Eversea Tour Part 2: A Review of Forever Jack by Natasha Boyd. Plus Giveaways!

Forever Jack (Eversea #2) by Natasha Boyd

Genre: Adult Fiction (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: November 25, 2013
Publisher: NPRB

A feisty small-town girl and the Hollywood star who broke her heart

An all-consuming love threatened by fame

One last chance at FOREVER

Keri Ann Butler's life changed on the night she met movie star, Jack Eversea. She thought she knew a Jack that was very different to the man adored by fans the world over. In the wake of his betrayal and abandonment, Keri Ann has had to pick up and move forward with the life she was supposed to live and has put off far too long. 

Suddenly Jack is back, and his explanations for why he left seem more and more plausible, and his declarations more seductive. But being Jack's latest tabloid accessory isn't on Keri Ann's career agenda, no matter how much she is attracted to him. And how can she can ever trust him again?

Jack knows he let the only 'real' thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers. And his hands have been tied to try and stop it. Until Now.

Jack is now fighting to save his relationship with Keri Ann, even as his crazy life threatens to tear them apart. Again. The question is, can he convince her she can have it all? And have him? Forever?

Forever Jack is the sequel to Eversea by Natasha Boyd. If you haven't read Eversea yet, I suggest you read it before reading this review. Check out my Eversea review while you're at it! I felt so bad for Keri Ann through the whole beginning of this book. I really think Jack should have contacted her at some point to let her know what the heck was going on. In Jack's defense, he didn't have it easy either. So, his mind wasn't thinking logically. I enjoyed this book even more than I enjoyed Eversea. These characters and their relationship is so stinkin' addictive. I get why Keri Ann keeps pushing him away. Even though, as a reader, I was ready to take him back with open arms. I get why she didn't. I felt like her emotions and fears were very realistic and justified. I really liked getting a little bit of Jack's perspective too. It answered any lingering questions I had about his motives. You get to know some of the supporting characters a little better too, which I enjoyed. There is all kinds of drama. And just when you think they are in the clear.. here comes more drama. I loved this book. The Eversea Series is a dramatic and emotional love story that leaves the reader feeling intoxicated and swooning!

Eversea by Natasha Boyd was kindly provided to me by the Xpresso Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

Check out my review of Eversea, book one.

Natasha Boyd is a writer with a background in marketing and public relations. She lives in the coastal Carolina Lowcountry, complete with Spanish moss, alligators and mosquitoes the size of tiny birds.  She has a husband, two sons and a cat named Tuna.  Eversea is her first full-length novel.

To learn more about Natasha Boyd and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

Prizes:

--4 Kindles (Open wherever Amazon ships)

--2x signer copies of both book 1 & 2 + sea turtle pendant (Open INTL)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Eversea Tour Part 1: A Review of Eversea by Natasha Boyd. Plus Giveaways!

Eversea (Eversea #1) by Natasha Boyd

Genre: Adult Fiction (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Self

Eversea, a love story, is a Winter Rose Contest FINALIST 2013. Emilia Pisani of Simon & Schuster (judge) says "Great southern flavor!" and "Jack is an alluring leading man!"

An orphaned, small-town, southern girl, held hostage by responsibility and self-doubt.

A Hollywood A-list mega-star, on the run from his latest scandal and with everything to lose. 

A chance encounter that leads to an unlikely arrangement and epic love affair that will change them both forever. 

When his co-star and real-life girlfriend is caught cheating on him with her new director, A-list hottie, Jack Eversea, finds himself in sleepy Butler Cove, South Carolina. Jack hopes the sultry southern heat in this tiny coastal Lowcountry town will hide him not only from the tabloids and his cheating girlfriend, but his increasingly vapid life and the people who run it. He doesn’t count on meeting Keri Ann Butler. 

Keri Ann has relied on herself so long, dealing with her family’s death and the responsibilities of keeping up her family's historic mansion, that boys and certainly the meager offering of eligible boys in Butler Cove, have never figured into her equation. But fate has other plans. Suddenly face to face with the man who played the movie role of her favorite fictional character, Jack has Keri Ann yearning for everything she has previously avoided ... and Jack must decide whether this funny, sassy girl is worth changing his life for, before his mistakes catch up to him.

Eversea is the intoxicating debut novel by Natasha Boyd. I was immediately drawn into the life of Keri Anne. The scenes were written in such away that I felt like I was there, and this was all happening to me. The emotions were raw between the characters and that really flowed from the pages. I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but there were many things that reminded me of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's breakup. I was a little worried about that in the beginning, but it didn't hinder the overall enjoyment of the book for me. In fact, except for some obvious instances, I rarely thought about the comparison through most of the story. Jack and Keri Ann are broken and flawed, each in their own ways. They both have had some major trauma in their lives. I think these things make them perfect for putting each other back together again. The romance is electric. Their chemistry seeps off the page and kept me in an almost permanent state of anticipation.

Eversea by Natasha Boyd was kindly provided to me by the Xpresso Book Tours for review. The opinions are my own.

Already read Eversea? Check out my review for book 2, Forever Jack!

Natasha Boyd is a writer with a background in marketing and public relations. She lives in the coastal Carolina Lowcountry, complete with Spanish moss, alligators and mosquitoes the size of tiny birds.  She has a husband, two sons and a cat named Tuna.  Eversea is her first full-length novel.

To learn more about Natasha Boyd and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

Prizes:

--4 Kindles (Open wherever Amazon ships)

--2x signer copies of both book 1 & 2 + sea turtle pendant (Open INTL)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: I Am Forever by Wynne Channing

I Am Forever (What Kills Me #2) by Wynne Channing

Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal Romance)
Expected Publishing Date: January 31, 2014
Publisher: Jet & Jack Press

Introducing I Am Forever, the highly-anticipated sequel to Wynne Channing's best-selling debut novel What Kills Me.

Axelia fought an army of vampires and survived. Once fated as the destroyer of the vampire race, she is now welcomed into the immortal empire and revered as a god.

But instead of relishing her victory, she faces a dangerous new world and an empire at war. Axelia is thrust into the position of supreme vampire and caught in the crossfire of battle. To make matters worse, her role alienates Lucas, the one vampire that she trusts.

Her choices have brutal consequences and her power spawns evil enemies. And they know how to get to her — by hurting those whom she loves most.

Bestselling author Wynne Channing's highly-anticipated sequel to What Kills Me is another heart-pounding thrill ride filled with stunning twists, tragic betrayal and bloody action.

I Am Forever is the second book in the What Kills Me series by Wynne Channing. All the fast paced action that kept me so engaged in the first book continued right on into the second book. I got mad at Zee quite a bit in this one though. I think she let things go to her head a little too much which surprised me. I thought she'd be more sensible than that. Lucas, on the other hand, has a good head on his shoulders. I really like how his character is growing. I haven't picked a side. I don't like the Empress, and I don't like the rebels either. Is there a third side? I think Zee and Lucus need to create one. There is so much to this series. It's unique and exciting, and while I'm reading I feel like I'm a part of its world. I can't wait for more.

The ARC of I Am Forever by Wynne Channing was kindly provided to me by the author for review. The opinions are my own.

Chapter 1

I stared at my reflection. Dried blood caked half of my face. It snaked down my neck in crusty, lumpy streaks. My shirt, my jeans, and my sneakers looked as if they had been splattered with mud.

My right arm, from my fingers to my elbow, was painted dark red. It was like a tree branch, the surface of my skin as textured and cracked as bark, my fingers hooked and gnarled like twigs.

All of it was blood. Sticky. Heavy. And none of it mine.

I won. I beat the bad guy. So this is what a survivor looks like, I told myself. At least, a very freaked-out survivor who let the bad guys lock her in an empty room.

“What are you looking at?” Lucas said, breaking my trance.

“Nothing.”

I tried to run my fingers through my hair, but it was stuck to my scalp.

“I look like hell,” I muttered.

“Well, you’ve been through hell.”

“Oh, so you agree?”

He came and stood behind me and peered over my shoulder. “I think this is a good look for you.”

“Yeah. I’m drop-dead gorgeous.”

Neither of us smiled. Maybe it was too tense to joke.

I turned to face him. He too looked like he had been through hell. His green eyes were dull and tired. Rusty stains leaked down his chin from coughing up his own blood.

“What do you think is going to happen?” I asked.

“Well, they can’t kill you.”

How ironic, I thought.

Since I had become a vampire, the Empress and her monarchy had done everything they could to kill me. They tried to burn me in the sun. The general tried to chop off my head. But somehow, with Lucas, I had survived, only to learn that if I died, every vampire would die with me, connected to me as they were by our blood.

I scratched my brow, red flakes scattering and falling into my eyelashes. It all seemed so impossible.

Hours earlier I had stood in the palace’s ballroom, my hand stinging from a cut across my palm and every vampire bowing at my feet as they bled from the same wound. It was surreal.

But the rapture of victory was fleeting. Confusion and panic washed over the ballroom. The clerics rushed around, arguing among themselves and with the Empress. The noise of everyone speaking at once became an indistinguishable drone. What should we do with the Super Vampire…? Lucas and I angled our bodies toward the exit. I had thought of running at every moment, but I wanted to see how they’d handle me now.

Finally, Uther, the first vampire I ever trusted, had stepped into our paths. He ushered Lucas and me into this room.

“We will figure this out, Lady Axelia,” Uther said before the door closed and locked. “You are most sacred to us. I promise, everything will be fine.”

Hadn’t he promised me something similar when I was first turned? After I drowned to death in the well filled with the blood of their gods? After his page, Lettie, washed me and dressed me like a schoolgirl? What an education that was. But everything after had not been fine.

How close we all came to the end…Uther, Lettie, Lucas. Everyone would have been killed if I had been killed. I shuddered.

Looking around the room, there was nothing to fight with. There was nothing to sit on. Just a polished concrete floor, wall-to-wall mirrors, and a black dome camera in the ceiling, staring like a shiny black eyeball. Pacing the perimeter, I slid my fingers along the glass, and Lucas crouched near the door like a guard dog waiting to pounce.

They’re watching us. These are probably two-way mirrors.

They would never leave me—the future of their race—alone here unsupervised. They would likely never leave me alone again. Unless, well, they left me alone in a cage.

“They’ll lock me up,” I said. “Like they did the first vampires. Entomb me alive forever.”

I imagined them putting me in a bulletproof, transparent case in the ballroom, like some living trophy or a packaged doll. Everyone would stare and point. I imagined myself, at the very least, giving them the finger.

“I won’t let that happen,” Lucas said. “We’ll escape.”

“Sure. We’ll just walk out the front door.”

“I know this place. I snuck in here to rescue you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, and I can’t believe you did that. You knew it was suicide, right?”

“You’re not giving me enough credit. I had a plan.” He rose up from his haunches. “When they brought you here, I made a promise that I would come for you. And I promise you now that we will survive this.”

He sounded so resolute. Lucas. Always so brave. But I knew better. Everyone that he had ever cared about had died. His father, Noel; his page, Jerome; his sisters; his creator, Nuwa. All he had left was his ex-lover, Samira, and, well, me. Some crazy seventeen-year-old girl who stumbled into his home and brought chaos.

But I had brought chaos to the Monarchy too. I had terrified everyone. Tested the power of the Empress. Killed their general.

I had to remember that I could be brave as well. That I had to be—for us. I’ve been able to fight back. And I will fight again if they try to hurt Lucas or imprison me.

I stretched my fingers out and then clenched my fists, my nails pressing into my palms.

“Are you getting ready for battle?” Lucas said.

“Maybe.”

“Can you contain it until the enemy comes? Because right now it’s just you and me, and I’m not in the mood to fight you.”

“You couldn’t take me anyway,” I said, half-joking.

“Not anymore,” he replied, serious.

It was true. Lucas said that vampires grow in strength over time. But I was several times more powerful than vampires who had been alive for centuries. Such was another unexpected gift of having fallen into the well—strength, as well as immunity to the sun, and this blood connection with the vampire race. But could I fight my way out of this place?

When that door opens, anyone in my way dies. If I can get us into the hall, I can fight them a few at a time. They can’t surround us if we’re not in an open space. And they can’t hurt me. They’ll probably try to take Lucas hostage and use him to get me to surrender. That can’t happen. I’ll take someone’s weapon. Lead the way. But if we get outside, what if it’s daylight? Lucas will burn…

Suddenly Lucas was beside me. He always seemed to know what I was thinking, as if my skin changed color to match my emotions. He touched my elbow. Because of his short brown hair, the patches of blood in his scalp created a camouflage pattern. His black shirt was torn at the chest, and the fabric sagged like a lip where the general had plunged his sword. He had sacrificed so much for me. I pressed my hand to the tear and he covered my hand with his.

“I won’t let them separate us,” I said. Looking at his mouth, I thought of our kiss. Desperate. Crushing. His blood in my mouth. Horror and romance. How unlikely.

Before they took us, would I try to kiss him again? Was it ludicrous that I was even thinking of it at a time like this?

I turned to the mirror and looked into my own amber eyes, as bright as fire. “We won’t be separated,” I told whoever was watching.

Just then, footsteps and voices approached the door. Lucas put his arm out to sweep me behind him. Instead, I pushed him aside and stepped in front of him.

This is it.

Haven't read What Kills Me yet?? Check out my review and an excerpt!!

Wynne Channing is an award-winning national newspaper reporter and young adult novelist. She loves telling stories and as a journalist, she has interviewed everyone from Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Jackman to the president of the Maldives and Duchess Sarah Ferguson. The closest she has come to interviewing a vampire is sitting down with True Blood's Alexander Skarsgard (he didn’t bite). She briefly considered calling her debut novel "Well" so then everyone would say: "Well written by Wynne Channing." Check out my interview with Wynne Channing!

To learn more about Wynne Channing and her books, visit her website, blog, and Goodread's page. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Release Day Blitz! Never Let You Go by Michele G. Miller

Never Let You Go (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook #2) by Michele G. Miller
Genre: Young Adult (Paranormal/Fantasy Romance)
Date Published: January 30, 2014
Publisher: Enchanted Ink Press

Two souls desperate to discover the truth about the past and determined to save their future…

SKYE
The usual warmth I felt deep in my soul when Xander was near me was beginning to dull. Yet I still remembered the warning: “Be careful, my Princess…you will lose all you love before you can win what you want.”

XANDER
I could feel it; she hadn’t been here. Two days of hell, riding as fast as we could and only taking small breaks, and yet she had outrun us. How?

A PRINCESS set on regaining her Kingdom and protecting those she loves…

A GUARDIAN who will stop at nothing to find the woman who stole his heart…

An EVIL FORCE who will destroy everything they know in order to have power over all…

The journey continues in Never Let You Go, book two in The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series.

Check out my review of book one, Never Let You Fall

(click to see image full size)

Nickoli’s arms were laden with weapons when he came back into view. He stepped in, uninvited, and opened his arms; allowing each deadly piece to drop to the ground with an ear-splitting clang. I jumped back as the items ricocheted across the floor, and a club rolled to a stop by my feet.

Nickoli bent over and picked up a sword. He approached me, a menacing look on his face, and a flash of terror tore through me. The temptation to scream was strong, however I knew it wouldn’t do me any good. If his intention was to kill me, the deed would be long done before my cries for help would be answered. If they were ever answered. I kept my focus on the sharp tip of the sword as he advanced on me.

“If you choose not to trust me, you will have to protect yourself.”

He raised the sword, gripped the hilt in his fist, and hurled it into the floor at my feet.

The tip embedded into the wood with a thud. I yelped in surprise and jumped back.

With an angry glare, he turned to storm out of the room; leaving the pile of weapons scattered about the floor.

“I don’t know how to fight with a sword,” I called out, my voice void of the angry bluster it carried earlier.

He didn’t stop, but instead replied over his shoulder as his long strides carried him out the door. “Then Princess, you best learn how.”

The slam of his door signaled the end to our conversation.

Michele is the author of the Coming of Age Fantasy Series The Prophecy of Tyalbrook - Never Let You Fall, book one (May 2013) and Never Let You Go, book two (Jan 2014) as well as the New Adult Romantic Suspense, Last Call (Oct 2013). She is currently working on the third book in The Prophecy of Tyalbrook Series, a Last Call novel and a YA Realistic Fiction that has her super excited!

Having grown up in both the cold, quiet town of Topsham, Maine and the steamy, southern hospitality of Mobile, Alabama, Michele is something of a enigma. She is an avid Yankees are hotter, Alabama football is the only REAL football out there and sweet tea is the best fan, loves New England, being outdoors and misses snow. However she thinks southern boys thing this side of heaven and her children’s laughter!

Her family, an amazing husband and three awesome kids, have planted their roots in the middle of Michele’s two childhood homes in Charlotte, North Carolina.

To learn more about Michele G. Miller and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

Check out my reviews of both books in this series so far!

Tour!! A Review & Giveaway of London Falling by T.A. Foster. Plus Guest Post!

London Falling by T.A. Foster
Genre: New Adult (Contemporary Romance)
Date Published: January 14, 2014
Publisher: Self

It’s London’s senior year and she only needs one class to graduate. She just didn’t expect her final assignment: fall in love.

Communication 224 has a reputation for giving out the most unique projects of the semester. When London James and Beau Anderson signed up for the class they had no idea they would be paired up together, much less spend an entire semester working on their final grade.

Professor Garcia tasks them to produce a study on the hit reality show, Love Match, a show about strangers falling in love on over the top dates. London and Beau decide to debunk the popular show’s fantasy portrayal of romance. Determined they can date the entire semester and not fall for each other, the classmates share blogs about their dates and start a website where everyone can follow their dating experiment. 

Is staying out of love as easy as it seems? Headstrong and success-driven London discovers there might be more important things in life than an A.

London Falling was a cute and funny romance by T.A. Foster. I wish I would have had a class like Communication 224 when I was in college. A different project like this every semester sounds fun. I enjoyed London and Beau's story. I really liked how Beau brought London out of her box, at the same time she made him realize things about his own life too. The romance happened a little faster than I expected it to, but London and Beau are good for each other, and they have heaps of chemistry. The overall pacing of the story was fast, or at least it seemed fast since I could barely put it down until I was finished. I really enjoyed London Falling, and I'm curious to check out more of T.A. Foster's books.

The ARC of London Falling by T.A. Foster was kindly provided to me by InkslingerPR for review. The opinions are my own.

London Falling Reader Interview

It’s always fun as an author to hear feedback from readers after they have finished your masterpiece. It’s also extremely nerve-wracking, knowing the words you poured your heart and soul into, are out in the world for everyone to read.

I had a chance to interview one of London Falling’s readers. Not only is Kelly a college student, but she’s a Tar Heel, so she had some extra insight on Beau and London’s senior experience. I can’t wait for everyone to read what she had to say about the book and the questions she had for me.

Do you watch reality TV? If so, what’s your favorite show?

KW: I don't watch much reality TV, but my friends and I always crowd around the television on Monday nights to watch The Bachelor/Bachelorette. It's a ridiculous, cheesy show, but by the end of a season, we're somehow all emotionally attached to the contestants.

What did you think of Professor Garcia? Do you think she could be actual professor? 

KW: I thought it was cool how involved Professor Garcia was with her students. She's quirky, but seems to honestly care about her students' educations, as well as their well-beings. If she were an actual professor at Carolina, I'd definitely take her class!

Do you have a Carolina bucket list? What are two-three things on your list?

KW: Going to a UNC-Duke game (and watching Carolina win!) is at the very top of my UNC bucket list. My roommates and I have also ambitiously decided that we are going to eat at every single restaurant on Franklin St before we graduate.

What was your favorite date that Beau and London planned?

KW: I thought the after-hours date to Morehead Planetarium was really romantic and proved how much time and effort Beau was putting into "dating" London. It really showed his soft side.

Are there any big Carolina or Chapel Hill landmarks that weren’t in the book that you think London and Beau should try?

KW: It would have been a fun scene if London and Beau had played in the fountain at Bynum Circle in the middle of campus! Lots of Carolina students make it a point to jump into the water at least once before graduating.

Any questions for Beau?

KW: I wondered at what point Beau really fell for London -- there wasn't an instantaneous attraction, but he seemed to develop feelings quickly. What changed his mind?

TAF: Beau definitely approached the project with a nonchalant attitude, and didn’t give London much thought at first. I think the night that started to change was when they went out for margaritas and Beau heard London sing. She completely surprised him and he was a goner from there.

Do you have any questions for me?

KW:How much of your personal experience at Carolina is told through Beau and London's story? Does London's character incorporate some of your own personality?

TAF: The great thing about writing London Falling was that I got to infuse a lot of my love for Carolina into the book in subtle ways. I wrote some of my favorite places into the scenes, but what happens with the characters is all new and pure imagination. Professor Garcia is actually a combination of two different professors I had mixed in with some fun fiction.

When I was writing London’s character, I didn’t think we had very much in common. She keeps her eye on her future and lets a lot of things around her pass by. That was certainly not my Carolina experience. I took advantage of as many different things as I could. I did however share her determination to succeed in my field. At that time it was journalism. I wrote for The Daily Tar Heel, worked at Student Television, and interned with UNC-TV. I did anything I could to build my portfolio. For the most part, London and I are very different.

T.A. Foster is a Southern girl whose heart and spirit are connected to the beach. She grew up catching rays and chasing waves along the North Carolina Outer Banks and now resides in the state with her adventurous pilot husband, two children and two canine kiddos.

Her long love affair with books started at an early age, and as soon as she was able, she transformed imaginative stories into words on paper. Time Spell is T.A.’s debut novel, and the first in a series about a very adventurous, clever, and magical girl named Ivy.

T.A. has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a graduate degree in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. When she’s not chasing her two-legged and four-legged children or trying to escape for date night, you can find her reading, writing or planning her next beach trip.

To learn more about T.A. Foster and her books, visit her website.You can also find her on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

Win a Bachelor date! Includes a London Falling- inspired Charm Bracelet, $20 Fandango Movie Certificate, & a $40 Restaurant GC (US Only). 

a Rafflecopter giveaway