If I die UK blog tour - Review and quickie interview with Rachel Vincent

If I die by Rachel Vincent

Soul screamers book five.

Available now.

http://www.miraink.co.uk/

What's it about?

No one wants to be this teacher's pet…

The entire school’s talking about the gorgeous new math teacher, Mr Beck. That is, everyone except Kaylee Cavanaugh. After all, Kaylee’s no ordinary high-school junior. She’s a banshee — she screams when someone dies.
But the next scream might be for Kaylee.
Yeah — it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself, Kaylee’s going to save every girl in school. Because that hot new teacher is really an incubus who feeds on the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine — her boyfriend’s needy ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human, either.
But Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline is nearing its end. And those who care about her will do anything to save her life. Anything.

My review

I'm a big fan of Vincents work and of the soul screamers world, the first book in the series is my favourite, at least it was until I read this! Now I'm not so sure because If I die was soooo good! The story is so gripping right from the shocking reveal at the start until the conclusion in the last pages, and if I don't get my hands on the next book Before I wake soon I might die myself!
If you're reading this then you've likely already read the previous books and I don't need to go to in depth about the characters or the authors writing, you already know they're awesome! I liked Kaylee a lot in this book, she's extremely brave and despite what she has waiting for her, she still puts others first, I'm not sure if that's something I could do!
I'm also definitely more warmed up to Tod after this book to, I'd never really noticed him until the last couple of books but he is a great character (If you haven't read the short story Reaper yet, you should!) I certainly found myself swooning over him as we got to know him more personally. I was a little disappointed that Alec was barely in this one but the book was already chock-full of bookish goodness there wasn't really room for him, maybe in the next one!
If I die really did keep me on the edge of my seat, guessing until the end, there was no way I could predict how it would go and I'm eagerly anticipating the next installment.

My thoughts on the cover
Stunning as ever, the UK covers for this series are some of my favourites ever and this ones no exception, though I'm not sure what the dragonfly has to do with the story it's still gorgeous and the smoke and the title, ahhh I just love it!

Favourite quotes

'He shrugged, looking right into my eyes. "Right now, this is all I feel." He held our intertwined hands up for me to see and I wanted to look away, but I couldn't break the hold his gaze had on me, like he could see more than anyone else saw. Things I couldn't even see myself.'

  "Kaylee, I would do anything for the girl who granted my dying wish." - Tod

Quickie interview

How do you go about writing a book? Do you map it first or do you just start writing and see where your characters take you?

-I have to plot the book first, because I have to turn in a synopsis to my editor. But things often change during the actual writing process.

When is it you first decided you wanted to be a writer?

-That wasn’t really a conscious decision. I’ve just…always written. From the time I was five years old and could first hold a pencil. Once I realized it might actually be possible to make my living with my pen (though it’s actually a computer), I was full-steam ahead. Unfortunately, that realization didn’t come until my mid-twenties.

If you weren't a writer, what do you think you'd be instead?

-I suspect I’d still be teaching English.

Do you think when Kaylee’s story is told you'll write more in the world of the soul screamers or will you end it there?

-I honestly don’t know. Maybe. But that depends a lot on what both my publisher and my readers want. And what I feel like writing at the time. But that point is a full year away.

You use a lot of mythology in the series, do you have a particular favourite mythological character/creature or story?

-I have lots of favorites! I love the Persephone/Demeter myth. I’ve always wanted to do something with the Tantalus myth (though I’m not sure what, yet. I LOVE the concept of oracles and I’ve mentioned and even shown them in the Soul Screamers universe (in “Niederwald) but have yet to write an entire story about them. But even more than particular myths, I’m drawn to particular themes and concepts.

Find the author

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Giveaway - Win Click: An online love story (Int)

Click: an online love story

by Lisa Becker.

Renee Greene is approaching her 30th birthday and dreading it. Although a succesfull PR agent in LA,she's still single and tired of the dating scene.

Enters her friend Mark,who convinces her to try Online Dating...

Between the fun and the heinous dates,Renee will discover that love can really be found in the weirdest places,and that true friendship is a precious gift.

Sounds good right? If your still not sure then check out My review, or even Ninfa's review, I read this book last year and really enjoyed it, now the lovely Lisa Becker is offering an ecopy, in your preferred format, to one lucky winner.
This giveaway is replacing the monthly giveaways for February which I just couldn't afford to run this month, sorry! so it will end 29th Feb and it's International.

Charity book auction - Guests posts wanted!

Hi guys, so you may or may not know that I'm planning a big charity auction next month during the week of World Down syndrome day.

If you don't know you can find all the details (including how you can help if you want to) on the tab up top or clicking on the WDSD image in the sidebar.

I'm looking to post a few guest posts during that week as well so I'm looking for people who have been touched by Down Syndrome in some way in their lives who'd be willing to write a short (or long!) guest post about their experience....

If that sounds like you please contact me at bookaholics@live.co.uk or you can even tweet me or whatever!

Thanks!

Same difference (23)

Cicada by Belle Whittington and

The mind readers by Lori Brighton (Mind readers book one)

These are both so similair and pretty it's hard to say which I like more, I love the darker blue of Cicada and the watermarked patterns on The mind readers and both fonts are pretty cool.

Which do you prefer?

UK vs. THE WORLD! (10)

UK vs. The world is a weekly meme I made up lol.

It's simlair to UK vs. US except the UK covers are battling it out with their foreign counterparts from all over the world, because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!

UK                          vs.                    Poland

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Evernight book four.

 ('Powrót Do Wiecznej Nocy' translates to 'Back to eternal night' - According to Google translate)



Mist: These are both so different and lovely, I really like the colour of the UK cover and the font but I love the Polish cover as well, it's kinda haunting but it has that random flower lol I think I prefer the UK cover but only by an incy bit.

Ninfa: Oh, the Polish cover is really pretty, dark with the splash of colour from the petals. I really like the model and the doorway behind her, kinda makes me wonder what's on the other side. The UK cover is okay, nothing very exciting to be honest, so it's gotta be a Polish win :)



UK                           vs.                            US

Black swan rising by Lee Carroll 
Black swan rising book one.

Mist: This one is easy, UK!! Oh it's so gorgeous with the sweeping dress and the street and creepy bare trees, the US cover is kinda boring in comparison, I do like the pattern on it though.

Ninfa: I love the UK cover, the model walking down the road whilst the swans shadows in the distance. Very atmospheric! The US cover in my opinion is something we've seen before, model face, swirls like tattoos. A little creepy for me as well...UK wins.

Which do you prefer?

Guest post - Dianna Hardy and a giveaway

The Witching Pen Relationships

by Dianna Hardy.

Welcome! Thanks for joining the celebration of the release of The Sands Of Time. I only sent out one ARC to one reviewer this time around as ARCs are something I'm experimenting with. (I also think she may have pulled my arms and legs off if I didn't send her the book as soon as I possibly could.) You can read the very first review, by the lovely Ninfa here.

I thought I'd centre my blog post on writing about relationships. I call myself a romance writer because I love writing relationships, although, in truth, I don't actually know if that makes me a romance writer – you see, I'm not led by the romance, but by the characters. Some people would consider me an erotic romance writer, because I like those relationships to be hot, but this is also not necessarily true. It's only as hot as the characters allow (and yeah, a lot of my characters allow for that). I'm learning, as time goes on, that to be true to the relationships of my characters, I have to break some rules of what the romance genre expects. So I may not be a romance writer at all…

I get bored easily. I'm lucky, because my significant other has about ten different personalities and they all keep me amused. I look for the same in books. I like to read and write about the differences between all my characters and how they relate to each other.

In The Witching Pen Novellas, we have at least three examples of emotional / sexual relationships: there's Karl and Elena in book one – they're the sweet ones – best friends who have always loved each other, and although there's definitely passion there, there's also a gentleness that is unique to them, as well as that unbreakable 'soulmate' bond. Pueblo and Amy, in book two, have a more lustful arrangement, not least because of their blood bond and other elements that come to light. In book two, we also get a hint of what Gwain and Mary's situation will bloom into. It's only a hint – and the keyword is 'intensity'. They both have a deep need that stretches back aeons, and that's all I'm going to say about that for the moment.

But these books are also about all relationships, not just romantic ones (and this is the part where I question if I'm really a romance writer). Pueblo has a world of hurt placed on his shoulders from his tribe, so how does he relate to others? Gwain has some kind of history with Elena's mother – what does that mean to Elena? He's also the closest thing that Karl has to an angelic 'tutor' – we could go so far as to say that he fathered / midwifed Karl into his angelic life – so what does that mean to Karl? I'm not even going to go into Amy's complications… But these are all important key points that affect the characters' relationships with each other, and more importantly, it's what bonds them all together and makes the story come alive (or at least, that's what makes the story for me).

The 'romance' is always there. Each book focuses on two characters' emotional romantic development, but it does not leave the other characters behind – they continue to develop as well, and we see that in spades. It's entirely possible for me to explore two couple's relationships in one book (although one will always take centre stage over the other), because life is all about cross-overs and how people meet and relate. From what I understand, this is a big no-no in romance. Maybe what I write about is life (supernaturally, of course) – it's just that for me, life has always been synonymous with matters of the heart and more often than not, that means relationships.

Am I a romance writer? You decide, because I can't – and when you figure it out, please let me know ;)

So what am I leaving you with? (Grins…) I'm leaving you with the blurb for book three, The Demon Bride (below), as well the link to the now up and running site for The Last Angel, where you'll also get to see the book cover prototype. The Last Angel will be a spin-off, full-length novel to The Witching Pen Novellas. Oh yeah … and I have GIVEAWAYS! Read on…

"Two thousand and eleven years after the birth of the Failed One, the Witching Pen will be made manifest on Earth by the Great Shanka Witch of the Old Scrolls. By her hand, the earth will rumble and shatter, and all dimensions will bleed into one."

The true purpose of the Witching Pen has been revealed, and it must be destroyed before an apocalyptic prophecy comes true. There's just one problem – the Pen is indestructible.

As everyone searches for much needed answers, Elena lays down plans for a radical mission to save her mother, Katherine, from the Shanka's shadow world.

Meanwhile, Mary has finally discovered who she really is, and

what that means for the human race. Almost more disturbing, is her growing dependency on Gwain to relieve the excruciating pain her nightmares inflict upon her – nightmares which have started to inhabit her waking hours.
While Elena, Karl, Amy and Pueblo enter the Shanka dimension to retrieve Elena's mother; Gwain searches for a way to save both Mary and mankind ... and comes to a startling conclusion.

Released Summer, 2012, this is the final instalment of The Witching Pen Novellas, but will give way to a full-length, spin-off novel, called The Last Angel. I can't give you much information on that yet, but expect an Earth-shattering conclusion to everything that's happened so far! You can catch a glimpse of the tone of the novel at http://www.thelastangel.co.uk/ where I'll also be posting updates as and when.

Find the author: Facebook I Website I Twitter Buy the book: Amazon US I Amazon UK

1 x eBook copy of The Sands Of Time

1 x signed paperback copy of The Sands Of Time, hot off the press (in about 8 weeks)

10 x signed 'Karl and Elena' bookmarks (because I still have loads of these!)

All giveaways are international.

Undead - Review

Undead by Kirsty McKay

Available now

http://doublecluck.com/

What's it about?

Being new at school bites. But at least it doesn't kill you. Mostly.

Bobby thinks she might well be on the School Trip from Hell. Too bad she's a noob, too bad her classmates don't rate her weirdo accent and too bad that Scotland is having the worst blizzard since the Ice Age. Looks like she's going to be on this school bus for a quite a while; could things get much worse?
Yep. They could.
Inexplicably, her classmates start dying...and then they come back to life again...and what's more, they're very, very hungry.
With nowhere to run and no contact with the outside world, Bobby is thrown together with a raggle-taggle group of survivors at a roadside café. There's indie kid drop-out Smitty, the class beauty queen Alice, dweeby Pete and two near useless adults: a half-conscious bus driver and a volatile petrol station attendant.
The frenemies struggle to stay alive - through explosions, deadly battles and a breakneck chase through the snowbound wilderness. Somehow they have to make it to safety - and get some answers - no matter what the cost.
Can they survive the Undead? And each other?

My review

Undead is a fun, witty, exciting story and I loved every minute. Right from the first lines it had me laughing out loud at Bobby's sarcastic inner monologue, I'm pretty sarcastic myself so we had a lot in common.

The book quickly jumps into the story and is fast paced right the way through keeing me engrossed in the book until I finished making it a quick read. There was a good bit of mystery to as to why everyone has been infected and I loved the conclusion and how it ended.

I found there was a good mix of characters that all kept the story going, the 'core' characters, Bobby, Smitty, Pete and Alice were really diverse and were pretty funny together, none of them were originally friends but this bizarre situation has left them having to work together to survive but that doesn't mean they have to like each other and even with the apocalypse looming they bicker about the best way to do things which gave the book a light tone throughout.

So I guess this review has ended up pretty short but there isn't much more I can say, I really loved it and thought it was hilarious and am anxious to see what the author comes up with next.

My thoughts on the cover

Sometimes plain covers can be boring and sometimes they can be pretty cool, this one falls into the latter for me. I love the zombies in the title, particularly the one in the 'B' with the weird stance lol I like the tag line to, it really represents the humour of the book.

Favourite quotes

'Mr Taylor's head snaps up. He sees us. Letting out a long groan, he stretches his hands out and heads directly towards the bus.
He looks... hungry.'

'We don't know it's true that they died. For all we know, this is some whacked-out haggis 'flu.' I'm saying it, but I'm not entirely buying it.' - Bobby.

Find the author

Website

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In Mists mailbox (31)

In my mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at The story siren where we share the books we have gotten.

23rd Jan - 29th Jan

Books mentioned

Bought

Rules of attraction by Simone Elkeles

RAK/Gifted

Zenith and Aurora by Julie Bertagna

Frost by Marianna Baer - All from Natalie!

The statistical probability of love at first sight by Jennifer E. smith - From Siobhan at Totally Bookalicious

For review

Monsieur Linh and his child by Philippe Claudel

eBooks

Kindle freebies!

The Vincent boys by Abbi Glines

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking

Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Moonlight and oranges by Elise Stephens

Also if you live in the UK, have a Kindle and love Kindle freebies you should join my new fb page run with Siobhan from Totally Bookalicious and Donna from Book passion for life: Free Kindle UK (FKUK for short hehe)

This week in review

(This is the books I have reviewed this week)

Blue sky days by Marie Landry - Vlog review

The wife who ran away by Tess Stimson

The iron knight by Julie Kagawa

Juggernaut by Adam Baker

Charlie and the chocolate factory by Roald Dahl - Audio book review by Wanda

What did you get in your mailbox this week?

Interview - Nicolene Lorette design and a giveaway

Today we are chatting with the lovely Nicolene of Nicolene Lorette Design.

Nicolene is an artist and she works through photo manipulation creating amazing pictures, including book covers!

So, thank you Nicky for talking to us today, here's my first question:

How did your passion for photo manipulation begin?

-I discovered photo manipulation 3/4 years ago. I was amazed at how far I could stretch my imagination and then re-create it for everyone to see. There was no limit. Anything was possible. Soon I was creating design after design and started showcasing my images on Facebook, Deviant Art and Shadowness.

Where do you find inspiration for your art?

-I only design when I am inspired by the story line/ music/ movies or the image I have been given depending on my mood.

Do you have a favourite theme when creating your images? You seem to like the Supernatural and Fantasy (Faeries, Witches etc.) :)

-Nope, I don't have a specific theme I like, I do all kinds of things so long as it's interesting to me. I have been focused on Faeries and Witches but I like playing around withmy own ideas and making up things.

Who's your favourite artist of all time?

-I know this might seem lame to some people out there but my favourite artist would be God, everyone else just copies him. My other favourite artists would be: Nathalia Suellenlady as Lady Symphonia and Silviya Yordanova as Morteque and a few others...

You work on book covers amongst other things, how difficult is it to translate a story into a book cover? How much input do you get from the author/publisher?

-Well it all depends on the person that's trying to get their vision across. It's not so easy but I get a base-line and we tweak and work on it from there. I like it when the author/publisher/client can explain to me what they want and I can form an idea from there. Sometimes you need to come up with ideas for the client and they're not always pleased with the results but then you go back to the drawing board and you start again. I like doing book cover designs but I also do artwork and other designer things (O: I really enjoy what I do and that shows in my work... so I guess that's all that matters.

And last but not least, are you a Bookaholic?

-But of course :o)

You can find out more about Nicolene and her amazing artwork on:

Facebook

Website

DeviantART

And also here

How would you like to win a fabulous 'You can't kill me' wallpaper/screensaver for your computer?

Well just fill in the form, it's International






Audio Friday - Charlie and the chocolate factory - Review

Audio (every other) Friday is for Audio reviews.

This weeks review is by Wanda.

Charlie and the chocolate factory by Roald Dahl

Narrated by James Bow.

Via Wikipedia

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was first published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. in 1964 and in the United Kingdom by George Allen & Unwin in 1967. The book was adapted into two major motion pictures: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in 2005. The book's sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, was written by Roald Dahl in 1972. Dahl had also planned to write a third book in the series but never finished it.
The story was originally inspired by Roald Dahl's experience of chocolate companies during his schooldays. Cadbury would often send test packages to the schoolchildren in exchange for their opinions on the new products. At that time (around the 1920s), Cadbury and Rowntree's were England's two largest chocolate makers and they each often tried to steal trade secrets by sending spies, posing as employees, into the other's factory. Because of this, both companies became highly protective of their chocolate making processes. It was a combination of this secrecy and the elaborate, often gigantic, machines in the factory that inspired Dahl to write the story.

Overview of the story
Charlie is a sweet well behaved boy, whom by a stroke of luck lands in a Chocolate factory with some truly naughty children and their parents.
One by one these childrens behavior lands them in trouble and they are forced to leave the grand tour. This puts Charlie in a position where fortune smiles on him.

If like me, you’ve never read the story or seen either of the two film adaptations then this is where I will leave you now regarding the story line.
My review
I absolutely adored the story and the narration by James Bow was superb. I loved the fact that he would sing the songs in the book as naturally as if he had composed them himself. The book is read at a nice fast pace and an audio listener can finish the book in a morning which makes it an altogether more fun read than it already is.
Charlie is portrayed as a well mannered well adjusted little boy filled with the wonder of a little boy in a chocolate factory. This is apparent in the questions he posed to his grandfather.
The characters portrayal is done with such clarity that I am sure many a grown up would listen to the book and say – Hey we had a girl like that in school! The children’s offences in the book is of such a nature that I winched and thought to myself that wow – I wonder what my parents would have done had I tried to do x, y or z. I am sure I would have been in for a well deserved hiding. I loved the lessons in good manners these books give to children and have to admit that afterwards I am even more set on my own manners. I am unsure as to why I have missed these books up to now. But I am glad to report that I have two more on audio and can’t wait to start on them.
While doing a bit of research for this review I found a lot of information on the book and the motivation and I would suggest all to take a few minutes and go and read up on this book in open source directories. The amount of information is astounding as well as very entertaining.
I will give this book a 5/5 star rating since I simply adored listening to it. I would recommend that parents listen to this with their children. We all can do with a brush up on manners every now and again. This said, I would not describe this book as a children’s book although it is obviously suitable and advisable for children to listen or read this book. I find many of the more humorous parts to be above the level of a child to grasp totally and appreciate fully. Hope to listen to the next book soon.