Book Review: Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gerhman

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman,
paperback edition book cover

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft

by Jody Gehrman

Series: Audrey's Guides #1

Genre: YA, paranormal

Editions available: Paperback, ebook, Kindle

Date published: June 29, 2012

Publisher: Magic Genie Books

Source: Author

Buy: Amazon * Indiebound

Rating:

Summary (Goodreads):

Falling in Love, baking a magical cake, fighting an evil necromancer—it’s all in a day’s work for Audrey Oliver, seventeen-year-old witch-in-training. 

When her mother goes missing and her twenty-one-year-old witchy cousin shows up out of the blue, Audrey knows something’s gone horribly, dangerously wrong. Now it’s up to her to get her own magical powers up to speed before everyone she loves is destroyed by the sorcerer intricately connected to her mother’s secret past.



My Thoughts:


Reading Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is a fun experience. 

Audrey's is not your typical girl. She has something magical in her..but she don't know it yet. Until one day a mysterious girl came after her mother went missing. That's when she found out that she--her mother, as well--was a witch. (Don't worry, that's not a spoiler. You'd know it from the title right away.)

I liked how the story unfold--though I can tell some events. The characters are fun and funny and quite weird. The romance in it also has the effect on me. I really liked it and I'm smiling while I read it.

The overall story was really nice. Even if it is a series, I already saw a lot given in this book and it didn't left me feel incomplete. I liked and enjoy it on the very first page til the last.


Thank you so much, Jody Gehrman, for the effort of sending me a paperback copy of your book for review even if I live internationally and I was just starting (she sent me the book months ago). I also appreciated the personalized bookplate. Thank you! x

Recommendations:

Good book for the Halloween month! I would definitely recommend this to everyone who enjoys young adult books and witches and spooky stories. It was a fun and very nice read.

Book cover comment/s:

Pretty and spooky. Describes the book well.

Book Review: Wingless by Cydney Lawson

Wingless by Cydney Lawson, paperback edition book cover

Wingless

by Cydney Lawson

Series: Wingless #1

Genre: YA, paranormal, urban fantasy, sci-fi, romance

Editions available: Paperback, ebook, Kindle

Date published: March 6, 2011

Source: author

Buy: Amazon * Indiebound * Smashwords

Rating:

Summary (Goodreads):

Charlie thought his summer was going to end like every other summer before it. With a growing sense of forboding and a waning sense of freedom. Until Tane landed on his front lawn in a crumpled heap claiming to be from heaven. A place much darker and much greater than he’d ever imagined. Tane is on a mission to find a Septar, a citizen of Fismuth that was left behind when she was supposed to have been taken. And when she enlists the help of Charlie and his friends, she pulls them into a world of danger, love, and ultimately, heavenly rewards.

My Thoughts:

As the title says it: Wingless. This book is not about angels. But they do come from Heaven. Who landed--practically landed--on Earth. Tane, a not-angel-but-Fismuthian girl has landed from Heaven to Earth to retrieve the Septar. A Fismuthian as well.

I don't quite get the story at first but eventually I've understood it. The next chapter (and a different POV) was fun (and funny) that hooked me up right away. The world building was well-thought, the characters are pretty cool but I was hoping for more action. More unforgettable scenes like the near-end and ending have.

I can really say that this is a good book. It was fun and new and mysterious and well-written. The ending was so amazing that made me want to read the next book. I must say that I'm really impressed with Cydney Lawson's debut book. The only thing I want to demand was..more. 

Recommendations:

For everyone who loves reading paranormal, urban fantasy (and every where this book's genre landed). Try this if you're feeling like you've had enough of angels. Good for your pre-Halloween!

Book cover comment/s:

I don't think the feathers matters coz it's already on the title itself: Wingless.

Thank you so much to the author, Cydney Lawson for providing me an ebook copy of Wingless.

Blog Tour (Review + Guest Post + Giveaway): Stitch by Samantha Durante

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Click here for the complete blog tour schedule.

Stitch by Samantha Durante, paperback edition book cover

Stitch

by Samantha Durante

Series: Stitch #1
Genre: YA, new adult, dystopian, sci-fi, romance, paranormal
Editions available: Paperback, ebook, Kindle
Date published: August 1, 2012
Publisher: Samantha Durante
Source: author
Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
* Indiebound * iTunes * Smashwords
Rating:

Summary (Goodreads):

Her heart races, her muscles coil, and every impulse in Alessa's body screams at her to run... but yet she's powerless to move.

Still struggling to find her footing after the sudden death of her parents, the last thing college freshman Alessa has the strength to deal with is the inexplicable visceral pull drawing her to a handsome ghostly presence. In between grappling with exams and sorority soirees - and disturbing recurring dreams of being captive in a futuristic prison hell - Alessa is determined to unravel the mystery of the apparition who leaves her breathless. But the terrifying secret she uncovers will find her groping desperately through her nightmares for answers.

Because what Alessa hasn't figured out yet is that she's not really a student, the object of her obsession is no ghost, and her sneaking suspicions that something sinister is lurking behind the walls of her university's idyllic campus are only just scratching the surface...

The opening installment in a twist-laden trilogy, Stitch spans the genres of paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi to explore the challenges of a society in transition, where morality, vision, and pragmatism collide leaving the average citizen to suffer the results.

My Thoughts:

Can I first tell you how lucky I am to be part of this tour? This tour is hosted by the author herself, Samantha Durante. I've got an event invitation from Goodreads and I checked out the book before signing in. I saw that it has very nice feedback from the readers, the sypnosis is intriguing and it caught my interest. Man, they were right. Glad I signed up.

The book started with a mystery that made my heart pound. Already. I was instantly in love with it. The first chapter confuses me because it jumped to a world different from the prologue. I thought the author had got it wrong. But I kept reading, because I wanted to find out.

I was beginning to worry because the world from the prologue didn't came back. I'm like, Was I reading the wrong book? But that's impossible, of course. And then a revelation came up halfway through the book and I. Was. Not. Prepared. I was shocked, you could say that. And I almost screamed, Ohmygod. This is SO good! But really, it is.

Stitch took a big swerve and turned to be a book I wasn't expecting. The world and story building is just so good and it keeps me wanting more. Though there are few things that I didn't quite grew fond of. The third POV is fine but I hope it has less narration and more scenes/events/talking for the characters. I also want to learn more about the characters and their world.

Just like this book having several genres, it also offers you a lot of ingredients such as a feeling of thriller and mystery, amazing sci-fi world and sweet romance. I would definitely wanted to find out what will happen next on the second installment of the trilogy, Shudder. I feel like I will be getting more answers and more heart-stopping scenes from the promise it made on the ending of Stitch. 

Recommendations:

For everyone who likes dystopian-sci-fi-paranormal-romance read. You should really try this.

Book cover comment/s:

I think it was amazing. I loved the emphasis made to their green and blue eyes. I thought it would caught anyone's own eyes.

***

For the guest post, I asked author Samantha Durante if she can tell why she chose the Stitch's genre on her first book. And look at the irony, there are two of us bloggers who is scheduled for the tour stop today--and we have asked the same thing (genre) for the guest post. Samantha talks about why she chose dystopian here, while she discusses why she chose paranormal to Stephanie @ A Dream Within A Dream. Check it also out!

Why I Chose Dystopian by Samantha Durante, author of Stitch

Thanks so much to Michelle for hosting the Stitch Blog Tour today! I’m so excited to be here and to share a little about why I chose to write Stitch – my very first book – in the dystopian genre.

There are literally HUNDREDS of book genres to choose from, but when I started coming up

with ideas for Stitch, there were only two that I knew right away Stitch might fall into: paranormal romance and dystopian sci-fi. (And in fact, I wasn’t able to choose just one, so it’s actually a little bit of both!)

Dystopian stories have been incredibly popular lately, particularly in the young adult market (see: Hunger Games, Divergent, Pandemonium, etc.). And though I didn’t realize it until I discovered all these new dystopian series recently, I’ve always been drawn to dystopian settings – The Giver, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 were some of my favorite books as a kid. So this begs the question of what exactly it is about dystopian books that’s got me and all these other readers so excited.

And after giving it some thought, I think it comes down to a few factors: uncertainty, morality, and hope.

1. Uncertainty. We’ve all seen the news reports the past couple years – between the economy, the environment, and the unending global violence, it’s pretty obvious: our world is on a downward spiral. At least, it certainly feels like that sometimes. And when you look into the future and it’s all of a sudden unclear where things are going, it gets you thinking: what if things actually got worse? Like, much worse? What would it be like? Am I prepared? Could I survive?

2. Morality. So the media has got us down on ourselves and wondering if our civilization can

even make it, and as soon as you open that can of worms, all kind of difficult questions present themselves. What would I do to survive? With limited resources, how do you decide who gets to survive? Who makes that decision? What happens if I don’t like the answers to these questions? How could I do things differently? But am I any more qualified to come up with answers than the next guy? We all know what’s right and wrong in the normal day-to-day but what happens when the world gets turned on its head? Do the rules change?

3. Hope. And I think this is really the crux of the whole dystopian genre – when the world ends, and everything is terrible, and you’re forced to do things you don’t even want to think about just to keep on living, what do you have left? Hope. Only hope.

I think this is a fundamental feature of human beings – that inner optimism, the ability to remind ourselves that there’s something out there worth living for even when our world crumbles beyond our wildest nightmares. So we start thinking about how we can solve the problem – how would I structure our society to make something better? What could I change that would create a better outcome? After all, every dystopia is just a failed utopia – someone’s unsuccessful attempt at making the world a better place. So dystopian books force us to ask ourselves what we would have done differently, and thereby tap into that inner well of hopefulness, that unbreakable conviction that somewhere there is a right answer, even if we haven’t figured it out yet.

For me, dystopian books are all about the “What If,” and that’s a game I love to play. So with the Stitch trilogy, we’ll get to play “What If” through (the protagonist) Alessa’s eyes – to see how she answers these questions, how far she’s willing to go, and what factors will push her to bend her own rules. And as we watch Alessa struggle to find her place in a transitioning society, we get to ask ourselves: what would I do?

***

About the Author:

Samantha Durante lives in New York City with her husband, Sudeep, and her cat, Gio. Formerly an engineer at Microsoft, Samantha left the world of software in 2010 to pursue her entrepreneurial dreams and a lifelong love of writing. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology, Samantha is currently working full time for her company Medley Media Associates as a freelance business writer and communications consultant. Stitch is her first novel. Learn more about Samantha at www.samanthadurante.com.

Social Media Links:

Facebook:

Stitch - http://www.facebook.com/stitchtrilogy

Author Samantha Durante - http://www.facebook.com/authorsamanthadurante

Goodreads:

Stitch - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15779886-stitch

Author Samantha Durante  - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6453465.Samantha_Durante

LibraryThing:

Stitch - http://www.librarything.com/work/12870151/book/88297636

Author Samantha Durante - http://www.librarything.com/author/durantesamantha

Shelfari:

Stitch – http://www.shelfari.com/books/30363286/Stitch-(Stitch-Trilogy-Book-1)

Author Samantha Durante - http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002689147/Samantha-Durante/

GIVEAWAY!
-open internationally (!)

- 1 winner will receive ebook copy of Stitch (winner's choice of format)
- ends December 2nd

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour (Review): Freedom Road by T.M Souders

Freedom Road by T.M Souders, Kindle edition book cover

Freedom Road

T.M Souders

Genre: YA, contemporary

Editions available: Paperback, Kindle, ebook

Date published: September 17, 2012

Publisher: T.M Souders

Source: BB Book Tours/author

Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble
* Book Depository * Indiebound

Rating:

Summary (Goodreads):

Since the tender age of eight, music served as Samantha Becker’s source of solace against her father’s tyranny and her mother’s alcoholism. Now at eighteen, her only dream is to study classical guitar at Juilliard. But when her father’s careless actions lead to an “accident,” which threatens her ability to play the guitar, Sam becomes despondent. Losing all confidence in her future, Sam hides behind the emotional barriers that have protected her for years.

Just when Sam has given up, two unexpected people enter her life, giving her the confidence she needs, and forcing her to evaluate all she’s ever known. Battling her father’s plans for her future, band mates using her for personal gain, and a permanent injury, the odds are stacked against her. With auditions approaching and time running out, Sam must relearn to play the guitar, or be destined to give up her dreams forever.



My Thoughts:

To where and whom would you hold on to when you felt like your world has lost it all? Family, dreams, peers. None.

Samantha, the female protagonist, felt like she has lost it all. There's a point when I was reading this book that I thank God for I am not her. How unfortunate she was. And you--anyone--would say that it's not the end of the world, that there are other wonderful things in life and that there are other people had the worst problems. I also told Samantha that, while reading. I wish she could hear me.

One thing I liked about her was that she didn't shut the world out, she even gained real friends. Another thing was that she kept going, dreaming, and have that perseverance to reach her dreams.

I also enjoyed it because it's a music novel and I understand how important music is in her life. Especially it it's the one you've known and been for the most part of your life. The love story in it was also an added flavor for the book's very nice outcome. I loved that it made me felt real. 

Freedom Road is a book about like Samantha is, to keep going even if the ground is crumbling just to reach the dreams you're aiming for. It is an easy read and I think a lot of people will learn, if not relate, from this book. 

Recommendations:

This must be YA novel, but anyone can enjoy and learn from this one.

Book cover comment/s:

I really liked it. I love how she looks at you and you feel like you're seeing through her and she to you.

***


Author Bio:
T.M. Souders was born in Johnstown, PA and grew up in the suburbs outside of Pittsburgh. She graduated in 2004, from Youngstown State University, with a degree in Psychology and minor in Women’s Studies. She is the author of bestselling women’s fiction novel, Waiting on Hope, as well as the novelette Dashing Through The Snow. Her young adult crossover novel, Freedom Road, is due to be released later this year. She currently lives in rural Ohio with her husband and children.

Website * Twitter * Facebook

Blog Tour (Review + Giveaway): Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr, paperback edition book cover

Carnival of Souls

by Melissa Marr

Series: Carnival of Souls #1

Editions available: Hardback, paperback, ebook,

Kindle, audiobook

Date published: September 4, 2012

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source: Publisher/Pinoy Book Tours :)

Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

* Book Depository * Indiebound * iTunes (physical / audiobook)

Buy locally: National Bookstore * Fullybooked

Rating:

Summary (Goodreads):

In a city of daimons, the Carnival of Souls hosts a deadly competition. Once in a generation, every citizen can fight to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

In our own world, Mallory knows that her father—and every other witch—fled the daimons’ city long ago. She trains to be lethal because it’s only a matter of time until the daimons catch up with them.

While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans there for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence that is the Carnival of Souls.

From Melissa Marr, bestselling author of the Wicked Lovely series, comes a brand-new tale of secrets, love, and the struggle to forge one’s own destiny.



My Thoughts:

To be honest, I've never read (or heard) of Melissa Marr before. Everyone seems to know her, or read her books. Reading reviews about this book on Goodreads and her other books, I realized that they must've really know her and loved her books. So when an opportunity sets in, I took it. Carnival of Souls, is my first book from her.

You know, if you're a reader and you read and read (of course) but you can't find light or anything you wanted to see or to get from these books, you could cry of frustration. Where is THAT good book?? You feel like giving up. Like giving up from trying to create a house of cards, but WANTING to get to it.

Reading Carnival of Souls was a joy to me. Don't get me wrong, I don't like people killing each other and talking about breeding like that in real life. It's just that, finally, I've got the book what I'm looking for. It's all in my hands! This book has it: original world building, favorable characters, and oh-so new to me. I've always like books that came fresh to me. Who likes reading repeated stories and predictable endings? I'm sure you don't want that, either. It's a kind of book where you don't know what to expect next, what and who are you gonna trust your heart with. It keeps you guessing, leaves you nodding like, Hmm.. This is really good, and makes you cheer like, Yes! Come together and beat those witches!

This is, by far, my really good read for felt like forever after a several DNFs (that God, those books were just borrowed). As I said, it is new to me. It caught my interest and yes, it kept me wishing for more. It think it's just a little slow-paced. And the ending. The Ending. It felt like a cut TV show for a commercial break but you realized that it will never come back until after another YEAR. Sweet, isn't it?

My first, but now, made me want to read more from Melissa Marr. I found light in a dark novel. And it's a good thing. Very.

Recommendations:
If you love reading, fantasy, dystopian, sci-fi, witches and daimons, magic, actions, this book is for you. (Be also aware that this book contains fight scenes that younger readers must be guided.)

Book cover comment/s:
I think the heat that shows in the cover portrays the intensity of the book really well. I really liked it.

Trailer!
Have you seen it? No? WHY? I loved it! I think it was done really good. It looked like a trailer for a movie instead (well, except for when the girl talked. I think it's too ad-dy. Hope you get what I mean).

Watch it now here!

GIVEAWAY!
- win finished copy of Carnival of Souls. Yay!
- open to PHILIPPINE residents only.
- ends October 20th


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour (Review + Giveaway): Rua by Miranda Kavi

Rua by Miranda Kavi, paperback edition book cover

Rua

by Miranda Kavi

Genre: Paranormal, YA

Date published: September 2, 2012

Source: Tour host/author

Buy: Amazon
Rating:

Summary (Goodreads):

A girl with an unknown destiny. 

A boy from a hidden world. 

When Celeste starts at a new school in a small, Kansas town, she hears whispering voices, has vivid nightmares, and swarms of blackbirds follow her every move. She is oddly drawn to aloof Rylan, the other new student who has his own secrets. 

The exact moment she turns seventeen, she wakes to a bedroom full of strange creatures, purple light emanating from her hands, and Rylan breaking in through her bedroom window.

He knows what she is . . .

Intriguing and deeply romantic, RUA is page-turning YA novel with a supernatural twist.



My Thoughts:

Rua started good. It was straight to the point, and was both refreshing and a bit common for me.

Refreshing in a way that the characters' 'being' was new for me, the unnatural events, their powers and everything. Its common-ness falls unto the high school scenes such a meeting the boy, having an annoying popular girl (that will be the one to be in between her and the boy), an impossibly cool best friend. .. and I don't think I liked the combination of two.

The highlight of this book, was obviously, the well-thought 'being' of the main characters. I just can't understand why it has that kind of ending. I think the story deserves more adventure and a sequel, because if it really was the ending, it would appear more like a dream to me. The book has to have a story that would bring us to Rua's world more and meet a lot of their kind, as well.

It was good and I think a lot of you would like this one.

Recommendations:

Paranormal, urban fantasy lovers!

Book cover comment/s:

I'm in love with it! I can stare at it forever.

***


About the Author:

Miranda Kavi is a YA and Urban Fantasy author. She has worked as an attorney, an executive recruiter, and an assistant in a biological anthropology lab. She loves scary movies, museums, and is hopelessly addicted to chocolate. She lives in the Houston area with her husband and daughter.


Author Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/miranda00writes
FB: http://www.facebook.com/MirandaKavi
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/10592745-miranda-kavi
Website:  http://mirandakavi.com/

***

GIVEAWAY!

- US Only
- Paperback of RUA
- Cute little stuffed blackbird (complete with an authentic crow call recorded when you squeeze it)

- Black feather earings
- Wizard of Oz wish kit

- Ends October 14th















a Rafflecopter giveaway













This blog tour is hosted by BB Book Tours. Click here for the complete Rua tour schedule.

Book Review: Slammed by Colleen Hoover

Slammed by Colleen Hoover, ebook edition book cover

Slammed

by Colleen Hoover

Series: Slammed #1

Genre: YA/new adult, contemporary, romance

Editions available: Paperback, ebook, Kindle

Date published: January 4, 2012

Publisher: Colleen Hoover/Atria Books/Simon & Schuster UK

Source: Netgalley

Buy: Amazon * Barnes & Noble

* Book Depository * Indiebound

Rating: 

Summary (Goodreads):

Following the unexpected death of her father, 18-year-old Layken is forced to be the rock for both her mother and younger brother. Outwardly, she appears resilient and tenacious, but inwardly, she's losing hope.

Enter Will Cooper: The attractive, 21-year-old new neighbor with an intriguing passion for slam poetry and a unique sense of humor. Within days of their introduction, Will and Layken form an intense emotional connection, leaving Layken with a renewed sense of hope.

Not long after an intense, heart-stopping first date, they are slammed to the core when a shocking revelation forces their new relationship to a sudden halt. Daily interactions become impossibly painful as they struggle to find a balance between the feelings that pull them together, and the secret that keeps them apart.

My Thoughts:

When you see a book listed together with Fifty Shades, Beautiful Disaster, Bared to You, etc with the title Intense and "Angsty" Romance in Goodreads...it makes you wanna stay away from that book especially when all you want is a clean, but really good romance book. But something about this book makes me don't wanna miss it. Especially with consistent high reviews and ratings.

Saw it on Netgalley. Requested. Got approved. And here I am.

I never expected I'd like this but... I. Love. This. Book! Awesome. Awesome. Awesome!

It's seems like a love at first sight for Will, and Layken was just being friendly since she just moved in. Usually, this kind of sequence would irritate me, but no. Never this time. Coz after this cliché intro, I was pretty hooked up with the story and characters. 

I loved how Colleen Hoover created Will, as the swoon-worthy male leading character without describing how hot he is in over-exaggerating adjective words. He is adorable because he's being a real and lovable person. He's being real through poetry. Layken confuses me sometimes, though. One time, she's being adorable, one time she's being like a spoiled child. The story wasn't clearly I expected. It contains a powerful romance, and holds a dilemma neither I can't help but think of ways how to fix it. I also loved the Slammed in the book and poetry (you'll see what I meant when you read it).

Slammed is a book about love. Love for your family, parents, sibling, job, your life...and that special person. Reading this book made me realized that my heart was never torn since Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (which was a million years reads ago), or be into a whirlwind of emotions. I was never prepared for any of it. It is also a book that talks about the reality of our life. It is true, it is honest. Any reader would learn a lesson and fall in love from this book. Everything about this book is lovable.

I'm about to request Point of Retreat (Slammed #2) now... ;)

And oh, have I told you that is a clean contemporary romance?

Recommendation:

For everyone who wants a good very good love story. Teens and above of age.

Book cover comment/s:

A stage and a spotlight. It represents Slammed (not the book--but the Slammed that is in the book). But whoever who's gonna came across this book for the first time, seeing the cover alone won't appreciate it right away, I'm afraid.

Alternate cover:

Slammed doesn't really have an alternate cover with different picture, like other books does. But I would like to show you the updated cover (published by Atria Books) with a praise on it and the "New York Times Bestseller" tag. It deserves to have one and lot more--because it really is good.

Check out my review of Point of Retreat (Slammed #2) here.