Book Review: Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire by Jodie Cooper

Summary: Is Jared an answer to prayer or her worst nightmare?

Seventeen-year-old, Katie McQuillen is a halfling (vampire/elf mix) in a world where halflings are not acceptable members of polite society. Unfortunately, her grandpa is chairman of the Vampire High Council and she is forced into attending a summer camp meant to create peace between the Sídhí races. 

She is in the middle of Sídhí puberty going from scrawny to beach bunny in less than three weeks when she and her twin brother arrive at camp.

Camp starts off with a bang when vampire hottie, Jared Andrews, becomes one of her new seven cabinmates, especially when he can't keep his eyes off her. But is he interested in her, her family's money, or her blood?

She might actually enjoy summer camp, if she can stop finding dead bodies and if people stop trying to kill her.

Review: No matter how many books I read about them, vampires never get old for me. The good thing about this book though, is that there are more paranormal creatures than just vampires. There are elves, dragons, and even big foot to keep the story interesting. I really liked how all of the teens had to go to a camp together, even though the elves and the vampires didn't get along. The world and culture in Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire was so fun to read about, especially the whole lifemate aspect. I really wish that I were Katie and one morning could wake up tall, beautiful, and curvy just because puberty ended. Not to mention have an insanely hot vampire obsessed with me. Katie and Jared's whole relationship was really fun to watch develop and grow as they try to save the valleys. Sometimes the book got confusing at parts, but I think that's because I was reading too fast and missed some details. You definitely need to take your time on this book to catch all of the characters and whole gist of the world they live in. Other than that part, I loved all of the characters and the storyline of this book. I wish I could have followed Nick and Sarah's story more instead of their little tidbits every now and then, but seeing as the book was mainly about Katie and Jared, I guess that was okay. The book was kind of left unfinished, but I guess that's because there are supposed to be many more in this series. I will definitely be checking back with these vampires and elves to see what happens next!***Check out my giveaway for one e-copy of this book and interview with Jodie Cooper right here***

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox is a meme that I picked up from The Story Siren's blog. It's where we share the new books that we've gotten for that week with our readers. These books could be from the library, the store, or from the writers/publishers for review. Whatever the reason, I will share my new books every Sunday!

From the Library

So this week I did not intend to get this many books from the library. I had these on reserve for probably a month and they all decided to come in right at the same exact time. I don't know how I'm going to be able to read all of these along with all of the other books I have to read, but I guess we'll see if I can! 

From Library Sale 

I really enjoyed Kelley Armstrong's books for young adults, so when I saw Bitten at the library, I decided to give it a try and buy it. The other book just looks like a fun book about a bar tender, so for a dollar I decided it was worth it to pick it up. 

Won from Giveaway

 

This week, I won Warriors of the Cross from The Authoress. Then, I won The Cowboy and the Vampire along with some very cool swag from YzhaBella's BookShelf! I want to thank them for the awesome giveaways!! 

From Author/Publisher

I got some pretty awesome books to review this week! Make sure you guys check buy my blog this week and under my giveaways section because I've got some great giveaways coming up of some of these books! I can't wait to read them!    

That's it! What all was in your guys's mailboxes this week? Please share! 

Author Interview/Giveaway: Jodie Cooper

I am super excited to announce that today I have an interview with Jodie Cooper, author of The Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire. Her book was just published this year, so Jodie is here to share a little bit about her new novel and herself! 

What three words would you use to describe "Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire"?

Sweet - Forbidden - Forever

How did you get the idea of your paranormal romance about vampires?

LOL - Trial and error? I've always wanted to write, but I couldn't decide which paranormal race to write about. There are so many! Actually, in the first draft, the vampires were druids with fangs. If I don't keep a tight rein on it, my imagination gets away with me. Anyway, I didn't likefangy druids. Most of my first draft ended up deleted or completely rewritten.

If you could be one character from your book, who would you be and why?

Sarah. Hands down, no contest I love her character. She has a lot of hidden layers most readers may not see until the end of the book. I love writing her scenes, especially when Nick is involved.

Her outward appearance is so ice cold, yet she is burning hot inside. Honestly, I can't wait to write Sarah's story, but it's not due until late 2012 as book #5 of the series.

Why writing? Have you always loved it or is it something new?

I love writing. I started writing in my teens, but gave it up to get a 'real' job. I wish I hadn't, but what's done is done and can't be undone.

What are your inspirations when you write? When you get stuck, what do you do?

I'd like to say, I wake-up with a dream running through my head but it's only happened a few times. LOL More often than not, I create the character first then write down a dozen horrible things that might happen to her/him. I love happy endings, but only after the characters experience a good dose of tragedy.

As for your second question... sigh, my degree is actually in business, not creative writing. In business when faced with a problem you 'brain storm.' Essentially it means picking a single subject and writing down every idea that pops in your head no matter how weird.

When brain storming doesn't work I cook, work in the yard, read a good book, or surf the web, anything that allows me to shut down my thoughts and NOT think about my Brain Block. The next day, when I go back to the story, I re-read the last thousand words or so and my brain kicks into gear with new ideas.

What do you do when you're not writing? 

Recently, I've spent most of my time twittering, answering e-mails, updating my new blog, Facebook, and networking. When I'm not doing any of those things, I love reading. Always have.

What is your favorite book/author and why?

Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Jeaniene Frost, Karen Moning... the list is endless. To answer your question, I can't pick a favorite. Whoever I'm reading at the moment is my favorite. It changes from week to week.

When I start reading, I sink into the story and love every minute of it.

What's next?

I have several simultaneous projects. I never work on a single item.

I'm approximately 60% finished with Forbidden Valley, the next book in the Sídhí Summer Camp series.

I'm nearly finished editing Stolen, the third novelette in the Song of the Sídhí series.

Lastly, I started a new blog, reporting Sídhí news clips. The blog is called, Sídhí World News. My daily posts are called news reports. You never know when a werewolf is going to escape from the zoo or when students at the Wyvern Riding Academy have a mid-air collision or the latest theft of basilisk eggs... the list of hot news clips is endless.

Thank you so much Jodie for being here at Peace Love Books today! To learn more about Jodie, check out her blog or her website!

***Giveaway***

Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire

Summary: Is Jared an answer to prayer or her worst nightmare?


Seventeen-year-old, Katie McQuillen is a halfling (vampire/elf mix) in a world where halflings are not acceptable members of polite society. Unfortunately, her grandpa is chairman of the Vampire High Council and she is forced into attending a summer camp meant to create peace between the Sídhí races. 


She is in the middle of Sídhí puberty going from scrawny to beach bunny in less than three weeks when she and her twin brother arrive at camp.


Camp starts off with a bang when vampire hottie, Jared Andrews, becomes one of her new seven cabinmates, especially when he can't keep his eyes off her. But is he interested in her, her family's money, or her blood?


She might actually enjoy summer camp, if she can stop finding dead bodies and if people stop trying to kill her.

Jodie Cooper has graciously offered one e-copy of her novel, Forbidden Temptation of a Vampire. Along with this giveaway, every person who enters the giveaway will receive an e-copy of Jodie's novella Beloved LifeMate! 

To enter: 

-Post a comment on this interview with your email

-You do not need to be a follower, but it would be greatly 

appreciated if you were! 

-1 winners will be randomly chosen and announced on August 5th

-Winners have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen

-Once the giveaway is over, each person who comments will be

emailed a smashwords coupon for the novella Beloved LifeMate

Book Review: Vanished in the Night by Eileen Carr

Summary: She doesn’t trust cops . . .

Veronica Osborne has had enough problems with the police, thanks to her volatile father. So when tall, strapping Sergeant Zach McKnight shows up at her door, she’s prepared for anything—except the news that her beloved missing brother, Max, has been dead for nearly twenty years . . . ever since he ran away.

. . . until she meets one who’d risk everything to protect her.

Appalled when the police suspect her father of Max’s murder, Veronica begins her own investigation. But as her surprising role in her brother’s disappearance surfaces, so do more bodies. The ghosts of Max’s past are working hard to hide the truth, while another, more sinister force will do anything to expose it. How far will a killer go to get revenge? And can Zach stop him before he targets the woman Zach’s coming to love?

Review: I love watching crime/cop shows like Rookie Blue and Castle, so I decided to try out a book with a similar storyline. I was pretty sure I would like it seeing as I love those shows, so once I started Vanished in the Night, it was no surprise that I got lost in how good the story was. The first part that got me though, was Eileen Carr's writing. I loved how she switched up who's perspective parts of the story were from, mixing in Veronica, Zach, and even the killer's thoughts in the story. It was cool being able to read about the killer, but not know who they were for a while. I also liked how Veronica and Zach's relationship progressed. It wasn't too fast like some books, they were attracted to each other, but it still took a while for them to act on it, like how real life actually is. I think that some parts of the book may have moved too slow, but all of it still fit together well in actually solving the case. When the book started, I liked how the book opened up with them finding the body and then introducing the other characters by contacting them because of the death. It all flowed together really nicely and it made it a good, quick read. I felt like I was watching another one of the crime shows I loved, so I really enjoyed reading this book. I'm so happy I got to read this and if you like the same shows I do, then you should definitely pick up this book!

Follow My Book Blog Friday (5)

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

Questions: Let's step away from books for a second and get personal. What t-shirt slogan best describes you? 

Answer: 

So there's two reasons why this shirt best describes me. First, because Star Wars is pretty freaking awesome. And I was in the Star Wars club in high school (yeah, I'm cool), so you could say I like Star Wars. Second, because if I join the dark side, I get cookies! I love cookies and basically any sweet treat (as long as there's no nuts because I HATE nuts), so if I'm bribed with food, you bet I'll do it! 

Book Review: In My Dreams by Cameo Renae

Summary: It was happening again. The dreams. The nightmares. It was something seventeen year-old Elizabeth "Lizzy" Hayes thought she'd outgrown; dreams that would come true; detailed premonitions of how people would die. This time she dreams about her boyfriend, Michael Young, and soon discovers that he's been found... dead. 
Michael hasn't crossed over because he was murdered, and now his murderer is coming for Lizzy. His spirit won't rest until she is safe, and as a newbie spirit, the easiest way for him to make contact is through Lizzy's dreams. When she dreams, it's as if he hasn't died. 
Lizzy must learn to pull on her inner strength to survive horrifying events. Meanwhile, in the spirit world, Michael learns everything he can about his supernatural gifts to help. But will it be enough to save her?

Review: I hate it when I go through a dry spell for good books, but that makes me appreciate it even more when I read a bunch of really good books in a row! I really enjoyed In My Dreams and how Lizzy could see Michael in her dreams, even though he was dead. The dream scenes were really cool and it was fun seeing how Lizzy reacted and interpreted them. I was really sad that I didn't get to read about when Michael was actually alive, but the story was about his death, so I guess it makes sense that it should start with the night he died. I liked the kidnapping and mystery part of this book, so it wasn't another frilly, fluffy YA book that I usually enjoy reading. Lizzy was a great protagonist to read about and what I love is that she actually gave up at a couple of points in the book. She wasn't perfect and she wasn't strong and amazing. She gave up and it was Michael that actually made her not give up. I think that this book may have moved a little fast and it could have slowed down a bit. Also, I didn't really like the whole fight between Jonathan and Ayden because I feel like that part was just thrown in for an ending, but I liked the very ending with Lizzy and what she sees in her dreams. I hope that because of that ending, there's going to be a second book because I would love to read more about Lizzy! If you want a sweet paranormal romance with a tad bit of thriller mixed in, you should definitely read In My Dreams!

***Giveaway Winners***

For being a part of the Historical Romance Blog Tour, I have a set of three books to give away to two lucky winners! And the winners are: 

Krystal-Larson 

Alyssa (Reader's Refuge) 

Thank you to everyone who entered! I have emailed the winners and they will have 48 hours to respond before new winners are chosen. I hope they enjoy these fabulous historical romances! 

Book Review: Sea by Heidi R. Kling

Summary: Fifteen-year-old Sienna Jones has been haunted by the memory of her mothers death for three years. Now, she has to go to Indonesia with her dad and his relief team to help orphans who lost their family to the tsunami. Once she gets there, she meets the most intriguing boy she's ever met named Deni. As Sienna and Deni grow closer, Sienna's dad's relief team tries to help the orphans overcome their post-tramatic stress disorders. Sienna should be helping them, but when news comes to Deni that his father may be the one looking for him at the heart of where the tsunami hit, he and Sienna waste no time running away to find out the truth. But the truth brings both of them answers that they don't know if they're ready to hear. 


Review: After seeing so many rave reviews of this book, I knew I had to read it. But once I finally got through it, I was so disappointed. It was a good enough read, but a lot of things bugged me. First off, the main character is 15. So basically, this book is about a 15 year old going to another country and falling in love with an 18 year old. I'm sorry, but that's just too young for me. Of the 15 year olds I know, I would laugh if that happened to them because it's so unbelievable. Also, I didn't really feel the connection they had. Sienna was just suddenly like, oooh I can't take my eyes off of him after he stares at me and I'm just like seriously? And from the description, he doesn't even sound that attractive (goatees just don't do it for me). I would have been okay with the book if it ended 50 pages sooner. The events that happen in the last 50 pages made me feel like the story was just a waste of time. I don't want to ruin anything, but the person that the ending is all about was in the book for probably 10 pages, 15 at the most. That being said, the entire story really had no point if it was going to end like that. As good as the reviews and cover are, the story itself is disappointing and not all that believable.

Book Review: The Immortality Virus by Christine Amsden

Summary: When the human race stopped again in the mid 21st century, no one seemed to know why. And those who did know why weren't talking. Four hundred years later, Grace Harper is hired to find the man behind the virus that turn the world into disaster. This man is the only hope to undo the virus, but Grace's employer isn't the only one after him. With people waiting to kill her at every corner, Grace must enlist the help of old and new acquaintances in order to find virus's maker and save humanity from itself before it's too late.


Review: When I'm picking a book to read, sci-fi is definitely very low on the list of contenders, but sometimes I like to mix it up. So when the opportunity to review The Immortality Virus came, I took it. This being said, I was so surprised that I actually really enjoyed reading this book! The whole idea that it was 400 years into the future and people stopped aging around the age of 25 was put together in an engaging and entertaining book. The storyline reminded me of the movie iRobot or I am Legend (basically any futuristic Will Smith movie...), but instead with a kick-butt female main character. Grace was such a fun character to read about and I loved how she was so strong and fearless yet she still had insecurities when it came to her heart. This book was mainly sci-fi, but I loved the little added romance that didn't take over the main plot of the book. Even with a little romance, there was always something different happening in each chapter and plenty of action to keep the story interesting. The author did an awesome job of creating our world 400 years in the future and the consequences to actions we know people were bound to take. Tons of people think it would be awesome to be able to be able to live forever, but this book shows that everyone living forever is not as ideal as it seems. I loved every second of this futuristic book and it constantly kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next. I hope there's a sequel because I know that this is definitely not the last sci-fi book that I'm going to read!

Book Review: Winter Longing by Tricia Mills

Summary: Winter's entire world came crashing down on her the afternoon Spencer died. Only one day after they had finally confessed their feelings for each other, Winter's new boyfriend died in a plane crash. Winter doesn't know what to feel anymore, let alone how to feel. It seems like everywhere she goes, something brings back Spencer's memory. It seems like the only thing that's keeping her sane is Jesse, her next door neighbor who until Spencer died, she hadn't really thought about before. Now, Winter's unlikely friendship with Jesse has the possibility to turn into something more, but how can she even think about letting go of Spencer and letting someone else in?


Review: Let me just start off by saying that I loved this book so freaking much! What first drew me in was the cover, and then once I started the story I was addicted! From what I had remembered of the summary, I thought that Winter was going to lose her long term boyfriend who she was madly in love with. But no. She lost the boy she had been madly in love with since 2nd grade but had only just admitted her feelings (which he reciprocated) the very day before he died. Now that is sad. It was details like these that made the book so emotional and so good to read. But that's not the reason I love this book. No, the reason I love this book is one word. Jesse. I completely fell in love with Jesse once he started to show up randomly in Winter's life. He was so sweet and so caring that even when he got frustrated that Winter couldn't get over Spencer, he still stuck around. And when the moment on the cover happened in the book, I literally had an "awwwwwww" moment because it was so sweet. I seriously want to take Jesse home with me and never let him go! He was just the thing Winter needed in her life and I couldn't help but be jealous of her. Yes, I'm jealous of someone who's not even real. But you would be to if you read this book! Which you should do! Right now! Trust me, you will not ever regret picking up this amazing book.

Author Bio/Giveaway: T.P. Boje

I'm super excited to announce that today I have a ecopy of T.P. Boje's new novel, The Eye of the Crystal Ball to giveaway! Along with the giveaway is a short biography of T.P. Boje, so I hope you guys enjoy! 

About The Author: T.P. Boje

T. P. Boje is a hardcore cartoon lover, Tim Burton enthusiast, and enjoys any movie the Coen Brothers have made (with the big Lebowski being her favorite strongly followed by Burn after Reading). She is also a Y/A fantasy and mystery-writer. She is originally from Denmark but currently living in Florida, USA. Her books are translated into several languages.

To learn more follow her on Twitter, visit her fansite on Facebook or check out her web-page: http://www.tpboje.blogspot.com/

About the Book: The Eye of the Crystal Ball 

When Sara was newborn her parents left her at the doorstep at Mr. and Mrs. Schneider’s house.

When Sara was ten she discovered she was telekinetic. She began to move stuff around when she got angry just by her will alone.

When Sara was twelve her real parents came for her and took her with them to live like the Gypsy that she was – or Romani as they like to call themselves. They told her she was going to fulfill a prophesy. That it was once said that out of the Romani people the greatest sorceress who had ever lived would be born.
When Sara was thirteen she had a baby brother and when she was fourteen he got very sick with a strange illness.
To save her baby-brother Sara sets off on a quest to find his cure – well knowing that it will cost her dearly.
Soon Sara finds herself going through the Singing Cave, crossing Wild Witches Valley, talking to a ten foot giant snail, rescuing the Beads of Souls from the Hell-hounds, escaping a spell in Vamila, the Forest of Vanity, visiting the king at the City of Lights before she finally reaches the Black Castle where she is told the Eye of the Crystal Ball can tell her how to cure her brother’s strange illness.

But nothing is free in this world - and as Sara soon will know - everything has a price. **Check out my review right here**

***Giveaway***

T.P. Boje has graciously provided one ebook of The Eye of the Crystal Ball. Thanks so much for this giveaway!

To enter: 

-Post a comment here with your email

-You do not need to be a follower, but it would be greatly 

appreciated if you were! 

-1 winner will be randomly chosen and announced on August 1st

-Winners have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen

Book Review: The Eye of the Crystal Ball by T.P. Boje

Summary: Three weeks after her birth, Sara's parents left her on the doorstep of nice young couple in the midst of WWII. 12 years later, Sara discovers that she has telekinesis and she doesn't belong with the other kids at school. Right after this discovery, Sara's parents come back and take Sara to live with them as Gypsies. According to her parents, Sara is destined to be a great sorceress and fulfill a great prophecy one day. Sara comes to love her birth family and embrace the life as a Gypsy or, as they prefer to be called, a Romani. When Sara's mother has a baby, their lives are better than ever. But the baby soon gets sick and Sara has to take drastic measures to save it. Sara takes off on a journey to find the eye of the crystal ball, which holds the cure for her brother's illness. Sara must battle all kinds of mythical creatures and travel through the harshest of conditions, but nothing can stop this sorceress from saving the only family she has ever loved. 


Review: Wow, this was not what I was excepting, but definitely in a good way! As I was reading The Eye of the Crystal Ball, I felt like I was reading a fairy tale with witches, creepy forest, and yes, even unicorns. The narration kind of reminded me of the beginning of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with a voice telling you about the character's life and what they go through. This aspect made it quirky and reminded me of the fun, magical books that I would read when I was younger. With this being said though, I felt that at some points I was being told the story instead of getting lost in Sara's magical world. This point is the reason this book only got four stars instead of five. Other than that, I was really intrigued by the life of Gypsies with magic, spells, and potions. It was fun to see what would come next on Sara's adventure to save her baby brother. The whole part of the story where Sara was traveling to the witch's castle to receive the crystal ball reminded me of Alice in Wonderland and how once she left some sort of creature/obstacle behind, there was always something else even more strange ahead of them. I would definitely say that this book is geared towards the younger young adult audience, but it was still so refreshing to read a quirky, fantastical story.

Book Review: Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Summary: Erin Blackwell is finally doing what she's always dreamed of: majoring in creating writing at NYU. The only problem is that in order to do so, she had to defy her grandmother's wishes of majoring in business. Her grandmother is so angry, she takes away her inheritance and all of her college money and gave it to their stable boy. Now in New York with no money, Erin is forced to work her way through college. She knows she should hate Hunter, the stable boy who stole her inheritance, but she finds herself writing about him as the hero of her love story she writes for her creative writing class. When she's sharing her story though, Hunter walks in claiming to be in the class. Once he hears her most secret fantasies about his in her stories, it's clear how Erin feels about him. Hunter, in turn, starts writing messages to Erin in his own stories, and Erin soon finds herself writing an ending that she can only wish will come true. 


Review: I love Jennifer Echols's books sososososo much, so it was really really hard for me to give this book only four stars. This book caught me from the beginning, starting with Erin's story for her creative writing class about her and a boy she had fallen in love with on a farm, but in a historical setting. It was such a good way to introduce the story without the same old typical recap some authors use. Then, when Hunter walks into her class, I couldn't wait to see where their relationship would go. I didn't really like Hunter at first with Erin describing him as the perfect, outgoing guy but once I got to know him more, I saw that there was so much more to him than how he acted in her class. The whole setting of this book and how Erin and Hunter would write messages to each other in their stories was so intriguing to read and made me fall in love with the story. The thing that makes me only give it four stars is the ending. I hated how this huge thing happened and then nothing (sorry if that's vague, but I'm trying to explain without giving too much away!). I expected Erin and Hunter to act so differently than how they did. It was like, they were acting this way before but since it's the end, they're going to act this way with each other now. There was no clear solution to the problem that came up. That is what bugged me the most. Everything else in this book was so good and amazing but I just couldn't stand how the ending ended. As much as it pains me, I have to give this book a four. I still think that all of you should go out and get this book right now! You just have to deal with a disappointing ending to be able to read an amazing story.