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Friday, December 30, 2023

Guest Post w/ Gary Taaffe and Giveaway

Today at Uniquely Moi Books, please welcome, Gary Taaffe! He is here to talk with us not only about his new series, give away (four) sets of his novels in  your choice of what ebook format you prefer, and to get deep into discussion about:     
    
How a Simple Idea Transforms into a Story


One day I was wondering about rustic knives. You know, knives made from materials at hand, rather than the artistic marvels made by custom knife makers around the world. Perhaps one made from the leaf springs of a car. They have a high carbon content that’s perfect for hardening into an excellent hunting knife. I imagined a fish scale type pattern a ball pein hammer would make as it was hammered into shaped. And then perhaps the handle could simply be made from nylon cord wrapped around and around the handle until it formed a nice palm swell for good grip.

Then I wondered about what type of person would make such a knife. A survivalist in a pinch, a military man, or perhaps a kid with skills living on the street.

As you can see, I have a very imaginative mind. An inventive mind. I can take any idea and run with it, just for the fun of it.

 
     That’s how I came up with the Urban Hunters series. 

I wanted two street kids for the story. A boy and a girl, each thirteen years old. That would put me in the young adult genre which I liked. Young Adults are full of fun and adventure and that is what I wanted to write about. I also wanted each of them to already know how to hunt and make their own weapons. A girl who was into hunting with her father gave me a tomboyish type character. She has other skills too but I can’t go into them yet as the story is still unfolding. Same goes for why she ends up cold, wet, upset and wearing a bloodied pair of pink pyjamas when our other character, Billy, finds her in a back alley in the city of Sydney.

So the boy needed hunting skills too but how and where would he have learned them? An Aboriginal boy from the bush would have some amazing skills. And if I put him in the city, completely out of his comfort zone, well, the possibilities were endless. But what on earth would bring an Aboriginal boy from the bush to the city, and what was he still doing in the bush in this day and age? Well that’s where the story really got interesting - creating his back story. It turned out to be so amazing that it started dominating the whole story. Taking away from my original idea of the feral street kids theme. So I had to find a way of combining them. And combine them I did.

Billy’s family have been living hidden in the bush for the last 48 years. Hiding from the white government who were about to steal Billy’s father from his father, as a baby, to give him to white folk to bring him up proper. Two families fled the government missions back to the bush. It’s now 2011 and they’ve been hiding all this time. However the isolation and harsh conditions have decimated the small tribe leaving only a small clan of men, destined to die out. Billy’s mother comes to him in a dream asking him to go to where the whitefellas live, to see if it’s safe for his family to come out of hiding. His great-grandfather explains to him that really, if they don’t find some girls for Billy and his brothers, it will mean the end of the Dreamtime. So, after painful initiations that turn the boy into a man, Billy sets off for the city, wearing nothing more than a loincloth and having never even seen a girl before.

What ensues is hilarious, heartwarming and inspirational. Billy and Amber’s adventures will have you laughing your head off, crying your eyes out and wishing you could join them.

As soon as the rustic knife idea evolved into the street kids, I knew I had a great story. And then when Billy and his back story came onto the scene, well, that was truly exciting. I just had to tell it.

I’m a keen hunter with a love of writing, however I only ever wrote up my hunts in my hunting journal. I ended up elaborating of course, turning them into hunting stories that I showed my hunting buddies. They said I should write a book. That’s why I developed the idea of the rustic knives into the Urban Hunters series.

I spent the next four years writing thirteen episodes into an amazing story. As of December 2011, #3, “Walkabout”, is currently being edited and proofread and is due for release within weeks. I could have released the episodes as I wrote them, however having never written anything professionally before, I figured by the time I finished the thirteen episodes, my writing would have improved to a point that I could be proud, hopefully...

A book critic recently wrote to me personally to say (her official review is due out in January, so I won’t mention her name at this point): “I just finished Four Small Stones and I loved it! Loved your writing and I can’t wait to read the next episode! I really, truly did love your writing. I would describe it as vivid and visual. Every word created a picture in my mind and it was a joy to read. Keep up the great writing.”

A simple idea has turned into a new career for me. I now write all day every day and I am loving it. Amazon sells my eBooks all over the world, as do Smashwords. Soon I’ll be releasing episodes one to three as an old fashioned printed novel, and 2012 will see at least another six episodes released. All because of the idea of a rustic knife.

Please read the Urban Hunters series, I promise, you’ll love it.


Thanks so much Gary!

Walkabout isn't quite ready, so for the giveaway, there will be four winners! Each will get an ebook copy of Four Small Stones, and Tribal Scarring!

Open to everyone
Giveaway ends January 6th
Enter Here



Thursday, December 29, 2023

Looking back on 2011

I said it on Tuesday, and I'll say it again, it seems like just yesterday it was this time in 2010. At the beginning of 2011, I had signed up for many challenges, and found along the way that sadly, the hosts decided to quit blogging or take a break, not keeping up with the task at hand. This saddened me.
  It seems like I had found so many new people blogging at the beginning of this year. You all are so awesome! It's a great time to meet new bloggers if you are new to the book blogging world! I have read 111 books and have written 79 reviews in 2011. I won't be participating in any challenges this year besides the Debut Author Challenge. I have been so busy myself, I feel like it would be better for me to only focus on one this year. I don't like this myself but I don't want to commit to something that I'll quit doing along the way.

I would love for you to share what you've accomplished this year, any goals you have next year, and any challenges you are doing!

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
by
Michelle Hodkin

I highly anticipated this one, yet once I started reading it, really struggled with it. Hearing so many great things I tried once again, only to find that I got through with very mixed feelings. I found myself quite confused at times, so lost, only to have to go back and re-read pages. Then I started thinking, hmm, maybe this was Hodkins plan all along. To have the readers lost in oblivion just like Mara is. If that is the case, then she succeeded with me.

Waking up in a hospital an having no clue of how she got there, Mara has to start picking up the pieces in her life. What happened to her, and where she left off. Her family decides it's best to move away and start in a fresh place. Her father gets a great job offer before they even move and Mara will remember in due time. 

Mara lost three great friends back at her old school. Now, starting a new one, she's the outcast only to be noticed by the one and only, super-hot, Noah. This does nothing but put new targets on her back. Let's not forget to mention the big ugly creepy guy she met before school that almost scared the bejeezus out of her just because she felt pity on his dog. 

Things start getting just a touch complicated when the big ugly creepy guy shows up dead. Just like Mara had envisioned. Noah is there to help when she needs it, but who can help her when her old friend Jude starts showing up. Jude is dead. He's one of her friend's from her old school, so how is he here and why won't he go away?  
There are indeed many twists and turns, just pay attention closely. I had a hard time holding on.

3/5 Stars. 464 Pages. Published by Simon and Schuster. Purchased at Amazon.




Mid-Winters Eve Hop Winner...

Thank you to all you lovely people! The winner this time around chose Shatter Me and is lucky number 335. Her name happens to be...Ceri Kay! Congratulations!

Tuesday, December 27, 2023

My Top 11 Reads of 2011

Looking back on 2011, it seems to have flown by. It seems like only yesterday that it was 2010. It's amazing how time can fly when you have your nose stuck in a book! On Thursday, I'll be posting just how many I've read, and what to expect of me in 2012, so stay tuned for that. My top 10 books that I've read in 2011 are:



1.
Anna Dressed in Blood


2.
When She Woke


3.
Don't Breathe a Word


4.
Ashlyn's Radio


5.
Wither


6.
Between Shades of Grey


7.
The Help


8.
Unearthly


9.
Easter's Lilly


10.
Born at Midnight


11.
The Water Wars

Monday, December 26, 2023

Want to win The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen?


If you haven't read this series yet I highly recommend it! I am giving away all four books to one winner!
This giveaway is open to US only.
Ages 13 and up.
Ends at 11:59 PM January 4th
Winner must respond within 48 hours of contact or a new winner will be chosen.
Enter Here

Sunday, December 25, 2023

Merry Christmas Everyone!

As I am working on preparing dinner, I just wanted to pop in, and let all of you know, I am thinking of you too! I just want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and even if you don't celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful day! If you are alone, or don't have much family close by, may your heart be warmed by the thoughts of their spirits thinking of you. Bless you today, and always!

Friday, December 23, 2023

Guest Post w/ John Michael Cummings

I would like to welcome today, Author John Michael Cummings. John is the author of the newly released book, Ugly to Start With. That's not all he's done, but we'll get to that in a bit. John is here today to speak about:

What It Takes

I sometimes get asked what makes good writing.  By my definition, it’s
all been said before, ad nauseam—write what you know and feel, dig deep
for meanings, connections, conclusions (if there are any).  Revise
tirelessly.

But most aspiring writers, literary or otherwise, don’t want to hear
these answers.   They’d rather hope for something magical, easier.
They’d rather take an easy route—copy lines from a song, use a TV plot
in the story, make one draft and decide they’re done.

Fact is, most are too fainthearted for the toil for literature, perhaps
even too shallow for truth of it.

Sound harsh?

I have evidence.  But first, let me clarify: some writers crank out
good books; others labor in obscurity to get an excellent one out every
lustrum.  Hats off to the bulk-producing, competent ones.  But craft is
one thing, genre along with it, and literary art something else.

The answer beyond the answer is that it takes mental muscle and
endurance to write the latter:  a muscled-up, long-term effort to
revisit your work continually, over months, with excitement in your
soul and fresh distance in your eyes to see ways to improve—little cuts
and enhancements here and there, tricks of narrative that come with
perspective.  It takes even a little madness, a little fever on the
brain, to distill the copious into the crystalline, a bit of possession
and obsession to bang and hammer, chip and drill and blast the truth in
the leanest, emotive form.   Sentences that fire and flame like drag
cars.  Paragraphs that are gold-braided and bejeweled for pharaohs and
their queens.  Character development that rotates massive trees where
they stand in the ground, as if gripped and turned like a ketchup
bottle top.  We’re talking poetry here, elevated language thrumming the
sublime.

In an age of must-have convenience and rampant obesity, such grit and
bare bones suffering for expression is unlikely.   People can’t fathom
years of effort on a body of prose.  It’s a crown of thorns.  It’s
Michelangelo on his back for five years.  It’s monk-like abstention.
Something torturous and self-denying.

Of course I’m not strictly true.   There’s a fair share of committed
scribblers who eventually triumphant.  But many more  are quitters.
This I have seen.

So when I’m asked what it takes, how can I answer?  Those who know the
answer don’t need me to tell them.  Quitting is dying.



 About the Author

John Michael Cummings is the author of the newly released book of                   
fiction Ugly To Start With, a series of thirteen interrelated stories
about childhood published by West Virginia University Press.  For more
information, please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Michael_Cummings
His short stories have appeared in more than seventy-five literary
journals, including North American Review, The Kenyon Review, Alaska
Quarterly Review, and The Chattahoochee Review.  Twice he has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize. His short story "The Scratchboard
Project" received an honorable mention in The Best American Short
Stories 2007.

He is also the author of the nationally acclaimed coming-of-age
novel The Night I Freed John Brown (Philomel Books, Penguin Group,
2009),winner of The Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers (Grades
7-12)and one of ten books recommended by USA TODAY.


Thursday, December 22, 2023

Review: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King
by
Julie Kagawa

Julie lures you into the tale of Meghan's story, thinking at first, that all is normal in life, only to find that normal is far from what she is to discover. It is when Meghan's brother Ethan starts to act odd, that her long-time friend Robbie shows up to explain that her brother Ethan has been replaced. By what you might ask. By a changeling. This changeling is an evil little thing and Meghan isn't having it. Luckily, Robbie knows where he might be. It's just that Meghan has to be open to accept the realm that he is located in.

It's called the Never Never. The faery world. Some key rules to know here are to never trust anyone, never take anything from anyone, and never make deals. Another thing she also learns, is that apparently, Robbie was sent to watch her, and here he goes by Puck.

Along their journey, they meet up with many creatures wanting to hurt, injure, or hold them hostage. It's a constant battle to try and get anywhere. It just seems never ending, as it drags on. It's when Meghan gets summoned that she learns the truth about her identity in the Seelie court. With that information, and Meghan being who she is, it's better that she stay put, but she can't find her brother that way. Sneaking out when nobody is looking, she eventually stumbles upon a mysterious court. A court no one seems to know about. The Iron Court. How odd, because the fey can't deal with iron well all. It is there that Ethan lies. But how can she get to him. Because The Iron King can't be killed.

3/5 Stars. 368 Pages. Published by Harlequin. Purchased at Cate's Book Store.


Tuesday, December 20, 2023

Mid-Winters Eve Blog Hop

Welcome, and thank you for stopping by Uniquely Moi Books! This hop runs from December 21-27th at 11:59 PM. This giveaway is international, and is open to everyone ages thirteen and up. I would like to give you the opportunity to pick either a book that is already released, or one that is about to be released. The winner must contact me within 48 hours of my email. Sorry, but this is a must.
Here's the books to choose from:



 Enter Here
Don't forget to check out all the other stops and see what great book they are giving away!


Monday, December 19, 2023

EPIC DEALS: 10 EBOOKS for $10

  HarperCollins is offering not one, but ten of their books for just $10! How sweet of them! And so close to Christmas too! How could you not pass up a deal as good as 10 ebooks for $10?! What a great price! To give you plenty of time to snag yours, this special deal will run from 12/20/2011 to 1/30/2012. Just what books are we talking about? I have them listed below, take a look for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed! You can visit either Amazon or Barnes and Noble to purchase these great deals! To find out more about hot Harper deals, and titles, giveaways, and goodies, click on the picture below to take you to the Epic Deals Facebook page!
Enjoy!

Ebooks Available

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand




Vesper  by Jeff Sampson





Hereafter by Tara Hudson





Bumped by Megan McCafferty



The Unidentified by Rae Mariz




The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood





Entwined by Heather Dixon





Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) by Sarah Mlynowski





Withering Tights by Louise Rennison





Lucky by Rachel Vail


Review: Hunted by Cheryl Rainfield

Hunted
by
Cheryl Rainfield

Hunted is a story quite different from many out there. I did start to fall deeply for this one and loved Cheryl's writing, but over time, noticed that the storyline was becoming predictable. With that being said, it is a great novel with a fantastic ending and it does have it's surprises. I just struggled with the predictability of it. 

Caitlyn and her mother have never had a normal life living on the run. From who you might ask? First let me start by saying that Caitlyn and her mom are Paras. Paras aren't excepted in the human world and are hunted by Para Troopers. Some Paras seem to be able to hide fairly easy, but not Caitlyn. Her brother was taken when he was younger by a stranger, thinking it was someone they could trust, but it was a trap that he had walked into. Caitlyn had told him not to do it. Sadly, it was too late. Daniel was gone.

Now, hiding out at a cheap hotel and using fake names to fool people, Caitlyn is trying to fit in and go to school, but living in the city that has the highest rate of Paras captured, isn't easy. Para Cleansing Day is coming, and now it seems as if the Para Troopers have wind that she is near. Using Para Slaves to try to capture her, Caitlyn has to work that much harder to hide.

Suddenly, her long lost brother, Daniel shows up. Family is forever right? That's how it's supposed to be. Except it doesn't make sense as to why Paras seem to be dying, and people are out to get her if Daniel is helping. It's a good thing she's got great friends too.

3/5 Stars. 370 Pages. Published by Westside Books. Received for review from the author.

Saturday, December 17, 2023

In My Mailbox (42)

What is "In My Mailbox"?In My Mailbox is a weekly meme. What is a meme, you ask. The simple description is  "an idea that spreads quickly." Usually the creator of the meme asks for other people to participate and ultimately link back to the person that started the meme. Memes shouldn't be confused with "features." There are some features that are somewhat exclusive to certain blogs, be courteous and don't steal content.

The idea of In My Mailbox is to bring books to the attention of our blog readers and to encourage interaction with other blogs.  Here's what I got this week, how about you?


It's been a while since I've posted so I have much to share! I've just been really busy, and haven't been home to get my post ready. Now I'm going to have a huge one! This one is going to go back for probably the past three weeks.

For review:

Won:

Received for my birthday from Lady Reader's Bookstuff


Bought:
I've read this series, but started collecting them in paperback so I just got the last one to finish the series. I was actually thinking of buying them all in hardback only to find that they have stopped printing them.  

I also received my Secret Santa gift last week! My Secret Santa was Andi from Estella's Revenge. I loved what I got!!! She also sent a very sweet card too! If you didn't participate in the Book Blogger Holiday Swap this year, I urge you to next year! It is so much fun!
And a pic of all the goodies:


Well, that's it for me. What bookalicious goodies did you receive?

Thursday, December 15, 2023

Review: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Thirteen Reasons Why
by
Jay Asher

You will find this one so very touching, so very emotional. Heartfelt and Raw. Asher will grip you and won't let go even after you are done. It's deep. It's amazing. It's sad.

It's too bad things can't be changed. Too bad things can't be different. When Clay found the box with the tapes, he didn't know what he was getting into. He was even excited to play them to find out what was on them. Nobody even used tapes anymore. It was when he popped the tape in and pressed play. It was when he heard that voice. Never again did he ever expect to hear that voice. The voice of Hannah Baker. Why? Because she was dead. So why was she speaking on this tape? These tapes, and telling a story?

Hannah Baker had committed suicide and decided that there where thirteen people to leave messages to, explaining as to why she did it. Why they effected her life in such a way that she just couldn't live anymore. Each person was to pass the tapes to the next. The stories weren't pleasant at all, and if they weren't passed, it wouldn't be good for them. One story was different though, One story stuck out. Clay just wishes things could've been different. He got so wrapped up in the rumors, that he never got to know her like he wanted to, and now lives with regrets, hating himself as he listens to Hannah talk about all the things that happened to her. Did she reach out? Could it have been different? Were there signs?

4/5 Stars. 288 Pages. Published by Razorbill. Received from Lady Reader's Bookstuff

Friday, December 9, 2023

Author Interview w/ Wendy Higgins (Sweet Evil)

Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Wendy Higgins, author of Sweet Evil, coming out in May of next year! (SOON!) How exciting it is getting ready for all the new books coming out in 2012!

Now, let's get started!



1.) Writing seems to be in your blood. At what age did you write your first book?
I was five.  J  I wrote a tiny book called “The Day the Whole Class got the Chicken Pox,” and it even had a twist at the end-haha. I drew little stick-figure illustrations and stapled the pages together. I think my mom still has it somewhere.
 
2.) Are you the only writer in the family?
There’s a lot of creativity in my extended family, whether it’s crafting, sewing/quilting, drawing/painting, cake-decorating, you name it! My cousin, Rikki Simons, is the voice of GIR from Invader ZIM and also writes sci-fi graphic novels. 
 
3.) How long did it take you to write Sweet Evil?
It took seven weeks to write the first draft (roughly 82k). I was in the zone!  The revision process was much lengthier. I had to completely disassemble the story and rewrite, adding and deleting as I went. That part took a little over a year and a half.
 
4.) Sweet Evil wasn't originally going to be the title. What other titles did you have?
It began as Angel Prophecy, but the prophecy was taken out during revisions. Next it was Sin Legacy, but the publishers suggested Sweet Evil, and I loved how it summed up the dichotomy within the story.
 
5.) You have a very interesting story about how you got published. Could you share a little of that journey?
After the first draft, I needed a critique partner, but I had no writer friends. I found inkpop.com, a site run by HarperCollins for “teens and those who write for teens.” I got to work with my target audience, helping them, and receiving help.  I will forever love inkpoppers! They voted my story to the top five, where it received an editorial review and a subsequent offer for publication with HarperTeen. Insane, huh?
 
6.) What is something about you that most people don't know? And something that everyone seems to know about you?
Not many people know I was a flight-attendant for a major airline when I was twenty-one (not as glamorous as it looks, lol). Most people do seem to know that I like to give cyber hugs. *squeeze!*
 
7.) What authors did you enjoy reading while growing up? And now?
I loved Beverly Cleary and R.L. Stine. Now I love Richelle Mead, Veronica Roth, Karen Marie Moning, J.K. Rowling, and so many more!
 
8.) We will find more about Anna and Kaidan in the sequel Sweet Hope, but are you currently working on anything else?  
I have one other project, a separate stand alone called See Me, which is nearly complete. I’m looking forward to getting back to it eventually, but I can’t mix story worlds like some writers can. Right now I’m deep in the Sweet world.

 I can't wait! To find out more about Wendy, you can follow her on Twitter, and friend her on Facebookand check out her blogShe is also a member of YAtopia. And don't forget to be a part of the Sweet Evil Facebook Fanpage! 

Thursday, December 8, 2023

Review:Top of the Class (Borrowing Abby Grace) by Kelly Green


Top of the Class
by
Kelly Green

The third and final story in the Borrowing Abby Grace series takes on a whole new twist! As if you aren't stunned enough dealing with the all new male role, you better get prepared to pick your jaw up off the floor. Kelly Green has written a wonderful and thrilling series that everyone must indulge in!

Abby is finally getting the hang of things. Waking up to a new body, she lays there checking it out, along with her new surroundings. How odd in fact, that she finds a woman next to her along with a pair of men's pants on the floor. A bit kinky.
Only until she finds out that those pants belong to her.

Just what on Earth is she supposed to help out with now? And why is it that the woman that woke up asked her to keep things hush hush?

5/5 Stars. 18 Pages. Published by Backlit. Received for review from the author.


Wednesday, December 7, 2023

Book Lovers Holiday Giveaway Winner...

A big thank you to all those who entered. A massive 420 people this time around! You all never cease to amaze me. How awesome you all are. Thank you to all of you who shared you're traditions and plans for this season! The winner chose...
and she is..
Samantha D
Congratulations!

Monday, December 5, 2023

Author Interview w/ Chanelle Gray

I've had the great pleasure of interviewing the author of My Heart Be Damned, Chanelle Gray. My Heart be Damned will grace us with it's presence in the Fall of 2012. Let's get to know this Apocalypsies member better shall we?!



1.) Tell us a little about yourself
 Hi all! I'm a twenty-something girl from London. Huge animal lover, huge book lover. I also like shopping and all that jazz. I write YA - anything to do with YA and I'm reading or writing about it. I think it's such a great time in people's lives; it can really mould and shape the person you're going to become. No kiddies or husband yet, but I do have an adorable nephew who I look after whenever I begin to feel broody! Oh, and I have a degree in psychology and counselling.
2.) Not only are you an author, but a reviewer as well. What are some of your favorite books?
 Oooh difficult question. I have to mention Harry Potter. They came out when I was about nine or ten and they were the first books that got me reading. We read it in school and then once I left school, I continued to buy them to read. That series will always deserve a mention. Then we have, in no particular order, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. That book has got to be one of my favourite contemporary YA stories of all time. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and ANYTHING by Lauren Oliver.
3.) Have you always had a passion for books?
No, not really. It only came when I realised I wanted to be a writer. All the advice out there said to be well read in your genre, so I started buying more books. I barely had enough books to fill one shelf on my bookcase! But then I'd start hearing buzz about books coming out so I bought more and more and then started to review them. Now I have so many books and so little time!
4.) What was your first idea for My Heart Be Damned?
I always wanted to write a book about a girl who could kick some serious ass, but I held off because if I wrote about her fighting vampires, it would be too Buffy and plus vampires were dying out. Demons were done. Zombies were dying. You can't really kick ass against ghosts, unless you make them corporeal. And of course werewolves are done. So I sat on this want to create a supernatural, fighting story until one day I thought 'why not create my own supernatural creature?' Thus 'Damned' were born. Evil souls from hell that take residence in human bodies. And the rest came from there. A mystery that needs solving, a romance, and lots of fighting scenes :D
5.) Do you have a favorite writing place?
 Not really. I've been writing on my laptop in bed recently. It's comfortable and snuggly. But I don't have a study or office, or even like a Starbucks I visit. I'm boring that way!
6.) Hobbies or special interests?
 I used to own horses, and I will do so again one of these days. Just need to not have a day job! I love socialising and watch a lot of TV and movies. Oh and I am so into food its unreal. A good meal can really put me in a great meal. 
7.) Will we be seeing more of Amerie and Marshall?
Hopefully! I'm working my way through planning a sequel now :)
Great stuff Chanelle! I can't wait to see your book cover when it's released!
If you want to know more about Chanelle, you can check out her blog, and follow her on twitter.

Thursday, December 1, 2023

Book Lovers Holiday Giveaway Hop

We all love books here. And with that being said, it's the holiday season.  YAY! Every year we go to my grandma's house for Christmas. I would love to hear something that you plan on doing this holiday season! A huge thank you for I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and Kid Lit Frenzy for hosting this! Now, on to the giveaway!
Choose what book you want out of the four listed. Open to everyone thirteen and up. Winner must respond within 48 hours of me contacting them or another winner will be chosen.

Books to choose from:

 Enter Here

And don't forget to check out all the other awesome blogs participating as well!


Tuesday, November 29, 2023

Review: June of Rock by Elisa Ludwig


June of Rock
by
Elisa Ludwig

A great change of pace, Ludwig has written a novel that is fresh and upbeat from the normal scale of what is out there. It's so nice to read something so different from the usual normal books out. Sometimes it just seems like many start to be about the same thing, with a different twist at the end. This one doesn't start like any other, nor end like any other. Fresh and funky! 

Right before June is about to go off to camp for the summer, her boyfriend and fellow music lover, Micah dumped her. As much as it sucks, June tries and succeeds rather well to hold her head high and is going to enjoy the summer anyway. This won't stop her. That is, as long as she doesn't think about him. It is a "girls-only" camp after all. The only male there is the super hot, super fly, Brice Mills. But he's in a real band. June and all the other girls are only beginners.

Camp Decibelle has it's daily schedule for all the girls depending on what they play as well as what music they are into. The main goal is the Battle of the Axes competition at the end of camp where the bands that the girls have formed will compete against each other. In preparing for this, June learns who her friends are verses who the catty girls and traitors can be. She has also found that Brice Mills seems to be taking an interest in her. Rumors spread, and she still misses Micah. June is a smart girl though, she mustn't let anyone get the best of her. Play on girl, play on!

4/5 Stars. Received for review from Elisa Ludwig. Available for purchase at Amazon.