Blind Spot Review

TITLE: Blind Spot

AUTHOR: Laura Ellen

PUBLISHER: Harcourt Children's Books

PUBLICATION DATE: 10/23/2012

PAGES: 336

MY RATING:

BACK COVER SUMMARY: Winter stops hiding Tricia Farni on Good Friday. When a truck plunges through the thinning ice of Alaska's Birch River, Tricia's body floats to the surface -- dead since the night she disappeared six months earlier. The night Roswell Hart fought with her. The night Roz can't remember.

Missing things is nothing new to sixteen-year-old Roz; she has macular degeneration, an eye disease that robs her central vision. She's constantly piecing together what she sees -- or thinks she sees -- but this time her memory needs piecing together. Yet how can Roz be sure of the truth if her own memory has betrayed her? Can she clear her name of a murder that she believes she didn't commit?

Debut author Laura Ellen draws on her own experiences with vision loss in an emotional and suspenseful page-turner that straddles the world of special needs and the minefield of high school.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This was such a great book. I was sucked into the story line right from the beginning. Nothing seems to go right for Roz (the main character) and I felt for her and was rooting for her the whole way through.

CHARACTERS: Tricia was an interesting character. She had her ups and downs and I wasn't sure if I liked her or if I didn't like her. I loved to hate Mr. Dellian. I was appaled at the way he treated Roz and was fascinated to see the things he was able to get away with.

COVER: I love the cover! It's so so creepy and made me open the book to find out what it was all about.

*I received an advanced copy of this book from Amazon Vine for Review.

Uncontrollable Launch!

 

 

Yay! Uncontrollable is out today!

 Uncontrollable is the second book in "The Nature of Grace" series by S.R. Johannes. Untraceable, the first book in the series, has won and been nominated for several awards including Winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Award (YA), 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (YA Nominee), and a finalist in The Kindle Book Review's "Best Indie Book of 2012 (YA)".

Kirkus reviewed Untraceable as "A thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance.  The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page."

If you like a page turner, you will love this series!

Head over to Mundie Moms for a Big Uncontrollable Launch Party with tons of prizes and then over to SR Johannes blog for even more.

To continue on with the blog tour, check out the line up! Where SR talks about anything from marketing to writing to her books to personal interviews and giveaways.

 

Book Summary

As 16-year-old Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program". 

While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants. 

After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues. 

Little does she know, she is being hunted too. 

 

On Sale Now! 

Uncontrollable is on sale in paperback and ebook at all major booksellers including Amazon, iBooks/Apple (coming soon),  Smashwords, and B&N.   If you haven't read Untraceable, you can get it in paperback and ebook at all major booksellers including Amazon, Apple, Smashwords, and B&N.

Author Bio

S.R. Johannes is the author of award-winning and Amazon bestselling Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and new tween paranormal, On The Bright Side. She has also published short novelettes as well as a teen romance anthology with 16 other authors titled, In His Eyes.  Uncontrollable, the sequel to Untraceable, is scheduled for September 2012.

 S.R. Johannes is a winner of the 2012 IndieReader Discovery Awards (Young Adult) and was also recently nominated for 2012 Georgia Author of the Year (Young Adult). Untraceable was also recently named a Finalist in The Kindle Book Review's Indie Book of the Year (YA)

After earning an MBA and working in corporate America, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. 

 
Connect!

 Follow S.R. online on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest

You can also sign up for her newsletter to keep up on author or book news.
 

Author Interview with Melissa Hanson + A Giveaway

Today I have the pleasure of sharing an interview with you guys from Melissa A. Hanson, author of A Healing Heart. I recently read the book and enjoyed it very much. Check out my review here.

Check out the Facebook page for A Healing Heart!


1. Where did you get the inspiration to write your novel?

At the end of summer in 2010, I had just finished a set of books, which I flew through in less than a week. By the time I finished the last page, I just had this burning urge to write again. I couldn't get it out of my mind; it was there taunting me when I was driving, at work, lying in bed.

While brainstorming ideas for my book, I tossed the question out to one of my babysitters, asking her what I should write about. She offhandedly said “Why don’t you write a story about Cole (my youngest) and all his babysitters.” I tossed ideas around in my head for a few weeks, and then one evening sitting on the couch watching tv, I grabbed some paper, and before I knew it the prologue was there on the paper. And while the story is indeed a work of fiction, that one statement gave me a direction to move forward. A couple of days later I had a rough draft for an ending, and from that moment on it was something I knew had to be written

2. Which of your characters is your favorite and why?

Riley. Some of his comments and things he does with Bailey are based on my youngest son and some of the adventures he had with his awesome babysitters. And Collin, because he has characteristics of my husband. :)

3. When you are not writing what else do you like to do?

I’m a licensed architect, so I spend most of my days working on residential and commercial projects. I also enjoy reading and scrapbooking.

4. Describe your family (Are you married? Do you have kids? Pets?)

I’m married to my first and only love. We’ve been together for over 20 years now and married for almost 18 years. We have two boys, as well as 3 dogs.

5. Do you prefer cold, snowy weather or warm, sunny weather?

Spring is my favorite time of the year, just like it was Bailey’s favorite. I love the smell of the orange blossoms in the air.

Thanks for joining us Melissa!

And now I have a giveaway for everyone. There will be 2 winners of Melissa's book - 1 paperback and 1 ebook. There are no mandatory entries, just enter with which ones you like. The first winner chosen will receive the paperback and the second winner will get the ebook.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Healing Heart Review

AUTHOR: Melissa A. Hanson

PUBLISHER: Melissa Hanson
PUBLICATION DATE: 2/14/2012

PAGES: 262

MY RATING:

 

 BACK COVER SUMMARY: On a bitter cold winter night Baily Walsh's family was killed in a traffic accident. Two years later as she lives with her aunt and uncle in Southern California, Bailey is still plagued by the nightmares of that terrible night. Everywhere around her are reminders of what she lost. Even her aunt, in a cruel twist of fate, is not just her mom's sister, but her identical twin.

Babysitting Riley, a spunky two-year old, is a sweet distraction and one constant light in her life. One day as she takes Riley to the park she meets Collin McKenna, a senior at her high school and her life is changed forever as he helps her find herself and realize her life is worth living.

As the romance between them grows her broken heart begins to heal. However, still nagging in the back of her conscious is the fear that her new found happiness could come crashing down and she could lose everything she loves, yet again.

Outside forces begin to tear them apart and Bailey must learn to trust in herself and realize that she is worthy of happiness. That sometimes love and healing comes in unexpected forms.

A story about first love, life's unexpected tragedies, and the miracles that make it possible to move forward.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This story is told mostly from Bailey (the main character) point of view with snippets from Collin (the love interest) and Savannah (an antagonist). To me this is a "feel good book" but it also deals with some major hardships. I feel myself struggling through the story just as Bailey does. This was a wonderful book to read and I enjoyed every minute of it.

CHARACTERS: Bailey is such a great character. She has had to overcome so much in the short life that she has lived so far and it has made her so much stronger. I really like Collin as the love interest. He seems like an all around great guy, he can just be a little bit dense sometimes and I feel like he needs a good smack on the head (not that I condone violence) at a couple of points in the story. I adore Riley (the little boy Bailey babysits for) and Lacey (Collins little sister).

COVER: I like it. The scenery ties nicely into an important location in the book and the necklace is also significant to the story line.

*I was provided a copy of this book by Melissa Hanson for review

Love Story Review

TITLE: Love Story

AUTHOR: Jennifer Echols

PUBLISHER: MTV Books (Simon & Schuster)

PUBLICATION DATE: 7/19/2011

PAGES: 243

MY RATING: 2.5/5

TAGLINE: "She's writing about him. He's writing about her. And everybody is reading between the lines.

BACK COVER BLURB: For Erin Blackwell, majoring in creative writing at the New York City college of her dreams is more than a chance to fulfill her ambitions -- it's her ticket away from the tragic memories that shadow her family's racehorse farm in Kentucky. But when she refuses to major in business and take over the farm herself someday, her grandmother gives Erin's college tuition and promised inheritance to their maddeningly handsome stable boy, Hunter Allen. Now Erin has to win an internship and work late nights at a local coffee shop to make her own dreams a reality. She should despise Hunter...so why does he sneak into her thoughts as the hero of her latest writing assignment?

Then, on the day she's sharing that assignment with her class, Hunter walks in. He's joining her class. And after he reads about himself in her story, her private fantasies about him must be painfully clear. She only hopes to persuade him not to reveal her secret to everyone else. But Hunter devises his own creative revenge, writing sexy stories that drive the whole class wild with curiosity and fill Erin's heart with longing. Now she's not just imagining what might have been. She's writing a whole new ending for her romance with Hunter...except this story could come true.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I had some trouble getting into this one. I felt like the pace was a little too slow for my tastes, but I'm not a huge romance reader. There was a turn in the story that I didn't see coming, but I don't want to give anything away so you'll just have to read for yourself if you want to know what it is! I really enjoyed the way the story ended. I felt like it left off at a good place.

CHARACTERS: I can relate to Erin, the main character. She is just trying to get buy and live out her dreams. Hunter was an okay character. As a love interest he was pretty normal, nothing spectacular, but roughly an average guy.

COVER: The cover is okay. It conveys the sweetness that we see in moments throughout the book.

*I won this book in a contest hosted by Kimberly @ The Windy Pages

In My Mailbox #18

My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

    What did you get this week? Send me a link to your post!