette:
http://www.cynthiaracette.com/
A husband and wife, driven apart by tragedy, are given another chance during Christmas in the country.
Author Tagline: Cynthia Racette is a diehard family gal and her books reflect her belief that family conquers all and, without it, life is empty.

In HOLLY’S SECRET by Angela Scavone
http://angelascavone.com/
A woman’s need to reveal the truth could ruin the holidays and cost her the man she loves.
Author Tagline: Angela writes romantic comedies, infusing humor into all situations so that her readers laugh and can forget their real life troubles, even if for a little while.

 About the Authors:
Char Chaffin
Char Chaffin started reading romance, science fiction and horror at a very young age. Her love of books is directly responsible for her overflowing bookcases, and the bounty stored on her Kindle threatens to eclipse her entire paper collection. Char currently writes mainstream and contemporary romance filled with family, rich characters and engaging plots. For her, it all comes back to the love.
Char began her writing odyssey as a poet, crafting Victorian-style poetry, then went on to writing short stories. She found her niche when she began writing longer and longer short stories, until she wrote her first novel. It might never see the light of day, but writing it taught her a lot. Over the years she worked a variety of jobs, from farm hand to costume designer to fiscal accountant, before deciding a writing career was her true focus.
In addition to writing, Char is also an Acquisitions Editor for Soul Mate Publishing.
A native New Yorker, Char currently lives Upstate on a sixty-acre farm with husband Don, rat terrier Daisy Mae and two barn cats who constantly slack off on the job of keeping the barn free of varmints. The Chaffin extended family is scattered all over the continental United States including Alaska.
Char and Don divide their time between New York State and Alaska.
When she’s not pounding away at her keyboard or burying her nose in books and Kindle, she tends a huge vegetable garden and helps Don maintain their farm. 

J.J. Devine
Reading and writing have been J.J.'s passion her whole life. Starting out with being the poet, everyone came to in high school to get that "perfect" poem for his or her boyfriend/girlfriend. She spent her weekends locked away in her room, curled up on her bed, writing short stories for only a selected few readers.
She has been happily married for 27 years to her trucker husband. She is a mother of three, grandmother of three; a lover of dogs, cats, and fish.
J.J. started to pen historical romance as a hobby when her youngest child was a year old. She got serious about her writing career joining Romance Writers of America and Indiana Romance Writers of America. She penned her first paranormal romance, Into the Darkness, in 25 days, taking herself beyond her comfort zone and just giving the characters free reign of their story.
Since taking herself out of the outside working world, she has dedicated her life to her writing and her writing world and raising consciousness for Domestic Violence Awareness.

Aliza Mann
Aliza Mann has a familiar story in the world of authors – she has been writing since she was seven, created millions of worlds in her mind and loves everything about literature. Her affair with paranormal began with her brother’s role as Aslan in an elementary school production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Everything about the story fascinated her and she has never stopped reading since. Much to her mother’s dismay, Aliza would often skip going outside to play with friends in order to stay in her room reading. Her junior high school experience was not much different. She would spend all her time making up stories for her girlfriends, then spend all evening swapping tales with them over the phone. With high school, college and eventually her professional life, she found less and less time to dedicate to her writing. In 2009, she decided to refocus on her writing career by taking courses and workshops to hone her craft. Her first short story, a historical fiction piece entitled Anjani’s Song, was selected for inclusion in Reverie – Midwest African American Journal, an Aquarius Press publication.
Aliza joined Romance Writers of America in 2010, as well as the Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America local chapter. She holds a Savvy Author membership and continues to participate in workshops and critique groups.
Today, she is the mother of two and works in the Healthcare industry as an IT professional. She shares her home with her 13-year-old son and her own personal Alpha-superhero-best-friend. Her daughter lives off campus at a college nearby. She has lived in Michigan since she was a small child and still considers her home state of Georgia near and dear to her heart.
Aliza loves paranormal and contemporary romances, leaning towards searing hot heat levels. Her favorite authors include Sylvia Day, Maya Banks, Lora Leigh and Karina Cooper. She still reads excessively and works on too many stories at once. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
You may find her at her own blog, Aliza’s Garden or on the popular Heroes and Heartbreakers blog, where she occasionally contributes.

Cynthia Racette
Cynthia has been writing all her life, as a newspaper reporter, editor, and novelist. To be near her children and granddaughters, she and her newly retired hubby moved to the Buffalo, NY area. Through her daughter, who is also a writer, she got hooked up with RWA and good things started to happen. She is now writing more novels, taking lots of trips, and relaxing by the pool on gorgeous summer days in Western, NY.


Angela Scavone
Angela, who lives in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, sharing her home with her father and much loved trio of pups. She currently works for the Board of Education behind the scenes, supporting and analyzing student data, however, in her spare time, apart from her avid love of storytelling, she likes to read and spend time with family and friends.

Contacts:


Giveaway:

$15 Amazon Gift Card to those that purchase the book


a Rafflecopter giveaway
 
Review

            I love Christmas stories.  The heartwarming love and cheer that are the Spirit of Christmas make these my favorite types of stories, especially given the horrible things we have heard in the news lately. 

            I admit it.  I like happy endings and Christmas stories always have happy endings.  This anthology has fabulous stories.   I loved all  of them.  I don’t think I could pick a favorite out of the stories. 

            I love that with an anthology you get to sample many authors.  I enjoyed the history with the Indian mythology from the first story.  Now I want all weddings that I attend to have “I know you” incorporated into the vows.

            The stories contain vampires, witches, Santa’s granddaughter, a couple reuniting, and the high school freak dating the popular jock.  Every story had a heartwarming ending that brought a smile to my face.  Exactly what you want during the holiday season.

            I give this book 4.5 out of 5 clouds.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Giveaway and Book Review of Shadow Play

Giveaway and Book Review of Shadow Play

Sponsored by Virtual Book Tour Cafe


Welcome to Books, Books, and More Books.  I am pleased to share my review of this book with you.  Thank you for visiting and please come again.

Shadow Play
By Christie Palmer
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Publisher: Jinx Fantasy Fiction LLC, Salt Lake City, UT  
Date of Publication:  12/12/2012

Blurb : 

A small town in the mountains of Marshall, Montana is being plagued by an unknown entity and it is mutilating and killing the women of the town. At his wits end the Sheriff of Marshall has nowhere to turn but to a friend. A friend, with the abilities to track and kill any prey.
Ryder doesn’t normally do mortal issues. However, he can’t turn his back on a friend. Besides he is the best at what he does. After all he is a Tracker, an ancient race with unparalleled abilities to track down any prey. With one of the three essential elements: Taste, Touch or Smell. Heartless and cold, Ryder knows what needs to be done and performs his duty without feeling.
Kyra, an Air Element and the only female Elemental Enforcer, is sent on a fact finding mission to Marshall, by the Druid Council. She needs to find out exactly what is happening in Montana before the Tribunal goes in and kills everyone.
The last thing she expects to find is a Tracker, and is even more surprised to find out that he is on her side. But can they get past their initial feelings upon meeting and the sexual tension? Or will the evil that is living in the mountain kill them both.
Ryder and Kyra must learn to work together to destroy the shadow and save Kyra from a fate worse than death. When pure evil is involved is love enough?

About the Author:

Christie was born and raised in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Ut. She lives less than a mile from the home she grew up in. World traveler she is not. But what she lacked in travel she more than made up for in her imagination. Within her vivid imagination she has traveled the world over as well as different worlds and different times.
She works a full time day job to pay the bills but looses herself in books and her writing whenever possible.
She is a loving mother of two wonderful children that she admits she is obsessed with. She has been married for 18 years to a very tolerant man that is grounded in reality in order for her to fly to the heights of her own imagination.
She started writing when she was a teenager after reading a book that she didn't like the ending too. Took a hiatus to raise her wonderful children but has dedicated herself to becoming a published writer for the last several years.

Contacts:

Author Links:

Giveaways:

Giveaway - 1 prize pack to include a Where Fantasy Meets Reality journal, pen, mug and water bottle. 1 journal, 1 mug, 1 pen, 1 water bottle. Open to US/Canada only. Ebook prize for international.



Goodreads Book Giveaway

Shadow Play by Christie Palmer

Shadow Play

by Christie Palmer

Giveaway ends December 01, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win


Schedule:

December 12 - Kimberly Lewis Novels
December 12 - Reviewed at 
All Things Books
December 13 - 
Margaret West's Blog
December 15 - Reviewed at 
Books, Books, The Magical Fruit
December 16 - Reviewed at 
Marked By Books
December 12/17 - Reviewed at Kaidan's Seduction
December 18 - Reviewed at 
Let's Get BOOKED!
December 19 - 
Lori's Reading Corner
December 20 - Reviewed at 
Books, Books, and More Books
December 29 - Reviewed at 
A Book Lover's Library
December 30 - Reviewed at 
Books-Marks The Spot

Excerpt:

Ryder followed the scent that was uniquely Kyra. Screams echoed through the dark, and after several minutes, her smell changed. Tinged with iron, she was bleeding. Anger perfuse him in a way he couldn’t understand. He ended up at several dead ends. Kyra was stumbling blindly through the caves. But he felt he was getting closer; her scent stronger.
He halted when he finally entered a large cavern. And froze, trying to take everything in. Then he saw her, her blue eyes sparkling in the dark of the cavern. He didn’t move as her eyes darted around, panicked.
“Kyra?”
Her head swung in his direction but he knew she couldn’t see as well in the dark as he could. “It smells like death,” she whispered. “It’s choking me.” She clawed at her throat, causing small scratches that started to bleed.
“Kyra, are you hurt?” he asked, stepping toward her slowly. He wasn’t sure what had prompted her to take off like she had, or why she was now curled up in a ball.
She shook her head no, and he could see tears streaking down her cheeks. “Did you know that air holds memories?” she said frantically. “Holds pictures, visions, life, and death, stories of what has come and gone. Lives it has touched.”
Ryder hadn’t known that. He couldn’t imagine hearing and seeing what could be trapped in the air. As a Tracker, he knew the air held many things, things he explored as a Tracker. But as an Air Element, the air did something completely different to Kyra. And at the moment, it looked like it was killing her.
“The air,” she looked around the dark cavern, “is trapped with the souls and lives of what happened here.” Her body stiffened and then convulsed. Ryder rushed over to her. Once the convulsion stopped, she looked at him. Her bright blue eyes glowed in the dark, beautiful as ever. “Terrible things have happened here,” she whispered in pain.
Kyra clutched at the front of his shirt. “There isn’t any air down here, Ryder. I’m an Air Element and this air is dead” She shook her head, struggling to take a full breath. “I can’t breathe down here.” Tears ran down her face and he brushed them away.
“Then let’s get out of here.” He offered her his hand.
Kyra closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “There isn’t any air down here and something horrible is going on. Look around! The souls are trapped. The screams held in the air are desperate to be heard. But they aren’t because there isn’t any air!” she bellowed.
Ryder stood and looked around. Several tables sat littered with things you would find in a laboratory—microscopes and incubators. A generator rested in one corner. “What is this?” Metal fridges hung open, the contents spilled all over the floor.
Kyra grabbed his pant leg. “Someone is doing something very, very wrong. Creating things, living and dead.” She looked around frantically as if someone would stop her next words. “Mostly dead, and they hurt,” she cried. “They hurt so badly.”
More screams pierced the darkness, and Ryder thanked the Gods they weren’t from Kyra. He sent up a prayer for the poor soul. Kyra wrapped her arms around her head, as if that would stop the sound. Kyra was right—something horrible was taking place in this mountain. And they needed to find out exactly what it was. But at that moment, his main concern was Kyra.
“Make it stop,” she moaned. “Something very, very bad is happening down here,” she said again.

Review

            Can you imagine if your kiss might kill the one you love?  Loved this romance.  The paranormals were fascinating.  I was impressed with the imaginative characters and type of paranorms.  I would love to have this kind of imagination.

            The book was a great mix of romance, fantasy, and paranormal characters.  Very well written and descriptive.

            I give it 4.5 out of 5 clouds.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.