SPOOKTACULAR! ONE WINNER, TWO GREAT READS FOR HALLOWEEN & A HUGE GIVEAWAY HOP

Hello Spooktacular friends of FLY HIGH! Like every year the spooky time to win a great fantasy or mystery story to celebrate Halloween has come. The giveaway hop is organized by Kathy at I'm A Reader.  Here at FLY HIGH! the winner will get  two best sellers in their kindle edition and the giveaway contest is open internationally. Remember to check the list of blogs participating in the hop, you've got hundreds of chances to win.  Join the fun and good luck!

Book 1. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

A New York Times #1 best seller
 
On the New York Times Best Seller List for more than 52 consecutive weeks
 
Includes an excerpt from the much-anticipated sequel and an interview with author Ransom Riggs
 
A mysterious island.


 
An abandoned orphanage.


 
A strange collection of very curious photographs.


 
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive. 

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an

BOOK REVIEW - THE EDGE OF DARK BY PAMELA HARTSHORNE

A dark, page-turning tale from Pamela Hartshorne, author of The Memory of Midnight and Time's Echo, and a perfect read for fans of Barbara Erskine and Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series.

Part of a trilogy 

This novel shares much with the previous two in the trilogy, Time’s Echo and The Memory of Midnight - which I both read and reviewed - but it is not a sequel, nor a prequel,  the three plots and the characters are not related any way.
The three novels share the geographical setting (York), the time-slip pattern (Elizabethan Age/present day), the presence of supernatural events and the fact of having two female protagonists.

In The Edge of Dark, the two heroines live in distant eras but share a great deal of tragicality in their respective lives. Roz Acclam is the only survivor to her family’s slaughter by fire and Jane Birkby faces the outcomes of her vow on  deathbed  and the hardship of being a woman in the 16th century. “Beware what you wish for” may well be the leit motiv for them both.

Book Blurb

Jane believes in keeping her promises but she’s caught on a twisting path of deceit and joy that takes her from the dark secrets of Holmwood House in York to the sign of the golden lily in London's Mincing Lane. Getting what you want, Jane discovers, comes at a price. For the child that she longed for, the child she promised to love and to keep safe, turns out to be a darker spirit than she could ever have imagined.

AMNESTY: BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL

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Amnesty by Jo Noelle

 Cassie is going to heaven—if she can get amnesty from hell in the next twenty days. Her assignment is to change the eternal destination of a girl in Albuquerque to earn admittance into heaven. No sweat. But when Cassie returns to earth during her three-week, mostly-mortal assignment, her old habits get in the way, (apparently habits don’t die when you do), the partners assigned to help her are anything but helpful, and it turns out the girl she is supposed to help is the only enemy she made on her first day of school. Oh, I’m so going to hell. Things aren’t all bad—it helps to have a hot angel on your side. Mmm-Marc. Even though he’s all about heavenly business, Cassie would like to make it personal. Assignment with benefits. This young adult novel is a coming of age story with a clean romance, packed with action and suspense.

Get your copy from AMAZON.com

Author Jo Noelle

 Jo Noelle grew up in Colorado and Utah but also spent time in Idaho and California. She has two adult children and three small kids. She teaches teachers and students about reading and writing, grows freakishly large tomatoes, enjoys cooking especially for desserts, builds furniture, sews beautiful dresses, and likes to go hiking in the nearby mountains. Oh, and by the way, she’s two people— Canda Mortensen and Deanna Henderson, a mother/daughter writing team. They began writing separately several years ago but found the process much more fun when they started collaborating. They are debut authors, with

BOOK BLAST & FLASH GIVEAWAY - SPELL FOR SOPHIA BY ARIELLA MOON

Spell for Sophia

 Sophia Perez-Hidalgo’s survival depends upon her mastering magic and the supernatural before her lawless parents and their vengeful boss catch up to her. How far must she flee to escape them forever? Sophia runs until she’s out of stolen money, then…Fate delivers her into the arms of Louisiana teen Shiloh Breaux Martine, and his grand-mère, a voodoo priestess living deep in the bayou. Breaux knows Sophia is trouble — but he’ll travel through time, battle zombies, and risk his bright future to protect her. While Ainslie, best friend extraordinaire, will jeopardize her sanity to find and aid Sophia. When friendship, magic, and love are not enough, Sophia will have to save herself. But first, she must believe she’s worth saving. Sometimes the worst scars are the ones you cannot see.  

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 The Teen Wytche Saga by Ariella Moon

 Think magic will solve your problems? Bring you love? Cure you? Protect you? Help you find someone who is lost? Think again. Magic tests friendships. It hisses, chirps, stinks up the room, backfires, and explodes. Magic forces you to make tough decisions. Shatter limitations. Discover your true self. When you use magic, expect results in the ultimate triple-un—unpredictable, uncontrollable, and so undeniable. And you thought navigating high school was tough.   

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - THE LAST ENCHANTRESS BY SCOTT AND JUDITH POWELL

The Last Enchantress by Scott & Judith Powell

 Being nineteen for over three hundred years bites, and being single in New York with magical powers isn't much better. Eva is trying to live an everyday life in New York. When this fails, she takes a seemingly unmagical job as a translator for a wealthy American family in Spain. Eva cannot stay out of trouble for long as she runs into a friendly but hungry vampire named Louis. Eva feels drawn to this handsome, dangerous stranger who has problems of his own. Louis's life was just fine until Eva walked into his church. She smells like heaven. Or is it hell, always smelling but never partaking? Surely she is the devil coming to collect on his lost soul.

Amazon

Download a FREE copy of The Last Enchantress

Available December 15th to 17th

SPOTLIGHT ON ... LACING SHADOWS: ANTHOLOGY

Lose yourself in the Shadows…

Five young women each encounter a different supernatural force: seductive werewolves, shadowy vampires, dangerous fae, mysterious ghosts, and nightmare creatures.

Asia, a young college student, struggles between two seductive temptations. Farren is desperate to escape her heart-wrenching grief when she encounters vampires. Holly finds herself home alone on winter break when she rescues a handsome Fae. Lena has always been aware of a world beyond our own when she attempts to help a mysterious ghost. Ruby is entranced by a creature made of nightmares...

Lace yourself in scintillating tales of fated meetings, undying love, and eternal life.

Lacing Shadows features New Adult paranormal tales from five talented authors.

Spirit of the Wolf

Asia, a young college student, struggles between two seductive temptations—her boyfriend, Jesse, and a new friend, Nati. Meanwhile, hidden forces strive to draw out the wolf spirit inside her. Will she embrace her nature…or have it driven out against her will? In the end, the spirit of the wolf may be the only thing that can save her and those she holds dear.

SPOTLIGHT ON ... THE TEEN WYTCHE SAGA BY ARIELLA MOON + GIVEAWAY

The Teen Wytche Saga by Ariella Moon Think magic will solve your problems? Bring you love? Cure you? Protect you? Help you find someone who is lost? Think again. Magic tests friendships. It hisses, chirps, stinks up the room, backfires, and explodes. Magic forces you to make tough decisions. Shatter limitations. Discover your true self. When you use magic, expect results in the ultimate triple-un—unpredictable, uncontrollable, and so undeniable. And you thought navigating high school was tough.

Purchase on Amazon

  

  

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - GUARDIANS THE GIRL: BOOK 1 BY LOLA STVIL

Guardians: The Girl by Lola StVil

 ******OVER 450 FIVE STAR REVIEWS!*******

Sitting there in the car, a part of me bitterly resented what she was doing to me. I knew it wasn’t her fault. But does she have to be so... alluring? I need to focus on something else besides the spot between her earlobe and neck. It looked so soft. Her lips were slightly parted as she looked out the window. I wanted to part them further with mine. I put both my hands on the steering wheel. I could not allow myself to let go until she was out of the car. Suddenly she leaned in and kissed me. It was far better than I could even begin to explain to you. I've fought and died a slow and painful death on earth. And nothing, NOTHING can compare to how hard it was for me to pull away from her lips. I don't think any angel could to do it twice in a lifetime...

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

Excerpts  

 “Your courage is in your tears. Every time you cry, you lose a little bit more of it. That’s why you’re so breakable. Not because you’re human, because you’re always shedding courage from your eyes.”  

~~~

Marcus, choose me. Choose the path that is perilous and leads to certain annihilation because it’s also the path that leads to me. They can’t understand that we are powerless to stop what we have for each other. But we know. We know that if we don’t bend to the will of this love, it will break us.

THE MEMORY OF MIDNIGHT BY PAMELA HARTSHORNE - BOOK REVIEW

Book Blurb

One hot day in Elizabethan York, young Nell Appleby is trapped in a wooden chest, and a horror of the stifling dark - and of the man who trapped her - dogs her for the rest of her life. Wed to the sadistic Ralph Maskewe, Nell must find joy where she can, until the return of her childhood sweetheart offers a chance of flight to the New World. Will Nell risk all to escape the dark at last?

Four and a half centuries later, Tess and her small son Oscar move to York. Eager to start a new life, away from her overbearing and manipulative husband, Martin, Tess tries to put her marriage behind her. But time in York has a way of shifting strangely, and memories of a past that is not her own begin to surface with disturbing effect. Living two lives, torn between two worlds, Tess must unlock the secrets of the past before she can free herself - and Nell -once and for all.

PERIOD & MORE PERIOD - GOTHIC DRAMA SERIES: SALEM AND PENNY DREADFUL

Shane West and Janet Montgomery

Salem 

Phew! Lots of blood.  I've just finished watching this series. "Why did I ever start?", I wonder. And why did I watch all the 13 episodes in the series? I can't actually say why. Never been interested in horror movies or series. Bewitched? I don't think so. There was nothing magic in this TV series, nothing bewitching to me. 

I started watching it out of curiosity while reading The Crucible before leaving for London to see Arthur Miller's play on stage (read my review + personal report of the experience). I don't know what I expected to find, but nothing of what I did. It is obvious, but I'll make itclearer:  I didn't like it much. Witches and witch hunting, black magic and supernatural, superstition and Puritans' fear-ridden rule in 17th century Massacchussetts are the main features in this story, with a bit of romance added. There are no complex characters, no great writing. It lacks substance.  

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - INQUISITOR BY R.J. BLAIN

Inquisitor by R.J. Blain

When Allison is asked to play Cinderella-turned-Fiancee at a Halloween ball, the last thing she expected was to be accused of murder on the same night. She has to find the killer and quick, or she'll be put to death for the crimes she didn't commit. To make matters worse, the victims are all werewolves. On the short list of potential victims, Allison has to act fast, or the killer will have one more body to add to his little black book of corpses. There's only one problem: One of the deaths has struck too close to home, and Allison's desire for self-preservation may very well transform into a quest for vengeance...

                                       Amazon 

 Excerpt  

Caroline was either the best actress I’d ever seen, or she was really dead. I crouched next to her, torn between touching her neck to feel for a pulse and running away before the sweet scent of a fresh kill overwhelmed my restraint. A clock chimed ten. The power of the full moon slammed into me, tugging at my heart, and tightening my chest. The need to embrace my inner beast and become one with the night quickened my breath.

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - NIGHT CHILL BY JEFF GUNHUS

Killer Within by Jeff Gunhus

Arnie Milhouse is a murderer. A millionaire with dozens of kills in his past and no one the wiser. But when his name surfaces in connection with the death of a D.C. call girl, Arnie knows it’s only a matter of time before the FBI puts the pieces together. As he makes plans to disappear and leave his life in Annapolis behind forever, he meets a beautiful, mysterious woman who takes an interest in him. The perfect final victim. He can’t believe his luck. Only luck has nothing to do with it. Allison McNeil has returned to Annapolis, a city that she promised herself she would never come back to, not while the cruel memories of her time at the United States Naval Academy still haunt her. But she’s willing to do just about anything to get close to Arnie, even if it means having to face down the demons of her past. Her plans work and soon she and Arnie find themselves locked in a dangerous dance of seduction and betrayal. But Arnie isn’t the only one who carries a secret and the dark truth about Allison McNeil makes a final confrontation between them inevitable. Neither of them know it, but they're on a collision course that only one of them will survive.

Amazon

BOOK BLAST & GIVEAWAY - JACK TEMPLAR AND THE LORD OF THE VAMPIRES

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Jack Templar and the Lord of the Vampires 

Jack is back. After his adventures at the Monster Hunter Academy (which included fighting a goblin army, befriending an ancient werewolf, and battling two fire breathing dragons), Jack Templar was hoping for a rest. No such luck. In Book #3 of the Jack Templar Monster Hunter series, Jack embarks on a quest to track down and acquire the first of the five mythical Jerusalem Stones, an ancient power found by his ancestors the Templar Knights. Only the reunited Stones can stop Ren Lucre, the Dark Lord who holds Jack’s father hostage and prepares for an all-out war against an unsuspecting human world. But each Stone is held by a different Creach Lord and recovering them will not be easy. Jack and his friends begin their quest by seeking out one of the most powerful and dangerous keepers of the Stones, the Lord of the Vampires. The fate of the world rests on Jack’s shoulders and he will be tested like never before. But true monster hunters always do their duty…come what may. Jack Templar and the Lord of the Vampires.

Are you ready for Halloween? The Rise of Zombie "Semi-Historical" Literature: A Growing Popularity with Students and Spook Thrillers

(by guest blogger Caroline Ross)

Traditionally the "living dead" doesn’t move with great speed or finesse, but in the book publishing industry Zombies have taken off like the speed of light. Over the past few years, book stores have displayed an increasing number of zombie-related historical fiction that has seemed to do quite well with the youth—so much in fact that some titles are even appearing on required reading lists at select universities. But of course you don't need to be a student to enjoy them. If you're looking for a few good historical reads with a satirical, dark twist then check out some of these titles just in time for Halloween.

Pride, Prejudice and Zombies

Just like the title sounds, this parody piece is a smashup of the classic 1813 Jane Austen novel Pride and Prejudice with sprinkles of brain-eating zombies, courtesy of author Seth Grahame-Smith. It might seem a little bizarre to picture a zombie infested 19^th century England and a zombie-slayer Mr. Darcy, but the story line actually works. Not only does Grahame-Smith do a stellar job at creating an alternative universe within a classic story such as Pride and Prejudice, but he's also successful at bringing out the laughs—this book is funny with a capital F. (2009)