Saturday, October 31, 2015

Review: Slither by Valarie Savage Kinney


We're often told tales of the underworlds to feed the darkest corners of our nightmares. We tuck them away with the sunlight and laugh away the fear our minds created. But the daylight offers no relief for Zari. She's hidden her waking nightmare as nothing more than a damaged past. The venom of her secrets consumes her, as well as those she cares for most. Emmett, the love of her life and the only one with a past dark enough to respect her space, becomes a pawn in the war against the demonic force which is her bloodright. Can Zari overpower those out to get her to feed on the innocent? Can she save Emmett from the evil of Slither?



Well, we all know I love my horror, cutting my teeth on horror comics and classic films to diving in head first with authors like Stephen King and Dean Koontz. For me, crafting a great horror story is about the unknown, creating characters we care about, as well as characters we despise, and creating a sense of confusion and deflecting from a predictable course through a believable but engaging plot line with many sub-plots.. A combination of these will create a great read, which Valarie Kinney has done in SLITHER.

I loved the main characters, Zari and Emmett. They were wonderfully flawed and each was dealing with their own demons. These were people I would like to know, despite being very different from me. The villains were truly dark and twisted individuals, giving any great horror author’s creations a run for their money. The supporting casts were also fully fleshed individuals who enhanced the read, adding to the plot.

My only issue is that I wish there had been more interaction with the villains. I wish we had been given more information about their history, were there any more of them, etc. I think that would have been really cool, as this is such an original concept and mythology (and again, you all know I love good mythology), but this is my minor issue. Overall, this was a great read and I would definitely recommend it to any and all horror Fans.




Valarie Kinney is a writer, fiber artist and Renaissance Festival junkie with a wicked caffeine addiction. She resides in Michigan with her husband, four children, and two insane little dogs. She is the author of Slither and Just Hold On, and narrator for Dragons of Faith. She can be followed on Twitter @kinneychaos.




Friday, October 30, 2015

Pre-Release Blitz: Letters Written in White by Kathryn Perez

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Title: Letters Written In White 
Author: Kathryn Perez 
Genre: Magical Realism 
Pre-Release Blitz: October 30, 2015 
Release Date: November 30, 2015 
Hosted by: S.B.B. Promotions

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I’m dead.
I’m cold and alone and I’m dead. There’s no air in my lungs. My chest is as cold and hollow as a cave on a snow-capped mountain side. My heart no longer beats there. Frigid winds whistle through my ribs and the sadness inside me weeps like my favorite tree.
Days ago, I met with death face to face. The mirror, our meeting place. My two darkened green eyes stared deeply into hers. I tilted my head to the side. She did too.
“It’s time,” I whispered.
“It’s time,” she whispered.
And with that I turned away from her, the woman in the mirror who knew all of my secrets and all of my pain. I walked away from her and yet we’d never been closer than we were in that moment. The inner struggle was over. No more arguing with the woman in the mirror. No more arguing with myself. The choice was made. She was the victor. Or was I?
That was the day Riah Winter died.

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Kathryn Perez

Kathryn lives in her small East Texas hometown with her family. She 's a music infused writer and self-proclaimed book junkie. When she isn't listening to music, writing or reading you'll probably find her watching her favorite sport, UFC.
Kathryn is also an anti-bullying advocate and avid supporter of mental-illness and suicide awareness.

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Thursday, October 29, 2015

Cover Reveal: Uniquely Mine by Theresa Sederholt


Uniquely Mine
by Theresa Sederholt

Cover Reveal Oct 29, 2015
Release Date Nov 10, 2015

Photography Credit: Eric Battershell Photography
Cover Models: Burton Hughes and Tessi Conquest
Cover Design: Wicked by Design

Add Uniquely Mine to your TBR on Goodreads





Uniquely Mine
A Fitz Series

When the latest string of murders, sweeping New York City, lands on Detective Fitzgerald S. Rodriguez’s desk, the signature evidence hits too close to home. Being unable to stop the murder of his own mother has made Fitz a jaded man. Now he will stop at nothing to protect the one he loves.

Serial killer, Mark Chambers, is like a cat that preys on unsuspecting mice for sport. When a fresh kill no longer quenches his sexual appetite, he sets his sights on Makenna Justice. The fiery-redhead, with her emerald green eyes, ignites a fire in him that he hasn’t had since his first kill.

Time is of the essence for all three of them.

Mark must feed into his desires once more without leaving a trail.

Fitz has to dig himself deep into a killer’s mind to catch him.

And Makenna?—She just has to stay alive.











Blog Tour: Cellar by Karen E. Taylor





About the Book
Title: Cellar
Author: Karen E. Taylor
Genre: Horror

Something’s not quite right about the neighborhood of Woodland Heights. Five years ago six children disappeared in this suburban heaven. When Laura Wagner moves into a house that had been vacant for most of those five years, this something comes alive. Laura Wagner, divorced mother of two, addicted to alcohol and Valium, sees nothing wrong with her life; she sees nothing much at all. She gets by as well as she can, aided by the solace of her drugs and whiskey, until the day she backs into a police car in the parking lot of her favorite bar and is sentenced to involuntary rehabilitation treatments. Returning home clean and sober is an eye-opening experience. The spirit dwelling in her house reveals its true, evil nature and begins to prey upon her, her friends, even her children, avid to spread its message of death and despair. Laura must learn to control her inner demons before she can subdue these outside forces threatening to break free. She must learn how to distinguish hallucinations from reality, learn how to stop the spirit that requires her death and the deaths of her loved ones.



Author Bio

Karen E. Taylor is the author of the popular Vampire Legacy series, CELLAR (a ghost novel,) numerous short stories, and a collection which earned her a Bram Stoker Award nomination. She is currently working on a new urban fantasy series, along with other projects she is too superstitious to mention.







Links




Book Excerpt

The neighborhood girls formed a semi-circle around Lizzy.  Thinking it was only the cold that made her shiver, she took a deep breath.  This is a stupid game, she thought, I never should’ve said I’d play.  But she knew she couldn’t back out now.  Amanda, who’d been enjoying the other girls’ company, would never let her forget it.
“Go ahead, Lizzy.”  Brittany gave her a little push forward so that Lizzy’s nose almost touched the sliding glass door.
Lizzy shut her eyes and began to count silently.
One, two, three, four...
The girls around her began to chant softly.  “Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly...”
...twelve, thirteen, fourteen...
The girls’ voices grew louder and Lizzy felt her heart beat faster and faster.  She wanted to stop this stupid game.  She wanted to stop it now.  But she kept her eyes closed tight.
“Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly...”
...eighteen, nineteen, twenty!
Lizzy finished the count.  She opened her eyes.  And screamed.





Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Blog Tour and Review: Waterfall and Waterproof by Amber Garr



Book & Author details:

Waterfall & Waterproof by Amber Garr 
(The Water Crisis Chonicles, #1) 
Genres: Dystopia, New Adult



Synopsis book 1 - Waterfall:
The water is gone. The wars have begun.
Clean water is a luxury most can no longer afford. Climate change, industrial sabotage, and greed have turned country against country as each one tries to provide for its citizens. Terrorist groups target desalinization plants and frustrated governments hunt those who work against them. Rationing, sequestering, and patrolling have become routine at a time when there are too many people and not enough resources.
While the world around them disintegrates into chaos, Zach and Vivienne hope that their life in a government-run complex will retain some semblance of normalcy. But when attacks on their water supplies bring war to their sheltered community, they must accept their new fate. Stay and fight or flee and endure—it’s a difficult decision with lasting consequences.
Will they choose what’s safe? Or will they choose to survive?

Waterfall by Amber Garr follow two teenagers who are fighting for survival. In book one we learn about the water crisis and how the government was rationing in order to care for their citizens. War starts to break out and no one is truly safe. Zach and Vivienne are best of friends and along with their families are forced to find a new way of living once war breaks out. 

The story is told in first person by each of the characters. Each chapter went back and forth between the young couple. What I liked is that the story picked up where the other dropped off but from a new perspective. It was like when an older couple that have been married for so long can tell a story together, it’s the same one just from a different angle. I also liked having a strong female lead. I mean physically stronger than her football playing friend and he was okay with her always there to save his butt. I felt like I was there on the road to survival with them, one of the pack. I would get so intently involved that I wouldn’t want to stop reading and go to bed.  I was glad to have books one and two so I could hurriedly continue on.






Synopsis book 2 - Waterproof:
Dying of thirst is the new reality.
Five years after the last drop of clean water disappeared, global societies collapsed and nuclear war shattered all hope of recovery. In a place now only a skeleton of its former self, survivors fight to avoid capture by the government. Forced to work in factories that produce the only drinking water available, those who go in, never come out.
Zach and Vivienne have lived as deserters since they were teenagers. Fighting amongst their own and scrounging for the necessities of life, they’ve learned to rely on each other in every way. Yet when tragedy strikes and the true objectives of the government facility are revealed, their world is ripped apart. A fate once thought to hold their demise may be the sole answer to their survival. Who can they trust? Who can they believe?
In this life, it pays to be waterproof.
Disclaimer: Waterproof is a new adult dystopian with sex, violence, and language that may not be suitable for a younger audience.

I love a good series that makes you sad when it ends and you NEED to rush out and get the next one. If you are too, start reading this one.  As we move on to book two, Waterproof, the best friends are becoming even closer and friendship could turn into something more. Zach and Viv realize how much they need each other not just romantically but for stability in their lives. Their world has been turned upside down and shaken and these to learn how important they are to the others survival. As if there weren’t enough happening the story takes a twisted turn that made my stomach turn in knots, but you have to read it to find that out yourself.

If you were a Hunger Games fanatic, you are going to enjoy this book. I loved HG and I found myself thinking which lifestyle would be worse. Plus, with the water shortage in CA, where I am from, this story seemed plausible and started to freak me out that it could happen. Amber Garr did a great job of pulling me in and being a part of the journey with Zach and Viv. She has created a world that hits all your sensory buttons. 





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AUTHOR BIO:
Amber Garr spends her days as a scientist and nights writing about other worlds. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell. Amber is a multiple Royal Palm Literary Award winner, author of the bestselling novels The Syrenka Series, the award-winning Water Crisis Chronicles, The Leila Marx Novels, and the Death Warden Series. When not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie. Find out more at www.ambergarr.com.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Blog Tour: My Life as I Knew It by Brenda Thornlow


Title: My Life as I Knew It
Author: Brenda Thornlow
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: June 23rd, 2014


SYNOPSIS

What would you do if you were sent back in time for some unknown reason? When Brianna wakes up this morning she will be faced with that very question. Brianna lives in New York with her husband, the love of her life, Greg. She's happily married, has a great job, travels around the world and this year will be celebrating her birthday in style. Until the morning she wakes up in an apartment 3,000 miles from where she and Greg live, and seventeen years in the past! Returning to a life she hoped she would never have to think about ever again, much less relive!

TRAILER


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AUTHOR BIO

I started writing at a very young age, mostly as an escape from the real world. It is something I have done on and off throughout my life, but never went so far as to actually try and get published. 

I started my latest story, My Life As I Knew It, around 3 years ago. I was on a roll with it until I allowed life to get in the way. I am now officially picking up where I left off. It is the first book of a series on which I'm working.

I came up with the premise for this story while undergoing some pretty harsh challenges in my personal life. As mentioned before, I always liked writing as a means of escape. While going through these particularly tough times, I had a moment when I thought about what it would be like to go back in time and do certain things differently...which I'm sure almost everyone has thought about from time to time. I sat in front of my keyboard one morning, thought about what I would do if I had that chance and went from there.

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Twitter [@thornlow_brenda]

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