REVIEW: Love, Technically

Love, Technically, by Lynne Silver
Published July 29, 2013
Publisher:  Entangled Publishing, LLC
Format: e-copy obtained from publisher in exchange for an honest review
Genre:  adult contemporary romance
To Buy:  Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  3 STARS

(From Goodreads) Billionaire CEO and computer whiz Noah Frellish is a king among geeks. Women are attracted to his money, but he'd love to meet someone who's actually interested in him. When he helps the sweet and sexy Michelle Kolson with a printing problem, she confuses him for a help desk technician. Noah knows he should clear up this case of mistaken identity, but would she still like him if she knew he was the boss?

Michelle thinks life in Chicago is perfect, as is the whirlwind romance with her smoking-hot coworker. When she unexpectedly finds her job on the chopping block and the man she fell headfirst into bed with running the company, will she abandon her dreams?

Noah must convince the small-town girl to stay in the big city—and that he really is the man she fell for.

Love, Technically was a nice premise. Michelle is having some computer problems late at night when Sark, the help desk technician, shows up to help her. An instant attraction is discovered and a romance ensues. The big snafu is that the help desk technician is actually the rich CEO of the company Michelle works for. Now he's in a pickle. Either tell her the truth and risk her being angry and never wanting to see him again or keep up the farce for as long as possible and hope for the best. 

The premise was good, however, the execution was off. 

I had a real problem with Michelle. She was from a small town in Iowa and decided to remove herself to the big city of Chicago for a worldly education in life. Michelle was a complete caricature of the "aw-shucks" country girl. I almost expected her to be described as showing up to work in denim bibs chewing a piece of grass between her teeth. Not only is she not familiar with business terms like ROI, which I could honestly forgive, but apparently the Internet doesn't exist in Hicksville, Iowa, because she also had never heard of RPGs and IP addresses and doesn't have a Facebook page. 

She is completely shy and inhibited in every single situation. Except when Noah finally gets her naked. Then, it's like she's a completely different person. I didn't buy any of it for one second. And, really, her computer "problem" in the beginning? Who wouldn't think about that solution themselves? 

I couldn't connect with Sark/Noah very well either. When he attempts to tell Michelle the truth, he writes her a totally lame note, doesn't really sign it and then assumes everything is okay. Really, dude? Sometimes he seems to like to spend money (like when he bought Michelle a $2,000 mountain bike for a date) and other times he doesn't (like the fact that he rents a studio above a garage). It's a little weird.

Love, Technically is a very short book. It verges on novella territory. I finished it in only three hours. I think if it were another 100 pages long, it would help a lot. Michelle and Noah both need to be developed more, given many more facets. Because it's hard for me to be endeared to this story if I don't care much for the two main characters. And, as I said, the premise was good. It just needed a bit more work.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Favorite Beginnings/Endings in Books

Best Beginnings:

1. Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1), by Richelle Mead -  The first time Rose sees Dimitri out the window of her apartment - at the time, just a dark, very tall shadow - she's really scared of him. When she meets him on the street a little while later, she tries to fight him. Stupid, but brave, is what Dimitri says. Even this early on in the series, you can tell that there is some sort of connection between Rose and Dimitri.

2. Apollyon (Covenant Series #4), by Jennifer L. Armentrout - After the crazy cliffhanger at the end of Deity (Covenant Series #3) and the events of the novella Elixir (Covenant Series #3.5), I don't think I've ever been more excited to get my hands on a book. And, it did not disappoint. The first 50 pages were explosive and exciting and oh so emotional. I loved every single word.

3. Something Strange and Deadly (Something Strange and Deadly #1), by Susan Dennard - I had no idea that Something Strange and Deadly had zombies in it. I picked it up because it was steampunk, which I love. Then, I cracked open the cover and read the first two sentences:  "Dead!" a woman screamed. "It's the Dead!" You had me at Dead.

4. Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress #1), by Jeaniene Frost - I approach most urban fantasy novels with an amount of trepidation. I've found that I either love them or hate them. It became apparent from the very beginning of Halfway to the Grave, that I was going to LOVE this book. I mean, it begins with our heroine dressed to the nines scoping out the bar she's in for a vampire - any vampire - that she can kill. Finally, her eyes light on... Bones. She walks up to him and utters the fateful words that started an epic love story:  "Want to fuck?" Poetry, my friends. Pure poetry.

Epic Endings:

5. Opal (Lux #3), by Jennifer L. Armentrout - After the ARCs hit the blogosphere, I kept hearing about the nutso cliffhanger at the end Opal. I mean, fans were going into orbit, saying they were gutted and lying in heaps of weeping goo at what happened at the end. To a point, they were right. It was a great cliffhanger. And it has been really hard, long wait.But, honestly, the cliffhanger is what made Opal great. So, while some bemoaned Jennifer Armentrout for shredding them, I applaud her for writing an incredible ending to a great book.

6. Clockwork Princess (Infernal Devices #3), by Cassandra Clare - I don't think I've ever cried more while reading a book then I did when I read Clockwork Princess. This was the final book in the Infernal Devices series, and was full of awesome. It was also full of many poignant moments and some really hard goodbyes. I cannot imagine a better end to this series than the one that Clare presented us with as we wrapped up the stories of Tessa, Will and Jem.

7. Walking Disaster (Beautiful Disaster #2), by Jamie McGuire - Say what you will about Jamie McGuire's tale of Travis and Abby - it certainly was epic. I didn't even know how much I wanted more after I reached the end of Beautiful Disaster (Beautiful Disaster #1) until I got it at the end of Walking Disaster. If their getting together was good, and their wedding was satisfying, the epilogue at the end of Walking Disaster was the absolute icing on this amazing cake. Seeing Travis in that role was the best part of this story.

8. Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades of Gray #3), by E. L. James - While we're on the subject of kick ass epilogues, my list can't be complete without mentioning the ending of Christian and Ana's story. This couple went through so much to be together. They endured potential compatibility issues, evil exes, damaging pasts - so many factors that should've driven them apart permanently. The epilogue, however, proves that anything can be overcome if you want to badly enough.

9. Off Limits (Off Series #2), by Sawyer Bennett - Off Limits was one of the best new adult books I've read this year. Nix was just such an incredible character. And Emily was everything I'm looking for in a heroine. Their story was engrossing and captivating. As is usually the case, at a point in the story, they split up due to misunderstandings and good intentions and stupid decisions. Which made the inevitable reunion that much sweeter. And, that ending - oh my. There's just something about a big, strong hardened war hero becoming soft at the thought of the girl he loves having his baby. Butter. I was like melted butter all over the floor.

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter #7), by J. K. Rowling - It was a long journey to get Harry to his final showdown with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. But, wow - what a showdown it was. The final battle, not just between Harry and Voldemort, but between all the good guys and the bad guys, was nothing short of epic. Once Harry faked his death, I was riveted to my book and absolutely could not put it down. Down to the last words which took us many years into Harry's future, this book put an exclamation point on his whole story and left me with a book hangover like none other.

NEW ADULT MONDAY: Frigid

 

The New Adult genre - their bad boys and big problems and epic loves make them engrossing tales that are so easy to lose yourself in. What's not to love about that? And, now, thanks to the cool chicks at Bewitched Bookworms, we can show these books the love they deserve in a weekly feature - New Adult Mondays.

Frigid, J. Lynn
Published July 15, 2013
Publisher:  Spencer Hill Contemporary
Format: ARC - obtained from BEA
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Buy:  Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  4 STARS

(From Goodreads) For twenty-one-year-old Sydney, being in love with Kyler isn't anything new. They'd been best friends ever since he pushed her down on the playground and she made him eat a mud pie. Somewhere over the years, she fell for him and fell hard. The big problem with that? Kyler puts the 'man' in man-whore. He's never stayed with a girl longer than a few nights, and with it being their last year in college, Syd doesn't want to risk their friendship by declaring her love.

Kyler has always put Syd on a pedestal that was too high for him to reach. To him, she's perfect and she's everything. But the feelings he has for her, he's always hidden away or focused on any other female. After all, Kyler will always be the poor boy from the wrong side of tracks, and Syd will always be the one girl he can never have.

But when they're stranded together at a posh ski resort due to a massive Nor'easter, there's nothing stopping their red-hot feelings for each other from coming to the surface. Can their friendship survive the attraction? Better yet, can they survive at all? Because as the snow falls, someone is stalking them, and this ski trip may be a life-changer in more ways than one.

I received my ARC copy of Frigid on Day 2 at BEA. With all the books I gathered on the first two days, this one was the one I chose to start reading first. I read a few pages that night (before I passed out from exhaustion), and then another 50 pages or so on Day 3 as I waited in lines. It was definitely one of my most anticipated BEA books. 

The great thing about Frigid is that it turned out to be an a-typical new adult book, wrapped in a typical new adult package. On the surface, it's something we've all seen before. Boy and girl have been friends since they were kids, and secretly in love with each other for the most recent few years. Boy deals by screwing lots of faceless girls. Girl deals by shutting herself off from all other guys. Until the fateful day that they are trapped together in a ski lodge. Alone. And all the secrets come out.

Sounds like a new adult book, right? The only thing missing is some horribly tragic event in either the boy's or the girl's (or both) lives. Well, you'll have to keep looking, because it's not there. And, my GOODNESS, is that like a breath of fresh air. There's nothing dark or seedy in either Kyler's or Sydney's past. They simply like each other because... well, because they do. Because they were BFFs first and through hanging out and going to school together, they saw things in each other that they related to and decided they liked more than friends would. It just so happens that they're both big chickens and couldn't tell the other how they felt.

So, Frigid has no horrible event that might cause the reader to bawl through half of it. But, what it does have is a cool mystery. Crazy, right? As time goes on, it seems as if someone(s) is trying to hurt Kyler or Sydney or both of them. If being shut up together in a ski lodge during a blizzard wasn't enough to bring two people with some crazy sexual tension between them together, then being shut up together during a blizzard with someone trying to hurt them definitely would.

I really loved both Kyler and Sydney. They weren't overly sappy. There wasn't some crazy insta-love. They were both strong and weak in different ways. The story developed at a nice pace, and, despite it being a relatively short book, it didn't really seem like it. I really loved this one.

This was a really great one by J. Lynn. It was a really great book, period. If you've been in a new adult slump lately and want something a little different, give Frigid a try.
 

BLOG TOUR: The Year of the Great Seventh

Today's blog tour for The Year of the Great Seventh, by Teresa Orts is a little different from what I usually do. I read this book earlier this month and posted my review on its release day of July 6. You can read it here. Now, it's time for something fun! I'll let Teresa explain it to you herself. 

Welcome to the Year of the Great Seventh summer world tour!

We will be hopping from side to side of the globe helping Nate and Sophie find each other, but for that, we need you through the entire tour. Sophie and Nate need to meet at a secret location at the end of the blog tour, but since they don’t want anyone else to know where, they left the address in hidden code.

We will be giving you clues at each tour stop that will help you find the location. Also, at each blog tour stop, we will unveil a part of a picture that discloses the secret location.

These are the rules of the game:

• You’ll need to have read The Year of the Great Seventh to be able to follow the game, or at least, have some knowledge of what happens in the novel.
• You’ll need access to Google maps (Street View).
• At each blog tour stop we will reveal a sentence like this:

Sophie spent an afternoon at the (2676 S Vermont Ave, Los Angeles, CA—second word written on top of the main entrance door) Park with her friends.

• You’ll need to put that address into Google maps, and using Street View, you need to work out which word is missing. In this case, the answer would the following:

Sophie spent an afternoon at the SKATE Park with her friends.

• We are only interested in the first letter of the word: “S”.
• The next day, we will plot that letter into the four words that will hint the secret location, and we will give you the new sentence.  For example:

- - -   - - - - -   S - - -   - - -

• Additionally, there will be a photo of the secret location at each blog tour stop. At the first stop, it will be totally blacked out, but as we go along the tour, we will start unveiling different parts.
• When we get to the last stop, with the photo and the four words that we will have deciphered, you’ll be on your own to find the secret location.
• The first 5 people who send an e-mail to greatseventhtour@outlook.com with the correct solution will win a free hardcopy of The Year of the Great Seventh.
• We will only disclose the winners after the last stop of the blog tour, and will strictly follow the email entries by date/time received to award the books to the first 5 people who discover the secret location. Please remember to include your first name, last name, and address in the email.  We will not use this information for any other purpose.
• You can write comments on the blog post. We are okay with people helping each other; however, the first 5 people to send the correct answer win the books.
• If you change your mind about the secret location, you can send more than one email.
• There can only be one winner per address, and you can only win a maximum of 1 book per person.

Let’s hope we can help Nate and Sophie find each other!

Good luck to everyone!
Teresa Orts

Yesterday’s solution:

(Paul) showed Sophie a glimpse of what her life at NYU would be like, if she chose a normal teenager life over Nate.

Today we will do three different sentences:

Sophie’s NYU tour started in the (60 Washington Square S, New York, NY 10012 –you just need the name of the building).

(London, SE23 3AD, U.K. – the street that correlates to this zip code) was hitting on Cat Woman at Ethan’s party.

‘The salvation to both lies beneath’ meant the (106 Fulton St, New York, NY 10038, United States – second word on the building) of Armenia was supposed to side with Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium.

The picture of the secret location:

Blog tour schedule:

July 16, 2013               YA Book Addict

July 17, 2013               Pretty in Fiction

July 18, 2013               Reading Away the Days

July 19, 2013               Book Mark Belles

July 20, 2013               Le Vanity Victorienne

July 21, 2013               The Maniacal Bookworm

July 22, 2013               Book - Marks the Spot

July 23, 2013               Digesting the Words

July 24, 2013               Butterfly Feet Walking on Books

July 25, 2013               Book Divas

July 26, 2013               Nawanda Files

July 27, 2013               Coffee, Books and Me

July 28, 2013               The Dust Jacket

July 29, 2013               The Bookish Outsider

July 30, 2013               Just a Book Lover

August 1, 2013            So Many Books, So Little Time

August 2, 2013            Framed In Words

BLOG TOUR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - Catching Liam (Good Girls Don't #1)

I'm excited to be included in the blog tour for CATCHING LIAM by Sophia Bleu, hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. Check out my 4-star review then enter a giveaway to win a $25 Amazon gift card!

Catching Liam (Good Girls Don't #1), by Sophia Bleu
Published July 8, 2013
Publisher:  Self-published
Format: e-book, provided by the author and Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review
Genre:  new adult contemporary romance
To Pre-Order:  Amazon

Rating:  4 STARS

(From Goodreads) Twenty-one year-old Jillian Nichols only has one rule when it comes to boys: catch and release. Boy-catching isn't just a game for Jillian and her friends, it's a lifestyle. After all, boys might be good for a dance or a drink and certainly a little under-cover action of the scandalous variety, but expect much else and you're bound for heart ache.

So when her best friends and fellow boy catchers start dropping like flies junior year, Jillian is determined to keep boys in her bedroom and out of her heart. Until she meets Liam McAvoy, the kind of guy that sticks around to make waffles and who can't—or perhaps won't—take a hint.

Study abroad student Liam doesn't want to be another notch on Jillian's bedpost. Actually he has much more interesting ideas for Jillian and her bedposts, but his student visa's set expiration date means he can't promise her forever. That doesn't mean he's going to walk away from the challenge of discovering why Jillian is hell-bent at keeping people at a distance.

Before long, neither is sure who is catching who—or if they're playing for keeps. Jillian knows one thing though: falling in love will not only break the only rule of boy-catching, it could also break her heart.

When I think I've read about nearly every tragedy that could befall a hero or heroine in a new adult book is about when I read something new. Catching Liam was new. And, the brand of tragedy introduced here was particularly sad. Yet, Bleu managed to address it in a way that made it not seem quite so bad. And, not in a disrespectful way, either. You can tell she did her research, and that really impressed me. 

Jillian has spend her adult life in one casual encounter after another. Until Liam, an unbelievably sexy Scot who loves children and knows how to make killer waffles. Now, she can't seem to get him out of her head, which is a bad place for her to be. Jillian has a big secret that will definitely send him running when he finds out. 

Jillian's secret was hinted at pretty early on in the book. You know there are always "issues" in new adult books, right? The issue in question here turns out to be particularly depressing, because there isn't just a quick fix or some time in therapy to get over it. Once the reader finds out what her issue is, it explains a lot of her behavior from the beginning of the book. 

But, wow - in the beginning, she was such a jerk. Like, HUGE. I really wasn't a big Jillian fan. Why Liam came back, I'm not sure. It is a good thing that he did, though. 

Oh yes - LIAM. I'm a sucker for a hot Scot, and Liam is no exception. He's a great kisser, is a good cook, likes kids, and is an all-around nice guy. But that doesn't mean he's afraid to get all up in someone else's business if they give him crap. Like, when some drunk guy at a bar makes a crack about Liam's accent and asks if he shouldn't be wearing a skirt, Liam's response is to punch him in the face and say...

"We call them kilts, and we wear them so we can let our enormous cocks breathe."

Catching Liam was engrossing - I read it in a day. The characters were well developed. You couldn't help but to feel for Jillian and all she goes through. As I mentioned before, Bleu really did her research. It makes me wonder if she's had personal experience with what Jillian goes through. And, even if she hasn't it's all very believable. 

I can't wait to see what happens in the next book - Jess' book - Teaching Roman. 

About the Author

Sophia Bleu is a secret identity where I can write about fantasies and falling in love and all the smexiness in between.  In real life, I'm likely catching a plane, chasing kids, or making out with the love of my life—all 6 ft 3 inches of hotness that he is.  Life is pretty good.

Find out more about Sophia here:  Website / Facebook / Twitter

Giveaway

Enter below for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card and a tote filled with Catching Liam swag!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

COVER REVEAL: Secret (Elemental #4)

I am such a frikkin' fangirl when it comes to Brigid Kemmerer and her Elemental series. I've met her in person twice now, and I can assure you, she's just as awesome in person as she is virtually. Not to mention the fact that her mad skillz dreamed up the intense and dreamy Merrick brothers.

Speaking of which, have you heard that Nick Merrick will get his own full-length novel? Breathless (Elemental #2.5) gave us a brief, but VERY telling, glimpse into Nick's and Quinn's lives. I don't know about you, but it just left me wanting more. And, now we'll get it. Well, not NOW. January 28, 2014, to be exact. And the first step toward getting this book in your hands is to check out the cover.

So, are you ready? Oh, believe me. You're ready.

I bet your eyes went to the same place mine went, right? The font she used for the book's title is perfect, isn't it? *snicker* Seriously, pretty cool, right? This is the first time we've seen a girl on the cover. So, you might expect that, not only will Secret focus on Nick's budding relationship with Quinn's dance partner, but it will also focus on Quinn's budding relationship with "someone from an earlier book" (Brigid's words, not mine). Even more exciting is, according to Brigid, Secret is her "steamiest novel yet." You want it, like NOW, right? Here's some more information to help you out.

Secret (Elemental #4), by Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher:  Kensington Books 
Release Date: January 28, 2014
Goodreads link: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17149088-secret
ISBN: 0758294379
To Pre-Order:  Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Book Depository * Indiebound

Summary:  Nowhere is safe. Not even home…

Nick Merrick is stretched to the breaking point.

Keep his grades sky-high or he’ll never escape his hometown.

Keep his brother’s business going or the Merricks will be out on the street.

Keep the secret of where he’s going in the evenings from his own twin—or he’ll lose his family.

Keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who’s supposed to be his “girlfriend’s” partner.

Of course there’s also the homicidal freak Quinn has taken to hanging around, and the Elemental Guide counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers. There’s a storm coming. From all sides. And then some.

Nick Merrick, can you keep it together?

About the Author

Brigid Kemmerer is the author of The Elemental Series, about a family of four brothers who control the elements, and their battle with those who want them dead. Storm, Spark, and Spirit are available now wherever books are sold. To read the novella introducing Nick’s story, be sure to check out Breathless available as an e-book only from major e-book retailers. You can learn more about Brigid and the Elemental boys at www.brigidkemmerer.com.

REVIEW: Scorched

Scorched, by Mari Mancusi
To Be Published September 3, 2013
Publisher:  Sourcebooks Fire
Format: ARC, obtained at BEA
Genre:  YA paranormal, YA urban fantasy
To Pre-Order:  Amazon  * Barnes & Noble

Rating:  5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Trinity
Don't leave me here... It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she's going crazy. It wouldn't be a big surprise--her grandpa firmly believes there's a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it's begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it...Connor
He's come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.
Caleb
He's everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons.

Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head--a dragon that won't be tamed.

A recipe for the dragontastic awesomeness that is Scorched:

A cup of Eragon

+

A dash of T2

+

A pound of Reign of Fire

Trinity and her grandfather are down to their last dime and right before Christmas, too. When he spends their tax money on a purported dragon egg, Trinity is furious. Until she discovers it really IS a dragon egg. HER dragon egg, apparently, And it's imminent hatching will start a chain of events that will destroy the world. So, twin brothers Caleb and Connor have separately come back in time nearly 200 years on two very different missions to try and stop that from happening. 

Scorched is a breath of fresh air (pun intended). In a world of YA paranormal where the creatures are usually angels, faeries, vampires or werewolves, dragons that can communicate telepathically with their human matches is an absolutely refreshing change. Scorched is uniqueness among sameness. 

Trinity is a great heroine. She's put in a tough spot right off the bat. Imagine someone telling you that you will end up causing the destruction of the known world. I think I'd go into a corner and rock in the fetal position for awhile. But, Trinity really tries to wrap her brain around what's being told to her, and she wants to make the best outcome possible. It's a really mature attitude, despite the complete craziness of the situation. 

Caleb and Connor - the hot, time-traveling twins. One thinks killing Trinity and the dragon would be the best way to prevent the tragedy. The other thinks that saving them and protecting them would be the way to go. Both boys experience a sort of epiphany along the course of the story, realizing that not everything can be as black and white as they have painted it. 

I really wanted to hate both of them at different points in the story, but I found that I just couldn't. They both care for Trinity, and they both want what they think is best for the world. How can you hate them for that? 

And, although Trinity macks on both the boys during the course of the story, I couldn't be mad her either. I couldn't really blame her for wanting both of them. I see the beginnings of a wicked love triangle (aren't they always worse when they involve siblings?) to come, but by the end of Scorched, it hasn't quite fully developed. 
The pacing and writing are absolute perfection. At no time during the story was I bored, lost or skipping ahead a few pages to "get to the good part." (C'mon - we've all done that, right?) Whenever time travel is introduced, there is great potential for the story to get lost in convoluted space/time continuum theory stuff.  And, that never happens in Scorched. The characters are multi-faceted and interesting. The world-building is done very well. And, the story is paced just right so that I didn't see the twists and surprises coming.

Scorched is to be the first in a trilogy. There is no cliff hanger, but events set in motion are by no means resolved when you get to the last page. I'm really excited to see where things go in the next book. But, for now  I'm content to have read this sweeping, epic dragon tale.

SIZZLING SUMMER GIVEAWAY - Eliza Tilton Guest Post

The Sizzling Summer Giveaway, sponsored by YA Bound, is here! Fifty authors are participating this incredible event, and you can learn about one of them here. Read on for a guest post by author Eliza Tilton, then enter to win one of two Kindle Fires loaded with either NA or YA books.

Broken Forest (The Daath Chronicles Book #1), by Eliza Tilton
Published May 1, 2013
Publisher:  Curiosity Quills Press
Genre:  YA fantasy
To Buy:  Amazon / Barnes & Noble / KOBO

 
Hopeless he'll never be more than the boy who didn't save his brother, 17-year-old Avikar accepts his life as the family stable boy, trying to forget the past. But when his sister, Jeslyn, is kidnapped, the thought of losing another sibling catapults him on a desperate quest. With his best friend by his side, and using the tracking skills he learned from his father, he discovers Jeslyn has been taken, kidnapped by one Lucino, the young lord of Daath, a mystical place thought only to exist in fables.

And Lucino has plans for Jeslyn.

A YA Fantasy where the perspective alternates between the hero, the kidnapped sister, and a young, enchanting lord who may or may not be human.

Guest Post - Dream Movie Cast

After publishing my book, I couldn’t stop thinking about seeing my story on the big screen. Who would play the characters I created and loved? At first, no one, but then I would see a movie or watch a show and go, “Look honey! There’s Lucino! And don’t you think she would make a great Raven?”

My husband would stare at me, then go into a discussion about how so and so was a bite off his D&D character—we stopped playing tabletop years ago. Anyway, I finally figured out who I would cast if given the chance.

Hmm, yummy right?

Avikar (Logan Lerman): I needed someone with a boyish charm, sweet on the eyes and who had a lean, athletic build, and who could hide his fears and doubts behind a smile.

Derrick (Kellan Lutz): Derrick is a big, muscular guy with a big heart. He’s stoic but has a sense of humor which goes hand in hand with Avikar’s jokester attitude. There’s a reason these two are best friends; although, Avikar isn’t too happy about Derrick courting his younger sister.

Jericho (James Purefoy): Oh, Jericho, why are you always so serious! I can’t blame him. He’s got a lot on his mind. I’d love to share with you WHY, but that would give away a big spoiler : )

Lucino (Ed Skrein): This bad boy was the hardest. I needed a villain who was charismatic, snarky with a big ego, while still being likable. Enter in season three of GOT. I saw Ed playing Daario Naharis and knew he was my perfect Lucino.

Jeslyn (Imogen Poots): Jeslyn is a classic beauty. I wanted a girl who could be innocent, vulnerable, and strong.  Her looks were specific because Lucino is picky when it comes to women. She was a tough cast.

Lucy (Megan Fox): Lucy is sexy and vicious. She’s Lucino’s twin sister and just as dangerous which Avikar will discover on his own.

Raven (Nina Dobrev): A feisty girl with deep chocolate eyes, long hair, and handy lock picking skills who insists on wearing pants. She might not act like a lady, but when Avikar’s around her, she feels like one.

About the Author

Eliza Tilton is the author of the YA Fantasy, BROKEN FOREST, published by Curiosity Quills Press. You can find her blogging about video games and writing on her blog and doing bi-weekly posts on author media over at YAStands.

She graduated from Dowling College with a BS in Visual Communications. When she’s not arguing with excel at her day job, or playing Dragon Age 2, again, she’s writing. Her stories hold a bit of the fantastical and there’s always a romance. She resides on Long Island with her husband, two kids and one very snuggly pit bull.

Learn more about Eliza Tilton - Twitter * Tumblr * Website * Pinterest * Facebook

Giveaway

Enter below to win one of two amazing Kindle Fire prize packages!

1 - Kindle Fire HD with NA/Adult e-book prize pack (shown left)

1 - Kindle Fire HD with YA e-book prize pack (shown right)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

BLOG TOUR REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Touching Melody (Forever Firsts #1)

I'm excited to be a participant in the Touching Melody blog tour, sponsored by Xpresso Book Tours. Read on for my review of Touching Melody and then enter to win a $75 Amazon gift card! And, don't forget to check out the other stops along the tour!

Touching Melody (Forever Firsts #1), by RaShelle Workman
Published June 2013
Publisher:  self-published
Format: e-book, provided by Xpresso Book Tours and the author 
Genre:  new adult contemporary
To Buy:  Amazon

Rating:  3.5 STARS

(From Goodreads) Maddie Martin's first weekend at college is nothing like she's used to. It's wild, like the wilderness on which the University of Bellam Springs sits. Roped into going to a frat party, she literally runs into Kyle Hadley. The boy she's loved since she was nine. The boy she promised all of her firsts to. But that was before his father killed her parents.

Determined to stay away from him, she throws herself into her music. Practicing piano eases her heavy heart, calms the sadness, and pushes away images of Kyle's face.

Until it doesn't.

Her music professor asks her to play a duet for their annual Graduation Gala. Doing so means she'll be assured another full ride scholarship. It's an opportunity she can't pass up.

But Kyle is the other half of the duet. And that means hours and hours of practicing.

Days and months of seclusion - just the two of them. And it's more than just music. It's passion like Maddie never believed was possible.

The inevitable happens. She falls in love with him all over again.

But, will loving him be enough to erase all the hate in her heart for his father? Can she look at him, and not see the evil in his family tree?

And maybe it's all a set up. Maybe Kyle is only pretending to care so he can finish what his father started, and kill her too.

Touching Melody had the potential to be an amazing book. The premise was interesting and mysterious. The backdrop of piano playing got my creative and musical juices all excited. The forbidden love plot device is one that I personally go for every time. Everything was executed perfectly, but somewhere along the way, many things sputtered out a bit.

When Maddie was 11, she witnessed her parents' murder at the hands of her BFF Kyle's dad. She was immediately whisked away to live with her aunt and uncle and never had the chance to say goodbye to Kyle or talk to him. Seven years later, they end up at the same college and run into one another. Maddie is still harboring a major grudge (understandably) against Kyle because of his dad's actions, and Kyle is still madly in love with Maddie.

The sins of the father... Touching Melody is another good example of whether one should pass judgment on another person because of what his or her parents did. It's a good question to ask. In this case, Maddie thinks, yes. Granted, she was pushed in that direction a bit by her relatives. But, I was a bit disappointed in her that she took all that without asking any questions, even though was was just a kid. 

Kyle was my favorite character. He had his own demons, but when it came to Maddie, he put them aside. She helped him through, and he loved her for that. He was strong and brave and everything we love in an NA book boyfriend.

I did think it just a bit too coincidental that both Maddie and Kyle picked up the piano after she left. And they ended up at the same college a year apart. AND they just happened to be assigned a duet. That's a lot of paths to follow, don't you think? And, along the same lines, I felt like so much more could've been done with the piano playing. It was a fantastic idea and it definitely should've been exploited more. Especially with a title like "Touching Melody," it felt like that aspect of the story should've dominated, and it didn't.

I also was more than a little creeped out by the fact that a bunch of 11-year-olds were having conversations about saving themselves for each other. I realize that especially Kyle was going through a lot of stuff that caused him to mature much faster than he should. but still. Little kids of that age should not be having the conversations that these two were having.

That being said, once Maddie and Kyle connected, they were really good together. The ending held several twists and turns that I didn't see coming, which was fun. Although Touching Melody didn't quite meet its full potential, it was still a good read and a captivating one.

About the Author

RaShelle Workman is the bestselling author of the Dead Roses series ("Sleeping Roses" is being translated into Turkish, and will be available in print wherever Turkish books are sold in 2014), the Immortal Essence series, and the Blood and Snow series. She's sold over two hundred thousand copies of her novels worldwide in the past year, including Japan, Canada, and Europe. You can find RaShelle all over the web, but the best place to start is on her blog: www.rashelleworkman.com.

Check out RaShelle here - Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Giveaway

Fill out the Rafflecopter to enter for a chance to win a $75 Amazon gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This is one meme I can get on board with - I LOVE lists! I'll show you mine if you show me yours!

Top Ten Words/Topics That Make Me NOT Want To Pick Up a Book

This week's topic was extraordinarily hard for me. There's not many topics/words that totally turn me off.I'll usually try something out at least once.

1. Horror - I've never been a huge fan of horror movies, so it's logical that horror books are not my bag either. I need some warm fuzzies in my books, and let's face it. Horror and touchy feelie do not go together.

2. Self-help - I don't mind books that teach you how to do something, like grow prize-winning tomatoes or knit a Thneed. But, books that try to help you be a better person or get in touch with your inner child are nothing but irritating. Every person is an individual and no two solutions will always apply to a given situation. I'm more of a fan of learning from experience. So, I definitely don't do self-help.

3. Chick Lit/Women's Lit - I know, I know - I said I prefer the touchy feelies. So, chick lit should be right up my alley, right? Wrong. I've found women's lit to be a little too feminist for my taste. Call me traditional, but I love reading books about big, strong, manly men who bring even the strongest of women to their knees.

4. Cheating - I despise cheating when it's done consciously by the main character in a book. I think this might be from personal experience and history. I've had it done to me, and it was really devastating. I read for enjoyment and entertainment, and cheating is neither of those things. It makes me upset and therefore, I can't enjoy the book as a whole.

5. High Fantasy - I'm on the fence with this one. I've read some high fantasy. Some high fantasy series have totally rocked my socks (The Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima is a good example). But, for the most part, I find high fantasy confusing and convoluted. The names are weird, and the books are usually really, really long (see #6). More often than not, I pass on high fantasy.

6. Really, Really Long Books - This isn't a word or a topic, but it's still something that will make me not want to pick up a book. Once you hit 600 pages or so, books venture into lengths that start to turn me off. Why do books really need to be that long? Once you reach the end, can you even remember what happened in the beginning? I have a lot of books on my TBR list, and a lot of unread books on my shelf and on my Kindle. There are so many books out there to experience. For some reason, I just can't bring myself to commit weeks to one long book when I could finish ten normal-length books in the same amount of time.

7. Married Couples - I'm a big fan of the institution of marriage. I've been married for 12 years myself to an awesome guy. But, I prefer to read about two people finding each other and falling in love while surfing the problems that almost always arise. If they end up getting married in the process, that's cool. But, I don't like reading about couples who are already married, but have problems for one reason or another. Because, all books need problems, right? And, I hate reading about problems in a marriage (see #4 above).

8. Crime/lawyer drama - I gorged myself on John Grisham and Scott Turow for a few years. I think I got sick of them. I no longer have much of a desire to read them anymore.

9. Bodice Rippers - I reserve the right to say that I love these when I'm 60. But for now, not so much. Talk about cheesy. And the stories are all the same. No Fabio for me, thankyouverymuch.

10. Brother/Sister Stories - I NEED romance in my books. If it's not there, I feel very unfulfilled at the end. Naturally, most books featuring brother/sister teams aren't so heavy on the romance. Because, well, ew. This is especially true when the brother/sister duo are younger than 16. I don't know - it just doesn't do much for me.

NA READATHON MINI-CHALLENGE & GIVEAWAY: Bad Boys vs. Good Boys

Welcome to the New Adult Readathon! Are you ready to immerse yourself in nothing but the new adult genre for an entire week? I know I am!

You all should know by now how much I love the new adult genre. I talk about new adult books every Monday in my New Adult Mondays feature. Most of the blog tours in which I participate are for new adult books. So, when I saw the New Adult Readathon, sponsored by Bookish Treasures and A Daydreamer's Thoughts, I thought it was perfect for my first readathon. Don't you think?

All week long, there will be giveaways, Twitter chats and mini-challenges open only to readathon participants. All you have to do is sign up on the linky list found on Bookish Treasures and A Daydreamer's Thoughts.

I'll have no problem reading nothing but new adult books this week. It's been my go-to genre for quite some time now. I'm going to attempt FIVE NA books this week. I wrote a post about the books I plan to read last week. You can find it here. I may have cheated just a smidge - I actually started The Redemption of Callie & Kayden yesterday, so I'm already 50% done with NA book #1.

So, are you ready for a mini-challenge?

So, tell me -  Which appeals more to you? The tatted up, pierced bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks who just needs the love of the right girl to turn him around forever? Or, the strong, romantic good boy whose love is what can fix a damaged girl on her way to self-destruction?

Still not sure? Maybe these will help. Observe - your typical "Bad Boy":

Travis Maddox from Jamie McGuire's Beautiful Disaster & Walking Disaster

Rush Finlay from Abbi Glines' Fallen Too Far, Never Too Far & Forever Too Far

Lucas Maxfield from Tammara Webber's Easy

And, now I give you, your typical "Good Boy":

Will Cooper from Colleen Hoover's Slammed, Point of Retreat & This Girl

Andrew Parrish from J.A. Redmerski's The Edge of Never

Cam Hamilton from J. Lynn's Wait For You

Personally? I go for the bad boy every frikkin' time. I love the dychotomy of the rough, scary exterior and the softish, slightly damaged interior. These bad boys are my favorite because they love fiercely and have some crazy protective instincts, both of which make me all warm and fuzzy inside.

So, what about you? Do you like the dangerous bad boy who could rock your world and break your heart? Or, do you go for the gorgeous, dependable good boy who will stand by you and make you breakfast in the morning? I want to know!

And, to make things more interesting, here's a bad boy/good boy giveaway for you to enter. One winner will have a choice of

A. The Bad Boy Package - TWO of your favorite bad boy e-books

B. The Good Boy Package - TWO of your favorite good boy e-books

Remember - in order to enter the giveaway, you MUST sign up for the readathon on Bookish Treasures or A Daydreamer's Thoughts. I'll be checking! This giveaway will only be active for 24 hours. Good luck, and happy reading this week!

a Rafflecopter giveaway