Yelena Casale's Writing Blog

Monday, April 20, 2015

Find Your Next Great Read Scavenger Hunt from Night Owl Reviews!

Find Your Next Great Read Scavenger Hunt

My publisher, City Owl Press, is one of the sponsors of the

Find Your Next Great Read Scavenger Hunt.

Entering the hunt is fun!
100 Amazon Gift Cards and 38 eBooks are up for grabs.

The grand prize is a $250 Amazon Gift Card.

Contest runs May 1 - May 26

Read and Enter HERE!

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WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT CHAT

Monday - June 1st

5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern - Duration 1 hour

You don't need to come, but we would love to have you.

http://www.nightowlreviews.com/V5/Chats

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Full Contact by Sarah Castille - Review and Giveaway

Book & Author details:

Full Contact by Sarah Castille
(Redemption #3)
Published by: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: April 7th 2015
Genres: Adult, Erotica, Romance

Synopsis:

When you can’t resist the one person who could destroy you…

Sia O’Donnell can’t help but push the limits. She secretly attends every underground MMA fight featuring The Predator, the undisputed champion. When he stalks his prey in the ring, Sia is mesmerized. He is dominant and dangerous and every instinct tells her to run.

Every beautiful thing Ray “The Predator” touches he knows he’ll eventually destroy. Soft, sweet and innocent, Sia is the light to Ray’s darkness-and completely irresistible. From the moment he lays eyes on her, he knows he’s going to have to put his dark past behind him to win her body and soul.

Goodreads

Purchase:

Amazon

B&N

AUTHOR BIO:

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Sarah Castille, writes contemporary erotic romance and romantic suspense featuring blazingly hot alpha heroes and the women who tame them. A recovering lawyer and caffeine addict, she worked and traveled abroad before trading her briefcase and stilettos for a handful of magic beans and a home near the Canadian Rockies.

Author links:
Website

Goodreads

Facebook

Twitter

My Review: 3.5 Black Belts

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I give Full Contact 3.5 black belts (stars). I love martial arts and fighting, so naturally, I was excited to pick up this erotic romance novel. I enjoyed it, overall. Sia's character was well developed and I liked the way she grew and overcame her past over the course of the novel, and the way she was a mix of vulnerable and tough. I thought Ray's character should have been a bit more developed. Also, even though I enjoy alpha males, grunting one-and-two-word sentences was a bit too much for me. But in general, I liked Ray and would have enjoyed getting to know more about him. The erotic part of the novel was well done, it was sexy, hot and fun. The insertion of a few BDSM elements into the sex scenes wasn't overwhelming but added another dimension to them, which to me was a plus.

The secondary characters were also well developed and fun to read, especially Sia's brother Tag (who, I'm assuming, is going to get a story of his own), her best friend Jess and Torment, the owner of the Redemption gym (whose story was already told in one of the previous installments in the series)

Overall, I enjoyed the novel enough to pick up the rest of the books in the series.

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Monday, April 13, 2015

Quote of the Day

Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.

~ Joseph Campbell

Friday, April 10, 2015

Ashes In The Sky (Fire in The Woods #2) by Jennifer M. Eaton - Cover Reveal & Giveaway

Link to Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23344658-ashes-in-the-sky

Pre-order Links:

Amazon | B&N

ABOUT ASHES IN THE SKY

Title: Ashes In The Sky (Fire in The Woods #2)

Publication date: September 1, 2015

Publisher: Month9Books

Author: Jennifer M. Eaton

After inadvertently saving the world, eighteen-year-old Jessica Martinez is ready to put adventure behind her and settle back into the familiar routine of high school.

Though when she's offered an opportunity to photograph the inside of an alien space ship, Jess jumps at the chance. After all, she'd be crazy to turn something like that down, right?

Spending time with David on the ship has definite advantages and the two seem to pick up right where they left off. But when Jess discovers a plot to sabotage David's efforts to establish a new home for his people on another planet, neither David's advanced tech nor Jess's smarts will be able to save them.

ASHES IN THE SKY is an action-packed, romantic Sci Fi adventure that will leave readers screaming for more.

ABOUT JENNIFER M. EATON:

Corporate Team Leader by day, and Ranting Writer by night. Jennifer M. Eaton calls the East Coast of the USA home, where she lives with her husband, three energetic boys, and a pepped up poodle.

Jennifer hosts an informational blog “A Reference of Writing Rants for Writers (or Learn from My Mistakes)” aimed at helping all writers be the best they can be.

Beyond writing and motivating others, she also enjoys teaching her dog to jump through hoops—literally.

Jennifer’s perfect day includes long hikes in the woods, bicycling, swimming, snorkeling, and snuggling up by the fire with a great book; but her greatest joy is using her over-active imagination constructively… creating new worlds for everyone to enjoy.

Connect with the Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Sunday, April 5, 2015

Happy Easter!

May the love and peace of Easter be with you!

Saturday, April 4, 2015

The Dreamer by E.J. Mellow - Cover Reveal

BOOK & AUTHOR INFO:

The Dreamer by E.J. Mellow
(The Dreamland Series, #1)
Publication date: May 15th 2015
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Fantasy/Sci-fi

Synopsis:

It’s night. Always night. Dreams guard against the evil forged by nightmares. Infinite shooting stars illuminate a moonless sky. A city stands alone, surrounded by a darkened field. On its fringes, a man watches one star separate from the masses and fall. What survives the crash will unveil a secret centuries long hidden.

Molly hasn’t slept well since the night of her twenty-fourth birthday. Being struck by lightning might have something to do with it, but then again, her chicken did look a little undercooked at dinner. Whatever the culprit, her life quickly catapults from mundane to insane as, night after night, Molly is transported through her once dreamless sleep to a mysterious land illuminated by shooting stars.

There, she meets the captivating but frustrating Dev, and together they discover Molly possesses a power coveted by his people—the ability to conjure almost anything she desires into existence. Seduced by the possibilities of this gift, Molly shifts her attention from waking life toward the man, the magic, and the world found in her dreams.

But Molly must ask herself—does something truly exist if you only see it when you close your eyes?

Faced with the threat of losing everything—her job, best friend, boyfriend, and most importantly, that little thing called her sanity—Molly will learn just how far she’ll go to uncover what is real and what is merely a figment of her imagination.

Goodreads

AUTHOR BIO:

E.J.Mellow is a new adult and fantasy writer who resides in Brooklyn, NY. When she’s not busy moonlighting in the realm of make-believe, she can be found doodling, buried in a book (usually this one), or playing video games.