Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Pinned Up


Pinned Up 
3 of 5 stars false1/2 
The pumps are red satin with a peep toe, a shiny black contrast heel, and a ruffle detail at the vamp. The cat eyeliner with exaggerated lashes and the red lipstick on my porcelain face make the forties inspired look reach perfection.
I enjoy being a pin-up model…
C. Michelle’s vibrant debut novel, Pinned Up is full of snappy dialogue, edgy humor, and a lot of heart. This fun look into the world of a modern-day pin-up model is one wild ride!
Twenty-five-year-old Nina Moretti lives a double life of sorts. She’s a victim advocate during the day and as a side gig, lives out her 1940s fetish as a pin-up model in San Francisco, California. While she may not “do” serious relationships, she has fulfillment in her work and hanging out with her best friend, Kade—the greatest sidekick any woman could possibly want. All is well in Nina’s hectic, but satisfying life…
That is, until she meets Josh, a stunningly handsome man who has a notorious reputation as a ladies’ man. For his part, Josh is reluctant to commit to any woman, largely due to his loving, yet overbearing mother. Nina, however, sparks his interest in a way that no other woman has before. As they navigate the pitfalls of romantic entanglement, both come to realize their pasts are intertwined in ways they could never imagine. Perhaps, they have more in common than just their fear of relationships. What are two people afraid of commitment supposed to do?

Review



****The author provided me with a copy of this book for my honest review****
Nina is a victim’s advocate who moonlights as a pin-up model, after doing one of her shoots she meets Josh. Josh is a gorgeous playboy who hasn't had any interest in monogamy, until Nina. The two of them start a relationship, but both of them have secrets and not all of them are their own to tell. With jealousy and trust issues getting in the way this couple has to figure out if they can put it all on the line and make things work. Will they stay together or will things beyond their control tear them apart?  This was a good book, what made it such a fun read was the personalities of the characters and the way they interacted with each other. Nina was great; she was smart, witty and embraced her sexuality. She has a sad past and because of things that happened to her she has trust issues. Josh is a hot, funny and at times very sweet guy; he has issues with relationships because of his mother. Kade, Nina’s best friend/brother from another mother was my favorite character. He was sarcastic, made inappropriate comments, eavesdropped on peoples conversations, had no boundaries and owned his personality with the flaws  hanging out there, no apologies just this is who I am. Emme who is also Nina’s friend, I won't say much about her other than the fact that I think she is a scandalous trifling hoe bag and I wanted to punch her in the face at the end of the book. This book started out really good, with interesting characters and an entertaining dialogue, but about sixty-five to seventy percent of the way through it started to get slow and a bit repetitive. Once it gets to about eighty percent it picks right back up and throws you through a loop. Pinned Up was a good book, there is a ton of humor and a few surprises to shake things up.

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Sphere (The Carriers Episode One)

Just finishing graduating high school, Tayla Wyatt looks forward to heading off to the same college her best friend Sara was accepted to. This is her only way to get away from her family's troubles and the fact that her mother walked out on her and her father over a decade ago. The day of her 17th birthday they meet Darrien, a shy eighteen year old boy who reveals to Tayla that she's descended from a long line of Carriers, humans endowed with special abilities or "gifts" and that her gift she has yet to harness is the strongest gift of them all. Tayla doesn't believe him. After all, no human in the world has special powers, or do they? Things suddenly take a downward spiral turn as Tayla finds herself immersed in their world. Still questioning why her mother left her, she must also come to grips with the fact that her gift may not be a blessing but a curse. The Carriers is the first episode. Each episode is between 14,000-16,000 words.
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Free Coupon Code On Smashwords: KX55E









Excerpt
The mist carried along the river banks, floating over the small stream and eventually filling the forest. Iris brushed her brown wavy bangs from her forehead and stepped back, positioning herself in front of a large redwood tree. Her body trembled as she began to think about what would happen next. Visibility began to diminish and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold out until the mist became too thick to tolerate.
            Suppressing her anxiety, she closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the vibration of a squirrel’s movement through the tree ahead. Once she made extrasensory contact, the squirrel quickly jumped from one tree limb to the next, eventually landing on the ground and running into the thick of the mist.
            Through the squirrel’s vision, Iris saw the animal jump over broken branches, make its way through thick leaves, and stop just short of reaching Felecie. Able to make out her hazy silhouette in the mist, she saw Felecie step forward and flick her curly bright carrot-colored hair over her right shoulder.
            From afar, Iris gasped, noticing that Felecie wasn’t alone. She made out Maka’s outline from her waist-length mini braids. When Maka finally stepped out from the mist, her caramel-colored skin contrasted Felecie’s pale glow.  However, it didn’t matter how both teenage girls looked. What concerned her more was the power they possessed.
            Iris hesitated. If she attacked, they’d immediately be aware of her location. She didn’t want to make the first move, but she felt that she had no other choice. She swallowed hard.
            At her command the squirrel launched its attack, jumping and tearing at Felecie’s face. Felecie screamed and fell back, landing on the wet dirt. Maka chased the squirrel into the bushes, annoyed when she lost sight of it. She cursed under her breath, helping her friend back to her feet.
            “That’s it!” Felecie brushed the leaves and dirt from her blue tight fitting jeans. “I’m going to kill that animal loving bi—”
            “Wait,” Maka interrupted her. “Please let me.”
            Iris thanked the squirrel in a thought and she opened her eyes. Maybe that would buy her enough time to locate Sina. She retreated further back into the woods until the mist became lighter, making it easier to see the environment around her. Sweat collected on her brow, and just as she raised her foot to step over a large tree trunk, a thin branch wrapped itself around her midsection, yanking her off to the side.
            “Watch out!”
            A bolt of lightning struck the ground, missing Iris by inches. The branch released its grip and fell to the forest floor. Iris watched Sina, dressed in a long black trench coat, black jeans, and a white shirt dotted with dirt, walk from behind a large redwood tree. She swiped back the corners of her dark hair behind her ears. Directly behind Sina, Iris saw a levitating, glowing brown ball—Sina’s sphere—hovering a few inches from her right shoulder.
            “You have to be careful next time”—Sina walked over to Iris—“that bolt was meant for you.”
            “Sorry. I’m still learning.” Iris caught her breath. She could still feel the heat and static electricity from the bolt resonating through the air and the tiny hairs on her arm stood straight. “That was close.”
 Still new to the whole “sphere” thing, the idea of always having it at the ready skipped Iris’ mind. Months had passed since her parents told her about her birthright and of her power, but calling on it still seemed unreal, until now.
            Sina immediately held up her hand and closed her eyes. “They’re headed this way.”
            Iris began to panic. “What do we do now?” 
            With the power of electricity at her disposal, Maka was considered to be the most dangerous of the Dark Carriers—those who pledged their allegiance to Apere, the dark guardian. There was also Anatoly and out of all three of them, Iris feared him the most because of his unpredictable nature. Before all this madness, he had once been her friend. Now, having chosen the path of darkness, he’d killed several Light Carriers in the past by burning them alive with his gift of fire. She didn’t believe he was rotten to the core, but hoped that one day, he would renounce his loyalty and come back to their side. But that day felt a long way off since Sina had trapped him inside a shallow cave just north of their location.
            Being the most experienced, Sina taught Iris everything she needed to know about their type. Her mother had been part of the ongoing struggle and instilled within her the means to survive. In return, Sina became stronger and led the little group of Light Carriers to overcome the growing conflict against the Dark Carriers.
            Iris nodded and looked over her shoulder. “They’re too strong, Sina. We need to get out of here.”
            Sina slowly opened her brown eyes and stared at Iris. “We are as strong as they are. We just need to be smarter.”
            Iris glanced around. “Where’s Darrien when we need him?”
            The strongest of the Light Carriers,  Darrien often appeared and disappeared without notice. He hated confrontation. However, his gift of being able to absorb and release energy came in handy during times like this.
            “Darrien is scouting ahead,” Sina replied. “Just in case we don’t make it in time.”
            “What do you mean by ‘if we don’t make it’?” Iris breathed in heavily.
            Sina raised her hands. “I’ll slow them down. Just watch my back.”
            Iris saw the trees and branches around them and the dirt and roots beneath them come to life. Sina’s gift of controlling the natural environment proved to be exactly what they needed at that moment. Under her command, the branches travelled toward Felecie and Maka in unison. Sina wasn’t going to kill them. It wasn’t an option. Light Carriers didn’t kill.
            Ten large trees in front of them popped up from the ground, detaching themselves from their roots. They fell in large thuds and squirmed across the land like fast moving snakes. The ground buckled, raising the dirt into huge mounds swelling like a large tidal wave. Following Sina’s lead, Iris concentrated hard, letting her beautiful gray sphere appear in front of her. She called out to the animals in the vicinity with her mind, commanding them to follow the attack. Deer and bears from miles away joined in the pursuit. Even the smallest of animals listened to her telepathic call.
            Moments later, Iris and Sina waited.
            Sina placed her hands on the ground and taking a moment to feel the earth’s vibration, she finally spoke. “That should slow them down.” She stood up.
            The mist began to reside and the air became thinner, revealing the chaos in front of them. Bright lightning flashes filled the clouded sky, and Iris sensed that Maka had overpowered several of her animals in just one strike. She made contact with an eagle hovering above the carnage and she let her sight intertwine with its own. Sharing the eagle’s vision, she witnessed Maka and Felecie as small dots on the ground below, surrounded by her animals, walls of dirt, and trees.
            “What do you see?” Sina asked.
            “They’re surrounded by the animals.” Pressure lifted from Iris’ chest and she smiled.
            “Good.” Sina grabbed Iris’ hand and began to drag her away. “We need to hurry, Minneapolis is a three hour walk from here.”
            “Can’t we just find a ride or something? We’ve been walking for days. My feet hurt.”
            “You know we can’t. We’ll put other people, the non-Carriers in danger.” 






An avid gamer, writer, and lover of history, Isaiyan Morrison was born and raised in Minnesota. She moved to San Diego, California while in the Navy. After serving four years of active duty, she moved to Los Angeles. After a few years, she moved back to Minnesota where she started to pursue her dream to be an author. Besides writing, she also likes to read, surf the internet, watch movies, and play video games. She likes warm drinks, pico de gallo, and her love for cilantro is legendary. At one point she was sponsored to participate in video game tournaments. During that time she traveled to Canada, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Caribbean. Her novel Deamhan, the first book in the Deamhan series, was accepted for publication by Rainstorm Press for release in mid 2013. She’s currently in talks to have the second book Sensual Appetite published by the same company. Other novels the author has completed are Sphere Novella #1 : The Carriers, Old Farmer’s Road. She’s currently writing the third Deamhan book titled, Maris. The Brotherhood Files. She now resides in Texas with her two cats, three pit bull dogs, and two guinea pigs.
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