Jaime's Review of Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs

From Goodreads.

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a Minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the Minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight. 

Jaime’s review….

Sweet Venom was everything I expected it to be fast paced and action packed with just the right amount of hot boys and great storytelling! She also set it in San Francisco a place I am very familiar with and also mentions a place close to my hometown Orangevale which is pretty cool.

This story is told from three perspectives and while my favorite parts were Gretchen’s I grew to like Grace and Greer by the end of the book. Gretchen is a hard as nails girl whose main mission is sending these beasts back to where they came from. Grace is just finding herself and sometimes especially in the beginning I found her to be a bit whiny but like I said I grew to like her. Greer man when I first met this one I wanted to punch her in the face she was such a snob! She ended up growing on me anyways.

The boys in this one are very hot but also kind of vague I’m sure there’s more to them than meets the eye. I hope to find out more about them in book 2. I did really grow fond of Grace’s brother Thane he’s very strong and protective.

I really loved the use of mythology in this story being as I have studied and love Greek myth. I could imagine the putrid odors coming off the beasts and wanted to gag right along with Grace at her first scent of Minotaur. I can’t even imagine running into one of those let alone having to fight one! So if you love mythology and a story with some serious kick ass girls go get Sweet Venom when it hits the shelves October 4^th!

Thanks Harper Teen for an advanced reading copy for review!

Jaime's Review of Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

From Goodreads-
Their love was meant to be.
When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.
But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction. 


Jaime’s review….

What can I say about this book? I can say it was awesome! Leigh has written a very new take on a paranormal/supernatural story. I loved how these characters controlled the elements instead of being witches, vampires, or some of the other types of characters we’ve read so much about.

I adored the setting of Ireland and we didn’t get caught up in strange dialects as Leigh actually tells us how to pronounce things in the story like Gardai is Gardee. You could just fall in love with the breathtaking  landscape, the ocean , and the castles. The way the story unfolds is a perfect pace it’s not too fast or too slow. I found myself staying up very late reading which is a sign that I’m loving a book.

I really found myself loving all of the characters! Megan is strong female MC and I really liked her love interest Adam I’m sure all the girls will fall for him but, I actually found myself drawn to Adam’s older brother Rian with his fiery hands and eyes. Their sister Aine is someone I could see myself hanging out with she’s so sweet and fun. I actually told Leigh while reading this that I wanted to jump into the pages and ride motorcycles with Rian. I know I’m a dork but what can I say.

I wanted to share a quote from Rian and maybe you all will see why I fell in love with him.
“Now, don’t take this wrong o very scary one, but you have seen prettier days.” I love his sense of humor during a crisis ;)

So when this book comes out October 4^th run, don’t walk to your nearest bookstore and pick this baby up you will not be disappointed!

Thank you Harper Teen for an advance copy for review.

Sweet Venom 2 Title Hunt

Hey everyone! We're super stoked to be here with a letter for the Sweet Venom 2 title hunt! So first thinks first here's our letter.

W

here's a link to Tera's blog where she will post all the other participating blogs and the entry form for the contest. http://teralynnchilds.blogspot.com Want to know the coolest part??? The prizes!!! Here's what you could win :D one of  five signed copies of Sweet Venom and a grand prize $50 bookstore gift card, more great news?? The hunt is open internationally. So go to Tera's blog and enter! You're going to want to win this book because Sweet Venom was awesome!!!!

Jaime's Review of Sleepers by Megg Jensen

An adoptee raised in a foreign land, sixteen-year-old Lianne was content with her life as handmaiden to the queen, until a spell cast on her at birth activated. Now she's filled with uncontrollable rage and access to magic she thought had been bled from her people years ago. Even her years of secret training in elite hand-to-hand combat and meditation can’t calm the fires raging inside her.

Her heart is torn between two boys, the one she’s always loved and the one who always ignored her. But when the kingdom threatens to tear itself apart due to rumors surrounding the queen’s alleged affair, who will Lianne protect and who will she destroy?  Excerpt from Goodreads.

Jaime’s review….

I’m a huge fan of Megg’s writing if you’ve read my previous reviews of her Cloud Prophet books you’d see that. Megg has a way of creating a fantasy realm that you could see yourself living in even wanting to! I’ll try and not spoil too much so this review will be short and sweet because I feel like I could ramble about this book for days!

Lianne is the type of character you fall in love with immediately she is loving, caring, but also very strong. The two boys in this story couldn’t be more different there’s the quiet shy Bryden or the strong outspoken Kellan. I’ll be honest I didn’t like Kellan from the start I thought he was arrogant and something always felt off with him. Bryden though stole my heart immediately with his dreamy eyes and his smarts!

I think the best part of this story was all the twists and turns. I’d finally get comfortable where it was going and then Megg would throw a huge monkey wrench into the scenario and we’d be headed off in a completely different direction.

Go pick up Sleepers at Amazon or Barnes & Noble now! I’m patiently (not really) waiting for book 2 :D

Thanks Megg Jensen for an advanced copy for review!

Everblue Blog Tour and a Review

Hey everyone! Welcome to our stop on the Everblue blog tour! For our day Jaime is posting her review of Everblue and because we love this book so much we're giving away one e-book to a lucky commenter. So make sure to comment and leave your e-mail address so we can contact you! Giveaway will stay open until August 30th good luck!

Want to know a little about the book? Here's the description from goodreads.

Best friends share everything with each other. Or do they? Seventeen-year-old Ashlyn Frances Lanski is tired of her boring, single life. Spending time with her best friend Tatiana, dreaming about kissing Tatiana's twin brother Fin, and swimming competitively are her only sanctuary. The girls plan to leave their drab lakeside town far behind for college. But when Tatchi fails to return home after a family emergency, and no one knows where the family has gone, Ash chooses to do something drastic to find them.

Ashlyn is about to discover what she’d thought to be true her whole life, wasn’t, and the truth, too fantastical to imagine. Secrets lurk beneath the deep blue waters of Lake Tahoe, secrets that will change Ashlyn's life forever.

Jaime's review....

Let me first start by saying Brenda is a local author so she writes about locations that I know very well in this case it's Lake Tahoe (not Natatoria lol) and that's why I fall so deeply in love with her stories! I also haven't read a mermaid story since The Little Mermaid so I was very excited to read this.

So Everblue takes place in two locations one on the surface and around Lake Tahoe and the other in a magical realm Natatoria both so different and vivid in their own ways. I could feel the chill off the lake and the snow still left around in the the spring setting of the book. I really could visualize the underground world as well.

Onto the characters Ash is the MC and I loved everything about her she is a swimmer (so was I) so I could completely relate to her issues with nerves on race day. She is an amazing and loyal friend when Tatchi her best friend and Fin Tatch's brother and the boy she loves go missing she stops at nothing to find them. Tatchi is an adorable character I love the fight she has in her she wants to live her own life not the one dictated by the Mer's in Natatoria. On to Fin oh sighs whats there to know about Fin? He's a sexy blonde haired blue eyed merman who can even pull off wearing a kilt look sexy. He's also completely in love with Ash you can feel his passion for her burn right of the page! There's also a sexy baseball player named Callahan who stole my heart I absolutely love baseball players if you don't believe me ask my last two boyfriends lol (both baseball players).

This story had me sucked in on page one and kept me up until 4a.m. reading I guarantee once you pick up this book you will not want to put it down! Thanks Brenda for an ARC for review and also for asking us to be a part of the blog tour!

If you want to purchase Everblue it's only $2.99 on Amazon or at Barnes & Noble

Remember to comment to enter our giveaway!

Immortal Beloved Blog Tour Plus A Review and a Giveaway

Hey everyone! Today We have the pleasure of hosting the second stop in Katie M. John's Immortal Beloved blog tour and the wonderful Katie has graced us with a guest post but, before the post I ( Jaime ) wanted to do a mini review of Immortal Beloved and The Forest of Adventure book 1 in the Knight trilogy.

So let me start by saying this the first two books of this trilogy are incredible! There's magic, knights, vampires, Templars, Egyptian myth, and Arthurian legends! As many of you know if especially if you follow me on twitter I'm kinda obsessed with a little show called Merlin. So when I found these books I was immediately hooked. The MC Mina  is very lovable I sometimes get annoyed with female MC's but not this one. I also completely fell in love with the love interest Blake in a huge way I mean he's a knight for Pete's sake what's not to love! There is the evil Morgan thrown into the mix and she stirs up a whole lot of bad I mean you think you know Morgan from the legend? She's way worse in these books IMO and I liked it she made both books work without her the stories would've fallen flat. I can't get into much detail for either book because I'd spoil them for you all just know that I loved them and I know you all will too! I'll post links to buy the books at the end of this post as well as a link to Katie's website.

So now onto the guest post which I think is kinda brilliant :)

Knight versus Vampires.

I want you to imagine a cool, misty morning somewhere in a forest glade. It’s dawn, and two gorgeous boys are about to fight for your love. This isn’t just an ordinary boy’s scrap – this is a duel between a Vampire and a Knight.

So, who would win? The answer is obvious – vampires: after all they are immortal! However, maybe the question aught to be who would you really like to win?

This is thing – I love vampires (I really, really do) but I wouldn’t want to marry one.

Yes, they’re great for a passionate fling but the father to my offspring? Christmas dinner with my folks?

I know vampires have all that hot ‘bad boy’ thing going – and I do so love the touch of velvet, but there is a sense that they constantly have the gloom on. Yes, intense and brooding is attractive but ALL the time? Really, crack us a smile.

But then again, a vampire laughing? Somehow it just doesn’t really work for me: a vampire corpsed over in fits of giggles just destroys the whole sexy, brooding image for me. (BTW that pun was intended!)

Then there is that whole vampire beauty – a fast route to low self esteem and feeling of inadequacy as your vampire boyfriend constantly out-sparkles you. Although, admittedly there is something very, very hot about having such a cool beau on your arm, and it would be so nice to see Ms High School Prom Queen swoon with jealousy.

So this brings me back to my original solution – knights, and here is why.

• Broody at times, rip roaring with laughter at others.
• Handsome and strong, but mortal so they’ll age along side you.
• Will take you out on a dinner date rather than just nipping out for a bite.
• Worldly and wise, but not so know it all as to outdo you in every history question of Trivial Pursuit.
• Old fashioned enough to be charming, but willing to change.
• Naturally hot, but with a tendency towards scruffy on down time.
• Cultured & Sporty. (Particularly good at riding.)
• Socially acceptable: can charm your elderly relatives at Sunday lunch without freaking them out.
• Won’t try to kill you – although, they could if they wanted.

 Now to the giveaway we're giving away 2 e-books of both The Forest of Adventure and Immortal Beloved there will be two winners whom will receive both books! How to enter? Just comment on this post and leave your e-mail address the giveaway is open until August 30th so make sure to comment!

The next stop in the tour will be a live character twitter chat via twitter.com/SLFictionLovers with Katie @knighttrilogy on August 20th from 5:00 p.m.-6:00p.m. UK time there will be prizes given away so be sure to check that out.

Here's a link to Katie's site- http://katiemjohn.blogspot.com/

You can purchase The Forest of Adventure at Amazon and Smashwords

 and remember to get Immortal Beloved in 6 days!

Forgotten Souls Giveaway Tour

Welcome to the Forgotten Souls Giveaway tour! The amazing author Tiffany King has come up with a really cool idea and instead of doing the normal blog tour stuff i.e. reviews, guest posts, and Q&A's she decided to turn it into a game where you match the appropriate couples to their books. Cool right? So Tiffany chose 5 different blogs for the contest they each posted 5 couples the cool part? They still have the couples posted so after this post go back and enter to gain extra entries to win ebooks of Meant to Be or Forgotten Souls! Here are their blogs....

Monday- Me, My Shelf, and I
Tuesday- Two Readers Reviews
Wednesday- Fiktshun
Thursday- The Bookish Babes
Friday- Two Chicks on Books (here)

Now onto us - Tiffany chose Patricia and I to host the finale where we post all the couples for you to pick plus our 5 so here's the deets match all the 25 couples and be entered to win the grand prize a gift card and signed copies of Meant to Be and Forgotten souls awesome right? So here's our couples....

Yelena and Valek
Clara and Tucker
Bianca and Lucas
Mina and Blake
Violet and Aidan

and their books

Haven
Unearthly
Poison Study
The Forest of Adventure
Evernight

The giveaway is now closed.
Also be sure to check out Patricia'a Review of Forgotten Souls here on the blog.

The Mighty has fallen!!! We're Not Done Though!!!

Ok so you all know by now that Ash lost his round of the YA Crush Tourney :( :( but we're not finished yet! Now that Ash is out of the tourney us here at Two Chicks are throwing our support behind Zach from  Jeri Smith-Ready's Shade series. We're supporting Zach not only because he's a hottie from Scotland with gorgeous green eyes but because we love Jeri she is a dear friend of ours. We dearly love this series and if you don't believe us check out our reviews Jaime's  and  Patricia's. Zach is definitely swoon worthy.

Another reason we're supporting Zach is because Jeri is donating money to charity along with other bloggers and authors check out Jeri's blog here for info on the charity and also an awesome blog post about the tourney below it and a really sweet video!

We also are supporting our girls over at Fictitious Delicious who are Zach's advocates they fully supported Ash and we really appreciated that. Thanks girls. They have been doing an awesome job for #TeamKilt and we are fully #TeamKilt now.

Lastly because of all the Zach love going around a bunch of us bloggers have decided to do giveaways during the tourney and if Zach wins and the lovely Karen over at For What It's Worth Reviews will be making a blog post with a link to all the blogs participating so make sure to check it out tomorrow.

So at 8a.m. central time voting will open and stay open for 24 hours go vote for Zach tell your friends, borrow computers, go to the library, use McDonald's and Starbucks free wi-fi, use any form of voting you can for Zach he's gonna need it against Jace! Remember to use the #TeamKilt  hashtag on twitter and RT like crazy tomorrow! Thank you all sooooo much!!!!!!

We REALLY need your help!! VOTE 4 ASH

Tomorrow is a BIG day for us here at Two Chicks On Books!!! Jaime and I will be advocating for Ash in The YA Sisterhood YA Crush Tourney. If you don't know who Ash is then you are missing out my friends. Ash is the incredible, sexy, delectable Winter Ice Prince from Julie Kagawa's The Iron Fey Series published by Harlequin Teen.  

So back to the tourney...Ash is up against no other than Jace from Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Instruments Series. I know what you're thinking, I'm voting for Jace but wait!!...before you do that please read our argument on why we think that you should vote for Ash and not Jace. But don't just take our word for it. Fiktshun.com  and another here also thinks that you should vote for Ash.

<---Feel free to grab our button and post on your blog or use as your new Avi for Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google+ or any other social network.

As an incentive...we will be giving away a set of The Iron Fey books currently published and signed by Julie Kagawa if Ash wins. The fourth due out in October 2011 (see our reviews HERE and HERE). Also, Julie Kagawa has promised to write an Ash/Meghan scene and Ash will be...shirtless. That's right! So PLEASE <--*pleading* VOTE FOR ASH!!!  

One of the most important things you can do for Ash besides voting for him on your phone, PC, work PC, friend's PC or MACs is to ask your family and friends to vote. Send them the link and ask them to please help us out. :D

Here's our post as seen on the YA Sisterhood's Blog:

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!! Because as he says to Meghan: ""You made me feel alive again.""

What is sexier than a guy who pledges his life and very existence to the girl he loves? Not much.

Here's a little taste of the true Ash:

"My name is Ashallyn'darkmyr Tallyn, third son of the Unseelie Court."

Though his voice was soft, it never wavered, and I felt breathless at hearing his full name. His True Name.

"Let it be known---from this day forth, I vow to protect Meghan Chase, daughter of the Summer King, with my sword, my honor, my life. Her desires are mine. Her wishes are mine. Should even the world stand against her, my blade will be at her side. And should it fail to protect her, let my own existence be forfeit. This I swear, on my honor, my True Name, and my life. From this day on..." His voice went even softer, but I still heard it as though he whispered it into my ear. ""I am yours."-The Iron Queen

Looks 

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

"...tall and lean, garbed in silver and black. A dark cape fluttered from its shoulders. Through the rain, I caught the barest glimpse of a face: young, pale, strikingly handsome..."-The Iron King

"...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!! Plus he's royalty! Seriously, it doesn't get any better than that :)           

What makes Ash better than Jace?

Well you all know the many reasons Ash is Crush worthy so we’ll move onto why Jace isn’t.

Ok so to start we like Jace so this is going to be tough but here goes.

In the first book he’s admittedly flirtatious to an extreme. Jace knows he’s hot and he’s very arrogant . His hatred of all things Mundane (including Clary at first! ) and Downworlders is a weakness if you ask us. In CoFA not only does Jace completely ignore and basically treat Clary like crap but he actually tries to kill her and he dreams of killing her. What is crush worthy about that?

Also…

Ash is a prince of the faerie court. Jace is a shadow hunter which is cool, but it's not nearly as awesome or magical as being a faerie.

Ash while vulnerable isn't nearly as vulnerable as Jace is.

Ash although having a pretty terrible mother, was not raised by the Morgensterns. That could seriously lead to some messed up stuff in future books for Jace.

Ash is much similar to Meghan - they're both faeries and royals. Jace and Clary come from such different backgrounds. They just think differently.

But it boils down to the fact that while Ash may have pushed Meghan away he wasn't a total jerk. He did it because he had to. Jace is arrogant and selfish. And the only reason Jace is better is because of Clary. Ash was just fine on his own.

Also Patricia’s son says He’s a Jerk!

Anything else you’d 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?
 Q:

A: "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:

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

A: “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.  ;-)"

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa Giveaway!! (Signed)

UPDATE: We have a WINNER!!

 Congratulations Valia Lind

you have 48hrs to respond to our e-mail

or we will draw a new name.

Thank you all for participating.

Thank you to all who helped  Ash to victory!! We  couldn't have done it with out you and we will absolutely need your help in the next round against Jace from Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments.  The next round for Ash will take place Monday Aug 8th.

Julie Kagawa has posted the deleted scene from The Iron Queen in celebration of Ash's win on her blog.

As promised we here at Two Chicks On Books are giving away a signed copy of The Iron King. Here are the deets for your chance to win. My original plan was to do the giveaway on Twitter and Facebook. But...I've been informed that we are not able to do giveaways on Facebook or our Page may be deleted. So I had to change things up a bit. 

This how this giveaway will work: On Twitter use the hashtag #VictoriousAsh along with how you plan on helping Ash win in the next round or if you don't have a Twitter you can leave a comment  in this post--> VOTE FOR ASH! letting us know how you plan to help Ash win the next round against Jace. Be sure to leave your name and email address.

The tiny print:

1. Only 1 (one) entry per person whether it is on twitter or a comment on this blog.

2. US entries only, Sorry International but I can't afford shipping costs

3. Giveaway Open from 3:30pm-6:30pmPST

4. All eligible entries will be put into a hat and one of my kiddos will pull out the winning name.

5. Winner will be announced no later than 11:59pm PST on Aug 4th

You can also check out my review or Jaime's review of The Iron Knight by clicking on the links. Good luck to all!!

VOTE FOR ASH!! #AshArsenal in full force!

UPDATE: WE WON!! WELL ASH WON!!! WOOT! WOOT!

Follow us on twitter and/or Facebook for your chance to win a signed copy of The Iron King sometime in the next 24 hours. Thank you to all who turned up to vote for Ash and support this awesome series! It is much appreciated. :) After only getting a about 3 hours sleep though I am headed back to bed for a couple more hours :D

So tomorrow August 3rd  is the next round in The YASisterhood Crush Tourney. Our boy Ash from the Julie Kagawa's totally amazing Iron Fey Series  is up against Patch from Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush Series. So I hear that Patch is pretty cool but NO ONE can be COOLER (yes, a little pun intended) than our ice prince, Ash.  I mean really Ash is the ultimate dream. He's hot, sexy and totally loves and will do ANYTHING for Meghan.

VOTE  FOR ASH and if he wins Two Chicks On Books will be giving away a copy of The Iron King. Also if Ash makes it to the final and wins the tourney we will also giveaway a set of all 3 published Iron Fey books (The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, The Iron Queen).  

Be sure to grab the Ash button on our left sidebar and show your support by putting it on your blog and making it your twitter avi! Feel free to share the love for Ash  on Facebook, blog, Twitter(hashtag #AshArsenal), tumbler, live journal, Google+ or any other social media. Get your friends and family to vote for him, too by sending the link to the tourney ---> http://ya-sisterhood.blogspot.com (hey we can use all the help we can get ;)

Here's our argument for Ash as seen on the YA Sisterhood Website:

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!! Because as he says to Meghan: "You made me feel alive again."

 What is sexier than a guy who pledges his life and very existence to the girl he loves? Not much. Here's a little taste of the true Ash:

"My name is Ashally'darkmyr Tallyn, third son of the Unseelie Court." Though his voice was soft, it never wavered, and I felt breathless at hearing his full name. His True Name. "Let it be known---from this day forth, I vow to protect Meghan Chase, daughter of the Summer King, with my sword, my honor, my life. Her desires are mine. Her wishes are mine. Should even the world stand against her, my blade will be at her side. And should it fail to protect her, let my own existence be forfeit. This I swear, on my honor, my True Name, and my life. From this day on..." His voice went even softer, but I still heard it as though he whispered it into my ear. "I am yours." The Iron Queen

Squall Leonhart from
Final Fantasy; One of
Julie Kagawa's Inspirtations
for Ash

Looks:

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

"...tall and lean, garbed in silver and black. A dark cape fluttered from its shoulders. Through the rain, I caught the barest glimpse of a face: young, pale, strikingly handsome..." The Iron King

"...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, a skillful hunter, he can shoot ice daggers at his enemies as well as freezing them in place, he has mad sword skills that compare to no one 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 him do not live to tell the tale. He's also witty, one of his best and favorite attributes is his sense of humor and sarcasm. 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!! 

What makes your guy better than his competitor?

Ok so we all know how fantastic Ash is he's noble, but also a bit of a bad boy, protevtive, loves Meghan completely, and will risk his life for her.

 Now onto Patch. He is a great advocate and has his crush-worthy moments. He's a bad boy - which always has its positives and negatives. It makes him absolutely mysterious and sexy, but also makes him not ideal boyfriend/crush material. He's not always honest, he's secretive and in being the way he is, he's broken Nora's heart. He is absolutely sexy and intense, but he can appear cold, and cruel, even if he isn't really.

Although he redeemed himself at the end of the first book, he did spend much of his time wanting to kill Nora and that his motivations weren't always honest. Even in the second book, he's secretive, not willing to be up front with Nora about what was going on. She shared her feelings, opened up to him, told him she loved him, and he says nothing. He allows her to believe that something might be going on with Marcie.

In conclusion-
Ash has tried to defend Meghan, Ash's behavior being cold as an Ice Prince has always been in protecting her, even if he screwed up, whereas Patch's behavior wasn't always to protect Nora. In book one, he wanted to kill her! In book two, in protecting her, he actually put her in harms way and also in the process broke her heart.

Besides who is more crush worthy than a Faerie Winter Prince that lives in a magical realm? He lives in a whole other world. He doesn't hang out in pool halls and drink. He battles magical creatures. And even though he's from a cruel world he has a heart that beats for Meghan.

 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.  ;-)"

Jaime's Review of The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa

Ash, former prince of the Winter Court, gave up everything. His title, his home, even his vow of loyalty. All for a girl… and all for nothing.

Unless he can earn a soul.


To cold, emotionless faery prince Ash, love was a weakness for mortals and fools. His own love had died a horrible death, killing any gentler feelings the Winter prince might have had. Or so he thought.

Then Meghan Chase—a half human, half fey slip of a girl— smashed through his barricades, binding him to her irrevocably with his oath to be her knight. And when all of Faery nearly fell to the Iron fey, she severed their bond to save his life. Meghan is now the Iron Queen, ruler of a realm where no Winter or Summer fey can survive.

With the (unwelcome) company of his arch rival, Summer Court prankster Puck, and the infuriating cait sith Grimalkin, Ash begins a journey he is bound to see through to its end— a quest to find a way to honor his solemn vow to stand by Meghan’s side.

To survive in the Iron realm, Ash must have a soul and a mortal body. But the tests he must face to earn these things are impossible. At least, no one has ever passed to tell the tale.

And then Ash learns something that changes everything. A truth that turns reality upside down, challenges his darkest beliefs and shows him that, sometimes, it takes more than courage to make the ultimate sacrifice. Excerpt from Goodreads.

Jaime’s review….

Julie, Julie, Julie you’ve done it again! I didn’t think it could happen 4 times but you wrote another masterpiece. The Iron Knight is not just about Ash’s journey but it is also a tribute to some very loved fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, and last but not least my personal favorite The Neverending Story. I will not tell you what parts but, you’ll see them if you’re familiar with those other stories.

This book was filled with awesomeness! I laughed, cried, jumped for joy, held my breath, and nearly had a heart attack while reading this book! There’s not much Meghan in this one which I suspected because of the title but I found I really didn’t miss her (not saying I don’t love her) but Julie brought some of our old favorites back like Puck and Grimalkin and she added a few new ones one of whom I absolutely fell in love with The Big Bad Wolf! I want him for myself and I loved the interaction between him and Grim.

I don’t need to go into much detail as you all know Julie’s faerie world for locations but, she does introduce more of the wyldwood and the Deep Wyld which are both dark and spooktacular! I know I wouldn’t want to go there alone at night but I might with Ash ;)

I am so sad to see this series end I could have read about these characters and the realms forever but I am happy that we will get a book about Meghan’s brother Ethan so hopefully we’ll see more of our beloved characters. So what’cha waiting for? Go to your nearest bookstore and buy The Iron Knight when it comes out in October! A quick thanks to Harlequin Teen and Netgalley for the e-copy to review :)

Also on a quick side note Ash is in the YA Crush Tourney and his next round is Wednesday August 3rd so please go to the YA Sisterhood Blog and cast your vote for our favorite Ice Prince!