Blog Archives
Quickie Book Review – The Eclective: The Apocalypse Collection
The Eclective: The Apocalypse Collection by Emma Jameson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a fabulous sampler of some of the most creative, talented indie authors on the market right now. Each story was inventive and wholly captivating. And I loved the way multiple genres were represented in the collection– having a little bit of something for everybody.
On a side note, the way each author approached the theme with such different techniques really jump-started my own creativity, so I’d highly recommend reading short stories in this format in order to get your own creative juices flowing 
Get your copy of The Eclective: The Apocalypse Collection today
A Day Late… Ebook Deals in Honor of National Coming Out Day (October 11th)
My sister always says I’ll be late to my own funeral. She’s probably right. I can picture it now, the hearse will have a flat, or the driver will be sleeping off a bender under the shade of an old oak tree
So I *technically* missed National Coming Out Day, but the good news is that the book promo organized by a fellow author to bring awareness to the event is running for several more days, so there’s still time to get some fantastic bargains of at least 50% off (and even some free books!) via Smashwords.
For those of you not familiar with Smashwords, the online book retailer has numerous formats available for customers who have everything from a Kindle to a Nook, and many others.
PROMO LINK: http://www.matthewgrantonline.com/comingoutdaypromo.html
New Book Feature & Review – Thought I Knew You by Kate Moretti
The Book
Blurb:
Claire Barnes is shattered when her husband, Greg, goes on a business trip and never returns.
Unwilling to just wait for the police to find him, Claire conducts her own investigation. Her best friend Drew helps her look for answers, but all she finds are troubling questions.
With every clue, she discovers that Greg may not be the man she thought she married.
While battling her growing feelings for Drew and raising her two young children, Claire must learn to live with the knowledge that the truth behind Greg’s disappearance may never be revealed.
Review:
I’ve had this thought a few times in life, usually after someone disappoints me by not being the type of person I’d made them to out to be: How well can one person truly know another? Unless you can read minds, you really have not one iota of an idea of what someone else is thinking or keeping from you at any given moment. So instead, we trust.
And sometimes that comes back to bite us in the arse.
For Claire, the main character in Thought I Knew You, that moment comes when her husband mysteriously disappears and she begins to find out things that she wishes she hadn’t about him and their marriage.
While the plotting was well-done and fresh, it was the frame work for Moretti’s masterful use of words to convey the flesh of the story. More than once I found myself nodding as I read a sentence, agreeing with myself that “that was a beautiful way to put that feeling into words.”
Fans of Jodi Picoult will like this novel, as well as people who tend to read Oprah book club selections or Anita Shreve. It also reminded me a little of Richmond’s The Year of Fog (only in the style and tragedy-based plot). This novel has that feel of being “more than a book” as it painstakingly slices open one woman’s life and examines what it’s like for everything to be derailed without a moment’s notice.
I also want to add that the title is perfect. I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t address Claire’s thoughts about herself post-derailment, just as much as it seems to be aimed at the betrayal by her husband. All in all though, this is a book I highly recommend!
Thought I Knew You is available at:
Amazon (ebook and paperback formats)
QuirkyGurl Media is pleased to be a stop on the blog tour for the newly released novel Thought I Knew You by Kate Moretti. For more tour locations, and to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway for some fabulous prizes, please visit the publisher’s site at http://redadeptpublishing.com/knew-you-blog-tour/ Good luck!
Kill Me featured on Indie Author Anonymous
I just got some exciting news… our novel Kill Me was featured as a Golden Review book over on Indie Author Anonymous!
It’s cool enough that the good folks over there chose to feature Kill Me, but to aslo recognize that it has great ratings so far is even better! (*Golden Review books have to have at a minimum 10 reviews on Amazon, and have an average of 4 stars or better on the 5 star scale.)
This from their post…
GOLDEN REVIEW Book! “Kill Me” by Alex Owens
**Every GOLDEN REVIEW book has at LEAST 10 reviews; averaging a four star rating.**
“When I started reading Kill me, the first in a trilogy by new author Alex Owens I expected the usual – Vampires, Intrigue, Drama and a little bit of Spice. What I did not expect was the hilarious writing! A few pages into the book and it is crystal clear that Owen’s strong suit is her ability to hit the funny bone every few sentences. ”
Read more over on IndieAuthorAnonymous now!
Book Review – Butterfly by Kathryn Harvey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After I finished this book, I felt as if I’d spent an entire weekend watching several seasons worth of an addictive TV show. The passage of time and watching characters grow, react and morph tends to stick with me more so than reading a novel condensed down to a few days.
But that’s not the only reason I’ll remember this novel for a while. It’s that good too. Butterfly has heat (but not too much), a smattering of mystery, complex characters (some of which I hated and loved at the same time), compelling narrative and a patiently-waiting-to-dole-it-out dose of revenge. And how sweet that was!
Quickie Review – To Love a Witch by Debora Geary
To Love a Witch by Debora Geary
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There is a reason why Debora Geary’s Witch books are so popular. They are heavy on the magic / paranormal without all the darkness and danger that fills the genre. I’d even go so far as to call them uplifting and positive, which is rather rare for witch books in general. Perhaps it’s because the characters in Geary’s books are not pitted against Bad Guys or Evil-doers. Rather, their biggest struggles are internal… learning to harness their powers, trust others, “do no harm” so to speak.
This novella may have been meant as a way to give readers a taste of Geary’s great witch series, but it’s fab bit of fun to read all on its own. The characters are sassy and fun, the setting interesting and the writing (as always) is spot-on. I do hope Geary takes these characters and brings them back for a full length novel!
The Fate of Destiny by Danielle Bourdon – Book Review
The Fate of Destiny by Danielle Bourdon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Why would a girl feel compelled to write stories about people she’s never met? (I don’t mean novelists!) From the time she learned to write, Farris can’t help but write. By the time she’s almost eighteen, she has stacks of papers piled on every conceivable surface of her tiny cramped apartment. Is she a tad crazy like her “committed” mother, or is there a very good reason that she can’t help by write?
Then there’s the prophesy that her senile grandmother remembers two days before Farris’ 18th birthday, the mysterious and hunky guy that whirls into town right as a H*ll breaks loose. And… so much more. I don’t want to give anything away.
I enjoyed The Fate of Destiny, and thought that the plot was cleverly unique and the characters quirky, complex and interesting. The writing was well done. The pacing of the story was good, not moving too fast nor bogging down from detail. Bourdon seems very skilled at crafting a balanced, inventive novel and I can’t wait to see where the next book in the series takes me!
Jolie Wilkin’s Series (Books 1-3) by HP Mallory – Quickie Book Reviews
Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble by H.P. Mallory (Jolie Wilkins Book #1)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**I read book 3 first (as an ARC) and loved it. So I went back to the beggining of the series to get my Rand / Sinjin fix!**
In some regards, this series starts out as a lot of typical paranormal chick books. Under-confident gal meets mysterious stranger, her life is upended and in the end she gets her hunk and some wicked-cool superpowers.
But this was not your typical paranormal.
Yes, Jolie has a little business reading people’s cards (fortunes) but her powers are hit-and miss. Other than her cat and an adorable BFF, she doesn’t have much of a social life. Then in walks Rand– a hunky, aloof guy with a job offer and more curiosity about her than Jolie can bear. But it’s not all “White Knight swooping in to save the day”. Oh, no.
The twists and turns are almost addictive. And the men, oh, the men. Introspective Rand. Hot-blooded (cold-blooded) Vampire Sinjin. Don’t expect your typical love triangle though.
As with the rest of the book, Mallory keeps every facet of this series fresh, smart and sassy. She knows how to build the uh, tension, as the story reaches it’s climax, only to leave the reader wanting more
Toil and Trouble by H.P. Mallory ( Jolie Wilkins Book #2)
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**I read book 3 first (as an ARC) and loved it. So I went back to the beggining of the series to get my Rand / Sinjin fix!**
I adore this series, even more than I love Nutella, the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, or my inexplicable love of all things 80′s. I loved watching Jolie as she becomes her destiny. I become frustrated right along side her when Rand is being hard-headed, and (dare I say it?) I blush when she does at the latest of Sinjin’s attempts to woo her.
I reviewed the Third Book a while back here, but I’ll repost for again for convienence
Witchful Thinking by H.P. Mallory (Jolie Wilkins Book #3)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Having not read the first two books in this series, I expected to be a little behind while reading it. But there is enough back-story in this book that I got most everything that happened prior to this novel. I could see that as a lot of filler for someone who had already read the previous books though, but I guess that’s the price you pay for trying to keep everybody happy.
Overall, I really liked the main character Jolie, and I seem to be just as confused about her possible love interests as she is. (I wanted to whack Rand upside his handsome face a few times and Sinjin surprised me quite a few times too ~swoon!) The plotting kept me going and I finished this book in about three hours on this lazy Sunday afternoon.
That being said, a few things bugged me. Jolie doesn’t want to be the Queen, yet she seems to be falling right into the “I’m the Queen, so you have to do it” mantra. Also, a few things seem to be accepted a little too easily, or forgotten fairly quickly. Take the Prophetess (or priestess, I forget already) Mercedes… Surely I can’t be the only one who smells something rotten in Denmark here. She finds out something, or somehow knows a helpful tidbit, and no one questions it. Even when it seems hinky.
I’ll read more by Mallory of course, back to the beginning to see if that makes me feel better about this book. Overall I really liked it, but I wanted to love it– you know?
My only regret now is that I have to wait for the fourth book to come out!
Fifty Shades Trilogy- Three Quickie Book Reviews
I didn’t want to read them, I swear! But after everyone and their mother (yes, even my own dear Mum) gushed about the 50 Shades of Grey book and the rest of the books in the series, I felt I had a moral, readerly obligation to read them.
On a side note, I’m woefully behind in my book reviewing, so the following is what I’ve managed to piece together over on Good Reads:
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Steamy, romantic, explores the depths of trust in intimate relationships.
Of the three books in the series, I found this one to be the most risque’, mainly because the author had the cajones to put a few things in print that I’ve never seen before. I applaud her courage, and think that the taboos covered in this book were well done (that is, with honesty and without bias)and made the book feel more like a literary journey into the private lives of real people– and less like the “chic porn” that some critics claim.
Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Just as hot as the first, with more drama and emotional depth. And a little more in terms of romance and plotting.
This second book has slightly (only slightly, don’t fret!) less sex, but what it lacks in the bedroom it more than makes up for in the emotional/ romantic arenas.
Also, I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but this darn series is the first one that made me CRY in a good long while. And I don’t mean just once. I’m talking multiple tissue-fests. I wasn’t expecting that– when I need a cry I usually read Jodi Picoult or some other reliable heart-string-plucker. And I don’t read a lot of genre romance books… maybe that’s why this series caught me off guard that way!
Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
After I finished this last in the series, my thoughts turned sad. I wasn’t ready to give up Christian or his kinky f**kery!
I haven’t this emotionally invested in a series in a very long time. I saw a ecard on Pinterest that perfectly summed up the way I felt at the end– It said “Struggling to find something that I want to read after finishing 50 Shades”
Don’t despair though! I did indeed pick up another book (and then another, and another) but at first I didn’t want to. I needed time to mourn the loss of the people, err, characters that I’d spent the last few days of my life with. Completely engrossed, I might add.
Hot Summer Reads – 5 Urban Fantasy e-Reads for 99-cents!
*** Hot Summer Reads! 5 Hot Urban Fantasy e-Reads Just 99 Cents Each – June 26th and 27th **
See the special Amazon sale page at: http://amzn.to/LCNvnE
My newest release, Kill Me, has some fabulous company for this two-day special event. For a short time, readers can grab a copy from Amazon at a steep discount!
The books included in this promo are:
So what are you waiting for? Go on and snag a few on-sale Hot Urban Fantasies before the prices revert back to normal!
Suburban Vampire feature & Memorial Day sale
Memorial Day Commemoration 2008 (Photo credit: davidyuweb)
Happy Memorial Day weekend!
I hope everyone has a safe and fabulous bit of downtime, while we remember those that have lived and died for our country.
To honor our military heroes I’m reducing the price of all Quirky Gurl ebook titles to $0.99 for the weekend, including the newly released novel Kill Me! I’ll provide direct links to all on-sale books at the end of the post.
In other news, my novel Kill Me is featured today over on Suburban Vampire. So hop on over there if you have a second. (But don’t forget to come back for big savings on our ebooks!)
Now, onto the sale!
(Make sure you check the price before buying… sometimes Amazon is slow to update pricing!)
Kill Me by Alex Owens
Skin: Short Fiction by Alex Owens
Memories for Sale by Karen Fowler
Reflections on Motherhood by Karen Fowler
Just Desserts by Karen Fowler
Still Life Paintings by Karen Fowler
Strangers on a Plane by Emma Shane
Phone Play by Emma Shane
Book Review – Breakers by Edward W. Robertson
Breakers by Edward W. Robertson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Although not my usual genre, I found myself captivated by this novel, Breakers. It was like watching the downfall of man-kind in technicolor. In fact, I could see this novel hitting the big screen at some point.
Although (to me) it started a little sluggish, within a few pages I was hooked and I ended up reading Breakers in one sitting. I won’t mention that I completely forgot about a “thing” I was supposed to attend, and instead spent the time deeply invested in the characters and their tribulations.
I found the premise a unique amalgam of the typical apocalyptic books. There’s a pandemic that kills off most of civilization. Aliens come to take over. And both are tied together seamlessly in this novel. So much so, that it was totally believable, and I didn’t even have to worry with suspending my beliefs.
The writing was fluid and sometimes so perfect I had to highlight certain phrases in my Kindle app. I don’t do that often, so that’s saying something. I love how Robertson gives us independent characters without the dreaded author-injection, letting the reader decide what they are thinking or feeling.
Overall an extremely well-done novel and I’d recommend it to just about anyone– not just readers of sci-fi or end-of-the-world tales.
Quickie Book Review – Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardiff
Children of the Fog by Cheryl Kaye Tardif
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Great book, started off with a bang and pretty much kept up the page-turning pace. With the creepy fog comes danger and something no mother ever wants to have to deal with…she has to let a madman walk out of the door with her six year old son.
Overall the book clipped along at a good pace and was well plotted. It had a few twists that I didn’t see coming, a suspenseful (sometimes too suspenseful) story line, and flawed characters. Tardif has a knack for setting a creepy scene and found myself with goosebumps more than once. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes suspenseful, twisty novels with great settings and a flawed heroine that just needs to find her strength to come out the other side.
View all my reviews
