Friday, May 31, 2013

Review Wrap Up: Kissing Fire by A.M. Hargrove


Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 4/15/2013

Preston Mitchell has many secrets. As an undercover DEA agent, he’s lived a life of danger and obscurity. A relationship was never a consideration...until the lovely Avery Middleton stumbles into his life.

To the outsider, Avery has it all...wealth, family, connections and a great job. But on the inside, she’s miserable. With a selfish mother driving her to the brink of insanity, a kooky neighbor that has zany plans for her to become a sumo wrestler, and a social life that’s in the toilet, Avery decides her only salvation is to get the hell out of town and start a new life. So she moves across the country and right into the path of hot and sexy, Preston.


Unfortunately, Avery ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time and is now running for her life. Preston is determined to protect her but she suddenly finds herself irresistibly captivated by him. There’s only one problem. Preston’s covert missions have created a load of mental baggage resulting in an impenetrable wall around him that no one can break through. But Avery rocks Preston’s world because she is nothing like anyone he’s ever met and something extraordinary begins to develop between them. Can their love survive in this world, where danger, intrigue and deception lurk on every corner?



This Book has averaged a 4.7* Rating during this tour.
This Book has a current Amazon Rating of 4.6*'s.
Get this book for $2.99 !



Kissing Fire is a beautifully written story that tells the story of a damaged DEA agent, Preston Mitchell, who has been scarred by what he has seen in his line of work. He believes that due to the path he has chosen, he can never have a chance at a normal relationship or love. The reader will hurt for him, want him for their own, and want to fold them in the shelter of their arms.  Then out of the blue enters Avery Middleton, a girl who grew up with wealth, privilege, and a psychotic mother. Avery’s life is in shambles and she feels her only escape is to get as far away as she can. When Avery moved to Seattle she had no clue that she would find herself running for her life, and being protected by a hunk of a man like Preston. Although both characters have their own demons and insecurities, Avery’s constant sarcastic wit, snark comments, and ability to laugh in the face of danger make this a fun and sexy read. There are dark and dangerous situations, the thrill of discovering love, and the hope of holding on to it.
A.M. Hargrove has managed to write a story that shows the underbelly of civilization, and mix in some great moments laced with humor, love, and defying odds. Both Preston and Avery light up the pages with their chemistry and intense connection. No two characters could be more prefect for one another! One thing is for certain you will be hooked from the beginning and a devote fan at the end. Now to go purchase more novels by Ms. Hargrove…

More Reviews From This Tour: 
May 23 - My Pathway to Books - Review
May 24 - Crystal's Random Thoughts - Review
May 25 - Let's Get Booked - Review
May 25 - Flutters and Flails - Review
May 26 - Cocktails and Books - Review/Interview
May 26 - Little Library Muse - Review/Interview
May 27 -  Queen of the Night Reviews - Review
May 28 - Kayla's Place - Review
May 30 - Sun Mountain Reviews - Review
May 31 - RABT Reviews - Review





One day, on her way home from work as a sales manager, A. M. Hargrove, realized her life was on fast forward and if she didn't do something soon, it would quickly be too late to write that work of fiction she had been dreaming of her whole life.  So, she rolled down the passenger window of her fabulous (not) company car and tossed out her leather briefcase.  Luckily, the pedestrian in the direct line of fire was a dodgeball pro and had über quick reflexes enabling him to avoid getting bashed in the head.  Feeling a tad guilty about the near miss, A. M. made a speedy turn down a deserted side street before tossing her crummy, outdated piece-of-you-know-what lap top out the window.   She breathed a liberating sigh of relief, picked up her cell phone and hit #4 on her speed dial.
 Boss:  Hello
 A.M.:  Boss, is that you?
 Boss:  Why yes, A. M., who else would be answering my phone?
 A.M.:  Er... right.  Well, I'm calling to let you know you can pick up my luxury Ford Focus at Starbucks near the interstate.
 Boss:  Why ever would I want to do that?
 A.M.:  Because I quit!
 A.M. hit the end button and speed dialed her husband.
 A.M.:  Hi hubs, can you pick me up at Starbucks?
 Hubs:  Sure... Having some car trouble?
 A.M.:  Not at all.  I don't have a car to have trouble with because I just quit my job.
 Hubs:  WHAT?!
 A.M.:  It's time for a new career and I am going to be a very famous novelist.
 So began A. M. Hargrove's career as a young adult paranormal romance author of self-published ebooks.  Her series, The Guardians of Vesturon, centers around a family of six siblings and is a mix of humor, mystery, suspense and of course, love.  Survival and Resurrection are her first and second full length novels in the series and Beginnings is the prequel novella.  Her third installment, Determinant, will be released on June 30, 2012.  (It didn’t happen exactly like that, but you get the idea!)
  

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Review Wrap Up: Save My Soul by Elley Arden


Contemporary Romance
Date Published: 3/25/12

Psychotherapist Maggie Collins has always been a little off the proverbial wall, but now  she’s also knee deep in a delayed quarter-life crisis. With her meager paychecks devoured by student loan debt, a car payment and rent for office space, living at home with a flighty, folksinging mother seemed like a good idea…at first. Now Maggie’s not so sure. She wants space  to sort things out and launch a life of her own, but she needs a cushion of cash to get there. 
When an unexpected phone call brings an offer Maggie can’t refuse, she’s one deal with the  devil away from moving out of her mother’s house. The devil of contract negotiations, baseball agent Jordon Kemmons, has a problem the  usual experts can’t fix…his star pitcher is too depressed to throw strikes. Even worse, 
Jordon’s post-divorce grudge against women is turning him into a raging mess. If desperate  times call for desperate measures, then cynical Jordon has made the most desperate move  of all. He’s hoping sexy psychotherapist Maggie Collins is the answer to all his rusty prayers. Soon Maggie and Jordon are fighting an attraction that threatens everything they’ve ever  believed. If it’s not just physical attraction…if it’s something more, maybe two wrongs can  make a right.

RABT REVIEW WRAP UP                     


This Book has averaged a 4.6* Rating during this tour.
This Book has a current Amazon Rating of 4.5*'s.
Get this book for $3.79 !

Purchase Links


FROM TEXAS BOOK NOOK:
I really loved the emotions and situations that Elley Arden created in this book. Maggie's approach to psychotherapy was a bit different than what you would expect, but in this world it worked. The interactions between her and her client were interesting to read through.

The relationship between Jordan and Maggie unfolds believably. It didn't feel forced or too fast to me.

I liked the fact that while sports were involved in the story, they weren't the main focus. The story really delved deeper. I wish we would have had a bit more on the pasts of the main characters, but I really felt like I had enough of an emotional connection either way.


Reviews From This Tour
May 4 - My Reading Addiction - Review
May 8 - Queen of the Night - Review/Guest Post
May 9 - Texas Book Nook - Review
May 11Author Ever Leigh - Review
May 13 - The Serial Reader - Review/Guest Post
May 15 - My Pathway to Books - Review
May 17 - Illustrious Illusions - Review/Guest Post
May 18 - Flirting with Romance - Review/Guest Post
May 19 - Beth Art From the Heart - Review
May 23 - My Cozie Corner- Review
May 29 - Faerie Tale Books - Review/Guest Post
May 30 - The Canon - Review
May 31 - RABT Reviews - Review



Elley Arden is a born and bred Pennsylvanian who has lived as far west as Utah and as far north as Wisconsin. She drinks wine like it’s water (a slight exaggeration), prefers a night at the ballpark to a night on the town, and believes almond English toffee is the key to happiness.
Elley has been reading romance novels since she was a sixteen-year-old babysitter, sneaking Judith McNaught and Danielle Steele novels off the bookshelves of the women who employed her. She started her first manuscript when she was twenty-five, writing during babies’ naps. A total of three children and ten years later, the manuscript was complete. Little did she know, her journey to publication was only beginning…
Elley writes provocative contemporary romances for Crimson Romance.




Review Wrap Up: The Gatekeeper's Daughter by Eva Pohler


Young Adult Fantasy
Date Published: 5/1/13

In The Gatekeeper's Sons, Therese and Thanatos, the god of Death, met and fell in love. In The Gatekeeper's Challenge, they did everything they could to be together, even break an oath on the River Styx. But the Olympians don't tolerate oath-breakers. In this final book in the trilogy, The Gatekeeper's Daughter, Therese may have finally succeeded in becoming a goddess, but if she wants to remain one, she'll not only have to discover her unique purpose, but also make some allies among the gods. Artemis sends her on a seemingly impossible quest across the world, while Than searches for a way to appease Ares. To make matters worse, her aunt's baby's life hangs in the balance. 


RABT REVIEW WRAP UP                     


This Book has averaged a 4.2* Rating during this tour.
This Book has a current Amazon Rating of 4.4*'s.
Get this book for $2.99 !

Purchase Link

More Reviews From This Tour! 
May 8 - Book Lovers Report - Review/Guest Post
May 9 - Into The Wormhole - Review
May 15 - The Avid Reader - Review/Guest Post
May 16 - Getting Your Read On - Review
May 20 - My Cozie Corner - Review
May 22 - Marked By Books - Review
May 24 - Hooked in a Book - Review
May 27 - Addicted Readers - Review/Interview

Eva Pohler teaches writing at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she lives with her husband,
 three children, two dogs, two rats, and her very large collection of books

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Review Wrap Up: Sewing a Friendship by Natalie Tinti


Children's Chapter Book
Date Published: March 2013

Magic in Us is a sweet, hopeful, energetic story that creates a lively pace and makes reading aloud a pleasure. It's an inspiration for children to learn and grow into well-rounded individuals, to realize the power of friendship, to learn about the value of problem solving and discover hidden talents. It told by 10 years old Natalie Tinti who is not only a multi- awarded talented writer, she is also an amazing artist! The Power of Imagination (book 1)

When a secret agent dog, Dogon, informed four best friends that Nina has a bad horrible scratch and she won’t be able to 
play her musical instruments, they must quickly come and make her feel better. While deciding what to do next, there's a veritable blizzard of ideas put forth, and the girls have to sift through them all to come up with a plan of action. Together they create a magical world full of adventures where every obstacle can be overcome with mutual support and joint creativity.


RABT REVIEW WRAP UP                     


This Book has a current Amazon Rating of 4.4*'s.
Get this book for $4.95 !

Purchase Link

Reviews From This Tour

May 1 - Texas Book Nook - Review
May 8 - Growing Up Little - Review
May 11 - Just Me, Myself, and I - Review
May 19 - Debbie Jean - Review
May 20 - Deal Sharing Aunt- Review
May 24 - Book Referees - Review/Interview


About the Author
At age thirteen Natalie Tinti is a multi-award winning author, illustrator, of 12 children’s books and an inspirational public speaker who promotes varied uplifting messages for her peers as well as their parents. Despite this early success as an artist Natalie was recommended to repeat Kindergarten as her teacher thought she didn’t have adequate language function and memory recall. However, this apparent set back would later serve as a valuable growth experience in her social awareness and desire to help her classmates. Natalie’s books gave her a platform for speaking at various venues where she promoted the empowerment of children to include: the value of social skills for overall happiness and as a tool in dealing with bullies, appreciating one’s unique talents and personality to bolster self-confidence, and challenging children of all ages to build friendships by having the courage to include others.
Contact Link



Friday, May 24, 2013

Review Wrap Up: ICE Blue by Susan Rae


Romantic Suspense
Date Published: 3/15/13

When lives are on the line, sometimes the wrong thing is the right thing to do.
Born into a Chicago cop family, Angela DeLuca gets her rush from saving lives while her brothers get theirs from catching the bad guys. A tough beauty with a heart perhaps too big, she champions the underdog because, as the youngest of six siblings, she often felt like one.
ICE Special Agent Troy Deavers became a cop to prove he wasn’t like his father—a southern politician who brought his family down with greed and corruption. He doesn’t suffer victims well. At first intrigued by Angela’s passion, he soon fears that the fire in Angela’s heart will be her undoing.
What happens when Troy falls in love with the lovely but infuriating Angela, the Chicago paramedic who insists on protecting a young witness and her unborn baby—a witness who could break his case wide open?
You met the DeLuca family in heartbeats, now come to know them even better in ICE blue.



RABT REVIEW WRAP UP                     


This Book has averaged a 4.1* Rating from reviewers during this tour.
Current Amazon Rating of 4.2*'s.
Get this book for $4.99 !


"Ice Blue" is the second book in the 'DeLuca Family' Series. Susan pens her book in a well written plot filled with suspense and romance, this was one book that I never knew what was going to happen. With her well developed characters, Susan keeps you glued to the pages. I do wish I had read the first book in the series for more background, but as a stand alone book, I found this to be okay.

I give "Ice Blue" a 4 star rating.


More Reviews From This Tour! 
April 26 - Beth Art From the Heart - Review
April 30 - Books and Needlepoint - Review/Interview
May 1 - My Reading Addiction - Review
May 8 - Total Book Geek - Review/Interview
May 9 - Author Ever Leigh - Review
May 10 - My Pathway to Books - Review
May 16 - The Canon - Review
May 16 - Texas Book Nook - Review
May 20 - Busy Mom Book Reviews - Review
May 21 - Wormy Hole - Review/Interview
May 22 - The Must Unleashed - Review
May 23 - The World as I See It - Review




I write, basically, because I just can’t help myself.  I can't resist the challenge of taking the intriguing characters and storylines that pop into my head and fleshing them out into compelling manuscripts.  Romantic suspense is a natural to me, because it allows me to combine a sexy, passionate love story with a gritty suspense tale—in my opinion, the best of both worlds. It also lets me express my appreciation for the outdoors in the settings which I recreate on the page.
Freefall, my second novel, takes place in Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine Forest and beautiful Door County. ICE blue returns to the busy streets of Chicago and the shores of Lake Michigan to continue the story of the DeLuca family which began in my award winning first novel, heartbeats. I am currently working on the third book in the DeLuca series, TRUE blue, due out in 2014, where it seems my characters must take a trip to Montana’s majestic Glacier National Park.
When I’m not sketching characters or working out plot problems, you might find me on the golf course working on my handicap. I also enjoy traveling around the country seeking out new settings for my novels with my husband and my empty nest puppies, Ginger and Nikute.  To read more about my novels and the writing life, please visit my website/blog atwww.susanrae.com

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Review Wrap Up: The Tale of the Valiant Hero Kenta



Fantasy/Romance/Historical/Action-Adventure
Date Published: March 22, 2013

Synopsis: 

Kenta Takeyama is a 16 year old martial artist who possesses superhuman  strength and abilities and the Takeyama -ryuu fighting art. He desires to become the most  powerful shogun on the Nikkoujima (Sun Light Islands), as there are much more powerful  men in the world. He lives with his father Tesshin, who trained him in the martial arts, and  his mother Amaya, who is the former princess of a royal family and master fighter; his little  sister Mana, who wants to become a famous play actress and open her own production studio,  as well as his pet bear Kumomori, whom he had since he was 4. Kenta finds that it’s time to  follow his dreams of becoming a great and powerful shogun (using his power to protect people  and build more homes and villages, help the poor and starving, rather than just for pomp and  circumstance. He wants the people to live in peace and prosperity with no fear, as the world is  already entering another age of war. Essentially, he wants to change the country). And so, with  his parents’ permission, he decides to travel to Senkyou to enlist in the military and become  a true samurai warrior. He feels confident that the can do so after going through many trials  and travels through his childhood, and training under the tutelage of his father in his family’s  martial arts styles.
During the first part of the novel, after a little love fiasco with his childhood friend  Yumine who has a crush on him and sparring with some buddies, he travels the lush and vibrant  island and helps many different people out. As Kenta reaches Senkyou, he meets new rivals  and friends, such as Natsumi, a new love interest and Hayate, a mysterious ninja who wants  to raise up his own organization of ninja mercenaries. During basic training, he discovers that  the capital is being attacked by powerful youkai. The powerful beasts appear and disappear in  a flash, even the temple priests are having trouble. Does the Great Tengu King of the Gogonji mountain territory  know anything about these attacks? Do our heroes stand a chance against  these swift and powerful foes?  What is the reasoning behind all of this carnage?




RABT REVIEW WRAP UP


This Book has averaged a 5* Rating from reviewers during this tour.


Purchase Link


REVIEWS FROM THIS TOUR
May 12 - Texas Book Nook - Review
May 15 - My Reading Addiction - Review
May 16 - Book Lovers Paradise - Review
May 22 - A Life Through Books - Review



 Ezra Jonah Jacobs

Ezra Jonah Jacobs was born in 1988 in AtlantaGeorgia. He was raised in the suburbs 45 minutes outside of Atlanta by his father and mother, having one older brother. Growing up in a small country town, there was plenty of farmland and open plains to play and run around, a good place to let his young imagination run wild. When not outside, he was usually reading, drawing pictures, or playing video games. He has also had an interest in martial arts since the age of 6, first gaining an interest after watching a Bruce Lee documentary and seeing a movie by the name of Street Fighter. He started emulating the techniques he saw in these movies. It was also around this age he became interested into becoming an author after hearing his teacher read a book to his class. He would be influenced more by other books throughout grade school either by going to the library or during in-school readings.

In Jr. High School, Jacobs developed an interest in many new different mediums, including manga (Japanese comics) and ancient world literature, such as Don Quixote and Beowulf (already having some world literature in his background the form of Gulliver’s Travels and Aesop’s Fables while in Elementary school). He also first came across ancient stories of kung fu masters with enough strength to slay lions, enough speed to out run a cheetah, and being able to lighten their bodies enough to walk on egg shells. He found these stories rather fascinating and would spend time reading them, while at the same time trying to find more.

During his time in high school, world literature reads had expanded. He also began reading more of a genre called Wuxia (martial arts fiction), in particular Jin Yong, and was greatly fascinated by the scope of the stories as well the detailed battle sequences. To him it was as if he were watching a kung fu movie unfold before his very eyes. He thought this genre was rather interesting, especially since it influenced all of his other favorite mediums as well, even theater.

At college, Jacobs finally made the conscious decision to become an author. It was during this time, after class that he would spend time typing up many different stories. Many being one-shots (one long chapter), while others became full length novels. He began trying different genres and styles out until reading Jin Yong’s “A Smiling, Proud Wanderer”. He then decided to give wuxia a try and began working on a novel of such style. He had developed many early versions of his current stories, eventually editing and reforming them into what they are now. He also began reading many other novels around this time, such as Musashi, even more ancient world literature such as Canterbury Tales, The Divine Comedy, and The Faerie Queen, as well as many other things that would later influence his works.

Jacobs graduated from Oglethorpe University in AtlantaGeorgia with a Major in Literature and a Minor in Arts. He also studied karate while on campus during these years. As he wrote, he always had in mind to create stories that would give his readers the impressions they were almost watching a movie or a TV show, something interesting and exciting yet bearing the allure of a novel. Jacobs currently resides in AtlantaGeorgia. When not writing, he is usually reading from his extensive book collection, taking walks in the city, and training.