Cover Reveal: All That Glitters by Tracy Krimmer

Today is the cover reveal for All That Glitters by Tracy Krimmer. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours. The cover is designed by K Creative Designs.

All That Glitters (Songs of the Heart #1)
By Tracy Krimmer
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Women’s Fiction
Age category: Adult
Release Date: summer 2017

Blurb:
Country-music star, Dory Walker, never wanted to come back to the small town of Sycamore Bay. But after her fairy-tale life is flipped upside down, and her marriage becomes a casualty, she has no choice.

Harris Malone is a man with few commitments. He keeps a low profile most days while he cares for his young daughter and helps run his dad’s hardware store.

But when he and Dory run into each other at the local gas station, all either can think about is the searing kiss they shared many years ago.

Can a woman who only wants to rekindle her career and a man who enjoys a no-strings attached lifestyle find everlasting love?

You can find All That Glitters on Goodreads

About the Author:
Tracy's love of writing began at nine years old. She wrote stories about aliens at school, machines that did homework for you, and penguins. Now she pens books and short stories about romance. She loves to read a great book, whether it be romance or science fiction, or any genre in between, or pop popcorn and catch up on her favorite TV shows or movies. She's been known to crush a candy or two as well. Her loves include fitness, reading, coffee, dogs, and naps (not in that order), and her dislikes are blue cheese, cold weather, and burpees.

You can find and contact Tracy here:
- Website
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Goodreads
- Amazon
- Instagram
- Newsletter

YA Cover Reveal: Humanity's Hope (Saving Humanity #1) by Pembroke Sinclair

Today is the cover reveal for Humanity's Hope by Pembroke Sinclair. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours.

Humanity's Hope (Saving Humanity #1)
by Pembroke Sinclair
Genre: Zombie
Age category: Young Adult

Blurb:
Caleb, a 17-year-old boy, survived the zombie uprising, but he didn’t come out of the ordeal unscathed. He’s been scarred—both mentally and physically. The rest of humanity is trying to rebuild, to make the world normal again. Caleb is trying to return to a normal life also, but after all he’s seen, after the loss of his family and friends, the transition is difficult. The darkness that led him down a path of self-doubt and self-harm keeps trying to creep back into his mind.

Things only become worse when he discovers he’s immune to whatever makes a zombie a zombie. Fighting zombies was predictable. He knew what to expect. Fighting humans is volatile. They are malicious and treacherous. They won’t stop to get what they want, and Caleb has to figure out exactly what that is.

*Trigger warning: attempted suicide

You can find Humanity's Hope on Goodreads

Excerpt:
Caleb’s extremities tingled with adrenaline, his footsteps thumped rhythmically on the hard, dry ground. He sucked in long gasps of air, but his lungs still burned for oxygen. He caught glimpses of the other two out of the corner of his eyes. The undead drew nearer. Their arms outstretched, waiting to snag their prey. Caleb zig-zagged across the field. He ducked under a pair of arms, then shouldered a zombie out of the way. Its bones crunched against his shoulder, teeth gnashed close to his ear, driving him forward with more urgency. The house grew larger with every step he took. Almost there.

A short yip followed by a grunt sounded behind him. He risked a glance over his shoulder. Len stumbled then fell. Caleb’s heart leapt into his throat. He skidded to a stop, turning to help his friend. Caleb was about to step toward Len, but he was stopped in his tracks. The action caused him to lose his balance. His arms flailed through the air to keep Caleb from falling over. An incessant, strong tugging kept him from moving forward. He turned to see Nina jerking on his backpack. Her eyes were wide and glistening with tears. She bit her bottom lip and shook her head violently. Caleb glanced again at Len, who reached for Caleb, his mouth open in a silent plea, tears running down his cheeks. Caleb reached toward him. Len’s plea turned into a scream as a zombie bit into his calf. A dark ring of blood stained his jeans and grew larger. Another zombie latched onto the fingers of his extended hand. The crunch as it bit through his bones rattled in Caleb’s skull. He pulled his hand into his chest.

Caleb turned at that point. There was nothing more he could do. His sister grabbed his wrist, and they ran into the house. They took the stairs two at a time and headed into a bedroom on the right. After closing the door, they scanned the area, checking under the bed and in the closet. Clear. His sister collapsed face first onto the bed. From the way her body shook, Caleb could tell she was crying. He leaned back until his pack connected with the door. His legs gave out, and he slid to the floor. Pulling his knees to his chest, he wrapped his arms around his head and tried to disappear into himself.

And then there were two.

About the Author:
I am an editor by day and a zombie-killer by night (at least in my books). Since the first time I watched Night of the Living Dead, I have been obsessed with zombies and I often think of ways to survive the uprising.

I have written YA novels about zombies and the tough teens who survive the apocalyptic world, along with adult novels in the sci fi and fantasy genres. I have also written kids' books under the pen name J.D. Pooker.

I have written nonfiction stories for Serial Killer Magazine and published a book about slasher films called Life Lessons from Slasher Films under my real name.

For more information, please check out my blog at pembrokesinclair.blogspot.com or email me at pembrokesinclair[at]hotmail[dot]com.

You can find and contact Pembroke here:
- Blog
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Goodreads
- Amazon

Dark Fantasy Review: Ghostwalker (The Spiderlily Chronicles Book 1) by Nicole Martinsen

Ghostwalker (The Spiderlily Chronicles Book 1)
by Nicole Martinsen

Publication Date: June 10th 2015

Description:
The Tapestry of Fate is absolute. If a Thread determines that one will lead a life of fortune, then it will happen. If a Thread determines that one will lead a life in vain, it is inescapable. All things, save for the smallest of margins, are set in stone... unless you're a Ghostwalker.

In this world, where destiny is everything, a Ghostwalker has the ability to forge their own legacy. Through the mere act of living, they change the weave of the Tapestry, and each life they meet is affected in a similar way.

Ghostwalkers have been Kings and madmen, prophets, and paupers, and in this particular instance, a six-year-old girl...

"Ghostwalker" will take a young half-elf away from everything she knows and throw her into the High City of Lydia, where she will have to rely on wit and unconventional allies to survive long enough to make a difference in the world, even if it comes down to throwing it all away.

My Review:
Ghostwalker reads like an epic fantasy. Silhouette, kidnapped as a child, grows up in the High City of Lydia. Her kidnapper views her as a substitute for her mother, Kendra, who chose another over him. It spans three distinct time periods, starting when Silhouette is a child, jumping forward to her as a young teen, and wrapping up when she is an older teen.

One thing I liked was the complexity of most of the characters. Many of the good guys make some really terrible choices, and I found it hard to figure out whether to like or dislike some of them. Then again, the bad guys didn’t seem to have any redeeming qualities, making them rather one-dimensional.

Besides the characters, I liked the complex plot. However, it’s a bit much at first, and I can see how some folks might get lost and decide to give up. My opinion is that the author purposefully made the main plot hard to spot. Underlying the prominent conflicts that take over the story is a mystery. When I began to perceive that mystery, I began to find it hard to put the book down.

One thing that bugged me was that many of the undead and dead are almost the same as the living. It kind of muddies the impact of certain tragedies, giving them an “oh, well, they’ll be back soon enough” sort of feel. I have mixed feelings about it because I liked some of the characters that came back, even though their return didn’t quite make sense.

Overall, I really liked the story. It’s a bit complex, but the writing is solid and the world and characters are interesting. It reads a lot like epic fantasy, so I think folks who like that genre might like this as well.

I picked up Ghostwalker while it was a freebee.


-----
Discover more books by Nicole Martinsen on Goodreads.

Books in this series:


Other books by this author:

Non-Book Review: UP2 by Jawbone

You may have noticed I like to write to review things, lots of things. Not just books, though that's what you'll typically find here on my blog. But I don't just like to write reviews, I read them, too.

Reviews are more important to me sometimes than the product descriptions or even, amazingly enough, my own prior experience with a product.

This is the one I have.

Take the Jawbone UP2 I'm wearing.
 
You might be surprised to learn that it's the second one I've owned, but it's the first one I bought for myself, having received the original from my company as a reward for submitting a health success story.

When the first one's band broke, I spent almost a month perusing reviews and ratings for it and competitor brands. I had intended just to buy the same one again, then I saw the three star average ratings for it, and they just sucked me right in. Here I was about to buy something with a three star average. What did these folks know that I didn't?

Seriously considered this one.

Despite the cool fashion bands, the various straps, the ones with heart rate monitors, and so on and so on, folks seemed to have some issues with these things. So I stopped looking at the UPs alone and got distracted by the Fitbits and how neat those were, and by those reviewers who vouched for that neatness. On and on and on, almost adding to my cart and then dropping one or the other for a month.

So many choices! And the reviews for both sides, Fitbit vs. UP, were as widely varied as were the people who wrote them. I even found a few folks who took their reviews to the next level, buying one of each type and wearing them at the same time to see how they compared and reporting out their findings for the rest of us. I think it was one of those that ended up convincing me to just go with the one I knew and liked, despite it's flaws.

Selling points? Well, The UP2 is rather accurate. It's small and light. Not unattractive. I already had the app installed on my phone. Sure, the bands can break and sometimes the clasp just says, "I'm going to just unclasp now, good luck!" but the thing's only like 20-30 bucks. And yeah, I get more use out of my UP2 than I do out of my watch (also about 20-30 bucks). It managed to train me to sleep better. I've set it up to buzz when it's time to step away from my desk and go for a run or a walk. It tracks how often I work out and cheers me on. I even played around with the food tracker, but I think just logging a week is about all I can take of that, no matter the format.

I figure if I get something like 8 months to a year out of this one, it's worth the cost. The last one lasted about 8 months before the band broke off where it was fused to the sensor part. I'm about five months or so in. We'll see. A couple of other folks had their bands break in the same way.

So yeah, the reviews had me doubting my own experiences, but they also pointed out a few things I'd  disregarded and gave me a lot more information for making an educated decision, which tends to make me happier with my purchases.

I guess what I'm saying is reviews matter to me, even when I end up buying the exact thing I originally planned to buy.

And yes, when this one I have breaks or gives up, I'll probably do it all again. :-) 

Middle-grade Steampunk Review: Farsprocket by Dustin McGee

Farsprocket
by Dustin McGee 

Publication Date: February 9th 2013

Description:
The Kingdom of Stormgear flourished for many ages, before the events of the 7th Age brought that peace to an abrupt and devastating halt. A great war ravaged the Far North and spread corruption throughout the land. At the end, the war even reached the massive gates of the city of Stormgear, with its shining beacon of hope, the Academy, at its heart.

Though the city had already seen its fortunes fall when a plague swept through its western reaches, the defenders managed to hold back the assault, but at a great cost. With the war finally over, the city began to recover and life seemed to be returning to normal, but there are still threats lurking in the shadows, hoping to disrupt this fragile peace. Much of this danger lies in the manufacturing district in the western portion of the city, which remains a restricted area, but children regularly find their way in, to explore and discover the parts needed for their latest inventions.

It's every child's dream to become an engineer of legend and to do so they must first gain entry into the Academy of Engineering, a massive tower at the center of the city. An engineering marvel in itself, the tower has trained and nurtured many engineers through its diverse programs in various fields of engineering study. To be accepted, you must prove yourself and it’s this test that has led many a child to seek out the assortment of parts and wreckage that lie in the west.

With many of the old legends fading into history and the world just a tad darker than in ages past, it is through this search for elusive parts that a small group of children and early teens will be brought together to face this new age, together.

Though they are mostly naïve to the dangers surrounding them, they just might have the talent and heroism necessary to become legends themselves.

My Review:
Farsprocket is steampunk for the middle-grade crowd. The heroes in this story are Magnus, Vorrin, Melayna, and Cindra. Aided by their robots, Titan and Alpha, the kids decide to go on a rescue mission.

The thing I love most about this story is the humor. The author has great timing, particularly with the dialog and arguments. The non-verbal cues are also spot on. I could totally picture the faces the kids were making and it just made it all the more entertaining. The rivalry between Cindra and Magnus was hilarious. Poor Magnus.

The two robots that go along with the kids are also a hoot. They were just as charismatic as the kids, even without the ability to talk, especially Alpha, who kept turning on a certain setting despite how often Melayna turned it off.

Besides the heroic team, plenty of dangerous characters roam these pages, giving the story an exciting edge and the heroes a reason for working together. A devastating plague caused by pollution causes people to go insane, even so much as to engineer equally insane robots to wreak havoc. Scrappers, who roam the abandoned parts of the city to steal parts, are just as likely to steal away unsuspecting people to work in the mines. And corrupted robots are fueled by a dark power source that makes them incredibly strong and violent, a bad combination.

Even so, I noticed a few things that didn’t quite work for me. The kids tend to yell and shout when they’re supposed to be hiding, yet they’re never noticed. They also become friends almost the instant they meet. The story spans only a couple of days, but very quickly refers to them all as being close friends or family. Not a big deal, just seemed a bit easy.

Overall, I really liked this story. I’d recommend it to folks who enjoy kid-friendly action, humor, and robots. In particular, I think the middle school crowd would dig it.

I picked this up some time ago while it was on a free promotion. Finally got a chance to read it.