Saturday, February 15, 2014

Mainstream Mini Review: Girl of Nightmares

Girl of Nightmares (Anna, #2)
By Kendare Blake

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.
Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.


~ My Review ~

I have to say, it was much harder for me to get into the swing of things this time around. I guess I was hoping for more emphasis on Cas and Anna. (I seriously love the idea of their romance!) But, by the end I was satisfied, predominantly in a bittersweet way. I agree with Cas' decision and I kind of knew in the beginning it ultimately would end the way it did. However, I feel like 95% of this "book 2" was preparation for the conclusion. Which gave me a rushed feeling once I got closer to the end. I wouldn't go as far as to say the middle was fluff, but I definitely would have gotten on better with Girl of Nightmares if some parts were condensed and the end was expanded upon. Maybe I'm just sad there's no third installment, or that my sappy romantic hopes for Cas weren't realized. But, I love this author's down to earth style. Her characters are ones I will remember, for sure.


Friday, February 14, 2014

Marked Hearts: Celebrate Valentine's Day!

 
 Marked Hearts are 12 YA and NA authors coming together to celebrate Valentine's Day with stories of love. These are 12 separate stories centered around romance brought to you by some best selling authors: Brina Courtney, Sarah Ashley Jones, Magan Vernon, Dawn Pendalton, Amy Evans, Amber Garr, Morgan Black, Jo Briggs, Jessica Gibson, Tammy Blackwell, Sarah Makela and Michelle D. Argyle. So this Valentine's Day cuddle up with amazing book boyfriends for under a dollar.

 
Mallory and Luke have been joyously living out their happily ever after. With a baby on the way, they think nothing could ruin their happiness. When the baby's life is in danger, though, they've got a tough decision to make. This novella takes place after all three of the Broken Series books.

Layla Keyes is back in England. Much has changed in the five years since she moved to New York to pursue a modelling career - On the outside she appears independent, self-assured and enjoying running her own successful fashion label.
On the inside she is determined to take back what she lost five years ago when jealousy and misunderstandings allowed a so-called friend to manipulate and interfere in destroying her relationship with Evan Carter. Evan Carter has spent all that time pretending to not be affected by the loss of Layla from his life. A twist of fate brings the two back together as they are forced to share a few days alone. Can their love be rekindled despite the secrets they still have to confess to each other?  

Jase Donovan always knew exactly what to expect from college: frat parties, coeds, and a spot on one of the most prestigious basketball teams in the nation. It was the life he was destined for... until his sister became the Alpha Pack's Most Wanted. Now he's playing a dangerous game of espionage and subterfuge with the most powerful Shifters and Seers in the world, and if he loses, his life won't be the only one on the line.
Talley Matthews has always been able to look on the sunshine-and-rainbows side of life, but it's getting harder and harder every day with the knowledge that one friend is on the run and another is barely clinging to life. To complicate matters even more, after being pegged as an Alpha Pack Potential, she's having to fend off advances from Shifters who want to use her to gain a little power. The attention might be nice if her heart didn't already belong to someone else. In this companion to the best-selling Timber Wolves trilogy, readers will finally discover the path Jase and Talley took to discover their love for one another. Author's Note: All We See & Seem is a novella of 30,000 words.  

Wild For You is the fifth book in the Forever Wild Series. (This is a six part series with one book releasing every 3 weeks)
Things seem to be finally looking up for Valerie and Wes. Valerie finally left her job and started a new company with two of her closest work friends and if that wasn’t enough of a stress reliever, she finally decided to let her true feelings show for Wes. And when they’re reciprocated everything seems to be falling in place for the girl that once thought that she’d never get anything right.
But there are secrets that Wes has been keeping from her that involve her former friends with benefits, Max Green, and when they come to the surface it could put an end to Mr. and Mrs. Wild.

This is a two book bundle! Special Valentine's Day Price!
Promise Me This: Sarah Ashley Jones Welcome to the South - where the tea is sweet and the accents are sweeter. This Southern way of life is all Charlie has ever known. It’s not until she loses the only person who pushed her to break free of the Southern Belle mold that she starts living the life she needs and not the life her parents forced on her. Jhett has lived on the edge for as long as he could remember - constantly teetering back and forth between being a rock star and living a normal life. His rebellious and sometimes arrogant attitude is known to get him into trouble, especially with the girls who hang on his every move. Charlie never thought that a trip to pack up her brother’s apartment would leave her feeling even more unsettled about the grainy details of her brother’s death. Her quest for information leads her straight to his old hangout and into arms of Jhett, who suspiciously knows more about her situation than he ever should. Only a few questions remain - Can you trust someone based on their word alone? And if you make a promise, how far will you go to keep it? Stealing Promises: Brina Courtney Promises are made to be kept, never stolen. But that's exactly what happened to Victoria Blane and Levi Manor. Tragedy strikes their perfect relationship leaving Victoria struggling to overcome the darkness that threatens to bury her. Brighton Hanley knows what it's like to lose someone. He knows what it's like to be haunted by things that can never change. When he meets Victoria he recognizes the pain she's trying to bury deep in her eyes. He knows she's trying to hide, but he also knows that you can't hide forever. Victoria is drawn to Brighton in ways she never expected. But is she ready to let go of the past and grab on to her future? Or will she run away from Brighton before she can be hurt again?  

Kelley Carson is successful, beautiful, and celibate. But that last part certainly isn’t by choice. Seems every time Kelley meets someone who might be able to help her scratch her physical itch something always goes terribly wrong. Then she meets Lawson; a hot real estate attorney, who by the looks of him doesn’t have a problem getting ladies into bed, she desperately wants him to take her home. Will she make it through one date without totally screwing it up? Or will she go home alone again? This is Kelley’s first entry in her diary of her dating mishaps.

First love is the sweetest.... Jax and Jacey are everyone's favorite couple, even though they've barely kissed. In kindergarten, Jax pulled out a chair for Jacey and swept the play dough off so that she would sit down next to him and he's been carving out ways for them to stick together ever since. Though everyone in their conservative, small beach town sees them as a couple, they're not, exactly. Because while they both want more, they've agreed to wait. Jacey works hard, respects her elders and follows every spoken and silent rule about fitting in and doing the ‘right’ thing. She doesn't dare give the gossips more fodder from her family, so she's kept Jax firmly in the friendzone. It takes a hurricane for her to realize timing is everything, but months later she’s still too afraid to put her heart on the line and tell him how she feels. Then plans change – hers for summer and his for college, and Jacey needs to make the most of the time she and Jax have left, or stay stuck in the land of missed beginnings forever.

Lorelei Peters had everything she had ever dreamed of. Amazing friends, a sexy boyfriend, and a job that she absolutely loved. Dillon Brockwell was all she had ever wanted. Handsome, successful, and he loved her as much as she loved him. Life was going along the way it was supposed to, until someone from Dillon’s past shows up and shatters everything to pieces. Can Lorelei and Dillon get through all the craziness and make it down the aisle? Or will lies of omission be enough to derail them forever.  

THE WITCH WHO CRIED WOLF - A Cry Wolf Novella New Adult Paranormal Romance
Be careful what you wish for… A potion gone wrong: Mia Brooks is a reluctant witch, with powers that she tries to hold in check. But when her magic gets mixed up, supernatural forces are unleashed and suddenly she’s being pursued by werewolves—that she didn’t even realize existed… Hidden emotions: Ethan Parker, Mia’s brother’s best friend, is home from deployment for the holidays. Mia’s not only hiding from werewolves, she’s trying to keep her feelings for Ethan secret; it would be a disaster if he knew she’s been nursing a long-time crush… The power of love: things take a terrifying turn when Mia and Ethan are attacked by a werewolf. Ethan is amazed when Mia reveals her paranormal prowess as she tries to shield them from danger. But can she really protect them from the darkness that lurks? And how can he tell her that, for ages, he’s been denying what he really wants? Mia...  

Everyone has their demons.
Before Conner Hoffman began his new life free of collecting souls for his demon father, he spent centuries fighting against his true nature. As a cambion with a conscience, guilt plagued his mind, while the sweet taste of souls satisfied more than just his incubus cravings. A chance encounter with a beautiful harpy leads Conner down a road to his inevitable fate. Hunted for his unique heritage, he’s forced to embrace his demon side in order to defeat those determined to see him destroyed. With friends masquerading as enemies, trusting his instincts may mean sacrificing part of his humanity. And that’s the very last thing Conner Hoffman wants to do.  

**Catch is a novella. It should take most readers 1 or 2 hours to read.**
When eighteen-year-old Miranda chases a purse snatcher on the Las Vegas Strip, the last thing she expects is for the pursuit to turn into an extended game of hide-and-seek. All Miranda wants are the old black and white photographs buried at the bottom of her purse. They're the only things she has left of the grandmother she never knew. But how much is she willing to put on the line to save them? And is it possible she's falling in love with a thief?

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Dead Girl Walking Cover Reveal

Dead Girl Walking (Royal Reaper #1)
A YA, Paranormal Fantasy Series
By Ruth Silver


COMING Summer 2014
From Patchwork Press
(Cover Design By Erica Crouch)

In 1346, Princess Ophelia Dacre sneaks out of the castle to visit her boyfriend in secret. A perfect night cut short when she’s brutally murdered.

Ophelia is given the rare chance to become a grim reaper. She must become Leila Bele, cut ties with her old life, and follow the rules of the reapers. Her greatest adventure begins with death.


"The scroll chose you. For whatever reason, she's your reap."

"Well, that sucks." Leila chewed her bottom lip. "If I don't do it?"

Edon hesitated before he said, "Her soul will rot inside her body. Do you have any idea what that’s like? She'll be a living corpse, a shell of a person. She won't feel anything including love. We as reapers, the undead, feel more than she ever will alive."

Leila swallowed the lump in her throat. "How do you know that?"

"Because I've seen what it does to a person," Edon said. "That little girl deserves better."

Ruth Silver attended Northern Illinois University and graduated with a Bachelor's in Communication in the spring of 2005. While in college, she spent much of her free time writing with friends she met online and penning her first novel, Deuces are Wild, which she self-published in 2004. Her favorite class was Creative Writing senior year where she often handed in assignments longer than the professor required because she loved to write and always wanted to finish her stories. Her love of writing led her on an adventure in 2007 to Melbourne, Australia. Silver enjoys reading, photography, traveling and most of all writing. She loves dystopian and fantasy young adult stories. Her debut novel published by Lazy Day Publishing and Patchwork Press, ABERRANT, was released April 2013. The second novel in the series, MOIRAI, continues the saga. ISAURA, is the final installment in the ABERRANT trilogy. Ruth has been actively writing since she was a teenager. Her current writing projects include a YA science-fiction fantasy series, ORENDA, and a YA paranormal series, DEAD GIRL WALKING. Both novels are due for release in 2014. She currently resides in Plainfield, Illinois.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

BLOGGER ALERT: Grammarly SCAM



Hello All! Just wanted to pass along some important information. I received the following email from a Grammarly rep. back in November. The email weirded me out, and so I did not reply. There were two immediate red flags:

On Wed Nov 27 2013 11:57AM, Nikolas Baron <nbaron@grammarly.com> wrote:
Hi Jill,

I just stumbled across your review of “Freckles” (which is fantastic, by the way) and thought to myself, “What a perfect fit!” As a part of our Blogger Partnership Program, we’re currently looking to sponsor similar blog posts with an $20 Amazon gift card in exchange for a small text ad placement. 

In case you haven’t heard of us, Grammarly is an automated online proofreader that finds and explains pesky grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes that are bound to find their way into your writing. If you'd like to join our 3 million users and try the premium version of our proofreader for free, let me know and I'll make it happen!

Please send me the expected publishing date and topic of your next appropriate blog post (ideally something about books or writing) so I can give you the details you’ll need to participate. 

Cheers and a happy Thanksgiving,
Nick

P.S. Let me know if you ever find yourself in foggy San Francisco; I’d love to grab some coffee. :)

I have never written a review for Freckles. Not on Goodreads, Amazon or my blog. And to end your pitch with asking to grab coffee?! Yea, weird. Then I received a follow up email at the end of last month:

Hi Jill,

I just wanted to check in with you regarding my email about our Blogger Partnership Program from a few weeks ago. 

Are you interested in participating? If so, let me know when you were thinking of publishing your next post so I can send you all the details you need in time.

Cheers,

Nick

P.S. In addition to the blog sponsorship I mentioned, we offer all partner bloggers a free, no-signup, 30-day premium account on Grammarly

This is when I started doing a bit of research. This Grammarly "guy" is offering a $20 GC and free premium trial membership to the site. Seemed a bit much, for such a small mention in a post. I don't really want to get into a blogger ethics rant, but I will say I have never--and will never--accept money for any type of post. Just thinking about it gives me the wiggins. 
My search led me first to the actual Grammarly website (which seems to be a legitimate and widely used site) where the reviews and testimonials are glowing.
There are also several sites that have reviews and breakdowns about Grammarly (I would list them here, but honestly, you could type Grammarly Scam into Google and do just as well), where the reviews are much less glowing.
I ended up at Poisoned Rationality's blog post, from back in October 2013, where she discusses her encounter with what is now, positively a SCAM. 
So, I decided to agree to the Ad placement in order to see what the response, if any, would be. It took weeks, but "Nick" finally got back to me. 


Hi Jill,


I apologize for the delayed response. Here's what you need to do to get your gift card: 
  1. Paste the following text into the top of your next blog post: 
    "Use Grammarly's plagiarism checker online because [insert clever/funny reason here]." (e.g. "copy-cats are not nearly as cute as the original!")
  2. Publish the post on your blog and email me the link.
  3. We'll send you your $20 gift card via email within 72h. 
The best clever/funny reason for using Grammarly each month wins a $100 Amazon gift card!

Looking forward to your post.

Cheers,
Nick

It turns out that bloggers have been receiving these emails since last year, but not necessarily receiving their promised reward. I have run across a scarce few who, after hounding "Nick" and fully pursuing this issue, have gotten hold of their GC. It also appears that originally, the offer was for $150GC! That's insane. Tempting to many, but absolutely insane. So, now I know that Grammarly is trying to get a bit smarter. The emails have become a bit more personalized and the amount of the GC has gone WAY down. However, that does not mean that this is any less of a scam. 
Hope this helps fellow bloggers! It's sad that we have to be so paranoid and alert to scams nowadays. But, if you get an email like this, do your research!