Rise of a Rector by Heather McCorkle (Review)

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Number of Pages: 344

For ages 14+

"With graduation~and the hell of the last two years~behind her, Eren is hoping to finally explore her relationship with Aiden and deepen the bonds with her Society. But it seems there's no rest for a soon-to-be legendary Mayan warrior of the apocalypse.

From the green hills of Ireland to the jungles of Mexico, and deep into lands unexpected, Eren and Aiden will stop at nothing to discover all they can about their rare power in an attempt to alter destiny. Learning about ancient secrets that no one can remember proves to be more than challenging with Eren seeing old ghosts at every turn though. Worse yet, behind the ghosts lies something darker and far more deadly than any of the trials she has endured so far.

In the jungles of Costa Rica entire villages are dying inexplicably. Near the carnage live a group of channelers who are hiding a thousand year old secret, one that could change the very fate of the planet. But the ghosts of Eren's past have other plans, plans to seize the thread of destiny~and Eren~and manipulate both."

I was so happy to find out the next and final (*sob*) book of this awesome series was out! I have absolutely loved the past books and I knew to expect that this one would be just as good! Once again Heather has left me on the flippin' edge of my seat for the majority of this book. For cereal.

The book starts off with the whole gang together. Caitlin, Fane, Aiden (*swooooon*), and Eren. I was super excited to jump right back into the world of this book. Because it's so much fun! :) I mean, of course there are times when it's not so fun because we need conflict... DUH. But still, it's fun. ;)

The romance between Aiden and Eren is still beyond adorable and makes me get the warm fuzzies every time they have a *moment* so don't worry, no disappointment there! And in case any one is wondering if Aiden is still his swoon worthy self, because I know every one is, uhhh... YES. Most definitely. He's so stinkin' sweet. Like, seriously.

 This book was more action packed than the last two, and surprisingly, I didn't really mind. I'm not much of an action loving girl, but I think that since there were little things in between I was okay with it! But the suspense? Killed me. So. Much. Suspense. So much. You don't know if so and so is dead or if so and so is coming back to get them or if everything is just gonna crumple into a million little pieces and the whole book will be over. Yeah. That feeling. But that's probably one of the reasons I love books like this so much. Keeps ya on your toes!

The little tidbits with Fane and Caitlin's relationship made me super happy. It was nice to know they were working out just as well as Eren and Aiden! There were also moments between them that made me laugh. Just because Caitlin has such a bold personality compared to Fane. It causes some fantabulous moments.

This book was pretty different compared to the other books. Setting wise, at least! Instead of staying in one set setting the characters when to an array of places. It was pretty cool to be able to travel all over the place with the characters and experience everything through their eyes. Well, Eren and Aiden's at least.

The ending was SO AWESOME. I was melting into a puddle of happiness. I can't tell you anything because of COURSE I'm gonna make you read it, but Aiden does this thing that was super adorable and made me really happy and... YEAH! Read it! I feel like there's lots of exclamation points in this review, but what're you gonna do?


I'm sure you predicted already the number of diva crowns this book was gonna get but unless you didn't.. I give this book 5 diva crowns for being so fantabulously amazing. Perfect book to end this amazing series. I recommend this book to urban fantasy lovers who also like some romance mixed in. You will be happy with what you read! :)

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I may possibly post an essay I'm having to do in English about the psychology of a main character in the book How To Save a Life by Sara Zarr in the near future. So if I do, watch out for that! If you don't want to read stuff like that then.. I guess.. don't read it? Ha ha! Do what ya want! Don't mind me. ;)

Anyways, thanks for reading, everyone! Hope your weeks are filled with *sparkles!*

Blog Tour for Rise of a Rector by Heather McCorkle!

The final novel in Heather McCorkle’s channeler series, Rise of a Rector, has released! To celebrate, and in the spirit of October, Heather is here to tell us about a scary moment in her life. Take it away Heather!

Heather: I heard a loud ‘thunk’ as my horse kicked me in the face, just above my temple. Oddly, it didn’t hurt. Blood started to drip. My husband came running, tearing his shirt off, putting it in my hands. I held it against my eye, which moved unnaturally at the touch. Still no pain. It felt as though my eye would fall out though if I moved the shirt, so I didn’t. My husband helped me to our vehicle and then he started to panic, I could hear it in his voice. With calming words and a steady tone I instructed him to get a towel, my insurance card, and the keys. As we drove toward the hospital I could feel the vehicle accelerating dangerously. Ice crystals still clung to the windshield and the road was covered in snow.

For the rest of the story I hope you’ll visit the Reader Girls book blog.

Check out Heather’s blog for a new tour stop each day until November 2nd. To thank her fans, and future fans, Heather’s historical fantasy novel (a standalone novel that ties into the channeler series) will be free Friday November 2nd and Saturday November 3rd on Amazon. And if Heather gets over 1000 downloads of To Ride A Puca in those two days she’ll give away a $10 Amazon or B&N gift card! So spread the word, get ready to download To Ride A Puca, tell all your friends to download it, and drop by Heather’s blog now to enter to win the gift certificate.

You can find all three novels in the channeler series (The Secret of Spruce Knoll, Channeler’s Choice, and Rise of a Rector) on Amazon and B&N, as well as other retail sites. The channeler novella~and prequel to The Secret of Spruce Knoll~Born of Fire is currently free on Amazon and B&N and you can find a short story about Fane from the series in the FREE anthology, In His eyes. You can add Rise of a Rector to your Goodreads lists at this link.

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I can't WAIT to read this book! I know it's going to be fantastic. Make sure to watch out for my review of it soon! :)

Hope your week is filled with *SPARKLES!* 

Channeler's Choice by Heather McCorkle (Review)

Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Romance

Number of Pages: 308

For ages 13+

*This book was given to me for a completely honest review*

"With her parents’ murderers dead, Eren can finally concentrate on fitting in at Spruce Knoll High, not to mention figuring out what it means to be a channeler. If only it were that easy. It turns out she isn’t normal even among channelers - she may be a legendary warrior meant to protect the earth in a last great battle.

But Mayan prophecies are the least of her worries as she involuntarily starts to gather her own Society, another girl moves in on Aiden, her powers rage out of control, and worst of all, someone is stalking her. To top it all off, Eren discovers she doesn’t have to be a channeler after all - she has a choice.

As an old threat closes in and she risks ending up like her parents, she is forced to decide. Be a normal teenager and leave the legendary warrior stuff to someone else, or embrace a dark destiny?" -Goodreads

I loved the first book and I was even more excited when Heather contacted me and told me she could send me the sequel to review!

Eren is still dealing with the hardship of her parents murder. Could you blame her? But now she has other things to worry about. Like the possibility that Luke, a guy who almost killed her, could come back for her. I'd be a tad worried if I were her. Luckily, she's got her family and Aiden to protect her. Not that she needs anyone to protect her considering she can kick some serious butt herself.

I love that in this book Eren actually gets a best friend. To me, best friends are crucial in a YA book. They are there for the main character when they're having problems or when they just need to talk. And Eren finally got that friend. And I LOVE her. She was definitely there when Eren needed her. Even during boy troubles. ;)

Something I loved about this book was it wasn't one of those books that was sort of just a filler in the series. MAJOR stuff actually happened in this book. Stuff that impacts the whole series. This isn't always the case when it comes to series and I sure am glad it wasn't the case for this one.

The romance between Aiden and Eren is definitely still there and it starts right where it left off. These two are absolutely perfect for each other and you can tell that nothing can break them apart. Especially when another girl tries to sabotage Eren and Aiden's relationship. I love how faithful Aiden is to Eren and how he would never think of doing anything to hurt her.

A big part of this book is that fact that Eren has a chance to choose whether or not she wants to keep her powers of being part of a crazy Mayan Prophecy. I liked how Heather made you go back and forth with Eren on if she should or not. At some points I wanted her to, but then someone like Aiden, (Man, I love him.) would change her mind and mine along with it.

Another great thing was that Eren's cousin got a chance at romance. Which was super great. Considering he had done so much to deserve happiness.

The ending? COMPLETE TWIST. I didn't even see that coming. Heather did a perfect job of me wanting to read more. I'm in love with these characters and I can't wait to read more about them.

I loved this book just as much as I loved the first. I recommend it to anybody who LOVES romance but also loves a twist to it. I also recommend it to Urban Fantasy lovers because this book is right on target. 5 out of 5 diva crowns for a fantastic book!

Channeler's Choice by Heather McCorkle Blog Tour!

I'm super excited to be apart of this awesome blog tour. Considering I'm in LOVE with the books, it's awesome! And let me tell you... I've already read the sequel and I looooovvveeee it! (Review on Sunday!)

Releasing (officially) February 27th in hardback and eBook, Channeler's Choice, the sequel to Heather McCorkle's earth-conscious urban fantasy, The Secret Of Spruce Knoll. To celebrate she's doing a giveaway.

1st Place winner:

A hardcopy or eBook (winner's choice)

A paperback of Born Of Fire & Dies Irae (novella combination by Heather McCorkle and Christine Fonseca released through Compass Press)

2nd place:

An eBook of Channeler's Choice (or PDF if winner doesn't have an ereader)

An eBook of Born Of Fire (A Channeler Novella)

To enter stop by her blog for official details. http://heathermccorkle.blogspot.com

You can find Channeler's Choice on both Amazon and Barnes and Noble (soon to be on all major retail sites).

http://www.amazon.com/Channelers-Choice-Heather-McCorkle/dp/0984786333

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/channelers-choice-heather-mccorkle/1108802102?ean=9780984786336

Signed copies are available for a limited time here:

http://heathermccorklebooks.blogspot.com/p/channelers-choice.html

Here is a bit about Channeler's Choice:

With her parents’ murderer’s dead, Eren can finally concentrate on fitting in at Spruce Knoll High, not to mention figuring out what it means to be a channeler. If only it were that easy. It turns out she isn’t normal even among channelers - she may be a legendary warrior meant to protect the earth in a last great battle.

But Mayan prophecies are the least of her worries as she involuntarily starts to gather her own Society, another girl moves in on Aiden, her powers rage out of control, and worst of all, someone is stalking her. To top it all off, Eren discovers she doesn’t have to be a channeler after all - she has a choice.

As an old threat closes in and she risks ending up like her parents, she is forced to decide. Be a normal teenager and leave the legendary warrior stuff to someone else, or embrace a dark destiny?

...Sounds awesome, RIGHT?! It is. Trust me. As I said before, review coming Sunday! Also, don't forget to enter Heather's giveaway for a chance to win!

Thanks for reading!

The Secret of Spruce Knoll by Heather McCorkle (Review)

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Number of Pages: 252

For ages 13+

"It’s hard enough being a teenager under normal circumstances; imagine being orphaned, sent to live with an unfamiliar aunt—and learning that there really is magic in the world. Following the tragic death of her parents, Eren Donovan moves to Spruce Knoll to live with her aunt. Little does Eren know the entire town of Spruce Knoll is filled with “channelers”—a magical group of people who immigrated to the small Colorado town when they were driven out of their own lands.

Channelers are tied to the fate of the world. As the world slowly dies, so do they—and they alone have the power to stop the destruction of Earth. Now, Eren learns she not only lives among them, but she is one. When she meets local boy Aiden, his charm convinces her that being a channeler may not be all bad.

As Eren and Aiden’s relationship blooms, so too does a mystery in Spruce Knoll. The town holds many secrets—and many enemies. It soon becomes apparent that the untimely death of Eren’s parents-and Aidens-was no accident and that her life might be in danger, too. Only time will tell if Eren has the power to protect the people she has come to love." -Goodreads

Hello everyone! My apologies for being a total slacker and not reviewing for the past three weeks. I'm ashamed. I am. Now, WHO WANTS TO READ A REVIEW?!?! ...I feel like I'm on a talk show. ;)

This book was absolutely positively divine! Oh my goodness. My mom introduced me to this book because I was needing a book to read. So, obviously I was going to read it. My mother's recommendations are never wrong. After all she knows my book tastes. I've lived with her for 14 years.

Eren just wants to be a normal teenage girl. But when her parents get attacked by a wild animal and she has to come live with her aunt, everything changes. I connected with Eren right on the spot. Heather did a fantastic job with having the reader connect with the characters. She gave them qualities that people could easily like, but she didn't make the characters too perfect. Nothing irks me more (Yes, irks) than a perfect character with no flaws. That's just not realistic. Now, I know that MANY things in paranormal or fantasy aren't going to be realistic, but it would be nice if the character's personality was at least somewhat normal...ish.

Some people may not agree with me on this, but I liked the fact that Eren and Aiden's relationship progressed quickly. I'm the type of person who says, "JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY!" Because it's true. I like the idea of "no dilly dallying." I loved the romance in this book it was refreshing and in some cases.. cheesy. And I love me some cheesy romance! The good thing is, is that if you don't like cheesy romance, it wasn't extremely cheesy that you were thinking, "Oh goodness, when did this turn into a Hallmark movie?" Trust me. Hallmark movies aren't for me. This was nothing like one. Also, Aiden? Swoon worthy. EXTREMELY Swoon Worthy. He's goin' on the list.

The suspense in this book was also fantastic. Heather always had something that you were on the edge of your seat about. I can't tell you how many times I was almost verbally screaming, "OH MY GOSH!!!!" It's a good thing I can control myself, because I usually read this during the twenty minute homework time we get in the morning, and everything is silent. (I'm always reading during this time, because I think it's ridiculous how some kids don't do their homework the NIGHT they are supposed to do it.)

There was nothing in this book I didn't like. I absolutely loved it. Which means my mother's recommendation was correct, once again. She'll be quite pleased to hear this. I highly recommend you buy this book. Especially if you love romance/suspense/fantasy. It was FANTABULOUS. Five diva crowns.