Book Review: Blood Ties by Mari Mancusi

Blood Ties by Mari Mancusi

Publisher: Berkley Trade

Publish Date: August 2, 2011

Paperback, 256 pages 
Fiction, Young Adult, Paranormal
 ISBN: 978-0425241363
Blood Coven Series #6

My Review:
I will start this review by saying I have not read any of the the previous Blood Coven books. That said, it was really easy to get into Blood Ties and follow along.  The first chapter has Sunny summarizing what has happened to her so far to get her to where she is at the start of Blood Ties.  Of course this is brief so as not to bore those who have read the series, but enough detail so those of us just picking up Blood Ties can catch up.  It was a good enough catch-up to me that I was able to follow along with the book.  However I will say that now I want to go back and read the books because I am fascinated by this world that Mari Mancusi has created and want to read more about it.  But I don't think you have to read the first 5 books to read Blood Ties.

Blood Ties follows Sunny as she wants to save her best friend Jayden's soul while her boyfriend Magnus is going about trying to save the vampire race from an all-out war and trying to protect Sunny and save Jayden's soul.  Mischief and mayhem of course follow, there are misunderstandings, fights, kick-butt scenes, hot kisses and lots of fun.  I found Blood Ties to be the type of brain candy that I really miss in young adult fiction.  It's light, it's fun and it has action.  It's fast-paced, doesn't require me to think to hard and keeps me engaged and keeps me reading.  I liked it and I could not put it down.  I read this with my kids playing in the water while we were out on the boat on Sunday and it was the perfect boat book.  I only had to pause a few minute when my youngest was stung by a jellyfish.  When that crisis was over (which was mainly handled by the daddy) I went right back to Sunny, Magnus, and Jayden's world.

Run, don't walk and pick this one up.  I'm saving my pennies and getting the start of this series next on my Kindle so I can learn more about Sunny and her friends.  I am also anxiously awaiting the next in the series because let me tell you this one wraps up nicely but then there is a cliffhanger to beat all cliffhangers and I can't wait to see what happens next!  Great job Ms. Mancusi - you have scored another devout reader to your Blood Coven series.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:

Officially back in the arms of her vampire boyfriend Magnus, Sunny finds she still can't forget the gentle mortal Jayden who once saved her life. When darkness threatens to steal his humanity, Sunny must make a choice: stay true to her love, or defy him in a desperate attempt to save Jayden's soul.

Meanwhile, the Blood Coven is gearing up its toughest fight yet. They are going head-to-head with a splinter group of Slayer Inc. that's regrouping in Tokyo, Japan--still determined to take over the world.

In dark blood bars and hidden temples, it'll be vampires versus slayers in a showdown that could not only cost Sunny her heart...but also her life.

About the Author: 
Mari Mancusi works as a freelance television producer and has won two Emmys. She lives in Texas.

Mari's Website
Blood Coven Website
Twitter
Facebook
Blog

FTC Information: I received this book from the publisher through Teen Book Scene for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Book Review: The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan Le Fey by Alex Epstein

The Circle Cast: The Lost Years of Morgan Le Fey by Alex Epstein

Publisher: Tradewind Books

Publish Date: August 1, 2011

Paperback, 304 pages 
Fiction, Historical, Fantasy, Paranormal
 ISBN: 978-1896580630

My Review:
What an intriguing story.  I have never thought about how Morgan Le Fey's life came about or who she was before she was part of the Arthurian legend.  Mr. Epstein has remedied that with his version of the tale of a girl who starts of with the name of Anna on the Isle of Britain and has to go on the run or be killed at the early age of twelve and ends up in Ireland which is a entirely different world to her.

Witchcraft is something that drives her through the book, Anna, who becomes Morgan at sea on the way to Ireland feels the power of the land at a ceremony while the men are off at war before she leaves Britain.  She also feels the power from the land while she is in Ireland and it benefits her when she needs it.  I loved seeing her in different experiences throughout Ireland.  She definitely led an interesting life at an early age as did many girls in that era who married at early ages.

Another driving force in Morgan's life is revenge.  Revenge is what keeps her alive and keeps her motivated through the book.  The reader will see revenge as motivation for most of what she does.  And even though it's her primary motivation, you still find yourself really liking her character.  She's strong, but she knows when to stand back and stand behind her husband or her chieftan.  I really liked Morgan, she had compassion towards some people who were deserving of it and she did not like those who did not deserve it.

The Circle Cast was a fascinating look at what Morgan's life might have been like in the early years and I loved every minute of the book.  Mr. Epstein's writing was great, he dove right into the mind of an adolescent girl in early Britain and brought out this marvelous story of her life as she traveled in a foreign country and navigated their customs as she fought for her life and plotted and schemed toward her own revenge and getting back to Britain.

My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:

How did an exiled girl become the most powerful witch in legend?

Britain, 480 AD. Saxon barbarians are invading, pushing the civilized British out of their own island. Morgan is the daughter of the governor of Cornwall. But when her father is murdered and her mother taken as the King's new wife, she has to flee to Ireland to avoid being murdered herself.

But Ireland is no refuge. She's captured in a slave raid and sold to a village witch. As Morgan comes of age, she discovers her own immense magical powers. She falls in love with a young Irish chieftain, and makes him powerful.

But will her drive for revenge destroy her one chance for love and happiness?


About the Author: 
A native New Yorker, Alex Epstein studied Computer Science and English at Yale University. After a year in Paris, he studied filmmaking at the University of California, Los Angeles in the School of Theatre, Film and Television, finishing with an MFA.

Throughout the 1990s, Epstein worked in the motion picture industry as a development executive. His first book, Crafty Screenwriting, came out of his experiences developing movies.

Epstein moved to Montreal in 2000 and began his career as a professional screenwriter. He co-created the comedy series Naked Josh, which ran for three seasons, and co-wrote the hit buddy cop comedy Bon Cop / Bad Cop.

Epstein lives in Montreal's Old Port with his wife, Lisa Hunter (author of The Intrepid Art Collector) and his two children.

Website

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FTC Information: I received this book from the author through Teen Book Scene for an honest review.  I have Amazon links on my review pages but I do not make any money from these because of NC laws.  I put them solely for people to check out the books on a retail site.

Guest Blog: P.J. Hoover: Top Ten Songs That Go Along With Solstice

Today I welcome P.J. Hoover, author of Solstice who is sharing a top ten list which is a playlist for Solstice (and it looks like a great one).  So check it out, I already have the songs going in my head.





SOLSTICE by P. J. HOOVER: TOP TEN SONGS THAT GO ALONG WITH
SOLSTICE!

Thanks so much for inviting me to guest blog over here! I love top ten lists! For those
who don’t know, my debut young adult novel, SOLSTICE, was just released in May.
SOLSTICE is what happens when MATCHED meets THE LIGHTNING THIEF and is
largely set in a future where global warming is destroying the earth.

So one of the most fun things I did for SOLSTICE was come up with a playlist. It was
easy to come up with the first seven songs, but I’ll have to brainstorm for the final three!

1) (DON’T FEAR) THE REAPER by Blue Oyster Cult*
2) COME AWAY by Isaac Angel
3) EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE by The Police***
4) I’M BURNING FOR YOU by Blue Oyster Cult*
5) RIO by Duran Duran**
6) THANK YOU by Led Zeppelin
7) ROADHOUSE BLUES by The Doors**
8) BOHEMIAM RHAPSODY by Queen
9) LIPS LIKE SUGAR by Echo & The Bunnymen
10) SUMMER IN THE CITY by Lovin’ Spoonful****

*I realize I have a special place in my heart for Blue Oyster Cult. I saw them in concert at
the most awesome venue in Georgetown, Washington DC back in high school. We were
so close to the band. Loved that!

** Look for hidden lyrics in SOLSTICE from these songs J Does anyone else hide lyrics
in their writing?

***Fun Fact: The inspiration for Piper’s dad in SOLSTICE is Sting from The Police.

****This song just makes me sweat. Always has. It’s the “back of my neck getting dirty
and gritty” line that really does it. So descriptive in so few words.

And of course there is the music I used for my book trailer. It was perfect and haunting
and I knew it was the right song the first time I heard it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkWezTGdTkg

You can check out my playlist here along with a bunch of other fun extras!
http://www.pjhoover.com/extras_solstice.php

Thanks so much for reading, and may your summer be a sizzling one!

SOLSTICE is available as a $2.99 eBook on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords,
and iBooks. SOLSTICE will be released in paperback this summer.

Author website:
http://www.pjhoover.com

Link to Book Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkWezTGdTkg

Link to publicity photos and book covers:
http://www.pjhoover.com/downloads.php

BIO:
P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book
Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer
designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology
and started writing books for kids and teens. P. J. is also a member of THE TEXAS
SWEETHEARTS & SCOUNDRELS. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her
husband and two kids and enjoys practicing Kung Fu, solving Rubik's cubes, and
watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice, takes place in a Global Warming
future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade
fantasy novels, The Emerald Tablet, The Navel of the World, and The Necropolis,
chronicle the adventures of a boy who discovers he’s part of two feuding worlds hidden
beneath the sea.

*****

Book Review: Homeward by Melody Carlson

Homeward by Melody Carlson

Publisher: StoneHouse Ink

Publish Date: September 27, 2010

eBook
Fiction, Christian, Romance
 ASIN: B00457VKK8

My Review:
Homeward is a a republished earlier novel of Melody Carlson's and I'm glad it was republished or I probably would have missed out on it.  Since I read my first Melody Carlson a year or two ago I have grabbed everything new by her whether it was for adults, pre-teens or teens so I jumped when the chance to review Homeward came about.

Homeward is a beautiful novel about families, forgiveness and God's love with a romance thrown in there for good measure.  I loved this book from the beginning.  You have a woman who has experienced a rough patch in her life so she decided to return home to her family that she left almost 20 years ago and make amends.  In some ways it's easy and in some ways it's not.  Slowly through family members and opportunities Meg learns what God has in store for her life.  There are of course bumps in the road, but they make life interesting.  I really liked Meg.  She was strong and stubborn, but she was interesting and knew when to bend at times too.  I liked her sister Erin, Sunny and her grandmother as well.  Matthew, Clive, Addy and so many others round out an interesting cast of secondary characters that bring the small town to life and also bring the story to life.  I think the characters were well done, interesting and all of them really added to the story.

The plot moves well and I quickly read the book over the afternoon and evening and kept turning pages on my Kindle to see what would happen next.  I especially liked it when the romance started, it was just one more facet that I really felt added to the book.  Homeward is just one of those great feel-good books that has a great lesson in it and makes you happy in the end of the book.  Ms. Carlson hits a home run with this book for me.
 
My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:
From bestselling author Melody Carlson comes this award-winning story of three generations of Lancaster women. For twenty years Meg Lancaster has avoided Briar Hedge, the Lancaster family estate. Now she has been drawn back to her grandmother's home to uncover secrets that have been hidden for decades and to try to regain the family she long ago abandoned.

About the Author: 
Melody Carlson has published over 200 books, making her one of the top 20 most prolific authors of all time. With total sales of over 1.4 million her award-winning books include:Homeward, Love Finds You in Sisters, Oregon; Limelight; the Diary of a Teenage Girl series; the True Colors series; and the Charter House Girls series.


Melody has worn many hats: from pre-school teacher to political activist to senior editor. Currently, she writes full-time, and freelances from her home. She has two grown sons and lives in Sisters, Oregon with her husband, Chris, and Bailey, her chocolate lab.


 
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FTC Information: I received this book through Glass Road PR for an honest review. 

Guest Blog: What author G.S. Wolff does when she's not writing

Today I welcome G.S. Wolff, author of the Girlz of Galstanberry series and she's going to share what she does when she's not writing.

Traveling & Book Signings!!!

Traveling: From walking through the airport with a stylish outfit & cute carryon bag to arriving
at a new destination, I LOVE to travel!!! International trips are by far my favorite because
everything is novel—food, culture, people. So, I’ve included some pictures of last month’s
dream European vacation. I toured and signed books in London, strolled through Paris, and
explored Venice Italy (and surrounding islands)

Windsor Castle, England-The oldest inhabited castle in the world. Her Majesty the Queen
resides there!

Windsor
Louvre Museum in Paris, France
Venice, Italy

Book signings: The best part about being an author is meeting your incredible readers. Earlier this year I partnered with The Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan to offer a special and HUGE
Galstanberry book signing and discussion.

 

Thank you G.S. Wolff for joining us today!