The Sugarspear Chronicles: The Complete Collection by Nicole Arlyn || Guest Post + Giveaway!

Hello and welcome everyone to the book spotlight for The Sugarspear Chronicles: The Complete Collection by Nicole Arlyn! Below is a fun guest post from the author as well as a giveaway for a copy of her book. 

Publisher Full Fathom Five - who brought you the book turned movie I Am Number Four - brings you a dark and mystical fantasy novel featuring mystery, romance, wonderment, heartbreak, and power.

- The Sugarspear Chronicles -

Sadie Sugarspear and the Weeping Willow, The Terrible Stream, & Alasdair Astigan 

(The Sugarspear Chronicles #1-3)

by Nicole Arlyn

Published: May 11th 2015 by Full Fathom Five Digital

Genre: YA - Fantasy, Romance, Mystery

In a small town called Muddlewoods, young Sadie Sugarspear endures intolerable cruelty at the hands of her brutal stepfather. Sadie finds solace in the one thing her real father, Sam Sugarspear, left behind: a book about an imaginary land, ruled by a king who grants wishes.

One day, when her stepfather’s cruelty reaches unimaginable depths, Sadie runs away and hides inside a crevice in her beloved willow tree. To her surprise, the tree opens up, sending Sadie falling down into the abyss, into a land she’s only ever read about—where she must begin a long, terrifying, and heartbreaking journey home.

On her way, Sadie encounters a mysterious boy named Joseph, a sinister character named Gismania Twylight, and the alluring and passionate Alasdair Astigan. And she is also terrified to learn that she is also being hunted by unnumbered and unknown forces from kingdoms all around…

Will Sadie give up and return home to Muddlewoods? Or will she risk everything to find the legendary king who can make her wishes come true?

This ebook contains the first three novellas in Nicole Arlyn’s epic dark fantasy series, The Sugarspear Chronicles.

Purchase at: Amazon / B&N / Kobo

My Top Ten Books I Read as a Child

1. Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Caroll
2. The Chronicles of Narnia- C.S. Lewis
3. Lord of the Rings- JRR Tolkien
4. Deenie- Judy Blume
5. Grimms Fairy Tales
6. Are you there God It’s Me, Margaret- Judy Blume
7. The Catcher in the Rye- JD Salinger
8. Oliver Twist-Charles Dickens
9. Everything Roald Dahl

10. Anne of Green Gables- Lucy Maude Montgomery

I have so many more these are just off the top of my head!

About The Author:  Nicole Arlyn

Full Fathom Five Author Page / Facebook / Twitter 

Series Website / Goodreads / Author Website

Nicole is a writer and an actress born in Brooklyn, New York. She has worked in films such as Clay Pigeons, opposite Joaquin Phoenix; The Wedding Planner; and Brooklyn Bound, among many others. She has performed, written and directed theater productions in New York, Los Angeles, and Europe. She has also read her poems in many poetry lounges in Europe and America, and is a song lyricist for musicians.

After living in Rome, Italy, for the past several years, Nicole has returned to New York City where she lives with her husband and son. She is at work on more novels.

Yes, it's time for a giveaway! 
Nicole is giving away an ebook copy of  The Sugarspear Chronicles! 
To enter, use the rafflercopter form below. Open to everyone! (INTL)

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Book Talk: The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

This is the type of novel I love - great, high-concept premise, relatable characters, unique structure and storytelling. And it's SO different than the Chaos Walking series (which I also adored) so plus points for that too.

Let's start with the premise. Basically, Ness pokes fun at the "chosen one" trope by making his protagonist just an ordinary guy who lives in an extraordinary town. Mikey is not an "indie kid" so he doesn't have to worry about being the one who is essential to fighting off demons or vampires. He has his own stuff going on: his sister has an eating disorder, his dad is an alcoholic, his mom is running for office, and he has OCD and is in love with a friend of his.

So structure-wise, there's a short run-down at the start of each chapter telling us what is happening in the "main plot" and then Mikey tells us what's going on in his life for the rest of the chapter - and it's clearly much more interesting and authentic.

I love the underlying theme of being the hero of your own story, and I rooted for Mikey the entire novel.

You'll enjoy this if you like meta-fiction, originality and gentle satire.

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Blog Tour - Review: Lucky Me by Saba Kapur + Giveaway!

Title: Lucky Me
Author: Saba Kapur
446 pages
Published: April 5th, 2016
Publisher: Amberjack Publishing
Genre: YA - Mystery/Suspense, Contemporary Romance
Source: via publisher (print arc)

For eighteen year old Gia Winters, having a movie star for a father, a former Playboy bunny as a mother, a Hollywood mansion, and a closet stocked with Chanel is simply another day in the life.

But her world is turned upside down when her father mysteriously hires a group of bodyguards to trail the family 24/7 and threatening phone calls from a "Dr. D" start buzzing daily.

When Gia scores the coveted role of Miss Golden Globe, she is forced to strike a deal with her bodyguard, Jack, who is almost as arrogant as he is attractive. Juggling Gia's romantic failures, fashion faux pas, and celebrity obsessions, the duo investigate a series of clues with the help of a police cadet, who has a special set of skills and an even better set of dimples.

But with the Golden Globes just around the corner, danger levels rise higher than her stilettos as Gia learns that the biggest secrets might be the ones buried in her own home.

In a place where the hills have eyes, high school nemeses, bad hair days, raging parties, and stolen kisses, there can only be trouble for a girl who was just starting to consider herself lucky.

Purchase at: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository / Kobo 

Gia Winters is living the dream. She's rich, popular, lives in Hollywood with her movie star Father, and has a wardrobe to die for. When out of the blue, her Father hires bodyguards for him, Gia and her younger brother, Mike. Gia is left questioning why. Tall, dark and handsome, Jack is tasked with guarding Gia. She suddenly receives a phone call from a blocked number; a man who calls himself Dr. D, who is leaving her mean threats, ones she can't ignore. When the calls become more frequent, she decides to get to the bottom of this with the help of Jack. They need to find answers quick about who this mysterious man is and why she is being staked. 

When the clues they uncover become too much for Gia and Jack to handle on their own, the police now must help find Dr. D before it's too late. 

Firstly, let's talk about Gia. Shall we? 

I'm just going to say it, I REALLY couldn't stand her. She whined way to much. She was always over dramatic about EVERYTHING! She couldn't make up mind about who she liked, or loved (insta-love, surprise, surprise!) About midway though I just wanted to strangle her with the straps on her stilettos. The only good things I liked about her was her sense of humor, her strong will to find out the truth, and how at the end of the book she seems to chill out and act normal.  Even though I didn't really like her the story itself made up for her character flaws. I really wished she would have ended up for a different character than she did but oh well. 

I really loved her bodyguard Jack. He was so down to earth, devoted, funny and fiercely protective of Gia. Jack and Gia's friendship was funny to read. They always were bickering, teasing each other, and of course flirting. Jack ended up being my favorite character in the book and I think it would be awesome to read the story from his POV.

There were a lot of secondary characters throughout the book and surprisingly all of them I really enjoyed. Besides the characters, the storyline was really amazing. I loved the slow build of mystery and all the thrills along the way. There were a couple times I thought I knew who the Dr. D was but come to find out the author was just throwing in a red herring. The conclusion when the reader finally finds out who has been behind everything was so intense. I was on the end of my seat, reading faster to find out how it all comes to an end. 

Without a doubt, Lucky Me was a fun and thrilling ride from start to finish. While I had my pet peeves throughout, I definitely recommend reading it.

I liked it a lot. Would recommend.

About The Author: Saba Kapur

Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads 

Saba Kapur is a 20 year-old writer based out of Melbourne, Australia. Her passion for storytelling developed at a young age, born from a deep-seated love of books. Lucky Me is her first novel and an ode to her favorite things: fashion, romance, and mystery. Born in India, Saba spent her childhood in Indonesia and Kiev, Ukraine. She is currently in her final year of college, studying International Relations and Criminology at Monash University. 

Saba hopes to one day become a fabulous lawyer in New York City, with a closet full of stilettos. In her spare time she enjoys reading, watching anything to do with Ryan Gosling, and pretending she's Beyoncé. Saba currently lives with her parents, her older sister, and a large supply of chocolate.

Want to win a print copy of Lucky Me? 

Amberjack Publishing is giving me a copy to give away to you all! 

All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter form below. Good luck!

OPEN US RESIDENTS ONLY

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Release Week Blitz: Walk The Edge by Katie McGarry + Giveaway!

One moment...

That’s all it takes to change your life.

What happens when your entire future is on the line because of one reckless moment? This is what Breanna Miller and Thomas “Razor” Turner have to face in Katie McGarry’s WALK THE EDGE. Blackmail, family secrets, future plans on the verge of collapsing, two people who aren’t supposed to be together fall in love, and the power of social media in defining who you are when you’re not even sure who that person is yet…Join the Club and immerse yourself in the world of the Reign of Terror. Pick up WALK THE EDGE today!

   

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds 

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyberbully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life. 

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules. 

And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

Amazon | iBooks | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Indiebound

Add to your Goodreads

And don’t miss the first book in the Thunder Road Series,

NOWHERE BUT HERE!

"There's something about McGarry's writing that's totally enthralling. Her characters are vivid, flawed and riveting, making this is a truly amazing read!" 

~ RT Book Reviews

 "Katie McGarry is a master of her craft! Raw emotion, pure grit, I hang on every word. Her characters are real people with real problems and I cheer them every step of the way. Ready for a new addiction? Look no further than Katie McGarry's books." 

~ Gena Showalter, Bestselling author of Firstlife 

"I finished WALK THE EDGE by the amazing Katie McGarry. It was SO good that now I feel bereft. I already miss Razor & Bre - I need to know more! She is by far my #1 favorite author. She paints a picture with the words, puts you IN the story... LOVE." 

~ Lori Foster, New York Times Bestselling Author

DON’T MISS THIS AWESOME INCENTIVE OFFER FOR AN EXCLUSIVE ECHO AND NOAH SHORT STORY!

Order WALK THE EDGE, Register your Order by April 1st and receive an exclusive Echo and Noah short story and a chance to be in the next Thunder Road novel! Register at https://offerpop.com/campaign/796530.

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan. Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads

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Review: Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

Glass Sword (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard
Publisher: Orion
Released: February 11th 2016
My Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Find it on Goodreads

If there's one thing Mare Barrow knows, it's that she's different.

Mare's blood is red - the colour of common folk - but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control.

The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from the prince and friend who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind.

Pursued by the Silver king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red and Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors.

But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever? (from Goodreads)

If you read my Red Queen review, you will know that I absolutely loved that book and was very excited to find out what happened next. Glass Sword wasn’t exactly what I expected - but it was still good, and ended well enough that I’m still looking forward to book three.

Mare changed in this book. Quite understandably, after being so horribly betrayed - she didn’t trust anyone, she found it easier to lie and had less qualms about killing than she had before. Basically, her morals were slipping into a rather more grey area - and I actually kind of liked seeing this side of her. Anyone can betray anyone, after all, and after everything Mare went through, I didn’t blame her for feeling like everyone could turn on her at any second (though maybe she could have given Shade the benefit of the doubt, he was her brother!). Her feelings for Maven…it was just all so complicated. In this book, Maven did terrible things. Really bad, worse than in book one. And Mare SAID she wanted him dead, that she would kill him if she had the chance…but really, I’m not sure she’d actually be able to do it. She was more hardened now, sure, but she had a weakness when it came to Maven (minor spoiler, highlight to view: she kept all the letters he wrote to her, no matter how horrific a place she found them in. That doesn’t mean nothing - even Cal noticed, and he was obviously hurt by it). And after the ending of this book (I knew it would happen, but even so, ON TO BOOK THREE!) I am even more intrigued to see how Mare deals with lingering feelings for Maven and who he used to be (and whether Maven can ever be redeemed. I suppose we’ll see more of that in book three - book three! So far away!).

Cal. This boy endlessly confused me. I liked him but I disagreed with him on so many things. I was more inclined to agree with Mare and while I got where Cal was coming from…I wanted him to step up! To be fair to him, I did think he did grow as a character. He realised how bad things were and that he was to blame for some of that. And at times, he was so sweet. And he cared about Mare…and it was heartbreaking that he knew that some part of her still loved Maven. And I just, I don’t know where this romance is going. I don’t. I liked Cal, but then I DID like Maven and ughh, what will happen!

Shade, I adored. He was probably my favourite character (though I have a special place in my heart for Julian) and I loved his sense of humour and his dedication to Mare and his awesome teleportation ability and the way he was always willing to help. I can’t even explain how I felt at the end of this book (minor spoiler: because while I predicted it, I wasn’t ready) and Shade was definitely the best of Mare’s brothers (though hopefully we will get to know the other two a bit more as well in book three). Kilorn surprised me. I expected him to be that annoying whiny “why don’t you love ME” guy who tried to interfere with the main relationship - but he actually matured a lot in the book, and grew on me to the point where I actually quite liked him by the end. Surprising, I know! Farley grew on me too, and while I knew what was up with her, like halfway through the book, I’m intrigued to see what part she plays in book three.

Plot-wise, I have to admit a lot of things in this book were predictable. But because they were also exciting it didn’t take too much away from the story. I felt like a certain thing towards the end was dealt with too easily (if it were that easy, why had no one done it before?) and there was of course that THING that happened that CRUSHED MY SOUL. And the ENDING. I have so many predictions for book three (minor spoiler: Maven’s redemption arc? A rescue attempt? Maven and Mare romance? Maven and Cal fight? But not over Mare because they have better things to fight about. Okay, maybe a little bit about Mare. But mostly Elara and the previous King).

Overall, while this wasn’t as good as Red Queen, it was a solid sequel and it’s definitely got me more invested in all the characters, and excited about the next book. If you haven’t started this series yet, I highly recommend it.

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Book Blitz: The Letting by Cathrine Goldstein | On Sale for $.99! Ends today!

Welcome to the BOOK BLITZ for The Letting by Cathrine Goldstein! Today is the final day of the 99 cent sale! 

Enjoy!

The Letting

by Cathrine Goldstein 

Release Date: 12/15/14

335 pages

What if the Devil doesn’t know he’s the Devil?

This is the question Veronica “Ronnie” Billings poses to Phoenix, her sworn enemy, the leader of the Peaceful Revolution, and the one she loves.

Kidnapped by Phoenix’s rebels, Ronnie learns how wrong she has been. She had no idea that her patriotism was wasted on a corrupt government. Ronnie was proud to be a Leader; taking hundreds of harvested girls to the Letting facility. After all, she was saving them from future Couplings and bringing them to the safety of the New World. Or so she thought…

Confused, Ronnie realizes the only way to discover the truth is to trust her heart. Together, Phoenix and Ronnie devise a plan to stop their corrupt government and preempt the dangerous rebel coup which is approaching. But when their plan goes awry, will Ronnie be strong enough to save Phoenix, her country, and herself?

THE LETTING IS ON SALE FOR ONLY $.99 March 11-25!

Buy Links:
Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo Books│TWRP│Google Play│All Romance

"What if the Devil doesn't know he's the Devil?" I ask.

 Phoenix shakes his head, confused. "What?"

 "Why? Why does the bad I've done have to define me?"

 "Because you're a murdering sadist," he snaps back at me.

 "No, I am not." I clench my teeth, standing my ground. I am tired of these labels I am suddenly wearing. "I never, I mean never knew what happened to those girls I led to the Lettings. I am so very sorry I played any role in this vile enterprise in which we exist, but I was clueless. Maybe I'm ignorant, or downright stupid, but I would rather have been dead than be responsible for hurting anyone. And before you go throwing malicious names around, maybe it's time you consider maybe you're wrong...? What if you kidnapped and tortured me in the name of a revolution that is wrong?"

 "It's not," he argues.

 "But I didn't think I was wrong, either." I am exasperated. "Don't you get it?"

 He takes a step back away from me, but I go on.

 "We are completely turned around. The only information we're fed is from a corrupt enterprise. What makes you think your information is any more accurate than mine?"

 For the first time ever, he looks terrified. I let a moment go by before I gesture for Raven to come over, and she hurries to my side.

 "This is Raven," I say, slowly, talking to Phoenix. "She's your sister."

   

Given my love for cities and all that is gritty, my new obsession with trees really has me stumped. (Sorry.) Maybe it's because trees are the inspiration behind my new YA/NA novel, THE LETTING.

Whatever the reason for my new infatuation, some things remain constant -- like my love for: coffee (although sadly, it's now decaf); yoga; Luna bars (I am petitioning for them to bring back Chocolate Raspberry!); running in my neighborhood; Hemingway; Bukowski... and, above all, my husband and my girls.

I am the author of the bestselling novel, Sleeping With Mortals: The Story of a New York Mistress, and I'm also a playwright. I have my B.A. in English and my M.A. in Theatre. 

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