Saturday, March 16, 2013

Blog Tour Spotlight + Guest Post + Giveaway: Sacred by Elana K. Arnold


Today I'm participating in a blog tour organized by Jean BookNerd Blog Tours run by the well known Jean. Please, help me welcome Elana K. Arnold and her book Sacred.
And to make things even more interesting there is a giveaway so remember to keep reading ;)

Spotlight



Sacred

by Elana K. Arnold
Release date: 13th November, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 368 (hardcover dition)
Summary from Goodreads:

Growing up on Catalina Island, off the California coast, Scarlett Wenderoth has led a fairly isolated life. After her brother dies, her isolation deepens as she withdraws into herself, shutting out her friends and boyfriend. Her parents, shattered by their own sorrow, fail to notice Scarlett's pain and sudden alarming thinness. Scarlett finds pleasure only on her horse, escaping to the heart of the island on long, solitary rides. One day, as she races around a bend, Scarlett is startled by a boy who raises his hand in warning and says one word: "Stop."

The boy—intense, beautiful—is Will Cohen, a newcomer to the island. For reasons he can't or won't explain, he's drawn to Scarlett and feels compelled to keep her safe. To keep her from wasting away. His meddling irritates Scarlett, though she can't deny her attraction to him. As their relationship blossoms into love, Scarlett's body slowly awakens at Will's touch. But just when her grief begins to ebb, she makes a startling discovery about Will, a discovery he's been grappling with himself. A discovery that threatens to force them apart. And if it does, Scarlett fears she will unravel all over again.

You can order it here:



You can find Elana K. Arnold here:

Remember to Follow the Tour

Guest Post



What’s the best advice you can give writers to help them develop their own unique voice and style?

This is the thing about me. I have always wanted other people’s hair. One of my earliest hair-lusts was directed toward Anne of Green Gables. She hated her long, thick, red hair… I coveted it. “Covet” is not too strong a word. I choose it particularly, knowing its implications. To covet is to wish for earnestly, to desire that which belongs to another, inordinately or culpably.

I wanted Anne Shirley’s hair so badly that in seventh grade I poured an entire bottle of red food coloring over my head. My hair is blond, so it soaked up the dye readily. But I ended up pink instead of red, with a blotchy scalp and streaks of color down my neck, in my ears. It lasted for days and days.

In high school there was a girl, Julie Blackmore, who had a mane of thick dark brown hair, slightly wavy, that she wore some days in a high bouncy ponytail, other days like a river of chocolate down her back. Her hair smelled so good. I kind of hated her.

Even now, a grown woman, I suffer from hair envy. I know a writer—a famous writer, whose books have put her on the New York Times bestseller list, whose book is being turned into a movie by a big-time Hollywood star, who is on a first-name basis with Oprah. I am not jealous of these things. I cheer her on. I root for her, sure that if there is room in the universe for that kind of rock star success, surely a slice of it will come my way. I do, however, envy her hair.

It’s blond, like mine, but it grows long without splitting or turning into fluff at the ends. It frames her face the way people write about hair doing to faces. It looks good in all her Facebook pictures.

So what is the point of all this, of Anne’s and Julie’s and Cheryl’s beautiful hair? The point is this: their hair is not my hair. It will never be my hair. I can dye my hair, and curl my hair, and curse my hair, but still, alas, their hair will never become my hair. I can covet it, but I cannot possess it. And if I attempt to imitate it, all I will do is screw up the few things my hair does have going for it—it’s not oily; it’s not going gray; it grows all over my head.

And hair, of course, is not that different from a writer’s voice. You have one, already. As a speaking member of the English language (or any language, actually), you have a voice. As a reader, you know what you like to read. So I say—own your voice. Find what you love about what you have, and focus there. Keep reading—the way I continue to flip through slick-paged magazines, the way I always check my friend Jessica to see how she’s wearing her glossy brown locks. And then put words on the page. If you don’t like them, write more. And be gentle with yourself—there is time.


Watch Out For


Splendor
by Elana K. Arnold
Release Date: 12th November, 2013

Official synopsis:

The passionate romance that began in Sacred concludes in Splendor.

Scarlett loves the touch of her boyfriend, Will. But when he leaves Catalina Island to start college on the East Coast, she wonders whether their passion can survive a long-distance relationship—and whether she can face the home front on her own. Scarlett's senior year should be a breeze, but her parents have recently separated, and her already-wild best friend, Lily, is becoming involved with a dangerous boy named Gunner . . . a boy Scarlett is also attracted to. A boy she doesn't want to be—and shouldn't be—attracted to.

To take her mind off her troubles, Scarlett focuses on caring for her newly pregnant mare and delving deeper into the Kabbalah. Her religious exploration offers a way to stay connected to Will, who is a Kabbalah mystic, and a key to understanding her disturbing dreams about him. But as she gets wrapped up in her mare, her Kabbalah studies, and her conflicting feelings for Will and Gunner, Scarlett misses the warning signs that lead to a heartbreaking loss.



Burning
by Elana K. Arnold
Release Date: 11th June, 2013

Official synopsis:

Ben: Having just graduated from high school, Ben is set to leave Gypsum, Nevada. It's good timing since the gypsum mine that is the lifeblood of the area is closing, shutting the whole town down with it. Ben is lucky: he's headed to San Diego, where he's got a track scholarship at the University of California. But his best friends, Pete and Hog Boy, don't have college to look forward to, so to make them happy, Ben goes with them to check out the hot chick parked on the side of Highway 447.

Lala: She and her Gypsy family earn money by telling fortunes. Some customers choose Tarot cards; others have their palms read. The thousands of people attending the nearby Burning Man festival spend lots of cash--especially as Lala gives uncanny readings. But lately Lala's been questioning whether there might be more to life than her upcoming arranged marriage. And the day she reads Ben's cards is the day that everything changes for her... and for him.


Giveaway

- 3 winners will receive a signed copy of Sacred
- 1 winner will receive a poster, a bookmark, a button and a surprise art by James Vallesteros.
- 10 winners will receive one bookmark of a surprise by James Vallesteros.

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Friday, March 15, 2013

Blog Tour Double Review: Sweetest Taboo and Tainted Love by Eva Márquez


This time I'm participating in a blog tour organized by with AToMR Tours. Help me welcome Eva Márquez and her two books: Sweetest Taboo and Tainted Love!

Review


Sweetest Taboo

by Eva Márquez
Series: Sweetest Taboo #1
Release date: 1st October, 2012
Publisher: Terra-Mía Press
Pages: 295 (eARC received for blog tour in exchange of an honest review)
Summary from Goodreads:

Isabel Cruz was fifteen years old when she met Tom Stevens. She was 15 when they started dating, and 16 when she lost her virginity to him. By the time she turned 18 and went to college, everything had fallen apart.

This hadn’t been an ordinary love, though. Not a love between two dear friends, or even high school sweethearts. This had been the most taboo sort of love there was: a relationship between a student and her teacher. Isabel started her high school career as a normal student, but set her sights on Tom Stevens as soon as she met him, and pursued him with an intense – and sometimes reckless – fascination. When he finally approached her after swim practice and told her that he shared her feelings, it was the start of a forbidden and dangerous relationship.

Join Isabel as she makes her way through this dark love story, hiding from teachers, lying to her parents, and defying the authorities to make a life with the man she loves. Watch as she discovers the wonders of love and romance, and the terrible betrayal of jealous friends. And cry with her when she learns the hard truth about life and the people in her world.

Sweetest Taboo is inspired by the true and tragic stories of students who fall in love with their teachers, and live with the hard truths of forbidden romances. In a world full of after-school specials on sexual predators, this touching book seeks a different path, casting both student and teacher in a gentle light, and showing that true love may lie at the base of even the most illicit romance.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally


Today I'm participating in another blog tour organized by Xpresso Book Tours -run by the awesome Giselle-, please, help me welcome Heather Topham Wood and her book First Visions.
And to make things even more amazing there are two giveaways so remember to keep reading ;)

Review


Things I Can't Forget

by Miranda Kenneally
Series: Hundred Oaks #3
Release date: 1st March, 2013
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 320 (eARC received for blog tour in exchange of an honest review)
Summary from Goodreads:

Companion to Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker.

Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different…

This summer she’s a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He’s the first guy she ever kissed, and he’s gone from a geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt…with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn’t that easy…

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: First Visions by Heather Topham Wood


Today I'm participating in another blog tour organized by Xpresso Book Tours -run by the awesome Giselle-, please, help me welcome Heather Topham Wood and her book First Visions.
And to make things even more amazing there are two giveaways so remember to keep reading ;)

Review


First Visions

by Heather Topham Wood
Series: Second Sight #1
Release date: 27th April, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 230 (eARC received for blog tour in exchange of an honest review)
Summary from Goodreads:

Two years ago, 21-year-old Kate Edwards became deathly ill and slipped into a coma. While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother’s home.

Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can’t control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever.

Monday, March 11, 2013

With All My Soul Mini-Reading Challenge Sign-up


After participating in all the challenges created by Rachel @ Fiktshun for the Soul Screamers series I just HAD to participate in the last one, of course.

And as much as it saddens me -what am I going to do without Tod, Kaylee and everybody else?!- to see this amazing series end I love these mini-challenges :D

In case you want to participate too click HERE to go to Rachel's post about it.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Blog Tour Review + Giveaway: Death, Doom and Detention by Darynda Jones


Today I have the pleasure to host one of my favorite authors, Darynda Jones, and give you all an opportunity to enter in an amazing giveaway to celebrate her new YA book "Death, Doom and Detention". To read my review of the first book in the series, Death and the Girl Next Door, click HERE.

Review


Death, Doom and Detention

by Darynda Jones
Series: Darklight #2
Release date: 5th March, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 320 (eARC received for blog tour in exchange of an honest review)
Summary from Goodreads:

The normal part of Lorelei MacAlister’s life didn’t just slip away quietly the day Jared Kovach came to town. Nope. The normal part of her life shattered. It exploded. It burst into a gazillion shards of fleeting light.

It went out with a bang. Goodbye normal. Hello dark and eerie.

While her best friend, Brooklyn, is focusing all of her energy on helping Lorelei hone her abilities, Lorelei is dealing with the reality that Satan’s second in command has taken up residence inside her body. Oh, and the fact that she has a crush on the Angel of Death. But what a beautiful death it is. If those weren’t bad enough, something sinister has come to town and it wants nothing more than to hear Lorelei’s dying breath as it strangles it out of her. Thank goodness the gang has a supernatural champion. But what happens when the only being who can save them switches sides midstream? How can a group of misfits capture one of the most powerful beings ever created? And will they find out how to bring Jared back to them before it’s too late?

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Blog tour Review + Giveaways: Surrender by Rhiannon Paille


This week is going to be full of blog tour stops so be ready, ladies (and you gentlemen too)! Today I'm participating in another blog tour organized by Xpresso Book Tours -run by the awesome Giselle- and I'm hosting one of those authors that are so precious they are rare jewels! Help me welcome Rhiannon Paille :]
And to make things even more amazing there are two giveaways so remember to keep reading ;)

Review



Surrender

by Rhiannon Paille
Series: The Ferryman and the Flame #1
Release date: 2nd October, 2012
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pages: 402 (eARC in exchange of an honest review)
Summary from Goodreads:

How far would you go to save everything you ever loved?

Kaliel was warned about her love for the Ferryman. One day he will marry the land and leave Avristar forever. She doesn't listen, and because of what she is-- a Flame-- one of nine apocalyptic weapons, she sparks a war. In a desperate attempt to save her home and her love, Kaliel tries to awaken Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Blog tour Review + Giveaway: Timespell by Diana Paz



Review

Today I have the pleasure to participate in a blog tour organized by Xpresso Book Tours -run by the awesome Giselle- and I'm so happy of being part of it because this is one of those books that are just amazing!
Keep reading to find out why and enter an awesome giveaway ;)



Timespell

by Diana Paz
Release date: 1st April, 2013
Publisher: Rhemalda Publishing
Pages: 352 (eARC given for blog tour in exchange of an honest review)
Summary from Goodreads:

In TIMESPELL, the brash and impulsive Julia must team up with her sweet and straight-laced best friend, Angie, and the malicious and power-hungry Kaitlyn in order to keep the witch-like powers of her inheritance. But these powers come at a cost. The girls are bound to serve the Fates, and their first mission sends them back in time to Marie Antoinette’s Paris and eventually, into the chaos and war of the French Revolution.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Cover reveal: Isla and the Happily Ever After. And new covers for Anna and Lola

Hello beautiful people!

So... I'm kind of sad. And angry. And disappointed. And here is why:


Isla and the Happily Ever After
by Stephanie Perkins
Release Date: 17th September, 2013

Official synopsis:

From the glittering streets of Manhattan to the moonlit rooftops of Paris, falling in love is easy for hopeless dreamer Isla and introspective artist Josh. But as they begin their senior year in France, Isla and Josh are quickly forced to confront the heartbreaking reality that happily-ever-afters aren’t always forever.

Their romantic journey is skillfully intertwined with those of beloved couples Anna and Étienne and Lola and Cricket, whose paths are destined to collide in a sweeping finale certain to please fans old and new.


Yes, I think the cover is pretty, but that's it, just pretty. It's not as different and significant as Anna or Lola's, you know? Specially Lola's because the girl in the purple hair? She rocked. Hard. And now this cover is just plain compared to the other two... so yeah, I'm upset.

And to make matters worse they redesigned Anna and Lola's cover so they can match this one now. Why would they do that?! I mean... seriously?! Again? I hate when publishers change the covers of the final book -or final companion, in this case- in a series. I care about matching covers, and I want my books to looks as pretty as they should be.

So, once again, I'm upset. And just so you can see what I mean here are the new covers:



I'm going to miss seeing a girl in the cover and although I will buy Isla and the Happily Ever After I won't buy the other new editions. No way.

But what about you, guys? Do you like the new designs? Will you buy the matching books? I know there are a lot of opinions out there and I would love to know yours :]