CBY'S Saturday Current Reads - The Magician's Workshop by Christopher Hansen

 MY SATURDAY CURRENT READS IS:

Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: November 8th, 2016

Book Description:
Everyone in the islands of O’Ceea has a magical ability: whatever they imagine can be brought into existence. Whoever becomes a master over these powers is granted the title of magician and is given fame, power, riches, and glory. This volume of books follows the journey of a group of kids as they strive to rise to the top and become members of the Magician’s Workshop.

Layauna desperately wants to create beautiful things with her magical powers, but all she can seem to do is make horrible, savage monsters. For years she has tried to hide her creations, but when her power is at last discovered by a great magician, she realizes that what she’s tried to hide might actually be of tremendous value.

Kai just wants to use his powers to have fun and play with his friends. Unfortunately, nearly everyone on his island sees him as a bad influence, so he’s forced to meet them in secret. When one of the creatures they create gets out of control and starts flinging fireballs at their town, Kai is tempted to believe that he is as nefarious as people say. However, his prospects change when two mysterious visitors arrive, praising his ability and making extraordinary promises about his future.

Follow the adventures of Kai, Layauna, and a boatload of other characters as they struggle to grow up well in this fantastical world.

Buy Links:
Amazon US ¦ UK

Blog Tour Promo & Giveaway - Myths of Mish (Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles #2) by Katie Hamstead

Myths of Mish
Fairytale Galaxy Chronicles #2
Author: Katie Hamstead
Genre: YA Space Opera/Scifi/Fantasy
Release Date: March 14th, 2017
Curiosity Quills Press

Book Description:
Hansel and Gretel Herrscher survived the witch in the woods, but the experience has made Hansel paranoid for the past ten years. He sees dark magic at every turn. When Gretel has a marriage arranged to a much older man, and Hansel discovers he's about to be sent halfway across the galaxy, he knows something sinister is afoot.

Wilhelmine Nordon has plenty of experience with Hansel's quirkier side. So when she catches him and Gretel running away in the middle of the night, she follows to keep them from getting killed. The siblings have never left the capital of Mish on their own, so they need a babysitter. Except when she's discovered, Hansel gives her his usual cold shoulder, and Gretel secretly begs her to take them back.

The problem is, Hansel's paranoia turns out to be well founded, and they're all being hunted.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Digging in the Stars by Katherine Blakeney

 

Digging in the Stars
Author: Katherine Blakeney
Published by: Blaze Publishing
Publication Date: March 28th, 2017
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Book Description:

A lost ancient civilization and the tomb of a legendary king lie buried beneath centuries of ash on the volcanic planet Thror, but that’s not the only reason sixteen-year-old Carter has tricked her Archaeology of Outer Space class into coming here. Her best friend Conrad has just disappeared on a trip to Thror, leaving behind little more than a broken vintage camera. The strange and disturbing photographs she manages to extract make her suspect Conrad’s disappearance is somehow connected to the hidden tomb of the last king of Thror.

Unfortunately, the ludicrously over-friendly ‘Furry Giants’ who have taken over the planet’s barren surface would rather offer her cheap souvenirs than answers, and the local officials insist they have no record of Conrad’s existence. Inspired by fear for Conrad’s life and the chance to make the greatest archaeological discovery of the century, Carter and her friends follow Conrad’s footsteps deep into the mountains of Thror’s forbidden Black Zone and launch an illicit excavation.

Coded messages, stunning ancient ruins, and clues left by Conrad himself begin to surface as the young archaeologists fall victim to an alarming series of accidents staged by the increasingly hostile Furry Giants. Piecing together a history of dictatorship, terrorism and disguise, Carter glimpses the horrors beyond Thror’s flamboyant façade and startling revelations about the friend she thought she knew. The masks of Thror hide devastating secrets, and the golden tomb buried deep in the frozen core may claim the lives of everyone she loves.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ Kobo

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Wyatt Watkins and the Adder Stones by Jacob Tate & Kate Callahan

Wyatt Watkins and the Adder Stones
(Wyatt Watkins #1)
Author: Jacob Tate & Kate Callahan
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: May 28th, 2015

Book Decription:
Wyatt Watkins is like most young boys his age. He’s an excited daydreamer, always eager to make friends – and he always keeps an eye out for his next adventure.

Life in New York City has always been simple and pleasant for Wyatt and his siblings, Josh and Rose. Wyatt works hard in school, gets good grades, and enjoys a reliable and fun circle of friends. But when tragedy strikes the Watkins family, they are forced to relocate from the city to Upstate New York and the rural, forgotten town of Cloverbrook.

A seemingly harmless, small town of roughly 3,000 people, nestled at the base of the Adirondack Mountains, Cloverbrook welcomes the family quickly as it prepares for its 72nd Annual Pumpkin Smash and Harvest Festival. Wyatt finds the massive forests, blanketed in a sea of orange, red and yellow leaves, the perfect playground to adjust to his new life, while the family struggles to cope with their loss.

But deep in the dark forests that surround the town, a hidden evil lurks…waiting…watching. And while the evil forces in the forest continue to grow, Wyatt uncovers an artifact with untold power that will thrust the entire family into the middle of an ancient struggle between good and evil.

 

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ DE ¦ FR ¦ ES ¦ IT ¦ NL ¦ JP ¦ BR ¦ CA ¦ MX ¦ IN

March Favourites

Welcome to my March Favourites.

Here, you will find a list of the movies and books I watched and read in March and my favourite among them.

Books Read:

Favourite:

Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Psychological Thriller

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Movies Watched:

 

Favourite:

Bookvie: Before I Fall - out March 3rd, 2017 (USA)

Who's in it:
Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Cynthy Wu

Blog Tour Promo & Giveaway - Dating the It Guy by Krysten Lindsay Hager

Dating the It Guy
Author: Krysten Lindsay Hager
Genre: YA Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: March 21st, 2017

Book Description:
Emme is a sophomore in high school who starts dating, Brendon Agretti, the popular senior who happens to be a senator's son and well-known for his good looks. Emme feels out of her comfort zone in Brendon's world and it doesn't help that his picture perfect ex, Lauren seems determined to get back into his life along with every other girl who wants to be the future Mrs. Agretti. Emme is already conflicted due to the fact her last boyfriend cheated on her and her whole world is off kilter with her family issues. Life suddenly seems easier keeping Brendon away and relying on her crystals and horoscopes to guide her. Emme soon starts to realize she needs to focus less on the stars and more on her senses. Can Emme get over her insecurities and make her relationship work? Life sure is complicated when you're dating the it guy.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ B&N ¦ iTunes ¦ Kobo ¦ Smashwords

Blog Tour Review - Annabelle and Aiden: Oh The Things We Believed! by JR Becker

Annabelle and Aiden: Oh The Things We Believed!
Author: JR Becker
Genre: Children's Picture Book

Book Description:

In this delightful illustrated book written in rhyme, the children gaze at a face-shaped cloud. Aiden asks if it is real: "I sense it really sees me. Who knows what it can do! Maybe it has magic powers that make the sky so blue!" To answer, we introduce our favorite feathered-dinosaur, the Skeptisaurus, who guides the children to use their critical thinking skills when determining myth from fact. He takes the kids on an amazing journey through legends of old times, from witches to oracles, explaining how we evolved to see things that aren't always there. But when those myths vanish, they see that real scientific discovery is just as exciting, if not more. With his help, the kids learn that "real answers may not be magic, but they are always magical." This book raised over $11,000 in pre-orders on Kickstarter.

Buy Links:
Amazon US ¦ UK

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Of Glitter and Gold: A Canary Club Anthology by Sherry D. Ficklin

 

Of Glitter and Gold: A Canary Club Anthology
Author: Sherry D. Ficklin
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication Date: March 27th 2017
Genres: Historical, Young Adult

Book Description:

Set during the flamboyant anything-goes era of 1920’s America, these three tales are filled with intriguing characters and rich imagery from the time period—with flappers, jazz music, gangsters, and lavish wealth. Escape to a different decade today with the compelling stories of the Canary Club Anthology. 

Novelette 1- Gilded Cage
Masie, the flaxen-haired daughter of notorious bootlegger Dutch Schultz, returns home from boarding school to find her family in crisis. Her mother is dangerously unstable, her father’s empire is on the brink of ruin, and the boy she once loved has become a ruthless killer for hire. To keep her family’s dangerous secrets, Masie is forced into a lie that will change the course of her future—and leave her trapped in a gilded cage of her own making. 

Novelette 2- All That Glitters
A dame with brains, moxie, and killer curves, June West isn’t your average flapper. She’s managed to endear herself to the son of one of the most powerful gangsters in New York, earning herself a spot in the limelight that she’s always longed for. With the infamous playboy at her side, June has become accustomed to living the high life. Lavish parties, expensive clothes, sparkling jewels—nothing is beyond her reach. But when her carefully woven web of lies finally catches up with her, she must make an impossible choice… come clean about her past and risk losing everything, or find a way to bury her demons—once and for all. 

Novelette 3 – Nothing Gold
Dickey has been down on his luck since the day he was born. Flat broke and sick of being looked down on, he meets young socialite Lillian at a wild party. The connection is like a strike of lightning. From a wealthy New York family, this debutante is everything he’s been told he can never have—and the only thing he wants. Determined to win her, he knows the only way to get her parents approval is with cold hard cash. So when a shot at the biggest score of his life comes around, he just can’t refuse…

Blog Tour Spotlight & Giveaway - The Ashes by Vincent Zandri

The Ashes
Author: Vincent Zandri
Publisher: Bear Media
Pages: 277
Genre: Thriller/Horror/Romantic Suspense

Book Description:

HORROR IN THE DARK WOODS
It’s been eight years since artist and single mom, Rebecca Underhill, was abducted and left to die in an old broken down house located in the middle of the dark woods. But even if her abductor, Joseph William Whalen, has since been killed, another, more insidious evil is once more out to get her in the form of the Skinner. The son of an abusive butcher, Skinner intends on finishing the job Whalen started but failed at.

How is he going to get to Rebecca?

He’s going to do it through her children, by luring them into the cornfield behind the old farmhouse they live in.

HORROR IN THE DEPTHS
Now, armed with the knowledge that the Skinner has escaped incarceration at a downstate facility for the criminally insane, Rebecca must face the most horrifying challenge of her adult life: Rescuing the children not from a house in the woods, but from the abandoned tunnels that run underneath her property.

But the Skinner is watching Rebecca’s every move.

Horrifying question is, will she live long enough to save the children?

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Book Blast - The Shadow Crucible by T.M. Lakomy

The Shadow Crucible

Author: T.M. Lakomy
Publisher: Select Books
Pages: 400
Genre: Dark Fantasy

Book Description:
In a world where angels, demons, and gods fight over the possession of mortal souls, two conflicted pawns are ensnared in a cruel game. The enigmatic seer Estella finds herself thrown together with Count Mikhail, a dogmatic Templar dedicated to subjugating her kind. But when a corrupted cardinal and puppet king begin a systematic genocide of her people, the two become unlikely allies.

Taking humanity back to their primordial beliefs and fears, Estella confronts Mikhail’s faith by revealing the true horror of the lucrative trade in human souls. All organized religions are shops orchestrated to consume mankind. Every deity, religion, and spiritual guide has been corrupted, and each claims to have the monopoly on truth and salvation.

In a perilous game where the truth is distorted and meddling ancient deities converge to partake of the unseen battle, Estella unwittingly finds herself hunted by Lucifer. Traversing the edge of hell’s precipice, Estella and Mikhail are reduced to mere instruments. Their only means to overcome is through courting the Threefold Death, the ancient ritual of apotheosis—of man becoming God.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ B&N

Blog Tour Spotlight & Giveaway - Miracle Man by William R. Leibowitz

Miracle Man
Author: William Leibowitz
Publisher: Manifesto Media Group
Pages: 385
Genre: Thriller
                      
Book Description:
REVERED     REVILED      REMARKABLE

The victim of an unspeakable crime, an infant rises to become a new type of superhero.  Unlike any that have come before him, he is not a fanciful creation of animators, he is real. 

So begins the saga of Robert James Austin, the greatest genius in human history.  But where did his extraordinary intelligence come from?

As agents of corporate greed vie with rabid anti-Western radicals to destroy him, an obsessive government leader launches a bizarre covert mission to exploit his intellect.  Yet Austin’s greatest fear is not of this world.

Aided by two exceptional women, one of whom will become his unlikely lover, Austin struggles against abandonment and betrayal.  But the forces that oppose him are more powerful than even he can understand.

Miracle Man was named by Amazon as one of the Top 100 Novels of 2015, an Amazon Top 10 thriller, an Amazon bestseller and an Amazon NY Times bestseller.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ B&N

Book Blast & Giveaway - Purr M for Murder by T.C. Lotempio

Purr M for Murder

Author: T.C. Lotempio

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Book Description:
Sydney McCall left behind an ex-fiancé and a New York advertising job to return home to Deer Park, North Carolina and help her sister, Kat, run the local animal shelter, Friendly Paws. Determined to save the shelter from financial trouble, Sydney and Kat organize a cat café fundraising event at a local coffee shop. Things are looking up until their landlord, Trowbridge Littleton, threatens to shut down the event. When Sydney drops by his art gallery to make peace, she finds Kat--along with Littleton's dead body.

Local homicide detective Will Worthington--who just happens to be Sydney's old high school crush--is highly suspicious of the sisters' involvement. Desperate to clear their names from the suspect list, Sydney pounces on the investigation. With the help of one of the shelter cats, a savvy orange tabby named Toby, Sydney begins poking her nose into other local businesses whose owners may have benefited from Littleton's death--until the killer notices she's pawing a little too closely at the truth.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Blog Tour Spotlight & Giveaway - Spurt by Chris Miles

Spurt

Author: Chris Miles

Book Description:

Balls and all!

Jack Sprigley isn’t just a late-bloomer. He’s a no bloomer: an eighth grader, and puberty is still a total no-show. Worse yet, he hasn’t heard from his friends all winter vacation. He assumes they’ve finally dumped him and his child-like body—until he finds out it’s much worse than that. His friends are now so far ahead of him that they’ve started dating. Jack is out of luck. But then he comes up with a plan to catch up and win his friends back. And his plan is perfect: he just has to fake puberty.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ B&N ¦ Book Depository

Book Blast & Giveaway - The Courage Test by James Preller

The Courage Test

Author: James Preller

Book Description:

Will has no choice. His father drags him along on a wilderness adventure in the footsteps of legendary explorers Lewis and Clark--whether he likes it or not. All the while, Will senses that something about this trip isn't quite right.

Along the journey, Will meets fascinating strangers and experiences new thrills, including mountain cliffs, whitewater rapids, and a heart-hammering bear encounter.

It is a journey into the soul of America's past, and the meaning of family in the future. In the end, Will must face his own, life-changing test of courage.

A father-and-son journey along the Lewis and Clark Trail--from Fort Mandan to the shining sea--offers readers a genre-bending blend of American history, thrilling action, and personal discovery.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ B&N ¦ Book Depository

Promo Blitz - Kane Moss by C.D. Tuttle

Kane Moss

Author: C.D. Tuttle

Genre: Western

Book Description:

Kane Moss, a rather large, easygoing cowboy who would prefer to be left alone, finds himself leading a small posse on a bloody trail of reckoning.

Their remote Wyoming mountain village burned and pillaged by a murderous gang they are charged by their elders to find the gang and take their retribution. Little did they know that their pursuit would take them from their small mountain village to Ojinaga, Mexico. Kane Moss is no stranger to trouble. He has travelled a considerable part of the West riding shotgun on stages and participating in posses hunting for stage robbers. He has a strong code of honor learned from his upbringing and tries to do right. Sometimes naïve in trusting others he makes blunders, but always manages to come out on top. His determination is one to be reckoned with. Klatchard Bordiaz, leader of the murderous gang is a man full of hatred and contempt for anyone who has earned a decent life. He is intemperate and unrestrained having viciously killed his first man at the age of fourteen. He commands a large gang of murderers and thieves known as the Klatch Gang. On their way back to Ojinaga from a cattle drive to Montana they attack a small mountain village in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Wyoming Territory. Burning, raping and plundering the residents of this unsuspecting mountain village they stir up a hornet’s nest of angry mountain folks who are unforgiving when done wrong.

Among Kane’s posse is a young woman, Sarah Jane, who lost a brother and sister in the raid on their village. She is a determined woman and will be put down by no man. Nothing will stand in the way of her seeking revenge on the Klatch gang.

Sometimes humorous and rollicking, at other times deadly serious, their determination never fades. Through false leads, blunders and marauding Indians they manage to catch up to the raiders in the lawless village of Ojinaga. Here they find they are also up against the Mexican Rurales. The odds of success are overwhelmingly against them as Kane Moss and his small posse faces the intemperate and cold-blooded Klatchard Bordiaz, a much-feared vicious killer and gang leader.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ B&N ¦ Kobo ¦ iTunes ¦ Book Buzz ¦ Book Launch