Hell Bound By Beth Ann Masarik

Hell Bound is the next short story in the series The World Among Us by Beth Ann Masarik. This up and coming author is has shown us her skill with the fact that in a few short pages she has clearly created well rounded characters that the reader know have depth. The main character is easy to relate too, a hard working woman who is just trying to get a story done in an impossible situation. Though I have to say I think she's braver then me because I don't think I could shit talk a goddess. The story is just an over all great blend of action, emotion and adventure! I really so hope that you all enjoy it as much as I did. 

This short story also features Elise Stevenson as the main heroine. A woman who works hard at her job and genuinely cares about getting the truth out to people. After working a long day her boss calls her into his office. After luring her in with praise he tells about her next interview, with the feared Hades himself in Hell. All poor Elise wants is a good night's sleep but unfortunately that's the one thing not on the table! The poor woman is whisked into an adventure walking through the dark halls of hell before encountering demons, a goddess named DuVessa and eventually Hades himself. 

So today we have something extra and awesome! With this review the author is running a give a way to help promote her series! I wish you all the best you can win everything from author signed swag to free copies of the book! 

<a id="rc-fd91c012" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/fd91c012/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>

The short story can be found at Amazon and Smashwords for only a 1!!! I have included the links below so you can find them easier! It should be available at Barnes and Noble on Monday or Tuesday if that's the format you need!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/303223

http://www.amazon.com/Bound-World-Among-Prequels-ebook/dp/B00C7VE3NU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365211799&sr=8-2&keywords=Beth+Ann+Masarik

Murderous Regrets by Beth Ann Masarik

Beth Ann Masarik begins the re launch of her series with this brilliant short story. After having to switch publishers she has been anxiously awaiting to share the beginning of The World Among Us with you. Murderous Regrets is the story of Elise Stevenson's interview with convicted killer Leon Greene. It begins the story of the rebirth of the moon goddess and the underhanded methods of the Lord of the Underworld, Hades. It begins the explanation of the supernatural world to be found in this series as well. The best part is that even though it is short it is written well. Many details and great conversation between the characters really set the stage for what's to come!

It can be found at Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com and .ca as well as on smashwords. At only a 1.00 it is definitely worth the price to read this beginning short story, soon you will be hungering to be lost in this world with the rest of us!

Cover Reveals!!!!!

I am so excited to be able to share this opportunity with you guys! My friend Beth Ann Masarik, the author of the World Among Us Series, is having 4 wonderful short stories published soon and, dear readers, we are lucky enough to actually see the covers revealed early!!! In a few weeks I will also be reviewing them and telling you guys where to find them online!

The World Among Us Series is based vaguely on the Greek myths and what if those gods were still in play in today's society. This series has it all: love, danger, humour and the enduring spirit of humankind. All of the following short stories are based off of The World Among Us: Prince of Darkness which is due to be re- released shortly as well!

So the first cover is ... Murderous Regrets!

Leon Greene is being accused of killing his best friend, Jason Aysel, and the world wants to know if he really did it. Cue Elise Stevenson, the top news reporter for the Daily Gazette who gets the scoop. Will Leon tell her the truth and his motives behind the murder?

Moon Spirit

Raul Blackoak's world is tossed upside down when he stumbles upon a damsel in distress. What he wasn't expecting was that his life would be changed forever by her. Because he risks his own life to save her, he is stuck between two worlds; the world into which he belongs and the human world. Will he be able to balance between the two worlds or will he have to give up one to be happily ever after in the other?

Hell Bound

After impressing her boss with the interview with Leon Greene, Elise is hell bound to do an interview with the  Lord of the Underworld himself. Mr. Murphy wants her to find out the dirty scoop on Hades while foiling his attempt to take over the world. Will she survive the clutches of Hell?

Hell's Captive

As if interviewing Hades wasn't bad enough, Elise gets sucked into interviewing his son, Prince Damien. It turns out the Prince has a few tricks up his sleeve though as well as some deep and dark secrets. Like the possibility that he is in love with the woman who was murdered .... can Elise really dig deeper into Hell's royal secrets and escape alive?

I am going to include all the info she has given me on herself but first just let me say that she is an amazing writer. I had the pleasure with writing/role playing with her for years. Plus she is the publisher for the magazine that publishes my reviews as well as some of my meandering poetry! As soon as these are available to review and thus for you folks to buy I will keep you up dated on all that good information!

Beth Ann Masarik was born on Long Island, NY in the year 1984 with an over-active imagination. She used to love playing make-believe games, and now loves creating her own fantasy worlds. Masarik has been writing since she was 15 years old, and had her first newspaper article published in her high school newspaper in her sophomore year. She has taken several creative writing classes, and started writing her very first novel in college, and is currently searching for the right literary agent. Aside from writing novels, Masarik enjoys bowling, gaming, and role playing online. She enjoys reading fantasy novels written by Richelle Mead, L.J. Smith, and J.K. Rowling, and looks to them for role models.

Beth is recently married, and when she isn’t writing or role playing, she is found volunteering down at her church.

Masarik is also the founder of Literary Lunes Magazine/Literary Lunes Publications, a bi-monthly zine that is dedicated to promoting authors.  You can find out more about Literary Lunes by going to its website at www.literarylunespublications.com

You can find Beth at the following places:

Websites: www.bethannmasarik.com, www.theworldamongussaga.com and www.literarylunespublications.com

Twitter: @theworldamongus and @literarylunes

Facebook fanpages: https://www.facebook.com/bethannmasarikauthor

https://www.facebook.com/TheWorldAmongUs

and https://www.facebook.com/Literarylunespublications

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4667718.Beth_Ann_Masarik

LARP: The Battle for Verona by Justin Calderone

Larp: The Battle for Verona was a really interesting read for me. It might be because I am a nerd and I used to LARP (live action role play for those who don't know) in the World of Darkness and I'm an avid fan and player of Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and pretty much any other system that I can play in. So to me nothing could be better then donning armor and going to save the world! Okay in this case it's an island but your home is always your world, at least in my world it is so there.

The story begins with Dennis reminiscing about his character Sir Dengar as he struggles to think about how his life would have been different had he not started to play LARP. His brother was a popular football player and Dennis was following in his footsteps until during a gym class he befriended Mark and Freddy, the resident nerds. They introduced him to LARP and ten years later he was still playing. Dennis feels that he should be more grown up now and focus on his job at the bank and he wonders if he missed out on the chance for love because of his affection for the game. He is also troubled by his friend Mark's personality when he plays because of his controlling and egocentric personality.

The boys head off to their yearly convention on the Washington main land away from their beloved island of Verona. Meeting up with the friend Jenn who works at the museum in near by Seattle. Unfortunately the weekend quickly goes bad for Dennis when Mark puts himself in a bad situation and Dennis ends up "dying" because of Mark's foolhardiness. Dennis leaves the convention in a huff and head back home until he is stopped at the bridge to Verona. Turned away by the military he becomes intrigued and pulling around to the back of a local store Dennis uses binoculars to spy across the water. He is disturbed to see flames and smoke and blackness as all the electricity has been turned off.

Dennis returns to the convention and gathers his friends together to discuss what he has seen. Jen gets a hold of her father who happens to be a general in the US Army. A plan is soon formulated that involves both the military and all of the larpers as it seems like the people who have attacked the island are Mongolian's who have forsaken the modern world.

I really liked reading this book. The characters are well rounded and have great depth. It's well written with great humour and the action seems to move along at a good pace. The main bad guy could have been a little more thought out and have more background but otherwise really good. The Mongolians were great sympathetic bad guys. I loved the conflict with Dennis and his friends as they try and re counsel what they feel are teenage hobbies with their adult responsibilities.

You can find this great book at Amazon both .com and .ca, it's a steal for under 4 bucks if you buy the e version. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!!

Tides of Avarice and Sagaria by John Dahlgren

John Dalgren is about to release his second young adult novel and begin his first journey to the US on his new book tour. As a psychologist he brings to the table this great ability to really give life to his characters as they deal with not only the major events but just life in general that everyone has to deal with. His language is vibrant and detailed which really helps to engross the reader into the story. 

Tides of Avarice is classified as a young adult novel but the humour and detail definitely make it accessible for older kids (adults like me) as well. As all good pirate stories start with there is a rumour of a treasure map and a vile villain willing to do anything to get all the pieces and obtain the treasure. This trail leads us across the great wet to the land of the lemmings. Sebastian, the librarian lemming, is trying to figure out how to win the woman he loves, keep his mother out of the mayor's clutches and deal with the fact that his father was sent out on the last exodus over the cliff and across the great wet. (That's right once a generation some of the lemmings go over the cliff lolz) Suddenly Sebastian is plunged into an adventure that he had only dreamed of. With a piece of treasure map in his pocket, dodging the pirate Rustbane and trying to save the love of his life, Sebastian has stepped out of his lemming life and into one of the novels that he so loves. This book was released to rave reviews several years ago and I am still giving it rave reviews today! This is a great book to get children interested in reading as well as keeping adults entertained!! Fabulous read!

Sagaria also has that great sense of humour though John Dalgren did a great job of adding in some deeper emotional stories in this tale. Sagandran is just a normal young boy who is bulled and tormented by other boys bigger then him. His life changes unexpectedly with the disappearance of his beloved grandfather. Soon he is transported to a world beyond his dreams where everything seems to have come from a fantasy novel. There he meets Flip. Flip the rat is in love even though that girl doesn't seem to notice him and instead cares for Flip's nemesis, Tod. Sagandran soon learns of an evil wizards plans to unite and dominate the three parallel worlds and a motley group is formed to stop him. The party formed up of Sagandran, Flip, the Toad Knight, an old wizard, and a princess journey over the hills to face the evil sorcerer. It was great to watch the characters of Sagandran and Flip build their self esteem and learn to defend themselves against the world. All in all definitely a great second book and I recommend it to both teens and adults!!

Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman

I was lucky enough to read Cover of Snow by Jenny Milchman just before it was released to the general public. This is Jenny Milchman's first novel though she has had two short stories published. She is a dynamic writer, easily balancing heart ache with fast paced action to keep the reader entertained and eager for more. Once I downloaded this book to my kindle I was hooked and finished it within the day it was so good!

The story starts with the female protagonist, Nora Hamilton, waking up late in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. She is surprised when she realizes what time it is and that her husband hasn't woken her up yet. She pads downstairs to find the coffee pot still cold and begins to feel that something is wrong. As she searches for her husband the feeling grows. Entering the attic that they had just begun to renovate together she finds him, swinging from a rope. With a creak and a snap the body tumbles down and into her knocking her down, a physical manifestation of what has just happened to Nora's life.

Nora spends the next few hours in a blissful numb state but soon enough awareness comes back and with it comes the questions that will begin to haunt her. The Why of it all begins to torment her especially as the people around her either ignore it or tell her to move on from it. Everyone except her unconventional sister who challenges her to open her eyes and ask the difficult questions in an effort to heal. Those questions lead to an even bigger mystery as Nora strives to understand why her loving husband suddenly decided to take his own life.

Trapped in a small town in northern New York where no one seems to want her there let alone have her asking questions about Brendan's last days Nora becomes increasingly nervous about her own safety as her search takes a dangerous turn. Nora doesn't know who to trust when even the police seem involved and the few people who will speak with her either die or have mysterious fires begin soon after talking to her.

Jenny Milchman was able to balance the heartache and confusion that would come with losing someone to suicide with a murder mystery. It's tastefully done and so interesting! I was left guessing until the end as to who was really behind it all. And it actually leaves you wondering if you ever really know the people around us, even those we claim to love the most! The release date was January 13th, so look for it at your local bookstore!!! It is definitely worth it! Excellent read!

Hounded (Iron Druid Chronicles #1) by Kevin Hearne

I first heard about this book through a friend of mine. He isn't a huge reader so for a book to really pique his interest I knew it had to be something different. He got me the first three for my reader and told me that I had to read them, especially since now they were gift. With a laugh I opened the book and that was it, I was just as hooked. 

The story begins with Atticus, the 2100 year old druid, who is hiding out in Arizona so the Fey can't find him and either harass him or attempt to kill him. I guess in that amount of time you are definitely going to make a few enemies. His ever constant companion is his dog Oberon. Atticus has awakened Oberon's mind so that he understands English and they can communicate mind to mind. ( Even if you don't normally like urban fantasy settings you should pick up this novel just for Oberon!) Atticus is just trying to live his life and enjoy the small things, like working with the happiest goth kid ever. Atticus' life is interrupted when the fey finally figure out where he is hiding and remember that he has something that they want. 

The rest of the book is filled with action, smexy gods and goddess', hindu witches, werewolf lawyers, and the random vampire, almost normal barmaids and of course delicious fish and chips! The action flows smoothly and is well described without taking over the whole book. The dialogue is witty and interesting to read. There are several side characters that are super interesting and you can't wait to find out more about them in later books. For Kevin Hearne's first novel this is well written and entertaining from beginning to end.