One Year Anniversary Celebration!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

It all started with an idea. Why not make a place where we can bring authors, bloggers, publishers, and reviewers together all in one place?

 

 December 2012 marked the one-year anniversary of the Making Connections group. Since then, we have grown beyond our imagination. Not only have we listed almost 850 books in the original Making Connections group for review, we have also branched off and made a Making Connections - YA Edition group with 200 books listed for review.

Thank you for being part of this group and for helping us celebrate our one-year anniversary! We look forward to see where 2013 will take us.

 These groups would not exist without all of the wonderful bloggers, authors, and reviewers who make Making Connections possible. You guys are the BEST!





To say thank you, we are hosting a HUGE giveaway! 

Plus, stop by each blog on the hop to see exactly what makes Making Connections so great, plus more giveaways and fun! See the complete list below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Feb.1 - Sheri www.makingconnectionsgroup.blogspot.ca/

Feb.1 - Tana www.tana-someofmyfavoritebooks.blogspot.ca/

Feb.2 - (A) Eva Pohler http://www.evapohler.com

Feb.3 – (B) Sailon http://tometender.blogspot.com

Feb.4 – (C) Mari Arden www.mariarden.blogspot.com

Feb.5 - (D) Milda http://www.writergirlinla.com/

Feb.6 – (E) Mallory http://archiestandwoodsreviewsandwritngs.blogspot.com/

Feb.7 – (F) Natasha http://writesbymoonlight.wordpress.com

Feb.8 – (G) Midu www.passionatebookdivas.com/

Feb.9 – (H) Jonel Boyko http://purejonel.blogspot.ca/

Feb.10 – (I) Kit 0127 http://darkerpassions.net/

Feb.11 – (J) Flora http://fromthebootheelcottonpatch.blogspot.com/
Feb.12 – (K) Tmonique http://tmoniquestephens.com/

Feb.13 – (L) Wynne Channing http://wynnechanning.wordpress.com/

Feb.14 – (M) Meredith Bond http://meredithbond.com/blog/posts/

Feb.15 – (N) Donna www.donnagalanti.com
Feb.16 – (O) Samantha http://bookloverscozycafe.blogspot.com

Feb.17 – (P) Stephanie Http://stephsbookretreat.wordpress.com

Feb.18 – (Q) Alana http://darkobsessionchronicles.blogspot.com/

Feb.19 – (R) Cody Kennedy www.CKennedyAuthor.blogspot.com

Feb.20 – (S) SantaFlash http://santaflash.wordpress.com/

Feb.21 – (T) Think Books http://thinksbooks.blogspot.com

Feb.22 – (U) Maghon http://magluvsya03.wordpress.com

Feb.23 – (V) Debbie http://amethysteyesauthor.blogspot.ca/

Feb.24 – (W) Pragya http://reviewingshelf.wordpress.com

Feb.25 – (X) Ellie http://elliewrites2.wordpress.com
Feb.26 – (Y) Terri Bruce http://www.terribruce.net

Feb.27 – (Z) J.A. Beard www.riftwatcher.blogspot.com

Feb.28 - Tana www.tana-someofmyfavoritebooks.blogspot.ca/

Feb.28 - Sheri www.makingconnectionsgroup.blogspot.ca/

Crimson Darkness by Amos Cassidy

Crimson Darkness by Amos Cassidy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been looking forward to Crimson Darkness ever since reading Crimson Midnight. The second book in the series is packed full of action, adventure, and danger. After London was plunged into darkness, everybody left is fighting to save themselves and the world as they knew it. All of our favorite characters are back, and there are some new players who I am very interested in reading more about. Rose is struggling with some decisions she has had to make and some new information she has to deal with about herself.

Crimson Darkness was much darker and more sinister than the first book. You can see the definitive shift from the old world to the new one and the toll the stress of fighting every moment for life has taken on the characters. Tension is high and everyone knows that likely disaster is imminent.

Once again the storyline was unpredictable and exciting. I love being surprised every step of the way. And, oh my God do the authors know how to write a cliffhanger! I will not be able to get my hands on the next book to find out what happens soon enough!!


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Sunset by Arshad Ahsanuddin

Sunset by Arshad Ahsanuddin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Daywalkers, Nightwalkers, and Sentinels. They are out there.

This was a great book. It was fast paced and well written. The world building was amazingly complex and detailed. The author was able to put his thoughts and ideas into words in such a way that helped to create this stunning portrait for his readers.

The inner structure of the different races was incredibly intricate. It was a bit confusing at times trying to understand the hierarchy within each group and the alliances and rivalries between the vampire species, but it was well thought out and written well.

The characters were great. Nick, the protagonist, was easily likable. All of the characters were complex with deep backgrounds and painful pasts, though I found emotional attachments to the characters difficult, which is one of the only things I found lacking in the book. When I am reading I want to be able to feel for the characters, and it just did not happen here. There were also times throughout the story where it seemed to jump time without warning, and that a bit confusing as well.

Overall, this was an entertaining story.

Interview with author Arshad Ahsanuddin:
Making Connections Blog





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Forbidden Fantasies by Jodie Griffin

Forbidden Fantasies by Jodie Griffin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story was sexy and sweet. Married for fifteen years, Jessica and Alex are comfortable with their lives, but it is not terribly exciting. Jessica wants to bring some spice into their relationship like the types of things she reads about in her romance novels. She has reservations bringing these things up to her husband, afraid of what he will think of her ideas. I like that the author chose to write about a married couple with a long history. This was not some fly by night romance. The couple has an almost perfect life; all it is missing is some excitement. The author did a good job getting both Jessica's and Alex's emotions into the story as they began to communicate inside the bedroom and began to really learn what the other wanted and needed.

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The Surrogate by Leonard Foglia

The Surrogate, the Sudarium Trilogy - Book One by Leonard Foglia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am not exactly sure what I was expecting when I started this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. The authors' use of simple language rather than flashy prose helped make Hannah more believable. She was a simple girl from a small town, maybe a tab bit too naive. She had dreams of doing something important and meaningful with her life but had to get out of the rut she was stuck in. Answering an ad in the local newspaper seemed to be the answer to all of her problems.

The world as Hannah knows it is perfect and sweet. She is innocent and trusting. The story as reality knows it is dark and dangerous. People lie, steal, and cheat, and sometimes they do worse.

A few chapters in I was worried that this book was going to drag too slow. While it is true there was not a lot of action until close to the end, the time seemed to speed by quickly. I enjoyed the side story of Jimmy and really liked how his character came out in the end. The authors did a wonderful job of weaving fact into fiction and combining religion into this story without it stealing the show.


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Mr. Bear by Midu Hadi

Mr. Bear by Midu Hadi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mr. Bear is an enjoyable short story with alluring characters and an entertaining and effortless story line.
I like the bear shifter – different from the usual.


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Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was told going into this one (my many people) to have the Kleenex handy. I did, and I needed them. I wonder if anyone has thought to tell authors it is hard to read their books with tears in your eyes.

I loved this story so much. It was not your usual high school drama boy meets girl love story – it was so much more. The characters are hard not to fall in love with. Echo's life was seemingly perfect once. Now all she wants is to be "normal." It was heartbreaking watching her go through her days trying not to be noticed, trying to hide herself, and doing things she did not want to do just so she could maybe feel normal again, if only for a little while. I really enjoyed Echo's transformation throughout the story. You can actually see her grow emotionally with each turn of the page.

Noah is a girl-using stoner boy and jacket-loaning savior. But, there is so much more to Noah than what you see on the outside. He has the tough bad-boy image going on, but inside he is so full of love and strength. He is not afraid to fight for what he believes in. I thought Echo's and Noah's relationship was done well. The author took them on a journey of ups and downs, joy, fear, pain, and self-discovery before she finally brought them together. Because of the things they had to go through, it made the end result that much sweeter. Katie McGarry is definitely a new favorite author of mine. I cannot wait for Beth's story to find out more about her and see where her life goes.


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