BOOK REVIEW: Dark Heart of Magic by Jennifer Estep

BLURB:

As a thief, I stick to the shadows as much as possible. But when the head of the Sinclair Family picks me to compete in the Tournament of Blades, there's no escaping the spotlight--or the danger. 

Even though he's my competition, Devon Sinclair thinks I have the best shot at winning what's supposed to be a friendly contest. But when the competitors start having mysterious "accidents," it looks like someone will do anything to win--no matter who they hurt. 

As if I didn't have enough to worry about, mobster Victor Draconi is plotting against Devon and the rest of my friends, and someone's going around Cloudburst Falls murdering monsters. One thing's for sure. Sometimes, humans can be more monstrous than anything else...

REVIEW BY: Angel, age 12 years, 11 months

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This book is a fast-paced, action packed, suspenseful read. 

This book is about Lila Merriweather. She gets picked to represent her family, Sinclair, for her talent at Soulsight. However, during the friendly competition, someone is trying to kill off the competitors. Will Lila find the person killing off the competitors or will everyone die?

My favorite character is Oscar because he is funny and spunky. 

I recommend this book to people who like mysterious battle novels. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 and up. 

This book was published on October 27, 2015. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Great Carp Escape by Irish Beth Maddock

BLURB:

Tadpoles, clams, and minnows wow! For siblings Beth and Paul, growing up on a lake is fun... until they are startled by a fishy find along the shoreline. When they discover the scaly, moustached carp, they become afraid.

Seasons pass, and Beth and Paul avoid the swampy reeds at all costs until a flood brings about a life-or-death situation for the creepy looking carp, right in their own backyard!

With guidance from their father, will Beth and Paul be able to overcome their apprehensions about the carp and help save them before it s too late? Watch the Trailer!

The Great Carp Escape "truly captures the magic between children and nature. The story paints a beautiful picture of how all creatures on earth are God-given and shows how compassion shouldn't be based on popularity or defined beauty. This delightful and touching story carries such an important message of acceptance and simply joy. A pleasure to read and surely a popular addition to any child s home library. "

REVIEW BY: Angelina, age 9 years

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

I really liked and enjoyed this book. It was about a brother and sister who lived near the water, but they would always avoid the swampy area because they had once found a dead fish there. The fish was a carp. It snowed a lot and there was a small pond in the kids' backyard because of the snow melting. There were a bunch of live carp that got stuck in the little pond. The kids and their dad decided to help get the carp back to the regular water by digging a trench. 

The pictures in this book are very pretty and colorful. 

I give this book 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 4 to 7. 

BLOG TOUR, REVIEW, BOOK PLAYLIST & GIVEAWAY: Phoenix Awakens by Eliza Nolan

Summary from Goodreads:

Paranormal debut about a high school senior who finds herself in a fight with a secret society for control of ancient magic.

Julia never believed in magic.

Julia Long is starting her senior year with an extra dose of crazy. The dreams of cultish, bloody rituals are weird enough, but the victim in her lifelike dreams is her new classmate, Southern charmer Graham.

Graham admits he was part of the Phoenixes — a centuries old secret society — but swears he left it all behind. As Julia works with Graham to figure out why she is dreaming about his past, she's discovering she has other abilities. She heals Graham’s migraines with a touch, and there’s her superhuman strength that comes and goes. Julia doesn’t know where her new talents come from, but there’s no denying that when Graham is near, her powers kick into overdrive.

But the Phoenixes want Graham back. They need his blood to awaken the magic they seek, and they'll do whatever it takes to get it.

In a mundane world where magic does not exist, Julia is the only one with a shot at stopping them. Will Julia learn to control her new abilities in time to stop the Phoenixes from harnessing this powerful magic?

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Buy Links:

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Book Excerpt 

I rush down the wooded path as fast as I can. My legs throb and my lungs burn as I push forward through the night.

I should be heading in the other direction, away from danger, but my survival instinct is overpowered by an even deeper need. A need so primal I can't name it; I only feel its pull and have to obey.

A man's yell cuts through the forest. I race even faster towards the bloodcurdling sound.

But when I get there, it's too late. I hide behind a tree at the edge of the clearing.

Light from a bonfire illuminates a group of men in hooded cloaks. At their feet kneels a teenage boy. He's wearing jeans and nothing else. Blood drips down his chest from fresh cuts. One of the men stands over him, a bloody knife in his hand. The boy wavers on his knees and collapses to the ground. The others move away, leaving him where he lies, motionless.

The shuffle of their feet fades as they head towards the swamp.

The only sound left is the racing thump, thump of my heart, so loud I'm sure all the creatures in the forest can hear. I tiptoe out into the clearing and, seeing no one else, rush over to the guy. Still breathing, he is curled up in a ball on the ground. His body is covered in a mixture of dirt and his own blood. So much blood!

"Hey." My voice comes out in an unsteady whisper. "Are you okay?"

He turns to face me and I startle when I recognize him.

My hands shake as I reach out to him. I brush his shoulder with my fingertips and sharp pain shoots through them and up my arm. It's like a million pin pricks at once.

I jerk my hand away, crying out.

REVIEW BY: Angel, age 12 years, 11 months

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This was an outrageously, intense, wonderfully plotted, crazy exciting book!

Phoenix Awakens is about a 17 year old girl named Julia Long. Well, maybe thats her name. She starts to have crazy, intense dreams about the new kids, but they may not even be dreams, they may be connections to the new kids named Graham and Clara. Everything just seems so unreal to Julia, such as; her father hiding things from her, strange powers that she can only possess, and a strange possessed popular girl that keeps warning Julia. Is this real or is it another long awkward dream? In this book, you will find all the answers to these crazy questions and more!

I loved this book so much and I would love to read it over and over again.

My favorite character is Clara because she is brave, but willing to protect the ones she loves. My favorite part is when Graham mentions the clay pot flying because its super funny!

I recommend this book to those that like heart pounding, suspenseful, action packed novels.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 and up.

Book Playlist

Music is so important when I’m writing. It sets the mood for the piece I’m working on. I sometimes have several playlists for one book. Phoenix Awaken’s playlists have almost 100 songs. I’ve chosen the top ten to share. I hope you like them!

https://play.spotify.com/user/22owhy25a3ugaduw4z3ffw7ni/playlist/5kFd5ULXhkMGRd5Sl8xv91

About the Author

Eliza Nolan was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She lived in Charleston, South Carolina, for a few years, after which she returned to icy Minnesota - where she now lives with her two cats in a house smaller than your closet.

She is an avid reader and writer of YA. She has ghostwritten a novel or two, but also writes her own stuff, and is FINALLY getting ready (to get ready) to publish her debut young adult urban fantasy novel, Phoenix Awakens.

Author Links:

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

GIVEAWAY:

a Rafflecopter giveaway 


Book Blitz Organized by:
YA Bound Book Tours

BOOK REVIEW: The Many Lives of John Stone by Linda Buckley-Archer

BLURB:

An English teen questions all she knows about aging when she encounters a set of journals that date from the present back to the reign of King Louis XIV in this blend of contemporary and historical fiction from the author of the acclaimed Gideon trilogy. 

Stella Park (Spark for short) has found summer work cataloging historical archives in John Stone’s remote and beautiful house in Suffolk, England. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect, and her uncertainty about living at Stowney House only increases upon arriving: what kind of people live in the twenty-first century without using electricity, telephones, or even a washing machine? Additionally, the notebooks she’s organizing span centuries—they begin in the court of Louis XIV in Versailles—but are written in the same hand. Something strange is going on for sure, and Spark’s questions are piling up. Who exactly is John Stone? What connection does he have to these notebooks? And more importantly, why did he hire her in the first place?

REVIEW BY: Arianna, age 12 years, 10 months

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This book was fascinating! 

My favorite character is Spark because she is brave, intelligent, and kind. My favorite parts are when I read John Stone's notebook because it is a great and vivid description of the time of the Sun King's ruling. 

I recommend this book to anyone who likes immortals, history and great family and friends. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 11 and up. 

This book was published on October 20, 2015. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Good Dog by Todd Kessler

BLURB:

Debunking Kid Lit’s Short Attention Span Myth, One Page at a Time…

NEW CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK FROM BLUE’S CLUES CREATOR

In the age of iPad games and thin, five-hundred word children’s picture books relying on clever concepts rather than character development and sustained narrative, The Good Dog is set to spark a revolution in publishing by returning to traditional storytelling for young children.

The Good Dog – the debut children’s book from Blue’s Clues creator Todd Kessler – relies on children’s innate desire to experience decision-making within the context of compelling adventure and relatable conflict. Puppy protagonist Tako is an orphaned dog who is adopted by Ricky Lee. Ricky’s parents explain to Tako that he can stay with the family if he’s a “good dog” and behaves in the Lee family’s new bakery. But when greedy Mr. Pritchard, a business competitor, decides to secretly sabotage the Lee Family business, Tako has to choose whether to follow the rules or break them in order to protect his family.

Over twice the length of today’s standard children’s picture book, The Good Dog debunks the myth that kids today have shorter attention spans, making this action packed, page-turning tale a vital and trend-setting contribution to the children’s publishing marketplace.

Illustrated with vibrant watercolors by #1 bestselling Ninja Bunny author-illustrator Jennifer Gray Olson, The Good Dog is set for arrival in bookstores across North America on October 26th, 2015. Like Kessler’s Blue’s Clues, The Good Dog garnered nearly one hundred percent attention in test readings with children ranging in ages from 3 to 10. This story of friendship, integrity, and courage is certain to become a family favorite in any household. The Good Dog has also been praised by educators as an ideal text for guided and independent classroom reading and for presenting complex themes which spark rich classroom discussion.

The Good Dog – and the second book of the series, The Good Dog and the Bad Cat(Spring 2016) – are with Coralstone Press, the new Independent Publishers Group [IPG] children’s book imprint. Both books empower kids to be heroes in their own lives, follow their instincts, and know that “sometimes you have to be a little bit bad to be very good.”

REVIEW BY: Angelina, age 9 years

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This book was very good! It was about an dog and a boy and how they have a bakery but a man doesn't like them! The guy tried to sabotage their bakery so nobody would go there anymore. 

My favorite character is the dog because I love dogs! I also loved the pictures in this book. They were very pretty and I think they will get little kid's attention! 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 4 to 8. 

This book was published on October 26, 2015. 

BOOK REVIEW: The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden

BLURB:

In a post-storm New Orleans, Adele is haunted by myths, monsters, and her own family’s secrets.

After the storm of the century rips apart New Orleans, sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne and her father are among the first to return. Adele wants nothing more than to resume her normal life, but with the silent city resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition.

Strange events—even for New Orleans—lead Adele to an attic that has been sealed for three hundred years. The chaos she accidentally unleashes threatens not only her but also everyone she knows.

Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, Adele must untangle a web of magic that weaves the climbing murder rate back to her own ancestors. But who can you trust in a city where everyone has secrets and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless…you’re immortal.

REVIEW BY: Arianna, age 12 years, 10 months

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

This book is absolutely amazing! 

My favorite character is Issac because he makes me feel better when I red about him. Adeline makes me feel good about myself and being a teenager. 

My favorite part is when Adeline talks to her dad because it makes me feel happy and secure. 

I recommend this book for anyone who likes vampires, adventures, and fascinating stories! 

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 and up. 

This book's publishing date is November 17, 2015.