Book Review & Giveaway | The Legend of Akikumo

 

 

Κριτική Βιβλίου | Οι Φόνοι της Κίσσας

Οι Φόνοι της Κίσσας, το αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα του Anthony Horowitz, το οποίο κυκλοφορεί για την ελληνική γλώσσα από τις Εκδόσεις Διόπτρα, αποτελεί ένα εξαιρετικά καλογραμμένο κείμενο-διατριβή στο είδος των βιβλίων μυστηρίου.

Με πλοκή που σε συνεπαίρνει, καταιγιστικές εξελίξεις σε κάθε σελίδα και μία εμφάνιση-έκπληξη από τον εγγονό της ίδιας της Άγκαθα Κρίστι, δεν μπορείς παρά να το καταβροχθίσεις!

Συνολική βαθμολογία: ★★★★☆

Σύνοψη

Η κύρια ιστορία εκτυλίσσεται στο Λονδίνο και ξεκινάει με την επιμελήτρια των εκδόσεων Κλόβερλιφ, Σούζαν Ράιλαντ, στα χέρια της οποίας καταφθάνει το τελευταίο χειρόγραφο μυθιστόρημα του Άλαν Κόνγουεϊ, με πρωταγωνιστή τον επιθεωρητή Άττικους Πυντ. Φτάνοντας, όμως, στο τέλος του χειρόγραφου, συνειδητοποιούμε, μαζί με τη Σούζαν, πως τόσο τα τελευταία κεφάλαια όσο και η λύση του μυστηρίου λείπουν. Σύντομα, γίνεται γνωστό πως ο συγγραφέας έχει πεθάνει, αφήνοντας πίσω του ένα σημείωμα αυτοκτονίας. Πρόκειται, όμως, όντως για αυτοκτονία ή για μία καλά σκηνοθετημένη δολοφονία; Από αυτό το σημείο και έπειτα, η Σούζαν ξεκινάει τη δική της περιπέτεια μυστηρίου, στην προσπάθειά της να ανακτήσει τα χαμένα κεφάλαια, αλλά και να ανακαλύψει τι πραγματικά συνέβη στο συγγραφέα τους.

Γιατί με συνεπήρε το μυθιστόρημα

Τόσο οι σκέψεις της Σούζαν, όσο και τα έγγραφα που περιέρχονται στην κατοχή της και παρεμβάλλονται στην ιστορία, μας βοηθούν να αναπτύξουμε τις δικές μας θεωρίες και να βρεθούμε πιο κοντά στη λύση του μυστηρίου. Έτσι, ο αναγνώστης βρίσκεται στο επίκεντρο μιας περιπέτειας στην οποία είναι ο κύριος πρωταγωνιστής, ακολουθώντας τα βήματα της Σούζαν.

Επιπροσθέτως, το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο θα μπορούσε να αποτελέσει διατριβή στο λογοτεχνικό είδος των μυθιστορημάτων μυστηρίου και τον τρόπο με τον οποίο έχει εξελιχθεί ανά τους αιώνες. Κάνει ιδιαίτερη μνεία σε σημαντικά έργα αναφοράς και σε μεγάλους συγγραφείς του είδους, ενώ χαρακτηριστικό του αποτελεί και η εμφάνιση-έκπληξη του Μάθιου Πρίτσαρντ, του εγγονού της Άγκαθα Κρίστι.

Τι στέρησε από το βιβλίο το 5^ο αστέρι

Η παρεμβολή των εγγράφων που περιέρχονταν στα χέρια της Σούζαν, ενώ έκαναν το μυθιστόρημα περισσότερο αληθοφανές και βοηθούσαν τον αναγνώστη να βυθιστεί στην ιστορία, ταυτόχρονα αποσπούσαν την προσοχή μου και με έκαναν να χάνω τον ειρμό μου.

Επιπλέον, ορισμένες από τις προσωπικές, αλλά όχι τόσο κολακευτικές, απόψεις του συγγραφέα διαφαίνονταν συχνά μέσα από τις σκέψεις της πρωταγωνίστριας, χωρίς να συμπεριλαμβάνω ορισμένα σχόλιά της, τα οποία θα μπορούσαν να αποδοθούν αποκλειστικά στην ίδια.

Παρακολουθήστε το 1o Ελληνικό Reading Vlog για το #Crimaython2020 με τις σκέψεις μου για το βιβλίο.

Review | Everless (Untitled series #1) by Sara Holland

Title: Everless

Series: Untitled series #1

Author: Sara Holland

Pub. Date: January 4, 2018

Publisher: Hachette Children's Group

Pages: 368

Format: Digital arc by NetGalley

Find it here:

Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Blurb:

Time is a prison. She is the key. Packed with danger, temptation and desire - a perfect read for fans of The Red Queen.

In the land of Sempera, the rich control everything - even time. Ever since the age of alchemy and sorcery, hours, days and years have been extracted from blood and bound to iron coins. The rich live for centuries; the poor bleed themselves dry.

Jules and her father are behind on their rent and low on hours. To stop him from draining himself to clear their debts, Jules takes a job at Everless, the grand estate of the cruel Gerling family.

There, Jules encounters danger and temptation in the guise of the Gerling heir, Roan, who is soon to be married. But the web of secrets at Everless stretches beyond her desire, and the truths Jules must uncover will change her life for ever ... and possibly the future of time itself.

'Sara Holland is a fierce storyteller. An intoxicating blend of blood, secrets, and haunting mythology, Everless gives new and terrifying meaning to the phrase running out of time.' Stephanie Garber, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of Caraval

My Review:

What an amazing, captivating and completely breathtaking ride this story was!

This book became straightaway my new favorite novel, and for so many good reasons.

✰ The back story and universe? Clever, original, so so close to the truth, with the few powerful abusing that power in the expense of the more, but with a vital twist. They are not just taking their money. They actually steal their years of life through their blood. This is literally the currency of this world, and despite how frightening it sounds to live in such a world, I loved every bit of it!

✰ The heroine? Brave, intelligent, ready to sacrifice herself for her loved ones, even if that means she will get in trouble. Or, worse... One of my favorite protagonists of all time, hands down.

✰ The characters revolving around her? Her father paying the rent (which translates to "giving his blood and his remaining life") behind Jules's back to protect her and not let her give away her years.

Her strong friend, who I suspect has a lot more to give to the story, and I really missed not seeing her for the better part of the book.

Her childhood friends, who inspired strong feelings in me, because I knew something was not right immediately. But, I was very, very, very surprised when I actually found out what was wrong, and I have to admit, I wasn't completely right...

✰ The writing style? Fantastic, smooth and really making me wonder how this could be the author's first novel? We really need more books by you, Ms Holland.

✰ And, my fifth star goes towards all the things I really want to talk about in this book, but I can't, as they will be extreme spoilers. Such as the incredible revelations you would never imagine, the exceptional villain, and all the amazing twists and turns of the story.

All in all, five stars to a book I will definitely read again

(how could I not go back and re-interpret all the shady people's behaviours?),

the amazing start to an extremely promising and captivating new series.

And, - I really can't contain myself, so - five stars to Jules.

Review | "Traitor to the Throne" (Rebel of the Sands #2) by Alwyn Hamilton

Title: Traitor to the Throne

Series: Rebel of the Sands #2

Author: Alwyn Hamilton

Pub. Date: February 2, 2017

Publisher: Faber & Fabers

Pages: 570

Format: Digital arc by NetGalley

Find it here:

Goodreads blurb: This is not about blood or love. This is about treason.

Nearly a year has passed since Amani and the rebels won their epic battle at Fahali. Amani has come into both her powers and her reputation as the Blue-Eyed Bandit, and the Rebel Prince's message has spread across the desert - and some might say out of control. But when a surprise encounter turns into a brutal kidnapping, Amani finds herself betrayed in the cruellest manner possible.

Stripped of her powers and her identity, and torn from the man she loves, Amani must return to her desert-girl's instinct for survival. For the Sultan's palace is a dangerous one, and the harem is a viper's nest of suspicion, fear and intrigue. Just the right place for a spy to thrive... But spying is a dangerous game, and when ghosts from Amani's past emerge to haunt her, she begins to wonder if she can trust her own treacherous heart.

My Review:

Alwyn Hamilton is not just a talented storyteller. She is a graphic scene maker and a director.
She doesn't just describe the situations in which her protagonist finds herself, she makes you feel you are an part of the whole scene, like you are actually in Amani's shoes.
And, I deeply admire her for that and the deeply fascinating world she has created.

Amani's story made me fall instantly in love with her whole world and the powerful creatures that created it, from the first few chapters of the very first book in the series.

In this second novel of the story, we even learn more about the Djinns and their half-human offsprings.

We also get to have an insight in the ways of the harem and the mind of the brutal and intriguing Sultan who claimed his throne after treacherous and murderous acts all these years ago.

Amani finds herself all alone in the most dangerous situation she has encountered yet.
But, she manages to remain the same brave and strong girl I deeply loved in the first book.

The deaths and sacrifices are, yet again, not missing from this action-filled book and the way it ends, it makes me crave the next and final installation in the trilogy even more anxiously.

Hamilton's way of writing is once again magical, and it really makes me wonder why this amazing series is not even more widely popular:

- Amazing, brave, strong and intelligent protagonist - Check!
- Swoon-worthy, sexy and protective romantic interest - Check!
- Rich of amazing and deep supporting characters, willing to sacrifice themselves and fight for their cause and their country - Check!
- Lots of action and a healthy dose of romance to keep things hot in every aspect - Check!
- Amazing and original world, filled with people with unique and fascinating powers - Check!

After all these elements, how can you not love such a marvelous piece of work?

All in all, wishing I could give more than 5 stars

for the second book of what is shaping to be

one of my most loved series of all times.

Reviewed ♠ Maestra (Maestra #1) by L.S. Hilton

Maestra (Maestra #1)

by L.S. Hilton

Goodreads blurb

A shockingly original thriller - the launch title of Zaffre, the new fiction imprint of Bonnier Publishing Fiction

Judith Rashleigh works as an assistant in a prestigious London auction house, but her dreams of breaking into the art world have been gradually dulled by the blunt forces of snobbery and corruption. To make ends meet she moonlights as a hostess in one of the West End's less salubrious bars - although her work there pales against her activities on nights off.

When Judith stumbles across a conspiracy at her auction house, she is fired before she can expose the fraud. In desperation, she accepts an offer from one of the bar's clients to accompany him to the French Riviera. But when an ill-advised attempt to slip him sedatives has momentous consequences, Judith finds herself fleeing for her life.

Now alone and in danger, all Judith has to rely on is her consummate ability to fake it amongst the rich and famous - and the inside track on the hugely lucrative art fraud that triggered her dismissal.

Set in the exotic palaces and yachts of Europe's seriously wealthy - plus graphic sex. With a heroine as wickedly perceptive as Amy Dunne and as dangerous as Lisbeth Salander, this marks the beginning of a sequence of novels that will have readers around the world on the edge of their seats and holding their breath. 

My Review

I have to admit that I had very high expectations when I picked this book.

I was actually ogling it in physical and online bookstores for several months.

However, when I actually got the chance to acquire it, and started reading it, the verdict didn't end up being so positive.

The opposite, in fact.

At first, it was okay, our heroine (whose name I have to think very hard about, in order to remember, after all those different ones she has used) was just a hardworking girl, who had made her life entirely on her own, with no help whatsoever from anyone else. And, (at first, let me emphasise) I actually admired her for it.

But, then, she just became power-money-fashion-sex hungry, interested only in herself, setting up dangerous tricks and even ending up killing people that didn't fill into her plans.

Somewhere around that point I had started being fed up of her whole attitude and her character in general, and the constant extremely detailed descriptions of every single piece of outfit she was wearing.

All in all, I'm disappointed to say, and try hard to avoid any strong verbs or nouns, that this book deeply tired me and almost forced me to drop it and never pick it up again, but I kept going just because I was curious as to how many more people would the heroine get rid of and play around like they were nothing.

REVIEW | Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

 Title: Rebel of the Sands

Series:  Rebel of the Sands (#1)

Author: Hamilton, Alwyn

Format: e-book ARC provided by NetGalley

Edition: English

Publisher: Faber & Faber Ltd.

Publication: February 4th, 2016

Pages: 358

Goodreads Blurb: 

" She’s more gunpowder than girl—and the fate of the desert lies in her hands.

Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mystical beasts still roam the wild and barren wastes, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinni still practice their magic. But there's nothing mystical or magical about Dustwalk, the dead-end town that Amani can't wait to escape from.

Destined to wind up "wed or dead," Amani’s counting on her sharpshooting skills to get her out of Dustwalk. When she meets Jin, a mysterious and devastatingly handsome foreigner, in a shooting contest, she figures he’s the perfect escape route. But in all her years spent dreaming of leaving home, she never imagined she'd gallop away on a mythical horse, fleeing the murderous Sultan's army, with a fugitive who's wanted for treason. And she'd never have predicted she'd fall in love with him... or that he'd help her unlock the powerful truth of who she really is.  "

My Rating: ✿✿✿✿✿

My Review:

While reading this book, a lot of questions kept circling around in my mind, like:

How could this masterpiece be the very first book written by the author?

How come I didn't pick it up way earlier?

WHY isn't everyone RAVING about it???

This book surpassed my expectations and set a whole new perspective for me!

I loved absolutely everything about it!

It is the kind of book that kept me up until 7am, just to finish it! To say that I couldn't put it down was a major understatement!

But, let me get into a more detailed review, before I just start babbling about this book's awesomeness!

I will start from the fact that probably surprised me more than everything!

This book is the debut work of Alwyn Hamilton, and it's not obvious AT ALL!

Her writing and the way she narrated the start of an epic story were really out of this world, and I would bet a million times that she had already written a dozen books before this masterpiece (second time I call this book that, and you've probably come to realize by now just how much I fell in love with it)!

I have read a ton of ARCs and books from debut authors, and this book set a very high standard for me, on what I want to read from now on!

The story was very well-thought, and is taking place in the desert. I had never read something similar before, and it was what had made me a little hesitant in picking this book up!

I loved very much that the plot was progressing in the perfect pace! Quite fast enough to not make you bored, while at the same time pausing to describe in more detail the personalities of the characters and the progression of the relationships between them, in a way that made you feel all that much closer to them.

Another interesting way of storytelling by the author, was the fact that the story of the main heroine was provided to us not right away. Instead, we were discovering bits and pieces of her past slowly and steadily in the first few chapters, and in such a natural way, while at the same time there was a ton of adventure and action!

And, let me tell you just how much I loved Amani.

Strong, fierce, raised to be rebellious and think of the prospect of a different and better life by her mother, from a really young age!

And, despite the fact that she now lives with her uncle and his wives and children, she never quit the ideal her mother inspired in her. She made it her goal and her driving force!

When she met Jin, the story took a whole new turn!

The two of them made a truce and started an adventure together, each after their own goals!

Jin was, in my opinion, the perfect match for Amani right from the start.

Noble in his ways, strong and passionate, he made me want that romantic tension between them to quickly get into so much more!

And, the book isn't even all about these things I just described.

The action, adventure and plot twists are on their peak from the moment you start getting into the story and its aspects, and especially after a moment, it actually gets to a point that I was constantly surprised and taken aback!

And, I loved every moment of it!

What I loved even more, is the fact that I didn't actually see them coming!

The story was written in such an excellent way that it depicted the facts that would be of importance later on, without giving away their true meaning for the plot!

All in all, 5 stars seem too little for a book that became 

one of my favorite novels I've ever read, 

a book that was packed with action, adventure, fantasy, amazing heroines and heroes, 

and a natural talent of storytelling that 

delivered every single point of the story in an excellent way!

Infinity Ink Book Blast & Giveaway

Welcome to the Infinite Ink $100 Book Blast Giveaway! 

  The Breeders by Katie French

 “When the Breeders come for ya, there ain't no escape. They strap ya to a bed and all ya hear is the thud of your heart and the cries of your friends as they wheel ya down to hell. Then the doctors come. You squeeze your eyes shut and pray you can forget. But ya never do.” Sixteen-year-old Riley Meemick is one of the world's last free girls. When Riley was born, her mother escaped the Breeders, the group of doctors using cruel experiments to bolster the dwindling human race. Her parents do everything possible to keep her from their clutches-- moving from one desolate farm after another to escape the Breeders' long reach. The Breeders control everything- the local war lords, the remaining factories, the fuel. They have unchecked power in this lawless society. And they're hunting Riley. When the local Sheriff abducts the adult members of her family and hands her mother over to the Breeders, Riley and her eight-year-old brother, Ethan, hiding in a shelter, are left to starve. Then Clay arrives, the handsome gunslinger who seems determined to help to make up for past sins. The problem is Clay thinks Riley is a bender-- a genderless mutation, neither male nor female. As Riley's affection for Clay grows she wonders can she trust Clay with her secret and risk her freedom? The three embark on a journey across the scarred remains of New Mexico-- escaping the Riders who use human sacrifice to appease their Good Mother, various men scrambling for luck, and a deranged lone survivor of a plague. When Riley is forced into the Breeder's hospital, she learns the horrible fate of her mother—a fate she'll share unless she can find a way out.

 



Author Katie French Katie French imagined herself an author when her poem caught the eye of her second grade teacher. It was about birds and frankly, it wasn't very good, but it sparked a love of literature. In middle school she spent her free time locked in her room, writing her first young adult novel. This thoroughly solidifying her status as a class-A nerd. She currently works as a high school English teacher, a job that she loves even when it exhausts her. In her free time she writes, reads great books, and takes care of her two beautiful and crazy children. Her young adult best selling series, The Breeders, is available now on Amazon. She also has a kids series starting with Portia Parrott and the Great Kitten Rescue for ages 5-9.

  Praise for The Breeders Kindle Book Review, 2014 Kindle Book Awards Semifinalist Over 45,000 downloads so far. More than 300 four and five star reviews. Top Ten in Free Kindle Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction Dystopian Romance. “This is an Excellent book that should be published the writing is that compelling and suspenseful.” -- The Book Runner, Amazon Vine Voice Reviewer “Wow, just wow! I started reading the sample for The Breeders and before I was even halfway through it, I stopped and bought the book. I was completely enthralled after the first few pages.” -- Amazon Reviewer

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Virulent by Shelbi Wescott

 Lucy King is only an hour away from embarking on the most incredible vacation of her life: White sandy beaches in a tropical paradise, snorkeling and sunbathing in peaceful tranquility. But as Lucy looks forward to her trip, a sinister plot is unfolding that will demolish the world as she knows it. An unknown bioterrorist group unleashes a virus that virtually wipes out the earth’s population—leaving Lucy, and a small faction of survivors, trapped inside her high school to wait out the apocalypse. War, looting, and death wreak havoc outside the school; inside, the students must contend with a tyrannical and paranoid principal and their own struggles of being orphaned, frightened, and unsure of what the future will bring. What begins as a basic fight for survival turns into a search for answers that will challenge everything Lucy has ever known about her life and her family. Virulent is the first book in the Virulent trilogy, an enthralling post-apocalyptic adventure that takes you from the end of the world to the formation of a new society.

 


Author Shelbi Wescott Shelbi Wescott is a high school Language Arts and Creative Writing teacher, a mother of two, a television junky, and a board game connoisseur. Her first book, "Virulent: The Release" was born from a challenge issued by her students to write a book that would interest them. When she isn't writing or teaching, Shelbi can be found throwing unnecessarily elaborate birthday parties and officiating weddings. She is a fan of: Spanx, bourbon, Powell’s Books, and tabloid magazines. Shelbi lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, her two sons, Elliott and Ike, and an affectionate hound dog named Darby.

 


  Praise for Virulent: The Release “My favorite part was how realistic and authentic Wescott is about to make her characters. It is clear from the specific detail and the way she shapes her setting that Wescott knows her way around a high school. She also knows a thing or two about teenage minds.” -- Underground Book Reviews “Great characters, amazing descriptions, suspense and the beginnings of a great conspiracy mark this beginning to a series that I look forward to following. I can’t wait for book two.” -- Cherie of Cherie Reads  

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  The Scourge by A.G. Henley

 Seventeen-year-old Groundling, Fennel, is Sightless. She's never been able to see her lush forest home, but she knows its secrets. She knows how the shadows shift when she passes under a canopy of trees. She knows how to hide in the cool, damp caves when the Scourge comes. She knows how devious and arrogant the Groundlings' tree-dwelling neighbors, the Lofties, can be. And she's always known this day would come—the day she faces the Scourge alone.

 


Author A.G. Henley A.G. Henley is the author of the BRILLIANT DARKNESS series. The first book in the series, THE SCOURGE, was a finalist for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award. A.G. is also a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life stories on airplanes, or avoid her at parties when they've had too much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she's not writing fiction or shrinking heads, she can be found herding her children and their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember whatever she's inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

 


Praise for The Scourge "Looking for a trenchant, imaginative, beautifully written novel to read? Look no further: it's The Scourge, by A.G. Henley." -- Sarah Cloots, former editor at Greenwillow Books, imprint of HarperCollins Children's Books "The prose flows smoothly and easily but there are much deeper issues lying beneath the surface of the story that are captivating and will hold the interest of readers of any age . . . I was quickly transported into the world of The Scourge and plummeted breathlessly toward the resolution. This is a very good book and a good look at just what science fiction can achieve when in the hands of a capable writer." -- Josef Hernandez, Examiner "Lovable and relatable heroine? Check. Swoon-worthy, kick-butt hero? Check. Compelling romance that makes your heart melt and toes curl? Check. Captivating story and fascinating world? Check. Eagerly anticipating the next book? Check, check, check." -- Refracted Light Reviews, blog review

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Contributor by Nicole Ciacchella

 When the Great Famine threatened the existence of mankind, the Creators saved humanity. Humanity has been their loyal subject ever since. This history has been ingrained in seventeen-year-old Dara Morrow since her first day of Creator-sponsored school. Grateful for the life-giving necessities her Creator provides, Dara is thrilled to be one of three students chosen for an elite, year-long apprenticeship program. Now is her chance to prove herself a devoted Contributor. But Dara’s competition is ruthless and will stop at nothing to win the competition. Worse yet, her exacting master has little patience for her. Then Dara’s mother is seriously injured, and Dara realizes the price of being a Contributor: once you’ve outlived your usefulness, you’re discarded. Can Dara learn to manipulate the system to save not only herself, but everyone she loves?

 



Author Nicole Ciacchella Nicole has progressed from scribbling in notebooks to banging on keyboards, but she’s never managed to stop daydreaming at inappropriate moments. Born and raised in Michigan, Nicole lives there still with her husband and two wonderful children. When not answering the demands of her characters, Nicole can often be found curled up with a good book or spending far too many hours acting the hero in whatever video game is her obsession of the moment. Nicole rarely meets a genre she doesn't like, and as a result has written contemporary romcoms, fantasy fiction, fairy tale retellings, and dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction. She's the author of the Fairytale Collection books, the YA/NA crossover Contributor trilogy, and the Astoran Asunder series.

 


   Praise for Contributor From the world of dystopia comes something different - The Contributor. A society set wherein all must either contribute or be nothing at all. Very intense story line with a daunting theme. This is a great read and I can not wait to see what happens in book 2. -- LadyLox Mindblowingly good. This book is brilliantly constructed. -- Kelly Walker

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The Torturer's Daughter by Zoe Cannon


 When her best friend Heather calls in the middle of the night, Becca Dalcourt assumes it’s the usual drama. Wrong. Heather’s parents have been arrested as dissidents – and Becca’s mother, the dystopian regime’s most infamous torturer, has already executed them for their crimes against the state. To stop Heather from getting herself killed trying to prove her parents’ innocence, Becca hunts for proof of their guilt. She doesn’t expect to find evidence that leaves her questioning everything she thought she knew about the dissidents… and about her mother. When she risks her life to save a dissident, she learns her mother isn’t the only one with secrets – and the plot she uncovers will threaten the lives of the people she loves most. For Becca, it’s no longer just a choice between risking execution and ignoring the regime’s crimes; she has to decide whose life to save and whose to sacrifice. It’s easy to be a hero when you can save the world, but what about when all you can do is choose how you live in it? The Torturer’s Daughter is a story about ordinary life amidst the realities of living under an oppressive regime… and the extraordinary courage it takes to do what’s right in a world gone wrong.

  


Author Zoe Cannon Zoe Cannon writes about the things that fascinate her: outsiders, societies no sane person would want to live in, questions with no easy answers, and the inner workings of the mind. If she couldn't be a writer, she would probably be a psychologist, a penniless philosopher, or a hermit in a cave somewhere. While she'll read anything that isn't nailed down, she considers herself a YA reader and writer at heart. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and a giant teddy bear of a dog, and spends entirely too much time on the internet.

  Praise for The Torturer's Daughter "...a great read that plays with your nerves and sets great challenges before its characters..." -- Willing to See Less "The society created by the author is incredibly oppressive and realistic in all its horror." -- Le Chat de Bibliotheque "My day stopped in its tracks once I picked up this novel, racing frantically towards the conclusion and the answers I needed to have." -- Bookluvrs Haven

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  The Heartbeat Thief by Ash Krafton


 Haunted by a crushing fear of death, a young Victorian woman discovers the secret of eternal youth—she must surrender her life to attain it, and steal heartbeats to keep it. Poe meets Austen in this haunting tale of death and endless devotion… Being the most beautiful debutante in 1860’s Surrey isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Senza Fyne knows all too well the expectations set upon a young Victorian woman—and she also knows that, in one fell swoop, death can just whisk it all away. When she meets the mysterious and mystical Mr. Knell, she is offered the chance to escape the chains of Life and Death and to enjoy the bliss of youth and beauty for all eternity. But that takes magic…and a steep price. She’d have to surrender her life to gain an eternity and she’d have to steal the heartbeats of others in order to keep it. She has everything to gain if she succumbs to his spell…but knows not what she might lose. It’s a little bit Jane Austen, a little bit Edgar Allan Poe, and a whole lot of stealing heartbeats in order to stay young and beautiful forever. From the posh London season to the back alleys of Whitechapel, across the Channel, across the Pond, across the seas of Time…How far will Senza Fyne go to avoid Death?

  Author A.J. Crafton The Heartbeat Thief is the first release for AJ Krafton, a New Adult speculative fiction author from the Pennsylvania coal region. If she’s not writing, it’s probably because she’s distracted by all the cool junk on her desk or by the stacks of books that have grown up around it. She also writes novels, short fiction, and poetry for adult audiences as Ash Krafton.

 



Praise for The Heartbeat Thief "It’s a supernatural story, but it doesn’t rely on the conventions and themes that have gone before it. To be honest, when I picked it up I was expecting witches and/or vampires, but I found something else entirely. I loved the story and the concept." "True to its word, "The Heartbeat Thief" is part Jane Austen, part Edgar Allen Poe. The author revives the best of the style of writing found in the classics: the introspect of characters, lovely allusions comparing characters to nature and life, beautiful alliteration and prose. Mixed with this is a deep foreboding of death, a macabre sensation that follows Senza throughout the story." "Beautiful imagery and language shape this intriguing story that spoke to me about the meaning of maturity and purpose in life. Lovely!"

    

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Virtual Tour {Guest Feature & Giveaway} -- Fighting Dirty (Worth the Fight #5) by Sidney Halston

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FIGHTING DIRTY

Worth the Fight #5

Sidney Halston

Releasing Jan 5th, 2016

Loveswept

If you love the MMA romances of Vi Kreeland and Kendall Ryan, Sidney Halston’s Worth the Fight series will knock your socks off! In Fighting Dirty, a geek-chic cage fighter proves that appearances can be deceiving . . . and oh-so-tempting.

With his preppy clothes and horn-rimmed glasses, Enzo Silva is the last dude anyone expects to find in a mixed martial arts gym. A wealthy Brazilian banker who never had to fight for anything, Enzo’s stuck in the amateur circuit—but he burns to make the pros. Maybe that explains the heat he feels whenever he’s around Jamie Lynn Calhoun. The pint-size, magenta-haired bartender with the Texas drawl is everything he’s not . . . and everything he craves.

Tough as nails and independent to a fault, Jamie Lynn—JL to her friends—works hard to pay her bills and keep life simple. Enzo is doing his best to complicate that. Even though she likes to bust his balls, he’s got some kind of a nerdy-hot vibe that makes JL wonder if she might finally be able to let her guard down. It might do the boy some good to spend some time in her world, where blood, sweat, and victory are as sweet as the first taste of real love.

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GUEST FEATURE

Thank you for having me here today! Hope you all got your copy of FIGHTING DIRTY and are loving it as much as I loved writing it. Here are 3 of my favorite scenes from FIGHTING DIRTY (with a few teasers.) Enjoy…

11.      I really enjoyed writing the opening scene. We’ve gotten to know Enzo as the conservative and serious member of the group. He doesn’t break any rules and, unlike the rest of the fighters in the series, he’s always in a business suit—unless he’s training. In the opening scene, he loses a bet to Travis and for the first time you see him out of his comfort zone. Also, JL, the heroine, sees a different side of him. Here’s a snippet.

Slowly she turned her head back to the front. There, in the center of the enormous room, buck-ass naked, with an apple in the palm of his hand and an embarrassed look in his eyes, sat the man who’d been starring in all her fantasies for the last year: Enzo Silva.

What the fuck . . . ?

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she took it out, her eyes still glued to the flawless body on display.

The text was from Travis: Close your eyes and walk away, sis.

She texted back quickly. Why is Enzo here? Naked? And why are you all here?

The reply came back almost instantly. He lost a bet. We’re here to laugh at him.

22.      Another scene that I love is also in the beginning during their epically long date. Like in the first scene above where you finally see a different side to Enzo, in this scene- the indoor rock climbing scene—you get to see JL’s vulnerability.  Plus Enzo’s protective side. I really liked writing this scene.

“Don’t laugh at me!” She glared at him, almost crying. “I hate heights.”

He began to move up, not letting go of her hand, and she slowly followed. “This is a ridiculous date, babe,” he said with a gentle smile. “You should’ve let me pick. Who the hell takes a date rock climbing? We could’ve been having a delicious lobster meal right this second at the Manhattan in Tampa.”

Moving gingerly from one hold to the next, she noticed that when she slowed down, unsure of where to put her foot or hand, he guided her patiently. “I hate lobster!” she yelled. “And anyway, you’re having a great time.”

“And you’re having the time of your life, I can see,” he said sarcastically.

“Shut up, Enzo! I’m getting over my fucking fears! Epiphany, happening here!” Her voice was shaky, though. She was about to look down, but he hollered at her.

“I told you to look at me. Don’t look down.” Again his voice was firm, but the playfulness returned immediately. “I mean, really, don’t you want to look at my ass?”

If she hadn’t been certain she was about to plummet to her death, then yes, she would definitely have wanted to look at his ass. But right at that moment she wanted to get off the wall. “I want to go down. Not up. I know they can make that happen. The guys holding the ropes down there can do shit to make that happen. I give up. So, make it happen. Reverse this fucker.”

“No. We’re going to finish. I told them not to do that when you first let go.”

                                                             

33.      All my books have a scene where the girls are all hanging out—talking crap and drinking. I love this one, because Francesca is always funny.

Francesca pointed to the Batman boy shorts that peeked out from the hem of JL’s matching Batman camisole. “And someone actually fucked you in those?”

“They’re cute,” Violet said.

“Listen, ladies, we are in our thirties. We aren’t eighteen-year-old frat boys. Batman doesn’t say sexy.”

“I think it does,” Violet replied defensively.

“Enzo didn’t seem to mind,” JL added.

“Aha!” Jessica pointed a finger.

So there you go….my three favorite scenes. There’s a lot more but these were the three that stuck out. Can’t wait to hear from you. What are your favorite scenes from FIGHTING DIRTY?

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Sidney Halston lives her life by one simple rule: “Just do it.” And that’s exactly what she did. At the age of thirty, having never written anything other than a legal brief, she picked up a pen for the first time to pursue her dream of becoming an author. That first stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Halston lives in South Florida with her husband and children.

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