Thursday, May 29, 2014

Remnants of the Damned Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway


Welcome to Unabridged Bookshelf's stop on the Remnants of the Damned Blog Tour! Today I have a review of Remnants of the Damned, and a tour-wide giveaway. Make sure to check out everything going on during this tour by clicking the banner above. 

About the Book

Title: Remnants of the Damned
Author: Gavin Hetherington
Series: Abyssal Sanctuary #1
Publication Date: October 9, 2013
Genres: New Adult, Horror
Buy: Amazon (CURRENTLY FREE)
Witness the Birth of Fear.
There has always been something wrong with the sinister and secluded town of Lakefield View. For one, people get murdered on the streets and nobody does anything about it. Even if they hear their screams curse the night skies, the number of saints has diminished. But it isn't the sick and twisted residents of Lakefield View that are the ones who you should avoid... it's the killers, the psychopaths, the witches and the monsters you should watch out for.
Five unsuspecting workers of a picturesque café get the shock of their lives when a family member is killed before their eyes. A chain of events ensue and they are all catapulted down a spiralling road of mystery and magic, each struggling to overcome constant obstacles that threaten their lives and the safety of their families. As the mystery progresses and the secrets get darker, the friends find it harder and harder to keep their heads above water.
The only thing worse than being alone in the dark, is finding out you're not!

About the Author

Gavin Hetherington currently resides in the town of Gateshead in the United Kingdom. A literature
fanatic of fantasy, Gavin began writing stories when he was young, mainly about witches and the supernatural.
   

My Review of Remnants of the Damned
Remnants of the Damned is a dark and creepy tale that utilizes many common urban legends and fits them into the storyline. I will have to say that this book really feels like all the popular horror movies rapped up into one neat little package. The story is told in sections from each characters point of view, until they all combine to finish the final arc of the story. This unique way of storytelling lets the author explore different forms of urban legends or common horror themes. I also like how each character experiences their own horror story, and then they join up with their co-workers to form the main horror story being told. 

The characters are all very different but they are connected not only through their association with employment, but because whatever the sinister thing stalking Lakefield View seems to target them. As each story unfolds a little bit more of the reason behind these attacks is revealed ever so slightly. Even at the end of the book, I had many unanswered questions, and curiosities to be satisfied. Since this is only the first book in the series, I am hoping some of those questions and curiosities will be answered in the next installment. 

I will have to say that any horror fan will enjoy the suspenseful writing of Gavin Hetherington, as the story does keep you on your toes. Trust me there is something in this novel for every horror fan, whether it is masked killers, unidentifiable monsters, or even super creepy clowns. This book is seriously like every childhood nightmare of mine rolled into one story. It is not something to read home alone at night, because sleep will become a most difficult thing after reading Remnants of the Damned. 

I love the unique point of view story telling that Gavin Hetherington used, and I love the main plot of the story. I just really want to know what happens next, and what these five teenagers have to do with everything. Horror fans are in for a treat with Remnants of the Damned, and I cannot wait to read the next one. Best part is that it is currently free on Amazon, so grab your copy now!!

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book, in exchange for an honest review**



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Crane Book Blitz: Excerpt and Giveaway

Welcome to Crane Book Blitz!  Today I have an excerpt from Crane and a giveaway you have to enter for you today!

About the Book
Title: Crane
Author: Stacey Rourke
Series: Legends Saga #1
Publication Date: May 26, 2014
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal
The Horseman is unending,
his presence shan’t lessen.
If you break the curse,
you become the legend.
Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep.
What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you?
Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover the key to channeling the darkness swirling within her. Bodies are piling high and Ireland is the only one that can save Sleepy Hollow by embracing her own damning curse.
But is anyone truly safe when the Horseman rides?

About the Author
RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013
Stacey Rourke lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant, dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction  and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head. Mark your calendars! Her latest literary adventure, Crane, will release May 26, 2014. She is currently hard at work on the continuations of this thrilling Legends Saga, as well as other literary projects.
   

EXCERPT OF CRANE
(chapter one)

If his wife hadn’t let her ass grow to the size of a sofa, Vic wouldn’t have to cheat. Shrugging his navy blue sport coat over his shoulders, he stepped forward, allowing the hotel room door to shut behind him with a soft thump. A smug smile curled across his face, his chest puffing with pride at his own prowess—thanks in part to those spiffy little blue pills his doctor prescribed. The heels of his wing-tipped loafers clicked against the cement stairs, one impeccably manicured hand running along the handrail as he descended. The rusted metal rail squeaked its protest under the faint touch. Taking its suggestion, he retracted his hand.
Why he humored Karma by letting her drag him to this dive every week, he had no idea.
Her firm little apple bottom isn’t that great, he mused to himself, snorting a quick, dry laugh.
Of course it was. She made good money with it at the Sugar Shack down by the airport. Grinding to R&B’s raunchiest hits, while clad only in a sequin thong. She was a sweet, albeit naïve, girl that believed if she stroked Vic’s … ahem, ego just the way he liked, she would someday find a fat rock on her finger and the title of Van Tassel behind her name. Hence her insistence on the flea bag hotel. She had flipped her bleached blonde waves, batted those ridiculous fake eyelashes, and pouted that she couldn’t be seen as the “other woman” by the same crowd she would soon be rubbing elbows with. As if he would ever let that happen. Karma’s airbrushed nails and hooker heels would never fit into his world. After all, in Tarrytown the Van Tassel name meant something, and not because of the stupid legend the residents of the small glen of Sleepy Hollow mercilessly clung to. No, as one of the founding families they helped build this town. Meaning, here, he might as well be a Rockefeller. A fact he reveled in and would never tarnish with outward displays of his cheap conquests … no matter how well she could wiggle.
Vic crossed the parking lot, lit only by one humming street lamp, with a wide, jovial stride. As he shook his keys from the pocket of his slacks, thumbing the button to unlock the doors, his phone buzzed from the breast pocket of his Armani shirt.
Snatching it from its resting place, he tapped to answer. “Yello?”
“Don’t you sound chipper for someone working late?” Yvonne slurred, the only hint he needed that she’d already cracked open tonight’s bottle of wine.
“Why shouldn’t I be chipper?” he playfully asked, turning to glance back up toward the room Karma had rented. A flash of her blonde locks appeared from behind the stained drapes. He raised his hand in a casual wave, but couldn’t tell from this distance if she returned the gesture. “I just finished showing a multi-million dollar estate that the buyers are very interested in, and now I get to head home to my loving wife.”
“Yeah, right,” Yvonne openly scoffed, her voice muffled by her glass as she took another sip. “We’re the friggin’ Cleavers. Hey, Cassidy is at the mall. I need you pick her up on your—“
Vic jerked his head to the right, in the direction of the neighboring gas station. Between the normal ebb and flow of rushing traffic, he heard the distinct snap of hoof beats pounding over pavement. “What kind of idiot would bring a horse out this close to the highway?”
“The highway? Where the hell are you, Victor?”
A moment ago the drum of the approaching rider had been coming from the south of him, Vic was sure of it. Yet somehow, without so much as a faltered step, it shifted to the north. “Stopped for gas, that’s all.” Vic paid little attention to the lie rolling off his tongue as he rose up on tiptoe and craned his neck to peer into the darkness.
“Oh!” Her momentary flash of accusation was all but forgotten at the exciting prospect of fresh booze. “Are you near Gordon Bleau’s? I need a bottle of Amaretto.”
Vic stifled a cringe at the thought of his wife’s mixed drink induced wandering hands. If he wanted to fend off an overly Botoxed hag that reeked of booze, he’d go visit Nana at the home. Her old biddy friends loved him, and putting in his time there helped secure his spot in her will. “I’d love to, pet, but I’d hate to keep Cass waiting.”
A hot, snorted breath heated the exposed skin of Vic’s neck, tickling down the collar of his shirt. He spun, his heart pounding painfully in his chest, and pressed his back to the car door. Chills raced up and down his spine, electrifying his entire body. Nothing. There was nothing before him but that lone buzzing light and the seedy motel. “Damn it! Punk kids!”
“And they have a horse?” Yvonne’s giggle morphed into a hiccup. “You better watch out, Vic. It could be one of those lesser known equestrian gangs.”
The lightning that flashed on the otherwise calm night was the only omen Vic needed to spur him into action. Throwing himself off the car, his trembling fingers fumbled with the door handle. Behind him, metal hissed free from leather. Slowly—with a cold, hard fist of dread clenching his gut—his head swiveled.
 “Oh,” he said with a nervous lilt of laughter to the ominous symphony of black before him. “That’s … good. You got me. I really believed for a sec—”
Vic’s anxious, cracking plea morphed into a scream as the figure pulled back. The blade of their arched sword gleaming gold under the yellow-hued light.
Victor’s hands raised in the only defense he could offer. “No! Noooo!”
He sucked in one last gasp as metal winged through the air.
“Vic? Victor!” Yvonne screamed, panic clearing her alcohol induced haze. “What’s happening?”
The only response she received came in the form of a ghostly whinny … followed by a soft thump. Her shrieks were muted as the phone tumbled to the ground—right next to Vic’s still rolling head.

Prizes - (prize 1 & 2 are open to US only):
1) Kindle with a ton of eBooks
2) Crane duffle bag filled with signed copies of each of Stacey's books
3) 10$ Amazon Gift Card


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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: Fall To You

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we cannot wait to get our hands on.

 I am waiting on:

Fall to You (Here and Now, #2)
Title: Fall To You
Author: Lexi Ryan
Series: Here and Now #2
Publication Date: June 2014

Torn between the man she's always wanted and the man she can't remember...and yet can't let go.



Why am I waiting?
The cliffhanger at the end of Lost in Me has had me dying to read Fall To You. Thankfully I do not have to wait much longer. I am very curious as too what is going to happen with Hanna's story now. 

What are you waiting on?
Make sure to let me know in the comments

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Monday, May 26, 2014

Devour Book Blitz: Excerpt and Giveaway


Welcome to Devour Book Blitz!  Today I have an excerpt from Devour for you today!

About the Book

Title: Devour
Author: Jill Cooper
Publication Date: May 26, 2014
Life in Gloucester Massachusetts will never be the same.
Raging storms, fierce winds, shadows shifting in the breeze. Storms are nothing new for the fishing hamlet.
But darkness has come to claim the hearts and minds of those that stand in it too long. When that happens, love will be ripped from man leaving only violence, despair, and gnashing teeth.
Except for two.
Roberta is a single mom, a waitress struggling to get through life after a rocky start tainted by murder and loss. Her heart yearns for Gabriel; a deputy living in the shadow of the chief. He's a battle weary soldier ready to settle down.
When the storm comes, when the murders start, it will be up to them to stop it before darkness isn't just an empty void.

About the Author

Author of the YA Dream Slayer series, Jill loves to blend horror, comedy, the supernatural, and love,
through her novels. A fan of genre blending, her work strives to cross boundries, but most of all strives to entertain.
She loves soft cuddly cats, warm blankets, and paranormal romances.
Jill resides in Massachusetts, is constantly renovating her home that she shares with her husband, young daughter, and two skittish cats.
  

EXCERPT FROM DEVOUR
The door chimed and I glanced over, fluffing my red curls slightly. He was right on time.
With Brooding wide shoulders, Deputy Gabriel Manning could fill out a uniform in all the right places. His hair was sandy brown, and soft like an ocean’s wave.  My heart skipped a beat in the way it had when I knew Gabriel growing up, but what girl hadn’t had a crush on him?
“Deputy.” I said with a smile as I poured a cup of coffee into a Styrofoam cup and attached a lid. “Danish?”
“Not today. I have to watch the calories.” Gabriel smiled and patted his perfectly flat stomach. Perfectly perfect was more like it. On more than one occasion I had imagined him without his shirt. Always made me feel guilty, I wasn’t ready to move on, and he just wasn’t my friend.
He was Rick’s friend too.
That just made it a whole host of complicated and while I knew Gabriel should have been off-limits, nobody told my heart that.
He took the coffee and his fingers swept across mine gently, but I knew he did it on purpose. It made me blush, but my heart sprouted wings.  He had been working up to something for a while, but I never said anything. Always pretended I didn’t notice. My heart shouted at me through a bullhorn to say or do anything, but the guilt stopped me.
Guilt like I was betraying my dead soon-to-be-husband with his closest friend. Meanwhile Rick was somewhere at the bottom of Gloucester Harbor, still never found.



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Thursday, May 22, 2014

Book Review: City of Ashes

About the Book

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2)
Title: City of Ashes
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #2
Publication Date: March 25, 2008
Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.
To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?
In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

My Review of City of Ashes
City of Ashes is even better than City of Bones, which is not an easy feat. While the ending of City of Bones left some deep wounds, I was interested in finding out how everyone was now a fairing, and what Valentine has up his sleeve. While I was expecting another battle with Valentine, City of Ashes has so much more than just another battle. City of Ashes is action packed explosive sequel, and another marvelous addition to The Mortal Instruments Series. 

Alec’s relationship is my favorite part, simply because I wanted to see him happy versus pinning after someone he can never have. It has allowed readers to see a softer side to Alec. Clary and Jace’s relationship is obviously fractured and both are trying to fit the pieces into a new mold. A few interactions between them are glimpses of the past. There are also a few signs pointing toward buried secrets that may influence future novels in this series. 

Jace endures most of the anger and suffering for Valentine’s return. Distrusted by the Clave and the only family he has ever known causes Jace to fell lost and alone. Clary is dealing with her mother’s coma and she also tries to find comfort in the new stage of her relationship with Simon. Just as thing seem to level out; Valentine has to muck it all up. 

So much happens in City of Ashes, so many new characters, storylines, and just danger around every corner. I can only imagine what City of Glass is going to be like. I also now understand why this series is so addicting. 

**Unabridged Bookshelf purchased this book**



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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl Who Never Was

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we cannot wait to get our hands on.

 I am waiting on:

The Girl Who Never Was (Otherworld, #1)
Title: The Girl Who Never Was
Author: Skylar Dorset
Series: Otherworld #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: June 1, 2014
THE GIRL WHO NEVER WAS is the story of Selkie Stewart, who thinks she’s a totally normal teenager growing up in Boston. Sure, her father is in an insane asylum, her mother left her on his doorstep—literally—when she was a baby, and she’s being raised by two ancient aunts who spend their time hunting gnomes in their Beacon Hill townhouse. But other than that her life is totally normal! She’s got an adventurous best friend who’s always got her back and an unrequited crush on an older boy named Ben. Just like any other teenager, right?
When Selkie goes in search of the mother she’s never known, she gets more than she bargained for. It turns out that her mother is faerie royalty, which would make Selkie a faerie princess—except for the part where her father is an ogre, which makes her only half of anything. Even more confusing, there’s a prophecy that Selkie is going to destroy the tyrannical Seelie Court, which is why her mother actually wants to kill her. Selkie has been kept hidden all her life by her adoring aunts, with the help of a Salem wizard named Will. And Ben. Because the boy she thinks she’s in love with turns out to be a faerie whose enchantment has kept her alive, but also kept her in the dark about her own life.
Now, with enchantments dissolved and prophecies swinging into action, Selkie finds herself on a series of mad quests to save the people she’s always loved and a life she’s learning to love. But in a supernatural world of increasingly complex alliances and distressingly complicated deceptions, it’s so hard to know who to trust. Does her mother really wish to kill her? Would Will sacrifice her for the sake of the prophecy? And does Ben really love her or is it all an elaborate ruse? In order to survive, Selkie realizes that the key is learning—and accepting—who she really is
Why am I waiting?
This one defiantly sounds interesting. I am defiantly curious about a half faerie half ogre character who has a destiny lined out for them. It does not always go as planned and I am curious to see how The Girl Who Never Was turns out. 

What are you waiting on?
Make sure to let me know in the comments

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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Goddess Born Blog Tour: Review and Giveaway

Welcome to Unabridged Bookshelf's stop on the Goddess Born Blog Tour! Today I have a review of Goddess Born and a tour-wide giveaway! Make sure to check out everything going on during this tour by clicking the banner above. 

About the Book

Title: Goddess Born
Author: Kari Edgren
Series: Goddess Born #2
Publication Date: May 19, 2014
Genres: New Adult, Paranormal, Historical, 
Amazon Barnes and Noble 
Pennsylvania, 1730
Selah Kilbrid keeps a dangerous secret: she has the power to heal.
A direct descendent of the Celtic goddess Brigid, it's Selah's sacred duty to help those in need. But as the last of the Goddess Born living in the New World, she learned from an early age to keep her supernatural abilities hidden. The Quaker community of Hopewell has always been welcoming, but there's no doubt they would see her hanged if her gift was revealed.
When a prominent minister threatens to try her with witchcraft unless she becomes his wife, Selah has only one hope--that her betrothed, a distant cousin from Ireland, arrives as planned. Marrying Samuel would keep her secret safe, preserve her sacred bloodline, and protect her from being charged as a witch.
But when news of Samuel's death reaches the Colonies, Selah is truly on her own. Terrified, she faces an impossible choice--forfeit her powers and marry the loathsome Nathan? Or find an imposter to pose as her husband and preserve her birthright?

About the Author
Kari Edgren did not dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she dreamed of everything else and was
often made to stay inside during kindergarten recess to practice her letters. Despite doting parents and a decent school system, Ms. Edgren managed to make it through elementary school having completed only one book cover to cover – The Box Car Children, which she read approximately forty-seven times. Things improved during high school, but not until she read Gabrielle Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude in college, did she truly understand the power of a book.
Ms. Edgren aspires to be a Vulcan, a world-acclaimed opera singer, and two inches taller. She resides in the Pacific NW where she spends a great deal of time torturing her husband and children with strange food and random historical facts. Ms. Edgren hasn’t stopped dreaming, but has finally mastered her letters enough to put the stories on paper.
  

My Review of Goddess Born
Goddess Born is just the sort of refreshing slightly paranormal story I needed right now. Selah is in quite a predicament when she sets off to meet her cousin’s ship in Philadelphia, in the hopes of a quick marriage to her betrothed to prevent herself from becoming a target of witchcraft accusations. When she discovers her betrothed sudden death, she takes matters into her own hand. This makes for the best part of the story. 

Goddess Born has mystery, danger, and best of all a large helping of romance. I have to say that this book really took me by surprise in a number of ways, and I so enthralled I was sad to see it end. Selah is a character I could get behind, because her gift of healing really just made her want to help others. I loved how she stood strong under the pressures of Nathan and his will to accuse her of witchcraft simply because she refused to accept his proposal. 

I love the world building and historical elements to the entire story. Even with the paranormal ones taking the focus, the historical ones including the Quakers was well written and obviously well researched. That add to the feeling of the story, and I have to say I am impressed with how Kari Edgren blended the paranormal with the historical colonial setting. 

Between the witchcraft accusations, the darker force behind all of it, and the simmer affection between Selah and Henry. Goddess Born had me from the very first pages, and I could not put it down. There are a few twists and turns that I did not see coming, but took the story to the most unexpected places. I am hoping for more of Selah and possibly Henry’s story. 

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book, in exchange for an honest review**



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Saturday, May 17, 2014

Short Story Saturday: Destroy Me

Short Story Saturday is a new feature here at Unabridged Bookshelf! It is just reviews of short stories, novellas and anthologies. I will probably even review more than one at a time if they are small.

About the Book

Destroy Me (Shatter Me, #1.5)
Title: Destroy Me
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Series: Shatter Me #1.5
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, 
Amazon Barnes and Noble
Perfect for the fans of Shatter Me who are desperately awaiting the release of Unravel Me, this novella-length digital original will bridge the gap between these two novels from the perspective of the villain we all love to hate, Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.
In Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me, Juliette escaped from The Reestablishment by seducing Warner—and then putting a bullet in his shoulder. But as she’ll learn in Destroy Me, Warner is not that easy to get rid of. . .
Back at the base and recovering from his near-fatal wound, Warner must do everything in his power to keep his soldiers in check and suppress any mention of a rebellion in the sector. Still as obsessed with Juliette as ever, his first priority is to find her, bring her back, and dispose of Adam and Kenji, the two traitors who helped her escape. But when Warner’s father, The Supreme Commander of The Reestablishment, arrives to correct his son’s mistakes, it’s clear that he has much different plans for Juliette. Plans Warner simply cannot allow.
Set after Shatter Me and before its forthcoming sequel, Unravel Me, Destroy Me is a novella told from the perspective of Warner, the ruthless leader of Sector 45.

My Review of Destroy Me
In Shatter Me, I hated Warner. He was a creepy psychopath. With Destroy Me being from Warner’s point of view, I was nervous I might not like it. I should have just trusted the awesomeness that is Tahereh Mafi. I may have hated Warner in Shatter Me, but I grew to love him a little bit in Destroy Me. 

Opening up readers to Warner’s inner thoughts is a genius move. It shows that Warner may have plenty of issues, but he is not pure evil and possibly actually human. It all gives insight to the horrific treatment Warner had to survive under his father. While I grew to love Warner, I am still divided as to whom I would like to see Juliette end up with but I am leaning closer to Warner for sure. 

Since this is a novella, it is a quick read that I highly recommend reading before Unravel Me. Knowing Warner better will give better insight and a deeper connection to the characters. At least that is what I hope as I am planning to start Unravel Me very soon. 

**Unabridged Bookshelf purchased this book**

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Thursday, May 15, 2014

Cover Reveal: Sticks and Stones

Sticks and Stones by Shawn McGuire
The Wish Makers #1
Expected Publication: June 15, 2014
 Cover Design by Art by Karri
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Everyone has a dark side. Mandy’s just moved in with her.
The last time sixteen-year-old Mandy Matteo broke a rule, her sister died. Since that day she has done only what is expected of her, but life as a goody-goody has made Mandy so boring her friends have all but abandoned her. And she’s given up on ever getting Ethan, the boy she’s liked forever, to notice her. Desperate, Mandy makes a wish to simply be happy.
Her wish is granted and happiness arrives in the form of Lexi, her childhood imaginary friend come to life. Magical wishes have conditions though: Once started, the wish cannot be altered or stopped. And once Mandy is truly content with her life again, Lexi must go back to where she came from. But Lexi loves being alive and she’ll do whatever it takes to stay that way.
 About the Author

Shawn McGuire started writing after seeing the first Star Wars movie (that’s episode IV) as a kid; she
couldn’t wait for the next one so wrote her own episodes. Sadly, those notebooks are long lost. STICKS AND STONES is her debut and is the first in the planned five-book YA fantasy series, THE WISH MAKERS. She grew up in the beautiful Mississippi River town of Winona, Minnesota and after graduating college moved to the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin where she lived for many years. She and her family now call Colorado home and when not writing or reading, Shawn enjoys cooking and baking, crafts, interior decorating, and spending time hiking and camping in the spectacular Rocky Mountains.
   
My Thoughts: Imaginary friends come to life and possibly have an agenda to stay that way. I have to say this story probably will not be boring. I am curious about this one alright.
I want to hear what you think!
Let me know in the comments

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