A Study In Shifters Majanka Verstraete
(The Adventures of Marisol Holmes, #1)
Publication date: June 26th 2018
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Seventeen-year-old Marisol Holmes may be the great-great-great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes, but it’s hard to live up to the family name when only one mistake can spell your downfall. After trusting the wrong guy in a case gone totally wrong, Marisol convinces the Conclave, an underground organization of detectives solving supernatural cases, to give her a last chance to prove her worth, and maybe even heal her broken heart
After all, as a half-blood jaguar shifter, Marisol is uniquely qualified to solve this murder—and every scrap of evidence points toward the culprit being a fellow jaguar shifter. But is one of her own people involved, or is this all a ploy to kick Marisol’s mother off the shifter throne?
Then Marisol discovers her best friend, Roan, is missing, and maybe the killer’s next target. The stakes just got higher than political intrigue. Just when things couldn’t get worse, Marisol’s ex-boyfriend-turned-nemesis, Mannix, starts leaving sinister clues for her. Marisol fears this case might be far more personal than she could’ve imagined.
It’s time for Marisol to prove her worth, or her people could fall into chaos while her best friend loses his life.
Author Majanka Verstraete has written more than twenty unique works of fiction. A native of Belgium, Majanka’s novels explore the true nature of monsters: the good, the bad, and just about every species in between. Her young adult books include the acclaimed Mirrorland (YA Dark Fantasy) and Angel of Death (YA Paranormal) series of novels. At MHB, Majanka is currently developing a new YA shifter series with a fresh take on fierce female detectives called THE ADVENTURES OF MARISOL HOLMES.
When she’s not writing, Majanka is probably playing World of Warcraft or catching up with the dozens of TV series she’s addicted to.
Nikki knows what it is to lose those you love. With her focus on her orphaned sister, she hasn’t given herself the chance to process her own grief over the loss of their parents. Life is chaos and the last complication she needs is a mate.
A lion alone for too long …
Joe Miller knows chaos. Being orphaned as a child, he’s never had a family to call his own. Crashing with a friend for the holidays, he’s hoodwinked into playing Santa Claus at a local mall. The last thing on his mind is finding a mate.
A love worth the risk …
With her baby sister on her hip, sadness in her eyes, and a longing in her heart, Nikki waits in line with her sister to see Santa. From the moment he scents her, Joe is in deep. It’s going to take everything he has to convince Nikki the love outweighs the risk to her heart. Luckily for Joe, he has fate and Nikki’s adorable baby sister on his side. After all, who can say no to the Purrfect Santa at Christmas?
Jessie Lane is a best-selling author of Paranormal and Contemporary Romance, as well as, Upper YA Paranormal Romance/Fantasy.
She lives in Kentucky with her two little Rock Chicks in-the-making and her over protective alpha husband that she’s pretty sure is a latent grizzly bear shifter. She has a passionate love for reading and writing naughty romance, cliff hanging suspense, and out-of-this-world characters that demand your attention, or threaten to slap you around until you do pay attention to them.
She’s also a proud member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA).
Chasity Bowlin lives in central Kentucky with her husband and their menagerie of animals. She loves writing, loves traveling and enjoys incorporating tidbits of her actual vacations into her books. She is an avid Anglophile, loving all things British, but specifically all things Regency. She also writes steamy contemporary and paranormal romance.
Growing up in Tennessee, spending as much time as possible with her doting grandparents, soap operas were a part of her daily existence, followed by back to back episodes of Scooby Doo. Her path to becoming a romance novelist was set when, rather than simply have her Barbie dolls cruise around in a pink convertible, they time traveled, hosted lavish dinner parties and one even had an evil twin locked in the attic.
I just quickly want to take a moment and thank Nichole from YaReads.com for putting together this huge debut authors bash. This has been happening since 2013 but my first time hearing about it so after hearing about it I quickly signed up. There was 112 debut authors taking part and its happening all this month. You can check the tour schedule by clicking THIS.
This is day 10 of the Debut Authors Bash and today I am going to talk with Rebecca Christiansen author of Maybe In Paris. I will be reviewing her back as well.
About the Author:
Rebecca Christiansen tried to study creative writing at university, but kept skipping classes to write YA novels in the library, so she decided to pursue that instead. She loves boy bands and diet soda and suffers from incurable wanderlust. Rebecca lives with her boyfriend in a house packed full of books in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
I have to thank Nichole for arranging this and to Rebecca for taking the time out of her busy schedule to do this interview with me.
Cindy: What inspired you to become a writer?
Rebecca: I’ve always been a writer, since I first learned to write. But two people in particular inspired me to “go for gold” and take it more seriously: my third grade teaching assistant, Miss Shillum, who started a creative writing period in my class, and a French author (whose name I can’t remember) who visited my french literature class in eighth grade. She had published a book and told us that it was 40,000 words long — I remember my mind being blown, because I had just put the finishing touches on a fanfiction I had written that was 50,000 words long. I realized I had written a novel-length story, one as long as already-published books. That was when I really decided I wanted to be published someday.
Cindy: What was your favorite childhood book to read growing up?
Rebecca: Harry Potter was big for me, but for a more unique answer, I’ll say EMILY OF NEW MOON by L. M. Montgomery. She’s more famous for writing ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, but the Emily books really awoke me. Emily Starr is a budding poet and writer and an orphan who has just been shipped off to live with her mother’s relatives, who she has never met, at their ancestral farm on Prince Edward Island. It was the first truly beautiful book I ever read, and it was absolutely instrumental to me becoming a writer.
Cindy: I loved the Anne of Green Gables books growing up. I think its time to dig them back out and read more of L. M. Montgomery. Did you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Rebecca: Good question! There are actually a few nods to my favourite musician in MAYBE IN PARIS, Andrew McMahon. The main characters live in Shoreline, WA, a town where Andrew once recorded an album with his band, Something Corporate.
Cindy: Who is your favorite author? What is one book they wrote that you would recommend?
Rebecca: My favourite underrated author is Marcus Sedgwick! He’s a British YA author who has written a ton of books, and most of them win big awards in the UK, but he’s barely known in North America. Most of his books are historical fantasy tinged with horror, but they’re all incredibly unique and well-written. My faves are THE GHOSTS OF HEAVEN, SHE IS NOT INVISIBLE, MIDWINTERBLOOD, and WHITE CROW. His adult novel MISTER MEMORY is also incredible.
Cindy: Every time I am at my local bookstore I always pick up one of his books and end up putting it back but I think the next time I have to pick it up. What was the inspiration behind Maybe in Paris?
Rebecca: In MAYBE IN PARIS, Keira’s family’s lives are shattered by her brother Levi’s attempted suicide. That happened to my brother, too. I was an adult when it happened, but as my brother got better and we had to learn to live with a new normal after his new mental health diagnoses, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I might have reacted if I had been younger and less mature. I wouldn’t have been as good a sister, and I wanted to explore that sibling dynamic as a way of healing in real life. That’s often how I work through issues: I fictionalize them and write about them.
I also went to Paris when I was fifteen and always wanted to write about the city, so I put those two ideas together!
Cindy: My brother in law was diagnosed with Schizophreniamany years ago and we had to learn a new normal when you have a family member like that. Do you have any books in the works that you can share?
Rebecca: Nothing under contract yet, but I’m working on a few different manuscripts that I’m really excited about. Can’t wait to have some real news soon!
Cindy: Oh I can’t wait to hear the news. Fingers are crossed for you. If we were too look at your desk what would we be surprised to find or discover?
Rebecca: I have some cool things on my desk! A beautiful hand painted sugar skull from my trip to Mexico earlier this year, a pair of Eiffel Tower bookends that hold up my author copies of MAYBE IN PARIS, and a framed fortune from a fortune cookie I got at an Andrew McMahon show. The fortune is a line of lyrics from his song “All Our Lives”: it says “Skeletons and plans, you’ve gotta let them go.”
Cindy: What are you currently reading?
Rebecca: Right now I’m reading THE PEARL THIEF by Elizabeth Wein. It’s the recently-released prequel to CODE NAME VERITY, which is one of my all-time favourites. I cried while rereading it on the bus a few days ago! THE PEARL THIEF is very different, but it’s wonderful to get to see my favourite character and what she was like before the war started.
Cindy: Another book I need to get to as I have it sitting on my TBR pile. Who is your all time favorite boy band?
Rebecca: Growing up I loved Backstreet Boys, but oh man, One Direction are my loves. I’m a huge fan, as anyone who follows me on Twitter will know. I love their music, and they’re just the sweetest little cupcakes. Really, the nicest people in show biz.
Cindy: If you want to follow Rebecca on twitter here is her link https://twitter.com/rchristiansenYA What is the hidden jewel that one should visit when they go to Vancouver?
Rebecca: Stanley Park is a must-see — it’s a huge wooded park just steps from downtown, surrounded on three sides by the ocean. It’s home to the Vancouver Aquarium, acres of parkland, a lot First Nations art, and horse-drawn tours. It’s also home to the best concert venue in the city, an outdoor amphitheatre called the Malkin Bowl. Every show I see their ends up being one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Cindy: I have never been to Vancouver but hope to visit there one day soon. Thanks once again Rebecca for sitting down and doing this interview with me.
The Heartbreak Cure by Amanda Ashby Publication Date: December 4, 2017 Publisher: Entangled Teen: Crush
How to get over a heartbreak:
Step one: Eat your body weight in brownies.
Step two: Throw yourself into your dreams of becoming a famous writer.
Step three: Beg your (hottie) ex-neighbor to act as your fake boyfriend.
Step four: Skip step three unless you’re ready for some serious fallout.
After being dumped and humiliated over the summer, Cat Turner does what any sane girl would do. She asks bad boy Alex Locke to be her fake boyfriend and show the world (and her editor at the school newspaper) that she’s fine. Problem is, the more time she spends with Alex, the more she risks getting her heart broken. For real this time.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains a swoony bad boy who will melt your heart, brownies, and witty banter. One, two, or all three might prove addictive…
I quickly have to thank Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours for allowing me to be on this book tour and for graciously sending me a copy of the book to read for my review today.
I am so happy that I got the chance to read and review this because Amanda Ashby is a new to me author that I haven’t read up until today and after reading this I am curious to read more by her.
This was a super fun and quick read that I almost devoured in a day. I love reading books like this and I had a hard time to put it down when I had to.
Our main character is Cat who use to by just your typical high school girl but over the summer she got humiliated by her ex boyfriend on Youtube and dreads having to go back to school in the fall. She needs to come up with a plan to show everyone at school especially the school’s newspaper editor that she is fine and this was just a bump in the road.
Enter next door neighbor, Alex. She convinces him to be her pretend boyfriend out in public so that people will just get over her and move on to something else. Little does she realize but Alex has always liked Cat but never told her. I think deep down he know he would never be good enough for him and why risk a friendship. Will Cat feel the same way? Will she feel the same way in the end?
I loved reading this and watching the budding relationship forming and deep down you know Alex isn’t as bad as he seems. You can’t help but root for something to happen.
Reading this I realized that no matter the generation kids are still cruel and mean to each other. Looking back I don’t think I would survive being a kid in this generation with all the modern technology that is out there at least back in the day we had to relay on gossip and rumors with no proof to back it up.
If your looking for a light fun read then I have to recommend this.
The Heartbreak Cure by Amanda Ashby Publication Date: December 4, 2017 Publisher: Entangled Teen: Crush
How to get over a heartbreak:
Step one: Eat your body weight in brownies.
Step two: Throw yourself into your dreams of becoming a famous writer.
Step three: Beg your (hottie) ex-neighbor to act as your fake boyfriend.
Step four: Skip step three unless you’re ready for some serious fallout.
After being dumped and humiliated over the summer, Cat Turner does what any sane girl would do. She asks bad boy Alex Locke to be her fake boyfriend and show the world (and her editor at the school newspaper) that she’s fine. Problem is, the more time she spends with Alex, the more she risks getting her heart broken. For real this time.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains a swoony bad boy who will melt your heart, brownies, and witty banter. One, two, or all three might prove addictive…
Amanda Ashby was born in Australia but now lives in New Zealand where she writes romance, young adult and middle grade books. She also works in a library, owns far too many vintage tablecloths and likes to delight her family by constantly rearranging the furniture. She has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland and is married with two children. Her debut book was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award, and her first young adult book was listed by the New York Public Libraryʼs Stuff for the Teen Age. Because she’s mysterious she also writes middle grade books under the name, Catherine Holt and hopes that all this writing won’t interfere with her Netflix schedule.
A Sheikh for Christmas Leslie North
(All I Want for Christmas is…, #1)
Publication date: December 7th 2017
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
It may be cold outside, but the snow begins to melt when an unlikely couple comes together during the Holidays…
Christmas is right around the corner, but after creating a society scandal, New York heiress Melody Hascall-Ebons has nowhere to turn. Cut off by her family for running away with an actor—who turned out to be using her for publicity—Mel is penniless, homeless, and disgraced. There’s only one place to go, and that’s back to the fiancé she ditched. But instead of her ex, she finds his friend Daveed Rafik. The handsome military translator disarms Mel with his easy smile and surprising sympathy. But as she struggles to get her life on track, the last thing Mel needs is to fall into the strong arms of her ex-fiancé’s best friend.
Counter-terrorism expert Sheikh Daveed Rafik has spent his career dealing with delicate and dangerous situations, but none of them compares to Melody Hascall-Ebons. He’s supposed to be helping his friend Murphy find his missing sister, not consoling the spoiled rich girl who dumped their buddy Heath. But the more he learns about Melody, the more he likes. With her unexpected intelligence and distinctive beauty, Melody calls to him in powerful ways. But when the woman he is arranged to marry shows up, Daveed’s highly organized life suddenly gets very complicated.
The streets of New York are steeped in holiday cheer, but can Daveed and Melody thaw the ice around their hearts enough to make room for love?
Melody watched him walk away beneath her damp lashes. She’d never really paid much attention to Daveed before. He’d been one of Heath’s friends and always hanging around the periphery of their group, but had sort of kept to himself. Now, though, he’d come to her aid in her hour of need—or more like day of desperation—and a girl couldn’t ignore such chivalry.
As the silence between them grew more awkward by the second, she got up and wandered over to the table, which was covered by papers and post-it notes. Daveed didn’t look up at her at all, so she finally pulled out a chair and sat, forcing a tremulous smile. “What are you doing”
“Huh?” Daveed glanced up at her with a frown, as if just then remembering she was still there. “Oh, making lists. It’s how I keep track of everything I’ve got going on and my responsibilities.”
“Oh.” She picked up one yellow square and squinted at this illegible scrawl before she snatched it away from her.
“Please, don’t touch anything. These are all very important.”
“Right.” She’d never been big on lists or organization herself. Her mother had always had a social secretary to take care of most things for her and when that failed, then Melody preferred to “wing it.” For her life was all about spontaneity, but then again, given how this whole situation with Jefferson Hanks had turned out, maybe planning and consideration was the way to go. While Daveed said nothing more, scowling down at his notes again, she studied him more. Honestly, she really didn’t know the guy very well. From what Heath had told her, Daveed Rafik had served alongside him and their other friend, Murphy Coen, in the Middle East. Melody had always thought of Daveed as a sort of an Arabic James Bond type from the way Heath had bragged about the guy. He graduated Yale at the top of his class, spoke five languages fluently, and thwarted terrorists in a single bound, all without firing a single weapon.
Now, however, as he wrote furiously, his dark brows knit in concentration, she took her first real look at the guy. She’s noticed when he’d first answered the door that he was tall and well-muscled. As she sat beside him at the table, his dark brown hair curled above the collar of his white button-down shirt and reflected hints of gold beneath the lights. Yep. He was gorgeous, no doubt about it. If you went for the romance-novel cover sheikh type. Which she didn’t, at least not up to this point.
Author Bio:
Leslie North is the pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women’s contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
The truth of the matter is she loves her fictional persona, Leslie North, more than her normal, day-to-day persona! Her bestselling books focus on strong characters and particularly women who aren’t afraid to challenge an alpha male. Inspired after years of travel, her stories are set all over the world, from the tough streets of Russia to the beautiful beaches of the middle east.
Leslie fell in love with romance when she first picked up a scrappy, dog-eared romance book from her local library. She began writing soon after and the rest, as they say, was history. She now lives in a cozy cottage on the British coast and enjoys taking long walks with her two Dalmatians, George and Fergie.
She LOVES reader feedback, and if you have any comments, don’t hesitate to contact her via e-mail: leslie@leslienorthbooks.com.
To celebrate my oh-so-hot “All I want for Christmas is…” series I’m doing an awesome giveaway. If you #preorder book one “A Sheikh for Christmas” you’ll enter a draw to #win a brand NEW #Kindle, with every single one of my books ever AND my yet-to-be-released ‘Sharif Sheikhs Series’!
That’s right! You’ll be the first person to read my latest series (three heart-stopping HOT Sheikh romances) a month before anyone else! All you have to do is pre-order “A Sheikh For Christmas” using the link below and forward your email receipt toleslie@leslienorthbooks.com!
Rebecca Christiansen tried to study creative writing at university, but kept skipping classes to write YA novels in the library, so she decided to pursue that instead. She loves boy bands and diet soda and suffers from incurable wanderlust. Rebecca lives with her boyfriend in a house packed full of books in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
