Blog Tour: Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

EARTH. FIRE. AIR. WATER.

Nick Merrick is stretched to breaking point. He's trying to keep his grades sky-high or he won't get in to college. He's trying to keep his brother's business afloat or the Merricks will be out on the street. He's trying to keep the secret of where he's going in the evenings from his twin brother Gabriel - or he fears he'll lose his family. And he's trying to keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who is his 'girlfriend's' partner.

And then Quinn takes to hanging around his sworn enemy, and an Elemental Guide is counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers. Storms are brewing. On all sides.

SECRETS IN THE WIND. DANGER IN THE AIR.

Brigid Kemmerer you have done it again, pulled me into a fantastic story, worry my heart out for Nick and made me want to hug him and not let him go. If you've read Breathless and I'm pretty sure you already have & it not Aussie's it is in the start the Australian version, you Nick is dealing with a lot.

Secret was a fantastic new addition to the elementals series, since Nick is my favourite of the Merrick Brothers and after reading Nicks novella Breathless I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his own book. We get the perspectives of Nick and Quinn and we follow them in two different journeys in Secret Quinn’s home life has gotten worse and without having Becca so much anymore she has nowhere to go and no one to talk to.  Nick is dealing with a lot his family, the guides, Quinn and now his sexuality this is bringing him to breaking point. Through Secret  we see that they are both dealing with a lot of things that don’t fully focus on the guides that are trying to kill them.

Nick doesn’t know what to, who to talk to, how his twin will react to the news, how Michael will react about him wanting to go to college and Nick failed a test, Nick who has never failed before failed a physics test. Nick is spending a lot of time helping out Michael way more than the other brothers on jobs & finances, he is worries about Quinn and now with Adam he doesn’t know who he is anymore. I really liked the character of Adam and how well he contemplated Nick together the characters lose control which makes Nick worried even more because he likes control. Adam just wants what is best for Nick and is supportive and helpful for him, which made me like Adam a whole lot more.

Quinn in the first three books has been my least favourite of characters but after Secret we get to see more of what Quinn is facing and why she has such a tough exterior because on the inside she is broken and scared. Since her and Becca had a falling out she has no one to turn to and with Nick spending time with Adam and helping his family, she has no one to turn to until she meets Tyler. Yes this is the Tyler who has had a vendetta on the Merrick Brothers who still blames Michael for the death of his sister when really if they hadn’t chased after she would more than likely still be alive. But Tyler is hiding a secret which is revealed at the end of Secret which makes you question a lot of things that seem to already have answers to.

Apart from Nick and Quinn and there love interests, Michael was the best supporting character by far. Once he learns about Nick being gay & how he is feeling about all the pressure that he has been facing which is great. This also got me 100x more excited to read Michael’s book Sacrifice especially with the ending. The ending is where we get the continuing plot of the guides that have been following the Merricks from day one and this time it is much worse than before.

Secret is for those of you who have loved following the journey of the Merrick boys and with the final book coming if you haven’t read this series start!

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the review copy of Secret!

Rating: 5/5

Keely xx

The Problem With Crazy Cover Reveal!

  

Title: The Problem With Crazy
Author: Lauren K McKellar
Genre: NA Contemporary Romance
Cover Design: Berto Designs
Release Date:  February 13, 2014

The problem with crazy is that crazy, by itself, has no context. It can be good crazy, bad crazy . . . or crazy crazy—like it was when my ex-boyfriend sung about me on the radio.

Eighteen-year-old Kate couldn’t be more excited about finishing high school and spending the summer on tour with her boyfriend’s band. Her dad showing up drunk at graduation, however, is not exactly kicking things off on the right foot—and that’s before she finds out about his mystery illness, certain to end in death.

A mystery illness she is likely to inherit.

When your whole life goes from adventure and ecstasy to sad and suicidal, what’s the point? Not knowing who to love, and who to trust . . . where does it end?

The Problem With Crazy is a story about love and life; about overcoming obstacles, choosing to trust, and learning how to make the choices that will change your life forever.

*A portion of sales from this book will be donated to a Huntington’s disease-related charity (details TBC)

ADD TO GOODREADS

Join the release day event, complete with prizes, fun, games, and a partridge in a pear tree on February 13.

Sign up today: http://bit.ly/1cSoON4

Gypsy Rose placed a series of cards on the table, one after the other. They were brightly coloured, garish-looking things, full of shapes and objects, some of which I recognised and some of which I didn’t.

“Is there anything specific you want to know?”

The words stuck in my head.

Yes, when is my dad going to die?

Sure, will he remember me at all?

Okay, let’s start with am I going to have a mental illness and lose control of my words and movements?

“Oh you know, just general stuff.” I smiled vaguely and bit my lip.

Lauren K. McKellar is a writer and editor of fact and fiction. She has worked in publishing for more than eight years, and recently returned to her first love: writing books that make you feel.

Lauren loves to write for the Young and New Adult markets, and blogs with Aussie Owned and Read, as well as vlogging with the YA Rebels.

In her free time, Lauren enjoys long walks on the beach with her two super-cute dogs and her partner-in-crime/fiancé.

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WEBSITE

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

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Keely xx

Review Time #53

Almost Dead by Kaz Delaney

A glitzy whodunit set amongst the Gold Coast elite and a hilarious romance between Macey Pentecost, the privileged teenager with a social conscience who just happens to see ghosts, and the good-looking surf champion Finn.


Macey's life has been turned upside down. Her mother has left, her father is absent and her two best friends (her brother Seth and his girlfriend Willow) are MIA. On top of that Macey is being visited by ghosts who need her help to 'move on'. But as wild as all that sounds, it's all under Macey's control until a rakish, good-looking spirit called Nick turns up ... in her bedroom!

Nick's a spirit with spirit who insists he's not dead, he's astral travelling and has a message for Macey: someone is out to get her. Macey's biting wit has got her in trouble before, so she's not surprised but when the threatening notes start turning up, she's seriously shaken. Does someone want her dead?

It's all rather disturbing but she's finding it hard to focus on who could mean her harm with the annoyingly handsome surf god Finn turning up at the most inopportune times and a father with a rather large surprise of his own.

Is it a case of bad timing? Or are these things somehow connected? And if they are, what on earth should she wear when she's solving the mystery?

Almost Dead is the new YA book from Kaz Delaney it is also some what of a companion to her other YA book Dead, Actually with some of the characters re-appearing. We follow Macey who for the last month has been seeing spirits and this time this spirit is insisting that they are still alive.

Nick is the lead singer of the band Pashton that Macey slammed on her blog about the lyrics not being original etc. and now Nick is in a coma after a car accident and people are starting to blame Macey. Nick knows Macey is in trouble but doesn't know who is doing it and wants her to have help from Finn his cousin.

Macey really has a bad week this in this book, her mother leaves her father, she finds out that her dad has another family so she has a half-sister and someone is stalking her. With her best friend Willow and her brother together out of the country she has no one to turn to now that she knows about her father's other family.

Finn is a champion surfer laid back, portrayed as a beach bum but knows how to look after a girl. He helps Macey through everything that she is going through and also knowing that Nick is around makes him feel slightly better.

The girls at Macey's private school are your typical snobby rich kids and Macey doesn't trust any of them. Even when they start hanging around because of the stalker. The relationship in this book progress a lot between the girls and Macey, Macey and her sister and the destruction of the relationship between Macey and her father which eventually is back to normal mainly because Macey is quite stubborn. They all play an important part in the story as the book goes on.

The revelation of the stalker was quite a shock even when I already had guessed who one of them was. It is a great story keeps you guessing and it being set in Australia was another great perk! Almost Dead is a different YA paranormal romance set on the Gold Coast which sucks you in until you have finished the book completely!

Thanks to Allen and Unwin Australia for the review copy!
Rating: 4/5

Keely xx

Seeking Her Extract Blast!

Hey everyone! Something different today with an extract from Seeking Her (Losing It #3.5)!

Jackson Hunt gets his turn in this Finding It prequel novella …

Jackson Hunt hasn't been out of the military for long, but he needs to get a job and find a sense of normalcy if he is going to keep his demons at bay. The job that falls into his lap, though, is anything but normal.

Becoming bodyguard (and babysitter) to spoiled rich girl Kelsey Summers isn't exactly what he had in mind, but it's a chance to travel, to get away. The catch: Kelsey's father doesn't want her to know she's being followed.

She's vibrant and infuriating, exciting and reckless, mysterious and familiar. When Jackson sees her falling into the same patterns he suffered years ago, he decides it's time to stop watching and help her instead. But getting to know Kelsey is more difficult than he thought, especially because the more he knows her, the more he wants her.

You can find the extract right here!

Cora Carmack is a twenty-something writer who likes to write about twenty-something characters. She's done a multitude of things in her life-- boring jobs (like working retail), Fun jobs (like working in a theatre), stressful jobs (like teaching), and dream jobs (like writing). She enjoys placing her characters in the most awkward situations possible, and then trying to help them get a boyfriend out of it. Awkward people need love, too. Her first book, LOSING IT, is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

Pre-Order Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Links:

Website: http://coracarmack.blogspot.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoraCarmack

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoraCarmackBooks

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6535659.Cora_Carmack

SEEKING HER Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17873497-seeking-her?ac=1

I am super excited for this book after only starting the series at the end of the year I am hooked

Keely xx

Fallen Crest Public Blog Tour!

Hey Everyone, today I am here with my stop in the Fallen Crest Public blog tour!

Sam's first day at Fallen Crest Public doesn't go well. Some girls want to be her. Some girls want to destroy her. And some just don't like her. All in all, despite being protected by Mason and Logan, it's still only the strong survive. Sam will not only have to survive, she needs to learn how to conquer too, but there's another battle growing. Things are about to come to a disastrous end between the towns, Roussou and Fallen Crest. Sam's other main dilemma? Keeping Mason and Logan from getting arrested or hospitalized. 

After falling in love with the Fallen Crest series earlier last year I have been anxiously waiting for FCP to be released and boy I was not disappointed. Sam is starting Fallen Crest Public and all she wants is to keep her head down, run track & avoid the girls that Mason & the other guys have exiled. 

The girls are out for revenge and all Mason wants is for them to stop and to enjoy his final semester of high school with Sam. After a run in with the Broudou Brothers at the diner in break everyone is trying to keep Sam away from them, because if they knew that she was Mason's girlfriend they would be out for her.

Fallen Crest Public has a lot of things going on in it, we thankfully have none of Sam's mum and her drama but we have Mason & Logan's family drama along with David. I'm glad that we got to see Sam's & Jax's relationship develop even though Kate and her friends want nothing more than to force Sam to leave.

Mason does everything he can do to protect Sam after what happens during his basketball game & wants all of this to stop. He wants Kate to be gone, the Broudou Brothers to leave him alone, wants Nate to be on his side, Logan to get over everything with Tate and he wants Sam to be happy. It was great getting Mason's POV for all this so we could understand what he was doing, even if Sam couldn't.

There was a lot of High School drama, I liked it but it was a bit too much drama for me. The ending everyone who paid attention to the previous books would know it but Sam didn't and let's just say she was surprised. I can't wait to get my hands on Fallen Fourth Down!

Rating: 4.5

EXCERPT #4

  

Kate’s sneer turned into a snarl. “You think you’re funny?”

One of the three added, “Maybe she’s taking lessons from Logan?”

Another snorted. “Probably. She needs all the lessons she can get.”

My smile had stretched from ear to ear now. It was genuine, too. “Is this another warning from you? I thought you moved past the cliché insults and name calling. Oh wait. You said lessons. Yes, that’s referencing that I’m dumb. That’s another cliché insult.” With my hand in the air, I lifted a finger with each point. “I’m ugly. I’m dumb. I have too much sex. Those are the three main ones most simpletons use to insult others. The clothes and the mannequin gave me hope. I thought you were starting to progress, but then I heard that you’ve already done that before. It’s recycled material. You guys need to find new stuff. You know what they say about comedians?” At their blank faces, I nodded. “What I expected. If they use old material, the act is boring. People move on. If you’re going to keep drawing fresh fear from everyone, you need new stuff.” I stood and patted Kate’s head. “You can do it. I believe in you.”

Logan stood by the door and held it open. Mason came in behind him. Both found me immediately. I wondered who had notified them, but then Kate grabbed my arm. She twisted it and got into my face. Her hand tightened on my arm and she lowered her voice, “You have until the end of the day to drop out of school. This is the last warning.”

A taunt rose to my tongue, but I swallowed it. The jokes were gone.

Three thoughts happened at the same time. David’s image flashed again. “Fuck it,” came next. Third, when I knew what I was going to do, I thought, “Let’s see how this goes.”

Kate’s eyes widened as she watched the myriad of expressions before she saw my intent. Her hand let me go, and she started to back away, but it was too late. My hand latched onto hers instead, and I took one second to comment, “Bet you weren’t expecting this,” I said before my other hand grabbed the back of her head and used all my body weight to slam her head into the table.

AUTHOR BIO:

Tijan started writing later in life, after she had already graduated college with a different direction in mind and a different degree under her belt. Hitting the brakes on that path, she taught herself how to write a good book and began posting at sites such as Fictionpress, along with Wattpad. After receiving such encouraging messages from readers, she self-published Fallen Crest High and has continued throughout the year. She continues to keep writing NA books!

AUTHOR LINKS: 

FACEBOOK 

GOODREADS 

GOODREADS AUTHOR 

Amazon Links:

Fallen Crest High

Fallen Crest Family

Fallen Crest Public

Fallen Crest Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/CQZEFHPubGw

Don't forget to check out the rest of the tour! See the list of blogs participating here!

Keely xx