Remember two weeks ago when I told you guys I will be moving to self-hosted WordPress? Well, my site is ready now so head on over to the new The Bookish Angel!
By the way, I won’t transfer my followers/subscribers using Jetpack so if you still want to follow me you have to sign up here or head on over to my “new” blog and look for the signup form on my sidebar!
I can’t contain my excitement but guys I AM NOW MOVING TO SELF-HOSTED WORDPRESS!!! Dre from Sporadic Reads is super kind and generous to host me so now I am now a part of the reads-it family. I’m in the process of installing plugins, editing my blog design and all that good stuff so I won’t have a post in a week or two. This is so exciting I can’t even!
I’m also thinking of moving my subscribers to MailChimp. I’m not sure how it works so I have to figure it out first. If you have suggestions for using MailChimp or other sites/plugins similar to it, I could really use your help!
I will tell you guys when my site is ready so don’t worry!
See ya in a week or two! 🙂
Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t measure up to her mother’s expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps into her life with his adorable son, the ready-made family seems like a dream come true.
In the blink of an eye, she’s married, has a new baby, and life is grand.
Or is it?
When her picture-perfect marriage begins unraveling at the seams, Ava convinces herself she can fix it. It’s temporary. It’s the stress. It’s Mitchell’s tragic history of loss.
If only Ava could believe her own excuses.
Mitchell is no longer the charming, thoughtful man she married. He grows more controlling by the day, revealing a violent jealous streak. His behavior is recklessly erratic, and the unanswered questions about his past now hint at something far more sinister than Ava can stomach. Before she can fit the pieces together, Mitchell files for divorce and demands full custody of their boys.
Fueled by fierce love for her children and aided by Graham Thomas, a new attorney in town —Ava takes matters into her own hands, digging deep into the past. But will finding the truth be enough to beat Mitchell at his own game?
Center of Gravity weaves a chilling tale, revealing the unfailing and dangerous truth that things—and people—are not always what they seem.
EXCERPT
The road rushes under the wheels. I rearrange snippets of the frantic conversation. Gash. Some blood. Breathing fine. Emergency room. A few more miles to the hospital.
I flash back to this morning. Packed sack lunch, flop of dark hair across his bare forehead, navy backpack slung over one shoulder. A surge of pure love courses through my heart. A stab of worry steals my breath. I force myself to focus.
The traffic light ahead flashes green to yellow. Intersection’s clear. I push the accelerator to the floor, glance in the rearview mirror. Air from the open window catches Sam’s wisps of hair. He smiles, showing off his first few baby teeth, and reaches a chubby hand at the rays of sunshine streaking by, trying to catch the light.
Thump. Thump. The Jeep jerks to the left. I guide the wheel, hold it steady, and take my foot off the gas. When I pull over and brake, the abrupt stop sends up a dust cloud.
“Uh-oh,” Sam says.
I unbuckle, jump out, and survey the damage. A glance at the tire confirms it. Flat. Dead.
Hands on my hips, I bite my lip.
Tentatively, I grab the jack from the back of the Jeep, the weight of it solid and heavy in my hands. I can fix this. After all, in my former life, as a school counselor at Mobile Prep, I was the problem-solver, crisis manager, and shoulder to cry on. I always handled situations. And I didn’t need help.
Then my eyes fall on Sam as he babbles and blows bubbles in the back seat. I hesitate, gripping the metal between my palms. As the sun beats down on us, heating my skin, my pulse begins to race. Maybe I was fearless because I didn’t know any better. I wasn’t a mom then. I didn’t have two children depending on me. Trusting me to do the right thing, be on time, and not screw up.
AUTHOR BIO
After six years behind the anchor desk at two CBS affiliates, Laura moved to the Alabama Gulf Coast to raise her family. Her accolades in broadcasting include awards from the Associated Press, including Best News Anchor and Best Specialized Reporter.
Laura works at Spring Hill College as the school’s web content and social media manager and is active in her community—participating in fundraisers for the American Cancer Society, Ronald McDonald House, and Providence Hospital’s Festival of Flowers.
Laura was recently awarded a 2-book deal with Thomas Nelson Publishing, a division of HarperCollins. Her novel, Center of Gravity, set in Mobile, Ala., will be published in July of 2015. Laura is represented by Elizabeth Winick Rubenstein, president of McIntosh and Otis literary agency in New York. Her writing awards include those from William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, Writer’s Digest, RWA, and the Eric Hoffer competition.
She holds a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in interactive technology from the University of Alabama. She is a native of Upstate New York and currently resides near the Alabama Gulf Coast with her two children.
AUTHOR LINKS
Author’s Website: http://lauramcneill.com/
Author’s Blog: http://lauramcneill.com/layouts/blog/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauramcneillauthor?ref=hl
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LauraMcNeillBks
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lauram052
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5280308.Lauren_Clark
Instagram: https://instagram.com/dixiegirlwriter/
GIVEAWAY
Laura McNeill will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn host.
Enter to win a $10 Amazon/BN GC – a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Angel Messenger is a weekly recap feature on the blog where I tell you what happened in the past week in my life, blog and around the blogosphere. This post links to The Sunday Post by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves by Team Tynga’s Reviews.
My rating: ★★ + 0.5
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Retelling
Publication Date: December 2014
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Mya Jones is cursed.
She is, hands down, the most beautiful creature on earth. But beauty can wound, and Mya finds herself reviled and shunned by her peers. If there is even a chance that she could start over, Mya longs to take it, no matter the risks.
So when the strange Mr. Merk offers her a new life away from home, Mya is hesitant but hopeful. Only she didn’t count on the mysterious Ross, or her feelings for him.
BEAUTIFUL CURSE is a contemporary retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid.
My review:
I was tagged by Bee of Istyria Book Blog to do the More Happy Than Not book tag! She didn’t really tag me but she said in her post that she tag everyone so whatever (hehehehe!).
I think this is the best tag ever. What better way to show things that make us happy than in a book tag, right?
My rating: ★★★★★
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Publication Date: June 30, 2015
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A sweeping, emotional journey of two childhood friends—one struggling to survive the human slave trade and the other on a mission to save her—two girls whose lives converge only to change one fateful night in 1993.
India, 1986: Mukta, a ten-year-old girl from the lower caste Yellamma cult of temple prostitutes has come of age to fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute. In an attempt to escape this legacy that binds her, Mukta is transported to a foster family in Bombay. There she discovers a friend in the high spirited eight-year-old Tara, the tomboyish daughter of the family, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past. Tara introduces Mukta to a different world—ice cream and sweets, poems and stories, and a friendship the likes of which she has never experienced before. As time goes by, their bond grows to be as strong as that between sisters. In 1993, Mukta is kidnapped from Tara’s room.
Eleven years later, Tara who blames herself for what happened, embarks on an emotional journey to search for the kidnapped Mukta only to uncover long buried secrets in her own family.
Moving from a remote village in India to the bustling metropolis of Bombay, to Los Angeles and back again, amidst the brutal world of human trafficking, this is a heartbreaking and beautiful portrait of an unlikely friendship—a story of love, betrayal, and redemption—which ultimately withstands the true test of time.
My review:
The Angel Messenger is a weekly recap feature on the blog where I tell you what happened in the past week in my life, blog and around the blogosphere. This post links to The Sunday Post by Caffeinated Book Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves by Team Tynga’s Reviews.
My rating: ★★★
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Publication Date: June 22, 2015
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Eighty seven billion dollars.
One dead New York business mogul.
No heirs.
No wives.
No relatives.
Eighty seven billion dollars.
Not hers yet.
He doesn’t deserve them.
He doesn’t know what to do with them.
She does.
She always has.
Eighty seven billion dollars.
He’s overwhelmed.
She’s prepared.
That will should have had her name.
Not his.
Eighty seven billion dollars.
His looks are a bonus.
Her looks are her weapon.
He’s fighting a losing battle against his heart.
He doesn’t know it yet.
Eighty seven billion dollars.
She gets everything she wants.
He’s what she wants.
Love has nothing to do with it.
To get to where you’re going, sometimes you need to step on a few people to get there.
Good thing her heels are sharp.
My review:
My rating: ★★★ + 0.5
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publication Date: January 10, 2015
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Don’t fall asleep. Don’t dream. Don’t get caught.
Amy knew she’d hate Narrowdale, a boring suburban town. How could it possibly compare to L.A., where she lived her entire life? Being a high school freshman in a new place made things even worse.
And that was before she started having the same nightmare over and over again. Before she woke up every night to a shrill whistle outside her window. Before she met a homeless man who seemed to know way too much.
Some things seem to happen only in Narrowdale, where dark secrets are hiding beneath the surface…
My review:
The Bookish Angel 