Archives for 2012

PAPERBACK AND eBOOK GIVEAWAY: Winner’s Choice Round #2

October 29, 2012 by Aestas · 92 Comments

Hey Readers 😀

So, the last Winner’s Choice Paperback Giveaway was such a huge hit with you guys that I’ve decided to keep on doing them but just swapping the books in them every time.

For this particular time, I’m going to do the same books again just because everyone REALLY loves them and since there is only one winner, I want to give you guys the chance to be able to win your favorite books 🙂

***The winner will get to choose any ONE of these paperbacks. ***

And wait! There’s more…

I’m also going to offer a Kindle Giveaway at the same time.
—> All you have to do to enter that is to SHARE THIS STATUS ON FACEBOOK and then COMMENT ON THAT STATUS (not here on the post) that you shared (I’ll choose the winner randomly from the list of people who said they shared the status)

The Paperback Giveaway is only open in the US and Canada.
The Kindle Giveaway is International.

If you want to read my reviews of each book, just click the cover… or you can just skip below to the Rafflecopter part and enter for your chance to WIN!!! 😀

Good luck everyone!!

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And the winners of these GIVEAWAYS are…………

…….

—-> Stephanie Miguel (Paperbacks giveaway winner)

and

—-> Jen Burg (eBook giveaway winner)

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH!! ♥

***For those of you who didn’t win, don’t worry, the next giveaway starts in 2 days!!***

So stay tuned for ROUND #3 starting this Monday!!!

Enjoy your weekends everyone and HAPPY READING <3

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review – Fantastical (Fantasyland #3) by Kristen Ashley

October 28, 2012 by Aestas · 2 Comments

Buy FANTASTICAL for Kindle (Amazon)

4.5 stars!!

What a fantastically fun ride!!

In a world full of curses, talking animals, soul-mates, castles, princes, and evil witches, Kristen Ashley once again weaves a story that kept me riveted to the book, laughing, swooning, squeeing, fanning myself and giving me happy shivers! I don’t know how she does it, but every book she writes just makes my heart oh-so-happy! <3

Cora wakes up in a parallel universe fantasyland. Literally. Complete with singing and dancing and tra la la la la. And only moments later, the world around her decends into a living nightmare and she’s being carted off to safety by a hot Alpha guy on a big horse who takes her to her cave, insults her and blames her for causing all this madness. Needless to say, she has questions.

“Do you have to have the last word?” I snapped.
“Yes,” he returned.
“Jerk,” I gritted out.
“Cow,” he returned.
Oh my God! He just called me a cow!
“I hate you,” I spat.
“That feeling, my love, is mutual,” he returned.“

Its turns out the Cora of our world is a screaming bitch (her words, not mine) and the hot guy, Tor, is a bit of a lovable jerk. The jerk part though is quite understandable given that it takes him a long time to actually believe that she is in fact a ‘different’ Cora because he really strongly dislikes the Cora he knows…. but the more time they spend together, despite their differences, they can’t help but start to fall for each other.

“Gods, I wish this was real,” he muttered.“

I found this to be a much lighter read than the previous book in the series – in fact, it was almost reminiscent of the first book in terms of its tone. There was great banter, and despite the evil baddies with their evil minions out to create misery, the whole feel of the book is quite light. Its also a fair bit shorter than the previous two so between that and the tone of it, the story moved along quickly, the pages flew by and I was able to finish it in one sitting.

And we are treated to a cool twist in this one where the Hero and heroine actually are in OUR world for half the book! And because of this fun twist, we get to meet Tor’s “alternate version” : Noc. Who is set up quite strongly for his own book! Seriously, that man commands the swoon. Cannot WAIT for his book!

But I thought it was such an awesome turn around to see Tor navigating out world. I loved it!! Freaking loved it!!! Meeting the parents, figuring out the TV remote, learning to drive, the whole shebang 🙂

I loved both Tor and Cora. They were a great match. Met each other head-to-head with their banter, and yet when they finally sorted out their issues, their love just melted my heart! <3

“…Tor murmured, “Only you.”

I got shivers, had a misty eyed moment or two, fanned myself a lot, read with a smile on my face and pretty much just all out enjoyed myself.

“Quiet,” he repeated with a growl, “I’m about to fuck my wife and the only words I want her saying when I do it are ‘yes’, ‘Tor’, ‘my prince, ‘baby’ and ‘oh my God’. Am I understood?“

I did find there were a few “omg-he-did-NOT-just-SAY-that” moments (one in particular that really stood out) but I found myself quite able to forgive it. I mean, yeah, it was a real horrible thing to say… but, I could see how there could have been a different way to take it, plus the fact that he did make me believe he was sorry afterwards so it didn’t detract from the story for me. Especially since only a few pages after the incident he was saying all sorts of heart-melting things so all in all, it was impossible to stay mad at him.

It was essentially a fun fairy tale – complete with hot guys, princesses and evil witches but written with that KA brilliance that makes you take it totally seriously. And, of course, it was all wrapped up with a gorgeous HEA and epilogue with a shiver-educing reunion with ALL the couples from the previous books as well as a little part that nicely set up the next book.

Kristen Ashley is seriously a writing machine of amazingness! May she never ever stop churning out these wonderful freaking books!!

Buy FANTSTICAL (Kindle)

* FANTASYLAND SERIES *

Book #1 — WILDEST DREAMS (Frey & Finnie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Get the Audiobook | Read my Review

Book #2 — THE GOLDEN DYNASTY (Lahn & Circe)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Get the Audiobook | Read my Review

Book #3 — FANTASTICAL (Tor & Cora)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Get the Audiobook | Read my Review

Book #4 — BROKEN DOVE
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Get the Audiobook

Book #5 — MIDNIGHT SOUL
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Get the Audiobook

Book Review – Bone Deep by Bonnie Dee

October 27, 2012 by Aestas · 3 Comments

4.5 stars

What a lovely, sweet, touching story <3

You know that wonderful feeling you get when you just sink into a well-written read? Well, I totally got that with this book. The writing style is strong, fluid and evocative and draws you right into the story.

I have to say I was hesitant to start this one because, just personally, I hate carnivals and I wasn’t sure if this was a carnival-centric story… so, just to set the record straight: it isn’t. Not at all. *nods* Right, ok, on to the review.

The year is 1946 (but don’t worry, this book does not have the feel of a historical novel) and ever since the death of her husband in the war, Sarah is just trying to keep going. Her heart froze the day her husband’s body was shipped home and she isn’t looking for anyone to replace him. But, in an effort to cheer her, her friend drags her to a carnival which is passing through town and she finds herself drawn to and riveted by a tattooed man with intense blue eyes on display in one of the tents. Their eyes meet only for a moment, but in that moment, they share a connection – its as though he sees right into her.

She goes down the next morning to find the tattooed man sleeping in her hayloft. “His eyes were the saddest she’d ever seen.” and she offers him to stay on and help her on the farm in exchange for room and board.

But the man who runs the circus is out looking for him and and the lies and rumors spread around town warping him into some sort of dangerous, lunatic freak. And while Sarah can accept him into her life, the real question is whether the townsfolk will be so open-minded?

I really loved Tom’s character. I found myself instantly wanting to know more about him. He wasn’t your typical Alpha male character but rather a deeply tortured, damaged man with a heart of gold and filled with a quiet intensity that draws Sarah to him like a magnet. His back story isn’t gone into in detail but what little we see is filled with pain, loneliness and abuse at the hands of the carnival owner. Every inch of his body is tattooed. EVERY. INCH. And, hot as that may sound now, remember, it was all done to him against his will.

“Skin is skin, Grace. The tattoos are only on the surface you know. He’s a man.”
A sexy, vulnerable, intense, attractive, sweet, gentle and loving man.

I loved how Sarah trusted her gut feeling about Tom from the beginning. Even though technically she knew nothing about him, she treated him with the utmost respect and kindness – probably the first real kindness he’d ever known. And in return she was rewarded as he slowly learned to trust her, open up to her, and show her his true self – the one hidden away from the world behind a canvas of art forced on his body.

He whispered against her hair, “I don’t belong here and they know it.”
“Yes you do. You do belong here.” She took his face in her hands and looked in his eyes. “You belong with me.”

“I don’t know why,” she admitted. “Its just you. I want to be with you. I feel like we belong together.” She smoothed one hand up his torso and rested it on his chest, picturing the chained heart and feeling his real heart beating steadily beneath it. “Don’t you?”

The bedroom scenes were hottttt. And I mean that in a quietly powerful, erotic way. Not kinky but very, very passionate. I was surprised by that though because, for whatever reason, I really thought this book would gloss over that but boy was I wrong! I found that it really brought a beautiful blend between erotic and sweet between them and yet a more serious story line outside of their relationship.

There is a slight ‘non-real’-ish element to the story. Tom gets visions of some things before they happen. He is the son of the carnival fortune teller and in this story, these are just accepted as part of him. This is not a paranormal story, nor is that the focus of the story, but I figured I’d mention it in case you guys read it, came across it and went ‘huh?’. Just roll with it. Its a part of him 🙂

I’d say my only complaint overall was that I wished it were longer. It only took me a few hours to read and there were a few places in the middle of the book where I felt it was just a smidge rushed. It wasn’t that it didn’t fit with the storyline, I just would have wished for an extra chapter here or there. But the plus side to that was that the story never dragged, not even for a moment… I did find the ending a little abrupt and definitely found myself wanting either a few more chapters or an epilogue of sorts, but don’t let that deter you. It was oh-so-happy, sweet and swoony and the HEA is never in question, I just would have wanted more is all.

Overall, I’d say it was exactly the kind of read I needed right now. Sweet, hot, and different with a beautiful message about love having no limitations.

Definitely recommended to add to your TBRs 🙂

CASTING:

I have to say that the guy on the cover is the perfect Tom. I just love it when covers actually accurately reflect the characters from the story and clearly whoever did this one did a phenomenal job because when you read the story, you’ll learn that those are his exact tattoos. So here is a link to a bigger version of the pic if you want to see up close –> Click here

Slammed/Point of Retreat Signed Copies Celebration Giveaway and Sale!!

October 22, 2012 by Aestas · 6 Comments

**SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!**

You guys have heard that

SLAMMED and POINT OF RETREAT

(two of the most incredibly amazing and beautiful must-read books of the year)

were optioned for a MOVIE, right??

*happy dance*

Well, in celebration for the film rights being optioned, Atria Books is having a SALE on the ebooks!!! Want to buy them?? —-> Click this link <—-

Aaaaaaaand, it gets BETTER!!!!!

The amazing Colleen Hoover has offered to GIVEAWAY signed copies of SLAMMED and POINT OF RETREAT right here on Aestas Book Blog!!!

Follow the Rafflecopter instructions below for your chance to WIN!!

This Giveaway is open Internationally.

**And there is ALSO a second GIVEAWAY going on for eBooks of SLAMMED and POINT OF RETREAT on the Aestas Book Blog Facebook Page.

To enter, just go to —–> this link here and follow the instructions for your chance to WIN!!

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And the winners of the two SLAMMED GIVEAWAYS are…………

………

—-> Nicole Wheeler (signed paperbacks giveaway winner)

and

—-> Alexis Astorina (eBooks giveaway winner)

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU BOTH!! ♥

***For those of you who didn’t win, don’t worry, the next giveaway starts in 2 days!!***

The last Winner’s Choice Paperback Giveaway was a big hit so I’m going to continue that idea but use a different set of books this time 🙂

So stay tuned for ROUND #2 starting this Monday!!!

Enjoy your weekends everyone and HAPPY READING 😀

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review – Exquisite by Ella Frank

October 22, 2012 by Aestas · Leave a Comment

Almost 4 stars (3.5-4)

“My dad once told me that one day I’d meet someone who drives me so crazy I want to strangle her and yet never would because I can’t bear for her to be gone. Well, that’s when I’ll know I’ve met a woman worth keeping.”

I felt a little torn about this book. I did really like the story, I was into it and I did care about the characters but I wish it had made me feel more emotionally connected to it.. If I could, I’d give the first half of the book 4-4.5 stars, and the second half of the book 3 stars.

I really liked the beginning of this book. It had a bit of a sad background so a serious enough mood was set but as soon as the hero and heroine met (first chapter), I was smiling and grinning. They really didn’t have the smoothest of introductions and pretty much started out disliking each other. He found her uptight and abrasive and she thought he was an annoying womanizer. But despite that, neither of them could get the other off their mind and so they set about exploring what might be happening between them.

Lena was an interesting character. Deeply hurt and scarred by an accident she was involved in nine years ago in which her sister died, she cut herself off emotionally from relationships and came off as abrasive on the surface in an effort to guard her heart from losing someone else that she might establish a connection to. Consequently, when she first met our hero, Mason, she did her best to push him away… but luckily, he’d have none of it.

“I don’t know why, Lena, but you’ve done something to me. I can’t get you out of my mind.”
Lena shook her head slowly, even though he couldn’t see her, and whispered softly, “I’m truly sorry for that. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
So softly she almost missed it, he whispered, “Let me in, Magdalena O’Donnell. I want to know all of you.”

Mason was a local-celebrity chef. As the owner of a popular restaurant, Exquisite, and one of Chicago’s most eligible bachelors with a bit of a Casanova reputation, he was used to women tripping over themselves to be with him and was very intrigued by this woman who seemed genuinely unaffected by his charms.

“You’re so button-ed up, professional. You make me want to unbutton things.”

I did love that they didn’t just fall into each other’s beds right at the start. In fact they almost had some sort of “anti-attraction” thing going for a while… but once they started to actually started dating a little, ho boy did it get hot for a while!! Kissing, talking, touching, petting. I needed a cold shower.

And speaking of showers. Holy shower scene. I mean, really! This scene is proof that something can be panty-melting hot without one single bit of touching in it!

Overall though, I liked seeing them fall in love, their bedroom scenes were hot!!, there were few moments that made me squint skeptically and go hmmmmmm, and one serious WTF moment (I mean, really, that whole hair/cock thing was just plain weird! … haha I’ll let you guys wonder about that one 😛 ), I didn’t like that in the middle of the book the story skipped forward 6 months because I felt that further disconnected me from them both individually and as a couple, and then towards the last 25% there was a big misunderstanding that was really both their faults and although it was an understandable and believable human error at first, I felt it became far to drawn out and then after that, the book ended so soon that it just felt a little rushed.

I did however like what that misunderstanding did for them as a couple. It gave it a great turn around because neither of them were perfect and each had qualities that ended up helping each other out. Mason saved her in the first half of the book, and then in the second half, it was Lena’s turn to save him.

“Let me be what you need… Let me save you from yourself.”

It was a good book, but I just wish I felt more connected to it.

Buy EXQUISITE for Kindle (Amazon)

**PS, if you are wondering about the hair/cock thing, please CLICK HERE to see the comments on my status update on Goodreads

CASTING:

Mason –> Click here
Lena –> Click here

Book Review – Fall From Grace (Mad World #1) by Christine Zolendz

October 22, 2012 by Aestas · 1 Comment

4.5 stars

“Please, Grace, whatever it is you’re going after, please try and find it here with me. I will try my best to be the man that you need me to be.”

I totally loved this book!! It grabbed a hold of me and I didn’t want to put it down for a second!

The sexual tension, the banter, the twists (this is a paranormal romance), the one-liners, the characters – so much awesome!

Reeling from the death of her brother, Grace goes home to her best friend who drags her out to a bar where she meets Shane – a deliciously gorgeous, tattooed, rock god guitarist/singer who, despite his man-whoring reputation, she can’t help but feel intensely drawn too.

But Grace has a secret. One that now only her best friend knows and despite how much she feels drawn to Shane, she’s has to hold back because she is searching, and has been searching for the whole of her existence, for the love of her life. Her angel she was once torn away from.

I went into this book blind. I took a trusted friend’s advice who told me to just read it and not try and find out any of the twists or tidbits in advance and I am so glad!!! (lol, so my review is spoiler-free)

Shane was pretty much the perfect recipe for yumminess and, just like Grace, I couldn’t help but be drawn to him. Despite how he seemed on the surface, there was so much depth to his character which came out in little bits an pieces as the book went on. I fell reeeally hard for him. He was like a delicious blend of Travis and Kellan mixed in with a bit of a tortured soul. Pure yumminess <3

“…I want you to tell me what I need to do to be a good enough man for you.” *swoooon*

I did really love that despite swooning pretty heavily over Shane, Grace had no desire to be another notch in his bed post and held her ground waiting for what she felt was right.

“…do yourself a favor, don’t bother trying to mess with my head, it’ll be a waste of your time. I won’t sleep with you. Just treat me like one of the guys and we’ll get along just fine…”
He blinked and hesitated… Then a devilish smile crept across his face, “Who said I wanted to sleep with you? You’re just one of the guys, I don’t do guys…Although, I have to admit. You are the sexiest guy I’ve ever met.“

But because of this situation, the sexual tension between them is INTENSE!! It sizzled. You felt it. My heart was racing. I couldn’t stop reading!! And the banter was brilliant – the digs, the ribs, the teasing…

“Please, save your breath, because you might need it to blow up your date later.”

I loved how subtly the paranormal aspect of this book built. For the first half of the book just reads like a regular contemporary romance but while dropping little hints and clues along the way leaving you wondering and guessing and then when it hits and the twist is revealed, I swear it gave me chills. More than once. I totally loved the concept and the way it was presented!

And it wasn’t just the twist that built up – there was so much more to the story that even on its own was thrilling – the music, the intensity of the chemistry between Shane and Grace, that undeniable pull… add that to a wonderful group of side characters and you have yourself a really fun read.

The music aspect of this book was phenomenal – the scenes where they played, both on and off stage, gave me shivers. Both Grace and Shane play guitar and sing and seeing them in their music element just magnified the UST between them to pretty epic proportions!

I’ll admit, I did go through some some moments of frustration with the heroine but they weren’t enough to detract from the story.

There is sort of a hint of a love triangle at the beginning of the story – but don’t worry, it doesn’t go anywhere 🙂

And okay, so it wasn’t the most phenomenally edited book ever written – yes there was an inconsistency or two and yes there were a few noticeable errors, but who cares?!? Personally, if the story is strong enough, I’m totally happy to overlook those errors. So yes, they were there, but I easily overlooked them and kept reading. I’ll just say though that with a proper edit, this book could easily end up on my fav’s shelf!

The book has kind of got a little bit of a Beautiful Disaster/Thoughtless feel to it with a paranormal twist. Its not quite the same as them but you’ll definitely see the similarities if you read it.

While this book has no sex in it but I didn’t miss it even for a second. I wouldn’t call this book ‘tame’. The sexual tension is so steamy that that alone had me fanning myself!! and I hear that book 2 takes the steam to the next level so… SQUEE!!

The ending was intense and with a cliffhanger like that, I am soooooooo freaking glad the second book is out now!! *runs off to go get it*

*** These books are only $1.50 each on Kindle!! See links below.

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1 — FALL FROM GRACE
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #2 — SAVING GRACE
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Alternate POV novel (same story as first 2 books) — SCARS & SONGS
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback