Spellbound By Books

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Spellbound Noticeboard (13)

Welcome to Spellbound Noticeboard. Here is where Authors, Bloggers and others can send in anything that you'd like promoted. Competitions, book releases, blog events etc. This is your spot! So feel free to send me a line if you have anything book related (Including books made into movies) and I'll be sure to post these up! I'll also be including features etc that I come across to help spread the word for other Authors and bloggers! Just email me at melissa@spellboundbybooks.com

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Image: From Michael Grant's website

From Michael Grant, Author of the Gone series, comes a new Transmedia experience, a Science fiction Story that takes place on the web. An Interactive Story!!

Check out the BZRK Website

Twitter: Go BZRK

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All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Book 1 in the Birthright Series

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidentally poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

Macmillan page for the book and Author: http://us.macmillan.com/allthesethingsivedone
Become a fan and see Gabrielle on tour this Fall: http://www.facebook.com/gabriellezevinfanpage
Website: http://www.memoirsofa.com

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Hades by Alexandra Adornetto
Book 2 in the Halo series

Heaven Help Her.

Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. But even Xavier’s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well.

The story that Alexandra Adornetto built in her New York Times-bestselling debut, Halo, comes alive in action-packed and unexpected ways, as angels battle demons, and the power of love is put to the test.

See Alexandra Adornetto on tour this Fall: http://www.facebook.com/penfataletour

Macmillan page for the book and author: htp://us.macmillan.com/hades

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That's all from me. Goodnight!

Starkin Crown Winners!

Sorry for the delay in drawing winners people. I'm still on holidays and I'm trying to get so much done without forgetting anything lol. Winners have been picked by Random.org.

Okay the two Australian/New Zealand winners are:
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Melissa!!
and
Renee!!

The International winner is
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sRy!

Congratulations to everyone. I'll be sending an email out to each of you to get a mailing address and I'll get these off to you as soon as possible. Please reply to your emails ASAP so I can send these books off to you :)

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Waiting on Wednesday (71)

Waiting on Wednesday was brought to you by Jill over at Breaking The Spine. It's a weekly post for you to share what upcoming books you can't wait for!

This week I've come across a few really cool sounding ones. The first one is called Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and will be out on the 13th October this year.

Synopsis（Good Reads)
Glory is a young piano prodigy. Frank is the boy who moves in next door. Over the years, their friendship blossoms into an undeniable romance. As Glory descends from stunning piano prodigy into a kind of madness, Frank's love becomes more and more unshakable. They both become hopelessly fixated on the song "Chopsticks".

Part love story, part mystery, part visual collage, this novel is told through images as much as it's told through words. Ultimately the reader must decipher what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along.

Richly imagined by author Jessica Anthony and hauntingly designed by Rodrigo Corral, Chopsticks will rivet teens and adults alike on numerous platforms, including a gorgeous book and paid app for the iPhone and iPad, with many additional features.

The second book I came across that sounds awesome is In Honor by Jessi Kirby. This one will be released 8th May

Synopsis (Good Reads)
Honor receives her brother's last letter from Iraq three days after learning that he died, and opens it the day his fellow Marines lay the flag over his casket. Its contents are a complete shock: concert tickets to see Kyra Kelly, her favorite pop star and Finn's celebrity crush. In his letter, he jokingly charged Honor with the task of telling Kyra Kelly that he was in love with her.

Grief-stricken and determined to grant Finn's last request, she rushes to leave immediately. But she only gets as far as the driveway before running into Rusty, Finn's best friend since third grade and his polar opposite. She hasn't seen him in ages, thanks to a falling out between the two guys, but Rusty is much the same as Honor remembers him: arrogant, stubborn. . . and ruggedly good looking. Neither one is what the other would ever look for in a road trip partner, but the two of them set off together, on a voyage that makes sense only because it doesn't. Along the way, they find small and sometimes surprising ways to ease their shared loss and honor Finn--but when shocking truths are revealed at the end of the road, will either of them be able to cope with the consequences?

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Crushed Seraphim by Debra Anastasia

Title: Crushed Seraphim

Author: Debra Anastasia

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Omnific Publishing

Publication Date: 17th May 2011

ISBN: 9781936305742

Stand alone or series: Series.

Pages: 194 pages

Book Received from: Publisher (Omnific Publishing)

First Lines: He pulled his hand through his long hair and lit a cigarette. The rush of the smoke into his lungs did little to dam the pain that poured from somewhere near his center.

Synopsis:

How does a foul-mouthed angel end up as the last hope for all of Heaven and Earth?
When Seraph Emma is maimed and tossed from Heaven by a rogue angel who’s taken charge, she fears she’ll never be allowed to return. Tasked with the impossible job of showing the self-loathing (and not even human!) Jason his worth, Emma is sure she’s doomed to fail.
Meanwhile, having wormed his way into Heaven, the corrupt Everett has trapped God in Hell and has designs on unleashing evil everywhere. Fortunately, if there’s one thing Emma can’t do (in addition to minding her language), it’s give up. Determined to save Jason and get back to Heaven—even if it means going to Hell—Emma’s plan is simple yet impossible: trick the Devil to save God.
What she doesn’t count on is the devotion and, well, humanity she finds in Jason; the spirit, hidden compassion, and raw sex appeal within the Devil; and the vulnerability of her own heart. With the help of two unlikely allies, she’ll wage the battle for Heaven. But will Emma be sidetracked by a new sort of heaven along the way? What’s truly more dangerous? Falling from Heaven, or falling in love?

My Thoughts:
Thanks to Omnific Publishing for giving me the chance to read Crushed Seraphim. The synopsis really does pull you in. A foul mouthed Angel? Sold it for me.

I must admit I really did love Debra's concept on the whole heaven and hell take. Gutter mouth angels, a HOT devil that oozes sex appeal. Better yet, a devil that just comes across as a bad boy. It could almost turn you to the dark side, though wouldn't it?

There are many things I liked about Crushed Seraphim but there are also spots in the story that lose a bit of the magic for me. The storyline itself really had me reading these pages as quick as I could to find out what would happen to each of these characters. So it definitely had me hooked.

I can't say I liked Emma, although there were instances where she seems consistent and then others where she doesn't quite seem stuck in her character. Jack A.K.A the Devil/Satan is one character that I LURVED from the beginning. He's the kind of devil I'd like to meet if I was going to end up in hell. Let's just say that much ;). There's alot more to Jack than all the pain and suffering his job entails him to do.

Though the story is meant to be more about Emma, I think Jason won the spotlight for me hands down. He's the half breed vampire Emma is sent down to try to 'help'. He's different to most of his kind in terms of doing what he must to survive but refraining from letting the cruel side of his nature consume him. He also falls hard for Emma.

One thing that was a let down for me was the way the book is structured. While I don't want to give too much away, I felt that the scene in the middle of the book would have been better toned down as it felt like the peak in the story when in fact it wasn't. It does throw the rest of the story off for me. Don't get me wrong. I did enjoy this from start to finish but I felt like the climax towards the end could have been built up a bit more. Debra does leave the story on a cliffhanger though which left me itching to know more!

Crushed Seraphim portrays a world where it's not quite so black and white when it comes to heaven and hell. Debra has done a wonderful job at capturing the readers attention and while there I found a slight disagreement on the highs and lows of the story, I am looking forward to reading the next in this series as I'm told there is a second.