Saturday, July 27, 2013

Urgent Notice: Temporary Hiatus From Blogging

Hey folks! I'm not going to be within reach of my laptop for the next couple of months and consequently A Cliffhanger Crisis would be out of commission for a while. But I would try my bestestest best to get my hands on a computer and post new reviews, al-bight a little infrequently. 

Yeah, this totally sucks big time....


Being deprived of laptop and books? I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.



Friday, July 26, 2013

Cover Reveal: Searching For Tomorrow- Katie Mac






Blurb:

What happens when you find the one person who completes you, and then life conspires against you? How do you set your grief and anguish aside? How do you pick up the shattered pieces, put those pieces back together again, and try to move on?

Katie and Tripp met on the playground the first day of third grade when Tripp tried to rescue Katie from Zack, her twin brother. A lifelong friendship that later blossomed into love began that day.

Broken beyond her own ability to repair, Katie boxes her grief up and attempts to raise her three girls the best she can on her own. As time slowly passes, Katie relives her times with Tripp while struggling most days to even get out of bed. She is reminded of him at every turn.

Zack is Katie's twin brother and was Tripp's best friend. Having lost his own love, he dedicates himself to helping Katie put her life back together. Throw in a mother-in-law who torments at every turn and poor Katie can't even find a chance to breathe, much less a desire to somehow search for tomorrow. 




Author Interview:

Tell us 5 surprising things about yourself.

1.     I am a PK. If you know what that means, then you know what that means
2.     I have always wanted to be a red head with long, beautiful corkscrew curls.
3.     No matter what I’m doing, I would rather be outside, day or night, hot or cold, rain or shine.
4.     I was awarded two separate scholarships when I graduated high school. One was a teaching fellowship and the other was for writing.
5.     I love to cook, almost as much as I like to eat. I spent a couple of years as a private cook for a local family and loved every minute of it

What is your writing environment?

At the moment, I have a makeshift office in my pantry! If need be, I can shut the door and cut off part of the noise. I hope to have a more permanent space soon.

One of your favorite quotes.

                  To whom much is given, much is required.          

Random things about my novel.

Just a bit of nonsense. I am Kathryn Anne, and my two sisters are Rebekah Elizabeth and Sarah Margaret. My husband is Channing, and my son is Zachary. One of my daughters is Elizabeth, and I still have to work my daughter Brittany into the book. Highlands is my most favorite place in the world to go when my soul need refreshing. Last, but not least, I actually had a great-grandma Tiddy!

What does love feel like? 

Warm, fuzzy, secure, safe, sheltered

How did you meet your significant other? 

In the lobby of the bank that I worked in. I was on all fours under a Christmas tree tightening the screws in the base. What can I say? Baby got back!

If you could take a romantic trip, where would it be? 

Any trip I take with Hubs is romantic. One of his favorite things to do is to whisk me away to wine and dine me.

Do you believe in love at first sight? 

Absolutely! Ask me how I feel about my grandson Grayson!



Author Links

Bio:

About this author If you are reading this, I think you should know that "About me" sounds so very pretentious to me. I guess that is what I am supposed to write about, so here it goes!

Katie Mac is a simple country girl who likes to spend time with her hubba, hunka hubby, her three kids and her friends. She loves to cook and really loves to eat! During the spring and summer, you will more than likely find her outside puttering around in her garden. When the veggies start coming in, she will probably be sweating over a hot canner in the kitchen, canning all the goodies she is blessed with. Katie likes to hike and go camping, and as a Girl Scout leader, she gets to do this pretty often! On cold winter nights, you will probably find her wrapped in a warm blanket, lost in a good book, while sitting in her rocking chair on the front porch!

Katie was born and raised in North Carolina, and while she loves to travel, she can't imagine ever leaving the mountains that she has come to call home. Not a day goes by that Katie doesn't thank God for abundantly blessing her. He has been so good to her, and she is very grateful. She holds Jeremiah 29:11 very close to her heart and believes it with every fiber of her being. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Katie loves flip flops, chocolate, sweet tea and dirt between her toes. As far back as she can remember, she's had a book in her hand. Reading has carried her to places she will never go. It has introduced her to people that she will never meet. When life is great and when it is rough, she's always been able to find a book to carry her through. She finally decided to write down some of the stories in her head (yes, be scared) and heart after dawdling around and wasting years dreaming. She hopes you enjoy reading those stories as much as she loves writing them!

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Friday, July 19, 2013

Blog Tour: Gargoyle Addiction- Livia Olteano (Review and Intl Giveaway)


Gargoyle Addiction
Otherworlds Summons Book One
Livia Olteano

Genre: New Adult (Spicy!) Paranormal Romance

Expected Publication: July 15 2013

Synopsis:

Summonari don’t trust. Under their command, they summon any number of creatures from the Otherwolds—but never trust them outside of the summoning.
Gargoyles don’t love. Fierce descendants of dragons, they function on power and fear—never love.

Karla isn’t the happily-ever-after type of girl. No territory-hungry guy is going to stick flags all over her unclaimed grounds.

Kann’s world is death and betrayal. As Dar Primus of Haus Varis, he’s expected to follow tradition but he’s not your regular gargoyle. In fact, he’s anything but.
One fateful Friday night, Otherworlds collide. Stuck together in one world or another, Karla and Kann face everything from Awakenings and turbulent love to Festnavals and bloodthirsty scorned suitors.

If there’s one thing they can’t escape, it’s the addiction to each other. And they’ve got it bad.

Review:


Move over vamps, werewolves and all other oh-so-humdrum supernatural creatures....the GARGOYLES are here! Coloured skin, piranha like teeth, bulky bodies and ferociousness personified- these creatures are descended from the mighty dragons and have a preference for blood, raw meat, gory battles and deadly 'mating games'. Livia's world building was amazingly good. For one, the bad guys actually sported red skin and forked tongues- quite an invigorating change from the usual six packs and droolworthy eyes.  The entire setting of the Otherworld Piatra and it's residents- the gargoyles- along with their....ahem...unusual lifestyle was extremely captivating.

Klara's hopes of having a peaceful birthday are dashed when her favourite fictional character(who incidentally happens to be a gargoyle) appears in her bedroom, demanding to know why SHE summoned him. After narrowly avoiding suffering a coronary due to his (to mildly put it) unexpected appearance, she realises that the stereotypical bad boys only seem perfection personified from afar. While Kann's gorgeous physique( barring the sharp teeth and greyish skin) present a not-entirely-unwelcome distraction, his ruthless nature, dangerous temper and pseudo rapist tendencies are distinctly unattractive. But Kann- irrevocably drawn to Klara- is determined to have her. Through a whirlwind of steamy courtship, both end up in the perilous world of Piatra where a deranged sister, a bloodthirsty ex and a stealthily tyrannical Haus elder threaten to break the happy couple apart. Caught between two worlds and an unforeseen road to self discovery, Klara is torn between what she wants and needs while Kann would stop at nothing to keep her at his side.

Livia's Olteano's sizzling debut is a page turner. While the plot could have been better, the world building and Kann and Klara's scorching chemistry kept me hooked on. Klara's POV was engaging and (thankfully!) not centred around just the general hotness of Kann. The unprecedentedly wild lifestyle of the gargoyles was interesting, especially the idea of mating games and their community events. The ending was a bit of a let down. I'd been expecting a twist or at-least more info about Klara's  impulsive deal with the dragon. 

But definitely looking forward to see which turn the story takes in the sequel...

Rating- 3/5 stars!  

Excerpt:

The thing leaned forward a bit more, its head poking out into the cascading beams of moonlight. Those eyes seemed to shine even brighter as light hit its...his...face. I wanted to scream but I was so beyond panicked my voice didn’t work anymore. The plan was to get my cell phone and call 911, but before I could even end the thought, he did a blurry motion and suddenly my phone wasn’t there anymore. Eyebrows raced toward the top of my head and I opened eyes so wide they stung.

“So, what do you want, witch?”

I almost screamed. His voice had the jarring quality of a whisper though I heard it too well for it to have been simply whispered. My skin burst in prickly points and my legs clattered. He sounded off and in a very bad mood.

“Well? What do you want?” he snarled.

Want? To place a call to 911 is what I wanted. Hell, a SWAT team, the thing...creature looked dangerous!

He drew in a gulp of air, releasing it with a whoosh. “I don’t have a lot of patience, I warn you.”

He seated his tall—very tall—and ferocious-looking body on the edge of the bed with uncanny grace. I tried to scoot away, frantically looking for my phone again. He placed one hand on the other side of me effectively restricting any escape route. Okay. Okay. It had to be a dream. A dream, simple as that. I took deep, hopefully calming breaths, but my heart twitched like it was possessed.

He wrinkled his nose. “You smell.”

“Excuse me?” I screeched.



“You stink, in fact. Like...bodies, writhing bodies, sweaty, horny. And plenty of them.” He snorted, and it was perhaps the complete stillness he exuded that put something of a damper on my panic. I was seething instead.



“What. The. Hell. Are you doing in my room? Who are you?”

He cocked his head to the side. His eyes caught light and shined that ominous silver again. A shudder emerged from someplace deep inside me, a primal place. I wanted to bolt so bad my feet itched.

“You’ve summoned me and I suggest you be quick about your request. Your smell is appalling. Enjoy an orgy tonight?”

“WHAT? Listen, you maniac, I don’t know where you get off...”

Before I could blink, I was lifted from the bed, my back pressed against the wall. Mean hands fitted snuggly around my arms. Those silver eyes scared the living days out of me from barely a breath away. He certainly put the F in feral.

“You won’t speak like that to me again. Or those will be your last words, are we clear?” 


About the Author:



Livia lives in Europe where she listens to obscene amounts of music and devours every reading material in sight. When she’s not doing either of the two, she fiddles with anything remotely customizable within reach.

She spamificates the world online via:







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