Saturday, August 25, 2012

Tiger's Curse Blog Stop!


A HUGE thank you to Sterling Publishing, Colleen Houck, Jean Book Nerd for putting this together!

Also a VERY Happy Birthday to Ellen and James :)


Tour Stops: * Jean Vallesteros: http://www.jeanbooknerd.com/ 




Colleen Houck’s New York Times bestselling Tiger’s Curse series has received national praise with the fourth book, Tiger’s Destiny, debuting September 2012. Colleen is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, science fiction, and romance. Formerly a student at the University of Arizona, she has worked as a nationally certified American Sign Language interpreter for seventeen years. Colleen lives in Salem, Oregon, with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.

Links: 


Guest Post :  “What fiction most influenced your childhood, and what effect did those stories have on the Tiger’s Saga?”


I’ve always loved books with animals. The Black Stallion, Big Red, and Watership Down are all beloved books that introduced me to wonderful animal characters. Ren and Kishan as tigers and Fanindra the golden cobra would not have been nearly as interesting without my love of animals.

Mythology plays a big part in my series and my fascination with it began in middle school when an English teacher filled every space of her white walls with beautiful posters of the Greek gods. I read voraciously when I was younger and loved discovering the myths of every culture.

The first series my mom gave me was The Little House on the Prairie and my favorite book in that series was when Laura was introduced to her future husband, Almonzo Wilder. The love of romance bloomed in me and I just can’t get enough happily-ever-afters. In fact, I love romance so much that I highly doubt I’d ever write a book without having some form of it.

My passion for reading is what spurred me into writing. I’d just fallen in love with the Twilight series and was desperately seeking another series to sink into when the thought occurred to me to try writing one of my own. I was inspired by the personal stories of J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. I’d always believed that a person needed to have a fancy college degree to be able to write and these stay-at-home moms brought home the idea that anyone with a love of storytelling can write a book.

There are pieces of everything I love in the Tiger series. References to Star Wars, Star Trek, and Indiana Jones pepper the pages. Magical creatures from Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Pirates of the Caribbean, and Eragon have breathed life into my own hodgepodge of frightening and fascinating beings. Every author I’ve ever read—John Steinbeck, Orson Scott Card, Madeleine L’Engle, John Grisham, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Michael Crichton, and many more have unwittingly contributed to the workings of my mind.

Sometimes I like to imagine that their stories are catalogued in the creative part of my brain and that, once in a while, I break off pieces of them. Then I twist, shape, and play with an idea until I fashion it into something new and, yet, at the same time, reminiscent of things past. Or, it could even be possible, that their ghosts stand behind me, looking over my shoulder. Unseen, they fill my mind with whisperings as together we form a tale that has never been—one built upon a foundation of the great stories of the past.


Sypnosis
With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.
It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all.


Review : This book can be summed up by WOW! Knock your freakin' socks off, I love this series, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone and I think this book will be taking the number one spot!

The drama the author brings into this is so real, it feels like you as the reader are Kelsey but just not really there to make the RIGHT decisions! I don't know how many of us talked about this and some cried, screamed, laughed and thought it will work out in the end, or will it?! I about died when I got to the ending of this book as I am sure many of us did! What will happen?

This book is a roller coaster of emotions, and you are just there along for the ride feeling it all. You feel for all the characters and not just the main one. Kelsey is frustrating, smart, stupid, funny, outgoing, shy and most of all loyal to a T! We all know the roller coaster of emotions she feels because we as readers feel the same way! She is going through a whole lot in a little amount of time, is she making some dumb decisions, do I really need to ask? But through it all you just want to snuggle her up and keep her safe from herself, the two boys she loves, and Lokesh.

Then there are our 2 favorite princes, so many words to describe them, sexy, hot as hell, frustrating, stubborn, cute, loving and also loyal to a T to Kelsey and somewhat to each other. History is repeating itself as we all know, and they just keep letting it. I don't know how much more stubborn these two can get, but I am thinking AWKWARD and HIGH TENSION will be there!

Overall this is my favorite book so far, even though I died a million different times it just proves how amazing the author is, the characters and the plot! This book will never let you down, it will make you laugh, cry, scream, punch your pillow and just about rip out your hair but not once will you want to set this series down to do anything but finish it and see what will happen next! I know I am dying for book 5 and the last 2 chapters of this book!

Enjoy this stop, series, author and my amazing friends blog stops!

Where you can purchase YOUR copy :

Amazon
Hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402798431/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1402798431&linkCode=as2&tag=jamesval-20

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008UXL8FA/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1402798431&linkCode=as2&tag=jamesval-20


Barnes & Noble
Hardcover: http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=OSM9yXwjjU4&offerid=239662.9781402798436&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FTigers-Destiny%2FColleen-Houck%2Fe%2F9781402798436

NookBook: http://click.linksynergy.com/link?id=OSM9yXwjjU4&offerid=239662.9781402798443&type=2&murl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.barnesandnoble.com%2FTigers-Destiny%2FColleen-Houck%2Fe%2F9781402798443


Book Depository

Hardcover:
http://www.bookdepository.com/Tigers-Destiny-4-Tigers-Curse-Series-Colleen-Houck/9781402798436/?a_aid=jeanbooknerd






RAFFLECOPTER LINKS: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Blog Tour: Auracle by Gina Rosati (Review and Giveaway)


                                                            

   SYNOPSIS:

                                                                                                                                      

Trapped outside her body, Anna sees and
hears but cannot touch the one she longs
to hold.
Anna has a secret: she can astrally project out of her body. But when there's an accident and her classmate Taylor gets into Anna's body, what was an exhilarating gift threatens to become a terrifying reality. Anna and her best friend Rei form a plan to set things right, but they don't anticipate the feelings that are beginning to grow between them. Auracleby Gina Rosati is an exciting, sensual novel that explores the relationship between body and soul and the power of a single touch.


REVIEW:

 I was in love from the synopsis! I loved everything about it, from the astral projecting (which you NEVER see) to the characters and drama and everything else!
This book is a new take in the paranormal reading world. It will blow you away with how amazing it is.

The characters are hilarious and you can relate with them so easily. You are reading this and you are either laughing hysterically or you are thinking really, is this for real? And it is in a way, Anna is an amazing character with who you can relate to, the girl who isn't popular but isn't an outcast beautiful and doesn't know it and has 2 smoking hot guys as her best friends that she just realized are GUYS! THAT ARE SMOKING HOT! And only one of them know her well enough, know everything about her inside and out and you don't see much of that anymore. Rei is smoking hot, caring, sweet, smart and gentle and knows that it is NOT Anna in that body, and from then on I was hooked and developed my own little crush..

As Anna is watching from outside her body, she is realizing many things about herself, Rei, her family and social life that she didn't before. Rei is not just the lanky boy next door, he is someone that was always there, always her rock, her best friend. And Rei is coming to realize what he feels for Anna, what he wants to do with life.

This book is an intoxicating read and I recommend it to everyone. It is a new take on paranormal, a fun edge of your seat read.
***

I would also like to thank the author for the chance to read this book and review it! And Jean for everything she has done! :D



AUTHOR BIO:


1. I have a husband, an 18 year old son and a 13 year old daughter who are very patient and understanding...it’s not easy to live with a writer. 
2. I used to be a secretary. And a cake decorator. And a PTA mom. And I still volunteer at the middle school library one day a week because I love it there. 
3. On August 7, 2012, I can officially add ‘author’ to my resume...my debut YA paranormal romance, AURACLE, will debut from Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan. 
4. I am forever grateful to my literary agent, Andrea Somberg (Harvey Klinger, Inc.) and my editor, Katherine Jacobs (Roaring Brook Press/Macmillan). AURACLE is a far better story because of their help and guidance!
5. I’m not a fan of politics or organized religion, but I love dogs. And cats. And guinea pigs and bunnies and other fuzzy stuff. 
6. I used to drink too much sugary soda (32 oz/day.) When I gave it up, I lost 20 pounds and kept it off.
 7. Now I drink too much diet soda. I should drink water. From a reusable container.
8. Blue jeans, T-shirts, hoodies, fuzzy socks and sneakers...I’d rather be comfy than classy.
 9. As part of my research for AURACLE, I got a tattoo. Now I have 3 and counting... 
10. I cannot astrally project. I tried. But I am excellent at procrastinating! 
11. I collect glassy things. And fairy things. And rocks. 
12. I believe!

***

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Monday, July 16, 2012

Cold Fury Blog Stop :)






Launch Party Schedule:

* July 16th Monday - Review Guest Post Melissa Marie ( MEEEEE )

* July 17th Tuesday - Top 10 Favorites Sabrina Ford

* July 18th Wednesday – Spotlight Jenny Needham

* July 19th Thursday - Guest Post Katie Bartow

* July 20th Friday - Music Playlist Ellen Trieu

* July 21st Saturday – Review & Spotlight Anne Brewer

* July 22nd Sunday – Review & Excerpt #2 Bella Colella

* July 23rd Monday – Guest Post Adeeb Nami

* July 24th Tuesday – Vlog Post with Jean BookNerd

* July 25th Wednesday Review & Spotlight Stacey Clifford

* July 26th Thursday – Review & Excerpt #3 Tammy Middleton

* July 27th Friday – Review & Excerpt #1 Tiffany Borka

* July 28th Saturday – Review & Spotlight Alice Priday

* July 29th Sunday – This or That Shelley Bunnell

* July 30th Monday – Review & Spotlight Rose Pryimak

* July 31st Tuesday – Art work, bookmarks, posters & Buttons. James Vallesteros








BIO:
T.M. Goeglein began his career as a writer of print and television ads for a host of advertising and media companies. As a screenwriter, he created both original scripts and worked as a script doctor for several production companies in Los Angeles. He was an original contributor to the Huffington Post 'Living' section, and continues to write for both the national edition and Huffington Post Chicago. Read T.M. Goeglein's stories on the Huffington Post. His debut young adult novel, COLD FURY, will be published by Penguin/Putnam in 2012 and is the first in a trilogy; he’s currently working on the second book. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Laura, and two young children.






LINKS: 
Website: http://www.tmgoeglein.com/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/TM-Goeglein/205572012847746 
Twitter: @TMGoeglein https://twitter.com/tmgoeglein








Synopsis

Having just turned sixteen, Sara Jane Rispoli’s birthday is anything but sweet.

Returning from her first high school dance, Sara Jane walks into a ransacked home and finds her family missing, the dog maimed and a psychopath in a ski mask who won’t rest until she’s dead. With nothing to go on but a clue hidden in a bust of Frank Sinatra, Sara Jane jumps into her dad’s 1965 Lincoln Continental and drives into the night.

The clues lead her to an ancient, worn notebook that contains a guide to a Chicago hiding in plain sight— safe houses, secret doors, mysterious phone numbers are all suddenly at Sara Jane’s disposal. But it also contains darker, more troubling secrets concerning the Rispoli family, including the revelation that a rare and powerful hereditary trait passed down from the time of Alexander the Great enabled certain male members of the Rispoli clan to become major figures in the Outfit, Chicago’s storied crime syndicate.

Sara Jane realizes the secret-filled notebook is the reason why her family was taken, and why she’s being pursued by three different factions: her turncoat uncle, Police Detective Dotty Smelt, and the huge, shambling freak in the ski mask. Learning of the gift awakens a realization in Sara Jane that she, too, possesses the powerful phenomenon.

With the help of a weight-challenged sidekick, an angry Italian greyhound, and a legion of guardian angel sewer rats, Sara Jane is chased, attacked, and fights back with cold fury, staying one step ahead of her pursuers and circumnavigating the male-centric Outfit while also keeping a growing romance.


My Review : This was one amazing book. I didn't know if I would like it when I first got it but boy did this book surprise me!

This book has one of the best female characters in a long time. She is no damsel in distress, she doesn't back down and she does things her way or no way. Sarah does not care about the danger she is getting herself into, she cares about her family. She needs to find them, but is she ready for the answers? All she has is a suitcase full of cash and a gun, hmm weird? She is strong and not backing down to anyone. Some of the things she finds out through her journey surprise her more than anything. She has no idea really who her family is, but she is still going to give it all she has got to find them.

Throughout her dangerous journey she stays strong, there are moments you as a reader are like NO!!! But other than that it is a fast paced book, that will leave you on the edge of your seat. This book will keep you reading and break your heart in some places but will never let you down!


Guest Post from the author himself :)

“Why is storytelling so important for all of us?”
A short quiz. I write a few words, you finish the thought. Ready?

1) Snow White and the….
2) The Catcher in the…
3) The Hunger…


My guess is that that majority of people reading this post went three-for-three and that only number two (…Rye) gave anyone pause. If so, if you love good books, don’t sweat it – you’ll read The Catcher in Rye at some point soon. It was written by J.D. Salinger in 1945 and sixty-seven years later, it’s still being taught, read for pleasure, dissected, analyzed and discussed. That’s because despite all of those decades, it too goes three-for-three, in what makes a story good.

It helps explain us to ourselves.

It creates an emotional world that we become part of, and by joining it, are joined to everyone else who read it, as well.

It’s funny and sad and fast and tragic and redeeming, i.e., entertaining.

By the end of a story, all of things should meld into one sensation. Why Catcher in the Rye was as relevant in 1945 as it is today is why good storytelling is so important: it makes readers feel more like themselves, and more unlike themselves, and they have a funny, sad, tragic, redeeming time doing it.






To get your copy : COLD FURY LINKS:

Amazon
Hardcover: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0399257209/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jamesval-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0399257209&adid=01H14TGJAMG803K165ZZ

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064W5VBQ/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=jamesval-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0064W5VBQ&adid=0QJRKSP7NVXG5MC9MRCT


Barnes & Noble
Hardcover: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=OSM9yXwjjU4&offerid=239662.9780399257209&type=2&subid=0

NookBook: http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=OSM9yXwjjU4&offerid=239662.9781101571934&type=2&subid=0


Book Depository
Hardcover: http://www.bookdepository.com/Cold-Fury-Goeglein/9780399257209/?a_aid=jeanbooknerd



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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Sirenz Back in Fashion :)

Hey y'all


 Today is my stop for the Sirenz back in Fashion blog tour. These amazing authors Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman came out with Sirenz last year and it is an amazing book. I fell head over heels in love with the characters, and the authors :). When I got to meet them it was even better. They are the nicest people and so funny, they kind of reminded me of their characters :0.

 Anyway here is my review on Sirenz <3

 Description : Hades, the god of the underworld, forces bickering frenemies Meg and Shar to become special-assignment Sirens. Finding the delicate balance between their old and new responsibilities turns out to be harder than they expected, especially when an entire pantheon of Greek deities decides to get involved. 

review : this is a laugh out loud book. This book was amazing. Right off you meet two roommates who are by far polar opposites. Shar is the shopping queen and drags Meg along with her. Of course there is also a boy who steals both their attention, and the sale where they fit over a pair of shoes, yes I said it a pair of shoes that gets them into a whole lot of trouble. Now these girls meet Hades, and swoon. He is something else, not at all like the girls or myself pictured him but hot hot hot. Along the journey into the underworld and being Sirenz these girls start to get over their differences and actually start to like each other. Of course in the end does Hades truly go away?! Youll just have to wait and see. The story is so funny and it Think you will all get a great laugh out of it .





 Sirenz back in Fashion 

 Description: It's Hell on heels--again When Shar tries on a ring from Hades, it activates an obscure contractual clause that puts Shar and former-frenemy-now-friend Meg in Hades' service once more. Shar is whisked away to the Underworld to prepare a ball for Persephone, while Meg is sent to retrieve the errant soul of spoiled rich girl Paulina Swanson and send her to the abyss. Just when it appears the girls will be doomed to serve Hades for eternity, Shar meets two possibly helpful demi-gods who also happen to be gorgeous. Can the girls finally ditch the Lord of the Dead once and for all? 



 review: These girls are thinking aw hell no! Haha. Again these two crack me up and remind me more and more of the people who wrote them. This book will blow you away! I was in love again almost immediately my heart kind of breaking that they ended up back there, but of course there is some good. Meg and Shar crack me up even more in this book. Their look on things is funny,when they think things can't get worse sometimes they do, but when something good happens it something really good. These girls have come so far from book one that I want to be a servant to Hades but then again not everything is sunshine and roses there. Again not a book you want to miss out on after book 1. I recommend this series to all my book lovers out there wanting a good laugh, a different take on our gods and goddesses and something genuinely unique :)



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Sunday, April 22, 2012

I'm baaaack

Hey everyone,

I know I have been neglecting this, but I have also tried re-vamping this to make it a little easier to find everything instead of everything on page 1. But I am having some trouble !!! So I. Hope you are all well, and don't fret it will be on track soon, with some amazing giveaways, uthor interviews, upcoming releases, in my mail box pictures, and best of all my experience at RT!!!


Melissa

Monday, March 26, 2012

Hey ya'll

Hey ya'll !! Welcome to everyone new :) So glad you could be here with me. I also want to thank everyone for entering the contest! I will do more soon :) Please let me know if there is anything to make this better! I am still updating and fumbling my way around the blog! Melissa

Monday, March 19, 2012

Giveaway :)

For my fans : Thanks so much for this adventure of having my page :) I cannot thank you guys enough for following and helping me when I had no idea what I was doing and still kind of don't. You are all awesome and I appreciate you all and love you guys a ton! So Kristi Cook came to a writer's workshop we had at the bookstore a few months ago and I have 2 copies to giveaway! Only 1 for today and maybe another on my 1 year anniversary of my blog. So I again say THANK YOU to each and everyone of you amazing fans :)