Book Review + Giveaway: Song Magick

Title: Song Magick

Author: Elisabeth Hamil

Reviewer: Aly

Genre: Fantasy

Book Blurb:

In a realm where magic was thought to be lost, young bard Telyn Songmaker is able to cast powerful spells with her music. Exiled from home in the violent aftermath of her song magic gone awry, Telyn endures a solitary freedom…unaware of the price on her head. 

Bound to the Wood by blood and by oath, Mithrais is dispatched to protect her by the dying sylvan gods he serves. Only Telyn can perform the dangerous counterspell that may save them. But love may be the most unpredictable magic of all…

Review:

The world of Song Magick was wonderfully created. It was intriguing to be set in such a world and try to discover everything you possibly could. Of course you didn’t find out everything but you did discover the necessary information for the novel. And that was just interesting in and of itself. You can only imagine what the world would be like now if there were sentient beings like in Song Magick. It was interesting and well written.

Then there were the characters. Especially Telyn and Mithrais. They were extraordinary and well done. Both characters had at least a few flaws that you didn’t view as necessarily flaws because really who can trust….and I’m not going to finish that sentence for fear of spoilers. Let’s just say that I definitely would have reacted the same and not have been as selfless or loyal as Telyn. Then there was Mithrais. Sigh, where can I get one of him? He may not be a hockey player(my obsession, shhhhh….) but he certainly stood up to many of my book boyfriends and gave them a run for their money. And he wasn’t perfect. He did have a will of his own and it can be seen throughout the novel. 

Then there was the character that people just wanted to hate. And honestly I feel that the author presented the characters in such a way that yes you could hate them, but still almost feel a little empathy for at least one of them? I don’t know how to describe that very well. 

There was definitely lots of tension towards the end of Song Magick and even one point where I felt it might just be possible I was dying on the inside. That was amazingly well done with on the author's part and I enjoyed reading the story because of it. 

Overall Song Magick was an intriguing read, and you’ll quickly fall in love with the characters.

Rating: 

Available at Smashwords  FireandIceYA  Lulu  Amazon  BN

About the Author

Elisabeth Hamill is a nurse by day, fantasy novelist by night. In seventh grade, she had “Famous Author” inscribed under her name on her yearbook cover – an aspiration that, while delayed, was never forgotten! Her first published work, SONG MAGICK, saw its first draft finished during recuperation from cancer treatment and surgery, and is the fulfillment of that lifelong dream of being an author.

She lives in eastern Kansas with her family, where they fend off flying monkey attacks and prep for the zombie apocalypse.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElisabethHamillWrites

Twitter: https://twitter.com/songmagick

Blog: http://elisabethhamill.blogspot.com

Website: www.elisabethhamill.com

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/risu21/song-magick-by-elisabeth-hamill/

Manic Readers: http://www.manicreaders.com/ElisabethHamill/

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Blog Tour + Giveaway: Unleashed

UNLEASHED

Sydney Rye Series

Book One

Author: Emily Kimelman

UNLEASHED is the first book in Emily Kimelman's best selling Sydney Rye series of mysteries.

When the series begins Sydney Rye is named Joy Humbolt. She does not like people telling her what to do, so it comes as no surprise that she was just fired from her last job. When she buys Charlene Miller's dog-walking business on Manhattan's exclusive upper east side, it seems like the perfect fit: Quiet environment, minimal contact with people.

But then one of her clients turns up dead, and Charlene disappears. Rumors say Charlene was having an affair with the victim--and of course, everyone assumes Joy must know where she is. Joy begins to look into the crime, first out of curiosity then out of anger when there is another murder and threats start to come her way.

When police detective Mulberry is assigned to the case, Joy finds a kindred spirit--cynical and none-too-fond of the human race. As they dig deep into the secrets of Manhattan's elite, they not only get closer to the killer but also to a point of no return. One last murder sends Joy Humbolt hurtling over the edge. Her only chance of survival is to become Sydney Rye.

Choose the Voice of Sydney Rye (in other words, help pick the best narrator for the audio version of Unleashed)

Sydney Rye is coming to Audio and we need your help picking the narrator!

Emily Kimelman's “Sydney Rye” series features a strong female protagonist and her rescue dog, Blue. It is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don't mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome, rollicking good mystery!

Haven’t read Sydney Rye yet? Download the first book, UNLEASHED, for free on Amazon, iTunes, B&N, or Kobo and see how she sounds in your head then vote for the best narrator!

Voting enters you to win all sorts of great prizes including Amazon gift cards, signed books, and the finished Audio book! Add to your chances of winning by joining Emily's email list, liking her Facebook page, or telling your friends about the contest.

Here are your choices:

1) Emily Strong-- is an actor, voiceover talent, and first time filmmaker.  As a native of Michigan, she is a nature-lover at heart but has the mind of a city girl and moved to Chicago nearly three years ago because she wasn't smart enough to go somewhere warmer.  She takes full advantage of what the city has to offer by training at legendary places like The Second City and eating lots and lots of ethnic food (will travel all the way across the city to Pilsen for the best tacos!).  Her love of reading was the catalyst for her adventurous spirit and the reason why she is always stoked to tell stories in their many different forms.

2) Erin Jones-- has narrated over 500 audio books including "The Hunger Games" trilogy for The National Library Services/Library Of Congress,  "A State Of Wonder," The Garden Of The Beasts," "Anna Karenina," "Ferdinand The Bull, and "Madeline."

Book Tour + Guest Post: Saskia Trilogy

Eden Forest

Book One of the Saskia Trilogy

By: Aoife Marie Sheridan

Four banished Angels,

A world created by the hands of God,

A Kingdom on its knees,

A secret protected for centuries,

And one mortal can save them all.

Step into Saskia.

Book Description:

Sarajane Anderson is your regular twenty one year old. With family, friends and a normal job. She also happens to be the only person who can save Saskia, a world parallel to earth.

When Sarajane is taken to Saskia, she could never have imagined the reality of the world she steps into, a world where magical abilities are in everyone's possession.

Book Tour + Review+ Giveaway: Atlas

Hey everyone! I'm so excited to host the book/blog tour for Atlas, written by Becca C Smith. In this blog stop includes a quick spotlight on the book, a review and a giveaway, so be sure to check everything out!

Book Description:

Kala Hicks is part of a covert elite military team that answers directly to the President of the United States. But during an emergency mission aboard Air Force One, Kala is shocked to discover that the real threat is none other than the President himself. Defying her commanding officer, Jack Norbin, Kala takes the shot, and her life changes forever.

The moment the President is killed, a supernatural force speaks to Kala, telling her that she has to commit one act of atrocity every four days… or the world will end. Thrown into a reality she never could have imagined, Kala faces off with creatures of legend; from demons determined to make her fail and plunge the Earth into chaos, to angels who don’t trust her to do the job and are willing to kill her to claim it for themselves.

Pitted against the forces of good and evil, Kala must choose whether to save the world by doing the unthinkable, or sit back and let it burn. And four days later, she’ll have to do it again.

Book Tour + Guest Post + Giveaway: Mistress of the Wind

Mistress of the Wind
by Michelle Diener
New Adult/Sci-Fi Fantasy
Paperback, 342 pages
Expected publication: December 19th 2013


Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . . 

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . . 

She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response. 

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . . 

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

Praise for Mistress of the Wind:

"Dienerís adaptation retains the familiar elements of the original, echoing both the structure and spirit of the classic, but true to form, she puts her own spin both the plot and the narrative, crafting an intricately alluring tale of self-sacrifice, steadfast devotion and enduring love." -- Flashlight Commentary

"The story is fast-paced and never boring, the world a beauty and Michelleís writing so wonderfully detailed that I felt I was with Bjorn and Astrid on their journey."                 -- Book Bird Reviews

"Author Michelle Diener takes this re-telling to another level. She doesnít restrict herself to an East of the Sun, West of the moon retelling. Instead we are also given parts reminiscent of Psycheís quest. Which just allowed for a much more richer story"            --Paperback Wonderland

Guest Post: Favorite Fairy Tales

By Michelle Diener

I love being asked for a list of ten of my favorite fairy tales. There are so many great ones, and I'll probably head-smack myself in a couple of days because I left out a really good one, but here goes, in no particular order ñ and I've put in a link to a version of the fairy tale on the Sur La Lune Fairy Tale website, where there is one. It comes with annotations, and I really love the site, even if some of my favorites are a slightly different version to the one they have up there:

Book Blast: Mistress of the Wind + Giveaway

By: Michelle Diener

New Adult/Sci-Fi Fantasy

Paperback, 342 pages

Expected publication: December 19th 2

Bjorn needs to find a very special woman . . .

The fate of his people, and his own life, depends on it. But when he does find her, she is nothing like he imagined, and may just harbor more secrets than he does himself.

Astrid has never taken well to commands. No matter who issues them . . .

She's clashed her whole life with her father, and now her lover, the mysterious man who comes to her bedroom in darkness and disappears to guard his mountain by day as a bear, is finding it out the hard way. And when he's taken by his enemies, no one is prepared for Astrid's response.

It is never wise to anger the mistress of the wind . . .

A captivating and magical adult retelling of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

A Word from the Author:

Mistress of the Wind is based on the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It's a fairy tale I've loved since I was a child, but it wasn't until I started seriously researching the origins and mythology of East of the Sun, West of the Moon in preparation for writing Mistress of the Wind that I discovered what a unique fairy tale it is in many respects.

Book Review, Blog Tour and Guest Post and Giveaway: Bitter Snow

A modern day retelling of the fairytale of The Snow Queen, the Bitter Snow trilogy is sure to delight fans of The Iron King series!  Each volume is roughly 85 pages long--long enough to tell a complete story yet short enough to finish in a sitting.

Bitter Snow

Volume One

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Number of pages: 85

Word Count:  32,000

Book Description:

Whatever you do, don’t open the door.

All Gilly Breslin wants for her sixteenth birthday is for her best friend Kai to see her as more than just the girl next door he’s known forever. So when she receives a mysterious, romantic invitation to meet him at midnight, she knows she has to go. 

But it’s St. Nicholas’s Eve, the ancient festival of Bellsnichol, when demons roam the dark winter landscape. Tradition demands that everyone in the tiny town of Bremerton stay inside, doors shut tight against evil.

Gilly thinks it’s just a quaint old superstition. She has no idea that a malevolent power has been unleashed in Bremerton—with Kai as its target. But when she answers her door at midnight, her romantic date turns deadly…and she’s drawn into an ancient web of fear and darkness that threatens everything she loves.

Blog Tour: The Lycan Hunter

Title: The Lycan Hunter

Author: Kelsey Jordan

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Book Description: 

Kyran of the Blue Ridge Pack has spent most of his life searching for an end to the Forever War. Finding a Hunter among their greatly diminished ranks who was willing to forgo their "shoot first" mentality was harder than it seemed. Then fate–or the gods–gifted him with Alexis James, a petite Hunter with a nasty habit for killing his kind and a need for his surgical skills.

Alexis only has two wishes in life: make it through her next assignment, or die a relatively quick death. With a heart hardened by miserable circumstances and painful memories, her view of kindness and common decency was marred by scars of swift retribution. So when the blue-eyed Lycan saw fit to save her life, she wondered: At what cost?

After eight thousand years of war, the end is becoming a reality, but is the possibility of peace worth Kyran's soul and possibly Alexis' life?

Interview with Kelsey Jordan!