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Epiphany by Christina Jean Michaels
Publication date: July, 2013 
Genre: NA/17+ Romantic Suspense
Goodreads


Synopsis:

“I had my first psychic dream when I was nine. Psychic implied power, and powerful wasn’t a word I’d use to describe myself. I couldn’t foretell the future or conjure visions at will, but I couldn’t think of a more fitting word to describe what I sometimes saw in my dreams.” 

For 23-year-old Mackenzie Hill, tossing her life down the garbage disposal is easy after a painful incident shatters her life. Her heart is bleeding, and moving to Watcher’s Point is a chance to start anew, only she isn’t prepared for the guy who walks out of her dreams and into the flesh. Literally . . . because she’s been dreaming about this sexy stranger for years. 

Mackenzie is even less prepared to face the dark nature of her dreams. They’ve turned disturbingly gruesome, full of blood and murder, and when they begin to coincide with the media’s headlines, she and Aidan realize her visions might be the key to stopping a madman from killing again.

Only Aidan has painful secrets of his own, and perhaps the biggest danger of all is falling for him.
 


Author's  Bio



Christina Jean Michaels was born in Paradise, California, but she has found the true home of her heart in Eugene, Oregon, where she finds plenty of inspiration for storytelling. 
When she was young, her mother said she hated words. Now she can't imagine not writing. She became an avid reader when she was thirteen and discovered the world of Sweet Valley High. About a year later she realized she could play God and write about her own characters. She has been writing in some form ever since.
She lives with her husband and their four children—three rambunctious UFC/wrestling-loving boys and one girl who steals everyone’s attention.

Author links:


Website: http://christinajmichaels.blogspot.ca/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7024895.Christina_Jean_Michaels
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinajmichaels
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cjmichaels80





                           Alison Can Read Feature & Follow


Q: We are about to see a lot of posts & tweets about reader conventions, RT, BEA, ALA and many more are starting soon. Which one would you love to attend? Where and why?


I would love to attend all of them, especially BEA; but since I live in Slovakia, it's not possible. I believe though that one day, I'll make another trip to USA and attend some of book and youtube conventions. I'll just have to save up money for the airplane tickets, haha :)


Leave me a comment with your F&F so I can follow you back ;)


Oxford Blood (The Cavaliers, #1)
Oxford Blood (The Cavaliers #1) by Georgiana Derwent
Genre: YA Paranormal
Released: October 17th, 2012
Publisher: Createspace
Pages: 312
My Rating: 4 Stars

Synopsis

"A Tale of the Posh, the Privileged and the Paranormal...

The Cavaliers are the most elite society at Oxford University - rich, powerful, and beautiful. No one realises that they are no ordinary students, but a group of aristocratic vampires from the English Civil War. For four hundred years they have groomed the most promising students to run the government, police, and finance in the way the vampires wish, granting them eternal life in return for absolute obedience.

"When Harriet French arrives at Oxford University from her working class northern state school, she’s prepared for a culture shock, but not to become embroiled in the Cavaliers’ scheming and bloodlust. Harriet thought she'd be busy enough juggling her demanding tutor, new friends, and the murky world of student politics. But now, she must find the rebel vampire who is killing off the members, stop the Cavaliers from orchestrating a massacre of the year’s most beautiful and successful students, and defy the Society to be with the man of her dreams.

Oxford Blood is a British, adult, paranormal romance. It's a tale with vampires that aren't afraid to kill and a heroine who's not afraid of sex or her own ambition."

What I liked

I was amazed by the setting in Oxford and how well the author described every little detail. Thanks to that I was able to dig into this book even more, and everything just became more realistic. 
I enjoyed the story line very much. I wasn't sure at first, because it was "just another vampire book", but it surprised me, big times! 
The book itself was a little predictable, however I really like the way the author was revealing the mystery. From the first page it kept me hanging, wanting more information all the time.
I was not surprised by the turn of events with Harriet and Tom. They are both greatly developed characters, and also their relationship is sweet. 
Now I know this might sound surprising, but I actually liked George, because this character was developed in depth. I love the passage from his life during Civil War. I'm pretty sure that after what he did in book one, we will hear about him awful lot in sequel too.

What I didn't like

I was surprised by Harriet's relationship with her mom. I just couldn't understand how she'd still love her even though her mother abandoned her, lied to her and pretty much bought her love with various presents all the time. I suppose that it would help, if their relationship was developed a bit more.
I also wished that Harriet and Tom's relationship was mentioned more. Sometimes I felt like, there isn't enough of it. The same goes for Harriet's friends, at some points in the book it felt as she has none friends.
My last problem was the cover. I'm a sucker for pretty and modern covers. I'm not saying is ugly (it's not ugly, I would never say that. It's just not for me I guess. :) ), but It really wouldn't convince me to buy this book.

Overall Thought

The plot was great, absolutely unique twist on vampire story. The book flowed nicely, revealing the mystery slowly. It's an easy, thrilling and intriguing read, that keeps you wanting more even after you turn the last page.
I enjoyed the book very much, and I'm reading the sequel right now.


I'd like to thank to Georgiana Derwent for gifting me this book in exchange for an honest review.




Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!



The Book


Oxford Blood (The Cavaliers, #1)"A Tale of the Posh, the Privileged and the Paranormal...


The Cavaliers are the most elite society at Oxford University - rich, powerful, and beautiful. No one realises that they are no ordinary students, but a group of aristocratic vampires from the English Civil War. For four hundred years they have groomed the most promising students to run the government, police, and finance in the way the vampires wish, granting them eternal life in return for absolute obedience.


"When Harriet French arrives at Oxford University from her working class northern state school, she’s prepared for a culture shock, but not to become embroiled in the Cavaliers’ scheming and bloodlust. Harriet thought she'd be busy enough juggling her demanding tutor, new friends, and the murky world of student politics. But now, she must find the rebel vampire who is killing off the members, stop the Cavaliers from orchestrating a massacre of the year’s most beautiful and successful students, and defy the Society to be with the man of her dreams.


Oxford Blood is a British, adult, paranormal romance. It's a tale with vampires that aren't afraid to kill and a heroine who's not afraid of sex or her own ambition."

My Teaser


"... Great, she thinks I'm going mad. I wonder what she'd say if I claimed my boyfriend and half the governments are vampires?..."


What is your TT book?






Passion Potion by Mary Beth Daniels


Publication date: May 1st, 2013 
Genre: New Adult Paranormal Romance



Synopsis:




Jet is a Nix, the daughter of an Enchantress who went outside her bloodlines. No one helps a Nix, and even though her father is in deep trouble with Dei Lucrii, a dark Enchanter who paid her family an extraordinary sum to make a passion potion, Jet has no way to fix the powerful spell that killed her mother.
But someone is watching her. A very handsome someone whose face appears in a pewter bowl her mother always kept close by.
Could the boy be the secret to avoiding the curse of the Nix? Or is he the sort of distraction Jet REALLY can’t afford at a time like this?
Passion Potion is a paranormal new adult romance from the author of the romantic comedy hit Heteroflexibility.


Author's Bio



Mary Beth Daniels is a writer and photographer in Texas. She is a huge fan of Ellen Degeneres, a rabid stalker of Nathan Fillion, and she can't mention how she feels about Chris Hemsworth without risking a restraining order. Mary Beth is also the author of the hit romantic comedy Heteroflexibility and cites Strawberry Shortcake & Friends as an inspiration for her hair colors.

Author's links:

Website / Twitter
                              

Stacking The Shelves is event created and hosted by Tynga's Reviews, and it's about sharing the books you collected in the past week. I will do Stacking The Shelves every Sunday. If you're also part of this leave a link in the comments, I''ll check you out :)


Books gifted to me for review






Majestica; First Glimpse by Rebecca Maze 






Screen Shot 2013-03-04 at 10.48.01 AM




Released by Mia Fox






Prophecy of the Female Warrior




Prophecy of The Female Warrior by K. A. Young




Books I won


The Mark of Cain (The Cain Chronicles: Book One)






The Mark of Cain by A.D. Seeley






Books I bought


Pieces of Hope



Pieces of Hope by Carolyn Carter







Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft (Audrey's Guides, #1)





Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman







Sulfur





Sulfur (Farro and Sulfur) by Arreana







Farro






Farro (Farro and Sulfur) by Arreana








                              What books did you added to your shelf this week?




Ensuing Darkness

Ensuing Darkness by Alexis Cain


Genre: YA Paranormal
Released: December 17th, 2012
Publisher: Createspace
Pages: 436
My Rating: 4.5 Stars



Synopsis


The small town of Maxville, Colorado is harboring more secrets than Kota imagined. There is a new family in town, one with a cover and dark secrets. They have a mission: Get in, do the job, and get out, but when their youngest get mixed up in a taboo romance, things get nasty. Kota finds herself surrounded by everything she never knew existed, and the blame is all on her when she puts her friends and family in danger to discover a truth she was never supposed to see.


What I liked


First of all, I love the cover of this book. It's so pretty. 
I really like the plot of this book. Book was fast-paced almost throughout the whole story line, what is a big plus for me. 
I was absolutely stunned by the way that author was able to describe each situation. Sometimes I found it even unnecessary, but it helped me create a better picture of what is actually going on in the story, and to understand the characters better.
Characters are well-developed, and pretty unusual. I felt like each of them was unique in their own way. 
Another great thing were the relationships between characters, they felt so real and believable. 
I was pleased by the fact, that not all of the "events"that happened were predictable. Usually I figure out what is going to happen next in the book, but I was mistaken multiple times in this one.



What I didn't like


There were very few things that i disliked. One of these things was, that the story had kind of slow beginning. I'm not a huge fan of that, but I understand that in this case it was necessary, because otherwise the "things" that were happening wouldn't be explained so well.
Also, when I received the book, I was little bit confused by the synopsis. It just sounded quite odd to me, and I didn't really got all the information that I was hoping for. 
That's why I give this book 4.5 stars.



Overall Thought


I was very surprised by this book. I didn't really expect it to be this good. You know, I thought it's just another typical book about vampires, nothing new. Well, I have to say, this was by far one of the best vampire books I've had a chance to read, ever. Alexis Cain made vampires absolutely different creatures than the ones that you've heard about in Twilight or other vampire based books. 
This book left my heart shattered to tiny little pieces. I cried and laughed during this book. My Kindle almost said "Hi"to my wall at the end, but luckily I realized, that it isn't good idea. It left me on the edge, and I cannot wait to read the sequel. 




Ensuing Darkness
I'd like to thank to Alexis Cain for gifting me this book in exchange for an honest review. 
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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.

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