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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

"Torn Between Two Worlds" by Lexi Ostrow, Release Day Blitz!

Title: Torn Between Two Worlds(Guardians book 1)

Author: Lexi Ostrow

Publishing House: Hot Ink Press

Release Date: July 15, 2014

Cover by: Riley Steel

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Blurb: Her heart was torn differently than others, between two worlds. Her choice would affect her position in each.

Ciara Miller was born the same as others, but she got a little something extra. On her 14th birthday she learned she was a Word Speaker, someone who could create life from stories. Her gift is incomplete until her 27th birthday, before then all she can create is things she, and others like her can see. Evil wants her gift as well and the characters she chooses to create become her Guardians against the unseen attackers that want to use her skill.

Stryder is a demon, created to be a backup plan for the Horseman of the Apocalypse, War. Since the day he learned he was nothing more than pawn he and his brothers had been seeking a way to betray hell and fight on the side of the angels. His world is torn apart again when he finds out he's nothing more than a story and given the option to protect a human female, Ciara, or die.

Ciara hates Stryder for replacing her former Guardian. But she cannot deny the lust and connection that rocked through her every time they touch. She could deny it all she wanted, but she belonged to Stryder and when they find themselves thrown into a war bigger than them both she must choose between her reality bound heart and her fantasy bound soul to save them.

Trailer

Excerpt: She couldn't believe him. “You arrogant, condescending, infuriating son of a bitch!” As she'd been yelling at him she'd walked closer and didn't even think as she pulled back and smacked him across the face so hard it vibrated through her own hand and turned the heads of the demons in the bar. The danger in his eyes scared her. But she wasn't backing down.

“Sweetheart that might have been the stupidest fucking thing you've ever done. Don't think I won't teach you better.” His voice was a snarl and oddly enough some of her fear retreated because she suspected he was lying.

Wrong.

She had her back pressed against a dirty wall before she could blink. His hard body pushed against hers sent lust through her. She bit down again on her lip, drawing more blood. Aversion therapy. She hated the taste of blood and hoped that she could make herself hate the feel of him against her. His hand slid against her neck, enough to prove a point but not to where she felt like he was choking her.

“Do. Not. Push. Me.” He bent his head like he was going to kiss her and her heart stopped. She needed to stop this and she couldn't. She needed to get away from here and focus only on her and her work and her bills, anything but let her heart fall further and further for this man.

He brushed his lips lightly against hers and she fell apart. Her arms wound around his neck and as she went to kiss him back he and dropped his hand from her neck and walked away. Tears sprang in her eyes. She was crying because he wouldn't kiss her? How could this be? How did this man make her forget everything but the idea of them together?

“I am not a fucking toy. You want to curse me to hell. Go right ahead Sweetheart it's my home away from home don't forget. But you want to use me to sate your sexual needs and then scream at me for it? I don't fucking-”

An explosion rocked through the bar. She barely had time to see the chunks of wall exploding towards her. Or the bodies of demons that flew at her. The smell of ash burnt her nose at the same time as the shrieks in the room bombarded her ears. She was amazingly unaffected by whatever had blown the exterior wall. Her eyes were having trouble adjusting to the smoke and she screamed Stryder's name as someone grabbed her by the ankle and tugged her to the ground.

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Goodreads link
About the Author:

Lexi Ostrow has been in love with the written word since second grade when her librarian started a writing club. Born in sunny southern California she's spent time in various places across the country and can't wait to settle down somewhere in the French Quarter when she's able too.

Lexi has been a writer ever since the second grade in some form or another. Getting her degree in creative writing and her master's in journalism she couldn't wait to get a chance to put her fantasies down on paper. Her debut novel, Torn Between Two Worlds is something that was simmering in her mind since middle school and she's so grateful to put it out into the literary world. From paranormal romance to thriller there isn't a genre she doesn't love to spend her time reading or writing.

Reading and writing are her first loves but her passion for shopping, love for yummy food and her love for all her many pets. She hopes to one day help other readers fall in love with writing as she did.

Say hi to Lexi!

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5 ebook copies of Torn Between Two Worlds

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Friday, June 27, 2014

Unschooling: why it's important to me

Some of you know already, but for anyone who doesn't, I'm a stay at home mom. I'm also an author, but the most important part of my life (and the most time consuming) is parenting. Being an only child who always had an abundance of what so many fondly refer to as "me time", becoming a mom has made me realize that the concept of time to myself is foreign and borderline unattainable with a toddler and baby number two to make his/her debut this November. Two kids under age two... Apparently I'm a crazy masochist.

Don't get me wrong. I love my son, and the bun in the oven that will soon make my belly move around like a sci-fi movie prop. But adjusting to the total lack of solo time has been rough for me. There are still days where it rankles. But then my toddler will bring me one of his many board books to read, he'll parrot the few words in them he can say, and help turn pages, and it makes me proud. Proud that he's a fast learner, that he loves books as much as his Mega Blocks. And proud that he's learning things that I taught him. Not some website, or app, or the TV. Me.

When I notice him taking an interest in something, I make a point of trying to incorporate more of that into our day. When he took my pen and scribbled on four pages of my planner, and was super pleased with himself, I got him some crayons and heavy paper to make his art with. I want him to love learning, to be able to nurture his passions, and for him to live a happy and fulfilled life.

The current standard of education will not be adequate for providing these important parts of life for him, maybe not for any of my children. I went through public school, but was given the bulk of my education at home. I still love learning new things and soak up knowledge like a sponge, and I'm fast approaching age thirty. Institutionalized learning was... well, just that. I remember taking Scan-tron tests in kindergarten. I thought nothing of it, but as I got older, I realized that we weren't being taught problem solving skills, or much of anything as far as core skills go. They were teaching us how to score well enough on the standardized tests for the school to obtain their rewards: grants and funding.

And now... don't even get me started on how they're removing literature, arts, and creativity from schools--even more so than before I graduated! Canceling a kindergarten's end of the year musical/play because they "need to focus on studying, for college placement and their future careers", or having them read Volkswagon tech manuals instead of literature so they'll "be prepared for working in a factory some day"... You can find links to those specific stories online, if you want to really get your blood pressure up.

I want to adequately prepare my children for life, not program them to be drones in some corporate machine. If they choose to become functional cogs in that same machine, of their own volition, that's a different matter entirely. That's their decision.

So, while this post is titled "Unschooling", I guess it's more about why I want to homeschool right out of the gate. I think unschooling happens when you have to deprogram your children and unteach them the boring, busywork filled ways they learned in a public/private school setting. I wish my parents had decided to homeschool me, so I wouldn't have gotten so bored and complacent with school work.

I'd love to find a good homeschool group or co-op, once my kids are old enough to start school, that is. However, my husband and I aren't religious, and from spending much time online hunting, finding a group that teaches the science we agree with (and not religious ideas that we don't agree with) seems difficult. But we still have a few years to work out details, so I'm not overly stressing it just yet.

Long story short, I want to encourage my children to immerse themselves in things they're interested in, not have their career and entire life path predetermined the second they walk through the door into their kindergarten class.

Monday, June 23, 2014

"Dark Innocence" by Madeline Pryce REVIEW

Title: Dark Innocence
Author: Madeline Pryce

Book 1.5 in the Dark series...

Hannah Grey will do anything to escape the tortured memories haunting her. Every breath brings back the pain, the fear and the unbearable knowledge that she'll never be the once-perfect girl everyone thought her to be. When the self-destructive fog of drugs, alcohol and meaningless sex starts to clear, Dante, a lion shifter sexier than sin itself, emerges through the darkness ready to rescue her for the second time in so many weeks.

In the safety of Dante's embrace, Hannah allows herself to become the woman she's always wanted to be--smart, sexy, capable and empowered. His every touch electrifies. His hot, hungry kisses set her senses ablaze. As Dante masters her body, Hannah finally finds the strength to master her fears.

Perfection shatters as threats from a mysterious vampire escalate from anonymous phone calls to violent encounters. When Hannah's enemies unite, placing both her and Dante in mortal peril, she's going to need her newfound strength to face the coming darkness and save the man she loves.

A Romantica® paranormal erotic romance from Ellora's Cave

Reading order
Dark Cravings (#1 Ella/Micah)
Dark Innocence (#1.5 Hannah/Dante)
Dark Secrets (#2 Ella/Micah) - coming soon!

My Review: 4 Stars
This is my first read from Madeline Pryce, and I would certainly go out of my way to find her work elsewhere after this! The main character, Hannah, is perfectly flawed, having hangups and issues that are traumatic, but also realistic. She was a bit whiny in some places where I thought she should have been more willing to man up, but she made up for it later on in the story.

The lion shifter, Dante, has some problems of his own, but with the help of Hannah, he seems to heal in ways he wouldn't have been able to on his own. With a lot of teasing scenes that are smoking hot, all building up to a finale that explodes with passion, this short little treasure is definitely something I would recommend if you're into phenomenal fight scenes, suspense, characters who overcome adversity, and sultry love scenes that will make you lick your lips with longing.

$5.00 on Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00HYZ06ZI