COVER REVEAL: His Haunted Heart - Lila Felix

Title: His Haunted Heart

Author: Lila Felix

Anticipated Release Date: May 1, 2015

Blurb:

Six years ago, deep in the swamps of Louisiana, Delilah’s face was marred forever at the hands of her sisters by the point of her mother’s kitchen knife. Despite her protest, her parents insist she make haste in finding a husband. But finding a husband isn’t an easy feat with a scar running the length of your face.

Porter Jeansonne keeps to himself. He lives in his mansion, set apart from the town he’s grown to detest. One night, walking through the town, seeking to collect a debt, he hears a man selling off his daughter in the most deplorable part of the darkened streets. He chooses to take pity on her and set her free from her despicable family. Until he sees her face. He then knows that maybe she is the mend for his haunted heart.

Sway - Amy Matayo

Title: Sway

Author: Amy Matayo

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Finally settled after a tragedy-laden life, 24-year-old Caleb has found security in his faith, his friends, and his career. It's the life he's always wanted--simple, predictable, and safe. Enter Kate Hawkins, the attractive 21-year-old stranger he rescues from a bar fight who has an odd affinity for the color pink and a unique sense of humor. 

It doesn’t take long to realize their connection is intense, but after only a handful of dates, a shocking revelation surfaces. Lines are drawn, sides are taken, and loyalties are decided as their newfound relationship is brought to a sudden halt.

But unlike most couples who split, avoiding each other is impossible. As daily interactions become unbearable, one realization becomes clear: they've both fallen hard for the absolute wrong person, which leaves both scrambling for a way to make it right.

Five Line Book Review:

(Warning - this may be longer than 5 sentences.  I'm betting yes.)

I have to admit, when I think of Christian Fiction books, my first thought is 'it's probably cheesy at best, preachy at worst.'  There are some great, GREAT Christian books out there, there are great fiction books about stories of the bible not written specifically to be Christian out there as well, but even though that is true, the vast majority of Christians Fiction books are not very good, and are just not a story that you can relate to; and that is sad.  I think there are a million and one historical Christian novels that are probably great, I've read one or two and have found them enjoyable, but they are just kind of bland, and I don't want to read a million and one renditions of the same story. I AM a Christian, and I AM a reader - I love to read books, but I do not seek out Christian Fiction.  However, that may be changing, because in the last year I've found at least two authors who know how to write a faith-based novel that speaks to my heart, and whose characters are real and believable, and whose setting is...well, current both and timeline and in life in general.

I love Sway, that is the plain and simple truth.  I'm not sure if this was her heart, but Amy Matayo has written a book that is not necessairly meant to entice you to Christ (though, it might happen) but a book that was written for a Christian to speak to a Christ-like heart.  I found myself reflected both in Kate and Caleb at different times; their struggles were real, the passion was real, and the romance (YES, we Christians like the heat too) was so real.  Throw in some great supporting characters, one secretary stands out specifically, and you've got this awesome heart-filled and compelling novel.  My own faith and attitude towards some of the people in my life was challenged while reading this book.  So, thank you Amy, for taking my pre-concieved notions of what a Christian Romance probably looks like and throwing it out the door.  Thank you for writing a novel that entertained me, and also  challenged me.  Please, keep it up!

Rated:  PG - very clean

Genre: New Adult - Christian Fiction; Romance

Rating:  5 Stars

Black Ice - Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Black Ice

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Danger is hard to resist in this sexy thriller from Becca Fitzpatrick, the New York Times bestselling author of the Hush, Hush saga.

Brit Pheiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants;but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

Britt is forced to guide the men off the mountain, and knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there and in uncovering this, she may become the killer's next target.

But nothing is as it seems, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

Black Ice is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick's riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous.

Five Line Book Review:

Black Ice was a wonderful YA Suspense novel.  I was entranced with this book from the very start, and was getting irritable because I wasn’t finding time to finish it (my poor husband can attest to this).  Although I found the “mystery” of the novel easy to predict, the journey was the entertainment of the book.  I also enjoyed how Britt’s character was perceived completely differently by every person she interacted with, and feel that this is a testament to her being whoever she needed to be to fit the scenario, however it is ironic that the person she was when she was lost in the woods with Mason was probably the best picture of who she is when she is allowed to reach her full potential.   On one hand, this book was pretty different from the Hush, Hush series Becca Fitzpatrick wrote previously, however the elements of the ‘bad-boy’ guys she writes are definitely still present in this book!

Rated:  PG-13, Some violence, mild cussing

Genre: Young Adult - Romance, Suspense

Rating:  5 Stars

Doves for Sale - Lila Felix

Title:Doves for Sale

Author: Lila Felix

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

“Love isn’t crazy. Love isn’t a degree of insanity. Love is sanity at its purest. It forces your soul to make a rational choice—a choice to make another person’s happiness your priority, to allow them access to your heart and soul. Letting Ezra go was choosing to love him. Letting him go was the best way you knew how to choose his joy over your own. I can see it in both of you. This love isn’t one that will go down without a fight.” 

Seven months is a long time to wait.

Ezra has three goals. There is no choice. He has to get better, for himself and for Aysa.

Except, his best friend Roman has moved in in his absence. He’s given Ezra’s girl a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, and a fighting chance at winning her heart.

Aysa knows who her heart belongs to.

But loving Ezra is no easy task.

Ezra never promised simple, he only promised his heart.

Aysa has two paths in front of her, one carries peace and one carries a love that never ends.

Five Line Book Review:

Doves for Sale is what I would call a ‘big goofy grin book,’ as that is what was on my face for nearly the entire thing; I loved the fun-ness between Ezra and Aysa, yeah their lives are still pretty crazy (who’s isn’t, really?) and they still had stuff to work through, but I was just in love with these characters getting back together and finding some stability and trust between them.  Then there was the new relationship between Knox and Aysa, and their banter that at times had me laughing out loud – he is my new favorite supporting character….at least for this month.  While this book didn’t have as much conflict as Sparrows for Free, it provided that “sigh” worthy HEA that I love.  I truly did love this book and do recommend it, however you must read Sparrows for Free first, or else it will feel a bit lacking – the hardest parts of Ezra and Aysa’s story can be found in the first book.  While this book had some difficulties of it’s own, it wasn’t nearly as heavy nor, thankfully, as melancholy.

Rated: PG-13  

Genre: New Adult - Romance

Rating:  4 Stars

Release Day: Burnt Devotion - Rebecca Ethington

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1xUq399

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1yHcrDw

Barnes & Nobles: http://bit.ly/157aTGB

Smashwords: http://bit.ly/1KZoDV6

Burnt Devotion, Book 5 in the Imdalind Series. Dawn of Ash - the previously announced book five has now been moved to book 6. Yes! An extra book. If you have been waiting for the next installment of The Imdalind Series this is the book you have been waiting for!

--

It was supposed to be the final battle, the one to end Edmund’s line, his life, and free the magic Edmund had taken from the world. That was how it was foreseen. The end of the battle that has raged for centuries, unbeknownst to the mortals around them, the battle that would end with Joclyn’s death.

But it did neither.

The battle still reigns, Joclyn still lives, and the sight that was given eight hundred years ago is broken.

And it’s not the only one.

Sights that were once thought infallible have become nothing more than scattered glass, with broken pieces shattering into incorrect visages. Sain clings to the magic that he knows to be true, but there is something else, something that he is not saying. And what he does say is no longer adding up.

Something is wrong.

Ilyan and his people move through the caves, following a sight they hope to be correct, fleeing a battle that should have been the end while the battle within each of them grows with each step.

Ryland fights the monsters his father has infected him with.

Wynifred fights the confusion of who she is.

Dramin fights to live.

Prague may not survive this battle, it may be ripped to shreds… or burned to ashes.

  Rebecca Ethington is a story teller and author from Salt Lake City, Utah. She has been telling stories since she was small. First, with writing crude scripts, and then in stage with years of theatrical performances. Rebecca’s first stint into the world of literary writing, The Imdalind Series, was released in October 2012 and since its release each book has been found in several top 100 lists on Amazon. Rebecca is a mother to two, and wife to her best friend of 14 years. Her days are spent writing, running, and enjoying life with her crazy family.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rebeccaethington.author

Website - www.rebeccaethington.com

Twitter - https://twitter.com/RebEthington

Amazon: http://amzn.to/13piBuF 

B&N: http://bit.ly/1v8q7Rr 

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1wSBWAk 

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1GJYyGk

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1DZandX

B&N: http://bit.ly/1xBsDXm

Kobo: http://bit.ly/13RxrLP

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1AuMU0a

 Amazon: http://amzn.to/1z9oRjg

B&N: http://bit.ly/1x9ii59

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1wSDNW3

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1z9pd9A

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1sXigMq

B&N: http://bit.ly/1JEg4OS

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1ALeOmR

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1Cpqtch

Dethroning Crown - Lila Felix

Title: Dethroning Crown

Author: Lila Felix

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Number ten is plastered on his team jersey and on his ego. In his own mind, Crown Sterling is the shit. He dates the prettiest women, he dominates on the soccer field, he pours money out of his pockets like it’s water. Until a debilit

The Winner's Curse & The Winner's Crime - Marie Rutkoski

Title: The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy - Book 1)

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

Five Line Book Review:

Once again, what I am loving most about a book is the fact that the main character, Kestrel, is not this all perfect/powerful person;  while she’s smart and cunning, she is decisively not good at combat despite being a famous general’s daughter, and the things she loves most are not valued in her culture.  The Winner’s Curse focused a lot on strategy and games, but the beautifully woven words that developed the relationship between Kestrel and Arin created some of the best pictures of a budding  affection between our two points of view.  I loved that the book wasn't exactly an insta-love type attraction, but something that developed over time, and still has places to go.  The world and society that Marie Rutkoski builds are made up yet so very believable; the hatred and prejudices on both sides of the spectrum mixed with those who realize value in all people, and respect for their culture make this story so well rounded and easy to love.

Rated:  PG

Genre: Young Adult 

Rating:  5 Stars

Title: The Winner's Crime (The Winner's Trilogy - Book 2)

Author: Marie Rutkoski

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Book two of the dazzling Winner's Trilogy is a fight to the death as Kestrel risks betrayal of country for love.

The engagement of Lady Kestrel to Valoria’s crown prince means one celebration after another. But to Kestrel it means living in a cage of her own making. As the wedding approaches, she aches to tell Arin the truth about her engagement…if she could only trust him. Yet can she even trust herself? For—unknown to Arin—Kestrel is becoming a skilled practitioner of deceit: an anonymous spy passing information to Herran, and close to uncovering a shocking secret.

As Arin enlists dangerous allies in the struggle to keep his country’s freedom, he can’t fight the suspicion that Kestrel knows more than she shows. In the end, it might not be a dagger in the dark that cuts him open, but the truth. And when that happens, Kestrel and Arin learn just how much their crimes will cost them.

Five Line Book Review:

I am the worst when it comes to the 2^nd book of a series; it’s the book that I love to hate because it’s not the introduction, where you get to know the characters and establish the foundation of the world/story (which is kind of my favorite part) nor do you get to find out the end result.  It’s exactly what it is; the stuff in the middle – there’s typically action, but it’s not the explosion of events you would get at a conclusion, and since you already “know” the characters – well it’s just a lot of in-between and tension that is left unresolved.  The Winner’s Crime is no exception, it is the moving board between what is going on, and what is going to happen; and while I did enjoy Kestrel's devotion to Arin in her own way, and I absolutely love the word pictures that Marie Rutkoski draws especially in the area of Kestrel and Arin's relationship, I was frustrated beyond belief at Kestrel's avoidance of him and inability to simply tell the truth.  In the end, this entire book was about the divide between her desire to make her father proud and the desire to help the guy she loves – and the consequences of both.  The Winner’s Crime was a good book – but it was the 2^nd book of a series and I want more, bring on Book 3!

Rated:  PG

Genre: Young Adult

Rating:  4 Stars