Xpresso Book Tours Book Blitz & Giveaway: The Last Mission of the Living by Rhiannon Frater!!

Hello everyone!!

Welcome to release week's Book Blitz for The Last Mission of the Living by Rhiannon Frater, organized and hosted by Xpresso Book Tours!

Let me introduce you to the book and author and remember there's a book blitz wide giveaway going on!

The Last Mission of the Living of the by Rhiannon Frater

(The Last Bastion)
Publication date: August 28th 2014
Genres: Adult, Horror, Post-Apocalyptic, Zombies

Synopsis:

Humanity teeters on the brink of extinction…

Vanguard Lindsay Rooney has faced the undead hordes of Inferi Scourge and lived to tell the tale, but she has also suffered horrible losses. Like millions of other civilians, she had hoped that The Bastion would recover after a team of modified soldiers eradicated the undead hordes of Inferi Scourge that infested their valley. Yet the city still crumbles around them, along with any chance of survival.

Lindsey’s growing friendship with Torran MacDonald, an officer with the Science Warfare division, is her only solace as the decline of the city continues. When food riots fill the streets, martial law is enacted, and the upper echelons of government battle for control of the city, Lindsey is conscripted by her superiors to embark on a dangerous mission into the dead world beyond The Bastion. To add even more complications, Torran and the SWD join the squad.

Soon, Lindsey realizes that her mission is more than what it seems, and there are secrets that could both destroy The Bastion and take her life.

 Amazon 

 About the author:

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels. In 2014, her newest horror novel, The Mesmerized, will be released by Permuted Press. Dead Spots will be published in 2015 by Tor. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets).  She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes. 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Blog

Blizt Wide Giveaway!

Paperbacks of both book 1 & 2 in the Last Bastion series (US only - INTL winner will get ebook copies)

Ends September 9th

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Xpresso Book Tours Blog Tour for The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye!!

Hey there everyone! Today I'm taking part in the Blog Tour for The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye, organized by Xpresso Book Tours!

I will be sharing my review and if you want to check out excerpts and more click HERE for the full tour schedule! But before that, let's get you some more information about the book & author, shall we?

The Midnight Spell by Kody Boye and Rhiannon Frater
Published by: Permuted Press
Publication date: February 28th 2013
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Best friends since kindergarten, Adam and Christy have always been the perpetual outsiders in their small town in Texas. The other kids call Adam gay and Christy a witch.

On both counts the bullies are right.

Their junior year in high school seems destined to be the same old same old until Christy decides to cast a love spell for Adam at the midnight hour. The next day an alluring and mysterious boy enrolls at school and sets hearts aflutter, including Adam’s. Meanwhile, Christy’s mad crush on the handsome football player Ian seems to be going nowhere fast and her witch puberty is making her life miserable.

When a great evil arrives in town that threatens everything they hold dear, the best friends realize that finding a boyfriend is the least of their worries. Soon Adam and Christy will have to battle a force of darkness that has killed in their town before, and will again.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Rhiannon:

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of over a dozen books, including the As the World Dies zombie trilogy (Tor), as well as independent works such as The Last Bastion of the Living (declared the #1 Zombie Release of 2012 by Explorations Fantasy Blog and the #1 Zombie Novel of the Decade by B&N Book Blog), and other horror novels. In 2014, her newest horror novel, The Mesmerized, will be released by Permuted Press. Dead Spots will be published in 2015 by Tor. She was born and raised a Texan and presently lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and furry children (a.k.a pets).  She loves scary movies, sci-fi and horror shows, playing video games, cooking, dyeing her hair weird colors, and shopping for Betsey Johnson purses and shoes. 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Pinterest

About Kody:

Born and raised in Southeastern Idaho, Kody Boye began his writing career with the publication of his story [A] Prom Queen’s Revenge at the age of fourteen. Published nearly three-dozen times before going independent at eighteen, Boye has authored numerous works—including the short story collection Amorous Things, the novella The Diary of Dakota Hammell, the zombie novel Sunrise and the epic fantasy series The Brotherhood Saga. He is represented by Hannah Brown Gordon of the Foundry Literary + Media Agency.

Website

My Review

I so thoroughly enjoyed and loved this book!

This is not your usual YA book, there are bits of horror and the romance is not really what you'd be mostly used to see, but whatever makes it different, also makes it great!

The characters feel as real teenagers, despite the paranormal bits, from the "outcast" witch that it's still growing into her powers (can you imagine dealing with all the crap that being a teenager is AND worrying about whether if you'll finally come into your witchy powers or remain a fraud-ish?) to her gay best friend, that has to deal with not being popular and being gay in a town full of straight and mostly not-gay-friendly people. Both Christy and Adam were easy to root for, and never made me want to shake them (much!) to make them see reason. 

Changelings, vampire hunters and loads of geeky references to Buffy! I wasn't sure what to expect from this paranormal mix, but I was very pleasantly surprised as how very classic and horror story the paranormal aspects were, but never felt overdone, it was quite a fresh take but true to the classics, if that makes sense!

The story weaves from the personal to the paranormal, from dealing with first loves and relationships to saving the world. And it's done in such a great way you just can't help to keep on turning the pages! There's plenty of character growth, changes of alliances for some of the characters, some finding some redeemable traits and other remaining as useless and crappy as before. I really wasn't expecting the reveals about the villains by the end of the book, because to a point, you almost understand their plight, even if you don't agree with their actions.

I so hope we'll get a second book for Christy, Adam and the gang! Can we please get a sequel for this one? Well deserved 4 stars for this one!

Saturday Pages: Pretty When She Destroys by Rhiannon Frater!!

As my next Saturday Pages entry, I have a book that was one of my most awaited for last year, but that since it was the last book of a trilogy I highly enjoyed, I kept on pushing back reading it, dreading what might happen in the end! An extremely silly fear, cause the book was fantastic and I loved every page of it.

This one is also part of my 2014 Series Challenge!

Pretty When She Destroys by Rhiannon Frater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If there's something that Rhiannon Frater does amazingly is writing vampires as monsters and still manage to make us root for them!

In this final installment of Amaliya's story, the stakes are at their highest since The Summoner has returned and wants to unleash Hell on Earth and take over the world. And not only that, he wants to bring Amaliya to his side, so he'll have both vampire necromancers he created at his side.

The way the plot is woven with the crescendo in tension through preparations, training and battles makes you want to turn the pages faster but also makes you scared of what might happen in the next page! The final chapters in the book had me reading in the edge of my chair and I was too tempted to peek at the ending to ensure all my beloved characters survived the day or not!

The way the characters are developed and how the relationships between them change and evolve is great. Rhiannon is a master on writing people that feel genuine no matter what their paranormal abilities may be. The relationship between Cian and Amaliya, Amaliya and Sam (Cian's ex), Sam and Jeff, Aimee and Cassandra... I just love all their interactions, and how perfect they are for each other. I loved seeing how the relationship between Amaliya and Sam changed, from animosity and possible hate, to friendship and alliance.

I adored all the characters in this series, even the bad guys, cause I loved to hate them!

With plenty of action and tension and a final showdown that was epic and amazing characters, I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to read this final installment of the Pretty When She... trilogy. Brilliant book and one I'd recommend to anyone that loves paranormal and vampire books! Well deserved 4.5 to 5 stars!



View all my reviews

Cover Reveal: Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater!!

Hello guys! Today there's an extra special entry that is not exactly a Friday Reads, but I am super excited to share with you the new cover for one of my recent fave paranormal reads: Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater!

Pretty When She Dies is the first book in an awesome trilogy and the third and final book, Pretty When She Destroys, came out this August. I highly recommend this books for anyone who loves old school vampires with their horror roots and also loves strong heroines!


Pretty When She Dies by Rhiannon Frater

(Pretty When She Dies #1)
Published by: Permuted Press
Publication date: Late November, 2013 (reissue)
Genres: Adult, Horror, Paranormal

Synopsis:

"Amaliya wakes under the forest floor, disoriented, famished and confused. She digs out of the shallow grave and realizes she is hungry…

… in a new, horrific, unimaginable way…

Sating her great hunger, she discovers that she is now a vampire, the bloodthirsty creature of legend. She has no choice but to flee from her old life and travels across Texas. Her new hunger spurs her to leave a wake of death and blood behind her as she struggles with her new nature.

All the while, her creator is watching. He is ancient, he is powerful, and what’s worse is that he’s a necromancer. He has the power to force the dead to do his bidding. Amaliya realizes she is but a pawn in a twisted game, and her only hope for survival is to seek out one of her own kind.
But if Amaliya finds another vampire, will it mean her salvation… or her death?"

Are you guys ready to see the creepy and awesome cover? Yes?


Here you go!

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5966254-pretty-when-she-dies?ac=1

Purchase links all found here: http://rhiannonfrater.com/portfolio/pretty-when-she-dies/

Ain't it just gorgeous? It also matches better the covers for book 2 & 3 since they also feature Amaliya in different poses.

About the author:

Rhiannon Frater is the award-winning author of the As the World Dies trilogy (The First Days, Fighting to Survive, Siege,) and the author of three other books: the vampire novels Pretty When She Dies and The Tale of the Vampire Bride and the young-adult zombie novel The Living Dead Boy and the Zombie Hunters. Inspired to independently produce her work from the urging of her fans, she published The First Days in late 2008 and quickly gathered a cult following. She won the Dead Letter Award back-to-back for both The First Days and Fighting to Survive, the former of which the Harrisburg Book Examiner called ‘one of the best zombie books of the decade.’ Rhiannon is currently represented by Hannah Gordon of the Foundry + Literary Media agency. You may contact her by sending an email to rhiannonfrater@gmail.com.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.rhiannonfrater.com

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2310121.Rhiannon_Frater

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rhiannon.frater

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rhiannonfrater

Waiting On Wednesday #4!!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted at Breaking The Spine that spotlights those can't-wait-to-get-my-hands-on-them books that we are eagerly awaiting!

Today I'm gonna spotlight just one of the many books I'm eargerly awaiting that will release next week, on August 27th! Really, is a bit overwhelming the amount of books I'm dying to read that come out on the same day!

My choice is Pretty When She Destroys by Rhiannon Frater!

Goodreads summary:

"Amaliya Vezorak always believed she was destined to live a failed life in obscurity until she was brutally murdered by an ancient vampire named The Summoner and reborn as a powerful vampire necromancer. Now it is up to her to save the world…"


Why am I eagerly awaiting Pretty When She Destroys?

Well, it's the final book in the Pretty When She Dies trilogy, and in the last book the stakes were very high and things were looking pretty bleak, so even if I'm sure I'm gonna cry and be upset when characters I love die, I can't wait to read this final installment! Rhiannon Frater writes the very gritty, monster-like vampires, but also writes great human characters, no matter if they're human or monsters!

Mark This Book(s) Monday: Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst, The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater and Kody Boye and Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett!! !!

Hiya everyone!

Happy Monday (may it be Easter Monday or whatever else it might be to you)!

This week I have no new recipe of cupcake to share with you, and this time is not for lack of time, but for lack of inspiration. I've had a few days off, but I've barely done anything productive, unless practicing saree draping while listening to Iron Maiden or Pearl Jam counts!

So today, we're having a Mark These Books Monday! Instead of just one book, I'm gonna recommend you three different books!

So let's start!

Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst

Well, I was expecting good things from this book, cause the only other book of Sara Beth Durst that I read, Drink, Slay, Love, I loved, and this one didn't disappoint at all!

What a gem of a book! The world building here is fantastic! From the legends of the lands to the gritty sand storms to the sand worms and the Gods... everything is so well weaved, you just feel like you are there!

Liyana is a wonderful character, and I was rooting for her from beginning till the end of her journey! I loved her practical side, how she faced all adversities focusing on the task on hand, one day at a time, and one hour at a time when things threaten to overwhelm her.

An absolute must read for anyone looking for a great YA fantasy or just for any fantasy lovers out there!


The Midnight Spell by Rhiannon Frater & Kody Boye. 

No photo available cause I read this one on my phone's Kindle app, and I don't know how to take a screen cap on my phone!

 I so thoroughly enjoyed and loved this book!

This is not your usual YA book, there are bits of horror and the romance is not really what you'd be mostly used to see, but whatever makes it different, also makes it great!

The characters feel as real teenagers, despite the paranormal bits, from the "outcast" witch that it's still growing into her powers (can you imagine dealing with all the crap that being a teenager is AND worrying about whether if you'll finally come into your witchy powers or remain a fraud-ish?) to her gay best friend, that has to deal with not being popular and being gay in a town full of straight and mostly not-gay-friendly people. Changelings, vampire hunters and loads of geeky references to Buffy!

The story weaves from the personal to the paranormal, from dealing with first loves and relationships to saving the world. And it's done in such a great way you just can't help to keep on turning the pages!

I so hope we'll get a second book for Christy, Adam and the gang!


The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett. 

 This book was so much fun! Full of magic and teenagers, but taking a look at magic in a different way, and exploring magic beings that don't usually appear so much in books.

A magic school is nothing new, neither is a magic sleuth, not even a teenager one, or mundane mixed with the whole story, but this book does it in a very refreshing way, and despite our dear Dusty being a headstrong and slightly oblivious to common sense kinda main character, you just have to like her.




There's also a look at much bigger issues that the high school ones in the shape of the magic world politics, and in way that it mirrors our world, an issue of what we are allowed to use our powers for, and why should we not use them for the wrong reasons.

All in all, a very refreshing read, and I'm really looking forward to book 2: The Nightmare Dilemma.


That's all on books for this week! Next Monday more books for sure, and maybe some cupcakes too!