BOOK BLITZ/REVIEW: The Haunting Season by Michelle Muto

Today I am excited to be participating in a Book Blitz promotion hosted by Xpresso Book Tours, featuring The Haunting Season, by one of my favorite indie authors, Michelle Muto. You might recall a couple of days ago, I gave you a teaser from the book, and today I'm going to share with you more goodies about the book, my review, and an international giveaway for an eBook copy of The Haunting Season!

Pub Date: December 2012, Dreamscapes, Ink 

Genre: NA Paranormal/Ghosts
Source/FTC Disclosure: I purchased my copy of this book. I was in no way compensated for this review and my opinions are my own. This Book Blitz & Giveaway are sponsored by XPresso Book Tours and the author.

Be careful what you let in…

Siler House has stood silent beneath Savannah’s moss-draped oaks for decades. Notoriously haunted, it has remained empty until college-bound Jess Perry and three of her peers gather to take part in a month-long study on the paranormal. Jess, who talks to ghosts, quickly bonds with her fellow test subjects. One is a girl possessed. Another just wants to forget. The third is a guy who really knows how to turn up the August heat, not to mention Jess’s heart rate…when he’s not resurrecting the dead.

The study soon turns into something far more sinister when they discover that Siler House and the dark forces within are determined to keep them forever. In order to escape, Jess and the others will have to open themselves up to the true horror of Siler House and channel the very evil that has welcomed them all.

MY THOUGHTS
Earlier this year, I became acquainted with Michelle Muto's books thanks to an indie author event that I attended in a nearby city. I read one of her books before going and it was such a pleasure to meet and talk with her -- she was very generous with her time and so sweet. If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you might recall that I really enjoyed her YA books, The Book of Lost Souls and Don't Fear The Reaper -- you can click on the titles to see those reviews. When the opportunity presented itself to be a part of a Book Blitz for The Haunting Season, naturally I jumped at it! This book is very different from Muto's other works... For one thing, it is classified as New Adult, not to mention it is in the Horror genre -- much, much darker and creepier than her other paranormal stories.

I'm actually kind of torn with this review. On the one hand, I loved the horror aspect -- the story was deliciously creepy. I've actually not read a lot in the genre, though I've seen a few horror movies over the years. I love the adrenaline rush of being scared and believe me, this was a book that I could not read in the dark. Seriously, I actually read a good portion of it during the day because of the major creep-factor. The setting in Savannah is just perfect for a haunted house story, as well. But then on the other hand, I was kind of turned off by the romance storyline. I didn't find it particularly believable and was surprised at how much it overtook the story. A large part of the focus is on Jess and Gage, not to mention the story is told from their points of view, but I found Allison to be a much more interesting character and wish that Bryan had been developed a little bit more than he was. Even the strange Dr. Brandt and the role he played would have benefited from a little more time in the spotlight. Nevertheless, the story moves right along and I found myself on the edge of my seat (literally AND figuratively speaking) watching the shocking events unfold.

Though classified as New Adult (which I knew going in), in many ways The Haunting Season read more like YA. I'm not sure how to elaborate other than to say it simply had a YA feel to it. And truly, even with the sex scene (which wasn't overly graphic) and some occasional strong language, I would probably consider this a mature YA read at most. Recalling my reading tastes at the time, I think this is a book that I would have really enjoyed when I was in high school, though I can certainly appreciate the horror element now, as well. Fans of the horror/haunted house genre will love this book for what it is, but for me, the romance served as more of a distraction to the story, rather than adding to it. I confess I prefer Ms. Muto's aforementioned YA books to The Haunting Season, but there are many out there who love this one, so I encourage you to check out the book's Goodreads page for more reviews, and be sure to enter my giveaway for an eBook copy below!

GIVEAWAY
I'm excited to be able to host a giveaway for one (1) ebook copy of The Haunting Season. The contest is open internationally and ends at midnight on Thursday, May 16th! There are lots of ways to enter -- just use the Rafflecopter form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michelle Muto lives in northeast Georgia with her husband and two dogs. She loves changes of season, dogs, and all things geeky. Currently, she’s hard at work on her next book.

Author Links:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

EXTRAS
Here's something fun -- the playlist Michelle Muto created for The Haunting Season!

Goodreads Book Page

Purchase from Amazon

Purchase from Barnes & Noble

Mystery Mondays Blog Tour Guest Post & Giveaway featuring E.K. Prescott

Today, E.K. Prescott is joining us to talk about crafting stories with paranormal elements from historical events, as it relates to her new mystery release, The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares. I'm also excited to be hosting a giveaway for one print copy -- be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below the guest post! And if you'd like a sneak peak into the book, I'm also offering the first chapter for download -- see the "About The Book" section below for the link to a PDF copy of the first chapter! Now, let's welcome E.K. Prescott to Melissa's Bookshelf!

Mystics Make Elite Company: Metaphysics and 1920s High Society

If you were to be considered important in the 1920s social elite class of New Haven, CT (the setting for The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares-a historical-fiction-mystery-series) you invited at least one mystic to your event. It was common for people of the time to go to séances, and consult psychics. Thus, crafting a story with paranormal elements from historical events was not as challenging as one might think. Many well known mystics of today lived during this time, such as Edgar Casey and Helena Blavatsky (who created the Theosophical Society). In fact, it was easy to add these two names to the background history of the book since they were such a part of the culture of the 20s.

So when creating an elitist day time TEA having a psychic at the party was like putting on a glove. The metaphysical theme was easy to move forward with the next goal – to explain the unexplainable events connecting the 2cnd Law of Thermodynamics, butterfly effect, and chaos theory with the movement of
energy which takes several forms; from a sand anomaly to an underground city which includes the Grand Ceremonial Chamber.

Illusions are a major theme of the book which intertwine with a metaphysical thread as well as a ruling elite perspective, and negative and positive energies. The United States history automatically provides smoke screens creating illusions of the truth. Thus researching the history and using various subsets of
metaphysics fell right into place. In fact as I was researching this book I couldn't believe all the truths I uncovered; it just took a creative mind to make it come alive.

In fact, to highlight the metaphysical theme in the series The Ivy League Chronicles, a mystic travels with me on my book tours (http://www.fivestarpublications.net/ivyleague/ivy_league_booktour). We offer a free psychic reading with any book purchase on my book tours. I only bring the best! Hope to see you at one of the many events we have planned this year in cities across the country!

- EK Prescott, Ph.D.

GIVEAWAY

One lucky reader will win a print copy of The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares! Just use the Rafflecopter entry form below -- there are lots of ways to enter, and please leave a comment telling me why you want to read The Ivy League Chronicles: 9 Squares in order to be eligible for all possible entries! Be sure to come back and tweet about the giveaway every day during the contest for an additional 2 entries each day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE BOOK

Website: www.IvyLeagueChronicles.com
Pub Date: March 15, 2013
Publisher: Five Star Publications, Inc.
Download the 1st chapter here!

The year is 1923, and Richard Wikki, a former detective from Scotland Yard and now a professor at the prestigious Yale University in New Haven, CT, misses his days of crime solving. Maize Judson has enrolled at Yale with hopes of becoming an investigative journalist. When Maize and her friend find a skeleton buried in the sand at the beach with a mysterious amulet wrapped around its fingers, she and Richard set out to solve a murder. But Richard soon finds himself following well-planted illusionary clues, and as he continues to investigate, a series of events shake the depths of his philosophical, religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as his perspective on life…forever.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

E.K. Prescott has been an educator for 30 years, and has taught at the college level for the past 15 years. She spent many years as a high school English teacher, middle school principal, and national educational consultant. Prescott earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of Missouri and her master’s degree at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She earned her doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was awarded a three-year, full-time Fellowship. Prescott is currently an online Associate Faculty member, mentor and residency instructor for the University of Phoenix-School of Advanced Studies. Prescott lives in a log cabin nestled in the mountains of northern Arizona.

GET SOCIAL WITH E.K. PRESCOTT!

• Facebook: ‘Like’ EK Prescott on https://www.facebook.com/EKPrescottWritesMystery

• Twitter: Follow EK Prescott on https://twitter.com/ekprescottwrite

• Follow her adventures & learn about mystery writing on her blog: http://www.fivestarpublications.net/ivyleague/blog

Shadow Eyes Anniversary Blog Tour: Guest Post with Dusty Crabtree

Today I'm thrilled to be a part of the Anniversary Tour for Shadow Eyes. We've got an awesome guest post ahead from the author, herself!

The Story of My Cover Art

Shadow Eyes Blog Tour and Kindle Fire Giveaway

Thank you for hosting me, Melissa, and thanks for your amazing review of Shadow Eyes back in July!  Click here to read the review!

(Everyone, don’t forget to enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win a print copy of Shadow Eyes, your full name in the sequel, and a KINDLE FIRE!)

The cover of a book, even if it is primarily an eBook, is one of the most important marketing tools an author has in his/her tool belt.  Just think about it.  When you’re skimming through book shelves (real or virtual) or book blogs with covers plastered everywhere, what’s the one thing that will make you pause long enough to stop, pull the book out or click on it, and read the synopsis?  The cover, right?  Generally, from the cover you can tell whether or not it looks like something you might enjoy, often before you even read the title. 

That’s why I was so picky with my cover.  I’d been dreaming about what the cover would look like almost since the idea for the story first came to me.  It was absolutely perfect in my mind, and I knew exactly what I wanted.  The problem is, when you’re working with a cover artist over emails (no matter how amazing that cover artist is – and mine was and is amazing!), it’s extremely difficult to describe the image in your head well enough so the artist can replicate it.  And I’m a very wordy, descriptive person…I mean, I’m an author and an English teacher.  Of course, I’m wordy and descriptive.  But I still found I wasn’t describing it well enough as mock-up after mock-up was sent to me that wasn’t quite right.  I felt bad for continuing to ask for changes, but in the end, after a total of 8 mockups with the final one being absolutely wonderful, I’m so glad I did!

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, so let me show you the progress my cover artist and I made together.

To be honest, I kind of liked this first one and toyed with keeping it, even though it wasn’t what I had pictured.  The main thing was I wanted both eyes, and I wasn’t sure about the font of the title.  It also seemed a little too creepy for the book.

I loved the color of the eyes on this one, but I wasn’t getting the shadow effect I’d wanted.  I wanted the black fogginess to curl around her face like the shadows in the book might.

New font – wasn’t sure about it. Still working on the shadows and blending.

Getting closer…

Better title placement and larger eyes.

Working on the shadows…getting closer…

This was almost perfect!  The color was much better!  The eyes were darker!  The font was perfect (One of my students actually found it)!  I think I had tried to have the cover artist make more defined swirly lines like tendrils for the shadows, but I realized that having the top just like the bottom would be much better.  And that brings us to…

Ta da!!!  I can’t tell you how ecstatic I was when I saw this picture!  I loved it!  I was in between classes at the time, and I couldn’t help but show my next hour and the teachers next door.  I was so proud and excited!  I think it gives off the perfect mood for the book – mysterious and intriguing yet not overly creepy.  Just enough to catch the reader’s eye and entice them to click on the cover and check out the synopsis.  Speaking of…

Shadow Eyes Synopsis:

Iris Kohl lives in a world populated by murky shadows that surround, harass, and entice unsuspecting individuals toward evil.  But she is the only one who can see them.  She’s had this ability to see the shadows, as well as brilliantly glowing light figures, ever since an obscure, tragic incident on her fourteenth birthday three years earlier.

 Although she’s learned to cope, the view of her world begins to shift upon the arrival of three mysterious characters.  First, a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows; second, a new friend with an awe-inspiring aura; and third, a mysterious and alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend. As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, she must ultimately revisit the most horrific event of her life in order to learn her true identity and become the hero she was meant to be.

Book Trailer:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out Dusty’s blog at http://dustycrabtree.wordpress.com/

Find her on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/dusty.crabtree.1

Follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/dustycrabtree

Buy Shadow Eyes at http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=176

(also available at all major online bookstores)

View the book trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7UP9A0Fm78

MYSTERY MONDAYS: Review & Giveaway: Curveball by Jen Estes

I hope you've all had a chance to read Jen Estes' guest post about the inspiration behind Curveball. If not, please go check it out! And be sure to enter my giveaway at the end of this review! One lucky winner will receive an e-copy of Curveball in whatever format you prefer!

Title: Curveball
Author: Jen Estes
Genre: Mystery
Pub Date: October 1, Camel Press
Format: eBook
Source: I received this book from the Author and Partners in Crime Tours in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts

I've always been a big fan of baseball, but this is the first time I have ever read a mystery that revolves around the game. And the story does take place in perhaps one of the darker settings that is tied to the game: Latin America, where young players have been exploited in the process of trying to achieve their dream to become a Major League Baseball player. Though Curveball is not technically based on a true story, the general idea of taking advantage of teens in Latin American countries is a real problem that Estes is bringing to light in this cozy mystery. And this particular mystery starts off with the death of a teen prospect who wasn't able to make the cut in his bid to become a professional ballplayer.

As with most cozy mysteries, you have a rather eclectic cast of characters. Cat is a go-getter in the baseball world, as you learn a little bit about her past history with baseball. She is roped into "baby-sitting" her potential future boss's daughter, Paige, during Paige's internship in Santo Domingo. There's also a slick agent/sleazeball with whom Paige decides to entangle herself, and the baseball jock whose dream of a career in the MLB was cut short due to injury. Combine them all and you've got a fast-paced story that takes several twists and turns before we finally not only discover "whodunnit", but the full extent of the crime itself.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, I think you'll enjoy Curveball. And if you don't happen to be a big fan of mysteries but do like baseball, you might be interested in reading this book for the other topics that are addressed.

My Rating

It's Giveaway Time! Please enter for a chance to win an eBook copy of Curveball in the format of your choosing! Contest ends midnight on October 23rd -- good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Please be sure to visit Partners In Crime Tours to see the other blogs hosting the tour for Curveball!

MYSTERY MONDAYS: Blog Tour: Curveball by Jen Estes

As a member of Partners In Crime Tours, I am so excited to bring to you a guest post from Jen Estes, author of Curveball, a Cat McDaniel mystery. I'll be reviewing the book in a separate post later today and will also be giving away an eBook copy to one lucky winner, so be sure to check back in a few hours! First, Ms. Estes will be discussing the inspiration behind her baseball-themed mystery! Welcome!

I wish I could say that my inspiration comes from a mystical spirit guide or a chiseled, beefy muse, but the truth is my stories begin with the sports pages.  Most of my ideas trickle out of real life scandals in baseball -- and that's a well that never dries up.  (Usually, I can't write fast enough to keep up.)  My newest book, Curveball, is no exception as my lead character, Cat McDaniel, travels down to Santo Domingo to cover the Latin American training camp for her New York team.  There, she quickly finds out that baseball's dirty little secret has little to do with the diamond.

A couple of years ago, I read an exposé in TIME magazine wherein the Dominican Republic was coined "baseball's puppy mill."  Most baseball fans know the island nation glorifies baseball and produces 20% of MLB players, but the driving force behind that is tragic.  It's a country where little boys dream of climbing out poverty by making it big in baseball.  Sadly, the article revealed, where there's dreams, there's exploitation.  Sometimes, that abuse comes from a buscón (Spanish for searcher): a man who multitasks as a scout/agent/trainer and recruits the most talented kids on the island as early as 11 or 12 years old.  They house, feed and clothe these boys training them from dawn to dusk, in hopes of getting them signed when they turn 16 (the minimum age for foreign players), at which point they claim 25 to 35 percent of the signing bonus.  The competition is fierce -- only 2% of prospects will get a contract and desperation for success often leads to age fraud, drug abuse, malnutrition and, more often than not, disappointment.  If the ballplayers aren’t signed, they're left with no education, no work skills and no knowledge of anything other than baseball -- in fact, many end up becoming buscónes themselves.

As a fun mystery, Curveball doesn't come with a "Based on a True Story" lead-in, but the exploitation was the driving force behind the story and helped me form the setting for my book.  Curveball's characters and the events are fictional, but I do hope that it brings awareness to this very real issue.

To read an excerpt and see the complete list of participating blogs in this tour, please visit Partners In Crime Tours.

AUTHOR BIO

Born and raised in Illinois, Jen Estes started her writing career as a baseball blogger in 2007 and expanded to freelance sports writing in 2009. She is an active member of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR), Springfield Poets & Writers and the National Writers Union (NWU). Curveball is the second in a series featuring sassy sports writer Cat McDaniel. When Jen isn’t writing, she enjoys running, yoga, traveling and watching baseball with her husband and cat.

AUTHOR SITES
Website      
Facebook
Twitter

PURCHASE LINKS:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

DISCLAIMER
Every eBook received for review on the tours for Partners In Crime are given in exchange for an honest review. The eBooks are sole property (copyrighted) of the author and should not be sold, distributed to, or exchanged among other people not part of the tours, nor should they be listed on file sharing sites. Failure to comply with this disclaimer, will result in removal from all future tours.

Mystery Mondays - Blog Tour: Banana Split

Welcome to another Mystery Monday at Melissa's Bookshelf!  I am excited to be a part of another blog tour today, taking a look at Banana Split, the seventh book in Josi S. Kilpack's Culinary Mystery Series.  I admit I haven't read the first six, but when I finished Banana Split, I wished I had been reading these books from the beginning.

Let's start with the basics, shall we?

Title: Banana Split
Author: Josi S. Kilpack
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Pub Date: March 6, 2012
Paperback, Shadow Mountain
Book source: Received a copy from the author to participate in this blog tour -- many thanks to you and to Tristi Pinkston for inviting me to participate in the tour!


Synopsis


Sadie Hoffmiller has survived eighteen months of nonstop adventures filled with murder, deceit, and danger.  She could really use some rest -- and maybe even some time to heal -- relaxing in the tropical paradise of Kaua'i.  However, palm trees and sunshine are not as effective a medication as Sadie had hoped.  And when she finds herself entangled -- literally -- with a dead body, she is forced to face the compounding fears and anxieties that are making her life so difficult to live.


Her determination to stay out of danger and to focus on overcoming her anxieties soon takes a backseat when she meets eleven-year-old Charlie, the son of the woman whose body she discovered near Anahola Beach.  Charlie has some questions of his own about what happened to his mother, and he is convinced that only Sadie can help him.  If only Sadie were as confident in her abilities as Charlie is.


With the help of her best friend and a local social worker, Sadie dives into another mystery with the hope that, at the end, she'll be able to find the peace and closure that has eluded her.


My Thoughts

Okay, for starters, it's a nice bonus to read a mystery that also includes recipes inspired by the location and mentioned throughout the story.  There are several that I hope to try at some point -- most don't seem to be too complicated to make and it would be fun to get a feel of some of the local flavor of Hawaii.  Interestingly enough, this is the second mystery I have read recently that is set in Hawaii, and it is proving to be a fun way to learn even a small bit about their culture.  But going back to the recipes, I also discovered that there is an index of all the recipes located in the front of the book, which is a fantastic feature!

When reading this story, it is obvious that I must have missed a lot of Sadie's background by not having read the other books.  However, this book can certainly be read as a stand-alone and on its own merit.  So, while I would probably recommend starting at the beginning, don't feel like you have to just because I told you to!  Okay, that said, I also feel like I have missed out on a TON of Sadie's character development.  Rumor has it, the vulnerable Sadie we see in Banana Split is quite different from the Sadie that people got to know in the first six books.  However, we do get to see her work on overcoming the vulnerability she feels, and even by the end of the book she is a different woman from the Sadie I met on the first page.

The mystery itself evolves quite a bit as the story unfolds.  We are introduced to several suspicious characters, which always sparks me to contemplate who had the most motive to commit the murder.  I have to admit that as I got into the thick of the plot, the storyline slowed down a little for me, but Kilpack is able to keep the twists and turns coming and pulls you right on to the end as the pace quickens again for the last several chapters.  An added bonus in my mind is that this is a nice, clean book -- sure, the murder is a little gruesome, but that is mainly left to your imagination and after all, it IS a murder mystery.

If I have intrigued you so far, you really ought to pick up a copy of Banana Split (or one of Kilpack's other Culinary Mysteries) and see what it's all about!

My rating: 

For more information about Ms. Kilpack, please visit her website.

Be sure to visit the other blogs participating in the tour and hear what they have to say about Ms. Kilpack and Banana Split:

April 2nd: http://taffyscandy.blogspot.com/
April 2nd: http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com
April 3rd: http://book-spark.blogspot.com/
April 4th: http://screamandhug.blogspot.com
April 5th:http://www.kathiswritingnook.blogspot.com
April 7th: http://www.ifonlylifecouldbethatsimple.blogspot.com/
April 7th: http://cranberryfries.blogspot.com
April 9th: http://vampirekiss1967.blogspot.com/
April 10th: http://agooddaytoread.com/
April 11th: http://www.ldswbr.com
April 12th: http://susan-thebookbag.blogspot.com/
April 13th: http://fireandicephoto.blogspot.com
April 13th: http://micheleabell.blogspot.com/
April 16th: http://scribbledscraps.blogspot.com/
April 16th: http://booksandneedlepoint.blogspot.com/
April 20th: http://gettingyourreadonaimeebrown.blogspot.com/
April 26th: http://www.lisaisabookworm.blogspot.com
April 28th: http://www.tristipinkston.blogspot.com
May 11th: http://www.mmbearcupoftea.com
May 14th: http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com
4th Week of May: http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/

The Return of Mystery Mondays: Blog Tour for Blood Orchids

When I was contacted about participating in the Blog Tour for Blood Orchids by Toby Neal, I simply couldn't resist this opportunity to "resurrect" Mystery Mondays with a review of a great mystery!  While I have been quiet on the blogging front, many thanks to Toby Neal and her publicist for reaching out to me and for their interest in my site!  Thank you for my review copy, which was an e-book, 241 pages.

From BookSparks PR: Blood Orchids follows police woman Lei Texeira, whose life starts to unravel after discovering a gruesome murder scene on the shores of beautiful Hawaii. A scene that also begins to expose Texeira’s dark buried past. After an impulsive mistake she is sent to mandatory counseling to help deal with the escalating violence and how it triggers her. Meanwhile she gains the attention of a killer, and the lead detective on the case, Michael Stevens. Even deeper conspiracies develop the story, originating with her father, a convicted drug dealer. Haunted by a persistent stalker, the shadow of her past looms over the growing relationship with Stevens, Texeira, with the help of her loyal Rottweiler, battles the monsters of her past and present, reaching out toward a loving future.

I actually haven't been reading very many mysteries of late, so I enjoyed diving back into the genre with Blood Orchids, Toby Neal's debut crime novel.  This was a fast-paced book that proved to be a quick read and was perfect for the last few evenings.  Not only do we have the mystery behind the discovery of that first murder scene, but ultimately Lei Texeira is embroiled in her own frightening scenario involving a creepy stalker.  Naturally, one starts to wonder if the two mysteries are connected, though Neal presents several plausible possibilities and keeps you guessing.

I liked the fact that it wasn't immediately obvious as to who the various perpetrators might be.  However, in the end when the cases were resolved, it almost felt like the answer came out of left field.  I didn't think there were enough clues that would enable you to solve the crimes on your own.  Sure, there were a few suspicious characters along the way, but when did we learn about the key points that would have made us realize who the true murderer or stalker was?  Or perhaps Neal was sneaky enough to just slip things in where they might be missed?? :-)

In the end, that was my only complaint about the book.  Blood Orchids was full of action and some romance, too.  The dynamic between Lei and Michael Stevens was exciting to watch unfold.  I also enjoyed that the story was set in Hawaii.  I admit that I'm not too familiar with the culture there, so I was able to get a brief glimpse into a small part of the island life.  You'll find an interesting mix of characters, including the psychiatrist that Lei has to go see for mandatory counseling.

If you are looking for a mystery that's relatively quick to read and will get your heart racing just a bit, then I urge you to give Blood Orchids a try.  Be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour!!

For information about Toby Neal and Blood Orchids, visit Neal's website.


Link to Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/toby.w.neal

Link to Twitter page: https://twitter.com/#!/tobywneal


My rating: 

Mystery Mondays: Maid of Murder Blog Tour!

Welcome to the kickoff of Amanda Flower's blog tour for her mystery debut, Maid of Murder! I am excited to share with you my review of her cozy mystery and hope you'll give it a try, yourself! Let's start off with the basics, shall we?

Title: Maid of Murder
Author: Amanda Flower
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Pub Date: June 2010, Cengage Gale
ARC, 280 pages
Book Source: Received my copy from Vera at Luxury Reading--many thanks for including me in this blog tour!

Synopsis

India Hays is a lot of things... starving artist who pays the rent as a college librarian, daughter of liberal activists, sister of an emotional mathematician, tenant of a landlady who has kissed the Blarney Stone one too many times, and a bridesmaid six times over. But she's about to step into the most challenging role of her life: amateur sleuth.

Childhood friend and now knockout beauty, Olivia Blocken is back in town to wed her bodybuilder fiance with India a reluctant attendant... not just because the bridesmaid's dress is a hideous mess, but because she's betraying her brother. Mark still carries a torch for the bride who once broke his heart and sent his life into a tailspin.

When Olivia turns up dead in the Martin College fountain and the evidence points to Mark, India must unmask the real culprit while juggling a furious and grieving Mother of the Bride, an annoyingly beautiful Maid of Honor, a set of hippie-generation parents, the police detective who once dated her sister and is showing a marked liking for her, and a provost itching to fire someone, anyone--maybe even a smart-mouthed librarian.

India's investigation leads her on a journey through childhood memories that she'd much rather have left in the schoolyard, but to avoid becoming the next victim, it is a path she must follow. 

My Thoughts

By now most of you who are familiar with what I review will know that I always enjoy picking up a mystery book! Whether it's a complex "whodunnit" that is sure to surprise or a cozy mystery with humor and other interesting tangential side plots, I can't help wanting to try to solve the crime before the culprit is revealed.

Amanda Flower's Maid of Murder certainly falls more into the cozy mystery category, with more than its share of quirky characters and amateur sleuthing by India Hayes. Sprinkled with humor and wit, this book tells the story of a tragic pre-wedding murder and shows you all sides of the crime and the people involved. A more varied group of suspects and supporting characters you'd be hard-pressed to find, from India's nosy Irish landlady, to the deceased bride's testosterone-filled fiance, to her liberal parents and their hunger for causes and demonstrations. And that's only the start!

The mystery itself isn't too complicated and naturally we are led to suspect several people before the murderer is revealed. The story is fast-paced, thanks to India's desire to pursue the investigating on her own--although her methods are at times more of a hindrance to her brother's case than a help. I really enjoyed reading this book--Flower's timely use of humor and dry with make for an entertaining read. My only disappointment was in how quickly the case wrapped up once we were hot on the trail of the murderer. I would have been happy with more fleshing out of that aspect of the storyline--and I have to admit I wouldn't have minded seeing more development of the budding relationship between India and Detective Mains. Oh, in case you are wondering, I did figure out who killed Olivia before it was revealed--it wasn't a huge surprise for more than one reason...

If you're looking for a quick read and a cozy mystery, you might like to pick up a copy of Maid of Murder and give it a try!

My rating:

Other stops on the Maid of Murder Blog Tour:

Bookin' with Bingo - August 11th (interview)
The Lit Witch - August 12th
Just Short of Crazy - August 16th
Reading at the Beach - August 17th
Books and Needlepoint - August 18th
Books By Their Cover - August 19th
Luxury Reading - August 20th

For more information on Amanda Flower, please visit her website and look her up on Facebook! To purchase a copy of Maid of Murder, please visit Amazon.com!

Kristin Cashore Blog Tour & Giveaway: Getting to Know the Characters of Fire

I'm very excited to be the 8th stop on Kristin Cashore's Fire Blog Tour, where Kristin tells us a little bit about all the important characters in Fire, the companion novel to Graceling. Today's character just so happens to be one of my favorites, so I'm pleased to share more about him with you, courtesy of Kristin:

"Prince Brigan, Nax and Roen’s younger son and the Dells’ military commander, is also trying. Trying to prevent an inevitable civil war; trying to keep his brother, the king, focused; trying to fight off the looting parties that are the scourge of the mountains; trying to get to his appointments on time; trying to fall asleep at night and rarely succeeding. He would also very much like to have a try at breaking Fire’s neck. Sigh… too much to do…."

You can click on the tour logo above to read about the other featured characters on the blog tour, as well! There are many more to come! If you'd like to read my thoughts on Fire (I loved it!), please check out my review! If you're as excited about the release of Fire as I am and want to Tweet about it or tweet about this awesome blog tour, please use the #firetour tag as part of your tweet!!

You can also read a sample from Fire here:
Fire by Kristin Cashore

And perhaps you've noticed my countdown widget, noting the release of Fire on October 5th. Looks like this:

And maybe you'd like to show this little widget on your own blog? If you would, you can visit this link for the Fire widget!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

I am able to give away one SIGNED COPY of Fire (to a winner in the U.S. only, sorry) as a part of this tour! How cool is that?! Here's how to enter:

+1 entry: Leave a comment telling me which character is your favorite on the tour so far.

+1 entry: Become a follower on Google Friend Connect

+1 entry: Tweet about this contest on Twitter (using #firetour and @Melsbookshelf in your tweet, please!)

+1 entry: Share this post on Facebook and leave me a link to your posting

+1 entry each: Stumble, Digg, bookmark this post on del.icio.us. (The buttons are all handy at the bottom of this post!)

Yes, I'm keeping this a little easier when it comes to calculating all the entries this time, but you can still earn up to 7 entries for this contest if you choose to do them all!

The last day for entries is Saturday, October 3rd at midnight. I will announce the winner on Sunday, October 4th and once I have mailing info, I'll be forwarding that along!

Good luck!

TLC Book Tour: Review : Time Of My Life

Title: Time of My Life
Author: Allison Winn Scotch
Genre: Fiction
Pub Date: 2008, Three Rivers Press
Trade Paperback, 283 pages
Source: Books on the Brain, for the TLC Book Tour

Synopsis

Jillian Westfield has a life straight out of the women’s magazines she obsessively reads. She’s got the modern-print rugs of Metropolitan Home, the elegant meals from Gourmet, and the clutter-free closets out of Real Simple. With her investment-banker husband behind the wheel and her cherubic eighteen-month-old in the backseat, hers could be the family in the magazines’ Range Rover ads.

Yet somehow all of the how-to magazine stories in the world can’t seem to fix her faltering marriage or stop her from asking "What if?"

Then one morning Jillian wakes up seven years in the past. She’s back in her Manhattan apartment. She’s back in her fast-paced job. And she’s still with Jackson, the ex-boyfriend, and star of her what-if fantasies.

Armed with twenty-twenty hindsight, she’s free to choose all over again. She can reconnect to the mother who abandoned her, she can use ad campaigns from her future to wow her clients, and she can fix the fights that doomed her relationship with Jackson.

Or can she?

My Thoughts

I would imagine that we've all had the thought... What would happen if I could go back in time and do things differently? What would my life be like today? Well in this story, Jillian is given just that opportunity. She can change her love life, her career, her non-existent relationship with her mother... The possibilities are seemingly endless and Jillian's head swirls with them all.

Allison Winn Scotch has written an intriguing story about Jillian's experience with a second chance at her life. It truly was fascinating to read about the changes she decides to make to see if she can take her life in a different direction. Scotch masterfully weaves the intricate details as Jillian's new decisions begin to effect subtle changes in not only her own life, but the lives of those around her. Suddenly Jillian knows less and less what to expect as events unfold--she can no longer rely solely on her memories of what had transpired in her first go-around.

I don't really want to give away too much of the plot for those of you who haven't read this book yet. Suffice it to say that things may not always turn out like you expect or hope. And naturally the changes Jillian has made will have a long-lasting effect on the outcome of the rest of her life. Well-written and thought-provoking, Scotch's story is sure to resonate with women who have had second thoughts about their choices in life. Overall, I really enjoyed Time of My Life and look forward to reading more by Scotch in the future.

My rating:

About the Author

Allison Winn Scotch is a frequent contributor to numerous magazines and websites including American Baby, American Way, Bride's, Cooking Light, Family Circle, Fitness, Glamour, InStyle Weddings, Lifetime Television, Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Parents, Prevention, Redbook, Self, Shape, Stuff, USA Weekend, Woman's Day, Women's Health, ivillage.com, msn.com, and women.com.

She is also the author of the novel, The Department of Lost and Found. Allison lives in New York with her husband and their son and daughter.

Visit her blog, "Ask Allison," at www.allisonwinn.com.

A Special Thanks again to Books on the Brain and TLC Book Tours for letting me be a part of the tour for Time of My Life!

For other reviews and thoughts on Time of My Life, please be sure to visit the TLC Book Tour page!

T'Aragam Tour: Interview with Jack W. Regan

Today I'm excited to be a part of the blog tour for Jack W. Regan's T'Aragam, bringing to you an interview with the author himself! You might recall that I rated T'Aragam 5 stars and it was my top pick for June, so I jumped at the chance to be a part of this book tour when I first heard about it...

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Welcome to Melissa's Bookshelf, Jack! When did you know that you wanted to write a juvenile fantasy novel? Can you tell us a little about your background to becoming a published author?

I work part time at a public library and, as such, handle more books in a day than many people do in a lifetime. It soon became clear to me that there was a gap in the reading material we were offering to our patrons. There are a ton of YA fantasy books out there and some for younger kids,
but there wasn’t so much out there for readers who weren’t quite ready or interested in the YA stuff, but growing out of the younger set. I wrote “T’Aragam” in part to fill that gap.

I’ve always had a love for books and have been writing since I was about twelve. At the behest of my mom, I entered a national essay contest at sixteen and won second place. I wrote and edited the high school newsletter, edited my college newspaper, and once out of college, began an online review service, all this time working on my writing: short stories, etc. I stopped doing reviews in 2004 to focus all my attention on writing. “T’Aragam” is a product of a lot of false starts, failures, long days, and late nights. But then again, that’s kind of what a writer should expect.

Where did you find the inspiration for T'aragam?

While the original seed of the idea just occurred to me one day, most of “T’Aragam” was created through blood, sweat, and tears. It would probably be more accurate to say that I went and found the inspiration, rather than it finding me. And I did this by putting the rest of my life on hold for the duration and just sitting at my computer, knowing I couldn’t leave until I completed my word goal for the day. And more often than not, by the time I reached the word goal, I was into the story and just kept going.

Do you have a favorite character in T'aragam? One that you find you relate to more?

Well, it almost seems like heresy to choose a favorite, but I guess I’d have to pick the main character, Max. While the other characters each have some characteristic I love (or love to hate), he’s the all-around best. Likable, smart, brave, and yet also supremely human. He has limitations and faults, just like the rest of us. He seems most real to me.

Do you have a favorite scene or quote from T'aragam that you can share with us?

My favorite quote is from the monster, Gloom, when he sees Max for the first time. “A child! You know I can’t stomach children!” To which Gramkin replies, “You don’t have to stomach him. He’s not dinner…this is Lord Ransome’s son!” I love silly humor like that.

My favorite scene is probably the sea battle between Captain Baggywrinkle and the ship from Grendale.

What about your own reading? (This is of course, assuming you still have time to!) Who are your favorite authors? Any books you find yourself re-reading? How (if at all) did they play a part in your own path to becoming a writer?

My all-time favorite author is Mark Twain. His sharp, often sarcastic humor is timeless. But most of the books I read are non-fiction. I read a lot of history and biographies. And I don’t usually re-read books, simply because I know I don’t have the time to read all the books on my list even once!

I think any book a writer reads affects their writing in some way. In fact, the best way to learn to write (besides actually writing, of course) is by reading good books. You absorb a sense of rhythm, sentence structure, and vocabulary.

And I imagine many others want to know... What's next for the world of T'aragam? When can we expect to see the story continued?

Hmmm. Trying to think what to say without giving anything away. Let’s just say that the ending of “T’Aragam” leaves several options open. Most of the same characters will return in some capacity, but there may be a few surprises thrown in along the way. The world of T’Aragam is, of course, still in grave danger and Max’s job is far from over.

The second book in the Max Ransome Chronicles will be titled, “Kingdom Heir” and is scheduled to release on December 1, 2009.

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Thank you again, Jack, for taking time out to answer some questions for Melissa's Bookshelf! That's exciting news that Kingdom Heir is due out at the end of the year, I know I look forward to reading it!!