Valentines Party ~ Giveaway

Yes, yes, I know, it is the day AFTER Valentine's day.  BUT can you really complain when I am doing a giveaway?  Yeah I didn't think so. So I hope everyone had a fantastic Valentines day.  My day wasn't spent alone.  Nope, I went to LTUE so my Valentines day was full of authors and books! 

Books. . . speaking of books. . . I have a book to giveaway!  

A Hardbound copy of Everbound (Everneath #2) and a guitar pick necklace!!!!!! 

Why? Because I LOVE you! And I LOVE this series! (Cannot wait for book 3!!!) 

Muahaha but before I post the Rafflecopter, here is my review of both books! 

Everneath Blurb: 

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's 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 precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is 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 queen.

My Review: 

Let's start with the cover.  You know what I hate? I hate when the cover doesn't match the story.  Like oh say, when there is a picture of a pretty girl in a pretty dress on the cover but in the book the pretty girl never even talks about a dress and so I have to wonder why on the cover she is wearing one.  

Well with Everneath, I honestly don't mind.  I LOVE the cover! 

Everneath is one of the most amazing, romantic YA books I have ever read! 

It kept me reading until 3am, I couldn't put it down. I didn't want to.  

I woke up the next morning and just wanted to re-read the book all over again! 

The characters are real, and everything you could ask for in a five star book! 

The story is new, fresh, enchanting, oh and the opposite of cliche!  

Now originally I was going to do a review for Everbound as well. 

BUT I am still in A Book Coma over it so now I will let you enter to win it! (And I will post my review when I announce the winner of this contest!) 

Now go fill out the Rafflecopter!! 

Oh yeah. . the boring details:

US only (sorry) 

Winner will have 48 hours to reply, if I don't get a response another winner will be chosen. 

This giveaway is for Everbound (book two in the series). 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Obsession & Sacrifice Book Highlight

Title: Obsession and Sacrifice (Sequel to The Impostor)

Author: Tiffany Carmouche

Expected Release Date: February 11, 2013

Genre: New Adult Suspense Romance

Tour Host: Lady Amber's Tours

Book Description:

Obsession and Sacrifice is the second book in a romantic trilogy about unexpected love

and a woman's fight for survival.

When Nichole wakes up in the hospital room from a coma, she has no memory of who

she is or how she got there. Only the scars on her body reveal some horrific event took

place and she is lucky to be alive…alive…but could she still be in danger?

Her only hope to rediscover her past and avoid a killer's obsession lies in the hands of

two men: sexy Dylan, her boyfriend, who used to captivate her and now prays she will

remember how much they cared for one another, and Bradley, her charming best friend,

who has secretly loved her all along. She feels safe around both men, but to her, they are

strangers. Nicole must decide who to trust, not only with her heart, but with her life.

They are rivals--both men want to win her love. But they are allies as well. The two vow

to give her a second chance at life and both will sacrifice everything to make sure she

survives.


Scene 1 Obsession and Sacrifice ©2012 Tiffany Carmouche

"He took his fingers and pressed them against my lips, “Shh, don’t say you can’t.”

All of a sudden a sensation of feelings washed over me. I grasped his fingers. I gently caressed

them in my hands and stoked my cheeks with his fingers. I closed my eyes, my nostrils delighted

by the scent.

“You’ve done that before.” I felt a warmth come over me. “I remember, you’ve done that before.

I remember the smell of your fingers.” I tilted my head to the side as if trying to visualize the

scene, looking up at him. Releasing his hands, disappointed in myself, I mumbled, “That is all I

remember.”

“That’s okay, you remembered something, that’s a start.” His face revealed the tiny dimples he

wouldn’t admit to having. “You can do anything, Nicole. You have no business putting yourself

down. You will remember in time. Now let’s get you walking!”

“Okay, I’ll try.”

“Alright! Remember you can do anything.” He let me steady myself on his forearms.

As he flexed his arms to hold me up, I noticed a muscle I had not noticed before. “What is this?”

“That’s my Brachioradialis muscle. It’s used to flex the forearm at the elbow.”

I traced down the side of his forearm “And this?”

“That is my extensor muscles. The extensors are responsible for elbow and wrist rotation.”

“And, and this one?” I asked about the smooth muscle next to the extensor muscle.

“That is my forearm flexor. Flexors are for wrist and grip strength.”

Then I ran my hand along the muscle on the bottom of his forearm. “Okay. And this one?”

“My wrist flexor.”

“You have four muscles in just your forearms? How come I only have one?”

“You have four, too.” He instructed.

“I’m pretty sure I just have one. Look.” I exhibited my forearms. There was no sign of any

separation in muscle. They all just clumped together to form one muscle. I poked around at it. “I

feel gyped. I’m telling you there’s only one.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “They’re in there. They are just hiding, I promise.”

“I think they look better on you.” I had never thought a forearm could be so sexy but his were

appealing. I blushed a little bit. His provocative strength excited me and his beauty, it intimidated

me. I still couldn’t believe he was my boyfriend. Why could I not remember him?"~Obsession

Links: 

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Facebook ~ Twitter

Blog


Website

Buy the book!

 Amazon ebook 
 Barnes and Noble ebook 
Amazon Paperback

Website

Just for Fun!
 Fan made book trailer
Fan Club 

Another fun Facebook page! 

A Little more about the Author! 


You're invited to a Facebook event! 

Ashes and Ice ~ Book Highlight

Synopsis:

She is desperate to remember.

He is aching to forget.

Together, they are not broken.

But together, one may not survive.

​Jade wakes up with no memory of her past and blood on her hands.

Plagued by wicked thoughts, she searches for answers. Instead, she finds a boy who

doesn't offer her answers, but hope. But sometimes, when nightmares turn into reality and

death follows you everywhere, hope is not enough.

LUST. LOVE. LOSS. Sometimes, all that is left are Ashes and Ice

Autrhor Bio:

Rochelle grew up dreaming up stories. When she entered high school, she tucked away

her creative side and jumped head-first into academics, work, and service projects. She

graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Political Science and Communication when

she was twenty years old. After years away from her writing, Rochelle picked up a pen

and started fleshing out a character sketch that she outlined when she was twelve. That

sketch was the start of the Ashes and Ice story. Rochelle lives in the DC metro area with

her husband and daughter. By day she works as a behavioral therapist. By night, she is a

dreamer and is busy tapping out new stories on her keyboard.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook

Excerpts: 

(Mild Swearing)

Excerpt One: Jade

The girl’s glassy, dead eyes stare into me, through me, pierce me with a fierce

urgency, with a wicked accusation. The blood is still on my hands.

Red hair, blue eyes, a constellation of freckles on pale skin. She was fragile and

innocent, a lovely thing. That is what I think until I see the gashes on her wrists and

throat. With her blood spilling out, she looks delicious. She’s mine. Possessiveness

shocks me, stabs into me. I run, tearing away from a craving I don't understand.

Breathless, I grit my teeth and run harder, faster.

My feet pound against the earth, away from the lifeless body and toward the lights

of the city lingering on the horizon. Rot and death linger in my nostrils. Unscarred skin

stretches taut over my freezing bones. Echoes of an empty memory reverberate in my

mind, taunting me. The ice chases me, clutches me, and bites at my heels, sending shivers

up my spine. The ice wants me back, but I run forward, toward the lights, toward the

heat, toward a world that burns me, because I have no other choice.

The lights are so close. Heat scalds my skin.

Images race through my mind, paralyzing me. I skid to a stop, my boots digging

into the mud. The vision’s blurred edges materialize into solid shapes.

I gasp.

A new horror rakes my insides. Desperation propels me forward; the pictures

nagging at my seams threaten to tear me apart.

Scorching fire licks over my skin. In my vision, I contort like a vile, ugly creature,

eyes as black as decay. My frame hunches over the small, dead girl, like a demon

looming over a defenseless child. Her blood drips from my mouth.

I lick my lips and taste only salty sweat.

I run, desperate to trample the vision under my feet, to crush it deep into the

ground.

I refuse to believe the image, refuse to acknowledge the monster within me

demanding to be unleashed—and the possibility it has already been unbound. An

unrelenting tide of fear washes over me. Past the denial, the fear, and the hope, I think I

can still taste her.

The cold stillness inside me cracks open just as the lights of the city slam into me.

Love Request Blitz & Giveaway

Book Release, Kindle Freebie, & Grand

Giveaway!

Love Request /Tara Chevrestt

I’m pleased to share with you my latest release, Love Request.

This one is special to me because it’s not only the first

romance I penned, but it features a “hearing-impaired”

heroine, like myself.

I say “hearing –impaired” because really, there’s nothing

wrong with Ciara. She’s not damaged or in need of repair.

She just can’t hear as well as others.

As a reader, I grew tired of all the women in romance novels

being perfect. In real life, many of us have disabilities—and they are disabilities others can’t see. And worse, they are disabilities others can’t understand, and a lot of times what people don’t understand becomes something they fear…and belittle.

This is where the bullying comes in. You see, this is more than just a romance novel. Open its pages, hit that Kindle “next page” button, and find out for yourself. Learn. Be enlightened. Relate.

Want to sample it first? No problem. Available on Kindle and FREE for the next five

days, is a humorous Valentine short story, Mating Instinct.

You’ll find the first chapter of Love Request at the end.

Thank you, readers, for celebrating this special time

me. Happy Valentine’s Day! In honor of you, I’m

giving away a print copy of Love Request, a plush

dog, a lipstick for that special date, and 5

pheromone-soaked chocolate incense sticks! WARNING: Be careful if dogs are in the

vicinity.

Blurb:

When Ciara Littleton finally joins Facebook to socialize without the limits her hearing

impairment gives her, she looks up a childhood friend on a whim. In sending him that

first message, she ignites the memories of a crush from twenty years ago. Can a simple

friend request fix all that stands between them and maybe even lead to something

more?

Hunter's plate is full. A recent divorce, a pregnant sister, and now, he realizes

he's in love with a woman who lives states away. Can he overcome the boundaries

of Internet romance to make this desire turn into something real, or will adversity and

distance be their undoing?

This book was formerly titled A Facebook Affair and has been revised with a new

ending.

This is exactly what you need!

Love Request has been named a LASR Best Book andis now up for vote on Best Book of 2012 Poll. You cancast a vote here. I’m so excited and so grateful!

Blurb for Mating Instinct:

 It’s Valentine’s Day and when Ariel receives a package of

incense in the mail from her Pagan friend and mentor, she

isn’t sure what to make of the enclosed note. Sure, she has

some issues, but who doesn’t?

When the smoke releases its magic, Ariel gets an evening

of surprise humor and romance, and it is indeed exactly

what she needs.

Links:

Love Request on Amazon

Mating Instinct FREE

Tara Chevrestt is a deaf woman, former aviation mechanic, writer,

and an editor. She is most passionate about planes, motorcycles,

dogs, and above all, reading. That led to her love of writing.

Between her writing and her editing, which allows her to be home

with her little canine kids, she believes she has the greatest job in

the world. She is very happily married.

Her theme is Strong is Sexy. She shares a website with her naughty

pen name: http://tarachevrestt.weebly.com/index.html and they have

.

a Facebook page

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rapunzel Untangled Blog Tour~ A Book Review

A Girl Trapped in a Mansion . . .

A Mysterious Old Woman . . .

The Boy Who Will Change Everything . . .

Rapunzel Untangled  by Cindy C Bennett

Fab Fane Fannigan: Are you saying you live at GOTHEL MANSION??? The Gothel Mansion?

RG: My mother calls it Gothel Manor, so maybe that’s different?

Fab Fane Flannigan: No, Rapunzel, there’s only one that I know of. It has to be the same. Are you telling me the truth here?

RG: Yes, of course. Is it weird that I live here?

Fab Fane Flannigan: No, not weird, just . . . never mind. So you live in the tower?

RG: Uh, the tower? I don’t know. Is it a tower?

Fab Fane Flannigan: Yes, it is. I know where it is. I’ll be there Friday at 8.

Rapunzel sensed the difference in his tone. Something wasn’t right.

Fab Fane Flannigan: Rapunzel, promise me one thing.

RG: Okay.

Fab Fane Flannigan: Don’t Google your house.
　
Rapunzel is not your average teenager. For one thing, she has a serious illness that keeps her inside the mysterious Gothel Mansion. And for another, her hair is 15 feet long. Not to mention that she’s also the key to ultimately saving the world from certain destruction.

But then she meets a boy named Fane, who changes all she has ever known, and she decides to risk everything familiar to find out who she really is.

Filled with romance, adventure, and mystery, Rapunzel Untangled is one story you won’t want to put down. Discover the true meaning of love and friendship in this modern twist to the classic fairytale.

My Review: 

Rapunzel Untangled is a sweet, romantic (clean) re-telling!  It kept me reading into the late night hours, I couldn't put it down!  

Fane has got to be one of my biggest book crushes right now! Awww, he's so wonderful! 
Rapunzel is wonderful, believable  and despite everything going against her, she stands up for herself in the end and takes her life back. 

The  story is of course is Rapunzel set in the modern day and I LOVE it!  Cindy even manages to get in "Rapunzel, throw down your hair."  

I have to say, this (aside from Tangled) is probably my favorite re-tell of Rapunzel! 

Thank you Cindy, for such a sweet, lovable, engaging read! 

Rapunzel Untangled from Sweetwater Books February 12, 2013. Available on 

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ or at a bookstore near you!

Join the giveaway below for your chance to win one of many great prizes, including a Nook and an MP3 Player! (Domestic only. For international giveaway click here.) Nothing required to win other than signing in.

About the Author

  

Cindy C Bennett was born and raised in beautiful Salt Lake City, growing up in the shadows of the majestic Rocky Mountains. She and her husband - who happens to be her high-school sweetheart - raised two sons and two daughters. She's now blessed with two daughters-in-law as well. She developed a love of writing in high school when a teacher introduced her to the joys of escaping reality for ten minutes each day in writing.

When she's not writing, reading, or answering emails (notice there's no mention of cleaning, cooking, or anything remotely domestic), she can often be found riding her Harley through the beautiful canyons near her home. (Yes, she rides a Harley.)</ span>

You can find Cindy at:  Blog    Facebook ~ Twitter  ~ Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Obsession & Sacrifice Release Day Blitz

Title: Obsession and Sacrifice (Sequel to The Impostor)

Author: Tiffany Carmouche

Expected Release Date: February 11, 2013

Genre: New Adult Suspense Romance

Tour Host: Lady Amber's Tours

Book Description:

Obsession and Sacrifice is the second book in a romantic trilogy about unexpected love

and a woman's fight for survival.

When Nichole wakes up in the hospital room from a coma, she has no memory of who

she is or how she got there. Only the scars on her body reveal some horrific event took

place and she is lucky to be alive…alive…but could she still be in danger?

Her only hope to rediscover her past and avoid a killer's obsession lies in the hands of

two men: sexy Dylan, her boyfriend, who used to captivate her and now prays she will

remember how much they cared for one another, and Bradley, her charming best friend,

who has secretly loved her all along. She feels safe around both men, but to her, they are

strangers. Nicole must decide who to trust, not only with her heart, but with her life.

They are rivals--both men want to win her love. But they are allies as well. The two vow

to give her a second chance at life and both will sacrifice everything to make sure she

survives.

Author Bio:

When Tiffany Carmouché is not writing Romance novels, you can find her sculpting, traveling, teaching, singing, dancing, escaping in music or enjoying her family.

She loves to travel. Sky diving in Alaska, riding camels in Africa, working with orphans in Argentina, dancing salsa in Ecuador, scuba diving in Hawaii, traveling throughout Spain, swimming under the stars in Puerto Rico and walking the cobblestone roads of

Assisi, Italy are a few of her adventures. Her most cherished moments, however, havebeen watching her two beautiful daughters strive to accomplish their dreams.

For many years, she put her passions on hold. She lost sight of who she was and thethings that made her truly happy. She says she felt almost defeated, but now she isrecommitted to savoring experiences both in the novels she writes and in the life she lives

each day. And her secret hope is anyone who is struggling will realize there is a light at

the end of the tunnel and no matter how hard the fight, no matter how many times you

have been knocked down, it is always worth staggering up to your feet and learning to

breathe again.

Links: 

Amazon ~ Goodreads

Facebook ~ Twitter

Blog


Website

Buy the book!

 Amazon ebook 
 Barnes and Noble ebook 
Amazon Paperback

Website

Just for Fun!
 Fan made book trailer
Fan Club 

Another fun Facebook page! 

A Little more about the Author! 


You're invited to a Facebook event! 

A Touch a magic in the new Touching Series Covers!

Touching Smoke and Touching Eternity got a makeover!!!!!!  

Touching Smoke: 

For sixteen-year-old FALLON BRAEDEN being on the run had been the easiest part of her life. Packing up and crossing whole cities on a split second decision had been tedious, having no friends and being alone had been painful, but being caught by the truth was something she learned too late was worse.

Fallon is a weapon. She was created to destroy. Keeping her alive, keeping her safe is all Isaiah knows. It’s all that matters, because Fallon is his. She belongs to him. She is a part of his body, his soul, his heart. He will do anything, kill anyone to keep her, even if it means sacrificing himself.

But can Fallon believe the stranger on the motorcycle claiming he was there to die for her? How do you trust when you have no one but the memories of a girl you’ve never met and a tall, dark, gorgeous boy that you feel pulsing deep in your soul? What do you do when you’ve been lied to your whole life? When you’re told you’re normal even though nothing about you is normal? Fallon must learn quickly just what she is before the evil chasing her finally gets what it wants… her blood.

The world depends on her not falling in love, not giving in. But what happens when the temptation becomes too great, when falling is her only option? Can she live knowing the world will burn because his touch is the only thing keeping her alive?

Touch Passion. Touch Power. Touch Smoke!

Purchase Touching Smoke 

Amazon, ~ Smashwrods , ~ Kobo, ~ Paperback 

Add it on... Goodreads 

Watch the Trailer. 

Read my review HERE. 

Touching Eternity:

Before Fallon was created to destroy. Before love became the ultimate weapon of destruction. There was Amalie and the horror that started a revolution that tore the fabric of humanity, of everything standing in the balance between power, hope and survival.

Amalie has one wish, one gnawing desire — she wants to die. 

She wants to leave this world behind with its pain and darkness. She wants to finally breathe. But Amalie is a prisoner, a disease, not fit for life. She is unwanted, unnatural. She is defective, something useless and broken. Her own mother hadn’t wanted her. Her father hated her. The world shunned her and the only person she had ever loved, truly and with all her heart and soul, couldn’t stand the sight of her, couldn’t stand the thought of ever being with her. She repulsed him. Her insanity disgusted him. He’d forgotten her. He’d left her behind, deserted and abandoned her to a madman hell bent on crushing her, stealing her soul and shattering her will. 

But what if she’s finally given hope? A reason to live? Can Amalie finally accept the hand offering so much for so little in return? Can she love again when she has nothing left to give? 

Can she finally be free?

Purchase Touching Eternity

Amazon ~ Smashwords ~ Kobo  ~ Paperback

Add it on... Goodreads

Watch the Trailer.

Stalk . .. er, Follow Airicka Phoenix Author on

Twitter (@AirickaPhoenix) ~ Facebook ~  GoodRead ~ Pinterest  ~ Author Site 

 ~ Design Page ~ 

(And in case you didn't know, Airicka is the one who created my review chart guide!!!!) 

The Joys of Research. . .Seriously. ~ Guest post with Ryan Hunter

Ryan is taking over my blog for the day! 

Please welcome her! 

Ryan Hunter is the author of inDIVISIBLE, a dystopian that’s being hailed as a modern-day 1984; and Premeditated, a YA suspense. She’s a wife and mother of five. She’s an avid runner, blogger and baker.

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Blog

Brynn Aberdie had everything: a loving family, security and an electronic implant that monitored every move.

Brynn had everything but freedom.

When her father’s life is taken Brynn vows to find that freedom, but it’s a task that puts her life at stake. She’s tagged as a terrorist and put on an Alliance kill list, forcing her to leave her home and become the rebel they already believe her to be.

Brynn learns a lesson many in One United have already learned – by failing to protect they’re rights, Citizens have forfeited their lives with little hope to ever recover their own identities.

The Joys of Research. . . .Seriously. by Ryan Hunter

While writing my latest novel, inDIVISIBLE, I decided not to read anything political or read any other dystopians so the world of One United would be unique, uninfluenced, but that doesn’t mean I avoided ALL research.

Researching for novels can come in many forms and for inDIVISIBLE I took the outdoors route, as I usually do. As much of the novel follows Brynn and T through the mountains, we went hiking.

Just south of our home is a hike that would blow your mind, and it’s rich with the same vegetation and landscape that I imagined Brynn and T would be exploring. I waited until after my first draft and then we went, collecting samples of leaves, taking pictures of trees, of the river and even a rattlesnake we found napping. After hiking I was able to make the scenes come alive, introducing more sounds, smells and sights than I would otherwise have included in the finished scenes.

I think that’s what so many books are lacking, the use of all the senses, so when I write I try to be descriptive about smells, sights and sounds, like describing the scent of butterscotch filtering from towering pines.

I’ve done similar research for every book I've written, hiking the canyons where scenes take place, driving the streets of the cities or looking up demographics to make sure I've got the people in the area right.

I even attended court for one of my first novels (written under the name Robyn Heirtzler) to make sure I got the procedure right and the emotions of the judge, defendant and attorneys.

It’s important, as an author, to understand the adrenaline involved, the physical strengths or trials a person is really going through, so I was grateful that I was training for my half-marathon while writing inDIVISIBLE, as one of the characters is a runner. And I’m even grateful that I sprained my right hand just before our hike so I could enjoy it with a painful injury.

Researching by reading books on emotions, locations or personality helps, but experiencing it helps make the story feel real to the reader, especially when we can convey it believably. It can also be a lot of fun.

While working as a journalist (and growing up in an adventurous family) I've had opportunities to do many things that have fed into the emotions of my characters. It’s helped me be more real in my writing, things like driving a Jeep off a cliff, road trips, rock climbing, having a gun pointed at my face by a stranger, training with simulation rounds with local police departments, etc.

Whether it’s experiences intentionally sought out for research or things that just happen, they can lend a feeling of reality to writing like nothing else. They can also create some awesome memories!

Yes, I find a lot of joy in research.