Haven: A Stranger Magic - Book Review

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I was lucky enough to be picked to receive, read and review two books by the new up and coming author D.C. Akers. I finished and reviewed the first book just last week. It was originally published back in 2010 and I enjoyed it. Then, I moved onto his next book, Haven: A Stranger Magic, that was released this year. Wow! What a difference a couple of years makes.

I am beyond satisfied with this book. After reading and becoming completely hooked on both the Harry Potter and Twilight series, I am rarely completely happy after reading a new book. I have gone so far as to reread each of those series almost seven times each. My husband thinks this is silly, funny...and hopefully a tiny bit endearing, as I will surely read them at least that many more times in my lifetime. I truly feel, and am predicting here in writing, that Haven is going to be the next big thing when it comes to young adult fiction. I finally have a new series to look forward to, with ants in my pants, anxious for the next book to come out.

Haven: A Stranger Magic begins the tale of two average teens stumbling upon the extraordinary. Not only is the story the beginning of an exciting new adventure, but D.C. Akers captures the tone of family life, sibling squabbles and being a thirteen year old kid in general perfectly. I will not spoil it for you but I will warn you that this book is going to go too fast and you will, like me, be counting down the days until book two, Haven: Revenge of the Viper, can be in your hands, curled up on the couch, ready to dig into. Happy reading!

P.S. ... D.C., keep that phone in your pocket because I see a movie deal in your future.



Like D.C. Akers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDCAkers

Follow on Twitter: @DC_Akers https://twitter.com/DC_Akers

Visit the website: http://www.dc-akers.com/books

Or find him on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dcakers1/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Haven-Stranger-fantasy-Paranormal-ebook/dp/B00CR4IR7A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1376946636&sr=8-1&keywords=d.c.+akers

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOM69170bbd70059a32811e01ee0ef70459">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Great Clips: The Great List!

I am sure most of you have heard of Great Clips. I have been taking my two older sons there for haircuts for many years now. They are close to home, have great customer service and are nice and quick. My husband also switched over to Great Clips after we couldn't afford for him to go to Kalla Lily Salon anymore. Great Clips offers online check in, which is very nice for a busy mother like me. I can go online, see how long the wait is and then add my sons to the list while we are out running errands. Very convenient. Very user friendly.

Great Clips is running a contest right now called The Great List! It is super easy to enter. Upload a picture of or file with your child's back to school supply list along with the online entry form and you could win school supplies! You have through Sunday 8/18/2013 to enter the contest. They are announcing winners daily. Hurry up and get your school supply list in! And good luck.

Website: http://www.greatclips.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/GreatClips

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/GreatClips

* I received two free haircuts, one for each of my older sons and some of their school supplies as compensation for this post. My opinions are honest and my own.

Terra Vonnel & the Skulls of Aries: Book Review

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Image from: http://www.dc-akers.com/books

Terra Vonnel & The Skulls of Aries is a novella written by D.C. Akers. It is about a precocious young female pirate, holding her own in a world full of violence and men. She is determined and driven, not allowing a single obstacle to stand in her way. This book would be a great addition to the library of any young adult reader in your world.

I would rate this book PG-13 for the violence, but it is not gore and no worse than a typical teen video game. It was a quick read for me: an hour and a half at most. Reading it was like eating a piece of hard candy. Delicious at first and half way through you chew it right up and suddenly it is all gone, leaving you wanting another piece. I would be excited to see this as a young adult series and the adventures that Terra could encounter in the future.

Curious? You can find a copy for your self here:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Terra-Vonnel-Skulls-Aries-ebook/dp/B003ZK5PXY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

Like D.C. Akers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDCAkers

Follow on Twitter: @DC_Akers https://twitter.com/DC_Akers

Visit the website: http://www.dc-akers.com/books

Or find him on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dcakers1/

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tomoson.com/?code=BOTTOM1e6e61fcc531d15ed6b53cbd6731cc87">Tomoson.com</a>. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Lullaby Babies: Review & Giveaway!

Let me begin by saying that I have never been a fan of children's music. Besides the Disney animated major motion picture soundtracks, most children's music gets on my nerves. Be it lullabies, cartoon theme music, specifically written for children CD's and what have you. I do not know where they find their musicians and their singers. I usually feel like the music is lazy. As if they don't try as hard because it is just going to be for children and what do children know anyway. As a musician and someone who was raised around music all of my life, most doesn't make the cut for me.

I was recently given a free download of a new lullaby album so that I may review it here for you. Goodness knows, I love free, so I had to give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised. Lullabies The Classical Collection is literally music to my ears. When I first played it for my ten month old twin sons, they each immediately stopped what they were doing and just sat and listened. Big smiles spread across both of their faces. One of them crawled over to me, climbed into my lap and let me just cuddle him quietly for half the album. It was so sweet. He also attempted to baby hum to the music. I call it baby humming but what he actually did was open his mouth and let out long happy baby noises to go along with the beautiful music, as if he were trying to sing. It was very precious.

All ten tracks are beautifully and tastefully done on a classical guitar. Simple and gentle. My personal favorite is Eine Kleine Nachtsmusik by Mozart. (German for A Little Serenade) This version is a little slower than I have heard it in the past and makes for a wonderful baby lullaby. Not only am I listening to it all over again while I type, this album will be a part of my regular routine for the babies now. If all children's music were this beautiful, I would own a whole lot more of it.

Where, you ask, can you find this spectacular music for your own little bundle of joy? Lullaby Babies is a company based in the United Kingdom. You can visit their website at http://www.lullaby-babies.co.uk to purchase and download your own copy today. You can also listen to free audio clips of the tracks on their website, which is a nice touch. They have a whole website of unique baby gifts to choose from, too. One great option they offer is a personalized lullaby that you can download. There are hundreds of baby names to choose from that can be added into one of their specific lullabies. I found both my twins names, Eddie and Zayne on the list. You can even listen to what it will sound like before you buy it. I let Zayne listen to his name version in the audio clip and he looked up at me and giggled when he heard his name. Adorable!

Website: www.lullaby-babies.co.uk

Like them on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lullabybabies.co.uk

Find them on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lullabybabies

One of my lucky readers will be given a code to download their own copy of the beautiful album Lullabies The Classical Collection! Enter here:


a Rafflecopter giveaway


* I received one free download in order to complete my review. All of my opinions are my own and truthful.