Author Archives: Kristin

Wednesday’s Sneak Peek: Bluff by Julie Dill [Giveaway]

8 March, 2017 1:20 am , 7 Comments ,

Bluff
by Julie Dill
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication date: Feb. 7 2017
Genre: Young Adult

Seventeen-year-old Chelsea Knowles is surrounded by the privileged. Michael Kors gym bags and designer shoes are part of her daily scene, but the talented cheerleader has a secret: she and her dad can barely pay the bills. Broken by his wife walking out on their family, Chelsea’s father ignores his responsibilities. Between cheer costs, grocery bills, electricity, and other regular financial burdens, it’s no surprise when a cut-off notice arrives in the mail. Chelsea knows it’ll be up to her to keep the lights on.

With the deck stacked against her, Chelsea decides to bet their future on the dubious poker knowledge she learned from her father before he gave up on parenting. Nervous but determined, Chelsea heads to a casino with very little security and wins big. Thrilled by her win, she’s quickly drawn to the casino again and again. She risks it all, especially when the attractive, young pit boss takes an interest in her.

Chelsea’s life, no longer filled with cheerleading, school, and hanging out with her friends, is now consumed by smoky casino floors and the ups and downs of a gambler’s life. True gamblers know when to fold, but Chelsea keeps betting long after her needs are met. The complicated web of lies soon begins to spin out of control, threatening to expose everything. Will someone see through her bluff?

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary , Tagged:

Excerpt: Ultimatum by K.M. Walton [Giveaway]

6 March, 2017 1:44 am , 3 Comments ,

Ultimatum
by K.M. Walton
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: March 7, 2017
Genre: Young Adult

A gripping, emotional story of two brothers who must decide what’s more important: family or their differences.

Oscar is misunderstood. Ever since his mother died, he’s been disrespected and bullied by his family, and he seeks refuge in his art. Vance is a popular athlete and wishes his brother would just loosen up and be cool. It was hard enough to deal with their mother’s death without Oscar getting all emotional. Vance just wants to throw himself into partying, to live.

But when their father’s alcoholism sends him into liver failure, the two boys must come face-to-face with their demons-and each other-if they are going to survive an uncertain future.

 

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary , Tagged: ,

Review: Fanning the Flames by Chris Cannon

3 March, 2017 1:05 am , 4 Comments ,

Fanning the Flames
(Going Down in Flames #4)
by Chris Cannon
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: March 6, 2017
Genre: Fantasy Young Adult
Rating:

Bryn McKenna has it all. Even though she’s a hybrid dragon, she’s finally fitting in the new shape-shifting dragon world that’s become her own. But her grandparent’s want to ruin everything by making Bryn’s nightmare of an arranged marriage to Jaxon Westgate a reality. It doesn’t help that Jaxon’s father is on a witch hunt for Rebel sympathizers and Bryn finds herself in his line of fire.

If she doesn’t say “I do,” she’ll lose everything. Good-bye flying. Good-bye best friends. Good-bye magic. But if she bends to her grandparents’ will and agrees to marry Jaxon she’ll lose the love of her life—her knight.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: Garden of Thorns by Amber Mitchell

1 March, 2017 1:33 am , 7 Comments ,

Garden of Thorns
by Amber Mitchell
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: March 6, 2017
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Rating:

After seven grueling years of captivity in the Garden—a burlesque troupe of slave girls—sixteen-year-old Rose finds an opportunity to escape during a performance for the emperor. But the hostage she randomly chose from the crowd to aid her isn’t one of the emperor’s men—not anymore. He’s the former heir to the throne, who is now leading a rebellion against it.

Rayce is a wanted man and dangerously charismatic, the worst person for Rose to get involved with, no matter what his smile promises. But he assumes Rose’s attempt to take him hostage is part of a plot to crush the rebellion, so he takes her as his hostage. Now Rose must prove where her loyalties lie, and she offers Rayce a deal—if he helps her rescue the other girls, she’ll tell him all the Garden’s secrets.

Except the one secret she’s kept for seven years that she’ll take to her grave if she must.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged: ,

Review: Ultimatum by K.M. Walton

27 February, 2017 1:39 am , 9 Comments ,

Ultimatum
by K.M. Walton
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: March 7, 2017
Genre: Young Adult
Rating:

A gripping, emotional story of two brothers who must decide what’s more important: family or their differences.

Oscar is misunderstood. Ever since his mother died, he’s been disrespected and bullied by his family, and he seeks refuge in his art. Vance is a popular athlete and wishes his brother would just loosen up and be cool. It was hard enough to deal with their mother’s death without Oscar getting all emotional. Vance just wants to throw himself into partying, to live.

But when their father’s alcoholism sends him into liver failure, the two boys must come face-to-face with their demons-and each other-if they are going to survive an uncertain future.

 

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Posted in: YA Contemporary, Young Adult , Tagged: ,

Review: Silver Edge Ciara Knight

24 February, 2017 1:47 am , 5 Comments ,

Silver Edge
by Ciara Knight
Publisher: Entangled
Publication Date: Feb. 20, 2017
Genre: New Adult Romance
Rating:

All I’ve ever wanted is to fit in.

But no one can ever see past how weird I am. Bright lights? Can’t stand them. Loud noises? Definitely sends me over the edge. And touching? Forget about it.

At least, until I met Drake.

From the moment I walked into that nightclub, I finally felt like I belonged somewhere. And when Drake touched me, it didn’t send me into a tailspin of sensations that I couldn’t stand. It actually felt…nice. Like something I could get used to. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s probably the hottest guy I’ve ever seen.

But now someone wants to close the club down. And since I promised Drake that I’d help him keep it open, I’m going to have to find a way to tap into whatever that inner strength thing is that everyone always talks about. And fast. But what happens if I can’t?

 

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Posted in: NA Romance , Tagged: ,

Excerpt: The Piper’s Price by Audrey Greathouse [Giveaway]

22 February, 2017 1:31 am , 3 Comments ,

The Piper’s Price
(The Neverland Wars #2)
by Audrey Greathouse
Publisher: Self-Published
Publication Date: Feb. 21, 2017
Genre: YA Fairytale retelling

Peter is plotting his retaliation against the latest bombing. Neverland needs an army, and Peter Pan is certain children will join him once they know what is at stake. The lost boys and girls are planning an invasion in suburbia to recruit, but in order to deliver their message, they will need the help of an old and dangerous associate—the infamous Pied Piper.

Hunting him down will require a spy in in the real world, and Gwen soon finds herself in charge of locating the Piper and cutting an uncertain deal with him. She isn’t sure if Peter trusts her that much, or if he’s just trying to keep her away from him in Neverland. Are they friends, or just allies? But Peter might not even matter now that she’s nearly home and meeting with Jay again.

The Piper isn’t the only one hiding from the adults’ war on magic though, and when Gwen goes back to reality, she’ll have to confront one of Peter’s oldest friends… and one of his earliest enemies.

 

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Posted in: YA Fantasy , Tagged:

Review: Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning

20 February, 2017 1:06 am , 6 Comments ,

Beyond the Highland Mist
(Highlander #1)
by Karen Marie Moning
Publisher: Dell
Publication Date: May 29, 2007
Genre: Historical Sci-fi Romance
Rating:

He would sell his warrior soul to possess her…

An alluring laird…

He was known throughout the kingdom as Hawk, legendary predator of the battlefield and the boudoir. No woman could refuse his touch, but no woman ever stirred his heart—until a vengeful fairy tumbled Adrienne de Simone out of modern-day Seattle and into medieval Scotland. Captive in a century not her own, entirely too bold, too outspoken, she was an irresistible challenge to the sixteenth-century rogue. Coerced into a marriage with Hawk, Adrienne vowed to keep him at arm’s length—but his sweet seduction played havoc with her resolve.

A prisoner in time…

She had a perfect “no” on her perfect lips for the notorious laird, but Hawk swore she would whisper his name with desire, begging for the passion he longed to ignite within her. Not even the barriers of time and space would keep him from winning her love. Despite her uncertainty about following the promptings of her own passionate heart, Adrienne’s reservations were no match for Hawk’s determination to keep her by his side…

 

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Posted in: historical romance , Tagged:

Love-a-Thon: A Little Bit About Me

18 February, 2017 1:00 am , 15 Comments ,


This weekend I’m taking part in the Love-a-Thon hosted by Alexa Loves Books, The Novel Hermit, Super Space Chick,  and The Daily Prophecy. The Love-a-Thon is an event dedicated to spreading positivity and love. It’s time dedicated to visiting other bloggers/Instagrammers/BookTubers, leaving a comment or two, making new friends and fostering positivity among the members of our amazing community.

 

Now that we got what Love-a-thon is out of the way, I’d like to take a moment to tell you a bit about myself. Many of you know my story but for those of you who don’t know who I am, my name’s Kristin and I’m currently in the SoCal area. I love reading anything with romance in it. So, with that being said I read young adult, new adult, contemporary, historical, paranormal, fantasy, and urban fantasy novels.

When I was a kid my mom would bring me to the library every week to get new books to read. However, once I started school and had literary classics jammed down my throat year after year, reading sort of lost it’s appeal for me. I actually didn’t get back into reading until about seven years ago when I finally gave in and gave Twilight a shot. I had a bunch of friends who wouldn’t stop telling me to read it. So, I got a copy of the book from my local library and quickly read the saga within a handful of days, and I haven’t looked back since. I didn’t actually get into book blogging until a year later. I stumbled across a book blog one day and realized that there were a lot of books out there that I had no idea existed. Since I already had a food blog [Holy Cannoli Recipes] I decided to create a book blog so that I could share new books and authors with my family and friends back home. Book Sniffers Anonymous is actually a mash-up of two names (book sniffers/bibliophiliacs anonymous) for a book club that a friend and I had been contemplating starting before I moved away. However, the book club idea fell through and each of those names were already taken on Blogger, so I mushed them together and got Book Sniffers Anonymous. I’m not too upset about the outcome because I couldn’t imagine my blog being named anything else.

While the blog is my main focus, I do like to chat with other readers on Twitter and Facebook. I just recently opened an Instagram account and have been having fun both checking out all the amazing bookish photos as well as sharing some of my own.

 

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Posted in: Ramblings

Review: Overruled by Emma Chase

17 February, 2017 8:15 am , 4 Comments ,

Overruled
(The Legal Briefs #1)
by Emma Chase
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: April 28, 2015
Genre: Romance
Rating:

As a DC defense attorney, Stanton Shaw keeps his head cool, his questions sharp, and his arguments irrefutable. They don’t call him the Jury Charmer for nothing – with his southern drawl, disarming smile and captivating green eyes – he’s a hard man to say no to. Men want to be him and women want to be thoroughly cross examined by him.

Stanton’s a man with a plan. And for a while, life was going according to that plan.

Until the day he receives an invitation to the wedding of his high school sweetheart and mother of his beloved ten-year old daughter. Jenny is getting married — to someone who isn’t him.

That’s definitely not part of the plan.
***

Sofia Santos is a city raised, no-nonsense litigator who plans to become the most revered criminal defense attorney in the country. She doesn’t have time for relationships or distractions.

But when Stanton, her “friend with mind-blowing benefits” begs for help, she finds herself out of her element, out of her depth, and obviously out of her mind. Because she agrees to go with him – to The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Mississippi – to do all she can to help Stanton win back the woman he loves.

Her head tells her she’s crazy…and her heart says something else entirely.
***

What happens when you mix a one stop-light town, two professional arguers, a homecoming queen, four big brothers, some Jimmy Dean sausage and a gun-toting Nana?

The Bourbon flows, passions rise and even the best laid plans get overruled by the desires of the heart.

 

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Posted in: Romance , Tagged: ,