Friday, September 27, 2013

Older ARC Giveaway

I was going through my bookshelves this week trying to find room for new books, and I came across a few books that I decided to give away.  These were either books that weren't for me or ones that I just don't have time to read.

So, here are the 3 ARCS I'm giving away this time (more to come in the future as I continue to clean out my bookshelves).

Life After Theft by Aprilynne Pike

 
Fathomless by Jackson Pearce
 
 
All The Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
 


One winner will win all 3!  So, be sure to enter the Rafflecopter and keep your fingers crossed!!!!!
 
 
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Thursday, September 26, 2013

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black


The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
ARC received from fellow blogger, Jen at Jenuine Cupcakes.  Thanks!
Release Date:  On Shelves Now
Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say:  Gripping and Sexy, Crossing my Fingers for a Sequel!
Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

I like vampires, but that being said, I really haven’t read many books centering on them.  So, I’m not one of those people who is burned out on them; and even if I was, I would have loved this one!  Though not overly unique, I still felt like Holly Black created a new and exciting world where twists and turns and shadows and blood will chase you into your darkest nightmares.

I really liked the main character, Tana.  I loved how resolute she was about the vampire epidemic.  She knows exactly how she feels about ever becoming one, and even when she meets an alluring, somewhat “good” vampire, she still doesn’t waver (even though I wanted her to).  She’s tough and doesn’t let fear knock her down; instead, she faces the darkness head on.  Now, her kind heart did get on my nerves at some points.  There were times when I wanted her to just say, “Screw it,” and leave, letting the vampires and “soon to be” vampires deal with their own problems.  I kind of wish it was a sense of adventure or desire to know that spurs her to action, instead of her wanting to help everyone.

Now Aiden (the ex) drove me nuts!!!  He is such a jerk, and I just wanted someone to smack him really hard in the nose.  But, like I always say, if an author can elicit a strong emotion (even a negative one) from me, then he or she is doing something right!!!  Way to go Holly on the annoying, jerkface Aiden.

And then there’s Gavriel, the mysterious, somewhat mad vampire.  He reminded me of the vampire version of the Mad Hatter.  He rambles these cryptic messages and seems to always be deep in thought.  I LOVED this about him.  He straddles the lines of madness and sanity, and every so often, he would dip to one side of the other and we would discover something new and amazing about him.  I am so hoping that Holly writes a sequel just so I can see more of him!

There was plenty of action in this one, and while the plot was slow at times, it wasn’t so much so that it lost my attention.  I also loved the idea of the “Coldtowns,” paralleling those of the ghettos during World War II.  It was intriguing to see how the other side lived, and furthermore, to see how fear can make people do horrible things.  In this case, the fear was warranted, as vampires are blood thirsty, dangerous creatures.  But they weren’t like rabid vampires, they were cold and calculating, embracing politics to manipulate the Coldtowns along with the rest of the world.

Overall, this was a great read, and I highly recommend it to vampire and Holly Black fans!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Blog Tour & Cover Reveal Sign-Ups: Breakable by Aimee L. Salter


Hey Blogger Friends!

We've got a new book that we hope you'll be interested in helping us promote!

About a year ago, I had the pleasure of reading a manuscript that BLEW. ME. AWAY. I was at Eldest Sister Amy's house when I read it. If I recall, she was catching up on The Vampire Diaries, and I kept interrupting with various noises of shock and sorrow and delight. (Yes, I'm one of those readers who emotes often and loudly while reading).

From the opening pages, this book hooked me into the story and the lives of the characters. And it was one of those rare stories that makes you ache alongside the characters. When I told Amy about it, I told her that it reminded me of the way I felt reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly or The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. It's not similar in plot to any of the above (though it does have a touch of the fantastical like Book Thief and Revolution), but it gripped my soul in the same way those books did. I was still thinking about it days later, and as I was reading I was continuously marking favorite quotes that just nailed me to the page.

Now, I'm so happy to say that that manuscript will soon be available to the masses. And I hope that you all will be interested in helping this underdog of a book get the exposure that I 100% know it deserves. That book is Breakable by Aimee L. Salter. And here's a little bit more about the story:

If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?

Whenever seventeen-year-old Stacy looks in the mirror, she can see and talk to her future self. “Older Me” has been Stacy's secret support through years of battles with their neurotic mother, the relentless bullying at school, and dealing with her hopeless love for her best friend, Mark.

Then Stacy finds out Older Me lies. A lot.

When Stacy becomes the victim of a school-wide humiliation that also threatens her last chance with Mark, she reaches breaking point.

Literally.

BREAKABLE is told in a fractured timeline. The premise was inspired by the “Dear Teen Me” website in which adult authors write letters to their teen selves. Despite the magical element of the character “Older Me”, BREAKABLE reads like a realistic, contemporary story, suitable for both teens and adult fans of the young adult genre. Early readers have compared their journey to Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, and The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

Seriously guys... I cannot tell you how much I love this book. The concept is fresh and inventive. And yet, despite the magical realism of the story, it reads like real life. I know these characters. I've been these characters. Their stories are heart-breaking and authentic and absolutely riveting. 

And now a little about the Author: 

Aimee L. Salter studied Communications and previously put her writing skills to good use in a wide variety of corporate roles. Since becoming a mother, she’s returned to her love of storytelling. After many years in New Zealand, in 2013 she returned home to southern Oregon with her husband and son.

BREAKABLE will be available for review October 7th, 2013, and will be released for Kindle, Nook, and in paperback on November 4th. You can add it on Goodreads here. You can connect with Aimee on Twitter, Facebook, and her blog. You can also read a preview of the first chapter of Breakable here

If this book sounds like something you would like or if you're just interested in helping out an up-and-coming author that I believe has a big future, I hope you'll consider joining the Cover Reveal and/or Blog Tour. 

If you're interested, please complete the form below! 


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Not A Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis



Not A Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
eARC received from Harper Teen via Edelweiss
Release Date:  9-24-2013
Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say:  Quick and interesting read, but seemed a bit flat
Regret was for people with nothing to defend, people who had no water. Lynn knows every threat to her pond: drought, a snowless winter, coyotes, and, most importantly, people looking for a drink. She makes sure anyone who comes near the pond leaves thirsty, or doesn't leave at all.

Confident in her own abilities, Lynn has no use for the world beyond the nearby fields and forest. Having a life means dedicating it to survival, and the constant work of gathering wood and water. Having a pond requires the fortitude to protect it, something Mother taught her well during their quiet hours on the rooftop, rifles in hand.

But wisps of smoke on the horizon mean one thing: strangers. The mysterious footprints by the pond, nighttime threats, and gunshots make it all too clear Lynn has exactly what they want, and they won’t stop until they get it….

With evocative, spare language and incredible drama, danger, and romance, debut author Mindy McGinnis depicts one girl’s journey in a barren world not so different than our own.

I already know it’s going to be really hard to write this review because this is one of those books that I enjoyed, but it won’t really stay with me.  I’m feeling kind of neutral about it, and I usually have something very opinionated to say about most books I read.  So, instead of jabbering on about my inadequate ability to form words—I’m just going to try and do a quick survey of my likes and dislikes.

First off, I enjoyed the survivalist idea of the book.  It wasn’t necessarily new or different from other dystopian/apocalyptic books out there, but something about it felt different.  I don’t know if it’s because there wasn’t a big journey or anything, but it felt like I was reading something unfamiliar.  This was definitely a good thing because it kept me interested, and I ended up reading the entire book in 2 days.

I also liked the characters, though I wasn’t blown away.  Lynn was strong and had been taught from a young age to be unsympathetic; so it was nice to see her learning to use her heart as well as her head.  I also found myself enjoying the language barrier between herself and the city family she meets later.  Living in the country, not knowing any other living being besides her mother, she was limited in what technology and slang she understood.  She didn’t even know what flirting was!  So, I was in for a few smiles as she tried to transverse a new understanding.

So, what bugged me?  I am still having trouble putting my finger on it.  The book just seemed flat in its action.  There was action here and there, but there were large periods of time where all we got was the day to day tasks that Lynn had to manage.  Adding Lucy and Eli helped a bit, but there still just wasn’t much substance to the plot.  I like big romance or big action, and that just wasn’t something that happened in this book.

The book was more about Lynn’s discovery of herself more than anything.  I wish there would have been more emphasis on the world, especially how bad the cities are getting.  It would have been great for Lynn to have to travel to get something from a city so that we could see the difficulties of life in this world.

Finally, I wasn’t a huge fan of the epilogue.  It didn’t say how long had passed, and it seemed like everything was wrapped up in a nice little bow.  This just seemed a bit unbelievable to me considering the harshness of life in the rest of the book.

Please don’t take this as a negative review because it’s not.  I consider this more of a 3 star, I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it review.  I do not regret reading it, but at the same time, I don’t think I would have been missing much had I skipped over it for another read. 

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Gold by Talia Vance Blog Tour Guest Post and Giveaway: Talia Vance on Time Travel in Books

 
Today we have the pleasure of hosting the Blog Tour for Talia Vance's Gold!!!  The YA Sisterhood loves Talia, and we always jump at the chance to read her books.  Gold is a must read, even better than Silver!!!
 
Gold by Talia Vance
Published by Flux and AVAILABLE NOW!
 
 
 
Descended from an Irish demigod, Brianna has fled to Ireland to escape destruction at the hands of her sworn enemies, the Sons of Killian. Taking refuge at the estate of her former nemesis, Austin Montgomery, Brianna discovers a rift in time that opens to an era before the feud began.

Wrestling with her newfound feelings for the more innocent Austin, Brianna begins to wonder if she can alter the past. But when Brianna and Austin learn that the Sons are raising an army of mythical beasts, the pair will need to use their magical strength in the present to avoid a tragic end.
 
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Talia Vance on "Time Travel in Books"
 
 
 
Time travel is one of those subjects that has always fascinated me, especially stories where someone travels to the past.  My favorite time travel stories don’t end with dramatic Back to the Future-style changes to the present, but rather show how the ripples created by the time traveler’s involvement in past events led to everything being exactly as it is and always has been in the present.  My theory of time travel is called the Theory of Compossibility (it’s a real theory- I looked it up)- which basically says that since the past has already happened, it’s set in stone and can’t be changed.  But the past is also part of a traveler’s future, because the time traveler, in the present, hasn’t experienced those events yet.  There’s a certain inevitability to it, fate, if you will, but also an enticing desire to believe that things could still be changed- since the time traveler still has choices and free will when he or she goes to the past.  I don’t think the events can be changed, but there is no question that the impact of those events have on the person who travels to the past can change the person who goes back.
One of my favorite time travel books is THE TIME TRAVELERS WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger.  In the book, Henry is afflicted with a genetic defect that causes him to travel into the future and past of his own life.  He’s anchored to people he cares about, so he often travels to visit family members.  At the beginning of the story, and adult Henry of various ages, travels back in time to visit his wife, as a child and a teen, before they ever meet in the present at college.  I loved the tension as various Henrys from the future and Claire got to know each other in the present, all while the present Henry had no knowledge that Claire even existed.  The moment when Claire “meets” Henry at college is perfect, because she knows all about him and has known him for years, but for Henry the “past” hasn’t happened yet.  Throughout their relationship in the present, as the travels back to see her, he gradually experiences those same events and “catches up” with Claire in the present.  It’s a beautiful, romantic story (one of my favorites), but I found myself frustrated with the ending, which I felt didn’t allow for poor Claire to have closure she needed after his death.
Another book with a great romance and time travel element is OUTLANDER by Diana Gabledon.  The main character (another Claire) is a mid-twentieth century nurse who travels back to eighteenth century Scotland, where she falls in love with James (“Jamie”) Fraser.  Although she stays in the past at the end of the first book, in the second book, Dragonfly in Amber, Claire returns to the present, changed by the great love and events of the past, and pregnant with Jamie’s child.  She stays in the present for 21 years, during which she investigates what happened to Jamie, believing he died in battle.  At the end of the second book, she learns that he did not die in battle as she had believed, and in the third novel, Claire goes back in time again to find him.  But when her adult daughter continues to research the past (in the present) and finds out that Claire and Jamie die in a fire in America, she goes back in time to try to save them.  The concept of going back to the past to try to change it is the great temptation of time travel.  But the conundrum is always this- if the time traveler succeeds in changing the past, how can she have learned of the horrible event in the future- such that she would be motivated to go back and change the past to begin with?  The past is fixed, isn’t it?  Perhaps everything the time traveler does is part of what makes the past happen the way it did.  Then again, the history we learn is not always the whole truth.  History is like a giant game of telephone, with information being twisted and lost as it’s relayed from one generation to another, and only tiny bits surviving at all.
These two stories probably influenced the time travel storyline in GOLD more than any others.  I GOLD, Brianna goes back in time to the year 1009, a time before the feud between the Sons of Killian and the Bandia- a time before Danu is killed.  She meets Austin in the past, a boy she has a relationship with in the future (Austin is immortal), and their relationship in the present is shaped by the things that happened in the past.  Brianna wants to take advantage of her ability to travel to the past, by preventing the events that led to the feud in the future, but Austin, who has already experienced those events (and Brianna’s efforts to change them) warns her it’s not possible.  I loved playing with the contradiction between what’s already happened and what’s still to come.  It was fun to see everything come full circle as the past caught up with the present and the future caught up with the past.  And, Brianna, if nothing else, got her closure.
 
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Talia Vance is a practicing litigation attorney living in Northern California with her real life love interest, two-point-five kids, and a needy Saint Bernard named Huckleberry. Talia has been writing since she could talk, making up stories for every doll, stuffed animal and action figure she could get her hands on. She grew up hoping to write the great American novel, but her life ran more along the lines of tortured romance and fast paced thrillers, so that's what she writes.

 
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Be sure to enter the giveaway and check out all the other stops on the tour!!!

The Giveaway is US Only.


Tour Schedule:

Week 1

9/9/2013- My Guilty Obsession- Guest Post

9/10/2013- Fiktshun- Blake Interview

9/11/2013- Magical Urban Fantasy Reads- Guest Post

9/12/2013- Ravenous Reader- Guest Post

9/13/2013- Taters Tall Tails- Austin Interview

 

Week 2

9/16/2013- Book Pics- Brianna Interview

9/17/2013- What the Cat Read- Interview

9/18/2013- Ya Sisterhood- Guest Post

9/19/2013- A Book Obsession- Interview

9/20/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Austin Guest Post- Quarters Scene from Austin’s POV
 
 


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Monday, September 16, 2013

Review and Blog Tour: When the World Was Flat (And We Were In Love) by Ingrid Jonach


When the World Was Flat (And We Were in Love) by Ingrid Jonach
ARC received from Strange Chemistry
Release Date:  Available Now
Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say:  Poignant and Bittersweet
Looking back, I wonder if I had an inkling that my life was about to go from ordinary to extraordinary.

When sixteen-year-old Lillie Hart meets the gorgeous and mysterious Tom Windsor-Smith for the first time, it’s like fireworks — for her, anyway. Tom looks as if he would be more interested in watching paint dry; as if he is bored by her and by her small Nebraskan town in general.

But as Lillie begins to break down the walls of his seemingly impenetrable exterior, she starts to suspect that he holds the answers to her reoccurring nightmares and to the impossible memories which keep bubbling to the surface of her mind — memories of the two of them, together and in love.

When she at last learns the truth about their connection, Lillie discovers that Tom has been hiding an earth-shattering secret; a secret that is bigger — and much more terrifying and beautiful — than the both of them. She also discovers that once you finally understand that the world is round, there is no way to make it flat again.

An epic and deeply original sci-fi romance, taking inspiration from Albert Einstein’s theories and the world-bending wonder of true love itself.

I’m having a hard time coming up with the words for how this book made me feel.  While it was slow at times, it always had this aura to it, like I was slowly reading one of my favorite poems.  So, I guess I would describe it as poetic, an alluring mixture of science and beauty.

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the title—I absolutely love it.  It is so perfect for this story.  Have you ever had that nostalgic feeling, where you just look back on the great moments of your life and smile?  And you find yourself thinking about what it was like “back when”?  That’s what this title describes, that feeling of being happy and mesmerized—even if it only lasted for a moment.

I found this love story to be both beautiful and terrifying, but not terrifying in the horror sense.  It was terrifying in the “what if it ends” sense.  There were twists and turns in the road, and I really enjoyed the road to discovery that Ingrid paved.  In fact, I read this book in less than 3 hours because it just flowed so well.  It is also a short book, so you don’t have time to get caught up in overwhelming details.  (This might bug some people who like more definite world-building, but I’m not one of those people.)

The only thing that bugged me was the slow pace at the beginning of the book.  I think I was about 80 pages into it before it really hooked me, so that is going to turn some people off.  However, if you stick through the slower beginning, you will be rewarded with an endearing love story that rivals the ages.

While I did not like the secondary characters in this book, I did find myself hooked on both main characters, Lillie and Tom.  They were both broken in some way, but not so broken that they seem to have no hope.  I liked Lillie’s “I don’t care what you think” attitude because she pulls it off without being abrasive.  It’s not an “in your face” type of attitude; she just merely exists, like she walks through a shadow of her own making.  I liked that fierceness about her, whereas both her friends seemed to fall deeper into a pit of despair because of the problems of high school (bullying, peer pressure, etc.).

Then there’s Tom.  He’s not the type of guy who is going to sweep you off your feet, but he is the type that will make you smile at just the right moments.  He’s a fierce protector that stays on the sidelines until he is really needed.  He is stand-offish at first (and you discover why later in the book), but once you get inside his head, you can really see his heart.

Overall, I really enjoyed this romance with its touch of science fiction.  The ending did feel rushed, and I would have liked to know more about how the “science” came into being; but, it probably would have been too much to add all that science gibberish.  So, I’m happy with how Ingrid told her story.  I will definitely be looking for more of her books in the future.

Friday, September 13, 2013

Endless by Jessica Shirvington (Embrace #4)


Endless by Jessica Shirvington
Australian copy received from Brianna (Another thanks!)
Release date:  October 1, 2013
Reviewed by:  Middle Sis Jenn
The Sisters Say:  A Rainbow of Excitement, Love, and Loss
Love will kill us all.

Angels are real. They aren't always kind. Violet Eden is certain of all this because she is Grigori - part angel, part human. She has felt the influence of both light and dark.

When Hell unleashes its worst, Violet must embrace every facet of her angel self to save the people she cares about and the world as she knows it. But death is not the worst thing that Violet will face. For her, the endless question 'Can love conquer all?' will finally be answered.

I don’t even know where to begin, other than, Jessica Shirvington, you have ripped my heart to shreds!!!!  I don’t even know where to begin to pick up the pieces.  This is one of those series that I am emotionally attached to—putting it in the esteemed company of The Covenant Series, Harry Potter Series, Mortal Instuments and Shatter Me.  I feel like I’ve come to know each and every one of the characters, and each one, good and bad, has managed to wriggle their way into my reality.  This series is unbelievably amazing, and as I much as I want to read what’s next, I wish it would never end.

Be prepared for heartbreak—there is your warning.

Instead of doing a normal review, I have picked out a few of the chapter headings to be my focus.

 

1.) From Chapter 3, “Can you hear Destiny laugh as she tiptoes toward you?  Destiny is heartless.” –Anonymous

Fate unfolds brilliantly in this fourth installment of the Embrace series.  You finally see more about Nox and Uri, and more importantly, you get more insight into Violet’s Angel Maker.  But these revelations won’t give you peace, not when you see how Destiny careens towards such a devastating cliff.  I loved how Jessica brought in the smallest details from the first books and brought them together, culminating in a remarkable set-up for action, betrayal, and revelations.

 

2.) From Chapter 8, “No man chooses evil because it is evil…he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.” –Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

One of the things I like about Jessica’s story is that no one is without redemption, if they so choose it.  That being said, you just never know who is going to step out of the shadows and show themselves a traitor.  Everyone’s actions are circumspect, and I love the mystery that surrounds the Exiles and Grigori alike.  And Phoenix, of course, the Exile that stole my heart (even though I love Lincoln, too!) shows us the ace up his sleeve.

 

3.) From Chapter 15, “The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple.”  Oscar Wilde

Oh what a tangled web we weave!  I can never seem to figure out what is going to happen next with this series, and that is truly a remarkable thing.  Books have become wholly too predictable, so it’s a breath of fresh air to not know what is going to happen with Violet, Lincoln, and Phoenix.

 

4.) From Chapter 30, “Let your plans be dark and as impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.” Sun Tzu

The climax of this book is amazing!!!  It was morose and heart-breaking, but the scene that Jessica has portrayed is as vivid as any movie you will ever see.  More so, I love seeing how Violet comes into her powers, and believe me, she does strike like a thunderbolt.

 

5.) The final quote is the quote at the beginning of the book, but I left it until the end because it illuminates the epicness of what is to come:  “Light and darkness, life and death, right and left, are brothers of one another.  They are inseparable.  Because of this neither are the good good, nor the evil evil, nor is life life, nor death death.”  The Gospel of Philip

Jessica has created a world where light and darkness co-exist and whose to tell which one is more good.  A world where good and evil exist as one, not separate entities trying to expunge the other.  It’s a world where life leads to death, and death may lead to true life.  I love this world, this book, these characters; and if I found myself on the edge of a cliff, being dared by an Angel to jump off; I might just give it a thought (you know, if there was a Phoenix and Lincoln waiting for me on the other side).

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday:

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine. It spotlights books that have not yet been released, but ones that you should pre-order today! This week's book that we are anxiously awaiting is IGNITE ME by Tahereh Mafi.  It will be released February 4, 2014 from Harper Teen.
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The heart-stopping conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Shatter Me series, which Ransom Riggs, bestselling author of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, called "a thrilling, high-stakes saga of self-discovery and forbidden love"

Juliette now knows she may be the only one who can stop the Reestablishment. But to take them down, she'll need the help of the one person she never thought she could trust: Warner. And as they work together, Juliette will discover that everything she thought she knew-about Warner, her abilities, and even Adam-was wrong.

In Shatter Me, Tahereh Mafi created a captivating and original story that combined the best of dystopian and paranormal and was praised by Publishers Weekly as "a gripping read from an author who's not afraid to take risks." The sequel, Unravel Me, blew readers away with heart-racing twists and turns, and New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia said it was "dangerous, sexy, romantic, and intense." Now this final book brings the series to a shocking and climactic end.

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I don't think it would be possible for me to put into words how much I want to read this book.  I just love Tahereh Mafi and her eclectic way of writing. I get lost in her metaphors, and her men just sweep me away--good or bad!!!!  It will be a sad and joyous day to see this series end.


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper


Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper
Available Now
Published by Rhemalda Publishing
Reviewed by:  YA Sisterhood's Mom, Rhonda
Yara Jones doesn't believe in sea monsters-until she becomes one. When a hurricane hits her island home and she wakes up with fins, Yara finds herself tangled up in an underwater world of mysterious merfolk and secretive selkies. Both sides believe Yara can save them by fulfilling a broken promise and opening the sealed gateway to their realm, but they are battling over how it should be done. The selkies want to take her life. The merfolk want something far more precious.

Treygan, the stormy-eyed merman who turned Yara mer, will stop at nothing and sacrifice everything to protect his people-until he falls for Yara. The tides turn as Yara fights to save herself, hundreds of sea creatures, and the merman who has her heart. She could lose her soul in the process-or she might open the gateway to a love that's deeper than the oceans.

In Tangled Tides, the first book in her Sea Monster Memoir Series, Karen Amanda Hooper creates a unique sea world, complete with social classes, which ironically are based on color. However the world of Mer is not the only world existing in the sea and therein rises the problem. Selkies, Gorgons, Sirens, and Mer--all fighting for dominance, and caught in the middle is Yara, a human with no connections to these sea monsters, or so she thinks. All have been cut off from their original world, all believe Yara is the key to returning, but all have their own ideas of how this can be accomplished. Yet each plan is disastrous for Yara.

For those readers who think this world is not for them, you have “been breathing steadily for far too long” and this book will “take [your] breath away.”  I’m not a big fantasy person either, but the monsters have the ability to take human form, and that is what I like about it.  So you can have the best parts of both worlds—the imagination of the sea world and the realism of the human world.

Hooper dangles the legends and tales of the mythical world, not right in front of your eyes, but in the darkness in secret with just a bit escaping at a time. This builds the suspense from the very beginning and your mind is constantly trying to figure out what mythical creature each character is and what mythical secret they hold.

But perhaps the best part is the romance between Yara and Treygan. Imagine a passion so strong that you can’t keep your hands from touching each other, yet you don’t dare risk it because the last person you kissed had her lips turned to stone. I’m sure you can guess the mythical creature behind this conflict.

And there lies the nucleus of the book—sacrifice.  What will you sacrifice for your people? For your family? For your friends? For love? For life? You will find yourself grumbling as you turn each page, “Yes, Yes, Yes” followed by “No, No, No” as you are wrapped up in the character’s decisions, and literally pushing and pulling the book, trying to force or stop the character’s actions.

Tangled Tides is well worth jumping in!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Cover Reveal: Allure by Lea Nolan

Today, we're celebrating the cover reveal of Allure, the sequel to Lea Nolan's Conjure, coming October 1st from Entangled Teen!



Worst. Summer. Ever.

Emma Guthrie races to learn the hoodoo magic needed to break The Beaumont Curse before her marked boyfriend Cooper's sixteenth birthday. But deep in the South Carolina Lowcountry, dark, mysterious forces encroach, conspiring to separate Emma and Cooper forever. When Cooper starts to change, turning cold and indifferent, Emma discovers that both his heart and body are marked for possession by competing but equally powerful adversaries.

Desperate to save him, Emma and her twin brother, Jack, risk their lives to uncover the source of the black magic that has allured Cooper and holds him in its grip. Face with the horror of a soul-eating boohag, Emma and Jack must fight to resist its fiendish power to free Cooper long enough to join their strengths and face it together, before it destroys them all.


Praise for Conjure

"Richly filled with exquisite imagery, a compelling story, and a strong, smart heroine, Conjure will keep you up way past your bedtime." ~ Trinity Faegen, author of The Mephisto Covenant series

"A true adventure, complete with pirates, romance, a flesh-eating curse, and ancient magic. I couldn't put it down!" ~ Inara Scott, author of The Talents (Delcroix Academy) series

"Ifthere is one book teens and adults should have on their must read list, Conjure is it! Fans of young love and adventure will hurry to the end of each chapter, in anticipation of what will happen next. Unfolding at an easy pace, this tale is magical and spellbinding. Nolan is one to watch!" ~ RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ Stars Top Pick

"Conjure is a sweet, adventure-packed romp for young teen readers... There are pirates, lost treasure, curses, and ancient curses, chases, narrow escapes, and secret letters galore." ~ New York Journal of Books

"This is an unexpected read: exciting, dangerous, adventurous - everything we want from a good book. Yet Nolan puts that creative twist on all the elements, making Conjure something special. Conjure is recommended, 4 out of 5 stars." ~ Teen Librarian's Toolbox

About the Author

Lea Nolan couldn’t read until the third grade. After a lot of hard work she finally got the hang of it and quickly learned the best way to get out of doing chores was to tell her parents she was reading. Soon she was hooked, devouring books by Roald Dahl, E.B. White, Judy Blume, C.S. Lewis, and anything with a shiny Newberry Award sticker on the cover. Books provided a portal to enchanted lands where anything was possible and characters relied on their wits to wiggle out of sticky situations. Today, even though she’s all grown up, Lea writes the kinds of stories she sought as a teen--smart paranormals with bright heroines, crazy-hot heroes, diabolical plot twists, plus a dose of magic, a draft of romance, and a sprinkle of history. She holds degrees in history and women’s studies concentrating in public policy and spent fifteen years as a health policy analyst and researcher. She lives in Maryland with her heroically supportive husband and three clever children, who’ve figured out how to get out of doing their chores.


Giveaway

Enter the giveaway below to win one of the first five electronic ARCs of Allure from Entangled Teen!


Rafflecopter Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1cb554136/

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Teaser Tuesday: Deception by C.J. Redwine

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading!
To participate all you have to do is:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)

 
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Deception by C.J. Redwine
On Shelves Now
Published by Harper Teen

 
"I step into his arms, but his touch is only skin deep.  Inside me, the Rachel I once knew is gone." ARC, pg 320