Obsessed With Covers #24: Down With The Shine, Ghost On The Lake

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

So, here are the prettiest covers I've seen this week.

I love, love, love this cover. I love the smoky drink/potion, which reminds me of home-made drinks. Then there are the stars in the background. I find it very interesting that the stars are sort of coming out of the potion's smoke. Makes me wonder exactly what does the drink do. Also, there are shadows on the sky surrounding the jar, but again, the jar is lit up. I must own this book based just on the cover.







Down with the Shine - Kare Karyus Quinn

This cover is gorgeous. If it were a painting, I'd hang it up above my bookshelves. The fact that we're seeing the lake from the bottom is amazing. And I love that the person is looking down. If this is part of a series, I'd love for the next cover to be from the person's perspective, see what they see at the bottom of the lake.

Ghost on the Lake - Alex Alexander

Book Review Tour + Excerpt: Servicing The Target by Cherise Sinclair (+18)

 

Author: Cherise Sinclair

Series: Masters of the Shadowlands #10
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: July 28th 2015
My Rating: 5 cups
Source: InkSlingerPR
Blurb (from Goodreads):

A discharged Army Ranger, Ben considers his job as a BDSM club security guard to be an excellent hobby. He’s never been tempted to join in. But everything changes when the notorious Mistress Anne inadvertently reveals the caring heart concealed beneath her Domme armor.

Now, he’s set his sights on the beautiful Shadowlands Mistress. Maybe he’d considered himself vanilla, but she can put her stiletto on his chest any day, any time. He’ll trust her delicate hands to hold his heart. And if she wants to whip his ass on the way to an outstanding climax, he’s just fine with that too.

Sure, he knows she likes “pretty boy” slaves. And he’s older. Craggy and rough. And six-five. Minor hindrances. The mission is a go.

Buy Links:  Amazon ** iTunes ** GooglePlay ** Barnes & Noble ** Kobo ** ARe


*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If there's one author not afraid of taking her readers into a new world with each book and making sure that they not only are going to learn something new about the world she's creating and about themselves,but also have a great time reading the story, that author is Cherise Sinclair. With each book of hers that I read I am in awe of how many new things and situations and relationships she's introduced me to and how she makes sure that even though the reader might be new and scared, they will at least get a new perspective on the BDSM lifestyle and culture.

Mistress Anne went from being the scary, sadist Domme everyone feared to being someone that I'd truly love to have a conversation with and maybe even be her friend. She's a really interesting character and seeing her both as a woman and as a domme was really interesting. The two roles fit her so well and made her character seem so real and complete. And I liked her artistic side. It made her look even more different than what I first thought of her.

Ben was a surprise. I did not see that one coming. When the news that Ben was going to be Anne's partner hit I didn't see it. I couldn't. I was so used to him being the quiet guy at the entrance, I never for a minute imagined he was going to be the man he turned out to be. Hearing both of their stories made me fall in love with these characters, because it was easy to see why they fit together so well. Not just because of their pasts, but also because they work so well together.

Old characters also appear in this book and it was nice to get updates on them. I can't wait to see who's next to find his/her match.

When I first heard that Mistress Anne was getting her own book I was a bit scared, to be honest. But after having read her and Ben's story  I have the confirmation yet again of why I love Sinclair's books so much.

EXCERPT

     Lifting her sax, she wetted the reed and tested a wandering set of notes. With one hip on the railing, she let her internal playlist scroll and found herself playing “As Time Goes By.” Like a soft rain, the notes spilled over her deck and joined with the evening. A slow song, but not sad. It reminded her that the fundamentals of life, living and loving and dying, held the same from generation to generation.
That life could change for the better.
     She was changing, as was her world. Or maybe she should call it growing, rather than changing.
     As the tune went into the chorus, she heard Ben say something to Bronx in the kitchen. The dog whined an answer, and Ben’s big laugh rumbled out.
     He was quite a guy. He’d been so careful with her this afternoon. Not pushing, but not stopping before he’d made his point.
     Sometimes his internal strength was a bit disconcerting. All her slaves had wanted her in charge, wanted her to take control of everything. But Ben didn’t need her guidance.
     At the same time, he wouldn’t fall apart if she showed any weakness, and because of that, she could relax around him.
     But his obstinate need to be tough—to hide any weakness—was a problem. She should have noticed he was having flashbacks. But now she knew, and she could lead him to talk about his past. She’d pamper him up, keep him close, and ensure he got his sleep. He said he slept better at her house. With her.
     He liked being with her. The realization was…amazing. Overwhelming.
     She felt the same and more. He’d filled her life. Warmed it.
     With a slow flourish, she ended the song and started another. One that had been growing in her heart over the past week, with the knowledge, the worry, the awe.“When I Fall in Love.” The music flowed, the ache of her soul merging with the notes.
     She’d wanted to run. To push him away. And she hadn’t.
     Ben, I love you.
     The knowledge was terrifying and wonderful. For a little while yet, she’d savor the gift, and then she’d share.
     Light washed out over the deck, and he stood there, filling the doorway as completely as he did her heart. “I was listening to you play.”
     His golden-brown eyes held hers as he slowly smiled. “Mistress, may this submissive haul you off to bed?”

ABOUT CHERISE SINCLAIR:

Having to wear glasses in elementary school can scar a person for life.


Dubbed a nerd at an early age, Cherise Sinclair has been trying to live up to the stereotype ever since. And what better way than being an author?

Known for writing deeply emotional stories, the USA Today Bestselling Author has penned sixteen erotic romance novels, most with a BDSM theme. (Please do not mention the phrase mommy porn in her presence.) Her awards range from a National Leather Award to a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice nomination to a GoodReads BDSM group award for best author of the year.

Cherise lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. Their two fledglings have left the nest recently to try their wings and hopefully will fly high and strong. The “ascendant erotica queen” (Rolling Stone Magazine) now spends her days writing with occasional supervision from a sadistic calico cat.

Website**Facebook**Twitter**Author Goodreads**Novel Goodreads**1001 Dark Nights

Book Review: Confessions Of A Virgin Sex Columnist! by Kay Marie

Author: Kay Marie
Series: Confessions #1
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: May 18th 2015
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Netgalley
Blurb (from Goodreads):

From bestselling author Kaitlyn Davis, writing as Kay Marie, comes a new adult romantic comedy about a girl who'll soon discover that some secrets can't be kept forever, especially those of the heart.

My name is Skylar Quinn. I just moved to New York with my best friend Bridget, and I have a confession. Well, more than one. Okay, quite a few really. Fine, here goes!

Confession #1: I'm a sex columnist. Hold on, that's not really the confession. You see, I'm sort of a virgin...sex columnist.

Confession #2: I'm kind of in love with Bridget's older brother, Oliver. No, I was. No, I am. Wait, was? Am? Crap.

Confession #3: I've been avoiding Oliver for four years. Or I was until today, because he just moved in. Yes, you read that correctly. He's my new roommate. So that night we've both been pretending never happened, well, we might not be able to keep it a secret any longer.

And trust me, this is only the beginning.

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley and Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review


I stumbled across this book a few weeks ago on one of my bookish hunts on Netgalley. I am very happy I took a chance on this book, because I really enjoyed reading it.

Skylar was an easy character to like. She rambles a lot and she's really shy and slightly awkward. It was also really easy to relate to her. There's this moment in the book where she explains to herself and the audience why she's still a virgin and I loved that scene. She freaked out a lot, usually because of nothing. While some might find that annoying, I snorted at one point, because in a way I'm the same way. So it was really easy to understand her freak-outs. I loved that at a certain point she gave Oliver a taste of his own medicine. That was a cool scene. Also, karaoke scene! I loooove when I read karaoke scenes. Since I'm a chicken, I never do karaoke, so it's great to live vicariously through characters.

Ollie wasn't what I expected. At first he seemed a bit immature, to be honest. I also thought it was kind of strange that he started paying attention to Skye once she started her new job and started dating someone. I was rooting for the other guy, to be honest. I did understand in a way what he did four years prior. Not the way he did it, but his reasons.

Something that I loved a lot were the confessions. They were presented at the start of each chapter, and it was such a cool way to mark new chapters. It felt like each chapter was in itself a confession.

The ending surprised me a lot. I did not expect a cliffhanger. I am curious what happens next, so I'll definitely be on the lookout for when the next book comes out.

Wednesday Chatter #9: How Blogging Changed Me

Wednesday Chatter is a weekly feature at Ruby's Books where we'll be talking about anything and everything related to books and reading. Click here if you want to see what we talked about in the previous weeks


WARNING: Some bad words might be used in the following post. Don't say I didn't warn you!

 

Hey guys! Happy Wednesday! I thought I'd get a little personal with today's topic and I figure since I've seen so many other bloggers do this, why not do it as well? Especially since I just noticed my blog is 5 years , 5 months and 1 day old (I counted, I'm a geek).

Before starting this blog I never would've contemplated writing a semi-intelligent sounding formal email to any publisher. Ever. Even having to write something to my teachers sounded terrifying. I was just about to finish college and I was super, super shy. Now, I'm still very shy, but at least I've learned to sound confident and smart in an email. And I've emailed to publishers. And agents. Which brings me to how this affected my real-life self. I've learned how to write that formal email. I probably would've done it eventually, but blogging helped A LOT.

Pre-blogging days meant no written English exercise from this girl. I understood the language, I even could've convince someone that I can speak it. But to write a full text in English? HA. HAHA. No. I would've been able to write a few sentences, but definitely not a full text. Now, thanks to this blog (*virtual hug to blog*) I'm writing my thesis in English. And I'm doing a damn fine job at it. And that's not me saying it, that's my teacher. So yey *pats self on the back*

I also didn't have any friends with similar book interests before. I realized fast before having this blog that I may be alone in my love of vampire romance, chick lit and fantasy. I used to have no one to talk to about these books. Back then, even reading was a solitary activity. Sure, I had my mom who I convinced to share my love for Marc Levy and we used to read Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampires Mysteries books together, but still, there were tons of other books that she didn't enjoy that I did. Now I have tons of people to talk to about these books. Even better, I have people that can recommend me similar books. Or other books that they enjoyed and that I might as well. Not to mention the fact that I increased my reading rate a lot ever since I started book blogging.

All of these changes are good, however I still have tons of stuff left that need to change:

• better organization;
• ditch the "oh god, what if this post sounds like crap" fear. This one is still present, people. You wouldn't believe the number of posts I've written that I've later deleted because they sounded bad or controversial or just plain stupid. I have this issue with lack of confidence;
• be more social. This one is difficult not only because I'm shy and a nervous wreck when it comes to approaching people I don't know (if we know each other, you know that I'll have absolutely no issue with bugging you to talk about whatever), but also because of the different time zones. I live in Europe and when I get on Twitter I'm either way too early for most people, or way too late. I also always miss the fun stuff and chats. 

There are probably a lot more stuff that I need to deal with, but it's a start, right?

Let's talk: How did blogging change you? Did it affect you on a personal or professional level?

Release Blitz: Every Last Breath by Jennifer L. Armentrout

The Epic Finale in Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Dark Elements Series...Who Will She Choose?  

Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust. Don't miss the conclusion to this stunning Young Adult Paranormal series filled with danger and romance published by HarlequinTEEN.  

Grab your copy today!  

 Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** IndieBound ** Kobo ** BAM<   

  EVERY LAST BREATH Synopsis:

Some loves will last ‘til your dying breath Every choice has consequences—but seventeen-year-old Layla faces tougher choices than most. Light or darkness. Wickedly sexy demon prince Roth, or Zayne, the gorgeous, protective Warden she never thought could be hers. Hardest of all, Layla has to decide which side of herself to trust.

Layla has a new problem, too. A Lilin—the deadliest of demons—has been unleashed, wreaking havoc on those around her…including her best friend. To keep Sam from a fate much, much worse than death, Layla must strike a deal with the enemy while saving her city—and her race—from destruction.

Torn between two worlds and two different boys, Layla has no certainties, least of all survival, especially when an old bargain comes back to haunt them all. But sometimes, when secrets are everywhere and the truth seems unknowable, you have to listen to your heart, pick a side—and then fight like hell…

Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** IndieBound ** Kobo ** BAM

EXCERPT 

          Roth cleared his throat. “Shortie, look…look at your hand.”
          Look at my hand? Why in the world would he be asking me to do that in the midst of all the cray?
          “Do it,” he said quietly and too gently.
          The dread exploded in my gut like buckshot, and my gaze dropped to my left hand. I expected to see the weird marbling of black and gray, a mixture of the demon and Warden that existed inside of me and a combination I’d become almost familiar with by now. My nails had lengthened and sharpened, and I could tell they were hard enough to cut through steel, as hard as my skin, but my skin…it was still pink. Really pink.
          “What the…?” My gaze traveled to my other hand. It was the same. Just pink. My wings twitched, reminding me that I had shifted.
          Zayne swallowed. “Your…your wings…”
          “What about my wings?” I almost screeched, reaching be‑ hind me. “Are they broken? Did they not come out—” The tips of my fingers came into contact with something as soft as silk. My hand jerked back. “What…”
          Stacey’s watery eyes had doubled in size. “Um, Layla, there’s a mirror above the fireplace. I think you need to look in it.”
          I met Roth’s gaze for a second before I spun around and all but ran to the fireplace I was sure Stacey’s mom had never used. Clutching the white mantel, I stared at my reflection.
          I looked normal, like I did before I shifted…like I was going to class or something. My eyes were the palest shade of gray, a watered-down blue. My hair was so blond it was almost white, and a mess of waves that went in every direction like usual. I looked like a colorless china doll, which was nothing new, except for the two fangs jutting out of my mouth. I wouldn’t show them off at school, but that wasn’t what caught my attention and held it.
          It was my wings.
          They were large, not as massive as Zayne’s or Roth’s, and normally they were almost leathery in texture, but now they were black…black and feathered. Like legit feathered. That soft, silky thing I’d felt? It had been tiny feathers.
          Feathers.
          “Oh my God,” I whispered at my reflection. “I have feathers.”
          “Those are definitely feathered wings,” Roth commented.
          I whipped around, knocking over a lamp with my feathered right wing. “I have feathers on my wings!”
          Roth cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, you do.”
          He was absolutely no help, so I turned to Zayne. “Why do I have feathers on my wings?”
          Zayne shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, Layla. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
          “Liar,” hissed Roth, shooting him a dark look. “You’ve seen that before. So have I.”

“Armentrout is a major talent…I just can’t stop reading!”

--New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter

“Armentrout works her magic with swoon-worthy guys and a twist you never see coming.”

--#1 New York Times bestselling author Abbi Glines on White Hot Kiss

 

And don’t miss the first titles in the Dark Elements Series!
BITTER SWEET LOVE Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** BAM ** Kobo
WHITE HOT KISS Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** BAM ** iBooks ** IndieBound ** Kobo
STONE COLD TOUCH Amazon ** Barnes and Noble ** iBooks ** IndieBound ** Kobo ** BAM

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:


#1 New York Times and # 1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki. Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA. She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Novel Goodreads ** Author Goodreads  
 

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Obsessed With Covers #23: Sky Fall series

Y'all know how much I love a pretty cover. I think about...40% of the books that end up on my shelves (be they physical or digital) do so because of the covers. Call me shallow but you have to admit that a pretty, shiny cover will catch your eye faster than a dull, boring one. Two, simple rules that I'll follow:

• 1, 2 or 3 (no more than 3, though) covers per week;
• books should be new-ish; no more than 2 years old.

Oh, before I share the covers that made me drool or want to stare at them for hours and hours, I have to say something. This is a semi-original idea. Why semi? Because almost every book blogger has something similar. The only thing I came up with was the title. If by any chance there's another blogger with a similar feature with the same title, I assure you I'm not stealing your idea. I'm just THAT bad with titles. Believe me, I'd love to be smarter and have a witty name for this feature, but I don't. So, no copyright infringement/theft/steal or anything of the sort was desired. All I can say is sorry :P

     This week's edition of Obsessed With Covers is going to be a bit different. I recently set up an Instagram account and while searching for authors' accounts and pics, I came across the new covers for the Sky Fall trilogy by Shannon Messenger. No one can deny that the original covers for Let The Sky Fall and Let The Storm Break are gorgeous. I personally love them and I really, really need them in my life. However, the new covers are just as pretty. Which is surprising to me, because it takes a lot for me to like new covers. And I'm pretty OCD about series and covers as it is.

     It's pretty obvious that the cover for the last book in the series is very different from the original ones. In fact, had it not been for the similar title and the author's name, I probably wouldn't even have realized it belongs in the Sky Fall series. HOWEVER, the cover is just as gorgeous. Having read the first two books, I feel like, in a way, the new covers are more fit for the story. But I am now utterly confused. I read the first books on Pulseit, so I don't have to be mad that my covers don't match. Yet. But which ones to get? Forget the fact that the original covers are different for paperbacks, so the gorgeous sepia tones in the LTSF book are missing in the paperback. And apparently, the LTSB paperback has the new cover (or so I found it on the book sites I checked). So ignore for a second the tiny fact that if I want to own the original covers I have to buy *shudders* hardbacks. But the new covers are just as gorgeous. Would it be strange to own both? But then there won't be a second third book to match the original covers (My OCD is strong when it comes to covers for series!). Which makes me sad *pout*

     But let's talk about the new covers, right? I love the colors. I love how the pictures hint you to the story itself. I love how it seems as if the covers themselves tell a story. The cover artist did a damn fine job in my opinion in telling the story of the book without giving anything away.

     Did you see any great covers this week?