The Cowboy and the Vampire Series Cover Revamp!

Hi ya'll,

As promised, I have a special treat today. Two of the biggest benefits of being a writer and blogger are the opportunities to do cover reveals and read ARCs of soon to be released books. In preparation for the third installment of their fantastic vampire series, Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays have given me the wonderful privilege to share with you the TWO new covers for the previous books. But first a little background. Go here and here to see the orginal covers for book one and two.

The phrase “you can’t judge a book by its cover” is a lie. It’s a damn lie. People do it all the time. Art is truth.

To mark the upcoming May 2014 release of the third book in The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection, the series was treated to a gothic western makeover, with artwork commissioned exclusively for the series.

“We wanted to give readers something special and the new covers get right to the heart of the series,” said co-author Hays. “Go on and judge the books by these covers! They bring together the paranormal and the western elements perfectly, setting a dark tone with just a hint of the humor.”

“Each time you look at the images, you see something a bit different, even more of the opposites-attract romantic theme pops, and the overtones of simmering passion,” said co-author McFall.

Get caught up on the love between Tucker and Lizzie now before the release of book three.

About the authors:
Between the two of them, Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall have worked in writing jobs ranging from
cowboy-poet to energy journalist to restaurant reviewer to university press officer. After they met, their writing career took center stage when they wrote the first book in The Cowboy and the Vampire
Collection as a test for marriage. They passed. Clark and Kathleen now live in Portland, Ore.

And now for the covers!!!

So what do you think? Please feel free to leave a comment below. And to make sure you are up to date on Liz and Tucker's story click here and here to buy the books.

Book Review: Half-blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I just recently tweeted about staying up until 2 am reading Half-blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout. That's a huge thing these days especially since I became a new mom earlier this year. Reading into the night is not something I can afford in my already sleep-deprived state. So if a book has captured me so much I'm willing to sacrifice a perfect night when my daughter decided to sleep the whole time, is well, a pretty damn good book.

I purchased this novel about almost two years ago after I read Obsidian (The Lux Series) and bought everything out there at the time written by her. Half-blood is part of the Covenant series.  I first read Daimon, the prequel to Half-blood. But when I started on Half-blood, I simply couldn't get into it.

Fast forward major career change at day job, pregnancy, and childbirth to a couple of days ago when I was browsing through my Kindle and decided to read something I'd already purchased rather than buying. I gave Half-blood another try. I was doing pretty good getting through about a chapter a day while I pumped at day job. (Trust me, reading is the only way to get through pumping, my least favorite thing about motherhood.)

So last night after daughter went to sleep I decided I'd read a little until I got sleepy. At this point I was about 40% through the book. My eyelids were starting to get heavy. Yawning became more frequent and then I got to about 46% (the end of chapter 10). BAM! Wide awake.

Oh. My. Gods. I had to finish the book and it was all I could do NOT to log into the Kindle store to buy the rest of the series when I reached the end at 2 am. Curse you, Jennifer!

The book is like Vampire Academy meets Greek mythology spun together in a delicious web of romance, snarky banter, kick ass action, and brilliant imagination. Jennifer has a way of luring you into her world of demigods and trapping you there until you read the last line of the book, but then only to realize you've become an addict and need your next hit. Soon. So many twists, so many fantastic characters that burrow under your skin, making themselves a comfortable little nest. No wonder she became a NY Times bestselling author publishing mostly through indie press. And it's a really good thing she writes a lot and has multiple books coming out each year.

Thank goodness I have a whole week off starting Christmas. You know what I'll be doing. I admit it, I'm a J.L Armentrout junkie and now it's my mission to get as many converts. Here's the link to purchase Half-Blood. You're welcome and Merry Christmas.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005OCPT00/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

 See you all in 2014.

Cheers,
Melania

3rd Sunday Sweet: Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike

Last fall, I experienced one of the greatest honors imaginable- having the privilage of being the first to reveal Aprilynne Pike's Life after Theft cover, share not one but two teasers (click on the links to view teasers), and ARC giveaway. This is a book that I've been dying to read since read about it on her blog years ago. As a thank you for hosting the cover reveal and giveaway, I got my very own ARC copy (which is like the coolest thing ever to read something that's not even out yet). After the madness of the holidays, I finally had the chance to sit down and read the book.

Here's the discription on Amazon:

Moving to a new high school sucks. Especially a rich-kid private school. With uniforms. But nothing is worse than finding out the first girl you meet is dead. And a klepto.

No one can see or hear Kimberlee except Jeff, so--in hopes of bringing an end to the snarkiest haunting in history--he agrees to help her complete her "unfinished business." But when the enmity between Kimberlee and Jeff's new crush, Sera, manages to continue posthumously, Jeff wonders if he's made the right choice.

Clash meets sass in this uproarious modern-day retelling of Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Aprilynne Pike.

 So what did I think of the book?

Like the last sentence from Amazon said: Clash meets sass. The number one thing that really sticks out is the voice. It's in first person and male protagonist- 100% totally different than the voice in the Wings series (which I absolutely ADORE). It's edgy, witty, fresh, entertaining, and very appropriate to the characters. No wonder this is the book that got her on the publishing agent's radar.

The second thing I like about the story is that it's very realistic. She doesn't shy away from common issues that face teens today like drugs, alcohol, sex, or personal identity. Though they are addressed in a positive manner. The biggest challenge is learning about who you are and the story highlights this beautifully both in Jeff (life) and Kimberlee (death). The dialogue is true and not squeaky "clean" but not full of vulgarity as some YA novels are. Though I love a good story, sometimes when authors try to be too PG the dialogue comes out contrived and unbelievable. In this case it was perfectly balanced. With that being said, there is nothing wrong with being "clean."

The pacing and plot flowed naturally. Haunted by a klepto ghost, finding new love, and trying to fit into a new school are enough to create page-turning conflicts, juicy twists, comical situations, and a happy ending. So yeah, I basically LOVED it!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much, Aprilynne and Harper Collins for giving me the chance read this brilliant, funny, romantic adventure months before it comes out.

Click on the above Amazon link to pre-order today. You won't be disappointed. :)

3rd Sunday Sweet: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs.

Last summer at RWA, I had the privilege of meeting the fantastic Tera Lynn Childs as well as attend a YA workshop taught by her and Sophie Jordan. A while ago, Sweet Venom was free on Kindle and I downloaded it. The book sat in my archive for a couple of weeks before I started reading. Once I did I couldn't put it down.

It's written in intense first person kind of like Hunger Games and I was in the story from page one. The writing is fabulous. Sweet Venom is the tale of triple sisters, separated at birth, who happen to be descendants of Medusa, and their destiny is to keep the monsters popping up all over San Fransisco in check.

Grace, the eco-geeky sister, is my favorite. I love that she is sweet but tough when she needs to be. Gretchen is the badass sister that has been doing the fighting the longest and has known her destiny before the other two. Greer is the preppy snobby girl you want to hate, but at the same time can't help but love because underneath all the layers of the high class society she's grown up in she has a heart of gold. I loved how each sister's POV tells a new facet of the story. I felt the sadness, joy, and sacrifice these girls experienced as they embraced their destiny.

This fresh take on Greek mythology is full of adventure, excellent character development, and sprinkled with sweet little bits of romance. Reminded me alot of the Percy Jackson series but less middle grade. When I finished the book I bought the sequel Sweet Shadows. Didn't start it till last week and it's just as good as the first. I'm trying to pace myself because I HATE waiting for the next book... My strategy is not working very well...

You can get your own copy here. Totally worth it.