Tag Archives: review

Catchy Review and Giveaway @ Christy’s Cozy Corner

19 May

It’s Sunday and like everyone else I do enjoy a lazy-ish day. With my coffee in one hand I grabbed my iPad in the other and sat by the pool until the heat ushered me inside the house. Arizona is already hot.

In case the weather strands you in your home and you would like to read something interesting you might want to stop at Christy’s Cozy Corners blog. She has a ton of books to introduce you to, book reviews, product reviews, giveaways, recipes and much more. One stop for all, right?

Among the wonderful things on her site Christy wrote a review for my upcoming historical release BORN IN SIN. I’m very grateful for her review. If I’m good at books she’s great at writing reviews. Hop over and see it for yourself. Oh, and did I mention she has a giveaway associated with the review? What did I tell you about one stop for all?

Happy Sunday Everyone!

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5 star review and spotlight for Born In Sin @ Community Bookshop

15 May

Another beautifully written review for BORN IN SIN gracefully offered by the wonderful Paula Mitchell at the Community Bookshop.

Here what she has to say: “I love the way Ms. Skiba is able to weave these great stories involving history, wars, romance and to be able to serve up a book everyone is eager to swallow whole.  I look forward to seeing where her next book takes us.”

For the full review click here.

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Paula also read and reviewed BORN IN VENGEANCE (Dacian Legends, #1). For her full review click here. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway she has going on ;)

Paula, thank you so much for the kind words!

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STOP @ The Reading Cafe for your cup of coffee and reviews of Born In Vengeance and Born In Sin

10 May

My historical romance BORN IN VENGEANCE (Dacian Legends, #1) originally published as a short story titled I WAS HERE–BEFORE YOU CAME) is officially out! This stand-alone version includes an expanded storyline and excerpts from BORN IN SIN (Dacian Legends, #2) coming out May 30th 2013. 

To celebrate these releases several bloggers lent a helping hand to promote them and I’m extremely grateful to have such a great support group around the blogosphere. THANK YOU ALL!

Today I’d like to thank Sandy and Georgianna  from  The Reading Cafe for taking the time to read and write reviews of BORN IN VENGEANCE and  BORN IN SIN. There’s a giveaway associated with their reviews, so don’t forget to enter it.

Here is a little of the reviews: “The battles and plans are very interesting, the situations well thought out and executed and the story in all is one I really enjoyed. In all, a very good beginning to an interesting series.” BORN IN VENGEANCE
And
“This is a good story, romantic in the sense of men of action finding love with the women of their hearts. No really steamy love scenes…just good old fashioned promises. It has intrigue, adventure, history and battle – heroic action and brutal villains.” BORN IN SIN
 
For the full reviews click here.
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It pays off to try your best

12 Dec

As an author you put your heart out there and hope people will enjoy your work. In the beginning there is a lot of angst associated with each review, each rating. The good ones melt your heart. They encourage you to keep writing, keep publishing. The bad ones devastate you. You want to throw in the towel never to touch the keyboard again.

As time passes by you realize that while you strive to satisfy each and every reader, you just can’t. You’re only a mortal and there is no such thing as being liked by every single soul on this planet. So what you do is grow a tough skin for the critiques and shift your focus toward the full side of the glass.

While I appreciate all reviews and ratings, I rarely read them. They are not for me, but for the next reader interested/or not to read my novels. I have people from all over the world contacting me and telling me how much they enjoyed them. One of them is Javiera from Chile. I’m beyond ecstatic she took the time to write me. Thank you, Javiera! With her permission I copied her message here:

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Review Souls in Peril by Sherry Gammon

26 Sep

My rating:

Because I’m a huge fan of author Sherry Gammon, naturally when she released Souls In Peril I had to have the book.
What I like about Sherry’s work is that she talks openly about real life situations in a fictional world, builds characters that anyone can easily fall in love with, and writes endings that leave you wanting more. And Souls in Peril delivers exactly that. Her narrative is smooth building up tension and ending with a well-drawn climax. Not for one second did I know where the story headed, but rather flipped page after page impatiently wanting to find out.
This young adult novel is one of my favorite reads this year. Max, the main character, goes through one of the best arcs I’ve read in a long time. He’s the perfect guy (senior in high school) living in a perfect world. He’s not arrogant, but he’s not humble either. I’d say confidence is one of his strongest qualities. Unfortunately tragedy strikes and Max falls deep, losing everything and then some.
Next, we follow him through a brand new journey with trials, conflicts and doubts to fill a lifetime. Enter JD, the school’s most bullied student with whom Max has no other choice but to… coexist for a while.
Sherry drives the reader to real emotions masterfully creating trials, conflicts and doubts. You’ll cry and laugh, ache and root for these heroes. I also liked the messages that come with this book, that life is worth living, that we should never give up and we should always try our best. As life goes on and routine sets in we have a tendency to forget how important these things are. Truth is—tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone.
I recommend this book to everyone loving a good, clean YA for themselves or their teenagers–so worth reading it.

My review is up on Amazon, GoodReads, B&N and iTunes.

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Debut Author Giveaway Hop

7 Jun

I’ve been waiting for the Debut Author Giveaway Hop for a while now and I’ll tell you in a minute why, but first I’d like to thank Kathy @ I’m A Reader Not A Writer for all her hard work for once again to make this event happen.

So back to business. I thought a lot about whom I’d host and what book to give away. I remember  back in the day when I could finally call myself a debut author with the release of my first book titled Hidden Heart. 15 months later, 2 full novels and a short story (as part of an anthology) I no longer hold the title, but I’m happy to have found someone who is an incredible person, generous, fun, determined and whose debut novel will come out end of this month.

I chose Marie Tillman as the author to honor today. Her first book The Letter is a memoir depicting her journey through life and healing since the death of her husband Pat Tillman, the NFL player giving up a successful career to become an Army Ranger, who ultimately lost his life while in Afghanistan. I read The Letter and was completely surprised by Marie’s style, gracious, humble and riveting. It became quickly one of my favorite books. My reviews is posted on GoodReads, Netgalley, B&N and as soon as Amazon permits it will go up on the site as well. You can find it here.

I also have an interview with her that it will come up on my site in a few days (yay!).

So, if you’re interested in winning an e-copy of this memoir, please fill out the form below. I will announce the winner on 06/14, the day after the hop is over. Good luck everyone!

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Jericho Solus Virtual Book Tour

4 May

It is with great pleasure I host my dear friend and partner in literary crimes Jeffrey Moore’s virtual book tour for his 4th novel, JERICHO SOLUS. I’m one of the fortunate people to have read Jericho’s story while Jeff wrote it and I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed it. I’m shy when it comes to writing reviews, but Jericho Solus so deserves it. Jeff writes speculative fiction, taking his readers to worlds beyond imagination, alien creatures and intriguing plots.

The closest I’ve ever been to a different planet / world is… my own lala land where I escape reality.

That changed after I read Jericho Solus. Although human, Jericho Solus is unlike other humans. He’s been around since the beginning of humanity, living through wonderful tales of bravery, betrayal, and love. Even though Jericho Solus’ journey is fascinating, Jeff’s signature is incontestable. He portrays a multidimensional hero, an absolute must for such a novel.

Leaving aside the fact that Jeff has been my critique partner and friend for a long time now, Jericho Solus is the best piece he’s ever written. Jeff’s ability to take the reader into alien worlds is an art, an innate talent that comes to him so effortless. His novels are not your average novels, but rather for people with an understanding and a vision of other worlds. Deep, analytical, intriguing. Prepare to embark on the journey of a lifetime, spanning over centuries and artfully brought back to present time. Prepare to root for a hero so out of the ordinary, he will jump out at you from the first page until the last. Prepare to unlock the world’s secrets and find clues about its history. Prepare to discover a universe no money or spacecraft would take you. Untold tales of untouched places.

5+ stars for Jericho Solus.

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Hidden Heart takes Sweden…by surprise!

10 Apr

I went to GoodReads this morning to check my inbox and saw I have another review from another reader, this time not for A World Apart, but for Hidden Heart. Throughout my book tour for A World Apart, I felt I neglected my other “baby” and needed to do something to nurture it … soon I’ll have a major giveaway on GoodReads.

Until then,  here is what Natalie thought of the book:

04/04 page 313   98.0% “I am all smiles right now. What a wonderful ending! Five stars! Skiba is officially now one of my new fav authors.”
04/04 page 203   64.0% “It is official, i LOVE this book!”
04/03 page 189   59.0% “so sad so sad…”
04/03 page 122   38.0% “Ohhhh, its so good…”
04/02 page 93   29.0% “Its gettin gooooood. Love skibas writing style..”
04/01 page 63   20.0% “Wow. Poor Tessa. I did not see that comimg.”
03/31 page 49   15.0% “So far it is pretty good..”

To read her review please click here.

What a wonderful way to start the day. Thank you, Natalie!

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Save the Best for Last–5 Star Review

31 Mar

For the last day of my virtual book tour on 03/29 there was a review  from Calum scheduled @ The Secret Writer. Unfortunately Calum’s computer decided that was the perfect time to crash (I’m telling you, these machines have a mind of their own).

Between that and the time zone difference (Calum in the UK, me here in the States) I had to come up with a quick solution … but not quick enough. I already had the draft ready to come up, then when I saw the time ticking I moved it to later on, then again, and again but forgot sometime in the afternoon to re-schedule it. So it did come up looking like this: “Calum loved the book, calling it, “….”

I didn’t realize until late at night the post was up in the air and wasn’t finished. Needless to say I frantically removed it from the blog, praying no one saw it. As it turned out, my prayers went answered. Calum wrote yesterday and teased me: “How did you know I loved the book?” I wrote back: “It was wishful thinking.”

It is my pleasure to give you (for real this time) excerpts from his review: “This though, is not your usual type of romance novel. Richly written, cultural and historical issues are interwoven throughout the story. There are also military action scenes that take place during a period of active service in Iraq. These scenes are written so vividly, that the reader will not find it very difficult to imagine themselves standing beside the main characters within this story as the military action scenes are played out.” more

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Naked Truth @ Good Family Reads

21 Mar

Jacque @ Good Family Reads had reviewed A World Apart a while ago and I’m truly grateful for her touching way she described my book. Today I’m back at her blog for an interview. Even though there were lots of interviews throughout my book tour there are still things about me and my work you don’t know. For example, did you know what was the working title of A World Apart? Or what I crave for–sweet or salty snacks? Join me at Jacque’s website to find out the answers to these questions and more.

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