Review: Loop (Loop #1) by Karen Akins

LoopLoop by Karen Akins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary from GoodReads

 At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn’t go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he’s in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn’t think he’s a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues—a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium—that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future.


 BUY LINK: AMAZON



REVIEW

A strong sci-fi with my favorite theme! Time travel!

In the future certain people have the genetic power to time-travel. And they use their abilities for the good, or the bad of their world. When Bree's mission goes wrong and she lands on a strange family of past Shifters, everything change. Caught between the time traveling, the boy who has made his life mission to protect her, Finn, and a mysterious Future-self, Bree will have more to deal with than her growing feelings.

Now, Bree is a funny character; she tries to see everything on the big picture and she has the tendency to attract trouble. Her POV is full of descriptions of future technology while her relationship with Finn grown smoothly, despite Finn's claims that he is the one for her.

The role of Future-Bree, even not shown, was enough to place the plot into a sliral of traveling, misunderstandings and action. I enjoyed every part of the book and I would gladly read the second one!



About the author


     Karen Akins lives in the MidSouth where she writes humorous, light YA sci-fi. When not writing or reading, she loves lightsaber dueling with her two sons and forcing her husband to watch BBC shows with her.

Karen has been many things in her life: an archery instructor, drummer for the shortest-lived garage band in history, and a shockingly bad tic-tac-toe player.









Also don't miss the second book of the series! PRE-ORDER HERE: AMAZON 


 
by
The unbelievably thrilling sequel to the time-travel YA novel Loop.

Bree Bennis finally has it all—a non-comatose mother, an uber-hot (albeit anachronistic) boyfriend named Finn, and a newfound mission to protect the timeline from those who would skew it for their own gain. But when she leans over one day to smooch said boyfriend, her lips meet those of her arch-nemesis Wyck instead. The timeline has been altered, and Bree is caught in the crosshairs. But when she goes back to repair the damage, she is stopped by none other than her Future Self, who delivers an urgent message: Someone is kidnapping Shifters from the distant past. It’s up to Bree to stop them. But first, she has to figure out who…and why.

To follow the trail of chronocrumbs, Bree reluctantly accepts her new undercover gig as Wyck’s girlfriend. Everything goes spiffy until Finn shows up in the 23rd century on the eager arm of a gorgeous fellow Shifter. Blark. Even as Bree struggles with jealousy, she battles the nagging dread that Finn might be better off with someone less chronologically complicated. Her worst fear is confirmed when Finn becomes the kidnapper’s next victim. As Bree zeroes in on the culprit, they unravel her life one timeline-change at a time. She realizes that she alone has the power to save herself and everyone she loves. But to do that, she may lose Finn forever.

Release day+Excerpt: "The Pact" by Karina Halle





                            *The Pact is a standalone, contemporary adult romance*






Summary from GoodReads                        It all started with a pinky swear…

Linden McGregor is tall, rugged, and gunslinger handsome; a helicopter pilot with a Scottish brogue and charm to spare. He’s also one of Stephanie Robson’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as she’s known him.

Beautiful, funny and an ambitious businesswoman (with one hell of an ass), Stephanie Robson is one of Linden McGregor’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as he’s known her.

But some relationships can’t be boxed, can’t be classified, can’t be tamed.

Back in their mid-twenties and tired of the competitive hit-or-miss dating scene of San Francisco, Steph and Linden made a pact to marry each other if neither one of them are in a serious relationship by the time they hit thirty.

It sounds like fun and games but as the years to thirty tick past and lovers come and go out of their lives, the pact becomes larger than life.
Sex is inevitable. Friendships are tested. Hearts are on the line. 

The pact is about to change everything.


AMAZON:

http://amzn.com/B00RJD8LOS

EXCERPT:

Her eyes are so blue and wide, like the morning sky, her mouth so perfectly full. I contemplate running my thumb over her lips before I kiss the salt off of them.
I should just do it. I should just fucking do it.
I swallow hard, my throat feeling closed up but I know it’s not from my cold. It’s from want and it’s from fear.
“What are you staring at?” she asks me, her voice shaking slightly.

Just fucking kiss her.










 





Halle Headshot
With her USA Today Bestselling The Artists Trilogy published by Grand Central Publishing, numerous foreign publication deals, and self-publishing success with her Experiment in Terror series, Vancouver-born Karina Halle is a true example of the term "Hybrid Author." Though her books showcase her love of all things dark, sexy and edgy, she's a closet romantic at heart and strives to give her characters a HEA...whenever possible.Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently lives on an island on the coast of British Columbia where she’s preparing for the zombie apocalypse with her fiancé and rescue pup.

LINKS: FACEBOOK TWITTER GOODREADS AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

Feature & Follow Friday #233

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow me and them to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code at the host blogs and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!




Question of the Week:


What books did you give other people this holiday season? - Suggested by Alison Can Read.


                                                                         My answer:


          I gave some MG books and I gifted a YA novel, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
What about you?                     



                                                                               

Now for the Follow Fun!

Alison Can Read



Next Week's Question:

Happy New Year!!!! What was your favorite book of 2014 - or books if you can't name just one? - Suggested by Alison Can Read


This is a Blog Hop!


You are next... Click here to enter
This list will close in 4 days, 17 hrs, 49 min (12/30/2014 11:59 PM North America - Central Standard Time)

What is a blog hop?
Get the code here...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!





I wish to all of you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!! May the spirit of the holidays folllow you and your beloved wherever you are!!!



 

Project Almanac Movie - Official Trailer [HD]

Giveaway!!

http://toofondofbooks.com/2014/12/the-time-it-was-12-drummers-drumming-2.html#comment-78080

Make sure to check this site and win 5 books!! It's open international! !

Review: The Law of Moses by Amy Harmon

The Law of MosesThe Law of Moses by Amy Harmon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I would probably first make clear that this is the most, sad, touching story I've ever read this year, together with Mia Sheridan's works.

"The Law of Moses" follows Georgia and Moses two children at first with different stories but they come together strongly; a mistake and fate tear them apart.

There is a sense of deep paranormal on the book whic is quickly noted that it may not be visions or result of the medicines Moses took but instead a gift and a curse. Through the double POV, which at some point is mostly Moses's, we get to see their inner feelings and how strongly Georgia loved him.

You can't possibly wait to learn what will or had happened at the course of the book and the author gives a great deal on the emotional part of her heroes. Moses believes he is broken, Georgia loves him unconditionally. And in a part there are misunderstandings, hurt and pain, there is also love redemption and forgiveness.

An incredible read for those who like contemporary!



REVIEW


I would probably first make clear that this is the most, sad, touching story I've ever read this year, together with Mia Sheridan's works.

"The Law of Moses" follows Georgia and Moses two children at first with different stories but they come together strongly; a mistake and fate tear them apart. 

There is a sense of deep paranormal on the book whic is quickly noted that it may not be visions or result of the medicines Moses took but instead a gift and a curse. Through the double POV, which at some point is mostly Moses's, we get to see their inner feelings and how strongly Georgia loved him.

You can't possibly wait to learn what will or had happened at the course of the book and the author gives a great deal on the emotional part of her heroes. Moses believes he is broken, Georgia loves him unconditionally. And in a part there are misunderstandings, hurt and pain, there is also love redemption and forgiveness.

An incredible read for those who like contemporary!


ABOUT THE AYTOHR

Amy Harmon is a USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Having grown up in the middle of wheat fields without a television, with only her books and her siblings to entertain her, she developed a strong sense of what made a good story. Her books are now being published in several countries, truly a dream come true for a little country girl from Levan, Utah.

Amy Harmon has written six novels - the USA Today Bestsellers, Making Faces and Running Barefoot, as well as Slow Dance in Purgatory, Prom Night in Purgatory, and the New York Times Bestseller, A Different Blue. Her newest release, INFINITY + ONE, is now available. For updates on upcoming book releases, author posts and more, join Amy at www.authoramyharmon.com

So what do you think? If you are interested in her books make sure to use the links of Amazon on your left. This way you'll be able to help my blog too!Thank you and happy holidays to you too!



Fixing the First Page Feature #6 Giveaway Winner!

Fixing the First Page Feature #6 Giveaway Winner!





I was chosen from "Writability"! My book "Three ghosts for Anastasia" (which you can also find at the bottom of my blog) will be critiqued by Ava Jae! YA & NA writer

Author of BEYOND THE RED (Spring 2016)

ou can find her here!

Feature & Follow Friday #232

Welcome to the Feature & Follow


Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow me and them to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code at the host blogs and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!




Question of the Week:

Do you have a go to genre when you're happy, sad, or angry? - Suggested by Take Me Away...


My answer:

 I read contemporary romance when I feel giddy, but mostly I enjoy reading PRN and adventure when I am excited!


Now for the Follow Fun!

Alison Can Read



Next Week's Question:

What books did you give other people this holiday season? - Suggested by Alison Can Read

 This is a Blog Hop!


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Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...


Cover Reveal: "The Pact" by Karina Halle


Today the cover of Karina Halle's new NA book was revealed! If you don't know her, Karina is well known for her works "The Artist's Trilogy" and "Love in Spanish".


So, are you ready?
Here we go!




 I really love this cover, and hope you do too! 








                                                        ADD ON GOODREADS


AS KARINA HALLE MENTIONS ON HER SITE:


*The Pact is a standalone "friends to lovers" contemporary romance. All characters in THE PACT are in their thirties, therefore this is NOT a new adult book...even though love can mess you up at any age.*
It all started with a pinky swear…
Linden McGregor is tall, rugged, and gungslinger handsome; a helicopter pilot with a Scottish brogue and charm to spare. He’s also one of Stephanie Robson’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as she’s known him.
Beautiful, funny and an ambitious businesswoman (with one hell of an ass), Stephanie Robson is one of Linden McGregor’s best friends and has fit into that box for as long as he’s known her.
But some relationships can’t be boxed, can’t be classified, can’t be tamed.
Back in their mid-twenties and tired of the competitive hit-or-miss dating scene of San Francisco, Steph and Linden made a pact to marry each other if neither one of them are in a serious relationship by the time they hit thirty.
It sounds like fun and games but as the years to thirty tick past and lovers come and go out of their lives, the pact becomes larger than life.
Sex is inevitable. Friendships are tested.  Hearts are on the line.
The pact is about to change everything.

SHE ALSO OFFERED AN UNEDITTED PROLOGUE OF THE BOOK!

Prologue
 
“So, do you want to get married?’”

I’m so wrapped up in in what went wrong with my date tonight that I barely hear what Linden is saying. And that’s saying a lot because he usually has my rapt attention no matter what’s going on. I guess tonight’s dinner with Mr. Assface was just too much for me. I mean, what kind of guy wears an ascot and picks his nose in front of you?

“Steph,” he repeats in his light Scottish brogue and I finally tear my eyes off the bubbles in my beer to look at him. Sometimes he makes me wonder why I even bother looking at anyone else, he’s just that fucking handsome.
He’s also my best friend. And I’m pretty sure he just asked me to marry him.

“What?” I ask, trying to make sure I heard him right.
He grins at me. I wish he wouldn’t. Sometimes his smile rips the air from lungs. It’s not an exaggeration. It’s messy, violent and abrupt and I wish it wouldn’t happen because, fuck it, I like breathing.

“I said, do you want to get married?” he says and I’m realizing that perhaps some extremely important conversation has gone on without me knowing about it. Also, Linden…marriage…these things don’t exactly gel together.

“Uh,” I say, and I wish I didn’t feel the heat creep onto my cheeks. “Get married? To you?”

He shrugs and takes a sip of his beer in his easy-going fashion. The bar is dead quiet at this time of night except the music, Faith No More’s aggressive King for a Day that James always puts on when the night is over and he wants people to leave.

James, the owner of The Burgundy Lion, my ex-boyfriend and Linden’s best friend, is puttering about, cleaning up the tables and shooting passive-aggressive looks at the group of four who is gathered in the corner, the only other people left in the bar at ten minutes to closing.

“Yeah, to me,” Linden eventually says, casually, as if we are deciding which movies to see this weekend. “But I also meant in general.”

I stare at him for a few beats. He looks self-assured as always, rubbing his fingers along the length of his beard as he stares at me right back. Linden and I are close – as close as you can be for a purely platonic man and woman scenario. But even so, we’d never really discussed topics like this. Our shitty dating lives, yes. But marriage and the future, what we really wanted from life? No.

“Let me get this straight,” I say but I can’t find the words to continue.  I take in a deep breath. “You’re asking me to marry you?”

He sighs and sits back in his chair, one strong forearm hung over the back, his fingers toying with the ends of my newly dyed jet-black hair.

“Baby Blue,” he says, his own personal nickname for me stemming from the fact that when we first met, I had blue hair the color of Caribbean waters. “Tell me about your date again.”
I give him a look. “I’d rather not, cowboy.” My nickname for him since he has the chiseled looks and furrowed brow of a young Clint Eastwood. Also, sometimes he’s a bit of a chauvinistic asshole as most stereotypical gunslingers can be.

“Right. And I’d rather not get into why the last five dates of mine ended with me jerking it in the shower.”

Pleeeeeease don’t make me think of you jerking it in the shower, I think, or things are going to get really inappropriate, really fast. At least in my head. Then again, my head is usually always inappropriate. It’s like a Pintrest page of hot, barely dressed men 24/7 up in there.

“And so,” he goes on, forcing my attention back his words and not naughty images, “don’t you start wondering if this is going to get any easier? You’re beautiful, smart, I’m beautiful, smart,” he pauses and smiles to himself, “obviously. We’re turning twenty-five this year…what if we have to keep dealing with this? All this shit, never going anywhere.”
I raise a brow, not really sure what to do with this side of him. Is he pulling my leg or being genuine? He always has that dickish smirk not matter what kind of shit he’s saying and he’s pulled the rug out from under me more than a few times.

“Well, I like to think my life might take more of an optimistic path,” I tell him.

He smiles and nods. “And it should. It really should, I mean look at you.”

Look at me? I think, wondering what exactly he sees.

“But what if the planet is full of fucking morons? Then what…” he trails off and looks around the bar before he leans in and only then do I look close into his dark blue eyes and see that he’s drunk. “We’re good for each other. You know this makes perfect sense.”

I don’t know what I think. “You’re drunk, Linden.”

“I’m a man with a plan.”

“Since when have your life plans ever involved marriage?”

He shrugs and runs a hand through his thick, mahogany hair. “You may be one of my best friends, Baby Blue, but you don’t know everything about me.”

“Apparently not.”

His mouth quirks up into a half-smile. “But when we’re married there will be plenty of time for that. Also, sex.”

Okay, now I can see this is kind of a joke for him, as most things in life are. “What if I never want to get married?” I point out, putting the image of us having hot, sweaty sex out of my mind.

“When have I ever waxed on about marriage or babies or life plans?”

“Never,” he admits. “But it doesn’t mean you don’t think about it. Why else would you always be dating?”

“Because I like to get laid.”

He laughs. “Another reason why we’re a perfect match.”

I purse my lips, staring at him. I think I need another drink.

Linden reads my mind. He gets up off the bar stool and walks behind the bar. James isn’t paying attention and even if he was, he wouldn’t say anything. Linden and I were twenty-one, James twenty-three, when the three of us first started working at The Burgundy Lion. Linden and I eventually went on to bigger and hopefully better things, while James ended up buying the place. There’s still a bit of an employee mentality for us – I don’t think James has ever charged us for a drink.
Linden takes two bottles of Anchor Steam out of the fridge and slides them to me. It’s our annual autumn heatwave in San Francisco and Linden has the sleeves of his rumpled grey dress shirt rolled up, showcasing his strong, tanned forearms and the Charles Bukowski quotes he has tattooed on the insides. He’s wearing a pair of khaki knee-length shorts that highlight his toned ass. On his feet are his worn black Keds that I think he’s had ever since we first met, but it suits him.

If it’s wrong to occasionally ogle your best friend, I don’t want to be right.

“So what do you say?” he asks as he sits back down beside me.
“You’re actually serious?”

He nods and nudges the beer towards me. “Drink up and then maybe you’ll say yes. I have to say, you’re bruising my ego a little bit here.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” I tell him and I mean it. Linden McGregor is funny, kind, smart, handsome and ambitious. He’s got a BA in business and is almost done getting his helicopter pilot’s license. He’s one hot package that any girl would be lucky to snatch up.
But he’s also egotistical, cocky, arrogant and a player. It’s hard to get any real emotion out of him other than intensity – he’s got this way of looking at you, at life, like he’s trying to spear you alive. He lives his life on the selfish side, can be passionate about something (or someone) one minute, then indifferent the next. He’s a complicated guy and one that I am honored to call my best friend.

Yet, marriage – hell, a relationship – is a whole new ballgame when it comes to him and not one I’m ready or willing to play. Yes, I think he’s gorgeous, yes the way he looks at me sometimes does foolish things to my stomach, yes I have often thought about sleeping with him.

I mean, more than I should.

But this kind of agreement wouldn’t work.

Luckily, I know Linden is just joking around.

I take a long sip of my beer, making him sweat it out a little bit, push my thumb into that bruise on his ego, before I nod and say, “Fine.”

“Are you serious?”

“I guess so?”

He smiles broadly enough for those secret dimples to pop up. “You’ve made me a very lucky man, Stephanie Robson.”

I roll my eyes. “We’ll see about that. With any luck, we’ll both be in serious relationships by age thirty and I won’t have to entertain the thought of doing your laundry for the rest of my life.”

“Or doing me,” he adds with a wink which only prompts another eye roll from me. “Pinky swear on it. You know I don’t break those.”

And it’s true, he doesn’t. Maybe he’s more serious about this than I thought.

I swallow and hold out my pinky finger. He swiftly wraps his around mine, his skin hot and soft to touch.

“If neither of us are in a serious relationship by the time we are both thirty,” he says, looking me so dead in the eye that I can’t help but hold my breath, “then we agree to marry each other. Agree?”

I find my voice. “Agree.”

He then pulls my hand toward his mouth and kisses the top of it. Even more air is taken from my lungs.

“I think I just made the best back-up plan ever,” he says, his lips moving against my skin before he lets go of my hand and picks up his beer instead, clinking it against mine. “To us.”

I mouth the words but they don’t come out.

“Damn, it took them forever to leave,” James says as he comes over to us. “How many times can I say ‘we’re closing soon’ before they get the hint.”

“Maybe you oughta start pulling a gun out,” Linden says. “Or better yet, start singing.”

“Shut up,” James tell him. “I sing back-up once and I never live it down.” Linden and James used to be in a local band together, with Linden on vocals and lead guitar and James on bass but although they were good, they weren’t really good enough to keep going. San Francisco has a pretty competitive indie scene.

“Oh guess what?” Linden says, his eyes sparkling.

“Do I dare?” James asks with a sigh as he moves behind the bar to start wiping down the counter for the millionth time.

“Steph and I are getting married,” he says brightly.

James pausing and looks up at me to gauge Linden’s validity. “It’s true,” I say, though it doesn’t sound sincere.

“What?” he asks, now looking at the both of us. I want to say there isn’t a hint of hurt threading his brow but I can’t be sure. Sometimes I forget that we used to be lovers, which is kind of ridiculous. It was only a few days after I started working at The Burgundy Lion, when James and I hit it off and ended up dating for a year. Linden was his best friend and that’s how I got to know him.
Obviously the break-up was fairly amicable because James and I are still good friends, but when it came down to it, I broke up with him and though he acted like it was more or less mutual, I always wondered if I’d hurt him more than I thought.

“You know I like my back-up plans,” Linden goes on. “So we made a pact. If neither one of us are in a serious relationship when we hit thirty, we get married.”

James blinks at us before tucking a strand of his shaggy black hair behind his ears. “This is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard of.”

Linden raises his chin. “Aw, don’t be jealous, man.”

James scoffs. “I’m not jealous. The two of you in a marriage? World’s pickiest woman with the world’s biggest manwhore? Yeah, have fun with that.”

“Hey,” I say indignantly. I’m not that picky.

But Linden takes no offence. “Oh we will. So why don’t you pop open some champagne to celebrate with us?”

James gives him a pointed look. “Are you the one buying?”

He shrugs. “It’s our pre-engagement present from you.”

James sighs heavily, like he has some weight on his shoulders, but concedes. He always concedes to Linden. “Fine,” he says, and brings out a bottle of sparkling wine from the fridge. It pops open with a flourish and he pours it into mason jar glasses.
We cheers to the pact once again and then lapse into our normal conversation about the latest bands, movies, TV shows, hockey (James and Linden are huge fans of the San Jose Sharks).

I sip my drink and can’t help but feel the slightest bit relieved. In five years, all the dating and the strife could be over. In five years, there’s the tiniest possibility that I could marry my best friend.

I wonder if five years is long enough to change my mind.

 

This currently describes my feelings!





  
                                                             ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and rock music journalist and the USA TODAY bestselling author of Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, Experiment in Terror and other wild and romantic reads. She lives in a 1920's farmhouse on a bucolic island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails, and devours a lot of books.

BUY HER BOOKS ON AMAZON