Birthright Book 1

BIRTHRIGHT:
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

It's Was Not Her Choice, But Her Birthright!

She may have been the daughter of a police woman but it was her father who people remembered most, who she remembered most. It was his name she carried after all, and with it his reputation. It didn't matter that he had been dead for years, it didn't matter that he was a good man, it only matter that he was in a business that was illegal. A business that produced and sold an illegal substance; chocolate.

There was nothing more important in her life then her family, her brother and sister were her responsibility and she took that very seriously. There was nothing she wouldn't do for them, nothing she wouldn't do to keep them safe; however she never guessed at the lengths she would go to do just that. But when her heart interferes with her responsibilities she finds more trouble them she can handle and her only way out is to give up the boy she loves.

All These Things I've Done were done to keep her family safe and to keep her family together. However with a family like hers that was harder then expected. With criminal activity, mob wars, family politics, a vindictive ex, poisoning, attempted murder, betrayal, love and chocolate, this story literally has a bit of something for everyone. An engrossing and engaging story that is as bitter as it is sweet. A brilliant introduction to an exciting new series.

Gabrielle Zevin Webpage

Gabrielle Zevin @ Pan Macmillan

On sale: 06 September 2011
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9780330537896
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Chocolate
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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Coffee at Little Angels

Coffee at Little Angels by Nadine Rose Larter

There Is More Then One Side To Each Story!

In high school they were the best of friends; growing up in a remote country town they had little other choice. Now, years later, they had all grown up and gone their separate ways, at least most had. There were some who were still clinging to the past, unable to change or move on from events long ago, others however tried outrunning the memories of the past that still haunted them. None of them had expected to meet up so soon, there were some who would have rather not at all, but death has a way of bringing people together, weather they want to or not.

Coffee at Little Angels brings together seven people who were once close high school friends but now have nothing more in common then the death of a mutual friend. While for most of them it had been years since they last meet up, for others there had barely been a day between visits. All had been affected by the friendships they once had, all were hurting from the secrets, betrayals and broken hearts of the past. Now however over one weekend and numerous cups of coffee these strangers will reconnect, and rediscover what brought them together in the first place.

Nadine Rose Larter Webpage
eBook @ Amazon

On sale: 26 May 2011
Price eBook (US): $9.99
ASIN: B005HFK7UG
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Reunions
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
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Haunting Violet

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

I Don't Believe In Ghosts!

Violet always knew there was no such thing as ghosts, a fact that she could never admit with her mother being a medium. Mediums were another thing she never believed in, after all the years she spent assisting her mother in seances and readings she had just assumed that all mediums were frauds like her mother. But then one day Violet saw a ghost and everything she believed changed.

This was to be the most important reading of her mothers career with only the most important people in attendance. Who knew that a real ghost would show up to spoil everything. However it's not just the dead who are causing mischief and keeping secrets. There is a murder afoot and the one person who knows their identity is a girl made mute by her brutal murder.

Haunting Violet are a number of spirits, some more friendly then others, a guilty conscious, an unknown future and a new love. With a few well chosen words and a handful of parlour tricks, Violet and her mother have made a living at comforting and consoling the wealthy of London, and all at a price. A trip back in time to when propriety and social standing were all important and catching a murder could be scandalous. A great romantic ghost story.

Alyxandra Harvey Webpage
Alyxandra Harvey @ Bloomsbury Australia

On sale: 01 August 2011

Price (AU): $15.99
ISBN: 9781408811313
Recommended age: 12+
In a word: Spirits
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
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Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet by R J Anderson

I Can Taste A Rainbow!

When she woke it was to a bare room, alone with no memory of how she came to be there. Soon however she realised she was in a hospital. However her stay was a short one, or so it seamed, for upon waking she was soon escorted by police to a new destination. A place where she is told she will be with patients her own age, a place where she will be able to get the treatment she needs. And the handcuffs, she is told, is just a formality.

Being abandoned by her mother to a place like Pine Hills should not have come as such a shock to her. Her mother had always been a little wary of her, a little to quick too judge her insane. Now however she had to try to prove to others that not only was she not insane, even though she could taste words and see sounds, but that she was innocent, even though she had no other explanation for a girls disappearance other then the fact that she disintegrated.

Ultraviolet is more then just a story of a girl coming to accept herself for who she is, forgiving her family for what they have done and gaining new understanding of others. It is a story of a girl falling in love, a girl discovering she is stronger then she thought she was, a girl who although different is no longer alone. A compelling and engaging contemporary read with a delightful sci-fi twist.

R J Anderson Webpage

R J Anderson @ Hachette Children's

Ultraviolet

On sale: 01 June 2011
Price (AU): $16.99
ISBN: 9781408312759
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Synesthesia
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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Tova Gallagher #1

TOVA GALLAGHER:

Ecstatic Evil by Amanda McNeil

It's Good To Be A Little Bad!

Tova would be your average country girl moved to the city to own and run a book store with her best friend if it wasn't for a few small but crucial details. Her father was a demon making her a half-demon, or halvesies as they are known, and for her whole life she has been visited by two guides, one her cousin Bartleby who also happens to be a demon and the other a fairie named Fay.

It has been Bartleby and Fays' job to convince Tova to choose a side and the time has come for Tova to make a decision. Either join the side of 'good' and let the fairies help her suppress the demon within or join the 'evil' demons and embrace her dark side, denying her humanity but still getting to keep her demonic powers. With not just her own soul at stake but the future of all humanities, Tova had better make the right decision.

Ecstatic Evil is the first in a new series of serial books that is to have new entries published ever few months. An exciting, sexy, short story that easily fits into your day. Full of demons, fairies, werewolves, magic and a hot, steamy romance, this little tale will leave you wondering just what is in store next for this devilish new heroine.

eBook @ Amazon

On sale: 07 July 2011
Price eBook (US): $0.99
ASIN: B005C1AMK0
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Tova
Re-read it: probably
Recommend: probably
Star rating: three out of five
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Siren's Storm #1

SIREN'S STORM:

Siren's Storm by Lisa Papademetriou

The Tempest And The Fury!
    

Last summer was the worst of Will's life. A year later he is now beginning to deal with the events of last summer that took his brother from him. With no memories of the night his brother disappeared, Will has been haunted by what could have happened. But it's not until the arrival of a mysterious new girl does he beguine to understand just what did happen to his brother, and what may yet still happen to those he cares for.

Gretchen has always been prone to sleep walking, however recently it has been becoming more and more prevalent and each time she wakes it is to find herself closer and closer to the perilous sea. Closer to the place where one year ago Will was found unconscious and his brother not found at all. The secrets kept inside her can not remain secret for long, not from those she loves most, not now with the arrival of a mysterious new girl.

Siren's Storm is a blend of history, myth, mystery and the supernatural all rolled into one. A tale of fear, guilt, confusion and loss that begins in a storm and slowly builds into a furious tempest that is full of sea maids and fire and an unbreakable friendship. For Will and Gretchen, they must first live through their present danger if they are to heal from their stormy past.

Lisa Papademetriou Webpage

Lisa Papademetriou @ Random House

Siren's Storm

On sale: 01 August 2011

Price (AU): $18.95
ISBN: 9781742751276
Recommended age: 16+
In a word: Siren's
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: probably
Star rating: three out of five
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Haunted Heart

Haunted Heart by Tania Donald

What I Did For Love!

Eloise was a simple village girl whose life was consumed by her rose garden, her dear friends Georgiana and Miriam, and the possibility Mr Jones, a very amiable man whom she could grow to care for over the years they might spend together as man and wife. Although this was the future she could expect, somehow Eloise couldn't help wanting more, more then her little village, more then an agreeable marriage. What she dreamt of was a deep romance, but the price for such love does not come cheap.

With the newly arrived Mr White comes new possibilities for Eloise. With his alluring presence in her life, Eloise is awakening to a passionate love filled with the joy of possibilities and the pain of neglect. However if Eloise is to survive this new love and her lovers demands she is going to have to survive a transformation that will lead her through dark and beguiling ways. But even if she survives this transformation she may still yet fall pray to a darker end.

Haunted Heart tells the tale of love, passion, danger and a life lived through any means with only one goal; survival. As one young girl crosses the threshold into womanhood, she steps between the boundaries of her moralistic society and into a world of dark seduction, a world that brings life with death, a world of loneliness and of great love. In this mixture of a Jane Austen character let loose in the world of Dracula, what follows is a provocative tale of romance, where in the end one woman will sacrifice all for her love.

Tania Donald @ Penguin

On sale: 27 June 2010
Price (AU): $29.95
ISBN: 9781921518706
Recommended age: 18+
In a word: Hearts
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: four out of five
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The Narrow Escapes of Ves Asirin #1

THE NARROW ESCAPES OF VES ASIRIN:

Tower Of Parlen Min by Matt Xell

Can He Escape 'The Shadow'?

Ves is a boy with no past and no memory. Before the orphanage there is no record of his life or where he came from. He himself has no memories of his life before the orphanage, nor has he any memories of the previous years, months, weeks or days. Ves suffers from a rare condition that wipes his mind clean every 10 to 15 hours. Without his scrapbook to remind him of who he is, where he is, he would not remember anything at all.

With the opportunity of a life time to visit the Tower of Parlen Min, Ves finds himself thrown into a world of new friends, extreme challenges, werewolves, witches, ghosts, murderers and a chance to win twelve million dollars in the Sword Challenge. However surviving the Sword Challenge will be nothing compared to surviving the serial killer stalking the inhabitant's surrounding the Tower.

The Tower Of Parlen Min is an epic children's story with violence, death and a lot of history lessons. For a story of a boy with a faulty memory who happens to be somewhat of a daredevil, he has no trouble remembering when he needs too. Through all the danger Ves faces and puts himself through he comes through little scathed but in a curious position. A very long and jam-packed story that's not too bad for a self published story.

eBook @ Smashwords
Ves Asirin

On sale: 23 July 2010
Price eBook (US): $2.99
ASIN: B0058EALC0
Recommended age: 14-18
In a word: Ves
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: possibly
Star rating: two out of five
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The Tower Of Parlen Min GIVEAWAY

Before I post my review for The Tower Of Parlen Min by Matt Xell, an epic 1096 page children's eBook that I am still working my way through, I thought I'd give you all the chance to read a copy of this story for yourself.
So, for a chance to win a copy of this eBook simply fill in the form below.
All winners will be notified by email on September 24th.
Good Luck.
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The Story Of Solomon Bear

The Story Of Solomon Bear by Phillip Laird

All You Need Is Love!

On the edge of a magical forest sits a lonely house that is under a spell. A spell of forgetting. All who dwell within this house have fallen under its spell, all that is but one girl and her teddy bear, Solomon. While the others living in the house have forgotten kindness, happiness and most importantly the power of love, one girl and her bear have promised to keep love alive.

The others living in the house pay little attention the girl and Solomon. Although left alone the girl is never lonely, not like the others, for the girl and Solomon are bound by an unbreakable bond of unconditional love. But when the worse happens and the girl leaves the house, something that no one must ever do for it is far too dangerous, Solomon is left alone to find a way to bring home the girl he loves.

The Story Of Solomon Bear is a short romantic fable of the courage of one special bear and his ability to love. The greater complexities of love, belonging and friendship are explored through the tender and heartfelt relationship of a girl and her bear. Although the in-depth look at these themes may be a little over the heads of smaller children, they and adults alike will enjoy reading this tale over and over, each time taking away something more and something precious.

eBook @ Smashwords
Beloved Teddy Bear

On sale: 14 June 2011
Price eBook (US): $3.95
ASIN: B0053ZMPJ6
Recommended age: 6+
In a word: Love
Re-read it: yes
Recommend: yes
Star rating: five out of five
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