Guest Post: Claire Daly

Title: Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver 

Author: Michele Brouder

ISBN: 9781515080503

Publication Date:  September 20, 2015

Genre:  YA, Paranormal Romance



When seventeen year-old librarian wannabe Claire Daly is dragged kicking, screaming and cursing from everything she loves—her mam, her cozy Irish village and the dreamy boy next door—to take up arms in the battle of good versus evil, she learns the hard way that sometimes you don’t get to choose your own destiny, destiny chooses you.

 

Claire’s life plan is simple: head off to university to get her degree in library studies, summon up the courage to tell her best friend Chas that she loves him and live happily ever after. She never once entertained the idea that she might possess divine powers, that she might be predestined to battle Hell’s demons, or, to complicate matters further, that another love of many lives past might turn up on her doorstep. But life doesn’t always go as planned, and when a co-worker is viciously attacked by a demon and her own family threatened, Claire must face the truth: she is called to a higher purpose and has no choice but to answer. Claire sets aside her dreams and begins learning how to deal with the Unholy once and for all. Armed with only a crash course in soul saving and her wits, she gears up for the ultimate show down in Hell. But will it be enough?

Goodreads

 

Purchase Links:

BAM | Amazon | B&N | TBD | Amazon UK

~*~

 

Here’s the Thing About Destiny

(a guest appearance by Claire)

Here's the thing about destiny: she's a right bitch.

My destiny—when my life was my own— involved Chas and books, a lovely romantic notion. Have you seen Chas? I mean, flippin' hell, he is fit! He's tall and he's got this curly, auburn hair and he wears these little gold, wire-rimmed glasses, his arms are rock hard solid and....oh well, you get the idea. Now it appears, Destiny has another itinerary for me. It's like going on a cruise and expecting to sit around the pool working on your tan and sipping tropical drinks with little umbrellas in them and then being told that no, you need to swim in shark infested waters— while you're having your period. Rough. Instead of going off to college to become a librarian—my dream job, I am now expected to fight the Army of the Damned, The Unholy. How they picked me is beyond me, someone definitely fell down on the job. Do I look like a leader? I certainly don't feel like one. Have they seen me? I'm a freckled six-footer with major issues with my hair (See the book to see what the hell actually happened) Things with my hair took a definite turn for the worse. Besides, how can you fight something that you can barely see half the time? And to complicate things further, Destiny throws Ari into my life. Let me tell you, a British fella of Greek heritage can really wind you up. Have you seen him? Same height as me with this gorgeous sable hair that makes you want to play with it. I, mean seriously, his hair makes me want to throw the books out the window and pick up a hairdryer and brush. This whole destiny thing isn't straightforward and that makes it all the more maddening. The God I didn't believe in not only exists but is laughing his ass off right now as we speak. I'm 18 now and I thought for sure I'd be spending my days with books and my nights being all loved up with Chas. Instead, I'm picked to deal with things that are the stuff of nightmares. I see both a psychiatrist and a padded cell in my future. I mean, really, flippin' hell! The struggle is real.

~*~

 

 

About the Author

I was born in western New York, the oldest of 5. I've loved reading since I was very little. From the age of 9, I've wanted to be a writer. In high school, I wrote a lot of angst-ridden civil war dramas ala Gone With The Wind, knowing more about the Battle of the Bull Run than a normal teenager should know. I dabbled in writing after that but didn't get serious about it until 2006, when I decided that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

I've had many interesting jobs but my passion has always been writing.

I lived in Ireland from 2006-2013 with my husband and 2 boys. We moved back to the US and settled in Florida briefly (2 years) before returning back to Ireland in August 2015.

 

Connect with the Author:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Pinterest

 

Giveaway Information:  Contest ends December 4, 2015

 

·         One (1) winner will received a $25 Amazon Gift Card, a copy of Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver, a book mark, a coffee mug, and some other stuff for 'readers' from the author (INT)

·         Three (3) winners will receive a copy of Claire Daly: Reluctant Soul Saver by Michele Brouder (INT)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Breath to Breath - Craig Lew

Title: Breath to Breath

Author: Craig Lew

ISBN: 9781939775085

Publication Date: November 17, 2015

Publisher: Relish Media

Source: publisher

Uprooted from his home and sent to live with his estranged father, seventeen-year-old William's world is feeling tenuous at best. When he's unexpectedly dragged into a situation in which he has no choice but to help an abused four-year-old boy, William’s world is rocked to the core as he discovers the truth behind the mysterious young boy’s stories of extreme sexual abuse. He and this boy are connected in ways William can't even imagine and as horrible memories begin to flood his consciousness, William’s rage drives him to steal a neighbor's guns, convinced he must kill those responsible for causing a boy so much pain and betrayal. How William finds the love and compassion he needs to make the right choices is the heart and pulse of this riveting verse novel. Inspired by a true story, BREATH TO BREATH explores what hurt and healing really mean: to survive you hold your breath, but to live you must exhale.

LINKS: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | The Book Depository | Goodreads

~*~

As a long time fan of Ellen Hopkins' wonderful, gut wrenching novels written in free verse poetry, I was more than willing to take on the challenge of reading Craig Lew's Breath to Breath; especially after I found that Hopkins had read it and given it a glowing review.  That being said, Breath to Breath is definitely a tough read, because like Hopkins' work, Lew doesn't sugar coat the darker aspects of life, even when telling the story from the perspective of teen narrator William.

Lew's skill with verse makes this novel sing with emotion.  Each word on the page is necessary, no fluff words added to dull the message of growth and healing woven throughout the novel.

I found William an easy narrator to sink into, and empathize with - even when his soul searching and anguish was strong enough to bring me to tears.  William is so true to life, and real, that it was difficult for me to divorce myself from him when I put the book down for a breather.  I found, as I went about my day, that he was haunting me, and I absolutely felt driven to return to him to find out how his story would be resolved.

Breath to Breath is a difficult read, yes; however, it is a book I feel needs to be read, lest we behave like ostriches, burying our heads in the sand to pretend that such evils aren't found around us.  I have already added Breath to Breath to my shelves, where it shares pride of place with my Hopkins collection, Ilsa Bich's Drowning Instinct, and Tabitha Suzuma's Forbidden. 

~Digital ARC, and physical copy, provided by publisher, in exchange for an honest review

~*~

ENTER TO WIN A FINISHED COPY OF BREATH TO BREATH

a rafflecopter giveaway

~*~

About Craig Lew:

Craig Lew’s storytelling career began even before he had learned to write. As a child, he used his father’s tape recorder to capture tales about strange planets and scary creatures. His favorite story openings at that time were, “Once upon a junk yard heap …” or “It was a dark and stormy night.”

A movie producer, director, award winning author, illustrator, and screenwriter, Craig still favors a Hitchcockian thriller over a broad teen comedy. Regardless of the genre, he believes the best stories involve a hero who is either seeking love or giving love. At heart he’s a big, mushy romantic.

Craig spends his days with his fiancé in a house on a hill with the corgi land seals Yobo and Zeekie, a three-footed Boston Terrier named Moogie, and Smittens, the kitten with the marshmallow mittens.

I strive to spread good karma. Artistically, I enjoy pushing the envelope because I believe this makes more room in the middle. I believe the keys to success are dreaming big, working hard, and being nice.

LINKS: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr

Review: A Royal Baby Surprise - Cat Schield

Title: A Royal Baby Surprise

Author: Cat Schield

ISBN: 9780373734061

Publication Date: July 17, 2015

Publisher: Harlequin

Source: purchased

Chasing the man who broke her heart halfway around the world to tell him she's pregnant is the hardest thing Brooke Davis has ever had to do. But when she catches up with him, he's got a surprise for her, too: he's been hiding his royal roots. Nic Alessandro is a prince, and Brooke's an unsuitable match—but their attraction is hotter than ever!

~*~

Oh Harlequin, you provide me with such wonderful ways to pass the time. :)

Although this book is part of a series - all about the Sherdana royals, oo-la-la! - I read it as a standalone and wasn't left feeling as though I was missing the entire backstory.

I enjoyed Schield's writing, and the story between Brooke and Nic.  Their romance felt like a real, believable connection and not one of the insta-love kind I find in a lot of romance novels.  My one major complaint in the story was Nic's need to repeat the name of his former project, the Griffin, every other page.  It got redundant, and irksome.

More of a novella in length, A Royal Baby Surprise was a fun, quick read with a well crafted HEA that makes me want to find a copy of the first book in the series and find out what I've missed.

Waiting for Wednesday #7 - Hannah Both Ways

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This week's pick is:

Review: Perfected - Kate Jarvich Birch

“All that mattered was how things looked on the outside.”

Title: Perfected

Author: Kate Jarvich Birch

ISBN: 9781622662685

Publication Date: July 1, 2014

Publisher: Entangled Teen

Source: publisher

As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.

Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows… and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.

~*~

I’m a total sucker for dystopian reads, be they YA, Middle Grade, or Adult.  I love being moved and disturbed by the often times believable glimpses into what could be our future.  Especially when the stories take a turn towards the dangerous realm of human slavery, and the different facets of said slavery.

Perfected begins with a group of perfectly poised, posed young ladies with no names waiting to be purchased and taken to their forever homes.  Birch immediately draws you into the world she’s created, your heartstrings being tugged at from page one.  The concept she brings to page is one which I have to admit is a favorite of mine, even as it worries me that the thought of specially bred, or raised humans being considered less human than everyone else.

Ella very quickly wormed her way into my list of well crafted characters.  She’s just so naive and innocent, and yet sure of herself and her place in the grand scheme of things; until she starts developing feelings and emotions she’s not ‘supposed’ to have.

Without exception, I found Birch’s characters to be solid throughout the entirety of Perfected.  Even when I didn’t, personally, like the character they still fit the personas they were meant to.  From the anti-Pet ‘nut’ to the disturbing Congressman, every one was believable and added to the overall story.

If I had a complaint with Perfected it was that there were so many questions left unanswered.  Like, what event in history led to people thinking ‘oh hey, let’s genetically engineer girls affluent people can own to raise their status’?  How did Ella’s ‘childhood’ in the kennels go?  And, why aren’t there male pets?  I’m really hoping that some of my questions are answered in Tarnished, otherwise I may have to hunt Birch down to politely demand answers. ;)

-Digital ARC provided by publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Blitz #4: Bliss with Entangled Publishing

Bliss has a new look and to celebrate we are having a huge sale plus an amazing week full of Blissful events. Join us and fill your e-reader with these fun and flirty romances for just $.99 each!

PLUS...

Join us for a fun line up of events where you can chat with Bliss authors and other readers, kick back with an #EPMovieNight and more. See the list of events below here:

11/2 to 11/6 - Join Bliss authors for tips on avoiding the Black Friday madness, holiday recipes and more over at Entangled in Romance.

11/2 to 11/6 - Bliss author Facebook page takeover. Each day a different Bliss author will be taking over the Bliss Books Fan page. Ask those questions you’ve been dying to ask an author, chat with the group and get peeks inside to find your next fun and flirty romantic read.

Tuesday, 11/3 at 8pm ET - Kick back, relax, and join Entangled for an #EPMovieNight. Follow @entangledpub and the #EPMovieNight hashtag and chat with us as we watch The Wedding Singer together. It’s available for streaming on Netflix. We will also be giving away several prizes throughout the movie to lucky chat participants!

Thursday, 11/5 from 8pm to 10pm ET - Fall into Bliss Facebook party. Join Bliss authors, readers and the Bliss team for a night of fun, treats and giveaways.

We hope you can join us for one or more of the events!

Check out all the Bliss books on sale here.

a rafflecopter giveaway

Super Middle Grade Mondays #4 - Charles Curtis

Super Middle Grade Mondays Blitz: Author Spotlight – Charles Curtis with Giveaway #SuperMGMondays

Welcome to this week’s Super Middle Grade Mondays Book Blitz

presented by Tantrum Books/Month9books!

Today, we get up close and personal with

Charles Curtis

author of Strange Country Day

from Tantrum Books.

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Charles Curtis is a writer and journalist based in New York City. He has reported and written for publications including NJ.com (where he is currently the site’s sports buzz reporter), The Daily, ESPN.com, ESPN the Magazine, Bleacher Report, TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly. Charles has covered the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, golf, tennis and NASCAR. He has also written about television, film and pop culture.

In addition, Curtis has also written, produced and was featured in videos for ESPN.com and The Daily. He has made radio appearances on stations including 92.9 The Ticket in Bangor, Maine, WLIE 540 AM in Long Island and on morning shows across Canada via the CBC.

He can be reached on Twitter: @charlescurtis82.

Connect with the Author:  Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

As a young 8th grade writer who published his first story in my school’s literary magazine, I was always encouraged to write what I know.

So when I sat down to write STRANGE COUNTRY DAY, I immediately knew my protagonist, Alexander Graham Ptuiac, would be a tall, skinny sports-loving new kid just starting middle school and trying to fit in. That’s because, at the age of 12, I was a tall, skinny sports-loving new kid just starting middle school and trying to fit in.

Alex’s first day of school starts out with a bang: During 7th grade orientation, he’s pulled into a room with his classmates for a ritual known as “Fresh Meet Friday.” When the event turns into a riot involving the older 9th graders, Alex discovers he has previously unknown superhero-like powers that propel him to punch the ringleader in the nose.

Unfortunately, my first day of middle school wasn’t nearly as mind-blowing as Alex’s, but I did draw a little bit from experience. I attended a private school where I was one of many new kids faced with making friends with a whole new group of students, many of whom already knew each other. Luckily, there were no hazing rituals I was forced to participate in (unluckily, I didn’t have comic book-like powers, either), but in STRANGE COUNTRY DAY, I tried to capture that same nervousness I felt about walking into a –well – strange environment, trying to fit in and attempting to adjust to an increased workload and new schedule.

In the past few years, I’ve often joked about how my interests in those days – I visited a comic book shop once a week to pick up my stack and played the card game Magic: The Gathering every day at lunch – are suddenly trendy now and lamented about how I would have been much happier if I’d been a middle schooler in 2015. But I realize now just how influential both were on my creativity and imagination.

The other huge influence? Sports, of course. I spent countless nights in front of the television (I promise, Mom and Dad, it was after my homework was done…most of the time) or at one of the many New York stadiums/arenas, taking in any and all Mets, Giants, Knicks or Rangers games I could watch. I always wish I could go back in time and tell my middle school self that one day I’d find myself in the press box at those very same arenas and stadiums. Middle School Charles would be blown away.

The one thing that truly separates me from Alex? With the help of those aforementioned powers, he ends up joining his school’s football team as a quarterback. Despite my love for the game of football, I didn’t have half the athleticism to even begin to think about playing on the gridiron.

But hey, adults – especially authors – are allowed to reimagine their pasts too, right?

Alexander Graham Ptuiac, the son of an inventor, wants to play for the school’s football team. During tryouts, and under the watchful eye of the team’s coach, he suddenly manifests mysterious superhuman powers. Alexander makes the team, but not before the some ill-intended adults take notice, putting his life in danger.

Alex struggles to suppress and control his strange new abilities, worried about exposing his secret and being kicked off the football team. Then he befriends Dex, a diminutive classmate who can somehow jump as high as ten feet in the air. Seems Alex isn’t the only one at school with a secret.

As the school year unfolds, Alex will find himself the target of bullies, holding hands with his first crush and discovering the shocking truth about himself and his parents.

Amazon | B&N | BAM | Chapters | Kobo | TBD | iBooks | Google Play | IndieBound

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway