Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Gratitude Giveaway Hop!

gratitudegiveaway12 Welcome to the Gratitude Giveaway Hop hosted by I Am A Reader Not A Writer. This hop runs from Nov. 15-25. mythos For this hop, I’m giving away the first three books in Jennifer Estep’s Mythos Academy series, Touch of Frost, Kiss of Frost and an ARC of Dark Frost. These books are full of mythology and action and since the next book in the series (Crimson Frost) comes out on December 24, this is a great time to get caught up on the series! Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck. Also, have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving holiday with your loved ones!

Waiting on Wednesday: Spirit

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

spiritTitle: Spirit by Brigid Kemmerer
Publisher: KTeen/Kensington
Publish Date: May 2013
Genre: Paranormal

Goodreads Summary: With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.
With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…

Why am I waiting on Spirit? The first book (Storm) in this Elemental series was good, the second (Spark) was even better! Seriously guys, if you have not read these books, you have to get them! Love this series and can’t wait to read the next installment. What books are you waiting on?

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Interview + Giveaway with J.A. Souders, Author of Renegade

I am thrilled to welcome J.A. Souders, debut author of the new YA novel, Renegade. Welcome J.A.!

Me: In the spirit of Twitter, tell us about Renegade in 140 characters or less.



J.A.: It's BioShock meets the Bourne Identity for teens. Features assassins, brainwashing, and homicidal mothers.

Me: How did you come up with the idea for Renegade?

J.A.: I’ve always wanted to live in an underwater city. I went to school to become a marine biologist and even joined the Navy in the hopes of either starting or living in one. But, well, I never did find that key to Atlantis, so I decided to make one a better way. I’d make it up and write a story around it. After years of scrubbing a ton of manuscripts that just weren’t right because an underwater city would be my version of a utopian society, it finally hit me. I was half watching my son play the video game BIOSHOCK and half watching a documentary on the world’s fascination with perfection. It all meshed in my head and the story was born.

Me: Why do you write fantasy novels for and how did you get started?

J.A.: I've always loved the outrageousness of fantasy. Almost anything can and usually does happen.

Me: Where did you get the inspiration for the characters?

J.A.: There really wasn't any inspiration behind them. They were just there, telling me there story, but for looks I used Taylor Swift for Evie and Matt Lanter for Gavin.

Me: Which character from the book is your favorite?

J.A.: Gavin. He's the perfect guy in my mind. He's strong and stoic, enough of an alpha male to be interesting, but smart enough to let a girl take the lead when she obviously knows more about the situation and how to get out of it then him.

Me: Can you tell us a little about your road to publication?

J.A.: My road was fairly simple and fast, and I’m so grateful for it, but it still seems like it’s all a dream. Basically, I wrote a book (a really crappy book) and queried it just knowing it was the next best-seller. Not surprisingly it was rejected. A lot. So I wrote another. This is when I found my first crit partner. She helped me make it shine and taught me so much about writing. I queried it, got a few bites, then decided it just wasn’t what I wanted to debut with. Then I wrote yet another story. Shined it to perfection and queried it. I found Natalie through Absolute Write and got a little buzz, so I sent her a query. About a month later, she asked for a full, and after a short “beauty contest” she became my agent. Unfortunately, that book hasn’t found a home yet, but Natalie didn’t give up on me and I kept writing. I wrote a second book, but the market was too glutted with angel stories for it to sell. Finally, my third book sold to Mel Frain at Tor Teen after about five weeks on sub.

Me: Do you read the same genre as you write? What are you currently reading?

J.A.: I'm fairly eclectic when it comes to reading, so yes. I do read in the same genre. I'm currently not reading anything, but I just finished. Like an hour ago. The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa.

Me: What other projects are you working on at this time?

J.A.: I'm working on the 3rd book in the series and a super sekrit project that I'm really excited about. :)

Me: Thank you, J.A.!

About the book:
 
Release Date: Nov. 13, 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 364 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Buy: Amazon, B&N, The Book Depository
Contact the author: Website, Twitter, Pinterest

Goodreads Summary: Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie.

Her memories have been altered.

Her mind and body aren’t under her own control.

And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all

Giveaway!

And now for the giveaway. Tor Teen was wonderful enough to offer a finished copy of Renegade for giveaway. Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and good luck!

Winner!

confetti

Congrats to Sherry, the winner of the Spooktacular Giveaway Hop! The winner was chosen by Random.org and has been contacted. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Book Review: Starling

starlingTitle: Starling by Lesley Livingston
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 352 pages
Release Date: Aug. 28, 2012
Genre: Mythology, Fantasy

Goodreads Summary: Mason Starling is a champion fencer on the Gosforth Academy team, but she's never had to fight for her life. Not until the night a ferocious, otherworldly storm rips through Manhattan, trapping Mason and her teammates inside the school.

Mason is besieged by nightmarish creatures more terrifying than the thunder and lightning as the raging tempest also brings a dangerous stranger into her life: a young man who remembers nothing but his name--the Fennrys Wolf. His arrival tears Mason's world apart, even as she feels an undeniable connection to him. Together, they seek to unravel the secrets of Fenn's identity as strange and supernatural forces gather around them.

When they discover Mason's family--with its dark allegiance to ancient Norse gods--is at the heart of the mystery, Fennrys and Mason are suddenly faced with a terrifying future.

Set against the gritty, shadowed back-drop of New York City, this first novel in award-winning author Lesley Livingston's epic Starling Saga is an intoxicating blend of sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action.

I really liked Lesley Livingston’s Wondrous Strange series and the Fennrys Wolf was one of my favorite characters in the books. I was not a fan of Fenn’s fate at the end of the series so I was really excited when I found out that Livingston’s new series was going to be about him and Norse mythology. I love myth in any form and since there are not enough YA books around with Norse myth, I really wanted this one to be good and it is!

I’m a very character driven reader and Starling is a very plot driven book. Regardless, I still enjoyed it. Mason is a great character: a girl who knows how to fight but is not overly or unrealistically kick-buttish. She is a great love interest for Fenn who is even more likable in this book than he was in Wondrous Strange.

As much as I liked the characters, the plot is really the highlight of this book. Livingston takes not so well known (for me anyway) Norse mythology and combines it with myth from other cultures, including Egyptian, and creates a really cool story.

I love the start of this series and am looking forward to the next book which will hopefully be coming out next year.If you love mythology like I do, this is definitely a book you should pick up.

Content: Kissing, some profanity.

My Rating: Really Good!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Waiting on Wednesday: Born of Illusion

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming novels we can't wait to read. This week’s choice is:

bornofillusionTitle: Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
Publisher: Balzer & Bray
Publish Date: June 11, 2013
Genre: Historical

Goodreads Summary: Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and séances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City.

Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

Born of Illusion is the first book in a new series. Each book in the series will introduce a new historical figure, whose legend is shrouded in magic, along with the young woman whose fate is irrevocably tied to his. The through line in each of the books will be The Ghost Club, the real life secret society that was founded in 1862 by the likes of Charles Dickens, Sir Conan Doyle, and W. B. Yeats to advance mankind’s knowledge of the paranormal. The first three books in the series will deal with Houdini, Aleister Crowley and Rasputin.

Why am I waiting on Born of Illusion? I love historical novels and have never read a YA historical about Houdini. Throw in the touch of paranormal and this is a must read for me! What books are you waiting on?

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