Review: Onyx (Lux, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx (Lux, #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication Date: August 14, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 366
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Paranormal Romance
Source: Bought it

Book Description from Goodreads: 
Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.
Something worse than the Arum has come to town…
The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Review:

     After the explosive events of Obsidian, Katy finds herself inexplicably attached to Daemon with an invisible tether; making their attraction undeniably hard to resist. But Katy fights him off - thinking that Daemon's feelings are just a result of the connection. It just makes Daemon more determined to show her that his feelings are true - which makes him all the more alluring. But as their connection morphs into something more - weird things start to happen to Katy and with the Department of Defense closing in on the site of their fireworks show in Obsidian and some new characters appearing in their dreamy little town the lines become blurred on who Katy can trust and what monumental secrets people are hiding. 

     I'm loving that Armentrout has continued with the Pepe and Sztella featured cover models and that these two have become the hallmark images for Daemon and Katy! 

     In keeping with Armentrout's trademark ability to create sexual tension between Katy and Daemon like no other we get a lot of teasing, a little smidgen of a reward and then we're left hanging with mouths open going that's it?! 

     Katy is still a bit miffed from how badly Daemon treated her in Obsidian, and that's fair - he was a major jerk, so she makes him work for it this time. The tension builds and builds until you just want to take Katy and push her and Daemon into a closet and have them just get it over with! But alas Armentrout keeps us on a roller coaster, and while it creates entertaining scenes and allows Katy to build a true relationship with Daemon I felt like it got dragged out a bit too long. 

     This indecision about Daemon made Katy a bit annoying and whiny, but she does eventually grow into this incredibly strong character later on that's going to be incredible to see in Opal! 

      Daemon in his determination to win Katy over is still at times a bit irritating, then a bit stalkerish and then it finally clicks in his head and he turns into this super adorable guy that will have you "aww"-ing and sighing. 

     I'm still loving Armentrout's upbeat writing filled with snarky humor, physics defying action and twists on seemingly innocuous characters that I couldn't see coming! We also get a little bit more insight into Daemon and the  collective Luxen's past as it catches up to them in the form of ghosts. The biggest thing was [HOLY SMOKES] what a cliffhanger ending, good thing the third book Opal is already out because I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

Overall: 4/5 Hot Cups of Tea

Delicious sexual tension meshed with the high stakes gamble of living a secret alien life in a town where nothing is as it appears - Onyx is a great sequel to Obsidian with Armentrout's highly addictive storytelling. If you haven't read the Lux series, or anything by Armentrout - do it! You'll become 'one of us...one of us...'

Tea Time Thursday: Oolong Tea: Happy Kombucha

Oolong Tea: Happy Kombucha

DAVIDsTEA

Ingredients: Oolong tea, pineapple cubes, mango cubes, mango, pineapple, Kombucha Powder, safflower petals, artificial flavouring.

     After a long hiatus I'm finally back to doing Tea Time Thursday, and I was lucky enough to get a few DAVIDsTea samples in the mail from Karen at For What It's Worth reviews and this first one that I decided to try was the perfect mid winter pick me up (it's been -30C/-22F for the past week *burrrr*). 

     I had no idea what Kombucha is...so I Googled it and came up with this explanation: a symbiotic relationship of Yeast and Bacteria that ferments in a sweetened tea - could be slightly alcoholic but then I came up with this conflicting search that it might actually be dried kelp which makes just as much sense. Either way I think these might turn normal people off this tea, but the good news is that it's DELICIOUS! If there is yeast/bacteria (which is likely probiotic and good for you anyways) or kelp I couldn't even tell that it was in there. 

     The Oolong's earthy bitter flavor is prominent but tempered by the sweetness of all the dried fruit. Together it kind of tastes like the Trident Wild Strawberry and Tangy Citrus Layers gum (I don't know why all these teas taste like some kind of gum to me, I chew a lot of gum apparently). No sugar is required (it's too sweet if you do) and it's much better hot than cold. Just be sure not too over-steep this tea or it will become bitter and leave that weird coating in your mouth from the tannins. 

Overall: 4/5 Hot Cups of Tea

This is delicious sipping tea that I don't think I'd ever get tired of, right up there with Pineapple Oolong.

David's Tea markets this as a hippy/hipster resurgence tea so...mellow out dudes?

     

99 Authors, 99 Books, 99 Cents Promo

These prices are available on Amazon only.

For a listing of books offered and to enter to win, click here!!

 

Teaser Tuesday (26): Release

Teaser Tuesday: Release

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

·Grab your current read 
·Open to a random page 
·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page 
·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Author: M.R. Merrick
Publication Date: December 10, 2012
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Paranormal
Description from Goodreads:
After uniting the shifters and calling in reinforcements, Chase has to face his toughest challenge yet: learning to control his emotions. But as tensions rise and his powers grow, controlling his emotions becomes the least of his problems.

Terrorized by a multi-shifter who is hell-bent on turning him, Chase questions just how far he’s willing to go to stop his father. Meanwhile, Tiki’s virtuous nature has placed him in the middle of Vincent’s past, leaving Chase to oppose a senate of vampires and defend a demon he hates.

Trying to balance his friends, his enemies, and his inner demons, Chase is left searching for answers about the Mark, his destiny, and where he can find the next soul piece. Stopping Riley is his top priority, but as more obstacles arise, he finds himself doubting all the decisions he’s made - especially regarding Rayna.

One thing is for certain: Chase has finally realized that he doesn’t know anything. The light doesn’t always quell the darkness, the monsters don’t always stay in the shadows, and the past doesn’t always stay in the past - sometimes, the demons inside are the hardest to fight.


Teaser:

     " "He wasn't going easy on me. He's kidding."
       Rayna nodded. "Sure."
       "No really, he was kidding, right?"
        Rayna laughed and followed after Marcus.
        "Rayna, don't play with me. Tell me he was joking." " (1% kindle ed.)


HEY EVERYONE! I'm back from Mexico! It was kind of a temperature shock going from +30C to -30C *burr* but I'm in full finals swing now, hopefully I can get back onto blogging track after that :D 

What'd you guys read this week? I feel so out of the loop, anything bookishly awesome happen? I'm still wading through a mountain of emails. Leave me a link in the comments so I can stop by!

And I still have a copy of Ghost Planet to give away - enter HERE

Waiting on Wednesday (25): Release by M.R. Merrick

Waiting on Wednesday (25): Release

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine to highlight upcoming eagerly anticipated book releases

Release (The Protector, #3) by M.R. Merrick
Expected Publication Date: December 10, 2012
Book Description from Goodreads:
After uniting the shifters and calling in reinforcements, Chase has to face his toughest challenge yet: learning to control his emotions. But as tensions rise and his powers grow, controlling his emotions becomes the least of his problems.

Terrorized by a multi-shifter who is hell-bent on turning him, Chase questions just how far he’s willing to go to stop his father. Meanwhile, Tiki’s virtuous nature has placed him in the middle of Vincent’s past, leaving Chase to oppose a senate of vampires and defend a demon he hates.

Trying to balance his friends, his enemies, and his inner demons, Chase is left searching for answers about the Mark, his destiny, and where he can find the next soul piece. Stopping Riley is his top priority, but as more obstacles arise, he finds himself doubting all the decisions he’s made - especially regarding Rayna.

One thing is for certain: Chase has finally realized that he doesn’t know anything. The light doesn’t always quell the darkness, the monsters don’t always stay in the shadows, and the past doesn’t always stay in the past - sometimes, the demons inside are the hardest to fight.


I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this, but I still love this series and therefore am excited for when everyone will get to experience it! I haven't gotten too far into it yet, but it's at the top of the list for my beach reading when I head to Mexico this weekend :D! 

What're you waiting for on this Wednesday? Leave me a link in the comments so I can stop by!

Also, I've got a giveaway of Ghost Planet going on HERE if you'd like to win a hardcopy of the book! 

Teaser Tuesday (25): A Monster Calls

Teaser Tuesday: A Monster Calls

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

·Grab your current read 
·Open to a random page 
·Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page 
·Be careful not to include any spoilers so as not to ruin the book for others.

Author: Patrick Ness
Publication Date: September 27, 2011
Publisher: Walker Books
Genre: All-Ages, Fantasy
Description from Goodreads:
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.




Teaser: 

     " "I wish I had a hundred years," she said, very quietly. "A hundred years I could give to you." 
       He didn't answer her. A few seconds later, the medicine had sent her to sleep, but it didn't matter.
        They'd had the the talk.
        There was nothing more to say. " 

I finished this book in one really late night sitting, and it was amazing, profound and I really wish my copy had the illustrations (I Googled them after) which were gorgeous! 

What're you guys reading this week? Leave me a link so I can stop by!

Also I'm hosting a giveaway for a hard copy of Ghost Planet by Sharon Fisher HERE if you'd like to enter!

Review: Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1) by Kresley Cole

Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1) by Kresley Cole

Author: Kresley Cole
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 369
Genre: YA, Post-Apocalypse, Romance, Fantasy
Source: Bought it

Summary from Goodreads: 
Sixteen year old Evangeline “Evie” Greene leads a charmed life, until she begins experiencing horrifying hallucinations. When an apocalyptic event decimates her Louisiana hometown, Evie realizes her hallucinations were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux.
But she can’t do either alone.
With his mile-long rap sheet, wicked grin, and bad attitude, Jack is like no boy Evie has ever known. Even though he once scorned her and everything she represented, he agrees to protect Evie on her quest. She knows she can’t totally depend on Jack. If he ever cast that wicked grin her way, could she possibly resist him?
Who can Evie trust?
As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophesy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of twenty-two teens has been chosen to reenact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it’s not always clear who is on which side….


Review:

     I've never read a book by Cole before and after reading her first foray into the YA realm, I'm going to have to go back for all those awesome adult sexy times in her Immortals After Dark series. 
  
     Cole capture's the reader's attention the first few pages in when we're introduced to the very shady character of Arthur as we read from his perspective on ensnaring the innocent and trusting Evie into his sadistic nest. I was genuinely afraid for Evie, but then it turns out Arthur likes a good story and so Evie takes us back to the beginning...

    Poison Princess is very much a compare and contrast book. Cole really uses this to drive home the point that Evie is completely out of her element. There was Evie's rich, comfortable life before "The Flash" that killed everything, and there was the desperate starving life after. The safe boring relationship she had before, and the all consuming hot blooded male that is Jack after. I loved these important milestones that Cole sets, they leave a scorching impression in your mind as you read and it gives a well rounded out perspective of each character. 

    Evie Greene is the apple of her successful mother's eye, and her life is going splendidly as the most popular girl at school with the rich hot boyfriend and devoted best friend. But then the visions started - horrifying depictions of burning, death and creatures that couldn't possibly be real - until her visions come true. When I first met Evie in the first few pages, I had pegged her as naive and darn near useless. This was pretty much confirmed by the time I got into the thick of it, so don't go in expecting a super strong kick-ass heroine. 
But surprisingly I didn't find her annoying. She acknowledges her weaknesses, and I have to give her credit for determination and always trying to do the right thing. She's always on this verge of becoming someone new, while fighting her old self. She hasn't quite grasped that it's a changed world, but she's learning and I loved watching how each trial leaves a mark on Evie's unblemished skin. 

     Jack Deveaux, the tough Cajun from the wrong side of the bayou is your classic bad boy that you love, hate and just want to see naked already. A lot of authors use accents in creating a character, usually just by stating it and using some phonetic words to get that accent going in your head. Cole takes it one step further and fully immerses the reader in Cajun French that just oozes old world charm and had me fanning myself every time Jack opened his mouth. Jack is constantly conflicted, which makes him hot and cold towards Evie depending on the situation. It's what drives the bad boy mentality in books, there's moments where I was cheering him on and he's logical, and then moments where he pulls some attitude out of left field and you just want to smack him. But you can always count on 'ole Jack. 

     Cole perfectly balances steamy romance, snippets of humour and visceral action with a unique lore revolving around Tarot cards. Admittedly, I didn't know much about Tarot cards or the symbolism of each card but by the end of this book I really wanted to learn more. Cole also paints a dismal wasteland world full of pillaging militia, hungry cannibals and a unique twist to zombies as Evie and Cole try to make their way to Evie's grandmother to figure out what's going on. Guided by visions and voices, Evie and Jack soon start accruing a little band of misfits. But it's not as simple as that when the pieces start clicking into place and the horrifying truth is revealed that this has all happened before....it's all happening again...and it's going to be down to the last one standing...

Overall: 4/5 Hot Cups of Tea!

I thoroughly enjoyed the Tarot card lore, the hot bad boy Jack and the magical elements that Cole manages to weave in. Cole does an excellent job with the tension building in the romance between Jack and Evie - but it got a little bit irksome when the same preconceptions kept driving a wedge between them. When we come full circle at the end, and I look at the beginning I have to do a slow clap here for Cole. It was an incredible ending that left me clamoring for the next installment! This book is like post apocalypse Survivor, X-Men style with a bit of The Hunger Games thrown in.

Stacking the Shelves (14): The Movie Dominated Version

Hosted by Tynga

      Okay, since I have minimal homework this week, I'm going to get some serious blogging done this weekend, and reading. I think I have 12 books on the go >.<

These Past Two Weeks at Tea And Text

• Movie Review: Skyfall <- My new favorite Bond movie!
• Exiled and Shift by M.R. Merrick Promo <- Go enter to win a copy of Shift!
• Ghost Planet Tour Stop <- Guest Post and Giveaway!
• Movie Review: Breaking Dawn Part 2 <- Amazeballs ending!

Bought:

• Deity (Covenant, #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout <- I forgot I preordered this, it was an awesome surprise :D
• The Evolution of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer, #2) by Michelle Hodkin
• The Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles, #1) by Kresley Cole <- I started this one already and it's super creepy so far!

For Review:

• Release (The Protector, #3) by M.R. Merrick <- I am loving Merrick's snark y and witty characters!
• Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles) by J.A. Souders 

And this weekend is insane sale shopping weekend, did any of you guys go out and brave the crowds? Get anything awesome? Share your link with me in the comments so I can swing by and see!

Movie Review: Breaking Dawn Part 2

It's FINALLY OVER: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Released: November 16, 2012

Director: Bill Condon

Writers: Melissa Rosenberg, Stephenie Meyer

Rating: PG-13

Starring: 
Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black
Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen
Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen
Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen
Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale
Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen
Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale 
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Mackenzie Foy as Renesmee
Michael Sheen as Aro





Synopsis: 
Continuing where Breaking Dawn Part 1 left off - Bella is now a vampire, happily married to Edward, with a new baby girl Renesmee. But a chance encounter with a neighbouring vampire Irina who thinks the baby is an illegally made immortal child sends their fairytale ending into a cataclysmic downward spiral as the Volturi converge on them to rectify the situation. But not all hope is lost as the Cullen clan race around the world to rally allies together to fight in this crucial battle that will decide the fate of the Cullens....How far are you willing to go to protect your family?

Review: 

     When I first read this book years ago, I knew it'd be an incredibly difficult story to try to adapt to the big screen. For one, after the bustle of living out the romantic fantasy wedding/honeymoon and the subsequent Alien-esque uterus busting birth not much happens. There really isn't any action scenes in the book that could keep the men of the audience engaged like the previous installments, so Meyer had to improvise and I have to say for the first time in this franchise I was extremely surprised and LOVED that twist ending! 

     I think I found it so enjoyable because it felt like the director knew that there were ridiculous aspects to this whole story and he just took it and RAN WITH IT. The movie knew when to make fun of itself and didn't try to take itself too seriously 3/4 of the time. There's so many puns, innuendo and corny moments that I just dare you to try and not laugh at it.    

     My first complaint would be the CGI baby, I know Renesmee is growing fast and I guess it was too hard to cast 4-5 different baby/children for the role. But really, it was like looking at Pixar movie that had awkwardly stumbled into the set - or the Ally McBeal dancing baby. 

For those non-90's kids.

     

     I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how well Kristen Stewart took to vampirism. She was gorgeous all the time with poise and grace mixed with motherly ferocity. I had a hard time remembering how awkward and slouchy she was before (I loved the little comment that Alice makes about this). She seemed much more confident in her role and it reflected in Bella how she was much more passionate with Edward - but I will never ever stop giggling at the sparkles and chimes used in their "climax". 

     Oh Edward Cullen, how far you've come. My is that a SMILE on your face? Are you LAUGHING? Say it isn't so! But it is! For once you're happy, and relaxed and it will surely make more fan girls swoon because you're actually making eye contact now, and not speaking through gritted teeth. But seriously, it was great to see Robert not have to be so stiff and constrained - it looked like he was genuinely having fun.

     Dear Taylor Lautner, we all know what your job on this movie is and we can always count on you for it. Please accept my apologies for joining in the cat calls while you shucked your clothing. But really Jacob's character was the ice breaker of the movie. His scenes are by far the most memorable and he dealt with all the pivotal stuff like facing Bella's wrath and stripping. 

     I can't say much for Mackenzie Foy as Renesmee, she's cute and all but she's got maybe a couple of lines and for the rest of the movie it's like a silent film with her because she communicates psychically. 

     The other vampires, however briefly we got to know them really stole the show. It was just such an eclectic mix from all over the world and I was really more interested in the mystery and intrigue that their back-stories would have provided than the situation at hand. 

     Oh the ending, it was so freaking EPIC. I won't ruin it for you. But the entire row of girls in front of me were screaming and rocking in their seats mumbling a prayer of "THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN IN THE BOOK!! AAAHHH THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN". It really didn't happen in the book, but I really wish Stephenie Meyer had written it in, cause that was a hell of a twist! 

Overall: 3/5 Cups of Drinkable Tea

You know you have to go see how this movie ends, and honestly I enjoyed it faaar more than all the others! Now to patiently wait for Stephenie Meyer's The Host, I just hope she'll at least continue that story - it was a pretty good one.

     

Ghost Planet Blog Tour

Hey all, today I'm hosting a tour stop for Ghost Planet by Sharon Lynn Fisher! 

I loved all the science and theory that goes into this story and I'm so happy that Sharon is stopping by today with a guest post to let us in on:

The Research and Theories of Ghost Planet

Don't forget to enter the giveaway at the end of the post!

Author: Sharon Lynn Fisher
Publication Date: October 30, 2012
Publisher: Tor Science Fiction
Genre: Science Fiction, Romance
Pages: 342
My Review HERE

Synopsis: 

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world - a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these “ghosts.” She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.

Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy - creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone - oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love - Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence.

But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet…a struggle that could separate her forever from the man she loves.

Guest Post: Solving the Mystery of Ghost Planet

My debut novel, GHOST PLANET, released three weeks ago. In that same time period I have probably written a guest post on just about every topic you can imagine. I was excited when Ann suggested this one, because it's something I haven't really covered yet.

In January 2008, I came up with the title of my book, and that’s all there was. The rest of the story was the result of noodling on what a planet with that name would be like.

As I sat down to write my first chapter, a conversation unfolded between my heroine (Elizabeth) and hero (Murphy) about the origin of the "ghosts" -- aliens that manifest in the form of dead loved ones, attaching themselves to colonists. This conversation was the beginning of character development for the planet itself. (For those who’ve read the book: In the final revised version, this conversation takes place later, between Elizabeth and Ian.)

While writing that first chapter, I made a key decision -- that my planet would not possess consciousness, which would make it very challenging for the characters (and for ME) to ever get at the truth of what it was up to. Without going into spoilers, the heroine makes a brilliant connection between something the colonists were doing when they arrived on the planet, and the manifestation of the ghost-aliens, which happened a few months later.

As I worked on the book, I read SYMBIOTIC PLANET, by biologist Lynn Margulis, who developed the groundbreaking theory of symbiogenesis. (She was also once married to Carl Sagan.) Her theory -- at first controversial but now widely accepted -- asserts that many species have made giant leaps in evolution due to symbiosis. It emphasizes collaboration between organisms, rather than competition. My favorite Margulis quote: "New tissues, organs, and new species evolve primarily through the long-lasting intimacy of strangers." Isn’t that wonderful?

The more I read about symbiosis and symbiogenesis, the more convinced I became it was the foundation of my novel. (Which readers of the novel may recognize as paralleling Elizabeth’s experience.) I wove it into every aspect, from the ghost/host relationships, to the effect these pairs had on the ecology, to the genesis of the planet itself. I loved the beauty and simplicity of it.

For those who haven’t read the book, I won’t spoil it by going further! But I will say I made a conscious decision not to answer every question readers might have. Some reviewers have taken issue with that, and that’s fair.

From my own perspective, what I hoped was that readers would feel the characters were on the right track. That once they had access to the right resources, they could begin to do true research. I also hoped readers would feel satisfied with the story’s conclusion, but find themselves still thinking about the planet, and how it might be different a decade or two later.

Do you have any favorite novels that kept you thinking and wondering, piecing things together long after you’d finished the book?

About the Author:

Sharon is a three time RWA Golden Heart finalist who lives in the Pacific Northwest and in her spare time loves to mountain bike, hike, "battle writerly angst with baked goods" and enjoys a good cup of Irish tea, champagne or craft beers. Her upcoming projects include ECHO 8 featuring an energy "vampire" from an alternate Earth and her third untitled work which is a post-apocalyptic biopunk romance about transgenic humans who are like a futuristic version of fae (<- coolest idea ever!)

You can find out more about Sharon here:

Website | Facebook | Twitter

You can find out more about Ghost Planet here:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Chapters/Indigo

Giveaway!

Huge thanks to TOR for providing a copy of Ghost Planet for one lucky winner! Enter in the Rafflecopter below (US/CAN ONLY) for a chance to win this awesome Sci-Fi romance! 

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Check out Exiled and Shift by M.R. Merrick!

Power Will Flourish

Lives Will be Lost

Nothing, Will be Forgotten

Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. 

Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. 

Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna - a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. In their attempt to stop them however, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble  ~ Goodreads ~ Smashwords

All Other Retail Outlets

Exiled Excerpt

The Protector Series

Goodreads

M.R. Merrick is a Canadian writer and author of The Protector Series, a Young Adult mash-up between Urban and Epic Fantasy. Having never traveled, he adventures to far off lands through his imagination and in between cups of coffee. As a music lover and proud breakfast enthusiast, he’s usually found at the computer between a pair of headphones and in front of a large bowl of cereal.

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

Giveaway

3 signed copies of SHIFT (Book two in The Protector Series) available to be won.

INTERNATIONAL.

All you need to do is fill out the Rafflecpter below!

Ends Dec 3rd

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Cold Nights and Warm Books Holiday Book Swap!

Guy's Emily and Enna are hosting an awesome holiday book swap! So bloggers sign up and share some book love!

This is a great opportunity to give some books to people who share your interests, and GET some books to add to your library! But it only works if lots of people sign. Up. You can sign up either at Emily's blog or Enna's blog. Sign ups are open until November 22nd.

SIGN UP TODAY!

Waiting on Wednesday (24): Revolution 19

Waiting on Wednesday (24): Revolution 19

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine to highlight upcoming eagerly anticipated book releases

Revolution 19 by Gregg Rosenblum
Expected Publication Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Book Description from Goodreads: 
Twenty years ago, the robots designed to fight our wars abandoned the battlefields. Then they turned their weapons on us.

Only a few escaped the robot revolution of 2071. Kevin, Nick, and Cass are lucky —they live with their parents in a secret human community in the woods. Then their village is detected and wiped out. Hopeful that other survivors have been captured by bots, the teens risk everything to save the only people they have left in the world—by infiltrating a city controlled by their greatest enemies.









I'm so excited for this one! It sounds like a Battlestar Galactica-esque kind of adventure. 

What're you guys waiting for on this Wednesday?