Review: Order of the Dimensions by Irene Helenowski

Release Date: September 14, 2012
Publisher: Self-published
Pages: 318

Format: E-book
Source: Author
Where to buy: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

When Jane Kremowski first began her graduate studies in physics at Madison State University in Wisconsin, little did she know where her work would take her. Now, she is embroiled in a multitude of dimensions all leading to different outcomes. She and her colleagues therefore must act wisely in order to take and keep away the Order of Dimension from falling into the wrong hands for the sake of her loved ones.

Thoughts

The concept of this book really intrigued me. I love anything that has to do with time travel and alternate realities. It started off a bit slow for me but it got more interesting as I turned the pages. The characters seemed a bit flat to me, but it was nice to see them develop throughout the story. I liked the fact that the end of each chapter had a sort of cliff-hanger, and once I got started it was hard for me to put the book down. The only major issue I had was the over-explaining of certain things, such as when a character spoke. I was told the feelings of the characters, and wasn't really able to think for myself. I don't like being told everything; I enjoy the mystery behind the characters and the plot, and this story lacked that. All in all, I was really glad that I read this book and would gladly read other stories written by Irene.

Review: Beyond Shame (Beyond #1) by Kit Rocha

Release Date: September 16, 2012
Author Info: Website | Facebook
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Pages: 354

Format: E-book
Source: Netgalley
Where to buy: Amazon

Summary (from Goodreads)

All Noelle Cunningham has ever wanted is a life beyond–beyond the walls of Eden, where only the righteous are allowed to remain, and beyond her stiflingly restrictive existence as a councilman's daughter. But only ruins lie outside the City, remnants of a society destroyed by solar storms decades earlier.

The sectors surrounding Eden house the corrupt, the criminal–men like Jasper McCray, bootlegger and cage fighter. Jas clawed his way up from nothing to stand at the right hand of Sector Four's ruthless leader, and he'll defend the O'Kane gang with his life. But no fight ever prepared him for the exiled City girl who falls at his feet.

Her innocence is undeniable, but so is their intense sexual attraction, and soon they're crossing ever boundary Noelle barely knew she had. But if she wants to belong to Jas, first she'll have to open herself to the gang, to a dangerous world of sex, lust, and violence. A world where passion is power, and freedom is found in submission.

Thoughts

Wow. Words cannot describe how I feel about this book. It was everything I expected and some. I've only read a few books in this genre (Adult Fiction, Erotica) but I'm slowly but surely beginning to love it. It wasn't just about sex either, like the summary sort of implies. It has an actual story line to it, with actual characters and an actual plot. It's true! I was so hooked on this book that it was hard to put it down; I think hubby even got upset some nights because the book was getting all my attention!

And for anyone who thought E.L. James was risqué...Fifty Shades ain't got nothin' on this book! The intimate scenes were detailed but not nasty. The difference between this book and other books in the erotica genre out there is that this one had a theme of dystopia also. It had a sort of Hunger Games feel to it in the way that each "sector" or "district" had its own industry such as farming, production, etc. 

The characters were really easy to connect with, and the men in this story were just plain hot. Smokin' hot. Man, this was such a great book. I would totally read it again in a heartbeat. Oh and to make things 100x better, Kit Rocha (Moira Rogers) is coming out with two more books in the series! YAY! Check out her page from the link above, where you can even request some goodies to go along with your obsession for the book. :)

Liebster Blog Award

All I can say is WOW! I've never been nominated for anything, and I feel totally honored to accept the Liebster Blog Award given to me by Heather over at Owlnestly Book Reviews. Thanks a ton, chick!

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself, and create 11 questions for your nominees.

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (No tag backs)

4. Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.

1. If you could be anything what would it be? I'd love to be a cat, and not just because they're my favorite animal. It'd be so nice to just lay around all day and have my belly and ears rubbed. :)

2. Who is your literature boyfriend/girlfriend? I'm currently in the middle of reading Beyond Shame by Kit Rocha, and I just love Jasper. He's my literary BF at the moment.

3. If you could be any character from any book who would you be? I'd love to be the character Lex from the book Beyond Shame. She's so strong-willed and has such as great personality.

4. Do you judge a book by its cover? Oh yes! I hate to be so judgmental but if the artwork on the front sucks, I probably won't even read it. I've noticed a lot of great covers are usually great reads. That doesn't go to say that all books with great covers are tremendously narrated, 'cuz I've read a lot of crappy ones too!

5. What does your blog title mean/why did you choose it? My blog title is a play on words from the song "Castles Made of Sand" by Jimi Hendrix. He is my all time favorite artist and a huge musical influence for me, and I thought, "how cool would it be to have a huge castle that was made entirely of books?" I love fantasy books also, so it fits right in with the whole "castle" theme. ;)

6. What is the worst book you have read? To date, the worst books I have read were the Fifty Shades trilogy. It was torture; I felt like I was stabbing my eye out. I couldn't even finish the third one, it was so awful!

7. Have you ever written/read fanfiction? Yes, that would have been the Fifty Shades trilogy again. I guess they were fanfiction of Twilight. I'm not really sure how that works out because they are entirely different in the plots and the entire theme of each, but I guess it was fanfiction. I have never written it.

8. What author are you dying to meet? I would love to meet Stephen King or J. K. Rowling. Stephen King seems like a real cool dude, and well, J. K. Rowling is just plain awesome. Her life story is so fascinating!

9. If you could travel to any place in the world where would you go? I'd absolutely love to go to Europe, and it would be nice to visit Germany. I have some family over there that I haven't even met yet, and my husband was born there. 

10. Marry, Kiss, Kill - Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley I would kiss Ron, kill Harry, & marry Draco. I like bad boys...yeah, that's it. ;)

11. Have you ever considered writing a book? Honestly, I've never thought about it. I don't know that my mind would work in that way though, to write an entire book! So much goes into it, and I commend all the authors out there and writers who put all their hard work and time into giving us great books!

1. I've been in college since 2008 and am currently working toward my degree in Social Work. Eventually I'll go for my Masters.

2. I totally love math. And I'm good at it, too, so that's a plus!

3. Cats are my favorite animal, and I have two of them that live with my grandparents. Their names are Lucky and Lisa.

4. My husband and I met online, and he is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

5. My favorite TV show is The Vampire Diaries. I haven't read the books, but the show is great!

6. Stuffed crust pizza is da bomb. It's my fave.

7. Although I'm a reading junkie, I sure wish I had more time for it...like, reading for 20 hours straight. :P

8. My grandparents are my heroes and inspiration. They raised me from 6 years old until I went to college at 18. 

9. I love nature.

10. Yellow is my favorite color. I love yellow everything...and I mean everything. I also have a Volkswagen Beetle that is (guess what color)...YELLOW! :D

11. One of my favorite things to do is cook and bake. I love making my family feel good by making great food!

1. Madiha @ The Smell of Parchment
2. Angie @ Pinkindle
3. Brandy @ A Little of the Book Life
4. Shelby @ Lost In A Book
5. Beth @ Free Spirit Books
6. Pam @ Racing To Read
7. Chyna @ Lite-Rate-Ture!
8. Ankita @ Booklok Coffee
9. Book Bunny @ Book Bunny's Reviews and Pictures
10. Kris @ Second Book To The Right
11. Jenny @ Book Sojourner

1. Who is your favorite character from a book and why?
2. What books do you love so much you would read again?
3. Do you judge a book by its cover?
4. What does your blog title mean/why did you choose it?
5. What is the worst book you've ever read?
6. What is your favorite place to get books from?
7. If you were stuck on a deserted island and could only have one book with you, what book would you choose?
8. What are the last two books that you've read?
9. What are two books you're dying to read?
10. If you could meet any author, who would you choose?
11. What was your favorite book as a child?

Feature & Follow Friday #1

Feature & Follow Friday is a fun event hosted by Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. The purpose is to gain more followers and make new friends throughout the book blogging community. Keep in mind, though, the point is to follow other blogs also. I follow you, you follow me. :)

This week's question: Happy Mardi Gras! If they were throwing the HOTTEST books off of a Mardi Gras float — what would you do to have them throw to you...?

Due to my ridiculous personality, I would probably jump up and down and scream at the top of my lungs. Hopefully if I could draw enough attention to myself, maybe they would throw more books at me!

To participate in this blog hop, visit Alison Can Read & Parajunkee. Follow their blogs, follow the featured blog, and then follow other bloggers! 

Make sure to post your info in the linky below, and leave a comment below with your link. :)