Sunday, September 9, 2012

Blood Bond Blog Tour: Heather Hildenbrand - Alex's POV





HUGE Thanks to Heather for pushing me out of my "retirement" cocoon!

Today she has been kind enough to write up a little scene from my FAVORITE character's POV.....ALEX!!!

Hope you all enjoy!


Cold Blood

Chapter Twenty-Five: Alex

The radio crackled out some country song that was nothing more than a tenor voice whining for more whiskey. I didn’t pay it any attention but I didn’t turn it off, either. The background noise helped numb the fear that had settled so deeply into my chest, it left an ache similar to what I imagined a heart attack to feel like.
Tara had almost died.
I couldn’t shake the image of her lying on her back with that … thing hovering over her, about to take a bite. Each time I allowed myself to remember, the memory swept me up and threatened to overwhelm me. I took a steadying breath and gripped the wheel tighter. I had to think of something else—anything else—to distract myself.
Unwittingly, another image floated in my mind. Tara in the hotel room we’d shared for a few hours. So much of her skin bared. Bruised. Swollen. It had been both beautiful and horrific seeing her that way. And then lying next to her, sleeping, and the kiss … it had been more than I’d hoped for, her kissing me back.
She certainly hadn’t kissed me back that day in the woods. Then again, I was pretty sure she’d been in shock. I hadn’t exactly planned it, but the way her face looked in that moment … fear of Miles, complete trust in me. And then she’d been angry. There was nothing more beautiful than an angry Tara. Or so I’d thought until she’d kissed me the way she had in the hotel room. The memory of that feeling would warm me for many, many nights to come.
“How bad is this going to be for me, exactly?” Tara asked.
I kept my gaze trained on the road but her question jolted me back to harsh reality. The kiss was over. Our time together, blocking out the world and pretending it didn’t exist, was over. We were almost back to school.
“That depends,” I answered her.
“On what?”
“On our method of entry. Do you want to announce your return?”
“Um, do I have a choice?”
I knew what she was asking and I’d already worked out the answer. The shoulder widened just ahead. Perfect. “Yes.” I pulled over and got out.

We left the truck and began our hike through the darkened woods. It took my eyes a moment to adjust and then shapes of trees and the familiar, yet narrow, path came into focus. I kept my steps small so she could keep up and led the way.
She asked me about the logistics of returning this way: the truck, the wards (as if they worked anymore). I could hear the irritation in my voice as I answered her but I couldn’t help it. We were almost back to reality. There was so much to say. And she’d rather talk about the damned truck.
 She must’ve caught on because I heard, “Alex, wait.”
I kept walking.
Her hand closed over my arm, my skin heating automatically where her fingers touched me. Right now, I hated my body. 
“What’s your problem?” she demanded.
“Nothing. We’re almost back to school. I assume you’ll want to forget about anything that happened between us once we’re there. I’m simply switching gears to accommodate.” I felt petulant and immature saying it, but I didn’t care.
“Switching gears to accommodate?” she echoed. I could hear her temper rising in her voice. Something in my gut warmed in anticipation of a good fight. “What are you, a robot?” I kept my mouth shut, willing her to go on, to say something that mattered. “I didn’t say anything because … well, it’s complicated. You know that.” She paused. The fire had gone out of her voice. “You haven’t said anything, either.”
“You’re right. I guess I figured I made things clear.” I let sarcasm drip from my words. Baiting her.
She laughed and my nerves pricked. “Have you ever actually had a girlfriend? Because you really suck at this.” I opened my mouth to snap back a retort, but she went on, “Don’t answer that. Seriously, though, you can’t kiss a girl and expect her to automatically know your feelings through osmosis or something. Besides, when I met you, you hated me. And now you’re kissing me. So, pardon me if that leavese me a little confused.”
“I didn’t hate you.”
“Pot-ay-toes, pot-ah-toes. You were disgusted, at least.”
I shook my head and the words were out before I could stop them. “You don’t disgust me, Tara. You amaze me, impress me, surprise me, entertain me. You definitely don’t disgust me.”
I clamped my mouth shut, horrified and elated that I’d finally said it. I couldn’t take it back, no matter her response, but I didn’t really want to, now that it was out there.
She didn’t answer and my heart plummeted to somewhere around my knees. “Do I do any of those things for you?” I asked, hating how desperate I sounded. And felt.
She stared at me, the whites of her eyes barely visible in the darkness. “Yes,” she whispered.
My heart soared. I wondered if he could hear us from where I knew he waited in the trees up ahead. I hoped so. Something twisted inside me really, really hoped so. I allowed myself three seconds to enjoy my triumph and then reality came crashing in around me. “And does Wes do any of those things for you?” I asked, trying not to choke on the name.
“Yes,” she repeated, her eyes darting away.
I changed my mind. Hopefully he couldn’t hear us.
The ache in my chest returned—for different reasons. It was my own fault. I’d known the answer the moment I’d asked.
“I think it’s best that we leave it there then. For now.” She didn’t speak and I knew the moment was done. “Let’s get you back to school and focus on getting Miles.”
“Okay.” She sounded defeated.
Exactly how I felt.



AHHHHH!!! I LOVE THIS!

Seriously does this not make you fall in love with Alex all, over, again!

Now make sure that you stalk Heather!





Monday, July 16, 2012

Cover Whore {2,342,566}

It's that time again!!

Some day soon I SWEAR this will be a true blue MEME, that I can take credit for!


Until then, feast your eyes on these babies....

 Asunder - By Jodi Meadows
Breath taking! Seriously, as the sequel, this cover is NICE!


Everbound - By Brodi Ashton
Since reading Everneath this cover has been haunting me, I want to know what happens next!


Paper Valentine - By Brenna Yovanoff
Usually this type of cover doens't grab my attention, but after reading the synopsis it seemed to pull me in.


The Dream Slayer - By Jill Cooper
This cover is WICKED! I <3 it!


Debutantes - By Cora Harrison
Dainty, graceful, secrets! This cover SCREAMS all of that!


Fragments - By Dan Wells
I WANT THIS NOW!!!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Review: Everneath - By Brodi Ashton

Author: Brodi Ashton
 
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Release Date: 1/24/2012

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Purchase Info: Amazon, B&E


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First Thought: My heart hurts….a lot….



Weird first thought right? 

Well for those who’ve read Everneath know exactly what I’m talking about! There is so much pain in this book, which is exactly the reason why Nikki, or Becks, the main character ends up in the Everneath as a Forfeit. She wants Cole to take her pain away, make things easy…but nothing is ever that easy.
Taking the pain away is all she cares about, but after she survives the Feed all she wants it to Return to the Surface. Dazed & confused Nikki is now figuring out how to function, how to feel again seems almost impossible. One thing keeps her going.

Jack.

Now she has 6 months. To make amends, sew the tears of her life back together….to make things as right as she possibly can. It felt like my heart was breaking with each second Nikki cherished on the Surface, knowing that something unstoppable & impossible to outrun was coming…..that her days were truly running out….that’s what I felt crushing me.

Jack's determination to not let Nikki go again made me realize what it means to be a true man hero, his selflessness put him up on the highest pedestal I could find in my mind. (plus he's easy on the eyes, so double win!)


Brodi was able to write with such raw emotion it practically jumped off the pages & attacked me. Honestly, I had to slow down how fast I read the ending, because I simply didn’t want it to end. 
Seeing Jack & Nikki to go through even more heartache…frankly it didn’t seem fair that they had to be the ones going through this.
 Why not Cole? He deserved that type of heartache. You know, the kind that rips at your soul, tears you apart from the inside out…it was almost overwhelming to have a connection to the characters like that.

Where ever this series goes, I'm taggin' along like a rockstar groupie hoping to snag a sweaty headband. My appetite for Nikki, Jack...and yes, even Cole, is outrageous!
Marvelous work Ms. Ashton!


5/5


Thursday, July 5, 2012

"Because I'm a Slacker" - Giveaway

This is simply because I'm a slacker.....

And because I <3 ALL of you! 



Sorry for not being around lately, I have been SWAMPED with life, but I do have a couple of great reviews coming up!

Onto the giveaway :)

Here's what's up for grabs:




Thursday, June 14, 2012

Giveaway: Captivated - By Deb Apodaca


This is a simply because I LOVE all of YOU Giveaway!!

Here's what's up for grabs:

  • 1 Signed Copy of Captivated
  • 2 Signed Bookplates
  • AMAZING Bookmarks (not pictured)



Deb was AWESOME enough to send me these awesome goodies to giveaway to all of you!

Now just feed the copter & Good Luck!


Cover Whore Reveal: Blood Bond - By Heather Hildenbrand



EPPPPPPP!! 

I am SO stoked to sharing it with all of you!

Heather's Dirty Blood Series is one of my absolute favorites & I am HIGHLY anticipating book #3 which will be released on 8/31/2012


Here's a glimpse of what to expect from Blood Bond:

Hybrids.

If I had to choose one word to sum up all of my problems, this would be it.
Without hybrids, I wouldn’t have to watch my best friend slowly becoming a monster. Without hybrids, I could let go of the mentality “hunt or be hunted.” CHAS wouldn’t be scouring the Earth, intent on slaughtering and using Alex to do it. Without hybrids, I wouldn’t have to be on guard that losing my temper meant losing my shape. There would be no monster inside me, struggling to get out. 

Then again, without hybrids, I wouldn’t have Wesley St. John.



Now here's the gorgeous cover:




HOTNESS RIGHT!?


Make sure you stalk Heather in all the right places


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Review: Sweet Evil - By Wendy Higgins


Author: Wendy Higgins

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Release Date: 5/1/2012

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Purchase Info: Amazon





Embrace the Forbidden

What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences?

This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels.

Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She’s aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn’t until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her terrifying heritage and her willpower is put to the test. He’s the boy your daddy warned you about. If only someone had warned Anna.

Forced to face her destiny, will Anna embrace her halo or her horns?



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First Thought: This is the Red Bull of books!

There may be some of you who are like, ‘What the heck doesRed Bull have to do with this book?’, well let me enlighten you. Red Bull isthe equivalent of oxygen to me. It’s my life force. Now go back and reread thatfirst sentence……clearly you now understand what I’m trying to say??

First, and foremost, I have to THANK times 1,000,000 Mindy from Magical Urban Fantasy Reads for pushing this book into my hands (who cometo find out, had it pushed into her hands by Jamie @ Two Chicks on Books). It’s not that I didn’t want to read it, honestly my Cover Whore fell in love with it the first I saw it, but my reading schedule this past month has beenhectic. So, after the reading haze cleared, I jumped head first into Sweet Evil.

Stunning. There are about a million different wordsthat I could use to describe everything about this book. The unique characters, brilliantly thought out back history, and the vivid raw emotions at every turn….I’ll try to tone it down a little.

Anna seems like just your run-of-the-mill, average girl, who just can happen to sense and see people’s emotions. So many different things factor into Anna, one being her overly protective mother who will seldom let her off her leash. Surprisingly, her mother didn’t turn me off like I thought she would. The reasoning behind everything that she did beautifully intertwined with the plot. Of course there was a defining moment when Anna starts to realize that she’s more. From that moment on it was full speed ahead, finding answers is what she wants, and discovering more then she bargained for is exactly what happens!

Speaking of plot, HOLY MOSES! (Bahaha, great play on words there) I can NOT count the amount of times I was left breathless, speechless, and on the verge of tears. And sometimes this all happened at the same time! With Anna being thrust into such an awkward situation with Kaiden (Kai, like Thai), I mean I wouldn’t mind having to travel across the country with him in a car, but knowing how close that Sin is would leave my mind reeling too.

Honestly right now I want to spew from the mouth for probably a good 20 minutes about all the different elements that amazed me, the twists that shattered what I thought knew about the people in this book….and especially how many times I fell in love with these characters over and over again. Well except for Ginger, she’s some what of a snatch.


Ok….now how to wrap up this rant of a review….READ THIS BOOK NOW!


5/5