As The World Dies Series Q & A

Jen and I have both read and loved this series; so she came up with a few questions and I answered them. We hope that you give this series a try because it is just awesome! 


How does this series compare to other zombie books you've read?
It is definitely a favorite, I have yet to find another zombie book and or series that even comes close.

Why should people read this series?
It is extremely well written and the story just sucks you in and won't let you go. 

What do you love about this series?
 I love that it is actually zombies and not the more people like creatures. 


Use one sentence to describe each book.

The First Days- An amazing series starter that introduces you to a world you just have to know more about.
Fighting to Survive- This book did not suffer from "middle book syndrome" it kept the story flowing left me dying to dive into book three.
Siege- The perfect conclusion to a thrilling story, but I was sad to see it end.



This series is by far one of the best I have read this year. It will not disappoint you! 

The First Days, Fighting to Survive, and Siege on Goodreads
Rhiannon Frater's Website

If any of you have read this series or even just one of the books we would love to hear your thoughts on them/it too.

Shelf Candy Saturday (23): Drip Drop Teardrop

Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by A Night's Dream of Books.

Drip Drop Teardrop (Drip Drop Teardrop #1)

by Samantha Young

Avery hasn’t had it easy.

When she was ten years old her parents died in a car crash. Now nine years later her Aunt Caroline is the only family member she has left. And Caroline is dying.

So when Death comes knocking (quite literally) in the form of the damaged and dangerous, Brennus, Avery makes a deal with the reaper in order to save Caroline.

Brennus is an Ankou.

One of the many, once mortal men and women, who were given the choice to become an immortal in exchange for ferrying the dead over into their afterlife.

Nine years ago Brennus took Avery’s parents and tried to take Avery, but she fought him and won. Amazed by her strength Brennus followed Avery and has watched over her.

Now he knows Avery is the one to offer him freedom from his obligation to the dead.

And he’ll stop at nothing to have her.

YA Paranormal Romance for mature teens+ (some content may not be suitable for younger readers)

Drip Drop Teardrop on Goodreads

Samantha Young’s website

Samantha Young on Amazon

Before I get into what I think about this cover I have to recommend for everyone to go and check out the covers for all of Samantha Young's books. I don't know how she managed it but they're all gorgeous! Once Upon a Twilight blog has a great post that includes an interview of Samantha as well as images of all of her covers. That post is actually how I found out about Drip Drop Teardrop.

The cover of Drip Drop Teardrop is fairly simple but it still draws you in. I love the details around her eyes...the unusual eyeborws, the eye makeup, and of course the odd tears. I also like the title font.

New to At Random...

Gather around At Random readers, I have an announcement :)

I've decided to take a big blog step and take on a coblogger. My friend Wendy will be joining At Random. She will be posting on Mondays and we will take turns with the Shelf Candy Saturday posts.

Take it away Wendy...

Hi everyone! My name's Wendy and I am currently from White Hall, MD. I am a stay at home mom of a 7yr old little boy, so that leaves lots of time for reading and crafts.

I enjoy a variety of different books, but regardless of genre I tend to stick with primarily adult books; with a young adult thrown in here or there. I also read children's chapter books with my son, so I will occasionally share my thoughts on those as well. Some of my favorite genres are Romance (contemporary, historical, erotica & paranormal), Suspense, Thrillers, & Horror.

In my free time, when I am not reading, I enjoy making different bookmarks; especially beaded book thongs.

Welcome to the blog! :)

To celebrate, Wendy is giving away a homemade beaded book thong to one lucky reader.

-Giveaway is open internationally

-Fill out the below form by 11:59pm October 31st



Spooktacular Giveaway Hop

Like usual, I'm keeping this fairly straight forward.

I'm giving away one copy of The First Days (As the World Dies #1) by Rhiannon Frater because it's awesome and everyone should read it!! You can read my review here.

-Contest is open internationally as long as Book Depository ships to your country.

-To enter just fill out your name and addy in the form below

-For an extra entry answer the question in the form

-Contest closes at 11:59pm (EST) on October 31st.

Don't forget to keep scrolling down to see the other blogs participating in the hop!!

Sunday Swag Bag WINNER

I'm a bit late posting this but this months swag winner is...

SONNIE

CONGRATS!!!

You've won the below swag :)

The Reluctant Bachelorette Blog Tour: Guest Post

Author Rachael Anderson has stopped by to talk about Critique Groups as part of The Reluctant Bachelorette Blog Tour.

- - -

Critique Groups--Who Needs Them?

Okay, so I wanted to share some comments from a good friend who I make critique all my books, just because he's awesome at catching things and makes me laugh at the same time . . . try not to laugh at my blunders.

Really, I might take it personal.

Him: "You are so going to hate me, but can air be morbid?"

My thoughts: YES!!! Air can also be wise, witty, and pretty! Sheesh. Picky, picky.

Him: "A lot of people in this chapter are wearing holey jeans and dark T-shirts."

Me: Okay, so you got me on that one.

Him: "You're stretching high school voice to the breaking point."

Me: Yeah, well, someone needs to tell high schoolers they need to broaden their vocabulary.

Him: "Whoaa!!! Okay, you're pulling a serious Suzanne Collins Hunger Games thing here where she just bops the heroine on the head and has her pass out so time can fly by."

Me: What's wrong with that? Hunger Games was a best-selling series! Mmmm . . . maybe because no one passed out in my chapter.

Him: "Whistled? Seriously?"

Me: YES, whistled!!! What's wrong with that???? . . . . . Okay, so I'll take it out.

Him: "Don't you mean astronomy?"

Me: Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know. Okay, so maybe you will since I should have used "astronomy" instead. Kind of like the other day when I wrote "fairy" instead of "ferry". Or high-jacking instead of hitch-hiking. Woops, my bad. :)
And my favorite comment yet . . .

Him: "Oh poor Matt, you had the misfortune of falling in love with the heroine, but you're not the hero! Sorry buddy."

Me:Yes, poor, poor Matt. But I'm sure there's a girl out there for him somewhere.

And THAT is why I have a critique group. :)

- - -

Thank you so much for stopping by Rachael! It's interesting to see some of the process that goes into writing a book.

About the Author:
Rachael Anderson is the author of four contemporary romances: Divinely Designed, Luck of the Draw, Minor Adjustments, and The Reluctant Bachelorette. She's the mother of four, can't sing, doesn't dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

To learn more you can find Rachel at:
Blog
Goodreads
Twitter
Facebook

And for the duration of this blog tour, The Reluctant Bachelorette is only $.99 on Amazon!

The Reluctant Bachelorette Blog Tour: Book Review

Goodreads Summary:

Unknowingly cast as the bachelorette for her town’s charity event, Taycee Emerson wants out. Especially when she discovers her old teenage crush, Luke Carney, is one of the bachelors and it’s up to the viewers – not her – to decide which bachelors stay or go.

Coerced into participating, Taycee does what any self-preserving girl would do. She launches a subtle attack on Luke’s good name with the hope of getting him voted off the show. Unfortunately, Luke’s an eye-for-an-eye kind of guy, and when he discovers what she’s up to, it means revenge.

But when their pranks go south, will they screw up any chance they have at a future together, or will they be able to forgive and forget and prove that love really does conquer all?

My Review:

Do you like watching the Bachelor reality show? Don’t like watching it? Either way you’ll love The Reluctant Bachelorette. It’s a cute, funny romance about Taycee who gets roped into being the bachelorette in order to save her town, Shelter Springs.

Side note: Rachel Renee Anderson held a contest to be able to name the town in this book and my friend Wendy at Wall-to-Wall Books won with the name Shelter Springs! How cool is that!?

Taycee, Luke, and some of the other characters are so likeable that you’ll wish you could log onto the website to watch their dates. And some of the other contestants are the exact opposite but you’ll still want to watch the dates just to see the train wrecks ;)

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Shelf Candy Saturday (22): The Bridge by Jane Higgins

Shelf Candy Saturday is hosted by A Night's Dream of Books.

The Bridge by Jane Higgins

The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside.

Nik is still in high school but destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the brains behind the war. But when ISIS comes recruiting, everyone is shocked when he isn’t chosen. There must be an explanation, but no one will talk about it. Thent he school is bombed and the hostiles take the bridges. Buildings are burning, kids are dead, and the hostiles have kidnapped Sol. Now ISIS is hunting for Nik.

But Nik is on the run, with Sol’s sister Fyffe and ISIS is hot on their trail. They cross the bridge in search of Sol, and Nik finds answers to questions he never dared to ask.

Author Website

Amazon

Barnes & Nobles

Goodreads

Based on the description it seems like the cover is a perfect fit. You can see the difference between Southside and Cityside as well as what I'm assuming to be Nik and Fyffe on the run. It also has a futuristic/dystopian feel to it and I love when you can tell a books genre based on the cover. I also love that the textures in the water and sky make this cover look like a painting.

Vote for Linked!!

It's time for me to do some shameless campaigning...no not the political type.

Emmalee Aple, author of Neophyte, asked members of her Goodreads fan group to help come up with a name for her series. My idea is in the running so I'm asking for your help, vote for Linked!! The vote ends Monday, October 15th. To vote all you have to go to the group, click on Polls and vote on which series name strikes your fancy...which will hopefully be Linked ;)

Here's how it would look on Goodreads if it were to be chosen

Neophyte (Linked #1) by Emmalee Aple

Ps If you havent read Neophyte I definitely recommend it.

My Review

Interview with Emmalee Aple

Touched by an Alien (Katherine “Kitty” Katt #1) by Gini Koch

Goodreads Summary:

How can a sexy marketing manager join forces with an Alpha Centauri male in Armani to save the planet-using hairspray, a Mont Blanc pen, and rock n’ roll?

Easy…

She’s Touched by an Alien

Marketing manager Katherine “Kitty” Katt steps into the middle of what appears to be a domestic dispute turned ugly. And it only gets uglier when the man turns into a winged monster, straight out of a grade-Z horror movie, and goes on a killing spree. Through Kitty should probably run away, she springs into action to take the monster down.

In the middle of the chaos a handsome hunk named Jeff Martini appears, sent by the “agency” to perform crowd control. He’s Kitty’s kind of guy, no matter what planet he’s from. And from now on, for Kitty, things are going to be sexy, dangerous, wild, and out of this world.

My Review:

Touched by an Alien is an Urban Fantasy full of action and snark…and snarky action! It’s such a fun book and just like a fun book sometimes you just don’t want to analyze a good thing. I will say that I did love Kitty (and some of her nicknames), she is such a strong female MC. My only gripe is that things almost came to her too easily at one point but really that’s small potatoes. I recommend this book if you’re looking for a fun, quick read with hot aliens, scary aliens, action, and some romance.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers

Goodreads Summary:

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life – and death – inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

My Thoughts:

Oh my, what can I say about this book. Well to put it simply, it wasn’t for me. I liked the idea of high school kids holing up in their school and having to survive against zombies. I think I was hoping it would end up being a young adult version of the As the World Dies Trilogy by Rhiannon Frater (<= if you haven’t read this series I highly recommend it!) but I was really let down. It was an easy read but that was mainly due to the fact that not much really happens. Also, the characters didn’t resonate with me and I didn’t feel for them or their situation. It’s horrible to say but I was almost hoping for the MC to get killed off. I understand that she has been through some traumatic things but her lack of will to live and lack of self-preservation really annoyed me.

Like I usually say, just because I didn’t enjoy this book doesn’t mean you won’t. Everyone has different tastes.

Overall rating: 2.5 out of 5

Banned Books Giveaway Winner

The winner of my banned books giveaway is

Krista G.

CONGRATS!

I'll be contacting you by email shortly.

Sunday Swag Bag (6)

It's time again for my Sunday Swag Bag giveaway!!

I have a lot of swag that I've been wanting to pass along. Some of it is duplicates from what's in my personal collection and some of it's from books or genre's that I don't think I'll read. So I've been trying to think of a way to give it to other swag lovers. That's where Sunday Swag Bag comes in.

I will post a contest on the first Sunday of every month until the swag bag is empty. Each contest will be open for a week. Then I will do a post on the second Sunday of every month where I announce the winner and I will blindly grab anywhere from 4-5 pieces out of my swag bag. It's luck of the draw for the winner but there's a lot of really awesome swag so don't miss out!

I'm not posting an overall pic of the swag this time but I will still post the winner and the swag drawn for them.

-This week's contest is open until Saturday, October 13th at 11:59 pm (EST).

-Contest is open internationally.

-To enter fill out your name and email in the below form.

Fraterfest Update

This is where I'll post any thon updates so I don't clog up my blog :)

What I'm Currently Reading

NONE - I just finished Pretty When She Dies and since the thon ends today (Monday) I'm calling it quits.

Books I've Finished 

(titles linked to Goodreads)

As The World Dies Untold Tales Volume I

As The World Dies Untold Tales Volume II
Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1)

Pages I've Read

551

Random Thoughts

As the World Dies Untold Tales Volume 1 

Each of the three tales gives you a bit of background on different characters from the As the World Dies Trilogy. I LOVED being able to get back into this horrorific world that Rhiannon has created...I can't seem to get enough!!

Challenges I Joined

Tune this Title @ My Shelf Confessions

The challenges was to find a song that in some way represents the book you're reading. I just finished reading about zombies in the As the World Dies Untold Tales Volume I so I (with the help of my friend Wendy - thanks Wendy!) decided to go with Living Dead Girl by Rob Zombie. The song is about a living dead girl...hello zombie! Right!? Plus I think Rob Zombie's name along is fitting for this challenge :)

Fraterbash @ Love of Books

The challenge is to use book covers to show what you'd wear to the Fraterbash and who your date would be. Well first of all, I'm all about comfort so I'll go with jeans and a nice shirt (nobody said this was a ball right?!?)

and some of you may know that I'm a sucker for werewolves so this is my date...I may or may not let him wear a shirt to the bash ;)

Cover Sleuth @ Basia's Bookshelf

The challenge was to figure out 12 book covers based on just a small clip of each cover. Some of them were tough but I ended up figuring out 7 of the 12 covers.

Fraterfest Read-a-thon

I thought I had this post scheduled to post last night only to come check my blog this morning and nothing. Sooo after replacing half of my missing post, here's Take 2...

This weekend I'm participating in the Fraterfest Read-a-Thon!! I read and LOVED Rhiannon Frater's As the World Dies series so I'm very excited to be reading more of her books!

If you want to see my reviews of the As the World Dies series:

• The First Days (As the World Dies #1)
• Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies #2)
• Seige (As the World Dies #3)

After realizing how awesome Rhiannon is I stocked up on her books so I have plenty to choose from for the thon.

Pretty When She Dies (Pretty When She Dies #1)

Pretty When She Kills (Pretty When She Dies #2)

The Last Bastion of the Living

As the World Dies Untold Tales Volume I

As the World Dies Untold Tales Volume 2

Blood & Love and Other Vampire Tales (ebook)

I can't commit to reading for the entire 4 days but I'll definitely fit in as much as possible. I'll try to read at least two books.

Happy Reading :)

Chocolate Lovers series by Tara Sivec

Seduction & Snacks (Chocolate Lovers #1)

Goodreads Summary:

Claire is a twenty-something, single mom that grudgingly helps her best friend sell sex toys while she attempts to make enough money to start  her own business to give her foul-mouthed, but extremely loveable (when he’s asleep) toddler a better life.

When Carter, the one-night stand from her past that changed her life forever, shows up in her hometown bar without any recollection of her besides her unique chocolate scent, Claire will make it a point that he remembers her this time.

With Carter’s undisguised shock at suddenly finding out he has a four-year-old son and Claire’s panic that her stretch marks and slim to none bedroom experience will send the man of her dreams heading for the hills, the pair will do whatever they can to get their happily ever after.

My Review:

Tara Sivec is officially one of my heros and there's no way my reviews will give her books the justice they deserve but here goes...

Seduction and Snacks is a contemporary romance but it’s so much more. It had me laughing out loud so often that it deserves a 5* rating on entertainment value alone! I can’t even put into words the level of awesome within these covers. I know if I ever need a pick-me-up to just read a few pages of this book. Just a warning though, along with amazing characters and the romance aspect, these books contain adult humor, sex, and a whole lot of cursing…which makes me love them all the more ;) Really I don’t think there’s anything Tara Sivec is afraid to say, haha.

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

Futures & Frosting (Chocolate Lovers #2)

*keep in mind there will be spoilers for book 1 in this summary

Goodreads Summary:

Claire, Carter and Gavin have formed the perfect little family. Their friends are getting married and everyone is growing up, maturing and ready to face the future. Or are they?

  

From bachelorette party hell, porn addictions, dinner roll baseball and botched wedding proposals to finding out everyone’s extended family is chock full of crazy, Carter and Claire begin to question the strength of the ties that bind them. Unfortunately, these ties have nothing to do with fuzzy handcuffs and everything to do with the mounting differences between them.

Will their friends make a mess of things with their inappropriate comments and need to know everything, or will they convince the couple that happily-ever-after sometimes really can start with beer pong?



 My Review: 

With sarcastic humor, smart ass comments, sex, romance, and a few awkward moments Futures & Frosting picks up where Seduction & Snacks left off. You get see a lot more of Claire, Carter, Gavin, and all of their crazy friends! This book didn’t quite hit the same level of awesome as the first book but I still loved every minute of reading it!

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

Ending Thought: READ THEM!!

Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Goodreads Summary:

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives - an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school's most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message. Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

My Review:

It was Mrs. Peacock in the Living Room with the rope. No wait, it was Mr. Green in the Conservatory with the candle stick. Or was it the pipe?!

Ten is a quick read that turned out to be a masterful YA whodunit meets Clue. It kept me guessing until the end of the book. The guess I did make proved to be W R O N G **sounds loud, obnoxious FAIL buzzer** but a big kudos to Gretchen for stumping me! 

Although I wasn't shaking in my boots scared I'm still hoping Ten will encourage more ya authors to join the growing trend that's bringing thriller plots to ya novels.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5