Annie Nicholas and Stephanie Beck book blitz and giveaway

I am so excited to be part of a little book blitzing. Nothing says awesome like a ton of bloggers talking non stop about some great books and once you see the covers oh you will be so pleased.

On top on that awesome cake is the giveaway icing. One book from each lady. From Stephanie an ebook copy of Unraveling Midnight and from Annie Nicholas a copy of any of her older works as Sigma Force will not be out for a while yet. Open Internationally. Leave a comment with which book you’d like Annie’s or Stephanie’s and I shall pick the winners oh a week from now. So the 24th.

Now read up and enjoy.
Unraveling Midnight by Stephanie Beck

Blurb:
An entanglement with a werewolf brings unexpected turns.

Scott, a lone werewolf expelled from his pack, bends over backward to give his kids everything he can – including knitting lessons for his daughter. Learning to knit becomes much more appealing with Lucy Jamieson as the teacher. His heightened senses tell him the compassionate and beautiful human might be what he and his little band need, yet getting involved with Lucy means exposing her to his paranormal reality.

Although Lucy’s childhood skewed her expectations of family, she recognizes and respects Scott’s desire to protect and provide for his kids. When Scott is hit by a truck, Lucy offers to help with the kids–and gets more than she bargained for after learning Scott’s true nature.

Excerpt:
Scott still rested when Lucy turned on the little lamp beside the loveseat on the opposite wall of the room. He was so big, yet on the couch, he looked smaller. Pain did that to a person and her heart broke a little. She wished she could do something for him. She twisted the metal cap off the beer bottle and tried to be quiet, but it hissed when it released.
Scott’s eyes flew open and she wished she’d grabbed a glass of water.

“Sorry I woke you,” she whispered. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all. Help yourself to whatever you want.”

He looked a little off, but she couldn’t quite place what was wrong. Were his eyes blurry?

“Are you feeling okay, Scott? Can I bring you some water or anything?”

“I feel funny,” he said, his grin cockeyed and adorable. Cute or not, warning bells went off in Lucy’s head.

“Fever, maybe?” She set aside her beer and hurried to him, pressing the back of her hand to his forehead. “Oh, honey, you’re burning up.”

“Mmm.” He rubbed his head to her hand like an animal begging for a petting. His hand snuck out from his blanket and Lucy started when it wrapped just above her knee. “You smell so good.”

She laughed lightly. “I’m glad you think so, Scott. I need to find your Tylenol. Where do you keep it, so I can get you some to bring this fever down?”

“No meds. It’ll pass.” He kept rubbing his face to her hand. “Mmmm, so good. Everyone should smell as good as you.”

“Oh.” He massaged her thigh and, though his hand didn’t move up, it kept her attention. “Scott, you need to let me loose so I can get you some medication, sweetie.”

“I’d like to be your sweetie,” he said. “I’d even let you call me stupid stuff like cupcake.”

The fever had to be loosening up his tongue. The stoic, tough Scott she’d known so far wasn’t so chatty, but still, it was incredibly nice to hear his silly words directed at her.

“You should come snuggle me,” Scott said, tucking her hand beneath his cheek. “You know, in case I get the chills or something.”

“Right, I don’t see that happening, big boy. You need to sleep this off if you don’t think Tylenol will help.”

“Naw, doesn’t work. Just snuggles and pets soothe the wolf.”

Her confusion at his odd words was probably the reason she let herself be tugged down to sit on the sofa near his head. In a flash, he had his head docilely in her lap and the crazy talk was done, Scott back to sleep.

She sighed. How she got herself into situations like this, she’d never know. Maybe she was too nice. She should have been more firm with Scott. If she had, she’d be enjoying her beer. She rested her hand on his shaved head. It was a little warm and since it seemed to soothe him, she stroked her hand from his forehead to his neck. She had to admit the change of seating wasn’t that bad. If she were across the room in her chair with a beer, she wouldn’t be touching Scott.

The unexpected tradeoff was better than she’d have thought. He was softer than he looked and even though he always said she smelled good, he was the one who really smelled different. A really wonderful different.

Stephanie can be found online : web site / Facebook / Twitter

Sigma
The Vanguards: Book 5
To defend and protect, at any cost.
Sam is Sigma of his pack, defender of the innocent and frail. Too bad the one
time it mattered most, though the urge to guard the weak runs strong in his
shifter blood, he failed to protect his best friend from an attack. Just when his
self-confidence can’t go any lower, he becomes entangled in a vampire skirmish
and is left with an injured female in his arms.
Vampire accountant for Pal Robi, Inc., Clementine can’t believe her master would
ask her to commit corporate espionage. She’s shot when discovered, but a shifter
comes to her rescue. It’s as if he’s made of her fantasies, and in the few hours
with him she lives more than the decades she’s spent among her clan.
Hiding with him on the streets of Chicago, in the midst of fighting together to
stay alive, can a petite vampire break through her hero’s jaded heart?

WARNING: Hot dominating sex, an action packed evening, and a first date gone all to hell.

Excerpt

“Hey.” Sugar’s gaze wandered away from Sam’s as she checked behind him. “I’m almost ready. Daedalus couldn’t make it?”

He shook his head. He could make excuses for the vampire, but stayed silent.

Her smile faded a little. “That’s okay. Me and you always manage to have fun together no matter what.” She tried to hide her hurt feelings, but he’d known Sugar long enough to see through the veil of cheer.

The nurse set the wheelchair next to her and locked it.

Sugar reached for the far armrest with her good hand and shifted her weight to the edge of the bed.

His heart dropped and he stepped forward, ready to lift her in his arms, but the nurse gave him a don’t-you-dare look over Sugar’s head.

With halted grace, Sugar shuffled onto the chair and settled her paralyzed limbs. He understood the need for her independence, but it destroyed a piece of his soul each time he watched her move.

Annie can be found online at her
Sigma will be released in August

The Annihilation of Foreverland review

Tony Bertauski asked me to review his book back in February. I said I’d have the review up in a month. I suck I really do I’m so sorry Tony. This is a great read and one I highly recommend adding to the TBR list. A YA book from a boys point of view doesn’t happen often and a different kind of story which I like. The big mystery I knew in the back of my head but just couldn’t put together while I was reading. After I was done all I could think was how could you not see but at the same time the story sucked me in and had my attention. A great thing for a book to be able to do.

 

I was sent this book for review by the author and really wish that I had more time to read my kindle and then I could have read it sooner.

This may be a self published book but it is the reason why I read books that are self published. Yes some have grammar issues, some have bad editing if any at all but you find gems and quite frankly all the self published books I’ve read make me wonder about the publishing industry because they have all been great reads. So great that they should be on many a bookshelf. This book is no exception and no grammar or editing issues! Win!

Excellent character building. You get to know them and care about or hate them as the case may be but the feeling is strong. Part of that is the great world that is built, this island that young boys are told they have been brought to after an accident to heal. Something however is amiss and one refuses the “treatment” because of a girl in a dream. It’s no wonder they feel something isn’t right, if I woke up with some old guy sitting there trying to tell me oh it’s okay we’re here to help you but you can’t remember who you are and they don’t give you anything other than trust us I’d be freaked too.

The treatment is not appealing either. A needle jabbed through your forehead into your brain and to get that you have to get in a cold cell naked. Um freak out! But the appeal the alternate reality Foreverland once inside the needle. That place that you can be anything do anything. Ahhh it’s hard to resist and most do not. So why does Reed? Why suffer the cold cell, the torture that he is put through when anything awaits on the other side? Why does Danny Boy see that very girl from Reeds dream in Foreverland? What can they do to escape if it’s even possible and why are they really kept on the island?

Let me say it’s worth the read to find out. In fact I highly recommend it. It’s a unique read not a typical story that you’ve seen done is some variation a million times already. I appreciate that uniqueness, the originality. An excellent job and a great read not to be missed.

The Annihilation of Foreverland


Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* 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!)

 

Angelkiller by H. David Blalockis free on amazon today and tomorrow. Be sure to get your copy of this great book. I sure liked it.

 

 

 

 

 

Now my teaser from My Life As A White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

 

 

 

My stress levels were so high that when my cell phone rang I let out a shriek and damned near threw the bag containing the tub of brains into the air. Yeah, that would have been an impressive mess.

 

 

Angel Crawford is a loser

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she’s a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who’s been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn’t have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there’s a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it’s an offer she doesn’t dare refuse.

Before she knows it she’s dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she’s hungriest!

Angel’s going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn’t, she’s dead meat.

Literally.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is a weekly event started by Marcia, and is now hosted on a blog rotation. Martha of Reviews by Martha’s Bookshelf is the host for the month of May.

 

 

Another Fierce Reads book sent my way. Monument 14 the debut book of author Emmy Laybourne was sent for review. The cover rocks! It sounds like a pretty great read as well, release date is June 5th. Thanks to Macmillan for my arc copy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent for review by the publisher thanks Random House I received an arc copy of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Sounds like a great read, really looking forward to it. My cover is a generic one not this fancy one as I got an arc copy. I want to check a copy out at a book store though to see what it looks like in person. I’ll be waiting though as it doesn’t come out till late July.

 

 

 

 

In Leah’s Wake I won in the Novel Publicity tour for this book. Sounds like a great family drama. It came with a lovely note from the author, bookmark and was signed :)

 

 

 

 

Jennifer Estep sent me some lovely signed book mark swag which is awesome. I may have to do a swag giveaway soon as she sent me some extras to hand out.

After these pretties I got some ebooks as well.

Carnage Road by Gregory Lamberson I received from the publisher for review as part of a tour. Review coming up on the 23rd

Necropolis Rising which I think I got as a free read on amazon

The Insomniacs 

Overkill I hope everyone got a copy. Seventh Star Press will have another book free tomorrow that one will be Angelkiller which is a fantastic read. Be sure to get it.

The Last Bastion Of The Living was sent by the author for review. Bad ass futuristic zombie setting. Seriously Rhiannon rocks.

Black — Canto I of The Nephilim Codex by Charles Coylott an author to keep on the radar.

21 Bacon Dessert Recipes what I love bacon! Speaking of which have I mentioned this other little blog I blog at from time to time BaconPorn.org no? Well take a look see

Hydra Publications was very kind and sent me a ton of books they’ve published for review. Not sure when I’ll get to them but thanks to Hydra and keep an eye out for many  Hydra authors to be featured on the blog.

Andraste

Anon

Bridgeworld

Empyreal Fate

Morning Star ( Ethos )

Primal

The Universal Mirror

Ukishima

Without a Conscious 

Sunday Shorts

Sunday Shorts is a new meme started by the CabinGoddess.com. The rules are easy, a short story, an anthology of short stories, a novella, or a quick weekend read that is also short on your wallet!

A happy mothers day to you all. Hope you have something interesting planned for the day.

My book selection for today is The Insomniacs by Caleb Casey. The author started following me on twitter and while checking out who my new stalker was I noticed that his book at the time anyway was free so I grabbed a copy. I haven’t read it and have no idea what it’s like but it will be my next short read. At only 17 pages that shouldn’t take too long so I’m curious what he did in that short a span. I’ve read some good short ones so I hope it’s like the others. It’s free for kindle prime right now and only 99c for others.

Here is the equally short blurb

A girl, found bleeding and freezing in a snow bank. A guy who can’t sleep. No one else around… except for the things wearing masks.

How To Eat Fried Furries review

When I started reading How to Eat Fried Furries I must admit to being a bit sad face. I had expected something more along the lines of Sex for Dummies a manual to getting into the plushy and furry fetish, it was just a passing curiosity okay! Once I realized it wasn’t going to be the Kama Sutra for furries I said fine then I’ll just read it and see where it goes course by then I was already hooked and reading but shhhh we’ll just keep that between us.

The book is actually a guide for the American Association of Furry Farmers. I wasn’t expecting a farmers almanac type book but as it starts out with an asshole in the sky raining down a shit storm I could tell it wasn’t going to be a typical guide. This book is more a Hitchhikers Guide type book except without the galaxy or depressed Marvin or Froods or Vogons or okay it’s not like that but it’s a guide and a good one.

It totally makes me want to dress up the people I don’t like in farm animal costumes and send them to the farm right where they belong. A brilliant plan that I had no clue about this guide however will tell you the basics on how to get into farming and best of all provides a test and email to use to gain a whopping 3% of your requirements to obtaining your A.A.F.F. membership so you too can farm to your hearts content. Do it for the greater good, that drop in methane production is a sure fire way to live a happy, happy life.

Nicole Cushing at Mo*Con in Papal furry get up with udder cleavage on display

I look forward to more of Nicole’s work and hope that a sequel is in the works and that it will explain what happened to the Ferret Force?
Did they escape? Did they bite off Pope Squirrelly’s kibbles and nuts?
How many furry squirrel fit into a hippie van?
Does squirrel Jesus prefer Hummers or was that the only car available?
Why does furry squirrel have to be cut into 7 pieces exactly?
What do the Ministry of Flesh business cards look like? I bet they look nice.
Does Peking have a Peking Furry recipe?

My great thanks to Nicole for permitting me to share the udder cleavage pic with you all :)

The author behind the moo mask and udder cleavage.

Furries-you know, people in animal costumes. You may love them. You may hate them. But chances are, you have not considered eating them…until now! Not since the early days of Monty Python has dark satire so subversive reared its ugly head! From the Hellmouth of the Heartland, Nicole Cushing brings you How To Eat Fried Furries-your guide on how to raise furries as livestock and cook ‘em up tender and tasty. The cast of characters is as motley and grotesque as one would imagine given such a premise. There’s the misshapen, proto-furry cast of the ’70s action-adventure show, Ferret Force Five. Extraterrestrial Squirrels. The Amish and the even more despicable Pseudo-Amish. Whether an avid Bizarro fan or a newcomer to this wave of weird fiction, you’re bound to be satisfied once you take a bite out of How To Eat Fried Furries.

Wolfpack of Reseda

I remember being a big fan of Teen Wolf when I was a kid. Now with a ton of remakes in Hollywood they are expanding those remakes to TV. I myself am not a TV watcher but there are some shows that sure sound interesting.

From what I know it’s a Werewolf comedy mini series from FOX. What I love now thanks to the internet is that you can watch the first episode online and figure out if you want to commit to watching it. Has anyone checked it out?

In 1810, Padre Garcia, a Spanish missionary at the Rancho San Fernando, wrote of a strange howling out in the Valley. It would be the last entry in his diary…

 

Padre Garcia’s untimely death came after he had succumbed to temptation and fallen in love with a young, Eastern European gypsy girl who, with her clan, was camped on the banks of the LA river. Her father, furious at the thought of their union, called upon an old witch to put a curse on the Padre. Her black magic called upon the spirit of the wolf.

 

The next night, as Padre Garcia and his young love met, his outpost was attacked by a pack of wild, blood-thirsty beasts. He fought back valiantly, enough to save his lover, but he himself was bitten badly. In time, his wounds would heal, but in the process, he began to take on traits of his attackers. As the time of the full moon approached, he feared that he would lose all control and pose a threat to his beloved. As night fell, the Padre took his own life by falling on a large cross.

 

Padre Garcia was buried by his fellow missionaries in an unmarked grave, in what is now Reseda Park. In 2009, a young man jogging through the park under the cover of night fell on a tree root and badly cut his leg. His open wounds were exposed to the earth that was infused with the blood of the tragic priest. Nearly two centuries later, there are werewolves in Reseda.

Cover reveal : The Last Bastion of the Living

I am thrilled to be taking part in the cover reveal for The Last Bastion of the Living by Rhiannon Frater. Her books are fantastic and this new one has the most awesome premise of being a zombie novel set in the future. Brilliant stuff!

I’ll be taking part in the tour for Last Bastion so be on the look out for that and be sure to add it to your TBR list it comes out June 12th. For more zombie fun check out the Zombie Queen and her always fantastic Zombie Craze.

The cover makes my toes curl. Major cover whore appeal. This fantastic cover was done by Claudia from Phat Puppy Creations.

The Bastion was humanity’s last hope against the fearsome undead creatures known as the Inferi Scourge. A fortified city with a high wall, surrounded by lush land rich with all the resources needed to survive, protected by high mountain summits, and a massive gate to secure the only pass into the valley, the Bastion became the last stronghold of the living on earth. But one fateful day, the gate failed and the Inferi Scourge destroyed the human settlements outside the walls and trapped the survivors inside the city. Now decades later, the last remaining humans are struggling to survive in a dying city as resources and hope dwindle.

Vanguard Maria Martinez has lived her whole life within the towering walls of steel. She yearns for a life away from the overcrowded streets, rolling blackouts, and food shortages, but there is no hope for anyone as long as the Inferi Scourge howl outside the high walls. Her only refuge from the daily grind is in the arms of her lover, Dwayne Reichardt, an officer in the Bastion Constabulary. Both are highly-decorated veterans of the last disastrous push against the Inferi Scourge. Their secret affair is her only happiness.

Then one day Maria is summoned to meet with a mysterious representative from the Science Warfare Division and is offered the opportunity to finally destroy the Inferi Scourge in the valley and close the gate. The rewards of success are great, but she will have to sacrifice everything, possibly even her life, to accomplish the ultimate goal of securing the future of humanity and saving it from extinction.

Diva cup review and giveaway

I am an open minded sort of person. I heard about menstrual cups quite a while back and once I did I knew I had to try it out. I first heard about cloth pads they were and are still on my radar but somehow in that discovery cups became my focus.

I tried a cup ( not Diva ) ages ago. It was good but I myself didn’t know all there was to know about my own body and ordered what I now think was a size smaller than what I needed. That or the cup was too squishy which resulted in leaking.

When I first got my period at 12 and a half it lasted 2 weeks, right before Christmas no less not the gift I was looking for. I’d have a giant overnight pad on big granny drawers a towel under me and I still leaked through to the sheets and mattress below. When older I learned how to better handle that oh so special time of the month but still had issues. Because of these issues I hated pads gross! and tampons I only figured out how to use in my late 20′s hello plastic applicator! So I was only too happy to try something different. When my other cup came I was pleased as it was great but those leaks made me think there was no hope. Then I got the chance to try the Diva cup.

 

The Diva Cup has changed my periods. For a start it’s larger than my previous cup not hugely but has a higher capacity also the cup is wider. For those going on no I’m tight for real we’re talking millimeters here so it’s all good. That larger capacity and firmer material compared to my previous one allows me to totally stop using tampons. Pads, well I still use one but now instead of having a giant overnight pad with the super long wings for leak protection I have a pad without wings. Gasp! and then work down to just a panty liner as the week progresses and this is more for self reassurance I still have some flow on the pad but it’s minor so I myself couldn’t go swimming with the cup in but many woman have found that they are able.

I don’t feel the cup once it’s in, it doesn’t bother me at all. I regularly empty it and all is right in the world. When my last period started I was away from home and without my cup. My first thought was must get home and insert cup, clearly it works wonders if it’s my first thought. I don’t have problems with putting the cup in which is what I initially had concerns about with cup usage. Inserting is actually quite easy removing is the hard part and “hard” is even strong a word. I personally have to use two hands one to hold the stem and the other to slide a finger in and up along side to break the suction. This is no big deal though and hasn’t caused any problems.

For those who haven’t considered a cup for use with their cycle please just be open minded and try. If you are concerned about cost compare to pads and tampons. A cup can last 10 years it costs nothing in comparison. If you are scared that it will not fit seriously a babies head can come out of there give your lady parts credit they will be just fine. If you don’t want to touch blood well you really need to get over that. If you ever have a leak you’ll need to wash your underwear. If you take out a tampon or change a pad yep blood soap and water and it’s all gone.

I haven’t even touched the environmental impact. Just by not using tampons I will be doing the planet a lot of good, as I was only using the ones with a plastic applicator probably 10 times as good. Imagine how great it will be when I can get rid of the pads for cloth ones.

I highly encourage all woman to check out menstrual cups. The Diva cup has had a huge impact in making my periods a million times easier and more manageable.

Diva Cup is a Canadian company eh! *Cough* sorry I had to and they have kindly agreed to let me host a giveaway. You pick the size #1 for no kids or #2 for had kids and/or over 30 years old. Major win for one lucky person in North America. So if you are in the states or Canada eh then fill in the handy dandy raffle copter form. Winner or not I hope you’ll all look into cups as they really are awesome for any woman. Diva Cup in on facebook and twitter and I hope you’ll all stalk follow them for Diva Cup news, great info for and about ladies and more giveaways! Those dying to get one of their own can check out the Diva Cup Store finder to see the nearest store near you that sells Diva or just buy it now.

I was not paid for this review, I did however receive a Diva cup to review. All views are my own.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Overkill by Steven Shrewsbury review

Overkill by Steven Shrewsbury is free on amazon today and tomorrow be sure to get a copy.

Steven Shrewsbury has created with Gorias La Gaul a larger than life character. A prequel to Thrall we get to enjoy more of Gorias and his most excellent adventures, be they bedding endless ladies or killing the bad guys in the most spectacular of fashion.

This story is great fun with many laughs, endless action and fantastically well written battle scenes. I found myself cheering Gorias on wanting to know how it ended and gaping in shock that a 700 + year old man had the stamina of a 19 year old. Go Gorias.

Gorias is a character to get to know. One who will charm the pants right off you, or slice them off as the case may be.

This is a great read for those who enjoy action, adventure, sword fighting and a great deal of humor in a story. One to add to the TBR list, I’m already looking forward to the next one in the series.

Deliverance will come… A great flood once wiped clean the earth, destroying everything upon it. Before the deluge, in a time now forgotten, the world was a place of warriors and witches, conflicts between kingdoms, and, until their extermination, dragons. In this world, men may live centuries, fallen angels have begotten terrifying spawn, and sometimes, the best hope can be found in a brothel.

In the land of Transalpina, a new religion spreads, and important men are dying mysteriously, slain by what can only be the fire of dragon breath. Summoned by the Queen Garnet, the legendary warrior Gorias La Gaul returns to the place where he once saved the queen’s young granddaughter from treachery and enslavement. The Princess Nykia is gone, and soon others may try to claim the throne. The queen has little choice but to turn to the only man who ever told her no.

With the aid of one of the queen’s elite guard, the battle maiden Alena, and the young palace servant Orsen, the old mercenary will face pirates and traitors, monsters and foul magic in the quest to find the missing heir and learn the truth behind the disconcerting murders. Deliverance will come for Gorias La Gaul, but for now there are women to love, secrets to discover, and killing that needs doing.