Spring Fling Giveaway Hop

A ton of thanks to Eve's Fan Garden & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer for hosting this great giveaway hop.

For my plop on the hop I'm giving one winner a choice of any ebook up to $9.99 before tax.

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I think my Kindle may have killed my DVR!

It pains me to think my most favorite item in the world,  an extension of my arm most of the time, may have murdered in a jealous rage...my DVR! 

I went to bed Saturday night about 10:30 after an evening of good conversation and good food at a friend's house.  Normally I go to bed around midnight, after being engrossed in my latest book, so this was a tad early for me.  Moving on.  I left my Kindle snuggled on the couch with my favorite bear blanket to be retrieved Sunday afternoon before my most coveted Sunday afternoon nap.  By the way, if you know me, you know I LIVE for Sunday afternoon naps.  Ok, back to the scene.  

My youngest, precious, angel Ry woke me up at the butt crack of 7:00a.m. to tell me the t.v. wouldn't turn on.  Like the saint of a mother I am, I drug my bleary eyed self out of bed to investigate.  Oh, the horror I discovered!  Ha, not really, but I like a little dramedy.  I see that the power light and the record light to the DVR are blinking rapidly.  Hmmm, well let me just push that little red re-set button I thought.  What I discovered was that if I was really quiet I could here the slightest little ticking sound like a cd player skipping.  Uh, oh.  This is not good.  I'll jump ahead to the phone call to Directv.  The tech lady was helpful, though she didn't convey the amount of sympathy I feel the situation needed.  After unplugging, re-setting and pushing every button she suggested, we came to the conclusion a new DVR was in my future.  I asked, "Is there any way to get the stuff recorded off?"  "No, I'm afraid not." she replied.  Again, no sympathy in her tone.  I hung up the phone and reality set in.  A whole season of Vampire Diaries GONE! (Don't judge)  A whole season of Pretty Little Liars GONE!  Numerous other episodes of this show and that GONE!!!  
 
What happened?  Why after 3 years did the little guy just go ca put?  It was perfectly healthy when I went to bed the night before.  That's when I started to wonder.  Could my Kindle, who is accustomed to spending at least an hour or two of quality time with me, succumed to gadget envy?  I have been choosing to watch Glee and House when I return home from one my childrens' 4 million activities.  So, now I am left wondering...did the Kindle do it, in the living room with a candle stick?

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What's New...

Ok, so here's what's new on the blog.
I have a most FANTASTIC blog design thanks to Lori at Imagination Designs.  You can check her out by clicking her button on the lower left.  
I know it appears like I haven't been reading, but that is NOT true!  I've just been reviewing some books for my friend Catie at Forbidden Passions Reviews.  If you haven't been to her blog, you're missing out.  Here's some links to the books I've reviewed.  Please go check them out and follow Forbidden Passions Reviews.

Review for The Girl in the Clockwork Collar

Review for the entire Need series by Carrie Jones

      

So make sure you check out all this new stuff.  Comment on anything.  Let me hear what you're thinking.

Showers of Books Giveaway Hop

Thanks to I'm a Reader, Not a Writer & One A Day Y.A. for hosting this hop.  There are some lovely blogs on the list.  I hope you'll check them all out.

For this hop I'm giving one winner a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate.  

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Small Blogs, Big Dreams Give Away Hop

Three winners will have their choice of three ebooks.   Just fill out the rafflecopter and Poof!

Thanks to all the wonderful blogs who joined this hop.  

The 3 ebooks are:
Die For Me by Amy Plum
Touch by Jus Accardo
Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

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I know something has happened to the linky.  I'm working with LinkyTools, trying to get it fixed.  I'm sorry for the confusion!

Taste - Book Trailer and Cover Reveal

Thank you so much to author Kate Evangelista for allowing me to take part in this FANTASTIC reveal.  So hold on to your socks, this is A-ma-zing!

At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.

When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.

And now for a MOST delicious excerpt 

Taste Excerpt 2

I sat up and followed Calixta’s gaze upward. I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first. A statue? ­My brain refused to snap together coherent thoughts.  I didn’t realize I’d fallen so close to one of the garden benches until I stared up at the boy that sat on one. He was strikingly beautiful. His tumble of blonde hair curled just above his sculpted cheekbones. He wore a silk shirt and a loosened cravat, like he’d become bored while dressing and decided to leave himself in disarray. His ivory skin and frozen position was what had me mistaking him for something carved from marble by Michelangelo. Then he sighed—a lonely, breathy proof of life. If I had to imagine what Lucifer looked like before he fell from heaven, the boy on the bench would certainly fulfill that image. My brain told me I had to look away, but I couldn’t.

“Luka,” Calixta said again, her voice unsure, almost nervous. It no longer contained the steel and bite she had threatened me with, which made me wonder who the boy was.

He leaned on his hands and crossed his legs, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the night sky. His movements spoke of elegance and control. I’d encountered many people with breeding before, but his took on the air of arrogance and self-assuredness of someone used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it.

I only realized I’d been holding my breath when my lungs protested. I exhaled. My heart sputtered and restarted with a vengeance. Luka tore his gaze away from the stars and settled it on me. I’d expected pitch-black irises, like the other Night Students, but blue ice stared back at me.

“Human,” he whispered.

He reached out, and with a finger, followed an invisible trail down my cheek. I stiffened. His touch, cooler than Demitri’s, caused warm sparks to blossom on my face. He lifted his finger to his lips and licked its tip. He might as well have licked me from the way my body shivered.

Luka’s curious gaze held mine. “Leave us,” he said, but not to me.

“But—” Calixta protested like a spoiled child.

He spoke in a language I hadn’t heard before, remaining calm yet firm. The words had a rolling cadence I couldn’t quite follow, like rumbling thunder in the distance. They contained a harsh sensuality. The consonants were hard and the vowels were long and lilting.

Footsteps retreated behind me.

Luka reached out again.

It took me a minute to realize he wanted to help me up. I hesitated. He smiled. I smiled back timidly and took his hand, completely dazzled. Even with my uniform soaked from melted snow, I didn’t feel cold—all my attention was on him and the way his callused hand felt on mine. Without moving much from his seated position, he helped me stand.

“What’s your name?” he asked. He had a voice like a familiar lullaby. It filled my heart to the brim with comfort.

I swallowed and tried to stop gawking. “Phoenix.”

“The bird that rose from the ashes.” Luka bent his head and kissed the back of my hand. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.”

My cheeks warmed. My head reeled, not knowing what to think. I couldn’t understand why I felt drawn to him. And the strange connection frightened me.

From behind, someone gripped my arms and yanked me away before I could sort out the feelings Luka inspired in me. I found myself behind a towering figure yet again. Recognizing the blue-black silk for hair tied at the nape, relief washed over me. Calixta hadn’t come back to finish me off.

Demitri’s large hand wrapped around my wrist. Unlike the night before, no calm existed in his demeanor. He trembled like a junky in need of a fix. The coiled power in his tense muscles vibrated into me.

“What are you doing here?” Demitri asked.

I didn’t know he’d spoken to me until I saw his expressionless profile. I sighed.

“Phoenix.”

I flinched. The ruthless way he said my name punched all the air out of me. “You owe me answers,” I said with as much bravado as I could muster.

“I owe you nothing.” He glared. “In fact, you owe me your life.”

“I don’t think so.”

Ignoring my indignation, he faced Luka, who’d remained seated on the bench during my exchange with Demitri. “Why is she with you, Luka?”

“I wasn’t going to taste her, if that’s what you’re implying,” Luka said. “Although, she is simply delicious. I wouldn’t mind if you left us alone.”

There it was again. Taste. The word that kept coming up between these Night Students and I was connected to it in an increasingly uncomfortable way. To taste meant to sample, but what? My flesh? They had to be joking because the alternative wasn’t funny.

“The sins of the father …” Demitri left his sentence unfinished.

Luka’s smile shifted into a snarl. “Obey my command.” His chin lifted. “Kneel.”

Demitri’s stance went rigid. His grip tightened around my wrist.

Okay, weird just got weirder. Why would Luka want Demitri to kneel before him? I thought back to Eli and the others bowing to Demitri when he questioned them, but they didn’t kneel. Seriously? Were they all living on a different planet or something?

“Kneel.” Luka’s detestable smirk made his features sinister rather than angelic. The real Lucifer: a fallen angel.

Without letting go of my wrist, Demitri knelt down on one knee and bowed his head, his free hand flat at the center of his chest. “Your command has been obeyed,” he said formally.

Luka nodded once.

Demitri stood up and pulled me toward the school without telling me where we were going. Not having the time to thank Luka for saving me from Calixta, I risked a glance back. Luka smiled at me. His smile spoke of whispers, secrets, and promises to be shared on a later date.

For more about the author just click her picture.             

Ok, I'm floored!  I can only imagine how beautiful this book is, not just from the cover, but from this excerpt.  I'm so excited!!

Hoppy Easter Eggstravagana Giveaway Hop

Thanks to the two GREAT blogs hosting this hop, Once Upon A Twilight & I Am A Reader, Not A Writer.

For this Egg-cellent hop I'm giving one lucky winner a choice of any book they would want the Easter Bunny to leave in their basket up to $10 before tax.

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