Once a witch, Carolyn MacCullough

Name: Once a witch

Author: Carolyn MacCullough

Series: Witch 1
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Format: Paperback
Pages: 292 pages.
Website: http://www.carolynmaccullough.com/
About the author:Carolyn MacCullough received her MFA in creative writing from the New School and lives with her husband in Brooklyn.
Where can you buy it:
Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Book depository

What goodreads says:
Tamsin Greene comes from a long line of witches, and she was supposed to be one of the most Talented among them. But Tamsin's magic never showed up. Now seventeen, Tamsin attends boarding school in Manhattan, far from her family. But when a handsome young professor mistakes her for her very Talented sister, Tamsin agrees to find a lost family heirloom for him. The search—and the stranger—will prove to be more sinister than they first appeared, ultimately sending Tamsin on a treasure hunt through time that will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all. This is a spellbinding display of storytelling that will exhilarate, enthrall, and thoroughly enchant.
My opinion:
I read this book as the Book Nerd Choice of Thanksgiving and I think it was an excellent choice.

I love books about witches and in my opinion there aren't enough, well not good ones anyway.
Tasmin our main character who by the way has an amazing name, is born in a big family of witches, all of who have some kind of talent, except for Tasmin, even though they were expecting big things from her when she was born, and she has to constantly live in the shadow of her sister Rowena, who not only has a talent but she seems to be good at everything she tries, even without trying. So at the age of seventeen Tasmin is studying in a boarding school in Manhattan and lives in the dorms with her friend Agatha. Until one summer day a stranger comes into her family bookstore and thinks Tasmin is Rowena, and asks her to find something for him and she agrees without bothering to correct him about her name.
And from there everything changes, including the way Tasmin sees the world around her, and the people she loves.
I loved the characters, Tasmin is a great heroine she has an attitude and feels like the outsider of her family (I know how that feels) but in the end she'll do anything she can to save them, including her sister Rowena who she doesn't like.
Then you have Gabriel, sigh, Tasmin's best friend from childhood, whom she hasn't seen for years reappears in her life, and he doesn't seem disturbed by her lack of powers like the rest of her family and who has the most amazing power!! So of course we get to see more of him, personally I cheer that part :)
And the person who completes the book is Professor Alistar who is the "bad boy" yes you can guess I totally fell in love with him ^^ He asks Tasmin to find a clock, a family heirloom, that is more than it seems.
The secondary characters liked Rowena (who eventually grew on me), Aunt Beatrice who is a bit loony, grandma and mum are great and give the story that push that every story needs to be good.
The story is fast paced, has witches, time travel and more, check it out you won't be dissapointed.
I give it 5 stars.
Next weekend I'll post the review of Iron King as I can't post it today as I'm running out of time.

Nathiel

Image, Jamie Magee

Name: Image
Author: Jamie Magee
Series: Insight 3
Publisher: Lulu.com
Format: Pdf (ARC)
Pages: 244
Website: http://www.insightjamiemagee.com/
About the author: Jamie Magee has always believed that each of us have a defining gift that sets us apart from the rest of the world, she has always envied those who have known from their first breath what their gift was. Not knowing hers, she began a career in the fast paced world of business. Raising a young family, and competing to rise higher in that field would drive some to the point of insanity, but she always found a moment of escape in a passing daydream. Her imagination would take her to places she’d never been, introduce her to people she’s never known. Insight, her debuting novel, is a result of that powerful imagination. Today, she is grateful that not knowing what defined her, led her on a path of discovery that would always be a part of her. 
Where can you buy it:
Barnes and noble
Amazon

What goodreads says:

There is an ominous darkness, one that that is so dense and mind numbing that you can feel the chills race across your skin as the energy of the hatred behind it hovers near you. They thought that it was over…that he was dead….they never imagined that he was more powerful dead than he ever was alive. 
A war is on the brink of erupting in the dark dimension of Esterious, the victory Willow had a few days ago was nothing less than vague memory. With each thought she has she fights the images of Drake’s dark eyes, his words… his promises. Doubt seeps into her soul as she stares forward and what could only be the hardest battle she has faced thus far. 
Venus is meant to be the planet of love and peace….but when it falls into retrograde its influence changes. Matters of past relationships will surface; choices will be made with the mind and not the heart. Gateways to an evil that cannot be fathomed will open. Willow and Landen’s only defense is to hide their family away, and lock themselves in the palace that was once ruled by Donalt. The energy is heavy and dark within these walls…there is a presence that lingers and strikes at will. Cruel illusions are placed before Willow, but that is not even hardest part…what is hard is standing in room with Drake and Landen and listening to others tell you of lives that you cannot recall…for them to tell when and how you are going to die. 
Every prediction and theory is about to be proven wrong…and the choice before Willow’s heart holds the lives of millions at stake. The question is will be she be able to see through the illusions before her and make a choice…she can live with?

My opinion:

I recieved an ARC copy of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review and as a thanks to my reviews of her previous books.

I have to say I love Magee's style and writing, she has a way of keeping your attention none stop, and surprising you when you least expect it in both a good way and a bad way, characters make both good and bad choices and I'm really mad at one of them, let's hope they redeem themselves in the next book. The choices they made were heart gripping and took my breath away, especially when the demon appeared.

We get to see more of Willow's, Landen's and Drake's relationship and the way they can decide to work together when and if they want to.

Also we see more of Willow's past lifes, which were really interesting.

I have to repeat that although I love Willow and Landen I hope, really hope there is someone out there for Drake he sooo... special, I can't think of another word to describe him, he's the kind of character that will fustrate you a lot of times but in the end you'll learn to love.

And Libby, Preston and Allie, I love them and their happiness and their conection to Willow and Landen.

I can't wait to read the next book in this series and I'm sure it'll be as good if not better as this one and all previous.
I give it 5 stars ;)

Nathiel

Posses by Gretchen McNeil

Name: Possess
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Series: None
Publisher: Balzer and Bray
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 384 pages.
Website: http://www.gretchenmcneil.com
About the author: Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she currently sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. She is a founding member of vlog group the YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday," and she is an active member of both The Enchanted Inkpot, a group blog of YA and middle grade fantasy writers, and The Apocalypsies, a group blog of 2012 children's debut authors.
Where can you buy it:
Amazon
Barnes and noble
Book depository

What goodreads says:
Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.
Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

My opinion:

I read this book as part of the BNC of Halloween. And yes I can't believe how far behind I am this month!!

This must be the second book about possessions that I've read in my entire life, the first being the exorcist... yes sad really. But as I didn't really enjoy the exorcist I was somewhat reluctant to pick up this one, it just isn't my type of book, or that's what I thought.

Possess isn't your typical possession book. The main character is Bridget Liu, half Chinese-half Irish (amazing combination... and I thought I had a weird one I'm part English part Spanish part Irish and part Moroccan...) and she's also a exorcist, well kind of, she's got the power to listen to the demons but has to follow five simple rules, which I have to say she doesn't really follow (you tell them girl!!) Bridget also has a smart mouth and some amazing friends :) That's always important right??
And then you have the love interest: Matt Quinn, the local policeman's son who's father also happens to be seeing her mother, sort of.

I love how for Matt and Bridget it isn't love at first sight, as they were friends, and then they kinda fell apart only to find each other once more.

Father Santos is a great character who isn't all that he appears, and Bridget's stalkerish friend gave me the creeps.

But my favourite character and the one that had me in tears of joy and sadness was Sammy, Bridget's eight year old brother, who is a genius and is soo cute :)

Sometimes Bridget can be immature, but we have to remember that she's only 15.

I give it 5 stars and I can't wait to read next months BNC which hopefully I'll start tomorrow :)

See you all soon
Nathiel

Angel, L.A. Weatherly

Name: Angel
Author: L.A. Weatherly
Series:  Angel book 1
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
Format: Paperback
Pages: 506 pages.

Website: http://www.angelfever.com/
About the author: Lee Weatherly has been born in 1967 and grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. She lives with her husband in Hampshire, England, where she writes, goes on walks, collects frogs and has a cat named Bernard. Author location: Hampshire.
L.A. Weatherly is the pseudonym for Lee Weatherly. Another pen name she uses is Titania Woods.
Where can you buy it:
Amazon 
Barnes and noble
Book depository 

What goodreads says:
Angels are all around us: beautiful, awe-inspiring, irresistible.
Ordinary mortals yearn to catch a glimpse of one of these stunning beings and thousands flock to The Church of Angels to feel their healing touch.
But what if their potent magnetism isn't what it seems?
Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars.
Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. But she has no idea where she gets this power from.
Until she meets Alex…
Alex is one of the few who know the truth about angels. He knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her.
The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible.
In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

Book Trailer: 

My opinion:

I've read this book as part of the The Book Nerd Choice of the month of October, yes I know I'm behind for once in my life as I've finished it on the second to last day of the month but I have gone back to studying so I haven't had much time sigh....
But now for the book. Generally speaking Angelic books bring me deception, as either it's a human girl falling for an angel who happens to be a warrior swoops her away with his amazing looks and wings, whereas the female is annoying; or even worse the angel isn't a warrior at all.
But this book was amazing, true the angels weren't exactly warriors, but they weren't the epitome of goodness.
Willow is a great protagonist and her development and how she comes to accept who and what she truly ism is realistic inside the fact that this is a paranormal book were talking about.
Alex, sigh what about him, he's the male character, he's completely human (or at least I think so) but also strong young boy who has suffered allot in life and who's main goal is to destroy the angels.
The angels are the main antagonists in this book, particularly Raziel who has his own secret (although I suspected it half way through the book)
I loved how the love in between Alex and Willow develops slowly and how they both learn to accept that there is good things and bad things about each other.
And I was really sad about Cully.
My only problem with this book was the jumping in between characters POV, but apart from that excellent choice Jean^^
So I give it 4 stars.
So tomorrow I'll finish the BNC for Halloween:

And in November:

Halloween Blog Post

Hi Everyone!!!! This is my Halloween Post as part as the Halloween Tour organized by Angel Haze ;)
We all know what Halloween is all about right?? Or do we, for some people, children and not so children, Halloween is all about dressing up as our favourite monsters and scaring the lights out of adults and getting lots of sweets ;) Trick or treat. For the more adult people it's about dressing up and going out to party until the sun comes up.

But traditionally Halloween is a Celtic festivitie and a Wiccan holiday known as all Hallows Eve or Samhain, the night when everything is possible and when the line between the land of the dead and the living is very thin. It's a night of celebration and dancing and also the wiccan new years.

It's the time to get rid of the things that hurt us and start a new life with new examples.

But it's also a time of mourning and remembering the dead. After which they would eat a wonderful feast and drink utill the sun came up (so not much different in that aspect right?) hahahaha

But for me Halloween is also my little brother's birthday, he's ten this year and has just been diagnosed with Diabetes so this year he won't be able to eat all the candy unless it's sugar free, thankfully he has to older sisters that are more than willing to take those he can't eat and eat them theirselves :)  So as long as I don't find any Clowns that night (My one and only true terror, something to do with reading IT by Stephen King when I was seven. I think) I'm going to have lots of fun and as I'm a wiccan I'll also remember the dead before I go out. Good thing I live in a country where the party doesn't start till midnight!!!

Night Secrets by B.K. Walker

 

Name: Night Secrets
Author: B.K. Walker
Series:  No name yet.
Publisher: Amazon.
Format: Pdf
Pages: 155 pages.
Website: http://www.bkwalkerbooks.com/
About the author: B.K. Walker is working as a Pediatric Home Care Nurse, and has had a love for reading and writing since she was a child. She currently has two novels published, Death Upon Me, which is a dramatic romance, and Dares And Dreams, a paranormal romance. She is currently working on a few projects and is hoping for their release in Fall of 2010 to early Spring of 2011. B.K. also runs several blogs, where she hosts author interviews and organizes virtual book tours for other authors, helping them to promote and market their work. She lives in Pennsylvania with her three children, a Pitbull named Rancid, a Dachshund named Sadie, and a goldfish named Albert.
Where can you buy it:
Amazon
What goodreads says:
Keara Crosby had the perfect life. Her family was not hurting for anything. When her parents are suddenly killed, Keara must learn to live without them. After mourning their death for two months, Keara starts to live again. She follows her favorite band, hangs with her best friend Jared, and falls for the new kid on the block.
When her favorite band is playing at Night Secrets, a new club downtown, she takes her first outing since her parents death and finds this mysterious boy watching her. Mesmerized by his lapus blue eyes, she can't help but feel drawn to him. Her body responds to him in ways she never thought possible, and she needs to figure out why. What is it about Channing that has her yearning for his touch?
Not only is Keara drawn to Channing, but the owner of Night Secrets seems to be drawn to her. Giving her special treatment, she can't help but wonder what he's hiding, and the sense she's seen him before. When she's attacked in the parking lot, her world turns inside out, literally. Keara will soon learn that secrets of the night, just may be the death of her.
My opinion:

I recieved this book for reviewing as part of the Romancing your dark side Paranormal Book Tour and at the end of this post you can find out how to win your own copy.

This book was excellent, Keara is a fantastically written character who loses her parents in a plane accident and her witchy aunt Aingeal moves in from Ireland, to be her tutor. After mourning them, she decides to go out with her best friend Jared to see her favourite music band at a bar named Club Indigo, there she feels like she's being observed and notices an incredibily hot guy looking at her. But is interrupted by the solo of her favourite drummer Buddha (cool name right?) who invites her to a gig in a new bar in town named Night Secrets, where she once more sees the incredibly hot guy and learns his name: Channing. But not only that she also meets the owner of night secrets Corbin, although there's something strange about him as he's always wearing glasses. And she feels atracttion to both of them even if there a bit strange, but after being attacked in the parking lot by Corbin or at least someone who lookes exactly like him she begins to find out things about herself, things she never imagined not in her wildest dreams.

This book was really well written and the characters are interesting and always ready for action. I loved Keara, especially her name and her relation with Ireland and it's legends ;) Although sometimes I had a bit of trouble understanding the writing when Aunt Aingeal spoke as it was with an irish accent. I can't wait to read the next book!!
I give it 4 stars.

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Now to win your own copy, well it's the usual. Be a follower of my blog and leave a comment with your email ;) See you next time.

Nathiel