Book Blitz + Giveaway: Fifty First Times

Title: Fifty First Times: A New Adult Anthology

Authors: Julie Cross (creator), J. Lynn, Molly McAdams, Sophie Jordan, Roni Loren, Tracy Wolff, Lauren Layne, Andrew Shaffer, Cole Gibson, Myra McEntire, Carrie Ryan, Mark Perini, Gennifer Albin, Lisa Desrochers, Hannah Moskowitz, Lyla Payne, Alessandra Thomas, Melissa Landers, Melissa West

Release Date: February 25th 2014

Publisher: Avon/HaperCollins

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You always remember your first time... 

Whether it's the couple who decides not to go through with it, the two boys who finally aren't ashamed, the newlyweds whose wedding night could very well be their last night together, the deaf pair who have no choice but to take body language to a new level--or, of course, the two young lovers fumbling and laughing, getting everything wrong. These are the memories that will never fade. 

Join nineteen fantastic authors as they pull back the curtain and give you a peek inside that one intense moment in their characters' lives when everything changes and nothing will ever be the same again. 

Featuring stories from some of the hottest names in New Adult, Young Adult, and Romance including New York Times Bestselling authors J.Lynn/Jennifer Armentrout, Molly McAdams, Sophie Jordan, and Carrie Ryan. 

NOTE: These stories are works of fiction. If you want to know about our first times, you'll have to buy us a pet monkey first.

Tell us about your story’s main character(s).

Andrew Shaffer: The unnamed narrator is a booksmart English major who spends too much time studying and not enough time partying—at least according to his best friend Allen.

Julie Cross: Audrey appears quiet and timid on the outside, but inside she has gifted intuition when it comes to reading people and a fierce loyalty to those she loves.

Lisa Desrochers: Rene Vargas' army unit was blown up by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and she's scarred in more ways than one. She's kickass is so many ways, but her whole life has changed, and now she's left to discover who she is...with some help from Rick Hamilton (Lexie's dirtbag ex from A LITTLE TOO FAR).

Mark Perini: Luke comes off a bit nerdy, but he’s got an inner Juno cool that he’s just now figuring out about himself. He wants that movie romance but doesn’t think it’s in the cards for him. Well not yet anyway.

Melissa West: Summer is strong and opinionated, and Blake is a classic guy's guy with a huge heart.

Myra McEntire: Ben is not your typical jock, but he is an amazing athlete. Liza is a go getter with a crunchy shell and a smooth center.

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{Blog Tour} Excerpt + Giveaway: Rewrite Redemption - J.H. Walker

Title: Rewrite Redemption

Author: J.H. Walker

Release Date: January 25th 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Age Group: Young Adult

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She’s sixteen. He’s seventeen. They don’t know each other…at least not yet.

She has a secret and her whole life revolves around keeping it. Every few months and with little warning, she simply disappears, pulled into the past for hours or even days. She’s terrified it will happen in front of someone, changing her life forever. So far, the only witnesses have been her parents, and that didn’t end well. She has no control over it and no idea why it happens to her.

She wants answers.

He has answers—at least he understands what’s going on. He has a secret, too. He’s part of an organization that goes back in time to rewrite reality. But he also has a problem. He broke the organization’s number-one rule by altering his own timeline. As punishment, he’s been blocked from time travel, which is most unfortunate. Because the changes he made to his timeline, accidentally resulted in disaster for his family. A disaster he’s now prevented from repairing. No one can travel beneath the organization’s radar except a Shadow. But they’re rare, so rare he’s never even met one.

Then he moves to her town.

About the author:

J.H. grew up in Central America. She now lives in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies with her photographer husband and many, many books. In addition to her never-ending study of human behavior, she’s a political junkie and a certified tree hugger. Rewrite Redemption is her debut novel.

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Giveaway!

Enter to win an ebook copy of Rewrite Redemption! Open INT'L.

{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Everything Between Us - Mila Ferrera

Title: Everything Between Us

Author: Mila Ferrera

Release Date: November 5th 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Age Group: New Adult

Source: ecopy for blog tour

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Daniel’s got everything figured out. He makes a good living as an artist ... mostly through offering "private shows" to the wives of local wealthy businessmen. He never stops playing the game and never lets anyone touch his heart. But when his current fling offers him a few hundred an hour for art lessons for her reclusive, college-dropout daughter, Daniel finds himself forgetting his own rules. The girl is rude. Insulting. Incredible.

And she sees straight through him.

Stella is hiding from the world, not because she wants to, but because crippling panic attacks await her every time she tries to live a normal life. She's determined to push everyone--including her handsome new art teacher—away. But Daniel makes it utterly impossible. The guy is irritating. Mocking. Magnetic.

And makes her want things she knows she can never have.

What starts as a battle of wills turns into passion, where giving in means facing the things that scare them most.

Everything Between Us is a really complicated book. It's everything I usually see in a New Adult book—funny, sexy, emotional—but one aspect, ultimately, sets it apart from the crowd: the main characters, Stella and Daniel.

He's screwing her mom. If that's not an effed-up situation for a relationship to start, I don't know what is. My desire to know just how the MCs will overcome that hurdle was what initially kept me reading, but soon, somewhere in between the hostility, I realized that I'd come to love the both of them. Stella, with her panic attacks, and Daniel, with his deep-seated urge to keep everyone from getting close, didn't want anything to do with each other, but slowly, they got past each other's defenses, and that was so heartening to watch.

For the first time ever, I think, I related more to the guy than the girl. I was curious as to why Stella had her panic attacks and I felt her pain, but I couldn't connect with her because I've never panicked that much, to the extent that I worry over every little possibility in the future. Daniel, on the other hand, had a simple outlook in life. He knew what he wanted and he did everything he could to get that.

I'm just a guy, one who's kind of quiet, who loves his mom and dad, who doesn't know if God exists but really hopes he does, who likes to think about stuff but isn't an expert in anything, who's honestly not sure if he's talented or not but like to explore. Nothing special, nothing amazing.

But them together? That's another story. Their love flowed off the pages, and their inhibitions only strengthened the tension while showing their child-like innocence beneath their grown-up complexities.

If you've read a handful of NA titles, you're probably familiar with the story of two broken people healing each other, but the way Mila Ferrera delivered this one is something I haven't quite seen before. Admittedly, the book dragged in some places, but everything was essential to the plot, and Everything Between Us is one of those books that I will read again in the future.

MY FAVORITE PART was the day after the snowstorm ;3

RATING:

About the author:
Mila Ferrera lives in New England, where she has a family and a job and does various normal, everyday things, all while plotting novels in her head. She has a passion for writing new adult/adult romance featuring psychological twists and tortured heroes. Her own psychology internship involved plenty of consultation, but alas, no sexy Swedish doctors, and her decision to make one up is what sparked her self-publishing adventures. She's the author of SPIRAL (available now), ONLY BETWEEN US (9/3/13), and EVERYTHING BETWEEN US (11/5/13).

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{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Play With Me - Piper Shelly

Title: Play With Me (Grover Beach Team #1)

Author: Piper Shelly

Release Date: December 9th 2012

Publisher: Self-published

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: eARC for blog tour

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Ryan Hunter's parties are legend. And tonight she's going to be there.

Liza Matthews anticipates the return of her best friend and only love since kindergarten from soccer camp. But when Tony finally shows up, his mind is more focused on another girl. And worse, she's a soccer player. Fighting for the attention Liza craves, she's just a hairbreadth away from making a very stupid decision. But when extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, she's prepared to play ball to get her man.

The tryouts are hell, the first match ends bloody, and the morning after the selection party she wakes up in the worst place possible—in the arms of the captain of the soccer team. The hottest guy in school. Ryan Hunter.

I learned that Play With Me is a novella just before reading it, and I thought, "A short read to cure my reading slump? Perfect!" Well, excuse me while I facepalm, because having read it now, I can tell you that my biggest problem with it was its length—I want more! Luckily, it's the first in a series, so there is more. But for now, let me talk about just how much I loved this book.

First there was Liza, our tad-bit-insecure and lovestruck but nonetheless cool, tough, and endearing heroine. Her love for Tony was cute and all, if not a little childish, but I enjoyed seeing their friendship more. In real life, it's not unusual for a boy and a girl to be friends, but best-friend-ship? One could say it's unheard of, and I really wanted to shake Liza and tell her to stop loving Tony in a romantic way because it would only ruin their relationship (and also because he was stupid enough to fall for a Plastic, ugh). I also pitied her because she'd been in love with him for so long, she didn't immediately realize that she was already falling for Ryan.

And who wouldn't fall for Ryan freaking Hunter? Rich, sexy, dangerous, captain of the soccer team—I can go on and on, but you get the idea. He's the hot guy with the sweet side for the right girl, and that girl's been Liza for so long. That part's not too hard to guess, so every little move he made on her gave me twice the feels. And there were feels very early on, so you can imagine just how flail-y and giggly I was the entire time. 

Although I did say earlier that I wanted this book to be longer, I'm pretty sure forced lengthening of this crazy-cute story would have ruined it. I didn't think I'd like it this much, but now I can't stop thinking about it and I'll surely be reading the next books soon!

 MY FAVORITE PART was the first time Liza went to one of Ryan's historic parties. All. The. Feels. From that night! :3

RATING:

 

About the author:

The quick-and-dirty:

I’m a cool girl with a passion for writing.

The genres you’ll find me hanging out at are contemporary and paranormal YA, but I’m also snooping into some adult paranormal right now.

All of them romances…of course.

The nitty-gritty:

I’m an Austrian lass—totally uncomplicated and up to anything fun.

I grew up in Vienna, not by free will but because my parents decided to move there when I was only 4 years old. I. Hated. The. City.

Everything about it. So right after graduation I moved back to Upper Austria, where I settled down with a nice husband and an awesome laptop.

I’ve been a storyteller all my life. Already in kindergarten, I came up with the most exotic fantasies and tales. My teacher would call me a liar. I call it the cornerstone of my writing career.

People always told me you can’t make a living with being an author. So when my first novella PLAY WITH ME came out and shot straight to the stars within the first week, I was totally dumbstruck. Took me a while to realize what was happening, LOL. 

And the personal stuff:

At the (awesome) age of seventeen, I met the love of my life. But he was a playboy, and I was so not going to be his next trophy. It took him another four years of fighting for me until I finally decided to give that “couple-thing” with him a shot. I’m now married to this man. ;-)

We have an eleven-year-old son, and together we travel a lot…although I sometimes wish the trips were shorter because I can’t wait to get back to my laptop and my many stories. Unless we’re in Disneyland. No stress to go home then…

If you still want to know more about me, my FAQ page is the right address for you. ;-)

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{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Visited - Janine Caldwell

Welcome to my stop for the Visited blog tour! You can follow the tour here.

Title: Visited
Author: Janine Caldwell
Release Date: May 25th 2013
Publisher: Self-published
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: ecopy for blog tour
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Seventeen-year-old Joanna Murphy has lost faith in her life. Vying for her mom’s attention, she’s resentful of her stepdad’s intrusion to their family. Her best friend, Tommy, has no clue she’s in love with him as he dates girl after girl without noticing how it tortures her. The final kicker, though, is God’s sick joke to make her freakishly tall when everyone knows boys prefer petite girls.

Then in a bizarre accident Joanna meets James, a breathtaking teen who appears to her after an unusual falling star sighting. Suddenly, her dream for an alien encounter becomes all too real. But when she finds her life has been made unrecognizable, she’s forced into an explosive study of the original design for her life that just may have her regretting every wish she ever made.

Honestly, I expected Visited to be as sci-fi as the other YA alien books I've read like JLA's Lux series and Melissa West's The Taking trilogy, but it didn't go down that road. The "alien" and "living the dream life" shenanigans were interesting but the book gave more focus on the characters, and my investment in them was what kept me reading.

The main character, Joanna, was nothing if not relatable. Or maybe that's just me identifying with her—selfish, solitary, awkward, insecure, and a wee bit spoiled. If I were her, I'd have reacted the exact same way she did when she deduced that James was an alien. Indeed, two of the very few things we didn't have in common were her height advantage and a guy BFF.

I've said this a few times before, but I'm seriously loving books on alternate realities/parallel universes right now. Seeing the what-ifs get answered is fascinating; add to that a gorgeous alien and I was just hooked. James' true identity was revealed early on in the story but his mission wasn't, giving this book some kind of a thriller vibe.

Addictive, romantic, and a real eye-opener, Visited was made even more unique with a plot twist from nowhere near the end. The writing was uncomplicated yet beautiful, but at times it had more breaks than I'd have liked. But ultimately, I loved this book for two reasons: the realistic open ending regarding the romance (I swear this isn't a spoiler), and the important lesson of "Appreciate what you have."

MY FAVORITE PART was Joanna's second fall-off-the-roof moment :3

RATING:

 

About the author:

Janine Caldwell was born in Concord, CA and raised in the small San Francisco Bay Area town of Clayton. Four days after her high school graduation, Janine attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and graduated with a degree in English.

Janine now lives in Anthem, AZ with her husband and two sons. As a lifelong literature fanatic, she knew it was only a matter of time before she would become obsessed with writing her own work. With relatives like the Brothers Grimm and Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), she figured fantasy writing had to be in her DNA.

Books published by Janine include Visited, a YA coming-of-age fantasy, Rematch and Double Fault—the first two books of The Vortex Series. The final book in this YA fantasy romance, Deuce, will be released fall 2013.

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{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Catching Liam - Sophia Bleu

Welcome to my stop for the Catching Liam blog tour! You can view the full tour schedule here.

Title: Catching Liam (Good Girls Don't #1)

Author: Sophia Bleu

Release Date: June 25th 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Source: eARC for blog tour

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Twenty-one year-old Jillian Nichols only has one rule when it comes to boys: catch and release. Boy-catching isn't just a game for Jillian and her friends, it's a lifestyle. After all, boys might be good for a dance or a drink and certainly a little under-cover action of the scandalous variety, but expect much else and you're bound for heart ache.

So when her best friends and fellow boy catchers start dropping like flies junior year, Jillian is determined to keep boys in her bedroom and out of her heart. Until she meets Liam McAvoy, the kind of guy that sticks around to make waffles and who can't—or perhaps won't—take a hint.

Study abroad student Liam doesn't want to be another notch on Jillian's bedpost. Actually he has much more interesting ideas for Jillian and her bedposts, but his student visa's set expiration date means he can't promise her forever. That doesn't mean he's going to walk away from the challenge of discovering why Jillian is hell-bent at keeping people at a distance.

Before long, neither is sure who is catching who—or if they're playing for keeps. Jillian knows one thing though: falling in love will not only break the only rule of boy-catching, it could also break her heart.

I admit that, judging from the blurb, I thought Catching Liam sounded both "been there, done that" and "hey, that's new". Well, I can tell you now that it's more on the fresh side and that you'll definitely regret not reading this—because I freaking loved it!

 

When I started reading this, the first pressing question that I asked was "Why is Jillian so bent on avoiding a serious relationship with a guy?", and I imagine that'll also be the case for most readers. I assumed she was just another one of those NA girls who've been burned before yada yada yada so I was irritated when she started shooing off Liam, but oh no, that's not the case at all. Seriously, if her initial attitude is what will turn you off from this book, just hang in there. You'll thank me later.

 

Now let's talk about Liam McAvoy. Oh, Liam. I don't think I know a guy from a book who's a more perfect balance of sweet, sexy and gentlemanly than he is. He's the boy who makes moan-inducing waffles and saved his name in Jillian's phone under the name "Waffle-maker", and he's also the boy who defends kilts and can give Christian Grey a run for his money but is too polite to do that. If you ask me who's my top bookish crush right now, I'd scream-squeal his name for sure.

 

Jillian and Liam's romance make up most of this book, but not all of it. We also get totes of family drama, friend drama, I-don't-know-what-I-want-to-do-with-my-life drama—just drama all around. Drama can be boring, but never in Catching Liam. It actually lets us know so much more about the characters and the many layers to them.

 

Smart, funny, and sexy, Catching Liam sure stands out in the NA crowd. There's a particular twist that I certainly didn't see coming and brings this book up a notch in the uniqueness factor. I liked how just enough, not all, loose ends were tied up in that realistic ending, and I sure can't wait to read the sequel!

 

MY FAVORITE PART is Jillian and Liam's first date. Oh, the swoon~

 

RATING:

   

About the author:

Sophia Bleu is a secret identity where I can write about fantasies and falling in love and all the smexiness in between. In real life, I'm likely catching a plane, chasing kids, or making out with the love of my life—all 6 ft 3 inches of hotness that he is. Life is pretty good.

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Giveaway!
  A Kilt Checker tote bag filled with Catching Liam swag and a $25 Amazon gift card

{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Losing Francesca - J.A. Huss

Welcome to my stop for the Losing Francesca blog tour! You can see the other tour stops here.

Title: Losing Francesca

Author: J.A. Huss

Release Date: July 1st 2013

Publisher: Science Future Press

Source: eARC for blog tour

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Francesca Sabatini came to America to take in the sights, celebrate her high school graduation, and have fun wasting time before college starts in the fall.

That's not what happens.

Fresh off the plane and barely on American soil more than a handful of minutes, Francesca's face is recognized by TSA scanners to be a match for a child who was kidnapped twelve years ago.

Brody Mason remembers the day Fiona Sullivan went missing during a family vacation in Italy and it's haunted him his whole life. So when Francesca shows up at the Sullivan farm down the road, he's compelled to figure out if this girl really is his long-lost friend.

But Francesca knows she's not Fiona Sullivan. She knows exactly who she is. At least she thinks she knows – until Brody Mason relentlessly pursues her and she begins to have feelings for him. Maybe being Fiona isn't so bad?

Reality becomes blurred, secrets are revealed, and life will never be the same when the final questions are answered: Is she Francesca or Fiona? And where does she really belong?

When I first read the description for Losing Francesca, I knew I was signing up for a unique book. It sounded that plus odd, and it ended up being those but with a lot of feels and surprises.

Francesca Sabatini never thought her vacation to America would end up with her being made to live with another family—one that claims she's their daughter who'd gone missing twelve years ago. I sympathized with her when she kept on insisting that she's not Fiona Sullivan, because how can you not know who you are, right? It was either selective amnesia or lying. Soon enough, we learn that she's not downright lying; she just believes a whole other truth with all that she has.

Francesca (I'm gonna call her that because 'Fiona' only makes me think of Shrek's wife) was a likable main character. She had a weird-ass life in wherever the hell she came from—I know where, of course, but I'm avoiding spoilers here because that would totally ruin the book—but she was headstrong, brave, and realistic.

And then there's this boy, Brody Mason. At first I thought he was the typical local bad boy, but he was actually Fiona's childhood best friend, and he never stopped loving her when she was gone. He also never stopped believing that she'd come back, so I just wanted to give him a hug when Francesca kept saying that she's not Fiona.

Although it's not the only reason, the constant mystery of who Francesca's "father" kept me reading—flying through the pages, to be exact. He was always present in her thoughts, even when she was already starting to like being Fiona. I'd also be guilty if I were her because this father obviously gave her a life filled with love and luxury. I had a few theories about him, and one of them ended up being correct.

Losing Francesca wasn't all about romance, and I liked that. It also focused on family and blurring the line between right and wrong. It wasn't anything mindblowingly amazing, but it's a book that I will definitely pick up again.

MY FAVORITE PART were her "foot picture" moments. What they meant were both saddening and heartwarming.

RATING:

 

About the author:

J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).

She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.

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{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Saving Ben - Ashley Farley

Welcome to my stop on the Saving Ben blog tour! You can view the tour schedule here.

Title: Saving Ben

Author: Ashley Farley

Release Date: January 31st 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Source: ecopy for blog tour

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Life is sweet for Katherine Langley. A freshman at the University of Virginia, she is free from the drama of her parents’ dysfunctional marriage and ready to focus on studying to become a nurse. Her brother, Ben, belongs to the hottest fraternity on campus, and her new roommate, Emma, is beautiful and charming, a party girl whose answer for a hangover is happy hour. She is also a psychopath.

When Katherine’s obsessive-compulsive overprotective brother succumbs to Emma’s charms and falls dangerously off-track, Katherine must save Ben from himself. Lives are threatened and someone disappears on New Year’s Day. The only evidence left: a single set of footprints in the snow.

From the university campus to a cozy cottage on Carter’s Creek, Virginia, Saving Ben is a haunting tale of love and loyalty, anger management, substance abuse, and betrayal.

Saving Ben definitely didn't turn out the way I'd thought it would. Right from page one, I was hooked; I flew through this book. The characters were all captivating, particularly Kat's narration, and with that ominous book description, I was curious to know just how bad a situation Ben was in and how he could be saved.

I liked Kat. She was smart and strong-willed, and even though she was quite the party girl, she knew when to draw the line and hit the brake. She was also perceptive and had a backbone, which allowed her to see everyone as they truly were and deal with them.

So it's no surprise that Kat's the first to see Emma for the &%!*@ that she was beneath that attractive surface. You know that fun, beautiful girl in horror movies who turns out to be the serial killer, a la Leighton Meester in The Roommate? That's the kind of vibe I got from her. As soon as she was introduced, I was wary—wary and curious. Why did she become the person that she was? But soon enough, hatred won over that curiosity. Emma was manipulative, an opportunist, possibly a klepto, and certainly a psycho. I wanted to strangle her and bang her head on a wall. Repeatedly.

Yeah, this girl gave me a lot of murderous feels.

Even with that title, I'm glad the book didn't just focus on Ben's fixation with Emma. There were a lot of aspects to the story such as family drama, eating disorders, substance abuse, anger management, and even just the plain old New Adult issue of settling into college, fleshing out the characters even more.

Overall, Saving Ben was nothing groundbreaking or mind-blowing, but it was a good emotional read that made me appreciate my family even more. The book's unexpected turn of events surprised me even though it felt overdone for someone like me who's watched more than her fair share of telenovelas. Still, I liked how honest Kat dealt with all that happened. Some people are just so bad, not even tragedy can make them forgivable.

MY FAVORITE PART was Ben climbing the cliff he'd fallen over.

     RATING:

 

About the author:

I wrote a novel, SAVING BEN, in honor of my brother, the boy I worshipped, the man I could not save. It’s not a memoir, but a story about the special bond between siblings.

I'm a wife and mother of two teenagers. I have lived in Richmond, Virginia, for seventeen years, a city I love for its history and traditions. Personal experience with my brother inspired me to become involved with the leadership symposium in my son’s school where I’ve helped bring in speakers to raise parents’ awareness of the alcohol and drug problems children face. When I’m not steering volunteer committees or working on my next novel, I can be found swimming laps or playing tennis.

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Cover Reveal: Charmed - Cambria Hebert

Title: Charmed (Death Escorts #2)

Author: Cambria Hebert

Release Date: July 22nd 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance

Goodreads

Life or Death? Not many people would choose death. But what if death chooses you? What if death doesn’t mean the end of your life, but the beginning?

For a Death Escort, death is life. Death is your paycheck. Death is your job.

And Charming is the best Escort the Grim Reaper has ever had.

But when you piss off the Reaper, being the best doesn’t matter. So Charming is assigned a Target who is practically impossible to kill. He knows the Reaper hopes he fails—that he’s counting on it. So Charming vows to prove him wrong. He vows to make the kill.

But someone else vows to get in his way. Someone with a big mouth, a sugar habit, and blond hair. Someone who makes his heart start beating again.

And so Charming is left holding more than one person’s fate in the palm of his hand. He thought the choice would be easy, that there really wasn’t a question at all.

He was wrong.

Life or Death?

About the author:

Cambria Hebert is the author of the young adult paranormal Heven and Hell series and the Death Escorts series. She loves a caramel latte, hates math and is afraid of chickens (yes, chickens). She went to college for a bachelor’s degree, couldn’t pick a major and ended up with a degree in cosmetology. So rest assured her characters will always have good hair. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and children (both human and furry) where she is plotting her next book. You can find out more about Cambria and her work by visiting http://www.cambriahebert.com.

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{Blog Tour} Book Review + Giveaway: Secret for a Song - S.K. Falls

Welcome to my stop for the Secret for a Song blog tour! You can see the tour schedule here.

Title: Secret for a Song

Author: S.K. Falls

Release Date: June 3rd 2013

Publisher: Self-published

Source: eARC for blog tour

Goodreads | Amazon

Saylor Grayson makes herself sick. Literally.

She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.

Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives.

For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?

I don't know what I expected from Secret for a Song, but it was definitely not this. Not for me to tear up over a guy playing the guitar and singing, nor for me to be a blubbering mess when he stumbles over his own two feet. And yes, I'm not even talking about the main character.

From the get-go, it was obvious that Saylor self-harms—and it's not the 'slit your wrists with a razor' type, but the 'inject yourself with your saliva' type because, as Saylor said, people with her condition don't do it to die—not only to attract attention, but also as a revenge to her parents for their lack of concern. Now, I am vehemently against self-harm, but I felt for Saylor because she wasn't exaggerating when she said her parents couldn't care less about her (not her exact words, but that's the gist of it).

Seeing as how Saylor craves for attention, she would, of course, find solace in a support group—except one that's not for people with Munchausen, but for those with terminal illnesses and degenerative diseases. Before you think she's so evil, let me tell you that she didn't actually plan to join the group. Drew, the group's leader, thought she was a new member and before she could correct them about it, they'd already made her feel at home. So what I don't understand is how she could go on making herself sick when she was surrounded by people who would give anything to be healthy again, even more when she was already falling for Drew.

What came as a surprise to me was how well the real members of the TIDD group handled their situations. They had their low days when they sulked and ranted about how unfair their lives were, sure, but for the most part, they were really accepting and they faced their illnesses head-on. They were all realistically inspiring.

Secret for a Song is a quick read that will make you rethink how you're living your life. It reminded me to be grateful for my imperfect life because a lot of people still have it worse. The writing flowed smoothly and hit me in the right places, and the unexpected open ending has me wishing all the best for the characters.

MY FAVORITE PART was when Drew performed Secret for a Song at the Sphinx. Tears, I tell you.

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About the author:

Adriana Ryan is the pen name of writer S.K. Falls. 

A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, I enjoy alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards in Charleston, SC where I live and imbibe coffee. My husband and two small children seem not to mind when I hastily scribble novel lines on stray limbs in the absence of notepads. 

Since no writer’s biography is complete without mention of her menagerie of animals, you should know I have one dog that doubles as a footstool, a second that functions as a vacuum cleaner, and a cat that ensures I never forget that my hands are, first and foremost, for pouring cat food.

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