Review: Shadowlands

A mom lost to cancer, a dad that is barely present, a sister who can't see past her own nose, a lover who is her sister's ex-boyfriend -- Rory has a pretty messed up life. And to make matters worse, she becomes a serial killer's prey. 

Witness protection provides the family with an SUV and sends them off to an island (an upgrade from where they used to live) providing us with the perfect setting to meet hot, tanned, handsome teenage boys who can court our girls. 

Until Rory's visions begin, switching the genre from contemporary, to thriller, to romance, to sci-fi -- to  -- what exactly am I reading and what happened to the serial killer? Yes, the ending has a twist, but in order to conclude that way, Kate Brian was forced to throw the entire plot out the window. 

Prepare for the unexpected!

Looking for the sequel

Hereafter

Caught my arrow # 17

Caught my Arrow is a meme similar to In my mailbox and  Stalking the Shelves featuring books that were purchased, borrowed or received that week.

Rainy weekend in montreal, so I picked up  more than my fair of books this week.

Warm Bodies, Burn for Burn and Eve from the library. 

And received a copy of Will in Scarlet from Netgalley

What are you reading this week?

Feature and Follow Friday: It's not you, it's me

Parajunkee / Alison Can Read

FEATURE & FOLLOW FRIDAY

Once you answer be sure to leave me your link so I can follow you back

Q: Have you broken up with a series? If so which one and why?

The House of Night and I broke up in a very amicable way. We still keep in touch, for example, I know that book #12 will be out in 2014. Do I think that's too long a series? Heck, yeah! 

I'd rather not be in such a committed relationship when we don't have that much in common. 

Get your head in the game with Mary E. Sutton

Time for an Author Spotlight. Today, Mary E. Sutton, is with us today to promote her latest novel, Storm Clouds: Hero's Sword vol. 2

Eighth-grader Jaycee Hiller is beginning to fear she only imagined her trip to Mallory. But when a rainy afternoon leaves her with hours of playing Hero's Sword, her favorite video game, she finds herself drawn back into the game - literally.

                   Find it on Amazon                                               Find it on Goodreads 

Welcome Mary, thank you for being with us. Please do tell, what inspired you to write this book?

I guess a little of my own memories of middle-school, as well as seeing my daughter. Middle-school is such a turbulent time for kids. They're often trying to find their "place" in a new social pecking order and dealing with physical changes of adolescence. I wanted to write a story that told them, "It's okay to be you. Find your place and claim it. Don't change just because 'they' say you aren't cool or whatever."

Did you listen to specific songs while writing?

Sometimes, yes. If I'm writing a fight scene, I might pop in the soundtrack from Pirates of the Caribbean to get in the mood. Or if I'm feeling a little sluggish, I'll find some really high-energy rock. A scene in the school cafeteria might need some of my daughter's pop. But sometimes the music is distracting, so I work in the quiet (well, as quiet as the house gets with two kids).

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Just write! Find the story that won't let go and write it. A little bit every day if you can. The only way you'll get better is to sit down in the chair and write. Don't worry that it's not brilliant. I wrote some really horrible stories when I was 13. But you keep working on it. And while you're writing, keep reading, in as many genres as you can (even if it's not something you usually enjoy). Take notes on what worked for you and what didn't. Exposure to other writing through reading is going to help you with your own writing.

What are you working on now -- or would you rather surprise us?

Oh, I don't mind sharing. Of course, I'm working on the final polish to the third book in the Hero's Sword series, called Wedding Bells. I'm not sure when that will be released, this summer maybe? And then I have book 4 to start drafting. That one's titled Lightening Strike. I also write crime fiction under the name Liz Milliron. I'm just finishing a Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe inspired novella for a contest and I have some new short story ideas for my Laurel Highlands Mysteries series, a police procedural, percolating - the first in that series should be published this summer. So lots to keep me busy!

Thanks so much for the opportunity. These were great questions! 

You are free to connect with Mary E. Sutton on:

Website

Facebook

Twitter


Thank you for being with us Mary, and good luck on all your future projects.

Review: Anastasia's Secret

On July 1918, the Romanov family was executed, but Anastasia's remains were only found in 2007. For years her popularity grew, as people wondered if she escaped from a terrible death. And of course, Susanne Dunlap focused the climax of Anastasia's Secret on that.

Anastasia, Mashka, Tatiana. Pic taken from Alexanderpalace.org

If like me, you read Historical Fiction only for the history lesson, you will not be disappointed. The author really stuck with the original story of their captivity. Since Anastasia had no influence with the political aspect, she gives us in details what it was like for her and her siblings to be stuck in a house not knowing what is going on.


Rasputin is mentioned a couple of times, and of course, her brother's illness. But it's the love story that holds this book together and that provides us with a surprising twist.