Cherry Mischievous: April 2018

Tuesday, 24 April 2018

THE STAIRCASE OF FIRE #BookBlast

The Book

The Staircase Of Fire by Ben Woodard
Book 3 in the Shakertown Adventure series
Genre: young adult mystery

About The Staircase Of Fire:

A quiet town in Kentucky explodes from a racial incident and fourteen-year-old Tom Wallace is in the thick of it. His past haunts him and now he’s witness to a horrific event leaving him devastated and afraid. He must escape his town and its memories. But leaving has consequences, too. He will have to betray his friends and his new love.

Nothing stops his nightmares. Not high risk activities or running away. But when his past returns, Tom is forced to confront his greatest fear and finally realizes he cannot escape himself. Now he has to take a stand that could change his life — or end it.

Source: Info in the About The Staircase Of Fire was from the press kit from the publicity team.

Buy Link(s):

Other Books in the Shakertown Adventure Series:

A STAIRWAY TO DANGER (Shakertown Adventures #1)

STEPS INTO DARKNESS (Shakertown Adventures #1)

Amazon Amazon

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble

Meet The Author

About Ben Woodard:

Ben is a (mostly) retired amateur adventurer who has traveled across Tibet, climbed to 18,000 feet on Mt. Everest, and solo backpacked wilderness areas. Now his adventures come in the form of imagining stories, writing and telling them to kids and teens. He works with teachers, schools and literacy organizations spreading the word that books are vital — and fun.

Giveaway

Prize: One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice
Giveaway ends: May 8, 11:59 pm, 2018
Open to: Internationally
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Ben Woodard and is hosted and managed by Stacie from BeachBoundBooks. If you have any additional questions feel free to send an email to stacie@BeachBoundBooks.com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thursday, 12 April 2018

STAR WITCH

Star Witch by Helen Harper
Book 2 of the The Lazy Girl's Guide To Magic series
Read by Tanya Eby
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: ebook & audiobook

About Star Witch:

Lights. Camera. Inaction.

Ivy Wilde, the laziest witch in the West, is still entangled with the Hallowed Order of Magical Enlightenment. That's not a bad thing, however, because it gives her plenty of excuses to spend more time with sapphire eyed Raphael Winter, her supposed nemesis. And when he comes knocking because he needs her to spy on the latest series of Enchantment, she jumps at the chance. Hanging around a film set can't be hard ... or dangerous ... right?

Source: Info in the About Star Witch was taken from GoodReads at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35123171-star-witch on 03/09/2017.

My Thoughts:

Why in god's name did Ivy suddenly look like a drag queen in the cover of this book? Sure, the over-glittered barbie look is not my favourite, but it was preferable to the drag queen!!! Anyway, Brutus is getting a bit of action in this book and for the first time ever, I get to read him talk in real sentences and hold a conversation! How's that for fun! Ok, ok... I so need to get a life... on the other hand... nah, I'll just read a book :) ..So, I wondered why the title of this book is Star Witch, then it made sense as I read on. The cover might not be the best, but, one thing you can say about this series is that the titles are always apropos! And as usual, the narration is wonderful!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4
Writing Style = 4
Ending = 4
World building = 4
Cover art = 3
Pace = (8 hours & 9 minutes)
Plot = 4.5
Narration = 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

Books In The Lazy Girl's Guide To Magic:

Meet The Author

About Helen Harper:

After teaching English literature in the UK, Japan and Malaysia, Helen Harper left behind the world of education following the worldwide success of her Blood Destiny series of books. She is a professional member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and writes full time although she still fits in creative writing workshops with schools along with volunteering to teach reading to a group of young Myanmar refugees. That’s not to mention the procession of stray cats which seem to find their way to her door! Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland.

helenharper.co.uk | twitter | facebook | pinterest | goodreads

Meet The Narrator

About Tanya Eby:

Tanya is a starving artist without the starving part. Maybe, then, she's a snacking artist. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with her two kids and tiki-obssessed husband and writes quirky fiction.

In 2009, she published her romantic comedy "Easy Does It" available on Amazon.

Champagne Books published her second romantic comedy "Blunder Woman" in July 2010 with ebook versions on Amazon and Allromanceebooks.com as well as http://www.champagnebooks.com.

In February 2011, Champagne Books released her romantic comedy mystery "Pepper Wellington and the Case of the Missing Sausage".

Tanya is currently working on a historical gothic suspense. She likes to keep things interesting.

FTC Disclosure:
This book was purchased with private funds.
No money received for this review.

Thursday, 5 April 2018

THIS SIDE OF THE GRAVE

This Side Of The Grave by Jeaniene Frost
Narrated by Tavia Gilbert
Book 5 of the Night Huntress Novel series
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: paperback, audiobook

About This Side Of The Grave:

Danger waits on both sides of the grave.

Half-vampire Cat Crawfield and her vampire husband Bones have fought for their lives, as well as for their relationship. But just when they've triumphed over the latest battle, Cat's new and unexpected abilities threaten to upset a long-standing balance . . .

With the mysterious disappearance of vampires, rumors abound that a species war is brewing. A zealot is inciting tensions between the vampires and ghouls, and if these two powerful groups clash, innocent mortals could become collateral damage. Now Cat and Bones are forced to seek help from a dangerous "ally"—the ghoul queen of New Orleans herself. But the price of her assistance may prove more treacherous than even the threat of a supernatural war . . . to say nothing of the repercussions Cat never imagined.

Source: Info in the About This Side Of The Grave was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6871617-this-side-of-the-grave on 09/03/2012.

Review:

I could only make it through halfway this book and gave up. Cat is just too stupid to live (TSTL). Although the world building is very good, it cannot outweigh the annoyance of Cat's TSTL. By now, I have a good grasp of this series. I know with high certainty that the TSTL and holey plot will feature throughout the entire series. In which case this series is not worth the wasted time of reading or listening to it despite the wonderful world building that Jeaniene Frost gave this series. And despite the really beautiful cover art this book has!

Overall Rating: Did not finish (DNF)

Monday, 2 April 2018

SHELTER

The Book

Shelter by Sarah Franklin
Genre: historical fiction / romance

About Shelter:

Spring 1944. Connie Granger arrives, alone, in the Forest of Dean. Fleeing her blitzed home and the war that’s fiercely raging on, she will train with the Women’s Timber Corps as a lumberjill. Deep in the heart of the forest, Connie’s duties will include felling, snedding, loading and crosscutting.

As she is drawn to the healing rhythms of the ancient forest and its remote local community – the forester and his wife, the shepherd, – Connie battles with the knowledge that she must soon make a life-changing decision.

Also arriving in the forest is Seppe, an Italian Prisoner of War, who is haunted by the past. Amongst the trees of the forest, he finds a strange kind of freedom and when Connie and Seppe cross paths in the forest, their meeting signals new beginnings. With the support of one another they will find the means to imagine their own lives anew and to face the fears that haunt them.

In this explosive moment of history, everything is changing. Women just like Connie – brave, uncompromising and strong – are finding opportunity and liberty like never before. But is the price Connie must pay for her freedom too great?

Source: Info in the About Shelter was from the press kit from the publicity team.

Buy Link(s):

Meet The Author

About Sarah Franklin:

Sarah Franklin grew up in rural Gloucestershire. She lectures in publishing at Oxford Brookes, is the founder and host of Short Stories Aloud and a judge for the Costa Short Story Award. She has written for The Guardian, Psychologies, The Pool, Sunday Express. In 2014, Sarah was awarded a Jerwood/Arvon Mentorship on the strength of her opening pages of SHELTER, and worked on the novel for a year with Jenn Ashworth, amongst others.

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