Review: Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Link to buy Asylum

Story Rating: 2 out of 5

Blurb:

Madeleine Roux's New York Times bestselling Asylum is a thrilling and creepy photo-illustrated novel that Publishers Weekly called "a strong YA debut that reveals the enduring impact of buried trauma on a place." Featuring found photographs from real asylums and filled with chilling mystery and page-turning suspense, Asylum is a horror story that treads the line between genius and insanity, perfect for fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

For sixteen-year-old Dan Crawford, the New Hampshire College Prep program is the chance of a lifetime. Except that when Dan arrives, he finds that the usual summer housing has been closed, forcing students to stay in the crumbling Brookline Dorm—formerly a psychiatric hospital. As Dan and his new friends Abby and Jordan start exploring Brookline's twisty halls and hidden basement, they uncover disturbing secrets about what really went on here . . . secrets that link Dan and his friends to the asylum's dark past. Because Brookline was no ordinary mental hospital, and there are some secrets that refuse to stay buried.

Review:

While this title is sold as YA it falls close to the NA classification. The book is packaged and promoted to be much scarier than it really is. At first glance it looks an awful lot like Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children, but it is completely different. This story tries but it is so unbelievable that even though it is fiction it is distracting. The characters are not fully developed and that makes it hard to care about them. The photos used don't work like they do in Miss Peregrine.

I read Miss Peregrine and so I thought this would be a "younger" sort of version of the same concept using old photographs within a creepy story but it just didn't work for me. I wanted to like it but the depth just wasn't there. It's obvious the author can write but it would be nice to see them try to attempt something original because this just seems to be a copycat of something else.

Reviewed by Catherine

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Rare Form by Jen Crane cover reveal

Rare Form by Jen Crane 

(Descended of Dragons, #1)

Synopsis:

A Secret Past
Fiery redhead Stella Stonewall can’t decide between a margarita and a manhattan.
The rest of her life? Please. Stella has never really fit in, and her pretty world comes crashing down when she learns it was never her world at all.
Rowan Gresham is domineering, brooding, and as sexy as chocolate-dipped sin. When he transports Stella to the magical realm of her parents she recognizes her rightful place immediately. Gresham’s motivations are less clear.
A Scorching Chemistry
The enigmatic Gresham aids in Stella’s metamorphosis and their chemistry ignites, though a long-time girlfriend and a significant age difference stand in the way.
A Battle for the Rest of Her Life
Stella’s life fast-tracks to extraordinary when she enrolls at Radix Citadel for Supernatural Learning, an enchanted college whose students turn furry on the regular. As Stella learns to navigate the magical new world of Thayer she must also find her animal form, a task as elusive as her ancestry. Stella soon faces an even greater challenge: staying alive long enough to learn to manipulate an animal form she never knew she possessed.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25689363-rare-form

Pre-order: http://www.amazon.com/Rare-Form-Descended-Dragons-Book-ebook/dp/B0116EHJIO/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

AUTHOR BIO: 

Though she grew up on a working cattle ranch, Jen Crane has been in love with fantasy and science fiction since seeing a bootleg tape of Quantum Leap in the 90's.

She has a master's degree, and solid work histories in government and non-profit administration. She's been published in reputable newspapers and magazines.

One day, though, she said, "Life's too real for nonfiction. I'm gonna write about love and magic."

Jen is happily living out her dream in The South with her husband and three children, striking that delicate balance between inspiration and frustration.

Sign up for sneak peeks, news, and giveaways at
bit.ly/Jen_Crane_Enews

Author links:

http://www.jencranebooks.com/

https://www.facebook.com/JenCraneBooks

https://twitter.com/JenCraneBooks

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14022629.Jen_Crane

The Billionaire's Deal by Crystal Kaswell book tour and contest

The Billionaire’s Deal (Episode 1) by Crystal Kaswell

Synopsis:

Kat Wilder is screwed. No parents to take care of her. No money to pay the mortgage for the apartment she shares with her little sister. No chance at a future. She doesn’t even have time to daydream about her passions. She barely gets by waiting tables, getting treated like crap by the wealthy people who think she’s nothing.
Then she runs straight into billionaire tech CEO Blake Sterling.
Aloof, distant, and utterly in control, Blake is impossible to read. He wants Kat to play the role of his girlfriend and he’s more than willing to dig her out of debt. His intentions are good. According to him.
They need to convince everyone they’re madly, deeply in love. Their entire relationship would be a lie. And a big one. The one true thing—the two of them alone, together—that part would be amazing.
It would be Blake’s way. Blake’s terms. Blake utterly in control, inside and outside the bedroom.
There’s no way she can agree. There’s no way she can refuse.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25799866-the-billionaire-s-deal

Purchase:

Will be found here come release day: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=+Crystal+Kaswell+&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3A+Crystal+Kaswell+

AUTHOR BIO: 

Crystal Kaswell writes steamy romances with flawed characters. When she isn't writing, she is thinking about writing. Or watching way too many episodes of Law and Order in a row.

Author links:

http://www.crystalkaswell.com/

https://twitter.com/CrystalKaswell

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379758.Crystal_Kaswell

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The Single Game by Amanda Black book tour and contest

The Single Game by Amanda Black

Synopsis:

In this third, stand-alone installment of Amanda Black’s Apartment Novels series, sparks fly during a sexy party game.
When Eden Foster’s parents tell her they’re moving from Chicago to the Illinois suburb of Aledo, Eden is crushed. That is, until she runs crying to her jock boyfriend, who she finds on top of her so-called best friend. Moving’s not looking so bad anymore.
Now a senior at Mercer County High, Eden is ready to re-enter the dating scene. Still burned over the betrayal of her ex, she’s looking for someone sweet and innocent. With the help of her two new friends, Zoe and Amy, Eden makes a list of what she’s looking for: an eager virgin, ready for training—and no jocks.
Eden thinks she’s found what she’s looking for in Logan Black, a shy and geeky classmate. But why are Zoe and Amy convinced that the answer to her search is a party game…with kissing?
Eden better get ready, because she’s about to play the Single Game.
The Single Game is the latest addition to the erotic Apartment Novels series, which began with Lily and Ethan in The Apartment and The Blank Canvas.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25526340-the-single-game

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Single-Game-Apartment-Novel-ebook/dp/B00XIKH68I/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436445710&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Single+Game

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-single-game-amanda-black/1121904336?ean=9781633700673

AUTHOR BIO: 

Amanda Black was born and raised in the Midwest, where she still lives with her husband and spoiled-rotten dogs. She earned a bachelor's degree in Studio Art before deciding that she actually needed to pay some bills, which is when she took a position as an ophthalmic technician.

For the past few years she's been a closet romance writer in her spare time and would love nothing more than to make it a full-time career. When she's not writing her next steamy love scene, her interests include reading, sketching, and annihilating her friends and family in movie trivia.

Author links:

http://amandablackauthor.blogspot.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/AmandaBlackAuthor

https://twitter.com/AmandaBlackAuth

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8525387.Amanda_Black

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Rip Current by Jill Sanders book tour

Rip Current by Jill Sanders

(Grayton Series #3)

Synopsis:

Cole is used to fame and has had his fill of women who fall at his feet, but the one woman he’s desired the most shows nothing but discontent for him and his reckless ways.
Wendy can’t stand Cole, at least not in her head. Her body and heart on the other hand desire him beyond any else.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25601289-rip-current?ac=1

Purchase:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rip-Current-Jill-Sanders/dp/1514738651/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436443820&sr=1-1&keywords=Rip+Current

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rip-current-jill-sanders/1121951385?ean=2940151329750

AUTHOR BIO: 

Jill Sanders is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Pride Series, Secret Series, West, and Grayton Series romance novels. She continues to lure new readers with her sweet and sexy stories. Her books are available in every English speaking country, audiobooks, and are now being translated to 6 different languages.

Born as an identical twin to a large family, she was raised in the Pacific Northwest, later relocating to Colorado for college and a successful IT career before discovering her talent as a writer. She now makes her home along the emerald cost in Florida where she enjoys the beach, hiking, swimming, wine-tasting, and of course writing.

Connect with Jill on Facebook: http://fb.com/JillSandersBooks
Twitter: @JillMSanders
or visit her website at http://JillSanders.com

Jill Sanders knows how to write with twists and turns at every corner, and I absolutely love it! ---Nikki, Finding a Comfortable Position Blog

Steam by Stacey Rourke cover reveal

Steam by Stacey Rourke 

(The Legends Saga, #3)

Synopsis:

A journey through time.
A scarlet letter.
A soul crushing betrayal.
The thrilling Legends Saga concludes in a mash-up of literary all-stars. The works of Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, HG Wells, and Nathaniel Hawthorne come to life in an intricately weaved backstory of love, lies, and deception. The driving force of all involved? Passion. But when that passion is cloaked in darkness, madness reigns.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25788343-steam

AUTHOR BIO: 

RONE Award Winner for Best YA Paranormal Work of 2012 for Embrace, a Gryphon Series Novel
Young Adult and Teen Reader voted Author of the Year 2012
Turning Pages Magazine Winner for Best YA book of 2013 & Best Teen Book of 2013

Stacey Rourke lives in Michigan with her husband, two beautiful daughters, and two giant, dogs. She loves to travel, has an unhealthy shoe addiction  and considers herself blessed to make a career out of talking to the imaginary people that live in her head. Mark your calendars! Her latest literary adventure, Crane, will release May 26, 2014. She is currently hard at work on the continuations of this thrilling Legends Saga, as well as other literary projects.

Author links:

https://www.facebook.com/staceyrourkeauthor

https://twitter.com/Rourkewrites

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5309409.Stacey_Rourke