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Saturday, December 8, 2012

Classic Reads 2013 Blitz/Hop



Classic Reads 2013 Blitz/Hop


Dates: Post any date 3-7 January

Theme: What makes a 'classic read'/What will be the 'new classics'

Post about the books you think are great and why. They don't have to be 'classics' as we traditionally know them but anything you think is a fantastic read, in any genre.


$300 in prizes: $200/£130 Amazon gift card (open to hoppers)
2x$50/£35 Amazon gift card (open to everyone)

Sponsored by Terri Giuliano Long, Molly Greene, Rachel Thompson and Christine Nolfi

Visit http://bit.ly/CR2013 to get more information and sign up

New Book Prophecy of the Undead



New Book Prophecy of the Undead  

Exciting news you heard here first.  This book now available.

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

Prophecy of the Undead
Fiona McGier
BLURB:

Keisha is a neurobiology researcher determined to discover the secret to intelligence to save humanity from itself.  What she learns leads her to realize a bigger threat comes from beyond the stars.  Yuri is a Russian vampire whose long-dead feelings respond to the scientist whose brain he admires but whose curves he can't resist.  Will his love reach the places in her heart that she has ignored for so long?  And can they defeat the prophecy of the undead to find happiness sharing eternity?

About the Author:

Fiona has always had stories in her head, with characters telling her about their lives. Often she wakes up with entire story arcs that she has to feverishly write down before starting her day.  Now that her four children are erudite young adults, she hides from everyone for hours, bringing the stories to life. She hopes that you enjoy your short trip into her mind as you meet some of the heroines and heroes who live there, and now on these pages also. If you want to read more, she has a series of six contemporary romance books about the members of a large Hispanic family, The Reyes Family Romances.  She also wrote two books about female spies who work for a top-secret international agency, as well as two stand-alone contemporary romances.

Excerpt:

Keisha wakes up to find herself tied up in the trunk of a car, and futilely tries to escape while the men had to walk to a gas station when they ran out of gas.  They've returned:

     The trunk opened and Keisha closed her eyes, hoping that if she appeared to be still unconscious, they would leave her alone.
She felt the tip of a gun against her cheek as it stroked her face.
     “Aw, she’s still out cold. That’s no fun.”
     “Just feel her up then let’s get out of here. I’m getting a weird feeling that we’re being watched...”
     “By who? There’s no one else out in this God-forsaken...what the fuck?”
     Keisha heard a swooshing sound and opened her eyes to see a blur of movement. There was a snarling growl, combined with the yells of real fear, coming from her two tormentors.
     “Kill the bitch!.”
     She felt the gun stuck into her ribs and held her breath, waiting for death. The gun fired. The bullet tore its way through her skin and chest muscles, burned through her lung, and severed arteries as it lodged in her heart. She found it difficult to let out the breath or to breathe in any more air.
     There was the awful sound of breaking bones...then silence.
Someone leaned over into the trunk and lifted her gently out as if she was as light as a child. She felt herself being laid on the ground and fought to breathe as her blood pulsed out of her through the chest wound, soaking her clothes and making them stick to her. Her rescuer tore through the knots that she was unable to budge. She tried to thank him with her last gasps of air.
     “Tha...thanks.” She choked on her own blood and her head swam.
     “Keisha, look at me,” he commanded in a voice that sounded vaguely familiar, but very distant, as if she was moving far away from him.
     She tried to focus her gaze but merely saw the outlines of a man’s torso, with a face barely visible, topped with white hair that shone in the dim moonlight.
     “I had hoped to spare you this but I have no other choice now. I can’t lose you...I won’t. You must choose right now, before it’s too late. Do you want to live?”
     In her mind she giggled but all that came out of her mouth was a gargling sound.
     “Um, yeah...don’t think...option anymore...”
     “Yes, it is. But if I do this thing, you will be changed. You will be alive, yet not alive. Are you sure you want me to do this?”
     Her head nodded up and down as darkness descended, her vision clouded by the blood that was everywhere now. She drifted off and idly wondered if she was going anywhere or if she was just going to lose consciousness and that would be the end of thought.
     Suddenly her mind was invaded by a tall, blond man with an intense look in his eyes that shone with a black fire in their depths.
     What are you doing here? I’m busy dying...who are you?
     “You are dying but not in the way you expect. What I’m doing is ensuring that you will wake up again tomorrow night. What images would you like me to entertain you with as your body dies?”

     She tried to shrug but was unable to move any part of her body.
She felt herself being held by strong arms, with the tiny hairs on her neck standing at full attention while the lips on her neck created a drowsy drugged feeling in her mind.
     “How about something erotic?”
     Like?
     She was suddenly on a downy-soft bed, naked, with a man’s head between her thighs. His tongue was driving her mad with desire as he alternated between licking her from front to back, and nibbling on her clit gently. When his fingers pulled the hood back and his teeth grazed her clit, she screamed with pleasure as the orgasm crashed through her with the force of a tsunami. She rose up off of the bed with the tightening of her muscles. Then the man loomed before her, spread her thighs uncomfortably wide and his hips surged forward. The pleasure she had just felt multiplied as his massive organ pushed its way into her, stretching her almost beyond comfort. He filled her, then withdrew only to
slam into her again and again. It was almost more than she could bear. She screamed as he came, the force of his orgasm making her spasm with an intensity to match his own.
     He growled like a wild animal as he pulsated inside of her.
Her muscles clenched around him. Her orgasms were like a roller coaster of pleasure, pushing her up a hill then crashing her down on the other side.
     The last thing she remembered was his voice telling her, "Drink. Drink deeply. Take as much as you can hold. I have emptied you; now, fill yourself with me."
     I’m already filled with you. Her thoughts were her own but inexplicably she felt his chest move as he chuckled. Everything went black and she drifted off into nothingness.

LINKS:


Buy link: http://eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615727988
Note: paperback will become available in a couple of weeks.
www.fionamcgier.com, where the first page is her blog.


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

Friday, December 7, 2012

Meet the Family Holiday Hop



Meet the Family Holiday Hop
Dates: Post any date 10-13 December

Theme: Holidays/Festivities

Post about your favorite family traditions, memories, recipes or favorite holiday reads/music
Or you could post about a fictional family's festive pursuits

$200 in prizes: 2x$50/£35 Amazon gift card (open to hoppers)

2x$50/£35 Amazon gift card (open to everyone)

Sponsored by Terri Giuliano Long
Visit http://bit.ly/1210hop to get more information and sign up

Book Review of Lost Volumes: Enchanted Bookstore Legend Three


Book Review of Lost Volumes: Enchanted Bookstore Legend Three
Sponsored by Bewitching 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.

Lost Volumes: Enchanted Bookstore Legend Three by Marsha A. Moore
Genre: Fantasy romance

Blurb : 

When Lyra McCauley learns residents of Dragonspeir’s Alliance are suffering with a deadly plague, she doesn’t heed the warnings of her fiancĂ©, wizard Cullen Drake, to remain safe in her human world. After all, she’s the present Scribe—one of five strong women in her ancestry who possessed unique magic, each destined to protect the Alliance against the evil Black Dragon of the Dark Realm. With Cullen dependent upon Alliance power to maintain his immortality, the stakes are doubled for Lyra.
She leaves her college teaching and puts herself at risk for the community afflicted by black magic. To find a cure, she and Cullen travel into the vile, lawless underworld of Terza to strike a bargain with an expert. Their efforts further enrage the Black Dragon, vowing to decimate the Alliance and avenge the murder of his heir.
Lyra must secure the three lost volumes of the Book of Dragonspeir. Written by the three earliest Scribes, each book contains energy. Possession of the entire set will enable overthrow of the Dark Realm. Following clues into dangerous lands, Lyra and Cullen seek those volumes. His assistants, Kenzo the tiger owl and Noba the pseudodragon, prove invaluable aids. Only if they succeed, will the Alliance be safe and Lyra reach closer to the immortality she needs to live a life with Cullen.

Series Blurb: Enchanted Bookstore Legends

The Enchanted Bookstore Legends are about Lyra McCauley, a woman destined to become one of five strong women in her family who possess unique magical abilities and serve as Scribes in Dragonspeir. The Scribes span a long history, dating from 1200 to present day. Each Scribe is expected to journey through Dragonspeir, both the good and evil factions, then draft a written account. Each book contains magic with vast implications.




Lyra was first introduced to Dragonspeir as a young girl, when she met the high sorcerer, Cullen Drake, through a gift of one of those enchanted books. Using its magic, he escorted her into the parallel world of Dragonspeir. Years later, she lost that volume and forgot the world and Cullen. These legends begin where he finds her again—she is thirty-five, standing in his enchanted bookstore, and Dragonspeir needs her. 
 




When Lyra reopens that enchanted book, she confronts a series of quests where she is expected to save the good Alliance from destruction by the evil Black Dragon. While learning about her role, Lyra and Cullen fall in love. He is 220 years old and kept alive by Dragonspeir magic. Cullen will die if Dragonspeir is taken over by the evil faction…Lyra becomes the Scribe.







About the Author:

Marsha A. Moore is a writer of fantasy romance. The magic of art and nature spark life into her writing. Her creativity also spills into watercolor painting and drawing. After a move from Toledo to Tampa in 2008, she’s happily transforming into a Floridian, in love with the outdoors. Crazy about cycling, she usually passes the 1,000 mile mark yearly. She is learning kayaking and already addicted. She’s been a yoga enthusiast for over a decade and that spiritual quest helps her explore the mystical side of fantasy. She never has enough days spent at the beach, usually scribbling away at new stories with toes wiggling in the sand. Every day at the beach is magical!

Contacts:




Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excerpt:

From Chapter One: An Urgent Message

Lyra almost deleted the email marked urgent, suspecting some virus that might take control of her computer, but stopped when she realized the sender was her lover—a 220-year-old wizard, who rarely used a computer. She couldn’t open the message fast enough.

Lyra,
Alliance mortals and lower magicals are taking violently ill. I’m leaving the bookstore for a while to offer aid. DO NOT come to Dragonspeir. Stay safe in your world.
Love always,
Cullen

She stared at the screen, twisting a strand of her long hair. Leaning forward, she gripped the armrests of the chair. Her breath caught when she noticed how the dragon’s sapphire eyes on her new bloodswear ring sparked from the energy of her concern. His message left her undecided, reading between the lines and weighing the choices.

Those affected—mortals and lower magicals—seemed to place her in the risk group, obviously Cullen’s concern. However, those mortals were all born in Dragonspeir, while she originally came from Tampa. Lower magicals did include members of both worlds. But as the current Scribe, Lyra possessed inherited power at least as great as high-order wizards. She just didn’t fully grasp how to command her magic yet.

She did want to help. Since her parents and dear Aunt Jean died, the Guardians, wizards, dragons, and other residents of the Alliance were her only family. Lyra’s unique powers might be useful, especially since they now lacked an alchemist.

Eburscon disappeared after he attempted to steal her scribal aura, and she’d heard no reports of him since, so he was presumed dead by many. According to Cullen, no one wanted him back. However, living without a person capable of creating remedies for a plague or widespread illness had left many residents uneasy. Some talked about trying to persuade Tarom, the Dark Realm’s alchemist, to switch his allegiance. Two centuries ago, he served the Imperial Dragon, leaving only when he couldn’t tolerate working under Eburscon any longer.

Despite ranking as the top wizard, the Imperial Sorcerer in the Alliance High Council, Cullen lacked alchemical skills. Even though untrained, Lyra possessed a keen intuitive sense in the craft. She could help him. Aries guided the fire in her scribal powers and also fueled her impatience.

Lyra checked and secured Aunt Jean’s cottage since the last gasps of late winter storms in the upper peninsula of Michigan could be brutal.

Dashing off a few emails to her college students in Florida, she gave them feedback on their independent study in the Fantasy Lit course. She was glad her leave from on-campus teaching responsibilities continued until the next fall term.

Lyra saved and printed the chronicle draft of her bloodswear quest, completed at the end of last year. It was mid-March, and she’d almost finished the written account, storing magic in her words that would empower the Alliance—her role as a Scribe. The hard copy she stuffed into a commuter bag to work on later with the Imperial Dragon and the other three Guardians. She needed to sort through their research details that had helped her kill the heir to the Black Dragon. Additional supplies could be conjured from memory.

Outside, the dock in the backyard looked weather-beaten but sound. Waves from Lake Huron lapped at its old boards. In the flower bed, the first spring perennials peeked through the packed ground and would require plenty of care soon. Lyra hoped to be back in time to maintain what her aunt had loved so much. Crocuses stood bravely against the melting snowpack—a reminder.

As she turned from the garden, a large black butterfly flitted around her head. It was the same type that had spied on her before and been in her aunt’s room when she was killed—purple spots like eyes on its wings. Suspecting it was a transformed magical from Dragonspeir’s Dark Realm, Lyra swatted at the insect. Thinking that someone watched her leave caused a chill to run down her spine.

Finally shooing it to the nearby bushes, she lifted her head high, put her bag inside her silver Subaru sport wagon, and drove straight to Drake’s Bookstore.

After parking in back, she twisted her dragon ring to unlock the back door of Cullen’s shop, no longer needing the magical skeleton key. “Sheridan, I’m using your portal,” she called out.

From his cage on the showroom counter, the cicada chirped, “I already knew it was you, sweetheart. Nice perfume.”

Lyra shook her head. Darned bug never stopped flirting.

“By the way, Sire Drake told me to not let you pass. Something about an illness in the Alliance. Don’t make me use my magic on you.”

“I’m going anyway,” she replied as she prepared herself in the storage room.

“Like I knew you would,” he snapped.

She gave her ring another twist and stated, “Pateo porta!” In response, two metal bookcases moved apart. Between them lay the connector to Dragonspeir. She stepped across. The familiar tingling sensation now felt invigorating, when last summer it had frightened her. Her jeans, t-shirt, and jacket transformed into a full-skirted gown of light blue cotton under a navy cloak.

It was her first time back since being publically honored for completing her bloodswear quest and sorcery studies. She’d have to wait to find out if her new abilities could alter the clothing she acquired at the portal.

Lifting one side of the long garments, Lyra ran the short distance along the wooded trail to the location of the old, sentry tree, Gatekeeper Cranewort. Reminding her of the shape of grand live oaks in Florida, his branches spread wide and high, taller than any nearby. His large, flat leathery leaves were turned to collect the warm morning rays.

“Hello, Cranewort,” she called ahead. “I don’t mean to disturb your sunbathing, but I need to pass to the Imperial Dragon’s lair, or to the Meadow—whichever place I can help most with those who are sick.”

“Not sunbathing, child, merely enhancing my immune functioning to bolster my health after the harsh winter. Sire Drake instructed me to not permit your passage. He and all of us fear you will fall ill.” He lifted extensions of his roots into a spiky barricade, one of his gate-keeping defenses.

“Perhaps I can help,” she maintained, hands on her hips.

“It looks to be a horrible disease—elevated fever, chills, vomiting blood. Some are dying. Please stay here, Adalyra.”

“I’m not like any from Dragonspeir. I won’t get it.” Lyra hoped what she said was true but couldn’t turn her back on thousands who were ill.

“Well…you most certainly are unique.” He folded his leaves and tipped his trunk forward to look at her directly. “The Alliance relies on your special scribal abilities to battle the Dark Realm. Losing you to illness would risk too much. Be wise and stay back.” He smoothed down his bark and held out a twigged hand to her.

She stepped beyond his touch. “The entire Alliance is my family, and I need to help them.”

The gnarled tree let out a sigh and lowered his roots. “Very well. You have your own mind, and it is one of a leader. That is your inheritance from the four female Scribes in your family. But, I expect you to use every caution available. Sire Drake is in the Meadow. Stay with him.”

“I promise.” Lyra hurried toward the crossroads, which connected dozens of trails. There she selected the short path leading to the Meadow.

Pluch trees lined the trail. Their weeping branches, active with new sap, swept after Lyra in attempt to caress her golden hair, now grown almost to her waist. Flower buds on the bell flowers peaked out. The air held gentle notes of fragrant jasmine from the vine’s first purple flowers. She took a deep breath as she sped down the familiar walk. She had missed Dragonspeir.

Along the way, Lyra thought about her action, entering the land without permission. Although she recently passed sorcery training for all crafts except power throwing, Lyra only elevated her immortal status. In Dragonspeir, they used the term afflationhaving received divine impartment of knowledge and strength to endure more physical hardship than a non-magical. Until gaining enough afflation to become fully immortal, she needed to be invited by the Imperial Dragon to be his guest in Dragonspeir.

As a new Alliance sorceress, the Imperial Dragon decided when he needed her. Lyra clearly broke his established protocol. But she often bent Alliance customs to suit her needs while working for the greater good. So far, she had only raised eyebrows, and no one troubled her. She hoped this time would be the same, but entering a plague-ridden land against orders was a bit different than wearing jeans or hugging dragons.

Book Review:

            Dragons, magic, love, a quest, fighting… all my favorite things in one book.  How can you not love that?   All it needed to be perfect was shifters and the Fae… although I really don’t think they  would work well with this story, which was fabulous as is.

            “Lost Volumes” is the third book in the series.  The whole series is a great read, and I really don’t think I could pick a favorite book… although this one came close.

            I give this book 4.5 clouds.

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