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:

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Movies Watched:

Favourite:

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Owl Eyes: A Fairy Tale by Molly Lazer

Owl Eyes: A Fairy Tale

Author: Molly Lazer
Publication Date: March 20th, 2018
Genre: YA Fairy Tales / Fantasy

Book Description:
Nora knows three things: she is a servant, her parents are dead, and she lives in the kitchen house with her adoptive family. But her world is torn apart when she discovers that her birth father has always been right there, living in the house she serves.

This discovery leads Nora to more questions. Why was she thrown in an ash-covered room for asking about her father? Why is a silver-bladed knife the only inheritance from her birth mother? Why is magic forbidden in her household—and throughout the province of the Runes? The answers may not be the ones Nora hoped for, as they threaten a possible romance and her relationship with the adoptive family she loves.

With the announcement of a royal ball, Nora must decide what she is willing to give up in order to claim her stolen birthright, and whether this new life is worth losing her family—and herself.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ Kobo

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Unravel by Aashna K.

Unravel

(The Love Undone Series, # 1)

Author: Aashna K.

Publication Date: March 27th, 2018

Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance

Book Description:
Unravel!

One Moment

That’s all it took for her life spiral out of her carefully crafted control.

One Encounter

That’s all it took for her to fall. Fall into the chasms of her dreams and Unravel.

~~~

With life betraying her plans and a future unyielding to her ambitions, Vienna Roy is at the most crucial crossroads of her life. Not wanting to look back and dishearten her already defeated heart, she accepts a challenge and starts afresh.

A new job, a new city and a new lease on life seems perfect, but it’s far from that. It’s a prismatic trap set by fate to lure her back to a time she has unwillingly left behind. Right back to him, the man in her dreams.

Kingston Sharp.

He’s a man of many talents. Fearless, Formidable, and charismatic, he blazes through every challenge that comes his way. He is a hard man to beat, and a harder one to forget. But behind the rock solid persona, lays the heart of a man who has been scarred, who has lost a lot in a very little time.

Putting in his all, he’s finally dealt with his past, shoving it in a dark corner of his heart. Forging forward, he forgets, only to find himself face to face with the one person who started it all. Her.

As the ghost of their past ignites its fury of passion, the best laid plans crumble and burn out. The inferno of their yesterday leaves nothing for them to control, ripping their hearts out. Fate makes its play, destiny intervenes and a love they never seized starts to Unravel!

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ iBooks ¦ Kobo

BOOK REVIEW - Moore Zombies: The Search for Gargoy by Wendy Knuth

Moore Zombies: The Search for Gargoy

Author: Wendy Knuth

Genre: Children's Picture Book

Publication Date: September 24th, 2014

Book Description:

You’re not really afraid of zombies, are you? Take a peek into the lives of the Moore zombie family. When Gargoy goes missing, Baby Zom enlists her siblings to help in the search. Follow along with Gothina, the critter loving goth zombie, Broheimer, the nerdy zombie, and Kamper, the messy zombie who enjoys camping. Who, or what, is Gargoy? Read on to find out!!

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

MY REVIEW

A mystery tale about four zombie siblings working together to find Baby Zom's toy, Gargoy. The illustrations were colourful and very detailed. I loved the relationship between the siblings and how well they got along. Although this a family of zombies, I liked that there were no negative stereotypes associated with the family because of stigma, being that they're members of the undead. We didn't get any interactions between the family and the outside world, which would have been nice to see, but from the hints thrown around here and there (like the father's mask), we still get a sense of the world's view on the family, being that zombies are terrifying creatures. Perhaps this will be explored in other books featuring the Moore Family.

I didn't much like the narration. While it did involve the readers on the quest - curiosity to find out what happened to Gargoy and what Gargoy was - it didn't engage me on an emotional level. The narrator was simply reporting what happened, but the story was missing heart and soul for me.

It's a good read. It just didn't do much for me. I think kids between the ages of 5-7 will enjoy the story, especially the illustrations.

VERDICT

Award: Silver

Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Source: Own copy

Cover Reveal & Giveaway - Hard Love by Shana Vanterpool

Hard Love

(Guns & Ink #2)

Author: Shana Vanterpool

Published by: Swoon Romance

Publication Date: May 22nd, 2018

Genre: NA Contemporary Romance

Book Description:

When two people in pain collide, there is something intoxicating about drowning in the chaos of hard love.

Brando Hawkins is a detective with the Denver Police Department. The world should be his to take. He’s a dedicated officer with a promising career. But Brando’s got secrets. Dark, ruthless secrets. At twenty-six, he’s burned-out, and the sight of another body, one more unhappy ending, might just do him in.

Catherine Abbott is a woman who wars with her demons and guards her heart. Immersed in a world where people ink their lives on their skin, Catherine trusts only that which she can see. And, as a rape survivor, she finds comfort in control.

But Brando’s demons start to tangle with hers. They’re dangerous, like hers. But they’re beautiful too.

A spray of bullets brings them together, and the pain of their pasts collide with the lure of their futures. Cat wants to mend his heart and his wounds, but Brando’s secrets lay tucked away in a vault so tightly sealed, she can’t get through.

Everything around them is covered in the confusion of love and the burn of revenge, but no one ever said love was easy.

Hard Love is the next standalone installment in the Guns & Ink series by Shana Vanterpool, a world of tattoos, love, and redemption from Swoon Romance.

Pre-Order Links:
Amazon US ¦ UK

About the Author

When I walk into a book store I feel at home. When I smell the pages of a brand new book things make sense. When I read I am who I always wanted to be. I read to escape and I write so others can as well. My family, my actress dog Bella, coffee, and a steamy love story are a few of my most precious things.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Goodreads ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter

***GIVEAWAY***

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Book Blitz & Giveaway - Alien Retribution by Sadie Carter

Alien Retribution

(Zerconian Warriors, #13)

Author: Sadie Carter

Publication Date: March 22nd, 2018

Genre: Adult Romance / Science Fiction

Book Description:

Since the day his family was murdered, Boris has been obsessed with vengeance. The last thing he needs in his life is a mate. Besides, what sort of female would want a scarred, crippled male who has taken a vow of silence? Nope, there is no room in his life for a female.

Then he meets Nassir.

Beautiful. Fragile. Distant. He wants to break through the barriers she keeps erecting to discover the real woman inside. Which might be easier if he wasn’t constantly pulling her out of danger.

On the run, hunted, and alone, Nassir knows she only has herself to rely on.

Until Boris comes back into her life. The dark one. The silent, watchful bodyguard whose gaze heats her from the inside out and whose touch drives her insane.

If only she knew whether he truly cared about her or just enjoyed kissing her. Then she might find the sort of happiness she’d been searching for her whole life.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Promo Blitz & Giveaway - The Gorilla Picked Me by Michele McAvoy

The Gorilla Picked Me

Author: Michele McAvoy

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Date Published: Spring 2018

Book Description:
Olive felt ordinary. Always last to be picked for teams at recess and never a Valentine placed on her desk. Olive blended in. Until one day at a daddy-daughter dance, the dancing gorilla picked her from the crowd!

He scooped her up and twirled her around the dance floor. Olive's soul sang! THE GORILLA PICKED ME is a fun, sentimental story that reminds little girls that they are all worthy of attention. No little girl is ordinary!

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

BOOK REVIEW: The Healer by C.J. Anaya

The Healer

The Healer Series, Book 1

Author: C.J. Anaya
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: November 1st, 2013

Book Description:

A girl, a prophecy, and two warring gods equals destiny!

Hope Fairmont longs for a normal teenage life, but with a gift like hers, normal equals healing illnesses and injuries instantly. Keeping a secret like that isn’t easy, but a small town is the perfect place for her to heal those who can’t heal themselves, and an even better place for her father, James Fairmont, to hide his daughter from the rest of the world. 

Life takes an unexpected turn when two handsome strangers move into town and begin unearthing other secrets concerning Hope's future and past, revealing to Hope that her gift for healing may be the fulfillment of an ancient, Japanese prophecy gone wrong. 

Staying away from these mysterious newcomers would be the smart thing to do, but Victor's gentle, easy manner, and Tie's mixed signals and strange mood swings draw her hopelessly closer to revealing the secret she and her father have been so desperate to hide. 

Hope's life is complicated further with visions of a previous life and the arrival of a supernatural demon sent to assassinate her before she learns what she is truly capable of. 

With the support of her father, the fiery loyalty of her best friend Angie, and the child-like love of Kirby, a ten-year-old patient, Hope must fight against the forces of a relentless demon god while unwinding the tangled pieces of her past, proving to herself and those she loves that destiny isn’t determined by some cosmic reading of the stars, but by the individual choices one makes.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

MY REVIEW

Hope Fairmont longs for nothing more than to be normal, but for as long as she can remember, she's always had the ability to heal people. The only person aware of Hope's gift is her father, the Chief Surgeon at the local hospital where Hope moonlights as a janitor so she can help heal patients. At least, Hope thought her father was the only person aware of her ability. When two new students arrive at Hope's school, seeming to know more about her than she does, she starts to wonder just who and what she is. A love triangle ensues between Hope and the handsome newcomers, who have taken it up as their duty to protect her from the demon sent to kill her before she discovers the truth behind her origins.

This was just an okay read for me. I can't say I loved the characters, but I didn't hate them either. Tie, the troublemaker, was my favourite character. He added amusement to the story and the interaction between him and Hope was always fun to read. I am more Team Tie than I am Team Victor, who seemed to have a stick up his butt the whole time. The biggest problem I had with the story was that it dragged for far too long without much intel being given to encourage me to read on. Given that Tie and Victor already knew the truth about Hope and were very pesent throughout the book, it just took too long for the real meat of the story to emerge. The same hints surrounding the characters' identities were being thrown around too much. It was an overload, yet the characters never followed through with revealing the truth until we were more than halfway through the book. I got tired of Tie trying to get Hope to confess that she has the ability to heal people and her having to constantly lie. There was just took much focus on keeping Hope's gift a mystery that the story lost its appeal.

I gave up twice but picked the book up a third time as I hate not finishing what I've started. Even though the story picked up towards the end, I still wasn't enthusiastic about continuing with the series. I should have loved this book, as it had many fine qualities about it, but, sadly, I didn't quite connect with the story as I hoped I would. Over the past few years, I've read so many stories that are similar to this that it becomes hard to identify one from the other. The story needed to have something unique to make it stand out from the rest, and it just didn't present anything fresh to entertain me.

The story has good potential, but this book just didn't do it for me. If I do continue with the series, I do hope there's a little less mystery and procrastination and I hope it's a little less overly descriptive than this one was.

VERDICT

Award: Bronze

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Source: Author

Cover Reveal - Enchantress (Giver of Life #2) by Kristy Centeno

Enchantress
(Giver of Life #2)

Author: Kristy Centeno

Genre: YA/NA Paranormal

Release Date: May 20th, 2018

Inkspell Publishing

Book Description:

Fate brought them together. Will evil break them apart?

Leah Parker’s visit to her hometown is supposed to bring her closer to the truth behind her identity. What she doesn’t anticipate is the handsome stranger with almond eyes claiming to be her Pair.

Her world once again upturned with the arrival of the man chosen to be her life partner, Leah is pulled between the feelings she’s always had for the friend she left behind, and those for the compelling stranger determined to save her from certain death—at whatever the cost.

With an ancient evil out to finish what it started twenty-one years before, will Leah find peace within her troubled mind and heart to fight back and win? Or will her disconnection with her newfound powers hinder her only chance at survival?

His sacrifice…is her salvation.

Previous book in the series (click on image for Goodreads link):

About the Author

Kristy Centeno is the author of the Secrets of the Moon saga and Keeper Witches series.

She has always had a passion for books and after years of being an avid reader, she decided to transform her desire to write into a reality and thus, her first novel was born. When she’s not busy taking care of her five children or holding down the fort, she finds time to sit and do what she loves the most: writing.

Author Links:

      

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