Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Review & Giveaway: Touched by A.J. Aalto (Blog Tour)

Hi Guys! I have been under the weather so I apologize for not posting any recent reviews although I have several I need to do. Please check out Reading and Writing Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance; this blog is everything I aspire my blog to be. Jennifer Bielman is an honest reviewer and she always has these great giveaways going on, so please check out her blog and show her some love. She is promoting a giveaway of Touched by A J. Aalto and Jennifer's review is a two thumbs up! -5 Stars!  

Thanks for your time and patience and look for several reviews coming back to back! :) 

Carpe Diem

http://readingandwritingurbanfantasy.blogspot.com/

April Kindle Fire Giveaway!

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

  Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

  Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors

1. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
2. Author Jennifer Laurens
3. Author Lena Sledge
4. Kelly's Lucky You
5. Author Lori Verni-Fogarsi
6. Phantasmic Reads
7. Author Rebecca Talley
8. Author Ednah Walter
9. Author Heather Bixler
10. Girls With Books
11. My Life With Books
12. Author Rae Z. Ryans
13. All Fantasy Worlds
14. Author Michael Young
15. Book Angel Booktopia
16. Lori's Reading Corner
17. Books R Us
18. Books 4 Tomorrow
19. Author T. Lynne Tolles
20. Good Choice Reading
21. Curling Up With A Good Book
22. Auggie-Talk
23. A Bookish Escape
24. Paranormal Book Club
25. Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf
26. Amethyst Daydreams
27. Pink Fluffy Hearts
28. Love. Without You
29. Books, Books, the Magical Fruit
30. Author Lisa Voison
31. Tasty Book Tours
32. Fae Books
33. Author Cindy C. Bennett
34. Author Emma Michaels
35. Author Lia Fairchild
36. Fade Into Fantasy
37. Pieces of Whimsy
38. Author Rachael Renee Anderson
39. Feed Your Reader
40. Lovely Reads

Giveaway Details
1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). Ends 4/30/13

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, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Prize value $199 US.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Flash Giveaway at The Cover Contessa!

Flash Giveaway!

International Girls YA Book Club has hit 1000 Likes!

In Honor of the Milestone there is a Giveaway of a Hardcover Copy of Clockwork Princess(Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare.

Clockwork Princess(Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare

Book Description:

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

Danger and Betrayal, Secrets and Enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices Trilogy

Visit The Cover Contessa for a Chance to Win! 

David Estes' Ice Country Tour Wide Giveaway

I am proud and honored to be a part in hosting  David Estes' release of his second book, Ice Country to his third YA Series called The Country Saga.  

Please show Mr. Estes some love! 

Ice Country

(The Country Saga #2)

by David Estes

Book Synopsis

Dazz, a hard-edged, fun-loving Icer, likes fighting, particularly while at his favorite watering hole. However, while recovering from a particularly bad break up, his decision to engage in a brutal pubroom brawl leads to a series of events that thrust him into a dark and mysterious scandal involving King Goff, the ice country ruler.

When his sister is abducted in the dark of night, Dazz pledges to do whatever it takes to get her back, embarking on a quest that threatens to rip apart the very fabric that's barely holding his shattered family together. 

Along the way he meets a group of unlikely allies in the form of a travelling group of fire country natives. Can Dazz, when joined with his best friend, Buff, and new tan-skinned friends, defeat the King and his guards before it's too late for his sister?

Quick Facts:

Release Date: April 4th, 2013

Genre: YA Dystopian

Formats Available for Purchase: Paperback (only at Amazon) Kindle, epub and Smashwords

Links to buy Ice Country:

Kindle- http://www.amazon.com/Ice-Country-Saga-ebook/dp/B00C450JEQ/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_kin?ie=UTF8&qid=1365037507&sr=8-1&keywords=ice+country+estes

Nook- http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ice-country-david-estes/1114967514?ean=2940016746463

PRAISE FOR "ICE COUNTRY":

-"5 stars! David Estes creates captivating and original worlds that you love to get lost in!" Alexandria Theodosopoulos- Goodreads

-"Richly filled with new characters and story without leaving the old behind...a seamless transition into another side of a fantastic world." Kerri Hughes-

The Author:  David Estes

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife and soul mate, Adele, who he’s now been happily married to for more than two years.
A reader all his life, David began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and has completed 14 novels, 12 of which have been published. In June of 2012, David became a fulltime writer and is now travelling the world with Adele while he writes books, and she writes and takes photographs.
David gleans inspiration from all sorts of crazy places, like watching random people do entertaining things, dreams (which he jots copious notes about immediately after waking up), and even from thin air sometimes!
David’s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, an obsessive Goodreads group member, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table. He loves responding to e-mails, Facebook messages, Tweets, blog comments, and Goodreads comments from his readers, all of whom he considers to be his friends.

Learn more about the author at: ​http://davidestesbooks.blogspot.com​

Book Content

​*We do our best to provide language and sexual content information for those interested in reviewing books. If you feel the content would get in the way of an honest review, we recommend hosting an interview or guest post. All author posts, excerpts, and interviews are required to be PG.

​The book is suitable for all audiences.​

T​​​our Giveaway

 

Tour Wide giveaway: 5 e-copies of "Fire Country" (The Country Saga #1) and 2 e-copies of "Ice Country"

(The Country Saga #2).

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/de7c9f42/

Review of The Star Dwellers by David Estes

Second in Dystopian Series

The Star Dwellers is the continuation of Adele and Tristan's story in the Dwellers Series.

The story picks up where Moon Dwellers leaves off with Adele and Tawni going to rescue Adele's mother from prison and the rest of the group including Tristan staying behind with Adele's father, Ben. As I started to read this book I noticed the author's writing was a little more relaxed, still told in both main character's POV;  taking the world building a step further. As it evolved the author developed and revealed the characters' relationships in an honest way. I was drawn in because every time I anticipated something happening I was surprised with a twist and turn taking the story to a different level; it has moments where you laugh, smile then there are those where you tear up and want to cry. Mr. Estes does not disappoint in the action department but most of it happens towards the end of the book. There are still many questions I need answered and I can't wait to read the next installment to this series. The book is definitely a YA read. 

Rating 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Review of Love Unscripted by Tina Reber

A Predictable Read

Love Unscripted a contemporary romance novel about the trials and tribulations of a self-made woman and an up and coming actor.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley. Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read her book.

The story line is predictable and the writing sounds somewhat immature although the story is told in the POV of a woman in her upper twenties. The book is quite long and all the details about the mundane things in their lives are a bit tedious. The protagonists are "sweethearts" but Taryn has a lot self-esteem issues even though she seems to be perfect and Ryan the quintessential "HOT" actor of the moment is a little too controlling for my taste. Their egos are very fragile;  the more I read the more I grew tired of all the going back and forth between the main characters especially the fickleness of Taryn's emotions. The climax of the story and the details leading up to it were foreseen however I was expecting something much more.  By that time I just didn't care about the story anymore even though some chapters before I started to feel for the couple after going through what they went through.  I thought that maybe that would be the turning point in the book. Another reason I took another star is that there are things that are contradictory and I had to go back and forth to make sure I was reading correctly(One of my pet peeves when reading!).There are a couple of redeeming things in this book, one is the relationships the main characters have with their families and friends and two, that the author wrote some very sensual sex scenes between the protagonists but she didn't focus every other chapter with their lovemaking in graphic detail like other books I have read recently and I liked that. This is an adult book, there is mention of sex, drinking, and abuse of prescribed medication. 

Rating 2.5 out of 5 Stars

Side Note: If you would like to see spoilers to this review here is the link: 

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/573571021

Review of The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abé

A Beautifully Written YA Fantasy

Spoiler Alert:

The Sweetest Dark is a YA fantasy romance set during WWII when the Germans began to bomb England; where a teen girl unbeknownst to her is the last of her kind, a Drákon and the boys who are her destiny. 

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley and Bantam Dell Publishing(Random House). Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read her book.

The development of the characters and story are done quite well although the author's writing seems a little hesitant in the beginning as it is told in all three protagonist's POV although mostly in "Lora" or Eleanor's POV.  However, I did find that as the story progressed I became more and more engrossed; imagining the scenes as the characters interacted. I loved the characters' dialogue and the way they spoke with one another even when they were insulting each other. I am not well versed in the formality of language of that time period but it reminded me very much of the Declaration of Independence and how civilized and beautiful the document expressed a big "shove off" to England. In my humble opinion the author did very well in developing and gracing us with that lost form of speech. There are some things in the story that didn't make sense to me however it is a fantasy novel about "magik" and because I was so invested in the story and the heroine I made some allowances. There are some sensual scenes and mentions of sex,  drinking and drugs but it was done in a way that it doesn't take away from the story. I am really looking forward to reading the second part of this saga and I hope the author goes in a little more about "Lora's" background as it is a mystery. I want to thank the author for writing this beautiful eloquent story with  genuine sincerity. The cover is absolutely beautiful. 

Rating 3.5  out of 5 Stars