Cover reveal: Soul Possessed by Katlyn Duncan

We are thrilled to be able to share with you the cover for SOUL POSSESSED, the second book in Katlyn Duncan's The Life After Trilogy, which releases next month on October 28th. We think the cover is absolutely beautiful and we can't wait for its release!

We also have an awesome excerpt from the book so be sure to check it out below! -RockStar Book Tours

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SOUL POSSESSED
(The Life After Trilogy #2)
by Katlyn Duncan
Release Date: October 28, 2013
Publisher: Carina UK
Series: Book 2, The Life After Trilogy
Genre: YA Paranormal
ISBN: 9781472044556

Life after Life

Now Maggie has been given the chance of her after-life to become a Guard, nothing will stand in her way. Not even the undeniable attraction she feels for her trainer and past love—Jackson. But when the battle between Shadowed and Guard begins again which side will she choose?

When her boss, Felix, partners Jackson and Maggie up with Ally and Cooper to investigate terrifying Shadowed activity, she doesn’t think it could get any worse. Jackson and Cooper barely tolerate each other and this time, Maggie isn’t just proving her loyalty to the Guard during one mission...she has a side mission too. One so secret and so dangerous she can’t tell a soul...

GOODREADS | AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | iTUNES US | iTUNES UK

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About the Author:
Katlyn Duncan was born and raised in a small town in western Massachusetts. Her overactive imagination involved invisible friends, wanting to be a Disney Princess and making up her own stories. Her bibliophile mom always encouraged her love of reading and that stayed with her since. Even though she works full time in the medical field Katlyn has always made time for books, whether she is reading or writing them.

Katlyn now lives in southern Connecticut with her husband and adorable Wheaten Terrier and she is thrilled to finally share her stories with the world.

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOODREADS | GOOGLE+ | PINTEREST | TUMBLR

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The Excerpt

Jackson nodded and lifted his hand again. I stepped forward, swallowing any doubt as he reached out, one hand cupping my cheek, the other grasping my hand lightly, tracing circles with his thumb and before I could worry about how those circles made me melt inside, the memory slammed into me.

"Margaret!" Gemma shouted with glee. "Come out of there, I know you are trying to scare me!"

I watched the young red-haired girl put her hands on her hips, trying to be brave. She scanned their father's study, narrowing her eyes. The fire roaring in the hearth was the only source of light in the room, casting dark shadows across the furniture.

Maggie hid behind her father's chair, in silent wait for her prey.

"I'm going to tell Mother!"

Maggie's little hands tightened on the chair but she didn't make a sound. I walked over to her, watching her mouth twist up into a sly grin. She was the older of the girls, but she protected her sister fiercely, proclaiming she was the only one who could tease her. Gemma hated when Maggie played games, but it thrilled Maggie no end and I could feel excited anticipation roll off her in waves.

Gemma's bravery faltered as she stepped forward toward the overstuffed armchair, expecting her sister to jump out at her at any moment.

But Maggie waited. She had incredible patience, but I sensed that part of it was stubbornness and a desire to test boundaries. Her head poked out from behind the chair just as Gemma turned toward the love seat. I watched as Maggie slowly came out of her hiding spot and charged at her sister.

Gemma let out a scream but Maggie covered her sister's mouth with her hand.

Both girls collapsed on the floor, Gemma's muffled squeals threatening to break through Maggie's tiny fingers.

"Shh," Maggie cooed.

Gemma managed to wrestle her mouth away from Maggie's hand. "I hate you!" Her indignation faltered into a fit of giggles and Maggie quickly joined her.

As she helped her sister up from the floor Maggie said, "Gemma. You need to always expect the unexpected. You can't go through life being scared all the time." Even though Maggie was a mere nine years old, she spoke as if she'd lived lifetimes before. It was one of the things that drew me to her more than any other Prognatum I'd watched.

Maggie took a handkerchief and wiped her sister's cheeks.

"A lady wouldn't do that to her sister," Gemma said, finally relaxing.

"I don't want to be a lady," Maggie stated firmly. "I want to see the world and not just make babies for the rest of my life."

Gemma shook her head. "That's what we are supposed to do. That's what Mother does."

Maggie's indignation flowed through her and into me. I knew Maggie was born to follow through with her Prognatum duties, she just didn't know it yet. It was rare for a Prognatum to want the Guard position but Maggie would be thrilled when her father revealed it to her at seventeen.

As Maggie reached down to help Gemma up from the floor she whispered, "It's not for me."

Gemma wrapped her sister in a tight hug. "I will love you either way, dear sister."

Maggie rested her head against Gemma's shoulder. "I love you too."

I fell out of the memory just as quickly as I'd fallen in, my legs shaking.

~*~
Other Books in the Series

SOUL TAKEN
(The Life After #1)
by Katlyn Duncan
Publisher: Carina UK
Just released: June 2013
Formats: eBook

After-life just got a lot more complicated.

Maggie is a Soul Collector. It’s her job to transport souls from the Living Realm to the After – but during a mission to find a stolen soul, she ends up stuck in a teen mean girl’s body.

Trapped, Maggie’s soul is catapulted into Ally’s life – and the human world she hasn’t experienced for one hundred years. But, as a descendant of the most powerful beings in the After, Maggie must rescue Ally before the girl’s soul dies…

To survive, Maggie must uncover devastating secrets – because with one soul taken by a terrifying enemy, Maggie’s could be next!

GOODREADS | AMAZON US | AMAZON UK | NOOK UK | KOBO | iTunes US | iTunes UK | CARINA UK

Gone Girl Girls: end credits

Gone Girl Girls
a virtual book event
September 22-28, 2013
~*~
Thank you dear readers for joining me for this virtual book event.

THANKS TO: Authors, Publicists and Publishers for Book Giveaways and Guest posts

Giveaway links for these books are listed on the sidebar.
Please note all giveaways end October 6, 2013 unless specified otherwise.

Burial Rites
by Hannah Kent
signup for giveaway: here

Longings of Wayward Girls
by Karen Brown
signup for giveaway: here

The Panopticon
by Jenni Fagan
signup for giveaway: here

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #4:
Substitute Creature
by Charles Gilman
signup for giveaway: here
my review
~*~
ONE more to add to your tbr pile...

Girl Kidnapped:

Alex:
The Commandant Camille Verhoeven Trilogy
by Pierre Lemaitre
just released in US: September 3, 2013
Alex Prévost—kidnapped, savagely beaten, suspended from the ceiling of an abandoned warehouse in a tiny wooden cage—is running out of time. Her abductor appears to want only to watch her die. Will hunger, thirst, or the rats get her first?

Apart from a shaky eyewitness report of the abduction, Police Commandant Camille Verhoeven has nothing to go on: no suspect, no leads, and no family or friends anxious to find a missing loved one. The diminutive and brilliant detective knows from bitter experience the urgency of finding the missing woman as quickly as possible—but first he must understand more about her.

As he uncovers the details of the young woman’s singular history, Camille is forced to acknowledge that the person he seeks is no ordinary victim. She is beautiful, yes, but also extremely tough and resourceful. Before long, saving Alex’s life will be the least of Commandant Verhoeven’s considerable challenges.

~*~
* PicMonkey was used for some graphics creations for this event.

<3 <3 <3 Gone Girl Girls schedule <3 <3 <3

Girl Murderer

Burial Rites
by Hannah Kent
just released: July 2013
A brilliant literary debut, inspired by a true story: the final days of a young woman accused of murder in Iceland in 1829.

Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution.

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard.

Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?

--~ Book Giveaway ~--
WIN my copy of this book!

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 6, 2013 ---> extended to October 20

TO DO: (2-parts)

1. ADD this book to your Goodreads Want To Read list.

OR

Tweet about this giveaway.

2. TELL me what you did in comments.
AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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Girl Lost

Longings of Wayward Girls
by Karen Brown
just released: July 2013
It’s an idyllic New England summer, and Sadie is a precocious only child on the edge of adolescence. It seems like July and August will pass lazily by, just as they have every year before. But one day, Sadie and her best friend play a seemingly harmless prank on a neighborhood girl. Soon after, that same little girl disappears from a backyard barbecue—and she is never seen again.

Twenty years pass, and Sadie is still living in the same quiet suburb. She’s married to a good man, has two beautiful children, and seems to have put her past behind her. But when a boy from her old neighborhood returns to town, the nightmares of that summer will begin to resurface, and its unsolved mysteries will finally become clear.

--~ Book Giveaway ~--
WIN my copy of this book!

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 6, 2013 ---> extended to October 20

TO DO: (2-parts)

1. ADD this book to your Goodreads Want To Read list.

OR

Tweet about this giveaway.

2. TELL me what you did in comments.
AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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Girl Online

Kiss Me First
by Lotte Moggach
just released: July 2013
A chilling and intense first novel, the story of a solitary young woman drawn into an online world run by a charismatic web guru who entices her into impersonating a glamorous but desperate woman.

When Leila discovers the Web site Red Pill, she feels she has finally found people who understand her. A sheltered young woman raised by her mother, Leila has often struggled to connect with the girls at school; but on Red Pill, a chat forum for ethical debate, Leila comes into her own, impressing the Web site's founder, a brilliant and elusive man named Adrian. Leila is thrilled when Adrian asks to meet her, flattered when he invites her to be part of "Project Tess." Tess is a woman Leila might never have met in real life. She is beautiful, urbane, witty, and damaged. As they e-mail, chat, and Skype, Leila becomes enveloped in the world of Tess, learning every single thing she can about this other woman—because soon, Leila will have to become her. An ingeniously plotted novel of stolen identity, Kiss Me First is brilliantly frightening about the lies we tell—to ourselves, to others, for good, and for ill.

--~ Book Giveaway ~--
WIN my copy of this book!

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 6, 2013 ---> extended to October 31

TO DO: (2-parts)

1. BE SOCIAL and do at least ONE of the following...
(links are on sidebar)

-Follow me on Twitter
-Subscribe to this blog via email
-Follow me on BlogLovin

2. TELL me what you did in comments.
AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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Girl Offender

The Panopticon
by Jenni Fagan
just released: July 2013
Anais Hendricks, fifteen, is in the back of a police car. She is headed for the Panopticon, a home for chronic young offenders. She can't remember what’s happened, but across town a policewoman lies in a coma and Anais’s school uniform is covered in blood.

Raised in foster care from birth and moved through twenty-three placements before she even turned seven, Anais has been let down by just about every adult she has ever met. Now a counter-culture outlaw, she knows that she can only rely on herself. And yet despite the parade of horrors visited upon her early life, she greets the world with the witty, fierce insight of a survivor.

Anais finds a sense of belonging among the residents of the Panopticon – they form intense bonds, and she soon becomes part of an ad hoc family. Together, they struggle against the adults that keep them confined. When she looks up at the watchtower that looms over the residents though, Anais knows her fate: she is an anonymous part of an experiment, and she always was. Now it seems that the experiment is closing in.

Named one of the best books of the year by the Times Literary Supplement and the Scotsman, The Panopticon is an astonishingly haunting, remarkable debut novel. In language dazzling, energetic and pure, it introduces us to a heartbreaking young heroine and an incredibly assured and outstanding new voice in fiction.

--~ Book Giveaway courtesy of publisher ~--
WIN my review copy of this book!
-2 ARCs for 2 winners

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 6, 2013

TO DO: (2-parts)

1. ADD this book to your Goodreads Want To Read list.

OR

Tweet about this giveaway.

2. TELL me what you did in comments.
AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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Girl Meanies

Dare Me
by Megan Abbott
paperback just released: August 2013
Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and trusted lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls -- until the young new coach arrives.

Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as "top girl" -- both with the team and with Addy herself.

Then a suicide focuses a police investigation on Coach and her squad. After the first wave of shock and grief, Addy tries to uncover the truth behind the death -- and learns that the boundary between loyalty and love can be dangerous terrain.

The raw passions of girlhood are brought to life in this taut, unflinching exploration of friendship, ambition, and power. Award-winning novelist Megan Abbott, writing with what Tom Perrotta has hailed as "total authority and an almost desperate intensity," provides a harrowing glimpse into the dark heart of the all-American girl.

~*~
* This is one to consider for your tbr list in keeping with the event theme. I plan to pick this one up soon as i am curious to read about the cheerleading world.

<3 <3 <3 Gone Girl Girls schedule <3 <3 <3

Substitute Creature by Charles Gilman

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #4:
Substitute Creature
by Charles Gilman

Visit Charles:
mini-bio
Website
Facebook
Goodreads

Just released: September 24, 2013
Publisher: Quirk Books
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Hardback: 176 pages
Rating: 4

Amazon | BarnesNoble

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School series
Professor Gargoyle
The Slither Sisters
Teacher's Pest
Substitute Creature
book 5 - tba

When a giant nor’easter dumps a blanket of snow on the village of Dunwich, Massachussetts, Robert Arthur and his friends find themselves marooned inside Lovecraft Middle School.

The kids have no choice but to spend the night—while snacking on cafeteria food, sleeping on classroom floors, and facing off against a mysterious substitute teacher who may have a sinister secret.

The latest adventure in the Lovecraft Middle School series features more adventures, more outrageous monsters, and another terrifying lenticular cover!

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): awful perfume
Not your usual middle grade school substitute.

The mysteries of this school continues to be revealed in a fun not-too-scary way. Love how the friends and friendship of the main characters are progressing.

--~ Book Giveaway courtesy of publisher ~--
WIN a copy of this book!

Open to US only.

Offer ends: October 6, 2013

TO DO: (2-parts)

1. ADD this book to your Goodreads Want To Read list.

OR

Tweet about this giveaway.

2. TELL me what you did in comments.
AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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~*~
* review copy courtesy of publisher

<3 <3 <3 Gone Girl Girls schedule <3 <3 <3

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

Tampa
by Alissa Nutting

Visit Alissa:
Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter

Published: July 2013
Publisher: Ecco
Genre: Thriller, Women's Fiction
Hardback: 272 pages
Rating: 5

Amazon | BarnesNoble

In Alissa Nutting’s novel Tampa, Celeste Price, a smoldering 26-year-old middle-school teacher in Florida, unrepentantly recounts her elaborate and sociopathically determined seduction of a 14-year-old student.

Celeste has chosen and lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web. Jack is enthralled and in awe of his eighth-grade teacher, and, most importantly, willing to accept Celeste’s terms for a secret relationship—car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack’s house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming erotic encounters in Celeste’s empty classroom. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress of pure motivation. She deceives everyone, is close to no one, and cares little for anything but her pleasure.

Tampa is a sexually explicit, virtuosically satirical, American Psycho–esque rendering of a monstrously misplaced but undeterrable desire. Laced with black humor and crackling sexualized prose, Alissa Nutting’s Tampa is a grand, seriocomic examination of the want behind student / teacher affairs and a scorching literary debut.

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): vulgar
Although a controversial and disturbing read, this book will give the perspective of such a psycho mind. You won't necessarily feel sympathy for the main character, but at least get where she's coming from.

--~ Book Giveaway ~--
WIN my copy of this book!

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 6, 2013

TO DO:

SPREAD the word about this event by doing at least ONE of the following (you choose):
please include link to this schedule page

- Tweet about giveaway
- Facebook
- Pinterest any of the featured books
- Tumblr any of the featured books
- Create a blog post
- Add event Gone Girl Girls event badge to your sidebar

RETURN here and tell me what you did.

AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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* fun note: the book cover has a fuzzy feel to it - makes you want to pet and stroke it as you read - ewww, ick, eh?

* part of event: Gone Girl Girls

PeekaBook: interview

Gone Girl Girls: schedule

Gone Girl Girls
a virtual book event
September 22-28, 2013
~*~
WELCOME to this most unusual event of events.

This event will star women who may be a bit unsavory and not necessarily of heroine material. However, their stories will entrance you and keep you curious as to WHY they do what they do.

~*~
Schedule of events:
details and links will be filled in after posted
per usual links are also on the sidebar
ALSO, there may be more books featured... final list will be updated at the end of the event
AND, giveaway links will light up when available

September 22, Sunday

The Girl: that inspired this event

Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
signup for giveaway: see below
my review
September 23, Monday

Girl Predator:

Tampa
by Alissa Nutting
signup for giveaway: here
my review
September 24, Tuesday

Girl Creature:

Tales from Lovecraft Middle School #4:
Substitute Creature
by Charles Gilman
signup for giveaway: here
my review
Girl Meanies:

Dare Me
by Megan Abbott
description
September 25, Wednesday

Girl Offender:

The Panopticon
by Jenni Fagan
signup for giveaway: here
my review
September 26, Thursday

Girl Online:

Kiss Me First
by Lotte Moggach
signup for giveaway: here
my review
September 27, Friday

Girl Lost:

Longings of Wayward Girls
by Karen Brown
signup for giveaway: here
my review
September 28, Saturday

Girl Murderer:

Burial Rites
by Hannah Kent
signup for giveaway: here
my review
Girl Kidnapped:

Alex:
The Commandant Camille Verhoeven Trilogy
by Pierre Lemaitre
October 6, Sunday
Giveaways end
Announcement: giveaway winners pt1

October 20, Sunday
Extended giveaway end
Announcement: giveaway winners pt2

October 31, Thursday
Extended giveaway end
Announcement: giveaway winners pt3

--~ Book Giveaway ~--

Gone Girl
by Gillian Flynn
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

WIN a paperback copy or kindle of this book!
(winner's choice)

Open to all.

Offer ends: October 6, 2013

TO DO:

SPREAD the word about this event by doing at least ONE of the following (you choose):
please include link to this schedule page

- Tweet about giveaway
- Facebook
- Pinterest any of the featured books
- Tumblr any of the featured books
- Create a blog post
- Add event Gone Girl Girls event badge to your sidebar

RETURN here and tell me what you did.

AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)


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Contest has ended - winner is here

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~*~
* badge image source: cover of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

* What is a virtual book event? a celebration of books and authors that are in keeping with a theme which may include guest posts and giveaways. Audience participation is encouraged and most welcome.

Winners for September pt1

Here are the winners for giveaways that
ended September 20, 2013
during the Ghostly Ghosts event

Thanks to all contestants!
~*~

The Bones of Paris by Laurie R. King
Winner: Amber
Winner: Carl Scott - declined
Winner: LisaMarie
Winner: quiestinliteris
Winner: Sophia Rose
Winner (runner up): Kimberly Mayberry

100 Ghosts: A Gallery of Harmless Haunts by Doogie Horner
Winner: CeeCee

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield
Winner: traveler

~*~
* to see the original giveaway offer, click on the prize title links

* I will email winners for mailing addresses within two weeks.
Winners, feel free to contact me with your info if you don't get my email
or if you are just too darn excited and want to let me know -- like NOW ;-D

* contest policy

* keep in touch with my giveaways and learn about other book giveaways by subscribing via email on my sidebar (you may want to go digest mode)

* if not this time, maybe next time

--> check out the current giveaways and upcoming events on my sidebar

Stacking the Shelves - 9.21.13

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

~*~
Bought:

Midnight in Austenland
by Shannon Hale
-Pride and Prejudice theme
I was inspired to get this after watching the recently released film, Austenland.

For Review:

Gracianna
by Trini Amador
-historical, WW2
courtesy of author
for Gracianna tour in October
Thanks Trini!

Steampunk Darcy
by Monica Fairview
-romance, steampunk
courtesy of author
Thanks Monica!
Will be featured in my upcoming virtual book event, TEA at the Filigree - steampunk style in November.

Unpretty
An Unloved Ones Prequel #1
by Kevin Richey
-urban fantasy, YA
courtesy of author
Thanks Kevin!

Unravelled
by M.K. Tod
-france, historical, WW2
courtesy of author
for Unravelled tour in November
Thanks M.K.!

William Shakespeare's Star Wars
by Ian Doescher
-humor
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Eric!

Servants:
A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times
by Lucy Lethbridge
-historical
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Erin!

Repast:
Dining Out at the Dawn of the New American Century, 1900-1910
by Michael Lesy and Lisa Stoffer
-historical, gastronomy
courtesy of publisher
Thanks Erin!
~*~
* most of these will be offered as giveaways within the next two months

* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways offers

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment
by Jennifer Cody Epstein

Visit Jennifer:
Book Excerpt
Blog
Website
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter

Published: March 2013
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Genre: Historical, Japan, WW2
Hardback: 384 pages
Rating: 5

Amazon | BarnesNoble

A lush, exquisitely rendered meditation on war, The Gods of Heavenly Punishment tells the story of several families, American and Japanese, their loves and infidelities, their dreams and losses, and how they are all connected by one of the most devastating acts of war in human history.

In this evocative and thrilling epic novel, fifteen-year-old Yoshi Kobayashi, child of Japan’s New Empire, daughter of an ardent expansionist and a mother with a haunting past, is on her way home on a March night when American bombers shower her city with napalm—an attack that leaves one hundred thousand dead within hours and half the city in ashen ruins. In the days that follow, Yoshi’s old life will blur beyond recognition, leading her to a new world marked by destruction and shaped by those considered the enemy: Cam, a downed bomber pilot taken prisoner by the Imperial Japanese Army; Anton, a gifted architect who helped modernize Tokyo’s prewar skyline but is now charged with destroying it; and Billy, an Occupation soldier who arrives in the blackened city with a dark secret of his own. Directly or indirectly, each will shape Yoshi’s journey as she seeks safety, love, and redemption.

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): Old Japan, New Japan
Despite the sad topic, this story is told beautifully from different perspectives.

Not knowing much about Japan during this time period the rich details and descriptions really threw me into the time, place, event and aftermath.

A few photos are included at the start of some chapters which bring a nice touch to the story.

Excerpt:
courtesy of author

[From The Gods of Heavenly Punishment, W.W. Norton 2013]

Yoshi’s ears were still ringing when the heat hit her with the force of a flung boulder. It blistered her lips, sealed her eyes shut like melted wax. I’m dead, she thought. But she wasn’t, she was still standing. Prying her eyelids apart with trembling fingers she blinked: everything in her vision was in flames. As her sight adjusted she heard a loud crack, a hiss, a groan—as though some huge beast had just been dealt its death-blow. The house directly behind them leaned drunkenly to the right, then collapsed, releasing a fountain-like spray of burning embers. A woman screamed, and Yoshi turned to see the suitcase-lady. Her fur collar and hair were in flames, which quickly spread to the synthetic stockings on her legs. Yoshi’s last sight of her was like something she’d seen once in an old painting in a temple; something their teacher had called a “Hell Scroll.” Entitled The Gods of Heavenly Punishment, it showed a huge, fiery demon consuming tiny people limb-by-limb, surrounded by more flames and staggering, fire-limned figures.

By now, everyone was running, colliding, falling. Satako was nearly knocked over by two children. Both were fully naked but for their fire-hoods, which themselves had burst into flames on the small heads. Hard on their heels came their mother, a furoshiki-wrapped bundle held aloft, another strapped haphazardly onto her back. The second bundle was smoking, but as Yoshi stepped back it burst into flame as well. She saw a small arm stir: it was an infant. By the time she’d managed to make her cracked lips move, the group had disappeared into the smoke. Another woman emerged, pausing briefly to help her child when it stumbled—only, apparently, to realize it wasn’t hers at all. The discovery made her drop the little girl’s hand: “Let go!’ she screamed. “Let go of me! I’m not your mother!”

Disengaging herself roughly, the woman dashed back towards the flames while the girl--no more than four or five--stared after her dully. Yoshi stepped towards her, her own hand extended. The child leapt as though she brandished a sword. “You’re not my mama,” she hissed. “Where is my mama?” And she backed away into the smoke.

Sickened and sweating profusely, Yoshi squinted back towards the shelter she’d seen. All she saw there was another wall of flame. A figure leaped jerkily against it, arms stretched skywards in pain or supplication. Behind it the nightsoil man’s horse screamed throatily and pitched over, pulling its cart into charred pieces. “It hurts,” she heard. “It hurts….”

For a single, bizarre instant she thought the cry had come from the dying animal. Then she realized it was behind her. Whirling around, Yoshi saw Satako flailing her arms. The bundle on her back, her leather satchel, coat and skirt, even the wet braid she’d been chewing—there were all on fire.

She will die, was Yoshi’s first thought. It came with an odd calmness; as though this were some inevitable, even uninteresting event. But then—to her own astonishment—she was suddenly in action. Stripping off Satako’s wool coat, shaking it out like a blanket. Motion preempting thought. She pushed her friend to the ground and rolled her, left-right-left-right, as they’d been taught. She stilled the jerking limbs. As the heat rose between them she felt the skin on her own chest start to blister. “Keep still. Sa-chan. Keep still.”

And then, miraculously, the flames between their bodies were gone. There was just Satako, sobbing weakly. Just Yoshi, panting and crying and coughing. There was just the smoke and the flames, the roaring heat behind them. By this point, it felt it had been there forever.

Panting heavily, Yoshi unpeeled the singed jacket from Satako’s motionless form. Her friend’s round face was half blistered, half completely charred. One braid was gone—singed off; the other smoking slightly, still tied in its bedraggled red hair tie. One eye was swollen shut. The other stared vacantly, its pupil dilated in shock.

“It hurts.” It came out barely a whisper.

“Can you stand?” Yoshi asked her. Then—because it didn’t matter, she had to stand --“I’ll help you. Here.” She linked her arm through her friend’s, pulling her heavily to her feet as to their right another building heaved a huge groan and collapsed. A laundry drying rack, its wooden limbs etched in flame, came flying at them at high speed. As Yoshi ducked another item from the house dropped heavily at their feet. At first Yoshi thought it was a beam of some sort, patched with red paint. Only as she stepped over it did Yoshi see that it was a body, charred and lifeless, wrapped in a scrap of torn red silk.

She forced herself to look away. With stinging eyes she surveyed Asakusa doori, fully advance in flames. It seemed hopeless; before her gaze another curving firewall sprang up, and then another. No matter what Nihon Hoso Kyokai or the Mainichi said, the Americans were not unskilled. They were as precise as any scroll artist, painting these fiery blossoms across the city. As brutal as the God of Heavenly Punishment, devouring bodies with flame.

The road was littered with the charred corpses of entire families; men, women, babies. A dog or two. Behind her a woman wept on the road, arms extended helplessly towards her collapsed house. At first Yoshi didn’t know what she was gesturing towards, but when she turned she heard a child’s voice, crying out weakly from amid the roaring flames: “Okaa-san. Okaa-san; tetsudate…” Mother. Help me.

“I’m a terrible mother,” the woman wailed. “I can’t go there. I can’t. I’m a terrible mother….I can’t go in.”

Turning away, Yoshi had a brief vision of giving up. Of just lying down where she stood. Sleeping or dying there. Then she noticed something she hadn’t earlier: that the crowd was moving, more or less, in one direction. Staggering, jostling, falling down and only sometimes recovering, the blackened stream of humanity inched its way towards the West. Where could they be going?

The answer dawned like a mythical breath of fresh air: They were heading towards the river.

Of course.

“The Sumida,” she shouted.

Satako just stared blankly, so Yoshi repeated it, mostly just to hear the words in her own ears: “Back to the river. The park. Lean on me.”

Satako inclined her blackened head slightly, and Yoshi took this as consent. She cast another glance behind them, barely remembering what she was looking for until she saw it: Satako’s bicycle. It had somehow landed across the street, and now leaned against a stump that an hour earlier had been a lamppost. It was upside down, perched improbably on its broad seat the way Yoshi and Satako would sometimes position their tricycles as children together. Working the pedals with small hands, they’d watch with a strange sense of power as the trike wheels spun emptily against the air.

But both the pedals on the Fuji were gone, the basket a twisted mass of blackened wire. And the bike’s tires were not just not spinning. They were actually melting, stretching and dripping from their bent frames like strings of thick, black toffee. For some reason, the sight unleashed the first, real stab of grief that Yoshi had felt during this surreal and horrifying evening. A sob rose in her throat. Swallowing it back down she tightened her grip on Sa-chan’s shoulders, gently pulling her in the direction of the crowd.

“Come on,” she told her. “We’ll have to walk.”

~end

~*~
* review copy courtesy of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment tour - check out the other stops for more details on this book and goodies

Assured Destruction: Script Kiddie by Michael F. Stewart

Assured Destruction:
Script Kiddie
by Michael F. Stewart

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Just released: August 2013
Publisher: Non Sequitur Press
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Paperback: 156
ISBN: 9780981269979
Rating: 4

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Jan Rose no longer steals data from the old computers she recycles. She doesn't need to. As the newest member of the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit, the laptop of a murderer has landed on her desk. Her job: to profile and expose a killer.

But that’s not all.

A creep lurks in the shadows, stalking a friend, and Jan must stop him before the hunt turns deadly. The clock counts down for Jan to save her friend, her job, her boyfriend—maybe even her life.

Series:
Assured Destruction
Assured Destruction: Script Kiddie

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): skiddie
Spunky character, Jan, is involved in a more thriller-like story that will keep you hooked to the end. Just like in the first book, I liked the view into the hacker world and interaction within the internet.

--~ Giveaway courtesy of tour ~--
a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Michael:
After crewing ships in the Antarctic and the Baltic Sea and some fun in venture capital, Michael anchored himself (happily) to a marriage and a boatload of kids. Now he injects his adventurous spirit into his writing with brief respites for research into the jungles of Sumatra and Guatemala, the ruins of Egypt and Tik’al, paddling the Zambezi and diving whatever cave or ocean reef will have him. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and SF Canada, and the author of the Assured Destruction series, 24 Bones, The Sand Dragon, Hurakan, Ruination and several award winning graphic novels for young adults.

~*~
* review copy courtesy of tour

* giveaway courtesy of Assured Destruction tour - check out the other stops for more details on this book and goodies sponsored by Tribute Books Blog Tours

Kylie Jean Pirate Queen by Marci Peschke

Kylie Jean Pirate Queen
by Marci Peschke

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Published: 2013
Publisher: Picture Window Books
Genre: Children, Pirates
Hardback: 112 pages
Rating: 4

Amazon

The star of Kylie Jean, Drama Queen returns in another early chapter book adventure, this time inspired by her biography report on Grace O'Malley to don a pirate's hat and call out "Ahoy, mateys."

When the boys in her class--despite her gold-star report--insist to Kylie Jean that there's no such thing as a pirate queen, she sets out to prove otherwise. She challenges her biggest naysayer, Cory, to a series of pirate-like competitions: a sword fight (their sticks fall apart on contact), walking the plank (a teeter-totter) and swinging swashbuckler-style from a rope. No matter how well Kylie Jean competes, she can't seem to convince the boys. So she comes up with a plan, and enlists the help of her girlfriends to roll it out.

In the process, readers learn a great deal about pirates, such as, that pirates lived by a code, and each mate gets one vote. (Kylie Jean's bulldog acts as their parrot.) They establish their headquarters in a place they know the boys won't look: the haunted house on Kylie Jean's street. When it turns out that the haunted house is inhabited (by a nice man named Bart Black), Kylie Jean enlists his help in convincing Cory that girls can be pirates.

Peschke peppers the narrative with lots of pirate-speak, and Mourning liberally illustrates the mateys' adventures--the Jolly Roger flag and treasure map are standouts. One of many nice twists results in Kylie Jean and her brother doing a good deed for Mr. Black.

Discover: Kylie Jean as she gently confronts gender stereotypes, asserting her right to be pirate queen.

Kylie Jean series:
Rodeo Queen
Blueberry Queen
Cupcake Queen
Drama Queen
Hoop Queen
Dancing Queen
Singing Queen
Spelling Queen
Football Queen

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): arrrr!
Things pirate told in a cute girlie way with lots of pink ;-)
Loved the illustrations!

--~ Book Giveaway ~--
I am offering this giveaway
as part of The Talk Like a Pirate event
hosted by AimeeKay's Reviews & Other Awesome Randomness!
signup to win this book here

Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

Infinityglass
by Myra McEntire

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Just released: August 2013
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Paperback: 304 pages
Rating: 5

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No time like the present.

No time in the present.

No time left.

From the moment the Hourglass group violated the rules of the space time continuum to rescue a murdered loved one, time has been in flux. People from other centuries slide into our time, intruding into our space, threatening our world.

Frantically seeking a way to turn back this tide, the Hourglass begins a search for the legendary Infinityglass, tracking it to the city of New Orleans, a place where the past rests easily with the present.

Quiet, reliable Dune, the group's favorite geek, is selected to travel to the Crescent City and somehow retrieve the renowned object.

But there's a problem.

Because the Infinityglass is not an object, it's a person.

A beautiful, headstrong dancer named Hallie, a girl so enticing Dune can't take his eyes off her.

And time is not on her side.

Series:
Hourglass
Timepiece
Infinityglass

My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): hipstercrite
The YA adventure mixed with romance continues in this third book in the Hourglass series. And all is revealed with a satisfactory ending.

Another couple perspective is highlighted in this story which I decided to be my favorite in the series, Dune and Hallie. Just found their interaction adorable.

--~ Book Giveaway courtesy of publisher ~--
WIN a copy of INFINITYGLASS and an INFINITYGLASS poster

Open to US only.

Offer ends: September 29, 2013

TO DO: (2-parts)

1. SELECT and do at least ONE of the following...

* Follow Egmont USA on Facebook

* Follow Egmont USA on Twitter: @EgmontUSA

* Follow Myra on Twitter: @MyraMcEntire

* Follow Myra on Facebook

* Follow Myra on Tumblr

2. TELL me what you did in comments.

AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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~*~
* review copy courtesy of publisher

Timepiece by Myra McEntire

Timepiece
by Myra McEntire

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Published: 2012
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Paperback: 336 pages
Rating: 4

Amazon | BarnesNoble

A threat from the past could destroy the future.

Kaleb Ballard was never supposed to be able to see ripples--cracks in time. Are his powers expanding, or is something very wrong? Before he can find out, Jonathan Landers, the man who tried to murder his father, reappears. Why is he back, and what, or whom, does he want?

In the wake of Landers's return, the Hourglass organization is given an ultimatum by a mysterious man. Either they find Landers and the research he has stolen on people who might carry the time gene, or time will be altered--with devastating results for the people Kaleb loves most. Now Kaleb, Emerson, Michael, and the other Hourglass recruits have no choice but to use their extraordinary powers to find Landers. But where do they even start? And when? Even if they succeed, just finding him may not be enough ...

The follow-up to Hourglass, Timepiece blends the paranormal, science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres into a nonstop thrill ride where every second counts.

Series:
Hourglass
Timepiece
Infinityglass

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): mind-boggling
The trilogy continues from the perspective of another character, Kaleb. Loved getting to know this flirty empath and watching his budding romance amongst this time travel adventure.


~*~
* review copy courtesy of publisher

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

Hourglass
by Myra McEntire

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Published: 2012
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Genre: Paranormal, YA
Paperback: 416 pages
Rating: 4

Amazon | BarnesNoble

One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says?

Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around?

And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

Series:
Hourglass
Timepiece
Infinityglass

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:
In-a-word(s): creeptastic
Cool start to a trilogy that takes on time travel in the YA genre with a kick-ass heroine.

Loved the cute banter moments between the main character and her love interest.

~*~
* ARC copy courtesy of publisher