Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Seaweed Tour by Elle Strauss






Seaweed
Author:  Elle Strauss   
ISBN: 9780987807809
Release Date: June 15th 2012











Summary
Dori Seward can’t wait to get out of Eastcove, a sleepy fishing village on the border of New Brunswick and Maine. She bides her time by hanging out with friends, attending swim club, and holding her biggest competition, Colby–who wants more than just friendship, at arm’s length. 

Then Tor Riley comes to town and he has everything Dori dreams of in a boyfriend–looks, athleticism and mystery. 

But Tor also has a tantalizing secret and Dori is determined to find out what it is. The truth is crazier than her wildest imaginations and more dangerous, too. Dori has new enemies, and they will do anything to get to her.

Her life, her dreams and her love for Tor are all weighing in the balance. Will Dori risk it all in order to have it all?

Links



Twitter: @elle_strauss, https://twitter.com/elle_strauss


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Monday, August 27, 2012

Erotic Horror Manga Review

Author: Chihiro Ichikawa, Mio Nanao,
Ako Shimaki, Shiho Watanabe, Komomo Yamada
Artist: Chihiro Ichikawa, Mio Nanao,
Ako Shimaki, Shiho Watanabe, Komomo Yamada

Genra: Curse, Jealousy, Revenge    
Stalker/s, Time Travel, Unrequited Love
Year: 2009
Original Publisher:
Shogakukan   
Volumes: 1 Volume(complete)
 Licensed (in English)
No
English Publisher







Summary for 1 and 5
Five creepy oneshots by five different authors.

1/)Fallen Women - Fake World by Watanabe Shiho
Chieri is beautiful and popular and envied by everyone. Even her friend, the plain and shy Yuko. Then the email goes out, "You can now transfer your flaws and imperfections to Chieri Nanjou." It's not a joke, it's a curse...

5/)Transient Future by Shimaki Ako
Tsukamoto is stuck reliving the same day, and every day it ends with her boyfriend being killed by a mysterious stranger. Determined to save him, how far will she have to go?

My Thoughts on the Manga
Thankfully not every chapter was really bad. There was only Two out of the five stories that didn't end so bad.

Each story was tragic in its own way but there is so much death probably that's why it's called Erotic Horror. The only stories I like was the ones that ended good the other three were scary and the character either went crazy and died or they killed someone. It's a first time reading a manga like this so it diffently surprised me some but overall it was good. Every once in a while I would try to read something new and this was one of those times that maybe I shouldn't have tried to read it, cause a lot of the stories were depressing. so if you don't like depressing and morbid stories don't read this manga.

Each character was unique because it was writen by a different author which I thought was great. They had their own back story and none of the stories were the same. This was my first multie author manga book and they did a good job!


Rating
3 out of 5 Howling Wolves

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Gunjou - Ai ga Shizunda Umi no Iro Manga Review



Author:
Yukio Kanesada
Artist: Yukio Kanesada
Genra: Drama, Psychological,
Romance, Shoujo, Tragedy
Year: 2009
Original Publisher:
Shogakukan   
Volumes: 1 Volume(complete)
 Licensed (in English)
No
English Publisher









Summary

Even though they played together innocently since they were young, somewhere along the way, the seeds of "love" started to grow. Growing up on an outlying island from Okinawa, Kazuya, Ryoko and Daisuke were brought up like a family. They wanted to be together forever, but the three of them have different desires. One wants to stay, one wants to go, and one of them wants to go, but can't. When Daisuke is lured away from the island, Ryoko decides to stay on the island with Kazuya. However, the three of them will experience a cruel fate...!


My thoughts on the Manga

I did enjoy this manga, it made me tear up a few times but it was lackig a few things. The author seemed to have rushed importent scenes, because i'm pretty sure if you have a psycotic break you won't suddenly become better after a day of having an old friend return. Not to mention that this manga took place first when they were in grade five, then to when they were in their last year of highschool and then finally when they were 20. It's just a fast moving manga, a bit to fast for my liking, it would have been tones of a lot better if the mangaka took her time and made this more then one volume.

This manga takes place mostly on an island where our three main characters live. At fist they all wanted to stay together forever but somethings happen and like the summery says one wants to leave the island, one wants to stay and one wants to leave but can't. You start to notice right away that both Kazuya and Daisuke love their friend Ryoko and neither one wants to lose to the other because they both want Ryoko. Things are fine until they reach highschool an that's when everything for the three friends change.

Ryoko is a great girl who loves her friends and her father but can't seem to stay what she truely wants in life. Her father keeps her at home not letting her leave the island to go to college. She loves Daisuke more but can't tell him because he's leaving the island. Kazuya is left on the island so she decides to be with him cause he's staying. If anything she gets on my nerves probably even more so if this manga was longer. Both Kazuya and Daisuke are great characters and so cute. They both care for Ryoko and deal with their issues on their own. If only Daisuke stayed a bit longer he could have been there for both Kazuya and Ryoko but he left and then two years later something happens and he gets back to late to help them.

Great story as I've said before if only it was longer and take the time to go into depth with each character I would have liked it more.


Design


Yes this is the scene where Daisuke walks in on a moment between Kazuya and Ryoko. If he only stayed maybe things would have turned out differently between the three of them. Anyways this mangaka put a lot of detail into the characters and background work. Her style is cute and matches the way this story is. Lots of detal is put into the hair and eyes i've notice which captures your attention more.





Rating
3 out of 5 Howling Wolves

Kamatte Kawaii Hito Manga Review



Author:
Waka Sagami
Artist: Waka Sagami
Genra: Shonen Ai
Year: 2010
Original Publisher:
N/A  
Volumes: 1 Volume(complete)
 Licensed (in English)
No
English Publisher








Summary
In order to overcome his debilitating fear of cats, Natsumi Hayato goes to visit a cat cafe. But could his reaction to one of the staff he meets there be even more difficult to conquer than his phobia?

My Thoughts on the Manga
This story was short but it was so very cute and i loved every moment of it. It takes place at a Cat Cafe where our main character Natsumi meets Hikaru who works there. Natsumi is really afraid of cats but slowly over comes his fears.

Natsumi a interesting character for this book, he's really afread of cats but wants to get over that fear. At first the reason was he just wants to bring a girl who likes cats to the cafe but he meets Hikaru and that changes. He starts to go to the cafe everyday to meet Hikaru which was mean to him at frist. In the end though he got Hikaru to show him how he could be nice to a cat who is also called Hikaru(which jumps on him all the time).

Hikaru is a really cute character he loves cats a lot that's why he's working at a cat cafe. Ever since Natsumi been coming by the shop he's been smiling even more. Though he finds himself falling in love with the straight man and he can't help it because Natsumi is so nice to him. He gets depress when he learns Natsumi only wants to get rid of his fears for a girl he wants to take to the cafe but then Natsumi returns his feelings making Hikaru very happy.

The romance is a bit fast but it's cute and I love that Natsumi gets over his fears somewhat at the end. Since Hikaru owns a cat anyways he's going to have to get over his fear of cats.

Design




Very cute style of drawings, lots of detail in the background and in the characters themselves. Hikaru is the white hair guy and Natsumi is the black hair guy. Yes there is lots of cats in this manga but I don't really like how they are design. I've seen a few cats that were drawn so i'm a bit picky on that part but otherwise I liked everything else.  The Mangaka did a great job in the detail in everything and they storyline!










Rating
4 out of 5 Howling Wolves

Monday, August 20, 2012

Origin Olympics!



CLICK THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR TONES OF GAMES AND PRIZES TO ENTER FOR. 
Contest closes Wednesday, August 29 at 11:59PM EST!

Onigari no Mori de Manga Review

Author: Kano Miyamoto
Artist: Kano Miyamoto
Genra: Yaoi
Year: 2011
Original Publisher:
Tokuma Shoten  
Volumes: 1 Volume (Ongoing)

 Licensed (in English)
No
English Publisher










Summary
Misono Kazuki is a college student pursuing a dream of becoming a famous novelist—but unfortunately, for someone trying to pen a supernatural YA novel, he’s got next to no experience with close encounters of the spiritual kind. To remedy this, at the suggestion of a friend, he heads to a supposedly haunted shrine late one moonlit evening, and while he doesn’t find any ghosts, he does find something much more interesting.

My Thoughts on the Manga
Great manga so far, It's not done yet but the next chapters won't be out till February so I will talk about what is out so far.

This manga is interesting and new, our main character finds himself suddenly attacked by someone with white hair. He later learns that this white hair man is from another world that is full of demons and monsters and the white hair main is someone who kills those demons but also he kills the demons(humans) of Misono's world. They soon work together to try and find a way to stop the portal between worlds from spreading further. Because if it's not stop then more humans from Misono's world will be pulled into the white hair guys world and ultimately killed.

It's an interesting start to the manga and I do hope it doesn't end so soon, I think this manga could go on for a few volumes because of how the plot line is. I also do hope that the two guys I like end up together. Not to mention that the white hair guy is actually part demon which is interesting in itself.

Design
                                


Since this manga was made in 2011 I do expect the drawings to be more updated in style and hey are. I love the way the characters look and you can sense their expression from just looking at the images. I really can't wait for the second book to fall in love even more with this mangaka drawing style.











Rating
5 out of 5 Howling Wolves

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

The Last Degree by Dina Rae Book Tour







The Last Degree
Author: Dina Rae
Format: Ebook
Genres: Action, Adventure, Crime,
Paranormal, Political, Suspense, Thriller,
Christian
Publisher: Dina Rae










Summary
The Last Degree is a fictionalized account of how Freemasons and other secret societies set up the world for takeover. Ancient writings foretell a ‘Shining One’ who emerges as the world’s prophet. A murder of a Most Worshipful mason resembles a secret oath. A cop gets too close to solving the crime. Paranoid preppers go underground, preparing for war.

Headlines such as the Norway massacre, meltdown of the European Union, unscrupulous media, animal die-offs, Middle Eastern unrest, and U.S. shrinking power make the plot relevant to present day. This book is an ode to Christians, Birthers, 2012ers, Truthers, preppers, and/or other conspiracy junkies who enjoy Dan Brown, Jesse Ventura, Brad Meltzer, Alex Jones, Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. A sequel to The Last Degree is currently being drafted.


Excerpt
James Martin thanked God for his sobriety, health, and money.  Without these gifts Wonderland would’ve stayed a dream.  He thought of Debba.  She had been right about everything.  He was living her dream, wondering if she was alive.

Impatiently, he prayed for a sign as the voices inside of his head became louder.  God, I need to trust You.  What is my next move?  Soon, he thought, soon You will reveal.

James came from a Texan oil family.  Although he and his brother were raised on guns and Jesus, both boys refused to follow in their daddy's footsteps.

His brother, Adam, opted out of the family business with civility and grace.  He moved to New York City after landing his dream job as a financial consultant.

On September 11, 2001, Adam went to work for the last time at the World Trade Center.  The tragedy caused James and his parents to handle their grief in different ways.

His parents suffered depression and sought professional help, whereas James chose to self-medicate with alcohol and drugs.  Even though Adam had always been his parents' favorite son, James was never jealous.  He idolized his brother since he could walk.


After 9-11, his growing alcohol and drug dependency crossed over into a bigger bottom, in and out of hospitals and rehabs too many times to count.  His parents tried, only in vain, everything to get him sober.  No longer able to deal with his antics, they cut him off financially and emotionally.

On New Year's Day, 2005, James woke up in a hospital just north of the Mexican border.  What the hell? He looked around the sparkling white hospital room.

“You've been out for a few days,” said his elderly roommate who noticed his movement from the other side of the room.

“Who are you?  Where am I?” James asked.

“Tyrone.  Tyrone Percy.  You're at Northwest Memorial.  I'd get up and give you a mirror, but I'm pretty banged up myself.”


Check out The Last Degree Prequel as well—Be Paranoid Be Prepared!




Dina Rae is a new author here to stay.  As a former teacher, she brings an academic element to her work.  Her two novels, Halo of the Damned and The Last Degree, weave research and suspense throughout the plots.  Her short story, Be Paranoid Be Prepared, is a prequel of sorts to The Last Degree, focusing on the James Martin character.  Dina also freelances for various entertainment blogs.

Dina lives with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs outside of Chicago.  She is a Christian, an avid tennis player, movie buff, and self-proclaimed expert on several conspiracy theories.  When she is not writing, she is reading novels from her favorite authors Dan Brown, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Brad Thor, George R.R. Martin, and Preston & Childs.

Find the Author:





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"Waiting on" Wednesday: Tiger's Destiny

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.
To think it's already book four and I started reading this series when the first book came out. It was the cover that drew me into reading this series and I didn't began the first book until a few months later.


Tiger Destiny
(The Tiger Saga #4)
Expected publication: September 4th 2012

Publisher: Splinter

Summary:
With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.  It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all. A smart  phone tag code on the back cover links readers to the series website.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Marked and Changed by Jennifer Snyder Book Tour! Reviews!





Marked

Author: Jennifer Snyder
ISBN: 1470075792 (ISBN13: 97814700757)
Format: Ebook
Pages: 230
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal,
Young Adult, Romance, Werewolves
Series: Marked Duology #1









Summary
A mysterious stranger she can’t stay away from. A birthmark with a hidden meaning and one bite that changes seventeen-year-old Tessa Morganton’s destiny forever…

Life for Tessa had been steady and calm—with the exception of her overly jealous boyfriend—until the moment Jace Fowler walked into her life.

Jace—incredibly charming with boy band good looks—is someone whom Tessa can’t seem to stay away from… no matter how much she knows she should.

After surviving a strange animal attack, Tessa learns just how mysterious and secretive Jace really is and that his secrets not only involve himself…but her as well, making Tessa question everything she’s ever believed regarding her life and those around her.


My Thoughts on the Book
I found this werewolf story interesting, as it followed the traditional take on the werewolf myth. The idea that they turn into wolves during the night of a full moon.I haven’t read a story in a long time that actually followed the myth. It was a draw that made me love and enjoy the book.

This story centers around a girl name Tessa, and how she meets a guy named Jace at the diner she works at. Even though she has a boyfriend already (though she’s planning to break up with him), she agrees to go out on a date with him and that’s when everything starts to change. She falls in love with Jace. Things start getting weird when she beings to have nightmares after an encounter with what she thought was a wolf in the woods. As she starts to get to know Jace, more people he knows start to drop by unannounced causing trouble for Tessa and her releationship with Jace. She always thought she was a normal, everyday girl until she met Jace and her life gets turned upside down.

This story takes place in Breckwater, a town in the USA. It’s a small town with just a Walmart and a bowling alley. It's the kind of town were there's not much to do, so people have parties to break up the monotony. A majority of the story takes place either at the diner where Tessa works, or at Jace's or Tessa's house.
Tessa is your average, everyday teenager. She has a job, and parents her care for her enough to give her a curfew to follow, because if not then she would actually get grounded. I was glad that she broke up with her boyfriend Sam after seeing how he treated her. He didn’t seem to trust her at all and Jace treats her a lot better then Sam did. After that Tessa spent almost everyday with Jace and even when she was grounded they found a way to see each other. I found their interactions between each other to be cute, since you can see how much they care for each other. Near the ending though, after what Jace did to her, I probably would have taken more time before forgiving him. She was too forgiving. I understand that she loved him, but he just turned her life upside down without asking or telling her anything. In my perspective, she should have been scared and angry at him, but then I’m also glad they somehow worked things out at the end. She trusts him enough to know he wouldn’t leave her.
Jace seems like a sweet guy when you meet him. He’s nice to Tessa, caring and doing anything for her. He even does sweet things like leave yellow roses (her favorite flower) for her when they couldn’t spend time together.  He does have his scary side, like when he started to beat Sam, not stopping at all. This caused Tessa to become afraid of him for a while, but she does end up forgiving him. What I don't like about him was the fact that he turned Tessa into a werewolf without talking to her first or warning her. If it would me, I would have never forgiven him for doing something that life changing to me.
Tessa's and Jace's friends make up the cast of secondary characters. Rachel is Tessa’s best friend, taking Tessa to all the best parties. She’s there for Tessa when she needs her, and she also works at the diner where Tessa works. As I mentioned earlier, Sam is Tessa's ex-boyfriend, and I’m glad he’s an ex after the way he treated Tessa. He didn't trust her, and everytime she went near a guy he thought she was flirting with him. He was just overly jealous and possessive character . Lastly, you have Jace’s friends from Ohio. Jace describes them as Jenna being a friend, Gravin is an arrogant ass and Shelby is his ex-girlfriend. They aren’t in the story long, but enough for Shelby to start things up between Jace and Tessa.
Overall
If you like the popular tale of werewolves, you will love this book. I found it to be a great read.




Rating
5 out of 5 Howling Wolves





Changed
Author: Jennifer Snyder
ISBN: 1477429107 (ISBN13: 9781477429105)
Format: Ebook
Pages: 213
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal,
Young Adult, Romance, Werewolves
Series: Marked Duology #2










Summary
Would you fight to the death to prove you are worthy to stand beside the one you loved?

Eighteen-year-old Tessa Morganton’s life has flipped upside down. After learning Jace’s secret and discovering the man she’d thought all her life was her father isn’t, she must also cope with the reality of what she’s now become—a werewolf.

Tessa tries to maintain her normal life while her body changes more and more each night as the full moon grows closer, but when Shelby comes back to pay her a visit, Tessa soon realizes turning into a wolf may not be the only dilemma she will have to overcome.

As the Wolf Moon draws near, Tessa uncovers some things about Jace and Shelby’s relationship and exactly what Pack Law entails in the untraditional situation Jace has created for them all.

My Thoughts on the Book

I threw my hands up in the air at the end of the book! The book did not end how I expected it to end! I love how there was more action in this book then the last, and you saw the wolves more, but I just felt so frustrated at the end. Nothing has been solved in terms of how werewolves view half breeds.
In this book, Jace has become leader of his pack. Something that Tessa and he did not discuss. Jace's character backtracked a little, willing to let the two female wolves in his life (Tessa and Shelby) fight over who will be with him. Granted, real wolves fight over mating rights, but there's still that human element to werewolves. Isn't love supposed to trump duty? I felt angry at Jace for this, and angry for Tessa.

There's also a development in Tessa's family. She has learned that her father is not her biological father. That being said, she doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. I have thought that would have been interesting if she did go find him, but she decided to let him slip away. 

The plot for this book is a lot different from the last. While the last book was about Tessa first meeting Jace,  getting to know him and learning that she is turning into a werewolf because of him. This book takes off from there. As the full moon comes closer, the time to turn into a wolf gets closer as well. She has to prepare for this moment and spends a lot of her time with Jace. She asks him any questions she could, but learns that he’s (OF COURSE!) holding secrets from her. One of these secrets is Shelby, a werewolf who wants Jace to be hers. Tessa soon learns that to be able to have Jace for herself and have the approval of the whole pack, that she needs to fight Shelby in wolf form and win. This story also explains about Tessa’s mothers past, her biological father and why he left her mother, and about Tessa's birth.

This book takes place again in Breakwater, but in part two it changes to taking place in Ohio, were Jace lives. Once again, the book mostly takes place at either Jace's or Tessa's house, and later on, Jace's parents house.
Tessa did very well as she learned to be a werewolf. The big downside to the transformation was that it caused her to pull away from her friend Rachel and her family. She turned to Jace more and more for help, and I loved how he took care of her in this way. When faced with the pack's disapproval at her being Jace's partner, she remained a strong character. She stood her ground and was willing to fight for her man.
Jace flip-flopped as a character. He had his sweet moments, but at times I just couldn't stand him. The fact that he was willing to drop Tessa for Shelby if Shelby won just annoyed me. He does have his good moments though. He stayed by her side during her first change and helped her. You can see how much he loves her no matter what form she takes.  He even agrees with her when she wanted to tell her parents and friend the truth about them. He didn’t like it at first he did end up doing what she wanted to make her feel better about her leaving all of them. 

Though Rachel was being pushed away by Tessa in this book, she still tried her best to be there for her friend. She always called to ask to hang out with Tessa and was always there when Tessa called. For that I find that Rachel is a good true friend. As you can gather, I didn't like Shelby, and found her to be an unpleasant character in this boo. Tessa's mother comes out into her own a little bit more, telling Tessa the truth about everything. Tessa knew most of it already, but I do like learning about a back story. 
Overall
I did like this book, but not as much as the first volume.  I do still recommend that everyone read this book to learn the ending between Jace and Tessa.
Rating
3.5 out of 5 Howling Wolves
      .5




Author Bio:
Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is an instant coffee lover with an obsession for spiral bound notebooks and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.


 

 

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Noctalis Blog Tour by Chelsea Cameron

I would like to say I'm glad to be hosting Noctalis Blog Tour by Chelsea Cameron. These books are Just amazing and I'm glad to take the chance to review them.



Nocturnal
Author: Chelsea Cameron
ASIN: B00784CYYQ
Format: Ebook
Pages:
232
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal,
Young Adult, Romance
Series: The Noctalis Chronicles #1










Summary
Seventeen-year-old Ava-Claire Sullivan's mother is dying. Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that her greatest solace comes from someone who's already dead.

Peter Hart saves her one night in a graveyard from an attacker just as strange as he is, and now Ava can't stop thinking about him. She wants to see him again – even after he warns her he's dangerous, and she begins to realize what he is. Her best friends don't know anything about death, but Peter does, intimately. He's waiting for her the next night she comes to the cemetery, and the next...

But their growing bond comes up against a promise Peter made a long time ago, a promise that could destroy them both. Now Ava has to decide just what she's willing to give up to hold onto the one thing that could last forever.


My Thoughts on the Book

With this new take on the “vampire” legend I’m in love with this story. This is something new and interesting because it’s not your normal everyday vampire. In fact they aren’t even vampires at all. The only thing that is related to vampires in this book is the blood drinking. Everything else is new and inventive; to me nothing in this book is your average everyday paranormal book. I can say this now this series is going to be very good.
This book takes place in a rural part of Maine, USA. Everyone knows everything about someone in that town. A lot of time is spent in the graveyard where Ava-Clair (our main character) first meets our male main character, Peter. Being in a graveyard would be strange for most people, especially since she visits that area at night. But with everything that’s going in her life right now, she wanted somewhere quiet and safe, and since no one visits the graves at night she has it all to herself.  

This story centers around the character Ava-Clair (Ava by most people). With her mother's cancer terminal, she just doesn’t want to deal with anything. She escapes to the graveyard where she’s at peace, but she she meets Peter, a strange boy whose friend almost killed her. Despite his warnings of her to stay away she continues to visit him. The relationship becomes an escape in itself for Ava, as she's not able to tell her friends the truth about her mom. This distance has caused a rift between them and only with Peter can she forget things. She soon learns that Peter isn’t all that he seems, and she learns the true story of what Peter is and why he is so strange.

Ava is your average everyday teen who loves to party with her friend Texas (Tex). Things change when her parents told her how her mother will die and now all she wants to do is escape. She tries her hardest to be normal towards her mother, even though she wants to cry. Then she meets Peter and she doesn’t have to think about her mom, and gets her mind off of her mom’s condition for a while.  Ava is a strong  girl with everything going bad in her life.

Peter is someone who is strange when Ava first meets him. He states bluntly that the reason he was at the graveyard the first time they met was that he wanted to die. He has straight to the point answers to any questions Ava asks him, doesn’t seem to talk to much. However, Ava always tries her best to get him to talk more. He doesn’t feel any emotions and when something happens between him and Ava he soon is bombarded by all kinds of emotions all at once he’s not use too. Near the ending of the book you can see a change in him, which makes you like him even more.
Tex(Texas)  and Jamie(James) are both Ava’s friends. They have known each other for a long time, since they were little. Tex is more of the house party type of girl, Jamie is the one that looks out for both Tex and Ava. Ava’s friends are always by her side but things get bad between them when Ava starts to hide the fact that her mother is dying. Stuff is going on with Jamie himself, which also messes with the friendship. Hopefully in the next book things get better between the group of friends.
Rating
4 out of 5 Howling Wolves



Nightmare

Author
: Chelsea Cameron
ASIN
: B007U6DJLO
Format
: Ebook
Pages: 235
Genres
: Fantasy, Paranormal,
Young Adult, Romance
Series
: The Noctalis Chronicles #2







Summary
Ava-Claire Sullivan's first mistake was becoming vampire Peter Mackintire's personal blood bank. Her second mistake was falling in love with him.

Now it's Ava's job to make sure he never loves her in return. A pact Peter made nearly a hundred years ago means loving someone will kill him. If she can figure out how to free him from his promise, it might kill her, make her immortal, or lead to the love she wants so badly.

But if she doesn't, at best, her heart will break…and at worst, Peter will die.


My Thoughts on the book

This story just keep getting better and better as it goes on. I love the relationship between Peter and Ava as they struggle with the Claiming bond. They need to figure out how to break Peter’s promise with Di, who is Peter’s 'mother' in the way that she created him into a Noctalis (what this book calls a vampire). This book features more character point of view swapping than it did in the first of the series. That being said, it’s also easier to tell whose point of view it is. When a chapter starts from the POV of Peter or Ava, mid-way through the chapter it will switch to the opposite's name to continue with their POV. I like this because I like getting both characters POV.
The setting in this book still takes place in Maine, but they do go down to Florida to visit a old friend of Peter’s who might know something about how to break the bind to his maker Di. 
The plot in this book again centers this time around both Ava and Peter. They learn that there is more effects of the Claiming then they originally thought. They can’t stay away from each other over long distances or it will cause pain. Ava is also beginning to like the smell of blood from those close to her. You also learn that the person Peter calls an old friend isn’t all that he seems to be.
Telling your mom that your boyfriend is a Noctalis makes your brave. Ava had to tell her mom about Peter because she hated lying to her. I can understand how Ava wanted to tell her friend, but to tell her mom is bold. Naturally, her mother doesn't want the two of them together.
Ava is still strong and wants to protect Peter. She wants to kiss him and hug him and do what she feels in her heart to do because she loves him, but she has to stop herself. If she causes him to fall for her then he will die. She starts to notice things like how she starts to react to human blood. To her it smells good, an effect of the claiming bond that Peter put on her in the first book.

Peter seems to talk more in this book then in the last, which interests me. The connection he has with Ava really has changed him. Though he can’t love her he does adore her and tells her that. I think it’s sweet either way. It’s a different type of love even if it’s not true love. He still keeps Ava in the dark about a few things, which is understandable considering his pas,t but he does tell her few things about his pre-Ava eras.
I found that Tex has become more annoying in this book then in the last. She wants to meet up with Peter’s brother even though Ava keeps telling her “no”. She doesn’t listen and just keeps bugging causing Ava to get more then annoyed with her. Jamie's role in this book has slid back, but he does talk to Ava and listen to her when she finally tells him about her parents. This book also tells you more about Ivan’s past. You also meet Cal, an old friend of Peter’s. I found Cal to be creepy, even though he lives in a house unlike most Noctalis and wears nice clothes.

Rating
5 out of 5 Howling Wolves



A few Extras
To say this now Nocturnal and Nightmare will be free from Aug. 10th through Aug 14th on Amazon!! That's right so don't forget to get your books because this series is awesome!

Then on on Aug. 30th we will be having Nocturnal Night with Chelsea Cameron!! A huge Video Chat that everyone is invited to :) We will be chatting about EVERYthing. There will also be some giveaways going on... here are the deets you need to include please ...

Join us for Nocturnal Night on August 30th 8pm EST / 7pm CST for a LIVE Video chat with Author of Nocturnal and Nightmare Chelsea Cameron.

We will be chatting about everything from her books, the writing process, to Edward v/s Jacob *grins* There will be some giveaways going on too. Don't have a webcam? No worries you can still totally join in with text chatting. You will be able to see everyone else. Shy? Don't be we are all eager to meet you!! Join us for a night of Awesome.
http://nocturnalnight.eventbrite.com/




Links

Twitter: @chel_c_cam





Author
Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA writer from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.

She has two books out now, Nocturnal and Nightmare, the first and second books in the Noctalis Chronicles about a girlwith a dying mother who meets an immortal boy. The third book, Numb will be out this August, and the fourth in the winter. Her other book, Whisper, about a girl who is alive, a boy who isn't and the complications that go along with their relationship, released June 16 and is the first in a trilogy. Follow her on Twitter: @chel_c_cam, her blog, or on Facebook.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Doll House by Anya Allen Book Tour Promo and Review Stop!




Dollhouse
Author:  Anya Allyn    
ASIN: B007PLAVH4
Release Date:  May 2012
Format : ebook
Pages: 373
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal,
Supernatural, Horror, Mystery






Summary:
Fifteen-year-old Aisha disappears in the dark forests on a school hiking trip. She's the latest in a string of children to vanish there over the past five years. The towns surrounding the forests are on edge and they want answers. And wildboy Ethan—Aisha's boyfriend—is on the run after he and his grandfather are blamed for her disappearance.

Cassie is just about the only friend Ethan has left. She's been secretly in love with him ever since her mother dragged her to the wilds of Australia from Florida six months ago.

Desperate to prove Ethan's innocence, Cassie searches the forests with Ethan to find out what really happened to Aisha. But Ethan's growing strangely silent, and Cassie's left questioning if her feelings for him are clouding her judgment.

Cassie discovers a dark secret lurking in the heart of the forests; a secret world of nightmarish horrors—where nothing is as it seems, where the supernatural invades your soul, where the people she trusts most might be the people she can trust least, and where escape exists only in dreams.


Review
I didn't expect this book to be as creepy as it was. Nothing in this book was what I expected it to be. There was a interesting ending, and pieces of the story were confusing at moments, leaving lots of questions for the reader.

This being said, it was quite an enjoyable read. This story takes place in Australia, located in a part where it’s heavenly forested. Cassie and her mom moved there when her mom chased after a guy, and they've been living there for a couple of months. The story centers around Cassie and her friends trying to look for their friend Aisha who went missing after their trip in the mountain area for a school project. Cassie and her friend Lacy join Ethan on the mountain, who is already there looking for Aisha. It's not long before they find her but things turn when they're brought to a scary cave full of gaint dolls and one girl who one controls the only way out and the dolls who can’t get hurt. It soon becomes up to Cassie to figure out a way to get them all to escape and to solve the mystery of why they are down there.


Cassie is our main heroine of this story. She was best friends with the girl who went missing. She has strong conviction in her friends in asserting their innocence. Throughout the book, she wants to be sure that her friends are safe. She learns what ever she can to save her friends, even at the risk of harm to herself. At the beginning of the book we learn that Cassie is afraid of the dark. Seeing as half the time Cassie is in the dark, she doesn’t seem to have that big of a fear for it, that’s the confusing part about her. She only reacted a few times to the dark in a way that I would expect someone would if they truly were afraid. In a majority of the time, she seemed completely fine with being in the dark.

Ethan seemed like a very good guy who cares very much about his missing girlfriend. He didn’t care about what anyone said about him being a suspect, he was going to find his girlfriend one way or another. He’s the quintessential good guy, it's hard to see why he would date Aisha. The relationship is explained, but should it have to be? Another confusing aspect is his character development. It should be noted that girls are being held captive. Ethan seemed to know that there was some sort of treasure in the cave that the girls were being held captive in, but he didn't want the treasure. He was more concerned about finding his girlfriend then in treasure. It almost seemed to me that the author wanted him to be bad guy, looking for treasure and using his girlfriend as a cover, but then changed their mind while writing. I have to wonder why the editor didn't catch this lapse in development.
Aisha is someone I would despise in real life. She’s too fast to not trust anyone, almost like she’s paranoid, and she's rather stuck up. When everyone is in danger she’s fast to turn against her friend and lied to get her in serous trouble. Despite this betrayal, Cassie and Ethan both forever her. I can't understand this. Sure she helped them in the end, but I could never forgive a friend for not trusting me or lying when to get me in trouble. Aisha only thought the worse of someone, and doesn't explain her actions very well.

The girls that are held captive all have their own personalities. Jassamine controls everything in the cave, setting the rules. Missiouri was the oldest and longest held captive in that place. She’s like a older mother or sister to the other girls, taking care of them the best she can without breaking the rules of Jassamine. Sophronia is the eyes and ears of the underground prison. She doesn’t talk to anyone just writes to them or just does as she wishes to make Jassamine happy and not take her anger out on them. She makes you wonder about her background and at the end of the book you want to learn about her back story because she never gave her real name. Philomena is the youngest only about 4 or 5. She’s been there about a year and acts like a normal child in the cave only when it’s not to much for Jassamine. She loves Missiouri and starts to take a liking to Cassie later. Those aren’t their real names but names that were given to them by Jassamine. They do learn about their real names later in the story.

Rating
3.5 out of 5 Howling Wolves

         .5

Book Trailer


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Author Bio: 
Anya Allyn lives near the beach an hour north of Sydney, Australia. She loves anywhere outdoors that is natural and wild. Or anywhere indoors where Black Forest Cake is on offer. She has four amazing boys and enjoys their energy and happy-go-lucky spirit, and wishes she could plug into some of that energy on days when her 'get up and go' has packed up and gone! She is a former Features' Editor/Community Manager for a media organisation in Australia. The idea for Doll House was born after a trip to the beautiful Barrington Tops region of Australia--sparked by places there such as Devils Hole, Ladies Well and Thunderbolt's Way.