'The Fallen Odyssey' by C.B. McCullough

Blurb:

When 17-year-old Justin Holmes wakes up in a bizarre, unknown world, far from his rural Pennsylvania hometown, he goes from an ordinary high school student to a refugee, fighting for his very survival against dark, mysterious forces. An otherworldly odyssey. A demonic evil. And the power of the spirit. The adventure begins in The Fallen Odyssey.

Buy links

Amazon \ Website

Author Bio:

Corey (C.B.) McCullough is a freelance writer and self- published author. He lives in the northeastern United States with his beautiful wife and a small menagerie of pets. He does most of his writing in a little house in the woods. C.B.'s resume includes copywriting, editing, proofreading, ghostwriting, and digging up artifacts as an archaeological technician.

Review of 'The Forgotten Pharaoh' by Laura DeLuca

The Forgotten Pharaoh

Julie Gerber isn't thrilled to be pulled out of school her senior year to follow her parents halfway around the world to unearth a lost pyramid. However, when the cute British guy and the mysterious financier of their project both fight for her attention, things start to get interesting. The pharaoh known as Djedefre was cursed for the murder of his eldest brother. The work of the archaeologists brings new secrets to light, ones that prove the fallen god-king wasn't the villain history had painted him to be. Can they prove his innocence? As the team digs deeper into the mystery, members of the party vanish or end up dead. Someone is determined to keep the truth hidden at all costs, even 4,500 years later.

**My thoughts**

I have traditionally enjoyed Laura DeLuca's books, because you never know what you are going to get. She has written quite a range of books. I admit that when I first read the blurb, I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. I got nervous when I started reading the intro, which took place back in Ancient Egypt. While I am interested in Ancient Egypt, I am not a big fan of historical fiction. Once the first chapter came along, though, and the modern story got started, I was completely hooked.

Julie is a messed up kid, desperate for acceptance, who is forced to come along on this excursion after getting herself into some serious, scary trouble. She finds herself drawn to two young men, adding in a bit of romance to her life. Yet, she is also plagued by visions and seems to be more intuitive about the ancient mystery than anyone else who has studied it for years. Flynn is a fun young Brit. Omar isthe mysterious American man of Egyptian descent.

As I read the first half of the book, I felt certain that I knew exactly what was going to happen. While I may have been right in some respects, DeLuca definitely throws some curve balls into the plot that I was not expecting. This added layer to the ancient mystery made it strangely compelling, probably because it really was unexpected for me.

I also really enjoyed the nods to Egyptian history. I felt drawn back to my younger days when I was studying them in school. 

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Amazon * Smashwords * OmniLit * Barnes &Noble

Read the Reviews -

Review Andi's Young Adult Books http://andisyoungadult.blogspot.com Review http://takingtimeformommy.comm Review Bookworm Babblings http://inspirationsbysimone.blogspot.com Review Manic Mama of 3 (http://manicmamaof3.wordpress.com) Review http://mullenarmyfamily.blogspot.com

About the author:

Laura “Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young at heart. In addition to writing fiction, Laura is also the editor of a popular review blog called New Age Mama. She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying Wicca for close to eight years. Her current works include Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, Phantom, Morrigan, Player, and Demon.

Author Links:

Website Facebook Twitter Goodreads

Laura is giving away a Egyptian Prize Pack including oil diffuser, bookmark, scarab, ankh charm, bookmark, pin and incense.

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Cover Reveal! 'The Ghost of You' by Amanda Burckhard

The Ghost of You 

by Amanda Burckhard 

 Release Date: 12/30/14 

Swoon Romance

Summary from Goodreads:

Emmy has everything she’s ever wanted: a hot boyfriend she adores, great friends, a promising future, and even a well-connected family. But one night rips it all away.

A car accident shatters her world, claiming the lives of her twin brother and her best friend. In the wake of the accident, her friends drift away, her family falls apart, and her boyfriend cheats.

The grief is more than she can handle, so she finds escape at the bottom of a bottle of painkillers. Taking the pills makes her brother alive again, if only in her head. Seeing and talking to her brother as if he were still alive is the only thing that keeps her going. Until Logan King moves to town.

Logan sees past the mask of pristine popularity she wears in public and he’s the only one who can tell she hasn’t moved on. His uncanny ability to read her forces her to open up and she starts to fall for him, no matter how unwilling she is to admit it. But Emmy isn’t the only one keeping secrets and when a close brush with death sparks events that bring everything to light, Emmy will have to decide what’s more important: learning how to forgive and move on, or holding onto the pills and the ghost of her past.

About the Author

Amanda Burckhard grew up exploring bat caves and hunting for dinosaur bones in the Black Hills of South Dakota. When she wasn’t crossing paths with mountain lions, she was making up stories and devouring books at the library. Although, she still does that.

Amanda loves to travel and cross out things on her adrenaline packed bucket list. Some of the things she's been able to cross out include see an active volcano erupt, ride a gondola in Venice, and pet a tiger.

She currently lives in North Sioux City, South Dakota and works as a microbiologist by day. Some of her obsessions include comic book movies, hot chocolate, sushi, sunshine, and Doctor Who.

Author Links:

   

Cover Reveal Organized by:

'The Order of Ascalon (Book 1)' by Daniel J. Franks

Blurb:

The Order of Ascalon takes you on a magical mystery adventure through time and around the world...

After a group of drunken yobs mug sixteen-year-old Peter Butler one evening, he discovers that he has ancient magical powers that will change the course of his life. He learns that he is the son and heir of the legendary English King – Arthur Pendragon, sent 1500 years into the future by Merlin, to protect him from a malicious powerful sorcerer – Mallum Mallus, who seeks to devour the Light of Adunaris within him. Peter becomes embroiled in the oldest conflict in human history, one fought by influential and deadly secret organisations. With his centuries old godmother, Glynnis Goldwine, he embarks on a daring magical adventure around the planet, deciphering clues left by Nostradamus, that lead him to forgotten and powerful artefacts, hidden in famous landmarks. The Illuminati hunt him. The Arcanium need him. Governments want him!

Buy links

Amazon US \ Amazon UK

Author Biography

I was born a long, long time ago in 1979, in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Back when the dinosaurs played tennis at Stonehenge. I grew up in a lovely little town called Whitby. I am married and have two wonderful daughters. I like coffee, gherkins and writing fantasy stories. I have so far written one book "The Order of Ascalon", which is part of a trilogy. I am currently writing the next book called "The Order of Ascalon - Retribution". If you would like to know more, you can find the book's page on twitter, and on the main social media website. Happy reading!

Cover Reveal! 'The Soul Thief' by Majanka Verstraete

The Soul Thief by Majanka Verstraete

Expected Release: November 11, 2014

Publisher: Booktrope

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

When Riley is injured in a car crash and sees a girl stealing a boy’s soul, she’s convinced she’s hallucinating. But when she sees the same girl at the hospital later, she knows she wasn’t dreaming. That’s when Riley learns her secret heritage and who she really is: a halfling Angel of Death. Riley must come to terms with her new reality and supernatural abilities, but before she can do this, girls her age start dying in mysterious circumstances. It’s up to Riley to figure out why, what the innocent victims have in common, and what she can do to stop them.

Add to Goodreads

About the Author 

Majanka Verstraete begged her Mom to teach her how to read while she was still in kindergarten. By the time she finished fifth grade, she had read through the entire children’s section of her hometown library. She wrote her first story when she was seven years old, and hasn’t stopped writing since. With an imagination that never sleeps, and hundreds of possible book characters screaming for her attention, writing is more than a passion for her. She writes about all things supernatural for children of all ages. She’s tried to write contemporary novels before, but something paranormal always manages to crawl in. Majanka is currently studying for her Master of Laws degree, and hopes one day to be able to combine her passions for law and writing. When she’s not writing, reading or studying, she likes watching “The Vampire Diaries” and “Game of Thrones,” spending time with her friends, or playing “World of Warcraft.” http://majankaverstraete.com

'Extension' by L.V. Pires

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a $20 Amazon Gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

After having been cryogenically suspended for eighteen years, Oliver Conroy is brought back to life and given a second opportunity to live out his dreams. Velcron Technologies assures Oliver there’s nothing wrong with the procedure. Excited to find his family and finish his senior year at Sierra Vista High, Oliver ventures out into the new and very different world.

Across town, Colby Patterson, Sierra Vista’s star student, has just experienced his soul torn from his body and returned to its original owner, Oliver, leaving him empty, void of emotion, a psychopath, who is now determined to get his soul back using any means necessary.

When Oliver comes to realize he’s being pursued by Colby he must decide what to do. Can he defend himself against this soulless psychopath? Will he be able to bring himself to murder? And, if so, what will happen to his soul?

It’s a battle for the ultimate prize – ownership of the soul.

Enjoy an excerpt:

Oliver Conroy found himself in a black tunnel, surrounded by grey fog, pulled backwards through a cluster of bright stars folding in upon themselves. A man’s calm voice soothed his rigid body and kept him from convulsing all over the operating table. He opened his eyes to see this man hovering over him.

“There, there, Oliver, not so fast. You are only eighty-five percent dethawed.”

He felt a needle in his arm and then a cool serum work its way through his veins. In a matter of moments another sensation overcame him.

“Water,” he mouthed.

“Nurse Sanders, give him more of the liquefied gas and a cup of water.”

“Yes, doctor,” she said, rushing to grab an additional bag of blue liquid.

Oliver watched as she changed out the empty bag for the full one, then sat him up and helped him to drink.

“Alright, another successful revitalization,” the doctor said, snapping off his plastic gloves and tossing them into a waste bin. He picked up a transparent clipboard at the end of the operating table, flicked through it and then turned to Oliver.

“Welcome back, Mr. Conroy. I’m Dr. John Parker and you are officially our tenth patient to be revitalized.” He turned to the nurse. “Not bad for being frozen at negative one hundred and ninety-six degrees for the last eighteen years, huh?”

About the Author:

Young Adult author L.V. Pires lives near Baltimore, Maryland.

She graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Master’s in Education and the University of Maryland, College Park with a Bachelor's in English. She is currently working towards her MFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University.

Her work includes "The Portrait" (Gypsy Shadow Publishing), "Summer of Winged Creatures" (Saturday's Child Press) and EXTENSION (6/15/14, Crescent Moon Press).

Follow her at lisavpires.com.
Twitter at @lisavpires
www.facebook.com/lisavpires

Buy the book at Amazon.

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