Black Hellebore Book Review: October 21 Release

The wonderful thing about being a writer is meeting so many wonderful fellow scribes. Wonderful, fun, sweet and talented--like Nicole Zoltack, author of the upcoming paranormal romance, Black Hellebore, first in a new superhero romance trilogy - Heroes of Falledge

Besides being adorable, Nicole Zoltack loves to write fantasy/paranormal, romances, horror, historical, for adults and
young adults, novels, short stories, and flash pieces. She doesn't want to get boxed in by genre -- she might be claustrophobic! She's also an editor for MuseItUp Publishing and works as a
freelance editor.

When she isn't writing about girls wanting to be knights, talking unicorns, and zombies, she spends time with her loving family. She loves to ride horses (pretending they're unicorns, of
course!) and going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, dressed in period garb. Her favorite current TV show is The Walking Dead.

To learn more about Nicole and her work, visit her website at www.NicoleZoltack.com or her
blog at http://NicoleZoltack.blogspot.com.

To Learn More About Her Upcoming Novel, Read On...

Once a year for the past decade, Nicholas Adams returns to Falledge and leaves a black hellebore on his girlfriend's grave. While departing Falledge, he chases after a man sneaking into the laboratory and dies for his trouble. A witch brings him back to life, but Nicholas soon realizes he's not the same man. Turns out, magic combined with a black hellebore in his pocket changed
him into a kind of a super man.

His girlfriend's twin, Julianna Paige, is Falledge's deputy, struggling to solve several murders.
Nicholas, and his alter ego the Black Hellebore, helps her, even as she helps him move on and
even start to love again.

Unfortunately, Nicholas wasn't the only one changed in the laboratory explosion, and now there's
a supervillain bent on destroying Falledge, and killing the Black Hellebore. But falling in love
might prove more dangerous than any supervillain.

And Here's Where I Have To Be Honest...

I don't typically read romance novels or comic books. Before Iron Man came out, I had limited experience with villains and heroes and super powers born of unexpected events. However, thanks to my passel of boys, I fell in love with Tony Stark a few years back--an unexpected event that opened my mind to the realm of heroes, super heroes and dastardly villains.

Black Hellebore surprised and delighted me. Thanks to Miss Zoltack, I discovered that I enjoy this vast new world. Granted I have some things to get used to before I can fully appreciate the nuances of the genre, but I look forward to expanding my reading lists and continuing my journey into the unexpected.

If you're a fan of paranormal romance, super heroes, or are just looking for a new book to cuddle up with on a chilly fall day, pick up a copy of Black Hellebore on October 21!

More Books by Nicole Zoltack

Woman of Honor (Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, book 1)
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6370163-woman-of-honor

Knight of Glory (Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, book 2)
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7801193-knight-of-glory

Champion of Valor (Kingdom of Arnhem trilogy, book 3)
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11150044-champion-of-valor

Book Review: Not A Drop To Drink

First off, let me start by saying I know author Mindy McGinnis on a cyber level. We've been critique partners, sounding boards and friends. However, don't let my friendship with Mindy dupe you into thinking my review will be biased. Mindy is brutally honest, and I know she would want me to be as well.

So here goes...

In a nutshell, Not a Drop to Drink is about a young lady who faces a brutal world of survival. Lynn has no time for the softer side of life as she and her mom fight for every minute of every day.

In this post apocalyptic world, water is scarce and the pond outside Lynn's home is literally the tipping point between life and death. When tragedy leaves Lynn alone on her roof to protect the life-giving water, she is faced with fears greater than survival of the fittest--the need to rely on someone else.

This story is about the evolution of humanity in one girl's heart. Born into a violent world, Lynn has known nothing beyond the ever-present need to collect, purify and protect the water in the pond. She's killed for the pond. The question: is her soul too thirsty to quench?

What I loved about this book?

• A post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel that tackles the reality we may someday face. Water is scarce in Not a Drop to Drink. Humanity, more so.
• Mindy's unflinching view of what desperation looks like. She didn't sugar coat the troubles we would face in a world without a ready supply of water. Instead, she tapped into the pioneer-esque work ethic and problem solving skills that are sometimes lacking in today's world. Survival is not a game we can turn off when we get bored or tired or frustrated. It's a gritty reality that never ends.
• The water witching. Seriously, this brought back childhood memories of a friend of the family who could witch water. This crazy, unexplained ability to find water below the surface of the earth is nothing short of amazing.
• The characters. I think I may be in the minority, but Stebbs is by far my favorite character. I loved his time-worn view of the world--and of himself. He was the perfect mentor for Lynn, while Lucy brought the youthful innocence that had so desperately been missing from Lynn's life. Eli's sense of humor was much needed to alleviate the heaviness of the topic.
• Lastly, I appreciated Mindy's brevity. She didn't belabor unnecessary details. I read this book in a few hours and didn't skim a single paragraph. This is unusual for me, as I tend to skip the "boring parts".

What I didn't love?

• The epilogue. It felt so abrupt that I had to check the mirror to see if I'd been slapped in the face. I wasn't ready for the time jump. I'm not sure what I expected, but these last pages felt too pat, too clean, too easy for all the struggle Lynn had gone through before. Maybe I wanted another book between the end and the epilogue...you hear that Mindy?...just to satisfy my curiosity about what happened in between.

The big surprise?

• After reading other reviews, I find myself in the minority. I wasn't at all surprised by the ending. I expected it and wasn't remotely disappointed in the way it turned out. It was validating to see Lynn remain in character during the toughest moment of her life.
• That said, I was momentarily surprised by one death...but only momentarily. Then I remembered who wrote the novel and knew that this, too, was within the author's character. Survival isn't easy. It's painful and it doesn't play favorites. Mindy never once forgot that.

The romance?

• It's there, barely. Which I'm a fan of since that's one of the "boring parts" I usually skip. Strangely enough, I would have liked just a little more intimacy. Not necessarily physical intimacy between Lynn and Eli, but more of an emotional intimacy within herself. Yeah, I know, clear as mud.

There you have it. A brutally honest four point five rain drops for Not a Drop to Drink.


Alexandra Tys

Teen Tuesday Book Plug: SLIDE by Jill Hathaway

I attended a writer's conference this past weekend and had the distinct pleasure of meeting debut novelist, Jill Hathaway. She's smart, funny and cute as a button. And if she teaches English the same way she presented at the conference, her students are some of the luckiest in the world.

Out of professional courtesy, I bought a copy of Slide. After opening to the first page, professional courtesy went out the window. I was hooked by the premise and the voice.

Vee Bell has the unfortunate ability to slide into the body of another person--an uncontrollable and unpredictable quirk that literally puts her behind the eyes of a killer.

When she awakens holding a dripping knife, she can't tear her gaze from the body of her sister's best friend. Nor can she tell anyone the suicide was a murder without revealing her secret.

Yet for Vee, learning secrets is a by-product of her ability, and her suspect list grows as she slides more and more frequently due to sleep deprivation and worry for the cheerleaders who seemingly have been targeted by a cold-blooded murderer.

As the body count piles up, Vee must learn to use her ability to scratch names off her suspect list before her cheerleading sis is scratched off by the killer.

The things I loved most about this novel are the relationships that populated Vee's life. She has a little sister she's raising, a work-aholic father, a distant best friend and a budding romance. In my opinion, these four main relationships were well-fleshed out and realistic. I felt connected to each of them as they grew and changed over the course of the book.

The thing that surprised me most about this novel was that I had figured out the who-dunnit long before the big reveal. That said, I cut my teeth on mysteries and I rarely get surprised by the end "Aha!" in most novels, so take this comment as you will.

Over all, I think it would have been a bit more satisfying to have fewer issues introduced in one novel. While Jill Hathaway hits nearly all the major issues teens face today, there isn't enough time in a single novel to really tackle them at a deeply relevant level.

The pace was great, the writing was clean and easy to read, and the premise intriguing. Slide was a quick, fun read that I enjoyed immensely for the break it provided me from reality.

I give Slide by Jill Hathaway a smidgen shy of four onion blooms.

*As an aside, I would have loved more info on sliding. Specifically, how/why does one come back from a slide?

Teen Tuesday: Want to Go Private? Book Review

This world is a scary place. So many of you are innocent and trusting, and at the age where you're seeking your indepenence from your parents and/or experimenting with personal relationships on a whole new level. Those are all good qualities as long as you temper them with a healthy dose of caution.

My sixteen-year-old-daughter is pocket-sized. A physical trait that makes her a greater target for sexual predators, simply by virtue of being easier to drag off or carry away. So says Pat Brown, America's top criminal profiler in her book, How To Save Your Daughter's Life. I read it, and I'm sold. Sold on the idea that so many teens and young adults needlessly put themselves at risk every single day.

Sold on the idea that caution is a good thing. Sold on the idea that you need to understand the nuances of relationships before you can ever protect yourself from the hidden dangers they may carry.

But, don't trust me. Trust an author who read through real-life transcripts of a cyber-victim's chat and wrote about them just for you. If you've not heard of Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman, I suggest you track down a copy now.

What's it about? When Abby meets Luke, she's feeling pretty punky about her life. Her best friend seems to be slipping away and her parents are more concerned about her grades than her social life. Online, Luke recognizes her need for friendship and cultivates a dangerous level of trust within Abby. He gets her. He cares about her. He wants to make her happy.

Wrong!

He wants to make himself happy.

Told in three parts, Want to Go Private? follows Abby's terrifying journey of trusting the wrong guy for all the wrong reasons, and the consequences of her misplaced trust.

This is a gut-wrenching story of a sexual predator stalking his victims online. It's a wake-up call to teens and young adults to understand the yearning within themselves and how easy it really is to fall victim to an experienced predator. Like Abby, I'm sure you're shaking your head and saying, "Not me. I know better. I would never."

Well, guess what? She said all those things, too. She was a good kid who got manipulated. And so can you.

It was a hard book to read. At times I wanted to vomit. I wanted to reach through the pages and smack Abby upside the head for being so stupid. I wanted to shake her and hug her and tell her she'd be okay. Just please, please, please stop making mistakes.

And I ask of you, teen readers, please, please, please read this novel. It just may save your life.

Alexandra Tys~