General | Lost in a Good Book

Free on Amazon: Reveal by Brina Courtney

17 Dec 2014 Leave a comment

by Amy in General Tags: young adult paranormal

The YA Paranormal novel Reveal by Brina Courtney, is currently free on Amazon

You think seeing ghosts is weird? Tell me something I don’t know.

My childhood best friend Jeremy, happens to be a ghost.

Besides that, my life is totally normal. Well except that my dad went missing when I was six. But my mom makes it work. And I have annoying brother. See, normal?
So why does my life feel like a train wreck waiting to happen… oh yeah because now Jeremy is also missing.
Fate intervenes when Hugh, with his stunning golden eyes and similar dark hair, starts taking an interest in me. He divulges that he also shares my little “gift” of seeing the dead. Should I be freaked out? Yes. But am I? Okay, but only a little bit.

Senior year is hard enough as it is, but clearly I like a challenge.

Grab your free ecopy today!

Icy Pretty Love by L. A. Rose + Giveaway

15 Dec 2014 1 Comment

by Amy in 5 Stars, General Tags: ebook, five stars, giveaway, l.a. rose, new adult, romance

Published: 15th November 2014
Publisher: Self Published
Pages: 174
Format: ebook
Genre: New Adult Romance
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

Glass-doll beauty. A shy, proper smile. Georgette Montgomery is the perfect billionaire’s fiancé.

Or she would be, if she existed.

A dark past. A smile that hides everything. At nineteen, Rae Grove escapes her disaster life by pretending to be other people—specifically, whoever the man paying her that night wants her to be.

Until she’s offered enough money for a one-way ticket to a better life. All she has to do is fly to Paris and pretend to be the fiancé of young business tycoon Cohen Ashworth for one month. Within an hour of meeting Cohen, Rae knows three things about him:

1. He hates everyone and everything.

2. He has abundant wit and a knife-sharp tongue.

3. He uses 2 to make everyone aware of 1.

Before long, Rae’s determined to crack open his unbreakable shell. Cohen’s determined to stay unbroken.

But no one escapes unscathed when two opposite worlds collide.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book for review

This is a great novel. As she has demonstrated with her other novels, Rose is brilliant at telling a story and she uses her characters to tell her stories wonderfully. With Icy Pretty Love she offers something a bit different than before, but with the same style and skill as I have come to expect from her writing.

The story is not intense or even too serious but it is heart warming and the characters draw you in and you become involved in their lives and who they are as people; complexities, flaws, and strengths included. Rose has created characters that are real people, they are not overly special and held to a pedestal, they just are people, and they are trying to deal with their lives as best they can. Cohen and Rae have different lives, different pasts, and see the world through their own eyes and Rose contrasts these beautifully, using Rae to showcase their differences but also keeps their experiences and interactions grounded, making them authentic.

There is a greater focus on character exploration and development than on a sexual side as seen in Rose’s previous books, which is great if you are not a fan of detailed sex scenes or a strong reoccurrence of them, but this story isn’t actually about the sexual relationship between Rae and Cohen, or even romantic relationship essentially. It is about them discovering who they are as people, what they are doing with their lives and where they want to go. Perhaps that is why I loved it so much, Rae shows Cohen that there is beauty in the world and that being nice to people is important instead of being negative and horrible all the time. They learn and grow from being in each other’s company, some more than others, and they help to improve their lives and benefit from their time together.

Cohen comes across as rough and arrogant but even from the start there is something about him that makes you wonder, something secretive and unspoken, not just in his actions but in himself that hint that maybe his rough exterior is more mask than true nature. Granted he isn’t completely wonderful, but Rae brings new life into his world and with her optimism she aims to turn his view around. Rae notes multiple times it is hard not to keep sounding like a self help book in doing so but she is right about many things she tells Cohen, and as the month passes together you see their influences on one another flourish.

Cohen also hides a secret, and while I thought it was going in one direction, when I realised it wasn’t I was more intrigued to find out what it could possibly be, and I was not disappointed. Rose balances out the content in this story remarkably well and includes the information that is needed for the story while not keeping the mystery the focus of the narrative or making it a key point.

As for Rae, I loved her. She takes life as it is, tries to better herself, and even though she has had a rough life she does not let it get her down, instead she learns from it and it makes her strive harder. She also does not let it dampen her view of the world though she is not ignorant of the bad that does exists, and it was touching reading about her reactions as she explores Paris. Knowing where she has come from to where she ends up is a moment that makes you proud of her, and glad she has been given the chance she has.

Watching Rae influence Cohen is charming and captivating, as Cohen keeps his secrets close and you watch the pair get to know one another and figure out how their strange relationship will work. The characters are truly gorgeous, and the stories than surround them are divine. They are authentic, hopeful, lost, genuine, and Rose makes sure there is no exaggeration in her words that fault the flow of her narrative.

The negative moments of the story are balanced and there is not an overload of sunshine and lollipops but there is a strong grounded reality in the story Rose is telling us. There are secrets, revelations, surprises, and a wonderfully heart warming and real story being told and one that I look forward to reading again. Once again Rose has done a magnificent job.

You can purchase Icy Pretty Love via the following

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

Giveaway

As part of her blog tour Rose is offering up ten ecopies of Icy Pretty Love.

Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author:

L.A. Rose recently made it out of college alive and with an English degree. She’s a habitual beach bum, a cuteness aficionado, and a not-quite-recovered romance addict. She’s a big believer in laughter as medicine and steaminess as…more medicine. You can never have enough medicine. Icy Pretty Love is her third New Adult standalone.

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Pay Attention (Maeve Tidewell #1) by K. L. Barnes

21 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Amy in 3 Stars, General, Thriller Tags: ebook, k. l. barnes, suspense, three stars, thriller

Published: 10th April 2014
Publisher: Self Published
Pages: 220
Format: ebook
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars

Maeve Tidewell has a gift, of sorts. She sees glimpses of the future in her dreams.

Unfortunately for her, Joseph Binyon wants that gift for his own.

When Maeve wakes to find she is being held captive by the disturbed man from her past, she realizes she stands to lose much more than her vision. She stands to lose her life.

As Maeve plans her daring escape, a stranger enters her dreams. She reaches out to him for help before Joseph has time to complete his bizarre ceremony.

Ben Drake hopes to strengthen his relationship with his teenage son during a road trip that takes him from California to the picture perfect mountains of Colorado.

But strange dreams begin to fill Ben’s nights and, when he discovers Maeve Tidewell is missing, is compelled to search for her in the vast woodlands high above the valley floor they call home.

Ben doesn’t question the connection he experiences with Maeve as he sleeps. He only knows that if she is going to survive, he’ll have to risk everything.

Note: I was provided a copy of this book for review

With her suspense novel Barnes brings together the thriller and the mystery with a touch of the unknown. The story is intriguing and enjoyable and works as a good introduction to the series by sparking your interest with suspense and good characters.

Barnes uses her characters well and through their actions and behaviour you are able to get a detailed sense of who they are and which side they are on. Maeve is strong willed and clever, and a fierce protector of her family. She learns to use Binyon’s delusions to her advantage to keep herself and other safe, and bides time until help can arrive. When she sees the mysterious man in her dreams she reaches out to him for help, but she also does not rely on him to save her.

Ben on the other hand has integrity and strong sense of doing what is right, no matter what. These traits are also seen in his son, Jason. While starting off bored and uninterested, as their road trip continues Jason learns more about his dad, and grows a bit himself, and becomes stronger in the end. Ben’s unexplained connection with Maeve confuses him but he does not let it stop him from trying to help, and what I liked was that he uses proper channels such as going to the police before jumping straight into danger and a rescue mission.

The “villains” of the story are shown to be harsh and cruel, giving a startling contrast to the good nature of the other characters. Binyon and his son Carl add an element of the unexpected and you’re never sure of what they will do which brings a wonderful suspense to the story. With Carl you can see there are the makings of a psychopath and serial killer, but his father comes across more as a misguided and delusional person, but still showing signs of being a little psychotic.

Barnes does not make Binyon completely heartless, with good if not misguided reasons for his actions. This adds a nice complexity to the story as it is not just Maeve and her family that need saving, there is Binyon’s intentions as well which part of you wants to see solved.

There is a gripping, fast-paced conclusion where it seems anything can happen, and does. Barnes brings all the pieces of the puzzle together with a few unexpected surprises along the way but still leaves an air of mystery and the unresolved as well, which will no doubt be uncovered and developed as the series goes on.

Purchase Pay Attention via the following

Amazon

Momentum’s Facebook Book Club: The Boyfriend Sessions by Belinda Williams

17 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Amy in General Tags: belinda williams, book club, momentum

This Thursday is the first ever Momentum book club. The first book being discussed is Belinda Williams’ The Boyfriend Sessions. If you read my review you know all about it, it is a great book and one that is filled with laughter, friendship, and wonderful moments of seriousness that shows how relationships of all kinds affect us. Belinda will be stopping by to join the conversation and you can chat and ask questions about the bits you liked, loved, or didn’t with other people.

For all the information about where, when, and how to join in check out Momentum’s website, Facebook page, or on Belinda’s website. If you have read the book come and chat about it with others, if not there is still time to grab a copy and get reading!

Remembrance Day

11 Nov 2014 Leave a comment

by Amy in General Tags: remembrance day

“At 11am on the 11th November 1918 the guns fell silent” is a phrase that has been repeated in some form or another and is one I have heard throughout my entire life. Today is Remembrance Day in Australia (with variations celebrated around the world and through the Commonwealth) and marks the day World War 1 finally ended, after four long years of fighting.

Today, at 11am, at schools, war memorials, and places all across the country, services will be held to honour those who have fallen in the line of battle. During services the “Last Post” is sounded by a bugler and a minute silence is observed. The Ode is also cited.

While slightly eclipsed by the public holiday of ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day has as much significance if not more to not only Australians but all those who fought in World War 1. With 2014 marking the 100th anniversary of the start of Wold War 1 it is important to acknowledge and remember all the brave men and women who put their lives on the line, not just in that war, but for the many that have followed since.

The Australia War Memorial website has a wonderful explanation about why Remembrance Day is important to Australians and why the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month is significant.

“At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare. The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months. In November the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years. The moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war. This first modern world conflict had brought about the mobilisation of over 70 million people and left between 9 and 13 million dead, perhaps as many as one-third of them with no known grave. The allied nations chose this day and time for the commemoration of their war dead.

On the first anniversary of the armistice in 1919 two minutes’ silence was instituted as part of the main commemorative ceremony at the new Cenotaph in London. The silence was proposed by Australian journalist Edward Honey, who was working in Fleet Street. At about the same time, a South African statesman made a similar proposal to the British Cabinet, which endorsed it. King George V personally requested all the people of the British Empire to suspend normal activities for two minutes on the hour of the armistice “which stayed the worldwide carnage of the four preceding years and marked the victory of Right and Freedom”. The two minutes’ silence was popularly adopted and it became a central feature of commemorations on Armistice Day.

On the second anniversary of the armistice in 1920 the commemoration was given added significance when it became a funeral, with the return of the remains of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of the Western Front.

After the end of the Second World War, the Australian and British governments changed the name to Remembrance Day. Armistice Day was no longer an appropriate title for a day which would commemorate all war dead.

In Australia on the 75th anniversary of the armistice in 1993 Remembrance Day ceremonies again became the focus of national attention. The remains of an unknown Australian soldier, exhumed from a First World War military cemetery in France, were ceremonially entombed in the Memorial’s Hall of Memory. Remembrance Day ceremonies were conducted simultaneously in towns and cities all over the country, culminating at the moment of burial at 11 am and coinciding with the traditional two minutes’ silence. This ceremony, which touched a chord across the Australian nation, re-established Remembrance Day as a significant day of commemoration.

Four years later, in 1997, Governor-General Sir William Deane issued a proclamation formally declaring 11 November to be Remembrance Day, urging all Australians to observe one minute’s silence at 11 am on 11 November each year to remember those who died or suffered for Australia’s cause in all wars and armed conflicts.”

– Extract from the AWM Website

The red poppy has become the symbol of Remembrance Day. Mentioned in the John McCrae poem, In Flanders Field, they bloomed across the battlefields in Flanders, becoming symbolic of the blood that spilled across them. You can read McCrae’s poem below.

No matter who you are, or whether you have had family members serve this country, take a minute to thank those who did, and offer a minutes silence to pay respect to those who gave their time and those who never came home.

For those who have fought in our wars, from the ANZACS until now, thank you.