Saturday, September 29, 2012

My Spotlight: Eve and Adam

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Eve and Adam

Expected publication: October 2nd 2012

Sixteen-year-old Evening Spiker lives an affluent life in San Francisco with her mother, EmmaRose, a successful geneticist and owner of Spiker Biotech. Sure, Evening misses her father who died mysteriously, but she’s never really questioned it. Much like how she’s never stopped to think how off it is that she’s never been sick. That is, until she’s struck by a car and is exposed to extensive injuries. Injuries that seem to be healing faster than physically possible.
While recuperating in Spiker Biotech’s lush facilities, she meets Solo Plissken, a very attractive, if off-putting boy her age who spent his life at Spiker Biotech. Like Evening, he’s never questioned anything... until now. Solo drops hints to Evening that something isn’t right, and Emma-Rose may be behind it. Evening puts this out of her mind and begins her summer internship project: To simulate the creation of the perfect boy. With the help of Solo, Evening uncovers secrets so big they could change the world completely.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Read-a-thon with Romance Book Junkies

And the read-a-thon has started!  Yay!

I am a little late posting my intro because once again our ADSL is having hick-ups.  I am so tired of all our network and internet problems, I could just scream!  But let’s not get distracted by the bad .. .

The goal of this read-a-thon is to read for 24 hours.  Those hours can be broken up however you feel like and for those of you that are hard core reading ninjas, one sitting will do :)

My reading list is very short (I am a slow reader) but these are the two books I plan on getting into:

Angels' Flight

 

The Casual Vacancy

What is on your reading list?

Monday, September 24, 2012

Book Review: Fireworks with JanBraai

 

Title: Fireworks
Author: JanBraai
Genre: Recipe Book
Publisher:   Bookstorm and Pan MacMillan
Source: Review copy from Pan MacMillan South Africa

“Gas is Afrikaans for a guest at your braai, not something you braai with.”

When this book arrived in my home, I was not the first one to page through it.  I literally had to wait in line – and then pry it out of my husband’s hands.  What an awesome book!  I loved the little wisecracks and the photos are amazing.  When it came to the review, the foodie in our family jumped right in volunteering to do the honours.  So let’s get right to it.

Over to my brother-in-law, Shaun.

Rule 8:   Animals eat grass, leaves and vegetables all their lives and convert it to meat…..

So it is with this firm conviction I page through the new JanBraai Fireworks book. Now one sometimes gets that glare from one’s much better half (you know, the less carnivorous one) that does not need to be translated, but roughly translated means “there is no chance we are braaing the whole week”. Well, looking across the full colour images of a landscape of succulent tjops on the grid with a back drop of crimson, red and orange coals was going to make this a difficult week. I mean its art, isn’t it?

Now every man is the king of his (or her) braai, but for now, suffice to say that perhaps some kings are more king that others. There are a number of guidelines, recommendations that are worthwhile reading through. However the only time wind speed (p16) was an issue was a hasty braai on the bracket of the Land Rover front bull bars but we resolved that problem by slowing down somewhat :)  - but you get the point.

So lets start by washing our hands.

The abundance of full page colour images is really what makes the book for me. There are a number of creative presentations and the recipes are in some ways more “how to” (the little things that make a difference). Flipping through the pages reflects scrumptious images of steaks, ribs, fish, chicken, bread and ……….. Now I specifically recall rule 8; Animals eat grass, leaves and vegetables all their lives and convert it to meat…..

Vegetables, can this be? I involuntary mutter. Suddenly from nowhere, one’s much better and less than carnivorous half echo’s, “vegetables”. Well apparently so and for some time now! I was quite happy to ignore this fact but two things; firstly, one’s much better half,, is now more amicable to more frequent braaing (trust me, this is good). And secondly, these recipes are easy, tasty and absolutely complement the meat, fish and chicken dishes, much IMAG0711like the bottle of red wine albeit almost empty. There is even a mushroom burger that’s tastes like, well a mushroom burger. But lets agree on this, suddenly our meals have become more than food on the table.

The yummies included; steak (pink in the middle or 55-57°C in the thickest part, as you wish), honey glazed pork spare ribs, boerewors rolls with tomato chilli relish, chicken flatties and some of the vegetable dishes.

There are a number of recipes that I still want to try like the Snoek (I have never had success with this in the past), the braai lasagne potjie as well as the lamb curry sosaties.

I did however happen to burn the aubergines (snigger, snigger) and my bar one melted and fell through the grid but I will recommend that you go with spirit of the book. It reads easily, handles well on the table and the pages are easily cleaned after incidental spillages. However p163 didn’t do to well with the coal that popped from the adjacent fire; perhaps justice for breaking rule 8.

There is something about a shared meal; it is a conversation, anchors families and friends. Even on the days when the atmosphere is right or you are caught up in a “discussion explored”, the community of a shared meal is a safe place protecting you from harm.

Happy Braai Day

 

Thank you Pan MacMillan South Africa

PAN MacMILLAN

Saturday, September 22, 2012

My Spotlight: Skylark

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Skylark (The Skylark Trilogy #1)

Sixteen year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.
Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.
Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret – but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Book Spotlight: The Broken Destiny by Carlyle Labuschagne

 

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I am honoured today, to share a South African author with you.  Her name is Carlyle Labuschagne and she has written this awesome book!  You will  rush out to buy it when your read this blurb – and just look at the cover.  Isn’t it gorgeous!!  Don’t forget to read till the end for the giveaway :)

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Blurb: 

An amazing new sci-fi series begins with The Broken Destiny: Book One of The Broken Series.

Ava's People have been exiled to Planet Poseidon, where through a series of horrific events, Ava discovers that their existence has been fabricated by The Council, And She has a Destiny that could save them.
Her Soul is a secret weapon that has been lost to an ancient race. To fulfil her destiny Ava needs to go through a series of "changes" that will reveal her true purpose.
Throughout her journey she will become what she hates in order to save the ones she loves. And through it all she will find herself - for that is her Destiny, to rise above the fall. 

The story continues in the next book Evanescent.

Prologue:

All my life, I had searched for something, something I thought I ought to be. I felt like I was living someone else’s life, waiting for the awakening of my own. I felt like an empty shell burning for life. That was, until the day I lay dying in the prince’s chambers. I could no longer feel the pain from the tear in my gut. The only sensation left was a hollowed-out feeling that I had made a huge mistake in assuming that taking my own life, would have stopped the ancestors’ spirit from raging out. I had given up. I didn’t want to see myself killing the ones I loved. I was the Chosen one, but I threw it all away for what I thought would save a life. Could you end a life to save a life? I did, and I have regretted it ever since. I realized then that things like me are not meant to exist. What had been missing my whole life? It was I. To find myself, I had to lose myself in the worst possible way. The consequences of my actions became the legend of The Broken.

Author Bio:
me

Carlyle Labuschagne lives in Sunny South Africa , married her high school sweetheart and shares her creativity with her two young boys. Carlyle Works as a PR and Marketing Manager by day, and writes by every other moment. She holds a diploma in creative writing through the writing school at Collage SA. Loves to swim, fights for the trees, food lover who is driven by passion for everything fantasy. Carlyle writes for IU e-magazine an inspirational nonprofit magazine that aims at inspiring the world through words. Debut author for 2012 - novel The Broken Destiny . Her ultime dream is to write songs and direct music videos. Her native language is Afrikaans and has just begun her journey into grasping the English language.

Giveaway:

6259767 (2)

Giveaway link:
http://www.carlylelabuschagne.com/revealed-tour-giveaway.html

Links :
Goodreads :  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12537426-the-broken-destiny

Website: http://www.carlylelabuschagne.com/index.html

Amazon : http://www.amazon.com/The-Broken-Destiny-Book-Series/dp/1612048722/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347867621&sr=8-1&keywords=Carlyle+labuschagne

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-destiny-carlyle-labuschagne/1112448868

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Book Launch

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Penguin Books and The Bay Bookshop take pleasure in inviting you to the launch of Simple & Delicious Recipes from the Heart / Heerlik & maklik hartskos by Alida Ryder. Alida will be in conversation with Sam Woulidge.

Please feel free to pass this invitation on to anyone you think might be interested.

Date: Thursday, 27 September

Time:            18h00 for 18h30

Venue:          The Bay Bookshop, Shop D06, Cape Quarter

                   27 Somerset Rd, Green Point

RSVP: capequarter@baybookshop.co.za or 021 421 1301 by
Tuesday, 25 September

We hope to see you there!

Saturday, September 15, 2012

My Spotlight: What’s Left of Me by Kat Zhang

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Expected publication:

September 18th 2012 by Harper

What's Left of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles, #1)

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t…
For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable–hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet…for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

My Spotlight: Rage Within (Dark Inside #2) by Jeyn Roberts

 

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I absolutely loved the first in the series, so I am very excited to continue the story in this, the second book.

Rage Within (Dark Inside, #2)

Aries, Clementine, Mason and Michael have survived the first wave of the apocalypse that wiped out most of the world's population, and turned many of the rest into murderous Baggers. Now, they're hiding out in an abandoned house in Vancouver with a ragtag group of surviving teens, and trying to figure out their next move.
Aries is trying to lead, but it's hard to be a leader when there are no easy answers, and every move feels wrong. Clementine is desperate to find her brother Heath, but it's impossible to know where he'd be, even if he is still alive. Michael is still haunted by the memories of his actions during his harrowing struggle to survive. And Mason is struggling with something far worse: the fear that he may be a danger to his friends.
As the Baggers begin to create a new world order, Aries, Clementine, Mason and Michael will have to trust and rely on each other in order to survive.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Book Blitz: Soul Sisters by Janiera Eldridge



I am so excited to introduce you to a new author on my blog today. 
Please meet Janiera Eldridge.  Her book, Soul Sisters, sounds awesome! 
Just look at this blurb.
Night club
Blurb:

Soul Sisters is an urban
 fantasy novel about African-American twin sisters Ani and Dana who have
 a rather unique secret: one sister is human while the other is a 
vampire.  While the sisters have lived peacefully with each other for 
many years one fateful night will change both their lives forever. When a
 drunken man tries to attack Dana (the human sister) Ani (the vampire 
sister) protects her sister with all of her ferocious power. 

However, when the vampire’s leader Donovan finds out about the public display he calls for the sisters to be assassinated for disobedience. Ani and Dana now are in for the fight of their lives to protect each other as well as the lives of their dedicated friends who have joined them on their mission for survival. If Dana and Ani can make it through this time of uncertainty, Ani can take her new place as vampire queen. Soul Sisters is expected to be a trilogy; The book also features a multicultural cast of characters that brings a new edge of
chic to the vampire world.  

Author bio:

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Janiera Eldridge loved feeding her book addiction and putting all her crazy stories on paper. When she is not immersed in the world of fiction, she is working hard on various freelance writing projects.

Janiera also enjoys connecting with other authors and supporting their work on her book blog Books&Beauty.



http://www.janieraeldridge.blogspot.com


Social media links:
Blog:
Beauty and Books: http://janieraeldridge.blogspot.com/


Twitter: http://twitter.com/lazenbeauty


Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/janiera.eldridge.1


Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jaeldridge18/



Book buying links:
Amazon


Smashwords  

Please excuse the editing on this post - blogger hates me and I am unable to re-format no matter what I try.  I hope you can still enjoy the yummy-ness that is Soul Sisters!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

My Spotlight: The Forsaken by Lisa M Stasse

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The Forsaken (The Forsaken, #1)

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.
The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.