Cover Reveal: Smolder by Kelbian Noel!

I'm excited to share the cover for Smolder, book three in The Witchbound series by Kelbian Noel. This is a YA urban fantasy series and the first two books are Roots and Sprung. Check out the gorgeous cover and then enter to win a $25 gift card!

Title: Smolder (Witchbound #3)
Author: Kelbian Noel
Release date: May 1st 2014

Calida Cevallos has never been special. In fact, as far as she’s concerned, there isn’t an exceptional bone in her body. But, this summer, she’ll discover extraordinary literally runs through her veins.

I’ve always been a burden. The girl people put up with, the one they tolerated. When I finally found someone who actually wanted me around, I couldn’t have be happier. But lately something’s been bubbling at the surface. Something wants to break free…and I’m afraid it’s me.

I love him. And, for a time, I thought I needed him. Now I’m not so sure. These days, I get the feeling I’m the one who’s needed. By whom? I’m about to find out.

Roots (Witchbound Book One) by Kelbian Noel

288 pages

Seventeen-year-old Baltimore Land just wants to be normal, but magic has other plans.

I don’t consider myself a witch, that’s my parents’ thing. I’ve never really believed in magic either. Sure, I tried it a few times. Fell for the whole “magic happens” thing. But it didn’t happen to me. No amount of rhyming stopped my parents from moving me halfway across the country. Not one spell stopped me from being labeled the town freak.

And worst of all, no matter how many times I begged the Universe to bring my twin back, I was ignored. Until now.

He’s back all right. And in a magical bind of his own. Not the magic-won’t-work-for-me kind either. In fact, it’s working a little too well. Too dark. Too deep.

It turns out our entire family’s magical roots run just as deep and my brother didn’t end up where he is by accident. So I’m going to help him. But magic isn’t really on my side. Nope. Once I finally get the craft under control, I’m expected to abandon the one person in the world who’s closest to me, just to save myself.

Amazon | Goodreads | Book Trailer

Sprung (Witchbound Book Two) by Kelbian Noel

336 pages

Since she discovered magic, seventeen-year-old Skye Jackson’s life is almost perfect. Almost. Even perfect has its glitches.

What happens when the one with all the power makes the biggest mistakes? Welcome to my life.

Four months ago, I couldn’t have been happier. When my parents got divorced, I wasn’t exactly thrilled. Especially when Mom married a guy half her age. But then I found out I wasn’t the average Joana. Discovering magic existed and, best of all, I could use it, made everything easier to deal with. That is until I got a little too spell happy. But what girl wouldn’t defend her best friend against a world-class creep? Now I’m stuck in a nightmare, forced to make life and death decisions I never dreamed I’d face.

Love the magic, hate the responsibility.

Book Trailer | Amazon | Goodreads

Kelbian Noel was born on a warm June night in Moncton, New Brunswick. From a very young age, she loved to read. She found herself engulfed in novels by Janette Oke and L.M. Montgomery, but never seemed to find herself in the pages. At the age of 11 she declared she would simply have to rewrite them, and become the youngest author in history. But life was full of baseball, homework, BFFs and boys. Decades later, having studied writing in college and pursued it as a career, she rediscovered her hobby. She is excited to introduce The Witchbound Series to the world with hopes someone will love this story as much as she does. Kelbian lives in Toronto, Ontario with her two children (where, thanks to a thick layer of smog, Junes are much warmer than they used to be).

She is the founder of www.diverse-pages.com and blogs there often, in the company of some pretty cool people.

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Book Blitz: Guarding Angel by S. L. Saboviec!

Title: Guarding Angel

Series: Fallen Redemption #1

Genre: Adult Fantasy

Release Date: May 19, 2014

Links:

Guardian angel Enael can’t seem to keep her human Wards in check. They’re the ones who choose their paths before reincarnating—she’s just there to help make sure they stay on track. But it’s not as easy as it might look.

When she meets and falls in love with charismatic Kaspen, a fellow Guardian, Enael’s feelings about Heaven, Hell, demons, and the life she’s known are turned upside down. Worse, angel-turned-demon Yasva, Kaspen’s former love, still holds him in her clutches. Even as Yasva works toward obtaining complete control of Earth, she taunts and haunts Kaspen’s and Enael’s lives.

Now Enael is forced to face her past (which is centuries long and bursting with secrets), her present (which is terribly unfulfilling and full of questions), and her future (which becomes more uncertain as time passes). Armed with a newfound love and fear of losing it all, she must figure out how to save the world—-and the angel she loves. Which side will win? Who will Kaspen choose? Will Heaven and Earth continue to exist, or will everything go to Hell?

Yasva tipped her head back. “No more. I revoke my place in Heaven.”

Her amethyst eyes went wide and the air shimmered around her. I cringed but couldn’t look away. She screamed as she clamped her hands to her ears. Her wings quivered. No… They flared above her and burst apart in a spray of royal purple. The droplets hung in the air before they contracted into nothingness.

I backed away but bumped into a bush. It’s happening again.

Shrieking, Yasva pressed her hands to her eyes and doubled over. Deep purple blood soaked the back of her robe where her wings had been. She wrenched her hands down and stared at me. I willed myself to move but couldn’t. Her eyes were pits, stark black and seething. She regarded me with a hatred I had seen but once before.

My stomach lurched in fear. Beside me, Kaspen gripped his hair, eyes wide. I’d nearly forgotten he was there.

Yasva thrust out a hand as though to steady herself. “This isn’t…” She wobbled, reaching for Kaspen, who backed away. “… the end…” She coughed and staggered. “… of me! I will have my revenge!” She went to a knee before fading and disappearing into Hell.

Where all angels who renounce their connections to the Source go.

Where they live as demons.

The stench of sulfur washed over me, and I quashed the urge to gag

10 Things I’m Glad I’ve Done

Since The Bucket List came out, I’ve seen lots of “here’s my before-I-die list” blog entries. I like that idea, I really do, but at the moment, I’m drowning in to-do lists. I have my work list, which never seems to end, and my personal list, which is so long that I’ve split it into categories. Now, instead of two, I have about six or seven—I don’t even want to count.

But what about all the things I’ve done with my life? Like the daily to-do list, once something happens, I tend to discount it once it’s crossed off. But today, I’d like to pause a moment and be grateful for all the things in the world that I’ve experienced.

Here are ten of them:

1. Gotten LASIK surgery

My big regret is doing it so young (age nineteen) because my eyes had a tad more adjustment to do and I don’t have the perfect vision I had when I first had the surgery done. But going from thick gas permeable contacts to being without vision correction has been freeing in a way only those who have glasses or contacts could understand. Thirteen years later, I still wake up in the morning and gaze across the room in wonder that I’m able to clearly see the details of the shirts hanging in my closer.

2. Journaled my way through college

For four solid years, I was committed to journaling, both as a way of discovering who I was as a person and as a way to develop my skill as a writer. Some nights I would sit in front of my computer and spend hours chronicling the events of the past day or two. And now I have a record of that tumultuous, exciting time in my life, one that I may or may not ever go back and read. But having it written down is precious to me. I’m so glad that I did it.

3. Started pursuing my writing dream at a relatively young age

After I finished college, I pursued the sensible course of action—a stable job with a nice pension and good benefits. I shelved my writing and didn’t look back. Yet I wasn’t fulfilled. And I kept wondering—what was missing?

A couple years ago, I realized that for a long time, I would think to myself, “I’ll write when I have time. Maybe when I retire. Maybe after the next promotion. The next project. The next time I have a long break.” Yet it never happened—until a friend helped me wake up and realize that writing was what I wanted to do. Never mind the career that didn’t capture my heart. So what if writing doesn’t pay the bills? That’s not why I do it.

And so, even though I was past thirty when I really got serious about writing, I did get serious. I’m realizing my dream, one book, one chapter, one sentence, one word at a time. And I’m grateful that I started, even if sometimes I want to beat myself up for starting so late.

4. Been laid off from my job of five years

This one isn’t as odd as it seems. At 27 years old, I was laid off from my job at a large bank. Due to a variety of circumstances, I spent the next nine months struggling to find work. Yet I count this as one of the most important things that happened to me in my life.

First, it taught me that I could overcome just about anything. By the end, I was running up credit card debt, having blown through all the savings I’d carefully squirreled away, never thinking that the day would come when I’d need it. Yet I came out the other side stronger.

And secondly, it taught me that corporations do not care about me. And I learned it at a very young age. Since starting my career ten years ago, I’ve seen all different demographics of people fired or laid off—retirement age, middle age, with young children at home, just starting their careers. And because I’ve been through it, it no longer shocks me. I’m still appalled and saddened and angered, but I understand that none of those emotions do me any good. I’m as loyal to my job now as I know it is to me—which is to say, we have an understanding.

5. Been in a cutting edge guild in World of Warcraft

Yes, I have to mention this. I’m a video gamer. In fact, it’s how I met my husband, in an online world. We played WOW for several years before really getting into raiding, which required quite a time and energy. Although I may never again be able to sustain the level of commitment to a computer screen that it requires, being really, really good at something and admired by “the masses” on our server was exciting while it lasted.

6. Fallen in love

I believe in soul mates, but I also believe that not everyone is destined to find theirs. That my husband and I met on an online game, another one of my loves, is both fitting and ridiculous! I’m grateful that I found him and had the courage to have a relationship with him.

7. Moved to a city …

As a result of falling in love and another bunch of extenuating circumstances (I seem to have a lot of those in my life), my husband and I ended up moving to Toronto. Some days, as I trundle off the train and get swept away by the rush hour crowd, I recall that I am a small town girl living in the big city. I think of the excitement of going to Chicago or New York City for the first time, the flutters in my chest at the hustle and bustle, and I think, Boy, you sure were an idiot.

I hate the city. The people. The smells. The busy streets.

But I’m glad I got to live here so that I knew what I was missing out on: not much.

Sorry, city folk.

8. … In another country

My husband is Canadian. Although Canada isn’t quite as foreign of a country as, say, North Korea, it still has its differences from the Midwest. Everyone is friendlier (except in the aforementioned Toronto commute). Everyone is more accepting. Everyone is more laid back and less concerned with everyone else’s business. Whether it’s the country, the tapestry of different religions and beliefs, or the Greater Toronto Area itself, I don’t know. But I do know I like the culture here, and I’m glad I have been able to experience it.

9. Went to Africa

This is actually the one thing that sparked the idea for this list. I loved going to Africa, and I would love to go back someday with my husband and future children. But even if I never do, the beauty, majesty, simplicity, and ruggedness of that continent will forever stay with me. It’s something that I think should be on every person’s bucket list. It was the only place that changed me by simply being.

10. Had a baby

Technically, I haven’t had a baby yet. But sometime on or around September 3, I will become a mother.

I have a confession: I’m not a baby person. I babysat for the money, not for the love of children. And at four months pregnant, upon holding my friend’s newborn in my arms, I thought perhaps the “ugh, what am I supposed to do with this thing?” feeling would be washed away by the pregnancy hormones. It was not.

But, as they always used to tell me, when it’s your baby, it’s different. Let me just make this clear, though: I don’t like pregnancy, the constant need to pee, the ravenous hunger that strikes with no regard to the clock, the aches and pains and weird stuff that you don’t even want to know about. But when I feel my baby roll inside me or kick a painfully sensitive spot (good golly, I wish he/she would stop doing that), some sort of oxytocin-fueled starry-eyed-ness goes off inside me. And I’m glad. This will be an amazing ride, I just know it. And they’re right. When it’s my baby, it’s different.

What about you? Are there one, two, three things you’re happy, gratified, excited, or glad to have experienced?

Samantha grew up in a small town in Iowa but now lives in the suburbs of Toronto with her Canadian husband and expatriate cat. In her spare time, she reads, writes, and thinks about reading and writing—along with playing the occasional video game or eight.

My Website(Has buy links)

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Magic & Mayhem Book Review Blog

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Book Review: Freak of Nature (IFICS #1) by Julia Crane

Title: Freak of Nature (IFICS #1)

Author: Julia Crane

Genre: Sci-Fi, NA

See on: Goodreads

Buy: Amazon
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iBooks

Donate Body to Science. Check.
When seventeen-year-old Kaitlyn checked the box, she never suspected she’d have her life–and her body–stolen from her. She awakens one day in a secret laboratory to discover that her body is now half-robot and is forced to hide her own secret: that she still has human emotions and a human mind. If the scientists who made her find out, they’ll erase what remains of who she was.

Kaitlyn finds an unlikely ally in Lucas, a handsome, brilliant scientist who can’t get over the guilt he feels knowing she was once a vibrant, beautiful young woman. He never expected a science project to affect him the way she does. As he tries to help her rediscover her past, he finds himself falling for the brave girl struggling to find her place and acceptance between the human and computer worlds.

Everyone, meet Kaitlyn

http://shadowness.com/file/item3/60566/image_t6.jpg

The first human cyborg.

Created by IFICS, Kaitlyn's purpose was to become the strongest, most lethal weapon known to man.

But there is one problem.

And that is...

Well, you better read it.

The idea of the human turned drone really caught my attention. Kaitlyn, having lost her life and now donated her body to science, acts very human despite her gear-controlled body and mechanically-supported heart.

And, despite with those mechanical alterations, she is still human. She befriends Quess, the Adams' granddaughter and she feels for Lucas, her warden-slash-scientist, who helped in developing her into the cyborg she was believed to be.

I also like it for the following reasons:

The training and modifications that Kaitlyn had undergone post-cyborg is quite detailed. From handling a gun to installing a slang chip, it made the book have the sense of authenticity as it walks through certain changes to Kaitlyn as she became more cyborg and less human. Or so they thought.

The romance between Lucas and Kaitlyn was just the right amount. The interchanging points-of-view between Lucas and Kaitlyn was also good as it builds up what one thinks of and feels for the other. I have one quip about this though. The book (for me) could have done without the love scene between them. Sure, it may have connected them more but, if the author really wanted to include a scene, it could have been better in the later books. That part felt rushed just so they (Kaitlyn and Lucas), despite Lucas' asking Kaitlyn if she wants to, can get it out of the way.

I really can't wait to read the second book and be able to see more of Kaitlyn and how she struggles with being the first human-cyborg in mankind's history.

And, I really wish more action scenes would be on the second book for the only action in the first book was this:

"Half-human, half-machine. She didn't quite fit into either world. I'm an abomination, she thought, her shoulders slumping."

Julia crane is the author of the Coexist: Keegan’s Chronicles. She has a bachelors degree in criminal justice. Julia has believed in magical creatures since the day her grandmother first told her an Irish tale. Growing up her mother greatly encouraged reading and using your imagination. Although she’s spent most of her life on the US east coast, she currently lives in Dubai with her husband and three children.

Author links:

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Book Tour + Review: Carnelian by B. Kristin McMichael

Thank you so much for the opportunity for reviewing the first book in the Chalcedony Chronicles.
And, without further ado, here it is!

Title: Carnelian (Chalcedony Chronicles #1)

Author: B. Kristin McMichael

Genre: Science fiction, YA, Romance

See on: Goodreads
Buy from: Amazon ll B&N ll Book Depository

Summary from Goodreads:

Everyone has a past, but for most it isn’t as long ago as Seth Sangre. His past is literally thousands of years ago. Seth’s life led him to the present seeking something that might help him save his country from destruction. He has been in the present for over three years now and just found exactly what he has been looking for.

Mari had dreams that college will be a fresh start, one where she would start over and not fall for the good looking player like high school. Unfortunately for her, that’s exactly what ends up falling into her lap on the first day she moves into the dorms. Now she has to hold to her promise to herself and not fall for the handsome Seth. But he doesn’t plan to make it easy for her. Seth has already marked her as his next conquest. As the semester progresses, Mari learns that Seth might just have a life of his own that’s actually from the past.

Suddenly Mari finds her future along with her past put into question. She’s connected to Seth far more than she ever wanted to be and maybe the player isn’t who she thought he was. If Mari can trust her heart enough to follow him, Seth will lead Mari on an adventure of a lifetime and reveal family secrets she never knew existed.

There are two things that I really liked in this book.
The first is the concept of time travel.

And the second is the presence of these beautiful mythical beings.

And I really hope to see more of these elements in the second book because this one focused more on the budding romance between Mari and Seth Sangre.

Marcella Navina, Mari for short, wanted a normal college life experiencing independence from her family until Seth Sangre, the star quarterback of Morton Carole, came. With his sights set on her, Mari's life is about to take a turn for the extraordinary.

From the beginning til the middle, is the building up of Seth's and Mari's romance. A little later in the book comes the fun part as we get to see how Seth really really lives his life.

Overall, I guess I just find this book too sweet because of the "I-can't-be-separated-from-you-ever-so-I'll-travel-back-through-time-because-I-can-and-I-want-to-see-you." And yet, this provided an opening to be able to learn more about Seth's world.

This book is a nice beginning to the Chronicles series but I am really looking forward to the second book, hoping that the ones I have stated above would be more prominent. I also want to get to know the other characters more especially their histories and what would happen to them.

"I was still lost in thought over the ending when there was a thump on my lap. College students were walking all around and a few were tossing a football between them. I looked down expecting to see a football

It wasn't a football. The head of a perfectly cute guy was lying across my lap."

Seth looked at me and paused for a minute more. "Would you go out with me?" he asked. He actually looked nervous. You'd think after twenty-three girls, he would have this down by now.

Originally from Wisconsin, B. Kristin currently resides in Ohio with her husband, two small children, and three cats. When not doing the mom thing of chasing kids, baking cookies, and playing outside, she is using her PhD in biology as a scientist. In her free time she is currently hard at work on multiple novels. Every day is a new writing adventure. She is a fan of all YA/NA fantasy and science fiction.

Links:

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HERE'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN CHALCEDONY CHRONICLES GOODIES!

1 grand prize of signed copies of both Carnelian and Chrysoprase

2 runners-up can get signed copies of Carnelian