Showing posts with label angels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label angels. Show all posts

Monday, January 16, 2017

Review: LUCIAN DIVINE by Renee Carlino






LUCIAN DIVINE
by Renee Carlino
Publication Date: January 9, 2017
Pages: 260
Source: InkSlingerPR
Purchase







Synopsis


“My guardian angel is a drunk.”
Evelyn Casey's life is at a standstill. She's in her mid-twenties, struggling with the dating scene in San Francisco. Nothing seems to be working out, and she’s starting to think that she’ll live out her days in her crummy apartment with her overbearing roommate, Brooklyn. It's absurd, but sometimes Evey longs for a guardian angel to show up and save the day.
And then he does. Seriously. His name is Lucian and he's a guardian angel, been on the job for two thousand years. His sudden presence in her life is both good—he's brilliant, witty, and warm—and bad—he's brilliant, witty, warm, and hot as ----. But as perfect as Lucian seems, he’s got problems of his own. He’s taken up drinking and he’s brazenly inserted himself into Evey’s life, going against the greatest cosmic law ever created.
For Evey, the rules are simple: You are not allowed to hook up with your guardian angel. But sometimes fulfilling your destiny requires a leap of faith, a confrontation with God.


Yes, God as in God.


My Thoughts

LUCIAN DIVINE is only the second book that I've read by Renee Carlino, SWEAR ON THIS LIFE being the first, but I already know that I will read all of them. I love her style of writing and the wit and humor and enjoy her stories of connection. 

What I liked:

  • The interactions between Lucian and the other guardian angels. They had lives of their own.
  • The Star Wars bar. It sounded like a fun place to have a drink.
  • And this quote: "In the Bay Area, everything is expensive, especially being young." It made me laugh out loud.


There were a few instances when Lucian gave off the creepy vibe for always watching over Evey, but I had to remember that he was her guardian angel, that is exactly what he was supposed to be doing. And some of the ways he helped her were endearing. His love was evident.

It wasn't always fun and games between Evey and Lucian and they were crossing a very distinct line by being together. And even though they weren't always sure of the consequences of their actions, they were willing to take this life-altering chance. Their love was worth the risk.

LUCIAN DIVINE was extremely enjoyable. Sometimes it was a little "out there", but it certainly was a page-turner. I'd never really thought much about guardian angels. But after reading all of the little ways Lucian helped Evey throughout her life, and then thinking of ways things could have gone differently in my own life, it nice to imagine that I could have had someone watching out for me too. 



Disclaimer:  I received this e-ARC from InkSlingerPR.  I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.






ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Renée Carlino is a screenwriter and bestselling author of contemporary women's novels and new adult fiction. Her books have been featured in national publications, including USA TODAY, Huffington Post, Latina magazine, and Publisher's Weekly. She lives in Southern California with her husband, two sons, and their sweet dog June. When she's not at the beach with her boys or working on her next project, she likes to spend her time reading, going to concerts, and eating dark chocolate. Learn more at www.reneecarlino.com


Monday, January 12, 2015

EMBERS by Karen Ann Hopkins: Review and Giveaway





EMBERS

(The Wings of War #1) 
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Pages: 357
Purchase: Amazon 











Synopsis 

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evils rises.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about a seventeen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage, and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two teenagers who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the young men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war, one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil, and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.

My Thoughts

If you regularly follow my blog, you'll know that I've reviewed all of Karen's published books and jump at the chance to share them with readers. When I discovered that she was starting a new young adult series, I knew immediately that I would read it. I love her stories and the obstacles she places between her main characters. Embers, The Wings of War, is a story about angels and the continuing struggle between good and evil. There is action, adventure, drama, moments of intense horror, and forbidden love.

Going in reading Embers and knowing it is a series, I expected a lot of back story and world building and it was there. I got just enough detail to keep it interesting, but not too much detail that it was overwhelming or distracted from the story. There were a lot of characters introduced and each played their own role in the story. There were situations in the story that reminded me of Twilight (I know there are other books to compare it to, but Twilight is what I initially thought of, and hey, I like Twilight so this is a good thing), especially the histories of the older characters and how their lives influenced what was happening in the current day. 

Embers is a very action driven story. We meet Ember and she is thrust into this new life living with her aunt, going to a new school (for the first time), and she learns that she has powers that she never knew she possessed. She seems to take it all in stride, until she meets the boy from her dream, Sawyer. There is an immediate curiosity which becomes attraction. I wouldn't call it insta-love, because whatever is there, it is a part of them, and it can't be fought.  

The moments between Ember and Sawyer were intense. Sometimes smoldering (read the story and you will understand the pun). I got to see glimpses of who they were, but I wanted to know more about them. I wanted more moments between them when they weren't overwhelmed by the dangerous drama of their lives. I hope that there are more of those "normal" interactions between them in the next book.

There are some unanswered questions (as with any first book of a series), but Embers doesn't end with a major cliffhanger. I know that there is more to the story and expected it to end with an introduction to a new element to the story. And I can say that it makes me wish I had the next book in the series IN MY HANDS RIGHT NOW!  I can't wait to find out what happens!!

Disclaimer:  I received this e-ARC from Kismet Book Touring in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any way other than the e-ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
 
Giveaway Details:
Prize: e-book copy of Embers by Karen Ann Hopkins
Five winners will be selected
Must be at least 16 years old to enter
Enter by Rafflecopter below 
 
 
 

Friday, October 31, 2014

EMBERS by Karen Ann Hopkins - Tour Stop and Giveaway


I'm really thrilled to be able to share Karen Ann Hopkins's newest book with you, EMBERS, the first book of The Wings of War series. Karen writes fantastic stories with complex characters and this one is sure to be a hit. I've started reading Embers and let me just say, the opening is filled with so much tension and suspense, that I can't read it fast enough. I'll have my review posted very soon.



EMBERS
(The Wings of War #1)
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
Pages: 357
Purchase: Amazon 


Synopsis

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evils rises.

Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about a seventeen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage, and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two teenagers who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the young men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war, one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil, and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.

Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.


 
About Karen Ann Hopkins:

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.


 Enter for a chance to win Karen's books!!

There are several giveaways accompanying this tour. One winner will receive a $100 gift card, another will receive a signed Temptation Series book set, including Temptation, Belonging & Forever, and ten lucky winners will receive an eCopy of EMBERS!

Please enter via the Rafflecopter form. Giveaway is open internationally for the gift card and eCopies and US/Canada for the book set! 


Complete Tour
hosted by Kismet Book Touring
Make sure to stop by and find out what other readers are saying about EMBERS  
Monday, October 20th Unabridged Bookshelf & Book Briefs 
Wednesday, October 22nd Sweet Southern Home & Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews 
Friday, October 24th A Dream Within A Dream & Becoming Books 

Monday, October 27th The Avid Reader & Lost in Ever After 
Tuesday, October 28th Lose Time Reading & So Bookalicious 
Wednesday, October 29th Such a Novel Idea & Reading Addict 
Thursday, October 30th Curling Up With A Good Book & Coming at YA 

Monday, November 3rd GenGen's Book Blog & A Bookish Escape 
Tuesday, November 4th Sassy Book Lovers & Bittersweet Enchantment 
Wednesday, November 5th Nay's Pink Bookshelf & The Nocturnal Library 

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

EMBERS by Karen Ann Hopkins: Cover Reveal and Giveaway

Cover Reveal

Embers by Karen Ann Hopkins


Embers
Series: The Wings of War (book #1)
by Karen Ann Hopkins
Publication Date: October 21, 2014
430 Pages
 

There are descendants of angels walking among us. Ember is one of them. And she may be the only hope mankind has as the rapture approaches and evil rises.
Embers is an epic paranormal adventure about an eighteen year old girl who discovers that she's immune to fire and any other injury when she’s in a horrific car crash that kills her parents. Following a violent episode with her aunt's boyfriend, Ember flees Ohio to live with an old relative in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Ember's exuberance at escaping a bad home life soon turns to trepidation when she finds out that she's a Watcher, a descendant of angels. While Ember learns about her heritage and the powers that go along with it, she strikes up friendships with two young men who live in a frightening walled compound in the forest. Inexplicitly drawn to one of the men in particular, an impossible romance develops. But it is cut short when Ember discovers that her new friends are fighting on the opposite side of a war—one that’s been raging between two factions of Watchers for thousands of years. When the compound’s inhabitants threaten the townspeople, Ember takes action, sealing her fate in the ancient battle of good versus evil—and the grayness in between. Ember is up to the challenge, until she realizes that she isn’t only fighting for the lives of the locals and the souls of her new friends. She also might be one of the few champions who will make a stand for all of mankind as the rapture approaches and the end of days begin.
Embers is a dark and gritty YA novel that’s the first book in the series, The Wings of War.

Now Read an Excerpt from The Wings of War
            “How can this be?  My hands were closer to the flame than yours, yet mine are all right, and yours are ruined.”  I was confused and weak, yet I was still trying to think rationally.  “I need to get you to a hospital.”
            “My dear child, I know this is going to be difficult for you to accept.  You have been conditioned your entire life to not believe the things I’m about to tell you, but the truth is in front of you.  You can’t deny it now.”  Aunt Ila paused and wrinkled her nose as if she was in pain, but she continued to talk.
“The fire can’t harm you, because it’s inside of you.  It’s part of your essence, your soul. Of course you know that humans are made up of water, bones, tissue and organs.  And you have all those things in your body, but the fire is in there too, just hiding.  But it is in there just the same.”  She poked her bloody finger into my belly. “That’s why you weren’t injured during that horrible accident.  All the others had to try to explain it away somehow, but you knew the truth in your heart all along.  You just couldn’t face it or didn’t know how to.  You were in the fire and the only thing it did was make you stronger.  You are what you are and you can’t deny it.”
            Her voice was soft, yet it boomed in my head. 
 In a shaky voice I asked her, “What am I?”
            “A Watcher, my dear—you are a Watcher.”


Karen is generously offering up a $25 Amazon gift card to one lucky winner! 
To enter, please click the link and fill out the Rafflecopter form.
Go to Rafflecopter


About Karen Ann Hopkins 


Blog | Goodreads | Facebook

  A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.





I am participating in this cover reveal hosted by:


Friday, May 16, 2014

Review: The A-Word by Joy Preble

http://sohopress.com/the-a-word-blog-tour/





The A-Word
A Sweet Dead Life Novel
by Joy Preble
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
Published by Soho Teen
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher for Review
Purchase Amazon / Indiebound









from Goodreads

Jenna Samuels is about to turn fifteen. It's been almost a year since her stoner brother, Casey, bit the dust. Almost a year since he returned as her guardian angel, along with his "angel boss," Amber Velasco, the hot twenty-something former EMT. Almost a year since Casey and Amber used up their one-time-only angel power of flight to save Jenna from the evil Dr. Renfroe, swooping down to catch her as she tumbled off the balcony at the Houston Galleria. In short, a lot of A-word shenanigans and a mostly happy ending.

Except now Casey's begun to wonder why he's still hanging around—not that he minds protecting Jenna. She's a handful, but there's got to be a bigger picture, right? Something to distract him from his on again/off again, doomed relationship with cheerleader Lanie Phelps, who has no idea her boyfriend is, well, dead. After all, he can't use his angel wings anymore. Neither can Amber.

Enter Bo Shivers, Amber's "angel boss"—a mysterious A-word guy Jenna and Casey didn't even know existed. Whiskey-guzzling. Handsome in a grizzled way. Unpredictable. Okay, make that crazy. Bo lost his angel wings in an earthly flight a long, long, long time back—and he's been a thorn in Angel Management's side ever since. But Bo knows something is coming. Something big. Something that was worth forfeiting wings for Jenna... something that might just change everything for everyone.


My Thoughts

I signed up to participate in The A-Word tour because I'm always enjoy discovering new authors. I had not read any of Joy's books before, and this one sounded like it would be really entertaining. It was after I had been accepted to participate in the tour that I realized it was the second book in a series. I was so worried that I needed to read the first book to understand the background and what was going on. Thankfully when I did start reading The A-Word, it gave me enough background to catch-up and know what was going on and it can be read as a stand-alone.

The A-Word was an all out hilarious read. Jenna is a character that has a wicked sense of humor and I looked forward to reading whatever would come out of mouth next. She tells her story journal-style which helps move the pacing along and "catches" the reader up on things they might have missed. I liked this style of storytelling.

Some of my favorite moments were between Jenna and her brother, Casey. Their sibling banter was entertaining because they would give each other a hard time,  but you could tell there was so much love between them. I enjoy reading stories about siblings, and this one was made even more special because of Casey's role as Jenna's Guardian Angel. It wasn't the obligation that he felt to protect her, but there was an immense amount of pressure from it too. 

I enjoyed the mysterious parts of The A-Word as well. Why were these angels keeping all of these secrets from each other and why don't they know the sources of their powers? What is the larger power at hand? And when Jenna gets in the mix of it all, how can they keep it from her? The thing is, they can't - she's a curious girl and wants to figure it out and that is what made The A-Word enjoyable and entertaining.

I'm happy to have discovered this book and this new-to-me author. Liking the book so much and Joy's style of storytelling and her characters, I must go back and read the first book in the series, The Sweet Dead Life.



Disclaimer:  I received this ARC from Soho Press in exchange for my honest review.  I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

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