Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Rockstar Book Tours, Review, & Giveaway: Harrison Squared (Daryl Gregory)





Title: HARRISON SQUARED
Author: Daryl Gregory
Pub. Date: March 24, 2015
Publisher: Tor Books
Pages: 320
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
From award winning author Daryl Gregory comes a thrilling and colorful Lovecraftian adventure of a teenage boy searching for his mother, and the macabre creatures he encounters.
Harrison Harrison—H2 to his mom—is a lonely teenager who’s been terrified of the water ever since he was a toddler in California, when a huge sea creature capsized their boat, and his father vanished. One of the “sensitives” who are attuned to the supernatural world, Harrison and his mother have just moved to the worst possible place for a boy like him: Dunnsmouth, a Lovecraftian town perched on rocks above the Atlantic, where strange things go on by night, monsters lurk under the waves, and creepy teachers run the local high school.

On Harrison’s first day at school, his mother, a marine biologist, disappears at sea. Harrison must attempt to solve the mystery of her accident, which puts him in conflict with a strange church, a knifewielding killer, and the Deep Ones, fish-human hybrids that live in the bay. It will take all his resources—and an unusual host of allies—to defeat the danger and find his mother.

Find it: 


Daryl Gregory
Daryl Gregory is an award-winning writer of genre-mixing novels, stories, and comics. His most recent work is the novel is Afterparty (Tor, April 2014) and the novella We Are All Completely Fine (Tachyon, August 2014). His first novel, Pandemonium, won the Crawford Award and was nominated for a World Fantasy Award. His other novels include the Philip K. Dick award finalist The Devil’s Alphabet and Raising Stony Mayhall, which was named one of the best books of the year by Library Journal.
Many of his short stories are collected in Unpossible and Other Stories, which was named one of the best books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly. His comics work includes the Planet of the Apes series, and Dracula: The Company of Monsters series (co-written with Kurt Busiek). He lives in State College, PA, where he writes programming code in the morning, prose in the afternoons, and comics at night.

Where you can find Daryl:



"What I remember are tentacles. Tentacles and teeth. 
I know that those memories aren't real. I was only three when my father died, too young to understand what was happening. So later I filled in the gaps with snippets from monster movies and nature documentaries, with half-forgotten visits to dim aquariums, with illustrations from my mother's grad-school textbooks."

Harrison Squared revolves around a young boy whose name is Harrison Harrison....his mom nicknamed him Harrison Squared. 

"It's not too late, H2." That was her nickname for me: Harrison Harrison=Harrison Squared=H2. It was the kind of humor that scientists found hilarious."

Harrison has lived with his Mom since he was 3. His family went on a boat ride on the ocean when he was three and their boat cap-sized and (from Harrison's memory) their boat was also attacked by a huge sea monster who caused Harrison to lose his leg and killed his father. 

Years later Harrison's Mom accepts a job in the small town of Dunnsmouth, Massachusetts. His Mom is a marine biologist and is searching for a colossal squid that is said to have been seen off the coast of this small town. Harrison is forced to attend the local school because he is only sixteen and has to be enrolled in school. 

After they arrive in Dunnsmouth, Harrison immediately feels like something is off. The whole town is creepy, the townspeople act like they are hiding something, the school that Harrison has to attend is dark and gloomy and the teachers act like they could care less about teaching the students. All of the students that Harrison meets are extremely strange...except for a few that Harrison meets and actually befriends. Lydia is a young girl who is a fellow classmate and Lub is a half-human-half-fish boy....Yep I said Half-Fish...and this is where the story gets weird......

"Oh but she didn't understand: I was already changed. I knew things I didn't know before. I'd met a boy with GILLS. There were monsters out on the water, and on the land."

Harrison's mother disappears while out looking for the colossal squid and Harrison is determined to find her and figure out what is really going on in this strange town. Nothing is as it seems in the small town of Dunnsmouth........

From sea monsters to classes held in a cave....to friends who are half-fish....Harrison Squared is the perfect mix of fantasy and mystery and is perfect for fans of young adult books that enjoy adventure, suspense, and non-stop action. 




15 finished copies of HARRISON SQUARED US Only.








Tour Schedule:

Week One:

3/16/2015- Bibliophilia, Please- Interview

3/17/2015- Nerdophiles- Review

3/18/2015- Mythical Books- Guest Post

3/19/2015- Spiced Latte Reads- Review

3/20/2015- The Cover Contessa- Interview


Week Two:

3/23/2015- Eli to the nth- Review

3/24/2015- Word to Dreams- Guest Post

3/25/2015- Passion Obsession- Review

3/26/2015- Bookhounds ya- Interview

3/27/2015- Such a Novel Idea- Review



Week Three:

3/30/2015- Working for the Mandroid- Guest Post

3/31/2015- Curling Up With A Good Book- Review



CBB Promotions Blog Tour, Review, & Giveaway: Delayed Death (Beate Boeker)


delayeddeath (2)

Welcome to my tour stop for Delayed Death by Beate Boeker. This is the first book in the Temptation in Florence cozy mystery series.
This tour runs March 23-April 3 with reviews only. Check out the tour page for more information.

delayeddeath
Delayed Death is Book #1 in the Temptation in Florence Series, a cozy murder mystery romance series with a strong dose of humor and romance.

The title of the series comes from the lingerie store that the protagonist, Carlina, owns and runs, Temptation, on one of Florence, Italy's, premier shopping streets. The Temptation in Florence Series follows the life, adventures and loves of Italian-American Carlina, and of her extended eccentric Italian family, many of whom live in apartments in the same building in central Florence.

The family's eccentric members and their whims and wishes are a never-ending source of amusement for Carlina. While often treated like the family's Cinderella, Carlina is also a sexy, saucy, funny thirty-two-year-old woman.
When a crisis occurs, right at the beginning of Delayed Death, and Carlina gives in to her domineering cousin's wishes, Carlina sets herself on a collision course with police Commissario Stefano Garini.




Delayed Death costs only $0.99. For a limited time, you can also download it for free at the retailer Kobo or at Smashwords with the  voucher FY29F 

 

Some reviews:

  • "This is cozy mystery writing at its finest." - Jane Ormerod
  • "She has created a marvelous little world full of zany characters and fun plots and subplots." - David H. Bailey
  • "Delayed Death is a hilarious murder mystery with unexpected twists and turns." - bookworm
  • "Great series - Each book is better than the last one!" - mystery lover
  • "She has me hooked and wanting more." - night reader
  • "This Indie series is handsomely presented, well-written, true to the genre, and well-edited" - C. Martinelli
  • “I can’t get enough of Carlina and her fabulous family – you’ll love them, too!” - D.A. Sarac

Author_Picture_Beate_Boeker_at_water

Beate Boeker is a USA Today bestselling author with a passion for books that brim over with mischief & humor. Several of her contemporary romance novels were shortlisted for the Golden Quill Contest, the National Readers' Choice Award, the 'Best Indie Books' contest, and the RONE Award. In 2013, she hit the Amazon bestseller list in the category "international mystery & crime" with “Delayed Death”, the first in the series “Temptation in Florence”.By day, Beate is a global marketing manager with a degree in International Business Administration, and her daily experience in marketing provides her with a wide range of fodder for her novels, be it hilarious or cynical.Widely traveled, she speaks German, English, French, and Italian and lives in the North of Germany together with her husband and daughter.While 'Boeker' means 'books' in a German dialect, her first name Beate can be translated as ‘Happy’ . . . and with a name that reads ‘Happy Books’, what else can she do but write novels with happy endings? You can contact Beate via her website www.happybooks.de

Contact Beate:

Website | Newsletter – to learn about brand new releases! | Facebook | Twitter @BeateBoeker | Tsu | Goodreads author page | Amazon




This book had a bit of a slow start for me...I was hating Emma in the first chapter! But then I quickly fell in love with Carlina and her big family!!!! I was for sure shocked when the author revealed that Grandpa Nico did not die a natural death! Really enjoyed getting to know this big family of Carlina's. I would definitely recommend Delayed Death and I look forward to reading another book by Beate Boeker. 







Each tour stop is giving away one ebook of A New Life by Beate Boeker. Fill out the rafflecopter for each blog you visit and comment on (one entry per day). 
Open worldwide
Ends April 9, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Monday, March 30, 2015

HarperCollins Blog Tour, Excerpt, & Giveaway: It Started With A Scandal (Julie Anne Long)



Lord Philippe Lavay once took to the high seas armed with charm as lethal as his sword and a stone-cold conviction: he’ll restore his family’s fortune and honor, no matter the cost. Victory is at last within reach—when a brutal attack snatches it from his grasp and lands him in Pennyroyal Green.
An afternoon of bliss brings a cascade of consequences for Elise Fountain. Shunned by her family and ousted from a job she loves, survival means a plummet down the social ladder to a position no woman has yet been able to keep: housekeeper to a frighteningly formidable prince.
The bold and gentle Elise sees past his battered body into Philippe’s barricaded heart . . . and her innate sensuality ignites his blood. Now a man who thought he could never love and a woman who thought she would never again trust must fight an incendiary passion that could be the ruin of them both.



USA Today bestselling author JULIE ANNE LONG originally set out to be a rock star when she grew up (and she has the guitars and fringed clothing stuffed in the back of her closet to prove it), but writing was always her first love. Since hanging up her guitar for the computer keyboard, her books frequently top reader and critic polls and have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Rita, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice, and The Quills, and reviewers have been known to use words like “dazzling,” “brilliant,” and “impossible to put down” when describing them. Julie lives in Northern California.









It took all of Elise's fortitude to resist craning her head after the fleeing Mrs. Winthrop.
“Please sit down, Mrs. Fountain.”

She went still. His native French still haunted his consonants and turned the vowels into veritable caresses. She could almost see the elegant, endless spill of a fountain when he said her name. 

“Mrs. Fountain. Has Mrs. Winthrop brought to me an applicant who does not speak English?”

The tone was silk over steel, exquisitely polite. And yet she could easily imagine him ordering the beheading of whoever had brought him such a stupid and mute candidate in the very same tone. 

“Forgive me, Lord Lavay. I do know how to sit.”

She tried a little half smile. She knew she possessed a portion of charm, though it was a trifle rusty from disuse, given that she'd locked it away after it had gotten her into trouble. 

“If you would be so kind as to demonstrate your ability to do so.” 

He gestured to a chair upholstered in chocolate-colored velvet. She might as well have been a chair herself for all the charm he exerted. She felt positively neutered. Which was perhaps all for the best. 

She sat gingerly, and what she hoped was gracefully, on the very edge of it, the better to bolt if necessary, and folded her hands. 

Oh God...the chair was so soft. It cradled her bum almost lasciviously. It's tall, spreading fan of a back beckoned like a lover's arms. And her life had seemed so narrow and spiky for so long, in every direction she turned, the comfort surprised her by nearly doing her in.

She slid a tentative inch backward as Lord Lavay lowered himself into the chair opposite her, slowly. 

He's in Sussex recovering from an attack, she'd been told. 

She began to think it was an attack of apoplexy.

She could see their two faces reflected in the polished wood of the table. His clean-hewn as wood itself. Hers small and white, looking a little too insignificant.

“Splendid. We have established you do indeed know how to sit. A very good thing, as I do not tolerate liars.” He smiled again faintly here, which she supposed was meant to soften that little thrown-down gauntlet of a statement. 

She offered a tight little smile of her own. Demonstrating my ability to smile. 

“What do you believe are your qualifications, Mrs. Fountain?”

What an interesting way to put it. As if he alone would judge whether she possessed any qualifications at all. 

“I have been trained—” She was shocked to hear her voice emerge as a reedy croak, probably due to the thin atmosphere his lofty presence created. She cleared her throat. “I have been trained in the managing of a fine residence, including adhering to budgets to deciding upon household purchases to preparing pastries and remedies and simples, to hiring and discharging—” 

“Where?”

She blinked. “I'm sor...?”

“The residence,” he articulated slowly. “Where was this, as you say, fine residence?”

She'd been with the man for fewer than five minutes and she wanted to kick him. 

“Northumberland.”

“For whom did you manage this residence?”

She hesitated. Her heart ratcheted in speed. 

“The home belongs to my parents. I was raised and educated there.”

She did not say she was no longer welcome in it. 

If he wanted the whole story, he was going to need to drag it from her one question at a time. 

His gaze was so intense it was as though he held the tips of two lit cheroots to her skin.

Perhaps he already knew, despite what Mrs. Winthrop had said?. Sometimes it felt as though the entire world knew. 

But surely she wasn't as important as all that? 

And surely there were enough Redmonds and Everseas about to keep the scandal mill fed?

Her heart was thudding so hard it felt like someone was throwing angry kicks at her breastbone. 

She surrendered and slid those last few inches into the chair's embrace. Lavay's shoulders were vast beneath that sleek, flawlessly tailored coat. She wondered if any woman had ever taken comfort there. Or perhaps the sole point of his existence was to make women feel awed and insignificant.
“And why do you now seek employment as a housekeeper for a fine residence?” 

She hesitated. At least she now knew a good use for that word she loathed. 

“My circumstances have since changed.”

His brows flicked upward in apparent surprise. 

Since she was now convinced this would be the last time she ever saw him, she was emboldened to stare back, which wasn't easy to do, because he somehow managed to be both exhilarating and terrifying. His eyes were an unusual color, russet and gold, a bit like brandy shot through with sunlight. She wondered if they brightened when he laughed. 

If he laughed. 

Faint mauve shadows curved beneath his eyes; his skin seemed stretched with fatigue. What appeared to be a new scar, faintly pink and narrow as a knife tip, scored his cheekbone for about two inches. How that must have hurt, she thought. Though didn't really mar his looks. It was more like an underscore: This man is beautiful and dangerous.

She suspected she now understood what “attack” meant now. Something like sympathy surged through her. There was, of course, always the possibility he'd been attacked by the last housekeeper for being insufferable. 

In the silence a log tumbled from its perch and the fire gave a vehement pop.

“Circumstances,” he said ironically at last, “have an unfortunate tendency to do that.” 

His mouth dented at the corner. If this was a smile, it hadn't reached his eyes. Irony seemed his native language.

She was stunned. 

She feared she stared at him dumbly in the silence that followed.

Which was so taut that when he gave his fingers a single drum on the table, she almost jumped. 

“The current staff is lazy and recalcitrant and I because I have had sent to me a few possessions I value, such as silver and porcelain, thievery is a concern. But then good servants are always difficult to come by, even for such a one as me. I have high expectations and low hopes of seeing them met. What qualifies you to command loyalty and efficiency from a staff, and makes you think you will be able to meet my expectations?”

The unspoken words being, “where others have departed sobbing.”

And 'Such a one,' was it? Surely the world could not withstand another such man. 

She drew in a long breath.

“I've taught classrooms full of unruly children possessed of a variety of natures, and I know how to make them listen and learn and like it. I understand the concerns and politics of household staff and am prepared to address and manage them. I have experienced a number of, shall we say, economic conditions, and can adjust to any of them. I am scrupulously organized. All in all, I have a very good brain. And I am afraid of nothing.”

Except you. 

She'd just told a brazen lie to the man who claimed he would not tolerate them.

She suspected he looked at men just this way before he decided whether or not to run them through: It was sort of a mildly interested, fixed expression. She was not a woman to him; she was a problem to address, a code to decipher, a decision to coolly make. At one time her vanity may have been wounded. 

Now nothing else mattered apart from what Lord Lavay did next. 

“You may have the position on a trial basis for a fortnight, Mrs. Fountain.” He said it almost idly. “You will start immediately.”

She froze. 

And then an almost violent relief sent heat rushing into her face and blurred her vision. For a merciful second an infinitely safer, softer version of him swam before her eyes. 

He drew one of those crumpled-then-smoothed sheets of foolscap toward him and perused it. As if he'd already forgotten her.

She freed her hands from their demure knot and absently swiped her damp palms along her skirt before folding them again. 

She was proud that her voice was clear and steady. 

“Thank you. You shall not regret your decision, Lord Lavay.” 

“I seldom have cause to regret my decisions.” He said it coolly, almost absently, eyes on the correspondence, not on her. Indulging a serf just this once. “You may leave now, Miss Fountain.” 



As she departed she surreptitiously dragged her hand across the top of the chair as if it were an exotic pet. A thank-you for the comfort.










Tour Schedule

3/23—

Pretty Sassy Cool (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 1

Zili in the Sky (Review)

Wild Wordy Women (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 1

3/24—

SOS Aloha (Promo)

Book Flame (Excerpt) EXCERPT PART 1

Booklovers for Life (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 1

3/25—


Supernatural Snark (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART1

Paulette’s Papers (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 1

3/26—

Urban Girl Reader (Review, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 2

Eater of Books (Excerpt, already reviewed) EXCERPT PART 2


3/27—

Buried Under Romance (Review, promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 2

Cris Conquers (Review, Promo)


3/28—

Toot’s Book Reviews (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 2

Doing Some Reading (Review, promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 2

Ramblings from this Chick (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 2

3/29—

Defying Tradition (Review, promo)

The Lusty Literate (Review, promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 3

Romancing the Readers (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 3

3/30—

Snarky Mama Review, excerpt EXCERPT PART 3

Curling up with a Good Book (Promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 3

3/31—

Rambling Reads (Review)

4/1—

The Jeep Diva (Review, promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 3

4/2—

After Hours at Lily Bloom Books (Excerpt) EXCERPT PART 3

To Read or Not to Read (Excerpt) EXCERPT PART 3

That’s Normal (Review, promo)

4/3—


I Heart Romance (Review, promo, excerpt) EXCERPT PART 3

DanaSquare (Review)



Saturday, March 28, 2015

Owl Kids Book ARC Review Wild Ideas (Elin Kelsey)

Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your ThinkingHardcover, 32 pages
Expected publication: April 14th 2015 by Owlkids Books



From the creators of You Are Stardust comes a new informational picture book that brings the big ideas of their first book down to earth. Wild Ideaslooks deep into the forests, skies and oceans to explore how animals solve problems. Whether it’s weaving a safe place to rest and reflect, blowing a fine net of bubbles to trap fish, or leaping boldly into a new situation, the animals featured (including the orangutan, humpback whale and gibbon) can teach us a lot about creative problem solving tools and strategies.LikeYou Are Stardust, this book uses lyrical text grounded in current science alongside wonderfully detailed art to present problems as doorways to creative thinking. Wild Ideas encourages an inquiry-based approach to learning, inviting readers to indulge their sense of wonder and curiosity by observing the natural world, engaging with big ideas and asking questions. An author’s note at the end delves deeper into the research behind the text. 




Erin Kelsey, PhD, is an internationally respected spokesperson for hope and the environment as well as the acclaimed author of You Are Stardust and Not Your Typical Book about the Environment, among other award-winning books. She consults around the world on environmental projects and loves to explore nature with kids wherever she goes. She lives in Pacific Grove, California. 

Soyean Kim is a Toronto-based, Korean-born artist and art educator who specializes in work that merges real-world materials, fine sketching, and painting techniques to produce three-dimensional dioramas. Her previous children's books include Is This Panama? and You Are Stardust, for which she won the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award. 



Wild Ideas is a children's book about how animals face their problems and how they use their imagination to solve the problems. Wild Ideas is full of beautiful, bright colored illustrations and the illustrator uses real items to create the background of the story. 

The story teaches children to really think about problems and helps them to think of ways to resolve the problem. 

"Step outside. 
LOOK.
 If squirrels can learn to cross roads by watching people, what can you learn by watching squirrels?"

Wild Ideas introduces all kinds of animals and their behaviors to children. It also shows how intelligent animals really are and how they survive and adapt to their surroundings. It also expresses how animals need family and friends just like humans do and that they recognize and care for their parents. 

Another huge part of this story is the use of imagination. The author really shows how the animals use their imagination when faced with a problem and how it helps them to resolve the problem they were facing. I really enjoyed Wild Ideas and I think it will grab and hold the attention of small children well. 





**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**

**I want to say Thank You to So Cal Public Relations/Owl Kids Books for the opportunity to review this book!!**




Friday, March 27, 2015

ARC Review: A Work of Art (Melody Maysonet)

A Work of ArtHardcover, 240 pages
Published: March 18th 2015 
Publisher: Merit Press
Author: Melody Maysonet

Shy, artistic Tera can't wait to attend a prestigious art school in France to prove to her famous artist father that she can make something of herself. But Tera's hopes for the future explode when the police arrest her dad for an unspeakable crime. Her father's arrest must be a mistake, so Tera goes into action, sacrificing her future at art school to pay for his defense. Meanwhile, she falls head over heels for Joey, a rebel musician who makes her feel wanted and asks no questions about her past. Joey helps Tera forget her troubles, but he brings a whole new set of problems to Tera's already complicated life. Then, to make matters worse, as her relationship with Joey deepens and as her dad's hotshot lawyer builds a defense, fractures begin to appear in Tera's childhood memories--fractures that make her wonder: could her father be guilty? And whether he's guilty or innocent, can she find a way to step out of the shadows of her father's reputation and walk free? Can she stop him, guilty or innocent, from tainting the only future she ever wanted? "A Work of Art" is a deeply felt story about self-image, self-deception, and the terrible moment that comes when we have to face the whole truth about the myths of our childhoods. 




Melody Maysonet
Melody Maysonet was born in Alaska but grew up in Illinois. After many years as a starving college student (an ordeal she survived by playing marathon sessions of Dungeons & Dragons), Melody taught English at a community college before moving to Seattle, where (as Melody Alder) she became editor and columnist for Wizards of the Coast’s The Duelist magazine. Then it was off to South Florida, where she edited, researched, and wrote historical coffee-table books. Currently, Melody is a volunteer teacher at an outreach homeless shelter, but she devotes most of her time to writing fiction for young adults. She lives in Coconut Creek, Florida, with her husband and son. Her debut novel, A WORK OF ART (Merit Press) is due out in March 2015.




"Painting my dad was all about mood. Saturated blue for the sharp odor of paint. Muddy green for the faint whiff of mildew. Murky gray for the stink of ashes. A sparse room, textured like white noise, with crooked lines and lots of obtuse angles. Then in the center, the stretched shadow of a man. That was my dad."

A Work of Art by Melody Maysonet is a deep and riveting psychological  thriller that delves into the dark secrets of Tera Waters life and her family......Tera is an up and coming artist who is about to graduate high school and has won a scholarship to attend a prestige art school in France. Her entire life her father has trained her to be an artist and she has become very talented and gifted as an artist. 

Tera's father has been her sole parent for as long as she can remember. Her mother has depression and has been on medication for years. She lives in the same home as Tera and her father but is basically absent from Tera's life. Tera's father has raised and provided for her since she was born and in return Tera adores her father and struggles daily to obtain his approval and attention. 

One afternoon while they are home the police arrive at their house and arrest Tera's father. They have accused him of an unspeakable crime and Tera is in shock. Tera refuses to believe her father's guilt and decides to cash in her money that she has saved to go to college and bail her father out. Tera is determined to hire a lawyer and prove her father's innocence. 

"Fact One: The judge was not letting my Dad out on bail. 
Fact Two: Mom was useless--more than useless, since she was basically fighting for the other side.
Fact Three: Chase Hardy had no interest in getting to the truth. He wasn't going to fight for my Dad.
and Fact Four: If I paid for a lawyer, I wouldn't have enough money for an apartment in France. Maybe not even enough for a plane ticket."

I opened A Work of Art and had intentions of reading a few pages before I went to bed....I ended up reading the entire book in one sitting. I was mesmerized by the style of writing and how full of emotion this book was. A Work of Art is a debut novel that is edgy and REAL. This story deals with real life issues and how a person's choices can affect everyone around them and how a person can overcome these choices and change their life for the better. Tera Waters is a teenager making all the wrong choices for all the wrong reasons. The reader gets to see how and why Tera makes the choices she does. She chooses to date an horrible guy and the only reason she does it is to try and take her mind off her issues revolving around her Dad. 

A Work of Art is full of tough, hard subject matter that some people may have a hard time reading about...There are some truly disturbing events that occur in this book and at times I just found myself stunned....and yet I had to read on. I had to find out what happened and how the characters involved coped with the results. This is truly a phenomenal, intense book and I am really looking forward to reading more from Melody Maysonet in the future.....






There was a specific quote in this book that really hit home with me...It described perfectly how I feel when I enter a library filled with wonderful books....so I just wanted to share it:

"As soon as I stepped into the library, a peaceful quiet surrounded me. I stood in the doorway  for a few seconds, listening to the hum of silence, breathing in the smell of books, wishing I could hide among the tall shelves for the rest of the day...."




**The quotes from this book have been taken from an Advanced Reading Copy and are subject to change when the final book is printed. Please refer to the final, finished copy for exact quotes!**






**I want to say Thank You to Merit Press & SoCal Public Relations for the opportunity to review this book!!**
















YA Bound Blog Tour, Excerpt, & Giveaway: Shh! (Stacey Nash)



Shh! (Oxley College #1)
by Stacey Nash
Release Date: 02/23/15
Add to Goodreads
Nineteen-year-old Olivia Dean has the perfect reputation, the perfect boyfriend, and an increasingly perfect CV. She has it all, until Christian breaks up with her in public, calling her out as a self-gratifying sexoholic: the kind that plays solo. But Olivia doesn’t masturbate all night — the only thing she does is sleep … right?
Now all the boys on campus seem to want her attention for the absolutely wrong reason — including resident hottie, Logan Hays. He's pulling out his best moves to gain her attention, so resisting his sexy charm is hard work. With rapidly slipping grades, a disturbingly lurid reputation and demanding parents, Olivia must discover the truth behind her rumoured sleeping problem. If she doesn't, the perfect life she's worked so hard for may slip away, including the one person who has Olivia breaking all her rules — Logan.
What do you do when you’re asleep?

Buy Links:


Stacey Nash writes adventure filled stories for Young Adults in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres. She loves to read and write books that have a lot of adventure, a good dose of danger, a smattering of romance, and KISSING! Hailing from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, she loves nothing more than immersing herself in the beauty and culture of the local area.
She also loves to blog is a co-founder and a contributor at Aussie Owned and Read, a blog designed for readers and writers of young adult and new adult fiction.
Her debut novel Forget Me Not released with HarperCollins Impulse in 2014 and was soon followed by the sequel, Remember Me. 2015 brings an Aussie set New Adult romance, the Oxley College Saga; Shh! and Wait!

Author Links:



Book Tour Organized by: