Cover Reveal! Everlost by Brenda Pandos

Everlost, book #3 of Mer Tales

Publisher: Obsidian Mountain Publishing

Release Date: 2/28/2013

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16937694-

everlost

Synopsis:

With one kiss, Tatiana has discovered a love for a man

she’d hated—the prince of Natatoria. Through the

botched rescue attempt by her father against this union,

an army of rebels has revealed their identity and

intentions—treason. When the King is fatally injured,

Azor takes things into his own hands. No one is safe as

mers are forced to choose sides. Betamers take the

blame, including Tatiana’s family’s closest friend,

Badger, and the punishment is death.

Caught between the bond and her true feelings, Tatiana, the future Queen, must

overcome the promise to fight for what’s right and uncover the truths of the past or all will

become Everlost.

Want to know more?

Check out Brenda’s blog at: http://brendapandos.blogspot.com

Brenda’s Links:

Brenda Pandos’ Website: http://www.brendapandos.com/

Blog: http://brendapandos.blogspot.com

Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3449368

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/brendapandos

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brendapandos

Author Picture: http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1290382037p8/3449368.jpg

Author Bio:

Brenda Pandos lives in California with her husband and two boys. She attempts to balance her

busy life filled with writing, being a mother and wife, and spending time with friends and family.

Working formerly as an I.T. Administrator, she never believed her imagination would be put to

good use. After her son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder her life completely

changed. Writing paranormal romance became something she could do at home while tending to

the new needs of her family, household, and herself.

Three years later, Brenda now has five books published, The Talisman Trilogy: The Emerald

Talisman, The Sapphire Talisman, and The Onyx Talisman, and Mer Tales: Everblue and

Evergreen. She is currently working on the third book of Mer Tales, Everlost, coming February

2013.

Love and Relativity by Rachael Wade: My Thoughts

Love and Relativity by Rachael Wade
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow! I liked this one so much I read it twice in a row! The author's note in the beginning of Love and Relativity instructs readers to first listen to the song "The Story" by Brandi Carlile before continuing further (the song being the inspiration for this story). I'm glad I was obedient! Not only was I introduced to a very talented musician (love the song!), I was able to understand the motives of the characters and why they did the things they did.

Emma Pierce and Jackson Taylor are one of my new favorite couples (I should make a list...). There are couples like Katy and Daemon (are mentioned in this story since some characters are reading JLA books...so cool!,) who bicker all the time and light each other (and readers) on fire. Then you have couples like Angel and Sara (Forever Mine-Moreno Brothers) who are so stinkin cute and sweet to each other you know they will be together forever. Emma and Jackson are a blend of both which made for a very sweet and moving story- dramatic but not unrealistic. The events and actions of the characters were believable and tasteful. There were a few times tho that I really wanted to smack Jackson upside the head for some decisions he made. I made allowances for Emma considering what she was dealing with but yeah, she could be a bit slow at times. Still, I love them both and if there was a possibility of their story continuing, I would read it in a heartbeat!

Full of love and heartbreak, betrayal and loyalty, and wrongs and forgiveness, Love and Relativity is a beautiful read that any New Adult lover is sure to enjoy. Happy reading!^.^

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Gamers by Thomas K. Carpenter: My Thoughts

Gamers by Thomas K. Carpenter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Tron meets Scott Westerfeld's world of Uglies and has a blast!

Most virtual gaming stories follow the same script: people's minds are hooked up to machines while their bodies lay still and useless (think Matrix or Total Recall). Carpenter takes things to a whole new level; like upgrading from Wii to Xbox Kinect kind of level. Sitting on your butt (getting strikes in bowling just by flicking your wrist) will get you nowhere in LifeGame...unless you count 'dead' as a place to get to. Guaranteed? Not quite. That's the problem. No one knows where the losers of LifeGame go and through a chaotic and thrilling course of events, our MC Gabby is determined to find out.

Extremely creative and thoroughly entertaining, Gamers is a sure hit for science fiction and dystopian fans alike. With detailed world building and a steady pace, readers are able to immerse themselves in Carpenter's universe and hang on for the ride until the end...which is NOT the end. Thank goodness because I would not have been happy. That said, I very much recommend this book and have added the sequel, Frags, to my TBR pile. I usually do not recap or summarize a book since the authors/publishers have their own but reading some people's reviews, it seems the printed 'blurb' was not enough to pique their interest or that the story is very different than what is implied. For this reason, I have come up with a summary/blurb of my own, including a couple quotes and my two cents. Ahem:

Gabby's world is earth with a virtual layer; everything you see may or may not be real. Confusing huh?

Normally, the games painted over the objects that were already there. This one had painted over the whole world so she couldn't actually see what was there. Gabby had the sudden feeling that she was about to run into a wall and had to steel herself to take the next step.

Thomas Carpenter. Gamers (Kindle Locations 1841-1843). Thomas Carpenter.

Having the knowledge that you are blind doesn't make it any less unsettling. So what are they not seeing and why?

Day and night, Gabby is subjected to endless games to defeat and earn points. Points determine a persons' intelligence and usefulness in society. The education system is specifically geared towards improving one's success in the games.

"The first rule is what can be gamed can be improved. The second rule is that everything can be a game and the last rule is to never look backwards because the past is a game that's already been decided."

Thomas Carpenter. Gamers (Kindle Locations 99-100). Thomas Carpenter.

School is fueled by competition which makes for shallow and fake friendships. Having one true friend, Gabby will do anything to keep Zaela by her side; even if that means risking everything and hacking into the system to help Zaela stay ahead. After a suspicious and violating request is made by the LifeGame Integrity Engineers (LGIE), Gabby's dreams come to a halt. Enduring interrogations from the school Administrator and her parents, seeing a boy no one else can see, and following a group called the Frags into the unknown, Gabby doesn't know who to believe. As more characters are introduced, doubts of who to trust increase and panicked decisions are sure to be made. When Gabby and friends participate in the "Final Raid" to decide their future careers, she comes to realize that this is so much more than a game. If not played just right, Gabby wont get to live her dream life...or live at all. This is life. Welcome to the Gamers.

That was it. Any thoughts? Well I like it ^.^ I won an e-copy of Gamers through the Library Thing giveaway and spoke my true thoughts...or wrote them...typed them...I posted (there we go!) an honest review. Thank you Mr.Carpenter!

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