Alternative-Read.com

REVIEW: Styx's Storm | Breeds Series | Lora Leigh | Berkley Sensation Publishing

2012-01-27T09:59:00.000Z

Styx's Storm by Lora Leigh

Reviewed by WitchGiggles
Alternative-Read.com
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Link to book on Amazon UK and USA
Big, gorgeous, hunky breed-Styx is most apt at finding and capturing his prey. Storme Montague however is more than prey; she might just hold the key to the future for some of the breeds as well as Styx himself. First he has to keep the innocent Storme safe from not only Breed slavers, but his own animal side.

Storme was told to give what her father gave into her protection to only certain individuals; only Daddy forgot to tell her who those individuals were. She has no particular love for any of the breeds as they cost her everything she held dear, but she never expected to feel for the hunk called Styx those so out-of-control emotions that kept her on her head instead of her feet. Now she must decide whether it's head or heart she follows.

This one has it all- lust, passion, fear, hate, know it all men and women who know better. I thought with so many different books about the breeds it might get a little boring, repetitive, etc. To my chagrin and my entertainment Lora Leigh manages to find a twist or two to the premise to keep them enjoyable without complete repetition. This was fun, humorous, full of hot sex and long enough to make the reading worthwhile.

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REVIEW: Black Wings | Christina Henry | Penguin Books

2012-01-26T12:01:00.000Z

Please give a warm welcome to the delightful Blodeuedd, of whom is now a permanent member of our "Gang". I do hope she enjoys her stay here and reads lots of enjoyable books! Thank you, Blodeuedd, it's great to have you aboard!
Find out more about Blodeuedd, below her latest review of Black Wings by Christina Henry.

Black Wings by Christina Henry
Reviewed by Blodeuedd
Alternative-Read.com
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another good new urban fantasy series. There may be many out there, and because of that there is sure something for everyone to enjoy.

What I liked about Christina Henry's Black Wings is that it took a hold of me at once and would not let go. I wanted to know what happened, I needed to knew what the secrets were and it was just such an enjoyable ride while it lasted. There was one thing though that was not that good, but in the end it did not matter since I truly liked this book. But for the record, it was something about the writing sometimes, the way she wrote conversations. They did not feel genuine a few times. But I did not let that bother me because the story won me over.

Maddie is an agent collecting souls. She does not have much time for anything else, I can understand that. Her friend (if you can call it that, more like a pet ;) is a gargoyle who I absolutely loved. A great comic relief for sure. And then a mystery man moves into the building and here is where the book starts to get good. Who is this guy, what is he? And why are demons trying to kill her? The questions are many but we do get the answer we want and more comes as the book ends. And there were some very good answers.

The pages kind of just fly by and since there is always something it makes it a book that I did not want to put down. Which makes this a recommended urban fantasy series and I will sure read book 2. Because even if it ends all good and nice there are still many things that needs to be set straight, and who knows, maybe we will get some romance too.

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Synopsis from Goodreads:

As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black is responsible for escorting the souls of the dearly departed to the afterlife. It's a 24/7 job with a lousy benefits package.

Maddy's position may come with magical powers and an impressive wingspan, but it doesn't pay the bills. And then there are her infuriating boss, tenant woes, and a cranky, popcorn-loving gargoyle to contend with.

Things start looking up, though, when tall, dark, and handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in Maddy's building. It's probably just a coincidence that as soon as he moves in demons appear on the front lawn. But when an unholy monster is unleashed upon the streets of Chicago, Maddy discovers powers she never knew she possessed. Powers linked to a family legacy of tarnished halos.

Powers that place her directly between the light of Heaven and the fires of Hell.

Blodeuedd's Blog: Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell | Twitter | FaceBook |

Happy New Year! Enter the Dragon:: Join the book trailer swap!

2012-01-23T15:22:00.002Z

Hey! It's the Chinese New Year and in celebration of all you Dragons out there, here's a happy Chinese New Year song for you. Happy New Year!

Meanwhile, I'd like to welcome you to the latest Monday "Movie" book trailer swap. The idea is simple. If you have you made a book trailer to promote your book - please leave the link in the comments section below, so we can come and pay you a visit. Not only do I love making trailers myself, I love watching them.

If you want to share, I'll visit every one of them and subscribe to your channel too. Don't forget, our readers might also pay you a visit.

While you are there, please consider subscribing to our OhSassyOne channel, too. Thanks.

Check out past Monday Movie posts and all the great trailers already shared here. Bye for now!

REVIEW: Climbing the Ladder | Shifting Streams Bk 1 | B.A. Tortuga | Resplendence Publishing,LLC

2012-01-22T15:00:00.009Z

Climbing The Ladder by B.A. Tortuga

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed By WitchGiggles
Link to book at Amazon UK | USA

Mesa becomes pack Alpha,but isn't complete without the mate that left him years ago,so the first order of business becomes finding and returning his mate where he belongs-home with the pack. Life however has no intention of making his mission an easy one and finding Kody means finding the other part of himself as well. Kody was compelled to leave his mate because he knew that things would never be totally square between them as they were,so he followed his heart and found Samantha. When Mesa shows up on their doorstep an already emotional storm becomes a chaotic cluster as they sort through things never experienced by some and only partially understood by the others.

When Samantha finds Kody in a compromising situation,her already stressed emotions boil over into an inferno of conflicting feelings- for as much as she feel betrayed by Kody she's even more betrayed by her response to the big, growly man who seems to think he can control her.

B.A. Tortuga writes a complicated "tail" where the male doesn't get it all his way with the female falling at his feet in adoration, and I like that. The characters were fun as well as strong, pulled you into the story and let you enjoy their rather frenetic journey to finding their way to becoming what they're meant to be. Oh, yeah -the sex is quite as frenetic, stimulating and imaginative as any you could hope for; very vivid word painter is this author. Bravo!

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REVIEW: Lake Charles | Series BK 1 | Ed Linskey

2012-01-21T23:17:00.000Z

Lake Charles by Ed Lynskey

Reviewer: Lucille P Robinson

http://www.lucilleperkinsrobinson.com

Alternative-Read.com

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Link to book on Amazon UK | USA

Brendan Fishback, his twin sister Edna, and his friend Cobb Kuzawa hitched up their bass boats and took off for Lake Charles for bass fishing. It turned out to be one fishing trip Brendan wanted never to repeat.

Danger stalked them every step they made on and around Lake Charles. Kill or be killed became the order of the day. Brendan, just a good ol' boy who only wanted to work during the day, smoke pot and have sex most of the night, was faced with choices he did not want to make. Having already suffered through being convicted of one murder he did not relish the idea of another killing on his record, but he had no choice. Kill or be killed...Sometimes bad situations turn out to be good for the person who must face them. Sometimes they don't.

The beginning set the atmosphere of a regular fishing trip: spend the day on the water reeling in large bass, peace and quiet while doing so, with a little sparring between husband and wife. Then all hell breaks loose. Nerves tense: flight or fight? I hope all readers decide to stay and read to the end of this story. The things Brendan faces on this fishing trip are so prevalent in today's world, I doubt that the reader will be shocked, but the story should give readers pause for thought. Take the many flashbacks as intended. This is how the back story is fed in and they are interesting in their own right. They fit the description of a story running simultaneously with the main plot line and they give us necessary information on the horror of being accused of murder and how it leads up to the fishing trip. The first, and maybe the second, flashback will have the reader saying, "What do I need these for? It's a waste of time." However, bear with them a short time and I promise you they will do their job well.

Brendan, his sister Edna, and her husband Cobb Kuzawa are all memorable characters. I like Brendan because he is such a gentle man and he's suffering torment in a situation that perhaps could have been avoidable, but like all humans, he made poor choices before this fishing trip. We will always suffer the consequences of our choices whether they be good or bad. Edna wants a good marriage like most women do. She just has trouble putting up with Cobb's drinking and raises a lot of ruckus over it which in turn threatens to tear her marriage apart. Cobb is just a 'good ole boy' who wants only to drink and to fish. He can't understand why Edna must fight against his drinking.

Ed Lynskey's story belongs to Brendan despite the fact that many readers will enjoy Edna and Cobb more. It's a writer's pitfall in which the author has given too much of the story to the supporting characters and his main character isn't strong enough to dominate the tale. I truly like the snappy way this story is told and I believe both young adult readers and older readers will enjoy the tale.

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AUTHOR BIO [from Amazon.com]

Ed Lynskey is a crime fiction writer residing not too far from the Pentagon. His P.I.Frank Johnson mystery series include Pelham Fell Here, The Dirt-Brown Derby, The Blue Cheer, Troglodytes, and The Zinc Zoo. His small town cozy mystery is Quiet Anchorage, featuring his amateur sleuth sisters Alma and Isabel Trumbo. His standalone Appalachian noir is Lake Charles. Ed lives with his family and one black-and-white cat named Frannie after P.I. Frank Johnson. Ed and Frank are both Washington National baseball fans.

DARK NIGHT OF THE MOON - Paranormal Wolf Shifter Is HERE!

2012-01-21T18:12:00.000Z

Dark Night of the Moon, a paranormal wolf shifter based on Native American lore, is available on KINDLE NOW: http://amzn.to/ADePKy

NOTE: If you're a Kindle Prime member, you can borrow Dark Night of the Moon for free. While there is romance in the novel, it is not erotic, and the dominant theme is paranormal.
This is the sequel to Holding On To Heaven, an erotic romance western.

MY WOLF DOESN’T SPARKLE – HE TAKES OUT EVIL . . .

About Dark Night of the Moon:
Creed Gatlin flees to Arizona intent on eradicating the haunting memories of his brother’s wife. Brand Gatlin, presumed dead, resurfaces after a long absence and with his re-emergence, the destinies of those he loves is altered forever.

In a land rife with war and danger, Sage must travel to the village of her husband’s People. There, she is reunited with Crooked Back, the ancient healer. On the long trek back to Full Circle, devious plots are underfoot and peril lurks around every corner for Sage, Lauren and Peter Pa.

Dark Night of the Moon will take you on an unforgettable journey of war, violence, overwhelming grief, and finally, love.

* * *
Blog Tour for Dark Night of the Moon January 24, 2012 here: http://www.romfanreviews.com/

If you'd like to know more about my new releases please follow Keta's Keep: http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com

REVIEW: 52FF | Marc Nash

2012-01-18T18:54:00.000Z

52FF by Marc Nash

Reviewed by Sassy Brit
Alternative-Read.com
Link to book on Amazon UK and Amazon USA
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A veritable cocktail of real life incidents, metaphors and hidden meanings of an imaginative mind!

52FF is a concoction of short (and sometimes not so sweet) “Flash Fiction” stories all under 1000 words each.

The majority of stories were thought-provoking vignettes with an underlying nefariousness portraying the horror of both fantastical and real life situations, which work on our human weaknesses (anxieties, fear and loathing) with a twist of satire and black humour thrown in.

In the Nursery, is a poignant example of this heady cocktail of emotions and descriptive prose, by which the author, Marc Nash, tells this heart-rending story through the eyes of a stuffed panda in the room of a child’s psychologist. There’s a wide variety of stories to read, from the violence suggested in a seemingly harmless game of bingo in The Caller to the Bingo Caller’s House Calls “House”, to Badges and the stark loneliness of Lost Sole, where Nash’s very British, analytical voice bubbles to the surface. My favourite story has to be Bittersweet, another fine example of how the author cleverly plays around with words, metaphor and new ideas showing a strong love for language.

With 52 stories, you can deal a story-a-day, there’s a gritty, down-to-earth quick appetiser to appeal to your varying taste-buds. A great “loo book” too, and I mean that in a good way! I felt, that in some cases, there were a couple of scenes as opposed to complete short stories with beginnings, middles and ends, however, these tended to be more experimental and came across more like poetry, or an alternative style of prose, which I rather liked as they enhanced their individual potency. This made for a good read as I never quite knew what to expect from one story to another, making 52FF very hard to put down.

At the end of the book there is a additional nice touch, the story prompts, which led to the ideas behind each piece of flash. A unique and effective idea. I found myself going back and re-reading some of the more mysterious ones armed with this additional knowledge, as though privy to inside information and looking for the things I may have missed, like one does when watching a film for the second time.

Overall, I do enjoy flash fiction and I think, Marc Nash, has done very well with his collection of 52FF. Whether you are new to this form of creativity, or a flash fiction fiend, 52FF is an electric mixture of small servings covering many flavours to chill, shake and stir you! What provides some thematic unity, as well as satirical bite, is the darkness, which lies around the corner in many of these stories. A veritable cocktail of real life incidents, metaphors and hidden meanings of an imaginative mind!

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It's the Monday "Movie" Book Trailer Swap! Share your trailers here!

2012-01-16T11:31:00.000Z

Welcome to the latest Monday "Movie" book trailer swap. The idea is simple. If you have you made a book trailer to promote your book - please leave the link in the comments section below, so we can come and pay you a visit. Not only do I love making trailers myself, I love watching them.

If you want to share, I'll visit every one of them and subscribe to your channel too. Don't forget, our readers might also pay you a visit.

While you are there, please consider subscribing to our OhSassyOne channel, too. Thanks.

Check out past Monday Movie posts and all the great trailers already shared here.

Bye for now!

Sassy

VOTE: New Book Cover Award Poll for January 2012

2012-01-14T12:45:00.000Z

Click here to find out more about how to enter YOUR cover and to see previous winners

Now all ten competing entries have been revealed to the public, the poll is up and the voting can now begin. The closing date for this month's contest is Sunday 29th January at midnight UK time.

Good luck and thank you for all your entries. My admin guru is replying to each and everyone of you to let you know when your book cover will appear on site.

Here are the entries for this month:

#1 Torrodil
#2 Frozen book one Artica Lights series
#3 God’s Eye
#4 Butterfly Garden
#5 The Portal
#6 Laurel's Miracle
#7 Searchers
#8 To Sleep Gently
#9 Giving up the Ghost
#10 A Bard’s Folktale

You can find out what the covers look like by going here, and of course there is a promotional video to watch here:

Go to vote on the blog in the sidebar on the right. Thank you!

INTERVIEW: With Marc Nash athor of a story a week "52 FF"

2012-01-13T10:54:00.000Z

Link to book Amazon UK and Amazon USA

SB: Good morning, Marc,

Thank you very much for returning to AR and agreeing to be interviewed. I promise I'll be gentle with you! I'll start by asking for a brief synopsis of your latest book?

MN: It's an anthology of 52 pieces of my flash fiction, stories of 1000 words or less.

SB: Define flash fiction and why you chose to go down this route with your latest publication.

MN: When my debut novel first came out, I said I wouldn't write anything new for 6 months as I would concentrate on marketing it. I'd recently joined Twitter and found a flash fiction writing community under the #fridayflash hashtag and started contributing to it as part of introducing myself as a writer. I wrote a new story every week for a whole year and just beyond. With some 60 stories I realised I had enough for an anthology so took the best 52 and published them. From a decision not to write anything new, I emerged with a completely new book!

SB: Well done! It's a great idea. I have to say I am a fan of flash fiction and saving the short story. I encourage it on my Sunday meme, the Sassy Sunday Story Starter (LOL) and believe having a small word count for a story helps to only choose the words that really matter, so all the unnecessary words are chopped out and the prose is much tighter.

MN: I agree, but despite the constraint, I actually found it liberating. I could take the central theme or metaphor and come at it from every direction within 1000 words. It was like looking at something under a microscope.

Oh, nicely put! Yes, that is what makes flash so fun. You never know where it's going to take you. Where did you learn, or practise your flash fiction writing?

MN: Until joining that Twitter community I'd never written a flash story in my life. I'd barely written short stories as novels were always my chosen form for fiction. But writing is writing and although 1000 words is a discipline that calls for a different approach, it was my love of language and its precision that let me explore the short form. You just don't have time or words to waste in flash, so it calls for a real exactitude in word choice and an economy in how you communicate an idea. It brings metaphor and image to the forefront and I love that. For me each story has to have a stunning metaphor or idea at its heart and that was the challenge in doing 52 of them.

SB: Well, you've done very well, Marc. Twitter is such a great place, too! What advice would you give to anyone wanting to try this form of creative writing out themselves?

MN: Just go for it! I'm not trained. I've attended no courses. Read no "How To" books. Just trust your instincts and of course, read the works of others. I think the only key is to work out why you want to write; what words, language and story-telling mean to you. Then you can feed this in to your approach to flash.

SB: Very inspiring! Have you any flash fiction sites you can recommend to our readers?

MN: It's not a site but a portal to the blogs and websites where writers post their work and that's the #fridayflash hashtag on Twitter. Follow that and click on the links to stories that are tweeted on Fridays. Fictionaut is a good short story site, though not exclusively flash fiction.

SB: Which flash fiction writers inspire you?

MN:There are many flash writers I met through twitter who do the most brilliant work, Carrie Clevenger, Alison Wells, Penny Goring, DJ Young, Tony Noland, Linda Simoni Wistila, Lisa Vooght, Cat Del Rio. But it's a fairly fluid community and many of these are probably not writing flash right now as they've moved on to novels. Just follow the hashtag and see who you can discover!

SB: Sounds like some interesting writers to check out and a very busy community. Thanks! So, do you ever get writer’s block? If so, what do you do to overcome it?

MN: Gosh no. I am always behind all the material I've got, so I'm forever playing catch up and don't have time to get blocked. If something isn't working, rather than stew with it, I just move on to something else and come back when the block is removed, but that doesn't happen very often. I usually build up a head of steam before writing a new project and the momentum lets me surge into the project. "52FF" was an entirely different experience, because there I was writing one story a week, although some weeks towards the end I was actually writing 2 or 3. But it was a constant writing process, rather than a flat out approach I use when writing longer works.

SB: What is your most treasured possession?

MN: That's a very good question. I'm not a great hoarder. I don't keep things and get them out to look at them. I'm not sure I have one. I'd be lost without my laptop though!

SB: To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?

MN: Another amazingly hard question. Possibly the new boy at 6th Form at school whom I taught to play gin rummy for money, took his sweets and cash off him since I'd been playing the game longer and then I stopped playing once he started to get half-decent at the game! Oh the shame of it...

SB: Who would play you in the film of your life?

MN: For some reason I've always considered this question, even though I'd run a mile were it ever to happen and my life really isn't that interesting enough to film. But, I'd always settled on Martin Sheen (not Charlie) because he's a great actor, but the American accent might be a problem. If that was the case, then I'd plump for David Thewlis. I like his edge.

SB: I love the actor David Thewlis. He has my vote! So, who would write the script?

MN: Samuel Beckett (I wish). I'd like to think I approach his absurdist view of the world, but he'd almost certainly have shrugged his shoulders when approached with the offer of the job! Actually, he'd probably not even do that. Just look straight through the Producer with those piercing blue eyes and wrinkled face like a Zen Master, until the Producer figured out the answer was 'no'.

SB: Great answer! If you could realise a dream that you have had whilst asleep, what dream would you pick?

MN: I don't really remember my dreams and the ones I do are anxiety ones. I still occasionally dream of missing exams at college or forgetting to do homework for school, or doing it but leaving it at home and having weird and difficult journeys to get back home to rescue it. So, not a lot to choose from there....

SB: I have had those types of dreams, too! LOL Suddenly we can't remember where we live and if we do we just cannot get there!

It's been great talking to you again, Marc. Where can our readers find out more about your writing? MN: My blog where all these stories first appeared is www.sulcicollective.com I have two websites dedicated to my two novels, http://marcnash.weebly.com & http://marcnashNIMN.weebly.com but the best way to keep up is just to follow me on Twitter @21stCscribe. I'm er pretty active there!

SB: I think a book of your flash fiction is a great idea. What’s your next project going to be?

MN: I've got two on the go. A book about fathers and sons which is currently with a designer to develop some modern majuscules (those beautifully drawn and coloured giant letters at the head of chapters/pages of illuminated old manuscripts). And right now I'm writing a novel about observation and physics, with the main character being a private investigator who spies on cheating spouses!

SB: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions. It’s great to have you back and I wish you well with the new year and all the brilliant writing opportunities this will bring you.

MN: Thank you and I hope you have a brilliant 2012 and Alt Read goes from further strength to further strength.
Thanks, Marc!
--
Marc Nash's Kindle Store

Sample "A,B&E"
Sample "52FF"

Book Trailer for "Not In My Name"

Twitter @21stCscribe

Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #10 Book Title: A Bard's Folktale | Designed by Jo Chen

2012-01-10T19:01:00.000Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #10

Book Title: A Bard's Folktale

Author Name: Aramis Barron

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Jo Chen

Book Blurb:

Indie rock shows, secret ninja missions, and more love polygons than the drama llama can shake a stick at!

Summer after high school graduation and nothing but the open road before him, Kody Lehane takes off on a road trip to find out what this whole "adulthood" thing is all about.
In an effort to help his old co-worker Glenn overcome his traumatic past, Kody, along with his good friend Charisma and his ex-lover Alma, will do whatever it takes to help their mentally unstable buddy, and see some countryside along the way.
They'll stop at nothing, even if it means breaking old promises, betraying those closest to them, and retracing the steps of the dead, to find what they think they're looking for.

A good time, and a guilty pleasure. Bree struggles to determine fact from fiction when it comes to Michael and Simon but her attempts are blurred by Michael's manipulation and her sexual attraction to Simon, who Steven’s convinced cannot be trusted.
Meanwhile the stalker does everything in his power to get close to Bree and his obsession evokes a spiral of violence.
Bree must trust her heart to find answers but her heart leads her to the most dangerous man of all.

For guidelines and how to enter your book cover please click here.

As my contact tab does not allow attachments to be added, please can you make sure that alongside your entry you send a high resolution copy of your book cover for me to use and add to the book cover award promo video, to this address: ar.featuredesk@gmail.com

Thank you!

Voting (via a poll in sidebar) starts each month on the 11th - after all the nominees have been revealed.

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Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #9 Book Title: Giving up the Ghost | Designed by Peace In The Storm Pub

2012-01-09T23:14:00.004Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #9

Book Title: Giving up the Ghost

Author Name: Stacy Deanne

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Peace In The Storm Publishing, LLC

Book Blurb:

Albany Detective Brianna “Bree” Morris is having the year from hell. A sadistic admirer has been stalking her for months and now her friend Cheyenne Wilson has been beaten and left for dead.

With her ex-lover and faithful partner, Steven Kemp, Bree thrusts herself into the case. It’s not long before they believe two unrelated British men are connected to the attack. Michael is a womanizing artist with a ferocious appetite for rough sex. Simon is a wealthy free spirit looking for love in all the wrong places, but cannot break his destructive and indecent relationship with his sister, who might have ties to the attack, herself.

Bree struggles to determine fact from fiction when it comes to Michael and Simon but her attempts are blurred by Michael's manipulation and her sexual attraction to Simon, who Steven’s convinced cannot be trusted.

Meanwhile the stalker does everything in his power to get close to Bree and his obsession evokes a spiral of violence.

Bree must trust her heart to find answers but her heart leads her to the most dangerous man of all.

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REVIEW: Nauti Dreams | Nauti Trilogy Bk 3 | Lora Leigh | Berkley Sensations Publishing

2012-01-09T14:50:00.000Z

Nauti Dreams by Lora Leigh Book 3
Reviewed by WitchGiggles, Alternative-Read.com
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Link to book on Amazon USA | Amazon UK

So intense the words set the pages on fire!

There are only a few people Natches Mackay considers family and "Daddy" ain't one of them, but that's not keeping his sperm donor from making his life miserable in ways that are worse than anything in the past. Now Natches is being drawn into an intrigue that involves not only his family, but the woman he shares some rather brutal history with- the one woman who means more to him than his own life. Now he just has to make her understand that that is where she belongs, because he means to keep her, forever. First he has to keep them alive.

Chaya Dane and Natches have some brutal history together, but not the kind most think. Having been owned by their government, she's back for one last mission, unaware that it will draw not only her, but the Nauti Boys and others into a miasma of trouble, deceit and destruction. Through it all, Chaya finds that her bulwark of strength is still the man who stood her through the horrors of the past and intends to be there through the future.

Lora Leigh's last of the cousins not only grabbed me at the beginning, but that prologue set a pace I expected to be followed throughout the rest of the book and it was. This one kept the suspense running, but allowed for humor that hit at the best times and intense sex that set the pages on fire. I haven't read the rest of the books, but intend to get them. The dynamics between these two are unique, fun, just plain good reading.

View all our reviews
Link to book on Amazon USA | Amazon UK

Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #8 Book Title: To Sleep Gently | Designed by Sascha Rybinski

2012-01-08T23:04:00.001Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #8

Book Title: To Sleep Gently

Author Name: Trent Zelazny

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Sascha Rybinski

Book Blurb:

When career criminal Jack Dempster gets caught and put away for five years in prison, he finds time to seriously reconsider his chosen line of work. Before he can make any serious decision, some old acquaintances track him down with a proposal. They want him to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico. With the help of an inside man, he’s to lead a small group of professionals on a daring robbery of the El Dorado Hotel, one of the finest, and most secure establishments in the Southwest.
Double-crosses, love triangles, and immersion in his own self-destructive past conspire to lead him to ruin. It’s not easy to sleep when searching for normalcy in the heart of a brutal past.

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Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #7 Book Title: Searchers | Designed by Jinger Heaston

2012-01-07T22:51:00.001Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #7

Book Title: Searchers

Author Name: Pepper St. Claire

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Jinger Heaston

Book Blurb:

Katie Franklin couldn’t lose the weight she gained during her pregnancy, and her husband’s disgust showed in his cutting remarks and lack of interest in her anywhere except in the bedroom. Determined to slim down, Katie seeks the help of a diet doctor, and many pounds later, Rick does a one-eighty. Too bad. Katie isn’t interested in his attention, as she’s had a taste of what it’s like to be considered young, sexy and desired again…but not by her husband.

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Roaming Cadenza | "A Bard's Folktale" | by Aramis Barron

2012-01-07T10:07:00.000Z

This week our "Saturday Spotlight" is beaming down brightly onto author, Aramis Barron!

Link to book: Amazon USA | Amazon UK

Bio - Aramis Barron is a United States Army combat veteran turned author, raised pretty much on Whedon and Indie Rock.

He's spent the last several years writing music, short stories, and working on various other writing projects, but wanted to do something on a larger scale. This desire eventually ended up becoming the first of many manuscripts of the Bard's Folktale series. The only greater passion he has than his writing is spending time with his children, whose imagination serves as a perpetual source of inspiration.

Blurb -

Indie rock shows, secret ninja missions, and more love polygons than the drama llama can shake a stick at!

Summer after high school graduation and nothing but the open road before him, Kody Lehane takes off on a road trip to find out what this whole "adulthood" thing is all about.

In an effort to help his old co-worker Glenn overcome his traumatic past, Kody, along with his good friend Charisma and his ex-lover Alma, will do whatever it takes to help Glenn find an answer.
They'll stop at nothing, even if it means breaking old promises, betraying those closest to them, and retracing the steps of the dead.

A good time, and a guilty pleasure.

Link to book: Amazon USA | Amazon UK

Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #6 Book Title: Laurel's Miracle | Designed by Kaytalin Platt

2012-01-06T22:26:00.001Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #6

Book Title: Laurel's Miracle

Author Name: Nancy Marie Bell

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Kaytalin Platt

Book Blurb:

Have you ever wondered how you would handle it if your mom was terminally ill? What if you were sent to stay with people you didn't even know in another country because your father was at the hospital all day and night?

Laurel is faced with both of these realities, what she really wants is a miracle. She wants her mom to be cured of cancer.

Join Laurel as she searches for her miracle amidst the magic of the Cornish countryside. She is aided by her new friends Coll, Gort, and Aisling and helped along in her quest by the creatures of legend and myth. Vear Du, the Selkie, Gwin Scawen, the Cornish Piskie, Belerion the fire salamander, Morgawr the flying sea serpent who does Vear Du a favour, and Cormoran, the last giant of Cornwall. They must battle the odds in the form of bullies and confusing clues. Will they emerge victorious? Will Laurel have the courage to solve the riddle and make her miracle a reality?

Find the answers in the pages of Laurel's Miracle.

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Nauti Nights | Nauti Trilogy Bk 2 | Lora Leigh | Berkley Sensation Publishing

2012-01-06T10:41:00.000Z

Nauti Nights by Lora Leigh
Genre: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed by WitchGiggles
Alternative-Read.com

Fire-starting Hot Scenes!

Dawg Mackay has been many things in his life to date, but the one thing he hasn't been is in control of the woman who's haunted his sleep for the past eight years. Unable to truly remember the things that have become nightly visitations in his dreams,he's determined to take advantage of this one slim opportunity to make her stay with him so he can keep her safe-from the outside world at any rate.

Crista has known Dawg and his cousins forever,loved Dawg for most of that time,knows their history and has no plans to be part of or the reason for more pain in his life. Carrying a secret that she's afraid will destroy both of them if he finds out, she's finally returned home secure in the knowledge that he doesn't remember the night that gave her the reason to leave. Now she simply has to stay away from the man who's held her heart since she was very young and they might both survive.

I've always liked Lora Leigh's work because she's willing to take chances with her plots, her premises, her characters. I don't know if she grew up around hillbilly rednecks, but she certainly has them down to a tee (including certain family dynamics). I found Crista to be off a bit because although she has a core of steel, she acts like a pansy, which just simply doesn't fit. I will probably take a big hit for this next statement, but sometimes the sex scenes distracted from the flow of the story- sometimes less is more- though I have to admit those scenes could have started fires. I still found this to be one that I thoroughly enjoyed because this author knows how to paint with words so that anyone receptive will get those instant picture flashes that show the scene in it's entirety. A sizzling hot read!

View all our reviews

Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #5 Book Title: The Portal | Designed by Christopher Allan Poe

2012-01-05T11:20:00.000Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #5

Book Title: The Portal

Author Name: Christopher Allan Poe

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Christopher Allan Poe

Book Blurb:

Vivian Carmichael has been hiding in the San Bernardino Mountains for more than a year now. Far from cell towers and video cameras, she's finally found a safe place to raise her four-year old son Cody. Until the night he crawls into bed and whispers two words that fill her with terror.

"Daddy's home."

Running for her life now, she's horrified to learn that her estranged husband Jarod is not quite human anymore. Can she unravel the mystery of her family's dark secret before he can steal her son and claim her as his next victim?

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Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #4 Book Title: Butterfly Garden | Designed by Laura Givens

2012-01-04T09:10:00.000Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #4

Book Title: Butterfly Garden

Author Name: Annette Blair

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Laura Givens

Book Blurb:

Amishwoman Sara Lapp, all but shunned for studying with the local doctor to become a midwife, is shocked that, after months of waiting, her first call comes from “Mad” Adam Zuckerman, a self-appointed outcast. Adam doesn’t want her to attend at a birth, but to tend to his children because his wife has died in childbed. Adam is afraid to love his children, because he might hurt them in the way his father hurt him. Without his late wife, Abby, to protect them, Adam must find someone else to care for the girls. He can think of only one woman brave enough, Spinster Sara Lapp, the little midwife whose passion for things beyond her control is greater than is good for her.

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Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #3 Book Title: God's Eye | Designed by Dan Ruke

2012-01-03T20:49:00.000Z

Welcome to the 1st book cover award contest of 2012!
January 2012 Book Cover Entry #3

Book Title: God's Eye

Author Name: A.J. Scudiere

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Dan Ruke

Book Blurb:

A demon . . .
Every soul he claims is another chance to advance.
Until he can walk among us, look like us, make us believe in him. The only thing holding him back is . . .

An angel. . .
The rules of the realm bind him from fighting
on the demon’s terms. But this is his chance
to steal something away from the demon,
to steal the thing the demon wants most . . .

A woman who must choose . . .
A woman who has been chosen.
Katharine is suddenly a pawn in a game
where the rules and the stakes are beyond her comprehension.
She must take a side even though she can’t tell angel from demon.
And in the end, they will all be judged.

God’s Eye

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Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #2 Book Title: Frozen | Designed by Delilah K. Stephans

2012-01-02T15:50:00.001Z

January 2012 Book Cover Entry #2

Book Title: Frozen book one Artica Lights series

Author Name: Kat Holmes

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Delilah K. Stephans

Book Blurb:

Brent Larkin came to Antarctica to study penguins. He didn’t come looking for either adventure or romance. But when a freak storm blows in and he loses his way, that’s exactly what he gets. Attacked by some bobbing lights, he suddenly finds himself in a wintry forest surrounded by men with swords pointed at him. The next thing he knows he’s in a dungeon and chained to the wall.

Awni is the queen of Artica, a land of eternal winter. The daughter of a god, Awni’s cursed to never know the touch of another. Her icy skin is death for anyone who dares to touch her flesh. But, when a mysterious stranger shows up in her lands, she finds herself drawn to him. Eager to learn about his world, she invites him to spend time with her only to be shocked when he touches her and doesn’t freeze to death.

But Artica is a land ruled by tradition. Though she longs to keep Brent with her, the laws of the land force her to send him home. But without him, both she and the land begin to suffer. Now, Awni is facing the same peril as one of her ancestors. And if she perishes like her ancestor did, all of Artica will pay the price. Can Brent, returned to his own world, somehow find his way back and save her before all is lost?

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY Isaac Asimov! What is your favourite Asimov story or quote?

2012-01-02T08:48:00.013Z

I'd like to share some supportive, inspirational and thought provoking quotes by Isaac Asimov, since it would have been his birthday today. He was born January 2, 1920although according to Wiki his birthday might have been as early as October 4, 1919He died April 6, 1992.

What is your favourite Asimov story or inspirational quote? I have to say I, Robot really does it for me. The quotes I like are below.



Isaac Asimov was, in my opinion, a brilliant science fiction writer and scholar from the US (although Russian born). He wrote a short story collection, "I, Robot" 1950, novels "Foundation" 1951, "Foundation and Empire" 1952, "Second Foundation" 1953, "The Gods Themselves" 1972. Find out more over at Amazon here at the USA branch or the UK Amazon.

You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success - but only if you persist.

Another favourite of mine is...

I write for the same reason I breathe - because if I didn't, I would die.


Then there's...

Never let your sense of morals get in the way of doing what's right.

Thought provoking...

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.

Isaac Asimov

What is your favourite Asimov story or inspirational quote?

Jan 2012 Book Cover Award Entry #1 Book Title: Torrodil | Designed by Luke Geraghty

2012-01-01T22:00:00.001Z

Welcome to the 1st book cover award contest of 2012!
January 2012 Book Cover Entry #1

Book Title: Torrodil

Author Name: Luke Geraghty

Buy Now Amazon USA or UK

Book Cover Designer Name: Luke Geraghty

Book Blurb:

War brews in the world of Torrodil, and Anna Gray is too busy drinking hooch to give a kruk.

But when the enemy lays waste to her home, Anna unleashes a terrible power – one that teems beneath her skin, inviting her to tear apart the earth itself.
Forced into the wild, Anna must battle through jungle rapids and desert wastes to find the women who share her gift, joined by a best friend one quiver away from browning his trousers. Yet the greatest danger lies within.

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Happy New Year! | Plus :: The Winner of our 1st Book Cover of the Year award is...

2012-01-01T18:00:00.000Z

Happy New Year!

Here's wishing you the best year ever. Hope you achieve your dreams and have a happy and healthy 2012. Who knows what the future will hold, but let's hope it's a good one!

Thanks for making it so special!

I've been so busy over this holiday period, (although it has been a lot of fun) I'm actually looking forward to getting everyone back to work and school, so I can get back into my usual routine (and have a rest!) ;)

Today I am very happy to announce the winner of alternative-read's first ever Book Cover of the Year Award where all the winning covers from 2011 were added to a new poll for readers to vote on their favourite overall winner.

And the winner is.... with 593 votes (36%) -- Lark LaTroy with his book cover Druids Dawning designed by the talented Reese Dante! Congratulations!

Buy from Amazon UK or Amazon USA

Click here to find out more!

Book Blurb: "A serial killer stalks the streets of present day Boston. A group of Druids must find a way to stop him, or see the whole world plunged into chaos."

In addition, since it was so close I do feel Farsighted with 516 votes (31%) and Flesh Fantasy with 415 votes (25%) both deserve an honourable mention! (All the final stats are below for those interested in figures).

Thank you to all of you who took the time to enter over the course of the year. Your support is greatly appreciated! Keep 'em coming! We're back open for new entries.

Authors, if you'd like to join in with our next monthly contest, please click on the 'contact' tab and get in touch! If you have already, we'll be in contact with you closer to the time of your "appearance".We get a lot of entries so please be patient.

Find out more about how to enter and what to send us here.

We are back open for new entries right now! Meanwhile, later on today, we will be posting the beginning of a nice shiny and new poll for this month's nominees. Stay tuned for the first cover coming on a screen near you very soon!

Voting stats for the Book Cover of the Year Award 2011:

#1 - Beauty's Beasts	89 (5%)
#2 - Druids Dawning	593 (36%)
#3 - Kissed from Beyond	9 (0%)
#4 - Tears on a Tranquil Lake	11 (0%)
#5 - The Kiss of Night	135 (8%)
#6 - The Magic of Lavender	15 (0%)
#7 - Spartan Heart	61 (3%)
#8 - Love Delivery	42 (2%)
#9 - Flesh Fantasy	415 (25%)
#10 - Farsighted	516 (31%)

Votes so far: 1639
Poll closed