BOOKS READ
The Reader by M. Pax
Lovelorn Spirits by Christine Rains
BOOK REVIEWS
The Reader by M. Pax
Daelin Long dreams of a life outside of being a Rifter in M. Pax's The Reader. Even when the Rift closes for the season, the danger is still all too real. The third book within The Rifters series delves deeper into the characters, particularly Daelin and Earl. Pax's strength is the way she has written the characters. Their growth through the trials they experience is satisfying. While some answers to the mysteries are revealed, other questions crop up as fast as the strange white trees plaguing Settler, Oregon. The steady pace pulls the reader along, and I wonder how in the forty-two universes will Earl, Daelin, and the others protect us from what will come next. The Reader by M. Pax is a fantastic installment within the series. In all the dictionaries, I'm definitely looking forward to the next book and was sad when I reached the end because I am now going to have to wait for more tales from the Rift.
With the rift closed for the season and no more monsters to fight, Daelin Long gets bored as librarian in the podunk town of Settler, Oregon. A job interview and her brother’s arrival present a tempting opportunity to escape, until her brother and her best friend, a ghost, disappear.
Each heartbeat leads Joss closer a shocking truth that will change everything.
Lovelorn Spirits by Christine Rains
Vivian Ray wants the Paramours to be taken seriously in the ghost hunting world, but getting together with hot and annoying Miles Walker and his crew might be too much for her in Christine Rains' Lovelorn Spirits. Vivian is a serious and driven character. The sparks between her and Miles are electric, even when they aren't possessed by two very much in love ghosts. Like Vivian, I felt irritated by Miles arrogant behavior, but he warmed us both to his side by the end. Rains has crafted a steamy novelette with a touching love story. I thoroughly enjoyed Lovelorn Spirits by Christine Rains as well as the previous two Paramour stories.
PROMO
While Daelin searches for them, more mysteries pile up: dead people coming back to life, portraits of the town founders replaced with strange white trees, and people on the other side of the rift returning. It’s impossible. The portal that allows monsters from other universes to come to Earth is sealed until next summer.
The Rifters, a secret group protecting our world, believe the troubles are nothing more than the tantrums of an offended ghost. Daelin disagrees. If she’s right, the evil hell-bent on destroying Earth has new technology making the rift more deadly.
Before the monster summons the next apocalypse, Daelin must find it and destroy it.
Book 3 in the Rifter series.
Need to catch up? You can read books 1 & 2 in the Rifter series for free by becoming an M. Pax Reader.
M. Pax is author of the space adventure series The Backworlds, plus other novels and short stories. Fantasy, science fiction, and the weird beckons to her, and she blames Oregon, a source of endless inspiration. She docents at Pine Mountain Observatory in the summers as a star guide and has a cat with a crush on Mr. Spock. Learn more at mpaxauthor.com.
EXCERPT AND PROMO
“How was your first day,
Jösse darling?” Mom pronounces it like an exaggerated ‘you-see’, which can be
endearing or annoying, depending on my mood. Right now it’s soothing.
“It’s a labyrinth, um,
but it was great, everyone’s brilliant.” I don’t tell her I was
hyperventilating and barely found the classes before the bells rang, or that a
girl I rammed into had to practically hold my hand and lead me around, or in
the morning I felt like a preppy geek-virgin among the urban Brooklyn übercool.
I won’t give Mom an I-told-you-so moment.
“Meet anyone nice?” She fusses with the incense holders, clearly trying to hide her expression as she often does when the subject of my friends comes up. Now she’s rearranging the already perfect array of stone-carved pipes.
I think of bobcat-smooth, lime-infused Will. “I met a girl named Katya,” I answer finally, as I refold a scarf a customer left in a heap. “We ate lunch together.”
“That’s nice. Where does she live?”
Who cares? It’ll be more embarrassing when my new classmates find out where I live—over a freaking head shop in the East Village. “Manhattan Beach,” I say finally.
“Manhattan Beach. Is that—?”
I cut Mom off by turning to a pair of skateboarders who stride up to the counter. “May I help you?”
One of the guys points to a pipe. “How much?”
“Ten,” I answer.
His friend points to a marble container. “How much for a stash box?”
“Fifteen. They’re potpourri boxes,” I correct him. Mom insists on catchy names to hide the real purpose of the items, plus she gives the beat cops huge holiday tips—hush money.
In fact, the major premise of the store is a grand illusion. Even the shop’s name—Bodhisattva Beach—supposedly stands for a sanctuary of salt waves and coconut trees and mango mimosas with wisps of hibiscus petals. And Bodhisattva stands for paradise, for the godhead. But I know different.
“Meet anyone nice?” She fusses with the incense holders, clearly trying to hide her expression as she often does when the subject of my friends comes up. Now she’s rearranging the already perfect array of stone-carved pipes.
I think of bobcat-smooth, lime-infused Will. “I met a girl named Katya,” I answer finally, as I refold a scarf a customer left in a heap. “We ate lunch together.”
“That’s nice. Where does she live?”
Who cares? It’ll be more embarrassing when my new classmates find out where I live—over a freaking head shop in the East Village. “Manhattan Beach,” I say finally.
“Manhattan Beach. Is that—?”
I cut Mom off by turning to a pair of skateboarders who stride up to the counter. “May I help you?”
One of the guys points to a pipe. “How much?”
“Ten,” I answer.
His friend points to a marble container. “How much for a stash box?”
“Fifteen. They’re potpourri boxes,” I correct him. Mom insists on catchy names to hide the real purpose of the items, plus she gives the beat cops huge holiday tips—hush money.
In fact, the major premise of the store is a grand illusion. Even the shop’s name—Bodhisattva Beach—supposedly stands for a sanctuary of salt waves and coconut trees and mango mimosas with wisps of hibiscus petals. And Bodhisattva stands for paradise, for the godhead. But I know different.
Heart in a Box
YA contemporary romance
Inkspell Teen
Catherine Stine
Joss Olstad wins the fight to switch from her private school to a public high to “find her pieces” she lost when the Indian artist father she never knew died. There, Joss struggles with a slutty friend, who flirts with her new love; Indian Culture Club girls who press her on her past, as well as her stoner mother’s lies back at home. Armed only with her handmade heart boxes that hold private messages, Joss’s search for identity leads her to a scary industrial section of Queens, and a shocking family secret that changes everything.
Buy Links: Amazon | iTunes | Barnes and Noble | All Romance Ebooks | Kobo
Add to your Goodreads list.
Catherine
Stine writes YA and romance. Her novels span the range from futuristic to
supernatural to contemporary. Her YA sci-fi thrillers Fireseed One and Ruby’s
Fire are Amazon bestsellers and indie award winners. Her YA, Dorianna won Best
Horror Book in the Kindle Hub Awards. She also writes romance as Kitsy Clare.
Her Art of Love series includes Model Position and Private Internship. She
suspects her love of dark fantasy came from her father reading Edgar Allen Poe to
her as a child, and her love of contemporary fiction comes from being a
jubilant realist. Visit her at catherinestine.com and subscribe to her
newsletter for news of releases, workshops and appearances.
Giveaway
includes $40 gift card, signed paperback of Catherine’s Heart in a Box, signed paperback of Catherine’s Dorianna, ebooks of Catherine’s Amazon
bestselling YA futuristic thrillers Fireseed
One & Ruby’s Fire, super-pack
of cool YA eBooks (Danaan Trilogy by
Howard, Changeling by Herbert and Drawn by Ledbetter).
a Rafflecopter giveaway
BOOKS RELEASING IN DECEMBER
The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow by Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson | Joshua and the Arrow Realm by Donna Galanti | The Reader by M. Pax | The Island Girl by Sophie Cayeux | Snow Beach by Sophie Cayeux | Ashley Bell by Dean Koontz | Atrophy by Jess Anastasi | Tarnished by Kate Jarvik Birch | Nexis by A.L. Davroe | The Devil's Engine: Hellraisers by Alexander Gordon Smith | Heart in a Box by Catherine Stine | Malibu Secrets by MK Meredith | Christmas Ever More by Christina McKnight | #Holiday by Cambria Hebert | Protecting His Assets by J.K. Coi | Altered by Marnee Blake | Last Wish by Erin Butler | Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom | A Clueless Woman by T.B. Markinson | Her Sworn Enemy by Theresa Meyers | Killer Curves by Naima Simone | Stories of Singularity by Susan Kaye Quinn | The Fix Up by Tawna Fenske | Slamdunked by Love by Jamie Wesley | Less Than a Lady by Eva Devon | Degrees of Being Boss by Rayven Godchild | Daughter of Sand and Stone by Libbie Hawker | Every Crooked Path by Steven James | Guardians of Telesma by River Fairchild | Immortal Desires by Cerise Laudine | White Light by Anna Simpson | Hunted by Marissa Garner
Happy Wednesday! This post is my last post of 2015. I'll be back on Wednesday, January 6, 2016.
I'm still writing every single day, and I'm getting anxious as I near the sixth month mark (January 1). The holidays will be a true test, and I hope I'll be able to keep up writing during them.
I finished the bonus woodwose section for The Fate Challenges boxed set on December 7. I wrote 14,588 words to go with the 10,247 words from the original story (the scene break in Chapter 20 to the end of Chapter 24). Now I'm going to let that section sit until I'm ready to edit it early next year.
Forged is going well. I'm nearing the 60,000 word mark and have eight chapters left to write. I would love to finish the novel by the end of this year, but we'll see how it goes.
Yesterday (December 8) I started writing the first chapter in A Soul to Kill (Soul Reaper #0). I haven't had a chance to outline the story, but I do know its beginning and end. I hope to figure out the rest by the end of this week.
I still need to work on the outline of Destined, and I hope to finish editing "On Day 168" so I can send it to my critique partner before my last day of work this year (December 18). Marked is my holiday vacation editing project.
I'm debating what to do about The Gaia Project. I'll let it sit a bit longer so I can figure things out.
I don't have a goals post at this time. You'll have to find out next month what my goals are.
Oh, I also purchased a Kindle Voyage recently. I have dry eye problems that have affected how long I can stare at computer/tablet/smartphone screens, which has hindered my reading this year. The Voyage doesn't bother my eyes as much and I can turn pages with my left hand easier, so here's to more reading next year!
2015 Stats (1/1-12/8): 150,917 words written and 1,731 pages edited
I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming year's blog schedule. I enjoy blogging, but it does take up a ton of time between writing posts and visiting other blogs. I've also been struggling with my wrist between mild carpal tunnel and tendinitis. If I want to find balance between the day job, writing, and all that comes with writing, then I need to cut back somewhere. So this coming year, I've decide to post twice a month.
On the first Wednesday of the month, I plan to post Insecure Writer's Support Group and a short Writing Goals post.
On the third Wednesday of the month, I will post Bookworm News: #SpecFic Edition. All Bookworm News posts in 2016 will focus on speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, utopia, dystopia, alternate history, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic). I will read and review other genres, of course, but they won't appear on the blog.
This plan is subject to change.
Speaking of SpecFic, I have a post over on the Untethered Realms' blog about the Amoran holiday Illuminarium.
Have a wonderful holidays and a fantastic new year!
23 comments:
Congratulations to all the authors with releases this month.
I am in awe of your writing. You are a writing machine!
Have a great Christmas! I have one more post this month and then I'm off for the holiday season.
Changing it up, eh? I'm with you on the ereader. I got a kindle paperwhite about a year ago and LOVE it. (Eyestrain is a problem here too.)
Big congrats to Catherine and Mary.
Awesome how many authors I know have books releasing now. So excited for them.
We all have to find that right balance between blogging and writing. Hope yours is right for you. I have the Fire on order with Amazon and am hoping I'll read more ARCs once I get it. The Nook my aunt gave me recently died.
Thanks so much for the awesome review. I just finished Mary's book and loved it. I've already read Catherine's too. It's her best yet! (I think you'll really love it.) You've done spectacularly this year. Good luck with the writing over the holidays. I'm going to try to get in a little bit each day. Enjoy your long break and your new Voyage! :)
I may cut back to twice a month, too.
You've written a lot the past few months. I hope to finish the first round of edits on my next story over the Christmas break.
Merry Christmas!
Great reviews, and wow, look at all those releases! Sounds like you've got a good plan for the next year. Twice a month should make things easier. :)
Congratulations to all the authors with releases this month.
Good luck with your writing plans. Holidays always derail me because I have so much more to do than normal and writing is easy to shove to the backburner.
Glad you enjoyed the Reader. More will be coming. :) I've the basic idea for book 4 and a rough outline of the rest of the series.
You've made great progress. One project will nudge its way ahead. Or toss a coin. You might find yourself rooting for one more than the other, which will tell you which way to go.
I love my plain ereaders. I have a Nook eink and a plain Kindle eink. It's just like reading a book without the hand strain. Which is awesome.
Congratulations on keeping your daily writing going for so long! Good luck with it over the holidays. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season - see you in January!
Great group of books. I'm looking forward to diving into them!
More books for my TBR list, Cherie. Thank you for sharing. Good luck with your writing goals, I know you will rock them like always. :) And happy holidays.
I don't blog that much, either. You can't really blog so much if you're busy doing the fiction writing you're supposed to be doing.
Glad you enjoyed your recent reads. It was great to hear about them. I have books by M. Pax and Catherine Stine and I look forward to reading the two you reviewed.
Thanks for mentioning The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow under the new releases. :)
Awesome job on your goals!
~Jess
Congratulations to all the authors with releases this month. All the books look good.
Great reviews. Yay for Mary. I haven't heard of the Kindle Voyage. I'll look into it. We all have to tweak the blog schedules. I've cut back on my posts.
Congrats to all the authors!
Great reviews!
And, as always, I'm impressed by all your progress - especially with all that's going on with your wrists.
You are amazing!
I think your new blog schedule totally makes sense. :)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Happy holidays, Cherie! Your 2015 stats are so impressive. Hope 2016 is just as productive for you! Also, I'm not surprised that you're cutting back on blogging. That never fails to be time-consuming for me, too!
Oooh, some great reads today. I'm looking forward to checking them out, too.
Congratulations to all the authors with releases this month.
OMG! Thanks for the post on Heart in a Box. I have been so busy with end of year student exams and grading I have only just begun to check out blog posts! One more class to go and then I will get a much needed break. Thanks, Cherie, and congrats to my fellow authors with book releases.
Wishing you a Happy New Year!
Sounds like an adventurous trilogy, thanks for hipping me to it:)
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