Monster Mash Book Blitz Countdown Event Day 5: Bleeding Hearts by Dana Louise Provo

 Dana Provo has always loved books and reads everything from young adult fantasy to adult historical romances. When she’s not reading or writing her next novel, Dana can be found riding her horses and getting ready for competition. Dana lives with her husband and two house plants in Richmond, Virginia.

Q&A With the Author:

1. Describe yourself in 50 words or less. 

Wife, author, equestrian, dedicated, kind, loving, loyal, and fun.  

2. What do you love most in the world? 

I love my husband. He's my rock and my best friend. He's my dream come true. 

3. What do you fear most? 

Spiders. Yuck, they are creepy and scary. And there is a chapter in Bleeding Hearts with those same creepy crawlies in it.  

Connect with the Author here: 

~ Facebook ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Google+ ~
~ Instagram ~ Wattpad ~ Tumbler ~

Orphaned at an early age, now twenty-four- year-old Camryn Lucks is ready to commit to find that special someone, and so accepts a date from a charming, gallant, handsome stranger. The last thing she imagines after accepting that first date with Carson would actually be the beginning of her worst nightmare.

Red roses, a reminder of her parents' killer, soon become an emblem of horror for Cami as one by one, those closest to her fall victim to a serial killer. Cami becomes an obsession for Carson, the man she had finally allowed herself to love. Not only is he vying for her heart, but also her life.

Finding herself in a whirlwind of torments shadowed by the blood-colored bloom, Cami finds solace in Isaac, a neighboring police officer. She’s desperate to escape the haunting memories, but she must revisit them in order to catch her would-be killer. Living life in constant fear has driven Cami to second-guess every choice she makes. Will the police catch the illusive murderer, or will Cami be forced to face him once again?

~ Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ 

~ Amazon Canada ~ Amazon Australia ~

Snippet:

With his free hand, he brushed my cheekbone. The pounding of my heart against my ribs faltered when he bent down. His lips were inches from mine, his hand slid to the back of my neck.

I nearly dropped the bouquet on the floor.

Without any hesitation, I fell into his arms, pressing my lips against his. He held me close and kissed me softly. My heart hammered in my chest as I wrapped my arm around his neck. A thud sounded as he flattened me against the door and we continued to kiss. I had never experienced this level of passion before. Carson was firm, but gentle, urgent, yet slow and persistent, all at once. Whatever his lips asked of me, they were welcomed to.

When he pulled away, our breathing was ragged and sharp. I lowered my arms to my sides, closing my eyes. He took the opportunity to place a gentle kiss on my forehead.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 

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For Sale by Owner by Marlene Bateman {Blog Tour Review and Giveaway}

For Sale by Owner by Marlene Bateman

Paperback, 272 pages

Expected publication: October 3rd 2016 by Covenant Communications, Inc. 

McKenzie Forsberg is headed home. She's quit her big-city job to return to her roots in the small town of Lake Forest. Kenzi hopes to buy her childhood home from her brother, Tom, as a way of revisiting the peace and security she's been missing in her life. But soon she is shocked to discover that the house has a pending sale, and Tom won't budge from the sale—not even for his sister.

Handsome widower Jared Rawlins catches Kenzie's eye until she realizes that he's the one who is buying her house—but he can only close the deal if he sells his own house by Christmas Eve. Jared is more than a little interested in Kenzie but has second thoughts when it seems that she may be sabotaging the sale of his home.

Slippery feelings of animosity and distrust ensue, with both Jared and Kenzie denying the chemistry between them. But then an unexpected discovery about their connected past puts a new twist in the dynamic. Now, can they put their differences aside and come to terms on a relationship that could last forever?

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My Review: 3 Stars

Kenzie is moving back to her small hometown to make a new life, after a job change, a divorce, and a need for a change of pace. She has a plan--to buy her childhood home from her brother, but without making her plans known, it's sold to someone else--Jared. In an attempt to get that house, make amends with her estranged father, and engage in a possible new romance, Kenzie's Christmas holiday is anything but boring.

The story starts out to be very engaging, but I quickly found Kenzie to be quite hypocritical, selfish, and bitter. She displays some of the same tendencies as her father, which is what led to their falling out, and refuses to acknowledge them, which is very aggravating. She has her shining moments, times when I really liked her, but for the most part, she wasn't high on my 'favorite people' list for the first 2/3 of the book. I love the way she mothers Sara and relates stories of her childhood. Having grown up in a small town myself, I can understand the desire to have that same atmosphere for raising her daughter in. But Jared has the same desire for his son. Jared is quick to assume, which gets him into trouble too, but he's more mature about the issues at hand and, in my opinion, more likable. 

I love the idea of Christmas magic and loved the day-to-day events that take place in this book, even though they don't have a lot to do with the issues at hand--baking cookies, Christmas shopping, skating on the pond, serving others, and the heart-to-hearts. I really enjoyed the ending, but I'm not giving anything away.

This is a nice, sweet, Christmas romance, splashed with some changes of heart. I love the theme of new starts, in all aspects. The bonus cookie recipes in the back are a plus.

Content: mild romance; very mild religious elements, specific to the LDS faith (no preaching). Clean!

*I received this book for free in exchange for this post*

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Buy Links:

 

 

  

Giveaway:

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About the Author:


 
Background
I grew up in Sandy, Utah, where my parents had a mini-farm on an acre and a half. My father raised a lot of things, but the two main ones were gladiolus and mink. Think flowers and fur coats. My mother, a creative person, was a florist. I was blessed to be raised as a Christian and I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). I’m thankful to know God lives and loves me and I’m grateful for Jesus Christ, my Savior.

Loves and Interests
I love my children and am so proud of them. They are all so amazing and wonderful, as are their terrific spouses. And although I know others brag about their grandchildren, I have to smile indulgently, because my grandchildren actually are the cutest, smartest, sweetest, and most talented kids in the world!

I have a lot of interests. For one thing, I’ve always loved animals. Right now, I only have four cats, and three dogs—a dachshund, a Westie, and a Welsh Corgi.

For fun, I like to read. A few of my favorite authors are; Maeve Binchy, Elizabeth Berg, Agatha Christie, Andriana Trigiani, and Anne Siddons. I also enjoy watching animated movies like Despicable Me, Over the Hedge, How to Train Your Dragon, Ice Age, Frozen, etc. I’m a kid at heart, I guess.

I also love to go camping, although I no longer enjoy roughing it. Must. Have. Popcorn. Which means we need to take along a popcorn popper. During the summer, my husband and I take our RV to the mountains, to explore new places, and we often travel to research new settings for my books.

I also like to garden. I love flowers and often go a little nuts planting in the spring and adding a few more tulip, hyacinth, and daffodil bulbs each fall. I’m having fun raising iris—right now I have more than 70 varieties and each year I add a few new colors.

On Writing
I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I started writing stories in elementary school and after receiving parental acclaim for one of my masterpieces, “The Old Blue Car,” felt encouraged enough to continue.

In college, I met and married Kelly R. Sullivan and my writing career was put on the back burner when we had children.

As my children got older, I began carving out some time to write and began writing short articles and stories for magazines. Then I started an LDS, non-fiction book.

When my husband and I found we needed a second income, we remodeled our garage and opened a floral shop. I enjoyed the work but regretted that it left me very little time to write. However, as the years passed, I managed to finish my first book, Latter-day Saint Heroes and Heroines.

After being a florist for ten years, I had a health scare and while waiting to learn the results of the tests, I took stock of my life. I asked myself, “If I had the chance to live my life over, would I do anything differently? Other than wishing I had been a better mother and person, I could only come up with one thing—I wished I had been able to spend more time writing. So, with my dear husband’s support, we sold the floral business and I began writing full time.

My next three books were about angelic experiences in early LDS church history; And There Were Angels Among Them, Visits From Beyond the Veil, and By the Ministering of Angels. Then I wrote Brigham’s Boys.

Around this time, I went back to college. It had always been another dream of mine to graduate. So I returned to college and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Utah.

While in college, I began working on my first novel. One thing I decided when writing fiction was that all of my novels would be “clean”—without profanity and free from inappropriate sexual scenes. Being a novice, it took me three years to write Light on Fire Island and I was thrilled when became a best-seller.

Next I wrote the LDS, non-fiction book, Gaze into Heaven; Near-death Experiences in Early Church History.

I then bounced back to writing a second novel, a fun mystery

Follow the Tour:

*Oct. 3rd: 

http://mybookaday.blogspot.com/,  

http://literarytimeout.blogspot.com/, 

http://bonnieharris.blogspot.com/,

http://www.rockinbookreviews.com/,  

http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/

*Oct. 4th:  

http://lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com/, 

http://thethingsilovemost.com/, 

http://iamareader.com/, 

http://empowermoms.net/

*Oct. 5th: 

http://www.wishfulendings.com/,  

http://heidi-reads.blogspot.com/,  

https://joyinthemoments.wordpress.com/, 

http://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/

*Oct. 6th:  

http://gettingyourreadonaimeebrown.blogspot.com/,  

http://katiescleanbookcollection.blogspot.com/, 

http://ldsandlovinit.blogspot.com/

*Oct. 7th:  

http://justcommonly.blogspot.com/,  

http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/

Monster Mash Book Blitz Countdown Event Day 4: Cutlass and Flintock by Ashley Nixon

Ashley was born and raised in Oklahoma, where the wind really does sweep down the plains, and horses and carriages aren't used as much as she'd like. When she's not writing (haha, like that EVER happens!), she's probably working out or pretending she's Sherlock Holmes. Her obsession with writing began after reading the Lord of the Rings in the eighth grade. Since then, she's loved everything Fantasy--resulting in an unhealthy obsession with the 'geek' tab on Pinterest, where all things awesome go. 





Author's Favourite things:

Writing (of course!)

This is obvious. One of my all-time favorite things is writing. I’ve been a writer all my life. It is my identity. When I'm having a bad day, I just go hang out with some characters. They don't always have bad days, but that's why I write--to get to the good ones. :) 

Books (Reading) - I'm being obvious again! This is part of my bookshelf. Sorry it's messy. I tend to just stack stuff. But yes, reading, reading, reading. It's for any day, all day, good and bad!

 

 

Pride and Prejudice - I know I said books earlier, but P&P has to have a category of its own. It is ridiculous how much I love this book, especially recently. I watch the 1995 and 2005 versions of P&P on a regular basis. Why do I love it so much? I guess in some form or fashion, we can all be Elizabeths (or Mr. Darcys). The pics below are from my own copy of P&P
  

Connect with the Author here: 

~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~

Cutlass:

Notorious pirate Barren Reed has one thing on his mind: Revenge against the man who killed his father. So kidnapping his enemy's fiancé seems a perfect plan…until he actually does it.

Larkin Lee is more than a pretty face and fiancé to a powerful man. Her fierce personality is enough to make any pirate want to push her overboard.

But when the King of the Orient comes to Barren with a task—to find the Bloodstone, a powerful gem thought only to exist in legend, Barren sees another opportunity to destroy his enemy. Together, Barren, Larkin and a crew of pirates set off to find the stone, only to discover it caused the death of Barren’s own mother and Larkin’s, too. As his strongest allies turn into his greatest enemies, and the life of the girl he kidnapped becomes more important than he ever dreamed, Barren’s quest for revenge becomes a fight to save the Orient.

Flintlock:

Barren Reed hopes to protect the Orient from his tyrant uncle, but his plans to make the King’s life a living hell aren’t supported by the Elders of the pirate community. As it stands, Barren has earned the Elders’ disdain for his carelessness, and they threaten him into exile if he makes one more mistake.

Barren’s not the only one feeling the Elders’ wrath—they don’t trust Larkin either. Worse, Barren can’t comprehend Larkin’s wish to have a relationship with her father, and the secrets she’s forced to keep create a tension that may pull them apart forever.

When the Pirates of Silver Crest begin to die, bullets laced with dark magic are to blame. With more and more of these weapons infiltrating the Underground, discovering who’s behind the dissemination is no easy feat. As fear and tension mount among the people of the Orient, Barren and his crew find themselves in a race against time to stop the spread of dark magic before the world of Mariana spirals into collapse.

Cannon (coming soon!)

The king is dead, the Network is destroyed, and Barren Reed has been exiled by the Elders of Silver Crest. To make matters worse, the black spot--a curse of dark magic--continues to devour him. It’s true purpose is still unknown, but one thing is certain: It will corrupt Barren in the worst way.

With her greatest secret revealed, Larkin Lee flees Maris. Accused of slaying the king, there’s only one place to go--Silver Crest. But Barren isn’t happy to see her, and their reunion leaves more questions unanswered, including whether they have a future together.

As Datherious rises in power, Barren and Larkin must work together to find the fifth Relic to complete the King’s Gold and prevent Datherious from obtaining control over dark magic, but the black spot has other ideas, and the closer they get to finding the final Relic, the more corrupt Barren becomes. Larkin finds herself in a head to head battle with the only man she’s ever loved and the reality is harsh--only one can walk away alive.

~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon UK ~ 

~ Amazon Canada ~ Amazon Australia ~

Snippet:

Cutlass:

Larkin had a hard time trudging through the mushy path of water, rocks and mud wearing a ball gown. She tripped several times on the too long skirt, only to be caught up in the ever-present arms of her kidnapper. It was infuriating. She would prefer being covered in mud, rather than allowing Barren’s constant attempts to keep her on her feet.

She couldn’t really figure out how to feel—she was scared, yes, but also strangely intrigued. She knew why they’d taken her: as bait to lure William to sea. Her father had warned her that she might be targeted, and she felt stupid having been taken. Every time she looked at Barren, anger flared in her chest.

She’d decided to leave the engagement party after spotting Barren. She’d gone through her options—returning home meant signaling a carriage and drawing attention, and while the castle might offer safety, it didn’t offer her peace. That’s why she’d chosen to head to shore—why would a pirate ever suspect she’d go there? She was a lady, after all. She’d thought she had been discreet on her way out, even escaping Barren Reed’s notice...but, instead, she’d drawn it.

She fell again and jerked away when she felt his hand on her arm.

“I am perfectly capable of standing on my own,” she spat.

Barren gave a short laugh. “Really? Because you’ve been stumbling all over since we left the ship.”

Larkin reached down and gathered her dress up as much as she could and continued forward. “If it is too bothersome for you, we can cut the skirt away.”

Larkin twisted, almost slipping as she did. Her eyes fell upon Barren, narrow and unkind.

“You will not touch me.”

Barren held up his hands. “I was just offering an option to ease your struggling.”

“I’m not struggling!”

She turned around and to her great annoyance, fell again as the rocks and mud gave way beneath her feet. This time, Barren stood aside as she got to her feet again. She refused to look at him, her face burning with embarrassment.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 

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Seven Hours: Challenge Accepted by Angelina Kerner {Review}

Seven Hours: Challenge Accepted by Angelina Kerner

Paperback, 106 pages

Published July 29th 2016 by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

One pill every 7 hours. That could be all it takes to give Chanel the chance to finally see the world around her. Chanel is an independent 19-year-old, despite what her overprotective mother and senator father may think. Being the daughter of a Senator comes with its own problems, one simple afternoon out with friends becomes overwhelming when they're swarmed by reporters. Keeping the secret of the experimental treatment close to her chest, she is able to fool everyone but her hawkeyed bodyguard, Leon, that has now been assigned to protect her. Chanel doesn't want a bodyguard, but will she get more than she bargained for?

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My Review: 3 Stars

  
It's hard to imagine being blind, but that's the disability that Chanel has lived with since birth. She has such a great grasp on the world around her, for never having seen it. For instance, she can picture what a diamond earring looks like and can only be pointed in the direction of a bathroom in a public place and have no troubles whatsoever. She's confident and spunky, especially when her overprotective parents stick her with a bodyguard, Leon. After deciding to try an experimental drug to try and gain vision, she begins on a new journey and gains new insights.


I love some of the descriptions used to tell Chanel about the world. I also enjoy her friends and the easy relationship they all have with one another. I'm amazed at how well Chanel is able to keep secrets from her friends and family--those who know her best.


I felt there are breaks in the continuity of the story, with irrational character behavior and rough transitions, but I still wanted to know what was going to happen next and enjoyed trying to piece things together. 


For those grammar sticklers out there--there are moments when the dialog and sentence structures aren't natural, which disrupts the flow of the book. Things are worded in awkward ways and there are a few cases of words that just don't make sense, as well as many punctuation errors. If you wade through those, you'll discover a sweet story.


Content: mild romance; mild-moderate swearing (the first half doesn't have any and then it's suddenly thrown in).


*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

Buy Link:

About the Author:

 

 Angelina Kerner, a Pisces, was born during the Chinese astrological year of the Snake, which she absolutely adores. Angelina loves snakes, and was once allowed to feed one a rat. That was an experience of a lifetime.

She moved around during her young years from Novosibirsk to Kaluga in Russia. Finally settling in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, her teenage years were spent dancing in troupes and performing on stage. The dances ranged from waltz to tango, from Jewish to Russian, and finally belly dance. She was accepted into six out of seven universities, and decided to stay close to her family. Angelina pursued a psychology degree until she saw graduates working for Starbucks and then decided to pursue another career path in the department of Social Sciences. The difficult coursework, her job, and finding her life partner inspired her to turn to writing which, at the time, wasn't so much a hobby as a way to escape daily routine.

She worked on countless stories, never really finishing them, but came to understand that flash fiction wasn't for her. After finding an online community where she met her best friend, her writing flourished, making publication a possible next step. She is now the author of one published novel for both young adults and adults, and aspires to publish her other fantasy and crime fiction works soon. Her next project involves a competition for a beautiful phoenix. That novel will, hopefully, make its debut in 2017 or 2018. Angelina currently divides her time between her family, work, writing, and a lot of cats.

Visit her website at www.kernerangelina.com and her blog at www.kernerangelina.live

The Sapphire Blade by Dorine White {Blog Tour Spotlight/Giveaway}

 

The Sapphire Blade by Dorine White 

The final journey begins! Travel with past heroes and a new adventurer to the historical romps of London and the scorching sands of Alexandria. Fourteen-year-old Akmir, raised from birth to sacrifice everything in the pursuit of Cleopatra’s magic gemstones, holds within his hands the secret location of the fifth and final mystic gem: the blue sapphire. His quest leads him to England, where four other gemstone searchers: Sara, Melanie, Kainu and Claire, are on the hunt. A pawn of the Roman Brotherhood, Akmir must choose his own path, whether to follow in his father’s brutal footsteps or stay true to his mother’s Egyptian heritage. Clues, puzzles, and danger rule the day. What will happen when the power of all five gemstones are brought together? This is a battle for life and death, and only one side can win. 

 

   

Author Dorine White 

My name is Dorine White. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Humanities. I am a member of the SCBWI, PNWA, LDStorytellers, and ANWA. I write middle grade and YA fantasy. My first book, The Emerald Ring, was published in May 2013 by Cedar Fort Books. I live in the beautiful, yet rainy Northwest with my husband and 6 children. 

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter

$25 Blog Tour Giveaway

Enter to win an Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 10/30/16 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by readinglight.com. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Monster Mash Book Blitz Countdown Event Day 3: The Unmistakable Scent of Gardenias: Book Six of the Haunted Hearts Series by Denise Moncrief

Denise is a Southern girl who has lived in Louisiana all her life, and yes, she has a drawl. She has a wonderful husband and two incredible children, who not only endure her writing moods, but also encourage her to indulge her writing passion. Besides writing romantic suspense, she enjoys traveling, reading, and cooking.

Accounting is a skill she has learned to earn a little money to support her writing habit. She wrote her first story when she was a teen, seventeen handwritten pages on school-ruled paper and an obvious rip-off of the last romance novel she had read. She's been writing off and on ever since, and with more than a few full-length manuscripts already completed, she has no desire to slow down.


Q&A With the Author:

1.  Describe yourself in 50 words or less.

I’ve lived in Louisiana all her life, and yes, I have a drawl. I’m an accountant two days a week, and a writer every single moment of my life. With so many story ideas crowding my mind, I have no desire to mute the voices in my head.

2. What do you love most in the world?

I love my family more than anything. Without their encouragement, I would have never dared to pursue my dreams. They are my heart and soul.

3. What do you fear most?

I’ve never been afraid of dying, but I am afraid of not living long enough to do everything I want to do before I die.

Connect with the Author here: 

~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Amazon ~
~ Twitter ~ Pinterest ~

Content with the direction her life takes…

The temptation to earn a sweet payday and collect enough money to start her own interior design business is too much opportunity for Sophia Cannon to ignore, but working for her new client, Les Wakefield, is like working for a creepy stalker. He seems to be everywhere she goes.

Until trouble walks around the corner and into her life again…

Dylan Hunter almost turns down the Wakefield Manor restoration job until Les Wakefield tells him Sophia is the interior designer hired to oversee furnishing the old plantation house. Sophia has been the ghost in his life since the day she left him, haunting his heart with her memory every day and every night.

Stirring up more than just the spirits of the dead…

Sophia and Dylan fight with each other until a much bigger threat puts both their lives in danger. Discovering that generations of Wakefields have restored the plantation only to disappear months after moving in to the manor house stirs up spirits that would rather remain undisturbed.

Can love survive the long nights at Wakefield Manor with the unmistakable scent of gardenias hanging so heavily in the air?

~ Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon UK ~ 

~ Amazon Canada ~ Amazon Australia ~

Snippet:

The dirt track wound through a stand of centuries-old oak trees hung with draping wisps of gray-blue-green Spanish moss. Like dark sentinels with drawn swords, the trees arched their limbs over the newlyweds as they drove deeper and deeper into the heart of the plantation.

On a humid, south Louisiana evening, the moisture-heavy air rushed through the open windows and expanded in the interior of the car. A trail of sweat rolled down Celia Wakefield’s backbone. She shivered as the first glimpse of the house came into view, and the meal she’d consumed miles up the road rumbled in the lower regions of her stomach. Despite the heat, chill bumps prickled on her forearms. An inexplicable reaction, really.

She glanced at her husband Les out of the corner of her eye and cringed. An intense tightness defined his jaw line, which meant he was in one of his dark moods.

His fingers curled around the steering wheel. “There’s no telling what condition the main house will be in when we get there.”

He had warned her of its disrepair repeatedly since the day he first told her that he’d inherited the old Wakefield Plantation. It was as if he was apologizing in advance for the state of their first home. She had, of course, wanted something newer, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. She was lucky Les Wakefield had found her appealing enough to overlook her past.

To view our blog schedule and follow along with this tour visit our Official Event page 

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