Saturday, September 30, 2017

Out with the old, in with the new: KATWALK by Maria Murnane

Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

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Well, it's finally over...the month of September that is.  Today is the LAST DAY of the month and tomorrow we usher in the last quarter of the 2017.  Where did the time go?  But, as with all things, time has a way of flying, even when we think it's at a standstill, and sometimes we need that rude awakening to make a change, take a risk, try something new...even a new persona...and to that end, I give you today's ebook of choice...

Katwalk
by
Maria Murnane
9781477849934
Lake Union Publishing

About the book...
From the bestselling author who brought us Perfect on Paper and Cassidy Lane comes the tale of a young woman who wakes up one day and decides to start over.

Katrina Lynden has always walked a straight line in life, an approach that has resulted in a stable career and pleased her hard-nosed parents but that has also left her feeling unfulfilled and miserable. When her best friend suggests they quit their Silicon Valley jobs and embark on two months of adventure in New York City, Katrina balks at the idea but ultimately agrees, terrified yet proud of herself for finally doing something interesting with her life. But when her friend has to back out at the last minute, Katrina finds herself with a tough decision to make. Much to her surprise, she summons the courage to go alone, and the resulting journey is transformative, both emotionally and physically. Along the way she makes new friends, loses others, learns what is really important to her, and finds a way to grow up without leaving herself behind.




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This was another wonderful story from an author whose work I thoroughly enjoy.  My first two adventures with her writing were Bridges and Wait for the Rain...both great reads, if you haven't already checked them out, I highly suggest you do.  This time, around, she takes us smack dab into the center of the Big Apple 🍎, a place that can be teeming with those heavy hitting New Yorkers only interested in furthering themselves, and yet, she doesn't forget to bring the heart along for the ride.

Right from the start, I found so much of myself in our leading lady...I was gobsmacked.  I mean seriously, don't you find it makes a novel THAT much more memorable when you can really step into the character's shoes?  Honey, I was SHARING them at some points.  Katrina was a sweetheart doing the best she could to impress those that she felt mattered, achieve the goals others set forth for her, and live the American Dream.  The fact that she forgot about herself in that equation was just an oversight...that eventually blossomed into an itch that needed scratching and what better place to take on the world than NYC!  She set forth with certain expectations, but wasn't quite prepared for what she would find, including her true self.  Now don't get me wrong, she hits some bumps along the way, but she learns from her mistakes, picks herself, and marches down the path to her future head held high.  (You go girl!)

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In the end, it was a wonderful story filled with ups, downs, and in-betweens I won't soon forget, and characters that you'll love to love and love to loathe, depending on the situation...trust me, it happens.  Chick-Lit and Women's Fiction fans, this is a book for your must read list!


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About the author...


A former PR executive who abandoned a successful career to pursue a more fulfilling life, Maria Murnane is the best-selling author of the Waverly Bryson series (Perfect on Paper, It’s a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, and Chocolate for Two, which received a starred review in Publishers Weekly), as well as Katwalk, Wait for the Rain, Bridges and International Book Award winner Cassidy Lane. At her speaking engagements Maria shares the “story behind the story,” an entertaining tale of courage, passion and perseverance that has inspired audiences across the country to follow their dreams—no matter what.


BLOG  |  SITE  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK



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Special thanks to author Maria Murnane for the ecopy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or her other works, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now in "tree" and "e" formats, so stop by your favorite virtual or brick and mortar retailer today to snag a copy to call your own.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



RABT Release Blitz: ...AND A SIXPENCE FOR LUCK by Lilac Mills

Hi there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.


Today, we're joining RABT for a RELEASE DAY BLITZ starring a BOOK BIRTHDAY celebrant ready to ring in the holidays!  That's right.  They ARE just around the corner, you know, and this Chick Lit title is all gussied up and ready to go!  So, if you'll be so kind, don your gay apparel and join me as we check out the title in today's spotlight...



...and a Sixpence for Luck
by
Lilac Mills
Chick Lit
Date Published: 9/30/2017

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Curl up in front of the fire, with this fun, festive read.

Daisy Jones has hit rock bottom. Or so she believes.

A cheating boyfriend, trouble at work, having to move back in with her mother, and being forced to compare her brother's loved-up, newly-wed status and brand-new shiny house with her own dire lack of prospects, isn't what she imagined her life was going to be like at thirty. To top it all off, Christmas, is just around the corner!

Daisy, bless her, thinks things can't possibly get any worse, but when her ancient great-grandmother persuades her to plant a silver sixpence in the Christmas pud for luck, Daisy is about to discover that they most definitely can.



Amazon  |  Kobo  | B&N  |  iTunes


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About the Author


Lilac spends all her time writing, or reading, or thinking about writing or reading, often to the detriment of her day job, her family, and the housework. She apologises to her employer and her loved ones, but the house will simply have to deal with it!

She calls Worcester home, though she would prefer to call somewhere hot and sunny home, somewhere with a beach and cocktails and endless opportunities for snoozing in the sun…

When she isn’t hunched over a computer or dreaming about foreign shores, she enjoys creating strange, inedible dishes in the kitchen, accusing her daughter of stealing (she meant to say “borrowing”) her clothes, and fighting with her husband over whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook




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Reading Addiction Blog Tours

Special thanks to Cami at RABT Book Tours for the chance to bring this tour to you.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, THIS TOUR, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag a copy today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!


Friday, September 29, 2017

The Legacy of Androva: Breaking Magic by Alex C. Vick

HI there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

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Can you believe that it's almost October?  I know I sure can't....except that the calendar app on my phone is staring me in the face with today's date because Mother Nature is certainly ignoring any weather changes that should be occuring.  You hear that, Mother Nature!  How about a little cool weather, huh?  Pretty please?!  Anywho...with the (usually) cooler weather comes yet another oh-so-convenient excuse to stay indoors and READ READ READ (or find a lovely spot outside in the brisk cool air...whatever floats your boat).  

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Today's title is yet again from the Fantasy genre (shocking...I know), but hey ho, it's NOT an ebook!  (*happy dance*)  It's actually a book that I received TWO copies of, one initially and another when the book received a cover makeover (my thanks to author Alex C Vick!), the latter of which arrived in a lovely sheer purple bag with a WAX SEALED letter from the author.  (I know!  How cool is THAT?!)  Both were lovely, but I agree the second, new and improved one, certainly makes it stand out....and that's BEFORE we get into the story!  Now, let me say one more thing before we begin, this is the FIFTH book in The Legacy of Androva series....I know, I know, the fifth! Yes, the fifth...but it reads perfectly well by itself.  Cross my heart and well, not really hope the rest, but cross my heart regardless.  Anyway, now that that's settled, let's get on with the review!  Today's book of choice is...

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The Legacy of Androva, Book 5
by
Alex C. Vick
9781545101490

About the book...
Callax is fifteen, and he already knows he won't ever grow old. Twelve years after leaving the childstation he will be summoned to the Gathering, where life essences are taken by a deadly, irresistible spell. On his world, this is one of the many ways in which the Exta serve the Opta. His best hope is to avoid an early binding by staying out of trouble. 

But in protecting his younger brother Benedar, he was noticed by the Breaker, the evil magician in charge of the Gathering. The closer Callax gets to the ruling house and the girl who lives there, the more he learns, and the greater the danger. A danger he might not understand until it is too late. Callax thinks the Breaker’s defeat will save him, but he is wrong. 

Additional information: Although Breaking Magic is part of the Legacy of Androva series, it can also be read independently. If you have read Controlling Magic and want to know more about Imbera, Breaking Magic is Cal’s story. The book retells part of Controlling Magic from Cal’s point of view. Recommended for lower young adult.


AMAZON  US  |  UK


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Magic, danger, love, war, hidden histories, and daunting futures...in other words, quite the rush! 

As previously stated, it IS book five in the series, but I got along rather well reading it start to finish.  The author weaves a magical web of wordy wonder all around us as we get to know Cal, his younger brother Benedar, and the rest of the Exta's.  It's not an easy life they live, serving the Opta's in some way or another, but it's stable, dependable, and all ends when they turn eighteen.  What?  Yes, that's right...it all ends by that time.  They never grow old, have to deal with families, jobs (per se), or the aches and pains of aging...but they also never get to experience anything that life has to offer beyond that age bracket nor outside of the controlled environments that they live in.  Can you really even call it LIVING when your every move is pretty much dictated and your future (or rather lack thereof) is controlled by two beings that make you quite literally beg for your life to end?  Yeah...that's the Breaker for you.  He's one mean son of a bootlicker...and the truly SCARY part?  He's just the BEGINNING....

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There is so much going on between these pages that I kept forgetting to update my reading status on GoodReads.  I would just get lost in the story that I'd look up and see oh, look at the last time I mentioned something and well, yeah...reading now.  What can I say?  I LOVED it!  Cal was a much more complex character than he at first seems...the old saying "never judge a book by its cover" definitely applies.  Benedar was annoying at first, understandably so as well, but grew on you for not only his brains but his heart.  It was the unaccounted for connections that really drew you in, the ones that you didn't see coming, while the curious concepts explored kept you pondering just WHAT it all meant, WHY they were all there, WHO was behind it all, and HOW they might escape a fate worse than death!

In the end, it is definitely a work to escape into for a spell...(inside joke)...and, in my humble opinion, a must read!  Though they say "recommended for lower Young Adult" fans, I beg to differ.  While that grouping may enjoy it as well, the world created, concepts involved, and intensity of the plot, lead me to say save it for the higher end of the YA spectrum straight through to adult Fantasy fans. I mean, really...that Breaker dude...whew!  SCARY STUFF...but oh so good! 


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About the author...

Alex C Vick author of Stealing Magic

This is me (probably stating the obvious). I'm the author. I've written five books about the Legacy of Androva so far. Book six is on its way and will hopefully be released in early autumn 2017. The stories are contemporary fantasy, aimed at lower YA / upper MG, and I hope that they can be enjoyed by adults too.

Ever since I was old enough to figure out there was probably no such thing as magic, I always (secretly!) hoped it was some kind of mistake. Surely it must exist somewhere? Eventually I decided it must have been lost or forgotten somehow. And that's where the idea for Stealing Magic (the first book) came from.

I live in the South of England with my husband and two daughters. When I'm not at work, or writing about magic, I also enjoy reading and photography.

Finally, I love hearing from readers!  [Connect with me online at...]




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Special thanks to author Alex C. Vick for the signed copies for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the series, or the author, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now as are the beginning books in the series, so seek thee out a copy at your favorite online retailers today!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!