Book Blast & Giveaway - Run with the Wolves Volume One: The Pack by T c Tombs

It is the fifteenth century, and three kingdoms are caught up in the dire conflicts of their time. As the possibility of a peaceful resolution provides hope that a decade-long war will finally end, no one realizes that dark forces are waiting to invoke chaos as a full moon rises.
On a farm nestled beneath the Euralene Mountains along the western border of Medinia, young Willie works for the Smythes as a serf. One moonlit evening when the Smythes are gone to a neighbouring village, Willie hears the terrified cries of animals in the pastures. When he goes to investigate, he discovers that this wolf pack attack is like no other. Badly injured during the raid, he survives—but now he is afflicted by the full-moon madness that will soon transform him into one of the wolf creatures he dreads. With his life seemingly warped forever, Willie must face the prospect of a lifelong descent into horror.
In a time of witchcraft, superstitious folk lore, and fearsome creatures roaming the night, Willie struggles with an uncertain destiny and must seek help from the one man he holds most responsible for the dark fate that awaits him during the next full moon cycle.

“Beware of the full moon. This one is for all of the werewolf lovers!”
—Top Book Reviewers

A well-written and addictive first novel.
—Blue Ink Review

A well-developed, tightly plotted fantasy; readers will want installments two and three.
—Kirkus Reviews

Purchase Your Copy:
iUniverse Title: Run With the Wolves
Author: T c Tombs
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Paranormal Fantasy
Pages: 410
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1-46201-092-9 About the Author:
  T c TOMBS earned degrees from Trent University and Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. Like many Canadians, he loves hockey and golf, and he has a passion for medieval history, folk lore, literature, film, and music. Terry and his wife, Sandra, live in the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada, where they have raised five daughters.

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Review - Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

This one is also very late in coming.

the longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

the loss.
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being human.

the linger.
For Grace, Sam, and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces -- wolf and human -- with love bearing its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

In Shiver, Sam struggles to stay Sam. Grace fights to keep him human and with her.

Maggie Stiefvater's Linger introduces us to Cole St. Clair, a new (and wild) addition to the pack, chosen specifically by Beck to lead and take care of the wolves when he couldn't anymore. Because Beck hadn't know Sam would find a way to keep his humanity.

Cole ruffles some some feathers when he bulldozes his way in to Isabel's life... completely naked. As days go by, Isabel can't help but feel drawn to him. A feeling that she tries to squash pretty unsuccessfully.

Grace, who'd been bitten many years before feels something sitrring inside of her that hadn't been there until recently. Something she never thought would show itself. Something that terrifies her.

This time, Sam fights to hold on to Grace. But can he do it?

*

I think Cole was a wonderful addition to the story of the wolves. I loved him, even in all of his arrogance. Isabel is more likeable now than before despite the hard outer shell she wants to keep up. Sam is kind of lost with everything that's going on with Grace, so some of the romance from the first book is lost. But the ending more than makes up for it.

I love the twists and turns in Linger. The new characters are a great. And some of the old ones not mentioned much before make a re-appearance. Not a happy one. In fact, Tom Culpeper gets downright mean and dirty when he makes a surprise visit to Sam over at Beck's house.

The writing is amazing. It made me love the characters I was supposed to love and it made me hate the characters I was supposed to want to slap in the face.

I will honestly read anything and everything Maggie ever publishes. She's such a great author and I love her books!

Review - Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Better late than never I suppose. Seeing as how I never put a review up for the book.

the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

When she was a little girl, Grace was bitten by wolves. A fact that slams to the forefront of everyone's mind when popular jock, Jack Culpeper, is "killed" in the woods.

Sam works in a bookstore, The Crooked Shelf, during the summer. When the temperature drops for the year though, his time as a human is all but forgotten. For months, he watches Grace from the woods... as a wolf.

Her wolf.

Fate in the form of a gunshot wound brings Sam and Grace together at last. But can they stay that way?

Grace loses a friend to the winter and finds an ally in an unexpected place when Jack's sister, Isabel, figures out what's going on.

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, was a whole new ball of wax for me. A unique and interesting take on the werewolf story. I love how independent Grace was and how completely awful Isabel could be. But, like every onion, Isabel had layers. Layers that get peeled away as the story goes on.

Sam. Sam the tragic and hopeless romantic who only has eyes for Grace. The one thing he manages to hold on to. Even in the winter.

It's a beautiful and suspenseful romance. Absolutely heartbreaking at times. In the end, it had me crying. And books don't usually have that effect on me. I loved the story. All the passion and devotion, the nailbiting and worrying. It's a story I will keep with me forever.

I highly recommend this book, and the rest in the series, to everyone.

Review - Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Once I really got in to Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce I couldn't put it down. It took me a while because I've been busy lately and hadn't really gotten a chance to sit down with it, but I'd always enjoyed it when I picked it up.

I must say it was a nice departure from the "Oh my gosh he's a werewolf? That's so hot!" that I've read before. Now, before you say anything... I LOVE Cole from The Wolves of Mercy Falls series by Maggie Stiefvater and I've swooned over Jacob from the Twilight Saga on more than one occasion. I have no problem with THAT kind of werewolf. It just nice to remember that originally, werewolves were bad guys. Hehe.

I liked the fact that Rosie's and Silas's relationship took so long to develop. It didn't seem forced that way. It had me wondering right along with her if he was really just trying to be friendly and she was reading too much into it or if there actually was something there.

Once Scarlett discovered the romance, she kind of started to irritate me. Acting like everyone owed her something. She was really selfish. Everyone had to feel the way she felt about what she was doing. No one was allowed to have a life. Heck, Rosie was SCARED to tell her that she'd been taking community classes. Seriously?

Ok, I get that she was totally wicked heroic at the beginning, saving Rosie's life and risking her own in the process. I get that she's scarred now (literally and figuratively). I get the emotional issues. But to lord it over her for the rest of her life in order to get her to do what you want instead of doing what's best for HER? Selfish. :-\

Maybe that's heartless of me. I just don't agree with making someone pay for something over and over and over and over.

I loved the book. I really did. Despite the selfishness and all that. I think it was phenomenal. It totally grabbed me and wouldn't let me go every time I picked it up. I highly recommend it as a read for everyone.

Review - Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

First of all, I want to say that the cover for this book is absolutely beautiful and I'm kind of sad I didn't get Wolfsbane before they introduced the new covers. Actually, I'm still kind of sad I don't have Wolfsbane because I kind of wish I was reading it right now.

Ok. With that being said. I loved the book. Love love loved it. It's so different from any other "werewolf" novel that I've read before. It was, for lack of a better term, refreshing. I think Andrea did a great job setting the scene and starting out the book with an action sequence. :-P Everyone in the story was introduced pretty quickly so you weren't left wondering "Wait, who are they and where did they come from?"

I love how strong Calla was and that she was an alpha. Definitely badass. I liked Ren too even though he seemed like a big - headed egotistical jerk for 90% of the book. It was those moments during the other 10% that didn't make me hate him. Shay seemed kind of immature and naive at the beginning but I felt as if I was literally watching his character grow and age into maturity right in front of me.

The story inspired heartache in all the right places, anger, disgust, suspense... it was a fantastic read. And it ended with, in my opinion, the perfect definition of a cliff hanger. I would absolutely recommend this book as a read to anyone and everyone.