Monday, March 19, 2012

March Madness: March 19th: Author Samantha Towle "First Bitten"



March Madness for March 19th Welcomes Author Samantha Towle
Bio:

I started writing seriously in 2008 while on maternity leave with my son. I completed my first novel in five months, and I haven't stopped writing since! I have two novels released through Night Publishing, 'The Bringer' and my most recent 'First Bitten'.

I can't write a single word without listening to music. I listen to Kings of Leon, Adele, One Republic, The Doors, Muse, Oasis, Fleetwood Mac, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey to name a few.

I was born in Hull. I graduated from Salford University in 2002 with a BSc (Hons) in Business and Marketing. I now live in East Yorkshire with my husband Craig, son Riley and daughter Isabella.


A love story with bite …...

Walking home after a night out drowning her sorrows with her best friend, Carrie, Alexandra Jones stupidly takes a phone call from her cheating ex-boyfriend, Eddie, and in her anger hurls her phone into the forest before her.

But when Alex goes to retrieve her phone from the undergrowth, she and Carrie come face-to-face with a monster they never even knew existed, a Vârcolac (a nightmarish vampire-werewolf hybrid) and he's in search of fresh blood. The next thing Alex knows, she is staring at the impossibly handsome but mysterious Nathan who has helped bring her back to life, but not to the life she left.

To her horror, she discovers she has now become a blood-drinking Vârcolac herself and she is the only female of her kind, with the potential for breeding a whole new army of Vârcolacs if they can only track her down and press her into service.

And while Alex gets to know Nathan and his shape-shifting family as they offer her the protection she so desperately needs, unbeknown to all of them, the Vârcolacs are getting closer …

 Review

Have you noticed how when you're down, life bends you over and shoves its heel in your rear end just to make sure you're breathing in sand? Just when it can't get any worse, it does.

First Bitten takes you straight into the mire with Alex. Then the mystery starts. Memory gaps, strange men, and well - wow - did I laugh a lot being Alex's voyeur. A pure man of mystery saved Alex the night it all turned to carnage, but wasn't in time to save Carrie. Nothing cuts as deep as grief and guilt in one potent cocktail.

The grief is so immediate and heart-wrenching, you feel it. Samantha Towle's writing drags you right into the thick of it, emotions and all, and you are drawn and repulsed by this tale - both hooks so deep you just can't stop reading.

There is such beauty in this novel, many lines stuck out and made me pause to appreciate the artistic beauty of certain sentences (gorgeous metaphors) - but then the sexual tension sinks fangs into you, and you are swept along to the Original hell, fearing for Alex, wanting her hero to save her, only to be gripped by conflict and tension all over again.

The ending - god what an ending! It's so emotional I think I spiraled for awhile, unwilling to let it go. As a reader, hooked from the first chapter, I'm prepared to send death threats to get a sequel to this novel. There MUST be more, I need more!

This is more than romance, it's more than paranormal, it's part thriller, part mystery - and it's such an incredible tale you will want a Nathan of your own.

Awesome awesome read! She proves she can do it! I was astounded by her first novel and am so delighted her writing in this is just as original, gripping, emotive and compelling! You have to read this one! Definitely 5 out of 5 stars!

Review by Poppet

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Please remember you MUST leave a comment on this post to have a chance at winning this book!
PLUS...Join this blog and be in the running to win not one but TWO books written by your host Soooz Burke under her pen name of Stacey Danson.."Empty Chairs" and "Faint Echoes of Laughter"

To ensure that I can send you the prize should you win, please leave details of either email or another form of address.

13 comments:

  1. another excellent books by a wonderful author! Both my son & I are eagerly awaiting the sequel!!

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  2. this book was amazing. Whoever wins this giveaway will be lucky indeed. Sam is such a talented writer, and she really has a knack for natural dialogue.

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  3. Sam is definitely a very talented writer. I enjoyed The Bringer, her first book, very much. I'm not a big Vampire fan, and so I haven't read First Bitten yet (superb title, by the way!), but this review certainly makes it sound special.

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  4. What a great giveaway. jenn41080@yahoo.com

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  5. I haven't read First Bitten yet but I intend to as I have heard such great things about it. Sam is a great writer. I enjoyed The Bringer immensely.

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  6. First Bitten is a fab book. Sam has a knack for getting under the skin of her characters, you can't help but get carried away by the story.

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  7. I could feel myself getting drawn into this just by the compelling description - it's on my list for a nibble sometime soon.

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  8. Would love to read this book it sounds very exciting, a book you could not put down, i hope iam in for a chance of winning this book, and the author sounds very interesting!!!

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  9. Thank you folks, the comments are a true reflection of just how good a writer our Samantha is.

    Okay...here we go, names in hat..and............

    Congratulations Jen Davis. Your copy of "First Bitten" will soon be on its way.

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  10. Congratulations, Jen. 'First Bitten' is a great book, though I very much liked 'the Bringer' as well.

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  11. A big thanks to Soooz, and everyone for your wonderful comments. And congratulations to Jen Davies, I hope you enjoy First Bitten! :) x

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  12. Just popping in to say Hello, Sam and Soooz! Hope First Bitten does as well as The Bringer - bought, but not read yet. Sam is one of Tim's favourites, so she must be pretty good!

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  13. Love the premise of this book! I'd love to read it!

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