WRAP-UP POST: 2013 NETGALLEY KNOCKOUT CHALLENGE

Three months ago, I signed-up to participate in the 2013 NetGalley Knockout Challenge hosted by Goldilox and the Three Weres. At the time, I had quite a lot of books for review in my NetGalley folder, and took up this challenge as motivation to finish them all as close as possible to their release dates. During the past three months I requested and received more books for review from NetGalley and ended up with more books than what I had at the start of this challenge, as well as one other non-NetGalley book I received for review. So, without further ado, below is a complete list of books I received specifically for this challenge (you can link to the Goodreads descriptions for all these books in the right sidebar of my blog).

A Cat Called Dog ~ Jem Vanston

Chasing Hope ~ Kathryn Cushman

Crazy Rich ~ Jerry Oppenheimer

Data Runner ~ Sam A. Patel

Hindsight ~ Sarah Belle

Ink (Paper Gods, #1) ~ Amanda Sun

Jumper ~ Jeff LaFerney

Notable (Awkward, #3) ~ Marni Bates

Oddkins ~ Dean R. Koontz

Pharaoh ~ David Gibbins

Plague Ship ~ Leonard Goldberg

Rumor Central, #2 ~ ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Streaks of Blue ~ Jack Chaucer

Scorched ~ Mari Mancusi

Whistling Past the Graveyard ~ Susan Crandall

As you can see, I’ve added a lot of books to the list of books I had at the start of this challenge. You can view my original post for this challenge here. Of course, these weren’t the only books I read and reviewed the past three months, but at least now my NetGalley folder is much emptier.

My thanks goes out to Christen who set-up this challenge and thus motivated me to not let my NetGalley books pile up on me. I hope she’ll have another challenge for us soon!

BOOK BLITZ: SPOTLIGHT & GIVEAWAY: LEAP OF FAITH by Jamie Blair

Title: Leap of Faith

Author: Jamie Blair

Publisher: Simon & Schuster BfYR

Publication Date: September 3, 2013

Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult

Hosted by: Xpresso Book Tours

SUMMARY

Can true love be built on lies? A teen on the run seeks relief and redemption in this gripping, romantic read.

Leah Kurtz has finally found a place to call home, a town where she and baby Addy can live in peace, far from the drug-infested place she grew up. Chris is one of the best parts of her new life, the only person who’s ever made her feel safe. And now that she’s found him, there’s no way she can tell the truth:

Her real name is Faith, not Leah. She’s seventeen, not nineteen. And the baby isn’t hers—Faith kidnapped her.

Faith’s history catches up with her when a cop starts asking questions and Chris’s aunt spots her picture in the newspaper. She knows it’s time to run again, but if Faith leaves, she’ll lose Chris. If Chris is in love with a lie, though, did Faith ever really have him in the first place?

PURCHASE LINKS

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ABOUT the AUTHOR

Jamie Blair spent most of her teen years choreographing moves for her dance team routines, kissing boys on the couch after her mom went to bed, and pondering the mood enhancement qualities of Lemon Heads when consumed with Diet Coke. Writing under Kelli Maine, she’s the USA Today bestselling author of Taken. Leap of Faith is her debut New Adult novel.

AUTHOR LINKS

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INDIE-CREDIBLE AUTHORS FEATURE: SPOTLIGHT: M.R. Polish

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We’re almost at the end of the Indie-Credible Authors event hosted by Little Read Riding Hood and Creative Deeds Reads, and today’s celebrated indie author is none other than the amazing M.R. Polish! We brainstormed about this feature and came up with a really awesome idea to do something a little different. Misty took the time to make a vlog post in which readers can get to know her and her Wolf Spell series. It’s a really fun and informative clip, and you can watch it HERE.

Be sure to add these fantastic books to your Goodreads shelf and purchase your copy via the below links! Also, check out other titles written by this very talented author by clicking HERE.

Title: Wolf Spell

Series: Wolf Spell, #1

Author: M.R. Polish

Publisher: Self-published

Publication Date: September 27, 2012

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

SUMMARY

With a death starts a new beginning...

Eighteen-year-old Esmerelda thinks she’s just a normal girl, but all of that changes the day of her mom’s funeral, when a warlock, intent on using her special powers, kidnaps her. Powers she didn’t know existed. Thrown in the middle of a magical battle, Es struggles to learn her magic while fleeing both vampires and warlocks, at the same time, hunting for the witches that can help defeat her adversary. The only problem is that they are dead.

Thankfully, she has the help of Jarak—her Guardian—who quickly captures her heart, but she wonders if she can win his? Just when she thinks Jarak is the one for her, Ian appears with daggers drawn to save Es from a vampire attack. Ian is cocky and rude, but there is something magnetic about him—something that attracts her to him. With her heart torn between two men, she faces the foes that are out for her blood. Can Es do the unthinkable and awaken them from their graves before time runs out?

BOOK TRAILER

PURCHASE LINKS

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Title: Wolf Dream

Series: Wolf Spell, #2

Author: M.R. Polish

Publisher: Self-published

Publication Date: September 1, 2013

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

SUMMARY

The Reaping Spell has weakened her greatest enemy, but now Esmerelda faces a different threat - one that haunts her dreams. To finally defeat Nicholas and end his madness for good, she must travel back to Spain with the help of her powerful friends. 

What she doesn’t know is that in his weakness, Nicholas made a deal with the Death Keeper – his soul in exchange for Esmerelda’s life. Worse, she soon learns that the ones she trusted most have become part of her nightmares. The only one she can trust is the man who holds her heart, and together they must fight Nicholas to the death. 

Fighting to stay awake so Nicholas can’t find her in sleep, Esmerelda prepares for the battle that will finish this war. One of them must die for her nightmares to end - unless the Death Keeper, with plans of his own for Esmerelda’s soul, gets to her first.

PURCHASE LINKS

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ABOUT the AUTHOR

M.R. Polish was born in Idaho, a long, long, long, maybe not that long time ago.... Writing has always been there for her. Growing up, her mind was filled with stories, some she shared and others she filed away to write down later in life. It wasn't until 2011 that she decided to publish her stories for everyone to enjoy. Her first award and when writing became more than just an idea was in the 5th grade. She won the scary story contest for the school newspaper. It is one story she still has tucked away for memories. Her teacher told her she could be anything she wanted and that she had a talant for writing, being creative and drawing people into her stories. M.R. took that to heart and continued to write, although mostly in secret until recent years. 

Now you can find her enjoying life with her family - wrangling her four kids, setting traps in the house with toys for unsuspecting victims (aka, her husband) and writing down all her crazy and fun stories. 

AUTHOR LINKS

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REVIEW: SCORCHED (Scorched, #1) by Mari Mancusi

Title: Scorched

Series: Scorched, #1

Author: Mari Mancusi

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: September 3, 2013

Genre: Young Adult

Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow

Source: NetGalley

My rating: 4/5

SUMMARY

Trinity
Don’t leave me here... It starts with a whisper. At first Trinity thinks she’s going crazy. It wouldn’t be a big surprise—her grandpa firmly believes there’s a genuine dragon egg in their dusty little West Texas town. But this voice is real, and it’s begging for her protection. Even if no one else can hear it...

Connor
He’s come from a future scorched by dragonfire. His mission: Find the girl. Destroy the egg. Save the world.

Caleb
He’s everything his twin brother Connor hates: cocky, undisciplined, and obsessed with saving dragons. 

Trinity has no idea which brother to believe. All she has to go by is the voice in her head—a dragon that won’t be tamed.

REVIEW

I can’t even begin to explain how excited I was when I finally received my copy of Scorched for review. Not only does it have an absolutely gorgeous cover, but dragons and time travel all in one story? Epic! Did it live up to my excitement and expectations? Yes…and no.

The first chapter jumps right into the action and thus I was hooked. Captivated even. Mancusi did the world-building for this book brilliantly. The same goes for character development. She brings fantasy into our world with a flourish and in many ways made it seem plausible that the discovery of a hidden dragon egg is possible. I really have to hand it to her. The visuals her scene descriptions inspire in the reader’s mind, is utterly breathtaking.

I did have a few minor issues with the plot, though. I’m not going to go into details because that would mean spoilers. The ending felt a little rushed and a few scenes – especially the one where Trinity reaches out to her mother in the nether – felt very…what is the word…formulaic? It’s like I knew what the end result was going to be because I’ve seen it in so many movies before. But by no means was the story predictable. There were loads of times I had no idea what was going to happen next, and thus I was often surprised. Yet, by the time I finished the last chapter, I was left with a ton of questions and things that made no sense to me. Then again, this is the first book in what promises to be an impressive series, so I’m sure all my questions will be answered in the upcoming books. Who knows.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I couldn’t put it down, and when I had to, I couldn’t wait to pick it up again and continue where I left off. Emmy crawled into my heart even before she hatched from her egg. I was so glad I wasn’t in Trinity’s shoes when she had to make the choice about Emmy’s survival. On that note I should also mention that the author made that choice nearly impossible. Who is right? Who is wrong? Which side should she be on? The side that wants to preserve the dragons’ existence, or the side that wants to wipe out dragons for the survival of humanity? In the context of the story I can assure you this was not such a straightforward choice. There were many factors to consider.

Scorched is a book that will set the imaginations for readers young and old alight with its imagery, dragons past and future, and the countless trips into the nether where absolutely anything imaginable is possible. I recommend it to readers who enjoy fantasy, time-travelling, action and adventure, and of course: dragons.

This review forms part of my three-month participation in the NetGalley Knockout Challenge for 2013.

READ more REVIEWS

Scorched by Mari Mancusi has 91 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.

BOOK TRAILER

You can watch the awesome book trailer for Scorched here.

PURCHASE LINKS

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ABOUT the AUTHOR

Mari Mancusi used to wish she could become a vampire back in high school. But she ended up in another blood sucking profession --journalism -- instead. Today she works as a freelance TV producer and author of books for teens and adults. 

When not writing about creatures of the night, Mari enjoys traveling, cooking, goth clubbing, watching cheesy horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure--videogames. A graduate of Boston University and a two time Emmy Award winner, she lives in Austin , Texas with her husband Jacob, daughter Avalon and their dog Mesquite.

AUTHOR LINKS

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REVIEW: AUDREY’S GUIDE TO WITCHCRAFT by Jody Gehrman

Title: Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft

Series: Audrey’s Guide, #1

Author: Jody Gehrman

Publisher: Magic Genie Books

Publication Date: June 30, 2012

Genre: Young Adult

Reviewed by: Ellen Fritz

Ellen’s rating: 5/5

SUMMARY

Falling in Love, baking a magical cake, fighting an evil necromancer—it’s all in a day’s work for Audrey Oliver, seventeen-year-old witch-in-training. 

When her mother goes missing and her twenty-one-year-old witchy cousin shows up out of the blue, Audrey knows something’s gone horribly, dangerously wrong. Now it’s up to her to get her own magical powers up to speed before everyone she loves is destroyed by the sorcerer intricately connected to her mother’s secret past.

  

REVIEW

I read through Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft in no time at all and enjoyed every moment of it. When Audrey sees the face of a stranger in a cake and inflicts damage on the popular girl, Dallas, without so much as lifting a finger, she knows that something weird is going on. Add to this that her so-called cousin, Sadie, arrives to babysit her and her sister Meg while her mother is off on a mysterious quest, and Audrey's life seems to be in for a drastic change.

This comfortably-paced, easy-to-read book gave me a new respect for an author who very obviously took the trouble to produce a neatly-written story with a slightly different approach to witches, and the paranormal in general. Although the author takes her time with world building and plot development, things are constantly happening, thus keeping the story interesting. Towards the end the suspense gets almost unbearable as lives are in danger and horrible truths are uncovered.

The characters are realistic and well-developed. While Meg, Audrey's sister, is the volatile and artistic one, Audrey is the quieter sister who just wants to get on with learning to do magic and helping their mother. If one looks at her notebook, however, it is clear that she has an incredible sense of humor.

How to Be a Boy-Repeller

1. Have your gorgeous, charismatic sister host a party showcasing her superior social skills in glaringly obvious ways. Ideally said sister will rock the house as lead singer in hot girl band with suggestive name.

2. Be incredibly awkward and antisocial at said party. Wear nondescript clothing and attempt to pass as wallpaper.

3. Feel like a social midget when said sister stuns everyone with rocker-girl charm.

4. Meet tantalizing boy and immediately blame him for everything going wrong in your life, including your missing mother.

5. Run away and barricade self in room.

Her friend, Bridget, is hilariously funny at times and brings another welcome dash of humor to the story. Then there is the really hot guy, Julian, who seems to have infinite patience with Audrey's strangeness and need for secrecy. The antagonist in this book appears to be a truly evil person and yet, in the end, I was left wondering whether he is really beyond redemption.

The romance in this book is tender and not at all overdone. As a person who loves and appreciates well-written dialogue, I found the dialogue - as well as Audrey's inner dialogue - lively, quirky and highly stimulating.

Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft is a heartwarming story that will keep you turning the pages. I highly recommend this book to readers of all ages and give it an ecstatic five-star thumbs up!

READ more REVIEWS

Audrey’s Guide to Witchcraft by Jody Gehrman has 135 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.

PURCHASE LINKS

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ABOUT the AUTHOR

Jody Gehrman is the author of eight novels and numerous plays. Audrey's Guide to Black Magic is her latest release, the sequel to Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft. Her other Young Adult novels include Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love, (Penguin's Dial Books). Babe in Boyland won the International Reading Association Teen Choice Award and has recently been optioned by the Disney Channel. Her adult novels are Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin (Red Dress Ink). Her plays have been produced in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of English at Mendocino College.

AUTHOR LINKS

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INFOGRAPHIC: TOP TEN BANNED OR CHALLENGED CLASSICS

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BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY: MY SISTER’S REAPER by Dorothy Dreyer

My Sister's Reaper by Dorothy Dreyer

Sixteen-year-old Zadie’s first mistake was telling the boy she liked she could bring her dead sister back to life. Her second mistake was actually doing it.

When Zadie accidentally messes with the Reaper’s Rite that should have claimed her sister Mara, things go horribly wrong. Mara isn’t the same anymore—Zadie isn’t even sure she’s completely human, and to top it off, a Reaper is determined to collect Mara’s soul no matter what. Now Zadie must figure out how to defeat her sister’s Reaper, or let Mara die … this time for good.

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Author Dorothy Dreyer

I'm a Philippine-born American living in Germany with my husband and two teens.

I write young adult books that usually have some element of magic or the supernatural in them. I also like to read those kinds of books. Aside from reading, I like movies, chocolate, take-out, coffee, traveling, and having fun with my friends and family. I've also been known to make a pretty sweet cupcake.

I tend to sing sometimes, too, so keep me away from your Karaoke bars.

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BookBlast Giveaway

$50 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 10/18/13

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


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