Review: Of Ice and Snow by Amber Argyle

One of the most scariest/nerve wracking things for me, being a part of a community of writers is to read a book written by someone I know. It sounds weird, but I'm always terrified it might not be something I'll like, or maybe their style won't speak to me. 

Well, my friend Amber Argyle drew me in with her fantastic cover, and I just could not put down her book, Of Ice and Snow (Fairy Queens .5). I'm definitely rethinking my crazy paranoia.

Let me introduce you:

Amber Argyle is the international, bestselling author of the Witch Song Series and the Fairy Queen Series. Her books have been nominated for and won awards in addition to being translated into French and Indonesian.
Amber graduated cum laude from Utah State University with a degree in English and physical education, a husband, and a two-year old. Since then, she and her husband have added two more children, which they are actively trying to transform from crazy small people into less crazy larger people.
To receive her starter library for free, simply tell her where to send it: http://eepurl.com/l8fl1
To check out her other books here is her Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Amber-Argyle/e/B004YE1BR4/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

Now for some background info on this book, the blurb:

Otec thought destiny forgot him…

The middle child of the clanchief, Otec is the overlooked son in an overflowing house. He dreams of escape and adventure, so when a mysterious stranger offers both, he doesn’t need persuading. But when his faraway village comes under attack, Otec will do anything to save the people he loves. Cut off from his nation, he must trust a foreign woman with a dubious past as they race to save his clan. But nothing is what it seems, and Otec may have to trust his enemy if he is to become the leader he was never meant to be.

Destiny is not always kind.

Amazon buy link: http://amzn.com/B014T84OUK

What do you think of that fantastic cover art? 

It's very simple, but once you start reading the story you will understand why it's so absolutely perfect!

Ok, now for my review:

 From the beginning, it's impossible to guess where this amazing story is going to take you. The character development and growth is phenomenal and I loved the fantastic detail put into everything from the art the main characters created to the battles they fought. An absolute page turner! I can't wait to dig into the rest of this series. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure, epic battles, and happy endings with just a touch of heart break. It totally earned all 5 stars.

Now, I've mentioned that this is actually .5 in the Fairy Queens Series. 

(Want to see some more absolutely amazing covers?)

The rest of the series, currently published, are:

Winter Queen (Book 1)

Becoming a winter queen will make Ilyenna as cold and cruel and deadly as winter itself, but it might be the only way to save her people from a war they have no hope of winning.
Mortally wounded during a raid, seventeen-year-old Ilyenna is healed by winter fairies who present her with a seductive offer: become one of them and share their power over winter. But that power comes with a price. If she accepts, she will become a force of nature, lose her humanity, and abandon her family.
Unwilling to pay such a high price, Ilyenna is enslaved by one of the invaders, Darrien. While in captivity, she learns the attack wasn’t just a simple raid but part of a larger plot to overthrow her entire nation.
With the enemy stealing over the mountains and Darrien coming to take her to his bed, Ilyenna must decide whether to resurrect the power the fairies left behind. Doing so will allow her to defeat Darrien and the other invaders, but if she embraces winter, she will lose herself to that destroying power—forever.

Amazon buy link: http://amzn.com/B00CA9YWMG

Of Fire and Ash (Book 1.5)

There is one rule above all others: never make a deal with the fairies. Nelay is about to break that rule.
One promise can change everything.
The fairies must never know of Nelay’s sight, for the attention of such dark and terrible creatures brings more things dark and terrible. But when Nelay's father is near death, the fairies are the only ones who can save him. All they require is a simple promise that she'll return the favor one day.
Some promises are lethal.

 Amazon buy link: http://amzn.com/B00QFUKVOE

Summer Queen (Book 2)

A fugitive from the king she refused to marry, Nelay ventures out to save her family from an invading army only to discover the fate of her entire nation rests on her shoulders.
But in defeat after defeat, Nelay begins to realize a bigger power is at play than that wielded by mere mortals. Only she can stand between the cinders of her once-great nation and the vengeance of a goddess. 

Amazon Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00RO84KX4

Book Tour: Pirate Princess by Catherine Banks

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PIRATE PRINCESS

Pirate Princess #1

Catherine Banks

Released Nov 2nd, 2015

As the daughter of the Pirate King, Tilia Swanson has an unusual upbringing learning skills that aren’t often available for women. As the heir apparent for the Kingdom of Crilan, her skills set her apart as she is trained by the best in the land and taught to harness her magic. However, piracy is in her blood, and draws danger to Tilia in the way that treasure draws pirates. Some treasures are more valuable than others. Will this lesson be learned in time or will the betrayal of those around her be her undoing?

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Catherine Banks is the author of the Artemis Lupine Series, Little Death Bringer Series, Ciara Steele Novella Series, and the novel Daughter of Lions. She began writing fiction stories when she was only four years old and finished her first full length novel at the age of fifteen.
Catherine is a Northern California native and has lived within a twenty mile radius her entire life. She plans to travel to as many places as possible in her thirties to make up for her lack of traveling experience. She is married to her soulmate and best friend, Avery, who blessed her with two amazing children. After her full time job she reads books, plays video games, and watches a lot of anime shows and movies with her family to relax.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads

Excerpt #2

“Ready?” Jared asked me with a wide smile.

“Ready for what?” I asked.

Esmeralda and Jared clucked their tongues and their horses shot off ahead, racing together. “Cheaters!” I yelled, clucking to Duke and squeezing my legs to urge him forward. He reluctantly took off at a canter and then lengthened his stride into a gallop. We caught up and then pulled ahead of them both by a neck.

“Your horse’s size is not fair,” Esmeralda called.

“Your small horse should be faster than this lazy giant,” I called back.

We continued galloping for a little ways farther and then slowed the horses to a walk. I pet his neck and praised him. “What a good boy,” I crooned, “I’ll make sure you get spoiled in Markleville.”

“That horse can really move when he needs to,” Jared said.

“He’s a perfect horse,” I said with a genuine smile and heartfelt appreciation.

“I’m surprised you can even mount him,” Esmeralda teased.

“You should have seen her trying to climb up him the first day I gave him to her,” Jared said with a laugh.

“Well you wouldn’t pick me up and put me on him,” I complained.

“It was worth it to watch you scramble up his front leg and almost pull out the poor guy’s mane to get onto his back.”

“I apologized and gave him three apples that night,” I said as I pet his neck again. “He forgave me.”

“Most men forgive you if you give them something to eat,” Esmeralda teased.

“Don’t put ridiculous thoughts like that into her head,” Jared reprimanded her.

“It’s going to be interesting to see who you end up with,” Faxon said with a smirk at me.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked defensively.

“You are equal parts your uncle and aunt,” he said, “I always knew they were meant to be together because of how they interacted, but seeing you as both parts makes me wonder who could possibly counteract your attitude and personality.”

“Are you trying to imply that by being a little bit of both of us that she is unlovable?” Esmeralda asked with venom in her voice.

“Not unlovable, just…difficult,” he said with a wide smile.

“I’ll show you difficult,” she said, her hands moved and then a fire started on the top of Faxon’s saddle pad. His horse bolted ahead of us, bucking as he tried to dislodge the fire and Faxon.

Faxon somehow held his seat and used his magic to put the fire out. “See what I mean?” Faxon called back to us, “Difficult.”

“I’m not difficult,” I said.

Jared reached over and pet my hand. “You’re right; you’re only difficult eighty percent of the time.”

I let my mouth drop open and then glared at him. “You’re the most stubborn man in the Realm of Olanze and you’re telling me that I am difficult?”

“She has a point,” Esmeralda said.

“Don’t you team up with her against me. I’m your husband,” he growled.

“I’m only speaking the truth,” she said.

“You are rather difficult sometimes,” Griffin agreed with Esmeralda.

“Not you too!” Jared groaned. I stifled my laugh, but he saw me covering my mouth and glared at me.

Cover Reveal: Touched to the Core by Elsa Winckler

We are so excited to be featuring this cover reveal for the third book in the series featuring the Cavallo brothers!

I have been reading love stories for as long as I can remember and when I ‘met’ the classic authors like Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James The Brontë sisters, etc. during my studies, I was hooked for life.
I married my college boyfriend and soul mate and after 38 years, 3 beautiful children and three grandchildren, he still makes me weak in the knees. We are fortunate to live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty’s Bay, South Africa with the ocean a block away and a beautiful mountain right behind us.
And although life so far has not always been an easy ride, it has always been an exiting and interesting one!
I like the heroines in my stories to be beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong.  And the heroes must be strong but possess a generous amount of sensitivity. They are of course, also gorgeous!  My stories typically incorporate the family background of the characters to better understand where they come from and who they are when we meet them in the story.
I was fortunate to win the best romance award for an Afrikaans story  in 2010 and again in 2014.

Social media links:

Webpage: www.elsawinckler.com

Personal Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/elsa.winckler

Author Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ElsaWincklerRomanceAuthor?ref_type=bookmark

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elsawinckler @elsawinckler

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6557709.Elsa_Winckler

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/elsawinckler/

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/user/elsaw1

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111046023755042052612/posts

He gave her his heart, but can he give her the truth?

Schoolteacher Dana Roux doesn’t need sexy hotel tycoon David Cavallo to add to her troubles. They have absolutely nothing in common—she’s a simple schoolteacher in a small coastal town, and he has more money than he knows what to do with. Besides, as a former journalist, he’d remember the news stories about her dad’s alleged involvement in a dirty, Ponzi-like scheme, and his subsequent suicide. The last thing she wants is for the dark shadow of that scandal—and tragedy—to fall upon her once again. Especially since she knows her dad was innocent.

For David, flirting with a beautiful woman comes as naturally as breathing. So when he winds up kissing his sister-in-law’s best friend, he realizes Dana isn’t just another pretty pair of lips. But things between them get complicated quickly when he discovers who her father was, and that it was David’s own news story that blew the case wide open and sent her father to jail—and to his death. David’s not sure what to believe, but he knows he can’t let Dana blame him forever. Especially since she insists her father was an innocent man. But when Dana’s life is threatened, he realizes that he might not have uncovered the whole story. And that now, older and wiser, he just might be the only one who can uncover the truth.

And now the moment you have been waiting for

*****
****
**
*

 

Follow along on the event Facebook page to see all the blogs that are a part of this Cover Reveal.

https://www.facebook.com/events/189582064713584/

 

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Book Blitz: Ion 417 Raiju by James Darcey

 Let's get to know James!

James was born in the middle of a tropical swamp on the third planet orbiting a distant yellow star. Growing up the son of a military father meant that books were among the best friends he could have. They traveled with him every time he moved, and took him on adventures that nothing short of a trans-dimensional portal could hope to achieve.

Currently he resides in a place called Utah, on the shores of a dead sea, with his wife and fellow author Molly. His days are spent catering to the whims of machines that devour people whole, and regurgitate them at distant locations. At other times he is working on his writing. The current projects include continuing the adventures of Ion in the fourth book of the series, adding to his epic fantasy series, and the saga of the Stargate Thieves.

https://www.facebook.com/AuthorJDarcey

Ion was born and raised in a secluded world, with only a sadistic doctor and his lizard lackeys for company. Her education came from carefully selected material provided by her tormentor, and the best entertainment was the exercise machine in her small room. It was the only world she knew.

The one thing that made her different than hundreds of others in similar situations, was that Ion held a power within her that was growing stronger week by week. He knew she had the power despite her efforts to hide it from him. He had created her just for that power. He was training her, but for what she didn’t know. The only thing she had going for her was that he didn’t know how strong she was getting.

Then by sheer chance, she discovered the truth of her existence. More than just the sinister plans he had for her future as his mind-wiped assassin. She had family. A family he had stolen from her.

With this discovery, she made plans of her own. Plans that had her traveling across half the galaxy in search of her mother’s people. It’s a long and dangerous journey for an inexperienced girl. How well can she trust her happenstance companions? What welcome will she find at her journey’s end?

Grab your copy of the book!

- https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/553815

- http://www.amazon.com/Ion-417-Raiju-James-Darcey-ebook/dp/B016EON93K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1445111464&sr=8-1&keywords=ion+417

Let's take a look at Snippet 1

Traxel snapped at Panzo, "Shut up dog! I'll be quite happy to clean your blood off the walls after tossing your corpse out into the void!"

This was getting out of hand fast! Panzo had gotten us here, wherever 'here' was, and Traxel was going to kill him. If something didn't happen fast we were all going to be dead very shortly. I needed answers and I wasn't going to get them from a dead Kanari. It was time that I took control of the situation and tried to bring sense to all of it.

I pointed my finger at the pistol in his hands, telling him to put it down so we could settle this. We were in high drive; that much was obvious. Just where we would come out, if at all, were still unknown. Trickery aside, I needed this Kanari alive to give those answers. The energy was building inside me, just aching to be let free.

"No! He's tricked us, and I'm going too..."

I let the bolt jump the few meters to the pistol. It may have been carbon composite with simple projectile cartridges, but it exploded very nicely. The result left everyone, including me, surprised enough to break the stalemate. I now had their undivided attention. It was time to take control of the situation. Traxel was standing there mouth agape, so I turned my ire on Panzo.

"I didn't feed the engine output into the power relays. Nor was it some fluke of a plasma stream as the patrol concluded. It was just me. Now, where are we going? I felt the ship twist just before high drive kicked in."

From the corner of my eye I could see Traxel still staring at the pistol grip in his hand. The rest of the weapon was scattered across the cockpit. A thin trail of smoke rose from the burst magazine chamber on the ground by his feet, only to be sucked out by the ventilation system. All in all, I felt it had been a decent enough demonstration of authority. Now I had to make use of the power I had grabbed. I know Ritlabek’s philosophy would have had me kill them both, but that wouldn’t get answers I desperately needed.

 

Follow along on the Facebook page to 

see all the great blogs for this event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1140315172726951/

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Cover Reveal: Kingdom City: Revolt by Ben Ireland

I'm excited to host another of the fantastic authors working with one of my favorite publishers, Xchyler Publishing! 

Please help me give Ben Ireland a big congrats on the cover of Book 2 of his Kingdom City series, Revolt.

Here, let me introduce you to him first:

Author bio:

Ben churns out his prose from his home in Southeast Texas, where he lives with his wife and three children, and works in IT. When he isn’t writing, he’s either thinking about writing, or he’s driving his wife insane talking about his novel ideas. His work has appeared in two X-anthologies: “Kissed a Snake” in A Dash of Madness: a Thriller Anthology (July 2013), and “Fairykin” in Moments in Millennia: a Fantasy Anthology(January 2014). His first novel, Kingdom City: Resurrection was published in February 2014.

You can check out all of his books on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Ireland/e/B00FXYK5YE/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1446482299&sr=8-2

And now for his brand new book!!!

Isn't that the coolest!?!? 

It's not available for sale or even pre-order just yet, but I highly recommend you grab a hold of the first book in the Kingdom City series, Resurrection, because you are so going to want to be ready when this one is released! 

Grab your copy of Resurrection here:
http://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-City-Resurrection-Ben-Ireland-ebook/dp/B00INGE27U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

And now, for fantastic BOOK TRAILER!!! 

Just in case this killer series hasn't grabbed your attention enough yet.