GIVEAWAY and REVIEW: The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez

The Photo Traveler 
by Arthur J. Gonzalez 
Publication: February 20th, 2013
Genre: YA Paranormal/Time Travel

DESCRIPTION

Seventeen-year-old Gavin Hillstone is resigned to being miserable for the rest of his life. Left alone in the world after his parents died in a fire when he was four, he was placed in foster care, which for him meant ending up in an abusive home with an alcoholic adoptive father.

Gavin’s only escape is in taking and creating images. His camera is his refuge from the unending torture and isolation of daily life in his  “family.”

Until he learns by accident that he isn’t alone in the world after all. His father’s parents are still alive and living in Washington DC.

When he takes the plunge and travels 3,000 miles to find his grandparents, he learns that they—and he—are part of something much bigger, and more dangerous, than he could ever have imagined. Something that has always put his family at risk and that will now threaten his own life, while forever changing it.

He learns that he is one of the last descendants of a small group of Photo Travelers—people who can travel through time and space through images. But his initial excitement turns to fear, when he soon discovers that he and his grandparents are being pursued by the fierce remnants of a radical European Photo Traveler cult, the Peace Hunters. What Gavin has, they want!

His adventure will take him to past eras, like The Great Depression and the Salem Witch Trials. Gavin will have to discover who he really is and must make choices that spell the difference between life and death for himself, for the relatives he now knows and loves, and for the girl he will come to love.

For Gavin Hillstone, life will never be the same.

REVIEW

I don’t know why I love time travel books because they drive me crazy. I over think them and even though I’m very willing to accept the fact that vampires exist or shapeshifters are sexy, time travel just makes me crazy.  I like simple time travel stories, and this one was very complicated.

However, I did enjoy it very much.

This book was so twisty I swear, if you just start it and don’t keep going, you have no idea what this book is about.  There is one twist at the end that leads up to the second book which just made me sit up and say what the heck just happened!

Some of the things the characters did seemed out of place – for instance, in certain circumstances Gavin et. al, were very naïve and childish, while others they were very mature.  I prefer them to be mature, but I think this inconsistency evened out when I take the book as a whole because the mistake Gavin made near the end was very grown up.  That’s all I can say, because that’s a major spoiler.

I also had a bit of trouble with the early time traveling, the Salem Witch trials, for instance. I don’t get how you can go back in time when there’s no photos.  I get how the author explained it, I just had trouble buying that reasoning.

But the science aside, I enjoyed the plot twists and this is a very fun book for teenagers, I especially think boys would like it because it’s not too romantic, although there is some of that going on, and of course, it's got a male protagonist.

Gavin is quite a character, he’s pretty decisive and is willing to take big risks, heck, the beginning is one big risk after another.  This was definitely a fun read and I highly recommend it for young adult paranormal readers.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the author...

My name is Arthur J Gonzalez.  I’m 28 years old, born and raised in Miami, FL.  I graduated from the University of Florida.  I am currently   releasing my debut novel, The Photo Traveler.  The premise surrounds 17 – year old Gavin, who discovers he is part of a small group, called Photo Travelers, who can time travel through photos and images.

Note from Julie: I'm a Gator, too! :)

 

EXCERPT: Plastic Hearts by Lisa De Jong

Plastic Hearts 

by Lisa De Jong
Series: Hearts, #1
Publication date: February 27th 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary

DESCRIPTION

My life has always been safe. I like it that way. I grew up in a fake society where plastic hearts rule. If our hearts are made of plastic, they can never be broken. My parents have expectations and I do everything I can to meet them, even if it means giving up on my own dreams.

Now, all I want is to be free to make my own choices.

Dane Wright is everything I have been warned to stay away from. We met one night while I was with my perfect, parent-approved boyfriend and I haven’t stopped thinking about him. I don’t want to like him. I am doing everything I can to ignore his pull, but my heart seems to want what it cannot have, what it has never had.

Can he measure up? He may think I am too good for him, but maybe he is too good for me.

Life is a series of choices and I have never been able to make my own. Until one day, when my heart decides to make a choice for me.

Recommended for mature readers due to sexual content and language

EXCERPT

I felt a finger under my chin, lifting my gaze back up to his eyes. 

“Hi,” he said. I couldn’t quite hear his voice, but I could read his amazing lips under the strobe lights. God, he was beautiful, the type of beautiful that renders me temporarily speechless. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there searching for something to say, but it was long enough for me to completely forget my own name.

“I’m here with my boyfriend,” I finally blurted. It came out so quickly I wasn’t even sure he understood a word I said. Why did I always turn into a blabbering mess when I was nervous? Did I mention that when he smiled, two magnificent dimples appeared? Dammit.

I watched him look around and then he smiled. “I don’t see a boyfriend. Sorry, you’re going to have to come up with something a little better than that. Try again.” 

Who did this guy think he was? I pressed my lips into a tight line. “No, I’m really here with my boyfriend. Right, Jade?” I turned around to pull her into the conversation, but she was gone. This was not going well. This mystery man had unnerved me by putting his hands on my body and flashing those incredible dimples and there was no one around to save me. I was stuck on the dance floor with a sexy stranger while my boyfriend and best friend were nowhere to be found. Ryan was probably sitting at the bar, slowly nursing his first beer, while Jade was doing God knows what with a guy whose name she would never know.

I hesitantly turned back toward him until our eyes met again. He seemed amused as he continued to smile down at me. “So do you want to keep dancing? Or can I buy you a drink?” He shouted over the music.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa De Jong is a wife, mother and full-time number cruncher who lives in the Midwest. Her writing journey involved insane amounts of coffee and many nights of very little sleep but she wouldn't change a thing. She also enjoys reading, football and music.

 

 

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop

ONE lucky follower will win $10 Book of Choice from Amazon (US) or The Book Depository (INT)

Love in Bloom 

Giveaway Hop

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Portrait of a Book

May 16th to 22nd

YOU MAY CHOOSE ANY BOOK AND ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE ONES FEATURED HERE

The Collector ~ Losing Francesca ~ Confessions of an Angry Girl

If I fall ~ Unravel Me ~ The Rules for Disappearing

THE HOP

Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop is hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer and & Portrait of a Book, and it goes a little something like this: A bunch of blogs sign up to host a giveaway and then we link up together (using the Linky list below) which enables everyone who's participating in the hop, as well as all of our collective followers, to visit each giveaway blog.  This allows blogs to get new followers and followers to find new blogs!  Everyone wins!  Love in Bloom Giveaway Hop is scheduled from May 16 at 12:00 AM to May 22 at 11:59 PM.

THE PRIZE

ONE lucky follower will win $10 Book of Choice from Amazon (US) or The Book Depository (INT)

THE RULES

This prize will be delivered by email, typically within 24 hours of responding to my notification e-mail. Everyone who enters must be legally able to do so, typically this means 13 years and up, but please check with your local regulations.  Please follow all the rules for hop entries.  I do check them, so don't cheat.  The winner will have 48 hours to respond after I send out the notification e-mail, if I do not hear from you, I'll choose an alternate winner.

Don't forget to hop on down the line and enter ALL the Giveaways!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LAST CHANCE: TRAGIC Release Day Giveaway Sign-ups!

LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP!
RELEASE DAY BLITZ is May 20th but you may post any time between May 20th and May 24.
I am organizing a release day blitz for my new book - TRAGIC - a new adult contemporary romance.  This book will be released on May 20th and if you interested in helping me spread the word, please fill out the form below. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s portfolio.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

DREAMS COME WITH A PRICE...

EXCERPT

"First time?" Billy asks casually as we stand there.

 
"What?"

 
"For an artistic shoot? I haven't seen you around before and you look pretty nervous."

 
"I am," I confess. "I've never done this before."

 
He slips his hand up my shirt and all I hear is the rapid clicking of a camera shutter. I look around and the shoot has started. 

 
"Don't worry, it'll be quick." He tugs on my shirt, exposing my belly, then pulls it up and leans in to kiss me. I don't know what I'm thinking but I let him. This is work, right? This is what they do? Kiss each other?

 
I have no idea, but his hands are all over me, his mouth is traveling down my neck fast, and I'm starting to shake.

 
"Easy," he whispers. "He won't shoot long. Just listen to me, OK?"

 
I nod. 

 
"Just let me do my thing, pretend you're in love with me and my hands are a gift from God, and he'll get his shots and we can go eat or something."

 
Is he asking me out? I am so confused but I do what I'm told. It's really not that hard, Billy is doing all the work, really. His hands do the groping, pulling the red shirt this way and that, exposing my skin, my belly here, parts of my breast there. It's OK. This is work.

 
"OK, Rook," Roger says, interrupting my thoughts. "Take his shirt off, slowly."

 
Oh, shit.

 
"Any day now, Rook."

 
I nod. OK. I lift up the bottom of his shirt— 

 
"Slower, Rook."

 
Right. Slowly.

 
"Now look at him while you do it."

 
This gets very personal, very fast. Because Billy here has a hard-on, I can feel it as he presses his leg against my hip, and his eyes look like he's about to throw me down on the bed and make me scream his name right here in front of the whole studio filled with people.

 
"Keep working, Rook."

 
I tug the shirt up again and Billy lets out a moan. "Shit, Rook," he says. "You're sexy. I don't even have to try."

 
I do try… and ignore him, that is. But it's pretty hard when Roger is constantly telling me to look Billy in the eyes. Finally, finally I get the shirt over his head and then he starts on mine. 

 
"Am I supposed to take my shirt off?"

 
"Just go with it, Rook, or we'll be here all fucking night."

 
He leans in to kiss me and the shutter goes wild again. "Slower this time, Billy. I need lips for stock art."

 
He slows down and takes his time coming at me. 

 
"Rook, either respond or we'll have to do it again."

 
I do my best, but I'm not that great of a kisser and Billy here is doing enough for both of us. His hands slip around my waist, pulling me close. "Touch me, Rook, let the man get his photos."

 
I allow my hands to travel up his torso and feel a shiver burst from his skin. My body responds the same way as his hand slips under my shirt and then he spins me around, lifting the loose fabric up as his hand explores my breast. He's kissing my neck and tugging on the jeans. They are so loose, they almost fall down my hips. This makes Roger call out a "Nice, Billy! Do that some more," to which Billy responds by slipping his hand right between my legs.

 
I let out a giant gasp and Billy is about to swipe my shirt clean off when Ronin is up in his face screaming. "What the fuck are you doing?"

There will be a group Rafflecopter for a custom cherry necklace, signed print copy, and a $20 Amazon card for the blitz.

COVER REVEAL: Barbie World by Heidi Acosta

Barbie World 

by Heidi Acosta
Series: Barbie Girl, #2 

Publication date:  May 2013

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Cover designed by MaeIDesign

DESCRIPTION - BARBIE WORLD

“One Night is all it took to change everything between Barbie and me. One night to potentially lose the girl of my dreams forever. How do I prove to her that she can trust me? That all I want to do is protect her carefully guarded heart. I need to prove to her that I want to be a part of her world. But How? ”

Dylan lost Barbie once before, now he is determined more than ever to win her heart and trust back. Easier said than done, especially with the new hot guy in town who is in a rock band and is the complete opposite of Dylan.

Barbie has been hurt beyond repair or so she thinks. It would be easier for heart to decide if she didn’t have to protect her little brother. And if Dylan would just put on a shirt! Dylan is not making this easy on her. It helps to have the distraction of the new guy in town cute bad boy Kai. But even though her heart is damaged it still knows what it wants. 

When Barbie learns she has a family and with the help of Roxie and Kai, oh and Third and Dylan. They embark on a journey to help bring Barbie closer to a past she never knew existed. 

Heidi Acosta brings you the heart felt story of friendship, love and heartbreak in the second book in of the Baby doll series Barbie World.

DESCRIPTION - BARBIE GIRL

The only thing that 17 year old Barbie Starr wants to do is graduate high school so she and her little brother, Everett, can get out of Alabama. She doesn’t care about the rumors that are spread around about her like wild fire. Rumors are nothing new to her. Sure, maybe she could change her reputation, but why bother. She is leaving Alabama as soon as she can. That is, if she can pass algebra and graduate.

The only thing Dylan Knight would like to do is go through high school unnoticed; he has had enough of the drama that is high school. He took the whole of last summer to bulk-up: finally he is not being called names or being shoved into lockers. He wants to remain on the outside of the circle of constant rumors that surround the so-called popular kids who get all the attention. He would not, however, mind if his long time crush Katie took notice of him.

But it is Barbie who notices Dylan and she offers him a deal he can’t pass up: if he helps her pass algebra, she’ll help him get the girl of his dreams. Dylan agrees, but, as it turns out, nothing is simple when it comes to Barbie. Somehow, she can’t help but draw attention to herself — and to him. Soon Dylan finds himself tossed into the whirlwind of rumors that seem to follow Barbie everywhere. Can he save his reputation and still get the girl of his dreams? Or will Barbie be the one to break through his carefully-built facade?

About the author...

Heidi Acosta was born on Long Island, New York. Moving around a lot when she was younger, she has lived in New York, Arizona, New York (again), Washington, Georgia, and Florida, in that order. Each place offered her something special, but she will always consider New York her home.

Heidi started writing as soon as she could spell. When she was three, Heidi’s mother gave her a copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House in the Big Woods; thus beginning her lifelong love affair with literature.

Writing soon also became a form of therapy for Heidi, when she realized that no matter what was happening in her life, she could find emotional escape while writing. Some of her earliest stories featured her as a princess who explored new worlds with her horse Buttercup. If it sounds romantic, it wasn’t, there was no prince charming in those fairy lands (boys where yucky).

Heidi now resides in Florida with her husband, very active daughter, one hyper Chihuahua, two sweet cats, and one very fat moody cat..