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Hello, my name is Valorie. I have a Master's Degree in History and a license to teach-- I have been both university professor and public school teacher. Currently, I am a middle school social studies teacher. I love horror movies and spooky things. Every day is Halloween. I am also a passionate book blogger.

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Showing posts with label yareads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yareads. Show all posts

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Blog Tour, Book Review & Giveaway: Infinity (The Infinity Division, #1) by Jus Accardo





Infinity (The Infinity Division, #1) by Jus Accardo
Published by Entangled Teen
Published on November 1st, 2016
Genre: YA Science Fiction

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28220742-infinity?ac=1&from_search=true
Entangled: http://entangledpublishing.com/infinity/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Infinity-Jus-Accardo-ebook/dp/B01E3PS7OS?tag=entangpublis-20
B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/infinity-jus-accardo/1123132853
Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/infinity/id1105088032?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/infinity-38

Jump dimensions. Find the bad guy. Don’t fall in love.

Nobody said being the daughter of an army general was easy. But when her dad sends a teenage subordinate to babysit her while he’s away? That’s taking it a step too far.

Cade, as beautiful as he is deadly, watches Kori with more than just interest. He looks at her like he knows her very soul. And when he saves her from a seemingly random attack, well, that’s when things get weird.

Turns out, Kori’s dad isn’t just an army general—he’s the head of a secret government project that has invented a way to travel between parallel dimensions. Dimensions where there are infinite Koris, infinite Cades…and apparently, on every other Earth, they’re madly in love.

Falling for a soldier is the last thing on Kori’s mind. Especially when she finds herself in a deadly crossfire, and someone from another Earth is hell-bent on revenge…



Omega (The Infinity Division, #2) by Jus Accardo
Published by Entangled Teen
To be released on August 1st, 2017

One mistake can change everything. Ashlyn Calvert finds that out the hard way when a bad decision leads to the death of her best friend, Noah Anderson.

Only Noah isn’t really gone. Thanks to his parents’ company, the Infinity Division, there is a version of him skipping from one dimension to another, set on revenge for the death of his sister, Kori. When a chance encounter brings him face-to-face with Ash, he’s determined to resist the magnetic pull he’s felt for her time and time again. Because falling for Ash puts his mission—and their lives—in danger.

But there’s more going on in Ash’s alternate universe than either of them knows: a mysterious project called Omega. A conspiracy spanning multiple Earths and revolving around none other than Ash. Its creators would do anything to keep Omega secret…

Anything.



Review of Infinity
There is a theory that suggests the truth behind a phenomenon known as the multiverse.  The theory presumes that there are infinite realities, or universes, which are variations of the world that we know.  Since each universe progresses on its own, influenced by unique factors, they present different features.  For example, each universe would be at different stages of development, technology, landscapes, even cultural norms.  Yet, fundamentally, there are similarities.  Some even say there are multiple versions of us that exist across the various universes.  Of course, these theories lack any real scientific basis, and it is doubtful we will ever know for sure if there is indeed a multiverse.

This is the basic foundational premise behind Infinity.  Kori Anderson is an average girl who causes a bit too much trouble but otherwise is a normal high school student.  Her father is somewhat strict given that he is a military man, but she lives a safe and secure life.  Yet, what is a normal life ends up in chaos when she winds up the target of a murderer, Dylan, who is, in fact, a visitor from another earth.  Dylan wants to kill Kori to pay for the crimes of another universe—to punish the people who loved the Kori on the other earth, his earth, which a version of her existed, and to find her earth’s version of the woman he loved, Ava.  Dylan is followed by two men, Cade and Noah, who are determined to stop Dylan before he can kill anyone else on Kori’s world or another.  But Dylan is clever and puts Kori into a perilous situation: find the woman he loves or be shuttled through the multiverse and probably not survive.  The only light at the end of the tunnel is her burgeoning romance with Cade.

I love a book with a sound scientific basis, or rather one that is believable even if the science in a real sense doesn’t exist.  The author, Jus Accardo, gives a solid explanation of the technology used to send people from one earth to another but doesn’t convolute it. I really enjoyed Dylan’s rage.  A good book is always full of emotion, and characters that conflict with good reason and force.  It was also cute how Cade and Kori slowly developed feelings for one another, even if I was kind of troubled by the fact that Kori is a 17-year-old high school student.  The best parts of the book were the twists to the plot.  Just when there seemed to be a resolution in place, Accardo pitched the storyline on its head.  I really liked what happened when the group sought out Ava.  It was gasp inducing and made you fear that Kori wouldn’t be saved.

This book is good for young adult readers and beyond.  Infinity is an exciting sci-fi journey, using our familiar earth as the backdrop.  I look forward to pursuing the second book in the series since Infinity left us on a cliffhanger.  To know if Kori survives, you have to read the next novel, which I will certainly do.

About the Author

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. But at the last minute, she realized her true path lay with fiction, not food. Jus is the bestselling author of the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing, as well as the Darker Agency series, and the New Adult series, The Eternal Balance. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

Read below for an excerpt from the book:

“Maybe you used to be better at it?” I prodded. “I mean, you probably don’t get a lot of time to date while skipping all over creation, right? Maybe you’re just out of practice?”

“I’m not out of practice.” He seethed.

“It’s okay! It’s nothing to be ashamed of—”

For the second time since we’d met, he assaulted me. One second I was having the time of my life pushing his buttons—ridiculously easy to do—the next I was against the wall, Noah’s body covering mine. His lips moved furiously, scorchingly hot and with a level of passion I’d never felt before. His tongue slipped between my lips and despite having told other guys that I hated that, I melted, reveling in the millions of electrical tingles the action sent shooting through my body.

His hands gripped my head on either side. No roaming, no exploration. Somehow it made the whole thing hotter. Like he couldn’t bear to release me in fear that I’d move. That I’d get away and he’d have to stop.

And stop? No. That was a dirty word. A softly whispered sin in the darkest corners of the earth. Stopping this would be a crime of the highest caliber.

Except he did. Stop, that was.

He pulled away just far enough to look me in the eye, not yet letting go of my head. With an extremely satisfied tilt of his lip, he said, “Decent my ass.”


The Giveaway

metal infinity charm bookmark



Saturday, July 29, 2017

Book Review: Goddesses Can Wait by Kim Baccellia




No More Goddesses (Myths and Mayhem #1) by Kim Baccellia


Published by Zumaya Thresholds

Published May 28th, 2013

Genres: YA/Fantasy/Mythology



Jordan Lake discovers an ancient bracelet in her grandmother’s house and uncovers a family mystery that links her favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn, a romantic movie, and an aunt she never knew. Jordan hopes the bracelet will bring her love. Instead, it brings one nightmare after another, unleashing Hathor, the Egyptian love goddess, who decides it’s fun to mess with the McKnight High School social scene. Jordan holds the key to vanquish Hathor, but will she figure out what it is in time to save her school, one of her best friends, and get a date to the Valentine’s Day dance?





Goddesses Can Wait (Myths and Mayhem #2) by Kim Baccellia
Genre: YA Fantasy





Jordan Lake, a fifteen-year-old Audrey Hepburn-olic who’s a magnet for goddesses, has a chance to go to Paris with her grandmother and BFF Selena Garza. Even though she senses something is off, she decides to make the trip.

But when she kisses a cute Parisian boy a la Roman Holiday, she switches bodies with Aphrodite and is sent to the Greek netherworld. She must enlist the help of the Greek god (in more ways than one) Ares then complete seven trials set by his sister Artemis in order to return home.

Except time is running out, and if she can’t get Aphrodite back to the Eiffel Tower by midnight, she’ll be stuck in Greek mythology forever.

Review of Goddesses Can Wait


Jordan is recovering from her harrowing adventure going head to head with the Egyptian goddess Hathor, and a trip to Paris is exactly what is needed.  After all, Paris is the most Audrey Hepburn place on earth.  Jordan and her best friend accompany Jordan’s grandmother across the Atlantic so that grandmother Lake can rediscover her past away from the grip of Hathor’s magic.  Unfortunately for Jordan, that could mean more enchanted objects and more goddesses.  And more goddesses is exactly what Jordan gets.

Jordan meets the man of her dreams, but she finds that instead of a summer fling, she experiences a Freaky Friday body swap with the Greek goddesses Aphrodite.  Meeting famous Greek mythological characters like the muses and Ares.  Jordan has to get her body back, but that means trapping a escaped goddess, and that is never easy.


I definitely felt Goddesses Can Wait met and matched the quality and fun of book one, No More Goddesses.  Since I prefer Greek/Roman mythology to all others, it really made me happy that Greek mythology took center stage.  Once again, great and quality research was done into Greek mythology because the characters made sense and did not lack from fine detail.  Ares wasn’t a caricature of the god, but rather seemed to be a realistic imagining of what the god Ares would be like.  Though I do wonder a bit why Aphrodite, a Greek goddess, would be blonde.  It was a pleasant addition that more than just the “popular” gods were presented.  I liked that Charon and the fates and muses were part of the story rather than the big name gods and goddesses.  I would love to read more of this series if books of this quality are being written and published.  What’s next?  Japanese goddesses?  An Aztec goddess?  I think we’ve established a theme of love, so the world’s an open book at this point.  I sincerely hope that more myths and mayhem novels are written, and more cultures/eras are incorporated because I just love how Kim Baccellia takes myths and abstract mythological characters and inserts them into real life.  I know she would continue to do excellent and entertaining writing!

About the Author:


When writing Goddesses Can Wait, Kim Baccellia watched almost all of Audrey Hepburn’s movies and learned to love this famous icon after watching and reading all she could about her. Two of her all-time favorite movies, Roman Holiday and Funny Face, are the inspiration for Jordan’s trip to Paris. What teen girl wouldn’t love to have a romantic moment on the Eiffel Tower?

A member of RWA, Kim is currently putting the finishing touches on a YA multicultural thriller. She lives in Southern California with her husband and son.


Read below for an excerpt from Goddesses Can Wait:
My fingers brushed against the wooden box. I pulled it out. A slight tingle vibrated through my fingers. Not unpleasant, still it felt as if I’d shocked myself. I gasped, dropping the box.

I winced, fearing I’d broken it. What would my grandmother do once she found out that I not only brought it overseas but now had damaged it? For all I knew it was invaluable.

I scanned the area, freaking out big time. Then to the corner I recognized the familiar woman on the mosaic top. Relieved, I bent over to pick it up and almost dropped it again. The blond woman blinked at me.
The Giveaway:

a signed copy of both books in the Myths & Mayhem series plus a cute Paris tote and some swag; open US only


Friday, July 28, 2017

Blog Tour & Review: Goddesses Can Wait by Kim Baccellia




No More Goddesses (Myths and Mayhem #1) by Kim Baccellia


Published by Zumaya Thresholds

Published May 28th, 2013

Genres: YA/Fantasy/Mythology



Jordan Lake discovers an ancient bracelet in her grandmother’s house and uncovers a family mystery that links her favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn, a romantic movie, and an aunt she never knew. Jordan hopes the bracelet will bring her love. Instead, it brings one nightmare after another, unleashing Hathor, the Egyptian love goddess, who decides it’s fun to mess with the McKnight High School social scene. Jordan holds the key to vanquish Hathor, but will she figure out what it is in time to save her school, one of her best friends, and get a date to the Valentine’s Day dance?





Goddesses Can Wait (Myths and Mayhem #2) by Kim Baccellia
Genre: YA Fantasy





Jordan Lake, a fifteen-year-old Audrey Hepburn-olic who’s a magnet for goddesses, has a chance to go to Paris with her grandmother and BFF Selena Garza. Even though she senses something is off, she decides to make the trip.

But when she kisses a cute Parisian boy a la Roman Holiday, she switches bodies with Aphrodite and is sent to the Greek netherworld. She must enlist the help of the Greek god (in more ways than one) Ares then complete seven trials set by his sister Artemis in order to return home.

Except time is running out, and if she can’t get Aphrodite back to the Eiffel Tower by midnight, she’ll be stuck in Greek mythology forever.

Review of No More Goddesses

Jordan has a romantic heart and a deep love of everything Audrey Hepburn.  One day, Jordan discovers that her grandmother is keeper of a gorgeous bracelet and a secret: that one of Audrey’s roles, the main in Tessa’s Treasure, was based on reality, and this reality featured none other than a great aunt Jordan never knew.  What appears to be a lovely vintage bracelet, reminiscent of all the romantic happenings of Audrey’s cinematic life, soon turns out to be very un-fortuitous for Jordan.  The bracelet has the power to give love, which Jordan is at first fascinated by because she has her heart set on a certain boy she previously thought was out of her league. High school girls always love a good romantic story.  But this was before Jordan knew there was a vengeful Goddess, Hathor, eager to play around with the mortals in possession of her bracelet.  By the time Jordan realizes that the bracelet is not all fun and games, it was too late.  The bracelet was locked onto her wrist and Hathor’s games were underway… bugs, glitter, even a grand transformation of high school into Egyptian temple.  Jordan has to find a way to rescue her friends and give Hathor her bracelet back so that normalcy can once more be restored, even if that means not getting her high school romance.


I really love a good mythological story.  The old stories of Greek/Roman and Egyptian Gods never get old, and there are so many interesting characters that authors can have a lot of fun incorporating.  So, it was really nice to read a story that found a way to fuse some old tales with new, and even to weave in some classic cinema.  What I also want to praise about No More Goddesses are the unexpected turns the story took.  You think you know a bit how the story is going to end up, but the author throws a few twists in at the end to give you just a bit of delighted surprise.  I really like that it wasn’t an entirely predictable ending.  Definitely a charming read, and worth a read.  I am going to be reading book 2 next, and I look forward to seeing what clever takes the author has in store.

About the Author:


When writing Goddesses Can Wait, Kim Baccellia watched almost all of Audrey Hepburn’s movies and learned to love this famous icon after watching and reading all she could about her. Two of her all-time favorite movies, Roman Holiday and Funny Face, are the inspiration for Jordan’s trip to Paris. What teen girl wouldn’t love to have a romantic moment on the Eiffel Tower?

A member of RWA, Kim is currently putting the finishing touches on a YA multicultural thriller. She lives in Southern California with her husband and son.


Read below for an excerpt from Goddesses Can Wait:
My fingers brushed against the wooden box. I pulled it out. A slight tingle vibrated through my fingers. Not unpleasant, still it felt as if I’d shocked myself. I gasped, dropping the box.

I winced, fearing I’d broken it. What would my grandmother do once she found out that I not only brought it overseas but now had damaged it? For all I knew it was invaluable.

I scanned the area, freaking out big time. Then to the corner I recognized the familiar woman on the mosaic top. Relieved, I bent over to pick it up and almost dropped it again. The blond woman blinked at me.
The Giveaway:

a signed copy of both books in the Myths & Mayhem series plus a cute Paris tote and some swag; open US only