January 2015 - A Life Through Books

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Blog Tour: The Red Road by @JenniWiltz
1:00 AM1 Comments



Literary / Women's Fiction
Date Published: January 26,  2015

A father's love. A family's tragedy. A daughter's revenge.
Honor student Emma knows more about galvanic cell diagrams than guns. College is the only way out of her gang-ridden hometown, but her parents can't afford it.
When her unemployed dad lands a job as a census taker, things start looking up. But he's sent deep into East Malo Verde, where gang members rule the streets and fear anyone with a badge who knocks on doors. One night, a gang member mistakes him for a cop and beats him savagely, leaving him for dead.
Her best friends, her chem lab partner, her mom, and the detective assigned to the case all try to convince her to focus on school. But school won't prepare her for a world that ignores a crime against a good man. Emma must decide what's more important: doing what's expected, or doing what she feels is right . . . even if it leads her down a dark and dangerous path of revenge.
The Red Road is about a girl in turmoil, coming of age as she discovers the depths - and the limits - of friendship, first love, and the bond between parents and their children.



Jenni Wiltz writes fiction and creative nonfiction. She's won national writing awards for creative nonfiction and romantic suspense, including a 2011 Romance Writers of America Kiss of Death Chapter's Daphne du Maurier Award for her novel, The Cherbourg Jewels. She also writes thrillers, historical fiction, and paranormal romance, and you may have seen her short stories in The Portland ReviewGargoyle, and the  Sacramento News & Review. After earning bachelor’s degrees in English and history and a Master’s degree in English, she worked as a web editor, a copywriter, and a USAID grant program coordinator, which gave her the opportunity to travel to Kenya. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, sewing, running, and genealogical research. She lives in Pilot Hill, California and has not yet struck gold in her backyard. Visit her online at JenniWiltz.com.



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Friday, January 30, 2015

Blog Tour: Short Bus Hero by @ShannonGiglio #review
11:40 AM0 Comments


Contemporary Fiction / Humor
Date Published: December 16, 2014


   Twenty-three year-old Ally Forman, a $350 million dollar lottery winner with Down syndrome, is either cursed or blessed, depending on how you look at things. When professional wrestler Stryker Nash loses his job, Ally, his biggest fan, wants nothing more than to put him back in the ring. And she will spare no expense. Her mother, however, has other plans for Ally’s winnings and her life. SHORT BUS HERO is a darkly humorous look at life with Down syndrome, the rise of a wrestling empire... and angels. Yes, angels.


Recent praise for Short Bus Hero:

“SHORT BUS HERO has it all: Down syndrome, hoarding, suicide attempts, heart attacks, betrayal, redemption, angels, winning lottery numbers, and big time professional wrestling. A dark, sweet, and poignant tale about what happens when you follow your dreams.” — S. G. Browne, author of BREATHERS, BIG EGOS, and FATED
“If you were the big Lottery winner, what would you do first? Why, resurrect the career of your favorite professional wrestler, of course. Touching, violent, hilarious, tragic and surreal—Short Bus Hero is an inspiring and emotional story.” — Richard Thomas, author of STARING INTO THE ABYSS, co-editor of BURNT TONGUES
"From a mind-bending cornucopia of eclectic ingredients-troubled lottery winners, pro wrestlers on the skids, and restless angels are just the tip of the iceberg-Shannon Giglio has expertly crafted one of the strangest, cleverest, and, yes, sweetest, tales I have ever read. This wonderful novel has it all: ingeniously imagined characters, rousing and poignant adventures, and, perhaps most importantly, the true heart of a champion. Anyone who enjoys great storytelling will love this book." -- Bill Breedlove, author of HOW TO DIE WELL


Buy Links


Review

This was an interesting book to read about. I really felt like Shannon Giglio did her best to understand the world of PRO Wrestling so that her reader would. This is a wonderful emotional journey and the characters are absolutely lovable. As a reader I was 100% in their corner and so invested in the outcome. I loved that the more deep situations and themes in the novel were cut with the humor. It really helped give the novel a balance. 





Shannon Giglio, originally from Milwaukee, WI, graduated from Drexel University and Emerson College before going to work for Dick Clark, CBS, and Ridley Scott. She lives in Savannah, GA, with her husband, author Peter Giglio, and her two daughters. She is currently finishing her fourth and fifth novels.
Twitter: @ShannonGiglio





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Friday, January 23, 2015

Blog Tour: Night Buddies by @Night_Buddies #review
6:41 PM0 Comments

Juvenile Fiction
Date Published: June 1, 2012

 In the second book in the Night Buddies series, red crocodiles start popping up all over the city, creating confusion, committing crimes, and causing Crosley to go a little crazy at the sight of them. 
The impostors must be stopped, and Night Buddies John and Crosley are just the guys to stop them!
Stakeouts and wild chases in a fantastic flying machine, far-out schemes to snare the impostors, and a never-ending supply of Crusted Crème Fro-Madge frozen yogurt make for one totally super night.
These adventures after lights-out will delight any young reader who relishes an adventure/fantasy in the wee hours of the night. 
The Night Buddies series revolves around the nighttime adventures of a young boy named John, who is not ready to go to sleep, and a bright red crocodile named Crosley who turns up under John’s bed. 
Each book starts by having this unlikely pair sneaking out of John’s house using Crosley’s I-ain’t-here doodad, which makes them invisible to John’s parents. They embark on their Program, the Night Buddies word for Adventure, and make their way around the Borough chasing down enemies and cleaning up the mishaps at hand. 
Night Buddies, Impostors, and One Far-Out Flying Machine is the second book in the Night Buddies series, a 7-times award-winning chapter book series for kids. The first book, Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare was released in June 2012 and the third book, Night Buddies Go Sky High is due out in March 2015. The Night Buddies series is available in both print and ebook format. 


Buy Links

Review
This is a fun cast of characters and a journey that will keep younger minds throughly entertained. Sands Harrington has managed to create a wonderfully vivid novel for younger readers that can also keep adults interested as well. This is a fun series!




Sands Hetherington credits his son John for being his principal motivator. Sands raised his son as a single parent from the time John was six. He read to him every night during those formative years. He and young John developed the Crosley crocodile character in the series during months of bedtime story give-and-take. Sands majored in history at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and has an M.F.A. in creative writing and an M.A. in English from UNC-Greensboro. He lives in Greensboro.About the Illustrator:
Jessica Love grew up in California, with two artist parents. She studied printmaking and drawing at UC Santa Cruz, then went on to study acting at The Juilliard School in NYC. Her favorite way to work is collaborative, which is why illustration is such a treat.
Some of her inspirations are Maurice Sendak, Edmund Dulac, Lisbeth Zwerger and of course, the incomparable Hilary Knight. Jessica currently resides in Brooklyn, New York, toggling back and forth between her work as an actor and her work as an artist.


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Thursday, January 22, 2015

Blog Tour: Blood Red by Vivian Wolkoff #review
7:07 AM0 Comments


Blood Red: The Complete First Season

Paranormal Romance

Date Published: January 15,  2015

Evie Williams lives a boring life – and she likes it that way. Her world is very black and white. Routine is good. Excitement is bad. She’s happy to play by her self-imposed rules. After all, they help her keep her abusive, stalker ex-boyfriend at bay. Or so she believes…
But there’s more to the world than Evie could possibly imagine. Elves, vampires, witches and pro-Humanity terrorists are very real – and she can sense the danger they pose to her and others. Worst of all, they just realized how precious Evie’s gift is.
As the world Evie never imagined possible closes in on her, Chris, the vampire in charge of studying Evie, is getting more and more interested in her… and it has nothing to do with his loyalty to his vampire father.
Blood Red: The Complete First Season is a story of unlikely heroes, damsels who refuse to be in distress and political conflicts solved by fights to the death.

Buy Links



Review


I love the banter in this novel. It was quite witty and had me laughing quite a bit which is great for a Paranormal novel. 

Vivian Wolkoff has done a great job of setting the characters and world up for the reader. I felt like I understood where the characters were and what they were dealing it. It really had a great pace to it. It wasn't rushed, but it didn't drag on either.

This is a great first season in a new Paranormal series and I can't wait to see what happens next.




            Vivian Wolkoff has always been in love with words – even before she could read them. So, it should be no surprise she turned to writing and reading very early in life. She first self-published a poetry book at the age of 13, followed by two honorary mentions in contests promoted by a small publishing house in her native Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Then, she decided to do some living and find out what else she loved. After college and moving cross-continent twice, Vivian decided to turn to self-publishing again. She is the author of Showmance, the first book in a trilogy about a fake celebrity couple and their crazy fans, and the psychological thriller Love You To Death. Blood Red is the first novel in her Preternatural Chronicles – a shared universe filled with unlikely heroes, damsels who refuse to be in distress, intrigue and epic adventures.



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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Blog Tour: Steel Rose by @NighttoDawn1 #review
12:00 AM 3 Comments

Horror / Sci-Fi
Date Published: February 2, 2013


   
Sometimes they come back. At least the Kryszka aliens do. Their leader captures humans and injects a chemical to turn them into zombies. Yeron escapes their underground colony to practice human medicine, but most people fear him. Alexis, his patient, is afraid, too…until his seductive attentions profoundly arouse her. He develops a drug to control her pain from disabling arthritis, but her weakness prohibits her from handling most weapons. The Kryszka soldiers and zombies who break into the hospital are hungry. So very hungry. How will she fight them?



Buy Links





Review 


What a creepy book cover, and boy does the writing and story line live up to it. At a time where Zombies are big, this was the perfect novel. If you are a fan of gore and guts and grit, this is definitely the novel for you! It is not for any one squeamish or who cant handle the darker more controversial scary situations. There is torture and things like that. All very well done from my perspective. It will leave you wanting more and keep you flipping pages furiously.



Barbara lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she works full time as a respiratory therapist. When she’s not working with her patients, she’s enjoying a fright flick or working on horror and science fiction tales. Her short stories have appeared in numerous small press magazines. She’s published Night to Dawn magazine since 2004.
Other books by Barbara include Close Liaisons, Twilight Healer, City of Brotherly Death, and Life Raft: Earth. She’s also coauthored Alien Worlds and Starship Invasions (both now out of print) with Tom Johnson. She enjoys bringing her medical background to the printed page and blending it with supernatural horror. She maintains a presence on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and The Writers Coffeehouse forum. Look for the photos with the Mylar balloons and you’ll find her. 

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Blog Tour: Dangerously Forever by @AMGriffinbooks #review #giveaway
11:00 AM0 Comments

Erotic Romance / Sci-Fi
Date Published: December 26, 2014


Loving Dangerously, Book Five
Being kidnapped by a deadly—and dead sexy—brothel slave wasn’t exactly what Kiehle Xochis signed up for. His instructions had been simple: Watch over the human female until his brother and his mate arrived to rescue her. Instead, the slave has decided to liberate herself. She’s proving to be more than Kiehle can handle—and he kind of likes it.
Allysan Miller has gone through hell since being taken from Earth during an invasion. She’s finally found a way to escape the latest, and worst, of the brothels she’s been sold to. Now if Ally plays her cards right, she could gain both freedom and love…if she can learn to trust the dangerous male she’s chosen as her hostage.
Inside Scoop: Ally suffers her share of abuse at the hands of a brothel owner’s guards. But don’t worry. The feisty female warrior gives as good as she gets.
A Romantica® SciFi erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave   


Buy Links



REVIEW


Steamy and provocative yet so very heartwarming at the same time. Aly was a character that was easy to like right away. We learned about her time at the brothel and it really made you feel for her. She deserved a man like Kiehl and I was so happy for her and excited to read about their journey together. There is a great pace to the novel and just enough twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. 



A. M. Griffin is a wife who rarely cooks, mother of three, dog owner (and sometimes dog owned), a daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She’s a hard worker whose two favorite outlets are reading and writing. She enjoys reading everything from mystery novels to historical romances and of course fantasy romance. She is a believer in the unbelievable, open to all possibilities from mermaids in our oceans and seas, angels in the skies and intelligent life forms in distant galaxies.
Where you can find me:
Email: amgriffinbooks@gmail.com





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In For the Kill THUNDERCLAP by @shannonmckenna4
8:00 AM0 Comments



Romantic Suspense
Date Published: January 27, 2015

Years ago, the McClouds and their friends rescued little Sveti Ardova from ruthless organ traffickers. Now she’s all grown up, and getting into some scorching trouble of her own . . .
NO SURRENDER

The risks ex-cop Sam Petrie has taken have turned his life into a train wreck. So he has nothing to lose by doubling down as the elusive Svetlana Ardova’s unwanted bodyguard on her ill-advised trip to Italy. Her crusade against modern slavery has blazoned a bullseye on her chest, but when one of the death threats against her almost hits the mark, Sam’s protective instincts go into overdrive. Every lethal obstacle and trap they encounter ups the stakes—and the undeniable heat between them.
Now they’re spiraling in on a deadly and explosive secret—one that could either redeem them or destroy them … and the closer they get, the shorter the fuse …



Praise for Shannon McKenna

"The McCloud series is an auto buy for me." --Maya Banks

"McKenna writes intense, sensual stories." --The B&N Review

"Shannon McKenna makes the pulse pound." –BookPage

 




Shannon McKenna is the NYT bestselling author of over ten action packed, turbocharged romantic thrillers, among which are the stories of the wildly popular McCloud series. She loves tough and heroic alpha males, heroines with the brains and guts to match them, villains who challenge them to their utmost, adventure, scorching sensuality, and most of all, the redemptive power of true love. Since she was small she has loved abandoning herself to the magic of a good book, and her fond childhood fantasy was that writing would be just like that, but with the added benefit of being able to take credit for the story at the end. Alas, the alchemy of writing turned out to be messier than she'd ever dreamed. But what the hell, she loves it anyway, and hopes that readers enjoy the results of her alchemical experiments. She loves to hear from her readers. Contact her at her website, http://shannonmckenna.com, or join the newsletter by signing up here: http://shannonmckenna.com/connect.php.

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Thursday, January 15, 2015

Blog Tour: The Doorknob Society by @fletch125 #review
7:00 AM0 Comments

Young Adult / Paranormal / Steampunk
Date Published: February 2012


Chloe Masters’ world changes in a heartbeat and all she did was touch a doorknob. 

When she was young Chloe’s mother vanished. Wracked by feelings of abandonment and anger she lost herself traveling with her fathers magic act, where illusions were part of her everyday life. Yet everything changes when they are pursued by a mysterious man in black out to kill her father. Touching a doorknob activates abilities she never knew she had and she finds herself thrust into a world of ancient societies and secrets. 

When her father disappears it is a race against time to find answers before she loses whats left of her family. Now Chloe must choose who to trust, the man who will do anything for her or the one she can’t stop thinking about. 

Book one of the Doorknob Society Saga.




REVIEW 

Steampunk and Paranormal at its finest. I love Chloe's personality. It really shines and leads to being able to connect to her as a reader. She has her issues and is a bit of a mess in the beginning, but that mad me compassionate for her and more involved in her journey.

This is the first in a series and I cannot wait to see where the story goes from here.



MJ Fletcher

MJ Fletcher is the creator of the comic book series Adam Zero: The Last Man of Earth published by Ronin Studios. He’s also been published in Hope: The Hero Initiative and Digital Webbing Presents. The Doorknob Society was his first book series and still among his favorites. His other works include The Grimm Chronicles series and numerous novellas and short stories. He lives near the beach with his wife, daughter, and an insane dog. 
Twitter: fletch125
Instagram: mjfletcherwriter


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