Series Saturday: Hayle Coven Books 1 - 4 by @PattiLarsen

by Donna Huber
Never have I watched a book trailer and wanted to read a book more than when I saw the trailer for Family Magic.

But the life of a book blogger sometimes doesn't allow for just fun reading. However, I did see a passing tweet about a book birthday bash that was offering various in the series. I couldn't pass up the chance, so I entered. Turns out I won the first four books in the Hayle Coven. Now I just had to find the time to read them. I had a lot of leave to take in December and decided that I would take a vacation from the have to reads and read for fun.

What I wasn't expecting was how drawn into the story I would be. When I picked up Family Magic I thought that I would just read the one book. This series is kind of like a bag of potato chips. I would have immediately started on Witch Hunt if my Nook had been about to power down. And I pretty much powered through Demon Child and The Wild in the same manner.

Buy Family Magic at Amazon

Main character Sydlynn comes from a long line of coven leader and her mother is one of the most powerful they have had. Her father is a demon lord. And you thought your family was dysfunctional. Add to it that her grandmother, an extremely powerful witch in her own right, has been stripped her sanity. Thankfully, she was saved the demon looks that her baby sister has to keep camouflaged. (Could you imagine being sixteen and having horns?). Oh, and there's a demon teenage boy living in the house, but he's a cat (yeah, a little Sabrina, Teenage Witch-ish).

Sydlynn is fighting her heritage, and while she doesn't want to accept her place, she will not let anyone on the outside threaten her family.

Buy Witch Hunt at Amazon

That pretty much sums up the first four books. It is basically the same story over and over and by the end of The Wild, I started wondering how many times a single family can face complete annihilation before the story turns stale. There are 20 books in this series and few spin-off series. That being said, I still feel the need to continue with the tale (thought I'm not sure I'll make it through all 20).

There are a number of side stories going on along with the main conflict. Teens will identify with the internal struggle Sydlynn has over who she wants to be, who she is, and her loyalty to her family. The characters, though with otherworldly powers, are very real. I came to care about a number of them, which is why I want to continue with the story. I'm particularly interested in Quaid. If I was 20 years younger...

Buy Demon Child at Amazon

Whenever my niece visits she always asks if I have anything she can read. She's a 11 and I let her take a look at Family Magic. After just a couple of pages she turned to me and said something like yeah, this is good. Which coming from her is pretty high praise (I think she's trying for the cool, uninterested  persona). It will be great to have another series to share since our favorite series, The Gateway Chronicles, is wrapping up this year.

The Hayle Coven series is full of magical beings, there's the witches and the demons, but also vampires and fae. It has the magical feeling of Harry Potter. So if you are wanting a little magic this weekend, try out Family Magic for FREE at Amazon and elsewhere. There's also a free prequel novella available - Dreams and Echoes (Amazon and elsewhere) - it's pretty good, though there's no Quaid and I really like him.

Buy The Wild at Amazon

It also looks like the series is 50% off at Smashwords (only TODAY - March 8)


Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon through the links above.

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Literary Balderdash - Girl Who Reads Style

Have you ever seen a book title or cover and wonder what the book is about, particularly older books? I thought it would be fun to find obscure book titles and see how close you, or ridiculous, can get to describing what the book actually is about. Kind of a literary balderdash. Leave what you think the book is about in the comments. Try your hand at one or all of them. There might be a prize or two for the closest description or which ever summary makes be giggle. It's almost the weekend, so have a little fun (and don't cheat by looking up the titles, please).

Are you up for the challenge? Leave a comment with your best guess of what the summary is for one or more of the titles above. There may be a prize so leave a way to contact you.

Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon through the links above.

Read a Sample: Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour

"Vital for writers and bloggers" ~ Alison DeLuca

"Essential reading for any author..." ~ Jeff Gunhus

"Great guide for running a blog tour" ~ Deborah Carney

Buy Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour at Amazon or other ebook retailer

Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon through the link above. A free book was provided by the source. 

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Review: The Little Moose Who Couldn't Go to Sleep

I do not read children's books very often, but I do like to see what is out there from time to time. As a blogger, I'm often called on to make suggestions for friends. When I saw The Little Moose Who Couldn't Go to Sleep by Willy Claflin on Netgalley, I just couldn't resist. And it is definitely a cute story and one that will be enjoyed by kids of all ages.

If I had kids it would definitely be a book I read with them. It was a fun read for even me. I'm sure young kids will love all the made-up words (the narrator explains that some words in Moose just aren't translateble into English). Also, I think students whose native language isn't English would appreciate the book.

Buy The Little Moose Who Couldn't Go to Sleep at Amazon

One of the things I really liked about The Little Moose Who Couldn't Go to Sleep is the amount of activities that could be paired with it. If you are in a classroom or in a library position with the task of creating library programs who could not go wrong with Claflin's book. Though the book is for younger children, I think it could be used as a teaching tool for up to 8th grade.

It could be used for younger children to encourage vocabulary exploration - have them tell a story with their own made-up words.

Discuss oral history and storytelling. The story is a written account of an orally told story. Middle grade students could try their hand at creating oral stories.

It might be a stretch, but could possibly even be used in with a high school group to discuss literature in translation.

That is just a few quick ideas that came to me while reading The Little Moose Who Couldn't Go to Sleep. And it is a quick read - I read it while waiting to renew my driver's license.

If you got young kids at home, you don't want to miss out on this absolutely adorable book. You might find yourself sneaking off to read it just for yourself.

Book info:
Hardcover, 36 pages
Published January 2014
ISBN13: 978-1939160676
Source: Netgalley
Read: January 2014





Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon through the link above. A free book was provided by the source. 

New Books for March 2014

Some really great looking books are coming out this month. Actually, I've already read two of them (the perks of being a book blogger) and they were pretty good. What books are looking forward to this month?

The dead always find a way to talk to Shapri Teak. In fact, some never seem to shut up. A frightened young girl and a spectral suitor encroach on Shapri's privacy, day-in and day-out. They're driving her crazy!

When Shapri discovers the opportunity to get rid of them by traveling to the spirit portal in New Orleans, she jumps at the opportunity. With Alex, Dax, Simmi, and her mother in tow, she attends Mardi Gras—the one time per year when pesky ghosts can be dispatched to the other side.

She returns to Grandon confident that all her problems are solved, but then the blackouts start. Now her best friend and kind-of-almost boyfriend are accusing her of acts she didn’t commit. It begs the question: if she didn’t do it, who did? Has everyone gone crazy, or is something sinister afoot?

Who will stand together, and who will fall to the other side? Will Alex and Shapri ever admit their true feelings for each other? Book three pitches the Farsighted series into a quiet chaos.

Available March 1

Buy Pitch at Amazon

I am a secret no one is able to tell.

Blythe Hallowell is sixteen when she is abducted by a survivalist and locked away in an aban­doned missile silo in Eudora, Kansas. At first, she focuses frantically on finding a way out, until the harrowing truth of her new existence settles in—the crushing loneliness, the terrifying madness of a captor who believes he is saving her from the end of the world, and the persistent temptation to give up. But nothing prepares Blythe for the burden of raising a child in confinement. Deter­mined to give the boy everything she has lost, she pushes aside the truth about a world he may never see for a myth that just might give mean­ing to their lives below ground. Years later, their lives are ambushed by an event at once promis­ing and devastating. As Blythe’s dream of going home hangs in the balance, she faces the ultimate choice—between survival and freedom.

Available March 4

Buy Above at Amazon

Think twice before you agree to marry Satan. There’s no divorcing the devil.

The End is Near.

Will Megan Barnett go falling back into the arms of dreamy earth angel, Guy Matson? Or, is she in fact, falling in love with the demon, Orthon? Or, will her out-of-control abilities send her falling into Satan’s open arms?

In the final, heart-stopping chapter of the Falling Angels Saga, Megan Barnett is on a quest to rid her life of Satan forever, but Satan has other plans, including a lavish wedding, and he’s willing to destroy her family and everyone she loves to have his way. To add to the drama, rogue demons have risen from hell with plans of their own.

Will Megan finally have her happily-ever-after, or is she doomed to an eternity in HELL?

Available March 13

Buy Falling at Amazon

My name is Alice Ringwald, but the man who kidnapped me says that's a lie.

Thirteen-year old orphan Alice Ringwald has no memory beyond six months ago. The only life she knows is the new one she's creating one day at a time with the loving couple that recently adopted her and gave her new hope.

That hope, however, is shattered one night when she is abducted by a strange man. In a frantic FBI manhunt, he vanishes.

So begins Water Walker, a modern day parable that examines the staggering power of forgiveness, and reminds us that it's possible to live free of the hurt that keeps our souls in chains.

Available March 18

Buy Water Walker at Amazon

Brianna is lost for the fourth time in her life. Each time was unexpected, and each changed the course of her future. The first life-altering event occurred when her mother died, and she moved to Minnesota to live with her father.

The second was when she was kidnapped at the age of seventeen and forced to be a slave. She would never forget those ten months. Brianna thought her life was over.

Everything changed again the day Stephan steamrolled into her life and brought her home to live with him. She had no idea what to expect—what life with her new Master would hold. That first month with Stephan was, in some ways, more confusing than the prior ten. As a slave, she’d known her place. With Stephan everything was new and different. He’d given her freedom and so much more.

Five months after Stephan rescued her, Brianna once again finds her life flipped upside down.

In this fourth, and final, installment of Finding Anna, Brianna must unearth strength she never knew she possessed. Stephan can no longer protect her from the outside world. She must learn to trust herself, embrace who she is, and discover who she wants to be. Only by facing her demons can Brianna find true happiness and peace.

Available March 20

Buy Trust at Amazon

Summer of 1876: San Francisco is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman called Jenny Bonnet is shot dead. The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, she will risk everything to bring Jenny's murderer to justice - if he doesn't track her down first. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women and damaged children. It's the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts. In thrilling, cinematic style, FROG MUSIC digs up a long-forgotten, never-solved crime. Full of songs that migrated across the world, Emma Donoghue's lyrical tale of love and bloodshed among lowlifes captures the pulse of a boom town like no other.

Available March 25

Buy Frog Music at Amazon

Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate;  a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon through the above link. Covers and descriptions from Goodreads.com

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Books People Bought

I always think it is fun to see what people buy through my Amazon links. I don't know who is buying what, and sometimes you can tell it is just people doing their normal Amazon shopping. But it the books they are buying that really has me interested. It lets me know what my readers are wanting to see more of. I thought today I would share with you the books my readers have bought this month. Some have been featured and some have not.

Two years ago, the aliens made contact. Now Cara Sweeney is going to be sharing a bathroom with one of them.

Handpicked to host the first-ever L’eihr exchange student, Cara thinks her future is set. Not only does she get a free ride to her dream college, she’ll have inside information about the mysterious L’eihrs that every journalist would kill for. Cara’s blog following is about to skyrocket.

Still, Cara isn’t sure what to think when she meets Aelyx. Humans and L’eihrs have nearly identical DNA, but cold, infuriatingly brilliant Aelyx couldn’t seem more alien. She’s certain about one thing, though: no human boy is this good-looking.

But when Cara's classmates get swept up by anti-L'eihr paranoia, Midtown High School suddenly isn't safe anymore. Threatening notes appear in Cara's locker, and a police officer has to escort her and Aelyx to class.

Cara finds support in the last person she expected. She realizes that Aelyx isn’t just her only friend; she's fallen hard for him. But Aelyx has been hiding the truth about the purpose of his exchange, and its potentially deadly consequences. Soon Cara will be in for the fight of her life—not just for herself and the boy she loves, but for the future of her planet.

Buy Alienated at Amazon

Talba Wallis, the smart, sassy, African American computer whiz who's also a gifted poet and artist, made her debut in Smith's last Skip Langdon mystery, 82 Desire--along with her alter ego, the Baroness de Pontalba. Here she's back in a story of her own, holding court at a hip café by night (and keeping her audience entertained with the rap story of how her mother named her Urethra) while embarking by day on a new career as a detective under the cynical aegis of Eddie Valentino, an old PI who's never encountered anyone quite like her before.

But Eddie's got problems of his own, so he turns Talba loose investigating the possible molestation of a young black teenager and the disappearance of a couple of her friends. There's something about the violent trail she's following on this, her first case, that's stirring up Talba's own memories of her long-gone father, about whom neither Miz Clara, Talba's tough and crusty mama, nor her yuppie brother the doctor will utter a word. Set in New Orleans, territory Smith knows well, this is a lively mystery with a vivid, outrageous, and wholly likable new heroine whose appearance will be welcomed by fans of the writer's Skip Langdon series. --Jane Adams

Buy Louisiana Hotshot at Amazon

From the publicist who introduced the world to Fifty Shades of Grey, Donna Huber is now revealing her secrets to successful blog tours. She shares tips and tricks learned through organizing over 30 tours, blasts, and promotional events for nearly 50 independently and traditionally published titles. 

Secrets revealed in this quick read include,

*Planning stage decisions

*Different types of tours

*Recruiting bloggers and keeping requests organized

*Best practice communication tips 

*Tricks to making a great guest appearance

*How to organize a fun (and legal) giveaway

*Actions to take during the tour

*Next steps once the tour is complete

*Virtual tour and other promotional opportunities

*When to hire a professional

In this easy to follow manual, Donna does not stop there. She spills even more of her blog tour secrets to help authors get the most out of their events by providing,

*Tour checklist

*Tour invite tips

*Step-by-step guide to creating tour graphics

*10 broad guest post topics

*25 sample interview questions

Buy Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour at Amazon

Kimani Cannon knows she's in trouble the second she lays eyes on 6'4" of luscious male. The best kind of trouble, too...mm-mmm! Duan Jeffries turns out to be the perfect man--charming, considerate...and the best lover she's ever had. Too bad Mr. Delicious is just a one-night stand....

Until Kim needs a date to her mother's (fifth) wedding! Duan's willing to act the part of her fiancé... as long as it means full benefits. More amazing sex? No problem!

Then Kim finds out that Duan's got his own private agenda. Suddenly, she doesn't know what to believe. Her head and heart are telling her to be careful. But the sensual thrumming in her blood is turning out to be much more persuasive....

Buy Spontaneous at Amazon

This book shows you, step by simple step, how to invent the your main characters, then how to structure your plot into a commercial romance story.

Here's the book's contents: 

Module 1. "Modern Romance, its Place & Purpose" 

Module 2. "The Myth of the Romance Formula"

Module 3. "Creating Dynamic & Believable Heroines"

Module 4. "Fun, Poignant & Realistic Motivating Factors"

Module 5. "Location, Setting & Background in Time & Space"

Module 6. "Hearts, Flowers & Weddings - The New Thinking"

Module 7. "Portraying Desire: How Much Sex is Too Much?"

Module 8. "Power Plays, Dreams and Perfect Pacing"

Module 9. "Overcoming Obstacles to Love & Lust"

Module 10. "Climaxes, False Starts and Denouements" 

All this and lots of extra information, tips and pointers on writing style, voice, point of view, dialogue, flashbacks, foreshadowing, creating drama, tension and, as you'd expect from Rob Parnell, fast and effective easy writing, editing and polishing.

There is also important advice on preparing and submitting manuscripts for publication. The end section also includes a current market listing for romance publishers AND a list of romance literary agents.

Buy The Easy Way to Write Romance that Sells at Amazon

Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate;  a small fee is earned when purchases are made at Amazon through the above link. Covers and summaries are from Goodreads.com. This post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered an endorsement of any of the products above. 

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