Shades of Atlantis Blog Tour stops here today!

I cannot express the excitement I feel in taking part in this blog tour.  I finished "Shades of Atlantis on April 3, 2011 and I am very impressed with the book and writing of Carol Oates.  I will now review the book.

Summary from Goodreads:
Since the death of their parents, Triona Pryor and her brother, Ben, have lived with their aunt and uncle in Camden, Maine. Now in her senior year of high school, Triona loves her family and friends, but she has always felt that she didn't quite fit in...in Camden, or anywhere else.

Enter Caleb Wallace, the devilishly handsome man who has recently moved to Triona's small town. While their attraction to each other is instantaneous, it also proves to be dangerous...and deadly.

When tragedy strikes, Triona flees to London for solace and to start her life anew. It's there she discovers from an unlikely source that her family has been keeping secrets from her - secrets about not only her birthright, but her ultimate destiny as well. Armed with this knowledge, Triona finds herself thrown into a whole new world and into a battle to save the lives of everyone she loves.

Triona is a high school senior who has plans to go to school in London.  She waitresses at  a restaurant in Maine to earn money.  She dreams of London because that is where her deceased parents met.  She longs to connect in some way with them.  She is fortunate to have been raised by a loving aunt and uncle.

She meets Caleb at work.  He is the young, hunky owner of the restaurant.  Sparks fly from first look. (Yes, this is a love at first sight book.)  Triona doesn't think that she is anything spectacular and wonders what Caleb could possibly see in her. He is too good to be true-  rich, good looking, super strong, compelling, etc.  Misunderstandings ensue until at last they declare their love for each other.  I do not consider this to be a spoiler, because this happens at the beginning of the book.

As in all true love stories, there must be conflict.  This book has conflict galore.  Carol Oates did a great job at getting me hooked into the story line and turning pages to find out what could possibly happen next.  I felt empathy for Triona and what she was going through. She runs the gamut of emotions.  She has moments of anguish, happiness, confusion, and self doubt.

I loved how she was able to take legends and many paranormal creatures and bring them into one story line.  She has created a new paranormal and interwoven it into Irish and Atlantian legend.  I must admit that I am enthralled with the Celtic legends.  I imagine my ancestors growing up in the lush and historic environment.

One particular thing that I noticed and wondered at is that all of the major male characters have biblical names.  I was unable to ascertain if there was some hidden meaning to that.  It was just one of the little details that  I picked out.

I read a post on her blog on the meaning of the title.  I am posting the link, because I think it is very interesting.  If you want to read more in Carols words, go to http://www.caroloates.com/2011/03/shades-of-atlantis-what-do-it-mean.html.  You might want to become a follower of her blog while you're there.

Overall, this is a very compelling book. I really enjoyed it.  There are lots of great kissing scenes. :0)!  This book does not hold graphic scenes.  There is  some violence in the final pages of the book where the conflict is resolved.  I gave this book four stars.

Now - the fun part.

There will be a fabulous giveaway along with this blog tour.  In order to qualify, you must leave a comment on each blog tour post that is participating.  Below you will see a list and the days that each blog is  posting on. There will be a form to fill out at the final stop.   Carol and Omnific are providing the prizes. Here are the goodies that can be won!

Giveaway 1) Signed copy of Shades of Atlantis, a lined spiral notebook with SoA cover, bookmark, keyring, SoA 2011 calendar, and SoA mug.

Giveaway 2) Signed copy of Shades of Atlantis, a lined spiral notebook with SoA cover, bookmark, keyring, SoA 2011 calendar

Giveaway 3) Ebook copy of SoA

Giveaway 4) Ebook copy of SoA

Pretty cool!  Make sure that if you haven't you hop on over to these wonderful blogs and leave a comment!


April 1: Mundi Moms
April 2: Once Upon A Twilight -Guest Post Blog
April 3: Good Choice Reading: 
April 4: Frenzy of Noise - character interview
April 5: Girls Just Reading
April 6: Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my
April 7: CSI:Librarian
April 8: YA Bound
April 9: YA Booklover Blog
April 10: The Reading Fever
April 11: Home Between Pages
April 12: Books and Shtuff
April 13: Bookworm Lisa - (You are currently at this site, leave a comment!)
April 14: Moonlight Book Reviews
April 15: One Book Shy of a Full Shelf
April 16: Diva's Bookcase
April 17: Ticket To Anywhere
April 18: The Crazy Bookworm
April 19: A Trail of Books Left Behind and A Tale of Many Reviews- video interview with author - Final Stop

Carol Oates has never been one to remain still for long. After her parents' mad dash to the hospital through the empty city streets of Dublin, Ireland, Carol made her debut into the world in the early hours of Christmas morning. Since then her pace has not slowed down in the least.
Carol was introduced to the world of supernatural books when, as a child, her family moved to a coastal suburb on the northern border of Dublin known as Clontarf, famous as the birthplace of Bram Stoker, the prolific author responsible for breathing life into the legendary story Dracula. This stirred in Carol an early passion for reading about all things supernatural. Combine that passion with a deep interest in the history and folklore of Ireland, as well as an active and vivid imagination, and Carol Oates the author was born. Carol's love of writing about anything not entirely "human" emerged, and the premise for her debut novel, Shades of Atlantis, was born.
Carol still lives in Dublin, but spends a great deal of time traveling though the counties of Ireland and Northern Ireland with her partner and son. When not travelling through the countryside, Carol spends her days at the office and her evenings immersed in the world of Legends and Mythical Creatures.

Author Website: http://caroloates.com/
Author on Twitter: @CarolOates
Book Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/user/OmnificPublishing#p/u
Where you can buy the book:
http://omnificpublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=33&products_id=36
Additional purchase sites:  B&N, Amazon.com, All Romance eBooks (.com),

Shades of Atlantis is available at Amazon.

Teaser Tuesday

It's time again for Teaser Tuesday.  I almost forgot about it this week because my kids are out on Spring Break.  My big plans for the week is to do some Spring Cleaning!  I can't wait to take control of my home again.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week comes from "Guardians of the Hidden Scepter" by Frank L. Cole

"This is just...silly," Trendon said rolling his eyes.  "We're not detectives!"

"No, we're archaeologists,"  I said, grinning.

20% into book (Reading on Kindle)

REVIEW- "Outside In"

Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Me? A Leader? Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion - between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again - while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside. And something from Outside wants In.  Summary from Goodreads.


I believe this book is better than the first. I had a harder time putting this one down. This book kept me turning pages, or in this case hitting the button for the next page on my kindle. ;0)

Trella has just saved "inside" from the pop cops and the corrupt leadership of the spaceship. She is trying to find herself, come to terms with her mother's betrayal, and figure out where Riley fits in to her future.

Maria V. Snyder is great at building relationship in her characters. You can feel the struggles that they have. I loved that there were so many complex relationships in this book. Trella has to learn who to trust. There are many watching and judging her. If all if this isn't hard enough, enter the beings that are outside, trying to get inside and take over the spaceship.


Trella is a very strong and determined character. I liked her better in this book. She seemed more mature and confidant. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a dysopian, relationship, sci-fi book. There is some mature content. I would only recommend this to older YA readers.

I received a copy of this book from Harlequin Teen through Netgalley.

Autism Awareness Hop

I do not have a child with autism.  But I do have a friend and neighbor who has an autistic child.  When we moved into our home 13 years ago we moved in next to the Setzer's. Their child was four and my speech delayed son was three.  They got to go on the big yellow bus to special-ed preschool together.   Since that time, the Setzer children have been a regular fixture in my home.  Our children have developed a deep friendship. I am extremely grateful for that.

I exercise at Curves with Lee Ann.  We talk quite a bit about our children.  I have another son who was diagnosed with depression at six years of age.  There are quite a few similarities  as well as vast differences between depression and autism.  We bounce ideas off of each other and share our frustrations, successes, and failures. We have joked around about the book that we could come up with.

Today I am giving away one of Lee Ann's books.  It is about a young girl who comes across an autistic girl and learns how to deal with the situation.  My daughter is the self proclaimed president of Lee Ann's fan club, when my daughter was younger she devoured Lee Ann's series of four books.  Lee Ann graciously donated book four for this hop.

“Children,” Sister Mikkelsen said, “raise your hand if you know Chrissy Henderson.” We looked at each other and squirmed, but no one raised a hand. Finally, Viola said, “Well, we know about her, but we don’t really know her.” Chrissy Henderson screams and throws bread during the sacrament. She goes to her own special school, and she has her own one-girl Primary class. And now Sariah has agreed to go visit Chrissy in her class . . . all by herself. Learn with Sariah as she tries to play with a new friend who definitely does not talk as most people do. Lee Ann Setzer, a speech pathologist who has worked with many children with autism, takes readers on an educational journey as Sariah McDuff learns to walk as Jesus walked by showing love to someone in need of a friend.

Description from GoodReads.

Lee Ann Setzer, a speech pathologist, who has worked with many children with autism, takes readers on an educational journey as Sariah McDuff learns to walk as Jesus walked by showing love to someone in need of a friend.

You must be 13 to enter this contest.  There will be one entry per person.  You don't need to tweet, follow, or anything else.  I do appreciate follows though. :0)  You must have an address that can be shipped to!  This is international.  Simply fill out the form below. There will be one winner.

In my Mailbox #16

This has been a crazy week for me.  I had a son turn 8. This is a major event, there was a friend party and a family party and he was baptised. Another son had to have some tests run, and I am happy to say that he is healthy.  I also  had braces removed from my teeth.  Yay!  On Tuesday I get my retainers and I am enjoying the few days of freedom I have left.

In my mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.  It's a way to advertise the books that we receive and  we may not get to quickly.  It's also a fun way to interact and get great ideas of new books to read.

Here are the hard copy books:

Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis - I loved the galley and had to buy the book.
Laney (The Brookhaven Vampires) by Joann I. Martin Sowles - received from the author to review.
Quest for the Nailprints by Don Furr - received from the author to review.
The Journey (Kentucky Brothers) by Wanda E. Brunstetter - won in a goodreads giveaway.

E-Books:

Classic Murder: Mr. Romance by Mary Martinez - Won in the Fool For Books Hop

Being by T R Mousner - Received from author to review.

Guardians of the Hidden Scepter by Frank L Cole - Received from Netgalley

Davi (Tales of Suruale #1) by Brian Woods & Roy C Booth - received from Brian Woods to review.

There is my week.  I am excited to read this selection of books.  Did you have a great week in your mail or eBox?

REVIEW- Inside Out

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Keep Your Head Down.
Don't Get Noticed.
Or Else.
I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution. Description from GoodReads.


Trella is an amazing scrub. She cleans the pipes in the lower levels and hides in them to keep out of the overpopulated halls. She has animosity for the residents of the upper levels. There is mistrust and misinformation between the levels.

Her friend , Cog, introduces her to a "prophet". Cog wants more than anything to believe in life outside of the place where they live.  This prophet goes by the name of Broken Man and preaches to the lower levels about the better life awaiting them "outside." He tells them about the reward awaiting them if they continue on almost as drones. This is an attempt to keep the scrubs calm and working. The prophet is really a rebel and gives Trella a challenge she cannot pass up.

This begins an intriguing story about the force of the masses and mankind's desire to have a better life. There are many twists and turns. Snyder has written a wonderful story with a few surprises.  I loved the Study series by Snyder and was not let down in this sci-fi book.  I look forward to reading the next story "Outside In."  I purchased my copy as an eBook on my kindle.

I am thinking about adding something to my reviews.  Occasionally I find a passage that stands out to me.  I am thinking about sharing these passages in my reviews.  There was one that I loved in this book. 

Everyone watched me as if I were a bomb.  Would I explode and cause a disaster or would I pop and cause a miracle?

Review - "Flashes from the Other World"

Flashes from the Other World by Julie Ann Weinstein

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Magic without the hocus pocus, these stories explore the ethereal blur between reality and not, between dream and sleep, between love and 'other than' love. They present relationships with a tender wackiness. Tossed into the mix are mischievous ghosts, who give the talking plants and even the seductive and vocal grains of sand a run for their money. Quirky and offbeat, these stories will touch your heart, although they may tug at your funny bone first. Description from GoodReads

This is an eclectic book of short stories. The stories are concise and well written. The ideas expressed were to the point and descriptive.   Flash short stories are new to me.  I have not explored this style of writing.  I found it to be interesting.  It is not my favorite.  But there is merit to this style.  I actually like to try different writing genres and styles.  I think it is good not to be stuck in the same genre all of the time.

I preferred the longer stories. I like to see plot and character development. I enjoyed "Tina Land" because of the friendship between the two girls and because it is one of her longer short stories. I think her stories on relationships were my favorite.  She has three topics with short stories that fall into the category.  The first part is paranormal, the second is relationships, and the final is surreal.

This is perfect for the times when you have a short period of time to read and want to get in a story or two.  As a caution, there is mature content in a few of the stories.


I received this book from the author to be reviewed.

Review of "Any Witch Way"

Any Witch Way by Annastaysia Savage

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Enduring the teasing and ridicule of her school mates, Sadie struggles through life as a pre-teen on the eve of her 13th birthday. Three years ago, a car crash took her mother, but Sadie never saw her body. She refuses to believe her mother is really gone. Holding fast to that feeling earns her the nickname "Crazy Sadie."

Despite her one wish to be normal, Sadie only finds solace with a small group of unusual characters. These unlikely friends give her a “semi-normal” life outside of school in a bookstore where strange and mystical things seem to happen. In fact, if Sadie entertains her deepest suspicions, her friends are a little mystical.

When her birthday arrives however, Sadie finds herself whisked into a magical world that swirls just under the surface of normal, everyday life. Not only does she learn she’ll soon become a witch, but she also discovers she must battle The Syndicate to save her new world.

Faced with fantastical encounters, unexplainable transformations, and startling fears, Sadie struggles against an unknown evil – all while searching for her real identity. Description from GoodReads
I know I have to write a good review when I finish the book with a smile on my face.

Sadie is a young girl who wants to fit in. She is the recipient of teasing from the kids at school, mainly because she believes that her mother is still alive. She is an orphan who moves from foster home to foster home.

On her 13th birthday, which happens to be Halloween, she discovers the truth, she is a witchling. A party is given by her older friend, Mrs. Felix, when chaos breaks. She is thrown into a war between good and evil. I think it's confusing enough to be a 13 year old girl, but to start to come in to magical powers and have to protect yourself with magic would be a lot for anyone to handle. Sadie does surprisingly well.

Every once in a while I find a quote in a book that sticks out to me. In this book it is: "You three are either the stupidest women I've ever encountered, or you really know nothing of pure evil." He spun around to face them again as his voice lowered. "Evil thrives on chaos."

The pages of this book are loaded with magical creatures.  I believe that it will be fun for young teens and tweens to read.  There are also some bodily functions moments in this book that kids will get a kick out of.  I have to admit some of them made me chuckle while I was shaking my head.


There were moments were the story seemed to drag to me. Overall I would say this is a great middle grade book.

I received a copy of this book in a giveaway at Library Thing.  Thank you JournalStone for providing the eBook copies.

Here is the Barnes and Noble link to the book: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Any-Witch-Way/Annastaysia-Savage/e/9781936564033?r=1,%201&if=N&cm_mmc=Goodreads-_-k117601-_-j12871747k117601-_-Primary