Lumière $50 Book Blast

 

Lumière by Jacqueline E. Garlick 

One determined girl. One resourceful boy. One miracle machine that could destroy everything… After an unexplained flash shatters her world, seventeen-year-old Eyelet Elsworth sets out to find the Illuminator, her father’s prized invention. With it, she hopes to cure herself of her debilitating seizures before Professor Smrt—her father’s arch nemesis—discovers her secret and locks her away in an asylum. Pursued by Smrt, Eyelet locates the Illuminator only to see it whisked away. She follows the thief into the world of the unknown, compelled not only by her quest but by the allure of the stranger—Urlick Babbit—who harbors secrets of his own. Together, they endure deadly Vapours and criminal-infested woods in pursuit of the same goal, only to discover the miracle machine they hoped would solve their problems may in fact be their biggest problem of all. When darkness is safer than light…

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Praise “One of the most inventive story worlds I’ve read in years…” Donald Maass, Author of Writing the Breakout Novel, Writing 21st Century Fiction, and The Fire in Fiction 

“Such an engaging story featuring witty dialogue, gripping action scenes and a romance that will make your heart melt!” Laurel May 

“I liked the mix of reminders I got from authors like Mervyn Peake, L.Frank Baum and Ray Bradbury. I'm sure that every reader will find shades of other famous writers, including or excluding these three.” Richard L. Bunning 

“Eyelet and Urlick, the two main characters... There's so much to love! They are like salt and pepper: totally different, spicy, argumentative, and brilliantly smart.” Rosemary Danielis    

Excerpt From Lumière: 

“Wait!” I shout, surging forward, shouldering my way through the crowd. I fight my way to the front and pound on the doors of the carriage. “Please!” I shout. “I need to speak to you!” But the stranger doesn’t hear. He brings his whip down hard over his horse’s back and the carriage leaps forward, parting the angry crowd like soil in a furrowed field. “Wait!” I hoist my skirts and chase after the carriage. “Please!” I shout. “Please! Wait!” A second crack of the whip and the carriage moves faster. I race on, struggling to keep up to its side. If I lose sight of the carriage, I’ve lost everything. All hope of ever leading a normal life. I can’t let that happen. Won’t let that happen. He will not take my father’s machine. “Please, I beg you, stop the coach!” I lunge, throwing myself at the back of the coach, barely catching a toe on the edge of the running boards, embedding my nails into the carriage’s seams. The carriage bursts forward through the streets of Gears, the city fast becoming a memory. “Stop!” I plead as my boot slips from the running boards. I swing out to one side and dangle by one arm. The stranger at the mount turns his head. “What are you doing?” he shouts. “Get off!” “Get off?” I kick my way back up onto the platform. “I said get off!” he shouts again. “I won’t!” I say, hoisting, myself up higher onto the cab. My foot slips again and I sink beneath the rooftop, striking my chin hard on the way down. Grasping at the coach’s seams I desperately try to hold on, the toes of my boots burrowing twisted trenches in the dirt road below. My heart lodges in my throat as I lose my grip and swing out again to the opposite side. “Bloody Hell!” I hear the stranger curse. His face appears over the top of the cab seconds later. His eyes are lit like flares. I hang by the tips of my fingers, shocked, staring up at him. I don’t know whether to scream or cry.  

Author Jacqueline E. Garlick 

I'm Jacqueline Garlick. Author of YA, New Adult, and Women's Fiction. I love strong heroines, despise whiny sidekicks, and adore a good story about a triumphant underdog. I love to read, write, paint (walls and paper) and plan cool writing events for cool writers. I have a love/hate relationship with chocolate, grammar, and technology. I prefer creating things to cleaning things, and baking to cooking. I believe laughter is a one-stop-shop solution to all that ails you and if that doesn’t work there’s always Ellen Degeneres. You will always find a purple wall (or two) in my house (perhaps even a door) and a hidden passageway that leads to a mystery room. (Okay, so you won’t find a hidden passageway but a girl can dream, can’t she?) Oh, and tea. There will always be tea. I love specialty teas...and collecting special teacups from which to drink them. (See website for collection.) In my former life, I was a teacher (both grade school and college-don't ask) and more recently I've been a graduate of Ellen Hopkin’s Nevada Mentor Program and a student of James Scott Bell, Christopher Vogler and Don Maass. An excerpt from Lumière earned me the 2012 Don Maass Break Out Novel Intensive Scholarship. Lumière—A Romantic Steampunk Fantasy—is my debut novel, Book One in my young adult The Illumination Paradox Series. I am represented by Josh Adams of Adams Literary.

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Review: Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber

 

Well, lets see how this goes.  I have never written a book review before, not counting those awful dreaded ones yo write in high school.  YUK!
     Darker Still: A Magic Most Foul is a wonderful book to me.  I love the mix of magic and the way people carried themselves in the 1800's.  I wouldn't call this steam-punk as it didn't have that feel to me.  It's more Victorian with magic.
     The magic in this book is very reminiscent of the story of Dorian Gray.  Such a fantastic idea by the amazing Oscar Wilde.   A gentleman's portrait that catches his youth so he may live forever, less he were to ever gaze upon it.  I also see some Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
     The book is written in a diary format.  While this isn't my favorite way to read a book, I do appreciate that I know that it is always written in the 1st person.  The writer of the diary is Natalie Stewart, an almost 18 year old who, after a tragic event as a youth, is mute.  Her father is a curator at the museum that wins the bid to house the painting of Lord Denbury.  Mrs. Northe, a lady who is intrigued by the painting and helps the museum get the painting, becomes Natalie's mentor.  Together they figure out the magic of the painting and how to "solve" it.
     The premise behind the painting is that the young Lord Denbury was tricked by evil and his portrait was painted thus catching his soul within, while the evil took possession of his body. Can you see how I get the Dorian Gray/Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde?   I'm not the only one who thinks this, it's written everywhere.
     When it comes to romance, it's muh.  It's not really there.  Yes, it's written but I never felt the tension.  It was also inevitable that our young Natalie would fall for the Lord.  That's just the way YA goes.  I just wish it could have been UNpredictable.
     So, my conclusion:
     Would I recommend this? Absolutely
     Would I read it again? No, but that's just because I don't read books more then once.
     How do I rate this? 4 stars
     Am I going to continue the series? You betcha!
    

Friday's Freebie & Giveaway

So for today I'm doing a freebie. My giveaway, ends tonight at midnight. But I'm also listing a free book from Amazon that I'm adding to my kindle. Who doesn't love free things, especially books!!! Next week I will be giving away a book. The week after that who knows! So I'm choosing Flame Moon by K.J. Jackson. I'm sure you can tell just by looking at the cover why I picked it. It's a book that I would love to have on my bookshelf if I ever got it in print.

~ Flame Moon is a stand-alone story, but also Book 1 of the Flame Moon series. Triple Infinity and Flux Flame (Books 2 & 3) are now out! ~

The Flame Moon series is intended for mature audiences--you know who you are. Why? Lots of action (violence), no cut-aways (sexual situations), and language that isn't so polite (swearing). Self-select accordingly, please.

Skye Walters thought waking up on the side of a river with no memory was her biggest problem. She had no idea that the man who had saved her from drowning, the man she now depended on, Aiden, was more than mere mortal. A warrior of ancient.

No memory, nowhere to go, Skye stays in the mountain town, only to discover she herself, has unexplained powers. Her life, her destiny, are soon out of her control, as are her feelings for Aiden. The deeper Skye gets sucked into Aiden's hidden world, the more the past, and who she really is, threatens her future, her love, her sanity.

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Throw Back Thursday: Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series *Giveaway*

     It's not hard for me to say what books are my favorite when someone asks me.  It's been the same since 2008/2009 when I was introduced to them.  Some might have heard of it and some might not have. It's not everyone's cup of tea. 
     It's the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K Hamilton. There are a total of 22 books in the series now, along with a few novellas. The easiest that I can sum up this series is Anita is a necromancer(can control the dead).  She raises people from the dead for families and court orders.  There are vampires and were's of all kinds, I'm talking rats, leopards, lions, and of course wolfs. I would classify this series as erotic paranormal. I DO NOT suggest anyone under the age of 18 to read these.  These are VERY steamy and VERY graphic.  Sadly, I haven't got to read any of the new books since I finished Bullet.  I have Hit List, Kiss the Dead and Affliction left.  I don't own any of the books past Blood Noir however because when they were released it was in hardback and I own them all in paperback, yes, my series have to match.  All hardback or all paperback, it can't be both.  OCD much??

    My favorite book from the series is Micah.  I don't want to go into detail about this book because I can give to much away.  I think that's why I don't do reviews on books because I don't know how to keep my mouth shut.  LOL 

"RAISING THE DEAD IS EASY. LOVE IS HARD..."

There are lots of reasons to raise the dead—some private, some public, In this case, the feds have a witness who died before he could speak on the record. They want him raised so his testimony can be taken. So here I am, on a plane to Philadelphia, flying off to do my job.

But I'm not alone. Micah is with me. Micah, head of the St. Louis wereleopard pard. King to my Queen. The only one of my lovers who can stir my blood with just a glance from his chartreuse cat's eyes. I was happy to have him at my side.

Until he mentioned that this will be our first time alone together. No Master Vampire. No Alpha Werewolf. Just me and Micah. And all my fears and doubts...

    I started this series when I was in cosmetology school.  One of the other students was telling me about it and started letting me read her copies.  I eventually finished school before I could finish the series, so I actually found a friend on FB who gave me her copies of the series to keep.  Her series stopped at Blood Noir, but it was in hardback.  I read it anyways and it is still on my bookshelf, just not in line with the rest of the series.  It's sitting all by it's lonesome on another shelf with stand alone books and books from my college classes.

     So how do I feel about this series????

That pretty much sums it up.  :)


Side note:  I looked for another blog that has done Throwback Thursday but didn't find one, if I simply over looked it and you know where one is PLEASE leave a comment on this post or visit the Facebook page and tell us on there. 

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