Maria's Bookshelf
  • Home
  • Download
  • Social
  • Features
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports Group
      • Category 1
      • Category 2
      • Category 3
      • Category 4
      • Category 5
    • Sub Menu 3
    • Sub Menu 4
  • Contact Us

Alison Can Read Feature & Follow

Q: What is your preferred reading format? Hardcover, eBooks, paperback etc?


This one is very easy for me. I love paper books. It doesn't matter to me if it's hardcover or paperback. I love running my fingers through pages and the noise that it makes, and of course I love scent of books. I like e-books too, it's great for traveling, but I always find myself more captured by book when I can hold it in my hands.

As you may know, GFC is going away July 1st, and that's why I would love, If you could follow me through Bloglovin. Thank you, and please leave your FF links in the comments. Have a magical weekend!

Follow on Bloglovin



Alison Can Read Feature & Follow

Q: Activity: Favorite Literary Quote


There's so many quotes that I like, but I've picked up some. Some of them are from book, but some of them are just quotes that I like a lot.

"Love is not the absence of logic but logic examined and recalculated heated and curved to fit inside the contours of the heart." - Tammara Webber, Easy

"If there's a book you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison

"People who stop laughing are always the ones who get hurt." - Josh Sundquist, Just don't Fall

As you may know, GFC is going away July 1st, and that's why I would love, If you could follow me through Bloglovin. Thank you, and please leave your FF links in the comments. Have a magical weekend!

Follow on Bloglovin
                             

                     Fall For Me by K.A. Last 

Series: The Tate Chronicles #1 
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Released: January 17th, 2013

Pages:237

My Rating: 3 Stars
>>Goodreads<<
Purchase at: Amazon

Synopsis


“Angels aren’t supposed to fall in love, especially with each other. But for the record, you were worth it.”

Grace Tate is a Protection Angel and Vampire Hunter, and she has always followed the rules. But some rules are made to be broken…

Until now the fight against evil has been simple, and falling in love was never part of the plan. So what happens when it’s beyond Grace’s control, and when she least expects it she falls for the wrong person?

All hell breaks loose, that’s what.

At Hopetown Valley High, not everything is as it seems, and the one person Grace thought was her enemy becomes her most important ally.

Blood will be shed, lives will be lost and friendships will be tested. It all comes down to one decision, and when Grace tries to save all those dear to her, she realises not everyone can be—or wants to be—saved.

My Review

This book was for me a very quick read. There were some moments that I found a little too cheesy for my taste, but there were nice moments too. I particularly enjoyed the fighting scenes at the beginning of the book.

The plot itself wasn't hard to follow, but I've had problem connecting with the characters. There was just something missing what would drawn me to them more. However it might have been just me. I'm most likely fed up with vampire stories, even thought I must say this one was different since it was combined with angels.

I would like to pin point that this book is interesting and easier to read because it's written in POV's, which is awesome. I was also interested in this book because of its cover. It's simple, but it has certain charm.

Fall For Me is great start to the series, it offers excitement and action, but also love triangle and emotional roller coaster. The story was super fast paced, after all the whole plot happened within 3 weeks. I think this book is definitely something for YA paranormal lovers.  There's definitely room to grow for the sequel, so I think it will be interesting read too.

Giveaway  


a Rafflecopter giveaway

About Author


K. A. Last was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and moved to Sydney with her parents and older brother when she was eight. Artistic and creative by nature, she studied Graphic Design and graduated with an Advanced Diploma. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she concentrated on her career before settling into family life. Blessed with a vivid imagination, she began writing to let off creative steam, and fell in love with it. She now resides in a peaceful leafy suburb north of Sydney with her husband, their two children and a rabbit named Twitch.

Links:
Website: http://www.kalastbooks.com.au/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6895878.K_A_Last
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KALastBooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KALastBooks

As many of you know, Ripley Patton's first novel, Ghost Hand, is also the first book in a series known as The PSS Chronicles. While Ghost Hand has been getting rave reviews on Amazon and was recently chosen as the June Book of the Month for a Goodreads Book Club with over 1300 members, Ripley has been hard at work writing the second book, Ghost Hold. 

Ghost Hold is in the final stages of publication, which will ultimately be funded through the GHOST HOLD KICKSTARTER PROJECT, just as Ghost Hand was funded last year. The current Ghost Hold Kickstarter project was 41% funded in the first week, and when it reaches the halfway mark of $1250, Ripley is going to release the first chapter of the new book to all backers, with more chapters to come later as funding builds. 

So, in order to celebrate, and perhaps entice you to back the project and help make Ghost Hold a reality, Ripley is revealing the cover of Ghost Hold this weekend here and all over the internet. 

AND HERE IT IS!



This compelling cover, featuring main characters from the book, Olivia Black, Marcus Jordan, and Passion Wainwright, was designed by Scarlett Rugers Designs of Australia. 

Curious to know what the book is about? Here's the blurb:

Olivia Black is back.

Only this time she's not the one in need of rescue.

Samantha James, rich, popular, and an award-winning composer at age seventeen, is the next target on the CAMFers' list. And in order to convince Samantha to come with them, Olivia and Passion must pose as cousins, blend into the most affluent high school in Indianapolis, and infiltrate a mysterious cult known as The Hold.

Olivia doesn't expect it to be easy, even with the PSS guys backing them up. But what she discovers over the course of the mission will call into question everything she ever believed about herself, her ghost hand, and especially about Marcus, the guy she is undoubtedly falling in love with.


Be sure and visit Ripley's Kickstarter Project and let her know what you think of the cover there, or here in the comments. But don't delay. The project ends July 1st and is the only way to pre-order the book before its September release. 


Haven't read the first book, Ghost Hand, yet? Well you're in luck. Ripley's gift to you, 6/14/2013-6/18/2013, Ghost Hand is FREE for Kindle, so please go grab a copy.

Hidden by M. Lathan 

Series: Hidden, #1 
Genre: YA Paranormal
Released: November, 2012
Pages:241
My Rating: 4 Stars
>>Goodreads<<
Purchase at: Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords, iTunes


Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Leah Grant has given up on being normal. She’d settle for stopping the voices in her head, intrusive visions of the future, and better odds of making it to her seventeenth birthday.

That’s the thing about pretending to be human in a world where magic used to exist – at any moment, her cover could be blown and she’ll be burned to death like the rest of the witches.

Everything changes when she loses control of her powers and flees the orphanage she grew up in. She desperately wants to be invisible but finds her face plastered on every news channel as humans panic over the possible resurgence of her kind. And now the hunters won’t give up until they find her.

Making friends for the first time in her life and falling in love with one of them drives her to discover why she is unlike any being she’s ever met – human or otherwise. The dangerous powers inside of her that would repel Nathan, her new, handsome reason for living, are priceless to some. The locked up forever kind of priceless. And to others, they are too dangerous to allow her to live.

Let’s hope she can stay hidden.


My Review


This book caught my eyes right away. I must say that the cover is amazing, and it's definitely a turning point for many readers, whether they will or won't read the book.

I was a little worried if I'll like the book, because I've read so many paranormal books, that sometimes I have feeling that it has nothing new to offer. However, this piece surprised me in a positive way. It was slow in the beginning, but afterwards it got better and better. 

The plot is pretty complicated, so it's not so easy to predict what's going to happen next in the story. So there's definitely few of the surprise moments. Also, characters are very well developed. Leah is very believable character and her feelings very pictured beautifully. Her relationships with her mom, Nathan or Sophia were believable. There's also romance going on in the story, which makes this book complex.

One difference that I found between classic YA paranormal book is that this one doesn't end in a major cliffhanger. I feel like nowadays almost every YA book ends super dramatically. Well this one, without giving too much away, ends okay. It's different and not stereotypical, and I like that fact. It makes me excited about the second book in the series, and hopefully it will top this one even more.

Giveaway


Hidden #1 is currently free on B&N, iTunes, Smashwords and Kobo. If you'd like to read the second book in this series, enter this giveaway. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author's Bio



M. Lathan lives in San Antonio with her husband and mini-schnauzer. She enjoys writing and has a B.S. in Psych and a Masters in Counseling. Her passion is a blend of her two interests – creating new worlds and stocking them with crazy people. She enjoys reading anything with interesting characters and writing in front of a window while asking rhetorical questions … like her idol Carrie Bradshaw.

Links:

Website: http://mlathan.blogspot.ca/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6582213.M_Lathan
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hiddenseries


                                  Alison Can Read Feature & Follow

Q: Activity: Spine Poetry. Create a line of poetry with your book spines (take a picture). Not feeling creative? Tell us about your favorite poem.


This is super creative activity, but not for me. Poetry and me, we are like water and oil, we don't mix very well. However, I've attempted a little book spines poem. Hope you enjoy it.


If I stay Fearless,
Everneath Wuthering Heights,
Where she Went?
City of Lost Souls.


I keep hearing everywhere, that GFC is going to be cancelled. So, I'd like for you to follow me through Bloglovin. Thank you so much, and please, leave your FF in the comments, so I can read them. Have a magical weekend everyone!
Follow on Bloglovin


                                       Alison Can Read Feature & Follow

Q: Have you broken up with a series? If so which one and why


The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden, #1)I've had several series that I didn't finish for some reason. The one that I've started recently though is Blood of Eden by Julie Kagawa. I'm not sure if I'm just too fed up with vampire stories, by this just didn't catch my attention enough. I might give a try to the second book though, just so I really make sure that the series isn't for me.

Marked (House of Night, #1)The second series that I want to mention is House of Night by P.C. Cast. I was reading this series when I was younger and I've read first four books in the series, but I just wasn't able to continue. It didn't entertain anymore as the first book did. 






                       


Secret for a Song  by S.K. Falls
Genre: NA Coming-of-Age
Released: June 3rd, 2013 
My Rating: 5 Stars
>>Goodreads<<
Purchase at: Amazon


Synopsis:

Saylor Grayson makes herself sick. Literally.

She ate her first needle when she was seven. Now, at nineteen, she’s been kicked out of college for poisoning herself with laxatives. The shrinks call it Munchausen Syndrome. All Saylor knows is that when she’s ill, her normally distant mother pays attention and the doctors and nurses make her feel special.

Then she meets Drew Dean, the leader of a local support group for those with terminal diseases. When he mistakes her for a new member, Saylor knows she should correct him. But she can’t bring herself to, not after she’s welcomed into a new circle of friends. Friends who, like Drew, all have illnesses ready to claim their independence or their lives 

For the first time, Saylor finds out what it feels like to be in love, to have friends who genuinely care about her. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves. What will happen when Saylor’s is out?


My Review

You know how with some books there's this instant pull, and you can't put the book down until you finish it? Well, that happened to me with this book. I was hooked up literally from the first sentence. Which by the way, caused me to stop and read it twice before I moved to the rest of the page. Here's the mentioned first sentence: “She ate her first needle when she was seven.” 
What the ...?! I don't know about you, but for me this was quite an intense start. 

Apart from the first sentence, I must say that this book to me is a masterpiece. Catching, thrilling, fast paced, beautiful,touching, and I can go on and name million other superlatives. Why? Simply because this book is so different from other New Adult books. The plot of this book was for me an undiscovered territory. It's not your typical New Adult book at all, no stereotypical characters and situations. It will most likely cause you to cry and not breath at some points in the story.

I fell in love with characters, especially Saylor. Saylor Grayson is super unique character, that makes pretty unpredictable decisions, and always surprises you. I honestly don't know, what I would do if I was in her place. Really, this girl is just one big trouble. But in this case, that is what makes this book so great.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the cover. It's super duper pretty. I think I will buy this book for my collection in paperback, just so I can look at it, and possibly decorate my dorm room with it next year, haha.

I don't really know, what else I should say about this book, how else I can describe how much I enjoyed this book. I was also very pleased that this book was written in psychological view for the most part. I think that is, again, one of the things that made this book unique. 

So, after all this praise, I must take of my hat, Ms. S.K. Falls. I will definitely look for some of your other books and add it to my TBR. This book touched my heart, made me cry and at some parts laugh too. As you probably assumed by my review, I can't give this book no less than 5 stars.


Giveaway (only US/CAN)
[3 winners] Secret for a Song e-reader/tablet covers
Enter Here

Author's Bio

SKFalls.jpgAdriana Ryan is the pen name of writer S.K. Falls.

A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, I enjoy alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards in Charleston, SC where I live and imbibe coffee. My husband and two small children seem not to mind when I hastily scribble novel lines on stray limbs in the absence of notepads.

Since no writer’s biography is complete without mention of her menagerie of animals, you should know I have one dog that doubles as a footstool, a second that functions as a vacuum cleaner, and a cat that ensures I never forget that my hands are, first and foremost, for pouring cat food.

Author Links:
Website: http://www.skfalls.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7023689.S_K_Falls
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorskfalls
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skfallssc

Newer Posts Older Posts Home

Hello

Hello
Hello there! I am Maria, a doctoral student, nutritionist, but also an avid reader. I hope my book reviews help you out in your next book choice.

POPULAR POSTS

  • Feature & Follow Friday #7
  • Feature & Follow Friday #8
  • Feature and Follow Friday #2
  • Teaser Tuesday #1
  • Feature & Follow Friday #11
  • Teaser Tuesday #2
  • Book Tour + Giveaway: I Kissed A Dog by Carol Van Atta
  • Feature and Follow Friday # 4
  • Review: So Many Reasons Why by Missy Johnson
  • Stacking The Shelves #1

Categories

  • Book Blitz
  • Book reveal
  • contemporary
  • Cover Reveal
  • Easy
  • Fabio Bueno
  • fiction
  • Giveaway
  • Hell's Hollow
  • Missy Johnson
  • NA
  • paranormal
  • Passion Porion
  • Ripley Patton
  • romance
  • Sarah Billington
  • So Many Reasons Why
  • Summer Stone
  • Tammara Webber
  • witchcraft
  • YA

Advertisement

Follow us on Facebook

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Powered by Blogger.

Contact

Subscribe To My Blog

Posts
Atom
Posts
All Comments
Atom
All Comments

Followers


Archives

  • ►  2014 (6)
    • ►  November (1)
    • ►  May (4)
    • ►  January (1)
  • ▼  2013 (52)
    • ►  August (1)
    • ►  July (5)
    • ▼  June (8)
      • Feature & Follow Friday #9
      • Feature & Follow Friday #8
      • Book Tour + Giveaway: Fall For Me by K.A. Last
      • Cover Reveal: Ghost Hold by Ripley Patton
      • Book Tour + Giveaway: Hidden by M. Lathan
      • Feature & Follow Friday #7
      • Feature & Follow Friday #6
      • Book Tour: Secret for a Song by S.K. Falls
    • ►  May (5)
    • ►  April (22)
    • ►  March (11)

Follow this blog with bloglovin

Follow on Bloglovin Follow on Bloglovin

Gemini Rising

 photo ec1295d2-f0cb-4f3a-bcd6-5b07024c137f_zps07f1e56a.jpg

Grab My Button!


CBL Book Tours
Xpresso Book Tours

Pages

  • Home
  • Giveaways
  • Review Policy & Rating System
  • Contact Me
  • Reviews

Travel

Oddthemes

About Me



Popular Posts

  • Feature & Follow Friday #7
  • Feature & Follow Friday #8
  • Feature and Follow Friday #2

Advertisement

Designed By OddThemes | Distributed By Blogger Templates