[Review] Die For Me by Amy Plum

Die for Me
by Amy Plum
Publication Date: May 10th 2011
Published by: HarperTeen
Source: Gift
Summary:

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.

While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

REVIEW

First of all I want to say that I looooove love love love Vincent Pierre Henri Delacroix! Ok now enough with that and let me try to make a review for this beautifully written book

My thoughts:

This book is amazingggg!

This is just one book that I totally love and will forever love! It will remain in my heart forever. This book introduced me into a whole new world of paranormal creature, one creature that I didn’t expect to love and to care about. The story of Die For Me is unique, a fresh take about zombies but no technically they're not zombies they are called Revenants, creatures that I described as super heroes.

When I started reading this book it was really slow, there’s nothing really happening much and it was kind of repetitive. But I never judge a book just like that. I ended up loving the next few chapters and thus ending up obsessed with it the moment it ended and wanting more. The introduction of Revenants was really amazing and well plotted. I was at awe with the details on how Revenants are made and it was well explained that it worked so well with the story.

I personally like Kate as the protagonist. I think her personality is just like mine. A girl that is grieving about her parents’ death, a teenager who’s full of angst about how life is very much unfair for her. An amazing character that I sure everyone can relate to. Vincent on the other hand is one character that I sweaaaar to love forever! I mean he’s very much dreamy that’s all I can say before this becomes very much about I love Vincent lol. Her relationship with Kate is for all I can say is real. Their love blossomed throughout the story that I think is really sweet.

I basically love all the characters; they contributed so much in creating this beautiful story. Each of the characters added life to the story, one thing that I really love about this book. Every character is engaging and the fact that they like Kate for Vincent is a big factor lol I just have to add that one.

Cover wise. I totally love it! I say that some people may look at the cover first before buying a book but this is one book that has a beautiful cover and an amazing story inside it! It very much lived up to my expectation.

All in all I love this book no matter what, I love the story. It may have started a little bit slow for me but it was a great read all in all. It has affected me all throughout reading it and I swear to have obsessed with it after finishing it. I recommend it to everyone who likes contemporary, if you don’t fall for Vincent I don’t know what else to say.

Now I can’t wait for the second book which is Until I Die that is expected to be published May of 2012. An unbearable wait but I’m waiting!

RATINGS

BOOK TRAILER

AMY PLUM ON DIE FOR ME

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Plum is the author of the International Bestseller DIE FOR ME, which is an Indie Next List pick, Romance Times top pick, and recipient of a starred review from School Library Journal. DIE FOR ME is the first novel in a YA trilogy set in Paris.

Amy grew up in Birmingham, Alabama before venturing further afield to Chicago, Paris, London and New York. An art historian by training, she finally traded a tiny apartment in Brooklyn for a rambling farmhouse in a village of 1300 people in the French countryside. She lives there with her French husband, two young children and big red dog Ella, and spends her time writing in a tiny ancient stone house in her garden.

Official Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Formspring

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[Blog Tour] Taken by L.M Pruitt

Excerpt from Taken by L.A Pruitt

What's a book set in New York without a scene set in a diner with a surly waitress? Incomplete, that's for sure. And really, what good private detective doesn't have the friend they can talk into doing grunt work?

“You planning on sitting here all morning?” The waitress topped off my coffee, one hand on her bony hip. She’d seen the backside of forty more than a few years ago and the make-up she’d troweled on didn’t help. “I got to make a living, same as anyone else.”
“With your attitude, I’m surprised you make a living at all.” I pulled a twenty out of my wallet, slamming it on the table. Coffee slopped over the rim, coming dangerously close to the papers spread over the cheap laminate. “Consider it a down payment on your tip. Keep the coffee coming and keep your mouth shut and we’ll get along just fine.”
Her mouth twisted in a snarl but her fingers nipped out, snatched up the twenty and slipped it in her apron. Sensible white shoes squeaked on the tile as she spun and stalked away. Shrugging, I doctored the cup, adding enough cream and sugar to kill the taste of the coffee. Casey Lynn would be another fifteen minutes. Maybe thirty.
I’d left Jack at the Waldorf, sprawled across the bed and snoring. I’d dressed in the bedroom so I could watch him, just to be sure. He tended to have nightmares the day or so after I saw something, as if he needed to make up for not being able to follow me. Since he wasn’t awake to see me, I indulged myself by running my fingers through his hair, trailing my hand down his spine. I lingered for a moment at the scar, pressing my lips together at old memories.
My fingers lingered on the necklace and worried the charm. Instead of tucking the gold in my purse or the pocket of my jeans, I slid it under my shirt. It wasn’t smart, but I needed the extra comfort. Besides, nobody was going to be looking down my shirt today.
Even now, I picked at the charm beneath my shirt, nibbling on my lower lip while studying Jack’s notes. He would take the sketch into the station, see if there’d been a missing person report filed for someone named Roxanne from the Bronx. The notes were mine; mine to look over and absorb and see where they took me. If I got enough information, I’d call in an anonymous tip. Jack and I had done this routine more times than either of us could count.
“I fucking hate you. You know that, right? I abso-fucking-lutely hate you.” Casey Lynn threw her bag into the booth and flung herself in after it. She yanked big, Jackie-O sunglasses off and tossed them on the table. “You know what time I got to sleep? Three hours ago. Which meant I got about two hours before I had to get up to meet you at this shithole diner.”
“You have such a way with words, Casey Lynn. Butter wouldn’t even melt in your mouth.” I took a sip of coffee and studied her over the rim. “You look like shit.”
Her lips quivered for a moment before she grinned. “You sweet talker, you. Damn it. I was going to be bitchy for at least ten minutes before I broke character.”
“You better head back to acting class, darlin’. Either that or get a refund.” I’d slid into the voice Casey Lynn normally heard me use, an accent mellower than my natural twang but stronger than most Southern drawls. “You eating food this morning or still starving yourself?”
“Food. Those five pounds are never coming off, just like my Mama said.” Casey Lynn flashed a big, toothy smile at the hag as she approached. “I sure hope we’re not taking up too much of your time. I promise as soon as we’re done eating we’ll be gone, lickty split.”
I sat back and watched Casey Lynn use her farm girl magic on the waitress, smiling and laughing over some little shared joke. Casey Lynn Hawbacker might have got the hell out of Jewell, Kansas, but nothing short of a miracle would get Jewell, Kansas out of her. She’d still look sparkly and new if she spent another ten years in Manhattan’s underbelly.
“And what about you?” The hag managed to smile at me, still under Casey Lynn’s influence.
“Two over easy, bacon, country potatoes, wheat toast.” The sensory memory of hominy grits, scalding hot on my tongue, flashed through me, making me miserably homesick in a way I hadn’t been in years. “Water, please, when you have a moment.”
Casey Lynn pushed her hair back, a wild, curling mass of dark browns, gilded with red. Her hazel eyes were rimmed with red but still alert. “You just make friends all over the place. Dolores, our waitress, is probably thinking about spitting in your food.”
“Considering the twenty in her pocket, I doubt she’ll follow through.” My coffee was edging toward lukewarm but I was going to need the caffeine today. “Jack says hello.”
The quick, indrawn breath and the sudden laxness of her mouth made me snicker. She licked her lip, tongue ring winking in the low light. “Jack says hello or you both say hello?”
“Well, both of us. But not like that.” I sighed when she began to pout. “Not right now, anyway. We’ve both got work.”
“Out of all the men I’ve had---”
“All three of them,” I interrupted, shuffling papers around.
“Out of all the men I’ve had,” Casey Lynn repeated, spearing me with a glare. “Jack is the only one who could make me move to the other side of the street.”
“You’re not even on a side of the street. You’re playing in the median.”
“And? You are, too.”
“I am not. I live firmly on the side of the street involving men, with the occasional visit to the median.” Waving a hand, determined to not let the conversation stray into areas already talked to death, I pulled the picture of Roxy out of the stack, laying it on top. “I’m serious, darlin’. We’re both busy with work. But maybe you can help us out.”
Casey Lynn’s eyes went sharp. “Decoy work?”
“Of a sort.” I chewed on my lower lip, unsure how much to tell her. Casey Lynn tended to talk more than wise, but sending her in as blind bait didn’t sit right. “Women are being snatched up and sold. About two weeks ago, Audrey Clark stepped outside Low Places.”
Quickly, I gave her the rest of what Jack and I knew so far, pausing only when Dolores brought our food. I dusted my plate with salt and pepper, glancing up to find Casey Lynn studying me. “If you’re not up for this, we understand. I’ll put an ad in the paper, hire someone.”
“I’m thinking it over. You’ve never asked me to do something dangerous.” She forked up a bite of omelet, watching steam waft up before popping it in her mouth. She chewed slowly, eyes distant. Swallowing, she said, “Do you have a picture of this guy, Chad?”
“Not yet.” One of the many things on my list to do today. Ian Hamby didn’t know it yet, but he was going to let me into his cousin’s apartment. Or point me in the right direction, at the very least. “You’d get a picture and a wire and one of Jack’s nifty locator beepers. And probably the pair of us in a dark corner somewhere.”
“If you’d mentioned that last bit first, you’d have sold me right away.” Casey Lynn flashed a grin before going back to her omelet. For the next few minutes we concentrated on eating. Casey Lynn starred off in the distance and lists of things I needed to do ran through my mind. None of the lists were short and all of them had reached should have been done yesterday status.
“Ok, I’m in.” I blinked, bringing my mind back to the conversation. Casey Lynn pushed her plate away and I blinked again, wondering where she’d stuffed the plate-sized omelet and how she’d done it so quickly. “You want to work out a cover story now or later?”

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BOOK BLURB

Cheating spouse? Stolen jewelry? Missing person?

Call Frances--Frankie--Post. A private detective with a trick of two up her sleeve and a few skeletons of her own.

What starts out as a simple missing person's case dumps Frankie and her lover Jack right in the crosshairs of a dangerous human trafficking organization. With lives on the line, bad blood and old wounds finally see the light of day. And Frankie and Jack are forced to realize: The past always catches up with you.

Amazon | Barnes & Nobles | Smashwords

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

L.M. Pruitt has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember. A native of Florida with a love of New Orleans, she has the uncanny ability to find humor in most things and would probably kill a plastic plant. Titles written include New Moon Rising, Shades of Gray, the first novel in the Jude Magdalyn series, as well as Hole in the Wall, a Jude Magdalyn short. She is currently at work on Taken. She makes her home in Florida with one two cats—one smart, the other an idiot.

Blog | Twitter | Facebook

NEXT TOUR STOP WILL BE 
@ The Bookish Snob

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Waiting on Wednesday #18

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

 The Night She Disappeared

by April Henry

Expected publication: April 10th 2012 by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers

Synopsis from Goodreads

Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part time as a delivery girl at Pete’s Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working that night. Gabie can’t move beyond the fact that Kayla’s fate was really meant for her, and she becomes obsessed with finding Kayla. She teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete’s. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn’t dead—and to find her before she is.

52 Reasons to Hate My Father

by Jessica Brody

 Expected publication: July 3rd 2012 by Farrar Straus & Giroux

Synopsis from Goodreas

If she wants to receive her beloved trust fund, every week for the next year, seventeen-year-old Lexi Larrabee must take on a different low-income job. All 52 jobs have been carefully pre-selected by her father himself.

What Lexi doesn’t know is that each job was at one point held by one of world’s most influential people. The goal is to teach his daughter a few lessons about life, compassion, work ethic, and the value of a hard-earned dollar. If each of these jobs eventually led to wealth and success, at least one of them has to work for Lexi.

Left with no other choice, Lexi grudgingly sets off on her quest, each week being comically presented with a highly undesirable job. All of them are designed to turn Lexi into an entirely different person.

Thief's Covenant

by Ari Marmell

Expected publication: February 14th 2012 by Pyr

Synopsis from Goodreads

She is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon's underbelly looking to find answers, and justice with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no other worshipers but Widdershins herself.

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[Blog Tour] Claws and Effect by Amanda Arista

How To Handle Bad Reviews
Guest Post by Amanda Arista

Thank you for having me over at We Fancy Books today to chat a little about my new book Claws and Effect and how I dealt with the reviews of the first in my series.

As I’m writing this, my husband is watching an absolutely vile show on TV and giggling like a school girl. He thinks it’s hilarious; I think it’s completely horrible and it’s killing my brain cells just listening to the crude jokes and course language.

But then again, I have 200 channels of things that I don’t necessarily want to watch. But someone wants to watch them, and that someone will probably want to tell someone else about what they watched.

Reviews are the reader’s relationship with the writing material. It is how this one person interacted with the characters and the plot and how the themes spoke to them. It’s a one-to-one relationship. Just like my husband really likes certain shows and I really do not, everyone has entertainment that they like and entertainment that just really doesn’t do it for them. For me, I really like books with an interesting world-building premise; some like small town romances with more character-building. It really is person-specific.

As a writer, I try to tell myself the reviews are not about me personally. The reviewers don’t know me. The reviewers aren’t cutting down my character or insulting my choice of career (which one editor actually did). Reviews express how the reader interacted with my characters, the plot pursued, and the themes explored. Not me personally.

After Diaries of an Urban Panther came out, I was told not to read the reviews that came out, especially because I was writing the second book at the time. But it was inevitable. I had just let my baby girl out into the world and I didn’t know if she was going to survive. Of course I was going to read the reviews. Some of the reviews were good, really good. Some of the reviews were bad, and some of the reviews were just meh.

For reviewers, I say Thank you! I love reading what worked and what didn’t. Some reviewers have been wonderfully specific about scenes that really struck them in a good way and a bad way. It’s always interesting to find what one person really did like, one person really didn’t, and it’s usually a reaction to the same thing. Some reviewers really liked Violet’s first person narration, some really didn’t, but it was significant enough that both decided to write about it.

For readers, I recommend reading reviews. Find a site that seems to like the same things that you do. Review sites can act like a good friend recommending books. It’s a great way to get introduced to new material, possibly some obscure little first time author who writes about shapeshifting in Dallas (wink, wink). But you can always do what I do and give any recommendation the First Line test: Read the first line and see if it intrigues you. If it doesn’t, move on. Life’s too short to read books that don’t stimulate you.

For Claws and Effect, I hope that this interview guides you in the direction of the series. Violet Jordan would love you to explore her adventures as a writer-turned-panther. And maybe you can leave a review out there to guide other readers.

If you have any questions about the series, I’ll be checking in all day. If you leave a comment, you will be entered to win a gift certificate at the end of the Virtual Blog Tour.
Thank you and Happy reading!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amanda was born in Illinois, raised in Corpus Christi, lives in Dallas but her heart lies in London. Good thing she loves to travel! The summer of second grade, she read every book in the young adult section of the library, so she started making up her own stories and hasn’t stopped.
She has a husband who fights crime, one dog who thinks he’s a real boy, and another who might be a fruit bat in disguise. When not writing, Amanda often dreams of co-opening an evil bakery and sell despicable desserts. Her particularly favorites are larvaceous lemon bars and sinful cinnamon streusel.
She spends her weekends writing at coffee shops, practicing for the day that caffeine intake becomes an Olympic sport, and plotting character demises with fellow writers Wolvarez, Killer Cupcake and Keith (names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent).

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter

GIVEAWAY

Want to win $25 Amazon Gift Card?

Just FOLLOW THE TOUR and COMMENT on each post for a chance to win. More comment = More chance of winning.

See the tour list here.

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[Review] Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder

Touch of Power
by Maria V. Snyder
Publication Date: December 20th 2011
Published by: Mira
Source: Net Galley 
Summary:

Laying hands upon the injured and dying, Avry of Kazan absorbs their wounds and diseases into herself. But rather than being honored for her skills, she is hunted. Healers like Avry are accused of spreading the plague that has decimated the Fifteen Realms, leaving the survivors in a state of chaos.

Stressed and tired from hiding, Avry is abducted by a band of rogues who, shockingly, value her gift above the golden bounty offered for her capture. Their leader, an enigmatic captor-protector with powers of his own, is unequivocal in his demands: Avry must heal a plague-stricken prince—leader of a campaign against her people. As they traverse the daunting Nine Mountains, beset by mercenaries and magical dangers, Avry must decide who is worth healing and what is worth dying for. Because the price of peace may well be her life...

REVIEW

HOW TO GET TRAPPED INTO LOVING THIS BOOK - GUIDE

It’s not very difficult you know. Let me tell how it’s done. There are different situations in the first step of this procedure. But let’s have this on my terms since I’m the one writing.

When you checked out new books to read, you’ve come across the title Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder. In other circumstances when you already know who Snyder is, you would check out this book because she’s a pretty awesome author. But in my case, since I haven’t gotten the chance of reading her stuffs, I did not have any idea what kind of book this is. But I checked it anyway because well I’m into adventure slash fantasy and the title sounds catchy.

So of course when I checked out the book in Goodreads, I was fascinated by its cover. Yes I mean come on. The cover was magnetizing. Absolutely one of the most beautiful covers out there. And that obviously just added to the level of my interest. And the plot seemed rather interesting as well.

Then you decide to give it a try hoping that it won’t waste your time. So you download it in NetGalley, yes I had an advance reading copy of this from my blog. But honestly, if I didn’t have this as an advance reading copy, I would’ve seriously bought a one. I think the cover really captured me. Not that the cover will speak for the entirety of the book but it helps, no doubt about that. And then you start reading it.

You read about Avry of Kazan who has a bounty on her head because she was a healer. There were 11 kinds of magicians in the 15 realms in which our story is set in. She was living in a chaotic world after a plague in which healers are accused of being the ones who spread it thus her bounty because the people hate healers. Avry was supposed to be executed after she was captured but Kerrick of Alga, who was an earth magician, helped her escape for his own benefit. Kerrick wanted Avry to heal Prince Ryne of Ivdel, who was put into fake death to keep him from truly dying, but Avry refused so Kerrick treated Avry as a captive while they were travelling to Prince Ryne. Their journey was rough because there were mercenaries and bandits who were on their way but most of all, King Tohon of Sogra, a life magician is after them. But while on their way, Avry started to change her opinion of Prince Ryne through Kerrick and Belen, Kerrick’s most trusted friend.

King Tohon is kind of a lunatic in my opinion. But I kind of like him. I know I know it sounds sick when you go gawking into antagonizing jerks because honestly Tohon is absolutely cruel and merciless and no question about that. He’s also jealous of Kerrick and he’s a sociopath. But I am interested of the next thing that would happen between him and Avry. Not that there’d be a lot of things that will happen since Avry would obviously end up with Kerrick but that doesn’t stop me from wondering about Tohon.

So there, you get magnetized and you won’t stop reading the book. While you’re on it, you get trapped because there’s no other way but to finish the book since you love it and all. It was a pretty nice ride I had in there. No boring part since they’re always running for their lives.

So this is how we break down the rating. I will give a star for the beautiful cover. A star for the wonderful story, a star for the enchanting world which is the 15 realms and the 11 kinds of magicians, a star for specific characters of Kerrick, Ryne, and Tohon, a star for Avry (of course I’ll give her a star only for herself).

RATINGS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maria V. Snyder earned an MA in Popular Fiction Writing from Seton Hill University. Her freelance articles appear in magazines and newspapers, and she enjoys teaching fiction writing classes at the local college.

Official Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads

I received this book free of charge from Net Galley in exchange for an honest

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[Review] Crossroads by Mary Ting

Crossroads
by Mary Ting
Publication Date: July 28th 2011
Published by: World Castle Publishing
Source: Bought
Summary:

Claudia Emerson has a good friend who shares the same first name and last name. That friend unfortunately dies in a tragic accident during homecoming dance. Claudia is distraught at the loss of her friend, but is even more disturbed by her dreams, which seem to take her to another place called Crossroads. Unknown to her, Crossroads is like a second heaven, a place between heaven and earth. It is where the souls of humans in comas or near death experiences may wander.
There, Claudia meets Michael, a nephilim, a half angel, half human, whom she often meets in her dreams. It turns out that this isn’t her first visit to Crossroads, which is an enigma for no human can ever travel there until Claudia. Now the fallen and demons are after her, suspecting she must be special and it is up to Michael and the other nephilims to protect her.
Can Michael fight his growing feelings for Claudia and protect her as a guardian angel should? The answer awaits you! Follow the exciting path to Crossroads!

REVIEW

If you are much enthralled of white wings and fluffy clouds and sweet heavenly beings, then this book is just perfect for you. Get yourself ready for takeoff as we enter the dreamlike world of Angels!

At the few first pages of the novel, its mystery would be one of the strongest factorsyou’d find yourself hooked up with, and would be one of the reasons why you’d be eager in reading the next chapter,  and the next, and the next.And what’s more fascinating about it is that you would be able to encounter not just one tribe of angelic beings, but more! (Trustme) there are a whole lot of them!).

The different settings of the story were all beautifully described. The author could let the readers imagine a place in which you couldn’t somehow put its beauty to words and could let you float away from reality.

And the characters! The protagonists are all easy to love with their fun and good-naturedness. Our main girl Claudia is a goody two-shoes who found herself caught in the battle betweengood angels who are after everybody’s wellness and of course, the rebel ones who are after revenge and power. Then there’s Michael, put all the greatest description of your ideal guy and he could be even more!  He’s the gorgeous, caring, guardian angelwhom everybody is asking for, in which whose eyes are on no one but on Claudia. They struggle in keeping their love throughout the fight against evil with the help of Michael’s charming and humorous angel buddies that you would want to get to know well and befriend personally.

“You’re doing it again,” he said.

“Doing what?” I asked, wondering if I had done something wrong.

“Melting my heart with your smile,” he said.”

This book will surely melt your knees with its sweetness! If you are a sucker for appealing charactersand heavy romantic lines, then read it right now!

RATINGS

BOOK TRAILER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mary Ting resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing Crossroads was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother. It was inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl.

Official Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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