Saturday, December 4, 2021

Fantasy and Sci-Fi for Christmas and Giveaway: Cathy McCrumb

On tour with Prism Book Tours

Recorder

(Children of the Consortium, #1)

By Cathy McCrumb

Science Fiction

Hardcover, Augiobook & ebook, 367 Pages

November 9, 2021 by Enclave Publishing

The Consortium is All. But Recorder Can No Longer Obey.

Recorder has no family, no friends, and no name. Donated to the Consortium before birth, her sole purpose is to maintain and verify the records. A neural implant and drone ensure compliance, punishing for displays of bias.

Suddenly cut off from controlling technology, Recorder tastes what it means to be human. But if the Consortium discovers her feelings, everyone she knows will be in danger.

With no name, no resources, and only an infinitesimal possibility of escape, Recorder's time is running out.

Praise for the Book

"McCrumb achieves a fascinating coming-of-age story in a convincing far-future technical milieu containing credible characters with consistent and powerful motivations. Readers looking for hard science fiction with heart should snap this up." - Publishers Weekly

(Affiliate link included.)

Excerpt

The moon’s moon gleamed clear and bright, and I stood transfixed by the canopy of stars, their faint colors shining against the velvet vastness of space. Ceres hovered above the horizon, a pale, blue speck, while Thalassa’s lights flashed overhead, only a few degrees below the orange point of New Triton. My drone’s tendril gently twined about my shoulders, and my implant magnified the deep sounds of space. The stars’ dissonance rumbled underneath the team’s voices and my own pounding heart. I smiled at the beauty of it—

Jagged pain shattered the stillness.

I staggered slightly, and for half of a second, anger splintered through me. The blame, however, was mine. I had allowed the sky to distract me from my task. Turning away from the heavens, I dimmed the invisible light and muted sounds inaudible to human ears. My drone hovered at my side, a delicate tendril still wound about me.

After triggering a calming release of neurotransmitters, I checked my connection to the six additional drones. All functioned properly, and their perspectives created a kaleidoscope of light and shadow in my internal feed. Satisfaction with the successful check almost erased the mortification of the reprimand.

Almost.

I clenched gloved hands and crossed to the metal access point. Sand and rock crunched under my boots when I passed Timmons, whose shadow reached across Pallas’s red-orange crust toward the dimness beyond our lights. My drone released me when I stopped three meters from the heavy, sealed hatch.

About the Author

Cathy graduated from Biola University with a degree in English Literature and a love for stories. She and her husband, whom she met while writing letters to soldiers, have five children and currently live within the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. While writing is one of her favorite things to do, she also enjoys reading, long hikes and long naps, gluten-free brownies and raspberries, and crocheting while watching science fiction movies with friends and family. Most of her imaginary friends are nice people.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Instagram

Tour Schedule
(Posts go live on the day they're scheduled.)

November 28th: Launch

November 29th: Elayne Audrey Becker - Forestborn

November 30th: Michelle Diener - The Turncoat King

December 1st: Jes Drew - Agents Adam and Eve

December 2nd: Sharon Hinck - Windward Shore

December 3rd: Kara Linaburg - The Broken Prince

December 4th: Cathy McCrumb - Recorder

December 5th: Sandra Fernandez Rhoads - Realms of Light

December 6th: Chawna Schroeder - The Vault Between Spaces

December 7th: Melissa Wright - Beneath Stone and Sacrifice

December 8th: Kristen Young - Elite

December 9th: Grand Finale

Tour Giveaway

One winner will receive a $50 (USD) Amazon eGift Card

Open internationally
Ends December 13, 2021

ENTER HERE

Blog Tour and Giveaway: The Fowl Twins: Get What They Deserve by Eoin Colfer

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE FOWL TWINS: GET WHAT THEY DESERVE by Eoin Colfer Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: THE FOWL TWINS: GET WHAT THEY DESERVE (The Fowl Twins #3)

Author: Eoin Colfer

Pub. Date: November 23, 2021

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Irish Twins Myles and Beckett, Artemis Fowl's younger brothers, return in their third and most bizarre adventure yet.

For almost two years, Lord Teddy Bleedham-Drye, the Duke of Scilly, has been plotting revenge against the Fowl Twins, who humiliated him in Book One. Teddy plans to give them exactly what they deserve: permanent death.

He threatens Myles with his weaponized jet and Beckett and Specialist Lazuli succeed in disarming the aircraft and causing an accident that kills the duke. But does it really?

Ghosts, clones, and fairy magic come to play in this ultimate and ridiculous showdown between the twins and their worst enemy.

Review:

*Like its bestselling progenitors, a nonstop spinoff afroth with high-tech, spectacular magic, and silly business.--Kirkus (starred review)

Grab the first two books in the series now!

My Review:

The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve is the third installment from The Fowl Twins series by Eoin Colfer. It is, also, the first book I have read by this author. I thought it was a pretty good read. It was fun to read with my ten year old son. The chapters are not very long and we spent every evening reading a couple of chapters just before bed. It was full of adventure, intrigue, and suspense. I thought it was a great way to spend some time with my son and reading a fun book.

I am giving The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve four stars. I recommend it for readers who between the ages of ten and fourteen years old and enjoy reading magical, mystery and fantasy books. I would love to read the previous books from The Fowl Twins series in the near future.

I received a hard cover copy of The Fowl Twins Get What They Deserve from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent.

About Eoin Colfer:

Eoin Colfer is the author of the New York Times best-selling Artemis Fowl series, which was adapted into a major motion picture from the Walt Disney Studios. He also wrote the critically acclaimed WARP trilogy, and many other titles for young readers and adults, including Iron Man: The Gauntlet, Airman, Half Moon Investigations, Eoin Colfer's Legend of . . . books, The Wish List, Benny and Omar; and Benny and Babe. In 2014, he was named Ireland's laureate for children's literature. He lives with his wife and two sons in Dublin, Ireland, where he is working on the next Fowl twins novel. To learn more, visit www.eoincolfer.com. He is also on Twitter and Instagram @EoinColfer.

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will win a finished copy of THE FOWL TWINS: GET WHAT THEY DESERVE, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

11/1/2021	What A Nerd Girl Says	Excerpt
11/2/2021	Lily Luchesi's Blog	Excerpt
11/3/2021	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt
11/4/2021	BookHounds YA	Excerpt
11/5/2021	YA Books Central	Excerpt
11/6/2021	GivernyReads	Review

Week Two:

11/7/2021	Rajiv's Reviews	Review
11/8/2021	coffeebooksandmascara	Review
11/9/2021	Books a Plenty Book Reviews	Review
11/10/2021	The Bookwyrm's Den	Review
11/11/2021	if the book will be too difficult	Review
11/12/2021	@jypsylynn	Review
11/13/2021	Locks, Hooks and Books	Review

Week Three:

11/14/2021	Zainey Laney	Review
11/15/2021	The Momma Spot	Review
11/16/2021	Books Are Magic Too	Review
11/17/2021	onemused	IG Post
11/18/2021	@eyerollingdemigod	Review
11/19/2021	laura's bookish corner	Review
11/20/2021	FyreKatz Blog	Review

Week Four:

11/21/2021	two points of interest	Review
11/22/2021	Popthebutterfly Reads	Review
11/23/2021	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt
11/24/2021	Lexijava_Bookish	Review
11/25/2021	brittreadsalattebooks	Excerpt & IG Post
11/26/2021	Little Red Reads	Review
11/27/2021	@drewsim12	Review

Week Five:

11/28/2021	Lifestyle of Me	Review
11/29/2021	Rockstar Book Tours	Excerpt
11/30/2021	Nerdophiles	Review
12/1/2021	@pickagoodbook	Excerpt

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Lost in Darkness by Michelle Griep

About the Book

Book: Lost in Darkness

Author: Michelle Griep

Genre: FICTION/ Christian/Romance

Release date: November 1, 2021

England, 1815

Amelia Balfour has one dream. . .to tour Egypt as a travel writer. But when her wish is finally within reach, her father dies, and her malformed brother Colin depends upon her to arrange for a revolutionary surgery. Amelia returns home, hoping he’ll recover before the ship sails for Cairo.
Former Navy surgeon Graham Lambert is sick—of travelling, loneliness, and especially the injustice of the world. Leaving behind the military, he partners with a renowned surgeon, the man who promises new life to Amelia’s brother.
But just as the operation begins, Graham suspects the surgeon is a fraud. After a botched procedure, Colin goes mad and escapes, terrorizing their neighbor, author Mary Godwin—planting the seed for her greatest creation, Frankenstein.
Can Amelia and Graham stop Colin before he destroys everyone in his path and find the tender soul still trapped inside…or will they be too late?

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. She is the Christy Award-winning author of historical romances: A Tale of Two Hearts, The Captured Bride, The Innkeeper’s Daughter, 12 Days at Bleakly Manor, The Captive Heart, Brentwood’s Ward, A Heart Deceived, and Gallimore, but also leaped the historical fence into the realm of contemporary with the zany romantic mystery Out of the Frying Pan.

More from Michelle

Are You a Monster Too?

“Look at that! The fattest girl in the class is the first one to get in line for a cupcake.”

Those words, spoken to me in junior high by a clueless boy, are forever seared into my memory. Just because I wasn’t a willowy stick-figure who didn’t match up to magazine covers, I was singled out. Made to feel ashamed. Made to feel like a monster.

Have you ever felt that way?

Chances are you have. We are all poked and prodded at some point in our lives…which brings up a few questions. How do you deal with the sometimes ugly perceptions with which others view you? How do you stop trying to prove your worth to others, when in their eyes you are somehow worthless? Why does God allow such hurtful things to happen anyway?

These are the questions I attempt to tackle in my new release, Lost in Darkness. And surprisingly enough, those are the very same issues contemplated in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Now hold on. Don’t go rolling your eyeballs quite yet—which is the usual response whenever Frankenstein is mentioned.

Most people’s conception of this great piece of literature has been forever ruined by Hollywood’s green creature. You know the one, the giant with bolts sticking out of his neck and a stiff-legged walk. So not true. The essence of Shelley’s “horror” story is instead about a creature who struggles with heartfelt needs that can only be met by his creator. In this story, Shelley respectfully handles the subject of what we owe our creator and what our creator’s responsibility is toward us as the created…the very same questions we all struggle with.

As does Colin Balfour, a man with a heart of gold and a face that causes children to scream. In Lost in Darkness, he hopes to undergo a life-changing surgery that will end his self-imposed isolation. But what really happens is a life change for his sister Amelia and the surgeon who tries to prevent it all from happening. For indeed, even if there be monsters, there is none so fierce as that which resides in man’s own heart.

Blog Stops

Life of Literature, November 29

Genesis 5020, November 29

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 29

The Write Escape, November 30

Betti Mace, November 30

Texas Book-aholic, November 30

Remembrancy, December 1

Inklings and notions, December 1

Blossoms and Blessings, December 1

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, December 2

Daysong Reflections, December 2

For Him and My Family, December 2

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, December 3

Bigreadersite, December 3

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, December 3

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 4

For the Love of Literature, December 4

SodbusterLiving, December 4

deb’s Book Review, December 5

Splashes of Joy, December 5

Back Porch Reads, December 5

Connie’s History Classroom, December 6

Simple Harvest Reads, December 6 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, December 6

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 7

Through the fire blogs, December 7

Where Faith and Books Meet, December 8

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, December 8

Pause for Tales, December 8

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, December 9

Labor Not in Vain, December 9

To Everything There Is A Season, December 9

Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 10

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, December 10

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, December 10

Truth and Grace HomeschoolAcademy, December 11

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, December 11 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 11

Rachael’s Inkwell, December 12

Blogging With Carol, December 12

Connect in Fiction, December 12

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Michelle is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/13cfd/lost-in-darkness-celebration-tour-giveaway

My Review

Lost in Darkness is my favorite that I have read by Michelle Griep to date. It includes a lot that I love to read in a book: history, romance, mystery, danger, suspense, and adventure. It was far from predictable and I could never tell what was going to happen in the next scenes. I loved the duo of Amelia and Graham with the perfect setting. I loved every single page of this book.

Lost in Darkness is getting a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy reading a clean historical mystery. As always, I look forward to more by Michelle Griep in the future. This one should not be missed and most definitely worth a read.

I received a copy of Lost in Darkness from the publisher, but was not required to write a positive review. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

Friday, December 3, 2021

Fantasy and Sci-Fi for Christmas and Giveaway: Kara Linaburg

On tour with Prism Book Tours

The Broken Prince

(The Broken Series, #1)

By Kara Linaburg

Young Adult Fantasy

Paperback & ebook, 191 Pages

June 3, 2019

In all the fairy tales the maiden falls in love with the prince...but she has to remember that this isn’t a fairy tale...

Born into a kingdom where those of magical Gifts are rejected, feared, and even killed, Serena has spent her life striving to hide her ability and keep her younger brother safe.

The bastard son of the hated king and father he hardly knows, Prince Milosh is considered an outcast. He never expects to feel anything but contempt for the peasant girl who unexpectedly shows up in his life, forcing him to answer questions he never wished to ask.

When two very different worlds are thrown together under less than desirable circumstances, both hold deep judgement towards the other. But will they learn to see beyond their stations and birth so that they may defeat the coming darkness, or will labels given to them at birth continue to define them?

A heart-stopping tale about the power of human love, and how each of us are never truly alone.

(Affiliate link included.)

Goodreads | Amazon | Bookshop | Book Depository

Author Interview

Three words to describe your writing process of “The Broken Prince”?

Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. I wrote this book in a crazy place mentally back in high school, and the whole manuscript was just a mess starting out.

What did you edit out of “The Broken Prince”?

So much! Haha. There’s a big plot twist at the end of the book, but thankfully my editor saved the main character from a horrible fate and helped switch that around so it would be more accepting for the reader.

How many unpublished or half-finished books do you have?

*Hides* A lot.

What was the first book that made you cry?

After my mom finished reading me “The Last Battle” when I was a kid, I remember just crying. That series really made me want to write and create my own fantasy storyworld that made people see their own world differently.

How did you pick the names for your characters?

Google. For my fictional country of Sindaleer in “The Broken Prince”, I based the culture off of Native American Indians and the Norse Viking culture, and I tried to find names that reflected the culture I was attempting to create.

What are your future plans?

Continue pursuing a certificate in Editing and Publishing through UCLA, build my editing business, and continue trying my hand at books with real characters going through things that don’t hide the darkness but also remind us how to find the light. Monarch is publishing my YA contemporary (with thriller vibes!) June 7th, 2022. My probably-never-going-happen dream is to start public speaking, advocating for mental illness. Oh! And I also want to go to Hawaii. ;) Basically, I never stop!

Other Books in the Series

(Linked to an Amazon affiliate link.)