Vonnie's Reading Corner: August 2014

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Review: After the End by Amy Plum

This read-along was hosted by my friend Wendy over at Wall-to-Wall Books.

Though I was never on time when it came to discussions, I was glad that I participated. I was introduced to a new book that I would have never picked up on my own. It was also a lot of fun sharing my thoughts with others who were reading the book along with me. Read-alongs are great fun!

She’s searching for answers to her past. They’re hunting her to save their future.

World War III has left the world ravaged by nuclear radiation. A lucky few escaped to the Alaskan wilderness. They've survived for the last thirty years by living off the land, being one with nature, and hiding from whoever else might still be out there.

At least, this is what Juneau has been told her entire life.

Read by Katherine Kellgren

Synopsis: Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man—perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

Blog Tour Review: Branded by Various Authors

Branded

A Bad Boys Anthology

B.L.Wilde

Jeanne McDonald

Jo Matthews

Mary Elizabeth

Sarah Elizabeth

B.L. Wilde, Jeanne McDonald, Jo Matthews, Mary Elizabeth, and Sarah Elizabeth give us five good reasons why good girls love bad boys. The men of Branded are sexy, adventurous, and troubled deep into their souls. There may be no redeeming them, but at the risk of losing everything, these good girls must decide if loving their bad boy is indeed worth the cost.

Blog Tour Review: Batter Up by Roby Neeley

Contemporary Romance

Released date: August, 1st, 2014

Escape Publishing

She mixes more than flour and sugar into her cake batter, and he’s about to find out if a little bit of magic is to his taste...

Bakeshop owner Emma Stevens has a secret — a delicious, slightly unorthodox secret. Each Monday, she mixes up a premonition to share with the bachelors of Buttermilk Falls, and sets one lucky man on the path to true love.

When reporter Jason Levine finds himself mixed up in a Las Vegas bachelorette party, he hears the strangest rumour: the marriage is happening thanks to magic cake batter. Seriously sceptical, and sick of frauds, Jason journeys to the backwater town of Buttermilk Falls to expose the baker and release the townspeople from her evil clutches.

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Beginning With Forever by Lan LLP

Tour Schedule

Love isn't easy to forget even if you’re determined to never feel it again. It has a way of finding you when all hope is gone, resurfacing tender emotions you've buried deep in your core because the pain of acknowledging them is too much for you to handle.

Carson Bradley, CEO of a powerful pharmaceutical corporation is rich beyond boundaries with a missing soul. His heart faded away fifteen years ago with the death of his first love.He strives every day for the sake of his cancer research because he’s determined to eradicate it forever.

Lillian Ly is a humble, young medical student whose kind and generous heart is as vast as the universe. Being raised poor by a single parent; she matured quickly and respected the sacrifices her mother made for her. Lillian’s determination leads her down a stringent five-year path with no room for love.

Free Ebook Promo Blitz for The Frost of Springtime

Historical Romance

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

To rescue her was to rescue his own soul.

On a cold Parisian night, Vicomte Aleksender de Lefèvre forges an everlasting bond with a broken girl during her darkest hour, rescuing her from a life of abuse and misery. Tormented by his own demons, he finds his first bit of solace in sheltering little Sofia Rose.

But when Aleksender is drawn away by the Franco-Prussian war, the seasons pass. And in that long year, Sofia matures into a stunning young woman—a dancer with an understanding of devotion and redemption far surpassing her age.

Teaser Tuesdays #94

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Book Tour Review + Giveaway: Chaperoning Paris by Victoria Pinder

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: June 11, 2014

Gigi Dumont never forgot how she walked away from the only man she ever loved.

She’s a teacher who has led her students to the finals of an international French competition to be help in Paris. The night before the trip, the Principal tries to cancel the trip before he, in turn, loses his job to her high school boyfriend, Sean Collins.

Sean Collins has survived cancer, a divorce , and Gigi having aborted their child back in high school. He assumed he’d hate her, if they ever crossed paths again. But he discovers she’s exactly what he wants.

When Gigi and Sean are stuck together for a week in Paris, Gigi feels she has lost all her control. How can she survive her attraction to Sean? The man’s sexier now than he was back in the day, and once upon a time, he’d had her heart. She finds herself falling for him, even knowing forever is impossible.

Spotlight: Noise by Brett Garcia Rose

Noise by Brett Garcia Rose, is a thriller/mystery centering on a deaf character's search for his missing sister. It's short, violent, but ultimately it's about love. Noise was published in June 2014.

Genres: Action, Adventure, Mystery

The world is an ugly place, and I can tell you now, I fit in just fine.

Lily is the only person Leon ever loved. When she left a suicide note and disappeared into a murky lake ten years ago, she left him alone, drifting through a silent landscape.

Or did she?

A postcard in her handwriting pulls Leon to the winter-cold concrete heart of New York City. What he discovers unleashes a deadly rage that has no sound.

A grisly trail of clues leads to The Bear, the sadistic Russian crime lord who traffics in human flesh. The police—some corrupt, some merely compromised—are of little help. They don’t like Leon’s methods, or the mess he leaves in his wake.

Blog Tour Spotlight + Giveaway: Border Lines by L.E. Fitzpatrick

Title: Border Lines

Author: LE Fitzpatrick

Series: Reachers, book #2

“We all remember that kid in Piccadilly. That determined look he had on his face as he willed all those people to him. Just using his mind he pulled them close then blew them all to pieces. It could be anyone. Your neighbour, your friend, your lover. Remain vigilant. Reachers are everywhere.”
When the perfect job comes up Charlie doesn’t think twice about taking it. This is the break he’s been looking for and nobody, not even the rest of his team, can persuade him otherwise.
The job means working for an old enemy and crossing the border into London. Both are risky but Charlie has no idea how high the stakes really are.
The team will have to confront their past, each other and a killer who is closer than they realise. But can they all make it out of the city alive?
This is the second installment in the Reacher series.

Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Clear Your Shelf Giveaway Hop Aug 20th-27th

Hosted by I am a reader, not a writer & Book Hounds

We are currently trying to save our home but there's a chance that we might end up moving. To prepare myself for a possible move, I need to downsize my library *tear*. What a better way to do that by participating in a Giveaway Hop?

Blog Tour Spotlight: Strings by Kat Green

The rise of the Black Eagles was meteoric, from band practice in the garage to global stars almost overnight.

And Melissa Webb, the beautiful girlfriend of the front man, appeared to have it all.

But when Luke Black disappears without a trace and Melissa wakes up in a hospital bed after a savage attack, her perfect world is shattered and their lives are plunged into a potentially deadly crisis.

Where is Luke, and can he be found before it is too late?

Cover Reveal + Giveaway: Do You Believe in Magic? by Susan Squires

It's A Brand New Cover For:

TITLE – Do You Believe In Magic

SERIES – The Magic Series

AUTHOR – Susan Squires

GENRE – Contemporary

PNR PUBLICATION DATE – April 7, 2012

LENGTH (Pages/# Words) - 302

PUBLISHER – Indie

Audiobook- The Mysterious Howling: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood

Read by Katherine Kellgren

Synopsis: Found running wild in the forest of Ashton Place, the Incorrigibles are no ordinary children: Alexander, age ten or thereabouts, keeps his siblings in line with gentle nips; Cassiopeia, perhaps four or five, has a bark that is (usually) worse than her bite; and Beowulf, age somewhere-in-the-middle, is alarmingly adept at chasing squirrels.

Luckily, Miss Penelope Lumley is no ordinary governess. Only fifteen years old and a recent graduate of the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females, Penelope embraces the challenge of her new position. Though she is eager to instruct the children in Latin verbs and the proper use of globes, first she must help them overcome their canine tendencies.

Tour Schedule

What If It's Love? by Alix Nichols

Blog Tour Spotlight: Blind Redemption by Violetta Rand

Historical Romance
Date Published: June 25, 2014

The past is something he’d sooner forget…

Aaron McNally hates his past. Banished from his home for betrayal, he trades his tartan for a Norwegian title and sword to win back his honor.

She has a warrior’s heart…

It’s difficult for Kara Dalgaard to act like a lady, even when her father demands it. After the handsome Jarl Aaron McNally arrives at her home recruiting for the king’s army, she’s forced to participate in a cruel deception to humiliate him.

Black Dog Nights Blitz

Black Dog Nights - Ren Monterrey

New Adult Romance

Date Published: August 8, 2014

My student loans are due and I still haven’t found a job that pays more than minimum wage. So I decide to make an arrangement through The Club. I’ll get what I need…money to pay my loans. And he’ll get what he wants…access to my body…whenever and however he wants it.

ROSE COLLINS is a recent art school graduate with overwhelming student loan debt and no way to pay it.

Review Tour- Rook: Allie's War by JC Andriejeski

Urban Fantasy

Date Published: November 13, 2013

The world is dying. Everyone feels it, and yet, no one knows.
They said that when the end was near, a Bridge would come, and lead them out of the darkness of that dying world.
Allie Taylor's life was relatively normal...
Until Revik showed up.
And told her she was that Bridge.

ROOK: Allie's War Episodes 1-4

"You are the Bridge..."

Like most humans, Allie spent her life distancing herself from Seers, a race of human-like beings discovered on Earth in the early 1900s. Then she catches her boyfriend in the arms of a hot band groupie, and Allie goes from San Francisco artist slacker to the girl wearing the GPS anklet.

Giveaway of Ben the Dragonborn by Dianne Astle

“An engaging story with the elements of fantasy woven neatly into the coming-of-age/discovering your identity theme.”

Ben’s father has disappeared. He never knew his mother. There is no one to help him understand the nightmares from his past. The principal is about to expel him when Ben is chosen by the Guardian of the Six Worlds to stop a war between humans and merfolk. Ben’s only chance of success depend on discovering the secret of his own true self in a terrifying water world where nightmares come to life.

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: The Tesla Gate by John D. Mimms

Tesla Gate Blog Tour Schedule

The Tesla Gate

When a cosmic storm enters Earth’s atmosphere, scientists are baffled by its composition and origins, but not nearly as much as they are by the storm’s side effect – anyone who has died and chosen not to cross over is suddenly stranded here, visible, and can interact with the living.

With the world thrown into chaos, Thomas Pendleton is eager to make up for many broken promises to his six-year-old son, Seth. Soon after the storm, they set out on a road trip to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, completely unaware of the social and political maelstrom they’re heading into that will change their lives forever.

Audiobook Review: Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

Read by Davina Porter

Synopsis: Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite—or forever doom—her timeless love.

Giveaway of The Circus in Me by S.M. Bjarnson

The Circus in Me by S.M. Bjarnson

The Circus in Me confronts a girl’s outcast journey. Amish to the bone, born and bred to be as such, Tracey Aliza discovers a magical land outside of her traditional community. On a quest for solitude amongst the vagabonds. She comes as a drifter transforming into a better version of oneself called by the name Trae Lae.

Outside the safety of confinement Trae Lae learns hands-on experiences being an adult in modern society. Struggles to let the past remain behind her she concentrates on performing as part of the team. Back and forth motions bring her to a whole new level of acceptance. College in due course calls to her. Off she flees to the next adventure on the map marked with an X.

The Roman Mongrel – Mary Bernsen

Historical Fiction

Date Published: July 1, 2014

For Princess Chiomara, freedom from the Romans isn't good enough. She will have her captor's head.

Loosely based on the true story of the war between Rome and Galatia, The Roman Mongrel is focused on the wife of a Galatian chieftain. Princess Chiomara is a feisty noblewoman who carries herself with incredible passion and bravery - even after she is captured by the Roman army.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading.

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

Bellydance Evolution Presents: Alice in Wonderland

Last Friday, August 1st, my dance sisters and I attended a wonderful show presented by Bellydance Evolution, Alice in Wonderland. This was one of the few moments where I was able to combine my two passions: belly dance and books. It was wonderful to experience Lewis Carol's book come to life in a beautiful art form that I absolutely love.

Blog Tour Review: Captured Lies by Maggie Thom

Book #1 The Caspian Wine Series

Suspense/Thriller

Date Published: October 2012

Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2014

Wow! July is over! What happened to the time?! So much to do yet at the same time I feel I didn't accomplish much. Hmmm...

Well, here were my reads for July: