BLOG TOUR: ANDRE

 

Today I am a host for the Blog Tour of André by Sybil Bartel. This Blog Tour is coordinated by Xpresso Book Tours.

 

 

PUBLISHER: Sybil Bartel

 

DATE PUBLISHED: 16th October 2017

 

PAGES: 304

 

 

BLURB: 

 

The Marines trained me to set my sights and wait for the shot. For eight years, I guarded my brothers and defended my country. Now I protect my clients. My personal security firm is the best in the business because I leave nothing to chance… until a dark-haired, hazel-eyed spitfire crosses my path.

She and her sexy as hell strip tease were supposed to be a one-night distraction. But too late I noticed the branding on her back and my blood ran cold. This woman wasn’t a distraction—she was a death sentence.

Knowing who she was left me no choice. I took her on as my client. But running from her past wasn’t an option.

The Marines didn’t train me to retreat. They taught me to engage.

One shot. One kill.

 

 

REVIEW: 

 

Another great instalment in this series. This is a great adult romance series that I just cannot get enough of. This book was chock full of what made me enjoy the pervious two books in the series… romance spiced up with imminent peril.

Kendall is the smart mouthed little fireball from the first book in this series and it is great to see her get her own book. Pairing her with the Andre is a stroke of genius as his suave nature and smooth moves are a perfect complement for Kendall. This book follows the previous two in the series where a couple have amazing chemistry and fight like crazy whilee falling for each other and overcoming overwhelming odds.

Put simply, wow! If you like romance with action and a couple who can fight with as much fire as they love, you really need to pick up this series.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

 

 

Sybil Bartel grew up in Northern California with her head in a book and her feet in the sand. She dreamt of becoming a painter but the heady scent of libraries with their shelves full of books drew her into the world of storytelling. She loves the New Adult genre, but any story about a love so desperately wrong and impossibly beautiful makes her swoon.

Sybil now resides in Southern Florida and while she doesn’t get to read as much as she likes, she still buries her toes in the sand. If she isn’t writing or fighting to contain the banana plantation in her backyard, you can find her spending time with her handsomely tattooed husband, her brilliantly practical son and a mischievous miniature boxer…

But Seriously?

Here are ten things you probably really want to know about Sybil.

She grew up a faculty brat. She can swear like a sailor. She loves men in uniform. She hates being told what to do. She can do your taxes (but don’t ask). The Bird Market in Hong Kong freaks her out. Her favorite word is desperate…or dirty, or both—she can’t decide. She has a thing for muscle cars. But never reply on her for driving directions, ever. And she has a new book boyfriend every week—don’t tell her husband.

To find out more about Sybil Bartel, be sure to follow her on Twitter (she loves to hear about your favorite book boyfriend!), visit her website, like her on Facebook or join her Facebook group Book Boyfriend Heroes for exclusive excerpts and giveaways.

 

 

Author links:
http://sybilbartel.com/Home.html
https://www.facebook.com/sybilbartelauthor

Tweets by SybilBartel

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7893521.Sybil_Bartel

 

 

LINKS: 

 

 

Purchase:

Amazon: http://smarturl.it/l4ja62
iBooks: http://smarturl.it/029jh2
Kobo: http://smarturl.it/xd851i
B&N: http://smarturl.it/3my7g4

 

 

GIVEAWAY: 

 

Tour-wide giveaway
$25 Amazon gift card

 

If you would like to enter this giveaway, click here.

 

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

REVIEW: NEIL

 

 

PUBLISHER: Sybil Bartel

 

DATE PUBLISHED:22nd August 2016

 

PAGES: 329

 

 

 

BLURB: 

 

Ex-Danish Military Special Forces, built like a legend, and uncompromising in every way—Neil Christensen didn’t walk into my life. The Viking-sized warrior crashed it like a hurricane.

The moment he showed up at my strip club, my life fell apart. South Florida’s most ruthless motorcycle gang, the cops, the Feds—they all want something I don’t have, something the Viking took from me.

I thought I could run, but the motorcycle gang caught me. Now the only thing standing between me and an unmarked grave is a warrior I don’t trust.

I’m not afraid to die, but I am terrified of weathering the storm. Because when a Viking decides to unleash his fury, no one is going to come out unscathed.

Warning: This book contains alpha heroes, offensive language, violence and sexual situations. Mature audiences only. 18+

 

 

REVIEW: 

 

Thrust right back into Sybil Bartel’s world of biker gangs and ex-military… a new couple but no less suspense and danger was found with Neil and Ariel. These two were introduced briefly in the first book in this series and are now examined a lot more closely.

Ariel’s devotion to her son Connor was a shining star in this book for me… seconded only by Neil’s obvious care and devotion to the boy. The relationship of these three characters as something more begins to develop only to interrupted by bikers and painful exes made for a compelling read. The obvious sparks between Neil and Ariel only lent credence to their chemistry. The spunky attitude of Ariel was a great obstacle to Neil’s determination and stoic demeanour.

Overall, the thrills, twists and turns introduced in Talon were re-explored in this book along with a whole new set of characters with a nod to characters from the pervious book (shown in a totally different light). A great continuation to this series.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

REVIEW: TALON

 

 

PUBLISHER: Sybil Bartel

 

DATE PUBLISHED: 01st March 2016

 

PAGES: 354

 

 

 

BLURB: 

 

I surf.
I fuck.
I pretend to smile.

Two years ago my life was perfect, until it wasn’t. I scattered my wife’s ashes then walked away from the Marines. I didn’t think I had anything left to lose.

I was wrong.

The blond showed up at my surf shop, beaten and stabbed. I did what I was trained to do—I stitched her up. I didn’t have a clue who she was and I told myself I didn’t care. Until they came looking for her.

I swore I’d take my last breath before I let anyone else hurt her except I didn’t know she was keeping a deadly secret. Now I had two choices, her life or mine.

Marriage and combat taught me the same thing—I was no one’s hero. And I was about to prove it.

 

 

REVIEW: 

 

This was one wild ride through bikie gangs, ex-marines and imminent danger at every single turn. I don’t know when I got a second to catch my breath. Just when one crisis was wrapping up another one would pop up to introduce a whole new set of problems.

The emotional whiplash I got from Talon and Nicole was a force to be reckoned with. On one hand I liked the couple and what they brought to the table. On the other hand the complete 360’s they had between caring for each other and biting the other’s head off was starting to give me whiplash. The characters themselves I really enjoyed and their flaws and imperfections just made them more human in my mind.

The amount of drama and crisis in this book was astonishing. I am amazed so much could happen in such a short time span. It seems when one fire is put out, something else is brought up to add fuel to the embers. Everything is eventually wrapped up neatly in the end and there was definitely a Happily Ever After that left for a satisfying ending. This was one wild ride.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

BLOG TOUR: SPELL BOOK AND SCANDAL

 

 

Today I am a host for the Blog Tour of Spell Book & Scandal by Jen McConnel. This Blog Tour is coordinated by Xpresso Book Tours.

 

 

 

PUBLISHER: Jen McConnel

 

DATE PUBLISHED: 31st October 2017

 

PAGES: 238

 

 

 

BLURB: 

 

Shelby King is tired of living in her sister’s shadow. Just because Christina is the most powerful caster in school doesn’t mean Shelby’s any good at magic; she’s a scribe, like her mom, and everyone expects her to write spells for her sister, the way her mom always has for her dad. But Shelby’s spells fail spectacularly, and by the time she’s a sophomore, Christina won’t touch them with a ten-foot-pole; their parents aren’t much better. Shelby is fed up, and she decides to show the world she doesn’t care if she isn’t as good as her stuck-up sister, or as talented as their powerful parents. In fact, she decides it’s time to break all the rules, magical and otherwise, and she starts sneaking out to meet Jeremiah Smallwood, the second-best caster in school at illegal pop-up spell battles around town. She may not be able to scribe for him, but she doesn’t mind letting him think that she could; Shelby’s been half in love with Miah as long as she can remember, but he’s never paid attention to her until now, and she’s not going to risk her chances worrying about a pesky thing like the truth. But when Christina rats her out to their parents, Shelby can’t control her anger, and words come pouring out of her that she can’t take back even if she wanted to, threatening Christina’s future…and Shelby’s own chances with Jeremiah. It’ll take more magic than Shelby’s ever dreamed of to set things right, but no scribe has that much magic…right?

 

 

REVIEW: 

 

Hubble bubble toil and trouble… a dash of Freaky Friday mixed with a sprinkle of Hocus Pocus is a recipe for a resoundingly fun and engaging witchy story. While it took me a while to really engage with Shelby’s character I feel that the development of these characters was the real magic in this book. The plot of this book was seamless, it really flowed and this helped keep me engaged in the storyline. The different scenes throughout the book gave me a real appreciation for the magic system and the world these two sisters were living in. Overall, with a pinch of magic and a dash of romance this book was a success in my eye… where’s book 2?

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

 

Award-winning author Jen McConnel writes NA, YA, and nonfiction. When she isn’t writing, she can be found on her yoga mat or wandering off on another adventure. Visit http://www.JenMcConnel.com to learn more!

 

Author links:

Home

Tweets by Jen_McConnel

https://www.facebook.com/jenmcconnelauthor
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6451403.Jen_McConnel

 

 

LINKS:

 

 

Purchase:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Spell-Book-Scandal-ebook/dp/B074MG89NT
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spell-book-scandal-jen-mcconnel/1126944895
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/spell-book-scandal/id1268923231
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/spell-book-scandal

 

 

GIVEAWAY: 

 

 

Tour-wide giveaway
Name A Character In Book 2!

 

If you would like to enter this giveaway, click here.

 

 

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

 

 

 

TOME TOPPLE ROUND 5 TBR

 

 

Tome Topple  is back again for Round 5 and I’m excited. This readathon is run by Sam from Thoughts on Tomes as well as a cacophony of co-hosts. Round 5 will be running from the 17th to the 30th of November. As always there are the reading challenges, but something different is the Instagram challenges this time.

 

 

READING CHALLENGES: 

 

Read more than one tome

Read a graphic novel

Read a tome that is part of a series

Buddy read a tome

Read an adult novel

 

 

INSTAGRAM CHALLENGES: 

 

 

 

MY TBR: 

 

 

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

 

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Omnibus: Volume 1 by Joss Wedon

 

 

Replica by Lauren Oliver

 

 

Moon Chosen by P.C. Cast

 

 

Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts

 

 

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

BLOG TOUR: THE NIGHT REALM

 

 

Today I am a host for the Blog Tour of The Night Realm by Annette Marie. This Blog Tour is coordinated by Xpresso Book Tours.

 

 

 

PUBLISHER: Dark Owl Fantasy Inc.

 

DATE PUBLISHED: 20th October 2017

 

PAGES: 358

 

 

 

BLURB: 

 

Clio would love nothing more than to go home. But as the illegitimate daughter of the nymph king, she’s stuck in the human world, exiled until she can earn a place in the royal family. Then her half-bother offers her a chance to prove herself. All she has to do is acquire some magic … by stealing it from the most dangerous spell weavers in the Underworld.

Lyre prefers to go unnoticed, which is a tricky objective for an incubus. He can’t hide his looks or his coveted spell weaving skills, but he’s learned to mask his true intentions. As an unwilling pawn of the tyrannical Hades family, he stays alive by keeping one step ahead of his masters.

Now he’s been assigned to watch over a visitor from the Overworld—one who’s definitely hiding something. And with her unholy talent for triggering chaos and catastrophe, his job just keeps getting more perilous. Clearly, she’ll never survive this world.

The thing is, he’s no longer sure he can survive it either.

 

 

REVIEW: 

 

A fascinating fantasy adventure that whisks the reader into a world they never knew they were missing before. The characters, the plot and the intrigue made this book simply addicting.

Clio is a main character that engages the reader and makes you want to follow her through this journey she is taking from her world to Earth and to the Underworld. She is a flawed character and that is what I found the most appealing about Clio. She is not poised, put-together and perfect, there is substance there that can be played with. Lyre was a fabulous character that off-set Clio perfectly and the concept of opposites attract (Overworld and Underworld) really play in here. I have one word to describe Lyre, smoking.

With Greek Mythology and darkly sexy moments this was a book that had me in his grasp and just wouldn’t let go. As a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon I am definitely going to delve into more of Annette Marie’s writing. I am so happy I have found this author.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

 

 

Annette Marie is the author of the Amazon best-selling Steel & Stone series, which includes Goodreads Choice Award nominee Yield the Night, and fantasy trilogy Red Winter. Her first love is fantasy, but fast- paced urban fantasy and tantalizing forbidden romances are her guilty pleasures. She lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it’s not quite that bad) with her comparatively sensible husband and their furry minion of darkness—sorry, cat—Caesar. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in one art project or another while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.

 

Author links:
http://www.authorannettemarie.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8546572.Annette_Marie
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnetteMarie

Tweets by AnnetteMMarie

 

 

LINKS: 

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34944353-the-night-realm

 

Purchase:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GRXPZC

 

 

GIVEAWAY:

 

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)
3 x $10 Amazon gift cards

 

If you would like to enter this giveaway, click here.

 

 

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

BLOG TOUR: THE SPACE BETWEEN

 

Today I am a host for the Blog Tour of The Space Between by Susan Rooke. This Blog Tour is coordinated by iRead Book Tours

 

 

 

PUBLISHER: Holyoke Press

 

DATE PUBLISHED: 12th September 2017

 

PAGES: 435

 

 

 

BLURB: 

 

Mellis, a courageous and resourceful young woman, is kidnapped from the human world and taken to the Space Between by a tribe of faeries called the Penitents. Because of guilt over an ancient sin committed by their angel ancestors against the Maker, the Penitents have cursed themselves with grotesque physical disfigurements. Mellis can help them reunite with the Maker and find their way back to redemption, but she would need to give up the life she’s always known to remain in the Space Between. As she struggles with this heart-wrenching decision, one of the Penitents, bent on revenge, commits a gruesome attack against the tribe, and they learn he has taken Satan—the Maker’s greatest enemy—as his ally. All in the Space Between are facing grave danger. Will a long-awaited act of vengeance save them?

 

 

REVIEW: 

 

An epic fantasy full of magical and mythical creatures that simply take your breath away.  The beginning of the book leaves the reader with so many questions that they are hooked from the absolute start. The world building really set this book apart. Set in a world apart from ours that is so vivid I felt that I was truly there. The characters are engaging and utterly three dimensional. There was real motivation there that drove the characters through the plot of the book. There is so much happening in this novel that at times I felt I had gotten lost and needed to backtrack to fully comprehend what was happening. Overall, this book really hooked me in from the very start. There were times that I felt the book became confusing or a little slow, but this was only a little issue that was overshadowed by the character dynamics and the stunning world-building.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

 

 

Susan Rooke is a Pushcart-nominated poet and author of the forthcoming The Space Between Series. Her short stories and poems have appeared in publications such as The Christian Science Monitor and The Twilight Zone Magazine, among many others. She resides on a square of green, peaceful country not far from Austin, Texas, with her husband Glen, who runs a small cattle operation while Rooke writes fiction about angels and demons, monsters, faeries and dragons. Look for her fantasy novel, The Space Between: The Prophecy of Faeries on Amazon.

 

 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: 

 

 

 

 

Q. The subtitle of your book is The Prophecy of Faeries. Do you make a distinction between “faeries” and “fairies”?

A. No. “Faeries” is just an alternate spelling. I prefer it because “fairies” often seems to make people think of the Tinker Bell sort, which are very different from the kind of faery I write about.

 

Q. The Penitent faery tribe who kidnap Mellis have cursed themselves with some extreme physical disfigurements. Where did your inspiration for these characters come from?

A. One day a couple of weeks before I began writing the first draft, I was walking on the treadmill while reading a fascinating bargain book from Barnes & Noble. Can’t remember the title, but it was an inclusive list of the physical abnormalities documented in human beings. There were some surprising ones I’d never heard about before, and as I was reading, the idea struck me that I needed to write about a population of faeries challenged in this way.

 

Q. Your book’s characters range from heroic to abominable. Are there any that you truly disliked or that you were uncomfortable writing about?

A. Nope, not one! It’s said that authors put a little of themselves into every character they write. It was certainly true for me. Even the character of Satan has a little of me in his makeup.

 

Q. What do you do to prepare for the day’s writing? Is there a routine you use to get yourself into the “zone”?

A. There is. Before I start to write, I spend 15 or 20 minutes reading speculative fiction. It doesn’t have to be fantasy, but there must be fantastical elements. It’s a sort of 5-finger exercise for my brain and gets it warmed up. Right now (while working on Book 2 in the series) I’m reading Children of the Night, by Dan Simmons.

 

Q. Do you write anything besides fiction?

A. Yes, I write poetry which has appeared in a number of journals and anthologies, and been nominated for several Pushcarts and a Best of the Net. Also, in May 2016 I started writing personal essays as blog posts for my website, http://susanrooke.net.

 

Q. What was some of your favorite reading in childhood?

A. I’ve always loved fantasy, starting with L. Frank Baum’s Oz books and Hugh Lofting’s Doctor Dolittle series, then moving on to the magic of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. I read James Thurber’s The 13 Clocks so many times I knew it by heart.

 

Q. What is your next project?

A. I’ve been working on Book 2 in The Space Between series, and I’m about 95,000 words into it, or about three-fourths done. It’s titled The Realm Below: The Rise of Tanipestis, and it picks up soon after the first book leaves off. The Titan Tanipestis has been busy in the power vacuum left in the wake of Satan’s absence from the Realm Below!

 

 

GIVEAWAY: 

 

Win a paperback or ebook copy of The Space Between with the possibility of a $25 Amazon GC and swag! (28 winners total, open to USA only except for ebooks which are open to be won internationally)

 

If you would like to enter this giveaway, click here.

 

 

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

CONTEMPORARYATHON TBR

 

 

Contemporaryathon is a readathon that focuses on reading contemporary novels. I’m really looking forward to this readathon as I love contemporary novels. This readathon runs from the 13th to the 19th of November.

 

 

READING CHALLENGES: 

 

1. Read the most recent contemporary book you purchased/acquired
2. Read an adult contemporary
3. Read a contemporary that has characters on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum
4. Read a contemporary that is 5 years old or older
5. Read a contemporary that (to the best of your knowledge) is NOT set during the summer
6. Read a dark/taboo contemporary
7. Buddy read a book with someone OR read the group book!

 

 

MY TBR: 

 

 

 

Unrequited by Emma Grey

 

 

Dating You / Hating You by Christina Lauren

 

 

I’ll give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

 

 

Amy & Rodger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

 

 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

 

 

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

 

 

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

 

 

 

I am really excited for this and have so many other contemporary books that this week is going to be a book frenzy.

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

GETTING GRAPHIC READATHON TBR

 

 

Getting Graphic is a 24 hour Graphic Novel readathon. There are reading challenges for this readathon. I will be trying to complete all the challenges except the last one. I have raided my Graphic Novels and am ready to get going.

 

 

READING CHALLENGES: 

 

Read a stand alone

Continue a series

New To You Author

Read a Non-Fiction

 

 

MY TBR: 

 

 

Hansel & Gretel by Neil Gaiman 

 

 

Saga: Vol 4 by Brain K. Vaughan 

 

 

Ms. Marvel: Vol 4 by G. Willow Wilson

 

 

iZombie: Vol 1 by Chris Roberson

 

 

Morning Glories: Vol 1 by Nick Spencer

 

 

Paper Girls: Vol 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

 

 

The Wicked + The Divine: Vol 1 by Kieron Gillen

 

The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi

 

 

I’m going to have a busy 24 hours

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati

REVIEW: WARCROSS

 

 

PUBLISHER: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

 

DATE PUBLISHED: 12th September 2017

 

PAGES: 368

 

 

 

BLURB: 

 

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

 

 

REVIEW: 

 

The Hunger Games meets Ready Player One. This book was truly an interesting concept that was played out really well. I was not sure at first what genre this fit into. That was part of the mystery. The characters, the plot and the writing style all play their part in the enjoyment of this book.

The characters really made this book for me. The wide diversity of characters and all their different experiences leading into how they experience Warcross and what they can offer. I particularly enjoyed the element where someone in a wheelchair can experience walking or even flying again through this virtual world. Emi was a great character to take us through this world. Her motivations were believable and I really understood her emotions as the events unfolded.

My one criticism would be the development of the relationship between Hideo and Emi. Nothing seemed to happen for so long and then all of a sudden everything was thrown for a tailspin and stuffed into the last third of the book. It felt really pressured.

An intriguing and well played out novel leaving off with enough intrigue (if not a cliffhanger) that will absolutely have me reaching for book two next year to see how everything ends.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

 

Keep Calm and Read On,

Kati