Daynight by Megan Thomason

Title:  Daynight

Author:  Megan Thomason

Series:  Daynight #1

Published:  November 26th 2012 by Createspace

 (first published November 13th 2012)

Page Count:  324

Genre:  Young Adult Dystopian

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

2012 Book of the Year Award Finalist-Young Adult Fiction, ForeWord Reviews

“Sure to win over YA readers looking for a dangerous, dystopian adventure story” —Kirkus Reviews

“Gripping young adult dystopian novel; compelling conflicts; high stakes; powerful narrative; surprises keep coming; strong writing; page-turner; engaging characters; Readers will be hungry for the sequels.”—BlueInk Review (starred review)

“Thomason’s description of Thera’s totalitarianism will make fans of Brave New World shiver… SCI, her fantasy corporation, has disturbing parallels to actual companies and regimes that claim to do good while harming people… The author deftly appeals to both romance-loving teens as well as those intrigued by young adults fighting the establishment.”—Foreword Clarion Review, 4 stars

Meet The Second Chance Institute (SCI): Earth’s benevolent non-profit by day, Thera’s totalitarian regime by night. Their motto: Because Everyone Deserves a Second Chance™. Reality: the SCI subjects Second Chancers to strict controls and politically motivated science experiments like Cleaving—forced lifetime union between two people who have sex. Punishment for disobeying SCI edicts? Immediate Exile or death.

Meet Kira Donovan. Fiercely loyal, overly optimistic, and ensnared by the promise of a full-ride college scholarship, Kira signs the SCI Recruit contract to escape memories of a tragedy that left her boyfriend and friends dead.

Meet Blake Sundry. Bitter about being raised in Exile and his mother’s death, Blake’s been trained to infiltrate and destroy the SCI. Current barrier to success? His Recruit partner—Miss Goody Two Shoes Kira Donovan.

Meet Ethan Darcton. Born with a defective heart and resulting inferiority complex, Ethan’s forced to do his SCI elite family’s bidding. Cleave-worthy Kira Donovan catches his eye, but the presiding powers give defect-free Blake Sundry first dibs.

Full of competing agendas, romantic entanglements, humor, twists and turns, daynight is Megan Thomason’s debut young adult dystopian novel and first in the daynight series.

My Review:

What would you do to save the ones that you love? Would you cross lines that you swore should never be crossed? This is a very, very different and extremely unique concept for a novel. This is the story where conspiracy theory is no longer and theory and right and wrong are so blurred that you no longer know which way is up. This story is simultaneously utterly, disturbingly messed up and completely brilliant.

Thomason has a uniquely welcoming manner of giving background information that remains captivating while filling the reader in. She works lots of allusions into her story, leading the reader to a conclusion, rather than telling them. The author also flips perspective from character to character, showing the same situation from different points of view. It really adds clarity and intensity to the story.

The characters in this novel are unique and varied. They draw you in, making it so that you need to know what happens next. You become completely invested in their lives. You begin to wonder if one of the characters will do what’s expected of him, or the right thing, and which is which. Hell, you fall in love with these characters. One of them Google’s relationships. It’s absolutely priceless. She also works a love triangle (or is it a square? Actually, maybe a pentagon…) into the story. I found myself hoping and rooting against hope for the most unlikely pair.

This is one of those stories where you feel for the characters so strongly that you want to help them out. You want to jump in the story and live it out with them. The characters are backed up by a very solid storyline that leaves you with a feeling of completion yet needing to continue on with the characters on the rest of their journey.

Buy your copy online here today!

Guardian's Beloved Mate by Jodie B. Cooper

Title:  Guardian's Beloved Mate

Author: Jodie B. Cooper

Series:  Song of the Sidhi #4

Published:   October 17th 2012

Page Count:  55

Genre:  Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Guardian Alexander (dragon shape shifter) is in charge of finding and destroying the nest of vermin known as the Khr'Vurr, a terrorist organization based in Dragon Valley. More than his career is at stake. Twenty years ago, the Khr'Vurr kidnapped Lizzie, his mate.
Nothing will stand in his way as he searches for his lost love, not even the most powerful Sídhí alive, Lady Sarah Trellick aka Chi’Kehra.

Guardian’s Beloved Mate occurs during the last chapter of Vampire’s Forbidden Territory. The fourth book in the Song of the Sídhí series is a stand-alone paranormal romance, but also continues the underlying story line of the Sídhí Summer Camp series.

A short story filled with intense emotion and action throws Guardian’s Beloved Mate into vivid detail.

Note: Contains violence, minor sexual innuendo, and mild language. Recommended reading age is seventeen and up. There is indirect reference (no detail) to a rape twenty years earlier.

My Review:

Cooper has yet again hit the ball out of the park. She brings together the story of a couple we have been hearing about on and off for a while now. By using the same eloquent yet flowing and light writing style that shines through all of her Sidhi stories and combining it with characters that we have seen on and off throughout the series she manages to tell a love story that will travel through the ages in a very short amount of time.

Rather than spending a great deal of time on character development, Cooper tells us what we need to know about the characters and spends most of her time on story development. Each and every action, reaction, and description helps to build the story towards its conclusion. Cooper ensures that she keeps her audience captivated while telling a story that will entertain and enthral them.

I love how all of Cooper’s Sidhi stories intertwine yet remain independent of one another. It’s a very unique way to write a series. Each couple keeps you captivated for a short while, never outstaying their welcome and always leaving you wanting more.

Buy your copy online here today!

Stolen Love by Jodie B. Cooper

Title:  Stolen Love

Author:  Jodie B. Cooper

Series:  Song of the Sidhi #3

Published:  August 4th 2011

Page Count:  97

Genre:  Young adult paranormal romance

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Every vampire has a destined lifeMate, a mate who is a perfect match. What happens if that perfect mate is stolen?

Twisting the most ancient of vampire laws, Clarisse steals Eric from Katrina with binding words, knowing Katrina can't fight back. Or can she?

Dreams of death dance in Katrina's head, because no one gets between a vampire and her true mate.

Contains minor sexual content & language

My Review:

As always, Cooper delivers a captivating and thrilling story for her readers. It is very well written and well thought out. One cannot help but be drawn in through Coopers light, fluid, and informative writing style.

The characters captivate you from the get-go, being so well and thrillingly developed. You cannot help but feel for them in their plight. Cooper also brings bullying to the forefront in a very unique and unusual way.

I appreciate that Cooper can tell such a complete and captivating story within such a short span of pages. As a reader, you never feel that there is anything missing from the story itself, but like any good book, you’re very sorry to see it end.

Buy your copy online here today!

Promo Blast: His Secret Dancer by Faberge Nostromo

Title:  His Secret Dancer

Author:  Faberge Nostromo

Published:  March 15th 2013 by Breathless Press

Page Count:  107

Genre:  Adonis, heat rating of 4

Book Blurb:

Dan's drab life is a world away from his secret life as Danielle, the burlesque star of Tomasz's transvestite nightclub, Trans-Action.

Having found 'her' inner T girl as a student, Danielle has discovered the power of her femininity and her talent to entice and excite—but she realizes that Dan's life is losing the passion it once had.

As Danielle's relationship with Tomasz takes her deeper into both her lover and his world, encountering passions neither thought they dare explore, demure Francine is too often left to her own devices and desires. Her only release is in the fantasies inspired by the customers who pass through her life and her patisserie.

Does she want a man in her life or a woman? Or both...

Seeing her man exploring her wardrobe she decides to embrace the power of her own sexuality. Then a sizzling encounter with Tomasz unlocks the vixen in her and sets their two worlds on a collision course.

Can Dan bring Dan's world and Danielle's together—especially when he discovers Danielle's secret lover secretly loving Francine?

Or will Tomasz come between them both?

Excerpt:

Tomasz gazed at her, barely able to breathe, let alone speak. Her half closed eyes burned into him. He gazed deep into them for a moment, falling into them, then his attention fell to her hand, still resting on the damp silk mound of her pussy.Her breathing was labored and heavy, her lips, soft and red, parted. His hand cupped the bulge in his perfectly pressed trousers, slowly stroking along the length of its hardness but he couldn't stop.

Her eyes locked onto the movement of his hand. A smile that was halfway between an angel and a slut spread over her face. She looked up and her eyes met his again, hers burning with a fire that held his gaze, and she slipped her fingers inside the dampness of her panties, gently sliding a single fingertip over her still pulsing clit. A soft moan escaped her parted lips like a whispered invitation.

He stepped forward and cupped her face in his hands, gazing even deeper into the post orgasmic haze of the infinite depths of her green eyes. She looked up at him, inviting his kiss, wordlessly, and with her other hand reached for his hand, the hand that was slowly, rhythmically, rubbing up and down the aching need of his rigid cock. She flattened her palm on his and moved with him.

They kissed, no words needed, his mouth on hers, but hers the more powerful, needing to own and control his mouth, her tongue seeking out his. Her hand pressed against his, taking control of his movement now, slowing it so that she could feel how long and hard he was. And he was, so very hard, and long. She wanted that, she needed that, in her, fucking her. She pulled his hand up over his confined erection, slowly, so that they both felt the total extent of his arousal, and then pushed it more forcefully down and out of the way. He complied totally with her direction .He was hers now, hers to play with, to use. The kiss intensified, and her fingers unzipped him, reaching in, finding and grasping him. She felt the wet silky tip of his cock under her fingers as she undid his belt with her other hand, unbuttoning and freeing it so that she could wrap her fingers around the full length of him.

Then he lifted her, his hands on her hips, up onto the tabletop, and pulled himself closer to her. She responded, wrapping her legs around his waist as her fingers eased aside the wet silk of her panties. She guided the moist head of his cock to rub against her clit, still tingling and pulsing, before she slid it lower to rest, achingly, against her pussy lips. She denied him entry, her hot, wet labia brushing, teasing him. Her hand wrapped around him stopped him from thrusting into her, despite his burning desire now to just fuck her hard and fast and unload his tight balls deep inside her. She kept him there, for just a few seconds that seemed like hours to him. She let him enjoy the wet kiss of her pussy lips on the moist tip of his cock, savoring the moment before she let his thickness disappear into her, before she let him become enclosed in the hot, wet embrace of her cunt. She was going to ride him to heaven and he was going to love every second of it.

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A bit about the author:

Faberge Nostromo grew up in the East End of London before escaping to East Anglia. He has been a civil servant, a tea boy, sound engineer, a librarian and an IT consultant but always knew that he was a writer. He now lives deep in the heart of Suffolk with his wife, son and too many guitars.

It's a Dog's Life by Dale Mayer

Title:  It's a Dog's Life

Author:  Dale Mayer

Published:  December 24th 2011

Page Count:  86

Genre:  Romantic Comedy

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It's the first day of Ninna's job in the local animal shelter...and a dog is talking to her. Not just any dog...a fat, old, smart-alecky Basset Hound who says his name is Mosey.

She can't quit, she needs this job. And then there's the yummy vet. Who turns out to live across the street from her in a much bigger house than her tiny house. Big enough to hold a few animals - including the mouthy Mosey. With all this going on, she doesn't have time to worry about the rash of break-ins and the sense of being watched. She's too busy worrying that she's nuts.

My Review:

What an interesting concept for this novella. I think that I would absolutely love it if it were me. It would be so cool to be able to speak with animals, especially the loved ones who are no longer with us.

This was a quite well written and captivating novella. Mayer leads her readers to the conclusion through some interesting ups and downs rather than pulling and pushing them there. The characters were also quite well developed considering the story’s length. You got to know the 3 main characters quite well. However, at the end, I was left hanging on the status of the building relationship.

As a whole, this was a very cute and touching novella. It really gave me a lot to think about and more than a little enjoyment on the way. It was a definite escape from reality as we know it, to reality as it could be.

Buy your copy online here today!

Touched by Death by Dale Mayer

Title:  Touched By Death

Author:  Dale Mayer

Published:  June 17th 2012 by Valley Publishing

Page Count:  342

Genre:  Romantic Suspense

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:  ★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Death had touched anthropologist Jade Hansen in Haiti once before, costing her an unborn child and perhaps her very sanity. A year later, determined to face her own issues, she returns to Haiti with a mortuary team to recover the bodies of an American family from a mass grave.

Visiting his brother after the quake, independent contractor Dane Carter puts his life on hold to help the sleepy town of Jacmel rebuild. But he finds it hard to like his brother’s pregnant wife or her family. He wants to go home, until he meets Jade – and realizes what’s missing in his own life.

When the mortuary team begins work, it’s as if malevolence has been released from the earth. Instead of laying her ghosts to rest, Jade finds herself confronting death and terror again. And the man who unexpectedly awakens her heart – is right in the middle of it all.

My Review:

What a hard hitting novel. It’s hard to imagine living through even one of these events, even though it does happen much more often that we like to admit. Mayer takes these very controversial topics and turns them into a captivating suspense novel that will leave you thinking.

Mayer uses her fluid, well written style to create scenes and communities that you can’t help but picture in your mind’s eye. She has the ability to lay everything out in graphic detail without dwelling on it. Each and every description works its way directly into the storyline creating a cohesive whole, without any gaps or stutters.

The characters in this novel were fairly well developed. There were a couple that I would have liked to know more about as they played fairly important roles in the novel but were basically names on paper. But as a whole, the cast of characters was awesome. They were developed in such a manner that they seemed quite real and very realistic.

As a whole, this novel kept me interested throughout. There were times when you had to cringe, times when you were on the edge of your seat, and times where you felt for the characters.

Buy your copy online here today!

The Kiss Instructor by V. Anton

Title:  The Kiss Instructor

Author:  V. Anton

Published:   November 19th 2012

Page Count:  202

Genre:  Young Adult Contemporary Romance

Shelf:  Review Copy

Rating:    ★★★★★

Synopsis from Goodreads:

For Alana Summer, ballet dancer and magnet for awkward moments, life is far from simple. She struggles with an alcoholic father and an abused mother. She vents her frustration through dancing
and spending time with her two best friends: Chris and the hot looking Adin.

She has been secretly in love with Adin for as long as she can remember and is pretty sure he feels something for her. So she concocts a plan to make him confess his feelings for her. But when one of her biggest fears come true, she is forced to leave the ones that keep her sane. Choosing between her family and her heart, she has to make tough decisions, even when the one she loves the most, loves her back.

My Review:

This is one of those novellas that catch you right from the get go and don’t let go. You also forget that you are reading a novella rather than an actual novel. It is so well and fully developed that it really tells a whole story. This story didn’t just bring tears to my eyes, it made me cry.

With this novel Anton brings verbal abuse to the forefront in a shockingly vivid way. She takes a hard hitting subject and turns it into a brilliant tale of surviving, overcoming, and loving. She also doesn’t mince words and really puts it out there. She also shows the topic in vivid realism and clarity. Characters involved react in realistic ways. But above all, she shows how difficult it can be to overcome the situation in a story that keeps you captivated.

The characters in this novella were extremely well developed. I couldn’t believe how real each and every one of them became. I also appreciated how Anton develops each to fit their role in the story as well as their backgrounds, both sociologically and culturally. I love how the author switches perspectives from character to character, giving the reader everyone’s point of view. It really adds to the impact of the story.

This was a phenomenal novella that I couldn’t put down. I was so wrapped up in the lives of the characters that I didn’t want it to end, but yet was thrilled with the ending. It was the perfect story.

Buy your copy online here today!