Review of Siren Song By Cat Adams

Celia Graves survived becoming an Abomination. She continues to work as a bodyguard in the same town where she was attacked. The vampire attack awakened a part of Celia that she knew nothing about - she's part Siren. Summoned to the Sirens’ island for reasons unknown, Celia must fight off many enemies if she wants to find out about her heritage.

I thoroughly enjoyed book one in this series, BLOOD SONG, and book two is no different. Just when you think you have Cat Adams’ world figured out, they throw more surprises at you. It seems Sirens have more than the average power. They’re not only able to seduce men and alienate women, but they also have several surprises up their sleeves.

The author has created a paranormal fantasy world that leaves the reader wanting more. Interesting characters, wonderful world-building, and a mythology that gets more interesting with every character they throw into the mix. Many authors try to pull the reader in from the beginning of the story - Cat Adams succeeds.

Fast-paced, twists and turns, excitement galore, SIREN SONG does not disappoint. With this second book, I am even more sure that this will be one of the best series that I will read this year. You never know what is going to happen, but you definitely know that whatever it is it will be exciting and hard to put down.

5 star Gold Award

Reviewed for TeensReadToo.com- http://www.teensreadtoo.com/SirenSongCA.html

GUEST POST -- Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson

"Butt Plus Chair"

Oliver Stone has three words of advice for any aspiring writer: butt plus chair. We take that a step further and add one extra word: butt plus comfy chair. What you sit on can't be understated. Sure, we absolutely agree that much of writing is just sitting down to do it. But if you're going to put in 9 to 5 days behind a desk it helps to sit on something plush and preferably ergonomic. Andrew prefers a swivel chair with a high back, arm rests for his elbows, and lots of cushion for his bony rear-end. Adam prefers the larger, lower to the ground leather chair, one he can squirm about in impatiently as Andrew types; cushy and perhaps even sleepable. When so much of your day is sitting -- or standing and pacing -- but mostly sitting, it's nice to know that what you're sitting upon feels good. So our sincere advice to all those writers out there is don't sit on a hard wood or lie in your bed with a laptop. Let's fight scoliosis and carpal tunnel syndrome with good spinal support and wrist cushions. And after you get comfy, make sure you have a clear outline of where your book will be ending, and what kind of journey your main character will be going on, so you're not simply wasting all that chair time. Spoil yourself. Go pick up that writing chair you've always wanted. Remember, it's tax deductible.

If you'd like to learn more about The Familiars, come visit http://www.thefamiliars.com/.
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The Familiars hits bookstores everywhere on September 7th.

The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein & Andrew Jacobson

Review- Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

"Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you...no one."

Those were some of Rhode's last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face.

It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste.

Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust.


I never expected to fall in love with someone else that wasn't Rhode.


But Justin was...daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream.


I never expected to be sixteen again...then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me...



Reading level: Young Adult

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1 edition (August 3, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312649916
ISBN-13: 978-0312649913


Author's spaces-
website
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I had the good fortune to receive an arc of this novel. I adored the main character and the transformation that she went through. This was a wonderfully written piece of artwork. The mythology seemed well thought out and I enjoyed the parts about her previous life. I enjoyed this book so much I have added a paperback copy to my shelf to keep. I am not sure though if the story should have been classified as YA.

1 star- story flowed very well
1 star- enjoyable backstory
1 star- well thought out
1 star- great characters
1 star- Overall wonderful read
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5 stars

Review- Arson by Estevan Vega

Arson Gable is a strange boy with an equally strange life. He lives alone with his grandmother, who has some mental issues that make life difficult. Arson can also create fire. He has a job in an ice cream parlor that’s going nowhere and no friends.

Arson’s life changes the day a new family moves in next door. It’s a couple with a daughter who wears a mask because of an accident that occurred when she was a child. Secrets abound in this story, not only for Arson and the girl, but for their families, as well.

Many readers may see the start of the story as slow, but Estevan Vega took his time and lets you get to know the characters, as well as their motivations. ARSON was an intriguing mystery that will have you looking forward to the next installment. This story was crafted over four years, and it definitely shows.

This is not your ordinary mystery/horror/supernatural novel. You can’t help but love the main characters. I hope we don’t have long to wait for the rest of this wonderful story. Although parts of the tale were dark, adults and teens alike are sure to enjoy it. I would definitely recommend ARSON to my own teen.


Reviewed for-TeensReadToo.com-
http://www.teensreadtoo.com/ArsonVega.html
5Stars- Gold Award

Blogmania Sponsor #3- R.L. LaFevers

Although I try to make my posts original I have found that when I am looking at a new author I love to read the page where they tell about themselves. I think that it gives an insight to the author that you don't get from just looking at their book reviews.


Taken from the author's website, the About the Author page-

R. L. La Fevers grew up in Los Angeles, California. Even though she lived in the city, she had an unusually wide variety of pets. In addition to dogs, cats, and rabbits, at one time or another her family also had a goat, chickens, chipmunks, a baby anteater, and, for a few short weeks, two baby bear cubs, who were VERY wild and untamed. This has given her a deep appreciation for wild things and their need to live in their own environment.

In addition to all these animals, R. L. La Fevers was also surrounded by a gaggle of brothers who taught her an awful lot about how to get into mischief of all kinds. When she wasn’t taking care of her pets or getting her brothers out of scrapes, she usually had her nose buried in a book.

Now she lives on a small ranch in Southern California with her husband, two teenaged sons (who are also very good at getting into mischief and scrapes of one sort or another), a dog who thinks he’s a person, and a cat who is really a tigress in disguise. Although she no longer has any exotic pets, she does have raccoons who visit her back porch, coyotes who howl near her window, and hawks that soar high overhead.

author's blog- http://rllafevers.blogspot.com/
Facebook page- http://www.facebook.com/rllafevers
twitter-http://twitter.com/rllafevers
Shrinking Violet Promotions- co-run with Mary Hershey

Author of The Lowthar’s Blade series,The Theodosia Series and The Nathaial Fludd Series

Nominated to the Texas Library Association’s Bluebonnet List!
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A Booksense Summer Pick
Agatha Award Nominee
West Virginia Children’s Book Award Nominees 2008-2009
Michigan Library Association 2007 Mitten Award Honor Title
Winter 2008-2009 Kid’s Indie Next List

R.L. Lafevers was gracious enough to give autographed copies of the first 3 books in her Theodosia Series that will go to some lucky winner in September.

CSN stores- A massive site of AWESOMENESS

I know several bloggers, including myself have done CSN contests/reviews. I will be having one soon and I wanted to know what your favorite thing from any of CSN's 200+ stores is, your absolute favorite. You could buy a bedroom vanity , a bookshelf ( of which they have an amazing variety), to some really cool beds. CSN stores attracts the booklover in me because of all the great bookshelves they have- see pictures below.

I especially LOVE the bookworm and eternity bookshelves.

While I was looking through the site I also saw several items that I would like to add to my home collection. Beautiful steamer trunks and oriental storage boxes are just a couple of things that caught my eye.

For this impromptu contest, I want you to go to the CSN site and find your favorite thing ,then come back and post the link to that page. I need help deciding if I want to offer a review or a giveaway, so tell me what you'd do and why for another entry. Extra entries for following CSN store on Twitter and on Facebook. For the winner I have either a copy of Infinty by Sherrilyn Kenyon or Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready and possibly other goodies that strike me. Winner will be chosen by random.org

Fill out this FORM for entries as well as commenting on the post( it will make this easier for me to track)

Edited to add- The contest will run at least 2 weeks but may be longer depending on the interest it generates.