Review: The Page Turners

The Page Turners by Kevin Johns brings us a dose of the supernatural combined with some real life teen social issues. Fans of the X-Files or Fright Night will love this story of three outcasts who have to fight for their lives after they release an evil villain from the pages of a book.

Synopsis from Amazon:
Have you ever felt abandoned by your parents? 
 Ignored by your teacher?
 Betrayed by your peers? 
 Have you ever felt more of a connection to the characters in the books you read than to people in the real world? 
 Have you experienced the loneliness of being the only person in your little community who dreams of something bigger? 
 Nate Bourdain has.
In The Page Turners: Blood, Nate and his friends are thrilled to discover an ancient book of magic hidden in the school library--they now have the means to stand up to villains that make high-school life such a battle. But, when the book's dark magic releases a fictional killer into the real world, the teens must prove they have what it takes to be heroes, or fall as bloody victims in their own horror story turned real.

Many kids have been in Nate's shoes.  He and his friends are the representative teens who are misunderstood, who get pushed aside and bullied and who have personal issues at home. They live for their books and support each other.  There is drama surrounding each one of them and their problems are an integral part of the story, helping the reader really connect to each boy and empathize with what they are dealing with.  I found myself routing for them throughout the entire story.

The story is fast paced and easily read in one sitting.  Part of me wished it were a bit longer and I would have liked to see more of Danny's sister.  The book reminded me quite a bit of the movie Fright Night and the basement scenes with the coffin and Marie gave a definite nod to some older Dracula movies as well.  The story had some very dark parts to it and the fear the boys felt was almost palpable.  As you read, there seem to be three tiers to the story.  The bottom tier is the boys and their personal dramas, the middle tier is the vampire story and their fight to save Marie, and the upper tier is a bigger story, the story that hasn't really had a chance to start yet.  The reader is given small clues such as a police officer's strange phone call, lights in the sky, an inkling of a larger part of the spell that the boys released.  This upper tier however, will be left for the next installment of the story.  It will be interesting to see these boys again and how they deal with the new threat. 

This is the first book in a trilogy.  If you enjoy YA supernatural stories and don't mind some teen angst thrown into it, this is an engaging read.

                                                                                                                                        

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (September 22nd)

Happy Monday and welcome to It's Monday, What Are You Reading?  This meme is hosted by Bookjourney so that all of the readers out there can share what they have been and will be reading. It is a great way to see what others are enjoying or not enjoying and get ideas for new books... because we always need more books to add to our TBR lists!

This past week (or week and a half), I've been quite busy with all of the kid's fall activities under way but I did find some time to get some reading and blogging in.

Books I finished:
Beauty and the Mustache by Penny Reid - loved it!  I love all of her books.
At First Sight by Mya O'Malley - Eh... not so much.

What I'm reading now:
The Page Turners by Kevin T. Johns - good so far!
Connecting Comprehension and Technology - Yawn...

Posts:
Review of Beauty and the Mustache
Cover Reveal for Escape from Witchwood Hollow by Jordan Elizabeth

How was your reading week?

                                                                                                                                       

Cover Reveal! Escape from Witchwood Hollow

I am so excited to be part of the cover reveal for Escape from Witchwood Hollow.  What a beautiful cover. I love the deep yet vibrant colors and the hint of mystery and suspense it gives the reader. Definitely the kind of cover that draws me in.  I already want to grab it and start reading!  

How far into the hollow would you go?

“After losing her parents in a terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, fifteen-year-old Honoria escapes New York City to Arnn—a farming town with more legends than residents, and a history of witchcraft and secrets best left buried.

Everyone in Arnn knows the story of Witchwood Hollow: if you venture into the whispering forest, the witch will trap your soul among the shadowed trees. In the lure of that perpetual darkness, Honoria finds hope when she should be afraid, and a past of missing children and broken promises.  To save the citizens of Arnn from becoming the witch’s next victims, she must find the truth behind the woman’s madness. How deep into Witchwood Hollow does Honoria dare venture?”

About the author:

ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW is Jordan Elizabeth’s first novel. This young adult fantasy will be published through Curiosity Quills Press on October 29, 2014.

Jordan Elizabeth, formally Jordan Elizabeth Mierek, can’t get enough of the woods, be it splashing through a stream, sitting beneath an ancient oak, or following a path up a hill. Some of those adventures have led to abandoned foundations. Exploring the rocks and crumbling bricks sparked Jordan to imagine who might have lived there before, and that train of thought carried her to a wicked legend and an enchanted hollow. You can contact Jordan via her website, JordanElizabethMierek.com.

You don’t have to wait for October 29th to explore Witchwood Hollow. Jordan Elizabeth is offering up a free eArc. To enter for your chance to win a copy of ESCAPE FROM WITCHWOOD HOLLOW, you will need to share the cover. This can be on your blog, Facebook, Twitter… Each time you share the cover image, log it into Rafflecoper to record it. It will give you more chances to win. The drawing for the winner will be held on October 20th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Feature and Follow (September 13th)

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature and Follow! 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 and Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. 

Click here to join!

This week's question:

Before blogging, how would you find out about new books or did you? 

Actually, the one thing that I really miss since I read mostly ebooks now and have kids, is going to the nearest Barnes and Noble store and just browsing the shelves.  I used to spend hours making lists of books I wanted to read and I loved when someone would see me holding a certain book and start up a conversation.  I still browsed online a lot too but there was just something special about going to the book store.  I still go but it has gotten very rare. I don't have as much time these days.  It's something I would really like to add back into my life, even it is only a few times a year.  I also had a mother-in-law who was a huge reader and we would talk about books all the time.  There are many fantastic books that I would never have read if it hadn't been for her recommendations.

How about you?                 
                                                                                                                                       

Review: Beauty and the Mustache

I never thought I would enjoy a romance series this much but I do. Every book in the Knitting in the City series has been so much fun to read.  I was in a small reading rut when I started Beauty and the Mustache and it brought me out of that rut immediately.  I'm still feeling the happy exhaustion from staying up until 1:30am to finish it and then getting up at 6:00am for work.  It was totally worth it.  :)

Synopsis from Amazon:
This is a full-length novel, can be read as a standalone, and is the fourth book in the 'Knitting in the City' series. There are three things you need to know about Ashley Winston: 1) She has six brothers and they all have beards, 2) She is a reader, and 3) She knows how to knit. Former beauty queen, Ashley Winston’s preferred coping strategy is escapism. She escaped her Tennessee small town, loathsome father, and six brothers eight years ago. Now she escapes life daily via her Amazon kindle one-click addiction. However, when a family tragedy forces her to return home, Ashley can’t escape the notice of Drew Runous— local Game Warden, bear wrestler, philosopher, and everyone’s favorite guy. Drew’s irksome philosophizing in particular makes Ashley want to run for the skyscrapers, especially since he can’t seem to keep his exasperating opinions— or his soulful poetry, steadfast support, and delightful hands— to himself. Pretty soon the girl who wanted nothing more than the escape of the big city finds she’s lost her heart in small town Tennessee.

My Review:
Penny Reid's characters are always extremely appealing.  I love every one of the girls in the knitting group.   Janie, Elizabeth, Sandra, and now Ashley have all had their stories told and I can't wait for the next one!  Ashley was perfect as the only daughter of 7 children who goes back home to Tennessee to tend to her dying mother.  We see her at her most vulnerable moments and we see how family and true friendship can keep you going in even the darkest of times.  It was beautiful to see her friends rally together in her time of need and to see her begin to bond once again with her brothers.  The brothers themselves were a hoot.  True southern bearded rednecks who were both adorable and hilarious.  Just visualizing a family photo with them all surrounding Ashley makes me chuckle.  Then, of course, we have our main man Drew. And he is dishy, if that is a word.  I wasn't sure I would be attracted to this character because of the whole facial hair theme but Drew was hot.  I was able to completely overlook the fuzz.

The plot was engaging.  There was the serious side when dealing with Ashley's dying mom and then her deadbeat dad, the romantic relationship that developed with Drew, and the always present snarky humor that has me laughing out loud every time I read one of these books. From yarn hoarding issues to panty parties, these books are the perfect getaway.  You will close every one of them feeling fantastic.

Review: Plagues of Eden

I was looking for a good thriller when this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.  Plagues of Eden seemed to be exactly what I was looking for and I found myself reading well into the night.

Synopsis from Amazon:
THE WHEEL SPINS. CHAOS IS UNLEASHED. 72 HOURS AND COUNTING UNTIL THE DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN… The race is on to stop a madman bent on unleashing the ancient plagues of Egypt against the modern world. The countdown has begun. Only Army Chaplain Jaime Richards, along with rock star Mark Shepard, can stop the catastrophe and save the mysterious Sword 23 from the clutches of a psychopath... if they can find the true mastermind in time. 

My review:
I always love a good strong heroine, and Jaime Richards gave me exactly what I wanted.  She was strong, yet still vulnerable and never loses her faith in God. She loves two men but I have to say that I really found Mark to be more appealing than Yani.  Romance was not the focus of the story but her relationship with both men was part of the story line.  

The action was the main focus in the story and it was constant. The idea of using the plagues was original and really kept me interested in the story.  The settings as they traveled to try and get ahead of the attacks were beautiful. I could see the story as I was reading which really made it come alive for me. My only regret is that I didn't read any of the earlier books to learn more about Eden, Terris, the Gardeners, etc... 

This is definitely a page turner with an extremely engaging plot line.  I would highly recommend it.