Tuesday, December 31, 2013

2013 - A Year in Review

Happy New Year! 

So how was your 2013?  Mine was like no other.  I could never have even imagined it.  It far exceeded any expectations that I had.  And I've met so many amazingly wonderful people. 

First and foremost, this blog was born in 2013!  I hope you've enjoyed it so far and I hope that it only gets bigger and better in 2014.  I'm still not sure I know what I'm doing, but I'm just going with the flow.

I do want to share some of the authors and books that had a huge impact on me this year.  I hope that you've read some of these, and if not, think about adding them to your TBR (to-be-read) for 2014.  What better way to start the year than with a good book?

Lacey Weatherford:  What can I say about Lacey?  Let's start with her books.  I started with the first in the Of Witches and Warlocks series and quickly read through everything else she had written.  I finished the entire series, then it was onto Chasing Nikki and Finding Chase, followed by Crush.  And when Smitten came out in June, it led to the start of this blog.    Fire & Ice might just be my favorite of Lacey 's books, but everything she writes is amazing.  But Lacey is more than just a great author.  She is a wonderful person who truly loves her family, friends and fans.  I feel blessed to have met her!

Belinda Boring:  Belinda is known as the Queen of Swoon, but I like to call her the Queen of Cliffhangers.  Have you read her Mystic Wolves series?  Every single book in the series leaves you hanging and begging for the next one.  It's torture really, but in the best possible way.  And Loving Liberty, an amazing story about living the life you were meant to live and not the one that others had mapped out for you.  What can I say about Belinda as a person?  She is such a sweetheart and she makes me laugh all the time.  I cannot wait until we get to meet in person!

Cambria Hebert:  I fell in love with Cambria's Take It Off  series after I received an ARC of the first book, Torch.  And then when Tease came out, I knew I'd found another new author to love.  Apparently this was her first foray into Contemporary romance but trust me when I tell you that she can write, no matter what genre.  And have you read Charmed?  OMG, the woman made me fall in love with the grim reaper.  How does one do that?

Kamery Solomon:  Kamery is one of my favorite friends of 2013.  I absolutely loved the first book in her God Chronicles series, Zeus.  And until I read her novella, Forever, I thought I hated novellas.  But Kamery was able to tell a complete story in a short space and I loved it.   And I love her.  She is her mother's daughter, but she is also her own woman.  She has big dreams (have you read Big Apple Dreams?) and I really hope all her dreams come true!  I know I'll always be cheering her on.

Micalea Smeltzer:  I found Micalea simply because I loved the cover of Finding Olivia  Yep, I bought her book because of the cover.  Whoever said you can't judge a book by its cover has no idea what they're talking about.  But enough about the cover, because Micalea is a fantastic author and her writing speaks for itself.  She paints such beautiful pictures with her words and her characters feel like friends.  And I'm so happy to call her my friend!

Bella Roccaforte:  If you are a fan of paranormal, you must read INK: Fine Lines.  Bella's debut novel is fantastic and I can not wait to read the next one.  And the love triangle...this isn't Twilight.  There are crazy things going on in Bella's head and I'm so glad she's putting them down on paper. Bella is my newest friend and she has been such a great supporter of the page in that short time.  I don't know what I'd do without her.

Jennifer Culbreth, Emily Hemmer, T.H.Snyder, J.J. DiBenedetto...and so many others who reached out to me over the past year. To all those who wrote fabulous books in 2013.  Thank you for all that you do and I can not wait to see where you take us in 2014.

And to all the authors I'm just meeting or who are just starting out, I look forward to getting to know you and your characters.

But I can't forget people like the beautiful Kimberly Tallman.  Such a gorgeous cover model and just one of the sweetest people I have met this year.  I adore you.  And the amazing Regina Wamba at Mae I Design.  Every cover she creates is a work of art!  I honestly do buy books because she did the cover.  It's true!

And the people I could never forget.  Lisa, Kandi, Olivia, Samien, Dianne, Toni...the friends who love to read as much as I do and they share their love of books and authors and bloggers every day.  Just knowing these lovely ladies are there is sometimes what gets me through the day.  Thank you!!!

If someone had told me a year ago that this is where I'd be today, I would have thought they were crazy.  I have over 1000 followers on my Facebook page. I have authors emailing and messaging me, sometimes just to chat.  My name and this blog have appeared in several books and even on the back covers of two of those books.

This all started because I love to read.  That love will never die and I am so glad that it has brought me to where we are today.  I want to thank each and every author who writes these amazing books.for us.  And I want to thank everyone who follows the blog and the page.  You have no idea how much it means to me and I will never be able to put it into words.  I hope you will continue to follow along in 2014 and see where this amazing journey takes us next.


Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Out of Turn by Tiffany A. Snow




I can not even convey to you what the Kathleen Turner series does to me, how it makes me feel.  I only hope that you find a book or a series that effects you this way.  Or maybe you don't want to read a book that totally consumes you.  One that haunts your every thought.  Maybe you don't want characters that live in your head, taking up permanent residence so that they are all you think about. It's too late for me because that is exactly what this series has done to me.  That and so much more.

I instantly fell in love with these characters in No Turning Back and my adoration has never wavered.  As soon as I finished book #1, No Turning Back, I immediately downloaded #2, Turn to Me.  As soon as I finished Turn to Me, I immediately read them again.  I have never done that before with any book. Book 3, Turning Point, wasn't due out for a few more months so I had to wait and I really considered just reading them for a third time.  But I thought I should probably read something else.  And so I did.  I read many good books, but nothing was as good as the Kathleen Turner series.

I am consumed by this story.  I can not get enough of Kat, Blane and Kade.  The rollercoaster ride of emotion that Tiffany A. Snow takes me on can not be explained.  Every high and every low is felt in my stomach, my heart, my soul.  I have felt every heartache right alongside Kathleen.  She lives inside me.

If you've been reading the series, you know about Kat, Blane and Kade.  And we ended Turning Point (Book #3) with Blane accusing Kat of cheating on him with his brother, Kade.  Blane's Uncle, who had been trying to get Kat out of the picture all along, had set it up to look like there was something going on and Blane believed him.  The engagement was off and Kat, Kade and Blane all went their separate ways.

Book 4, Out of Turn begins with Kat trying to get her life back together.  Trying to move on, but in my opinion, not very successfully.  Kat loves Blane and is absolutely devastated that he would believe that she was capable of hurting him that way.  How could he believe his Uncle over her?  And where is Kade and does he know what his brother has accused them of?

When Blane suddenly reappears in her life, she can't handle it because she still loves him with everything she's got and she makes a frantic phone call reaching out to the one person who could change everything...for all of them. 

Blane knows that he was wrong, but how does he apologize? How does he make it right?  Is it too late?  Has he pushed Kathleen right into his brother's arms? 

By the end of Out of Turn, I was crying...seriously bawling.  I was an emotional mess.  I can only begin to imagine what I will be like after reading Point of No Return, knowing that it is the last and final in the series.  Dear Kleenex...send me a case.  I'm going to need them.


You can learn more about Tiffany A. Snow on her website:  www.tiffanyasnow.com

You can find the entire series at Amazon.com
No Turning Back
Turn to Me
Turning Point
Out of Turn
And coming soon (May 2014):  Point of No Return - preorder your copy now.


Tiffany has also written companion books from Blane and Kade's Point of View.

Get Blane's now:  Turn on a Dime - Blane's Turn



We'll keep you posted on when it's Kade's Turn.







Friday, December 13, 2013

INK: Fine Lines by Bella Roccaforte


Murder!  Strange dreams!  And a love triangle!  You'll find it all in INK: Fine Lines from Bella Roccaforte. 

Shay creates comic books, but there is nothing funny about them or about the fact that she's now being accused of murder because her latest scenes are eerily familiar to the scene of a horrific crime.  How is it that her dreams are becoming a reality?  Can she prove that it's just a coincidence?  But then again, is it?   

And then there is the love triangle.  Two childhood friends who grew to be rivals.  One has been Mr. Reliable, always there when she needs him, except when he's hitting the bottle.  And the other, the one who seems to really own her heart, but he runs every time things get too close.  Will he stick around this time when she needs him most?  Both are fighting demons of their own too, along with fighting each other, so can they keep it together to help Bella through the craziness that has become her life?

Fine Lines is the first in the INK series, although, there is a little prequel, INK: Sketches, available too which takes place a year and a half prior to Fine Lines.  I need to go read that one now, just because I want to, not because I feel like I need to. 

You can get your copy of INK: Fine Lines
At Amazon for your Kindle or if you like to kick it old school, the Paperback.
Or Barnes and Noble

To find out all you need to know about Bella, you can check out her various pages:

https://www.facebook.com/Bellaroccaforte
https://twitter.com/BellaRoccaforte
Http://bellawrites.com
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7151265.Bella_Roccaforte

And if you follow my Facebook page, Roc n' Read, thanks to Bella's generosity, each week through the holidays, I'm giving away e-copies of INK: Fine Lines.  There are still 3 more copies to be given away! 


So now I'm waiting for INK: Vanishing Point so I can find out what happens next.  That's right folks...she left us with a cliffhanger!  I don't know the exact release date, but I suspect it is very soon!!  Can't wait.

In the meantime...I bet you're wondering what I rated INK: Fine Lines.  Well wonder no more, I give it 5 stars!  If you love a good paranormal story, one that is unlike anything else you've read, you should really check out INK: Fine Lines

Monday, December 9, 2013

A Very Mystic Christmas - from Belinda Boring

Who wants to spend the holidays with a pack of wolves?  I do!  And you will too after you read Belinda Boring's novella, A Very Mystic Christmas.

If you've read the Mystic Wolves series then you know (and love) Darcy, Mason, Devlin, Daniel, Jasmine and even Vlad.

And now Belinda Boring has given us an extra special treat this holiday season with this wonderful compilation of memories from their past Christmasas.  Read about Darcy's Christmases before she met Mason and joined the pack.  See how the Elf on a Shelf torments one pack member.  And even take a walk down memory lane with our favorite vampire, Devlin, to see how he spends the holiday.

 
 
A Very Mystic Christmas will put you in the holiday spirit and you'll want to spend your next Christmas with wolves too!  And as an added bonus, you'll find a recipe for so many holiday goodies, you'll be able to make something different for every party you'll be attending...or if you're just going to snuggle with someone Swoony and feed each other sweet treats all night long.
 
Get it now for your Kindle at Amazon. at just 99 cents!
(Sorry, but it's not currently available at B&N.)
 
 
 
And because we can never get enough of Belinda, check out these fabulous Trailers which Kendall McCubbin created for each of Belinda's books.
 
 
 
Forget Me Not  (Book 2 in the Mystic Wolves series)
Forever Changed  (Book 4)
 
 
Each of these videos is simply amazing!  I hope you enjoy them.
 
Be sure to follow Belinda Boring on Facebook at Belinda Boring - Author page.
 
Look for all her books on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!