Love Exactly Blog Tour & Scavenger Hunt & Review

Hello dear readers! Today there is a great giveaway as a part of the tour! Don't forget to hit each blog each day for extra entries by searching for the bold term and entering it in the rafflecopter! Here is the link to all the blogs on the scavenger hunt: http://wp.me/p2u7Qf-mo
*Note: My word will NOT be in a title or a header as those are already bolded. This will be a word in either the review or the extras. Happy Hunting! If you are having trouble finding the word email me and I will give you a hint!

Love Exactly
(Sticks & Stones Series)
by Cassandra Giovanni
Published: June 20, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Format Reviewed: eBook ARC from author
*Mild sexual content

Book Blurb:
Emma Walker was a writer who'd lost herself to someone else's anger--who had given up on ever feeling like herself again.
Evan Levesque was a rock-god--the one all the woman wanted, but he'd never gotten used to the loneliness between the stage and real life.
With just one cup of coffee they'll begin a journey of self-discovery at each others sides, but can Emma handle Evan's fame while dealing with her own demons?
Emma's checkered personal past, a bad relationship that haunts the edges of her memories, threatens to make everything implode on them when Evan takes matters into his own hands.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but your words...they'll destroy my soul--Can Emma handle being put back together and facing who she's become because of it?

eBooks:

Amazon   -   Barnes & Noble   -   Kobo

Paperbacks:

Amazon   -   Signed direct from Author

Emma is a normal girl working as a journalist, living under her parent's house in a basement apartment, but has a past that haunts her every day. When she was a junior in high school, her boyfriend abused her - both physically and emotionally. Though the bruises may have healed, the words, the taunts, the scars that are seared into the mind and soul have yet to heal. And after five years of living in a shell of a body that neither she nor her parent recognize, something changes.

Evan Levesque, a rock star - no, a "Rock God" - bumps into Emma and spills her coffee. He asks her to reimburse her for the cup and takes her to a nearby coffee place and introduces her not only to a Caramel Macchiato, but to a person that may be able to help heal her soul. But he has his issues too. No one is perfect and though he may try, he has to come to terms with the fact that there are things he can't fix.

Ms. Giovanni is an exemplary writer. I knew from the very first exchanges that I was going to love Emma and Evan. Their relationship is not normal; he must go away for long periods of time to tour and record leaving little time for personal relationships. But Emma waits and they savor each and every minute they get to have together. And it is not perfect either. Evan also has a past; a bad boy with the conquests and groupies to match. And when it comes to protecting Emma he gets a little too enthusiastic with the punches. I love that the author does not gloss over the hard parts of life and love. The emotional struggles, the jealousies and the pain that comes with learning to love: To find out what is love exactly.

True to the New Adult genre, there is some sexual content, but unlike some NA books nothing is erotic or even described beyond slight inferences. I like that the author is able to portray real love and even some lust without having to become something that would be described as MA only. Love Exactly is a beautiful love story that illustrates the growth and healing of two people that were not whole until they found each other. I recommend this book to everyone who has had hurt in their lives and lived through it. I also recommend this book to those people who love a good love story with real life drama.

FTC Advisory: I was given a copy of this book from the author for an honest review. No backroom deals or whispered promises were made.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes and excerpts from Love Exactly!

"Sticks andstones may break my bones, but words... they'll destroy my soul."

"If this was all I ever got from him--if this was the only moment I would ever have with him--I would memorize it."

"Bruises fade, but the words... they continue to sting long after their mark has left. Sometimes the words creep in and they are so much worse than the memories of the fists. I could battle through that physical pain -  I could even fight back, but the words... those are what decimated me."

"I try to memorize every song you sing me... but now I don't think I can. There's too many of them."

"I was quiet as I thought back to what happened over five years ago. It had been so long ago, but I'd blocked it out so well I could barely see past the vapors of pain that remained. I liked it that way, but I felt the fear building that with one misstep I could have all those memories back; that those demons would begin to haunt me again. I'd never dealt with them, and I knew demons unexorcized would always remain."

Cassandra doesn't remember a time when she wasn't writing. In fact, the first time she was published was when she was seven years old and won a contest to be published in an American Girl Doll novel. Since then Cassandra has written more novels than she can count and put just as many in the circular bin. Her personal goal with her writing is to show the reader the character's stories through their dialogue and actions instead of just telling the reader what is happening. In 2012 she became a published Young Adult author, releasing In Between Seasons (The Fall, #1) and Walking in the Shadows. In 2013 she branched out by using her artistic illustrating talents to publish her first Children's novel, The Adventures of Skippy Von Flippy: Tales of Friendship (Skippy Tales, #1). Cassandra will also release her first New Adult novel, Just One Cup, in the Spring of 2013.

Cassandra is a freelance professional photographer known for her automotive, nature and architectural shots. She is the owner of Gio Design Studios, a photography and publication marketing company that designs covers and marketing materials for authors utilizing the company's photography. She is currently studying to receive her associates degree in Marketing. Cassandra is happily married to the man of her dreams and they live in the rolling hills of New England with the other loves of her life their dogs, Bubski and Kanga.

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Scavenger Hunt Swagtastic Giveaway!

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Cover Reveal: Very Bad Things by Ilsa Madden-Mills

Very Bad Things

(Briarcrest Academy, #1)

Ilsa Madden-Mills

Full Wrap Cover

Expected release date: September 10, 2013

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Age Group: Mature YA and NA

Cover Designed by: Toski Covey Photography,

Sommer Stein from Perfect Pear,

Model is Mariah Jane Scott

Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any nineteen-year-old girl could desire. She’s an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school. She’s perfect…
Leaving behind her million-dollar mansion and Jimmy Choos, she becomes a girl hell-bent on pushing the limits with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex.
Then she meets her soulmate. But he doesn’t want her.
When it comes to girls, twenty-five-year-old Leo Tate has one rule: never fall in love. His gym and his brother are all he cares about…until he meets Nora. He resists the pull of their attraction, hung up on their six year age difference.
As they struggle to stay away from each other, secrets will be revealed, tempers will flare, and hearts will be broken.
Welcome to Briarcrest Academy…where sometimes, the best things in life are Very Bad Things.

Ilsa wrote her first work at the age of twelve when she penned a little ditty about a handsome prince who had no sense. Since then, she’s written plays, poems, and numerous short stories. Very Bad Things is her first full-length novel and part of a new series called Briarcrest Academy.

She graduated summa cum laude with a master’s in English. After graduation, she directed plays, worked with autistic children, helped start a children’s clothing company, and eventually had a family. Now, she spends her days with two small kids and her Viking husband. When she’s not typing away at a story, you can find her drinking too much coffee, jamming out to Pink, or checking on her carefully maintained chocolate stash.

She loves to hear from fans and fellow avid readers. You can find her on Facebook and a soon to come author website.

Facebook | Goodreads

Cover Reveal: Dance for Me by Helena Newbury

Dance for Me

Helena Newbury

Fenbrook Academy #1

Genre: New Adult Romance

Publisher: Foster & Black

Release Date: July 1st

Natasha is one of the most promising dancers at the prestigious Fenbrook Academy for the Performing Arts and she’s just landed a life-changing audition. But no one knows the guilt she carries...or the damage it makes her inflict on herself when she’s alone.

Darrell is a multi-millionaire designer at 25. But past traumas have pushed him into isolation and the intense pressure of his work has brought him to the edge of burnout. Seeking inspiration, he sees Natasha dance and hires her as his muse.

As she dances for him, the two become entwined in a passionate but troubled relationship. He starts to see the pain inside her and helps her gradually lower her defenses...but Darrell has demons of his own. Can two broken people save each other? Or will the darkness they’re hiding consume them both?

I’m a New Adult Romance author who loves writing about what happens when love and dreams collide with the real world. I wrote my first novel, Dance for Me, in daily chunks in a very busy, very noisy coffee shop, which meant I had to order a black Americano every hour, on the hour, to keep my seat and wound up wired on caffeine most days. Unlike some of my characters, I can’t dance.

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Nefertiti's Heart Blog Tour: Review

"Thank You" to Ashley at Bookish Brunette Book Tours for being an awesome host and for giving me the opportunity to participate in this tour. Another "Thank You" to A.W. Exley for providing a copy of Nefertiti's Heart for review.

Nefertiti's Heart
by A.W. Exley
Publication Date: February 14, 2013
Published by Curiosity Quills Press
Formats: eBook, Paperback ~280 pages
Genre: NA Steampunk, Fantasy, Egyptian Mythology

Book Blurb:
Cara Devon has always suffered curiosity and impetuousness, but tangling with a serial killer might cure that. Permanently.

London, 1861. Impoverished noble Cara has a simple mission after the strange death of her father - sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when aristocratic beauties start dying of broken hearts, an eight inch long brass key hammered through their chests. A killer hunts amongst the nobility, searching for a regal beauty and an ancient Egyptian relic rumored to hold the key to immortality.

Her Majesty’s Enforcers are in pursuit of the murderer and they see a connection between the gruesome deaths and Cara. So does she, somewhere in London her father hid Nefertiti’s Heart, a fist sized diamond with strange mechanical workings. Adding further complication to her life, notorious crime lord, Viscount Nathaniel Lyons is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on Cara and the priceless artifact. If only she could figure out his motive.


Self-preservation fuels Cara's search for the gem. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she makes a fatal mistake.

Amazon - Barnes & Noble

For those of you who know me, I love pretty covers. I usually lean toward the ethereal or the Gothic styles, but there was something about the cover to Nefertiti's Heart that drew me in. While it blatantly presents the Steampunk genre, there was something else to it that made me take a second look. Maybe it was the Ankh, maybe it was the mystery of what the heart contraption meant, but all I know is that I had to read this book.

Now, if you want to read about some simpering girl who is always rescued by a man then this is NOT the book for you! However, if you want a kick-ass heroine who knows her way around a gun and will not hesitate to use it, then Nefertiti's Heart is one you can't miss! 

"My friend here, Mr. Smith, also wants you to leave...Mr. Smith has his own friend, Wesson."

Cara Devon is not your typical Victorian lady. She hates to wear skirts, always has a gun strapped to her, and the mouth on her would make anyone blush. She is one of my favorite female characters of all time. After being brutalized at the hands of a man who her father sold her to in order to pay off his gambling debts, she was taken in by her Grandmother and has lived a life very different from the girls she played with as a child. While they had debutant balls and coming out parties and are being courted by a gaggle of suitable gentlemen callers, Cara travelled the globe learning how to become someone who will never be hurt again - and all the while wearing *gasp* pants! Now she is back in London to settle her father's estate after he was killed by an Asp bite. Quite curious of a death for one not in Egypt, but he is dead nonetheless. Cara is not about to shed a tear for dear ole' dad, but there are a few things that she needs to do. The first is getting a notebook containing her father's prize possessions and then the second is to sell off his precious items one by  one. 

However, there is someone else who wants his collection: Viscount Nathaniel "Nate" Lyons; a man with great means and very little morals. He has ideas of scaring and coercing Cara into giving him what he wants, but after sending his henchmen to strong arm Cara into giving away her secrets, he quickly learns that she is not one to trifle with or one to push around. In fact, when it comes to Cara, Nate has to learn quite a few things...The romance in Nefertiti's Heart is definitely steamy and Nate is swoon worthy and not the man I thought he would be. And especially with Cara's past, she isn't one who likes intimacy - or to be touched, in general - but, like most humans, she craves to be cared for and loved. I so love that Nate is a gentleman and is able to slowly break down enough walls to let someone else into her world. I love that the romance is not rushed. Cara is like a fine wine and must be decanted slowly in order to bring it to its full potential.

Cara is also under suspicion for killing her father. It isn't a great secret as to what happened to her years ago and it is perfectly reasonable to think that the killing may be revenge, but little do the Enforcers know, that there is a much bigger picture to be looked at. Young women are being murdered, stabbed with keys as if they are being unlocked. And there is a connection between all of the victims, just not in the way you might think. I wavered back and forth throughout the novel as to who was the culprit and I was close. I love the way that the author wove Egyptian mythology, Steampunk mechanics and a serial killer together to create the mystery in Nefertiti's Heart. 

Overall, I love the mixing of genres to create such a unique book. I love the mechanical horses and the intricate corsets. The writing is beautiful and elaborate and you can picture yourself in each scene. I am always thrilled when a writer can put me into the story and not just have me looking through a window. This book has the obvious Steampunk themes as well as a exciting mystery and suspense that will keep you guessing until the very end. Plus, the romance is hot and is most definitely at least in the New Adult - Adult category due to sexual content. I would recommend Nefertiti's Heart to who wants something exciting and creative!

FTC Advisory: I was given a copy of this book from the author for an honest review as part of a blog tour. No backroom deals or whispered promises were made.

Books and writing have always been an enormous part of my life. I survived school by hiding out in the library, with several thousand fictional characters for company. At university, I overcame the boredom of studying accountancy by squeezing in Egyptology papers and learning to read hieroglyphics.
Today, I write steampunk novels with a sexy edge and an Egyptian twist. I live in rural New Zealand surrounded by an assortment of weird and wonderful equines, felines, canine and homicidal chickens.

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The Harvesting Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

"Thank You" to Julie at AToMR for being an awesome host and for giving me the opportunity to participate in this tour. Another "Thank You" to Melanie Karsak for providing a copy of The Harvesting for review. I am truly appreciative of being a part of The Harvesting Blog Tour.
*Make sure to check out the video with Melanie - the link is under Extras. Also, don't forget to enter the Giveaway for your very own ecopy of The Harvesting or a The Harvesting theme T-Shirt!!

The Harvesting
(The Harvesting, #1)
by Melanie Karsak
Publication Date: September 18, 2012
Age Group: New Adult
Genre: Horror and Fantasy, Zombie
Formats Available: eBook, Paperback ~386 pages
Tour organized by: AToMR Tours

Book Blurb: 
It's all fun and games until someone ends up undead.

Though Layla reluctantly returns home to rural Hamletville after a desperate call from her psychic grandmother, she could never have anticipated the horror of what Grandma Petrovich has foreseen. The residents of Hamletville will need Layla's help if they are to survive the zombie apocalypse that's upon them. But that is not the only problem. With mankind silenced, it soon becomes apparent that we were never alone. As the beings living on the fringe seek to reclaim power, Layla must find a way to protect the ones she loves or all humanity may be lost.

"To label this a zombie book would be a false pretense . . . this is so much more than that. What you start out with and what you end up with are very different, and those twists and turns in the middle will make your heart beat faster over and over again."-- Colossal Pop

Amazon   -   Smashwords   -   Barnes & Noble

"If you ever need to slice someone's head off, this is the blade you want..."

Layla is a museum curator who specializes in Medieval weaponry (how cool is that?!) who also teaches sword-play classes. She is in the middle of teaching one of her classes to a group of kids when she receives a very cryptic phone call from her Grandmother who tells her to come home. No explanations, nothing. So because Layla knows that her Grandmother would not call if it wasn't important, she gets in her car, cancels a date with a sexy German, and takes off to the little town she was raised in which does not hold such great memories...or people.

When she arrives, Grandma Petrovich gives her money and a list and tells her to go and run errands, still without any explanations which Layla knows not to argue with because Grandma knows things and is a seer or a witch or a medium, depending on who you are asking. When Layla finally gets home and talks to her Grandmother, she is still met with half answers and Layla is getting anxious - her Grandmother has an artillery that the NRA would covet! But all Grandma says is that her own Grandmother knew when she was to see the spirits and then drugs Layla. When she wakes up the next day, she also has the ability to see the spirits and is told by one to "Help them!"

Meanwhile, in the real world, there is an epidemic that is causing people to get sick with a flu like illness, but with a 100% mortality rate.The weird thing is that while all the people with the illness die, post mortem they still have some brain functions. And the first thing that happens after Layla sees a spirit is that she sees two people on her property that are bloody and seem to be dead, but are still upright and quick. After a quick lesson on how to kill these people - or zombies - she has to kill her own Grandmother who was bitten by one of the monsters and has turned herself. With her own set of artillery, swords, and a mission from the spirits, she goes into town to help the rest of the living population - even if Ian, her once lover, is there.

Layla is a natural leader and is probably the smartest and most courageous person in that town and becomes the de facto leader. I love Layla's character. She is strong and methodical and never acts rashly. Unlike some people who just run into a situation, she sits and waits and plans. Layla is the epitome of a female heroine: smart, intelligent, and kick-ass! I want to be like Layla, sword and all! She is able to rally together the townspeople and bring order to a chaotic apocalyptic situation. There is a bit of romance in the book too,but thankfully it does not overshadow the rest of the book. The team of Layla, Ian, and Jamie (Ian's brother) are a force to be reckoned with, and yet comical at the same time.

The plot is creative and action packed! The author Melanie Karsak brought together the paranormal, an account of a post-apocalyptic scenario, and fantasy elements to a story that is a completely powerful and gripping story. The world-building Ms. Karsak imagined and brought to life is vivid and gory and terrible (in an awesome way!) The scene with the Boy Scouts is one of my most favorite depictions of the dichotomy of survival and compassion that The Harvesting brings.This is not just a "Zombie" book, it is an epic tale told with impeccable writing skills and many storylines interwoven to shape a tale that twists and turns and brings you to a place you never thought you would be.

I am in genuine awe of Melanie Karsak and her prowess as an author and I can't even fathom what she will bring in book two. Full of suspense, captivating writing, endearing characters - even the ones that are not quite secondary characters, and a storyline that will keep you guessing, The Harvesting is a book that I would definitely recommend! In fact, I want to read it again because there is so much about The Harvesting to love!

Five brightly burning candles!!

FTC Advisory: I was given a copy of this book from the author for an honest review as part of a blog tour. No backroom deals or whispered promises were made.

From the author: I was interviewed on a local TV show, a Halloween special, about zombies. I am first up in the special and I talk about zombies in general and the novel in particular--and I have horrible posture and they made me wear my t-shirt--but this might be something nice for people to watch if they are interested in the paranormal.

Video: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGHrhTv5YAA

Melanie Karsak, steampunk connoisseur, white elephant collector, and caffeine junkie, resides in Florida with her husband and two children. Melanie is the author of "The Harvesting" series. Visit the author at her blog, melaniekarsak.blogspot.com, to learn more about upcoming projects, book signings, and other neato things.

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(1) eBook of THE HARVESTING (International) 
and 
(1) eBook or Print copy of THE HARVESTING and theme t-shirt (US/Canada)

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Cover Reveal: Broken Gates

The Broken Gates

(P.J. Stone Gates Trilogy #2)

by D.T. Dyllin

Paperback

Expected publication: May 24th 2013 by Dragonfairy Press 

 ***Genre - New Adult Paranormal Romance

P.J. Stone is a Seer who saw too little, too late.

In the past, her biggest worries were boys and school—but war has a way of changing things. Now, the alien Riders are trying to overrun the world. As the last of their kind, P.J. and her friends must find a way to save humanity before there’s nothing left to save.

After choosing a mate, P.J. hoped she'd have time to enjoy her love life. But with everything changing so quickly and major secrets revealed, who knows what the future will bring?

First Book in this series

Click on the photo above to learn more.