Books for Company

31.7.13

Blog Tour - Awakenings by JE Shannon

Top Five Series

by JE Shannon

Title: Awakenings

Author: J. E. Shannon

Publisher: Entranced Publishing

Genre: YA paranormal romance

Release Date: July 29th 2013

I will be the first to admit that I adore a great series. The best series are the ones that make you feel connected to the main characters in such away that you are willing to follow them through several books. You want to see them grow and learn from their mistakes, while they keep the core personality that you’ve come to love. It’s a delicate balance that is difficult to maintain, which makes a great series all that more impressive.
With that in mind here are my personal favorite series.

The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlene Harris
I love Sookie! She is such a strong character with a great heart. People are always trying to tear her down, and it makes you root for her even harder. She walks boldly into dangerous situations to save the people she loves without a second thought to her own safety. You never stop wanting the best for Sookie. Definitely a great read.

The Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz
Odd’s life has been a series of tragedy, trauma, and ghosts. What I love about Odd is his sense of duty. He could run from the gifts he was given, but he chooses instead to follow where they take him. His sense of humor and love of life makes this series a must read.

The Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead.
Sydney’s inexperience in social situations is both endearing and hilarious. This is a perfect example of watching a character grow, while maintaining her core self. Her job requires her to keep a core group of vampires safe, yet she, as an Alchemist, thinks they are unholy creatures. Watching Sydney become her own person has been a real pleasure. She is smart, brave and devoted. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
This series is a page turner from beginning to end. I think I read all three books a weeks time. Katniss is strong, independent, and you can’t help but love her. The world building in this series is incredible. Collins pulls you in and drags you through the entire series. This is a must read.

The Harry Potter series by J.K. RowlingI will openly admit that I had zero interest in reading this series. One day my mother-in-law handed me all seven books and said, “You have to read these.” She wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and I am so glad that she didn’t. Rowling is nothing short of genius. Harry is the ultimate hero. Selfless, caring, and tragic. We get to watch him grow from a boy to an adult in a world that is both beautiful and terrifying. Rowling’s attention to detail never ceased to amaze me as she wove a net around Harry that he just couldn’t escape. This is one of the rare series where you wanted to see the bad guy get his comeuppance almost as much as you wanted to see the hero succeed. I was nothing less than blown away by this series and therefor it is at the top of my list of must reads.

I know I’m missing some fantastic reads out there, so tell me, what is your favorite series?

Thanks for an awesome guest post J.E. I have to admit I haven't read any of these! I don't really like Harry Potter but I have always wanted to read The Bloodlines Series. Sadly I watched The Hunger Games before reading it!

Enter Giveaway run by J.E.

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Waiting on Wednesday #97

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

3.59 - Gretchen McNeil
Published : 17th September 2013
Oh wow! I love things like this which involve two characters, especially in a way of parallel universes. I haven't read a book like this for ages, i think the last one I did involved time travel so was different from this.
Will be really interesting to get to know more about both the characters and see how Josie deals with it all. I do hope that the author has developed both the characters the same amount and that they are likable characters, I really think that can make or break a book!

The Blurb :

Josie Byrne's life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she's betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can't get worse.

Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.

Jo's life is everything Josie wants: she's popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they're just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.

Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo's perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.

But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo's boyfriend, he hates her. Jo's mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.

By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?

29.7.13

Over The Rainbow by Brian Rowe Excerpt + Giveaway

Over The Rainbow Excerpt

The sun wanted to swallow me whole.
I lifted my arm, tried to block away the harsh light. I was sprawled on rocky dirt, not the cargo hold of the airplane. People typically don’t survive airplane crashes so I figured I was dead.
Except when my eyes adjusted to the light, I didn’t see Heaven or Hell. I didn’t see God—a woman named Rochelle, I always liked to imagine—in front of me. I saw the airplane, the back spitting out waves of smoke, the front protruding through a two-story home. I glanced all around. Not a single person. I listened for the screams. Nothing.
“Where am I?” I said.
I turned to my right to see the cargo area, the door to it teetering against the side of the plane. I wasn’t dead, at least not yet; I had been ejected on impact.
I stood up, shaken but in one piece. I glanced to my left, past the destroyed house, to see a medley of mountains. I had no idea where I was, but nothing surrounding me looked like Topeka.
“I have a feeling I’m not in Kansas anymore,” I said, as I brushed dirt off my Converse.
I moved toward the aircraft. The left wing had split away on impact, and the nose of the plane had destroyed almost the entire second story of the house.
“Hello?” I shouted. “Is anyone there?”
Nothing.
I couldn’t believe what was happening, and I had too many questions to count, so I just shuffled forward, past a small line of bushes and a faded welcome matt, and knocked on the front door of the dilapidated home.
As I waited for an answer, I cracked my neck and looked for a road. There was none. This was the only house around, surrounded in every direction by green-brown mountains, and a reservoir to the south of me. A dirt trail lined with daffodils ran in front of the house, but it looked to go back up into the mountains, not the nearest town.
I knocked again. This time the door opened a crack. “Is anyone here?” I said, and stepped inside.

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28.7.13

Guest Post - Top 5 Must-Haves for Your Post-Apocalyptic Adventure

Haven’t read the first book in the series? Check out my review here. Just $0.99 at Amazon!

Top 5 Must-Haves for Your Post-Apocalyptic Adventure, from the Characters of the Stitch Trilogy

By Samantha Durante

Alessa’s Pick: Photos/Mementos of Loved Ones.
Why? Take it from me – when the going gets tough, you’re going to need a reminder of why you set out on this crazy, suicidal quest to begin with. Remembering your loved ones will keep you going even when the odds look bleak.

Isaac’s Pick: Knife.
Why? This all-purpose tool has come in handy for Alessa and I more times than I can count. We’ve used a knife to whittle a toy (okay, not super essential…), fight off guards, spark an explosion, ward off stalking predators, cut up foraged food, trim away bandages, pry open a rusty hinge, you name it. Less even used one to give herself an impromptu haircut!

Janie’s Pick: Backpack.
Why? Since Isaac already stole my number one pick, I’ll go with practical survival item no. 2: a good, sturdy backpack. Picking your way through a ravaged wasteland and the ransacked remains of society, you never know when you’ll come across much-needed supplies. Whether its food, fire starters, weapons, or medicine, you’re definitely not going to want to leave anything that might be useful behind.

Nikhil’s Pick: Notebook & Pen.
Why? You never know when you’ll need to jot something down – a map, a secret note, lost memories that came back to you after recovering from a stitch. I never seem to have a proper pen or paper when I need it, so if I had the chance, I’d pack myself some reliable writing utensils and a notebook or two.

Lizzie’s Pick: Change of Clothes.Why? It might seem frivolous, but if you look good, you feel good, right? No one feels up to facing down impossible odds and seemingly unstoppable enemies in the same filthy, ill-fitting outfit you’ve been wearing for the past 7 days straight. Invest some time finding a few well-tailored garments that will make you look and feel like the hero you’re supposed to be. Never underestimate the power of good style!

Giveaway

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25.7.13

US Giveaway - Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

Win a copy of Infinityglass + Infinityglass poster!

Infinityglass by Myra McEntire

(#3 Hourglass)

Blurb :

SPOILER ALERT - If you haven't read the first two in the series.

The stakes have risen even higher in this third book in the Hourglass series.

The Hourglass is a secret organization focused on the study of manipulating time, and its members — many of them teenagers -have uncanny abilities to make time work for them in mysterious ways. Inherent in these powers is a responsibility to take great care, because altering one small moment can have devastating consequences for the past, present, and future. But some time travelers are not exactly honorable, and sometimes unsavory deals must be struck to maintain order.

With the Infinityglass (central to understanding and harnessing the time gene) at large, the hunt is on to find it before someone else does.

But the Hourglass has an advantage. Lily, who has the ability to locate anything lost, has determined that the Infinityglass isn't an object. It's a person. And the Hourglass must find him or her first. But where do you start searching for the very key to time when every second could be the last?

Rules
USA Only
Ends 2nd August
For a copy of Infinityglass and a poster

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