Monday, July 30, 2018

Blog Tour: Silverblade by Bella Jeanisse


🎜🎜 ҉‿➹⁀☆ ҉ 💀 ҉ ☆⁀➷‿ ҉ 🎜🎜

Silverblade by Bella Jeanisse


Genre: Rockstar

BLURB:

Are you ready to dive into a new series?

Before there can be a Rockstar Romance, there has to be a band…

Shane Martin, lead vocalist of Silverblade, has given up on keeping his band together. He doesn’t know how to go on after the loss of their bassist and his best friend, Troy. When Troy’s widow insists he start the search, he does. No one was good enough until he found Zack.

Zack Bryant plays bass, but his band is going nowhere. He thinks he has no chance to have a better life. That is until Shane walks into the bar where he is playing one night. He finally has a way to show the world what he can do.

Will Zack blend with the rest of the band? Can they get ready in time to join the Reign of Fire tour? Little do they know, this is only the beginning.

Warning: For those 18 and over only. May not suitable for all readers. Bumps in the road can be fun, right?

This book has spoilers for the Gasoline and Wicked End series, as well as Triple Threat's Dual Desires.





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“Bella is an awesome author” 5 STARS ~ Lisa M Queen

“Great rock romance” 5 STARS ~ Doris

“All of Ms. Jeanisse’s books take you directly into the world of rock and roll and makes you feel as a voyeur into their lives. I cannot wait to see where the next book in the Silverblade series takes us. I highly recommend this book.” 5 STARS - Verified Purchase

“Every time I start a new book by Bella I wonder if she is going to be able to top the last one. I have read every single book she's put out and I haven't found ONE that I don't like.”  5 STARS
 -Anita

“Bella has once again has shown us her mad writing skills”. 5 STARS
 - Traci






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Bella Jeanisse lives for rock music. Addicted to concerts, Avenged Sevenfold, fictional rockers, and blasting music in the car, she can’t get enough. After her father turned her on to Queen, there was no going back. Of course, it didn’t stop there. Playing guitar became a pastime, which didn’t turn into a career… until she started to pen her fantasies and publish them.

Originally from Brooklyn, New York City, she grew up with access to clubs like L’Amour and CBGBs, hung out in Greenwich Village, as well as had plenty of friends in bands. No wonder rockers stayed on her mind. Bringing her ideas to life was a long time coming.

She is now living near Tampa, FL with 3 kids and 2 grandkids, as a single mom. Her family supports her writing even when it seems to take up more time than they feel is necessary. Can’t stop the muse, ya know!

Besides erotic rock star romances, Bella also writes about wild bikers, hot college men and more.


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Thursday, July 26, 2018

Book Review: Half The Night Is Gone by Amitabha Bagchi

Title: Half The Night Is Gone

Author: Amitabha Bagchi

Publisher: Juggernaut






Amitabha Bagchi’s ‘Half The Night Is Gone’ is the story of three generations of merchants and labourers with conjoined fates.

At the turn of the twentieth century, star wrestler Mange Ram is brought to Delhi by Lala Motichand, a wealthy landowner, successful merchant, and amateur wrestler. The former’s son Parsadi serves Motichand’s sons. Then there is Ramdas, who Parsadi hopes will be the personal attendant of Motichand’s grandson Kesho. These are the main characters around whom the narrative revolves.
Though Mange Ram and Lala Motichand are separated by their social status, the master and servant duo are only human beings at the end of the day, who worry about the future of their children and about the perpetuation of their family line in their respective fields. Strikingly, the story lacks the presence of any significant female leads. As such we can surmise that this is a story of fatherhood and patriarchy.

Their story is interjected by four long letters written by an eminent Hindi novelist, Vishwanath. He is grieving over the death of his only son. He is heartbroken and the tragedy spurs him to write a novel that is the story of Motichand and Mange Ram. In writing the novel, he confronts the wreckage of his own life while also seeking to make sense of the new India that came into being after independence.
The connection between Vishwanath and Mange Ram’s story becomes clearer only much later, completing the emotional arc of the narrative. However, this connection is never established explicitly.

Bagchi’s narrative reverberates with emotional truths laced with unusual depth and tenderness. His language is rich and intentionally made to appear old fashioned to accommodate the timeline of the novel. However, the lengthy sentences can test one’s patience.

Resilient and fiercely observant, this novel gradually blossoms into a thoughtful, emotionally complex, absorbing drama that stands confidently on its own merits.






Amitabha Bagchi is the author of three novels. The first, Above Average, was a bestseller. His second novel, the Householder, was published to critical acclaim and the third, This Place, was shortlisted for the Raymond Crossword Book Award 2014. Bagchi lives in New Delhi with his wife and son.





I'd like to thank the publisher for letting me review the book. I do hope you end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and happy reading! 




* I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in, Goodreads.com



Friday, July 13, 2018

Blog Tour: The Body in the Ballroom by RJ Koreto

The Body In The Ballroom by R.J. Koreto Banner

The Body in the Ballroom

by R.J. Koreto

on Tour July 1-31, 2018

Synopsis:

The Body in the Ballroom by R.J. Koreto
President Teddy Roosevelt’s daring daughter, Alice, leaps into action to exonerate a friend accused of poisoning a man just about everyone hated.
Alice Roosevelt, the brilliant, danger-loving daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, has already risked an assassin’s bullet to solve one murder. She never expected to have to sleuth another, but she’d never pass up the opportunity, either. Anything to stave off boredom.
And such an opportunity presents itself when Alice is invited to a lavish ball. The high-society guests are in high spirits as they imbibe the finest wines. But one man, detested by nearly all the partygoers, quaffs a decidedly deadlier cocktail. An African-American mechanic, who also happens to be a good friend of former Rough Rider-turned-Secret Service Agent Joseph St. Clair, is suspected of the murder-by-poison, but Alice is sure he’s innocent and is back on the scene to clear his name.
From downtown betting parlors to uptown mansions, Alice and Agent St. Clair uncover forbidden romances and a financial deal that just might change the world. But neither Alice nor her would-be protector may survive the case at hand in The Body in the Ballroom, R. J. Koreto's gripping second Alice Roosevelt mystery.

Book Details:

Genre: Historical Mystery
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 12th 2018
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 1683315774 (ISBN13: 9781683315773)
Series: Alice Roosevelt Mystery #2

Read an excerpt:

President Roosevelt and I were just finishing out talk when A moment later, the office door opened, and Mr. Wilkie, the Secret Service director, walked in. I stood to greet him.
“St. Clair. Glad to see you’re back. Very pleased with the way it went in St. Louis.” He turned to the president. “Have you spoken to him yet, sir?”
“Yes, and he’s agreed.” Wilkie looked relieved, too.
“Very good then. If you’re done, sir, I’ll take St. Clair to her. My understanding is that arrangements have been made for Miss Roosevelt to leave tomorrow afternoon.”
“Exactly. We’re all done then. St. Clair, thanks again. And I’ll be up in the near future, so I expect to see you again soon.” We shook hands, and I followed Mr. Wilkie out the door.
“Is she smoking on the roof again, sir?” I asked. That’s what happened the first time I met Alice in the White House.
He grimaced. “No. My understanding is that she is in the basement indulging a new hobby of hers. But you’ll see.” He led me downstairs, and that’s when I heard the unmistakable sounds of gunfire. Mr. Wilkie didn’t seem worried, however. “Miss Roosevelt somehow got hold of a pistol and has set up her own private firing range in a storage room. We launched an investigation to figure out how Miss Roosevelt obtained such a weapon but were unable to reach a formal conclusion, I’m sorry to say.”
No wonder they wanted me back.
And just as when Mr. Wilkie had sent me to get Alice off the roof, he once again cleaned his glasses on his handkerchief, shook my hand, wished me luck, and departed.
I heard one more shot, and that was it. She was probably reloading. The sound came from behind a double door at the end of the hallway. I carefully opened it, and she didn’t notice at first.
I watched her concentrating on the pistol, her tongue firmly between her teeth as she carefully focused on reloading. It was an old Smith & Wesson single-action, and she was damn lucky she hadn’t blown her own foot off. She was shooting at a mattress propped against the far wall, and from the wide scattering of holes, it was clear her marksmanship needed a lot of practice.
“A little more patience, Miss Alice. You’re jerking the trigger; that’s why you keep shooting wild. And that gun’s too big for you.”
It was a pleasure to see the look of shock and joy on her face. She just dropped the gun onto a box and practically skipped to me, giving me a girlish hug. “Mr. St. Clair, I have missed you.” She looked up. “And I know you have missed me. They say you’re back on duty with me. We’re heading to New York tomorrow, and we’ll have breakfast together like we used to and walk to the East Side through Central Park and visit your sister Mariah.”
I couldn’t do anything but laugh. “We’ll do all that, Miss Alice. But I’m on probation from your aunt, so we have to behave ourselves. You have to behave yourself.”
“I always behave.” She waved her hand to show that the discussion had ended. “Now there must be a trick to loading revolvers because it takes me forever.”
“I’ll teach you. Someday.” I made sure the revolver was unloaded and stuck it in my belt. Then I scooped up the cartridges and dumped them in my pocket.
“Hey, that’s my revolver,” said Alice. “It took me a lot of work to get it.”
“You’re not bringing it to New York, that’s for sure, Miss Alice.”
She pouted. “I thought you’d relax a little after being in St. Louis.”
“And I thought you’d grow up a little being in Washington. You want to walk into the Caledonia like a Wild West showgirl? Anyway, don’t you have some parties to go to up there?”
“Oh, very well. But promise me you’ll take me to a proper shooting range in New York and teach me how to load and fire your New Service revolver.”
“We’ll see. Meanwhile, if you don’t upset your family or Mr. Wilkie between now and our departure tomorrow, I’ll buy you a beer on the train.” That made her happy.
We walked upstairs as she filled me in on White House gossip.
“Oh, and I heard you were in a fast draw in St. Louis and gunned down four men.” She looked up at me curiously.
“A little exaggeration,” I said. I hadn’t killed anyone in St. Louis, hadn’t even fired my revolver, except for target practice.
“You didn’t kill anyone?” she asked, a little disappointed.
“No. No one.”
But then her face lit up. “Because your reputation proceeded you, and they knew there was no chance of outdrawing you.”
“That must be it,” I said.
“But look on the bright side,” she said, still full of cheer. “New York is a much bigger city. Maybe you’ll get a chance to shoot someone there.”
***
Excerpt from The Body in the Ballroom by R.J. Koreto. Copyright © 2018 by R.J. Koreto. Reproduced with permission from R.J. Koreto. All rights reserved.


Author Bio:

R.J. Koreto
R.J. Koreto has been fascinated by turn-of-the-century New York ever since listening to his grandfather's stories as a boy.
In his day job, he works as a business and financial journalist. Over the years, he’s been a magazine writer and editor, website manager, PR consultant, book author, and seaman in the U.S. Merchant Marine. He’s a graduate of Vassar College, and like Alice Roosevelt, he was born and raised in New York.
He is the author of the Lady Frances Ffolkes and Alice Roosevelt mysteries. He has been published in both Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. He also published a book on practice management for financial professionals.
With his wife and daughters, he divides his time between Rockland County, N.Y., and Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.


Catch Up With R.J. Koreto On: Website , Goodreads , Twitter , & Facebook 

Tour Participants:

Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!  

ENTER TO WIN:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for R.J. Koreto. There will be 3 winners of three (3) Amazon.com Gift Cards. The giveaway begins on July 1, 2018 and runs through August 1, 2018. Open to U.S. addresses only. Void where prohibited.

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

 


Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Book Blitz: War Eternal - The Emergent Threat by J.F. Cain


°❈*✫•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫War Eternal Book 2✫•°*”˜˜”*°•.✫*❈°

The Emergent Threat



BLURB:

Alex risked his soul to reunite with Aranes, the angel he’s in love with, forcing her to make the ultimate sacrifice to save him. Having lost her supernatural powers, Guardians and Exorcists fight tooth and nail to protect her, but they cannot keep the dark forces that are after her away for long.

Aranes’ relationship with Alex also puts him in the crosshairs of Lucifer, who wants the angel for himself and plans to destroy his rival, even if he doesn’t believe that the man is the incarnation of the high-ranking Celestial, Abaddon.

Alex must push himself beyond his limits and use all his wits to thwart Lucifer’s plans. He may be just an ordinary man, but he won't give up his partner without a fight. He’s willing to pay any price, any price except for losing her.





Just as in the first book, Cain thoroughly imbues her well-defined characters with style and immense believability. From epic Biblical battle scenes to steamy, yet restrained, sexual interludes, this book once again measures up mightily to expectations, giving readers still more of everything a fan of this genre might expect -- and then some.

Five-plus stars to this sensational sequel. While many long-awaited sequels fall short of expectations, The Emergent Threat proves to be more than equal to the task. It's a triumph in storytelling that should move author J.F. Cain to the forefront of her genre.

~ Publishers Daily Reviews

The writing and the metaphysical considerations, as well as the biblical tone of this book, kept me reading and enthralled. The concepts of good and evil, and the balance that must be maintained between them, is portrayed with an expert touch. The way the universe is put together is very well thought out, and the plot and subplots are written with the deft pen of a master. J.F. Cain should be very proud of this novel and I hope the series goes on for a long time.

~Readers’ Favorite



ALSO AVAILABLE


As a child, I was drawn to the mysterious, the magical, and the unfathomable. As I grew older this interest grew, creating a thirst in me to know and understand human nature, the world surrounding it and the mysteries hidden behind the veils of space and time. Searching for answers, I began to study psychology, mythology, philosophy and esotericism. But the demands of work and family forced me to put an end to my intellectual quest.

Years later, when there was no longer anything to stop me from exploring the worlds I was so curious about, I decided to move to a house in the mountains. There, experiencing a sense of profound silence and inner completion, I felt the conditions were right for me to devote myself to the study and exploration of the subjects I was interested in.

This time I included other sciences in my research, such as comparative religion, anthropology and quantum physics. I now knew that, in order to find the answers to my questions, I had to couple the knowledge concealed in religious teachings and philosophies with the findings in physics revealing an invisible, parallel and imperceptible universe – a pairing that many scientists and writers had attempted before me.

It was not an easy endeavor. To succeed, I had to counter the harsh rationalism that life’s experiences had wrought in me with a persistent sense that a metaphysical mystery did indeed exist. And I also had to shape a logic of a different quality and breadth. I travelled arduous spiritual paths, discovered terrifying secrets and learned firsthand how dangerous it can be to enter elusive spheres of esoteric knowledge. I faced unexpected difficulties and had to make many sacrifices, but I did not give up.

One winter evening, as I sat by the fireplace, my gaze pinned on the flames and my mind lost in theories, symbols and trains of thought, I experienced something that propelled me to write an allegorical story based on the knowledge I had gained.

There followed three years of non-stop intellectual ferment and writing, which gave birth to a large part of the War Eternal series. In this novel, over and above the clearly expressed objective logic, I tried to conceal important ideas within tantalizing external forms. Because some truths are hard to accept… 







Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Book Review: Love A Little Stronger by Preeti Shenoy

Title: Love A Little Stonger
Author: Preeti Shenoy
Publisher: Srishti Publishers & Distributors







Preeti Shenoy’s ‘Love A Little Stronger’ is a collection of 50 short, real-life incidents that have inspired the author in the course of her life. If you’ve read ‘34 Bubblegums and Candies,’ you’ll see that this book is like old wine in a new bottle. This book features stories from her previous one, albeit edited versions, in addition to some new ones.

The 50 stories in this book are grouped under 5 sub-heads. Each group starts with a memorable quotation by some famous author or the other. ‘The Parent Trap’ portrays the close bonding between the author and her parents. It also includes anecdotes from her own parenting days. ‘Life, Love And Laughter’ include incidents that are funny, humorous, and at times embarrassing but charming at the same time. The third section is ‘Hey Brother!’ This comprises of incidents involving the author’s children. How siblings protect and stand for each other during times of need is what makes this section a happy reading. In the fourth section of the book, ‘Love A Little Stronger,’ she speaks about love and acts of kindness. In the concluding section, ‘Be The Best You Can Be,’ Shenoy shares tips on life and parenting and gives advice to the aspiring writers.

The stories vary in length but display an unwavering tone of simplicity and warmth. Each story, somehow or the other, gives one hope. It touches the heart and elicits a smile. The stories are very relatable and go on to show that no matter how hopeless a situation may seem, things always change. Through this book, the author wants people to always believe in love. She also shares her belief that oftentimes it is the tiniest things that bring happiness in our lives.

Shenoy is a gifted, natural story teller and this book is a light-giving, tender thing.






Preeti Shenoy is the bestselling author of Life is What You Make It and nine other titles. Her books have been translated into several Indian and foreign languages. She is among the highest selling authors in India. She is also a speaker, columnist, and artist. Preeti has been featured on BBC, Conde Nast, Verve, India Today and all other major media.





I'd like to thank the publisher for letting me review the book. I do hope you end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and happy reading! 




* I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in



Monday, July 2, 2018

Book Review: Padmavat - An Epic Love Story by Purushottam Agarwal

Title: Padmavat
Author: Purushottam Agarwal
Publisher: Rupa Publications India





An epic poem, Padmavat was written by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi in 1540. Now, some five hundred years since this poem was first written, the story of Queen Padmavati still continues to capture the imagination of readers with its unique characterization. Several versions of this historical story have made the rounds of both the literary and cine world. Purushottam Agrawal’s ‘Padmavat: An Epic Love Story’ is one among many such renditions.

So what makes Professor Agarwal’s book unique? Why should one choose to read this book? Simply put, Prof Agarwal’s book is a retelling, and sometimes interpretation, of the original Awadhi text. His book is a detailed explanation of what Jayasi’s poem stood for. It is not a fictional account of the story that has been simply converted from the poem. This book is an attempt to understand the truth and myth behind the tale.

There has been a lot of controversy regarding the authenticity of the myth of Queen Padmini of Chittor. The original poem ends with Jayasi's own words: “I have made up the story and related it.” As such, there should be no doubt, at least as far as the event in the poem goes, that the story of the queen is nothing but a figment of a poet’s imagination.

Jayasi never meant to write history. Neither has Prof Agarwal. Jayasi’s epic poem was a work of creative, imaginative literature woven around an episode in history. In his much celebrated poem, he transformed that episode and its legend into a rich, intricate tapestry of love, desire, and struggle wrought with sacrifice. Jayasi, through his ingenious, had placed a local episode into a much wider cultural perspective. Prof Agarwal’s is an interpretation of the former. He does not get into the question of the historicity of the story of Padmavati, except tangentially.

According to Prof Agarwal, Jayasi put love and life in the ultimate existential perspective of transience in the face of impending death. In a poignant poetic move, at the end of his saga, Jayasi makes victorious Alauddin reflect not only on his pyrrhic victory but also on the nature of insatiable desire. It’s he who says desire never goes away unless a man reaches the grave. To show what he means, Prof Agarwal has provided text from the original Awadhi wherever possible with its paraphrase in English.

Prof Agarwal is one of the most distinguished contemporary critics of Hindi and a renowned scholar of Kabir. He taught Padmavat for over 40 years and his tremendous love for the epic shows in his retelling of it. Through this book, he takes us on a journey through and about Padmavat. He describes the salient points of the story. Written in a fluid language, Prof Agarwal’s book is easy to comprehend. Devdutt Pattanaik’s alluring illustrations embellish the chapters and add an undeniable charm.

A stunning display of insight and erudition and an important contribution towards understanding a historical episode.







Purushottam Agrawal is a New Delhi based writer and literary historian. He works on Bhakti, spirituality without religion and India’s organic early modernity which, he argues, was halted in its tracks by colonization. His work draws upon sources in Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Braj and Awadhi.
His book on Kabir, Akath Kahani Prem Ki: Kabir ki Kavita aur Unka Samay (2009) is considered a contemporary classic and won the first Rajkamal Kriti Samman.
He is a well-known public intellectual, lending his voice to newspaper and television debates. He is a contributing editor at The Quint.






Devdutt Pattanaik writes and lectures on the relevance of mythology in modern times. He has written over 700 articles in newspapers and thirty books, which include the bestselling Business Sutra: A Very Indian Approach to Management and My Gita. His shows on television include Business Sutra and Devlok with Devdutt Pattanaik. He lives in Mumbai.







I'd like to thank the publisher for letting me review the book. I do hope you end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much for stopping by, and happy reading! 





* I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in, Twitter