2 Review: Empower by Jessica Shirvington

Title: Empower (The Embrace Series #5)
Author: Jessica Shirvington
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Published: May 6, 2014
Ebook, ARC
ISBN13: 9781402294600
Genre: Fantasy
Source: NetGalley






Goodreads Summary:
It has been two years since Violet Eden walked away from the city, her friends, her future and - most importantly - her soulmate, Lincoln. Part angel, part human, Violet is determined to stand by the promises she made to save the one she loves.

Living in the perpetual coldness of a broken soul she survives day to day as a Rogue Grigori in London.

But when an unexpected visitor shows up at her door, the news he bears about someone she swore to protect leaves Violet with no choice.

Even worse, she fears that this might all lead back to the night she tries hardest to forget. And what was taken without her permission.

Violet is going back to New York ... and she knows exactly who is going to be there.

With Phoenix in her dreams and Lincoln in her heart she knows it is only a matter of time before the final choice must be made.

My thoughts:

Empower by Jessica Shirvington was one of the most anticipated reads on my list. This is the final book in the Embrace series. We've watched Violet Eden from before she was Grigori, falling in love with Lincoln, her crazy relationship with Phoenix, and finally walking away from it all. Not to mention all the battles, losses, and friends she made along the way.

In this book, two years have passed since she walked away from everything in New York. Violet is in London, and she's gone rouge. Violet lives everyday with the pain of a shattered soul. She endures the pain in order to protect Lincoln. However her life in London comes to a screeching halt when she learns Spense is missing and that creepy exile that appeared at the end of Endless might have something to do with it.

Eden and her new 'friends' head back to New York. Head back to everything she ran away from. I don't think it would surprise anyone to know that Eden and Lincoln have a dramatic reunion. But since they're soul mates, you know that everything will work out. I am a little disappointed that Phoenix and Eden didn't get together. I like Phoenix a lot. So if the author wanted to write more about Phoenix (hint hint), I would be okay with that. 

Without giving any spoilers, I will say this was a great ending. Everything ended the way it should, although we did have to say goodbye to some characters.  I did have a few minor  issues with this book, but nothing that ruined the story for me. If you've not had an opportunity to read this series yet, I strongly urge you to do so. It's highly entertaining, fast paced, and addicting! 

My rating:

Books in this series:

Embrace

Enticed

Emblaze

Endless

Empower

0 The Magician’s Kit Giveaway

“Sink your mobile devices into the nearest wishing well and duct-tape your front door

against gnomes, pollsters, and other distractions. THE MAGICIAN'S LAND is

beckoning, and demands your full attention.”

— Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked and Egg & Spoon

“Lev Grossman has conjured a rare creature: a trilogy that simply gets better and better as it goes along.

THE MAGICIAN’S LAND is sumptuous and surprising yet deliciously familiar…Literary perfection for those of us who grew up testing the structural integrity of the backs of wardrobes.”

—Erin Morgenstern, author of The Night Circus

This summer, Viking is thrilled to release THE MAGICIAN’S LAND, the spectacular conclusion to Lev Grossman’s New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy (On-sale: August 5, 2014; 978-0-670-01567-2; $27.95). 

The trilogy opened with The Magicians which Junot Díaz called, “Stirring, complex, adventurous…[a] superb coming of age fantasy.” NPR called the sequel The Magician King “a spellbinding stereograph, a literary adventure novel that is also about privilege, power and the limits of being human.”   Legions of fans now await THE MAGICIAN’S LAND, a novel full of the subversive brilliance that has put Grossman at the forefront of modern fantasy, which will bring the Magicians trilogy to a shattering, triumphant conclusion.

Familiar faces return alongside new characters in THE MAGICIAN’S LAND. After being booted unceremoniously from Fillory, Quentin Coldwater returns to his alma mater, Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic, to stake out a new life as a teacher. But the past catches up to him, and before long, he and the brilliant student Plum must set out on a black market adventure, taking him to old haunts, like Antarctica, and to buried secrets and old friends he thought were lost forever. Quentin discovers a spell that could create a magical utopia, a new Fillory—but casting it would set in motion a chain of events that will bring Earth and Fillory crashing together. To save them, he must risk sacrificing everything.

THE MAGICIAN’S LAND is a tale of love and redemption—the story of a boy becoming a man, an apprentice becoming a master, and a broken land finally becoming whole.  Old readers will devour the rich and riveting final book, and the completed arc will welcome newcomers who can binge-read the series in full. You can learn more about Lev Grossman on his website www.levgrossman.com and follow him on Twitter @leverus.

Would You Like to Be in a Trailer for The Magician’s Land With a Bunch of Famous Writers? Click here for details.

Giveaway includes:

The Magician’s Kit contains:

• An excerpt booklet containing Chapter 1 of THE MAGICIAN’S LAND (contains a lovely illustrated fold-out map)
• Clock-face buttons in 3 different designs: click to view here
• A set of 4 postcards featuring Magicians fan art by Christopher Shy

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0 Giveaway: The Bookman's Tale

A 2013 Barnes & Noble Recommends Selection,

now available in paperback

The Bookman’s Tale

A Novel of Obsession

By Charlie Lovett

Praise for The Bookman’s Tale:

“[A] delightful tale of love and bibliophilia.”

—Parade

“Lovett tells his story with ease, charm and a faith in his characters.”

—USA Today

“This novel has something for everyone: William Shakespeare, a love story, murder and even a secret tunnel.”

—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

“The Bookman’s Tale has plenty of richness to offer. Lovett is deft at juggling plots and eras. “

—Atlanta Journal-Constituion

“. . . a treat.”

—New York Journal of Books

“Lovett’s tale sparkles with seasoned storytelling, and . . . is deftly handled by an author whose playwright roots and sense of scene showcase the skill to keep the reader turning pages.”

—The Mountain Times

Charlie Lovett’s spellbinding New York Times-bestselling debut is guaranteed to capture the hearts of anyone who truly loves books. THE BOOKMAN’S TALE (Penguin; ISBN: 978-0-143-12538-9; On-sale: May 27, 2014; $16.00) combines the excitement of a centuries-old literary conspiracy with the touching love story of a shy bookseller.

In a dusty bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, Wales, Peter Byerly, a widowed American antiquarian bookseller, stumbles across a miniature portrait of his dead wife—but his wife died in 1994 and the portrait is clearly Victorian. When he tries to learn more about the watercolor, Peter is swept up in a web of mystery and intrigue and uncovers what could be the most important (and valuable) artifact in the history of English literature—a book that appears to have marginalia written by William Shakespeare positively proving the identity of the great playwright. But Peter is not the only person interested in the watercolor and the book. Framed for murder and with the killers on his trail, he is desperate to find out if the book is genuine or a forgery. Along the way, the reader is transported back to London in the late sixteenth century and the English countryside in the 1870s, finally discovering not only the truth about the lost book, but also about Peter’s own past and that of his beloved Amanda who died so young.

Fans of Diane Setterfield, A. S. Byatt, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Joanne Harris—and anyone looking to embark on an exciting hunt for the “holy grail” of literary finds—will loveTHE BOOKMAN’S TALE.

About the Author:
CHARLIE LOVETT is a writer, teacher, and playwright whose plays for children have been seen in over 3000 productions worldwide. He served for more than a decade as Writer-in-Residence at Summit School in Winston-Salem , NC . He is a former antiquarian bookseller, and he has collected rare books and other materials related to Lewis Carroll for more than 25 years. He and his wife, Janice, split their time between Winston-Salem and Kingham, Oxfordshire.

THE BOOKMAN’S TALE

Penguin; $16.00

ISBN: 978-0-143-12538-9; On Sale May 27, 2014

Visit the author on the web at www.charlielovett.com

CHARLIE LOVETT WILL BE TOURING TO:

Dayton, OH                Books & Co at the Green / 7:00 pm                                                  June 2

Cincinnati, OH           Joseph-Beth Booksellers / 7:00 pm                                                    June 3

                                               

Wichita, KS                Watermark Books / 6:00 pm                                                              June 10

Pittsburgh /                 Penguin Bookshop / 6:00 pm                                                              June 11

Sewickley, PA                                                                                    

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0 Interview with Margaret Taylor

1. Your latest book, Cannon Fodder, was just released. Describe this book in 3 words.

Evil overlord noob.

2. Tell us about the main character, Alex Nightingale. 

Alec Nightshade is a 15-year-old who's been raised by evil overlords. The poor kid keeps bouncing from guardian to guardian because they get killed by heroes at climactic moments. He wants to pursue a career in overlording, too, because that's simply what's done, but secretly he doesn't want to hurt anybody. That's where the story starts.

3. What do you love most about science fiction and fantasy?

The chance to see other worlds. There's only so much you can see for yourself in one mortal lifetime, but books expand that.

4. You're currently studying plant biology. What fascinates you about this subject?

Plants can't move, so they solve a lot of problems in their lives with chemistry. Plants and fungi are much more chemically diverse than animals are. Dyes, medicines, fibers, flavorings, oils – you can extract all of those things from plants. Plus they can make their own food from sunlight and carbon dioxide, which is really cool.

5. Who would play you in the movie of your life?

Ehh... I'm so bad at this sort of thing. She'd have to be a white woman in her mid twenties. And not one of those movie stars who's built like a wisp of smoke, because I'm not. So maybe a character actress.

Check out more about Margaret Taylor here: http://steamtrainsandghosts.wordpress.com/ and a profile on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4767348.Margaret_R_Taylor. Smashwords here:https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/margarettaylor.

0 Free audio books? Yes please! Check out this week's Sync downloads.

This week Sync highlights kick-butt female detectives. A big thanks to Harper Audio and Hachette Audio for making these titles free this week. Remember you can only download these titles for a limited time: May 29 – June 4. Happy Reading! 

Description:

Tandy Angel isn’t a normal girl, and she knows it. For one thing, her family is magnificently wealthy and lives in a massive apartment in the famous Dakota building in New York City. Her parents are the head of a prominent hedge fund and the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company. She has been told from a very young age that her detachment from any kind of emotion is a superb trait. In fact, her parents have tried to cultivate a lack of emotion in all four of their children in order to encourage perfection of the highest level. But now the four siblings are tested in a way they never imagined–their parents have been murdered, and the kids are the number one suspect. Tandy decides that she’ll have to solve the crime and clear their names, but digging deeper into her parent’s affairs is a dangerous–and revealing–game. Spurred by her findings, Tandy begins to remember flashes of past events that were long ago buried in her memory, and she’s suddenly unable to trust anyone, not even her siblings to tell her the truth. She might not even be able to trust herself. Who knows what the Angel children are truly capable of?

Download here.

Description:

The first Miss Marple mystery, one which tests all her powers of observation and deduction.

“Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe,” declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, “would be doing the world at large a favor!”

It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later–when the Colonel is found shot dead in the clergyman’s study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe.

Download here.

0 Brazen Book Blast

If you like your heroes hot, the sex hotter, and a swoon-worthy romance to swoop in and save your happily ever after, Brazen has the story for you. Sinfully sexy soldiers. Alpha cops who demand control. Sweet guys with a naughty side in the bedroom. At Brazen, they've got the hero destined to melt your... heart. Visit the Entangled website, the Brazen Blog, follow them on Twitter, Like their Facebook page, and follow them on Pinterest.

Introducing Brazen's May 26th releases:

Work Hard, play harder...



Find out more!     



Special $0.99 Introductory Price!     

Let the game of seduction begin...



Find out more!



Special $0.99 Introductory Price!

Plus don't miss the Brazen Seduction Party

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2 Review: The One and Only by Emily Griffin

Title: The One and Only
Author: Emily Griffin
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: May 20, 2014
Hardcover, 400 pages
ISBN 13: 9780345546883
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Source: Publisher





Goodreads Summary:
Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas—a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. Raised alongside her best friend, Lucy, the daughter of Walker’s legendary head coach, Clive Carr, Shea was too devoted to her hometown team to leave. Instead she stayed in Walker for college, even taking a job in the university athletic department after graduation, where she has remained for more than a decade.

But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her. As she finally gives up her safety net to set out on an unexpected path, Shea discovers unsettling truths about the people and things she has always trusted most—and is forced to confront her deepest desires, fears, and secrets.

My thoughts:

New York Times bestselling author Emily Griffin has a new book out that will keep you up late at night reading past your bedtime. The One and Only is a book about love, loyalty, and friendship. 

Shea Rigsby is a hard-core football fan. She's stuck in a rut and with the help of her friends and family, she starts to make changes-some for the better, some not so much. Her best friend's father/head coach at the university she works is one of her closest friends. They share a love of the game and have an easy camaraderie. However Shea starts to realize that her feelings for Coach aren't exactly platonic, which is a whole new set of problems.

The One and Only is my first book by Emily Griffin. I was a little surprised I liked this book so much. Mostly because of the football aspect. I'm usually bored to tears by the talk of football. And though I could have done without it, football is a great metaphor for life. Sometimes you win --sometimes you lose. However Griffin is a great storyteller. She could probably rewrite the phone book and make it into a bestseller. 

There were a few bumps in my enjoyment of this book. I didn't care much for Shea's bff Lucy. She's very self-centered and selfish. Also the fact that Shea was in love with Lucy's dad, whom she had known since she was a child. That sort of weirded me out a bit. However they're both consenting adults so C'est la vie.

My rating:

P.S. I'm reading this book as part of the BookSparks Summer Reading Challenge.  Check out their Facebook page and website. Feel free to join and comment below which books you're reading! 

0 Book Blast: The Lost Duchess

Please join author Jenny Barden as she tours the blogopsphere for The Lost Duchess from May 26-June 20.

Paperback Publication Date: June 5, 2014

Ebury Press

Paperback; 448p

An epic Elizabethan adventure with a thriller pace and a high tension love story that moves from the palaces of England to the savage wilderness of the New World.



Emme Fifield has fallen about as far as a gentlewoman can.



Once a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, her only hope of surviving the scandal that threatens to engulf her is to escape England for a fresh start in the new America where nobody has ever heard of the Duchess of Somerset.



Emme joins Kit Doonan's rag-tag band of idealists, desperados and misfits bound for Virginia. But such a voyage will be far from easy and Emme finds her attraction to the mysterious Doonan inconvenient to say the least.



As for Kit, the handsome mariner has spent years imprisoned by the Spanish, and living as an outlaw with a band of escaped slaves; he has his own inner demons to confront, and his own dark secrets to keep...



Ever since Sir Walter Raleigh's settlement in Virginia was abandoned in 1587 its fate has remained a mystery; 'The Lost Duchess' explores what might have happened to the ill-starred 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke.

Buy the Book

Amazon (AUS)

Amazon (UK)

Book Depository

About the Author

I've had a love of history and adventure ever since an encounter in infancy with a suit of armour at Tamworth Castle. Training as an artist, followed by a career as a city Jenny (Portrait 2)solicitor, did little to help displace my early dream of becoming a knight. A fascination with the Age of Discovery led to travels in South and Central America, and much of the inspiration for my debut came from retracing the footsteps of Francis Drake in Panama. The sequel centres on the first Elizabethan 'lost colony' of early Virginia. I am currently working on an epic adventure during the threat of invasion by the Spanish Armada.



My work has appeared in short story collections and anthologies and I've written for non-fiction publications including the Historical Novels Review. I am active in many organisations, having run the 'Get Writing' conferences for several years, and undertaken the co-ordination of the Historical Novel Society’s London Conference 2012. I am a member of that organisation as well as the Historical Writers' Association, the Romantic Nevelists' Association and the Society of Authors. I'll be co-ordinating the RNA's annual conference in 2014.



I have four children and now live on a farm in Dorset with my long suffering husband and an ever increasing assortment of animals.



I love travelling, art, reading and scrambling up hills and mountains (though I'm not so keen on coming down!).

Author Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Jenny Barden's Blog

English Historical Fiction Authors Blog

Also by Jenny Barden

Publication Date: June 20, 2013

Ebury Press

Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Mistress Cooksley may be a wealthy merchant's daughter, but she blushes at my words and meets my eyes look for look. Yet I cannot hope to court her without fortune, and a dalliance with a pretty maid will not hinder me from my path.



Captain Drake's endeavour might bring me gold, but I, Will Doonan, will have my revenge.



The Spaniards captured my brother and have likely tortured and killed him. For God and St George, we'll strike at the dogs and see justice done.



I thought I'd left Mistress Cooksley behind to gamble everything and follow Drake, and here she is playing the boy at the ends of the world. She's a fool with a heart as brave as any man's. Yet her presence here could be the ruin of us all...

Virtual Tour & Book Blast Schedule

Monday, May 26

Book Blast at Reading the Ages

Book Blast at Literary Chanteuse

Book Blast at Bibliophilia, Please



Tuesday, May 27

Review at A Bibliotaph's Reviews

Book Blast at Flashlight Commentary

Book Blast at To Read or Not to Read



Wednesday, May 28

Review at Carole's Ramblings and Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell



Thursday, May 29

Book Blast at The Maiden's Court

Book Blast at Cheryl's Book Nook

Book Blast at Book Reviews & More by Kathy



Friday, May 30

Review at WTF Are You Reading?

Book Blast at The Mad Reviewer

Book Blast at Curling Up by the Fire



Saturday, May 31

Book Blast at From L.A. to LA

Book Blast at Gobs and Gobs of Books



Sunday, June 1

Book Blast at Lily Pond Reads

Book Blast at So Many Books, So Little Time



Monday, June 2

Review & Giveaway at The Tudor Enthusiast

Book Blast at The Bookworm

Book Blast at CelticLady's Reviews



Tuesday, June 3

Review at Oh, For the Hook of a Book

Book Blast at West Metro Mommy

Book Blast at bookworm2bookworm's Blog



Wednesday, June 4

Review at The Wormhole

Interview at Oh, For the Hook of a Book

Book Blast at Kelsey's Book Corner



Thursday, June 5

Book Blast at Books and Benches

Book Blast at Book Lovers Paradise



Friday, June 6

Interview at Dianne Ascroft Blog

Book Blast at Kincavel Korner

Book Blast at Caroline Wilson Writes



Saturday, June 7

Book Blast at Royal Reviews

Book Blast at History Undressed



Sunday, June 8

Book Blast at Book Nerd



Monday, June 9

Review at A Chick Who Reads

Book Blast at The Musings of a Book Junkie



Tuesday, June 10

Review at She Reads Novels

Book Blast at Just One More Chapter

Book Blast at History From a Woman's Perspective



Wednesday, June 11

Review at Historical Fiction Obsession

Book Blast at Books in the Burbs



Thursday, June 12

Book Blast at Big Book, Little Book

Book Blast at Historical Fiction Notebook



Friday, June 13

Review at Susan Heim on Writing

Review at Svetlana's Reads and Views



Saturday, June 14

Book Blast at Hardcover Feedback

Book Blast at One Book at a Time



Sunday, June 15

Book Blast at Passages to the Past



Monday, June 16

Review at Layered Pages

Review at Starting Fresh

Review at Ageless Pages Reviews



Tuesday, June 17

Review at The Lit Bitch

Book Blast at Griperang's Bookmarks



Wednesday, June 18

Review & Giveaway at Luxury Reading

Book Blast at Princess of Eboli



Thursday, June 19

Review at A Bookish Affair

Review at Little Reader Library

Book Blast at Girl Lost in a Book



Friday, June 20

Review at Broken Teepee

Review at Jorie Loves a Story

Review at The Musings of ALMYBNENR

Guest Post & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

0 Review: The Free Lands by Brian Libby

Title: The Free Lands
Author: Brian Libby

Publisher: Avid Readers Publishing Group

Published: December 27, 2013

Paperback, 228 pages

ISBN 13: 9781612862019
Genre: Fantasy

Source: Author

About the book:

Despite sturdy pioneers, rich resources, fertile plains, and excellent prospects, the frontier province of the New Empire, increasingly plagued by banditry, separatism, and the old threat of the northern barbarians, may need some professional assistance to survive and prosper. The first three volumes of the Mercenaries series are a trilogy not only because of their number but because the story is a continuous tale. This book, Part Four, is a stand-alone volume. Events occur in a region barely mentioned in the trilogy and the story is complete. Many characters are new; many old characters are not present. 

My Thoughts:

I recently had the privilege of reading and now of reviewing the fourth book of the Mercenaries series, The Free Lands by Brian Libby. I have read and reviewed the first three books and loved them. This book picks up a relatively short time after Resolution ends. As it is described above, this is a stand alone story. The previous three books were all part of a continuing story which concluded in Resolution. This story takes the Pelicans to the Free Lands, a new frontier for the Empire and mostly untouched in the books until now. The Pelicans are sent there to help deal with rampant banditry and to restore order and to insure the safety of the populace. While in the Free Lands, they uncover a much larger problem and are forced into a full out war for the very existence of the Free Lands. That’s all I want to say about the plot for fear of giving to much away.

The main characters of Andiriel, Lana, Dagget and of course the Sand Fox, Sandi are all back as well as the Pelican’s senior officers and a few other characters from the previous books. Most notably are Timos Feld, former vice-commander of the Sons of Bartin regiment (from Resolution), Sir Stefan, Sir Branlor’s former squire and Col. Tyvar Negrath, commander of the Black Lions Light Horse Regiment (from Resolution). Of the new characters the most prevalent is Saril Trell, the viceroy’s chief Privy Councilor. He is a lawyer but when the Free Lands needs him, he steps up his game and becomes the colonel-general to direct the forces against the bandits. All the characters that you get to know in this story are well written and developed. Libby does an excellent job of using the characters to get you invested in the story. Andiriel and her fervor for doing right, for the Empire and for her regiment are inspiring. There is deep emotion conveyed by the characters that makes you feel a part of the Free Lands.

Now, as to that story. This continues to be some of my favorite stuff that I’ve read in quite some time. The politics, the culture, the overall world-building that Libby does here is outstanding. The battles are once again told in exquisite detail and brought to a life of their own. The dense forests remind you that we are on the new frontier as far as the Empire is concerned. This is epic fantasy storytelling at its best.

I have truly enjoyed the Mercenaries series and sincerely hope that the author gives us more of Andiriel, Sandi and the Pelicans. I feel the need to quote my review of Storm Approaching again; “If you are looking for a good fantasy story without all the trappings of convenience found in most contemporary fantasy then this is a book you NEED to read.” Although this is a stand alone book, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you skipped the first three excellent books in this series. This is an absolute must for you fantasy lovers TBR stack.

My Rating:

0 Interview: Teresa Keefer

1. Two of your novels deal with starting over again. Why do you think this is a subject that resonates with readers?
I think that starting over resonates with readers because we all have that first love that we wonder "what if" or "what could we have done differently". And of course there are those that think "what was I thinking?!" I think anyone who reads romance is a romantic at heart and likes to see things that didn't work out before end up with a happily ever after.

2. You're an avid reader that reads across many genres. What is your most/least favorite genre?
My absolute least favorite genre is science fiction in the sense of War of the Worlds science fiction or UFO/space alien science fiction. I also don't like futuristic type work. I'm not sure why but it's just never been to my taste. Other than that I love to read just about anything! My favorites include Stephen King, James Patterson, Ann Rule, Anne Rice, Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Linda Lael Miller, Heather Graham, Ann Coulter, Doreen Virtue, Sylvia Browne...the list is endless!

3. Your novels are set in places that you've actually visited. Where would you still like to travel?
That's an easy one! I yearn to go to Ireland and I've promised myself as soon as I can I'm going to go there! I also want to go to Salem, MA, Alaska, Montana and the Bahamas.

4. What do you do when you're not writing?
I love to do crafts, garden, cook, read, see movies, watch NASCAR (love Tony Stewart!!)...I also have 3 daughters, 7 grandchildren, a spoiled little dog, 2 cats and a mini horse. I just moved into my house in the fall and there wasn't a chance to do any landscaping before the cold weather hit so I am gradually doing projects and will be working on the garden soon. I am trying to do the organic thing and grow my own vegetables and herbs and am going to try my hand at making soap in the fall using some of the stuff from the garden. I just wish there were more hours in the day!

5. What are you working on now?
I am working on the second book of my Vengeance trilogy...Vengeance Unleashed...which will release yet this spring with the third book...Unleashed Souls coming along next winter. I also have a new trilogy in the works called The Sisters Three but don't have a title for the first book yet. I am doing a spin off from Coming Home at the request of several readers who wanted to see more from the secondary characters..that first book will be A Home For Dixie.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7192736.Teresa_Keefer

http://www.facebook.com/TeresaAKeefer

http://www.amazon.com/Teresa-A-Keefer/e/B00E1NM82K

http://www.librarything.com/author/keeferteresa

http://teresakeeferauthor.wix.com/teresa-keefer-author

Twitter @TKeeferAuthor

2 Review: Daughter of Isis

Title: Daughter of Isis

Author: Kelsey Ketch

Published: October 26, 2013

ASIN: B00G1506CA

Ebook

Genre: Mythology, Upper YA

Source: Own

Goodreads Summary:

“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.”

Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.

The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.

Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.

The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls.

My Thoughts:

Kelsey Ketch has brought us an Egyptian themed mystery . . . how refreshing!!

 

An Egyptian sect has taken route in the middle of the desert community of Setemple.  The Egyptian influence runs throughout the town--right down to the pyramid.   

 

Natara Stone and her father have moved from England to Setemple after the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother.  An encrypted necklace that was discovered after her grandmother's death holds a mysterious clue.  This is the last place she wanted to be.  Her heart was still in England.  New school, new friends, new town . . . there was nothing she could do but make the best of it.

 

Seth O Keefe is a Son of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos.  He is charming to a fault.  That is his blessing from Set.  He has the females and males of the community at his beck and call.  Everyone that is except Natara.  She is different and his effect on her is not the same.  He has tried to pursue her again and again to no avail.  His  obsession to possess her takes a serious turn the closer he gets to her. As he gets closer to her he risks breaking the covenant's most sacred rules, which the punishment is worse than certain death.

This book is a wonderful blend of ancient Egyptian mythology and the modern world. The love/hate relationships through past lives to modern times flow seamlessly.  She has captured the High School clicks:  the hierarchy of the populars and the athletes verses the geeks and the wanna be's. 

 

The dialog is snappy.  The imagery throughout the book brings the reader right into the action of every twist and turn.  The story telling is smooth and unfrayed. I recommend this book to anyone who has a lust for adventure. I am looking forward to the second book, Son of Set, in this trilogy.

My rating: