Lichgates Hidden World Tour Blog Tour

Welcome to the Lichgates Hidden World Blog Tour!

There are some awesome things going on with this tour, including a giveaway! But let's learn some more about the book.

The Grimoire turns its own pages and can answer any question asked of it, and Kara Magari is its next target. She has no idea what she's getting herself into when she stumbles across the old book while hiking a hidden trail. Once she opens it, she's thrown into Ourea: a beautiful world full of terrifying things that all want the Grimoire's secrets. Everyone in this new world is trying to find her, and most want to control her.

Braeden Drakonin grew up in Ourea, and all he’s ever known of life is lying. The Grimoire is his one chance at redemption, and it lands in his lap when Kara Magari comes into his life. He has one question to ask the book – one question that can fix everything in his broken life – and he’s not letting Kara out of his sight until he gets an answer.

There’s no escaping Ourea. There’s no going back now.

Read the first chapter for free by clicking here!

You can buy your copy in the following ways:

• Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005W5L38G/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=hubp0aaf-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005W5L38G
• Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005W5L38G
• Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lichgates-s-m-boyce/1109150950?ean=2940013311343&itm=1&usri=the%252bgrimoire%252blichgates
• Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96682
• CreateSpace: https://www.createspace.com/3689753
• Directly from Boyce: http://www.thegrimoirebooks.com/buy-direct/

Connect with author S. M. Boyce:

• Main Site: http://www.smboyce.com/
• Blog: http://blog.smboyce.com/
• Official Book Website & Encyclopedia: http://www.thegrimoirebooks.com/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/thesmboyce
• Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5280531.S_M_Boyce
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SM-Boyce/174950932556115
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/112175470463905024259/posts
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/thesmboyce

Review:

Kara is living a relatively normal life. She is dealing with some things, but overall she's ok. Well, that is until one day when she's wandering through the woods. She stumbles into a random cave and finds an old book. That talks to her. Kara soon finds herself in an entirely different world, known as Ourea. Traveling to a new world is not without it's perils, and Kara is very quickly caught up in things she doesn't even understand. Being declared the new "Vagabond," Kara must use skills old and new to try and keep Ourea from falling apart. With her grimoire and a handsome prince at her side, Kara will take on some amazing new challenges while discovering her place in this new world.

I found this book a bit hard to get into, because I felt like I had just been dropped into the middle of something at the beginning. I didn't quite get what was going on, and things just felt a little choppy. Once I got settled into the story though, things became much smoother. By the end of the book I was not ready for it to end. Kara was definitely someone I could relate to. She was thrown into this new world and new role, and she took it rather well. Having someone to discover Ourea with helped to increase my understanding of this new place. Braeden was also very cool. He's more than just your average royal. He has layers and some very interesting issues he has to deal with.

There is so much creativity in this book. The world and the peoples who populate it are unique and original. I almost feel like there could be a whole book on just the history and politics of Ourea. They have a lot going on. Visiting the different realms with Kara was fascinating as well. There are also new creatures to discover, and of course there's a lot of magic. All of these elements combine together to make a very interesting book. The end sets up for the next book perfectly. It has a clear ending, but it leaves things open enough that you want to come back and learn more. Fans of fantasy will definitely find tons to enjoy in this book, so be sure to check it out.

Book provided for review.

And now for the giveaway! There's a book and some awesome swag up for grabs. Just see the Rafflecopter widget for all the ways to enter.

Dinner with Lisa Blog Tour Pt.2- Guest Post and Giveaway

Welcome to the second post in the Dinner With Lisa blog tour! Today I have a guest post and a giveaway! 

First, our guest post.

How did you choose what time period to set the book in?

Dinner with Lisa is based partly on stories of my own family. For years I listened to my relatives recount their childhoods and talk about the unusual characters they knew. I enjoyed these anecdotes immensely, but didn’t think about them after they’d been told. However, as I got older, and the various relatives, including my grandparents, passed away, I wished someone had recorded their stories.

After completing my first novel, The Impact of a Single Event, which became a national bestseller, I began to write down my own recollections of those stories and had my parents and their older siblings, all now in their seventies and eighties, supplement my memories. As the cache of tales grew – a great uncle’s experience in WW1, my mother’s memories of the neighborhood corner store in the 1940’s, my father’s memories of life on a dairy farm in the 1930’s – I saw a connecting thread. Before long, I was researching the time periods in which the stories took place. I finally chose the 1930’s because I found the Great Depression a fascinating time and because it was topical. While I was doing the research, North America was going through the worst recession since the 1930’s and there was great fear in the media that we were heading for another economic depression.

How do you make a family living in the past relatable to readers in the present?

The answer to that question is easy, but the method of making characters from the past relatable to readers in the present takes a great deal of effort. I believe you need details. The more details I have about the time period I am writing about the easier it is for me to create a picture in my mind. In the case of Dinner with Lisa it meant months of pouring over newspapers from the Great Depression to get a good account of what people were going through and how they dealt with such terrible circumstances. Essentially it was all about research. 

Thanks to R. L. Prendergast for writing such a great post! 

And now for the giveaway!

The prize is one copy of Dinner With Lisa by R. L. Prendergast. You can win a print copy in the US or Canada or an e-copy anywhere in the world. All you have to do is leave your name and e-mail in the Rafflecopter form. You can get one bonus entry for leaving a comment on this post. Any comment will do. This giveaway will run from March 15th to March 28th. Good luck!

Dinner With Lisa Blog Tour Pt. 1- Review

Welcome to the blog tour for Dinner With Lisa by R. L. Prendergast!

I have 2 posts for this tour, one today with a review and one tomorrow with a guest post and giveaway. First some information about the book and author!

In the disastrous economic times of the 1930s, Joseph Gaston, a young widower with four children, arrives in the small town of Philibuster seeking security for his family. Instead, he faces barriers everywhere. He does his best despite great adversity, but the strain of feeding and protecting his family whittles away his strength. Finally, destitution forces him to consider giving up his children in order to save them. Enraged by his situation, he attempts one last desperate act—on the night he learns about the mysterious Lisa.

Heart wrenching, humorous and historically authentic, Dinner with Lisa incorporates the crucial issues of the depression: poverty, unemployment, drought and racism. In the midst of love and loyalty, trickery and despair, the ultimate message of the novel is one of hope and the courage to survive even the worst odds. 

R. L. (Rod) Prendergast was the entrepreneurial kid you saw on your neighbourhood street selling lemonade on a hot summer’s day. Recognizing young Rod’s preoccupation with money, his mother bribed him to read with an offer of 25 cents per book—and instilled in him a lifelong love of reading. Although he continued down the path of industry—he started and sold his first business before completing his Bachelor of Commerce—he continued to read voraciously. After a number of years working in sales, marketing and management for several companies he spent a year’s sabbatical surfing and reading in New Zealand and, free of business pressures, he began to write. Those first words became the backbone ofThe Impact of a Single Event—which was long listed for the Independent Publishers Book Award for literary fiction, and which became a national bestseller in Canada. Spurred on by the success of his first novel, he took another sabbatical and wrote Dinner with Lisa. He is currently working on his next book.

Review:

In the 1930's nearly everyone is suffering. Poverty and hunger abound, and people are desperate for work. Joseph Gaston is no exception. A widower with four children, Joseph is persuaded by his half-brother to move across Canada to the town of Philibuster. Joseph's brother assures him there will be work and assistance with child-care there. Only part of that turns out to be true though, and Joseph continues to be destitute. He works to keep a good attitude through it all, but as time goes by he begins to consider drastic measures. In the end, Joseph will find hope and encouragement despite everything.

This book was hard to read on many levels. My heart was breaking for Joseph and many of the other people he came across. They all wanted to work so bad, but there were just no jobs to be found. It's hard to watch these people struggle and starve. Joseph managed to keep an amazing attitude through everything all things considered, and he never lost sight of his true focus- keeping his family together and alive. In Joseph, you really saw someone who was doing everything he possibly could and doing the very best he could. That is inspiring in itself. Other characters were interesting as well. The Great Henri, Joseph's half-brother, was someone I never quite got a read on until the end of the book. I couldn't decide whether he was awesome or just a fool. Tilda was another character I never quite decided how I felt about. I didn't necessarily like what she was doing, but I completely understood why she was doing it.

This isn't one of those action-packed books with twists and turns. It flows along quietly, much like Joseph in personality. I was extremely interested by the historical aspects of the novel. Knowing that people really struggled like this helped to make this book more real to me. I particularly enjoyed Joseph's ability to see past race and ethnicity and treat people equally. The storyline with his Chinese neighbor really opened my eyes to the extreme racism the Chinese faced then. The end was tied together in a way that surprised me, and like Joseph I had a great deal of hope. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to and learn from the circumstances surrounding the characters in this book. I thought this was a really great book, and if you like a novel that has struggle and hope check this book out.

Book provided for review. 

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the author's guest post and a giveaway!

More Beauty, Less Beast Blog Tour

With her own offbeat brand of wit and near-wisdom, inspirational humorist Debora Coty addresses heart needs of women struggling to tame that out-of-control inner beast that unexpectedly pounces, roaring and shredding, as it threatens to destroy the divinely beautiful princess hidden within. In More Beauty, Less Beast, women will find simple, practical techniques for embracing the true beauty rightfully theirs as cherished daughters of the King. Whether jaded by emotional wounds, unrealistic standards, or lack of confidence, this laugh-out-loud, girlfriend-to-girlfriend encouragement will help women transform their destructive inner beast into the exquisite beauty they were always meant to be.  

Debora Coty is an occupational therapist, a piano teacher, and a freelance writer. She's also involved in the children's ministry at her church and is an avid tennis player. Debora began writing to fill the void when her last child left for college, and it has since become a passion. Debora has a real knack for getting across sound biblical concepts with a refreshing lightheartedness as attested in her monthly newspaper column entitled "Grace Notes: God's Grace for Everyday Living." 

Visit www.deboracoty.com for more about Debora and her books. 

Buy the book here.

Review:


There are so many expectations for women today. From looks to demeanor, women are supposed to be many different people all wrapped up in one package. How do we balance everything? Debora Coty uses her faith and wisdom to wrap up some timely advice in a humorous package. Using scripture and anecdotes, Debora helps to point out the inner and outer beauty in all of us. She is able to help show how we can become too focused to all the wrong things and ignore the most important things in our lives.

I thought there were a lot of good points in this book. While discussing our outer beauty, Debora was able to help show the balance between taking care of yourself and obsessing over it. She also spends a lot of time emphasizing forging a very personal relationship with God. Taking this time out can also be a way to decompress and de-stress ourselves. There is also a lot of emphasis on helping to build ourselves and each other up, rather than tearing down. It is so easy to focus on the negative in our lives, but the real challenge is to find the blessings instead. Don't think this book is too "preachy" though. Everything is presented in a fun and relatable way. Each chapter also ends with some questions that will make you think and relate the concepts to your life. If you are a Christian woman looking to find balance in her life, this book will help you to see where your focus is and where it should be.

Book provided for review.


Debora Coty also has a great giveaway going on!

Transform Your Inner Ogre with a $150 Visa Cash Card from @DeboraCoty! Using Biblical advice and her trademark humor, Debora Coty urges women to conquer guilt and re-institute hope in More Beauty, Less Beast. Celebrate with Debora by entering to win a $150 Visa Cash Card!

One "beautiful" winner will receive:

• A $150 Visa Cash Card (Treat yourself to a spa day or weekend get-away!)
• A Debora Coty Library (More Beauty, Less Beast, Too Blessed Too Be Stressed and Everyday Hope)
• Chocolate (Every good things begins with chocolate!)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends 3/22/12. Winner will be announced at Debora's "Divine Beauty" Facebook Party on  3/22. Debora will be hosting an evening of chat, fun beauty trivia, laughter, and encouragement - bring your friends! She'll also be giving away some GREAT prizes: gift certificates, books, and a book club prize pack! (Ten copies of the book for your small group or book club and a live chat with Debora via Skype.)


So grab your copy of More Beauty, Less Beast and join Debora and friends on the evening of March 22nd for an evening of fun.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP TODAY and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 22nd!

Be sure to check out all the stops on the tour! 

Caller ID Blog Tour- Review and Giveaway!

Welcome to the blog tour for Caller ID by Rachelle J. Christensen!

The author is hosting a great giveaway, but first some info about the book.

When twenty-three-year-old Courtney Beckham, the privileged daughter of a highly successful land developer, is abducted in the mountains near her home, FBI Agent Jason Edwards investigates the ten-million-dollar ransom and turns up more than just a kidnapping crime.


And when Courtney catches a glimpse of the caller ID in her kidnapper’s home, what she sees sends ice through her veins. Even if she escapes her captors, something much more dangerous lies ahead.


From the author who brought you Wrong Number comes another story featuring Agent Jason Edwards that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

For more information about the author, Rachelle J. Christensen, see her website and Facebook page.

For more information about the publisher, Cedar Fort, check out their website, Facebook page, and Twitter.

Review:


Courtney Beckham leads a privileged life, and she knows it. She is beautiful and rich. Everything changes one day when she is on a horseback ride. She soon discovers a secret being hidden in the beautiful mountains next to her home. This secret causes her life to be put in peril when she is kidnapped. Now Courtney must try and find a way to stay safe and alive. Things become very complicated though, and now Courtney wonders if she will ever be able to get out of this mess. It will take everything Courtney has to survive this ordeal, but dealing with the aftermath may be even harder.

This was a mysterious and thrilling read. I thought I knew exactly where the story was going, but things got twisted and turned around several times. I like when a story can surprise you. Courtney was a great character. At first I thought she seemed a bit spoiled, but she proved me wrong. I also cannot blame her for being attracted to the hunky FBI agent trying to help her out, Jason. They made a good team. As I said before, there were several things I didn't see coming, and I am usually pretty good at guessing what will happen. There was a twist at the end that particularly caught me by surprise. It helped to make for a very satisfying ending.

Fans of mysteries and suspense will enjoy this book. It wastes no time getting to the action, and then the action doesn't stop until the end. The book was also very fast-paced, so it is able to keep your interest very well. I don't know if I'd read it at night though; it has aspects of a thriller. I definitely worried about Courtney's safety. It is a quick read though, and one which many people will enjoy.

Book provided for review.

Now here's the best part- a giveaway!

To celebrate the release of CALLER ID, Rachelle is hosting a contest for a new Ultra Flip Video Camcorder (4GB memory, Records 120 minutes Value $149.99) and other great prizes. You can enter to win between now and April 14, 2012. Winners will be announced and notified April 16, 2012.

For how to enter, click here.

Join the Book Bomb effort taking place Thursday, March 22nd. Click here for details.

Be sure to check out all the stops on the tour!

Emerald City Blog Tour

Welcome to the blog tour for Emerald City by Alicia K. Leppert!

One city of 600,000 people.

One broken girl.

One mysterious boy.

One fateful night,

Two worlds collide.  

Seattle, Washington. The sprawling, industrious city set in a blanket of pine. I have never known a day that wasn’t spent inside this concrete jungle. It’s my home, and for that I love it. But it’s also the setting for the tragedy called my life, and so I loathe it.

I live alone in a cold, empty studio apartment. The tiny square room closely resembles a cell. That’s my life: solitary confinement.

Here, in this desolate place that perfectly reflects my soul, my story begins.

Learn more about the author at her website, Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads page.

Follow publisher Cedar Fort on their blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Goodreads.

Review:


Olivia is in a dark place. Having been abandoned by everyone she loved, Olivia has reached the end. She can no longer deal with her life. What she thinks will be the end however is a new beginning. Saved by her handsome neighbor Jude, Olivia faces a different life. One that is full of Jude. Olivia finds that she does has something to live for. However, Jude has some secrets, the kind that could change everything for both him and Olivia. They both have to learn to adjust to their new situations, and they learn that love often involves sacrifice.

I found the beginning of this book very difficult to read because Olivia is in such a dark place. This is an example of some really great writing though. The author does an amazing job of capturing Olivia's depression. It is very dark and almost suffocating. It is also wonderful to see Olivia slowly begin to work her way out of this dark place. With the help of a good doctor, Olivia is able to work through things and find ways to deal with her life. She is very lucky in that she gains a really awesome support system. I also liked that even at her darkest point, Olivia was still a likable character. No matter what is going on with her, you are able to sympathize and like her. I was definitely happy as things were looking up for her.

Olivia and Jude also have a interesting story. Jude has a secret, one which I won't divulge, so this will be a bit vague. I can say though that their romance is a nice one. They both learn about unconditional love and sacrifice for another person. While this book was difficult to read in parts merely because of what was going on with Olivia, overall I enjoyed the book. I found myself caught up in the story and I read it rather quickly. People looking for a sweet love story full of hope will enjoy this book.

Galley provided for review.


Be sure to check out all the stops on the tour! 

Blog Tour: The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

Welcome to the blog tour for The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen!

To escape a scheme to marry her off to a dishonorable man, Margaret Macy flees London disguised as a housemaid. If she can remain unwed until her next birthday, she will receive an inheritance, and with it, sweet independence. But she never planned on actually working as a servant. And certainly not in the home of Nathaniel and Lewis Upchurch--both former suitors.

As she fumbles through the first real work of her life, Margaret struggles to keep her identity secret when suspicions arise and prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall. Can she avoid a trap meant to force her from hiding?

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane--Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. She has won the Christy Award: Historical Romance for The Silent Governess (2010) and The Girl in the Gatehouse (2011) which also won the 2010 Midwest Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota.

For more information, visit www.julieklassen.com

Buy the book here!

Review:

Margaret Macy has found herself in a horrible situation. Only 3 months shy of inheriting a fortune, Margaret's step-father is insistent that she marry his nephew. When Margaret overhears just how far her step-father is willing to go to ensure the marriage takes place, she does something desperate. She runs away with her maid.  Margaret is forced to hide as a servant in a large manor home. Not only does she have to hide her lack of knowledge of what maids do, she must hide her identity from the Upchurch family. Having once spurned one Upchurch brother for another, Margaret finds her situation to be even more desperate than before.

I was excited to read this book, and I was not let down. It is filled with the period charm and drama that you would expect of a classic book. It is fun to watch Margaret Macy gradually change and learn to focus on other people. Learning the intricacies of the downstairs staff and their duties was so much fun! It really made me want to read more about how the staffs kept the houses running. There were so many things that had to be done; things I had never thought about before like emptying chamber pots. Margaret had clearly never considered these things either. As her empathy for the servants grew, she became a much more interesting character.

This book is very fun and fairly quick to read. I found myself quickly absorbed in the story. There were a couple plot points I didn't see coming, so that was fun to discover what would happen. I really enjoy when a book can surprise me. This book has everything you could want-romance, mystery, and intrigue all wrapped in a fun period wrapper. I think this is a book a lot of people will enjoy. If you love historical novels with the feel of a great classic, then definitely check out this book!

Book provided for review.

Don't miss the perfect blend of Regency-era romance and mystery in The Maid of Fairbourne Hall! Grab a copy and then be sure to enter Julie's Kindle Fire Giveaway and RSVP for her Author Chat party on Facebook! Swoon.

One fortunate winner will receive:

• A brand new Kindle Fire
• A Julie Klassen Library (The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The Girl in the Gatehouse, and The Silent Governess)

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends 3/14/12. Winner will be announced at Julie's Fairbourne Hall Book Chat Party on 3/15. Julie will be hosting an evening of chat, trivia and a sneak peek of her next book - bring your friends! She'll also be giving away some GREAT prizes: gift certificates, books and a Downton Abbey Prize Pack (Seasons 1 and 2)!

So grab your copy of The Maid of Fairbourne Hall and join Julie and friends on the evening of March 15th for a book chat party.

Don't miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on March 15th!


What an awesome prize! Be sure to check out all the stops on the tour for more great reviews and information! Thanks for stopping by.