The Gods Have Spoken – Release Day for The Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons

Posted on February 13, 2014 by fundinmental

THE DEEP END OF THE SEA is a New Adult Fantasy set for release, today, February 13, 2014. You will see the Gods of mythology as you have never seen them before. The Deep End of the Sea is a story of rape, a curse, vengeance, love and sacrifice, one you need to add to your TBR pile!

I wanted so much to share this for my Teaser Tuesday, but because it is a new release, I had to wait until now. I hope you enjoy what I have to share as much as I enjoyed reading the book and writing this review.

A unique and intriguing love story that had me going off the Deep End.

About THE DEEP END OF THE SEA

Cover design: Carl Stevens / Cover Art: Kelsey Patton

What if all the legends you’ve learned were wrong?

Brutally attacked by one god and unfairly cursed by another she faithfully served, Medusa has spent the last two thousand years living out her punishment on an enchanted isle in the Aegean Sea. A far cry from the monster legends depict, she’s spent her time educating herself, gardening, and desperately trying to frighten away adventure seekers who occasionally end up, much to her dismay, as statues when they manage to catch her off guard. As time marches on without her, Medusa wishes for nothing more than to be given a second chance at a life stolen away at far too young an age.

But then comes a day when Hermes, one of the few friends she still has and the only deity she trusts, petitions the rest of the gods and goddesses to reverse the curse. Thus begins a journey toward healing and redemption, of reclaiming a life after tragedy, and of just how powerful friendship and love can be—because sometimes, you have to sink in the deep end of the sea before you can rise back up again.

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My Review of Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons

I am the Gorgon, Medusa. And my eyes can turn anything living to stone.

This is my story.

The Deep End of the Sea cover swept me away and I dove in with eagerness. Heather Lyon’s descriptions of the Gods, doing and acting like ordinary people is graphic, detailed and very realistic. I love mythology and The Deep End of the Sea is a unique and refreshing love story that had my full attention from the first page to the last.

Medusa – Poseidon raped her, Athena cursed her and Hermes loved her. Danger surrounded her. She is a gentle soul before being turned into Medusa and that did not change. She loves modern electronics, her only contact with the outside world. She has been exiled to the island of Gorgon for the past two thousand years.

Mikkos is one of her only friends. He is blind, so she does not worry that he will turn to stone when he looks upon The Girls. He sells her temple relics, so she can purchase real everyday items and donate to worthy causes, trying to make up for the deaths she has caused. After freezing a human, I can visualize her moving the statue, trying to find the perfect spot for him. I can’t walk in her shoes because she is so damn nice.

Medusa talks about The Girls, her head of snakes. It is funny and sweet. Especially, I can picture Mikkos being allowed to feed and pet The Girls.

Hermes is Poseiden’s nephew and Athena’s brother. He does errands for Zeus and his uncle, Hades. He is determined to help Medusa have a life. He would talk to his dad, Olympus, and find out what would need to be done to reverse the curse. He shows the lengths “people” will go to to be with their soul mate. Heather Lyons describes it as imprinting, like werewolves do with their mates.

Medusa describes the girls actions – happy, unhappy, disapproving, excited, wriggling and trying to peak out from under the scarf she wears to hide them. Had me smiling and giggling as I develop the picture in my mind.

Heather’s descriptions are so vivid, I can picture Zues in a T-shirt, torn shorts and flip flops. Imagine sitting at a bar, not knowing a God is sitting beside you. It made me laugh out loud as she made their world blend into ours so realistically.

I love her detailed description of butterflies, but I would like for you to experience it yourself, so I will leave that for you to discover, along with so much more wonder in Medusa’s world.

I loved learning of our world through her eyes. Medusa is very knowledgeable, but after being isolated for two thousand years, she does not know how to fit in. How does she see our world, going from a two dimensional computer image to three dimensional reality? She is a total innocent in interaction with people, the crowds, restaurants, shopping, all the things we take for granted.

Oh no! NO! I didn’t see that coming. My heart breaks along with Medusa’s. I am crushed. What the hell, Heather? How can you do that to her, after all she has been through?

Usually, books about Gods and their mythological world can be confusing and heavy. Heather’s writing and Medusa’s world left me wanting more, a lot more. The characters came alive on the pages. I now see snakes as lively, fun and mischievous creatures. As I walked with Medusa, I began to see our world through her eyes. It is a scary and wonderful place and I would not want to be anywhere else.

5 STARS – Would Buy It For Them (lol)

Just a few fingers against his shoulder, but suddenly I’ve just stepped off a cliff and am soaring through the air, into the unknown after drowning in the deep sea for so long.

“Obviously, the reason I’ve yet to marry is because I was a recluse of a a monster living on an enchanted isle. Most may draw the line at scaly women whose hair can bite them during arguments and eyes which turn them into stone. Your turn.”

“You really don’t know, do you?”

I run. I kick. I punch. I listen. I write. I give. I live. Stars above, I love.

Heather Lyons would like to tell you, if you or anyone you know is a victim of sexual assault, you do not need to suffer in silence. Contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE, visit the RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) website or connect with an online counselor to learn more about your options.

I received an arc ecopy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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About Heather Lyons

Heather Lyons has always had a thing for words—She’s been writing stories since she was a kid. In addition to writing, she’s also been an archaeologist and a teacher. Heather is a rabid music fan, as evidenced by her (mostly) music-centric blog, and she’s married to an even larger music snob. They’re happily raising three kids who are mini music fiends who love to read and be read to.

Stalk the Author at the links below:

Website / Author Goodreads / THE DEEP END OF THE SEA Goodreads

Twitter / Facebook

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To get your copy of The Deep End of the Sea or learn more about Heather Lyons, click on the cover below.

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GIVEAWAY

ENTER THE RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look below or on the right sidebar at Home and let’s talk.

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Teaser Tuesday #10 – I feel as if this book was written especially for me – Ocean’s Gift by Demelza Carlton

Posted on February 11, 2014 by fundinmental

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read

• Open to a random page.

•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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This cover blows me away!! What am I saying? I am blown away (I know I am repeating myself) by this refreshing twist on the myths and legends of mermaids. I was only 7% in and felt like jumping up and down for joy. I am thinking this may be the best mermaid novel I have ever read. The story has drawn me in and I can hardly put it down long enough to write this post.

Be sure and go to the end of the post to check out the cover for Book II, Ocean’s Infiltrator. Another cover that makes me long to dive into that beautiful blue water. Plus, surprise! There is a book trailer.

I’ll be reviewing this book on February 19, 2014, so be sure and come back and I will tell you all about it..

My Teaser for Ocean’s Gift by Demelza Carlton

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“…I feel she will succeed, despite our doubts. She understands humans better than any of our kind ever has, yet she is one of our elders. She will accomplish what none of us could. In her own way, she is the ocean’s gift to humans, ensuring their survival when their world will be irrevocable changed.”

(67% on Kindle).

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BLURB From Amazon

A bestselling paranormal romance and sea adventure, weaving mermaids, mythology, folklore and fantasy into modern day Australia.

Sirens don’t fall in love with humans. For centuries it has been so…

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But Sirena is different. She lost her first love to sharks and a storm, cursing the islands that stole him from her. Times have changed and she must swim ashore once more, to the islands she once cursed. Gone are the boats powered by sail and steam – jet boats with GPS are now the order of the day. Enter Joe, the deckhand on the Dolphin. A handy man to have around when the lights go out. He’ll fix your generator and have the lights back on in no time, no worries. But can he seduce a siren? Or will she swim away before he can uncover her secret? A book about lobsters, beer and boobs, on some cursed islands off the coast of Western Australia. At least, that’s how Joe tells it.

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For Sirena, it’s a very different story.

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You can see an excerpt at Goodreads or Amazon.

Check out these gorgeous, breathtaking covers and feel free to paddle your way over to Amazon and pick up your copy of the Ocean Gift’s series by Demelza Carlton.

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Inquiring minds want to know – What are you reading?

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look below or on the right sidebar at Home and let’s talk.

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Excerpt Blast from the Gods – Deep End of the Sea by Heather Lyons

Posted on January 31, 2014 by fundinmental

THE DEEP END OF THE SEA is a New Adult Fantasy set for release February 13, 2014 and definitely one you need to add to your TBR pile!

I am thrilled to share an excerpt for Heather Lyons’ THE DEEP END OF THE SEA!

About THE DEEP END OF THE SEA

What if all the legends you’ve learned were wrong?

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EXCERPT

I let it happen again.

The temple settles into that stagnant silence I’ve long learned to loathe, and these are the most cohesive series of words I can string together for many long, desolate minutes. I let it happen again. Resolutions apparently mean nothing, even if crafted under the best of intentions. Had I not, just this very morning, recited a daily pledge held dear to my heart: I shall not let myself be used for death?

And yet, a man is dead, and I was the weapon that slayed him.

I move closer to where he now stands, forever frozen in terror, and press my shaking hand against his outstretched stone one. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, though he cannot and never will be able to hear my words. “So, so sorry.”

His eyes, wide and mercifully detail free, offer me nothing in return. Once I commit his features to memory, I construct a life history with a name worthy of his sacrifice. Walt was single (I can’t bear the thought of spouses and children, thus my collection of singletons) and a bit of a daredevil when he wasn’t volunteering to teach literacy to adults in poverty stricken urban areas. He’d gone spelunking at least a half-dozen times, sky diving twice, and bungee cord diving off some crazy bridge in Colorado just once, on his thirtieth birthday. Walt liked to write poetry; how could he not, when his now-deceased parents had named him after one of the greats?

Walt liked to talk about poetry, too, which means he needs to be with others like him. I strip off my flannel work shirt, down to a tank top, and get to work. Shoving stones around when half of one’s body is reptilian isn’t the easiest of tasks, requiring a great deal of precision and care.

As I always tend to do when placing a new statue, I can’t help but flash back to the one and only time I’d broken one of my victims. I’d been tired—he’d snuck upon me when I’d been sleeping—and an overestimated shove sent poor Nikolaos face first against the temple floor. I’d spent most of that night collecting the pieces which once made a whole man, blubbering in misery. As penance, his head, missing an ear and part of his nose, still sits on a shelf in my bedroom. Treat us gently, I like to imagine him telling me nightly before I sleep. We deserve your care.

I have not failed Nikolaos since. Over the ages, I’ve developed a routine to transfer the statues around the island that includes wrapping the bodies in a thick quilt before putting them up on casters. It takes a painstaking amount of time to shift them short or long distances, but each person deserves nothing less from me.

Walt’s group sits just outside the temple. They are the philosophers of our island; it only seems natural they would find much to appreciate in both the sun and the stars. I struggle with his body over the stairs—they are tricky to maneuver for me even without hauling a two hundred pound statue—but eventually, I get him exactly where he’ll fit in best.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Walt,” I tell the still faces forming a cluster near a non-functioning fountain. “His poetry is as beautiful as his namesake’s.”

I angle Walt so his eyes face theirs. It’s late afternoon, and there is soft orange light filtering down upon their features. It’s a beautiful sight, which only saddens me, because all of that talk about death and beauty being intertwined is one of the biggest loads of crap I’ve ever heard. Death isn’t beautiful. Too often than not, it’s messy and brutal; even when done in sleep, there’s still that theft of breath, that failure of a heart. Death is an act of violence.

I should know. I am one of the most prolific murderers in history. And I think about death constantly.

I often wonder what my own death will be like, if I am ever blessed to embrace it. I’m not too picky in my imaginings; I’ll take any sort by this point. Logically, I’d prefer a less painful exit, but, knowing my luck, it’ll be as ruthless as once reported and still widely believed.

It ought to be noted I have some of the most wretched luck to ever be doled out, so there is that.

The sound of waves crashing against the shore sends my eyes to the horizon. I’ve tried to drown myself in those waters more times than I ought to admit over the years, but the sea always spits me back out. I’ve also tried overdosing on pharmaceuticals, stabbing myself in the chest and eyes (which was just as painful as you’d imagine), and throwing myself off a cliff. Melodramatic, yes, and all ineffective for an immortal cursed with impenetrable skin and a digestive system apparently filled with acid.

Death is not my friend. At least, not yet.

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About Heather Lyons

Stalk the Author at the links below:

Website / Author Goodreads / THE DEEP END OF THE SEA Goodreads

Twitter / Facebook

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To see all my Reviews, go HERE.

To see all my Giveaways, go HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Look below or on the right sidebar at Home and let’s talk.

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