Wednesday 30 May 2012

Blog Tour & Review ~ The Third Fate by Nadja Notariani









Author: Nadja Notariani
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Kindle Edition
Published: 30 March 2012
Source of my copy: Innovative Online Book Tours


Blurb ~ The Third Fate

~ 'One Fate be granted mortal man, used for evil or good as the inner voice directs. Alas, the divine spark draws the eyes of the Fates, the Second Fate sparingly gifted by their hands. Be warned offspring of the gods, guard your gifting well. For if the Third Fate be unleashed, the soul lays bare before one so touched by the gods.' ~

Cautious and quiet by nature, Paige Kinnell watches life unfold from the sidelines, maintaining her simple existence as a shield to hide behind. But underneath her shy, careful ways, Paige senses a disconnect with the world around her, indulging instead her ever curious interest in the legend and lore of time nearly forgotten.

One chance encounter with an ancient of the undead begins an unraveling of reality as Paige knows it, leaving her to sort through dreams and enchantments, discovering along the way that one's Fate can be mere illusion, and that the consequences of opening her heart to another may cost dearly.

Cael Maccinnis, the handsome Highlander she's met, seems the answer to every unspoken longing of her heart, even as he awakens dark, secret desires buried within her soul. As strange and unnerving changes begin occurring in her mind and body, Paige has no choice but to face her life's unnatural turn and confront the frightening implications. For within Paige's past a secret lay dormant, hidden even from her. This truth, guarded well and wielded by the Fates themselves, becomes the catalyst invoking the power of The Third Fate.

My Review
A male lead who is not only a vampire but a Highlander as well. The combination and the character it promises is delivered in Third Fate. Think hot, brooding and all things great in male leads in paranormal romance, that's Cael! If that's your cup of tea then this alone will get you to read The Third Fate and it is well worth it.

Paige is a girl who has depths and 
talents unknown even to herself. The story follows her as she blossoms from shy and sheltered into the woman fit for the  romance in The Third Fate. I very much enjoyed how she changed as a character and found it very fitting for the story.

The Fates role in this story was a new angle for me and one which I think works very well. An interesting 
choice of mythology and a change from the usual.

I'd 
recommend this book to paranormal romance fans, don't let the vampire angle put you off if it sometimes does. Do note though that it may be a little hot for you if you like your romances sweet!





About Nadja Notariani (1971-)

 Nadja Notariani was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania. Her upbringing included very diverse environments, affording wide and varied richness of ethnic and religious tradition. Raised in both an Italian/Mediterranean American home and a traditional German household, Nadja gleaned the unique benefits of viewing the world through two widely different lenses.

Nadja currently resides in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  Her published titles follow. Claiming The Prize, a contemporary romance. Her Dark Baron, a historical novella. The Third Fate, a paranormal romance, published in late March, 2012.
The author can be found at her website, on facebook and Romance Novel Center, or through email, and enjoys hearing from readers.
nadjanotariani.blogspot.comnadja.notariani@gmail.com

This biography was provided by the author or their 

representative.


Friday 25 May 2012

Feature & Follow Friday #9




What is Feature & follow?

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!


The featured blogs: Underworld Love Addiction and Charissa Books.


Tuesday 22 May 2012

Book Tour: Donna Grant Sooper Dooper Release Day Blog Hop!

To celebrate the release of Midnight's Master (Dark Warrior #1) Donna Grant is having a blog hop hosted by Innovative Online Book Tours.

Give away details at bottom of post! - How it works. You visit each of the blogs in the linky (see end of the post) to find a warrior fact about one of the warriors taken from the Dark Warrior series. On Eternally Books you'll find a bit about the book, about Donna Grant and finally my Warrior talk!


Midnight's Master By Donna Grant
Buy from Amazon

From the acclaimed author of the Dark Sword novels comes a thrilling spin off series in which ancient magic in the modern world ignites a timeless passion....

A MYSTERY OUT OF TIME
Gwynn Austin has no idea why her father has disappeared on a mysterious trip to Scotland.  When she goes on a desperate mission to search for him she finds more than she bargains for in a ruggedly handsome, wickedly exciting Highlander who exudes danger and mystery. And when she discovers her own link to Scotland, she’ll have to trust her heart to help lead her….A LEGEND IN THE FLESH
Propelled through time by powerful Druid Magic, Logan Hamilton uses his immortality and powers of the god inside him to help prevent the awakening of an ancient evil in the modern world. He never expects to find help in the form of a beautiful, alluring, and all too tempting woman whose passion and strength matches his own. Together, Logan and Gywnn must fight for their love—before a demon from the past destroys them both…

About Donna Grant


Donna Grant is the bestselling, award winning author of more than twenty-five novels spanning multiple genres of romance.

She was born and raised in Texas but loves to travel. Her adventures have taken her throughout the United States as well as to Jamaica, Mexico, and Scotland. Growing up on the Texas/Louisiana border, Donna’s Cajun side of the family taught her the “spicy” side of life while her Texas roots gave her two-steppin’ and bareback riding.

Her childhood dream was to become a professional ballet dancer and study under the amazing Mikhail Baryshnikov. Though she never got to meet Baryshnikov, she did make it to New York City and performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Later, Donna’s love of the romance genre and the constant stories running through her head prompted her to sit down and write her first book. Once that book was completed, there was no turning back.

Donna sold her first book in November 2005 while displaced from Hurricane Rita, a storm that destroyed portions of the Texas Gulf Coast. Since then, Donna has sold novels and novellas to both electronic and print publishers. Her books include several complete series such as Druids Glen, The Shields, Royal Chronicles, Sisters of Magic, Dark Sword, Dark Warriors, and her new series, Dark Kings.

Despite the deadlines and her voracious reading, Donna still manages to keep up with her two young children, four cats, three fish, and one long haired Chihuahua. She’s blessed with a proud, supportive husband who loves to read and travel as much as she does.

Where to follow Donna around the web and to find out more:

Donna's Website http://www.donnagrant.com/

My Warrior Camdyn

Camdyn will featured in Dark Seduction which will be book 3 in the Dark Warriors Series which will come out in October 30, 2012.



Camdyn

(Camdyn pronounced: Cam-din)
The most lethal of the Warriors. Camdyn prefers solitude, but the coming war forces him from his self-imposed exile. He’ll have to learn to trust again in order to win against Deirdre.
Warrior Fact: Which Warrior can control the earth?: Camdyn

Born:
November 1333
Turned:
1353
God:
Sculel, god of the underworld
Warrior Color:
Brown
Abilities:
Control over the earth

The prize? 


An autographed copy of Darkest Highlander AND a brand spanking new copy of Midnight's Master either in Print or eBook Form PLUS a 10.00 Amazon GC.. How do you win this prize?

The Rules of the Contest & Hop:
  1. People must hop to each post and gather their Warrior Facts
  2. Following the contest rules of the page ie on BR and Tea in order to be a part of a contest one must be following the blog either on Facebook, Twitter, Via RSS, email, Linky or (the soon to be defunt)GFC. 
  3. After gathering the facts they must send them all to Shauni_qotu to be eligble to win Do not post the answers in the comments
  4. The winners will be chosen from those who have the most correct answers..


The Blog Hop Linky - where you need to go to find all your warror facts!

Monday 21 May 2012

Review: Blood Calls by Caridad Pineiro


Title: Blood Calls
Author: Caridad Pineiro
Series: The Calling #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Nocturne
Published: 1 May 2007
Source of my copy: I purchased it.

 About the book (from Goodreads)

But for vampire Diego Rivera, Ramona Escobar's sensuality proved even more potent. He "had" to resist--for there could be no such thing as love for him. Five centuries ago Diego had vowed never to turn another with the bite of the undead. And though Diego knew the dark underworld of New York was no place for a human, his unslaked desire commanded that Ramona be his for one night....

But when the artist's life was threatened by a reclusive millionaire who had used Ramona's skills to build a forgery ring, Diego needed to unleash his inner demon to save her. Then he was faced with a choice--lose the woman he loved...or turn her with a vampire's kiss.

My Review

Diego has lived for five centuries but has never met anyone quite like Ramona.  He is very wealthy and has taken to being a patron of the arts, not only does he have a gallery he is also Ramona's patron.  There had to be some way for him to give something back.

Diego has sworn never to turn another into a vampire after seeing what it cost others. When he learns the woman he thinks he might be falling in love with, or is trying to stop himself from doing so, is dying he finds himself in a real quandary - what will he do?

Ramona is an artist who's family circumstances forced her to undertake a job for a millionaire to obtain the money to care for her mother which she would have preferred not to take. She finds herself threatened by the reclusive millionaire who manages to find her weakest spot, her mother. She is attracted to Diego but she won't act on  it because of her illness meaning she does not have long to live, she has no idea of course tat he is a vampire.

The interaction between Ramona and Diego is executed very well through out the story, I like that it is not all just nice and going well all the time!

Blood Calls is a well paced story with interesting lead characters who end up exactly where the reader wants them to by the time they have got to know them! I have the feeling that any other end to the book than that provided would not have satisfied the reader. You'll have to read the book to find out what that is! 

Sunday 20 May 2012

Stacking The Shelves #4 & Showcase Sunday #3









Stacking The Shelves is a brand new meme for us all to showcase our book haul for the week. The lovely Tynga at Tyngas Reviews.

Showcase Sunday is another fantastic new meme where we can showcase our books, this is hosted by Vicky at 
Books, Biscuits & Tea

I can't choose which of these memes to participate in so I'm going to take part in both!!

I have received some books for review this week which is fantastic :-) 


Straight to Hell by Michelle Scott

The moment Lilith Straight dies, the Devil appears to claim her soul and cash in on a family curse. Now, Lilith has no choice but to work for him. The job is bad, the boss is worse and she can’t imagine how she’ll explain her new reincarnation to her eight-year-old daughter. But then an arrogant, yet oh so yummy, incubus shows up…and hell heats up just a little more.






Straight to Heaven by Michelle Scott

Hell’s newest employee, Lilith Straight, thinks she’s got a handle on her job as the Devil’s temptress until she finds herself going horns-to-halo with a guardian angel who’s determined to rescue Lilith’s next victim. To make matters worse, William Darcy, the hottest demon in hell, is trying to undermine Lilith’s mission with a few temptations of his own.




The Third Fate by Nadja Notariani

~ 'One Fate be granted mortal man, used for evil or good as the inner voice directs. Alas, the divine spark draws the eyes of the Fates, the Second Fate sparingly gifted by their hands. Be warned offspring of the gods; guard your gifting well. For if the Third Fate be unleashed, the soul lays bare before one so touched by the gods.' ~

Cautious and quiet by nature, Paige Kinnell watches life unfold from the sidelines, maintaining her simple existence as a shield to hide behind. But underneath her shy, careful ways, Paige senses a disconnect with the world around her, indulging instead her ever curious interest in the legend and lore of time nearly forgotten. 

One chance encounter with an ancient of the undead begins an unraveling of reality as Paige knows it, leaving her to sort through dreams and enchantments, discovering along the way that one's Fate can be mere illusion, and that the consequences of opening her heart to another may cost dearly. 

Cael Maccinnis, the handsome Highlander she's met, seems the answer to every unspoken longing of her heart, even as he awakens dark, secret desires buried within her soul. As strange and unnerving changes begin occurring in her mind and body, Paige has no choice but to face her life's unnatural turn and confront the frightening implications. For within Paige's past a secret lay dormant, hidden even from her. This truth, guarded well and wielded by the Fates themselves, becomes the catalyst invoking the power of The Third Fate

Friday 18 May 2012

TGIF (A Book Blogger is Born) & Book Blogger Hop #3


Friday is the day of following, friendship and questions in the book blog world. This week I am taking part in two further blog hops! TGIF is run by Ginger at GReads and the Book Blogger Hop is run by Jen at Crazy for Books. Look forward to getting to meet & know you my fellow book bloggers :-)

Q - A Book Blogger is Born: What made you decide to start your very own book blog?

A -  I started book blogging on the 18th July 2010. I have loved to read since I was 5 years old and had been writing reviews of the books I'd read on Amazon then Goodreads for several months which had lead me to start reading blogs. I loved the community and seeing what everyone else was reading and thought so I decided to start my very own blog. At that time I already had a personal blog I'd been keeping since 2007 (I no longer have that blog, it has gone into retirement!)

I blogged for about 10 months then unfortunately life got in the way and I hardly posted for about 8 months, this lead to my blog (then known as Magic Faeries Paranormal Review) stalling but not quite dying. Then about 3 months ago I resurrected my blog and feel like I have come home :-) I have also renamed my blog to something I feel fits both me and the books I blog about better - so Eternally Books came about and is wonderful!

I love blogging!!! In addition to Eternally Books I am developing two blogs/websites which will be launching in the next couple of weeks!. My new business website 
(Blossom Your business) which focuses on blogging, design, marketing and social media for small businesses owners and work from home professionals. And I am also putting together a book tours site (Eternal Book Tours) and a site specialising in blog design for book bloggers.



Q - How many books do you own? This can include books in your to-be-read (TBR) pile(s) and books you have already read that are on your keeper shelf.


A - Oh wow it's a lot, maybe too many!!!  I think I have around 500 novels on my various bookshelves (I have sold or given away as many in my life at least!). I also have a growing collection of ebooks, I think I have about 150 now. Okay that's just the fiction!

I love books and have around another 400 non-fiction titles. They are on design, writing, health, history, philosophy, genealogy, blogging, wordpress, yoga, self development, coding, business, learning Spanish/French/German and much more. Did I mention I love reading non-fiction almost as much as fiction? 

Feature & Follow Friday #8





What is Feature & follow?

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!


The featured blogs: Addicted 2 Heroines and Tribute Books Mama.

This weeks Question:

Q: Summer Break is upon us! What would be the perfect vacation spot for you to catch up on your reading & relax?

A: I think I'd like to go back to North Wales to Snowdonia national park, the scenery is lovely and I can find a quite spot too :-) (I'm in the UK & Wales is too, about 250 miles from me - that's half the country!)




Thursday 17 May 2012

UK v US Cover ~ Hit List


How important is the cover of a book to you?

I'm sure I notice them more because I often see a book I like and go off to buy it, only to find the version I get had a totally different cover. I'm in the UK just in case the blog post title didn't give it away! So I thought I'd start up a feature on comparing UK and US covers (might bring in ones from elsewhere too if it takes my fancy!) (Quick disclaimer, I know this is not original but I can't remember where I've seen it so can't credit!)

This week I am taking a look at Hit List book #20 in the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K Hamilton. I'm fairly sure everyone who has been reading in the paranormal genre for any length of time will be aware of this series, this post is about the covers I will not be entering into a how the series has changed over the years discussion!!!

US cover on the left and UK cover on the right!


Which do you prefer?

 Me?
My first comment is to wonder if I'm even looking at the same book! If it wasn't for the title and author I would never have thought these two covers were for the same book at all!! How do two publishers come up with such different looks for the cover. In the UK the whole Anita Blake series has been re-released with the same red frame style and just the picture different for each book.

I like both covers for this book but they are saying quite different things to me! I like the powerful red heart image on the UK cover, simple and effective, did I mention I like red?

I like the US cover too, seems like we are getting a glimpse through all the yellow. I'd like this cover more if was well less yellow, sorry it's just not my favourite colour (except on flowers!)

Overall then I think I'll go with the UK cover on this one.


Wednesday 16 May 2012

Waiting on Wednesday ~ Wicked Nights



Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine which spotlight eagerly anticipated upcoming releases.


Wicked Nights is the first book in the Angels of the Dark, a new series by Gena Showalter.  I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person looking forward to this one!!


Title: Wicked Nights
Author: Gena Showalter
Series: Angels of the Dark #1
Publication date: 26 June 2012


From the New York Times bestselling author who brought you the Lords of the Underworld comes a dark, seductive new series featuring angels poised on the brink of destruction....   Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless-and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions, at any cost...until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before. Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation-or her ultimate damnation?

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Teaser Tuesday ~ Straight to Hell




Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"At the sound of the male voice, I let out an ‘eep’ of surprise and turned around to face the hairless wonder who stood behind me in the narrow hall.

At least he had done the decent thing and wrapped the blanket around his waist to hide his skivvies. He grinned good-naturedly and held out his hand. “Tommy LaFevre. Nice to meet you."

Straight to Hell (Lilith Straight #1) by Michelle Scott

Monday 14 May 2012

Review: Undead and Unwed by MaryJanice Davidson

Title: Undead and UnwedAuthor: MaryJanice Davidson
Series: Undead #1

Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Berkley 
Published: 2 March 2004
Source of my copy: I purchased it.


 About the book (from Goodreads)

It's been a helluva week for Betsy Taylor. First, she loses her job. Then, to top things off, she's killed in a car accident. But what really bites (besides waking up in the morgue dressed in a pink suit and cheap shoes courtesy of her stepmother) is that she can't seem to stay dead. Every night she rises with a horrible craving for blood. She's not taking too well to a liquid diet.

Worst of all, her new friends have the ridiculous idea that Betsy is the prophesied vampire queen, and they want her help in overthrowing the most obnoxious, power-hungry vampire in five centuries - a badly dressed Bela Lugosi wannabe, natch. Frankly, Betsy couldn't care less about vamp politics, but they have a powerful weapon of persuasion: designer shoes. How can any self-respecting girl say now? But a collection of Ferragamos isn't the only temptation for Betsy. It's just a lot safer than the scrumptious Sinclair - a seductive bloodsucker whose sexy gaze seems as dangerous as a stake through the heart...

My Review

Imagine a day where you thought the worst thing that could happen to you was being fired, but you end up being run over and wake up a few days later as a vampire, even though one hadn't killed you with it's bite. You'd be pretty peeved and want to see your family right?

Betsy is a fantastic character who simply does not play by the vampire rules - mainly because she has no idea they exist, then as she discovers them, well she still doesn't! She is not the deepest character ever written but Betsy has a sense of being very real about her. She is loyal to her friends and family, she sees no reason why dying and becoming undead should change that.

Unfortunately for Betsy things were unlikely to turn out to be simple where they!!  There are vampires who want to draw her into their politics, sorry I mean under their control, like the other vampires. But there is a certain something about Betsy, turns out she might not just be a vampire but the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy about a vampire queen. Initially Betsy is far more interested in getting her designer shoes back from her Step Mother! 

Enter Sinclair. Attractive and totally full of himself as far as Betsy is concerned leading to a number of great scenes as she tries to battle her attraction to him. He however knows just how to get Betsy on his side, yes Manolo Blahnik's will certainly get him a long way!!  So she finds herself drawn into vampire politics.

It is fantastic that her best friend from before she died not only stands by her and accepts Betsy is a vampire with remarkable ease but she sets out to make Betsy a crime fighter too!

Undead and Unwed is a light-hearted (as far as vampire romance stories go!) race through Betsy's first few days as a vampire, the biggest problem of course is her new liquid diet :-)

Sunday 13 May 2012

Stacking The Shelves #3 & Showcase Sunday #2









Stacking The Shelves is a brand new meme for us all to showcase our book haul for the week. The lovely Tynga at Tyngas Reviews.

Showcase Sunday is another fantastic new meme where we can showcase our books, this is hosted by Vicky at Books, Biscuits & Tea.

I can't choose which of these memes to participate in so I'm going to take part in both!!! 

I only got one book this week and it's one I bought.




Blue Diablo by Ann Aguirre

Friday 11 May 2012

TGIF (Supporting Characters) & Book Blogger Hop #2


Friday is the day of following, friendship and questions in the book blog world. This week I am taking part in two further blog hops! TGIF is run by Ginger at GReads and the Book Blogger Hop is run by Jen at Crazy for Books. Look forward to getting to meet & know you my fellow book bloggers :-)

Q - Supporting Characters: We tend to gush over those main characters the most, but what about those supporting roles? Who are some of your favorites? 


A - Supporting characters? Oh, wow where do i start? One which really stands out in my memory is Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series! I love how quirky she is, always somewhere around but never really part of the action for a long time, oh but how she becomes so much more towards the end of the series!



Q - Who is your favorite book character? I’ll give you a maximum of two choices, but they have to be from different genres!
A - Mine? It is really difficult to choose just one or two!  What is it with the questions this Friday, LOL!!  I like quirky characters so I loved Alexia Tarabotti fro the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger! She is a fantastic character to read about and is wonderfully unique!

Feature & Follow Friday #7




What is Feature & follow?

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!


The featured blogs: The Fake Steph Dot Com and Books Galore.




This weeks Question:


Q: This Sunday in the U.S. is Mother's Day. In celebration, what are some of your favorite books with strong mother/child relationships?

A: Okay this is a really hard question to answer! I am actually struggling to come up with strong mother/child relationships, all the books I can think of have poor relations or they are simply not even mentioned! Sorry I know my answer is not great this week, but I answer as I find!

Thursday 10 May 2012

UK v US Cover: Love Bites

How important is the cover of a book to you?

I'm sure I notice them more because I often see a book I like and go off to buy it, only to find the version I get had a totally different cover. I'm in the UK just in case the blog post title didn't give it away! So I thought I'd start up a feature on comparing UK and US covers (might bring in ones from elsewhere too if it takes my fancy!) (Quick disclaimer, I know this is not original but I can't remember where I've seen it so can't credit!)

I've picked out this week a book from a series which has only really come to the UK in the last couple of years despite it being around in the US for a while - that's fairly typical by the way!!!

Love Bites is the second book in the Argeneau series by Lynsay Sands.

Also for interest I've included the original US cover, changed a bit don't you think!!


Below the current US cover is on the left and the current UK cover is on the right!




















Which do I prefer?
Firstly it seems amazing how much the cover of the current US edition is different from the original, so much less cute and promising a much more raw and sexy story.

From the current cover I much prefer the UK cover, I like the blue/green used on the titles and the guy on the cover is kind of good looking isn't he :-) I like the simple but effective design.  The current US cover looks like so many other books, there is little special about it, but there isn't really anything wrong with it either if you understand me!

Which is your favourite??

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...