{Blog Tour + Review + Giveaway} Chasing Luck (A Serendipity Novel #1) by Brinda Berry

Chasing Luck by Brinda Berry
(A Serendipity Novel #1)
Publication date: May 1st 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Suspense

Synopsis:

Sometimes surviving doesn’t feel lucky. Especially when you’re a sole survivor…
At the age of seven, Malerie walked away from a bombing that left hundreds dead—including her mother. When a crazed gunman kills her guardian on her eighteenth birthday, Malerie suspects there may be more to her survival than luck. A mysterious code holds the key to her future, and a reluctant white knight holds the key to her heart.
A loner wearing emotional armor…
Ace is a twenty-year-old entrepreneur focusing on two things in life: financial security and a life without ties. A life that doesn’t risk losing the ones who matter. When Ace is hired to secretly act as a bodyguard for Malerie, he faces an unwanted attraction that threatens to sabotage his heart. Can Ace find the courage to love a girl with a death wish?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22012857-chasing-luck

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Luck-A-Serendipity-Novel-ebook/dp/B00K1RBKTM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399565577&sr=8-1&keywords=Chasing+Luck+brinda

--B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-luck-brinda-berry/1119390920?ean=2940149261628

--Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/chasing-luck

Trailer: http://youtu.be/uOSg3FOC21M 

AUTHOR BIO

Brinda Berry lives in the southern US with her family and two spunky cairn terriers. She’s terribly fond of chocolate, coffee, and books that take her away from reality.  She doesn’t mind being called a geek or “crazy dog lady”. When she’s not working the day job or writing a novel, she’s guilty of surfing the internet for no good reason.

Author links:

http://www.brindaberry.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BrindaBerryAuthor

https://twitter.com/Brinda_Berry

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5053831.Brinda_Berry

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)

• $25 Sephora gift card
• $10 iTunes gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/ZDA0MjUxMjM1OGRlZWRmZWM1YmUyMmFkYTM3OWE5OjU4MA==/

{Details} ebook. Published May 1st 2014 by Sweet Biscuit Publishing LLC (first published April 30th 2014). Ebook provided in exchange for an honest review

{Rating} 4/5 - I really liked it!

{Review}

"It's bizarre how one crazy psycho can break a heart and mind into an unforgiving pile of pieces." (page 1, line 1)

I liked the premise, the suspense, mystery, and action. I was intrigued from the first page in the story and interested in the characters and wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I felt for Malerie. Brinda Berry did an excellent job of showing how vulnerable she is, how much she's lost, how much she has survived and how those things have changed her into a recluse, a regimented, scared girl.

Ace is a good man. He has endured a lot too but he's determined to move past it. He's working hard, trying to start a new business, but he's in the wrong place at the wrong time and ends up in the middle of the mess that is Malerie's life.

While I liked Ace and Malerie together, they both desperately need each other, someone they can count on, someone to help push them out of their comfort zones, I never really felt the romance between them. The trust and commitment, yes, but not romance.

Although I thought the mystery was really interesting - and unique - I wish it had been drawn out a little more and that Ace and Malerie had to struggle more to figure out things, it felt a bit too obvious.

Chasing Luck also introduces us to Collin, the hero in Tempting Fate, the second book in the Serendipity series, and I'm definitely interested in reading it.

{Book Blitz + Giveaway} Chasing Luck (A Serendipity Novel #1) by Brinda Berry

Chasing Luck by Brinda Berry
(A Serendipity Novel #1)
Publication date: May 2014
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Suspense

Synopsis:

Sometimes surviving doesn’t feel lucky. Especially when you’re a sole survivor…At the age of seven, Malerie walked away from a bombing that left hundreds dead—including her mother. When a crazed gunman kills her guardian on her eighteenth birthday, Malerie suspects there may be more to her survival than luck. A mysterious code holds the key to her future, and a reluctant white knight holds the key to her heart.

A loner wearing emotional armor…

Ace is a twenty-year-old entrepreneur focusing on two things in life: financial security and a life without ties. A life that doesn’t risk losing the ones who matter. When Ace is hired to secretly act as a bodyguard for Malerie, he faces an unwanted attraction that threatens to sabotage his heart. Can Ace find the courage to love a girl with a death wish?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22012857-chasing-luck

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Luck-A-Serendipity-Novel-ebook/dp/B00K1RBKTM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399565577&sr=8-1&keywords=Chasing+Luck+brinda

--B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chasing-luck-brinda-berry/1119390920?ean=2940149261628

--Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/chasing-luck

Trailer: http://youtu.be/uOSg3FOC21M 

{Excerpt}

"Here." I hand him the charcoal rubbing and he takes it without getting up from the bed.

Sitting, he turns the paper around like a different angle will reveal more. The picture of the dragon is detailed with tiny scales lining its body and spikes decorating the curved neck. Large pointed teeth extend outside the dragon's mouth in a hungry snarl.

"What's this?" Ace says, pointing a finger at the symbols near the dragon's feet. “Moon type again?”

"Yeah.”

"And this is another message for you," he mutters without meeting my eyes.

"I'm positive." I want him to look at me and see how much I believe in this connection.

Then he lifts his head and shakes it slowly. "You're that girl who saves her fortune cookies, doesn't step on cracks, and picks up pennies, aren't you? You think these boxes and the words on the sides are like a bad luck charm."

I continue, despite the fact I want to throw him out of my head, out of my room, out of my house. I didn’t think this would be easy, but I hoped. "So what if I do? That’s exactly why I've noticed this message when someone like you wouldn't."

He shrugs. "And the fortune cookie says…"

"This character is a G, then an R, then I, E, and F," I state matter-of-factly while pointing each one out with my fingertip.

"Grief." Ace nods. He rubs his chin, which has grown flattering stubble. "The Moon type was used on these boxes and a title for each picture was placed on the embossing. Honestly, I’m amazed you’ve figured this out. It’s genius. Really. I’d never see this. But I think you’re reading too much into a drawing.”

I grab the picture from his hands. "If you think I’m a nut, say it. Go ahead." I trace the outline of the box. Then I open the book to a section I've paper clipped. "The UNIX timestamp is on this box as well." My finger caresses the paper.

"And the date is significant?" Ace leans in and he's too close. His fingers splay on top of the page and I stare at his hands instead of his eyes.

"The date is from last week. The night in the restaurant. The night JT was murdered." I glance up into his eyes to gauge his reaction.

His gaze moves from the paper to mine and back to the paper. "All right.” He pauses and stares at the paper. "That’s very odd.”

"I want you to have more than a weird feeling about it. I want you to say you believe me. I want you to open your mind to the possibility that this is more than a coincidence."

He studies me, his finger drumming soundlessly on my desk. "I don't believe in fortune cookies. And you want me to believe you've opened up the largest cookie in the universe. One that tells the story of what has happened in your life. Malerie…" he says. He takes both my hands in his. His strong fingers send a pleasant shiver down my body. "Now if you are about to tell me that this third box, the smaller one," he says as he opens the box I've rubbed, "if it says a word like infatuation, and this is where you finally hit on me, then it's a different story. One I'm totally on board with."

Blitz-wide giveaway

Open INTL - Ends May 20th

--A $25 Sephora gift card and two book swag necklaces

a Rafflecopter giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/ZDA0MjUxMjM1OGRlZWRmZWM1YmUyMmFkYTM3OWE5OjQyNw==/

AUTHOR BIO

Brinda Berry lives in the southern US with her family and two spunky cairn terriers. She has a BSE in English and French and a MEd in Learning Systems Technology. She's terribly fond of chocolate, coffee, and books that take her away from reality. She doesn't mind being called a geek or "crazy dog lady". When she's not working the day job or writing a novel, she's guilty of surfing the internet for no good reason.

Author links:

http://www.brindaberry.com/

https://www.facebook.com/BrindaBerryAuthor

https://twitter.com/Brinda_Berry

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5053831.Brinda_Berry

 

{Book Blitz + Giveaway} Watcher of Worlds (Whispering Woods #3) by Brinda Berry @Brinda_Berry

Watcher of Worlds (Whispering Woods #3)

by Brinda Berry

Release Date: 12/17/13

Summary from Goodreads:

Senior year should bring fun, friends, and happiness. Not portals, treachery, and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Mia Taylor, gatekeeper to an interdimensional portal, wants nothing more than to heal from her romance gone wrong. Illegally falling for her co-worker Regulus had been a huge mistake. But when Regulus goes rogue to hunt down a murderer, Mia must forget her broken heart and use her unique abilities to save him. Traveling across dimensions, she enters a strange and hostile world where a rebel faction holds the key to their escape. Her gift of synesthesia is in high demand, and a secret organization of the otherworldly kind has her in their sights. But sabotage and murder may be the least of her worries. Her ex-boyfriend wants a relationship. Her dad wants her to act normal. Her friends want her to stop moping. Who knew faking happy would be the easiest part of senior year?

Available from:

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

{Excerpt}

The doorbell rang. I leaped off the barstool and hurtled for the door, desperate to relieve the boredom. I flung open the door, not really surprised that the person in front of me would be able to show up at the last minute on Christmas Eve night. The wind blew the door open wide and I hugged my arms around my body.

My ex-boyfriend Regulus stood staring me.

His dark hair curled along the edge of his cream wool turtleneck and a shy smile teased one corner of his mouth. He held a brown box tucked under his arm and had one hand shoved into his jeans pocket.

I knew I was only a synesthete and couldn’t make time stop, but I’d swear the clock hands stood still. In the moment we stood silent, a boa constrictor of jealousy wrapped around my throat.

Was Regulus attracted to that girl Arizona had mentioned? Had he kissed her? Was he dating her?

Arizona shoved him out of the doorway. “Dude, I’m freezing here.” Arizona maneuvered around Regulus’s still body in the doorway. He leaned forward and gave me a hug. Although I generally avoid the touchy feely stuff, I let Arizona give me a friendly squeeze.

“Look what I brought,” Arizona said, holding a piece of mistletoe high in the air.

“In your dreams,” I said and shoved his arm with a laugh.

Dad stood framed in the kitchen doorway. He smiled at Arizona, then looked at Regulus. “Son, come on in.” My stomach twisted when I heard him say ‘son.’ He hadn’t done that before. I didn’t think Dad had cared very much for Regulus while we dated.

I stepped back from the door, embarrassed at the ogling that I’d vowed to never do again with Regulus. Biscuit, who had been glued to Dad’s side begging for food in the kitchen, ran to the door to greet our visitors. He ran circles around them in that happy dog way.

“I’m glad you both could come. At such short notice and everything.” Arizona travelled across the family room, peering around corners. Regulus’s direct stare sent tingly warmth to my face.

“Where is the Christmas tree?” Arizona scouted ahead.

“No tree.” I answered. “We didn’t do that this year.”

Dad came forward and took Arizona’s coat and held out his hand for Regulus’s. “It’s my fault. Mia said she didn’t care whether we had one or not, so we didn’t.”

Arizona looked like a kid who’d lost his best friend. “I thought everyone put one up at Christmas. I was looking forward to it.” He flopped into Dad’s recliner.

Dad gave me a look. His face said that he thought Arizona was a single digit on the IQ scale. I grinned.

About the Author

Brinda Berry lives in the southern US with her family and two spunky cairn terriers. She has a BSE in English and French and a MEd in Learning Systems Technology. She's terribly fond of chocolate, coffee, and books that take her away from reality. She doesn't mind being called a geek or “crazy dog lady”. When she's not working the day job or writing a novel, she's guilty of surfing the internet for no good reason.

Author Links:

    

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