While He Was Away by Karen Schreck
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (May 1st, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 256 pages
Source: eGalley from Publisher
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
"This is just something I have to do, okay?" I hear David say."The right thing."

He cradles my face in his hands. He kisses me hard. Then he lets go of me. His eyes dart from me to whatever's next.

All she wants is for him to stay. She's been doing pretty well, pretending he doesn't have to go. But one day, after one last night to remember, she wakes up and there's no denying it anymore. He's gone.

When Penna Weaver's boyfriend goes off to Iraq, she's left facing life without him. As summer sets in, Penna tries to distract herself with work and her art, but the not knowing is slowly driving her crazy. Especially when David stops writing.

She knows in her heart he will come home. But will he be the same boy she fell in love with?

Review:

I loved the beginning of the book where we really get a good idea of Penna and David's intense relationship. It's obvious that they care deeply about one another and are hurting from the idea of being apart. I gotta say, after David leaves the book took a lot of turns I didn't expect. Maybe it was the summary that threw me off but I thought this would be about Penna changing while David was gone and not feeling as connected to him, or David dealing with issues while he was away. Or, even Penna finding someone else she was interested in while he was gone. It wasn't really any of those things.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad book at all, and I do think it accurately portrays the emotions of a teenage girl missing her boyfriend who is overseas, but it just may not be the book people expect. To me, this was more about Penna's journey to find her grandmother, deal with being alone, handle her mother, and learn how to be more self-sufficient. Those issues seem to be much more important to the story, rather than anything about David's feelings about being away.

Penna was a good character and I admired her courage. Even though she was young, she did everything she could to keep in touch with David and let him know how much he meant to her. One bonus was Ravi. He was an old friend of David's and he is dealing with is own issues. I admit, I thought he would be playing a much bigger role in this book. He was an interesting character and I liked his interactions with Penna.

I could have handled the overall plot of the book just fine; however, the ending threw me off. I didn't expect it to be like that and I guess it didn't really make sense to me. I didn't see it coming, which was good, but it just seemed abrupt. This made it maybe a 3.5 rating for me but I went up to a 4 just because I did really enjoy Karen's writing style and realistic portrayal of a young couple dealing with being apart.
Recommended: Contemporary fans looking for a book with some deeper aspects.

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Looking for a good YA summer romance?

Sourcebooks has two fabulous summer lovin' books coming out. The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond and While He Was Away by Karen Schreck are both released May 1st. Today I have a guest post from Katherine on why we crave fame.
Sign up below for a chance to win both titles!

Why We Crave Fame
“Celebrity-in-Hiding.” When I first started writing THE SUMMER OF NO REGRETS, I didn’t want to admit how much that idea intrigued me. I’m a lot like my main character, Brigitta—all about finding the meaning of life, not fantasizing over whether the guy next door is a movie star. When I bought a National Enquirer, I explained to the grocery store clerk that it was for research— that I was writing a book (“Yes,” I told her modestly, “I am an author.”) I certainly didn’t normally read that sort of thing. Of course not. Well, okay, maybe the headlines. Occasionally.

But as I read through stacks of People and Star and Us (which is a lot like eating sugar cubes all day long), and more stacks of celebrity biographies, I started to wonder what the deal is about fame. Why does it fascinate us? Why do we love the idea of either being famous or being connected to somebody famous?

I think it’s because we’ve got some interesting ideas about “being known.” If I’m “known,” people know who I am, right? Lots of people. Those people will say I’m talented and beautiful and they’ll treat me with special respect. If I’m known, I get to wear amazing clothes and ride in limousines. People will do what I want just because I’m known. If I only eat the green M&M’s, someone will pick those out of the five-pound bag and put them into a crystal dish for me. If I’m known, I am important—more important than that boss who fired me, or the teacher who gave me a C and said “You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” or the security guard who threw me out of a mall in Seattle for plugging my cellphone into a floor outlet (true story!)

But is that really what being known is? Getting special treatment and being better than somebody else? Who really knows me when I’m known like that? What I crave, what I really crave, is to have a few people who will look into my eyes and know me—know how I wrinkle my nose when I laugh, and what my favorite show is, and why I’m afraid of guns. It’s what we all want, I think—people who will listen to us when we’re scared, and scream with us on the roller coaster, and trust us with their hurts. We want to know we matter. We want to have a few people we don’t have to hide ourselves from.

So is Brigitta’s next-door-neighbor a secret superstar? We can talk about that later. I need to go to the grocery store and read some headlines.

The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (May 1st, 2012)
Paperback: 290 pages
The day Brigitta accidentally flings herself into the lap of a guy she's never met, her friend Natalie is convinced he's Trent Yves, egotistical heartthrob-in-hiding. When the boy, who calls himself Luke, is nearly eaten by a cougar, Brigitta finds herself saving his life, being swept into his spectacular embrace and wondering if she wants Natalie's fantasy to be true.

As the two spend the summer together raising orphaned cougar cubs, Brigitta still can't be sure of his true identity. But then again, since her grandparents' death, her father's sudden urge to give away all their possessions and become a shaman, and her own awkward transition from girlhood into a young woman, she isn't sure of anything. What is the truth? More importantly, can she accept it?

While He Was Away by Karen Schreck Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (May 1st, 2012) Paperback: 249 pages This is just something I have to do, okay?" I hear David say."The right thing."

He cradles my face in his hands. He kisses me hard. Then he lets go of me. His eyes dart from me to whatever's next.

All she wants is for him to stay. She's been doing pretty well, pretending he doesn't have to go. But one day, after one last night to remember, she wakes up and there's no denying it anymore. He's gone.

When Penna Weaver's boyfriend goes off to Iraq, she's left facing life without him. As summer sets in, Penna tries to distract herself with work and her art, but the not knowing is slowly driving her crazy. Especially when David stops writing.

She knows in her heart he will come home. But will he be the same boy she fell in love with?

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive a copy of The Summer of No Regrets and While He Was Away.

• You must be at least 13 (or have permission) to enter.
• Name and email must be provided.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US only and ends May 9th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

Find Katherine Grace Bond Website | Goodreads | Twitter

Find Karen Schreck Website | Goodreads | Twitter

By: Kristie Cook

I’m a city girl. I married a country boy. After 10 years of living in various cities and suburbs, my husband had enough. Along with my brother-in-law, we bought 90 acres south of Kansas City and split it. He got the half with the old homestead (and a cemetery!). We built a house. Brand new. No reason it should be haunted. Right?
Eerie things happened in that house. We’d hear strange noises in the basement and, armed with various “weapons,” would check them out to find nothing. The microwave would turn itself on… even after we bought a new one. Just little things. But we lived out in the country, where dark is really dark, so it was easy to freak ourselves out.
One Halloween, I was traveling for business. My husband took the kids into town for trick-or-treating while he hung out with friends, no doubt watching scary movies, and then they went home and he watched Ghost Hunters. He finally went to bed by himself around 1 o’clock. He called me the next morning with the following story.
He had barely fallen asleep when something woke him. Kneeling by his side of the bed, down toward his feet, was a woman with white hair. She seemed to be crying. When she looked at him, her mouth moved, as if talking to him, but no sound came. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, she was gone.
A little while later, after staring at the moon for a while (it was the country – no need to close the blinds), he started to drift off when something woke him again. The woman had returned and this time it looked like she yelled at him. Her face looked angry or frustrated, as if she tried to tell him something important. But he heard nothing. This happened a few more times and each time, she became more agitated.
Too terrified to sleep, he watched the moon move across the sky. Around 3 o’clock, she was there again, but really angry now, throwing her hands at him and, again, soundlessly yelling at him. Then she moved around the corner of the bed, to where he couldn’t see her anymore. He lay, frozen, hoping she’d gone away for good. No such luck.
He lay on his side, still facing out, when he said it felt like it does when I crawl into bed. He felt someone getting into my side of the bed and sliding under the covers. He squeezed his eyes shut, barely able to breathe and shaking like a leaf – a big, 6’2”, 225-lb leaf. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling on it, trying to roll him over.
After a string of profanities, he prayed furtively, “Please, God, make it go away.”
And it did. As the moon moved out of sight, he was finally able to fall asleep, not to be awoken again.
The next morning, as they’re preparing to leave for school and work, my husband told my oldest son, “I swear I saw a ghost in my room last night.” No other details.
My son asked, matter-of-factly, “Was she blond?”
We moved to Florida not too long after that, but still hadn’t sold the acreage. When my husband had to go back to do some renovations before selling, he stayed at the nearest hotel, 30 miles away, refusing to spend the night in that house.

Purpose by Kristie Cook Publisher: Ang'dora Productions (December 15th, 2010) Reading Level: 17 and up Paperback: 377 pages Series: Soul Savers, book #2 Lost in despair, Alexis teeters on the edge of an abyss, her lifeline of hope fraying into a thin thread. If it snaps, she’ll plunge into complete darkness. With the help of her son and her writing, she’s been able to hold on. Until now. Erratic impulses, disturbing delusions and her own demonic blood threaten her sanity. When she’s forced to choose between hanging onto hope or letting go to serve her Amadis purposes, she faces a decision with inconceivable sacrifices.

Alexis runs to the one place she thinks will provide answers, only to find herself at the center of another battle of good versus evil, not only with the Daemoni, not only within herself… but also against the worst opponent imaginable. But even if she wins, what will she lose?

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive a signed copy of Purpose and bookmarks.

• You must be at least 17 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US ONLY and ends November 14th.
• Once contacted the winner will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

- *Hugs* Thanks Kristie for the spooky story and book donation of Purpose, which I can not WAIT to read!

USE GOOGLE to read my review of Promise.

Find Kristie Cook Kristie Cook / Promise / Purpose / Goodreads / Twitter

Purchase Promise (Soul Savers, Book #1) Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords

Pre-Order Purpose (Soul Savers, Book #2)
Pre-Orders now available HERE!

* Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post.

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.

Please read: The post you are about to read is 100 % **Role Play
All the characters represented here ( @The_Omega_ ) with the exception of Lisa and myself are **Role Players from a group on twitter. They have agreed to role play with us to help celebrate not only our Halloween Event, but also to help share our love for the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by author J.R. Ward, as these Role Players are also huge fans of J.R. Ward's works.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT NO ONE with this site/blog, Lisa's site/blog nor the role-playing group — which you can find with the list of twitter accounts provided — is in any way, shape or form connected to or affiliated with J.R. Ward. No one present or represented here is J.R. Ward, nor is the role playing intended for any purpose other than the personal enjoyment of the Role Players involved.

The following story contains some strong language and mature themes. The Favor by @The_Omega_
What is that spiteful b**** up to now?” I reached over to one of my pets, a strange mixed breed, part dragon, part cockatrice, all malevolence and anger. There are a total of six in existence. I bred them especially for aggression and protection, not that I really needed protecting or anything. But they come in handy when I need to intimidate my lessers. Or others. As I ran my arm over his bumpy scales, I thought back to the day the Scribe Virgin came to ask me a favor. It seems one of her precious warriors needed to be taught a lesson. He was a strong bastard and she had nothing with which she could impress upon him the lessons she felt he was in sore need of learning. I knew it was a sharp blow to her pride to have to come to me for anything. She had always been favored, in everything, and was loathe to have to ask me for help of any kind. In this it was no different. She entered my domain with a gust behind her, carrying that cursed scent from her Fade with her. “ Could I possibly borrow one of your dragons? I wish to curse one of my warriors, to teach him how to control himself and as I can think of nothing more out of control than your creatures, one of them would work nicely to punish him,” she asked without a hint of humility. She was asking me a favor and didn’t even have the decency to bow before me. I just looked at her, not saying a word. I could tell she was becoming impatient as she began to explain very quickly. “Rhage is impulsive and quick tempered. He’s also very strong and could take out many of your army before they even realize he’s there. It would be in your best interest for this warrior to be tamed.” I was hesitant to trust anything she said. I’m probably the only one who knows her truly. When our Father made us, it was assumed that she got the light while I got the darkness. We are supposedly two halves of a whole — she the positive and I the negative. Quite inaccurate. Our Father was mostly darkness and while it’s true all I got was that, it is also true that my dear sibling, while getting mostly goodness, also got a hefty dose of evil to go with it. She had a wicked mean streak that even her favorite monsters couldn’t escape. I would have said no out of hand, but I thought this would be an excellent way to dispatch of the Brotherhood immediately. I decided I would allow her to take the meanest, most out of control dragon I had, fully expecting that it would eat every vampire in the Brotherhood and make the rest of my job easy. There was no way, I thought, the Brother could possibly wrangle this monster.

“ You may have my favorite pet, but I have some conditions that must be met,” I said to her after a very long silence. “This isn’t something I do without great trepidation, knowing how horrid you are.” She waved her hand, as if to dismiss my concerns about her motives. She was always so dismissive of me and it drove me insane. “ No, sister mine, I will not be brushed off,” I growled in an ominous tone only I can pull off. “If you won’t agree to my demands, you shall not be allowed the use of my pet.” As I began to outline my requirements, a small smile played on her face. No one could tell me that the Scribe Virgin wasn’t sadistic. She was in absolute agreement that she borrow the most aggressive dragon, the one who would take the most work to control. She was happy to curse her warrior for 200 years, which I demanded to ensure the beast would have ample time to do its job. The only stipulation she balked at was my presence at the insertion. She didn’t want me there and I couldn’t understand why. “ I can’t be seen with you,” she said, aghast at the thought. “You can’t come to my sanctuary. You can’t be anywhere near me in any place where people might see us.” I put aside the insult. She had long since ceased to hurt my feelings with her obvious disgust at my very existence. “ Sorry, no deal. If I can’t be there to witness my pet, my baby, being implanted in that disgusting brute of yours, then you can’t have him,” I said as I turned away, fully prepared to send her away empty handed. I knew that would get her. One thing my darling sister couldn’t stand was being denied a chance to hurt another soul, even if was one that she had created. She liked to hide in her white world, where everything looked pristine and pure. However, anyone who looked closely at her behaviors, the things she did, the things she required before being willing to grant any favor, they would have seen the cruelty in her acts. “ I will agree to whatever you ask, brother,” she practically spat the word at me. “As you have asked a price for this, you must make sure the monster you give me will be the most difficult trial a warrior could possibly have to endure. If you don’t, I will find a way to make up the difference, and that will be most unpleasant for you. Of that you can be sure. Oh, and I shall have to hide you with a mhis. I wasn’t being facetious when I said I couldn’t be seen with you.” So the deal was struck. Within the blink of an eye, we were in front of the warrior, who had his head bent awaiting his punishment. I noticed the dead owl lying by the tree and I knew this vampire was in for more pain and suffering than he could possibly survive. My sister loved her birds and there was no way she was going to let this pass without extracting her pound of flesh. The Brother was larger than a typical vampire, but he was nowhere near big enough to contain my beast without a great struggle, and getting him into the vampire wasn’t going to be anything short of torturous. He was shaking a bit, perhaps in fear. Or maybe it was remorse, as he did seem to genuinely feel bad for whatever act had ended in the death of the owl. If he was smart, he would have been terrified. Whatever he felt, he kept his head bowed in shame and awaited his punishment with bravery. My sister, in her flowing black robe, was standing in front of the male. She reached down and grabbed him by his long, blond hair, yanking his head back until it looked like it was going to wrench from his neck. Looking into his face, she roared at him, “You have taken one of my most precious possessions.” The male just gaped at her, his eyes wide with surprise at her indignation. Tears were rolling down his face now as he stammered out a weak apology. His whole body was wracked with sobs. He blubbered about how he didn’t mean to do harm, how he hadn’t thought of the repercussions of giving his weapon to someone untrained. The words were coming out of his mouth so fast I had to struggle to understand what he was saying. I guess the male wasn’t stupid after all. He was petrified. From out of her robe, the Scribe Virgin pulled a large dagger. It was bone handled and looked like something with which a human would disembowel large game. Still looking directly into the vampire’s eyes, she took the knife and stabbed him in the throat. It made a sound of a stone dropping into wet cement, a slurping noise that would have caused a mortal to vomit. The male’s eyes did the impossible. They became even wider than they had been, taking up so much of his face that it appeared eyes were all he had.
Pulling slowly, she dragged the blade down through his neck, his chest. The sickening sound of his sternum cracking was loud enough to startle the birds still left in the trees in this very twisted sanctuary. The strength she wielded to break through his rib bones one by one was impressive. My sister was watching the line of damage as she created it, her gaze not wavering from her bloody task for a moment. She didn’t stop until she had cut him all the way to his pubic bone. As intestines and entrails spilled out of the gaping hole my sister had gouged in this pathetic creature, she looked as if she was in ecstasy. Her head was tilted to the sky, the look on her face one of rapture. My sister had lost her mind in that moment. I was sure of it. The male looked as if he was screaming, though no sound was coming out. His eyes were wide but not seeing. His face was contorted in pain that most would be unable to live through, draining of color as the blood poured from the wound in his torso. There was so much blood, running in rivers down the hill, into the fountain, turning the water a deep hue of red that was terribly out of place in this sea of white. The vampire’s essence was leaving quickly as my sister was lost in her own private rampage. She actually seemed unaware of the harm she had done. As the warrior seemed to finally grasp the severity of the situation he was in, he resigned himself to the fate that would be conferred upon him. Any fight he may have had inside his large body left, just as the vital fluid was doing. Snapping out of whatever twisted reverie she was lost in, the Scribe Virgin captured my dragon by his barbed tail and set about the onerous task of forcing a very round peg into a very square and much smaller hole. Inch by inch, she pushed and shoved that 12 foot dragon into the opening she had created when she eviscerated the vampire. The sound of bones crunching was almost more than I could bear. Almost. The warrior’s face was a study in tortured agony. Sweat was pouring from his brow. His mouth was agape in a silent wail. His eyes were rolled back in his head, and still my sister continued her almost methodical invasion of the body she had laid open. When the dragon was finally well seated, crammed really, in the small space, she held her hand out, a light emanating from it, and she sealed the wound she had earlier created. She unceremoniously dropped her warrior, using that dangerous hand to clean up the mess she had made. The vampire curled into a ball then very violently splayed his body out, knowing that whatever was inside was too large for his shell to hold. Finally he found his voice and the silent screams became deafening shrieks and had my sister not covered her heinous act with a mhis that not only hid me from sight, but this entire gruesome scene, all of her innocent Chosen would have fled her presence in absolute terror. But the Scribe Virgin was nothing if not smart. She wasn’t going to let anyone see her madness. With another wave of her hand, she wiped the memory of what she had done from her creature’s mind and made sure the dragon was well ensconced inside his body, making them one. It was almost as if the male came awake, he startled and awareness returned to him. “ You will carry with you a curse, for two hundred years, to remind you of what you have done here. No more will you be able to think only of yourself, acting impulsively as only a young child should be wont to do,” she whispered into his face, so close to him it made even me shudder. “And you will be reminded every time you get even slightly out of control, because you will be visited by a beast so savage even those you love won’t be safe.” I left her garden impressed, and a little hopeful that perhaps she and I had come to some sort of understanding. Perhaps we would be able to work together in the future, not always be at odds. She had, after all, just brutally attacked the warrior race she claimed to love so much. Of course that isn’t what happened. Instead of being able to break free of its warrior prison and devour the Brotherhood, my sister enchanted the beast, protecting her vermin, and instead my dragon chose to eat my lessers. In the 99 or so years he’d been inside of that Brother, he hadn’t eaten a single one of the noxious rodents he should have preferred. That certainly should be a hint as to how slimy those freaks are, when even a dragon won’t eat one. My sister, the malicious Scribe Virgin, irritates me to no end. My life's mission has been to eradicate the disgusting species she created and she is seriously screwing that up. Everything she did is in direct opposition to me. Every single thing. And it is beginning to piss me off. She really is a spiteful b****.

If you would like to follow along with the Role Players that @The_Omega_ is part of, please USE GOOGLE to easily follow each character within the group. And trust me, you don't know what your missing! So hurry and follow today!

Find @The_Omega_ Online:

Twitter | Facebook

@FritzDoggen_BDB Online: (updates, notes and information on the Twitter Role Playing Group)

Website | Twitter

Order All 8 books in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series and Preorder book 9 Online here:

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Reference:

**Role Play

–verb (used with object)
1. to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), esp. in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction: Management trainees were given a chance to role-play labor negotiators.
2. to experiment with or experience (a situation or viewpoint) by playing a role: trainees role-playing management positions.
–verb (used without object)
3. to engage in role-playing.

Thank you so much to @The_Omega_ and all the other characters from the Black Dagger Brotherhood Twitter Role Play group for all the time and effort they have been putting in to help us celebrate not only Halloween and our event, but also our love for all that is the Brotherhood and J.R. Ward. * Check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post with Sara Bennett Wealer and a giveaway for a signed copy of Rival.

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.

It is now time to vote on the story entries! Thanks to everyone who entered! We really appreciate you all for sharing your stories with us! We do hope that everyone takes time out to read each story before voting for their favorites! You have until this Friday, the 22nd to vote.
Voters:

• Lisa and I will both be posting the stories.

• The form is the same on both blogs so duplicates will be deleted.
• To vote, put your email address and the number of the story you like into the form.
• Email addresses are only used in order to check for duplicate votes.
• If you are participating in the comment contest, leave your email with the comment for it to be counted. Same as with the other Haunted Halloween posts.
• If you voted, say"I voted!" in the comment and you will get an extra entry into the comment contest.
• Vote for your favorite!

• Feel free to post about the voting starting. Please encourage people to vote for their favorite.
• You can cast a vote for your own story, but only once each round.

Rules:

• This is Round 1 of voting. It will end Friday, the 22nd.
• Round 2 will begin next Sunday, the 24th. It will end Friday, the 29th.
• 8 stories will continue onto Round 2!
• The winners will be announced on Halloween!

Story #1 — Found"Hello my love." Came a horribly familiar voice. I slowly turned around and there he was. My worst nightmare. The last time I saw him he was covered in my blood. My knees felt week and I didn't know if I had the strength to keep them study. He smiled that same dark smile that he had the day he tried to kill me. I thought I had escaped, I thought it was over. As he reached for my hand I knew it would be soon."How I have missed you." He said as our hands met. I felt a tingle run up my arm as he touched me. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, everything that I had worked for, to get past the memory of him was gone. All there was in the world was him and his hand upon mine. I couldn’t bring myself to run or to scream. I was lost in his murderous eyes. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #2 — Invisible Gotta find the exit. I just have to. I don't want to die I am too young. He told me that it wouldn't end like this that if I just give him what he needed then he would leave me and my family alone. I have been running for nearly three days and every time I think I am safe I see his shadow again. It all started back when I met the new kid in school. He was gorgeous nonetheless. Always seemed so perfect and mysterious. Apparently my judgment was correct except for the perfect part. As I grew closer to him the more I drew away from school, friends, and even worse my family. There seemed to be something pulling me deeper into his world, something that was turning me almost invisible to the world around me. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #3 — Sun and Moon The obsidian building towered high into the thunderous clouds, and was surrounded by a large iron-wrought fence. Erus, a grim and depressing boy for his age, stared at the bleak view before him: This was to be his new home: The Orphanage. Erus picked anxiously at his raggedy blue sweatshirt. His dark black hair obscured his vision, but gave him a sharper look. The pale skin of his face often made others think that he was dead, maybe a vampire. Maybe he was, no, he most definitely was. Due to the monumental hunger he felt building up inside him like carbon in a soda bottle. Every sense in his body became more acute, and human blood sang beneath luscious skin. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #4 — Ghost girl This was when I was around 17 years old. My parent move us in to our first house after living so long in an apartment. The house had 3 bedrooms and one bathroom. I was sharing a room with my sister, she was 16 year old. My two brother were sharing the room next to ours. my parents room was across the hallway. My room had the only window a/c unit. Our bedroom was the smallest bedroom and we only had a bunkbed an old tv, those old one that had the wooden box arround and with the big knobs. After a week I was watching tv late one night and the tv out of nowhere turn off. I thought the tv had a short and went to sleep. The next week weird things started to happen. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #5 — The Blood Spirit 1920
It was in the small town of Ashbury, New York that the rumor became.
“Oh, Mary, I’ve missed you so much!”
“Hahaha, well, I told you I’d return didn’t I, silly boy.” The girl’s sweet voice filled the room. It was like a drug to Everett and he wanted more. He had long awaited her return spending night after night staring longingly into the mirror on his dresser, until she had finally appeared that night.
“I thought… maybe you had moved on.” Everett’s voice tried to cover his emotions at the thought of losing his beautiful Mary. Mary, the one that had saved him from all the darkness in his life and now he could barely stand to look her in the eyes because of her beauty. They had shown with understanding, but that was all a mask to help cover up the thing she really was. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #6 — The Current-Day 1900's Spiderman: A Little Boy's Tale
A shaggy haired two year old boy with wide eyes watched the hall of his newly built home. Not only was his puppy barking at it but both pet cats were hissing as well. His mommy turned to the hall then back at the display in front of her calling their attention. The little boy dropped his multi-colored duplos and looked to his mommy, his eyes glistening with a look she never seen before, then pointed to the short hall between the living room and the playroom saying one word. “Man.”

The appearances of 'man' didn't stop that one quiet night. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #7 — Friendly Fire Fire. One word. One very short word. And yet, for Kaylee it was the most important word in the world. It was the last thing her mother ever said to her. As a child she had been hurt that her mother hadn’t spoken words of love and encouragement in the last moments of her life, it was only when she was older that she understood the true power behind that one word.

Fire. It brings warmth. It brings light. It brings destruction. And eventually it can bring life. But for Kaylee it brought wonder and mystery and a power so overwhelming that the mere sight of her would strike fear into complete strangers. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #8 — Stranger in the Night"We should dance," Brady smiled. Prom night.
I heard a voice."Excuse me," someone said from behind.

"Sorry, sorry" Brady muttered.

Me, I couldn't speak. It was his eyes; they smoldered. I had never seen a guy with black eyes before. Taking one look at his face --pale, chiseled, eerily handsome-- I was totally, totally lost.

"Stephanie," he grinned. I parted my lips, but couldn't speak.

"Stephanie?" I couldn't hear Brady. I couldn't even tell he was still there. Everything was a big, buzzing blur; his hand at my waist, it wasn't even there. I swear it wasn't. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #9 — The Good Mother Our lake is haunted.

Long ago there was a Mother who fell asleep by the water. While she slept her child crawled into the water and was lost.

The Mother, unwilling to accept her child’s death, dove beneath the waves and disappeared.

Supposedly, she searches for him still. Children roaming near the lake on the night her child disappeared will disappear too. She waits to wrap them in her watery embrace. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #10 — Blackbird Sing They say the beautiful song of the blackbird makes it a symbol of temptations. For the most part, I have been a fairly responsible adult during the course of my life. I live in control and in restraint; I have no weakness.

When I approach the enormous tree with the bare and scraggly branches, I see it is full of blackbirds. I should think something is not right. But with a sensible head resting atop my shoulders, omens never affected me. I could shatter a thousand mirrors and still live in good health and in good luck.

My phone shrills in my pocket. I do not want to pick it up. Instead, I gaze at the still blackbirds, with their graceful feathers and beady eyes. Nothing is wrong. Just a tree full of silly birds. I see them all the time. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #11 — The Mattress Kasey never liked hospitals. They just made her feel uncomfortable. Everything smelled like hand soap or old people, and everything was so… sterile. She especially hated it at night when her room's light was turned off. The hallway would still be brightly lighted — yes, even in the middle of the night — but even the small sliver of light that she could see under her door wasn't comfort enough. Being in the dark scared her, and being in the dark alone was even more frightening.

She had had three concussions in the past spring from playing rugby — three too much. She had spent week after week in hospitals attempting to recover, missing school, missing her friends, missing life. She hardly knew what sunshine felt like. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #12 — Lifeless Love Her breath raced as she ran down the hill. Sweat glistened on her face in the light of the half-moon. Her pursuer was not far behind, his long arms flapping limply at his sides. She turned right and hid behind a trash can and prayed he would pass her by.

“Chloe,” He croaked. “Come out. You know I won’t hurt you. How could I hurt you? I love you.”

Silent tears slid down her face. How she wanted to believe those words. But she knew now that he was lost to her.

Footsteps were heard receding into the distance; he was gone, for now. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #13 — Whisper Damien was filled with dread as he crossed the threshold of Milton Manor. Fear emanated from his every pore, clouded his vision, and burned its way through his lungs with each breath.

Then the whispers began…

Get out! You don’t belong here. This is our home!

With each whisper more and more voices joined in, bringing the words to a crescendo, reverberating around Damien’s head and bombarding his mind. The voices began screaming at Damien, commanding him to leave.

Leave now or we’ll kill them all! Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #14 — Howl at the Moon The sharp ululation had my head snap back. Shivers shot up my spine, the harsh wind causing my cheeks to sting. They were coming for me. I tried to cover my scent with the dirt and foliage around me, but it didnt work. They had super noses, and hearing.
I tripped over a root and landed on my knees and hands. I muffled a cry. I quickly got up, ignoring the globs of blood appearing on my knees. I could almost here them approaching me. My blood ran cold, my limbs grew stiff even as I stumbled my way through the forest. My breath thickened, blood tricked down my legs. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #15 — The Secret Ball Louisiana, 1862 I could hear the carriage roll on the damp stone path. The path where what had mattered most was silently taken from me. I saw men in white masks embellished with jewels and lined with intricate black lace. The men who took Dylan, my love.
Who were they? Why didn’t I panic?
“Olivia Preston,” I remembered hearing the husky voice say with invisible lips, “thank you. You’ve done well.”
Unfortunately, it’s simple to know who I am. I’m the daughter of James Preston, the wealthiest man in New Orleans.
Was Dylan taken because of this? Because of where I come from? Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #16 — Strange Things Are Happening Emily walked towards the sound of the music. Her friend, Mel, and she were on their way home from school when they first heard it, and they had followed it all the way until they came to the source: Shay Manor. Shay Manor had been abandoned for so long that no one could even remember when someone had lived in it last or why they left. The only people who went in the supposedly haunted mansion now were teenagers looking for a scare on the weekends. “Emily! What the—” Mel started, coming up behind Emily. “Shh!” Emily hissed. “Do you hear that?” Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

Story #17 — Under the Bed I folded my arms and did the infamous mom stare in front of my little sister.
“Jessie, I thought you were old enough not to believe in this stuff anymore,” I said, shaking my head. “I am a big girl,” my five-year-old sister whined. “But this time it’s different, something is under my bed!” “Look it’s one thing that I missed the biggest Halloween party ever to take you trick or treating, but it’s not fair I have to do this.” For a moment, just from the pleading in her tiny blue eyes, I believed her. I shook it off and let out a deep sigh. “Fine, Kylie, I’ll go look. But just one time. Ryan is coming over in ten minutes and we’re watching a movie.” She stood at the bottom of the stairs, biting her thumbnail nervously as I entered her room. Want to read more? USE GOOGLE

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.

If you vote include"I VOTED" in your comment for an extra entry in the comment contest!

Top Ten Book Characters By Tiffany King

1. Harry Potter (Harry Potter): Of course Harry Potter would top my list. He not only grew up before my eyes, but he also managed to save the Wizarding World. Think about it. He was born a celebrity and thrust into the spotlight as a child, so he could have turned out like Lindsay Lohan. Instead, he embodies all the attributes of a true hero: bravery, kindness, humility and perseverance.

2. Edward Cullen (Twilight Series): Sure, Bella could be annoying and whiny at times, but, through it all Edward was still amazing. He is everything a girl wants in the perfect guy: Handsome, strong, caring and loyal. Okay, not much of a sense of humor, but he wins extra points for literally having a rock hard body. Wink-Wink. Edward made girls believe in love and happily ever after.

3. Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games): Truthfully, I only really liked Katniss in the first two books since she pretty much lost it mentally in the last book. Granted, she experienced a great deal of loss in book three, but in the first book she was tough as nails and stood up for what she believed in. That is the Katniss I want to remember.

4. Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (Harry Potter): Dumbledore and Harry had the perfect mentor/protégé relationship. He was wise enough to let Harry grow to be his own man, all while harboring the true secret of Harry's life. Even though he was a powerful wizard, Dumbledore still admired the human qualities that Harry possessed that Dumbledore himself had neglected throughout his own adolescent years. Plus, he also had the best lines ever."After all, to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

5. Billy Coleman (Where the Red Fern Grows): He may be only ten years old, but Billy Coleman completely stole my heart when I was younger. He had a dream and he
worked harder than any other kid I had ever read about to reach that dream. Total
tearjerker, but still an amazing story.

6. Augustus Waters (The Fault in Our Stars): All I have to say about him is that he gave Amsterdam to Hazel Grace Lancaster which makes him the best book boyfriend ever. You'd have to read the story to see what I mean.

7. T.J Callahan (On the Island): He became a man right before our eyes and made us
swoon as he worked to show Anna Emerson that he was no longer a boy.

8. Claire Morgan (Seduction and Snacks): Sure, she had a complete gutter-mind, and
was completely inappropriate most of the time, but OMG, she was freaking hilarious. I can honestly say I have never laughed as hard as I did while reading Seduction and Snacks.

9. Josh Bennett (Sea of Tranquility): He was a loner and pretty much a quiet person, but oh how you come to love him as his story tugs at your heart. He was the kind of guy that will steal your heart without you even realizing it.

10. Jacob Black (Breaking Dawn): Jacob is a surprise entry since he drove me
absolutely batty in the first three books. Bella was Edward's love, plain and
simple. Breaking Dawn is by far my least favorite book in the series, but Jacob
completely redeemed himself in it. It was nice to finally get insight into his head and
to see the things he struggled with the most.

No Attachments by Tiffany King
Published: April 30th, 2013
Reading Level: New Adult
Length: 302 pages
Summary:
Ashton Garrison walked away from a privileged life in order to hide from the one thing she's not willing to face. She knows she left behind a trail of pain, but in the long run, her betrayal will hurt less than the truth. She now has one goal: Live life to the fullest with no regrets and no attachments. She has high hopes that a move to new surroundings will provide the escape she desires, but what Ashton doesn't count on is how fate always seems to find a way to screw up any good plan. Sometimes, when love comes knocking, the pull is too strong not to answer. Suddenly, what she thought she wanted to escape from is what Ashton now wants more than anything.

Nathan Lockton has one mission: find his target and complete the task he was hired to do—no attachments and no emotion necessary. He's done it over and over again. What he thought was a typical lost-and-found job has turned into a life examining moment as Nathan is forced to deal with something he has always ignored--his feelings. Now faced with a decision, Nathan must choose to either follow his heart or complete the job.

Love can come when you least expect it. The question is: If the odds are stacked against you, how far are you willing to go for the one you love?

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Today I am participating in the blog tour for Bullet by Jade C. Jamison. Check out the exclusive excerpt below!

Bullet by Jade C. Jamison
Release date: February 18th, 2013
Reading Level: New Adult
eBook: 451 pages
An Epic Rock Star Novel

What if you discover the man you want is toxic?

She tasted a little bit of heaven with him, and now they’ve gone through hell and back, but can their relationship take anymore?

Valerie Quinn is a naïve college freshman when she meets on-the-rise rock star Ethan Richards. He’s an idealistic, handsome, reckless young man, but he’s captured her heart. She doesn’t give up on him and eventually his walls crumble down. By the time Valerie has given herself to him completely, she discovers he’s damaged and may be beyond help. Can she save Ethan and their relationship before he implodes, or will he self-destruct and take her with him?

Excerpt from Bullet Jade C. Jamison
I let out the breath I’d been holding in as Ethan rolled onto the bed.

I just lay there, concentrating on my breathing, focusing on relaxing. He removed his condom and then rolled on his side to face me, so I rolled on my side as well. That felt like fresh hell, but I tried not to let it show on my face.

And the look on his face was rare and… beautiful. He looked happy, and that wasn’t a typical look for Ethan. He looked peaceful. He stroked my hair with his hand. “You okay?”

I nodded. The way he was looking at me made everything okay. I smiled at him, letting him know I was fine. “Yeah. Had to be done, right?”

He grinned. “No, not really. You could’ve decided to become a nun. They don’t have to do this, you know.”

I smiled again, sliding my arm under the pillow. “I think in the long run that’d be more painful.”

“How?”

I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t want to tell him what I was thinking. But I knew now. I’d been experiencing some kind of awakening, and for all I knew, all girls went through it, but maybe I was a late bloomer. Whatever the case, there was a sexual creature inside me that had been trapped, and once she’d discovered there was an escape, she would have pushed to get out. I knew sex wouldn’t ever hurt like tonight again. I knew there was some sort of sensual nirvana waiting for me, some revelation I had yet to discover. Inside, I realized that. And to deny that to myself my entire life would have hurt far worse than the temporary pain I’d endured to pass into womanhood. And I wasn’t kidding myself either. I knew I’d be hurting all night long, but it would soon pass. I looked in Ethan’s green eyes, softer than I’d ever seen them before, and maybe that was due to the shitty lighting in the motel room, but he seemed open and vulnerable then. Part of me wanted to tell him all my thoughts, but I too felt too exposed. And after all we’d been through, another part of me felt like I couldn’t fully trust him. Oh, I wanted to. After all, I’d trusted him with one of the most sacred parts of myself that night. But I wasn’t ready to tell him of my growing self-awareness, of my awakening identity. I didn’t know that I wanted to tell anyone, because I didn’t fully understand it yet. My smile was shy. “I dunno. Could you imagine spending your whole life not having sex?”

He stroked my hair again. “Yeah, but my first time was nothing like that.” He got closer and kissed me on the forehead.

“I’m okay.”

He rested his hand on my neck. There was something in his eyes, but I just couldn’t read it. What the hell was he thinking? “I love you, Val.”

Oh. Oh, wow. Yeah, I loved him back, but for him to say it… and to say it first. Holy crap. Everything I’d ever heard about dysfunctional relationships (which I’d suspected we had) had made me believe I’d be the only one to ever say it, to ever really feel it. But there it was. He’d said it, and it took my breath away. I don’t know that I was able to smile because I was so overwhelmed. But I said it back. “I love you too, Ethan.” And then, seeing how his eyes lit up, I did smile.

He pulled me closer then, holding me in his arms, and after a while, I heard his breathing grow quiet but rhythmic. His chest rose and fell slowly at the same intervals, and I knew he’d gone to sleep. I shifted, but just a little, because every motion below my waist reminded me of the pain that was still with me. I wished he was still awake, because I wanted him, needed him. I wanted to talk to him, but then I realized I also just needed time for me.

I was overwhelmed with so many emotions, the first of which was my feelings of love for this man that had intensified. Before, yes, I had felt love for Ethan, but nothing like this. It was multiplied now and heavy, stretching into the deep caverns of my soul. I wasn’t sure how to process it.

And then I was also almost giddy that I had just made a passage. I was no longer a girl. Truly, I’d been moving to womanhood already. I’d been responsible for my own care for more than a year, what with living on my own at school, but somehow losing my virginity not only symbolized that process but affirmed it.

Lying there thinking about that, I then thought about my dad of all people. I was no longer daddy’s little girl. I was no longer his precious pearl, and he could no longer protect me from the world, from the beauty and wonder nor from the pain and torment. I wondered what he and my mom would think if they knew. I knew from the experiences over the past summer that they trusted me. Whether that was due to realizing that they had to let go and let me make my own mistakes or if they just thought I was a young woman of incredible self-restraint, I didn’t know.

There was no clock in that hotel room, so I had no idea how long I lay there. Ethan rolled over after a long while, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Between them and the pain, I lay awake until what I was sure was early morning… all by myself.

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Molly McAdams is here today to tell us how she managed to tackle Stealing Molly from Chase's POV. Taking Chances is such an emotional story and I cried many… many, many tears! I can't wait to jump into St ealing Molly.

How difficult was it to write this book from Chase's POV? Considering that, as a reader, I cried when I read the summary, I would love to know how you tackled this story and how you w ere able to really get into Chase's mind, knowing the outcome?
It was incredibly difficult for me to write Chase's POV. I thought I cried throughout Taking Chances,

Stealing Harper wrecked me. I don't think there was one day that I didn't cry while writing it. Not because the entire thing was depressing, but because I was finally understanding Chase, and, actually, Brandon too.

There was so much about both guys, but especially Chase, that I just hadn't known about while writing Taking Chances, and it was so hard to find all these new things out and fall in love with them all over again when I knew what was coming. But not once while writing, and not once while reading the completed novella, did I ever think it wasn't worth it.

Chase's story is something that needs to be told/heard. And I honestly think that is what got me through writing it, is that I knew it was all worth it, and to be honest, I was still enjoying falling in love with Chase all over again.

We fell in love with him for certain traits and reasons in Taking Chances, and we'll fall in love even harder for completely different reasons in Stealing Harper. Long answer super short. Difficult, but SO. FREAKING. WORTH IT!

EXCERPT Seriously, who the hell did she think she was? I leaned close and whispered harshly in her ear, “Would you like to change that? I'm not up to my limit tonight yet.” The princess leaned away and her eyes went wide, “Oh I'm sorry, but I don't have any STDs, I'm not your type.” Bree started choking, and I knew I should make sure she was okay, but my jaw had dropped and I couldn’t stop staring at this frustrating girl, “Chase, you better stay away from my roommate. I told the guys she's off limits.” I cringed at Bree’s words. Not a mistake. This really was her roommate. “You know him?” The princess asked, hardly trying to contain her revulsion. “Well I'd like to think so, he is my brother.” The most beautiful blush I’ve ever seen instantly spread across her cheeks, and for a second I forgot why I didn’t want to be completely taken with this girl. “Wait, Harper is this the guy you said was a jerk?” Harper. That’s right, her name was Harper. I don’t know why I didn’t like it earlier, I couldn’t think of anything more perfect for her now. It fit her and I wanted to say it myself, but then I remembered why she was pissing me off and decided to stick with what seemed to piss her off more. Her eyes flew to the ground, and my lips quirked up into a smile.

Stealing Harper by Molly McAdams
Publisher: William Morrow (May 21st, 2013)
Reading Level: New Adult
ebook edition: 100 pages
Series: Taking Chances, #2
Summary:
Chase Grayson has never been interested in having a relationship that lasts longer than it takes for him and his date to get dressed again. But then he stumbles into a gray-eyed girl whose innocence pours off her, and everything changes. From the minute Harper opens her mouth to let him know just how much he disgusts her, he's hooked.

But a princess deserves a Prince Charming who can make her dreams come true. Not a guy who can turn her life into a nightmare.

All good intentions go out the window when Harper starts to fall for the guy Chase has come to view as a brother. He wanted to protect her by keeping her away, but he can’t stand to see her with anyone else, and he’ll do anything to make her his. But when it comes down to Harper choosing between the two, will Chase have the strength to step back from the girl who has become his whole world if it means she’ll be happy?

Lines will be crossed. Friendships will be put to the test. And hearts will be shattered.
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I've started doing something new where I highlight all of the Indie/Small press books I've picked up to read on my Kindle. I will post mini-reviews of the titles each month.
The top 2 books from this month were Bully by Penelope Douglas and Lick by Kylie Scott!

Bully by Penelope Douglas
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Review:
OMG, I need about 10 more books just like this one! Bully was one of those"enemy to lovers" stories and I devoured every single word! Tate and Jared were best friends and then he changed and started treating her like crap. Yes, this makes Jared a bit difficult to love but I just couldn't help myself!! Over time, I could see how he was hiding his feelings. I also loved the fact that Tate was a really strong character. She was tired of putting up with his crap so she made sure he knew it. I loved the ways she'd get back at him. They had a lot of great interactions. I'm just sad that it's over: ( I want to re-read this one very soon!!

Lick by Kylie Scott Add to Goodreads

Review: Ahhh, love! This book was a surprise for me. I'm not wild about the cover but I heard it was great so I picked it up. Plus, waking up not knowing you married a rock star? YES PLEASE! I ended up loving this story so much! Evelyn wakes up with a stranger next to her, David, and she has no earthly idea who he is. After dealing with a killer hangover, and going back home, the press soon figures out what happened and she has to run back to David to get the situation fixed. But things happen and they then start to get to know each other. Evelyn gets small pieces of the night back and.*happy sigh* it was just wonderful! This is another book I want to read again! Both characters were fantastic and had amazing personalities! I highly recommend it!

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy
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Review:
This was a fun read. Pretty light and, while it does take a look at a controlling relationship, there's much more to the book. Juliet has had her eyes on Dylan for a while. They"hook up" and it turns out to be horrible but Juliet still dates him. At school she tries to have a good relationship with Dylan but he is really controlling. She finds a friendship with a guy named Reed and they were terrific together. I really wish I had a friend like Reed.: ) He was such a good guy and he really cared for Juliet. Their bond builds slowly, which was nice. As far as"first college experiences" go, this was a super fun book.

Dark Summer by Lizzy Ford Add to Goodreads
Review: I picked up this book knowing nothing about it. It was free on amazon but I'm so glad I took a chance with it! Summer has been to a lot of boarding schools but they always fail. Now, she's trying a new place and it's finally somewhere that she fits in, sort of. There are many people who don't like Summer but she still builds some great friendships and connects with twins Beck and Decker. At age 18 each person is turned either Light or Dark, but that doesn't really mean they have to be evil. We learn this after hearing about Decker and his fate. The whole world behind this book was enjoyable and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Beautiful Broken Rules by Kimberly Lauren
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Review:
I actually wasn't sure if I would enjoy this one. The blurb didn't really grab me but I was happy to see that the book was better than I expected. Emerson is known as the slut in school and she's sort of okay with that. She wants nothing to do with relationships but she is surprised by her feelings with Jaxon, one of her best friend's new roommates, comes to town. She finds herself breaking a few of her strict rules about guys. She tries to hide away due to heartache but soon realizes what she is missing out on. I had fun with this one. It's nothing too deep or original but it was still a nice read.

Elite by Rachel Van Dyken Add to Goodreads
Review: Wow, what a book. I had no earthly idea what to expect with this book. I wasn't sure if it was dystopian or just a whole different world, or if it was something paranormal. I was a bit surprised by the"surprise" of it all. Trace wins a scholarship to an elite school and she is immediately faced with the complexity of the school structure. She's shocked to find out that a student, Nixon, is in charge and that he seems to completely hate her. There are some things Nixon does that are just so unforgivable but then I ended up liking him anyway? GRR! Trace was great and I enjoyed finding out more about her. The friends (semi-friends) she makes along the way range from nice to deadly and the twists and turns are unimaginable! It's really hard to even describe this book so I'll just say, if you are looking for something completely different, with a big twist, get this one!

A Matter of Fate by Heather Lyons
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Review:
I was reluctant to pick up this book because I'm not a huge fan of Magicals. In the end, I was happy I had read it and I do plan to read the second book soon. Chloe is a Magical but she knows very little about herself. From the start we learn that she's had dreams about a guy since she was young and then he is suddenly there in her school. This leads to a crazy love triangle though but it was pretty well done. I was a bit confused at times by all the Magical knowledge we get at once, but it was pretty unique. If you are a fan of paranormal books that have a very unique world, get this one!

Let Love In by Melissa Collins Add to Goodreads This is another brand-new-to-college book with a character who has a tragic background. Not a new idea for a book but still well-written. Maddy lost her parents when she was young and it has made her fight against falling in love. She meets bad-boy Reid at school and their relationship begins. They both have went through a lot so this made for two stubborn, slightly frustrating characters. A lot happens in this book between the two and some decisions I didn't quite understand. It's still a pretty enjoyable read. Nothing too surprising inside but nice.

Delayed Penalty by Shey Stahl
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Review:
This story has a very emotional start. A young girl is found by a hockey player in an alley after a brutal attack. It's obvious she would have died there if he hadn't brought her to the hospital. The book started out a bit stronger than it ended for me. For some reason, even though I should have felt terrible for Ami, I just never really connected with her. On the other hand, Mase was fantastic. I loved his character and POV. He had a wonderful family and great teammates. I just felt that if Ami would have been a slightly better character, and not so dry, I would have enjoyed it more.

Trying Not to Love You by Megan Smith Add to Goodreads
Review: This is hard for me to review. The actual story idea is amazing. I loved that Kenzie and Hunter had a relationship going back to childhood. I loved the family dynamics and the role of her best friend. But the writing brought it down, IMO. I don't think teens speak to each other like"I do not know why he was not there." (this isn't an actual sentence from the story but it shows what I'm referring to). It just messed with the flow of the story and the actual dialogue itself. It's robotic and caused me to pause quite a few times. I've seen another reviewer get comments because she said it bothered her while reading and yeah, it totally bothered me too. Big time. It took something away from the characters and made it more difficult for me to connect with them and believe them as being young adults. I really wanted to feel bad for Kenzie during parts of the story but I didn't feel a lot for her. Maybe it was mostly due to the language or feeling like I was just being told what was happening instead of really feeling the emotions behind it.
This book ends on a huge cliffhanger, which I'm not a big fan of honestly. I do think I'll read the next one when it comes out.
I know this story has a ton of fans already and everyone is entitled to their opinions on it.

As part of Wedding Week (I'M MARRIED), today we are featuring Lorren from The Story Girl!
**************************
Hello everyone! I am so grateful to Miss Remmers' Review for the chance to revisit my own little fairy tale. Our story began very simply. I was locked out of my apartment, and when I went to visit my friend, I found out she was hanging out with some guys at their apartment. They invited me to come over and I spent the evening playing Scattergories with my friend and the two men that we would each end up marrying. For the rest of the summer I hung out with them, although I was dating someone else at the time. As I got to know "The Husband" better, I learned more and more things that I liked about him. While he is a goofy and fun-loving guy, he had a very deep and empathetic part of his personality that intrigued me and I found myself growing interested. He and I were each in relationships with other people, but those relationships ended at roughly the same time and in a similar way. We ended up spending more and more time together, at first discussing our broken hearts but later switching to getting to know each other better. After months of hanging out, texting songs to each other, and tentative dates, we finally became official and had our first kiss under mistletoe that he slyly hung above my door (of course, when he called me to come out I was in sweats and make-up-less, but we'll just focus on the romance part).

After an amazing five months (yes, I know) of dating, we both decided it was time to make a further commitment and get married. While I was terrified at the thought of choosing someone to be with for the rest of my life, I knew that his personality, values, and sense of humor were exactly what I wanted and needed. He popped the question on May 29, 2010 at Municipal Pier in San Francisco. I basically giggled through the proposal — I was so excited and I couldn't believe that I was actually getting married. I loved that he proposed in San Francisco because now it will be our special romantic spot for the rest of our lives.

After some deliberation, we decided to get married on August 17, 2010. Because we were each in school and didn't want to deal with moving in the middle of the semester or trying to hurriedly get married over Christmas break, we decided a short engagement was the best route to take. The date also had sentimental value for us — August 17 is "The Husband's" parents' wedding anniversary, and we were married in the same place my parents were married.
Despite high amounts of stress before the wedding, August 17 was as perfect as I could have hoped for. My dress was a gown I'd seen in a catalogue before my wedding, and jokingly told my friends I would buy if I ever got married. I was so excited that I was actually wearing it! I had The Husband's niece and my sister as bridesmaids and The Husband's younger nieces as flower girls. We were married at 10:30 am in the Boise, Idaho Temple (I grew up in Boise and my family still lives there). We believe the marriage ceremony in the temple links us together as a family for life and after death, so it was a very special and spiritual experience. We were lucky to have our families there with us (The Husband's family kindly traveled all the way from California to be there) and several of our close friends from Utah also made the trip. Almost everyone we loved was there, and we couldn't have been happier!

That evening, we had our reception at a golf course near my parents' house. My mom and her best friend had set up everything just how I imagined it, with chinese lanterns and white flowers everywhere. The food was also exactly what I'd always wanted to have at my wedding — a chocolate fountain and amazing chocolate truffles that my grandma and aunt had spent the weekend crafting by hand. The best part by far, though, was the dancing! The Husband and I had been to so many receptions where the bride and groom just waited in a line and greeted all their guests. We did this for the first hour of the reception, but after that everyone got out and danced. I was almost sorry when the DJ called out that it was time to go and I had to hurry and change into my get-away dress... until I realized that now I could leave on my honeymoon with my handsome prince.

In my mind, everything was perfect, not because every aspect of the wedding pulled together flawlessly, but because I was surrounded by people I loved and was so happy with the person I was marrying. Our cake did turn out kind of ugly, my shoes did get ruined when the heel sunk into the mud, and my mother and I were nervous wrecks up until the day before the wedding. However, on the day of the wedding, I decided to just let things fall and enjoy the day as much as possible. In 20 years, I probably won't remember the ugly cake or the dirt that crept up onto the hem of my dress, but I will remember how it felt to dance with my friends and family surrounding me, completely in love with the man across from me.

Congratulations again to Miss Remmers (soon to be a Mrs.)! I hope your day is absolutely perfect!
**************************
Lorren thank you so much for sharing! I love these beautiful pictures! I especially love the picture of you in front of the Temple! What a great story too! I hope your first year of marriage has been wonderful and I'll definitely be thinking of you on the 17th of August! Congratulations!

This woman <---- is outstanding… but also cruel.; ) She caused me to have a huge reading slump because nothing I've read since reading her books Beyond and Two Suns have compared. *sigh*.

If you are looking for a book totally different, you have to check out this series. I read them in just a few days and now I can't wait till book 3 comes out!

Maureen was kind enough to stop by and tell us a little about the series and you can read an excerpt from Beyond.

1. BEYOND shows readers such a complex"world". How did you first get inspired to write this story?

When I was a little girl I watched all the 'space' shows, and I had a crush on every hero. I dreamed that one of them would come take me from my back yard, away on a wild adventure in space, and that we would fall madly in love. When this never actually occurred and I learned that I was stuck on Earth for the rest of my life, the 'dream' started to turn into a story.

2. What's the hardest part of working on a book where different planets have various elements (like time changes, atmospheres, creatures)?
Your imagination is your greatest asset or your greatest foe. The concept of"time" was tricky. I was more than willing to do the actual research and fly into space to see exactly how long five years would take, but NASA shut their space program down and Richard Branson said his Virgin Galactic plane was sold out for two years. So, I was left with my imagination.: ) One of my favorite creatures is the Sumpum. It has big squashy paws that sound like wet sponges slapping against a car when it walks. It was hard not to laugh at myself as I was writing this book. I'd say,"Come on, Maureen, seriously?" But it was so much fun.

3. For those who haven't read the book yet, can you share some characteristics about Aimee and Zak?

Aimee played the clarinet in marching band. She liked photography, vanilla-scented candles, and she had a copy of Engineering for Dummies on her desk. Maybe on Earth--in high school--those characteristics might have labeled her as a geek, or a loner. But when she is accidentally taken from this planet on board a spaceship that is bound for faraway galaxies, she is starting with a clean slate. No one knows her. Heck, vanilla-scented candles and engineering students might be considered awesome in a foreign world. Not that Aimee really cares what they think. In this new world, there is so much for her to learn, and that is what truly motivates her… a thirst for knowledge.

Zak, (sigh). Zak is a loner for a completely different reason. He is aboard the guardian ship, Horus, but he is not one of them. He was also picked up from another planet. He is a warrior, possessing amazing piloting skills in his craft, the terra angel. Combine his hero and orphan status and you get a man that people feel awkward to approach. Yes, they idolize him, but in doing so, they never actually get to know him.

Oh, and he's hot too.: )

4. This book isn't just about Aimee and Zak. There are so many outstanding characters. I know it's hard to pick, but who do you really love writing about the most?

Without a doubt, it would have to be JOH. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish he actually existed, because I sure could use him around the house. JOH is brilliant, and yet remarkably like an eager puppy. He sees life from a very literal perspective. For example, when Aimee says,"JOH, thank God I found you." He responds,"I know of 9022 gods. Which one should I thank?"

5. Can you share a teaser with us?

This is a scene where Aimee has stowed away on Zak's ship…

"Gayat!" Aimee didn't know what the word was, but it had to be one doozy of a curse from Zak’s native tongue.
"Who is back there?" The English translation kicked in.
She hesitated and then cleared her throat."It's Aimee."
There was another muttered curse, followed by a smack against one of the boards. The craft jumped under each of Zak's jerky motions. Aimee knew he was mad, but she refused to cower. She just wanted to go home.
A deeply drawn breath sounded and then he managed a composed voice."What are you doing on my ship?"
Yeah, he was not happy. The notion nearly made her smile.
"I didn't intend to stay on it," she defended."But I climbed in, and then the hatch closed, and then next thing I knew you were on board, and before I even had a chance to say, Zak, I'm here, whooosh, we were off into the cosmos. And then I thought—I thought that maybe I could convince you to fly this thing to Earth."
A heavy silence loomed from the front seat.
Aimee opened her mouth to add more, but snapped it shut when she heard him say,"Stop."
"Stop what?"
"Stop talking."
She opened her mouth again, but snapped it shut as Zak swiped his hand on the side panel and she tumbled onto her side.
"Dammit, you could give me some warning before you do that," she admonished.
"If you were an approved passenger you would be secured in place, and I would not have to give you any warning."
She hated it when people were right.
"I have to concentrate," Zak continued."We're in the approach to Bordran and it is a tricky one. In this atmosphere, I'm unable to rely on the TA's automatic landing references. I have to do this manually—and I need quiet."
Aimee held her tongue… for a second."Am I going to go flying through the windshield when you land this thing?"
"Possibly," he grated.
She thought she detected a grin in his response. It aggravated her because it was at her expense. She climbed up onto her knees and spread her hands out, laying her palms flat on each side of the craft for leverage. No longer concerned about being detected, she could now inch her chin up and look out the panoramic window. She gasped, startled to find that the green planet which had appeared so minuscule on the Horus, now dominated the right side of the craft and seemed only miles away.
"It looks peaceful enough." Oh my God, she was about to land on a foreign planet!
"What you are seeing is a thick cloud of gas. The planet is far beneath that ring, and the voyage through that vapor is not an easy one. So yes, you could quite possibly end up going through the windshield. Fortunately, the windshield is made of a composite strong enough to withstand tremendous air pressure, as well significant fluctuations in temperature." He hesitated while maneuvering the craft, and then added,"And catapulting young women."
"Is there anything I can do?" she cried, oblivious to his sarcasm.
"In front of you there should be a symbol that looks like a—"
"A circle with a line through it?"
"Yes. That one. Run your finger along the line, and back up a bit."
"Run my finger along the line and then back up?" she asked."Or back up and reach forward and run my finger along the line?"
The sigh was unmistakable from the front seat.
"Either. If something hits you, then move."

Beyond by Maureen A. Miller Published: October 2012 Paperback: 302 pages Series: Beyond series, #1 Summary:
It is the day after Aimee Patterson’s high school graduation. College beckons, as does her dream of becoming an engineer. On an early evening walk, her cocker spaniel charges into the woods on the other side of the pond. Aimee trails after him, and in the stillness of that forest the unthinkable happens. She becomes paralyzed and watches in horror as her hands vanish before her eyes.

Waking to the sound of voices, Aimee realizes that she has been kidnapped. Little does she know how far away from home she is, though. In an attempt to flee her captors, she launches from their confines only to freeze at the view outside the window. The sky is black and filled with stars, and in the distance is a familiar blue globe. The planet Earth.

A group of humans forced to flee their planet after an epidemic destroyed their civilization now travel the galaxies in search of an antidote. Retrieving samples of plant life from every solar system, on this occasion Aimee was accidentally seized instead.

Aimee must learn to avoid the advances of an awkward young scientist who seems intent on dissecting her, as her own fascination turns to the exotic young warrior, Zak. Having fallen in love with Zak, she is now torn with the decision to return to Earth or live beyond the stars.

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Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Harper Collins (January 3rd, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 374 pages
Source: ARC from Publisher
Series: Under the Never Sky #1
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Since she'd been on the outside, she'd survived an Aether storm, she'd had a knife held to her throat, and she'd seen men murdered. This was worse.

Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland — known as The Death Shop — are slim. If the cannibals don't get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She's been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He's wild — a savage — and her only hope of staying alive.

A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile — everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria's help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.
Review: I admit, I had no clue what to expect with this book. The summary is a nice start but it doesn't even begin to describe the complexity of this story. For the first 100 or so pages, I was a little lost. I didn't have a problem with the characters but I wasn't able to fully understand their world. At first I thought that only Aria's world was different-- that she lived in a Pod-type atmosphere containing several advanced technological gadgets but that wasn't all. Perry's world confused me even more. He wasn't just an Outsider. There was a lot more to it than that.

This story alternates POVs from Aria to Perry. It starts with Aria as she is going against the rules with a few of her friends and leaving their secure Pod. She wants to find out about her mother, a scientist, and feels that this is the only way to get the help she needs from one of the guys. Instead, she is thrown into a dangerous situation she never expected. I won't go into too many details but a short while later she is placed on a course to come face-to-face with Perry, but it isn't their first meet-up.

Aria has been thrown out and left in The Death Shop, never to return to Reverie. She has heard about the Outsiders and the dangers from the air and disease from being out of their safe environment. Aria assumes that death will be her fate.

Perry has had his own bad luck. From what he feels is punishment to his involvement in 'Dweller' territory, involving Aria, someone close to him is in danger. He will do anything to get them back and Aria will do anything to get to her mother. Together they make an unlikely alliance but one that kept me riveted! This was where I really started to 'get it'. The pieces of the puzzle came together and I could not stop reading. Perry and Aria's journey was unimaginable. The pain Aria had to endure and the worry from Perry made this a very emotional part of the story. Aria learns there is much more to Perry and all of the Outsiders than she would have thought, and Perry learns that not all Dwellers are as spoiled and selfish as he imagined.

Perry was just incredible. His raw strength and courage was astounding! There are very few YA characters that I think I would fear if I ran into them. I would fear Perry! Not because he wasn't nice (well, that may have came later) but because he was just so powerful. He knew how to survive on nothing and he taught Aria to do the same. He definitely didn't baby her and their connection was very far from 'insta-love'. He was exactly what she needed in order to get to a place where she could be capable of taking care of herself.

Aria may have started off as uncertain and a bit timid but she quickly learns the way of the Outsiders. Life is harsh. Death happen. And, you never know what you will be forced to do in order to survive. These were valuable lessons for her. She stood her ground when it came to Perry. Once she got to know him you could really see her respect what he was able to do.

The plot of Under the Never Sky is so original! I read dystopian/post-apocalyptic books often and it was nice to see even more of a spin placed on 2 different cultures that try to exist after so much devastation. The characters Aria and Perry meet along the way carried a lot of significance to the plot and overall feel of the story. None were 'throw away' people to me. I enjoyed each one and saw where they fit within the story line.

I gotta say, once I understood more of the world involved in Under the Never Sky, the more I was impressed with the inventiveness of it. I can't imagine the work Veronica Rossi put into this part of the story development.

Under the Never Sky completely transported me into a foreign word I could never have imagined. The characters were able to slowly build upon a relationship to have it become more and more complex and passionate. The intense action and magnificent world-building Veronica Rossi was able to create still has me amazed.

Recommended: Dystopian/Post-apocalyptic fans. People looking for something 'out of the norm' with a more slow-building romance.

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This year we have 23 authors that I'll be featuring over 7 days and each day you'll have a chance to enter to win! There's also a scavenger hunt going on, so be sure to check out The Crossroads Tour Post to see what questions will be asked, what blog you'll be able to find the answer on and enter to win!
Today I am featuring Dorothy Dreyer, Sarah Bromley, and Ty Drago. Be sure to check out the rafflecopter giveaway, too!

1. Tell us what makes Zadie such a great character. What are a few things we need to know about her personality?

Zadie is no ordinary girl, as one might be able to gather from the book blurb. She has powers, though she doesn’t quite know how to control them. But I don’t think it’s her powers that make her so great; I think it’s the love she has of her family. She would go to any lengths to protect them, to save them, and to keep them alive. She has a big heart she just has to learn to trust it.

2. Share with us your favorite line from My Sister’s Reaper.

The leather cover was smooth under my fingertips, worn with age, but the photograph tucked along its binding grated against my heart like sandpaper.

1. A Murder of Magpies will be coming out next year. What can you tell us about the book?

I wrote the book in 2008 after a hiatus during which my first two children were born. Vayda and Ward were both so strong in my head, and I knew there was no putting off their story. I am firm believer that the things our parents do can trickle down and, in some cases, taint us. Curse us. Vayda and her twin, Jonah, experience a lot of that, and Ward does as well. Vayda and Jonah come from a background of murder and scandal and have been in hiding in Black Orchard for two years. Ward is the first person either of them has grown to trust, and they know it can go terribly wrong in a heartbeat. They fight against expectations placed on them, but as they do so, they all uncover secrets about their families, truths they weren’t prepared to face.

2. Can you share an excerpt from the story?

I can! My publisher, Month9Books, LLC, has been gracious in letting me give you the first sneak peek at the book with the entire first chapter of A MURDER OF MAGPIES!
__________________

Chapter One

Vayda

I always swore Jonah would blow our cover, and today looked ideal for a catastrophe.

We’d seen disasters, somehow crawled out of the rubble and lived. They didn’t just happen, all explosive and bombastic at once so that we had no doubt everything had changed. No, a real disaster began with a slip-up, a spark of fire that rose in the air and snuffed out. But when the ash landed, it was still hot enough to burn, and from that ember, everything we knew went up in flames.

It had happened before. I had reason to fear it would happen again.

My fingers drummed on the time-scarred armrest on a chair in Monsignor Judd’s office. Someone etched a cross into the wood five, ten, maybe twenty years ago. In an ornate stained glass window, there was no comfort in the saint’s face, only my guilt for not knowing the saint’s name. Outside the office, Monsignor stood with his fingers steepled while the heating vent blew the draping of his cassock. His ear turned to the young nun whispering with him over the manila folder of Jonah’s permanent record. Curls snaked out from her nun’s habit, and her eyes slid to watch me. Dull, dark. Nearly dead.

My hands grew warmer. I forced my breathing to slow. Calm down, Vayda girl. Nothing to get too worked up over yet.

Not easy when I was literally a magnet for emotion.

Slouching low in his chair, Jonah fidgeted with a hole in his blue trousers. A bruise purpled his cheekbone. His heat, a mix of emotion and energy, radiated with an intensity that further prickled my hands until they were scorching. I needed to cool down, put everything on ice to stabilize both myself and Jonah. I exhaled in hopes for a cold breath. I wasn’t built to absorb my twin’s fury.

You outdid yourself this time. I pointed the thought to his mind like a laser. Do you honestly think fighting with Marty Pifkin is worth all this trouble?

He avoided eye contact, naturally. That didn’t mean he didn’t hear me. And he answered soon enough, silent to all but me. Dad’s already gonna read me the riot act. Don’t give me any grief, especially since I was defending you.

Defending me from Marty Pifkin of all people. Let it go. What’s done is done. I didn’t know whether to give my brother a good wallop upside the head like our mom would have or pray we’d skate on by. Keep at it, Jonah, and people will notice what you can do. Deliberately throwing a desk without using your hands isn’t exactly wisdom for the ages.

Why don’t you keep that in mind the next time you lose it and break all the light bulbs in the science lab? He swiped a rogue strand of long, dark hair from his face. You lack subtlety and finesse, Sis.

Subtlety. Finesse. Words sixteen-year-old boys knew oh-so-much about. I choked on a laugh and lowered my eyes to the natty, blue Chucks I paired with the Catholic school-issued plaid, wool skirt and tights. Even when I wasn’t in school, I wore long skirts most days. I could move my legs and didn’t feel so caged in.

Brushing away the glass dust on my skirt, I overlooked the blood drying on my hands and clasped them together. They were less dangerous that way.

The door to the office lobby opened. The new nun’s floor-length dress gave her the look of a black dandelion seed gliding into Monsignor’s office. He followed then finally my father walked in last, the scent of wood dust clinging to his clothes. Most parents visiting St. Anthony of Padua High School rolled in wearing suits or golf attire, and then there was Dad with his New Glarus brewery shirt and vanish-splattered jeans—evidence he’d been working on restorations when called to the school.

Even if the fight between my brother and Marty hadn’t already strained my mental barriers, I would’ve noticed the disappointment coming off Dad. He had so many of what he termed cardinal rules for Jonah and me, and right then, one whispered in my conscience: There’s a devil on every man’s shoulder, whispering in his ear. Only he decides if he’ll throw salt at the devil or feed him his soul.

“What happened, Magpie?” Dad asked, a Georgia-born drawl buttering his voice, as he checked out the cuts on my hand.

“Broken glass,” I answered.

“You ought to be more mindful, don’t you think?”

His question had everything and nothing to do with breaking glass.

Monsignor cleared his throat. “Sorry to have you back in my office so soon, Mr. Silver.”

“Twice in one week is overkill.” Dad stood behind Jonah and me, a hand on each of our shoulders.

“I’ve spoken with our new staff psychologist, Sister Polly Tremblay.” Monsignor introduced the new nun. “She was hired this year after Dr. Fernandez took a position in Madison. Sister is a licensed practitioner, educator, and bride of Christ.”

Dad raised an eyebrow. “Is she now? That’s all very impressive, Sister. Do you go by Sister Polly or Sister Tremblay?”

The nun blinked twice, no emotion registering on her face. “Sister Tremblay. Polly is from my past life.”

Monsignor grabbed the manila folder from the nun’s hands and hurried through his words. His hurrying, seemingly to get us out of his office and be done with us, made blots of sweat rise along my widow’s peak. “Sister Tremblay has acquainted herself with Jonah’s file and feels he may benefit from some sessions with her. Mr. Silver, your family came to Wisconsin two years ago, but of the people I’ve spoken with, no one really knows you.”

“I see you’re a widower running an antiques business,” Sister Tremblay added.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Dad snapped.

“The adjustment period after moving, especially when grieving and moving, can be prolonged. In that regard, two years isn’t very long at all,” Sister Tremblay answered. “Teenagers tend to cope by acting out. And if you’re as busy as I suspect—”

“I’ve got time for my kids,” Dad argued. “Always.”

The heating vent blasted more hot air into the office. My brother beside me, silent, burned with frustration, and my shoulders tightened. I crackled my knuckles, all too aware of how the lights dimmed as I did so.

Monsignor let out a sigh. “Sister Tremblay is only suggesting that talking to someone away from family could be good for Jonah.”

There was no outside the family. There never was. Hard to make friends and get past the New Kid stigma when we were either cooped up at home or at Dad’s shop under his watchful eye. No wonder our classmates thought we were weird—we were.

The hairs on the back of my neck stiffened, and I shifted in my chair for a better view into the lobby where another boy waited to talk with Monsignor. His hair curling near his jaw was the color of liquid cinnamon dashed with espresso, and a wire umbilical cord tethered an iPod to his ears as he held an icepack to his bottom lip.

Jonah’s sort of friend, Ward.

He averted his eyes from mine.

My hands grew hot again, and the overhead lights flickered, this time drawing everyone’s eyes to the ceiling. Dad’s grip pumped my shoulder.

Jonah stretched his legs. “I’m not seeing no damn shrink. Marty Pifkin’s got everyone wrapped around his finger.”

“Here we go again,” I muttered. “Jonah, stop it.”

“That guy is a creeper, and—”

I looked to Dad for sympathy. “Marty asked to compare answers on our homework and Jonah lost it.”

“—he was bothering Vayda,” my brother talked over me. “Guys like that shouldn’t be talking to her. He’s gaje. I didn’t throw the first punch, didn’t ask for Ward’s help. I barely know the kid.”

Monsignor waited until Jonah and I both quieted down. “What’s gaje?”

Jonah gave Dad a pleading look, but Dad confessed, “It means outsider, though it seems we’re the outsiders here.”

Monsignor gave a satisfied nod. “Marty claims Jonah threw a desk. That’s not behavior that will go unpunished.”

“And the physics’ lab? Every light was broken.” Sister Tremblay crossed her arms.

I sank into my chair and hid behind my hair. Those dull eyes couldn’t be avoided. I wanted out of the office. Now.

The flickering of the overhead lights grew faster. I shuddered, not cold but burning up. The poster of a kitten clinging to a clothesline cheering “Hang in there!” obviously didn’t know how fragile my grip was when so many emotion flooded a room. Usually, I could keep it together with mental barriers to deflect the constant flow of others’ feelings, but so much tension …

“You’re seriously suggesting a couple of kids broke every light bulb just like that?” Dad’s voice rose. He gestured to the palsied lights above our heads. “Y’all would be better off hiring an electrician before the school burns down.”

The room skewed left, and my vision blurred and head dizzied. Too hot, cluttered. My hands—I shut my eyes.

Energy. Rising. Must release!

Crack! A fracture drove down the length of the fluorescent light above the desk. Sister Tremblay yelped and snatched Jonah’s folder to her chest.

“Hell of a power surge.” Jonah’s black eyes searched for a way into my mind. I flung up a barrier to keep him out. Not gonna let him in, not this time. He was worried, but nothing was wrong. Except that I felt like I could spew red, white, and blue.

“Vayda, go get some fresh air,” Dad ordered. “You look flushed.”

Monsignor dismissed me, and with the expected curtsey before hoisting my backpack onto my shoulder, I cracked my knuckles one last time to diffuse the energy swelling in my hands. I stepped out of the office, out of the glow of the stained glass window, and paced near the chairs where Ward waited. Jonah started this whole mess. Marty had done nothing to me. This time. Marty never listened until Jonah made him last spring. Ever since then, Jonah had his eyes and his anger on Marty. Anything Jonah felt, I felt ten times worse. When he was happy, he was very happy, but when he was angry, he was furious.

Mom had been the same way.

“I promise you won’t go belly-up if you hold still.” Ward’s voice was deep, raw honey. His head rested against his chair, eyes shut, yet I knew he’d been watching me.

His left eye opened a crack, and I gave him a weak smile. My ears liked his voice.

Ward had been at our school only since Monday, and already he’d been cast into the same social boneyard where Jonah and I had roamed since we transferred in after Christmas break nearly two years ago. We’d tried blending with the nameless, faceless uniforms, but it wasn’t so simple. The other students never warmed to us, or we to them. We weren’t from here. We didn’t look or act like them. We were among the Avoided. But, as of yesterday, we had a shadow. A gaje shadow.

“How’s your hand?” Ward asked.

I eyed my brother and father talking to Monsignor. That Jonah hadn’t chased off Ward was a tacit tolerance of him. “A few cuts. I’ll live.” I twisted my black hair, which was long enough to skim my hips. “You hardly needed to play the white knight. Marty’s not much of a dragon, more like a salamander.”

“Maybe I like fighting salamanders.”

Chipped gray polish colored his fingernails. Artsy in an I-don’t-give-a-damn-I’ll-wear-it-if-it’s-clean way. If Monsignor noticed, that’d earn him a detention or two.

“Listen, gajo.” He didn’t deserve to be shoved to the outskirts all because of my cavalier brother. He needed to back off. While he still could. “Marty won’t bother you if you don’t bother him. Tangling with him will never be forgotten.”

His mouth twitched, neither a grin nor a frown. “I don’t scare easily.”

He slipped on his headphones and closed his eyes once more. Must be nice to be so untouched, unfazed. Must be peaceful.

“Hey,” I called. He lifted one side of his headphones. “What are you listening to?”

“Music.”

Smart ass.

Thud!

Ward’s eyes popped open and landed on the overturned chair in Monsignor’s office. A chair no one had been sitting in. Dad’s muffled voice came fast as he pulled Jonah by the arm. From the dark expression on his face, we were in for a major talking to.

“We need to leave. Now,” Dad said as he steered Jonah out of the office.

There would be no explanation to Ward of why we were leaving so fast. Dad whisked my brother and me out of Monsignor’s office, past the sanctuary where our footfalls echoed on wood floors polished by nuns until glistening. The school was a dour extension of a century-old Catholic parish. The walls in the language arts’ wing were painted rich blue, the Virgin’s color. Hung between classrooms were carvings from the Stations of the Cross, thick with dust except for the Christ’s eyes, which followed us and knew my family’s secrets and sins.

Outside was better. Riding in the car, the windows were lowered to allow in the fire-musk smell of mid-October leaves, but there was something else, an odor of buried things deep in the black earth. Dad steered into a parking lot by a grocery store. With the silence in the car, I couldn’t push back the memory of the last time we pulled over like this. Instead of a parking lot, it’d been off a highway in a forest in northern Georgia and, with the haze of morning fog guarding the Chevy we’d escaped in, Dad had vowed we were going straight to Wisconsin. There, we would start over.

Find someplace new. Claim different names.

Dad pushed his fingers through his black hair streaked with silver and set his green eyes, the same shade as mine, on my reflection in the rearview mirror. “This stops now. Your mama might’ve called what y’all do Mind Games.” The last two words were spoken slowly. “But I won’t play.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jonah and I answered.

“Mind Games, if you must work them, are private. Working them in public is how your mama found trouble.” He twisted his wedding band. “We can’t risk a repeat of Georgia.”

I jerked my head to look out the window. Black Orchard, Wisconsin. Such a pretty town despite its eerie name. Easter egg colored Victorian homes lined the streets, and people spoke with northern accents that sounded friendly no matter what was said. But pretty towns and nice people could turn on you.

Last time that happened, we escaped with nothing but our lives.

If it happened again, would we even have that?

1. What can you tell us about the third book in The Undertakers series?

SECRET OF THE CORPSE EATER raises the Undertakers’ adventures to a whole new level. The Corpses have launched a daring new scheme down in Washington D.C.: they’ve somehow replaced a sitting U.S. senator with one of their own, a trick that’s supposed to be impossible. But when Will and Sharyn go undercover as Senate Pages to foil the plot, they get even more than they bargained for. Because something haunts the hallowed halls of the U.S. Capitol Building. Something big and strong and impossibly fast. Something that seems to have a taste for Corpses!

But can the enemy of your enemy truly be your friend?

2. Can you tell us one word you’d use to describe Will and each of his friends?

I’ll try!

Will Ritter: Reckless
Helene Boettcher: Courageous
Dave “The Burgermeister” Burger: Loyal
Tom Jefferson: Noble
Sharyn Jefferson: Fearless

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Today is the final day of my Indie/New Adult feature where I share my thoughts on some titles that have been published recently in the New Adult category. I've read so many it was just easier to do mini-reviews and bunch them together. Hopefully you have enjoyed the feature and have found several books you'd like to read. My most surprising finding with these was that most of the New Adult books we see as popular, were not my absolute favorites. Most of my 5 star reviews (which posted Monday) are more obscure titles that haven't had as much success. It really shows me that books shouldn't be judged by covers or blurbs. Some really can end up surprising you. I can't imagine the past year without having read these Indie titles. My advice would be DO NOT shut Indie books out. I'm thrilled to see that Indie authors are now having so much success and I do believe this has opened up doors for bloggers to be more accepting of these titles: )
The books featured today got a 3 star rating from me. They may not have been favorites but they were still enjoyable.

The Wild Ones by M. Leighton
Add to Goodreads

This book is about Camille and Trick. Camille is from a well-off family and Trick is not. He works for her dad but she can't help but notice how hot he is. Trust me, she mentions it a lot. Trick was okay in this book but Camille was annoying as heck. Her internal ramblings about Trick's hotness was just too much. The plot is a little too dramatic during some parts. Other parts bored me a bit. I felt that with a little more work this could have been much more well-rounded and enjoyable. I know Michelle has had huge success with her books, which is great, but this one just didn't grab me as much as I would have liked.

Lengths by Steph Campbell and Liz Reinhardt Add to Goodreads
I really liked this book cover and that's what originally made me want to read it. The story itself, however, was a bit disappointing. There is a crap-ton of cursing in this book. I'm an adult so it's not like they are new words to me but it was just too much. I don't need to read the F word a million times. It just made the characters seem immature. Deo was an okay character but Whitley didn't grab me. Her backstory was important and heart-breaking but I just never really felt bad for her. There was something missing and the story just never really took off for me. Lots of potential but the characters and language really brought it down.

The Crimson Hunt by Victoria H. Smith
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I was really interested in this story in the beginning. I wanted to know the mystery behind Luca and I did enjoy reading about Ariel and how they were somehow connected, due to her past. This book does have quite a few surprises and twists. I would say that the first half was much better than the second. Once I stopped reading for a while I realized I had no desire to pick it back up. It took me a while to actually jump back in and see what happened. I'm not sure why that was. I even skipped a few parts towards the end. But I wouldn't count this one out. I'm a hard sale on science fiction titles so it could have just been me. I do plan to see what else this author writes in the future.

Bound Together by Eliza Jane Add to Goodreads
Such a cute cover and the summary really made this book seem interesting. It starts out with Zoey trying to escape her homelife. She takes care of her siblings and has a lot of stress on her plate. I enjoyed the whole set up to this story. I felt bad for Zoey and couldn't imagine being seventeen in that situation. She goes on a class trip and has a friends-with-benefits relationship with Matt, even though they never get along. Zoey really uses him for the affection she's missing, then she throws him away after she's done. It hurts Matt a lot. I think the way Zoey treated Matt was really the downside of this book to me. I didn't understand why she was so mean but then would mess around with him? Why not just leave him alone? Without that aspect of the story I would have really enjoyed it a lot more.

Bound Together by Marie Coulson Add to Goodreads
Yes, another book, same title. Another book that had huge potential but just fell off after a while. Here we meet Layla, an"independent" co-ed who meets rich, handsome Jared. The writing in this book was okay. The biggest turn-off for me was just how darn obsessed the characters became with each other. It was a bit scary. Layla was in a million pieces every time Jared did something stupid and Jared bought her the world to make up for it. Yes, I've read Fifty Shades and actually enjoyed the series. This felt like a sort-of interpretation of that but just not as good. I would have ran from Jared as fast as I could if I was Layla. I actually didn't want them together. I wanted her to find another guy who was actually nice and didn't try to buy her off. But again, it was much more fun in the beginning of the story when they just hated each other.

High School Hangover by Stephanie Hale Add to Goodreads
This book reminded me a lot (A LOT) of From What I Remember by Stacey Kramer & Valerie Thomas. But while I loved that story, I wasn't as fond of this one. Laney goes to a party, gets drunk on an energy drink, and ends up kidnapped. The set up for this plot was okay but parts just seems missing in it. I did really enjoy Jack, the guy who ends up on this journey with her. He was great and a fun addition to the story. I just wasn't as invested in the story as I should have been. By the end I was just waiting for it to all be wrapped up so we can see what really happened the night of the party. I would probably still see what this author comes up with in the future though.

I'll Be Here by Autumn Doughton Add to Goodreads
This book starts with Willow being dumped by her long-term boyfriend. An old friend, Alex, comes back in her life and they are able to re-connect. I would say that overall this book was cute but that's about it. A nice read that brings back all the feelings of high school and first loves. Some things got a bit repetitive with the way Willow saw Alex and she could be annoying at times, but I'm still glad I read this one. I will saw that Willow was hilarious! She really made this story for me. It would have been much better with some more plot work and edits in writing but the characters were pretty enjoyable and nice to get to know. I'll be checking out more of Autumn's work.

Everything Changes by Shey Stahl Add to Goodreads This one is hard for me to review. I loved the plot and story line. A quiet boy, races motorcycles, love it. However, some parts of the story are very, very repetitive. We are told that she is seventeen… often. Other parts just seemed to tell the same bit of story over and over. Ex: how much Ro missed Parker when he was away. There are also still quite a few errors in this story. I can overlook a few but honestly, I felt that if this book would have been edited better it may have been incredible. I did enjoy the first part much better than the last. I didn't understand their conflict completely. I felt they just needed to say"HEY, here is what I am feeling". I know they were young but it just got a little old after a while. But again, the plot was great. I loved how the characters got together and that we get to meet them years before now (90s). The first part had me completely hooked and it brought back fond memories of that first love. Ro's best friend and Parker's brother were great. I enjoyed getting to know them. It just needs some work. I'm still glad I read it though.

Rush Me by Allison Parr Add to Goodreads Ohh, I loved this book in so many ways. Truly, I did. Ryan was fantastic and his football teammates? OMG I'd marry them all! The biggest issue in this story was Rachel. She starts off by calling them all dumb jocks and then wanting to hang out with them? Umm, sorry, I'd be kicking your butt out! She was so judgmental and hard to like. But the rest of the characters? Fantastic!! Who doesn't love football players? Especially when they are so darn cute and nice. With some adjustments to Rachel's personality I would have really loved this book a lot more. Sometimes I didn't understand her decisions or internal dialogue. But I'd still like to see what else this author comes up with.

Born to Fight by Tara Brown Add to Goodreads
I reviewed the first book in this series yesterday and gave it 4 stars. I just felt like everyone was spinning their wheels in this one. The characters made very little progress with anything and there are a lot of scenes that we re-visit from book one. The biggest discovery is about Emma and where she came from. That was surprising but a lot is still the same with Will, Jack, and Anna. By the end of this book I felt they were in the same spot as the end of book one. A ton of potential with this series and I do want to know how it ends but I just hope book three gives us something new to look forward to.

ALL OF THESE BOOKS WERE RATED

BRIDAL BONES

(a juvenile ghost story by Linda Joy Singleton )

THE SCAVENGER BRIDE

Magician's Muse by Linda Joy Singleton Publisher: Flux (October 1st, 2010) Reading Level: Young Adult Series: The Seer, book #6 The Final Book in Linda Joy Singleton's Popular Paranormal Series, The Seer

A whisper, too soft to swirl wispy candle smoke, carried across time, beyond life and death—and was heard."Our bargain is sealed. My secrets will be yours-when the girl dies."

In the thrilling climax to The Seer series, Sabine's psychic abilities, sleuthing skills, and courage are pushed to a dangerous edge as she deals with the mysterious disappearance of her ex-boyfriend Josh, a new threat against her boyfriend Dominic, evil magicians (both living and dead)—and a coldblooded murder.

- Thank you so much Linda for allowing me to share your short story on my blog.
To find out more about Linda Joy Singleton Linda Joy Singleton / Blog / Goodreads / Twitter

Purchase Magician's Muse Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository

*Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry! Please read full entry rules here.

Loving Emily by Anne Pfeffer
Published: October 2011
Paperback: 278 pages
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Ryan Mills is torn with guilt over the death of his best friend, and it's all because of Emily Wintraub. If Ryan hadn't seen those incredible gray-blue eyes, hadn't pegged her as a Potentially Amazing Woman, he would never have gone looking for her at the party that night. He would never have left his wasted friend Michael alone, when Michael needed him and asked him to stay. And if Ryan hadn't left, Michael would never have driven off, totaled his car, and taken the cosmic rocket ride into death.

As far as Ryan's concerned, when you’ve done something terrible, you don’t deserve to be happy. He tries not to fall for Emily, but he can't help it. Before long, he is"completely, gonzo, out-of-control in love."

Ryan then learns that Michael died with a secret. Still grieving, he feels compelled to take on his friend's unfinished business. When Emily begins to question where his commitments really lie—with her or with Michael’s memory—Ryan is forced to examine his choices. What does he owe to Michael, to Emily, and to himself?

Review:

Michael's death hits Ryan hard, obviously. He can't shake the feeling that he shouldn't have walked away. It doesn't help that Michael seemed to have something he wanted to share with Ryan. For a while Ryan seems to just float from day to day. He spends time with Emily but holds back from really telling her how he feels. Ryan's relationship with Emily was sweet and romantic. It wasn't all"hot and heavy" from the beginning like some stories. They really seemed to slowly build upon their connection with each other.

Loving Emily doesn't just give us a sweet romance between 2 characters, we really get a good idea of Ryan's life. He has a life that may seem perfect from the outside but he doesn't have the best relationship with his parents, especially his mother. Even though Michael dies early in the story, Ryan shows us how their friendship developed and it was easy to see why Ryan thought so highly of his friend. This was what really seemed cute to me. His accounts of the childhood events he shared with Michael really helped me see how they were just two little boys trying to figure out life.

I won't give away what the secret is but it really puts a whole new spin on this story. At the same time, it made me dislike Emily in a lot of ways. She didn't seem to really grasp what Ryan was going through or why he was so focused on his"task". I thought her actions, while mostly realistic for a teenage girl, made her just seem selfish and uncaring. I'm a hopeless romantic but there were times where I thought that maybe she wasn't even needed in order to have a super strong story. Maybe it should have just been Ryan's journey to make peace with himself.

On the plus side, I adored Ryan's point-of-view and I honestly didn't want to put the book down. I felt very invested in the story and finding out what Ryan would do in his situation. It was gripping, heartbreaking, and realistic.

Loving Emily is honestly a beautiful story. It's so much more than a romance and, even though it deals with a serious topic, it wasn't dark and depressing. A very enjoyable read.

Recommended: People wanting a realistic teen read dealing with death.

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This week Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) and I have shared with you our interview with Partials author Dan Wells and some of our favorite quotes from the book. Today we are doing an open discussion of the book where we share some of our thoughts and give readers a chance to join in and link up their review of Partials.

Discussion for Partials

Okay, my first thought when thinking of Partials is just how well it was written and how outstanding the characters were. Who was your favorite?

I agree that Partials was written amazingly. It was easy to grow attached to the characters and I think my favorite would have to be Kira, following by a tie between Marcus and Samm. Kira was incredibly smart and I liked how Well's took the time to let her work through her thoughts and figure things out. She's really strong too and to me that always makes a fantasic female lead. Marcus, he was a crack up! I think he had some of the best lines throughout the story and then Samm, he was a shocking surprise and yet still a huge mystery that I can't wait to learn more about in the next book. What about you, who was your favorite and why?

I agree 100%. Kira was amazing and I think it was wonderful how SMART she was. She didn't need anyone to show her the way, she really took charge. Marcus cracked me up. A lot of the book was focused around serious issues and his lines really created a nice distraction for a while. Samm was very surprising! One of my favorite things about this book was simply looking forward to Samm's moments to see what could be discovered from what he said. What did you think about the science part of the story?

To be honest, I was someone worried that the science part of the story would take over, but was happy that the writing made that part of the story fit in nicely and never took away from anything. That's the thing about Partials. There's so much in the story from various different genres that gave this book an amazing twist. In the end, I liked the science part of things. I wanted to see Kira work her way through things, to figure out the puzzle pieces before her. The science part of things really gave me a better chance to see just what a smart cookie she really is. The new"government" in Partials is written somewhat as a whole other character. What did you think of their choices for the people?

Very true. I was honestly worried I would be confused by the science part but it really grabbed my attention quick. It was nice to read a dystopian novel where we know exactly what happened to the humans. Many times that is overlooked. Partials is really a book that has a little bit of everything and that's one of the reasons why I think I enjoyed it so much. Now, as for the government and their choices, on one hand I can see why they worried so much about the people rebelling against them. Not many people were left and they needed order, but it was obvious that the pregnancy age was the biggest factor for the people (as it should have been). Their ideas weren't working so I think it was time for some new choices to be made but I couldn't help but feel bad for the adults in this book because they had literally lost everything.

The government was someone out of control. I cringed at the choices and laws they made for the world. I hated the control they had over everyone. Really, there were no choices left for a free person to make. The government did it all for you. I mean, I understand the need for humanity to continue, and the RM virus made that hard to do, but the control over people was just maddening! In the end, I LOVED Partials. It's one of the best books I've read in 2012 and I am in serious need for the sequel — Fragments in 2013. I really couldn't find anything that I didn't like about this title and I hope more people will pick this one up and fall in love just as much as I did.

Definitely! I had heard amazing things about it but it really blew me away. I can't wait for book 2 to see what happens to these characters next!
What did you guys think? Please leave us (spoiler-free) comments and we invite others to reply and join in. If you haven't read the book yet, just tell us what really makes you want to read it.

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive an ARC of Partials by Dan Wells.

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US Only and ends April 14th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

We wanted to do this feature as a way to promote a new release and get people involved in discussing the book. One of the best ways to find out about a book is to read the reviews.

Please feel free to link your review of PARTIALS that has been posted on your blog or Goodreads.
Rules: Please post ONLY your review of PARTIALS. Please provide the direct link in the linky. You can include your rating of the book.
Example of link: Confessions of a Bookaholic — Partials Review (5 stars)

We would love you to join the discussion about the book. Leave comments, tell us what you thought, tell us why you want to read it, or ask questions. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE SPOILERS! We don't want to ruin it for others, but we'd love to see what everyone thought of the story.

Halloween, 2011 (from Ten)
by
Gretchen McNeil

Jenny stood frozen in the hallway just outside Teddy's room, body tense, feet rooted to the floor. The sound she'd heard from downstairs was louder now, and what she'd thought were the bumps and thuds of her little brother playing in his room after bedtime now appeared less innocent. As she gazed at him from the doorway, Teddy lay curled up in his Avengers comforter, eyes closed, chest heaving slow and steady as he slept. Alone.

But Janeny could still hear the footsteps.

Footsteps. Yes, that's exactly what they were. Heavy, plodding footsteps pacing back and forth across the floor of her kid brother's room, slightly uneven with a hiccup between every other step as if the person making them walked with a limp.

Person? Janeny swallowed, her throat parched and raspy. No"person" made these footsteps, unless Janeny had developed a sudden case of cataracts. Her eyes took in the entire length of Teddy's room, illuminated by the dullish blue glow of his night light, and nothing moved. Not even a flutter from the curtains, yet she could clearly make out the steady canter of the limping footsteps. She could actually trace them from left to right across the room, pausing for a split second at the closet door, then retreating to the other side of the room, pausing again at the edge of Teddy's bed. Rinse, repeat. Janeny couldn't pull her eyes away, her brain desperate to see something moving in the near darkness, unable to grasp what might be happening in her house.

Then, as suddenly as they began, the footsteps stopped.

Silence descended upon the house. Janeny continued to stand in the bedroom doorway, sweat beading on her upper li, despite the cold. Janeny realized she was shivering; all the warmth had been sucked out of the house.

That's when she felt it. A bony hand gripping her shoulder.

Jenny swung around and—

Meg dropped her pen on the bed as her cell phone purred from the nightstand. Once, twice, three times in rapid succession. She sighed and closed her writing journal, then reached across a stack of pillows and picked up her phone. Three texts, all from Minnie, and as she held the phone in her hand, debating whether or not she actually wanted to read Minnie's drunk texts from her boyfriend Gunner's Halloween party, the phone vibrated again. More messages.

Meg sighed. Typical.

She swiped her finger across the screen, and Minnie's texts began to scroll.

MINNIE: OMG, I can't believe you're not here. What were you thinking?

MINNIE: And don't give me that bullshit about being sick. What am I, stupid?

MINNIE: The whole football team's here. And half the cheerleading squad. This is the party of the century you're missing!

Meg laughed to herself. There was no place on the planet she'd less rather be than at Gunner's party.

Because if Gunner was there, his best friend T.J. would be, too.

And Meg couldn't handle that.

It was bad enough that Minnie was dating Gunner as a means to get closer to T.J., worse that Meg had been forced to listen to her best friend go on and on and on ad nauseum about T.J. during the last few months. It wasn't that Meg didn't like him. Nope it was much worse than that.
Meg was in love with T.J., too.

She'd been hiding it from Minnie for so long it had become her baseline. Minnie would rhapsodize that someday T.J. would realize she was the perfect girl for him, and Meg would just nod and smile, all the while indulging in her own fantasies about T.J., his gorgeous dimpled smile, how his lips would feel pressed against her own…

In private, she could handle it. She could put on her game face when it was just the two of them hanging out. But at party after Minnie had downed a few beers? No way. Meg discovered first hand that spring just how painful it could be to watch Minnie throw herself at the boy Meg was in love with.

So Meg's coping mechanism? Fake the stomach flu, stay home, and write a new short story.

Buzz, buzz, buzz. Great. Minnie was in rare, needy form tonight.

MINNIE: I seriously have the best costume here. Sexy Alice in Wonderland FTW!

MINNIE: T.J.'s here. Of course. OMG, he's doing like a Johnny Depp pirate thing that is SO FUCKING SEXY.

MINNIE: I'll send you a photo of us, okay? Let me find him.

Sexy pirate thing? Meg dropped her phone on the bed. It buzzed almost immediately with new texts.
Part of Meg desperately wanted to see the photo, a mash up of her love for Johnny Depp and her love for T.J. Fletcher. Then again, did she really want to see Minnie in her sexy Alice dress which barely covered her ass, thigh highs and pushed up cleavage, draped seductively over T.J.'s arm? She wasn't sure she could handle that. Again.
Buzz. Buzz.

Dammit.

MINNIE: Huh. Can't find him. I swear T.J. was here a minute ago.

MINNIE: OMG, if he took off with that slut Brenda Raines I'm going to kick both of their asses.

T.J.: Are you home?

Meg froze.

T.J. was texting her? On Halloween? While he was at the"party of the century?"

A warmth spread across her chest, all stupid and silly and delicious in the way only a text from T.J. Fletcher could make her feel. With a trembling hand, she picked up her phone and typed,"Yeah."

The doorbell rang almost immediately. Meg caught her breath. Could it be T.J.?

Meg's dad stuck his head out of his bedroom door just as she stepped into the hallway."Trick or treaters?" he said, pushing his thick glasses up the bridge of his nose."At this hour?"

"I'll get it, Dad," Meg said, hoping her voice didn't sound too anxious.

He shrugged, and ducked back into his room. Thank God. If it was T.J. at the door, the last thing she needed was her dad hovering around her.

Meg reached the door and realized her heart was thundering in her chest. She needed to calm down. It's not T.J., she said to herself. Just a late trick or treater, like Dad said.

But as Meg switched on the porch light, she caught sight of a hat through the beveled glass windows in the front door.

A tri-corner night.

Like a pirate.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (September 18th, 2012)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardback: 294 pages
SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. House party.
White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Prize:

• 1 winner will receive a signed copy of Possess.

• You must be at least 13 to enter.
• Name and email must be provided and counts as 1 entry.
• Extra entries are possible and links must be provided.
• Contest is US Only and ends November 18th.
• Once contacted, the winner will have 48 hours to respond.
• The form must be filled out to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Reminder: If you are interested in the COMMENT CONTEST, remember to include your email address with your comment for an extra entry!
Please read full entry rules here. Don't forget to check out Lisa's Haunted Halloween post for today!

Once upon a time in the kingdom of Taylor, Michigan, there was a lonely girl named Beth who longed for someone to love her. Despite studying hard in school and working to support herself, she very rarely found herself enjoying life and wondered when people would stop disappointing her.

Then one day, in the neighboring kingdom of Dearborn, Beth attended a yearly music competition. While there, she sat next to an acquaintance she’d known for years who noticed she seemed a little down in the dumps. The acquaintance, whose name was Wendy, said she had just the thing to cheer Beth up — she was going to set her up with her good friend Johnathon.

Plans were made a few weeks later to have a group go see a concert together. It was there that Beth and Johnathon hit it off immediately and a few days later, Johnathon called Beth to ask her on another date the next week.

It was on that date that Johnathon talked excitedly about some news he received at work that day. He was a few months away from graduating from college and his boss called him into his office right before the end of the day to ask if he’d like to go to Germany for three years after graduation. The details of the offer were still to come, but from the way he was talking, Johnathon appeared to already be packing his bags in his mind.

Beth knew at that moment that she shouldn’t fall for someone who was probably leaving the country in a few months, but fall she did, and that proved to change the course of her life forever.

Not long after Beth and Johnathon began officially dating, Johnathon accepted the job offer to go to Germany. Because of this huge, life-changing move, he knew that if he didn’t do something even more life-changing, he was going to let the love of his life slip through his fingers.

So four months after they began dating, Johnathon proposed to Beth. She of course said yes, and despite the short amount of time they had been together, when they shared the news with everyone, most people were supportive since they decided to set their wedding date for a year and a half later on June 7, 2003 so that Beth could finish college.

This meant that the newly engaged couple would be spending a year and a half an ocean away from each other. So web cams were purchased and trips back and forth from Germany to Michigan — and vice-versa — were planned. The couple always appreciated the time they were together but it was always too short.

Finally, a year and a half passed and it was their big day. Family and friends from far and wide came to share in their joy. It was truly the best day of their lives, one that they would always treasure.

*~*~*~*~*
In fairy tales, this is normally where the story ends, but you see, eight years later, and the story is still going strong. Beth and Johnathon have lived in Germany and since moved back to the states. Their life together is happy and fulfilling. They will always remember their wedding day, and equally they’ll remember the time they spent living in Germany and traveling through Europe. But ultimately, they continue to look forward to what other exciting adventures life will bring. That is what marriage is about, that despite the difficulties, you are always looking ahead and seeing a happy and contended future with the person you promised to love forever. It won’t always be “happily ever after.” There will be times when you wonder how you’ll get through that rough patch, but keep looking forward. The future should always be hopeful.

Happy (Belated) Wedding Anniversary on June 7th to Beth and Johnathon! What beautiful pictures and what a wonderful story! Thank you so much for sharing with us! Beth blogs at A Foodie Bibliophile in Wanderlust — stop on by and congratulate her and her wonderful husband!

I have Lorraine Zago Rosenthal here today to talk about her newest book, New Money.

I'm part of the blog tour and I have an exclusive excerpt from the book below.

Tina had a constant cash flow, but unlike most of the girls I’d grown up with, she’d never been snooty about the fact that I didn’t. She nodded, the light changed, and she hit the gas. “You mean you need money to get your car fixed? Don’t worry about that… I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

“I know. I appreciate it, but I’m not going to keep imposing on you. I need my own car, and I also need to help Mom. Business has been slow… the bills are piling up.”

Tina drove me to an upscale outdoor mall where I handed in applications at Sephora and Banana Republic and eight other stores before catching up with her at the bridal shop where we’d planned to meet. She was leaning against its front window and twirling her hair.

“Maybe I should apply here,” I said, peeking in the window. Tina was covering part of it, and all I could see was half of a mannequin dressed in a white organza gown.

She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

I kept trying to look into the store, but she blocked me. “Why isn’t it a good idea? And what are you doing?” I asked impatiently. “Get out of the way.”

She folded her arms over her low-cut blouse and didn’t move. “Forget this place, Savannah. It’s filled with snobby women like my stepmother. You don’t want to work here.” She draped an arm around my shoulders, shoved my head down so I was staring at cement, and led me away.

The smell of her mango perfume was suffocating in the heat, and I wasn’t in the mood for whatever game she was playing. I disconnected myself from her and headed back to the store.

She tried to stop me, but it was too late. I stared through the bridal shop’s window at a pretty redhead admiring her reflection in a full-length mirror. She wore a flowing wedding dress, and her mother and a saleslady beamed at her. She looked like a princess. Cinderella. Somebody’s dream.

I swallowed. This was why Tina had tried to keep me away.

She was beside me. “It doesn’t matter. It isn’t what you wanted.”

That’s what I’d thought two years ago, when Jamie bought a diamond ring and asked me to marry him. He was in law school at the University of South Carolina then. He’d wanted to tie the knot when he graduated, buy a house in a fancy area nearby called Mount Pleasant—where Tina lived—and have babies, in his own words, ASAP.

Only that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to go places, see things, and write award-winning novels that would fly off bookstore shelves. I’d thought that none of those things would happen if I became what he expected: a stay-at-home mom who ate lunch with attorneys’ wives and spent her free time getting massages and manicures.

It had been so hard to end it. But he just wouldn’t wait, and I couldn’t blame him. I knew how it felt to want things. The problem was that lately, I’d been thinking that everything I wanted was never going to happen. I’d been wondering if I’d made a terrible mistake.

“I didn’t know they were getting married so soon,” I said, my voice raw and tight. But I should have known. Jamie had graduated recently. Maybe I’d been blocking it out.

I’d heard about the engagement a while back. The bride was a girl from my high school class who’d been on the cheerleading squad with me and Tina, but Jamie was a year ahead of us and had barely known her then. Now she worked as a paralegal at a law office downtown, and the rumor was that they’d hooked up when he clerked there.

“Yeah,” Tina said. “I heard about it last week.”

I turned away from the window. “Thanks for not telling me.”

She smiled. The bells on the bridal’s shop door jangled, the door swung open, and there was the redhead with the saleslady calling after her, nervously warning against stepping outside because the sidewalk would dirty her hem.

The bride went by two first names. She’d been one of those pageant contestants with a pushy mother who’d dressed her up in high heels and a thick layer of makeup like a six-year-old prostitute. She’d also been my nemesis from eighth through eleventh grade. Now she gave me a phony smile and spoke in a sugary voice as she lingered in the doorway.

“Savannah, are you stalking me?” she asked.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Eva Lee,” I said.

“Seriously,” Tina added. “Savannah has better things to do.”

Sure, I thought. I have better things to do, like resume my desperate search for a minimum-wage job while this empty-headed debutante gets ready to marry the only guy I’ve ever loved.

New Money by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Published: Thomas Dunne Books (September 10th, 2013)
Reading Level: Adult
Hardcover: 336 pages
Summary:

A young Southern woman of modest means suddenly finds herself thrust into New York's high society when she discovers that she is the illegitimate daughter of a recently-deceased billionaire.

Savannah Morgan had high hopes. She dreamed of becoming a writer and escaping her South Carolina town, where snooty debutantes have always looked down on her. But at twenty-four, she's become a frustrated ex-cheerleader who lives with her mother and wonders if rejecting a marriage proposal was a terrible mistake. Then Savannah's world is shaken when she learns the father she never knew is Edward Stone, a billionaire media mogul who has left Savannah his fortune on the condition that she move to Manhattan and work at his global news corporation. Putting aside her mother's disapproval, Savannah dives head first into a life of wealth and luxury that is threatened by Edward's other children--the infuriatingly arrogant Ned and his sharp-tongued sister, Caroline, whose joint mission is to get rid of Savannah. She deals with their treachery along with her complicated love life, and she eventually has to decide between Jack, a smooth and charming real estate executive, and Alex, a handsome aspiring writer/actor. Savannah must navigate a thrilling but dangerous city while trying to figure out what kind of man her father truly was.

New Money is a keenly observed, exciting peek into a world of privilege and glamour with a spirited and charming heroine at its center.

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