THE TURNING: WHAT CURIOSITY KILLS by Helen Ellis

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THE TURNING: WHAT CURIOSITY KILLS
Book One
Author: Helen Ellis
Source: Sourcebooks Fire
* I received this copy free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Hardcover: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire (May 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1402238614
  • ISBN-13: 978-1402238611
SYNOPSIS:

Plucked from foster care, Mary Richards hit the jackpot with a loving family, an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and a spot in the elite Purser-Lilley Academy.  But she might lose it all if people find out about the turning.

Something not human is inside Mary.  Her mind is reeling and her body is rebelling.  She succumbs to urges and desires she never imagined.  And then there’s the bizarre physical transformation.

Struggling with her metamorphosis, Mary is sought out by two boys who share her secret.  Will she reject the destiny they swear is hers? Or will she find our what curiosity kills?

You only get one chance to decide if you’ll never turn again.

MY THOUGHTS:
When I received this book, I was in a hurry to read it! The cover, in my opinion, is amazing with one cat eye on the girl.  According to the synopsis it was going to be a paranormal book about changing into cats. So it was something different than the normal paranormal of werewolves and vampires.

I so desperately wanted to love this book. To tell you the truth though, the cover was about the only thing I liked about it.  I had to force myself to even finish the book.  There was too much detailing and not enough dialogue.  It didn’t flow easy and the story was all over the place at times.  The characters had no appeal to me as I read through the book. There seemed to be alot of product pushing in the book as to what all the characters were wearing each time we read about them, the characters were dull instead of having life on a page. 

While the idea for the book would have been great, it just didn’t come across as a great book.  I am still on the fence about wanting to read the next book in the series for now.  If the author can rework some of the bad points, then I might be interested in the next one just to see if it does turn out better.

MY RATING:

 
I did not enjoy this book!

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Dee Julian

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Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to author Dee Julian.  She has the book The Macgregor’s Daughter found at Wild Child Publishing. Let’s get started!
To start off, welcome and can you tell the readers a little about yourself?
 It’s a pleasure to be here, Amy. Well, I live in Memphis, TN with my husband and four dogs. We’ve raised two college age kids, Chris and Amber. I guess you might say I’m a typical Virgo who loves animals, warm summer breezes, good friends, Italian food, and movies/books with the happy ever after ending. 

Can you tell us a little about your upcoming or latest release?
 Sure. The first blurb listed below is from The Macgregor’s Daughter. The second is from Promise Me, which should be out some time later this year.
 In 1776 England, American born Anadreya Macgregor is branded a spy by the arrogant Marquis of Canderlay. Despite her pleas of innocence, he refuses to listen and has her imprisoned. Aided by the Scottish father she never knew, Dreya escapes to Dragon’s Breath Castle.
Five years later, the laird is missing and a badly injured Frenchman washes ashore. Dreya is wary of the blind and amnesic man, though something about him is hauntingly familiar. Is he an ally or a ruthless mercenary who stumbled upon her father’s smuggling activities?
The stranger’s vision and memory gradually return, and Dreya discovers her fate and the continued existence of her clan might very well be in his hands. As the web of deception binding them together unravels, both are in danger of losing everything. Including their hearts.

  
When a hasty promise to her dying fiancé jeopardizes the future of his illegitimate child, Lady Leah Sheridan vows to make amends for the gentleman’s lack of honor by personally seeing to his son’s financial needs. But then the boy’s heartless mother abandons him, and Leah finds herself nearing a disastrous scandal. Adding to her troubles is the return of her fiancé’s older brother. He demands answers she swore never to divulge. Will Leah break her promise and confide in the only man who can keep her safe?

  If anyone is interested in reading more of The Macgregor’s Daughter, I’ve posted four exerpts on my web site at www.deejulian.com


I am a fly on your wall.  What would I report back to my master of the daily grind of Dee?
I don’t understand this human. I really think she’s missing a few brain cells. All day and half the night, she sits in front of this odd gizmo called a lap-top. Her fingers are always stroking it or tap, tap, tapping. I think she’s afraid that if she stops touching this thing, it will get up and walk away. She swears and curses at it, she begs and pleads, but it never answers her. I’ve tried to whisper in her ear that this sort of behavior is unhealthy, but she acts as though I’m annoying her and swats me away. Can you imagine that?
When you are not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors, that are must reads?
 Sadly, I don’t read as much as I used to. Too often I find myself critiquing everything, and that’s just infuriating, because I cannot enjoy the book if I’m constantly in critique mode. My favorite genre, of course, is historical romance, but I can really get into a great paranormal. I’m just not creative enough to write one of my own. Nowadays, I don’t have a favorite author, but in my twenties it was Jill Tattersall. She wrote historicals and she could weave a story that kept you breathless page after page. Her characters stayed with you long after you finished the book. I believe she retired many years ago.

What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book?
 A tall glass of water, my trusty laptop, and a clear idea of how the prologue or first chapter is going to start and end.

Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?  Twitter?


 I sure do. My web site is www.deejulian.com and I’m on face book. Sorry, no Twitter. If anyone is interested, I host spotlight author interviews every month, but for May I’ve landed a special guest…Marci Baun, editor in chief of Wild Child Publishing and Freya’s Bower. If you’ve ever wanted to know a little more about the publishing side of this business, drop by and ask Marci a question via the guest book tab. She’ll be there all day May 5th.

Where can readers purchase your books?

Thank you so much for asking. At the moment, The Macgregor’s Daughter can be purchased at the following:
www.wildchildpublishing.com, Amazon, All Romance Ebooks, Bookstrand, Fictionwise, Mobipocket, and OmniLit.

Now for some fun stuff:
 
1. What came first–the chicken or the egg?
a) God made the chicken first, but she wasn’t exactly thrilled when He explained how the egg would be delivered.

2. Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
a) It does. You just can’t see the glue because it’s the same color as the bottle.

3. If you choke a Smurf, what color do they turn?
a) A darker blue.

4. If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?
a) Because Jimmy’s overworked and underappreciatied mother makes up songs on the spur of the moment to relieve her boredom.
Favorite perfume: Tresor
Favorite TV show: Ghost Hunters
Favorite Movie: Pirates of the Carribean. The first movie, not the other two.
Favorite Drink: Besides water? Frozen melon margarita. (hic-up)
Favorite Dessert: Anything chocolate.

Thanks for joining us on My Overstuffed Bookshelf!!

Thanks for having me, Amy. I truly enjoyed it.

LEAVING PARADISE by Simone Elkeles

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LEAVING PARADISE
Author: Simone Elkeles
Source: Library
  • Reading level: Young Adult
  • Paperback: 312 pages
  • Publisher: Flux (April 1, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0738710180
  • ISBN-13: 978-0738710181
SYNOPSIS:
Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled.
After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers. 
Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as “criminal” and “freak.” Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.
MY THOUGHTS:
After Caleb is convicted of driving while intoxicated and hit and run involving Maggie, both their lives are turned upside down.  Caleb is now known as the ex-con and Maggie is now known as the freak.  Both return to school with low expectations and guilt.  Caleb tries to pick up where things left off in school before he went to jail.  Maggie is devastated after learning she loses her sports scholarship to Spain since she can’t play tennis anymore.  They both come to terms with the way their lives have changed now and fall in love. 
This book was a great read for me.  I loved the characters of Caleb and Maggie.  Caleb was strong and as you read the book, you realize how protective his character really is.  Maggie faces her disability as I think any teen would. She feels ugly and hurt by it all.  The old lady in the book, Mrs. Reynolds, was a great side character that plays a huge part in the book.  She unites Caleb and Maggie again and makes them both realize that accidents happen.  She makes them realize that your life can take different paths, but still have happiness and build character at the same time. The ending was the only thing I didn’t like. I was looking for a happily ever after ending, which is not to say it doesn’t, but like life, its not the ending you expect.  It sets the readers up for a sequel of this great story.
Overall and amazing read that I wouldn’t mind adding to my keeper shelf. 
MY RATING:

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf
For Rereading!

GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY: Author Wendy Holden

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Today on My Overstuffed Bookshelf I have author Wendy Holden here to share her story with you! She is the author of Beautiful People. Let’s all welcome her to the blog!
The brilliant thing about being a writer is that you can put anyone you’re mad at into a book. Your grievances get aired in prints runs of hundreds of thousands and people on the other side of the world from the person who annoyed you read about them and think ‘No-one could possibly be as stupid/devious/rude as that. She’s making it up!” Having said that, I adore beautiful people and like to fill my novels with them at every opportunity – hence the title of my latest book! Glamour cheers us all up, I think, sometimes just because it’s pretty and sometimes for reasons of schadenfreude. The lives of rich people and celebrities are so fascinating and often unintentionally hilarious too (Brad’s new beard, anyone? Mrs. Colin Firth’s ethically-sourced Oscars diamonds?). And the famous make extraordinary liaisons and mistakes – a certain Mr. T. Woods comes to mind – in the full glare of publicity. What’s not to like, if you’re a writer of contemporary romantic comedies, like me?
I like to research my novels as much as possible and pay particular attention to the settings. The devil is always in the detail and some wealthy people’s homes are just so funny. Not far from where I live in England is a very wealthy town full of rich footballers; the high street abounds with showrooms selling hundred-thousand dollar cars, interiors emporia selling diamante-studded curtain poles; menswear shops selling grey shiny suits with purple stitching around the buttonholes; womenswear shops ablaze with very tight shimmery dresses. But it’s in the charity shops where you get truth about this (literally) glittering lifestyle; below the almost-new celebrity biographies that people have thrown out are the other books they have been reading as well; Should I Stay or Go – Ways To Leave Your Husband; How To Lose A Stone In Seven Days; Hot Date – Be One, Get One; What Not To Wear.
It seems there’s a little pressure on, and that’s before you see the expensive women’s gymwear store and the physiotherapist practices all over town. You walk around a place like this for an hour and it’s almost impossible not to write a novel – the character; her clothes; her house; her cheating, flashily-dressed husband about to trade her in for the slinky Estonian au pair; her own affair with the sexy Spanish cyclist in head-to-foot Lycra that she met in the coffee shop are all walking about in front of you and it’s difficult not to sit down on the pavement and start Chapter One.
It was something like this that brought about Beautiful People – my fascination with what is behind the façade as much as the façade itself. Hope you enjoy it, anyway, and if you ever in the future come across a diamond-studded curtain pole in one of my novels, you’ll know where it came from!
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE by WENDY HOLDEN—IN STORES APRIL 2010!
A witty, utterly addictive novel from bestselling author Wendy Holden, Beautiful People is a tale wicked in its observations yet buoyant at its heart: an irresistible confection you’ll want to devour immediately.
Darcy—a struggling English rose actress when The Call comes from L.A. An Oscar-tastic director. A movie to make her famous. The hunkiest costar in Hollywood. So why doesn’t she want to go?
Belle—a size-zero film star but she’s in big, fat trouble. Hotter than the earth’s core a year ago, she’s now Tinseltown toast after her last film bombed. Can she get back to the big time?
Emma—a down-to-earth, down-on-her-luck nanny trying to weather London’s cutthroat childcare scene and celebrity mom whirlwinds. What will it take for her to get back in control of her own life?
Jet to London, Hollywood, and Italy; toss in a passionate star chef, a kindhearted paparazzo, and a reluctant male supermodel; and find Wendy Holden at her best—a smash international hit.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Holden (U.K.)  was a journalist on The Sunday Times, Tatler and The Mail on Sunday before becoming a full time author. She has now published nine novels, all top 10 bestsellers in the UK, and is married with two young children. Her novels include Farm Fatale (in US Stores from Sourcebooks Landmark in July 2010), Bad Heir Day (also coming to US stores from Sourcebooks Landmark in September 2010), Simply Divine, Gossip Hound, the Wives of Bath, The School for Husbands, Azur Like it, and Filthy Rich. For more information, please visit http://wendyholden.net/.
GIVEAWAY
Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks, I have two copies of Beautiful People to giveaway!

Contest will run until 5/1/2010.

RULES:
1. You must live in USA or Canada.  No P.O. Boxes.
2.  You must be a follower!
3.  Just leave a comment below on this post, with an email address for me to contact you in case you win!

GOOD LUCK!

WEEKLY CONTEST/GIVEAWAY

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Here is this weeks giveaway contest.
  At times, there will be more than one book, but most of the time I will be featuring a weekly giveaway of one book. For these giveaways, I will NOT contact you if you win.  I will announce the winner and you will have 48 hours to respond.  If I don’t hear from you.  the book will be passed to the next winner in line. 
Now here is the book(s) for this week and the rules will follow after the description:
USED HARDCOVER
FIRST SHE WAS WATCHED.

In this breathtaking new story from the astonishing imagination of James Patterson, a girl has to save herself from an army assembled just to capture her – and maybe save the planet while she’s at it.

THEN SHE WAS THREATENED.

Maximum Ride is a perfectly normal teenager who just happens to be able to fly, the result of an out-of-control genetic experiment. Max and the other members of the flock – five kids who share her remarkable ability – have been asked to aid a group of environmental scientists studying the effects of global warming. The expedition seems like a perfect combination of adventure, activism – and escaping government forces who are watching the flock all the time.

THIS IS HER FINAL WARNING.

But even in Antarctica, enduring in the harshest weather on our planet, Maximum Ride is an irresistible target in constant danger. For whoever controls her powers could also control the world…

GIVEAWAY RULES:

1. You must be a follower to enter.
2. Contest is only available to the USA.  
Sorry, but limited funds at this moment in time. 
This could change later.
3.  Leave a comment on this post.

OPTIONAL: 

4. Mention the contest on your blog for +1 extra entry.
(Please post the link in a separate comment to qualify.)
5.  Tweet about this contest for +1 extra entry. 
(Please post the link in a separate comment to qualify.)
6. Follow me on Twitter for +1 extra entry.
(Please post the link in a separate comment to qualify.)
7. Subscribe by email for +1 entry.
This contest is open until 5/03/2010 with the winner being announced on 5/04/2010.
GOOD LUCK!!