Fictional Candy

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Tour: Stacey Kennedy - Supernaturally Kissed

Today I have the very great honor to welcome a great author and a great person to Fictional Candy. Take a moment, read what she has to say about waiting for your book to be released (I can only imagine how stressful that is!!) and enter for your chance to win a swag pack full of goodies!!

Without further ado, Stacey Kennedy!

Big hugs go out to Fictional Candy for joining in on the Supernaturally Kissed Swag Tour! I’ve been counting down the days until January 5^tharrives. I’m thrilled it’s going by so fast because I’m dying to get this book out there. But at the same time I’m trying very hard to slow things down.

I’ve never wished time away so much in my life until my first book was published. The one thing about being an author is you need patience. Everything seems to take FOREVER. If it’s waiting on cover art or your release day, what ends up happening is that you start to want time to speed up. While this is hard to avoid because you are so excited, at same time, I always have to step back and stop myself.

If I kept up at this rate, I’d blink and then my kids would be teenagers while the entire time I would have just been wishing time went faster. With Christmas being so busy and speeding up time a little more on its own, I’m happy that it’s just not me trying hurry this along.

So thanks to busy holidays ahead I don’t have to feel guilty about hoping my days go quickly because it’s happening anyway. Therefore, I can just simply SQUEE and be excited that January 5^th is almost here!!

I hope you’ll all join me on release day to celebrate with me!

Ghosts harass and annoy Tess Jennings to save their souls. Sometimes she helps them. Other times she ignores them. But one ghost will give her no choice.

Kipp McGowen, a cop with the Memphis Police Department, will stop at nothing to gain her help, including using his ghostly charms to seduce her.

Tess must help solve the five year old cold case of Hannah Reid, because solving the case will save Kipp. But a bigger problem presents itself. Tess is falling in love with a ghost. Now she must decide. Keep Kipp forever or find the killer…

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER

ADD TO YOUR GOODREADS SHELF

~*~

Make sure you leave your email address with your comment to be entered to win Supernaturally Kissed swag that includes a calendar magnet, signed cover postcard, magnet, and pen. Don’t forget to come find me on Facebook and Twitter. I love to chat!!

~*~

Stacey Kennedy’s novels are lighthearted fantasy with heart squeezing, thigh-clenching romance, and even give a good chuckle every now and again. But within the stories you’ll find fast paced action, life threatening moments and a big bad villain that needs to be destroyed. Her urban fantasy/paranormal and erotic romance series have hit Amazon Kindle and All Romance Ebooks Bestseller lists. If she isn’t plugging away at her next novel, tending to her two little ones, she’s got her nose deep in a good book. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband.

Be sure to drop her a line at www.staceykennedy.com, she loves to hear from her readers.

Contest is OVER. Winner is being notified riiiiiiight....now! :)

Thank you for visiting Fictional Candy today, and Thank You to Stacey Kennedy for taking the time to include me in your tour. I wish you the best of luck with the rest of your tour, and with your new release!

Friday, December 16, 2011

A Vampire For Christmas - Anthology

Title: A Vampire for Christmas
Authors:

Michele Hauf's Website : click here

Laurie London's Website : click here

Alexis Morgan's Website : click here

Caridad Pineiro's Website : click here

Format read: Galley

From Goodreads:
All they want for Christmas is you…

It's the time of year for twinkling lights on trees and kisses under the mistletoe. Yet the passing of another year means nothing to the stunning immortals who lurk in the shadows of the new-fallen snow.

And they don't care if you've been naughty or nice.

Let four fanged lovers open your eyes to a passion you never dared to imagine. After all, there's no place like home for the holidays—and these dazzling vampires can't wait for an invitation

Ok, I’m going to lay it out here. I picked this book and requested it from NetGalley for a couple reasons.

1) The cover. The vampire on the cover reminds me of Ian Somerhalder (aka Damon from The Vampire Diaries). Yes, I know he wasn’t in this book, but we can’t see a book without seeing the cover first. Was that a little superficial? Maybe. But it’s the truth.

2) Vampire Anthology. Keyword: Anthology. I needed a change of pace. I’ve been reading back to back to back to back, and I needed a change.

3) Christmas stories. It’s December, Christmastime. Sure, this book was published in October. But I hadn’t requested it then. I actually received it in late November.

So I don’t know a whole lot about any of these authors. I’d heard of a couple, and read a tiny bit of another.

I’m going to review 2 of these stories. That’s the gamble with an anthology. You probably won’t like all the stories. Two of these I rather enjoyed, one I am on the fence with, and one I read about halfway before deciding it just wasn’t for me.

Enchanted By Blood – Laurie London

Apparently this story is part of a Sweetblood series. I’m thinking I may have to check that out, although I am disappointed the stories aren’t about the lead characters in Enchanted By Blood. I mean Trace. The rest of the characters in this story paled in comparison to him, even Charlotte. He stole the show.

Trace was a Guardian, a peace keeping vampire. Now he is in position for a seat on the council. He puts his sense of duty and familial loyalty ahead of his own happiness.

And then he finds happiness. And she finds out his secret. And then he has to meddle in her memories. That’s the backstory. What happens in Enchanted by Blood is when Trace and Charlotte find their way back into each other’s lives.

Right away this story caught my eye, I was excited to get into it. The author has great attention to detail without losing sight of what’s happening with the character. There is a scene with Charlotte outside a club, walking back to her car. You are transported through the pages (or e-ink in my case) and you are walking with her.

I loved the story, from beginning to end. I only have one complaint, and its more a complaint about alpha men/paranormal men in general… They are so frustrating!!! Why do they have to be so damn stubborn? Hello!?? The woman loves you, she wants you… don’t erase her memories!!!

All I Want For Christmas – Alexis Morgan

I really enjoyed this story. It could have stood alone – but then I would have definitely been screaming for more. Or at least insisting in a mildly loud manner.

This story is about Eagan, a vampire cop that is undercover in a neighborhood trying to find out who is behind some mysterious deaths that seem vampire related. And then we have Della, the sweet as can be diner owner who is just as loving a person as you could hope for. She tries to help everyone, not just people she knows. I would love to know more of her backstory. Heck, I would like to know more of Eagan’s, too.

These two are drawn together. He’s seemingly the stereotypical vampire. He doesn’t need anyone, he can take care of himself! And she is the “chronic do-gooder”, in his words. An unlikely pair. But as soon as they are face to face the sparks are palpable.

I really liked how the situation brings them together. The author did a great job of building up anticipation, even though the story was rather short.

One thing about this book… It instantly reminded me to update my shopping list. Must buy mistletoe… That kiss? Woooohooooo! Hot! I loved it.

Eagan is really quite capable of a lot of love, and opening his heart. When he was about to leave her bed, and well… what he does… that is just so romantic, and you don’t see a lot of that in stories anymore. The protective yet caring and thoughtful alpha male. I’d like to see more of him. He could quickly rise in ranks to be my next favorite vampire.

And then trouble comes, and you see that not everyone is who you (or Della) thinks they are. Of course we know there is a wolf, but two? And some fae?? I would love love love to see this made into a full length book.

The problem with short stories and my job (ok, my pleasure) of reviewing them is that it is really super difficult to say what you think without giving the whole story away. But I recommend this book. I’ve read a few different reviews on it, and we’ve all had different takes on the stories. But these two were my favorite. And these two authors have just gotten another reader, cause I am definitely going to look them up.

Merry Christmas! I hope you find your vampire!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Blog Barrage: Her One Night Prince - Rebecca J. Clark

Welcome to the Blog Barrage for Her One Night Prince by Rebecca J Clark!! This is a two day event, hosted by CBLS Promotions. Two days, fourteen blogs, 3 giveaways - your chance to win! So check out the book, read the excerpt - and check the schedule at the end of this post for your chance (and location!) to win a copy of Her One Night Prince!!

Good luck!!

Synopsis:

Her One-Night Prince is a Cinderella story about a woman’s dream to be something she’s not for just one night at her class reunion.

As all fairy tales go, however, happy endings don’t come easily.

Shy and sheltered Lydia St. Clair is uncomfortable around men, so she advertises for a gay man to be her date and revamp her style. Mitch Gannon answers

Lydia

’s ad and he’s perfect for the job--he’s handsome and, even more important, he’s charming.

Unbeknownst to

Lydia

, Mitch is straight and answered the ad as the unwitting victim of a practical joke. Before he can reveal the truth,

Lydia

is convinced he’s her fairy godmother, ready to transform her into the belle of the ball. And Mitch, prince that he is, doesn’t have the heart to set her straight.

EXCERPT:

With a firm hand against her upper back, Mitch propelled

Lydia

out of the bar and out the door. She peered back through the windows and could just make out that waitress standing behind the bar and staring out at them.

“She’s beautiful,” she said, turning back to Mitch. Something about that woman signaled a déjà vu of sorts in her mind, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

“Who? Edwina?” He glanced into the pub. “Yeah, she is.”

Edwina’s showstopping figure and stunning looks caused

Lydia

to self-consciously smooth back her boring, pulled-tight-into-a-bun-as-usual hair. She couldn’t imagine a woman like Edwina ever advertising in the gay personals. She couldn’t imagine Edwina making a boob of herself by assuming Mitch worked at a gay bar.

With the heel of her palm, she bonked herself in the side of the head a few times. “Just shoot me, will you?”

Mitch pulled her hand away from her head. “You’re too hard on yourself,

Lydia

.”

For a moment she zeroed in on the feeling of his large, warm hand holding hers. It felt good, like it belonged there, which was a crazy thought. Reality returned, and she pulled her hand from his grasp.

“What in the world was I thinking?” she asked. Her skin burned from embarrassment, or the heat of summer, or his touch…or all the above.

“It’s understandable you’d assume I worked at a gay bar. I mean, you think I…er…”

She waved her hand back and forth. “No, no. That was just plain stupidity. What I meant was, I had this grand notion of you helping me out and transforming me into the belle of the ball. You know, Queer Eye my style or something.” She wrapped her arms around herself despite the warm air and strode down the alley. If a sinkhole opened up in front of her, she’d gladly fall into it.

He jogged up beside her as they reached the sidewalk. “I don’t know about the clothing and hair stuff,” he said, “but I could certainly give you advice on men.” He cleared his throat and coughed. “I mean, since I’m a, ah, man.”

“That’s okay. It was a dumb idea. Besides, I don’t want advice on men. It would be pointless.” She pulled black-framed sunglasses from her purse and exchanged them for her regular glasses to block the blinding glare off the sidewalk.

Mitch didn’t respond right away, so she knew he silently agreed with her. Finally, he asked, “Why would it be pointless?”

She had about a million reasons. “It just would be.”

BUY LINKS:

Bookstrand - http://www.bookstrand.com/her-one-night-prince

Amazon - http://tinyurl.com/6u2sec4

Barnes & Noble - http://tinyurl.com/7m8y8wz

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rebecca Clark has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 24 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, two rats and a gecko. In her not-so-abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.

http://rebeccajclark.com

http://rebeccajclark.blogspot.com

http://shywriters.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/#!/rebeccajclark.author

Twitter @rebeccajclark

December 14
Book Flame (Giveaway)
Fictional Candy
Harlie's Books
More from Mom
She Who Blogs Behind the Rows
Simple Clockwork

December 15
A Writer's World
An Open Book
House Millar (Giveaway)
I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read!
Natalie-Nicole Bates, Author of Contemporary and Paranormal Romance (Giveaway)
Sandra's Blog
Sharon Hamilton, Author
What's Beyond Forks?

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

First Frost - Jennifer Estep

Title: First Frost (Mythos Academy #0.5)
Author: Jennifer Estep

Format Read: Kindle ebook, purchased on my own

From Goodreads:
I am Gwen Frost, and I have a Gypsy gift. It's called psychometry - that's a fancy way of saying that I see images in my head and get flashes of other people's memories off almost everything I touch, even guys.

My gift makes me kind of nosy. Okay, okay, maybe a lot nosy--to the point of obsession sometimes. I want to know everything about everyone around me. But even I don't want to know the secrets my friend Paige is hiding or the terrible loss that will send me to a new school - Mythos Academy, where the teachers aren't preparing us for the SATs, but to battle Reapers of Chaos. Now I have no friends and no idea how my gift fits in with all these warrior whiz kids. The only thing I do know is that my life is never, ever going to be the same. . .

This is quite a nice little set up to the Mythos Academy series. I will definitely be adding the rest of the series to my TBR list.

We start with an introduction to Gwen. She's in the bathroom at school watching a friend, Paige stare into the mirror, almost like in a trance...just....staring. Gwen has a psychometry power, and she asks to borrow Paige's hairbrush. What she sees speeds her into a whirlwind of tragedy.

Through a rough series of events Gwen ends up enrolled in Mythos, a school for magical kids.

This very short story packed a huge punch, with much drama and detail packed in nice and neat. You get to know Gwen, you sympathize with her, and you like her. And then you want to read more. Luckily you can, in Touch of Frost, Mythos Academy #1. See you there!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Winner Announcement - The Birches

And the winner is.......................................

Chrissy Peebles!
(click her name to visit her beautiful blog!)

You have won a copy of The Birches, by Xavier Axelson. Congratulations! I have sent you an email (on facebook). If you haven't received it there, please email me at eaz130@yahoo.com

Thank you for entering and stopping by Fictional Candy!

Jingle Balls Giveaway Blog Hop

Ho Ho Ho!! We're Sexy Santa's kinky lil helpers, and here to wish you all a happy holiday with lots of hugs and kisses coming your way!

Welcome to our Jingle Balls Giveaway Blog Hop, hosted by none other than Madame D's Boudoir and Satin's Bookish Corner

At Fictional Candy I am giving away a $10 USD Gift Card to Amazon (or B&N) --OR-- Any book up to $10 from the Book Depository as long as they ship to you. Winner's choice of which prize!

Technical Stuff:

The Hop will run from 00:00 on the 12th of December until 11:59 on the 17th of December 2011What is a Giveaway Hop?
Simple - Each participating blog hosts a giveaway and then we link up together allowing our followers to hop easily from one giveaway to the next. For followers this means loads of chances to win yummy prizes. And for us bloggers hosting the giveaways it means lots of new visitors. It's a win-win!!

Each participating blog will host their own giveaway. There is no requirement on the minimum or maximum value of your giveaway. It's up to you to decide. You can give away books, swags, amazon gift cards, or anything else you can think of that has to do with books at Christmas. Your giveaway can be as simple, or as elaborate, as you want.

Giveaway winners will be announced on the 18th of December, and will be chosen using the http://www.randomizer.org/

In order to win one of the amazing prizes up for grabs you MUST be a follower of each blog participating in the hop. You can be a follower through either Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs.

Giveaways are open to all US, Canada and International followers.

Click on graphic to enter giveaway

Rules to post for the contest:

Happy Holidays to everyone - Romance At Random is celebrating their Loveswept line with a random e-book Giveaway to 25 winners plus an opportunity to win one Grand Prize from www.romanceatrandom.com. Enter here to be included in the FREE random e-book drawing (25 winners will pick up their FREE book from Net Galley) and then stop on by www.romanceatrandom.com and comment to enter the drawing to be the ''ONE” Grand Prize winner, to win a selection of great books! Good Luck & Happy Holidays to all!

INCREASE your chances to win by visiting all of the participating 'Loveswept - Holiday Hop' sites! Winners will be contacted after 1/10/12.