Review: Souls Entwined by Ann B. Cole

From Goodreads:

When a cursed family heirloom sends Gretta Dobbs back in time, a hunky construction worker, Sam Daggett, suddenly finds himself love struck and joins her adventure. Their souls entwine within the bodies of young lovers on a Greek island in 1829, where they begin to unravel the mysteries behind Gretta’s ring all while avoiding a bloodthirsty pirate who is determined to seek revenge. Gretta and Sam must find the secrets needed to save her and her relatives from an afterlife in purgatory and return to their own lives—or risk becoming prisoners of the past, continuing the evil cycle of the ring’s curse. 




My Thoughts:
I've had this sitting on my Kindle for a long time, but it kept getting pushed back. Anne was a contestant in Aussie Owned and Read's Pitcharama a few years back, which is where she got this book deal. I've been intrigued to read it ever since.
In the beginning, we see several women in the PIT, a limbo state as they wait to be freed by their descendants. A curse has been placed on their family, and they are determined to have it broken.
Enter Sam, a smart young man who has lost his way since his mother's death. He dropped out of college to care for his father, and lives each day missing his mother. Until Gretta literally stumbles into his life. She's part of the cursed family, and together, they are sent back to observe the events leading to the curse in hopes of finding a way to break it.
I don't know if anyone out there has played Assassin's Creed, or at least knows the concept. To me, this has a similar feel. The main character are sent back in time to figure out the answers for current day problems. I love the set of the Grecian Islands, along with the action of pirates blended with romance.
My complaint would be the perspectives sometimes feel jumpy, and there were times I had to go back to figure out who said what.
I have a feeling with this open ending this is the first book in a series. If not, I'm pretty bummed. I want to see what happens with Sam and Gretta.
This book has a steady flow, slow in some places, but in general I enjoyed the pace and the action, and the characters captured my heart.

Five Secret Things About Souls Entwined By Anne B. Cole

So I'm always excited to share success stories of my friends. Ann was an entrant in 2013's Pitcharama at Aussie Owned and Read and earned her book deal through that competition with Soul Mate Publishing, my publisher for Branded. So now, we are Soul Sisters, and she is an absolute delight! You may have seen her book pop up in my monthly voting for me to read and review. So, with no further ado, here's Ann's secrets about Souls Entwined:

Sharing secrets is fun! Here are my top five secrets behind Souls Entwined…

#5 Pirates!

Johnny Depp’s character, Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean Movies is the inspiration behind Souls Entwined pirate character, Kadir Haty….and yes…Kadir will return in the sequel, Souls Estranged!

#4 Grandmothers and Rings

My real life great, great, great, great grandmother’s name was Roxana, who gave her second granddaughter a garnet ring that was given to her by her brother, who was a US sailor in Europe during the early 1800s. It was passed down through the generations to my grandmother. She gave it to me (I’m also a second granddaughter) when I was about 12 years old. I’m not aware of any curses on my ring and I wear the heirloom often.

#3 Runners

I enjoy running and once nearly tripped over a squirrel that darted in front of my purple sneakers. During Gretta’s run in the park, Sam watches her suddenly fall. He didn’t see the squirrel that tripped her…this was cut out during edits…Readers don’t know in Souls Entwined that Katarina’s spirit is entwined within the squirrel. In the sequel, Souls Estranged, Katarina’s presence within the squirrel will be revealed in true ‘Katarina style’.

#2 Deleted, but not forgotten

I wrote the first draft of Souls Entwined in composition notebooks. It topped at 150,000 words. In this original, Gretta and Sam don’t meet in the park until Chapter Eight! Needless to say, I have many deleted chapters and scenes to reveal in the future on my blog.

#1 Titles

Souls Entwined was originally titled Maledicta, which is the Latin word for ‘cursed.’ During edits, it was suggested that I change my title to something that is easier for readers to pronounce and remember. Authors tend to bond with their titles, especially their first novels. For weeks I referred to my novel as #1 because I already had the sequel written and was in the editing process. I asked everyone I knew for title ideas and finally came up with Souls Entwined. The #1 nickname stuck and I continue to call it #1 and refer to the sequel as #2. The (yet to be written) final book of the Soul Series is called, you guessed it, #3.

Here is the original cover prior to my title change…

And here is my real cover.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed Five Secrets from Souls Entwined!

Check out my website and Souls Entwined on Amazon.

Voting for my Reading Time Again! #amreading

It's that time of month again and since the last one was such a success, I'm going to have you all vote again. I have included the top two runners up from last month, then added some new ones in for the other three. Like last time, vote in order of your top three. Just leave in the comments which three you would like to see me leave a review for, and tell me why :-) Then, I will select a winner of one of my ebooks, winner's choice, from those who voted for the winning book. Ready?

1. How to Date Dead Guys by Ann M. Noser

2. The Making of Nebraska Brown by Louise Caiola

3. Souls Entwined by Ann B. Cole

4. Evade by Jessa Russo

5. Broken Forest by Eliza Tilton

There they are folks! It's funny because three were Pitcharama finalists. Bonus points if you can tell me which. Now vote, tweet, share, and make me read what you want me to read in September!

#Pitcharama success!

If you remember back in June Aussie Owned and Read had a pitching comp, Pitcharama. For this comp. each of the AoaR ladies picked their favorite three entries for editors of small presses to make requests on. Well today I'm excited to share the success of on of my picks, The Making of Nebraska Brown by Louise Caiola.
She has been signed with Immortal Ink Pub, and they are looking at an early 2014 release. Check out her post here. Also, she has a COVER! Check it out! It's so perfect.

So Congrats to the lovely Louise, and I hope it does well for you!

First Round of Pitcharama

The first round of Pitcharama is complete, and now it's the Pitch Your Mate round. If your CP has a MS you would love to see published, head over to the Aussie Owned blog and pitch away! (With their permission of course!)

But, I'm really excited about my picks from the first round. Swing by their blogs to check out their pitches and show you support before the editor's round.

Three Wishes               Smoke & Mirrors              The Making of Nebraska Brown

Pitcharama is now taking submissions!

P.S If you don't have a blog and would like to participate, leave a comment below using the format listed.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the time you’ve all been waiting for… Pitcharama is here! *Insert trumpeting fanfare*

Bring out the trumpets!
Photo: Big Stock Photo

We are so excited to offer you this opportunity to have your manuscript seen by some of the world’s top independent publishing houses. See who they are here.

Sign up your blog with our dear friend Mister Linky Tools  and then post the following information on your blog:

Manuscript Title:

Author:

Age group: (YA/NA)

Genre:

Word count:

250 word pitch:

Quick, do it now! The Aussie Owned and Read team will stop by and select our favourite 24 queries to go through to the publishers round over the next four days and then, AND THEN, we will share them on our blog on the 28th when the big guns stop by. Don’t worry, though; you will know who made the cut on the 19th, when we announce our top 24.

Don’t get chosen in the top 24? Don’t despair! We have the Pitch Your Mate round open June 20, where your friends can nominate you for a lucky second chance into the editor round.

Come and hang out on the #pitcharama hashtag. We’ll be around to answer questions.

So head to the Aussie Owned and Read blog for the linky!

100 Followers

I just broke 100 followers on the blog! Hooray! Thank you everyone. Since I've done so many giveaways lately I'm kind of out of things to give away! But, I do have "Me Paying it Forward" on the tabs above. I want to help those who are going through the writing/query process to help them get signed and published. I've also started reviewing between edits and CP things. So to celebrate reaching 100 followers, I'd like to critique your query or read your book.

P.S. Pitcharama starts soon with Aussie Owned and Read, so I'd really love to help anyone interested in entering!

Pitcharama! Hosted by Aussie Owned and Read

Looking for a pitching opportunity? Head over to Aussie Owned and Read and follow the blog and twitter account for more details and updates! We'd love to have you join in! Also, if you would like a pitch/query critique in preparation for the event, click on "Me Paying it Forward" for details on getting one from me. But, if you want to enter pitcharama, to keep it fair, don't share any personal details with me. :-D

Join the Aussie Owned Team for Pitcharama—a pitch contest with eight publishers. Eight! The good news, you’ll have not one but two chances to make it into the editor round. Either by the more traditional pitch or by the special Pitch Your Mate round.

The details;

June 14: Pitcharama first round opens

June 20: Pitch Your Mate round

June 25: Announcement of 30 through to the editor round

June 28: Editor Round!

Until then catch us on  the #pitcharama twitter hash tag.