Working it Out
By Rachel ANderson
Published July 13th 2013 by HEA Publishing
Pick up your copy at Amazon today!

Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

A chance encounter . . .
Grace Warren's life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle—a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.

A chance for love . . .
Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace's rehab clinic post surgery, he's every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there's something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he's everything she's sure she doesn't want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along—assuming she's willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.



Darkfallen's thoughts:

 

What a perfect, sweet summer read!

Grace lives a pretty mundane life. Work, friends, home, repeat. That is until she gets roped into going to a charity event and gets kissed by a complete stranger. I completely hot stranger that both flusters her and excites her at the same time. Who would have guessed that stranger would walk into her physical therapy office a few weeks later? And then he doesn't even remember her?! The nerve! Not to mention that everything that comes out of his mouth his a pick-up line.

This was a fast paced great summer read. I loved both Seth, with his teasing ways, and Grace with her down to earth, grounded mentality. It's a constant push and pull between these two and I loved it! The chemistry and drama are perfect and not over the top.

Overall this is one of those cute romances that should just can't put down.

Lymi...



 

Beautiful Lies Blog Tour Stop!

Welcome to our stop on the Beautiful Lies blog tour hosted by Bloomsbury Press!

Today we have a sneak peak at the book and one lucky winner will also get a paperback ARC! How awesome is that?! But before we start let me introduce you to the book...

Beautiful Lies
By Jessica Warman
Published August 21st 2012 by Bloomsbury Press
Pick up your copy today at Amazon, B&N, or your local indie!
Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

A shocking, ambitious mystery full of twists and turns from the globally embraced author of Between.

Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins—so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they've lived with since their parents passed away, can't tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong-especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself?

Master storyteller Jessica Warman will keep readers guessing when everything they see-and everything they are told-suddenly becomes unreliable in this page-turning literary thriller.

And now for the sneak peak...

Below is an excerpt from the first chapter of BEAUTIFUL LIES by Jessica Warman, published with permission from Bloomsbury Children’s Books. Setting the scene: Rachel and Alice are identical twins hanging out with their friends Holly, Nicholas, and Kimber at the local carnival. They are all about to get on the Ferris Wheel when Alice decides not to ride at the last second. The “I” in the passage below is her twin sister Rachel.

And before I have a chance to realize what’s happening, my sister slides out of the seat we’re sharing.  “You can ride with Holly, Rachel.”  She begins to back away, waving with both hands.  “I’ll catch up with you after.   I want a candy apple!” 

She turns on her heel and rushes away from us.  It is such a typical Alice move: restless, impulsive, but I feel like she’s only acting this way because that’s the kind of behavior everyone expects from her.  Almost immediately, I lose sight of her in the thick crowd. 

Holly climbs into the seat next to me.   Nicholas is still standing beside the head of the line.  He shrugs at us before stepping away, giving the finger to the ride operator’s back. 

“I guess that worked out,” Holly says, clutching her purse against her chest.  Without any warning, she raises her voice and screams, “I love you!” at Nicholas.     

The operator leans over us.  With one hand, he pulls the metal bar downward, securing it tightly against our laps.  “Enjoy your ride.”  His voice is flat as his eyes stare into mine.  His breath on my face is so sour, so sickening, that I have to look away before I gag. 

 Our seat rises into the air.  Beneath us, previous riders climb out, replaced by Kimber, who doesn’t have a partner. 

I search the crowd for my sister, looking everywhere for a glimpse of her red hair, for a sign of the face I recognize so well. 

The wheel turns slowly at first.  Then it begins to speed up.  Across the field, the band starts to play.  I recognize the music.  It’s “Sleepwalk” by Santo and Johnny.  It was my parents’ wedding song. 

“Holly.”  My voice barely breaks a whisper.  The music is too loud, the ride too fast. 

“Whooo!”  Holly kicks her feet with glee.  Even though it’s fall, she’s wearing open-toed high-heeled sandals, her toenails painted a creamy shade of pink.  She raises her arms, making spirit fingers in the air, and I get a whiff of her perfume.  The smell turns my stomach again.  I could almost throw up.

“Alice.”  My voice is louder, but Holly still doesn’t hear me.  She stands up a little in her seat, the metal bar pressing against her thighs, to blow kisses at Nicholas.

  From high above the crowd, I can spot Uncle Sam on his stilts.  I can see strands of customers, their bodies woven into glistening ropes of flesh as they line up for food.  I can see the candy apple stand, its neon light glowing red against the crowd.  But I don’t see my sister anywhere. 

   Long before our births, we shared the same space in our mother’s body.  We are what’s known as monochorionic monoamniotic twins, which means we are identical twins who grew in the same amniotic sac, sharing one placenta.  It’s a pretty rare phenomenon; when it does happen, both twins don’t always survive, let alone thrive as we have—especially back when we were born.  The chance of our simple existence is a marvel of nature. No matter where I am, no matter where she is, I have always felt her presence from somewhere within myself. 

Until this moment.  It is as though the thread connecting us has snapped, like something deep within me has been severed.  She is simply gone. 

BEAUTIFUL LIES is available in stores and online everywhere beginning August 7, 2012 from Bloomsbury Children’s Books. Jessica Warman is also the author of Between, Where The Truth Lies, and Breathless which have received six starred altogether. She lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

Intrigued? Well one lucky winner will get their own copy of Beautiful Lies! All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

This giveaway is sponsored by Bloombury Press and is open to U.S. residents only per their request.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Insanity Blog Tour: Lyrics that Inspired The Story/Giveaway!

Today we sit down with author, Lauren Hammond, to give us an inside look at the lyrics that inspired her latest book, Insanity.

Isn't that cover gorgeous?!

But before we get into the lyrics and, of course, the GIVEAWAY, let me introduce you to both Lauren Hammond, and this amazing new book!

About the author:

You can catch Lauren
on her website, Twitter,
Goodreads, or Facebook.

It all began with a dinosaur, a T-Rex to be exact. He was the main character in my very first short story. Me and T, well, we went places. He is the reason I won my first essay contest at age ten. And he is probably one of the number one reasons, I pursued a career in writing.

Throughout highschool, I was what you would call a rebel. Someone who had convinced herself that she had life figured out at age sixteen. Still, writing was my only safe-haven during that time. I wrote notebooks full of poetry, even writing fellow classmates papers for them. Unbeknowest to me, creative writing, seemed to be my one, true calling, my passion in life.

At age twenty, I began writing my first novel. After that, everything seemed to fall into place. I won Best Poets and Poems of 2007, and The Editor's Choice award for my poem, Summer Days.

Also, during that time I wrote or co-wrote fifteen different screenplays, some which earned me
finalist spot in various screenplay competitions.

In 2010, I've come full force, with my novel Love Sucks, that was released by Punkin House
Press, in August of 2010. On top of Love Sucks, I have six novels that are slated to be released
through the next five years. Also, doing some various marketing work for authors and publishers.

I pride myself in telling fellow writers to always follow their dreams. Who knows where I would
be if I would have given up.

About the book:

Insanity
Published May 8th 2012 by S.B. Adisson Books
Pick up your copy at Amazon or B&N today!
Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

Sometimes love...can drive you crazy.

Adelaide Carmichael and Damien Allen couldn't be more opposite.
Adelaide's mother abandoned her when she was ten years old, leaving her to be raised by her abusive and alcoholic father.

Damien on the other hand came from a wealthy family, was a local celebrity, and seemed to have a bright future ahead of him.

Despite their differences, Adelaide and Damien were young, wild, and fiercely in love.

And they had a plan.

They were going to run away.

Be together forever.

And their plan was set in motion, until tragedy struck and for some reason, Adelaide wound up in The Oakhill Institution for the insane.

Adelaide has no idea what she did to wind up at Oakhill, but she knows one thing for sure...

She wants out.

And after Damien follows her there to aid her in escaping, Adelaide slowly begins putting together the pieces of her memory that are missing.

And it doesn't take Adelaide long to figure out that sometimes...

That one true love never dies.

~Excerpt~

Shoving my feet off the side of the bed, new surroundings burn my eyes. Tan plaster walls instead of thick white padded ones. One oblong barred window. Two dressers. Two closets. Two beds.

They've moved me to a different room.

A gentle squeaking noise bounces off the walls and my eyes avert to my right. Oh crap. They put me in a room with a nut job.

They say I'm a nut job.

But not like this.

Not even close.

She rocks back and forth on her cot, knees to her chest, twisting a piece of her wiry, red hair between her fingertips. Her freckled arms are trembling. She sings with vibrato.

I am slowly going crazy. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

Crazy going slowly am I. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.

I think about screaming again. I think about plugging my ears. Somebody turn her off.

She lifts her head slowly, a maddening look in her big, brown eyes, an eerie smile crawling
across her pale, freckled lips. “Shh,” she whispers. “They're coming for us.”

“Who's they?”

She shakes her head and lets out a cackle laced with the deepest kind of crazy. I think they put her in here with me purposely. They're trying to break me. They think if they put me around truly
insane people that I'll accept my place here.

Well...They are wrong.

Doesn't this book sound awesome?! Well I can tell you that it is everything and much, MUCH more!! Now Lauren gives us an inside look into the song lyrics that inspired this book or tragic wonderment...

Thank you guys so much for having me!

Now, we all know that I’m big on music when I write. It inspires me. Changes my mood. Affects the flow of the novel. ESPECIALLY lyrics.

Insanity was such a powerful book for me to write. It’s all bout love and loss and the slow ability I think everyone has at some point to lose their mind.

Beautiful or powerful lyrics to me, can have a lasting effect on a person. And here are some that had a lasting effect on me while writing Insanity.

“We have no chance of recovery, laying in hospital joy and misery.” Hospital Beds~ Florence and The Machine.

“Have you ever loved someone so much, you’d give an arm for? Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for? When they know they’re your heart and you know you were their armour and you will destroy anyone who would try and harm her.” When I’m Gone ~ Eminem

“I’ve fallen somehow. Feet off the ground. Love is the cloud that keeps raining down. Where are you now? When I need you around. I’m on my knees, but it seems we’re going nowhere fast.” ~Usher~ Climax.

“Well, I know the feeling of finding yourself stuck out on the ledge, And there ain't no healing from cutting yourself with the jagged edge. I'm telling you that, it's never that bad take it from someone who's been where you're at laid out on the floor and you're not sure you can take this anymore.” ~Lullaby~ Nickleback

“I’ve watched you change. It’s like you’ve never had wings. I look at the cross. Then I look away. Give you the gun. Blow me away.” Change In The House Of Flies ~ Deftones~

This was so much fun!

Thanks for having me!

If you get a chance check out Insanity! And keep an eye out for the sequel, White Walls!

Now on to the GIVEAWAY!!!

One lucky winner will get their own eBook copy of Insanity! All you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter form below. This contest is open Internationally:-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dead & Beyond by Jayde Scott: Review/Blog Tour

Welcome to the Dead & Beyond Blog Tour!

Look at that cover...isn't it gorgeous?!!

Today on our tour stop one lucky winner will get their hands on their own eBook copy of this amazing book! But first let me introduce you to the author behind the pages and characters within them...

Author Bio:
Jayde Scott is a psychology graduate and writer most notable for creating the Ancient Legends series.

She lives in London with her family and is a huge fan of baking chocolate cake and listening to indie music.

You can keep up with Jayde Scott on her Website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

About the book/review...

Dead & Beyond (Ancient Ledgends #4)
By Jayde Scott
Published February 25th 2012 by Create Space
Pick up your own copy at Amazon or B&N today!
Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

Amber Reed is a dead girl walking.

Having just been turned by her gorgeous vampire boyfriend, eighteen-year-old Amber Reed is bestowed with the ability to see ghosts. Between trying to figure out how to control her bloodlust and solving the mysterious disappearance of a friend, Amber realizes someone wants to step into her shoes so badly, they’ll do anything to take her place.
When one secret after another pops up, the only person who believes her is her enemy, Devon. Amber can’t figure out if he’s here to help or save his own immortal race from losing the ancient war against the vampires. What she does know, however, is that she can’t resist his good looks just as much as she can’t help becoming someone else…

In a world of dark magic and ancient enemies, three powerful courts fight for supremacy, and Amber might just be the pawn in winning this war forever. But how’s a girl to survive when everyone wants her dead?

Darkfallen's thoughts:

This book was soooo good that it took me by surprise! It was a perfect mix of comedy, drama, action, teenage angst, and paranormal that I couldn't get enough of. Not to mention the fact that Jayde Scott always leaves you with a suspense filled cliffhanger at the end of every chapter leaving you not being able to put the book down!

To be honest I really didn't know what to expect when I picked this book up. First of all this is the 4th book in the series and I haven't read the previous books. Secondly I hadn't heard about this series or this author until I was asked to sign up for the blog tour and I am sooooo glad that I did! It was awesome in a light yet intense kind of way. Yes I know that's an oxymoron...just roll with it. *winks*

Amber is 18, she's also a vampire, and a necromancer. Not by choice though. She was happy to be your normal average human, that is, until her boyfriend Aiden's friend kills her and then her Aidens' brother turns her into a vampire...Yea not exactly the way you want to start your summer vacation huh? This book picks up as Amber is trying to stumble through her new life as a vampire necromancer. As if bloodlust isn't enough she also has these darn ghosts scarring the crap out of her, and it's not like she can turn to Aiden for help in that department because he isn't a necromancer and can't see the things that go bump in the night. He also doesn't suffer from the bloodlust anymore because of a spell.

One thing leads to another and the lies just keep piling up while Amber tries to help find Angel, a friend that was kidnapped. Will Amber be able to help find her friend or will the whole she has been digging herself into eventually swallow her up?

This was such a fun read. It had me laughing over and over again, while sitting on the edge of my seat at the same time. I love Amber and Aidens relationship. It wasn't all smooth and perfect. It had bumps in the road mostly because the town kept making it worse on each other like all teenagers do. I also loved how in the end they both learn the valuable lesson that not matter what lying to each other is the wrong thing to do. It was just so sweet.

Overall this is a book to revile Carrie Harris's Bad Taste In Boys and I enjoyed every minute of it!

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of
this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading
Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was
no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not
necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure
is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of
Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

Now on to the giveaway...

One lucky winner will get their own eBook copy of Dead & Beyond! All you have to do is leave a comment answering the question below and fill out the Rafflecopter form.

If your boyfriends brother turned you into a vampire what would be the worst thing about your new vamperism?

Good Luck!

Miss World Blog Tour Countdown

Hey guys and girls! Paranormal Wastelands is proud to present our very first blog tour!

We are looking for some super awesome blogs that want to read, review, and have fun with Randi Black's debut novel "Miss World".

Wanna know the skinny?

About the Book:

It's 1993. Kim Ho wishes she were Courtney Love, instead of the chubby 16-year-old who clashes with her traditional Chinese parents. Her very own Kurt Cobain arrives in the form of Kevin, a 26-year-old failed musician. But Kevin uses Kim's rock-star dreams to exploit her, and those dreams die along with the real Kurt Cobain.Too scared to tell anyone, Kim conjures up a cross-dressing imaginary friend and dates Walter Riordan, the cute boy from special-ed. Walter helps her recover, but after a joke snowballs into a plot to murder Kevin, Kim's forced to choose between revenge or her sanity. This is a truly daring and original coming-of-age novel about one girl's quest to reclaim her power from those who've stolen it.



About the author:
Once there was a girl who grew up in San Dimas, CA. Her mom loved telling her that she was a difficult child, even before she was born. Whatever, though. Getting A's and playing piano bored her. Randi Black preferred writing and punk rock. Then she got accepted into the MFA in Writing program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and became Randi Black. During a fit of insomnia, she started Fire Spirit Press to release "bad books for bad girls." Randi lives in Chicago with her partner and the ghost of their dead feline, Stitchie von Poo. She is currently working on two sequels to Miss World.

The Social Networking Hook-up:

Twitter: Ms_Randi_Black
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115881815684823644649/about
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/4829541.Randi_Black
Blog: http://randiblackfuckyeah.blogspot.com
Website: www.randiblack.com

We are looking for 10-15 blogs to host reviews, author interviews, character interviews, & guests post during this tour. This tour will kick-off on February 1st, and run throughout the March 3rd. As a tour host you will recieve your choice of a eBook or paperback copy of the finish book! (books will be shipped out the 3rd week in December to give host plenty of time to review the book) During the tour one lucky grand prize winner will win a iPod loaded with a playlist from the book with a personalized gel skin cover! There will also be chances to win copies of the book throughout the tour.

Spots are limited so sign up using the form below today!

This tour is now filled!

Sign-Up Sheet!

Thanks for participating and let the fun begin!

Until Next Time...