Thursday, August 21, 2014

Love in the Highlands Blog Tour {3 Reviews + Giveaway}

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Title:  Highland Honor
Author:   Angela Ashton
Published:  November 3rd, 2013
Publisher: Champagne Book Group
Word Count:   119,000
Genre:  Historical Romance
Recommended Age:  17+
Synopsis:
Darius MacDuff was at his zenith in the midst of a raging battle. He never expected his home would one day become his most treacherous battlefield…nor would his most lethal opponent come in the form of a shapely siren. Delicious deception, her weapon of choice.
Rival Scottish Clans. An ancient relic. One has possession. The other will stop at nothing to obtain it…
The honorable Clan MacDuff has protected the coveted relic for centuries. When rival Clan MacAlpin discovers the eldest brother of the MacDuff is to take a wife, their scheming materializes in the form of deceit as they kidnap Alick MacDuff’s betrothed and send their sister in her place.
Tegan MacAlpin has no choice but to pretend to want to be bride to her blood enemy. But once inside Castle MacDuff she fears her ability to procure the relic before Darius, Alick’s dangerously handsome and highly suspicious younger brother, discovers her treachery. When all is said and done, will she remain loyal to her clan in hopes of claiming her long-sought freedom, or bend to the bidding of a forbidden nemesis? In the end, it all comes down to a question of honor…


MY Review!!!

Review to come! My review is on my Ipod which is at my co-bloggers (ryan's) house. She should be coming over today and I'll have my review up as soon as possible. In the meantime enjoy an excerpt from the book.




Excerpt from Highland Honor by Angela Ashton:


Something unmistakably lethal shadowed his eyes. Something only a fool would ignore. His austere gaze could turn rock to ash. What the hell was he about? Alick's laugh lacked any signs of humor. His eyes never left Darius as he addressed her, "Forgive my brother, m'lady. Dari has been far too long painting the bonny moors of Scotland with enemy blood and forgets his manners in the presence of a lady." There was no dismissing the subtle warning underlying his tone, though the smirk that flashed across Darius' face told her he planned to do just that. Tegan dare not look directly at Alick for fear he'd read the horrid fascination in her eyes. Surely he couldn't detest it any more than she. As if she could stop gaping starry-eyed at his wayward brother. If such extraordinary power were within her grasp, it lay dormant beneath a heavy cloak of fear-laced awe. She did, however, make the mistake of looking at the human magnet and flinched at the violent collision. The knowing leer on his face spoke enough volume to stuff a library from floor to rafters with cynical tomes. He'd seen the lust in her eyes as surely as she'd felt the seed take root and fester in her treacherous bosom. He was T-R-O-U-B-L-E.
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About the Author:
As a child award-winning author Angela Ashton pulled anyone that would listen into her world of fantasy. Her love of the written language led to the desire to write her own novel. Her first labor of love, Amulet of Fate, combined her love of Scottish historical, time travel, and paranormal romances. Angela continues to write in an array of genres and has received rave reviews for her works. Happy to teeter between two worlds, she lives in the Midwest with her family and personal petting zoo by day…slipping into the enchanted land of tall, dark and handsome by night!
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Title:  Dreams in Green
Author:   K. D. Fisk
Published:  March 2012
Publisher:  Champagne Book Group
Word Count:   54,000
Genre:  Historical Romance
Content Warning:  PG-13
Synopsis:
With the death of her father, Lenna Keith is trapped between a king’s command and a land hungry guardian. Her luck improves none as she flees and winds up at the mercy of the Gunns, the very clan seeking to destroy her family, but, looking into the eyes of their Laird, her heart rebels at the thought that this man is her adversary.
Alax Gunn is intrigued by this spirited woman but mostly by the fact that she mirrors someone who has haunted him since youth. Curiosity and mistrust turn to attraction and desire, but swiftly she becomes so much more to him. What all will he sacrifice to keep Lenna safe and in his arms? Will a love between two destined enemies bring an end to a feud or to two ancient clans of Scotland?
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads


MY REVIEW!!!



Lenna has not had the best life since her family passed away. Now she is requested to marry within a period of time and someone she rather not marry, as her in his sights. She decides to run away to distant family but with injuries it’s not going to be an easy task. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy but ended up in enemy territory was not part of the plan.

Laird Alax Gunn gets a shock when he sees a woman that resembles the one he has been dreaming of since he was a child. Now he wonders why she ended up at his place and why she was injured. As he gets to know her he begins to develop feelings for her, but will he go against his family to be with the one he has begun to care for.

Secrets, dreams, deceit, and a whole lot of yumminess all jammed packed in one awesome book.

Dreams in Green was one of those books that leave you wanting more. I hope there will be many books in this series. Lenna had to go through a lot of stuff in this book and I’m not going to lie, I cried. To feel a characters pain is awful. I just wanted to take her away from it all, but if I did that she wouldn’t have come to trust Alax. She has a right to be weary of him because he is the enemy and if he found out who she was, he would surely kill her…..or would he? Alax had a lot of hard decisions to make and the ones he did make made me think highly of him. He did what he thought was best for his clan and Lenna. Someone was trying to kill her and he wouldn’t stand by and let it happen. There were some deaths in this book that made me stumble as well. I didn’t expect to feel this way about a secondary character but DANG, the death made me cry ugly tears. And the Gunn traitor, I had my suspicions but they turned out to be wrong so so wrong. Dreams in Green had me biting my finger nail till the end and I really enjoyed it…..well my nails didn’t but you get the point. And Again this is going on my favorite shelf, loved this book! Oh and hopefully I’ll be reading about Ian in the future. :D


QUOTE: I only have one and I had to post it b/c I love GOT

“Winter is Coming”

4 STARS






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About the Author:
Dreams in Green is my first published novel. I’ve always loved the written word, stories and history. I live in Missouri with my soulmate, two overgrown puppies, two insane cats, and a small herd of guinea pigs. My writing has only just begun; the adventure of stories is my never ending addiction.
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Title:  Highland Promise
Series:  Sisters by Choice #2
Author:  Mary McCall
Published:  January 2012
Publisher:   Champagne Book Group
Word Count: 107,000
Genre:  Historical Romance
Recommended Age:  16+ 
Synopsis:
Ordered by King Alexander to wed an Englishwoman, Laird Brendan Sutherland heads to England to find and wed the sister of his best friend’s wife to settle a debt. He intends to beget a few heirs and forget the lass. He has no use for love, and among his clanswomen, he is known as Stoneheart.
After being falsely accused of the Sin of Eve when she was twelve, Lady Faith of Hawkhurst hides her beauty beneath a hideous disguise. Due to a despicable penance given by a zealot priest, she believes she must enter a convent and live a life of penance or suffer perpetual damnation.
Learning her brother intends to ambush an approaching Highland party, Faith intercepts Brendan and his men and asks their aid in reaching the convent at Saint Bride. Brendan quickly sees through her disguise. Realizing she’s the woman he promised to wed, he agrees to take her with him when he goes home. After a court scandal, King Henry orders them to wed. Faith fears Brendan will never trust her when he learns of her deception. As they return to the Highlands with a killer on their trail, Brendan discovers he can’t remain aloof from the woman destined to restore his faith in love.
MY REVIEW!
 
Laird Brendan journeys to England to settle a promise he made. He promised to wed his best friend’s wife’s sister. He plans to marry her, maybe get some babies out of the deal and leave it at that. What he didn’t plan on was actually coming to like the woman even though she wasn’t easy on the eyes. But he knows she isn’t what she seems.

Lady Faith hides behind a hideous disguise because she was accused of the sin of Eve. She believes the priest that told her this and plans to become a nun. In order to get to the convent she has to have help. She overhears her brothers plan to attack a group of highlanders and jumps at the opportunity to help them. She didn’t expect to be followed by a killer and to learn to care for the rugged Laird.

Will Faith continue on to the convent or stay where her heart is?

What I liked about Highland Promise was Lady Faith’s and Laird Brendan’s interactions. They played a deadly game of cat and mouse by faith hiding behind her disguise and Brendan playing along with it. They both decide to hide the truth and so the lies begin. I loved every minute of it. I especially like the disguise Faith wore; I just get drawn to books that have that aspect in them. They are more enjoyable to read. I also like to be surprised and Highland Promise gave it to me. I wasn't expecting the brutal murders and couldn’t figure out who it was. I didn't have not one clue as to whom it was and when the person was revealed, I was shocked. I never would have pegged him as the murderer. This wasn’t an insta love as well; they had to overcome a lot of obstacles and learn to trust each other before they tried anything. I know everyone that enjoys and highlander romance is going to love this book.

Overall: I was most impressed with this book and it turned out to be one of my favorite highlander books.

4 STARS
 
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About the Author:
Best-selling Historical Romance author Mary McCall has been telling stories all her life. Now she writes humorous and adventurous historical romances set mainly in the medieval Highlands and England. She is a member of Romance Writers of America; Founding President of Hearts Through History Romance Writers; member of Celtic Hearts Romance Writers; member of The Golden Network; member of River City Romance Writer; member of Faith, Hope & Love, Inc.; and member of Savvy Authors and member of Fiction Christian Writers Association. She loves history, has a particular fondness for the Greek through Medieval periods, and is glad research for her books has finally utilized her ability to speak Latin. Weaving Celtic lore with Arthurian legend, Greco-Roman myths and fun characters makes her current project fun and exciting. She resides in Memphis, Tennessee with her Maltese, Regina Catriona, who runs the apartment.


Giveaway Details:
There is a tour wide giveaway. Prizes include the following:
  • Three lucky winners will each receive one eBook from Champagne Book Group, publisher’s choice.
Giveaway is International.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
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The Summer We Fell by Amber Garza Release Day Blitz + Giveaway


Release Day Blitz!


Adam Stewart is every girl’s fantasy – captain of the football team, smart, funny, hot. I’ve had a crush on him for years but he never noticed me. Until now.

Dating Adam is a dream come true. I should be happy about it, but it’s hard because my best friend Cruz is acting strange. Almost like he’s jealous. But that can’t be. Can it?

Cruz and I have been inseparable since we were kids. He’s always been like a brother to me. But lately things have changed. He’s different, and I’m starting to see him in a new light. Our relationship is evolving in a way I never thought possible. I don’t want to lose him, but am I willing to give up Adam for him?

Purchase on Amazon
Purchase on B&N
Purchase on Smashwords 

~*~About The Author~*~


Amber Garza is the author of the Delaney's Gift Series and many contemporary romance titles, including Star Struck, Tripping Me Up and Break Free. She has had a passion for the written word since she was a child making books out of notebook paper and staples. Her hobbies include reading and singing. Tea and wine are her drinks of choice (not necessarily in that order). She writes while blaring music, and talks about her characters like they're real people. She currently lives in California with her amazing husband, and two hilarious children who provide her with enough material to keep her writing for years.

GIVEAWAY TIME



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Monday, August 4, 2014

[Review] Playing with Fire by Cynthia Eden [ARC]

Goodreads

An Old Flame

Cassie Armstrong has plenty to atone for. The daughter of the most immoral researcher ever to pick up a scalpel, she's determined to use her own brilliance in genetics to repair the damage her family has done to the paranormals. Especially Dante, the first of the phoenixes, the one they call the Immortal. He's been haunting her dreams since she was a little girl, and she's been trying to ease his pain for almost as long. If only he remembered any of it. . .

Dante doesn't know what Cassie's story is. He almost doesn't care. The minute he sees her, all he can think is mine. But there's more to the pretty little doctor than meets the eye. And Dante isn't the only one to notice. He can't trust her, but he can't stay away--and if he wants to learn her secrets, he's going to have to fight like hell to keep them both alive. . .






Review

I have not read the first two books in this series, but you don't have to. The characters are mentioned and the plot lines connect, so it would probably help you out a lot to read them. Plus, Cynthia's paranormal romances tend to be awesome. I will be going back to read the other two books, although I am certain this one will remain my favorite of the three. 

While I was a bit thrown by the sense of having no background to the characters relationship, that was part of the story and plenty (okay, all) is revealed as the story moves along. Dante is a phoenix and every time he dies, he forgets all his memories. They do eventually return, but it takes a while each time. 

Cassie is the daughter of a scientist who performed experiments on her and her brother. But he also experimented on a bunch of humans and paranormals trying to create an unstoppable army. I know.. cool right!? She has always loved Dante, even though he doesn't know who she is half the time and is indifferent to her the rest of the time. She struggles with her unrequited love and still tries to help him, even though he is an ass. She is good hearted and determined to make up for her fathers wrongs. Which is interesting in comparison to Dante's "Burn it all and damn the consequences" mindset. (: She tempers his crazy and I love it. hehe. 

Dante is a totally alpha character. He pretty much thinks he is invincible (and he is almost right.) He can he a bit of an butthead at times, but it is entertaining sense he has this old time view on everything and actually believes that the way he is doing things is the right way. He is a bit heartless, but I loved peeling back his layers and seeing what else he had going on in that little black heart of his. ;) It is entertaining to see him floundering around sometimes when he does something to piss Cassie off and genuinely has no idea why she is upset with him. The big goof. 

The romance was hot and steamy when he wasn't ready to kill Cassie. haha. Oh, those two. They are one of my favorite couples from Cynthia's books. 

The plotline was awesome. There was a pretty bad villain, although he went down a little easy for my liking. Then again, I am pretty crazy when it comes to the evilness of my villains. ;) I like em bad. 

I love the supernatural elements. Cynthia is so creative and there was one plot twist in there that had my jaw dropping and my fist pumping at the same time. Clever girl (Yes, that was a Jurassic Park reference.) The whole origin story of Dante and the continuing story- line about Phoenix paranormals is awesome. 

So, I totally loved this book. It was an ARC and had typos every now and then, but the characters wormed their way into my heart. 

**I received this book in exchange for an honest review. It is an ARC and the final version may be different from the one I read- although I hope not. 

4.5 Stars
(Round to 5 Stars)



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