Cover Love (14)

This feature is hosted by Carmel @ Rabid Reads. The rules are very simple. Choose a cover (or two, or three), preferably new-ish, and share what you like about it. Grab the graphic or don't just so long as you link back.


My pick this week:

There's just something about a cartoonish cover. I know, I know,  I've said it too many times, but I can't stop myself. This is really a cover that catches my eye.

So, what cover caught your attention this week?

Book Review: The Binding by L. Filloon

Author: L. Filloon

Series: Velesi Series #1

Source: review copy provided by the author

My Rating: 5 cups

Blurb (from Goodreads):

Two nights after her eighteenth birthday, Lily is attacked while out jogging, but is saved by Tharin Lunar, a Sidhe prince. When she discovers that her attacker is her own brother, Lucas, who disappeared four years ago, Lily refuses to believe that her brother would truly hurt her and becomes determined to find Lucas and bring him home. Lily finds that Lucas’ disappearance is somehow tied to Tharin; so when he informs her that she is his betrothed and must return with him to Velesi, fulfill a treaty between their families and unite the two strongest clans through their marriage, Lily agrees. However, she’s not going to Velesi for a wedding, but to bring home her only family, Lucas.
On their journey to the borders of Velesi, the realm of the Thirteen Clans, they’re pursued by a Sidhe assassin group call the Ange, meet with an ogre crime lord that ends badly, deal with a sleazy troll motel manager, and when they discover that there’s a bounty on their heads, they must keep one step ahead of every assassin, bounty hunter and low-life criminal in Velesi.
Protecting Lily has become the biggest challenge of Tharin’s life. Lucky for him he has help in the form of his twin brother, Tolan, Lily’s best friend Julia and his three bodyguard cousins.

If there's one thing I love more than anything is a good fantasy book. The Binding was, in my opinion, more than just "good". It was more than great, actually.

The first thing that caught my attention was that we don't have just one perspective, but two. The book is written in first person, but we get to see Lily's and Tharin's take on the action, alternatively. That's where I, as a reader, tip my hat to the author. Seriously. As a reader that's weary of books written in 1st person, it was so refreshing not having to worry about that. Because you get two views on the same scene (or almost the same), it's like actually seeing the entire picture, like having eyes on the back of your head also and seeing every little detail around you.

The world we find in The Binding is new, fresh, surprising. Out of all the supernatural creatures, elves are the least used, so it was a nice change to see them as the main species in a story. You also find ogres, orcs, demons, wizards, wolves and a few other creatures I've never encountered before.

The characters were amazing. Lily, the heroine, managed to surprise me a lot. Just when you think you have her figured out, she does or says something that changes everything you think you know about her. She can be both strong and weak, she can be fair and she can overreact at some point, she can be happy and sad. The one thing that is constant through the entire book is that she's an extremely friendly person. And when she cares about someone, she'll do whatever it takes to protect them, even if it means endangering herself. I liked her friendship with Julie. It's one of those really rare friendships and I for one haven't found them in a lot of the books I've read.

Tharin was a very interesting hero. I'm sure that if the book was told only from Lily's perspective, I would've wished to smack him a few times. But since I got to be inside his head, see why he said the things he said, why he acted in a certain way, I can't imagine a better hero. And I liked that Tolan, his twin brother, wasn't as perfect as I first thought. There were times when I laughed alongside Tharin at his brother's behavior. So don't think that one twin is flawed, while one is perfect. They both have faults as they have moments of utter perfection. That, in my opinion, makes this characters real, it gives the idea of layers upon layers and it just made me want to uncover everything about them.

I loved the ending. It made me groan and scream in frustration, but the cliffhanger is AMAZING! I think it's best if I say there are at least two cliffhangers, not just one. I am impatiently waiting for book two.

If you like fantasy, paranormal, young adult, you should definitely try The Binding. You won't be disappointed!

Follow Friday (15)

Welcome to Follow Friday hosted this week by Parajunkee and Alison!
The main idea behind FF is just to go see a bunch of new blogs you may never have seen before, and follow the ones you like (and they’ll follow you back!) It’s a total win/win, so take a peek around!


This week’s question is:


Q: What is one book that you would be nervous to see a movie adaption of because you think the movie could never live up to the book?



I think I'd be nervous about all the books I love to have a movie adaptation. I think there are very few movies that are just as good as the books they're based on. I think I might be more comfortable with a TV show adaptation if the book in question is part of a series. Then again, there's a certain TV show (that I'm not going to name for fear of flying projectiles thrown my way :P ) that ruined the books for me, so I think it's a very difficult thing to make a good movie/TV show while staying true to the book(s).

What about you?

Interview & Giveaway: Sherri Hayes

Please welcome Sherri Hayes to Ruby's Books. She stopped by today to talk about her newest book, Behind Closed Doors (read my review here)

* Thank you for stopping by, Sherri. Tell us a little about yourself.

Thank you for having me Ruby. A little about myself… I’m thirty-five years old, and live with my husband and three cats in Ohio. Behind Closed Doors is my third published novel and I am currently busy editing my fourth novel, Need, which will be out July 26th, and writing my fifth, Red Zone.

* When did you decide to become a writer?

It wasn’t a planned thing exactly. I never had dreams of being a writer growing up. I did, however, have stories constantly floating around in my head. About five years ago, I put my first story to paper so to speak, and posted it on line. The response floored me to say the least, and eventually led me to writing my first novel, Hidden Threat.

* What inspired you to write Behind Closed Doors?

The ideas for my stories typically come from many different places. Behind Closed Doors started with a book cover I’d seen at a store. I never picked the book up, but the cover was of a winding country road. It made me think of someone moving to a new town to start over. After that, my imagination took over. Who was moving to a small town and why?

* I saw that Gage's story is the next one in the series. Can you give us an idea about what to expect from his book?

Although Gage’s story isn’t due out until February of next year, I’m already in the midst of writing it. At twenty-six, Gage is a professional football player and the baby of the family. We only get a glimpse of him in Behind Closed Doors, but there is a lot going on there that he hasn’t shared with his family. His lady is Miss Rebecca Carson; an FBI agent. Let’s just say there should be some fun times ahead. ;)

Oh, I can imagine it will be very fun :D


* What's your favorite book?

My favorite book? You know that’s a cruel thing to ask a reader, right? Lol. If I have to pick one, it would most likely be Voyager by Diana Gabaldon. I love how she is able to weave so much history into a story and still make it captivating. Plus, who doesn’t like Jamie Fraser?

Yes, I know it's a little cruel LOL


* What do you do when you're not writing or reading?

Lately I haven’t had a lot of time to do much of anything else, but I can sometimes be found out in the woodshop helping my husband or trolling antique malls.


* What is the hardest part of being a writer?

The hardest part of being a writer is figuring out how to balance everything. Writing itself is only a part of being a published author. There is also marketing and blogging and editing that have to be done among other things.



* What are you reading now?

I’m currently reading Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward.

I hope you like it :D

* Last movie you saw.

The last movie I saw in a theater was The Vow with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum.


* If you could be any one of your characters, who would you be and why?

Whenever I get asked this question, I cringe just a little. I tend to put my characters through the emotional wringer, so most of the time I’d rather not be like them. If I had to pick one, however, I would probably have to say Cali from Hidden Threat. Aside from the fact someone is trying to kill her, her life is pretty good. Plus, she has a hot ex-military man in Matthew. I’d just rather not have her past and what it took to get her to where she is today.


* Thank you for stopping by!

Thanks for inviting me. :)

Giveaway Time!!

I have one ebook copy of Behind Closed Doors to give away. All you have to do is fill out the form below. Comments are welcome, but you have to fill the form to enter the contest.You have until Friday (April 20) to enter. I will announce the lucky winner on Saturday, April 21. Be sure to check back here to see if you won. I will be emailing the winner as soon as possible to let him/her know how to claim the prize.

This giveaway is open internationally!

NOTE! Winner must respond to my email in 72 hours, or a new winner will be chosen.

Please read the Giveaway/Contest Policy before entering.

Dirty Little Secret (7)

Dirty Little Secret is a weekly meme hosted by Under The Covers.

The rules are simple:

1. Be a follower of Under the Covers.
2. Create a post in your blog taking the meme image and copy instructions.
3. Answer the weekly question.

For more information and for signing up, go to the Under The Covers blog.


This week's question:

If you had 600 million dollars to spend, what would be the first thing you bought?

Oh my. What wouldn't I do with so much money??! Ummm...The first thing huh? I'd go find (and buy) my dream house: it's on the beach, with a special room just for my books - a reading room if you like (before you ask, yes, I have even the perfect idea for how that room should look like. I might even share my idea someday if you like :p ). In a perfect world, there would be a huge forest behind that house and I'd have enough money to have a wolf. I know normal people want a dog, not a huge wolf, but I never claimed to be normal (seriously, I'd insult the normal people if I said I was one of them :P)

Anyway, that's my answer. What's yours?

Early Book Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Author: Julie Kagawa
Series: Blood Of Eden #1
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 5 cups
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.
Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.

This book blew me away. It really did. It was one of those books that keep you so focused on the story, that you don't even feel the need to move. You start reading and the sun is up in the sky and after about an hour, you lift your head up and realize it's dark outside and you check the watch and you realize hours and hours have past since you started reading. It's one of those books that make you want to read each and every sentence and really pay attention to what you're reading.

I loved Allie. She was a very complex character. What I loved about her was that you could see two different sides in her. She could be both fearless and scared, tough as nails and tender, she could mourn the loss of a friend and choose to kill another vampire just to save her human friends. I liked that about her. It made her look multidimensional. Of course, she has her bad moments, she makes some not so smart decisions, but everyone does. The fact that she's not perfect makes her even more like-able in my opinion.

I also loved the world presented in this book. It was my very first dystopian book and it made me ask myself why I waited so long to try this genre. It was amazing. I liked the fact that vampires weren't as indestructible as they normally are represented. They were just as powerless as the humans when it came to those zombie-vampire creatures.

Another thing that I liked was the fact that the author didn't take the easy, predictable way out. There were moments where I expected certain characters to do or say a certain thing and I was 100% sure they'd do it. And when those things didn't happen, it was so refreshing. It was amazing how each and every time I expected something to happen, those things didn't. Each page of this book was full or surprises and I loved that.

The book has it all: horror, action, suspense, romance, a little drama. Of course, I'm hoping we get to see Allie's vampire dad, Kanin, again.

I really can't wait for the next book to come out. I will probably reread this book soon, because I need to return to that world. And until I get my hands on the second book, what am I to do?

Recommended: If you like vampires, YA, fantasy, paranormal, horror, you name it, this book is for you. I do believe this is one of the books you HAVE to read.