DIVNELY RUINED from Diane Alberts COVER REVEAL!

DIVINELY RUINED, from Entangled Publishing and the author who brought you ON ONE CONDITION, is hitting the virtual shelves on Thursday, April 26th, but you can get a sneak peek at the cover and blurb here!

She finally meets a decent man--after she's oath-bound never to touch men again!

Rebecca's life sucked before she became an angel. Crappy apartment, awful jobs, abusive boyfriends--it was no wonder she jumped at the chance to escape it all and become a real live angel. The problem is Rebecca's not very angelic,and she'll have to do more to earn her wings than end her love affair with the word f--er,frick.

Especially when she's assigned to save single father Tony Weis, whose less-than-pure thoughts wreak hell on a telepathic angel's nerves. It's all Rebecca can do to keep her hands off him...but when she loses her memory injuring herself to save Tony's daughter, now it's Tony's turn to be her angel and care for her.But will Tony's devotion tempt her from her angelic path, even if it means being human again?

...To learn more about the author and her other projects, go to: www.dianealberts.com

Review: SHIFT by Kim Curran

Strange Chemistry (an imprint of Angry Robot) is continuing their incredible launch with another great book. I read SHIFT by Kim Curran over three nights, and had a hard time putting it down. It's a sci-fi, mind-bendy head trip that keeps your head spinning and your fingers turning the pages from beginning to end.

From Goodreads:

When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he’s not quite so average after all. He’s a ‘Shifter’. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he’s ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world quickly starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.

The pure concept: if you had the ability to have a do-over for any, and every decision you ever made, would you change anything? is intriguing. 

I've never really gotten the concept of "boy books", but this one could definitely appeal to the male reading audience. It's got action, gore, and all the other things that boys love. But girls will like it too, because it's not all about the action and the gore. It's mind-bending and constantly makes the reader question Scott's reality.

Scott was likable, and the pacing was perfect. Just look at that awesome cover. Yeah - that's pretty much the pacing of the book. 


I give SHIFT 5 stars for keeping me intrigued from beginning to end, and making me cringe and go "eww" more than once. :)

Definitely pick this book up when it comes out in September from Strange Chemistry. You won't be disappointed. 

Book Deal Announcement!

This summer you'll be able to purchase my work in E-book format!

My children's picture book, Sara's Ribbon, will be published by MeeGenius in May. As we get closer to the release date, I'll post again with the links on how to nab your own copy!

If you haven't heard of MeeGenius and you have kids (especially emerging readers), you should totally check them out. They have an amazing selection of enhanced e-books, all at really affordable prices. My kids LOVE their MeeGenius books.

So anyway, that's my big news!

Review: BLACKWOOD by Gwenda Bond

I was privileged to be given the opportunity to read and review BLACKWOOD by Gwenda Bond from Strange Chemistry, the new YA imprint of Angry Robot books. BLACKWOOD is the debut book released by Strange Chemistry, and they are off to an AMAZING start.

From Goodreads:

BLACKWOOD on Goodreads

On Roanoke Island, the legend of the 114 people who mysteriously vanished from the Lost Colony hundreds of years ago is just an outdoor drama for the tourists, a story people tell. But when the island faces the sudden disappearance of 114 people now, an unlikely pair of 17-year-olds may be the only hope of bringing them back.

Miranda, a misfit girl from the island’s most infamous family, and Phillips, an exiled teen criminal who hears the voices of the dead, must dodge everyone from federal agents to long-dead alchemists as they work to uncover the secrets of the new Lost Colony. The one thing they can’t dodge is each other.

Blackwood is a dark, witty coming of age story that combines America’s oldest mystery with a thoroughly contemporary romance.

To be honest, even before I opened BLACKWOOD, I was intrigued by the premise. It was so fresh, so unique that I HAD to get my hands on this book. 

And when I read the first sentence, then first paragraph, I was completely hooked. When I'm hooked, I tend to devour entire books in one sitting. This book was no different. The pace was perfect, keeping me turning the pages, anxious to see what happened next. 

The only thing, and it's minor, that jarred me, was the shift between Miranda and Phillips' point of view. I am unsure if it was just because I was reading on my Kindle, which sometimes creates funky formatting, but there didn't seem to be any indication that the point of view was shifting. The shift jarred me the first few times it happened, but then I got used to it and expected it. Like I said, not sure if it was my format and there IS an indication that I wasn't seeing on my Kindle, but just something to think about as you start reading so that you are prepared for the shifting POV's. 

With that said, I LOVED the dual point of views. I loved Miranda. Same with Phillips. I don't want to get spoilery, so I am not going to talk about plot, but I loved the characters and I love what Gwenda did with them. The pace was perfect and kept me turning the pages frantically from beginning to end. 

Five stars is not enough for this book. I would give it ten if I could. Seriously. It's a brilliant premise, and executed beautifully. (And, I mean, look at that cover, isn't it gorgeous???) When this book comes out in September, if you were intrigued by the book's description, you HAVE to pick it up.

After the Madness Workshop #S-15 Eric Steinberg

#S-15 Eric Steinberg

Maple Street, with its tree-lined sidewalks, well-maintained cottages and honest-to-god gas lit lampposts almost made me want to puke from its cloying charm. And the white branches courtesy of today’s fresh snow fall made it worse.

Liking the voice here. 

Gil tried the front door knob, tried again and then frowned back at me. Broad football shoulders slumping, his breath was visible in cold. “It’s locked.”

“Did you expect us to walk right in?” I arched an eyebrow.

He shrugged. “Pretty much, yeah.”

Much as I hated to admit it, the guy did have a point. You could probably count on one hand the number of houses in town that you wouldn’t be able to open the front door, go right in and make yourself at home. Cedar Knolls from which our esteemed Academy took its name was the kind of quaint western Massachusetts town where everyone knows everyone, being the best good neighbor is a competitive sport, and practically no one locks their doors. Evidently, Jeff was among the few. And it served to make me wonder what else our teacher might be hiding in his small off campus Cape Cod on Maple Street. Jeff had managed to wrangle the posh digs out of the Board of Trustees in exchange for gracing us with his presence. The rest of the senior faculty lived in on-campus apartments. The unfortunate junior teachers had to bunk with us in the dorms, doubling as babysitters.

I love the idea of a male protagonist, and I really liked your voice here. I'm intrigued by the question of whether they are there as guests, or if they are breaking into his house. Either way, I'd keep reading. 

After the Madness Workshop #S-14 RELIC

#S-14 RELIC

I’ve died this way before.

Before I stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time. But now, from the burning in the stranger’s eyes, I know he has every intention of killing me.

I wonder, does he see her too?

Her name is Far. All my life, I have been haunted by memories, memories that aren’t mine. I don’t know love or hate. I don’t know magic or destiny. I don’t know what it feels like to die. But they do. There are dozens of them, trapped inside me, or maybe I am trapped inside them.

Far’s memories are the clearest and the most vivid, so close to the surface that I remember the sound of her voice, the deep blue of her eyes, the smells of her world. Her fears and desires intertwine so deeply with my own that sometimes I believe that they are mymemories. That I am Far. That she is me.

Logic berates me that this can’t be true, but the suspicion never fades. I can’t convince myself that I am my own, separate person when one crucial piece of evidence is missing. Far never died. Her life abruptly paused as if she ceased to exist, and I can’t help but think if that had something to do with me.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to recall what it feels like to be stabbed. For once, the memories don’t appear. His footsteps behind me grow louder, and I desperately push myself up though I know I can't escape. My chest smashes back down to the ground, and I gag from the dry dirt on my tongue. With each heartbeat, a new wave of pain crashes over me. I taste metal on my lips.

From the first line, I was hooked. And the first page delivered on the promise that the first line made. I'd absolutely keep reading. 

After the Madness Workshop #S-13 Margay Justice

#S-13 Margay Justice


I always knew my name would get me into trouble one day. I just didn’t think it’d take this long. Maybe I have a slow fuse or a short attention span or something, but, anyway, it finally happened - I snapped. And my name got me in trouble.

Seriously, with a name like Irene Goode, the probability ranked pretty high, if you know what I mean. Well, I guess Irene’s not too bad – unless you’re like a certain someone who shall remain nameless (Bridget Taylor), who once told me, “We had a cow named Irene once. We ate it for dinner.”
But she’s one twisted sister. I mean seriously twisted. Even in grade school. Who’d name something and then eat it? Or even say they did? That’s a demented thing for anyone to say, but really disturbing coming from a seven-year old.
Yeah, so tell me something like that and you make an issue out of the first name. But most of the time, it’s not so bad. Not great. (Like Maxie or Roxie, my idols!) But not bad. Oh, no. The problem is the last name.
Goode.
Do you know how hard it is to live up to a name like that?
I do.
Seriously, how many times can one walk into a room to the sounds of someone saying, “Everyone behave now, the Goode girl’s here,” without losing it a little? I’ve heard that phrase – or some variation of it – since the second day I walked into kindergarten.

I have to say I wasn't hooked by this opening. In order to hook me, something really has to draw me in, make me want to keep reading. But the entire opening page just gives back story as to why the main character was named what she was. The voice is strong, but nothing is happening. I really need something to happen, something to intrigue me, to make me want to turn the page.