(Review) Death by Chocolate

About the book:

Back in Time by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Nothing in Aurelia Lemon’s life is turning out how she’d planned. She’s unemployed, unattached, and her family bakery is on the verge of closing. To make matters worse, the guy she dumped in high school is doing well and getting rich off of one of her departed mother’s recipes. It would take a miracle to right everything she’s done wrong. Or maybe just a phone call and the chance to go Back in Time.

Sweet Witchery by Cheryl J. Carvajal

Catalena is only one of many dreamers in a small medieval town in Romania. When the witch Ramnusia opens her chocolate shoppe, suddenly dreams turn into reality. The chocolates are divine, but their power is greater than their sweetness. Miracles abound, dreams come true, and Ramnusia’s magic confections become the talk of the town. But if these chocolates can make dreams come true, will they win for Catalena the deepest dream of her heart?

Spellbound by Nikki Jefford

Two months after dying, Graylee Perez wakes up in her identical twin sister, Charlene’s body.

As the daughter of a witch, can anyone blame her mother for attempting to bring her back to life? Only now Gray’s stuck sharing her sister’s body 50/50 in 24 hour shifts.

The race is on for Gray to find a way back into her body before Charlene purges her from existence.

Warlock Raj McKenna is rumored to meddle in the black arts, not to mention he’s after Gray’s invisibility spell and worse – her heart. But Raj might be the only one powerful enough to save Gray from fading away forever.

Bloody Valentine by Lucy Swing

One by one the girls of Hollow High disappear and when Bailey receives a heart-shaped box filled with chocolates she might be next.

Sweet Torture by Kira Saito

Sixteen year old Claudia Bernstein is obsessed with two things: chocolate and Dante Torres. However, being an invisible minion to Upper East Side princess Beatrice Wildenbert isn’t helping her get anywhere with her dream guy.

Everything changes over Christmas break when Dante actually starts noticing her.

But are Dante’s intentions as pure as they seem? When Claudia finds herself in the middle of a cruel prank, she decides to take revenge. But is revenge enough? Or will she finally realize that her own worst enemy is herself?

The Girl with Three Heads by Suz Korb

Kate wakes up on the morning of the Death by Chocolate fundraiser event to discover she has two extra heads resting upon each of her shoulders. She is not pleased about this. She’s even more displeased when she discovers the head on her right shoulder (which looks like Santa Claus, complete with fluffy white beard) is actually Zeus, lord of lightning, or something like that. The head on her left shoulder? Yeah, it’s the head of Hera; goddess-of-looking-like-a-blonde-bombshell and getting on Kate’s nerves by shouting in her ear all the time.

Will Kate ever rid herself of these two extra heads? Will she ever get to experience an actual kiss from a boy without extra-head-situation interruptions? Join Kate as she struggles to survive being flung into the Underworld, as well as eventually landing upon Mount Olympus.

Just because she’s got two extra craniums doesn’t mean either head is an extra set of useful brains.

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When I heard about this book I knew I wanted to read it. Each of the six stories were fantastic and so different. The only thing I noticed as I was reading the book was that I wanted to eat some chocolate. So be prepared because trust me you will want to have some on hand if you are going to read this.

This is an anthology of six short stories that each have a main theme/element of chocolate. I loved how each story was completely different. As you read each short story you have this feeling that hey this is the best and then you read the next one and its the same thing. There is not one short story in this book that I didn’t like. I loved them all.

So when I sat to think about a review I wondered how I was going to do it? Do you talk about the one story you absolutely love? That is impossible because I loved them all. Do you just talk about the story that author who guest post for you today? Hmm I could do that but honestly would that be fair to the other authors? I don’t think so. So instead I will talk about each one.

Bloody Valentine is written by Lucy Swing who is my guest author today so I will start with Lucy. After reading this I quickly realized that I wanted more and I could see it being a longer story. Right from the beginning the story opens up with a nightmare and it sucks you right away. Bailey is suffering from the worst nightmares but they are really a reality because what she sees in her dreams is really happening. The girls in her nightmare are girls that have been disappearing.She wonders if Jude is behind it.What will she do when she discovers the truth?

The Girl with Three Heads had to be one of the funnier stories.  Kate wakes up from her a dream and looks in the mirror to a huge surprise, she has three heads. Those heads belong to Hera and Zeus.  knows she has to get on with her daily life and sets out to do that. When things appear normal  assumes that is all in her head and she just imaged what she saw but when Jason (who she likes) gives her a funny look she begins to question if the other heads are real or not. Of course you can tell this one is centered around the Greek theme. This is another short story that I could see being made into a full lenght book.

Sweet Torture had the characters you love and you hate and for me it was Beatrice because I just hated because she came off as a real bitch. She has no problem leading guys on to get what she wants and she doesn’t care what or who she does to get there. She even makes the guys who want to date her doing all kinds of things to prove themselves to her. I was baffled at how much guys would do this. When would someone say “You know you aren’t worth it.”  Then comes Dante, her next victim so to speak. When Dante accidentally bumps into Claudia who I wonder if she happened to be at the right place at the wrong time because I was wondering if Dante was playing Claudia or not. I thought this could work out into a full novel as well.

Back In Time is the first story in the book and when I read it, I was like I love this story. I mean who doesn’t wish they had a chance to go back in time to perhaps alter one event that could change your whole life? Have you ever wondered if you had done something differently would that have made a huge difference? I have often wondered that but then realize that things happen for a reason.  Aurlie is living in LA and when she gets a text from her friend back at home telling her the bakery is up for sale  hops the next bus out of LA and heads home. During a bus switch she meets what she thinks is a homeless guy who offers her a dead phone. Little does she know that this chance encounter will lead to a life altering decision.

Sweet Witchery is about a mysterious witch who magically appears and opens a chocolate shop. In this little village people are vary cautious of strangers and are slow to approach but the witch slowly lures them in. When an old blind man is offered chocolates this begins the process because a few days later he is able to magically see and before long people are curious about this chocolate shop and the miracles it can perform. These magical chocolates can either be good or bad and thankfully they came to help out  when she need it because her father realizing that no one wanted to marry is daughter has offered her to  Dom who is an abusive landlord of the village.  Catalena wants nothing to do with him and would rather be with some from the village who is a hard working person. What will happen?

Spellbound was the third story about jealousy. Charlene and Graylee are twins and witches. Charlene gets jealous when her boyfriend breaks up with her just a few days before Valentine’s Day and quickly starts dating another girl and this doesn’t go over well with Charlene so she decides that she must act fast and sets her plan in motion to get rid of this girl with poisonous chocolates. What Charlene doesn’t know is that her sister Graylee has taken some and suddenly dies from them. The mother is upset and wants nothing more to have her daughter back so she consults some black magic to get her daughter back but the only thing is she has lied so Graylee ends up sharing the body with her sister and uncovers what her sister has done and sets out to wrong a right.

I really enjoyed these stories and like I said there was a few that I could actually see being made into full lenght novels. If your looking for something fun and different to read with a paranormal touch then I have to suggest you get this. I think its only available as an ebook though.

Thanks Bewitching Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of this tour.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

Something for us Canadians

I recently heard that Penguin Canada had launched a new site for us Canadians called Razorbill  .

If your not familiar with Razorbill its a YA imprint of Penguin. The site will allow readers of YA books to interact with others to share their love of books and to talk about them.

There is so many great features on the site such as trailors of books, there is a feature book section,  all kinds of forums you can join and talk part in and so much more. This is a great site for Canadian readers and if you are in Canadian and love ya books they I suggest you check them out.

Once you sign up besure to add me as a friend.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

(Blog Tour) Death by Chocolate Guest Post with Lucy Swing

Today I am part of the Bewitching Book Tours for Death By Chocolate. I was lucky enough to read the book and my review will be posted today and to be able to get a guest post from one of the authors.

Title: Death By Chocolate
Authors Suz Korb, Cheryl Carvajal, Nikki Jefford, Kira Saito, Stacey Wallace Benefiel, and Lucy Swing 
Pub Date: February 2012

About the book:

Back in Time by Stacey Wallace Benefiel

Nothing in Aurelia Lemon’s life is turning out how she’d planned. She’s unemployed, unattached, and her family bakery is on the verge of closing. To make matters worse, the guy she dumped in high school is doing well and getting rich off of one of her departed mother’s recipes. It would take a miracle to right everything she’s done wrong. Or maybe just a phone call and the chance to go Back in Time.

Sweet Witchery by Cheryl J. Carvajal

Catalena is only one of many dreamers in a small medieval town in Romania. When the witch Ramnusia opens her chocolate shoppe, suddenly dreams turn into reality. The chocolates are divine, but their power is greater than their sweetness. Miracles abound, dreams come true, and Ramnusia’s magic confections become the talk of the town. But if these chocolates can make dreams come true, will they win for Catalena the deepest dream of her heart?

Spellbound by Nikki Jefford

Two months after dying, Graylee Perez wakes up in her identical twin sister, Charlene’s body.

As the daughter of a witch, can anyone blame her mother for attempting to bring her back to life? Only now Gray’s stuck sharing her sister’s body 50/50 in 24 hour shifts.

The race is on for Gray to find a way back into her body before Charlene purges her from existence.

Warlock Raj McKenna is rumored to meddle in the black arts, not to mention he’s after Gray’s invisibility spell and worse – her heart. But Raj might be the only one powerful enough to save Gray from fading away forever.

Bloody Valentine by Lucy Swing

One by one the girls of Hollow High disappear and when Bailey receives a heart-shaped box filled with chocolates she might be next.

Sweet Torture by Kira Saito

Sixteen year old Claudia Bernstein is obsessed with two things: chocolate and Dante Torres. However, being an invisible minion to Upper East Side princess Beatrice Wildenbert isn’t helping her get anywhere with her dream guy.

Everything changes over Christmas break when Dante actually starts noticing her.

But are Dante’s intentions as pure as they seem? When Claudia finds herself in the middle of a cruel prank, she decides to take revenge. But is revenge enough? Or will she finally realize that her own worst enemy is herself?

The Girl with Three Heads by Suz Korb

Kate wakes up on the morning of the Death by Chocolate fundraiser event to discover she has two extra heads resting upon each of her shoulders. She is not pleased about this. She’s even more displeased when she discovers the head on her right shoulder (which looks like Santa Claus, complete with fluffy white beard) is actually Zeus, lord of lightning, or something like that. The head on her left shoulder? Yeah, it’s the head of Hera; goddess-of-looking-like-a-blonde-bombshell and getting on Kate’s nerves by shouting in her ear all the time.

Will Kate ever rid herself of these two extra heads? Will she ever get to experience an actual kiss from a boy without extra-head-situation interruptions? Join Kate as she struggles to survive being flung into the Underworld, as well as eventually landing upon Mount Olympus.

Just because she’s got two extra craniums doesn’t mean either head is an extra set of useful brains.

I am really honored to have one of the authors of the book to stop by and do a guest post for me. So please help me welcome Lucy Swing to Cindy’s Love Of Books.

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My name is Lucy Swing and I am a YA Paranormal/ Romance author. I was originally born in Argentine, from Italian descent, and moved to the Sunny state of Florida when I was 17.

Thanks to my mother, who reads as much as me – if not more, I became a fanatic of books. I first remember enjoying everything that was stamped with R.L. Stine (Fear Street and Goosebumps) Then I went on to the likes of Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts, thanks to my mom. But I am happy to say that I have finally found MY genre and that is, of course, YA.

I am an absolute book hoarder and must always have a book at arms distance. Music is my muse, and there is always a soundtrack that plays along my life.

I have just finished my first book, “Feathermore” (first of many!) and I am also a part of “Death by Chocolate,” an anthology consisting of 6 fantastic YA short stories with a chocolaty twist. Death by Chocolate will be released on February 14th, 2012!

I live in Naples, FL with my husband, our two wild children and two even wilder pups!

Thank you so much, Cindy for having me. Participating in “Death by Chocolate” has been a real treat for me. I got the opportunity to meet five amazingly talented ladies.

My story, “Bloody Valentine” is set in a fictitious place, Gottsenden. And what is creepier than mysterious boxes of chocolates from an old, abandoned and burnt down Chocolate Factory? Who is making them? Why are the girls that receive them disappearing? Those are the questions that Bailey must answer so she can save herself.

For the most part, when I write, I have to have some background music on. But it needs to always be according to what I am writing. When I wrote “Bloody Valentine” I had Fireflight’s CD on constantly. If you don’t know them, make sure to check them out. They are a Christian rock band… I know, you may have scrunched your face at Christian, but their songs are amazing! Give them a chance 🙂

This one song, “Go Ahead” would play and my inspiration would come alive. It sets, for the most part, the mood in the relationship between Bailey and Jude.

Yesterday I heard Your voice
Whispering through all the noise
I pretended I couldn’t hear You
But You kept on pursuing me
And You began to move in me
And I just couldn’t hide any more
I won’t fight You

Go ahead!
Take what You want to
Take what You need to
Don’t let me hold You back
Go ahead!
Do what You have to
Cuz I want to know You
Don’t let me hold You back

I’ll my wear heart out on my sleeve
If it brings You close to me
Help me leave the life I knew before You
Come inside, erase the shame
Call me by different name
I won’t be the same anymore
God, I trust You

God, I was so wrong
To stay away so long
Oh, how I need You!

No matter how much Bailey knows she must stay away from Jude, there’s something that won’t let her. Call it stupidity, crazy chemical reaction or what you may.

I truly hope everyone enjoys all of our stories we’ve worked so much to bring to you!

Thank you, once again, for having me. It was a pleasure!
Here is the video of the song Lucy mentioned in the above post:

Just a reminder my review will be posted later today.

Buy Links:
http://www.amazon.com/Death-by-Chocolate-Anthology-ebook/dp/B0075XL4JQ

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/129828

Thanks once again to Bewitching Book Tours for allowing me to take part in this tour and showcasign this book and one of the authors. This was my first very Bewitching Book Tour and I loved it can’t wait to take part in upcoming tours.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

BBRAW 2012 What do you think?

So today Miss Remmers’ Review posted this task for the BBRAW:

Take this opportunity to survey your readers; maybe you haven’t done this in years or perhaps ever. Find out what it is about your blog that your faithful readers love, what they wish you wouldn’t do (constructive criticism is never a bad thing), what keeps readers coming back for more, what posts they’d love for you to do more of (vlogs etc). The possibilities are endless!

I have never done a survey on my blog before and seeing that I am going into my fourth year perhaps it was time to find out what you the readers think of Cindy’s Love of Books. Please be honest and don’t worry I won’t judge you hehe.

I would love to know what you think so please let me know.
Just a note you will have to scroll down to finish the survey.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

BBRAW 2012 Blogs that attract me

Wow can you believe its already the middle of the week? BBRAW is almost over. Are you having fun and enjoying these posts? Well today’s task is:

Today I have two spectacular choices for you! You could do a reader interview with a reader of your choice OR (if you’re not the interview type) you could highlight a blog that you enjoy reading. What is it about this blog that you enjoy, what is it about the reviews, the blogger, the style, the look, etc? If you don’t feel comfortable highlighting one blog, be general in regards to a few blogs you enjoy and what you enjoy about them.

When I saw this last week I have every intention of doing an interview but things came up and that didn’t happen.

So instead I am going to talk about what kind of blogs I enjoy reading. I hate pin pointing specific bloggers because I know what it feels like when certain blogs are mentioned and yours aren’t. You always wonder what makes their blog more special then mine.

Personally for me what draws me to a blog is the over all look and organization. Its got to be easy to read and navigate. I personally don’t like dark backgrounds because I find it very hard on my eyes so those I tend to read on my google reader.

My second thing that I love about blogs is the review. I love knowing what the reader thinks and I tend to shy away from little mini blurbs of the book that don’t really tell me what the reader thought of the book. Knowing what the reader thinks and feels about the book means alot and that is usually the selling point for me.

I think as bloggers we need to stand out a little from the pack and I think if you can find something that makes you stand out that is what I am drawn to. Sometimes bigger is not always better. There are so many little hidden gems out there that no one really knows about and if you are one of them please leave a comment with your link cause I am always on the hunt for new bloggers.

What is it about a blog that draws you in and keeps you going back?

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.

BBRAW 2012 Amazing Moments

Today commemorate a specific reader or moment in your blogging career that has made a significant difference in your IRL or blogging life. It might be that first comment you ever received, the first follower, the first interaction with a reader of your blog on Twitter, the first time an author commented on a review, etc

When Reagan posted this topic last week on her blog so that we could kind of prepare our posts in advance I had to sit back and really think about this.

For me getting those first few comments from bloggers I didn’t know made the world of difference to me because I honestly never thought that any one would take the time of their lives to read what I had to say.

Then when authors started to comment on my posts I was estatic and blown away that they would take the time out to let me know they read my review. I am always nervous when I attend author events or even meeting an author because to me authors are like rock stars. I still get excited when I see an author comment or wanting to take the time to do a guest post or Q&A with me. I mean I am no one special but when they do I realize that hey I am special. It makes me appreciate the authors that much more because its really the authors that have made us. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be here. So thank you authors for writing all those great books that we read.

I have so many moments that have made such differences in my life and those have all revolved around meeting bloggers IRL (in real life) and being with them either at author events or attending booking events. Book bloggers are the best people you can hang out with because they know exactly what you are going through and they share the same passion as you, a love of books and they totally understand you when you email and gush over something book related.

So please keep those comments coming I love hearing from you.

copyright 2010, Cindy (Cindy’s Love Of Books)
If you are reading this on a blog or website other than Cindy’s Love Of Books or via a feedreader, this content has been stolen and used without permission.