Stacking the Shelves/Sunday Post #30

Stacking The Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. It is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

I have no idea if Winter is ever going to approach us here in Australia!! We have had some HOT days again this week.

Things have been super busy too, I don’t appear to be reading as much as I would like, but things are starting to slow a little on my blog, so hopefully I will get more reading done…… After Easter!!

Have a good Holiday everyone!!

WON

Last week I received Walking Disaster from NetGalley, but I didn’t get all excited in my post because I knew this was coming in the post as I won a giveaway on Facebook!!

Walking Disaster

(Beautiful #2)

by Jamie McGuire

Thank you to Simon and Schuster

Purchased

Look what I got for 99c on the weekend!!

Wait for You

(Wait for You #1)

by J. Lynn/Jennifer L. Armentrout

That’s it for Stacking the Shelves this week, what did you get?

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news and to post a recap of the past week on your blog,showcase some books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up in your blog for the week ahead.

This past week on the blog I shared:

Monday- Guest Post/Giveaway – Knights of the Darkness by D.N. Simmons

Tuesday- Review – Midnight Symphony by A.L. Kessler

Wednesday- Guest Post/Giveaway – Winged by LM Pruitt

Cover Reveal – Frigid by J. Lynn

Thursday- Spotlight – The Exemeus by Folami Morris

Friday- Release Day Blitz – A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

Saturday- Review – Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

I also did my usual Meme’s that I participate in Teaser Tuesdays,

Waiting On Wednesday, Swoon Thursday and Feature & Follow Friday

This week there will be:

Monday- Excerpt/Giveaway – Silver Hollow by Jennifer Silverwood

Tuesday- Review – Tears of the Broken by A.M. Hudson

Wednesday- Review – The Knight of the Rose by A.M. Hudson

Thursday- Review/Giveaway – Beautiful Freaks by Katie M. John

Friday- Blurb Blitz - Open House by Krystal Shannan

Lots of giveaways still running!! Click on the links at the top of the blog to enter!

What did you receive this week? What’s happening in your neck of the woods? I’d love to know!!

Review – Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

Title: Hopeless

Author: Colleen Hoover

Series: Hopeless #1

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Published: December 19^th 2012

Book Description

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Purchase Now – Amazon

My Review

What can I say but WOW!! I was totally blown away by this book and I loved every detail about it! There were so many emotions that came over me and I could not put the book down!! Beginning with the first chapter, you get an insight into Sky and how she flips out, but we don’t know the reason why, so I made my own assumptions as to where the story was heading. Boy was I off base!! Chapter 2 goes back two months and we don’t find out for some time as to the reasons for Sky’s emotional behaviour.

Sky is an amazing character but has lived a sheltered life being homeschooled and is excited with beginning her senior year at a public school. What she didn’t expect was that she would already have a reputation because of her association with her best friend Six, who is conveniently leaving on a foreign exchange program. All the nights of letting a guy into her room to make out have come back to haunt her.

Sky is detached from her feelings, nothing seems to bother her. All the notes and whispers don’t affect her in the slightest way. She does make a new friend on her first day and when she is at the supermarket, she gazes into the eyes of a boy that makes her heart skip, which is amazing because that has never happened before.

Holder (Dean) is known as a bit of a bad boy and I knew I was going to love him and boy do I ever. The more he revealed, the deeper I fell for him. He is a bit confusing for Sky, but when she learns the bigger picture she is able to understand him better. He is gorgeous but their initial meeting becomes quite awkward. Sky doesn’t understand him at all, but they seem to keep running into each other.

There are some skeletons that are revealed from both Sky and Holder’s pasts and although it is hard for them in the beginning they are able to turn to each other for support. It wasn’t easy at first, but this couple can work past their initial feelings to help one another.

Hopeless took my breath away!! It was an emotional journey for both of the characters. There were some times my ribs started to hurt from some of the quirky things that happened and other times where I was rendered speechless as we hit some low points in the book, to find out things could get worse. It was a beautiful book and it is amazing to know that there are people out there who have been through something like this and have been able to move past it. You must read this book, so you know no matter what happens, you don’t have to feel Hopeless.

About the Author

I love music. LOVE music. Namely The Avett Brothers, Lumineers, Pink, Eminem. I have eclectic taste? If you have any recommendations, send them my way!

I'm addicted to diet pepsi and could tell you in a taste-test which restaurant it came from. It's a serious addiction, I tell you.

I get stoked whenever I get a message from goodreads saying I have a new friend request...so request me, dangit!

If you want to know when I have new books out or just want to be inundated by random, pointless blog posts, follow me at www.colleenhoover.com

Avoid my Twitter at all cost. It's propaganda.

Find Colleen online at:

Website – http://colleenhoover.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorColleenHoover

Twitter – https://twitter.com/colleenhoover

Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5430144.Colleen_Hoover

Release Day Blitz – A Different Blue by Amy Harmon

Release Day Blitz

A Different Blue

Amy Harmon

Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on in life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing.

This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible.

Buy Links Amazon - Kindle l Amazon - Paperback

Barnes & Noble l smashwords

Author Bio

Amy Harmon knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, so she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Amy Harmon has been a motivational speaker, a grade school teacher, a junior high teacher, a home school mom, and a member of the Grammy Award winning Saints Unified Voices Choir, directed by Gladys Knight. She released a Christian Blues CD in 2007 called "What I Know" - also available on Amazon and wherever digital music is sold. She lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband and four kids, and doesn't plan to ever move somewhere, because nowhere is sublime. She has written Running Barefoot, and the Young Adult books Slow Dance in Purgatory and the sequel, Prom Night in Purgatory. A Different Blue is her fourth novel.

Find Amy online at

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authoramyharmon
Twitter – https://twitter.com/aharmon_author

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Harmon/e/B007V3HXUY/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1363825657&sr=1-2-ent Goodreads – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5829056.Amy_Harmon

Giveaway

I love being creative with my chapter titles. If you've read any of my other books, you already know that! This book has titles that are all related to one word. It is not obvious, at least it wasn't to me! When you download the book, scroll through the chapter titles to figure out what each title has in common with the others. Once you think you've got it figured out, write your answer in a message. No one will be able to see anyone else's response. The winner, selected by rafflecopter, will get a beautiful necklace AND charm bracelet with charms that represent different elements in the book OR a $20 Amazon gift card, whichever the winner chooses, and a runner up will get the remaining prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Cover Reveal/Giveaway - Of Silver and Beasts by Trisha Wolfe

Of Silver and Beasts (A Goddess Wars Novel)

by Trisha Wolfe

Release Date: June 1, 2013

Genre: New Adult Dark Fantasy

Cover Reveal Organized by: YA Bound

Cover Designed by: Steven Novak

Summary from Goodreads:

In the sand-covered queendom of Cavan, the goddess once saved a young Kaliope’s life, preventing the mercury her father attempted to hide in her blood from reaching her heart. Now, a cybernetic clamp filters it, but the silver streaks swirling faintly beneath her skin are a constant reminder that she’s different.

When nineteen-year-old Kaliope is chosen as head of the Nactue Guard, she becomes the sworn protector to her empress. In the midst of an invasion on a neighboring land, Kaliope is placed in charge of guarding Prince Caben, the last heir to his kingdom. But when they’re attacked by the feared Otherworlders, Caben and Kaliope are abducted and taken below to a realm where they must fight for their life in a caged arena.

Kaliope struggles to protect her princely charge, keeping him and herself alive while battling inhumanly opponents, and trying to save the stolen, sacred relic that will restore her empress’s life force and all of Cavan. And if she can somehow awaken the goddess within her, she may save what’s most important.

***Excerpt***

I open my mouth to say something comforting, but I’m unsure of what. In this moment, I’m reminded that I know little about him. Other than the sarcasm and desire to understand nothing of my queendom, he hasn’t allowed me past the surface.
But then, I have my own walls, hiding things I’d never want him or any other to know. And I understand that need to hide them. You can’t trust anyone.
“Caben…” I start, but still can’t find the right words.
He lowers his hand from his face, never taking his eyes off the glinting water top. “You’re right,” he finally says. “Let’s find the access to Lilly’s section.”
A hollow pang hits my chest, and I’m not sure why. Something in his voice sounds lost, broken. I imagine the gears around my heart spinning faster, trying to keep up with my racing heart.
When he sidesteps me, I reach out and grab his arm. “Caben, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s fine, Kal,” he snaps. “We have work to do.”
“No, I’ve said something to offend you.” I drop my hand, but keep close to him, not allowing him to leave my side. Goddess, trying to understand the male brain is harder than anything in protector training. I’ve heard people say that you have to tip-toe around a woman’s emotions, but a man’s ego is every bit as fragile, if not more so.
He releases a heavy breath through his nose and walks back to the pool. He sits down along the edge and rolls up his pants, then slips off his boots. “I honestly don’t think Bax or his goons will be returning tonight.” He sinks his bare feet into the water and sighs.
Glancing at the back of the cave, I plant my hands on my hips. We don’t have time for indulgencies, but the prince is still my charge. If it were my empress, I’d give her anything she’d ask for. Allow her as much time as she needed to collect herself. I have to watch over his mental state as well as protect him, so I try to push the pending need to find Lilly aside and sit down next to him.
“Here,” he says, turning his hand out near my crossed feet. “You have to feel this.”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “I can remove my own—”
“Have you never been pampered a day in your life?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow. “I know that the Nactue are fierce and will put a hurt on any man for touching them. But try to relax.”
“Is that the rumor in Perinya?”
“What?”
I bite my lip, suddenly regretting my blurt. “Nothing. Never mind.”
From the corner of my eye, I see his lips pucker into a pinched smile, as if he’s trying not to. “Ah,” he says, like he’s made some great universal connection. “Well, there are many whisperings about the Nactue. Some I dare not repeat for fear I’d leave here missing a limb, but that’s one, yes.” He takes my booted foot and begins to unlace it. “I’ve heard that the empress’s protectors are untouchable—forbidden to give themselves to men. And that they’ll snap a man’s neck just for making an advance.”
My mouth drops open. Appalled, I counter, “That’s not true.”
“All right,” he says, as if he hasn’t just insulted my very existence. “It’s only rumors. Things men jaw about in pubs. The unattainable woman is a fantasy, Kal. Don’t be offended.”
“Unattainable?” I grit my teeth, trying to maintain my composure. “Tell me, prince. Do men in your country just go around bedding every woman they can in order to keep them compliant?” I shake my head. “If their fantasy is a woman that would have nothing to do with them, it seems to me it’s their way of feeding their egos after being rejected.”
His eyes widen. “No! How does your brain come up with these—” He bites off his words, his lips thin as he presses them together. “Look, it was a joke.”
I nod, many times. “Another joke. I’m glad that our hard work and sacrifice is amusing to the men of Perinya.”
Caben lets out another sigh and slowly pulls off my boot. His warm fingers skim my calf as he inches up my pant leg. “Just stick your foot in,” he says, then adds lower, “while I stick mine in my mouth.”
Unexpectedly, I laugh. “At least it’s now clean,” I say. “Would you like some help getting it to your face?”

Author Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon

***GIVEAWAY***

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spotlight/Giveaway – The Exemeus by Folami Morris

Welcome to my stop on The Exemeus book tour which has been brought to you by YA Bound. Here you can read my review, a summary of the book and learn a little more about the author Folami Morris. Don't forget to visit the other blogs on this tour for more information about this book and the author.

Title: The Exemeus

Author: Folami Morris

Series: The Exemeus #1

Genre: YA Sci-fi/Dystopia

Published: January 3^rd 2013

Book Description

Hyalee Smith is dead, she just doesn’t know it yet.

Her short life was devoted to love and to hate. Love of the man who stole her heart, hate for the man who stole the world. Murdered by the government she swore to destroy, she has been given another chance to make it right. But to save the planet, she needs the help of the most powerful mystic the world has ever seen—unfortunately he hasn’t been born yet.

In a world where fear is the only currency, Dephon has committed the ultimate crime: inspiring hope.

His only goal is to make it safely through ninth grade, but on a post-apocalyptic Earth run by the Treptonian government, it isn’t that simple. Heir to a legendary power, Dephon Johnson is the only threat to the government’s rule. And on Trepton, all threats must be eliminated. When hundreds of assassins are dispatched to neutralize him, Dephon is forced to fight back. His only chance of survival is to enlist the aid of the greatest warrior the world has ever known. The only problem is, she's been dead for 13 years.

Purchase now – Amazon

Excerpt

The other group at our table must have been the Allergy Club, because apparently all they talked about was their excessive seasonal allergies. I ignored Virginia’s pointed stares and tried to listen intently to one boy’s story of the time his throat became so swollen he couldn’t swallow.

Three minutes into the at-first-riveting, but ultimately boring tale, a hand rested on my shoulder. Virginia snorted her disgust. I turned around and looked up, almost choking on my pizza. David. It seemed like a lifetime ago that I had actually found him appealing. Looking at him now, I couldn’t imagine why.

“Hello, Hyalee. Virginia,” he said, not taking his eyes off me for a second. Virginia grunted, but didn’t respond.

“May I sit here?” he asked.

“We have a strict no-loser policy at our table,” Virginia said vehemently. David glanced at one of the Allergy Club boys, blowing snot bubbles through his nose. Virginia followed his gaze and grunted. “And, as you can see, we have exceeded our quota,” she added defiantly.

“I wouldn’t have a problem with you it,” I said to him, “but this seat is already taken.”

David was not to be deterred. “Well, then, I’ll just sit here until she returns,” he said, and did just that. Virginia laughed with contemptuous amusement. My temperature suddenly increased. A hand appeared on David’s shoulder. David and I both stared up into the extremely unfriendly eyes of Singleton Johnson.

Singleton smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. With a steely voice I could never have imagined had I not been sitting there, he said, “I believe the ladies said this seat was taken. So thank you,” Singleton said, sounding one hundred percent unthankful, “for wanting to keep it warm for me, but I can do that myself.” I’d never realized how short David was until that moment when he got up from his seat. He was the same height as Virginia, in fact, and his five-foot-five-inch stature was certainly no match for Singleton’s six-foot-two.

“Oh,” he mumbled. Singleton moved his bag and stepped into David’s space next to me. All I could focus on was him. Only Virginia noticed David leave; she waved enthusiastically at him as he went. He didn’t bother to return the gesture.

About the Authors

Folami Morris

Folami grew up in the tiny city of San Mateo, California, where nothing ever happens and no one ever leaves. She went to Xavier University for undergraduate, getting her B.A in physics and her B.S in Biology. After graduation she returned to California, to live in an even smaller city, where even less happens, Antioch, California. During this time she escaped the monotony by hanging out with her imaginary friends Hyalee and Dephon, and by writing the Exemeus.

She finally escaped to Queens, NY and now realizes that quiet and tiny aren’t so bad.

Abeni Morris

As luck (and logic) would have it Abeni grew up in the same tiny little town as her sister, then she too escaped to the tinier town of Antioch. She has yet to leave. She received her bachelor’s degree in early childhood development from Cal State East Bay. She is the mom of two amazing kids, who swear that they deserve a percentage of the book proceeds and a ton of the credit. At least she raised dreamers.

Links

Join our blog at www.TheExemeus.blogspot.com

Like us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheExemeus

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6595274.Folami_Morris

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6595275.Abeni_Morris

Extra Links

Website: www.folamiandabenimorrisbooks.com

This week the book is discounted for the tour on Kobo and Amazon to 2.99 as opposed to 4.99. It is unfortunately regular price on barnes and Nobles

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Exemeus/book-NACBz6XkRUm30xGGIYzcmg/page1.html?s=Mj782RHbT0GgAX4AbPnalA&r=1

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Exemeus-ebook/dp/B00ATRXB5K/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1363967628&sr=8-1

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-exemeus-folami-morris/1114047812?ean=9780988688605

Giveaway

There is a tour wide giveaway and you have the chance to win a $50 giftcard and an ebook of The Exemeus.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Swoon Thursday #35 – Fish Out Of Water by Ros Baxter

The fabulous girls over at YA Bound created this super HOT meme. Here's how it works.

From the book you’re currently reading, or one you just finished, tell us what made you SWOON. What got your heart pounding, your skin tingling, and your stomach fluttering.

Shout it out on Twitter with the hashtag #YABound, post it here in the comments, or grab the adorable button above and share it on your blog! I want to know & so do the chicks at YABound!

I have only just started this book, so I haven't read many real swoon moments yet, but this was pretty good.....

Fish Out Of Water

by Ros Baxter

Before I could act, one strong brown hand reached up and circled my wrist like a manacle, pulling me forward onto his wet, naked chest. With the other hand, he pinned me against him, crushing the small of my back and mashing my breasts and tummy against the length of him as he spoke. “You.” It sounded like a command, but his voice was deep and dark, like Lucky Strikes and home-baked toffee. Like the most delicious bad boy you ever knew.

Arc Kindle Loc 338

Did you get swooned this week?

What did you think of mine?

Leave me a comment!

Guest Post/Spotlight – Winged by LM Pruitt

Welcome to my stop of the Knights of the Darkness Chronicles book tour which has been brought to you by Bewitching Book Tours. Today I have a guest post, a summary of the book and you can learn a little more about the author LM Pruitt. Don't forget to visit the other blogs on this tour for more information about this book and the author.

Title: Winged

Author: LM Pruitt

Seriers: Winged #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Published: February 5^th 2013

Book Two Uprising Coming in April

Book Description

I fell from the Talmadge Bridge the week before I turned thirty.

I was given a choice: Go to Heaven. Go back to my life in Savannah. Or spend eternity fighting evil under the direction of the archangels.

I chose the demons--and the angels.

I chose the Winged.

Buy links

BN Print BN Nook Amazon Paperback Amazon Kindle

Guest Post

Writing A Rebellion

Is There A Right Side?

I think most people can say they’re a sucker for a good underdog story. There’s something about the longshot—whether it’s a horse, such as in Secretariat or a person, like Rudy—that appeals to so many aspects of what makes us human. It tugs at our heartstrings, touches our soul, and all those other mushy, sentimental things.

But what about when the underdog engages in some, to be delicately, not nice things? How far are they allowed to go in their quest to fulfill their dreams before they become the villain?

When I started writing UPRISING, the second book in the WINGED series, this was something I had to seriously contemplate. My goal was to push everybody into separate corners, to raise the stake so high that when it came down to the final battle, there would be no way to not make a choice, even for the people who were very decidedly on the fence. In order to reach this point, the rebellion had to do some pretty horrible things. Attempted murder, sabotage, beatings, full scale slaughter… I think you get the point.

But for them, it was all for the cause. For them, these weren’t actions they undertook without serious thought and planning and without an honest, heartfelt desire to see change. For them, this is their last chance to change their world.

And so for them, for the members of the rebellion, this violence is unavoidable. I don’t want to say excusable, because I don’t think even the coldest, cruelest person taking part in this uprising believes that there is no stigma attached to the things they’ve done. It’s just, as more than one character says throughout the course of the book, that sacrifices are required.

Especially when you feel you’re on the side of the right.

Some people will read UPRISING and take the side of the archangels. Others will take the side of the rebellion. I expect at some point someone will ask me which side is right. Which side is justified in their actions and beliefs.

And my answer will be—is there a right side?

About the Author

L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. She knows this because she's killed bamboo. Twice. As a result, she's not allowed to walk in the gardening department of any store without supervision. She's also not allowed in the card aisle of any grocery store without an escort since she'll spend thirty minutes opening cards and laughing for no good reason. She is the author of the best-selling Jude Magdalyn series, the Moon Rising series, and the Frankie Post series. She continues to make her home in Florida in spite of the heat and mosquitos and shares her home with two cats--one of them smart, the other not so much.

Connect with her at:

Facebook: L.M. Pruitt

Twitter: @lmpruitt

Website: www.lmpruitt.org

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Waiting On Wednesday # 33 – Hope By Theresa M. Jones

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where I have the chance to spotlight an upcoming release that I’m eagerly anticipating.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, Power. If you enjoy stories with magic and WWIII on the horizon, this will be a fun series for you! The second book is set to come out soon!! How exciting!!

Hope

By Theresa M. Jones

The Descendant Trilogy #2
Expected Publication – April 29th 2013