Book Blitz and Giveaway - Orenda by Ruth Silver

Happy Friday, Angels!!! I have a shiny new Young Adult Fantasy novel to introduce - Orenda. And would you just LOOK at the cover. Oh, how I'm a sucker for pretty covers. AND it's a book about parallel universes, a sword-wielding chick and something called an eternal suit... color me intrigued! See below for all the details and to enter the giveaway.

 

 

 

 

 

Release Date: December 5th, 2014

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

 

 

Where to Buy:

 

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | APPLE

 

 

Here's the Summary:

Join forces with a parallel universe.

Dark forces, magical creatures, and the world Lil thought she knew collide when a dream transports her to the strange world of Orenda. Stunned and terrified, Lil comes face to face with her doppelganger, Willow, who possesses the ability to travel between the two worlds. Everything Lil knows logically says that Orenda can’t exist, but a small clue may be proof that it was more than an ordinary dream. With the threat of her sister in danger, Lil crosses dimensions but it may cost her even more than she bargained for.

A sword wielding girl, the eternal suit, and a parallel universe come together in this action-packed Young Adult fantasy adventure that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages.

 

 

 Giveaway!!!

 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

About the Author:

 

 

Ruth Silver first began writing poetry as a teenager and reading heaps of fan fiction in her free time. She has written under three unique pseudo names and penned well over a hundred stories.

She attended Northern Illinois University in 2001 and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication. While in college she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, "Deuces are Wild", which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories.

Her love of writing, led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading YA novels and sharing her favorite books with other readers. She runs her own book blog and also enjoys photography and traveling.

 

 

Connect with Her:

 

WEBSITE | FACEOOK | TWITTER

Book Blitz and GIVEAWAY - Elevated by Daniel Solomon Kaplan

Science-Fiction? Check. Dystopian elements? Check. Young Adult?? Check, check. Buying this one now!!!

xoxo
SJ

 

 

 

Release Date: September 23rd 2014

Genre: Science-Fiction, Young Adult

 

Where to Buy:

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE

 

 

Here's the Summary:

 

Most kids can’t wait until Elevated Day, when they can finally unlock their hidden superpower. Rose remains a skeptic. While the treatment reveals a power, the outcome is irreversible and abilities can range from amazing to a nuisance. On top of that, she holds a deep rooted grudge against the treatment that turned her father into an Unsound, one with abilities so dangerous as to force them to a life of exile.

Her choice sends her down a path of discovery, as she seeks to learn more of the truth around the treatment and what really happened to her father. Fed up with lies, Rose wants nothing more than to learn the whole truth–even if it means accepting her fate as an Elevated.

 

The Giveaway!!!

 



a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

 

Daniel Solomon Kaplan is a playwright turned author after much arm twisting from his wife. He currently has several novels in the works, including CATALYST, the next book of the Elevated Series, scheduled to debut before the end of the year.

 

Connect with Him:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER



Book Review and GIVEAWAY - Helia's Shadow by K.C. Neal

Release Date: November 23rd 2014

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Where to Buy:
AMAZON

Here's the Summary:

Helia’s Shadow is for fans of The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey), The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins), Divergent (Veronica Roth), and Legend (Marie Lu).

When the aliens arrived, they were hailed as the saviors of a dying Earth and dwindling human race. But the aliens didn’t come to help. Now, one human girl’s ingenious invention and one alien boy’s awakened heart are humanity’s last hope…

Nineteen years ago, aliens arrived on a barely habitable Earth with advanced technology and the promise of ensuring human survival in exchange for a place to settle. They were hailed as the saviors of humans and Earth.

Today, 16-year-old Helia wants two things in life: to step out of her over-protective mother’s shadow and become an engineer, and to stop hiding her relationship with alien boy Kalo. But the world definitely isn’t ready for a human-alien romance. And worse, the human-alien partnership is crumbling. Humans are arrested without explanation. Some of them are never seen again.

When the alien leader imprisons her mother on a false charge, Helia discovers the aliens never intended to help humans at all. Now, she must join forces with alien rebels. If she succeeds, humans have a chance at survival and she has a chance at love. If she fails, the dwindling human race dies out in slavery.

My Review:

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

The Good:

The writing. Ms. Neal's prose is easily digested and flows seamlessly. There's no awkward or stilted phrasing or dialogue, and that's important to me. If I find myself stumbling over the words or struggling to read, I last all of ten minutes before I decide not to waste anymore of my time. The story itself could be exceptional, but the writing has to be... well, readable. That's another great thing about this book: the story/ premise. I love any story that has to do with others living among us, except this time, instead of it being a secret or needing to remain hidden, the aliens live openly and intermingled with society.

Helia, the POV character. She's smart, loyal and loving, but she's also strong. SO not the damsel in distress type, which gets major bonus points with me. I also appreciate the relationship with her mother. There's a strong bond there, but it's also realistic. The mom wants what's best (on the verge of overbearing), but Helia has desires and plans of her own.

The aliens. I LOVE me some humanoid aliens - like us, but a tad different. I also loved Kalo and Helia's relationship - sweet but complicated because she has to hide it. Great way to keep me interested! Forbidden romance!!!

The plot line. I don't want to give away too much because there are so many twists and turns and I want the reader to experience them without any kind of hint as to what might happen. Let's just say the first half of the book is very character-driven and sets everything up nicley, then you're thrown into a whirlwind and are devouring  pages to find out what happens next. Well done, Ms. Neal!!! I'll definitely be buying Book Two.

Be forewarned, however, that the novel ends in a cliffhanger!!!


The Bad:

Nothing to say in this category.


The Ugly:

Nothing to say in this category.

In conclusion, this well-thought-out Young Adult Science-Fiction novel (with a touch of Dystopian) will draw you in, endear you, rattle you, and have you clambering for the next book right away.

The Giveaway!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author:

In previous iterations of my professional life, I worked as a bench chemist, a lab equipment tester, a biotech researcher, and a medical writer. Strangely, this sequence has not led to my dream job: drummer in a rock band. But my current gig is pretty sweet.

I love colored pens and sticky notes, sunsets and sunrises, digging my fingers into the dirt and nurturing the things that grow in it, and learning anything and everything. I’m a scientist who studies astrology, a go-with-the-flow Type A, and an impatient practitioner of daily meditation. A big bag of contradictions, just like everyone else.

Connect with Her:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER



Music Crush Monday - Earned It

It’s Monday (unfortunately), and if you’re a nine-to-fiver like me, you need something to propel you through your first day back to work. My Mondays usually consist of sifting through emails, voice mails, attending meetings etc etc, so needless to say they’re hectic, and who better to soothe me than The Weeknd? Ironic, huh? The Weeknd gets me through my Mondays. Hehe Okay, sorry that was cheesy.

ANYWAY… let’s take a minute to appreciate one of my new favorite songs hot off the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack - Earned It, by (you guessed it) The Weeknd!!! I've had it on repeat all day long, and ooooooh is it delicious and smooth and sexy. *sigh*

Enjoy :)

Cover Reveal - Cage of Deceit, Book One of the Reign of Secrets Series

I signed up through Xpresso Book Tours to feature this book because I'm a lover of Young Adult Fantasy novels, and I have to admit, I only skimmed the summary for Cage of Deceit before I decided, sure... I'll post the cover. But once I took the time to sit down and truly read it, I found myself so entranced by the premise I now have to get my hands on it!!! Too bad I have to wait until August. :( And while the cover doesn't immediately snag your interest in a holy beautiful cover kind of way, it's pretty and haunting and seems to be a true reflection of the story, and sometimes that's more than enough. After all, while the cover is important, that's not what keeps the reader's attention; it's the words that come after.

Is it August yet? ;)

xoxo
SJ

Release Date: August 25th 2015

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Here's the Summary:

Jennifer Anne Davis’ best-selling True Reign series captivated readers from the very first page. Now, get ready to become entangled in the follow-up series, Reign of Secrets. In this new series, follow Allyssa, the daughter of the beloved Emperor Darmik and Empress Rema— and find out what happens after happily ever after.

Seventeen-year-old Allyssa appears to be the ideal princess of Emperion—she's beautiful, elegant, and refined. She is the darling of the kingdom and, one day, will be the most powerful ruler in the world. But for her, life at court is like a suffocating cage. During the day, she manages to keep a smile on her face and play the part of the perfect princess. But at night, she sneaks out of the castle and roams the streets with a commoner who doesn't know her true identity. She keeps tabs on the shady under dealings of the city and seeks out ways to help her people firsthand.

When a royal messenger arrives half dead, carrying news that an army from the northern front is amassing to destroy Emperion, Allyssa is forced to entertain an alliance with a handsome prince from a neighboring kingdom. She needs to marry him in order to secure his country's help to fight their mutual enemy. Prince Odar turns out to be rather charming, well spoken, and cultivated. In other words, he represents everything she despises about court life. To make matters worse, the prince insists that Jarvik— his nosy squire—watch Allyssa's every move, suffocating her even more. Jarvik is infuriating, bossy, and constantly looks down upon her.

When she sneaks out of the castle in disguise one evening, Allyssa comes face-to-face with an assassin who isn't from this part of the world, an assassin who was sent to murder the royal family. Stuck in an impossible bind, she allows Jarvik to help her. Together, the unlikely pair confronts the man sent to kill her so she can discover who's behind the lethal plot. Only, the more she learns, the more she understands that the invading army and the assassin are connected to an enemy she thought was long gone—an enemy with the power to destroy her family and the people of Emperion. The cage she so longs to break free from might just be the one thing she has to fight to keep intact. In order to save her kingdom, she has to sacrifice her freedom, her heart, and maybe even her life.



About the Author:

Jennifer graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in English and a teaching credential. Afterwards, she married her best friend and high school sweetheart. Jennifer is currently a full-time writer and mother of three young children. Her days are spent living in imaginary worlds and fueling her own kids' creativity.

Connect with Her:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER