Thursday, October 16, 2014

One day left!

OK so, I'm excited about this one <3 but at my speeding rate, the winner will have finished it before I do!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

xo

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Love At The End of Days: The Apocalypse is coming… are you ready?

Love At The 
End of days 
The Apocalypse is coming…
are you ready?




Romance and zombies collide in the riveting sequel to Love in the Time of the Dead.

Year four into the Dead outbreak that ended the world and Vanessa Summers has been so burned by love, she swears she will never trust a man again. But Sean Daniels, guard leader of Dead Run River, isn’t just any man. When past lovers return to the colony, things get complicated. Desperate to rid herself of the heartache, Vanessa signs up for a supply run that will test her mettle as a guard in training. Sean volunteers to lead her team, and his hungry looks say it’s more personal than professional.
Danger comes from all sides as they scavenge Dead infested cities, and as her attraction for Sean deepens, Vanessa finds her head and heart at war with each other. He clouds her judgment, and any misstep could spell disaster outside of the safety of colony gates.
A race back to Dead Run River could save a team mate’s life, but trouble has been brewing back home. Laney Landry, the woman who broke Sean’s heart, is in trouble, and Vanessa must decide whether to take back the Denver colony beside the man she’s falling in love with, or bow out of an attraction that terrifies her.
Weathering Dead hybrids, betrayals, battles, jealousy, and soul consuming love, Vanessa must find her place in the team she’s found. And if she can, she might just master survival at the end of days.


Buy Links: 
Author Website: http://terashanley.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @TeraShanley


Author Bio:
Tera Shanley writes in sub-genres that stretch from Paranormal Romance, to Historic

Western Romance, to Apocalyptic (zombie) Romance. The common theme? She loves love.

A self-proclaimed bookworm, she was raised in small town Texas and could often be found

decorating a table at the local library. She currently lives in Dallas with her husband and two

young children and when she isn’t busy running around after her family, she’s writing a new

story or devouring a good book. Any spare time is dedicated to chocolate licking, rifle slinging,

zombie slaying, friend hugging, and the great outdoors. For more information about Tera and her


work, visit www.terashanley.com.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Paper vs. Screen - my personal struggle and the realness

I have a plethora of paper ARC's from BEA and some more from NYCC all lined up to be reviewed and then giveaway to all of you guys, because must share the book love. I just can't get through them. No matter how good they are, how much I love the authors, I still find myself putting down the books and picking up my kindle. What is wrong with me?

I decided to time myself, the ever problem solver that I am, in an attempt to figure out why it's so damn difficult for me to read paper books. I counted out 1000 words on a kindle, and then a 1000 on a paper and gave it a go. The results were astounding. I read a whopping 3x faster on a kindle screen, than paper. No wonder I keep putting it down, it's taking too damn long. Its no surprise to me that I've grown to read faster over the the time I've had my kindle, I am on my mark for 100 books read for the year. I have exponentially practiced more in one medium over the other. I find this rather disheartening.

Do you guys remember Alena Graedon? She wrote The Word Exchange that I went gaga over, and she recently shared an article where science proved we use a different part of our brains to read on paper vs screen. We engage more deeply with paper, but they didn't mention reading speeds. Oh well.

Either way, it's pissing me off.

In other, profoundly better news, here is a sneak of the giveaways to come!

Salt and Storm by Kendall Kulper

Zodiac by Romina Russell

The Forgotten Girl by David J. Bell

The First Bad Man by Miranda July

…and that's just a sneak.

Am I alone in this struggle? I can't be...

DNF at 6%: Unborn (Unborn, #1) by Amber Lynn Natusch

Unborn (Unborn, #1)Unborn by Amber Lynn Natusch




No spoilers and colorful language abound! I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 6%, which is a personal record.

I'm not going to rate this, obviously.

Here are my thoughts thus far:

OK, so here is the deal. Are you are thinking 6%, christ on a cracker, did you even learn anyone's names yet? The author barely started, give them a chance!


 photo anigif_enhanced-buzz-980-1411660055-10_zps65b27db1.gif


I hear you. I do. My answer is still a resounding fuck no.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

DNF: The Walled City, by Ryan Graudin

The Walled CityThe Walled City by Ryan Graudin




No spoilers and colorful language abound! I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 55%

I'm not going to rate this, I'm not far enough into the story to justify a star rating.

Here are my thoughts thus far:

Lacks substance, otherwise known as a plot. It's fancy, I'll give you that much with its strong and rich Asian culture, intrigue and suspense. But, big fucking but here folks, what the hell was the point? Nothing written mattered, a pretty backdrop constructed to disguise the lack of content. Boohiss.

Friday, October 10, 2014

NYCC and a Giveaway of Burn For Me by Ilona Andrews!

FOLLOW THE MASSES


I got there late, and this was the hoard flowing into the bowels of NYCC. The badges were a real help, just a little tap on a tablet and bam, you move on through!

I'm just going to say this right here, right now. NYCC was a giant flee market filled with overpriced crap smattered with some legitimately awesome things. I was largely disappointed with the entire thing, I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I experienced. Aside from a numerous amount of books that are due to publish within the remainder of the year, the publishers were peddling older books for $10 a pop. Meh. The best part about CC? THIS BEAST OF BEAUTY.



There is a huge but here though, which was the off site panel at B&N featuring the gracious duo that make up Ilona Andrews! One very expensive cab ride across town, an overpriced scolding hot latte and and scuffle with the cashiers about who got to a book first was all worth it when we came up the escalator and walked right into these guys!


Like a creep, we just stood there, and started taking shameless pictures, because duh. Behold, the powerhouse behind Kate Daniels, who came with a box or two of Burn For Me, yet to be published!


On the fourth floor of Barnes and Nobel, the panel was fun, intimate and well worth it. But this was the best part, eep.


I have to say, I've met my fair share of authors and their handlers, these two were far and away the most gracious, down to earth, pleasantly charming of the lot. They spent time with each fan take the time to connect, take pictures, chat, sign things, it was nothing short of heart warming. They shared their tale of braving the New York City Subway and they were delightfully surprised that us east coasters aren't as gruff as we are protrayed. Oh and the icing on this kind of weird day? I got to share it with that pretty lady in black, JennyJen, my book buddy!


So, it's time folks. TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY!

Fine print and all that jazz: Open internationally. This is my copy from BEA 2014, it is not to be sold, it is an advanced readers copy!




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Business of the Busy Bee: NYCC and Nessies

It's not really a secret I'm phobic of not being productive, and good thing for me, I consider reading productivity. However, these past two weeks I've been sewing constantly perfecting a pattern for baby Lock Ness Monsters, and binge watching Once Upon a Time. It has left little room for much else, but I have good news!

Firstly, I'm back to reading now the obsessiveness that takes over when creating a new pattern has died down. They were seriously worth the effort. Behold the adorableness:



Second (and much more exciting), I got my badge for NYCC and I'm too excited.


I have a list of authors, signing booths, drop times, my camera, and comfy shoes. I'll be covering the event and I couldn't be more excited! I'll be live Tweeting and sharing sneak peeks of my book scores, so pop onto Twitter tomorrow and I'll check in once I'm back. 

xo

Erica