Gearing up for LDS General Conference- Free E Books

04 Oct, 2013 by in Uncategorized 4 comments

I generally do not blog or tweet much from Fire and Ice on Saturday or Sunday. Those are days to devote completely to my family. However, the first weekend in April and October of every year you will notice that my twitter feed @fireicephotos is filled with quotes along with the hashtag #ldsconf.
Twice a year we gather as a church to listen to talks from inspired leaders and  I get together with my family to listen to a living prophet. I’m a Mormon. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints. My beliefs make me who I am, a believer. A Christian. I’m not perfect– far from it; but I’m trying to be a little bit better of a person each day. 
I hope if you’ve never learned anything about the “Mormons” that someday you will ask a member or stop the missionaries (the guys and gals with the black name tags usually walking or on bikes) and ask more or I invite you to listen or watch LDS conference starting tomorrow, Saturday October 5, 2013 at 10 AM MDT.
 Conference will streamed live HERE .
In preparation, or to learn more, here are some of the E books available for free download. Also check out the amazing collection of inspiring videos here.
Enjoy General Conference, your weekend, your family and friends.

 Love you all.

Iron’s Prophecy by Julie Kagawa- Free Read Friday Review

04 Oct, 2013 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Iron’s Prophecy (The Iron Fey) 
by Julie Kagawa
Kindle Edition, 67 pages
Published September 1st 2012
By Harlequin TEEN
ASINB0088NH1VC
Series: The Iron Fey #4.5
Book Source: bought
YA Fantasy
4 stars

Meghan Chase is finally getting used to being the Iron Queen, ruler of the Iron Fey. Her life may be strange, but with former Winter prince Ash by her side at last, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts’ gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan’s past returns with a dire prophecy: “What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.”


Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey—and her and Ash’s unborn child….

A novella from Julie Kagawa’s bestselling Iron Fey series.
Review: How could I have taken a break from this series for so long? Julie Kagawa will always be one of my very favorite authors, so when I saw three days ago that this was free, I jumped on the download of the ebook. If you haven’t read the rest of the Iron Fey series, this one will have lots of spoilers for you. 

There is a return of all the favorite characters– Ash (sigh), Meg, Puck, Grimalkin, Mab and Oberon as well as the magical setting I grew to love in all the other books. Puck has been off looking for more adventures that fairytale and myths are made of in Hokkaido, Japan and Latin America, and soon may be off to find a Yeti. Meghan and Ash are living their dream as husband and wife, protector and Queen.

The wishing tree is magical yet spooky all at the same time, and this is a novella about trusting your heart and a mother’s instinct. Most of all it is about the enduring powers of love, loyalty and friendship. We each have the power to choose our destiny. There is always choice.

“The future is always changing, and no one can predict what happens next. We have the power to change our destiny, because fate is not set in stone, and we are always free to make a choice. We are only slaves to fate if we let it control us. There is always a choice.” – Ash, location 1057 of 1343

Once again I loved entering the enchanted world of the Winter court and would recommend this if you are done with the rest of the Iron Fey series as nice icing on the cake!
Highlight with cursor to view content: Lots of kissing, reference to sex as a married couple, sensuality.
               
About the Author: Julie Kagawa was born in Sacramento, California. But nothing exciting really happened to her there. So, at the age of nine she and her family moved to Hawaii, which she soon discovered was inhabited by large carnivorous insects, colonies of house geckos, and frequent hurricanes. She spent much of her time in the ocean, when she wasn’t getting chased out of it by reef sharks, jellyfish, and the odd eel.
When not swimming for her life, Julie immersed herself in books, often to the chagrin of her schoolteachers, who would find she hid novels behind her Math textbooks during class. Her love of reading led her to pen some very dark and gruesome stories, complete with colored illustrations, to shock her hapless teachers. The gory tales faded with time, but the passion for writing remained, long after she graduated and was supposed to get a real job.

To pay the rent, Julie worked in different bookstores over the years, but discovered the managers frowned upon her reading the books she was supposed to be shelving. So she turned to her other passion: training animals. She worked as a professional dogtrainer for several years, dodging Chihuahua bites and overly enthusiastic Labradors, until her first book sold and she stopped training to write full-time.
Julie now lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where the frequency of shark attacks are at an all time low. She lives with her husband, two obnoxious cats, one Australian Shepherd who is too smart for his own good, and the latest addition, a hyper-active Papillon puppy.
Go get Iron’s Prophecy now for FREE!

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia~ Blog Tour, Top Ten and Giveaway

03 Oct, 2013 by in unbreakable Leave a comment

Fire and Ice welcomes Kami Garcia to the site today as part of the official blog tour for Unbreakable:The Legion Book One. Tour arranged by Fangirlish.

Kami is here with us to share two Top 5 lists and an awesome prize pack giveaway.

Kami Garcia’s Top 5
Urban Legends

1) The Clown Statue – A babysitter is freaked out by a family’s clown statue. When the parents call to check on the kids, she mentions it. They tell the babysitter that they don’t have a clown statue. In some versions, she leaves the house and learns that a midget has been killing people. In other versions, he kills her. * Another reason not to fill your house with creepy clown statues.

2) The Jersey Devil – Believed to be the abandoned child of a witch and the devil himself, the legendary creature is often described as having the head of a goat and bat-like wings. In the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, people claim to hear his blood-curdling cries.

3) Bloody Mary – I love this one because I think every elementary school kid has been dared to do this at one time or another. According to the legend, if you turn off the lights, face a mirror, and say, “Bloody Mary” three times, you will call up the ghost of a woman persecuted for witchcraft. In some versions, Mary’s ghost will kill the offender.

4) Vanishing Hitchhiker — A man picks up a woman hitchhiking on a deserted road. When they get to the address she gave him, he looks in the backseat and she’s gone.

5) Alligator in the Sewer – In one popular version of the story, a couple returns from Florida or Louisiana with baby alligators. Eventually, the gators get too big, and the couple flushes them down the toilet, Of course, the gators survive and thrive in the sewer, where they reproduce and  eat sewer workers.

Kami Garcia’s Top 5
Haunted Places

West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, West Virginia – Between the men executed in the “Old Sparky,” the prison’s electric chair, to the deaths from illness and torture, Moundsville is a breeding ground for paranormal activity. The Ghost Hunters even investigated the site. Open for guided tours. The prison is featured in Unbreakable.

The Sultan’s Palace in New Orleans, Louisiana – The house was owned by a sultan, who forced a harem of women and young boys to live their against their will, subjecting them to torture and his sadistic whims. Even more sinister was the way he died—buried alive in the yard, his wives and harem murdered. Visitors believes he haunts the residence.

Bell Witch House in Adams, Tennessee – Want to wake up with a few bruises or take a nap with thousands of cockroaches? That’s what happened to the Bell family when the Bell Witch haunted and terrorized them 1817-1822.  The Bell farm was located on the Trail of Tears, the route taken by the Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and Choctaw tribes when they were forcibly relocated to Oklahoma by the US government. Tours are available.

Lilburn Mansion in Ellicott City, Maryland – The ghost of a girl in a chiffon dress, swinging chandeliers, and heavy footsteps in the tower are what homeowners can expect from Lilburn Mansion. The house was originally built in 1847 by iron trader Henry Hazelhurst, whose wife and daughter died there. Frequent hauntings were reported after a fire destroyed the Gothic tower, and the new owners rebuilt the tower in a different architectural style. Ghosts hate construction—and change. The house is featured in Unbreakable.

Winchester Mansion in San Jose, California – Want to wander through a labyrinth of rooms and hallways that often dead-end at brick walls? Once the residence of Winchester rifle heiress, Sarah Winchester, the Victorian house was under constant construction around the clock, from 1884 until 1922. Today it’s a tourist attraction.

Official Bio: Kami Garcia is the #1 New York Times & international bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful
Creatures Series and the author of UNBREAKABLE, the first book in the Legion Series, releasing on October 1, 2013.

 Kami is fascinated by the paranormal, and she’s very superstitious. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found watching disaster movies, listening to Soundgarden, or drinking Diet Coke. She lives in Maryland with her family, and their dogs Spike and Oz (named after characters from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Lean more about Kami: Official Website/  Facebook 
Twitter: @kamigarcia
Tumblr: kamigarcia.tumblr.com

The Legion Series
Official Website/ Facebook
Twitter: @TheLegionSeries
Tumblr: thelegionseries.tumblr.com

As part of the blog tour there is a huge Unbreakable prize pack giveaway! To enter fill out the rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Peek Into My Postbox #8- Link Up and Share Your Mail

02 Oct, 2013 by in peek into my Postbox Leave a comment

Peek into my Postbox is a regular meme at Fire and Ice.
It’s a chance for us to share the fun things we get in our post box each week. If you already participate in your own similar meme…no worries.  
Link your post below to share what books you bought, checked out at the library, bought or received. Also, if you have some exciting other mail or swag to share, link below.
Here’s what I got in my box this week…

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Griffin, Shadow Mountain and Cedar Fort Books for making this weeks post possible.

Share with me your similar posts! I’d  love to see your bookish and other fun mail.

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Five Star Freebies- Amish Fiction Short Reviews

01 Oct, 2013 by in Vannetta Chapman, Virginia Smith Leave a comment

Home to Pebble Creek (Free Short Story) (The Pebble Creek Amish)
by Vannetta Chapman
Kindle Edition, 21 pages
Published September 1st 2013
by Harvest House Publishers
ISBN13B00ET7Q4OG
Book Source: bought
Amish fiction
5 stars

When Joseph Bontrager left Pebble Creek, all of Esther Schrock’s dreams and hopes for the future went with him. Bravely picking up the pieces of her broken heart, she resumed her life teaching at the schoolhouse with Miriam King. Now, nineteen months later, Joseph has returned. Despite her initial excitement, Esther feels anger rise up instead of love. Will she be able to forgive him for leaving? Forgive him for more than a year and a half of silence without a single letter? With Miriam’s encouraging words, and despite ominous clouds on the horizon, will Esther be able to replace the bitterness in her heart with affection for Joseph once more?

A Home in the West (The Amish of Apple Grove)
by Lori Copeland, Virginia Smith
ebook, 16 pages
Published July 1st 2013
by Harvest House Publishers
ISBN 0736959173
Book Source: bought
Amish fiction
5 stars

Journey back to 1858 Berlin, Ohio, in this free short story e-romance from The Amish of Apple Grove series by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith. For 19-year-old Jonas Switzer, the promise of a productive life as an Amish farmer is only as real as a dream on the western horizon. Living on the charity of the Bylers, and with no claim to a family farm, Jonas’s future depends on a bold plan and an ambitious move. He also longs to catch the eye of Caroline Hersberger, the most beautiful young woman in the village, and share his dream with her. Will Matthew Kennel woo her first? Will she reject Jonas outright? Only God knows, and only He can provide Jonas with a godly wife and a home in the West?


Review: Both of these were clean, sweet Amish fiction short stories. Just this week I’ve read three books in this Historical fiction vein. I’m loving learning about such an interesting and faithful group of people I knew little about. As a child, we would see the Amish passing through Pennsylvania with their horse and buggies and would eat their candies, or visit Pennsylvania Dutch shops– but this is the first time I’ve read their stories. I will be reading as many as I can find since I’ve really enjoyed the uplifting, old fashioned tone. Would recommend these two glimpses that are both FREE in ebook form right now. They each took just a few minutes to read while in carpool and highlight the hope of new love. Find more at Amishreader.com

Content: Clean


Download

Books That Feel Like Fall

30 Sep, 2013 by in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Last night we made Pumpkin Spice cookies and this weekend we harvested our corn stalks and pumpkins from the garden for the front porch. It got me in the  mood to read some Fall books! Here’s some that came quickly to mind…

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater 

James Morgan has an almost unearthly gift for music. And it has attracted Nuala, a soul-snatching faerie muse who fosters and then feeds on the creative energies of exceptional humans until they die. James has plenty of reasons to fear the faeries, but as he and Nuala collaborate on an achingly beautiful musical composition, James finds his feelings towards Nuala deepening. But the rest of the fairies are not as harmless. As Halloween—the day of the dead—draws near, James will have to battle the Faerie Queen and the horned king of the dead to save Nuala’s life and his soul.


Pumpkin Roll By Josi S. Kilpack

Sadie Hoffmiller is looking forward to spending her favorite baking season of the year making delicious New England recipes in Boston, Massachusetts, with her favorite leading man, Pete Cunningham, as they babysit his three young grandsons. But when the boys insist that Mrs. Wapple, the woman who lives across the street, is a witch, Sadie and Pete are anxious to distract the boys from such Halloween-induced ideas. However, it gets harder and harder to explain the strange things that keep happening, particularly after Sadie learns the eccentric Mrs. Wapple has been attacked in her home. As the unexplained occurrences escalate, Sadie finds herself embroiled in yet another mystery with life-or-death consequences. Can Sadie discover whoever—or whatever—is behind the mystery before anyone else gets hurt? Or will this be Sadie’s last case?


A Timeless Romance Anthology: Autumn Collection

Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Autumn Collection. Readers will love this collection of six romantic suspense novellas, all with one thing in common: Romance.

In Heather Horrocks’ charming story, A Hound Dog Named Elvis, interior designer, Kaitlin Hartley returns to her hometown of Aspen Grove, California, to the job of her dreams after a year of specialized training in New York. During the town’s Autumn Festival, she enters her dachshund, Elvis, into the Running of the Hallowieners race. Joshua Moore, the man who hadn’t wanted her to leave Aspen Grove, but hadn’t waited for her either, enters Elvis’s sister, Priscilla. When Kaitlin gets home afterward, she realizes Elvis has left the building—with Joshua. She has the wrong dog! Can she get her dog—and the man she’s never stopped loving—back?

Eye for an Eye, Stephanie Black’s thrilling novella, follows Mallory as she is just getting her life back together, living with her sister and brother-in-law and starting college. After a difficult few years following a family tragedy, she’s finally ready to move forward, which includes getting to know the charming Darien better. But when illegal drugs turn up in her sister’s drawer, the first person accused is Mallory, and suddenly she doesn’t know who to trust. She turns to Darien, but with all evidence pointing at her, she doesn’t know if Darien is the man to save her.

In First Heist, a suspenseful novella by Heather B. Moore, Mia, an undercover agent is about to make a handoff to co-agent, Omar Zagouri. But before she can complete her assignment, her cover is blown, and she finds herself escaping with Omar. The only problem is, her boss warned her about Omar and his sketchy history of landing himself in the middle of danger. After losing her mother in an attack planned for Mia, pulling off any heist with a man like Omar is the last thing she needs for her career . . . or her life.

Sarah M. Eden’s cozy mystery, Letter for Two, we meet Sophia, who looks forward to the 5:30 p.m. mail sorting she does with her next door neighbor, Ethan. They live in a renovated house, now split into two apartments. Ethan is one of those dreamy, smart guys, but he shows no interest other than being friendly toward Sophia. When they find a mysterious letter addressed to Eleanor, dated to 1953, Sophia and Ethan determine to solve the puzzle together. Sophia knows that spending evenings with Ethan in ‘research’ might be her only chance to convince him that she should be more than just a neighbor.

In the enchanting novella, Silver Cascade Secrets, by Rachelle J. Christensen, Jillian is the master landscaper at a beautiful park. Meeting Travis there soon after breaking up with her boyfriend, Jillian is wary at first. Travis seems like a great guy, but Jillian had fallen for great guys before. When she learns that his brother, Craig, was murdered six months before, her heart goes out to Travis. True to her curious nature, she starts asking questions and learns about Craig’s close connection with the park. But finding the answers puts Jillian’s life in danger, and she must decide who she really trusts.

Chocolate Obsessed, a captivating romantic suspense by Annette Lyon, we meet Whitney, an executive pastry chef who is working her resort’s booth at the New York Chocolate Show. The only problem is that she shares the shift with her arch rival, Stephen. But then an unexpected visitor shows up: Jeremy, a man who lost a dessert competition she judged. When Jeremy confronts her and becomes threatening, Stephen steps in and gets Jeremy dragged off by security. But that doesn’t throw Jeremy off for long; soon Stephen and Whitney are running for their lives.


The Complete Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick


Enter the realm of fallen angels and rising passions with this boxed set that includes Hush, HushCrescendoSilence, and Finale. A gripping saga that chronicles the destiny of Nora and Patch from the beginning of their relationship to the dire events—and forces—that threaten to tear them apart, this collection of all four Hush, Hush books is the perfect paranormal present for loyal fans and series newcomers.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Some race to win. Others race to survive. It happens at the start of every November: the Scorpio Races. Riders attempt to keep hold of their water horses long enough to make it to the finish line. 

Some riders live.Others die.

At age nineteen, Sean Kendrick is the returning champion. He is a young man of few words, and if he has any fears, he keeps them buried deep, where no one else can see them. 

Puck Connolly is different. She never meant to ride in the Scorpio Races. But fate hasn’t given her much of a choice. So she enters the competition – the first girl ever to do so. She is in no way prepared for what is going to happen.

As she did in her bestselling Shiver trilogy, author Maggie Stiefvater takes us to the breaking point, where both love and life meet their greatest obstacles, and only the strong of heart can survive. The Scorpio Races is an unforgettable reading experience.



Enna Burning (Books of Bayern) by Shannon Hale

When her mother dies, Enna leaves the city and her friends to move back home with her brother, Leifer. She thought life would be simpler and more manageable in the forest. But Enna’s was not meant to be a simple life, and when Leifer brings home a mysterious piece of vellum and starts setting fires-without a spark, without flint-something seems wrong. Enna cannot decide if that something is a power she wants for herself, or if it’s a power that should be extinguished forever. And when her country, Bayern, goes to war, that choice becomes unbearable as her friendships are tested and her sense of self nearly lost in the fires she creates. Ultimately Enna and her best friend, Isi, take a nearly impossible journey in search of a cure for the war around them-and for the wars within themselves.



What books feel like Fall to you?

Looking forward to Halloween, what YA titles can you think of that are set on or near Halloween?

Mac Teen Books To Launch Swoon Reads Monday

27 Sep, 2013 by in macmillan Leave a comment

Mac Teen and Feiwel and Friends are launching a brand new community on Monday September 30th called Swoon Reads!

“Swoon Reads is a new YA romance community for writers and readers, but even more exciting is that it is a revolutionary new crowd sourced romance imprint that is dedicated to publishing books that capture the intensity and excitement of teen love.
So what does that mean?
Are you a writer and working on a YA romance novel? You can submit your manuscript to Swoon Reads. We accept from any genre: historical, adventure, paranormal, contemporary, etc.
As a reader, you can become intimately involved with the publishing process by reading, rating, and commenting on submissions. The manuscripts achieving the highest ratings by readers and the Swoon Reads editorial team will be published in both print and e-book formats. Some manuscripts have already been submitted and are generating great discussion!
Swoon Reads wants to give you the opportunity to see what goes on behind the publishing process and you get to decide what we publish!
Their motto is “Fall in Love with Falling in Love” and we hope you get a chance to explore the site, read some manuscripts, read the blog, and maybe even submit that YA romance manuscript that you’ve been working on ever so diligently.”


You are welcome to head on over there now and visit the comunity in Beta!

Visit Swoon Reads: http://www.swoonreads.com/
Read the Swoon Reads Blog: http://www.swoonreads.com/blog
Follow Swoon Reads on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/swoonreads
Become a fan on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/SwoonReads

Peek Into My Postbox #7

25 Sep, 2013 by in peek into my Postbox 4 comments

Peek into my Postbox is new meme at Fire and Ice.
It’s a chance for us to share the fun things we get in our post box each week. If you already participate in your own similar meme…no worries.  
Link your post below to share what books you bought, checked out at the library, bought or received. Also, if you have some exciting other mail or swag to share, link below.
What’s new in your To Be Read Pile?
link your post below
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