Curse Defiers (Curse Keepers #3) by Denise Grover Swank

Synopsis via Goodreads:

For centuries the gods have waited—for the betrayal that will release them, for the traitors who will defend them, for the warrior who will challenge them. Now at long last the gate between the human and spirit worlds is open, and with it, an army of vengeful demons poised to swarm the earth. Only the Curse Keepers, Ellie Lancaster and Collin Dailey, can stop it…if they can break free from a tangled web of treachery, jealousy, and lies.

Torn between two men—her heart belongs to David, yet her soul is bound to Collin’s—Ellie no longer knows who she can trust. Demons slipping through the gate are leaving a trail of bodies in their wake, each death a chilling reminder of the power of the ancient spirits to bring humanity to its knees. Faced with an unimaginable future, Ellie realizes the time has come to turn her back on prophecy and choose her own destiny—even if it means defying the gods themselves.


Miss Swank has hit a home run yet again with the third book in the Curse Keepers Trilogy! It was so easy to get right back into the story. It was as if I had just finished The Curse Breakers. Ellie's story is more compelling than ever. The relationship between Ellie, Collin, and David is more convoluted then ever. Miss Swank is a master at weaving together all the intricate details and emotions that make this story such a resounding success.
It is very easy to fall into Ellie's character and "feel" all of her fears, frustrations, concerns, guilt, and love that are continuously flowing in and out of the complex character. Yet at the same time it is also easy to step back and watch the whole picture unfold before you.
For me, reading The Curse Defiers was interesting and intellectually challenging. Yes, I know that sounds funny, but it is true. Trying to figure out who is going after Ellie, who is telling the truth, and who is lying is quite a work out for the brain. While this is not considered a mystery book, Miss Swank has added that element to the plot. She will dangle a piece of evidence here, another piece there and the next thing you know you will be making predictions and guessing about which way Ellie will go, not to mention WHO will Ellie choose? Is Collin her true soul mate or is David the love of her life (and how long will she be alive)?

The Curse Defiers is a wonderful book. I loved every minute of reading. It has a perfect mixture of action vs. chill time.This is definitely a MUST READ BOOK especially if you have read the first 2 books. If you haven't, you need to get out and get all three and plan on staying in for the weekend!


Happy Reading.

P.S. Thank you for your patience waiting for me to post this review. Things at home and work have been a bit challenging lately.

Tree of Water by Elizabeth Haydon BLOG TOUR

WELCOME TO THE TREE OF WATER BLOG TOUR! Follow the tour Nov. 17-21 using #TheTreeofWaterTour

Read to the bottom for a chance to win a copy!

Tree of Water by Elizabeth Haydon

Synopsis via Macmillan Publisher's:

The epic voyages continue in The Tree of Water, the fourth adventure in bestselling author Elizabeth Haydon’s acclaimed fantasy series for young readers, The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme.
As Royal Reporter of the land of Serendair, it is the duty of young Charles Magnus "Ven" Polypheme to travel the world and seek out magic hiding in plain sight. But Ven needs to escape the clutches of the nefarious Thief Queen, ruler of the Gated City, whose minions are hunting for him. His friend, the merrow Amariel, has the perfect solution to his dilemma: Ven and Char will join her to explore the world beneath the sea.
As they journey through the sea, Ven finds himself surrounded by wonders greater than he could have ever imagined. But the beauty of the ocean is more than matched by the dangers lurking within its depths, and Ven and his friends soon realize that in order to save thousands of innocent lives, they may have to sacrifice their own. For everything in the ocean needs to eat…

This book was my introduction to Miss Haydon and her delightful world of Ven and his adventures. I was concerned that I would get lost in the backstory since I had not read the three previous books in the series. I am happy to say that I had no difficulties with understanding the story. Miss Haydon has done an excellent job of penning the fourth adventure in a series that incorporates points from past adventures yet can stand alone and engross the reader.

This adventure finds Ven and Char swimming through the sea with Ven's merrow friend, Amerial.
Miss Haydon's vivid description of the underwater marvel takes the reader to a whole new world. Ven, Char, and Amerial find themselves in one scrape after another. Their adventures unfold under the water, not above.

Each character is well developed and they evolve before the reader's eyes. The depth that Miss Haydon goes into each character draws the reader into the story. As each scrape, every danger, and all the arguments unfold, that is when the reader is introduced to the characters' evolutions.

The adventures the reader is drawn into are creative, edge-of-your-seat exciting, and magical. As an adult I was once again reminded of how magical the world around me could be. Ven's world is close enough to mine to be familiar yet different enough to be exciting and new.

I had a difficult time putting this book down. My son finished reading the story in 2 days. I enjoyed reading about Ven's latest adventure so much that I am excited to read his other adventures. And as a bonus, this is a series that my son and I can bond over.

Win your own copy of Tree of Water: (Limited to US and Canadian readers, including young readers)
1) reply to this post telling me what kind of adventure you would like to have if you would like to share your adventure. It can be real or use your imagination.
OR
 2) if you would prefer not too share please e-mail me at cchavous68@gmail.com for a chance to win.

 I will pick one lucky reader at random on Nov.22


Let's see what Miss Haydon has to say: (If you would like to read more of the interview with Miss Haydon, please e-mail me at cchavous68@gmail.com)

Interview with Elizabeth Haydon, 
documentarian, archanologist and translator of Ven’s 
journals, including The Tree of Water
Little is known for sure about reclusive documentarian and archanologist Elizabeth
Haydon.
She is an expert in dead languages and holds advanced degrees in Nain Studies from
Arcana College and Lirin History from the University of Rigamarole. Her fluency in those
languages [Nain and Lirin] has led some to speculate that she may be descended of one
of those races herself. It should be noted that no one knows this for sure.
Being an archanologist, she is also an expert in ancient magic because, well, that’s what
an archanologist is.

What do you hope readers take away from this book?
I hope, in general, that it will open their eyes to the wonder of the sea, which
takes up the majority of our planet, but we really don’t know that much about it
down deep. There is a great deal of magic in the sea, and I hope that if and when
people become aware of it, they will help take care of it and not throw garbage
and other bad stuff into it. I have a serious dislike for garbage-throwing.
Probably the most useful secret I learned that I hope will be of use to readers is
about thrum. Thrum is the way the creatures and plants that live in the ocean
communicate with each other through vibration and thought. As Ven and his
friends learn, this can be a problem if you think about something you don’t want
anyone to know about when you are standing in a sunshadow, because
everyone gets to see a picture of what’s on your mind. Imagine how embarrassing that could be.

Bad Boy Christmas Box Set by Cheyenne McCray

This set contains four short holiday stories that will make your bells jingle.

Intended for ages 18 and older.

Stranger in My Stocking

Alyson Charmaine is stuck in a posh hotel when a blizzard hits New York City. When she spots a delicious specimen of a man, her mind goes into overdrive, thinking of all the things she'd like to do with him that would put her on Santa's naughty list. Too bad he's a stranger. 

Greg Ellington wishes he'd had the chance to meet the sexy blonde in the hotel's lounge, but she disappeared before he gets the chance. But when he goes up to his hotel room, his wish comes true, all giftwrapped just for him.  

Fireman Beneath the Mistletoe

Kate Reynolds is a fashion designer whose sexy designs have been selected for a holiday fashion show. The show is being held at an exclusive ladies' club where erotic things are rumored to go on behind closed doors. 


Nick Hall is fresh off fighting a fire for the FDNY, but finds something waiting for him at his off hours side job at TLC. The sexy Kate Reynolds is hotter than anything he's fought in a long time, hot enough to melt the snow outside, and sweet enough to kiss beneath the mistletoe.

Seal Giftwrapped with a Bow
Janie Taylor has proven herself time after time to be of value to Brick's team but the mountain of a man refuses to let her join in on a private op that takes them to the jungle of South America. 


Navy SEAL Brick Sanders's nephew has been kidnapped, and Brick intends to get the boy home in time for Christmas. It's a personal op and he doesn't want Janie getting hurt. If his team refuses to let him go this op alone, the least he can do is protect Janie. His nephew isn't the only one he wants to get back to New York City before Christmas. 

Visitor Under My Holiday Tree
Dayanara Acosta can't believe she burned up her kitchen - while looking at men's profiles on a dating site, no less. It's a wonder the whole apartment complex didn't burn down. So many treasures had been lost in the kitchen fire that it was heartbreaking. 

When Ramón Salvador's brother told him about Daya, Ramón couldn't believe she would be the one to heal his heartbreak over the woman he'd lost so long ago. 


Ramón agrees to deliver a special basket from the Angels of Mercy to Daya on Christmas Eve, and finds her to be everything his brother had promised and more. Daya can't believe the way this visitor makes her feel - or how her body responds to him as he takes her beneath the Christmas tree. 

Miss McCray is known for writing stories that are SO HOT, that you need water next to you in case your book catches fire. Well, she has delivered again!
While each story is different, they all include a hot, musclebound, intelligent hunk of man and a hot, sexy, intelligent woman who knows what she wants.
I enjoyed that each story was shorter than a full length novel. It gave me the chance to break up my reading into smaller time allotments. But even though each story was short didn't mean it was short on story development. Quite the contrary. I thought that because she had to put so much into a smaller space, she cranked up the character development, the story line, as well as the heat!
Do you like a book with a heat factor so high, you want to grab your husband's/wife's/significant other's/partner's hand and drag them to the bedroom? Well these 4 stories will definitely take care of that!
This set is also a great idea for a stocking stuffer!!

Happy Reading!!

Hello From the Gillespies by Monica McInerney

Synopsis from Goodreads:

For the past thirty-three years, Angela Gillespie has sent to friends and family around the world an end-of-the-year letter titled “Hello from the Gillespies.” It’s always been cheery and full of good news. This year, Angela surprises herself—she tells the truth....

The Gillespies are far from the perfect family that Angela has made them out to be. Her husband is coping badly with retirement. Her thirty-two-year-old twins are having career meltdowns. Her third daughter, badly in debt, can’t stop crying. And her ten-year-old son spends more time talking to his imaginary friend than to real ones.

Without Angela, the family would fall apart. But when a bump on the head leaves Angela with temporary amnesia, the Gillespies pull together—and pull themselves together—in wonderfully surprising ways.

What family doesn't have it's ups and downs? What mother doesn't feel taken for granted? What marriage doesn't have a lull in the romance, especially after 20 + years?
Hello From the Gillespies is a poignant story about the truth of family, a mother's feelings, and forever love. Miss McInerney has created a story that could be based on any family. She has written about that letter that breaks down each family member's year. An annual undertaking. For some a family tradition, and for others an addiction, and for others-a dreaded occurrence. But what Miss McInerney does is takes this letter to a whole new level. What happens if the truth is told instead of the embellishment that most of her recipients expect?
Angela's love for her four children is apparent, yet she expresses her concerns for each child that exposes embarrassing secrets about each child. And her relationship with her husband of 30 years is not as ideal as most would think. But what happens when Angela puts her honest thoughts on paper? While nothing she writes is supposed to be sent out to her yearly recipients, the letter accidentally gets e-mailed to everyone.
I laughed, I cried, I became frustrated, and I felt sad for all the characters in this story. Miss McInerney does a wonderful job of pulling out the realism of the family in this story. You will feel yourself pulled into the family dynamics. You will feel like you are a part of this family as they go through this eye-opening time in their life. You will come out at the end of this story feeling like you climbed a mountain of emotions and conquered that mountain and came out stronger.

I loved this story and highly encourage you to delve into this book to see how a family can overcome anything as long as they pull together and hold on to the love that binds them.

Happy Reading!!

Spectrum by Alan Jacobson

 

Description via Goodreads:

New York City: home to world-renowned museums, theater, restaurants, iconic sports franchises. Central Park. Wall Street. And an infamous serial killer who's terrorized the Big Apple for decades.The year is 1995 and the NYPD has just graduated a promising new patrol officer named Karen Vail. The rookie's first day on the job is anything but easy when she finds herself at the crime scene of a young woman murdered in an unusual manner. Vail is unsure of what she's looking at or what it means--but it's a case that will weigh on her mind for nearly twenty years.As the years pass, Vail's career takes unexpected twists and turns--as does the case that's come to be known as Hades. Now a skilled FBI profiler, will Vail be in a better position to catch the killer? Or will Hades prove to be Karen Vail's hell on earth?The character who has captivated readers worldwide--and who won the praise of literary giants Michael Connelly, James Patterson, and Nelson DeMille--returns in a story that captures the experiences that shaped the revered profiler and made her the top cop she is today.

Spectrum is the 6th book in the Karen Vail series. Karen Vail is a woman police officer on the NYPD in the mid '90s. She has just graduated from the academy and is bringing fresh ideas to the job-much to the dismay of most of the male cops. For them, it is bad enough that she's a woman, but add to the fact that she is smart and refuses to fit into the stereotype of the female cop.

This story, along with the other 5 Karen Vail stories, is based on experiences of a real profiler and "top cop". Mr Jacobson has successfully taken a person and used her experiences to create a character and story lines that celebrate the intelligence and success of a woman.

Spectrum is a story that pendulates between the past and present. It tells the story of the criminal as well as the criminologists. It is rich in details and a perfect reference for anyone interested in researching for a life as an investigator in law enforcement.
If you enjoy police thrillers, this is definitely a book for you!

Happy Reading!!

Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past by Sharyn McCrumb

WELCOME TO THE BLOG TOUR CELEBRATING THE RELEASE OF NORA BONESTEEL'S CHRISTMAS PAST. 

I am so happy you are joining me!

Please read my review and then read to the end to find out how you can win a copy of your own!

Description via Goodreads:

When someone buys the old Honeycutt house, Nora Bonesteel is glad to see some life brought back to the old mansion, even if it is by summer people. But when they decide to stay through Christmas, they find more than old memories in the walls. On Christmas Eve, Sheriff Spencer Arrowwood and Deputy Joe LeDonne find themselves on an unwelcome call to arrest an elderly man for a minor offense. As they attempt to do their duty, while doing the right thing for a neighbor, it begins to look like they may all spend Christmas away from home. In a story of spirits, memories, and angels unaware, Sharyn McCrumb revisits her most loved characters who know there is more to this world than the eye can see, especially at Christmastime.

Nora Bonesteel's Christmas Past is a nostalgic look at what Christmas used to be and what it can be again.
This is actually two stories told together. Miss McCrumb goes back and forth between the two stories. One is about an old house with a special Christmas spirit. The other story is about two police officers on the road out to do their duty on Christmas eve. A duty that neither are happy to do so close to Christmas. Miss McCrumb shows how the past can be so much a part of the present, and how important it is to believe in Christmas Angels.
I really enjoyed this story. It has somewhat of a mystery vibe, but draws you into the having a little of the Christmas spirit sooner than you might normally feel it. Both stories engage the reader with simple down home characters and a lifestyle a little slower and less stressful than we tend to find in the majority of towns these days. The reader is pulled back into the past, only to be brought back to the present and the realities that face a lot of those around us.
So, take a day, get a warm cup of tea or coffee, sit in front of a beautiful backdrop, let your cat curl up in your lap, put your phones on silent and let yourself get lost in the Christmas season with Nora, Sheriff Arrowwood, and Deputy LeDonne.

So, how about a copy of Nora Bonesteel's  Christmas Past to curl up with? I have graciously been given one copy to giveaway in celebration of Sharyn McCrumb's release.
In the spirit of the coming holidays and keeping with Miss McCrumb's story, post in the comments on my blog page your favorite memory of Christmas. It can be from your childhood, after you were first married, or with your beautiful, yet hilarious children. It can be moving or funny. On Monday Oct. 13, I will pick a winner at random from the entries in my comments.

So, in the meantime: HAPPY READING!!

Yours to Uncover ES Siren 1 by Mel Tescho

Description via Goodreads:

Is she willing to sacrifice everything to keep her secret and her lover safe?

It's the year 2202. Earth is grossly overpopulated and seriously polluted. Rita Songworth has spent half her twenty-two years trying to escape the dying planet. It's taken the last five of those years to realize making it in the hard-ass infantry is her only way out, via space transporter Earth Ship Siren.

But the journey to Unity, the new colony, isn't easy. Rita has to resist an attraction to hard, brutish prisoner, Tristan MacFallan, whose masterful hands create more than the beautiful art he's been assigned to make. His forbidden touch affects her profoundly and he sees things in her no man ever has before. But obeying Zane, her ex-lover and malicious lieutenant, who is appointed to keeping the prisoners under guard, comes at a high price. Is she willing to sacrifice everything to keep her secret and her lover safe?

This book sounded very interesting to me. I mean, how can a person who loves Star Trek. Star Wars and romance novels pass up a story that takes place in space with a romance attached? Not me! I eagerly sunk my teeth into the story and devoured it as fast as I could. I loved the fact that the main character was a strong female. . . or was she? This is where it got a little confusing. Rita is a high ranking soldier in the security division, yet she has attached herself to an officer for protection? And then as the story progresses she is tough one minute and a cowering female the next? I really wanted to like her, but I felt myself starting to lose respect for her.
Then there is Zane. Miss Tescho did a super job developing Zane's character. There is NO WAY any one could ever like him! She knows exactly how to create a total slime bag!
Okay, then there is Tristan. Ahhh, Miss Tescho's description leaves you drooling on your tablet or book (whichever you are using). I almost had to get myself a bib to keep from ruining my tablet.
The sex scenes are HOT. Miss Tescho does a very good job of keeping the sex tasteful, yet hot.
The story line is very well developed until about the last 25% of the book. It felt like Miss Tescho was running out of ideas. She was developing her story, pulling me in, and then BAM! All of a sudden the climax was there and within a few short sentences, it was over.
I did like the story. Miss Tescho is a talented writer. I just wish she had kept going with the story instead of pretty much slamming the door on the plot.
I do recommend this book. I feel that it is a worthwhile read. If you do read this book, please comment on this page with your opinion. I would love to find out what you think.

I received a copy of this book for free in return for an honest review. Thank you to Miss Tescho and Momentum Books for this opportunity.

Happy Reading!!