Jaime's review of The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one. But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will. Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young. Most of the chosen do. Excerpt from Goodreads.

Rae Carson’s book The Girl of Fire and Thorns is a riveting fantasy read it ranks right up there with one of my all-time favorite author’s Maria V. Snyder’s Study and Glass series for me. I know some of you who have read those books will not believe it but give a book we all on twitter have affectionately named TGoFaT a chance you will be very surprised!

The world Rae has created is full of magic and from her descriptions of the many different places you feel as you’ve almost been transported to this world. You feel the Godstone in Elisa’s belly, you feel the thorn prick your finger during the Glorifica, you can almost sense what jerboa soup  would taste like (and BTW eww), and you can feel the heat of the desert.

I really loved the characters she created Elisa is weak at first but she learns quickly and finds her inner strength. The king is likable enough and I absolutely loved his guard Hector (more of him in book 2 please Rae). The rest of the characters each have strong personalities and I can tell you some you will fall in love with and some you will detest from the moment you meet them. Some will also surprise the heck out of you when you think you’ve got them figured out something abruptly changes.

So if you want a great fantasy read with tons of action, intrigue, treachery, and a darned good but different love story go pick up The Girl of Fire and Thorns in September I promise you will love this book and will be yearning for more.

Jaime's Review of If I Die by Rachel Vincent

No one wants to be this teacher’s pet . . .

Everyone else is talking about Eastlake High’s gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck, but Kaylee Cavanaugh has bigger things on her mind. Kaylee’s a banshee—her scream is a portent of death.

But the next scream might hit too close to home. Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline has almost run out.

Yeah—it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself from her own problems, Kaylee is determined to defend her school against the latest supernatural threat. That hot new teacher is really an incubus, who feeds from the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s delinquent ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human either.

But Kaylee’s running out of time, and those who love her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Soul Screamers: The last thing you hear before you die. Excerpt from Goodreads.

Jaime’s review….

So I have no idea how to review this one without revealing major spoilers! Like I can’t even talk about pretty much the whole second half of the book so this review is going to be short and sweet. It was fantastic the end!

Ok but seriously I’ll try to do my best here. I loved this book it’s the best in the series! We get the whole crew back and tons of sexy times I won’t say with whom. I actually started to like Sabine in this book and Nash is starting to redeem himself in my eyes which I thought would never happen.

The new teacher is an ass and I hated him from the moment he appeared on the page and I fell more in love with Tod if that was even possible. I will say at the end of the book Rachel almost gave me a stroke but you’ll just have to read it to see what I’m talking about. I absolutely love the world and the characters Rachel has created and I want a reaper of my own if he’s as hot as Tod! Go buy this book when it arrives in stores in September! I can’t wait to see what you all have to say about it and I’m patiently (not really) waiting for Before I Wake Rachel write faster!!!!

Vote for Ash TODAY!!!

Hello Everyone!! We are so excited to be representing Ash from Julie Kagawa's amazing Iron Fey Series in the YA Sisterhood Summer Crushin' Tourney. Posted below is our argument in favor of Ash as seen on the YA Sisterhood blog. Please help spread the word by twitter, facebook, blog or any other means. You can also grab our Ash button on the left side bar to show just how much you love Ash! :)

Personality:

 Ash can come off as cold and distant but that's because he's been raised to be that way. He has had to put up persona of the cold Ice Prince of the Winter Court otherwise he would not have been able to survive in the Unseelie Court. But beneath the cold exterior there is a fiercely loyal guy and not just because he can wield a sword like nobody's business. More about that later. He has managed to fool just about everyone into thinking that his heart is as cold as the iciness that literally runs thru him. That is until he meets the girl that melts his heart. He will do whatever it takes to be with Meghan even if that means walking thru poison to help her out, even if it means that he has to put up with her annoyingly prankster of a BFF, Puck, even if it means that he will be kicked out of his court or even be exiled out of Faery.  He will do anything for Meghan!! What is sexier than that? Not much! 

Looks:

We could never do him justice but we will give you a peek of how Meghan sees him...

"...he carried a sword, resting comfortably on his hip, and his face bore the fine lines of an aristocrat. But, unlike the others, he looked disinterested, almost bored, with the entire event. His eyes caught the moonlight and glittered like silver coins.” The Iron King

"Up close, he was even more beautiful, with high cheekbones and dark tousled hair falling into his eyes.”  The Iron King

Talents:

Who wouldn't want a guy with as many talents and attributes that Ash has. He's a masterful horse rider, he has mad sword skills, and he can shoot ice daggers at his enemies and centuries of knowledge and expertise. He's a bit on the quiet side, too. But don't think that he's distracted in anyway. Ash is deadly and those that cross do not live to tell the tale. He's also witty and one of his best and favorite attributes is that his sense of humor and sarcasm are intact. With lines like this who wouldn't love him:

"Touch her, and I'll freeze your testicles off and put them in a jar. Understand?" The Iron King  

Special Attributes:

Have we mentioned that Ash is Immortal!! So of course he's going to be with you forever and ever!! 

Why is Ash better than Dimitri?

Ash will literally travel to the end of the earth for the woman he loves, he will battle living nightmares, and he also loves with every piece of him heart, mind, body, and soul. Ash would never leave or try to kill Meghan as Dimitri did try to kill Rose (even if he was Strigoi true love would have won his inner battle). Ash defied his own court to be with Meaghan, Dimitri pushed Rose away because of duty. Granted both these boy's are smoking hot but we'd rather have our Ice Prince with shining eyes and awesome sword skills over a guy who wears dusters and reads Western novels and pushes the people he loves away. Just sayin Ash is the best!

Anything else you would like to add?

Here are a few quotes from Julie herself about Ash: 

From supernaturalsnark.blogspot.com Interview with Julie. 

If you were in an emergency situation (of any kind) and could call one of your characters for help, who would it be and why?

"Well, if it were something major, like the Zombie Apocalypse, I would call on Ash, because he’d be able to chop through the hoards easily. If it were something like getting my cat out of a tree…I’d still call Ash, because Grimalkin would probably mock the poor cat, and Puck might turn it into a bird or something."

From interview on enchantedinkpot.livejournal.com

If you weren’t the creator, what team do you think you would side with?

“Oh, definitely Ash.  (Though I do love Puck, too.)  I just have a thing for dark, brooding bad boys, especially if they're a HBWS. (Hot Boy With Sword.)  It’s a weakness.  ;-)"

Also we're sure if Ash wins Julie will have something awesome to share with everyone like a teaser from The Iron Knight ;) so VOTE ASH and use the hashtags #TeamAsh and #IcePrince to support him! So don't wait any longer go vote HERE

Jaime's Review of The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget. Excerpt from Goodreads.

Jaime’s review…

To start I’m going to say wow this book was one of the most imaginative original stories I have read in a long time! Victoria’s words flow like a song through the entire book and there’s never a dull moment.

I rarely find a story where I have absolutely nothing to compare it to all I can say about this one was it reminded me of a ghost story told around a campfire to scare the children to stay in their tents.

I immediately found myself attached to Lexi’s character and also the stranger’s. I felt the up and down emotions of love and loss, smelled the moss on the moor, felt the wind in my hair, and shared their fear. I also really like some of the secondary characters the sisters Magda and Dreska reminded me of my own two grandmothers minus the magic. The Near Witch is scary as all get out and let me tell you I don’t scare very easy but I felt goose bumps the first time I actually met her.

I wanted to post one of my favorite parts to show how Victoria’s words float off the page.

“The music continues, clearer than ever, and it’s hard to listen with only the edges of my ears, because I never noticed how beautiful it is. It’s still on the wind, made by the wind itself, but its wafting toward us like the scent of my mother’s bread, oddly filling.”

I absolutely loved this book! It made me cry and almost jump out of my seat I could not put it down.  So if you’re looking for something new and exciting to read go buy The Near Witch when it comes out in August I highly recommend it.!

Thank you Disney-Hyperion for a galley from Netgalley and thank you Victoria Schwab for sending Hallie Patterson at Disney my information for an ARC you all are amazing!

10 days of Anathema Blog tour stop 2

Hey everyone! We're very lucky to have been included in Kathleen Tucker's 10 days of Anathema blog tour and Kathleen graced us with her presence in form of an amazing guest post. For those of you who haven't read Anathema or would like to find out more you can read Jaime's review here. After Kathleen's guest post we will have some exciting contest news so keep reading ;) So without further ado here's Kathleen's guest post....

.

Hey, Jaime and Patricia (a.k.a Two Chicks)! First I’d like to thank you both for hosting me on your awesome blog for Day 2 of my book tour. Jaime – you were the first reviewer to sign up for a review of Anathema and you’ve been in my corner with bucket-loads of support since finishing it. I am forever grateful to you. Every author needs a book blogger like you in their corner. Or a hundred.J

 Jaime asked what inspired me to write Anathema and what inspires me to write in general. That’s a big question. I’ll try to answer it as best as I can.

What inspired me to write Anathema? It’s pretty simple and not very poetic.  Three months’ into a year-long maternity leave with my second daughter, I was having trouble thinking. I felt stupid. I couldn’t focus. I wasn’t using my brain and I was mentally tired because of it. This had happened to me during my leave with my first child as well. I knew it would be harder to shake the longer I let it go on. I needed to find a way to kick start things up there.

In addition to my baby brain, I was facing considerable daily stress. My newborn had a temper and set of lungs to rival any banshee (she still does) and my older daughter was recently identified as a ‘special needs’ child   - needs we are still learning about and certainly didn’t have a grasp of two years ago. For these reasons, I needed an escape.

So I began thinking about writing a book. I’ve had my nose in books from a very young age and I always did well in my English classes.  It sounded like a great challenge and way to keep my brain from going dormant. It was something I could take on while the kids napped and after they went to bed. So… I jumped in with both feet. I’m like that. I get an idea and I run with it.  Anathema began with a very simple question: “What would happen if vampires took over the world?”  I spent the next year- and- a- half answering it.

From that need for sanity and brain stimulation, I stumbled upon a true passion. I’m beginning to think it’s what I was meant to do all along (no need for those painful Economics and Calculus courses, after all).  The biggest inspiration for me to write is hearing how much my readers loved the worlds and characters I created for them in Anathema. I was so so so nervous when my ebook was first published. What if people hated it? What if I couldn’t write my way out of a paper bag?  I prepared myself for the worst in hope of avoiding the bitter shock of that sort of reader response. When I received my first review by a blogger and it was super-positive, I couldn’t stop smiling.  I was pumped. Now, each new positive review gives me a shot of adrenaline, both for validation of my hard work and because I am genuinely happy that I can give something enjoyable to book lovers out there. For me, there’s nothing better than getting lost in a fictional world and bonding with the characters. Now I’ve given that to others and it inspires me to give them more. Like Book 2, perhaps. J

What else inspires me to write? My need to make the most of my time on this planet and leave my mark. Not a huge mark. Just a mark. That’s never been such a big push for me before. Up until recently, I’ve been satisfied with the practical path – finish school, find good job, get married, buy house, have kids. And then… what ? Well, now that I’ve had a taste of what it’s like to write and publish a novel, I’m addicted for life. I’m in a rush to do as much as I can before my time runs out and I wish I had started sooner. I love stretching my brain creatively. I love inventing worlds and people and storylines. I could easily spend my days in my lulus and fuzzy socks, scheming. I love to ‘scheme’ as my husband calls it. Apparently I’m a natural – it sounds manipulative and sinister but it’s a wonderful trait to have when you’re developing plots with bad guys J

Thank you to Two Chicks on Books for inviting me here today to talk about my new obsession. I hope your followers get a chance to read the outcome of my quest for sanity and fall in love with the worlds and characters I’ve created.

Isn't Kathleen awesome? Ok so you all probably want contest details now right? Well here we go!

Kathleen is giving away a signed, print copy of Anathema to one lucky winner at the end of the blog tour. Anyone can enter by visiting her site at www.katuckerbooks.com (read giveaway rules posted). Do you want up to 10 extra chances to win? Visit each blog stop for an Anathema Quiz question. Answer it correctly and your name is entered! Simple!
Here's your quiz question for today, Blog Stop #2: What thank-you gift does Sofie give to Evangeline for coming to NYC?
To submit your answer, click here  http://www.katuckerbooks.com/10-days-of-anathema-grand-prize-entry-form.html
And if you haven't read Anathema yet... what are you waiting for?!

Also Kathleen has given one e-book to give away on the blog! All you need to do is comment on this post to be entered and don't forget to leave your e-mail so we can contact you. We'll leave the contest open until midnight pacific time and as always we will draw names from a baseball hat because that's how we roll ;) Good luck!

Synopsis from Kathleen's blog

Evangeline has spent her teenage years in obscurity. Her foster parents have the emotional aptitude of robots and her classmates barely acknowledge her existence. About to turn eighteen and feeling like a social pariah, she is desperate to connect with someone. Anyone.

When Evangeline meets Sofie after literally stumbling upon her café, she believes she’s found that connection. Willing to do anything to keep it, she accepts a job as Sofie’s assistant and drops everything to fly to Manhattan, where she is thrust into a luxurious world of Prada, diamonds, and limitless cash.

With such generosity and kindness, it’s easy for Evangeline to dismiss certain oddities . . . like Sofie’s erratic and sometimes violent behavior, and the monstrous guard dogs. She’s even willing to dismiss her vivid dreams of mob-style murders, beautiful homeless people living in caves, and white-eyed demons that haunt her each night as figments of her imagination—especially when one of those figments is the gorgeous Caden. When she wakes up with bite marks on her neck, the fairy tale quickly turns into a nightmare. She slowly unravels the mystery surrounding Sofie and friends, and the reality of the bites and the “dreams.” What she discovers is far more mysterious and terrible than anything she could have imagined.

In a world where everyone has motive to lie for personal gain, Evangeline must decide which deception is least likely to get her killed.

Pick up your copy of Anathema at Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble

Breaking News: Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Announces New Book

We are very excited to share the news with you.  Jennifer has announced that she has a new book coming out. It is called Cursed. Look at the beautiful cover...I want to have an actual copy in my hands so I can read it & pet it, too. (heehee)

Anyhoo, onto the deets...It's expected publication date is September 2012 from Spencer Hill Press. Here's an official blurb from Cursed...

Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.                                                                                                           

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she’s willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't?                                                                         

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

Thank you, Jennifer & Spencer Hill Press for letting us share this exciting news on our blog. We are looking forward to your new book and also to your upcoming release of Half-Blood (due out October 18, 2011) and its sequel Pure (due out April 2012). You can find the prequel, Daimon out now on Amazon.

You can find Jennifer at these links:

Twitter

Blog

Goodreads

Covenant Novel Website

Jaime's Review of Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her. Excerpt from Goodreads.

Jaime's review....

There were so many reasons it took me so long to read Divergent; one I had too many review books to read and two I was kinda meh about the Dystopian genre I thought nothing could hold a candle to The Hunger Games Trilogy. I kept telling my friends I'd get to it but I was never really in a rush then one friend *ahem Tiffany* kept bugging me and I finally broke and started it after I finished a review book. I went in not having high hopes thinking ok just get through this if you don't like it no biggie. WELL LET ME TELL YOU WORLD I JAIME APOLOGIZE FOR WAITING SO LONG!!!!!!

This book literally rocked my freaking world! I am so happy Tiffany pushed me to read it. I am completely in love with Four he just might be on the top of my book boyfriend list right now and that is saying a lot. Tris reminded of me short and spunky and willing to fight for whats right. I hated Eric as much as her and four did. I wanna zipline from the top of Hancock tower, I wanna jump off a building into a net, I wanna jump into and out of moving trains. I wanna be a Dauntless.

There is so much action in this story and so much loss! I put the book down when I was finished and my chest literally hurt and my teeth ached from clenching them together so tight. Man I bow down to the genius that is Veronica Roth I want to live in your head. Or at least find a four of my own ;) I cannot wait for Insurgent!!!!!!!