Book Blitz: Coral & Bone by Tiffany Daune

Coral & Bone by Tiffany Daune
Publication date: July 7th 2014
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Halen knows the sparks igniting under her fingertips are dangerous. She has spent her entire life trying to quell the tingly feelings that make her destroy things, but now that she is back in Rockaway Beach, where she watched her father drown, the flames have become impossible to tame.

Halen is trying to hold on, but when she is thrust into a mysterious new world, the underwater realm of Elosia, she unravels the secrets of her past and can’t help but ignite. As she explores Elosia, she realizes her life has been a lie. And when those who have deceived her come to her for help, Halen must choose—walk away or unleash the magick that could destroy them all.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21826050-coral-bone?ac=1

Purchase (FREE from Nov 18-22): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LG0SUE6

 

"Yes, I'm scared! What's wrong with being scared? You make me sound strong. Well, I'm not. You've seen how well I handle magick." Sparks ignited at the tips of her fingers as she almost shouted at him, not giving him a chance to respond. Her voice rang loudly, echoing throughout the cavern. "I'm angry. I'm hurt. I've taken an overdose of confused, and you want me to defeat some demon?" She pumped her fist, trying to shake the static energy now flowing under her skin. "Right now I'm my own worst enemy." She couldn't hold back any longer. With a flick of her finger, she summoned the river to rise up into a towering wave. She clenched her fist, and the water crashed on the rocks, spraying them with a cold mist. "I'm not what you think I am."

 

AUTHOR BIO

I write stories about magick, love and dark creatures lurking in the shadows. When I'm not lost in Edit Land you can find me reading a book from my towering TBR pile or at the movie theater nibbling licorice. I don't have a lucky number, but my favorite time is 11:11. I completely believe that the fortunes found inside cookies will come true and that you must be careful when wishing on stars. I live on an island, so if you want to visit you'll need a boat, and if you want to survive the passage, be sure to bring candy for the mermaids.  

Author links: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tiffany-Daune/395436080503637

https://twitter.com/TiffanyDaune

http://www.tiffanydaune.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6904400.Tiffany_Daune

Book Review: The Killing Dance by Laurell K Hamilton (Anita Blake #6)

Dating both a vampire and a werewolf isn't easy. But just to complicate Anita's already messy life, someone has put a price on her head. Love cannot save her this time, so she turns to Edward, hitman extraordinaire, for help. But finding the person behind the threat won't be easy, because as both a vampire hunter and zombie reanimator, Anita has made a lot of enemies-both human and otherwise.

My Review:

Anita has made some enemies in her time but who would put out a hit with a huge bounty? Anita will need to rely on her gut instincts and her two boyfriends, alpha werewolf Richard and master vampire Jean Claude, and her hit man friend Edward to keep her safe.

This was my favourite book in the series. In this book, we see small glimpses of Anita fearing for her life and it was nice to see her vulnerable side shining through. At Danse Macabre, you could feel the tension in her as she waited for someone to attack her. It also shines through near the end of the book when she is crying to Jean Claude and letting her despair really show. This really added to her character development. Anita still has her morals here and is determined not to sleep with Richard until she finds a way of geeting out from Jean Claude's clutches. She will not have sex with either of them while this unwanted love triangle exists. I also liked the pure ruthlessness that she was willing to show to protect Stephen and anyone else who was in in danger from Raina through Richard's inaction and softness.

Let's deal with Jean Claude first. I have never been a fan of his. He has always claimed to love Anita but in previous books has stood back and allowed his vampires to hurt her. He forced her into dating him by threatening to harm Richard, which I despised him for. However I liked him a lot better in this book. He is trying hard not to pressure Anita but gently insists that she gives him a fair chance to woo her. He accepts her for who and what she is, without judging her or trying to change her. And after a traumatic experience, he is there to look after her. I can understand why her attitude to him changes.

Richard had the opposite effect on me. I had liked him previously and felt sympathy for his issues, but he drove me bugshit in this book. He seems surprised every time someone in his pack does something devious which puts someone in danger. He fails to protect Stephen, forcing a vicious encounter that nearly gets him and Anita. He fails to control a wolf loyal to him from attacking Anita at an allies meeting at his house, causing a few of his wolves and Rafael the rat king to decalare that they will kill to pretect Anita even if he won't. It seems clear to Anita that he is full of good intentions but will not surrender his morals to protect those who would die for him. His attitude to Anita stinks as well. He goes all macho because she killed the assassin instead of letting him do it, despite Anita trying to protect his secret so he won't lose his career. He really infuriated me for having a go at Anita for not caring that her attackers are dead, basically calling her a monster. He really is turning into an asshat.

Dolph is also getting on my nerves, starting to poke his nose into Anita's lovelife which has nothing to do with him. Anita doesn't even work for him and he is still having a go at her. The author is certainly turning me against a few characters that I previously liked here.

Plot wise, I liked the story of the hit which brings Edward back to town. I love Edward! I was pleased that we are finally getting a resolution to the pack leader issue though the way Richard deals with showing Anita his beast was not a nice thing to do to her. There were some nice twists and a betrayal that I wasn't expecting. That is always good in a book if the author can surprise you. I think the decision that Anita took over who to be with was inevitable, given the way the two boyfriends react to who she is. I can live with her choice as I think it is right for her in the long run. Of course things are never that easy for Anita...

Reading with Chuckles #13

Welcome to Reading with Chuckles! This is where I fill you in on what I'm reading each week-what it is, where I got it or heard about it, what I think of it, if I'm continuing with it or abandoning it and any special offers I'm aware of where you can try the book yourself. Comments are welcome but no spoilers please! It's not fair to other readers!

So this week I've been doing another book cull, removing 50 books from my ereader that I'm not 100% about reading any more. That gets my tbr under 700 books for the first time in over five years! That was certainly good news. So now I can concentrate during the day on getting book reviews done and at night I can catch up with series that I've started. Hopefully by the end of the festive period I'll have cut the tbr down again!

Right, this is what I've been reading this week. I've just been grabbing books from the shelf or on the ereader as I feel like them so the reading list is pretty mixed this week! The first three books I read and very much enjoyed. The fourth book was also a decent read, and book five was a reread so I could write an updated review. The sixth book I didn't like and abandoned.

What's on Chuckle TV #11

Welcome to Chuckle TV! 
Every week I will be talking about what I have been watching in the world of TV, be it sport, documentaries, TV series, films, soaps or interesting news items. I'll be talking about favourites from the past and all the great sounding stuff that I haven't watched yet. Believe me, there are a lot of popular series that I haven't had the chance to see! Let the Count and I be your guide in the world of entertainment! Comments are welcome on what I'm currently watching but no spoilers please or your comments will not be published!

This week I watched season 3 of Moonshiners and I didn't like it at all. Three of the guys I liked following from season 2(Jeff, Mark and Lance) decide to become the Moonshine Mafia when another local guy starts doing his own brew, even going to the lengths of blowing up the poor guy's car. These thugs deserve to be jailed and I won't be watching the show again if they remain in it.

I tried watching Swamp People but just didn't really take to it. The guys featured in the show were interesting, entertaining and funny but watching gators get shot constantly doesn't really entertain me TV wise so I only watched a few episodes before giving up on it. I do get why they have to shoot them and have no issues with it or them, but it just isn't what I want to watch I'm afraid!

Book Review: Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

Seventeen-year-old Alex is hiking through the wilderness when it happens: an earth-shattering electromagnetic pulse that destroys almost everything.

Survivors are divided between those who have developed a superhuman sense and those who have aquired a taste for human flesh. These flesh-hunters stalk the land: hungry, ruthless and increasingly clever...

Alex meets Tom, a younge army veteran, and Ellie, a lost girl. They will fight together and be torn apart, but Alex must face the most difficult question of all. In such a vastly changed world, who can you trust?

My Review:
I didn't connect with the book from the start because I had a few issues with the book that I couldn't resolve enough to get into the story.

Lets start with the plot. Our heroine is going hiking in the woods on her own to get away from concerned relatives and get some peace. She has a brain tumour and is tired of the treatments that don't seem to work. OK being out in the middle of nowhere in this medical condition with nobody knowing where you are is reckless, dangerous and foolish. It is also a bad thing to do to relatives who are worried about you. Yet Alex is only caring about her feelings, her ideas and her plans, not giving a damn that she is worrying her family. I didn't really like her much for this, especially when it looks like she is planning some kind of suicide out there.

While she is out there the EMP hits and scrambles her brain enough to give back the senses the tumour killed, and also heightens them. You what??? Is the author suggesting the EMP waves cure brain tumours? If so that is a new one on me and I was far from convinced by this plot decision. Why give her a fatal illness to maybe cure her a few chapters in? It was all a bit bonkers to me and I was shaking my head in disbelief. Yes I know that dystopian books are a good way to play with scientific ideas but this was too far fetched for my liking.

Then we have the mini bitch from hell that Alex is saddled with-the moaning, whining, rude, obnoxious brat called Ellie. Now I don't like children at the best of times but there is no way that I would've went to the trouble of convincing this bitch monster to come with me. I'd have left her in the dang forest to annoy herself and hopefully get eaten. I hated this character so much that I wanted her to die painfully to give my throbbing head a rest. Why do we get such obnoxious characters in these books??? I got tired of Alex's failure to bitch slap Ellie, throw her off a cliff or let her be eaten by zombies.

The book just gets more annoying as it goes on. They just happen to find a survival guy who has a talent for explosives. How lucky! Oh please. You are likely to bump into a group of people with no survival skills or useful talents than a soldier! Alex just happens to discover talents that they need for survival(medicine and weapons) which is lovely and perfect and bleah. I hate it when everything is nice and convenient like that as it is just not believable. By this stage I'd had enough of the three of them and didn't care what happened next.

And I didn't even get to the weird parts of the book with the cult, that I've seen mentioned in all the other reviews. Phew what a relief!!!