Today I have the honor of being a part of Mel Ballew's blog tour for her book- Shattered into Beautiful. She resides in rural Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter, along with their two adorable cats.
While she is a busy woman and I was unable to get an interview with her, I did speak enough to get an idea about her. She is a kind woman who goes about everything in a civil and respectful manner. If there is a problem- she asks how it can be fixed. If you're confused about something- she tries to explain it. It really was a pleasure to meet her, if only briefly, and I am more than excited to start this. Let's talk about her new book!
While she is a busy woman and I was unable to get an interview with her, I did speak enough to get an idea about her. She is a kind woman who goes about everything in a civil and respectful manner. If there is a problem- she asks how it can be fixed. If you're confused about something- she tries to explain it. It really was a pleasure to meet her, if only briefly, and I am more than excited to start this. Let's talk about her new book!
Paranormal Romance
Blurb
Her Magick is destined but true love forbidden.
After beautiful Sylver Kyllienne Brady meets death at the hands of her boyfriend, Roland Parks, she transcends into Summerland. There, she reunites with her mother and finds her soulmate, Zander. Pulled back to the earthly plane, she must embark on a journey of discovery. She uncovers a truth. She is the descendent of a long lineage of powerful Witches. She must learn to control her power, protect the family’s Amulet and Book of Shadows. Sylver has no idea what awaits her. And, this is only part of her discovery.
Lives unravel as secrets are discovered and mysteries unfold.
Everything changes when she meets Zander Emmett –a vampire. Zander is gorgeous, exotic, sexy and unbelievably wealthy. He is also the one person a witch, such as Sylver, must avoid. Their love is forbidden but their souls draw them together like a magnet. Their bodies ignite, passion soars and their souls are left discovering, not only each other, but their destiny. His life holds secrets and enticing mysteries of his own that propel the parallels of their worlds to climaxing heights.
Will their colliding worlds separate them? Will Sylver embrace her destiny? Will realizing what is expected of her and falling soul-fully in love with Zander - the vampire she is forbidden to love, just leave her breathless?
Or, will she forever be Shattered Into Beautiful?
I gave it 3.5 stars out of 5
Shattered into Beautiful is about Sylver, a woman who has been through a lot of tough situations throughout her life. Every step seems to be another battle, if not physically then mentally. She is a powerful witch who ends up dying at the hands of an abusive ex boyfriend- who shoots himself, as well. By this death a series of events unravel, slowly pushing her into a mysterious and dangerous fate. She comes back to life and meets her soulmate, a vampire named Zander. Together, along with her beloved close friends, they start on a deep adventure into discovering one another and the life fate has planned ahead.
Shattered into Beautiful is about Sylver, a woman who has been through a lot of tough situations throughout her life. Every step seems to be another battle, if not physically then mentally. She is a powerful witch who ends up dying at the hands of an abusive ex boyfriend- who shoots himself, as well. By this death a series of events unravel, slowly pushing her into a mysterious and dangerous fate. She comes back to life and meets her soulmate, a vampire named Zander. Together, along with her beloved close friends, they start on a deep adventure into discovering one another and the life fate has planned ahead.
The beginning of the book grabbed you, it was fast and interesting. This only lasts a few chapters before it slows down and you learn more about Sylver and her life. The plot itself was intriguing. The author has a few twists and turns to keep you reading and wondering where it would go. Unfortunately I feel that while the idea is good, the execution was not as amazing as it could have been. Some of the typos were flat out distracting, and while she put a ton of detail into the beginning, it sort of wavers near the end- giving everything a rushed feel.
I didn't expect the sex scenes to be so explicit so that was a sort of shock- not in a bad way. They were undeniably hot! The chemistry between Zander and Sylver was very physical, but I didn't feel much of a real emotion bond between them. The first few meetings between them were almost hard to read. Sylver went hot and cold with her feelings towards him often, but this smoothed out over time. In fact, I felt like most of her feelings in the beginning were... A little bipolar. I suppose I didn't fully understand why she would react the way she did so some minor situations. Again, this smoothed out.
I loved Jay and Gram, they offered Sylver a strong support system with lots of love and guidance.
While I can admit this book was not really my cup of tea, there are some things that need to be respected. First off, I loved the formatting! Very lovely, and the added quotes for each chapter? Wonderful! The cover art is also well done and very appealing.
The book itself was well written, just needs a little tweaking (wrong their, a few sentences were missing words).
With so many questions left unanswered, I could see myself buying the next book to this series when it gets released; and for $2.99, it's not a bad price.
I didn't expect the sex scenes to be so explicit so that was a sort of shock- not in a bad way. They were undeniably hot! The chemistry between Zander and Sylver was very physical, but I didn't feel much of a real emotion bond between them. The first few meetings between them were almost hard to read. Sylver went hot and cold with her feelings towards him often, but this smoothed out over time. In fact, I felt like most of her feelings in the beginning were... A little bipolar. I suppose I didn't fully understand why she would react the way she did so some minor situations. Again, this smoothed out.
I loved Jay and Gram, they offered Sylver a strong support system with lots of love and guidance.
While I can admit this book was not really my cup of tea, there are some things that need to be respected. First off, I loved the formatting! Very lovely, and the added quotes for each chapter? Wonderful! The cover art is also well done and very appealing.
The book itself was well written, just needs a little tweaking (wrong their, a few sentences were missing words).
With so many questions left unanswered, I could see myself buying the next book to this series when it gets released; and for $2.99, it's not a bad price.
Now I would like to take a moment, if you don't mind, to address the typos. Like I said before, if there is a problem, Mel will try to fix it. They were brought to her attention and she is working on getting them fixed. She had minor issues with formatting and while the product looks good, some mistakes were harder to fix. So, I won't hold this over her head, and I still encourage you to give this book a chance.
You find it on amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Beautiful-Surviving-Novel-ebook/dp/B00CGAULGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1370828672&sr=1-1&keywords=shattered+into+beautiful
And you can find it on Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shattered-into-beautiful-mel-ballew/1115158635?ean=2940016579641
You find it on amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Beautiful-Surviving-Novel-ebook/dp/B00CGAULGK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1370828672&sr=1-1&keywords=shattered+into+beautiful
And you can find it on Barnes and Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shattered-into-beautiful-mel-ballew/1115158635?ean=2940016579641
About the author~
An avid reader, she has always had an equal passion for writing and has written her entire life, to date. Her mother initially birthed, inspired, and encouraged these loves. The two often discussed writing together but unfortunately, that dream never came to fruition.
Years later, this happened, that happened—life happened.
She stepped away from writing to place more focus on being wife and a full-time mom. Today, she would not have changed a thing. The day her daughter was born became the first day she realized a significant rhythm to her heart was also born. Her daughter, now preparing to go off to college, has grown into a beautiful and responsible young adult.
A twisted turn of events in September 2009 left Mel unable to work outside of the home. Forced to consider other options, and while embracing a therapeutic approach of transcribing all of the challenges facing her, post-accident, she returned to journaling. Once again, the writer within her has been re-birthed—awakened from slumber.
Mel is a hopeless romantic. Blessed, she has her very own soul mate, which she calls husband, best friend, and lover.
She is a simple country gal, with a profound love of true simplicity. She is just as hopeless in her love of nature and regards many of her writing aspirations to appreciating its beauty, although every single story is birthed from her dreams. Sometimes, in life, simply enjoying a chilled glass of sangria on a warm summer’s eve or indulging in her love of chocolate and peanut butter is an expression of enjoying such simplicity. For her, these moments are truly d’vine.
How to find her:
Website: http://www.melballew.com/
Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17306108-shattered-into-beautiful
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormelballew?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelBallew
That about does it for me, but you can continue the tour and learn more about the author, find some great teasers, even stumble upon some good music throughout the week! Tomorrow, CSI: Creative Scenes Investigation shines the light on Mel Ballew and tells you what they've discovered about her and her book. I'm kind of excited to see what is uncovered!
Until then, Vampy love to all of you and keep writing! ♥
She stepped away from writing to place more focus on being wife and a full-time mom. Today, she would not have changed a thing. The day her daughter was born became the first day she realized a significant rhythm to her heart was also born. Her daughter, now preparing to go off to college, has grown into a beautiful and responsible young adult.
A twisted turn of events in September 2009 left Mel unable to work outside of the home. Forced to consider other options, and while embracing a therapeutic approach of transcribing all of the challenges facing her, post-accident, she returned to journaling. Once again, the writer within her has been re-birthed—awakened from slumber.
Mel is a hopeless romantic. Blessed, she has her very own soul mate, which she calls husband, best friend, and lover.
She is a simple country gal, with a profound love of true simplicity. She is just as hopeless in her love of nature and regards many of her writing aspirations to appreciating its beauty, although every single story is birthed from her dreams. Sometimes, in life, simply enjoying a chilled glass of sangria on a warm summer’s eve or indulging in her love of chocolate and peanut butter is an expression of enjoying such simplicity. For her, these moments are truly d’vine.
How to find her:
Website: http://www.melballew.com/
Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17306108-shattered-into-beautiful
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormelballew?fref=ts
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MelBallew
That about does it for me, but you can continue the tour and learn more about the author, find some great teasers, even stumble upon some good music throughout the week! Tomorrow, CSI: Creative Scenes Investigation shines the light on Mel Ballew and tells you what they've discovered about her and her book. I'm kind of excited to see what is uncovered!
Until then, Vampy love to all of you and keep writing! ♥
CSI: Creative Scenes Investigation's blog: http://csicreativesceneinvestigation.wordpress.com/
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