A Disturbingly Good Book: A Review of “The Treemakers”

Goodreads.com Description: “Sixteen-year-old Joy Montgomery, daughter of Zephyr the Magnificent, the great magician, can only reminisce of better times. Before the Superiors. Before the uprisings. Long ago. Before the dying Earth ripped the family she loved away from her.
In this desolate dystopian future, the Greenleigh orphans are “privileged” with the task of building mechanical trees for Bygonne, so their world behind The Wall can breathe another day, and so the Superiors may continue their malevolent reign.
Lured by a yearning for freedom, tenacious curiosity, and hunger for adventure, Joy discovers hope and magic amid the misery, and power in her promise to care for those remaining, whom she loves enough to risk her life for. To save them, herself, and the boy she adores from the abuse and slavery by the Superiors, Joy must entrust the aid of an unlikely ally who harbors a dangerous secret.
With an intriguing stranger at the helm, Joy and the treemakers embark on an intense and terrifying, yet liberating quest for the truth about the existence of the forbidden paradise beyond The Wall.

This is the first book in the Treemakers Trilogy. This series is intended for mature YA audiences, as there are certain mature themes (abuse, character deaths, etc.,) which may be too emotionally intense for younger readers.“

About the Author

Adverb addict and alliteration activist. Daydreams and chocolate. Caffeine, check. Sleep, sometimes. Raold Dahl, Effie Trinket, Tim Burton, Stephen King, Daryl Dixon. Dubstep. Scars. Fire. Darkness. Love above all else.

Find Christina online at…

Website

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Goodreads

My Review

Ever pick up a book that intrigued you from page one and then disturbed you after a few pages, but you continued to read it because you couldn’t put it down? That sums up Christina L. Rozelle’s The Treemakers. This book was like reading a mash-up of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield and Mila 2.0 by Debra Driza.

The plot of The Treemakers was unique and had me hooked. Rozelle weaved in elements of science fiction and science news–Earth’s depleting ozone layer, global warming, the Fountain of Youth, and even Star Trek’s holodeck experience.

Rozelle’s characters really made this story work. They were carefully crafted with plenty of layers.

My favorite character was Joy. She wasn’t your atypical 16-year-old. She didn’t want to be a beacon of strength nor a warrior. Joy was just a worker in a factory trying to survive. When her situation changed, she evolved. But this character wasn’t a perfect specimen. She made mistakes. She showed poor judgment. She was a teenager.

At first I thought Jax was going to be a great love interest. Well, he turned out to be a cad (you’ll have to read the book to understand why). I went from liking him to loathing him in about 60 seconds. I loved how Rozelle did not set up the atypical love triangle.

I loved Smudge. She was insightful and intelligent. She was the voice of reason so desperately needed with this ragtag bunch of orphans.

I found Mateo interesting. He was like a refreshing breeze after a sweltering summer day. But if you stand in that breeze for too long, it’s no longer comfortable. I have a feeling that Mateo might be like that breeze over time. We’ll see how he develops in book two.

If you’re looking for something different in the dystopian genre and you can handle mature concepts in your reading, I highly recommend The Treemakers.

Rating: 

(5 Hands=Excellent; 4 Hands=Pretty Good; 3 Hands=Good)

 

Book Trailer Friday!

Happy Friday! We made it together! The writing madness of NaNoWriMo is almost over!

Whether your plans are going to a game, hitting the road, or just chilling read something. Check out today’s book trailer. Pay close attention to this one. There’s something amusing in it….

Goodreads.com Description: “SHADOW CHILDREN Luke has never been to school. He’s never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend’s house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend.

Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He’s lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family’s farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.

Then, one day Luke sees a girl’s face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he’s met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows — does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford “not” to.”

There are 7 books in this series:

     

Have a great weekend!

Keep reading! Keep following!

Reviving Evan Release Day!

Buy on Amazon

Add on Goodreads

Just a few short weeks after the school shooting that rocked Braxton Springs, life has resumed. School is back in session, and, with it, the students who bullied Gavin Ferguson into bringing a gun to that fateful pep rally.

But life can never return to normal for Evan and her friends. Gavin is still in the hospital. Asher and Nikki are planning futures away from home. And Brody is pulling away from them all, leaving Evan feeling more alone than ever.

Just when she thinks she’s gotten control of her emotions and secrets, the spirals strike again. Evan struggles to regain her life free of medication and control the urges to fall back into dismantlement. But Brody’s hot-and-cold attitude confuses her, just as the community’s forgiveness to the bullying elite creates a bitter rock around her heart.

Will the suffering inflicted upon Evan and her friends throw her back into a spiral, threatening the life she has rebuilt for herself? Or will she rise above the tragedy and loss, reviving the life she thought she could never have?

Reviving Evan offers an insightful look into the lives of six teenagers thrust together by shared grief, and how those lives are individually affected by love, loss, and painful mistreatment by others. This novella proceeds the best selling novel, Dismantling Evan.

My Review

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Reviving Evan was another emotional read for me. This book picks up right where Dismantling Evan left off.

The first few chapters hurt so much that I wanted to put the book down and have a good old ugly cry. I was so torn between Brody’s crippling frustration and Evan’s anguish. Both of these characters were trying to stay strong without leaning on anyone else.

At times I wanted to reach out and smack Brody, but then turn around and hug him. He needed to know that everything would work out. This character was just so dang emotional. Imagine feeling you have to take on all of your family’s issues plus your own issues without help from anyone. On top of that, you don’t share anything with anyone. Makes for such a lonely existence. His pain just leaped off the page.

While Brody wasn’t available to others, Evan was overly available. She wanted to help everyone, but neglected her self-care. I just wanted to grab her by the shoulders and let her know it’s not possible. It’s like the flight attendants tell you during safety instruction, you’ve got to take in your own oxygen first before you can help those around you. Evan needed to get a big dose of oxygen. But, more importantly, she needed to wait and let those she cared about ask for the help.

I can’t wait to read more of this socially relevant story.

Have you read Dismantling Evan?

Buy on Amazon

Life is unstable…
…What will be the trigger to dismantle it?
When high school senior Evangeline “Evan” Phillips moves half way across the country with her parents to a quaint town in Texas, it should be a chance to start over.
It should be.
Typical of Evan, she doesn’t share her parents’ optimism. Always the loner, she is prepared to hide behind work at the school newspaper until graduation. That is the seemingly bulletproof plan until she meets her new neighbors, Gavin and Brody Ferguson.
The more Evan gets to know her neighbors, their band of friends, and frenemies, the more unsettling her new high school and community gets in Braxton Springs, Texas.
As Evan unwittingly digs deeper into the lives of those around her, her own skeletons begin to surface leaving her vulnerable and scrambling to keep her own sanity and reputation. Will Evan be able to get control over her spiraling secrets while discovering friendship and love for the first time?
Or will the issues and pressures of life as a band of not-so-average teens in a very typical high school become too much, resulting in the tragic dismantlement of an entire community and Evan herself?
Dismantling Evan is a fresh and edgy work of literary fiction that snapshots how life as a teen in modern society can be unstable and the social issues and pressures revolving around them can tip the fleeting stability of society over the edge.

About Venessa Kimball

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Having always been passionate about the written word, Venessa Kimball embarked on writing what would become her debut novel, Piercing the Fold: Book 1; a young adult paranormal/sci-fi series. July 2, 2012, Venessa Kimball independently published the first book in the Piercing the Fold series. Book 2, Surfacing the Rim, released March 14, 2013. In August of 2013, Venessa joined the publishing house, Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly. The Piercing the Fold series has been re-published with CHBB beginning with Piercing the Fold: Book 1 on September 3, 2013. Surfacing the Rim: Book 2 re-published on September 24, 2013 and Ascending the Veil: Book 3 released November 2013. The fourth book in the series, Transcending the Legacy: Book 4 released May 13, 2014. Kimball’s compelling teen contemporary fiction novel, Dismantling Evan, released January 13, 2015. Venessa is currently working on the Evan series, but as for the future, she is filling her Work-In-Progress folder with some world piercing characters and stories. When Venessa is not writing, she is keeping active with her husband and three children; chauffeuring said children to extracurricular activities, catching a movie with her hubby, and staying up way too late reading.

Betrayed (The Final Installment of the Caged Series) Cover Reveal!

Releases on December 15, 2015

Add it on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/1GnOjvB

They’re gone…

When Ruby discovers what really happened the night of Alan Beauchamp’s murder, one thing becomes very clear: time is running out for the people she loves. As she unravels the web of lies and deceit around her, Ruby reveals an unthinkable truth. One with dire repercussions for all.

Can Ruby pull together all the supernatural aspects of her life to foil a diabolical plot, or will she fall victim to an evil unlike any other she has faced?

Haven’t started the Caged Series yet? Caged is currently FREE!

FREE on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1M9YPWC

FREE on iBooks: http://apple.co/1M9YVxf

“I stood in the middle of the room, unmoving – I barely breathed. My life had just become surreal, impossible, and one enormous lie. I needed to go, to run somewhere, anywhere to beat back the reality that was rapidly closing in around me. The image of him was burned into my retina, flashing over and over again like a warning. He was trapped somewhere between human and decidedly not, and I realized that was my new reality.
I was too.”After the death of her parents, Ruby awakens from a lifetime of shadows and finds herself alone, thrust into a world of lies, deceit, betrayal and the supernatural.

As her quest for truth continues to come up short, she realizes that maybe some questions really are best left unanswered.
When her true identity is finally unveiled, she is forced to choose between two of the mysterious men who continually seem to crop up in her life.

She chooses poorly.

Now abandoned, Ruby must learn to call on the darkness within to survive, or spend a hellish eternity imprisoned because of it.

About Amber Lynn Natusch

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If you’re dying to know more about me, allow me to put you at ease. I’m a sharp-tongued, sarcastic Cancer, who loves vegetable smoothies, winter storms, and the word “portfolio”. I should NEVER be caffeinated, and require at least eight hours of sleep to even resemble a human being. At thirty-four, I just now feel like I can keep a straight face while saying the word “rectum” (which is actually a huge lie because I just laughed out loud while reading this to my husband). I live with my iPod firmly affixed to my body, drive too fast, and laugh/cry at inappropriate times.

Hooked Release Blitz!

Title: Hooked
Author: Carrie Thomas
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Blue Tulip Publishing

Synopsis

Millie Diamond is your typical high school senior. She has great parents, a younger brother, and two best friends who round out her better than average life. Her future is planned out, thanks to her police officer father, who strictly enforces the rules with a firm, but loving hand. Millie is a kind-hearted soul and proper daughter who respects her dad’s authority…until she meets a mysterious new student who stirs emotions in her she’s never felt before.

A drug deal gone bad in South Boston, leaves Cash Davis’ mother no choice but to move him to Tennessee. His life hasn’t been easy, but Cash is tough, and plans on making his future better than his past. Those plans include keeping his head down and finishing high school… but nothing ever comes easy for Cash. His connection with Millie surprises him, and as hard as he tries, he can’t stay away from her.

Millie’s dad arresting him before their first date is definitely not ideal for Cash, and it causes friction between Millie and her parents. Can Millie convince her parents that Cash is the guy for her?  Will she still want to after secrets from his past are revealed?

Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Smashwords

Excerpt

He knelt in front of me. While brushing my tears away with his thumb he said, “Baby, please don’t cry. This was another reason I didn’t want you involved because I don’t want you upset. Shh. Please, I don’t like seeing you like this.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m scared for you. Will you please talk to my dad?” He stared at me a good long minute with his hands still on either side of my face.

“Mil, I don’t want your dad involved either. He already doesn’t think I’m good enough for you. I think it’s just best if I handle this on my own.” I was seeing red at his words. We were perfect for each other. The only problem we ever had was him trying to handle things on his own and not letting me help.

“You know what? You’re selfish!” I was livid. “I love you, and I’m worried sick over this, and your answer is once again, to just let you handle this on your own?”

“I’ve told you about it, so I’m not keeping it from you. I’m asking you to trust me.”

“Don’t patronize me, Cash. I do trust you, I don’t trust them. I’m supposed to, what? Walk around and act like everything is okay, especially now that I know they know where you are.” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

He hung his head. “All right, I can’t stand this anymore. I don’t want to hurt you, so let’s just get through homecoming, and I’ll talk to your dad, okay? I want to concentrate on you and me tonight. I have a surprise for you, and I don’t want to ruin it with all of this crap from my past.” I felt relieved by his words. At least he was listening to reason.

“Okay, I can deal with that.” He brought both of us to our feet and hugged me close.

“Millie, I love you more than anything in the world. I never want to see you as sad as I just did. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, either.” I smiled up at him so he wouldn’t feel so bad. “Now go get in the shower and get dressed so we can go to the dance because I want my surprise. You know how impatient I am.” I smacked his bottom.

“That’s not a very nice thing to do to me as I’m heading for a shower. Now I’ll have to take a cold one.” He grinned, showing me his dimples. He knew his dirty thoughts would annoy me.

“Is that all you think about?” He raised one brow and started to reply, but I quickly covered his mouth with my hand. “Never mind. I already know the answer to that. Just go.”

Just before he walked into the bathroom, he called my name. “I don’t think I got to tell you how incredible you look tonight. I was speechless when I first saw you.”

I blushed. Standing in his small hallway, I’d never felt more special. “Thank you. Now hurry up. Wait… will you at least give me a hint about my surprise?”

“Come here.”

Just as I made it over to him, he wrapped his arms around me and picked me up. I was eye-level with him now that my feet were off the ground. I fondled his hair just above his collar as he nibbled on my ear. He soon kissed down my neck only stopping just above my collarbone.

“Well?” I asked curiously, “Are you going to give me a hint or not?”

“No. I just wanted to make out with you for a minute because I knew you wouldn’t let me do it at the dance.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You little sneak. Maybe since you got your chance here, I’ll just have to hold out on our make out sessions for a while.”

“You couldn’t do it, sweetheart. I can’t blame you, though, it’d be tough.”

“Do I feel a wager coming on here?” I asked, knowing I would win.

“It ain’t that serious,” he said, nonchalantly.

“Oh, I think it is. I need an ego boost, and I think winning a bet would do wonders, don’t you?” I was still stranded mid-air, chest to chest with him.

He kissed my lips softly. “I don’t think so, and you’re right. I wouldn’t last a day.”

“I guess as long as we both know who would win, I can live with it.” I squeezed him tight and patted his back. “All right, chop, chop! I’m ready for my surprise.”

He chuckled, setting me back on the ground. “Maybe I’ll have to start having more surprises for you. I like watching you squirm.”

My Review

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hooked was the first book I’d read by Carrie Thomas, and it won’t be the last. I enjoyed this story about trust, kindness, and love. The characters she created will work their way into your heart and stay there.

Millie, the main character, was such a sweetheart. She constantly saw the good in other and only wanted to help everyone. Her concern for others was genuine. Cash, her love interest, was a bad boy on the surface. Deep down, he had a good heart and great intentions. Fortunately, Millie was able to see beyond his scars and get to know him.

Hooked had me holding my breath throughout the pages. This was such a good love story, but I kept waiting for tragedy to strike. As a reader, sometimes we are presented with stories which seem too honest to be true. We’re expecting bad things to happen. Thomas’ story contains a hiccup, but it’s not a heart wrenching love story.

You will love this story. Even the ending is perfect. I look forward to reading more by Carrie Thomas.

Rating:  (5 Hands=Excellent; 4 Hands=Pretty Good; 3 Hands=Good)

Carrie Thomas is the author of young adult and new adult romances.  When she’s not writing or reading, you can find her traveling the U.S. or stalking her favorite bands.  She lives in the South with her husband and two sons. Aside from traveling, any time spent with her family she considers a good day.  She’s a firm believer that book lovers should stick together.

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Chasing Destiny Release Day & Giveaway

It’s finally here!

 

About Chasing Destiny

An ancient prophecy set
forth her ultimate destiny:

Destroy the lawless ones or
Hell’s gate will burst open.

 

So much has
changed since Reagan shifted for the first time. She found the grandfather and
brother she thought were dead, reunited with her grandmother and aunt, met a
twin sister for the first time, discovered a powerful magic pulsing through
their family’s veins, fell in love, and became part of a pack.

 

Evil also came
into Reagan’s life in the form of Rafe, a madman who commands a demon-werewolf
army. He’ll stop at nothing to destroy everything good.

 

Destiny may have
determined Reagan’s fate, but she refuses to allow it to define her path. To
save the world, she must:

 

Gather powerful
allies.

Call forth a
team of angels.

Form an unholy
alliance.

Discover an
angel sword.

Survive
devastating losses.

 

Along the way,
Reagan will discover that strength comes from faith, from believing in the
unbelievable, and a new battle cry emerges…

 

With Faith, We Fight

 

 

Available on
Amazon

Add to Goodreads 

 

Chasing Memories (Book 1) – FREE

Chasing Shadows (Book 2) – On Sale for $0.99 (regularly $2.99)

Chasing Forgiveness (novella) – On Sale for $0.99 (regularly $1.99)

 

Book Trailer

 

 

Giveaways

 

To celebrate the
release of Chasing Destiny, I’m running 12 Days of Giveaways. Check out the
post here, and enter to win a daily prize(s).

 

And there’s a
Goodreads Giveaway…

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Chasing Destiny

by Tia Silverthorne Bach

Giveaway ends November 30, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/161011

About the Author

 

Tia Silverthorne
Bach has been married to her college sweetheart for twenty years, has three
beautiful girls, and adores living in sunny California. Her daughters were born
in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called
many places home. She believes in fairy tales and happy endings and is an avid
reader and rabid grammar hound.

 

She is an
award-winning, multi-genre author and an Editor for Indie Books Gone Wild. From
an early age, she escaped into books and believes they can be the source of
healing and strength. If she’s not writing, you can find her on the tennis
court, at the movies, reading a good book, or spooning Jif peanut butter right
out of the jar.

 

Connect with the Author:

Website 

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Wattpad

Instagram

 

Sign up for her Author newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bif19P

 

Other Books:

Fractured Glass:
A Novel Anthology

Depression
Cookies (women’s fiction)

 

Coming Soon:

Seven (a novel
experience from the Fractured Glass crew)

Chasing Eternity
(Tala Prophecy, Book 4)

Second Chances Are Possible: A Review of Starla Huchton’s “Ride the Wind”

Goodreads.com Description: “Once upon a time, I made a promise to a stranger. Though I’d never seen her face, I cared for her above all others.

Once upon a time, I broke my vow. In trying to save the one I loved, I condemned her to a cursed life and stripped her of all freedom in a single, misguided step.

Once upon a time, I set out on a journey. Though it might never earn me forgiveness, I would set her free or die trying.”

About the Author

A geek of all trades, Starla Huchton has been crafting stories in various genres since 2007. She is a three-time finalist for Parsec Awards for her podcast fiction work, and was the first place winner for Science Fiction & Fantasy in the Sandy competition in 2012. Her work spans science fiction, fantasy, New Adult Romance, Young Adult titles, Steampunk, Contemporary, and various other varieties of stories. She is greedy and likes all the genres!

When not writing, Starla trains three Minions, a black lab, and a military husband whilst designing book covers for independent authors and publishers at Designed By Starla.

Find Starla online at…

Website: http://www.starlahuchton.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Starla-Huchton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarlaHuchton/?fref=ts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4348137.Starla_Huchton

Twitter: @starlahuchton

My Review

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Ride the Wind was an enjoyable gender-flipped version of a Norwegian folk tale. It was well-written and very engaging.

I’d never read “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” before, so I couldn’t compare the stories. There were elements, however, of Huchton’s tale that reminded me of “Beauty and the Beast” and Aladdin’s flying carpet.

I enjoyed the characters created in this story. Lukas was such an innocent young man at the start of the story. He learned more about himself once he left home. It was his guilt that consumed him, and pushed him to complete his journey. In completing it, he saw the world and became a better man. Erata was the intriguing young girl who made a foolhardy pact. Her thoughtlessness ended with a severe punishment. On top of it all, she had trust issues needing to be resolved. Once she learned to trust, she acquired hope.

Ride the Wind had such a great underlying theme. Huchton lets readers know that second chances are possible. There are just a few requirements: 1) you must be truly remorseful for your mishap, 2) you must be willing to do whatever is required to rectify your mishap, and 3) you must not expect any form of payment in return.

There was also a great message regarding self-doubt–don’t doubt what you can do. Sometimes when you take yourself out of the situation, you can accomplish great things. What an inspiring message!

I look forward to reading more books by Huchton. If you are interested, be sure to add these other “flipped fairy tales” to your TBR:

Goodreads Description: “Once upon a time, a dark evil crept into my kingdom, stealing my loved ones and the happy life I knew. The world turned against me, and I swore to become stronger, to keep myself safe.

Once upon a time, there was a handsome prince, hair dark as ebony, skin as pure as the freshly driven snow, and I became the only one who stood between him and death.

Once upon a time, our stories intertwined, and now, healing my heart may be the only way to save us all from the evil that threatens to destroy what little we have left.”

Goodreads.com Description: “Once upon a time, my life was certain: it was insignificant, and it was cruel. But I refused to let it define me, no matter how great the cost.

Once upon a time, I made a wish. The world I knew grew wider than the sky and higher than the stars, and I listened to the voice within me, reaching out for freedom.

Once upon a time, my wish became my fate, and my destiny the hardest lesson to learn: kindness may be the most difficult path, but it can save entire kingdoms.”

Rating: 

(5 Hands=Excellent; 4 Hands=Pretty Good; 3 Hands=Good)

Debut Author Book Release!

Anchor Group Publishing is proud to present

 L. C. Miller’s debut novel, 

Abby and the Mystic Dancers.

 

 

 

Title:  Abby & The Mystic Dancers

Author:  L. C. Miller

Published November 9, 2015By Anchor Group Publishing

Genre:  Middle Grade/Young Adult Fantasy

Buy on Amazon 

Buy on Smashwords

 

 Blurb:

As the product of a forbidden alliance between the elemental Mystics and the wand carrying Wielders -two distinct, often feuding, magical realms -acceptance is something fourteen-year-old Abby has fought with for the last four years. When an alliance is formed between the Mystic Dancers and the Wielder’s, Abby is given the chance to live with a Wielder’s family and attend Wielders Academy of Magical Arts. In order to do so, she first has to make three promises to the Mystic Dancers leader … Tell no one she’s half Mystic, that her father is a Wielder who is also a wanted criminal, or that she can transform into anything she wants.

Her day-to-day life of secrets, school work, and dancing is interrupted when her mother’s murder case goes to trial. The Mystics believe they finally caught the killer, who happens to be the father of one of Abby’s new friends. Abby has a choice to make – reveal her secrets, or let a man she knows is innocent go to prison.

 Meet The Author

I have loved reading since I was old enough to do it. I started writing in my down time in 2006 and have been doing it ever since.

Reading, writing, and hanging out with my family are some of my favorite things – along with hot chocolate and pizza (not together, of course).

With a bachelors in Accounting, writing has been a great way to unwind and let my imagination fly.

Stalk L. C. Miller on…

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Congratulations!

Book Trailer Friday!

Doing the Friday dance…

How was your week? I think mine was productive. Did some much needed writing and a whole lot of reading. I also did a lot of prep work for NaNoWriMo. Lots more to on my writing journey, but before I duck out of here….

Check out the book trailer!

Goodreads.com Description: “To be normal, sixteen-year-old Julia Parker would shed her empathic gift in a second. Life has been difficult since her mother’s mysterious disappearance ten years earlier – an event she witnessed, but can’t remember. Julia’s situation becomes more complicated after a near death experience from a blood thirsty stalker. As high school students go missing it is clear there is a connection to her own experience–past and present. Someone has to stop the madness and a chance encounter with a creepy psychic foretells that only Julia is the key to stopping the madness, but it may require the life of the one she loves.”

It’s on my TBR along with…

   

Have a great weekend!

Keep reading! Keep following!

Never Give Up Hope! (A Review of Daniele Lanzarotta’s “Sudden Hope”)

Goodreads.com Description: “Alec is a seventeen-year-old who has endured more in life than anyone should have to. Seeing his neighbor and ex-bestfriend, Skylar, struggle after a tragic loss, Alec makes it his mission to show her that life is worth living. Little does he know that he will learn that same lesson.”

About the Author

Daniele Lanzarotta is the author of YA and NA paranormal/fantasy/contemporary novels, including the Imprinted Souls Series, Academy of the Fallen, and Mermaid’s Curse.

She has a bachelor’s in business and finance and a MBA. With only a few semesters left in school, Daniele started writing as a hobby, but it didn’t take long for her to be consumed by her stories. That is her passion, and she now has several projects under way.

She enjoys reading and writing young adult novels with just about any sort of paranormal or supernatural bent…vampires… ghosts… She also enjoys watching hockey, playing rock band, guitar hero and spending time with the family.

Find Daniele online at…

Website: http://www.danielelanzarotta.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDanieleLanzarotta/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Daniele-Lanzarotta/e/B003U1KC40/

Twitter: @DaniLanzarotta

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4094993.Daniele_Lanzarotta

My Review

I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Sudden Hope hooked me as soon as I picked it up. Ever read a book where you can’t put it down because you’re worried about the main character? Yes? No? Well, if you open this book, I guarantee that will be your response. I read this story in three hours!

This was another successful story about bullying. I applaud Lanzarotta for taking on a worthwhile topic. She wrote well-developed characters and let us have a glimpse inside the world of high schoolers who had been bullied for most of their school years.

Lanzarotta crafted some awesome inspirational quotes in Sudden Hope. Here are just a few of my favorites:

• (page 18) “Words have power, and sometimes, they stay with you for life. It’s up to you to allow those words to define who you become. Do you allow those words to motivate you or do you let them destroy you?” [Skylar]
• (page 57) “To some of those girls, school will be the highlight of their lives. People like you…people who are beautiful inside and out…those are the ones who will shine in whatever they decide to do.” [Alec]
• (page 57)  “‘to the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world’. You’re one of the lucky ones. You’re the world to far more people than you think.” [Alec]

There were also some great tender moment quotes too:

• (page 216) “Because you make me want to live. You make me want to grow old with you. You give me hope, and that scares me more than anything else.” [Alec]
• (page 253) “I once heard that if you fall in love with someone because of their eyes, you’ll love them forever, because a person’s eyes are the one thing that will never change.” [Alec]

I loved the characters of Alec, Skylar, and Kyle. I suspected what was going on with Alec when I first started reading Sudden Hope. I felt bad for him since his response to a life-altering situation was to stop enjoying his life. No one should force that upon themselves. Thankfully there was Skylar. She was an amazing girl who had yet to discover her strength. And, thanks to great guys like Alec and Kyle she found that strength and embraced it fully. She gave as much to them as they gave to her. Kyle was the perfect best friend and the perfect potential boyfriend. He cared about his friends and doing the right things in life (even if he needed someone to steer in the right direction).

I felt so bad for the characters of Michael and Kristi. Their stories were tragic since they couldn’t see hope on the horizon. Any life devoid of hope is doomed without someone to help them. Unfortunately, there are kids everyday who live similar lives without anyone intervening on their behalf. Thank you Daniele Lanzarotta for pointing a spotlight on them. Maybe those who read Sudden Hope will be inspired to help another kid in need.

I highly recommend this story to all high school students and even their parents!

Rating:

 

(5 Hands=Excellent; 4 Hands=Pretty Good; 3 Hands=Good)