Contest: ARC of Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

CONTEST CLOSED! WINNER ANNOUNCED HERE!

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (September 1, 2009)

320 pages, paperback

$9.99 (Amazon.com, 09/06/09)

I just reviewed Dreaming Anastasia and I want to giveaway my copy of the ARC! It was a great read and I’m sure anyone would enjoy it as much as I did. So I’m going to share!

How to Enter:

There’s a form embedded into this post. To enter please fill it out completely.

Entries are available for:

• Following my blog
• Commenting on my review
• Linking the contest online
• And lastly, please leave a comment on this post letting me know you filled out the form!

RULES:

• Entries will be accepted until Midnight, Sept. 13th (one week)
• Entries are open to US & Canada only, sorry. NO P.O. Boxes.
• The winner will be randomly selected via random.org.
• The winner will be announced on Sept. 14th (or soon thereafter)
• The winner will have 3 days to email me their shipping info or they will forfeit their winnings and a new winner will be selected.

So if you’re interested in reading Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble fill out the entry form!

Good luck!

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Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble

Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (September 1, 2009)
320 pages, paperback
$9.99 (Amazon.com, 09/06/09)
Plot: 5
Setting: 5
Writing: 5
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Passion: 3
Overall: 28/30 = 93% = A
Cover/Title Bonus: 5
I picked this up while at BEA in May. I read it a few months ago. I’ll be giving away my copy of the ARC in the next post.
Summary (Amazon.com):

What really happened to Anastasia Romanov?
Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two gnarled old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead.
In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college—until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams…

Plot:
Anne dreams about Anastasia being locked inside a hut with an old, ugly woman with a cat. She meets Ethan, a “wicked hot”, blue eyed guy who is pretty much stalking her. Strange things begin to happen. They are pursued by crazy men who want to kill Anne.

I enjoyed the plot immensely. It was full of mystery. The pace was great. I read this pretty fast because I wanted to see how everything merged together.

Setting:
The majority of the story takes place in Chicago where Anne lives. There are the flashes back to Anastasia that’s being held in the strange land where Baba Yaga’s hut is located.

Writing:
This is another book written from multiple POVs. It switches between Anne, Ethan, Anastasia and Anastasia’s letters to her family. It’s pretty cool and I enjoyed being able to understand what was going on in the other characters thoughts. I thought that was a great choice for the writer to do considering the plot was pretty crazy with everything going on.

Originality:
This was a pretty awesome book. I learned a lot about the Russian Romanov family and it was handled with great creativity that just worked my brain like crazy! The story line of Anastasia being captured for all those years by Baga Yaba and the ones that helped capture her was a true piece of work. The detail that Joy put in to make it all work together was awesome.

Characters:
Anne was a pretty average teenager. She had a cool best friend, Tess. Learning about Anne’s family history was pretty cool. It all came together in the end.
Ethan is a cool guy. I enjoyed him in this book. He’s very strong and handsome. He helps Anne work through everything and in the end he realizes all the truths. It’s refreshing. I know I’m being vague, sorry! :) I don’t want to say too much and give it all away.

Passion:
There’s a real attraction between Anne and Ethan. Although it’s really not the point to the book in the least. The mystery behind the dreams is the main focal point. However, it’s another refreshing thing to see their relationship evolve around the huge issue at hand.

Overall:
This book was very interesting. I loved the history element to it. I loved the action. And I enjoyed the underlying romantic element to the story. I’m a huge fan of historical fantasy and this did a wonderful job of keeping me interested.

Cover/Title Bonus:
The cover is what stopped me while roaming the Sourcebook Jabberwocky booth at BEA. I love the slight insert of Ethan’s profile in on the left hand side. It’s very cool. I also like the title. It’s not my preferred title but it works.
This was Joy Preble’s debut novel. She did excellent! I will be following her and seeing what she has in store for future books.

Connect with Joy:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Class of 2K9

What do you think? Have you read it? Did you enjoy it as much as I did?
Giveaway coming up next! Enter to win my copy of the ARC of Dreaming Anastasia!

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In My Mailbox

I bought:
Catching Fire (2nd Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins
This was pre-ordered! I finished it last night. Suffice it to say that it was awesome. I’m dying for book 3. Again, if you haven’t read The Hunger Games, hop to it!

I Won:

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater
Flux (October 1, 2009)
360 pages, paperback
$9.95 (Amazon.com, 09/06/09)
This is the follow up book to Lament, which I read and reviewed a couple of weeks ago.
Summary (Amazon.com):

James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloween—the day of the dead—draws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala's life and his soul.

I started it last night.

For Review:
White As Bone Red As Blood (The Fox Sorceress) by Cerridwen Fallingstar
Cauldron Publications (July 27, 2009)
378 Pages, paperback
$15.56 (Amazon.com, 09/06/09)
Summary (Amazon.com):

In twelfth century Japan, Seiko Fujiwara, a young woman believed to be a sorceress, is caught in a deadly conflict between the Heike and the Genji, two clans battling for control of the throne. The peaceful Heian period is giving way to the rise of the Samurai; Japan teeters on the edge of a time of darkness. Seiko's mother, priestess of Inari, the deity of abundance and sorcery, predicts that if Lord Kiomori's daughter Tokushi, Seiko's closest friend, becomes Empress and gives birth to the next Emperor, their world will be saved. If he lives... It is Seiko's responsibility to make sure the prophecy comes true. Journey with Seiko as she navigates through a world of assassins, palace intrigue, warfare and enchantments, struggling to honor her giri, her sacred destiny, while longing for the fulfillment of love.

Not my usual picking but I’ll give it a try!
What did you get?

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Miss Percy Parker Tour WInner!

Thanks again to Leanna Renee Heiber for the blog tour stop!

The luck winner of the signed copy of The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker is:

Juju from Tales of Whimsy!

List Randomizer

There were 13 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Juju from Tales of Whimsy
2. Morning Glow
3. Cherie J
4. Tina
5. throuthehaze
6. Paradox
7. Wanda
8. bigcabgirl
9. emjay79
10. webbgirl
11. HODGEPODGESPV
12. donnas
13. Kimberly B.

Timestamp: 2009-09-06 02:23:47 UTC

Congrats Juju! I have your email address and will be contacting you for your mailing address. Please have that to me by Tuesday, Sept. 8, noon EST. I’ll then forward it to Leanna! :)

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Cover Art: Twice As Hot by Gena Showalter

Oh, shiny!

Twice As Hot by Gena Showalter is follow up novel to Playing with Fire, which I read way back in March 2008. Gena is by far one of my most favorite authors. She does a phenomenal job writing action and romance and it usually incorporates a slight mystery. I will be reading this as soon as it comes out January 26, 2010.

Blurb (Gena’s blog):

Set the world on fire? With Belle Jamison, it’s always a possibility. Literally.

Planning a wedding is tough. Especially when the bride can shoot fireballs from her eyes and accidentally torches her dress, the groom returns from a dangerous mission with selective memory loss and the man responsible now desires Belle for his own.

Any other time, Belle would turn to her ultra sexy fiancé Rome Masters for comfort. But the only thing he can’t remember is her – and now his ex is determined to win him back. With the help of her trusty empath sidekick, an optimistic Belle continues to plan her wedding, fight a new band of supervillans, and tries not to accidentally on purpose start too many fires. . . except when she gets Rome into bed. . .

Haven’t read Playing with Fire?! Well read it! :) It’s also available in Kindle Edition.

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Gadget: Bookmark II

I saw this on OhGizmo!

It’s a pretty cool bookmark. There’s no information on how to obtain it but it’s allegedly produced by Propaganda. Check out Oh Gizmo! for the other pictures.

Notice the line that’s being “marked”. ;)

I think it’s pretty cool. What about you?

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I Love Morning Glories!

Just needed to share this, so I am.

I love morning glories, specifically 'Star of Yelta' morning glories.

I started with them just around my light pole out front. But one year I decided to plant them around the porch railing at the front door. Well, this year and last, they have really taken off! It’s like a forest of morning glories! You can’t really tell how dense they are from the pictures but they are!

I have to keep an eye on them so that they don’t wander off and strangle nearby plants, which they do to the potted petunias you see in the pics. However, I did leave a large cooler out on the porch to dry out but left it there too long and now the vines have consumed it’s handle. I don’t want to break the vines to get it free. It’ll just have to stay there a bit longer. :)

The vines work so well to conceal our fire wood that we didn’t remove after winter but can’t do now because we’ll be needing it again very soon!

Here are some pictures of my 'Star of Yelta' morning glories!

I love, love, love when they take off like in the picture of them headed around the pond and then a branch of them headed across the sidewalk! :)

I glow each morning when I see them. They are smiles in a plant.

Do you plant flowers? What are your favorites and why?

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Wow & Cover Art: Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Patricia Briggs has displayed her next Mercy Thompson series cover, Silver Borne, on her web site.

This author has gotten lucky with her covers. Each one keeps getting better and better. Although, they aren’t exactly the same in every aspect but they are true to Mercy’s character.

Silver Borne is slated to release March 30, 2010. Patricia also announced that Ace, the publisher, “has contracted for a total of seven Mercy novels, and it's possible the series could go even longer.”

There’s no summary for this installment yet but I can assume it’ll be just as great as all the previous books in this series.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this one!

My Reviews for this series:

Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs

 

 Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2) by Patricia Briggs

Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3) by Patricia Briggs

 Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4) by Patricia Briggs

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Madison’s First Day of Kindergarten

Today was the day!

I watched our baby girl hop onto a big, yellow school bus that took her away….

To her first day of kindergarten!

It was a bittersweet moment for me. I was so happy for her! She was glowing with anticipation. Ready to embark on the first day of 13 years of learning. Although, I doubt she understands that.

I asked her how her day was when I brought her home. She said they colored first. Then they had circle time, which was the reading of a book called “I DON’T WANT TO GO TO BED!.” I hope it was informative for her because getting her into bed at time can be a struggle sometimes!

She had Art Class today. She colored her name with crayons. She didn’t bring it home so I’m assuming they keep them at school or toss them? Not sure.

She said she used the potty in the classroom and it was old. It had a shelf with cleaning supplies and a duster.

She said there were two boys who were bad. They kept talking and got in trouble for it. I asked her if she raised her hand to talk, one of Mrs. High’s rules, and she said she did but Mrs. High didn’t call on her. I asked if she held her hand up high so Mrs. High could “see” it and she said, “No. I only held it up a little." So I showed her how to properly hold up her hand. ;)

So there you have it. First day of kindergarten from a five year old. Here are some pictures from this morning! She’s the little one with the short hair wearing a pink stripped sweater.

View Full Album

We’re taking Friday off to spend the day at Hershey Park with Jennifer and baby Wyatt.

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Teaser Tuesday: Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I finished this book a few days ago but wanted to share it with you anyway! Again, not two sentences. Seriously, two sentences is not enough! I guess that’s why it’s called a “teaser” though, huh? Oh well! I’m actually going to give you TWO excerpts instead! These are two of my favorite scenes of the book. Something very cool or important happens immediately before or after each of these excerpts.

Steam drifted in great eddies from the once-placid water. The fountain bubbled and buzzed. I scrabbled for the stone ledge and just made it, hopping up and perching like a frog with trembling legs.

“Holy shit,” someone was saying, someone with a high trembling voice very much like mine. I felt my lips shape the words, numbly. My hair dripped in my face and something warm and sticky was in my eyes. “Holy shit. Jesus Christ.”

page 85, Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

 

He looked down at me,  fangs sliding beneath his upper lip, his eyes burning. The highlights had bled out of his hair, slicking it back against his head, and his eyes were actually glowing in the bruised, ugly light slanting through the kitchen.

“I’m being patient,” he hissed, the t’s lisping slightly because of the fangs. “I’ll get you and your pet through this alive, but you have to do what I say. Got me?”

page 255, Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

This book was awesome! Action packed and very cool. There’s a lot of cursing though as seen from above. I’ll be reviewing it sometime soon. :)

Did you do a Teaser Tuesday? Put a link in the comments so I can see!

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The Strangely Beautiful Haunted London Blog Tour day 10!

Contest is closed! Winner announced HERE!

Today I’m hosting the Haunted London Blog Tour Day 10 for the amazing author Leanna Renee Hieber. I read and reviewed her amazing book, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker, back in July. You can read it HERE.

From the back cover:

What fortune awaited sweet, timid Percy Parker at Athens Academy? Considering how few of Queen Victoria’s Londoners knew of it, the great Romanesque fortress was dreadfully imposing, and little could Percy guess what lay inside. She had never met the powerful and mysterious Professor Alexi Rychman, knew nothing of the growing shadow, the Ripper and other supernatural terrors against which his coterie stood guard. She knew simply that she was different, haunted, with her snow-white hair, pearlescent skin and uncanny gifts. But this arched stone doorway offered a portal to a new life, an education far from the convent—and an invitation to an intimate yet dangerous dance at the threshold of life and death….

The Strangely Beautiful Haunted London Blog Tour Day 10!

Thank you, Jess, for allowing the Haunted Tour to roll into your fine blog, you were one of my earliest reviews, and such a glowing one at that, it's something I'll never forget.

The Ten Bells – 84 Commercial Street, E1 “Jack the Ripper’s Local”

For those of you just joining us, the purpose of this Haunted tour is to celebrate the release of my Gothic Victorian fantasy debut, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker. This Tour will introduce you to some of the real, documented London haunts who “ghost-star” in my book. When Professor Alexi Rychman and his Guard of spectral police make their rounds, it is to any number of London phantasms. Since these characters are familiar to The Guard, I don’t get to tell their full story in the book, here I can give them their due. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a signed copy of the novel, first in the Strangely Beautiful series!

Today we discuss the haunted Ten Bells, said to be a favourite of Jack the Ripper.

In the early hours of November 9^th 1888 Mary Kelly left The Ten Bells pub. Later, across the street from the pub, in Miller’s Court, off Dorset Street, a body nearly unrecognizable as a human female was found, mutilated beyond all recognition. It was thought perhaps the killer followed her from The Ten Bells and into Miller’s Court.

Numerous live-in staff in the upper stories of the Ten Bells told fearsome tales of being awoken by dread in the middle of the night only to find a spectre of an old man dressed in 19^th Century clothing lying beside them! Many people saw him, no one was quite sure who he was until in the year 2000, an antique metal box was found hidden in a corner of the cellar. Inside were the effects of George Roberts, along with a press cutting that spoke of his being murdered (with an axe) at a Welsh cinema. A man named George Roberts had kept The Ten Bells in the transition between the 19^th and 20^th centuries and it was assumed the ghost was the former pub owner.

While Mary Kelly doesn’t get the time and full homage she deserves in my book, as her death comes right near the climax of the novel, her death is mentioned in The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker as such:

The air was sick. A virulent force was tearing through the streets toward a specific destination, ready for a reckoning. It growled and roiled and cut a path like a whirl of ancient blades. Its casualty would be an unspeakable shame. Neither Alexi nor his cohorts had any inkling that there would be another mutilated corpse in the morning, nor that this would be the worst.

There would be nothing, when all was said and done, to ever suggest that this woman, torn utterly to pieces, had once been a human being. The Ripper had struck again, swiping ferocious, merciless, unthinkable paws down Dorset Street, en route to the evening’s festivities.

I’m indebted to Richard Jones, founder of the fabulous Discovery Walks of London and author of the fantastic compendium “Haunted London” and “Walking Haunted London” published by Barnes & Noble Books, a main resource for my research.

Visit him at www.haunted-london.com.

Come visit me at www.leannareneehieber.com to find out more about The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker and follow along on the rest of the Haunted London Blog tour! While you're at my website, if you have a copy of my book why don't you enter my CONTEST? I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved writing it!

Be sure to comment to be entered to win a signed copy!

Blessings!

Leanna Renee Hieber

www.leannareneehieber.com

www.twitter.com/leannarenee

Leanna is an awesome author. If you haven’t picked up a copy of this yet then you must! Start out here by commenting to be entered into the signed copy from Leanne Renee Hieber. One entry per person. You have until 9/2 to enter!

Don’t forget to follow along on the tour! There’ll be more chances to win this amazing book!

Here’s the very cool book trailer too!

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September 2009 Smashing Mag Desktop Calendars

I use a new desktop wallpaper calendar every month thanks to the amazingly cool monthly desktop calendars hosted at Smashing Magazine’s web site.

Each month people create desktop wallpaper calendars for anyone to use. It’s awesome. There’s usually at least 10 – 20 to chose from.

This month I’ll be using “Colors of Autumn”. I don’t love the calendar starting with Monday but it’s too cute to not use! Also, I’ve switched them through out the month if there are others that I like too.

Check them out! Will you use one?

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Contest Results: New Moon…er…Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

So we had a few takers for my author signed copy of Blue Moon by Alyson Noel. I’m glad there are others that might enjoy it a bit more than I didn’t.

I used random.org/lists to get the winner. She was also the first person to fill out the form, so congrats on that!

List Randomizer

There were 11 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Katie
2. Jill F.
3. J. Stribling
4. Raelena
5. Wendy Cueto
6. Lynda Smith
7. Alexa - hipgirl2
8. Kate
9. Alexa - lovinfitch
10. Debbie's World of Books
11. Cynthia Wang

Timestamp: 2009-08-31 15:25:00 UTC

Katie, I have your email address and will be emailing for your mailing address. You’ll have until Friday morning to send me your shipping information. If I do not receive it by Friday, 12:00 pm (noon) EST I will have to pick a new winner, # 2.

Thanks for taking this off my hands. It’ll give up limited space on my bookshelf for good books such as Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater that I JUST got in the mail today!!!

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Contest Results: Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Thanks to random.org/lists here’s the random list of entries for the ARC of Intertwined by Gena Showalter. #1 is the winner!

List Randomizer

There were 70 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Jennifer
2. Tina
3. Wrighty
4. Kristen
5. Kate
6. gaby317
7. soundistheword3
8. throuthehaze
9. a flight of minds
10. Tynga
11. Jessica
12. smck27
13. Wendy C.
14. Kytaira
15. Jessica
16. Kate
17. Marie
18. throuthehaze
19. Jessica Secret
20. a flight of minds
21. Jill of The O.W.L. Blog
22. Kristen
23. Jennifer
24. Jamie
25. Christine
26. Tina
27. Alexa
28. Chelsea B.
29. Kate
30. Wanda
31. Debbie's World of Books
32. Pamk
33. Jennifer
34. DeNiSe MaDnEsS
35. Jill of The O.W.L. Blog
36. Wrighty
37. Tynga
38. shal
39. DeNiSe MaDnEsS
40. Debbie's World of Books
41. DeNiSe MaDnEsS
42. smck27
43. shal
44. Paradox
45. Jamie
46. Erica
47. Book Sp(l)ot
48. Jessica Secret
49. soundistheword3
50. Erica
51. Wendy C.
52. Jessica
53. shal
54. Christine
55. Kytaira
56. gaby317
57. Paradox
58. Tynga
59. Taste Life Twice
60. smck27
61. Alexa
62. Tina
63. Debbie's World of Books
64. Book Sp(l)ot
65. Taste Life Twice
66. Christine
67. a flight of minds
68. Jamie
69. Pamk
70. Jessica Secret

Timestamp: 2009-08-31 15:14:36 UTC

Congrats to Jennifer for winning! I have your email address and will be emailing for your mailing address. You’ll have until Friday morning to send me your shipping information. If I do not receive it by Friday, 12:00 pm (noon) EST I will have to pick a new winner, # 2.

Thanks to everyone for entering! There are always contests on my sidebar for you to enter for a chance at some great books.

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In My Mailbox

I bought two books this week!

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

Razorbill (May 14, 2009), Young Adult, 304 pages, $9.99 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09), Kindle Ed. $7.99(Amazon.com, 08/29/09))

Summary (Lili St. Crows web site)":

Dru Anderson has been “strange” for as long as she can remember. She travels from town to town with her father, hunting the things that go bump in the night and eat the unwary. It’s a weird life, but a good one–until it all explodes and a zombie busts into her new house.

Alone, terrified, and trapped in an icy town, Dru’s going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. Can she trust the boy who is just a little too adult–and just happens to get bit by a werwulf? Or the strange blue-eyed boy who tells her she’s heir to a long-forgotten power? Can she even trust her own instincts?

Because Dru is not the first in her family to be killed by the darkness of the Real World. The monsters have decided to hunt back–and now Dru has to figure out who to trust, who to fight, and when to run. And not incidentally, she has to figure out how she’s going to get out of this alive.

And she has to do it by sundown, or it’s all over…

I’m reading it now and it’s AWESOME! :)

And:

 Hunting Ground (Alpha & Omega, Book 2) by Patricia Briggs

Ace (August 25, 2009), 304 pages, $7.99 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09)

Summary (Amazon.com):

Mated to werewolf Charles Cornick, the son -and enforcer -of the leader of the North American werewolves, Anna Latham now knows how dangerous being a werewolf is, especially when a werewolf opposes Charles and his father is struck down. Charles's reputation makes him the prime suspect, and the penalty for the crime is execution. Now Anna and Charles must combine their talents to hunt down the real killer -or Charles will take the fall.

I received a few books for review:

Karma For Beginners by Jessica Blank

Hyperion Book CH (August 18, 2009), 320 pages, Young Adult, $11.55 (Amazon.com, 08/28/09)

Here’s a summary description from Amazon.com:

Fourteen-year-old Tessa has never had a normal life. Her mother, a frustrated hippie with awful taste in men, has seen to that. But when her mom pulls her out of school to live at an ashram in the Catskills, Tessa goes from being a freak among normal people to being an outcast among freaks. Freaks who worship an orange robe-wearing guru. And while her mom is buzzing with spiritual energy, and finding a little too much favor with the guru, all Tessa feels are weird vibes. 

Unless she's with Colin, the gorgeous boy who fixes trucks for the ashram. The connection they share is the most spiritual thing Tessa has ever felt. But he's older-like illegally older-and Tessa's taking dangerous risks to spend time with him. Soon her life is blooming into a psychedelic web of secrets and lies and it's clear that something's about to give way. When it does, will she have anyone to hold on to? Will she even know herself?

A few are ebooks:

Middlewitch by Heather Parker

Drollerie Press (July 24, 2009), Kindle Ed. $3.03 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09)

Summary (Amazon.com):

Being a witch isn't always easy. She's managed to learn love potions with only one real mistake, and that was hardly her fault. She can whip up a mean maths retention spell, but it's not all cake and roses. Take dating, for instance. As Alicia Meldrew puts it, how does one even bring it up? -Hobbies? Yes, I usually practise the black arts on Mondays, Thursdays and every other weekend. You?-

Alicia is a young witch with a mission: to protect the citizens of Middlewitch, a sleepy little hamlet consisting mostly of a church, a senior citizen's home, a pub, and two constables. You'd think such a small town wouldn't have problems with dark forces, but you'd be wrong. With the help of her cats, Domino and Tango, the Women's Institute, and even the Vicar, Alicia faces down demons, vampires, satanists, an American...and even the City.

She finally has a boyfriend, but is she really able to learn to share her life with James? And if she can, is she strong enough to learn to get on with his mother?

I started this and am enjoying it. It’s light and British, which is always fun!

Three Seeds by Gabriel Madison

eTreasures Publishing (August 19, 2009), 290 pages (I have the PDF), $15.00 (Amazon.com, 08/29/09)

Summary (Amazon.com):

An unnatural cold front grows each day, bewildering world leaders and scientists, while leaving people across the world in a state of panic. All of North America is covered in snow, as Earth slowly reverts into a frozen oasis, causing religious groups to scream of the end of days, while others believe it’s the beginning of a new and foretold era. Rosemary Anderson finds herself working as a receptionist, living on an old southern plantation and wishing for excitement. David, the man claiming to have rescued her from a car wreck three years earlier, has maneuvered himself into her life, but only shows up occasionally to ask Rose strange and cryptic questions about a past she no longer remembers. Rose’s desire for adventure comes true, when strange men arrive at her plantation, and suddenly assaults her. Rose narrowly escapes with the help of her mysterious friend, David. David flees to Atlanta as he leads Rose through a hidden and treacherous world filled with death, power, secrets and passion. While trying to protect her from immortals shrouded by shadows, a secret society and ancient beings from a forgotten time determine to either capture, or kill her.

I LOVED this summary! The author has a great site with some excerpts and a promo video. I’ll be reading this one very soon!

I’m excited about all of these! I’m really enjoying Strange Angels and I’ll probably start Karma for Beginners next, then maybe Three Seeds. Depends on when Catching Fire arrives! :)

What did you buy or receive?

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Create A Cover

I saw this first on The Ladybug Reads, her’s is good, but she saw it on The Story Siren….I either missed hers or haven’t gotten to it yet….not sure. Anyway, it was fun!

Create Your Debut YA Cover:

1. Go to “Fake Name Generator” or click http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

2. Go to “Random Word Generator” or click http://www.websitestyle.com/parser/randomword.shtml

The word listed under “Random Verb” is your title.

3. Go to “FlickrCC” or click http://flickrcc.bluemountains.net/index.php

Type your title into the search box. The first photo that contains a person is your cover.

4. Use Photoshop, Picnik, or similar to put all together. Be sure to crop and/or zoom in.

5. Post it to your site along with this text.

Here’s what I got:

Pretty fun huh?! I don’t like the image much. I could do without the bareback, bra showing but didn’t have much choice when I had to use the first image with a person in it. :)

Did you do one? Link in comments!

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