Fun New book releases today!

On the Bright Side by S.R. Johannes releases today and I'm so excited! I'm almost finished reading it and my review will be up shortly, but I wanted to share this with you today anyway! First of all, this cover? It's amazing! I fell in love with it when I first looked at it :)




Before we learn about her new book, let's learn about her!

Author Bio:

S.R. Johannes is the author of Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and On The Bright Side ( a tween paranormal).

She started out writing for her local school paper, winning a state Nutrition essay contest for “Be a Smart Cookie”, and singing in a local Jazz band. Somewhere along the way, she earned an MBA in Marketing and embarked on an 18-year marketing career in Corporate America working as a marketing and communications consultant.

In 2000, S.R. traded in her expensive suits, way-too high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing. She started her own marketing & communications business, www.bilaninc.com, and continues creating materials for a variety of large profit and nonprofit clients, including Spanx, Goody Hair Products, Chick Filet, Delta, CARE, and the Boys & Girls Club of America.

S.R.’s dream is to publish children’s books and magically imprint the imaginations of kids. In addition to juggling nap schedules while attending client meetings, Shelli focuses on her writing. She is a frequent marketing speaker at SCBWI conferences across the U.S and runs a popular marketing blog, Market My Words (www.faeriality.blogspot.com) where she provides marketing advice for authors in the hopes of helping them better market their words.

In her spare time (yeah right!) and if the kids allow (yeah right!), Shelli obsesses over movies, reads children’s books (over and over), wishes she could squeeze in Bikram Yoga sessions, and dreams of sleeping in on the weekends.

She currently lives in Atlanta with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess that someday will change the world.

TO RECEIVE AUTHOR NEWS

If you would like to get periodic author news on my upcoming special edition in Jan or on the release of my future books, please register your email address here. I do not expect to send more than one email a month.

Contact information:

Email: shelli@srjohannes.com

Social Media

Blog: http://faeriality.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/srjohannes

Author Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/SRJohannes/249888602550

Author Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5235537.S_R_Johannes

Untracable Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12731861-untraceable

On The Bright Side Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13251805-on-the-bright-side

In His Eyes Anthology Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13331838-in-his-eyes-anthology

Now, onto the book! :)

Book Description:

On the Bright Side is a hilarious road to guardian angeldom paved with so much drama and due-paying that it makes middle school look painless.

As if the devil’s food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she’s stuck wearing for eternity weren’t bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a far cry from the Pearly Gates. Here, Skyphones and InnerNets are all the rage. Until Gabby finds out she has to protect Angela, her school nemesis, in order to move up through the training levels of heaven. Problem is, Angela is now hitting on Gabby's should-have-been boyfriend. (awkward!) 

Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (like tripping is a sin?) at the hopes of cooling off the new couple. At first, they seem harmless until the school dance sabotage gets completely out of control. Then, her Celestial Sky Agent, who happens to have anger management issues of his own, puts Gabby on probation, threatening her eternal future. 

Determined to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death. 

Really fabulous, am I right? Want to buy the book?

Here it is!
(The paperback version will be available in February.)

Her first book, Untraceable was amazing and you can read my review --> here!
Also, here are some more praises for these two spectacular books:

Praises for Untraceable

"Grace is a spunky, independent, nature girl who doesn't need a boy to save her. With wilderness survival, a juicy love triangle, and more twists and turns than a roller coaster, this fast-paced novel had me holding my breath until the very last page—and still begging for more!" -Kimberly Derting, author of the The Body Finder series (Harper Teen) and The Pledge series (S&S)

"This thrilling story is a dramatic entanglement of mystery, deception and teen romance. The action flows like a brisk mountain stream interspersed with rapids, holding suspense to last page." - Kirkus Reviews

2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Quarterfinalist (under the original title of Grace Under Fire) - Judges Reviews:

"This story starts out with a bang...it reads like the young woman were narrating it to a friend, and had the ring of a young person's style and intensity. Grace sees authority people, or at least those she knows, as a bit bumbling, which is true to age. Authentic representation of youth in action also. Original in premise and style, and good use of background...Good story!" - Sue Grafton, author of bestselling Kinsey Milhone series

"This murder mystery features a teenaged heroine, but she has the self assurance of a woman twice her age. The prose is very descriptive...and the dialogue is genuine. The setting of small town North Carolina and the surrounding woods is appealing. The story moves along at a brisk clip, and it feels as if we already have some important clues. We look forward to seeing what's in the case file and what Grace and her motorbike, Luci, will be up to next." - Sue Monk Kidd, author of Secret Life of Bees

Praises for On The Bright Side

"S.R. Johannes delivers a cute paranormal thrill ride for middle graders! Even in death there is a BRIGHT SIDE!" - Addison Moore, author of the bestselling Celestra series and soon to be TV show

Clever and charming, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is the story of a reluctant guardian angel, her still-breathing crush, and the frenemy she’s assigned to protect. A great read! -Suzanne Young, author of A Need So Beautiful, A Want So Wicket (6/12), and The Program (2013)

“ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is both hilarious and heart-warming – a tale that’ll have you hoping that there really *are* spunky and determined angels like Gabby who’ve got our backs.” - Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, author of Selling Hope & The 13th Sign (2013) (Feiwel & Friends)

"With a smart, snappy heroine and a heart-warming crush, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE is a page-turning new take on guardian angels that left me begging for a sequel!" - Gretchen McNeil, author of Possess and Ten (9/12) (Balzar + Bray)

I really hope you enjoy these books as much as I did :)
Happy Reading!

Free Ebooks!

Dan O'brien, the fabulous author of quite a few books is having a special celebration and is putting up some of his Kindle ebooks for free!
Woohoo! :)

The books that are free are:
(All books lead to their Kindle Free Download!)

The End of the World Playlist (His BRAND NEW book!)

Bitten

Cerulean Dreams

The Journey

The Ocean and the Hourglass
And you can read my review of The Ocean and the Hourglass here!

Thanks so much Dan for this awesome deal! These books will be free from 1/29-2/2 so hurry up! :)

Shatter Me

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Pages: 338
"YOU CAN'T TOUCH ME,"
I whisper.
I'M LYING,
is what I don't tell him.
HE CAN TOUCH ME,
is what I'll never tell him.
PLEASE TOUCH ME,
is what I want to tell him.
But things happen when people touch me.
Strange things.
Bad things.
DEAD THINGS.
No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. 
But Juliette has plans of her own.
After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time--and to find a future with the one boy she thought she had lost forever.

Ramblings: 8O <-- My expression for about two days after finishing this book! I swear, the best book I've read this year! Bravo to you Tahereh! First off, this teaser? I almost died. I can't believe it's been out since November, I've read tons of reviews about how AMAZING this book is, and yet... I didn't read it until now. What is wrong with me??

Characters: Oh my, oh my. I love Juliette: from the counting to how caring she is to everyone! (well... almost everyone.) And then Adam. Oh Adam. The romance between Juliette and Adam is so beautiful and crazy! I love how forbidden it is at the Reestablishment and how Adam gets past the videos and microphones. Smart boy! Spoiler: The fact that he can touch her? Blew me away and I'm so excited to find out why in the next book! Spoiler Over.


Plot: This is certainly unique. I'm bad (ha. not even close to describing it.) at describing books in general, but this book? I just had to tell people to read it. Read it right now! I love the concept of the fact that when Juliette touches people, they can die although I still can't comprehend what exactly happens. I don't feel that that was explained too well in the book, but from the few times she touched people I know that I'd never want to be touched by her!

Overall: A gripping, page-turning, heart-exploding read that had me captivated from the first word to the last word. I never wanted to put this book down. Don't pass this one up!

Overall Rating: 5 Stars

IMM January 29

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. I haven't done an IMM in a few weeks so I have quite a few books to show you!

I received for review:

   Misfits & Heroes by Kathleen Flanagan Rollins

The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin

On the Bright Side by S.R. Johannes

The Preist and the Peaches by Larry Peterson

I bought:

          

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

Legend by Marie Lu

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Switched by Amanda Hocking

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Heist Society by ALly Carter

Frozen by Robin Wasserman

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

What did you get in your mailbox this week? Happy Reading!

P.S. Don't forget to stop by my One Year Bloggiversary Giveaway! :)

Across the Universe

Across the Universe by Beth Revis

Pages: 398

Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends, and planet, behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Cenauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber.

Someone tried to murder her.

Now, Amy is caught inside a tiny world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader, and Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead.

Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold, metal walls? All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

Ramblings: oh my oh my! Why have I not picked this up sooner? It has been sitting on my shelf for a month! I really love this story, even though it was a little tough to stay focused on.

Characters: my favorite character was Harley by far! I loved 1. That he is an artist and 2. Just his personality and how caring he is for Amy. He really brought the book together! As for the two main characters, I did love Amy and Elder. There wasn't anything about them that I didn't particularly dislike. Spoiler: after the whole almost rape session, and Elder finally finds out about it, I was and am mad that he didn't do anything about it! Like really? She almost got freaking raped. C'mon boy. I hope that gets taken care of in the next book! Spoiler over.

Plot: this plot is so interesting, I was fascinated with it from the first time I looked at the back cover. I really can't believe it took me so long to read it. I found that it was great adventure and I loved the story but for some reason I couldn't stay focused on it. It took me quite a while to read, but once I was down to the last 150 pages, I flew through it. I was soooooo shocked by the ending! Eldest had so many secrets, I almost died right then and there.

Overall: I seriously love this book and you will too! A great adventure with twists and turns at every turn of the page and deep stories behind every person combined with Revis's great writing creates for an a,aging book you don't want to pass up! And the second one is out now so you don't have to wait tto continue the adventure!

Overall Rating: 4 Stars

BTT: Writing or Riveting?

This week's Booking Through Thursday question is:

Which is more important: Good writing? Or a Good story?

My Answer: I would definitely say that good writing is most important to me. The way a character speaks and interacts with others, the overall tone and feel of the novel has to be good otherwise I won't get hookednontonthe novel. I wish it weren't true and that any book with an interesting story could blow my mind, but the writing has to grab me too.

What ais more important to you? Comment & follow, I follow back! :)
Happy Reading!

The Ocean and the Hourglass

The Ocean and the Hourglass by Dan O'Brien


Pages: 251
Dreams are not for the faint of heart, they are for the brave to follow. A book, an hourglass. Mocholas has always dreamt of faraway places, distant lands beyond imagination. Wandering into the library on a cold day, he finds an adventure that he had not been looking for. Transported to a distant world, Nicholas finds himself involved in sweeping adventures of a broken and lost kingdom. Filled with sea giants and ancient cities, the young man soon finds that the adventure was greater than he could have ever imagined.

Ramblings: this book definitely sounded interesting with a fun, new idea for a story, and the fact that Nicholas got put INTO the story was great! I have always wondered about that and I'm excited to have gotten a book where the main character enters a book.

Characters: the characters in this book were pretty fun and very interesting! I couldn't pronounce many of their names though. I really felt that these characters who were teens had a very adultish tone and feel to them, not so much by their actions, but the way the spoke. It isn't how any teenager I know speaks. Besides that I feel like Nicholas is a really smart guy and he taught me quite a few life lessons.

Plot: The plot was so fun! I really liked is whirl-wind of a story though. Combined with all of the action and suspense, there was also a lot of messages running throughout the story which I found really inspiring.

Overall: I enjoyed the book although at first it didn't hook me. It wasn't one of my favorites, but I wouldn't pass it up. I'm not sure if it belongs in the YA category because there was such an adultish feel to it, but a great overall read!

Overall Rating: 3 Stars

Musing Monday January 24

This week's Musing asks,
Why do you think that the YA Genre is sp popular, even with the adults?

My Answer: personally I think it is because of the crazy, adventurous plots that so many people are attracted to YA fiction. I love the adventure and how much all if the different genres vary from one another. The YA genre is just amazing and I love being a teen. Excuse I can relate to a lot of the characters, but I know that even as I grow up that I will always love this genre :)

Happy Reading!

You Against Me

You Against Me by Jenny Downham

Pages: 413

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man you seek revenge right?

If your brother is accused of a terrible crime but says he did 't do it, you defend him don't you?

When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her, his world begins to fall apart.

When Ellie's brother is charged with the offense, her world begins to unravel.

When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide.

This is a brave and unflinching novel from the best selling author of Before I Die. It is a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all, it is a book about love.

Ramblings: oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! What an amazing, over-the-top, heart clenching read! It took me a few days to get into but once I did Downham captivated me and had me hooked!

Characters: A book being told from two different points of view is one of my favorite types of style, although this was a little different. It was told from Mikey and Ellie's POV, but the chapters didn't say which character we were at which I didn't particularly like. Once I got past that I really got into the story and I truly loved Mikey and Ellie's romance! It is a very dramatic Romeo & Juliet type romance which are always interesting.

Plot: this is definitely unique which is something I always like in a book. I was constantly guessing on whether Ellie's brother did it and I didn't know until like the last 10 pages! It is a beautiful story with some shocking moments. Some content is hard to read, but it is a truly fantastic story that flowed and I never lost interest.

Overall: I am very impressed. This is the first book by Jenny Downham that I have read and I'm looking forward to reading more! Don't pass this one up!

Overall Rating: 5 Stars

Place of Reads

Today on the tenth day of Christmas I am the featured blog! :)

I reviewed Dash & Lily'sbook of dares, which I highly recommend. The link is here.

Happy Holidays!

Top Ten Tuesday--2012 Books

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish! This week's Top Ten is the Top Ten Books I'm Excited To Read In 2012:

1. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
2. Fever by Lauren DeStefano
3. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
4. Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
5. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
6. Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
7. Everneath by Brodi Ashton
8. A Million Suns by Beth Revis
9. Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
10. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer Smith

What are the Top Ten books you are waiting for this year??

Happy Reading!

2012 TBR Challenge

I'm participating in the 2012 TBR reading challenge!

I have decided to join in the Friendly Hug level, 11-20 books. Here is my list so far:

1. Daughter of smoke and bone
2. Girl of fire and thorns
3. Where I belong
4. Hourglass
5. Across the universe
6. Heist society
7. Uncommon criminals
8. The help
9. Heaven is for real
10. The unbecoming of Mara dyer
11. The future of us
12. Beautiful creatures series
13. Legend
14. Nicholas Sparks novels

More will be added shortly!

http://evie-bookish.blogspot.com/p/2012-tbr-pile-reading-challenge.html

Musing Monday 1/2/12

Musing Monday is hosted by Should be Reading. This weeks musing asks....

What is/are the first book(s) you’re reading for the new year?

Right now I am reading You Against Me by Jenny Downham. It is taking me a little while to get through but hopefully I will be if used and have my review up soon!

What are you reading in the start of this new year?
Happy reading!