Challenge Completed! Book Review ~ Spark by Rachael Craw

Title: Spark (Spark #1)
Author: Rachael Craw
Publisher: Walker Books Australia
Release Date: July 1st 2014
Source: Purchased

Evie doesn’t have a choice.

One day she’s an ordinary seventeen year old, grieving for her mother. The next, she’s a Shield, the result of a decades-old experiment gone wrong, bound by DNA to defend her best friend from an unknown killer.

The threat could come at home, at school, anywhere. All Evie knows is that it will be a fight to the death.

And then there’s Jamie. irresistible. off-limits.

Goodreads Link

Initially, I simply set out to read a book from cover-to-cover without getting distracted and losing interest as my recent track record has been - but very quickly, all that changed...

Spark is the first book in a YA trilogy about genetically engineered people with superhuman powers and a creepy secret organisation that tries to control everything and everyone associated with it (it has a very cool 'The Tomorrow People' vibe to it).

Evie is an average girl who has just buried her mother and she's trying to adjust to living with her aunt - but right off the bat you know she's sick, you know that weird stuff is about to go down, and it is so, so good.

If you love young dystopian novels like The Maze Runner, The Hunger Games, and Divergent; there are definitely those same crazy institutional overlord vibes going on within the Affinity Project (the bad guys) but Spark is so much more than that - it has fabulous friendships, amazing first loves, and super awesome secrets that hold you to the edge of your seat!

And the writing is so damn good - I saw it all playing out in my head! The author has an incredible talent for painting such lifelike scenes, I actually felt like I was watching a CW show. (Supergirl, The Flash, Supernatural, Legends of Tomorrow, TVD, iZombie, Arrow, etc, etc, etc, I am a CW show fa-na-tic!! and Spark would totally rule as a CW show!!)

Full of twists and turns, mystery, adventure, and forbidden desire - Spark is a roller coaster read and quite easily the best YA book I've read in a very long time. And as an added bonus, I described this book to my fourteen year old and it's now on her tbr pile, and honestly, my nine year old is lining up to read it too and as a parent, any book that will get my kids off their devices is a blessing!

Spark is a heart poundingly good read and completely deserving of a 5 star rating.

Review Tour ~ Promises to Keep by Maegan Beaumont

Title: Promises to Keep (Sabrina Vaughn #3)

Author: Maegan Beaumont

Release Date: August 8th 2015
Publisher: Midnight Ink
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For three years, Michael O'Shea has been forced to act as a personal assassin for Livingston Shaw, the cold-blooded puppet master who controls the remote bioweapon implanted in Michael's back. When Shaw offers to release him if he can recover a kidnapped child, Michael works with every ounce of his being to put the pieces together before all the witnesses are murdered.

Meanwhile, police Inspector Sabrina Vaughn--the woman Michael passionately loves but has been kept from seeing--discovers the body of a little boy that bears a striking resemblance to the missing child. Against all his instincts, Michael must draw Sabrina into his life as one of the world's most notorious assassins if he's to overcome the legacy of his bloodthirsty past.

Purchase Link
Amazon US

As she has a knack for doing - Maegan Beaumont sucked me into the third installment of her Sabrina Vaughn series straight away and I basically didn't move until I'd devoured it!

All of my favorites characters are back to help - and sometimes hinder - Sabrina and Michael as they again face off against a common enemy.
The perfect blend of suspense, mystery, romance and thrilling action came together in Promises to Keep, taking me on an exhilarating ride that had me hanging on to my nerves by a thread!

And that ending - oh boy! I don't want to give anything away but man, I simply could not contain my joy, excitement, torment; my poor overworked heart simply could not take all the feels!!

Maegan Beaumont's smooth and evocative writing is on point, I have been left satisfied and yet I'm so darn hungry for more - I am desperate for more Sabrina and Michael.

I'm emotionally drained but buzzing from the thrill of it - Promises to Keep is a 5 star read.

Carved in Darkness (Book #1)

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Past horrors bleed into a present day nightmare

Fifteen years ago, a psychotic killer abducted seventeen year old Melissa Walker. For 83 days she was raped and tortured before being left for dead in a deserted church yard... But she was still alive.

Melissa begins a new life as homicide inspector, Sabrina Vaughn. With a new face and a new name, it's her job to hunt down murderers and it's a job she does very well.

When Michael O'Shea, a childhood acquaintance with a suspicious past, suddenly finds her, he brings to life the nightmare Sabrina has long since buried.

Believing that his sister was recently murdered by the same monster who attacked Sabrina, Michael is dead set on getting his revenge--using Sabrina as bait.

Purchase Link
Amazon US

READ MY REVIEW HERE

Sacrificial Muse (Book #2)
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She is his muse, and the fates require sacrifice.

San Francisco Detective Sabrina Vaughn is able to shrug off the nine red roses being delivered to her office every day. But when only eight roses arrive on the same day a Berkeley student's mutilated body is found, Sabrina fears that the killer is taunting her. Forced into a partnership with a deceitful reporter who somehow remains one step ahead of her, Sabrina discovers that she's the object of a psychopath's twisted delusion . . . and there may be no escape.

Purchase Link
Amazon US

READ MY REVIEW HERE

A native Phoenician, Maegan’s stories are meant to make you wonder what the guy standing in front of you in the Starbucks line has locked in his basement, and feel a strong desire to sleep with the light on.

When she isn’t busy fulfilling her duties as Domestic Goddess for her high school sweetheart turned husband, Joe, and their four children, she is locked in her office with her computer, her coffee pot and her Rhodesian Ridgeback, and one true love, Jade.

Twitter ~ Blog ~ Goodreads ~ Website ~ Facebook

Blog Tour Review & Giveaway ~ The Fan by Toni Kenyon

The Fan
Book #2
Published April 18th 2013 by Apeople Publishing
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17348248-the-fan

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fan-Rockstar-Romance-Private-Love

"Have you ever lusted after a famous musician? Or maybe you've fantasized about being 'the one' to be plucked from the audience. What really happens when the lights go down?

With a fast-spinning turnstile on his bedroom door, Julian MacAvoy spreads his musical gospel to his adoring followers, leaving broken hearts in his wake. What did happen between Julian, Barbie and Young Elvis that one night after the gig?

THE FAN is a short explicit romp - written for those of you who desperately need to know what happened in that bathroom - or for anyone else who has lusted after a famous musician!"

The Fan is a quick and easy story to read, and fills in all the gaps about what really happened in Julian MacAvoy’s Hotel room (Private Love in a Public Place) when he picked up a fan and her friend for some night time activities!

All three characters (Julian, Caitlin and Steve) are brought to life quickly and easily and I thoroughly enjoyed their post-concert romp. It was great having a chance to read from Julian’s POV during the sexual interlude. And I really enjoyed getting to feel a little of his frustration and desire for Mags; and the reasoning behind this threesome and his other regular sexual exploits.

I think author Toni Kenyon did a great job of portraying the fan (Caitlin). Her hesitant yet eager display of fandom, and wanting to please her ‘idol’ was very well written; I’m sure we can all relate to fangirling in some way, shape, or form!

Well written, funny and sexy, The Fan gets 5 stars from me.

Private Love in a Public Place
Book #1
Published August 28th 2012 by Apeople Publishing
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15823105-private-love-in-a-public-place

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Private-Love-Public-Place

Mags O'Brien lives on the alcohol-soaked, drug-enhanced concert circuit, managing out-of-control rocker Julian MacAvoy. She helps him spread his musical gospel to his adoring followers, despite the fast-spinning turnstile on his bedroom door, and the broken hearts he leaves in his wake.

Mags believes she’s immune to Julian’s magnetic personality but when controversy hits the tour, she finds herself in danger of falling at his feet, slave to his appetites and her own desire and need.

Julian refuses to be tamed, but the pressure of the ravenous crowds clamps tighter and tighter around him. His chaotic world starts to crumble when he realizes his motivation to continue touring comes from an unobtainable woman. Can he force her to make the agonizing choice between himself and her estranged husband?

An erotic and candid look at life on the road.

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Public Love in a Private Place
Book #3
Published May 21st 2015 by Apeople Publishing
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18008139-public-love-in-a-private-place

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Public-Private-Place

Having faked his own death to escape his out-of-control lifestyle, Rocker Julian MacAvoy and his beloved Mags are lying low in the Far North of New Zealand.

Enjoying their newfound anonymity, Julian has to come to terms with the prospect of discovery when Mags turns their new life upside down by announcing that she's pregnant.

Will this reformed bad-boy be forced to return to his rock star roots?

Romantic, erotic and awash in the beauty of the Far North of New Zealand, PUBLIC LOVE IN A PRIVATE PLACE captures the essence of the rock star's dilemma: The Band or The Girl.

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Toni Kenyon lives in Auckland with her husband (and their two dogs) the goldfish are just squatting! She writes romance by day, sings in a band by night and in her spare (yeah, right) time she wrangles difficult heroes into line, so they can star in her next novel. Toni also loves the garden and has a special place in her heart for her fruit trees and her veggie patch. A keen amateur photographer, Toni posts “Mood of the Suburbs” shots across most of her social media profiles. She loves to hear from like-minded people, so pop on over and say 'Hi' any time.
Visit her website and sign up for her newsletter so you can stay informed about her new releases.

Toni can also be found at:
Website: www.tonikenyon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Toni.Kenyon.author
Twitter: @Toni_Kenyon
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/Toni_Kenyon
Instagram: www.instagram.com/toni_kenyon

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