Pages

Showing posts with label Double Decker Books Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Double Decker Books Review. Show all posts

Monday, April 18, 2016

Blog Tour: Young Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom



BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE – Young Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom
AUTHOR – Cheryl Carpinello
GENRE – Middle Grade Arthurian Legend
PUBLICATION DATE –2016/2012
LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 120 Pages
PUBLISHER – Beyond Today Educator
COVER ARTIST – Kaytalin Platt










Book Information:

Book Blurb


Three friends. Three quests. Three mysterious predictions.

In medieval Wales, eleven-year-old Prince Gavin, thirteen-year-old orphan Philip, and fifteen-year-old blacksmith's apprentice Bryan are brought together in friendship by one they call the Wild Man. When an advisor to the king is killed and a jewelled medallion is stolen from the king's treasury, the Wild Man is accused of the theft and murder. Filled with disbelief at the arrest of the Wild Man, the three friends embark upon a knight's quest to save their friend's life. To succeed, the three must confront their fears and insecurities, and one of them will have to disclose the biggest secret of all. Join Gavin, Philip, and Bryan on their quest and share the adventures that await them in the land of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Formats: All eBooks formats and paperback
Book Links












#1


Though he tried to keep track of the turns Gavin made, Philip became lost as they went
down a set of stairs to the right and then took another staircase up and turned left. They seemed to be walking in circles.
Gavin stopped in front of a tapestry whose bright colors had long ago faded. Still visible,
however, was the scene depicting a royal stag. Philip recognized the stag, its proud head held high, its regal stance, and its color...white.
Even he had heard of the white stag. The tales told of kings whose hunts for the animal had destroyed their kingdoms. It was said only the one true king of all Britain would succeed in capturing the white stag. And, if the king released the stag, his kingdom would stand forever, his descendants ruling until none were left. There was talk among the villagers that King Arthur had done just that, and he was the true king of all Britain.
Gavin’s hand on his arm pulled Philip back from his musings. Gavin raised a corner of the tapestry and disappeared behind it. Philip followed, trembling as he touched the cloth of legend.

#2
“Won’t you be missed?” Bryan asked. “You won’t be back before dark.”
Gavin shook his head. “Not tomorrow. The king still has a castle to run, my brothers will be out with the knights, and my mother will be busy with the funeral for Aldred.”
The look of concern in his friends’ faces forced him to go on. “I’ll be all right,” he said,
trying to reassure them. “We swore the Knight’s Oath to save the Wild Man. We have no choice. I have no choice. This is my test to see if I can be a true prince of Pembroke.” He paused and then added softly, “I have to do this.”
“We know,” Philip said.
“Be careful. Don’t get caught tomorrow,” Bryan warned.
They shook hands, and Gavin watched his friends go their separate ways. Once alone, doubt edged into his thoughts. The memories of his nightmares made him tremble. He shook off the fear and then stood and stared at the castle, afraid he might not see it again.
“I wonder if this is how a knight feels on the eve of battle?” he said. “You can do this,
Gavin,” he continued. “You are a Pembroke Prince, and the Wild Man’s life hangs on your courage.”




Author Information


AUTHOR BIO


I am a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those young-at-heart to read more through my Quest Books set in these worlds.

Also please visit my other sites: Carpinello’s Writing Pages where I interview Childrens/Tween/MG/YA authors; and The Quest Books where I’ve teamed up with Fiona Ingram from South Africa and Wendy Leighton-Porter of Abu Dhabi to enable readers to find our Ancient and Medieval quest books in one place.

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS
















Monday, December 14, 2015

Blog Tour Next Door To A Star


NEXT DOOR TO A STAR by Krysten Lindsay Hager
Genre: Young Adult
SYNOPSIS
Hadley Daniels is tired of feeling invisible.
After Hadley’s best friend moves away and she gets on the bad side of some girls at school, she goes to spend the summer with her grandparents in the Lake Michigan resort town of Grand Haven. Her next door neighbor is none other than teen TV star Simone Hendrickson, who is everything Hadley longs to be—pretty, popular, and famous—and she’s thrilled when Simone treats her like a friend.
Being popular is a lot harder than it looks.
It’s fun and flattering when Simone includes her in her circle, though Hadley is puzzled about why her new friend refuses to discuss her former Hollywood life. Caught up with Simone, Hadley finds herself ignoring her quiet, steadfast friend, Charlotte.
To make things even more complicated, along comes Nick Jenkins…
He’s sweet, good-looking, and Hadley can be herself around him without all the fake drama. However, the mean girls have other ideas and they fill Nick’s head with lies about Hadley, sending him running back to his ex-girlfriend and leaving Hadley heartbroken.
So when her parents decide to relocate to Grand Haven, Hadley hopes things will change when school starts…only to be disappointed once again.
Cliques. Back-stabbing. Love gone bad.
Is this really what it’s like to live…Next Door To A Star?



Book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnLXsu2c43k


Excerpt from Next Door to a Star
“Hadley, did you see the new Celebrity Snooper blog today?” Aunt Faith asked. “Simone is in it with
Lauren Gere.”
“What? She didn’t say anything about that. Werethese super old pictures?”
“Here,” she said. “I’ll pull it up on my phone. It’s Simone and Lauren walking along the boardwalk with some blonde girl and a boy.”
“Does it say when that happened?” I asked. I couldn’t believe Simone wouldn’t have mentioned
Lauren had already been here.
Faith found the site on her phone and stared at it. “I’m not sure, but I guess it was pretty recent. Here,
look.”
Simone was on the phone in the picture and the blonde girl with them was Morgan. But what was worse  was that the boy was Nick and Lauren had her hand on his arm. Great, it was probably the same night I called Simone and she was too busy to talk. Maybe I was the one on the other end of the phone in the stupid picture. I had missed my chance to meet Lauren, and Simone never even told me when she was in town. I guess I wasn’t cool enough for her to admit she was friends with me to somebody like Lauren. Who was I kidding? A TV star wanting to hang out with me? We weren’t friends at all. I was somebody she ran to when she needed something. And Nick was probably humoring me until his new celebrity girlfriend called him back. I wanted to throw up all over the table.
Excerpt #2
Charlotte called later and asked if I wanted to go with her to the party tomorrow .I went to put on my fake tan and imagined myself walking into the party looking all tan and gorgeous, and everyone would be wondering who I was and why they hadn’t asked me to hang out with them before. Connor and Lucas would want my phone number, Nick would be begging me to go out with him, Simone would realize I was cool, and Morgan would want to be my friend.
Then reality set in. First, the fake tan squirted out of the bottle all gooey. I rubbed the cold cream all over my arms and legs and put a little on my face. Simone had said you had to wash your hands well or it would stain your palms. I wasn’t sure how to put the tanning stuff on the back of my hands without getting it on my palms and drying, so I decided not to put any on my hands at all. I sat on some paper towels so I wouldn’t get any brown stuff on my bed, but it seemed to dry fast.
I woke up the next morning and I was definitely darker. My face was kind of orange, but my arms and legs had streaks on them. It was like somebody had burned me with a curling iron. Plus, my hands looked like I had white gloves on compared to the rest of me. I couldn’t go to the party all streaky.
People would make fun of me. I thought about putting the tanning stuff on all the lighter places on my body, but then it might look like I had a disease.
I ended up wearing a long sleeved shirt and jeans to the party. Charlotte had on a t-shirt and shorts when she came to pick me up.
“Aren’t you hot wearing all that?” she asked.
“I want to be covered for the mosquitoes,” I said. “Malaria is nothing to mess around with.”
I wasn’t the only one wearing jeans at the party, but I felt like I was dressed for a winter carnival when I saw Morgan and Pilar. Pilar had a deep pink halter top on with tiny jean shorts, and she had put some shimmery stuff all over her arms and legs. Morgan was wearing a blue crocheted tank top, and she would have passed for at least seventeen. She had her curly blonde hair down for a change, and all the guys were sitting around her.
“She’s so fake-looking,” Charlotte said as we watched Morgan and Lucas dance.
Morgan seemed so confident as she moved her hips. I wouldn’t be able to dance so free even if I was alone in my own bedroom. I was glad I had worn jeans because I would have seemed like a skinny kid next to Morgan’s muscular legs.



 Bio: Krysten Lindsay Hager is an obsessive reader and has never met a bookstore she didn’t like. She’s worked as a journalist and humor essayist, and writes for teens, tweens, and adults. She is the author of the Landry’s True Colors Series and the new Star Series and her work has been featured in USA Today and named as Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Teen & Young Adult Values and Virtues Fiction and Amazon’s #1 Hot New Releases in Children’s Books on Values. Krysten writes about  friendship, self-esteem, fitting in, middle school and high school, frenemies, modeling, crushes, values, and self-image in True Colors and Best Friends…Forever? as well as in, Next Door to a Star. The sequel to Next Door to a Star (Competing with the Star: Star Series: Book 2) will be out March 22nd and the 3rd book in the Landry’s True Colors Series (Landry in Like: Book 3) will be out January 12th.
She is originally from Michigan and has lived in Portugal, South Dakota, and currently resides in southwestern Ohio where you can find her reading and writing when she’s not catching up on her favorite shows. She received her master’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Links

Buy on











Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Rising Shadows & Chasing Shadows by Ashley Townsend

Book Blurb from Amazon: 
  Sarah Matthews didn’t think a little taste of adventure this summer was too much to ask. But when she finds herself transported to the twelfth century, she learns she must be careful what she wishes for.

   After Sarah’s closest companion—and her ticket home—is arrested on charges of witchcraft, Sarah finds herself trapped in this dangerous land and alone in her knowledge of a dangerous conspiracy. Knowing that she has no chance of stopping the treachery and saving her friend on her own, Sarah seeks help from the Shadow, a masked hero who has already saved her life once. As they work together to unravel the truth before it’s too late, Sarah realizes that it isn’t the Shadow who she’s come to rely on, but Will, a handsome and intriguing blacksmith who’s plagued by the secrets and pains of his past.

Sweet Willows Review:
   

     Ashley’s story plot around time travel and adventures that kept me guessing and at the edge of my seat; her character Sarah encounters conspiracy and finds herself alone in a world by herself. Ashley develops her characters well and the plot will drive you to want to read more, even after finishing. 

Authors Bio from Amazon:

    Ashley is a young twenty-something who has been spinning tales since she discovered that her wild imagination and love of storytelling could make a career. Reading and writing are her way of experiencing grand adventures from home, and her first two books "Rising Shadows" and
"Chasing Shadows" became a way for others to join in her fantastical escapades. She is a native to bookstores, coffee shops, the beach, and San Diego, CA. She also has an unexplainable aversion to clowns and describes outlines as a "proverbial noose." Follow her quirkiness on http://ashley-townsend.com/ https://www.facebook.com/ashleytownsend.author https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5839773.Ashley_Townsend https://twitter.com/TownsendTales 



Book Blurb from Amazon:

   Would you choose to entwine your fate with a hero of the past, even if it meant altering the future? The murder of an ancient king spurs Sarah Matthews to travel back in time, putting her life in jeopardy as she races against the clock to solve a thousand-year-old mystery and pick up the pieces of her star-crossed romance. Her return to Serimone reveals that the kingdom is in upheaval under the new regime, and unable to right the empire alone, Sarah seeks out the help of Will, the town's blacksmith and secret vigilante. But her hopes of rekindling their fairy tale romance are dashed when a discovery about his past severs their fragile relationship. Confused and alone, Sarah throws herself into her mission at the castle, though the fearsome solitude of the stonework prison causes her to seek out an unlikely ally. Damien Lisandro is a dashing Spaniard who brightens her dull world with his kindness and disarming charm. But as Sarah draws closer to him and to the faceless killer in their midst, she realizes that the severed threads of time and the mystery surrounding Serimone Castle are unraveling rapidly, weaving new tapestries of devastation. When a counterfeit Shadow tragically claims the life of someone Sarah cares for, and with Damien running from a dark past and secrets of his own, she wonders whom she can trust. Knowing the murders are connected, Sarah scrambles to uncover the identity of the impostor on her own. But as more lives are lost in her personal crusade, she questions how far she is willing to go to bring the guilty party to justice. Sarah is forced into harm's way countless times as she races to solve the puzzle before it is too late and Serimone becomes nothing more than a faded memory of the past. . . And before Sarah herself becomes a permanent fixture in history.

Sweet Willows Review:
 

Ashley does it again! She keeps you guessing and right at the edge of your seat! Loved the first book!  This is a must read for anyone, I really believe that Ashley has great potential in writing and I really hope she goes a long ways with it.