Category: Blog Tours
Book Blast: 3 NA Releases by Renee Novelle
Amazon: Crushed | Dance With Me | Latitudes
B&N: Crushed | Dance With Me | Latitudes
iTunes: Crushed | Dance With Me | Latitudes
Though she received her Bachelor’s of Science in Communication, summa cum laude, she considers herself a constant student of the written word. She’s an avid reader, an enthusiastic quote poster, and rarely takes “no” as a final answer. She has an unhealthy obsession for theater, dance, music and art, and strongly believes that wine is simultaneously the beginning of, and resolution to, all of life’s problems. She believes in following dreams, and that in the end, you always end up where you’re meant to be.
Promo: Lakebridge Autumn by Natasha Troop
The town of Stansbury, Vermont has survived over four hundred years of tragic events. The town survived because the otherworldly beings and powerful humans that have always controlled the lives of the people willed them to forget each terrible event. As the bloody conflict between those forces has been raging, the people have stopped forgetting. Fear and grief have replaced peaceful ignorance and the powers that be no longer care. In Lakebridge: Autumn, Stansbury will fall.
Natasha grew up in Southern California and currently lives in the Los Angeles area with her spouse, son, daughter and menagerie of pets, including a Basset named Moose and a very overprotective collie dog. What currently surprises her more than anything about her life is how much of it is just sitting there on Google, there for the taking. This scares her more than anything. The Internet never forgets.
Book Blast: Grower’s Gift by Vanna Smythe
Publication Date: May 15, 2014
Book Blast: Love, Honor, & Hope by Various Authors
Find out more at:
The Authors and their Stories
Aaron Calnan has seen enough of the horrors of war. Now, Aaron finds himself immersed in a world where humans work within the realms of the paranormal, where Werewolves and Vampires become friends and Fae like to kick your ass. One encounter changes everything and Aaron finds his life turned upside down. Will he finally find his own piece of heaven?
*All proceeds will benefit The United States War Veteran’s PTSD Foundation*
Blue Violet by Abigail Owen
(Cover picture courtesy of Masquerade Tours.)
2013 Bronze Medalist for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror eBook at the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs)
2014 eLit Awards Bronze Medalist for Fantasy/SciFi
Book #1 of the Svatura Series
Ellie Aubrey is a centuries-old gypsy princess whose extraordinary abilities once inspired her Roma ancestors’ fairytales (or nightmares). Along with her twin-brother, Griffin, Ellie has spent most of her life hiding from the Vyusher, a rival tribe who destroyed their entire powerful family. But after a mysterious dream, Ellie risks discovery in order to find and watch over the Jenners, another group of similarly gifted people. She refuses to let them suffer the same fate.
Alex Jenner has come home to protect his family. His adopted mother can sense danger coming, but not who or when. Suspicious of the new girl in town, Alex challenges Ellie in ways that will spark one of two possible outcomes: they’ll spontaneously combust, or she’ll lose control of the one power she’s fought so hard to contain.
When the Vyusher once again threaten everything she holds dear, Ellie will have to face her worst fear, and Alex will have to face an impossible decision. In this fairytale, the dragon that the prince must slay is also the princess who holds his heart.
[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy in conjunction with the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.]
When I signed up for the Black Orchid blog tour I really wasn’t all too sure about whether I’d like the books or not. However, the thing that convinced me was that I had read Andromeda’s Fall by Abigail Owen as well and loved it. Why not give her other series a try? And let me tell you: I’m so glad I did. It’s just as good as Andromeda’s Fall and I am now a huge Abigail Owen fan.
The beginning made me cringe, I’ll admit. New girl in a small town going to yet another new school after moving around lots. Thankfully this trope was not played straight and soon we learn that Ellie really isn’t all that she seems and neither is the insanely attractive Alex. Things get awesome pretty quickly so don’t be fooled by Blue Violet‘s unassuming beginning!
Ellie is now one of my favourite heroines. Yes, she can agonize over Alex but she has the self-awareness to at least realize that he’s a college student and he’s probably not going to be interested in his little sister’s new high school aged friend. When she realizes that the Jenners also have abilities similar to hers, her first instinct is to protect them, no matter how coldly Alex treats her. I think the most interesting part about Ellie’s character was her second ability, the one that terrifies her the most. Abigail Owen really works hard to not only portray her obvious fear of it but also to portray the temptation to use it, especially when the Vyusher come knocking.
I really just loved the world-building in Blue Violet. Not only are the different abilities unique and pretty darn cool, there are believable backstories for even the villains like the Vyusher. Of course there are still a couple of questions about abilities and such but this really is only the first book in the series and all of the most pressing questions are answered. In the beginning we learn pretty quickly of Ellie and Griffin’s abilities, which is refreshing considering writers’ tendencies to drag things out for as long as they can. Not so in Blue Violet!
Now, with a blurb that focuses on the inter-character relationships you’d think this would be more of a slow paced novel. It’s definitely not. While it is character driven to a large extent, you’re never going to get bored as both the personal drama and dangerous outside forces come together to create one heck of an epic climax. And there’s just a little cliffhanger so you’re eager to read the next book.
All in all, this is definitely not your typical urban fantasy novel and I can’t recommend it enough. Seriously, go buy it!
I give this book 5/5 stars.