Author: Ambrosia

Musing Monday 2/10/14

- Ambrosia 3 Comments

Musing Monday is hosted over at Should Be Reading.

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

Today I am going to highlight the first audio book I am listening too, I haven’t yet because I have been watching the Olympics, whoops but I do plan to soon. While I also decide on what to read next, ah the choices never end.

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The story of a remarkable boy called Yann Margoza; Tetu the dwarf, his friend and mentor; Sido, unloved daughter of a foolish Marquis; and Count Kalliovski, Grand Master of a secret society, who has half the aristocracy in thrall to him, and wants Yann dead. Yann is spirited away to London but three years later, when Paris is gripped by the bloody horrors of the Revolution, he returns, charged with two missions: to find out Kalliovski’s darkest deeds and to save Sido from the guillotine. With a tangle of secrets, a thread of magic and a touch of humour, the follies of the aristocracy and the sufferings of ordinary people are unfolded as their lives move relentlessly towards the tragic and horrific days of the Terror. THE RED NECKLACE is not only a tremendous adventure story but a vibrant and passionate picture of Paris in turmoil and of a large cast of memorable characters.

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Blog Tour Spotlight: EKHO by Marie D. Jones

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

EKHO Cover newEKHO by Marie D. Jones

Ten-year-old Elvis Jones is tired of being picked on, taunted, and teased by the bullies at his elementary school, so he does what any smart, technologically brilliant kid his age would do: he creates EKHO, the Evil Kid Hunting Organization, a sophisticated network of kid spies and secret agents that utilize a variety of cool gadgets to stay one step ahead of the enemy – the bullies. They hire kids, make them swear allegiance to the organization, and train them as Commandos, Privates, and Elite Spies. As kids rise through the ranks, the missions, posted on an encrypted EKHO website, require more smarts and skill, especially when the bullies form their own counterspy group called DEKE (Destroy EKHO Kids Everywhere).

It’s all in good fun, until the kids of EKHO must put their pretend skills to use for far more serious, and dangerous, missions. As field agents come across evidence of more sinister forces, they now have to deal with the strange, weird, and the unknown as they look for the truth about the bizarre and creepy threats to their school, their families, and their own lives. They experience betrayal, intrigue, infiltration and counter-espionage as well as teachers and adults who act more mysterious with each passing day, which leaves Elvis and his EKHO team wondering: who can you trust when the person standing next to you might not be entirely human?

 

Outside, Elvis and Levi took refuge under the massive jungle gym, sitting on semi-wet bark chips while all around them kids played and screamed. Baseball games, dodge ball, handball, basketball, tetherball, jump rope, tag; too many physical activities going on. But Elvis wasn’t up to competing with kids who could outrun and out jump him. It never worked out well.

Good at hitting the ball, he could even hold his own in kick ball, which they often played against the teachers and staff. But he couldn’t run or move fast. His talents were more the brainy and technical type. He could hack the Pentagon, but he couldn’t get down court and throw a decent three-pointer.

“We can’t hide all year, you know,” Levi said, although somewhat halfheartedly.

“Why not? It worked last year,” Elvis mumbled back.

Somebody ran by and kicked bark into Levi’s face. He spit out a woodchip and gave Elvis a “See what I mean?” look.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * The Book Depository

EKHO tour

Tour Schedule

Marie JonesAuthor Marie D. Jones

Marie D. Jones is a best-selling author with an extensive background in unknown mysteries, metaphysics, science, and the paranormal. She has been featured multiple times on the History Channel in Ancient Aliens and Nostradamus Effect. Marie also served as a special UFO/abduction consultant for the 2009 Universal Pictures movie, The Fourth Kind. She is a staff writer for FATE Magazine and Intrepid Magazine and a regular contributor to Paranoia Magazine and New Dawn Magazine. Marie has been interviewed on hundreds of radio talk shows all over the world, including Coast to Coast AM, and has been featured in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and online publications, internationally. She has lectured widely at major paranormal, new science, and self-empowerment events, and is the screenwriter and co-producer of 19 Hz, a paranormal thriller in development with Bruce Lucas Films.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 2/28/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Sunday Salon 2/9/14

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

Another busy day and another day where I will not be reading much. I am barely staying on track with my goals for reading this year, but I am trying not to stress about it because I still have a lot of year left so there is no reason to get all up tight about things, right?

In the mean time and I do promise next week I will give something a bit better for my Sunday salon. Lets wish a Happy Birthday to Tom Hiddleston.

6am

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Blog Tour Book Review: Warrior’s Moon by Jaclyn Hawkes

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

They loved each other desperately.
Never in all the kingdom has there been a more brave and protective champion. Nor such a loyal and capable maiden.
He rescued her the first time when she was three years old in a killing storm. Years later, he was still occasionally rescuing her. ‘Twas in him to be a hero, and she had a pure intrepid way of getting into the kinds of scrapes that took rescuing. With such a brawny, masculine guardian around, ‘twould have been a fair pity to waste the gallantry anyway.
Their childhood friendship between two young peasants had grown into a devotion few are ever blessed to experience. It was strong enough to withstand all their dark age held—danger, feudalism, disease, and unfair oppression.
Or is it strong enough? They truly loved each other desperately.
They loved their kingdom more.

This was a great read, fast and fun. I enjoy a good romance and this one is not only a good romance but one with a deep story and history to it. We start the book with a tragedy which kind of slaps you in the face a bit but in a way that gets your attention and pulls you into the book. From that point on you find yourself invested with the characters. Investment in the characters is key at least for me to enjoy any book.

I did feel the middle point dragged just a little bit, not enough to make me upset or turned away from the book, just the one point that kept me from giving 5 gems. Other then that this is a great read and I would highly recommend it. There are Christian themes but it is proper for the time period and does not as i like to say “over take the general message” of the book. Two thumbs up for Warrior’s moon.

My Gemstone Rating:

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Booking through Thursday 2/6/14

- Ambrosia Leave a comment


This one is Hosted at the Booking through Thursday Blog.

There was no official question this week so I am going to make my own:

Do you like to read on freezing cold days?

With the weather being a frozen wasteland of Tundra in most places these days I have to ask do you like to read when it’s cold out? Or how about when you are sick, I happen to be dealing with both myself right now. While I do love to read when it’s cold ( no going outside) I find personally when I am sick my attention span for reading tends to start slipping. I don’t know if it is because I just feel icky or if it is because my brain says lay off..but that seems to be the pattern when I am sick.

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Looking for a new Ac unit?

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

new_ac_unit

It may seem hard to think about for most of the country right now being that it is freezing, but spring and then summer will be here soon. There are also some parts of the country like, Florida that are actually still warm so it is never too early to think about what you will do if your home air conditioning unit needs to be replaced. It was something that my family had to look into doing recently when our old one conked out, so I wanted to pass on 5 useful tips to keep in mind when picking your own unit. If these tips interest you and you want to read more just click the link.

BTUs: This is the The capacity of an air conditioner and is known as British Thermal Units per hour. You need to know in general what you need for BTU’s. The best way to find out what is ideal for your home is to multiply the square footage of the space and multiple by 10 then add 4,000.

Energy Star rating: The Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star ratings indicate that an appliance is at least 10 percent more energy-efficient than the minimum federal standards. These types of AC units will often also get you a rebate if your energy company is offering rebates for efficient appliances.

EER: A room air conditioners EER, or Energy-Efficiency Ratio, is the ratio of the cooling output divided by the unit’s power consumption. The higher the EER, the more efficient the model, this applies mostly to window units but since not everyone is looking into central air it is something to keep in mind.

Anti-Microbial filter: Most room air conditioners come with reusable electrostatic filters, which may be treated with triclosan. You may want to get an untreated version for health reasons if it is going to be your window unit. Filters should always be paid attention to no matter what kind of unit so ask your retailer or installer for information.
Price: Remember sometimes you get what you pay for but there is no reason you can’t shop for some bargains. Look to see who is offering rebates, money back or other perks and get the best you can for your budget.

WWW Wednesday 2/5/14

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

This is another one hosted over at Should be Reading

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?

• What did you recently finish reading?

• What are you reading next?

I am not currently actually reading anything, although I am listening to something so I am going to count that as my current read. It is just a case of having not picked anything else yet.

1948904

The story of a remarkable boy called Yann Margoza; Tetu the dwarf, his friend and mentor; Sido, unloved daughter of a foolish Marquis; and Count Kalliovski, Grand Master of a secret society, who has half the aristocracy in thrall to him, and wants Yann dead. Yann is spirited away to London but three years later, when Paris is gripped by the bloody horrors of the Revolution, he returns, charged with two missions: to find out Kalliovski’s darkest deeds and to save Sido from the guillotine. With a tangle of secrets, a thread of magic and a touch of humour, the follies of the aristocracy and the sufferings of ordinary people are unfolded as their lives move relentlessly towards the tragic and horrific days of the Terror. THE RED NECKLACE is not only a tremendous adventure story but a vibrant and passionate picture of Paris in turmoil and of a large cast of memorable characters

What I just finished reading:

Look for my review on this one soon.

theother

What is next?

Well I am still contemplating however it is looking pretty good for this one, because it is for a tour and because I like the sound of it. Right now though I am a little focused on crochet..so Audio book wins out.

18715353

Hollie Porter is the chairwoman of Generation Disillusioned: at twenty-five years old, she’s saddled with a job she hates, a boyfriend who’s all wrong for her, and a vexing inability to say no. She’s already near her breaking point, so when one caller too many kicks the bucket during Hollie’s 911 shift, she cashes in the Sweethearts’ Spa & Stay gift certificate from her dad and heads to Revelation Cove, British Columbia. One caveat: she’s going solo. Any sweethearts will have to be found on site.

Hollie hopes to find her beloved otters in the wilds of the Great White North, but instead she’s providing comic relief for staff and guests alike. Even Concierge Ryan, a former NHL star with bad knees and broken dreams, can’t stop her from stumbling from one (mis)adventure to another. Just when Hollie starts to think that a change of venue doesn’t mean a change in circumstances, the island works its charm and she starts to think she might have found the rejuvenation she so desperately desires. But then an uninvited guest crashes the party, forcing her to step out of the discomfort zone where she dwells and save the day … and maybe even herself in the process.

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Posted in WWW

Teaser Tuesday 2/4/14

- Ambrosia 1 Comment

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“I know you wanted to take glamorous weekend trips to Europe”, I started gently “and I know we talked about waiting a year before trying for children, but this is a blessing, and we’ll still be able to do all the things we wanted to do, well just have someone else to do them with.” pg. 87 The Other Woman by Jane Green

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Book Spotlight: The Enchantress of Lynniah by A.L Bawden

- Ambrosia Leave a comment

LynniahTour Schedule

Enchantress of LThe Enchantress of Lynniah

Have you ever come across a vain, impetuous little creature called a Mandie, and had to quickly dodge one of her poisonous darts? Or, have you ever imagined having to sing to a fruit to get it to peel open? Perhaps you’ve bumped into freakishly large, blue men, called Dreads? Well, with all of that, along with evil Nymphs and blood thirsty Banelorgs – these are things you’ve only likely experienced if you’ve had a nice long visit to Lynniah.

Corrah’s life suddenly and drastically changes with the unexpected and inexplicable death of her loving mother, Lillian. She and her two sisters, Gaela and Stormy, are suddenly thrust into the unknown and sent to live with their mysterious Aunt Rainee, who lives in the seemingly bewitched village, called Lynniah. Living in a house that their mother’s family had occupied for hundreds of years, they find clues that begin to unlock the startling reality that they are all part of an important magical heritage. A heritage that has been kept secret to save them from a dark and powerful enemy. Corrah has to find a way to battle and balance the onslaughts of loss, young love, and learn to uncover the personal power she has hidden inside her to overcome overwhelming adversity.

Amazon

Praise for The Enchantress of Lynniah

“I loved this book! It had a bit of everything…fantasy, adventure, romance, intrigue, and really unique characters! I was immediately drawn in and it held my attention throughout the story. It’s the type of book I could read over and over again. I highly recommend it if your looking for a fun read.” ~Shelly on Goodreads

“This book was awesome! It stayed with me for days, I kept thinking about all the characters. I can’t wait for the sequel!” ~Emma on Goodreads

 

BawdemAuthor A.L. Bawden

A.L. Bawden was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a large family of artists. Her father is a renowned sculptor -(Dee Jay Bawden), and her mother was an ingenious crafter, interior decorator, and seamstress. She has siblings that are sculptors, photographers, painters, cake decorators, tattoo artists, film makers, and crafters. She and a couple of her sisters have also had a successful mural painting business in Utah, called Artistic Murals. Her other hobbies include, reading, sewing & designing costumes, making jewelry, crafting, wake-boarding, snow-boarding, camping, fishing, boating, hiking, and running. She is a lover of fantasy fiction books and has enjoyed writing ever since she was a kid. She is the mother of three and is currently managing a couple of small online businesses

Google + * Blog * Twitter * Goodreads

 

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 2/26/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Prologue:

The moonlight leaked sparingly through the rigid thickness of trees in front of Lillian, giving barely enough illumination and just enough time to jump over the large roots, rocks and other unrecognizable obstacles, as she ran with all her might to elude the enemies behind her. She knew from the sharp snaps and crackling of leaves and twigs that they were gaining up on her fast. Dreads are large, but not quick on their feet, and to her advantage none of them were on horseback. The fortress couldn’t be too far ahead, she thought. And she knew that if she reached it she might find cover enough to cast some effective spells. The deep grunting of Dreads closed in behind her. She held her hand up against the sky with a beckoning motion, causing large branches to crack violently; hoping to create a more solid barrier between her and her savage foes. Glancing after, she could see that it had worked, if only for a moment. She tried to gain speed, but her legs were becoming tight and sore from the constant, grueling chase. Arrows continued whizzing violently through the sky all around her, as she reached the top of the small hill ahead – that’s where she could finally see it. Foreboding as it was, with its black, slick, and sinister design; it still looked very extraordinary in the moonlight. She had reached the fortress at last. It had taken years to discover how to disarm the protective enchantments around it, and now she was finally here. Four members of the Great Council, her companions, had been killed tonight on this deadly quest and she simply couldn’t bear to fail them all now. As she scanned the open clearing around the building, she noticed that more Dreads were standing guard and preparing for the oncoming chase that was imminently obvious by the arrows, yells, and loud trampling coming their way. Lillian continued to rain debris in their path, frantically casting spells behind her as she ran. Taking cover behind a large tree, she began enchanting the rocks to fly in the direction of her pursuers. Loud grunts and angry howls echoed through the forest as the rocks made contact. A few moments of near silence ensued, giving Lillian the confidence she needed to break away from the tree and descend the slope in front of the fortress. She speedily moved down the slope, hiding between trees and large rocks on the way to conceal her. It seemed as if her pursuers had finally fallen behind! She triumphantly moved nearer to the entrance, when all of the sudden something hot and forceful struck her violently in the back. The heat surged through her body rapidly, causing instant paralysis. As she fell backward onto the hard earth, and just before her eyes closed, a long black haired figure hovered over her, piercing her with dark and soulless eyes.

1st Paragraph:

Life often changes suddenly and devastatingly. It is then that our reality takes a deep plunge into the unknown, and can alter much of what we once knew to be true. It causes us to wake up and be ready for the changes that are inevitably coming. In this change, there is always a chance to grow and learn who we really are, if we choose it to be so. We can choose light or darkness – to expand or be stagnant. We will never find out what we are made of, if we do not conquer what is laid before us for our benefit. We can have unbelievable strength that we never thought was possible, if we open ourselves up to who we really are…

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Musing Monday 2/3/14

- Ambrosia 5 Comments

Musing Monday is hosted over at Should Be Reading.

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

 

I will be entering into a bit of a rant today, yes I shall.  Is it selfish to not want to borrow your books out? I have a great many books in my library (400 hard copy TBR) but I really hate lending them out. If you are at my house and wish to read one that is fine! You want to take it home?! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! Selfish? Maybe but almost every single time I have given a book to someone that leaves my house I never see it again and if it is from my shelves chances are I haven’t read it yet and if its a keeper it is either special or just THAT good. I want to grab them all and run away screetching MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE.

 

Selfish?

 

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