Splash into Summer Giveaway Hop

splash into summer

Welcome to Splash into Summer Giveaway Hop, hosted by BookHounds.

In this giveaway, I am giving you a chance to win a book of your choice worth 16$ or less, from The Book Depository.

The giveaway is international as long as TBD ships to your country.

After you enter this giveaway, don’t forget to visit other blogs for more giveaways.

 

You can enter here:

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DISCLAIMER:

  • This giveaway is international as long as The Book Depository ships to your country.
  • You must be 18+ old to enter or have your parent’s permission to enter (because I’ll need to ask you to give me your adress so I could send the book to you).
  • I am not responsible for the shipment, but am responsible to order a book on time (The Book Depository is responsible to deliver you a book on time and in a good condition).
  • Once chosen, winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to reply, otherwise another person will be chosen as a winner
  • NO CHEATING! Cheaters will be disqualified

Good Luck! :)

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Cover Reveal: Breakfast at Poldark’s by Samantha Tonge

Today is the day when Samantha Tonge’s new book cover has been revealed.

I am a bit late to the party but I wanted to share the cover with you anyway.

In my personal opinion, this cover is just too cute and full of positive vibes.

What do you think?

Here is the cover:

Breakfast at Poldarks_FINAL (3)

Synopsis: 

DREAMING OF THE PERFECT MAN?

Kate Golightly needs to move forward and what better way to do that then with a trip to the Cornish coast with best friend and boss, Izzy.

The sea wind is just what Kate needs to finally relax and begin to let go of her past. Except she’s suddenly got one big reason to panic! She RSVP’d ‘yes’ to the Queen Bee of her high school’s wedding saying she’s bringing her boyfriend (she doesn’t have one) who looks just like Ross Poldark!

With only two weeks to find the Poldark look-alike of her dreams Kate is under a lot of pressure for the Cornish coast to deliver…

A hilarious and moving romantic novel from bestselling author, Samantha Tonge. A must-read this summer!

Goodreads * Amazon UK * Amazon US

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About Samantha Tonge:

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Samantha lives in Cheshire with her lovely family and a cat that thinks it’s a dog. Along with writing, her days are spent cycling, willing cakes to rise and avoiding housework. A love of fiction developed as a child, when she was known for reading Enid Blyton books in the bath. A desire to write bubbled away in the background whilst she pursued other careers, including a fun stint working at Disneyland Paris. Formally trained as a linguist, Samantha now likes nothing more than holing herself up in the spare room, in front of the keyboard. She has sold over 80 stories to women’s magazines. Her bestselling debut novel, “Doubting Abbey”, from CarinaUK HarperCollins, was shortlisted for the Festival of Romantic Fiction best Ebook award in 2014. Game of Scones won the 2015 Love Stories Awards Best Romantic Ebook category.

Facebook * Twitter * Website

Mirror Image: Book Blitz + Giveaway

Mirror Image
Michele Pariza Wacek
Publication date: May 27th 2016
Genres: Adult, Psychological Thriller, Suspense

Which would be worse, knowing that your dead sister has come back to life and is now a serial killer or that someone else is the killer….and that person is you?

Six months after Linda’s sister Elizabeth killed herself, Linda has finally gotten her life back to some semblance of normalcy. Until a killer appears who is stalking men … a killer who resembles Elizabeth … a killer who seems somehow familiar to Linda.

And, to make matters worse, Steve, her old high school crush and now a detective, is assigned to this case. He’s asking Linda all sorts of questions, questions Linda couldn’t possibly have an answer to.

There’s no reason for him to be investigating Linda. She couldn’t possibly have anything to do with this.

Could she?

Goodreads / Amazon

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Excerpt:

hen Elizabeth was born, her mother knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the hospital had made a mistake.

It had been a difficult pregnancy. Marie spent most of it in bed, nauseated, uncomfortable, exhausted. She barely kept anything down, subsisting mostly on tea and saltine crackers. When the time came to deliver, the doctors performed an emergency Caesarean section, so she wasn’t able to actually watch the birth.

She couldn’t explain it, but the first time the nurses presented her with Elizabeth, she refused to even hold the baby. “There must be some mistake,” she insisted.

“There’s no mistake,” the nurses said, their approach firm and no-nonsense.

Blond and pale, Elizabeth looked nothing like the other dark haired members of the family. But it was more than that. Elizabeth felt wrong. Marie sensed it every single time she looked at Elizabeth, touched Elizabeth, smelled Elizabeth. The baby was alien to her. Elizabeth was not her baby.

But she could do nothing about it. Her husband hadn’t seen the birth. He had refused to attend any of his children’s births. The nurses kept assuring her that no one had made, could possibly have made, a mistake. So Marie had little choice but to bring her home.

Elizabeth was different, always — strange. Marie hated to use that word about any of her children, especially her youngest, but she could find no other word to describe her. Elizabeth was strange. Period.

From birth, the baby kept quiet. Rarely fussed. Hardly cried. She started talking at six months, much earlier than the rest of her children, and started forming full sentences at just over a year old.

She spent most of her time alone or, once she learned how, reading. In fact, Elizabeth remained such a quiet child, Marie could easily forget about her. It made her nervous. Elizabeth was too quiet.

Even her scent was all wrong. Babies smelled warm and sweet, of milk and talcum powder. Elizabeth’s scent reminded her of meat just beginning to
spoil: thick and rotten.

But there was something else wrong with Elizabeth, something more serious than her near silence, her behavior, her scent. Even more serious than that alien feeling, which Marie had tried to dismiss as simple post-partum depression, although it never did go away entirely.

When Marie was really being honest with herself, which didn’t happen often, she could admit what really disturbed her most about her daughter.

Her eyes. Elizabeth had silver eyes.

Not always. Most of the time they looked gray. But sometimes, they changed to silver. Occasionally, Marie even thought she could see them glowing, like a cat’s. Especially at night. There Elizabeth would be, lying on her back, perfectly quiet in her crib, her eyes strangely open, shining faintly in the darkness. Marie would tell herself that Elizabeth’s eyes merely reflected the nightlight in a bizarre fashion. After all, none of her other children’s eyes ever glowed. But it still didn’t make her any easier to face, late at night, as silver eyes stared at her from the darkness. They seemed so old, so ancient. Eyes that had seen thousands of years and hundreds of lifetimes. Those eyes peered out from her newborn’s face, watching her every move, strangely calculating, full of adult understanding and knowledge. She felt afraid, if she were being honest … all alone in the room with those peculiar silver eyes watching, watching, always watching.

Nonsense, she reassured herself. Surely, she could not be afraid of her own infant daughter! What would her husband say? Plenty probably, and most of it with his fists.

Still, she found herself checking on Elizabeth less and less. She argued with herself: Elizabeth didn’t fuss much anyway. Marie didn’t need to check on her so often — not like she did with her other, noisy, “normal” babies.

Her other children. Such a joy they were, her four boys and other girl — Peter, Mark, Mike, Chad and Linda. All healthy, regular children, with coarse dark hair, brown eyes and a little bit of baby fat on their bones. They looked the way children should look, the way her children should look, like their parents. But more importantly, they acted the way children should act — loud, boisterous, rough, needy. Marie loved them for it, loved how she couldn’t get a moment’s peace when they played together. Even when their play turned to fighting, she still preferred it to Elizabeth’s silent, eerie presence.

But Marie loved Elizabeth, too. Loved her fiercely, with the same passion she felt for her other children. Marie knew she did. She told herself she did, time and time again. The fact that she felt relief when Elizabeth wasn’t around meant nothing. She just needed time away from her children, after all. Almost all mothers welcomed the time they had away from their constant, children-related responsibilities. It didn’t mean she loved them any less. It didn’t mean anything at all.

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Author Bio:

When Michele was 3 years old, she taught herself to read because she wanted to write stories so badly.

As you can imagine, writing has been a driving passion throughout her life. She became a professional copywriter (which is writing promotional materials for businesses), which led to her founding a copywriting and marketing company that serves clients all over the world.

Along with being a copywriter, she also writes novels (in fact, she just published her first novel, a psychological thriller/suspense/mystery called “The Stolen Twin” and her second novel “Mirror Image'” is set to be published in May 2016) plus, she is also the author of the “Love-Based Copy” books, which are a part of the “Love-Based Business” series and cover both business and personal development.

She holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and her border collie Nick and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Giveaway (INTL):

stolen twin

  • Signed copy of Michele’s first book, The Stolen Twin, + a $10 Amazon gift card
  • ends June 2nd

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Waiting on Wendesday (#10): Arrowood by Laura McHugh

wow

Waiting on Wendesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights upcoming releases we can’t wait to read.

This week I am eagerly anticipating:

arrowood

Arrowood by Laura McHugh

Publisher: Penguin Random House Cornerstone

Publication Date: August 11th, 2016

Summary:

Arrowood is the most ornate and beautiful of the grand historical houses that line the Mississippi river in southern Iowa where the days are long and humid and communities are small and closed. It has its own secrets and ghostly presence: it’s where two small twin girls were abducted ten years previously – never to be seen again. Now, Arden has inherited Arrowood, and she returns to her childhood home determined to establish what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close – and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined. Family lies, buried secrets and a terrifying truth lie at the heart of this brilliant and haunting crime novel.

Why am I waiting?

Ever since I found out about this novel, I can’t get it out of my head.
There’s something about this book that is screaming at me that it is a book for me. I can’t even describe it.

The synopsis are really interesting and intense, plus the cover gives me creeps, in a good way.

All in all, I have a strong feeling this book will be everything I want from it and more, and I can’t wait to read it and see if my feeling is right.

Author Website * Amazon UK * Amazon US * Goodreads * The Book Depository

Hot and Nerdy 2: Book Blitz + Giveaway

Hot & Nerdy 2
Shannyn Schroeder
Published by: Lyrical Press
Publication date: May 24th 2016
Genres: Adult, Contemporary

Adam, Hunter, and Free have a lot in common, like geeky passions and not exactly great track records when it comes to dating. But a New Year’s Eve bash will bring everything they’ve ever wanted–and so much more . . .

His Work Of Art

Adam Hayes has never met a girl like Reese. She’s sassy, smart, and loves talking comics, although he can’t see why she’d choose DC over Marvel. He’s thrilled to finally put his artistic chops to use in their upcoming comic project. But when the two combine forces, they churn out magic in more ways than they had planned . . .

His New Jam

There’s something unusual about the sarcastic percussionist Hunter Reed hired for his band. For one thing, she’s impervious to his advances. But when Hunter sees how passionate Sydney is behind the drums, he orchestrates a plan to find out if she kisses like she plays. What he doesn’t anticipate is falling so hard . . .

His Dream Role

Free Mitchell loves the theater. When he’s masquerading as Dr. Who or Sherlock Holmes, he feels he can escape his shy, dorky persona. But nothing’s prepared him to play boyfriend to a gorgeous girl like Samantha Wolf. The more time they spend together, the more they seem to be going off the script, and the hotter everything gets . . .

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / GooglePlay / iBooks / Kobo

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Excerpt:

Hunter walked into his bedroom and bounced on the bed, waking Sydney.

She grunted at him. “It’s Saturday. And we played a gig last night. I should get to sleep in.”

“You did sleep in. It’s almost noon.”

She rolled over. “I hate morning people.”

Hunter laughed. Then he leaned over and kissed his way up her spine. “I have to go to Comic Con. I promised Adam I’d help out today.”

“So go.”

“Don’t you want to come, too? Free and Sam will be here soon. We’re all driving together.”

She rolled over and opened one eye to look at him. “Comic Con?”

“Adam and Reese are selling their book. It’ll be fun.”

She sat up and opened both eyes. “What the hell are you wearing?”

He stood and straightened his jacket. He picked up the hat he’d left on the dresser and posed. “I’m Indiana Jones.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s Comic Con. Dressing up is half the fun.”

“I thought dressing up was Free’s thing.” She reached for the coffee he’d set on the nightstand for her.

“It is. Except for today. I think I look good.”

“Yeah, except you’re wearing a leather jacket. In August.”

“The convention center will be air-conditioned.”

The doorbell rang. Hunter pointed at her. “You coming?”

“Yeah, sure.”

He ran to let Free and Sam in. Free was wearing his god-awful Riddler costume. Of all the things Free owned, this was the one Hunter hated. “Really? You had to wear that?”

Sam stepped from behind Free. “What would go better with Batgirl?”

Hunter rolled his eyes. “You’re such nerds.”

“We’re nerds? You’re dressed up, too,” she said.

“First, I borrowed this costume from your boyfriend and his nerd closet. Second, Indiana Jones is cool.”

Free pointed at him. “He’s a college professor and an archaeologist. I think by definition, that’s nerdy.”

“Whatever.” Hunter turned and yelled toward the bedroom, “Are you ready, Syd?”

Sydney came around the corner a minute later, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. “What the hell?” She waved her pointer finger at them. “I am not dressing like that.”

Hunter shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

He drove to the convention center since his minivan was more comfortable for them all to fit. This weekend was a nice break and end to summer. School was starting for teachers in a week and he couldn’t wait. Free had started working for his dad as expected right after graduation. Adam was the only one still in the same place.

Hunter really hoped the convention would give Adam the kick start he needed for his career. One of Adam’s biggest problems was that he was too cautious. He overthought everything. Hunter had really thought that adding Reese to his life would make Adam a little more easygoing.

Once they got into the convention center, Free said, “Adam and Reese are in Artist Alley. I’ll come by in a while. We have a couple of panels we want to get in on.”

With a nod to Hunter and Sydney, he grabbed Samantha’s hand and pulled her through the crowd. When he was gone, Sydney said, “He really gets into this, doesn’t he?”

Hunter nodded. “It’s easy for him to pretend to be someone else.”

“I haven’t seen him in costumes much lately.”

Hunter pointed them in the direction of Adam and Reese. “That’s because Cary doesn’t need the distraction at the health club anymore. And Free has Samantha, so he doesn’t need to impress anyone else.”

When they walked down an aisle of Artist Alley, Hunter saw Adam and Reese sitting behind a table. He sighed. Holding Sydney’s hand, he said, “They really need our help.”

“What?”

“Nobody’s paying attention to them.”

Syd smiled. “Maybe they should’ve worn a costume.”

Hunter stopped in front of the table. “How do you expect to sell anything sitting there like that? Where are your book things?”

“Dude, we tried talking to people. You have any idea how exhausting it is to try to grab someone’s attention?”

“Yeah, yeah. Gimme some books.”

Adam came around the table with an armful of the sample booklets they’d printed and stapled. “I’ll come with you. Sydney will stay with Reese, right?”

Syd rolled her eyes but nodded. She and Reese weren’t exactly friends, but they got along. As he and Adam stepped away from the table, Hunter heard Syd telling Reese about Free and Sam and the costumes. The girls’ laughter followed them down the aisle.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“I told you I would be.”

“I know you’re busy getting ready for the school year. It’s cool that you made time for this. And convinced Sydney to come.” Adam blew out a breath.

Hunter took a moment to smile at a couple of women dressed as aliens and offer them a booklet. They each took one.

“It’s been a crazy couple of days,” Adam continued. “Reese and I split up yesterday to sit in on some workshops and I did pitch sessions.”

“Any luck?”

“Yeah, but that’s part of the problem. I think Reese and I went into this with different expectations. Or at least we have different ones now.”

“How do you mean?” Hunter paused again beside a group of women. “Excuse me. My artist friend here and his girlfriend wrote a really kick-ass comic. Here’s a sample.”

At first they looked startled that Hunter had interrupted them, but then they relaxed and each took a book. When he resumed walking beside Adam, he said, “And that, son, is how it’s done.”

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Author Bio:

Shannyn Schroeder is the author of the O’Leary series, contemporary romances centered around a large Irish-American family in Chicago and the Hot & Nerdy series about 3 nerdy friends finding love. Her new series (For Your Love) will release this summer with the first title Under Your Skin. When she’s not wrangling her three kids or writing, she watches a ton of TV and loves to bake cookies.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

 

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Giveway (US and INTL):

  • 2 print copies of the first Hot & Nerdy anthology (US only)
  • 1 digital copy of the Hot & Nerdy 2 anthology (INTL)

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Movie Monday: How To Be Single and Emelie

Movie Monday is a weekly feature here on my blog, in which I’m rambling about movies I’ve watched lately.

This week I watched two movies. One of them was based on a nove, and the second one was a horror.

 

How To Be Single

how to be single

This is a typical girly rom-com, and I had so much fun watching it.

It follows four single girls and one single guy, living in New York City and basically, living their single lives, partying and searching for that other one.

I had no idea what to expect from this film. I knew it was based on a chick-lit novel (the one I haven’t read but wouldn’t mind to do so) and that it was a hit when it was in movie theaters, at least in my country.

This movie is just perfect to watch when you’re on your own, in a mood for something similar to Valentine’s Day and Happy New Year.

Some characters in this story were pretty amazing, especially one side character who’s name I forgot, but he’s the guy who fell in love with the doctor.

I think actors did a pretty good job playing their parts and honestly, I feel like I  need more movies like this in my life. If you know any similar ones, please let me know. I would appreciate it very much.

 

Emelie

emelie

This is a horror movie that follows a girl who comes to babysit three children for one night, while their parents are on a date.

As soon as parents leave the house, the new nanny, Emelie, starts to behave strangely and it is questionable that she is a nanny after all.

To be honest, I didn’t even have high expectations for this movie.
However, I also didn’t expect for it to be so… in the lack of better words… stupid and full of flaws.

There were times in this story where the problem could have been solved easily, but of course, that didn’t happened.

I don’t want to say that I feel like I have wasted my time on this movie, because I don’t feel like that. I don’t feel sorry for watching it because I was curious about it.
Still, I know I’m not going to recomment it to anyone. Ever.

 

Note: Pictures in this post are not my property but taken from IMDb site and are property of Warner Bros. Pictures  and Dark Sky Films.

The Sleeping Tom: Book Blitz + Giveaway

Sleeping Tom
E.V. Fairfall
(Sleeping Tom #1)
Publication date: February 14th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Hitchhiking is a bad idea but Caden is desperate.

When she accepts a ride from the first car to come by she meets Gabriel. He’s her age, hot, and the closest thing she has to a savior. Problem is, he is a total jerk. With nowhere to go, Caden convinces Gabriel to let her stay with him for one night. He reluctantly lends a couch.

That night Caden wakes up to strange noises. Concerned, she rushes into Gabriel’s room, already anticipating his bad temper. Instead, he’s kind, sweet, and suspiciously harmless—nothing like the man who gave her a ride. He seems like a different person altogether, and claims he is. By night he is Tom, and by day he is Gabriel. Caden finds herself drawn to the mysteries hidden in his eyes.

For Gabriel, Caden is an annoying mistake. One night turns into many, and despite all his anger towards her, she stays. She even seems to accept him and his flaws, but he still doesn’t trust her—is she staying for him, or has she already discovered more than he’s willing to share?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Book Depository

Grab yours today for only 99cents (for a limited time only)!
Stay tuned for Waking Gabriel‘s release in July!

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EXCERPT:

“Don’t go.”

He was creeping her out. She wanted to run and hide from him, but instead she held her ground and, as casually as she could, leaned into the doorframe. “It’s like three in the morning,” she reminded him, attempting a frown to hide her anxiety.

“Do you want to play a game?”

“What?” Caden asked, his voice once again making her unsure. A game? It sounded like something Sean would say. Caden shifted her weight, eyeing him warily. I can handle this. She let out a deep breath; if nothing else she could use this as an opportunity. Cleaning at three in the morning obviously hadn’t scored her enough Good Samaritan points.

“Sure… We can play a game.” She wondered if her hesitation would make him angry, like she had when they had been in the car that afternoon.
She looked around for a weapon, anything she could use to protect herself. As her eyes scanned the room each surface was bare, aside from the bulky old alarm clock on the nightstand.

“First, you have to turn off the lights.”

Caden’s hand shook. This didn’t feel right. “Okay,” She mumbled, attempting to seem unfazed, and she turned off the lights with a flick of her wrist. It took a few seconds for her eyes to readjust, and when they did she saw the boy leap back onto the bed, light and agile. She took an uneasy step back. Her chest constricted and her breath caught in her throat. Caden couldn’t deny being unsure of the situation, of this boy who somehow had to be the man she’d met earlier that day.

His head moved from side to side, watching her as intently as she watched him. “What do you want to play?” he asked.

Even then, with him in better visibility, Caden couldn’t tell if the boy was really Gabriel. It was the same voice she had heard earlier, but without the rough edge of his irritation it sounded much younger and innocent, like that of a child. “I don’t know…”

“Oh, come on, think of something,” he said.

When he didn’t move to grab her, she relaxed a little, her breath evening out once again. Caden could feel her confidence slowly building. Maybe he really just wants to play a game. “Aren’t you tired?”

The boy’s shoulders and head dropped. “So you don’t want to play,” he confirmed dejectedly. She watched as he turned around on the empty bed, to face the other wall.

Caden’s little sister Reese always used guilt to get what she wanted. She hadn’t known a guy her own age could make her feel just as guilty, if not worse. “No, no, I want to play. I do.” As long as you stay on that side of the room. Caden moved farther into the room but stayed a good six feet away.

“What game? What game?” He bounced on the bed in his sitting position.

“Do you have any cards?” She clutched the blanket tighter around her, but tried to keep her voice light and casual.

“Cards?” The boy, who no longer seemed like Gabriel at all, stuck out his tongue. “Dumb. Something else.”

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Author Bio:

The hunger is encompassing, so she feeds the beast books. But the hunger never settles… so she writes. E.V. Fairfall has an itch that drives her to the world of story telling. With several published short stories, and soon several books (fingers crossed), she explores the topics of humanity and hardship.

During the daylight hours, a book is always within reach. She spends her nights reading with her husband, surrounded by towers of tomes and three furry children curled in close. If she isn’t reading, she is browsing bookstores or hiking, but always awaiting her next adventure.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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Giveaway (INTL)

  • A book of choice from The Book Depository, up to 15$
  • ends June 2nd

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Book Review: What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang

what's left of me

Title: What’s Left of Me
Series: The Hybrid Chronicles (#1)
Author: Kat Zhang
Publisher: Harper Collins
Date: August 13th, 2013
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Source: Purchased

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

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Review:

Imagine that you weren’t alone in your body.
Imagine there’s another soul, another person sharing it with you.

In this unique world Kat Zhang created, everybody comes to earth with two souls.
With time, one soul becomes dominant and the other disappears.

At least, that’s how it should be.
But even though the body she came with is now seventeen years old, and her sister Addie is the one having control over it, Eva never disappeard.
She still lives, but other people can’t see her.

Nobody but her sister knows it.
They are keeping their secret from the rest of the world because, otherwise, they would be in a serious danger.

Written in first person, narrated by Eva, the soul that shouldn’t exist anymore, What’s Left of Me is one intense read that kept me on the edge from the first to the very last page.

What I liked the most about this book is the idea of the world that was builted in it.
Two souls in one body and the government trying to suppress the natural evolution of humans, was interesting to read about.
And even though, in my opinion, in a war with evolution the evolution always win, I couldn’t help but be curious how the government would react to hybrids and even though I pretty much understood their reasons, I still wanted to read about them.

Unfortunatelly, in this book, the first in the series, I didn’t get many answers to my quasi questions.

Another thing that I kept thinking about is how it would be interesting to see what kind of religion those people in this world would have, if that aspect was explored.
I know this is not important at all because two souls in one body was justified with scientific reasons, but since I, personally, refer soul with faith, I couldn’t stop my thoughts that lead me to those questions…

The characters in this book were pretty likeable and interesting, but I can’t say that any of them made me want to know more about them.

This book, even though I say it is unique, still reminded me of The Host by Stephenie Meyer, so I think that fans of that book will probably enjoy reading this one too.

The book is the part of triology, but it ended with pretty opened end and I, personaly, could live without reading the rest of the series and be pretty satisfied.

In my mind, this could also be a standalone with an open end.
However, some people probably wouldn’t agree with me.
In the end, it is on the reader to make his decision after he finishes the ride that this novel gives.

4

Book Review: Truth Or Date by Portia Macintosh

truth or date

Title: Truth Or Date
Author: Portia Macintosh
Publisher: Carina
Date: April 11st, 2016
Pages: 243
Format: eARC
Source: from Publisher for a review

 

Synopsis (from Goodreads): 

Falling for the man of her dreams…

Ruby Wood is perfectly happy playing the dating game – until she has a red-hot dream about her very attractive flatmate, Nick. He might spend every day saving lives as a junior doctor, but he’s absolutely the last man on earth that fun-loving Ruby would ever date!

The solution? Focus on all of Nick’s bad points. And if that fails, up her dating antics and find herself a man! So what if she manages to make disapproving, goody two-shoes Nick jealous in the process…

Only, after a series of nightmare first dates, there’s still just one man on Ruby’s mind. Maybe it’s time to admit the truth and dare to ask Nick to be her next date?

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Review:

Ever since I’ve heard about this book I wanted to read it.
The cover is just adorable, it’s like it shines with positivity and the premise sounded like something I’d enjoy.

The best thing about this novel was the writing style it was wrtitten with.
Even though this was my first time reading Portia Macintosh’s work, the feeling I had while reading this book was like coming home, if you know what I mean.
It was like coming back to something familiar that makes you feel comfortable, if that makes sense.

I can’t say if maybe Macintosh’s voice sounded like the one from my favorite author Sophie Kinsella, or if it’s only me who find the similarity between the two.
No matter what the case is, the point I’m trying to make is that I liked it.

The story follows Ruby, a quirky 28 years old girl who works in a cafe shop.
She doesn’t take life too seriously and has no luck when it comes to guys. She does not give up, though. Going on dates reguraly is what she does. So what if most of them don’t end up too well? One day maybe her dream guy worth keeping will show up, right?

My relationship with Ruby was, in the lack of better words, pretty complicated.
At times I loved her, I liked how silly and funny she was. But at other times, I wanted to shake her. It didn’t help that I didn’t approve what she was trying to do (her main goal) and to be honest, I questioned her morality.

Her best friend Millsy was an interesting character and I liked him better then Ruby. Reading about them together was really fun, but when in the story came Ruby’s brother Woody, it was even better.

Nick was the guy I had a feeling we should all fall in love with.
And I did, for a second. I’m not gonna lie.
However, as the story progressed, that love faded and I ended up not liking him all that much anymore.

Nick’s girlfriend Gwen was my favorite character. I can even say I understood her at some point (when it comes to being annoyed by Ruby and her non-stop presence). I think every girlfriend who’s boyfriend had a roomate like Ruby would want to get rid of her.
I didn’t like how Heather’s character developed. It was like she suddenly lost a big precentage of her IQ level and I feel like the main thing about her personality was there just so we could start on hating her and maybe it was even there as an easier way for the author to make us root for Ruby and Nick.

I like how Ruby and Nick’s relationship developed from „not like“ to „more then like“ trough the story.
The end was a bit rushed.

Overall, a quick and funny read that is perfect for chick-lit lovers.

3,75

Forestium: Q&A with Christopher D. Morgan + Giveaway (Book Blitz)

Forestium
Christopher D. Morgan
(Portallas #1)
Publication date: February 28th 2016
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Joshua’s life is on the line, as he attempts to navigate through the magical world of Forestium to find the truth about his father. He and his companions will need to use all their cunning to stay alive and avoid the dark forces of the Goat. Will he find the magical orbs and open the Portallas, a magical gateway to other worlds, before he’s killed?

Joshua sets out to learn the truth about his father. Along the way, he finds friends, enemies, adventure, romance and himself.

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Q&A with Christopher D. Morgan:

When did you first discover your love for writing?
Actually, not until quite late in life. In fact, I was never very good at English when I was in school and writing was always a chore to be avoided at all costs. Being blessed with unintelligible handwriting wasn’t helpful either. Later in life, however, articulating myself through the written word became something I really started to enjoy.

Do you have a favourite place to write?
Not really, but it does have to be in a quiet environment. I’m very easily distracted. When I’m in the zone, I tend to quietly slip off to a cosy spot and get my nose down into the keyboard. I wrote Forestium: The Mirror Never Lies entirely from the family home. Often on the sofa, but sometimes on the bed or at the computer desk. I haven’t tried going to a writer’s retreat yet. Perhaps I’ll reserve that for a special occasion.

Do you have a writing routine or process that you adhere to?
Oh yes. Typically, I’ll kick off a chapter with brief one-liners that describe the events to come sequentially. There could be anywhere up to 50 or more of these for a given chapter. I do this to map out the scene or chapter and then convert each one in turn into a paragraph or two. This process is repeated until all the one-liners are gone. That’s actually the hardest part, I think. I’ll then scour what’s written repeatedly, fixing and adjusting. Of course, that last part is never truly finished – ever.

Where did you come up with the name Portallas?
Initially, it started quite literally from the word PORTAL. This quickly led to the word Portallas and the idea of having some sort of portal that would link worlds together. An interesting aside is that Portallas actually started out life as Portallus. Unfortunately, portallus.com was already taken, but portallas.com was still available, so a hasty name change took place. Despite the master plan I have in my mind, I wrote Forestium: The Mirror Never Lies deliberately to stand on its own merits as a standalone book.

Do you have a favourite amongst all your characters?
I have a real soft spot for Sarah, as do many others. She embodies many of the characteristics I’d wish for in my own daughter. She’s a strong, independent, resourceful and brilliant young woman – not to mention absolutely beautiful. Of course, she has her flaws. She tend to ramble on a bit (much to the annoyance of Andrew).

Do you have any advice for other aspiring authors?
I’m still learning as I go but there are some things that I can advise others that may wish to follow in the path: – Go for it. Really, just do it. You may be pleasantly surprised. Even if you fail, it’s better to have tried and failed than to wonder for the rest of your life whether you could have done it or not. – If you are going to publish a book on a budget, don’t scrimp on the editing or the book cover – at least, make those your primary focus. Everything else is expendable when push comes to shove. – Don’t get conned. Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done, as there will always be people looking to take advantage of someone with a need.

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Author Bio:

Christopher Morgan is an author, blogger, IT Manager, graphics artist, businessman, volunteer and family man living in Melbourne, Australia. Much of his time is spent volunteering for his local community. He creates visual learning resources for primary school children, which are marketed through his company Bounce Learning Kids. He is also involved in local civics and sits on various community & council committees.

Christopher was born in the UK and grew up in England’s South East. At age 20, he moved to The Netherlands, where he married Sandy, his wife of 28 years. Christopher quickly learned Dutch and the couple spent 8 years living in the far South of that country before they moved to Florida in 1996. After spending 7 years in Florida, Christopher and Sandy sold their home and spent the next 2 years backpacking around the world. Christopher has visited around 40 countries to date.

Whilst circumnavigating the globe, Christopher wrote extensively, churning out travel journals. He and Sandy settled back in the UK at the end of their world tour, where their two children were both born. In 2009, the family moved to Melbourne, Australia, where they now live.

FORESTIUM is Christopher’s debut novel and is the first in the PORTALLAS series.

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Giveaway:

  • you can win signed copy of Forestium

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