Blog tour review - Blood in the Valley by J.K. Hogan

*The information about that book and a copy were provided by Reading Addiction Blog Tours for this tour and an honest review*

Synopsis: 

The daughter of a Las Vegas hustler, Raven Sabatier grew up trusting nothing and no one—she doesn't even trust herself to stay in one place for longer than a minute. When her quest to find out the secrets of her past leads her to the mountains of North Carolina, she’s set on a collision course with the one man she thought she'd never see again.

In Appalachia consulting on an archeological dig, Anthropologist Dr. Drew Deveraux comes face to face with the indomitable beauty who broke into his apartment a year ago, tilting his carefully cultivated world on its axis.

Engaged in a fight with their demons, both imagined and real, the last thing either of them expected to find was love. Together, they must unravel the mystery of Raven's past and her connection with an ancient race of witches, in order to save their future — and all of the souls hanging in the balance.

My opinion:

This is the second book of this series. If you want to read more about the first book, there’s the link to Goodreads in the end of the post.

The Vigilati series continues with Raven. She is the type of heroine I like to read about: a fierce of Nature. I could feel a connection with her, and I liked her from page one. Her character is well developed and I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

As she tries to find the answers about her gift, she collides with Drew. I think that he is a weaker character than her, but yet I still enjoyed reading about the chemistry between the two of them.

The plot is original and the writing is easy to read. The villains change in this second book, which, for me, is a positive thing because it makes the story more believable. I think the villain’s secret is kind of easy to find out, which makes the book a little less fun, but don't worry because you'll have mystery until the end.

I absolutely love the cover of the book. It's simple but mysterious.

This book has magic, mystery, romance. If you are a paranormal fan you should read this. 

My rating:

About the author:

J.K. Hogan has been telling stories for as long as she can remember, beginning with writing cast lists and storylines for her toys growing up. When she finally decided to put pen to paper, magic happened. She is greatly inspired by all kinds of music and often creates a “soundtrack” for her stories as she writes them.

J.K. resides in North Carolina, where she was born and raised. A true southern girl at heart, she lives on a farm with her husband and young son, a cat, and two champion agility dogs. If she isn’t on the agility field, J.K. can often be found chasing waterfalls in the mountains with her husband, or down in front at a blues concert. In addition to writing, she enjoys training and competing in dog sports, spending time with her large southern family, camping, boating and, of course, reading!

J.K. Hogan is a member of The Romance Writers of America.

Website- http://jkhogan.com

Twitter- www.twitter.com/jk_hogan

Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/KristenHDavis?fref=ts

The first book of the series:

Click here to Goodreads info

Book Tour: The PureLights of Ohm Totem by Omon Hart

*This information and a copy were provided by Enchanted Book Promotions for this tour and an honest review*

Title: The PureLights of Ohm Totem
Author: Omon Hart
Genre: Fantasy

Overview:
Zoey has a dream, one that feels far more real than it should. A strange wolf with a beautiful, violet crystal embedded in his forehead visits her. "Please help us," the wolf implores with sad eyes. "Remember, Zoey, who you truly are." Zoey wakes up, dismissing it as a silly dream. However, she soon realizes that it was far more real than she could've ever imagined. 

Coda is Zoey's older brother. Like many boys his age, he has a craving for adventure and a loathing for his younger sister. He can't stand it that she constantly gets in his way, joining in on all his fun, and ruining it in the process. The worst, according to Coda, is that Zoey gets all the attention from their parents. A big drag in his mind.
Then destiny arrives, one that Zoey and Coda must face together - if they want to survive.
Together, they journey to a place deep in the Cornell Forest, beyond the Snow Tree, through a patch of blackberry bushes concealing a secret portal that leads them to an ancient world called Ohm Totem - to the place of the PureLights, the race beckoning for their help. There, Zoey and Coda discover something so unique, so magical, and so sacred within themselves, that even those who called for them could not have known how powerful these two children really are. 

Caught between an age old war and finding their way back home, Zoey and Coda go on an amazing adventure, taking them beyond the veils of everything they once knew, and into the terrifying grasp of the unknown.

My opinion:

I can't find the words to describe perfectly what I feel about this book. You need to read it and to feel it to understand. I don't want to ruin the magic of it, so here is my honest review in the best way I can express myself about it.

A great fantasy book in which we follow Zoey and Coda, to whom the readers can easily relate to, no matter how old they are. It's a must-read for children, but not only; everyone should read this inspirational book.

I couldn't stop reading, it's a wonderful book full of magic that touched my deeper emotions. This are the best books, the ones that can make me feel something, that touch my heart, my emotions. It not only touched my emotions, it touched my inner self with a wonderful spiritual experience.

The book allowed me to escape from the routine and from the negative things of my daily life. It made me think about things differently, to face them with my heart. It was a wonderful experience, not only a great book but also a spiritual journey. Sometimes I felt like this book was a path for further meditation.

The writing is amazing, and it kept me reading and reading. It made it feel I was part of the story, like the characters were alive and everything around them was real. If you are in touch with Nature you will love this book because of the importance it has on the story, the things you can learn with it. It couldn't be more perfect. That's one of the things I love the most about this book. And the descriptions are simply beautiful and what I pictured in my mind in every scene was magical.

The two main characters are guided by their Spirit Guides while they struggle with their responses to conflict. They learn without realizing it how to struggle against fear with love, compassion and forgiveness. At the same time, the reader is guided in his/hers own path in life. At least, that's what I felt.

It's a book I'll read again for sure. I recommend it to anyone, anywhere, no matter how old you are and what type of reading you prefer. It's a book of wisdom and growth. One of the best book I have ever read, and probably the best I read so far this year.

I can't wait for the second book of the series.

My rating:

Author Bio:

Omon Hart was born in Portland, Oregon and grew up on the outskirts of the city in a little town known as Gladstone, where he graduated high school and moved on to college. After studying Therapeutic Bodywork at East-West College of the Healing Arts, he excelled in his field, becoming one of the Pacific Northwest's leading Therapeutic teachers and bodywork professionals. After several years, the love for writing tugged at his heart so much that he decided to put things aside and live his passion - write. He's now fashioning story after story, creating imaginative worlds of inspiration and art.

Links:

Link for purchase: 

Click here for Amazon

Website: www.thepurelights.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/omon.hart

Twitter: @thepurelights

Cover Reveal - The Return by Nicole R. Taylor

*Information provided by Xpresso Book Tours*

Synopsis:

I've wandered my afterlife believing that I was the monster my maker told me I was. It was the only thing I knew. Not even my brother, Sam, could convince me otherwise.

Not until her. Not until Aya. She walked into my life like a hurricane of destruction and nothing would ever be the same again. None of us could have known what would happen next. What fate had in store...

I finally grew a heart, only to have it ripped out.

Now, I will stop at nothing for revenge.

Zac's afterlife is just going from bad to worse. He grew a heart only to have it torn out by the founding vampire, Arturius.

Nobody is sure what he wants, but Zac doesn't want to know. He's more interested in finding a way to end him for good. But, it might just be that he's after Gabby, who's harbouring a secret of her own, one that Arturius would do anything for.

Aya's past will come back to haunt Zac in ways he never thought possible and what he finds out will alter everything he ever knew about her. He will uncover a deadly secret that should have remained buried. A secret Aya has fought to keep for thousands of years. One she has killed for.

In the end, who's secrets will betray them to the one man who wants them all dead? Aya's or Zac's?

They'll need to figure it out sooner rather than later, because death is not an option.

Produtc details:

Title: The Return (#2 in the Witch Hunter Saga)
Author: Nicole R. Taylor
Genre: Urban Fantasy / Paranormal
Age group: New Adult / Adult (17+ some language and violent situations)

Click here for Goodreads info

First book of the series:

Click here for Goodreads info (Book 1)

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AUTHOR BIO 

Nicole R. Taylor is an Australian born paranormal, fantasy and contemporary fiction author. She is a graduate of the University of Ballarat Professional Writing and Editing programme and is a former music memorabilia sales person and grocery merchandiser.

She currently lives in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia with a two year old rescue cat named, Burger. She enjoys reading, writing (of course!),  traveling and a little too much chocolate. One day she hopes to sky dive, but has to work up the courage first.

The first in her new paranormal fantasy series, The Witch Hunter Saga is available in e-edition and print from March 20th 2013

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

Become a fan of Coffee Break on Facebook

The Purelights of Ohm Totem by Omon Hart

Coffee Break tour day will be April 25th

A Happy Accident by Evan Tyler - My review

             *A copy of this book was sent to me by the author for an honest opinion*

Overview (via Goodreads):

A Story Inspired by Steven Tyler: The first book in a three-part series

It happened by accident, a lottery of events…

In 1988, a blind seven-year-old lay in a hospital room longing for her mother, unaware that eight years earlier a chance encounter occurred that would shape her life.

American musician Bobby Carter moved to Manchester, England with one objective—to become a major player in the postpunk scene of the late Seventies. His quest for stardom steers him in the direction of Kindle Hyrum, whose feistiness is only exceeded by her raw beauty. Though Bobby’s steady pursuit trumps Kindle’s cheeky resistance—sweeping them into present bliss—past secrets, new temptations, and a series of hapless and happy accidents will determine their future...and the future of a blind child.

Set to the lyrical soundtrack of the 60s and 70s, A Happy Accident is a story of love and choice that transcends the ages

Product details (via Goodreads):

Papperback:
284 pages
Published December 3rd 2012
ISBN: 0988446502 (ISBN13: 9780988446502)
Edition language: English
Original title: A Happy Accident

Kindle Edition:
Published December 3rd 2012 by Amazon Digital Services
ASIN: B00AHER9I0
Edition language: English
Original title: A Happy Accident

About the author:
Evan Tyler is author by day, lead guitarist by night. Having written short stories since third grade in addition to playing violin and guitar, Evan always knew she would find a way to marry her two passions. Thus, her debut novel "A Happy Accident" is a perfect merger of her two loves--music and writing.

Her website: http://eptyler.com/

My opinion:

A Happy Accident is a beautiful book, romantic and perfect for dreamers. A book about love, instincts, family, dreams. And also about choices and sacrifice.

It's wonderfully written and the characters are well developed. The musical references along the story, with names we know so well, are perfect. Kindle and Bobby (a.k.a. Ricky Stallion) are the main characters. In the end I felt like I knew them, like I was reading about two real people. They meet in the end of December 1979 and their life will change with one of Bobby's crazy ideas. 

We see the seasons changing while we follow the main characters' lives, and at the same time we travel to the past and to the future from time to time. All of that makes the book even more interesting. 

The beginning of the book is strong, and only later you can relate the rest of the story to it. It kept me interested from page one. But it kind of confused me for a long time while reading, especially because it talks about a grandfather that I'm not sure I know who he is. But this is only a small detail in the whole story.

Bobby is the lead singer of a punk band called The Dare, that travels from USA to Manchester searching for visibility. He is a dreamer and the type of shy and romantic guy that can rock the house we he is on stage.

Kindle works at one bar where the band plays, and also in the hotel where the are hosted. She had a sad past that, but she became and independent woman who learned how to survive and live by herself.

Their relationship made me laugh and also made me feel sad sometimes. It was wonderful to see them fall in love with each other while time passes by. I absolutely loved them from the beginning. 

I think I expected a different ending. Not better, if you know what I mean. This is the first book of the series, and the ending is the perfect opening of the second book. I can't say it disappointed me, I just thought it would be different, that's all.

I highly recommend it if you like beautiful stories with a little bit of tragic in between the romantic paragraphs.

My rating:

Seacliff: A Regular Boy Within by Susan Tarr - Presentation

Overview (via Oceanbooks):

When his mother died, Malcolm at six years old became one of the ‘lost’ children of that time, those forgotten or abandoned by their families. His young life was spent in the SEACLIFF MENTAL HOSPITAL, situated north of Dunedin, where he grew up mirroring many of the mannerisms of the other hospital children. All the while he knew that he was different from them. Malcolm’s story is one of immeasurable sadness, when considering the tragedy and abuse of his wasted earlier life, and yet, with an admirable strength, courage and innate resilience, he ultimately rose above it all, and was able to free the ‘regular boy within’ as he had always wanted.  

Product details:

ISBN: 978127215913

Published: 22 March 2013 by Oceanbooks

Format: Paperback

To know more, check out the author's Facebook page here

                       

The Queen's Pawn by R.J. Hore - Virtual Book Tour (Review and Guest Post)

Today Coffee Break is the stop on the blog virtual book tour for The Queen's Pawn writen by R.J. HORE. The tour is hosted by Reading Addiction Blog Tours.

Overview:

An impoverished scholar and farm youth Harrow, becomes involved with a magician and is forced to assist in the escape of Queen Reginee and Princess Desire-Rose from the burning capital city. Pretending to be a famous duke, Harrow reluctantly agrees to escort the sensuous queen and her very annoying daughter to the castle of the queen’s brother. They have to leave in a hurry and are pursued by a large band of the rebels who captured the city. All the fleeing refugees have are the clothes on their backs and a small squad of untrained guards for protection.

Black wizardry is afoot, sundry dangerous creatures hide in the underbrush, and villains, monstrous and common, seductive and evil, lurk all along the way. If that were not enough for the young man to worry about, the queen’s amorous chambermaid and bodyguard, Mathilde, a smallish giantess, just wants to get Harrow alone. Oh yes, and he can’t stand Desiree-Rose.

They do eventually reach the castle of the queen’s younger brother, but unfortunately they do not find the sort of welcome they were hoping for. Harrow would really like to leave all this strife behind and escape back to his former life on the family farm, but that does not appear to be his destiny.

Click here to read Goodreads info

My review:

*This book was sent to me for an honest opinion as part of this tour*

This is a fun book about medieval times. I absolutely love the descriptions, I think it's one of the best things of this book. What you read it's so vivid I could picture it perfectly in my mind, and I could almost hear the sounds, feels the smells... well, everything.

When I was reading felt like I was almost watching a movie, with every scene taking place in front of my eyes.

The writing is really good and kept me interested in the book. It's another really good thing about this book. The words were chosen wisely and every paragraph is just perfect.

The plot is original and fun, and the characters are well developed.  If you want to read a good book with an interesting plot that takes place in a Medieval Era, this is a really good option. We can read about kings and queens, princes and princesses, peasants, barbarians, and some more. It starts with Harrow, a young scholar, who receives a message to tell the Queen. From that point the adventure begins. Strange and intriguing things happen and I really couldn't put the book down. 

This is book full of the magic of the medieval times that will make you want more.

If you like this type of books, you must read it!

My rating:

Guest post

My Writing Process by R.J. Hore

I have what I suspect is an unusual writing process. A lot of writers go into great detail before they start a project. They will plan out every detail of the plot in advance. They set out all they can think of regarding the characters, including a lengthy backstory with information they may never use. By the time they are ready to start writing, they have everything laid out and will seldom vary from that detailed outline.

Looking at what I have published so far, I have a couple of methods I use for my medieval-style fantasies. For “The Queen’s Pawn,” and my earlier “The Dark Lady,” I began with a setting and plot idea, developing the story as I went along. I usually know the ending, but the middle may be a great wasteland. For “The Queen’s Pawn” I imagined the setting of a fallen city in flames, an older student caught up in events over which he has no control or knowledge. He gets reluctantly swept away on an adventure, and the personalities of the characters he becomes involved with, to a large extent drive the story. “The Dark Lady” was a similar situation, with the setting of an ancient castle and an orphaned princess surrounded by enemies. Once I have the setting and main characters, the rest follows. At the most, once I’m involved, I might set down a line or two to remind me of an idea I can use in an up-coming chapter.

I have also written a fantasy detective series of novellas. “Housetrap” is the first in “The Housetrap Chronicles.” In this example I create the title of the tale, usually by messing up a famous mystery or thriller title, and once I have settled on that, develop the plot to fit the revised title. I know it sounds backwards, but it works quite well for me. Examples scheduled for publication this year include: “Dial M for Mudder,” “House on Hollow Hill,” and “Hounds of Basalt Ville.” With titles like these the ideas flow freely and I can rush madly off in all directions.

There is one area where I’m a stickler though. I may not start out with a detailed outline or draft, but I keep serious notes as I create. I write down descriptions of the characters as they develop: things like the correct spelling of names, physical attributes and favorite foods, drinks and sayings. There is nothing worse than starting off with a heroine who is a blue-eyed blonde, only to discover at the end of the manuscript you have changed her eyes to brown and misspelled her last name several times. The same rule applies to locations. It is much simpler to record details as you go than have to check back later through the manuscript. This is especially important if you find yourself working on a sequel or two!

The most important thing about the writing process is…find a method what works best for you and develop it!

R.J.Hore

www.ronaldhore.com

www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore