The Dream Catcher by Anya Monroe Release Day + Giveaway

The Dream Catcher

by Anya Monroe 

Release Date: 02/19/15

300 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

***Paddle boards, bonfires & bikinis won’t help Penny. She craves the boy from the woods; not knowing she’s already caught in his nightmare. ***

Penny’s nightmare is ruling her life and she doesn’t know why. It started a few months ago, and since then Red Bulls, 5-hour Energy Shots, and Starbucks drive-thru are her lifeline.

When Penny’s parents decide to take their research of a rare Native American cult to a remote cabin for the summer, she's less than enthused.

Then Penny meets Delsin in a clearing in the woods, and her view of the world awakens. Apathy defines her, but Delsin lives life to it’s fullest. A shaman-in-training, he is everything Penny is not.

Each morning she comes to the woods, handing pieces of her heart to him, but when Penny is confronted with her worst nightmare, Delsin asks for a sacrifice Penny didn’t see coming.

Excerpt:   

“Listen, Penny. I know we are different in many ways, but you have this gentleness about you, and I don’t see it in many people. Most of the girls I’ve known are so intense. You are different.”

“So you keep saying.” But I relaxed a bit with his confident words, knowing that he liked me, straight up. “I should probably get back. We’ve been gone for hours.” I thought about Ollie looking for me. I didn’t want him to find me here. I didn’t want to share this place with him. With anyone.

“I know. I don’t want you to get in trouble, on my account.” He stood and took my hand.

He climbed out of the cave quickly, and then gave me his hands to hold, pulling me out easily. His arms were strong and he helped me to my feet. Once again we were on top of the rock, looking out at the woods, breathing in the mid-day air. But Delsin’s eyes were looking above, into the sky, as if searching for something far from his reach, and he raised his hands, too. As if wanting a hand to part from the clouds, to reach out and take him away.

I didn’t stare. I let him have his moment, even though I didn’t understand it. And I looked out, straight ahead, over the trees.

I didn’t know what I was looking for.

“Listen, Penny. I know we are different in many ways, but

you have this gentleness about you,

and I don’t see it in many people. Most of the girls I’

ve known are so intense. You are different.”

“So you keep saying.”

B

ut I relaxed a bit with his confident words, knowing that he

liked me,

straight up. “I should probably get back. We’ve been gone fo

r hours.” I thought about Ollie

looking for me. I didn’t want him to find me here. I didn’

t want to share this place with him.

With anyone.

“I know. I don’t want you to get in trouble, on my account

.” He stood and took my hand.

He climbed out of the cave quickly, and then gave me his

hands to hold, pulling me out easily.

His arms were strong and he helped me to my feet. Once a

gain we were on top of the rock,

looking out at the woods, breathing in the mid-day air.

B

ut Delsin’s eyes were looking above,

into the sky, as if searching for something far from his r

each, and he raised his hands, too. As if

wanting a hand to part from the clouds, to reach out and t

ake him away.

I didn’t stare. I let him have his moment, even though I d

idn’t understand it. And I looked out,

straight ahead, over the trees.

I didn’t know what I was looking fo

Buy Links:

Amazon

About the Author
Anya Monroe likes to write stories and paint words on her walls. She believes in love at first sight and fights for happily-ever-afters. As a wife and mom to six kids, she carves out time to write between carpool pick-ups and date nights because words are her heartbeat. She lives a ferry ride from Seattle and is a total Pacific Northwesterner who drinks chai lattes and wears Birkenstocks and has dreadlocks. She's a cliché, but doesn't mind it. Not even a little.

She documents her lovely-messy life on IG @anyamonroe. Find her there!

Author Links:

  

GIVEAWAY:

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Book Blitz Organized by:

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepard Review

The Madmen's daughter circles around Juliet Monreau who lives in London, whose father was involved in some sort of scandal few years ago, when he left, and her mother has recently passed away so she's forced to take care for herself. She works as a cleaning lady, although before she's been rich and all of her friends are different from her. One day when she runs into Montgomery, who used to be part of their household staff and she has not seen him since her dad's disappearance. He tells her that her father is alive and they are working together on a remote island. Soon Juliets finds herself on this island and not everything is as it seems.

The book is fast-paced... sort of. When I picked up this book I was amazed by how fast it moved, but then I started to get disappointed. Every time something interesting is about to happen, it happens and then we're reading her confusion for a couple of pages. I closed my eyes for the first couple of times but it was a constant problem for me throughout the book.

Also the love triangle is weird. You've got Montgomery, who she knows for a very long time and then you've got Edward, who they find in the sea somewhere. It was pretty obvious who she liked more and just there was something about the triangle that spoke... boring. It's nowhere near as sophisticated as the one in Jennifer L. Armentrout's Dark Elements series. 

Nevertheless, the plot is gripping if you leave out the stretching. It is thought-out and there are quite a few questions asked like 'What makes us human?' or 'What makes you civilised' which is both connected to Juliet and the creatures living on the island. Her father pretty much thinks he's a god of the island and can do whatever he likes. There also quite a few twists I did no see coming. The writing is so beautiful and detailed. It really lets you enter this girl's head.

In short, The Madman's Daughter is a good book if you are looking for historical fiction/fantasy/drama and good writing. However, be warned about the weird pacing and strange love triangle.

                                    

                                      Rating: 3.5 Stars

The Last Protector by Stephanie Keyes (Book Blitz) + GIVEAWAY

The Last Protector

by Stephanie Keyes 

Release Date: 12/15/14

Inkspell Publishing

Summary from Goodreads:

Gabriel Stewart helped his best friend Kellen St. James save the world from The Scourge in the Battle of Dublin. But before that? Gabe was just an ordinary guy who kept having dreams about a little boy with black hair and green eyes—a boy he hadn’t even met yet.

And even weirder? Gabe’s mind kept replaying these images on loop of things he’d never seen. He heard voices in his head when no one was around. And he actually blew off hot Valerie Gibbons to chase after the black-haired kid in the park. What was up with that?

As Gabe searches for the truth, fate continually puts him in Kellen’s path, but will he be able to stop the Children of Danu from stealing Kellen before the battle begins? What will it take for Gabe to become The Last Protector?
*The Last Protector is a companion novella--intended to be read after the other books in the series.

Excerpt 

Creeping along, I slipped through the gates before they closed. The exterior lights shut off. The

glow from inside the mansion threw shadows across the courtyard, making everything around me

creepier. If that was even possible. At least these people hadn’t invested in motion lights. 

I needed to get to the window on the second floor. And how the heck did I know that? Like

everything else about this trip, I just did. A tall trellis swamped with vines ran up one side of the

house. That could be the ticket. I inched closer. 

I'd just about made it when a raspy voice reached my ears. 

"The boy is alone. You've done well by me.” 

Shivers ran up and down my arms as I swallowed and turned. No one. It must've come from

inside the house. Ahead, a small window, one of those decorative deals, stood open. Taking slow

steps, I moved toward it. 

"Thank you," said a second voice, crisp, sort of fancy…British, maybe? 

"We can take him now. Use his power to harness what I need,” Spooky Voice said. 

“As you wish."

Go, go, go. A voice or maybe my own thoughts echoed inside my brain. I didn’t have time to

think.

Go, go, go. The voice came back. I had to get to the second floor. Now.

The wood trellis scratched my hands when I grabbed hold. Splinters pierced my skin as I scaled

the wall. I had to get to the boy. 

"This is crazy, Gabe." I muttered the words. “This could actually be the stupidest thing you've

ever done."

I climbed to the window way faster than I thought I could. This one part of me wanted to glance

back, to see if Val noticed me. I ignored it though—I needed to get to the top.  To the kid with green eyes. 

Buy Links:

Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books

About the Author

Stephanie Keyes has been addicted to Fantasy since she discovered T.H. White as a child and started drumming up incredible journeys in her head. Today, she's still doing the same thing, except now she gets to share those ideas with readers!

When she's not writing, Stephanie is also a graphic designer, international speaker, teacher, musician, avid reader, and Mom to two little boys who constantly keep her on her toes. In addition, she's best friend to her incredible husband of eleven years.

Mrs. Keyes holds an undergraduate degree in Business and Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University and a M.Ed. from Duquesne University. She is a member of the Society For Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), as well as a featured author in the global group of writers, Love a Happy Ending.com.

Keyes is the author of the YA Fantasy series, The Star Child, which currently includes The Star Child, After Faerie, The Fallen Stars, and the soon to-be-released finale, The Star Catcher (November 2013), all from by Inkspell Publishing. Mrs. Keyes is hard at work on a new YA Paranormal Romance.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Tumblr│Pinterest

GIVEAWAY:

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Book Blitz Organized by:

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

Have you read "The 5th Wave" by Rick Yancey? If you haven't come back once you've read it.

If you haven't read "The Infinite Sea" yet the review will be spoiler-free.

I have been waiting for this book to come out for a long time. I read the prequel back in January I think and that cliffhanger just lurked me until I read this one.

I received this book on September 26th I started and finished it on the following day. It was so interesting and gripping that I couldn't put it down. It picks up where we left off and we get to see our favourite characters and we're introduced to some new ones.

Did I love this book? Not necessarily, but it was as good as I expected and I really enjoyed it. So many things happen and at the end you just don't know what and who to trust. The characters were just so realistic and relate-able. They were so believable and I just could help but love Cassie even more.

I also liked how it was thought-provoking, considering in this book happened a lot less things as opposed to the previous, 500-page book. The stakes got higher and things tighten even more and I felt I got more questions rather than answers but, hey, as long as there are answers in the next book I am okay.

My main problem was there wasn't enough of Cassie. She was there like half the book. There is a lot of action and plot twists. But the biggest one was not connected to Cassie but to Ringer. It is about the aliens and it's really mind-blowing. It just puts everything into question.

The characters develop but not as much as they did in the previous book. As I said there was, indeed, a lot of action but I felt something was missing. Maybe it's because the character's have changed enough in the prequel.

Also, there were lots of feels in this book. Like I was constantly nervous if someone will die. Rick somehow managed to emotionally drain me. Of course, this didn't stopped me from reading the book in less than six hours.

The writing was almost flawless. I could easily put myself into the character's shoes but sometimes I found some descriptions unnecessary. There is so much one can learn from this book. There are so many quotes and powerful messages.

Overall, it was a fast-paced book, filled with action and jaw-dropping twists. If you are like me and you liked the first book I can assure you won't be let down by this one and everything you know will be put into question.

                                    RATING: 94%

If you liked this review please share it, like it and/or subscribe to this blog! I really appreciate it. Thank you. :)

About the author:

Rick is a native Floridian and a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago. He earned a B.A. in English which he put to use as a field officer for the Internal Revenue Service. Inspired and encouraged by his wife, he decided his degree might also be useful in writing books and in 2004 he began writing full-time.

Since then he has launched two critically acclaimed series: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, for young readers, and The Highly Effective Detective, for adults. Both books are set in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Rick lived for ten years before returning to Florida.

The Whispers Of The Fallen by J.D. Netto + GIVEAWAY

Guess what time is it? It's REVIEW time. This time around, I am reviewing a book I have talked about in the last week - "The Whispers Of The Fallen" by J.D. Netto.

So, a little back-story: I received this book as a review copy Untreed Reads a while back. The moment I started this book, I didn't want to put it down.

To start off, you shouldn't know too much about the book before you start it. It will be more interesting to enter this alternative, fantasy world. The less you know, the better. All you need to know is what is written in the synopsis.

Ever since the dawn of days, rumors about the Diary of Lucifer echoed throughout Elysium. Hidden from all human knowledge, the Diary was kept a secret, locked away in the small village of Agalmath. Isaac and Demetre find themselves in a dangerous journey as they uncover the truth about the Diary and its guardians. However, for Isaac and Demetre, danger lies at every step, hidden in the most unexpected places. Hunted by the Nephilins and the Fallen Stars, they must find others who will join them in the battle against the coming darkness. Thus begins The Whispers of the Fallen, a new series of epic fantasy for readers of all ages.

I do not even know where to start. The book is astounding. The plot so well thought-out and you can easily see that starting with the characters. There is NOT a single character that is not necessary for the story. Everyone has a purpose to serve. That is what I really appreciate because in other books you get too many excess ones who just bore you to death. The story-line was straight with many, unexpected twists and turns and makes your jaw hit the floor. And don't think things come down until the end because this book finishes on a huge cliffhanger that will leave you craving for the next book.

As I said every character is there to serve his/hers purpose. The main one - Isaac is just so easy to relate to. You feel the same things he is feeling. For instance, he is so confused at the beginning and that confusion is shared by the reader too. This is what really one of the many things the book shines with.

Another thing that I noticed are the descriptions and setting. They are just such a perfect match. Whenever you read a description it is short, exact and easily-imaginable. It just makes it effortless to envision what is going in the scene. This is what is also a plus point of the book.

And let's get to the pacing. I am not going to lie, this book is really fast-paced. This is not an exaggeration of any kind. There is something that occurs on every, single page. Like, so many things happen until the end of the book so that you almost forget what had happened at the beginning. For some people this might be a bummer, but personally for me, it is a really good thing. 

One thing I did found a little strange was the dialogue. It is not bad by no means but the thing that was weird was it was formal. The characters just use complex words and sentences 99% of the time. It is really what the book stands out with. 

In addition, the thing I least expected happened around the middle. The point of view changed into the villain's one. It so rare to see what is going inside the evil guy's head. It was really intriguing to see that on the page.

Funny story: I was on the subway, travelling to my German course and I was reading the book. At some point I heard a name of a station that is 5 stops away from the one I had to get down off. On the good side of things I had doubled the reading time of the bad. On the bad one - I was late for the course but it's good they were still checking the homework(which I had done) so I hadn't missed much.

To conclude, "The Whispers Of The Fallen" is an astonishing, fast-paced, gripping read which will keep you on the edge of your seat. It is the perfect match between action, mystery and fantasy. The writing is so good that it will not allow you to stop reading until you have reached the last page.

                                                           My Rating:

                                    5 out of 5 stars

Also a bit about the author:

J.D.Netto (Jorge de Oliveira Netto) is brazilian-born. Raised in Framingham, MA, J.D.Netto always had an eye for epic fantasy and story-telling. At an early age, he had the habit of locking himself in his room, turning on any soundtrack he could find, and there he would write for hours.During his senior year in High School, J.D.Netto had an idea that changed his life, 'What if Lucifer had a Diary? What if the Diary was a secret? What if the secret was a reality?' These simple questions led him to write for six consecutive years, researching, perfecting his craft, and creating the world of Elysium. All the promotional visuals for the series were designed by J.D.Netto, proving that he is not only a writer, but an innovative visual designer.

Make sure to let me know if you have read the book or if you like my review in the comment section down below. Also If you like my blog please subscribe to it, I really appreciate it.


Also, I am hosting a giveaway of two e-book copies of the book.

Enter here:

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This giveaway is international. Two winners will be chosen and receive a digital copy of the book. Winners have 48 hours to answer the email I will send them. If they don't, another winner will be chosen. All the winners are chosen by random.