Burn Blog Tour: Review

I'm excited to once again participate in a blog tour for Paula Weston's The Rephaim series! This one's a little bittersweet, because we've arrived at the fourth and final book, Burn. Continue reading for my review of this thrilling series ender!

Burn (The Rephaim #4)
By Paula Weston
Publisher: Tundra Books
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Publication Date: June 7, 2016
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Synopsis: Suddenly, Gaby remembers everything.

For a year she believed she was a backpacker chilling out in Pandanus Beach. Working at the library. Getting over the accident that killed her twin brother.

Then Rafa came to find her and Gaby discovered her true identity as Gabe: one of the Rephaim. Over a hundred years old. Half angel, half human, all demon-smiting badass—and hopelessly attracted to the infuriating Rafa.

Now she knows who faked her memories, and how—and why it’s all hurtling towards a massive showdown between the forces of heaven and hell.

More importantly, she remembers why she’s spent the last ten years wanting to seriously hurt Rafa.

Review: It’s time to show one last bit of cover love for The Rephaim series, as we’ve reached the fourth and final installment, Burn. The cover of Burn reminds me of the cover for the first book, Shadows, which makes perfect sense because we see the series complete a full circle here. And what a thrilling, non-stop tidal wave of a journey it is from the first page to the last page of Burn.

The previous book, Shimmer, ended with one jaw-dropping cliffhanger. After spending three books trying to piece her lost memories together while simultaneously dealing with demons from hell, protagonist Gaby now remembers everything. How she and her twin brother Jude ended up going their separate ways, what brought them together again, and how they both nearly died. All of it. Unsurprisingly, the past holds some very ugly truths for Gaby, particularly the incident leading up to Jude and the Outcasts walking out of the Sanctuary. I winced on Gaby’s behalf quite a few times.

Paula Weston has done a marvelous job pacing this series from the beginning, and especially so with Burn. The novel shifts back and forth between the present and the past as the gaps in Gaby’s memory are filled in. The startling revelations just keep flowing, but they never feel like info dumping. Rather, the book compels you to continue reading because you can’t wait for the next missing fragment of Gaby’s past to drop. I inhaled Burn in three days; I don’t get to binge read books too often anymore, but this book demanded that I not leave it for too long. You know a book has wholly reeled you in when you can never find an ideal spot to place your bookmark.

The ending of Burn was not at all what I’d thought it might be, and I loved how it caught me so completely by surprise. Before the series draws to a close, however, there’s plenty of its signature heart-stopping action. Hell is literally headed for Gaby’s beloved Pan Beach, and it’s going to take the collective efforts of all the Rephaim, both the Outcasts and those still loyal to the fallen angel Nathaniel, to even stand a chance of facing down the approaching horde. As bitterly divided as the two sides of the Rephaim have been, they also realize what’s at stake. Gaby herself has to come to terms with an extremely painful event in the past. She must reconcile the Gabe she once was with the Gaby she is now, and there’s nothing like impending destruction by demons to help put things in the proper perspective.

There are so many things I’m going to miss about this series: Gaby and her amazing strength, Rafa and his brilliant snark (I will especially miss Rafa AND his brilliant snark), the intense, knockout action scenes, the beautiful book covers, and, of course, Weston’s wonderful prose. Although Burn provides a very satisfying conclusion to The Rephaim, it also leaves open the definite possibility of another story. In Burn, the Rephaim learn that prophecy doesn’t necessarily translate to destiny and can be altered by free will, which further raises my hopes of reading more Rephaim chronicles one day.

All in All: The Rephaim series closes on a high note with Burn. Readers who’ve been with the series since Shadows are well rewarded, as Gaby finally has all the missing pieces to her past. The present story line offers its own surprises as well, meaning that you’ll be riveted by Burn from start to finish.

Find Paula Weston:

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Shimmer Blog Tour: Review

I'm so, so excited to once again be part of the blog tour for Paula Weston's fantastic angel series, The Rephaim. Today I'm reviewing Shimmer, the third and penultimate book in the series. You can check out the other stops on the tour by clicking here or on the banner above.

Shimmer (The Rephaim #3)
By Paula Weston
Publisher: Tundra Books
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Publication Date: March 8, 2016
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Synopsis: Gaby thought her life couldn't get more complicated.

She's almost used to the idea that she's not the teenage backpacker she thought she was. She can just about cope with being one of the Rephaim—a 139-year-old half-angel—whose memories have been stolen. She's even coming to grips with the fact that Jude, the brother she's mourned for a year, didn't die at all.

But now Rafa—sexy, infuriating Rafa—is being held, and hurt, by Gatekeeper demons. And Gaby has to get the bitterly divided Rephaim to work together, or Rafa has no chance at all.

Review: As has become traditional with The Rephaim series, I must first take a moment to show some love for the cover. Every book in the series has sported a beauty of a cover, and the one for Shimmer is no exception. Even if I hadn’t already come across the positive advance buzz for the first book in the series, Shadows, back in 2012, I still would have picked it up because the cover is such an eye-catcher.

It’s been a bit of a wait here in the U.S. for Shimmer, a wait made all the more torturous by the cliffhanger ending of book two, Haze. Rafa, my favorite character thanks to his endless supply of snark and high likelihood of causing swoons, has fallen into the hands of demons. Of course I already knew going into Shimmer that the fates of Rafa and Taya, another of the half-human/half-angel Rephaim, weren’t going to be revealed straightaway, but I also wondered how much of a presence Rafa would have in the book. I’m pleased to say that was a non-issue because our amazing protagonist/narrator Gaby continues to anchor the series, even when Rafa isn’t around to supply his usual acerbic (and amusing) commentary.

Gaby always seems to have a full plate of problems to cope with, and Rafa’s capture weighs it down tremendously. She’s only just reunited with her twin brother, Jude, whom she believed had died in a car accident, and now the siblings are scrambling to assemble a plan to bust Rafa out. Gaby and Jude are also still simultaneously working through memory loss, including the circumstances that led them both to be nearly killed. In their previous lives they had a falling out, with Jude and some of the other Rephaim, Rafa among them, splintering off into their own group and becoming known as the Outcasts. All present day Gaby and Jude know is that they’re together again, and their protectiveness of each other after each thinking the other lost forever is especially moving.

As devastated as Gaby is by what’s happened to Rafa and the horrors the demons are very likely subjecting him to, she doesn’t fall apart. Instead she tries to organize a rescue mission, not an easy feat at all when the Rephaim who didn’t walk out with Jude continue to remain loyal to their angelic leader, Nathaniel, a fallen angel with his own agenda. Nathaniel won’t budge on going after Rafa and Taya, even though Nathaniel counts Taya among his faithful Rephaim, unless he literally receives a sign from heaven. The majority of Shimmer takes place at the Sanctuary, home to Nathaniel and his followers, and when the Outcasts arrive there, tensions shoot into the stratosphere. Gaby refuses to allow Rafa and Taya to get lost amidst all of the messy Rephaim politics, though, and she really emerges as a leader here. With the support of Jude and a few other friends, Gaby realizes that they may need to take charge of this situation without the Sanctuary’s backing.

Paula Weston writes wonderfully throughout Shimmer, with the fight scenes especially well done. Sometimes I’ll read a fight sequence and after maybe the third exchange of punches and kicks they all sound the same to me. That’s not the case with this book, however. You truly feel like you’re right there, watching the action play out in front of you. It’s a completely immersive experience, made even more intense by how scary the Rephaim’s demon adversaries are. They’re as terrifying as the hell they were spawned in, but if there’s a single thing the Rephaim, including the Outcasts, agree on, it’s that they’re fierce, formidable warriors and can take on anything that hell throws at them. Seriously—they carry swords around the way regular humans carry cell phones.

I had a very strong feeling that I was going to love Shimmer not only based on how much I’d enjoyed the previous two books but also as soon as I started reading the Rephaim Who’s Who at the beginning of the novel. The descriptions of the characters are so witty, and a few of them are even sarcastic and sound like things Rafa would say. So I was hooked before the story even got underway, and once it did, I became totally lost in this world of angels, half-angels, and demons all over again. There’s zero question that Shimmer was more than worth the wait. Gaby has been a strong heroine from the outset, but Shimmer sees her character development ascend even higher. I’m so thrilled to be back among these characters, and the good news is, the series finale, Burn, is only a few months away!

All in All: We have another winning installment in this series here! If you haven’t checked out The Rephaim yet, I urge you to do so. I’ve read quite a few angel books that just didn’t do anything special with such a rich mythology, but Paula Weston has created a thrilling, compelling series that I will miss very much once it’s concluded.

Haze Blog Tour: Review

Today I'm thrilled to be reviewing Paula Weston's Haze, the second book in her amazing The Rephaim series! You can follow the other stops on the tour by clicking here or on the tour banner above. All of the bloggers on the tour were also given a fun quiz to find out which character from the series they're most like, and you can check out my result below, following the review!

Haze (The Rephaim #2)
By Paula Weston
Publisher: Tundra Books
Publication Date: September 9, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Synopsis: Gaby Winters' life used to be pretty normal.

She lived with her best friend. She worked in a library. She was slowly getting over the death of her twin brother, Jude. And then Rafa came looking for her.

With him, her blood-soaked nightmares stopped. But now they are reality. She is one of the Rephaim—a wingless half angel, descended from the Fallen. Demons exist and they are hunting her.

She knows she's alive when she's meant to be dead. And that means maybe Jude is too. So why isn't she out there looking for him?

Review: First, can I gush a little about how pretty the cover of Haze is? I could stare at it and admire it for hours. OK, I’m good now!

It’s been about a year since I read Paula Weston's Shadows, and what an agonizing wait it’s been to get more of this story of angels and demons and memory loss/recovery. Shadows had an utterly addictive quality to it, and Haze was just as hard to put down. Like its predecessor, Haze features perfect pacing that sates enough of your curiosity to keep you riveted to the book without revealing all of its cards. For me, a lot of the fun in reading this series has been trying to puzzle out exactly what’s going on right alongside the protagonist, Gaby. These are not the sort of books where you’re ten steps ahead of the heroine and rolling your eyes as she struggles to put foreshadowed clue #1 and foreshadowed clue #2 together. On the contrary, Gaby is much smarter than that, as well as smart enough to know not to implicitly trust all of the faces that keep popping up from a past that she can’t fully recall.

Gaby may be coming to terms with the fact that she’s one of the Rephaim, the half-human offspring of fallen angels, but her life continues to become more and more complicated. Her twin brother, Jude, who supposedly died in the car accident that left Gaby seriously injured, may in fact be alive. Gaby’s ensuing search for him figures prominently in Haze, but the novel doesn’t forget to revisit some unresolved plotlines from Shadows, either. In no way has Gaby seen the last of both friendly and not-so-friendly Rephaim, as well as the demons who once haunted her dreams but are now all too real. Her interactions with the other Rephaim are especially intriguing to read about because all is not harmonious among them, and they’re essentially split into two groups. Of course each badmouths the other, making it difficult for Gaby, and the reader, to figure out who to trust. And then there’s Rafa.

As the Rephaim who appeared out of nowhere into Gaby’s life at the beginning of Shadows, Rafa has been a constant—and most enigmatic—presence in both books. There are things he knows about Gaby’s past and their past that he keeps tucked away in that lovely head of his. He can be so exasperating, antagonistic, hilarious, and swoon-inducing, and I love all of these facets to his character, particularly the snarkiness. Sarcastic guys may not be to everyone’s liking, but they are to mine, and that’s why Rafa and I get along so well. Even if I didn’t already love the series for its deft storytelling, its version of angels, and the clever chapter titles, I’d love it because of Rafa.

Once again, I found myself absorbed by the mystery of Gaby’s past as she worked to reconcile the Gabe whom the other Rephaim knew with the Gaby she believed herself to be. The suspense only deepens in Haze, culminating in a cliffhanger that still pains me terribly when I think about it. You’d better believe that I’m counting down the days until Shimmer arrives in the US.

All in All: I love Paula Weston’s storytelling and characters. The latter are quite numerous, but she gives them such distinct personalities that you never have to stop and sort out who’s who. And you certainly never confuse Rafa with anyone else!

And now to reveal the Rephaim character I'm most like . . . .

We learn quite a bit more about Jude in Haze, and I think my quiz result is spot-on!

Photo Credit: Celia Southcombe, Flow Photography

Find Paula Weston:

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This Is Sarah Blog Tour: Excerpt

Today I'm thrilled to be a part of the blog tour for Ally Malinenko's upcoming contemporary novel, This Is Sarah! Read on below for an excerpt from the book, and be sure to add it to your TBR list!

This Is Sarah
By Ally Malinenko
Publisher: BookFish Books
Goodreads

Synopsis: When Colin Leventhal leaned out his bedroom window on the night of May 12th and said goodbye to his girlfriend, he never expected it would be forever. But when Sarah Evans goes missing that night, Colin's world unravels as he transforms from the boyfriend next door to the main police suspect. Then one year later, at her memorial service, Colin makes a phone call that could change everything. Is it possible that Sarah is still alive? And if so, how far will he go to bring her back?

As Colin struggles with this possibility, across the street, Sarah’s little sister, Claire learns how to navigate the strange new landscape of life without her sister. While her parents fall apart, Claire remains determined to keep going, even if it kills her.

THIS IS SARAH serves as a meditation on loss, love, and what it means to say goodbye.

** Excerpt **

I get up early to run, because it’s easier in the morning. There's no one up yet at five am, and the streets belong to me. I don’t even bring music anymore. I only want to hear the steady thwack of my sneakers on the pavement, the rustle of leaves in the breeze and the huff of air coming out of my lungs. It sets up a rhythm that allows my brain to shut off for a while so my mind stays empty.

Not thinking feels good. It’s one of the few things that still feels good.

I crest the hill at the top of Cedarhurst and pick up speed going down. My lungs feel clean and clear, and I think about sprinting the last five or six blocks back to my driveway. My energy seems a little low, but I figured I can probably push it.

The sound of my feet hitting the pavement intensifies and I pump my arms hard, small tears forming in my eyes from the wind. I clear my mind. I am no longer Colin. I’m just muscle, tissue and bone; a complex and delicate machine pushing its way against gravity and inertia, covering distance on this rock floating in the darkness of an ever-expanding space.

When Claire pulls her bike alongside me I nearly jump out of my skin. Where the hell did she come from? She pedals hard, riding off the seat, her blonde hair whipping back. She passes me and looks back and smiles. As the distance between us grows, I’m overcome with loss, and a sort of panic, like I need to catch up to her. I’m not sure what it is, but I watch her move away from me, her blonde hair streaming, her legs working the pedals and every muscle in my body screams to catch her.

Suddenly Claire is everything in the world, everything beautiful, alive, peaceful, and good, and it’s all getting away from me.

The farther she gets from me, the closer she gets to the monsters and all I want in the world is for Claire to always be safe.

Jesus Christ, I just want to be able to save one of them.

She looks back at me once and smiles before pumping the pedals again. In that moment, that small bright moment, her hair and her smile reflecting the early morning sun, she looks just like Sarah. Just like Claire looked that day in the hallway.

Suddenly I feel so hollow and empty, carved out like the husk of some dead cicada. I watch her get away from me and feel more lost than ever before. She rounds the bend and disappears from my line of sight, something inside of me snaps and I stumble forward. My feet now clumsy, my balance thrown off, until I stop, bent, heaving, coughing, spitting foam, my heart wild inside me. In my head, an image forms of Sarah when I made her laugh so hard she nearly choked on her sandwich at the diner.

That was Sarah.

Sarah and me, in a moment we won’t have again. A moment that was once real but now feels like it belonged to another life. Neither of us foresaw it ending this way.

The year before or the week before or the day before. We never saw it coming.

If I knew when she stood on that driveway, staring up at me, with me hanging out of the window looking down at her, if I knew, I would have told her everything.

About Ally Malinenko

Ally Malinenko is the author of the poetry collection The Wanting Bone (Six Gallery Press) and the children's fantasy Lizzy Speare and the Cursed Tomb (Antenna Books). She lives in Brooklyn with her husband.

Website | Twitter | BookFish Books

Knight Assassin Blog Tour: Book Spotlight & Giveaway

Today I'm spotlighting Rima Jean's Knight Assassin as part of the blog tour organized by Rockstar Book Tours. Read on to find out more about the novel, and don't forget to enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card! To follow the rest of the tour, click here or on the tour banner above.

Knight Assassin
By Rima Jean
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Publication Date: March 4, 2014
Pages: 216
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:Seventeen-year-old Zayn has special powers she cannot control—powers that others fear and covet. Powers that cause the Templar Knights to burn Zayn’s mother at the stake for witchcraft. When a mysterious stranger tempts Zayn to become the first female member of the heretical Assassins, the chance to seek her revenge lures her in. She trains to harness her supernatural strength and agility, and then enters the King of Jerusalem's court in disguise with the assignment to assassinate Guy de Molay, her mother’s condemner. But once there, she discovers Earic Goodwin, the childhood friend who still holds her heart, among the knights—and his ocean-blue eyes don’t miss a thing. Will vengeance be worth the life of the one love she has left?

About Rima Jean

Rima Jean received a degree in archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. After a dismal law school experience, she floundered a bit before accepting her calling: storytelling. She resides in Houston with her wonderful husband and two beautiful daughters, where she writes, edits, and dabbles in digital art.

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

** Giveaway **

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Game Plan Blog Tour: Review

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Natalie Corbett Sampson's Game Plan! I have a review of the book for you today, but first here's a little more information about this Young Adult contemporary novel:

Game Plan
By Natalie Corbett Sampson
Publisher: Fierce Ink Press

* A copy was provided for review for the blog tour.

Synopsis: Just because the play goes wrong, doesn't mean you quit the game.

Ella Parker seems to have everything: great friends, an awesome family and a star position on her high school basketball team. The only thing missing from her life is a boyfriend. That changes once she catches the eye of Sam Cleveland. With Sam by her side Ella has it all. When a drunken night results in an unwanted pregnancy, her perfect life is turned upside down and she’s faced with an impossible decision.

Katherine Frayne has always wanted to be a mother. But with the last results of her in vitro fertilization pointing to no chance of a baby, her hopes are dashed. Then her husband Danny suggests they adopt. At first Kat is resistant, but she soon warms to the idea.

Ella and Katherine must navigate their lives amidst tough decisions, the consequences of which not only affect them but those they love the most.

Review: If you’ve happened to read reviews for some of my less than successful attempts at reading realistic fiction, you might recall that the contemporary genre has to work rather hard to command my reading attention. Game Plan caught my eye because of the opportunity to view its narrative from two perspectives—that of Ella, a pregnant teenager, and Katherine and Danny, a childless couple hoping to adopt. I thought it would be interesting to see how their lives converged, and I wasn’t disappointed with that aspect of the novel. There’s certainly a touching story here, and in a book packed with so much emotion, I think it’s careful not to come off as cloying. I did have a few minor issues with the book, but they weren’t enough to lessen the story’s impact.

The novel’s pacing is something I struggled with occasionally. Game Plan chronicles almost a year in the lives of its three main characters, and there were times when I felt that the month-by-month format was a bit too much. It takes Ella quite a while to realize she’s pregnant, and then it’s an even longer wait page-wise until she gives birth. While the book maintained my interest throughout, there were spots where its momentum seemed to stall. The later chapters moved at a steadier speed, and they were the most absorbing to read.

It also took me some time to warm up to Ella. In the beginning, I was frustrated with her because she couldn’t see that Sam, the father of her baby, wasn’t exactly decent boyfriend material from the get-go. There was something about him that made me dislike him instantly, and with every subsequent chapter, his actions only sank my opinion of him lower and lower. I was also bothered by Ella’s inability to see how fake and shallow her “friend” Karen was until Karen blatantly turned on her. I do have to say that Ella matures significantly over the course of the novel and is a much wiser character by the end of it.

For me, the emotional center of the book was Katherine and Danny’s story. Their struggle to become parents is just heartbreaking. They go through an anguishing cycle of being considered as adoptive parents only to receive the call that they were not the couple chosen. Each disappointment edges them closer to their breaking point, which is gut-wrenching to see. Whereas I felt that Ella’s side of the narrative sometimes became sidetracked in subplots, such as her developing romantic relationship with Charlie, her brother’s longtime best friend, I thought Katherine and Danny’s tale was more tightly focused and flowed smoother.

Overall, Game Plan was a satisfying read that explored some heavy topics without turning into one big cliché. Including the view of prospective adoptive parents in a novel about teen pregnancy was a definite asset and what I liked most about the book.

All in All: If you enjoy contemporary fiction that both breaks and warms your heart, you might want to give this a try.

Find Natalie Corbett Sampson:

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Colony East Blog Tour: Review

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Scott Cramer's Colony East, organized by CBB Book Promotions! I have a review of the novel for you today, and don't forget to enter the giveaway below for your chance to win an Amazon gift card and eBooks of Colony East and the first book in the series, Night of the Purple Moon. You can follow the rest of the tour by checking out the schedule.

Colony East (The Toucan Trilogy #2)
By Scott Cramer
Publication Date: October 2013
Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Goodreads

* A copy was provided for review for the blog tour.

Synopsis: In a terrifying world where an epidemic has killed off most of the world's adults, fifteen-year-old Abby struggles to keep her brother and sister safe.

When a new, deadly disease spreads among the survivors, Abby must make the dangerous journey to Colony East, an enclave of hidden scientists caring for a small group of children for reasons unknown.

Abby fears that time is running short for the victims, but she's soon to learn that time is running out for everyone outside Colony East.

Review: Wow—what an impressive follow-up Scott Cramer has written to Night of the Purple Moon! Colony East handily casts aside any doubts about Second Book Syndrome, hitting all the right notes in terms of plot and character development. The best part is, the novel accomplishes both of these things without falling back on dystopian tropes, which I’ve seen happen once too often with series in the genre.

Colony East literally ventures into new territory, with parts of the story taking place a distance away from Castine Island. I thought changing up the setting was absolutely brilliant; it allowed us to see how other survivors were coping with the fallout of the comet that decimated the adult population in Night of the Purple Moon. Being a former New Yorker, I was thrilled to discover that New York City was one of the new locales, though the book’s depiction of the city is quite startling. The Navy and the CDC have teamed up to build a future for the children left behind in the comet’s wake. To this end, New York has been turned into Colony East, a highly organized operations hub that selectively chooses who is allowed within its walls. The kids are sorted into companies and put on a daily regimen, as if they were soldiers. While the living conditions in Colony East may be better than those outside of it, trusting its leaders without question poses its own kind of danger, something that Abby learns all too harshly.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how young Abby and Jordan are, given how quickly they’ve had to basically become adults, or at least act like adults and make adult decisions. Sister and brother continue to demonstrate a remarkable amount of maturity here; even little Toucan is growing up fast. Once again, the Leigh siblings are tested by extreme circumstances, and once again, they more than meet the challenges. I really have to admire Abby’s determination to help everyone and anyone; she’s just this incredibly good young lady with a huge heart. That’s not to say that Jordan is some sort of bad guy because he definitely isn’t. I think he has a more pragmatic perspective on life whereas Abby tends to look for the positive aspects in a situation first. All personality differences between the two are forgotten, of course, during times of adversity, and at this point in the trilogy, the Leighs have become experts at getting through them.

I applaud Scott Cramer for so skillfully broadening the scope of the story that began in Night of the Purple Moon. Colony East not only expands the world, but it also turns up the intensity and action a few good notches. Considering how fantastic this sequel was, I can’t wait to see what the next book, Generation M, has in store for its readers.

All in All: I’ve been very picky about the dystopians I’ve read this year, but this one was a must-read, and I was not disappointed in the least.

About Scott Cramer

Scott Cramer has written feature articles for national magazines, covered school committee meetings for a local newspaper, published haiku and poetry, optioned a screenplay, and produced customer reference accounts for a big computer company. His pursuit of a good story has put him behind the stick of an F-18, flying a Navy Blue Angels’ fighter jet, and he has trekked through the Peruvian mountains in search of an ancient Quechua festival featuring a condor. He is the author of Night of the Purple Moon and Colony East. Scott and his wife have two daughters and reside outside Lowell, Massachusetts (birthplace of Jack Kerouac) in an empty nest/zoo/suburban farm/art studio with too many surfboards in the garage.

Find Scott Cramer:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Quantum Entanglement Blog Tour: Author Interview with Liesel K. Hill

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Quantum Entanglement, the second book in the Interchron series! Today I'll be chatting with author Liesel K. Hill, and be sure to click on the link below for your chance to win a copy of the book on Goodreads!

Quantum Entanglement (Interchron #2)
By Liesel K. Hill
Publication Date: September 17, 2013
Amazon | Smashwords | Goodreads

Synopsis:Five months after traveling to a post-apocalyptic future where collectives reign supreme and individuals have been hunted to the verge of extinction, Maggie Harper was returned to her own time until the threat to her life could be neutralized. She thought Marcus and the others would return for her within a few weeks, and now she’s beginning to worry.

When travelers from the future finally show up to collect her, it’s not who she expected. With the return of her memories, she wants more than ever to see Marcus again, but a snake-like woman whose abilities are a perfect match for Maggie’s, an injured Traveler, and decades of civil unrest to wade through all stand in the way of their reunion.

Meanwhile, Marcus and Karl traipse through the countryside, trying to neutralize Colin, who’s promised to brutalize and murder Maggie if he can get his hands on her. When a collective woman is left for dead, Marcus heals her, hoping she’ll be the key to killing Colin and bringing Maggie back. But she may prove as much a hindrance as a help.

The team struggles to get their bearings, but things happen faster than they know. The collectives are coalescing, power is shifting, and the one called B is putting sinister plans into action. If the team can’t reunite and get a handle on the situation, their freedom and individuality—perhaps their very identity—will be ripped away before they can catch their breath.

** Interview with Liesel K. Hill **

Hi Liesel! Thanks so much for answering a few questions today!

Of course! I’m glad to be here, Lee. Thanks so much for having me. :D

Did you face any particular challenges in writing a sequel?

Sure I did! While I’ve done enough writing now that actually writing a new novel isn’t as hard as it once was, sequels have their own, unique set of dangers. You want to make certain the story doesn’t bog down; that your book doesn’t suffer from “book 2” syndrome, as they call it in trilogies. You must propel the reader forward and keep them immersed in the world you’ve created. Easier said than done.

For me, I also had to deal more heavily with time travel, which is always tricky, and delve more deeply into several characters’ backgrounds, which must be done with both delicacy and conviction. It’s definitely a balancing act.

As a reader, what elements do you like to see in a dystopian novel?

In dystopia, the stakes are the key issue. If the biggest worry for the character is not going to the Friday night dance, well that’s fine for YA contemporary romance, but dystopia is about post-apocalyptic worlds. It’s one character or a select few against a corrupt institution. The stakes must always be earth-shattering—death or enslavement—not just for the main characters, but for the entire world, and all those they hold dear.

Of course, the characters need to have an emotion reaction to what’s happening as well. The stakes must be emotional as well as physical. And a little romance always makes the journey more fun.

What do you love most about writing dystopia?

The scope and grandeur of it. My innermost drama queen can spill out onto the page with abandon. Everything is always so dark and bleak in dystopia. I know not everyone is into that, but for me, it’s just that much more for the characters to overcome. It’s kind of the ultimate life analogy: bleak world, everything going wrong, humans who must fight for what they want—usually their freedom and their lives—in order to make a better world and find peace and happiness. Who doesn’t love stories like that?

If you could swap places with any of the Interchron characters for a day, who would it be and why?

Oh definitely Maggie because 1) Marcus is hot, 2) Karl would be a really fun guy to be friends with, and 3) she has awesome neurochemical powers. I’d like to use them just once, even if it was just to knock over a turtle or something.

If you were at a dinner party with your characters, what topics would you want to discuss with them (and what are the odds that Colin would crash the party?)?

I think I’d like to wax philosophical about the moral consequences of individuality vs. collectivism. I’d also like to know how all their powers work and bug them until they instruct me on how to tap into my own. And I’d ask Karl to do comedic impressions for me.

As for Colin, let’s just call him a B-movie villain. He’ll probably keep popping up in unexpected places; the bug that just wouldn’t die. So the likelihood of him crashing the party would be high. In a way, though, that’d be okay with me. If I’m Maggie, I have the ability to defeat him, and I’d like to take him on. Just to say that I did.

Can you describe in five words or less what you hope readers' reactions will be after they finish reading Quantum Entanglement?

“OMG! Where is the next book!” — If they say that, or something like it, I’ve done my job.

Thank you again for your time, Liesel! I really appreciate it!

Sure thing, Lee! Thanks for having me here. Quantum Entanglement is on sale for $0.99 during the tour, so I hope your readers will snatch it up while it’s cheap! Happy reading, everyone! :D

Find Liesel K. Hill:

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

Quantum Entanglement

by Liesel K. Hill

Giveaway ends September 30, 2013.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Shadows Blog Tour: Review

I am extremely excited to be a part of the blog tour for Paula Weston's Shadows, the first book in the Rephaim series! I'd been eagerly awaiting its release in the U.S. and was beyond thrilled for the opportunity to review it for the tour, which you can follow by checking out the schedule.

Shadows (The Rephaim #1)
By Paula Weston
Publisher: Tundra Books
Publication Date: September 10, 2013
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

* A copy was provided by the publisher for review for the blog tour.

Synopsis: It’s been almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die. In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn’t help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts. And then Rafa comes to town and tells her things about her brother and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby? The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares.

Review: I don’t want to jinx myself, but I daresay that I’m officially on a lucky streak with angel books. A little voice inside my head says it’s about time, given the number of so-so reads that I tried before finally finding some that clicked with me. I’ve always thought of angels as fascinating beings, but quite a few of the books I read just didn’t make them seem all that interesting. This is not the case with Shadows, which not only delivers a captivating take on angel lore but also vividly brings that lore to life all while cleverly unraveling the story of a young woman who doesn’t even realize she’s forgotten who she really is until a stranger with a somehow familiar face appears. Intriguing premise? Oh, yes.

I’ve never been big on books that deal with memory loss because usually one of two things happens: either you figure out the entire plot before the affected character does and then have to wait impatiently for the character to catch up, or all of the information is saved until the last possible moment, when it’s dumped on your head all at once. With Shadows, I truly felt like I was learning things at the same time as the character who can’t recall her past, in this case the protagonist, Gaby. In the beginning, I was as unsettled as Gaby was when Rafa, a mysterious guy claiming to have been friends with Gaby’s deceased twin brother, Jude, turned up. Rafa is simultaneously someone whom Gaby has and has not met—if you count seeing Rafa’s face in your nightmares as you fight demonic creatures with him as having made his acquaintance before. The novel excels at rebuilding Gaby’s past piece by piece with spot-on pacing that gives you just the right amount of details at a time, neither overwhelming you nor leaving you without a fresh morsel of info for too long. And the surprising turns the story takes—I loved all of the plot twists and how they weren’t simply thrown in for shock value only to be abandoned later. The plotting here is very, very well thought-out.

The angel mythology in Shadows is based on the story of the Nephilim, the half-human children of fallen angels, and these “kids” heavily embrace the warrior side of their angel blood in the novel. If you’ve ever seen depictions of angels in art where they’re wielding swords and managing to look both ethereally beautiful and ferocious at the same time, these are the beings you’ll encounter here. The action in the book was intense, and I absolutely loved it. Who says katanas and poleaxes don’t belong in an angel book?

The tension between Gaby and Rafa was fantastic. They squabble and insult each other A LOT, which is highly entertaining, and their bickering isn’t helped by Rafa’s arrogance. There were many times when I wanted to assist Gaby in smacking the smugness out of him, but guess who had the last laugh by the end of the book? That’s right—Rafa—because he won me over by repeatedly demonstrating that a rather decent fellow lurked under all of that swagger. Kudos also go to Gaby for her determination to discover the truth about what happened to her and her brother and for remaining strong despite how frustrating and frightening it must be to try to recover so many years of lost memories.

Shadows is a winning debut novel that illustrates how absorbing an angel book can be when it’s as creative and skillfully plotted as this one is. The suspense, supercharged action, and gasp-inducing revelations made this such a thrill to read. I desperately need the sequel, Haze, NOW.

All in All: Another awesome angel read! And it’s only the first book! I cannot wait to find out what other surprises this series brings, and I’m sure there will be plenty of them.

Find Paula Weston:

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The Forgotten Ones Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Laura Howard's The Forgotten Ones, organized by Xpresso Book Tours! I have a review for you today, plus there's a giveaway for you to enter below. Also be sure to follow the rest of the tour by checking out the tour schedule.

The Forgotten Ones (The Danaan Trilogy #1)
By Laura Howard
Publication Date: April 30, 2013
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

* A copy was provided for review for the blog tour.

Synopsis: Allison O’Malley’s plan is to go to grad school so she can get a good job and take care of her schizophrenic mother. She has carefully closed herself off from everything else, including a relationship with Ethan, who she’s been in love with for as long as she can remember.

What is definitely not part of the plan is the return of her long-lost father, who claims he can bring Allison’s mother back from the dark place her mind has gone. Allison doesn’t trust her father, so why would she believe his stories about a long forgotten Irish people, the Tuatha de Danaan? But truths have a way of revealing themselves. Secrets will eventually surface. And Allison must learn to set aside her plan and work with her father if there is even a small chance it could restore her mother’s sanity.

Review: At first glance, The Forgotten Ones is a poignant story about Allison O’Malley, a young woman who’s resigned herself to a life of caring for her schizophrenic mother. There’s much more to Allison’s mother’s condition than meets the eye, though, and it involves the Tuatha de Danaan, also known as fairies. The novel is a deft mix of contemporary and Celtic folklore, with the latter element introduced in a gradual manner that smoothly bridges the two facets of the book.

Even if the novel hadn’t incorporated fantasy into it, I still would have found Allison’s story compelling. Being a caregiver for a parent was something that I could completely relate to, and I really felt for her because of everything she was sacrificing, including a potential relationship with her longtime mutual crush, Ethan. Allison is determined to put her mom before anything and anyone else, and it was sad watching her try not to grow too attached to Ethan.

Luckily for Allison, she has the support of a close-knit family. Her strong relationship with her grandparents was especially moving. They’ve been looking after both her and her mother for years, and Allison wants nothing more than to ease their load. Allison’s family life becomes even more complicated, however, when Liam, the father she’s never met, suddenly shows up, claiming that he can help her mother.

It’s at this point that the fantasy aspect picks up, and, having Irish roots on both sides of my family, I really liked how the book went with a Celtic take on fairies. Allison quickly learns that not all of the Danaan are harmless, and one jealous, vengeful Danaan in particular has had a large hand in what happened to Allison's mother, Elizabeth. We get to meet quite a few Danaans as well as travel to their realm, Tír na n’Óg, and both this world and its inhabitants are fascinating. Despite some of the fairies seeming to bear no ill will toward humans, they don’t give off the sense that they’re entirely trustworthy, either. By the sound of the novel’s open ending, it appears that Allison isn’t finished dealing with them, which made me happy in a way because I’d definitely like to revisit Tír na n’Óg.

From the outset, Allison was a very relatable protagonist, and that initial connection with her drew me into her story quickly. The fantasy element was also well done, with a fresh, Celtic twist to it. The Forgotten Ones is a reminder that, though fairies can be cunning and wreak all sorts of havoc for the humans some of them enjoy preying on, they certainly add spark to a narrative.

All in All: If you’re looking for something a little different in a fairy book, try this one. It’s neither a straightforward contemporary nor a straightforward fantasy but rather a nice combination of the two.

About Laura Howard

Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.

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Hold Tight Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

I'm excited to be a part of the blog tour for Cherie Colyer's Hold Tight, organized by AToMR Tours! I have a review of Hold Tight for you today, and you can enter the giveaway below for your chance to win a print copy of Hold Tight and the previous book, Embrace, (open to U.S. and Canada) or an eBook copy of Embrace (open internationally). Also be sure to follow the rest of the tour by checking out the tour schedule.

Hold Tight (Embrace #2)
By Cherie Colyer
Publisher: Omnific Publishing
Publication Date: August 20, 2013
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

* A copy was provided for review for the blog tour.

Synopsis: What’s one little spell?

When you’re new to magic, one spell can be the difference between getting what you want . . . and ruining the lives of everyone you love.

Sixteen-year-old Madison has just embraced her magical powers. The trick now is learning how to control them. She and her boyfriend—and fellow witch—can’t even enjoy a simple kiss without getting shocked when their powers collide. Instead of mastering her new skills, though, Madison is stuck watching her kid brother and doing chores.

But being a witch does have its benefits. With a simple spell, Madison instantly conjures the help she needs around the house. Or so she thinks. Her idea of “help” invites trouble of its own as a pair of dangerous yet enticing beings enter her life. When a classmate disappears soon afterwards, Madison discovers she's the next victim of a threat she's powerless to resist . . . and there’s nothing it won’t kill to make her surrender.

Caught in the crossfire between two dashing but deadly creatures, Madison must figure out which one to trust and how to rid her world of the other—before one of them destroys her and everyone she cares about.

Review: I really enjoyed reading Cherie Colyer’s Embrace last year, and I was thrilled when I heard that there was going to be a sequel. Embrace was such a fresh take on witches and magic, and I loved how the book slowly revealed what sort of paranormal activity was going on. The mystery element was so much fun, and I looked forward to seeing what kinds of surprises awaited me in Hold Tight.

Madison, Isaac, Kaylee, and Josh are all back, and I really love the friendship between the four of them. Just as Embrace did, Hold Tight presents a balanced portrait of these characters; sure, the supernatural is very real for them, but we get to see them as regular teenagers, too. It’s the latter side of her life that ends up causing trouble for Madison. When juggling school, helping out at home, and dating Isaac start becoming overwhelming, she secretly borrows Isaac’s fae book and summons a faery to help her around the house. At first the arrangement with Brea, the faery who appears, seems fine, but all too soon Madison learns that one has to exercise extreme caution when dealing with these creatures.

The faeries depicted here are more the type who’ll trick you into abandoning the human world for theirs than the kind who grant wishes with no expectation of something in return. One faery in particular has an ax to grind with Isaac and is determined to exact revenge. The fae are a welcome addition to the series as adversaries, and pretty formidable ones at that, yet they don’t steal the book away from the witches. There’s still plenty of spell casting and other witchcraft, and it’s a thrill watching it go up against fae magic.

I’d hoped that there would be a twist in Hold Tight à la finding out that Isaac was a witch in Embrace, and Hold Tight didn’t disappoint in delivering one. A certain character totally caught me off guard; it was apparent that this individual was hiding something very important, but I never would have guessed what it was. I did try to puzzle it out, but I wasn’t all that upset over my lack of sleuthing skills because I really liked being surprised.

The tone of Hold Tight grows quite serious in places, and Madison faces some of her biggest challenges to date. Her trials, and she does undergo a lot here, only strengthen her, though. That’s precisely the sort of character development I like to see with a series, and this series moves forward very nicely.

All in All: Hold Tight is a strong follow-up to Embrace that deftly adds some troublesome faeries to its existing paranormal element. I’d love to see the series continue, especially with this book’s introduction of an intriguing new character who wasn’t at all what I’d thought.

About Cherie Colyer

Cherie Colyer is the author of YA paranormal thriller/romance, EMBRACE (available now), and HOLD TIGHT (August 2013), from Omnific Publishing. Check out her website and blog for news on her books and bonus material. Follow Cherie on Twitter and/or Facebook for updates on writing, book and special offers.

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