kiwigirl reads. . . .

As many of you know - today is the day.   November 1st is the day that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) begins. Thousands of people around the globe will be busily typing or writing away, filled with optimism for the coming month. Many will fall by the wayside, as the days turn into weeks and the inspiration fizzes out or life intervenes, to mention but a few tales of the unfinished. The goal is to write 50,000 words - it's a huge task and one that only a few achieve.  But even if you don't reach your goal at least you took part and you might have the start of something great. If you are not doing NaNo this year but it sounds interesting, be sure to check out the site and see what goes on.  Maybe you might be inspired to try it out in 2013. For those who are participants this year - best of luck.  If you feel like sharing your tips and or any other feelings about NaNo please do so in the comments.  I would love to hear from yo...

Demon High   Plot Overview: There are demons attending Caldera High! How does Lucinda Dent know? Because she’s the one who called them and accidentally set them loose....... Lucinda knew it was a bad idea to call demons - her Mom disappeared ten years ago after dabbling in demon calling for too long.   She’s seen what it can do, but with the bank about to foreclose on the only home she’s ever know, Lucinda needs to find some quick cash.   She and the local ‘acquisitions expert’ at her school work out a way to make some money putting on a ‘unique’ show for those who can pay.   When it all goes horribly wrong Lucinda finds herself in way over her head.   Now Lucinda needs to find a way to clean up the mess she’s made, before she loses her heart, her soul, her life, or all of the above. What I thought: I think that Demon High was a decent enough book, I had a few issues with it but I liked the story well enough.   I did think the na...

Dog Days (A Dog Days Novel)   Plot Overview: In San Francisco not everything is what it seems. Mason is a talented Jazz guitarist who scrapes by playing the odd gig around town. He is also part of a secret community of magical practitioners and although he has tried to leave that life behind him he is about to be dragged right back into the thick of it. Leaving a gig late one night Mason is attacked by a supernatural creature, he narrowly escapes thanks to his companion Louie (an Ifrit – a magical being that looks like a small dog) and his talent for being able to improvise with his magic. Mason realises that he is out of his league and reports the incident to his former boss, the self-appointed law for the magical community in San Francisco. Mason learns that there is something seriously wrong in the magical community, practitioners and Ifrits are in danger. Despite Mason’s initial reluctance to get involved in the end it will all come down to him and Mason will find ...

Break Curfew! Head on over to Kate Evangelista's blog for you chance to win her new book - Taste.  You can enter the international giveaway  via Rafflecopter to be in to win you very own paperback copy. Rafflecopter Giveaway - Taste by Kate Evangelista Best of Luck Everyone! 

Demon Princess: Reign Check Plot Overview: Reign Check is the second book in the Demon Princess Series. Last week high school girl Nikki Donovan met her Dad for the first time, found out he is a Demon King, stopped an attempted coup and saved both her and her father's lives. Now Nikki has to deal with the fact that she is a ‘darkling’ half human and half demon, if that’s not enough, the king of the fairy realm just enrolled at her high school to assess if Nikki is a threat or not. Looks like this week is going to be just as busy. What I thought: Light and fluffy is what I would call this series. Not that that’s a bad thing, just make sure it’s what you are after. This is teen paranormal chick lit and it’s a cute and entertaining read.  The characters are likable, the story is fast paced and interesting. The main thing I did not like about this book was the timing, there is only one week between what happened in the first book to what is going on now – it j...

Bite Me Plot Overview: When Val Shapiro turns eighteen her parents kick her out of the house and fire her from her job at the family bookstore. Not exactly you hallmark moment . . . . Val is part succubus and since she won’t give into her other half and feed on lust, she hunts vampires to take the edge off. Being part-demon gives Val special powers - she's fast, strong, heals quickly, and is immune to vampire mind control - all of this makes  for great vampire slaying. When Jen, Val’s human half-sister, follows her out on a vampire hunt their Mom blames Val and decides that she is too dangerous to be around. A chance encounter with a police officer who watches her take down a vampire all by herself leads Val to a new life and job with the Special Crimes Unit. The Special Crimes Unit is investigating a new Vampire Movement in town. The usually unorganized and solo vampires are uniting and claim they seek peace between humans and vampires. However there has also been a...

Life is easy when you have everything you want; great friends, a boyfriend who loves you, a happy family that supports you and brothers that both protect and annoy you. I had all of that… once. That was before the accident. That was before the murder. That was before… The Willows. Evelyn Magwire now has a choice to make. Does she turn her back on the mysteries that have consumed her life, or does she face the darkness and find the truth? When her brother goes missing, the choice is made for her; forced on a path where friends become enemies and enemies become friends, Evie soon learns that the changes happening to her are the scariest she will face. She’s not sure she will ever be the same again… Because some changes are forever… and bloodlust… never dies. Release Date: April 2012 Available from: Amazon , Barnes and Noble and Smashwords I offered to do a cover feature for Krystal George's new book 'The Willows' because I was really impressed with the...

Chimera Plot Overview: When Stefan Korsak was fourteen his younger brother Lukas was kidnapped and he has never forgiven himself for the part he unwittingly played. It was Stefan who convinced Lukas that they should sneak out to ride their horses on the beach that day and so ten years later Stefan is still searching for answers. In the meantime he has fallen into the family business – the Russian mafia, he has no illusions about his lifestyle choices and it funds his obsession to find his brother which is all Stefan cares about these days. Finally one of his contacts comes through with new lead that points him towards a shadowy ‘institute’ where a boy matching Lukas description has been seen. Stefan mounts a dangerous rescue mission and finally is reunited with his brother, but after ten years Lukas is no longer the boy he remembers. Lukas insists that he does not know who Stefan is and that his name is Michael. The ‘institute’ has spent years training and conditionin...

I joined a website called NetGalley (https://www.netgalley.com) last week.  Its where publishers list books that they have where they want people to review them. You can request a copy of the book from the publisher and if that request is approved you can download the book for free.  You then have to review it and let them know where your reviews are posted. It sounds like a good way to get copies of some books that I might not have considered otherwise.  There are a lot of different publishers listed, some of them really big names and other smaller ones as well.  Some of them have conditions to release the books such if you are a blogger then you have to have a certain amount of traffic.  That ruled out a lot for me as my blog is still pretty small, I just don't have the time to read and review as much as I would like to.  I still found a couple of books that looked interesting and did not have as stringent reviewer guidelines so I think it will be...

Coexist: Keegan's Chronicles Plot Overview: Keegan is a sixteen-year old girl who lives a fairly typical life of friends, shopping and parties. However Keegan, despite all outward appearances, is definitely not your typical teenager. Keegan is an elf, a race of beings that live among humans and as beings of the light help where they can. In elfin society mates are chosen at birth but the identity of said chosen is not revealed until both parties reach the age of 18. Keegan’s brother Thaddeus is a ‘seer’ and his visions have warned him of impending disaster, in an attempt to ward this off Thaddeus has told Keegan the name of her intended – Rourk. Now every time Keegan thinks his name Rourk feels pulled towards her. He watches her from the shadows, silently protecting her and waiting until she turns 18 so that they can finally meet and be together. Fate intervenes before this can happen when Keegan’s life is in danger and Rourk is forced to revel himself to her before their time...

At Barinkoff Academy ,there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans. When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy . Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud Read Excerpt for Taste The Author: When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing storie...

Well I finally succumbed and joined the realm of twitter.  You can follow me if you like - there is an option on the side bar under followers.  Not sure if I am exactly excited about the fact, but it seemed like the way to go to try and get my blog out there a bit more. Still learning how to use it, I've never even looked at the site before so its all pretty new.  Will see how it goes. . . .

Plot Overview: Hexbound picks up soon after the events of the previous book Firespell end. Lily Parker has been sent to boarding school, St. Sophia's, while her parents are out of the country working. At St. Sophia's things are not always what they seem and Lily soon stumbles onto a hidden world of magic - where teen 'adepts' try to keep their counterparts the 'Dark Elite' from preying on the innocent . Lily also finds herself wielding a new and powerful magic called 'firespell' that she must learn to control. Hexbound sees Lily learning more about her magic and looking into the secrets that surround her parents, their job and why they sent her to St. Sophias. At the same time Lily, her best friend Scout and the rest of the 'adepts' encounter some strange, slimy and fanged monsters roaming the tunnels that they patrol. The adepts will need to find out what they are and where this new threat came from if they are to stop them. As if ...

Unshapely Things (Connor Grey #1) Plot Overview: After part of the Faeire World suddenly manifested in the middle of Boston, the fey that came with it had to go somewhere. Welcome to the ‘Weird’.... where many of the Fey have made their homes. It’s filled with magic, wonder and strange alien creatures - it can also be a rough and dangerous neighborhood. Connor Grey was once a powerful Druid with the Guild (fey law enforcement agency), after an accident on a job he is now all but powerless. No longer useful he’s on disability and trying to make ends meet with the odd consulting job. Things aren’t exactly going well for Connor and he recently had to move to the edge of the Weird himself. Now someone is brutally killing fairy prostitutes and cutting out their hearts, when the Guild decides its not an urgent matter they kick the case to back to the human police. With no idea what they are dealing with the police turn to Connor for help navigating the murky depths of the Weird in...

I ordered some books from The Book Depository a little while ago and they arrived this week. Yay! I am looking forward to reading and reviewing them. For those of you who don't know The Book Depository is an online book seller based in the UK. The great thing about them is that they have free worldwide shipping , the books were reasonably priced too. I will probably be doing most of my online book shopping through these guys now as it is much cheaper. I purchased: Desdaemona by Ben Macallan Hounded by Kevin Hearne Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch They all came individually, Desdaemona and Hounded came on Thursday and then Midnight Riot an Saturday (not sure why the delay on only one of them).  I was a bit upset as the cover of Desdaemona has been damaged but I think that was due to whomever put it in my post box - its really small and they squashed two books in there together instead of just putting them in the package area of the building. Sigh.   Anyway it w...

Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires, Book 1) Plot Overview: Super smart sixteen year old Claire Danvers has gained advanced placement to college but her over protective parents feel she is too young to move too far away. Instead they chose to send her to the closer, seemingly 'safe' town of Morganville, Texas where she will spend two years at the small local college. As a college freshman Claire should only have to worry about classes and term papers but she soon finds out that in Morganville, college life is far more difficult. Between psychotic mean girls and a town run by vampires Claire will need to learn more than her classes have to offer - like how to survive and how not to become dinner. Claire finds a safe haven at Glass House, the current tenants are wary of her young age but realise that at she needs their help. With her new housemates, Claire begins to uncover the secrets of the town she has unwitting become a part of and manages to cause enough trouble...