ECSTASY UNVEILED by Larissa Ione (BLOG TOUR and REVIEW)

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ECSTASY UNVEILED
Author: Larissa Ione
Source: Publisher
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
  • Publisher: Forever; Original edition (February 1, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0446556823
  • ISBN-13: 978-0446556828
SYNOPSIS:
A DEMON ENSLAVED
Lore is a Seminus half-breed demon who has been forced to act as his dark master’s assassin. Now to earn his freedom and save his sister’s life, he must complete one last kill. Powerful and ruthless, he’ll stop at nothing to carry out this deadly mission.

AN ANGEL TEMPTED
Idess is an earthbound angel with a wild side, sworn to protect the human Lore is targeting. She’s determined to thwart her wickedly handsome adversary by any means necessary-even if that means risking her vow of eternal chastity. But what begins as a simple seduction soon turns into a passion that leaves both angel and demon craving complete surrender.
Torn between duty and desire, Lore and Idess must join forces as they battle their attraction for each other. Because an enemy from the past is rising again-one hellbent on vengeance and unthinkable destruction.
MY THOUGHTS:
In this book, the author does an amazing job at detailing the scenery with wonderful writing that doesn’t go overboard.  You instantly have the picture in your head, and as the story moves along, it plays like a movie in your mind.  That is how wonderful this author brings her writing to life. 
She offers exciting plot twists and expands on the Demonica world without forgetting all the details in the process.  You will also get the romance, the suspense and the mystery that are all expected in this genre.  The author did a wonderful job with this book. 
The only drawback of it, in my opinion, is not to read it as a stand alone book.  I think if you haven’t read the first books in this series, you might be a little confused.  
MY RATING:



Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

ALPHATUDES: THE ALPHABET OF GRATITUDE by Michele Wahlder

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ALPHATUDES: THE ALPHABET OF GRATITUDE
Author: Michele Wahlder
Source: The Cadence Group
* I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*
  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Life Possibilities Publishing (January 15, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0982364504
  • ISBN-13: 978-0982364505
SYNOPSIS:

Alphatudes reveals that gratitude is the unexpected, simple secret of living a joyful life. In a world obsessed with negativity, we must deliberately choose to focus on the positive. Alphatudes uses your earliest grade school victory the ABCs to help you achieve a sustainable shift in thinking that leads to contentment, optimism and peace of mind. An alphatude is defined as: a person, place or thing for which one alphabetically expresses gratitude. Filled with vibrant illustrations, Alphatudes takes you on an inspiring 26-step journey where you ll discover how to: heighten your awareness of life s daily gifts; attract opportunities with a positive mind-set; find blessings in difficult situations; and become free from worry, negativity and resentment.

In honor of this extraordinary book, legendary recording artist Olivia Newton-John has graciously provided a free download of her beautiful song, Grace and Gratitude , with purchase. 
MY THOUGHTS:
This book had brilliant artwork and brilliant insights all the way throughout the book.  It features 26 lessons in the spiritual genre.  Its focus is on how we can use gratitude to understand the lessons it is explaining.  At the beginning of each lesson is a famous quote that were inspiring and goes with each letter.  A book that can be read all at once or spread out over days to get the maximum effect.  A simple book that packs a lot of lessons all in one.

MY RATING:



Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

WE THE CHILDREN by Andrew Clements

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WE THE CHILDREN
Part of KEEPERS OF THE SCHOOL Series
Author: Andrew Clements 
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Product Details

Atheneum, April 2010
Hardcover, 160 pages
ISBN-10: 1416938869
ISBN-13: 9781416938866
Ages: 7 – 10
Grades: 2 – 5
 
SYNOPSIS:
 
Benjamin Pratt’s school is about to become the site of a new amusement park. It sounds like a dream come true! But lately, Ben has been wondering if he’s going to like an amusement park in the middle of his town—with all the buses and traffic and eight dollar slices of pizza. It’s going to change everything. And, Ben is not so big on all the new changes in his life, like how his dad has moved out and started living in the marina on what used to be the “family” sailboat. Maybe it would be nice if the school just stayed as it is. He likes the school. Loves it, actually. It’s over 200 years old and sits right on the harbor. The playground has ocean breezes and the classrooms have million dollar views…MILLION DOLLAR views. And after a chance—and final—run-in with the school janitor, Ben starts to discover that these MILLION DOLLAR views have a lot to do with the deal to sell the school property. But, as much as the town wants to believe it, the school does not belong to the local government. It belongs to the CHILDREN and these children have the right to defend it!

Don’t think Ben, his friend Jill (and the tag-along Robert) can ruin a multimillion dollar real estate deal? Then you don’t know the history and the power of the Keepers of the School. A suspenseful six book series, book one, We the Children, starts the battle on land and on sea. It’s a race to keep the school from turning into a ticket booth and these kids are about to discover just how threatening a little knowledge can be.

MY THOUGHTS:
This was my first book by this author.  I had to keep making notes to myself that this was a younger teen book.  It was cute for the age level it is geared toward.  A great series for boys or girls.  Now, I read the ARC of this book, so not all of the artwork was determined yet.  What artwork there was. was well done and fit with the story.  I loved how the author stayed geared towards the younger group of readers out there.  I know younger teens have a hard time finding good books.  This series is well written and should get attention from alot of schools.  A great read for everyone though.
MY RATING:


Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

DEMONFIRE : THE DEMON SLAYERS by Kate Douglas (ARC)

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DEMONFIRE : THE DEMONSLAYERS
Author: Kate Douglas
Source: ARC submitted from the author
*I received this ARC/book free from the author in exchange for an honest review*
  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Zebra (February 23, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1420109995
  • ISBN-13: 978-1420109993
SYNOPSIS:
Newspaper reported Eddy Marks thinks she knows everything about her quite hometown. She couldn’t be more wrong. Turns out Evergreen, California, is the site of a vortex that allows demons to cross over to Earth, and the only one who can stop them is an unbelievably sexy fallen demon named Dax who has just crashed into Eddy’s life. 
MY THOUGHTS:
First of all, thank you Kate Douglas for giving us a new spin on Paranormal Romance.  After all the vampire, werewolf, and fallen angel books that are out there, this was a great new spin on this genre. 
In Demonfire, we get to read about Fallen Demons!  Are you thinking how is that possibly going to work as a hero of a book?  Well, sometimes demons are tired of being evil too. Sometimes they know there is more than just being mean and killing things.  Enter Dax, our main character of this book.  I enjoyed is soft side and his experiences of firsts throughout the whole book.  I loved his interaction with all the characters and his discovery of love for Eddy.  The romance was beautifully written.  When the steamy scenes did arrive, they were sweet and tender, not get-it-on and dirty.  You could actually feel the love of the characters coming off the page as they made love.  
The only drawbacks I had for this book were how the story progressed.  The same battle kept happening with the same outcome.  Then when the final battle came to a head,  it was over in no time!  I would have liked it better if the battles would have progressed with more speed and the last battle would have meant more and had more bang to it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book.  I will definitely be looking for the next book in this series so I can see what happens to the gang next! Well done Ms. Douglas for bringing Paranormal Romance and Suspense back with a twist!
MY RATING:



Very Good! Worth Spending Your Money on!

Q&A Judi Fennell and Giveaway!

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Today on My Overstuffed Bookshelf, author Judi Fennell is here to answer some questions for all of us.  She is the author of the wonderful stories Catch of A Lifetime, Wild Blue Under and In Over Her Head.  Each story is a wonderful paranormal romance based under the sea!  Following the Q&A,  there is also a giveaway of Catch of A Lifetime that Sourcebooks was generous enough to donate!  So let’s get started!
Thank you so much for joining us Judi let’s get to it! 
1. To start off, can you tell the readers a little about yourself?
Sure, and thanks so much for having me!
I’ve always written. Ever since I can remember. I’ve also always been a voracious reader and I’m finding that the two go hand-in-hand the more authors I meet. I gave a writing career a brief thought in college, but listened to my parents when they said, “It’s not possible.” Silly me. That’s why I don’t mind the hours writing takes from my family life – it’s my full time job now and my kids are seeing that dreams can come true. I want them to make theirs happen.
2. Can you tell us a little about your new or current releases?
Catch of a Lifetime, out this month, is the third—but hopefully not the last—in my Mer series. This is the story of Mer princess Angel Tritone, the middle younger sister, who is fascinated by all things Human. Including Logan Hardington, a man who wants nothing more than Normal in his life. Sadly for him, a Mer(maid) is as far from Normal as he can get.
Next up is a genie series, launching in January 2011. It was pitched to my editor as “I Dream of Jeannie meets Indiana Jones.” I had a blast writing that first story and am working on the second. It has all the adventure, chatty characters and humor of the Mer series, only this time there are flying carpets and magic.
3. How did you come up with the idea of Mermen?
I’d been writing a series of twists on fairy tales (Cinda Bella, Beauty and The Best, Fairest of Them All) and figured I’d try to twist The Little Mermaid. The easiest way to twist that was to make him the Mer. Voila! Reel was born. It wasn’t until the heroine, Erica, met him that I learned he had a twin brother named Rod. From there, the family and the world fell into place.
4. When you’re not writing, what kind of books do you like to read? Do you have any favorite authors that are must reads?
My writing time is limited these days, due to the demands of my writing schedule and real life, so the first ones I grab for are other paranormals (Virginia Kantra, Joey Hill, Stephanie Julian), but I read just about anything. I love historical (Julia Quinn is a must-read, and I still re-read Jill Barnett’s Bewitching!), Romantic Suspense (Roxanne St. Claire, Allison Brennan, Jordan Dane, Cindy Gerard), Contemporaries (Diana Holquist, Robin Kaye)… The lists go on and on. One incredible benefit of being in this career is getting to know these great writers personally.
5. What are 3 things that are “must haves” for you when you sit down to write a new book?
Besides my laptop? LOL.
I need quiet or white noise. I can’t immerse myself in the story if there are distractions. For example, I can’t write with music that I can sing to. It just doesn’t work. I’ve got a playlist that’s a mixture of classical and new age, all instrumental. I also have another playlist of nature sounds. Writing the Mer series, I listened to a lot of waves hitting the beach and dolphin/whale-song.
I need a clean workspace. I can’t work if there’s clutter. I know, the sign of a sick mind is a clean desk, but there you have it. If there’s too much mess where I’m working, I either have to clean it up (yeah, right) or I go to my office and lock the door.
I need a water bottle. I have no idea why, but I get really thirsty when I write. And I never noticed until I had to come up with the answer to this question.
6. Do you have a blog or website that your readers can keep up with you and your books?
My website is www.JudiFennell.com and I’ve got deleted scenes on there, excerpts, reviews, and some pictures of hot cover models from conventions I’ve attended, as well as a chance to win a romantic beach getaway at the Hibiscus House B&B (www.HibiscusHouse.com) in West Palm Beach, Fl. The drawing is February 28, 2010.
My blog is www.JudiFennell.wordpress.com, and on March 25, I’ll, once again, host a Golden Heart/Rita Nominee Announcement party. Feel free to stop by and “squee” with your favorite authors as their names are announced.
7. List your favorite:
fast food spot- Taco Bell
perfume- White Shoulders
song- That’s What Friends Are For – our wedding song
car- Mercedes 450 SL
MerMan– my husband at the beach J
Thank you for visiting with us today!
              Thanks for having me!
GIVEAWAY:
Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks, I have 2 copies of Catch of A Lifetime by Judi Fennell to give to 2 lucky people! Here are the rules:
1. You must be a follower of my blog! ( I will be checking)
2. Leave a comment on this post with your email address so I can contact you.
3. You must live in USA or Canada.  No PO Boxes.  

Contest will run until 2/6/2010 with the winners being announced on 2/7/2010.  
GOOD LUCK!