Book Review: Unseen by Stephanie Erickson

Title: Unseen
The Unseen Trilogy Book 1
Author: Stephanie Erickson
Publisher: Pickles Press
Publish Date: November 19, 2014

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It has been quite the ride this week with fantabulous book after fantabulous book!!

Stephanie Erickson kept me in the book hangover with The Unseen. Mac has always been odd because when she was a little girl she realized she could read others thoughts. A doctor provided her with iLs. Mac wears this device on her ears. It plays music and drowns out the thoughts of others allowing her to concentrate. Ever since she was little, she has always wondered why she has this ability and if she is as alone as she feels. One day she sees a man watching her and from there, things change. She has hard choices to make and it will always change her.

I am looking forward to the following books in this series to see if Stephanie Erickson develops the others in the Unseen that appeared occasionally while Mac was in training. I am so enamored with the back stories of good solid characters. I would also love to read more about Mac as she was growing up with her adoptive mother and her best friend.

One of my favorite parts of the is book was simply the focus of Mac's situation with her iLs. I have never heard of this and now that I have read a little, I am sure it is very prevalent. I cannot imagine the aid iLs provide to children and adults who need help quieting the mind and focusing. I myself may have worked better with them as my mind only shuts off when doing yoga.

Goodreads Description: Mackenzie Day constantly struggles to silence the voices in her head. The inner thoughts of those around her intrude upon every aspect of her life, threatening to turn it into chaos.

All her life, she thought she was alone as a mind reader—a freak.

Then a member of a secret organization called The Unseen suddenly introduces himself, and she’s immersed in a world she never knew existed. They teach her to hone her skills as a reader, but to what end? Secrets surround her, humming just out of reach, filling her with questions.

Who are they? What do they do with their mind-reading abilities? In the end, just how far will Mackenzie go to be part of The Unseen?

Book Review: Slice and Dice by Mariana Thorn

Title: Slice and Dice
A Skylar Wolfe Mystery Book 1
Author: Mariana Thorn
Publisher: Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly
Publish Date: July 10, 2014

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From page one, Mariana Thorn had me with Skylar's character. She is feisty, funny, sadistic and loves food and coffee as much as I do. This is the kind of series I want to take when my husband and I finally go on our honeymoon. It is so light and I was laughing out loud the entire book!! Not one to take on a plane bc then the people around me will be annoyed with all the laughing. Course I don't really care!!

Skylar is a strong, sexy, young and vigorous woman who embraces being female. She uses her wiles to make fun of others around her purely for her own enjoyment. But she is also extremely smart and quick. As a private detective and a sexy one at that, this comes in handy. She is constantly underestimated and that is the perfect place for her!

Book one takes us through a normal case for Skylar working with the local police department. She uses her skills to aid while getting to know the lead detective who has a cuteness to him. 

Goodreads Description: “Nothing good ever happens before ten in the morning.” ~Skylar Wolfe
Skylar Wolfe is far from your average PI. Full of snark with purple hair and a quick tongue with no filter from her brain to her mouth, trouble always seems to find her and she always drags her cousin Levi along for the ride.
But this last bit of trouble she seems to have fallen into is the deadly variety. There’s a corpse at her door (no really, I’m completely serious) with her name all over it. It seems she has pissed off the wrong person. Being Skylar, the list could be a little long. She teams up with Norcrest’s new delicious lead detective, Aiden Livingston and then leads the hunt to find the person responsible.

Book Review: When the Chips are Down by Anne Rasico

Title: When the Chips are Down
Author: Anne Rasico
Publisher: 
Publish Date:  June 23, 2013
118 pages, ebook

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This book was SO much fun and what a surprise! I came across this book on facebook and the cover immediately grabbed me. It is so fabulous and right on with the storyline. Nice job on the cover!!

The main character Brooklyn was so fun because she just awoke from a coma and has no idea how long she has been in it. Come to find out not only has her family moved, but the entire world has changed. It has become controlled by microchips implanted in society. She is lucky enough to have a few friends who decided to stay off the grid. They are extremely well developed characters. I really liked them all. I related to them and was completely rooting for them. Even a bit later in the book, a character comes up that appears to be a bad guy, but ends up helping, to their demise. Really a fun read!!

Goodreads Description:
You’re part of their system. You’re just another number on a long list of anonymous integers. You’re breathing their air, you’re taking up their space, and you ask for their protection by willingly handing over your freedoms and now you’re in their way!
Can’t you hear them outside? You said something didn’t you?
They’ve watched your every move and heard your words and now that you know the truth, they want your silence.
They’re here for you now.

When Brooklyn awakes from a two year coma, the world around her has changed like she never imagined. Everyone is now required to have a microchip implanted in their arm, but it's no ordinary microchip.

Her friends are convinced that the chip controls people's minds, as they've seen everyone's behavior become increasingly strange. While seeking refuge on a secluded farm with her friends, Brooklyn learns of a secret plot that will ultimately destroy the world. She and her friends must act to expose the truth before it's too late.

Cover Reveal: Vampire Ascension by Eva Pohler

Please help us celebrate the reveal of the epic conclusion to The Vampires of Athens, written by the Amazon bestselling author of The Gatekeeper's Saga, Eva Pohler.




To celebrate, we're giving away a Kindle Fire HD and a $25 Amazon gift card.  We're also playing games and giving away other prizes, including signed paperbacks, the Athena Locket, and the Medusa T-shirt on July 13-14 on Facebook.



 

A teen from New York studies abroad in Athens and discovers that vampires and demigods are real at a time when war is brewing between them. After making friends on both sides, she unwittingly becomes a catalyst to an uprising, led by Dionysus, lord of the vampires. In this final installment, Gertie, Jeno, and Hector struggle to bring a peaceful resolution to the war in Athens, but any success they make comes at great cost. How many more people must die for freedom and justice? The teens quickly learn that nothing is fair in love and war. Sometimes even love requires a terrible price. Join us for the final reveal on July 13th on Facebook here.  

And you can enter to win the Kindle Fire HD and $25 Amazon gift card here.  

About the Author: Eva Pohler is the Amazon bestselling author of The Gatekeeper's Saga, The Purgatorium Series, The Vampires of Athens Series, and The Mystery Book Collection. She also teaches writing and literature at a university in San Antonio, where she lives with her husband and three children.

Book Reveal & Giveaway by Amy Leigh Strickland

 

Upon their arrival in Fairy, Royer Goldhawk and his companions are swept away by an encampment of free humans who are fighting a war on two fronts. Royer must broker peace between these humans and the fairy rebels in order to defeat their common foe, Major Bedloe, and to stop the horror he is about to unleash upon the world.

TRAILER: https://youtu.be/nc9UFezLFAA

Rafflecopter Code Rafflecopter giveaway




KINDLE:

Buy Book One here

Book Two: http://www.amazon.com/Escape-Major-Bedloes-Machine-Goldhawk-ebook/dp/B00YIB0BD8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1435626684&sr=1-1

OTHER: Book One: http://www.matterdeeppublishing.com/book/rescue-or-royer-goldhawks-remarkable-journal-2

Book Two: http://www.matterdeeppublishing.com/book/escape-or-major-bedloes-cold-iron-war-machine

 

Book Review: Witchcraft by Katie M John

Title: Witchcraft
The Meadowsweet Chronicles
Author: Katie M John
Publisher: Little Bird Publishing House
Publish Date: Oct 10, 2014
487 pages, ebook

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This book was so well-written I am actually stymied. Witchcraft had everything I love in a paranormal book: three sisters, strong women I can relate to, a very solid sense of reality (ie: believable), men whom I  would fall for, mean and conniving evil people, blood, history that dates back so long ago families can barely remember what started it all, spookie houses and scary things that go bump in the night. Seriously I could go on and on. Scary is a very light word for this book. It had me on the edge of my seat where I actually considered putting it down, it was giving me the hebejebees. I am so glad I never put it down. It was magnificent.

As I mentioned, there are three sisters who have been raised in a home with a single mom who owns an apothecary store. They are known as the slightly weirdos in the town. But the girls are pretty and smart so they have learned to fit in. On the other side, there is a trio of sisters who have spent their lives making the Meadowsweet's lives miserable. Especially that of the middle sister, Fox, who lives everyday with the annoyance of Thalia making her life miserable. Fox has incredible friends who stick up for her, including the ever present Will. In walks Jeremiah, who is a spoiled rich boy who has his way with the flick of his sexy smile. Thankfully this smile does nothing for Fox, or so she things.

Just as Jeremiah comes in to the picture, Fox begins to experience visions of sort, but since she has never had them before, she is not sure that is really what they are. There are visions from the past, the future and present. She cannot make heads nor tails of them. As she has grown up sheltered from witchcraft, she is not sure she can turn to her sisters. Who can she trust?

In the midst of Fox's newest visions, there is a mysterious disappearance of a local girl and her beau. Is Fox's visions part of that chaos or is it completely on its own?

SOOOOOOOOO THIS BOOK IS CURRENTLY ON A HUGE SALE! Get the first book in the series for only 99cents!!!!
Yes, GO NOW!!!

Goodreads Description:
Ever since its earliest days, the small English village of Heargton has been steeped in the occult. Tales of witchcraft and paranormal activity have been part of the local folklore for generations. Some people blame the lay lines that intersect at the very centre of the village, others blame a terrible curse.

700 years on, Heargton Village still holds dark secrets, and when one of the village girls falls victim to a terrible ritual killing, the old superstitions resurface.

At the heart of these whispers are the Meadowsweet sisters. All beautiful, all charming, all eccentric, but it is the middle daughter, seventeen-year-old Fox, who captures the imagination of American newcomer Jeremiah Chase; a deviant New York playboy sent to live with his Aunt in the Chase ancestral home of Coldstone Hall. A place that has its own grisly history.

But, as Jeremiah discovers the history of the Meadowsweet Sisters, the Chase family history is also unearthed, leading Jeremiah to understand that good and evil are not always on opposing sides.

A tale of witchcraft, demons and ghosts, blending traditional English folklore with the American Gothic.

Book Review: Awoken by Sarah Noffke

Title: Awoken
Lucidites #1
Author: Sarah Noffke
Publisher: One-Twenty-Six Pages
Publish Date: Nov 24, 2014
312 pages, ebook

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Amazon

If you are a book junkie like me, you understand how difficult it is to choose one book to take on a trip. THIS BOOK is the perfect book for traveling. But you should know I would have to take the entire series on my trip. lol #bookproblems.

Sarah Noffke built an amazing world with the most basic understand for those of us who just cannot get into books like Game of Thrones bc there is just too much. I was able to read this book, see it in my mind, understand it and then Sarah continued to build on that amazing foundation. I LOVED THIS BOOK! It is a book I will be recommending for years to come. This is a book I hope to be able to come back to when I start writing books that have world building in them. I want a book that anyone can understand and follow while the visuals are so real.

Sarah gets us in the store from the first page. We have no time to pitter patter on the edge of wondering what is happening. She pulls me in from the get-go. Roya is a very scared girl wondering what the heck has been happening to her. She gets visits from a few people, but cannot actually make heads or tails of the conversation cb they leave things out. After a life so far, of mystery and wondering where she belongs, she decides she has no choice but to give it a chance. The trip to finding answers is never easy, she has to drown herself and wake up in a Lucidites world.

She meets the most amazing people who are good or bad, she really doesn't know. Having been alone most of her life, she receeds in the background, but realizes that a few of those people will not allow her to be quiet. They demand her participation.

Because the description does not provide more, I do not want to give away anymore. SO GO READ IT. NOW.

Stop
Drop
and Read
#stopdropandread

Goodreads Description: Around the world humans are hallucinating after sleepless nights.

In a sterile, underground institute the forecasters keep reporting the same events.

And in the backwoods of Texas, a sixteen-year-old girl is about to be caught up in a fierce, ethereal battle.

Meet Roya Stark. She drowns every night in her dreams, spends her hours reading classic literature to avoid her family’s ridicule, and is prone to premonitions—which are becoming more frequent. And now her dreams are filled with strangers offering to reveal what she has always wanted to know: Who is she? That’s the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out. But will Roya live to regret learning the truth?