March New Release Hop: TWO books up for grabs!! #Fiction #Romance

I'm excited to offer TWO titles this month - one from each of my publishers!!

First up for grabs ...

For the Love of Murphy

Genre: Romance 5-author Anthology (Sweet)

Release Date: March 17, 2014

Keywords: Romance, Anthology, Sweet, Murphy's Law, Short Stories

They say love conquers all, but whoever "they" are, must not have heard of Murphy's Law -- whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

These five tales of sweet, accidental romance prove Cupid's arrows are a lot tougher than they seem, and sometimes it pays to be unlucky.

No Wrong Turns by Lisa A. Adams
Falling For You by Michelle Ziegler
Coffee and Cufflinks by Annabelle Blume
A Slippery Slope by Rebecca Hart
The Shamrock Incident by London Saint James

and 2nd book up for grabs ...

Inspired

by Danielle E. Shipley

Release Date: March 17, 2014

Target Reader: Adult

Keywords: Fiction

For a muse like Lucianíel, one story’s end is another’s beginning.

In the wake of his author’s sudden death, Luc takes ownership of her surviving creations—four fantastical characters with tales yet to be told—saving them from unwritten lives crumbling around them and giving them a second chance at a literary future.

Luc finds that chance in the unsuspecting mind of Annabelle Iole Gray, a quirky teen with her head in the clouds, nose in a book, and imagination ripe for a brilliant muse’s inspiration.

Or so he hopes.

Neither Luc nor Annabelle, however, realize all they’ve undertaken. Even with a to-write list including accounts of a shape-shifting cat creature, gentle knight-in-training, vigilante skater girl, and a mystery boy smothering in unspoken fear, the most remarkable saga created between author and muse just may turn out to be one stranger than fiction.

Their own.

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#Review : Want by Stephanie Lawton

YA / NA Contemporary

By Stephanie Lawton

Synopsis:

Julianne counts the days until she can pack her bags and leave her old-money, tradition-bound Southern town where appearance is everything and secrecy is a way of life. A piano virtuoso, she dreams of attending a prestigious music school in Boston. Failure is not an option, so she enlists the help of New England Conservatory graduate Isaac Laroche to help her.

She can’t understand why he suddenly gave up Boston’s music scene to return to the South. He doesn’t know her life depends on escaping it. Julianne must face down madness from without, just as it threatens from within. Isaac must resist an inappropriate attraction, but an indiscretion at a Mardi Gras ball-the pinnacle event for Mobile’s elite-forces their present wants and needs to collide with sins of the past.

Will Julianne accept the help she’s offered and get everything she ever wanted, or will she self-destruct and take Isaac down with her.

I'm going to start out by saying I LOVE THIS COVER. So beautiful. 

I’ve read a few disturbing books this year, but none quite like this. The MC in this story of a music genius is only 17. Her level of emotional upheaval is ten times worse than what I’ve seen before with artistic virtuoso MCs. She’s physically, emotionally, & mentally abused by the one who should be nurturing her. Damaged goods to say the least.

Yummies: Getting the facts straight when it comes to the piano - the colors and emotions especially. I really enjoyed how Ms. Lawton used words to explain what is meant for the ears.

Totally believable characters - wounded and reactionary. I’d say the homework was done for this roller coaster ride.

The southern, conservative setting was the perfect place for this story to take place. I grew up in a conservative church and let me tell you ... the portrayal of hypocrisy was SPOT ON. Seriously. So much so that I cringed as memories from my childhood swamped my mind. Well done.

When I saw ‘The End’ I actually said, “Aw! Come on!” While excellent, I wanted more. I wanted that last chapter - the epilogue to give us the HFA you’d never expect this story to have.

Yuckies: This book started a bit slow for me. Could be the present tense. Not sure. I definitely felt a lack of emotional connection with the MC. It’s as if her secretive nature is TOO evident, almost too true, keeping me from empathizing in any way. It wasn’t ‘til a little farther in when the MC starts to let her walls down and tell the reader about who she is & why, that I felt for her. This could have been Ms. Lawton’s intent (which the idea totally rocks if its true) but it honestly didn’t work for me.

Recommend: Yes. While I’m not leaping out of my skin, the emotions of this book wouldn’t let me put it down.