Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Keeping Her Release Day Launch



YAY Keeping Her (Losing It #1.5) is officially out today! *Throws confetti* As a huge lover of Garrick and Bliss I'm so excited to be part of the release day launch!

Goodies you'll find in this post:
  • The first chapter of Keeping Her
  • Some Garrick POV from Losing It
  • My review of Keeping Her
  • A giveaway!



Synopsis:
"Garrick Taylor and Bliss Edwards managed to find their happily-ever-after despite a rather . . . ahem . . . complicated start. By comparison, meeting the parents should be an absolute breeze, right?

But from the moment the pair lands in London, new snags just keep cropping up: a disapproving mother-in-law-to-be, more than one (mostly) minor mishap, and the realization that perhaps they aren't quite as ready for their future as they thought.

As it turns out, the only thing harder than finding love is keeping it."






First Chapter of Keeping Her & Losing It Garrick POVs



Review


Firstly, thanks to William Morrow Books/HarperCollins Publishers for this eARC <3

Date Read: August 7th 2013
Release Date: August 13th 2013
Publisher: William Morrow (HarperCollins Publishers)
Source: ARC (via Edelweiss)
Genre: Contemporary
My rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

“You make me happy.” 

Keeping Her definitely is at the top of my list for being one of the sweetest books I’ve ever read. As a huge fan of Carmack’s debut, Losing It, this follow-up novella to Bliss and Garrick’s story is one I’d been pining for since the end of Losing It really… And when Carmack announced that she’d be writing this novella to give us a glimpse into their “happily-ever-after” I was jumping for joy. After finishing this, all I can say is: ALL THE FEELS AND I NEED MORE!

More than a year after Bliss and Garrick’s meeting, it’s time for Bliss to meet the parents and be introduced to Garrick’s life before he arrived in the States. Which means Keeping Her is set in London, England and I just imagined everybody speaking with an English accent which was incredibly hot and I just really want to go to London more than ever now. To say that Garrick’s life prior to moving to the US was different is an understatement.

Bliss Edwards is one of the funniest, most relatable MCs I’ve ever read and I just love the voice Carmack’s created for her. I adore her clumsiness and the way she thinks – her freak-outs are hilarious and very relevant in the light of events. Her insecurities were something I could really relate to and portrayed realistically. She’s definitely matured since Losing It, allowing herself to feel a lot more rather than analysing everything – all thanks to Garrick. I loved how she’s still got that little streak of over-analysis in her though as it’s what makes Bliss who she is.

“Wait… did they have stairs? I should have made him detail it all for me. Maybe I should wake him up and ask him now about the stairs. And for a description of the entire house.” 

*Swoons* Garrick Taylor omg being in his head is AWESOME! Seeing and FEELING his love for Bliss just moved me so much. Oh oh oh and he talks dirty and it’s insanely hot. Most other books I read, guys talking dirty sometimes gets a cringe from me but from Garrick it was so sexy. I think the beauty of that is because he doesn’t do it all the time, Carmack doesn’t exploit it so when he does say those things, it’s a shock and very exciting to see this other side to him. And going on from that I’m bowing down to Carmack for not using any swearing to make her point that it’s a guy POV. I get so annoyed when books (especially “new adult”) with male POVs have excessive swearing or crude/vulgar language like they have to make a point that guys need to swear to appear masculine/manly. NO JUST NO. There are heaps of great guys out there that don’t swear every 5 seconds. So thank you Cora Carmack for not doing that with Garrick’s POV. I’ll admit I wondered what his thoughts would be like and although there is some profanity it’s not excessive and I really felt like I was in Garrick’s head.

“I never would have thought I could feel such peace while my heart hammered and my skin burned, but that’s what she brought me.” 

Despite Keeping Her only being a novella, I thought Carmack delivered the plot perfectly. The challenges of meeting the future in-laws, the difference in lifestyles, the worries of whether Garrick’s family/friends would accept Bliss, problems that Garrick and Bliss would face themselves in the future. They all fit comfortably in the 100 pages. But left me wanting for more *sigh* I was also happy to see Carmack’s writing had improved. While Losing It had great writing style, there were some inconsistencies with flow, but I think those got smoothed out in Keeping Her. Also, any author that manages to incorporate multiple Harry Potter references and use them as snark is a winner in my eyes.

“You’re right. Realistically, I’m a Ravenclaw.” 

Now all I have to say is… WHY COULDN’T THIS BE A WHOLE BOOK? Oh wait Carmack would probably have to put them through some angst/turmoil which my feels probably wouldn’t have been able to handle BUT STILL I want more Garrick *sobs*

“I could imagine each one of them wrapped up in their thoughts, contemplating their dreams, falling in love, getting news that changed their entire world.”

 ---

Buy Keeping Her


Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Her-LOSING-Novella-ebook/dp/B00CD36FHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376267729&sr=8-1&keywords=keeping+her+cora+carmack

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keeping-her-cora-carmack/1115290735?ean=9780062299260&itm=1&usri=keeping+her+cora+carmack

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About Cora

 Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Find her at the following places:
Blog: http://coracarmack.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/CoraCarmack
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoraCarmackBooks



Publisher Links:
William Morrow Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WmMorrowbks
William Morrow Twitter: https://twitter.com/WmMorrowBks

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Giveaway


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Monday, August 12, 2013

Cover Reveal: Daughter of Isis (Descendants of Isis #1) by Kelsey Ketch

I'm very excited to be part of the cover reveal for 2013 debut author, Kelsey Ketch and her book Daughter of Isis, which incorporates Egyptian mythology - something I really love.

DAUGHTER OF ISIS



I love the hieroglyphs in the background, I think this cover really tells the reader what the story is about and relates to the title.

Synopsis:
"“Her mouth parted slightly, waiting for Seth to breathe life into her own body, just like in the story. She wanted him to awaken her senses.” 

Their worlds collide in California’s high desert.

The last thing Natara “Natti” Stone wants to do is to start anew at Setemple High School. She wished she had never left London. Yet the brutal murder of her maternal grandmother has made her life very complicated. The only clue related to her murder is an ancient, encrypted necklace Natti discovered after her grandmother’s death. And if trying to adjust to American life is not enough, Natti is being stalked by a mysterious, charming high school senior, Seth O’Keefe, who is annoyingly persistent in his attempts at seduction.

Seth O’Keefe is secretly a member of the Sons of Set, an order that worships the Egyptian god of chaos. Seth’s blessing from Set, his “charm,” never failed, except with one person: Natti Stone. Her ability to elude him infatuates and infuriates him, and he becomes obsessed with the chase. But the closer he gets to her, the more his emotions take a dangerous turn, and he risks breaking one of the most valued covenants of his order. The punishment for which is a fate worse than death.

The adventure this unlikely couple becomes engulfed in could cost them their lives and their souls."

---


An Excerpt


There was a crash and a loud gasping moan. She turned to the door next to her and stepped into the room. Her eyes widened as two entangled bodies jumped in the dark; the light shining from the hall streamed over the couple. She recognized the tall, copper haired upperclassman from the parking lot; the boy who had sent her the enchanting smile. Now he was completely shirtless, his fly clearly unzipped, and a brunette held tight in his arms. The girl glared at Natti. She struggled a little against the boy’s grasp, trying to cover herself with her bra.

Natti blinked in complete shock. “Okay.” She finally glanced at the empty room. “This is obviously not American Literature.”
“No duh!” the brunette snapped. 
The young man smiled and turned to the girl in his arms. The brunette’s cold demeanor melted away once her eyes met his. He stroked her cheek, sending visible shivers through her body. Natti rolled her eyes, ready to gag. 
“Now, now, Charlotte.” The honey-sweet voice made Natti freeze when she was just turning to leave. It gave her a dizzy feeling; a fog creeping at the back of her mind. “We shouldn’t be rude to our guest.” The boy’s eyes traveled Natti’s curves again. His grin widened. “Perhaps she’d like to join us. Maybe we can all get to know each other a little better.”
He motioned Natti to come inside. She unconsciously took a step forward; a strange force compelled her to join them. Her hands were reaching to pull her shirt off. It was as if she was no longer in control. 
What the hell . . . ? Natti shook her head, finding the strength to resist through a familiar heavy sensation that rested against her chest. It was one she often got when someone lied to her. She was born with it. A gift, her grandmother called it, which could tell her when something wasn’t right. And as much as her body suddenly wanted to be next to the boy, feeling the skin of his lean, muscular chest, her gift was telling her something was off. His intentions were not pure.
She lowered her hands to her side, taking a step back into the hall. “Sorry.” She shook her head. “I don’t do threesomes.”

---

Daughter of Isis will be released on the 26th October 2013



About Kelsey Ketch


During her high school years, Kelsey Ketch could always be found tucked away in a little corner of the hall or classroom, writing her fantasy worlds and creating illustrations and maps. Today is no different, except now she’s writing in the break room at her office building or at the tables of the Barnes and Noble Café in Cary, North Carolina. She is also an avid reader, a part-time book blogger at Ketch’s Book Nook, and lives with her two orange tabbies and awesome and humorous flat-mate. Daughter of Isis is her debut novel.









Find her at the following places:
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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Stacking the Shelves #18



Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and every week bloggers post about books they’ve added to their bookshelves! This includes books bought through a physical store, online store, eBooks, books borrowed from the library/a friend and gifts.

I think this is turning into a fortnightly thing for me lol, not that I'm complaining, my Sundays/weekends in general are getting to be really busy now.

I've had two mini-bookish events happen in the past 2 weeks - one I'll mention below and the other I'll talk about here:
So on August 1st, I met Amie Kaufman, co-author of These Broken Stars (Starbound #1)! She was in Sydney for a few hours and when she announced her short trip on Twitter I sort of just assaulted her online HAHA. We had lunch and talked about publishing, awesome books and of course These Broken Stars. Amie is full of awesome and so funny! I could totally see how she's the voice behind sarcastic Tarver. Amie and Meagan are also quite evil as they apparently laugh at people's reactions to certain events in the book. Anyway, I was lucky enough to have been approved for the eARC last week (woohoo thanks Disney-Hyperion) and finished TBS the night before meeting Amie so we could discuss - AND YOU GUYS TBS IS GORGEOUS AND FULL OF FEELS AND 4.5/5 <3 So you should all look out for it's release in November (Aus) and December (US) *nods* Lilac and Tarver *hums*

From Edelweiss (oops I'd previously written NG my bad; BUT YAY MY FIRST EVER EDELWEISS APPROVAL):

Keeping Her (Losing It, #1.5)

Keeping Her (Losing It #1.5) by Cora Carmack (Adult Contemporary) - this was AMAZING omg 5/5 Garrick Taylor! I'll have my review up on the release day launch August 13th (((:

Thanks to William Morrow Publishing for this eARC <3

ARCs:

Just this Tuesday I had the privilege of meeting Sonia, the publicist for YA, from Bloomsbury Sydney! We gushed about Trish Doller, Chaol Westfall *cough* I mean Crown of Midnight and Sarah J. Maas and just books in general (duh!) over peppermint tea. It was a great half-hour but way too short and I must get her to meet me again sometime. She also surprised me with some lovely books which I totally wasn't expecting (for me I just wanted to meet the face behind the person I had been sending my Chaol/CoM fangirl emails to lol) and I adore the Bloomsbury tote too!. Sonia is insanely awesome - we share the same feels and I just love how bookish people react to things, my non-bookish friends don't understand my fangirling antics ): She's also one of the nicest, polite and sweetest people I've ever met.





Thanks to Bloomsbury Sydney for these review copies/ARCs <3

Bought:

E-books:
Cipher (Cipher, #1) The Darkest Part (Living Heartwood)




Physical copies:
And these arrived in the mail ^_^




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