BOOK REVIEW - WISDOM by AMANDA HOCKING - MY BLOOD APPROVES # 4

By : Amanda Hocking
Published By : Self Published at Smashwords.
Released : Available Now
Details : Smashwords Ebook , 190 Pages


RATING 5 PETER AND JACK STARS!!



For her eighteenth birthday, Alice Bonham takes a vacation to Australia only to have her trip cut short by an unexpected murder.


While Alice tries to understand what happened, she regrets some of the choices she's made, especially the more permanent ones.


On top of that, the child vampire is running loose, and its attracting some very unwanted attention...

BOOK REVIEW:

Amanda takes us outback to the Northern Territory,  Australia and back,  in  'Wisdom'. In hindsight, maybe not outback enough.
Daisy is exactly what Ezra predicted. Poor Bobby is Daisy's target. Everytime Daisy lined Bobby up,  I was laughing, maybe I shouldn't have been but it would have been funny to watch. Kinda a pretty little 'chucky doll' launching itself at Bobby. Mae isn't seeing straight and Alice has had enough of the little monster.

Leif is hanging around more and Olivia is training Alice to harness her strength and learn some skills. Alice is going all Nancy Drew and leaving Jack out of the picture. I love Alice's new sidekick. He has really grown on me, lol!!!

Jacks taste in car was rather cool. Amanda brings back all the memories with that one.

I can't help feeling when reading this series that Jack may be older in human years than Peter, but he acts younger, hence Lego, X-Box games etc. Jack loves Alice , he will fight for her but is not a fighter. Jack doesn't show interest in training.  Peter and Jack's 18th birthday gifts to Alice were soo different. Jack is there for Alice whenever she needs him which is getting less and less as her strength supercedes his,  making her less a target and more a badass fighter. Alice's character grows , Jacks doesn't in their relationship. Peter , I have a soft spot for him as he too easily would give his life up for Alice he still feels some connection that he can't ignore even though the bond has broken. Alice will do whatever she can to save both Peter and Jack when they need it but can only choose one lover. I can't help feeling Peter should be 'the one'. He is soo raw and honest with his feelings towards Alice.

'Wisdom'  has action, stolen kisses, smexi moments, fight scenes, boundaries are pushed with trust, sad moments, funny moments and times where you will just go OMG!!! Lots of storyline is packed into these pages. Amanda never skips a beat with her storytelling.


FAVE QUOTES:

"Yeah." Jack's smile grew broader.
"Does it come with a flux capacitator? " Milo asked.
"No." Jack looked at him like he was an idiot.

"You're gonna wear a cape?" Violet laughed, raising an eyebrow. "Oh yeah. Combat training is so gonna work for you."
"I'll take it off to fight," Bobby said defensively. "I just wanna survey Gotham with my cape flapping in the wind."

"Wait. " Bobby pushed in between Violet and me to get closer to the glass. "Vigilantes? You mean like Batman?"
"What is with this kid and Batman!" Violet groaned.
"He's only the most awesome thing ever, " Bobby shot back, glaring at her.

"Oh my god!" Bobby pointed at him. "That dude is supposed to be a vampire hunter, and he's got on a fricking swatch! There is no way these guys are for real!"

"Wait, wait," Bobby interrupted, snapping his fingers. " I've heard that before. That's like what Blade is, right? Wesley Snipes was a vampire hunter, but he was like super strong and badass from being a half -breed." He glanced back at Milo. "You weren't like that when you were human, were you?"
"No , I got my ass kicked all the time," Milo grimaced at the memory of his human self.
"So how come they weren't all like Blade?"Bobby asked, turning back to Ezra.
"Because, it's a movie, Bobby," I said dryly.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - FLUTTER by AMANDA HOCKING - MY BLOOD APPROVES # 3

By : Amanda Hocking
Published By : Self Published at Smashwords.
Released : Available Now
Details : Smashwords Ebook , 200 Pages


RATING 5 TEAM PETER STARS!!!( What? I Can't help myself )



Her younger brother's love life is heating up, while hers is...more complicated. Mae is falling apart, her best friend Jane is addicted to vampire bites, and if Alice doesn't get her bloodlust under control, someone will end up dead.


Alice volunteers for a rescue mission with Ezra. But going up against a pack of rabid vampires might be too much, even for him.

BOOK REVIEW:

Oh ,  'Flutter', is full to the brim of excitement and mayhem. It's been 3 weeks since Alice went through her change. She is handling it very well considering the bloodlust she must endure. I think I like 'Flutter' the best so far as soooo much happens. POW's and twists at every corner.

Ezra and Alice travel to Finland to save Peter from his worst enemy, himself. Alice learns that not all vampires are like her new found family. Ezra makes payment for Peter's suicidal mission.



New characters are introduced. Jane is going down the WRONG!!! path. Oh, Jane, don't go there girlfriend!! I kinda wanted to give Jane a good slap, if it would do her any good.

Mae has her own problems she must confront , she is desperate to be understood. Has she over stepped the line?

Alice has to restrain herself in more ways than one. Oh the tension oozes in this book.

Milo has a new friend and Alice must deal with it. Milo must also deal with the danger his new friend holds for him.

Amanda will make your eyes pop in 'Flutter', lol!! I know mine did several times. There is action, drama, emotions are on high alert, betrayal weazles it's way in, confusion ripples below the surface, but through it all Ezra is a rock. Everything is going haywire around him, his family is going through their own little crisis's, but Ezra will always be there to help and defend his family...... or are some things just too much to overlook......Oh Mae...what have you done.........

FAVE QUOTES: 

"Are you Han Solo? " I raised my eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, I wanted him to be Princess Leia, but he wouldn't go for it, " Bobby gave Milo a pouty look, and I was momentarily relieved that Jack wasn't around so he couldn't try out that exact idea on me. Then I realized that Jack wasn't here, and I got sad again.
"I am not going to wear a gold bikini, "Milo said.  "Even I'm not gay enough for that!"

"Did you really want my blood that badly?"
"Your blood is divine, " he admitted sadly. "But I always wanted more than that." he exhaled huskily.

The air was so thick with the scent and feel of him that I could almost taste it, and I wanted to taste him. I wanted him in the most visceral way.

With Ezra so close to me, I had the strangest urge to kiss him. That was just the blood talking, so I lowered my head before I could act on it.

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - FATE by AMANDA HOCKING - MY BLOOD APPROVES # 2

By : Amanda Hocking
Published By : Self Published at Smashwords.
Released : Available Now
Details : Smashwords Ebook , 168 Pages

RATING 5 PETER and JACK STARS !!!!!!


Alice Bonham thinks she's finally found a balance in her life between the supernatural and real life with her brother Milo. Jack - her sorta vampire boyfriend - keeps her at arm's length to keep her safe. As for his brother Peter... she's not sure where he's at, or what he wants with her. Worse still, she's not even sure what she wants with Peter.


When tragedy happens, Alice finds herself struggling with a terrible choice. Her decision has consequences that reach farther than she'd ever imagined...


BOOK REVIEW :

'Fate' , is proving to be difficult emotionally on Jack, Peter and Alice.
Chubby cheeked, large innocent brown eyed Milo turns 16 and learns to drive.

Jack is always there, that guy that will help where needed. He decides to step it up and learn the ropes from Ezra,  after all eternity,  is a long time to just sit about playing X-Box games.

The story changes up a beat,  leaving Alice spending more time than she would like by herself and she doesn't like it. Alice tends to fill in time badly. Alice is looking for answers and Ezra it seems is the only one that can attempt to give her them.

Jealousys simmer below the surface, urges battle it out quietly and life changes dramatically for some of the characters. Emotions need to be kept in check for fear of the outcome. Alice seems to draw the wrong attention these days and Jane and her idea of a great night out have a lot to live up to.

Amanda is throwing in some twists at sharp turns and POW's that will make you stop and think. New characters are introduced and life will never be the same for some. I would recommend having all 4 books currently available ready to read one after the other in rapid succession as I can't imagine you putting them down until they are totally devoured. Amanda's rollercoaster storyline is only warming up.


FAVE QUOTES :

"You're wearing a purple thong?" Jack raised an eyebrow, but since I was drunk, I couldn't get a read on his emotions. I didn't know if it was an intrigued I'd-like-to-see-more eyebrow, or a disapproving you're-a-huge-slut eyebrow.
"Yeah . Wanna see? "  I offered.
"Just get in the car," Jack said, not unkindly, and walked around to the driver's seat.

"It's beating like a moth caught in a jar, " Violet smiled wistfully at me.  "I can't help myself. It sounds so beautiful."

With one magical leap, I managed to jump on the nearest platform. It was about two feet off the ground, so it wasn't that impressive, except I'm 5'3"running through a crowded gay club with a torn dress and a vampire on my tail.

"Do you have any idea how beautiful your heart sounds? "Jack asked me quietly, and I shook my head. "You have no idea how beautiful and amazing any part of you is."

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - MY BLOOD APPROVES by AMANDA HOCKING - BOOK # 1 MY BLOOD APPROVES SERIES

By : Amanda Hocking
Published By : Self Published at Smashwords
Released : Available Now
Details : Smashwords Ebook , 174 Pages

RATING 4.5 STARS !!!!!!

Teenager Alice Bonham's life feels crazy after she meets Jack. With his fondness for pink Chuck Taylors and New Wave, he's unlike anyone she knows. Then she meets his brother, Peter. Even though he can't stand the sight of her, she's drawn to him. Falling for two guys isn't even the worst of her problems. Jack and Peter are vampires, and Alice finds herself caught between love and her own blood.

BOOK REVIEW:

I stumbled across author Amanda Hocking and simply put, WOW!! I was addicted from start to well almost finish as there are 5 books in the MBA - My Blood Approves series and only 4 have been written.

I started reading the , 'Trylle Trilogy' first. Amanda's 2nd series and  I fell in love with her writing. Her ability to fill her books with so much. Her characters are meaningful to the storyline and interesting.

MBA series I have read all 4 books currently in the series, My Blood Approves # 1, Fate # 2, Flutter #3, Wisdom # 4. The book covers do not do the stories justice. I'm not saying they are bad covers, but some people judge a book by its cover and well.... I love when titles are meaningful to the story and these are.

CHARACTERS:

ALICE :  17 yr old female lead who is a little lost in this book. She has her bff Jane , who is always out for a good time, maybe too much of a good time. Alice kinda tags along with Jane whether it's a good idea or not.
MILO : Alice's 15 1/2 yr old brother who is the nurturing , protective, always worrying about Alice, studious, younger brother that acts older in some ways than Alice. He is the family cook and makes sure the chores get done.
ANNA : Alice's mum likes a drink and works long hours on the graveyard shift, leaving Alice to her own devices. School work not a high priority.
JACK : 24 Yr old guy who has a penchant for interesting T-shirts and Dickies shorts ( I had to google those darn shorts as he wears only that brand just to see what they looked like...lol!!) and converse shoes. Wiry, beach bum tan, blue gray eyes.
MAE : 28 yrs old , the mothering type with the British accent, who Jack lives with.
EZRA : 26 yrs old and married to Mae and has a Lamborghini Gallardo. ( Niiicccceee:D )
PETER: 19 yrs old, grumpy bro of Jack's , in an unconventional way.
MATILDA : White , Great Pyrenees dog. ( must Google the breed, I gather she is a huge dog).

Jane and Alice get themselves in a pickle at the start of this book,  enter Jack with screeching tyres to save the day. From the very first page, Amanda had me smiling at Jack, a great guy who is very thoughtful taking Alice under his wing. They just clicked.

Amanda spends a bit of time setting up the story for MBA, keep reading!!! The POW's ( didn't see that coming) the twists are amazing once the story starts to unfold ..........and then things with a certain character get complicated.

I am holding my tongue and it's very , very difficult not to review and spoil , as sooooo much happens within these books. You are not left with unanswered questions. Amanda is wonderful keeping the books in the series growing and moving along at a great pace everything she writes weaves in nicely throughout her series.

I am a bit of a Team Peter fan...now I think most would be Team Jack, but...I can't help feeling for Peter. I looovvve Jack , but there's something about Peter that I can't ignore in this series. I can't wait to read about him in this series ( I'm like..where's Peter, I want Peter... * stamps foot* lol!!).

Oh,  I just want to say what I want to say but I can't :(  
I don't want to spoil. you'll just have to read. I got soooo addicted to this series that I devoured all 4 books in 4 days. To give you an idea how popular Amanda has gotten with her writing, alone she sold 99,000!!!!  books in December 2010 alone!!! click on link to her blog page  http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/  scroll down to her Thursday 30th December posting.   I can see how she did it her stories are wonderful. I have passed the word onto all my book buddies. You've got to appreciate she is a self published author and is becoming a bit of a superstar in the self published world, there is hope for all you budding self published writers.

I love how Amanda includes music, movie references throughout her books that I am proud to say I understood. Bit of 80's , bit of modern, bit of oldies but goodies. When her characters are texting each other she uses Bold print rather than Italics that can be hard on the eyes , especially sitting at the computer until the wee hours reading. The bold print made it easy to distinguish the difference. She does have a few vocab errors in her writing that flows through all her books I have read so far. This could simply be fixed. I'm a reader who likes to be challenged by a story, have theories when I read and read about characters that have layers , are deeper than first thought. I think Amanda does this very well.

Anyhoo, enough from me....what are you waiting for..go grab yourself a copy:D

FAVE QUOTES:

My brother Milo was a studious little bastard though, and he'd probably been in bed before midnight and up before nine.
When I made it out to the living room, I found him sitting at the computer, probably researching a paper for school even though we were on Spring Break. He was a Sophomore in high school and had the social life of a toddler.

Milo cowered behind her, muttering things about how she needed to keep it down or Mom would completely freak out. Whenever Jane was around, he acted like a puppy about to pee on the floor, and it drove me nuts.

Michelle

AUTHOR AMANDA HOCKING SELF PUBLISHED SMASHWORDS AUTHOR SHOWCASE

Amanda Hocking self published author on Smashwords. Everynow and then an author comes along that is a pure gem and I believe she is one of Smashwords superstars. I have just read 'Switched' and 'Torn',  book 1 and 2 in her 'Trylle' trilogy . 'Ascend',  book 3 to be released in 2011. I am in awe of her writing so much that I decided to do this little piece on the blog and showcase her books. I have bought them all, except what not yet released. I shall sit at my computer again to the wee hours tonight and start 'My Blood Approves' series. 'Torn' review to be viewed here on blog shortly. I look forward to more reads from Amanda . Do yourselves a favour read her work.

SWITCHED TRYLLE BK # 1

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy finds out her mother might've been telling the truth.


With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - and it's one she's not sure if she wants to be a part of.
 



 
I have reviewed this book on blog 1/1/11
 
 

TORN TRYLLE BK # 2
 
Torn the second installment of the Trylle Trilogy...
 
Wendy thought she finally understood who she was and what she wanted, but everything changes when the rival Vittra come after her.


She's caught between two worlds, torn between love and duty, and she must decide what life she is meant to lead.   

ASCEND TRYLLE BK # 3

Third and final book in the Trylle trilogy, a troll-based YA series.
With a war looming on the horizon, Wendy’s fate seems sealed. But everything she sacrificed might be in vain if she can’t save the ones she loves.

Her whole life has been leading up to this, and it’s all coming to an end.




RELEASE DATE JANUARY 2011

MY BLOOD APPROVES - MY BLOOD APPROVES BK # 1

Teenager Alice Bonham's life feels crazy after she meets Jack. With his fondness for pink Chuck Taylors and New Wave, he's unlike anyone she knows. Then she meets his brother, Peter. Even though he can't stand the sight of her, she's drawn to him. Falling for two guys isn't even the worst of her problems. Jack and Peter are vampires, and Alice finds herself caught between love and her own blood.

FATE

Fate - the second installment in the My Blood Approves series...


Alice Bonham thinks she's finally found a balance in her life between the supernatural and real life with her brother Milo. Jack - her sorta vampire boyfriend - keeps her at arm's length to keep her safe. As for his brother Peter... she's not sure where he's at, or what he wants with her. Worse still, she's not even sure what she wants with Peter.
When tragedy happens, Alice finds herself struggling with a terrible choice. Her decision has consequences that reach farther than she'd ever imagined...
 
 

FLUTTER
 
Flutter - the third book in the My Blood Approves series...


Being undead doesn't make life any easier for Alice Bonham.


Her younger brother's love life is heating up, while hers is...more complicated. Mae is falling apart, her best friend Jane is addicted to vampire bites, and if Alice doesn't get her bloodlust under control, someone will end up dead.


Alice volunteers for a rescue mission with Ezra. But going up against a pack of rabid vampires might be too much, even for him.
 
 

WISDOM
 
Wisdom - the fourth book in the My Blood Approves series...


For her eighteenth birthday, Alice Bonham takes a vacation to Australia only to have her trip cut short by an unexpected murder.


While Alice tries to understand what happened, she regrets some of the choices she's made, especially the more permanent ones.


On top of that, the child vampire is running loose, and its attracting some very unwanted attention...

LETTERS TO ELISE - A PETE TOWNSEND NOVELLA

In My Blood Approves, Peter Townsend fell in love with Alice Bonham, but she wasn't his first love. In a new novella told through his letters, his history is revealed.

HOLLOWLAND

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door."
Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies. 
 
 
 

HONALEE - Witches of Honalee # 1
 
In the small midwestern town of Honalee, Hazel Panning and her best friend Molly Novak are determined to get through her sophomore year in one piece, despite the vicious cheerleaders and Hazel's ridiculous crush on Landon Hooper.


Life gets more complicated when Hazel realizes that she has a penchant for sorcery, like her aunt. Her plans to stay under the radar take a detour when she and Molly stand up for themselves, and Hazel gets the courage to act on her feelings for Landon.


Hazel discovers that the sleepy town of Honalee isn't so sleepy, and magic doesn't make high school easier.
 
I've read an excerpt on this sounds great!!!

Michelle