Obsidian

by Jennifer L. Armentrout (blog, website, twitter)
Book I in the  Lux  series
Genre: YA SciFi
November 29th 2011 by Entangled Publishing
Get your own amazon (Kindle, Paperback)
synopsis from goodreads

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is…

I believe you know how it is: You finish one awesome book  from an author, then you have this strong feeling of withdrawal which leads to you investigating all her  or his other books to get back this awesome feeling while reading her/his books.

Yes, it happened to all of us and this is how I ended up reading Obsidian, although I couldn’t care less about Aliens at first. But I did care so much for Mrs Armentrout who enchanted me with her writing! Yesterday, I told you how much I loved her first book Half-Blood and now I’m going to tell you how much I loved Obsidian!

Sweet Katy – who is not afraid to talk back..

Daemon! You never met a character like him before..

Aliens, Love, Friendship and secret societies.

Bottom Line

 

“Waiting on” Wednesday is hosted weekly by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Today, I’d like to share this two books with you that I’m most excited about.

Both books are from the wonderful Jennifer L. Armentrout and I reviewed her first book
Half Blood yesterday and today I reviewed Obsidian!

Onyx

Expected publication: August 14th 2012 by Entangled Teen

Can we take a moment and drool over this awesome guy on the cover? 

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarre connection. I’ve sworn him off even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But against all common sense, I’m falling for him. Hard.

Our relationship issues aren’t out biggest problem…

The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And when a new boy shows up a school with a secret of his own, things get complicated fast. I need to choose between my own instincts and Daemon’s.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. Daemon’s never going to stop searching until gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies

Pure

There is need. And then there is Fate…

Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn’t exactly awesome–especially when Alexandria’s “other half” is everywhere she goes. Seth’s in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom–so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do–and sacrifice–for her.

When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies–lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon… and Alex. And if that and hordes of aether-sucking monsters didn’t blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude… or killing her.

When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone

Seriously, I can’t freaking wait for both books to come out. I just recently discovered the awesomeness that is Jennifer L. Armentrout and I’m just so much in love with her, her writing and her characters! 

So, now tell me what you are waiting for!!

Much Love,

Half-Blood

Get Your Own:amazon (Kindle, Paperback) (only 3.99 for the eBook!)

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem–staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Think Vampire Academy just in Greek and not in Russian… and no Vampires..

Alex! Bad-ass, awesome, kick-ass, stubborn and full of snark!

Aidan!.. and the love, the romance and .. the love!

Secondary Characters? Yes! And they are awesome!

The Plot? Yep, awesome too!

Bottom Line:

 

Today I’d like to welcome Meredith Zeitlin author of the fun YA contemporary Novel Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters, which comes out March 1rst by Putnam’s.

I’m super happy she’s here today to share her story how she got published with us:

WHAT WAS YOUR JOURNEY TO GETTING PUBLISHED LIKE?

by Meredith Zeitlin (Freshman Year and Other Unnatural Disasters)

What’s funny about this (and by funny, I mean tragic) is that in the middle of the story I’m going to tell you, I did an interview where I was asked this same question.

At the time, I thought the journey was almost over, so I said this:

“I’m in the editing stage right now. I technically have until December ’09 to turn in a final manuscript… Hopefully, it will be out sometime in 2010. Fingers crossed!”

Hilarious, right? Since it’s now 2012 and all?

But I’ll come back to this part in a bit.

I used to babysit for an amazing little girl… who is now taller than I am, by the way. (How did this happen?!?) Anyway, I would read her YA books while she did her homework… and with few exceptions, I found myself very bummed out by them. I thought they seemed cookie-cutter and not very well-written and, most importantly, not at all like the books I grew up with, which were  filled with relatable characters who were kooky and awkward and desperately trying to figure things out. Instead these were all about super rich and sophisticated kids, the likes of which I certainly never met when I was fourteen.

Since then, I’ve been turned on to some amazing contemporary YA writers – they are definitely out there! But at the time, I was so disappointed. I thought, maybe I’ll write something myself.

So I did.

My friend Ellen had recently gotten a book deal, so I was able to pump her for advice on what steps to take. I queried agents. I crossed every digit I had. And I got really lucky – I signed with an agent, and she pitched the book, and an editor at Putnam  bought it.

It was amazing.

And then… things started to crumble a bit.

Editing is hard, period. Editing when you slowly come to realize that you and the person you’re working with have a VERY different idea of what the end goal is… is like sticking your hand in a meat grinder. A meat grinder that keeps insisting it isn’t a meat grinder at all, but is actually a warm, soothing lanolin bath.

So now we’re back to the aforementioned interview. At that time, I had just spent two months completely rewriting the book in a TOTALLY different narrative style, as directed – and approved – by my editor. I liked the new direction, but it was not at all like the original draft, or the book you’d read today. About six months later, my editor finally got in touch to tell me he wasn’t really sure why I’d done this rewrite. Whose idea was that, exactly? I was gobsmacked. So was my agent. I had a bit of a nervous breakdown at that point. I painted my entire apartment – which has 12 foot ceilings – by myself. I ate a LOT of candy. I made a collection of voodoo dolls. (Okay, not really. But I came close.)

And then I went back to the original version and worked from there. And I turned in a new draft. And waited… and waited… and then I found out my editor had been let go. In an email.

So. I had no idea what would happen next. Would I have to start all over? Would Putnam still even want the book without the attached editor? Could I stand one more well-meaning friend asking me, “When’s your book coming out again? Any day now, right?”

I got really lucky – again. The new publisher, Jennifer Besser, came in and she elected to work on the book herself. My former editor’s assistant, THE AMAZING SHAUNA (that’s her magician name that I just made up), became Jen’s assistant. And this time, things clicked.

Unfortunately, the roster for 2011 releases was already filled up… so I got pushed back again. It didn’t matter that much – by this point I’d shoved the “book stuff” to the back corner of my consciousness and focused on other things. It was a protective measure, of course. But then I got the cover art… and I saw the book listed in Penguin’s catalog… and suddenly, it was all actually happening.

And now it’s REALLY happening.

And I’m incredibly excited. Finally, and completely.

I guess, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have been surprised by the ups and downs of my publishing journey. As you can tell from my book, I’m no stranger to disaster… not when I was in high school, and not now.

Maybe for the next book (and yes – I am working on something new. I haven’t given up! Hope lives!), I’ll just wait til it comes out before I tell anyone about it… think that’d work?

——–

Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters

Find FY & OUD: goodreads |Get your own:  amazon (Hardcover, Kindle)

1 shiny copy of Freshman Year & Other Unnatural Disasters.

Royal Street

by Suzanne Johnson
publication: April 10th 2012 by Tor Books
Genre: Adult, Urban Fantasy/Paranormal
Book I in the Sentinels of New Orleans series
copy received from publisher
preorder your own:amazon (Kindle, Paperback)
synopsis from goodreads

As the junior wizard sentinel for New Orleans, Drusilla Jaco’s job involves a lot more potion-mixing and pixie-retrieval than sniffing out supernatural bad guys like rogue vampires and lethal were-creatures. DJ’s boss and mentor, Gerald St. Simon, is the wizard tasked with protecting the city from anyone or anything that might slip over from the preternatural beyond.
Then Hurricane Katrina hammers New Orleans’ fragile levees, unleashing more than just dangerous flood waters.
While winds howled and Lake Pontchartrain surged, the borders between the modern city and the Otherworld crumbled. Now, the undead and the restless are roaming the Big Easy, and a serial killer with ties to voodoo is murdering the soldiers sent to help the city recover.
To make it worse, Gerry has gone missing, the wizards’ Elders have assigned a grenade-toting assassin as DJ’s new partner, and undead pirate Jean Lafitte wants to make her walk his plank. The search for Gerry and for the serial killer turns personal when DJ learns the hard way that loyalty requires sacrifice, allies come from the unlikeliest places, and duty mixed with love creates one bitter gumbo.

I was definitely intrigued first by the cover and the fact that between reading so many YA books, I really wanted to read a little Adult Urban Fantasy Story (Or is it Urban Paranormal, I have no idea about those labels..). Anyway the story was a little slow in the beginning but it was to be expected since it was the first of a series and about to set the rules of the world. I liked DJ although I still cannot describe her properly. She’s loyal, stubborn and independent although I guess stubborn is her strongest feature –  not in a bad way of course!

We follow DJ who is a Wizard working of the Elders in New Orleans right about when Katrina destroys this beautiful city. Suzanne Johnson adds at the beginning of each chapter real News Headlines from this time, which gives an odd mix of fiction and reality. I didn’t mind though.

For me, the story picked up pace and I was beginning to get much more into the story when she meets her new partner Alex. Alex is exactly this kind of man we want to see in these stories! Strong bad ass, yet underneath he has a soft heart. He’s an assassin and is forced to work as her partner while investigating some strange ritual markings in the city and the disappearance of Gerry – than man who raised DJ.

I loved the mystery and suspense in the story and I was eager to figure out what the heck was going on and where the hell Gerry disappeared. At the same time we learn more about DJ heritage which can be very dangerous knowledge!

And although I did love DJ and Alex I was hoping for a stringer connection and a stronger romance. Some situations could have had a little more sexual tension or a least lead to a little more flirting which would have added to the  beginning connection between those two.

Bottom Line

Great debut into a new series and I feel invested enough in the characters to get the next one! Specially considering that I hope for more spark between Alex and DH! I really enjoyed the story with all it’s little twist and surprising revelations and I’m looking froward reading the next!

Knight’s Curse

Get your own copy:amazon (Kindle, Paperback)

Welcome to:

My Reading Spot

where we want to feature each week a Reader/Blogger who shares their favorite Reading Spots!

This week, it will be me (Danny) and I’d love to  show you my favorite spots to read and tell you a little about my reading habits.

The most peaceful time for me are Saturday and Sunday mornings. I get up early, make a big cup of hot steaming coffee and crawl back to bed and read for a few hours. Hubs normally sleeps in and I love having him by my side while I spend some time with my favorite books. Truth to be told, I love my bed – it’s cozy its deliciously comfortable. Seriously, for me there is not better time to read.

During the week, I often read in the evening cuddling on my couch, while hubs watches some stuff in TV. Of course, before I’m able to sleep I have to read in bed a few pages – often I do this until my eyes fall shut and then hubs needs to take away my glasses and puts away my iPad/Kindle.

During winter there is another spot where I love to read! I love love love taking a hot bath and read! Either on my Kindle (yeah, I know bad me!) or I listen to an audiobook and just close my eyes to relax. Sometimes I even stay for more than an hour.

In addition to reading on my devices, I also love to listen to a good audiobook. This I mostly do in my car! I love driving and listening to a good book, much better for me than music! I’m honestly a little sad my commune to work isn’t a little longer

When its warmer and more friendly outside, I love spending some time in the park that is just next to our house. Then, I go and walk a bit with an audiobook in my ear.

So, that’s all to tell about my favorite reading spots and reading habits!

Happy Friday my friends and come back next week to get another glimpse into someone else’s Reading Habits and Favorite Spots to read.

Much Love and Happy Reading!

Happy Friday Welcome to our Friday Feature!

My Friday Love is a weekly meme, where we want to share what we loved during this past week.

My Friday Love is…

And then, welcome back to some Follow Friday Fun from the lovely Parajunkee and Allison Can Read

Note to all new Faces here:

We are a Wordrpess Blog, so if you would like to follow us, please subscribe to our Feed instead Thank you 

This weeks question is I like unique names for characters and am looking forward to coming up with some when I start writing. What’s the most unique character name you’ve come across?

and this weeks question comes from @ Beefcake and Babes

Hm – that is a very tough question. The name that popped into my head immediately was Karou from Daughter’s of Smoke and Bone! I love the sound of this name and even stated I would name my kid like this:)

Happy Friday and Much Love,

Pretty Crooked

by Elisa Ludwig (Twitter, Facebook,website)
Book I in a series
Genre: YA – Mystery/Suspense
publication: March 13th 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books
copy received from publisher
Get your own:
synopsis from goodreads

Willa’s secret plan seems all too simple.

Take from the rich kids at valley prep and give to the poor ones.

Yet Willa’s turn as Robin Hood at her new high school is anything but. Bilking her “friends”—known to everyone as the Glitterati—without them suspecting a thing is far from easy. Learning how to break into lockers and Beemers is as hard as she’d thought it would be. Delivering care packages to the scholarship girls, who are bullied just for being different, is more fun than she’d expected.

The complication Willa didn’t expect, though, is Aidan Murphy, VP’s most notorious ace-degenerate. His mere existence is distracting Willa from what matters most to her—evening the social playing field between the haves and have-nots. There’s no time for flirting, especially with conceited trust-funders like Aidan. But when the cops start investigating the string of thefts at Valley Prep and the Glitterati begin to seek revenge, could Aidan wind up being the person that Willa trusts most?

Elisa Ludwig’s Pretty Crooked is the first book in an adventurous teen caper series filled with mystery, humor, and heart.

What a fun?!?! When I read the synopsis I knew this book would be something to read when in the mood for something light and fun!  Also, I’m a big big fan of Robin Hood so the synopsis really sold me!

Modern Robin Hood Tale – with a twist and .. fun!

At Willa’s new school everything is about appearance, about wearing the right clothes and about who to talk to. The typical rich school, right? But, Willa was never used to be “rich” and didn’t grow up with that much money which is why she cannot accept and tolerate the bullying the “mean” girls do. Which is why at some point decides to ..act! First on impulse, then systematically planning! She goes deeper and deeper into the “Robin Hood” mood and … suddenly she’s too deep to get out! In the middle of all this there is also another mystery that takes part of the plot which I’m so eager to find out more about! That’s all I’m going to say – I don’t want to spoil the mystery for you!

Will a protagonist which is part naive part heroic

I still cannot decide if Willa is just way to naive or totally heroic. Anyway, I did love her!! Her heart most definitely is at the right place and she only wanted to right some wrongs. Of course, I cannot agree with how she went about this, but.. truthfully it was tons of fun following her journey to become a criminal. Willa is a wonderful young girl who hates how her new rich friends treat the “poor” ones and she realizes how wrong this is. And, it takes a lot of her to step up and do something instead of just tolerating!

Mean Girls, Bullying and some cute boys!

Seriously! What else do you need to make a story round and fun? The mean girls are really mean and they way they treated the unfortunate kids was harsh and horrible! Elisa Ludwig did a wonderful job portraying the very important issue of bullying and I loved to see that apart from Will also other girls started to open their eyes!

Then of course we have the cute boys! Oh how we need them! And, we get them!! Aidan is awesome! I loved him so much! He was one of the super rich crowd, yet he didn’t care – on the contrary he wanted to be different and did everything he could to appear as the trouble maker and the bad boy. Yet, in his heart he wasn’t the bad boy at all!! He’s a wonderful deep character which we only begun here to understand and I hope to see more of him!

Bottom Line

I had so much fun with this book! It was a page turner which addresses the important topic of bullying in a funny but also very heart warming way. I had so much fun with this book! It was a page turner which addresses the important topic of bullying in a funny but also very heart warming way.There are kids who see that there is something truly wrong with the way underprivileged kids are treated and instead of just watching – they decided to do some something. Willa was a beautiful character,  I love her and her values! Fantastic debut in refreshing new series about values and kids that try to work on changes instead of watching!

Random Notes and Additional Info: I was so stunned when I realized at the end that this is not a Stand Alone but rather a series. While I was reading I was always thinking “How the end can this end in just a few pages”. Well, there is a sequel which is called “Pretty Sly” and comes out March next year!

Much Love!

The Van Alen Legacy (Blue Bloods #4)

(Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble)

by Melissa de la Cruz

(Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Website, Twitter)

Published October 2009 by Disney/Hyperion

Book Description (From Amazon):

My Thoughts:

In the fourth installment of Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods series, a year has passed since the events in Rio at the end of the third installment, Revelations. With Schuyler accused of killing her grandfather, she and Oliver have been on the run around the globe, in near constant motion to avoid detection by the Conclave. Even though they’ve grown quite close during their time together, Schuyler can’t quite return Oliver’s feelings for her because she’s still deeply in love with Jack Force. But they grow tired of running and hiding, and they decide to seek an audience with the head of the European Coven to ask for their protection. But things don’t go as planned, and Schuyler and Oliver soon find themselves in grave danger.

Meanwhile, Bliss has been absent from her body for most of the last year–her visitor has taken over her body and forced her consciousness down into the blackness. Once she’s finally allowed to gain a little control over her body again, she starts to fight back to take back her body–and deter the dark force that’s trying to take down the Blue Bloods in New York. The visitor inside of Bliss’ ultimate goal is finally discovered towards the end of this book in one explosive battle royale.

Mimi has spent the past year in Rio working as a Venator under reformed Silverblood Kingsley in search of Bliss’ kidnapped sister/watcher, Jordan. While Mimi isn’t used to the lifestyle that’s required of all Venators, especially living in a city such as Rio, she finds that she actually enjoys doing this work and grows quite close to Kingsley and the two other Venators she works alongside.

This book is told from the alternating points of view of Schuyler, Mimi, and Bliss. The author has a knack for cutting off each chapter right at a crucial point when you just want to read more, but you’re forced to read through two more chapters to get back to that character’s point of view again. This book was pretty fast paced, but once you hit the half-way point the book really picked up steam when all of the characters returned to New York for the bonding ceremony.

The love rectangle between Schuyler, Jack, Mimi, and Oliver is in full force in this book again, but it isn’t resolved and is actually expanded a bit too. Mimi’s personality is acutally softened somewhat when she’s in Rio, but the bitch returns full force once she returns to New York and is set to bond with Jack again. Bliss shows the most character growth as she tries to overcome the Visitor throughout the book. Even though she’s lost everyone she’s loved, she still finds the strength to carry on and try to take back her body.

I give this one a four and a half. The book is fast paced, and the last half is action packed. But the point of view switching gets to be a bit annoying.