Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Smallvillie season 11 Vol 1 Comic Book Review

Summary Smallville: Season 11 is a comic book series published by DC Comics that maintains the continuity of the Smallville television series and details Clark Kent's adventures as the costumed hero Superman.

Six months after Clark Kent donned the cape and took to the skies to save Earth from Apokolips ... enter Season 11! New allies abound! New enemies afoot! And old friends return where they’re least expected!

Review
Wow a Smallvillie comic book, I never hough I would see that but here it is. It’s alright for a first issue. A bit confusing (since they added random short comic’s in it…) This comic takes place right after the last season of smallvillie. (so yeah I gotta watch the show again sometime soon).
So starts off as any super hero comic book, superman saves people from a space station. He’s still with Lois Lane and Chloe Sullivan-Queen is with Oliver Queen(aka Green Arrow, no has nothing to do with the new Green arrow tv show). Not much really to say about the plot since it’s a short comic. Though it’s surprising to see Lex Luther back in the comic, then again I’m pretty sure he came back in the tv show and yes he still hates Clark Kent.
Whether I continue to read this comic book or not is still unknown, since I don’t know what I think of it yet.

Artwork

Very well drawn comic, details in both the characters and backgrounds. Nothing is lazy drawn and the characters look like there tv verisons (Except Chloe I had no idea that was her at first). Louis lane looks fine and so does Clark, Olive and Lex.I did wish they had the real comic book cover on google but the don't sadly.





Rating
3 out of 5 Howling Wolves


Open Air Manga Review

Author: Ryoku Tsunoda
Artist: Ryoku Tsunoda
Genra: Yaoi, Slice of Life, Romance,
Drama
   
Year: 2007
Original Publisher:
Frontier Works  
Volumes: 
1 Volumes (Complete)
 Licensed (in English)
No
English Publisher






Summary
To break from the monotonous summer holidays, Okunuki decides on a spur of the moment to visit his senpai’s farm. There, he meets his senpai’s son, Iku. However on the same day, his senpai collapses from fatigue and Okunuki steps in to help– partly because he’s intrigued by Iku. With this opportunity, Okunuki begins to care for Iku and Iku also starts to let his guard down…

Review
This was actually a really cute story and doesn’t end how you think it will. For Okunuki (our main charcter) to fall in love with a straight man it’s always hard. Not to mention that the man is so slow at picking up people’s feelings that he doesn’t notice that Okunuki loves him. I wanted to smack the guy for not noticing but then you notice the son and you forget all about the straight man and you cheer for the younger man Iku and Okunuki to be together.
The setting takes place on a farm and of corse many happenings occur around the farm.
Okunuki is only just visiting his old friend at the farm but decides to stay and help out when his friend gets hurt. That’s when he meets the son Iku and learns his history and how he doesn’t like to be touch. There is a few other problems but our main couple pulls through and ends up together. The friend not knowing anything marry’s the girl of his dreams and everyone is happy basically.
Cute story and I do recommend you read this story if your given the chance since it’s very cute.  
Artwork
The characters are mostly done in heavy black stokes but it does look great in the together look and feel of the manga. There is plenty of detail put into the the backgrounds of the manga and some detail put into the actual people.
 












Rating
4 out of 5 Howling Wolves

Awakened Book Blitz and Excerpt


Awakened

(The Legends of Elyndia Series)
Author: Kriston Johnson

Release Date: 
April 25th 2013 
Genre:  Young Adult, Fantasy


 

Amazon







Summary
Can fighting for the right side be the wrong thing to do?

Draven, the tyrant ruler of Elyndia for the last one thousand years, searches for the one who can fulfill his prophecy.

The Paladins, an elite band of warriors sworn to protect their way of life at all cost, search for the one with the ability to bring their world crumbling down.

An innocent girl, tormented by demons only she can see, lives on the brink of insanity and longs for a life of peace.

When seventeen-year-old Jade Rosenberg reads from an antique book, she has no idea she just read an incantation awaking her inherited power. But when opposing—and equally terrifying—groups invade her home, she learns she is descended from an enchanted realm and a member of a powerful race thought to have been hunted to extinction.

Ripped from her world, Jade is forced to seek refuge from those who want her dead. She is given one of two options and the time has come for her to make a choice: assassinate their sworn enemy…

Or sacrifice her soul

Excerpt

A young servant girl entered the throne room and padded across the flagstone floor, carrying a delicate metal cage in her trembling hands. She remained silent while waiting for her next command. Draven slowly stood and glided over to the pedestal to his left, his black robe trailing behind him. He inhaled a deep breath and stared at the empty gilded cage that sat before him. He suddenly swung his arm at it, sending it flying across the spacious room, and it crashed loudly against the floor. The servant gently rested the new cage in its place and swiftly fled the room.
Draven sat down and leaned back into his throne made of solid gold. His gaze bore down on the man cowering before him. “You have two Elementals tucked safely away behind your walls. I want them.”
“I am afraid that is a matter out of my control.” The petrified man sat quite still, purposely avoiding Draven’s scrutiny.
A buzzing noise vibrated from the cage. A pixie fluttered her tiny wings, flying frantically and bouncing off the bars. Annoyed, Draven shot silver sparks out of his fingertips, aiming at the pixie. She was quick and barely dodged them.
“You have the ability to free them.” Draven’s lips curled into a sneer.
“I am flattered, sir, that you think I have the ability to grant your wish, but I must regretfully inform you that you are mistaken.”
With the flick of his index finger, Draven magically opened the cage door. The pixie tucked her wings against her back and pressed herself against the far wall of her cell. 
“It’s okay, my little darling. Please come to me,” Draven said to the pixie. She took tiny, hesitant steps until she reached the edge and peered out the door. He turned his attention back to the man. “I am truly sorry to hear that.”
The pixie took off in flight from her cage and zipped toward an open window. Draven raised his open hand and summoned her to him, and she involuntarily flew in his direction. She let out a squeak as Draven swatted her to the ground; she lay unmoving, knocked out cold.
“What if I offered you your deepest desire?”
“There is only one thing I would wish for and I am afraid not even you could grant that wish. The only thing I want in this world is my wife, and she’s dead. There is nothing beyond that that could persuade me to help you.”
The pixie stirred, slowly regaining consciousness. After a minute of watching the tortured pixie attempting to flee to safety, Draven shot sparks out of his hand, hitting the pixie in the back. She spiraled to the ground, and what was left of her wings sizzled to ash from the electric shock.
“What if I could bring your wife back? Could you be persuaded to help me then?” Draven walked over to the pixie and waved his hand inches above the dead creature. A glittering wave of magic washed over her body, restoring her strength and beauty. She tried for her freedom one last time, and inches from the window Draven summoned her, sending her straight back to her cage.
“I’m listening.”

Author
Kriston Johnson lives in Southwest Washington with her husband, teenage son, and miniature Australian Shepherd. Her home rests at the fringe of an old growth forest that she insists is the home of Jason Voorhees. Her husband thinks that’s a ridiculous assumption, because everyone knows it’s really Bigfoot. Every summer Kriston participates in the annual pilgrimage to Faerieworlds, a real life faerie realm here on Earth, and has an unhealthy obsession with Star Wars, The Vampire Diaries, and Iron Man. Awakened is her first novel. You can visit her online at www.kristonjohnson.blogspot.com.

Author Links:

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Influential Magic Excerpt and Giveaway!

Influential Magic
(Crescent City Fae)
Author: Deanna Chase

Release Date: March 6th 2013
ISBN: 978-0983797876
ASIN: B00BQ3C9PO
Pages: 318
Genre:  Fantasy, Romance,
Paranormal
Series: Crescent City Fae


 






Summary

It’s tough being a faery in New Orleans, a city fraught with vampires… especially when their very existence drains your life-force.

Willow Rhoswen, owner of The Fated Cupcake and part-time vampire hunter for the Void is having a rough week. Four years after her twin brother’s mysterious death, Willow’s life is threatened and the director saddles her with a new partner—her ex-boyfriend, David. To her horror, he’s turned vamp, which causes her physical pain whenever she touches him… and any other specimen of the undead.

In order to save Willow’s life, David agrees to turn double agent against the most powerful vampire organization in New Orleans. Or so he says. And she’s convinced they know something about her brother’s death. Unsure where David’s loyalties lie, she turns to Talisen, her childhood crush, to help her solve the mystery.

Caught between two gorgeous men and a director who’ll stop at nothing to control Willow’s gifts, she’ll have to follow her instincts and learn who to trust. Otherwise, she risks losing more than just her life.


Excerpt
A low chuckle rumbled from the branch.
“Wil, I think our friend finds us amusing.” Phoebe gripped her black agate crystal.
“Just you,” the vamp replied, his voice as deep and gritty as a thirty-year chain-smoker. “She’s interesting, as well as that dog of hers, but I’ve been looking forward to this matchup for some time.”
A grin broke on Phoebe’s profile and her eyes glittered. “Oh, good. A challenge.”
The hooded figure leapt from the branch a second before Phoebe blasted the spot with her sunlight-infused agate. The branch sizzled and, with a deafening crack, landed inches from where Phoebe had been standing.
 “Holy fae,” I breathed and took off after Phoebe, who was now sprinting to catch the vampire. She sped up, periodically flashing her agate, trying to stun him. His reflexes proved to be far superior to the average vampire’s, and I suspected this one had been around much longer than most. He alternated back and forth from the tree limbs to the cemetery wall in smooth, graceful movements, deliberately waiting for Phoebe to make a move before leaping.
He was playing with her.
At the end of the cemetery, the vampire turned and looked Phoebe in the eye. “What else you got, witch?”
 Phoebe stopped yards ahead of me, her tiny, lithe body seeming to grow a few inches. She lifted her left hand straight out, palm up and shouted, “Siste!”
Her long, glossy black hair fell from its bun, whipping straight back in the windless night.
The power behind the spell rooted me to the path, frozen in a running pose. Link was a few yards ahead of her, suspended in midair, his face scrunched up in a snarl. The vampire’s laughter rang clear as he bounded onto a nearby rooftop and disappeared.
“Fuck!” Phoebe shouted as the power dissipated.
With the spell broken, I lost my balance and fell face-first on the hard brick sidewalk.
Link shot ahead, his little legs never breaking the run. His body shimmered gold before his limbs gave way, expanding until he’d grown to ten times his normal size. Once again in wolf form, he shot out of sight, sprinting after the vampire.
I groaned and rolled over, staring into Phoebe’s exhausted face. “You all right?”
She offered me a hand. “Yeah, but shit. I lost him.”
“How’d he do that?” I’d never seen a vampire manipulate her magic before. “It’s like he blocked it.”
“He deflected the spell, and it hit you and Link instead.” She rubbed her temple. “I don’t know how. I’ll need to do some research.”
I nodded. “I can’t sense him anymore, he must be long gone. We better go find Link before animal control gets him again.” The last time they’d picked him up as a wolf, he’d turned back into a Shih Tzu before I could claim him. The paperwork confusion had been a nightmare.
“You go ahead. I’ll grab the car and catch up.”
“Okay. Be safe. I’ll keep an eye out for you.” Smiling, I flew to the nearest rooftop.
I spotted Link within moments. He was racing around the corner at the end of the street, his white coat gleaming in the moonlight. Had he picked up the vamp’s trail or had Phoebe’s magic sent him into a frenzy? I couldn’t feel the vampire, so it must have been the magic.
Or could I? My limbs were weighted as if the air was heavy, and my lungs had to work harder for oxygen. Something was off, though. It didn’t feel the same as the sticky, swimming death I’d experienced earlier. The sensation pressed lightly and then all at once clung to me.
A vampire was close. Really, really close. But why did it feel so different?
My heart picked up as panic set in. Link was blocks away. Phoebe was in the car somewhere, and I was alone on a roof.
Why had I taken off by myself? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I glanced around at the half-deserted neighborhood. A stone settled in my gut as recognition dawned. I was on vampire property. In the years after hurricane Katrina, the city had swelled with vampires. Drawn to the despair and lawlessness, the vampire population had more than tripled.
At first, they helped the struggling economy by buying up blocks of decimated homes. Unfortunately, they only rebuilt the one they lived in and left the others to rot. The perfect way to discourage neighbors. Vamps had been known to do a lot worse for privacy.
I scanned the streets for Phoebe’s car or a glimpse of Link. If I could find either of them I’d be fine. The silence grated. Alone on a roof with no cell phone and a vampire lying in wait. Now what?
I stretched my wings, fluttering a few feet off the rooftop. Flying always gave me a sense of control. I couldn’t cover a lot of ground, but I could move pretty quickly if I needed to. Faster than sprinting, anyway.
The sticky sensation stayed with me, but as I flew, the intensity lessened. Maybe he was in the building.
The thought didn’t put me at ease one little bit. Vamps were impossibly fast. If one had spotted me… Link reappeared at the end of the block.
“Finally.” I flexed my wings and shot toward the edge of the building.
“Willow?”
I spun. My wings stilled mid-flutter as pleasure heated my insides. I knew that voice and missed it more than I cared to admit. Managing to land gracefully on shaky legs, I peered through the moonlight. “David?”
He nodded.
Relief washed through my body at the sight of him, uncurling the knot I’d forgotten existed in my stomach. I took a step closer and froze.
Thick honey vampire energy clung to me and it was coming from my ex.

Author

Deanna is a native Californian, transplanted to the slower paced lifestyle of southeastern Louisiana.



When she isn't writing, she is often goofing off with her husband in New Orleans, playing with her two shih tzu dogs, making glass beads, or out hocking her wares at various bead shows across the country.




For more information and updates on newest releases visit her website at www.deannachase.com

http://www.facebook.com/DeannaChaseAuthor


https://twitter.com/writerdeanna


http://deannachase.com/


Newsletter: http://ymlp.com/xgmsbhuygmgb

 
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Flight Excerpt and Giveaway!

 



The Flight

Author:  Lindsay Leggett
Release Date:
April 1st 2013
Pages:
273
Genre:  Fantasy, New Adult







Summary
The first rule of survival in the Underground: When you’re outside, keep your eyes on the skies. Ace Harpy Hunter Piper Madden is used to danger, but the death of her brother slams the brakes on her high-torque lifestyle and leaves her broken and confused.

On the run from the dictating Elder Corporation, she’s eventually found in the quiet undergound city of Ichton and asked to work for the Corp on contract to quell a new and frightening Harpy threat.

Enter the discovery of horrifying Corporation secrets, Harpy attacks, and a new friendship with the strange Asher, and Piper’s days become anything but boring.

Then, a chance encounter leaves Piper privy to a dangerous secret, ad as she and Asher team up in an effort to unravel the truth, the secrets they uncover beneath the ancient walls of the dead city will spark their world into a grand-scale war.

Excerpt

It always starts like this. My vision starts to blur and the depth of the dirty brick walls plummets into a single plane, like I’m staring into an abyss that never ends. Pins and needles prick their way over my body and I fall backward, sinking through layers of sticky black sludge. I land with a thud and David is before me speaking urgently. His eyes are lined with confusion and anger.
“Piper, I don’t like what you’re doing. Please, for the sake of our mother and our friends, put an end to it now,” he says to me. We’re at our place in the mountains, the stars peering onto us like frail paper lanterns. I look at him seriously, my hand over my mouth, mind reeling at what he’d said.
“You don’t understand, David. I love him,” I reply, feeling tears brim my eyelids.
“… … ….” David’s lips are moving, but the noise coming out of his mouth is like raw static.
“I can’t hear you. What’s going on?” I ask. He looks like I just slapped him in the face.
“I can’t believe how selfish you are! “… … … ” He shouts, then comes the static again.
“David, I think there’s something wrong right now. I haven’t done anything!” I cry frantically, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. He brushes me off and gives me a hard stare.
“People are going to get hurt, Piper. I need you to understand that!” he shouts.
“I don’t understand, David!” I plead, “How are people going to get hurt?”
I hear more static come from his mouth, but he doesn’t seem to notice, he just keeps talking, clearly thinking he’s telling me something important. Frantically, I look around for a clue as to what is going on. When I turn back to him, David’s face starts to deteriorate and his body fades away to dust.


AUTHOR
Nearly every writer struggles to put together information about themselves, perhaps because we’re so used to detailing the lives and ways of others. For the most part I am a writer, editor, photographer, and all-around artist living in the wilds north of Toronto, Ontario. I thrive on the juxtaposition of beauty and grit, enjoy urban crawls, indie everything, and time well-spent in the woods.

Author Links:



Giveaway
(1) ebook (kindle only) copy of Flight.

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Monday, April 22, 2013

Queen and Commander Spotlight

Queen and Commander
(The Give Queen Saga #1)

Author: Janine A. Southard
Release Date:
March 10th 2013
Pages: 250
Genre:  Science Fiction, Romance


 
Summary
On a world where high school test scores determine your future, six students rebel. They’ll outrun society as fast as their questionably obtained spaceship will take them.

Rhiannon doesn’t technically cheat the Test. She’s smarter than the computers that administer it, and she uses that to her advantage. She emerges from Test Day with the most prestigious future career possible: Hive Queen.

Gwyn & Victor are madly in love, but their Test results will tear them apart. Good thing Rhiannon is Gwyn’s best friend. Rhiannon can fix this. Queens can do anything.

Gavin is the wild card. Raised off-planet, he can’t wait to leave again... and he’s heard of an empty ship in orbit. The Ceridwen’s Cauldron.

Both Luciano and Alan fit in the system. They don’t need to leave. Only their devotion to Rhiannon spurs them to join the Cauldron’s crew.

Spaceships. Blackmail. Anywhere but here.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Wide Awake Review



Wide Awake

Author: Shelly Crane
Release Date:
March 22nd 2013
Pages:
202
Genre:  Young Adult, Romance,
 Contemporary


 
Summary
A girl.
A coma.
A life she can't remember.

When Emma Walker wakes up in the hospital with no knowledge of how she got there, she learns that she's been in a coma for six months. Strangers show up and claim to be her parents, but she can't remember them. She can't remember anyone. Not her friends, not even her boyfriend. Even though she can't remember, everyone wants her to just pick up where she left off, but what she learns about the 'old her' makes her start to wish she'd never woken up. Her boyfriend breaks up with the new girl he's dating to be with her, her parents want her to start planning for college, her friends want their leader back, and her physical therapist with the hazel eyes keeps his distance to save his position at the hospital. Will she ever feel like she recognizes the girl in the mirror?


Review

I don’t usually read contemporary books of any sort but I’m glad I took a chance with this book. “Wide awake” is a great story and I think ti’s really believable in the fact of what happens when people wake up from being in a coma. Not only does it deal with the issue of someone being in a coma but it deals with memory loss as well and how the character deals with it and the people around her.
This books takes place mostly in a hospice where Emma is being kept because of how long she was in a coma for.  After she gets out though she finds out that she lives in Colorado, USA. I never expected her to be rich, that wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I read this book but she is and lives in a huge house. I can see why her parents didn’t really like Mason because of his low income as a physical therapist.
The author knows how to draw in a reader through this book about coma’s and amnesia. Though there is a lot of different life problems in this book it all seems to work together. This book center’s around Emma and how she deals with waking up after being a coma for 6 months and not knowing anything of her life. Her family who she doesn’t know well try hard to help her remember her life but she can’t and they can’t seem to accept this. Throughout the book they want her to be who she use to be. Personally I hate how she use to be which was a rich brat and glad that she choose to be who she is now and not what her parents want her to be.  Mason who is her physical therapist is the only person she can rely on, who accepts her for who she is now. Of course she falls for him, which is a bit to fast but he has a few issues keeping them apart. As Emma catches up on her old life she learns even more bad things about what she did at the school. Not only that but Andy, her old boyfriend wants to get back together with her. Making a life for herself is hard when everyone wants her to be who she use to be but she’s strong to pave her own road. There is a few shocking moments that you wouldn’t expect in this book but it just makes this book even more interesting. 
This was a really great read, except for the fast romance, I loved everything about this book. The characters of Emma and Mason are cute and great, and they fit so well together. This book makes me think I should pick up more Contemporary romance novels more.
Rating
4 out of 5 Howling Wolves



Excerpt
  The next couple of weeks brought plenty of action and events. I focused harder on the therapy and tried to focus less on Mason. He seemed to be doing the same. I had renewed vigor, which led to stamina, which led to more workouts, which led to exhaustion, which led to tons of sleep, which led to healing, which led to me walking.

All.

By.

Myself.

This simple task, this simple thing that we all take for granted, that's so cute and monumental when a baby takes his first steps, but these first steps were so much more than that. Though I cried like a baby, I wasn't one. And though my mother cooed and fawned over me (because I had invited them that day to come because I just knew that day was going to be the day) I wasn't a toddler. I was me. I was finally getting a little piece of myself back. And though I tried so hard not to, my eyes drifted to the one person in the room that I knew would understand all this better than anyone else.

Mason's eyes were already on me from across the parallel walking bars. This time, I didn't shy away from his gaze. I knew that our terms were shaky, but so was I, and I needed the stability of my lifeline. As our gazes collided, I expected a smile and happiness, but I didn't expect the level of pride and utter joy to be so prominent. The man was bursting at the seams with it. It filled his face and the smile he wore was the beautiful one that made me feel like everything was going to be OK.

His lips parted and even in the loud room, I could still hear his breath. He said quietly, "You did it, Em." He moved forward and touched my arm. It was the first time he had touched me in weeks that had nothing to do with therapy. "I'm so proud of you."

As his fingers circled my elbow, and I tried not to shiver in his grasp, I asked softly, knowing the answer, "You didn't believe that I was going to walk again some day?"

"Of course I did." He smiled wider. "But today was the first time that you've ever believed it." He was right. Having faith and having hope were not the same thing, and I was just now understanding that.   


Author
Shelly CraneShelly is a YA author from a small town in Georgia and loves everything about the south. She is wife to a wonderful husband and stay at home mom to two boisterous and mischievous boys who keep her on her toes. They currently reside in everywhere USA as they happily travel all over with her husband's job. She loves to spend time with her family and friends, go out to eat at new restaurants and site see in the new areas they travel to, listen to music and also LOVES to read. Her own books happen by accident and she revels in the writing and imagination process. She doesn't go anywhere without her notepad for fear of an idea creeping up and not being able to write it down immediately, even in the middle of the night, where her best ideas are born.

Author Links: Website Goodreads Facebook Twitter Purchase on Amazon Purchase on B&N