Welcome To My Book Addiction

Welcome!  Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of my blog or about anything you feel like chatting about. And to all of my readers and subscribers – I THANK YOU for continuing to come by and share in my book addiction! 🙂

I’m going to use the comments of this post as my “makeshift” tag board, seeing as how I can’t get one on here. Please feel free to say hello or tell me anything you’d like to see more of here.

Sidhe

Current Giveaways & Guest Posts:

– A Guest Post & Giveaway by Nichole Chase, debut YA Urban Fantasy author of Mortal Obligation, Book 1 of the Dark Betrayal Trilogy, on Oct 4th, 2011 – Winners Posted!

– A Guest Post & Giveaway by B. Jane Lawson, debut Paranormal Romance author of To The Cliffside: A Morganna Cork Novel on Oct 19th, 2011 – Winners Posted!

– A Guest Post & Giveaway by Michele Hauf, Paranormal Romance author of Monsters Don’t Do Christmas on Oct 24th, 2011 – Winners Posted!

– A Guest Post by debut Apocalyptic Fantasy author Cate Morgan

 

SVR Wants To Know

First of all, I hope everyone down in the USA is having a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!! I’m guessing you’re all in a turkey/stuffed yourself coma or out braving the insanity that is Black Friday, lol. The Black Friday sales are even spreading up here to Canada today and I’m still debating about making my way out to see what’s to be had for great sales.

I went and saw Breaking Dawn Part 1 yesterday with my best friend and it was AWESOME! I was impressed with the way that they handled the story-line and with the special effects. I even had tears in my eyes  a few times during the wedding, lol. I can’t believe that they’re making us wait till next November for the last movie when they’re already done filming it. That’s just cruel. They should release it in the summer! Pffft… So who all has seen the movie? Care to discuss it in the comments? What did you think? Favorite parts? Cheesy Parts?

If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I’ll give fair warning and say SPOILER ALERT in the comments of this post!

I have a question for you all. I’m finding as I get older or have read that many more books in my life, that I am losing interest in books that aren’t written in first person. I just can not seem to get into a book written in third person point of view anymore!? All the “she said” and then “he said” and then “she did…” and “he responded…” Gah! It’s tedious for me now and I have a harder time relating to or caring about the characters when it’s written in third person POV. Does anyone else feel the same way or am I just an eccentric, picky reader? SVR wants to know!

Nocturne – Review

Nocturne by Syrie James

• Mass Market Paperback:288 pages
• Publisher:Vanguard Press; Mass Market Edition edition (Aug 2 2011)
• Language:English
• ISBN-10:159315674X
• ISBN-13: 978-1593156749
• Genre: Paranormal Romance

Book Description:

“When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger.

Snowbound with him for days in his beautiful home high in the Rockies, she finds herself powerfully attracted to him. But there are things about him that mystify her, filling her with apprehension. Who is Michael Tyler? Why does he live alone in such a secluded spot and guard his private life so carefully? What secret–or secrets–is he hiding?

Nicole has secrets of her own and a past she is running from–but Michael understands her better than anyone she has ever known. Soon, she is falling as deeply in love with him as he is with her–a profoundly meaningful experience that is destined to change their lives forever.

As the sexual tension between them builds, however, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns her host’s terrifying secret, there is nowhere for her to run but into the blizzard raging outside, and Michael may be the only one who can save her life.”

My Thoughts:

I was largely underwhelmed by this book to be honest. I’d heard so many great reviews about it and I found it quite “ho-hum”, or too “Vanilla” for my tastes. A woman’s car runs off the road in a remote location in a snow storm and she is rescued by an enigmatic man who lives alone on the mountain right where she has the accident. He takes her to his house, cares for her and they fall for each other while trapped in the house because of the blizzard. They both have secrets, and they eventually find out what they are.

There was absolutely nothing new or exciting about this story for me. The characters were reminiscent of a million other characters only they reminded me of the male/female stereotype of Harlequin romances from the 80’s. Actually, this story could have been one of those romances from the 80’s and the supernatural element was just worked in to it. The plot was the same type of plot I’ve read a million times, the pacing was steady and the dialogue was average and to be expected. I knew what was going to be said and what would happen before it was said and happened in the book.

If you like a safe and predictable sweet romance, then go for it. I had a hard time finishing this one. I like my paranormal romance filled with excitement, spice, daring, danger, action and surprises. This was not it. That being said, this was not a bad book nor was it badly written. It just didn’t work for me personally.

Sidhe

 

Find out more about Syrie James and what she’s working on at her website.

Buy a copy at:

Amazon.ca

Chapters/Indigo

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

The Book Depository

(No offense is meant towards the Harlequin romances or those authors who wrote them back in the 80’s. They were “hot” back then.)

Tuesday Teaser

I’m actually kinda looking forward to this one! Snow White and The Huntsmen. It sounds and looks like an interesting “re-mix” on the Snow White fairy tale and is obviously an adult version in that it’s a lot darker in tone. I got a good laugh when I read in one of the comments: “so Hancock’s wife hires Thor to hunt down and kill Bella”. Pretty funny if you think of it that way! 😀

What movies are you looking forward to?

Saved – Review

Saved by Allegra Skye

• Format:Kindle Edition
• File Size:183 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage:Unlimited
• Sold by:Amazon Digital Services
• Language:English
• ASIN: B0057QNNP6
• Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Book Description:

“In SAVED (Book #1 of the Shadow Vampires), Keira and Amanda, twins, move with their family to a new town, and start their senior year at a new high school. But though they are twins, the girls have different fates. Amanda, beautiful, popular, is sought out by everyone. Keira, who has always lived in Amanda’s shadow, is smaller, awkward, different. Even her mother, who is so close to Amanda, doesn’t know what to make of her other daughter. Keira turns to books, and to her journal, for solace, and to find out about other worlds.

Amanda makes friends easily at the new school, and quickly finds a boyfriend, while Keira is left alone, an outsider. But very quickly, it is clear that something strange is going on in Everstock. The town and the school are very divided. The popular, rich kids act as if they own the school and have nothing to do with the other kids, who are poorer and live in a different part of town. Not only are the kids meaner here, but an unknown infection has gripped the town, with more and more people going to the hospital. Something here is terribly wrong. But things change suddenly, as there is a terrible accident involving the twins. Not only are Keira and Amanda’s lives changed forever, but a new dimension of life begins to open to Keira.

As Keira recovers, she begins to change in ways she can’t expect, receiving new and mysterious powers that no one can possibly understand. At the same time, a gorgeous, mysterious new boy, Cooper, appears at the school, who grips her imagination, and who refuses to tell her what secret he is hiding.

As Keira and Cooper grow closer to each other, it soon becomes apparent that destiny has brought them together—and that they may each have to sacrifice it all if they want to stay together…
Book #2 in the Shadow Vampire series (TOUCHED) is now also available.”

My Thoughts:

I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this book.  To my delight, this book was a really awesome read.  I could not put the book down.  I loved the story line and  loved the characters in the book.   I have never read anything by Allegra before but she is an awesome writer.  She writes with a lot of emotion and you can feel the emotion flow through her books and characters.

I really loved Keira.  I could tell from the beginning that she was very special  and  I felt the heartache she went through every day in having to try to live up to her twin sister, Amanda’s image.  Never being popular or fitting in like her sister does at school.  Never being truly loved and accepted by her parents for who she really was.  Despite everything, she truly loved her sister and parents.  Her character was amazing.  Keira never complained about her situation or tried to change who she was.  She just wanted her sister and parent’s love and acceptance.

After the accident, Keira starts changing and becomes stronger.  She develops special abilities and stands up to her parents.   Her image even changes.  Keira then meets Cooper and it’s love at first sight.  She starts dreaming about him and can’t stop thinking about him.  Cooper always acts so strange when he is around Keira and she doesn’t know what to think. Maybe Cooper doesn’t feel the same way she does?

I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.  This book was awesome. I would recommend this series to anyone.  This book was outstanding.  I also love this author.  She has a way of writing with emotion.

Tori

       

Find out more about Allegra Skye and what she’s working on at her website!

Buy a copy of Saved at:

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

KOBO Books

iTunes – Apple Bookstore

 

The Grind Show – Review

The Grind Show by Phil Tucker

• Pub. Date: May 2011
• Publisher: TransientMe LLC
• Format: NOOK Book (eBook)
• File Size: 636 KB
• BN ID: 2940012613851
• Genre: Urban Fantasy

Book Description:

“For those who can see demons there is but one maxim: hunt them down until your luck runs out, and then hope for an easy death.

Or so Jason thought until one hellish night in a desert ghost town leaves his life in ruins and his soul tainted with demonic power.

Now the tables are turned and he’s the prey, forced to fight a running battle to keep himself and his friends alive. But at what price is he willing to buy his freedom? The demons care nothing for collateral damage, and as the death toll mounts the darkness within him grows stronger, making it ever harder for Jason to resist the allure of his newfound powers… “

My Thoughts:

This was a high action supernatural thriller with interesting twists and turns. Definitely “guy friendly” fiction. Why only a 3.5 rating, you may ask, and it’s because I am conflicted. The book is really well written with great characters, story arcs, dialogue, action, danger and reminded me of an episode of Supernatural in a way, but I kept putting it aside to read other books. Several times. Does this reflect on the writing itself? Or does it have more to do with what I was really in the mood to be reading at the time and the fact that I still prefer to be reading a hard copy of a book instead of on my eReader. I do not know! I feel bad for the author who has been ever so patiently waiting for a review of his book, which really is an awesome read.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of paranormal thrillers and as I said it is definitely “guy friendly”. I would also classify this as adult fiction as there’s some gore and horror elements that are aptly described. I’ll keep this one short because I still haven’t made up my mind about it. (Sorry Phil). I’m just keeping my review honest as always.

     .

Find out more about Phil Tucker and what he’s working on at his website.

Buy a copy at:

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

 

 

Winners

Sorry everyone, I know I’m running behind with posting the winners for both the B. Jane Lawson giveaway and the Michelle Hauf giveaway. My bad. So without further delay, the two winners from the B. Jane Lawson giveaway are: #9, Denise Z and #4, Jen M!! Congrats! You will each receive a digital copy of B. Jane’s book, To The Cliffside. The winner of the copy of Michelle Hauf’s – A Vampire For Christmas is: #17, Krystal Larson! Congrats to you as well. 🙂

The winners will have 7 days to email me for details about how to collect your books. If I haven’t heard back from someone within 7 days, a new winner will be chosen from the qualifying entries.

Thank you to both of the authors for spending time with us here at SVR and for supplying the giveaway copies! Also, a huge thanks to all my wonderful blog readers/followers for continuing to come by and leave great comments on all my posts. I love you guys!  

Tuesday Movie Trailer

There are a bunch of movie trailers that I’ve seen recently that have me all excited, but today I’m sharing with you all the trailer for The Hunger Games which is based on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games Trilogy. I can not tell you how much I loved these books! I was totally caught up in the world that the author created on paper and am ever so curious to see if the movie will do the book justice. The trailer looks really promising though. If you’ve read the book, what do you think of the trailer and are you excited to see the movie? If you haven’t read the book, what are you waiting for? 😀

The Way – Reviewed by Tori

The Way by John Whelan-Curtain

• Format:Kindle Edition
• File Size:225 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage:Unlimited
• Publisher:Wolfspear Publishing; 1 edition (August 12, 2011)
• Sold by:Amazon Digital Services
• Language:English
• ASIN: B005H7LO1K

Book Description:

“Gray’s normal life is about to be shattered. Well… normal may not be quite the right term when you consider that he is the sixteen year old son of the world’s most powerful criminal overlord.

From this “normality” Gray finds himself descending into a world conspiracy and murder and as he spirals into a world of vampires, devastating powers and reincarnation.

The impossibly intense pace of the book follows Gray’s rise to power in a world dominated by what may be the founders of civilization and religion as we know it.”

My Thoughts:

As I have said before, I am not a big fan of short stories.  I find they are rushed and you don’t get a lot of details.  I gave this book every chance, but  I just could not get into the story.  The author jumped around so much in the book and I just couldn’t follow the story.  I didn’t really understand what was going on until the end.  I was getting very frustrated with the book and thought I would be unable to finish it.

The author had a good idea with the story line but it just wasn’t exciting or very interesting to me.  Maybe if the book would have been longer, with a lot more detail, a lot of action, and less jumping around, I would have enjoyed it.

Tori

 

Find out more about John Whelan Curtain’s books.

Buy a copy of The Way at:

Smashwords

Amazon.com

 

Cate Morgan – Guest Post

Today we have Cate Morgan, debut author of apocalyptic fantasy here with us at SVR to celebrate the release of her new novella, Brighid’s Cross! She’s written up a hilarious guest post about her ahh… writing process, lol. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Here are some details about the book first, and then I’ll let Cate take over for awhile. 🙂

Brighid’s Cross

• Pub. Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
• Sold By: Barnes & Noble
• Format: NOOK Book (eBook) , 87pp (Also available at Amazon/Kindle)

• Series: End of Days
• File Size: 780 KB
• ISBN-13: 9781609286316
• ISBN: 1609286316

Book Description:

“One woman with a job to do. One gorgeous hacker with a plan. One apocalypse. Any questions?

Aika Lareto is a descendent of St. Brighid in her incarnation of all things fire and warfare in a time when heroes were revered as gods.  In 2025, this means Aika is hunted by all things demon and government.  All she wants is to get on with her work as guardian of the dregs scraping out a fringe existence in London’s blitzed underground—the lost, forgotten and the just plain ignored.

Declan Pryce is the hacker who finds her first. Quite a feat, considering current ruling government conglomerate Dreamtech has issued a bounty on Aika’s head for her ability to bypass their security systems.

When she escapes Dreamtech’s net, the vote is unanimous— Aika is a liability in need of immediate resolution—dead or alive is entirely her choice.

No choice, really. She’ll take death over disloyalty every time. Declan has a plan that doesn’t include falling for an impossible woman in an impossible situation. She has plans of her own that don’t leave room for a love life.

If they’re incredibly lucky, it just might work.

Warning: Contains a hot hacker with a penchant for redheads, battles with demons, a little light torture, explosions and a heroine willing to do whatever it takes to do her job.”

Sounds like a fun read right? I’ll pass my blog over to Cate for a bit. Let’s give her a warm welcome!

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What Stories Are Made Of

Or, Sugar and Spice and Some Things . . . Not So Nice

I’m in love.

Not with my husband. (Well, okay, yes with my husband, but that’s a different, much longer blog post.) But with stories. I’m in love with stories the way certain kinds of  guys are in love with their Little Black Books. In fact, I have a Little Black Book, too. And just like other Little Black Books, mine is full of sexy new possibilities and the occasional Sure Thing. Deep inside, on some unconscious level, I’m really searching for The One. But until I find it, I’m happy to play the field. If some new, interesting detail crops up regarding one of the entries, I make careful note of this fact for future consideration.

You can meet a story anywhere, so it’s best to be prepared. As a case in point, here’s a few examples of reliable places I tend stumble over a sexy new idea:

Dreams
Neil Gaiman
Frightful Weather
My Mom
Books/TV/Movies/Music
Neil Gaiman
The Mailman
The Security Guard at my condo complex (who tells FANTASTIC Irish jokes)
My Grandparents (who’re Irish, and fantastic)
My Barista (who advises me regularly to write about vampires)
My Bartender (who begs me not to give in to writing about vampires)
Neil Gaiman

In short, stories come from everywhere, because everyone has them. In fact, I’m pretty sure Neil Gaiman keeps his chained up in his basement behind an iron door with a dozen sturdy locks and tiny food slot in the bottom, held in check by Cthulhu-like cultists in fezzes until he needs them (the stories, not the fezzes). But, again, that’s another blog post. An investigative one, perhaps, requiring a road trip.

Mainly, I’ve found stories come from dreams. My dreams, your dreams, the dreams of the kid down the street who fries ants on the sidewalk with a magnifying glass (creepy little bastard). Dreams make us strive to make them true, and striving makes us search for the life experiences that will lead us to our dreams.

It’s a vicious cycle.

Characters are no different. They are mirror reflections of ourselves, banging on the other side of the glass to be let out. Sometimes I do; other times I tell them they have to wait their turn, and add them to my Little Black Book. In the writing world, the philosophical question of the age is not so much “What comes first, the chicken or the egg?” but “What comes first, character or plot?” My answer has been, and always will be, character, because that is where the stories live. Plot is the order of events in which a story happens, mastered to a time-honored framework of milestones and plot points when certain, important things happen. But without characters and their stories, there would be no plot.

It’s like catching butterflies. Writers run around with a little journal and a net, swiping madly at beautiful, fluttering and altogether elusive story elements, looking  just a little bit silly in the process, but determined nonetheless. Once we catch enough elements that fit into the framework of a plot, we kill them dead, if humanely, and pin their gorgeous little corpses into the framework. Not for the faint of heart, mind you.

Yeah, writers tend to be a little weird, even if we look normal to the casual observer. Like a mad scientist, it comes of spending too much time in our heads, and being rather too attached to our Little Black Books, and having a propensity for attracting lightning. Be wary of the quiet, thoughtful ones. If we’ve suddenly gone quiet and/or thoughtful, it means we’ve spotted a story in the distance and are working out how to capture it. Be especially careful it’s not your story we’re after.

And while I’m giving out Public Service Announcements, let me just say that life is too short not to have dreams, let alone not to go after them. Whether you’re an aspiring, intrepid butterfly catcher or looking to raise a Great Old One from the murky, leviathan-snuggling depths, no one has any right to tell you that you can’t, or shouldn’t. Especially not yourself. And if your self has the gumption to try it, beat it back with a large stick. Here, borrow mine. Never mind the dried blood, or that particularly worrying gouge at the end.

Now, then. Back to work on pacifying the latest story into submission.

Put the kettle on, Neil. I’ve got a map, a large net, and a Little Black Book, and I’m not afraid to use them.

Let the storytelling begin.

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Obsidian – Spotlight & Review

 Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armintrout

• Paperback
• Publisher:Entangled Publishing, LLC (December 6, 2011)
• Language:English
• ISBN-10:1937044238
• ISBN-13: 978-1937044237
• Genre: Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Young Adult

Book Description:

“Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is. “

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book! Katy and her mom move to West Virginia to make a new start right before Katy’s senior year of high school and she’s resigned herself to having a pretty boring year. Then she get’s an eyeful when she sees her hot new neighbor! Things are looking up all of a sudden, that is, until he opens his mouth. I absolutely loved the chemistry between these two and the originality of the world-building involved in the crafting of this tale.

My only minor complaint is that I found some of the dialogue a bit choppy, but if you think about it, that is how a lot of teens talk now, so it’s realistic in that sense. The other characters in the book were a diverse group and well-rounded. I was totally absorbed in the story and in the characters’ situations. I found myself laughing out loud a couple of times at the great witty dialogue between Katy and Daemon and touched by the heart warming relationships being developed between Katy & Dee and Katy & Daemon.

Jennifer L. Armintrout has created a really interesting world with amazing characters and I can’t wait for the next book in the Lux Series. Fast pacing and the sparks flying between Katy and Daemon kept me flipping the pages until I was done. I would definitely recommend this series to all fans of young adult paranormal or sci-fi with romance!

     

To find out more about Jennifer Armintrout and what she’s working on, go to her Blog

Check out Obsidian on GoodReads

Pre-Order a copy of Obsidian at:

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble