Amber Frost by Suzi Davis will leave you breathless and yearning!

Amber Frost written by Suzi Davis will leave you breathless and wanting more. It is the author’s debut novel and is published as an EBook by ireadiwrite Publishing. It will leave such an ache in your chest for true love that you will never be able to forget this story. This has got to be one of the best stories for young adults that I have read in a very long time and rivals the pens of Lauren Kate, author of Fallen, and Alyson Noel, author of The Immortals series. Amber Frost is definitely a keeper for my EBook virtual library, and Suzi Davis has just become one of my favorite Young Adult authors!

Grace Lynn Stevenson should be a happy girl living and enjoying life to the fullest. She is beautiful, goes to a private school, is in with the popular crowd, and has the perfect boyfriend. Despite seeming to have the perfect life, Grace yearns for something else; a something else that she cannot put a name to because she should be happy with her life. Yet she is the perfect example that money may make life easier, but it certainly can’t buy you happiness. She has been living a restrained and cheerless existence despite her upper class upbringing and all the privileges that lifestyle comes attached with. Her days are filled with the incessant demands of pleasing and placating others, living up to their expectations, never being a disappointment to anyone, and basically being the picture perfect daughter for parents she barely sees or spends time with. And no matter what she does or how she looks, she still cannot seem to completely please her ultra critical and demanding mother.

That all changes the day that Sebastian Mattias Caldwood takes an interest in her and a drawing she is absently doodling one day in Art class. Despite him being a boy her parents would never approve of, he is someone she feels a strange and inexplicable pull towards and an attraction for. He is so intriguing and so enigmatic that his allure is undeniable and unavoidable. Yet he is a loner, a social outcast, and decidedly weird. Grace can tell by the way he dresses, his rings, his piercings, and the strange tattoo marking his body that he is someone she should shun mercilessly and have little regard for just like everyone else.

Despite all of this, for some reason, being around him makes Grace feel happier and freer than she has ever felt before in her entire life. She feels like a different person around him, he makes her think differently and act differently, he even says her name in a new way, calling her Gracelynn in his beautifully lilting voice and in such a way that it makes her feel more like herself than she ever thought possible.

Yes, anything feels possible when she is with Sebastian. Right from the very beginning of their friendship, Sebastian has promised to make her happiness his goal, and in return, Gracelynn will help him remember who he is. This is a tantalizing proposal to be sure. It isn’t long before Gracelynn realizes that there is a magic that surrounds this compelling boy who seems wise and ancient beyond his years. Their friendship blossoms and Gracelynn finds herself falling deeply inlove for the first time with Sebastian, who seems determined to keep her at arm’s length.

As Gracelynn revels in the thrilling sensations of first love and self discovery, there is a sense of foreboding that hovers at the edges of her mind, dreams and brief moments that hint at something incredible, frightening, and impossible all at once. She begins to wonder if being with Sebastian will endanger everything she holds dear and familiar to her, and if choosing to be with someone who may not be entirely humanly normal is really what she wants afterall. She begins to question how much one should relinquish, sacrifice, and change for true love. But when malevolent forces conspire to separate them, Gracelynn is forced to make a choice to give up the one thing she wants most of all and forfeit her one chance at happiness forever.

This is a story that warns you to be careful what you wish for, especially when the powers that grant those wishes know the truth of your every deepest desire. It asks us if love really is enough, and what is an all consuming love that lasts through the ages worth? Is what you want in the moment ultimately what you want out of life, even if you had forever?

I loved this book. Amber Frost was like reading two compelling love stories in one book. In addition to having a really cool title, it also had some of my favorite themes in it. The concepts of magic, immortality, reincarnation, danger, fate, destiny, and a love that lasts through the sands of time are all masterfully interwoven with a dash of history and a quest that will leave your heart sighing with longing. It will leave you wondering what you would do if you had a chance to have a soulmate, what you would do so that they would never slip through your fingertips, and ultimately, what would you do for love. Set against the gorgeous background of Victoria, BC, Amber Frost is a book you can devour in one reading, it will leave your heart yearning for a soulmate, true love, and is a story that will leave you breathless.

Amber Frost is available now for download at ireadiwrite Publishing. Want to keep this author on your radar? Visit her website authorsuzidavis.com to find out more.

HeartsBlood by Carolyn McCray

From the clever pen of Carolyn McCray comes a paranormal adventure with a devastating romance that will leave you stunned. In HeartsBlood, McCray takes us to the beautiful city of San Francisco; from the gorgeous panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge, the lush and dense beauty of Golden Gate Park, to the bleak starkness of Alcatraz, McCray tells a story that will test the very boundaries of both your beliefs and disbeliefs in science, magic, and love.

Salista Calon is an emergency room doctor at the San Francisco General Hospital. Headstrong, dedicated, and practical, Sal believes in science and the logic that it brings. With a promising career ahead of her and engaged to a successful, respected, and handsome clinician, Sal is firmly entrenched in the world of reality. Until one night of horrific tragedy changes her life and her perceptions of the world around her forever.

Tyr Deadblood is a hunter and warrior from another place and another time; he is also a talented wielder of a magic known as Praxis. He is a man who’s purpose in life is to put an end to anything that disrupts the balance of existence. He is also a man who’s lineage is disdained, and his very existence is an abomination to the very people he is honor bound to protect. He is also haunted by a past of his own making that still has the power to torment him.

Tyr comes to Sal’s world to vanquish a terrible enemy, a creature that is killing innocent people. It is a horrendous creature consumed by hatred, searching for the power that it needs to destroy the worlds. Thrown together by danger, Sal and Tyr must work together to destroy a rabid beast that is literally consuming the memories of victims and bleeding them dry. Sal is challenged to believe that magic is the only way to destroy the beast, and that magic lies in the very essence of the blood that courses through the veins of man, woman, and child; if only she can discover how to harness it. Yet can Sal come to terms with the existence of magic in her world of science? And can she do this before the beast that hunts both herself and Tyr for the power of their HeartsBlood succeeds in destroying them?

Devastated by betrayal and death, Sal struggles to believe the reality of having Tyr in her life and the new world he has awoken her to. She bravely throws herself into danger to aid Tyr, but is she brave enough to surrender to love and risk the chance of losing it? Torn between duty and loyalty, Tyr must choose between honor and the woman that he loves. No matter the danger that lies ahead, Sal and Tyr test their bond, hoping that love will prove to be the strongest power of them all.

Right out of the gate, I knew that this book would challenge me to believe in the possibility of magic and the impossible. Is it possible to alter reality simply by using the mantra of mind over matter? My heart raced just knowing there was a paranormal terror on a rampage through San Francisco. Terror, intrigue, and magic became par for the course in this thriller. HeartsBlood is a unique, fast paced paranormal tale with an original storyline and a shocking twist of an ending that will leave you breathless.

HeartsBlood is available for download at Smashwords!

The Noricin Chronicles by Mark Sheldon

The Lost Boy is the first of 12 installments in The Noricin Chronicles series by author Mark Sheldon. It is a tale of riddles, lineage and super humans, and will have you turning every page rapidly.

Meet 12 year old Daniel Regal, lonely, different than everyone else around him, and an orphan living in a Boston orphanage. Right off the bat we get into it, and we learn that although Dan may feel lost and alone, he is a child that is in possession of a rare gift. He is part of a super human race called Norcinites, or the New Race, and is descended from a rare bloodline known as Margatheans.

After a tragic incident involving a bully on Dan’s twelfth birthday, Nevar Loeren arrives at the orphanage and extends an invitation to Dan to attend a special school for Norcinites named Snisnar. The school was founded by the first Norcinite Steven Noricin, the first Norcinite ever to come into existence. The purpose of the school is to help young Norcinites learn to master their abilities. It also helps the Norcinites to live a life under the radar of the Commens, also known as mere mortals, who would surely persecute them if they found out about the existence of a race of super humans. Despite doubting his sanity and having trepidations about starting a new life, Dan accepts the offer of the school’s principle, the enigmatic and powerful Nevar Loeren.

That September, Dan’s new life as a student of Steve Noricin’s School for the New Race commences, and so too does the mystery of who Dan is and why is someone trying to kill him.

Amongst claims of Superman being a Noricin, a special boarding school for gifted children, and a child of an elite bloodline with rare abilities even amongst his own people,  I couldn’t help but feel excited to read this first novel in the series. The Lost Boy was like a hybrid of Harry Potter meets X-Men, and Nevar Loeren reminded me of Dumbledore and Xavier all rolled into one mysterious character. The main character Dan was a boy I liked right away, and his adventure was fast paced and interesting, and I was a willing participant on his journey of self discovery.

The Lost Boy explores themes of tolerance and fear, the struggle for enlightenment, the vagaries of acceptance and discrimination due to social status, the desire to find one’s place in the world, and accepting your true nature and therein finding your worth. Dan Regal must determine for himself if he has what it takes to embrace and conquer his fear, and he is a character that the reader will definitely root for.

The story gives the reader an intimate view of what it would be like before a super hero became a super hero. It seems there is a learning curve, and watching Dan come into his own, discover his talents and capabilities and hone his craft so to speak, as well as find a place where he finally belonged was an enjoyable endeavour. Mark Sheldon does a great job of combining humor with wisdom and wit, and has created a new world for readers to enjoy.

The Lost Boy is filled with ominous foreboding, puzzling riddles and challenges, secret passageways and dark corridors, nightmares and monsters, and an eclectic group of enigmatic and eccentric professors. There are struggles and rivalries amongst foes, and the close bonds of friendship, and a bevy of exciting, psychic and paranormal super powers. Not only is there an assassination plot or two, but in addition to eluding and helping to ferret out a would be murderer, Dan must unlock the secret of his past and discover the origins of his family. I for one have a keen interest to discover just who is the lost boy Dan Regal and what is his destiny? I will be eagerly awaiting the second installment in The Noricin Chronicles, definitely an intriguing new series by Mark Sheldon.

The Lost Boy is available January 11, 2011. Visit http://noricin.webs.com for more information, and join Mark Sheldon on Facebook. Enjoy the book trailer for The Lost Boy below!

Lily by LM DeWalt

I just finished reading Lily by LM DeWalt and published by ireadiwrite Publishing, and let me tell you, this book ended before I was ready to say The End.

Lily is a tale about a lonely female vampire living in Oregon who longs for a release from the desolate isolation she faces each and every day of her immortal life. The problem is, her very nature means she must hide herself away, never allowing herself to feel what it would be like to have a relationship of any kind. After being abandoned by her maker who she had loved intensely both as a human and as a vampire, she has been a loner, never staying in one place very long. After a brief encounter with a human male in the apartment building where she had manged to live for two years — the longest amount of time she had ever stayed anywhere — Lily packs up her meager belongings and takes off. Finally tired of her hermit-like existence, she decides she will try and find others of her kind. Perhaps she would be able to find a place where she could belong, if only for a little while.

Before long, Lily finds herself not only expected by a loving vampire family, but also meets the love of her life. Could all this mean the end of her lonely existence? Tentative yet hopeful, Lily embraces the love and warmth of her vampire family. Not wanting to think about tomorrow or consequences, Lily also indulges herself in a romantic love that cannot be. All to soon, Lily realizes her past has the power to destroy her future. And all too soon, Lily finds herself in a fight for her life and all those she loves.

As soon as I started to read this book, I felt Lily’s keen sense of isolation and loneliness and despair. She is a character that I liked right away, and she reminded me of both Lestat with her world weary nature, and Louis in the ways in which she made her nature palatable to her conscience. I felt this keen yearning to know Lily completely, but the author unfurls every nuance of her character slowly, leading you willingly along on Lily’s journey. At times I couldn’t help the feeling of foreboding that crept over me, things felt deceptively easy and so normal, but I kept waiting for that proverbial other shoe to drop. But it also had me chuckling. I, for one, will chuckle whenever I think of coffee or a park bench. And it also has moments where you will say, “Awww.”

It was refreshing to read a vampire story from a female protagonist’s perspective. The only thing I found challenging was suspending my disbelief long enough to believe in love at first sight. I’ve discovered I’ve become cynical in this regard, unfortunately. This cynicism just made me want to believe in it all the more, if only to prove to myself that I haven’t become too jaded in my old age. When have any of us encountered true love? The kind of love that loves unconditionally and accepts you for exactly who and what you are, flaws and all, no matter what they may be? This book asks you for a moment to imagine what it would be like to bare your true self and leave everything exposed. That kind of vulnerability is very frightening, but empowering as well. It will make you want to take a closer look at all the important relationships in your life.

The question of nature vs. nurture also arose for me. Lily was still so young in a vampire sense, and unsure of herself. She was so much like an abandoned child who out of necessity must learn to fend for herself, but desperately needed the bond of love and family. Would she have been more confident and more immune to the feelings of loneliness and isolation if her maker had been a better nurturer who gently guided her? Or was this sensitivity just her nature?

Lily brings the suspense like a thriller, but it is also a sweet story about finding true love and finally finding a family to call your own. It’s about the bonds of trust and loyalty, and moving beyond the things that hurt us deeply and embracing our future. It has endearing characters, rivalry, and a villainous villain you will absolutely love to loathe. You will also be posed with the inevitable question; but you will have to read the book to find out what that question is.

Plain Jane by Cristyn West

Right out of the gate this book creeped me out. Being a brunette myself, the title alone was enough to scare me! This was a seriously good book.
Words like unhinged, grotesque, shocking, intriguing, and macabre were spinning through my head as I read the stunning and suspenseful pages. In this book, the lines between profiler and killer severely blur constantly. Cristyn West keeps you guessing, “Just WHO is the killer?” And just when you think you’ve figured it out, she takes you through to another labyrinthine twist.
I found myself wondering, “Just who is watching you?” This was a creepy, gritty, horrifying and shocking ride. Right until the last page I found myself exclaiming, “No way!” This book will make you jumpy, especially if you’re a brunette. You’ll find yourself checking your doors and windows, and looking over your shoulder. You’ll catch yourself watching everyone around you, wondering…

The suspense is drawn out to the last drop, right up until you discover the shocking truth! To catch a killer, just how far would you go? Read Plain Jane: Brunettes Beware and you will discover that there’s a fine line between madness and genius!