Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Giveaway Winner!


Our winner for the Raie'Chaelia E-Book Giveaway is...

Carol

Congratulations Carol!  I have already sent her an email.  Thank you so much to everyone who entered!  If you didn't win this time, you can still check out the author, Melissa Douthit's, giveaway for a free e-reader or $100 gift certificate!  Enter soon, because it ends on September 10, 2011!  You can enter the giveaway here.

-This is T.B. with Another Book Back on the Shelf...
Until Next Time, Keep Reading!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Brooklyn, Burning by Steve Brezenoff

Brooklyn, Burning

Author: Steve Brezenoff

Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group

3½ out of 5 stars

After Felix left nothing has been the same. 

There has been an inexplicable shift that no one can identify, but we all feel it.  He’s gone and I don’t know how much longer I can take it.  All around me I see the reminders of Felix everywhere.  But… now there might be someone else.  There’s Scout.  Scout, who plays the guitar.  Scout, whose voice is the soundtrack of my summer.  Scout, who has made my summer worthwhile.  Scout, who I think I might love.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Goats by Brock Cole

The Goats

Author: Brock Cole

Publisher: Square Fish

4 out of 5 stars

It wasn’t supposed to happen this way.  They weren’t supposed to be the ones who it happened to.  They thought it was going to be a funny joke is all.  No one would get hurt, and it would be something that everyone could look back on and laugh about.  No one had any idea that it would turn into something much more than a harmless prank.  They didn’t think it was very funny when they realized that the joke was on them.  They didn’t realize until it was too late.  And by that time, there was no one there to help… except themselves.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Princess Callie and the Totally Amazing Talking Tiara by Daisy Piper

Princess Callie and the Totally Amazing Talking Tiara

Author: Daisy Piper

Publisher: Daisy Piper (Smashwords)

3½ out of 5 stars

We’ve all imagined that we were royalty.  Whether it was our dream to be a king, queen, prince, or princess, most of us have had that fleeting desire to be of royal blood.  What would it be like to have ladies-in-waiting?  Or how about regal balls that were in our honor?  That life seems far out of reach and only a childish fantasy invented to keep boredom at bay.  To be able to say, “Off with their heads!” or ask for anything you want and have it granted.  That would be the life.  Well, for one young girl it is… she just doesn’t know it yet.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Sign Language by Amy Ackley

Sign Language

Author: Amy Ackley

Publisher: Viking

5 out of 5 stars

Have you ever had that feeling where you know that something’s wrong?  That there’s something out of place?  You might not be able to put a finger on what exactly, but you have a creeping feeling that something is terribly wrong.  Instead of investigating further, you choose to ignore it.  Act like whatever it is isn’t there.  Maybe then it will go away, stop bothering you, and you’ll forget that there was anything there in the first place.  What if… it doesn’t disappear?  It stays right where it is, slowly growing and becoming more and more horrible with all of the apathy you have shown it.  But no one bothers to tell you what’s wrong, and you choose to look the other way.  Until it becomes so unbearable that it twists your whole life out of control.  Suddenly, you wonder how you could have ever missed it.

Friday, August 12, 2011

(The Raie'Chaelia Blog Tour) Interviews With Authors: Melissa Douthit + TWO Giveaways

Hello everyone!  Today I am very excited to have another fantastic, Interviews With Authors!  As part of The Raie'Chaelia Blog Tour, I have Melissa Douthit, author of The Raie'Chaelia here with us today.  Melissa was kind enough to answer my questions on her book and what it is like being a self-published author.  The Raie'Chaelia is a fantasy book set in the realm of Naeo' Gaea, that many unique creatures and races inhabit.  Chalice is one everyday girl, who turns out to have an extraordinary destiny.  You can read my full review of The Raie'Chaelia here.

Now in honor of The Raie'Chaelia Blog Tour, here is Interviews With Authors: A Talk With Melissa Douthit!

A Talk With Melissa Douthit

Author of The Raie’Chaelia

By T.B.

1) What inspired you to start writing The Raie’Chaelia?

This is actually in the preface to my novel:

On the morning of 21st of September, 2007, I sat down at my computer with a cup of coffee and clicked a familiar bookmark on my internet browser.  The link took me to a website that I knew well.  In doing so, I learned that one of my favorite authors had passed away.  His name was James Oliver Rigney, Jr., also known as Robert Jordan.  The website was www.dragonmount.com.

Ever since I was seventeen, I have been reading his epic fantasy series, The Wheel of Time.  I remember buying the first book, The Eye of the World, from a local bookstore and rushing home to read it.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  To this day, after twenty-one years, I am still reading his series as it quickly draws to a conclusion in its final completion by Brandon Sanderson.

I never thought I could be a writer given that my talents lie in other areas, mostly in mathematics and science, but when I learned of Jordan’s passing, I decided to start writing a story that I had been tossing around in my head for a while.  The ideas were there but the realization of those ideas into a book was a problem.  I didn’t believe that I could do it.  So, that morning, inspired by Jordan’s life story, I sat down and started typing.  I soon found that by having read his books, as well as many others by other authors, the writing came naturally and the words flowed.  The novel, The Raie’Chaelia, is the result of that day.

Now, three years later, my first novel has been published.  It is a novel with both a storyline and a background theme.  The ideas for the story were conceived out of a desire to write a fantasy that was different from any other I had read in the past.   The entire story required a few years to fully develop, but I believe I have achieved my original intention – keeping it different.  I am hoping that you, its reader, will feel that difference and love it.

Thank you for reading my story.  I hope you enjoy it.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

(The Raie'Chaelia Blog Tour) The Raie'Chaelia by Melissa Douthit

The Raie'Chaelia

Author: Melissa Douthit

Publisher: Lucky Bat Books

4 out of 5 stars

Chalice squinted against the smoke, but despite not being able to see, she could still hear the screams.  They sounded as if they couldn’t possibly be coming from a human being.  They were raw, and ringing in the air long after they had ended.  Grandpa’s warning was clear in her head.  She had to escape, and make it to the farm in Branbury.  He had said that there was someone there that she had to meet.  What if I never get to hear his stories again?  What if those were the last words I would ever hear from him?  Chalice pushed those thoughts out of her head.  She had to focus now.  She knew that if she didn’t escape now then she would never get the chance again.  Chalice threw her leg over the side of her horse, and took one long last look at her home.  She might never see this place again she realized.  That felt like a punch in the stomach, and she turned and rode away as her eyes filled with tears.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Cascade by Lisa T. Bergren

Cascade

Author: Lisa T. Bergren

Publisher: David C. Cook

5 out of 5 stars

Note: This review assumes that you  have already read the first book in this series, Waterfall.  If you have not yet read Waterfall then you may not want to read this review, as it will reveal key points from the first book.  You can find my review of Waterfall here.

Gabi had promised.  She promised she would come back.  Even though she had to leave, she would return.  Nothing could keep her away from him.  Nothing.  Whether she stayed, or went back home, she just knew that she had to see him again.  This wasn’t the kind of thing you could walk away from and forget that it had ever happened.  She didn’t want to forget either… she hoped to always remember what she felt for him, that she had never felt for anyone else before.  But is risking the lives of herself, her sister, and her mother worth it?

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

This review was also posted on O'Dell's site, Book Twirps, as a guest post.  You can go check it out here.  Feel free to stop by and leave O'Dell a comment or follow!  Thanks so much O'Dell for featuring me on your site!

North of Beautiful

Author: Justina Chen Headley

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

4 out of 5 stars

The Land of Beauty… perfect skin, luscious hair, beautiful bodies, that gorgeous face.  Those in the Land of Beauty have everything.  Well, at least everything that Terra has always strived to possess.  Why can’t I be like these girls in the magazines or the tabloids?

Because you’re ugly the Land of Beauty seems to remind her.

But does the stunning Land of Beauty remind her how beautiful she is on the inside?