Cover Reveal ~ Last Chance by T.G. Ayer

 
Here it is - the cover of Last Chance, book #3 in
The DarkWorld Series

Expected publication: September 30th 2014 by Infinite Ink Books
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With the loss of her sister still weighing down both her conscience and her heart, Kailin Odel must take on the next part of her mission - find her mother and Anjelo and bring them back from Wrythiin.

Kailin uses her mother's portal key and enters the Wraith world intent on saving the ones she loves, but from the moment she arrives her mission is fraught with peril.
Arriving in Wrythiin, Kai steps right into the middle of a Wraith rebellion. And only to find that though Anjelo is safe, her mother is held captive by a subversive faction of Wraiths once led by the Wraithlord that Kai had killed.

From Wraiths to Shapeshifters, rebel causes to fraying family ties, to inexplicable new powers, Kai must fight her darkest demons while entering the blackest pits of Wrythiin to save her mother.

    

I have been a writer from the time I was old enough to recognize that reading was a doorway into my imagination. Poetry was my first foray into the art of the written word. Books were my best friends, my escape, my haven. I am essentially a recluse but this part of my personality is impossible to practice given I have two teenage daughters, who are actually my friends, my tea-makers, my confidantes… I am blessed with a husband who has left me for golf. It’s a fair trade as I have left him for writing. We are both passionate supporters of each others loves – it works wonderfully…

My heart is currently broken in two. One half resides in South Africa where my old roots still remain, and my heart still longs for the endless beaches and the smell of moist soil after a summer downpour. My love for Ma Afrika will never fade. The other half of me has been transplanted to the Land of the Long White Cloud. The land of the Taniwha, beautiful Maraes, and volcanoes. The land of green, pure beauty that truly inspires. And because I am so torn between these two lands – I shall forever remain cross-eyed.

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Book Review ~ Mrs D is Going Without by Lotta Dann

Title: Mrs D is Going Without: I used to be a boozy housewife. Now I'm not. This is my book.

Author: Lotta Dann
Release Date: July 1st 2014
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Source: Received from the publisher via Booksellers NZ

Lotta Dann was in trouble - her fun drinking habit had slowly morphed into an obsessive hunger for wine. One bottle a night was never quite enough. When she tried to cut down, she found it nearly impossible to have an alcohol-free day.

Everyone around could see her drinking, but no one realised what a serious problem it was. She was high-functioning, fun-loving Lotta, not some messy, hopeless drunk. Only Lotta knew how sick and twisted her thinking about wine had become.

Desperate and miserable, she was falling deeper and deeper into a boozy hellhole and running out of ideas about what she could do to stop it. What's a girl to do when her beloved wine becomes the enemy?

Here's what Lotta did. She stopped drinking and secretly started a blog that charted the highs and lows of learning to live without alcohol. Mrs D was anonymous, honest and, as Lotta would discover, surrounded by people who would help her on her journey, and whom she could help in return.

Prelude to a book review...

I decided to write a short prelude to my review of Mrs D is Going Without, because it’s not the kind of book I normally read or review; I thought it might be good to give you a little insight.

I am the daughter of an alcoholic.

While I was between the ages of approx 12 and 34 my dad was pretty much drinking and/or drunk all-the-time. I won’t bore you with all the gory details of growing up in a seriously dysfunctional household, but needless to say it wasn’t healthy, or pleasant, or fun.

I’m an occasional drinker, but there is scientific evidence that suggests children of alcoholics may have a genetic predisposition towards alcoholism; and I guess that is always in the back of my mind. Like an inner voice of sorts, telling me to be responsible, reminding me that I don’t want to end up like my father. That’s actually a sad fact to admit to, but it is a true one. I do not want to be like my dad.

So I guess I was looking for some kind of reassurance that it couldn’t happen to me. Maybe reading Mrs D, would provide me with answers to my questions about my dad’s drinking, or perhaps I would be more understanding of his drinking through reading Mrs. D’s story...
 
Review

Mrs D is Going Without is nothing but honest... unabashedly so.
Lotta Dann (Mrs D) leaves no stone un-turned, no secret unrevealed, as she reflects and expands on her first years of sobriety; originally recorded on her blog (of the same name).

Full of insightful ‘light bulb’ moments, tips and tricks for skipping her 5 o’clock wine – Mrs D had a serious case of clean the house to avoid a drink syndrome – she did whatever it took to avoid booze, and it worked for her.

I love the narrative that strings the blog posts together, and the blog comments that slowly appear to offer support are great to read, to see how her story resonates with people from all works of life, all corners of the globe. But the thing I like the most is Mrs D’s relatability.

Mrs D really is like you or I. She is juggling all the exciting and mundane things that make us all hardworking wives and mothers. Sick kids, moving house, housework, school runs, general day-to-day monotony - you name it, she did it – all while going cold turkey, all without her usual wine o’clock relief that would turn in to an inevitable wow, I drank the whole bottle evening!

I saw similarities between Mrs D and my dad.
Hell, I even saw similarities between Mrs D and myself! But there are great differences too, as revealed on page 220.
I wrote this down in my notes: ‘I so loved this moment. I read it with a tear in my eye. Because after almost 40 years of being one, my Dad still can't say those words... you are a brave and honest woman Mrs D, and I applaud you for it.’ I won’t give it completely away for those of you who will read Mrs D is Going Without, but I found this to be one of the most defining moments in Mrs D’s journey.

To say I enjoyed this book would be understating the fact. I absolutely loved this memoir. After finishing, I wrote this note: ‘so I've pretty much cried my way through the last chapters of this book (yes, I am a crier in general) but I have been so moved by Lotta and her journey. Cheers (of the non alcoholic variety) to you :)’

Did I get some of the answers I was looking for – well yes, I think I did.
I definitely have a better realization about how easy the slide from one evening drink to out of control drinking can be. And while I always have been aware, I now have a better understanding about alcohol being a drug, about how it can consume your every thought, having to base every decision you make on what to drink instead of booze and how to avoid slipping back it to its clutches. Because it is so socially accepted, we hardly notice when it gets out of control.

Mrs D is Going Without, is a must read. And not just for those thinking of giving up the drink. Family, friends, loved ones, children and parents of alcoholics; anyone, anywhere can be affected by alcoholism and I would strongly recommend that you all read this book – if for nothing more than to simply understand that someone who may be struggling with alcohol doesn’t have to be falling down drunk every day. Even the person lying in bed beside you could be silently struggling... and you just don’t realise it.
A truly inspiring 5 star read.

Release Day Book Review ~ Lead by Kylie Scott

Title: Lead (Stage Dive, #3)

Author: Kylie Scott

Publication Date: July 29, 2014

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

 

Stay up all night with the sexy rockers in Stage Dive, the epic rock star romance series from New York Times bestselling author Kylie Scott, author of Lick and Play.  
As the lead singer of Stage Dive, Jimmy is used to getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, whether it's booze, drugs, or women. However, when a PR disaster serves as a wake-up call about his life and lands him in rehab, he finds himself with Lena, a new assistant to keep him out of trouble. 　

Lena's not willing to take any crap from the sexy rocker and is determined to keep their relationship completely professional, despite their sizzling chemistry. But when Jimmy pushes her too far and Lena leaves, he realizes that he may just have lost the best thing that ever happened to him. 
  

“Lena, you seen my old black Led Zep shirt?”

“Nope.”

“You sure?” His brows became one dark cranky line. The scratches on his face were healing well, thank goodness. Though it didn’t reduce my desire to throttle his mother on a daily basis.

“Yes. I haven’t seen it.”

“Can’t find it anywhere…”

“And this is a surprise, how?” I slipped my hands into my back jean’s pockets. “Jimmy, you own more clothing than Cher, Brittney, and Elvis, put together. Things are bound to go missing.”

“Sure you haven’t seen it?”

“For goodness sake, what do you think, Jimmy? That I stole it to sleep in or something?” I laughed bitterly. Sure as hell, the truth deserved a good mocking. I’d sunk so despicably low.

I hadn’t even meant to steal the stupid thing, but the shirt had been mixed up with my laundry a few days ago. It’d been the first top I laid my hand on after stepping out of the shower, ready to go to bed. Without thought, I’d put it on and it’d been so soft, the scent of him lingering beneath the laundry detergent. Every night since, I’d found myself in it come bedtime. My shame knew no limits. And no, I still hadn’t quit. The words still hadn’t come even close to leaving my mouth.

He frowned. “No.”

“That I have some deep secret longing to feel close to you resulting in my stealing your shirt like some creepy perv?”

“Course I don’t fucking think that,” he replied crankily, reaching up to grip the top of the doorframe. All of his bulging muscles stretched the arms of his white T-shirt in the nicest way. It was all I could do not to start drooling, my heart beat taking up residence somewhere down between my thighs. And who could blame it? Not me. Maybe if I got laid, this would go away and things would return to normal. It’d seemed safer to avoid rubbing up against any men just in case I got carried away and started dating again. This new situation, however, changed everything.

“Well, of course not! That would be crazy.” And wasn’t that the god’s honest truth? Cray-zeee. Lock me up and throw away the key because it wasn’t like I didn’t know better.

“Just can’t figure out where the hell it could be.”

Angels couldn’t have smiled as innocently. They might have tried, but they would have failed, the dirty-mouthed, winged, little liars. “Jimmy, I don’t know where it is. But I’ll look around for it later, okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, and then added as an afterthought, “and stop looking at me weird.”

“I’m not!”

**warning**

this review may contain swearing, exuberant ranting, and general over the top fangirling behavior!!

My, my, my... what to say about Lead, how will I find the right words to phrase my well thought out review....

HOLYSHITBALLS!

FANFRICKINGTASTIC!

FUCKMEDRUNK!

OMFG, Lead by Kylie Scott is by far, my favorite of the Stage Dive novels to date!!

No seriously, gasp away, tell me you loved David or Mal more, I really don't care because #omgjimmy is the man for me! - for right now anyway, don't get me started on that smokin' Minsky cover for Deep!!

Kylie did the one thing I really didn't think she would be able to pull off - she turned my least favorite, smart arsed, foul mouthed, sneer faced Stage Diver into to a sexy, snarky mouthed, broody bastard with a heart of absolute gold. What the hell - that's the same damn thing, I hear you say? Pish-posh, it's all in the execution and delivery!

Jimmy-freakin-Ferris is an absolute dreamboat.
Yes he is hard-headed, a stubborn ass mule and absolutely terrified of letting anyone get close to him; but that's also half his charm! He is so caught up trying to protect his brother from their disaster of a mother, determined not to drag the rest of the band down with him, and so consumed with being an absolute prick to anyone who is there to help him, that he is totally thrown for a loop when Lena categorically refuses to put up with his shit!

Lena has balls, big brass balls!
She flat out refuses to take any crap from Jimmy and tells him like it is - but she also knows how to soothe his wounds, how to talk him down from the edge; and she does it over and over, falling in love with his damaged arse just a little bit more each time. I think I my even have a wee lady crush on Lena - she's a ballsy bitch that I totally relate to!

The fireworks between Jimmy and Lena make for an absolute cracker of a read, and that's even before they sex it up! And when they do - hello!!

I said it earlier, but I'll say it again - Lead is my favorite Stage Dive book to date. Kylie Scott knows just how to grab my heart strings, and she plays them like an expert guitarist; plucking at those baby's, tearing me up, making me laugh, keeping me hanging on like one of Stage Dive's many groupies - oh wait, I am!

Kylie Scott's writing is smooth, exciting, panty-wetting awesomeness that I am well and truly addicted to; she has quickly become one of my absolute, all-time favorite writers. Lead gets 5 rockin' stars!

The Stage Dive series by Kylie Scott

Lick (Stage Dive #1)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads

Play (Stage Dive #2)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads

Lead (Stage Dive, #3)

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | iTunes

 

Coming January 6^th, 2015

Deep (Stage Dive #4)

^OMG Minsky hotness!!^

Pre - Order

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | B&N | Goodreads

   

About Kylie Scott

Kylie is a long time fan of romance, rock music, and B-grade horror films. Based in Queensland, Australia with her two children and one delightful husband, she reads, writes and never dithers around on the internet.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads

Check out more of Kylie’s work

The Flesh series | Colonist’s Wife | Heart’s A Mess