Stories of my life

Review: City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare

2012-03-05T08:00:00.000+01:00

Author: CassandraClare

Title: City of Bones

Series: The MortalInstruments (#1)

ISBN: 9781416914280

Publisher: MargaretK. McElderry Books (March 27^th 2007)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover

My rating: 4 of 5stars

“Whenfifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City,she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by threeteenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Thenthe body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when themurderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not evena smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated toridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, aShadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk.Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance,when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But whywould demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? Andhow did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . ..

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare'sferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they willnever want to end” GoodReads’ blurb

Most people alreadyknow about this one. I’m probably the last one to jump into the MortalInstrument’s train, and probably that means I’ve been living under a rock.Still, I finally got to read this, and I loved it so I’m going to share that,even if you’re fed up with the positive reviews!

I did something veryinteresting with City of Bones: I went in without an idea of what I’d find. Ididn’t even read the blurb! I was told to read it by my lovely friends over atStarbooks, and I just grabbed it and got started. I don’t know if the surpriseand delight would have been the same if I had read some background ahead, but... wow. I’m so happy that I went in with no preconceived ideas!

Everyone’s going torave about Jace, about how wonderful a lead male character he is, about howfunny and strong and fragile and protective, and even how infuriating he canbe. For the record, I do agree – Jace is definitely one of the best guys ever!But, do you know who I loved, that almost never gets mentioned? Alec!

Alec, so serious andstraightforward, and haughty, when in truth he’s just insecure and worried. Ingeneral, the support cast is, beyond a doubt, amazing – with their littlequirks and personalities, each of them has enough backstory to warrant theirown novel if Clare ever gets bored.

The backstory itselfmust be what truly hooked me, beyond the amazingly hot Jace, and beyond sweetAlec and perfect Magnus. I loved the twist to old myths, I loved the concept ofDownworld...

I might not love thevillain much, but I do understand him. He has a reason to act as he does, evenif that reason stems from what I see as paranoia and egotism to the umpteenth,and then gone wrong.

I’ll be honest: I’vedone something I don’t like doing with City of Bones. I’ve gone and read thesequel before writing the review. There, it was that good.

So, if you’re like meand still don’t know this series... get started!

Cover Reveal: Bonds of Fenris

2012-03-02T18:07:00.000+01:00

Look at this! I'm participating in another cover reveal to bring you the awesomeness of this story: doesn't it sound terribly promising? I can't wait to read it!

Talia Thornwood's life ended one year ago, when she became a werewolf. She survived the attack, and the horrifying transformation a month later, but the life she has now is barely worth living. She lurks about in a filthy, run-down house, with too many werewolves crammed into too small a space. Every day is a struggle against the stress of human contact, the romantic prodding of her obnoxious packmate Pierce, and the gnawing hunger for flesh in her soul.

She's all but resigned herself to a dreary existence on the margins of society when she meets Corwin. Corwin is a werewolf like none other. He walks among humans as if it was nothing, and can keep his wolf under control even when the moon is full. Talia's mind is suddenly opened to the possibilities before her, and the realization of how little she really knows about lycanthropy.

Corwin claims that he can teach her how to cope as he does, even how to transcend her affliction. But it will not be easy. It is a hard education that requires her to question everything her pack taught her, and confront exactly what she has become. And, more amazingly, what she never stopped being.

Bonds of Fenris is a paranormal novel by S.J. Bell, due to be released through Smashwords on May 7, 2012.
Visit the author's website
Cover art is by the delightful Stephanie Mooney

Blog Tour: Shrouded in Darkness

2012-03-01T00:30:00.001+01:00

Today I'm lucky enough to host a stop on Shrouded in Darkness book tour! And I'll be sharing an excerp from this amazing title with you all! Besides, if you leave a comment with a contact e-mail, you could win your own e-copy of Shrouded in Darkness! I'll be picking the winner when the tour ends, on March the 8th, so be sure to participate.

Jake Preston is on borrowedtime. If he doesn’t stumble upon a miracle and soon, he’ll endupdead. And even if he does, he still might end up dead with a cleverkiller hounding his heels. He believes that the one miracle and antidoteto save him is in Margot Davenport’s house, across the country and miles awayfrom Boston. Somewhere locked in her home is the key to reversing anexperiment that is killing him with each breath he takes.

Margot doesn’t particularly care ifshe ends up dead. She’s lost everything she’s ever cared for. Adivorce and the loss of her job as a corporate lawyer has left her with littlefaith in herself or in anyone else. Most importantly, she’s lost the oneperson on this earth she’s looked up to and cherished–her brother,Johnny. His death in a car accident has devastated her, and she can’tfind the willpower to pull herself from the chasm she’s fallen into. Heronly solace is at the bottom of a wineglass. Having moved back to thesmall town in northern Arizona where she was raised, she’s made a point ofisolating herself both mentally and physically from everyone other than a fewchosen friends. Little does she know that her life is going to explodeinto chaos.

Winner of the Ready-Set-Go PeninsulaRWA Contest
Finalist in the Suzannah NorthLouisiana RWA Contest
1st place in Peninsula RWA Chapter’scontest.

Buy from Amazon
Buy from B&N

Check out the excerp now!

Margot Davenport shouldnever have opened the front door. She should have just kept ongetting slowly and thoroughly drunk that night. But the pounding onthe door went on and on, reverberating throughout the house andinside her skull. Stumbling from the couch in the living room,Margot knocked over her glass and an empty wine bottle, and grabbedonto her throbbing head with a hand.

“Damn it!”

In the hall, shetripped over her calico cat, Marmaduke, who streaked past her and upthe stairs. She swore again. The banging continued. The crazy fooloutside had given up on the doorbell long ago.

“John! Come on. Open up! It’s me, Jake!”

At the mention ofJohnny’s name, Margot’s stomach twisted and rolled with suddennausea. “Okay! Okay! Give me a second.”

She groped for thelight switch to the hall. Nothing happened.

“Damn, stupid thing!”That’s what she got for not replacing the house’s ancient wiring.

“John, I’m freezingmy ass off!”

“What do you expect,”Margot muttered, wondering if this guy was playing some sick joke ather expense.

Margot hit the outsidelight switch and peered through the glass panel beside the door. Aman stood on the front porch. She didn’t recognize him, but thenagain, the sheet of snow and the light’s glare against the nightbackdrop didn’t help matters.

A gun or pepper sprayfor protection sounded pretty nice right now, but Margot hated gunsand had never expected the need, living on the outskirts of Greyson,Arizona. It wasn’t like this town up in the White Mountains wasloaded with crime. The worst incident had been a case of disorderlyconduct last winter, and that had been from a drunken tourist.

“Who is it?”

A pause on the otherside followed—almost as if she’d surprised him.

“Margot? Is that you?It’s Jake Preston.”

Though muffled, hiswords were clear enough to make out. The name sounded familiar, butshe couldn’t recall what Johnny had said about him.

Margot frowned andwinced as pain cut across her temple, brow and the base of her skull.She should have stopped at one glass of wine. “How do you knowJohnny?”

“I worked with him atMiltronics for several years on the outskirts of Boston.”

Margot debated aboutturning this Jake away as she watched him stamp his feet against theporch. He must be freezing—what with the wind and snow.

“I know it’s late,but I need to talk to John. Please. If you could just get him, you’llsee I’m harmless.”

The urgency in hisvoice made her decide. He obviously didn’t know about her brother.She sighed heavily. What she had to tell him wasn’t going to beeasy.

Margot unlatched thelock and opened the door.

An angry gust of windburst into the house, tearing the knob from her grasp. The door flewwide and crashed against the wall. Gasping, she reeled back as snowflew in, stabbing her face with icy spikes.

“Here, let me.” Hestepped inside and shoved the door closed with his shoulder. Heturned his back against the light from the kitchen, casting his facein shadow. His baseball cap further shielded his features—alongwith sunglasses of all things.

How very odd.Sudden apprehension curled up her spine as Margot stepped away fromJake and the doorway. Topping a good six-feet, he appeared far largerthan when he’d stood behind a locked door.

“What are thesunglasses for?” she asked.

“The light.”

“What?”

“My eyes. They’resensitive to light. I injured both corneas as a child.”

“Oh.” She must havebeen staring at him like an idiot, but something about him made heruneasy. And it wasn’t just the glasses and pale complexion.

He must have sensed herdisquiet, because he explained further, “It’s called traumaticiritis. It’s something I’ve had to live with for as long as Ican remember.” He shrugged a large canvas backpack from hisshoulder and placed it on the floor. “Can you get John for me?”

“He’s dead.”

Margot never intendedthe words to come out so abrupt and final, but...it hurt. Balling herhands into fists, she fought against the sudden tears that burned theback of her eyes. Please no. Not now. She couldn’t fallapart in front of this stranger.

“He can’t be.That’s impossible.”

Author Bio:

H.D. Thomson moved from Ontario,Canada as a teenager to the heat of Arizona where she graduated from theUniversity of Arizona with a B.S. in Business Administration with a major inaccounting. After working in the corporate world as an accountant, H.D.changed her focus to one of her passions-books. She owned and operated anonline bookstore for several years and then started the company, Bella MediaManagement. The company specializes in web sites, video trailers, ebookconversion and promotional resources for authors and small businesses. When she is not heading her company, she is following her first love-writing.You can read more about her and her books at her HDThomson.com.

http://www.facebook.com/hdthomson
http://www.twitter.com/hdthomson
http://www.hdthomson.com

Leap into Books Giveaway Hop

2012-02-29T00:30:00.000+01:00

Giveaway time! Don't you love those moments? I know I do! Besides, I have something very exciting to share with you this time: I hinted at it last week, in this post, and now I'm telling you that I have...

3 e-copies of Hope Road!

"You can't change your past. But what about your future?

John Ray, son of crime boss Antonio 'Tony' Ray, is the straight one of the family. With a successful business and a lifestyle to match, he wants nothing to do with his father's criminal world. But what does that world want with him?

A young prostitute is found dead in John's car, and Freddy Metcalfe, his best friend and employee, is framed for her death. Freddy denies everything but it's an open and shut case: he's going down for murder. John sets out to find the real killer.

But things get complicated. A stash of counterfeit money was also found in John's car, and the police seem more interested in that than in the dead girl. Then Lanny Bride turns up; one of the north's most ruthless criminals (and an old friend of the Ray family), Lanny is desperate to know who killed the girl. But why? Meanwhile, Freddy is too scared to talk to anyone, even his lawyer.

John's police detective girlfriend, Denise Danson, has been warned off the case by her boss. But she doesn't believe Freddy is guilty, and secretly helps John look for the murderer. The problem, though, is that uncovering the shocking truth about the girl's death will force John to confront his own criminal past and risk destroying his future, as well as losing the only woman he's ever loved." GoodReads' Blurb

Not only that: as the number of entries increases, so will the amount of books to be given away. The first milestone's going to be 300 entries, and then one more e-copy for each 100 extra entries. How's that sound? Amazing, right? Yeah, I thought so.

So, without further ado, I leave you to fill out the form. Remember, this is international, you have to be of legal age to take part in a giveaway wherever you reside (that's usually 13, isn't it?) and, once you're done, I hope you'll hop on to the other blogs taking part in the giveaway.

Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Finnikin of the Rock, by Melina Marchetta

2012-02-28T08:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Melina Marchetta

Title: Finnikin ofthe Rock

Series: LumatereChronicles (#1)

ISBN: 9780670072811

Publisher: CandlewickPress (first published September 29^th 2008)

Buy your copy: Paperback | Hardcover | Audiobook

My rating: 4 of 5stars

“At theage of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound offlesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with hisfriend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mixtheir blood to safeguard Lumatere.

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when theking and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. Animpostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere'swalls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by thethousands in fever camps.

Ten years later, Finnikin is summoned to another rock—to meet Evanjalin, ayoung novice with a startling claim: Balthazar, heir to the throne of Lumatere,is alive. This arrogant young woman claims she'll lead Finnikin and his mentor,Sir Topher, to the prince. Instead, her leadership points them perilouslytoward home. Does Finnikin dare believe that Lumatere might one day riseunited? Evanjalin is not what she seems, and the startling truth will testFinnikin's faith not only in her but in all he knows to be true about himselfand his destiny.

In a bold departure from her acclaimed contemporary novels, Printz MedalistMelina Marchetta has crafted an epic fantasy of ancient magic, feudal intrigue,romance, and bloodshed that will rivet you from the first page “GoodReads’ blurb

In all fantasycircles, Finnikin of the Rock is quite well known, and its upcoming sequel isvery anticipated. Well, I completely understand why!

Finnikin of the Rock feels,in many ways, a classic for the genre. Genre being secondary world fantasy, notthe urban kind, by the way. But, instead of presenting the classic concept ofan epic fight between good and evil, where the heroes do... heroic things toprevail in the end, Marchetta presents us a conflict of people.

There is darkness inthis novel, though. There is definite evil. But it’s not the Dark Overlord – it’scalled “fear”, and it lives within every human being.

There is an epicfight, too. It’s the fight to move on, to forgive ourselves, to gather enoughcourage to accept who we are and what must be done and to try to be happy oncemore.

That is the strengthfor Finnikin of the Rock. Beyond the long journey the main characters undertaketo reclaim a kingdom lost to a curse, there is a very human voyage towardsacceptance and healing.

And love. And trust.There’s the choosing of the lesser evil, there’s the ends justifying the means,there is the acceptance of a certain duty one is afraid to accept.

And every single lineis beautifully written, with such perfect pacing that it flows rather than justbeing read. It’s slow enough to let you appreciate every nuance I just talkedabout, and it’s fast enough to take you along for the ride without yourealizing it.

So, recommendedreading? Yes. Absolutely. Froi of the Exiles, the follow up to this tale, iscoming out soon but in any case, you don’t have to worry: Finnikin of the Rockstands alone, so no excuses: give it a try. You’ll most likely love it!

Review: Death Masks, by Jim Butcher

2012-02-27T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Jim Butcher

Title: Death Masks

Series: Dresden Files (#5)

ISBN: 9780451459404

Publisher: Roc (1st published August 1st 2003)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover | Audiobook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only practicing professional wizard, should be happy that business is pretty good for a change. But now he’s getting more than he bargained for.

A duel with the Red Court of Vampires’ champion, who must kill Harry to end the war between vampires and wizards…

Professional hit men using Harry for target practice…

The missing Shroud of Turin…

A handless and headless corpse the Chicago police need identified…

Not to mention the return of Harry’s ex-girlfriend Susan, who’s still struggling with her semivampiric nature. And who seems to have a new man in her life.

Some days, it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed. No matter how much you’re charging” GoodReads’ blurb

And yet another great performance by James Marsters as Harry Dresden!

I really liked this instalment. There was Susan, who I didn’t like. There’s Michael, whose impromptu appearance on book 3 I didn’t like. And I kept falling asleep through some chapters (I think this part is due to my being exhausted because of work, though). And there wasn’t enough Murphy. Sounds like a bad recommendation, right?

Actually, this has to be one of my favorite titles in the series yet.

Harry is just as he was. As an improvement on book 3, this time he’s not moping around, but he still needs to accomplish the impossible and manages to do it by the skin of his teeth.

Susan improved. With capitalized I. She has lost most of that unnerving curiosity that led her to bite more than she could chew and that ridiculous obsession with uncovering the perfect article. Now she’s got more important priorities, like helping people and fighting the good fight... and she can kick ass. So while I still prefer Murphy, Death Masks helped me to like Susan as well.

Michael still isn’t my most beloved guy, but he had some scenes that made me laugh. The same scenes also made me groan in frustration. This time, though, his presence was easy to understand, and we already knew him so it was not sudden character-dump so I’m not complaining about him.

I just got a question for you, if you’ve read the series this far: When did he recover his sword? Because I can’t recall him doing so, and he’s waving it around here. Which is a big no-no, unless I missed some important scene in the previous book.

Now I understand what they meant about the series taking off in book 3, though. One and two were independent stories of Urban Fantasy linked by Harry. Now we’re facing one new challenge each book, and there’s the constant thread of the war between wizards and vampires.

A war that Harry stupidly started in book 3 because Susan was to self-centered to understand that some things were more important than her article, and that she should listen when she’s told she’s in over her head.

Not complaining, though. I still like the action, I still find the new plots original, and I still love Harry’s attitude.

If you’re into the series, read this one. If you haven’t started yet, I’d recommend you to get to it as soon as possible, from what I’ve read so far.

TBR Intervention #15

2012-02-25T13:57:00.001+01:00

It's TBR Intervention Challenge time! My favorite challenge ever! We get to organize our huge To Be Read piles and actually read those books we've been wanting to (or been supposed to) for the longest time! The challenge is hosted by April @ Books4Juliet, Dani @ Refracted Light and Ayanami @ Whatever You Can Still Betray, and it's hosted every Saturday, though you're free to join every two weeks if that's more convenient for you. As always, do join us! Here's the rules:

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).
2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer). Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week.
3. Grab the TBR Intervention Button and post it on your blog sidebar so you will be constantly reminded of the challenge, making it easier for you to commit. This will also encourage other readers/bloggers/visitors to join the challenge.
4. Add the link to your post in the Linky below and make sure to visit the other blogs. Comment, encourage, and spread the love to our fellow readers.

And here's how I did this week:

Last week TBR: Success!

I finished Finnikin of the Rock, and frankly, now I understand why everyone got so happy when I got it in my mailbox. It's a great read! I'd place it along the "classic fantasy", except that it isn't, not really. It's so human, so touching. It wasn't earth-shattering, but it's certainly among my faves in the genre now, and a great book to get started. My review to come *goes to check her calendar* February 28th.

This week TBR:

So, I've finally found the perfect free week to pick this up:

Cinder! Yay! It's going to be a somewhat complicated week, so I don't think I'll have time to get into anything else. So, that's it. How about your own week? Did you read a lot?

PS. Oh! I remember that a lot of you were interesteed in Katana when I had it for my TBR. The review came up this week, if you're interested and want to know what I liked and didn't like about it! This is the link.

Transcend Time Saga: Title Hunt!

2012-02-24T11:07:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the Transcend Time Saga Title Hunt! The title hunt is the reveal of the title for the final novel in the Transcend Time Saga. Each of the bloggers participating in the hunt have been given a letter. Hop around to the blogs participating to hunt for the letters. (And remember that two of the letters are used twice, so the title is eight letters long.)

Once you've unscrambled the title, go to Michelle Madow's blog and use the title name to enter the giveaway for a voucher for an advanced e-copy of the final Transcend Time novel! (She is giving away a voucher because the novel is planned to be released at the end of the year, and she hasn't finished writing it yet! This voucher will ensure that you will receive an advance e-copy once they are available).

My letter is...

-L-

I'm really looking forward to this book. There are so many things I'm hoping to see! The end of Remembrance wrapped things up pretty nicely,, but then Vengeance threw it all into chaos for me. Right now, I'm torn between cheering for Chelsea, so that she has a terrible, horrible moment of realization and understands exactly what she has done (with all due guilt and despair, of course) and so that I can see Drew in dark mode... and, of course, rooting for the couple!

Whatever happens, though, I know I will enjoy it. I can't wait!

Before I let you hop on to the rest of blogs taking part in this awesome title hunt, let me remind you that right now Michelle in on tour through the States! And while she is, her novel Remembrance will be on sale, 0,99$, so if you're one of the few who still haven't read it... Well, go and get it!

Now, shoo! Hop on and find out the title to this most expected novel!

Guest post: Novel Research by John Barlow

2012-02-23T13:45:00.001+01:00

Today I'm really, really excited because I'm hosting John Barlow! He's recently published Hope Road, and kindly agreed to share a little about his writing experience with us. And how he shared! I dare you to read about how he approached Hope Road, and about the book itself, and not be tempted to read it! Read on, because if you like what you see, there's an upcoming surprise!

Author: John Barlow
Title: Hope Road
Series: LS9 (#1)
ASIN: B006LWJ75K
Publisher: John Barlow (December 13th 2011)

"You can't change your past. But what about your future?

John Ray, son of crime boss Antonio 'Tony' Ray, is the straight one of the family. With a successful business and a lifestyle to match, he wants nothing to do with his father's criminal world. But what does that world want with him?

A young prostitute is found dead in John's car, and Freddy Metcalfe, his best friend and employee, is framed for her death. Freddy denies everything but it's an open and shut case: he's going down for murder. John sets out to find the real killer.

But things get complicated. A stash of counterfeit money was also found in John's car, and the police seem more interested in that than in the dead girl. Then Lanny Bride turns up; one of the north's most ruthless criminals (and an old friend of the Ray family), Lanny is desperate to know who killed the girl. But why? Meanwhile, Freddy is too scared to talk to anyone, even his lawyer.

John's police detective girlfriend, Denise Danson, has been warned off the case by her boss. But she doesn't believe Freddy is guilty, and secretly helps John look for the murderer. The problem, though, is that uncovering the shocking truth about the girl's death will force John to confront his own criminal past and risk destroying his future, as well as losing the only woman he's ever loved." GoodReads' Blurb

Crimefiction: the fictional and the real.

byJohn Barlow

authorof HOPE ROAD

Write about what you know! That’s what they say. And it makes a lotof sense. If a writer can draw on personal experience - a specific setting, aseries of events, real people - it makes the creation of the fictive world easierand makes their story more believeable.

But we don’t always know. That’sthe problem, especially with crime fiction. Most of us have never killed anyone,yet a lot of crime fiction revolves around murder. We therefore depend to alarge extent on research and imagination.

It’s not just murder, either. When I began planning my mystery HOPEROAD, I realised that I needed to know more about British police procedure.I was fortunate in that the West Yorkshire Police assigned me a detective fromCID (serious crime dept), which was amazingly useful, especially since I waswriting about the very same department.

HOPE ROAD also involves counterfeit money, which has long been aninterest of mine. If you’re interested in this area of crime, StephenJory’s FUNNYMONEY is a good starting point, as is the more recent THEART OF MAKING MONEY. Through a combination of sheer good luck andpersistence, I got to meet and talk to a professional money counterfeiter lastyear. I ended up sitting in a Walthamstow cafe discussing the best way to passoff fake banknotes with someone who did it for a living! Great research, but that’sanother story...

With the research for HOPE ROAD going well, I still felt there was abit too much second-hand stuff in the book, and not quite enough of thehuman/personal angle that I wanted for a psychological mystery. What happenednext was not particularly pleasant, but for a novelist it was priceless: Idiscovered that my uncle John had been an international arms dealer and thief.This is how it happened.

John Lord Longstaff (b. 1948, d. 1984) was from my father’s side ofthe family. He was a half-uncle, and live about five miles away from us, yet Iknew little about him. Then, about a year ago, somebody from the family wasshowing me the family tree. “And that’s John, of course,” he said. “Murdered byGaddafi.” As you can imagine, that got my attention...

Uncle John was a legal arms dealer in the 1970s and ’80s. Thisarticle in the British Gun MartMagazine describes him as ‘...the West Yorkshire basedshooting entrepreneur and international arms dealer John Longstaff [who had]done much to promote handloading in this country.’ So, he was well thought of in his profession. Hewas legitimate. In the world of international arms dealers, though, he wassmall fry. As a novelist, this is the kind of thing that I find interesting.Because whereas he dealt in weapons of death, he also sold military memorabilia,medals, peaked caps, that sort of thing. Not exactly Khashoggi. In fact,he led a very ordinary life, running a small business and living in a modestsemi in a suburb of Leeds. When he died he left a young wife and two daughters,aged eight and two.

The manner of his death,however, was not ordinary. He was found dead on a flight from Amsterdam in ’84,slumped in the toilet, his throat cut. An apparent suicide,complete with suicide note. Throat? Who kills themselves by slashing their ownthroat? His wife didn’t believe it, and kicked up a fuss,challenging the coroner’s verdict of suicide. And that’s when the shit reallystarted.

It seems that John had been making trips to Libya. No one knows why,but his wife claimed he’d been contacted by someone about working undercover. Gaddafi?Whatever the truth, what we do know is that the police were waiting for him atHeathrow the day he died. He was suspected of handling munitions stolen fromthe British army (the munitions were later found in his warehouse). Anintelligence report then suggested a possible connectionwith para-military organisations in Northern Ireland. This was never proved, butit certainly shocked the family.

Indeed, the family’s reaction to his death is what I found most interesting.Because I’d never heard of any ofthis. The family never talked about him at all, as if my mutual consent theentire clan had decided to bury their darkest secret, to forget all about Johnand his suspicious death on a plane. I’ve drawn on this for HOPE ROAD, not thegun-running (that’s going into the next book), but the ways in which crime canbe concealed within a family, the boundaries between right and wrong redrawnfor convenience and respectability.

People sometimes walk a thin line between criminality and thelaw-abiding life. Having spoken at length to CID officers about criminals andtheir ways of working, I’ve developed an interested not so much in crime, butin the everyday lives of those who commit crime on a regular basis. Career criminalsoften have legitimate businesses and lead respectable, normal existences. Wasthat uncle John’s case? Did he fall into crime by accident, or throughdesperation? Or was that house in Pudsey merely a front, concealing somethingfar more sinister?

I dunno. But having thought long and hard about this as a possiblesource for a novel, it occurred to me that it would be interesting to invertthe scenario: an openly criminal family in which the black sheep is ‘straight’.I want to explore how the criminal and non-criminal minds meet, how one playsinto the other, and how the two can never really be separate in a familysetting. How does a person carry the knowledge that their close relatives arecriminals? Does it condition their own life, and if so, in what way?

Write about what you know! Well, I know a little about crime. But Iknow a lot about the dynamics of a family straining to conceal the knowledge ofcriminal activity, and never quite knowing how far or how deep that activitywent. As for uncle John, I’ll probably never get to the bottom of his secretlife. Would he have liked HOPE ROAD? I’ll never know that, either.

Buy HOPE ROAD

Contact John

So, you did find intriguing, didn't you? I knew it! Then, stay tuned because John has kindly offered to endorse the Leap into Books giveaway that starts next week!

I've been Tagged! (And I loved it)

2012-02-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

So, it’sNational Get to Know Ron Day! How cool is that?

The fact is,I’ve been tagged this past week. Thanks so much, girls! You’re the best, and Ilove you all! (And I love to talk about myself) So, I’ve decided to make a postwith all the questions I got from my tagging, for your reading pleasure.

I believethere were rules involved. I’m probably going to break them, therefore I won’tlist them – so perhaps you won’t notice!

Anyway, ready?Here we go!

Questions fromMaria @ A Night’s Deam of Books

1. Whatdo you enjoy the most about blogging, or do you like every aspect of it?

I love every aspect. I don’tcare for the huge amount of work, or for the time it takes away from my sociallife or from my other “recreational activities”, but it more than makes up forit. There’s something about book blogging that still amazes me: there’s thecommunity and the awesome friends I’ve made, and there’s also something deeper,something about feeling, being the pulse of the reading force. That’s whatmakes me stick to it, I guess.

2. Howdo you balance your blogging with your reading?

I’m still trying to learn the answer to that question. I keep tellingmyself that I must write a review everytime I finish a book. I end up reading,reading, and then going on hige review sprints where I prepare four or moreposts. I don’t do many memes, so there’s not much to prepare there. And therest? I pretty much schedule the day I want it up, and end up writing theactual post the last day, the last minute. As I’m doing now.

3. Whatkind of blogging issues did you have to deal with when you first started out?

I didn’t know what I was doing. At all. My biggest issues were, and are,consistent posting. And finding the time to network, without giving up on myreading or my writing. Or my job, which actually pays my blogging and readingbills.

4. Doyou prefer to read fiction or nonfiction? Alternatively, do you enjoyboth? Please explain, either way.

Fiction. I hardly ever read nonfiction. I think the only exception tothat is a biographical novel about Juan de Austria, because he’s pretty muchthe paradigm of a Renaissance man and I wanted to know about him. Still, it wasnovelized. As a rule of thumb, I read to scape reality. I learn new thingsabout the world and myself, but looking from another prism. I need that breakwith in order to keep myself sane. If I read nonfiction... I’d probably catch adepression or loose my imagination or my sense of humor or something.

5. Wouldyou read a blog that you did not find visually appealing? Why or why not?

As soon as it doesn’t kill my eyes. Most of the blogs I read, I readfrom my feeder anyway so design will catch my eye, but won’t hold me long –it’s all about the content. As long as the font is legible for that moment whereI actually head to the blog to leave a comment, I’m cool with it. Which doesn’tmean that I don’t like a pretty blog.

6. Haveyou changed your blog design or header at all since you first startedblogging? Why or why not?

Yep. I play around with it from time to time. I did a major overhaulabout a month in, because I had such a serious, business like design that itscreamed “bleh” miles and miles around. I still chance small details. I’malways looking for the perfect layout, color combination, to streamline stuffor add more content... I can’t help myself!

7. Ifyou were ever unable to finish a book because you didn't like it, wouldyou still review it, and mention the reasons you couldn't finish it? Whyor why not?

I don’t think that’s fair. There’s just one book I’ve truly been unableto finish, though, so maybe there’s some instances where I’d still review and Ijust haven’t come across them. Right now, though, if I can’t even fast-read thebook, I won’t review it.

8. Wouldyou read a book on the basis of the opinion of literary critics, or popularappeal? Please explain either way.

I’d read a book based on my own appeal. Critics sometimes look forthings I don’t care about. Pop appea works the same way. I know the kind ofbooks I enjoy, and I know what I’m in the mood for reading at any given time,so that’s the opinion I’ll trust. This doesn’t mean that I don’t find newthings by looking at whatever my bloger friends are reading (you guys, you makemy TBR insurmountable!)

9. Youngadult fiction has become very popular in recent years. What do you thinkcould be the reason for this?

No idea. I wish I knew. I like it because it’s simple, and refreshing,and love tends to win the day and there are less chances that the character Ilove will end up dead in chapter two. It reminds me of a simpler time in my ownlife, and while I don’t want to go back, I like to see it again throughdifferent circumstances.

10. Doyou like to review indie books? Why or why not?

Yep. There are amazingly good indie books out there, so I don’t see whyI shouldn’t give them a chance. That said, though, I ask from an indie authorexactly the same thing I’d ask from a legacy one – no leniency! Which means, ifyou see a 4 or 5 star review from me? Yeah, it was that good.

Questions from April @ Books4Juliet

1. How do you usuallyspend your time if you're not reading or blogging?

Aside from working, youmean? (laughs) I play around with my guitar. Plan for my next crazy project.Play some more. And study. I love studying languages.

2. How many books canyou read in week?

Two under mostcircumstances. Unless I’ve a lot of work, or we’re talking A Dance with Dragonskind of books – then, I’d say one... Or even half a book!

3. What is yourfavorite book genre?

Fantasy. Particularly, YAbecause they tend to be shorter and more manageable in a genre known for itsdoor stoppers. I like paranormal, urban, traditional... I’m not much fordystopia, though, and it takes me a lot of effort to talk myself into pickingup Sci-Fi.

4. What is the title ofyour most favorite book?

What, just like that? Noyear limit, genre limit, author limit? Wait, this is SO not fair, April! can’t possibly answer... If I had to saywhich books have changed or marked me the most, though, I guess I’d have to gowith three: Ender’s Game, by Scott Card; Dune by Frank Herbert; and Thief ofTime by Terry Pratchett. Make of that what you will.

5. Are there any booksthat you wished you didn't read?

None that I can think of.Sure, sometimes I’ve wondered if I had lost X hours of my life, but I thinkthere’s something to be gained, even from truly awful books – namely, how notto do it.

6. Have you ever criedover a book?

Yep. I’ve even cried overmanga. Does that count? When something I don’t like happens in a book, I havethis habit of going “lalalala” and prentending it didn’t happen... butsometimes it just hits you, I guess.

7. Have you ever feltbeing so angry over a book or a main character?

Nah... I’ve developeddeath wishes towards some characters (okay, a number of them), but I don’t getreally angry. Then again, it’s quite difficult to get me angry in real life,too.

8 If you will be asked togive away all your books except one, which one will you keep?

I’d run away and becomethe leader of the Cultural Resistance. Then I’d become famous (or infamous) andbe hunted down, and probably killed protecting my pile of books. They’d make aPulitzer-worthy pic of my defeat, too. But anyway, I’d not give up my books.Not a single one of them.

9. Name 4 femalecharacters that you would want to exchange your life with.

My brain might be kind ofslow right now. I can come up with Clary from Mortal Instruments, becausethat’s what I’m reading right now. Then.... I don’t know. I like being myself.I just want their boyfriends.

10. Who is your mostfavorite fictional boy?

From the books I’ve readsince I started blogging, I think I’ll go with Cas from Anna Dressed in Blood.(And Magnus from Mortal Instruments, but that’s a secret!)

11. If there's a bookthat you want to recommend to me, what book would that be?

Right now? I’d say, check out Matchbox Girls. It’s my latest review andit blew my mind away.

Questions from Shanan @ The Book Addict

1. What book that you have read surprised you the most? Why?
Mmmh. The Sundering duology. I’m going to say that because it’s not very wellknown, I think, and it touched me deeply enough to make me start my blog justso that I could write about how wonderful it was. I didn’t expect it to be asdeep, lyrical, enthralling and painful as it was, not at all.

2. What is your favorite genre to read? Why?
That’s April’s question two *points up*

3. Did you love to read while you were in high school and/orcollege?
Yes, definitely! I’ve loved to read since I could hold a book and make sense ofthe letters inside. To give some examples: My family had this rule, when I wasseven, that I could only buy a book a week. I read through “The Little Vampire”(ages ten and up, I know) and I’d always finish each book, and then I’d have tore-read it before I could get the new one. Then, when I was eleven, I readIvanhoe, the Aeneid, the Illiad, and the Oddyssey during my summer holidays.And it only got worse, my friends. It got worse.

4. Do you belong to a book club?
No. I don’t think there are that many book clubs where I’m from. It’s like thehabit’s not there.

5. How do you like to share your love of reading with others?
I usually pester whoever’s my poor victim until they wield and read a book. OrI blog. Which is like, a viral form of pestering, isn’t it?

6. Twilight or Morganville Vampires or Blue Bloods (or if none ofthese what is your favorite vampire story?)
Haven’t actually read any of those yet. But I like my vampires to be dark, tobe predators, to have little qualms about being what they are and doing whatthey do to survive.

7. What author can you not get enough of?
Another cruel question. Do I have to narrow it down to just a handful? To justone? Hmmm... Okay, I’ll say, in no particular order: Mark Lawrence, ElizabethHunter, Terry Pratchett.

8. Who is your favorite all-time character?
All time?!? How should I know? How can I tell? There are so many of them,characters who have spoken to me in one moment or another of my life... If Ihad to go for generalizations, I’d take Paul Atreides from Dune and Death fromTerry Pratchett’s books. And Jorg from Mark Lawrence’s Prince of Thorns.

9. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? Who would you like to see starring in the movie?

Not answering this one. I like my own imaginations of the characters, sono matter how good Hollywood is, I’d rather keep my own vision, untainted by amovie. An exception could be The Mortal Instruments, because I’ve seen theleading roles and I can live with them, but I’m still scared about what theymight do. So, yeah.

10. Kindle or Nook? (okay, I admit I am trying to figure out which one Ishould save up for!)

I actually have a Sony, but if I were to change devices I’d go for aKindle. They’re cheap, perform beautifully, and are on their way to becomingthe new standard. Don’t fight the trend – benefit from it.

11. Describe your dream reading nook.

Reading in any kind of nook kills my back – particularly because Ialready spend about 10-12 hours a daysitting in front of my computer, working. I always read curled up in bed, withmy cat.

Aaaand that’s it. Wow. Intense, wasn’t it?

I should now proceed to write my own ten (thirty?) questions and to tagten (thirty) more people. But... remember what I said about breaking the rules?Yeah. This is it.

So, if you’d like to make me happy, just comment below. Tell me what youthink, share your views, laugh at mine. That’s what I’d like to tag you for,dear reader.

Review: Katana, by Cole Gibsen

2012-02-21T12:45:00.000+01:00

Author: Cole Gibsen

Title: Katana

ISBN: 9780738730400

Publisher: Flux (March 8th 2012)

Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Paperback

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“Kill Bill meets Buffy in this supernatural samurai tale.

Rileigh Martin would love to believe that adrenaline gave her the uncanny courage and strength to fend off three muggers. But it doesn’t explain her dreams of fifteenth century Japan, the incredible fighting skills she suddenly possesses, or the strange voice giving her battle tips and danger warnings. While worrying that she’s going crazy (always a reputation ruiner), Rileigh gets a visit from Kim, a handsome martial arts instructor, who tells Rileigh she’s harboring the spirit of a five-hundred-year-old samurai warrior.

Relentlessly attacked by ninjas, Rileigh has no choice but to master the katana--a deadly Japanese sword that’s also the key to her past. As the spirit grows stronger and her feelings for Kim intensify, Rileigh is torn between continuing as the girl she’s always been and embracing the warrior inside her.” GoodReads’ blurb

Katana is an enjoyable read, fast paced and full of action.

Rileigh as a character was easy to understand and simpathize with: her reactions to the high-tension situation, her denial of the craziness that’s taken hold of her life, the way she still manages to worry about things like a love life or her reputation. I think I’d freak out more than she does... and yet she has enough troubles adjusting to her situation that I can believe it.

The only thing that didn’t quite register with me was the fact that she’s a skater, but that might be because of my own cultural background and cliché assumptions – skaters where I’m from don’t wear skinny pants or heels and definitely aren’t considered popular. It didn’t really factor in the story, either, so it like like it was a bit of color thrown in.

Rileigh’s best friend, Q, must have been my favorite character ever. The full name’s Quentin and the guy’s a diva, drama queen, whatever you want to call it. His histrionics were just too amusing and my only complaint in his regard is the absolute ease with which he takes the news that his best friend’s a reincarnated samurai. As if reincarnation –and remembering of pas lives- were the most obvious things. But he’s stll funny, so I can forgive that bit.

Kim, the lead guy here, didn’t appear on screen nearly enough to let me gauge him. In some ways, he’s this charismatic leader who has everything under control and holds all the answers and in others he’s a guy who keeps being mysterious for the sake of it, witholding information and thus handling the situations with less finesse than an elephant. I had trouble relating to him and to his relationship with Rileigh, and I kept thinking that Rileigh’s fear regarding the attraction –not spoiling it- was not just well-founded, but spot on.

There’s two other guys integral to the story, a jock of sorts who’s after Rileigh and who I just wanted to dump –good instincs I have and all- and a creepy doctor who suddenly forces himself into Rileigh’s life... He’s creepy, and even after I’ve read the end, I still don’t know whether I hate him. I can say that he does have his motivations, though, so that’s good.

That’s my thoughts on the cast. You know I usually believe that a good cast makes more than half of a good story.

Speaking about stories and storyline, Katana’s was pretty straighforward. Rileigh needs to find herself, decide who she is, who she can trust... The consequences come in the form of the bad guys, and while I don’t really understand their purpose, who they are, why they’re hunting the good guys and Rileigh in particular... the action was entertaining, as I said.

There are many issues left unresolved in this novel. Everything I just named, for starters, and also all the answers about the good guys – who come with their own package that I can’t tell you about without spoiling the story. I have a feeling that more things should come, more things should be solved – that we can’t be left knowing what we do and then just move on as if nothing had happened. I’m hoping there’s a second book, because otherwise the read could be potentially frustrating.

In any case, though, I found Katana to be a light and entertaining book, and would recommend it to anyone looking to have a fast read, who likes a story with hints of the supernatural and hints of... You know the genre, with large hidden organizations beyond the world’s awareness and a select few fighting for the good cause.

And that’s my standard review, because I know that most people won’t care about the issues that bothered me. However, this being my personal opinion and all, I must list the things that pulled me out of the story. All of them are research-related issues, and I’m being a purist about that because a lot of people take the bits of knowledge hidden in books at face value, and I feel that we have a responsibility to give them the right knowledge.

I’m aware that sometimes we have to change history, or myth, or whatever, in order to enhance the storyline. I’m okay with that. I’m not so okay when the changes don’t benefit the story, which I believe to be the case.

Here we go:

Noppera-b. This might get fixed on the final version, I guess. It’s supposed to be a Japanese word meaning ghost without a face. It really means “without features”, yes, and it is a mythological being fitting the above description. Only, it’s actually Nopperabou. Dashes and lone consonants do not exist in Japanese.

Ninja armies of baddies. Ninja didn’t work for the bad guys. They were elite mercenaries who worked for everyone. Every single army during this period made use of ninja agents (at the time, they’re actually called shinobi if male and kunoichi if female). Please, note the use of the word agent. As in, not army. They didn’t work as huge military units because of the very nature of their military unit, and when overtaking a castle, they would never strike alone. Their job in such an assault would be to infiltrate, hide, wait for the samurai and regular soldiers to hit, and then put fire to the towers, assassinate key targets, retrieve important info... Never, ever, to conduct the attack alone and in great numbers.

Female samurai. Rileigh and two other girls are called female samurai, which just doesn’t exist. It’s not a “the warrior role was purely male and thus they’re just defying the stereotypes” kind of not exists, either: samurai is the male term for the bushi caste. The correct female name for this role is onna bugeisha – they existed, were highly respected, had the same rights and duties as the samurai... And if the term is too complicated, couldn’t we just say “female warrior” to avoid confusion?

Warrior peasants. There’s a couple of characters whose loyalty to a certain lord is based on the fact that they were peasants, but wanted to be samurai. However, as peasants, they weren’t supposed to fight and had to hide their sword-games. As a matter of fact, though, during the Sengoku Jidai (age of warring states, where the flashbacks take place) every single person was expected and required to fight, in the same way that even samurai were expected to work the land inbetween wars due to the instability of the country. So, not only they’d not be forbidden to fight – they’d be trained for it. There’s a small, funny exception to this that’s coming later.

Samurai peasants. Related to the above point. The lord takes in the kids and trains them as warriors, so they become samurai. Actually, samurai is not “warrior”, but a whole social caste. It’s nobility. They’d become warriors, soldiers, even respected generals and advisors... but not samurai. There was one single group of “samurai-not-by-birth”, the Shinsengumi, centuries later, when the role of samurai was in decline, but that’s another story altogether.

Lord Toyotomi. The guy who saves the kids, “makes an exception” for Rileigh to be a female warrior, and is such a beloved leader. The author might have made up this character completely... but if that’s the case, I found it odd that it matched the name of an actual Lord (or daimyou) during the exact period during which the flashback takes place. I couldn’t help making the connexion in my head, and this led to several funny issues:

Toyotomi would have known all about the peasants not being able to become samurai, because that was his precise case. He rose to the height of power, to the point that he was the one who set the basis for the unified Tokugawa shogunate, but he was a daimyou and not a shogun – because in order to be a shogun you had to be a samurai, and he wasn’t. He rose as high as one, but parallel. He was given a name, Toyotomi, but not the samurai status. Which is why it bothered me that he, of all people, went and decided to elevate anyone to the one title he could never achieve.

Remember when I said there was a small detail about peasants being soldiers? Well, it was precisely Toyotomi the one who issued the order saying that the peasants must be disarmed after over two centuries of fighting tradition. But then, he went and started training peasant kids? Irony at its best, no?.

Finally, there’s the issue of the whole cast being so indebted to Toyotomy, loving him, him being so gentle. Well... he did great things. One of them was, as I said, setting the basis that would end the Sengoku Jidai, unifying Japan. But I still don’t think he’s that cool, taking into account that one of the meassures he took to secure that unification was making sure that the succession couldn’t be questioned... by ordering one of his two sons to commit ritual suicide and by killing all of his son’s family who refused to kill themselves as well.

Couldn’t we have used any other japanese Daimyou? Made up any other name that wouldn’t ring a bell?

But the greatest question would be: why not write according to the research, if the truth didn’t stand in the way of the story?

I guess, if you’ve bothered to read the “extra” review, that now you understand why I said that most people wouldn’t mind the things that made me roll my eyes. The fact is that I’m deeply involved with Japanese culture and also am quite familiar with the Sengoku and with ninjutsu. No, I’m not a ninja. They disappeared. I still study it. And I think Katana would have been so much better if it reflected the reality it refers to, and if the link between the past and the present were more clear – if some of the questions I mentioned in the “standard” review had been answered before hitting “The End”.

If there’s a second part, however, I’ll want to read it. I think there’s potential, and it was entertaining. If you don’t care too much about accuracy, I think you’ll enjoy this one too.

Review: Matchbox Girls, by Chrysoula Tzavelas

2012-02-20T08:00:00.000+01:00

Author: ChrysoulaTzavelas

Title: Matchbox Girls

Series: Senyaza Cycle(#1)

ISBN: 9781936460205

Publisher: Candlemar& Gleam (February 21^st 2012)

Disclaimer: Copyreceived for review purposes.

Buy your copy: KindleEdition

My rating: 5 of 5stars

“MarleyClaviger is just trying to get her life together. Stumbling into an ancientconflict between celestial forces is going to make that a whole lot harder...

When Marley wakes up to a phone call from a pair of terrified children, shedoesn’t expect to be pulled into a secret war. She rescues them from an emptyhouse and promises to find their missing uncle. She even manages to feed themdinner. But she barely feels competent to manage her own life, let alone carefor small children with strange, ominous powers...

And when a mysterious angelic figure shows up and tries to claim the girls, itall falls apart...

Plagued by visions of disaster, Marley has no idea what she's gotten herselfinto, but she knows one thing: magical or not, the kids need her.
* * *

“Lovely worldbuilding and an unusual heroine surrounded by strong relationshipsand good intrigue kept me reading Matchbox Girls until well past my bedtime.Tzavelas has created a winning story universe and I’m impatient for the nextbook!”
- CE Murphy, author of The Walker Papers series

"An intriguing debut urban fantasy with intricate and deep wordbuildingand engaging characters in the heroine and two young girls. Children who arepawns in a game of power and the keys to the future...."
- Robin D. Owens, author of Enchanted Again.

"You want to read Matchbox Girls because it will devour you. It willconsume you. It will wrap around you and it will colonize your world with itsshapes and symbols and its faces."
--Jenna Moran, creator of Nobilis” GoodReads’ blurb

It’s early in theyear. So what? I already know that Matchbox Girls is going to make my list of “bestsof”.

This title is aperfect score in characters – and, as you know, that’s one of the mostimportant things for me. I need to be able not to sympathize with them, not tolike them... but to believe them. If you make me take that step, the rest isalmost done, because in order to make a character believable an author needs tomake it understandable and genuine, which takes care of the sympathy and theliking, respectively.

As you can imagine,this is exactly what happened in Matchbox Girls, and in that order. I’ll freelyadmit that I didn’t know how I’d feel reading about the twins. I didn’t know ifthey’d slow down the story. And when I saw Marley’s handicap, I wasn’t sure she could even make a reliable supportcharacter, let alone a fascinating lead.

This feeling of doubtdidn’t last the first chapter. By that point, I was hooked. I could see how theflaws and apparent weak points weren’t explained away, but integrated in theplot. I got to know the characters – perhaps not every single detail, but morethan enough to know that each of their reactions was honest. They had reasonsto act as they do, all of them (except perhaps Zachariah, but that’s anotherstory) and I could see them fighting for those reasons, growing, adapting.

With such a level ofcharacter development, it’s almost difficult to write a bad book. And MatchboxGirls didn’t rely only on characters.

The mystery in thisnovel presented a conundrum I loved. I can’t say much about it, not withoutspoiling some nice surprises, but I love to present old roles under new morallenses, and I think this is what Ms. Tzavelas has accomplished here. She’sgotten the myth, and she’s given us a “what if...” that effectively keeps uswondering and mistrusting and cheering the cast the whole time. And by the end ofthe novel, I was effectively cheering characters I had openly mistrusted atfirst.

Matchbox Girls wrapsnicely in a way. The major conflict is solved (in a most satisfying way, I mustadd) and the main characters have found some kind of closure. Which means youcan go right away and buy your own copy, because you won’t want to kill me forthe anxiety of waiting for the sequel to come up.

That said, though, Iam awaiting quite anxiously for the sequel to come out – because there’s oneplanned, right? There are so many things that still need to be addressed –Zachariah’s motives need more examining, the twins need more explaining, Corvin’s‘selfish’ motives must be explored and I, for one, want more about Marley, herpowers and her new relationship with Senyaza Corp.

So, when can I expectto be a happy girl again? I really want to come back to this world. I know youwill, too, as soon as you open the first page.

TBR Intervention #15

2012-02-18T23:07:00.005+01:00

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).
2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer). Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week.
3. Grab the TBR Intervention Button and post it on your blog sidebar so you will be constantly reminded of the challenge, making it easier for you to commit. This will also encourage other readers/bloggers/visitors to join the challenge.
4. Add the link to your post in the Linky below and make sure to visit the other blogs. Comment, encourage, and spread the love to our fellow readers.

And here's how I did this week:

Last week TBR IC: Partial success!

I commited to read Fire Baptized, and I did! It was an enjoable read. Not your average paranormal, but the author has some interesting things going on, with a mix of noir and slum world and that stuff. You can check out my review here. Then, I went to read Finniking - and realized that, when I sent the book to my device, the file got corrupted. Which meant I had to wait till I had time to download again from the shop (not an easy task, jeez) and re-load. Which means I just started is yesterday. So...

This week TBR IC:

Yeah, it's going to be Finnikin again. Two chapters in, and loving it, though! Finnikin is just too cute.

Also, as a shameless plug (again), for those of you who were curious about Hickey of the Beast last week, I finally posted my review. You can check it out here.

So, how was your reading week? How did your own TBR behave?

Review. Fire Baptized, by Kenya Wright

2012-02-17T08:30:00.000+01:00

Author: Kenya Wright
Title: Fire Baptized
Series: Habitat (#1)
ISBN: 9780985023003
Publisher: Dragonfairy Press (January 28th 2012)
Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.
Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Since the 1970s humans have forced supernaturals to live in caged cities. Silver brands embedded in their foreheads identify them by species: a full moon for Vampires, a crescent moon for Shifters, a pair of wings for Fairies, and the list goes on, for each supernatural species has been tagged and categorized by humans.

Lanore Vesta is marked with a silver X, the brand of Mixbreeds, second-class citizens shunned by society. She stays to herself, revealing her ability to create fire only during emergencies. All she wants to do is graduate college and stop having to steal to survive. But when she stumbles upon a murder in progress, she catches the attention of a supernatural killer. Now all she wants is to stop finding dead bodies in her apartment.

Enlisting help from her Were-cheetah ex-boyfriend MeShack and a new mysterious friend named Zulu, she is steered through the habitat’s raunchy nightlife. But their presence sometimes proves to be more burden than help, as they fight for her attention.

While the corpses pile up, and the scent of blood fills the air, Lanore is left wondering: will she find the psycho or die trying?” GoodReads’ blurb

This was very, very good, and very, very different from what I usually read. Can’t say I was too surprised, because when I received the request and read the sample chapters I knew I had something quite outstanding coming my way, but... yes. Wow.

The world built by Kenya Wright here is fascinating. I find the whole Habitat concept both fascinating and horrifying – fascinating because it’s so plausible, and horrifying because that’s the only way I can feel when faced with the dilapidated lifestyle, extreme poverty, absolute racism and total despair that bring the pages to life in Fire Baptized.

Is this for dystopian fans, then? Fantasy? Alternate history? Well, a bit of everything, I say. And I think that as long as you have the stomach to face the grim reality of the Habitat, you’ll like the book no matter your favorite genre.

Lanore, the main character, had some qualities that I admire, like the ability to kick butt, and none of the faults I’ve come to expect with the package of female lead. I’ll explain:

By this point, you might have figured out that I dislike it when characters become self-proclaimed heroes. When they take the weight of the world upon their shoulders. When they go all “woe is me” and then proceed to be the best at everything anyway. Well, Lanore does not fit that bill.

She falls so far from it, that she’s approaching the lead character concept from the other side. This means, in simple terms, that I was able to relate to her. Okay, not to all aspects of her life, perhaps, but definitely to her motivations. To her protective streak, when it does surface. To her love uncertainties, even.

There was no way for me to guess the solving of the mystery that drives forward the book, in that key information is disclosed so that the characters will talk us through realization. Oddly, I didn’t mind this at all, even though I usually like to wonder and ponder the possible solutions. I think this situation sat so well with me because it felt natural. It allowed me to further appreciate the world, its balance, and the characters. It gave a feeling of flailing around in the dark, of not knowing where to go next, that simply fit with the story and the situation.

I have to say that I suspected about three people, and was wrong each time. That my dawning realization left me with a good kind of “oooh” moment. And that I’m officially awaiting the sequel with eager puppy eyes, because while the plotline closes nicely, there’s still many answers to be had.

Review: Hickey of the Beast, by Isabel Kunkle

2012-02-16T20:32:00.000+01:00

Author: Isabel Kunkle
Title: Hickey of the Beast
ISBN: 9781936460229
Publisher: Candlemark & Gleam (March 14th 2011)
Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.
Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Connie thought freshman year might suck. She never thought it'd be literal.

Bad dreams? No big deal. After all, Connie Perez is starting her first year in the prep school her mom runs. Anyone would be a little stressed, right? When she starts dreaming about strange creatures and places that don't make sense, she doesn't think much about it: there's other stuff on her mind. Then she starts noticing that the people she dreams about get sick right afterwards.

Then everything gets weird.

There's something bad on the campus of Springden Academy. Something that feeds on students and warps their minds. And, as Connie and her friends try to figure out what's going on, it starts to look like she's the only one who can stop it.

Freshman year was hard enough without having to fight evil after class.

Hickey of the Beast is a hilarious look at coming of age in a school where there are no secrets, but plenty of mysteries, and where supernatural studies take on a whole new meaning. It's a story about all the things that make growing up hell: boys, history class, annoying little brothers, and saving the world from evil. When the supernatural comes to school, it's no field day - and that's before you factor in homework” GoodReads’ blurb

I’d been looking forward to this ARC for a while, and when I got it in my e-mail I went positively crazy with excitement. Of course, I squeezed it in my TBR as soon as I could and... it was such fun!

There are two things that are very unique in this book. The one that will jump out at you first is the tone, the voice. The whole novel is written as a super long letter from Connie to a friend, and that’s exactly the way it felt when I read it.

The story follows a good pace, is well structured, tells us what we need to know when we need to know it and builds all twists and revelations upon previous remarks – can you say solid? And yet, Connie’s tone is colloquial, light, full of “youngster speech” that suit her age to a tee.

I think Hickey of the Beast might have been such a quick read because it truly felt like I was reading something from a friend, and that’s the kind of stuff you never put down until you’ve gleaned the last bit of juicy gossip, right?

More things I loved: it was not a romance. Don’t get me wrong: I love romances, I really do. Even when there are no obvious elements, I tend to find something to focus my inner squealing fangirl... But this wasn’t necessary with Hickey of the Beast. Connie is a really well developed character, and a refreshing one. I already said that. What does that mean, in the romance context? Well, there’s something about not finding the love of your life at fourteen that some of today’s YA writers (and readers) have forgotten, though. There’s something about reading a the thoughts of a girl with an appreciative eye for boys who just knows that there’s more stuff out there – like her friends, her family, and, oh, I don’t know, saving people.

Last but not least: an original take on myth and paranormal creatures. Can’t say much about this without destroying the whole mystery for you, but Isabel Kunkle has mixed up some very interesting stories from all around the world to shape an enemy that’s both familiar and unique.

Is this a recommended read? Yes, in capitals. For everyone, and specially for real YA readers, and specially for people who want a break from the same old story with different wrappings. There are so many things to like about Hickey!

I kind of hope that there’s a sequel to this one in the makings. The ending leaves the plot wrapped up, but there’s stuff I’d like to know more about. Possibilities I’d like to see further explored.

And oh, how I’d love to see Connie growing up. That’d be a real treat!

What do you think? How do you feel about the letter format? The lack of world-shattering romance in favour of family and friend relationships?

Book Tour: Promising Light

2012-02-13T08:00:00.000+01:00

I know you wanted to see this one! The Promising Light Book Tour finally made its way to Stories of my life, and I'm super excited about it! There's going to be prizes (check them out at the end of the post) and a lot of other hosts, and I'm having Emily Ann Ward herself over as a guest to share something very special with you! But wait, first you want a reminder of the awesome book we're talking about, right? Here it is!

Grace began a secret courtship with Dar for the thrill of doing something against her father, the king’s general. She hadn’t planned on falling in love with him. When Dar suddenly leaves her, she searches for answers, reluctant to let him go.

Everyone seems determined to keep the truth from her—until she’s kidnapped by Dar’s family. They’re shape changers who claim she can break a curse set on them ten years ago by the Protectors, a group of noblemen determined to stifle magic in the name of safety.

Torn between two worlds, Grace isn’t sure who to trust. If the curse endures, Dar’s family could die out forever. But to help them, she’ll have to leave behind everything she knows.

And now, without further ado, I'll leave you with the author!

Promising Light Blog Tour: Book Soundtrack

Hey, everyone! I’m Emily, and I’m so happy to be on Ron’s blog as part of the tour for my fantasy novel, Promising Light.

In Promising Light, Dar suddenly leaves Grace, breaking off their secret relationship, and she searches for answers, reluctant to let him go. Then she’s kidnapped by Dar’s family, who are shape changers who claim she can break a curse set on their family. If the curse endures, Dar’s family could die out forever. But to help them, she’ll have to leave behind everything she knows.

I’ve had a lot of fun with this post. I have a collection of songs from various artists that I feel make up a great soundtrack of the song, capturing different themes or characters. Here we go!

“Marchin’ On” by OneRepublic
For those days we felt like a mistake,
Those times when love’s what you hate,
Somehow,
We keep marching on.

For those nights when I couldn't be there,
I've made it harder to know that you know,
That somehow,
We'll keep moving on.

There's so many wars we fought,
There's so many things were not,
But with what we have,
I promise you that,
We're marching on

Okay, I’m going to be honest. I think this song could fit pretty much every book (or movie or whatever) with high stakes and drama. But that’s because it’s so great and transcendent. It speaks about people who persevere in the face of anything.

“Fly Away” by Poe
Fly away
Sweet bird of prey
Fly, fly away
Nothing can stand in your way
Sweet bird
If you knew the words
I know that you'd say fly
Fly away

This reminded me of the time Grace made her decision about whether to help the Avialies or not. It’s kind of the turning point of her journey.

“Body of Love” by Typhoon
there's a small word
and it comes in through your ear
and it conceives
l-o-v-e has taken hold of me

I think this song adequately describes Grace and Dar’s relationship. Though they may try to fight their affection for each other, for very different reasons, it’s something they can’t deny. (This is a band from my area, and they are so great. I think more people should know about them!)

“Safe and Sound” by Taylor Swift
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound

This song is so haunting, and I think it could apply to various situations in Promising Light. I think it most strongly fits with Sierra and Evan, or Grace and Dar near the end.

“The Cave” by Mumford and Sons
It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

This is another song that fits Sierra and Evan so well. I love how it speaks about the sorrow in life and the relationships that keep us afloat.

“Run” by Snow Patrol
I'll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You've been the only thing that's right
In all I've done

Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear

Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say

Another song for Dar and Grace. I just think this song describes them well, especially from Dar’s POV.

“Shake It Out” by Florence + The Machine
And every demon wants his pound of flesh
But I like to keep some things to myself
I like to keep my issues strong
It's always darkest before the dawn

And I've been a fool and I've been blind
I can never leave the past behind

This song could speak to various characters. A lot of them are hiding something from their past, unable to let it go or forgive themselves. I also like the line, “It’s always darkest before the dawn” because the Avialies are holding out hope for a better future.

Note: I got most of these lyrics from http://azlyrics.com and a few from http://lyricstosongs.org and http://lyricsmania.com.

That’s the Promising Light soundtrack! There is of course tons of instrumental music that I feel fits the mood of the book, like Olafur Arnalds, Chaz Knapp, Hans Zimmer movie soundtracks, and more.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments any thoughts! Any comments are entries to the $20 Gift Card giveaway for Barnes and Noble or Amazon (winner’s choice!). You can also win an ebook (http://emilyannward.com/giveaways-galore) or a paperback (http://riteshkala.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/giveaway-of-2-paperback-copies-of-emily-ann-wards-promising-light/).

Check out Promising Light and its blog tour here (http://wordsofeward.blogspot.com/p/promising-light-blog-tour.html).

Thanks to Ron for having me and thank you for reading!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful soundtrack, Emily! It was great to have you on board today.

Now, folks, I hope you noticed the awesome prizes she's generous enough to be offering! Do you want an e-book? Head over to her site. A paperback? If you're lucky enough to be stateside, do visit Ritesh's blog. Want to win the Gift Card? Leave me a comment... and then visit the other stops for more entries (and more info about this book).

I'm going to leave you with a little bit more about Emily Ann Ward before wrapping up the post, just so you get to know her a little better:

Emily Ward is the author of Passages, Finding Fiona, and The Protectors series. One of her first stories featured a young girl whose doll came to life. The rest is history. She spent years writing mainly fanfiction (thank you, J.K. Rowling!), but has since ventured into originality. When it comes to fiction, she writes mainly young adult, contemporary, and fantasy. She also writes nonfiction, ranging from stories of her travels to thoughts on the Bible. Aside from writing, she loves reading, traveling, learning about God, sociology, religion, and Reeses sticks. Currently, she lives in Salem, Oregon with her husband Chris and their cats. Visit her website at http://emilyannward.com.

In My Mailbox #21

2012-02-12T15:45:00.002+01:00

In My Mailbox time! Thanks go to The Story Siren for hosting this great meme - I must add, it's to blame for more than half of my purchases... Dang.

Anyway, ready to see what I got? Here it is!

Books I got for review:

Books I won: e-book reading challenge, thank you soooo much!

Books I got as a gift in a total surprise move by my friend:

And that's it. What did you get?

TBR Intervention #14

2012-02-11T21:30:00.000+01:00

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).
2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer). Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week.
3. Grab the TBR Intervention Button and post it on your blog sidebar so you will be constantly reminded of the challenge, making it easier for you to commit. This will also encourage other readers/bloggers/visitors to join the challenge.
4. Add the link to your post in the Linky below and make sure to visit the other blogs. Comment, encourage, and spread the love to our fellow readers.

And here's how I did this week:

Last week's TBR IC: Success!

I had time to read everything I wanted! You can check my review for Enthralled here. It was okay - except, too slow for my tastes. I didn't know the point of half the things we were being told about. Hickey of the beast was very refreshing, very original. I loved it! My review will be up next week, so please keep an eye open because it's totally worth it.

Also, as a shameless plug (specially for you, April!) The review for My Soul to Lose and My Soul to Take are up. Follow the links if you're interested!

This week TBR:

This week, I want to read Fire Baptized, a half dystopian, half paranormal tale that I got for review and has me super curious. Later, I'd love to find the time to go through Finnikin of the rock - as a gear up to my ultimate TBR challence next week (A Dance of Dragons, after three years of waiting... here I come!)

So, that's my plan. What is yours?

Review: Enthralled, by Kim Drollinger

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Kim Drollinger

Title: Enthralled

ASIN: B005XR9TFW

Publisher: (October, 7th 2011)

Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

“Annette has had nightmares for as long as she can remember. However, it was not until a strange encounter that Annette realizes her dreams have a deeper meaning than she could have imagined. In her search for answers, Annette is drawn into a world of dangerous creatures that human kind forgot exists. Once drawn in, Annette can never return to the life she knew.” Amazon blurb

I loved the premise for this book. I’m such a sucker for this kind of stories, that I was sure I was going to love it!

For some reason, though, it didn’t really work for me, which is a pity.

I think partly it was because it took so long to get the plot moving along. There’s a prologue that sets the scene up for mystery and scary things and then... We spend the next hundred pages or so going through the main character’s life.

I don’t mind that. I understand that knowing our lead is important. I do start to have issues when it involves making coffee step by step. Making toast step by step. And so on. The fact that she’s a vet should have helped me sympathize – my mom is a vet and I grew up breathing the job, but... Everything happened so slowly at first that I couldn’t get into the story.

Perhaps that’s what happened afterwards – I couldn’t get into the flow, so I couldn’t care much about the outcome. It was okay to read, but I wasn’t invested enough to recommend it. This is one of those, “choose your yourself” titles, I’m afraid!

There’s some interesting use of mediums and ghost stories, though, and eventually things picked up, but it was a bit too late for me. Still, you might want to check it.

Review: My Soul to Take, by Rachel Vincent

2012-02-09T14:42:00.000+01:00

Author: Rachel Vincent

Title: My Soul To Take

Series: Soul Screamers (#1)

ISBN: 9780373210039

Publisher: Harlequin Teen (July 29th 2009)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.” GoodReads’ blurb

And now I understand where all the riot was coming from! Now I see the why behind the excitement, behind the wild cheering with each new title!

Soul Screamers rocks, to put it simply.

Since I like to put it complicately, I’ll elaborate on that.

I think that by this point, I’m not spoiling a thing if I say that Kaylee is a Bean Sidhe. Which is not just original, but also right up my alley – myth and fairy tales and everything.

The trick, the masterful trick of Rachel Vincent here, is to take the myth and spin it to make it true to itself AND original at the same time.

I said original twice, I know. But we have to admit that there’s not often that we run into a series starred by the wailing heralds of death. I’d not have thought these particular creatures to hold much interest in the way of main characters, and much less would I have expected them to be able to use their abilities, their gifts. I mean, screaming when someone’s going to die? What use can that be?

Lots. Believe me. It could be life-altering, actually. All because of that spin put in by Ms. Vincent involving Nash.

You’ve probably read this book, even before I did, but I’m not going to spoil it anyway. Let’s talk a bit about Nash instead.

He’s a sweety. Technically a jock, the kind of guy all the girls would go for – and who doesn’t mind being caught if you know what I mean – he suddenly finds something in Kaylee that could mean she’s the one.

At first, I didn’t understand. Kaylee likes him, of course, how could she not? But she didn’t understand why she had his attention either, and so she didn’t trust him. Until he tells her a lot of secrets that she should have known... and then she accepts that he’s in this, for her.

For her, or for what she is?

That’s a question that lingers in the back of Kaylee’s head, and I love it. I love that it takes time for her to warm up to Nash in spite of his looks and charm, and I love that she still has moments of insecurity. It gives her a trace of normalcy that helps in relating to her, and it also shows her strength – how easy would it be, to be wooed by the local hottie?

The love story takes first place once the mystery of what’s going on with Kaylee fades, and it shares the lead with the very interesting issue of, why is people dropping off dead? One every day, all healthy and young and pretty, with not a single reason behind their deaths.

Nash and Kaylee recruit a Grim Reaper to help, someone Nash knew back in the day. The guy is hot, bordering the line between mysterious and creepy, and he decides to help more because he likes Kaylee than because of Nash.

The Reapers were another great addition. Their lore, too. Can’t talk much about it, but you have heard the expression, “it was his time”, right? Well, this series gives it a whole new meaning.

Thanks to Todd, the Reaper, Kaylee and Nash manage (kind of) to solve the mystery of the dying girls – and I admit, I didn’t see that one coming! Maybe I was being obtuse or something, but I had one huge “what?!” moment when the final face-off went down.

Had another “what?!” moment when we learned why Nash knew a Reaper, who’s supposed to be the natural enemy of a Bean Sidhe.

The great kind of “what”, though.

The story was fast, tight, with good characters that I can’t wait to read more about. The romance was sweet and mostly belieable, specially for a YA romance. I’d recommend My Soul to Take without a second thought!

Review: The Ghost and the Goth, by Stacey Kade

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Stacey Kade

Title: The Ghost and the Goth

Series: The Ghost and the Goth (#1)

ISBN: 9781423121978

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (June 29th 2010)

Buy your copy: Paperback | Hardcover

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot bod, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?“ GoodReads’ blurb

Why did I take this long to get into this series?! I knew it’d be good, I’d been wanting to get into it for a while, but it kept being pushed back... Well, good thing I finally read it, because I loved it!

Alona and Will have to be one of the cutest, most funny couples ever. I liked their interactions so much! I also liked each one of them, separately: Will’s attitude, the way he’s learned to cope with the dark, dark world he lives on.

And Alona and the fact that she’s made being popular a career choice? Too cool.

This story was light-hearted, sweet, and funny. While there was a surprise at the end – I didn’t see the Bad Boy coming, and I’d really like to comment on who’s who and whatnot, but... you guessed it. Spoiling. Let’s just say that I loved the way it all sorted out in the end.

That’s perhaps what I liked most about The Ghost and the Goth. The story wasn’t plain, but it was uncomplicated. It had that lack of world drama that so many other YA paranormals have going for them. It was refreshing, and that, couple with witty dialogue and a comfortable back-and-forth in points of view, made the book a delight to read.

So, should you check this one out? Definitely! No matter what you’re looking for, exactly, it’ll surely be here – the romance, the danger, the humor, the mystery.

I’ll be reading book 2 as soon as I can make room in my TBR for it (definitely before book 3 comes out) and then I’ll join the waiting like for the final instalment.

Review: My Soul to Lose, by Rachel Vincent

2012-02-07T09:30:00.000+01:00

Author: Rachel Vincent
Title: My Soul to Lose
Series: Soul Screamers (#0.5)
ISBN: 9781426838675
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (July 1st 2009)

Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed and it's the worst day of her life.

Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.

She tries to convince everyone she's fine--despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream which comes burbling up again and again. Everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities....” GoodReads’ blurb

Super short review, since this is a super short book to begin with!

I got into Soul Screamers thanks to Nicole, from over at The More the Merrier, because she started a series of reviews and I kept thinking, well, I need to get into this – I say the same thing about Mortal Instruments, I know. But then there was the Soul Screamers reading challenge, which seemed like the perfect excuse, so... Yeah.

I’m glad I did begin reading, anyway. I didn’t know it when I finished this novella, but the series is amazing – I’m halfway into My Soul to Take now.

Why didn’t I know it when I finished My Soul to Lose? Well, to be honest, I found it a bit... bland. Saying so sits badly with me, mostly taking into account the really harsh things that happen to Kaylee, but it didn’t grip me like book 1 has.

I think my qualms were the reduced cast and the lack of external conflict – My Soul to Lose is about Kaylee experiencing her screams, nearly loosing control, and then trying really hard to get a normal life back. I liked it, but it didn’t fascinate me.

It did have some clues about Uncle Branden’s... Eh, about Uncle Branden. It made me want to read the next book just to find out about him, and that in turn allowed me to be truly gripped in the Soul Screamers universe. It also had Lydia, a most curious character, and I wonder if we’ll ever see her again, or know more about her.

All in all, this novella was a good add-on to readers, but I’m not sure if it’s the best way to hook new readers. I’d recommend you check it out if you’ve read any of the full novels, or if you’re really determined to read the series anyway, because the mystery of what’s happening to Kaylee wasn’t enough to keep me glued to the pages. After all, I already knew why she screamed.

That said, though, it’s a great insight into Kaylee’s mind-frame, and into her family. And it’s short enough to read through in one sitting, too!

Review: That Voodoo you do, by Jodi Redford

2012-02-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Jodi Redford

Title: That Voodoo You Do

Series: That Old Black Magic (#1)

ISBN: B0042P5I9W

Publisher: Samhain Publishing Ltd (September 13th 2012)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“-Something dead this way comes-

That Old Black Magic, Book 1

For ten long years Griffin Trudeau has managed to keep his paws off Jemma Finnegan, best friend and leading star of his kinkiest fantasies. As her appointed cat familiar, indulging those fantasies with the delectable witch is strictly forbidden. But when Jemma shows up at his door with seduction in mind, control goes right out the window.

Too late he realizes making love to Jemma is the trigger that launches a zombie apocalypse.

Jemma's been dealt a double whammy: she's just discovered she's a witch. And Griff has been hiding whiskers and a tail. Oh, and if her life wasn't crazy enough, a dead voodoo queen needs her blood to raise a legion of zombies.

There's one plan that might work to increase Jemma's powers so she can put an end to the looming holocaust. A sexy threesome with Griff and Logan Scott, a werewolf familiar with a history of rubbing Griff's fur the wrong way. A cat and a wolf playing nice, much less sharing? It'll take a miracle.

Warning: A witch, tiger and wolf doing naughty things. A dead voodoo queen doing evil things. And zombies doing zombie things. Get your shovels ready.” GoodReads’ blurb

How good do you think the sex needs to be to trigger a zombie apocalypse?

Well, the sex needed to save the world is even better.

I’d not call this safe reading for work or for your commute... There are some hot moments! But it wasn’t just hot moments, either.

Well, okay, they were important – but they had a reason! See the blurb above? Save the world!

Still, I spent a great deal of the book mentally ogling at Logan.

But anyway, There’s some mystery unravelling too – who was the evil Voodoo queen? Will they be able to stop her? Why Jemma’s blood, of all things? Between one thing and the next, the pages just keep turning.

And, of course, the action inherent to a zombie book is there. Lots of tearing apart, cutting, and butt-kicking. Some characters did it in a very likeable way – like the shotgun toting granny. Others take it really seriously, like Griff – who should take it seriously, since it’s his girlfriend on the line. And others are all around cool - like Logan.

If you enjoy steamy books with a plot and action both inside and outside the room, you really should pick this series up.

By the way, I usually review “cleaner” books (which is why I'm keeping this short today), so please read the above sentence, remark upon the “steamy” word, and don’t blame me later if your boss, mom, or significant other embarrasses the heck out of you, okay? *grins* Enjoy!

In My Mailbox #20

2012-02-05T15:20:00.000+01:00

IMM time! It's hosted over at The Story Siren. I might have overdone it a little this week. Then again, that's nothing new for me, so I'm sure you're not surprised. Ready to see what I got?

Books I got for review: Many, many thanks to both authors and publishers for sending this ones along. I'm truly looking forward to each and every one of my review titles this week!

Books I bought because I couldn't help it:

There are more books coming. Oh, yes - one for review, and a whole lot that I won in one of the challenges I'm taking part on. But, since this IMM is already and technically I still don't have my copies in my virtual hands... We're going to call it a week. What do you think?

More importantly: what did you get?

TBR Intervention #13

2012-02-04T22:27:00.001+01:00

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).
2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer). Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week.
3. Grab the TBR Intervention Button and post it on your blog sidebar so you will be constantly reminded of the challenge, making it easier for you to commit. This will also encourage other readers/bloggers/visitors to join the challenge.
4. Add the link to your post in the Linky below and make sure to visit the other blogs. Comment, encourage, and spread the love to our fellow readers.

And here's how I did this week:

Last week TBR IC: Success!

Wow! What a week! I don't even know where I got the time to read all I did, but the fact remains that I got Shadow Seer down. I loved it, even if the recommendation comes with a warning - check out my review here. Then, I got to read Hellhound on my Trail, which is an entertaining pulp novella that's being made into a series. The review for that one is also up - right here. I got a good chunk of Promising Light, but... it was working so-so, and since it's for a tour, I decided to pull it off the review list and go into something light hearted and funny. Like, The Ghost and the Goth. Honestly, I don't even know what took me so long to read this series, because it is hilarious and cute and I can't wait for the next title. I hope I'll be able to squeeze it in soon! The review will be up on the 8th, so stay tuned.

This week TBR IC:

I have to read Enthralled, which has been on my TBR since forever. Then, I'd love to get into Hickey of the Beast - finally! It's an ARC I've been dying to get to. And that's it. How about you?

Review: The Shadow Seer, by Fran Jacobs

2012-02-03T12:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Fran Jacobs
Title: The Shadow Seer
Series: Ellenessia’s Curse (#1)
ISBN: 9781921636127
Publisher: Writers Exhange E-Publishing (April 2nd 2009)
Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.
Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“For generations prophets have foreseen the birth of the Shadow Seer, the oracle of dark visions and fallen kingdoms. But by the time of Sorron, King of Carnia, their warnings have mostly been forgotten and his name is known only to a handful of scholars. When Sorron's grandson, Prince Candale, falls deathly ill, the Seer's legends are brought to light once again by his saviour, a witch named Mayrila. She believes that Candale is the fulfilment of those long forgotten prophecies. She believes that he is the Shadow Seer... “ GoodReads’ blurb

The thing is... I loved, loved, loved The Shadow Seer.

Not only the concept is intriguing, but the main character, Candale, was a breath of fresh air. He was not only weak, but also naive – so naive that his little sister knows more about the world than him! It was very enjoyable to read a story about a prince who didn’t ride off a white horse waving his sword... but that was seized by fits if over-exerted and was liable to trip himself if you gave him a sword.

Okay, the tripping part is not so bad but you get my meaning.

The funny part, though, is that there is a certain flavor of white horsing around. Candale loves tale and old stories, so much so that half the Court think him silly for it, so we do see them... as opposed to the hard truth.

The companions, the guard and the bard, were equally likeable. She, the guard, was loyal and no-nonsense, and she spent a good while rushing after Candale and trying to keep him out of trouble. He, the bard, was charming and kind of cute, an accomplice to Candale since, as he puts it, he had better chances of not dying if the prince wasn’t alone.

Beyond the characters, there is a very interesting plot full with dark references and signs that no one but Candale seems to take seriously. His parents refuse to believe that he might be this person who will see nothing but darkness. While we don’t really doubt it for a moment as readers, there’s a constant tension about how he’s going to prove it, if he’s going to be able to get away or be considered crazy or delusional... And once he does, well, things don’t look much brighter.

The ending was perfect – perfect to leave me wanting more! A cliff-hanger that had me checking for the release of a next title, for sure.

So, if it was so cool, why the middle rating?

On the one hand, because it was slow. I think that was my main drawback. There were a couple of moments when only the possibility of learning Candale’s sexual preferences kept me reading – I did say he was naive. He’s had his bees talk, but he’s not much more experienced than that, so... All in all, the Shadow Seer stands at about 600 pages, and I think I could work better somewhere around 450, perhaps. Otherwise, the tension was lost as some points.

There are a couple other details, like the family relationship, for example. Sorron encourages his grandson to keep secrets and lie about who he is in order to spare the pain to his parents, and I think this is not the way to go. Candale should have talked to his father, because hiding those truths can never help (and gives a bad example and a guilt complex that a kid shouldn’t have to deal with).

That said, though, I really enjoyed this story and would love to read the next title. In the last part, a lot of things were cleared and the plot moved forward in leaps and bounds, so I’m curious about where it’ll go from there.

Review: Hellhound on my trail, by D.J. Butler

2012-02-02T21:14:00.001+01:00

Author: D.J. Butler
Title: Hellhound on my Trail
Series: Rock Band Fights Evil (#1)
ISBN: 9781466132
Publisher: Smashwords (December 30th 2011)
Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“Heaven doesn't want them. Do they stand a chance in Hell?

Bass player Mike Archuleta is down on his luck in a major way. The shattered survivor of a misspent youth, he is haunted by the ghost of his dead brother, and is now driven to planning his suicide. Halfway through the show that's supposed to be his last, a hellhound bursts into the club and attacks the band. The band members pull out karate moves, guns, and even a sword... and then things start to get strange.

Can Mike survive the show? What can he do about his brother's ghost? And what kind of band is this, anyway?

Hellhound on My Trail is the first installment of Rock Band Fights Evil, a pulp fiction serial by D.J. Butler “ GoodReads’ blurb

Super short review, since this is a super short story. As a matter of fact, it’s part of a serial!

This is my second encounter with Pulp Fiction. To this point, I’m still not terribly sure that I can give a proper definition of the genre, but I find that I like it.

Hellhound on my trail had a couple of things going for me – one of them was the non-stop action. From the opening scene on, it was fast and super easy to read. Granted, there were moments when I got a bit lost, specially at first. Sometimes we jumped from the thoughts of our lead character into the action and back, and this made me blink on occasion. In general, though, if you just sit back and don’t worry too much, it was highly enjoyable.

I think this book is on par with titles such a Hollowland, by Amanda Hocking. Not overly deep, even a bit illogical at times, but ultimately fun. Since I do believe fun and easy entertainment is the main point for the genre, and indeed for many books, then I’d say this is a very nice way to pass the time.

The other thing I liked was the whole rock band concept. I’m into music, a lot – as in, if I’m not working I’m likely to be playing – so I loved to get the feeling of gig playing from the book. It wasn’t exactly successful, but it still felt energetic and brimming with tension in all the good ways. Made me want to jump on a stage!

The one thing that bothered me, beside the somewhat rocky changes I mentioned, is the cursing in Spanish sprinkled here and there. I don’t know about the States, but I’m Spanish and the words jumped out as weird to me – except for one expression, no one here would have spoken like that. Then again, as I said, I’m European Spanish so... Might be alright!

The lead character, Mike, is a bit screwed up – in case you couldn’t tell from the blurb – and he’s not exactly the worst off in the band. Still, if that doesn’t bother you and you like the style, then go ahead and check this series out. It has great potential!

New services offered

2012-02-01T19:19:00.002+01:00

When the past year closed, I spent a while going over the reviews I had written, the books I had read and so on. While doing this, I realized that there was a single reason behind the vast majority of my two-star ratings – and that reason is editing.

I can only guess the reasons why some self-published authors, or authors launching their own small publishing houses, would choose to skip such an important step. I admit, I wasn’t aware of the importance of editors until I started to read some unedited manuscripts... but if someone is seriously considering their writing career, they must have surely reached that same conclusion.

So, why are there so many books unedited?

I think there are two main answers: Money, and a deeply entrenched belief that we can do it ourselves.

I’ve been working in the publishing industry now for a couple of years, and I have found out the hard truth: no, we can’t do it all ourselves. Some authors are better at revising and rewriting than others, but the fact remains that they (we) are too closely involved with the story to find its faults.

It’s like realizing that our son is ugly – nearly impossible.

Critique partners, beta readers, friends... They are all helpful when it comes to tackle the manuscript and turn it into publishable work, but that’s a double-edged weapon: they can only edit and comment from their own level of mastery. If they are not writers themselves, if they don’t keep a close eye on the market, their advice might make your book better – but not good enough.

And that’s leaving aside the fact that they might care about you too much to be as harsh as your manuscript needs, or that you might have told them so much about the story that they are “contaminated” and fail to see the holes that a fresh reader would.

Please, don’t misunderstand: a partner in crime, a beta, a friendly input and a jug of coffee when we’re about to give up... that’s invaluable. But I firmly believe that, before putting our baby out for the world to see, enjoy and critique, it needs to go through an external source. Else, the result might be the dreaded two-star (or worse yet, one). Even if the author’s good at self-editing, skipping the professional might knock a star from the otherwise brilliant rating.

I know I’ve done it, as a reviewer, and it’s hurt me to do so. And that’s the reason I’m writing this post – to help. Let me explain how:

I am a reviewer here, but in my day job I am a freelance professional reader, book hunter and translator. What does that mean?

It means that I work for the publishing industry. That I keep an eye out on new books coming out, find the new trends, and then suggest to the publishing houses I work with that they acquire the rights for translation. When a book reaches the publishing house through other channels, they’ll send it to me, so that I can evaluate its potential and advice them on whether to push for it or let it go. And when the decision is made, I translate the books – and work with an editor of my own, by the way, even though the hard work of making a book solid is already done.

What I’m offering to do is exactly the same thing I do for a living. Everyone can afford a book report, and no book should have to face the market untouched by eyes other than its author. It’s only fair for the readers.

I want authors to understand that they need editing, and why they do, and I want them to have an option if they can’t afford the more standard editing fees. Of course, if you can afford something more in-depth, I would tell you make that investment.

Please, be sure to read through my new page on editing services and to check out what I’m now able to offer before making a decision you, your book, and your reputation as a writer might regret later.

Cover Reveal: Lucid, by P.T. Michelle

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000+01:00

Guys! I'm so very, very excited about this! It's the 1st of February and the time has come to reveal the cover for Lucid. In case you didn't know, Lucid's the follow-up to Brightest Kind of Darkness, a truly wonderful discovery of this past year - you can check out my review here.

Anyway, back on track. The important thing here is that today we're going to get our first look at the sequel cover... and I'm sharing it with you! Ready for it? Okay, here it comes!

Tadaaaa!!! Isn't it gorgeous? I love the red scarf in contrast to the golden tones, I love the feathers and I really wish we'll know more about them. What do you think?

Lucid's hitting the shelves sometime in spring 2012, though the official date hasn't been released yet. Looking forward to it!

Review: Beckoning Light, by Alyssa Rose Ivy

2012-01-31T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Alyssa Rose Ivy
Title: Beckoning Light
Series: The Afterglow Trilogy(#1)
ISBN: 9781463708849
Publisher: Createspace (July 1st 2011)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“As Charlotte steps through the gate, she has a strong feeling that nothing will ever be the same again.

Moving back to South Carolina after three years away, Charlotte knows she's going to have to face people from her past and adjust to a new high school, but she's completely unprepared for what else waits for her in Charleston .

Drawn through an old garden gate, Charlotte discovers a hidden world where she meets Calvin, a boy to whom she is inexplicably attracted. As Charlotte is pulled deeper into this hidden world, it's up to her older brother Kevin to rescue her. No matter how hard Kevin tries, the rescue depends upon Charlotte fighting her intense feelings for Calvin while mastering a set of abilities that she has only just discovered she possesses.” GoodReads’ blurb

I won this book in a giveaway ages ago, and only now got around to reading and reviewing it – thanks to TBR Challenge, I must add. And after having read it, I can’t really bring myself to truly care about it.

The book alternates between Charlotte’s point of view and her brother’s Kevin – which is important in order to show what’s going on apart from Charlotte, because she’s the real protagonist here. She’s timid, in the way that she’ll often bend and go out of her way just to avoid confrontation, and she started off being quite unable to stand up for herself.

Part of the story is about this shy, unnoticeable kind of girl growing into... an important role that I mustn’t disclose for spoiler’s sake. But, yeah, character growth. It sounded promising.

Except, I didn’t see it happening. She went from being meek as a mouse, to crossing over the gate and meeting Calvin. She’s so attracted to him that, in spite of the fact that she’s never shown an interest in boys before, she gets into a relationship of sorts.

Let’s glide over the fact that she’s not bothered in the slightest by the existence of a different world beyond the gate and focus on her making out and meeting the guy’s parent’s right after running into him, literary.

From then on, the story began to fall flat for me. Not because I had speculated with a different love interest, which I had, but because I could not bring myself to believe in the world presented by Ms. Ivy, let alone to truly care for the consequences to Charlotte’s rather obtuse decisions.

While we’re given a reason for her instant love for Calvin, while we’re told who she is in relation to this new world, why she must make her choices, what are her abilities... It wasn’t enough to allow me to support her and Calvin, not enough to explain why she didn’t freak out when discovering the new world, not enough to make me root for the recue team lead by Kevin, their uncle, and the guy who I initially thought to be the love interest.

That’s what I meant about not seeing the development. Charlotte went from being pushed around by everybody, to being pushed around into forming a resistance. She just obeyed. And it just happened.

Technically, there’d have been dire consequences if things had gone over differently. Perhaps it was because they loomed in the horizon, mentioned vaguely but never truly depicted, or perhaps it’s just that I was too “out” to be concerned, but the end lacked any tension for me because, on the one hand, I was sure of how it’d end, and on the other because I’d not have worried terribly if it had ended any other way.

Beckoning light is not exactly a bad read – it was entertaining, easy to read, I went through it really quickly. It’s just that, with all the great books out there in the genre, I can’t exactly tell you to go out and buy this one. That said, though, I’m not telling you to stay away either – if you don’t mind the things I mentioned, if you’re looking for something light, then this title might be okay. Looking at GoodReads, obviously there’s a lot of people who loved this story and found none of the problems I ran into, so perhaps you want to give it a shot.

Review: This Same Earth, by Elizabeth Hunter

2012-01-30T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Elizabeth Hunter
Title: This Same Earth
Series: Elemental Mysteries (#2)
ASIN: B006HIR944
Publisher: E. Hunter (December 2011)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Beatrice De Novo thought she had left the supernatural world behind…for the most part. But when the past becomes the present, will she leave her quiet life in Los Angeles to follow a mystery she thought had abandoned her? Where has Giovanni Vecchio been, and why has he returned? Giovanni has his own questions, and he’s looking to her for answers.

The sequel to A Hidden Fire will reunite Beatrice and Giovanni to continue their search through the past while both wrestle with the future. When the world as you knew it has changed forever, is there any way you can turn back?

This Same Earth is the second book in the Elemental Mysteries series. It is a paranormal romance/mystery for adult readers” GoodReads’ blurb

If you have read my review for the first book in this series, you know how head over heels in love I’m with it. If you haven’t, I don’t know why, and you should go check it out right now – here’s the link.

That said, if you haven’t read the first book, this review of the second one might contain spoilers – though I’ll try to keep it in check. With that warning, let’s move on and discuss this amazing title.

This Same Earth lived up to each and every single one of my expectations after book one... and then some.

I’m not going to touch on the plot, because it’s too tight and revealing something would perhaps give too many clues. Suffice it to say that at the end of book one, we learned that Gio’s unruly child was planning something big – that this plan, as much as his own pride, fuels his hunt for B’s father. Through This Same Earth, we gather more pieces to the puzzle of this ambition. Not nearly enough to figure anything out yet, but enough to know that this is so important that no one is safe. That our despicable vampire is not as broken as we thought he might be. That there might be more to the whole “elements” thing than just the abilities of the vampires.

And that’s all I can safely say. If you’re curious at all... well, that means I’ve done my job because this is one wonderful story.

Why? What makes This Same Earth so great? (that I can tell you without giving away too much)

In A Hidden Fire, I said that the characters have real relationships, that they actually get to know each other and that their bonds are deep and complex, not just between the main couple but among all their friends and family. They were also real in and of themselves, reacting in plausible ways to tough situations – when Gio rescues B, she doesn’t swoon in his arm. She’s scared, she feels betrayed, and she needs a lot of time and work to get over that.

Well, the amazing characterization that got me in A Hidden Fire comes back tenfold in This Same Earth.

B left Gio, and he didn’t stop her. When book two begins, a good five years have gone by... and while Gio hasn’t come back, he hasn’t left B alone either. She’s moved on, just not completely. And then, suddenly, he comes back. Aaaand... she reacts in a way I can understand and relate to.

Also, the time that’s gone by has affected them both. Specially B, because she’s mortal. She’s matured, has found her center, has taken up new hobbies. She’s got a job. None of those changes are random, though. You can see how her experiences from book one have influenced her, shaped her into the woman she’s now.

Actually, there was this one scene where I thought, ‘I think I’ve seen this before...?’ But then, it turned out I hadn’t. The way the scene played was such a shocker, and it fit so perfectly with B while illustrating the way she had changed that I ended up almost laughing while cheering her on. I’m not sure if that was the intended effect, but the pararels and the new take were amazing.

Gio has changed, too. Or not. He’s old, so five year’s not much for him. But it’s long enough for him to exercise patience, and in the end I think I understood his character much better – even if I wanted to kick his ass at first! When he comes back in This Same Earth, he knows what he wants, and he’s given himself permission to get it. And it shows! You’re going to love this side of him, I promise.

The rest of the cast is also around, even if they’re not as central to the story – they’ve not been forgotten. You’d not forget family when it’s not convenient for the story, would you? Actually, the secondaries multiply as we get a better look at vampire society, how it works, what it hides... I know there’s this one water vampire I’m dying to read more about!

And talking about families and other characters, prepare to meet a different Carwin. That’s all I’m saying on that matter.

I could go on and on, but that’d be either spoilery or too gushy. So I’m going to leave the review at that, with a final piece of advice:

This series is not only top-noch, not only consistent... it’s also getting better with each volume, with added depth and complexity. You’ll want to start in on it!

In My Mailbox #19

2012-01-29T15:35:00.001+01:00

IMM Time! So... Can someone please send me over the Bookish Police, to make sure I stop buying books? Pretty pretty please? *Sigh* Anyway! This is what I got this week:

Books I got for review:

Sci-Fi, YA. It's been a loooong time since I dabbled in the genre, so I thought it was time. I guess you've probably not heard about this one... Well, this is the sentence that bought me:

Flying saucers do not land in country parks. They are not piloted by Englishmen. They do not bear nameplates saying "HAWKER SIDDELEY AVIATION." And they are never, ever filled with smuggled catering packs of Monster Munch.

Cool or what? Many thanks to Dominic Green for supplying the copy for review!

Books I got because I couldn't help it (though I should have):

All that Bleeds is a book I discovered while hunting for January releases to offer in my YA giveaway hop and... Well. What could I argue against that cover? The blurb was very intriguing, too. Here's an excerpt -

Alissa North is inspiration made flesh, so she should never have met Merrick, a deadly half-vampire enforcer, but when they do meet, the connection is instantaneous, and an illicit flirtation is born. He sends her secret gifts. She writes him secret letters.

Got your curiosity yet?

Audiobooks:

No introduction is needed, right? And that's it. What do you think? What did you get?

TBR Intervention #12

2012-01-28T16:17:00.000+01:00

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).
2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer). Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week.
3. Grab the TBR Intervention Button and post it on your blog sidebar so you will be constantly reminded of the challenge, making it easier for you to commit. This will also encourage other readers/bloggers/visitors to join the challenge.
4. Add the link to your post in the Linky below and make sure to visit the other blogs. Comment, encourage, and spread the love to our fellow readers.

And here's how I did this week:

Last week TBR IC: (partial) Success!

I wanted to read Ripper and Promising Light this week, and I did finish Ripper. I loved it! The review will take a long while to come, because the book's pub D is April and I shouldn't post more than a month beforehand, but please look forward to it because it's absolutely gorgeous.

This week TBR IC:

I didn't have time to get around to Promising Light, and this month is going to be a bit busy so I'll probably have to stick to one book a week for now - and I think I need to push Light back, because the tour is still a week off and I need to read and review The Shadow Seer, which has been in my TBR since... time immemorial, yeah. It's more than 600 pages, so I don't think I'll be able to get around to anything else!

YA Giveaway Hop

2012-01-27T00:00:00.000+01:00

Giveaway time! I love this moments! Thanks go to I Am A Reader, Not A Writer, and Down The Rabbit Hole for hosting this one. While it's not related to any particular holiday I'm fond of or anything, this giveaway is about a genre I've re-discovered thanks to blogging, a genre I love: Young Adult!

So, what am I giving away this time?

One book of your choice from my selection of January releases

Not bad, is it? Here's the selection for you guys to win: titles I have read, want to read, or have read great things about!You can click each cover to go to their GoodReads detail page.

As always, giveaway is international. You just have to make sure that the Book Depository ships to you free of charge, that you're old enough to be taking part in giveaways, and that you fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Once you're done, hop on to the rest of the blogs hosting a giveaway! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

2012-01-26T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Neil Gaiman
Title: The Graveyard Book
ISBN: 9780061972652
Publisher: HarperCollins (January 2008)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover | Audiobook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead. There are dangers and adventures in the graveyard for a boy. But if Bod leaves the graveyard, then he will come under attack from the man Jack—who has already killed Bod's family . . . Beloved master storyteller Neil Gaiman returns with a luminous new novel for the audience that embraced his New York Times bestselling modern classic Coraline. Magical, terrifying, and filled with breathtaking adventures, The Graveyard Book is sure to enthrall readers of all ages.” GoodReads’ blurb

The Graveyard Book sure is different from anything I’ve read lately. I think the magic was on the way the storytelling had that traditional feeling that makes you think of bedtime stories, of tales spun by the fireplace, and on the way the voice changed through the book.

The first reason might be a side product of this being an audiobook, in my case. It was narrated by the author himself and he spun it in a captivating way. I’m more used to first person POV in audio for it to work, but this time the narration was smooth and hooking.

While Mr Gailman’s style didn’t change as he read, there were subtle changes of feeling in the text, and in the end it felt like a completely different story. Except that it was clear it wasn’t, because it had varied just a little bit from the previous chapter... What I’m trying to say is that the book grew as its protagonist did.

I know that sounds weird, but we first meet Nobody Owens as a toddler and, with each passing chapter, he grows until the conflict is resolved by the time he’s around fifteen. Each chapter visits a particular event in his life, something to illustrate how he was and how he grows up, so we actually end up visiting Nobody (or Bod, as they call him) eight times in his life. Each time we can see how he evolves, and that’s what I meant about the magic:

He changes because of what happens, yes, but he also grows. Just time passing. And the way Neil Gaiman manages to convey this, to make him sound like he has the proper age in every chapter, is nothing short of wonderful.

Bod is not the most normal boy ever, but within his peculiarities he offers a prime example of a boy his age, if you know what I mean. For example, fussing about studies instead of playing, hating uninteresting lessons even when they’re useful until he finds them actually useful, doing what he’s told not to do, pushing the parental boundaries when he hits puberty...

Granted, the studies he hates relate to haunting and fading and scaring people; he rebels by being out of the cemetery, and his way of playing involves crawling into unmarked tombs.

And it still is complete relatable.

I’d have loved to be friends with Bod. His courage, honesty, and yes, intelligence, make him such an endearing character. The way he faces bullies at one point got me on his team, for example. He’s a good guy, but he won’t hesitate if he has to be a little shady when the situation calls for it.

Back when I got this book and featured it in my IMM, you all told me that it was such a great read. And yes, I understand why. I’d certainly recommend it, too.

There were only a couple of things I didn’t really like. One was the ending which left me feeling a bit sad... Unnecessarily so, too. The other might be due to my thick skull, but I don’t really get who the bad guys are, or what Bod guardian and friends do to them.

Still, it’s a great read, different from your average paranormal fantasy, and I’d tell you to read it right away.

Review: Summer Knight, by Jim Butcher

2012-01-25T09:30:00.000+01:00

Author: Jim Butcher

Title: Summer Knight

Series: Dresden Files (#4)

ISBN: 9780786536511

Publisher: Roc (September 2002)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback | Audiobook

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Harry Dresden's faced some pretty terrifying foes during his career. Giant scorpions. Oversexed vampires. Psychotic werewolves. All par for the course for Chicago s only professional wizard. But in all Harry's years of supernatural sleuthing, he's never faced anything like this: Professional wizard Harry Dresden is approached by the Winter Queen of Faerie to find out who murdered the Summer Queen's right-hand man. Soon, Harry finds out that the fate of the entire world rests on his solving this case.” GoodReads’ blurb

Before we go any further, I have to say that my take on this book is surely biased.

I mean, come on, fairies! Fairies and Dresden! How funny can that be?

Yep, dear readers: we get to see Titania, Mab, a lot of Sidhe, and even Grimalkin! As I know most of you have read and enjoyed The Iron Fey series, those names are sure to bring great memories back.

As a side note: no Oberon (remember what I said about Dresden books and guys? Yeah, that). We do get a Sidhe general of Summer, though. He must have two scenes and a half.

Witty comments aside, though, I enjoyed Summer Knight. The war that Harry declared quite unwittingly in book 3 is growing to World War Supernatural Edition proportions, and both sides are, of course, screaming for Dresden’s blood. Lucky him, Mab wants to use him for her own ends so... he’s got a chance.

A pity Harry’s not at his best after months of emotional wreckage. He’s not really over Susan and over the end of book 3 yet...

But he’s not alone. He doesn’t need to be: there’s Murphy there to cover his back (as it should be) and unlikely friends in the shape of the werewolf gang from book 2 – who have matured quite a lot and now are trying to behave as the closest thing to real friends Harry has had in... too long to count.

That’s what I loved: the cast was built on previous stories, it was understandable why they were there, and no part of any importance to the plot happened before we joined the party, so to speak.

So, yeah – we’re back to the goodness of book 1 and 2. And Butcher’s take on our beloved fairies? Just the icing of the cake.

And I have to say this before wrapping up the post:

Grimalkin has just a scene, but he acts as a guide through magical paths after offering a bargain of sorts. Go figure. Even across literary universe, our favorite cat remains the same!

Review: Time of the Awakening, by Kirk Yuras

2012-01-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Kirk Yuras

Title: Time of the Awakening

Series: Generations of Legends (#1)

ASIN: B005IHWEEU

Publisher: Kirk Yuras (August 21st 2011)

Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“Supernatural forces threaten the nation, Embrilliance. Men behave as if possessed – throwing themselves from towers, wading into raging currents, braving white-hot forges or burying themselves alive. Creatures long since forgotten stir in the Infested Bogs. The Walking Dead, once mindless automatons, now show signs of intelligence and organization. A demon rampages unchecked across the land. The military marches into a trap laid by a dark army amassed at the border.

One man stands in the way of annihilation; Krylor Hendsdred.

Hero.

Prophet.

King.

Though Krylor is gifted with prophetic insight, the villain Neiloph Ebonire holds him in check as he orchestrates the evils plaguing Embrilliance. Neiloph can read the King’s thoughts, can counter his every move and thwart any plan. Any plan except…

[More background and A high quality Special Edition is available at GenerationsOfLegends.com” GoodReads’ blurb

If you’ve been following me, I know you’ve been expecting this review for the longest time. Finally, it’s here... And yes: this turned out to be a perfect fantasy, classic style!

Before I get into the book, though, I’d like to explain why it took me this long to finish this book. Simply put, I had the High Quality Special Edition. This was both a blessing and a curse. I loved it because it was obvious the care that had gone into the book. I caught a couple of typos and I had to cringe at the spoiled page instead of at the typo itself!

The bad news is that this edition is not fit for your average e-reader. Each page has been produced and then scanned, so essentially it’s an image, and it displayed too smallish on the screen of my Sony. If you’ve a Kindle Fire, though, this should read like a charm. If you have an iPad, this choice would be perfect.

I was stubborn enough to want to stick to the visuals of the Special Edition without those devices, so I had to read on my computer. Which put a good dent on my reading time. And a bad bend to my back.

Why am I telling you this?

Because if I stuck to reading the 600-something pages on my home office chair, that means that it was good.

Time of the Awakening takes a departure from worlds of grey and slips back to the roots, with big conflicts of good and evil. There are a number of books who stay in that area, though, so what makes this title special?

The language. I don’t know how familiar you all are with the classics, the real classics, but Time of the Awakening had that same flowing grace. This was specially apparent in all combat scenes, with heroes and villains cutting swathes through the battlefield and enduring (and hitting) more than we might expect them to while making the whole thing a tightly choreographed dance.

Same happened with the more mundane scenes. The author has been very mindful of the flow here, and it success in submerging the reader into a different world, a different time.

One of the greatest troubles of fantasy is the use of cliché in characterization. While we won’t find people as twisted as in some other titles, and while they are indeed archetypes of good and evil, I did like the work done on the good side. The evil villain was a bit, well, Evil Overlord, but the rest of the cast felt pretty solid. The secondary ones in particular, but also the hero. So, a point above average in the genre.

I can’t make many comments on the plot because of the spoilers, but it all fit well – even when it wasn’t fast. Because of that, it might give the impression of not very tight, but it’s actually all about the aforementioned flow and pace, I think.

The bad points for Time of the Awakening might very well be those I’ve pointed as good points. If you want a quick, easy read, or thrilling action, or moral shades of grey, then probably this book isn’t for you. I did say it was old school, and had a flow reminiscent of the classics.

If you are already into the genre, you know what I’m talking about. If you’re thinking about starting out, I’d recommend other titles first, perhaps – easier titles, if that makes sense. But this is a good novel in any case, so you might want to try it anyway. I guess that would make it a 3.5 stars: recommended for genre fans, recommended with a warning to everyone else.

The one really bad thing I can find with it is that it’s part of a series. In a huge series kind of way. Mr. Yuras has let me know, and wrote in his website, that we’d be looking forward to a ten-volume story.

Fans of Martin will be cringing with me at that.

But it still holds fairly well by itself, so don’t let that fact stop you.

Review: The Jennifer Morgue, by Charles Stross

2012-01-23T09:30:00.000+01:00

Author: CharlesStross

Title: The JenniferMorgue

Series: Laundry Files(#2)

ISBN: 9780441016716

Publisher: Ace Trade(2009)(Golden Gryphon Press 2006 1st ed)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover

My rating: 4 of 5stars

“Bob Howard, geekish demonologyhacker extraordinaire for "The Laundry," must stop ruthlessbillionaire Ellis Billington from unleashing an eldritch horror, codenamed"Jennifer Morgue," from the ocean's depths for the purpose of rulingthe world...” GoodReads’ blurb

This is the follow-upnovel to The Atrocity Archives (you can read my review for that one here) and,while reading book one is not integral to the plotline, it is important tounderstand the characters and, more than anything else, the world we’re readingabout.

Well, and because it’sone hell of a good book and I don’t know why you’d want to skip it.

But less talkingabout Laundry Files #1 and more discussing #2, The Jennifer Morgue.

It was brilliant.Absolutely brilliant.

The Atrocity Archiveswas original and funny, in an ironic, sarcastic, keep a smile in my lips kindof way. The Jennifer Morgue has scenes that actually made me laugh out loud tothe point of near tears. Mostly those involving Bob getting his own superspycar... and it being a Smart For Two.

That said, this timearound the plot still involved our super-computer magic as a basis for theconflict, but it was wrapped as a James Bond novel. No, really. The only way todefeat the villain is to fit into an archetype from a James Bond novel (and no,I’m not spoiling it too much by saying that because we’re told about it... ButI can’t say anything else on the topic, except that it cracked me up).

So, the stakes are,once more, world-shaking high. Our friendly IT geek needs to step into theshoes of glamorous, hot and sexy James Bond. And he’s been... acquainted with aspy from a rival/friendly agency that’s not half as harmless as she looks. Noteven half as human, as a matter of fact.

The best part?Everyone knows what’s going to happen, because of the archetype thingy, excepthim. And no one can tell him, or the loophole around the plot won’t work andthe bad guy will win.

If you think there’snothing to compound that situation... add in Bob steady girlfriend, worriedabout him and fed up with the Laundry pulling his strings. Yes, Bond-wannabedoes have a girlfriend... one who’s willing to go looking for him to the otherside of the world... and one he really doesn’t want to have to explain hissituation with the inhuman, super-hot rival spy to.

All of this puttogether, read by voice actor Gideon Emery, made for a perfect book that keptmy iPod on till nearly five in the morning.

I mean it.

And this time therewas another novella/short story included at the end! As it happened on TheAtrocity Archives, the scale is much smaller, and Bob even stays in his office,but... As it happened with the Atrocity Archives, The Jennifer Morgue’s storywas almost better than the great novel itself.

If you are a gamer,if you’ve ever heard of or played Neverwinter Nights... Then you MUST readthis.

Yes, with capitals.As in, I mean it.

You’ll thank me whenyou do, I just know it!

In My Mailbox #18

2012-01-22T10:30:00.000+01:00

Sunday! IMM Time! I love having all my new books in one place thanks to this meme - it helps me really take notice of how much I read... and how many books I buy!

This week, thankfully, was pretty quiet. Here's what I have:

Books I got because I couldn't help it:

I've forever wanted to read The Ghost and the Goth. I really enjoy ghost stories, and I have a huuuuge soft spot for goth/emo/other black-wearing weird kids, so... I decided it was finally time to treat myself to this book. Hopefully I can get books one and two read and reviewed in time for the launching of book three!

Rot & Ruin is a cover I fell in love with. I discovered it right on time with my blooming love for zombie books, so I knew I wanted to check it out. Just the other day I finally did, and read the first sentence before tossing it into my virtual shopping cart. Must read it!

The last book of the week is one I've had on my "need to get around to this" list for ages. Finally, after watching te Book Trailer and getting some extra gentle prodding from Dani over at Refracted Light Reviews, I did click the "buy" button and so I got....

Cinder! Yay! I can't wait to read this one.

Audiobooks

I got a couple of audio this week too because I had available credits and I have signed up with April, from over at Books4Juliet, to participate in the Soul Screamers reading challenge... So I needed to get something to read and review!

So, that's it. Looking back, not so quiet a week, uh? What about you? What did you get? Tell me in the comments, please!

TBR Intervention #11

2012-01-21T12:25:00.001+01:00

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).
2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer). Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week.
3. Grab the TBR Intervention Button and post it on your blog sidebar so you will be constantly reminded of the challenge, making it easier for you to commit. This will also encourage other readers/bloggers/visitors to join the challenge.
4. Add the link to your post in the Linky below and make sure to visit the other blogs. Comment, encourage, and spread the love to our fellow readers.

And here's how I did this week:

Last week TBR IC: Success!

And wow, I'm actually kind of surprised about this one! I committed to read The Lure of Shapinsay, Katana and Beckoning Light. The results have been... eclectic. I love the Lure, you can check out my review about why here. Katana was an okay book - it wasn't outstanding, I think, and I probably didn't enjoy it as much because I felt there were some things that could have been historically correct without detracting from the story. More to come when I can post the review, in a couple of weeks (PubDs and all that). I managed to finish Beckoning Light in the last minute, yesterday night, and I'm still trying to figure out what failed to engage me. It was fairly okay, "but", if you know what I mean. Review to come Jan 31st (yes, that's the first opening I had, sad but true...)

Next week TBR IC:

Next week, I'm going to put a dent into my ARC with Ripper, a YA based on the tale of Jack the Ripper that I'm dying to read, and try to follow up with a read for an upcoming tour, Promising Light. Promising Light's pretty long, so I'm not sure whether I'll pull it off, but I'll try!

So, that's it. What about you? What did you read? Did you enjoy it? How's the upcoming week looking for you?

Review: Magic High, by Christina Gaudet

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Christina Gaudet

Title: Magic High

ISBN: B00538A22A

Publisher: Christina Gaudet (May 2011)

Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Welcome to Andrew High, a school for mages...

That is, until its doors are opened to the non-magical, or “normie,” population. That means no more magic allowed on school property. For Tabetha Long, whose powers are directly related to emotions, hiding her magic is difficult. When her mother is hired as the new gym teacher, and her father comes back to town with is reality television show, difficult becomes impossible.

Now her every move is being caught on video and everyone else at school wants in too. All Tabetha wants is to become invisible.

But then the mysterious and cute new guy, Eric wouldn’t be able to see her either...” GoodReads’ blurb

What a delight! Reading this book was so funny that I went through it in just an evening (okay, and a bit of the following wee hours of the morning).

First off, I’d like to point out, before I forget, that I believe Magic High to be aimed more to the younger Young Adult readers, say twelve to fifteen years of age. Not that older readers won’t like it –hey, I did!- but the storyline fits better, I think.

So, what’s that storyline? Not spoiling it! Suffice it to say that, more than the eternal fall head over heels in love with –insert name of hunk here-, this is more about the life and less about the love life. That is not to say that there’s not sweetness around, but there’s also friendship issues, family issues, and in general all of those things that seem to be so important when we’re teenagers against the world of non-understanding adults.

That’s a feeling that Magic High nails right in the head, and Christina Gaudet does so in the words of Tabetha, who is a girl growing up –and discovering love- and trying to forgive her father – while learning to cope with fame- and accept her mother –who is a normie- without loosing her sense of humor. From pure sarcasm to plain old desperation, Tabetha’s voice was genuine and kept a smile on my face at all times.

I liked the way the plot came around, too. There’re several open fronts, and at first I thought that the end would be rushed or anticlimactic, but the truth is that in the end all the threads weave together in a satisfying way.

I have to admit, at first magic seemed too simplistic for me. But then there’s this nice way to wrap around the simple way it works with the plot of the book that was kind of neat. And while some things are extreme, they’re also hilariously funny – or deeply emotional – so I’m definitely not going to complain. In any case, this is the reason I said younger readers would enjoy Magic High better, and after all I don’t recall worrying too much about plot intricacies and magic systems when I was thirteen.

So, in short? If you like light reads, coming-of-age stories, and sweet, clueless romance... Grab this one. If you have a daughter/niece/friend who likes to read, or who needs to get into the habit, try this one as bait.

Recommended? Sure!

Review: The Lure of Shapinsay, by Krista Holle

2012-01-19T19:02:00.000+01:00

Author: Krista Holle

Title: The Lure of Shapinsay

ISBN: 2940013878815

Publisher: Self Published (December 16th 2011)

Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant.

Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, naked selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure.

Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured? “ GoodReads’ blurb

You know me fairly well by this point. You know I have something going on for selkies and selkie books. You shouldn’t be surprised that I accepted a selkie novel...

I was surprised, though, at how amazing it turned out to be.

The Lure of Shapinsay is probably the retelling that stays closer to the myth while giving it an entirely original style, and that alone, in a moment where everyone seems inclined to throw end-of-the-world conflicts into every faery tale while, is more than enough to shoot it to the four-star category.

The story is told in the point of view of both our lovers – Kait and her selkie man. If the POV wasn’t shared, we’d probably get lost pretty quick so it’s a good thing. Besides, the voices are so distinctive that there’s no risk of the reader feeling confused.

Indeed, Kait starts as a confident young woman who tries to stand up for herself in a time when female roles were limited to scrubbing the house clean and cooking for the males. She’s somewhat spunky and compassionate. And then, she meets him.

Selkies have a magic of their own: beauty, the ability to enchant the heart. Kait becomes obsessed with her selkie, becomes dependant on his presence... At times, I wanted to slap sense into her – specially when her love turned her egotistical and blind to his love.

And what about his love? Involuntary at first, then fierce like a sea storm, impossible to measure and to contain. Reading about his feelings, his choices, and yes, his sacrifices, made me want to shake Kait even worse.

I’m fiercely independent, so her behaviour stirred something in me – in the face of her loss of self and of the way it affected him.

The whole story is about the two of them sorting out their relationship, finding a balance between a human from the land and a magic, beautiful selkie from the seas, so I can’t tell you much more without stepping into spoilerland but... the evolution was both painful and beautiful.

I have to say that I wasn’t sure about how this one would end, not at all. Tragedy kept lingering on the horizon while I clung to hope, and till the last lines the winner wasn’t clear. It did read quite convenient, but the solution has been carefully planted beforehand – I had dismissed it, but it had been mentioned, so I guess that makes it completely legit.

That, and the fact that I didn’t really want to contemplate the alternative!

All in all, I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in adult faery stories that are both mystical and beautiful while staying close to the myths that gave them birth. However, I have to warn potential readers about something:

The story takes place in a village in the 19th century, and it shows in the way the characters talk. Personally, as a translator and sort-of-linguist, I loved this aspect. The accent and the everyday expressions have been taken care of with such care that I could have been reading a novel written in the time and place it portrays. It’s an aspect I’d like to congratulate Krista Holle about. I also understand that if English is not your mother tongue, if you dislike historically-tinged novels, then the way of speech could ruin The Lure of Shapinsay for you.

If you’re not sure where you stand, though, give it a chance. It’s most beautifully written.

Writing Tips #8: Finishing your story

2012-01-18T17:30:00.000+01:00

So you want to write, and you’ve read and listened to every comment I’ve made. Hopefully, I’ve raised your awareness of the number of things that go behind the production of a good solid book, and the tips have made you think and find your own answers to each step of the process. It has been a long way, and now we can say that...

The hardest part is yet to come.

Yep. I hate to disappoint, but while you can’t have a great book without considering every point we’ve talked about up until now, the mere fact of considering them is not nearly enough.

You still have to put pen to paper and finish that story you’re dying to tell!

The good news is that this section is going to be short. The bad news is that this section is where most writers drop out of their marathon to authorship.

My only advice is this: persevere, and finish the story. Even if it’s not perfect, even if it’s not publishable material, you’ll learn more from creating full stories than you could any other day.

I understand that it’s difficult, that sometimes you will be lost, the story will lose its appeal, and you’ll face the dreaded writer’s block. You can’t let any of that defeat you, though, and this is what I do to keep myself motivated and productive:

Set up a schedule. Think of writing as going to the gym. If you have aerobics class, you don’t skim it or decide to leave mid-way through, right? Then you should not bail out on your writing time either. Find at least one hour each day when you can, natural disasters and other calamities non-withstanding, lock yourself up on your own little writer world. Now, sit down every day at your scheduled time and remain sitting for your allotted period, no excuses allowed.

Think of it as your other job. The temptation to diversify our writing time and use it to watch our favorite TV series is daunting, I know. Sometimes you really need to do something, like go out for groceries. Sometimes you’ve had a hectic week and it seems like the house won’t get cleaned out if not in your writing time. Well, you must resist. You’d not tell your boss that you’re not showing up because your bathroom needs to be cleaned, right? You can’t tell yourself that your book can wait, either.

Give yourself a deadline. Your book is a project, just like any other. Give yourself a realistic estimate of how much you can write each day and set a firm deadline for you to finish. You’d not flunk a deadline at work, would you? Then you shouldn’t postpone your book endlessly either. I’m fairly decent at overlooking my own deadlines, so I get some friends, writing buddies, whatever and tell them that I’m writing my next project and that the first draft will be done by [insert date here]. And because I have to send them the draft to get their feedback, or just to prove that I did it, the deadline becomes real and I write.

Don’t give up, no matter what. Some apocalyptic issue kept you from writing a couple of days, you fell behind on your schedule and now you think you can’t make it to your deadline, so you push back the finishing date. Wrong. First, you’d be amazed at what you can do if you just keep hanging to your goals. Give it a chance and you might recover lost time and even make a head start! Second, if you open the gate and start accepting good excuses to push back the date, the bad excuses will step through as well and all your previous work on schedules and deadlines and responsible writing time will be wasted.

The Writer’s Block monster can’t eat you if you don’t let it. Writer’s block is some kind of monster of epical proportions that always comes up at one point or another in any “writerly” discussion, and it usually is to blame for any and all abandoned projects. I’d like to say that it isn’t real, but there’s a number of factors that might block you when writing, so I guess it is. What isn’t real is the sense of helplessness that might assault you and make you give up. Sitting back and waiting it out, letting it devour yet another brilliant idea and suck into the unfinished manuscript void is not the only possible reaction to Writer’s Block. There’s a hundred different ways to face it and fight it, from jumping to another scene to listening to music to taking a walk with the dog to clear your mind. My personal opinion, though, is that the only way to beat it dead is by writing.

I write. It’s what I want to do, and I refuse to be held hostage by a capricious muse that might or might not give me good ideas anyway. My approach is that, if she leaves me, then I bring her back kicking and screaming, pulling her hair in a most troglodyte fashion. In other words: I keep writing. Perhaps I’ll only hammer out a sentence in my allotted writing hour. It’s still a victory, because I put words to paper. The next day, because sitting and staring at a screen while doing nothing is boring as hell, I might write a whole paragraph. It might not be perfect, but I couldn’t care less: perfection is something we have to seek while editing, not while finishing our first draft. Keep your attitude spunky and your fingers punching the keyboard, and eventually you will win the war. You’ll be back in the groove, writing.

As always with these tips, this is the advice that worked for me. Some I got from web pages, some I discovered on my own, some I was given but then had to beat my head against a wall myself until I believed in it. Take my words and make them yours, or think about them and find your own answer.

And then, share it with us: how do you finish your books?

333 Follower Giveaway: We've got winners!

2012-01-18T17:00:00.000+01:00

So, this epic giveaway finished the 15th. I have to thank you for your huge support during this event, guys! You're all awesome. But since someone had to win and I couldn't give a prize to everyone, I told the Rafflecopter gadget to choose... And this is what it came up with:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The winners have been notified and they all have claimed their prize, so congrats!

And special thanks to Gwen Hayes and Candlemar&Gleam Publishing for their support and their help: without them, I'd not have been able to give away these wonderful signed copies!

I mean, no one'd want a book signed by me. Right?

Happy reading to everyone, and thanks again for your interest and cooperation!

Review: A Hidden Fire, by Elizabeth Hunter

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Elizabeth Hunter
Title: A Hidden Fire
Series: Elemental Mysteries (#1)
ISBN: 2940013283251
Publisher: E. Hunter (October 18th 2011)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“"No secret stays hidden forever."

A phone call from an old friend sets Dr. Giovanni Vecchio back on the path of a mystery he'd abandoned years before. He never expected a young librarian could hold the key to the search, nor could he have expected the danger she would attract. Now he and Beatrice De Novo will follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, through the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation they never could have predicted.

A Hidden Fire is a paranormal mystery/romance for adult readers. It is the first book in the Elemental Mysteries Series.

"A tantalyzing paranormal romance, full of mystery and intrigue. One of the best books I've read in a long time. Sign me up for book 2!" Nichole Chase, author of Mortal Obligation, Book One of The Dark Betrayal Trilogy” GoodReads’ blurb

Have you ever been worried that your review couldn’t make justice to a book? Well, that’s the case here.

You know how there’s been so much written about vampires that some readers just say they’re over with the genre, or how some writers just tell the same old story with different degrees of success.

If that’s what you think and you’re loosing faith, hold on to you beloved vampires because Elemental Mysteries is not any other vampire book.

The worldbuilding Elizabeth Hunter did on her universe is fascinating. We’ve perhaps read about vampires having strange powers, personalized powers... but we haven’t seen whole vampire clans defined by the power they wield. We’ve not seen how the exception to that norm can throw the whole vampire society in a riot. I hate spoiling things, but come on, look at the title of the series. And what happens with vampires and fire? Exactly. So, whoever gets to control fire is a major badass, right?

Actually, not quite. Giovanni, or Gio as we call him, has more interest in researching books and finding lost treasures than in terrorizing the neighbourhood.

While checking out one of those ancient texts, he meets our girl – B, Beatrice. A librarian with a lot of snark and Doc Martens booted feet. She’s intelligent, beautiful... everything he’d want.

And this is the thing that makes A Hidden Fire jump right out of 4 stars (recommended for anyone) to 5 stars (recommended for anyone AND personal favorite): he doesn’t fall in love with her.

Or he doesn’t think he does, at least. He makes a really good job of self-denial until... Wait, that’s me walking into spoiler land.

B doesn’t fall head over heels in love with our dear Gio, either. Sure, there’s the attraction – how can it not be? But when she discovers what he is, she actually puts distance between them, tries to think things through, denies that there’s anything except camaraderie between them.

But she’s still shocked and betrayed when... something happens, something from Gio’s past. This something makes Gio realize just how much he cares – rather, it makes him accept what he already knew.

Telling you why A Hidden Fire is so wonderful without actually telling you what happens is starting to kill me. There’s too many “somethings” involved. But bear with me, please, because -

This would be the second best thing in this novel: instead of the events running as any other author has condindioned us to expect – cool guy sweeps in, saves the day and gets the girl kind of thing – we have real reactions.

B has gone through something (see? back with the somethings) and it has changed her outlook in life, and her perception of Gio. She needs time to bounce back on her feet, just like a real girl in her situation would need. The natural way the author has handled this part is more than enough to set the series apart.

Trust me, you won’t see the end coming.

But okay, if realistic characters, deep relationships that have more that instant flaming desire to them, and thrilling plots interwoven with books long lost to man are not enough, then let me give you the secondary cast.

This book is not about Gio and B with some other characters thrown in to generate background noise. It’s not about getting another male to force a love triangle, or another female to spark the jealousy crisis. It’s about real friends, and also about having family – how refreshing is that? When was the last time you read a paranormal in which the main character had a grandmother and acted accordingly? What was the last title where the hero’s hot friend is just a friend - and yes, free for you dear readers to fantasise about?

So there: that’s my statement. If you get all of the above and bind it in a book with past-paced prose, well chosen words and just the right mix between action, romance and mystery... How could it go wrong?

Short answer: it can’t. Trust me and read this, you won’t regret it.

Review: Hollowland, by Amanda Hocking

2012-01-16T09:30:00.000+01:00

Author: AmandaHocking

Title: Hollowland

Series: The Hollows (#1)

ISBN: 9781453860953

Publisher: AmandaHocking (2010)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback

My rating: 4 of 5stars

"-"This is the way the world ends- not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the backdoor."

Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left ofAmerica, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiledrock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.-"GoodReads’ blurb

This was my first zombieapocalypses novel. It won’t be the last.

Reading Hollowlandswas a relief, in so many ways. You know those wild moments when you are woundtoo tight? How you get to your room, crank up some hard rock CD in the player,and start jumping around and screaming yourself hoarse until you’re as relaxedas a newborn baby?

Well, Hollowlands wasthat kind of book.

I didn’t find itparticularly deep. The plot offered some surprises, but the important twistswere all expected. The bits that caught me unaware were either not thatimportant, like the strange religious community they find in the middle ofnowhere, or made me frown instead of smile – er, lions and tigers? Isn’t that abit too much?

The characters were okay,not deep enough to make me ponder their personalities but not so flat that I’dnot be able to like them. I felt like the rock star fell a bit flat – like heshould have a stronger personality, or, since he was indeed a rock star, thatthe fact should weight more in the story. Or something.

The action was overthe top – not over the top for a martial artist, but certainly too much for agirl who has trained for only a few months and not her whole life. It made methink of Chuck Norris movies, at times.

... That reads likean awful lot of complains, doesn’t it?

And yet, as I said,the reading was refreshing, quick, and most satisfying. So much so that Ibought the second instalment as soon as I finished up with the first. Why?

Because it works forwhat it’s intended. It hooked me, because the prose was light and easy and fasteven though the action was predictable. It did its job so well, that I’mconsidering becoming a regular reader of an entirely new genre – zombie novelsand apocalypses lurking in the corner, anyone?

So, I guess youshould give it a shot as well, even if the reasoning behind this advice is...shaky. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

In My Mailbox #17

2012-01-15T11:00:00.000+01:00

One more Sunday, one more visit from Mr Postman... Hosted by The Story Siren, this weekly meme is here to display my terrible weaknes! Ready so see what I got, even when I shouldn't have?

Books I got for review:

Special thanks to authors Emily AnnWard and D.J. Butler, and to Candlewick Publishing for providing these copies. I'm really looking forward to them!

Books I got because I couldn't help it:

Let's see: Finnikin of the Rock is book 1 to Froi of the Exiles, up in "for review". I actually requested Froi because I discovered Finnikin and fell in love.

Before is the 0.5 volume in the Heven and Hell series. I found it for free over at WHSmith/Kobo and couldn't resist the temptation to test the series. Same thing happened with Stone Lord - a short belonging to a larger series, which should be perfect to test the waters and figure out if I want to give it a shot.

Wicked rake, Defiant Mistress was also free and I thought, well, this is the perfect moment to read something that I like but don't usually buy! Regency Romance, ladies and gentlemen. And it sounds quite thrilling!

And that's it. What do you think? What did you get?

TBR Intervention #10

2012-01-14T14:03:00.003+01:00

It's TBR Intervention Challenge time! We get to organize our huge To Be Read piles and actually read those books we've been wanting to (or been supposed to) for the longest time! The challenge is hosted by April @ Books4Juliet, Dani @ Refracted Light and Ayanami @ Whatever You Can Still Betray, and it's hosted every Saturday, though you're free to join every two weeks if that's more convenient for you. As always, do join us! Here's the rules:

1. Post the book(s) you committed to read in your last TBR Intervention post and tell us something about it. Did you finish it? Did you enjoy it or not? Post the link to your review (if you have one).
2. Post a book that you want to read and already own. Pick something that has been sitting on your shelf for too long now (6 months or longer). Commit to read the book in the next couple of days or week.
3. Grab the TBR Intervention Button and post it on your blog sidebar so you will be constantly reminded of the challenge, making it easier for you to commit. This will also encourage other readers/bloggers/visitors to join the challenge.
4. Add the link to your post in the Linky below and make sure to visit the other blogs. Comment, encourage, and spread the love to our fellow readers.

And here's how I did this week:

Last week TBR IC: Success!

*Dances a mad victory dance* Hah! I did it! Thanks to your support last week, guys, I faced the challenge with new energies and finished my appointed books! Thanks! I read this books:

Time of the Awakening: very good for a fantasy classic-style, really. It stays in the wavelength without falling into simplifications like many other universes out there. There's a review coming up the 24th and while it'll be a bit short - story's way too complex to go into details, and besides I'd rather not spoil this one - I'll explain more about what I liked and why it took me this long to finish the read.

Existence. I know a lot of you were excited about it... With good reason. At first I found it a bit cliché and had trouble rooting for the "right guy", but then... Well, check out my review here to know more about this one ;)

Next week TBR IC:

I'm going to go full tilt crazy into the oncoming week. Like, three books kind of crazy. I started one last night, so I'm not sure if that's cheating a bit, but here we go:

I've started on The Lure of Shapinsay. All I can say is, "wow". Selkie book, by the way. More comments when I finish it. Katana is an ARC from Flux that I'm super excited about. I love all things Japanese, so this tale of reincarnation and action and attracion should hook me right in. Beckoning Light is an indie I've had for a while and wanted to get to for the longest time. Book two will come out soon, so I thought this was the perfect excuse to finally dust it off my virtual shelves.

That's it. What about your own week? How did it go? I look forward to hearing from you all!

Review: Existence, by Abbi Glines

2012-01-13T09:30:00.000+01:00

Author: Abbi Glines

Title: Existence

Series: Existence Trilogy (#1)

ASIN: B006LFVZ8E

Publisher: Wild Child Publishing (December 12th 2011)

Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“What happens when you're stalked by Death? You fall in love with him, of course.

Pagan Moore doesn't cheat Death, but instead, falls in love with him.

Seventeen year old Pagan Moore has seen souls her entire life. Once she realized the strangers she often saw walking through walls were not visible to anyone else, she started ignoring them. If she didn't let them know she could see them, then they left her alone. Until she stepped out of her car the first day of school and saw an incredibly sexy guy lounging on a picnic table, watching her with an amused smirk on his face. Problem is, she knows he's dead.

Not only does he not go away when she ignores him, but he does something none of the others have ever done. He speaks. Pagan is fascinated by the soul. What she doesn't realize is that her appointed time to die is drawing near and the wickedly beautiful soul she is falling in love with is not a soul at all.

He is Death and he's about to break all the rules.” GoodReads’ blurb

Do you know, I had an opinion of this book that changed completely in the last line?

Yep. I mean, from a general public and market point of view, Existence is everything you’d expect it to. I guess it could be defined as a highly emotional romance with an impossible guy, with a perfect triangle thrown in.

The lead guy, Dank, is hot and protective and sweet. The lead girl, Pagan, is very much in love – and unique in that she can see the souls of the deceased, which makes her struggle between the “soul” she is drawn to and the perfect guy who wants to date her, Leif. So far, so good.

What bothered me a little about this title is that, for once, I liked the guy who was going to get the boot better than the guy who was going to get the girl.

Don’t get me wrong: Dank is charming, and did I mention hot? But he pretty much falls in love with Pagan. It’s not exactly instant love, but the feelings are so intense and painful and burning on both sides that at times I arched a brow...

I arched it because Pagan had Leif, who is handsome and popular and sweet, and actually bothers to get to know her and to let her know him. He seems to be one of those heart-of-gold guys that are so difficult to find, and even with the dark allure of Dank factored, I could not understand how Pagan could become so obsessed about that “talking soul”. How the idea of not seeing him could affect her so completely.

I’m not going to elaborate on the exact consequences, because that’d be spoiling it for you, but I must say that while I found them irrational and extreme, I loved that the author dared to take that route. It’s incredibly original. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any other heroine coming close.

And now that I’ve taken this roundabout way of saying that there’s something surprising coming while trying not to destroy the surprise effect... Please, let me complain about the blurb.

Yes, the blurb bought me. Yes, the idea of a Death romance, and the picture on the cover, made me get this book and squeeze it in as soon as possible.

It also spoiled the whole book. In the, Pagan doesn’t figure out that Dank’s Death until the last 5% of the book or so kind of way.

She kept thinking he was a special soul, a soul that could talk, and wondering and trying to guess what was going on... and I’d have loved to be along for the ride, but I already knew all the answers.

The last 5% or so resolves the conflict quite nicely, though. I had an idea of several possible ways it could end, and while I came close I didn’t exactly hit the nail on the head.

And then we got to the last sentence. The one thing I didn’t see coming, I’d not have foreseen ever. The one thing that threw the whole book upside down for me and left me with a “Whaaaat?” expression for minutes on end.

Can’t tell you what it is.

Just saying that this was going to be an “Okay, I’ll read the sequel at some point” book. It now is a “When the heck is that sequel coming out?!?!” book.

So yeah – go and buy. And read. Fast. I want to discuss where this is going with you.

Review: Stone Cold: A vampire novel, by Mike Denault

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Mike Denault

Title: Stone Cold: AVampire Novel

ASIN: B005IHDR4G

Publisher: First Line(2011)

Disclaimer: Copyreceived for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle| Paperback

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

“Damien Magneson's life is anythingbut normal. He is part of an innocent vampire family, helping to promote peace,all while secretly working alongside the local government to track andeliminate supernatural threats that may harm society. However, when Damienmeets target Aderra Fayre, who is part of a potentially sought-out and labeledfamily of serial killers, he feels he must protect her. Damien's life changesdramatically, now living in a world filled with constant drama, violence andsacrifice.” GoodReads’ blurb

Avampire novel? Of course I had to read and review it!

I’m still trying tofigure out Stone Cold, really. I know it didn’t grip me, and I know why, but Ican’t shake the feeling that the book doesn’t know which age range it’s aimingfor. It might have turned out better if it had been more clearly geared towardsmiddle grade, which is the only place I’d be comfortable with the storyline,and in that case the things that nagged at me might not be so bad.

Then again, there’ssome stuff that I need to point out either way. Here I go:

The thing that heldme back from completely immersing myself in Stone Cold was, first, Damianhimself. I love a male lead, but I ask the same thing I ask of any lead: thathe acts. That there’s some king of logic to his reactions. That his feelingsare consistent and not stemming from a sheer desire of being contrary. From thefirst scene, he has an indecisive streak that, in my mind, didn’t let go of himthrough the whole story.

As always, let meillustrate with an example from the first chapter to avoid spoilers: Damian andhis sister and pursuing a mark. They’re waiting for him outside the building.When the man comes out, Damian starts reading the files on him and then goes toconfront him. He calls out, makes himself visible, tries to buy time. I assumethat it’s because he has a plan to enact with his sister, but no: after muchdoubting –and after giving himself away- he knows he needs to fight. And hefreezes. Why? I don’t know. His sister intervenes, taking Damian by surprise,and gets hurt. Damian is still thinking a lot, doing nothing. Then, after thevillain gives a little speech, Damian jumps in and kills the bad guy.

So: shouldn’t he haveread the files earlier? If he planned to fight alone, why does he wait? If theman wasn’t alone, shouldn’t they wait? If they’re going to attack, shouldn’tthey, well, attack instead of asking for a job?

That’s why I couldn’tconnect with his personality. It wasn’t only indecisive: it felt a bit toocardboard-like, as if he were guiding us through a set of events that musthappen just because.

Still, that’d havebeen okay. Not good, but okay. What killed me – and what I think will kill youtoo – is the fact that the story is told in first person point of view, byDamian... and he proceeds to relate events where he’s not present and of whichhe shouldn’t be aware. Another earlier chapters example:

A journalist tryingto get a scoop on the vampires comes to the hospital where the sister ended up.Damian is arguing with his parents, then he runs into the woman while on hisway to the toilet, and finally leaves. And then he tells us how this verytricky journalist went to ask questions to the reception desk, how she waiteduntil the nurses were gone, and how she grabs something since the info isn’tunder locks. The fact that this scene wraps up with a “little did I know” clauseonly made me cringe harder. And this switching between Damian’s point of viewand the happenings with the journalist just kept coming, all of them equally,seamlessly flowing together.

I could talk aboutsome other stuff, like the cast or the way, somehow, the vampire boys (whoshould be quite old, even if I still haven’t figured out how much) decide toget into an even greater mess that might destroy their whole family in order to fix a mess that shouldn't have happened anyway. But Ithink you can already get the idea.

So... Notrecommended. Not until it undergoes some serious editing. If you like vampire books, there’re a hundred titles I’d direct youto first.

Virtual Tour: Blood Veins, by Brian Young

2012-01-11T00:30:00.000+01:00

A black wave has passed over the thriving kingdom of Larista. Mysterious invaders calling themselves the Dolus have swept over the land laying waste to everything in their paths and leaving ghost towns in their wake. No one knows where they came from and no one knows what their purpose is. Tasting nothing but defeat after defeat the light of hope is fading in the kingdom; but the guerrilla forces resisting the Dolus invasion have received new information. This news has provided a small glimmer that could possibly spark into something more. Captain Maximus Rex leads a daring rescue mission deep in the Laristan forests to save the lone surviving member of the royal family.

Once freed Prince Alexander Novelle along with his friends and comrades face a perilous journey deep behind enemy lines. Their destination is Castle Varanasi. The once proud Laristan capital, gateway to heaven and salvation, lies in ruins under Dolus occupation. Mysterious assassins, underworld savages and renegade Dolus survivors stand between them the answers they seek. What they find there will shatter their perceptions and lead to unknown perils none of them are ready to face

Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, you can check out my review and thoughts here... And as promised, today we're hosting Brian Young to talk about the aspect that I liked most about his novel: the plot itself and how it came to be. I know you want to hear him and not me, so without further ado... I give you Mr Young!

Compared to other writers I believe I don’t plan very much while I’m writing. Blood Veins started out as one scene, there wasn’t really an idea for the novel and the rest of the story sprung from that one scene. I never sat down and planned out the story or the different scenes. At some point during the process I came up with an end point for the novel, but the details of the journey only materialized as I typed them for the first time. This did lead to a lot of backtracking. I had to change some things I had previously written, add characters, and plot devices. One good example is the group of assassins called the Death Stalkers. I didn’t think about them until I was half way through the first draft of the novel. I had to go back and add a couple of scenes as well as insert mention of them in existing scenes.

I think the plot as a whole came before the individual characters. I have a destination in mind and the characters are what drive the story in that direction. When I first started writing, I thought the characters would be easy. They were my characters and I could write them however I wanted, but I soon realized that became predictable. Without conflict, risk, and flaws in their personalities there is little interesting about their journey.

I can’t say much about different plotting tricks and devices I use. Like I mentioned before, I write by the seat of my pants with little organization. Also this is my first novel so perhaps I haven’t been writing long enough to come up with any tricks or devices with my plots. Maybe I am using some without realizing that is what I am doing. The biggest challenge for me is limiting myself to the right ideas I have when I’m writing. While I write, my mind spins off in so many different directions that it can be hard to focus on what is important to the story.

Thanks so much, Brian! But I know the readers would now like to see how the theory turns out so... Here it is: an excerpt of Blood Veins.

"We will not survive this march. It will soon be freezing and we are not equipped for it," whined the prisoner walking besides Briah. "It is a sign from God. First, he releases these Conquerors from the foot of the mountain. Then, he brings the snow and ice while we are homeless without shelter and fire."

Briah looked at the man for the first time and immediately recognized him as a priest. His name was Brother Mable. Briah narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"You should not speak of such things. This is not of God's doing, and you will scare the other people here."

His tone transformed instantly from one of shrill despondency to authoritative strength.

"Don't talk to me that way, poor girl. You are misguided; it is of God's doing. He is upset at us for embracing technologies. It is forbidden! I recognize you. You are one of the sisters that dwell in the mountain. You think you have the right to live closer to God, and you think you have the right to dig under his mountain. It is placed there for a reason. We dug too deep. It is you and your kinds' fault for influencing the King and angering the Creator! The city has fallen to the soulless heathen invaders and our gateway to the afterlife has been taken!"

The priest was raising his voice and other prisoners were beginning to take interest in their conversation.

Briah glanced around at the other prisoners and realized she might need protection from the guards based on some of the looks she was receiving.

"Be quiet you fool." She snapped at the priest. "You will draw the attention of the guards and they do not care what your status is. Neither do I."

About the Author:

Brian is a graduate of the University of Oregon. He works as a banker and an editor for Rogue Phoenix Press. He currently resides in Oregon with his wife and daughter.

Find Brian on Facebook.

But wait, did you think the post was over? Nope! I still have a most important bit of info to share with you. Brian will be giving away a 25$ GC from Amazon to one random commenter from the tour. If you click the banner above, it'll take you to a list of all the stops - the more blogs you comment on, the better chances to win.

Another 15$ GC from Amazon will be given to the blogger who hosts the stop with the most comments, excluding those coming from the author and the blogger himself, so that's another reason for you to leave your thoughts or questions: it'd be such a great help to host my giveaways!

Review: Blood Veins, by Brian Young

2012-01-10T09:30:00.000+01:00

Author: Brian Young
Title: Blood Veins

ASIN: B006RYLFRA
Publisher: Rogue Phoenix Press (December 2011)
Disclaimer: Copy received for review purposes.

Buy your copy: Kindle

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

“A black wave of terror has passed over the thriving kingdom of Larista. Mysterious invaders have swept over the land, laying waste to everything in their path and leaving ghost towns in their wake. No one knows where they came from and no one knows their purpose.

Tasting nothing but defeat after defeat after, the light of hope is fading in the kingdom; but the guerilla forces resisting the invasion have received new information. The news has provided a small glimmer that could possibly spark into something more. Captain Maximus Rex leads a daring rescue mission deep in the Laristan forests to save the lone surviving member of the royal family.

Once freed, Prince Alexander Novelle, along with his friends and comrades, face a perilous journey deep behind enemy lines. Their destination is Castle Varanasi. The once proud Laristan capital, gateway to heaven and salvation, lines in ruins under Dolus occupation.

Mysterious assassins, underworld savages and renegade Dolus survivors stand between them and the answers they seek. What they find there will shatter their perceptions and lead to unknown perils none of them are ready to face.” GoodReads’ blurb

This was such a complicated book to review! A second read didn’t help at all.

There were things I liked, but there were issues that kept me from really enjoying them. The most attractive aspect here is, of course, the conflict between the Conquerors and the natives, along with the mystery of what happened in truth to allow the bad guys to take over the land. I didn’t see the resolution coming, that’s for sure! Unfortunately, that might be because I felt in over my head for most of the book... While the plot is interesting, with a lot of factions with vying interests, power and survival and information, the world building felt slightly weak for me.

Half the book in, for example, I still didn’t know where the Conquerors came from. Might have been completely intentional on the author’s part, but when I’m not even sure they are from the same world and it starts sounding like a completely different reality, things get a bit too murky for my taste. Why did they come, anyway? No idea. Where did they come to, for that matter? Where exactly are we?

I assumed it was a secondary world, but the religious people kept crossing themselves. The cross is unmistakably Christian, so is this alternate history? It turns out it is, futuristic in fact, but I wasn't sure for most of the book. And by the time I reach the half-way point in a book, I want to be sure of these things. I want to know if the Maker is our Christian God, if he opposes technology because of something that happened (as it turns out to be, since it seems there was a huge war causing the world to become the way it looks), or if it’s a matter of principle. I want to know if the lack of technology is intrinsic to a single country or more widespread. If it’s just a country, and the other places have drones and virtual communication devices as it seems to be the case, I want to know why said country hasn’t been conquered way before. The whole "unreachable place" is not enough. History has shown time and again that no prosperous nation is unreachable.

The Church in this world opposes the Sisters. We understand that they are something like witches, with knowledge of herbs and salves and stuff, who support technology. Why? Where does this schism come from?

If one of the main characters weren’t a Sister, I’d probably not care that much but... I can’t really understand her motivations, or why people trust or hate her, if I don’t understand what she stands for.

That was my main grip with this story. There were a couple holes, too – or things I didn’t understand. For example, after being taken prisoner as a slave and dressed with rags, why would you be allowed to keep a piece of technology on your person? Specially if it’s something like an intercom. But then again, since I don’t know if the slavers were supposed to know that it was an intercom, or if the Sister had any way to conceal it, this part might be normal.

I think I should mention that I did get an ARC, and that I’m assuming/hoping that the novel wasn’t fully edited yet. It needed some work in punctuation, dialogue smoothness, and typo hunting. I'm just going to comment on stuff that I know couldn't be changed in time in the final copy, like the above points.

So, to sum it up, while this was a very interesting title for fans of fantasy (because in my humble opinion Blood Veins falls into fantasy more than into Sci-Fi), I’m not sure I can say it’s a must-read. It’s a bit too confusing to introduce you to the genre, that’s for sure.

Tomorrow we’re having Brian Young himself as part of his Blog Tour for Blood Veins, in any case. He’ll let us know how he approached the plotting of his novel, and he’ll also share a small excerpt with us! So be sure to come back to hear his take and to ask him any questions or doubts you might have about his book. You could also win an Amazon Gift Card, so don’t miss out!

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood, by Kendare Blake

2012-01-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

Author: Kendare Blake

Title: Anna Dressedin Blood

Series: Anna (#1)

ISBN: 9780765328656

Publisher: Tor Teen (August2011)

Buy your copy: Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“Cas Lowood has inherited an unusualvocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought tokill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travelsthe country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Togetherthey follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderousdead—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 AnnaDressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move,hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, aghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on theday of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and drippingblood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared tostep into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life”GoodReads’ blurb

Well, first off, letme say that Anna Dressed in Blood is one of the very, very few physical books Igot this year (it was the best gift ever!) and I’m so very, very glad it was: Imean, a book printed in dark blood red? How cool is that?

However, beyond anylevel of pretty, there’re three main reasons why I must add my voice to thenoise out there and scream “Read It!”.

One, Cas. He’s themain character, and he’s utterly likeable not only because he’s a male lead,which is hard enough to find in paranormal that I add all items I find to myTBR in autopilot, but for his voice. He has this sense of maturity to him thatI don’t remember on most teenagers, while at the same time not being, by anymeans, an “adult”. He’s a guy who’s been through a lot, and that shows in theway he faces his life. It specially shows in his humor. Cas is not only steady,determined, loyal and smart... He’s also dry and witty. I don’t jot down quotesas a rule, but I did note several quotes of him that made me smile, or laugh,or just love him even before we even got to meeting Anna.

Two, the romance. It’snot overly sweet, or overly perfect. As a matter of fact, when I finished thebook, the first thing I did was storming Twitter and asking whether there was abook two, and when should I be expecting it to come out. Kendare was niceenough to reply and let me know that Girl of Nightmares will hit the shelves insummer 2012, so I’m still holding out hope about the ending, but... That’s notactually the reason I think this part was so perfectly done in a genre wherelove is always so fast as complete.

What got me was thefact that, way before we had a Couple, we had Cas and we had Anna. They bothstood tall in their own right. They both were strong characters, welldeveloped, with their pasts and their issues. They didn’t need to lean in eachother for support, they didn’t need the other to make their life worthy. Theyare two individuals who fall in love and only then stand together. I know that,in light of the ending, some readers may disagree with this whole “strongenough on their own” thing, and I’ll say: yes, Cas needed help. Badly. But he alsohelped before. He wasn’t strong enough at some points, and he succeeded whereit mattered. So, in the end, I feel like he and Anna stood on even footing,which, for me, reinforced their relationship. It was not only more real, butalso most satisfying.

Finally, we get toour third reason. Plot. Storyline and foreshadowing, actually. See, while theend of the final conflict was a total surprise, I should have seen the conflictcoming miles off. All the clues where there, from the very beginning. I even notedthem, told myself “there’s something here”. But Kendare Blake kept the storygoing so tight, her character conflict so enthralling, that I pushed the cluesto the back of my head and failed miserably in putting them together. I was toofocused with what was going on to ponder too much on what was coming.

So, when it finallyhit me –and Cas-, my jaw literally dropped. I stared at the book uncomprehending,my heart beating like crazy, and I beat myself up for not expecting it when allthe clues had been not just under my nose, but dutifully noted too!

I don’t know if I’mright, but... managing to pull that off? That’s what I call talent.

And Anna Dressed inBlood is what I call a great book, and if you still haven’t read it, you needto get your hands in your own copy as soon as possible.

In My Mailbox #16

2012-01-08T16:20:00.002+01:00

Time for an IMM! It's been ages, but now that the Christmas season is officially over (yes, here in Spain we're wired up till January the 6th, when we get a visit from the Three Wise Men loaded with gifts) I'm hopefully back in full force with this meme. If nothing else... it helps to keep track on what I got, and when I got it!

The truth is that I've already read some of these titles. But in any case, I thought it'd be nice to share everything I got lately that I didn't tell you about for one reason or another. As a way to start the year with a clean slate, so to speak. Ready to see what's new, then?

Books I won:

These came from a giveaway hosted by Rebecca over at Bending the Spine. They were highly recommended and... boy, do I love them! I started book one, then got hooked and forgot all about my TBR until I finished book two. It's one of the best series I've read, I swear! My reviews will be up soon.

Books I got for review:

Many thanks to Flux, Candlemar & Gleam, and author Kenya Wright for providing these titles! I'm super excited about all of them and can't wait to read them.

Books I got because I couldn't help it:

Amber Frost comes recommended by Dani over at Refracted Light Reviews, so I'm super excited to give it a shot. And I wanted to read Existence for the longest time... I mean, look at the cover! And what book about falling in love with Death can be uninteresting? And then I threw in the latest Drizzt book because I'm a sentimental about it. I'll probably get pissed at the characters and the fight scenes -again- but I never give up.