Spotlight: BENEATH MANHATTAN SKIES by Emma Meade

Happy Tuesday!!!

…better yet, happy almost Turkey Day (no classes!!! (yet I still have assignments…))!

Today, I have the honor of spotlighting a new novella by Emma Meade, whose YA novel, Under the Desert Moon, won me over with its “light and fun read that took a new spin on the vampire/paranormal scene.”

This has to be one of my favorite covers of the year. Seriously, I love the blues and the city backdrop…gorgeous!

Book Blurb

November in New York is cold but full of possibility for college freshman Erin Harris. When her twin brother, Nick, shows up on her doorstep for a surprise visit, Erin is delighted. Unfortunately, Nick’s arrival coincides with the discovery of a body outside her apartment building, a body drained of blood. Right away, Nick assumes vampires are involved. He’s not exactly their biggest fan since Erin dated one in high school.

Juggling nosy roommates, a first date with a gorgeous guy from college and a brother on a Van Helsing kick is enough to keep any nineteen year old girl busy – And then Erin’s old flame walks back into her life.

Is Erin destined to be caught up in supernatural shenanigans, or will she choose a different path?

Buy Links:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Add to your Goodreads list!

About the Author

Emma Meade lives in rainy Ireland. She loves vampires, slayers, witches, ghosts, aliens & shadow men (or at least the youngest of the Shadow Men), and regular people who live extraordinary lives (think Slayerettes and you’re on the right track). Books, DVDS & TV show boxsets take up lots of space in her home, and she collects all the Point Horror books she can get her hands on. Writing supernatural stories and watching marathon re-runs of Buffy are some of her favourite ways of escaping reality.

 Author Links:

Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page | Website

 

Teaser

“My father wouldn’t be so understanding.” Erin frowned, not liking to think about her dad. “Did she have a boy or girl?” Erin shrugged in apology for not remembering.

“A boy. I feel sorry for my sister. She was surrounded by us growing up.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. She had a cool big brother.” She groaned inwardly. Why did she have to say that?

Tommy looked at her. Erin thought she saw a hint of a smile hovering around his lips. Where the hell was Sadie with the drinks? That girl was in big trouble for setting this up. A blush rose in Erin’s cheeks. She was grateful for the dim lighting in the bar.

“So, I’m cool, am I?” Tommy said after a moment, smiling easily again.

The tension alleviated and Erin breathed normally. “I thought you might have noticed that. You have a motorcycle. That automatically puts you in the cool club.”

“I’d like to take you out on the bike.”

And the hard-to-breathe thing started again.

Whimsically Yours,

PnC

New Books!!!

(pure joy)

I love new books!!!  

New books bring new excitement and adventure(s).

For instance, today I went by my college mailroom and came back with my ARC of PODs.

I’ll be participating in Spencer Hill Press’ blog tour of PODs.  You can look forward to my review of the book on June 5th.

Yikes!  I guess I’d better get to reading 🙂  Check out ‘My Bookshelf’ for more to-reads!

And if you want me to review your book, read my review policy first.

Whimsically Yours,

PnC

Red Madrassa by Terah Edun

by Terah Edun

Book Blurb

A magical accident threw them together. But when Fate holds all the cards, it can be impossible to tell the difference between pure chance and Destiny… 

The Madrassa, a magical school for mage practitioners, is the stuff of legend. With selective entrance exams and quotas for only the most advanced of mage children, it’s almost impossible to attend.

When Allorna, a guardian trainee for the royal family, ends up on the doorstep of the citadel on the eve of the final day of a recruitment ceremony, she decides it must be fate.

She was sure she knew the path her life would take before she enrolled. But sometimes life has a way of throwing in magical curveballs and strange friends, just to see if you’ll trip up.

Oh, and one of those friends is a mage accused of murder, another is a slightly psychotic dragon, the third a healer facing an existential crisis, and the last is a female storm-caller with more hidden secrets than a thief lord.

Do they all belong at the new school they call home?

My Review 

Owl rating

To preface this I’m a fantasy nerd yet with the way YA is trending, it’s hard to fine a good, solid epic fantasy ala LOTR for teens.  So I was generally very happy when the author contacted me to review Red Madrassa.

Red Madrassa is an epic fantasy unlike many books I’ve read mainly because it has LGBT themes as well as a racially diverse cast of characters.  The characters in this book truly reflect how the “real world” is, and from the book’s cover alone, it really caught my attention.  I thought the characters were strong, developed and believable, that being said, there were a lot of them and although the writing was strong the multiple POVs were a bit confusing and slowed/bogged the story down for the first few chapters.

That’s why I’m giving the book a four owl rating rather than a five, multiple POVs in epic fantasy is hard to do and I’ve only read very few authors that do it well, most notably George RR Martin (A Song of Fire & Ice), however it’s necessary in order to keep the story moving.

On a final note, while there are LGBT & racial themes they are huge, they’re hinted at in a very subtle & well-written way which I like because I prefer (as I’m sure most readers to) to be shown things rather than to be told everything (in a word-vomit(y) way).

I loved the storyline and the world of Red Madrassa, there were so many interesting elements in it that I cannot wait for the next book in the series.  So if you’re interested in reading an epic fantasy that follows a misfit band of teens with a tad bit of romance in it (that’s woven in very nicely), go and get yourself a copy of Red Madrassa today (it comes in paperback & Kindle) 🙂

*This is a 100% honest review, I received the book from the author to red & review.*

The Last Few Weeks in Books – 1/4/2013

Wondering what’s been going on in the publishing industry lately???  Check out blogger & author Nathan Bransford’s summary of the last few weeks in the publishing industry.

Whimsically Yours,

PnC

Teens taking over world

We teens seem to be taking over the world…what’s new 😉

Whimsically Yours,

PnC