The Geneva Project - Lies Volume 3 by Christina Benjamin

The Geneva Project – Lies (vol.3) by Christina Benjamin

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Geneva-Project-Christina-Benjamin-ebook/dp/B012BYZBA6

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-geneva-project-christina-benjamin/1122378695?ean=2940152051162

itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-geneva-project-lies/id1029330463?mt=11

Square: https://squareup.com/market/thegenevaprojectstore

Promo: New release. Third book in the award-wining YA fantasy fiction series, The Geneva Project

Can you live a life of LIES? That’s exactly what Geneva finds herself doing to protect everyone she loves. While Geneva and her friends embark on a dangerous mission to fulfill her destiny, the dark forces that seek her powers are closing in, putting everyone she cares about at risk. Geneva must lie about who she is, what she knows and her true feelings. Are all these lies worth it or will she go too far and lose everything she’s been fighting for?

About the Author:

Christina Benjamin is the Award-Winning Author of the Young Adult series The Geneva Project.

Her debut novel, Truth, has won multiple awards, including the 2014 FAPA Gold Medal for YA fiction.

Benjamin’s writing hooks fans of mega-hit YA fiction like Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, and offers them a new series to obsess over. She paints a vivid world, where magic and imagination run wild in her epic tale of adventure, courage and friendship.

Benjamin studied English at the University of Central Florida. She’s dedicated to giving back to the community and speaking at schools to inspire creativity in young writers.

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Excerpt from book:

Chapter 1

We marched forward out of the protective tree line of the forest and into the open field; a wall of bodies, hands clasped moving with purpose toward the Troian Center. Even though we had the protection of Remi’s invisibility power, I still felt tense and exposed. My heart pounded with uncertainty as a cool wind rushed past and we picked up speed. I could barely feel the strange sensation of lightness that being invisible provided. My skin tingled, but it felt more like nerves than magic. The last time I’d been invisible the sensation had felt much more intense, which had me worried that maybe it wasn’t working right. The possibility that Remi wasn’t strong enough to stretch his power over all of us made me shutter with uneasiness. This was more people than he’d ever tried to share his power with before .

The Giveaway:

$50 Amazon Gift Card

a Rafflecopter giveaway Read below for an interview with the author! Tell us about the Geneva Project series in 25 words or less

• Epic adventure of friendship, magic and legends that will make you search your soul to find what’s most important in life, love or destiny.

What was your favorite scene to write in Lies?

• I can’t give it away, but it’s near the end of the book in the Locker.

What was the hardest scene to edit out?

• The ending. I changed it a million times. I knew how I wanted it to end as the writer, but then when I read it as the reader, I hated it. Plus I had to take my characters into consideration. So the ending was hard and I condensed and changed it a ton. With the help of my BETA readers and editor I think it’s at a great place now.

How many books will be in the Geneva Project series?

• I plan to have 4 books in the series. I’m currently writing #4 right now. I love the characters so much that I’m going to give some of them spin offs and I have an idea for a prequel.

Are you currently working on anything else?

• I’m co-authoring a middle grade book with Jamie M. Engle. I’m also co-authoring a children’s book with N. Jane Quackenbush. And I’ve started a novella that may have turned into another fun YA series. It’s about a drama student that ends up falling into some of her favorite plays.

Which authors inspire you?

• Oh man, so many. JK Rowling because, c’mon Harry Potter. And so many that I’ve recently met, because they’re all incredibly kind people that are truly following their dreams and happy to share it with you.

What is currently in your tbr pile?

• That pile is overwhelming. I don’t really get time to read too much these days because I’m so busy writing! I have some books by Stephanie Erickson and Amy Bartol on my desk that I’m determined to get to next.

What is the best book you have read recently?

• Anything Cassandra Clare. I guess I finished the Infernal Devices series last and those books made me cry so they’re up there on the Favs list.

Run by H.G. Lynch Book Blitz

ABOUT THE BOOK

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25136601-run

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Run-Caged-Trilogy-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00UIFE422

Tilly is a witch…at least, she thinks she is. All she really knows is that she

has powers she shouldn’t, and that the cruel women she escaped

from – who definitely are witches – will stop at nothing to make her their

prisoner again because of those powers.

But Tilly has fallen in with a strange group – a pack of werewolves. The pack

wants to protect her; none of them more so than Dominic, the alpha’s

kind-hearted son. Tilly thinks she might be falling for him, but she can’t help

being fascinated by his brooding, mysterious half-brother Spencer.

Caught between the two, Tilly isn’t sure anymore what she’s most scared of:

the witches hunting her down, or her own heart betraying her.

EXCERPT

His fingers on my wrist felt too warm and too intimate, his touch making things deep inside me tingle. There was so little between us, literally, only my nightshirt and underwear separated my body and his. I could feel the growling inside him, vibrating through my blood. I’d never felt desire like that, never known it could be so addictive, like a drug I wanted more of.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

H.G. Lynch is a Scottish Paranormal Romance author, avid reader, and cat-lover. She spends most of her days writing, while wrestling her cat, Sooki, off her laptop. She believes that chocolate cake can save the world, and is highly caffeine-addicted. She can occasionally be found rolling on the floor, laughing manically, when she’s consumed too much caffeine. She loves horse-riding, Star Trek, and snow. 

Her books are dark fantasy romances, usually with a bad boy and a bad girl. Sometimes with zombies, sometimes vampires, sometimes other things. 

Author Page: www.facebook.com/authorhglynch

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/H.G.-Lynch/e/B00HZ4PIM4/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hglynch

GIVEAWAY

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The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22105022-the-girl-on-the-train

SUMMARY

Three women, three men, connected through marriage or infidelity. Each is to blame for something. But only one is a killer in this nail-biting, stealthy psychological thriller about human frailty and obsession. 
      Just what goes on in the houses you pass by every day? 
     Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and evening, rattling over the same junctions, flashing past the same townhouses.The train stops at the same signal every day, and she sees the same couple, breakfasting on their roof terrace. Jason and Jess, as she calls them, seem so happy. Then one day Rachel sees someone new in their garden. Soon after, Rachel sees the woman she calls Jess on the news. Jess has disappeared. 
     Through the ensuing police investigation, Rachel is drawn deeper into the lives of the couple she learns are really Megan and Scott Hipwell. As she befriends Scott, Rachel pieces together what really happened the day Megan disappeared. But when Megan's body is found, Rachel finds herself the chief suspect in the case. Plunged into a world of betrayals, secrets and deceptions, Rachel must confront the facts about her own past and her own failed marriage. 
     A sinister and twisting story that will keep you guessing at every turn,The Girl on the Train is a high-speed chase for the truth.

REVIEW

I loved this one! It was curious to read about a situation from an unreliable narrator, she was drunk most of the time. Rachel is a 30 something year old who has been married and divorced with no children. At the beginning of the novel things were slowly put in to place by her and a couple other characters, and as you keep reading (especially from Rachel's point of view) you begin to wonder if everything is part of their imagination, or has it actually happened.

There was things going on where I thought I figured out what the big twist was, but on more than one occasion, I was totally wrong, I actually love when this happens, you get more out of a story I think. The characters were generally likable, even Rachel sometimes, at other times you really just want to shake her with the drinking. One thing I can never figure out is why Rachel would want to put herself in the same situation time after time, but in the end it all seems to come together.

I can sortive see where people are getting the comparison to Gone Girl, however, I think that they both stand on their own tow feet very well, and if you liked one you should like the other. At first I didn't know what to think when Jess went missing, was she really missing, or did she run away with someone else? That part kept the story going at a really good pace.

I am not sure what else to say without getting in to spoilers, however, if you are looking for a great thriller that will keep you guessing right till the very end, this is a story for you! I give it a 5/5!

An Untamed State by Roxane Gay

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18467818-an-untamed-state

SUMMARY

Roxane Gay is a powerful new literary voice whose short stories and essays have already earned her an enthusiastic audience. In An Untamed State, she delivers an assured debut about a woman kidnapped for ransom, her captivity as her father refuses to pay and her husband fights for her release over thirteen days, and her struggle to come to terms with the ordeal in its aftermath.

Mireille Duval Jameson is living a fairy tale. The strong-willed youngest daughter of one of Haiti’s richest sons, she has an adoring husband, a precocious infant son, by all appearances a perfect life. The fairy tale ends one day when Mireille is kidnapped in broad daylight by a gang of heavily armed men, in front of her father’s Port au Prince estate. Held captive by a man who calls himself The Commander, Mireille waits for her father to pay her ransom. As it becomes clear her father intends to resist the kidnappers, Mireille must endure the torments of a man who resents everything she represents.

An Untamed State is a novel of privilege in the face of crushing poverty, and of the lawless anger that corrupt governments produce. It is the story of a willful woman attempting to find her way back to the person she once was, and of how redemption is found in the most unexpected of places. An Untamed State establishes Roxane Gay as a writer of prodigious, arresting talent.

REVIEW

Let me first start by saying that I don't feel as though I could give this book the praise that it deserves, nothing I say is going to be able to convey how I feel about this book, it may be a work of fiction, however, these things happen (more often than we probably would like to admit), and it is only an excellent writer that can bring about the feelings that I have even after sitting for a couple weeks after finishing this novel.

So in this story we follow Mireille whom goes back to Haiti to visit her parents, and winds up getting kidnapped (this is not a spoiler!). Mireille and her husband live a pampered life in the US, she is fully willing to admit to this, they have everything that they need and enjoy dinner parties with friends, and having the best of everything. They also have a small child that they adore and were thinking of having more.

What I loved about this novel was the way that Gay was not afraid to tackle the tough issues, not only the kidnapping, but everything that went along with it, and everything that happens after. Even though it was only 13 days that she was gone, you truly can see how she is really trapped for the rest of her life, and how things will never be the same for her. I have never read a book (besides a memoir) that is able to rip my heart out so much for the victim in the story, you wish and wish for her that it is all a bad dream, and that she will wake up and be back with her family again. The characters were beautifully written, even the ones that you want to detest. Every one of them brought something new and interesting to the story, whether it was to make you hate them, or love them. 

The book was told in alternating chapters of Mireille either during her kidnapping, or her remembering things from before she was kidnapped, either from childhood or when she was older dating Michael, or when they were first married, both perspectives were heart wrenching, because you knew that even when this ordeal was over, nothing would ever be the same for her again.

If you are looking for a serious read that covers many topics and do not have any trigger warnings about sexual violence towards women, then this is a novel for you! I absolutely give it a 5/5.

Unlovely by Celeste Conway Review and Giveaway!!

Published: January 2nd 2015 by Merrit Press

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22456995-unlovely

Pages: 256

SUMMARY

Accidents happen. But they happen more often when the beautiful ballet dancers return each summer to the island. When he hears the ruthless way that the loveliest dancer talks about boys getting what they deserve when they break girls' hearts, Harley, home for the summer after his first year of college, wonders if he's losing his mind. He knows for sure that he's losing his heart to this girl...But then, strange incidents start happening all over the island and Harley is caught between desire and fear: could he also be in danger of losing his life? 

REVIEW

This was a very quick enjoyable one sitting read for me. I was intrigued at what was going to happen and when, and when it did, I didn't really see it coming.

Harley is home for the summer living on his Dad's boat with him again, he is a freshman at college, something not a lot of people get to say from the small town that he grew up in. Most times people just stay in the town and work where they can. Harley is determined to make more of himself.

Everything is fine until one day the girls from the local ballet school come down for their regular once a week trip in to town. Harley sees a new girl has joined the group, and something about her is very interesting to him. 

His Dad does some repairs at the ballet school, so one day Harley went with him, and it was the first time that he met Cassandra, and he was head over heels instantly. She seemed interested too, so they finally after a little while of flirtation make a date so he can take her out sailing on his boat. 

There is a little complication though, namely his ex-girlfriend Mairin. Things are maybe not as over as Harley had thought when she got married and is pregnant with someone else's child. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would give it a 4/5!

GIVEAWAY

Bethany at Merrit Press has been kind enough to offer up 2 copies of this book for anyone in the US or Canada! All you have to do is follow the blog and lave a comment thanking Bethany and Merrit Press! All entries will be entered to win via random.org on April 3rd.

Unexpected Eden (Eden #1) by Rhenna Morgan

Published: December 29 2014 by Lyrical Press

Pages: 259

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23269158-unexpected-eden?ac=1

SUMMARY

Paradise, love, power…and a prophecy with a price. 

Most people believe Eden no longer exists. Lexi Merrill’s about to learn they’re wrong. A hard-working bartender with a self-sufficient backbone and a wary nature, she knows pickup lines like a second language. So, when Eryx Shantos barges into her world with too-smooth words and a body to back it up, she locks up her libido and vows to keep her distance. 

Eryx has other ideas. As king of the Myren race, Eryx is duty-bound to enforce the laws preventing exposure of their existence to humans. Yet The Fates have led him through his dreams to Lexi, a temptation he doesn’t want to resist. The question--is she Myren, or human, which makes her forbidden fruit?

When Eryx’s nemesis tags Lexi as his next target, Eryx insists on taking her home where he can keep her safe. Lexi had no idea “home” would mean the one-and-only land of creation…or that she’d trigger a prophecy that could doom her newfound race.

REVIEW

Let me just start off by saying that I LOVE the world that Rhenna has created in this novel!

We start off the novel with Lexi at work as a bartender, and little does she know that her entire world is going to be flipped on its side in the next 24 hours. We first meet Eryx when he goes in to Lexi's work and pays off the other bartender on duty so that she will serve him, it does not turn out the way he wanted, so he waits for her after work and persuades her to have breakfast with him, everything takes off from there and does not stop right up until the last page of the novel.

No one believes that Eden exists anymore, however, Lexi is about to learn that it still does, and she has more of a connection to it then she could possibly imagine. The only person that she seems to have a connection to in the real world is Ian, a retired police officer that now does private investigations, we learn more about her history as the story goes on, however, there is still so much that is not explained and I am eager to know, and I like that Rhenna did not give everything away in the first installment, it gives us readers something to look forward to.

Eryx may just be one of my favourite book boyfriends! He is handsome, strong, and romantic. He also happens to be the King of the Myren, something he fails to tell Lexi when he brings her to Eden. He also has a twin brother and a sister whom Lexi meets within her first day of being there, and everyone accepts her as family right away as Eryx has been dreaming about finding her for years, and everyone feels like they know her already. 

I want to live in Eden, I want to have what Lexi has, Rhenna has created a fantastic world and I cannot wait to read the next installment! Nothing is confusing about getting to know the world with her world building, and the names that she gives everything like in some other novels. I marvel at Rhenna's imagination, and how she thought up all the names she gives everything.

I absolutely give this novel a 5/5 and if you are looking for a great paranormal romance, this one is for you! I have already messaged Rhenna and begged about when the next installment is coming out lol!

The Perfect Mother

Published November 24 2014 by Plume

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20893341-the-perfect-mother?ac=1

SUMMARY

When an American exchange student is accused of murder, her mother will stop at nothing to save her.

A midnight phone call shatters Jennifer Lewis’s carefully orchestrated life. Her daughter, Emma, who’s studying abroad in Spain, has been arrested after the brutal murder of another student. Jennifer rushes to her side, certain the arrest is a terrible mistake and determined to do whatever is necessary to bring Emma home. But as she begins to investigate the crime, she starts to wonder whether she ever really knew her daughter. The police charge Emma, and the press leaps on the story, exaggerating every sordid detail. One by one, Emma’s defense team, her father, and finally even Jennifer begin to have doubts.
 A novel of harrowing emotional suspense, The Perfect Mother probes the dark side of parenthood and the complicated bond between mothers and daughters.

REVIEW

I won this book as part of the Goodreads first reads program, I didn't know what to expect from it, except I was hoping that it would keep me on the edge of my seat with what was going to happen next, and it did not disappoint!

I liked most of the characters, however, I did not like Emma, she came off as a spoiled rotten little brat, it was not till the end of the book that I started to feel differently about her. She did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation that she was in, and just seemed to wrapped up in her own head to want to try and help herself at all.

Jennifer was a dutiful mother who only wanted to help her daughter get out of a very serious situation, even when her daughter did not want to help at all. I can understand the reasons for her actions throughout the novel, and I think that I would do the same thing if I was in her shoes. Mark  was strong through the whole thing, even though he could not be there for Emma as much as he wanted to.

I think my favourite character was Roberto, he was the manager of the case for Jennifer, and he had his own side line story that I would like to see turned in to a follow up from this book, don't know if that is going to happen.

I liked how the author gave instances of where the criminal justice system was different in Spain than it was in the US, you could tell she did her homework there. The police had their own theory on what happened, and with all the facts that Emma was giving them, I believed them over her, and as much as Jennifer did not want to, there was a point in the novel where she could not put those doubts aside anymore. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I will be looking up the authors other work as well, I give this book a 4/5!