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GUESS WHAT??????? 

Well today you can find a guest post I wrote on Gina @The Bucket List's blog. I am taking part in a feature that is focussing on The Fallen series by: Lauren Kate! Their are two awesome prize packs you can find there, one for Cam and one for Daniel. 

To check it out head on over HERE!! 

Of Poseidon by: Anna Banks (Blog Tour and Interview)

Hi Anna! Thank you so much for stopping by today! 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

OF POSEIDON is my debut novel.

I grew up in a little town called Niceville. The people are not always nice in Niceville. I think whoever named it Niceville was being sarcastic. And I think they might have been related to me somehow…

My favorite color is red.

When reading LITTLE WOMEN for the first time, I threw the book across the room when Jo did not accept Laurie’s marriage proposal. I was ten years old.

I used to name my Barbie doll Anne and my Ken doll Gilbert.

I dream almost every night about tornadoes.

I do not know how to change a flat tire.

I know a lot of cuss words in Spanish.

My agent thinks I have a southern accent. She is incorrect.

Who is your favorite character in Of Poseidon? 

Toraf, hands down. He’s like a caricature of himself. He’s a cocktail of funny, cocky, charming, and goofy. 

In your novel Galen and Emma are locked in a stomach churning game of upchuck. How did you come up with the idea for it and have you ever played it? 

Oh, this is going to be bad. I used to mix miscellaneous things in my fridge and drink it in order to puke, so I could stay home from school. I’m talking OJ, hot sauce, steak sauce, raw egg, milk, ketchup. I would take a sip then go pretend to upchuck the mess in the toilet for my mom to see the terrible evidence. Except it tasted so bad, that I would start upchucking for reals which was best really, because it’s way more convincing if you can upchuck more than once. Ahhhh, those were the good ole days. J

Galen takes Emma on some pretty fabulous dates. What was the best date you have been on and where did you get the inspiration for theirs? 

Dude, I’m from Niceville, remember? The options are limited, and “limited” is being generous. I went to the movies, goofy golf, bowling, all the usual crap. The WORST date I ever went on was at a scary movie, and when a ghost thingy jumped out of freaking nowhere on the screen and I latched on to the guy next to me. You know, the guy who wasn’t my boyfriend, the guy who was Someone Else’s boyfriend. And Someone Else was bigger than me…

Are there going to be sequels to Of Poseidon? 

Right now I’m wrapping up the sequel, Of Triton. Whether there will be more after that…who knows? But it’s not in the works or anything.

Five random things about yourself? 

I’m the youngest of six siblings.

My meatloaf is awesome, and that’s not a metaphor.

My favorite TV show is The Walking Dead.

I like to randomly scare pedestrians.

I have difficult saying catfish fillet. It usually comes out as cat$h*t fillet. (I used to waitress, so this was an issue). 


Thanks again for taking the time to stop by Anna!! To view all the stops on the tour go HERE!

Check out Anna Banks' website HERE!!

Head on over and follow Anna on Twitter @byannabanks !!

Elements; the Beginning by: Kate Fuentes (Blog Tour and Review)

Title: Elements: The Beginning

Author: Kate Fuentes

Publisher: Dreampath Books

Number of Pages: 240

Date of Release: April, 18^th 2011

Summary From Goodreads:

Destiny brought them into this world to save mankind and malevolent forces will stop at nothing in order to annihilate them.

Born with extraordinary powers, fraternal twins Gage and Talon Thorn learn how to control their mystical abilities. Tragedy strikes the family and their ordinary father Gable is forced to raise them on his own. Pain and loss encompass the Thorns as they persevere to live a normal life in a place determined to destroy their happiness.

Soon their incredible gifts need proper nurturing and Gable recruits a special group of people to help in their upbringing. A sassy, tenacious nanny named Leia and an eccentric unorthodox warrior named Maui complete the dream team of mentors to aid in the complexity of their lives.

Evil, wicked forces lurk in the shadows and the boys are in danger if they don't learn how to control their unique talents and harness their elemental powers. Humanity rests in the hands of the young brothers as they embark on an epic adventure to save mankind from the dark emperor.

Review: It’s easy to get lost in the world building involved in fantasy novels. I am pleased to say though that I never, not once, was confused or board with the setting Kate Fuentes has created.

The only kind of issue I had with the novel was the prologue. Which I loved, but the birth scene wasn’t totally accurate. I mean there was no cutting of umbilical cords mentioned. I don’t know why it bothers me, it seems really picky.

Gage and Talon were born with incredible powers. They are raised in their fathers ever present heart ache over their mothers loss. It was interesting reading their story and then trying to figure out before them which choices they would make. Their ever present sense of love, loss and hope was something I loved reading about.

While at times, the action was tense and fast. There were other times where it slowed down and it kept the novel from becoming too predictable. Kate Fuentes, from the very beginning was able to write into her words a sense of love and warmth, and I haven’t read anything like it before. Truly original, definitely a novel and author to keep your eye on! 

BOOK TRAILER

Check out tomorrow's post on the Megan @ Reading Away The Days! She's the tour's host!!

Kate Fuentes Website

Elements on Goodreads

Kate Fuentes on Twitter

Elements on Amazon

Pretty In Black, by: Rae Hachton (SupaGurl Pre Blog Tour) (Review)

Title: Pretty In Black

Author: Rae Hachton

Publisher: Teen Pulse

Number of Pages: 312

Date of Release: October 26^th, 2011

Summary From Goodreads:

Some Things are Pretty. Some Things are Black. Love is both. 
[Ellie Piper] 
She wanted to die. He arose from the grave. He was sent to kill her. She was trained to kill those of his kind. But fate had other plans. He searched for 119 years to find her. & There's no way in hell he's letting her go. Dead or Alive. They're fated. 
[Marcus Marble] 
How far would you go to be with the one you love? Would you die for her? Would you kill for her? What if the only reason you're still alive is because of her? What if the reason you came back from the dead, was to be with her? But what if your job was to kill her, but you fell in love instead? And now you're being hunted by your own kind? 
Destroy? Or be Destroyed?

Review: I’m not usually one for switching point of views, but it worked in this novel. The depth and mystery in Pretty in Black instantly drew me in. Rae Hachton’s dark debut left me wanting more.

Ellie, instantly grabbed my attention. I don’t normally share much about myself on here. But at one point in my life about four years ago, I was in a very dark place. To say Ellie’s thoughts and mine were similar is to put it lightly. Which is why I was able to relate to the character so much.

Marcus caught me kind of off guard. I wasn’t expecting him at all. When he did enter the scene I was kept guessing on whether to trust him or not. I really liked how he is a key piece in the novels puzzle but we don’t learn the details until the end.

This novel is a tale of self discovery in both Ellie and Marcus’s characters. I honestly believe that every teenager; male, female, 14 or 19. Will be able to relate to the novel which is why I really liked it. I do want to mention, that something to me felt lacking. There were moments I wanted to be more explored, that were not. In the end with that explosive finale, I was okay with that though. Especially since there is a book two which you can bet I will be reading!! Expect that review soon as well. 

Top Ten Female Characters by by: Stefne Miller (Guest Post) Blog Tour

Top Ten female characters

           

In no particular order

            1. Scout Finch (To Kill A Mockingbird)

2. Wonapalei (Island of the Blue Dolphins)

3. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

4. God (The Shack)

5. Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice)

6. Anne Shirley (Anne of Green Gables)

7. Leslie Burke (The Bridge to Terebithia)

8. Hester Prynne (The Scarlet Letter)

9. Anne Frank (The Diary of Anne Frank)

            10. Do I get in trouble if I list one of my own, because I have to list Kei from Collision. Whether I created her or not, I think she would go down as one of my favorite characters. She’s a hero but in a very unsuspecting way.

About the Author:

Stefne Miller was born an "Army Brat" and lived in many states growing up including: Oklahoma, Hawaii, Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

 Liaison for then Governor of Oklahoma, Frank Keating; and later, a pharmaceutical representative for one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

Before trying her hand at writing, she held various jobs including working along side her husband in Children's Ministry; becoming the Director of Operations and later a Public Policy Specialist and Cabinet

In 2008, while visiting a friend out of state, Stefne had a dream in which the Lord asked her to join him on a new journey. Upon waking, she wrote down the dream and Salvaged was born 

Stefne currently lives in Edmond, Oklahoma and has been married to Shaun, a realtor, since 1994. Shaun and Stefne have three sons - Jacob (13), Caleb (11) and Yohannes (10).

Facebook fan pages: Stefne Miller and Salvaged
Twitter: @StefneMiller
E-Mail: stefnemiller@yahoo.com

Cicada by: Belle Whittington Blog Tour (Excerpt and Giveaway)

Today is the second day of the Cicada blog tour!! To check out yesterdays post head on over to Kate's Tales of Books and Bands! I've got a giveaway and a excerpt and a couple other details to share with you guys! Isn't that cover just so pretty though?!?!? 

EXCERPT:

The dark feeling inside me was twining its way out from the core of my being, winding its tentacles around my ribs.  My fingers were quivering, and I pushed my hands deeper into my pockets so no one else would see. 

I glanced to my right and caught the terrified expression in Natalie’s big blue eyes.  She was standing as close to David as possible without wrapping her arms around him.  David’s eyes were squinting slightly as he looked into the fire, and I noticed that his brow was furrowed.  Andrew was as still as a statue, his eyes still on Grandpa, but I could see that he was wondering … wondering … it scared me when he wondered …

The group grew eerily quiet and still for several moments.  That’s when I became keenly aware of the separation of dark and light that met out by the back gate.  Something made me think that there were eyes on the other side of the wall of darkness where the light shining from the back porch ended.  Something was watching.  Something knew about that haunted wood.  Something that made a circle in the lush green grass out where the cows usually graze.  I felt my breath catch in my throat.

Grandpa grabbed me by the elbow and drew me into a hug.  “Now, now, Blair.  Don’t you go get scared.  This is your land here, sweet pea.  Don’t you fear anything on your land.” 

“Let’s go out there!”  I hadn’t noticed that Everett was sitting by his dad with that wild, inquisitive look in his eyes.  “I want to go see the crop circle!”  He stood, looked out back at the four wheelers then back at Andrew.  “Just a peek.  Come on!”  His eyes pleaded with Andrew.  Everett just never seemed to have a healthy dose of fear.  His curiosity always won out over anything that might be the least bit frightening.

“Naw, Everett.  It’s too dark out there tonight.  There’s no moon.  We wouldn’t be able to see our hands in front of our faces let alone drive out there without running into a tree.”  Andrew tried to look calm and unafraid as he spoke, yet I saw the subtle difference in his stance.  He stood a little more alert … a little wary.  I noticed how he turned his face a little to the side and looked toward the back pastures and the mystery that lay out in the black night.  “Let’s go out there tomorrow.”  He spoke as if he saw something that no one else could.  As if he could see through the darkness.  “Tomorrow.”

BOOK TRAILER:

GIVEAWAY: 

So I have a e-book copy of cicada for you to win today! You have till the end of the tour to enter and win which is May 27th! 

Entering is easy!! 

The main entry of this contest is following Belle's Facebook page HERE! 

Then you must leave a comment with your e-mail and name you follow Belle by.

EXTRA ENTRIES will be given to anyone who promotes the giveaway and leaves a link. Those links must be left in a comment but it doesn't have to be the same comment as your main entry! 

LINKS:

Buy on Amazon

Buy on Barnes and Noble

Buy on Smashwords

Buy on Books on Board

Buy on CreateSpace 

Kindlegraph

Belle's Website

Belle's Goodreads

Belle's Twitter

Belle's Tumblr

Check out tomorrows stop @ Patti Larsen 

When Destiny Strikes by: Heather M. White (Review + Tour Stop)

Title: When Destiny Strikes (Destiny #2)

Author: Heather M. White

Date of Release: April, 2012

Summary From Goodreads:

Now that Karlie has received her full powers, things are going to be great... right? 
Karlie's number one priority is to kill Serenity - after all she deserves it for trying to kill Alex. Though it isn't as easy as it sounds. Serenity teams up with demons to create an army to destroy Karlie. 
On top of that, there are a ton of zombies, everywhere... And a new angel in town, who seems more like a demon... And of course, a shape shifter dragon! It's all weird, even for Karlie. 
With friends turning against friends, it seems as though her life got a whole lot more complicated.

Review: GUYS!! I think I have said that I love girls with swords before. BUT I feel like the sheer awesomeness that is girls with swords needs to be mentioned again. Overall this book built on the last and gave me the action and details that I was craving from book one. Heather M. White’s Destiny Saga continues in this heart pounding sequel.

I think the thing I enjoy the most about Karlie is how I haven’t read a character exactly like her before. She isn’t a damsel in distress and can hold her own. I admire and look to female MC’s like Karlie, which is why I am hooked on this series.

The introduction of new creatures and characters kept me guessing what was going to happen next. It also cemented destiny as a unique new series. I don’t like books that the plot is like everything else I read, and Destiny is new and fresh.

The plot slips by quickly and soon enough, the final page is turned. I was left with my mouth open and then I had to go back and look at the details. I love doing that! If you liked the first in the series you will adore this one!!!