July Favourites

Welcome to my July Favourites.

Check out my favourite book and movie for the month of July.

Favourite Book:

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Favourite Movie:

Book Blast & Giveaway - ISAN – International Sensory Assassin Network by Mary Ting

ISAN - International Sensory Assassin Network by Mary Ting 2018 WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDS IN SCIENCE FICTION THE WORLD HAS CHANGED.

SCIENTISTS WARNED IT WOULD HAPPEN.

Meteors devastated the Earth. World Governments developed plans to help surviving citizens. The United States disbanded and salvageable land was divided into four quadrants—North, South, East, and West—governed by The Remnant Council.

Struggling to survive, seventeen-year-old Ava ends up in juvenile detention, until she is selected for a new life—with a catch. She must be injected with an experimental serum. The results will be life changing. The serum will make her better. To receive the serum, Ava agrees to join a program controlled by ISAN, the International Sensory Assassin Network.

While on a mission, she is abducted by a rebel group led by Rhett and told that not only does she have a history with him, but her entire past is a lie perpetuated by ISAN to ensure her compliance. Unsure of who to trust, Ava must decide if her strangely familiar and handsome captor is her enemy or her savior—and time is running out.

   

Praise for ISAN:

"Captivating from the very beginning … this thrilling dystopian drama has a splash of romance and tons of action." ~ School Library Journal

"Addictive and impossible to put it down!" ~Addison Moore, NYT Bestselling Author

EXCERPT

Please choose 1 excerpt & delete the other one prior to posting. 1. “With Helix, your senses become heightened. You’ll experience an increase in ability—especially the five senses. Images will be sharper, colors brighter, and you’ll see farther. You’ll be stronger. Your reflexes will be faster, and you’ll be able to hear from longer distances. However, your senses will tame a speaking voice not to boom in your ear. The reason why it doesn’t sound like I’m yelling at you.” “Incredible.” The word barely left my mouth.

“Some lucky ones have more. We call that extrasensory perception. Based on the blood test, I think you might be one of the lucky ones.”

Something flashed. I caught it with my right hand, then another projectile with my left. Again, my reflexes had taken over and when I looked down, I’d caught two golf balls. I gawked, trembling. The hair on my arms rose.

“Like I said, fast reflexes.” His lips spread in satisfaction.

I clenched my jaw and stiffened. “You could’ve hurt me.”

“No, Ava. Helix doesn’t wear off quickly. I’d never hurt you. I bet you feel pretty powerful right now. Pretty special. What if you can do something good with that? What do you say?”

“Are there side effects?”

I rolled the golf balls over my fingertips. I imagined the balls colliding with my face. The thrill of what I had done—there was no denying it made me feel amazing.

Russ slowly curled his lips to a grin. “I like the way you think. It’s been thoroughly tested and we’ve seen no side effects in all the years of the program. We give you just enough to do a job, and then it’s out of your system.”

I nodded.

“So … Will you be joining ISAN today?”

I shivered, not just from the cool draft from the vent, but the thought of being an assassin, even if my victims were criminals. Could I really do it? Trained or no. My mother’s last words echoed in my mind. When life shoves you down, you get right back up. Be strong. Be brave, Ava. Be someone important.

Oh, Mom, what do I do? I feel so alone and I’m so scared.

My chest caved in. I wanted to burst into a sob, but I slammed it back down. As tears pooled, thoughts of my mother twisted the dagger in my heart. My heart leaked, bleeding from the mountainous pain of missing her, needing her guidance. I wouldn’t be in juvie, desperate to get out and resort to being an assassin if she were alive. Having no choice, I succumbed to the reality of my life and the cards I had been dealt. I pushed back my shoulders and held up my chin. Boring my eyes into his, I gave him an answer that would change my life forever.

I will be brave, Mother. I will become someone important.

About the Author

International Bestselling/Award Winning Author Mary Ting/M. Clarke resides in Southern California with her husband and two children. She enjoys oil painting and making jewelry. Writing her first novel, Crossroads Saga, happened by chance. It was a way to grieve the death of her beloved grandmother, and inspired by a dream she once had as a young girl. When she started reading new adult novels, she fell in love with the genre. It was the reason she had to write one-Something Great. She also toured with Magic Johnson Foundation to promote literacy and her children's chapter book-No Bullies Allowed.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Twitter ¦ Facebook ¦ Instagram

***GIVEAWAY***

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Giveaway

Ends 8/12/18 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. The giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal & Giveway - My Brother's Bride by Rachael Anderson

My Brother's Bride

Author: Rachael Anderson

Book Description:

Abigail Nash leads a lonely existence. Her mother died giving birth to her, her father's business dealings took him away more often than not, and her ailing great-aunt, unable to provide much in the way of companionship, was a lack-luster guardian at best. So when her dear friends offered to launch her into London society, it appeared Abby's life was taking a turn for the better, with suitors and social engagements aplenty. When she marries a proclaimed darling of the ton, it seems she will at last settle into the life of her dreams.

But appearances aren't always what they seem, and dreams often become disappointments.

Just months into her marriage, Abby finds herself widowed, penniless, increasing, and determined to never hope again. But when her late husband's brother, the Earl of Brigston, attempts to thaw the numbness surrounding her heart, Abby must decide if she has it in her to risk another chance at happiness, knowing the odds are not in her favor.

About the Author

A USA Today bestselling author, Rachael Anderson is the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can’t sing, doesn’t dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter ¦ Instagram ¦ Newsletter ¦ BookBub ¦ Goodreads ¦ Amazon Author Page

***GIVEAWAY***

$25 Amazon Gift Code or $25 in Paypal Cash

Ends 8/31/18

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. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cover Reveal - Valiant by Merrie Destefano

Valiant

Author: Merrie Destefano

Genre: YA Scifi

Release Date: December 2018

Entangled Teen

Book Description:

The Valiant was supposed to save us. Instead, it triggered the end of the world.

Earth is in shambles. Everyone, even the poorest among us, invested in the Valiant’s space mining mission in the hopes we’d be saved from ourselves. But the second the ship leaves Earth’s atmosphere, our fate is sealed. The alien invasion begins. They pour into cities around the world through time portals, possessing humans, forcing us to kill one another. 

And for whatever reason, my brother is their number one target. 

Now the fate of the world lies in the hands of me, a seventeen-year-old girl, but with the help of my best friend, Justin—who’s suddenly starting to feel like more—maybe if we save my brother, we can save us all… 

About the Author

Born in the Midwest, former magazine editor Merrie Destefano currently lives in Southern California with her husband, two German shepherds, a Siamese cat, and the occasional wandering possum. Her favorite hobbies are reading speculative fiction and watching old Star Trek episodes, and her incurable addiction is writing. She loves to camp in the mountains, walk on the beach, watch old movies, and listen to alternative music—although rarely all at the same time.

Author Links:

  

Cover Reveal Organised By:

Book Blast & Giveaway - Amish Acres: The Celery Patch by Samantha Bayarr

Amish Acres: The Celery Patch

Author: Samantha Bayarr

Book Description:

When a celery patch mysteriously crops up overnight in the Yoder's field, it attracts some unwanted suitors competing for Naomi's hand.

Someone has grown an oversized patch of celery in Naomi's family field and now she's being accused of trying to "catch" a husband.

Will rumors spread by a jealous friend damage her reputation and threaten her chances of marrying the man she loves?

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Veiled Waters by H.G. Lynch

Veiled Waters
(Unfortunate Blood, #5)
Author: H.G. Lynch
Publication Date: July 24th, 2018
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Book Description:

Her books are dark paranormal romances.

They’ve faced ghosts, fought witches, and escaped the clutches of a lunatic cult…but this may be their most difficult enemy yet.

The new girl. One girl with the power to take Reid’s eye away from Ember, the power to break friendships, the power to destroy relationships.

And to top it off? Something is drowning students in the local lake.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Book Blast & Giveaway - The Songs of You and Me by Mylissa Demeyere

The Songs of You and Me

Author: Mylissa Demeyere

Book Description:

Jane Hartford fell head over heels for Jackson at the tender age of fifteen. She spent most of high school pining for him, until she realized he wasn’t going to see her as anything more than his baby sister’s best friend. Now she finds herself single with a daughter, a broken heart, and songs that remind her of a long lost love.

Jackson Wright is a man living with regret. His biggest one, never acting on his feelings for Jane. When he returns to Bellebrook, the town they grew up in, he literally runs into her and his world gets tossed upside down and sideways.

This time, Jackson isn’t willing to give up. With a meddling sister eager to push both of them together, he believes things might actually work out. That is, if they can overcome the heavy baggage they both carry. Follow Jackson and Jane as they revisit their past, figuring out what went wrong so long ago.

Will they learn they have the power to make things right in the present?

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Cover Reveal - Sugar Spells by Lola Dodge

Sugar Spells

(The Spellwork Syndicate #2)

Author: Lola Dodge

Published by: Ink Monster LLC
Publication Date: October 30th, 2018
Genre: YA Paranormal Fantasy

Book Description:

After her run-in with a jealous warlock, apprentice baker Anise Wise can’t wait to get back into the kitchen where she belongs. But thanks to her brush with death, the land of the living isn’t all cupcakes and marshmallows.

Anise’s magical mojo is way out of whack and her changed powers are stirring up trouble. The town’s abuzz with news that Anise can bake deathly spells, and unsavory characters start lining up for a taste. They’ll stop at nothing to use Anise and her witchcraft to further their own plots.

She plans to hole up researching solutions until the attention dies down, but then she discovers the horrifying terms of her bodyguard’s contract. Wynn has saved her life so many times, she can’t leave him trapped. Doing the right thing will mean risking death or worse—losing her dream job.

For this witch, justice might not be as sweet as advertised.

Pre-Order Links:
Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ iBooks ¦ Kobo

About the Author
Lola Dodge is a compulsive traveler, baker, and procrastinator. She earned her BA in English from Stonehill College and MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University–and hasn’t stopped moving since. When she’s not on the road, Lola spends her time indoors where the sunlight can’t melt her, writing or bingeing on anime and cherry soda. She can be summoned in a ritual involving curry, Hello Kitty idols, and a solid chocolate pentagram.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Goodreads ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter

Cover Reveal Organised by:

Cover Reveal & Giveaway - Betrothed by Christina Bauer

Betrothed

(Angelbound Origins, #1.5)

Author: Christina Bauer

Published by: Monster House Books

Publication Date: January 30th, 2019

Genre: YA Fantasy

Cover Reveal - Love, Cutter by Michelle Jester

Love, Cutter

Author: Michelle Jester
Publication Date: August 28th, 2018
Genre: NA Contemporary

Book Description:

One of her prize possessions is a bracelet with only a yellow, Rubber Duckie charm on it; which she wears every day to remind her to enjoy the fun and happy things of life!

After an attempted suicide Carter finds himself in a coma. He is able to hear the world around him, yet he can’t move. What he hears propels Carter to begin to see life in a new way, especially when one of his nurses, Kinley, shares parts of her tragic past with him. Soon, Carter realizes he is falling in love with her.

Months after being transferred from the hospital, to a rehabilitation facility, he suddenly wakes up with a passion to live that he never had before and a determination to find the one person he feels may be able to help him put the pieces of his life together again. However, when he returns to the hospital, Kinley is gone and Carter must try to find her based solely on the things she shared with him while he was in a coma.

Only, nothing is as it seems and Carter learns the biggest lesson of them all… the differences between expectation, perception, and reality.

About the Author

Michelle Jester lives in Greenwell Springs, Louisiana with her husband, high school sweetheart and retired Master Sergeant. Together they have a son and daughter. She is a hopeless romantic and has been writing poems and stories for as long as she can remember.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Goodreads ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter ¦ Instagram

Cover Reveal Organised by:

Book Blitz & Giveaway - Heart of the Colossus by Nicole Grotepas

Heart of the Colossus

(A Holly Drake Job Book, #3)

Author: Nicole Grotepas

Publication Date: July 12th, 2018

Genre: Adult Science Fiction / Steampunk

Book Description:
Holly Drake and her team have seen the evil lurking behind everything the Shadow Coalition does. The last time they plunged into the heart of the shadow empire, they could only rescue one. Now they’re going back for the rest. The crew is ready and willing to put everything on the line. They have a plan, they have the means, this is the job they were born to do.

The mission is a logistical nightmare. How can Holly and her crew save an entire fleet of children? The answer: whatever it takes. Co-opting fuel tankers, recruiting explosives experts, hiring pilots, and revisiting mysterious specters from the past. Some things are too painful, even for Holly Drake, but when it comes to freeing the innocent, not even the ugliest mistakes from her past will hold her back.

Save them all or die trying.

But time and space are stacked against them.

Is this the mission that will unveil the true nature of the Heart at the center of the Shadow Coalition? She’s seen the hands, just who is the heart?

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

Cover Reveal - Hunted by Them by Lia Davis

Hunted by Them

(Witches of Rose Lake, #3)

Author: Lia Davis
Publication Date: October 10th, 2018
Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Book Description:

Run, Cassia!

I’ve dreaded my sister’s telepathic warning since the day she left me in the care of the Carter Moon Pack.

They’re coming for you.

Now, I’m an animal to be hunted down. All because the Council fears the power that runs in my veins.

Because I’m a hybrid witch and wolf. It doesn’t matter that father is a councilman.

The council’s hunters are closing in, and I’m running out of options. When I stand my ground and face them, I’m no match for the four alpha males that flood my senses with desires too strong to ignore.

I have a choice to make.

Stay and fight, or keep running.

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK ¦ Barnes & Noble ¦ Kobo

Hunted by Them is the third installment of the paranormal, reverse harem Witches of Rose Lake series.

Learn more about the series: https://authorliadavis.com/bookshelf/witches-of-rose-lake/

Reading Order

Marked for Them

Fighting for Them

Hunted by Them

more to come…

Previous books in the series:

About the Author

In 2008, Lia Davis ventured into the world of writing and publishing and never looked back. She has published more than twenty books, including the bestselling A Tiger’s Claim, book one in her fan favorite Ashwood Falls series. Her novels feature compassionate yet strong alpha heroes who know how to please their women and her leading ladies are each strong in their own way. No matter what obstacle she throws at them, they come out better in the end.

While writing was initially a way escape from real world drama, Lia now makes her living creating worlds filled with magic, mystery, romance, and adventure so that others can leave real life behind for a few hours at a time.

Lia’s favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers, but it’s her home and she loves it!

Sign up for her newsletter (http://eepurl.com/mBWx5), become a member of her fan club

(https://www.facebook.com/groups/368820509920377/), and follow her on Twitter @NovelsByLia.

Author Links:

Website ¦ Goodreads ¦ Facebook ¦ Twitter

Cover Reveal Organised by:

BOOK REVIEW: Entangled Earth by David Lea

Entangled Earth

Author: David Lea

Publication Date: June 1st, 2018

Genre: Sci-Fi / Apocalyptic Thriller

Book Description:

Physics isn’t easy. Rule number one should always be ‘Don’t destroy the world’, but sometimes science doesn’t follow the rules.

An experiment gone wrong means the Earth might only have days left. The planet is being torn apart by an invisible and deadly… something. 

Physicist Mia Green must get home to England, from a devastated Paris, to find her family and maybe, just maybe, stop the experiment that’s ending the world.

Buy Links:

Amazon US ¦ UK

MY REVIEW

Well, this was rather surprising. I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. As the blurb didn't give much away, I wasn't sure what it entailed, but the moment I started reading, I was drawn into the chaos that main protagonist Mia found herself in. Be prepared for multiple casualties (gory deaths are aplenty).

Long story short, an experiment in the High-Energy Physics lab at the University of Cambridge has gone horribly wrong and now the world is on the brink of destruction. Dr James Frankle created a machine (a molecular entangler) in hopes of proving that the multiverse theory is real, with the possibility of communicating between parallel universes (if the experiment is a success, that is). Obviously, things don't go according to plan, and while the entanglement has been achieved, it starts to expand, causing Dr Frankle to lose complete control. As the entanglement gets stronger, its effect starts to affect the entire planet. Young physicist Mia Green narrowly escapes death as the Eiffel Tower is torn apart by an invisible source. With the help of survivor Bruce Cole and elderly scientist Abraham Lane, Mia must race from Paris to Cambridge to turn off Dr Frrankle's machine before all is lost.

As if facing invisible obstacles wasn't hard enough to deal with, Mia also has to worry about her husband and son, whom she left back in Cambridge. Will she get to the machine in time, and if so, will there be anyone left on Earth for her to save?

Entangled Earth was a thrilling apocalyptic story. Although the experiment was rather surreal, I loved the way the characters handled the challenges that came their way. The methods used were plausible and you could just imagine being in their situation and having to come up with ways of how to manoeuvre such a catastrophic environment. I love how descriptive and detailed it was. The story truly came alive. For about the first half of the book, the story doesn't take a breath. It's action, chaos and excitement all the way. My interest waned a little through the second half but then picked up again towards the end - an ending that was very unexpected, I might add.

This book would be great as a movie. It might be a little hard for some to wrap their minds around how such an experiment could happen in the first place, but once you get past the inception of the concept, you'll enjoy the journey. I can see this book being adapted into a movie. Numerous apocalyptic movies came to mind as I was reading the book, and this would fit right in.

A thrilling read.

VERDICT

Award: Gold

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Source: Author