Colleen Hoover Creates Another Masterpiece

I'll make this short and sweet...

This may be my favorite book of 2015.  It also may be Colleen Hoover's best work to date.

You will not just love this book, you will devour it.  You will laugh and cry and gasp and yell and smile.  And just when you think you've seen the last twist, Hoover will find another way to surprise you.

Get it by clicking here.  Now.  Go.  Hurry.

Trudy Stiles Continues to Bring Us "Epic" Books

The thing that sets Trudy Stiles apart from other authors is her ability to take her own experiences and turn them into a heartfelt story.

Take "Dear Emily" for example.  The letters in "Dear Emily" are real letters she wrote to her daughter as they went through their own adoption process.  To me, that makes the story so much more real and personal.

"Epic Sins" is her latest example of real life experiences come to life.  

It's the story of Garrett and Samantha.  They are thrown together by difficult life circumstances that came in the shape of a newborn, and have to learn how to navigate through it all.  

I so enjoyed watching Garrett learn how to not put himself first.  I so enjoyed watching Samantha learn how to let her guard down.  But the true star of this story was Kai, the baby.  

As a mother of a two month old, I only recently started sleeping through the night (somewhat.  It depends on what your definition of "through the night" is).  We've got all his reflux and protein sensitivities under control, so he doesn't cry unless he's hungry or dirty now.  And he smiles at us, which makes my day every time.

But to watch Kai go through withdrawals was heartbreaking.  To live through the difficulties of parenting a drug addicted baby was fascinating.  And to know it is all bases on real life events, to me, that was the epic part.

There's one other thing that's worth noting.  Several of the characters from Ms. Stiles' "Forever Family" series popped in and out of the storyline as well.  It was fun seeing small follow ups of their lives. Especially Emily.  Seeing her family all together, that made my heart happy.

Overall, "Epic Sins" was a wonderful read.  But I honestly didn't expect anything less.  This story was very personal to Ms. Stiles, and it very much comes through.  You don't want to miss out on seeing the real kinds of struggles real children face.  Get it by clicking here.

And by the way, if you haven't read "Dear Emily" yet, it's another very personal story to her.  One-click it here.  It's free right now!

This was definitely a great beginning to what is sure to be an "Epic" series.

Kristie Cook Joins Others to Bring Us Some Interactive Reading

I have been following Kristie Cook since I randomly found her book "Promise" and fell in love with her stories.  So imagine how excited I was when an ARC of "The Wolves" landed in my Kindle the other day. 

Very excited.  

"The Wolves" follows Sundae Grayson, a werewolf who is ready to leave her pack and explore life on her own.  But that's not how things turn out for this 22-year old.  Due to a series of events involving the Daemoni (those are the bad guys for those of you who haven't read the "Soul Savers" series yet), Sundae is not only forced back into the pack. She's forced to lead it.  Her first act as the leader is a mission that will quite literally, save the world.

While it isn't part of the "Soul Savers" series (one of my absolute favorites), it's a parallel storyline.  And a really good one at that.  It was a treat for me to see that when it comes to saving the world from evil, it takes more than just angels.  It takes courageous acts from all kinds of creatures.

Even if you haven't read the "Soul Savers" series yet (what are you waiting for??  "Promise" is free!!), you will enjoy " The Wolves".  It's a fantastic installment of the "Supernatural Chronicles".  Get it by clicking here for only $0.99.

But that's not all.  Oh no.  This is where things get exciting:

As I was getting ready to write up my review, I noticed "The Wolves" is listed as the second installment in the series.

Huh?

I then noticed that the first installment, "The Skinwalkers" was written by someone else.  Looking even closer, every single installment is written by someone different.  Not knowing why this is, I went ahead and contacted Ms. Cook personally to find out what is going on!  Here's what she said:

"They are a series of books, each written by a different author, each about a different supernatural creature.  The first 9 stories are about a supernatural race given a riddle to solve and they have to bring a relic to the cemetery in New Orleans before the veil between our physical world and the Other one falls."

Well now I'm intrigued.  But guess what?  It gets better:

"The last book, The Noir, wraps up the overall story...Make sure you collect the relics because there is a scavenger hunt at the end with some amazing prizes.  BTW, if you joins us in the Dynamis' Dynamic Readers Facebook group, you'll get all the info and be able to stay on top of all the giveaways and fun."

That.  Is.  Freaking.  COOL!!!

Of course, I immediately added myself to the group.  And you'll want to as well.  This is an amazing interactive concept and I don't think any of us want to miss out.

The book itself was fantastic.  But this...THIS cements the rating:

WE HAVE A WINNER!!

Congratulations to the winner of the signed copy of "Unspoken" by Brenda Rothert.  Our winner, as chosen by Random.org is.....

WhyamIdoingthis

CONGRATULATIONS!!

You have 7 days to email me at chelleauthorstalker@gmail.com to claim your prize!  Please make sure to send me your full name and mailing address.

And if you haven't read "Unspoken" yet, you  need to!  Brenda Rothert is one of my absolute favorites!  You can get it by clicking here.

Happy Reading and Happy Halloween!!

It's a Signed Paperback Giveaway!!!!!

Brenda Rothert was one of our original Diamonds in the Rough when this blog started out last year.  But she's isn't "in the rough" anymore. She is polished and shiny and still one of my favorite authors!

Her latest creation "Barely Breathing" releases in less than two weeks!!!

So to celebrate, we're giving away a signed copy of one of our favs, "Unspoken".

It's easy enough to enter.  Just follow these 3 simple instructions:

1)  "Like" Brenda's author page by clicking here.
2)  "Like" the Diamonds in the Rough page by clicking here.
3)  Comment below with what your favorite Brenda Rothert book is.

See?  Easy!

Winner will be picked at random on Friday!!

Good luck and Happy Reading!

Kristin and I Agree....This is One of the Best Books of 2015!

Kristin here. It’s been a while and life has gotten me off track a little. I’m back now and am so excited about my newest Diamond(s) KL Grayson and BT Urruela who co-authored "A Lover’s Lament".

This book. 

This. 

Book. 

It’s a rare treat for me to find a first time author that I know will be one I follow for the rest of their careers. BT Urruela is one of those authors for me. What he and KL Grayson did with the story is phenomenal. I’m not even sure I have the words to express how much I truly loved this book. The story was seamless, even going back and forth between the two different POVs. For two authors that don’t know each other well, this is an incredible feat to accomplish. I have been kicking myself over the fact that I haven’t read anything by Ms. Grayson until now. I will be remedying that asap.

Anyway, let’s get back to the book! Forget the synopsis and just read this book. Seriously, it’s in my top 5 of the year and I have really high expectations. Like I said earlier, the story is written in alternating POVs; Devin and Katie tell us their story together and it meshes perfectly. We get a glimpse of their childhood growing up together and see how their friendship grew into something more. Of course there’s angst and heartache, but it’s balanced with such realness that you don’t normally see in romance novels. Katie is such a strong female lead and I felt an inseparable bond with her by the end of the book. She’s a character that I wish I could reach into the book and just give a big ole hug. We’re friends now and friends give hugs!

Reading from Devin’s POV was probably my favorite part of the story because he lays it all out there for the readers to see. Nothing is sugar coated or polished to make it easier to handle. We get a look inside the front lines like I’ve never seen before. Several times I could imagine myself right there with him seeing the bullets ricochet off the walls and hearing the explosions ringing in my ears.

This will definitely be a story that stays with me for a while. One I will keep coming back to, reading it over and over until I have it memorized. I am so excited to have added two more authors to my list of Greats and look forward to watching their success continue in the future.  You can get A Lover’s Lament by clicking here.   

By the way, I have picked up two of KL Grayson’s other titles; Where We Belong & Pretty Pink Ribbons. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and she will be donating all proceeds from the sales of these two books to breast cancer research. You can get Where We Belong by clicking here and you can get Pretty Pink Ribbons by clicking here. 

I think it’s fairly safe to say that I enjoyed this book. I give "A Lover’s Lament" 5 shining Diamonds!

Take it From Someone Who Knows..Make Sure You Read Lisa DeJong's Latest Series in the Right Order

I made a fatal mistake when reading this book.

Call it post partum baby brain or just plain ditziness.  But somehow, I didn't realize "Love Unspoken" by Lisa DeJong is Book #2 in the "Flawed Love" series.  For about half of the book, I kept wondering what I was missing.  I was waiting for there to be some flashbacks or some sort of background information to be revealed.  Finally, I figured it out...I was missing the first book.  Hence, why I was so confused.  It wasn't my finest moment.

To be clear, I immediately downloaded "Lies Unspoken" so I could catch up.  But before I continue with my review, if you haven't read "Lies Uspoken",  STOP READING THIS REVIEW and go grab it by clicking here.  It's only $0.99 and it will give you all the background info you need to make "Love Unspoken" a much better read.

Because I read the second book in the series first, I'm recognize that my opinion is going to be a little different than if I had done it right.  So take it for what you will.

"Love Unspoken" is the sequel follow up to the rather screwed up love life of Lila.  She's nursing a really bad break up that left her reeling and is trying to figure out how to move on.  Considering she has a sexy boss that is damn near perfect and really into her, it seems like it should be easy.  But the heart doesn't forget as easily as we'd like it to.

I wish I could say I loved Lila.  I didn't.  I liked her.  I understood her.  I totally got where she was coming from.  But I also felt she was kind of wishy-washy.  She would make up her mind and then change it.  I know we all do that, but I felt bad for all the players involved because of it.

I also didn't care for Blake.  I wanted to.  I really, really did.  Even after going back and reading the first book.  I 100% understood where he was coming from.  He has dealt with lots of crap.  But I wanted to say, "No way, Bucko.  You screwed up so bad, you can't fix this."

Don't misunderstand me.  Lisa DeJong has an amazing way with words.  I have dabbled in writing myself and I kept finding myself thinking, "How does she make the simplest things sound so beautiful?" For the writing alone, I recommend reading the book.  Get it by clicking here.

If you enjoyed the first one, "Lies Unspoken" won't disappoint.  There is heartache.  There are happy moments.  There is closure for everyone involved.  The truth is, you don't have to love a character to be happy they get the best resolution for them.

But take it from me...if you ever pick up a book that says the word "series" anywhere on it, make sure you have read the first one.  I suspect I screwed myself out of enjoying this series more than I already did.

Despite my blunder, the writing alone deserves at least