Thursday, January 12, 2012

Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop


Welcome to the Dreaming of Books Giveaway Hop sponsored by I Am A Reader, Not a Writer and Reviews By Martha's Bookshelf. I have a great prize pack for you.  I have three of my favorite recent YA reads: Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep, Living Violet by Jaime Reed and Everneath by Brodi Ashton.  This giveaway is open to US/Canada only. Fill out the Rafflecopter below to enter.

Please note that if you are signed into Rafflecopter with Facebook you will not have to enter your name and email, it does it automatically, you just have to hit enter.  If you have any problems with the form, email me at crystalfulcher(at)ec.rr.com.



Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep
My Review
Logan Quinn was try­ing to kill me. My Spar­tan class­mate relent­lessly pur­sued me, swing­ing his sword at me over and over again, the shin­ing sil­ver blade inch­ing closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes prac­ti­cally glowed with the thrill of battle...

I’m Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Acad­emy, and I have no idea how I’m going to sur­vive the rest of the semes­ter. One day, I’m get­ting schooled in sword­play by the guy who broke my heart—the drop-dead gor­geous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invis­i­ble archer in the Library of Antiq­ui­ties decides to use me for tar­get prac­tice. And now, I find out that some­one at the acad­emy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I’m afraid if I don’t learn how to live by the sword—with Logan’s help—I just might die by the sword..


Living Violet by Jaime Reed
My Review
He's persuasive, charming, and way too mysterious. And for Samara Marshall, her co-worker is everything she wants most--and everything she most fears. . .

Samara Marshall is determined to make the summer before her senior year the best ever. Her plan: enjoy downtime with friends and work to save up cash for her dream car. Summer romance is not on her to-do list, but uncovering the truth about her flirtatious co-worker, Caleb Baker, is. From the peculiar glow to his eyes to the unfortunate events that befall the girls who pine after him, Samara is the only one to sense danger behind his smile.

But Caleb's secrets are drawing Samara into a world where the laws of attraction are a means of survival. And as a sinister power closes in on those she loves, Samara must take a risk that will change her life forever. . .or consume it.




 Everneath by Brodi Ashton
My Review 
Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she's forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's...



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Book Review: Gun Games by Faye Kellerman

Gun Games by Faye Kellerman
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: January 3, 2011
Hardcover, 384 pages 
Fiction, Suspense
 ISBN: 978-0062064325
Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus #20





buy the book from The Book Depository, free delivery
My Review:
Gun Games is my first Faye Kellerman novel.  I have meant to read her for years.  I have read her husband and have even read her son, but for some reason haven't read her.  I use to have this thing where I had to start the series from the beginning, but I have finally gotten over that.  Yes you do miss character growth and some background, but I've found a lot of these suspense series, each book stands on it's own and that's how I feel about Gun Games.  It's the 20th novel in the Rina  and Peter Decker series and as I stated before the first I have read.

Gun Games seems to center around two separate stories, Gabe, the foster son that Pete and Rina are keeping who is a piano prodigy is the center of one of the stories.  He meets a girl who is a year younger and is a Persian Jew.  Gabe is white and not a Jew at all.  A romance ensues secretly.  Gabe keeps up his piano studies and is trying to decide what to do with his life.  All-in-all I really enjoyed this story line.  I liked Gabe and Yasmine.  They were cute and sweet and everything young love is when you are 15 and 14.

The second story centers around a suicide that Pete and his detectives have been asked to look into at an exclusive private school.  The mom just doesn't think her son could have committed suicide.  Crazy things start showing up.  I really enjoyed this storyline.  The detective work and the way things unfolded really made the story.  And I always enjoy reading about exclusive prep or boarding schools.

And then the storylines intersect like you would not believe and I won't give anything more away.  But thing go completely crazy.  If you think you couldn't put the book down before this point, there is no way you are putting it down after this point.

I think Ms. Kellerman does an excellent job creating believable characters and scary characters.  She interweaves a plot that is so crazy that it is believable.  I was enthralled.  It's one of those books that is so calm and easy going in the beginning that it sucks you in and before you know it you just cannot put it down.

Overall I think this was an amazing book and if the others in this series are anything like it I am definitely starting at the beginning and working my way through.  In fact I'm going to my library website now to reserve The  Ritual Bath.  I can't wait to get more of Peter and Rina Decker.

My Rating: 5.0/5.0

Advisory note: Not for the faint of heart, there is bad language, though it is not overdone. There is also sex and plenty of sexual references especially between the teenagers.  Also Gabe's biological father owns brothels, so references are made to that and they are often crude.  All of this seems to be in the character of Chris, the father, but if you don't like that kind of thing in the books you read, this book may not be for you. It wasn't all the time, more time was spent on the suspense plot, but it is in there so I feel I should mention.


About the Book:
LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman, the son of a troubled former friend, into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep—witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools.

Gregory’s mother, Wendy, refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen—evidence that propels him to launch a full investigation with his trusted team, Sergeant Marge Dunn and Detective Scott Oliver. But the case becomes darkly complicated by the suicide of another Bell and Wakefield student—a death that leads them to uncover an especially nasty group of rich and privileged students with a predilection for guns and violence. Decker thought he understood kids, yet the closer he and his team get to the truth, the clearer it becomes that he knows very little about them, including his own charge, Gabe. The son of a gangster and an absent parent, the boy has had a life filled with too much free time, too many unexplained absences, and too little adult supervision.

Before it’s over, the case and all its terrifying ramifications will take Decker and his detectives down a dark alley of twisted allegiances and unholy alliances, culminating at a heart-stopping point of no return.


About the Author (from Goodreads.com): 
Faye Kellerman was born in St Louis, Missouri. She began her career as a dentist but turned to writing after the birth of her eldest child in 1978. As well as the highly popular Peter Decker series she has also written one historical mystery. In between writing, she tries to find the time to enjoy her two favourite hobbies, gardening and music. She has four children and lives with them and her husband, novelist and psychologist Jonathan Kellerman, in Los Angeles.

Website 

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FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher for an honest review.  I do make money from purchases made at The Book Depository and B&N.com, but all money is used to fund giveaways and shipping for giveaways from the blog.




Epic Kindle Giveaway Day #2: 4 Kindle Fires, $200 in Gift Cards, 45 free books #epickindlegiveaway

Want to win a Kindle Fire? Authors Aiden James, Scott Nicholson, J. R. Rain, and H.T. Night are teaming up Jan. 11-13 to give away $1,000 in prizes, including four Kindle Fires, $200 in Amazon gift cards, and 45 free Kindle books.

There are four ways to enter during Jan. 11-13:

  • Share this blog link on facebook or twitter using the share buttons at the bottom of this post, if you do this, make sure you comment with links to your tweets or facebook posts and your email address on this post.  
  • Share our free books and event from http://epickindlegiveaway.blogspot.com
  • Spread the news about our contest on your favorite Internet hangouts and the Kindle Fairy is searching and putting names in her Magic Hat

TODAY’S FREE KINDLE BOOKS

Scott Nicholson
The Red Church (supernatural thriller) Amazon US Amazon UK;
As I Die Lying (psychological thriller) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Creative Spirit (haunted house thriller) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Disintegration (suspense thriller) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Zombie Bits (zombie stories) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Duncan the Punkin (children’s book) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Speed Dating with the Dead Amazon US Amazon UK;
The Skull Ring (suspense thriller) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 4 Amazon US; Amazon UK;
GHOST COLLEGE - A supernatural mystery Amazon US Amazon UK;
CURSED urban fantasy Amazon US Amazon UK;
BAD BLOOD - A Vampire Thriller Amazon US Amazon UK
Transparent Lovers (paranormal mystery) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Head Cases (psych thriller stories) Amazon US Amazon UK
Solom Amazon UK

Aiden James
Aiden James Vampires (Vampire adventure) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Cursed Immortals (Supernatural Thriller/Vampires) Amazon US Amazon UK;
The Vampires’ Birthright  (Vampire adventure) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Cades Cove (Horror/Mystery) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Vampire Twist (Vampire adventure/Mystery) Amazon US Amazon UK;
The Raven Mocker (Horror/Mystery) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Deadly Night (Murder mystery/Supernatural) Amazon US Amazon UK;
The Forgotten Eden (Supernatural Thriller) Amazon US Amazon UK;
Twice Bitten (Vampire adventure) Amazon US Amazon UK

J.R. Rain
ARTHUR - A modern-day spiritual adventure Amazon US Amazon UK;
BAD BLOOD - A Vampire Thriller Amazon US Amazon UK;
BLACK RAIN: 15 Short Stories Amazon US Amazon UK;
CURSED - Supernatural horror thriller Amazon US Amazon UK;
DARK QUESTS: Two Adventure Screenplays Amazon US Amazon UK;
ELVIS HAS NOT LEFT THE BUILDING - A murder mystery Amazon US  Amazon UK;
GHOST COLLEGE - A supernatural mystery Amazon US Amazon UK;
JUDAS SILVER - An adventure screenplay Amazon US Amazon UK;
LOST EDEN - An adventure screenplay Amazon US Amazon UK;
THE LOST ARK - An adventure novel Amazon US;
THE BODY DEPARTED - A ghost story Amazon US Amazon UK;
THE VAMPIRE CLUB - supernatural fantasy comedy Amazon US Amazon UK;
THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO -mystery novella Amazon US Amazon UK

H.T. Night
A Boy's Life (Young Adult) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
Boy Meets Girl (Young Adult) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
Everlasting Love (Poetry) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
Getting Yours (Romantic Comedy) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
Paranormal Love Stories (Vampire/Werewolf Love Story) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
The Werewolf Whisperer (Vampire Romance) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
Vampire Love Story (Vampire Romance) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
Winning Sarah’s Heart: Back to School (YA Romance) Amazon US Amazon UK;  
Winning Sarah’s Heart: Boys Being boys (YA Romance) Amazon US Amazon UK

If one of the four authors hits #1 on the Kindle Free list, they will give away another Kindle Fire. If at any time during the event, the four authors hold all the Top 10 slots on the Kindle Free list, they will give away a sixth kindle. Winners will be selected after the contest by the Watauga County (NC) Public Library using random.org.