BOOK REVIEW - The Cockatoo from Timbuktu by William A.E. Ford

The Cockatoo from Timbuktu

Author: William A.E. Ford

Genre: Picture Book

Book Description:

Join Kian the cockatoo on his adventures around the world! Can a childhood song about a shining star help him find his way home? From the Great Barrier Reef to the Great Wall of China to New York City, wonders of the world are explored delightfully in this epic journey! 

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MY REVIEW

Kian the cockatoo lives in a zoo, but all he wants to do is return to Timbuktu. Okay, I didn't plan for my intro to rhyme, but it was unavoidable. Back to Kian ... The little guy just wants to head back home to his parents. So what does he do? He breaks out of the zoo.

A fun and educational journey around the world with Kian the cockatoo. This was a joyous read. I wasn't expecting the book to be so informative, so it was a wonderful surprise. I loved the illustrations. I particularly loved that the illustrations depicted the destinations with precision. Even without the words, you can figure out where Kian landed using the elements within the illustrations. Loved the rhyme scheme throughout. It's been a long time since I truly enjoyed a picture book, so this was definitely worthwhile.

This is the second book I've read from this author, and I must say, I am fast becoming a fan.

VERDICT

Award: Platinum

Rating: 5 out of 5

Source: Own copy

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Lincoln by Christina Bauer

Lincoln

(Angelbound Origins #1.5)

Author: Christina Bauer

Publication Date: May 28th, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy / Paranormal

Book Description:

***Experience the events of Angelbound from Lincoln’s perspective!!!***

When it comes to fighting demons, Prince Lincoln is the greatest warrior in the history of his people, the thrax. Now Lincoln faces his hardest fight yet…and it’s not on a traditional battlefield.

Lincoln is falling in love. And the girl is part demon.

Between a fated dance at the Ryder mansion…a life-changing walk through a hedgerow maze…and a massive battle with none other than the King of Hell…Lincoln realizes that he wants to share his life with Myla Lewis, the part-demon girl who has captured his heart. However, an evil thrax noble—the powerful Earl of Acca—is prepared to do anything to stop Lincoln and Myla from having a future.

But Lincoln won’t give up on his Myla. Ever.

To fight Aldred, Lincoln works to create a different kind of marriage—an Alliance of the lesser thrax houses against Acca. Sadly, just as Lincoln starts to makes some progress, the nobles who’ve joined his Alliance begin to vanish. Is Aldred behind the disappearances, or is someone else vying for power? When Lincoln discovers the truth, it upends his entire world, threatening his future with Myla in ways no one could ever have imagined.

“I absolutely love Christina Bauer’s style, full of action, intense scenes, and characters that will test one’s imaginations to the max!” – Tome Tender Book Blog

$3.99 for a limited time!

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Blood Bound by R.J. Blain

Blood Bound: A Lowrance Vampires Novel

Author: R.J. Blain

Publication Date: January 28th, 2020

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Book Description:

After waking in a shallow grave and clawing her way to freedom, Penelope Francis hunts for the rogue who stole her life and transformed her into a vampire. Despite being corrupted into a feared preternatural, she clings to her humanity and refuses to prey on innocents, instead slaking her thirst on other miscreant vampires.

In exchange for a chance at revenge, she joins forces with the charismatic master of the Lowrance brood, a choice that may spell the salvation—or destruction—of humanity as she knows it.

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Cover Reveal - Sticks & Stones by Dianne Beck

Sticks & Stones

Author: Dianne Beck

Published by: Acorn Publishing

Publication Date: March 18th, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary

Book Description:

When fifteen-year-old Emily Greene wakes up to police banging on her door, she is shocked to see her mother arrested on drug charges.

Uprooted and in disbelief, Emily moves to a new town to stay with her grandmother, known as Crazy Carol for her outspoken faith and quirky behaviors. As if the arrest isn’t enough, kids at her new school immediately begin to stereotype and judge her based on the news they’ve heard about her mom.

Emily is sure her mother’s fiancé is to blame for the crime. He has conveniently disappeared since the day of the arrest. She’s determined to find him, and prove he’s at fault. But something awful happens, shaking her world yet again.

After this string of tragedies, Emily starts to question God, but is gently and consistently reminded by her grandmother, through stories she tells of all the sticks, leaves, and stones she collects, that God is her good and faithful parent.

Emily must learn that the words others say about her don’t matter, that her mom’s mistakes don’t define her, and she is always deeply loved by her heavenly father. If only she can learn to forgive herself.

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About the Author

Dianne Beck has spent the majority of her career teaching students ranging from Kindergarten through adult. No matter what age, her biggest goal is to encourage her students to be their own unique selves, to have confidence in who they are, and to follow their passions.

Dianne’s debut young adult novel, Sticks and Stones, was inspired by her years of teaching, where she saw so many students struggle with varying issues, and also experienced how an understanding ear and relevant literature could make a significant impact on their lives. She hopes young people as well as adults can find faith and strength, like her main character Emily does, even when things seem to be falling apart.

Dianne is motivated daily by her faith in God, her husband, and her four adult children. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, sipping coffee, browsing a bookstore, or pursuing a part-time faith and fitness ministry at www,ofcommonground.com.

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BOOK REVIEW: The Summer We Believed by Shel Delisle

The Summer We Believed

Author: Shel Delisle

Genre: YA Romance

Publication Date: 18th July 2016

Book Summary:

Melody and Duncan are best friends who spend every summer vacationing at their families’ lake houses in the Northwoods of Minnesota. Their plan for this summer is to have as much fun in the sun as they can before they head off for their first year of college at the U in the fall.

Everything changes when Duncan’s father announces he’s been promoted and the family will be moving to Florida. Secretly, both Mel and Duncan are harboring feelings for each other, but both are holding back. With only one week before the life-long friends are separated by two thousand miles, can the budding romance find a way to blossom?

The Summer We Believed is the first installment of Denim Days, a friends-to-lovers series by Shel Delisle.

Buy Links:
Amazon US ¦ UK

MY REVIEW

The plan had always been for Mel and Duncan to go to the same college, but when Duncan's dad gets a job in sunny Florida, he has to break the bad news to Mel that their plan isn't going to go according to how they had hoped. This is a story about two best friends who have not gone a day without each other coming to terms with the fact that one is moving thousands of miles away, and neither one is willing to admit that they're terrified the distance will change the way they feel about each other.

I wanted to enjoy this book. I should have enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book. It did not captivate my attention in any way. Mel and Duncan were the male and female versions of each other. I found it hard trying to distinguish their individuality. After the first three chapters, the story started to drag, which shouldn't have been the case given that this was such a short story. There were many scenes and conversation that were ineffective and could have been used to better portray the characters so the readers could have a better insight into Mel and Duncan. The chapters became repetitive, the story predictable. Nothing much happened in the way of progress. Mel was a sympathetic character to some degree, but I didn't really care much about her relationship with Duncan, specifically whether or not their friendship blossomed into romance.

As it was such a short story, I did finish the book, but it just wasn't my kind of read.

VERDICT:

BRONZE

  

Award: Bronze

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Source: Own copy

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Lace and Lies by Melanie Munton

Lace and Lies

(Brooklyn Brothers #1)

Author: Melanie Munton

Publication Date: January 21st, 2020

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

We are the Rossetti’s.

The exiled “sixth family” of the New York mafia. We’re the good guys.

People don’t fear us…much. They respect us.

The five of us? We’re the Brooklyn Brothers.

And we protect what’s ours.

Jasmine Kingston should run from me. I mean, she should literally pick up her dress, toss away her heels, and haul ass in the complete opposite direction. Because for the last few months that she’s been in New York and taking the fashion world by storm, I’ve been watching her. From my ivory tower, from the shadows. Wherever she’s been, I’ve been only feet away, and she hasn’t even realized it.

Until now.

I can’t stay away and watch one more man take his shot with her. She needs to know what she’s doing to me. Especially since things are heating up with my family’s enemies. I just pray those enemies don’t discover my only weakness.

Maybe it was the wrong way to go. Maybe I should never have touched her. Never treated myself to her addictive taste. But I can’t alleviate this obsession I have with her any more than I can put a bullet between my own eyes.

She’s mine to protect now.

I’ll burn my entire fortune to the ground and take ten of those bullets before I let anything happen to her.

I just hope she doesn’t find out what I’ve done.

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Release Day Blitz & Giveaway - The Solicitor’s Son by Rachael Anderson

The Solicitor’s Son

Author: Rachael Anderson

Book Description:

At the end of her third season, Miss Sophia Gifford is firmly on the shelf, and she’s determined to accept her current suitor—a man she likes but cannot love.

When her sister decides to throw an impromptu summer house party, Sophia reluctantly agrees to help. What she doesn’t realize is that her sister has plans of her own—plans that would bring a certain childhood friend back into Sophia’s life.

It’s been nearly a decade since Sophia has seen Hugh Quinton. He’s grown into a handsome, charming, and successful—yet completely unacceptable—tradesman. Her mother looks down on him, her father detests him, and society would snub him in an instant. Sophia shouldn’t even consider him. But her heart doesn’t listen to reason, and before long, she finds herself wondering how much she is willing to sacrifice for love.

Buy Links:

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***GIVEAWAY***

$50 Amazon Gift Card or PayPal Cash Ends 2/2/20 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway was organized by Kathy from Clean Wholesome Romance and is sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Pixieland Diaries by Christina Bauer

Pixieland Diaries

Author: Christina Bauer

Published by: Monster House Books

Publication Date: March 31st, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy / Paranormal

Book Description:

WARNING

If you don’t like pixies, don’t read this diary.

If you don’t like loud-mouthed pixies who are really cool but sometimes get told they’re immature (for no reason), then definitely stop reading.

Oh, and if you’re His Awfulness The Elf Prince ‘Dare’ Darius, then you can kiss my butt. My hatred for you burns with the fire of a thousand suns. Thanks for getting me kicked out of Pixieland and exiled to attend some rando human high school on Earth. You’re the worst, even if you have a cute smile. And nice eyes. Your hair looks okay sometimes, too. But you’re still a creep and I loathe you.

And to everyone else: if you’ve read this far, then you better finish my entire diary.

My story is supernatural, wacked-out, and overall awesome.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Hung Up on You by Marie Landry

Hung Up on You

Author: Marie Landry

Publication Date: January 14th, 2020

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

Julia is single and happy, thank you very much. Try telling that to her happily-coupled bestie, though. She’s so determined to pair Julia off, she brings an extra guy friend along on a weekend getaway, in what’s clearly a set-up attempt. Julia’s interest is immediately piqued by sweet, sexy, nerdy Zack. There’s just one problem: he’s still hung up on his ex. Big time.

Despite knowing that – and despite her attraction to him – it doesn’t stop her friends from throwing them together every other second, insisting they’d make the perfect couple. But Julia is determined to friend zone him. At least until he suggests they pretend to date to get their respective friends off their backs.

At first, their fake “dating” is more friendship than fireworks. But as they get closer, the lines begin to blur between them, and Julia realizes she has to either shut down her developing feelings for Zack or let him in. The question is: can she fully trust him with her heart? Or does his heart still belong to his ex?

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - What Are Friends For? by Sarah Sutton

What Are Friends For?

Author: Sarah Sutton
Publication Date: January 14th, 2020

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

FALLING IN LOVE ISN’T COMPLICATED…UNLESS IT’S WITH YOUR BEST FRIEND.

A close, easygoing friendship can all change with just one kiss. Seventeen-year-old Remi Beaufort learns this the hard way when she plays a blindfolded kissing game at a party.

She thinks she’s kissing Jeremy, the totally hot basketball player she’s been crushing on. And the kiss…it’s amazing. Heart-stopping, world-changing, toe-curling. The kiss makes her forget about her overbearing mother, the next-door neighbor’s drama, and the probability that she’ll fail her senior year. The best kiss of her life makes all that fall away.

Until her blindfold falls off, and she realizes that instead of kissing her crush, she’s kissing Elijah, her best friend since third grade.

Though she manages to convince Elijah that he was kissing his girlfriend, Remi can’t get the thought of his lips on hers out of her head. As things between them grow more and more complicated—because it turns out her fantasizing about his mouth is more of a problem than it sounds—Remi has to make a choice: does she live the rest of her life loving her best friend in secret? Or does she tell the truth and risk ruining their friendship forever?

Heart-melting and romantic, What Are Friends For? is a swoon-worthy best-friends-to-lovers story that will leave you crushing hard.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Alonzo by J.A. Huss

Alonzo

(Bossy Brothers, #5)

Author: J.A. Huss

Publication Date: January 13th, 2020

Genre: Adult Romance / Suspense

Book Description:

Read as book five in the Bossy Brothers series or as a standalone book.

TARA

Lonnie Derringer is a filthy-mouthed, dirty-talking, long-distance fling.

(That’s been going on for two years.)

I know, I know. That’s not a fling. This might be getting serious.

I think about him all the time. I look forward to our quickie lunch dates and the way he whispers in my ear every night from two-thousand miles away.

He’s the best boyfriend I never had.

Until I find out his name isn’t Lonnie, it’s Alonzo.

Until I find out he’s not some boring accountant with a dead-end job, he’s a six-foot-four, yoked-out, tatted-up fisherman who never wears a shirt!

That’s right, girls. He’s been catfishing me online for two… freaking… years!

And then he becomes more than just the best boyfriend I’ve never had.

He becomes my target.

ALONZO

Tara Tanner is the perfect long-distance girlfriend who lives in the Land of Far, Far Away.

She’s a blonde, bookish bundle of sexy-overachiever. A wicked little siren with a filthy mind and an eye for pencil skirts. And every time I ask her to ‘send-me-a-pic-or-it-never-happened’ she goes above and beyond.

She is, quite simply, the most perfect woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to never meet.

I didn’t set out to lie to her and I didn’t expect to meet her.

But one day she shows up at my house, and guess what?

She wasn’t the only one being catfished for two years.

Because she’s not who she said she was either.

Bossy Brothers: Alonzo can be read as book five in the Bossy Brothers series or as a standalone story and features a sexy game of guess-who between a librarian obsessed with pencil skirts and a fisherman tatted up with mermaids. It’s long-distance fling filled with dirty-talking, sexy selfies, and safely-hidden secrets… until it isn’t.

Until the day they meet and realize… Love in the Land of fake Far, Far Away can’t ever compare to the real thing.

Buy Links:

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Cover Reveal - One Night with His Rival by Robyn Grady

One Night with His Rival

Author: Robyn Grady

Published by: Harlequin Desire

Publication Date: March 1st, 2020

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

Selling his soul for a sizzling night of passion… 

“Wanting something doesn’t make it good for you.” 

Wealthy horse breeder Ajax Rawson can have any woman he wants. So why can’t he keep his hands off the one woman he can’t have? Beautiful, independent and passionate, Veda Darnel is the daughter of his family’s biggest competitor. Years of bad business blood makes their affair dangerous…and forbidden. But will accusations of foul play end their star-crossed romance before it even begins?

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About the Author

Robyn Grady's stories have been published in 29 languages with millions of copies sold worldwide. Her books have appeared at award ceremonies including the National Readers Choice, the Booksellers Best, and Australia's prestigious Romance Book of the Year. Stories in her latest Harlequin Desire series, About That Night, will hit the shelves January and March, 2020. Stay up to date with the latest news at www.robyngrady.com.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Accidental Shield by Nicole Snow

Accidental Shield

Author Links: Nicole Snow

Publication Date: January 2nd, 2020

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

Accidentally married to a human stallion.

And I can’t even remember our wedding.

It’s awkward, okay? I didn’t plan on waking up hitched to Hubby of the Century.

Or one little misadventure erasing every memory of us.

No sweet nothings. No ugly cry vows. No flipping honeymoon.

But every time I see Flint Calum, I wonder.

How did I get so lucky?

Let’s forget all six foot something of his oh-so-bad superdad self.

His flashing eyes and SEAL perfected whip of a body aren’t why I’m dizzy.

It’s the bittersweet way he smiles when I poke at my past.

And something’s very wrong.

He tells me I’ll be fine.

He says he’ll get this sorted.

He promises to be my shield.

Totally not the pretender who’d scheme up an illusion to save my life.

Oh, but that’s the thing about memories.

Sometimes they come back with bitter truths wrapped in dilemmas.

What if I can’t stay mad at him?

What if I need Flint to hero me back together?

What happens when you fall in love with a beautiful lie?

From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Nicole Snow – a marriage mistake with two fierce truths and a lie. A dark knight single dad plays for keeps to save Little Miss Forgetful from a wicked past. Full-length romance novel with a fantabulous Happily Ever After.

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Something Wicked by Nicole M. Rubino

Something Wicked

(Something Wicked, #1)

Author: Nicole M. Rubino

Publication Date: November 26th, 2019

Genre: YA Paranormal

Book Description:

A break-up and a car accident are no way to begin your seventeenth birthday.

For Theo Montgomery, that is exactly how it began. Her bad luck turns worse when she returns home from a school dance to find her home engulfed in flames – with her parents still inside.

Theo is sent to live with her estranged aunt, Elizabeth, in Salem, Massachusetts. Salem proves to offer many new discoveries, one of those being that Theo, like her aunt, is a witch. A witch who must keep her magic in check, lest the Town’s witch hunters discover that magic has returned to the world after more than three hundred years. But how can she navigate a new school, new magical powers and avoid the witch hunters, when she finds herself enjoying the company of one?

Trystan de Lancre is a dangerous witch hunter and the only son of the Salem witch hunter clan leader, the notorious Joseph de Lancre. Despite his growing feelings for Theo, Trystan has his own reasons for getting close to her – and they are far from romantic. Yet, Trystan isn’t the only one keeping secrets. Theo knows her aunt is hiding something, something linked to the tragedy that happened in Salem long ago, and to Theo, herself.

Salem’s dark past rises to haunt Theo and the present-day witches, unraveling a shocking revelation: the true cause of the Salem Witch Trials.

Buy Links:

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Beautifully Broken by Bailey B

Beautifully Broken

Author: Bailey B

Publication Date: December 20th, 2019

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

Piper

Most people don’t think about the day they’ll die. They coast through life, blissfully unaware of how their time is ticking away. I wasn’t like most people. I welcomed death, wanted her to take me away from the prison I called life, but she refused. I tried twice only to survive. And then, when I thought I had nothing left it came.

A reason to live.

Rex was a small, unexpected ray of light my world of darkness that blossomed into a beam of sunshine. I thought, maybe this was why Death didn’t take me. Maybe she knew that if I held on a little longer things would turn around. But the third time Death came to my door wasn’t by choice. Someone else brought her, and I fear this time she might take me.

Rex

Being the son of a country star sucks. My parents are never around, I move every year or so, and I have no real friends. Everyone around me has an agenda. Everyone except Piper Lovelace. I can’t get that girl to notice me. Trust me I’ve tried.

Thankfully, fate stepped in and gave me the break I needed. I’ve got her attention, now I need her to give me a chance.

Buy Links:

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Cover Reveal - The Hollow Gods by A.J. Vrana

The Hollow Gods

(The Chaos Cycle Series, #1)

Author: A.J. Vrana

Published by: Parliament House

Publication Date: July 28th, 2020

Genre: NA Dark Fantasy / Magical Realism

Book Description:

Isolated in the forests of Western Canada, Black Hollow is a town with a dark secret. For centuries, residents have foretold the return of the Dreamwalker—an ominous figure from local folklore said to lure young women into the woods with the help of wolves, and possess them. Yet the boundary between fact and fable is blurred by a troubling statistic: every now and again, women do go missing. And after they return, they almost always end up dead.

When Kai wakes up next to the body of a recently missing girl, his memory blank, he struggles to clear his already threadbare conscience. Miya, a floundering university student, experiences signs that she may be the Dreamwalker’s next victim and finds herself caught between a supernatural kidnapping and a senseless murder. And after the death of a young patient, crestfallen oncologist Mason embarks on a quest to debunk the town’s superstitions, only to find his sanity tested.

Yet a maelstrom of ancient grudges, forgotten traumas, and deadly secrets loom in the foggy forests of Black Hollow. Can three unlikely heroes put aside their fears, and unite to confront a centuries old evil? Will they uncover the truth behind the fable, or will the cycle repeat?

About the Author

A. J. Vrana is a Serbian-Canadian academic and writer currently residing in Toronto, Canada with her two rescue cats, Moonstone and Peanut Butter. Her doctoral research focuses on the supernatural in modern Japanese and former-Yugoslavian literature and its relationship to violence. When not toiling away at caffeine-fueled, scholarly pursuits, she enjoys jewelry-making, cupcakes, and concocting dark tales to unleash upon the world.

Author Links:

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