BOOK LOVERS PARADISE: 2013-05-05

Thursday, May 9, 2013

This is a joint AUTHOR & BLOGGER SPONSORED GIVEAWAY!

Kindle Fire HD 7" Giveaway

The winner will have the option of receiving a 7" Kindle Fire HD (US Only)

Or $199 Amazon.com Gift Card (International)

Or $199 in Paypal Cash (International)

Sponsoring Bloggers & Authors

Giveaway Details 1 winner will receive their choice of a Kindle Fire 7" HD (US Only), $199 Amazon Gift Card or $199 in Paypal Cash (International). Ends 5/31/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the participating authors & bloggers. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Welcome to my stop on the GATEKEEPER'S DAUGHTER book blog tour, brought to you by

RABT

about the book:

Young Adult Fantasy

Date Published: 5/1/13

In The Gatekeeper's Sons, Therese and Thanatos, the god of Death, met and fell in love. In The Gatekeeper's Challenge, they did everything they could to be together, even break an oath on the River Styx. But the Olympians don't tolerate oath-breakers. In this final book in the trilogy, The Gatekeeper's Daughter, Therese may have finally succeeded in becoming a goddess, but if she wants to remain one, she'll not only have to discover her unique purpose, but also make some allies among the gods. Artemis sends her on a seemingly impossible quest across the world, while Than searches for a way to appease Ares. To make matters worse, her aunt's baby's life hangs in the balance.

my thoughts:

A wonderful love story. Thanaton, god of death, loves Therese. In the first two books, we saw this love grow and deepen. In book three, Therese is finally a goddess of Olympus, but things can change quickly for her.

Both Therese and Thanatos are likable characters. Thanatos is a really nice guy, I mean God.

One thing that came to mind while reading these books; remember the TV show a few years back about a certain son of Zeus? At the beginning of the show there was a line,

"A TIME WHEN THE ANCIENT GODS WERE PETTY AND CRUEL".

Well, this book fullfils that to a 'T'. The Gods of Olympus are just rotten.

Ares is a mean jerk, Aphrodite, vain and conceited, Artemis, more concerned with herself.

Hera, just as bad as you would imagine.

The only god I had and respect for was Hades. Yup, Hades. The one god you wouldn't expect to like.

This is a great end to the trilogy. You will find yourself rooting for Than and Therese.

Well written, quick read. Great for lovers of greek mythology.

We have a guest post from Eva Pohler

How Greek Myths Inspire Us to Be Heroes

I fell in love with Greek myths in the eighth grade, when I read Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. Later, after studying Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, I better understood why most people are drawn to myths: They help us to project and symbolically play out our own fears and desires. Carl Jung wrote of universal archetypes—such as the Madonna, the soldier, and the rogue. Sigmund Freud wrote that art was the opportunity for adults to continue childhood play in a socially acceptable way. Joseph Campbell built upon the works of both Jung and Freud to describe The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which inspired George Lukas in the creation of Star Wars.

As a writer, I, like Lukas, wished to tap into that universal consciousness where fears and desires are shared. Myths make it possible to project universal fears, or what we often call our inner demons, into monsters that can be externally fought and defeated. The most universal fear is death. I created a trilogy for young adults in which death is not only faced and, in some ways, battled, but also embraced and transcended.

In the first book of this contemporary fantasy, The Gatekeeper’s Sons, fifteen-year-old Therese Mills meets Thanatos, the god of death, while in a coma after witnessing her parents’ murder. She feels like the least powerful person on the planet and is ready to give up on life, but the story forces her to fight. As she hunts with the fierce and beautiful Furies to track down her parents’ murder and avenge their death, she falls in love with Thanatos and symbolically accepts her parents’ and her own mortality.

In the second book, The Gatekeeper’s Challenge, Therese has the opportunity to transcend death by accepting five seemingly impossible challenges issued by Hades. All five challenges represent the universal fears of rejection, culpability, disorientation, death, and loss in the forms of a box not allowed to be opened, an apple that shouldn’t be eaten, a labyrinth meant to confuse, a Hydra that wants to destroy, and the allure of bringing back the dead. These same myths are recycled again and again through the centuries because they help us to recognize our inner demons and inspire us to defeat them.

Find Eva on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/EvaPohler
Find Eva at Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4888434.Eva_Pohler
Visit Eva’s Blog at http://www.bookclubpicks.blogspot.com
To purchase copies of Eva’s books, please visit her website at http://www.evapohler.com/books
You can also contact Eva at evapohler@sbcglobal.net

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

EVA POHLER

Eva Pohler

Eva Pohler teaches writing at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where she lives with her husband,

three children, two dogs, two rats, and her very large collection of books

website

blog or Eva's second blog

Goodreads

Amazon Author Page

On Eva's blog, notice her choices for Than and Hip in a movie version of the book--I AGREE 100% WITH HER PICKS!!!

REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

Welcome to my stop on the Shadow Chaser blog tour hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

Shadow Chaser (Son of Angels #3)

by Jerel Law

Release Date: May 7th, 2013

Thomas Nelson

Paperback/e-book

240 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

Join part angel Jonah Stone as he faces his biggest challenge yet!

Many months have passed since part angel siblings Jonah, Eliza, and Jeremiah Stone began their angelic training. As part angels, or "quarterlings," the siblings joined other children of nephilim to begin honing their special powers.

In this third installment in the Son of Angels series, Jonah's story comes to resemble a modern-day Job as he's faced with trials that affect his health, strength, relationships, and most-prized possessions. As he and the other quarterlings prepare for mid-term exams, their powers are tested once again in the most fierce battle against Abaddon's forces yet. Will Jonah's faith in Elohim continue to persevere as he fights Abaddon in his hardest battle yet?

Parents today are looking for fiction that makes Christianity and the Bible exciting for their kids. This series is the first Christian answer to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Kane Chronicles, the Secret Series, and other middle-grade series packed with action, adventure, and supernatural fights. But the message is solidly based in Scripture, conveying God is always in control.

my thoughts:

Jonah reminds me of Job. Really, when you read this book, you will quickly relate Jonah's life with that of the Biblical Job.

Jonah is a quarterling, a child who is descended from a human and an angel. He is constantly being tested. The suffering the character faces can be difficult for the reader. This is the third in the series, and the hardest to read. I've grown to like these characters. It's tough to see them suffer through the various trials heaped upon them.

This is the best book in the series so far, Each book is better. Jerel Law has found a wonderful way to explain faith to young readers.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16287338-shadow-chaser

Buy Links:
Amazon │Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Jerel Law is a gifted communicator and pastor with seventeen years of full-time ministry experience. He holds his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (go Tarheels!), and a master of divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Jerel began writing fiction as a way to encourage his children’s faith to come alive. He lives in North Carolina with his family. Spirit Fighter is his first novel.

Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook

NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY

***GIVEAWAY***

Print books 1-3 in the Son of Angels series, US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

AND DON'T FORGET BOOKS ONE AND TWO OF THE SERIES

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12362454-spirit-fighter

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14287169-fire-prophet

and the upcoming

TRUTH RUNNER

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17657611-truth-runner

the next book in this series.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Welcome to my stop on the STORM blog tour hosted by YA Bound. Click HERE to see the full blog tour schedule!

We are featuring a

GIVEAWAY

(SEE BELOW)

Storm (Swipe #3)

by Evan Angler

Release Date: 05/07/13

Thomas Nelson Publishers

Paperback/e-book

288 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark allows citizen to shop, go to school, and even get medical care--without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he's been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

In "Storm," Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis' army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it's difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren't sure if Logan's sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis' army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation--and the world--the weather is become less stable, and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined....

my review

The SWIPE series is a fantastical, dystopian, armageddon-like series about the end of times. STORM is the third installment of this series. I was left with more questions than answers.

Throughout the series, we have watched the Marked vs Markless. Logan is the leader of the Markless, those who decided to forgo getting the tatoo like mark that allows them to hold jobs, make purchases and generally have a somewhat easier lifestyle (sound familiar? if not, you haven't read many of the stories based on the Book of Revelations) We have watched Logan grow into an important leader for the markless. He and his band of young individuals have travelled throughout America to aid and protect other markless while trying to foil the machinations of the 'benevolent leaders', Lamson and Cylis. But who is good and who is evil? We have watched these kids grow into wonderful leaders and great friends to each other.

Without giving too much away, this book is just amazing but it is left unfinished. I don't really know what happens at the end. Is Lily helping or hurting the markless? What really happens to Logan and Peck? As I said, more questions than answers.

Evan Angler very skillfully weaves his book "SWIPE", number one of the series, into this story. This took me by surprise. Didn't understand it at first, but now I'm able to appreciate Angler's writing talent. FYI, there is no overpowering religion in these novels! You will not be overwhelmed with fire and brimstone, Christ vs Antichrist battles.

I don't see this is the conclusion to the series, perhaps it's just wishful thinking to expect more stories in this series.

add: I have received an email from Evan Angler--STORM is book three of a six book series!!!

I give this entire series 5 stars.

buy now at

about the author

About the Author

Evan lives without the Mark, evading DOME and writing in the shadows of Beacon.

Swipe is his first book. But if anyone asks, you know nothing about it, and you didn't hear anything from him. Don't make eye contact if you see him. Don't call his name out loud. He's in enough trouble already.

And so are you, if you've read his book.

NOW, FOR THE

GIVEAWAY

***GIVEAWAY***

Print books 1-3 in the Swipe series, US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway