Waiting on Wednesday: Antigoddess

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:

Title: Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publish Date: Sept. 10, 2013
Genre: Fantasy, Mythology

Goodreads Summary: Old Gods never die…

Or so Athena thought. But then the feathers started sprouting beneath her skin, invading her lungs like a strange cancer, and Hermes showed up with a fever eating away his flesh. So much for living a quiet eternity in perpetual health.

Desperately seeking the cause of their slow, miserable deaths, Athena and Hermes travel the world, gathering allies and discovering enemies both new and old. Their search leads them to Cassandra—an ordinary girl who was once an extraordinary prophetess, protected and loved by a god.
These days, Cassandra doesn’t involve herself in the business of gods—in fact, she doesn’t even know they exist. But she could be the key in a war that is only just beginning.

Because Hera, the queen of the gods, has aligned herself with other of the ancient Olympians, who are killing off rivals in an attempt to prolong their own lives. But these anti-gods have become corrupted in their desperation to survive, horrific caricatures of their former glory. Athena will need every advantage she can get, because immortals don’t just flicker out.

Every one of them dies in their own way. Some choke on feathers. Others become monsters. All of them rage against their last breath.

The Goddess War is about to begin.

Why am I waiting on Antigoddess? I love Greek mythology and Kendare Blake has proven that she can write. Her debut novel, Anna Dressed in Blood, scared the mess out of me but it was still well written. I’m really excited about Antigoddess but September seems so far away… What books are you waiting on?

Review and Giveaway: Anna Dressed in Blood!

Welcome to the Halloween Queens Book Giveaway where KM from One Page at A Time and I will be hosting a fantastic week of reviews, author interviews, favorite spooky reads and of course, lots of book giveaways! To kick off this Halloween extravaganza, I will be giving away a copy of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake! Make sure you stop by One Page at A Time to read what KM thinks of this scary book!

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
Genre: Horror

Goodreads Summary: Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Are you in the mood for a really, really creepy book? Then Anna Dressed in Blood may be the book for you. I started reading this expecting a standard ghost story but Anna is nothing like I expected. Filled with ghosts, witches, demons, possessions, voodoo and the occult, Anna Dressed in Blood seriously shocked me and creeped me out. The descriptions of the various specters that Cas encounters and Anna’s crazy house are terrifyingly vivid. Be warned, if you are a visual person like I am, you may keep seeing some of the more bloody scenes play out in your head even after you are done reading the book.

Kendare Blake is a really good story teller and joins an awesome list of female writers who write a boy’s perspective wonderfully. I love Cas. He has a certain confidence and swagger that may have made him arrogant in the hands of another writer but Blake added just enough purposefulness to him to make him very likable. I also love Anna and thought her mix of terror and vulnerability makes you love her as well.

Anna Dressed in Blood does not end with a cliffhanger but Cas and Anna’s story is not done yet. The sequel, Girl of Nightmares, comes out next year.

Content: Kissing, heavy profanity and graphic violence.

Ready to win a copy of Anna Dressed in Blood? Just click on the read more prompt (if you are on the main page) and follow the Rafflecopter instructions.

Halloween Queens Book Giveaway!

Halloween is almost here and I am so excited to be hosting a fantastic week of reviews, author interviews, favorite spooky reads and of course, giveaways of really great books! From Oct. 24-28, my fellow Halloween queen and fantastic affiliate KM from One Page at A Time and I will be hosting this Halloween extravaganza! Here is what I have planned for the week:

Monday: Review and giveaway of Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Tuesday: Interview with Leanna Renee Hieber and Darker Still giveaway
Wednesday: Dark Eden Review
Thursday: Interview with Patrick Carman and Dark Eden giveaway
Friday: My favorite spooky reads

Make sure to check KM's site and see the authors she will be featuring and the books she will be giving away. It's going to be a really fun week and I super excited about it. We would love for you to grad the giveaway button to help get the word out and thanks to Kristin Rae for making it!