BookLoversParadise would like to welcome Cora Parks, 

author of

REDUCE YOUR IRS PENALTIES.

Connect with Cora Parks on Twitter

Website http://www.taxtodaypublications.com/

Blog http://blog.taxtoday.info/

about the book:

All the information you need to reduce various IRS penalties you may be charged. If you have paid the penalty, learn how you may qualify for a refund!

About Cora:

Biography

Cora Parks is a lifelong Atlantan whose vision is to bring proactive tax counsel and personal responsibility to the masses in the area of taxation. She has published seven books on taxation topics, including How To Pay The IRS When You Are Broke, Your IRS Refund, and Reduce Your IRS Tax Penalties.

REMEMBER:

Tax time is right around the corner.  Take advice from someone who knows!  Read Cora's books.  She offers wonderful advice regarding the IRS (even the name invokes fear in most of us), and info about tax prep.  

Cora's books are available on Amazon.com

You can also visit her at

http://coraparks.com

Cora Parks

BOOKLOVERSPARADISE is proud to be part of the blog tour for

HERE

ON THE OTHERSIDE, BOOK ONE

by author

DENISE GROVER SWANK

published by 

Bramagioia Enterprises

blog tour organized by

AToMR BOOKS

about the book:

Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.

Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can’t ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.

sounds pretty intense doesn't it?  Well guess what?  We happen to have an excerpt from the book....read on...

HERE Excerpt 

I run from the school, down the street a half-mile and turn the corner down the two-lane highway that edges town. I ignore the ache in my leg that creeps up my thigh. My hair grows slick and heavy from the rain. My thin long-sleeved t-shirt plasters to my body. 

I push on despite the stitch in my side and the now-sharp pain in my leg. The gray stone church tucked into the edge of the woods comes into view. It’s my beacon, my anchor. Tears stream down my face and blend with the rain, which now falls at a steady rate. My breath comes in desperate pants, yet I refuse to slow down, refuse to stop until I’m there. 

My feet crunch against the gravel of the church parking lot and my gait falters. A black wrought-iron fence lies ahead. My hands fumble with the latch of the gate until it opens. The hinges creak as I rush through, toward the back of the cemetery where the fence and trees are almost one. I run past the older headstones, past the newer compact markers until I drop. The soft ground absorbs the impact as my knees hit the earth. I fall face forward before Monica’s headstone. 

“It should’ve been me,” I cry, my hands grasping the edges of the cold, slick stone. Gut-wrenching sobs rack my body. The rain falls harder, pelting my back. 

Warm hands wrap around my arms, pulling me off the ground. My body turns and my face presses into a firm, warm chest. I’m enveloped inside the opening of a warm coat. I sink into the warmth, my legs barely holding me upright. A voice whispers in my ear, “It’s okay, Julia. I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay.”

A sharp pain stabs my neck and then there’s nothing.

if you are still onboard, we have a giveaway for you..

first things first, though.

Check out the link for other stops on the blog, other excerpts, reviews and other giveaways...

http://atomrbookblogtours.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/here-on-the-otherside-1-tour/

I love this cover...it just looks so spooky and mysterious.

Now, about the author...

Denise Grover Swank lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She has six children, three dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning. Denise is represented by Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary.

You can find out more about Denise and her other books at www.denisegroverswank.com or email her at denisegroverswank@gmail.com You can also follow her on Twitter: @DeniseMSwank or  friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deniseswank

Now for the giveaway...

super easy

just leave your name, email address and what ebook format you would like

If you don't feel comfortable leaving your email address, you can send your information to

ljldml@gmail.com

a quick review:

I like books that are different.  This was just such a book.  A great story that doesn't really end.  

  

The characters are fascinating.  Julia is somewhat of an enigma throughout the story, but the guys...ooohhh la la!!!

Evan and Reece....perfect male characters.  I hope Julia ends up with Reece,  or Evan,  no Reece,  no make that Evan.  Well I'll be happy as long as she ends up with one of these guys. :)  No spoilers in this review, but as you can guess, a bit of a triangle involving the main characters.  

I'm waiting anxiously for book two.

4 stars

Kill Me Softly

by Sarah Cross

Egmont USA

available April 10 2012

received from NetGalley for review

synopsis (Goodreads)

Mirabelle's past is shrouded in secrecy, from her parents' tragic deaths to her guardians' half-truths about why she can't return to her birthplace, Beau Rivage. Desperate to see the town, Mira runs away a week before her sixteenth birthday—and discovers a world she never could have imagined.

In Beau Rivage, nothing is what it seems—the strangely pale girl with a morbid interest in apples, the obnoxious playboy who's a beast to everyone he meets, and the chivalrous guy who has a thing for damsels in distress. Here, fairy tales come to life, curses are awakened, and ancient stories are played out again and again.

But fairy tales aren't pretty things, and they don't always end in happily ever after. Mira has a role to play, a fairy tale destiny to embrace or resist. As she struggles to take control of her fate, Mira is drawn into the lives of two brothers with fairy tale curses of their own . . . brothers who share a dark secret. And she'll find that love, just like fairy tales, can have sharp edges and hidden thorns

MY REVIEW

When I was a kid, I used to watch a Saturday morning cartoon called "Fractured Fairy Tales" where a funny dog explained to a small boy the true stories behind some of the fairy tales we read as children.

This book puts an entirely new spin on the 'fractured fairy tale' idea.  All I can say is WOW.  I really, really liked this book.  

The main character is a 15 year old girl who was raised by her godmothers (get it?) far away from her homeland.  She is protected from everything.  She can't even use a pair of scissors because the godmothers are afraid she may get hurt.  Sound familiar?  Well, this isn't a Disney story.  

She goes to a town called Beau Rivage to look for the gravestones of her deceased parents.  She meets all sorts 'cursed' individuals who also lead not so fairy tale lives. A beautiful girl whose stepmom wants her dead, a 'prince' who must wait for his princess and wake her with a kiss, and several other bizarre characters.  

Not really a spoiler, but I have to add this part. I must have a warped sense of humor because I found this just hilarious.  Two sisters who tried to 'make the shoe fit'. One cut off her big toe, and the other chopped off a piece of her heel.  They limp around town with bandages of their feet.

 By the way, forgot to mention, the main character's name is Mirabelle.  How's that for a fairy tale name?

The one part of this book that truly bothered me, Mirabelle, at 15 years of age contemplates having a relationship with an older man.  He is Felix, the manager of a local casino.  He is also a strange fairy tale character in this bizarre group of characters..  I know, I'm probably just a prude, but the idea of a 15 year old girl sleeping with a 21 year old guy just bothered me.  

Anyways, I loved this story. Loved the characters.  They were colorful and downright fun.  I had to laugh at Beauty and Snow White, while cringing at the character of the beast.  I loved the prince who comes to the rescue, but.....my favorite character?  Blue.  Wait till you read his story.  He's a funny, wise mouthed, snarky kid who tries hard to keep everyone at arms length.  

Overall, this is an incredible book.  A wonderful story with an idea so different from everything else on the bookshelves right now!

I think most YA and teens would love this book.  The characters are wonderful, and the writing is just amazing.

GRAVE MERCY

HIS FAIR ASSASSIN

BOOK ONE

BY 

ROBIN LaFEVERS

RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY FOR REVIEW

AVAILABLE NOW

Published byHoughton Mifflin Harcourt

synopsis (Goodreads)

Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf? 

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others. 

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

MY REVIEW

 I have always been a fan of historical fiction, especially the medieval era.  

why be the sheep when you can be the wolf?

I love this line.  It's what initially drew me to this book.

This book is amazing!  Ismae is a strong female lead.  She is not a weak willed woman.  First she is abused by her stepfather, sold into a marriage to a man who is also abusive and is led to a place where she can learn to be strong and independent.  The independent streak was already present.  Ismae is a character you can believe and relate to, she knows how to take care of herself, and she learns how to defend and protect herself. In other words, she is one kick ass heroine!!

This is a long book.  Over 500 pages.  It becomes slow and long winded in spots.  Took me a few days to read, but once I started...wow!  

Look at the cover of this book.  This is exactly how I picture Ismae.  A fierce warrior.

The author is a master at colorful descriptions.  The lifestyles and surroundings of Ismae are so cleverly detailed, the reader can 'see' what is happening while reading.

This is a story you will not quickly forget.  I look forward to more works by R.L LaFevers.