Heather Huffman writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense with strong female leads who refuse to lose hope. She sees her books as a way to not only entertain, but to also raise awareness of the realities of modern day slavery. She shares the passion of her resilient heroines to make a difference, and so dedicates both her time and a portion of her book royalties to organizations that fight against human trafficking.

Heather was born and spent her early childhood in Florida, but now calls the beautiful state of Missouri home. Her greatest joy, aside from writing, is to hit the road with her three boys for adventures unknown.

She is the author of Throwaway, Ties that Bind, Jailbird, Suddenly a Spy, Ring of Fire, Tumbleweed and Devil in Disguise. You can find out more about her writing and charitable work on www.heatherhuffman.net 

Labels: guest post, Heather Huffman, tour

Labels: book haul, meme, Stacking The Shelves

Silent Song
by Ron C. Nieto
Genre: young adult paranormal romance
Publication date: June 22 2012
Pages: 290 (paperback)
Source: Advanced Review Copy from author
Purchase this book | GoodReads

The princess of the school, Alice, is keeping a secret that could strip her of her high school fame. She is obsessed with the school’s outcast, Keith, but not just him – his music. 

Since the inspiration for the song hit, Keith can’t get it out of his mind. The song must be played; it demands to be played. He knows the music is changing him, but he is unable to stop it. 

Music has the ability to move you, enlighten you, and take you to places you have never dreamed of. And this particular piece? It has a life of its own and makes you forget who you really are. 

As Keith and Alice learn of one another to the notes of that one perfect tune, they can overlook their roles and discover who they could be together. But they also discover someone else is listening and intends on keeping Keith to herself, possibly for an eternity.

This book was so heart-wrenchingly good. It filled my heart with rainbows and unicorns, but then broke it into a million teeny little pieces. This glorious debut novel stomped on the pieces of my heart with the burning fury of a thousand sumo wrestlers, and I am still trying to stitch the pieces back together as I write this.

Everyone thought that Alice was the epitome of perfection. Whenever she hangs out with her usual group, she has a laugh and a drink or two, but then her mind eventually drifts and she ends up outside Keith's house every night, hiding in the shadows. Nothing made her more alive than listening to Keith's music, Keith's heart. Before Alice, Keith lived and breathed music. He didn't care about anything else, he didn't think that anyone would understand him. But Alice understands his music, and every little part of his soul that he pours into a single note. She understands him. When she re-enters his life, it was as if he finally had something to live for.
Ron C. Nieto created the most amazing, multi-dimensional characters that constantly frees themselves from the margins of a page.  At the beginning of the book, I thought that Alice was your typical 'popular girl that is obsessed with the bad boy for reasons that she cannot comprehend' and that Keith was a emo/druggie/wannabe hipster douche who would make Alice's life a living hell, but I was soon proven wrong.

 Alice is part of the popular crowd, and in any other Young Adult book, that would automatically mean that she is part of the 'rah rah rah, go team!' perky pom-pom club. However, Alice is actually just a normal insecure teenager who constantly gives in to peer pressure and tries to mold herself into a girl that would scream 'perfection' everyday. I know that my description of her makes her sound a bit shallow, but she's definitely not. She feels very strongly about her own opinions, and toughens up when she has to stand up for herself or when she needs to protect the people she loves.

And Keith? Keith was anything but a douchebag. Keith was shy, honest, talented, caring, and sweet. He's a fragile soul, having been through a lot of tough situations. He's very lost and confused, and he is only 100% sure about one thing: he loves Alice with every fiber of his being. His love for her will never waver, it will never die. And Alice feels the same way. Their love will conquer even the oldest of evils.

This is a book about being lost and alone, and searching out and finally finding the one thing that will bring you back. It is humorous, romantic, lyrical, dramatic, and terrifying all at the same time. It was true to life and unabashedly honest. I laughed, I cried, I gushed, and I was terrified. I never thought that this book would instill those emotions so strongly within me.

Silent Song was a perfectly tuned book. It was paced so beautifully in such an intricate way. Like a song, even. The book started gentle and slow, but then built up from crescendo to crescendo, and then decrescendos so perfectly you think the song is about to end in that exact moment, but then a collision happens, and an Ad Libitum enters and another crescendo follows, then finally a bow. The way the plot went was so unexpected and it will overwhelm you and turn you into an emotional wreck. And it is the most amazing thing that you could possibly ever feel.

THE NUB AND GIST: 4.5 STARS

Labels: review, Ron C. Nieto, Silent Song

Labels: cover reveal, covergasms

The Carny
by Brooke Moss 
Genre: contemporary romance
Expected publication date: July 7th 2012
Published by: Inkspell Publishing
Source: Advanced Review Copy from publisher
Format: paperback
Purchase this book | GoodReads

BLURB: At a town fair on the coast of Oregon, handsome Native American carny, Vincent Youngblood, bestows an unforgettable kiss on shy, awkward teenager, Charlotte Davenport. Then he disappears without another word, leaving her baffled and enamored.
Ten years later, Charlotte is still living in the small fishing town of Astoria, while being trained to--reluctantly--take over for her philandering hotelier father when he retires. After all, who else will do it? Her two perfect sisters are busy being married to their flawless husbands and having cookie cutter children, while Charlotte remains single, childless, and every bit as mousy as she was a decade ago.
As Charlotte struggles to climb out from underneath her judgmental parents thumb, the carnival rolls back into town, and Charlotte finds herself face to face with Vin again. He's back to run his father's carnival, walking away from a promising career in medicine he started in Chicago. Will her biased and judgmental family accept her relationship with a man who is not only a Native American, but works as a carny for a living? And what unsavory secrets bind the well-educated and seemingly superlative Vin to that ramshackle carnival?
After all, you can’t judge a carny by its cover.

Before you read this book, make sure you have tissues nearby, because this book will make you cry like a baby. It is so heartbreakingly good, it is just about impossible to put down. In the early morning hours, when I should be asleep, I stayed up to read this. I am not lying when I tell you that the book was worth the deep eye bags.

The feelings, plot lines and emotions portrayed in this story really has you sympathizing with the characters. The characters are engaging and I loved the humour throughout the story. Charlotte was very real, and had raw emotions. She was left at the altar, and she was stuck with a job and a possible future that she wanted nothing to do with. But then the mysterious Native American carny named Vin re-enters her life and everything changes for the better. She starts to gain confidence and she stands up to the dysfunctional family that has been harassing her her whole life. 

I fell in love with Vin as soon as he entered the story. He isn't your average Carny; there's much more to him than grease, mud, and sweat. He is a smart, witty, patient, and romantic guy who loves his family more than anything else in the world. Reading about how their relationship grew was quite a journey. I laughed, I sobbed, I mentally screamed at them for being so stupid. Their relationship had it's ups and downs, and a lot of misunderstandings along the way, but every one of those was a vital step in strengthening their love. 

Brook Moss' writing was gorgeous. It was witty and romantic, and paid a lot of attention to details. All of the characters had depth too them, and none of them got left out. The plot is very unique, I think. I haven't heard of any other books with this kind of story line. 

The Carny is a really enjoyable read, but my one complaint is the pacing. I felt that it was too rushed at times, and some scenes left me hanging. The pace does steady itself and the story continues to draw you in after a while, so it's not too much of a big deal.

The only time I give 5 stars is if a book has stuck in my mind long after I've finished reading it. And I constantly found myself thinking of this book night and day; obsessing over the ending, going through Charlotte and Vin's conversations in my head, wondering about what could have happened if things didn't go the way it went, and all the other things that psycho readers do when they've finished reading a book that they would remember for a long long time. So, 5 stars it is.

THE NUB AND GIST: 5 STARS

Labels: Brooke Moss, Inkspell Publishing, review, The Carny

Labels: cover reveal, covergasms

Labels: giveaway

Labels: book haul, meme, Stacking The Shelves

Who doesn't love free books? Well, I found a bunch of great YA reads that are free on Amazon, and I wanted to share them with you guys! Some of these are free forever, but others are free only today. So before clicking that 'buy' button, check the price. I don't want you to pay for something you thought was free! :p

Labels: free, freebies, kindle

Hi guys! It's been a pretty busy week for me, since my classes officially started this week. But amidst the stress, I managed to squeeze in a few hours of internet time and I found these lovely covers that have been released just recently.

First up, we have the cover for the second book in the Everneath trilogy.

Everbound (Everneath #2) by Brodi Ashton

Expected publication: January 22nd 2013 by Balzer+Bray

Two months ago, the Tunnels of the underworld came for Nikki Beckett. That night, Nikki's boyfriend, Jack, made the ultimate sacrifice. All Nikki wants is to save Jack before it's too late. All Cole wants is to find his queen - and he thinks Nikki is the one. Both determined, both desperate, Nikki and Cole form a tense alliance, leading them on a dangerous journey to The Heart of The Everneath.

My initial reactions was, "she has a face!" In all honesty though, I completely adore this cover. The model looks dignified and strong, but hasn't lost her femininity and grace. And, I love how the smoke blends in so cleanly with her dress. "White girl in a gown" is such a trend in YA covers nowadays, but this just leaves me speechless. I have to say that it looks slightly different than the first book, but I can easily live with that. 

Next, we have the cover for Unravel Me!

Unravel Me (Shatter Me #2) by Tahereh Mafi
Expected publication: February 5th 2013 by HarperCollins

This is just breathtaking. It looks so ethereal and dreamy; I am so in love with it! The colors are so beautiful, and the cover as a whole really speaks to the reader. And I really loved that they decided to follow the theme of the paperback of the first book! Here they are side by side:

Labels: cover reveal, covergasms

I'm sure you've noticed the sudden influx of cover releases around the blogosphere lately, but this cover will surely catch your eye. Thanks to RABT, I have the honor of presenting the cover of Seraphine by KaSonndra Leigh.

"Mom always says the angels walk among us. She forgot to tell me that sometimes they're not all fluffy and nice."

   Seventeen-year-old Caleb Wood has seen people he calls the walkers since he was a baby. It didn't take long for him to realize something…no one can see these strangers but him. They never stuck around or tried to touch him. And they never said a word. That was until one day on the first day of class in his senior year when an incredibly gorgeous girl strolls into his life…and things are never the same again.

      Soon Caleb realizes he has stepped into the middle of a growing conflict between two ancient groups. And his ability to see the invisible ones, the half-breeds that want to modify the human race, just might be the only hope both he and the mysterious, but infuriating Gia have of making it out alive.

KaSonndra Leigh was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. She now lives in the City of Alchemy and Medicine, North Carolina. She likes to write about people doing fantastical things in magical worlds. Her two sons have made her promise to write a boy book next.

She holds the MFA in creative writing, and loves to play CLUE,

Monopoly (the Indiana Jones version), and Pandora's Box (good writer's block therapy). She lives in an L-shaped house with a garden dedicated to her grandmother. It has a secret library complete with fairies, Venetian plastered walls, and a desk made out of clear blue glass.

There was no one in the classroom besides the two of us. To admit this girl made me feel a little shaky sounded weak. I put on a manly face, squared my shoulders, and sat in the desk behind her. The little kid in me still wanted to run away like a baby, though.

And then she laughed.

It was a high-pitched giggle, a normal girl’s sound. That wasn’t right. I don’t remember any of the other spirits laughing before.

“So you wanna run from me, huh? Go ahead. I’ll just find you like I always do, Caleb,” she said, still facing the chalk board in the front of the classroom. Her voice was smooth like a musical instrument, maybe a flute. Nah. It was more like a harp. I could listen to it all day.

But even her sexy pipes didn’t change the fact that she just read my mind. How did she do that?

“Are you going to run, or stay? I need a quick answer, because I have a lot to do today.” She turned her head to the side a bit.

“I don’t run from anything,” I said, trying to ignore the prickle in my underarms. Good thing I used my dad’s deodorant this morning. That old-timers stuff was strong enough to knock out anything.

She didn’t scare me as much as some of the other walkers, my nickname for them. But I wasn’t ready to get her digits either. As a baby, I remembered talking to a few of them. That ability disappeared sometime around my thirteenth birthday. This was the first time I spoke to one in four years.

“What are you people: angels, ghosts, or zombies?” I asked, my voice squeaking on the last syllable. What a dork.

“Can’t you be a little more creative?” She turned around in her seat to face me, an amused expression on her ridiculously gorgeous face. I sucked my breath. Her strange amber-hazel eyes pierced through me. The word beautiful didn’t do enough for this walker-girl.

“I thought I was pretty creative,” I said.

“Nope. Your ideas suck,” she said with a smug face.

“Nice. Thanks,” I said, getting annoyed.

“And I don’t sparkle in the sun, either. So scratch that one off your list too.”

I frowned. “Then tell me the right answer. And you can go ahead and explain how I won the honor of being stalked?”

“I’m a creative mix of many things. Feel better now?” She tilted her head. Blue-black hair flowed around her face as if it were made of silky thread. “So others have come before me?” She seemed to be talking to herself rather than asking me.

“Maybe,” I said. Why should I tell her everything? One thing I did know. At this rate, I was probably going to be committed to the loony ward on the first day of school.

“I’m going to need your help soon, Caleb. You have to be ready,” she whispered, her face suddenly serious. Right then, I knew my world was about to change…forever.

Who is the Dark Seraphine? Find out in September, 2012.

Labels: cover reveal, Dark Seraphine, KaSonndra Leigh, tour

Labels: book haul, meme, Stacking The Shelves

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